₦airaland Forum

Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), may implode unless leaders of the party rally round to rescue the ship from drifting.

This is coming barely 10 months to the party’s elective national convention where new leadership of the party will be elected. It was gathered that the Prince Uche Secondus-led National Working Committee (NWC) may not be allowed till December when its four-year tenure will expire.

The leadership is accused of poor management of the party’s affairs, as well as creating conflicts in state chapters during last year’s state congresses. Multiple sources informed New Telegraph that governors elected on the platform of the party are not happy with the leadership and are in the forefront of those demanding that they should go before the expiration of their tenure. According to a party source,

“Before, it was only the National Chairman who was the target. But I can tell you, the entire NWC is going. A caretaker committee will be appointed which will serve out their tenure and conduct a national convention in December. “The party is broke. The governors are no longer bringing money because they are not happy the way the NWC is running the party.”

It was, however, gathered that some party leaders are worried that the crisis might get out of hand, if a caretaker committee is appointed, and advised to avoid what happened during the Markarfi/Sheriff era.

Instead, they suggested that none of the current NWC members should be allowed to seek re-election or serve in any other capacity at any level. The source disclosed that the anger against the NWC is the festering crisis in South-West, which they blamed on the party leadership.

They accused Secondus of supporting former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose to wrestle the party structure from Governor Seyi Makinde, the same way he has handed the Cross River State structure to Senator Liyel Imoke.

A member of the party from South-West told New Telegraph that the National Chairman knows that Makinde, as a sitting governor, should be the leader of PDP in the zone, but he chose to side with Fayose to spite the governor.

“When Fayose was governor, he was South-West PDP leader. Did Bode George who was even Deputy National Chairman, contest it with him? Secondus knew about this because he was Deputy National Chairman then.

Why did he want to hand the structure over to Fayose who left office since 2018?” the source asked. There was speculation that Makinde might join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) when his supporters exited PDP WhatsApp platform last week.

The source, however, assured that the governor was not leaving PDP. About four governors are rumoured to be on their way out of the party.

Though no name was mentioned, Zamfara and Cross Rivers State governors are believed to be on the list. Two weeks ago, a group which styled itself “7Alive”, from Cross River State, accused the National Chairman of disrespecting Governor Ben Ayade.

The group, in a letter to the National Chairman, noted that “From May 1999 to May 2007 when Mr. Donald Duke, was governor, all through his tenure, the administrative running, the party structure, leadership, instructions and directives on what to do and how to manage the party had always centred around the governor.

“The same norms and traditions were transmitted to Senator Liyel Imoke as governor of Cross River State from May 2007 to May 2015….”

They group wondered why the same privilege was not extended to Governor Ayade by the NWC, adding, “It is no longer a secret that some members of the National Assembly, whose re-election to the Green and Red Chambers was facilitated by the governor, have now formed an opposition wing in Abuja, to conspire to seize the structures of the party in the state.”

Ayade’s candidate, Dr. Stephen Odey, who won the December 5, 2020 Cross River North senatorial re-run election, lost to a member of House of Representatives, Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, in court, which said Odey was not properly nominated at the PDP primaries.

The governor believed it was a conspiracy with the party leadership. It is not known the grouse of Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, against the party, but the governor had accused the PDP of injustice when Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

New Telegraph also learnt that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State who many believed put the present NWC in office, has more than once, accused the leadership of poor management of the party affairs.

Wike is demanding that the governors should be allowed to conduct the June primaries to select PDP candidate for the November Anambra governorship election. This, party source believe, is a vote of no confidence in the NWC to conduct credible party primaries.

The source revealed that Wike’s grouse against the NWC was the way they handled the minority leadership in House of Representatives.

According to the source, the governor was told to nominate minority leader of the House, only for Ndudi Elumelu to emerge against Wike’s candidate. Up till now, the leadership crisis has not been resolved, which Wike considered as weakness on the part of the NWC.

Last December, the party set up a six-man reconciliation and strategy committee headed by former President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki. The committee is yet to intervene in any of the crises plaguing the party.

Although party source explained that it was because Saraki has not been around, this reporter gathered that some party leaders expressed reservation on Saraki heading the committee.

New Telegraph was told that the former Senate President betrayed the governors during the 2018 PDP presidential primaries in Port Harcourt.

According to the source, the governors wanted one of them, Governor Aminu Tambuwal as PDP presidential candidate and had enlisted Saraki’s support, only for him to also declare interest in the party’s ticket.

“The governors were not just angry with Saraki for declaring interest, but they discovered that he was working for Atiku (Abubakar). Right there in Port Harcourt, he was negotiating to become Atiku’s campaign DG, which was given to him eventually. “So, the governors see Saraki as part of the problem. He is not the right person to head the committee.

“Since the committee was appointed, have they intervened in any of the crises? Wike was the one who went to South-West to reconcile Makinde and Fayose. This was what people expected the Saraki committee to do.

“When (Seriake) Dickson was chairman of reconciliation committee, you could see him going round to reconcile members,” the source recalled. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, denied any knowledge of the planned sack of NWC.

When probed further, Ologbondiyan promised to call back, but has not at the time of filing this report.

Members of the #EndSARS panel in Anambra State have tendered their resignation letter, knocking Governor Willie Obiano for ignoring the panel and for rising human rights abuses under his watch.

The five panel members in their joint resignation letter, dated February 13, 2021, noted that police brutality, extortion, and even extrajudicial killings had remained unchecked in the state, even as the “notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Awkuzu and numerous other police outfits in Anambra State have become infamous around the world for outrageous, unconscionable, and iniquitous violations of the fundamental rights of Nigerians, including the right to life.”

The members who resigned are Ifediora Chijioke, Henry Ugwu, Osonwa Chukwuka, Ebelechukwu Ngini, and Chibuike Obiwuzie.

Their letter was copied to the Chairman of the Panel, Awka, Anambra State; Secretary to the State Government, Awka, Anambra State; Chairman of Chairmen, Nigerian Bar Association, Anambra State branch; Nigerian Bar Association President; National Human Rights Commission; and the Amnesty International.

Their letter said, “Permit the undersigned to first express gratitude to you and the government of Anambra State for finding us qualified to be appointed into the Anambra State judicial panel of inquiry into the allegations of extrajudicial killings by the defunct SARS, police brutality, and other public complaints against the Nigerian police.

“It is imperative to mention that Anambra State, under your watch and that of your predecessor, was the cynosure of police brutality, extortion, and even extrajudicial killings in Nigeria.

“The notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Awkuzu, and numerous other police outfits in Anambra State have become infamous around the world for outrageous, unconscionable, and iniquitous violations of the fundamental rights of Nigerians, including the right to life.

“Following the EndSARS protests that occurred in many states in Nigeria in the last quarter of 2020, we felt that perhaps the Anambra State Government may have become penitent and was willing to competently take up its duty of securing the lives and properties of its residents.

“Sadly, the sittings of the panel were characterised by inefficiency and poor organisation because the Anambra State Government failed woefully to adequately provide for logistics for anything at all involving the proceedings of the Panel. There was no funding to enhance clerical or secretarial functions of the Panel, no provision for security or witness protection.

“The Anambra State Panel received the highest number of petitions, 310, against the police in Nigeria, even though the timeframe for submission of petitions and complaints against the police were extremely limited. The large numbers indicate the resolve of residents of Anambra State to vent out their grievances against the violations of their human rights.”

The panel members said they were, however, convinced that the Anambra State Government had no regard for the victims of the many human rights violations by the police in the state.

“The government has totally ignored the panel and had simply set up the panel to play to the gallery. Many victims of abuse of police powers and other interested stakeholders have been communicating with the panel secretariat or its members in a bid to know why the panel is no longer sitting despite more than 250 petitions which have been unattended to.

“All these inquiries have failed to yield concrete answers and the government despite being aware of the interest of the public is showing no signs of interest in the activities of the Panel.

“We firmly refuse to be pawns in the game of the government, so we hereby resign our appointments into the Anambra State Panel and completely dissociate ourselves from all the charade put up to give lip service to the plights of residents of Anambra State.

“The undersigned are fully aware that our position expressed in this correspondence may expose us to blackmail and intimidation, but we are determined to say the truth,” it said.

By Bassey Anthony

Suspected herdsmen have invaded the farm of an aide to Akwa Ibom Udom Emmanuel, Mr. Ime Uwah and destroyed at least 400 plantain stands.

Uwah, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor, said his farm located along Airport road was invaded by the herdsmen last July and last Wednesday.

He said the herdsmen cut off his manager’s hands last year when he challenged them for destroying farm.

The latest invasion, according to Uwah, occurred last Wednesday when the herdsmen fire on another farm near his own, adding that the fire spread and consumed over 400 stands of plantains in his farm.

Uwah said: “Sometime in July, last year, we had an incident where the herdsmen passed through our farm land. They will normally pass through the road but recently they started entering into our farm. That particular day when their cattle entered our there destroyed our cassava and others crops.

“My farm manager approached them and in response they decided to attack him and cut his hand. We followed up this matter with the relevant agencies including the police and the Civil Defense. The Civil Defense has a unit that oversees matters of this nature and we were working with them to see who will pay for the treatment but to no avail.”

He added: “Just last week Wednesday they passed through the farm again and destroyed our plantation. The fire incident happened that they went and set fire on a farm land close to my own.

“It’s that fire that spread to my own farm. When we try to stop the fire they launched an attack back and it looks as if their aim was to burn down the entire plantation.

“My people battle to put out the fire and when we thought the fire had been extinguished, I woke up that night to see fire again and it burnt down 400 stands of our plantation. They threatened that nobody gets close to them.

The Police Command is yet to confirm invasion of the herdsmen as it Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko Macdon, did not pick his calls nor respond to the text message as at the time of filing the report.

Some female students of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto reportedly jumped down from the first floor of a hostel accommodation which was gutted by fire last Monday.

The hostel was named after Nana Asma’u, the daughter of the founding father of the Sokoto Caliphate, Sheikh Usmanu bin Fodiyo.

According to eye witness accounts, the fire started from a gas cooker being used by one of the female students.

Daily Trust learnt that the students had put on the gas before realising that her box of matches was missing.

“She forgot to put off the gas before leaving the room to borrow a lighter from her neighbour and when she lit the lighter, the whole room was engulfed by fire and within the twinkle of an eye, the fire spread to other rooms.

“The girl and two other ladies in the room sustained serious burnt injuries and were first taken to the school clinic before being referred to university’s teaching hospital for advanced treatment,” one of the female students said.

Another eye witness, Aminatu, told Daily Trust that the fire started around 7am and lasted till 9am before it was put off. “We were terrified because the fire kept raging speedily; moving from one room to another.

“There was some sort of stampede because everyone ran out of their rooms at the same time. Some started jumping down from the storey building, and as a result one lady sustained spinal cord injury,” she said.

Another student, Khadija, told Daily Trust that a newly married lady had a miscarriage after jumping down from the building.

The hostel’s matron, Mrs Pauline Nzeh, said she was still not herself because of the shock.

“We have been warning them against using gas cooker, electric stove and heater but they don’t listen. We have been seizing these items but some would hide them and bring them out in the night,” she added.

https://cms.dailytrust.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-corridor-of-the-hostel-after-the-inferno-768x576.jpg
The corridor of the hostel after the inferno

According to her, “the fire razed six rooms and toilets and three students were injured.

“Two of the students were treated and discharged while the owner of the gas cooker is still in the hospital,” she said.

“It was a terrible thing. We were very shocked seeing our students jumping down from upstairs.

“We really appreciate their colleagues who placed their mattresses on the ground for them to land on. That was why there was not much casualties,” she noted.

Entrance search

Mrs Nzeh added that, “We will now conduct wait and search at the entrance of the hostel to ensure that no gas cooker or any contraband item is brought into the hostel.”

She revealed that some of the female students have been reporting their colleagues who secretly use gas cooker since the outbreak.

The Dean Students Affairs, Professor Aminu Maude, said that a 7-man committee has been constituted to investigate the immediate cause of the fire, verify the losses and submit its report within two weeks.

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One of the students, room after the fire

He said that the affected students have been relocated to other rooms and the school management has provided them with mattresses and pillows.

