South East governors meet over recent attacks in the region

Members of the South East Governors’ Forum on Monday, May 31, had a virtual meeting where they mapped out strategies to deal with the declining state of security in the region.

At the virtual meeting, the governor discussed ways to tackle the security threats in the region and secure the lives of the people. They vowed to leave no stone unturned in tracking and bringing to justice all those involved in what they described as the armed banditry currently ravaging the South East.

The governors unanimously condemned the killing of Ahmed Gulak, a former presidential aide by gunmen in Imo state on Sunday, May 30.

The governors averred that the directive by President Buhari to the security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators would further strengthen the bonds of unity and trust between the people of the South East and their northern counterparts. They thanked their colleagues in the North for their understanding in the face of the killing and give an assurance that the masterminds would be made to face justice.

Son Of Ahmed Gulak Reveals Father’s Last Words To Him Before He Was Killed

The son of the late politician, Ahmed Gulak, Mohammed has revealed details of the last conversation he had with his father before he was assassinated.

He said he spoke with his father on Saturday night just before his father was killed on Sunday morning by gunmen in Owerri, Imo State.

Gulak was killed by gunmen in Owerri, Imo State while he was on his way to the airport

According to Mohammed, it never occurred to him that that would be the last time he would be having a conversation with his father.

Narrating things that happened shortly before his father’s death was confirmed, Mohammed said it was his father’s personal assistant that first broke the news to the family.

Speaking with BBC Pidgin on the incident, Mohammed narrated that he was in his room on Sunday, May 30, waiting for a driver to take them to the airport to receive his father before news of the shooting broke.

He added that while waiting, his father’s personal assistant called to ask if they had heard what happened but ended the call abruptly when he discovered they didn’t know about the politician’s death yet.

Later, the eldest son came into the house and broke the news about their father’s death with tears in his eyes.

“On Sunday morning, I was in my room waiting for his (Gulak) driver to come so that we can go to the airport to bring him home.”

“It was our father’s personal assistant that first called via the telephone to ask us if we have heard what happened. When we said ‘no’, he ended the call. Maybe he did not want to break the news to us.

“A few minutes later, our eldest brother came into the house crying and he told us about the news of our father’s death. The first thing I did was to call his telephone line to confirm and it did not go through. Afterwards, everybody in the house began to cry.’’

Mohammed revealed that during his conversation with his dad on Saturday which turned out to be their last, he called to wish his father a safe journey back home and his father happily told him “God bless you my son.”

“On Saturday, I called him at exactly 8 pm to greet and wish him safe journey back home the following day. He was happy and told me ‘God bless you, my son. He was part of the committee on constitutional review. He went to Owerri to carry out the work,” he narrated.

We’ll not leave Lagos roads, Okada operators dare government

 

There are indications that the fragile peace existing in Lagos may be threatened following the renewed vigour by the Lagos State Government to enforce the ban on operations of commercial motorcyclists in the state.

Recently, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had vowed to impose stricter measures to stop the operations of commercial motorcyclists known as okada riders in the state.

Sanwo-Olu said the total ban on commercial motorcycles, popularly called okada, would take effect from June so that the First and Last Mile Buses (FLM) could take over inner roads because of some criminal activities related to motorcycle operators as well as fatal accidents.

But the riders, under the auspices of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN), said they would not leave Lagos routes and would act in defiance of the order if not included in the state’s empowerment plans.

Some of the riders accused Sanwo-Olu of marginalisation, claiming the government has no consideration for their economic welfare.

They also urged the government to initiate a welfare scheme that would take care of the citizenry before the commencement of the enforcement.

One of the riders, who plies Ejigbo-Iyana-Isolo route said: “Before, I started to ride okada, I had done many things to survive. I wrote applications for jobs, upgraded my certificates, still I couldn’t get a job to feed my family. It was even my friend that introduced me to where I was able to get the motorcycle through a hire purchase.

