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Ngige Meets Buhari, Hints On FG’s ‘Dialogue’ With IPOB, Others

By
Bayo Bernard
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Chris Ngige
Chris Ngige

 

By James Orji

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr  Chris Ngige may have succeeded in changing President Muhammadu Buhari’s mind on the use of force to quell the spate of insecurity in the south east.

After meeting the president alongside the Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari on Sunday in Aso Villa, Abuja, the minister said the president has now agreed to dialogue with aggrieved groups from the region on how to restore peace.

The minister spoke barely hours after state governors from the south it said the region wants to remain in Nigeria, contrary to agitation for secession by IPOB elements.

Critics of the government said Ngige needs to disclose whether the president will meet with the Nnamdi Kanu led IPOB, the major protagonist in the violence that has rocked the zone for months.

According to analysts, it will be difficult to achieve peace in the south east if IPOB is left out in the proposed dialogue.

There have been attacks on government buildings across the south-east, leading to the killing of several security operatives. The government blamed IPOB for the violence, even though the group denied the allegation.

President Buhari had, last week, said in an interview with Arise TV that the south east is a dot in a circle in Nigeria, and had ordered security forces to threat secessionists IPOB and their militant arm, Eastern Security Network, ESN, ‘ in the language they will understand’.

But after meeting the president yesterday,  the minister said Buhari has accepted the adoption of dialogue to address agitations in the south-east.

The minister said the president does not want a situation where the east do not “feel unwanted” in Nigeria, and that Buhari has now agreed to look at the issues with a second eye.

Ngige said “We also looked at the security situation, especially in my zone, the south-east, and we made some proposals to him based on the yearnings on the people, and what the government also wants,” the minister said.

“We are following up with dialogue, which at the end of the day, is what will happen. We have to talk; we have to discuss. Part of the discussion starts tomorrow. The minister of defence, minister of interior, and service chiefs were in Enugu last Saturday and we’re going to do follow-up meetings on that.

“We briefed him and he accepted that dialogue is the way to go in all this. Like I keep on saying, there is a very thin line between perception and reality. So, certain things will be done, at least to assuage the feelings of the people in the area, and make them not feel unwanted.”

Angry North Insists It Developed The South, Says North Is Ready To Separate, Gives 30-Day Ultimatum For Revenge

By
The Source
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Northern Consensus Movement

By Charles Igbo

“If we decide to retaliate, who will be the loser? If we remove BUA and Dangote who are international Businessmen, what do we have in the South? How much investment do we have in the East? We are passing a word of warning because a word is enough for the wise. We have done it in the past. We shall do it again”

A Northern Group, which goes by the name Northern Consensus Movement, NCM, is angry with the South. It’s anger has boiled over. And, it is not only laying its cards on the table, it is calling the bluff of the South. And it is given ultimatums, else, the North would embark on a revenge mission. “We have done it before, and we shall do it again,” it boasts.

The Group is not joking. It says that for everything the South claims it has, or achieved, especially, both in infrastructure and  education, is the sweat of the North.

At a Press Conference addressed by its leaders, the  group declared: “The oil that we enjoy today was harnessed, the refineries were constructed by the Northern Nigeria’s sweat, the Northern Nigeria economy and money.

The money of groundnut pyramid and cotton. The one that was used to research, discover and build the economy that are in other parts of Nigeria, that some people are claiming to be part of their personal properties.”

The Group is also asking for a Commission in the North, patterned after the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. It said:

“Just like the NDDC and the Niger Delta Ministry, there should be a Northern Nigeria Development Ministry that should be given the same amount of money like the NDDC because our money was used to develop the oil.”

In the area of education in the South, the Group takes the credit. It says:

“Those that got early education from the South-west, South-east and South-south got their education from the Northern economy and Northern sweat.”

For good measure, the Group says the notion that the South is richer than the North is a myth, a myth which it says, has since been demystified.

