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A patient who died on Wednesday afternoon during treatment at a hospital in Abuja is suspected to have been infected with Lassa fever. It was gathered that the deceased, Joy Nana Bashir, was brought to the hospital on Sunday from Kagini, a local community off Kubwa – Zuba expressway, where she resided.

Our reporter who visited the hospital around 4:00pm today, witnessed how the hospital’s Department of Accident and Emergency was put on isolation, with a cleaner fully dressed in mask, fumigating the frontage of the building. The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Muideen Lasisi, who was seen busy and shuttling between the department and hospital morgue where the victim was deposited, also confirmed the death. He said the sample of the deceased’s blood was taken and sent to the zonal office of the National Centre for Diseases Control in Abuja’s city centre for examination.

He further explained that while the incident that resulted to her death is still under suspicion as it is yet to be confirmed as at the time of the visit, all the patients admitted at the department have been evacuated to a safer and dedicated alternative building, just as a unit there was curved out for any incoming patient with likely similar problem.

He said all medical staff that attended to the deceased were categorised into three, adding that those that fall into the first category were already put under normal drugs for the disease treatment. Dr. Lasisi said a similar incident was recorded in the hospital last week after a patient had died but who was later confirmed to be positive, after blood sample taken from her remains was examined. Our reporter also saw a family member of the deceased while being advised by the hospital’s director to hasten the burial arrangement of the late woman.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/suspected-lassa-fever-patient-dies-in-abuja-hospital.html

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Toh...they better pass some leaders...safe journey

* as Senate okays NCS’ N238bn 2020 budget

The Senate yesterday approved N238bn budget of the Nigeria Customs Service for the 2020 fiscal year. This followed the presentation of the Service 2020’ budget report by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs, Francis Alimikhena. Out of the approved sum, N98bn was voted for personnel cost, N15bn for overhead, and N123bn was approved for capital. Details of the budget showed that N128m was set aside for television sets; and N30m for chairs and tables. Waste disposal equipment got N3.1bn; scanners, power generating sets, N927mn

The service will also spend N577m on boreholes and other water facilities; N63 million on the purchase of refrigerators; N173.7m for safe, file cabinets, cupboards and wall clocks while N74m will be spent on photocopiers. Before the budget was passed, some senators had dismissed the committee report as lacking details and opposed the budget passage. They said despite getting 7% of its revenue as operational cost, the Customs still collected money from the federation account.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan warned that the Senate would take punitive measures against agencies of government that were not up to date with their audited accounts. Lawan said it was a “sad commentary” that MDAs had not been submitting their audited accounts to the National Assembly, describing the act as unacceptable.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/customs-to-spend-n577m-on-boreholes-n128m-on-tvs.html

President Muhammadu Buhari, Tuesday, officially launched the Nigerian Visa Policy 2020 to support the attainment of a globally competitive economy for the country. This was contained in a statement by Mrs Grace Njoku, Chief Information Officer in the Ministry of Interior. The President, while performing the presentation at the State House, Abuja, said the initiative would attract innovation, specialised skills and knowledge from abroad to complement local capacity as a pathway to achieving the Security, Economy and Transparency agenda of his administration. According to him, “the policy would improve the business environment, attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and boost tourism, without compromising National Security”.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, while announcing the new policy at the Aswan Forum in Egypt, last November, stated that: “We in Nigeria have already taken the strategic decision to bring down barriers that have hindered the free movement of our people within the continent by introducing the issuance of visa at the point of entry into Nigeria to all persons holding passports of African countries with effect from January 2020.”

Earlier, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, said that the operation of the Nigerian Visa Policy is cardinal to the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria, adding that the new regime is expected to boost economic activities in the areas of tourism, aviation, entertainment, commerce and other areas where Nigeria has comparative advantage over other African countries, noting that it also presents Nigeria with the opportunity to apply the principle of reciprocity with her visa policy in the nation’s bilateral and multilateral relations. He also said that the policy would impact positively on the nation’s economy by providing jobs for the people as well as lifting Nigeria’s teeming population out of poverty in line with the vision of the present administration to take 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.

