An officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has allegedly shot dead a 100-level student of petrochemical engineering of the Niger Delta University in Bayelsa State.

It was gathered that the incident happened around 10.30pm on Saturday at the Efeke-Ama area of the university town of Amassoma in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.



The victim, identified simply as Obinna, was said to have been rushed to a hospital in the community for medical attention, but he died shortly after.

The NSCDC officer, according to sources, was struggling to free his rifle without pointing it upwards and it released a bullet, which hit the victim and killed him.

It was learnt that the officer was on escort duty with a former Chairman of the Bayelsa State Sanitation Authority and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Mr Abel Ebifemowei, an indigene of Amassoma.

Ebifemowei was said to have travelled to the community in a convoy of vehicles bearing the campaign posters of Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the immediate past Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development and an APC governorship aspirant.

It was gathered that the members of the politician’s entourage were hanging out in a pub after the local council election in the state on Saturday when the incident happened.

The corpse of the deceased student was taken to a mortuary, while the killer NSDC officer was taken into custody by the Divisional Police Officer in the area.

Ebifemowei described the incident as unfortunate, but denied that he and the others were drinking at a pub and that he was using the campaign vehicles of Lokpobiri at the time of the incident.

He said, “It is a lie that I was at the pub when the incident occurred and I was not with the official vehicles of Senator Lokpobiri. It is an act of mischief to link Lokpobiri with the incident.



“The NSCDC man with me was trying to free his gun when it went off. The incident was not about me or the Senator Lokpobiri Campaign Organisation.


“It is unfortunate that he did not point the gun up. The affected NSCDC officer was not drunk as claimed. It was just an accidental discharge, which every security personnel prays not to happen to them. I was not at a pub. I was in Amassoma to observe the local government election ahead of the coming governorship poll.”

Ebifemowei also confirmed that the corpse of the deceased student had been taken to Yenagoa by the police and the NSCDC officer was in police custody.

“The security escorts have followed me for over 10 years and we have never experienced any such incident. It is unfortunate,” he added.

Source: https://punchng.com/nscdc-officer-kills-undergraduate-in-bayelsa/

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the National Youth Service Corps, the Armed Forces and the Police are the only bodies uniting Nigeria, saying this is why corps members in particular, should re-dedicate themselves to uniting Nigeria.

He called on corps members to use their education “to live up to the expectation of the founding fathers” to keep Nigeria together.



Buhari spoke in his Daura country home, Katsina State, on Sunday when corps members paid him Sallah homage.

The President had received the corps members in company with the visiting President of Republic of Guinea, Prof. lfa Conde.

He specifically mentioned the NYSC, the police and soldiers as the “only” bodies keeping Nigeria united.

“From Lagos, Port Harcourt and other parts of the country, you are at the end of the country. This posting will make you know this place, Daura, and you can disabuse the minds of those who are not educated about the other side of the country.

“It is only the NYSC that is merging (uniting) us together and of course, the police and soldiers,” a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, quoted the President as telling the NYSC members.

Buhari told his guests that at every opportunity he had meeting with a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.), who initiated the NYSC in 1973, he would always express his appreciation for introducing the scheme.

He told the corps members to guard the scheme jealously and to see the unity of Nigeria a priority.

“The President said they should always emphasise the common values of peaceful co-existence, kindness and hospitality that cut across all cultures and religions in Nigeria.



“President Buhari said the entire nation depends on past and serving youth corps members to bridge the country, since they have the first-hand experience of living with different ethnic groups in various parts of the country, studying their cultures and traditions, and enjoying hospitality, which underpins every community in Nigeria,” the Presidency added.

Buhari donated two cows, 10 bags of rice to the visitors and an undisclosed amount of money.

Conde, who also made a remark at the event, identified Nigeria’s diversity as its greatest strength.

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He noted, “First, you are Nigerians before you are from any other part of the country. So, promote the unity of the country regardless of your ethnic group.”

The corps members were led on the visit by the Chief Liaison Officer of NYSC in Daura, Aliyu Abdullahi.

He told the President that it was a privilege to serve in his home town and also to “meet with him and the Eid el-Kabir special guest, President Conde.”

Abdullahi urged Buhari to step up the war against corruption and insecurity.

Source: https://punchng.com/only-nysc-police-soldiers-uniting-nigeria-says-buhari/

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AFP Photo


Two female suicide bombers killed three civilians and wounded eight in a suspected Boko Haram attack in northeast Nigeria, emergency services said Wednesday.

The twin blasts tore through a crowd late Tuesday in the town of Mafa, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from regional capital Maiduguri.

“The female bombers killed three people and wounded eight others,” Bello Danbatta, head of security for the State Emergency Management Agency in Borno state, told AFP.



The assailants entered the town among a group of local women who had gone to fetch firewood for cooking, Danbatta said.

Source: https://punchng.com/two-female-bombers-kill-three-injure-eight-in-borno/

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NSCDC


Adelani Adepegba, Abuja

The Ngeria Security and Civil Defence Corps said it has deployed 4,000 personnel to beef up security, during and after the Eid-el Kabir celebration in the Federal Capital Territory.

The FCT NSCDC Commandant, Patrick Ukpan, who disclosed this in a statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Akinbinu David, on Tuesday in Abuja, said the operatives would be drawn from all formations of the Corps in Abuja.



The units, he said would include Undercover, the Conflict Management, and Disaster Management Units, Anti-vandals, and the Armed Squad, among others.

Ukpan added that special rules of engagement would be reeled out to the personnel.
He stated, “All the nooks and crannies of the capital will be adequately covered, leaving no place uncovered.

“Special attention will be given to some identified flashpoints like the market places, motor parks, fun parks, prayer grounds, and borders because of high convergence of people in these areas during the period.”

According to the commander, critical infrastructure like telecommunication masts, power cables and installations, and government buildings would also be protected.

“A 24-hour surveillance and patrol teams would be intensified in these areas,” Ukpan noted.

The Command said it was aware of plans by unidentified hoodlums to perpetrate crimes during the Eid celebration hence the deployment of personnel in the city.

Source :https://punchng.com/eid-nscdc-deploys-4000-personnel-in-fct/