₦airaland Forum

Pdalds:
Honestly this country needs God

The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ado Doguwa (APC, Kano), has called for firearms permits for Nigerians willing to defend themselves in the face of the failure of security agencies to protect lives and properties.

Mr Doguwa made the call on Thursday during a debate on a motion of urgent importance moved by Shehu Balarabe (PDP, Kaduna) on killings in Kaduna State.

Terrorists have killed scores in Kaduna, and other northern states in addition to killings by armed groups in other parts of Nigeria in recent years.

On Monday, an Abuja-Kaduna train was attacked by terrorists resulting in the deaths of at least eight persons.

The incident occurred a few days after the security at Kaduna airport was breached.

“If the agencies of security have failed, then Nigerians should not be seen as failures,” Mr Doguwa said, noting that the option would be for Nigerians to be allowed to defend themselves.

Speaking further, the House Leader said if the issue of insecurity could be addressed democratically, “Nigerians should be allowed to return to the jungle”.

Mr Doguwa, who usually defends the executive on the floor of the House, said Nigerians could no longer run away from fight but must be given what it takes to defend themselves.

“With all sense of responsibility, I think Nigerians should at this moment be allowed to also take arms. Nigerians must be allowed to take up arms in defence of their innocent souls, defend their hard-earned properties because it is like a monumental failure.

“If the agencies of security have failed, then Nigerians should not be seen as failures. Let Nigerians organise themselves in the way of civil defence. Let Nigeria organise defence for their innocent souls because if the responsibility of the government cannot be carried out democratically, then we return to the jungle,” he said.

Govt that cannot protect lives should not last – APC lawmaker

Another principal officer of the House, Mohammed Monguno (APC, Borno), the Chief Whip, said any government that cannot protect lives and properties should not last longer than necessary.

“Any government that fails or neglects to secure the lives and properties of the citizens, that government is not supposed to last longer than absolutely necessary. Because that is the primacy of governance,” he said.

Terrorism as cash cow for military

Ahmadu Jaha (APC, Borno), who represents Damboa/Gwazo/Chibok federal constituency, an area ravaged by terrorists, accused the military of intentionally prolonging the fight against insurgents and bandits due to financial reasons.

Mr Jaha argued that as long as the country continues to pump money into defence, the military will continue to see the fight against terrorists as “cash cow.”

“In 2021 we budgeted N460 billion for the Nigerian Army alone, only N29 billion was for capital expenditure, the remaining was for recurrent expenditure. In 2022, we budgeted N571 billion for the Nigerian Army alone, only N37 billion is capital expenditure, the remaining were recurrent expenditures.

“Mr Speaker, the truth of the matter is security in Nigeria has become a cash cow business. I am not willing to go without taking my own and he is not willing to go with taking his own and the other person is not willing to leave until he gets his own.

“It just like a medical doctor putting professionalism aside. You presented a patient, as a patient’s relative you say okay every month I’ll give you N100 million until when the patient recovers or otherwise. The doctor will make sure that the patient does not die and will continue to maintain that he does not recover because he will keep collecting the money. It is a simple analysis every person can understand.

“Mr Speaker, it is a cash cow business, they don’t want it (insecurity) to finish. Because they will realize that everybody’s attention was diverted towards the North-east. Okay, let them release North-east to some extent and go to North-west after North-west they move to South-west. Before you realize what is happening, the whole country is gutted with security challenges.”

Mr Jaha also accused a lawmaker of writing a commendation letter to one of the service chiefs, that he is doing good. Although Mr Jaha did not disclose the name of the lawmaker, he, however, said “he will deal with the lawmaker and scandalise the lawmaker”.

At this point, the Presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), cautioned Mr Jaha for using strong words on the floor of the House. Consequently, Mr Jaha withdrew the statement.

Also contributing to the motion, Dahung Bagos (PDP, Plateau), asked for the suspension of allocation of money to the defence sector which he said gets the allocations “without anything to show for it.”