It says it is a big lie for the South to keep flaunting Oil deposits in its region. The North now has oil in commercial quantity. And it adds that the Gold deposits underneath the North’s soil in Birnin Gwari, Zamfara and other areas is larger in quantity than a combination of the Gold deposits in Ghana and South  Africa. The crisis in parts of the North, the Group insists, is instigated to stop the region from mining the Gold deposits, and drilling the oil underneath the North’s soil.

The Group’s anger is in two fold. One, the North, it says, is unjustifiably called parasites. Two, the businesses and properties of Northerners in the South are being destroyed by Southerners. But they laugh that off, arguing that compared to what Southerners have in Kano and Kaduna alone, the North has nothing in the South.

And they warn that if they retaliate by destroying the businesses of Southerners in their region, it will be terrible for the South.

It said: “The investments of Igbos and Yorubas runs into billions of Naira, especially in Kano and Kaduna States. If we remove BUA and Dangote who are international businessmen, what do we have? So, if you continue to destroy the lives and properties of people in your area, and we decide to retaliate, who is going to be the loser? How much investments do we have in the East? Our people in the East are either Tomato sellers, wheel barrow pushers, Okada riders, Suya makers, shoe shiners and nail cutters. But if you go to Kano, Kaduna, and other parts of Northern Nigeria, an Igbo man owns a personal house with C of O. Even a skyrocketed building is rented by Northerners themselves. You find an Igbo man owning a farmland of his own. You don’t have a Northerner owning a house in the East.”*

The Group, therefore, warns: “Enough is enough”, and said it has given both the Federal Government and State Governments in the South, a 30-day ultmatum to pay compensation on every Northerner killed and every business and/or properties destroyed, or retaliation would start.

Following is an excerpt of the text from the Press conference.

“We are called parasites today. But we are declaring that we, the Northerners, are the economic heart of Nigeria and nobody can address us as parasite.

“The oil that we enjoy today was harnessed, the refineries were constructed by the Northern Nigeria sweat, the Northern Nigeria economy and money.

“The money of groundnut, pyramid and cotton. The one that was used to research, to  discover and build the economy in other parts of Nigeria, that some are claiming to be part of their personal properties.

“If that is the case, just like NDDC and Niger Delta Ministry, there should be a Northern Nigeria Development Ministry that should be given the same amount of money like the NDDC, because our money was used to develop the Oil. That is number one.

“Number two, those that got early education from the South West, South East and South South got their education from the Northern economy and Northern sweat. And by the grace of God, oil has been discovered within Gombe, Bauchi, Taraba and within Lake Chad Basin, and that is why this people are instigating Boko Haram, so that there will be no peace in the area for us to harness the Oil discovered in the area.

We have a large deposit of Gold in Birnin Gwari that is more than the deposit of gold in South Africa and Ghana, and that is why we are having Banditry in Birnin Gwari axis, so that we won’t be able to harness it. Same goes to Zamfara, that is why we are having Banditry also in that axis, so we are saying enough is enough.

“If we are to continue to coexist as Nigerians in Nigeria, the Northerners are ready to do that, that is why we have been accommodating the other people. Our properties are destroyed in the South West, South East and South South, and in Kano and Kaduna alone, the number of Igbos and Yorubas alone  that are resident there are far greater than the entire Northerners that reside in the South West, South East and South South alone.

“The investments of Igbos and Yorubas run into Billions of Naira, especially in Kano and Kaduna, is far greater than the Igbo and Yoruba States investments in their states. If we remove the Bua and Dangote, who are international business men, and continue to destroy the lives and properties of people in your area and we decide to retaliate, who is going to be the loser? How much investment do we have in the East? Our people in the East are either tomato sellers, wheel barrow pushers, Okada riders, Suya makers, Shoe Shiners and Nail Cutters. Those are Northerners who mostly reside in the region. But if you go to Kano, Kaduna and other parts of Northern Nigeria, an Igbo man owns a personal house with C of O. Even a skyrocketed building is rented by  Northerners themselves. You find an Igbo man owning a farmland of his own. You don’t have a Northerner owning a house in the East.

