RULAAC Condemns Killing Of Traders In Lagos Market By Nigerian Soldiers, Demands Investigation

The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has condemned the alleged killing of four traders at the popular Ladipo Spare Parts Market in Lagos state by trigger-happy military personnel.

RULAAC in a statement by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, urged the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to order an investigation with a view to unravelling the circumstances, identifying the perpetrators of the latest act of abuse of power and misuse of firearms. 

File Photo

The statement reads, “Rule of Law And Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) is shocked at the disturbing news of the attack and use of lethal weapons on traders at Ladipo Auto Spare Parts international Market, in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State by military personnel on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 which resulted to the death of at least four persons and injuries on many others.

“There are conflicting accounts of what actually led to the invasion of the crowded market by military personnel who came in OP MESSA Hilux vans and started shooting live bullets directly at traders resulting to fatalities and injuries. But all accounts point to the fact that there was a dispute between a customer who purchased an auto spare part at the market and returned with the part demanding a replacement after the expiration of the warranty.

“This resulted to arguments and altercations and then a fight between the customer (who was said to either be a soldier or was accompanied by his soldier-friend) and some executive members of the traders union. The man was said to have run out and invited a military patrol team which arrived and started shooting directly at traders. Vehicles within the market were riddled with bullets as could be seen in one of the videos recorded at the scene.

“The exact details of what actually led to the shooting need to be investigated. But we are concerned about the involvement of military personnel in what appears to be a civil dispute and the use of lethal weapons on unarmed civilians.

“The role of the military in a civilised democracy is clearly spelt out and does not include meddling in civil matters. The arms given to the military and purchased with tax payers’ money are given to them to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria and not to use them to kill their fellow citizens whom they are employed and paid to protect.

“This latest action underscores the impunity that continues to fuel wilful, unjustifiable, illegal and excessive use of force by security forces against civilians. Otherwise, why would the military, so soon again, be involved in yet another incident of the use of live bullets on unarmed civilians while investigations are yet to be concluded into the similar use of deadly force against protesters at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos in October 2020?

“RULAAC calls on the Lagos State Governor, to order an investigation with a view to unravelling the circumstances, identifying the perpetrators of this latest act of abuse of power and misuse of firearms. All the military personnel responsible should be brought to account. The victims should also be accorded adequate remedies while steps should be taken to avoid a repeat of such reckless and shameful episodes.”

Suspension Letter Of Ex-Governor Okorocha Is Fake – APC Recants

The All Progressives Congress has disowned a letter dated July 12, suspending the former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, as internal crisis continues to rock the party in the South-East state.

The APC said on Tuesday that the suspension letter signed by Mai Mala Buni and John Akpanudoedehe, the National Chairman and Secretary of the APC caretaker committee, was fake.

“This is to communicate to you, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Party ratification of your suspension by the Imo State Chapter of our great party for anti-party activities,” the letter addressed to Okorocha had read.

“The suspension follows after the recommendation by the Imo State Disciplinary Committee set up to investigate allegations of gross anti-party activities against you which is in line with Article 21 (B) I-VI of our party’s constitution.”

However, according to Akpanudoedehe, the letter did not come from the ruling party.

“It has come to the attention of the National Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that a fake letter of a purported suspension of Senator Rochas Okorocha from the party is circulating in the public space,” he said.

“Fifth columnists and forgers have obviously taken advantage of the unfortunate and recent leaks of our official correspondences with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to copy and paste forged signatures of the CECPC Chairman and Secretary on equally fake letters.

“The APC does not currently have a “National Working Committee” as stated in the fake letter, but a Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) which has been saddled with the mandate to reposition, unite and strengthen our great party.”

He added that the letter “is a figment of the imagination of fifth columnists”, and urged members to ignore it.

The letter had stated that Okorocha was suspended for “flagrant public abuse on the person and office of the President, Republic of Nigeria (An APC-led government).”

God Showed Me 26 Years Ago How Nnamdi Kanu Would Lead Biafra – Nigerian Cleric

A Nigerian cleric and Senior Pastor of the Redemption Life Fellowship, Aba, Abia State, Bishop Jude Chineme, has said that Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra was born to achieve the sovereign state of Biafra.

The cleric said God had shown him about 26 years ago before Ralph Nwazuruike formed the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra that it was an Igbo man from Umuahia, the Abia state capital that would champion the Biafra agitation.

Nnamdi Kanu

He, then, stated that Umuahia-born Kanu “is a moving train that no man can stop unless he gets to his destination.”

He added, “that guy is such a man that anything he wants to do, nobody on earth can discourage him unless God.”