Incompetent security committee chairman

While the debate was going on, the deputy speaker called out the Chairman House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Shaaban Sharada (APC, Kano), accusing him of failing to do his job.

Mr Wase said the Committee on National Security and Intelligence is yet to submit a single report to the House, despite several referrals to the committee.

“I don’t know one report that has been turned in by the Committee on National Security and Intelligence, I don’t know,” he said.

Corroborating the alleged inefficiency of Mr Sharada, the Chief Whip of the House, said his bill was the first to be considered by the 9th House, yet Mr Sharada failed to deliver the report until the committee was discharged of that responsibility.

“With regard to the committee, I can also recall that the first bill that was passed for second reading is my bill, which is the bill on small arms and light weapons. That bill was referred to the national security committee, but up till now, there is no report up to the extent that had to go and appeal to Mr Speaker, which he had to set up an ad hoc committee. That is the extent the committee has not performed,” he said.

Mr Sharada is a first-time lawmaker without any prior experience in intelligence or security, but served as media aide to Mr Buhari. He was elected into the House in 2019.

Following the debate, the House resolved that the Inspector General of Police, Usman Akali, deploys personnel to the region.

In addition, the government was directed to establish IDP camps in Kaduna State.

After the motion was put to vote, Mr Wase said the House should suspend all items on the order paper and adjourn plenary.

Fahdiga:
So you believed those clowns?

Fahdiga:
Bro can you imagine. Remember Buhari once blamed God for his failures. That man is a scoundrel

The government says the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine have affected its plans.

The Nigerian government has said it will no longer be able to revitalise the Ajaokuta Steel Company in 2022 as it earlier pledged, citing the impact of COVID-19 and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, said the project will also likely not be completed by the Buhari administration before it leaves office in 2023.

The minister told journalists on Thursday during a weekly ministerial briefing in Abuja that before the pandemic, the government had successfully convinced Russia, the original builders of the steel complex, to evaluate its status and consider completing the steel facility, but could not proceed with the negotiations due to force-majeure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Adegbite said the deal with Russia involved a $2 million fee for technical audit to ascertain the state of the facility before work could begin, and that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the payment.

“We made frantic efforts to continue the negotiations with Russia after the lockdown, but progress was stalled again due to the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” the minister added.

Mr Adegbite had said in December 2021 that the technical assessment would be conducted early in 2022. The audit was to check any equipment or processes that could have become obsolete during the more than 40 years the facility has been in existence, he told SPGlobal.

The multibillion-dollar Ajaokuta mill was built by the Soviets between 1979 and the mid-1990s, but has never produced steel as the project was never completed. It was also mismanaged.

A concession of the facility India’s Global Steel Holdings was terminated, and the government said it plans to bring in new investors to take a percentage of the mill’s equity.

Mr Adegbite said the government would initiate “irreversible processes” to ensure the resumption and eventual completion of the steel facility, possibly, beyond the Buhari administration.

Gold Mining

Similarly, when asked about gold mining activities in Zamfara State, the minister said the government halted mining activities in the area because the conflict in Zamfara has gone beyond mining.

“We try to nip them in the bud wherever they rear their heads. With the community reporting to us, we have a quick intervention force. We can’t be proactive, it is too expensive to maintain. But we have a quick intervention force,” he said.

“If we hear any mining happening in any nook and cranny, we move in there and dislodge them. Those that are arrested, we confiscate their equipment and they are prosecuted.”

Barite production

Meanwhile, the minister also revealed that the country has attained self-sufficiency in Barite production and would no longer need imports from October 2022.

He explained that Barite is a mineral that is used in the oil and gas industry, and that Nigeria imports about $300 million worth of barite every year from Morocco.

“So when we came into office in 2019, we set up a body and said we must have made in Nigeria barite, to save us that kind of money and also possibly to export barite,” the official said.

In October last year, he said, made in Nigeria Barite was launched and that it is only produced in Nigeria up to industrial standard which meets international standards and is measured by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Since it meets all international standards, the minister said nobody had to import barite into Nigeria from October last year and that the system is still in place.