“Now they want to take it away from us without giving us anything. How does the governor want us to survive, does he want us to become criminals and they want us to leave the road, to where?”

Another rider, Seye Omikunle said: “Because of the way the police were disturbing us, we don’t even work during the day. They said we are using the bike for illegal activities. I want to ask, is it all of us? Why can’t they do investigations to fish out those involved and allow us to continue with our businesses in peace since they can’t give us jobs.”

“I have three children and a wife who I pay their school fees and give them N1,000 in the morning before leaving the house. I pay rent and bills. How do they want me to be there for my home? Most of us don’t even go through the expressway so what are they saying,” Oriyomi questioned.

Some of them have called for the indictment of police officers who own bikes. They alleged that some policemen would impound bikes to enforce the restrictions order and give the bikes to Hausa riders requesting for daily returns.

Baba Blessing revealed that: “30 per cent of okada in Lagos State is owned by police men. Most of my friends’ motorcycles they impounded were given to some riders from the north. Some of them work at night while some work during the day.”

When The Guardian engaged riders whose bikes were allegedly owned by security operatives, some of them said the bikes were given to them by some mobile policemen as empowerment.

“They gave me the bike to help me in Lagos. Whenever I am caught, I will call the owner, who will speak with them and the bike will be released. Some will just look at the bike, once they see the inscription of the police on it, they will allow us to go. They also know which bike belongs to officers,” one of the riders said.

Clashes between okada riders and the enforcement task force have been rife over the impounding of their motorcycles by the task force.

The bone of contention has been that most of the motorcycles were on hire purchase.

With the continued resistance from motorcycle operators in the state, a clash with the task force is imminent as enforcement commences in full.

"Nigerian Professor Obioma Not Assassinated" - NECO

The Director, Human resources of the NECO, Abdul Mustapha confirmed the death of the NECO boss, Prof. Godswill Obioma, Kossyderrickent reports. 

Debunking news making the rounds that Obioma was assassinated in his Minna home, Mustapha said he (Obioma) died in his sleep as a result of heart failure Monday night.

Mr Mustapha forwarded communication from Obioma’s second son, Prince Godswill Obioma, informing him of the death of his father thus:

“Mustapha K. Abdul (Director Human Resource Management, NECO),

“Dear Sir, this is to formally inform you that my father, Prof. Godswill Obioma, the Registrar/Chief Executive of NECO passed to eternal glory yesterday 31/5/2021 after a brief illness.

“We request that you kindly notify the Board, Management and the entire staff of the Council of this development.

“We shall keep you duly informed.

“Prince Godswill Obioma the 2nd, for the family.”

JUST IN: Boko Haram Ambush Kill Seven Nigerian soldiers, Many Injured in Borno State

At least seven soldiers of the Nigerian Army have been killed by an improvised explosive device planted by Boko Haram terrorists, in Borno state, Nort-east Nigeria.

The latest attack came less than a week after the appointment of a new Chief of Army Staff, Farouk Yahaya.

Mr Yahaya, a major general, was appointed last Thursday following the death of the former army chief, Ibrahim Attahiru, in a plane crash recently.

According to PremiumTimes, sources familiar with the situation said a senior military officer and four other soldiers were severely injured by the explosive.

The incident , which occurred at about 10:15am on Monday, is one amongst the many traps the terrorists have used against the military, security sources said.

The officer, a colonel, whose name was not given, was said to have been on his way from Marti, a town in Borno State to the state capital, Maiduguri, together with his 11 soldiers in a gun truck.

The wounded personnel were later moved to a military hospital in Maiduguri.

REVEALED: How Many Igbo Clans Were Ceded To Other Communities in Nigeria

Are you aware that sometime in 1939 some Anioma communities in present day Delta and Edo states was carved out of the core Igbo heartland despite protests from Anioma kings then to the British colonial authorities?

The same period the Ezza community of present Ebonyi state was carved into Benue state of present day.

