₦airaland Forum

As soon as the midwife placed the newborn baby in HappinessMonday’s arms, she gazed into her baby’s eyes, taking in the tiny features and soft skin.

But before she could even hold her close, the nurse swiftly took the baby away, handing her to a stranger who had been lurking in the shadows with some wads of Naira notes in exchange for the newborn.

As you read this piece, the midwife and mother of the newborn baby are cooling their heels in the custody of the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command Monitoring Squad.

Their arrest, as gathered, followed an intelligence report about a building that serves as a birth house in Rumuokwurusi town in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, where newborn babies were allegedly sold.

Consequently, the Command boss, CP Olatunji Disu, directed the Commander of the Monitoring Squad, CSP Grace Wonwu, to unearth the baby sale gang. Police sources hinted that when the policemen arrived at the house on July 6, 2024, a 17-year-old pale-looking pregnant teenager whose baby was allegedly to be sold upon delivery was rescued, alongside the woman whose newly born baby was sold.

In this interview with the mother of the newborn baby that was sold, she revealed that she was paid N400,000 for the sale of her baby. When asked why she volunteered to sell her baby, the woman, who identified herself as Happiness Monday, blamed her action on poverty and hunger. Without access to education, employment, or social support, she said she was left with no other option but to sell her baby.

Her confession: “I came from Akwa-Ibom to hustle in Port Harcourt. I was living on my own until a flood chased me out. I started living with my man friend. When I was pregnant, he asked me to leave the pregnancy. Later, he started accusing me of sleeping around with the pregnancy and denied paternity of the baby.

“In September 2023, he told me he was going for a job outside Port Harcourt but never returned. When I went to ask his mother of his whereabouts, she told me that she had not been on talking terms with her son for years. She said since her son didn’t accept the pregnancy, she won’t accept it either. Later, when the house rent expired, I went to an uncompleted building to stay. By the time I came back from antenatal one day, the owner of the uncompleted building had put a gate there and locked it. It was at that point I went to tell this nurse (pointing to the midwife) to help me get someone that would take my baby, since I didn’t have shelter or money to feed and clothe the baby. She told me she had somebody that would take the baby for N400,000. Immediately I was delivered of the baby, someone came and the baby was handed over to the person. I didn’t see the person’s face. I only told the nurse to assure me that the person taking the baby would take care of her and would not kill her. She said the nurse that brought the buyer said the person was a Pastor’s wife.

“Out of the N400,000, I rented an apartment, used some to pay the debt owed, and the balance of N160,000 was kept in the nurse’s account with the intention of establishing a business. It was because of this same hardship that made me take my three older children to the mother of their father back in the village. He left me for another woman because he didn’t pay my dowry.”

On her part, the 31-year-old midwife, Success Igwe, said that was the first time she was involved in the sale of a baby. She said she gave out the baby for N450,000 and collected only N50,000 meant for delivery charges and handed the rest to Happiness.

Asked what the pregnant teenager was doing at her birth house, she said, “Her sister brought her on Thursday, July 4, 2024. She said she should be with me because she was going to a convention. When I asked if she was aware the girl was pregnant, she said yes. I had to give her some medicine because she was running a temperature when she arrived. It was two days later that I was arrested.”

However, the pale-looking teenage girl could not express herself in English. She only identified herself as Margret Okonide and said she came from Akwa-Ibom. Efforts made to gather more facts from her failed due to the communication barrier.

benuejosh:
FAKE NEWS

benuejosh:
FAKE NEWS

benuejosh:
FAKE NEWS

Hundreds of travelers are currently stranded at the Suleja axis of the Abuja-Kaduna highway in Niger state.

This is as a result of protesters blocking the free flow of movement on a section of the road.

An Abuja resident, Abubakar Ibrahim, who was billed to travel to his home state of Kaduna, told Daily Trust around 11 40 am on Thursday, that the vehicle he boarded had spent over two hours around Gauraka junction.

“I left Zuba town where I boarded the vehicle before 10 am, but we have been made to stop here around Gauraka junction where we have spent about two hours. Protesting youths have blocked the highway.”

He said the gridlock had extended to some kilometeres, covering between Aluminum Village and nearby Zuma military barracks.

