THE Nasarawa State Police Command has said it is yet to identify those responsible for the airstrike that claimed several lives at the Nasarawa-Benue border.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Command Ramhan Nansel disclosed this to The ICIR on Thursday, January 26, adding that investigations into the attack were ongoing.
“I can confirm that there was an airstrike at Kwateri village, Nasarawa/Benue border. Twenty-seven corpses were recovered. Security have been deployed to the area and investigation has since commenced. We are yet to know who carried out the airstrike,” he said.
The deceased were returning from Makurdi, where they had gone to retrieve their cattle seized by the Benue Livestock Guards, at the time of the incident.
The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) quoted a higher figure of casualties in a statement by its National PRO, Muhammad Nura.
According to MACBAN, more than 30 herdsmen died in the incident.
Noting that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) was responsible for two previous airstrikes against the herdsmen, the association demanded an investigation into the incident, and necessary punishment for those found culpable.
The association also blamed the airstrike on the Nigerian Air Force.
“This is the third time we have experienced such happenings. In the last two happenings it was clear that the Air Force is involved in strafing livestock between the border of Benue and Nasarawa states within the last one year.
“But in the recent one it is not clear whether it was a bomb blast, distant attack or an airstrike as reported by our Nasarawa State Branch,” the association said in the statement.
The ICIR reached out to the Nigerian Air Force to confirm if the strike was carried out by its operatives.
However, calls and text messages to the spokesperson for the Nigerian Air Force Edward Gabkwet were not replied as of the time of filing this report.
DATELINE: Enugu, South-East Nigeria, Monday, January 9, 2023. It is the first working day of the week. Usually a busy day, especially for office workers. Normally, the roads would be bustling with vehicular and human traffic as residents went about their businesses. But by noon the roads are largely deserted. Only a few vehicles and tricycles (Keke) passed through the empty streets and major roads in Enugu metropolis.
Shops, schools, offices are closed. Residents are indoors.
Just a few people are out on the streets. Most of those who ventured out of their homes are dressed in sports wears – shorts, tracksuits, sneakers. The empty streets are ideal for jogging, walks and other forms of physical exercise.
An empty road in Enugu during the Monday, January 9 sit-at-home exercise: Image: Ihuoma Chiedozie, The ICIR
It was like an extension of Sunday – a day when most offices, shops and markets remain closed as the predominantly Christian population of the South-East attend church services. But unlike Sundays, which are usually marked by a laid-back, easy feeling, there was tension in the air on this Monday, January 9.
The fitness buffs who were working out on the streets were watchful, ready to run for their lives at the slightest hint of trouble. Petty traders who opened for business, particularly sellers of okpa, a local delicacy, were wary. Those who ventured outside their homes know they are taking a major risk.
It is Monday. Sit-at-home day in the South-East
It was the same scenario in other major cities and towns across the five states of the South-East – Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo. Originally, the sit-at-home exercise was restricted to May 30, a day Biafra activists remember those who died in the Civil War.
Mondays were eventually declared as a day for sit-at-home protest across the South-East after the arrest and detention of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the proscribed pro-Biafra group which is sharing control of the zone with the state governments.
The sit-at-home was also extended to days Kanu appear in court for proceedings in terrorism and treason charges filed against him by the Federal Government. With time, enforcement of the sit-at-home turned it into a bloody affair – residents who venture out of their homes or engage in business or social activities on the day risk losing lives and property.
Although Emma Powerful, IPOB spokesperson, has announced that the sit-at-home had been suspended, the exercise is still in force through orders issued by Simon Ekpa, a Finland-based self described Kanu disciple and ‘IPOB spokesperson’, reputed to be the leader of the ‘IPOB Autopilots’ who appear to have taken charge of the group since Kanu’s arrest.
The ICIR’s reporter, who moved around Enugu to monitor the sit-at-home on January 9, observed that although a few intra-city buses and Keke were available to convey passengers to destinations within the metropolis, there were no vehicles to transport residents to far locations within and outside the state.