Again, in 1976 during the Murtala Mohammed regime, Ahoada and Port Harcourt was ceded to Ijaw dominated River state. Do you still wonder how Igbo speaking people are now minorities in other states?

This was carried out despite rejection by the people to the Willink commission on boundary adjustment.

Still in 1976, oil rich Obigbo LGA in Aba division of old Imo state was ceded to Rivers state. Obigbo is Ndoki clan and has over 50 oil wells, they are pure Igbo people separated from their Azummili kins by the Imo river.

Ohugbu, an oil rich Ndoki community was ceded to Akwa Ibom state. Ohugbu is one of the highest onshore gas and oil producing area.

In the same 1976, the Egbema community was balkanized into three towns with the highest oil producing town ceded to River state from old Imo state.

Same time too, Ndoni was carved out of Aboha and given to Rivers state. Ndoni and Ogbaru are same people. Ogbaru is in Anambra with some of their kinsmen in Delta state.

We know that these oil producing areas of Igbo land was the highest oil producing areas pre 1966 and that the Hausa/Fulani led military government has partitioned our land in other to remove Igbo land as the highest oil producing region in the land.

The envious Hausa/Fulani government acted contemptuously in other to gain control of our oil and soon after these sordid act, they started sharing our oil wells to themselves hence, today they control almost eighty two of such.

This is where I expect Ohaneze to act. They should do all within their ability to recover all our lands dubiously ceded to other regions.

Only then can we see them as true representatives of our people. 

Nigeria At the Point of No Return, Says US Report

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Harvard Kennedy School in the United States, have said that Nigeria as a nation, is at a point of no return with all the signs of a failed nation.

The organization, which made the disclosure in a research finding it released through its senior fellow and former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell and Mr. Robert Rotberg, who is the Founding Director, Harvard Kennedy School’s Programme on Intrastate Conflict and president emeritus, World Peace Foundation, said Nigeria is currently in its final phase, from which it would eventually collapse.

The organisation said their position was not based on emotion or the fancy of using pejorative words to describe the situation, but on “a body of political theory developed at the turn of this century and elaborated upon, case by case, ever since.”

Its report said Nigeria has since moved from being a weak state to “a fully failed state,” having manifested all the signs of a failed country, including the inability of government to protect the citizens, large scale violence and festering insurgency.

According to them, President Muhammadu Buhari admitted that the federal government has lost control of the situation is the first step towards the restoration of stability. The duo warned that Nigeria’s failure as a state comes with negative consequences for peace and security in West Africa sub-region as well as Europe and the US.

“Nigeria has long teetered on the precipice of failure. But now, unable to keep its citizens safe and secure, Nigeria has become a fully failed state of critical geopolitical concern.

“Its failure matters because the peace and prosperity of Africa and preventing the spread of disorder and militancy around the globe depend on a stronger Nigeria.

“Its economy is usually estimated to be Africa’s largest or second largest, after South Africa. Long West Africa’s hegemon, Nigeria played a positive role in promoting African peace and security.

“With state failure, it can no longer sustain that vocation, and no replacement is in sight. Its security challenges are already destabilising the West African region in the face of resurgent jihadism, making the battles of the Sahel that much more difficult to contain.

“And spillover from Nigeria’s failures ultimately affects the security of Europe and the United States.

“Indeed, thoughtful Nigerians over the past decade have debated, often fervently, whether their state has failed. Increasingly, their consensus is that it has,” the report published on foreignpolicy (dot)com on Thursday, said.

The report further said, “There are four kinds of nations: the strong, the weak, the failed, and the collapsed.

“According to previously published research estimates, of the 193 members of the United Nations, 60 or 70 are strong—the nations that rank highest in the listings of Freedom House, the human rights reports of the U. S. State Department, the anticorruption perception indices of Transparency International, and so on.

“There are three places that should be considered collapsed: Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen.

