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Police authorities, on Thursday, in Abuja paraded no fewer than 20 suspects arrested for offences including conspiracy, attempted murder, murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and possession of illicit drugs among others.

One of the suspects is 32-year-old Yusuf Isah who was arrested in connection with the October 2022 attack on the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleman.

The suspect, in an interview with journalists, admitted that the attack on the cleric was meant to assassinate him.

Gunmen attacked the convoy of the cleric along the Benin-Auchi Road in Edo State and killed six persons, including three policemen.

Addressing journalists while parading the suspect and others in Abuja, the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said operatives of the Intelligence Rapid Team arrested Isah following an intensive investigation.

Isah told journalists that he and his gang members trailed the pastor to the point where he was attacked with five AK 47 riffles.

He said, “The attack on him (Suleman) was to assassinate him. I was not part of the discussion; Ilayasu and Labisca were the ones involved in the discussion.

“We attacked him with five AK 47 rifles. Labisca trailed him from where he was coming from to the point where we attacked him.”

The police spokesman confirmed that five AK 47 riffles, two K2 rifles and 180 live ammunition were recovered from the suspect.

“Following an intensive investigation into the fatal attack on the convoy of Apostle Johnson Suleman along Benin-Auchi Road wherein six people, including three police personnel, were gruesomely murdered, operatives of FIB-IRT on the trail of the assailants apprehended one Yusuf Isah, a native of Okene, Kogi State and a plumber, at Agbaraoluwa Phase 2 Ijoka, Akure, Ondo State and recovered five AK 47 rifles, two K2 assault rifles, 180 live ammunition and four suspected IEDs found in his apartment,” Adejobi said.

The FPRO said some of the rifles found with the suspect were snatched from the three policemen killed during the attack.

He said the suspect confessed that the gang abducted an oil magnate and a businessman for whom N70m and N2m were respectively paid for their freedom.

Adejobi added, “The suspect confessed that he joined the vicious gang in 2021 after he was freed from Olokuta Correctional Centre where he was on remand since 2019 for alleged involvement in armed robbery.

“The group specialises in kidnapping for ransom and has carried out about four kidnapping operations between 2021 and 2023, including the attack on the convoy of the cleric before the gang was eventually busted by the police.

“The suspect confessed that the gang was responsible for the kidnap of a popular oil dealer at Jetu, Auchi in 2022, where they obtained a ransom of about N70m before his release. The gang equally carried out the kidnapping of a businessman along the Benin-Agbor Expressway in 2022 and collected N20m as ransom from the victim’s family.”

He, however, said two members of the seven-man gang were gunned down in separate encounters with the police, adding that efforts are ongoing to apprehend other suspects who are still at large.

Nigeria may record 700,000 Unwanted Pregnancies in 2023- UNDP


According to the United Nations Population Fund, the nation's difficulty in affording family planning may result in an increase in unintended pregnancies and abortions.

This was said at a celebration of World Population Day in 2023 held by the National Population Commission on Tuesday in Abuja.

Dr. Adeela Khan, Technical Specialist, Maternal & Reproductive Health, UNDP, stated that the funding gap for family planning was growing, rising from $25 million last year to $32 million in 2023, during a panel discussion titled "Dialogue on financing and investment in family planning: meeting the growing demand of Nigerian women."

She claimed that this lack of funds will result in 700,000 unwanted pregnancies, 300,000 unplanned births, and 300,000 unsafe abortions.

Family planning programmes are heavily reliant on funding, and that funding is decreasing, she said. Until 2022, there was a $25 million shortfall. We anticipate having a $32 million shortfall this year. There will be 700,000 unexpected pregnancies, which will lead to roughly 300,000 unintentional births and 300,000 unsafe abortions, which is a very crucial aspect of this gap.

The National Policy for Population and Sustainable Development in 2022, for example, as well as the government's financial commitment to ensure family planning, are just a few examples of the government's efforts, according to Khan.

The Nigerian government has started acknowledging the value of funding family planning, she continued.

Dr. Gafar Alawode, a seasoned public health practitioner who spoke on the panel as well, described the nation's growing population as frightening.

He continued by saying it was bad that the population was expanding more quickly than the economy.

According to Alawode, Nigeria produces an annual amount comparable to that of Liberia, Togo, and possibly Sierra Leone put together. Our population is expanding more quickly than our economy, which makes it more risky. The inference is that while wealth is not growing, the population consuming it is. This implies that a smaller portion goes to each person. And the capital of poverty is already Nigeria.

Dr. Natalia Kanem, the UNFPA Executive Director, who was in attendance and being represented by Ms. Erika Goldson, the UNFPA Nigeria Acting Resident Representative, stated that 19% of married women in Nigeria were unable to exercise their freedom to make decisions, particularly in relation to having children.

She added that women needed to be empowered and that doing so would improve human capital and inclusive economic growth.

The foundation for gender equality, dignity, and opportunity, she asserted, is the realisation of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all. However, 19% of married women in Nigeria and over 40% of women worldwide are unable to exercise their freedom to decide something as fundamental as whether or not to have children. Women and girls who are empowered, especially via education and access to modern contraception, are better able to achieve their goals and choose the course of their own lives.

"Promoting gender equality is a solution that addresses a variety of population issues. The best strategy to increase output and income development in ageing societies that are concerned about labour productivity is to achieve gender parity in the workforce.

The empowerment of women via education and family planning, however, can have significant positive effects on human capital and inclusive economic growth in nations that are undergoing high population expansion.

Dr. Salma Anas, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Special Health Advisor, addressed the effects of the nation's population expansion in her speech at the ceremony.

"As we all know, population growth has significant effects on socioeconomic and environmental development," she continued. The solution to this problem must be seen holistically and sustainably. Investment in health and education is one of the fundamental tenets of sustainable development.