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Post Date : April 19, 2021

23 killed as Fulani traders, vigilante group clash in Zamfara

About 20 persons have been killed in a clash between Fulani traders and a vigilante group in Dansadau, Maru LGA of Zamfara state. Witnesses said the killings were a reprisal attack for the death of three people at Ruwan Tofa and the rustling of cattle. According to The PUNCH, Mohammed Nuhu, a resident of the area, said some bandits attacked Ruwan Tofa, killed three people, including a member of Yansakai, a proscribed vigilante group, and rustled cattle. Nuhu said the rustled cattle were then put on sale at Dansadau Market, where the Yansakai members from Ruwan Tofa had coincidentally gone in search of the stolen animals. He said the vigilante group went berserk when they saw the stolen cattle and killed at least 20 traders in the village. “Immediately they sighted some cows, they became wild, saying they were the stolen animals and wanted to know who had brought them to the market,” he said. “They were shown three Fulani people who claimed to be the owners of the animals; they killed them and reclaimed their cows.” Another indigene of the area identified as Alhaji said all pleas to security agents to come to their aid were not heeded. “We have begged the government and security agents to come to our rescue, but up to this moment there are no security personnel in the whole area,” he said. Zamfara has been a flashpoint of banditry and kidnapping. The federal government had banned mining activities in the state to curb the spate of banditry.

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Post Date : April 19, 2021

We’re going to create new super league, say Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, 8 others

Twelve top European football clubs have agreed to found a Super League as soon as possible, the clubs announced in a joint statement late on Sunday The founding clubs of the mid-week league were listed to include English Premier League clubs Manchester United and Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea. The others are Italy’s Juventus and Milan clubs AC and Inter, and the Spanish trio of FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. “It is anticipated that a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable,” the 12 clubs said in a joint statement. Reported to be financially very lucrative, the project does not have the support of football’s governing bodies. Ahead of the announcement, UEFA and football leagues and federations from England, Italy and Spain spoke of “a cynical project”. They described it as “a project that is founded on the self-interest of a few clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever.” Fifteen of the 20 participating clubs are to be permanent members, and the remaining five will “qualify annually based on achievements in the prior season,” the statement said. According to the New York Times the new league would “generate hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue for the participating teams.” The club’s are already the richest clubs in the sport. 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League winners Bayern Munich and finalists Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are said not to be among the clubs who have signed up or expressed interest. In a statement released before the announcement, UEFA and football leagues and federations from England, Italy and Spain spoke. “As previously announced by FIFA and the six Federations, the clubs concerned will be banned from playing in any other competition at domestic, European or world level. “Their players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams. “We thank those clubs in other countries, especially the French and German clubs, who have refused to sign up to this.” Before the announcement the Premier League in England said it “condemns any proposal that attacks the principles of open competition and sporting merit.” “These are at the heart of the domestic and European football pyramid.” The Football Association (FA) in England also condemned the plans and German Football League chief Christian Seifert spoke of his body’s opposition. “We reject any kind of European Super League concept” which would “irreparably damage the national leagues as the basis of European professional football.” The latest development comes on the eve of a UEFA executive committee meeting. The meeting, apart from finalising the host cities for the summer’s Euro tournament, is also to approve a Champions League reform from 2024 onwards. The powerful European Club Association (ECA) and UEFA’s club competitions committee were reportedly in agreement Friday about the reform. Under this, the elite event is to be increased from 32 to 36 teams and each team plays 10 instead of six group games in what is known as “the Swiss model.” Two of the additional four clubs are to controversially come via historic results not through qualification via domestic action. The large number of additional matches is a threat to domestic competitions. Fan groups have also voiced their dissent, with an even bigger outcry expected if a Super League becomes reality. The reports said that European officials were discussing counter measures which could include banning Super League clubs from next season’s Champions League. “We will consider all measures available to us, at all levels, both judicial and sporting in order to prevent this from happening. “Football is based on open competitions and sporting merit; it cannot be any other way,” the UEFA statement said. “We call on all lovers of football, supporters and politicians, to join us in fighting against such a project if it were to be announced. “This persistent self-interest of a few has been going on for too long. Enough is enough.”(dpa/NAN)