At the Holy Ghost area, the major transportation hub in Enugu metropolis, none of the inter-state transport operators opened for business. Some prospective travellers, who hoped to travel outside the state, were frustrated. No vehicle was available to convey them to their destinations. It was the same situation in Abia, Ebonyi, Imo and Anambra. The entire South-East was literally on lockdown.
Dateline: Finland. Monday, January 9, 2023. 11:24 am. In far away Finland, Simon Ekpa posted a video from the ongoing sit-at-home in southeastern Nigeria on Twitter via his handle @simon_ekpa.
The video, posted under the caption ‘Those preparing to force Biafrans into validating a terrorist state in February 2023, this is what await you’, showed empty shops and stalls at one of the major markets in the South-East. The video appeared to have been shot that same day and was posted to illustrate the ‘success’ of the January 9 sit-at-home exercise. A voice which ran a commentary in the video described the day’s sit-at-home as “very tight, very solid, and awesome”.
‘No election in South-East’
There will be no election in the South-East, the voice in the video stressed, warning residents of the region not to come out during the election period, to avoid being killed by the “military”. The killings in the South-East have been blamed on ‘unknown gunmen’, who the security agencies say are members of IPOB and its military wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN). But the voice in the video claimed that the security agencies of the Nigerian government are behind the killings.
Those preparing to force Biafrans into validating a terrorist state in February 2023, this is what await you pic.twitter.com/pbsOsVZQeP
The voice in the video said: “Let everyone be notified, as you have been notified before, let no one come out. There’s no election in Biafraland (South-East). Don’t come out and don’t be killed by the military. Because if you come out they will kill you too. So don’t come out. There’s no election in Biafraland. Thank you for sitting at home.”
In an earlier Twitter post at 10:36 am, on the same day, Ekpa posted images of empty shops and streets, under the caption: ‘Monday sit at home update for Biafra liberation & release of MNK (Mazi Nnamdi Kanu) today, 9th of January 2023. Biafraland remain under lockdown.”
However, although Ekpa is insisting that there will be no election in the South-East, official IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful has distanced the group from the directive.
IPOB has nothing against election – Spokesperson
In an interview with The ICIR, Powerful said: “IPOB has nothing against the Nigerian election and we have made it clear in our previous press releases that we are not interested on Nigeria’s selection process. And we are not not declaring sit- at- home.” He added that anybody who says IPOB don’t want election in the South-East “is an enemy of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the Biafra struggle”.
The Nigerian government has continued to blame IPOB for the killings and other forms of violence in the South-East, including attacks on facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). But Powerful said the government is sponsoring the insecurity in the region just to frame the group as a terrorist organisation. The Federal Government designated IPOB as a terrorist organisation after a court proscribed the group on September 21, 2017.
“Those trying to create confusion during the forthcoming elections in Nigeria are criminals and cultists recruited by the same Nigerian government to implicate IPOB and ESN. If we had wanted to stop elections we would have done that during the time of PVC registration but we didn’t do that. We never called for boycott because our strategy is to boycott election, not to stop election,” Powerful added, stressing that the group is a liberation movement that would not stop a democratic process.
Powerful had countered a five-day sit-at-home ordered by Ekpa in December 2022. But the directive eventually prevailed. The five-day sit-at-home, from December 9 to December 14, 2022, was ordered by Ekpa as a protest in the South-East against the forthcoming general elections.
It became one of the most violent episodes of the sit-at-home exercise, with reports of killings, maiming, abduction, arson and destruction of goods and property recorded across the South-East states. The violence was blamed on IPOB/ESN members enforcing the sit-at-home. But Ekpa, and Powerful, blamed it on the government.
INEC offices targeted as terror reigns in South-East
Days after the five-day sit-at-home, and few weeks to the 2023 general elections, the South-East is literally under a reign of terror. INEC facilities are being targeted – an indication that the violence is aimed at stopping elections in the zone.
Vehicles destroyed during the attack at the INEC head office in Owerri: Image: Ihuoma Chiedozie, The ICIR.
