The traditional ruler of the Okpoama Community of Brass Council Area of Bayelsa State, the Amayanabo of Okpoama Kingdom, King Emmanuel Ebitimi Banigo, Okpoama XXI, has sanctioned the flogging of young men accused of dressing indecently in his community.
The monarch also sanctioned the raid on spots allegedly used by drug peddlers, Daily Post reports.

It was learnt that the exercise was carried out by a team comprising community youths and chiefs, led by the Chairman of the Chiefs Council, Chief Inikio Sam Sele-Dede.
The team demolished 14 joints where illicit drugs were being sold. Drugs such as cannabis, benzos, cocaine, LSD and codeine were found and seized, the report said.
 
It was further gathered that the exercise was carried out on Sunday, May 1, following rising the drug use within the community.
A source in the community confirmed that scores of youths with alleged indecent haircuts and saggy trousers were apprehended and their hair was forcibly shaved off.
 
The youths were also reportedly flogged, assaulted and dehumanised.
 
Speaking at end of the exercise, Chief Inikio Sam Sele-Dede, said Okpoama has forbidden peddling and consumption of drugs, adding that anybody caught will be handed over to the law enforcement agents for prosecution.
 
He, therefore, called on dealers of hard drugs to keep off the area.

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Some cadets of the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State have raised the alarm over the deplorable state of hostels in the institution.
 
They alleged that the poor state of their hostels has become an impediment to their studies as they no longer have a conducive atmosphere for their academic activities.
 
The Nigeria Police Academy was established in 1988 following the need to upgrade the quality of the Nigeria Police Force from the inherited British Colonial West African Frontier Force.
 
It was also established as part of the Police Reform initiative; to produce the ideal Superior Police Officer who is equipped with the knowledge and skills to face the challenges of policing in an increasingly complex Nigerian society and technologically sophisticated world. It is built on the philosophy to train highly reformed, mobile, innovative, effective civil police.
 
Before 1988, the Academy was running a dual programme of Cadets Inspectors and Cadets Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASPs) at Challawa, Kaduna and then Wudil.
The necessity to upgrade and convert the Academy to a Degree awarding cropped up due to the barrage of challenges posed by security issues locally and globally.
 
SaharaReporters gathered that hostels of the institution located in Kano State lacked water supply, good toilets and enough rooms to accommodate the students (cadets).
 
Some of the facilities are surrounded by overgrown bushes from where dangerous reptiles pose a danger to cadets on a daily basis.
 
An ASP cadet while speaking with SaharaReporters lamented the unkempt state of the environment around the hostels and the danger posed to their health and well-being.
 
He said, “A walk in the hostels where cadets stay will leave you with the impression that they are no longer in use or abandoned area because of broken and leaking pipes, filled soakaways are emptied by cadets themselves using buckets while the management is busy building helipads and other projects of less value."
 
“Cadets wake up at midnight in search of water with jars and containers and on many occasions, cadets don't turn out for activities due to the unavailability of water,” another ASP cadet said. 

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The Nigerian Army has accused members of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) of killing two soldiers in Imo State.
 
SaharaReporters had reported how A.M Linus, a Master Warrant Officer in the army and his Private officer wife, Pte Gloria Matthew were shot and beheaded on Saturday.
 
After beheading the couple, the gunmen were said to have called their family members to mock them.
 
A gory video of the incident seen by SaharaReporters showed the gunmen putting the heads on the victims' chests after the incident.
 
A phone conversation with the suspected gunmen, believed to have been initiated by a friend of the slain female soldier, has also surfaced online.
 
In the phone conversation, obtained by SaharaReporters, a suspected gunman admitted that he killed the couple.
 
The gunman said they were aggrieved that the military has been consistently killing innocent residents in efforts to attack them (gunmen).
 
“It’s quite unfortunate that it is this way. I killed both of them yesterday,” the suspected gunman was heard saying in the phone conversation.
 
Reacting to the incident, army spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu said the “dastardly act, one too many, clearly portends the deep-seated hate, desperation and lawlessness with which foot soldiers of IPOB/ESN have been unleashing terror on Ndigbo, whom they claim they are on a mission to protect and emancipate, as well as other innocent Nigerians who are resident or transiting the South East.”
 
He added, “The Nigerian Army (NA), on Saturday 30 April 2022 received information on the gruesome, barbaric and most despicable manner in which members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, Eastern Security Network(ESN) murdered in cold blood, two soldiers Master Warrant Officer  (MWO) Audu M Linus (retired) and Private(Pte)Gloria Matthew, who were on transit to Imo state for their traditional wedding.
 
“Apparently, the soldiers had embarked on the trip to fulfil the traditional rites of conjugating their matrimony, as the very well respected and cherished Igbo tradition demands.
 
“Ironically, the fact that one of the soldiers, Pte Gloria Matthew who hails from Nkwerre LGA of Imo state, has an ethnic affiliation with the good people of South-East Nigeria did not prevail on the sensibility of the dissidents. 
 
“This gruesome murder, in which they did not spare even their own child, clearly depicts callousness, impenitence and is indisputable, a brazen act of terrorism perpetrated by IPOB/ESN.
 
