Home Blog Page 1814

Gunmen kill two police inspectors in Anambra

Lukman ABOLADE
-
0
Gunmen kill two police inspectors in Anambra

SOME yet-to-be-identified gunmen, on Thursday, killed two Police inspectors during an attack on Obosi Police Station, located in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

During the attack, the perpetrators also destroyed Police vehicles and set the station ablaze before fleeing the scene.

Anambra State Police Spokesperson Ikenga Tochukwu confirmed the incident to The ICIR during a telephone conversation.

Tochukwu explained that the two officers sustained gunshot injuries during a shootout with the gunmen.

“Two of our officers sustained gunshot injuries, and as a result of that they paid the supreme price,” Tochukwu said.

He noted that the Anambra State Police Commissioner had deployed a crack team led by an assistant commissioner of Police to the scene of the crime to conduct an on-the-spot assessment and investigation into the incident.

On the frequent attacks on Police stations and officers in the state, Tockuwu said that threat analysis was ongoing to know the cause of such attacks.

He added that the attacks on stations in Anambra State were a call for more work in order to secure lives and properties in the state.

Recently, there have been several violent attacks on Nigerian Police stations, most especially in the South-East part of the country.

From April 19th – May 1st, there were six reported cases of attacks on Police stations in Anambra, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu and Akwa Ibom states.

Over the course of the attacks, no fewer than 14 Nigerian Police officers were killed, while some were injured.

 

Nigeria’s current political structure can no longer work – Former Kano commissioner

Ijeoma OPARA
-
0
Nigeria’s current political structure can no longer work – Former Kano commissioner

FORMER Kano State Commissioner for Works  and Infrastructure Muazu Magaji has called for a review of the Nigerian political structure, stating that the current system can no longer work.

Magaji said this during an interview aired on Channels TV on Thursday, explaining that security challenges in Nigeria had gone beyond politics and it was time for the country to focus on protecting and defending its citizens.

 Magaji, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), noted that the problems facing the country stemmed from certain regional dynamics and forces within the system working against the progress of the country. He said this could be addressed if the nation’s structure was reviewed.

Magaji stressed that while the State State Services (SSS) was doing its job by warning against anarchy, the social problems in the country should first be resolved as citizens were losing faith in the country.

“The more we push back on the desire of people to live peacefully in their own country, the more we get reactions. We need to face the social problems first before we deploy the forces and the warnings,” he said.

He pointed out that  Nigerian leaders had to be more responsible and accountable towards the people because the citizens were only asking for a sustainable environment to do their jobs and cater for their families.

Speaking on the position of northern leaders towards the restructuring of Nigeria, Magaji said that though the concept of restructuring was an evolutionary process for northerners, the reality of the country’s structure was gradually being accepted by them due to a number of reasons. 

“We used to think that it is about getting a credible leader that can move this country forward. The North rooted for him for decades and invested so much in his becoming the president of this country. 

“Today, we are discussing all the challenges the country is facing under the same President Muhammadu Buhari. So we are coming to the realisation that it’s not about the individuals now. It’s about the system,” he said.

In the last few years, there has been an increase in agitation for the restructuring of Nigeria, but Nigeria’s President Mohammadu Buhari has shown very little interest in the idea.

According to a report, the president had said that the problem of Nigeria was not the structure but the manner in which things were done.

The restructuring of Nigeria was one of the many promises made by Buhari during the 2015 election campaign, but not much has been done towards its fulfilment.

Although a report was submitted to Buhari in 2019, there has not been a substantial action towards its implementation.

 

FG to evacuate Nigerians trapped in volcanic Caribbean Island

Oghenekevwe UCHECHUKWU
-
0
FG to evacuate Nigerians trapped in volcanic Caribbean Island

THE Senate has assured Nigerians stranded in the Caribbean Island of St. Vincent after volcanic eruptions that began April 9, killing persons and rendered others homeless and in need of food.

President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan, who received the Consul-General of Nigeria on the Island Levi Odoe at his office on Wednesday, pledged to ensure their safe return to the country.

“It is rather sad that you had volcanic eruptions that have caused serious damage to the Island. I’m also saddened by the loss of lives and, of course, the situation of the Nigerian medical students who are now trapped in the Island,” he said.

Lawan added: “It is our responsibility and obligation to take all the necessary measures to ensure that the Nigerian students who are trapped are brought back safely to Nigeria until the situation is remedied”.

Ash coats a hillside on St. Vincent
Ash coats a hillside on St. Vincent on April 11, 2021, as the eruption at La Soufriere blanketed communities with debris from the volcano. (Photo by UWI-Seismic Research Centre, Prof. Robertson)

Earlier, Odoe had sought the assistance of the Senate president to urgently evacuating 230 Nigerian medical students currently stranded on the Island.