The violence is not targeted at just INEC facilities. Prominent and less privileged individuals have all fallen victim. On December 26, a man was killed when hoodlums razed the country home of the APC chairman in Ebonyi. On January 1, gunmen invaded the home of the Ebubeagu commander in Afikpo South LGA, Ebonyi.
Also on the same day, the chairman of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Ibeme Ward, in the Isiala Mbano area of Imo State, was killed by gunmen. A police station in Aguata, Anambra, was razed on January 8. On January 10, four persons were killed by gunmen at Ihiala in Anambra. Same day, an intending couple, whose wedding was billed for January 18, was killed at Arondizuogu in Imo.
The groom’s brother was also killed. On January 12, four operatives of the Anambra Vigilante Service were killed by gunmen at Ihiala. The gunmen also set five buildings ablaze. On January 14, four persons were killed by gunmen at the residence of spokesperson of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) Ikenga Ugochinyere in Imo. Ugochineyere is the PDP candidate for Ideato Federal Constituency. On February 17, a police inspector was killed by gunmen in Abia.
The sole administrator of the Ideato North LGA of Imo State was abducted along with two others on January 20. The same day, two APC members were killed when gunmen stormed the venue of a party meeting in Izzi LGA of Ebonyi. An Ebubeagu commander in Ezza North LGA, also in Ebonyi, was equally killed that day by unknown gunmen.
On January 23, it was reported that the abducted Imo LG boss has been beheaded. On January 24, a ward chairman of the APC in Onuimo LGA of Imo State was shot dead by gunmen. Nearly every passing day comes with multiple reports of violence and killings in the zone.
The security situation in the South-East continues to deteriorate as the 2023 general elections draw closer. Residents who spoke to The ICIR expressed fear that the high level of insecurity will make it difficult for people to vote during the election, if the situation is not addressed.
“It (violence) is all part of a deliberate attempt to stop the election,” Okechukwu Isiguzoro, a national youth leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex socio-political body of the Igbos, told The ICIR in Umuahia, Abia State. “There is a deliberate attempt to scuttle the election, or, if not to scuttle the election, to frighten the people of the South-East from voting.”
In Enugu, a civil society activist, Peggy Chukwuemeka, Executive Director of Parent/Child Intervention Center, noted that although residents are approaching the elections with high hopes “due to expectations of change in government”, the threat of insecurity is a cause for concern. “People are looking forward to the election especially because of Peter Obi (Labour Party presidential candidate) but at the same time they are afraid. Nobody knows what will happen,” she said in a chat with The ICIR in Enugu.
James Nnanna, a civil servant in Anambra, said most residents of the state are approaching the election with fear. “Everyday you hear of killings here and there. I think some people are passing a message that they don’t want election,” Nnanna said in an encounter with The ICIR in Awka.
The South-East recorded the lowest turnout of voters among the six geopolitical zones in the 2019 general elections.
There has been a progressive decline in voter turnout in the South-East since 1999, when Nigeria returned to democratic rule.
The zone recorded the lowest turnout among the six geopolitical zones in the 2019 general elections with 25.53 per cent. The 2023 general election may record even more abysmal levels of voter turnout if the prevailing state of insecurity persists.
The last governorship election in Anambra, where secessionists declared a sit-at-home during the election only to reverse the order on election eve, recorded arguably the lowest (worst) voter turnout in the history of governorship elections in Nigeria with just 10.38 per cent voter turnout.
Security posts set up at INEC South-East offices
Amid attacks on INEC facilities ahead of the election, investigations by The ICIR on preparations for the polls revealed that security posts have been erected at major offices of the Commission in the South-East.
At the INEC head office in Enugu, The ICIR observed heavily armed security personnel positioned at a makeshift security post by the entrance of the building. The road leading into the street where the office is located has been closed to traffic.
A security post erected at the INEC head office, Enugu: Image: Ihuoma Chiedozie, The ICIR.
