Others Were Accepted but I was Rejected Thrice at Ritualists’ Den – Rivers’ Abducted Nurse

 

An 18-year-old auxiliary nurse, Rachael

David, has relived her close shave with

Death at a suspected ritual killers’ den

in Rivers State after she was kidnapped

at Okuru Junction, Port Harcourt.

Rachael, who is currently receiving

treatment in a hospital, regained her

freedom around 5pm on Friday. Sunday

Punch learnt that the teenager had gone

to buy something at the junction around

7am on Thursday and was returning

home when a motorist signaled to her,

asking for direction to Bitter

Leave Junction.

She said as she was describing the place

to the driver, she was hypnotized and

lost her senses until she arrived at an

unknown destination.

David explained, “I went to get

something at Okuru Junction that

Thursday morning before going to 

work. I didn’t get what I went to buy.

While I was returning home, a driver

blew the car horn to call my attention

and I stopped. A lady was at the back

of the car. He asked me if I know any

place called Bitter Leave Junction and I

said yes. As I was trying to direct him,

he said he couldn’t hear me clearly and

told me to come closer.

“He touched me and I didn’t know if I

entered the car or not. By the time I

regained consciousness, I was already

in an unknown place. They had

blindfolded me and tied my hands. I

couldn’t tell the time of the day.”

The teenager stated that the abductors

took her and some other victims to a

gang suspected to be ritual killers,

adding that all but her were accepted.

She said on Friday morning, the

kidnappers took her and another set of

victims to a spot while they remained

blindfolded.

David recalled, “I was still rejected.

After some hours, they took me and

some victims somewhere blindfolded.

One man asked them why they kept

bringing me and told them to return me

to where they picked me as fast as possible.

Even though I couldn’t see what was

going on in that place, it appears like a

ritual killers’ den. I was the only person

they rejected. I was rejected thrice.

While I was in captivity, new victims

were brought in. The abductors put me

in the car and drove off. When we got

to a spot along the road, they stopped,

removed the blindfold and pushed me

out of the car.”

David said she managed to untie himself

and later found out from passersby that

she was at Rumuokoro, Port Harcourt.

“The kidnappers didn’t take away my

phone so I quickly called my mum. I

had fainted before they came. It was

this morning (Saturday) when I woke

up that I realised I am in the hospital,”

she added.

David’s elder sister, Joy, told Sunday

Punch that the family was excited to

see her again, noting that the incident

was reported at the Amadi Police

Division.

She said, “She was unconscious when

we found her. Policemen followed us to

pick her up at Rumuokoro where she

was abandoned. She went to buy a pad

at Okuru Junction when the motorists

stopped her.”

The Rivers State police spokesperson,

Nnamdi Omoni, did not pick up our

correspondent’s calls and had yet to

reply to a text message sent to him on

the incident as of press time.

Prime Minister: No Sign of Israel-Gaza Conflict Ending

A U.N. Security Council meeting made no progress on resolving the conflict, and Israeli warplanes began attacking Gaza again as the conflict moved into its second week.

Speaking on CBS’ Face The Nation on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said there was no clear end in sight to the violence between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“We’ll do whatever it takes to restore order and quiet,” he said, adding, “It will take some time.”

Hours after he spoke, Israeli warplanes began another round of attacks in the Gaza Strip, attacking a main road, security compounds and an electricity line feeding southern Gaza City, according to The Associated Press and local media reports. The attack was heavier, and lasted longer, than the air raids from the day before, the reports noted.

Mr. Netanyahu defended his nation’s bombing and shelling of Gaza, which Palestinian authorities say has killed at least 197 people, including 58 children. At least 10 people in Israel have died in rocket attacks fired from Gaza, the territory controlled by the militant group Hamas.

Representatives of the United States, Qatar, Egypt and others have tried to broker a cease-fire, so far to no avail.

“If there will be one it will be reached with our conditions, not Israeli conditions,” Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy leader of Hamas, told the Israeli public broadcaster Kan on Sunday. “If Israel does not want to stop, we will not stop.”

The general in charge of Israel’s Southern Command, Eliezer Toledano, told Kan, “it is important we continue to exhaust the campaign that we have entered and deepen the damage being caused to Hamas.”