“They (stranded Nigerian students) have been calling me requesting to see what can be done … We are here to request any assistance at all that can be given to the Island and to Nigerians that are stranded there,” he said.

The Island’s 111,000 residents are currently under threat from pyroclastic (hot gas and debris) flows, widespread ash, and the degradation of local food and water supplies, in addition to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Gunmen kidnap dozens of people in Niger state

Vincent Ufuoma
-
0
Gunmen kidnap dozens of people in Niger state

DOZENS of people have been kidnapped from Shadadi town in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State, BBC Hausa reports.

Residents were quoted to have said that thousands of people have fled the town after the attack.

A resident interviewed by the BBC said more than 1,000 gunmen had attacked, killing eight people and wounding four.

According to the man who asked not to be named, almost all the villagers fled to neighbouring towns such as Kontagora.

The Niger State Commissioner for Information Sani Idris confirmed the attack but said the number of people allegedly abducted was less than 100.

READ ALSO: Army arrest popular bandit terrorising Niger communities

He said they were currently compiling statistics of the number of people affected by the attack and had already sought the Federal Government’s cooperation.

There is no confirmation yet whether the attackers were Boko Haram members or bandits.

Wednesday’s attack comes at a time of heightened security tensions in Niger since the state government confirmed that Boko Haram had entered the town.

READ ALSO:

Kaduna State is in a similar situation, with gunmen attacking churches, killing two people and abducting others.

The state government, however, said the abductees had been rescued.

The security situation in Nigeria has been compounded by the growing fears of insecurity among Nigerians, especially in rural areas.

Security experts have expressed poor leadership of the government in handling the security issue. but the government says it is doing its best to address security concerns in the country.

Catholic Church plans to keep me away for 30 days, then send me to Rome afterwards – Mbaka

Vincent Ufuoma
-
0
Catholic Church plans to keep me away for 30 days, then send me to Rome afterwards – Mbaka

THE Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry Ejike Mbaka has accused the leadership of the Catholic Church in Enugu of planning to keep him away from the public for 30 days, and then send him away to Rome over his recent comments on President Muhammadu Buhari and the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu.

Mbaka stated this on Wednesday while reacting to apprehension and protest that trailed his sudden disappearance from his parish on Wednesday.

He said he was summoned by the church leadership led by Calistus Onaga from where he was kept incommunicado.

According to him, a lot of issues were presented against him after which he was told that he would remain indoors for one month, a period that would allow him to pray and meditate over his activities.

The clergyman said he requested to be allowed the opportunity to come and address his parishioners after which he would shut down, “but they said ‘no.’ Allow me to and celebrate mass for my people just for today, I won’t even tell them that I am being punished, they said ‘no.’ I will just tell my members that I am going for 30 days prayer, that after 30 days, we will come back and everybody will obey, they said, no.”

“I also begged them to appoint another priest to come and celebrate mass for you today, they also said ‘no.’

“They didn’t treat me in a pastoral way. I was asking, ‘am I being punished for what?”‘

“They said it was a meeting, but even before I reached the Bishop’s house, the conclusion had already been made. What happened to me was like the day I was shot on the road.

You may wish to read

Mbaka resurfaces hours after apprehension

Mbaka says contractors he took to Buhari could have handled insecurity in Nigeria

Mbaka demanded contracts but Buhari refused to give him, Presidency claims

“Unfortunately for them, even before the meeting, a woman was already going around bragging that the Bishop would call me for a meeting, and that I was going to leave my house here for 30 days, and that after the 30 days, I would be sent to Rome, and Adoration ministry will be closed.”

Mbaka cautioned that “in a time and cases like this, don’t give me a punishment that will cause troubles for us because I’m not alone.”

He said Onaga, upon seeing the protest over his predicament, allowed him to go.

Mbaka said one of the things presented against him was that he blessed but later criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s Government.

“Are you the owner of my mouth? You can’t tell me who to bless? If you are not happy that I blessed someone, you have your own mouth, you can curse the person.

“I cannot hate my brother because of some people whom hatred is in their genes,” he declared.

Mbaka has been in the news over his recent call on the National Assembly to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari if he fails to resign due to the rising insecurity in the country.

The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) released a statement cautioning him, with a threat to expose and report him to the pope and the Vatican.

The Presidency has attributed Mbaka’s outburst to the refusal of Buhari to give him contracts.

