.

Some power-drunk mobile policemen attached to the Police Special Fraud Unit in Lagos State on Wednesday seized the telephone and identity card of a reporter with The PUNCH Newspaper, Toni Ufoh.

Ufoh had gone to the Milverton, Ikoyi area of Lagos State where the office of the SFU was located to speak with some prospective tenants allegedly defrauded by a developer, Adewale Tunde.

The PUNCH reporter was talking to the victims in front of the station when he was approached by the policemen, who accused him of filming the SFU building.

The men thereafter seized his telephone and ID card.

All efforts to retrieve the items proved abortive, as the policemen manhandled Ufoh and deleted the pictures of the housing scam victims in his phone.

Recounting his experience, the reporter said, “About three policemen, one in camouflage and the others in mufti, approached me as I was speaking to one of the victims of the fraud at the SFU office gate. They asked to see what was in my phone and I explained to them that I was a journalist and I came to interview some of the victims of the housing scam. They demanded to see my identity card, which I promptly showed them. Immediately, they seized it and took me to their security post.

“One of them searched my phone for the recorded video but could not find any, so he checked the picture folder where he saw a picture of the fraud victims where they had gathered, and he deleted it.



“Despite appeals made to the officers by the fraud victims, some of whom informed them that I was a journalist who only came to interview them, they failed to return my phone and identity card after waiting for several hours. The policemen took me to their office and threatened to lock me up with criminals who would deal with me severely.”

The acting PUNCH Metro Head, Samson Folarin, who spoke to one of the officers on the telephone, urged him to release the items as the reporter was only doing his job.

The policeman, who did not identify himself, said, “What warrant him to come here and interview people? If he was doing his job, that was why we seized his phone, let him explain himself to the CP. The CP is on his way and he knows what is going on now.”

Folarin asked that the matter be resolved amicably.

The officer said, “We have already informed the CP; the CP is already on his way over the matter. We don’t know what can happen. This was how they burnt our stations. What makes him come to interview or video on police premises?”

After all efforts to retrieve the phone and ID card from the officers failed, Ufoh left the station.

Read Also
Power-drunk police, DSS men batter PUNCHman, NUJ kicks
A spokesperson for the SFU, DSP Eyitayo Johnson, said he was not aware of the incident.


He said, “I am just hearing about this for the first time, but I will find out by tomorrow.”

The prospective tenants, numbering about 200, had paid various sums of money ranging from N200,000 to N1m to secure apartments in a house on Obayon Street in the Akoka area of Lagos.

Our correspondent learnt that after the victims paid into the developer’s Stanbic Bank account between November and early December 2021, he disappeared.

The victims were led by a businessman, Obiakor Emmanuel.

The case, which was reported at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, was transferred to the SFU.

Most of the victims, who turned up at the SFU on Wednesday, used the occasion to demand the arrest of the suspect.

They were being interviewed when the reporter was manhandled by the policemen.

https://punchng.com/power-drunk-sfu-policemen-manhandle-punchman-seize-phone-id-card/

this is how to be proactive

The level of monumental corruption that is ongoing under this government is alarming

Following the involvement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s only son, Yusuf in a ghastly accident, during a power-bike racing on Tuesday, December 26,2017; facts have emerged on how Yusuf secretly acquired the multi million naira bikes.

DAILY POST exclusively gathered from a reliable source at the presidency that the BMW power-bikes, with a whopping sum of $157, 000 each from Germany were acquired secretly by Yusuf around June, 2017 at the instance of his friend, Bashir Gwandu.


Our source revealed that upon the purchase of the two power bikes, they were kept at Gwandu’s residence, located in Gwarinpa District, in the Bwari Local Government Area.

Yusuf, whois attached with three operatives from the Department of State Service (DSS) reportedly struck a deal with his security details, who allowed him to always sneak out in the night for racing at Gwandu’s place.

The operatives, against their pattern of operation and procedure of duty perpetually rolled out their daily reports without that aspect of Yusuf’s movement, the compromise that got President Buhari seriously infuriated.

DAILY POST, however learnt that the three operatives have since been shown out of the service.


A source at the yellow house, who confirmed the development said the affected operatives were first suspended indefinitely and later dismissed.

http://dailypost.ng/2018/01/08/yusuf-buhari-presidents-son-secretly-acquired-power-bikes-dss-operatives-sacked-incident/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

The Chairman, House of Representatives committee on interior, Adams Jagaba, on Monday evening formerly dumped Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Mr. Jagaba, who represents Kachia/Kagarko constituency of Kaduna State, announced his decision while reacting to his suspension from the APC in Kaduna State.

“APC is a sinking ship and I won’t perish with it,” he said.

Mr. Jagaba, who said he had expected to be expelled from the party, did not announce the party he would join.
Sources close to him, however, told PREMIUM TIMES he will soon declare for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

“I expected dismissal and now suspension. It’s been long I bid them farewell,” the lawmaker said.

“My body language, my utterances, my actions and inactions has demonstrated that I had parted ways with them for a long time. It’s unfortunate that they are not practical scientists to realise it,” he said.

He alleged that the APC has shown that the security and welfare of the people is not a priority.

“The electorates are more poorer now, Fulani herdsmen have continued to attack and kill my people unabatedly with both the federal and state governments doing nothing.

