₦airaland Forum

The Nigerian Army has recalled about 149 soldiers of the 153 Infantry Battalion, Marte accused of abandoning the Boko Haram insurgency fight and fleeing over alleged inadequate provision of arms and ammunition.

SaharaReporters gathered that the soldiers absconded from duty after insurgents attacked their camps, leaving scores of their colleagues dead.

The insurgents had on Monday, February 15 overrun Marte.

While most of the villagers ran away for safety, some were held by the insurgents.

SaharaReporters gathered that the gunmen came with heavy machine guns and trucks, and took possession of the military formation in the community, including high profile fighting equipment and vehicles.

At least 10 soldiers were killed during the incident.

The gunmen also set ablaze two battle tanks and a pickup van belonging to the Nigerian Army.

“We lost about 10 soldiers in the fight, the troops were outgunned by the gunmen. It was an intense battle, the terrorists also suffered casualties but they were able to overwhelm the soldiers,” a military source had said.

SaharaReporters gathered that soldiers were moved to Maiduguri few days after the attack while those from Jaji Military Cantonment, Kaduna State, were used to replace them.

The army authorities subsequently dismissed them and retrieved their uniforms and identity cards.

“We were overwhelmed and could not withstand the superior firepower of the terrorists. Sufficient weapons were not provided for us to fight the terrorists and we ran out of weapons. Some of the weapons provided for us were obsolete, so it was not really our fault.

“We have been told to resume, I’m so happy,” one of the dismissed soldiers told SaharaReporters.

Petrol pricing will be fully deregulated before end of this year, Minister of State (Petroleum) Timipre Sylva said yesterday.

He spoke amid controversy over whether a new price template of N206 per litre from N162 – N163 for March is about to be introduced.

The minister spoke at the University of Ibadan during the opening of the 56th Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigeria Mining and Geoscience Society (NMGS).

Sylva said: “We have been talking about deregulation for decades. Unfortunately, we have not succeeded. We have succeeded in deregulating some products.

“Kerosene has been fully deregulated; diesel has been fully deregulated. But deregulation of PMS (petrol) has continued to elude us. We expect that this year, we will be able to achieve that.

“But, before we do that, we want to apply the principle of tolling the roads. Before you toll a road, you are expected to give an alternative.

“So, what we want to do for Nigerians is to give a credible and cheaper fuel as an alternative before we fully deregulate and we believe we will be able to achieve this later this year.


“And this, of course, is going to be a responsible way of also maintaining our environment.”


There were indications yesterday that the Federal Government, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress will meet for talks after the Easter break.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, said the government had not tabled any pump price before the Labour, contrary to the claim that the government proposed a pump price of about N202 per litre to N206 per litre, which Labour rejected by insisting on N168 per litre.

It was learnt that the last time the two sides met, it was the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, who presented some market indices to Labour.

Kyari was said to have put the landing cost at N202 per litre confirming speculations that the fuel price increase was inevitable.

A labour source said: “We are standing by our position that there is no need for fuel price increase. But the government and Labour will resume talks immediately after the Easter break.

“We want the pump price to be N168 per litre. We were able to prove our point about three weeks ago when we suggested alternatives to the government team, which was led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha.

“We presented some cost cutting measures to the government which will make N168 per litre realistic. We have rejected N202 or N206 per litre. We are waiting for the resumption of talks after the Easter break.”

Dr. Chris Ngige said last night: “We agreed to resume talks after the Easter break about one month ago when we met.

“We have not given them any figure of pump price. They are however aware of the landing cost of the Premium Motor Spirit as presented by the NNPC.”

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), at midnight last Thursday, published a new price regime for Premium Motor Spirit.

It said with the new template, fuel was expected to sell at N209.61 and at an upper retail price of N212.61. But it pulled down the new template after an outcry.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced new charges for customers using the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data services.

The apex bank said from Tuesday customers will pay a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction every time they use USSD services.

The charges were part of the agreements after banks and telecommunication operators met on Monday to discuss the N42bn debt owed mobile operators by banks.

A statement on Tuesday and jointly signed by the apex bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi; and Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, Ikechukwu Adinde, explained: “We are pleased to announce that after comprehensive deliberations on the key issues, a resolution framework acceptable to all parties was agreed thus:

“Effective March 16, 2021, USSD services for financial transactions conducted at DMBs (Deposit Money Banks) and all CBN-licensed institutions will be charged at a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction.

“This replaces the current per session billing structure, ensuring a much cheaper average cost for customers to enhance financial inclusion.

“This approach is transparent and will ensure the amount remains the same, regardless of the number of sessions per transaction.

“To promote transparency in its administration, the new USSD charges will be collected on behalf of MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) directly from customers’ bank accounts. Banks shall not impose additional charges on customers for us of the USSD channel.”

The Federal Government last week asked telecommunication operators to put on hold, their impending suspension of USSD services over N42bn debt owed by banks.

OYINDAMOLA OLUBAJO

Babatunde Fashola, a top-tier member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet, has been interrogated by the EFCC over corrupt practices tied to his questionable asset declaration and an ongoing probe of Babatunde Fowler, the disgraced former chairman of the FIRS, two senior anti-graft detectives have told Peoples Gazette.

Officials familiar with the works minister’s ordeal told the Gazette he was called in for questioning after detectives were tipped off about his involvement in Mr. Fowler’s loot during his days as the head of Lagos Inland Revenue Service and most recently at the FIRS.

The EFCC also wrote to the Code of Conduct Bureau seeking the former Lagos governor’s asset declaration documents in order to further establish another phase of the investigation, according to a letter obtained by the Gazette. The Gazette first published the letter earlier this month in a report about an ongoing corruption probe of Bola Tinubu, but covered Mr. Fashola’s name in order to allow enough time to cross-check why his asset filings were being requested by the EFCC.

EFCC Letter

Mr. Fashola strongly denied all charges of corruption as presented to him by the EFCC, urging officials to ensure a thorough investigation of the matter before dragging his name into it, officials said.

There was no immediate indication that Mr. Fashola, whose career in politics has flourished for two decades without the perception of greed and graft, will be arraigned for corruption anytime soon, officials said. But flagging him as a potential target for charges underscores raging concerns over what appeared to be a deliberate targeting of South-West politicians ahead of 2023 presidential election battle.

The detectives provide information on the condition of anonymity for want of authorisation to discuss an ongoing investigation with the Gazette.

Mr. Fashola’s visit to the EFCC towards the end of 2020 has been kept entirely secret until now. Even then, little has been uncovered about the overall nature of the investigation, and specifics of what the works minister was accused of are still fuzzy.

But the mere summoning of a top administration official who handles a key ministerial position prompted suspicion amongst anti-graft officials that a cabal of other appointees and associates of the president may be seeking the former Lagos governor’s rapid fall from grace in order to delist him from 2023 presidential equation of the ruling APC.

It also signals the rising and uncurbed influence of Abubakar Malami, Mr. Buhari’s clumsy attorney-general now seen as the de-facto commander of national affairs. Mr. Malami has been thought to be hatching a plot to raise a mercenary that will cut South-West politicians to size before the primary season opens next year.

“There is no one at the EFCC now that does not realise that the AGF is in charge,” an official said. “Most of the matters we are being asked to look into now are about people the AGF has not been so friendly with and working to bring down before 2023 primary exercise of the APC.”

Already, Mr. Malami has been blamed for EFCC’s ongoing corruption investigation against Mr. Tinubu, Mr. Buhari’s key benefactor who now sees himself as the front-runner for the ruling party’s 2023 presidential ticket.

Mr. Malami has denied being in control of the EFCC, but admitted nominating scandal-plagued Abdulrasheed Bawa to lead the anti-corruption agency. Following the Gazette’s report that Mr. Tinubu was under investigation, Mr. Malami went on television to assert the powers of both EFCC and CCB to probe the former Lagos governor.

“The EFCC and Code of Conduct Bureau are all statutory bodies that are vested with statutory powers to act within the context of the laws establishing them,” the attorney-general said, even though neither the EFCC nor the CCB has publicly commented on the charges against Mr. Tinubu.

For two weeks, both Mr. Fashola and his spokesman declined comments from the Gazette for this story. But a person close to the minister told the Gazette he distanced himself from both allegations of asset fraud and connivance from Mr. Fowler.

Mr. Fowler was handed a disgraceful exit from office in late 2019 after Mr. Buhari caught wind of his lavish lifestyle said to have been funded with suspicious loot during his years as the head of the FIRS.

Mr. Fowler was the head of FIRS when Mr. Fashola was Lagos governor between 2007 and 2015. Both later became appointees of Mr. Buhari following APC’s presidential election victory in 2015. But as 2023 draws closer, desperation has mounted amongst loyalists of the president and those suspected to be close to Mr. Tinubu from the South-West.

Since mid-2020, the EFCC has been probing Mr. Fowler, and he was reported to have mentioned names of several politically-exposed individuals as his collaborators.

In December, the Gazette exposed how the FIRS under Mr. Fowler transferred N840 million to Isa Funtua, a friend of the president’s. Several officials said Mr. Fowler was at some point desperate to be friends with powerful individuals close to the president but ultimately lost his scheme to be retained as the head of the country’s tax office.

Mr. Fowler did not return a request seeking comments about whether or not he implicated Mr. Fashola before anti-graft officials. Spokespersons for the EFCC and Mr. Malami did not return requests seeking comments from the Gazette.

But Ken Eluma Asogwa, an APC strategist, said Mr. Fashola’s investigation could further divide and distract the Buhari administration, seeing it first as a political witch-hunt by the attorney-general.

“You cannot write off politics from this, giving that gladiators are warming up for 2023” Mr. Eluma Asogwa said. “But this is what we’re talking about running a parallel government and it is time for Malami to be cautioned.”

The Abuja-based lawyer and political analyst said the attorney-general should have allowed the EFCC to tender any evidence of wrongdoing against Mr. Fashola before the president, rather than allowing the minister to be humiliated.

“Fashola is still a member of the president’s cabinet and the president could have acted on intelligence to fire him by now if it is true,” Mr. Eluma Asogwa said. “Malami is using the EFCC to hunt and smear his political enemies and that should never be the primary function of a sensible attorney-general.”

No fewer than 618 schools have remained closed in six northern states over the fear of attack and abduction of pupils and members of staff, according to a tally by THISDAY.

Also, barely three days after the abduction of 39 students of the Federal School of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State, security agencies on Saturday rescued 307 pupils of Government Secondary Science School (GSSS) Ikara, Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna from bandits who attempted to kidnap them from their school.

Security forces also repelled attempts at fresh attack on the senior staff quarters of the Federal Airport Authority (FAAN), Kaduna, where 11 people were abducted about two weeks ago.

The six states where some schools have remained closed are Sokoto, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Niger and Yobe.

In Sokoto, the state government has closed all boarding schools along border towns.

The state Commissioner for Security and Career Affairs, Col. Garba Moyi (rtd), said the measure was to avoid the abduction of pupils just as it happened in Katsina, Niger and Zamfara States.

He added that the state Governor, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, had directed the state commissioner for education to merge those schools with the ones in towns.

According to him, schools affected include those in Sabon Birni, Isa Rabah, Kebbe, Tangaza and Gudu local government areas.

THISDAY gathered that 16 boarding schools were affected.

The Zamfara State Government also closed boarding schools along the border towns after the Jangebe incident.

In a reaction to the abduction of 279 pupils of Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, Talata Mafara LGA, Governor Bello Matawalle had shut down 10 schools along the borders with Sokoto and Katsina States.

The state Commissioner for Education, Mr. Ibrahim Abdullahi, listed the 10 affected schools as Government Secondary Schools in Zurmi; GSS Birnin Magaji, (boarding) and G.A.S.S Zurmi (boarding); G.G.S.S Moriki (boarding); Science Secondary School Shinkafi (boarding); Science Secondary School, Dansadau (boarding); Science Secondary School, Bukkuyum (boarding); G.D. S. S Nassarawa Mailayi (day); G.D.S.S Gusami (day), and G.D.S.S Gurbin Bore (day).

In Katsina, the state government had initially shut down all its 38 boarding schools after the abduction of 344 pupils of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara.

But the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Badamasi Lawal, later announced the reopening of four out of the 38 boarding schools after a meeting with zonal inspectors of education and permanent secretaries.

He listed the four boarding schools which reopened on March 2 as the Command Secondary School, Faskari; Command Girls Secondary School, Barkiya; Command Secondary School, Musawa and Police Secondary School, Mani.

The commissioner explained that male pupils in the remaining 34 boarding schools should report to the nearest day secondary school in their location to continue with their studies, while female students should remain at home until the security situation in the state improves.

The Kano State Government also closed four tertiary institutions and 12 secondary schools over insecurity in neighbouring states.

The five tertiary schools closed are Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso College of Advance and Remedial Studies, Tudun Wada; School of Environmental Studies, Gwarzo; School of Rural Technology and Entrepreneurship Development (SORTED), Rano and Audu Bako College of Agriculture Development (ABCOAD), Dambatta.