“Some of the students lost virtually everything and the committee will recommend the kind of support they need from the school,” he said.

Maude, who pleaded with the students to stop using gas cookers and other items barred by the school, revealed that only one student sustained injury as a result of the fire.

Olufemi Olaniyi, Ibadan

There is pandemonium at the Shasha area of Ibadan as some traders are engaged in a violent clash.

The PUNCH correspondent, who visited Shasha, saw police patrol vans and Operation Burst’s going inside the market where the fight was said to have taken place.

Residents also said many security agents had moved to the epicentre of the violence to douse it.

Some of them claimed that some kiosks and a house were razed but the claims on the cause of the fight could not be immediately verified.

But some Yoruba traders told our correspondent that they could not take away the goods (tomatoes and pepper) that they bought on Friday morning shortly before the fight started.

Residents of the area told our correspondent that the fight started on Wednesday night but it became fierce on Friday morning when a man was reportedly beaten with a charm by a Hausa man during the fight died.

Some of them said the woman mistakenly splashed water on the Hausa trader who beat her and this resulted in a fight that led to the death of the Yoruba man this morning.

Shops were hurriedly shut while traders who had not bought anything fled the area but the presence of security agents had brought some level of sanity to the area.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Mr Olugbenga Fadeyi, did not pick calls and he has yet to reply to the message sent to him on the incident.

By Adejumo Kabir

It would have been hard to believe that Sunday Adeyemo would be a popular figure about 20 years ago, during his days on the streets of Modakeke in Osun State.

Popularly known as Sunday Igboho then, after his home town Igboho, in Oyo State, he relocated with his father to Osun at a very tender age.

Mr Igboho, according to people who knew him in his early days, was an easy-going young man in the mid-90s. He learnt how to repair motorcycles (Okada) and was one of the best motorcycle mechanics one could find in the community then.

But the intra-communal crisis between Ile-Ife and Modakeke which started in 1997 and ended in 2000 made Mr Igboho abandon his job to become a self-styled warrior.

Modakeke-Ife communal crisis

The crisis began when the Modakekes agitated for a local government council of their own in the 1990s and it led to a tussle between them and indigenes of Ile-Ife when the military junta of the late Sani Abacha granted their wish.

The government created Ife East Local Government out of the former Ife North and Ife Central local governments in 1997.

While Ile-Ife indigenes lobbied for the headquarters of the new council in their part of town, the Modakeke people objected. The government later announced Oke-Ogbo in Ile-Ife as the headquarters, despite initially indicating that Oke D. O. in Modakeke would be the location.

This was swiftly protested by the Modakekes, who alleged, “cheating and injustice”. Soon, a full-blown “war” ensued that led to the killing of hundreds of people from both sides and destruction of hundreds of houses, cars and other properties.

Modakeke ‘warrior’

Saliu Popoola, a Modakeke indigene, tells PREMIUM TIMES how the crisis rendered many people jobless in the community.

“While many individuals ran for their lives after losing their properties, some persons were forced to join the war between the two communities,” said Mr Popoola, who is in his mid-60s.

“My house was one of the houses burnt during the crisis. The homeless had no choice than to join the battle. Even those who could not handle a gun during the war were either carry gun bullets for warriors or chanting praise songs to embrace them.’’

PREMIUM TIMES learnt from various sources that Mr Igboho was among the youngsters carrying bullets for warriors in the early stage of the crisis and after a series of experiences on battlefields, ‘’he became courageous enough to handle a gun’’.

“We all love(d) Igboho because of his courage. He was one of the youths carrying bullets for us at war fronts. There was no single day you won’t find him supporting the Modakekes because he sees the community as his home,” Mr Popoola said.

Another frontline indigene of Modakeke who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, told PREMIUM TIMES that he was one of those who encouraged Mr Igboho while growing up.

“Sunday grew up under our watch here in Modakeke. He was a major actor during the crisis between us and Ile-Ife. He started by supplying bullets to warriors and also ensured cover for some of the people chanting praise songs to embrace us then.

“When it appears that the end of the crisis was not near, many people who lost their loved ones and properties had to put their lives on the line. It was at this point that Sunday himself graduated from carrying gun bullets to holding a gun.

“He had a local double-barrel gun that he was using then and we can trust his judgement. He never missed his targets. Despite being a young man, he was displaying courage that many elders could not even withstand. I recalled he had an armless bulletproof he used to wear then

“Sunday was later leading a squad and was quite representing Modakeke relentlessly at the war front. Nobody is this Modakeke would deny the role he played during the crisis because he was a major actor”.

End of crisis

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the crisis did not come to an end until the year 2000 when the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, set up a committee, led by Olabode George, to look into the menace.

Mr George’s committee was supported by the Osun State government headed by the then governor, Bisi Akande, and several recommendations were made to end the crisis.

The committee, PREMIUM TIMES learnt, recommended the recognition of Ife East Area Office as a local administration entity with headquarters at Oke, D.O. in Modakeke, and with the addition of “Ife” as a prefix to Modakeke for the town to become known as Modakeke-Ife.

More so, it recommended the location of a mobile police training school in Ile-Ife and police ‘buffer zones’ in the flashpoints of the conflicts like Oke Yidi, Odo Okun, Iye Kere, Egbedore, Akrabata, Isale Agbara and Mayfair/Obande areas.

The then government approved the recommendations by the committee which ended the bloody crisis between the two communities.

Until the crisis ended, Mr Igboho did not relent on battlegrounds ‘’defending Modakeke town’’, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

Post-crisis

After the crisis, Mr Igboho joined the Modakeke branch of the National Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state under the leadership of a man popularly known as “Double”.

Some NURTW members who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES said Mr Igboho was one of the loyalists of ‘Mr Double’ and they were both known for collecting revenue and dues from transporters at motor parks.

“Sunday Igboho could not later go back to his job as a motorcycle mechanic, hence he joined the NURTW business under his boss called Double,” said an NURTW member who did not want to be identified.

“He later bought his bus. It was at that time that got another nick “Majasola” and was often regarded as “Igboho Majasola” by many residents of the community.

“Double and Igboho later made move to register Okada riders under NURTW even though riders had their association and that was how another internal crisis started in Modakeke with Igboho being one of the trouble makers.”

Multiple sources present in Modakeke during the crisis said Mr Igboho and his colleagues also seized the opportunity of the crisis between NURTW members and motorcycle riders to reportedly rob most shop owners in the town.

When asked for more details and his account on the then crisis, the current leader of Modakeke NURTW, who simply identified himself as Amori, confirmed being a witness of the saga.

He told our correspondent: “I don’t want to start narrating all that happened then. It was a sad incident and I don’t even have any link to Igboho since he left Modakeke in 2004”.

Igboho ‘evicted’

PREMIUM TIMES was able to locate the residence of one of those tackling insecurity and all forms of thuggery in Modakeke then and he gave an account of how Mr Ignoho was forced to leave the town.

Speaking with our correspondent, Adetunji Adesiyan, the secretary of Modakeke Peace Committee in early 2000, said ‘’Mr Igboho ran away from the town after some youth attempted to ‘kill’ him for being one of those terrorising the community’’.

“After the Ile-Ife and Modakeke crisis, people felt relaxed and they were trying to return to their respective businesses. It was at that point that Okada riders and NURTW members started another internal crisis within Modakeke.

“This was as a result of an announcement by Isamotu Double who was Igboho’s boss that all Okada riders in the town should come and register under him. The Okada guys resisted this and that was how internal killings began. At least I know of three close individuals who lost their lives in the battle.

“Igboho supported Double then and there was one guy called Okrika who was leading the bike men’s squad. It was bloody to the extent that students were not going to school and businesses were disrupted. This was around 2004.

‘’The incessant crisis led to the bringing together of “Modakeke Peace Committee which was headed then by Yekin Awopetu while I served as the secretary. The peace committee started raiding the NURTW guys and the Okada riders’ hideouts with the support of the police.

“We got the backing of the DPO at Oke Ibutu. We placed a ban on NURTW and Okada riders’ union. When some of them like Okrika who was leading the motorcyclist resisted, community youths unleashed an attack on him.

“We declared all of them including Igboho wanted and many others ran away. Double who happened to be Igboho’s boss was also killed when he refused to allow peace reign.

“The day people concluded that they were going to kill Igboho, he ran to the police station for rescue. He escaped through the fence while his car was burnt into ashes. That was how he got to Ibadan. We rejected him here (Modakeke) by forcing him out of our town”.

Ibadan ‘thug’, allegations

On getting to Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, Mr Igboho joined the NURTW in the state and through his activities, he met former governor, Lam Adesina.

From late Mr Adesina, he became closer to the former governor, Rashidi Ladoja, and was involved in the combative politics between the late political leader, Lamidi Adedibu, and Mr Ladoja.

He acted as the latter’s bodyguard throughout the tussle and also led the camp of Mr Ladoja in the violence that occurred then.

Mr Ladoja was illegally removed as governor in 2006 following a political disagreement he had with the late Mr Adedibu. He was later returned after 11 months through a court order.

Before now, Mr Igboho has been accused of land grabbing, using armed thugs against original owners of such lands but he has also in the past defended himself against the allegations on several occasions, saying he only fights on land matters “when he is invited to do so”.

He claimed that his known job is ‘’buying and selling of cars’’.

Mr Igboho did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES’ enquiries via phone calls and text messages seeking his account of his days at Modakeke and how he left to become popular again in Ibadan.

Recent activities

He hit national limelight when he gave a seven-day ultimatum to herdsmen to vacate Ibarapa, Oyo State due to the criminal activities of armed herders.

Mr Igboho accused the herders of being responsible for the killings, rape and kidnappings of the residents of Oke-Ogun and Ibarapa.

Despite a warning by his state governor, Seyi Makinde, against such action, he invaded Igangan and his visit led to a clash between some Yoruba youth and Fulani in the community. Properties worth millions were reportedly destroyed.

His house was razed by fire some days after though the police are yet to comment on the source of the fire.

He also visited Ogun State and vowed to evict Fulani herdsmen in the South-west following the insecurity rocking the region, an action against the laws of the country.

By Sanni Onogu, Abuja
The Senate has mandated its Committees on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, ICT and Cybercrimes and Capital Market to invite the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele to brief it on the recent ban on cryptocurrency in the country.

The Senate also invited the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda, to meet with its joint committee on the issue.

It explained that the information that would emanate from the briefings from the two regulatory bodies would assist the Senate to “determine the opportunities and threats of the cryptocurrency on the nation’s economy and security.”

This resolution of the upper chamber was sequel to its consideration of a motion titled: “CBN’s decision to stop Financial Institutions from transacting in Crypto currencies and matters arising therefrom” at plenary.

The motion was sponsored by Senator Istifanus Dung Gyang, (Plateau North) and Senator Adetokumbo Mukhail Abiru, (Lagos East).

Senator Gyang who presented the motion urged his colleagues to note that the CBN has issued a directive stopping all financial institutions from transacting in cryptocurrencies.

He said that the directive of the apex bank was a follow up to its earlier directives in January, 2017 and February 2018 which “forbade banks not to use, hold, trade and/or transact in cryptocurrencies.”


He further informed the Senate that the decision of the CBN was said to have been predicated on the need to safeguard the Nigerian economy from the adverse effects of the cryptocurrency regime which are “unregulated digital or virtual currencies that are issued by anonymous entities and secured by cryptography.”

He observed that cryptography is a “method of encrypting and hiding codes that prevent oversight, accountability and regulation upon which the CBN says its use in Nigeria violates and contravenes existing law as only the CBN is authorized by law to issue legal tender.

He added: “Concerned that Crypto currency by nature is anchored on anonymity, obscurity and concealment of its patrons and actors making it difficult, if not impossible, to trace, track and uncover those that may deploy it for ignoble and illegal usage such as money laundering, terrorism financing, drug purchase, cybercrime, etc.

“Aware that the action and directive of the CBN has attracted sharp reactions from Nigerians and has become a topical subject of national discuss; and

“Realized that Crypto currency is both an opportunity and a threat, hence the Senate has a responsibility to ensure that the nation and citizens do not miss out on the opportunities that Crypto currency offers and in the same vein, mitigate and prevent likely consequential effects on the nation’s economy and security.”