“Though the dissident groups have continued to live in denial, while masquerading as unknown gunmen in their criminal violent campaign in the region, the NA will ensure the perpetrators of this dastardly act unleashed on its personnel do not go unpunished. While we deeply condole with the families, relations and close associates of the victims, the NA has commenced investigation to unmask and bring the criminals to book.
 
“Members of the public are please enjoined to oblige security agencies actionable information that will lead to the arrest of these criminals.”
 
Attacks by armed men have increased in the South-East in recent times. The attacks often target security agencies and government facilities.
 
IPOB, an outlawed group, has been linked to the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.
 
The leader of the group, Nnamdi Kanu, is currently detained in Abuja where he is facing trial for treason.


 

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Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari is a colossal failure, renowned Islamic preacher, Professor Mansur Ibrahim Sokoto, has said.
Sokoto lambasted President Buhari, saying, "Buhari has failed to deliver security to Nigerians as promised. Nigerians are now at the mercy of the bullets of bandits and terrorists."
 
While delivering his Eid-el-Fitr sermon at Abu-Hurairah Eid ground in Sokoto, the capital city of Sokoto State, the scholar noted that no part of the country was safe for habitation. "This is an indication that the president is a colossal failure," he added.
  Muhammadu Buhari
Speaking in Hausa, Professor Sokoto said places considered safe in the past are now a shadow of themselves.
"Nigeria has been overwhelmed by insecurity," he stressed.
 
The cleric charges Nigerians to make wise decisions in 2023 and reject bad politicians who masquerade as pious and religious people.
 
"You must keep your voter cards safe to enable you to vote for competent leaders who will not only represent our collective interests as a nation but also work to protect such interests," Sokoto said.
A mosque at Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja recently sacked its Chief Imam, Nuhu Khalid, over a sermon that was highly critical of Nigerian leaders including President Muhammadu Buhari over insecurity in the country.
The cleric blamed the high level of insecurity in the country on the collective failure of the country’s leaders, especially Buhari.
He accused Buhari of failing to fulfil his promise to secure Nigeria, describing him as a failure.  

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Friends and associates of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), donated exotic vehicles of assorted brands to loyalists in Kebbi State, his spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, has said.
 
The donation which included Toyota Prado, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz vehicles has sparked varied reactions on social media, especially following Malami’s recent declaration to contest the Kebbi governorship election.
 
The minister had, on April 28, announced his intention to contest the Kebbi governorship election in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
 
In his statement, Gwandu said, “It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has teaming supporters from home and beyond.
 
“This has been demonstrated not only by the calls from far and near for him to vie for Kebbi gubernatorial seat in the forthcoming election but also by donations from friends, associates and supporters of N135m.
 
“The recent donation of N135m has opened doors for donations and supports of many items including vehicles by well-wishers.
 
“The story attributing vehicle distribution to Malami was mischievous and misconstrued information. It was friends and associates of Malami who donated and distributed vehicles to long term workers in the Khadimiyya Foundation.
 
“The occasion was not for distribution of vehicles to any APC stakeholder. None of the APC stakeholders or delegates in Kebbi State was given any vehicle by Malami.
 
“You can contact the National Secretariat of the APC, get the lists of all the APC stakeholders and delegates in Kebbi State. Do an investigative story to reach out to them then you realised how fictitious is the claim.
 
“Comparing the names of APC stakeholders and the beneficiaries of the vehicle will reveal to you that there is no connection between the two and the two are not connected whatsoever.”
 
In 2020, a series of detailed investigations carried out by SaharaReporters showed that Malami had acquired several properties whose value run into many billions of naira since being appointed into the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s chief law officer.
 
For example, the AGF has an underground hotel in Sokoto, three houses at Peace Estate, Abuja, a brand-new state-of-the-art school in Kebbi, two houses for his sons worth N100 million each and a new hotel under construction in the Jabi area of Abuja.
 
Malami also bought a house this year worth N150 million in the Gwarimpa area of Abuja.
 
The newly constructed school is located at the back of NITEL in Gesse Phase 1, Birnin Kebbi, while a new house worth N600m on Ahmadu Bello Way, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, are among properties acquired by Malami since he became a minister under President Buhari.
 
The houses he built for his sons in Kebbi are 200 metres apart in a posh part of the city.
 
That is not all. Malami also built N3 billion multipurpose event centre in Kebbi State named Azbir Arena for his son in Kebbi.
 
The facility is said to be an entertainment centre with a plaza and kids’ playing section and an ongoing hotel, all in one place.
 
This is apart from Rayhaan Hotel located on Zaria Road, opposite Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, which the AGF massively upgraded using proceeds of corruption.
 
Ever since SaharaReporters published a series of detailed reports exposing these illicit acquisitions, the online news medium has been a target for the AGF’s camp.
 
Apart from falsely claiming to have sued SaharaReporters over the expository reports he said had damaged his reputation before the world, Malami also issued a petition to the former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on the issue to arrest the publisher of the online newspaper, Omoyele Sowore.
 
Despite the open display of unexplained wealth by the AGF and members of his family, President Muhammadu Buhari, who rode to power in 2015 on the back of a promise to crush corruption, especially in the government circle, has yet to offer any statement on the development.
 