The Israel Defense Forces, in a statement on Monday morning, said that it continued to hit targets in Gaza, including nine residences belonging to high-ranking commanders in Hamas. Some of those residence, the statement said, were used to store weapons.

Israel has faced wide condemnation from international press organizations for blowing up a building on Saturday that housed the offices of international media organizations including The Associated Press and Al Jazeera. Israeli forces warned in advance of the attack, and there were no casualties reported.

Israeli officials claimed that the building harbored military assets for Hamas. Speaking on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu provided no clear evidence to support that claim, and also did not confirm whether he presented any evidence of this assertion during a conversation with Mr. Biden.

“It’s a perfectly legitimate target,” he said, adding that Israeli forces “unlike Hamas, take special precautions to tell people ‘Leave the building, leave the premises.’”

On the killings of Palestinian children, Mr. Netanyahu pointed the blame at Hamas, saying the organization uses civilians as human shields.

“We are targeting a terrorist organization that is targeting our civilians and hiding behind their civilians, using them as human shields,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can to hit the terrorists themselves, their rockets, their rocket caches and their arms, but we’re not just going to let them get away with it.”

He said Israel does everything it can to avoid civilian casualties. “They’re sending thousands of rockets on our cities with the specific purpose of murdering our civilians from these places,” he said. “What would you do?”

70-Year-Old Suspected Ritualist Escapes Lynching For Stealing Human Hair In Ondo

One Michael Omolayo, suspected to be a ritualist has been arrested in Akure, the Ondo State capital, for packing human hair in large quantities at a barbershop.

The 70-year-old man was almost lynched by some irate residents of Oke-Emesho area of Akure, after he was caught in the act.

Omolayo was said to have received the hair from a woman who had allegedly assisted him to pack the hair from a shop owned by a barber identified as Desmond.

He, however, ran out of luck as he was sighted by some residents who immediately raised the alarm.

According to a source, some of the people attempted to lynch Omolayo but were prevailed upon. The residents thereafter went to search the septuagenarian’s house.

“Some strange objects were found in the house and this prompted the head of the community, Chief James Abiodun, to order his arrest and be taken to the Deji of Akure’s palace along with the strange objects found in his house. The community head also said the issue could only be resolved through traditional means,” he said.

The woman, who was seen handing over the human hair to the suspect, reportedly confessed to the allegation at the Deji’s palace.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Deji of Akure, Mr Michael Adeyeye, who confirmed the incident said the palace would hand over the suspect to the police.

2023 Presidency: Bello Can’t Even Be President Of A Pig Farm – Deji Adeyanju

 

The co-convener of Concerned Nigerian Advocacy Group, Deji Adeyanju has mocked Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State over his remark of running for the 2023 presidential election.

The Abuja-based right activist said Bello lacks the capacity to be president of a “pig farm,” let alone, ruling Nigeria.

Deji said that Yahaya Bello is not fit to be president of a pig farm. Kogi State is the worst governed state in Nigeria. Civil servants are feeding from dustbins.”

I Became Poorer As Imo Governor – Senator Okorocha Laments

Senator Rochas Okorocha, representing Imo West Senatorial District, has said he became poorer after spending eight years as governor of Imo state.

Okorocha said this when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, May 16. According to the former governor, people seem to have forgotten so easily that he was a successful person before becoming governor in 2011.

Okorocha also dared anyone to come forth with evidence that he is corrupt and mismanaged Imo State funds while in office.

“I challenge anybody to prove that I acquired any property with any government fund. I think people have forgotten that I was Rochas before becoming the governor of Imo State; I think they have forgotten completely.

If anything, becoming a governor made me even poorer than what I was in the past. I don’t know whether I acquired any property here in Abuja, there is none.”

The lawmaker said the hotel linked to him belongs to his wife which is also a source for their foundation. Okorocha wondered how he could have stolen the “meager” monthly allocation the State receives from the Federal Government.

Speaking about his ordeal after he was called by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the ex-governor said he was invited by the commission based on a report written by others.