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Post Date : April 19, 2021

Before I fled Boko Haram’s den, many schoolgirls were pregnant – Escapee

A student of the College of Business and Management Studies in Konduga, Juliana Christopher, who was kidnapped by Boko Haram, has said she saw many Chibok girls in the insurgents’ camp. He added that many small girls were either pregnant or nursing children belonging to the insurgents. Christopher, in an interview with The PUNCH, said he spent three weeks in Boko Haram camp after the insurgents, who were dressed in military uniforms, stormed her school in Borno State and abducted her. She explained that after she and her colleagues were kidnapped by the insurgents, they took them into the forest, where she saw other victims who were pregnant and nursing babies of the Boko Haram insurgents. She said, “On reaching their camp, we met many young girls there and the whole place was in disarray. It was in 2014 and I was in the Boko Haram camp for three weeks. We met Chibok girls in the camp. While in the camp, I saw so many small girls, who were kidnapped. Some were being molested. “Some were carrying children, while others were pregnant for the Boko Haram insurgents. It was a disgusting thing. Fortunately for me and some other girls, we escaped from the forest and found our way back to Chibok.” She explained that her father took ill shortly after she was kidnapped, adding that efforts to rescue him proved abortive. She said, “On getting to Chibok, I found the whole community in a state of confusion; so, I asked after my parents and was told that my father took ill when he heard about my abduction and my mother took him to the hospital in Maiduguri. I set out to go and look for them in Maiduguri, but I could not go far because the road was blocked and no movement was allowed, except for military vehicles; in that process, my father died. “When I heard about my father’s condition, I became worried and tried to locate my parents in the hospital, not knowing that he was already dead. When I eventually got to the hospital in Maiduguri, my mother had conveyed my father’s corpse to Chibok for burial, so my mother said I should stay back to avoid another kidnap. “That was how I got to this camp. I couldn’t continue with my education, because my mother alone could not take care of my schooling and that of my other siblings.”

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Post Date : April 19, 2021

Mobile policeman reportedly commits suicide in Aba

An Inspector of Police attached to the popular Osisioma Mobile Police Force Unit (Mopol 55) Ochofie Ijimbile has reportedly shot himself to death. Though details about the death of the police inspector were still sketchy, it was gathered he shot himself in the chest in the barracks. He was said to have died at a hospital he was rushed to by his colleagues. There were unconfirmed reports the deceased policeman, who was a security man at a hotel, decided to take his life because he could not repay a particular debt. Public Relations Officer of the Abia Command Geoffrey Ogbonna confirmed Ijimbile’s death. He denied the policeman committed suicide but was servicing his rifle when it triggered.