Senators in their contribution supported the motion.

Senators approved the only prayer of the motion when it was put to voice vote by Senate President Ahmad Lawan.

The joint committee was given two weeks to report back to plenary by the Senate President.

Chidiebube Okeoma, Owerri

Commercial activities were on Thursday halted as a commercial worker killed his customer who refused to pay her after sexual intercourse in Owerri the Imo State capital.

As a result, angry residents set the hotel where the incident took place ablaze.

Our Correspondent who arrived at the scene saw policemen and firefighters working hard to put out the fire.

It was gathered that the commercial sex worker was enraged when the man (customer) refused to pay the agreed amount after several rounds of sexual intercourse and stabbed him to death.

The source said, “A prostitute killed his male friend because he was unable to pay him after marathon sex. This is what happened.”

Angered by the death of the customer, residents mobilized and set the hotel which was said to be a beehive of commercial sexual activities on fire.

Hours after the hotel had been razed, soldiers believed to have been deployed from the 34 artillery Brigade, Obinze, Owerri, to the scene were seen trying to maintain order.

When contacted, the Interim Management Committee Chairman of Owerri West Local Government Area of the state, Chief Okechukwu Enyioha, said that security men had taken over the scene.
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While confirming the incident, the council boss said, ” Yes, I have been briefed and security men have taken over the scene of the incident. The security agencies are working hard and the law is being enforced.”

According to him, he had activated the security apparatus in the LGA to ensure that the incident did not degenerate.

When contacted, the Police Spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, promised to call back.

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Suspected Fulani herdsmen on Wednesday attacked the home of Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria.

The herdsmen reportedly arrived Soyinka’s home at Ijegba Forest, Abeokuta early in the morning, but the intervention of the police saved the day.

It was gathered that the police were quickly called and they arrived Soyinka’s home to prevent any attack on him.

Soyinka is said to have moved to Lagos following attack on his home.

When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ogun Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi said he could not speak on the matter as he and others were on their way to Soyinka’s house.

He said he would speak later after visiting the place to see things for himself.

However, unconfirmed source said some herdsmen have been arrested in connection with the attack.

The attack is coming few days after Soyinka told President Muhammadu Buhari to speak out urgently, to stop the herdsmen crisis before it snowballed into a civil war.

In an interview with BBC Pidgin, Soyinka had said the herdsmen crisis is already a war now “right on our door steps”.

He said it is expectedly triggering some kind of mobilisation and stressed the urgent need for resolution.

“If we continue to wait for the resolution to be centrally handled, we are all going to become, if not already, slaves in our land”, he said.

He said the situation is simply intolerable and unacceptable.

He said he has made Governor Dapo Abiodun to understand what was going on.

“We are here not just to live, but live in dignity. Right now our dignity is being rubbished”, he said.

Soyinka who lives in Abeokuta inside a forest said his own space has been violated by the herdsmen.

“My forest has been taken over. It’s been shrinking, shrinking. My normal hunting rounds have been shrinking, shrinking”.

He said he has been warned by his family not to venture into the forest again for any game hunting.

Soyinka said Buhari’s silence amid the atrocities committed by the herdsmen, meant he is complicit to their crimes.

Governor Yahaya Bello has officially confirmed that a former minister of aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Governor Bello confirmed the rumours ion a trending video seen on Twitter.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqDDjMrZ4rI



https://twitter.com/i/status/1359509043656720384


The governor made the comment after he revalidated his APC membership in his country home in Kogi state

The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has sacked over 42 of its newly recruited workers without paying them a one-year salary.

DAILY NIGERIAN reports that the sacked workers were recruited in December 2019 – a couple of months before the sack of former Director-General Mustapha Maihaja.

While trying to finalise documentations and settle in the new workplace, the new NEMA management led by AVM Muhammadu Mohammed wrote to the new staffers, informing them that their appointment was illegal, adding that some civil service regulations were not duly followed.

The letter, dated June 30, 2020, asked them to stay action pending the outcome of conclusive investigation.

Issuing a second letter, dated January 25, 2021 and signed by a NEMA Deputy Director, Musa Zakari, NEMA told the affected staff that the “the outcome of the investigation shows that the laid down rules and regulations guiding recruitment into the civil service were not duly exhausted, thereby vitiating the whole process and its outcome”.

The letter, therefore, cancelled the appointment letters given to the new recruits forthwith for “being not in order”.

Earlier, on September 8, 2020, the affected workers had petitioned the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, seeking her intervention in the development.

The sacked workers, some of whom resigned from their jobs to take the NEMA offer, insisted that they passed through all the necessary processes regarding recruitment into the agency.

According to them, relevant bodies took part in the exercise, “the Federal Character Commission which has since issued NEMA a certificate of compliance and also the Public Service Institute which ensured a seamless exercise and also ensured that the most suitable candidates were recruited to take up the various vacant positions spanning various levels and grades”.

“We have all resigned from our various places of work and now have no means of taking care of ourselves and dependents. This month September makes it exactly one year since the recruitment exercise.

“By December, we will be marking one year of untold hardship as a result of appointment without employment.

“We were issued temporary means of identification which stated categorically that we are bonafide staff of the agency.

“The recruitment exercise was approved by NEMA Board as far back as 2018. At that time, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development did not exist. Why then is the Ministry now stalling our progress?,” the affected staff said.

The sacked workers disclosed that they never received a kobo from NEMA as salary or support of any form since taking the appointment.

They also alleged that some NEMA officials are all out to truncate their recruitment, saying, “This is glaring in the way and manner NEMA officials have handled this matter. We are treated as enemies rather than comrades.”

“The former DG, Engr. Maihaja did not employ us to work for him, rather we were recruited to serve our country Nigeria through NEMA,” the workers added.

Men of Oyo State Security Network Agency, known as Amotekun, have intercepted a truck loaded with no fewer than 80 men suspected to be Fulani herdsmen at the Iwo Road area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The Amotekun corps reportedly stopped the men, who were loaded in a truck, and a quick search revealed some bows, arrows and daggers in the vehicle.

Apart from that, sources told Punch that about 25 motorcycles in the truck also had cows.

Upon interrogation, the men were reported to have told the Amotekun operatives that they were going to Lagos and Ogun States.

The search was said to have attracted residents who trooped to the scene, but to avoid crisis, the security agents were said to have led the truck and its occupants to the police station at Testing Ground area in Iwo Road.

They were said to have been handed over to the police at the station for further interrogation and search.

The Commandant of Amotekun in Oyo State, Col. Olayinka Olayanju (retd.), when contacted confirmed the incident to our correspondent.

He said, “We arrested about 80 men in a truck. We found some bows and arrows and knives in the truck. They also had some cows and motorcycles there.

“We couldn’t carry out a thorough search because we had started attracting attention, so we moved them to the police station nearby.”

The Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Mr Olugbenga Fadeyi, also confirmed the incident to our correspondent on the telephone.

He said, “Some persons were intercepted, and they were taken to Agodi Police Station where they were profiled. They said they were coming from Wudil in Kano and were going to Lagos and some to Ogun State. They said they were taking the cows to the abattoir in Agege, Lagos.

“We didn’t find anything incriminating on them. They were released and escorted to the Toll Gate area on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. They are no longer in Oyo State territory.”

By Yusuf Alli, Abuja
There is anxiety among envoys-designate over likely reshuffle of missions postings.

This follows the nomination of immediate past Service Chiefs and the ex-Chief of Defence Staff for ambassadorial positions.

President Muhammadu Buhari last week nominated Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, Air Marshal Saddique Abubakar and Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas – all retired – as ambassador-nominees.

The former military chiefs are awaiting Senate screening.

Before they were nominated, the postings of the career and non-carier ambassadors-designate had been made.

A source said: “The nomination of the former Service Chiefs has made some Ambassadors-Designate with sensitive and robust missions jittery. They are nursing fears that they might be reshuffled.

“Their anxiety was fueled by the postponement of the planned induction for the incoming ambassadors from today to February 16 to accommodate the ex-Service Chiefs who might be screened and cleared this week.

Read Also: Showdown looms in Senate over appointment of Buratai, others as envoys
“But, assigning of missions is the prerogative of the President. There is no need for anxiety. He knows why he nominated the former Service Chiefs and the diplomatic roles they are to play to assist the nation to end insurgency.”

Apart from shifting the commencement of the induction, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has adopted austerity measures to save cost and in compliance with COVID-19 protocols.

The ministry has dropped the idea of training the Ambassadors-Designate alongside their spouses.

It was also learnt that they will undergo rigorous orientation from 9am to 5pm daily for three days.

A source said: “The ministry has suspended the training of the spouses of the Ambassadors-Designate because of limited resources and COVID-19 protocols.

“We cannot allow 195 people to converge on a conferences hall at a time. The Presidential Task Force and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have not given clearance for such number.

“Unlike in the past, the government is not accommodating the Ambassadors-Designate in a five-star hotel.

“They will be given accommodation allowances (as applicable for envoys) and they can make personal arrangement. In this respect, the ministry will save cost.

“It is better for the envoys to face the reality from home so that they can extend the same prudence to our embassies when they assume duties.”

But most ambassadors-designate have disapproved of the austerity measures.

“Rather than allowing us to comb Abuja to look for accommodation, we ought to stay in the same hotel for better bonding.

“We need minimal comfort to exchange ideas and learn from each other. In any case, our security is more important, “ one of the sources said.

It was learnt that the Executive has started reaching out to the Senate for a” smooth-sail screening of the ex-Service Chiefs. “

A government source said:” Unlike other Ambassadors-Designate, the antecedents of the ex-Service Chiefs and their previous clearance by the Senate will make the screening easier. The Senate only needs to revisit their files and clarify new developments about them.”

The immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), has admitted that the President gave him an appointment, because of the relationship between his father and Buhari.

Buratai stated this during a gala night organized by the 29th Regular Course Association in Abuja.

The event was to honour the ex Army Chief as the longest-serving COAS.

According to him, his appointment in July 2015 was a prize for the loyalty of his father, Yusuf Buratai, to Buhari.

Buratai’s father was a non-commissioned officer in the Royal West African Frontier Force and a World War II veteran who fought in Burma.

Buratai said, “My father was an ardent lover of the President and my appointment as COAS, therefore, was a price or reward for that gesture by the President.

“Of course, and as you have been told severally, we (the President and I) met in Njemena and he saw me and felt I was the right person to be COAS at that very crucial and critical moment of our history.

“And I am happy that we have discharged our responsibilities diligently, professionally and loyally, and I will continue to discharge my responsibilities to him and of course to our country and our people.

Obinna Chima in Lagos and Udora Orizu in Abuja

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has opened investigations into bank accounts of companies involved in the trading of cryptocurrencies with the intention of blocking those with suspicious transactions and fraud.

A top central bank official while giving THISDAY more insight into last week’s decision mandating banks to close all accounts belonging to cryptocurrency traders, also pushed back criticism of the policy, saying the bank won’t abandon its regulatory roles to critics.

The bank also insisted in a statement yesterday by its Director of Communications, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, that the restriction regime is to protect Nigerians and the financial system.

The CBN, however, got allies yesterday on its ban on cryptocurrency trading through banks as the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement, Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Youth Movement, Oduduwa Youths, and Middle Belt Youths expressed support for it.

The CBN, last week, had directed banks and other financial institutions to immediately close any accounts dealing in cryptocurrency or facilitating payment for cryptocurrency exchange, with immediate effect.

It also directed banks to expose any individual and entity running such accounts, warning that failure to adhere to the directives would attract strict sanctions.

The apex bank, in a circular, cautioned deposit money banks (DMBs), non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) and other financial institutions (OFIs) and members of the public on the risk associated with transactions in cryptocurrency.

The circular was signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Mr. Bello Hassan, and the Director of Payments System Management Department, Mr. Musa Jimoh.

THISDAY reported exclusively on Sunday that the federal government and CBN were hinted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the activities of fraudsters using cryptocurrencies to bring into the country hundreds of millions of US Dollars illegally obtained from the USA and other western economies, giving rise to the apex bank’s preemptive strike on Friday.

