₦airaland Forum

…pays affected farmer

Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps on Wednesday arrested an 80-year-old herder, Mr. Dauji Ibrahim, for destroying farmland at Ero village in Ifedore Local Government.

Ibrahim was going to Kogi State from Osun State when he and others stopped to rest at a farm in Ero.

The cows were said to have destroyed the farm in the area which prompted the farm owner to call Amotekun Corps operatives.

Ibrahim told journalists that he hails from Plateau State but lives in Kogi State.

He said he always migrate from Kogi to Osun State during the dry season and when the rains start, he would go back home.

His words, “My boy and I tried to take some rest at the early hours of the day while on our way from Osun State.

”But a lady came out and was really nagging at us. So, the cows got out of the compound and moved to the express road.

”Before I knew what was happening, we saw the vehicle of the Security Agency arrived.

”My boy, who is younger and smarter, took to his heels. But there was nothing a man of my age could do. I tried to hide somewhere, but I was later caught and brought to the headquarter.”

Owner of the farm, Mrs. Aishat Ali, said the herders always bring their cows to destroy farmlands in the community.

A retired army colonel, Tony Nyiam, says President Muhammadu Buhari had publicly revealed he is from the Niger Republic.

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORKMAR 22, 2021

Aretired army colonel, Tony Nyiam, says President Muhammadu Buhari had publicly revealed he is from the Niger Republic.

Niger is bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest.

Nyiam said this in an old interview with Arise TV, in which snippet was shared by a former presidential aide, Reno Omokri.

The retired military officer, now a human rights activist, while speaking on the surge in herdsmen crisis, maintained that Buhari, who he admires, was his boss.

He also revealed that the President had declared that most of his family members are Nigeriens even though “he owes allegiance to Nigeria.”

Nyiam also claimed that “General Muhammadu Buhari was my boss, the General Officer Commanding when I commanded a unit under him. He went against Shagari to defend Nigerian interest against Chadians.

“In one of the briefings, when he was briefing us, he openly told us that most of his family are from Niger and that he is a Nigerian officer and that he owes allegiance to Nigeria.

" I admired Buhari then, that a man whose family is partially from the Niger Republic and yet is loyal to Nigeria, this was against all the pressure given by other people that Shagari should pull out and allow the Chadians have their way, General Buhari refused,” he said.

“So why is Buhari now so different? Maybe his wife may answer it because the wife has been battling those who have been holding the President hostage. The President is no more General Muhammadu Buhari some of us knew who was a patriot,” he added.

Reached for comments by PeoplesGazette on the President’s citizenship, his media aide, Femi Adesina, did not respond to call or message.

Buhari has over time claimed to be a native of Daura, in Katsina state, which is close to the border with the Niger Republic.

Controversies trailed the President’s re-election after the All Progressives Congress, a platform through which he won, claimed that his counterpart Atiku Abubakar was a Cameroun citizen.

Subsequently, reports emerged that Buhari was a citizen of the Niger Republic.

A former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, in a tweet, also claimed that “When a non-Nigerian (Buhari) accuses a bona fide Nigerian of being a foreigner, you begin to appreciate why those that have insisted on calling Nigeria a zoo may have a point.

“It is only in Nigeria that a man whose father was from the Niger Republic can accuse others of being foreigners,” Fani-Kayode said on his Facebook wall.

• Okowa: we’re taking time to get it right

March 22, 2021

By Mike Odiegwu, Port Harcourt; Simon Utebor, Yenagoa; Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba; Bassey Anthony, Uyo

Southsouth governors came under fire on Sunday for failing to form a regional security outfit one year after they promised to do so amid rising insecurity.

The Southsouth Elders’ Forum (SEF) and the Movement for the Survival of Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) accused the governors of nonchalance.

A year after they made the promise in Asaba, the Delta State capital, the governors have not made any tangible move to set up any common security outfit.

They made the promise in March last year after the Southsouth Governors Forum (SGF) meeting.

They had promised to replicate the Southwest’s Amotekun in the region to tackle security challenges.

SEFcoordinator, Sarah Igbe, said: “About three years ago in Benin, the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) passed a resolution asking for regional security. They asked the governors to come together and make it possible. But since then even after they made the promise about a year now, I don’t think they are serious.

“Southsouth governors are not working for the interest of the people. They could not set the BRACE commission that had been there. They cannot also sit down and think of what to do with their 13 per cent derivation.

“Many of the communities are living in squalor while they squander their money. There are many issues to address for the benefit of the people but they don’t have the interest of the people at heart.”

Also, MOSIEND said the Southsouth governors were paying lip service to the security issues in the region.

MOSIEND President, Mr Kennedy Tonjo-West, said the governors relied so much on the policing arrangement by the Federal Government which could not help the region.

Tonjo-West contended that the Police was underfunded and lacked the manpower to contain the security situation in the country.

He agreed that security was everybody’s responsibility but submitted that the core mandate of government is to protect lives and property.

He said: “We can’t say right now if their meeting was just on papers or it did not see the light of the day or there was a disagreement, but it is very important that as the chief security officers for the various states in the region that they try to come back again and dust up the file and attend to this issue.

“You are aware of some of the recent reports that some terrorist groups are planning to invade Lagos and the South. Such reports are worrisome. One would have reasoned that the Southsouth governors will not allow it to get to the situation it has assumed right now.

“Are there any preparation for that? When we say preparation, we are talking about collective preparation. How prepared are they? How do they share their security votes? What is the networking outside of the statutory security outfit that we have?

“How do they intend to build domestic security? How do they intend to build policing? Is the state police going to work? Are they looking at it that the burden might be too huge and that they should collapse it to regional security? These are the things that one expected that they prepared ahead of.

“As for me, it wouldn’t have been a problem because they already have security votes that they could use to kick-start whatever project or agreement they arrived at that meeting.

“I don’t know if they are not taking it seriously, but for me, I could say that the governors are not taking security matter seriously. I say this in the sense that so much reliance on statutory policing will not help at all.

“We are using this medium to ask the governors to wake up from their slumber, to begin to compare notes and look at where there are security flashpoints. Delta State has had a recurrence of herdsmen attacks. How prepared are these states? What are they using the security votes for right now tangibly? Is it that you provide vehicles for the police, then you say that is it.

“What about the armoury? You are not assigned to purchase armoury for them, the Federal Government does that. If that is the situation, why are we not prepared? For us, we express great concern and it is worrisome. We believe that if these governors don’t wake up at this point, they might just take us unawares.

“The governors should not allow that. Whatever is their schedule, they should appropriate adequate attention and time to make sure that they address this matter before we are overrun. They have to make hay while the sun shines; a stitch in time saves nine.”

Explaining the delay, the Delta State Governor and Chairman, SGF, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, said the need to get the proposed regional security for the Niger Delta right far outweighed the need for speed.

Okowa, who spoke through his Information Commissioner, said the BRACED Commission had the responsibility to deliver the final details for the security outfit.

Okowa blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for slowing down the regions security plans, adding that despite plans to float a regional outfit, states also had the responsibility to secure their borders.

He assured that the region was determined to float the outfit noting that Delta State had gone ahead with its internal security outfit codenamed Operation Delta Hawk.

He said the Southwest regional security outfit, codenamed Amotekun, could not be a standard for states of the Niger-Delta region.

He said: “How much progress has Amotekun made in securing the Southwest? So, it cannot be a standard for us. We believe that what they did is right but there is a need to take steps to set up an efficient and workable security outfit, not a political outfit.

“I am not saying Amotekun is political. We are not doing politics here because security is important and getting it right is more important than embracing speed.”

By Dennis Agbo

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has rejected the Bala Mohammed-led committee report of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which recommended that the 2023 presidential ticket of the party should be thrown open to all sections of the country.

Ohanaeze said that the Mohammed-led committee report was capable of impugning the unity of the country and asked for the withdrawal of the report that it described as unconscionable.
The Igbo parent body noted that it was committed to Nigeria producing a President of Igbo extraction in 2023, adding that it will willingly identify with any group that is ready for the bargain.

In a statement, on Thursday, National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Alex Ogbonnia said: “Ohanaeze views the report by the Bala Mohammed led committee as most despicable, un-reflective and unconscionable. It is very worrisome that some highly placed Nigerians who have benefited so much from the unity of the country would be inclined to decisions and actions that will further inflame the passions of the patient but aggrieved part of the country.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Nigerians agreed on the rotation of the presidency between the North and the South; in which case it is the turn of the South after the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari. For clarity purposes, both the South West and the South-South had both taken their turns in the persons of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan respectively. It is rather very unpatriotic and a trifle on the sensibilities of the Igbo for the committee to even suggest the rotation of the presidency to the North East in the first instance and open to every part of Nigeria as a major slight.

