Please go back and read it again. The article is actually a satire, with its 4 elements:
-- Exaggeration
-- Incongruity
-- Reversal and
-- Parody

Seniorwriter:


Ofcourse....the writeup is a subtle way to downplay the subject matter on if patami should resign or be sacked....we are not in a sane clime reason this news article can boldly sway away from saying it from the sane angle which is for justice to prevail on this issue irrespective of how many times in the past such had been swept under the carpet.
In sane climes if you are indicted with FACTS as a government official or office holder you either resign honorably or get sacked
Deep Quote
You don't right(write) a wrong to be right.

@Seniorwriter

You got it wrong. The article is actually a satire, complete with the 4 elements:
-- Exaggeration
-- Incongruity
-- Reversal and
-- Parody.

FarahAideed:
It's no news that Daily Trust is the media arm of Jihadists in Nigeria so there for no surprises they are keenly defending Isa Fallujah

The Bring Back Our Girls movement has released a list containing the names of 112 schoolgirls kidnapped on April 14, 2014. Lagos chapter of BBOG released the list during a sit-out in Ikoyi to commemorate the 7th anniversary of their abduction.

At that time, 276 schoolgirls who were preparing for their final year exams were taken away, including Leah Sharibu. After 7 years, 164 are said to have regained freedom.

Their names are listed below:
1. Aisha Lawan
2. Hauwa Mutah
3. Falta Lawan
4. Hajara Isa
5. Kabu Mala
6. Maryam Abba
7. Hannatu Musa
8. Laraba John
9. Deborah Nuhu
10. Saratu Dauda
11. Aisha Grema
12. Asabe Ali
13. Margret Shettima
14. Yana Yidau
15. Hauwa Kwakwi
16. Hauwa Musa
17. Saraya Musa
18. Hauwa Joseph
19. Yana Pogu
20. Jinkal Yama
21. Eli Ibrahim
22. Rifkatu Yakubu
23. Hannatu Nuhu
24. Maryamu Abubakar
25. Hamsatu Abubakar
26. Deborah Abbas
27. Rhoda Haruna
28. Hauwa Wuleh
29. Hauwa Nkeki
30. Christiana Yusuf
31. Raklya Kwamta
32. Christiana Yusuf
33. Halima Gambo
34. Rhoda John
35. Hassana Adamu
36. Ruth Ngiladar
37. Safiya Abdu
38. Serah Luka
39. Aishatu Musa
40. Hauwa Peter
41. Ruth Bitrus
42. Hanatu Ishaku
43. Mary Amos
44. Victoria Dauda
45. Saratu Thuji
46. Mary Dauda
47. Saratu Iliya
48. Halima Ali
49. Bilkisu Abdullahi
50. Rebecca Ibrahim
51. Zainab Yaga
52. Awa Ali
53. Hanatu Madu
54. Sarah Samuel
55. Mary Nkeki
56. Hauwa Isuwa
57. Godiya Bitrus
58. Awa Sasa
59. Hauwa Balte
60. Glory Yaga
61. Mary Paul
62. Ladi Paul
63. Ruth Lawan
64. Laraba Mallum
65. Ruth Wavi
66. Rahila Yohanna
67. Ihyi Abudu
68. Lydia Simon
69. Zara Ishaku
70. Rejoice Sanki
71. Deborah Abari
72. Sikta Abudu
73. Saraya Ali
74. Maryamu Lawan
75. Esther John
76. Ladi Joel
77. Lydia Emmar
78. Rose Daniel
79. Hauwa Abdu
80. Laraba Paul
81. Esther Ayuba
82. Mary Dauda
83. Margret Watsal
84. Miriam Jafaru
85. Kuma Solomon
86. Agnes Dauda
87. Mary Dama
88. Patience Jacob
89. Tabi Thomas
90. Hauwa Tella
91. Maryamu Yahaya
92. Saraya Stover
93. Jummal Aboku
94. Elizabeth Job
95. Suzana Yakubu
96. Mary Sule
97. Saratu Thauji
98. Ladi Wadal
99. Yayi Abana
100. Kwamta Kabu
101. Grace Amadu
102. Saraya Paul
103. Esther Markus
104. Rifatu Amos
105. Nguba Bura
106. Monica Enoch
107. Sarah Enoch
108. Rifkatu Galang
109. Dorcas Yakubu
110. Deborah Solomon
111. Solomon Pona
112. Saraya Amos