He said there will be one transparent platform, where you put in your request from the miners to the processors and people who will bag it, and that everything is done online.

“We are now sufficient in barite production and we can now export to places like Ghana and South Africa, where they don’t have barite and they also do exploration. At least we are closer to them than Morocco,” he added.

Barite is one of the seven strategic minerals set to unlock the potentials of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.

It is a key material used in the oil and gas industry as a weighting agent to increase the density of drilling fluids, principally for oil and gas exploration in order to minimise the incidence of blowouts.

The mineral, which can be found in Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Benue, Adamawa, Cross River, Gombe, Ebonyi, and Zamfara States is estimated to have a proven reserve of 15 million metric tonnes.

Beebah2000:
hahahaha

Jeon:
okay

Jeon:


person wey dey smoke not more than 1 per day..
or person wey no dy smoke follow body everyday..

is same as social smokers too.

Jeon:
not smoking every day or as smoking an average of less than one cigarette a day.

Beebah2000:
Smoker joor!!!

Jeon:
smoker
occasionally though.

helinues:
But the truth is, hardly a guy won't also do one of it , casual or normal...

crimefighter123:
Don't forget you voted him in. APC change.

Sheikh Gumi Is Buhari's Son With Whom He Is Well Pleased So, This Is An Impossible Happening Fence.

E No Fit Happen At All At All.

The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, has asked Nigerians to contribute to the cost of treating those affected in Monday’s train attack.

At least nine people were killed while many sustained injuries when bandits attacked a train heading for Kaduna from Abuja.

Amaechi, who had visited the scene of the attack on Tuesday, said it would have been foiled if the procurement of the N3 billion high capacity rail track cameras and sensors was not blocked.

He said the equipment would eliminate all blind spots on the train corridors across the country.

Speaking when he visited the victims who are being treated at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna on Wednesday, Amaechi said the army treated them without charging a dime.

However, he said some of the patients need drugs that are not manufactured in the country, asking Nigerians to assist in raising the money.

”The CMD and I have been talking, the army has not charged one kobo on any patient, and they have given the maximum medical treatment that they can give to any patients.”

”You saw the patients with burns and then the one that has bullet located in her heart. They are bringing an expert tomorrow for that one to see if there will be surgery or not to take out the bullet.

”They said they have only seven (patients) left and the rest have been discharged. The ministry, and I think the federal government, are grateful to the Nigerian Army for providing such services. But one thing I have said to the Nigerian people is to liaise with the hospital management and see how much money they can contribute for the treatment of the patients.

”Obviously those drugs are not manufactured here, the experts they are bringing from outside doesn’t work with the army, so they definitely have to pay them. We will try as much as possible to see what contributions we can make to the management of the hospital to assist in taking care of the patients.” (NAN)

The suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abba Kyari and four other officers facing trials over alleged Cocaine deal have landed in Kuje prison custody.

Prison authorities said there would be no special treatment for anyone of them, The Nation learnt yesterday.

The authorities, however, assured that they are safe.

Justice Emeka Nwike of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday ruled that Kyari and others standing trials before him be taken to Kuje custodial centre, asserting that the National Drug Laws Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had placed sufficient materials before the court to warrant refusal of bail to Kyari and co-defendants.

Kyari and six others who are facing drug trafficking charges have been kept in NDLEA facilities since their arrest.

Other former members of the Police IRT unit denied bail by the court are ACP Sunday Ubia, Inspector Simon Agirgba, Inspector John Nuhu and James Bawa.

The Kuje prison authorities said Kyari and others are safe in their facilities and dismissed insinuations that they could be harmed in anyway.

The authorities said Kyari and the other Police officers would be kept in awaiting trials cells, assuring that the facilities would remain under the close watch of different security agencies assigned to protect them.

The Public Relations Officer of the Federal Capital Territory Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Mr Humphrey confirmed that Kyari and others facing trials in the drug deal have been admitted to the Kuje facility.

Humphrey said the authorities do not treat anyone specially but noted that 15 awaiting trials persons, including Abba Kyari and his men were admitted from various courts on that day.

