Less than 78 hours after Governor Nyesom Wike lifted the curfew imposed on Rivers State, five persons returning from a club were confirmed dead in a road accident along the NTA road, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state on Saturday. A driver of a Lexus car on high speed was said to have rammed into a parked sewage truck close to the Okilton area of the NTA Road, killing all occupants. It was learnt the car was occupied by two females and three males returning from a nightclub. Family members of the deceased were said to have shed tears when they raced to the scene to identify their bodies. were said to have shed tears when they raced to the scene to identify their bodies. A resident, who spoke on the cause of the accident, urged the state government to reinstate the curfew. He said: “You can see that just two days after that the Governor lifted the curfew, see what has happened early this morning. And the man was on high speed. The accident reportedly caused a traffic jam along the Rumuokwuta and location junction. Spokesman of Rivers Police, Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the incident and said the corpses had been evacuated. Omoni said: “I can confirm the accident this morning at NTA road, its a terrible situation. Our men went there to evacuate the corpses and the police has commenced investigations to unravel the cause of the accident”.

Acting leader of the pan-Yoruba sociopolitical group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has strongly dispelled insinuations he identifies with those who keep company with alleged criminals and bandits. The nonagenarian spoke against the background some pictures being circulated in which he was spotted on the same flight with the controversial Islamic preacher, Sheik Abubakar Gumi known to have expressed sympathy for bandits and even visited them in their hideouts. A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the Afenifere, Mr Jare Ajayi, said Chief Adebanjo, a lawyer, is not only “a man of peace for whom human rights matter a lot, but he also is never known to be in cahoots with any criminal or those who keep company with alleged criminals and bandits.” ‌“The pictures being circulated in which Adebanjo was seen in the same flight with Gumi and later in a handshake in the presence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo were taken in 2018 in the run-up to the presidential election that took place in 2019. “It will be recalled that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar solicited the assistance of various important Nigerian personalities to help him secure the support of his former boss, Obasanjo, in his (Abubakar’s) bid to become the country’s president then. “Those Atiku Abubakar approached for this purpose included Sokoto Catholic Archibishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, Bishop David Oyedepo, founder of Living Faith Church, Senator Ben Bruce, among others. “The picture taken in the plane was when the delegation was being flown to Abeokuta Ogun State home of Chief Obasanjo. Chief Adebanjo was in the rear of the private jet of Atiku Abubakar that convened the team to Obasanjo. “Those on the same flight with Gumi and Chief Adebanjo included PDP Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus. As of that time, Pa Adebanjo was not even the Leader of Afenifere. “The reports of the visit to Obasanjo in 2018 were widely made in the news media of that year, 2018. Among them were the Daily Post of October 11, Punch Newspaper of the same date, The Eagleonline of October 12, 2018, Premium Times, October 14, 2018, to mention a few. “Thus, the pictures being circulated were taken over two years ago, long before kidnapping became this rampant and long before Gumi engaged in negotiating for bandits. “As a matter of fact, it is on record that Chief Adebanjo condemned the present actions of Gumi as contained in, among others, the statement jointly issued by Adebanjo-led Afenifere, PANDEF, Ohaneze and Middle Belt Forum as reported by Vanguard newspaper edition of February 28, 2021,” he said.

A Magistrates’ Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has convicted one Akpoviri Jimmy for impersonating a medical doctor. The court presided over by a Senior Magistrate, Akassa Michael, in a judgment delivered on Friday sentenced Jimmy to four years in imprisonment with hard labour. The 49-year-old convict was arrested in Yenagoa in June 2021 for impersonating one Dr Charles Umeh, a serving medical doctor based in Taraba State, while concealing his real name Akpoviri Jimmy. He had confessed when paraded by the police that he used the academic credentials of Dr Umeh without his knowledge. The prosecuting counsel, Philip Soroh, commended the judicial proceedings and the state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association as well as the state Ministry of Health for their roles in the effort to bring the imposter to book. The state chairman, NMA, Dr Torunana Ngowari, thanked the parties that were involved in the process of the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the fake doctor. He said the NMA was prepared to safeguard the health of residents by ensuring the apprehension and conviction of quacks. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Wisdom Sawyer, also expressed satisfaction with the judgment. He stressed that it would serve as a deterrent to other fake doctors parading themselves in the society, adding that the state government would go after them.

Simon Ekpa has emerged as the new head of Radio Biafra following the detention of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu. The Federal Government, through the effort of the Nigerian security and intelligence agencies in collaboration with authorities from other undisclosed countries, nabbed and repatriated Kanu back to the country years after he jumped bail in 2017. The secessionist is currently detained in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS. Simon Ekpa, who is a Finland-based Nigerian-Finnish citizen, made the announcement via a post on his official Facebook page. His post in part reads, “Our Leader, Mazi Nnamdi has directed that I, Simon Ekpa should start broadcasting from Radio Biafra with immediate effect. “On this note, it is an honour, and at the same time, a call to service, a call to serve the Biafra nation, and a call to serve lovers of freedom. “This task, I will do with everything in me to see that we maintain the momentum and the legacy of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and IPOB”. Simon Ekpa LL.M (Master of Laws) is a human rights activist and a legal researcher and advisor. A native of Ngbo in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State in Southeastern Nigeria is said to be a chief and one of those in line to the throne as the son of the late King Nwangbo (The Ogaba Idu of Ngbo clan). Ekpa is a disciple of Nnamdi Kanu who has worked with the IPOB leader in the struggle for the actualization of Biafra as a sovereign nation in Africa. Source: SaharaReporters