However, the top central bank official who sought anonymity stated that the apex bank has the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the financial system and would not abandon its duty in spite of the mounting criticism of the policy.

He said: “There are companies acting as crypto exchanges in this country, telling people that they have naira and are willing to exchange crypto for them and they ask such persons to go to their banks to collect the naira. We are investigating the companies and their accounts would be blocked if we detect any suspicious transactions.

“The question remains: What transactions do the crypto companies do that they are offering a huge amount of returns to investors, at times 200 per cent profit?”

He added that cryptocurrency is known today by all central banks as alternative money.

“So, the question central bankers have been asking themselves is: What is wrong with what is called money, the legal tender of any country today? Has anybody come up with a criticism of the use of money, whether it is naira, dollars, pound sterling?

“Central bankers all over the world believe that the reason people are adopting the use of cryptocurrency is because there are certain financial transactions that the current money arrangement called currency or legal tender, would not allow. But we must understand that digital money is not the same thing as cryptocurrency.

“China indeed has banned cryptocurrency. But what they (China) did was to create digital money, subject to the country’s regulation. That is electronic money that can stand in place of the country’s banknotes, but not recognised as cryptocurrency.

“Cryptocurrency is now the easiest way for people to launder money, without central bankers discovering what they are doing. It has also been seen as a way of financing terrorism.

“The CBN has not said don’t use your crypto. What the CBN has said is that you are not allowed to use the Nigerian banking system or Nigeria’s payment infrastructure to conduct crypto.

“You are not allowed to convert your crypto to naira through any Nigerian bank because we don’t know the business you did to get the crypto.”

Reacting to a question that the CBN had earlier given the impression that it was understudying the investment instrument, he said: “We only said we were still trying to understudy it, to see whether we can regulate it. In fact, at this stage, we don’t recognise it; we are saying we are not going to allow it in our payment infrastructure.”


According to him, the ban on the digital investment instrument in the country will not stifle innovation as the central bank will continue to take steps to safeguard the banking system.

Restrictions on Crypto-currency to Safeguard Nigerians, Financial System, CBN Insists

In a statement yesterday, the CBN attributed the ban on cryptocurrency transactions to the need to protect the interest of Nigerians and the financial system from the risks inherent in crypto assets transactions.


It said dealing in cryptocurrency has dire consequences for the integrity of the financial system and financial stability.

The bank raised concerns that due to the fact that cryptocurrency is largely speculative, anonymous, and untraceable, they are increasingly being used for money laundering, terrorism financing, and other criminal activities.

The apex bank added that small retail and unsophisticated investors also face a high probability of loss due to the high volatility of the investments in recent times.


The CBN added that in the light of these realities and analyses, the bank had no comfort in cryptocurrency at this time and will continue to do all within its regulatory powers to educate Nigerians to desist from its use and protect the financial system from the activities of fraudsters and speculators.

The CBN said following the various comments and reactions that had trailed its recent reminder to banks to desist from transacting in/and with entities dealing in cryptocurrency, it had become necessary to provide further justifications about the bank’s position, especially to the public.


The bank added that considering the fact that cryptocurrency is issued by unregulated and unlicensed entities, the use in Nigeria goes against the key mandates of the CBN, as enshrined in the CBN Act (2007), as the issuer of legal tender in Nigeria, stressing that the “use of cryptocurrencies in Nigeria is a direct contravention of existing law.”

The CBN said: “The very name and nature of ‘cryptocurrencies’ suggest that its patrons and users have value anonymity, obscurity, and concealment. The question that one may need to ask, therefore, is, why any entity would disguise its transactions if they were legal.

“It is on the basis of this opacity that cryptocurrencies have become well-suited for conducting many illegal activities, including money laundering, terrorism financing, purchase of small arms and light weapons, and tax evasion.

“Indeed, many banks and investors who place a high value on reputation have been turned off from cryptocurrencies because of the damaging effects of the widespread use of cryptocurrencies for illegal activities.”

The apex bank added that the role of cryptocurrency in the purchase of hard and illegal drugs on the darknet website called “Silk Road” is well known, adding that there had also been recent reports that cryptocurrency has been used to finance terror plots, further damaging its image as a legitimate means of exchange.

The CBN explained further: “More also, repeated and recent evidence now suggests that some cryptocurrencies have become more widely used as speculative assets rather than as means of payment, thus explaining the significant volatility and variability in their prices.

“For those who are not conversant with the universe of cryptocurrencies, it is important to state that cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies issued by largely anonymous entities and secured by cryptography.

“Cryptography is a method of encrypting and hiding codes that prevent oversight, accountability, and regulation. While there are a number of cryptocurrencies now in circulation, bitcoin was the first to be introduced in 2009, and now accounts for about 68 per cent of all cryptocurrencies.

“As regards our recent policy pronouncement, it is important to clarify that the CBN circular of February 5, 2021, did not place any new restrictions on cryptocurrencies, given that all banks in the country had earlier been forbidden, through CBN’s circular dated January 12, 2017, not to use, hold, trade, and/or transact in cryptocurrencies.

“Indeed, this position was reiterated in another CBN Press Release dated February 27, 2018.”

According to the CBN, its policy “is not an outlier as many countries, central banks, international financial institutions, and distinguished investors and economists have also warned against its use.

“They have all made similar pronouncements based on the significant risks that transacting in cryptocurrencies portend, the risk of loss of investments, money laundering, terrorism financing, illicit fund flows, and criminal activities.

“China, Canada, Taiwan, Indonesia, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Bolivia, Kyrgyzstan, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Cambodia have all placed a certain level of restrictions on financial institutions facilitating cryptocurrency transactions.

“In China, for example, cryptocurrencies are completely banned and all exchanges closed as well. Banks and other financial institutions are not allowed by law to transact or deal with cryptocurrencies. China’s central bank called the Peoples Bank of China (PBoC) has provided several directives ruling out the use of these currencies.”

CBN also cited investor, Warren Buffett, who has called cryptocurrency “rat poison squared,” a “mirage,” and a “gambling device” as one of those who have condemned trading in cryptocurrency.

“Mr. Buffett believes it is a “gambling device” given that they are mostly valuable because the person buying it does so, not as a means of payment; but in the hope they can sell it for even more than what they paid at some point.

“During an online forum hosted by the Davos-based World Economic Forum a few weeks ago, Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, highlighted the extreme price volatility of cryptocurrencies as one of the biggest flaws and explained that this flaw makes it impossible for them to be used as a lasting means of payment.

“Have we landed on what I would call the design, governance, and arrangements for what I might call a lasting digital currency?

“‘No, I don’t think we’re there yet, honestly. I don’t think cryptocurrencies as originally formulated are it’.

“It is not surprising he would take that position because Bitcoin, the best-known cryptocurrency hit a record high of $42,000 per unit on January 8, 2021, and sank as low as $28,800 about two weeks later,” the CBN said.

BDC Operators, Other Groups Back Emefiele on Ban

However, amid the criticism of the policy, the ABCON lauded the CBN for being proactive in banning cryptocurrency trading.

ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said the banking sector regulator acted fast to curtail an emerging dangerous trend capable of eroding Nigeria’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) gains.

In a statement yesterday, Gwadabe added that before banning financial dealings that do not conform with the norm, the CBN must have got financial intelligence on such operations, as seen in kidnappers now collecting Bitcoin for ransom.

Gwadabe said the new changing global behaviour towards cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria was not in tandem with Nigeria’s AML/CFT compliance structure as the country battled to move out of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) sanctions list.

He said cryptocurrency trading has become pervasive and widespread that every segment and all operators in the financial industry are becoming vulnerable to their operations that are not guided by regulation.

“That is why many financial sector regulators, prominent financial institutions, including global banks and investment firms are moving swiftly against the cryptocurrency operators.

“All over the world, no regulatory institution has given a fiat approval of the new digital money due to its vulnerability to money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. It is therefore the belief of our association that the measures of the CBN will ensure the confidence of our foreign partners to boost economic growth,” Gwadabe said.

According to him, rather than criticising the CBN, the critics should have advised 5he federal government to introduce digital agri-business to Nigeria’s teeming youth for capacity and self-employment.

“We, therefore, support the CBN measures and urge the apex bank to support a paradigm shift in Bureaux de Change (BDCs) business where we are moving from traditional bricks and mortar operations to a digitised model that boosts transparency, foreign capital inflows, and ease of monitoring and supervision of our operations,” he said.

He added the BDCs have so far introduced four factors authentication digital applications in their operations to improve efficiency and transparency in operations.

The applications include SAAS MASTERS for a rendition of utilisation of returns to CBN online real-time; many BDCs are in the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIUs) GOAML platform for suspicious and cash transactions reports.

“Equally, BDCs are on Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) Bank Verification Number (BVN) Validation portal of their members and finally, ABCON is also working with Data Pro Consultant to integrate their new Application Programming Interface (API) for Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and sanction list search,” he added.

Gwadabe said there is nothing wrong with regulating players in the financial sector, and where such regulations are not available, caution should be applied.

“There is a need for every segment of the financial system to be regulated and guided by the CBN Act, BOFIA, Anti-Money Laundering, and Counter Financing Terrorism guidelines, Know Your Customer (KYC) Requirements for a safe and secured Nigeria and stable financial system,” he said.

He said ABCON will continue to support CBN’s moves to tighten and strictly enforce regulations in the foreign exchange market for sustained exchange rate stability and improved economic growth.

Besides ABCON, the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement, Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Youth Movement, Oduduwa Youths, and Middle Belt Youths also supported CBN’s ban on cryptocurrency trading through Nigeria’s financial system.

They also hailed the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, for providing the leadership that made the apex bank to take such a proactive move.

The groups, in a joint statement yesterday by Ohanaeze Secretary-General, Mr. Nwada Chiamaka, described the ban as patriotic and courageous.

They urged Emefiele not to relent in his efforts to sanitise not only the banking sector but the entire economic landscape.

“We know of a fact that this policy is a hard hit against financial criminals of the underworld who in turn will stop at nothing in their desperate bid to ensure that the policy is changed so that they can continue to have their way. We urge the CBN team not to succumb to any pressure. The policy should be strictly implemented and those who flout the rule should be sanctioned appropriately,” the statement added.

The police in Katsina State have arrested a former caretaker chairman of the Jibia Local Government Area of the state, Haruna Musa Mota, over alleged ties with bandits.

The Katsina police spokesperson, Gambo Isah, confirmed the arrest of the former chairman.

https://saharareporters.com/sites/default/files/styles/normal_medium/public/IMG_5955%20%281%29%20%281%29.jpg?itok=aHsCe9NY

He added that Mota was arrested for allegedly aiding and abetting bandits operating in the state and had already been charged to court.

SaharaReporters recalled that an audio recording had resurfaced recently where Mota was heard discussing with a commander of a banditry group, Awulu, over last December abduction of over 300 students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara.

The former LGA chairman told the bandits commander that Governor Aminu Masari claimed he paid the group N800 million to secure the freedom of the students.

But Awulu immediately interrupted and said, “You said what? N800m? How many millions again? Who said that? So, they paid N30 million and claimed N800m, now they have stopped cattle rearing.”

Speaking further, Mota said, “I will send you the speech and I will advise you speak out so citizens will know you did what you did for peace and what they paid you was N30 million. This is not fair at all, they call us thieves while they are the real thieves. We want peace but this governor has no integrity.”

Gunmen, who came on motorbikes on December 11, 2020 invaded the Katsina school around 11 pm, shooting indiscriminately to scare residents.

The operation led to the disappearance of over 300 students.

After their release on December 17, 2020, Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, said the rescue operation was facilitated by repentant bandits and no ransom was paid.

Masari also said insinuations that ransom was paid for the release of the boys from their captors were false.

“I insist, we did not pay any ransom to the kidnappers, it was purely negotiation.

“Like I stated earlier, those involved in the negotiations include my adviser, some top military and police operatives, members of the Miyetti Allah; they were all involved in the negotiations.

“We do not pay ransom to bandits because if we do that, we would be encouraging them to be more daring,” the governor said on the night the boys were released.