“The NVP 2020 introduces special visas for Nigerians in diaspora who either by birth, marriage or nationalization have assumed dual citizenship. Such category of Nigerians will now be able to make use of the passports of their adopted countries to visit Nigeria without the need for short stay visa”, the Minister said.

Ogbeni Aregbesola, who emphasised that adequate control measures have been provided both before and after entry into Nigeria, called on Nigerians in Diaspora to respect the provisions of the immigration laws of their new countries as well as those of Nigeria. He further said that the implementation of the NPV2020 will require collaboration with several MDAs involved in diplomacy, trade, investment, education, tourism, manufacturing, monetary policies, security, intelligence and many more.

The Minister, who expressed the commitment of his Ministry to the implementation of the NVP2020 in view of its supervisory role on the Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS), congratulated the Service for the landmark policy and also invited all prospective visitors, investors and residents to a new and refreshing experience in Nigeria and with Nigeria Immigration Service.

Also speaking, the Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, disclosed that, to ensure strict compliance with the conditions for the issuance of the visa, the Service had already put in place, a technological hub which he called, Migrants Information and Data Analysis (MIDAS). He expressed optimism that the automated system will check bribery and corruption in line with the policy thrust of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Administration as well as prevent infiltration of the nation’s economy by criminals and terrorists.

Some of the features of NVP 2020 include; Visa On Arrival for African Union nationals, increase in the classes of visas from 6 to 79, creation of visa codes for all classes of visa and introduction of e-visas. The new visa policy is expected to take Nigeria some steps up in the Africa Visa Openness Report published annually by the African Development Bank (AfDB) which would be a further boost on the global Ease Of Doing Business league table.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/nigeria-launches-new-visa-policy-creates-new-visa-categories.html

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The Acting Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan, has warned workers to stop thinking that there is job security in the civil service. She spoke in Abuja yesterday at the commencement of an induction training programme for 700 newly recruited civil servants.

She said: “It is commonly adduced that there is job security in the civil service and as such things can be taken for granted. I wish to warn that such attitude or approach to work will only prevent an officer from attaining his or her maximum potential.

“My charge to you is, ignore such attitude or mindset and work hard, go the extra mile, engage in self-development, acquire skills, be courageous and don’t forget to ask questions or seek clarification in the course of your duties.”

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/stop-thinking-theres-job-security-in-civil-service-hocsf.html

With the commencement of the implementation of the revised Value Added Tax (VAT) at 7.5 percent at the weekend, the Federal Government has given a new impetus to its recent non-oil revenue generation drive in recent times. Apparently, the Federal Government has not left anyone in doubt about its determination to substantially reduce budget deficits by exploring revenue opportunities in the non-oil sector to improve the capital budgets performance and by so doing make the Nigerian economic space more conducive to entrepreneurship and improved welfare of the citizenry.

For instance, apart from the increased VAT rate, the fiscal authorities have mulled the idea of introducing telecom tax, toll gate fees, e-commerce tax, hike in vehicle import tariffs, removal of fuel subsidy and lately embarked on legislative steps to update provisions of major tax legislations amongst sundry options being explored to raise additional revenue to meet growing expenditure demands.. Specifically, the most broad-scoped in the legislative initiatives was the Finance Bill 2019 which President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law on January 13, 2020. The Act seeks to amend seven extant fiscal laws, namely the Customs and Excise Tariff Tax Act, the Petroleum Profit Tax Act, the Company Income Tax Act (CITA), the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA), the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, the Stamp Duty Act and the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Act in order to enhance their revenue generation potential for the country.

While many analysts have identified many positive intentions of the government in enacting the Finance Act, they also believe that aggressive pursuit of revenue without taking due cognizance of the macroeconomic constraints facing businesses and consumers (income earners) will invariably hurt the economy and reverse its recent slow growth trajectory after a depressive era.

Speaking to Daily Trust on the fiscal steps by the government and implications for revenue growth, a tax consultant and seasoned tax administrator, Mr. Mark Dike, noted that tax administration could be likened to chicken and egg relationship, noting that “it is sad that over the years, millions of ordinary taxpayers have not been enjoying the benefits of tax compliance while the so called wealthy Nigerians avoid taxes and yet enjoy all the benefits associated with tax payment.