“The Governor of Kaduna State has continually said, he does not need the votes from Southern Kaduna to win election. He has demonstrated that he values the life of a cow than the lifes of Southern Kaduna people. So, I can’t stay with them in the same party,” he added.



The lawmaker said he would never beg to return to the APC.

“The power lies with the electorates and not in the hands of a political party,” he said, adding “if they are expecting me to come crawling on my knees to beg them, then they are day dreaming.”

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/254891-%e2%80%8ehouse-reps-member-dumps-apc-says-party-sinking-ship.html/amp?__twitter_impression=true

PRESS RELEASE

December 30th, 2017


NNPC's Subsidy Fraud, A Must Probe -ADP


...Urges Senate To Urgently Set Up Probe Team

The Action Democratic Party (ADP) has mandated the National Assembly both the upper and lower chambers to wade into the subsidy controversy and probe it. 

In a statement issued in Lagos on Saturday, by the ADP Lagos Spokesman, Prince Adelaja Adeoye, he said that the discrepancies in the subsidy claim has further created tensions, controversies and doubts in the minds of Nigerians. While he explain in details, he called on the Senate President Bukola Saraki to urgently set up a committee to look into the subsidy controversy. 

According to ADP, the current fuel scarcity that has left Nigerians in a sorry state, in this festive season, has revealed monumental fraud in the NNPC, through its involvement in secret payment of subsidy. This is of huge significance because, the Buhari's government had told Nigerians that subsidy was removed in early 2016, the party said. 

The party said further that, it could be recalled that in the wake of the present fuel scarcity, the APC government led by President Muhammadu Buhari, had blamed the problem on major oil marketers, whom it alleged were asking for an increase in the pump price of fuel. However, the oil marketers later countered the allegation, maintaining that their problem with the government, was far from the alleged demand for pump price increase; and went on to reveal that they were being owed huge sum by the FG in subsidy payment.

The revelation, immediately prompted an outcry from Nigerians who demanded to known what subsidy, the marketers were talking about, taken into account that the Buhari's government had told the nation, in early 2016 that fuel subsidy has been removed, a development, which lead to the increase in pump price from N87 to N145.

In their explanation in May 2016, through VP Osinbajo, the FG explained that the fuel subsidy removal as follows;

“First, the real issue is not a removal of subsidy. At $40 a barrel there isn’t much of a subsidy to remove." Explaining further, VP Osinbajo said;

“We realised that we were left with only one option. This was to allow independent marketers and any Nigerian entity to source their own foreign exchange and import fuel. We expect that foreign exchange will be sourced at an average of about N285 to the dollar, (current interbank rate). They would then be restricted to selling at a price between N135 and N145 per litre.

What this meant was that Marketers were importing fuel and selling as dictated by the market forces, with little government regulation to avoid excessive pricing of the sales of fuel to the Nigerian masses.

Also, Speaking with Nigerians in October 2016, in an interactive session in Berlin, Buhari said, “There are things that are happening, and if such had happened before there would have been major riot, like the removal of subsidy on fuel,” further confirming Osinbajo's earlier claims.

These are the reasons ADP said its in total disbelief to hear that there was still anything called subsidy, associated with fuel. Hence, in a swift reaction, and to cover this fraud or probably to silence Nigerians who kept demanding for an explanation of this sudden subsidy claim, the party noted that the VP Osinbajo told the nation that NNPC and not the federal government is responsible for the subsidy payment. In his words, "NNPC and not the Federal Government pays for the fuel subsidy that has emerged with the N171 landing cost as against the official retail price of N145."

ADP said this new claim has further angered Nigerians who couldn't figure how NNPC became responsible for subsidy payment and not the FG. More so that as an agency of government, NNPC can only spend money within the budget. Meanwhile, there has not been any budget for subsidy for two year running.

Now to avoid the probing questions of Nigerians, NNPC GMD, Baru, while  responding to questions at Aso Rock Villa, after the Friday prayers, said that Buhari authorized him to be paying subsidy for fuel.

It is interesting to note that NNPC is a parastatal of the FG, which spends money as budgeted for in the annual national budget. For two year running, there has not been any budget for subsidy, because it has been removed from petroleum product; yet NNPC has been paying subsidy. The fraud here is, NNPC is paying subsidy the government said doesn't exist anymore, and doing so outside the budget.

The practice has been that every money collected by all FG agencies and parastatals are mandatorily paid into the TSA, from where approval is given for withdrawal, by same agencies in line with their budget. What this means is that NNPC has either not been paying into TSA or has been short paying. We must remember that just recently, a House committee discovered the sum of N50bn in NNPC secret account, outside the TSA. The NNPC GMD Baru, was quick to say, Buhari order him to put the N50bn into such secret account. This is besides the $25bn contract it awarded without due process, which he also claimed, Buhari authorised.

ADP said it is calling on the Nigerian Senate to do the needful by investigating the NNPC's subsidy fraud, to save Nigeria from the monumental fraud supervised by GMD Maikanti Baru and his team at NNPC happening in the open and to the knowledge of Buhari, the party concluded.

APC propaganda

Lagos rally starts on Saturday 09-12-17.

Freedom Park Ojota.

8 am

Lagos protest starts on Saturday in Ojota, freedom park 8 am

ok

ojun50:
is atiku d only capable person for d position?

read the post again and show me where Atiku was mentioned

mikejj:
APC to 419.i clean my teeth

what are they before.

