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Post Date : April 15, 2021

There are plots to incite war in South-East —Umahi

EBONYI State governor, Dave Umahi, has raised an alarm over a plot by some persons to incite war in the South-East. Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Umahi said bandits were committing crimes in the South-East under the guise of the Eastern Security Network (ESN). Although he didn’t reveal names or identities of the individuals involved, the governor warned that governors of the region would not allow what he termed illegality to reign in the zone. “The problem of this country is that people will leave their problems and make your problem their problem. But what some of these people are doing is to incite the South-East into war and step aside, and we are not going to buy into that; we are not going to be deceived again,” he said. “Whether it inspires confidence or not, it does not matter to me. What matters to me is that our people will be satisfied with our efforts in protecting their lives and property. People must be very careful, and know that there are grand plans by people who have no interest in the South-East to incite them into war and we are wiser than that.” Governor Umahi said the regional security outfit, Ebubeagu, recently launched by the South-East governors, was not formed in a hurry, adding that the only recognised security outfit in the region is Ebubeagu. He explained that he and his other colleagues from Abia, Anambra, Enugu and Imo would fight insecurity within the ambit of the law. While blaming some politicians for the insecurity in the region, he said: “Ebubeagu is to protect the lives of everyone in the South-East,” the governor stressed. Recently, the eastern part of the country has come under intense attacks as gunmen assail residents, police formations and prisons, freeing thousands of inmates. This forced the governors of the region to launch a security outfit to complement the efforts of the security agencies in the fight against crimes.

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Post Date : April 15, 2021

Alleged N7.9bn Fraud: EFCC Only ‘Invited’ Me, Says Okorocha

Barely 48 hours after he was arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the immediate past Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, yesterday opened up on his arrest, saying he was only invided by EFCC over alleged misappropriation of public funds. Okorocha was arrested by the EFCC operatives about 4:10pm on Tuesday, at his Unity House office located at Garki, Abuja. But speaking through his media aide, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, Okorocha said since the anti-graft agency was only doing its job, he would cooperate fully with it based on the ‘invitation’. He said: “To us, the Commission is doing its job and should be given the needed co-operation. And Okorocha being a law-abiding citizen, would always cooperate with the Commission over the Matters in Courts. EFCC is not a slaughter House, but a very responsible institution and should be seen as such.” Onwuemeodo said Okorocha was being investigated because of the new leadership at the EFCC. He said: “The truth is that, Okorocha left as the governor of Imo State on May 28, 2019. And shortly after his exit as Governor, Imo State Government wrote petitions upon petitions against him. “The EFCC investigated the petitions and has been in various Courts of the land with Okorocha, to that effect. “And if the EFCC has decided to invite Okorocha for Clarifications on the matters already in Courts, especially with a new Chairman at the helm of affairs at the Commission, there is nothing wrong with that. “The matters between EFCC and Okorocha over his governorship in Imo State, have been pending in various Courts of the land. “At the end of the day, we would know whether the commission will be withdrawing the Cases in Courts, or would continue with the cases already in courts.”