Dike, a former President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CITN), who recalled the various policy measures undertaken by successive administrations to raise revenue through taxation, lamented that with just a little over 200 billionaires paying taxes while several thousand others default, the preponderance of generated revenue from taxes was being used to finance the wealthy in the society without taking care of the basic needs of the citizenry. The tax expert said: “There is no gainsaying the fact that taxes, especially non-oil taxes, are key to Nigeria’s sustainable development. It is like the chicken and egg story. Without taxes, there can be no development. But the problem we have is, those who pay taxes don’t enjoy the benefits here.

What you have is a situation where the wealthy, or what I call ‘flight by night wealthy people” that don’t pay taxes are the ones enjoying the benefits through contract awards and patronages in one form or the other that are not adding value to the economy. “We have amended the various tax laws and applicable tax rates on personal income and those of enterprises, yet the effects of such measures are being hardly felt today.

So, if government wants to be fair to taxpayers, it should ensure that additional revenues being raked in from these taxes are committed to projects that will bear directly on the well-being of ordinary Nigerians”, Dike advised. Citing the experiences in the Niger Delta region to justify his viewpoints, the tax expert canvassed tax justice as a fiscal imperative for government in that tax “induces demand by citizens for accountability, performance and fairness from government.”

Speaking on the position of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the Director General, Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, while commending the two arms of government on the swift passage of the 2020 budget, noted that the budget deficit continued to rise just as foreign debt had been estimated to increase by 64 percent based on the 2019 budget in the 2020 fiscal year. The industrialist, who quoted figures of the estimated variances in the 2019 and 2020 budget deficits, capital budget provisions vis-a- vis recurrent expenditures and the debt stock, expressed the association’s position that the GDP growth projection of 2.93% was highly “optimistic” but achievable.

On the fiscal measures to improve non-oil revenue, Ambassador Olukanni said the organized Private Sectpr (OPS) group appreciated government’s recognition that the performance of Value Added Tax is dependent on the level of economic activity, adding that as such, the group wishes to re-emphasize its position “that government’s policy focus should be on increasing the level of economic activity as a way to generate revenue from taxes.”

According to him, NACCIMA notes that “the government has adopted a oil price benchmark of US$57 per barrel, a daily oil production estimate of 2.18 mbpd and an exchange rate of N305 per US dollar for 2020, warning that this statement appears at odds with Nigeria’s current crude oil output at 1.69 million barrels per day and contradicts the position of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources which assures the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) of Nigeria’s commitment to comply with OPEC’s new production quota of 1.774million barrels per day.

In his concluding remarks, the former Nigerian diplomat, maintained NACCIMA believed “that expanding the tax net, implementing tax reform, and ensuring robust tax administration while promoting and facilitating productive economic activity will contribute greatly to increasing government revenues with less negative impact on the economy”. Speaking on the tax measures, the immediate past chairman, the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs, (NASME), Lagos Chapter, Mr. Solomon Aderoju, said that though SMEs with less than N25 million annual turnover threshold were exempted from VAT payment, they will still be affected indirectly, as some of their major raw materials may be sourced from big suppliers who are subjected to payment of new VAT rate.

According to him, the only way out for SMEs is to source their raw materials and other input from other similar SMEs, which may not be possible at all times. Aderoju stressed that doubtlessly, the increase in all taxes will have negative effect on the economy. There will be increase in the cost of production, rate of inflation, among others.

The SME entrepreneur advised that “as part of fiscal measures to mitigate the effect of tax burden on SMEs nationwide, government should resolve the issue of infrastructure deficit, improve the ease of doing business, create new industrial and capacity building skills development centres and promote the marketability of locally produced goods.”

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/fgs-new-revenue-at-all-cost-drive-will-hurt-economy-analysts.html

President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his good wishes to President Xi Jinping and citizens of the People’s Republic of China over the epidemic of coronavirus. Buhari, in a statement yesterday by his media aide, Garba Shehu, said Nigeria stood by China in this difficult moment. He said China’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus had been exemplary as well as the country’s collaboration with international agencies and other countries on the matter.