A party whose promise of Change have turn to Change of Promise

Apc is a Party of liars and thieves, watch how Obanikoro corruption case will be forgotten after joining APC.

reports written by European sailors who visited Lagos in the 18th century (1700s) --- "Trade and Politics behind the Slave Coast: The Lagoon Traffic and the Rise of Lagos, 1500 -1800" by Robin Law published in the British Journal, "The Journal of African History", . German sailors found the Bini Army in Eko (Lagos) and they were battling rebels in the Badagry area. They even assisted the Bini Army with artillery fire to defeat the rebels. The Oba of Benin was in Lagos during the battles, leading his men.

A former President of the Association of Lagos State Indigenes, Chief Layi Ajayi-Bembe, in this interview with BAYO AKINLOYE says the real owners of Lagos are the Bini, not the Yoruba

What is your lineage as a Lagosian?

My grandfather was Ajayi Bembe; the eighth Obanikoro of Lagos – my father was the last of his children. My mother was the first child of Gbajabiamila (of Olowogbowo fame) – of course, of Lagos. When it comes to the ownership of Lagos, it is sad when people talk about Lagos being no man’s land or Lagos being part of Yoruba land – I consider that position to be an abomination. Yes, because of the affinity or geographical location of Lagos, we’re nearer to the South-West (the Yoruba) than to other regions. It should be stated that Lagos has always been independent of the West. When I returned from England, (Chief Obafemi) Awolowo was in prison; before I came back to Nigeria, there had been agitations that Lagos wasn’t part of the West. No doubt that a lot of us speak Yoruba – in my family, we’re Bini. Oba of Lagos (Rilwan Akiolu) was completely right that the early settlers in Lagos were the Awori and the Bini. We’re talking about the Island of Lagos.

Extending it to the east of Lagos, you have Oshodi, the Tapa (from Niger State) were there. And, of course, we knew one another. I don’t understand why some of our brothers in the West think that we can be enslaved by them. In all my years, I have not seen what Afenifere has done for Lagos to inspire me because during the last constitutional conference, they were not talking about Lagos; they were talking about themselves. Don’t forget that the so-called Edo State was part of the West before. But to say Lagos is part of Yoruba land is not fair; it is not charitable. And when kabiyesi now said, Lagos is Bini, not only because we came from Benin, there are signs and relics of Benin all over Isale Eko. And obas (in Lagos) – we don’t call them ‘obas’, we call them ‘eleko’. My grandfather said in 1903 that when there was a dispute of which traditional rulers should wear crowns – my grandfather was at that meeting. Ooni of Ife had to come all the way from Ife to Lagos upon the invitation of Governor (John Hawley) Glover. And the question they asked him (Ooni) was, ‘Who are the obas that should wear crowns?’ He mentioned them – Lagos was not part of the list. We don’t wear crowns in Lagos. I remember, Pa Edegbele – that’s Prof. Edegbele’s father – when he said ‘oba’ is alien to Yoruba land that only the Bini use that title, there was a furore over that. But Edegbele was right. Note that politicians have done a lot of havoc in Yoruba land more than in other regions of the country. Nobody is going to doubt the hegemony of the Sultan of Sokoto in the North. But the Yoruba are fond of creating problems among themselves in Yoruba land. Permit me to digress: look at the recent installation of some kings in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. A governor created 21 kings, for what? Is that what the people need at a time when the masses are hungry, civil servants are owed salaries and basic amenities are not available? It now appears there are more rulers than the ruled.



Are you saying Lagos belongs to the Bini people?

ADVERTISING

Lagos belongs to us – the Bini. When you get to Enuowa, they (the inhabitants) pay homage to Oba of Benin there. Enuowa is in Lagos; Idumota is like a Bini name; Iduntafa is Bini name; Idunmagbo is Bini name; Iduganran is Bini name; tell me, what further proof do you want (that the Bini own Lagos)? Why have some people tried hard to erode our identity and the labour of our ancestors? Today, if you go to the Lagos State Secretariat, you’ll hardly see the original indigenes of the state hold a prominent position. So, why are people crying about the quota system? You don’t ‘quotarise’ knowledge. Whatever is the case, I believe that the indigenes of Lagos – by the way, I was president of Association of Lagos Indigenes for almost 15 years – we know how our resources were plundered and carted away. Look at the fiasco called ‘Lagos @50’. The state government doesn’t recognise the true indigenes of Lagos State. Some of the indigenes work with them for the purpose of getting whatever they can get from the government. Some people are trying so hard to maintain the stupidity that Lagos doesn’t belong to anybody – that’s annoying.

What about Alhaji Femi Okunnu’s view of the Awori being the original owners of Lagos?

I am not a lawyer but Femi Okunnu is a lawyer – a Senior Advocate of Nigeria for that matter. On the issue of the original owners of Lagos, my attention was drawn to an article focused on the Idunganran celebration. Mr. Femi Okunnu happened to be my mentor; he was an inspiration to me particularly when I returned from England. He was not only elder ‘brother’ to me because we lived close together. They were living at No. 1 Ido Olowu Street and I was living at No. 7 Ido Olowu Street. I have known him for a long time. I remember when he came back from England as a young and vibrant lawyer. When Femi Okunnu himself was the Federal Commissioner for Works during the military regime, he was the one who actually acquired the area where you have the National Theatre, Iganmu. From whom did he acquire it? He got it from the indigenes; my grandfather had a place there. We must have a good perspective of history. People should learn not to mutilate history. The owners of Lagos are not the Yoruba; they are the Bini. We are Bini; there’s no ambiguity about that. To prove it further, the obas or the elekos, when they died, their bodies were taken to Benin for burial for a time. Tell me, who owns the land then?