The PRO said “The case is a normal procedure for us. He is being kept where awaiting trials persons are and his co- Defendants as well. We are surprised that someone said he is not safe. How can someone said the facility is not safe…is it in his house that the inmates would be safe?

“The facility is a safe facility, we have all the security apparatus here, the army is there, the police, the DSS and our men. So if anyone is saying the facility is not safe…is it from internal incursion of external incursion. We are here as professionals and we will do our jobs to the best of our ability.”

Insecurity has been a major concern in Nigeria for over a decade now. Starting from the dreaded Boko Haram group and Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) unleashing terror in the North East to banditry and kidnapping in the North West and violent attacks by Indigenous People of Biafra in the South, Nigeria has been a roller coaster of security threats.

The activities of this groups have not only claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands of locals, but have also left many children orphaned and hundreds kidnapped.

While attacks on road have become commonplace, the recent terrors unleashed on rail and air transport systems – considered as safer transportation means – have raised more concerns over the security situation of the country.

The most recent of such nefarious activities was the Monday bombing of the Abuja-Kaduna train, where nine persons were reportedly killed and several others injured or kidnapped.

The incident was among the 10 major attacks on rail transportation across the world, according to internet sources.

Moscow metro bombing

On March 29 2010, the Moscow suicide bombings were carried out by two Islamic female terrorists at two stations of the Moscow Metro (Lubyanka and Park Kultury), with roughly 40 minutes in between.

The first explosion by a woman occurred on the Red Arrow – 75 years train at the Lubyanka station at approximately 7:56 am local time (03:56 UTC). The train started from Yugo-Zapadnaya, and stopped at Lubyanka station. Once the train doors opened, explosives worn by a woman standing at the second carriage’s second exit detonated. The explosive had a force of up to 1.5 kg of trinitrotoluene (TNT).

A second explosion at the Park Kultury station followed at approximately 8:38 am, caused by another female, who at the time of the first explosion was riding another train from Yugo-Zapadnaya towards Ulitsa Podbelskogo station in the same direction as the first train.

At least 40 people were killed, and over 100 injured from both incidents.

Gyaneshwari Express derailment

On 28 May 2010, a Jnaneshwari Express train derailed at about 1am in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal, India (between the Sardiha and Khemasuli railway stations near Jhargram).

It was disputed as to whether sabotage or a bomb caused damage on the railway track, which in turn led to the derailment, before an oncoming goods train hit the loose carriages and resulted in the deaths of at least 148 passengers with over 200 injured.

Minsk Metro bombing

On April 11 2011, the Minsk Metro bombing took place at the central Kastryčnickaja station at 17:55 local time.

The cause of the explosion was initially unclear but was later discovered to have been a bomb. The prosecution office launched a criminal investigation and classified the event as a terrorist attack. Two suspects were arrested on April 13 and confessed to the bombing but the motives remained unclear.

The incident led to the death of 15 people while 204 sustained various injuries.

Chennai train bombing

In the early hours of May 1 2014, the Chennai train bombing occurred at the Chennai central railway station, India.

The Bangalore – Guwahati Kaziranga Superfast Express which came from Bangalore and was going towards Guwahati – was standing on platform 09 of Chennai Central railway station when two blasts occurred in two coaches, S4 and S5.

The bombing killed one female passenger and injured at least 14 others.

Istanbul metro bombing

On 1 December 2015, a bombing caused by a pipe bomb occurred at around 17:15 near Bayrampaşa—Maltepe station in Bayrampaşa, Istanbul on the Istanbul Metro, Turkey. The explosion led to five non-fatal injuries.

Brussels bombings

On March 22 2016, three coordinated terrorist attacks took place in Brussels and Belgium tagged the ‘Brussels bombings.’

Two of the coordinated suicide bombings occurred at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, and one at Maalbeek metro station on the Brussels metro.

Thirty-two civilians and three perpetrators were killed, and more than 300 people were injured.
Another bomb was found during a search of the airport. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Würzburg train attack

On 18 July 2016, Riaz Khan Ahmadzai, a 17-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, stabbed and injured five people on and outside a train near Würzburg, Germany.