Observers say Buhari’s silence is an endorsement of the atrocities of one of his most trusted lieutenants, Malami.
 
 
 

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The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has warned Apostle Johnson Suleman, the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries to desist from making unguarded statements against its agitations for the actualization of the sovereign state of Biafra and the entire Igbo nation.
 
IPOB, in a statement signed by Emma Powerful, its spokesperson, said Suleman and Tunde Bakare, the presiding pastor of the Citadel Global Community Church, should concentrate on their apostolic calling and restrain from involving in subjects beyond them.
 
The group further said it does not want to have any issues with any cleric, warning that the preachers should also know their limits.
 
IPOB said, “The attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, under the command of our Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has been drawn to the unprovoked verbal attack and ranting by Apostle Suleiman against IPOB and the enterprising Igbo nation.
 
“It is a puzzle that a man of God will abandon his calling and resort to attacking a nation without any cause. When has unguarded utterance against IPOB and the Igbo nation become part of Suleiman's calling?
“We don't intend to take issues with Apostle Suleiman and his likes such as Tunde Bakare but our message to them is very unambiguous: They should steer clear from any matter concerning IPOB or the great Igbo race. Let them concentrate on their apostolic calling and restrain from unguarded utterances or vituperations on subjects beyond them.
 
“We warn Apostle Suleiman and his likes to restrain from any comments on IPOB or Igbo nation as that will not be tolerated anymore. We don't want to have issues with any man of God, and men of God should know their limits.
 
“Men of God in the bible days were never known for controversies.”
 
SaharaReporters had earlier reported how Suleman claimed that Igbo people are the problem of the Igbo ethnic nationality and are always destroying one another.
 
While delivering a sermon some weeks ago, the preacher said Igbo people never support their own and would publicly disown one another.
 
Making reference to the struggle for Biafra, Suleman said if the nation was created, it would still be an Igbo man that would destroy it as they do support one another.
 
He made reference to the emergence of an Igbo Senate President Evan Enwerem whom he said was removed by another Igbo man, Chuba Okadigbo, who was also replaced by Anyim Pius Anyim.
 
Suleman opined that the problem of Igbo people is the Igbo people.
 
He said, “Somebody from the South, somebody from the East. You betray your people. Look at this agitation for Biafra. Who are the people attacking Biafra most, Igbos? Shameless Igbos. Am I in support of Nigeria dividing? No. Am I in support of Nigeria separating? No. Do I believe we should be together? Yes.
“But even if you don't agree with the man who is your brother, should you say it publicly if you are not a fool? Can't you say it amongst your people?
 
“If today they get that Biafra, it is an Igbo man that will scatter it. That is the truth. During the time of the Senate, when an Igbo man became a senator, it was an Igbo man that removed him. You remember the Enwerem, Chuba Okadigbo, Pius Anyim...remember all of them? It was Igbo that was removing Igbos. That was the first and shortest Senate Presidency we have had in this country.
 
“An Igbo man employs an Igbo boy to sell in his shop, he will wreck him. He will carry all the man's money, he will buy land. He wouldn't wait to be settled. The problem of Igbo is Igbo. I repeat it, if you sell your brother, even the buyers will not trust you.”

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Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies, to investigate public office holders who purchased the presidential nomination form of the ruling All Progressives Congress at N100 million.
 
Olajengbesi, in an article on Tuesday, explained that Section 6(L) of the EFCC Act has vested the agency with the responsibility to investigate financial transactions when there is a reasonable ground for suspicion of the source of wealth of a person.
 
The APC had recently announced that the fee for nomination and expression of interest forms for presidential hopefuls is N100 million, while governorship aspirants will pay N50 million. This had attracted public outrage.
 
Some public office holders who have purchased the forms include Emeka Nawjuiba, Minister of State for Education; Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation and Dr Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment.
 
Also, Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State; Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and former Lagos Governor, Bola Tinubu are among the aspirants who have picked up the forms.
 
Olajengbesi urged EFCC to probe the ministers as he quoted figures from the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission showing the average annual basic salary and allowances of the public officers.
 
He urged the EFCC to query avenues through which the ministers and other aspirants were able to acquire N100 million forms.
 
Olajengbesi, however, said the failure of the EFCC to carry out this investigation will set a dangerous precedent and only send a message to the world that the agency is weak and has compromised on its primary mandate.
 
The public interest lawyer wrote, “The Nigerian Law has vested the EFCC with the inherent powers to investigate persons, government bodies and institutions where it appears that a person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties owned are not justified or reconcilable by his verifiable source of income.
 
“Specifically, the EFCC Act clearly provides in Section 7(1)(b) that the EFCC has power to – "cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income;
 
“Again, following the express provision of Section 6(L) of the EFCC Act, the EFCC has the responsibility to collect all reports relating to suspicious financial transactions to analyse and disseminate to all relevant government agencies.
 
“The implication of the above provision of the law is to the effect that, where there is a reasonable ground for suspicion of the source of wealth of a person through their manner of living, the EFCC has a duty at law to cause an investigation into such a person's source of wealth.
 