Buhari, who said China had been exceptionally supportive of Nigeria and Africa, especially in recent years, noting that it was important to let China know that Nigeria and her citizens were also standing by them during this outbreak. “With all the efforts being put in, we know that it is only a matter of time before this nightmare passes,” Buhari said.

He thanked Nigerians for their hospitality towards the Chinese nationals in the country and for not letting the coronavirus outbreak create any disturbance or disrupt the peaceful coexistence between “us and them.” He prayed God comforts the Chinese and others who had lost family members and loved ones to the disease.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/coronavirus-nigeria-stands-by-china-buhari.html

Between January 2015 and June 2019, the federal government under President Buhari spent over N556 billion on oil pipeline repairs and maintenance across the country. This figure was contained in the monthly financial and operations reports released by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Analysis done by TheCable showed that within the time covered, the pipelines in the country were vandalised a total of 8,353 times.

These vandalism incidents, according to NNPC reports in five years, were recorded in Mosimi (Ogun state), Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Warri and Gombe. President Buhari should work directly with states and local governments to find a common solution to pipeline vandalism. The cooperation between President Buhari, states and local governments could eliminate N556 billion spent on oil pipeline repairs. President Buhari should pay more attention to states and local government to secure oil pipelines and eliminate waste.

Federal and state governments as well as communities and clan leaders should work out new security network to prevent vandalism. The amount spent on pipeline repairs for five years is more than the amount some states budgeted in the past five years. From 2015 to 2019, over 204 million barrels of oil valued at N4.075 trillion was lost to oil theft and vandalism, according to Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI); while billions were spent on repairs and maintenance for the same period.

Incidents of vandalism have persisted and remained on the increase despite financial and security measures taken by the government to curb the menace. Vandalism is, unfortunately, not an isolated problem. Its ripple effects include life-claiming explosions, oil spillage, and pollution as well as clean up. President Buhari should work with the NNPC, states and local governments in identifying possible international markets and destinations of stolen Nigerian crude oil.

NNPC must end the prevailing incentives that make it possible for crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism to flourish. NNPC as a player in the downstream sector that has felt direct brunt of the attacks on oil facilities and assets must work with states and local communities. Between 2001 and 2019, NNPC recorded a total of 45,347 pipeline breaks and breeches on our downstream pipeline network. If you do the math, it comes to about an average of seven incidences on a daily basis.

President Buhari should put pressure on Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, state, and local governments concerning pipeline surveillance. He should be involved in budget and announce the award of pipeline surveillance and waterways security contracts. Only bodies/institutions with an infrastructure security mandate should be able to award and terminate contracts, and the Bureau of Public Procurement should be involved to ensure maximum competitiveness.

Nigeria’s international partners should put pressure on the government, as well as international and domestic oil companies, to involve states and local governments and publish details about their pipeline security contracts and share lessons learned with one another. President Buhari should pay more attention towards interstate pipelines government entities (federal, state, or local) or private companies operating in the oil sector to.

Indeed, President Buhari should pay more attention towards pipeline surveillance contracts which are awarded to private firms by government agencies and oil companies. Surveillance contractors are ostensibly tasked with monitoring sections of oil pipeline, identifying any breaks and protecting them from vandalism. However, the concept of pipeline surveillance contracts in the Niger Delta is a misnomer. They rarely involve any actual surveillance, but are used as a disguised ‘payment for peace’ to agitator groups and as patronage for political allies.

Factors such as a lack of local participation in the oil and gas industry necessitated the existence of this system of pipeline surveillance, to avoid pipeline vandalism and other criminal activities that may disrupt oil and gas production. President Buhari should pay more attention towards pipelines’ surveillance contracts which have short-term effects as amnesty programme payments to ex-agitators. They are not sustainable, especially as they are not part of a more holistic security and development plan.

