BREAKING: Army, Gunmen Clash In Abia Communities

 

There is ongoing heavy gun battle between soldiers of 14 Brigade, Army Headquarters, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s Barracks, Ohafia and unknown gunmen in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State.

Information gathered has it that the fierce exchange of gunfire between the gunmen and soldiers has caused an exodus of residents and indigenes of Elu, Amangwu, Ebem and Amaekpu, Ohafia LGA from their respective communities to neighbouring villages in order to avoid being caught up in the crossfire.

Unconfirmed reports have it that six soldiers and a member of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) have been reportedly killed in the melee.

There is ongoing heavy gun battle between soldiers of 14 Brigade, Army Headquarters, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s Barracks, Ohafia and unknown gunmen in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State.

Information gathered has it that the fierce exchange of gunfire between the gunmen and soldiers has caused an exodus of residents and indigenes of Elu, Amangwu, Ebem and Amaekpu, Ohafia LGA from their respective communities to neighbouring villages in order to avoid being caught up in the crossfire.

Unconfirmed reports have it that six soldiers and a member of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) have been reportedly killed in the melee.

The villagers are calling on Senator Orji Kalu, Senate Chief Whip and others State and National Assembly members to come to their aides.

A source who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated that many male youths in the community who feared being innocently whisked away by soldiers and other security agents have left their homes in the village for another place of safety in the state.

“We learnt that some boys believed to be members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) came to the popular Ebem 

motor park and started shooting and later left.

“Soldiers from 14 Brigade Ohafia whose command headquarters is located in the area later came and went after them.

“We learnt that the unknown gunmen killed six soldiers and since that time, it is hell on earth. There have been sporadic gunshots from all corners.

“We have suffered all manner of intimidation from soldiers. Some of our kinsmen have relocated to Uzuakoli, Umuahia, Aba and anywhere they think that is safer for them. We are in the village but our right to movement is determined by soldiers.

“Marriages ceremonies billed to take place any time soon have been shifted indefinitely. We learnt that at Elu, soldiers went to the market and started pursuing people.

“A lot of houses have been burnt at Amangwu Ohafia community. They said that members of ESN were using the houses as their hideout; that I can’t validate. You need to call anyone from Amangwu to validate such claims. But what I can tell you right now is that Ohafia is on fire,” said the source.

Army spokesman, Capt Dauda Illiya could not take calls placed to his mobile line, while the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna could not confirm the report.

According to Ogbonna, he is yet to be informed of such development in Ohafia LGA.

Twitter ban: Malami makes u-turn, says FG won’t prosecute violators

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has now made a u-turn, insisting the Federal Government will not prosecute Nigerians using Twitter.

Instead, it will go after those who are helping Nigerians circumvent the ban on the micro-blogging sit

Malami had purportedly directed the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), to begin the process of prosecuting those still tweeting

However, the AGF has now told Vanguard, that Nigerians have a right to tweet from anywhere in the worl

He said: “It is within their guaranteed fundamental right to tweet from anywhere in the world. Nigeria, being a democratic nation, cannot stop its citizens from exercising their rights of freedom of expression

“But our position on Twitter is clear: Anyone, whether individual or corporate institution that enables Twitter to circumvent the ban the Federal Government of Nigeria placed on the company, will be prosecuted

Malami also added that at no time did the government threaten to arrest any religious leader over the use of Twitter

Most users have employed the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to continue tweeting, after telecom companies in the country blocked the site 

How fiancé killed NSCDC officer for ritual, offered N5m to silence me... How fiancé killed NSCDC officer for ritual, offered N5m to silence me –Herbalist

A native doctor, Rafiu Afolabi, has narrated how Christopher Akpan, the fiancé of an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Josephine Onche, allegedly killed the woman for money ritual.

Afolabi, a 67-year-old man from Saki, Oyo State, said after killing Onche, Akpan offered him N5m to silence him but said he was only given N50,000.

Afolabi narrated the story after operatives of the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria Police Force recently arrested him and Akpan for alleged murder.