“It is disturbing that all the indignities, perceived and real, that the South East suffer in the current dispensation are the outcome of the Igbo support to the PDP since 1999. It is on record that in 1999, the Igbo were in hock with the PDP through which Chief Olusegun Obasanjo emerged the President of Nigeria; same in 2003 and the subsequent elections in Nigeria.
“On the other hand, the Igbo had invested much political capital in the PDP only to be betrayed by its apparent lack of principles. The leadership of the PDP is advised to retract the comment made by Alh Bala Mohammed and countermand the content of the obnoxious committee report in the interest of the party.

“Let it be known that Ndigbo does not wax so eloquent on political parties. The Igbo is bound to advertise the party that caters to the interest of our people. It is instructive that Senator Ali Ndume, a chieftain of the All Peoples Congress (APC) is among the prominent Northerners that canvass for zoning the Nigerian presidency to the South East for the 2023 presidential election. Other prominent APC chieftains are highly committed to the realisation of this project and we will be very delighted to work with them in the overall interest of Ndigbo.

“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo led by Ambassador Professor George Obiozor is committed to a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction and there is no going back on it. It should be noted that the Igbo network transcends geographical space and the enormous Igbo goodwill and resources across the world will be mobilized to achieve this equity-inspired project. In the words of Obiozor, the Igbo are a confident set of people who do not hide their feelings easily no matter the consequences.

“He added that if you deny the Igbo justice, be ready for righteous indignation, diminishing authority, denial of the legitimacy of governance and loyalty. The Igbo faith and confidence is based on what you deny the Igbo in the morning, they can give to themselves in the evening through hard work and perseverance. We are undaunted.”

Published March 13, 2021

BOLA BAMIGBOLA

A group within Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party called ‘Osun PDP Legacy Group,’ had demanded the immediate resignation of the national chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, for endorsing Senator Ademola Adeleke as the PDP candidate for the 2022 Osun governorship election.

The convener of the group, Funmiso Babarinde, in a statement made available to The PUNCH, said the purported endorsement of Adeleke by Secondus was against the PDP constitution.

The group said the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Diran Odeyemi, who represented Secondus at a prayer session organised by the Sunday Bisi-led Osun PDP executives last week, had informed party faithful at the event that the PDP chairman, had adopted Adeleke as the candidate of the party for Osun 2022 governorship election.

The statement read in parts, “Quoting Secondus, who spoke through Odeyemi, our national chairman said, it does not matter if anybody else comes out to contest against Ademola Adeleke. The fact remains that the National Chairman has no other candidate in mind but Adeleke.

‌
“Odeyemi told the gathering he was representing Secondus. And we consider an endorsement for Adeleke by no other person but the national chairman as an aberration and unconstitutional. Owning to that, we believe Secondus is morally unfit to continue leading PDP. So, we are demanding his resignation with immediate effect.

“The stance of the PDP national chairman is unbecoming and we consider it another affront against Dr. Bukola Saraki-led reconciliation committee of the party.”

When contacted for clarification about the statement he made on behalf of the PDP chairman, Odeyemi said the PDP chairman had not committed any infraction with his position on the candidate of the party in the next governorship election in Osun.

Odeyemi said, “what the National Chairman said through me is not unusual. As a party, PDP is offering Adeleke another opportunity, having done well on the ballot the last time and he has the right to accept or decline.

“Till now, no one else, including Ogunbiyi that contested primary with him the last time has not shown interest. It is only Adeleke that we are looking at for now. But having said that, we are not closing our doors against others that are interested in vying for the PDP ticket."

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has revealed that members of the outlawed Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) hijacked the Eastern Security Network (ESN) from the Southeast governors after they had concluded plans to roll out the security outfit.

Uzodimma, who disclosed this when the members of the state Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by The Nation correspondent, Chris Njoku paid him a courtesy visit at the government house, Owerri, said that the governors had hitherto agreed and put in place arrangements to set up the Eastern Security Network (ESN), but the name was hijacked by the members of these boys IPOB, who used the outfit to commit a lot of mayhem in the Southeast.

According to the governor, “The Attorneys General of the five Southeastern states prepared a memo on the same outfit and the five southeast governors, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and southeast leaders accepted and tried to roll it out only for the members of the IPOB to hijack the name.

“But, we’re taking a review of the situation and as soon as we’re through, we’ll come up with another name and roll out a security outfit for the southeast. We’ll not allow hoodlums to overrun the region because we have a responsibility to protect our people. I want to tell you that there’s no failure of government in South East,” the governor said.

Uzodimma also disclosed that the governors of the five South Eastern states would be holding so summit in Owerri to fashion out modalities for the setting up of a security outfit for the region.

The summit, the governor said, would take a holistic assessment of the security situation in the region and determine the best solution to tackling the issue, especially after the fiasco of the ESN.

Uzodimma said that the Southeast governors would not want to be copying what other regions have done, especially with the pressure put on them after the formation of Amotekun by the southwest governors.

He added that the new outfit would be different from others.

“It’s necessary for every region to be vigilant and have a security outfit, especially with the present situation we have in this country. We cannot lose fate with the management of security in our region and at the same time, we must be careful in the way we go about it.”

The governor, who also spoke on the recovery of property allegedly looted by the former administration, expressed his commitment to ensuring that justice is done.

He dismissed the allegation that the whole issue was a witch-hunt, stressing that the panel on recovery of public property did a diligent job by investigating widely.

Uzodimma added that Eastern Palm University has been gazetted while the government would soon gazette its finding on the report of the commission of inquiry on lands and related matters.

ON MARCH 13, 2021

•Extort, batter, dehumanize brazenly

•Intimidate, harass, subject motorists, passers-by to untold hardship

•Create gridlocks for daylight robbery

•Victims allege government complicity


By Chimaobi Nwaiwu – Onitsha

The commercial city of Anambra state is indeed something else. Beyond commercial activities, particularly buying and selling which it is known for, the bustling city can conveniently be said to be under siege by a terror gang as a result of the number of hoodlums that operate freely in and around it.

While daily commercial transactions are going on inside the city, one of the busiest areas called Upper Iweka to Head Bridge axis are always under the control of daredevil hoodlums who unleash terror on innocent motorists by forcefully jumping into their vehicles to extort one form of levy or the other. Unsuspecting passers-by are not left out in the crisis that will ensue.


Baptism of fire in thuggery
Members of the vicious gang who are always clad in dirty rags with frightful hairdos are simply outlaws as they carry out their nefarious activities even in the full glare of law enforcement agents.

They are always armed with dangerous weapons like cudgels, pocket knives, sticks and even hidden local guns.

For a first time visitor to the commercial nerve centre of the east, the baptism of fire in thuggery and hooliganism starts from the head bridge and extends precariously towards Upper Iweka and the adjoining streets.

However, the story takes a different tune when one gets inside the city where traders who engage in a beehive of commercial activities live and enjoy their lives peacefully.


The alarming and fearful activities of young men who in broad daylight wield all types of dangerous weapons to extort money by harassing motorists, tricycle operators and even those on foot have beclouded what Onitsha really is, the biggest commercial city in West Africa.

Broad daylight attacks
In broad daylight, in traffic gridlock, these hoodlums armed with dangerous weapons openly harass and extort money from motorists in the name of all manner of levies; they fear nobody, including Police, Army, Navy, DSS and Civil Defense operatives.

They brazenly operate unhindered and any attempt to resist them results to open fracas, intimidation and harassment which always end up in bloody fights with the victims sustaining injuries.

Victims said no iota of pleading will ever make them change their minds as the only language they understand is just drop the money and go.


They operate and behave as if they are government or law unto themselves. Unfortunately, law enforcement agents entrusted with the responsibility of checkmating them view their activities as normal and hustling.

They only challenge them whenever they step on the toes of people in authority either in government or security circles.

Fear grip traders, motorists
Members of these gangs have succeeded in instilling fear in the minds of traders no matter how rich they are by operating freely in front of their shops without intervention from either the market unions or security agents.

Their criminal activities are not even limited to unsuspecting customers who throng the city from far and near. They are dreaded and avoided like a plague whenever they embark on open extortion of money from their victims.

These terror gangs go by different fearful and meaningless names that make victims who encounter them take to their heels after extorting them.

They are ready to fight at any time to have their way with the victims and boasts of being untouchables by government and law enforcement agents who actually know them and allow them to operate freely and unhindered.

They reek of alcohol 24 hours. They are simply a huge source of embarrassment to residents and visitors to Onitsha.