Who are the Awori? The Awori and the Bini are the same. If an Awori spoke to me when I was young, I understood him. My parents spoke Awori. The Awori are partly from Dahomey and partly from Benin. My forebears came from the riverine area through the Bight of Benin and settled in Badagry for a long time before moving down to Lagos. And when they moved down to Lagos where did they go? They went to Idunsagbe – a place famed for Bini culture and tradition. I am an Awori. Tell me, which state did they create for the Awori now? If you say the indigenous people of Lagos State are the Awori, then the Awori are the Bini. We must put history in its right perspective. The right perspective is that Lagos does not belong to the Yoruba; it belongs to the Bini. According to the Lyttleton Constitution, the West was created; the North was created and Lagos was made a colony and it later regained its independence.

Some may argue that the original Lagosians didn’t protect their legacy, allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry to hold sway politically and economically.

It is true that Lagos is open to everybody that could bring ideas. But when it comes to certain elements within the political spectrum in Nigeria… Look at it this way, will it surprise you that a representative of Lagos who calls himself a Lagosian representing the state in the National Assembly went to Kogi State to vie for the governorship? Isn’t that insulting? Some are even saying once (Osun State Governor, Rauf) Aregbesola has completed his tenure in Osun, he will come back to Lagos to contest a senatorial seat. We called Bola Tinubu, sat him down and told him how we accepted him and he let us down. I know the role I played when Bola Tinubu was coming in; when I gave him my second cousin, (Musiliu) Obanikoro to go along with him (I don’t talk to that one (Obanikoro) again after he had his hand in something embarrassing; because you don’t disgrace your family). I am not looking for anything from them. It is very wrong that people should trivialise the affairs of Lagos. For example, we kicked against (Prof. Wole) Soyinka being made the chairman of the Lagos @50 celebration. But nobody listened to us. Look at the fiasco; was it a success? Who bothered about it? People who will not celebrate the living are celebrating the dead – it doesn’t go beyond that. You acquire land from me for a public purpose and the next thing you did was to share it with your siblings, friends and other loved ones. It is really sad for people to proclaim Lagos as no man’s land. Lagos is so accommodating; it is only here you see an Igbo man being made a commissioner. Even the Yoruba that are shouting, how many Lagosians are in their cabinets? They all live in Lagos; we know them. Some of them benefitted from the liberty Lagos offers. But ask them: what have they done for their host communities? Can you imagine Orji Kalu, who bought land here, saying Lagos belongs to nobody? They just talk.

Don’t you think Prof. Wole Soyinka deserved to have been the chairman of the Lagos @50 celebration?

I am not used to Soyinka and I don’t want to be acquainted with him. It is unfortunate that because he was made the chairman of Lagos @50, he began to insult people, claiming that his father had a land in Lagos. We traced the land – one plot of land – and discovered that the land was bought from my grandfather. People like him go around insulting others. Has he not insulted Femi Okunnu before? Tell me who Wole Soyinka has never insulted? He is part of the Tinubu group. Is he not an Ogun man? I don’t think he has a right to say that Lagos is no man’s land. Who is he to say that? I think Okunnu knew better; I don’t think he meant what he said the way the press reported him. What he said is that Lagos is ‘part’ of Yoruba land; he didn’t say it was owned by the Yoruba. We need to be discreet in our definition. Geographically, we’re in the West and culturally, we speak Yoruba. If an Igbo man speaks Yoruba fluently, does that make him a Yoruba? Go to Lagos State House of Assembly and count how many of them are truly Lagos indigenes. Again, Okunnu was an active participant in the creation of Lagos State together with (Philip) Asiodu and Alison Ayida. They facilitated the creation of the state; there was a western state then. If Okunnu had advocated the merger of Lagos with the western region then, one would have thought otherwise. Wole Soyinka didn’t want Lagos to be created at that time. Soyinka used to be very radical but having got into the group of Bola Tinubu’s scientific imposition, he has been mellowing down. Soyinka would be the one that would stand for the truth when people were accused of certificate forgery and other ills. He was always at the forefront; he has become a turncoat. What happened to him? I respected him; he may not know me and he doesn’t need to know me.

So, you think Okunnu is on the same page with you when he talked about the early settlers of Lagos?

I believe Okunnu was actually agitating for the indigenes. He was president of Lagos State indigenes before me – we have Isale Eko Descendants Union, which we all belong to. All I am saying is this: Lagos is not part of Yoruba. The settlers are Bini. Wasn’t Benin part of the West before until the Mid-West was created? The Bini agitated for that, insisting that we’re not part of the Yoruba. Why can’t the Yoruba leave us alone for God’s sake? My grandfather went to court in 1889 to claim all the lands that belonged to him. He got a judgment. Then some people said, these lands were too much for one family – the place now called Ikorodu Road, they acquired it – for how much? For £27,000! My grandfather wasn’t around; he’s dead. But they forgot that this man gave them a land to build the first police barracks in Lagos. How could Bola Tinubu come all the way from wherever he came from (Kafaru brought him to me, turn Lagos into a place for Osun people in the secretariat). They’re radicalising the owners of Lagos with the way they’re acting. By the time they stand up you’ll be shocked. What are the people asking for? Give them what they deserve. Show them some respect. Okunnu did a lot for Lagos State; most parts of Victoria Island were sand-filled by the Federal Government. He and his colleagues at King’s College were able to excise Victoria Island and gave it to Lagos. In fact, Okunnu has done more for Lagos than any governor. Okunnu had his roots in Isale Eko.

http://punchng.com/bini-not-yoruba-are-original-owners-of-lagos-ajayi-bembe/

God!!! this his bad, human life no longer have value in Nigeria. This should be condemn by all.