It was a similar situation at the INEC head office in Abakiliki, Ebonyi State. Armed security operatives were guarding the facility when The ICIR’s reporter visited. Barriers were also erected on the road leading to the office. A staff at the office, who did not wish to be named for security reasons, disclosed that ‘unknown gunmen’ have threatened to attack the facility.
Security was also beefed up at the INEC office in Awka. The office was earlier attacked in May 2021, months before the Anambra governorship election. Although a security post was erected at the INEC headquarters in Umuahia, Abia State, no security personnel was in sight when The ICIR visited the office. Abia appears to be the safest state in the South-East, judging by the frequency of attacks by the unknown gunmen running amok in the zone.
INEC head office, Abakiliki, Ebonyi State: Image: Ihuoma Chiedozie, The ICIR
Despite the recent attack on the facility by gunmen in December 2022, there was no security post at the INEC head office in Owerri, Imo State. Some of the vehicles that were burnt during the attack were still parked inside the office premises. But The ICIR observed that security personnel at the gate subjected visitors to stringent checks before allowing them inside.
INEC head office Owerri: Image: Ihuoma Chiedozie, The ICIR
Further checks by The ICIR reveal that INEC is collaborating with security agencies through the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to ensure that the election succeeds. The ICCES was set up to ensure that elections are secured.
At state levels, the ICCES comprises representatives of all security agencies, ranging from the army, police, Department of State Services (DSS), Civil Defense, Correctional Service, Immigration and others, as well as INEC. The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) and the Commissioner of Police (CP) are co-chairs of the ICCES at the state level. At the national level, the committee is headed by INEC chairman and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
The IGP, Usman Alkali Baba, had in November 2022 directed all CPs in charge of state commands to activate the ICCES in the various states towards engaging all stakeholders to evolve strategies to mitigate threats to the 2023 general elections.
INEC head office, Umuahia, Abia State: Image: Ihuoma Chiedozie, The ICIR
The CPs were directed to ensure adequate and strategic deployment of officers and assets, as well as coordinate, deploy and supervise officers from other security agencies scheduled for election duty, in accordance with ICCES objectives. Fortification of INEC facilities to forestall attacks, ensuring safety and security of electoral materials and INEC staff, before, during and after the general elections, were among the key mandates of the ICCES.
The INEC spokeperson in Enugu, Pius Ezeh told The ICIR that the Commission is liaising with security agencies through the platform of the ICCES to ensure that elections hold in the South-East without hitches. “We are meeting, discussing and strategising on how to nip in the bud any threat from any angle,” he said in an interview with The ICIR in Enugu.
Security checkpoints litter South-East
On the highway between Enugu and Umuahia, a distance of less than 120 kilometres, The ICIR’s correspondent counted 23 security checkpoints manned by heavily armed soldiers, police and other military personnel, during a tour of the South-East in early January 2023.
Vehicles, including private cars and commercial transporters, are stopped, questioned and most often, searched, at each of the checkpoints. In many instances, two checkpoints are within sight of each other. It was the same situation on all the major highways and inter-state roads in the zone. At some checkpoints, motorists and passengers are forced to disembark and would only resume their journey after a long wait.
The security personnel at the checkpoints are tense and on ‘red alert’ – the unknown gunmen operating in the zone often target policemen and soldiers at checkpoints and numerous security operatives have been killed in such guerrilla attacks.
Residents of some communities along the frontier, where soldiers were abducted or killed, have also been at the receiving end of excessive retaliatory action by troops.
Many villagers have been killed, and houses and shops razed, by irate soldiers seeking to avenge the killing of their colleagues in some of the South-East communities.
Igbo leaders insist on elections
Amid the prevailing state of insecurity in the region, leaders of prominent socio-political groups in the South-East are insisting that elections must hold in the zone. President of Njiko Igbo Forum, a socio-political organisation, a Reverend, Okechukwu Obioha, in an interview with The ICIR in Enugu, insisted that “nobody can stop the election in the South-East”.