“So we are interested in coexisting as Nigerians, but if you don’t want it, then the North is ready to separate from the south.

“In fact, we have more than enough to sustain ourselves and to make Northern Nigeria great.

“And while others are calling for Oduduwa Republic and Biafra, we  the North, remain as Nigerians because we are true Nigerians.

“So with this, we are passing this message to the Federal Government, to the Eastern and Western State Governors that every Northerner that has been killed, properties of any Northerner that have been destroyed must be compensated by the Governors of those States.

“We will no longer tolerate the abuse on our people. If not, we have done it in the past and we will do it again. We are passing a word of warning, because a word is enough for the wise. I repeat that compensation must be paid for every penny, every damn thing that has been lost by a Northerner, be it a Fulani man, Hausa man, Tiv man, Aro Goman or any tribe in the North. That is our demand.

“The State Governors must be responsible and pay off. If they don’t, they should not blame us for any action taken by us.

“We are giving a 30 days ultimatum from today to the Governors in which we are expecting them to act.”

But not a few people have faulted the claims of the Group on Ground Pyramid and Cotton being used to develop the South. They remind of  Cocoa, Palm produce and Coal and Agriculture in the South.

However, the Governors of the South-east and most stakeholders have made it clear that they are against secession and against any group asking for it.

Insecurity: Anger As Keyamo Says Nigerians Will Beg SARS To Return; Group Tackles Him

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Festus Keyamo

By Akinwale Kasali

Minister of State, Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo, SAN, is in the eyes of a storm. He is facing unprecedented criticisms by a Group of Youths who say this is a new Keyamo they no longer recognise or understand.

Coming under  the aegis of Concerned Progressives Movement, CPM, the Youths condemned unequivocally, Keyamo’s statement, allegedly, supporting the abuse, inhumane treatment, extra judicial killings, extortion and abuse of the fundamental Human Rights, meted on Nigerians by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.

The Group in a statement signed by its President and Secretary, Babatunde Aleshe and Bridget Ephraim, respectively, said it was disappointed that Keyamo could utter such statement.

“It is so sad that Keyamo could support the abuse of human rights. We all know how evil this SARS operatives are, and for Keyamo to utter such Statement shows that he doesn’t have the interest of the people at heart.

“We Condemn his action in all entirety and we are ready to hit the street if President Muhammadu Buhari rescind his decision over the scrapping of SARS. We would take the Federal Government to International Criminal Court, ICC, and also sue Keyamo.

“We expected him and his Principal to address the issue of insecyand stop giving excuses. Just on Friday Students and Staffs were kidnapped at the Federal Government College in Kebbi, and there whereabout is yet to be known. Then someone is thinking of bringing back SARS.

“When SARS wasn’t scrapped, the country wasn’t a safe place. Kidnapping was rampant, so it is appalling that Keyamo didn’t think indepthly before speaking. We expected more from him, but it is apparent that he has lost it”, the statement reads.

The position of CPM tallies with that of the Students of Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja. The students embarrassed and lashed Keyamo who said Nigerians will beg for the return of SARS, during a lecture on Friday, June 18th, 2021, at the University.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the disbandment of the notorious SARS was responsible for the worsening insecurity in the country.

It would be recalled that  in October 2020, thousands of youths, across the country, hit the streets to protest against the harassment and extra-judicial killings by SARS operatives.

The protest garnered the support of several influential figures across the world, but went awry when it was hijacked by hoodlums and other aggressived  groups.

A move to break it and stop the unprecedented killings  torching and looting of Government facilities, private businesses and residential homes, turned awry too.

Soldiers stormed the epicenter of the Protest, the Lekki tollgate, ground in Lagos,  and allegedly opened fire on the protesters in the night of October 20. Fatalities and injuries, allegedly, occurred.

The destruction across the country ran into trillions of Naira. A number of Policemen were killed and Police facilities touched.

This action and criticism forced the Police High Command to scrap SARS.