“To the crux of this matter, it is no news that the APC from recent news has set a whopping ₦100 million as the price for obtaining the Presidential Nomination and interest form.
 
“It is also a fact that the Minister of State for Education Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, the Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, the Education Minister Adamu, the Labour Minister, Dr. Chris Ngige and others are reported to have recently purchased the same party's presidential nomination form worth ₦100 million each.
 
“The salient question here is that, whether the price of the form is not beyond the legitimate income scale of a Minister in Nigeria.
 
“There is no doubt that the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission is the body charged with the responsibility of handling the salaries of Public Officers in Nigeria.
 
“Following the remuneration package made public by the agency, the average annual basic salary for a Minister of State is ₦1,957,580. Adding the allowances sums up to roughly ₦11,647,601 annually.
 
“Again, the annual sum of ₦11,647,601 multiplied by 4 years in office sums up to ₦46, 590,404. This raises the question, where does a Minister get ₦100 million to obtain a Presidential nomination and interest form?
 
“It is crystal clear that the amount for the said form is way above the income of a Minister of State in Nigeria even if the Ministers have not been fending for their families from their salaries.
 
“It is on this note that I call on the EFCC and all other concerned government agencies in Nigeria to do the needful and investigate the Ministers and others who subsequently purchase the APC Presidential nomination and interest form for ₦100 million because it raises a clear suspicion as to the sources of their wealth especially considering the office being aspired to pays less salary cumulatively in a single tenure than the actual cost of declaration.
 
“Failure of the EFCC to investigate the source of their respective N100 million will set a dangerous precedent and only send a message to the world that the agency is weak and has compromised on its primary mandate.
 
“The agency must fine-comb through the candidacy and campaign of all of the presidential aspirants notably those in the APC who have not batted an eyelid in paying the ransom called the nomination fee of their party.
 
“Let's not concern ourselves with the fact that all of said ‘declarants' oversee ministries where in one instance, ASUU has been on strike with public tertiary education avoidably put on hold and students devilishly idle and stranded at home, another runs a ministry where terrorists have taken over train system with most victims still languishing unaided in terrorist dens spread across the woodlands of the ungoverned spaces in the north.
 
“The third, a vivacious and bumbling man of limited physical reach has run a ministry whose very function is criminally questionable for its lack of presence and feature in the employment woes of the country.
 
“But perhaps where competence cannot reach, the overarching persuasion of big bucks with questionable sources will. After all, Nigeria seems to simply grind on ungoverned whilst Political Gladiators squabble and grapple for a bucket load of their respective portion of our collective pound of flesh; leaving the country to bleed out and die.
 
“To protect our common sensibilities and safeguard the future from yielding again to a repeat of our past by presenting unscrutinized and suspicious persons to plough the field of elections thereby resorting to promoting violence and election hooliganism, we must bank on the EFCC, the ICPC and all other Government Agencies to swing into force and cause a vigorous investigation to be conducted thereby verifying the sources of these funds and in the process, sieve the wealth from the chaffs.”
 

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The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, Tuesday, alleged that cabals in the North are planning to destabilise Nigeria because they are determined to hold on to power.
 
The cleric alleged that cabals in the North are not ready to relinquish power in 2023, stressing that they would not allow anyone that isn’t on good terms with them to rule.
 
Primate Ayodele who issued the warnings concerning the 2023 general elections in a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, also berated political parties for not having the best interest of the country at heart.
 
He asserted that some of the politicians have declared their intention to become the next president of Nigeria, saying that most of them can’t govern a local government successfully.
 
 
He said: “All these political parties are not serious, they just want money, not the interest of the country, they don’t want 2023 to exist. They want to create trouble for 2023 because the Northerners are not ready to leave and anyone who is not in agreement will them will not be allowed to rule.
 
“The Northern cabals want to install anybody who will dance to their tune and these politicians are not mature enough to rule Nigeria. Why is everyone coming out? Those that can’t even rule local government successfully are coming out, they don’t pity this country, they want to inherit Nigeria forgetting they will die one day.”

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Ahead of the 2023 polls, the National Working Committee of the African Action Congress (AAC) has submitted its membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as required in the new Electoral Act 2022.
 
Femi Adeyeye, publicity secretary of the party disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
 
The new Electoral Act made it mandatory for political parties to submit their registered members to the commission 30 days before their primaries.
 
The statement read, “We wish to bring to the notice of party members and the general public that the National Working Committee of the African Action Congress (AAC) has concluded all steps to submit membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as required in the new Electoral Act 2022.
 
“In line with this exercise, we urge all members, prospectives and aspirants for the 2023 elections, who are yet to register on the party website to do so before 12 noon tomorrow, May 4, 2023. Failure to register could amount to some sort of disenfranchisement, even as it concerns party primaries. Please visit aacparty.org/volunteer to register NOW.”
 
INEC had recently directed all registered political parties in the country to submit copies of their membership register to the commission at least 30 days before their primaries.
 
It, however, warned that any political party that falsifies its figures or has multiple registrations on its register may have its candidate(s) disqualified.
 
The commission said whether the parties choose to adopt direct or indirect primaries, it would verify their delegates’ lists against the registers they submitted, adding that no infraction would be tolerated from the 18 registered political parties.
 
Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2022 mandates all political parties to maintain membership registers and submit the same to the commission not later than 30 days before their respective primaries.
 
Subsection 2 of the Act states, “Every registered political party shall maintain a register of its members in both hard and soft copies,” while the subsection 3 reads, “Each political party shall make such a register available to the commission not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the party primaries, congresses or convention.”

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A group of activists, civil society organisations and lawyers have sent a letter to Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, calling for the arrest and prosecution of the operator of a Ponzi scheme known as Chinmark group of company, Mr Marksman Chinedu.
The petitioners accused Chinedu of using the investment scheme to dupe thousands of Nigerians of their hard-earned money to the tune of over N20 billion, without any intention to restitute or pay the same back.

They urged the IGP, Usman Baba to mandate the different police formations, crack teams and investigators to speed up their investigations and bring Chinedu to justice.
One of the conveners of the group, Chief Patrick Eholor urged the IGP to as a “matter of necessity quickly arrest the Chinmark group CEO, in other to assure the duped investors that the Nigeria Police Force is still very much active and will do the needful to ensure Nigeria is crime-free”.
Another convener of the group, Samuel Ihensekhien Jnr, urged the Baba to in the interest of justice quickly arrest Marksman Chinedu “in other to send a signal that Nigeria is not a safe haven for Ponzi scheme operators and corporate fraudsters”.
Also, an NGO, One Love Foundation through its head of information team, Mr Markus Thomas, called for the investigation, arrest and prompt prosecution of Chinedu.
Thomas said only that will calm the nerves of innocent persons who have fallen victim to this Chinmark investment scheme.
The group further hope that by its call, the “pending petition and complaints against Mr Marksman Chinedu will be given all the attention deserving of the IGP’s attention in this regard”.

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File Photo

Homicide detectives at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command have arrested Terungwa Edward Achado, the husband of the late member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Stephanie Se-ember Terungwa Edward Achado in respect of her death.
 
The late Stephanie, who left behind a baby, was declared missing on April 14 in Abuja but was later found dead with her body dismembered.
  File Photo
Her body was found kitted in NYSC uniform, about two weeks after she disappeared in the Lokogoma area of the territory.
 
The incident triggered reactions from concerned Nigerians and fear amongst corps members serving in the nation’s capital.
 
According to DAILY POST, following the ongoing investigation to uncover the root cause of the corps member’s death, the husband, Terungwa Edward Achado and others are currently in police custody.
 
The husband and two others who last called the phone number of the victim were said to have been arrested on Saturday.
 
 
 
 

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Kayode Fayemi

The Governor of Ekiti State, Olukayode Fayemi, will on Wednesday, unveil his intention to run for the 2023 Presidency.
This was made known in a tweet by the state Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Akin Oyebode.

Kayode Fayemi
https://twitter.com/AO1379/status/1521405913634119684?t=72Hx7BMqzT2zugjjtEF9pw&s=19
In the one-minute video tweeted by Oyebode, Fayemi unveiled his Nigeria agenda ahead of the 2023 general election.
A voice-over in the video noted, “The Nigeria of our dream is possible; a Nigeria that is responsive to the yearnings of her citizens; a Nigeria that is the pride and joy of all; a Nigeria that will be great. There is a path to Nigeria's greatness. Together, let's work on Nigeria's unfinished greatness.”
Fayemi will on Wednesday, declare his intention for Presidency at the Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
The Ekiti Governor will join the pool of other Presidential hopefuls from the APC.
The former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the party, Bola Tinubu broke the ice in January and declared his intention to run for the presidency when he visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Villa, Abuja.
The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, followed suit, and in a similar fashion, visited Buhari to inform him of his intention to run for the coveted number one position in the country.
It did not take long for others like a former governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Kalu; ex-governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha; Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State; and Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, to declare their interest in the presidency on the platform of the APC.
Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo has also joined the race.

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Pro-Biafra group, the Biafra Nations League (BNL) has warned the Cross River State Police Command to release its members who have been wrongfully detained.
Recall that on Sunday, the police announced the arrest of 23 members of the Mass Movement for the Actualisation for Biafra (MASSOB).

According to the police, some of the suspected MASSOB members were arrested at a watch repairer’s workshop in the Ikom Local Government Area of the state while others were picked from their homes located within and around the town.
Reacting, the Biafra Nations League, BnL, said about 17 of the arrested men were its members and not MASSOB members as alleged.
The National Leader of BnL, Princewill Richards, said its members were not involved in any crime in the state, warning that the arrest of its Ejagham supporters may cause problems at the border town if not handled with care.
Wives of six of the arrested persons said they had not been allowed access to their husbands since last Thursday when the arrest took place.
According to Beatrice Ikechukwu Ani, she said her husband and the other men have been without food since their arrest.
“Here with me are the wives of Nnamdi Okafor, John Ibe, Ebere Chukwu, Celestine Ndibe, Emmanuel Nachi and we calling on the police to release our husbands immediately,” she said.
She said their husbands were at a watch repairing workshop when the police came and took them to the Ikom police station and from there to Calabar.
“When they were at Ikom they did not allow us to see or take food to them and from there they brought them to anti cultism unit not even State CID for detention.”
Beatrice said their husbands were not cultists or criminals; hence detaining them among cultists and criminals without food was unjust.
“The police took them to their houses to search and did not find anything incriminating but insisted on detaining them,”Ani added.