“People are not happy with the last five-day sit-at-home and as a result any sit-at-home order during the election will be resisted,” Obioha said. He argued that since the agitation for Biafra was largely a result of the marginalisation of the Igbos, it would be foolish for Biafra agitators to stop the people of the South-East from voting at a time an Igbo is among the top contenders in a presidential election. “There is insecurity in all parts of the country and election will still hold, South-East is not going to be different. Anybody that tries to stop election in the South-East is an enemy of the Igbos,” Obioha added.
Also insisting on elections in the zone, spokesperson of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Alex Ogbonnia told The ICIR that the level of insecurity in the South-East is not as high as it is made to appear. He said the situation has been amplified.
“Ohanaeze is concerned because the insecurity in the South-East is not as much as it was in the North-East and North-West in 2015 and 2019, and in spite of that, elections held. The insecurity in the North-Central at the moment is even worse than what is going on in the South-East,” he said.
He added that “the amplification of insecurity in the South-East is just a political machination which is not helping anybody. We just celebrated Christmas, there were a few skirmishes but that is not comparable to what is happening in the North-East and the North-West.”
Ohanaeze youth leader, Isiguzoro, said the association is doing everything possible to ensure that the election holds in the South-East. He urged the Federal Government to dialogue with leaders of the South-East, as well as the agitators, to resolve the insecurity in the zone before the elections.
Police, INEC confident of peaceful elections in South-East
Despite fears and concerns nursed by residents, INEC and the Police are looking forward to peaceful elections in the South-East. “The Commission is on top of the situation. We don’t have doubts as to whether the election will hold in the South-East or not. It is as simple as ABC,” Ezeh, INEC spokesperson in Enugu, said.
He made reference to what happened during the 2021 governorship poll in Anambra. There were fears that the poll will not hold due to the sit-at-home ordered by IPOB on election day. But the group called off the sit-at-home on election eve.
INEC head office, Enugu: Image: Ihuoma Chiedozie, The ICIR
The spokesperson of Anambra State Police Command Toochukwu Ikenga was equally confident, recalling the “success” of the Anambra governorship poll to justify his insistence that the election will hold without problems.
He said, “Election is a very big event, during elections, there are operational orders that guide Police and other security agencies. I wouldn’t want to disclose our strategy but I can assure you that all hands are on the deck to make sure we have successful elections.”
The spokesperson of the Police in Enugu, Daniel Ndukwe, told The ICIR that “maximum preparations” are being made for the elections. “We are doing our security threat analysis. We have activated ICCES. So the needful is being done and by God’s grace we will have a peaceful election.”
The spokesperson of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, a Major, Jonathan Unuakhalu, did not respond to The ICIR’s questions concerning plans to ensure security during the elections.
Residents want security guaranteed on election day
Despite the confidence expressed by INEC and the police, there are strong indications that residents would not be willing to go out to vote on election day if they are not sure of their security. Several residents who interacted with The ICIR across the five South-East states were concerned about their safety.
President of the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), a civil society organisation based in Enugu, Olu Omotayo, told The ICIR that residents are worried about a repeat of what happened during the five-day sit-at-home. “If something tangible is not done, and if what happened during the five-day sit-at-home repeats itself, people will stay at home,” Omotayo said, adding that residents need to be convinced that their safety is guaranteed.
“Nobody wants to risk their lives.” Chukwuemeka, Executive Director of Parent/Child Intervention Center, noted that feelers from the ongoing PVC collection exercise indicate that residents are willing to vote.
Peggy Chukwuemeka
But she expressed concerns that there would be loss of lives if a sit-at-home is ordered and enforced during the election. For Jude Ibezim, an Owerri-based tailor, safety will determine the turnout of voters in the South-East. Proudly displaying the PVC which he just collected, Ibezim said, “I am ready to vote, I have been looking forward to this. But if I hear that people are being killed on election day I will stay at home.”
THE Federal High Court sitting in Damaturu, Yobe State, presided by Justice Fadima Murtala Aminu, has adjourned the trial of a former Minister of Science and Technology, Abdul Bulama, till March 21.
The Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Bulama on a seven-count charge of criminal conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N450 million.