The state government also closed 12 boarding secondary schools on the outskirts of Kano metropolis over increasing abduction of pupils.

The state Commissioner for Education, Mr. Muhammad Sunusi Kiru, said the closure became necessary due to the rising number of abductions of schoolchildren in neighbouring states.

The closed schools are located in Ajingi, Sumaila, Jogana, Kafin Maiyaki and Gaya, among others.

All secondary schools in Niger State have been closed by the state government.

The two-week closure was from March 12.

The Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Hannatu Salihu, said the closure of the schools was to enable the government to make adequate security arrangements to protect the pupils and workers.

In the wake of the abduction of 42 persons from the Government Science College, Kagara, the state government had closed only the boarding schools in Rafi, Mariga, Magama and Shiroro LGAs, which were believed to be prone to bandits’ attacks.

With the closure of all secondary schools in the state, THISDAY gathered that about 496 schools were affected.

The Information Officer of the State Ministry of Education, Alhaji Jibrin Kodo, told THISDAY that 56 boarding schools with two of them mixed are affected while the rest of the schools in the state are day schools.

He declined to state the total number of schools in the state.

The Yobe State government also closed all boarding schools as part of proactive measures to safeguard pupils’ lives.

The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Muhammed Idris, who announced the measure, said: “Students from JSS I to SSS II should vacate their schools immediately.

“The closure of the boarding schools is informed by the security concern and the urgent need for government to be proactive in safeguarding the lives of the children”.

The commissioner, however, said all day schools were to continue with their normal academic activities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), quoted the commissioner as saying that further statements would be made concerning the reopening of the schools as soon as possible.

THISDAY gathered that 46 boarding schools were affected by the closure.

It is no longer news that the once mutual relationship between the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike and the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has gone sour.

Perhaps, what is news now is why Wike, who had worked so hard in 2017 to install Secondus as the PDP National Chairman against all odds, now wants him and the entire National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, sacked.

Investigation by New Telegraph showed that the choice of Wike’s successor in 2023, and the control of PDP structures both at national and in the River State, are among the causes of disagreement between the two. Wike and Secondus are from Rivers State.

A party source reported a strain in their relationship immediately after the 2018 PDP presidential primary in Port Harcourt, which former Vice-President Atiku Abubkar won. Wike had supported Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, to be PDP’s presidential candidate in 2019.

The source said the governor was not only angry that Secondus did not work for his candidate to emerge as the party’s candidate, but warned other NWC members to distant themselves from all the 12 presidential aspirants and their perceived supporters.

This, it was gathered, reportedly did not go down well with the governor as the two later made up after the primary. According to the source, the clash between the two this time is who becomes governorship candidate of PDP in Rivers State in 2023.

“Secondus wants his cousin, Tele Ikuru, but Wike prefers Austin Opara. As it is now, Wike seems to have his way because, going by the last local government election, the structure of the party is now in his hand,” the source explained. Ikuru served as deputy governor, first to Celestine Omehia, and later, to Mr. Rotimi Amaechi (Minister of Transportation), after the latter won his case in 2018 at the Supreme Court.

It was learnt that Ikuru left with Amaechi to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013, but returned to PDP shortly before the 2015 general election. He is from Andoni, a riverine area of Rivers State. Ikuru has been silent since 2015, unlike Opara who is one of the strong supporters of the governor.

Opara was Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007 and is from Ikwere, an upland area. The source added: “Since 1999, all the governors who ruled Rivers are from upland – (Peter) Odili, Amaechi and Wike. The agitations have been that the riverine should be given a chance to produce governor in 2023.

That is why the National Chairman wanted PDP to pick the governorship candidate from riverine. “But as it is now, Wike may have his way because no loyalist of Secondus was elected in the last local government election in Rivers State. “But I see crisis coming because if APC goes to the riverine or Ogoni area to pick its candidate, that might be problem for PDP.”

The same scenario played out in 2015 when Amaechi wanted the Ogonis to produce his successor. But Wike bulldozed his way. He defeated Dakuku Riverside, the APC candidate in 2023.

The party did not field candidate in 2019 due to its internal crisis. The source further disclosed that Wike is not only comfortable in securing the PDP structure in his state, but wants to dismantle the existing structure at the national level because of the fear that Secondus might use it to fight back and truncate his 2023 vice-presidential ambition.

The governor is gearing to run with his Sokoto State counterpart, Tambuwal as his running mate. The source explained: “Wike knows that if Secondus remains National Chairman, his chances of running with Tambuwal may not be possible because there is no way Nacommittee tional Chairman and vice presidential candidate will come from the same geopolitical zone, not to talk of the same state.

“Even Opara becoming PDP governorship candidate in Rivers can be stopped because the party may insist that riverine produces the candidate, if Secondus remains National Chairman.

In this way, he might bring in his cousin who is from the riverine. “So, the only way Wike can be sure that Opara remains in contention, and himself run with Tambuwal in 2023, is to push for sack of the NWC and a new set of people who will be loyal to him, elected.”

He, however, said Tambuwal’s ambition is being threatened because of Wike, adding, “Many party members are not happy the way he (Wike) is going about it.

He is creating problem for Tambuwal. He went to Sokoto State the other time and donated half a billion naira.

“Tambuwal has been advised to be careful with him, but he cannot afford to do so because Wike, almost singlehandedly funded his presidential ambition in 2018. Another source said that the Atiku group and northern members of the party are solidly behind Secondus and are ready to support him if he wants to go for second term.

He asserted that Secondus may seek reelection unless PDP zones its presidential ticket to the south, “because there is no way the south can produce both the national chairman and the presidential candidate. But it is most unlikely that PDP will zone the ticket to the South.”

However, it was gathered that Secondus has been fighting back as he was able to get the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) and the Governors’ Forum to pass vote of confidence on his NWC.

The BoT, which met on Wednesday, assured of its commitment “not to allow any mischievous trends or strain to clog the working relationship between all members, particularly at the top management level of the party.”

In the communiqué, which was read by former President of the Senate, Adolphus Wabara, the BoT noted that it would “ensure that a fluent and uninterrupted operation of all the organs of the party, particularly the National Working Committee (NWC), remains in place leading up to a successful convention in December 2021.”

This was an assurance of the NWC members that they will be allowed to serve out their tenure, which expires in December this year. Wike and some other interest groups had been pushing for a caretaker committee to replace the NWC pending the December 2021 national convention where new party leadership is expected to emerge.

Also, the PDP Governors’ Forum, of which Wike is a member, met on Thursday (a day after the BoT meeting), and “commended the NWC for setting up the (reconciliation and strategic) committee” to reconcile aggrieved members of the party. Members of the NWC and Senator Bukola Sarakiled reconciliation committee attended the governors’ meeting with Wike also present at the meeting.

Tambuwal, who briefed journalists at the end of the meeting, said an interim report of the reconciliation Nacommittee of the party was submitted to the forum. Only two out of the 15 PDP governors – Dairus Ishyaku of Taraba and Ahmed Finitri of Adamawa State, were absent at the meeting. The Saraki’s committee had started reaching out to party leaders and aggrieved members immediately New Telegraph reported the division in the party.

The committee had reached out to former President Goodluck Jonathan, former military president, Ibrahim Babangida and other party leaders, who reportedly cautioned against forceful change in the party’s leadership because of its consequences to the PDP electoral fortune in 2023.

The source told this reporter that the party “can confidently call for National Executive Council (NEC)”, following positive responses that the present NWC will be allowed to served out its tenure.”

Meanwhile, Secondus’ Media Adviser, Mr. Ike Abonyi, in response to New Telegraph’s enquiry, simply said: “National Chairman is focused on improving the party and taking it to next level. He has refused to be distracted.”

There are indications that the All Progressives Congress(APC) might have set up a high powered lobby group, chaired by an ex-Senator from Edo North, to bring back the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki to its fold.

Sunday Telegraph was informed that the committee has been mandated to woo Obaseki back to the APC. A competent source in the know, who spoke with Sunday Telegraph on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said: “The party has constituted a high-powered lobby group, chaired by an ex-Senator.

The group was mandated to make sure Governor Obaseki returns to the All Progressives Congress. You know the party gambled away the only APC controlled state in the South South, due to the leadership style of former National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.”

He emphasised that Obaseki’s return to the party was part of the arrangements made before some APC northern governors “supported him financially and otherwise during the election against their party candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize- Iyamu.” The South-South is the only region in the country, where the APC currently has no foothold.

The six states- Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River- are all held by the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). Another leader of the party, who also does not want his name in print, said if the governor is a man of his words, he would not go near the APC, after all they did to him.

He said: “I don’t want to be a busybody. This matter should be left with Obaseki to resolve, not me. If Obaseki is a man of integrity, he would not go near the APC after all they did to him. But going back to the party is his decision to make.”

That much, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, alluded to in an interview with one of our correspondents. He said: “I believe he (Obaseki) will be a gentleman.”

He said that he expected the governor to stay in the party’s fold. But contrary to fears in some quarters, the PDP in Edo State has said that Obaseki would not return to his former party – the APC.

The ruling party, late last year, at a well televised event, literally celebrated the defection of Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Dave Umahi, from the PDP amid reports that more governors from the opposition party were on their way to the APC.

The current fear was brought home some weeks ago during the second term inauguration of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, where Obaseki was also a guest. At the event, Akeredolu had said that he would work on Obaseki to return to the progressives’ fold.

“They said you have returned to the fold, and we are happy to have you,” Akeredolu said while thanking dignitaries who attended the occasion. But, Obaseki in reaction, made a ‘no-no’ gesture while Akeredolu replying, said: “If they cannot bring you back, I will bring you back.”

But speaking on behalf of the PDP in Edo State, Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare, waved it aside, insisting that it was a normal joke leaders’ crack among themselves and no harm was intended by such joke.

He said: “The statement was a normal joke leaders crack among themselves and no harm was intended. We don’t see any reason to lose sleep over that.”

Also, weighing in on the issue, former Publicity Secretary and former executive committee member of the party in South-South zone, Prince Francis Omo-Osunde Iyasere, said there was no bad feeling in the party.

“Moreover, the Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, is a man of integrity and can’t return to APC,” he stressed. He queried Akeredolu’s sincerity, asking, where was Akeredolu when Obaseki was being rubbished in APC?

He continued: “Where was he when they alleged that he had no certificate? Akeredolu was there when they screened him out during the party primaries.

If Akeredolu was a good friend, he would have resisted the injustice done to Obaseki in APC by telling them he knows this man and they should not allow him to leave the party.

“Obaseki was fully involved during the PDP South South zonal Congress in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and even sponsored a candidate.

According to reports, Oyekola was attacked by gunmen shortly after receiving a cheque of N10 million from the Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde at the state Secretariat on Thursday evening.

Unknown gunmen have attacked the current World Boxing Federation International Super Featherweight Champion, Ridwan Oyekola, popularly known as Scorpion, with the boxer managing a narrow escape.

According to reports, Oyekola was attacked by gunmen shortly after receiving a cheque of N10 million from the Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde at the state Secretariat on Thursday evening

Oyekola had defeated his counterpart from Argentina, Lucas Montesino at Ilaji Sports Resorts, Ibadan in December 2020 after which he was decorated as the World Boxing Federation (WBF) International Super Featherweight Champion.

Governor Makinde had presented the check to Oyekola for making the state proud with his victory over Montesino.

Narrating his experience, Oyekola said that it was the grace of God that made him escape death with two other occupants in his car.

"As we left the government secretariat, the venue of cheque presentation, I wanted to drop a friend that accompanied me to the event at Mokola, I just saw a vehicle and it followed us along NTA to Total garden area, and the two men were pointing guns at us to stop.

“I was shocked and swerved the car to escape them but fell into a ditch. The assailants drove off after noticing that the car had fallen off from the road."

It was gathered that Oyekola was with another boxer, Habeeb ‘Ige’ Oladeji, the national bantamweight title holder and a friend, Adesina Sheriff, in the vehicle during the attack but none sustained serious injury except Oyekola who suffered a shock.

Confirming the incident, Oyekola's manager and promoter, Sola Ayodele, called on the government to provide adequate security for the boxer, saying the assailants might still be on his trail.

By Taiwo George


On Friday, Nigerians woke up to the news of another abduction of students by gunmen — the third major attack on schools in 2021.

Daily Trust had reported how gunmen stormed the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Mando area of ​​Kaduna State and whisked away a yet-to-be-revealed number of students.

This happened two weeks after the government led by President Muhammadu Buhari promised that the country will not witness a similar incident after the abduction at Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara State.

Gunmen had in February stormed the school located in Talata-Mafara local government area of Zamfara and abducted over 200 students.

This had weeks after students and staff of Government Science Secondary School, Kagara, Niger State, were also abducted before they were released later.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who had led a presidential delegation to Zamfara, had said the Jangebe experience would mark the end of attacks on schools and abduction of students in Nigeria.

“This abduction of the female students in Jangebe will be the last as the Federal Government has reorganised the security architecture of the country to nib all the atrocities of these criminals.”