Petty traders as victims
Frighteningly, they also extort money from petty traders and market women, who sell items such as vegetables, fruits and other consumable sellers who make lesser than N2000 daily.

They spare nobody including wheelbarrow pushers. In the attempt to extort, they brazenly jump into moving vehicles, remove part of the goods loaded in the vehicles; or seize goods loaded on tricycles, wheelbarrows and carts just to force their victims to succumb. An unlucky victim may meet over six of the terror groups in a day in various parts of the town.


Areas where they operate
Areas notorious for their activities include: Old Market and New Market road, the road that connects Onitsha North Local Government Area with the popular Onitsha Main Market; Marine Market and Ose Okwodu Market areas, Iweka road that connects Onitsha South Local Government with the popular Ochanja Central Market; Port Harcourt road, Creek road, Oguta road, New Cemetery road, Ezeiweka road, Awada, Court road, Water Site, Emejulu street, Onitsha Owerri road, Onitsha Enugu expressway starting from Niger Bridge Head up to Zik’s Roundabout.

They are also visible around New and Old Spare Parts Market, Nkpor, as well as Nkpor Flyover, among others.

They are authority unto themselves and understand one common language of intimidation, harassment and extortion unchallenged.

Negligent government
Anambra State government has not helped matters either as they keep collecting all manner of levies from individuals they call contractors, who subsequently, employed some of the boys that have turned to terror gangs and ravaging the city in the name of collecting the levies for them.

Many of the terror gangs on their own hide under the name of the contractors and embark on illegal activities.

Failed attempt for sanity
An attempt by a former Commissioner for Transport in the state, Dr Christian Maduako (who was later kidnapped when he resigned and advised Governor Obiano to take charge of his administration) to tame the violent activities of the terror gang with the formation of a group called ‘Focused Initiative Against Touting’, FIAT, was frustrated by the people the gangs were working for.

For over two weeks, the Commissioner and his FIAT operatives succeeded in arresting and prosecuting some of them at the Mobile Court set up for FIAT. Sanity temporarily returned in Onitsha and the violent activities of the terror gang reduced.

However, shortly, with the intervention of some highly placed people who have the ears of the State Government, the mobile court became ineffective, the Commissioner and his outfit became weak and at a point FIAT officials were attacked and wounded by the terror gang and the state government did nothing to protect their officials, including the Commissioner who then sought for the protection of the police and DSS officials.

The attack on FIAT officials marked the end of the fight against touting and the boys returned to business, now more deadly.

Allegations of government complicity
The impression by the public was that the contractors have gone to bribe some powerful senior government officials who control the administration, especially when Dr Maduako became difficult to be settled as he was rather busy searching for the leaders and sponsors of the terror gangs to arrest them.

One of the traders who identified himself as Chief Okeke told Crime Guard that the city has never had it so bad. According to him, passing through Upper Iweka and Head bridge area of the city is simply a nightmare.

These hoodlums operate brazenly and extort money from both motorists and passers-by in the full glare of law enforcement agents.

If you are a first-timer to the city, you will shed tears after experiencing their mode of operation.


Woe betide you if you fail to respond to their demand. If the state government cannot checkmate these atrocities, the federal government should urgently intervene because Nigerians from different areas of the country and beyond are victims and it does not speak well of Igbos.

"Imo women are not getting married due to high cost of marriage and bride price," Hon. Kennedy Ibeh says as he sponsors bill to regulate cost of marriage.


Hon. Kennedy Ibeh, representing Obowo State constituency in Imo State House of Assembly, has sponsored a bill to regulate the cost of customary marriages in Imo State.

Presenting the bill for the second reading on Wednesday, March 10, during plenary, Ibeh said that outrageous marriage bills had caused many ladies to remain single as suitors can't afford to pay.

He said: "A suitor coming to pay for a lady’s dowry may find it tasking to settle for the English wedding which again demands for more expenses."

He added: "It is quite unfortunate that this practice has caused so many of our marriageable ladies to remain single and men apprehensive of taking the bold step. This is wrong and we must discourage it at all costs."

The bill asks that once a suitor pays and completes the bride price of a woman, a clearance certificate should be issued to the groom by the father of the bride, who will present the certificate to the traditional ruler of the community for the final issuance of Customary Marriage Certificate (CMC) at the cost not exceeding N1000.

It adds that no customary marriage in the state, including the final stage of the Igbankwu cermony, shall exceed the sum of N180,000 with exclusion of the bride price which shall not exceed N80,000.

The Igbo speaking community in Lagos State has urged the former governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to contest for the presidency in 2023.

The leadership made the request during a visit to the immediate past Chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government, Comrade Ayodele Adewale, at his political office in Festac Town, Lagos.

Describing Asiwaju Tinubu as a detribalized Nigerian and a great leader, the group added its voice to that of Adewale and other groups who have been demanding that the political leader contest for the number one position in the country in 2023.

Leader of the delegation, Chief Sunday Udeh commended Tinubu’s leadership example, adding that Igbos in the state are ready to support the former governor’s aspiration and the APC in general.

Udeh urged Adewale to introduce the leadership of the community to Lagos APC chairman, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, and Asiwaju Tinubu.

He also praised Adewale for carrying everyone along in his manner of leadership, irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliation. Responding, Adewale thanked members of the delegation for recognising the high standards set by the late Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, which was a template he replicated in Amuwo Odofin during his tenure as the council boss.

He revealed that the party chairman is currently focused on ensuring the success of the ongoing party membership registration and revalidation exercise, which has extended the exercise for a few days.

Nevertheless, he assured the group that he would book an appointment with Alhaji Balogun and Asiwaju Tinubu and personally introduce the duo to them.

Adewale encouraged them to mobilise people within their jurisdictions to register and re-validate their membership with the APC. He said the Igbo’s are well-positioned and recognized in the state and, therefore, would always be considered in the scheme of things.

Adewale said during his tenure as chairman of Amuwo Odofin local council, for instance, qualified Igbos were offered the opportunity to serve in different capacities as Councillors, Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants.

He added: “Asiwaju also appointed Igbo’s into his cabinet as governor of Lagos State. I thank you for adding your voice to the call that Asiwaju should contest as President of Nigeria in 2023. Asiwaju will make a good President as he will consolidate on the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari.”

• Orders police, Amotekun to secure forests

By 'Yomi Ayeleso - Ado-Ekiti

On Mar 8, 2021

As part of ways to end the recurring herders/farmers clashes, the Ekiti State government has revealed that it would key into the National Livestock Transformation Plan of the Federal Government by creating enclosed ranching in the state.

This development was coming barely three days after suspected herdsmen killed two farmers in Isaba-Ekiti, Ikole Local Government Area of the state.

In a statement, on Monday, by the Information Commissioner, Akin Omole, the government noted it would not allow the killing of farmers and residents of the state by criminal herders who are hibernating in the farms to perpetrate evils against citizens in the state.

According to him, the state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has given the police and the Amotekun corps within 24 hours to comb forests in the Local Government Area and secure it from further attacks.

The government reiterated the recent resolution from the peace meeting between the governors and leadership of Miyetti Allah in Akure, the Ondo State capital as regards the ban on underage, night and open grazing in the state.

Omole said: “it is clear that the Ikole/Oye axis of the state is vulnerable to incursions of criminally-minded elements who want to take advantage of the forest topography to visit unmitigated terror on farming communities in the area. We will not allow this to happen.

“We reiterate that in consonance with the recent Akure peace meeting and joint communiqué issued between Southwest Governors and the Miyetti Allah, open/night grazing and underage herding remain banned in Ekiti State. The state is also making alternative arrangements for enclosed grazing/ranching under the National Livestock Transformation Plan in the state.

“The Government of Ekiti State places great value on the safety of lives and property of its residents. While we will continue to promote the peaceful coexistence of all law-abiding Nigerians irrespective of ethnic or religious background, the government will not condone acts of mindless violence that creates fear amongst our people or deter them from going about their lawful duties in safety on their farms or in their communities.”

The Commissioner explained that security agents in the state would enforce the latest directive of President Muhammadu Buhari on those going about with dangerous weapons.

“Similarly, in line with Mr President’s recent directive, anyone armed with automatic weapons found in Ekiti forests will be considered a dangerous criminal and treated accordingly by security operatives,” he said.

The government advised residents of Isaba-Ekiti to support the security agents with useful information that would help in arresting the criminal elements, adding that, “they should continue to go about their lawful businesses; we remain committed to protecting lives and property.”

•Wants payment of 25% revenue to federation account stopped

In a bid to bridge some of its infrastructural gap, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has asked to discontinue the 25 per cent revenue contribution it makes to the federation account.