“There are few policemen standing from afar, but they can do nothing about the road block as the number of the youths is beyond their control.”

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, on Tuesday, appealed to aggrieved youths planning the forthcoming #EndBadGovernance protests slated for August to give the Federal Government more time to fix the wobbling economy.

The first-class monarch described the economic hardship being felt in Nigeria as a “global phenomenon” hence the President Bola Tinubu administration should be given time to correct the inflationary anomalies.

“The agitation is real, we have a lot of suffering in the country but not only in Nigeria; it is a global phenomenon,” Oba Ogunwusi said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme shortly after he met with traditional rulers in the Southern region of the country.

“We must ensure that we appeal (to protesters) so that they can give the Federal Government a little bit of time to correct since it is a global thing.”


He admitted the people’s right to protest but cautioned against the destruction of public and private assets during the planned rallies, saying the people would be the ones to suffer if such assets were burnt.

The planned protests against economic hardship, which is gaining traction on social media, have been scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation as well as the nation’s capital Abuja in August.

Prices of food and basic commodities have gone through the roof in the last months, as Nigerians battle one of the country’s worst inflation rates and economic crises sparked by the government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex windows.

The police, military and the Department of State Services had warned against Kenya-styled protests. Politicians, who surmised that the planned rallies might end up like the EndSARS demonstrations of October 2020, have continued to appeal to youths to shelve the planned rallies but the young people remain unfazed, doggedly insisting that the protests will hold.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has said that poverty and hard times have always been major concern of Nigerians from time immemorial.

MURIC noted that inflation was global and that hunger was common around the world.

The group described the proposed nationwide hunger protest as an invitation to the mother of all hunger.

It said the organisers should rather toe the path of patience and dialogue.

MURIC made this known in a statement signed on Tuesday, by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

“We warn clearly, categorically and emphatically that what the organisers call hunger protest is an invitation to the mother of all hunger.

“Instead of unleashing anger on the government and its paraphernalia, the organisers should engage the government in dialogue bearing in mind the consequences of violent protests around the world.

“Two other things that should be considered are the fact that inflation is global and hunger is common around the world.

“Nigeria is affected because we are not an island. The second consideration is the antiquity of hardship in Nigeria.

“Poverty and hard times have always been major concern of Nigerians from time immemorial. It is therefore too hasty and unfair to hang it all on a regime that is barely one year old,” part of the statement read.

The Police Command in Yobe State has raised concerns about a potential infiltration of the planned nationwide protest by Boko Haram insurgents.

DSP Dungus Abdulkarim, the Command’s spokesman, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, indicating that foreign mercenaries might be involved in attempts to disrupt the protest and cause harm.

Abdulkarim urged individuals intending to join the protest to exercise caution, citing intelligence that suggests a plot to use the demonstration as a cover for violence and destruction.

“As Yobe state recovers from insurgency, the Commissioner of Police, CP Garba Ahmed, acknowledges citizens’ constitutional rights to peaceful assembly.

“While we alert citizens to sinister motives, even peaceful protests at this time may be ill-timed.


“Recent insurgency activities in Gujba LGA, including an improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion, have raised concerns.

“We are unprepared to face additional security challenges,” the statement highlighted.

The statement added that the Commissioner of Police, CP Garba Ahmed while recognizing the citizens’ right to peaceful assembly, warned that even well-intentioned protests could be problematic given the current security climate.

“We encourage protesters to cooperate with the Police, obey the law, and adhere to global best practices for peaceful assembly.

“We are committed to working with all to promote peaceful expression and maintain public order,” the statement concluded.

The Arewa Youth Assembly, AYA, has pleaded with billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote to respect and obey Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL as the country’s regulatory body.

The group reminded Dangote that before the establishment of his refinery the NNPCL, NUPRC and NMDPRA had been existing as regulatory bodies.

“It will be very selfish for Dangote to make them bend protocols to serve his personal interest,” Arewa youth said in a press conference addressed by its Speaker, Mohammed Salihu Danlami n Abuja on Sunday.

According to the youth group, the billionaire businessman should know these are sectors dealing with regulations and should try to stand by the rules and nothing more.