This was disclosed in a statement released on Wednesday, January 25, by the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC Wilson Uwujaren.
Bulama was re-arraigned on Monday, November 8, 2021, alongside Mohammed Kadai, a former Commissioner for Integrated and Rural Development in Yobe State, Abba Gana Tata, Muhammad Mamu and Hassan Ibn Jaks.
The ex-minister allegedly received the said sum from Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, to influence the outcome of the 2015 Presidential election as the Coordinator of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 Re-election Campaign Committee in Yobe State.
Kadai was Deputy Coordinator, while the other three defendants were members of the committee.
“Count one of the charges reads, That you, DR. ABDU BULAMA, HON. MOHAMMED KADAI, ABBAs GANA TATA, MUHAMMAD MAMU AND HASSAN IBN JAKS, on or about the 27th day of March, 2015 at Damaturu, Yobe State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did agree among yourselves to do an illegal act, to wit: conspiracy to commit money laundering and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended”.
“Upon re-arraignment, the defendants pleaded not guilty to all the counts; thereafter, counsel for the prosecution, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, presented three witnesses.
“At the resumed hearing today, counsel for the fifth defendant M. Tatama through a letter, asked for an adjournment on the grounds that he was before the court of Appeal Abuja Division for a pre-election matter.
“In a bench ruling, Justice Aminu adjourned the matter till March 21, 2023, to continue the cross-examination of the third prosecution witness, PW3,” the statement said.
It will be recalled that the defendants were first arraigned on Friday, May 29, 2018, before Justice Hammada Isa Dashen of the Federal High Court, Damaturu, Yobe State, on a 7-count charge of criminal conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N450 Million.
During the trial before Justice Dashen, the prosecution counsel Mukhtar Ali Ahmed presented six witnesses and tendered several documents that were admitted in evidence by the court.
At the close of the prosecution’s case, the defendants opted for a “no case submission”, and Justice Dashen granted their prayers as they were discharged and acquitted.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the EFCC approached the Appellate Court to set aside the decision of the lower Court.
On March 3, 2021, the Appeal Court, in its judgment, upheld the argument of the EFCC that the Lower Court erred in law by discharging and acquitting the defendants.
The appellate court ordered that the case be returned to the Federal High Court and assigned to a judge other than Justice Dashen to be heard from the beginning.
THE All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said that the redesign of the naira and fuel scarcity across the country were ploys to sabotage the 2023 general elections.
Tinubu stated these during the APC presidential campaign rally at the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta, on Wednesday, January 25.
He stressed that the fuel crisis and the scarcity of the newly redesigned naira notes were artificially created to discourage Nigerians from voting for the APC.
He, however, expressed confidence that he would win the election, regardless of any efforts to disrupt the process.
The APC presidential flagbearer encouraged his supporters to give him their support even if it demands trekking to cast their votes.
“Even if they said there is no fuel, we will trek to vote. They have a lot of mischief; they could say there is no fuel. They have been scheming to create fuel crisis, but forget about it.
“Relax, I, Asiwaju, have told you that the issue of fuel supply will be permanently addressed. Whoever wants to eat the honey embedded in a mountain won’t worry about the axe. Is that not so? And if you want to eat palm kernel, you would bring stone and use it to break it, then the kernel will come out.
“Let them increase the price of fuel, only them know where they have hoarded fuel, they hoarded money, they hoarded naira; we will go and vote and we will win. Even if they changed the ink on naira notes. Whatever their plans, it will come to nought. We are going to win. Those in the PDP will lose (won ma lule).
“I am homeboy, I have come here, you will not be put to shame, we will take over the government from them, the traitors who wanted to contest with us. They had no experience.
“The great Nigerian youths, the great Nigerian students, the confident Nigerian youths. This is a revolution. This election is a revolution. They are plotting, but they will fail. They said fuel price will increase and reach N200 per litre. Go and relax. They don’t want this election to be held, they want to scuttle it. Will you allow them?”
He promised to provide financial aid to students in the form of loans to prevent them from dropping out of university due to lack of funds.