SOURCE: https://punchng.com/full-list-bbog-releases-names-of-112-chibok-girls-in-boko-harams-captivity/

PS: 7 years! Every one of these girls is a child, sibling, friend and neighbour to human beings like us. Let's remember them in our prayers, and also use every possible means to pressure the Government for their release from captivity.

A brewing storm over sensitive allegations unveiling Isa Pantami (Minister of Communications and Digital Economy) as a fervent supporter of extremist Islamist sects, who preached their violent cause should not be overlooked. He is under fire for vociferously espousing the violent Jihadist narrative of al-Qaeda and the Taliban before he was appointed minister by President Muhammadu Buhari.

These allegations are far too weighty, and there is copious evidence that Pantami once held on to extremist ideology and expressed it openly. Therefore, the honourable step is for him to resign. Otherwise, Buhari should sack him for unfettered investigations to be undertaken.

The case against Pantami, which has gone viral on social media, is dangerously earth-shaking. Initially, the minister, who until his appointment in 2019 was Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency, denied the obvious. But when confronted with his preaching in the 2000s on social media, he backtracked and claimed “immaturity.”

Essentially, Pantami’s past is catching up with him. Although he claims to have “repented” of his Salafist ideology, his violent preaching of those days is damagingly chilling. Among other things, he said, “Oh God, give victory to the Taliban and to al-Qaeda,” and, “This jihad is an obligation for every single believer, especially in Nigeria.” In another, he reportedly endorsed killing of “unbelievers.”

And what is the difference between his statements and that of Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, the defunct Islamic State’s chief spokesman, who had called on Muslims in Western countries such as France and Canada to find an infidel and “smash his head with a rock,” poison him, run him over with a car, or “destroy his crops?” This is a cataclysmic ideology, which has upturned the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan; instigated the 9/11 terror attacks and undermines very soul of Nigeria. So many more extremist views have been attributed to Pantami.

In his defence, Pantami argues he has repented; that he erred as an innocent youth. This is a hollow excuse. He should not have aspired to the position of a minister, then. When, where and how did he renounce violent jihad? What of the fresh allegations on the social media that he approved an Islamic TV station to broadcast official programmes of the Ministry of Communications? Was this after his repentance? When did Pantami sever his ties to his jihadist past?

According to Wikipedia, the minister, whom Buhari entrusts with the biometric data of Nigerians, trained under extremist Islamist scholars in Saudi Arabia, including Muhammad Ibn Uthaymin, whose extremist views include opposition to women driving in that country. Whether Pantami admits it or not, his preaching then must have enticed some innocents into joining the Salafist crusade to cause mayhem and establish its global caliphate through bloodshed.

The Boko Haram jihadists whom he now claims to have opposed, have tormented Nigeria, especially the North-East of the country, since 2009 with their vicious ideology. They have conquered territories, murdered people in thousands, kidnapped schoolgirls in Chibok and Dapchi, blown up the UN HQ in Abuja, attacked military formations and currently threaten the country’s corporate existence.

Beyond that, Pantami’s elevation to high public office exposes the ridiculous state Nigeria finds itself. All around, mediocrity, incompetence and questionable compromises are evident in the current miasma. First, Buhari was wrong to have appointed Pantami as a minister. It means the President’s yardsticks for such appointments are too pedestrian, perhaps based on extraneous ties apart from competence.

Second, the Senate, which screens ministerial nominees, is an abject, hollow chamber. In this case, the Ahmed Lawan-led Senate failed woefully. There was no rigour. It is shameful that nominees of questionable character, some of whom harbour extremist views, did not have an NYSC certificate or forged documents, are approved without question. The nauseating tradition of “take a bow” defeats the purpose of the screening, which is meant to sift out the chaff from the wheat. But the Senate has turned screening to a charade, sheer commercial and party affair, abnegating rigour.