“Eighty or 90 UN members are weak. Weakness consists of providing many, but not all, of essential public goods, the most important of which are security and safety. If citizens are not secure from harm within national borders, governments cannot deliver good governance (the essential services that citizens expect) to their constituents.

“Possibly a dozen or so states are failed, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, and Myanmar. Each lacks security, is unsafe, has weak rules of law, is corrupt, limits political participation and voice, discriminates within its borders against various classes and kinds of citizens, and provides educational and medical services sparingly. Most of all, failed states are violent.

“All failed states harbor some form of violent internal strife, such as civil war or insurgency. Nigeria now confronts six or more internal insurrections and the inability of the Nigerian state to provide peace and stability to its people has tipped a hitherto very weak state into failure.

“According to political theory, the government’s inability to thwart the Boko Haram insurgency is enough to diagnose Nigeria as a failed state. But there are many more symptoms. At a bare minimum, citizens expect their states to keep them secure from external attack and to keep them safe within their borders.

“The bargain that subjects long ago made with their sovereigns was being kept from harm in exchange for allegiance and taxation. When that quid pro quo breaks down, a state loses its coherence, its social fabric disintegrates, and warring factions subvert the social contract that should provide the fundamental foundation of the state.

“Nigeria now appears to have reached the point of no return. Indeed, few parts of Nigeria are today fully safe,” the report added.

Culled from ThisDay.

https://c.newsnow.co.

Sokoto isn’t safe, Sultan warns corps members

The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, has warned National Youth Service Corps members posted to Sokoto that the northern state is not safe amid the continued deterioration of insecurity across the country.

The Muslim spiritual leader also described Nigerians calling for the scrapping of the scheme as enemies of the nation.

“I urge you to be security conscious while staying in Sokoto. You know there are security challenges now all over the world. We have our own share also.

”You should not keep late nights, and if you have any challenges contact your district head because they are like your father and guardian,” he said.

Mr Abubakar spoke when he hosted some selected NYSC Batch A stream 2 Corps members posted to Sokoto in his palace on Monday.

“I heard there are efforts for the scrapping of the NYSC scheme. I assure you that those behind that struggle do not mean well for this country,” Mr Abubakar said.

According to him, the NYSC scheme is the most needed programme given the present situation with Nigeria almost divided along ethnic and religious lines.

Mr Abubakar urged the corps members to consider the state their second home and explore the opportunities therein.

NAN

Nigeria On Fire: Shell Facilities Set Ablaze By Unknown Gunmen In Imo

A Shell facility located at Obiakpu-Egbema in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State has been set ablaze by people suspected to be gunmen.

The incident occurred late Friday when the hoodlums stormed the place and set the facility ablaze. The inferno destroyed both oil pipes that supply oil to other locations and other equipment.

The destruction attracted the attention of the Special Adviser to the Governor of Imo State on Oil and Gas, Hon. Goodluck Nanah Opia, who visited the scene in the company of officials of Nigeria Petroleum Development Company, (NDP), and Fire Service personnel.

The former Speaker, Imo State House of Assembly and former House of Representatives member, who represented Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta and Oru West Federal Constituency expressed regret over the destruction of the facilities by hoodlums.

While assuring that he would look into the matter, Opia called on the Shell Company to fix the place back.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Fire Service team from the NPDC who refused to give his name blamed the attack on bunkering activities.

The Fire Service team who visited the facilities succeeded in containing the conflagration to a very moderate magnitude before leaving.

When contacted, the Imo State Police Command Public Relations Officer SP Elkana Bala, denied knowledge of the incident.

We are watching Nigeria slip into anarchy - Actress Rita Dominic

Actress Rita Dominic has expressed her concerns about the current state of the nation.

In a tweet posted today May 31, Rita said everyone is watching Nigeria slip into anarchy.

 

Her tweet reads

''I am afraid that we are watching Nigeria slip into anarchy. It is surreal. Our elected officials need to work harder to douse the tension in the country. We need peace to reign. Harassing and killing innocent citizens can never solve anything.''