But speaking, Keyamo said : “Can anyone now say #EndOperationLifeDole? Who can end it? I’m sure Boko Haram will march into Abuja. There was a time Boko Haram entered Abuja. So that’s the challenge, to maintain that security is fully maintained.

“That was the same thing we saw between SARS and human rights then. We have seen the porosity of removing security now because we wanted human rights at all cost. We ended SARS. We now see the problem we are facing”.

Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari said the #EndSARS protest was meant to remove him from office.

UNIJOS: Council Shuns Ethnicism, Appoints Professor Ejikeme Vice Chancellor; Colleague, Zamani, Pays Touching Tribute

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Professor Gray Gozie Ejikeme

By Adesina Soyooye

Breaking down ethnicism, and shunning the several stabs on the unity of Nigeria, the Governing Council of the University of Jos, on Friday, June 20, rose from an Emergency Meeting, and appointed Professor Gray Gozie Ejikeme, the Acting Vice Chancellor of the Federal Institution, located in Plateau State.

Since the corruption of the Educational system in Nigeria, not a few people from States, even Communities, insist that University Vice Chancellors be appointed from their States or Communities.

It has happened a couple of times, and has led either to crisis, delays in appointments, or the appointment of not-too suitable academics as Vice Chancellors.

But in the case of the University of Jos, there was no such thing. Council members went for merit. They looked at truth in the face, and stood by it.

Ejikeme, a native of Abia State, South-east, Nigeria, a Professor of  Clinical Psychology and Social Work, was the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), before his appointment as Acting Vice Chancellor.

He is to succeed Professor Sebastian Maimako whose  five-year tenure ends on June 23, 2021.

According to reports, avoiding vaccum, the Governing Council at its meeting asked all qualified Professors to apply. At the end, the Council went for the best among the bests.

A well-rounded academic, Ejikeme is a graduate of Psychology from the University of Lagos. He has a PGDE in Clinical Psychology, a Masters degree in Social Work and a PhD from the University of Jos among other academic and professional certificates. He, expectedly, has a number of awards and honours to his name.

He had been the Head, Department of Sociology, UNIJOS, Head Department of General and Applied Psychology, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chairman Committee of Dean’s and Directors, and the Senate Representative on the 13th Governing Council of the University.

In a fitting, but Touching tribute, Professor Ejikeme’s colleague, Professor Sebastian Zamani, recalls their academic struggles together, the obstacles both overcame, God’s intervention and, the good man that Professor Gray Gozie Ejikeme is.

Professor Zamani wrote:

“Indeed, God rewards diligence and faithfulness.

I recall our prayer sessions in his office each time we prepared for our PhD presentations, and afterwards, in the good old days.

“We trusted God, first, to make what appeared to be a brick wall to be soft and penetrable.

“He had been on the program before me, but destiny brought us together. All we trusted God for, eventually, came to pass. One by one, the obstacles gave way, and we graduated. The rest is history.

“We assumed our respective positions in the academia and,  thereafter, got repositioned.

“We vowed to God to be channels of blessing to humanity, to be mentors to our students and colleagues, to make life beautiful for  everyone who came our way that needed help in the best godly and professional traditions.

“I recall his fulfilling this by dusting off the files of   stagnated colleagues to grant them release (promotion) while he was Dean of Social Sciences.

“I recall his releasing students into a new  experience of  compassion and love. At every stage that God lifted him he stretched down to pick someone up.

“Why won’t such a person grow?

“Professor Ejikeme is one of the most diligent persons I have worked with. He stays the course on missions and projects.

“Thank God- for – God, who is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Here we are, with a gift  of his elevation to a position of trust.

“Note that in his own case, not a single sentiment that currently stands Nigeria down is responsible for this .

“It is simply the God- factor and we thank him.While  celebrating him, it is  my  prayer for God to  grant him great success on this assignment. Amen.”

Ejikeme will be in an Acting position until, finally, confirmed on the position by  President Muhammadu Buhari.

