Home Blog Page 1844

No single soul deserves to be in any prison in Nigeria – Kanu

Vincent Ufuoma
-
0
No single soul deserves to be in any prison in Nigeria – Kanu

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu has said that no single soul deserves to be in any prison in Nigeria.

Kanu said this in a statement on Monday.

He queried the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s rehabilitation programmes for arrested members of Boko Haram and some criminal gangs destabilising the country’s peace, stressing that the criminals were treated with kid gloves.

Kanu’s statement came hours after some gunmen in the early hours of Monday razed Imo State Police Command headquarters.

Some vehicles parked at the command headquarters were also burnt down. It was gathered that the hoodlums further freed suspects in almost all the cells at the State Criminal Investigation Department of the command.

READ ALSO: Why IPOB split into Kanu, Dokubo factions

The attackers also reportedly torched Owerri Correctional Prison in Imo State capital and freed over 1,500 inmates.

The State Police Command is yet to make any comment on the incident as efforts by The ICIR to reach the police spokesperson Orlando Ikeokwu for comments were unsuccessful.

Several calls put across to his phone were not picked, neither did he react to a text message sent to his Whatsapp number as of the time of filing this report.

IPOB dissociates self from attacks on Police facility, NCS in Imo

Vincent Ufuoma
-
0
IPOB dissociates self from attacks on Police facility, NCS in Imo

THE Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) has dissociated itself from Monday attacks on Imo State Police headquarters and the Nigerian Correctional Service in Owerri.

It also reiterated that its members and the Eastern Security Network (ESN)  had never been involved in assaulting Nigeria’s security operatives.

The Media and Publicity Secretary of the group Emma Powerful told newsmen while reacting to the incident on Monday morning that IPOB and ESN were not involved in the attacks.

He described media reports linking the group and its security outfit to the attacks as fallacious and fabricated.

“The attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been drawn again to the fallacious and fabricated news that IPOB and ESN are involved in the attack of prison and police headquarters in owerri imo state,” he said.

READ ALSO: DSS, Police, Army silent on reported deaths from IPOB clash with security operatives

“IPOB and ESN are known groups, not unknown gunmen. ESN is in the bush chasing Fulani terrorists, why linking IPOB and ESN to this attack? IPOB and ESN were not involved in the attack in Owerri, Imo State. and the recent attack on Onitsha- Owerri Road at Ukwuorji Junction. It is not our mandate to attack security personnel or prison facilities.”

He urged the Nigerian government and media houses to stop labelling IPOB members and its security operatives as unknown gunmen, as their primary assignment was mainly to resist the terror of the killer Fulani herders.

“The Nigerian government and her compromised media outfits should stop linking IPOB and ESN to the multiple attacks going on in Nigeria now. IPOB was formed on the principle of peace and we are still in it. Unknown gunmen are different people; we don’t know them and they are not IPOB or ESN security outfit.”

The ICIR had reported how some gunmen in the early hours of Monday razed  Imo State Police Command headquarters.

Some vehicles parked at the command headquarters were also burnt down. It was gathered that the hoodlums further freed suspects in almost all the cells at the State Criminal Investigation Department of the command.

The attackers also reportedly attacked the Owerri Correctional Prison in Imo State capital and freed over 1,500 inmates.

The State Police Command is yet to make any comment on the incident as efforts by The ICIR to reach the police spokesperson Orlando Ikeokwu for comments were unsuccessful.

Enugu killings: Butchering innocent and defenceless people does not make sense- Fani-Kayode

Several calls put across to his phone were not picked, neither did he react to a text sent to his Whatsapp number as of the time of filing this report.

Security operatives aided killing of two herders in Kaduna – MACBAN

Lukman ABOLADE
-
0
Security operatives aided killing of two herders in Kaduna – MACBAN

MIYETTI Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has said that security operatives aided the killing of two of its members and more than 600 cows in Zangon Kataf Local Council of Kaduna State.

MACBAN Kaduna chapter spokesperson Ibrahim Dango disclosed this to The ICIR during a telephone interview on Monday.

Dango said the Wakili Fulani of Atyap chiefdom Ardo Pate Kurmi and Ardo Muhammadu Anchau were killed while returning from a peace meeting at Gora district of Atyap with officers of the Operation Safe Haven, a military ongoing operation in the North.