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Post Date : April 19, 2021

Don’t Succumb To Blackmail, MURIC Tells Pantami

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged the Minister of Communications and Digital Planning, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, to ignore calls by some people that he should resign. There has been calls for Pantami to resign over his alleged ties to terrorists sects. Pantanmi, who described the campaign for him to step down as politically motivated, renounced some the controversial statements he made in the past. But that did not stop those who asked President Muhammadu Buhari to fire him from continuing with their campaign. In a statement issued by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC said everyone has their past. “A section of the Nigerian press published reports of calls being made by some people for the resignation of Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami over the fake news that the US had placed him on its watchlist. The second allegation was that the minister had made certain radical pronouncements in the past. “It is a baseless call and it should be ignored. Afterall, the US itself has denied it. Dr. Pantami has been enjoying unhindered multiple entry to the US for a very long time. Even Facebook, the US based social media giant had Pantami’s picture on Facebook’s digital board for several hours as a mark of honor and respect during one of his numerous visits to that country. “The campaign of calumny is being pushed by forces against the Federal Government’s NIN policy, Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, criminals in general and political IDPs (Internally Displaced Politicians). No one who has the love of Nigeria at heart will support such a malicious and frivolous allegation. “It is a well-known fact that NIN is designed to expose the true identity of criminals like Yahoo Yahoo boys, bandits and kidnappers who use the internet and telephone to extort money from foreigners and families of kidnapped victims. They live a life of Mr. Jekyll and Hyde : respected gentlemen in the day but dangerous criminals at night and on lonely alleys. “They have become jittery ever since the NIN policy was introduced by Pantami’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Policy. They are among those who stand to benefit from Pantami’s resignation. As for the political IDPs, their motive is to ensure that no project initiated by the current administration succeeds. “The implications of Pantami’s resignation at this crucial stage are too gloomy to contemplate. It is a national security issue. The NIN scheme, our hope for dealing a technical blow on terrorism, insurgency, kidnapping and all sorts of criminality in the country will suffer suffocating palpitations. There will be a break in monitoring. It is better for us to allow the man who started it to finish it. If any problem arises after we have changed hands in the middle of its implementation, the new boss will easily shift the blame. It will then be a double tragedy. Let the beginner be the finisher. #beginnermustbefinisher “In the interest of our great country, Nigeria, we therefore charge Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami to ignore calls for his resignation. An agitation for resignation which is not based on sincerity and truth must be resisted by patriots. This campaign for the minister’s resignation is in bad taste. It is pregnant with ulterior motives. Pantami must not surrender. He must not succumb to cheap blackmail. A captain does not abandon ship in stormy waters. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. “On the issue of statements credited to Pantami in his younger days, we wonder how detractors would give preference to pronouncements made by a teenager and those made in the days of students’ unionism to those made after maturity and clairvoyance. It is sheer mischief to seek to use that against him. “If they have evidence of speeches delivered 35 years ago when Pantami was a teenager, we have indubitable proof of more recent anti-terrorism speeches, particularly his public debates with the late Boko Haram leader Muhammad Yusuf where the minister made mincemeat of the arguments of Muhammad Yusuf. But our strongest evidence is the threat made by Shekau, the current leader of Boko Haram, to kill Pantami. “Again, come to think of it. It was not as if the minister committed any official misconduct. Neither is it for abuse of office nor for corrupt enrichment. Some people just want to crucify him for daring to acquire infotech skills ostensibly reserved for a certain circle of elites. They believe that this is a field jealously reserved and guarded for the Western literati and their Nigerian cronies. Not an area for a mallam. It is just too petty the way some Nigerians think and behave. This is another big raison d’etre for the Shaykh to sit tight, continue and complete his good work, all to the chagrin of mean detractors. “Pantami could have resigned the moment his life was threatened by the Boko Haram leader in February 2021. But he continued to wheather the storm because he was determined to finish the NIN scheme which he initiated. He knows that his intiative is crucial to the defeat of insurgency and terrorism. The terrorists also know it and that was the cassu belli for the threat on Pantami’s life. They wanted him to stop the NIN scheme. “A man who puts his life on the line for the sake of his country deserves the support of every right thinking Nigerian. It is therefore ironical that the same man is being asked to resign. This is definitely a gangup by rebellious subjects and enemies of the people. They do not mean well for Nigeria. “We call on every Nigerian who still has some modicum of our values and norms: hardwork, truthfulness, transparency and accountability to stand in solidarity with the honourable minister. We must not collectively hand over one of the few symbols of our pride to people who believe in easy money, people who see fraud as a necessity of life, people who believe in making their own wealth by causing hardship, pain

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Post Date : April 19, 2021

World Igbo Congress rejects Ebube-agu

Charges S’East govs on good governance Chairman, Board of Directors of World Igbo Congress (WIC), Prof. Anthony Ejiofor, and executive members have rejected Ebube-agu, the proposed security outfit for the region. WIC spokesman, Basil Onwukwe, in a statement yesterday, stressed that the governors needed to work for and earn the confidence of the Igbo citizenry to support the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and provide all that is necessary to make ESN a strong security outfit for Ndigbo. He alleged that the Fulani ethnic group was planning to make Nigeria a conquered Fulani territory, and urged southeast leaders not to be seen as tools in their hands. His words: “How do you expect the same people whose kith and kin hold the Sword of Damocles over our heads to be our defenders? That is antithetical. Governors beware of the Trojan horse. “Considering the foregoing, WIC rejects the Ebube-agu security outfit, following the circumstances surrounding the announcement after the bulge claim that ESN is involved in the prison break in Owerri, without evidence.” According to the statement, a genuine interest in the security of life and property in Igbo land should be an Igbo scheme. “WIC will not hold apologies in protecting our homeland when the national security operatives have failed to prosecute a captured Fulani bandit. More so, it is an abdication of our inalienable rights to self-preservation. “The southeast governors need to revitalise their justice departments and begin to prosecute violators of the open grazing law, by enforcing the laws in their book. It will help in checking the marauding Fulani herdsmen,” he added. WIC also urged southeast attorneys-general to sue President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government for the lopsided appointments to top positions that have been cornered by the Fulani to the total exclusion of other ethnic groups. “This is a brazen and flagrant violation of the Federal Character clause of the 1999 Constitution. “The objective is to redress the imbalance, so that, in the future, security meetings such as the one held in Owerri (penultimate) Sunday will not look like a master-servant instructional session.”