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Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu

Ondo State Governor and Chairman of South-West Governors’ Forum, Rotimi Akeredolu, on Tuesday stated that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) must take a position on zoning.

He asserted that the issue of zoning must not throw the party into another round of crisis.

Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu

Akeredolu who made this known in a statement said they cannot, therefore, afford any internal bickering which holds the potential promise of causing distrust and militating against cohesion, harmony and the zeal to achieve set objectives.

“Our party, the All Progressives Congress, has started the process which will eventually culminate in the presentation of elected political leaders, who must steer the affairs of the country for another term. We have been able to hold the party’s convention successfully.

"New officers of the party have emerged in a process that is widely acknowledged as rancour-free. The level of understanding and maturity displayed by all and sundry has been commendable. Known adversaries have been forced to accept the emerging fact that our party is formidable and ready for the next general elections.

“The current socio-economic crises are surmountable. It is commendable that the government is addressing these issues without drama. The Federal Government and leadership of our great party will come out stronger. We cannot, therefore, afford any internal bickering which holds the potential promise of causing distrust and militating against cohesion, harmony and the zeal to achieve set objectives.

“The current democratic dispensation is anchored on the unwritten convention driven by a principle of equity. Political expediency dictates, more appealingly, that while adhering to the spirit and letters of the laws guiding conduct of elections and succession to political offices, we must do nothing which is capable of tilting the delicate balance against the established arrangement which guarantees peace and promotes trust.

“Our party just elected officers on the established principle of giving every part of the country an important stake in the political calculus. The focus has now shifted to the process which will culminate in the participation of our party in the general elections scheduled for next year. All lovers of peace and freedom must do everything to eschew tendencies which may predispose them to taking decisions which promote distrust and lead to a crisis, the end of which nobody may be able to predict.

“The leadership of the party ensured that the principle of rotational representation guided its decision at the just-concluded convention. The party Chairmanship position has gone to the North. All other offices have been filled on this understanding. This is the time the leaders of the party must make a categorical statement, devoid of equivocation, on the pattern of succession.

“It is the turn of the Southern part of the country to produce the next President. The party leadership should have no difficulty in making pronouncement on this very important issue, just as it has fixed various fees for the purchase of forms. This must be done without delay.”

There have been different agitations in the ruling party over the 2023 Presidency.

Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State had said though the APC had not decided on zoning the presidential ticket, the swapping of national offices was an indication of where its presidential candidate would come from.

Meanwhile, after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja last week, Adamu told reporters that the party had not taken a stance on zoning.

“I am today privileged to be the chairman of the party. The party is greater than me. The party has not made a decision and I cannot preempt what the party decision will be,” he had said.

 

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Abba Kyari

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says that the ongoing investigation of a billionaire drug baron, Chief Afam Mallinson Ukatu, has led to the discovery of how he imported into Nigeria in a single month, October 2019, two containers containing 1,284 cartons of Tramadol with market value of over N22billion.

This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by NDLEA Media Director, Femi Babafemi, to counter insinuations by some hirelings that the agency had no evidence to pin a crime on Ukatu.

Abba Kyari

The agency had last week arrested the suspect at the MM2 terminal of the Lagos airport in Ikeja, Lagos State.

He was said to be behind the N3billion Tramadol deal involving suspended police chief, Abba Kyari.

The agency said the suspect had been a major importer of large consignments of different brands and high dosages of Tramadol Hydrochloride, ranging from 120mg, 200mg, 225mg and 250mg.

Ukatu owns pharmaceutical and plastic manufacturing companies, which he allegedly used as a cover to import illicit drugs into Nigeria.

The statement read, “After months of surveillance, Ukatu was eventually arrested on board a flight to Abuja at the MM2 terminal of the Lagos airport, Ikeja on Wednesday, 13th April.

“Investigations reveal he’s been a major importer of large consignments of different brands and high dosages of Tramadol Hydrochloride, ranging from 120mg, 200mg, 225mg and 250mg, all of which are illicit. Ukatu owns pharmaceutical and plastic manufacturing companies, which he used as a cover to import illicit drugs into Nigeria.

“In the course of investigating the N3billion Tramadol saga between Ukatu and the Abba Kyari’s IRT team, its operatives have unearthed more evidences establishing how Ukatu has been importing large quantities of Tramadol far above the approved threshold allowed into the country.

“In one instance, Ukatu through his Mallinson Group of companies imported into the country two-container loads of five different brands of Tramadol in October 2019 through the Apapa ports in Lagos. All the evidences so far gathered show that the imported Tramadol brands were far above the threshold permitted to be imported into Nigeria.”

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A legal practitioner and Member of the Body of Benchers in Lagos, Chief 'Kunle Uthman, has berated the Lagos State Government over frequency of building collapse in the state.

This comes after a three-storey building collapsed on Sunday night at 32, Ibadan Street, Ebute Metta, Lagos.