“The president is saddened by the abduction of the students from Jangebe and reassures you that the government has all the resources and wherewithal to contain these criminals,” he had said

Although the president has repeatedly said bandits are not more powerful than his government, it is sad to see how armed men are instilling fear in people’s minds across the country and discouraging students from continuing with their education.

Only on Thursday did the Niger State Government shut all public schools over insecurity. Kaduna is likely to take the same step going by what previous governments which experienced mass abductions did. It’s time for the Buhari administration to match it’s words with action.

From Joseph Inokotong, Abuja



Employees of state government in the five South-East zone of Nigeria may be in for hard times after retirement because their respective state governments have not implemented fully the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

This implies that on their retirement from service, the employees would not be able to get their entitlements due to the inability of their state governments to implement the CPS.

Information gleaned from the National Pension Commission (PenCom) shows that aside Anambra State that has implemented partly the CPS, four others – Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States are yet to implement the scheme.

Records from the PenCom indicate that Anambra State government in 2013 enacted law on CPS and amended some sections of the law in 2014 and went ahead to register employees with Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), remitting 10 per cent employer and 5 per cent employee contributions.

The State also “remitted employer pension contributions up to December 2017 and remitted employee pension contribution up to August 2020 for State employees. It “remitted employee and employer pension contributions up to August 2018 for Local Government employees; conducted Actuarial Valuation and opened Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account with a PFA, for Local Government employees in line with the State Law”.

However, document from PenCom shows “irregular funding of Accrued Pension Rights for Local Government employees; yet to establish Pension Bureau (implementation being driven by Office of the Head of Service & Joint Account Allocation Committee)”.

It also indicates that Anambra State is “yet to open Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account for State employees; yet to commence funding of Accrued Pension Rights for State Employees”, and has “no Group Life Insurance Policy”.

On the other hand, the PenCom record shows that Abia State government enacted Law on CPS in 2017 but it’s yet to establish Pension Bureau; yet to register State Employees with PFAs; yet to commence remittance of Pension Contributions and yet to conduct Actuarial Valuation.

The state government is “yet to open Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account, yet to commence funding of Accrued Pension Rights and has “no Group Life Insurance Policy”.

In Ebonyi State, the government “enacted Law on CPS in 2017 (amended the Law and forwarded to the Commission and the Commission communicated its observations on the Law to the State)”.

The State is “yet to establish Pension Bureau; yet to register Employees with PFAs; yet to commence remittance of Pension Contributions; yet to conduct Actuarial Valuation; yet to open Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account; yet to commence funding of Accrued Pension Rights” and has “no Group Life Insurance Policy”.

The PenCom document shows that Enugu State government “enacted Law on CPS in 2014; yet to establish Pension Bureau; yet to register State Employees; yet to commence remittance of Pension Contributions; yet to conduct Actuarial Valuation; yet to open Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account; yet to commence funding of Accrued Pension Rights” and has “no Group Life Insurance Policy”.

The Imo State government, from the PenCom record “enacted Law on CPS in 2008; yet to establish Pension Bureau; yet to register Employees with PFAs; yet to commence remittance of Pension Contributions; yet to conduct Actuarial Valuation; yet to open Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account; yet to commence funding of Accrued Pension Rights”, and has “no Group Life Insurance Policy”.

Analysts say if the trend is not reserved and the five South-East State governments do the needful by implementing the CPS, workers on their retirement may face difficult times as they may not be able access their retirement benefits.

Some students who were studying at a secondary school in Damaga community, Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State, fled on Wednesday when armed bandits struck.

Residents said dozens of unidentified armed men arrived on motorcycles and opened fire immediately.

At least 13 people were reportedly killed in the attack while cows were also rsutled.

“They arrived at the community around 1pm and started shooting people. Students were taking lessons at the Day Secondary School in the community but on sighting the armed criminals, they abandoned the classrooms and scampered for safety”

“As I’m talking to you, the bodies of the victims are being recovered and we have concluded arrangements for their burials,” a resident identified as Musa Damaga told Daily Trust.

When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Muhammad Shehu, simply said: “Give me some time I will get back to you.”

Zamfara is one of the states where bandits have made life a living hell for the people.

Worried by the high rate of attacks, President Muhammadu Buhari had declared the state a no-fly zone and also banned mining activities.

He had also ordered the deployment of 6000 troops in the state.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter, Zahra Buhari-Indimi, has threatened to sue SaharaReporters over a publication exposing how a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Nasiru Haladu Danu and some top officials of the Nigeria Customs Service recently defrauded the Nigerian government of N51 billion.

Zahra made the threat in a letter signed by her counsel, Nasiru Adamu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), to the newspaper.

SaharaReporters had reported how Danu and some top Customs operatives diverted over N51 billion meant to improve the agency’s revenue.

A source said the fraud, which implicates the Comptroller General of the NCS, Col Hameed Ali (rtd), was named “Revenue Assurance Fraud" by some officials of the agency.

Another source said N2.5 billion was also transferred to a foundation owned by the President’s daughter, of which Danu is a signatory.

“Some top Customs operatives and one Alhaji Nasiru Haladu Danu shared N51 billion. N2.5 billion out of the funds was transferred to a foundation owned by President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter.

“Comptroller General Hameed Ali has been on low key since the scandal broke out. They have him by the vice grip,” one of the sources had said.

But in her reaction, Zahra demanded from SaharaReporters a retraction with an apology carried with the same prominence on its platform and three national dailies for seven (7) consecutive days.

“Our client equally unequivocally states that no any foundation owned by her was transferred or credited with such amount of money (N2.5 billion or any amount) by the said Alhaji Nasiru Haladu Danu or anybody from the purported President Muhammadu Buhari’s oil mafia group, and that it is equally not possible for the said Danu to be a signatory to any foundation owned by our client,” the letter said.

“We consequently have our client’s instructions to make the following demands from you to wit; A retraction of the said damaging and defamatory as well as the injurious publication.

“A retraction of the defamatory publication made @SaharaReporters tweet in respect of the publication in question.

“A public apology to our client be issued vide your website and twitter account @SaharaReporters be published for seven (7) consecutive days.

“Public apologies be published in at least three (3) newspapers with online and physical presence across Nigeria for seven (7) consecutive days.”

The immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (retd.), former Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin (retd.); and the two other retired service chiefs would serve as ambassadors for the country without salaries, according to the 2017 revised military conditions of service.

SaharaReporters confirmed that the 2017 Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers stipulate that Buratai, Olonisakin, former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) and former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (retd.), would not get salaries from any public office they hold, so that they could be entitled to their military retirement benefits.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on February 4 announced the nomination of the immediate past service chiefs as non-career ambassadors, a decision which was greeted with widespread condemnation.

The former service chiefs were appointed as non-career ambassadors-designate only a week after they were fired by the President.

SaharaReporters learnt from the 2017 HTACOS that the revised military rules state that the former service chiefs would either forfeit their military retirement benefits for their new public posts, or take the posts without salaries to be entitled to their military benefits.

They will however be entitled to allowances commensurate with their new office, according to the terms and conditions for officers.

SaharaReporters was told by military sources that the former service chiefs would rather opt for the “juicy military retirement benefits”.

The 2017 HTACOS in Section 11.17, Page 40, titled, “Retirement Benefit for CDS and Service Chiefs” reads, “11.17. A CDS, Service Chief, Lt Gen/equivalents Maj Gen/equivalents, Brig Gen/equivalents and Cols/equivalents who is not on active service shall be entitled to the benefits mentioned in Paragraph 11.18 – 11.21 of this document if he has not taken up any other appointment to be paid for from public funds except if so appointed by the President of the Federal Republic Nigeria.

“When so appointed, the appointment shall only attract allowances commensurate with such post and not a salary.”

On February 23, the Senate, despite opposition to their confirmation from several quarters, had confirmed the nominations of the immediate past service chiefs as non-career ambassadors.

SaharaReporters had on January 21 exposed how the former service chiefs would be awarded four Sport Utility Vehicles, four Peugeot vehicles, among other juicy retirement benefits, according to the revised military conditions.

It was also revealed that the military chiefs would get security staff of over 40 soldiers as well as domestic and foreign medical cover.

“Retirement benefits for CDS and service chiefs; the following benefits shall be applicable; one bullet-proof SUV or equivalent vehicle to be maintained by the Service and to be replaced every four years. Two; Peugeot 508 or equivalent back up vehicle; three, retention of all military uniform and accoutrement to be worn for appropriate ceremonies.

“Also, five domestic aides (two Service cooks, two stewards and a civilian gardener); an Aide-de-Camp/Security Officer; a Special Assistant of Lieutenant or Captain or equivalents or Personal Assistant; also, a Standard Guard of nine soldiers.

“Three Service Drivers; one Service Orderly; escorts (to be provided by appropriate Military units/ formation as the need arises; retention of personal firearms (on his demise the personal firearm(s) shall be retrieved by the relevant Service and also; a free medical cover in Nigeria and abroad,” the HTACOS 2017 reads.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to hire mercenaries to fight the insurgency war.

The party also said it is yet to make a decision on which zone would produce the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 general election.

Speaking on ARISE NEWS CHANNEL, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, also dismissed reports that the party is in disarray, saying the Senator Bukola Saraki-led reconciliation committee is addressing members’ grievances.

He accused the Buhari administration of not listening to and utilising the advice given to it on a range of challenges facing the country, explaining that the PDP has always proffered solutions for all critical areas of national distress.

“You can only talk to a government that listens. There’s been no engagement that the PDP has done on issues in our country that is not backed by possible solutions,” he told ARISE, adding: “But you are talking to a party that’s akin to a deaf and dumb political party. In the six years of this administration, what have they taken from all our advice?

He said the party had advised the Buhari administration to seek military help from military contractors as armed forces seem tactically challenged in the war against insurgence but refused to accept it.

Ologbondiyan queried: “Have we not proposed the issue of mercenary, did he take it? Haven’t we proposed carrot and stick, did he take it? Haven’t we suggested securing our institutions? Have they taken it?

He added: “This is a government that doesn’t listen to the other side. They are all-knowing and that’s why they are failing. You will recall that we brought in mercenaries, which Zulum (Prof. Babagana), the governor of Borno State, is already canvassing for.”

He urged Buhari to consider the use of mercenaries, as did by former President Goodluck Jonathan, in the run-up to the 2015 general election to fight insurgency in the North-east.

He stated that the action enabled the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the election in all the 774 local government areas in 2015.

To contain the insurgency, the Jonathan administration in 2014 had contracted Conella Services of South Africa, which is believed to have in collaboration with the Nigerian military degraded Boko Haram and liberated many communities within a short period of time, paving the way for peaceful national elections within weeks.

The group, contracted by the then National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), recently explained that while it would like to return to the country if invited by the Buhari administration, it refused to see its possible return as an indictment on the Nigerian military, noting that it left the country after some disagreements with the previous administration.

But the PDP spokesman said Nigerians were tired of the current administration and were looking up to the party for succour.

Ologbondiyan stated that the PDP held peaceful zonal congresses in other parts of the country, unlike the All Progressives Congress (APC) that’s currently in chaos.

He added that the problem between Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and a former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, is being amicably resolved.

According to him, the only thing going on within the party now is reconciliation, while electronic membership registration will commence thereafter.

He said: “I have said it for the umpteenth time that zoning is dependent on some variables and narratives. We have not reached the point of zoning. We have not set up any committee on zoning. We are allowing for debates, discussions, narratives and opinions of Nigerians on the direction.

“We are not the APC which has done eight years in one zone and is still thinking of reneging on its promises.”

Ologbondiyan stated that while the PDP had its fair share of mistakes while in power, the kidnapping of schoolgirls had become too frequent.

He accused the president of not heeding advice or public opinion on how to tackle insecurity.

“If they talk about Chibok girls, how many girls are we going to talk about under this administration? Has there not been Kankara, Jangebe etc. It is clear that APC as a party has failed woefully,” he added.

PDP said under the Buhari government, banditry and terrorism have become rampant, despite the president’s avowal that as a military general, he would fight from the front.

He defended the position of the PDP as an opposition party, saying that even though the party continues to proffer solutions to the security problems, the administration has refused to consider its suggestions.

Ologbondiyan explained that the party has outlined some solutions to the security challenges in the country, including the use of mercenaries, the deployment of carrot-and-stick option as well as the provision of security in Nigeria’s institutions of learning, that the president has ignored.

“Under Jonathan, there was a carrot-and-stick approach. We were building schools for itinerant traders, for people who were not resident in the larger society as we put it. What we are saying is simple, Nigeria has weighed between water and oil and they now know which one is heavier,” he said.

According to him, it is only the PDP that has a perfect understanding of the nuances of the nation, of the divisions and fault lines and, therefore, knows how to unite the country.

He said that no party in the country has given women more opportunities than the PDP, adding that for instance, while female governorship aspirants in Anambra State are paying only N1 million for forms, their male counterparts are paying N21 million.

By Romoke W. Ahmad, Idowu Isamotu


Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has promised to arm the vigilante group in Niger State with pump-action guns to enable them confront bandits and address other security threats.