This brings us to the State Security Service. What does it do when the executive forwards the names of nominees to it? As a party to the screening of nominees, there is no confidence about its reports to the parliament. The press, the watchdog, should be alert and henceforth, objectively unearth aspiring public office holders for the public to assess.

Pantami’s case happened because of deficient leadership that refuses to abide by global best practice in governance. The Nigerian Senate should adopt a rigorous process in screening nominees. It is not compulsory that all nominations from the executive sail through; the job of parliament is to deny incompetent and dangerous people the chance to gain top public office where they can do irreparable damage.

In 2012, Goodluck Jonathan, the President, claimed sympathisers of Boko Haram had infiltrated his government. “Some of them are in the executive arm of government, some of them are in the parliamentary/legislative arm, while some are even in the judiciary…Some are also in the armed forces, the police and other security agencies,” he had said. The Senate should wake up and replace indolence with diligence. Media scrutiny of prospective public officials should be stepped up.

The UK Institute of Government says individual ministerial accountability ultimately means an expectation that they should resign if something has gone seriously wrong. And truly, many things have gone awfully wrong with Pantami’s jihadist pantomime. His credibility as a minister has run out. He should bow out or be kicked out.

SOURCE (abridged): https://punchng.com/why-pantami-must-resign-or-be-sacked/

Think about this. There is not a single Nigerian person who does not consume chocolate in their diet at least once a week. Although many casually call them ‘tea’, “Milo”, “Ovaltine” and “BournVita” are, in fact, chocolate. There are chocolate desserts, chocolate ice-cream, chocolate cakes, and of course, all kinds of assorted chocolate bars for consumption in large quantity, and in variety of flavours.

Chocolate serves the purpose of being a nutrient as well as being the therapeutic offering of choice to the beleaguered and restless baby, the romantic and young at heart, the birthday boy and girl. It’s a stress buster for some, and a useful tool to lock away hunger for many others. This is not to talk of the many overweight still binging on the odd wrap of chocolate, and rural dwellers suddenly coming across a box of assorted chocolate wraps as a gift from a foreign trip.

When coming through major international airports, chocolate is one item that is always so conspicuous by its volume and presence on the duty-free counters. It is the time the traveller suddenly remembers friends, family and loved ones waiting to receive them at the other end. Its attractive packaging is a temptation difficult to resist at times, even for those watching their weight.

Consumption of chocolate in some form or another is a daily routine in the average household in this country. If anything is guaranteed to find ready-made buyers on highstreets and in corner shops, it is chocolate. No retailer ever complained of being unable to dispose of their chocolate stock. In terms of economics, the chocolate’s supply and its demand are almost at an equilibrium. So, how come it is not being turned into a big money spinner in Nigeria?

The obvious answer to the question is that there are no Nigerian manufacturers of the product. I hear some say, wait a minute, what about Cadbury? What about Nestle? Yes, these are Nigerian-registered companies, but they are not owned by Nigerians. It is like saying Julius Berger is indeed a Nigerian-registered company, but it is not a Nigerian-owned entity. It is German, as a matter of fact. Nestle is a Swiss multinational food and drink conglomerate, while Cadbury is a British multinational confectionary company.

The second question is, who supplies the multinational companies the raw materials they convert into chocolate? And, the third, perhaps most important question is, why can we not make our own indigenous chocolate and sell to others beyond our shores? It could wipe off the country’s external debts and dependence on crude oil overnight. It could also bridge the foreign exchange gap.

These raise enormously challenging issues of export capacity, propensity for foreign consumption and sheer lack of foresight by government. Africa supplies the bulk of the world’s cocoa, with Ivory Coast being the largest producer in the world, followed by Ghana and Indonesia. Despite being 4th largest producer of cocoa, the product represents only 2% of Nigeria’s total export, but is the 3rd largest source of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings after crude oil and gas.