Reacting, Mbaka said the foreign contractors he took to meet the president at the Presidential Villa were people who wanted to resolve the high level of insecurity in the country.

Address Peacock Paints corruption crisis, NUJ tells Akwa Ibom government

Editorial
-
0
Address Peacock Paints corruption crisis, NUJ tells Akwa Ibom government

By Ekemini SIMON

THE Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom State Council, has called on the state government not to sweep  allegations of corruption and crisis bedevilling Peacock Paints Limited under the carpet.

The demand by the NUJ is contained in a communiqué jointly signed by the union’s excos: Amos Etuk, Dominic Akpan and Akan Esinwang. The communiqué was issued at the end of the union’s congress held on Friday, April 30, 2021.

The call comes on the heels of the John D. and Catherine T. MacAuthor Foundation and The ICIR-supported investigative report carried out by The Mail Newspaper where deep-seated corruption and misappropriation of state government’s intervention fund in Peacock Paints Limited by the management was exposed.

Related Stories

How corruption, questionable contracts led to the collapse of Akwa Ibom state-owned company

Akwa Ibom Assembly probes corruption at Peacock Paints

Missing job applicant found dead in Akwa Ibom

The NUJ, in their deliberations on issues affecting the state tagged, ‘State of the State,’ requested the state government to look into the immediate and remote causes of the company’s collapse, especially as huge reactivation fund was committed few years ago.

While noting that it was worrisome for a company reactivated less than six years ago to collapse, leading to non-payment of staff for 16 months, the NUJ said the state government had to urgently look into the issues affecting the company so as to save it.

Peacock Paints Limited
Governor Udom Emmanuel with Peacock Paints
Photo Credit: 9jaecho.com

“Congress urge the state government to look into the issues in Peacock Paints Company Ltd., which is at a comatose stage now with non – payment of staff salaries for many months, in spite of the huge capital government committed into the revitalization of the company few years ago,” the NUJ noted in their communiqué.

It could be recalled that the state legislature has said that informal investigation has commenced on the issues affecting Peacock Paints Limited with assurance that full probe will begin after the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) call off its strike action.

However, the state executive has kept mum over the issues affecting the company. There has been no official statement or reaction from the executive.

Bill Gates net worth grows by $1bn after divorce announcement

Oghenekevwe UCHECHUKWU
-
0
Bill Gates net worth grows by $1bn after divorce announcement

BILL Gates retained number four position in Bloomberg Billionaire Index list on Tuesday after his total net worth grew by $1 billion, barely one day after he and his wife of 27 years, Melinda, announced they were ending their marriage.

Reports emerged on Monday that he had been delisted following the announcement of his divorce, but The ICIR investigation on Tuesday revealed that Gates occupied the fourth position on the list, as he had done on Sunday, May 2, but with a total net worth of $146 billion against his $145 billion estimated worth a day before the announcement.

In a joint statement published simultaneously via their personal Twitter accounts on Monday, the pair said they reached the decision to end their marriage after a great deal of thought and a lot of work on their relationship.

“We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life,” said Gates.

Billionaires List
Billionaires List

Bill Gates and his wife Melinda did not sign a prenuptial agreement to divide their fortune, which includes properties in five states, a private jet, an art collection and a fleet of luxury cars. In the divorce papers filed by Melinda in Washington and obtained by the Daily Mail, Melinda described her marriage as irretrievably broken and had requested a trial date in April 2022.

The couple co-chair the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation established in 2000 with an estimated $51 billion assets, according to the Consumer News and Business Channel.

READ ALSO: Not True, Bill Gates did not suggest depopulation of Africa as claimed

The foundation works all over the world to enable people lead healthy and productive lives. In Africa, they have presence in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

Through the support of the foundation, Nigeria has made significant progress in strengthening primary health care and public health systems, as well as addressing a range of health issues such as malnutrition, family planning and the recent eradication of wild polio from the country.

The statement by the Gates have allayed fears about what would become of their numerous intervention programmes across the world, saying they continue to share a belief in the mission of the foundation and would carry on with work together.

The foundation also released a statement saying that the Gates would remain co-chairs and trustees and that no changes were expected at the organisation.

“They will continue to work together to shape and approve foundation strategies, advocate for the foundation’s issues and set the organization’s overall direction,” the statement said.

Bill is the world’s fourth-richest person, according to Forbes. His wife Melinda has a net worth of $70 billion according to a celebrity net worth website. Together, they have three children – Phoebe Adele, Rory John and Jennifer Katharine.

In 2002, together Melinda and Bill received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged. In 2005, Melinda and her husband were named Time’s People of the Year. They received the Spanish Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation on May 4, 2006 in recognition of their charitable giving.