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Post Date : April 15, 2021

IPOB: Ebube Agu security outfit will crash

The Indigenous People of Biafra has flayed the South East governors Forum for launching Ebube Agu security outfit when Eastern Security Network had since started operations in the region. IPOB’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, in a statement on Tuesday, said that Ebube Agu security outfit would crash. He said that the forum was firmed without anyone personnel unlike Amotekun formed by the South West Governors. The statement read” ithas come to the attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the command and leadership of our great leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu that South East Governors have shamefully and belatedly announced the formation of an abstract security outfit called Ebubeagu to secure the zone from Fulani terrorists herdsmen they allotted our ancestral lands to. “What a mockery the puppets have made of themselves in their usual quest to please their slavemasters! How can you launch a security outfit without first assembling the personnel and equipping them? When Amotekun was formed it was not abstract, the personnel and their equipment were handy. When our leader floated the gallant Eastern Security Network, ESN, the men were on ground. How then did South East traitors called Governors announce a security outfit without any personnel or were they under any pressure to hurriedly make the announcement after years of foot-draging and deceit? “However, whether or not they were under any influence, we want to remind these bunch of caliphate slaves that there is no need for them to form another security outfit in our land since we have our formidable ESN. They woke up from their slumber rather too late. We have gone beyond that stage unless they are on a mission to sabotage ESN. “Any other security outfit formed in South East will crash because ESN is already on ground and living up to expectations. ESN was floated based on the clamour by our people, and they have since thrown their support behind the outfit. Forming another regional security outfit is suspicious, and a needless waste. The governors failed our people when they needed their protection. It’s already late “Biafrans will not be deceived by this purported EBUBEAGU security outfit which is a huge joke. South East governors set up the outfit probably to fulfill all righteousness or to spy on ESN to curry favour from their Fulani slavemasters. “We therefore, warn our youths to have nothing to do with the so-called Ebubeagu security outfit which was ostensibly formed to sabotage IPOB and ESN. Anyone who neglects this warning and thinks he can hide under the cloak of EBUBEAGU to spy on ESN should be prepared to join his ancestors. “The protection of all Biafrans is our priority and we are prepared to sacrifice anything to achieve this. We are aware of Fulani terrorists plans to decimate indigenous tribes in Nigeria. We are also aware of federal government’s tacit support for this evil agenda. But IPOB and ESN promise them that no inch of our land will be given to Fulani terrorists herdsmen in the East.” Credit: The Punch

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Post Date : April 15, 2021

Owerri Attack: Remembering A Night Of Horror

By Steve Uzoechi Owerri, the Imo State capital, is known for a lot of things but not violence or terror. The city loves life and lives it unapologetically. Owerri is particularly known for the good life. A robust night life, enchanting weekends and the knack for celebrating festive seasons to the fullest, all add up to the true social character of the city. Needless to add, the city boasts of the largest concentration of hotels and eateries in the entire South-Eastern Nigeria, with the attandant regular influx of patrons from within and beyond the region. So the average Owerri resident has high ambitions and places great premium in human life. He works hard to make enough money to pay his bills and live a good life. Easter Monday like no other So when on Easter Monday, the staccato of automatic gunfire and multiple bangs of explosives kept residents awake from 1:00am till dawn, it was a rude awakening to the emergence of a new order of lawlessness in the city. The attack shook up and challenged every belief and perception held about the city of Owerri – its crime types, security and public safety. Before now the Government House Layout, where the attack, that left the state Police headquarters and the Owerri Correctional Services in ruins, occurred was perceived as impregnable and the most secure part of the state capital. Not anymore or at least, now argueable. Especially not with the horrid experiences of visitors that stayed the night of Easter Sunday in the city and residents alike. Ugly experiences Bethel (second name withheld for security reasons) lives in their family house located within the triangle of the Owerri Custodial Centre (prison), the Police Command headquarters and the Government House. For him the wee hours of Easter Monday was like walking through the valley of the shadow of death while the crack of dawn brought a reprieve from a nightmare. He told his story: “We live in the centre of the affected facilities. It was slightly past 1:00 am last Monday when all hell was let loose. We are not new to the sound of gunfire living within the vicinity of these security facilities but the loud reports that shattered the peace of the neighbourhood that Monday morning was on a different level. “My father and mother are aged pensioners who are still managing their blood pressures and it is still a miracle they both did not pass out that night. As the bullet rains fell outside, managing my aged parents was Herculean. “I succeeded eventually when I calmed them enough to lay on the floor in the sitting room while I dashed into the bedroom to bring their two grandchildren who were fast asleep, on their demand. “Everything appeared to be shaking following the unending loud reports of automatic gunfire and explosives. It was not long I heard feet land within the compound, I peered and saw a policeman clutching his AK-47 loooking for where to hide, not long after another two jumped over the fence into our compound both clutching their guns and one wearing just boxers, they scurried to hide in the dark. “I thought my home was under attack believing the gunmen were waiting to bust our doors. I was frantic, but it was when I made calls to the Police command and prison guards I know, that I realized that the men in my compound were running for their lives. “Soon after, three prison inmates also jumped into our premises frantically looking for a means of escape. “By 3:00am relative calm was returning and by 4am, I noticed that the Policemen and inmates in my coumpound had all disappeared. By 6am, we opened our doors and walked outside, grabbed a lung-full of fresh air, my parents made a note that the family will plan a thanksgiving service for our survival. “We realized the whole neighbourhood was awake and had not slept a wink. We got the full information of what happened and around 7:30am, some of us went back to sleep as it was a public holiday after all.” There are many other similar stories as told by Mr. Bethel. A lodger at a hotel, which is located about 200 meters from the scene of the attack, said she lost control of her excretory system and had to use the toliet more than seven times before dawn as her blood pressure soared. “All the phone calls I made for help, none was answered. “I blamed myself for lodging in Owerri. I came into town in good time and I could have as well gone straight to my village but I decided to stay the night in a hotel and go home Monday morning. “A lot of thoughts ran through my mind and I blamed myself for anything that may happen to me. My bad state was worsened when I dared to peep through my window. I saw a crowd of persons running and some marching briskly along Wetheral Road, coming from the Government House axis. “I thought to myself, ‘Owerri is under attack and the people are fleeing and I am here sitting duck in a hotel room’. “I arranged a few of my things I could carry and was about going downstairs to escape the city when I saw through another window that the hotel gate was still locked and the hotel security men were peeping through the gates at the fleeing crowd in the streets. “They made it clear that the hotel gates stayed locked until they understand what was going on. “I went back to my room. It was in the morning that I learnt that the crowd running, were the fleeing prison inmates. Only God knows what would have happened to me if I had blindly fled into the crowd.” Even Rockview Hotel located within the triangle, which is widely considerd the safest and most secure hotel in Owerri, felt the horrible impact of the night. Guests were awake till