Global revenues from export of cocoa stand at US$140bn annually. As the 4th largest producer of the product, Nigeria’s share of the market should be hovering around the US$35bn mark. Instead, it remains a paltry US$740m. Capacity to produce is one thing, ability to manufacture is another.

So, what is holding the country back? One reads in economics textbooks the principle of “comparative advantage”, by which a nation is encouraged to concentrate on what it does best, then, put it on the market and exchange for items it is not able to make. That principle has condemned Africa into the permanent status of producers of natural resources and consumers of manufactured products for decades. It has almost bled the continent to death. It has continually short-changed the continent for, it has deprived us of any bargaining power.

The people processing our raw materials, the clients, are the same people dictating prices through the structures of international finance controlled by their governments. Producers of raw materials, meanwhile, are not united with a common front to negotiate better terms for the sale of their produce. Instead, each country in Africa is forced to compete for the same (Western) buyers of Africa’s raw materials. The buyers are thus able to play one against the other.

Reading from various financial indices, total market capitalisation of cocoa produce is set to reach $US182bn by year 2025. This is set to add to the humongous profits by the chocolate manufacturers, the largest of which is America’s “Mars Wrigley”, whose sale topped $US18bn in 2019. Is it too much for us to come up with a manufacturing base for the product in Africa? The answer to the question is of course not. But, without requisite technology to set up production lines, there cannot be chocolate made in Nigeria.

Despite spending over US$30bn on the ill-fated Ajaokuta Steel Plant in Lokoja, Kogi State, in Nigeria, over the last 30 years, not a single rim of iron has come out of the location. So, to build any factory, we must rely on current manufacturers of cocoa products in the West to share their technology and know-how in order to make it possible for us to displace them in the chocolate market later in future. Is that a realistic expectation? Is it in their interest to ‘transfer’ chocolate technology which will enable us compete with them? Maybe, morally, yes. But, there is no morality in international capitalism, I am afraid.

The West have the technological advantage which gives them huge leverage over Africa’s vast raw materials, which serves to increase the standard of living for their people. Why should they surrender that? There are a dozen theological reasons why they should, but, there are also a dozen economic reasons why they should not. This is where foresight on the part of government is called for.

In the 1950s, on the eve of Nigeria’s independence, the Western Region of Nigeria under Chief Obafemi Awolowo initiated a cooperative business structure amongst cocoa farmers in the region. His government gave farmers the incentive to produce loads of cocoa based on a cast-iron guarantee to purchase every ounce brought to the region’s Cocoa Marketing Board at Ibadan. It was the first of its kind in the world. Every cocoa farmer in the region ran back to their farms and became financially comfortable. Cocoa farming became a runaway success. It generated seamless revenues for government and the farmers in equal measure.

Imagine if the Western Region had continued along that innovative path instead of being broken up into tiny (unviable) states, a multibillion dollar Nigerian multinational company would have emerged as the largest producer of chocolate in the world today. Imagine the domino effect on the rest of the country’s economy.

Food for thought indeed!

SOURCE (abridged): https://punchng.com/how-chocolate-could-make-nigeria-great/

Fantastic advice...after driving the Keke for some months, you can start to buy more Kekes and give out on hire purchase or for daily delivery. Later on you can graduate to buying cars and even buses. You won't regret it.

Meanwhile, if possible, start off by staying with a friend or relation till you raise enough money to rent a place of your own. Make sure to carry your weight by contributing to the rent, buying foodstuff in the house, etc.

If you don't like the idea of the Keke, here are some other high-yielding ideas for you:
1. Farming. However, in many parts of the country, security is now an issue.
2. Fishery. You can start small by using tanks behind your house.
3. Laundry / dry cleaning.
4. Car wash.
5. Barbing salon.
6. Poultry farm.
7. POS point.
8. UBER. You can start as a driver and arrange to get a vehicle on hire purchase.
9. Shawarma / small chops / fish grill.
10. Foodstuff merchandizing.

If you prefer to continue with the Okada spare parts business, relocate to places like Mowe/Asheshe/Arepo/Akute/Lambe/IIjoko etc in Ogun State. Rent is cheap and Okadas are still allowed to operate.