Speaking at Kasuwan Garba in Mariga Local Government Area of the state when he met with over 200 members of the vigilante in the area, Bello said the security volunteer groups would be armed to confront “these enemies of the people across the state.”

The visit was part of his morale booster for the vigilante groups across the state.

Attacks by bandits occasioned by killings and kidnappings are now a recurring decimal in the region, with the abductions of students adding a new dimension to the fragile security situation.

Some bandits in Niger and other states in the North West have called for the disbanding of the vigilante groups, saying that was the only condition for them to lay down their arms and embrace peace.

But Governor Bello has remained adamant, declaring that henceforth, all vigilante groups in the state would be provided with automatic pump-action guns to enable them to take the fight to the bandits wherever they were hiding.

The governor said there was no amount of threat from the bandits that would force the government to disband the vigilante groups in the state.

“We are not going to disband the vigilante as a result of threat from the bandits.

“Even when banditry activities in the state are stopped, the vigilante will still be there to provide security in the local government areas,” he said.


Pump action gun

According to Wikipedia, a pump-action or slide-action “is a repeating firearm action that is operated manually by moving a sliding handguard on the gun’s forestock.

“When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge, and then pushed forward to cock the hammer/striker and load a new round of cartridge into the chamber”.

Our correspondent reports that men of the vigilante had complained that lack of modern weapons remained the greatest challenge in their fight against the armed bandits who, they said, were heavily equipped with modern and sophisticated weapons.

Police spokesman Frank Mba said he was yet to see the report on the decision by the Niger State governor to procure arms for the vigilante and therefore could not comment on it.

“I have to see the report before saying anything,” he said.

Mohammed Saleh, a retired police officer, said the governor must have spoken out of frustration.

“Governors are facing a tough time; they are the chief security officers in their states but this is just in name because they don’t control the instrument of coercion including the police and the army.

“That is why you see the governors [turning to] volunteer groups for support.

“So, if you see a governor talking this way, it is because they want to assure their people that they are with them; that they share their pains.

“It is the same context with the way Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State spoke when he said Fulani herders carry AK 47 for self-defence.

“My only fear is that pump action is a child’s play when compared with the kind weapons being used by the bandits.

“My advice for the governors is to coalesce into a single force and sit with the federal government on the way forward.

“This brings the issue of state police. For now, only the FG through the Inspector General of Police can give someone license to carry guns but the truth of the matter is that the security situation is deteriorating and those who took an oath to protect the people must act fast,” he said.


Right, but illegal, step

On his part, a former Director with the Department of State Service, Mike Ejiofor, in a telephone interview with Daily Trust, described the governor’s move as a step in the right direction but illegal.

He stated that since many states were already empowering their local vigilante groups with pump action guns, and it was not meant for protection, there was nothing bad in it.

“Those crisis rifles, they are not meant for protection. I agree that most vigilante use pump-action… Nobody is licensed to carry guns for protection. Those guns they carry are for gaming.

“But what most do is that they buy these guns and use them for protection.

“So, if he wants to do that, other states have been doing it, I don’t see anything wrong with such a decision but it is illegal.

“Many states have been empowering their vigilante groups with all these local Dane guns and pump action.

“It is a step in the right direction because the only thing that gives these people power and rough up the people is because they are armed with sophisticated firearms.

“Just like the president said that there should be a shot-at-sight, but I don’t know who is going to shoot; whether it is a security agent that will shoot somebody with an AK-47 or the market men who display the arms brazenly.

“Everybody is concerned about security because this is a situation that requires very serious pressure since we are in an unusual situation,” he said.


No negotiation with bandits

Governor Bello has also said the Niger State government will not go into any form of negotiation with bandits nor pay ransom for the release of kidnapped victims in the state.

He assured that any bandit that repented and surrendered his weapon will be reintegrated into the society and settled to live a normal life.

He said, “There will be no dialogue but any of them that repents and surrenders his weapons will be forgiven and we will compensate such bandits to live normal life in the society.”

The governor said he was in Kasuwan Garba, which is one of the areas under siege by constant banditry attacks, to identify with the vigilante members for the loss of their members who were killed while confronting the criminals.

While commending the efforts of vigilante members in the area, he urged them not to relent until the war was completely won.

“I understand that there is peace here now but we will not relent because we will not allow them (bandits) to succeed,” he said.

Earlier, the Chairman of Mariga Local Government Area, Alhaji Idris Suleiman, told the governor that 50 members of the vigilante picked from each of the four districts in the local government have successfully kept the activities of the bandits at bay, adding that “the people are having some level of peace across the 22 villages hitherto under siege by bandits.”

According to him, “The vigilantes are on top of the security situation in the area. What they need is modern equipment to be able to confront these bandits who are carrying automatic weapons.”


2 brides-to-be, 17 others kidnapped in Niger village

Nineteen people including two brides-to-be have been reportedly kidnapped from Kutunku Village in Wushishi Local Government Area of the state.

The gunmen reportedly arrived in the community in the early hours of Monday, shooting to scare people of the village.

A source in the area told Daily Trust in a phone call that the gunmen beat up some residents during the operation.

The source added that a total of 11 males and eight females were among those abducted by the gunmen.

He said two of the abducted females were to be married off this weekend.

He said the bandits were yet to communicate with the families of the abducted persons.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, could not be reached for comment at the time of this report.

By Titus Eleweke

Hundreds of women Umueri in Anambra East council area on Mondays took to the streets to protest the state government’s forceful takeover of their land under the pretext of building an airport—and they did it half-naked.

Women stripped and tore their clothes into a state of semi-nudity and accused Governor Wille Obiano and his administration of land grabbing for personal gain.

In the half naked state, they marched round the airport premises, set up bonfires on the airport road while they chanted.

They vowed to resist attempts to take away their children’s inheritance.

Among complaints written on their placards, they said, three communities of Enuagu, Umuinu and Umuopu gave 729 hectares to the government under former governor Chris Ngigie, but Obiano’s government forcefully took another 1,200 hectares.

“Obiano, go back to the 729.606 hectares of land originally gazette for the airport project,” they wrote on one placard.

In another, “We can’t allow this project to go on if the government signs no MOU with our community,” and then, “Anambra government has taken over our lands; where do we farm? Are we to become refugees in our own land?”

Speaking, the chairman of community, Uchenna Ndumanya described the development as unfortunate and wicked.

“We are the people of Ifite Umueri. We are the people that donated airport land to the Anambra State Government during the Dr Chris Ngige regime, about 14 years ago.

“When we donated the land we gave them about 729.66 hectares but now they have left that particular place we donated to them and just encroached into our individual land.

“They are now encroaching into about 1901 hectares, about three times of what we gave to the state government. We had our first protest on the matter in 2019. And since then nothing has been done.

“We have petitioned to the Commissioner of Police, the Directorate of State Service, nothing has happened. We have gone to governor’s office; gone to SSG’s office. Day-by-day, they are building on the land with impunity; sharing the land amongst themselves. And the particular place we gave them, they left it and nothing has been done there.

“We are here to let the world hear our cry because all our efforts had been scuttled. The governor is from Aguleri, the Commissioner for Works is from Aguleri; the Chief of Staff is from Aguleri, virtually every top government official in the state is from Aguleri.”

Ndumanya said, if government was allowed to have it way on the matter, no fewer than 300 building in the community would have been demolished.

He said, “The airport work is going on but not on the land we originally gave the government. They have rather shared the original land we gave them amongst themselves and encroached into our individual land to build the airport. The implication is that Aguleri has succeeded in relocating Umueri from our ancestoral and original place. We don’t want the airport again.

We can’t be displaced because of the airport. We thought the airport will bring development to our land, we didn’t know they are thinking of another. We will continue this protest by staying for one month on this road. All these houses, schools will be demolished according to their plans for the airport.

“The whole of this community will be displaced if we allow this their evil machinations to work. We won’t allow that to be.”

On behalf of the state government, the commissioner for works Marcel Ihejiofor did not comment.

He told Daily Trust he was in an exco council and could not speak on the matter.

Across the world, International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated every March 8. To mark the day, feats of remarkable women, both living and late, are celebrated.

The 2021 theme for IWD, as announced by United Nations, is ‘Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world’.

The theme encourages people globally to spotlight the role women play in the process of nation-building and the promotion of democracy.

To mark the 2021 International Women’s Day, TheCable celebrates 12 women — dead and alive — who have pushed for social change, political reforms, and economic development.


QUEEN AMINA OF ZARIA


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Commonly known as the warrior queen, Amina was born in 1533 and was the first woman to rule the Zazzau Kingdom, present-day Zaria in Kaduna state. She was on the throne for 34 years during the 16th century.

Three months after becoming the queen, Amina set off on her first military expedition.

She waged military campaigns to expand Zazzau territory and ensure safe passage for Hausa traders throughout the Sahara region.

Amina died in 1610 and is still remembered as a brave, smart, and talented leader. In honour of her accomplishments, her statute was built and placed at the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos state.


FUNMILAYO RANSOME-KUTI


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Born on October 25, 1900, Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti was not only the first Nigerian woman to drive a car but also a prominent political campaigner and women’s rights activist.

In the 1940s, Ransome-Kuti established Abeokuta Women’s Union (AWU) and fought for women’s rights, demanding better representation of women in local governing bodies and an end to unfair taxes imposed on market women.

She was described as the ‘Lioness of Lisabi’ for mobilising women to demand their rights. She established the Nigerian Women’s Union (NWU) to fight the disenfranchisement of women across the country.

In February 1978, Ransome-Kuti was brutalised by Nigerian soldiers during a raid of the home of her son, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a renowned Afrobeat musician. She later died of her injuries on April 13 that year.


MARGARET EKPO

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Ekpo, born on July 27, 1914, was a renowned activist who fought for the rights of women and against their subjugation.

In the 1950s, she teamed up with Ransome-Kuti to protest killings at an Enugu coal mine.

They both travelled to different regions to mobilise women to join the NWU and be a part of Nigeria’s decolonisation journey.

In 1954, Ekpo established the Aba Township Women’s Association, which later became a political pressure group.

In 2001, Calabar Airport was renamed Margaret Ekpo International Airport. She died five years later on September 21, 2006.


GAMBO SAWABA

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Born on February 15, 1933, Gambo Sawaba is widely regarded as the most jailed Nigerian female politician. Sawaba experienced it all; she was publicly flogged, suffered police brutality, and imprisoned a reported 16 times.

Sawaba was a women’s rights activist, politician, and philanthropist. She delved into politics at age 17 and served as the deputy chairman of the Great Nigeria People’s Party and was elected leader of the national women’s wing of Northern Element Progressive Union (NEPU), a party that supported women’s education.

In July 1958, during NEPU’s second congress, the women’s wing decided to team up with the Nigerian Women’s Union, which was under the leadership of Ransome-Kuti.

Sawaba was a campaigner against child marriage, unfair taxes, forced and unpaid labour. She also canvassed for jobs for women, education for girls, and full voting rights.

She died aged 71 in October 2001. She is regarded as a pacesetter in the fight for the liberation of northern women.

In honor of her activism, a general hospital was named after her in Kaduna, and a hostel at Bayero University, Kano, is also named after her.


DORA AKUNYILI

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Dora Akunyili, born in July 1954, was the director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) from 2001 to 2008.

She was an exemplary public servant who was honest, dogged, unflappable, and renowned for her integrity.

During her reign at NAFDAC, she led by example, serving as the general at the forefront of the fight against fake drugs and counterfeiters.

As a result of her celebrated commitment to transparency and selfless service, she won several awards for her work in pharmacology, public health, and human rights.

Akunyili died in an Indian hospital on June 7, 2014, after a battle with uterine cancer.


STELLA ADADEVOH


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Ameyo Stella Adadevoh played a key role in curbing the spread of the Ebola virus in Nigeria after preventing the first case, in July 2014, from leaving the hospital at the time of diagnosis.

As a result of her efforts, the federal government declared a national public health emergency and the ministry of health stepped up to trace all possible contacts of the index patient, Patrick Sawyer.

She was also the first to diagnose and alert the ministry of health when H1H1 (swine flu) spread to Nigeria in 2012.

The Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh Health Trust (DRASA), a non-profit health organisation, was created in her honour. The film ‘93 Days, is dedicated to Adadevoh and depicts the story of the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria.

In February 2020, a road was named after her in Abuja. The ‘Ameyo Adadevo Way’ is directly linked to Ahmadu Bello Way, one of the city’s major and longest roads.

There were 20 recorded Ebola cases in total; 11 were healthcare workers and of those healthcare workers, six survived and five died, including Adadevoh who passed away on August 19, 2014.

TheCable, in January 2020, unveiled her as the ‘Nigerian of the Decade’ based on her role in preventing Ebola from ravaging the country.


ADERONKE KALE

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Kale became the first female brigadier-general and major-general in the Nigerian army in 1990 and 1994 respectively.

She was the first woman to rise to the top of the Nigerian military, especially at a period when many women could not be found in senior positions in government and the military.