Onche’s family on December 20, 2019, declared the 45-year-old missing after going to the market to buy some items for her wedding.

About 18 months later, her remains were found on May 27, 2021 in a shallow grave near Otukpo, Obi Local Government Area of Benue State.

The police said it was a case of conspiracy and abduction, stating that investigations revealed that Onche’s last communication took place in Afolabi’s house in Adum, Obi Local Government Area of Benue.

City Round learnt that the native doctor relocated to his hometown in Oyo State a few days after Onche went missing.

Afolabi said he met Akpan when he went to Onche’s house sometime in 2019 to give her some concoctions to avoid late pregnancy after her marriage to Akpan

The native doctor said the deceased first visited him in 2019 to get concoctions that would make her business prosperous.

Afolabi said, “In 2019, the late Josephine came to my shrine in company with one man. She sold mortar and pestle and needed my help so that the business would flourish. I collected N14,000 for the job and asked her to return in three days.

“When she returned, she told me of her plans to get married. She asked me to prepare medicine for her so that she would get pregnant quickly.

“I took the medicine to her house, and it was there that I met her fiancé. On December 19, 2019, at about 6.30 pm, I saw her and her fiancé in Otukpo.

“He (Akpan) later came to my shrine and said that he wanted to use her (Josephine) for money ritual. He said he would give me N5m for me to be silent. At about 10 pm on a later day, we met inside a forest with Josephine. I never knew Akpan had a gun with him. He brought out a cloth, spread it on the ground, and asked her to kneel down for prayers. Before I could understand what was going on, he shot her on the head. He quickly grabbed a calabash and poured some of the blood gushing out from her head into the calabash. I ran home, got a hoe and we dug a shallow grave and buried her.

“When we left the forest, I asked him to bring the N5m that he promised and he promised to give me after eight days. He came to my house later that night and gave me only N50,000. He asked me to be patient to collect the balance.”

However, Akpan, a 57-year-old father of five from Akwa Ibom State, denied killing the NSCDC officer, saying he loved her very much.

He said, “On December 17, 2019, she visited me in Akwa Ibom State and left on December 19, 2019. On December 23, 2019, her elder brother called me and told me that Josephine was missing. I panicked but her brother told me to calm down. I wanted to visit the family, but they said I should hold on a bit. I was later arrested and I have kept telling them that I am innocent. Before my arrest, I went to the motor park where Josephine boarded a bus in Akwa Ibom State and I saw her name on the manifest. She even used my name as her next of kin.

“I was surprised when the police came and arrested me. The next thing I saw was a man who introduced himself as Afolabi and said I contracted him to use Josephine for a money ritual. On May 27, 2021, the police took me into a forest where Afolabi claimed that we buried my late fiancée. In my life, I have not entered such a thick forest, and now someone is insisting that I came this far to bury Josephine who I loved so much.”

Meanwhile, Akpan said he had met Afolabi once in 2017 and not in 2019. I had visited my fiancée and helped her to drop off a bag of charcoal at Afolabi’s house. That was the first and last time that I met him,” he said.

Igangan massacre: If you can’t protect us, Igboho, others can – Mailafia warns Buhari

 

A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia has blamed the recent attack which took place in Igangan on the failure of state security.

Mailafia, a former Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) made this disclosure while addressing journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Our correspondent recalls that about twenty people were killed during an attack on the people of Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State by suspected Fulani herdsmen who invaded the town between Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

Mailafia while speaking with journalists said the incident resulted from the failure of state security.

He maintained that the incident occurred due to the failure of both the federal and state government security apparatus.

He added that the people of the State do not deserve the current security challenges they are experiencing.

Mailafia, while speaking further, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to visit Igangan and commiserate with the victims of the incident.

“This carnage in Igangan is a failure of state security. You need to come to see the people of Oyo State and commiserate with them on the failure of our Federal and State to protect its citizens.

“We, therefore, find it truly reprehensible that this kind of situation can be tolerated.

“We are very angry and heart-broken on what happened in Igangan and we condemn it.