There is growing pressure among a number of regional stakeholders for community pipeline surveillance as part of a solution to protect oil and gas infrastructure. However, there has been no tangible progress made by the federal government towards implementation, and it remains unclear whether a community-based system could avoid the pitfalls of the current approach. President Muhammadu Buhari had vowed in the past to ensure adequate protection of oil and gas installations across the country to prevent vandalism, oil theft and piracy.

“It is the responsibility of the federal government to secure the environment. The vandalism of oil installations and pipelines, piracy, oil theft and the fall in the international price of oil have made our economic situation very disturbing,” Buhari said at separate meetings with delegations from Exxon-Mobil and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He promised the removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks created by multiple government agencies that currently impede the operations of companies in the oil and gas sector.

He added that his administration will undertake appropriate reforms and implement fresh policies to boost national income from oil and gas production. He said the country has lost so much to the vices, stressing that the situation has tremendously affected the economic fortunes of the county

Inwalomhe Donald writes from Warri, Delta State via inwalomhe.donald@yahoo.com

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/president-buhari-and-n556bn-spent-on-pipeline-repairs-between-2015-2019.html

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Oshio baba

Chai!

Prince Uche Secondus is the national chairman of the leading opposition party in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview with newsmen in Abuja, he spoke on electoral reforms, how the party is preparing ahead of the 2023 general elections and many other issues.

There are speculations that your party is planning name change ahead of the 2023 polls. What is the true situation? I am quite glad that you called it speculation. I will regard it as gossip. We have not considered name change. It is not part of our agenda for now.

Some PDP stakeholders, especially governors, have shown disloyalty publicly to the party, but your administration is said to have lost the capacity to call them to order. What is happening?

You see, democracy is fast deteriorating in our country because of the style of the Federal Government. There may be one or two places where we may have what you just described, but we believe that it would come on and off until we arrive at the right destination, not just for our party but for our country also.

Where is the party zoning its 2023 presidential ticket to?

Today, we are more concerned about rebuilding our party. When the time comes for the nomination of a presidential candidate the party will come out with its position.

Is the party considering a merger ahead of the 2023 polls?

Why not, when the time comes, if there is need for people to pull their resources and strength together, it can happen; it is possible. Our focus is in making sure that our party is strong and viral and ready to win elections.

The PDP is divided, especially in the House of Representatives, where the issue of the position of the minority leader has been raging. What is the party doing about this?

Yes, we have issues in the House of Representatives and we are working hard to resolve them. And we believe that any member of the PDP, not necessarily those in leadership, is free to voice out what is going on in government. We are working hard to reconcile those in the House of Representatives, but the Senate is in order and moving forward. There is crisis in the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

What is your party doing to clinch the governorship seat in the state as the election is fast approaching? We are working very hard in Edo State. We met with the leadership and stakeholders of the state last week and I believe that our people are coming together, very strong. And you are aware that the state belonged to the PDP before the APC took it from us. We are working hard to regain Edo State.

The PDP spent 16 years in office and the only thing it could put in place regarding electoral reforms is the card reader. Many of us believed that if your party was honest enough and not benefiting from electoral fraud, there would have been a more solid reform to make it difficult for individuals or groups, or parties to rig elections. Why do you blame the present government on electoral reforms?

It took 16 years for us to carry out electoral reforms, which gave us what we have, and which was not implemented. Part of our challenge was that the constitution of our country must also conform with the desire of the change and reform, which we proposed before we handed over in 2015.

It was the PDP that equipped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with all the data and machines. But when this government came, they discarded all the structures that were put in place. It is left for those in government now to quickly put all the structures in place. In fact, President Buhari refused to assent to the last amendment done by the Eight Assembly.

Why are you putting the blame on the PDP when the Eight Assembly amended the electoral laws? Put it squarely on the door of APC government; they are now in government for five years. And we believe that if we don’t reform, we cannot move forward as a country nation. People should have the right to vote and not be killed.

Governor Dave Umahi, who was elected on the platform of your party, was publicly campaigning for Governor Obaseki of the APC for a second term. Why is the party not calling him to order?