According to Dango, the Commander of Operation Safe Haven had asked the Ardos to be driven by the Secretary to the District Head of Gora without any security cover, saying that they were surrounded and killed.

“Operation Safe Haven aided their killing because they did not provide any security cover for them despite knowing that tension had risen during the peace talk,” Dango told The ICIR.

When asked if the bodies of the alleged victims had been seen to confirm their deaths, Dango said they had not been found since March 24.

However, he said the group could confirm that they were dead because they were told by two young Fulani who escaped the attack.

He added that there had also been several attacks on the Fulani people and their livestock in Zango Kataf and environs recently.

READ ALSO:

“As I speak to you, more than 600 cows have been killed and thrown into the river. It is a very bad scene,” Dango further stated.

This is part of the ethnic conflict that has ravaged some parts I of Kaduna State.

Dango further noted that the demand of MACBAN was that the state government compensate the families of deceased leaders and also recover their bodies.

On Friday, Nassarawa State Chairman of MACBAN Mohammed Hussaini and the MACBAN Chairman of Toto Local Government Area Mohammed Umar were killed by suspected bandits at the Garaku market, Kokona Local Government Area of the state.

Spokesperson to the Nigeria Defence Clement Onyeama did not respond to questions from The ICIR concerning the accusation.

Presidency describes Kukah’s Easter message as ungodly

Vincent Ufuoma
-
0
Presidency describes Kukah’s Easter message as ungodly

THE Presidency has replied Matthew Hassan Kukah on his recent statement that addressed critical and strategic concerns in the country.

Kukah, who is Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, had, in his reaction to the ravaging insecurity in parts of the country on Sunday, expressed worries that Nigeria had become a killing field.

He lamented that both the government and citizens had become helpless in the face of incessant cases of banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and armed robbery across states in the country.

“Traumatised citizens are tortured daily by bandits. The nation has since become a massive killing field, as both government and the governed look on helplessly,” Kukah said.

He noted that there was now a collective fear in Nigeria as to whether the glory of the country was about to depart due to the killings by the Boko Haram terrorist group, kidnappers and ‘other merchants of death.’

He blamed lack of empathy by the Buhari- led administration as reasons for the several deaths in the country.

Reacting in a statement in the late hours of Sunday, Senior Presidential Spokesperson  Garba Shehu described Kukah’s ‘bashing’ of his boss as ‘ungodly.’

While noting that citizens were permitted to hold their opinions, Shehu said the spiritual leader’s personal ideology and views should not stand in the way of facts and fairness.

He added that some of the comments were no more than a sample of the unrestrained rhetoric Kukah traded in, which he often did in the guise of a homily.

“All citizens have their individual ideologies, even their own versions of truth. But if you profess to being a man of God, as Father Mathew Hassan Kukah does, ideology should not stand in the way of facts and fairness,” he said.

“Father Kukah has said some things that are inexplicable in his Easter message. But, in saying that the Boko Haram terrorism is worse than it was in 2015, he did not speak like a man of God.

“Kukah should go to Borno or Adamawa to ask the citizens there the difference between 2014 and 2021.”

Shehu said the creation of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development was part of the president’s efforts to address the concerns of displaced persons whom Kukah said  the government had abandoned.

He urged well-meaning citizens to continue to support the ongoing efforts by the Buhari’s administration to secure the country and move it forward.

Gunmen burn down Imo Police headquarters, attack prison, free over 1500 inmates

Vincent Ufuoma
-
0
Gunmen burn down Imo Police headquarters, attack prison, free over 1500 inmates

SOME unknown gunmen have reportedly burnt down Imo State Police headquarters in a renewed attack against Police facilities in the state.

The ICIR understands that the attack took place in the early hours of Monday.

Some vehicles parked at the command headquarters were also burnt down. It was gathered that the hoodlums further freed suspects in almost all the cells at the State Criminal Investigation Department of the command.

The attackers also reportedly attacked the Owerri Correctional Prison in Imo State capital and freed over 1,500 inmates.