“Mr. President, you are the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Nigerian people voted for you. One of the first Directive Principles of the Nigerian constitution is that the state shall guarantee the security and welfare of her citizens.

“So, Mr. President, I appeal for you to visit this state. The people of this state are very peaceful and enlightened. They don’t deserve what is happening to them.

“And if you don’t do it, the youth will take over. Sunday Igboho and his team are waiting. Where the government cannot come to their help, they will help themselves. The choice is yours Mr. President.

Biafra: Afenifere slams Buhari for saying Igbo is ‘a dot in circle of Nigerian map’

 

Afenifere, the apex socio-cultural organisation in the South West, has berated President Muhammadu Buhari for his recent comment against the Igbo nation.

Afenifere noted that ”the President takes delight in ridiculing the Ndigbo which he used IPOB to represent.”

Buhari had during an interview with Arise TV on Thursday said that the, ‘”IPOB is just like a dot in a circle. Even if they want to exit, they will have no access to anywhere.

“And the way they are spread all over the country, having businesses and property, I don’t think IPOB knows what they are talking about.

“In any case, we say we’ll talk to them in the language that they understand. We’ll organise the police and the military to pursue them.”

President Buhari’s statement, according to analysts, showed clearly that the President does not understand that Igbo Ethnic bloc is different from the secessionist group known as the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

A statement signed by its Secretary General, Chief Sola Ebiseni in Akure, Afenifere noted that to Buhari, “the Igbo and their territory is just a dot in a circle of the map of Nigeria, which even if they secede could exit to nowhere since the elders and youths of the South-South had assured him of not being part of the secessionist agenda.

“He couldn’t have been reacting to the IPOB but the Igbos whom he said had businesses everywhere.

“His utterances were very unpresidential and in the mode of common expressions with some unidentifiable northern organisations.”

Buhari had during the interview also vowed that IPOB, and other groups in the region will be dealt with by the military and the police.

He said the IPOB will be treated in the language they understand and there will be a difference in a few weeks.

The President maintained his stance on sending the military to the region to combat the secessionists despite the group denying having anything to do with recent attacks on government assets.

Earlier this month, Twitter had deleted President Buhari’s tweet containing some offensive comments many people believe were war threat against the people of the South East region.

IPOB have nowhere to go, we will send military after them – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has described the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), as a dot in a circle that has nowhere to go.

Buhari stated this on Thursday, during an interview with Arise TV.

According to the president, people from the South East have too much investment in Nigeria. He also threatened to send the Military and Police after them.

He said, “That IPOB is just like a dot in a circle. Even if they want to exit, they will have no access to anywhere.

“And the way they are spread all over the country, having businesses and property, I don’t think IPOB knows what they are talking about.

“In any case, we say we’ll talk to them in the language that they understand. We’ll organise the police and the military to pursue them.”

Buhari also claimed he has been assured by, “the elderly people” and “the youths” from the South-South region, that they have no intention of seceding.

He insisted that IPOB will not have “access to anywhere” even if they eventually secede from the country.

Scores of travellers allegedly kidnapped by herdsmen in Imo

At least, twenty travellers on their way to Enugu State have reportedly been kidnapped by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

DAILY POST gathered that the kidnappers were operating along the Okigwe-Onuimo axis in Okigwe LGA of Imo State.

One of the passengers who allegedly witnessed the incident said the herdsmen, disguised as police officers, intercepted the 18 seater bus they were travelling to Enugu in and ordered three passengers into a nearby bush.

He said the herdsmen also commandeered a sienna bus fully loaded with passengers, including the driver.

He said, “Fulani herdsmen were armed and disguised as police officers at a checkpoint along Okigwe road.

“They surrendered us and took away three travellers from the 18 seater-bus and all the travellers in a sienna bus also going to Enugu.

“The worst is that there was no sign of security agents and no available means of contacting them.

“As you can see, passengers who are lucky, are still in a panic mode because nobody knows where the others were taken to,” he narrated.

Meanwhile, efforts to reach the Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, proved abortive as his number was not reachable.