The Managing Director of the agency, Captain Rabiu Yadudu, made the appeal yesterday when the Senate Committee on Aviation came for their oversight function and he said that if the 25 per cent contribution ends, it will ensure development if revenue generated from the sector is ploughed back.

This was even as he asserted that revenues from only two airports; the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) are sustaining other airports in the country.

He also highlighted the global economic challenge that has affected airline operators causing them to reduce fleet, frequencies or totally withdraw operations thereby affecting the agency’s revenue generation.

Captain Yadudu further decried the still rising operating and maintenance cost of the new terminals and existing ones due to inflation and the devaluation of the Naira but stressed that FAAN is tweaking its plans to make other airports that are not breaking even to perform. He also said the airport managers have embarked on an aggressive debt recovery drive while it has introduced a pay as you Go system and has also commenced cashless policy among other loophole blockage areas. Yadudu decried debt of airlines to FAAN where he said a particular airline owes N13 billion for services rendered and unpaid for.

“On the capacity and contribution of airports to revenue generation, it is the MMIA and Abuja that mainly supports other airports. The industry is still having infrastructural gap to stabilise, therefore, government’s support in stabilising the industry is needed. This can be achieved by suspending the contributions to the Federation Account in compliance with ICAO standards and recommended practices (SARPs) Doc 9562 on airport generation which provides that: Revenue generated by the airport should be transparently re-invested wholly in operating and developing airport facilities,” he said. Reacting to the FAAN boss’s call for exemption from contribution into the federation account, Chairman Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Smart Adeyemi, said the idea was commendable although it remains a constitutional issue requiring a review to actualise.

By Titus Eleweke Sun Mar 07 2021

At least four herders were shot dead in an attack on a settlement in Ogborji, Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State....

According to Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), South-East Zone, many cows were stolen in the attack which happened on Saturday.

Siddiki said over 20 Fulani herdsmen have been killed in Anambra alone from January to March, 2021.

He disclosed this in Awka, Anambra State capital, while briefing some journalists on the incessant attacks and killings of MACBAN members in the state and southeast zone in general.

Siddiki, who was visibly pained, said the latest attack on his people took place at Mohammed Idris Herders’ Settlement on Saturday.

He said he was told that gunmen entered the camp and started shooting and in the process four Fulanis were killed, while their corpses were taken away, adding that hundreds of cows were missing in the attack.

“One of the escaped herders called me and told me that some unknown gunmen in a Hilux vehicle with red cap invaded Mohammed Idris Herders’ Settlement shooting sporadically and that led to the deaths of our four members and hundreds of Cows missing,” he said.

He added that out of the four dead, police have recovered one corpse while three other corpses are yet to be accounted for.

According to him, they have found where five cows were slaughtered in the area.

He said with the recent killing of the four herders, the total number of Fulanis killed between January and early March 2021 in Anambra State alone is above 21.

He gave the names of the recent the victims as; Hadari Umaru, Hamidu Umaru, Aliu Idris and Hassan Idris.

He also disclosed that two herders were also killed in a similar manner in Ishiagu, Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, last week, while many have been killed this year alone.

Siddiki said until the recent attacks, members of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association enjoyed cordial relationship with their host communities in the entire South East.

According to him, the Fulanis in zone are not attacking the host people and are not carrying AK47 because they have warned them against such.

He stated, “The Fulani people in the South-East are not violent and we are not here to undermine the business of the people of the area. So, I am surprised why my people have been killed unjustly like that.

“We have experienced a lot of challenges in the region including the death of our members, despite our quick response whenever issue of compensation arises. I am constrained to say this publicly, because I can no longer hold the pains anymore.

“My people have begin to think I have been compromised… while keeping wait over various killing of herders in the zone. They have accused me of not saying anything about their killing in the zone.

“My worries now is that time will come when they cannot listen to me again, then it would be very difficult to control and manage them. There is no issue of farmland damaged by our people that we did not pay,” Sidikki lamented.

He called on the Anambra State Government to take action to stop further attack and killing of herders in the state.

Meanwhile, all calls and text messages put to the spokesman of Anambra State Police Command, CSP Haruna Mohammed, to react on the incident were not responded to.

The Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Police on Friday paraded a seven man syndicate that specialized in kidnapping in Sagamu area of the state.

Parading the suspect in Sagamu, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi said the kidnap syndicate made up of members of the same family.

According to Oyeyemi, five of the syndicate, Oweniwe Okpara and three of his children namely; Samson Okpara, Bright Okpara and Eze Okpara as well as one Christian Ishaha and Emmanuel Joseph were arrested in Sagamu, while three others of his children; Godwin Okpara, Godspower Okpara and Mathew Okpara were arrested in Delta State.

The father, Okpara was said to have been a farmer on farmland at the Aiyepe-Ijebu road which was being used as the kidnapping ground where the trio of Godwin, Godspower and Mathew, who were the armed squad of the syndicate usually dumped their victims.

Oyeyemi appreciated the cooperation of the Sagamu security operatives under the Palace of the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi for supporting the police in the efforts at arresting the kidnapping syndicate.

Oyeyemi said, “In compliance with the CP’s directive, the DPO of Sagamu division CSP Okiki Agunbiade and his crack detectives with the support of Sagamu security council under Akarigbo of Remo land embarked on intelligence and technical based investigation, which led to the arrest of one Oweniwe Okpara from Delta state and three of his children namely; Samson Okpara, Bright Okpara and Eze Okpara as well as one Christian Ishaha who accommodated them.

“They were all arrested in Ajaka area of Sagamu for their roles in the kidnap of 8 persons at different times in Sagamu and other areas.

“In the course of investigation, it was discovered that three other members of the family constituting the criminal gang namely; Godwin Okpara, Godspower Okpara and Mathew Okpara are the armed squad of the syndicate, while Samson, Bright and Eze Okpara were the one spying on their targeted victims.

“One Emmanuel Joseph, a native of Ebele in Edo State was later recruited into the fold, having confronted their sister, Eze Okpara to tell him the source of money they used to count every day. They subsequently opened up to him that they are into kidnapping business and he also joined them.

“Having heard about the arrest of their father and their three siblings, Godwin, Godspower and Mathew Okpara took to flight and ran to Delta state with their operational car and their arms where they were subsequently apprehended by the Delta state police command after carrying out another kidnapping there”.

“Their camp located at a forest in Ayepe-Ijebu where their father used to farm before converting it to a camp was located by policemen led by the DPO Sagamu and subsequently destroyed. Items recovered at the camp include; three expended cartridges, cooking gas, tarpaulin, cooking utensils, women bags and twine.”

Narrating his ordeal, one of the victims, a 53-year electronics dealer, Okechukwu Onwubiko, who was kidnapped on the 4th of June, 2020, disclosed that he regained his freedom from the Okpara kidnapping syndicate’s den seven days after his family had paid N5 million ransom.

Also kidnapped was a RCCG Pastor, Omotayo Sobowale, who runs a POS business, he said was kidnapped on the 16th of June, 2020.

He said, he was shown leniency when he told them he is a pastor but had to part away with N1 million before he could regain his freedom after 24 hours.

He identified one of the suspects to have come looking for a job in his company.

Other people kidnapped by the syndicate were Lamidi Akeem, Olufunke Areoye, who was kidnapped on the 3rd of November, 2020, Adijat Adeleye was equally kidnapped on the 11th of November, 2020, Ashaye Olayinka on the 12th of November and Demilade Sonuga.

Oyeyemi who said the State Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, was satisfied with the apprehension of the syndicate, called for the cooperation of the public in providing adequate security in the state.

Two Nigerians who were accused of kidnapping and eventually killing four girls in Takoradi, Ghana, were on Friday afternoon sentenced to death by a court in the country after they were found guilty of murder.

The two Nigerians, Samuel Udoetuk Wills and John Oji, were sentenced after they were found guilty of kidnapping and eventually killing the four girls, Ruth Quayson, Priscilla Blessing Bentum, Priscilla Koranchie and Ruth Abekah, aged 18 years in Takoradi, Ghana.

The bodies of the girls were said to have been discovered in their apartment in 2019 following months of a national search for the victims. The two Nigerians have been in detention since then.

According to reports from Ghanaweb, a Ghanaian online news agency, the two Nigerians were found guilty by the seven-member jury at the Sekondi High Court on Friday.

The two accused persons were before the Sekondi High Court on eight counts of conspiracy to commit murder and murder. They however pleaded not guilty to all the charges

The High Court, presided over by Justice Richard Adjei-Frimpong, gave the death sentence after the seven-member jury found them guilty.

They have however been given 30 days within which they can appeal the sentence.