Punch quoted a security source as saying that the gunmen sang solidarity songs at Imo State Government House Roundabout for about 30 minutes before attacking the facilities. 

You may wish to read

#EndSARS protest that left Imo communities desolate and traumatised

How suspected Fulani herdsmen killed, injured residents in Ebonyi – Police

BLOOD ON UNIFORMS (3): In Nigeria’s South-east, no justice for several killed, injured during lockdown

On breaking into the prison facility with the aid of explosives and dynamite, the attackers told the inmates, “Go home, Jesus has risen. You have no reason to be here.”

TheCable quoted an official source as saying the attacks were carried out by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) using dynamites, heavy explosives, and AK-47 rifles.

The source also said the operation lasted for close to three hours.

“At about 0100hrs of date, armed men suspected to be members of IPOB/ESN criminal gang in their numbers invaded Owerri Prisons mine using dynamites and other heavy explosives, gained entrance and released some inmates in the prison(details of the level of carnage done to the facility and the number of inmates released is yet to be confirmed),” the source said.

“The hoodlums also attacked the Police State Headquarters Owerri while firing consistently with AK 47 rifles and explosives. They released some suspects detained in the SCID cell and put fire on so many vehicles parked at the headquarters premises, including the SCID office building. The onslaught/operation lasted close to three hours.”

Efforts by The ICIR to reach the police spokesperson in the state Orlando Ikeokwu for comments were unsuccessful.

EL-Rufai vows to prosecute those negotiating with bandits on Kaduna’s behalf

Lukman ABOLADE
-
0
EL-Rufai vows to prosecute those negotiating with bandits on Kaduna’s behalf

THE governor of Kaduna State Nasir El-Rufai has vowed to prosecute anyone found negotiating with bandits on behalf of the state government.

El-Rufai disclosed this when he appeared on Politics Today programme aired on Channels TV on Sunday evening, reiterating that his government would not negotiate with bandits despite high rate of kidnapping in the state.

“Some people are pretending to negotiate with the bandits on our behalf. We have issued a statement that we are going to trace these people, we are going to prosecute them.

You may wish to read

INVESTIGATION: Horror in Southern Kaduna: Untold story of endless massacres, plunder by suspected Fulani militia (Part I) 

INVESTIGATION: Horror in Southern Kaduna: Untold story of endless massacres, plunder (Part II)

INVESTIGATION: Horror in Southern Kaduna: Untold Story of Endless Massacre, Plunder by Suspected Fulani Militia (Part III)

“…by giving money in the name of the state government is an offence under the penal code with the same penalty as kidnapping and brigandage itself and we intend to pursue these people will prosecute them,” El-Rufai said.

The ICIR reported that  former senator who represented Kaduna Central (between 2015 and 2019) Shehu Sani had visited an Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi, asking him to help secure the release of students and members of Redeemed Christian Church separately kidnapped by bandits in the state.

Gumi has, in recent times, touted himself as a negotiator between bandits and the government, while advocating that amnesty should be granted to bandits and empathy shown towards them.

To El-Rufai, bandits and other kidnappers operating in the North-East and North-West are funders of terrorism in Nigeria.

He noted that the bandits were terrorists and should be treated as such because they were fighting against the sovereignty of Nigeria.

According to the governor, the kidnapping business had become a large industry in the North-East as the insurgents had food, drug, petrol suppliers as well as informants paid with the money recovered from kidnapping.

He further stated that security operatives had apprehended one Mallam Abbas, a member of Ansaru, a branch of Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).

He said Ansaru congregated in the forest in Birnin Gwari Local Government of Kaduna State, adding that they had similar objectives to Boko haram except that they were not against western education but were against all symbols of authority and their agenda was to bring down the Nigerian state.

“The most important finding is that the money from this kidnapping is substantially going towards funding terrorist operations of Ansaru in the North-West and the Boko Haram in the North-East,” he stated.

Due to the position of El-Rufai on kidnappers and bandits, 39 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka in Kaduna State, have remained in the kidnappers’ den for more than 20 days.

Speaking on the kidnapped students, El-Rufai said negotiating with the kidnappers or paying them would amount to empowering the enemy.

He added that the government would do everything there was to stop kidnapping and banditry.