Chineme said this in a video obtained by SaharaReporters on Monday while granting an interview on the arrest and detention of the IPOB leader.

“My name is Bishop Jude N. Chineme. You know people like us don’t talk anyhow. We talk when it’s necessary. The Biafra agitation is something the Lord revealed to me many years ago, 26 if not 27 years ago. That was on 4th September, 1994.

“The day I was in Terryvin hotel by Okigbe Road, Aba. In my wedding ceremony, the chairman of the wedding was Dr Edmund Ezirim, the owner of Blessing Clinic, 97 or 95 Port Harcourt Road, Aba.

“It was there that the Lord revealed to me the crowd heading to Umuahia. When I asked that what kind of crowd is this? Then the Lord told me that was Biafra restoration. I saw the Biafra flag. And God vividly opened and told me that the man that would bring Biafra would come from Umuahia. That was 4th September, 1994.

“I now said it publicly. Dr Ezirim laughed. He said why this Biafra prophecy? That Biafra would not come back again. But, I told him that was what God revealed to me. Biafra restoration.

“By that time, Uwazuruike has not come with something like Biafra agitation. Years later, Nwazuruike now came up with Biafra agitation. The Lord told me Biafra would not come through Nwazuruike.

“So, later Nnamdi Kanu now came up with Biafra agitation and the Lord told me vividly told me that Biafra would come through him. That was why when people criticised him, say something about Biafra agitation and so on, I kept silent because I know that what Nnamdi Kanu is doing was exactly what God revealed to me on 4th September, 1994. That day was on Sunday. And it rained heavily that day,” Chineme said partly in the video.

The Bishop boasted further that Biafra will be achieved whether people pray about it or not, adding that the Lord had already told him.

“So, that’s why people say people should pray about the coming of Biafra. I refused to pray because I know the Lord has revealed to me and it’s something that must surely come to pass whether you pray or you fail to pray because the word of God must surely come to pass.

“And to me, what now spoke to me. This is what Nnamdi Kanu was born for. God sent him into this planet earth for that purpose. So, whether by prayer or not by prayer, it must surely come to pass,” the clergyman added.

On the arrest of Kanu, Chineme also warned the Nigerian government to treat Kanu’s case with caution. He also advised President Muhammadu Buhari to have a dialogue with the pro-Biafra separatist leader, insisting that peace talks were the remedy.

Rival Cults Kill Six Persons In Delta

At least six persons have been killed as hoodlums suspected to be cultist clashes between Monday and Tuesday in different locations of Asaba in Delta State.

The last victims killing believed to have been retaliatory attacks, as they were suspected to be members of Black Axe Confraternity.

File photo used to illustrate story.The Guardian Nigeria

A source said that an Asaba-based Surveyor known as Ifeanyi who was one of the victims was mowed down at about 7pm on Monday, at a street opposite the Stephen Keshi Stadium, along the popular Nnebisi Road.

Another victim, a middle-aged man whose identity could not be ascertained, was reportedly beheaded at the early hours of Tuesday. His severed head was deposited at Otuogwu area in the metropolis, while the body was said to have been recovered where it was staked behind Oshimili South Council Secretariat. The source added. 

Meanwhile, the Acting Public Relations Officer of the Delta Police Command, Bright Edafe, confirmed three people dead between Monday and Tuesday.

“The information we have here confirmed three killed and it is cult-related matter. The police are on the situation,” he stated.

It was learnt that there is fear and anxiety among residents in the town, while many youths have temporarily relocated because of the cult clash.

Lagos Police Arrest More Suspects Over Murder Of Super TV CEO, Ataga

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested more suspects in connection to the murder of the Super TV CEO, Usifo Ataga.

This was confirmed by the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu during a briefing and parade of suspects at the Command headquarters in Ikeja.

Odumosu, who had yet to give details on the number of suspects arrested and their connection to the murder, said the case was progressing and the police would never compromise on it.

According to him, a 300-level student of Mass Communication, Chidinma Ojukwu, was still a suspect with her rights guaranteed by the constitution. 

He, however, dismissed insinuations that the police were attempting to give her a soft landing.

Odumosu said: “We have established a case of conspiracy in the murder and we have arrested more suspects.”

SaharaReporters recall that Ataga was killed at a short-let apartment where he was spending the weekend with his lover, Ojukwu.

Ojukwu had earlier confessed to having stabbed the deceased to death before stealing his belongings.

In a recent interview with Crime Fighters, she refuted her initial claim saying she returned from an errand to find him lying in a pool of his blood.