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Post Date : April 15, 2021

Three Osun principals suspended over pro-Oduduwa group’s visit to schools

Osun State Government on Wednesday suspended three public school principals for allowing a pro-Oodua nation group to address their students. The government also dissociated itself from the group preaching disunity and secession to students in some schools in the state. The PUNCH investigation revealed that some people had early in the week visited the three secondary schools in Iresi, a town in the Boluwaduro Local Government Area of the state to addressed their students. It was gathered that the group told the students that they should reject Nigeria and demanded Oodua nation. But the government in a statement by the Commissioner for Education, Mr Folorunsho Bamisayemi, said the administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola was not aware and never gave consent to the group to speak with public school students. The statement reads in part, “Nigeria is one entity and will continue to remain so. The State Government of Osun never gave consent to any group to speak with students of public schools on a matter we know can cause disunity and chaos in the country.” Also reacting, the Special Adviser to Governor Oyetola on Education, Mr Jamiu Olawumi, said it was unfortunate that some unscrupulous elements were going about polluting the minds of young children because they knew that they were still naive. Many Yoruba ready for self-determination – Ooni, Adams The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Aare Gani Adams, has said majority of Yoruba people are ready for self-determination. Speaking in Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday at the public presentation of a book, ‘Roundtable Discussion on Economy and Restructuring in Nigeria,’ by the National Pilot Book, Adams noted that a “power bloc” was not ready for restructuring.” The book was edited by Prof. Hassan Saliu and Mr Billy Adedamola. Adams said, “I support the popular view that we have graduated from restructuring to self-determination but the main powerful block is not ready. This is what Yoruba leaders are clamouring for. If Nigeria is not restructured in the next three years, the future is bleak. We have different types of restructuring; so they should know the kind of restructuring that they want. If Nigeria will be restructured, we have to borrow points from 1960 and 1963 which give room for regionalism. Through the Abacha (late Sani Abacha) regime, it also allowed that the six zones can develop at their own paces. My own is self-determination, you prepare for negotiation.” Also speaking at the event, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who was represented by the Alara Oodaye of Ife, Oba Segun Layade, said most of the resources in the south were enjoyed mostly in the north. He also called for the re-introduction of history in the school curriculum. In the same vein, a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Chief Bode George, who was represented by Dr Charles Akitoye said Nigeria’s structure was defective, adding that the country’s economy was tribalistic and north-centred.