‘There is only one option, that is the only logical and sensible option. All other options are irrational emotional and stupid.”

Kaduna State has recently become the haven of kidnappers and bandits as about 150 persons have been kidnapped in the state in the past month. While some have been released, others are still being held.

Innocent Chukwuma: Buhari, Odinkalu, Sani mourn demise of civil society activist

Lukman ABOLADE
-
0
Innocent Chukwuma: Buhari, Odinkalu, Sani mourn demise of civil society activist

NIGERIANS, especially members of the civil society, are mourning the death of  former Head of Ford Foundation in West Africa Innocent Chukwuma, who died of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, an aggressive cancer of the blood, on Saturday.

Chukwuma was, until his death, a well-known voice in the civil society, having founded CLEEN Foundation to bolster justice, public safety and security in West Africa.

In a statement, President Muhammadu Buhari described Chukwuma’s death as a loss of a credible voice of transparency.

Buhari said in the statement signed by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity Garba Shehu on Sunday that Nigeria would miss him.

According to Buhari, Chukwuma was working actively with the administration through the civil society organisation CLEEN Foundation to monitor the spending of the last tranche of $311 million repatriated funds recovered from former Head of State Sani Abacha.

The president, while mourning his death, lamented that he died at a time when the nation needed him.

“His demise will be badly felt because of his great contributions to our efforts to ensure transparency and good governance under our democratic system”, Buhari said.

The President said Chukwuma would be remembered for his remarkable record and dedication to the cause of good governance, transparency and accountability in Africa.

Former Executive Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission and Professor of Law Chidi Odinkalu, who announced his death, said he died on Saturday evening.

According to Odinkalu, the proximate cause of his death was Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, diagnosed end-stage.

He added that the civil society guru, who was 55, had no chance by the time the diagnosis came through.

The news of his death came barely 24 hours after the death of Yinka Odumakin, a human rights activist and former Spokesperson for the Afenifere, a Yoruba socio-cultural group.

Further reacting to Chukwuma and Odumakin’s death, Odinkalu lamented that the nation had lost Anyakwee Nsirimovu, Wisdom Durueke,Yinka Odumakin, and Innocent Chukwuma in a matter of months, eulogising them as belonging to a generation of selfless struggle & sacrifice.

Senator Shehu Sani, who was President of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria (CRCN), said Chukwuma’s death was “another tragic loss of a patriot,” saying that death had taken away one of the brightest.

 

Obasanjo, Gumi urge FG to create special courts for security-related matters

Niyi OYEDEJI
-
0
Obasanjo, Gumi urge FG to create special courts for security-related matters

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo and popular Islamic cleric Sheik Ahmad Gumi have urged President Muhammed Buhari to devise fresh methods of tackling security issues in the country.

They have also called on President Buhari to set up a special court that will handle security-related issues.

The duo had, on Sunday afternoon, met behind closed doors in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital to discuss ways of solving the country’s perennial security challenges. The leaders later released a jointly signed communique on Nigeria’s state of insecurity after the meeting.

In the statement received by The ICIR, the two Nigerian leaders recommended special courts to try bandits, kidnappers and anyone caught carrying arms illegally.

“Special courts should be created to deal promptly with cases of banditry, kidnapping, ransom demanding and unlawful carrying of weapons.”

They also urged the Federal Government to take the issue of insecurity up with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The two leaders said the remote causes of the insecurity issues in the country were educational and economic disparities, adding that the negative use of religion and ethnicity by unscrupulous politicians also played roles.

“Solutions must be seen and provided on short-, medium-, and long-term bases and must be composed of stick and carrot for the offender and the vulnerable.”

Gumi and Obasanjo, however, urged all well-meaning Nigerians to desist from blame game, as well as ethnicising, regionalising and religionising the crimes.

They also tasked the state governments to provide security in their respective states, noting that, “they must have the means at their disposal to ensure security for all within their states.”

They urged the Federal Government to solve the issues of out-of-school children, adding that it was one main key to solving the problem of insecurity in Nigeria.

“The 14 million children that should be in school and are out of school must be put in school with local authorities, state governments and federal government working together.”