How Kenyan Operatives Ransacked Nnamdi Kanu's Apartment To Take His UK Passport

The Kenya government detailed security operatives to ransack the apartment where Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, stayed in the country when news filtered in last Thursday that his United Kingdom passport was left behind in the East African country, competent sources have informed SaharaReporters.

SaharaReporters learned that the Kenya operatives broke into the apartment and searched desperately for the UK passport, but it was eventually not found.

Nnamdi Kanu

The sources noted that the UK passport had been safely kept away from the Kenya apartment before the intelligence was deliberately released to " serve as evidence that the Kenya government was involved in the unconventional abduction of Kanu to Nigeria."

The lawyer to Kanu, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, also corroborated this claim, adding that it was too late for Kenya to dismiss the "compelling evidence."

Ejiofor said, "My happiness is that by that development (of the leaving over of Kanu's UK passport in Kenya) the desperate denials of the Kenya government in the abduction of Kanu have been put to rest. Earlier, I had compelling evidence to show the world a conspiracy between Kenya and Nigerian governments to abduct Kanu through an unconventional process.

"Kenya became apprehensive that we had other compelling evidence. As soon as the fact of his passport still in Kenya was made public, they quickly went to the apartment where Kanu stayed in Kenya and ransacked the place. But it was too late for them. These are people who are telling us that they don't know about what happened to Kanu."

SaharaReporters had on July 10 reported that new evidence that Kenyan authorities were guilty in the arrest and extradition of Nnamdi Kanu emerged with his UK passport left behind in the country.

A UK Newspaper, The Guardian, had stated this in a report, adding that Kanu got a Kenya visa which was to expire in June, and he had been around in the country before his sudden arrest and extradition.

"Evidence seen by the Guardian shows Kanu entered Kenya this year on his British passport on a visa expiring in June. His UK passport remains in Kenya. Kanu did not have a Nigerian passport, his family said, and he has verbally renounced his Nigerian citizenship in broadcasts.

"The abduction of a person from a foreign country with the aim of rendition to justice is illegal under international law," the UK newspaper report had said.

SaharaReporters reported that Kanu recounted his experience in Kenya while speaking with his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, saying he was "mercilessly beaten and tortured" in the East African country before his extradition to Nigeria.

Ejiofor had confirmed the words of Kanu during an interview adding that Kanu told him how he was detained not in the Kenya official detention centers but a private residence for about eight days before his extradition to Nigeria.

This is despite the Kenyan authorities' denial that they had anything to do with the arrest and extradition of Kanu to Nigeria.

Man Beats Wife To Death For Refusing Se.x in Edo

 

Man beats wife to death for refusing se.x in Edo

The family of a woman, Ugieki Asemota, has urged the Edo State Police Command to prosecute her husband, Emmanuel, for allegedly beating her to death for refusing him s.e.x.u.al intercourse.

Punch Metro gathered that an argument ensued between the couple at their residence on Abaegbe Street in the Evbotubu area of Benin on Monday, June 28, 2021.

It was learnt that Ugieki entered her room and locked the door to avoid issues with her husband.

However, Emmanuel, who persisted in entering the room with her, allegedly tried to break the door with an axe.

While Ugieki attempted to escape through the window, her husband was said to have accosted and beat her to a coma.

The victim’s twin sister, Victoria Omoruyi, told punch correspondent that Ugieki was rejected by two hospitals before she was admitted to the third hospital she was rushed to.

She noted that the marriage between her sister and the suspect was fraught with violence.

Department Of State Services Arrests Israeli Filmmakers In Nigeria Over Alleged Contact With IPOB Members, Israeli Embassy Reacts

Three Israelis shooting a documentary in a separatist region in southeast Nigeria were arrested last week, the Foreign Ministry has confirmed.

According to Times Of Israel, Nigerian authorities arrested and interrogated the trio on suspicion that they had come into contact with ‘Biafran separatists.’

According to the Foreign Ministry, the Israeli Embassy in Abuja is following the case closely and is in contact with Nigerian authorities.

One of the Israelis arrested is Rudy Rochman, a Zionist activist with almost 95,000 followers on Instagram. Making the flight with him were filmmaker Noam Leibman and French-Israeli journalist E. David Benaym.

 

The Israelis were in Nigeria to film “We Were Never Lost,” a documentary exploring Jewish communities in African countries such as Kenya, Madagascar, Uganda, and Nigeria.

They took off from Ben Gurion Airport on July 5 and landed in Nigeria the next day.

According to residents, the crew was detained at a synagogue during Friday night services in the Igbo village of Ogidi by Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and taken to Abuja.