A court in the southern Tay Ninh Province of Vietnam on Tuesday sentenced a 45-year-old Nigerian, Ekwegbalu James Nzube, to death for drug trafficking.

Nzube, who was accused of trafficking nearly four kilogrammes of methamphetamine from Cambodia said he got acquainted with another Nigerian, Jone, in China in 2014, and the latter had hired him to transport drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam.

In March 2020, he came to Ho Chi Minh City before going to Cambodia to fetch the drugs for which he was paid $2,000 (about N800, 000).

He was apprehended by border guards in Tay Ninh Province while trying to cross illegally into Vietnam last July with about four kilogrammes of meth found inside his rucksack.

Vietnam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600g of heroin or 2.5kg methamphetamine face the death penalty.

The Amalgamated Union of Foodstuffs and Cattle Dealers in Nigeria (AUFCDN) has called off its nationwide strike after the Federal Government agreed to pay them N4.75 billion to them.

President of AUFCDN, Comrade Muhammad Tahir, disclosed this after a meeting with the Federal Government presided over by Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello on Wednesday in Abuja.

The Northern traders had blocked food supply to the South to demand the payment of N475 billion compensation for lives of members and properties lost during the #ENDSARS protest and Shasha market chaos.

The traders had also demanded the dismantling of all road blocks on federal highways and an agreement with state governments to withdraw services anytime their members were subjected to attack.

Addressing reporters, Tahir said the government agreed to ensure protection of its members and stop all forms of multiple taxation and intimidation from security officials on the highways.

Tahir said: “All the stakeholders and members of AUFCDN in our nationwide strike are glad we achieved what we wanted to achieve. Since the Governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello begged us on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, we agreed to call off the nationwide strike today.

“They agreed to pay the compensation and call off any multiple taxation on federal highway and allow us to engage in our business activities peacefully nationwide.”

Addressing the aggrieved unionists during the reconciliatory meeting, Yahaya Bello said the nationwide strike had led to increase in hardship that majority of Nigerians were already going through, including members of the aggrieved union.

He lamented the collateral damage recorded nationwide during the few days of the strike was enormous and should not be allowed to multiply.

According to him, the prices of foodstuffs and cattle increased by 100 percent in the South and West, adding the North was not spared from the effects of the strike as perishable goods were getting spoilt with farmers and truck drivers unable to carry out business transactions that would enable them generate the needed finances to meet their daily needs.

Bello appealed to the aggrieved union to immediately call off the strike and allow movement of foodstuffs and cattle to all parts of the country with the assurance that no Hausa-Fulani or members of the union would be maltreated, harassed or killed.

A former Minister of Aviation, Femi-Fani Kayode, who spoke on behalf of the West and Southern regions, said the impact of the strike was too heavy to ignore.

He said the killing of any Hausa-Fulani or traders engaged in legal business activities would no longer be tolerated or accepted.

“On behalf of the so many people in the Southwest, especially Sunday Igboho, our commitment to you today that people of the Hausa-Fulani extraction cannot and will not be attacked in the South.

“It is unacceptable and he (Sunday Igboho) will be one of those to welcome you when you re-enter the South to escort you all,” the former Minister said.

The Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, said he was taken to a shrine to swear an oath of loyalty 24 hours before inauguration as deputy governor in 1999.

Abaribe was deputy governor to Senator Orji Uzor Kalu from May 29, 1999 till March 2003 before he resigned and defected to the defunct All Nigerian People’s Party.

Abaribe stated this in his new book, ‘Made in Aba’ which was launched in Abuja on Monday.

He explained that the former Aba North Local Government Area Chairman, one Chief Duru, and Kalu’s younger brother, Uzor, took him to “a so-called prophet” on School Road, Aba, in Abia State.

He said, “On the matter of loyalty by ordeal, whereby people were made to swear allegiance on all sorts of objects, my experience was that some people around Kalu took it upon themselves to engage in invidious activities, purporting to be directed by him.

“In my case, on the night before swearing into office, the then Aba North Local Government Chairman informed me that Kalu’s people were not comfortable with me as I had not sworn to anything.

“Here I was, being lectured, nay, more like being intimidated with verses from the Bible, hinging the act on notion like ‘you people will be my people…’ and the like. Was that Bible not what I stood on to insist I was a Christian?

“What big secret mission were we embarking on that required that much effort to ensure loyalty? Loyalty to what? Were we not to swear loyalty to the people rather than to the person of the Governor? Yes, I was that much of a greenhorn in politics!”

Abaribe further said, “At the end of the day, the participant not only got to fear the principal, but also these individuals who had privileges to convince such principal’s of the measures they had taken to secure their quarries in a zombie-like state.

“Well, I was not about to subject myself to any authority beyond the law. I was not about to look to any unidentified office beyond that of the governor, whom I had given my word to assist in delivering good governance.”

Orji Kalu keeps mum on Abaribe’s allegations

Meanwhile, the Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, had yet to speak on the allegations by the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe in his latest book, ‘Made in Aba’.

The principal officer of the Senate said he was in a meeting with the Senate President, when our correspondent called him on Tuesday.

He said, “I will speak with you later. I’m in a meeting with the Senate President now.”

He had, however yet to respond to further calls and he didn’t reply the text message sent to him, as of the time of filing this report.

Ndigbo Republic, not Biafra may emerge if South-East fails to produce president in 2023 — Udeogaranya

A Presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in 2019, Chief Charles Udeogaranya, has said that the way things are going in Nigeria, Ndigbo Republic may emerge instead of Biafra.

According to him, “if after 50 years of Nigeria/Biafra civil war and political power brokers do not find it expediently urgent to close this monumental gap of inequality by giving a sense of belonging to the South-East region of Nigeria, then Ndigbo Republic (NR) is inevitable and I will lead the struggle of its actualisation.”

Udeogaranya said that Ndigbo remains more Nigerian than any other Nigerian ethnic group and will always play their big brother role of pan-Africanism.

Ndigbo, he said wants the best for the Yoruba nation, Hausa nation, Fulani nation, Ijaw nation and every other nationality in Nigeria but cannot get the best of these nationalities by one ethnic group acting like Emperor over others.

“This is not at prejudice to all our Nigerian brothers and sisters..The Ndigbo Republic will not drag anyone along as in Biafra but purely based on Willink minorities Commission map of Nigeria (1957-1958). This will not be necessary if the political power brokers do the right thing and ensure that the South-East produces the 2023 Presidency that is long overdue.

“Days of slavery are long gone and we must start creating a better life for all Nigerians. Japan has no oil but look how wonderfully they made their country by delving into so many areas of survival. I have confidence that Ndigbo will impress and organise Nigeria in such a way that even Northern Nigeria will record an unprecedented enormous success.

“Let me also point this out that Northerners are not lazy and are more sincere than most other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. This was the same template that China has and with the right leadership was achieved.

“Ndigbo will give the right leadership to all other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.”

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has said that the suspension of operations of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) was for two weeks in the first instance.

Governor Akeredolu said the two weeks was to allow both unions meet and settle their differences to avert blood bath.

He however said the meeting of the unions was secondary to him as his primary concern was to protect citizens of the state.

Akeredolu, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Special Duties and Strategy, Dr. Doyin Odebowale, explained that he suspended operations of NURTW and RTEAN at motor parks in the state to avoid bloodletting in the state.

He stated that it was greed causing the fight as well as money sharing formula.

Governor Akeredolu insisted that only the state government ticket printed by the State Internal Revenue Services would be sold to commercial drivers for the sum of N300.

He wanted that anybody caught selling any other ticket would be arrested and jailed.

His words, “Nobody will be allowed to sell any other ticket under whatever guise in Ondo State.

“We are releasing our ticket and it is only our ticket to be sold across the state. We will enforce it. We don’t want to see anybody on the road to be collecting money. We will arrest and jail anybody who tries it. We cannot have two governments in Ondo State.

“The Governor has directed that the transports fare be return back. My team will be enforcing the formal price regime. We will not allow the citizens to be exploited. Nobody will be permitted to disturb the peace of the state.

“No taxi driver should hide under fuel price increase to hike transport price. We are asking them to revert to what obtains before.”

Meanwhile, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Akeredolu, Richard Olabode Olatunde, said activities of RTEAN and NURTW were suspended following security reports suggesting an imminent clash between the two opposing factions in the union over leadership tussle.

Read Also: Why Akeredolu banned NURTW, RTEAN
Olatunde said leadership of both Unions have been directed to vacate the motor parks for peace to reign.

Commercial drivers in Akure expressed joy at the suspension of NURTW and RTEAN activities in the state.

The drivers who had reverted to N50 per drop thanked the state government for stopping collection of levies by the Unions.