The perpetrator was located by the police about 500 m (1,600 ft) from the train. The attacker tried to flee and was shot dead by the SEK police tactical unit after they confronted him and he tried to attack them with the hatchet.

Five people were wounded in the attack. Four were members from the same family: a woman, her boyfriend and her parents, and were all tourists from Hong Kong. A fifth victim, attacked outside the train, was a local German woman while 14 witnesses were treated for shock.

Saint Petersburg Metro bombing

On 3 April 2017, a terrorist attack using an explosive device took place on the Saint Petersburg Metro between Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologichesky Institut stations. Seven people (including the perpetrator) were initially reported to have died, and eight more died later from their injuries, bringing the total to 15.

Parsons Green train bombing

On 15 September 2017, at around 08:20 BST, an explosion occurred on a District line train at Parsons Green Underground station, in London, England.

Thirty people sustained injuries and were were treated in hospital mostly for burn injuries, by a botched, crude “bucket bomb” with a timer containing the explosive chemical TATP.

Police arrested the main suspect, 18-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker Ahmed Hassan, in a departure area of the Port of Dover the next day, and subsequently raided several addresses, including the foster home of an elderly couple in Sunbury-on-Thames where Hassan lived.

Abuja-Kaduna train bombing

On Monday March 28, 2022, a passenger train left Abuja, the Nigeria’s capital, at about 6pm on before it was attacked between Katari and Rijana communities in Kaduna State around 7.45pm.

The Kaduna-bound train was forced to a halt by terrorists who planted bombs on the tracks.

Witnesses said the attackers later surrounded most of the coaches and opened fire before they forcefully gained access and fired at random, leading to many deaths.

Nine people have been reported dead so far with dozens still missing.

This unfortunate incident has thrown the country into mourning as the rail transport system which was considered the ‘safest’ due has now turned to a nightmare.

simpleseyi:
He should go and get the gays and lesbians logo since he is a known bisexual

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the award of contracts worth N1,069,675,000 to purchase eye-scanning lie detector and digital night vision goggles devices for operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, announced the approvals Wednesday after the federal cabinet meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

He said the federal government had considered the deployment of technological equipment to assist NDLEA saddled with the responsibility of exterminating illicit drugs trafficking, sales and consumption.

Malami said the two memos presented by his ministry on behalf of the agency for the contracts were approved as NDLEA had performed “wonderfully well” in dealing with the scourge associated with drugs.

He said: “This morning, two memos were taken. One, it was a memo seeking the approval of the council for the award of a contract for the supply of eye-scanning lie detectors.

“Our technology has improved to the extent that we have in place technological equipment that have the capacity to detect whether you are indeed speaking the truth or indeed you are lying in the course of investigations.

“So, for the purpose of enhancing the capacity of the NDLEA in exterminating illicit drugs trafficking, sales and consumption, the federal government has considered the need and possibility of providing this equipment to NDLEA.

“So, the memo in that respect was presented, it was taken and the contract was approved for MESSR Zettabytes Technologies Limited to procure for the agency these lie detector equipment.

“Eventually, on that account, the Federal Council approved the award of contract for the supply of eye-scanning lie detector in favour of Messrs Zettabytes Technologies Limited in the sum of N498,850,000 only, inclusive of 7.5% VAT with a completion period of 90 days.

“And the second memo is a memo by which the NDLEA through the Office of the Attorney General seeks approval of the council for the award of contract for the supply of digital night vision goggles to the NDLEA.

“This is equally an additional technological device that is intended to support the night operations of NDLEA in view of its capacity to support visibility for the NDLEA.

“So, the contract too was presented for consideration of the council and the council had graciously approved the award of the contract with the supply of digital night vision goggles in favour of Messrs R-SET Integrated solution limited in the sum of N570,825,000 only, inclusive of 7.5% Value Added Tax with a completion period of weeks.”