While narrating the role of the military in the rescue operation, the Defence Headquarters said the troops closed in on the abductors from four different fronts.

It said that kinetic and non-kinetic approaches were used to ensure all the boys were rescued unhurt, saying that there was resistance from the abductors who laid an ambush against the troops.

"Following the directive, the troops closed in on the abductors from four different fronts, including the reinforcement that was made from other divisions to ensure that the entire location was sealed off.

The bandits were all under siege, and they were fully aware of that, feeling the impacts of the presence of the troops both from the air and on the ground," Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, John Enenche, had said.

By Evelyn Usman
A woman identified simply as Imole, allegedly set an apartment in Idimu area of Lagos, occupied by her sister and members of her family on fire, over an argument over her share of their late father’s four rooms apartment.

Doctors at Alimosho General Hospital were still battling to save the lives of the victims, weekend.

Information at Vanguard’s disposal had it that Imole visited her elder sister on Dupeolu Street, Pipeline area of Idimu, last Friday, to demand that the four rooms be shared equally between them. But her sister was said to have declined, offering her one room, as she explained that their father had other wives whose children were also beneficiaries.

A heated argument according to eyewitnesses ensued between the siblings, at the end of which Imole was pacified.

However, at midnight, she was alleged to have returned to the building, tore the window net of the apartment occupied by her sister, husband and two children, poured diesel and struck a stick of matches.

The shout of help from the occupants alerted residents who managed to rescue and rushed them to the hospital.

A resident who simply gave his name as Femi, disclosed that Imole was mentally unstable. He alleged that she fled the scene, immediately she allegedly set the apartment on fire.

Police sources at Idimu division revealed that a box of matches and a Jerry can suspected to have been used by the fleeing suspect to store the combustive substance used to set the apartment on fire, were recovered at the scene.

Sources added that efforts were on to arrest Imole, adding that part of the investigation would be to carry out a medical test to ascertain her true mental state.

Gboyega Akinsanmi



As Brent Crude traded at $59.34 per barrel at the international oil market on Friday, the federal government is in a dilemma to increase the pump prices of premium motor spirit (PMS) or subsidise the product without budgetary provision, THISDAY checks have revealed.

However, according to our findings, the federal government cannot announce a new pump price in line with its deregulation policy due to perceived opposition by the organised labour; public disapproval such a decision will attract nationwide and social disturbances that may result from it.


The leadership of Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), an arm of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), made this proposal during recent meetings with Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN).

Traded at $53.13 per barrel when the oil market opened on January 5, crude oil prices have been on a steady upward trajectory, closing at about $59.34, a development that stoked debate among leading petroleum economists and global investment banks including Goldman Sachs Group.


The upsurge is consistent with the forecast of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), putting the average crude price at $41.29 per barrel in 2020 and projecting about $50.03 per barrel in 2021 before falling back to $48.82 per barrel in 2022.

Unlike IMF’s forecast, Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment bank, predicted that the price of Brent Crude could rise to $65 per barrel by summer 2021, which it claimed would be driven by output cuts in Saudi Arabia and the implications of power shift in the United States.


The price upsurge and relatively steady production output have positively impacted Nigeria’s external reserves, rising sharply to $36.304 million, as shown in the data of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on January 14.

On Friday, however, the price upsurge triggered a widening variance between the landing cost of PMS currently standing at about N185 and the subsisting pump price, now trading from N159 at NNPC filling stations to N162.50 at non-NNPC filling stations across the federation.


Multiple sources at PPMC’s meetings with IPMAN and MOMAN privately revealed that the federal government had been considering an upward review of fuel pump price amid the widening difference arising from the price of crude oil at the international market.

One of the sources at the meetings said that the federal government “is under pressure to review the current pump price because it no longer represents the realities at the international oil market.

“From loading to discharging ports only, the landing costs of PMS range from N180 to N185. The cost does not include other charges by agencies of the federal government and the Lagos State Government.”


According to the source, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) imposes three different charges namely; product certificate charges (PCC), quality certificate charges (QCC) and vessel arrival charges (VAC).

While the PPMC collects Petroleum Equalisation Fund and jetty fees, the source clarified that the Lagos State Government imposed wharf landing fee as stipulated in the Wharf Landing Fees Law of Lagos State, 2009.

When all these charges are added to the landing costs currently ranging from N180 to N185, the source observed that the pump price would be hovering between N200 and N205 in line with market realities.


He explained the concern of the federal government on two grounds, which according to him, had to do with its insistence to fully deregulate the petroleum downstream sector and its decision to not make provision for fuel subsidies in the Finance Act, 2021.

With this growing uncertainty in the downstream sectors, the source disclosed that nearly all independent marketers and oil majors “have stopped importing fuels into the country. They now depend on the NNPC for the PMS.


However, another source told THISDAY that the PPMC leadership “has stopped discussing the upward review of fuel pump price for fear of mass action by the organised labour and social disturbances such a review may generate.”

Already, the source disclosed that the organised labour had warned the federal government against any economic measure that would inflict more pressure on the masses with the grave effect of the economic downturn.

Amid disappointing economic indices and recent electricity tariff increase, the source noted that the federal government through the PPMC found it difficult to announce an upward review in the price of the PMS.


However, the source disclosed that the organised labour gave two conditions for which it could support the upward review of fuel pump price, thereby requesting that the federal government “to ensure that all refineries nationwide are functional and foreign exchange effectively stabilised.”

Under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria has run into economic turbulence, first in the second quarter of 2016 and also in the third quarter of 2020, thereby inflicting grievous agonies on the ordinary people.


In the third quarter of 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that Nigeria officially slid into its worst economic recession in over three decades with a contraction of 3.62 percent in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Amid the excruciating economic crisis, the federal government had reviewed upward the pump price of PMS and the electricity tariff, which stoked stern public criticism and even threat of mass action before it eventually revised to the old price regimes.

By Omeiza Ajayi
Ahead of the APC membership registration and revalidation which starts on Tuesday, February 9, political gladiators in the nation’s ruling party are squaring up to again test their relevance.

From Kwara to Lagos, Zamfara to Enugu or Rivers, political actors are reportedly scheming to outdo their rivals and take control of the party register when at the conclusion of the exercise.

While the party recently reconciled some of its members across the states, the situation in Zamfara remains dicey. Just last week, former Governor Abdulaziz Yari and Sen. Kabir Marafa embraced reconciliation, but reports indicate that some of their supporters are spoiling for a showdown.


Also, there have been grumblings by some chieftains of the party who had continued to allege that the current register of party members is centralised in the hands of a national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has sole access to membership data.

However, the party has dismissed concerns that the registration exercise is targeted at any individual.

“Our focus is to strengthen the party through a bottom-up approach and to carry everyone on board, while those aggrieved have happily rejoined APC just as new ones have joined the party”, said Gov. Mai Mala Buni who chairs the APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee CECPC.

According to him, the membership registration and revalidation exercise is a constitutional provision which is part of the strategic measures taken by the committee to give existing and new members a sense of belonging.

“Since the initial exercise in 2014, the party has not registered new members nor update the personal information of our existing members as provided for by the constitution.

“The registration exercise gives our new members a sense of belonging and the existing members will update their information while those who left the party will have their names removed from the party register” he said.

Governor Buni said the registration and revalidation exercise would assist the party to generate a valid, accurate and upto date data on party membership to enhance and support its planning process.


Lagos


Ahead of the commencement of the All Progressives Congress, APC registration and validation of membership exercise, attention was this week being put on Lagos State, the base of Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, the national leader of the party.

The focus on Lagos was against the background of claims that the exercise was mainly being conducted to checkmate Tinubu who is generally acclaimed to have supervised the 2014 registration exercise and has the membership data in his custody.

As at press time party chieftains were yet to affirm when the exercise would commence in Lagos following what was claimed as logistic issues that derailed the training programme for the officials that are supposed to conduct the registration exercise.

The training which was supposed to commence from Thursday could not start on that day and sources claimed it could start at the weekend following which the registration exercise would commence.

The botch in the training programme is only one of several issues that have dogged the registration/revalidation exercise for party members particularly in Lagos State.

That was after futile efforts by party chiefs from Lagos to defer the exercise, the last being last week’s open letter by Rep. James Faleke to the National Caretaker Committee.


Faleke had argued that conducting the registration exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic would worsen the health crisis in the country, an argument the party quickly quashed by vowing to uphold safe distancing protocol during the registration exercise.

Upon the apparent determination of the national headquarters to ensure the registration exercise goes ahead, party chiefs in Lagos have taken their fate in their hands, albeit with strong reservations.

As a senior party chieftain told Saturday Vanguard, “you heard Baba Akande? Is it not a waste of money? Which party goes to do registration exercise when we just did one few years ago?”


However, the musing by the Lagos party chieftains is coming against the background of alleged mutterings as local political foes of Tinubu’s join forces with his foes in Abuja to take the party from his hands.

Interestingly for the first time in a long while, Tinubu is being challenged in his base to the extent that the camp is for the first time deploying strategies against once loyal followers now risen up against him.

The opposition to Tinubu Saturday Vanguard gathered is being championed by the Lagos4Lagos Movement led by Abdulazeez Adediran, a well known associate of Babatunde Fashola.

Saturday Vanguard gathered from multiple sources that Fashola is totally out of the loop in the game against Tinubu despite the fact that Adediran is popularly known as a friend and an associate of his family.


Adediran it was also gathered has a well established linkage with erstwhile chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Mr. Babatunde Fowler.

As part of the attempts against Tinubu it was gathered that the Lagos4Lagos Movement working in cahoots with the Faoud Oki led faction of the Lagos State APC was through this week mobilizing its supporters to infiltrate the party by turning up for the registration.

“Our plan is to massively turn out to partake in the registration and ensure that our people make their identity felt within the party,” Seun Soyinka, director, strategy and communications, of the Lagos4Lagos Movement told Saturday Vanguard ahead of the registration exercise.

“You and I know that we have a register but that register is not at the party secretariat, it is in somebody’s house and this is an opportunity to broaden the opportunity for all stakeholders, he added.


“You would also have seen how the registration exercise has been seriously challenged from a particular section of the polity, but we and our people are ready,” he added. Hon. Segun Idris, vice-chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, a key operative of the APC in the Lagos West Senatorial district, and former administrative secretary, however, dismissed the critics saying that they were running after shadows.

Noting what he described as the laudable political feats of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu he said that the efforts to tumble his ascendancy in Lagos and the country through the registration exercise would amount to a nullity.

Idris said that Tinubu by his feat has been able to turn Lagos into a model that is able to bring people from different places and religion to harness the best from them for the collective good of the citizenry.

“You see what he did in Lagos, bringing people of all hue despite the seizure of Lagos funds to transform the state,” Idris said.

“They run away from witches and wizards in their states to come here to say nonsense and smear the man who made them. All of them talking is there anyone of them that was not groomed by Tinubu?

“My brother it is wrong to bite the hand that fed you. They have no issue against him. We know their strategies, but they don’t know ours, we are waiting for them,” Idris told Saturday Vanguard.

“The civil service provides the continuity, the technocrat. And in any case, they are the people who do most of the work. The ministers are there, I think, to make a lot of noise, for the politicians to make a lot of noise. But the work is being done by the technocrats.

“I said we will have one by the end of the month, and time flies. The end of the month is coming too quickly for my liking. Yea, I will stick to it. I will send the names to the National Assembly.”

The above is an excerpt from an interview President Muhammadu Buhari famously granted to the media in far away, Paris, France on the 16th of September, 2015.

In the interview, the President made efforts to justify why his administration failed to appoint ministers as required by the Constitution four months after he was sworn-in on May 29, 2015, an exercise he eventually carried out after six months in office.

The appointment of ministers during the President’s first tenure in office was the longest ever in the history of democratic governance in the country.

Though various officials of the administration and Buhari’s admirers tried hard to justify the delay, citing the President’s desire to identify people he could work with, many Nigerians felt the eventual list of cabinet ministers sent to the National Assembly fell short of their expectation.


Except for a few technocrats, loudly in the person of the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the bulk of the list was made up of career politicians, whose only claim to the appointments were their contributions to the emergence of Buhari as President.