“IF WE’RE GIVEN LICENCE, I’LL BUY AK-47 RIFLES FOR AMOTEKUN” – GOVERNOR SEYI MAKINDE

Governor Seyi Makinde has mentioned that if the law allows it, he would prefer that operatives of the Western Nigeria Security Network, fondly called Amotekun walk around with AK-47 rifles to enhance security operations.

While speaking at the maiden “Governor Seyi Makinde National Democracy Summit”, he made this disclosure on Tuesday at the International Conference Center, University of Ibadan.

He emphasized that the outfit’s success thus far is due to the recruitment system, which ensures that the operatives are chosen from their local terrains. He stated that if state governments were given the authority to control security operatives in their states, the nation’s challenges would have been effectively addressed.

“We need to fully appreciate that state policing is a sure cure to our national development challenges. Anyone who has been involved in security at any level will tell you that policing is local,” Makinde said, according to a statement by Taiwo Adisa, his spokesman.

“One of the reasons why the Western Nigeria Security Network, code-named Amotekun, is recording success is because members of the corps are drawn from the locality. They know the terrain and so can gather needed intelligence. Also, they can be held accountable by the local people.“When the state governors become the actual Chief Security Officers in charge of the security personnel in their state, they can quickly respond to security challenges.

“Yes, we will continue to do our best. We were able to get Amotekun off the ground and it is in operation now. But there are several limitations to what Amotekun can do right now, and the types of firearms they can carry. If we are given the authority and licence, I will also buy AK-47 rifles for Amotekun.“So, these are just two areas where true federalism will bring greater economic benefits and development to Nigerian states.”

FG DECLARES MONDAY JUNE 14 PUBLIC HOLIDAY

 

The Federal Government has declared Monday, June 14 as public holiday to mark this year’s Democracy Day celebration.

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government.

He congratulated Nigerians on the occasion and urged all citizens to support the present administration in its efforts at ensuring a United and prosperous Nation.

A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore quoted Aregbesola as saying that “any form of agitation that threatens the unity of the country should be shunned for the good of all.”

The Minister insisted that the space known as Nigeria would be a haven of peace, unity and progress if all citizens love his or her neighbour and embrace the spirit of brotherliness.

PRESIDENT BUHARI INAUGURATES 157KM LAGOS-IBADAN RAIL LINE

President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated the 157 kilometres Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway for commercial operations at the Mobolaji Johnson railway station, Ebute Metta, Lagos.

Buhari described the project ‘‘as another milestone in the drive of this administration to revitalise the railway system and establish it as a choice mode of transportation for both passengers and freight.’’

In a statement by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, on Thursday, said the rail line was established to reduce traffic on the heavily congested Lagos–Ibadan highway.

At the inauguration, Buhari pledged that his administration will prioritise the railway system as a transportation backbone that can transform industrial and economic activity in the country.

“This vital line establishes an end-to-end logistic supply chain in railway transport within its short corridor, Lagos–Ibadan, as goods to the hinterland would now be transported by rail directly from the Apapa port Quayside straight to the Inland Container Depot located in Ibadan from where it can be distributed to other parts of the country,” he said.

“In clear recognition of the challenges posed to our economic growth by the absence of strong and effective infrastructure, we have in the rail sector, further to other ongoing railway infrastructure projects, embarked on the completion of the outstanding segment of the Lagos – Kano railway, which is Ibadan–Kano.

“The Lagos–Kano railway project when completed will link the Kano–Maradi line at Kano and a rail link from the Nigeria southern ports of Lagos to Maradi in the Niger Republic will be achieved.

“The connection through rail would position Nigerian ports as the choice for import and export business of the people of landlocked Niger Republic.

“This would be beneficial to the economy through employment from new business opportunities and wealth creation.”

Buhari further noted that the Ibadan-Kano project would have a connection to the Tin Can Island port as well as the West–East Coastal rail line from Lagos to Calabar linking Onitsha, Benin, Warri, Yenagoa, Port Harcourt, Aba and Uyo.