Bill and Melinda jointly received Indian’s third-highest civilian honor, Padma Bhushan, in 2015. President Barack Obama in 2016 awarded the Gates with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for their philanthropic efforts. They were awarded at a ceremony in Paris with France’s highest national award, the Legion of Honour in 2017.

Ministry vows to go after Nigerians involved in ghost marriages

Editorial
-
0
Ministry vows to go after Nigerians involved in ghost marriages

By Mayowa OLAJIDE

THE Federal Ministry of Interior has warned that ‘ghost marriages’ are illegal and any federal registrar found to have violated the law regarding registration of marriages shall be punished.

A ghost marriage is a one in which one or both parties are deceased.

This was contained in a statement issued by Director of Citizenship and Business Department Moremi Soyinka-Onijala, on Wednesday, in response to speculations that marriage certificates were being obtained from the federal registries in the absence of intending couples.

Responding on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Soyinka-Onijala explained that it was absolutely compulsory for intending couples to be present before any marriage could be registered or certificates issued.

Citing some provisions of the Marriage Act, she said that Section 44 provided that “whoever impersonates any other person in marriage, or marries under a false name or description, with intent to deceive the other party to the marriage, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.”

It is an important requirement for intending couples to be physically present at any registry (federal or not) or at any licensed public place of worship in order to be married under the provisions of the Marriage Act of 1990 Cap 218 LFN as amended, she noted.

“Ghost Marriages as they are called, are illegal and any marriages so conducted are rendered null and void ab initio,” she said

She said that Section 42 provided that whoever witnessed as a marriage officer in the ceremony of marriage, knowing that they were not duly qualified to do so, or that any of the matters required by law for the validity of such marriage had not happened, would be liable to imprisonment for five years.

“If any Federal Registrar is found to have violated the law, he or she shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Marriage Act and the Public Service Rules,” she said.

Kaduna forestry college students released after 56 days in captivity

Niyi OYEDEJI
-
0
Kaduna forestry college students released after 56 days in captivity

THE remaining 29 students of Kaduna School of Forestry Mechanisation kidnapped by bandits have been released after spending 56 days in captivity.

Chairman of the Parents’ Committee Abdullahi Usman confirmed the release of the students by bandits to Channels Television on Wednesday in Kaduna.

Usman, however, did not disclose if ransom was paid to the bandits for the release of the students.

The bandits had, on March 11, stormed the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, and kidnapped 39 students of the school.

The Kaduna State Governor Nasir Elrufai had, however, vowed not to pay any ransom to secure the release of the students.

The bandits demanded the sum of N500 million as ransom for their release before eventually releasing 10 of the students in two batches.

Calls and messages put to the Kaduna State Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mohammed Jalige, were not responded to as  the time of filing this report.

 

 

 

Take decisive action if there’s attempt to overthrow govt, Usman tells FG

Ijeoma OPARA
-
0
Take decisive action if there’s attempt to overthrow govt, Usman tells FG

FORMER spokesman of the Nigerian Army Sani Usman has said that the Federal Government should do more than just press statements if there is any attempt to  take over power undemocratically.

He said this in an interview on Channels TV Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, stressing that the military were at the forefront of affairs this time due to insecurity plaguing the country.

He said the concerns from the Federal Government were not surprising as the interest in military activities had become higher due to closeness of soldiers to the people in recent times.

He stated that the convergence of the key leadership units on national issues was bound to bring up conspiracy theories and that the attempt by the military to dissipate such assumption was in order.

He, however, urged the Federal Government to take more definite steps if there were genuine fears of unconstitutional actions being taken against the Nigerian democracy.

“I think we should go beyond the issuance of press statements and press releases if there are cogent reasons about individuals that really want us to turn the hand of the clock in terms of democratic governance in Nigeria. I think they should be exposed, our laws are quite clear about the line of actions to be taken about them,” he said.

He commended the concerted efforts of the military to deal with Boko Haram in the North, adding that that rather than overheat the polity, all hands should be on deck to ensure the mitigation of the challenges facing the nation.

He believed that there existed a degree of disconnection between the people and the security architecture as the people were not being carried along on security issues.

Usman advised that there should be a synergy between the people and the military as this could help curb the menace of insecurity in Nigeria, noting that there should be follow-up on terrorists after they had gone underground, to prevent resurgence.

There have been speculations around attempts to take over government undemocratically.

According to a report by The ICIR, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina alleged that religious and past political leaders were in collaboration with external forces to overthrow the administration of the Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari.

 

1...1,8131,8141,815...3,439Page 1,814 of 3,439