The lawyer wondered why the government refused to enforce the National Building Code, domesticated in the state and sanction erring officials,

According to him, the Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration has abandoned its primary responsibilities and now focused on re-election and presidential campaign of his godfather.

Uthman said, “We are being entertained on live television by Lagos State Government officials who, once again are reeling out reasons why the three storey building collapsed at Ebute-Metta in Lagos State, surreptitiously absolving themselves and the government of Lagos State of complicity or culpability. Sad.

“The government officials interviewed with respect are nothing but bureaucratic entertainers, who ought to "Bury their heads in the sand", like the Ostrich and keep quiet, while awaiting letters of dismissal and criminal prosecutions. Unfortunately, the incumbent Governor of Lagos State does not have the willingness or capacity to exercise either of these two options. As it were, the Ebute-Metta Collapsed Building was the Eid Ul-Fitr gift to Lagosians, after completing the mandatory Ramadan fast and to non-Muslims as late Easter present.

“The officials interviewed on Live television had the audacity to justify the unjustifiable, stating that the occupants were warned to leave that building, failing to explain why a State Government was unable to enforce the Quit Notices that has now resulted in deaths,  maiming, hospitalisation of innocent citizens and children.

“The myriad of questions will include, but not limited to the following: Doesn't the government of Lagos State have the capacity for enforcement of its Town Planning Laws and Regulations? Was it necessary to allow carnage, death, maiming and all elements of disaster due to the shenanigans of bureaucrats who ought to know better?

“What are the legitimate reasons for the Lagos State Government to enforce the National Building Code, domesticated in Lagos State? In respect of this matter of building collapses, the government of Lagos State is crippled, maimed and cerebrally inept and constituted by incompetent persons, who all ought to be relieved of their services and sent for retraining as farmers to produce rice for the nation. Most, if not all are ill-suited and ill-fitted to perform their present assignments, but we will soon be entertained by visitations and condolence visits by array of government officials at the highest level.

“It is also politically risky to cast votes in the forthcoming elections without taking pragmatic decisions as regards competence and willpower to govern, especially in Lagos State - the commercial capital and nerve centre of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Necessarily, the electorate through the ballot should seek a change of baton, at the polls, at the forthcoming Gubernatorial Elections. We cannot afford to attract these volumes of adverse publicity within the comity of nations.

“It is time for as many as possible to obtain their PVC, votes at the forthcoming elections and ensure that the votes count. Here lies the democratic power of the people. We should not cede the future of our children to a brigandage of political jobbers, whose motivation is materialism and acquisition of ill-gotten wealth. This defeats the essence and purpose of government as postulated by Aristotle, Harold Lasky, Jeremy Bentham, the sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Owelle of Onitsha, Rt. Hon. Nnamdi Azikiwe (who attended my alma mater, the Methodist Boys High School, Lagos) and all other great and reverred political thinks through the century.

“We are viewing on Live TV war in Ukraine. We fought the Biafra war and its vestiges still enshrined in our regional politics and resonating in the political space. The Federal government of Nigeria should necessarily pay attention to the going-ons in Lagos. All is not well. We have a National Building Code, domesticated in Lagos State. The neglect, failure, refusal of the present government of Lagos State to enforce and sanction erring officials is a glaring testimony of the incompetence of its executive, at the helm of which is His Excellency, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

“For the record, we have never had it so bad in this City of Excellence. We must take our destinies in our hands and ensure that we do not cede our lives to officials whose defined purposes is to reel out excuses for gross incompetences, inefficiencies and incapabilities to justify incomes earned from taxpayers. Until the incumbent Governor of Lagos State sanctions these incompetent bureaucrats, it will continue to be a game "of musical chairs." Not until we have transparency and accountability in government can we navigate towards a Better Rewarding Future.

“Simple Request: Please avail the public of the Agreement signed between the Lagos State Government and Lekki Concession Company (LCC) - No response, so far. The Commissioner for Information and Strategy gave assurances, but we are yet to see this "Secret" Document, which the Freedom of Information Act makes it mandatory for us to see, decipher and critique.

“How do you ignore the citizenry that voted you into power, who pay your lawful salaries? Awfully, we are entertained by a government in power demanding N100,000,000, N50,000,000, N20,000,000 to collect Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for party primaries, and many are queuing to collect.

“Here lies the bane of a Nation State and the institutionalisation of corruption in our DNA. All but one (only) that collect these forms will win the party primaries for the Presidential Elections. It is unfathomable, unbelievable and mentally befuddling to rationalise within the context of cerebral intellectualism how we found ourselves in this "shit-hole" (David Cameron). Apparently, our political class, as presently constituted, has failed us.”

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Yemi Osinbajo

Pastor Timothy Olaniyan, the Head of Politics and Governance of the Redeemed Christian Church, RCCG, has reacted to criticisms from different quarters over a comment he made regarding the candidacy of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo for the 2023 general elections.

Olaniyan, at the weekend, had said that Osinbajo remained the only child of God and a pastor that could change the narrative of governance in Nigeria.

Yemi Osinbajo

Olaniyan was quoted to have said: “Money politics in this country has led us to where we are now.