17 Years Old Detainee, Delivered Of A Baby Boy May Be Freed This Week

By
Ayodele Oni
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Kemisola Oguniyi

By Ayodele Oni

There are indications that  Kemisola Oguniyi, 17, who was delivered of a baby boy in Prison, may be freed this week.

Kemisola was arrested during last year’s endSARS protest in Ondo state and has since been kept, among others, in prison custody.

Lawyer to the teenage mother, Mr Tope Temokun, disclosed in Akure, the State capital on Saturday, that all necessary steps have been taken to secure her release, as well as that of  others, eight months after the protests took place.

According to the lawyer, “following our letters of  17th of June 2021, to the Honourable Attorney-General of Ondo State and the Honourable Chief Judge of Ondo State on this matter, we sought audience with the office of the AG and went into a long meeting with the Honourable Attorney-General of Ondo State, Sir Charles Titiloye on this matter.

The meeting in the office of the AG ended around 4pm on Saturday.

“The AG expressed his passionate interest in seeing Kemisola out on bail without delay. The AG took steps to reach out for an earlier date for the hearing of the bail applications filed for Kemisola and three others, while the case of Kemisola will be taken as a case of urgency and showed genuine concern to see Kemisola leave prison to take care of her baby at home.

“We, therefore, agreed on few other fast-tracking steps which took us to the office of the Honourable Chief Judge for further steps.

“We got good assurances from the office of Chief Judge that Kemisola needed to be out before the bail applications would be taken as it would be a longer process if we had to wait for the normal routine procedural steps.

“It was resolved and advised we do a letter of application which we drafted and submitted immediately around 6pm, outside office hour, applying directly to the Chief Judge, even when there is already another judge assigned on the case, for a special consideration of an administrative bail for Kemisola as a matter of urgency so that she could take her child home.

“The office of the Chief Judge worked outside the office hour on this application yesterday under the directive of the Chief Judge and the supervision of the Chief Registrar and we left the premises of the office of the CJ around 6:30pm yesterday, after putting all necessary things in perfect place for Kemisola to leave prison on Monday.

“I state that we were not the lawyers in this case till the 2nd of April, 2021. But from the record we inherited, Kemisola and others were arrested on the 22nd of October 2020 and taken to custody by the police, before being charged to the Magistrate Court in Akure which declined jurisdiction on the case based on the gravity of the offences, which include arson and the rest.

“Kemisola and others were therefore remanded in prison custody in Surulere, Ondo, while their case file was forwarded to the office of the DPP Ondo State for Legal Advice.

“When the legal advice was out, charges were filed against them afresh at the High Court, Akure. Up till this time in question, Kemisola’s case has not come to our office and we were therefore not the lawyer in the case till the 2nd of April, 2021 when the parents of Kemisola and the three others came to our Akure office to brief us, following which we demanded for letters of instruction from them before we accepted to take up the matter pro bono, free of charges.

“The 2nd of June was Friday and while we were touched by their stories and waiting impatiently for the weekend to go by for us to swing to action, Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) declared indefinite nationwide strike which halted all efforts that could be taken legally to secure her release.

“It is important to say, that since we took over this case, the case has not come up in any court, till the JUSUN strike was called off on the 15th of June 2021 and the next day, the 16th of June 2021, we were in court to file the bail application by summons, with an affidavit of urgency, with Kemisola’s mother, when the call came through that Kemisola was in labour before being delivered of a baby boy!

“In addition to this, we did not relent or wait for protocol, we also wrote letters to the Hon. Attorney-General of Ondo state and the Hon. Chief Judge of Ondo state, presenting different demands on behalf of our client, Kemisola, for speedy action and result.

“Due to the touching nature of the case and the increasing public interest and the concern by many Nigerians, lawyers, organizations which include but not limited to the NBA branches of Akure and Ondo and beyond, we have deemed it fit to intimate and update our colleagues and the general public on this case this afternoon.

“As God liveth, by Monday hopefully, Kemisola would leave the prison and go home and the seven days’ ceremony of child-naming of Kemisola’s son will not take place in the prison yard.”