Best of luck!

mytime24:
Buy keke, use it urself

Folashade Shokunbi, the first female commercial interstate driver in Lagos.....

Ibukunoluwa (left), a female UBER driver in Lagos, with actress Ireti Doyle.....

Halima (from Shendam, Plateau State), driving a Dangote truck from Lagos to Yola.....

UBER GROUP PHOTO (left to right):
1. Jackie Omotalade, Head of Policy West Africa, UBER.
2. Labake Quadri, female driver-partner.
3. and Blessing Manuel-Smallvoice, female driver-partner.
4. Bukola Osuntunyi, Customer Experience Manager, Insignia.
5. Lola Kassim, General Manager, Uber West Africa,

at the "UBER For Her" Event in Lagos.....

Another female UBER driver in Lagos.....

Josephine, a luxurious bus driver for God Is Great Motors (GUO), running from Lagos to Ghana......

Stella Adele a female ‘Keke’ In Lagos.....

Latifat Alabi a Tricycle driver who plies Mushin and Yaba axis in Lagos.....

A female Lagos Waste Management truck driver.....

Blessing Onuh, female UBER driver in Lagos.....

Bisi, driver of BRT bus number 380....

Venita – a BRT bus driver....

Ayo Abdul-Waasi, a tricycle (keke) driver in Lagos...

PHOTO: Evelyn Solomon, a female Uber driver in Lagos...

PHOTO: Oluwakemi a female tricyclist...

PHOTO: Sekinat a female tricyclist at Tabon-tabon in Agege...

PHOTO: Oluwakemi Samuel, a fashion designer and transporter...

Oluwakemi Samuel, fashion designer and mother of 3, closed down her shop in January 2020 and opted to drive an interstate commercial bus. In the last one year, she has been ferrying passengers between Oju-Ore in Ogun State and Abule Egba in Lagos.

Before opting to sit behind the wheels of a commercial bus, Samuel was managing her shop where she made and sold clothes, and jewelleries for about 2 years. She turned to transportation because “people are not really sewing dresses or buying like that.” Nigeria’s economy has not been all rosy for a few years and people’s purchasing power has taken a massive hit as unemployment rates are spiking. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the situation, plunging the economy into the 2nd recession in less than 5 years.

43% of Nigeria’s approximately 209m people is living below the poverty line, figures by World Poverty Clock obtained March 24, 2021, showed. It means average Nigerians with acutely low purchasing power are struggling to feed as food inflation rises. However, the rich and poor must move around.

With her business having unencouraging patronage due to the harsh economic realities, she had to find another way. “(I thought) people that have not been able to feed will not be ready to buy jewellery or whatever,” Oluwakemi said. “But everybody must go out every day. Either looking for their daily bread or doing one thing or the other. So, definitely we get more income from the bus.”

Oluwakemi was introduced to commercial driving by her husband, Ayomide Samuel, an electrician , who disclosed they had to strategise to cater for their children and other family needs. “We just decided to go for a mini-bus so it will be a source of income if contracts do not come in,” Ayomide said. The couple got a minibus on hire purchase last year at N2.1m. Together, they pay N25,000 for the bus weekly.

Oluwakemi’s foray into public transportation challenges the status quo in a sector which is male-dominated over the years. Oftentimes, men occupy the road either as motorcyclists, tricyclists, bus drivers or truck drivers and are undebatable occupiers of top positions in the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). In recent times, the industry is witnessing the upsurge of women who are committed to succeeding in the profession.

Sekinat, a single mother of 2, is a tricyclist at Tabon-tabon in Agege. Unlike Oluwakemi, Sekinat said the situation makes her job more challenging. She wakes up as early as 4:00 am to make breakfast for her children and pack the lunch they will eat in school. “I don’t like them buying food to eat,” she said. She does not set out for the park until the school bus picks up the kids at about 6 am.

“When I first started this job, it was difficult, very difficult that at least in a month, I could not do without collecting drip,” Sekinat said. “But I just felt whoever wants to be somebody must not relent.” Sekinat started tricycling 2 years ago with the help of the unit chairman, Olaide Okadigbo, who trained women on how to drive tricycles and gave them tricycles to work with.