Tinubu also vowed to put an end to frequent strikes that have been disrupting the education system in the country.
He assured that four-year courses will be completed within four years, eliminating the need for students to repeat years or take longer to graduate.
“On this one, I’m guaranteeing you one thing: there will be a student loan. Nobody will drop out of the university because of school fees. I guarantee you that. Nobody will have to repeat for eight years, and not graduate.
“Haba! We are too smart, we are brilliant, we are courageous, we are sharp, we will make a four years course. Do you agree? Will you vote whether there is fuel or not? Call your sister, we are bringing revolution. Let me say what’s on my mind. The other day, I told you. This one too, they think they can cause a crisis by sabotaging fuel supply.
“They are sabotaging fuel supply. Whether there is fuel or not, whether there is okada (motorcycle) or not, whether there is tricycle or not, we will go and vote and we shall win. This is a superior revolution and when I tell you, you know what I mean. You know me, we are going there to win.”
“They have started coming up with the issue of ‘no fuel’. Don’t worry, if there is no fuel, we will trek to cast the vote.
“If you like increase price of fuel, hide the fuel or change the ink on the naira notes, we will win the election,” he added.
THE United States (US) has announced visa restrictions on some Nigerians accused of undermining democracy.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the development in a statement on Wednesday, January 25. He said the decision was aimed at advancing democracy in Nigeria.
Blinken said the sanctioned individuals, whose names he did not reveal, would be ineligible for US visas.
He also explained that some family members of those barred from the US might be subjected to the same restriction.
“We are committed to supporting and advancing democracy in Nigeria and around the world. Today, I am announcing visa restrictions on specific individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process in a recent Nigerian election.
“Under Section 212(a)(3)C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, these individuals will be found ineligible for visas to the United States under a policy to restrict visas of those believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Nigeria.
“Certain family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions. Additional persons who undermine the democratic process in Nigeria — including in the lead-up to, during, and following Nigeria’s 2023 elections — may be found ineligible for US visas under this policy,” he said.
Blinken stressed that the move was in line with the US government’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s aspiration to combat corruption and strengthening democracy and the rule of law.
The US top official added that the visa restrictions announced are specific to certain individuals and are not directed at the Nigerian people or the Government of Nigeria.
“The decision to impose visa restrictions reflects the commitment of the United States to support Nigerian aspirations to combat corruption and strengthen democracy and the rule of law,’’ he added.
The development is coming exactly a month before the 2023 presidential election scheduled for February 25.
A few days ago, the US had vowed to deny visa to anyone found fanning the embers of electoral violence in any part of the country.
The US Consul-General, Will Stevens, made the vow on Saturday, January 21, while addressing participants at a town hall meeting organised by the Niger-Delta Open Observatory (NOGO) in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
Stating that the US did not have any preferred candidate in the Nigerian presidential election holding next month, Stevens said his country was only concerned about fair, free and credible polls.
Similarly, in 2019, before the general election, the US government announced visa restrictions on Nigerians who “sabotaged” the country’s democracy.
The development was announced in a statement signed by the then spokesperson of the US department of state Morgan Ortagus.
THE deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Funke Akindele, was reportedly chased out of Ketu fruit market by hoodlums on Tuesday, January 24.
The Lagos State PDP governorship candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, who is also known as Jandor, disclosed the development.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Adediran disclosed the incident while speaking with some Muslim leaders in the Ketu Central Mosque in Kosofe Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday, January 25.
The PDP guber candidate said one his supporters was also stabbed during the incident, decrying the incessant attacks on his campaign train by political thugs.
He added that similar attacks had occurred repeatedly in various local government areas since he kicked off his tour of the 245 wards in the state in October 2022.
According to Adediran, some of his followers, including journalists, were also wounded.
Adediran, who said that his campaign train had been attacked in Badagry and Agege and some other places, said the development would not dissuade him from rescuing the state from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He vowed that his “resolve to relieve residents of the state of their numerous pains and to bring in breath of fresh air is unstoppable”.