FGC Abduction: How One Student Died Of Asthmatic Attack, Two Others Of Exhaustion

By
The Source
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0

By Gideon Njoku

More details have emerged on the abduction, on Friday, June 9, of the students of the Federal Government College Yauri by bandits.

It is now confirmed that a total of 102 people, including eight members of Staff – four academic staff members and four non-academic staff members were abducted as against the 30 being bandied around. It is, also, now confirmed that a total of eight students  and a staff member have been rescued.

But here’s the most heartbreaking: Contrary to the earlier report that one student died of exhaustion, three students actually lay dead.

A female student who was asthmatic died of asthmatic attack, while two boys died of exhaustion. The student who died of asthmatic attack was from Wushishi, Niger State. The two boys who died of exhaustion were, also, both from Niger State.

These facts and figures were given by the  devastated Principal of the, Alhaji Almustapha Ayuba Sokoto when he received, in audience, the Emir of Yawuri, Dr Zayyanu Abdullahi, who visited the College for an on-the-spot assessment. Those abducted were mostly students in SS1 and SS2.

One woman said her son was shot two times on the back, and abducted while he was trying to save some pupils of a Primary School in the same premises with the students. However, he was pushed down from the truck, when the bandits saw that he was bleeding profusely.

Sources say that SS3 students, billed to write their final examination,  have been moved to another school as the venue for the examination.

Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Bagudu, on a visit to the school, decried the sad incident, and assured that he would make every effort to see to the rescue of the remaining students and teachers.

Unconfirmed reports claim that one of the leaders of the Bandits, identified as manja Gara has been arrested by the Military*

The Abduction of students from their schools has become a big time business in the North.

Recently, when the students of Greenfield University, Kaduna, were abducted,  five of them were killed while Parents of the remaining students paid the sum of N160m in ransome money in addition to ten motorcycles.

Till date, over 200 students of an Islamic school in Niger  State are still in the custody of Bandits who abducted them a couple of weeks ago. One of the kids, a three-year old has been found dead.

President Buhari In Ghana Urges Sub Region To End Military Rule In Mali

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
Muhammadu Buhari - Londo Trip

By Ayodele Oni

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday, called on West African leaders to exert pressure on military leadership in Mali to ensure that the transition process in the country is not aborted.

The President’s position was contained in his speech delivered at the 59th Ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS in Accra, Ghana.

According to a statement by Garba Shehu, Presidential Spokesman, the Nigerian leader spoke on the situation in Mali, which was recently suspended from the regional bloc due to a military coup.

The statement read: “At this Summit today, we are expected to review a number of important reports dealing with various issues of concerns to our organisation and people.

“In doing so, we must take realistic and practical decisions which will positively impact on our citizens.

“Some of those decisions, necessarily will have to do with evolving political and security situations in our sub-region as well as evaluate the health of our organisation with the hope of repositioning to serve our people and sub-region better.

“While democracy continues to develop in our sub-region, recent events in Mali are sad reminders that vigilance remains a crucial imperative to protect people’s aspirations to freely choose the form of Government they want.

“Pressures are needed to ensure that the transition process in Mali, which is half-way to its conclusion, is not aborted.

“A further slide in Mali could prove catastrophic to the Sub-region, considering that about half of that country is unfortunately under the grip of terrorists.”

President Buhari, therefore, appealed to the Military leadership in Mali to understand the critical state of the country, which he described as being ”clearly under siege.”

Noting that the principal responsibility of the military must be to protect and guarantee the sovereignty of the West African country, the President cautioned them not to perpetuate acts that would facilitate the destabilization and destruction of Mali.

“I urge our organization to remain engaged with all stakeholders in Mali through our astute Mediator, former President Goodluck Jonathan, who, I congratulate warmly, for his untiring efforts thus far.

“I encourage him to sustain these efforts to ensure that the transition is completed as scheduled.”

On Libya, President Buhari faulted the recent United Nations Resolution to expel all foreign fighters in Libya, without first ensuring that they are disarmed and non-collaboration with regional stakeholders.