“People will promise heaven and earth, and at the end of the day, you see them giving N1000, N2000 to eligible voters. After the election, you won’t see any of their promises being fulfilled, and the people they gave money will not have access to these notable politicians.

“It is high time our eyes were opened. What we want is not those baits, we want somebody that would make a promise to our children and fulfill it. If you tell me education is going to be free, I want you to get there and make it free so that we would not continue to build up youths who have no future.

“As of today, Pastor Yemi Osinbajo is not just a pastor; he is still a child of God. There are many pastors who can decide to do rituals with a human skull and still claim to be a pastor. I am talking of a child of God.”

However, clarifying the statement which he made at the event organised by New Era Nigeria, Olaniyan said he did not speak for the church but for himself.

 

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Farmers under the Smallholder Economic Interest Farmers Agricultural Cooperative (SEIFAC) have lamented the silence of the company with regards to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Farmers Anchor Borrowers Scheme.

The affected farmers told SaharaReporters that they were yet to receive the loans despite registering for the programme two years ago.

According to them, in 2021, they were asked to deposit money into Heritage Bank accounts open for the purpose of loan disbursement.

“What we received were branded ATM Cards, but that's just for some of us, some are yet to receive theirs.

“Another year's rainy season is here again but as of today, nothing is heard from SEIFAC after the disagreement between SEIFAC farmers who refused to release the ATM cards details to SEIFAC.

“The farmers' refusal was because they heard a piece of information alleging that some percentage of the proposed N3,000,000.00 will be automatically debited in favour of SEIFAC.

“The SEIFAC WhatsApp group that was the source of information from State headquarters of SEIFAC has remained locked by the admin and only admin can post update. For over four months now, there has been no update on the way forward.”

They further stated that they had learned that the CBN had previously released the Anchor borrowers’ loan to the farmers and are apprehensive as to why there was no official update from the SEIFAC website nor the WhatsApp group created in this regard.

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File photo used to illustrate story.

Terrorists, locally described as bandits, have sacked no fewer than 10,000 people in the last three years in about 42 communities of Kebbi State.

According to PRNigeria, the displaced persons are victims of “gruesome” attacks launched by bandits, at communities within the Chonoko axis in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of the state.

File photo used to illustrate story.

The terrorists killed over 200 villagers, and sacked 42 communities, in the assaults they started perpetrating in 2019.

The communities are; Dan Kade, Warkata, Kurgiye, Ragam I, II & III, ‘Yar Kuka, Shangel, Tungan Dangula, Kahalmo I & II, Kadebo, Ched-Kubu, Yababa, Gimi, Ganyale I, II & III, Silabi and Digoga.

The long list also include; Bankunatare, Bawada, Zagami, Turame, Gyado, Tungan Kwando, Ktare, Sebzama I, II & III, Dhilo and Duru.

Others are; Tudun Wada, Digwengwe, Gaya, Saaki, ‘Yar Buga, Dilanko, Zuttu and Irgaa.

During a visit by PRNigeria to the communities, it was learnt that the terrorists had since been occupying the deserted houses of their victims, with impunity.

While narrating his ordeal, a 70-year-old Mai Unguwa Maizuwa who was sacked from Zagami village stated that the bandits had been carrying out a series of attacks on their community for three years in a row, since 2019.

The bandits, he said, over time rustled all their cattle in the community and equally plundered their belongings, killed many people and recently sacked the entire village.

Apart from that, Maizuwa said that other items including many bags of cement and some monies he saved for business, about to N997,000 naira, were lost during the invasion.

Maizuwa, who has 20 children, is currently living in agony in an overcrowded IDP camp in Chonoko town.

Another victim who lost his son to one of the incidents at Kadebo village, Musa Sarkin Makada, explained how life has been difficult for them since their community was ransacked.

It was learnt that since the attacks were carried out, his community was deserted and turned into a ghost town as women, children, the elderly and even the disabled who could not run were evacuated to Chonoko town for safety.

Meanwhile, in their responses to this report, NEMA and Refugees Commission promised to address the plights of the IDPs as soon as possible while a spokesperson of ICRC said that due to their active humanitarian engagements in North-East and North-Central, they are yet to focus on the North-West.

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Operatives of the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector-General of Police on Monday tortured a policeman identified only as Inspector Balogun to death.

SaharaReporters gathered that the deceased was attached to Igbotako Divisional Headquarters in Ondo State.

The IGP squad members were said to have accused him and other policemen from the division of hitting a stick on their vehicle during a stop-and-search along the Benin/Ore Expressway.

Sources said they also bragged that nothing would happen to them for torturing Balogun to death.

“The deceased led a team of patrol to the road on a stop-and-search duty. But the IGP monitoring squad met them there. They didn't catch them with any exhibit or extortion or corruption. They asked who was the team leader; the deceased signified and they accused him and others of hitting a stick on their vehicle.

“Immediately they started beating the late Inspector, he was beaten to coma. They locked him inside the boot of their vehicle and drove away to Edo State; on getting to Edo State, they wanted to detain him in one police station, that was when they noticed he has died,” a policeman told SaharaReporters.

When contacted, spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami, told SaharaReporters she was not aware of the incident.

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