Vehicular and human movements have been restricted on Mamman Nur street in the Asokoro area of Abuja.

Armed plain-clothed security personnel have also mounted strategic positions on the street.

TheCable reporter was prevented from getting to the end of the street around 2:45pm on Tuesday.

The Department of State Services had prevented officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from making arrests in the area in the early hours of the day.

The anti-graft agency officials had attempted to pick up Ita Ekpeyong, former director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS), and Ayo Oke, sacked director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

Editor’s note: This picture was used for the purpose of illustration

More to follow…

https://www.thecable.ng/developing-movement-restricted-asokoro-street-dss-efcc-standoff-continues

aribisala0:

Even if they exist the Ijaw should know that when they climb a tree to the top they do not become birds that can fly> No one will tolerate this and they will learn a very bitter lesson

Just leave them. them go learn fast

THE Bini Interest Group (BIG), an umbrella organisation of all Bini indigenes, has raised the alarm over the sustained and steady invasion of Benin territories...

By Agozino Agozino


THE Bini Interest Group (BIG), an umbrella organisation of all Bini indigenes, has raised the alarm over the sustained and steady invasion of Benin territories and unprovoked attacks by the
Ijaw settlers in the kingdom.

In a letter sent to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, signed by his royal majesty, the Oba of Benin, Prince Edun Akenzua, the Enogie of Obazuwa and 53 other Benin High Chiefs,
the monarch claimed that the Ijaw settlers have forcefully annexed Abiala, Ekehuan, Ibo, Ewudu, Gelegele and Ikonoke, all Bini territories, and now want to extend their frontiers to Obazuwa.

According to the monarch, the genesis of the Ijaw invasion of Biniland and search for more territories is based on their belief that the President Goodluck Jonathan administration would
likely create a second Ijaw state out of the present Bayelsa State called Toru-Ebe State.

Added to this is the recent approval of a sea port in Gelegele town by the Jonathan administration, which the Diaspora Ijaws automatically view as a major economic advantage for the new state if eventually created.

According to the chiefs, since the tactical approval of the said port by the Federal Government, the Ijaw settlers who are mostly fishermen, have taken the law into their hands, killing, destroying and attacking innocent Bini people with impunity in their attempt to grab more territory.

The Bini monarch also claimed that many of the attacks were carried out in connivance with some Ijaw leaders whom they alleged tactically gave direction for the sustained attacks and invasion.

Similarly, in an earlier joint petition to the Senate President, David Mark, and Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambwal, as well as the Conference of Ethnic Nationalities of Niger
Delta (CENND), signed by Benin, Ibibio, Itsekiri and Ilaje elders over the alleged Toru-Ebe State, the ethnic nationalities claimed that the Ijaws had since submitted a petition for the creation of the said state, which outrightly includes non Ijaw homelands.

One aspect of the petition reads in part: ‘We the indigenes of communities on the Benin-Ekehuan Road axis of Benin from the Ekahuan/Silako Road junction to Itakpo, Ekehuan, Ughoton and Gelegele in Ovia North-East Local Government Area write this letter on behalf of ourselves and other Benin interest groups in the seven local government areas of Edo South, to draw his excellency’s attention to the incessant invasion of Benin communities by Ijaw settlers in Benin.

They have annexed Abiala, Ekehuan, Ibo, Ewudu, Gelegele and Ikonoke and now want to extend their frontiers to Obazuwa. They prevented Okao of Gelegele, a chieftain appointed by His Majesty, the Oba of Benin, from erecting his house in Gelegele.

They behave as if the village where they live in Benin is on Ijawland. ‘Your Excellency, Ijaws are not indigenous of Benin. They are Ijaws in the Diaspora, like the Afro-Americans who left different countries in Africa many years ago as slaves and can no longer tell from which country they left, nor can they claim that where they live in America is African territory.

‘Ijaws in the diaspora are different from the aboriginal or homeland Ijaws. The difference is recognised even by the Ijaws themselves.

The late Isaac Adaka Boro, an Ijaw, hinted this in his book, The 12-Day Revolution, edited by Tony Tebekaemi, another Ijaw.

‘He said inter alia: “The Niger Delta we shall consider is strictly the area occupied by the Ijaws, the aboriginal tribe of the Delta. It spans the coast of the Bight of Biafra, from the Forcados River to the Opobo River upstream to the Niger tributaries of the Nun and Forcados Rivers.

The area under discussion is about 6,000 square miles and controls an aboriginal population of about two million.”

‘None of the areas Boro wrote about is in Edo State. ‘Prof. J. Alagoa, an historian and another Ijaw, also hinted on the difference.