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Post Date : April 19, 2021

Cult clash claim 11 lives in Akwa Ibom, Ekiti

ABOUT six persons have been reportedly killed in a clash between two suspected cult groups , the Iron and the Skin confraternity at Mbiabong Ikot Essien village, in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State last Saturday. Newsmen gathered that the six persons who were members of the cult groups allegedly died during their clash. The village head of Mbiabong Ikot Essien, Eteidung Hosea Okon, who spoke to newsmen in the area, said the suspected cultists numbering over one hundred even invaded his residence and vandalized his properties. Okon who wondered why some youths could prefer to engage in activities that would not make positive impact on their lives, urged the perpetrators to turn a new leaf. Narrating his own experience he said, “As I was lying down in front of my house last night, half asleep, the voice of my second son woke me up because I heard him shouting, mummy mummy, go inside. My wife ran inside the house leaving her phone outside. Then I saw a group of boys, some with machetes. ” I managed to go inside the house so that they will not harm me, but they started destroying my windows, doors may be to gain entry. But one person from their group told them to stop and that was how they stopped vandalizing my property. “They were still chanting, boys are hungry, boys are hungry. That same night they also entered other homes. And as soon as the owners ran away, they would loot whatever they saw there. I called the police at Shelter Afrique that night and informed them about the incident. Also this morning I went there to make an official entry. “I don’t know what some boys are turning into. I learnt this morning that six of their people died. One of them I learnt died this morning at the hospital. He was cut with machete and he bled to death this morning” Reacting, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Odiko Macdon, said he was yet to be briefed on the incident and assured that the commissioner of police, Mr Andrew Amiengheme was committed and determined to clampdown on all cult activities in the State. “I am yet to be briefed on the killing. Immediately I receive information on the incident, I will inform you”, MacDon simply said. 5 Killed in Ekiti The Ekiti State Police Command yesterday confirmed the killing of five persons in Ikere Ekiti during a rival cult clash in the town. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ekiti command, ASP Sunday Abutu, said three persons had been arrested in connection with the mayhem. Abutu further said law and order had been restored by the command, adding that security had been beefed up in the area. Daily Trust gathered that the crisis started Saturday night when one cult group member was killed near the city hall at Odo Oja area. The cult member was said to have come from Port Harcourt on Friday to attend a friend’s wedding before he was killed by a rival cult group. The killing later reportedly snowballed into bloodletting with suspected cultists shooting in different directions in the community, leaving at least five cult members dead yesterday.

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Post Date : April 19, 2021

CBN printing money not an issue ― APC

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed the outrage trailing the alleged printing of N60billion by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to shore up revenue for the states. National Secretary of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Senator John Akpanudoedehe said there was nothing untoward in the action of the CBN. “Central banks all over the world print money. During the financial crisis of 2008-09, the Reserve Bank of the US printed dollars to bail out companies that were too big to fail. There is nothing wrong in printing money provided it is well managed.” The APC maintained that “there is no evidence that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is inefficient in managing the monetary aspect of the Nigerian economy. Let us not forget that the CBN is a banker to government and has exercised such function efficiently and effectively.” The ruling party recalled that the apex bank has taken several steps to boost the economy which it said suffered recession under the Peoples Democratic Party. The APC further accused the PDP of being meddlesome, pleading with it to allow the CBN perform its functions. “The APC government implemented aggressive fiscal and monetary polices which resulted in the country’s economy exiting recession in 2016. The economy was back on the path of positive growth trajectory. Then came the global health pandemic and sharp decline in oil prices throwing the economy into another recession. The quick intervention of the APC government through the Economic Sustainability Plan fast-tracked the recovery from recession to the shock and surprise of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and other stakeholders. “Whether the CBN prints money or not is not an issue. The Apex Bank should be allowed to perform its mandate. The CBN has several ways of creating ‘new’ money. The evidence suggests that money supply in the economy is at the appropriate level. The PDP needs to understand how money is created as well as provide evidence showing the composition of M1, M2 and M3 in the Nigerian economy. “The utterances of the PDP would create problems for the economy. What PDP should do is join hands with the APC to clear the mess they left behind. To destroy is very easy but to build is a task the APC is committed to.”