‘On the security situation in the region, our organisation must note with serious concern, the recent decision by the United Nations and its Resolution to expel all foreign fighters in Libya, without first, ensuring that they are disarmed and that neighbouring countries and the Sub-regions were engaged, to put in place modalities for containing or managing the movement of these fighters.

“While this action was aimed at bringing about sustenance of peace in Libya, non-collaboration with regional stakeholders on this critical decision, has now created newer threats to peace, security and stability in the region, which could lead to lack of coordinated management of huge humanitarian crisis across the Sahel, North, Central and West Africa, including the Lake Chad region.”

Scandal: How 16-Year Old Lady Connived With Boyfriend To Fake Her Kidnap, Demands ₦500,000 Ransom

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
16-Year Self Kidnapper

By Akinwale Kasali

A 16-Year-old girl Abimbola Suluka, and her boyfriend, Oluwaseun Olajide, had no premonition that the parent will contact the Ekiti State Police Command when both perfected plan to stage her own kidnap to extort money from her family.

But luck ran out of the love birds and their accomplice, as the Ekiti State Anti- Kidnapping Department of the State Police Command foiled their plan.

Abimbola, Oluwaseun and two of their accomplices are being charged for alleged conspiracy and self-kidnapping.

Ekiti State Police spokesperson, Sunday Abutu, in a statement, explained that Abimbola’s sister had gone to the Police Station to report that her sister was missing after leaving the house for school.

He said the sister explained that when Abimbola’s phone was called, an unknown person answered the call and informed them that she was in his custody and would not be released until a ransom of N500,000 was paid.

The holder of the account given for the ransom payment was tracked and arrested by the anti-kidnapping unit of the police and forced to lead the police team to a hotel within the state capital where the supposedly abducted Abimbola and her boyfriend were nabbed.

Abimbola, with the three others, confessed to committing the crime, claiming she wanted to raise money from her family members to enable her relocate from Ekiti State since her mother insisted she studies medicine as against her own dream of becoming an actress.

In a statement, the Ekiti State Police Command, stated that it arrested four for Conspiracy and Self-kidnapping

“The Ekiti State Police Command on Thursday 17th June, 2021 at about 2000hrs, arrested one SULUKA ABIMBOLA ‘f’ 16, alongside her boyfriend, one OLUWASEUN DANIEL OLAJIDE ‘m’ 25, for conspiracy and self-kidnapping.

“It would be recalled that on the 16/06/2021 at about 1140hrs, one Bolaji  Femi of Bawa Estate, Ado-Ekiti, came to New Iyin Divisional Police Headquarters and reported that her sister, one Suluka Abimbola left home for School at Christ School, Ado-Ekiti, on 15/06/2021 and did not return home.

“She further narrated that when Suluka Abimbola’s GSM number was called, an unknown person picked and confirmed that Suluka Abimbola was in their custody but would not be released until a ransom of five hundred thousand naira is paid to a particular Union Bank Account belonging to one Adisa Damilola.

“The case was immediately transferred to the Anti-kidnapping Unit of the State CID where the owner of the account, one Adisa Damilola ‘f’ who is also a friend to Oluwaseun Daniel Olajide, was tracked and arrested. Adisa Damilola led the Operatives of the Anti-kidnapping Unit to Alex Grace Hotel, along Housing, Ado-Ekiti, where Suluka Abimbola and her boyfriend, Oluwaseun Daniel Olajide, alongside one other accomplice, Adefolaju Caleb ‘m’ 23, were lodging and were arrested.

“During interrogation, Suluka Abimbola confessed to the commission of the crime as well as Oluwaseun Daniel Olajide and Adefolaju Caleb. Suluka Abimbola said she decided to conspire with the other suspects to do that in order for her to raise money from her family members to enable her relocate from Ekiti State since her Mother insisted that she goes through medical field as against her dream of becoming an Actress”..

Reacting to the incident, the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Tunde Mobayo, condemns the act and has directed that investigation be conducted for further action to serve as a deterrent to other criminally minded persons in the Society.