A driver who gave his name as Alaba said the decision to suspend the Unions was a good thing to bring peace to the state.

“As government said they should leave, we are okay with that that but the RTEAN members do not fight. However, fuel price has increase but we are going to be taking N50.”

Another driver, Olufemi Samson, said trouble started when government introduced its N300 ticket.

He said it was a good idea for government to raise fund from the Transportation sector unlike the unions.

A youth group has called on a former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, to run for the 2023 presidential election under the platform of the ruling party

Samuel Alamoh, the director-general of the group known as ‘Tinubulate Nigeria Agenda’ (TINA), made the call at the inaugural press conference of the organisation in Abuja on Friday.

The group also presented a dummy cheque of N10 million to demonstrate their commitment to support Mr Tinubu if he presents himself to run for the election.

Mr Alamoh said that as a group craving for the consolidation of “our democracy and yearning for a prosperous Nigeria come 2023, they are fully ready to mobilise for Tinubu.

“Our group has concluded plans to present the cheque to Tinubu for the purchase of the expression of interest and nomination forms to run for the presidency, when the party commences the sales of the forms.

“Though Asiwaju Tinubu has millions of supporters, followers who are always ready to come together to pay for his nomination form, our members, supporters, well-wishers and followers across Nigeria believe in shared responsibility.

“That is why we have to pool our meagre resources together for this noble course, if he formally declares his interest to be chosen as candidate of our great party, APC, for the coming presidential election in 2023.’’

Mr Alamoh described TINA as a group of reputable Nigerians, young professionals in diverse fields with passion and commitment to drive togetherness, love and peaceful coexistence among Nigerians.

He said the group members were convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr Tinubu possesses all the qualities, competence, capabilities, capacities and experiences needed to actualise the Nigeria the citizens dream of.

Mr Alamoh also expressed the group’s confidence in Tinubu to lead a government with comprehensive policies that encompass monumental infrastructural and human development with unprecedented economic growth.

“This support group was founded in line and in support of consolidating President Muhammadu Buhari’s achievements in all sectors of the Nigerian economy and democratic development.

“As good citizens committed to the progress, unity and stability of Nigeria, it is our inalienable right to throw our weight and give our unrelenting support to any individual capable of bringing about good, exemplary, responsive and progressive leadership.

A police station in Aboh Mbaise local government area of Imo state has been attacked and set ablaze by suspected hoodlums.

The incident which was confirmed in Owerri, by the Imo State Police Public Relations Officers, PPRO, Orlando Ikekwo, said there was no casualties.

He briefly said: “Aboh MBAISE police station has been attacked, and razed down, no casualties no loss of arm.”

However, sources from the area told Vanguard that, “Policemen on duty fled and some of them injured as they were taking cover, when they saw some boys with inflammable substance pouring it around the station.

“These boys did not enter inside the police station, the only thing they did was to set ablaze the station and drove away. This has caused tension in the area as people started running for their live.”

PhD graduate who renounced his Nigerian citizenship has nowhere to go

Edwin Okey Chikata Ijeoma was no intellectual slouch when he arrived in SA from Nigeria on a study permit in 1998 to pursue academic studies at the University of Pretoria. His hard work saw him obtain a PhD in economics in 2003.

However, the man who became professor of public sector economics at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) in the Eastern Cape had his citizenship revoked by the ministry of home affairs after he fraudulently relied on a bigamous marriage to a South African woman to obtain naturalisation and citizenship.

Ijeoma took home affairs on review to the Bhisho high court, but in a 2020 judgment the court held the minister had not erred in finding Ijeoma had made false representations about his marital status to the department or in determining his SA citizenship was null and void.

Acting judge Mickey Mfenyana has denied Ijeoma leave to appeal her ruling, stating another court will not differ from her finding that he was disingenuous, if not dishonest, and that there was no reason to interfere with the minister’s decision.

The confirmation of the home affairs action rendering him an undesirable inhabitant of the country means Ijeoma, who previously renounced his Nigerian citizenship, has nowhere else to go.

The head of the UFH school of public administration is under suspension by the university in connection with the illegal registration of axed health MEC Sindiswa Gomba for an honours degree in public administration when she was not entitled to register for postgraduate studies.

Ijeoma was granted permanent residence in SA in the same year he graduated from Tukkies, having been exempted from immigration restrictions due to his marriage to a local woman two years earlier. In 2005 he was granted SA citizenship through naturalisation but by 2007 he had divorced his South African wife, ostensibly because the couple was unable to conceive a child.

He was then joined in SA by a Nigerian woman, Anne Tomo. Home affairs officials were tipped off that Ijeoma had committed bigamy by marrying the SA woman after Tomo in her application for permanent residence, attached a copy of her 1993 marriage to him in Nigeria.

Officials said Ijeoma’s sole mission in marrying the SA woman was to acquire citizenship.

In her original judgment, Mfenyana found Ijeoma had presented contradictory reasons for his bigamous actions — that, as an African man, he believed he was entitled to marry more than one wife; and that he represented himself as single because he was not aware SA recognised customary marriages.

She said he failed to disclose the existence of his marriage in Nigeria on three occasions: when he applied for permanent residence in SA, when he got married in the country and when he applied for citizenship.

Slating the highly qualified academic “who by his own admission is of good and sound mind and an intellectual giant”, she said it was highly improbable that, throughout his stay in the country and his encounters with immigration matters, he remained ignorant of the implications of not disclosing his Nigerian marriage.

Ijeoma told the court he obtained a permanent residence permit because of his “good and sound character” rather than his marriage to the SA woman.

He said home affairs had failed to take into account his contribution to SA as a result of his work as an academic and within the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.

Mfenyana said the exemption certificate clearly indicated the marriage was the basis for his exemption and Ijeoma had also admitted during a 2015 plea for home affairs to have compassion on him, that he obtained citizenship by naturalisation as a result of the marriage.

Home affairs provided the court with the certificate for Ijeoma’s marriage in Nigeria to dispel the notion it was a customary marriage. In any case, the Nigeria Marriage Act prohibited marriage where one of the parties was already married to another person under customary law.

In two immigration submissions in SA, when he had to indicate an immediate family member still residing in Nigeria, Ijeoma listed Anne Ijeoma as his sister.

Officials also said Ijeoma would have remained a permanent resident for five years had he not been exempted because of his marriage to the SA citizen.

Mfenyana said the court’s role was not to reconsider the minister’s decision but to review it for legality and reasonableness. The court found the minister was bound by the law, which determined the misrepresentation which Ijeoma had committed was a criminal offence.

UFH spokesperson Thandi Mapukata said she would need time to check with the university’s human resources department what steps might be taken after the court’s finding against Ijeoma.

“The university wasn’t aware of this development until now. We will contact law enforcement agencies to obtain a full briefing.”

Mapukata declined to provide a reason for Ijeoma’s suspension, but Dispatch reported in October last year that it was related to Gomba’s illegal registration.

The Islamic cleric and peace negotiator, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has said that Boko Haram would soon infiltrate the Fulani killer-herders that have been in constant clashes with farmers across the country and also involved in banditry.

Gumi also said the Fulani herders feel their existence is being threatened, so they cross borders to defend their kinsmen each time they are attacked.

The Islamic cleric spoke in an interview on Channels TV “Politics Today” on Monday.

Told that he is seen as deodorising evil, Sheikh Gumi said there was the need for a cleric to intervene because the Fulani and those fighting them were two sides that see each other as enemies, whereas they are all victims.

On the possibility of Boko Haram using the Fulani, Gumi said the Fulani bandits were not Boko Haram, noting, however, that “We have to be very careful.

“If the pressure is too much, I am afraid they can be influenced by Boko Haram. We have seen the signs that Boko Haram is going to infiltrate them.”

On why he can locate and hold dialogue with the bandits while government authorities cannot find them, Gumi said: “They (government) know. They see them (bandits) by aerial view.

“But the military has learned its lesson. The first approach they had— when they go in and start killing— they realised is the wrong way and that they were producing a monster. They are now careful.

“The only element I am adding now is ‘look, don’t just wait and watch, go in and negotiate’.”

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Saturday declared that herdsmen were not responsible for the killing of Dr. Fatai Aborode.

DAILY POST recalls that Aborode, a former House of Representatives candidate, was last year killed in Igangan, a town in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of the state by yet to be identified persons.

The killing and other killings, kidnapping and attacks in Ibarapa geopolitical zone have been attributed to suspected herdsmen.

Though, many people believed that the PDP chieftain was killed by suspected herdsmen, Makinde, however, said that that herdsmen were not responsible for the killing.

Makinde who spoke on Saturday morning during a program on the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (because) monitored by DAILY POST said, ”Aborode’s killing is political.”

