Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Saturday, warned the Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese , Mathew Kukah, to stop stigmatising President Muhammadu Buhari Mohammed, in a statement titled, ‘ FG Urges Religious Leaders To Eschew Message of Disharmony ’ , also warned religious leaders in the country to “ refrain from stoking the embers of hatred and disunity” which could “ trigger unintended consequences ” . It was earlier reported that Kukah in his 2020 Christmas message titled, ‘ A nation in search of vindication’ , on Friday, accused Buhari of nepotism. The cleric had said , “ Every honest Nigerian knows that there is no way any non -Northern Muslim President could have done a fraction of what President Buhari has done by his nepotism and gotten away with it. “ There would have been a military coup a long time ago or we would have been at war . The President may have concluded that Christians will do nothing and will live with these actions. “ He may be right and we Christians cannot feel sorry that we have no pool of violence to draw from or threaten our country. However , God does not sleep . We can see from the inexplicable dilemma of his North. ” Reacting on Saturday , the minister said Kukah and other religious leaders have a responsibility to speak truth to power but “ such truth must not come wrapped in anger , hatred, disunity and religious disharmony ” . Mohammed said it was “ graceless and impious for any religious leader to use the period of Christmas , which is a season of peace , to stoke the embers of hatred , sectarian strife and national disunity ” . Making an apparent reference to Kukah’ s statement that there could have been a coup or war in the country should any other leader exhibit Buhari ’ s “ nepotistic behaviour ” , the minister warned , “ Calling for a violent overthrow of a democratically-elected government , no matter how disguised such a call is, and casting a particular religion as violent is not what any religious leader should engage in, and certainly not in a season of peace . ” “ While some religious leaders , being human, may not be able to disguise their national leadership preference , they should refrain from stigmatising the leader they have never supported anyway , using well – worn and disproved allegations of nepotism or whatever , ” Mohammed further stated. “ Whatever challenges Nigeria may be going through at this moment can only be tackled when all leaders and indeed all Nigerians come together, not when some people arrogantly engage in name-calling and finger-pointing, ” he added .

Retired Col. Olayinka Olayanju, the Commandant of the Southwest Security Network in Oyo State, otherwise known as Amotekun, has debunked a report that its operatives killed a student of the University of Ibadan last Sunday. Olayanju said in a statement issue in Ibadan on Saturday that men of the Amotekun Corps had an encounter with a three-man robbery gang, neutralised its leader and handed the two surviving members to the Atiba Police Station in Oyo town. “On Sunday, Dec 20, a mobile patrol team of Amotekun operatives from Oyo East and Atiba Local Government Areas ran into an illegal road block mounted around Sabo area in Oyo town at about 4 a.m. “While the team was attempting to clear the barricade to facilitate smooth passage for interstate commercial vehicles plying the road, a group of armed men suspected to be robbers fired at the Amotekun operatives and a gun duel ensued. “In the process, one of the robbers, nicknamed Akin Sarz, was neutralised and two other gang members were arrested at the scene with a locally made pistol and cartridges “Men of Nigerian Police from Atiba were called to the scene where Amotekun operatives handed over the two arrested suspected armed robbers along with the corpse of Akin Sarz to them. “The police later handed over the surviving gang members to the State CID Iyangaku, Ibadan, for further investigation#,’’ he stated. The commandant implored people who desired to get further details on the incident to visit Akinmorin Community in Afijio Local Government Area of Oyo State or inquire from the Police. “Amotekun operatives will do all within their legal responsibility to protect lives and property without prejudice to any sentiment,’’ Olayanju stressed.

Former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha and the incumbent, Governor Hope Uzodinma are on each other’s throat over a demolition spree going on in the State. Okorocha, who currently sits in the Senate has cried out accusing the current Governor of demolishing his legacy projects. But Uzodinma whose bulldozers are on rampage insists he is on a rescue mission to beautify Owerri, the State capital. Senator Okorocha’s Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo, in a statement described the demolition of seven roundabouts built by his boss in Owerri, as insensitive. “It has become necessary to appeal to Governor Uzodinma to stop demolishing Okorocha’s projects, which he built for lmo people and for the development and progress of the state, especially, when the incumbent governor is not building any structures and is not likely to initiate any. “On Tuesday, December 22, 2020, Uzodinma again, deployed bulldozers to demolish the Orlu-Assumpta Road Roundabout, which Okorocha constructed to ease traffic. He not only built the roundabout, but also expanded Bank Road to eight lanes. “Governor Uzodinma chose to demolish the roundabout this Christmas season, when the state is expected to witness influx of people and vehicles. And he demolished the roundabout without telling lmo people why he did that and what he intends to do with the place. This is somewhat, insensitive,” the statement reads. Okorocha also lamented that Uzodinma had demolished a tunnel constructed from 2011 to 2019, stressing: “Before the demolition of the roundabout, Governor Uzodinma had demolished another Okorocha project, the Akanu lbiam Tunnel.” He explained that the project was built on the House of Assembly-Port Harcourt Road junction, insisting that he built the tunnel to save lives, because before the construction of the tunnel, people died regularly on that spot. The former governor, who now represents Imo West Senatorial District, recalled that the demolition of Somto Hospital on Douglas Road, Owerri, was built in memory of the a 10-year old killed by security operatives during the demolition of Ekeukwu Owerre Market, among others. However, Uzodimma insisted that the projects were being demolished to ease transportation and beautify the state, especially its Capital City. He had told Imo people that he contracted a firm knowledgeable on construction of modern roundabouts that would ease traffic gridlock with traffic lights, lamenting that motorists spent hours trying to access other parts of the state. The governor pleaded with Imo people and other commuters to bear with the inconveniences caused by the demolitions and reconstructions. Following the general outcry that greeted the demolitions Governor Uzodinma also told Imo people that he was demolishing some of the structures to rebuild them up to standard. But Okorocha disagreed, arguing that due the quality of the materials used in constructing some of the legacy projects, the demolishing bulldozers were unable to level some of the structures. As the exchange of words continues, the Imo people remain at its receiving end.