In his book, A History of the Niger Delta, An Historical Interpretation of Ijaw Oral Tradition, he wrote: The original home of the Arogbos that can be identified with confidence is the town of Gbangan (Gbaraun) in Apo Ibe of the central traditions among the Gbaramatu Oporoza, the ancestral home of that group and of the sub-groups that broke away from it.

‘In July 1994, the aboriginal Ijaws wrote a letter to the Queen of England and forwarded a copy to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in Abuja. In the letter, they wrote: “It was only by the Treaties of Friendship, Trade and Protection signed between Ijaws and the British Government on 25th of January, 1836, at Bonny with Lieutenant Robert Tryon on behalf of Her Majesty, the Queen of Great Britain, that our aboriginal territory of the Niger Delta became a British Protectorate and was proclaimed the Oil River Protectorate in 1885 and the Niger Coast Proctorate in 1893 respectively.”

Signatories to the letter were representatives of Augalabiri, Angiama, Sagbama, Odiani, Ogbere, Akassa, Middleton, Bonny, Ogolomoa, Obika, Opobo. It is note-worthy that none of the communities named is in Benin.

However, Benin was already famous for her war activities, the art and the founding of Eko (Lagos) and Dahomey (present-day Republic of Benin), many centuries before 1836, the time that the treaty was signed,’ the group stated.

Going down memory lane on how the Ijaw settlers came to be in Iko, one of Bini communities now under Ijaw control, the group said that Oba Orogbua had planned a voyage across the sea
between 1550 and 1579.

Because his Benin people were not seafarers, he needed people who could paddle canoes. The Oba had Ijaws brought for the purpose from the Benin River to Iko, where he and his troops embarked on the voyage.

Those were the first Ijaws in Iko, on Benin land.

According to the Bini chiefs, the present Ijaw attack on Benin territories can also be traced to December 11, 1998 when the homeland Ijaws held a convention in Kiama, Rivers State.

The statement they issued after the convention came to be known as The Kiama Declaration.

That convention spurred on the settler Ijaws and made them hyper-political.

They began to agitate, expressing a wish to join their kith and kin in Rivers State. The agitation itself shows that they were aware, ab initio, that Bendel State is not their home but they are settlers.

‘We tell this long story, Your Excellency, in order to establish that Ijaws are only settlers on Benin land and have no legal, moral or historical support for their claims to be owners of where
they find themselves.

Gelegele is a now well known village. Not long ago, it was a shanty, little hamlet near Ughoton. Itsekiris, Urhobos and Ijaws lived there in harmony with Benin indigenes.

The first Ijaw man who moved to Gelegele was a fisherman named Efeti, who got there about 100 years ago.

He obtained permission from Ohen-Okun Okunseri of Ughoton and subscribed to an oath of allegiance to be allowed to settle there. In time, other fishermen, Itsekiris, Urhobos and Ijaws moved there.

They paid tribute annually through Ohen Okun to the Oba of Benin. The arrival of Philips Oil Company in 1965 in this sleepy little village disturbed the conviviality among the ethnic
groups.

Many Benin youths in Gelegele had migrated to the city, giving the Ijaw fishermen left behind the opportunity to be the main suppliers of labour to the oil company. That job opportunity attracted other Ijaw fishermen and, as they increased in number, they became audacious,’ the group declared.

Shedding more light on Ijaw history of unprovokeattack and destruction, which they alleged have been going on in the disputed territories, the Bini chiefs said: ‘In 1969, they (Ijaw) attacked the Itsekiri, Urhobo and Benin youths, claiming ownership of the place.

The disturbance was widespread. It compelled the defunct Mid-West government to set up an administrative panel to look into the cause of the crisis.

The panel was headed by Mr. S. Jamgbadi, a senior District Officer. Part of the panel’s report reads: “It is, however, established that the Ijaws have been resident in Gelegele for many years and that during these years they have acquired landed property.

Efeti, who got there about 100 years ago. He obtained permission from Ohen-Okun Okunseri of Ughoton and subscribed to an oath of allegiance to be allowed to settle there. In time, other
fishermen, Itsekiris, Urhobos and Ijaws moved there.

They paid tribute annually through Ohen Okun to the Oba of Benin. The arrival of Philips Oil Company in 1965 in this sleepy little village disturbed the conviviality among the ethnic groups.

Many Benin youths in Gelegele had migrated to the city, giving the Ijaw fishermen left behind the opportunity to be the main suppliers of labour to the oil company.

That job opportunity attracted other Ijaw fishermen and, as they increased in number, they became audacious,’ the group declared.

Shedding more light on Ijaw history of unprovoked attack and destruction, which they alleged have been going on in the disputed territories, the Bini chiefs said: ‘In 1969, they (Ijaw) attacked the Itsekiri, Urhobo and Benin youths, claiming ownership of the place.

The disturbance was widespread. It compelled the defunct Mid-West government to set up an administrative panel to look into the cause of the crisis.

The panel was headed by Mr. S. Jamgbadi, a senior District Officer. Part of the panel’s report reads: “It is, however, established that the Ijaws have been resident in Gelegele for many years and that during these years they have acquired landed property and cultivate farms, but from facts in evidence, they qualify as tenants on the land, their long period of occupation notwithstanding.”

‘That same year (1969), they agitated violently against Philip Oil Company for giving employment to non-Ijaws.