Ogidi is the headquarters of Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State.

The filmmakers were aware of the political sensitivity surrounding the filming of the Igbo community. Last Thursday, the "We Were Never Lost" Facebook page stressed: “We do not take any position on political movements as we are not here as politicians nor as a part of any governmental delegations.”

 

Last week, the group met with Igbo leader, Eze Chukwuemeka Eri, and presented him with a framed Shiviti made in Jerusalem.

 

Rochman also presented another Igbo community with a Torah scroll whose cover was designed by British-Israeli street artist Solomon Souza. 

 

The Igbo consider themselves a lost tribe of Israel.

In January, a conflict broke out in southeastern Nigeria between Nigerian forces and the military wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement. The fight is ongoing.

A previous unilateral declaration of independence by the Igbo people in 1967 sparked a brutal 30-month civil war that left more than a million dead.

In 2018, IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu gave a radio broadcast saying he was in Israel and indicating he owed his survival to the Jewish state.

Kanu, a former London estate agent, heads IPOB and the outlawed pirate radio station Radio Biafra.

He maintains the Igbo people, who are in the majority in southeast Nigeria, are a lost tribe of Israel and it is his mission to lead them to the promised land of Biafra.

The Nigerian government, on June 21, announced Kanu’s arrest and extradition to Nigeria to continue facing trial.

He was subsequently arraigned before Binta Nyako, a Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Kanu is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony instituted against him at the court in response to years of the campaign for the independent Republic of Biafra through IPOB.

He was granted bail in April 2017 for health reasons but skipped bail after disregarding some of the conditions given to him by the court.

Niger Delta University Female Student Found Brutally Murdered In Room As Friend Fingers Nigerian Soldier Boyfriend

A 200-level student of the Niger Delta University, Bayelsa, identified as Jennifer Ugadu, has been found dead in her room at an off-campus hostel of the institution.

 

Ugadu was a student of the Faculty of Education.

While details of the incident were still sketchy when filing this report, SaharaReporters gathered that a bullet allegedly used by the killer was found in the deceased room.

 

Her roommate also fingered her boyfriend, who is a military officer, James Azeez as the killer.

She claimed to have given the key to the room where Ugudu's body was kept to Azeez while traveling.

 

"I was about to travel to Yenagoa when her boyfriend, James Azeez, came to the house, and I welcomed him. I told him that his girlfriend (Jennifer Ugadu) had traveled for a holiday and had not resumed school.

 

"I called my friend, and I told her that her boyfriend was around but she said she wasn't coming back because she had issues with him. Since he's someone I know, I left the room for him and gave him the key, and I traveled to Yenagoa.

 

"After some days, I tried her number and it wasn't going through. I called her boyfriend and he said he had gone back to Maiduguri because he's a soldier. He said he had been calling her but she didn't respond to the call.

 

"I had to call my neighbor this morning to check my room if there's anyone, only for my neighbor to open the window and find her dead in blood," the deceased roommate told SaharaReporters.

 

SaharaReporters, however, gathered that Ugudu's killer has her phone. 

 

According to different posts dropped in a WhatsApp group with the deceased number, the killer claimed he was ready to die as well.

"You are very funny, the day I killed her, I called my mom and told her; her aunt is also aware. I'm also prepared to die because I wanted to commit suicide because of her. But I want her to go with me. So don't trouble yourself. Cuz, I'm going to die also," the WhatsApp posts read.

APC Suspends Okorocha For ‘Abusing Buhari

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended a former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha.

Okorocha’s suspension was communicated in a letter dated July 12, 2021, and signed by Mai Mala Buni and John Akpanudoedehe, national chairman and secretary of the APC caretaker committee, respectively.

Rochas Okorocha

According to the letter, the decision to suspend Okorocha, senator representing Imo west, was in line with the decision of the state chapter of the party and results from the former governor’s involvement in “anti-party activities.”

He was also accused of abusing the person and office of the President of Nigeria.

“This is to communicate to you, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Party ratification of your suspension by the Imo State Chapter of our great party for anti-party activities,” the letter addressed to Okorocha reads.

“The suspension follows after the recommendation by the Imo State Disciplinary Committee set up to investigate allegations of gross anti-party activities against you, which is in line with Article 21 (B) I-VI of our party’s constitution.

“Below are the anti-party activities on which the investigation and subsequent suspension were relied upon. Continuous, discrete meetings with the opposition party both at the state and national level.

“Flagrant public abuse on the person and office of the President, Republic of Nigeria (An APC-led government).”