 

 

Banks reconnect MTN subscribers to USSD services

Amos ABBA
-
0
Banks reconnect MTN subscribers to USSD services

COMMERCIAL banks, on Sunday, reconnected MTN subscribers to their unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) payment channels after the telecommunications giant backtracked on its earlier position.

MTN had turned to fintech firms such as Flutterwave and Opay after banks disconnected its 77 million customers from USSD channels due to disagreements over commissions. But the telecoms giant has shifted its position.

A report quoting  Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria Karl Toriola said the telecoms giant would revert to the initial commission (of 4.5 per cent) charged by banks on airtime sales pending the outcome of a meeting where reduction of the charge would be discussed on Tuesday.

According to the report, the letter dated April 3, 2021, was signed by  Toriola, and it was addressed to the Chairman of Body of Banks’ CEOs, Herbert Wigwe.

“Our virtual meeting between yourself (Wigwe) and Segun Agbaje (MD of GTBank) on the one hand and myself (Toriola) and Modupe Kadri (chief financial officer of MTN Nigeria) on the other refers,” the letter read.

The mobile network operator had reduced banks’ commission from an average of 3.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent, leading to a dispute between MTN and commercial banks.

“In an attempt to resolve the current USSD recharge impasse, given the interventions from our regulators, we hereby agree. The banks revert to the status quo of 4.5 per cent commission.

“However, the banks and MTN Communications Nigeria Plc shall sit to agree on various options that will result in the reduction in the costs on 6th of April 2021,” the letter stated.

Commercial banks had asked MTN to reverse its action to the old commission of 4.5 per cent or lose access to mobile banking applications and USSD payment channels.

Due to MTN’s refusal to revert to the commission, commercial banks, except Zenith Bank, which is connected directly to the MNO, denied customers access to the USSD platform, leaving many subscribers stranded and frustrated as they were only able to recharge their lines with physical cards.

On Saturday, MTN offered alternative channels for its subscribers, asking then to dial *904# and *606# to access other electronic payment platforms.

Insecurity: Nigeria has turned into a massive killing field – Kukah

Lukman ABOLADE
-
0
Insecurity: Nigeria has turned into a massive killing field – Kukah

CATHOLIC Bishop of Sokoto Diocese  Matthew Hassan Kukah has said that Nigeria is now a massive killing field.

Kukah said this in his 2021 Easter message titled, ‘Before our glory departs,’ made available to The ICIR on Sunday.

The bishop  blamed the government of Muhammadu Buhari for incessant cases of banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and armed robbery across states in the country.

“Traumatised citizens are tortured daily by bandits. The nation has since become a massive killing field, as both government and the governed look on helplessly,” Kukah said.

He noted that there was now a collective fear in Nigeria as to whether the glory of the country was about to depart due to the killings by the Boko Haram terrorist group, kidnappers and ‘other merchants of death.’

Kukah, who has always spoken up against terrorism in the North, also said the greatest tragedy about the several deaths being recorded in Nigeria was lack of empathy from those in power.

The ICIR had reported how President Muhammadu Buhari reacted to killings in the country five days after their occurrences, but swiftly commented on the attempted coup in the Niger Republic.

Kukah stated that the government was ‘mysteriously investing billions of naira in rehabilitating Boko Haram repentant members’ believing they would turn a new leaf.

According to him, banditry and kidnapping were increasing because those in power paid more attention to rehabilitating bandits and kidnappers than the victims.

“These criminals have waged war against their country, murdered thousands of citizens, destroyed infrastructure and rendered entire families permanently displaced and dislocated.

“Why should rehabilitating the perpetrator be more important than bringing succour to the victims? “When kidnapped or killed, victims and their families are left to their wits. They cry alone, bury their loved ones alone,” Kukah lamented.

Further criticising the rehabilitation of Boko Haram members called Operation Safe Corridor, Kukah said he had never heard of a rehabilitation programme for thousands of schoolchildren who had been abducted and rescued.

Earlier in December 2020, a group had threatened Kukah following his Christmas Day message when he faulted Buhari’s administration, saying he had turned nepotism into a state policy and that there could have been a coup if a non-northern Muslim president had done a fraction of what the president was doing.

1...1,8431,8441,845...3,440Page 1,844 of 3,440