The trained psychiatrist would later become the Commandant of the Nigerian Medical Corps — another first for a woman.

In 2011, shortly after the introduction of women into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) programme, the female hall of residence was named after her.

Kale is the mother of Yemi Kale, statistician-general of the federation of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).


AYO OBE

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The story of Nigeria’s return to democracy cannot be told without including Ayo Obe, a leading lawyer and human rights activist.

For the past few decades, she has been an important figure in the country’s social, legal, and human rights movements.

As the president of the Civil Liberties Organisation, she was at the forefront of the crusade to actualise the 1993 presidential election victory of the late MKO Abiola.

Obe has been in the thick of the fight for democratic reforms in Nigeria for several years.

In March 1996, Obe’s passport was seized while she was leaving Nigeria to attend a meeting of the UN Human Rights Committee in New York.

From 1999 to 2001, Obe chaired the Transition Monitoring Group, an election-monitoring and democracy-building coalition of Nigerian non-governmental organisations. She also represented human rights NGOs while at the Police Service Commission (PSC) from November 2001 to 2006.

Obe is currently a managing partner at Ogunsola Shonibare, a Lagos-based law firm.


SARA JIBRIL

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Sarah Nnadzwa Jibril is Nigeria’s first female presidential candidate, a position she vied for on four occasions.

In 1992, she contested to be president under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) but placed fourth in the primary election. She recontested in 1998, under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but lost to Olusegun Obasanjo.

In 2003, she defected from PDP to Progressive Action Congress (PAC) to become the first woman to be a presidential candidate but lost to Obasanjo again.

After losing out in the 2011 presidential elections primaries to Goodluck Jonathan, she was appointed as a special adviser on ethics and values to the president in 2012.

Jibril has won various awards, including the Dr. Martin Luther King Award for Leadership Excellence.


NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA

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Okonjo-Iweala is an economist and international development expert who became the first African and first female to emerge as director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in March 2021.

She sits on the boards of corporate and non-profit organisations such as Twitter and Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).

Prior to being named head of WTO, she had a 25-year career at the World Bank. She was the first woman to serve as Nigeria’s finance minister and the only finance minister to serve under two presidents— Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan.

In 2020, she was appointed by the African Union (AU) as a special envoy to solicit international support to help the continent deal with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She has won several awards and received honorary degrees in over 14 universities worldwide.


AMINA MOHAMMED

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Mohammed is a Nigerian diplomat and politician who is serving as the fifth UN deputy secretary-general and chair of the UN sustainable development group.

She led the process that resulted in a global agreement on the 2030 agenda for sustainable development and the creation of sustainable development goals.

Previously, she was the minister of environment from 2015 to 2016 when she oversaw the country’s efforts on climate action and efforts to protect the environment.

Mohammed also held the position of adviser on poverty, public sector reform, and sustainable development to three successive presidents.


OBY EZEKWESILI

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Ezekwesili is a public analyst and senior economic advisor at the Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative (AEDPI).

The convener and chair, Fix Politics, has a rich track record of public service and work in development.

Ezekwesili is a co-founder of Transparency International and was vice-president of the World Bank’s Africa division.

She also served as a former minister of education, minister of solid minerals, head of the budget monitoring and price intelligence unit and is also the former chairperson of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

When over 200 girls were abducted by Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno state, in 2014, she used the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) platform to draw global attention to the issue.

In March 2019, Ezekwesili won the Forbes Woman Africa social influencer award for her efforts on the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.

At different points in Nigeria’s rich history, women have taken so many important positions in yearning for change.

It should come as no surprise that Nigerian women are sometimes on the front lines of political change. In many ways, history has always repeated itself.

Nigerian women have a long history of mobilising for protests and demonstrations, they have been frontliners, driving change where needed.

Sometimes, Nigerian women have historically employed ‘naked protests’ to seek change.

On July 23, 2020, hundreds of women – mostly naked – staged a protest in the northwestern state of Kaduna, Nigeria. They protested at the killing of people in their community.

From the Women’s war protest of the 1910s to the Calabar Women Protest of 1924, the Aba Women’s Riot of 1929, the Abeokuta Women’s Revolt of the 1940s, the “Bring Back our Girls” movement of 2014, and the March against Rape of June 2020, #EndSARS movement, in many ways, women have determined the shape of how Nigerians protest.

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2021 themed as ‘Choose to Challenge’, here are seven moments in the history of Nigeria where Nigerian women were at the front-line.

1. Women’s war protest of the 1910s

In the 1910s, women in Agbaja stayed away from their homes for a month in protest due to suspicions among them that some men had been secretly killing pregnant women.

Their collective absence pushed village elders to take action to address their concerns.

2. Aba Women’s Riots of 1929

This was a period of unrest in colonial Nigeria.

The “riots” or the war was led by women in the provinces of Calabar and Owerri in southeastern Nigeria in November and December of 1929.

The protests broke out when thousands of Igbo women from the Bende District, Umuahia and other places in eastern Nigeria traveled to the town of Oloko to protest against the Warrant Chiefs, whom they accused of restricting the role of women in the government.

The Aba Women’s Riots of 1929, as it was named in British records, is more aptly considered a strategically executed revolt organised by women to redress social, political and economic grievances.

The protest encompassed women from six ethnic groups – Ibibio, Andoni, Orgoni, Bonny, Opobo, and Igbo.

It was reported that the war resulted in the death of 51 women.

3. Calabar women protest of 1924

3,000 women in Calabar went out to protest a market toll that was required by the government.

When the Colonial officials announced the toll, the women disregarded it and went about their usual market activities but alas they were driven away by colonial police. This however led to a massive revolt by the women

Back then, the presence of women associations and market women networks helped the protest movement.

4. Abeokuta women’s revolt of the 1940s

These women spent several years protesting the tax increase and the lack of women representation in government.

They believed that until they were granted representation in local government, they shouldn’t pay taxes differently from men.

This revolt led to the creation of Abeokuta Women’s Union (AWU) under the leadership of Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti.

This political organisaton, united market women and middle-class women and also challenged the colonial rule and patriarchal structure.

5. Bring Back Our Girls movement of 2014

After over 200 girls were abducted from the school in Borno by Boko Haram insurgents, all eyes were on the Nigerian government to act swiftly.

When the response of the government was not yielding positive results, women mobilised in Kaduna, Abuja, Lagos and across the country to protest for the rescue of these girls.

The #BringBackOurGIrls and #SaveOurGirls went viral and piqued the interest of the international community.

Women from all over the world joined the protest and over a million people signed the petition to mobilise world leaders to help rescue the girls.

6. Protest against rape and sexual violence in June 2020

In June 2020, Nigerian women took to the streets after a series of high-profile rape cases caught the interest of the people.

Following the story of 22-year-old Uwa Vera who was raped and murdered in a Church, more stories of women getting raped and killed surfaced online and this led to a protest organised by women.

Women mobilised and held a protest in Abuja and Lagos.

The hashtag #NOmeansNo trended online as more victims of rape shared their story. There was a movement to stop victim-blaming and to discourage people from enabling rape with their silence.

7. #EndSARS movement – Feminist Coalition

At the forefront of the revolutionary youth-led movement against police brutality in Nigeria is the Feminist Coalition – a group of young Nigerian feminists collectively mobilizing all facets of the global #EndSARS protests.

During the protests the non-governmental organisation raised $385,000 (£290,000) through crowdfunding and spent part of the money on legal services for those protesters who were arrested, to pay medical bills for those wounded, to provide private security at protest points and daily refreshments.

The coalition is the brainchild of Dami Odufuwa and Odun Eweniyi.

Formed in July, the #EndSars protest was the organisation’s first major project.

Although women’s safety and financial equality are at the core of the organisation’s aims, equality for all people is their vision, and so they decided to fight the injustice perpetuated by the squad by joining in the protests.

These women, named and unnamed, are the backbone of a series of resistance. By marching, volunteering, mobilizing, tweeting, speaking, donating, and flagrantly trampling on sexist, they are, without a doubt, the amplifiers of this historical Nigerian revolution.

Mrs. Dede (Surname withheld), in this heartbreaking interview tells JOSEPH UNDU how her ex-husband forcefully slept with her and her maids. She also narrated her ordeal with the man who asked her to swear by a wooden carved idol in the midnight that no-one was sleeping with her and how she almost killed him in self-defence over persistent domestic violence. Excerpts.

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Mrs Dede

Tell us briefly about your background.

My name is Faith (Surname withheld). I got married to my ex-husband when I was 18 years old, and at 19, I had my first baby.

I got married as a child. I knew nothing but all through the marriage it was trouble, it was war. I had so many issues where I was beaten up for voicing out my opinion. I had issues where he would forcefully sleep with me, I have issues where when I had maids he would sleep with them and I can’t do anything. I have had so many bad issues at so many points. And anytime I cry to my mother and tell her I want to leave the marriage, my mother, being a pastor, would encourage me that, divorce is not of God. That, I should keep staying in the marriage. You know, my family members keep pushing me to stay back in the marriage despite the fact I was going through so many difficult things.

What is the actual problem with your husband?

My ex-husband is a drunkard. He would come home drunk everyday. He would beat me up, and I dared not ask why. So many times he would force me to swear an oath that no man was sleeping with me. He would wake me up in the middle of the night and told me to start swearing with a wooden carved idol. I went through so many things that I couldn’t stand. Then, because of the custom of Nigeria, everybody kept telling me to stay because of my children.

At that point, what did you do when everything became unbearable for you?

You know at a point I got so depressed and I was tired of the beating. I told myself the only way to come out of this situation was to kill this man in self defence and be free. Nobody would tell me anything. I convinced myself, I was going to kill him. But when I thought about my children, the laws of the land among others, something kept ringing in my mind and telling me not to do it. No, don’t do it, don’t take a life! I remember that night I returned back the knife I had put under the pillow. I had to return it back to the kitchen because I just couldn’t do it. I was so frustrated and when I made up my mind after he beat me the last time that I was leaving, he started threatening me saying “if you leave me, you are finished.”

So, what did you do then?

I ran away with my children. By then, my mother knew it was really bad after I went to confess to her that I was going to commit murder. She knew I was at my tipping point, and she told me “if it’s this you want to do, well, we can’t force you to stay there.” I remembered the day I made up my mind I wanted to go, I ran with my children. He kept calling me, kept threatening me that I cannot disgrace him, that I should return his children or else he would kill me. I ran away from Abuja. Then, I was in Benin and my two eldest children were in boarding houses, so it was just my last son. So, I ran away to Benin to go and hide with a friend of mine. For one full year, it was trouble all through. I had to change my number. When he couldn’t reach me, he was threatening my mother, insulting her and sending emails to me, threatening that he would kill me if he found me. All of a sudden, I couldn’t hear from him again and I thought he had become calm. And because Benin was tough, and I don’t really know anybody there, I decided to come back to Abuja. Two months later, I came back. I was going into the small apartment I was able to rent one day when two people rushed towards me. I thought they wanted to steal money from me because I was just coming from the ATM. They dragged me on an untarred road close to my house, beat me up and kept saying, “prostitute, prostitute, go back to your husband.” I knew right then that, they were not robbers because they didn’t even take my purse. I knew they were from him. The next day, my mother told us to go to the police station, because I was having bruises on my body. Picture evidence is still there. Even now, it’s not as if I am safe, I am just trying to lie low. I closed all my social media contacts such as Facebook, WhatsApp and others.

Are you now free from him?

I still don’t feel very safe, but I am just living my life and hoping for the best. Why I am doing this publication is for people to be aware of what is happening and for me to have all these things on record because of tomorrow.

When these people attacked you, where were you then?

I was in Abuja in the house I rented at FedEx Housing, Kubwa. That was mid-July last year. Right now, I don’t know exactly where he lives, because we are not in touch. I was married to him for 19 years and I have three children for him. Right now, I am responsible for everything since I left him four years ago. He doesn’t send money or pay any obligation.

So, what do you really want now?

I just want my story to be out there, because I know so many women go through all these. I want it to serve as an example. Like ‘don’t take a life’ that I experienced. Domestic violence is real, leave if it is too much for you, Leave! I also have a lot of evidence that I didn’t even bother to tell anyone. I had picture evidence like the time when I was beaten up. I just feel like, let me come out now and talk about these things. Nobody knows tomorrow, and people would be like ‘why didn’t you come out to say anything,’ so I just want to come out so that everybody will know what has happened to me.

Are you still interested in the marriage, if he changes and apologies to you?

Absolutely Not! My life is very important. If I go back to the marriage, I am just going back to die! Even if he repents tomorrow, we don’t have to be together. Affection is no longer there. And you have to be with somebody because you care about them. If you don’t have affection for them, it cannot work. I don’t have one single affection for him. There is no need for us to go back together for anything at all. My children are grown up so they are fine. It is not as if they are small and still need a father figure, they are on their own now. My last son is 14 years, so my children are grown up now.

Were you forced into the relationship with him or you just went into it and things turned out this way?