ABUJA – The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi on Tuesday lamented the delayed approval for the procurement of technology worth N3 billion that can detect human activities or foreign activities on all the railway tracks across the country.

Amaechi, spoke during the on the ground assessment of the attack on train Monday night, stating that about 8 persons feared dead on the Abuja-Kaduna train bomb blast on Monday night, adding they are yet to account for the number of people that were kidnapped on the train.


He disclosed that 398 passengers were on the train and the Nigerian Railway Cooperation is still trying to make contact with the passengers on the manifest even though there are staffs of the NRC and security officials that are not on the manifest.


Amaechi said if they had gotten the approval, they would have saved the N3billion and saved lives of Nigerians plying the trains.


According to him, they can secure the locomotives and secure lives. “ I had warned earlier that it is important they get us this approval because human lives would be involved. Since that warning till today, we have had two similar incidents”.

“The cameras in the train cannot pick what is happening outside. What we need is a camera that shows 100 metres away from the train.

“Then, we can take precaution but we have done all we need to do in the Ministry of Transportation and we have forwarded to them for approval but we have not gotten approval.


“If those items were here, drones alone will tell you that there are people around the rail tracks because there are drones, there are equipment that pick sensors if you touch the track but unfortunately the process has not been able to get us that approval for us to import those items.

On the figures persons missing during the incident, the minister said they don’t have all the figures of missing persons, kidnapped and those injured .

He said the numbers they have is that there are eight casualties. “There are 25 persons in the hospital and the total number of passengers are 398.

“So, we have to wait on the security and the Kaduna state government and the Nigerian Railway Cooperation (NRC) are all trying to make contact with those on the manifest.”

“There are few persons who are not on the manifest like the staff of the NRC, staff of the cleaning contractor, they are not on the manifest and we may not be able to completely account for them but those on the manifest, calls are being made to reach them.”

He said the patrol vehicles are available but they cannot reach everywhere adding that they are thinking about the possibility of employing natives until we get those equipment. “ Beyond the drones, we need helicopters.

“The solution is not in running away from the militants or the bandits. The solution is providing the technology that lets you know that they are around.

“Even if they get us approval, it will take some months to acquire them from overseas to install them. We need to do that to enable us see from Kaduna-Abuja, Itakpe-Warri and from Lagos-Ibadan railways, so that we don’t continue to lose lives because lives are important,” he said .

About six months ago when terrorists attacked Abuja-Kaduna train deploying explosives on the track and forced the train to stop at Rijana community, Kaduna state, the federal government gave assurances that such incident would not occur again as it was putting in place security devices to ensure the train transport system is safe for passengers

It is however unfortunate that 6-month after, the security apparatus promised by the government is still in procurement process as the Independent learnt that the security equipment approved by the Federal Executive Council was to arrive in July.

Meanwhile in reaction to the unfortunate incident Roland Ataguba of Bethlehem Rail Infrastructure Ltd, London advised that government can put in place technology driven systems like intrusion alarms, broken rail detectors, motion activated cameras and so on that can help but to my mind, nothing surpasses human intelligence.

He added that it is not not strictly a problem for the railway but an environmental one as some criminals have declared war on our country and we are creeping into anarchy.

Ataguba said “I don’t know what government knows or is doing but it’s been 6 months since the last attack along that corridor and it should have been treated as an emergency. Lives are being lost. Nigeria is bleeding but government must hasten and restructure the railway environment. Some of this may have been prevented.

He advised that a private operator would have been far more responsive knowing the consequences such disruption could have on his business.

The CEO African Railway Consulting Limited Olawale Rasheed noted that Kaduna state has been volatile for quite some time saying in as much its not easy to put in place patrol men to police the track tracking devices can be put in place.

He said am aware FEC has approved the purchase of the tracking device across the line and when I checked I learnt the ministry is expecting delivery and security installation around July and the installation completed around August-September, it is a security threat and the authority are already doing the needful”

Nvestor02:
If we were to be honest, we should know that PDP is the foundation of Nigeria problem.... No wonder Nigerians knock them out in 2015.