THE Federal Government has approved N10.08 billion for the rehabilitation of the Hadejia airstrip in Jigawa and construction of a control tower at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Abubakar Sirika, revealed this to State House correspondents on Wednesday, January 25, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
The sum of N7.48 billion was approved for the reconstruction of the Hadejia airstrip while N1.97bn was voted for the construction of a control tower and technical building at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport.
The approvals followed memos presented by the Federal Ministry of Aviation.
Also, the sum of N625.50 million was approved for the Ministry to procure utility vehicles.
According to the minister of aviation, Sirika, the contract for the rehabilitation of the Hadejia airstrip was awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC).
The contract for the construction of the control tower and technical building at Enugu airport was awarded to Mascot Associates Nigeria Limited.
Kaura Motors was awarded the contract for supply of utility vehicles to the Federal Ministry of Aviation.
THE International Journalists’ Programmes (IJP) is offering fellowships to up to six young Southern African journalists and up to five young German journalists.
The Southern African-German Journalists‘ Bursary is intended to enable young journalists to gain insights into the political, economic, cultural and social fabric of the host country.
For two months, Southern African delegates will have the chance to work in Germany, followed by German delegates in Africa. They will be integrated into the day-to-day journalism of their host newsroom while researching stories for their home media.
Journalists aged 25 to 40 from Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Germany can apply.
The delegates will receive a fixed payment of EUR3,000 to cover most of their travel, accommodation and living expenses.
Candidates must have a strong command of English. German is an advantage but not mandatory.
The deadline for the submission of applications is February 15, 2023. Interested applicants can apply here.
AN All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Benue State, Terhemba Shija, has proceeded to the Supreme Court to challenge the fresh primary election ordered by the Court of Appeal.
Shija, who contested for the party ticket alongside others, said in a statement issued by the director general of his campaign, James Mbachiantim, that after due consultations with stakeholders and his lawyers, he has decided to appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on Monday, January, 23.
The three-man panel of appeal court judges ordered fresh primary in 11 of the 23 local government areas of the state within 14 days in a judgment.
Shija explained that the decision of the court threw up specific legal issues that could only be resolved by the Apex Court.
He argued that since the court accepted his submission that there was no APC governorship primary election in Benue State for the 2023 polls at the first instance, there was no basis for a rerun.
“The resolution of the foregoing and several other issues has compelled us to approach the Supreme Court,” Shija said in the statement.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi, on Monday, nullified the APC gubernatorial primary election and ordered the party to conduct a rerun election in 11 of the 23 LGAs in the state within 14 days.
The court gave the order in an appeal brought before it by Shija against the judgment of a Makurdi Federal High Court, which dismissed a suit he filed to challenge the outcome of the APC gubernatorial primary election in Benue State.
The affected LGAs where the court ordered a rerun include Gboko, Gwer-West, Guma, Katsina-Ala, Logo, Gwer- East, Makurdi, Otukpo, Vandeikya, Ukum, and Tarka.
THE Benue State Police Command has arrested a woman for allegedly beating her 10-year-old stepson, Fanen Yange, to death.
A statement released by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Command Catherine Anene on Wednesday, January 25, said the suspect, identified as Mrs Upev, beat Yange for stealing meat.
“A case of culpable homicide was reported at ‘E’ Police Division, Makurdi. A team of detectives were deployed immediately.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that the deceased, Fanen Yange, 10 years old of International Market Area, Makurdi was alleged by his step mother, Mrs Upev, to have stolen meat from the pot and she beat him up during the early hours of the day but when the victim went to sleep at night, he could not wake up,” the statement read.
Yange was confirmed dead by a doctor and his corpse has been deposited at the Bishop Murray hospital morgue in Markurdi for autopsy.
“The suspect is in police custody and investigation is on going please,” Anene said.
Maltreatment is a significant challenge faced by many children in Nigeria.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), six out of 10 Nigerian children experience one form of violence.
Less than five per cent of children who reported violence, received support, according to the UNICEF.