Being a governor does not deprive an individual from airing his views. I am quite sure you understand that. He has not come out openly to say it is the position of the PDP. We don’t listen to gossips. Our position is very clear – we are going to contest for the election in Edo. We are asking for reforms.

The PDP under your watch is being perceived as weak in terms of discipline. Sometime ago, the governor of Rivers State accused his counterpart in Baylesa of anti-party activities, insisting you were aware, but did not do anything. What do you say to this allegation? Anything that has to do with our governors, especially the altercation between the governors of Rivers and Bayelsa states, I think we should just leave it. What we do behind the scene is not for the knowledge of the press, and we are not ready to disclose that because we have our strategies. You may think that is weakness, but that is a sign of strength.

There is this view that whatever happens in Wadata Plaza was planned in Rivers State and that your leadership is tied to the apron string of Governor Nyeson Wike, who tells you what to do. What is your reaction to this?

The way you think may not be the way we think. I have been in this party long before Governor Wike became governor. I have been the chairman of the party in River State for eight years, national organising secretary for four years, deputy national chairman and acting national chairman. All that time, where did I take directives from? Is it now that I am full chairman that I have to take the directives?

A gale of defections has hit the Imo State chapter of your party, where many of your members are defecting to the APC. Are you not worried about the development? What are you doing to stem the tide of defections?

Defection, of course, is a Nigerian syndrome. It is part of the deteriorating situation of governance by the APC. Our position has been properly articulated by the press conference of the national publicity secretary.

There is a view that the PDP under your leadership has not really played its opposition role the way it should. Beyond the issue of press statements, it has not been able to mobilise Nigerians to internalise the alleged failing of the ruling party. Have you made any attempt to study the role of opposition parties in other climes and how they were able to defeat the ruling party?

The PDP is the strongest opposition party in Nigeria. And you know, we don’t behave as if we’re on the street. We have men of high integrity in the leadership of the party. We do our opposition constructively; it must not be out of place and within the laws of our land. We cannot be seen on the street every time. Maybe what is expected is that we become violent, but that should not be the case.

It is those in government that are behaving like the opposition because they are used to being in that position. So I believe that we will do everything within the laws of our land; and we are doing quite a lot in planning and strategic initiatives that are in place. We have an intellectual arm known as the PDI. People are working silently. You are aware that in the last National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, we also announced that we were establishing a committee to review and assess what happened in 2019. All of these are towards putting our party in the right track towards 2023.

All the electoral laws would be amended to conform to modern day technology, where people can stay in the confines of their homes to vote and their votes would count. We are working towards that. Last week, we called on the National Assembly to quickly take their first front agenda and make it a priority because all these issues that are happening in our country today – insecurity bad economy, corruption – have to do with those in government.

That should be the first and foremost thing the National Assembly should do this year. They should amend all our electoral laws and bring everybody together so that people would have the right to vote, not like that woman who voted and was burnt alive. So we will keep this going. That woman became the symbol of democracy in Nigeria. So we are on the right track, and we want to assure you that we can do it better.

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has been making mockery of your party, that for 16 years in office you could not complete your N11billion secretariat in Abuja. Why is it taking so long to complete the project?

It is entirely the business of the PDP to determine when we are ready to pack into our new secretariat. We have a secretariat; we have offices; and as you know, we have one at Wadata and another one at Legacy. That one is still under construction, so be patient till we pack out; but we have very good offices.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/why-we-must-have-electoral-reforms-before-2023-secondus.html

Gunmen yesterday invaded Gayari community in Gummi Local Government Area of Zamfara State and abducted the district head, Daily Trust gathered. Residents told our correspondent that the gunmen arrived in dozens of motorbikes and stormed the residence of the district head, Alhaji Hassan Muhammad Gayari. “They didn’t kill anyone, but they told him that they were at his residence to go with him.

They took his son too and asked the community to mobilize N40 million for them to avoid an attack, “ a resident said. They later released the son, Safiyanu, who was ill but continued to hold his father and one other person called Yassar.

The spokesman of the state police command, SP Muhammad Shehu, said an investigation had commenced and efforts were being made to rescue them.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/bandits-abduct-district-head-tax-community.html

Sai baba