Curiously, the reluctance exhibited by President Buhari in appointing ministers in his first tenure has dominated his administration, including sacking or relieving erring appointees of their position.

Analysts are of the opinion that the reluctance of Mr. President in appointing or firing may be largely out of indecision and his uncertainty in who to appoint in replacement in the event of firing an appointee.

A lawyer, Mr. Jackson Ibe, made reference to the long clamour for the sack and replacement of service chiefs, long before the President capitulated to the then deafening clamour.

According to him, even when the National Assembly put out resolutions that the service chiefs be sacked, the President stuck to his guns, instead expressing confidence in them.

“What many Nigerians don’t know is that the President, not out of fear but a certain degree of indecision, is very reluctant in sacking his appointees. He seems to see in them, what other Nigerians cannot see. But what exactly he sees, is left to be seen.

“Closely related to this is also Buhari’s inherent fears of not getting a suitable replacement that suits his personal preferences. And of course, this casts a question mark on the President himself. Because the reason he has a retinue of advisers is for occasions like this when he has to make tough decisions that has fundamental implications on the success of his administration. If he cannot trust his advisers to give him counsels that are top notch, then why have them in the first place?”, Mr. Ibe querried.

More than anything, the delay in replacing the service chiefs, who majority of Nigerians found wanting in securing the country against the activities of criminal elements as represented by the Boko Haram insurgents, bandits, kidnappers and armed robbers, a current affairs analyst, Dipo Sangoolu, said cast a great question mark on the ability of President Buhari to make informed decisions for the good of the country.

According to him, several deadly attacks by insurgents and bandits in different parts of the country were enough for the President to show them the way out, without anyone prodding him.

“As a retired army General, the President ought to know that you don’t leave a faltering commander at his post, lest his ineffectiveness affect the troops and dampen their morale. Unfortunately, that’s what the President did, and that’s, for me, what’s responsible for the current terrible state of insecurity in the country”, Sangoolu said.


IGP, NSCDC Commandant General Appointments

As if the faltering in the sack and replacement of service chiefs is not enough, confusion has also continued to reign in the retirement and appointment of a new Inspector General of Police and Commandant General for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

For the Inspector General of Police, though Mohammed Adamu, former administrations in the country made immediate appointments to replace a retiring IGP.

The current situation, according to a political commentator, can only lead to guesswork and conjectures on who would eventually be named the substantive Inspector General!

The situation at the NSCDC is even more precarious, as there seem to be a disconnect between the Presidency, to which the shortlisted names for the next Commandant General has been submitted and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where the Minister, Rauf Aregbesola has insisted on the conduct of a qualifying examination for the post.


Counting the Cost

Many Nigerians are of the opinion that beyond the delays in making appointments and the reluctance in sacking appointees, the quality of appointments by the Buhari administration leaves much more to be desired.

According to Mr. Rufus Dauda, an economist, most of the appointments of President Buhari into economic related portfolios may not be the best the nation has at its disposal.

“I still find it difficult why the current Minister of Finance, National Planning and Budget has remained in that portfolio. It is obvious, from what is happening with the nation’s economy that she is not the right candidate for that office. And this even become more obvious with the current recession the country is going through, without serious proactive ideas on how to steer it out.

“For now, all we have are fire brigade approaches to the nation’s economy and that will only make things worse. The same goes for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, where Timpre Silva is in command as the minister of state, without a substantive senior minister.

“For me, Silva is only there because he is a member of the APC and an Ijaw man from Bayelsa, and not because he has any serious professional experience in managing the petroleum industry. It is also curious how an Ibe Kachikwu would be eased out and Silva ushered in, despite the intimidating credentials of Kachikwu as an industry professional”, Daodu said.

Continuing, he opined that until the Buhari administration is able to put round pegs in round holes, the economy, and the nation in general will continue to drift.

Tunji Ajibade

‌
Did anyone see as southerners put up a display at the National Assembly the other day? Lawmakers invited stakeholders for a hearing on the Petroleum Industry Bill. Two factions claiming to represent oil producing communities showed up. When asked to present their views, an intense physical display of mixed martial art followed. I’m not concerned about why there were two factions, and why both were invited. My focus is how, once again, southerners made a show of themselves. I do this so that whenever some of us state that southerners generally conduct themselves unseemly in comparison to northerners, those who call us names won’t forget where we’re coming from.


I stated it before on this page that northerners are smarter than southerners. The latest show of shame at the National Assembly is another illustration as to why I take such a stance. Northerners, I mean core Muslim North, would never conduct themselves this way. People have accused me of speaking in favour of northerners. It’s because I pick some useful values from them. I did the NYSC programme in the North, and unfortunately, in December 2020, I lost the respectable elder who was my first window into the manner, attitude, and orientation of the typical core northerner. He was the Durbin Gombe, Alhaji Lamido Abubakar, a member of the Gombe Emirate Council and a kingmaker, former Commissioner of Health in the old Bauchi State, as well as the former Chairman, Gombe Local Government Council. He was on that last seat at the time I did my NYSC in his town.


Durbi as I fondly called him was my godfather and I actually regarded him as my own father. He remains one of the reasons I tell people, especially southerners, that I don’t understand it when people complain that they go into environments other than theirs and they don’t have access to one thing or the other. I always say when you are in a new environment, form useful relationships with the owners; those same people will be the keys to open doors for you. Durbi opened many doors for me in his town.

And so does his son, my friend and brother, Shehu Abubakar Durbi, former Commissioner of Land and Survey, and former Chief Whip, Gombe State House of Assembly. Shehu’s father and his son are two out of many other people across the North who make me feel good about northerners. My attachment to Durbi in particular was such that when we lost him in December 2020, his son, Shehu, found it difficult to inform me. He knew the passing on of his father was as much a blow for him as it was for me. Someone else informed me. When I called Shehu, he said, “You know, Tunji; I didn’t know how to inform you. I picked my phone on two different occasions, but I dropped it each time.” I suppose that summarises my closeness to at least one northerner.


Why do I focus on core north Muslims? Many of them have the kind of virtues and values that I like to see in people. Durbi and his son, Shehu, put these on display for me to see – Good heart, kindness, love for truthfulness, dignity, decency, what is edifying, and they see every fellow human being as someone to be treated with respect. Fact is I’ve heard people across town say the same thing about Durbi and his son and I’m not surprised. Attitude, character, is smoke, cover it, it will escape. Of all the virtues that I stated, I focus on decency. You find this in abundance among core northerners. They display decency in how they relate with people. They do things properly. They resolve differences among themselves, internally, and come out to put up a common front. From decades of sitting and listening to Durbi, I learnt this and saw it in many of the public life experiences that he shared with me, especially at the time we worked on his memoirs.


There’s no way one would have this kind of experience, and even more among several other northerners that I have interacted with, and one wouldn’t see the difference in how some southerners do things and how northerners do theirs. I assume that when a people say they are smart, intelligent, better educated and have this big picture of their own self-importance, it implies that they lack a sense of decency. Was decency on display on that occasion at the NASS? If you are educated, it should show in the manner you conduct yourself, approach issues in the public space, and how you talk.


I think part of the challenge for the average southerner is that they mistake being educated for a right to be vociferous and outlandishly indecorous. To me, the more educated you are, the more refined your manners should be. Northerners display this better, whether educated or otherwise, and I’ve sat in rooms with a host of them over the years. Has anyone watched especially the Americans? As outspoken as they are, many of them raise the matter of decently presenting their views even in a heated public debate to the level of art. I imagine they know a Yoruba saying which states that it is how to suavely present a case one should learn, rather than how to engage in physical assault.

You win more people to your side that way. Who have the feuding parties at the NASS won to their side with that show of shame? Certainly not me, and it’s the reason I point this issue out. So that the day I state once more that southerners aren’t as smart as they claim to be, I will have another evidence to refer to as I had done in recent past.

There were occasions in the past when I did a comparison of what southerners put on display on the national stage. I stated that northerners who many southerners took pleasure in looking down on wouldn’t behave that way. It’s one reason northerners have been more successful in regard to securing leadership positions in this nation – military and civilian. It’s one reason they sometimes easily get what they want from the federal bowl while groups and interests in the South are still busy quarrelling among themselves. Yet, when the deed is done, the same groups and interests that cause the South to lose out turn around to blame a tribe other than theirs for their loss. Meanwhile, they’re blaming a tribe that’s obviously smarter, better organised, and one that knows exactly what it wants; it doesn’t make much noise, but would simply go for it as circumspectly as possible. Southerners hardly act this way. Everyone is a boss. No one respects the other. Disharmony is rife. An outcome was that display at the NASS lately. These are differences some of us with decades of active contact with the North have seen.


Others may see it differently, but for me what transpired at the NASS is an example of weakness on the part of southerners, rather than strength. It’s another display that informs all how easy it is to divide and rule people such as those whose representatives showed their style in full view of the world that time. This weakness has been exploited again and again. To some, what transpired was nothing. To me, it’s much. Some may not be embarrassed. I am. Others may even applaud the show at the NASS. I don’t applaud a shameful, atrocious display of lack of character.

Those who applaud such disgraceful shows are free to continue though. But let no one come out tomorrow to claim their tribes are the best thing to happen to Nigeria and people in the north are the only imperfection Nigeria has. Some of us will consider it laughable as usual, and simply repeat the same thing we’ve always been saying – northerners are smarter. If southerners think otherwise, let them prove it. This thing isn’t about making some anger-driven, ego-fuelled assertion. It should be seen in the decent conduct, guarded utterance and organised action that’s a hallmark of statesmanship, an art in which the core north has traditionally excelled.

From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Federal Government, yesterday, warned that some northern states would come under severe dry spells between the months of June and July this year and advised farmers to adopt soil-moisture conservation techniques to reduce chances of crop failure during the period.

Minister of Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika, who disclosed this in Abuja at the 2021 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) listed parts of Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Yobe and Borno states as those to experience severe drought and said an App had been developed for all to access weather information.

“A severe dry spell is predicted over Arewa Dandi, Birnin Kebbi, Argungu, Augie Kebbi, Illela, Gada, Tangaza, Gudu, Sabon Birni; Sokoto, Shinkafi, Birnin Magaji, Maradun, Zurmi Zamfara, Kaita, Mashi, Mai’Adua, Katsina, Dutsi, Daura, Baure, Zango; Katsina, Gwiwa, Yankwashi, Gumel, Birniwa, Sule-Tankarkar, Guri, Kiri Kasama; Jigawa, Machina, Nguru, Yusufari, Yunusari, Karasuwa, Barde, Jakusko, Geidam; Yobe and Abadam, Mobbar, Kukawa, Guzamala, Gubio, Nganzai, Monguno Borno state in the months of June and July which may last between two and three weeks after the onset. Farmers should adopt soil-moisture conservation techniques to reduce chances of crop failure during this period.”

He tasked the states to adhere to the forecast by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) in their farming and other ventures this year to avoid unpalatable consequences.

On flash floods, he said: “The normal to above normal rainfall pattern in the country will lead to the possibility of isolated flash floods due to increasing high intensity rainfall at the peak of the season, especially in areas that are naturally prone to flooding.”

On the 2021 onset of the planting/growing season, the minister said it was predicted to be normal to earlier than normal in most parts of the country.

He added that the earliest onset date was likely to occur on the March 1 along the coastal line of the country, while the latest date is anticipated to be around June 29 in the northernmost parts of the country.

“However, later-than-normal onset dates are expected over a few places such as parts of Lagos, Ogun, Kebbi and Niger states. On cessation, the earliest cessation date is around October 9, 2021, is expected around Katsina and the northern parts of Sokoto while the latest cessation date is expected on the December 25, over the Niger-Delta region.”

By Victor Ogunje

There was palpable panic in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, yesterday, when suspected armed robbers reportedly robbed some staff members of the state government of N20 million.

The civil servants, who were accountants attached to the Cabinet Department of the governor’s office, were said to have withdrawn the money belonging to the government at a new generation bank before they were robbed at gunpoint.

An eyewitness told journalists in Ado Ekiti that the victims withdrew the money from a bank on Secretariat Road in the capital city, and were returning to the governor’s office when they were waylaid by the gunmen and robbed of the huge amount of money.