“The invitation was based on a statement made by other people, but I said to them that I have not come to honour your invitation because the matter was already in court and once a matter is in court, we cannot talk about it.

Imo state government has taken me to court on the same subject matter, and we are at the Federal High Court in Abuja, so I told EFCC I cannot be called, so I was arrested, and I made my statement,” he said.

Impeach ‘rubber stamp Senate President Lawan now’ – Ohanaeze to NASS

Ohanaeze Ndigbo has described the stance of the President of Nigeria’s Senate, Ahmed Lawan over the resolutions of Southern Governors as “affirmative evidence that the Senator is a rubber stamp of the presidency and biased umpire.”

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization said Lawan deserved to be impeached without further delay.

This is coming after Lawan opposed recent resolutions of the Southern Nigeria governors.

Reacting, Ohanaeze said on Monday that the Senate President had clearly shown that he lacked the morality to continue to preside over the National Assembly.

Ohanaeze in a statement by its President-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro said, “Senate President, Ahmed Lawan’s inflammatory comments on restructuring has bestowed on him the award of ‘most unpopular and rubber stamp’ Senate President in the history of the Senate, who stood against collective liberties and yearnings of Nigerians to re-address the faulty system and structural imbalance of the country.

“Lawan and co travellers were caught unawares by the call for change of status quo which the North had benefited from and shortchanged people of the south.

“The call for restructuring and ban of open grazing was bitter pills for the North to swallow, and opposition against the southern Governors resolutions reinforced our belief and suspicions that the North like the manner they destroyed the reports of 2014 Constitutional conference, will leave no stone unturned to frustrate the move to restructure Nigeria, for sinister economic reasons, unhealthy dominance and parochial policies against the south.”

He added that “Senator Ahmed Lawan has squandered the goodwill of Nigerians and ought to relinquish his position as President of the Senate by resigning honourably, having made nepostic comments capable of creating disaffection among Nigerians.

“Since he hasn’t shown remorse over his comments, the Senate should save itself from a moral standpoint by getting rid of inept and rubber stamp leadership. It should replace Senator Lawan with a vibrant personality to revamp the independence of the Senate and stop it from being an appendage of the Presidency.”

Culled from Dailypost.....

Miyetti Allah: North can’t ignore South’s decision on open grazing

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) says the North cannot afford to ignore the recent unanimous decision of southern governors to place a ban on open grazing in their states.

Responding to the Tuesday Asaba Declaration of the governors, National Secretary of MACBAN, Baba Othman Ngelzarma, said northern governors should rise up to the challenge by working out a solution of their own that will be generally acceptable.

“We can’t ignore the unanimous demand of the entire governments of the south on a particular issue,” Ngelzarma told The Nation yesterday.

“If the southern governors can be in agreement on an aspect, that means it is an issue and deserves to be given serious attention,” he added.

“In a situation where the entire southern populace is synonymous with a particular aspect, I think this aspect deserves to be given attention.

“But the northern governors need to speak with their southern counterparts so that they can come up with a solution that is generally acceptable.”

He said the northern governors should also consider reactivating the over 400 inactive grazing reserves in the north and make them attractive for pastoralists to settle.

He added that the grazing reserves, if reactivated, with the provision of schools, veterinary clinics, hospital services among others, it would give the pastoralists an opportunity to be educated and also stop them from roaming.

His words: “Ranching is a long term issue. Since we have these grazing reserves lying idle, why can’t we reactivate them?

“We as an association believe settlements for the pastoralists will be the only solution that will solve the farmers/herders conflicts in the country.”

The Nation gathered that Nigeria has 415 grazing reserves, but only one third of them are in use.

The Association said the grazing reserves which cover an area of 5 million hectares in the north should be reactivated in the interim before considering ranching which may take a long time and process to complete.

Ngelzarma urged the federal government to design a policy to tackle the problem of farmers/herders conflicts.

He said: “The time of roaming about looking for pasture is almost over, considering the growth in population of the country, challenges of land and climate change. This calls for an effective planning on the part of the federal government.

“Why can’t the northern governors begin to make these areas attractive to the pastoralists? Why can’t they reactivate and make the grazing reserves functional?