Makinde who noted that his interaction with the father of the deceased, insisted that the killing is “political”.

Makinde claimed he spent a night in Ibarapa geopolitical zone recently, adding that he interacted with the father of the deceased, who revealed that the death of his son was political.

He added that all the people involved in the killing would be investigated.

Makinde said, “I was the coordinator for PDP in Ibadan North East when Dr. Aborode was the coordinator for PDP in Ibarapa North Local government area when we returned to PDP.

“Dr. Aborode is not someone who is far from me. I am not saying that there are no bad eggs among the Fulani herdsmen, but, they are not the ones responsible for the killing.

“I spent two days in Ibarapa and I interacted with the people. I spoke with the father.

“I asked him what happened. They told me that, Dr. Aborode was not the one that drove himself to the farm. He was carried on the motorcycle when they were going. He sat at the back. But when they were coming, it was another person. I asked where is the person that drove the motorcycle, they said that he came to the house to seek help.

“They told me that some people who saw them during the interaction said that those people are not Fulani. They were speaking Yoruba.

“The father told me that the death was political. And I called the Commissioner of Police.

“I asked after the motorcyclist that carried him. They said that they did not injure him. He came home to seek help. And a few days ago, they said that they have brought the person. All of them must be investigated”.

Following the ongoing military action in some parts of Orlu Senatorial District of Imo State, the state governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma has insisted that his administration would not yield to pressure from those calling for withdrawal of soldiers from the crisis-ridden area.

The governor stated that he invited soldiers in Orlu to restore calm in the area after members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), killed several policemen and innocent citizens in the area.

Uzodimma, who gave the explanation through the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr. Cyprain Akaolisa, at a press briefing in Owerri, said the narrative that innocent people were being killed by the military was intended to shift attention from the despicable activities of IPOB in Orlu.

According to the governor, the government discovered that there were deliberate attempts by IPOB to attack Orlu people and the government in the guise that they were looking for Fulani herdsmen.

These attacks, he said, started during the #Endsars protests last year.

Uzodimma said, “The attacks on police stations and killing of policemen during #Endsars were carried out by IPOB and not protesting youths for the sole purpose of hijacking and stealing weapons.

“They are now using those arms to destroy Orlu.

“They killed 10 policemen, a prominent Orlu son, Ignatius Obiezu and one Emmanuel Okeke (Soludo) collected their Hilux vehicles

“The IPOB also shot and killed four Moslems doing their business in Orlu.

“IPOB said they were looking for herdsmen, but these victims they killed before the crisis, were they herdsmen?

“We heard Nnamdi Kanu celebrating the activities of his men in Orlu that they are doing well by killing innocent citizens. There’s no Fulani herdsmen in Orlu.

“So, we asked ourselves, what is the colouration that IPOB is trying to give this onslaught in Orlu?

“That’s why our government decided to invite military to flush out IPOB and their so called ESN.

“We discovered that there was a camp which IPOB established at Umutanze, Orlu and we sent police to dislodge them. But, it happened that they attacked the policemen and killed two of them. It was after they killed those policemen that government had to bring in the military.

“It was not easy for the military to push them out of that place. But the military succeeded. That was why they came on a reprisal attack and killed the innocent ones.

“They also relocated to Udah in Orsu LGA, a camp at a boundary between Imo and Anambra States. The place is a very depressed groove that no one can easily enter.

“For the past two weeks, surveillance was monitoring that place and there were more than 200 people being trained in that camp. The military had to deploy their arsenal to diminish the IPOB people there.”

The governor expressed surprise that people could call for withdrawal of soldiers from Orlu.

“We can’t do that. We can’t fold our arms for these boys to continue to kill people everyday”.

ON FEBRUARY 18, 2021

By Ikechukwu Odu

At least 63 residents of Obigbo in Rivers State have regained their freedom after four months in different security personnel dungeons in Abuja.

The residents who were rendered incommunicado throughout their period of captivity were freed following the consideration of a bail application filed on Wednesday, 10th February, 2021 before an Abuja Grade 11 Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse by a human rights lawyer, Barr. E.R Okoroafor.

This was contained in a statement made available to Vanguard by an Onitsha-based human rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Intersociety, on Thursday.

According to the statement which was signed by the rights group’s Chairman of Board of Trustees, Emeka Umeagbalasi, and other principal officers, 53 other residents have been located in the DSS dungeons while searches are on to trace and free the remaining 140 others who were part of the 400 law-abiding residents of Obigbo while they were going about their lawful businesses between October and November, 2020.

Part of the statement reads “The International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law-INTERSOCIETY is happily announcing another major breakthrough in its campaigns to expose and end a booklet of atrocity crimes that have ravaged the Nigerian Army particularly under the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai.

This time, the major breakthrough recorded was the release on Monday, 15th Feb 2021 of 63 Obigbo residents, all males.

They were reportedly detained by the Nigerian Army at Obigbo in Rivers State and held incommunicado for four months or since Oct 2020 in Mogadishu Barracks and other security dungeons in Abuja.

“Their release followed the landmark consideration of their bail application filed on Wednesday, 10thFeb 2021 before an Abuja Grade 11 Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse.

“They were freed from four different Army, DSS and Police dungeons in Abuja and environs; namely: Mogadishu Army Barracks, Annex B at Asokoro, DSS Training Center at Central Business District and its abandoned facility at Zuba and the Nigeria Police College at Suleja in Niger State.

“The freed victims were part of over 400 innocent and defenceless Obigbo residents including over 60 girls and young women detained between Oct and Nov 2020 at their workplaces or on their way home from work or while engaging in other lawful social activities.

“The release of the 63 residents was made possible through the lawyerly and activist doggedness of Barr E.R. Okoroafor. Barr E.R. Okoroafor is a British citizen of Igbo nativity and international human rights lawyer.

“The efforts of the leadership of IPOB in this respect are also worthily recognized and appreciated.

“While it is hopeful that the newly located 53 young women in the DSS dungeons will soon regain their freedom, bringing the total number of the located or freed to 261; searches are still on to locate the remaining residents numbering over 140.

“This is owing to the fact that the Nigerian Army and DSS have refused to speak publicly on the whereabouts of the residents, the freed ones and why the over 400 residents were in the first place kept out of public knowledge till date.”

A delegation from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) visited Shasha community in Ibadan, on Tuesday, declaring that the recent mayhem in the community that resulted in loss of lives and properties is not a tribal conflict but only a regrettable and spontaneous reaction to emotions.


Governor Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi) made this declaration when he led Governors Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara) and Abubakar Bello (Niger) on an on-the-spot assessment visit to Shasha market as well as meetings with the Baale Shasha, Amusa Akinade-Ajani and Seriki Shasa, Haruna Maiyasin.

The NGF delegation was accompanied on the assessment tour by host governor, Seyi Makinde; Deputy Inspector General of Police, David Folawiyo; Oyo Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko; Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Security, Fatai Owoseni; various security chiefs.

Describing the destruction of lives and properties as condemnable and unfortunate, Bagudu cautioned against attachment tribal colourations, noting that Hausas, Yorubas, Igbos and other tribes alike suffered losses in the Shasha crisis.

He noted that the crisis was triggered by undercurrents and disagreements about the emergence of the leadership of Shasha market and the social media instigating pent-up anger.

Bagudu decried that hoodlums, miscreants keen on looting and causing mayhem also exploited the situation resulting in carnage.

He particularly cautioned young people against exuberance and taking laws into their hands and using the social media to wrongly portray situations thereby creating mayhem in the country.

Pointing to the long history of the relationship between the Yorubas and Hausas, and the historical nature of Ibadan, the Kebbi governor called for a united voice against aggressive elements and those stoking fear and intent on causing mayhem.

“We saw the destruction at Shasha market but more than the destruction was the regrettable loss of lives that was caused by both a regrettable and condemnable spontaneous response to emotions. This is because both the Hausa and Yoruba communities were unanimous that two issues led to this situation. There has been contention over the leadership of the Shasha market even though the Seriki Shasha and Baale of Shasha are in agreement about leadership.

“But other interested groups were not so in agreement. Therefore, there was this undercurrent playing out then the trigger. There was somebody pushing a wheelbarrow with tomatoes and it fell in front of a shop. One would have thought that ordinarily, that was normal in a market. But once emotions are pent up and social media instigating, we had the situation we had which included loss of lives.

“As we speak, it is certain that some people are in hiding or afraid about what will happen. It is all on us to ensure that we communicate properly so that those who are living in fear whether in Ibadan or outside Ibadan who fears that there may be reprisal to know that the Nigeria Governors Forum and President Muhammadu Buhari, security agencies are working hard to ensure that we treat things for what they are.