The government again set up an inquiry to look into the cause of the crisis. The panel report reads inter alia: “The inquiry further revealed that claims by the Ijaws to the monopoly of employment provided by the oil company is not only unpatriotic but also preposterous.

The Ijaws have no right whatsoever to prevent the oil company from employing persons of their choice. They should stop threatening the oil company from employing other persons who are not Ijaws.”

According to the chiefs, on Thursday, November 20, 1986, a vexatious publication in the Nigerian Observer, credited to one Timothy Ofunama, who styled himself as the Ama-Okusuwei of Gelegele, claimed that Gelegele belongs to the Ijaw and that the Oba of Benin has no jurisdiction over it.

The government reacted to the publication through a press statement issued by the Commissioner for Local Government, Enoch Ejofodomi, an engineer.

To the Bini chiefs, the latest act of militancy and aggression by the Ijaws specifically began on June 3, 2001. On that day, Obazuwa men were measuring a parcel of land on the order of Enogie, Prince Edun Akenzua.

He and the community had donated the parcel of land to government for siting a proposed model secondary school.

‘As the men were measuring the land, Ijaw militants from Iko appeared and, without provocation, attacked them with machetes.

They abducted three men and took them to Iko and were parading them before Ijaw elders when the police arrived.

The arrival of the police irritated the militants. They rushed to their egbesu shrine and began to perform rituals.

It took the police nearly three hours to rescue the men who had been seriously beaten and were forced to sign some papers.

The militants had brought out a chain, jerry cans containing some petrol and a box of matches, ready to set the men on fire.

One of the captives, a 58-year-old man, collapsed. A UNICEF team of medical volunteers visiting Iko at that time, witnessed it all.

The team had to flee by speed boat when they saw that their lives were also in danger. ‘The militants destroyed one car and five motorcycles belonging to Obazuwa men.

Two persons who tried to escape in a car were caught and beaten severely, their car destroyed. They laid ambush for others who tried to escape to Benin on foot, captured them and also beat them severely.

In the pandemonium, the old and the young fled into the bush and to the neighbouring village.’ Giving reasons why the Bini indigenes in Obazuwa have refused to take the law into their hands or retaliate many of the unprovoked attacks by the Ijaws, the Bini monarch declared that the people of Obazuwa are known for their friendly disposition towards non-indegenes. Urhobos, Ukwuanis and people from other ethnic groups live in harmony there.

According to the chiefs, up till the present time and throughout the invasion, Ijaws lived in Obazuwa. There was no reprisal attack against them. Ijaws drive or ride motorcycles through
Obazuwa daily.

They have never been harassed. ‘We recognise them, accept them for what they are: migrant fishermen, who live around river banks and creeks, doing their fishing business.

The population of Ijaw in Ovia North is negligible, yet they occupy various important political positions. In February 1987, Ijaws in Iko attacked Ikonoke, the Binis, Itsekiri and Urhobos in Iko and destroyed the Ogua-edion.

As a result of unexpected attack, the Binis fled from both places, giving room for the Ijaws to entrench themselves in Iko.

At that time and up till early 90s, the Odionwere of Iko was a Benin man named Igbinosun. They spared him because he was old.

Ijaws have forayed into Agbonmoba, Zomu, Igbobi, Ekete, Ite, Orogo,Ewudu, Ekehuan,
Okomu and Gelegele, all Benin communities.

They maimed and destroyed Benin people and their property. They still train militants in two camps in Iko whereas such camps in the Niger Delta areas have been disbanded.

The question of who owns Gelegele had gone through litigation and had long been settled.

At the High Court of Justice Benin, in Suit B/44/1970, judgement was in favour of Benin by Justice Ekeruche(J) on December 22, 1978.

In the judgement, he held that: ‘Finally, I enter judgement in this case as follows: for the avoidance of all doubt, argument and controversy, I hear by say unequivocally that Gelegele village and its environs and bushes are Benin land.

They do not belong to the Ijaw of Gelegele as owners. The Ijaws are tenants of his Highness, Akenzua II, the Oba of Benin. Apart from the above, the plaintiff’s claim are dismissed in their entirety.’

According to the Bini chiefs, dissatisfied with the judgement, the Ijaw appealed the ruling.

The Appeal Court dismissed their appeal and, again, delivered judgement in favour of Benin. The lead judgement was read by Justice Abdul Ganiyu (J) on December 16, 1981.

Still not satisfied, the Ijaw went to the Supreme Court with Suit No.SC.131/1982. On August 19, 1983, Muhamadu Lawal Uwais, the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, and four others, dismissed their appeal, upheld the judgement of the lower courts and awarded costs against the Ijaws.

Despite these judgements, the Bini chiefs declared that the Ijaws still claim ownership of
Gelegele.

‘Your excellency, for nearly 50 years, these settlers have perpetuated various forms of provocation against the Benins.

We are finding it increasingly difficult to restrain ourselves from retaliating these unwarranted attacks. If the Ijaws refuse to co-exist in harmony with us, they are at liberty to go and join their kith and kin in Bayelsa or Rivers State.

If their provocative acts of militancy continue, we will have to defend ourselves and our land. They must respect the bond of love that binds host and guests.