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Post Date : April 19, 2021

Wike backs Obaseki, says money printing claim didn’t ‘come out of the blue’

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, has backed the claim by his Edo state counterpart, Godwin Obaseki, that N60 billion was printed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fund the government. Last week, Obaseki had said Nigeria is in huge financial trouble, adding that the federal government printed N60 billion as part of federal allocation for March. The claim has been generating varied reactions including from Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, who said the money was meant as a loan from the apex bank. Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Sunday, Wike said the allegation by Obaseki cannot be regarded as spurious. “Obaseki was in APC, so he understands them. So, Obaseki couldn’t have come from the blues to say they printed N60 billion. He knows them,” Wike said. “Instead of answering the question, he (Emefiele) said governors have to pay back the bailout loan. Bailout is a loan, if you want to take it, go and take it. But answer the question whether money was printed or not printed.” Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, had described the claim by Obaseki as false, saying Nigeria’s debt is still within sustainable limit and efforts are on to improve the revenue generation capacity. However, Obaseki stood his ground and asked the federal government to end the current monetary rascality and stop “playing the ostrich” to prevent the economy from further degenerating.

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Post Date : April 19, 2021

NDLEA seizes 834kg drugs, traffickers excrete 191 wraps of cocaine

Two suspected drug traffickers have excreted 191 pellets of heroin and cocaine while under observation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, after. The incidents were said to have taken place on April 10 and 16 after the suspected traffickers were arrested by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, MMIA Command. On Friday, April 16, 2021, one Ezekiel Chibuzo, who arrived in Lagos from Brazil on board Qatar Airways, was arrested for drug ingestion. “He has so far excreted 99 wraps of cocaine. This is just as officers at the export shed of the airport have seized 822.950kg of khat leaves heading for the UK and the US,” the NDLEA said in a statement on Sunday. The agency said four clearing agents had been arrested in connection with the April 10 seizure of substances. The spokesperson for the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said the incidents happened barely two weeks after a Madrid, Spain-bound suspected trafficker, Okonkwo Chimezie Henry, excreted 113 wraps of cocaine after his arrest at the MMIA, Lagos. He stated, “On April 10, 2021, during the outward screening of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines to Italy, the NDLEA operatives at the MMIA intercepted and referred one Chukwudi Destiny for scanning and the scan result proved positive to drug ingestion. “Consequently, he was placed under excretion observation and in the process, he excreted 92 pellets of heroin with a total weight of 1.300Kg. “Also on April 12, 2021, during the inbound examination of consignments on Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight from South Africa, operatives at the SAHCO import shed made a seizure of 11.550kg of heroin cleverly packed and concealed in cornflakes’ cartons. “Four clearing agents are in custody in connection with the seizure.” The NDLEA Commander at the MMIA, Ahmadu Garba, said, “A sting operation was executed on the address provided by one of the suspects. In the process, a Congolese, Kayembe Kamba Mazepy, was arrested. “After his arrest, he mentioned another person, who is to receive the parcel from him. On the strength of the information, another sting operation was conducted in the early hours of Saturday, April 17, 2021, where the person that came to take delivery was arrested.” The Chairman/Chief Executive, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers and men of the MMIA Command for their commitment to the nation’s crusade against illicit drugs. “While I commend the officers and men of our MMIA Command, let me again warn unrepentant barons and traffickers that the game is up for them, because we’ll continue to disrupt their criminal trade as part of efforts to secure our country and protect the future of our youths,” Marwa was quoted as saying.

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