“Even the Dangote Groups, he heads has its own rules and regulations and all stakeholders must adhere to them.

“Dangote from our findings wants to detect the Prices crude should be sold to him which is against the principle of world best practice. He wants the Bonny Light crude to be given to him at a rate he wants and wants the NUPRC to selfishly comply with his selfish ageNda to force the IOCs to be giving him all the Bonny Light crude oil forgetting it’s a willing buyer-willing-seller relationship.

“More of our findings show he wants NMDPRA not to license anyone else to bring in product. They said no! He blackmails them and is trying to incite Nigerians against NMDPRA, that they are giving license to marketers who bring in substandard products into the country.

“We are calling on the National Assembly to make public the Laboratory results from his own refinery to the public because information we are getting from different quarters shows the Product is substandard.

“We know Mr Dangote has been operating all his life in an industry that doesn’t have regulation, but the Oil/Energy industry has rules and regulations. He should come down from his horse so all parties can work for the interest of our nation unless he has an ulterior motive of trying to scuttle the administration of Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“In specific terms, We stand to make it clear to the public that the Nigerian Government is only after Excellence. Dangote should be a yardstick of quality and stop parading up and down for his selfish desire. We demand that Dangote apologizes to the government and other business competitors for deforming their character or face the law.”

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has asked youths of Niger Delta extraction to file out and take part in the planned peaceful protest against bad governance slated to commence on August 1.

President of the IYC Worldwide, Dr. Alaye Theophilus, made the call in a statement made available to Vanguard.

He was reacting to statements issued by the Chief of Army Staff, Inspector General of Police, state governors, ministers, and other top government functionaries asking Nigerians not to stage any protest.

The IYC president said Nigerians had at various times, from the colonial era to the present dispensation, protested to register their displeasure against bad governance and wondered why the present administration is kicking against citizens’ rights to express their dissatisfaction over the current hardship in the country.

He recalled how the APC government rode to power in 2015 on the crest of protests against the then Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led federal government for its inability to tackle rising insecurity, unemployment, and corruption.

According to him, protest is a universal right of citizens to draw attention of those in authority to examine their conduct, programmes, and policies and tailor them for the country’s overall development.

“The hardship faced by the people of the Niger Delta, particularly those at the hinterlands, is becoming unbearable as a litre of fuel now sells for over N2,000, one pure water for N100, and other essential commodities have gone beyond the reach of the people.

“Sudden deaths have become a common occurrence in rural areas due to hunger and untold suffering,” he stated.

Dr Theophilus advised security agents to be cautious in their approach and urged them not to be overzealous and brutal while monitoring the protest in order to maintain law and order.

Occupy Nigeria protest didn’t turn violent because Jonathan didn’t approve use of force: Ex-SSS director

“No matter how good their intentions are, I believe this protest will be hijacked eventually.’’

An ex-director of the State Security Services, Mike Ejiofor, has said 2012 Occupy Nigeria protests did not turn violent because the then president Goodluck Jonathan did not approve the use of force.

Mr Ejifor, who appeared as a guest on Friday’s Arise TV Morning Show, explained this while discussing the planned protest against economic hardship slated for between August 1 and August 10.

According to Mr Ejifor, how a protest turns out depends on how the present government reacts to such protest, He stated that the 2012 protest did not turn violent because of Mr Jonathan’s body language, explaining that the country’s situation in 2012 was not as bad as now.

He noted that though the citizens might have good intentions with the protest and within the right to do so, the protest would eventually be hijacked and as a result he would continue to plead with the organisers to shelve it.

Mr Ejifor added that they were afraid that the protest would be hijacked because while some people were against the government and decided to protest, others who were in support of the government for their own personal interest and not because of national interest may represent their own interest which may cause violence during the protest.

Mr Ejifor said, “The 2012 protest didn’t turn violent, one, because of the body language of the sitting president then. He allowed everything to go and the situation was not as bad as what we have now. Now, it can be exploited because people are hungry, desperate and want to use anything to vent their anger. It is their legitimate right to protest as enshrined in the constitution. But I think they (organisers of protest) did us a lot of good by giving sufficient notice to the government of their intentions to go on protest and you can see the grounds of appeals from various stakeholders and interest groups appealing to them to shelve the plan.