They must learn to respect the rule of law. They must put an end to politicking with the question of the ownership of Gelegele and other areas where they live in Benin.

nengibo:
Yoruba people should advice the Bini clan of the Yoruba nation not to cause an intertribal war out of greed

Edo is not Bayelsa warri, Isoko. No creek or much sea there, you can't shoot and hide. So it better you ijaws do the right thing instead of threatening the benins

ok

erico2k2:

guy relax oh.Edo people have not faught any war in the last hundred years the last was with machete amd spears . Ijaws have ongoing war as we speak and they are %80 Militants .u nor see thier Guns ? U need to research Ijaw Itshekiri and Ijaw illaje fight .

when time reach una go understand.

Creek no dey Benin ooo.

No pipeline to burst ooo.

Ijaws should not touch the tail of sleeping lion.

When e set u go understand wetin i mean

Efewestern:


am not ijaw, am urhobo, but I know some ijaws who are from Edo, and Its not fair to lord over them, I don't support injustice, and what is currently happening in Edo is oppression.

if the ijaws should attack, believe me u can't stand the heat.. live and let's live biko.

I still suggest they curve the ijaw and Itsekiri towns in edo back to Delta, una own too much.

Benin is not trying to lord over them, they have to respect the laws of Benin.

its just like Fulani hersmen laying claim to parts of Benue land because they were allowed to settle there.

Guy Ijaw cannot match Benin anytime any day. when the time come you will understand this statement.

Efewestern:


the last time I brought this issue up people were criticising me, the edos are biting more than what they can chew.. First they laid claim of gelegele which is 100% ijaw, secondly the ijaws have every right to have their own ruler/pere/king .

The oba of beni should remember this is not 1703 , any attempt to lord over any group of people will be dealt with, edo I know can't handle the ijaws.

I suggest the carve the little itsekiri and ijaw enclave back to Delta or ondo state, they have no business in Edo.

bros yes this is not 1703 and i trust Edo to give you fire for fire. Hope you know there is no creek in Benin.

make una no try una self.

nengibo:
Where wer all dese bini land grabbers during Gej's tenure, this should be the question, but they should be aware that a fight against the Ijaws of Edo state is a fight against the entire Ijaw nation

Guy na bini you dey talk about ooo. well i trust my benin brothers. them they wait for oba to give order. Na that time una go understand the meaning of oba

what is this one saying,

Wike security aides was withdrawn during the River senatorial Re-run.

Some of wike's security detail have been sacked by the IG following the clash between Wike and Ameachi security details.

Police officers who protected wike from been attacked during the Rivers Re-run have been sacked.

sarrki:
Oba of Benin

Is Benin

So No tension

well said

The prospects of majority of Nigerians buying brand new vehicles in the near future may not be guranteed as the total number of new vehicle sold in Nigeria may not exceed 10,000 units by the end of this year further painting a flood picture of a chequered local auto industry that is not growing at the expected pace.

The number of brand new vehicles according to figures show’s the total numbet of brand new vehicles dropping from 50,000 units, which was recorded before the introduction of a new automotive policy in 2013.
This disclosure which was one of the high points local automakers and dealers stated this in Lagos on Tuesday and gave low purchasing power due to economic crunch, scarcity of foreign exchange and high interest rate as some of the factors responsible for the drastic drop.
They spoke at the 2017 symposium of the automobile and allied services group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry held under the theme, ‘The Nigeria auto policy: The current drivers’.
Executive Director, Truckmasters Nigeria Limited, . Oseme Oigiagbe, said rather than encourage production and purchase of new vehicle sales, the enforcement of the auto policy had largely led to significant reduction in the sales figures.
He said the figures had consistently dropped from 50,000 units in 2013 to 40,000 vehicles in 2015; 20,000 in 2016 and 10,000 this year.
Oigiagbe, who said the Federal Government ought to have placed a total ban on the importation of used vehicles to drive the new vehicles’ patronage, lamented the high interest rate on vehicle loans, ranging from 25 per cent to 27 per cent.
On his 9.art, Executive Director, Kewalram Chanrai Group, Anil Sahgal, also put the total figures of new vehicles sold this year at 10,000 units, stressing that without the support of the government for the automobile assemblers, the industry would not make any headway.
The Executive Director, Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers Association, Remi Olaofe, said many of the auto assemblers were merely producing vehicles and dumping them in the warehouses as a result of low patronage.
Managing Director, VON Automobile Limited¥Adetokunbo Aromolaran, who described the situation as pitiable, said there was no way the nation could make progress if the government continued to buy imported fully built vehicles.
He said, “The government remains the biggest buyer, and it has to lead by example by buying made-in-Nigeria vehicles. The auto business is a demand-driven; once volume grows, the cost of production will drop and vehicles’ prices will come down. There is also the need to create viable vehicle finance scheme.”
The Managing Director, National Trucks Manufacturers LimitedIbrahim, Bayero, said, “Majority of us have been recording losses in the last five years due to poor sales.”
He criticised the granting of licences by the government to 53 auto firms to assemble vehicles in Nigeria, saying, “It does not make economic sense’ and warned that without sincerity, the auto policy would not achieve its desired goals.”
While the Deputy President, LCCI,. Babatunde Ruwase, urged major players in the industry to be more proactive if they hoped to make appreciable impact in the implementation of the auto policy.

http://www.businessdayonline.com/nigerias-new-vehicle-sales-drops-abysmal-10000-units/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

this Guys are not Ipob. this is government sponsored .