“To those outside Ibadan, particularly in Northern states, we want to extend that a regrettable, spontaneous incident has happened but it is not a tribal conflict.

“We must warn our young people who are exuberant in taking laws into their hands to know that the social media can portray that story wrongly and no matter how right we are, we can create mayhem in our land which we don’t want to do. The Hausas, Yorubas have a deep, long relationship ditto other Nigerians,” Bagudu said.

Bagudu asserted that normalcy was returning to Ibadan, calling on communities housing Hausas, Igbos, Yorubas and other tribes that may be living in fear to be quick to approach the state government for the fears to be addressed.

He allayed the fears, especially of reprisals, in some quarters, noting that Governor Seyi Makinde has assured of a commitment to ensuring that communities live without fear.

Bagudu asserted gladness of the NGF that Ibadan was calm and that people are supporting each other for a return to normalcy.


He assured that the NGF will support the Oyo State governor in rebuilding the market and was set to mobilise more funds towards the cause at a wider forum.

As a matter of urgency, Bagudu said the NGF had provided some money to assist the displaced persons pending when the market will be reopened and subsequently rebuilt.

“We are glad that the governor is rendering assistance. We, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum are also going to support him. In fact, we have given a token to support those who are already displaced and we will meet at a wider forum tomorrow and I am sure more support will be mobilized.

“We will support the governor in restoring peace and order and ensuring that this does not trigger retaliation elsewhere.

“We have seen the extent of destruction in the market that affected both Yorubas, Hausas, even among the dead are Hausas and non-Hausas. But this carnage is one too many and we pray that the people who are instigating will always listen and appreciate that we can do better together and we pray we continue to be on this path.

“The Nigerian Governors’ Forum, having seen the extent of the destruction, will send a message of support to our governor to help in the reconstruction and pacification. We will give immediate help today to help with what you have been doing. We pray Nigeria will continue on its march towards peace.

“Nigerians should know that the spontaneity of what has happened has happened regrettably but, as we speak, normalcy is being returned to Ibadan. There are no people chasing each other in Ibadan, as we speak, and that is commendable. We have heard how commendable the conduct of security agencies has been.

“There will be people still living in fear and that is why we all need to mobilise to ensure we contain the situation, in terms of giving them comfort to come out and resume their normal activities. There are no trucks parking Nigerian to other parts of Nigeria.

“What we see is a city that has been traumatized by an unfortunate incident but is working hard to rebuild and we must encourage and commend all to continue doing so. We know that the governor is working hard. He has been supported by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“It is a regrettable conflict that the different communities in Oyo are working and holding each other’s hands to sort out,” Bagudu added.


I will reopen market only if… ― Makinde

In his remarks, Governor Seyi Makinde asked the residents of Shasha to trust his administration’s judgment on ensuring peaceful coexistence in Shasha and across the state.

He said the Shasha market will be reopened as soon as he can extract commitment and assurances of the market and community stakeholders that there won’t be further bloodletting.

Told that some Shasha traders had relocated to Iroko area of the same Akinyele local government, Makinde said he won’t hesitate to shut the said Iroko market too.

Makinde said, “I don’t want further loss of lives. I know everyone is here to make a living. Let’s sheathe our swords. We have all lived together peacefully.

“What we want is progress and development of our society. The Seriki Shasha and Baale Shasha have met and you have to trust our judgment as a government.

“There cannot be progress where there is chaos. For those who went to Iroko for trading activities, I will also shut that place.

“If you all cooperate and agree on how there won’t be bloodletting here anymore, you will come to meet me then I will reopen the market. We beg you that I don’t want the loss of lives anymore.”

He also cautioned against persons using the social media to stoke crisis, while describing attempts to politicize the issue of security in the state as appalling.

“You can see that for those who are trying to politicize security, it is appalling. Nigeria transcends APC, PDP and that is why we are pulling together in one accord to find a solution that will restore peace to Oyo state and to our country.

“Some people promoting fake news stay abroad and are stoking fire here, and people who are not aware easily buy into it and start doing something that we will regret later. People are here looking to make a living.

“I ask the promoters of fake news and divisive news to desist. Let us have the chance to give our people the opportunity to earn their decent living,” Makinde said.

Those interested in market leadership behind mayhem ― Yoruba, Hausa community heads

Both the Baale Shasha, Amusa Akinade-Ajani and Seriki Shasha, Haruna Maiyasin asserted their commitment to the peaceful coexistence of all tribes.

They decried that those keen on the management of the market are behind the crisis and called on the state government to arrest and deal with such persons.

They appealed to the state governor and his governor-counterparts to see to the rebuilding of the market, in no distant time.

In particular, the Baale Sasa, Amusa Akinade-Ajani said: “The visiting governors should assist the host governor. We do not discriminate against any tribe; we believe we are of the same family. We want peaceful coexistence of all tribes here.

“We want a return to how we have been coexisting in Shasha. It is unbelievable to hear that some people are moving to settle in another place within the same Akinyele local government. We can’t approve of them selling in another place and then coming here to sleep at night.

“Government should arrest and deal with anyone causing crisis. We are no longer fighting. We want to live in peace; we are not fighting with Hausa, Igbo. We know those causing trouble; help us take them away from Akinyele local government.

“We don’t want people to beat drums of war. We welcome anyone who wants to trade at Shasha market peacefully. We welcome anyone that will live here in peace.”

[/quote]February 14, 2021

By Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

There was uneasy calm in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra state following a boundary dispute between Ezi Nkewelle and Osile Ogbunike communities in the area.

Some hoodlums reportedly working for one of the communities had blocked the road in attempt to stop the other party from taking possession of the slaughter market, an action that led to smashing of some vehicles in the area.

Addressing newsmen on Sunday, Chairman of Ezi Nkwelle community, Chief Wilfred Okafor, regretted that they were prevented from taking possession of the slaughter market land given to them by the State Boundary committee and court judgments.

He said: “When we arrived the place on February 11, some armed policemen already stationed in the market and started shooting sporadically which made us to scamper for safety.

“Why will the same police that gave us protection on Feb 3 when we first came to take possession of the land but was prevented by suspected hoodlums who were shooting from the bush that made both the police and themselves to leave the place for safety also turn against us and started shooting at us?

“We also wonder why government is keeping quiet over the land matter even after paying our own bills as they requested for demarcation and monuments.”

Okafor called for government intervention by putting the monument as promised after their ruling on the land.

The Nation gathered that some traders were injured, others lost their meats and cash amounting to N30million while properties were destroyed when suspected hoodlums stormed the slaughter market last week.

Reacting, Police spokesperson, Haruna Mohammed said Police did not stop anybody from executing court order but responded to a distress call of imminent breakdown of law and order.

“The timely intervention of the Police calmed the situation leading to restoration of normalcy and free flow of traffic,” he added.

Xammie001:
my mum version
she did worse but i still love her

...she started beating the young boy since he was four years old. They added that the recent assault lasted for close to two hours as the minor sustained several injuries on his head, face, shoulders, and back.


A woman identified as Peace Onyebuchi has been arrested by the gender unit of Ajangbandi Police Station in Lagos State for allegedly brutalising her son and locking him up.

According to Onyebuchi, she had the 10-year-old boy in her first relationship but is currently married to another man who is in the Gambia in search of greener pastures.

It was alleged by Onyebuchi's neighbours that she started beating the young boy since he was four years old. They added that the recent assault lasted for close to two hours as the minor sustained several injuries on his head, face, shoulders, and back.

The incident which occurred at Ekunpa, Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos, was reported to a human rights group, Advocates for Children and Vulnerable People's Network, by a concerned neighbour.

The neighbour said, "This boy is six years old, his name is Divine. He doesn't attend school anymore. Presently, Divine is looked up in a room by his mum. This torture has been going on since when Divine was four years old. His father is presently in the Gambia in search of greener pastures. This boy needs help.

"I was not even aware of the issue until recently when my landlord's daughter told me about it. I immediately told the landlord who didn't take the issue lightly; he immediately mobilised all the neighbours to her door and demanded that she should bring out the boy so we could see him, at least to be sure he was still alive.

"I used to see Divine in 2019 whenever he was going to school. He was a very fine young boy. He was very healthy and alive but since I had not been seeing him, I assumed he was not around. Little did we know she had been locking him up. When the landlord asked the mother to bring him out, what we saw was horrible.”

SaharaReporters gathered that Onyebuchi hits her son's head against the wall at the slightest provocation.

It was gathered that personnel of the Advocates for Children and Vulnerable People's Network had taken the young boy to the hospital for proper medical attention as he was unable to walk, stand, or even sit properly.