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Post Date : April 14, 2021

Financial autonomy: Governors meet in state house

State governors are in an ongoing meeting at the state house, Abuja, to deliberate on several issues including the nationwide strike by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) President Muhammadu Buhari had, in May 2020, signed the executive order 10 granting financial autonomy to the legislature and judiciary across the 36 states of the country. The order makes it mandatory for all states to include the allocations of both the legislature and the judiciary in the first-line charge of their budgets. However, governors are yet to carry out the implementation of this executive order. Consequently, members of JUSUN commenced a nationwide industrial action on April 6, insisting that the strike will continue until their demands are met. Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, had, on Monday, in Sokoto, maintained that the decision of the federal government to ensure the implementation of the executive Order 10 stands. Speaking to journalists at the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, Simon Lalong, governor of Plateau state, had said although governors are not opposed to the financial autonomy, they were not informed when the law was passed. “We were not consulted when we saw a law passed and order came. So, when you are talking about implementation, you’re talking about policy. You don’t wake up because a law is passed and you said you are doing it. How? There must be processes,” Lalong had said. Insecurity, as well as other national issues, are said to also be on the agenda for discussion at the meeting.

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Post Date : April 14, 2021

Scammers steal profiles of JAMB’s adhoc staff, divert over N10mn

Over a dozen fraudsters have gained access into an intranet site of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and altered profiles of the board’s ad hoc staff, diverting over N10 million meant for their allowances. JAMB registrar Prof Ishaq Oloyede said the board uncovered the fraud after a careful investigation, which led to the arrest of one Sahabi Zubairu from Takum in Taraba State, and several others. Oloyede said government policy requires that monies meant for ad hoc staff are paid directly into the accounts of the beneficiaries, a situation that gave room for this kind of challenge the board was facing. He, however, decried the failure of the accounting department to detect the fraud by cross-checking the names on the accounts to ensure that they tallied with those listed on the website or owners of the codes. The JAMB boss, who noted that ad hoc staff of the board have since been paid, however, assured that the stolen money will be recovered. He vowed to hand perpetrators of the crime over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation and prosecution. On how the fraudsters successfully gained access to the profiles of the ad hoc staff, he explained that the fraudsters used key logger, a software that allows access to the profile of anyone who has logged in using a public cybercafé even after the person has logged out and gone. He stated that the site was not for application to become JAMB ad hoc staff, but for JAMB ad hoc staff to supply their account details and names for payment of their allowances. Oloyede said Zubairu deleted the names of the original ad hoc staff and their telephone numbers and substituted them with his, adding that those affected include code numbers 313 and 312, among others. At least ten of the scammers paraded by JAMB before newsmen on Tuesday, in Bwari, Abuja, admitted to the crime and said they were lured into it by Zubairu. The alleged fraud syndicate got entry into the site hosting the data of all JAMB ad hoc staff and changed their account details and phone numbers, diverting several million meant for the payment of their allowances. While narrating how he carried out the crime, the alleged kingpin, Zubairu, said a friend of his, known as Samuel Tanko, who is now at large, introduced him to the website and supplied him with a code to apply as a JAMB ad hoc staff when they met at Saltee Cybercafé in Takum where he resides. He, however, noted that what he did was not an application but a successful alteration of the account details and phone numbers of the original owners of the code listed on the site, who were posted across the country by JAMB. It was gathered that some victims of the fraud include a staff of the National Universities Commission, NUC, Mr Babangida Mohammed and one Fatima Mohammed, among several others. Zubairu confessed that he lured a least 12 people into the crime, some of whom are his family members, adding that he received over N400,000 diverted into his account. One of the alleged culprits, Nasiru Mohammed, said he received the sum of N220,000 payment from JAMB while others said they got between 286,000 to N440,000. Both culprits pleaded for leniency and pledged never to indulge in such unwholesome acts again. Meanwhile, Oloyede has warned Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, candidates not to give their phones to anyone as they could steal their information and divert their codes, messages and calls. He gave the warning after a 400 level Economics student of the University of Abuja, Adegoke Justina, had her code changed by a cybercafé operator and diverted all her communication with JAMB to him. Narrating her ordeal, Adegoke said she went to a cyber café to open an email in order to complete the regularisation in JAMB but the café operator, identified as one David Ahmed, a mass communication student at Auchi Polytechnic, now at large, hacked into her email, changed its password and diverted her code so that any message sent to her by JAMB was received by him. She said anytime she wanted to get in contact with JAMB the operator will know, adding that he started demanding monies from her but she refused to pay and the café operator threatened to deal with her until she decided to visit JAMB headquarters herself to sort out the issue. Reacting to the development, Oloyede noted that some of the candidates were digital illiterates and cybercafé operators were using that advantage to defraud them. He said the board has carried out strategic changes to ensure that email address was no longer a requirement for registration to save candidates from the trap of fraudulent café operators.