Mobayo said the four suspects would face the wrath of the law.

Shock As ATOPCON President, Niyi Odetoye, Dies In Lagos Explosion

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

Nigeria has lost one of its renowned Town Planners.

Niyi Odetoye, the President of the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria, ATOPCON, died in the raging fire which started when a tanker carrying gas, exploded opposite Sheraton Hotel and the multi million Naira OPIC Plaza.

Odetoye was one of the five casualties of the explosion which occurred in the early hours of Friday.

Odetoye would have clocked 47 years on Monday June 21st, 2021, but met his death in the unfortunate fire incident.

In the early hours of Friday, a fuel tanker exploded right in front of the OPIC Plaza, leading to the fatalities.  Many were injured, while 25 cars wereburnt.

Available preliminary report by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, said that the fire was caused by a fuel tanker that exploded right in front of the Plaza, and as a result lives were lost, while some persons were seriously injured and are receiving treatment.

Odetoye, before his demise was a graduate of the Urban and Regional Planning of the Federal University of Technology, Akure. He was a major donor to his Alma Mata including the Sponsor of the Best Studio Design Award, URP.

However, the death toll that was, as at yesterday afternoon, said to be five increased to seven, as two other victims were said to have died as a result of the heavy burnt suffered in the inferno.

Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duties, Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, had earlier confirmed that

five victims died, with three victims confirmed dead at the scene of the explosion, while two others died on their way to the hospital.

Bamgbose-Martins said, “Lives were lost. We had about 13 people rescued but we understand that out of the 13 people, we’ve lost two of them which means that we’ve only rescued 11. We’ve recovered three bodies again this morning. They’ve started moving them away from here.”

Bamgbose-Martins had earlier stated that investigation was ongoing, adding that a special committee by the Lagos State Government, which has Agencies of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as members, are working to end gas tanker and gas stations explosions in the state.

Similarly, the spokesman for the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Nosa Okunbor, revealed that five persons lost their lives in the explosion, with over 22 vehicles burnt in the inferno.

Investigations revealed that two more victims had died at the Emergency Unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja, following high degrees of burnt. Fatalities are now Seven.

Insecurity: Again, Angry Youths Block Kaduna-Abuja Road

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Kaduna-Abuja Road Blocked By Youths

By Akinwale Kasali

For the second time in one month, angry youths on Saturday blocked the Kaduna – Abuja Road.

Just as Kaduna State has become one of the epicenters of kidnapping in the North, the Kaduna Abuja Road  has become one of the most dreaded roads in the country over the incessant kidnapping of Nigerians.

This forced youths from Anguwan Madaki, Kakau community, Chikun Local Government Areas of Kaduna to block the Kaduna-Abuja highway to protest the killing of four people and the abduction of 49 others by bandits during the week.

The Youths called on Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna wade into the spate of insecurity which is fast reducing the state to a pariah State.

The community, located on the outskirts of Kaduna metropolis, has come under persistent attacks by bandits throughout the week, forcing some residents to move out of the area in search of safety.

The youths say that the latest attacks in the occurred on Friday, June 18th, 2021 at about 10pm when bandits stormed the community, killed two people and abducted 20 others, including their Ruler, his wife and brother.

The Youths lamented that their Community had been under constant attack by bandits throughout the week. That prompted them to block the Kaduna-Abuja road by the over-head bridge on Saturday to express their frustration.

They lamented that the presence of Female soldiers’ camp close to Kakau did not help matters as there was no help whatsoever coming from the camp.

It added that the Military’s presence in the area has not yielded any result, calling on the President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration to look into the issue.

They said their community has been leaving under fear and that many of their relatives have relocated to other places because of the insecurity in the area.

It would be recalled that a few weeks ago, 21 kidnapped students and Staff of Greenfield University in Kaduna were released by their abductors after over N150m was paid as ransom money.

Kaduna State has been volatile, as the security in the state has remained porous. The State Governor seems helpless as the situation degenerates everyday to a state of hopelessness.

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