I wasn’t forced into a relationship, I met him when I was 18 years old and he came to me and wanted to marry me. I thought he was joking, he kept pressuring me. At that time, I didn’t know anything but I looked very mature for my age and then he said he wanted to meet my mum. I took him to meet my mum and he told my mum he wanted to marry me. That was how we got married, I wasn’t forced at that time. I thought I knew what love was and I thought I knew about a person’s character but obviously at 18, my judgement about humanity was clouded. I wasn’t really exposed to know the difference between what was right and what was wrong.

Going forward, what is your advice to other women passing through abusive relationships or marriage?

I will advise other women not to stay in abusive relationships or marriages. Apart from the injuries it does to the woman, it also injures the children as well. Right now, I can tell you that I am trying to build up my children’s mental health from all the abuses their father did to me. I am trying to erase those thoughts from their heads and it is really difficult. As long as you keep tolerating that, you are not just hurting yourself, you are hurting the children the things you are exposing them to. You are hurting them mentally, and hurting the person they will become tomorrow. They grow up to see these things. Some boys see these things and emulate the characters. They feel it is okay to beat a woman. Some girls see it and swear never to get married again because of the troubles their mother goes into. So, I will beg women not to tolerate these things. Do not let a man turn you into a punching bag and suffer yourself and your children. Please leave if you are going through difficulties and domestic violence, your life is important.

Do you have any other advice?

Well, basically that is all. I just want my story out there to encourage people that I am alive. I am doing well, I am on my own now, though I still don’t feel very safe. But I believe in God and I believe he is going to protect me. I still get threats from now and there. He insults me frequently, telling me I will never be happy and that I will never do well and all those things but I ignore it. I believe solely in God for my life and for my children’s life.

Tobi Soniyi
From early permutations, THISDAY can report that the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is most likely to zone its presidential ticket to the South to match the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is expected to do the same in the 2023 presidential bout.

According to checks, governors and leaders, who currently control the party, have quietly resolved to have the next president emerge from the south in national interest to douse North-South tensions ravaging the country, which they said will be escalated if one party chooses its candidate from the North and the other from the South.

The reasoning behind this decision, it was learnt, is to promote national unity and cohesion in the face of the current crisis bedeviling the country. Multiple sources told THISDAY that the decision to settle for a candidate from the south was to match the APC, which had already agreed in principle to zone the presidency to the South after Buhari completes his tenure in 2023.

Though some power brokers in APC are moving to jettison the understanding and crown current Yobe Governor and current interim National Chairman of APC, governor Mai Mala Buni, mainstream stalwarts of the party are sticking to that understanding which will see the party rotating its ticket and zoning it to the South.


“It is clear that APC is going to the south by the power arrangements and commitment made to rotate the presidential ticket during the formative stage of the party. So, PDP will follow suit,” one of the governors told THISDAY.

The PDP leaders noted that the last presidential election, which was between two northerners brought about national stability even though the results were fiercely contested, there was no post-election violence, regardless.

They, therefore, reasoned that in the current political climate, there will be a major crisis if there is a candidate from the north and another from the south from the two main parties.

“It can lead to instability and increase the current political tensions”, one of the PDP leaders also said.

Consequently, the PDP leaders have dismissed campaign by some northern candidates, who are trying to say that the presidency has been in the south for more years than it was in the north.

These leaders argued that, cumulatively, the north had been in power more than any other region especially, when both military and civilian regimes are combined.

“So, you can clearly see that there is no argument there that the South has ruled for 13 years of PDP’s 16 years in power. If you go that route, others may as well point to the fact that the North has ruled for 43 years since independence while the South has ruled for 18 years,” a source contended.

“Right now”, he continued, “The emphasis is not on north and south but what is in the best interest of Nigeria as a country and what steps will ensure its survival. We need to have patriots who can rise to national calling, who will sacrifice their interest, or regional interest to build national cohesion for the progress of the country at this time of crisis”, another PDP leader said.


According to PDP leaders, who shared this position, the decision to field a candidate from the south is not about partisan politics but in the interest of the nation, adding that leaders from both parties should be poised to make the necessary sacrifice to ensure stability.

Other sources within PDP told THISDAY that the emerging consensus was not about PDP but about the country, and that even though a small powerful group appeared to oppose the arrangement within the ranks of the PDP, the party is expected to go ahead with the plan.


Some of those believed to be opposed to this understanding, sources claimed, include a former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and a former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki. One of the PDP stalwart told THISDAY “we love Atiku and Saraki but we love Nigeria more. Nigeria cannot survive a North-South civil war, this is the time for peace.”

In the meantime, one of the APC presidential hopeful, the Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has begun his presidential campaign consultations in earnest.

He was in Taraba State last week, where he began campaign for his presidential bid by wooing non-APC states.

Many see this move as strategic in testing the waters to see if he has national appeal.

One man, one gun; one woman, one rifle. The above, Professor Itse Sagay appears to be saying, might be the panacea to Nigeria’s seemingly untameable security crisis, as insurgents, bandits and other criminals continue to seize the country by the jugular.

Given the worsening insecurity situation in the country, the Chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay has called on the President, the National Assembly and all concerned authorities to empower every Nigerian to carry arms. It will help to make for a balance of terror, he insists, in the current situation whereby the country is gradually sliding into a Hobbesian state where life is brutish and where might is right, no thanks to the activities of kidnappers, bandits, terrorists and herdsmen.

“I have made this suggestion before,” the Professor of Law told VINCENT KALU. “We should all be armed. Communities should be armed. Individuals should be armed so that anybody coming to attack you will know that he too has no chance of surviving.”


In the interview, he also called on the government to force Sheikh Ahmed Gumi to lead security agencies to the abode of the bandits in the forest. He expressed his opinions on other burning national issues. Excerpts:

Nigeria is being stretched to a breaking point. What gave rise to this?

The country is really stretched. I have never seen this country like this before, where at every corner, there is somebody committing one violent crime or the other. Although it is more in the North, the South is not safe. In the Southwest now, you can’t travel by road because people will jump out of the forest and stop and then abduct you. I have never seen a thing like this; really the Federal Government ought not just to declare a state of emergency. It should have a major strategy session on this. A community would be sleeping, and then some people would just come killing them. I have made this suggestion before: we should all be armed so that anybody coming to attack you will know that he too has no chance of surviving. Communities should be armed; individuals should be armed. That is balance of terror. For example, if as a farmer, a village in the Southwest is under the threat of Fulani herdsmen who one governor has said were entitled to wield AK-47 rifles which they carry about, then I need to carry mine so that when they come to my farm, we confront each other. He, with gun, and, I with gun, then he will know that it is dangerous to come to my farm. At that stage, when there is certainty that the man whom he is sent to attack can resist and use equal force, you will see that this thing will die down.


I always wonder when the youths cry out in various places, including my own Delta and other areas in the East and West that the Fulani herdsmen have overtaken our villages, our farms. Why can’t those youths gather together and seek arms and fight back? People need to fight back with arms and not with bare hands. The federal government should think of loosening the rules governing armsbearing and allow persons and communities that are under attack to have arms to defend themselves. Like in America, everybody has arms; if you are going to raid somebody’s house, you know that it is a big risk. Or, if it is a farmer and he is armed, you know it is a big risk going to kill him, to destroy his crops, to rape his wife or bring your cows to come and eat all that he has spent a whole year planting, probably with bank facility, destroy everything so that he has nothing to eat because you have cows? No, everybody is entitled to defence.

When Ondo governor, asked the herdsmen to leave Ondo forests, it generated much tension. Some Northerners said the governor was wrong as Nigeria’s constitution guarantees freedom of movement in which anybody can stay where he or she likes, but the governor said it doesn’t mean you coming to destroy my investments. What is the legal interpretation?

There are so many freedoms and many legal entitlements. Your freedom of association or freedom of movement is subject to other rules too. Like this question of forest reservations, the law allows you to have reservations. The whole idea is to preserve certain species from being destroyed. Government can make a law that nobody should live in such area so that they would not begin to cut down such trees or kill the animals. There is nothing like unchanneled freedom of movement. You can’t say that because you have freedom of movement, you just pack all your things into my sitting room and say: ‘I have come; I have freedom of movement under the Nigeria Constitution.’ What type of freedom is that? Your freedom ends where my right begins. So the freedom of movement ends where such laws that control reservations begin. So there is no such unchanneled freedom, otherwise there will be chaos.

Since banditry started, there is the impression that the military and security agencies don’t know where these bandits are. But we have seen Sheikh Gumi walk into their abode for negotiations. Some argue that this seems to be a contradiction. What is your view?

It is a really a contradiction. Gumi should be made to tell the secuirty organisations where these people are so that operatives can organise themselves and wipe them out wherever they are. He should be made to tell them. To create a situation in which the impression is given that bandits and kidnappers are legitimate operators with whom we should be negotiating, destroys the society. What this thing says is that there is no boundary to misconduct: it means that any misconduct you can carry out becomes legitimized. That is the impression. In such a case, life becomes brutish and nasty because there is no law; there is right, which is just the right to carry arms. Once you can use your arms and effectively do something dastardly, then you are recognised and you can carry on doing it. It is just not acceptable.

Sheikh Gumi canvassed amnesty for the bandits in the mould of the kind granted Niger Delta militants, as a way of ensuring peace. Do you support his proposition?

It is a totally different thing. The Niger Delta militants were not killing people. Yes, they did some kidnapping. But they didn’t go to school to kidnap schoolchildren. They targeted oil companies and those expatriates working for oil companies. It is not as if I support it, but it is not the same thing. Those people were engaged in political and economic protest. They were not just engaged in pure criminality to make gain out of evil.

People are asking: why is it difficult to declare the herdsmen and the bandits terrorist groups?

I don’t know. If they are not stopped now, they will bring this country down. Already, the economy is being affected. If where you are doesn’t have an airport, the elite will not go there; there will be no business there. Those in the elite group now travel by air; you can’t take the risk of going by road and enjoy the countryside. I have lawyers in this firm. Every time they have to go by road to anywhere, our hearts are in our mouths as to whether they would come back. That is not an economic way of surviving and living. So the roads will end up being empty because you have these terrorists. There is no other thing to call them. There had been instances where they hijacked buses, gathered all the people, trekked with them miles into the forest, raped the women, starved everybody almost to death and demanded money from relatives. And, if the money did not come or come early enough, they killed the people. For those who are a bit old and cannot walk fast enough into the bush, they kill them. That is totally unacceptable and I really want the Federal Government to deal with this thing in a very drastic manner so that they will know that what they are doing is intolerable.

Are you not afraid of the rising cases of ethnic warlords? In the East, you have Nnamdi Kanu; in the West, you have Sunday Igboho; in the Northeast, there is Shekau, leader of Boko Haram; in the Northwest, the bandits have a leader, likewise the herdsmen, they have a leader?

It is disturbing. I will make an excuse for Sunday Igboho; he seems to try to correct the situation. He is rising on behalf of his people to put down a situation in which they are being oppressed by marauders, robbers and bandits. He is not legitimately empowered to do so, but where those who are empowered to take up such responsibility are not doing anything. There is a vacuum which such people rise up to and try to bring justice which those empowered to do so are not doing. So, I don’t classify Igboho as one of those you are talking about.

Yes, we have a problem in this country. Northeast, we have Boko Haram; Northwest, we have bandits and in the South and Middle Belt, you have herdsmen. So there is no peace; the whole country is boiling. The security agencies – the army, the police, the DSS, the Civil Defence Corps, if they need more recruitment into the forces, let it be done. But this thing has to be stamped out. Otherwise, Nigeria will be destroyed. I see its imminent break-up, especially by the time you have people roaming all over the places. Look at what is happening now: those who supply foods and meat from the North are saying they are not coming to the South because something happened to some of their people. They are not looking at this thing properly. The South didn’t plan anything against anybody except actions individuals might have been taken against those who were terrorizing them. But for such a situation to arise shows that the level of insecurity in the country is so bad that we are unconsciously creating a breach between the North and the South. If you say you won’t allow food that you sell for money (it is not as if it is a gift to anybody) to other parts of the country. Then that part will say okay, whatever that we have that goes to your own side will not go. Then very soon we are going to have confrontations. It is a very dangerous situation.

Do you see politics of 2023 election as being behind these?

I don’t. What is the person going to gain if this continues? There will be no country for him to rule in 2023 because there will be chaos and anarchy everywhere. I don’t think it is in anybody’s interest. But you never can tell because Nigeria is a strange country. It is not obvious to me that somebody is doing this because of 2023.

Going back, towards the buildup to the 2015 election, that was when we had Boko Haram taking over some local government areas in Northeast and the eventual kidnap of Chibok schoolgirls. The same thing seems to be repeating itself?

I don’t see anyone benefitting from it except the bandits, kidnappers, herdsmen, etc. They are the ones gaining; nobody else gains. You can’t even say that the North gains or the South gains, no. The schoolgirls taken away were all Northern girls. And, they were taken away by Northern bandits. So there is no discrimination among some of the criminals and terrorists; they are just doing it against their own people, against anybody. The whole country has to be united against them. I still suggest that communities that are normally peaceful should be armed to discourage attacks by these terrorists.