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Post Date : April 14, 2021

EFCC Is Not A Slaughter House, Says Okorocha

A former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has broken his silence on his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged misappropriation of public funds. Okorocha was arrested by the EFCC operatives at about 4:10pm on Tuesday at his Unity House office located at Garki, Abuja. Speaking through Sam Onwuemeodo, his media aide, Okorocha said since the anti-graft agency was doing its job, he would cooperate with the officials. Although an EFCC official, who spoke with Daily Trust off the record, confirmed Okorocha’s arrest, the former governor claimed he was invited by the anti-graft agency. “To us, the Commission is doing its job and should be given the needed cooperation. And Okorocha being a law-abiding citizen, would always cooperate with the Commission over the Matters in Courts. “EFCC is not a slaughter House, but a very responsible institution and should be seen as such,” Onwuemeodo said. He maintained that the former governor is being investigated because of the new leadership at the commission. According to him, “The truth is that, Okorocha left as the governor of Imo State on May 28, 2019. And shortly after his exit as governor, Imo State Government wrote Petitions upon Petitions against him. “The EFCC investigated the petitions and has been in various Courts of the land with Okorocha, to that effect. “And if the EFCC has decided to invite Okorocha for Clarifications on the matters already in Courts, especially with a new Chairman at the helm of affairs at the Commission, there is nothing wrong with that. “The matters between EFCC and Okorocha over his governorship in Imo, have been pending in various Courts of the land. “At the end of the day, we would know whether the Commission will be withdrawing the Cases in Courts, or would Continue with the Cases already in Courts.”