Sekinat started riding tricycles in September 2019. She did not own one until towards the end of 2020. Like Oluwakemi and her husband, she bought her fairly used tricycle on hire purchase at the rate of N650,000. Currently, she pays N10,200 to the owner of the tricycle weekly and will continue to do so for a period of nine months. Already, she has paid N250,000 in 3 months.

Despite the task of completing the payment, she feels her gender as a female rider puts her in a better stead against her male colleagues. This claim was corroborated by Ayomide, who said he earns lesser from driving the minibus he shares with his wife. “I (have) realised she makes more than I make,” Ayomide said “And I see that being a woman there is a chance they give to them.” Sekinat said she makes more than N10,000 daily and sometimes N15,000. From that, she buys fuel and pay daily security fee of N1000 for the tricycle

CHALLENGES OF FEMALE DRIVERS
But as women, there are major risks that come with the job, another tricyclist, Wunmi, said. She recounted her scariest moment as a tricyclist on 31 December 2020. “I dropped the passengers at a bus stop and parked to pick two guys as passengers, and a truck hit my tricycle from the back,” Wunmi said. “I didn’t even know that I can still stand on my two legs, I know that grace speaks for me. The grace of God.”

Wunmi started tricycling in October last year when her cleaning job was no longer sufficient to feed her and her child. From the financial help she got from her church and her brothers, she bought a fairly used tricycle, and a church member trained her how to ride it. From the money she makes from riding the tricycle, she hopes to open a grocery store so she can adequately take care of her family.

To these women, extortion and multiple levies paid to road unions are a source of constant headache. Moreover, the assumption of women being weak rears its head every now and then. Hence, they put up a strict attitude to fend off sexual harassment and other forms of aggression.

“I am coping but there are challenges like being wooed by fellow tricyclists, being harassed by men. There are a lot of things they do, but once anyone knows what she wants, there has to be a focus,” Sekinat said. “Some male riders rough handle female riders – like touching your buttocks and some are ready to sleep with you here – at the park – which shouldn’t be encouraged.”

The International Labour Organisation said in 1998 that some “occupations, like taxi drivers, health care workers, teachers, social workers, domestics in foreign countries, people working alone, especially in late night retail operations, are at higher risk than others of experiencing such violence.” ILO said women “are especially at risk”. These women are aware of the risks.

Ayomide said he has no problem with his wife doing commercial driving with him with all the said harassment.
However, Oluwakemi said she gets encouraged by her passengers, most often, she becomes a topic of discourse in the bus. Sekinat said she is excited when “People are always happy to see we females hustling and not sitting down doing prostitution or robbing, and not sitting for a man to give them (money).”

SOURCE: https://t.guardian.ng/features/women-surviving-by-driving-in-lagos-chaotic-transport-sector/

Wow! This is more than the usual extortion and corruption. Imagine having a wife and seven children all needing passports.

This is acutely undomesticated, congenitally convoluted and obnoxiously unrighteous vampirism!

EndBuhariNow:
yes I did.. to make the matter worst they will take ur phones from u before you enter so u will not video them...

OK thanks. If you have a contact there, please share via email:

UBER99sam@gmail.com

MISSCONGENIALITY:
The one in Enugu

Which passport office did you use?

Abolarin91:
Eyah, sorry, it everywhere, I am fortunate to have mine around February last year. I collected it within 5 hours

Strangely enough, someone informed me that ALL the core northern states' passport offices have booklets but some deliberately hoard them (for the purpose of getting bribed for "Express" service).

If you need it so urgently, go back to the passport office and ask for the PCO (Passport Control Officer). Explain your plight to him or her and plead for assistance. You may or may not be asked to pay extra, depending on the individual's moral sensitivity/conscience.

Best of luck!

fragrant:
I captured in Kaduna. Up till now same story, no booklet and I have a journey in June.