He said: “The staff members were Paymasters and Accountants attached to the Cabinet Department of the governor’s office.

“They went to make withdrawal at the behest of their superior, and while returning, the robbers waylaid them at a place between the Chicken Republic and Fajuyi Park, and dispossessed them of the huge cash.”

The robbers were said to have shot into the air sporadically as they escaped through the GRA to Ilawe road.

The gunshot, according to the source, made motorists and bike riders to clear the way as they made spirited efforts to escape from the crime scene, which they succeeded.

The tension created by the news had made some banks to take strict security measures in Ado metropolis, as it was reported that it was a case of bank robbery.

But the Ekiti State Police Command allayed the fears, saying the rumoured bank robbery was untrue and baseless.

The state Police Commissioner, Babatunde Mobayo, implored members of the public to disregard “such fabricated and misleading false alarm aimed at causing unnecessary apprehension.”

Mobayo, in a statement signed by the Command spokesman, ASP Sunday Abutu, said: “For clarity, the incident that occurred today (Wednesday) in Ado-Ekiti was about a driver of a Toyota Corolla car with about three other occupants who were accosted by a group of yet-to-be-identified hoodlums and dispossessed them of some amount of money.

“Upon the receipt of the information, the Commander of Rapid Response Squad (RRS) led his operatives to the scene but by then, the hoodlums had fled the scene already.

“However, some persons have been invited by the police for interrogation and further investigation while serious effort is ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects.”

Meanwhile, the CP have appreciated the good citizens who gave the police timely information that led to the arrest of the suspected abductor who attempted to abduct some school children on January, 28, 2021, advising everyone to be wary of the people around their environs as well as promptly alert the police when suspicious persons are sighted.

Popular Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has said he will not heed calls to help a community in Oyo combat Fulani kidnappers except the state governor gives him approval to do so.

SaharaReporters had on Sunday reported that residents of Kajola village in Ayete, in the Ibarapa North Local Government Area of the state called on Igboho to come to their rescue and save them from a group of armed Fulani herdsmen headed by one Iskilu Wakil.

The villagers had alleged that Wakil and his fellow armed Fulani men had driven away farmers from the village after the villagers served him a notice to quit.

The people also said they had been suffering from incessant attacks and destruction of their farms from Wakil and his gang for long, adding that they had asked him to vacate their land when the Seriki Fulani of Igangan, Saliu Abdukadir, was given a quit notice by Igboho.

"We are pleading with Chief Sunday Igboho to come to our rescue. The police and Amotekun have refused to help us. So, we will appreciate it if he can come here also to help us," one of the affected farmers was quoted as saying.

But in an interview with SaharaReporters on Tuesday, Igboho, who spoke through his media aide, Salami Oladapo, said he would only go to Ayete to fight the cause of the farmers there if Governor Seyi Makinde would approve it.

He said, "I know the people of Ayete are calling for help but I will only go to Ayete if the governor asks me to go. After all, he is the chief security officer of the state and he is in the best position to give the order.

"The governor visited Igangan over the weekend and just left yesterday. Ayete is not far from Igangan, whatever affects the people in these communities should be of utmost priority to the governor of the state.

"If the governor gives me the go-ahead today, I will be in Ayete first thing tomorrow morning."

Olufemi Olaniyi and Wale Oyewale

Fulani herdsmen, who on Sunday seized hectares of farmlands at Ayete in the Ibarapa area of Oyo State, on Monday consolidated their hold on the farms despite the visits of the state Governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, to the area on Sunday and Monday.

The Asawo of Ayete, Oba Emmanuel Okeniyi, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Monday, said the leader of the herdsmen, Iskilu Wakili, had invited his armed kinsmen to join him on the farms. He added that the herdsmen had started cutting down cocoa trees and burning cashew plantations,

Farmers in Kajola and Gbagban Idere village, under Ayete, who spoke to The PUNCH, confirmed what the traditional ruler said.

One of the farmers, Peter David, lamented that Wakili had taken over the farmlands. According to him, security agencies have not gone to the villages to dislodge the herdsmen, who forcefully took over people’s farmlands

Recall that David had on Sunday appealed to a Yoruba rights activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, to rescue them from a group of herdsmen led by Wakili.

They alleged that Wakili and other herdsmen were driving farmers away from their farms.

On Monday, the state governor continued his trouble-shooting visit to the Ibarapa area, which he started on Sunday.

Makinde visited some towns in the Ibarapa area of the state to feel the pulse of the people over the alleged killings, rape, and massive destruction of the farms of the indigenes by criminal Fulani herdsmen.

Residents of Ayete told one of our correspondents that neither the governor nor security agents visited the two villages, where Wakili and other herdsmen had seized control of farmlands

David, who had earlier spoken to The PUNCH told one of our correspondents on Monday that the governor did not visit the villages and Ayete.


Fulani herdsmen still mount no cross-zone on farms

David said, “The Governor went to Igangan today. He did not stop at Ayete. He went to Igangan and returned to Igboora. He did not stop at Ayete let alone say he would visit the villages. The roadblock mounted by Wakili is still there. He has taken over the area. No security agency has gone there also.”

When one of our correspondents asked the Asawo of Ayete, whether Makinde went to the villages during his visit or not, the monarch said no.


Amotekun failed to confront herdsmen blocking farmers – Monarch

He said, “He did not go there. We said it to his hearing today. He deployed Amotekun to Ayete on Saturday but they (Amotekun) have not gone to the area to confront him (Wakili).

“I was told that the man had brought so many of his armed kinsmen to the area. We are only depending on God to conquer him for us. He is heavily armed, as I was told.


Herdsmen cutting down cocoa trees, burning down cashew plantations – Traditional ruler

“I was told he was cutting down their cocoa trees and that he had burnt many cashew plantations there. This is the time to harvest cashew and that is a big loss to the farmers.”

The governor visited Igangan which is the epicentre of the herdsmen crisis but he was welcomed to the town by some youths, who seized the opportunity to register their displeasure.

Makinde started the tour of Ibarapaland on Sunday with a meeting he held with stakeholders at Igbo-Ora on Sunday night.


Residents welcome Makinde to Igangan with protests

Some youths, who carried placards with various inscriptions, stood by the roadside as Makinde was driven into the town.

They also carried a big banner bearing the portrait of Dr Fatai Aborode, who was allegedly killed by some Fulani in December 2020.

The youths protested the incessant killings, violent rapes and maiming of farmers and other Indigenes by criminals suspected to be herdsmen in the town and other parts of Igangan.

Makinde while addressing the people said he decided to come and see things for himself.

He said, “I won’t be able to sleep with my two eyes closed in Ibadan if my people in Ibarapa cannot sleep with their two eyes closed.”

Makinde said governors needed the cooperation of the police and other federal security agencies to enforce the anti-open grazing law enacted to stop frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers.


The governor said state police would have helped to enforce the law.

Makinde, according to a statement from his Chief Press Secretary, Taiwo Adisa, on Monday said this when he held an overnight meeting with Ibarapa people in Igboora.

The meeting had in attendance the Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Debo Ogundoyin, commissioners, chairmen and members of boards and parastatals, members of the state House of Assembly and all the political appointees from Ibarapa zone.

Makinde said, “Quite frankly, the governors are at the mercy of federal security agencies to implement certain laws.

“That was why we asked for state police. In the first instance, it is a constitutional issue and, in the absence of having that, governors in the South- West came together and formed Amotekun as a stop gap.

“Problems don’t go away completely. But you have to keep working at them, keep pushing to get to where you really want to be and that is what we will keep doing.

“But the law is there, though the implementation has not been smooth, we will keep working at it.”

The governor commiserated with the families that have lost their loved ones to the insecurity situation, saying, he felt their pains.

He stated that he had had a very close interaction with Dr Fatai Aborode in the past.

Makinde charged political office holders from the area to always speak out anytime they discovered that things were not going the ways they ought to.

He said, “The take-home from the interaction for me is that it is a collective problem and I can see the commitment from everybody to find a solution to this.

“And, at least, I am quite glad that some of the initiatives that the government is trying to put in place to stem insecurity are coming to fruition.

“We will ensure that our identity management programme takes off as quickly as possible. We will also ensure the setting up of a peace and security committee that is all-encompassing in the councils.”


Oyo to commence identity management programme

Earlier, Makinde, during a meeting with selected stakeholders, local government chairmen and political office holders from the Ibarapa zone in Igbo Ora, declared that the problems of the zone were his problems and responsibilities.

The governor, while addressing council chairpersons and political office holders from Ibarapa Central, Ibarapa East and Ibarapa North, in Igbo Ora, late on Sunday stated that the state had approved the inauguration of Peace and Security Committee at the local government level, adding that the state government would put in place other security measures to ensure peace in the area.

He also disclosed that the government had directed the immediate take-off of an identity management programme to enable it to know who is who in the communities.

He said, “We will ensure that our identity management programme takes off as quickly as possible. We will also ensure the setting up of peace and security committee that is all-encompassing in the councils.”

He said that the problems of insecurity in Ibarapaland needed to be tackled collectively, adding that he commiserated with the families that have lost loved ones to the insecurity situation.

“So, this is also to let people know that I feel their pain, because I have had a very close interaction with Dr. Fatai Aborode in the past. I commiserate with his family and many others who have lost loved ones to this situation.”

On the enforcement of anti-grazing law, Makinde said governors needed the cooperation of the police and other federal security forces to enforce the anti-open grazing law enacted to stop frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

He said, “Quite frankly, the governors are at the mercy of federal security agencies to implement certain laws. That was why we asked for state police. In the first instance, it is a constitutional issue and, in the absence of having that, governors in the South West came together and formed Amotekun as a stop-gap measure.”

On the deployment of additional Amotekun operatives, the governor said, “The 200 Amotekun Corps have been deployed. They are here and we are also supporting them with logistics by bringing four additional operational vehicles for them.”


Oyo to compensate victims of Ibarapa crisis

Makinde, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa, on Monday evening, said his administration would compensate victims of the Ibarapa crisis.

He also said his administration had turned the heat on kidnappers and criminals in Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun axis of the state and would succeed in routing them out.

The governor in his addresses to residents of Ibarapa communities, said the state could not afford to lose more lives to insecurity.

Makinde, who visited the homes of the late Dr. Fatai Aborode and others who lost their lives to the crisis in the area, including Mrs. Idowu Babarinde, who lost a child during the shooting by kidnappers who attempted to abduct a filling station owner in Idere, expressed pains on the lives that were lost in the area.

He stated that his government would compensate the victims of the insecurity in Ibarapa, adding that “We must have a peace and security committee at the local government level, which will be all-encompassing. Those people that are supposed to be there and can contribute meaningfully must be accommodated. “


Why Makinde didn’t visit villages, where herdsmen occupied farms – Aide

When contacted on why Makinde did not visit two villages, where herdsmen had dislodged farmers, Adisa said the governor did not need to go from village to village since the traditional rulers and representatives of people in all the villages were present at his meeting.

He said, “The governor had three distinct stops in Ibarapa besides other brief consultative meetings with known leaders. There were town hall meetings at Igbo Ora, Idere and Igangan. Different stakeholders were present at the different stops and the cases narrated were similar in nature.

“The governor did not need to go from town to town holding communal meetings since all of the stakeholders in Ibarapaland had agreed to converge on the aforementioned locations at their convenience.”

The All Progressives Party recently embarked upon a re-registration of its members. The exercise it says is to bring it’s membership records up to date.

Just this Saturday, President Buhari himself became the first man to do his re-validation of his membership of the party. Interestingly, the exercise is scheduled to officially begin on the 2nd of February.

But as we know there are usually many undertones and secret agendas when things like that are announced and in this scenerio, one person that may likely lose out is the National Leader of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu the former two term governor of Lagos State.

One of thee realities of this exercise is the fact that many things are going to be re-arranged politically.

Already as we know, the race towards 2023 has already begun,albeit secretly and in the back ground.

And one major issue that has come to the core is the issue of who will succeed President Buhari.

Even within it’s fold as a party,the northern elements have already been voicing out that they are not ready to let a Southerner take it up much more Tinubu even though Tinubu’s camp says there was a gentleman’s agreement between Tinubu and Buhari back then to support each other one after the other to ascend the throne.

