The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 187 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 161,261. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Wednesday. “187 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-42 Taraba-29 Edo-17 Abia-13 Rivers-11 Kaduna-10 Katsina-9 Oyo-9 Kwara-7 Plateau-7 Ondo-5 Bayelsa-4 Cross River-4 Ogun-4 Osun-4 Akwa Ibom-3 Borno-3 Nasarawa-3.”
Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State says Nigeria has become economically attractive to kidnappers and bandits within the Sahel region of the continent. The governor who on Wednesday was on Channels Television’s Politics Today strongly opposed the idea of granting blanket amnesty to the bandits, stating that the idea is enabling the miscreants to continue with their crimes. Masari argued that the security situation in the country has improved since the All Progressives Congress took the reigns. “When we started in 2015 in the North-West, it was cattle-rustling. Gradually, it now developed into banditry, rape, kidnappings. When all that they (bandits) can steal from the villagers along the fringes finished, they moved to the rustling of goats, sheep, and even chicken. “What we should do and what the government should do now is (about) high-profile kidnapping. In my state, they kidnapped four relatives of very senior government officials. When they cannot get anything to sustain themselves, they resort to high-profile kidnappings for money in cities and towns. That is the danger, that is something we must work hard to stop,” the governor opined. Masari also kicked against the intervention of Sheikh Ahmad Gumi in quelling the banditry activities in the northwest. He questioned the cleric’s knowledge on security issues. “Was he there? What did he know about what we did in Kaduna? I challenge Gumi to come and tell us if he knows what we did in Kaduna,” the governor asked in reaction to Gumi’s stance on how the state government should handle banditry. Speaking further on why he does not support Sheikh Gumi’s intervention, Masari said the cleric did not go about it the right way. “I expect him to, first of all, preach to them (the bandits), the implication of killing innocent people and also the implication of abducting people and its consequences. That is what I expect a clergyman first and foremost to do,” the governor noted.
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the attack on a convoy returning from a weekly market in Niger Republic’s Tillaberi region in which many citizens were killed. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that over 53 innocent traders were reported to have been killed by the gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram/ISWAP sect. In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari extended his condolences to families of victims and all citizens of the neighbouring country. Buhari said Nigeria would continue to stand by all its neighbours in the fight against terrorism. He said the mass killings underscore the enormous security challenges facing Niger Republic as they prepared to inaugurate their new President, Mohamed Bazoum and indeed the entire sub-Saharan region. He stressed the need for the sub-region to work more closely to end the scourge of terror. The NAN reports that armed men in South-Western Niger intercepted a convoy returning from a weekly market and attacked a nearby village in the Tillaberi region, which is near the border with Mali and Burkina Faso. (NAN)
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao, on Wednesday vowed that kidnapping and banditry in the North West will soon be over. Speaking during an operational visit to the Nigerian Airforce Base in Kaduna State, he warned the criminals to prepare for the worst. He stated that the military would go after bandits and kidnappers in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to bring back sanity and allow farmers to go to their farms without fear. Amao gave an assurance that the military was ready to deal decisively with bandits, terrorists, and other criminals disturbing the peace in the country. He also promised that the welfare of personnel of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) would be accorded a top priority in order to boost their morale in the line of duty. While in Kaduna, the air chief paid a courtesy call on Governor Nasir El-Rufai at the Government House in the state capital. He thanked the governor for his support to NAF in the state and commended him for his zeal towards tackling the security challenges in the state. In his remarks, Governor El-Rufai thanked Amao for the visit and singled out NAF personnel in Kaduna for their professionalism, dedication, and particularly for their integrity in all dealings with the Kaduna State government. He decried that for a long time, Nigerians have taken peace and security for granted until the current spate of insecurity afflicting the nation. The governor called on all Nigerians to appreciate and support the efforts of the military as they continue to make efforts to keep the nation safe. “The security situation could have been worse but for the efforts of our Armed Forces,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet. Governor El-Rufai also stated that governors in the north-west region had agreed to assist the military, particularly in efforts at employing scientific measures towards containing insecurity. On the payment of ransom to kidnappers, he reiterated the resolve of his government not to pay any ransom to bandits and kidnappers. The governor went further to state that despite the threats of kidnapping, schools would continue to remain open, saying the decision was taken so as not to allow criminals to dictate the education of children in the state. He also noted that the ability of the military to swiftly respond to kidnapping has further given the state the confidence to keep schools open.
The Hisbah Command in Jigawa has intercepted a 25-litre jerry can of local beer, popularly known as “Burukutu” in the Kazaure Local Government Area of the state. The Hisbah Commander in the state, Malam Ibrahim Dahiru, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse that the command also intercepted 364 bottles of assorted alcoholic drinks. Dahiru said the items were intercepted in a Toyota Corona vehicle in the area. He explained that the vehicle was intercepted at about 9 a.m., on March 17, after receiving an intelligence report about its movement in the area. He explained that the command recently destroyed 2,875 bottles of beer and four gallons of 25-litre ”burukutu” beer seized during a different raid carried out at beer parlours in the area. The commander said the items were destroyed after it secured an order from Court to do so. Dahiru noted that the consumption of beer was prohibited in all parts of the state. He, therefore, appealed to the public to support the command with vital information to enable it to carry out its duty effectively. He advised residents to desist from engaging in immoral acts capable of destroying society.
Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has described a former militant leader and erstwhile President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Asari Dokubo as too irrelevant to deserve his response following his recent declaration of Biafra. Wike, who spoke in a television programme, wondered why people were granting undeserved publicity to Dokubo insisting that he would not glorify the former warlord with a response. He, however, said Dokubo sometimes worked for the Federal Government but in other times he would attack the same government. The Governor further wondered how Asari, who is an Ijaw man, could volunteer to lead Biafra known to be of the Igbos. He said Dokubo was always in the habit of abusing him but he decided not to make him relevant with his response. He said: “The problem we have in Nigeria is that we try to give publicity to things that do not matter. You know the antecedent of Asari Dokubo. But each time people like Dokubo come out to make statements, we try to publicise it. “Sometimes, he works for the Federal Government. Sometimes, he attacks the federal government. I am one person that Asari Dokubo has always abused. But I won’t respond because I know his modus operandi. “He has accused us particularly me and my ethnic group that we are Igbos and that we have no oil well. But if you respond to that you will give him Publicity. “If he says he is now the chairman of Biafra, let us see the people he has. In fact, there are issues we should not discuss. It is too irrelevant, I won’t do it. Let’s focus on Nigerian challenges not on frivolities”. Wike also decried what he described as the politicisation of security saying until the Federal Government stopped playing politics, insecurity would continue in the country. He said his administration once sought the help of the federal government to deal with kidnapping in Rivers, but was denied assistance. He said: “The Federal Government never supported metro fight kidnapping. They rather politicised it. We prayed God to deal with them the way they dealt with us, God answered our prayer and now kidnapping and insecurity is everywhere”.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arrested Dibu Ojerinde, former registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), for allegedly misappropriating N900 million. The ICPC said via a statement that Ojerinde allegedly committed multiple frauds while heading JAMB and the National Examination Council (NECO). The Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) professor was registrar of NECO from 1999 to 2007, before leading JAMB from 2007 to 2016. In April 2020, the ICPC secured an interim forfeiture of some of his assets which were said to be proceeds of crime. The anti-graft agency said on Wednesday that Ojerinde is being detained after he was picked up in Abuja on Monday. “He has been detained by the Commission for questioning over allegations of multiple identities, abuse of office, money laundering, tax evasion and making false statements to public officials,” the commission said. “The former JAMB boss is also being questioned by the Commission for allegedly awarding fraudulent contracts to shell companies which cannot be traced. “He was alleged to have awarded contracts for the supply of pencil and eraser at the cost of N450 million each, to Double 07 Concept Limited and Pristine Global Concept Limited, respectively, between 2013 and 2014 while heading JAMB. “There is no evidence to show that the items which are examination materials were supplied as the contractors cannot be found.” The ICPC said the former JAMB registrar will soon be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
Armed bandits have attacked the convoy of the Emir of Birnin Gwari, Alhaji Zubairu Jibril Mai Gwari II. Daily Trust gathered that the monarch’s convoy was attacked at Kaduna-Birnin Gwari highway while on its way to Kaduna on Monday evening. A witness said the Emir was not in any of the vehicles during the attack. Umar Jibril, the Emir’s driver, confirmed the incident to Daily Trust, narrating that the 73-year-old monarch was elsewhere when it happened. He told Daily Trust that the bandits had appeared in front of the vehicles which were in transit with guns and threw tree branches on the road in an attempt to force them to stop. “We did not stop, they targeted me, since I was driving but as Allah will have it, the bullet missed my head.” He said apart from minor injuries sustained from shattered glasses, no one was injured. Birnin Gwari is one of the Local Government Areas of Kaduna State where there is a high level of attacks. On Monday, armed men broke into UBE Primary School, Rama, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area, where they abducted pupils and teachers. The pupils later escaped from captivity but their teachers are yet to regain freedom. Monday’s incident goes into history as the first attack on a primary school since the attack on schools began in 2014 when Boko Haram insurgents abducted over 250 students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok Borno State.
No fewer than 118 Nigerians who have been stranded in Libya for some time have been evacuated from the country and returned to Nigeria on Wednesday morning. The returnees, comprising 51 males, 41 females, 17 children and nine infants, arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, around 1:30 a.m. aboard Buraq Air. According to a statement by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, the returnees will be quarantined at the Federal Capital Territory Hajj camp for 14 days in line with the new COVID-19 protocols by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. Details later….
President Muhammadu Buhari has named a road in the federal capital territory (FCT) after President Issoufou Mahamadou of Niger Republic. At a ceremony in Abuja on Tuesday, Mohammed Bello, FCT minister, said the expressway was named after the Nigerien president for his “significant role in the promotion of peace in Africa”. “Earlier today, the first phase of the on-going Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) in Abuja was named the ‘Mahamadou Issoufou Expressway’ in honour of the President of the Republic of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou,” the minister said. “The road was named after the Nigerien President by President @MBuhari as a mark of deep appreciation for the maintenance of brotherly relationship between Nigeria & the Rep. of Niger & in recognition of the Nigerien President’s significant role in the promotion of peace in Africa.” In a tweet, Mahamadou said the gesture shows that his relationship with Buhari and that of both countries is “excellent”. “My brother and friend, @MBuhari, did me the honor to call an Abuja expressway ‘Mahamadou Issoufou expressway’,” he tweeted. “This testifies, beyond our personal relations, to the excellent relations that exist between #Nigeria and #Niger. His caring touches me. I thank him very much.” My brother and friend, @MBuhari, did me the honor to call an Abuja express way “Mahamadou Issoufou expressway”. This testifies, beyond our personal relations, to the excellent relations that exist between #Nigeria and #Niger. His caring touches me. I thank him very much. pic.twitter.com/6bEOIjAwuf — Issoufou Mahamadou (@IssoufouMhm) March 16, 2021 Last week, Mahamadou won the 2020 Mo Ibrahim prize for achievement in African leadership. He is the sixth recipient of the award which recognises and celebrates excellence in African leadership.