Many thanks. If you don't mind kindly share your link via email:

UBER99sam@gmail.com

notoriousbabe:
ABJ at their headquarters with a very strong link

Which passport office did you use?

caprini1:
The same passport i did for my whole household within a month? May be it depends on the state you are.

The Easter Monday jailbreak at Owerri Correctional Centre and attacks on Imo State Police Command HQ in Owerri and a military base in Ukwuorji on Owerri-Onitsha Expressway have remained the most vicious onslaught on the state and its citizens since its creation in 1976.

Gunmen attacked the correctional centre around 1am and freed 1,884 inmates. Before attacking the facility (which shares boundary with Government House and the police command HQ), the attackers sang songs at the Government House roundabout for over 30 minutes. The attackers reportedly told the inmates, “Go home. Jesus Christ has risen. You have no reason to be here again.”

Investigation revealed the attackers, armed with sophisticated weapons, overpowered soldiers keeping guard on the route to the centre and seized their service rifles. Deputy Controller, Owerri Custodian Centre, Seye Olukoya told the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, when he visited, that the attackers disarmed the military men and used dynamite to destroy the administrative dept of the facility before gaining entry to free the inmates.

On gaining access into the facility, the gunmen vandalised the CCTV and burnt the record profiling all the serving and ex-inmates before proceeding into the cells to free the inmates. Done with their assignment, the gunmen torched and vandalised all the vehicles on the premises before proceeding to the police command headquarters, which is a stone’s throw from the correctional centre, to set it ablaze.

Finding by our correspondent revealed over 100 inmates followed the attackers to the police command headquarters to set it ablaze and released almost all the suspects in custody at the State Criminal Investigation Dept. The attackers also razed no fewer than 50 vehicles at the command HQ before fleeing. But what baffled most Nigerians is how the gunmen operated without any form of resistance from security agents.

Investigation revealed when the attackers got to the police command HQ, they immediately took over the control/communications unit and disconnected all gadgets. They did this in order to have a smooth operation. After freeing over 600 suspects, they proceeded to a military base in Ukwuorji on Owerri-Onitsha Expressway. On sighting the attackers, who operated in over 10 vehicles, the military men ran into the bush and occupied the villages of their host community of Eziama Obiator in the Mbaitoli LGA of the state.

Unfortunately, one of the soldiers, identified simply as Zuki, who hailed from Umuopkara in the Nkwerre LGA of the state, was apprehended by the gunmen, who locked him up in one of the military operational vehicles and torched it. They supervised the burning to death of the soldier before they fled after they burnt 4 other operational vehicles.

In the attacks, which many have described as a huge embarrassment to the Nigerian security hierarchy, 2 persons lost their lives. One soldier was burnt by the gunmen and an inmate of the correctional centre died as a result of stampede. Shortly after the attacks, immediate past IG of Police, Mohammed Adamu, alleged that operatives of the Eastern Security Network linked to the proscribed IPOB masterminded the attacks, but the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, said aggrieved politicians in the state sponsored the attacks.

Retired Asst Director of the Dept of State Services, Dennis Amachree, said Imo State Govt and the Commissioner of Police in the state, Nasiru Muhammed, were informed 3 times before the attack. Speaking on a TV programme, the ex-DSS director said, “There was enough intelligence and enough actionable intelligence. Actionable in the sense that it allows space to execute it; one week ahead of the event and of course 72 hours before the event and then 48 hours before the event.

“So, 3 times, the Nigeria Police was informed by DSS that this is going to happen because some suspects that are being relocated around the area were found surveying the prisons and the police HQ but you know in our lackadaisical way, when the intelligence came, they threw it by the side and when something happens, everybody runs around.” Amachree stressed that the state governor was aware the prison and the police HQ were about to be attacked.

An Owerri resident, Ori Martins said, “The recent attacks are really heartbreaking. There are questions to ask, one: how did the hoodlums gain entry into a highly secure public facility like the police command, attack it and harmlessly escape without any of them being caught or brought down? This is an absurdity. It does not make sense to me! As far as I am concerned, the police authorities in Imo State should investigate their rank and file for complicity.