It will not be a surprise that this re-registration process will be a way many of Tinubu’s loyalists will be displaced and eventually his presidential Ambition punctured even before it sees the light if day.

Despite all he has done for the party, Tinubu May be at the losing end with the re-registration that has just commenced.

Olalekan Adetayo, John Alechenu, Friday Olokor and Alexander Okere



The main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party; Yoruba Socio-political group, Afenifere; and some individuals have expressed surprise that 10 governors of the All Progressives Congress could abandon their state duties to accompany the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to revalidate his membership of their party in his hometown, Daura, Katsina State on Saturday.

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, was also part of the President’s entourage.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed the number of governors and others, who accompanied the President in a statement titled “We have nothing to hide, our books will always be open – President Buhari.”

The statement read in part, “The President’s registration exercise in Daura was attended by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; former Senate President, Ken Nnamani; 10 governors, including the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, who is the Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee, and other party stalwarts.”


Our correspondents learnt that apart from Buni (Yobe) who was mentioned in the statement, other governors who accompanied the President were Gboyega Oyetola (Osun); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi); Muhammad Badaru (Jigawa); Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe); Hope Uzodinma (Imo); Adulrahman Abdulrasaq, (Kwara); Simon Lalong (Plateau); and the host governor, Aminu Masari.

The PDP described the decision of the governors to accompany the President as the height of irresponsibility.


It also described the trip as a jamboree.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said this in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, in Abuja, on Saturday.

Ologbondiyan said, “It is the height of irresponsibility. It beats the imagination that governors would abandon governance at a time of great insecurity and economic turmoil to embark on a jamboree.

“If they devote the kind of energy, they are devoting to chasing shadows in providing actual governance in their states, we will not be having the cases of banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and other criminal activities which have become the norm rather than the exception today.

“Why would almost 10 governors abandon their states just to witness the president signing a register? When was the last time any of these governors inaugurated a project beneficial to their people?

“In case they are unaware, both the APC and the Buhari brand have been demystified by the woeful performance of this regime.”


Also, Afenifere said the governors merely displayed what it described as their idleness by embarking on the trip.

The National Publicity Secretary of the group, Yinka Odunmakin, told one of our correspondents that the governors were not busy in their respective states.

He said, “The governors just displayed their idleness by abandoning their states to accompany the president to go and register for an old party. If they are gainfully engaged, they would not be available for such frivolity.”

Also, a former member of the House of Representative, Dr Junaidu Mohammed, condemned the action of the governors, describing it as irresponsible.


Mohammed also said the APC had failed to show how a truly democratic party should be run.

“For him to go in the company of governors, leaving their states, is clearly irresponsible. It is not proper as they would use our resources, my tax and your tax for the needless trip,” Mohammed added.

On his part, the Executive Chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Mr Debo Adeniran, said the governors’ action was not only wasteful but also portrayed the government as a wasteful one.

Adeniran said, “In fact, all the ceremony that surrounds the President’s visit to Daura because of the revalidation of his membership of a political party is unnecessary.

“In fact, it could have been a quiet exercise that he could have done quietly without any fanfare. Why the needless trip by 10 governors, who left their states and functions to join such a charade?

“It is a waste of time and resources. Anyway, this is a government of waste, and there are those who benefit from such episodic activities. As long as we continue to tolerate a capitalist system, those are the kind of things they will rub on our faces and there is just too little we can do about it until we decide to change the system.”


Also, the National Secretary of the Coalition for United Political Parties, Peter Ameh, in an interview with one of our correspondents, expressed disgust that at this time with the ravaging coronavirus pandemic, APC governors could still find time to embark on such a trip.

He said such could not happen in any other place in the world.

The CUPP secretary said this was one of the reasons why the country must be restructured.

Ameh said, “This is the joblessness among governors that we are talking about. There is nowhere in the world that this kind of thing happens.

“All this is happening because of the kind of unitary federalism we are operating. It is because governors simply rush to Abuja at the end of the month to share money generated by five or six states.

“Even the America we are copying, at what time did you hear that governors of the Democratic Party are rushing to Washington for this kind of ceremony? What about France or Germany?

“This is happening in Nigeria because the governors know that whatever happens, they will gather in Abuja at the end of the month to collect their allocations, pay salaries and look for the next junket.

“This is why we must restructure so that state governors can sit in their states, generate revenue to develop and pay royalties to the Federal Government.”

In his reaction, the National Chairman of the Action Democratic Party, Yabagi Sani, said it was clear that the APC is “a damaged brand which is out of tune with the realities of what it takes to govern a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation like Nigeria. “


We have nothing to hide – Buhari

Meanwhile, the Presidency’s statement quoted Buhari as telling journalists after the exercise that the nation’s balance sheet was open for the National Assembly and all Nigerians.

He said his regime had nothing to hide.

Shehu quoted the President as assuring Nigerians of full implementation of the 2021 budget, with all transparency and openness in meeting the targets, while appreciating the National Assembly for the effective and detailed attention before the passage.


He said the budget aptly captured some of the visions of the administration, and all efforts would be poured in to ensure effective implementation.

Buhari said, “We have directed all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies to follow what is in the budget so that we can get the National Assembly to easily support the next budget. We can tell them what we have received, and how it was spent.

“We are always ready to make the balance sheet available for all Nigerians and the National Assembly. We have nothing to hide.’’

Buhari said his regime had given more attention to agriculture in order to diversify and strengthen the economy.

“We are still grateful to Morocco for the support they gave us in producing fertiliser in the country. We have 42 companies producing fertiliser in six geopolitical zones,” he said.

A youth group, Kwara South Movement (KSM), has warned the embattled Sarkin Fulani of Oyo State, Saliu Abdulkadri, to be law-abiding during his stay in Kwara State or face another eviction notice.

Abdulkadri and his men had moved out of Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State to Kwara State after the expiration of a seven-day eviction notice by Yoruba rights activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho.

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Igboho had asked all Fulani residents in the area to leave to stop kidnapping allegedly perpetrated in the area by herders linked to the ethnic group.

He accused Abdukadir of harbouring the herders allegedly kidnapping and killing residents of the community.

KSM, in a statement by its coordinator, Saheed Olayinka Odofin, and secretary, Adeyinka Adeoye, urged the Sarkin Fulani to be guided in his activities during his stay in the state.


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The statement read, "The attention of Kwara South Movement has been drawn to the relocation of the displaced Sarkin Fulani of Igangan in Ibarapa local government of Oyo State, Salihu Abdulkadir, and his family to Kwara State following a misunderstanding with Sunday Igboho as well as the host community.

"This cautionary message became necessary as Fulani In Igangan reportedly moved to Buari/Okerimi Near Oro Boundary of Kwara South which is within our territory.

"We all know Kwara State for its harmony. Any attempt to jeopardize this peace and tranquillity will be resisted by Kwara South Movement. We, therefore, use this opportunity to warn the Sarkin Fulani of Igangan to be guided in his activities during his stay in the State or he face another eviction.

"Kwara South Movement also call on the Kwara State Governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, to be proactive in his administrative duties by securing the life's and prosperity of the citizens in the state against any criminal act by the embattled Sarkin and his family.

"We, therefore, urge the security agencies in the state to be at alert because any criminal activities won't be taken lightly in the state during the stay of this Sarkin Fulani."

By Nicholas Kalu,

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has made huge seizures of cocaine and heroines with street values worth over N30billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

This comes barely a week after the new Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig Gen. Buba Marwa, vowed to dismantle drug trafficking cartels across Nigeria.

One of the seizures, 26.840 kilograms of cocaine is the biggest single seizure from an individual in the past 15 years, The Nation gathered.

According to a top official of the agency in Abuja: “On the 27th of January 2021, at about 1320hours, during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airline passengers at the E- arrival hall of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, a female passenger by name Onyejegbu Ifesinachi Jennifer, 33 years, who arrived Nigeria from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa, was intercepted by NDLEA operatives.

“As a standard operating procedure, all passengers to and from high-risk countries are always profiled using passengers’ manifest.

“It happened that the above-named suspect was targeted. Consequently, she was taken to the NDLEA office at the airport, where her bags were searched thoroughly, and in the process, whitish powdery substances were found concealed inside 16 pieces of duvet contained in her two travel bags.

“Field test was conducted on the recovered substances and proved positive to cocaine and weighed 26.850kilograms. The suspect who is a hairstylist and based in Brazil was interviewed and she confessed to having agreed to smuggle the hard drug for the N2m only.

“Although she refused to disclose the names of her associates, she mentioned that she was asked to hand over the drugs to another person. The street value of this singular seizure is put at over N21billion.”

The official further disclosed the development came on the heels of a similar one recorded two days earlier when a red left-over luggage was declared to the NDLEA operatives at the E-arrival hall after the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airline.

“Based on information on the luggage tag, the luggage arrived Nigeria from Sao Paulo, Brazil, a destination classified as a high-risk country going by records and trends of arrest and seizures.

“Subsequently, the bag was transferred to the NDLEA ‘Legal Seat’ being the administrative office at the passenger terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, for detention. While this was going on, the NDLEA Commander at the MMIA, Ahmadu Garba received an intelligence report of a purported plan to clear a consignment containing hard drug through the Lagos airport. Coincidentally, the details sent matched the bag earlier detained by the operatives at the Lagos airport.

“In a coordinated operation, on January 27, 2021, an NDLEA undercover agent was contacted by one Abubakar Aliyu. Guided by the operation and investigation unit, the undercover agent successfully lured the said Abubakar Aliyu into the cargo terminal of the airport where he was arrested.

“The suspect revealed to NDLEA operatives that another person was on his way to receive the bag based of the instruction of his sender who he gave his name as Ikechukwu Eze.

“As a result, one Emmanuel Iyke Aniebonam, who was to receive the bag, was also arrested at NAHCO. During a preliminary interview by a team of investigators, Emmanuel confessed that he was instructed by one Ikechukwu to receive the consignment. Emmanuel was again set up to lure in Ikechukwu Eze but rather than showing up to get the consignment from Emmanuel, he sent another who said he was mandated to receive the consignment from him, and they agreed to meet at Ibis Royal Hotel, a few miles away from the airport.

“A follow-up operation was quickly organised to the hotel, where one Onwurah Kelvin was arrested and brought to the office. The suspect confessed during the interview that he was sent by one Ikechukwu to receive the consignment.

“Thereafter, the detained bag was opened in the presence of all the three suspects, whitish powdery substances were discovered neatly concealed and sewn inside five children duvets. The field test was carried out on the exhibits proved they are cocaine weighed to be 8.400 Kilograms, with a street value of over N7billion.”

It was further learnt that on January 24, 2021, at about 12 noon, one Edosa Christopher was arrested at the passengers screening point of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and subjected to a body scan, which proved positive for hard drugs ingestion.

According to the official: “The suspect was immediately transferred to NDLEA/JBTF office and placed on excretion observation. Subsequently, he excreted a total of 68 wraps of substance, which was tested and proved positive to heroin. It was also weighed 950 grams.

“During an interview, Edosa Christopher confessed to having bought the illicit substance at the cost of N800, 000 from someone he referred to as ‘Paddy’.

“According to the suspect, he met the said PADDY at Eagle Rock hotel around Ago Palace way in Lagos, where he lodged for a brief stay. Further investigation however revealed that the hotel does not exist anywhere in Lagos.

By Wale Odunsi


President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly fired Lai Yahaya, his Senior Special Assistant on Planning and Strategy.

He worked in the Office of the Chief of Staff. The lawyer guided the presidency on electric power initiatives.

Yahaya was accused of leaking internal State House information to an online newspaper.

The former aide was sanctioned over a story which fingered Bolaji, the son of Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari.

The energy consultant previously worked at the State House, under late Chief of Staff Abba Kyari, until 2017.

After his initial exit, Yahaya served as an adviser to Kenya’s Raila Odinga, African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development.

Weeks into office, Gambari recalled him to the presidency as an adviser on power infrastructure.

Yahaya, who was Deputy Director to three Directors General at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), has reportedly left the country.