“No matter how good their intentions are, I believe this protest will be hijacked eventually. Looking at their demands, we will all agree that there is economic hardship in the country, there is hunger and anger in the land, but again people who are more hungry now will explore the opportunity to loot people’s shops and it will eventually turn violent and that’s why we will continue to appeal to the organisers to shelve the plans and give government time to look at it. Some people might tell you that this APC government is not doing well, others will tell you that this is the best government.”

Mr Ejifor further said that nobody said youths should not protest but if they protest and it turns violent, the government has the statutory mandate of protecting the state and the innocent citizens.

“The point remains that people have the right to protest as long as it doesn’t turn violent. The ordinary man in the street also needs to know what is happening because some people do not even have electricity to look at the nation to know what is going on. I think the president needs to directly speak to the people, maybe make a national broadcast, this will help in relaxing the situation.”

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the military warned that it would not allow any form of violence during the planned protest, stating that it uncovered schemes by dishonest people to hijack the protest and incite violence against defenceless Nigerians and establishments.

Chinkoalhaji34:
Finally, some positive movement!

It's high time we start utilizing our resources wisely.

Dangote is showing us the way; while others are busy complaining, he’s making moves that can benefit the economy.

Imported crude oil? It’s a strategic play to stabilize our market. Let’s see how the critics will spin this one.

We need more innovators like Dangote who aren’t afraid to take risks for the greater good of Nigeria.

Islie:
https://saharareporters.com/2024/07/26/nigerias-dangote-refinery-begins-reselling-imported-crude-oil-amid-domestic-crisis#google_vignette

Nlfpmod

The National Secretary of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Surajudeen Basiru, said Wednesday that Nigeria’s inflation rate, as given by the state-owned National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is exaggerated.

The lawyer and former senator made this claim on the Channels Television’s primetime show, ‘Politics Today’, on Wednesday evening.

He said it when confronted with the NBS data, insisting that Nigeria’s inflation rate had slowed down over the past four months.

“I am aware that NBS is currently working on analysing and rebasing our GDP, and when the figures come out, then you can now be talking of a correct figure.

“I know that there are inflation challenges, but they are not up to that level,” he said.

The top APC officer argued that the NBS data shown to him did not reflect the agency’s current inflation rate.

NBS’ latest report on inflation said Nigeria’s inflation rate stood at 34.19 per cent as of June.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that with the June report, Nigeria’s inflation rate rose for the fifth consecutive month as Nigerians grappled with increased cost of living.

The Nigerian government has been scrambling to implement extraordinary measures to address the relentless rise in food prices, but these efforts have yet to yield any significant impact.

Earlier this month, the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, confirmed that the President Bola Tinubu administration has suspended duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of major food items such as beans, wheat, and husked brown rice.

Mr Basiru, who served as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Osun State, blamed the current economic hardship and food insecurity on global events such as the Middle East crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He argued that Nigerians are not the only victims of the economic hardship, maintaining that it is a global problem.

Mr Basiru also spoke about the upcoming nationwide ’10 days of rage’ protest organised by young Nigerians, which will take place from 1 to 10 August, to express their grievances over hunger and insecurity in the country.

The APC chief said the protest is politically motivated and has nothing to do with the economy.

However, he said President Bola Tinubu’s administration was working hard to address issues regarding inflation and pleaded with Nigerians to be patient instead of embarking on the “10 days of rage” planned protest on 1 August.

Pat Utomi cautions APC
Responding to Mr Basiru’s claims, Pat Utomi, a political economist and professor who also appeared on the TV programme, cautioned the ruling APC against stifling the voice of Nigerians.

He advised that people be allowed to exercise their right to protest.

He said protests are allowed in every democratic setting, encouraging freedom of expression.

However, Mr Basiru insisted that the APC has the right to query the basis of the protest.

He also challenged Mr Utomi to bring workable solutions to address Nigeria’s woes instead of encouraging Nigerians to protest.

Mr Utomi said part of the solution includes allowing Nigerians to work together to move the country forward. He also said Nigeria underutilises its intellectual resources in governance.

He proposed reforms in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and advised the government to cut down the cost of governance and channel the resources to alleviate hunger.