“Number 2, the gunmen still stopped over at the correctional centre and freed inmates without any hindrance. This is magical. And I ask, what is the distance between Okigwe Road and the command from the 32 Field Artillery Brigade, Obinze? What were those at radio rooms or communications rooms doing? Let us take for granted that they ran for their lives. What of their private phones? You see, the security authorities in Imo State must tell Imolites and indeed all Nigerians what really went amiss.”

Former publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, Jones Onwuasoanya, challenged the police to tell Nigerians how many pieces of ammunition were taken away. He said, “My sympathy is with those who think this is nothing. Police haven’t told us how many pieces of ammunition were carted away by these guys from the prisons, to the police HQ, to the army checkpoint they set ablaze. One can only imagine what their armoury looks like after the operation.”

A public commentator in the state, Izuchukwu Akwarandu, said, “The attacks are highly condemnable. It goes a long way to show how porous the state is. I sympathise with the security agencies over these recent attacks, which seem to have overwhelmed them. However it is important they go back to the drawing board. Investigations must be thorough and detailed. Speculations must reduce to avoid unnecessary tensions. Government must stand out and restore confidence. People are afraid. With increasing attacks across the state, nobody knows the next place to hit. Government must be proactive.”

An Owerri based legal practitioner, Anthony Ibe, said Nigeria had turned into one of the hotbeds of crises in Africa. “Violent clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers all over the country, especially in the South-East region and agitation for seccession by IPOB all deserve urgent intervention and a multifaceted approach from all stakeholders. One fundamental cause of this dilemma is the absence of good governance in the polity.

“The government of the day has failed in its constitutional duty, which is to protect lives and ensure welfare of the citizens. Ending violent conflicts and building sustainable peace require complex strategies, which include cooperation with other stakeholders, good governance, transparency, accountability and respect for the federal character principle.”

National President of Igbo National Conference, Chilos Godsent, said the attacks called for concern of the Igbo. “The Igbo National Council Worldwide has noted with a heavy heart the unprovoked, wanton and coordinated attacks on the federal correctional centre and police force HQ, Owerri, by yet-to-be identified gunmen on Monday, April 5, 2021. The most terrifying aspect of the devilish attacks was the release of over 1,844 prison inmates into the society. While we condemn the attacks in totality, we also urge the FG to detribalise the process of recruitment, training and promotion of Nigerian security operatives.”

National President, Ohanaeze Youth Council, Igboayaka O. Igboayaka, blamed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) for the insecurity in the country. He said, “I use this opportunity to call on well-meaning individuals close to those in the corridors of power to advice Mr President, who has stretched the elastic limit of Nigeria’s unity much to its end where it will cut.

“Unfortunately, today the most senior and most qualified and experienced DIG, Moses Jitoboh, has been retired just to pave the way to qualify an unqualified person. It’s a pity the new IGP has boasted that he will stop secession agitation in Nigeria, but knows that his appointment against Mr Moses Jitoboh, who is more qualified than him, is part of the reasons why agitation for Nigeria’s disintegration has increased to a large proportion."

PDP's Publicity Secretary in Imo State, Ogubundu Nwadike, condemned the attacks and said the state government had failed in protecting the people. “In all sincerity, the attacks are most condemnable. They are attacks on the collective interest of the country and Imo State. Damage was on the national commonwealth, while illegal release of prisoners was a felony against the security tissue and fibre of Nigeria and our territorial integrity. In many respects, it’s a strong testament and evidence of the severe threat to the unity, peace, and progress of the country.”

Senior Special Asst to the Governor on Print Media, Modestus Nwamkpa, however said government was on top of the situation. He said, “Well, the attacks were unfortunate as they were barbaric and ungodly. What happened should be condemned by all irrespective of political leaning. The matter should not be politicised or sensationalised by anybody, but rather, it calls for patriotic cooperation and support to the governor in his efforts at tackling the issue."

SOURCE (abridged): https://punchng.com/how-hoodlums-overrun-military-police-turn-resurrection-monday-to-day-of-anarchy-in-owerri/