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Post Date : April 14, 2021

Bokoharam kill 10 in Damasak

Ten civilians have been confirmed killed in Tuesday night’s attack on Damasak, the headquarters of the Mobbar Local Government of Borno State. This is according to the Chairman of the local government, Mustapha Bako Kolo. An unspecified number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were also injured during the attack, according to Kolo. Although sources say fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province met stiff resistance from the Nigerian Army who were supported by the Airforce, the encounter left many civilians injured. According to sources, the terror group stormed the area in over a dozen gun trucks and could be seen heading towards the Army base in Damasak, as residents were forced to flee for safety. Last night’s attack on Damasak is the second within the week. The insurgents had shared a video of their weekend attack on Damasak town during which they burnt UN buildings and food storehouses. As of the time of filing this report, an official statement from the military was yet to be released. Nigeria’s military has struggled to end a jihadist insurgency in the northeast for more than a decade, with two million people displaced from the homes by fighting. The latest attack prompted residents to flee towards the border. “The locals are currently relocating to Niger Republic due to state of insecurity in the town,” said the military officer, who asked not to be identified. Many residents had fled the town towards the regional capital Maiduguri or into the town of Diffa across the Niger border following three previous attacks, but other residents decided to stay back. On Wednesday, residents who remained left the town across the border when militants in several trucks fitted with machine guns engaged troops in a fight outside the military base in an attempt to overrun it. “This is the situation we found ourselves again, as you can see now we are going to take refuge in another country that is not even our own,” a resident said in a video clip sent to AFP by sources. In the recording, hundreds of residents are seen on foot and on donkeys moving along a winding bush path with personal effects. The fleeing residents wanted to seek refuge in nearby Gamari village across the border but were told that the jihadists had warned the villagers not to host anyone from Damasak. “The insurgents went to Gamari last night (Tuesday) and gathered the people and warned them not to accept any humanitarian aid from NGOs and not to accommodate anyone from Damasak,” said another Damasak resident. “The only option left to us is to go to Diffa where most of our kinsmen fled to in the past two days,” the resident said. Meanwhile, fighting between the jihadists and troops was continuing around the base, said the resident and the military officer. The insurgents had attacked the town on Saturday and Tuesday, causing the destruction of humanitarian facilities and at least four deaths, including a soldier. Late on Tuesday, the jihadists stormed Damasak, burning a divisional police station after a failed attempt to raid the base, residents and military sources said. Damasak has repeatedly been targeted by ISWAP militants who have made several failed attempts to overrun a military outpost outside the town. ISWAP, which split from the jihadist group Boko Haram in 2016, has become a dominant threat in Nigeria, attacking soldiers and bases while killing and kidnapping passengers at fake checkpoints. Nigeria’s 12-year-old jihadist conflict has killed 36,000 people and forced around two million more to flee their homes to escape fighting.

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Post Date : April 14, 2021

FEC Okays N20.1bn Contract For Customs Equipment

The Federal Government on Wednesday approved the sum of N20, 114,002,871 for the acquisition of various operational equipment for the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, announced this while briefing State House reporters after the virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja. She said the council also approved the sum of N539,277, 673 for construction of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) building at the Ilupeju Medium and Small Taxpayers’ office. The minister, while speaking on the contracts approved for Customs, said a total of 427 operational vehicles, worth N14.55 billion and nine assorted gunboats worth N5,564,002,871 were all approved. “The ministry also presented, on behalf of the Nigerian Customs Service, a memo that was seeking for Council’s approval for the design, construction and supply of two NC36M patrol boats, in favour of Messrs of Boat Plus Limited, in the sum of N5,062,530,400, inclusive of 7.5% VAT with a delivery period of 12 months and council approved our request. “We also presented a memo, again on behalf of the Nigerian Customs Service, for the approval of Council for the design, construction and supply of seven fast assault patrol boats and seven regular patrol boats, in favour of Messrs Siwa West Africa Limited, in the sum of N501,472,471.08, inclusive of 7.5% VAT with a delivery period of eight weeks. “The purpose of the purchase of these two types of patrol boats is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of operations of the Nigerian Customs Service in its bid to control smuggling and also ensure enhanced efficiency in all customs duty operations in the Marine Unit of the Nigerian Customs Service. “We also presented, again on behalf of the Nigeria Customs Service, a request for Council’s approval and council approved the procurement of 427 operational vehicles for the Nigerian Customs Service operations in favour of various contractors in the combined sum of N14.55 billion, inclusive of 7.5% VAT with a delivery period of four weeks”, she said. While also addressing journalists after the meeting, the Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, said the Council approved a project for the extension of the University of Ibadan’s library at the sum of N532 million. “The Minister of Education also presented a memo for the award of contract for the construction and furnishing of the extension of the library of the University of Ibadan. “The memo, which was approved, is at the cost of N532,609,000 and with a completion period of 48 weeks. “It was a memo that was very well received because of the need to actually extend the library facility in the University. “For many years, the library of the University of Ibadan had needed real extension, given the surge of the student population,” he said.

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