Talking about corruption in the country, we now have a new EFCC boss. What this means is that the former boss, Magu, was found wanting. What should be the position of the law on his case?

We have not seen the report, so we can’t really conclude that he was found wanting. In this sort of situation, I would even want to hear what Magu and his lawyers have to say on the issue. From the distance that I followed the proceedings, those proceedings didn’t maintain fair hearing at all. It was one-sided prosecution. I’m sceptical of the fairness of the proceedings. If you have a tribunal of some sort, which has already regarded you as guilty before even trying you, it is not a good sign. That doesn’t give a very good indication of what the report will be. I need to see the report, read it, analyse it before I can come to a conclusion.

Who is behind Magu’s travails because he was applauded as giving EFCC some biting teeth?

He did very well. I’m not going to mention any individual. But what were Magu’s sins? I will say there are two: one, independent-mindedness, not wanting to be controlled or his discretion and authority taken over in the way he pursues war against corruption. Secondly, everybody has a candidate for that his position and they were just waiting for him to do four years before pushing their candidates forward. To that extent, there was general agreement among some powerful people that Magu should go because they have their candidates. That is the thing about Nigeria; it is a very strange country. You don’t have to be a bad a person; if you have been there for sometimes, there are people who are warming up to put somebody there, regardless of your excellence or non-excellence. Those are the two reasons – independent-mindedness and the fact that many powerful people had candidates for that position, not at all in the interest of the country.

Many hold the view that Buhari is not performing because of alleged nepotism; appointing people from his area, not based on merit. Could it not be one of the reasons the polity is overheated?

I don’t think that is the reason, unless you are saying that the people he appointed are incompetent. Then you have to be specific. I don’t buy that. I have heard people accusing him of nepotism. Frankly, I think there should be more diffusion in appointment in the security area; more people should come from other parts of the country. But, I don’t agree that it is the cause of our secuirty problems. It is like jumping from one logic to the other without proofs.

What is your greatest fear for Nigeria?

It is disintegration. We are in a situation in which we are warring among ourselves; in which different sides representing different ethnic groups, different religions are in a state of conflict or confrontation with each other. There is need for consensus. There is need to agree that this country should survive and there are certain basic minimum factors or considerations that must exist. One is safety. The constitution recognises that the government is obliged to provide the two main things that it is constituted for: secuirty and welfare. So, in that area, we are failing and we need to take urgent steps to address it. I was very happy when I read what the President said: that the kidnapping of those Zamfara schoolgirls would be the last. Which means, he has something up his sleeves; he has had enough. That is the way we should view all these violent attacks on innocent people and communities. We should make sure we take steps to ensure that nobody has the courage to say he wants to attack another person, community or rob another person or kidnap anybody.

People are debating that for Nigeria to move forward, it has to restructure. But some argue that they were yet to be told what restructuring means and the way it is going to be done. Others believe that Nigeria has been restructured already, from three regions to four. And, from four regions to: 12 states, 19, 21, and, now, 36. What is your idea of restructuring?

My understanding of restructuring is different from that. It is not how you are going to divide states or group states together. My understanding is granting the federating entities much more power and resources than they have now; much more independence than they have now. Yes, there was a time we were thinking of having a South-South states group together as one; Yoruba West as one and all that. That is, the six zones should become the basis of the new federalism. Those who have been carved out of those states could not agree because everybody was thinking that he was going to be a governor tomorrow. So instead of going into that, let’s just recognise what we have on ground today, transfer power to them from the federal. The federal is overloaded with power and resources. Let states keep what they generate and pay a tax to the centre rather than Federal Government taking over everything and then giving back to the state a little bit of what they have. We need a situation in which states can exercise power and increase the concurrent list, then reduce the exclusive list. The present exclusive list has about 68 items; it doesn’t make sense. In the First Republic, it had about 43 items. We should reduce it and give more power to the states to develop on their own. They don’t have to cry to Abuja every time; there should be no monthly meetings in which all the finance commissioners gather in Abuja to share money from the federal government. Let the states keep their resources and be the ones supporting the Federal Government. That is the way it used to be. That way, they will have enough power to develop, to compete and grow. They are not growing now. The only state that is growing, there may be more than one, is Lagos. It is the one that I can say really has the attributes of a state. It is because it has the capacity of organising its taxing system to make billions of naira. That is my idea of restructuring – transfer power, devolve power to the states; drastically reduce the power and the resources at the centre. Increase the power and resources at the states’ level, accordingly, so that they can survive independently of the centre and, rather be contributing to the centre. That way, Nigeria will develop fast.

What President will like to watch and see part of his power yanked off or members of the National Assembly allow their power or influence to be whittled down?

As part of this process, all the Assemblies – National Assembly, State Assemblies should be part-time; everybody should have something doing and, at intervals, they should gather to make laws maybe for one month and go back to their professions, works or business. That is what it was in the First Republic; everybody had a profession and that way you are not a drain on the purse of the nation. They would just get sitting allowances and go back.

As for the question you raised, it depends. When you think of the country rather than yourself, then it works. What has this huge power at the centre gotten us? It has not gotten us anything other than controversy: people fighting each other for positions and when they get there, they accumulate for themselves and so on. There is no sense of nationalism; it is just producing people in leadership positions. People are not committed to the country; they just want to accumulate power and resources. Look at the security situation now. If each state has a police, it would not have been so bad. I understand that the forests of all these states in the West and East have been taken over completely. Those who own those forests don’t know what is inside, but the people who have invaded them know the forests more than they do. It is not acceptable. But if we had state police, that would have been ameliorated. I’m a strong supporter of increasing the power and the resources of the state at the expense of the Federal Government. We need a Federal Government with few items that cut across the country so that it can concentrate and not get involved in everything.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has said that Nigeria accounts for about $10 billion that Africa loses to illicit financial flows (IFFs). This account for 20 per cent of the estimated $50 billion loss the continent suffers. Chairman of the ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, made the disclosure in his welcome remarks at a physical and virtual zoom meeting, organised to review the report on IFFs in relation to tax. Owasanoye’s revelation was contained in a statement by the commission’s spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua.

“The African Union Illicit Financial Flow Report estimated that Africa is losing nearly $50 billion through profit shifting by multinational corporations and about 20 percent of this figure is from Nigeria alone”, the ICPC boss was quoted as saying. This was as he explained that taxes were “very strategic role in the nation’s political economy”. Accordingly, the silk underscored the importance of the meeting, even as he noted that same would afford participants the opportunity to openly brainstorm on how to effectively use the instrumentality of taxation to curb IFFs through “risk-based approach to monitoring and audit; due process in tax collection; structured tax amnesty framework especially that which is skewed in public interest; data privacy; timely resolution of audits and payment of tax refunds; and intelligence sharing among revenue generating; regulatory; and law enforcement agencies.”

The ICPC chairman was further quoted to have stated that for the contemporary tax collector to remain relevant, they must build their capacity in areas of technology management, solution architects and an astute relationship manager. He pointed out that the objective of the meeting was to improve on the awareness on IFFs, especially in the areas of taxation. Meanwhile, the Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Muhammad Nani, expressed concerns that IFFs posed a serious threat to the Nigerian economy. According to Nani, the act robs the nation of resources that were needed for growth and development. He declared that tackling IFFs would expand the country’s tax base of the Nigerian nation and improve revenue generation which was required for development.

Consequently, Nani made a case for policy reforms that would make it difficult for “capital flights” from occurring so that the country would be placed on the path of growth. Other discussants at the event, who spoke with one accord, identified weak regulatory framework, opacity of financial system and lack of capacity amongst others as some of the factors that fuel IFFs. The discussants were unanimous in emphasising the need for capacity building of relevant stakeholders as one of the ways to stamp out illicit flows.

The operatives of the Department of State Security service, SSS, have reportedly raided a forest camp belonging to a network of seven armed bandits in Kaduna State, recovering some sophisticated weapons during the operation.

According to a report by PRNigeria, the operatives also arrested some gunrunners and masterminds of some major abduction, including that of students in Niger, Kaduna and Zamfara States.

An intelligence source told PRNigeria that security operatives eliminated some of the armed criminals after tracking them to a forest camp and engaged them in a ‘deadly’ gun battle at Birnin Gwari axis.

Some of the bandits escaped with gun wounds while notorious gunrunners were arrested during the clearance operation.

The source said: “During one of the latest intelligence operations, the secret service also recovered a general-purpose machine gun, rocket launcher, a rocket-propelled grenade, AK 47 rifles and magazines at Panbeguwa Town, Kubau Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

“The Arms were being moved by two suspected gunrunners namely, Idris Isma’il and Rabi’u Nasiru from Kurra, Barkin Ladi LGA in Plateau State to Birnin Gwari, Kaduna. One of the gunrunners was shot dead when he attempted to evade arrest.”

This is coming after a similar seizure in Ebonyi few weeks when Nigerian security forces bust arms stockpiles at Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state and recovered similar sophisticated weapons.

When contacted, the spokesperson of DSS, Peter Afunanya stated that the Service has even achieved more operational successes across the country than the latest one.

He, therefore, assured that the service would continue to detect and prevent crimes against the internal security of the country.

Coalition of 15 Civil Society Organisations based in the north has accused some Northern governors of turning the rising cases of kidnapping and banditry in the region into a money-spinning venture.

The groups, under the umbrella of Non-State Actors Consultative Forum (NOSACOF), also kicked against Governors of Zamfara and Katsina states as well as the northern elite fronting for negotiations with terrorists as an alternative to military intervention to end insecurity in the country.

Addressing journalists in Kano yesterday on insecurity in northern Nigeria, co-convener of NOSACOF, Ibrahim Waiya, alleged that political actors in the North had devised a new strategy to grab public resources through negotiation with bandits.

Waiya stressed that the new trend being orchestrated to undermine national security architecture and efforts of the military to wipe out terrorists might spell doom on the nation if not quickly addressed.

He also condemned the action of the governors, who are granting amnesty to bandits, terrorists and abductors, insisting that such action was tantamount to legitimising terrorism in the country.

Contending that paying bandits ransom was the same as empowering the terrorists with public funds to purchase more sophisticated weapons against the state.

AS part of efforts to find a lasting solution to the increasing crime rate in the country, particularly in the North, the Chairman of Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF), Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, has disclosed that governors from that region have decided to deploy science, technology, and innovation to tackle unemployment in the region.

Lalong had, during the last meeting of the forum in Kaduna, stated that Northern governors had decided to build a new industrialised northern Nigeria to address poverty and idleness, which were the major causes of security challenges facing that part of the country.



According to him, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) had been designated as the technical partner to the governors in this process.

Lalong disclosed this yesterday in Plateau Government House when the Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, and the agency’s management team visited him.

“All states of the North are embracing the human capital development strategy and knowledge-based economic infrastructure together to develop the northern parts of the country and there is no going back on this,” he said.

Cabals in the Presidency have schemed to ensure that President Muhammadu Buhari does not act on the Justice Ayo Salami’s probe report on immediate past acting Chairman of the Economic and Finan­cial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, submitted since 2020.

The Salami panel report was itself submitted in November 2020, but the details of the report nor its recommendations have not been disclosed to the public since then.

SaharaReporters learnt that one of the recommendations in the report was the replacement of Magu by a new chairman but other recommendations which indicted “powerful individuals” in the government were abandoned as the entire report might have been discarded.

Magu had been indicted in a memo to President Buhari by the Attorney-Gen­eral and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, after which he was suspended in July 2020 and replaced then by Mohammed Umar, the then EFCC’s Director of Operations.

Magu was then made to face the presidential panel headed by Justice Salami, former President of the Court of Appeal.

The former EFCC chairman, during his trial, had exposed several infractions committed by Malami, with the probe report believed to contain more damning evidence against top shots in the Buhari administration.

“The cabals around the President do not want the report to be revealed to the public or acted upon because it is too indicting. Magu’s lawyers revealed certain details because the former boss would not go down alone. Magu’s hands were soiled but he was not the only culprit,” a top source revealed.

“President Buhari on December 4 had set up a four-man committee to review the report of Salami on Magu. The committee is supposed to present a white paper on the Salami report. Both the white paper and the report have neither been sighted nor acted upon,” the source added.

The committee is made up of two representatives from the office of the Chief of Staff to the President and two from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

This is not the first time that President Buhari would not act on investigative reports concerning the EFCC based on manipulations allegedly from the AGF and other cabals.

SaharaReporters had on Thursday, February 18, reported that a 13-page investigation report by the EFCC, indicting the new Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, who was then the Port Harcourt Zonal head was forwarded to President Buhari in 2019 but the President failed to read or act upon it.

SaharaReporters had obtained the report, titled, Re: Alleged Case of Conspiracy, abuse of office and criminal diversion of Federal Government Properties, in which the suspect was Abdulrasheed Bawa, and detailed how he was recommended for disciplinary actions.

It had been reported that the report was forwarded to the President’s office, but the AGF influenced how it was dumped and not acted upon by President Buhari.