“The moment they provide water and pastures in the grazing reserves, this will attract the pastoralists in the south to relocate back to the north.

“It is only when you give them a place to stay that’s when you will have the opportunity to give them education and also provide them with veterinary clinics, hospital services among others, which will stop them from roaming about.

He urged the National Assembly to come up with a legislation that will put an end to the issue.

The governors of the 17 southern states had, in a communiqué at the end of the Asaba meeting, said the incursion of armed herders, criminals and bandits into the southern part of the country has presented a severe security challenge such that citizens are not able to live their normal lives.

They resolved “that open grazing of cattle be banned across Southern Nigeria, noting that development and population growth has put pressure on available land and increased the prospects of conflict between migrating herders and local populations in the South.

“Given this scenario, it becomes imperative to enforce the ban on open grazing in the South (including cattle movement to the South by foot).”

Farmers/herders conflicts have claimed many lives across the country.

Wike relaxes curfew in Rivers LGAs

Rivers state Governor Nyesom Wike has reviewed the curfew in Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas of the state from 8.30pm to 6am starting effective Sunday May 16, 2021.

Governor Wike however announced that the curfew time in other parts of the state remains 7pm to 6am until further notice.

He disclosed this when he addressed the people of the state, in a broadcast, Saturday evening.

He urged the residents to be vigilant as they go about their lawful businesses, assuring that security officials are on ground to address any state of insecurity. 

#EndSARS: Two Victims Of Police Brutality Receive N11m Compensation

The Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for victims of SARS has again given out cheques to more victims of police brutality.

At the panel’s sitting on Saturday, two victims were awarded the sum of N11 million as compensation.

With the new compensations, the panel has now given out a total sum of N68. 25 million to 12 petitioners.

In the petition of late Rasheed Olanrewaju Kareem, his widow was awarded the sum of N10m for the extra judicial killing.

The brother of the deceased, Olalekan Bankole, who testified on February 16, had said that the deceased was shot in the head by police officers from the Area C Command in Surulere.

The incident was said to have occurred on October 21, 2020 during the #EndSARS protests.

The panel found that the police authorities failed to investigate the unjustified shooting of unarmed persons at the Tejuosho and Aralile areas of Surulere in Lagos, as well as the extrajudicial killing of the deceased and other persons.

The Chairman of the panel, Justice Doris Okuwobi recommended that “the Nigeria Police Force carries out an independent investigation into the sporadic and deliberate shooting, in order to confirm who carried out the shooting” and prosecute them accordingly.

In the petition of Yinka Austin Adebayo, the panel awarded him the sum of N1 million naira as compensation for the unlawful arrest, brutality and torture meted on him by police operatives between September 28 and 30, 2017.

In reaching its decision, the panel found that on the totality of evidence adduced by the petitioner, the Petitioner’s evidence was undefended, strong and uncontroverted by the Police.

It was also corroborated by the evidence of the second witness as proof that Mr Austin’s rights were infringed upon unjustifiably, having being cleared by the DPO of the Ojo Police Command in Lagos of committing any crime, yet he was still transferred to the SARS unit at Ikeja.

The panel frowned at the illegal confiscation of his car and further held that he was entitled to compensation in the sum of N1m for the violation of his personal liberty and degrading treatment meted to him.

At Least 12 Killed As Tornado Hits China

Two tornadoes that struck central and eastern China killed at least 12 people and injured more than 400, authorities said Saturday.

Violent winds of more than 260 kilometres per hour (160 miles per hour) blasted the central city of Wuhan on Friday night.

Eight people died and more than 280 were injured there, authorities said, adding that around 30 homes had collapsed.

Vehicles were crushed by falling objects, trees uprooted, buildings partially destroyed and electricity pylons felled, leaving more than 26,000 homes without power.

The gale damaged two construction cranes, one of which toppled onto the site below, causing significant damage.

In Suzhou, near Shanghai, another tornado with winds of more than 200 kilometres per hour wreaked havoc.

Four people were killed and one remains missing, according to local authorities.

Images shared on social media showed a black whirlwind that left a trail of destruction.

In May, a windstorm caused the deaths of 11 people in a different town also close to Shanghai.

AFP