Malami had ensured that Bawa was spared and the erstwhile embattled acting Chairman, Magu, was ousted from office before actions would be taken on the report.

“The report was never read by Buhari because he was very unaware of his environment and doesn’t read. That report was the full details of Bawa, the newly nominated EFCC Chairman, as sent to Buhari.

“The AGF also quickly intervened and covered up the crime by refusing to approve of charges to be filed against Bawa and others. Magu was removed before he could act,” a top source had revealed to SaharaReporters.

The Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN) says it prefers that farm produce go to waste rather than tolerate continued attacks on its members in the south.

Awwalu Aliyu, an official of the union, who spoke to TheCable in Kano on Tuesday said the decision not to supply food to the south was not to starve southerners but to protest attacks on their members.

Aliyu alleged that some members in the south were killed, maimed and lost properties especially during the #EndSARS protest and the recent Shasha market crisis in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

WE’D RATHER LOSE THE FARM PRODUCE

When asked if members of the union were not concerned about food items locked up inside trucks in Jebba, Niger state, going bad and leading to losses, Aliyu said: “It would be better to lose the food items than to lose lives”.

“You’re talking about losing goods; which one is better, to lose a life or to lose property? Losing property is better than losing a life.

“We prefer and our people will prefer to lose those farm items or goods than to continue losing their lives. If you are alive, you can plant another thing, you can rear another cattle. But if you’re dead, you can’t do that again. Only the living can go to the farm.

“We do not want to destroy anybody. We do not want to kill anybody. The number of Yorubas and Ibos that reside in Kano and Kaduna alone is far more than the number of northerners in the entire south-west, south-south and south-east.

“Also, the investments of Yorubas and Igbos in Kano and Kaduna, running into billions of naira is more than the entire investments of northerners in the south-west, south-east and south-south if you remove Dangote. Our people are only petty traders, shoe shiners, fingernail cutters, wheelbarrow pushers, okada riders and so on.

“Our people in the south don’t have what southerners have in the north. They have farmlands, buildings and a lot of properties that run into billions. We do not intend to touch a needle out of it. We do not intend to destroy anybody’s property. What we want is to have our people protected from being killed.”

Farmers who spoke to TheCable lamented the inability to transport their farm produce to the south.

Some tomato farmers said they have begun to dry their produce in order to preserve it as selling rates in markets across Kano are not favourable.

MEAT, PEPPER SCARCITY HITS LAGOS

Empty stalls and an unusual calmness greeted TheCable when reporters visited the Lagos State Abattoir Complex in Agege.

Ishola Tawakalitu, a septuagenarian who sells beef in the same market, lamented the current prices of meat. She said the abattoir, which records an average of 1,000 cows killed every day, is now struggling to meet a 100 target as vehicles are not bringing in cows from the north.

“What we used to buy for N30,000 is now N60,000. I called Alhaji (describing her supplier) this morning, he said they didn’t kill cows. So everywhere is tight,” she said.

“The strike hasn’t allowed them to bring cows from the north so sales in the market have been greatly affected.”

Yakubu Danjuma, a butcher, said a cow that previously sold for N200,000 now costs N400,000.

“Everything is now expensive. No trailer brings cow here now due to the strike. It is only small vehicles and the prices are very high. A cow is now N400,000, something you used to get for N200,000 or N250,000. It is a wrong time to buy a cow,” he said.

At the Ile Epo Market in the Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos, TheCable found that tomatoes which previously sold for N200 now cost N300 while that of N400 is now sold for N600.

Hassan Ismail, who purchases beans from Kano, said a bag of honey beans ‘Oloyin‘ now cost N47,000 compared to the previous N44,000 and White beans which used to sell for N42,000 now costs N44,000.

WE’RE RUNNING AT A LOSS, OYO TRADERS LAMENT

At the Eleyele Market in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, a tomato trader who identified herself as Mummy Bisola said she has been travelling to Lagos to purchase goods since the clash in Shasha Market happened.

According to her, a basket of tomatoes that she initially bought for N7,000 is now N18,000 while pepper increased from N10,000 a sac to N30,000.

“After the Shasha fight and Makinde closed the market, I have been going to Lagos to buy tomatoes. But I have been to Lagos this morning and I came back empty-handed,” she said, pointing to her almost empty shade.

“If nothing changes by tomorrow, you will not even see a single tomato in the market. It is not just in Ibadan, even in Lagos.”

Sitting by the side of the road, a trader with a downcast face, told TheCable that despite the high rate at which she got her goods, most of them were spoilt.

“I am running at a loss. It is the Hausa people that are fighting the federal government. They said people damaged their vehicles so they need them repaired but the government did not respond to them. So they said any bus conveying pepper should not be allowed in. They blocked the road, that is why pepper is now expensive,” she said.

“A bucket of tomato is now N2,000 while a bucket of rodo is N3,000. Before it used to be between N700 and N1,000.”

FOOD INFLATION ON THE LINE?

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that food inflation figures recorded in January 2021 was the highest in more than 12 years at 20.57 percent.

The federal government is making efforts to tackle inflation; including reducing the import levy for vehicles to transport food items and tractors.

“So, once this implementation takes full effect, we are hoping that we’ll be able to see more tractors coming into the country, more mass transit buses coming to the country, reducing the cost of transportation as a result, and also having an impact on food prices,” Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget and national planning, said.

The implementation of the reduced levy has begun and only time will tell if the desired goal will be achieved.

Steve Uzoechi, Owerri

These are obviously not the best of times for the former governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, who is presently fighting the political battle of his life in his home state.

Okorocha’s kinsmen, under the platform of Orlu Political Consultative Assembly (OPOCA), have commenced massive mobilizing across the 12 council areas of Imo West, which Okorocha represents at the Senate, with a view to recalling the embattled former governor from the National Assembly.

Last Monday, major stakeholders in the zone comprising the traditional rulers, Elders’ Council and the 12 Interim Management Committee (IMC) Chairmen presiding over the 12 LGAs in the Orlu Senatorial District (Imo West), gave teeth to the recall process when they openly endorsed the action.

Rising from a consultative meeting involving OPOCA, led by Rex Anunobi; Orlu Council of Elders, led by Chief Bernard Anyanwu: the 12 IMC Chairmen, led by Hon. Willie Okolieogwo, who is also the Imo ALGON Chairman, and the Orlu Zonal Council of Traditional Rulers, under the leadership of Eze Emmanuel Okeke of Amaifeke Ancient Kingdom, the stakeholders upon deliberations issued a 6-point Communiqué unanimously endorsing the recall of the former governor over what they described as “poor representation, gross misconduct occasioning public embarrassment to Orlu people, Imo people and indeed the state government”.

The leadership of Orlu Political Consultative Assembly (OPOCA), led by its National President, Chief Rex Anunobi, a lawyer, had briefed the leadership of the Orlu Zonal Traditional Rulers’ Council, Chairmen of Local Government Councils in Imo West Senatorial Zone (Orlu Zone) and Orlu Council of Elders, on recent political developments in the state as regards the many untoward actions of Senator Rochas Okorocha, his alleged wanton looting of the state and other actions capable of exposing Imo and its people to public ridicule.

Sodiq Oyeleke

The Federal Government, on Tuesday, held a reception ceremony after the arrival of COVID-19 vaccine doses in the country.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire; the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu and Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Faisal Shuaib, who organised the ceremony.

Earlier, the CEO of NPHCDA , a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Health, had said, “There is going to be a small ceremony chaired by the Chairman of the PTF on COVID-19 to receive the vaccine at the VIP Protocol section, General Aviation Terminal of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

“At the end of the ceremonies to mark the arrival of the vaccines. A few vials of the vaccines would be handed over to the NAFDAC team which they will analyze over a period of two days (Wednesday March 3rd and Thursday, March 4th).”

The PUNCH had reported that Nigeria received nearly four million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, shipped via the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO.

COVAX shipped 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, arrived from Mumbai to Abuja around 11.30 am on Tuesday.

Okechukwu Nnodim, Olufemi Olaniyi, Wale Oyewale and Chima Azubuike

The queues by motorists for petrol grew worse in Abuja and neighbouring states of Nasarawa and Niger on Monday as only few filling stations dispensed the commodity.

But despite the scarcity and queues, which had lingered for several days, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation insisted on Monday that it had enough product to keep the country wet with petrol for about 40 days.

Reacting to the development, oil marketers described the present scarcity was as a tactics deployed by the Federal Government and its agencies in their bid to hike the price of petrol.

This, they said, was due to the rise in global crude oil prices and the increase in foreign exchange rate in Nigeria.


Many roads with filling stations that dispensed products in various parts of Abuja witnessed severe traffic jam on Monday, as motorists formed long queues on the roads.

The Forte Oil filling station opposite Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, for instance, had long queues that stretched into adjourning roads and caused heavy traffic jam in the area.

Similar scenarios played out along the Kubwa-Zuba Expressway, Airport Road, Zuba-Kaduna Road, Nyanya-Mararaba Road, among others.

Speaking on the development, the National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, said the current scarcity would lead to hike in price.

He said, “They (government) want people to buy it at a high rate before they will announce an increase in price. When filling stations or black marketers start selling it at around N250/litre, they will then announce a pump price that could be between N180 to N200/litre.

“Then people will now say, oh thank God for we now have patrol no matter the increase in price. It is a market tactics. And it is intentionally done to effect a change in price.”

Asked if there had been a reduction in product distribution going by the worsening petrol queues, Chinedu replied, “Yes!

“Right now, if I buy petrol at N160/litre in Lagos and I bring it to Abuja, will I sell it at N160/litre? Of course, I won’t.”

He added, “Rather when I bring it in at N160, the price at the pumps after transporting it, that far will be around N180 to N200/litre.

“By this, the independent marketers who help to buffer the pressure on major marketers are gradually being fizzled out of business.”

The IPMAN official stated that the pressure on filling stations in cities had been increasing because outlets in satellite towns were dispensing petrol at very high prices.

Chinedu said, “If you go around the outskirts of Abuja and areas in neighbouring states, people don’t buy petrol again from the small filling stations that used to sell at the approved price in those locations.

“People only buy like two litres from them because petrol price in these filling stations is around N180/litre and so such persons drive to Abuja city and join the queues to buy at N162 or N165/litre.”

He further stated that the stock in fillings station at the outskirts would soon be exhausted and the whole pressure would now be in the cities.

“Mark my words, the supply in the cities will break down if this is not addressed quickly and there will be total scarcity,” the IPMAN spokesperson stated.

Chinedu noted that the increases in global crude oil prices and the exchange rate were major factors affecting the cost of petrol.

“Can you imagine that the dollar was about N230 to N280 before this government came to power; now it is about N480,” he said.

But the spokesperson of NNPC, Kennie Obateru, said the corporation had not increased the ex-depot price for petrol and had ruled out such hike in March.

He said the NNPC was not contemplating any raise in the price of petrol in March in order not to jeopardise ongoing engagements with organised labour and other stakeholders on an acceptable framework that would not expose Nigerians to hardship.

The NNPC also cautioned marketers not to engage in arbitrary price increase or hoarding of petrol in order not to create artificial scarcity.


Gridlock on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as fuel scarcity spreads to Ibadan

Many commuters in Ibadan were on Monday stranded as fuel queues resurfaced in the few filling stations selling the Premium Motor Spirit known as petrol.

The long queues caused obstructions at the Ibadan section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway resulting in gridlock on the ever busy road.

Our correspondent observed that many filling stations did not sell the product and the few ones which opened had long queues.

The fewer number of taxi cabs and commercial motorcycles plying the roads made drivers to increase fares while those who could not afford the hike resorted to trekking.

Transport fare from Wire and Cable to Oja Oba, which was N120 had increased to N250. The situation is also similar in places like Ijokodo, Sango, Bodija, Agodi Gate, Iwo Road, Monatan, Eleyele and Ologuneru.


Some of the major petrol marketers along the Ijokodo, Eleyele-Sango Road, including Total, Conoil and Oando were not dispensing as of the time of filing this report.

A taxi driver, Lateef Yusuf, told our correspondent that many of the filling station had fuel but resorted to hoarding because they were expecting pump price to increase.

Yusuf said, “This artificial scarcity started last night. Many of them have fuel but they do not want to sell it because they are expecting the price to go up.


“That is the cause of this scarcity. The government is supposed to go round and ensure that any filing station with fuel sells it. We are suffering; commuters are suffering. This is not the time to add more to the suffering of the people.”

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Transport in Oyo State, Prof. Dahud Sangodoyin, has called on the Department for Petroleum Resources to sanction marketers hoarding fuel.

Sangodoyin said, “For some people to be creating artificial fuel scarcity for pecuniary reasons is wrong and inhuman.

“The Department of Petroleum Resources should, as a matter of urgency, swing into action and arrest the situation.”

The situation, however, was different in Gombe State as one of our correspondents reported that the petrol price hovered between N163- N165 per litre across the fuel stations visited within the Gombe metropolis.

Our correspondent observed that the buyers were calm and made their purchases without panic.