June 2022 – Page 42 – Crime Facts

Post Date : June 15, 2022

Abductors Of Zamfara Wedding Guests Demand N145m Ransom

The abductors of the Zamfara wedding guests have demanded the sum of N145million ransom to secure the release of the victims. Channels Television gathered that the abductors requested a sum of N5 million each as a ransom for the release of the 29 victims in their captivity. Over 50 guests returning from a wedding in Sokoto State were abducted on Saturday evening in Dogon Awo, a community between Tureta and Bakura located on the borders of Sokoto and Zamfara States. However, more than 20 of the victims later escaped while some were rescued by security agencies in collaboration with local vigilantes. They are said to be smartphones and accessories dealers at the popular Bebeji Plaza in Gusau, the Zamfara state capital. According to the secretary of an association to which the victims belonged in Zamfara State, Ashiru Zurmi, the bandits have been contacting the union through one of the victims’ phones and have demanded N145million as ransom before they will be released. “The N145 million demanded means it is N5 million on each of the persons, but we have not negotiated yet because we told them we don’t have the money and it is an association and they told us to ask the government,” Zurmi told Channels Television. “We are the only people communicating with the bandits with one phone that belongs to one of the victims.” Zurmi commended the effort of the security agencies, saying they have been ensuring their best to rescue the abducted members of the union since the incident happened. “Honestly, they (the security operatives) are doing their best since Saturday to make sure they (the victims) return safely.”

Post Date : June 15, 2022

Orji Kalu: Tinubu needs Muslim running mate to win… his wife is a pastor

Orji Uzor Kalu, chief whip of the senate, says the All Progressives Congress (APC) needs a Muslim-Muslim ticket to win the presidential election in 2023. Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Kalu said if he were in the shoes of Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate, he would go with a Muslim-Muslim ticket. “Do you want me to speak the truth, if I am in Ahmed Bola Tinubu situation, the wife is a senior pastor in a pentecostal church, I will go Muslim-Muslim ticket,” he said. “The most important thing is for the party to win, we should stop this rubbish about if you put a Christian there… After all, if we win, the wife is a pastor and they have been living together for over 40-something years together. “I have known them thus far, she is already a deputy president. I’m a Catholic and I am saying my opinion. This is Orji Kalu’s opinion. You cannot deny me my opinion. But you can play a Christian-Christian ticket depending on his scenario. “If we don’t play Muslim-Muslim, we are in trouble. What is wrong with Muslim-Muslim ticket. There’s nothing wrong in Christian-Christian ticket too.” According to Kalu, Tinubu will unite Christians and Muslims. “He is a man who brings Christians and Muslims together. He is a man who can do the work,” the senator said. “Let me tell you, are you Nigerians doing religion? Let me tell you, in my house, my wife is the head of the house in reality. Even you men that are here, you may deny that your wife is not the head of the family. In reality, they are the ones. “If I put these clothes on, my wife will tell you to come, these clothes are not good. You will say that you want it but finally you will remove it. “The next is to work for Tinubu and work for the APC candidate. No alternative. I am a party man and I am sure, most of you know that I am a very strong party man. I don’t shy away from issues. “Now, the way I fought for Ahmad Lawan, is the way I will fight for Ahmed Tinubu. I am a party man, if I disagree, I will disagree.”

Post Date : June 15, 2022

Strike: We’re waiting to hear from FG, says ASUU

The striking Academic Staff Union of Universities has said it is awaiting the response of the Federal Government on its demands. The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government’s renegotiation committee headed by Prof. Nimi Briggs met with ASUU leadership on Monday in continuation of the renegotiation of the FGN-ASUU 2009 agreements with the four university unions, which are all currently on strike. The President of ASUU, Emmanuel Osodeke, told our correspondent that the meeting was fair, saying they were expecting the government to respond to the issues they discussed with the committee. When asked if ASUU would call the strike off soon since it had a fair deliberation with Briggs committee, Osodeke said, ‘‘I don’t know if we are calling off the strike soon. We are waiting for the final response from the government. “It is a committee of different government agencies. They need to go back to their principal and look at what we agreed on and then get back to us. When they respond to us, we will give you full details.” He revealed that University Transparency and Accountability Solution is still undergoing test by National Information Technology Development Agency, adding that ASUU has had three meetings with the Federal Government’s committee. Osodeke also said there was no new invitation from the committee. He said, “They will call us when they are ready for another meeting, but none for now. We have had about three meetings with them.’’ ASUU commenced its ongoing strike on February 14, 2022, after the Federal Government failed to meet some of its demands including, the release of revitalisation funds for universities, renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement, release of earned allowances for university lecturers, and deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution.

Post Date : June 15, 2022

Prices Of Fuel, Bread Jerked Inflation To 17.71 Percent In May

Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased to 17.71 in the month of May, a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has shown. According to the NBS, the new figure was influenced by increase in the prices of gas, liquid fuel, bread and cereals. The report added that the increase was also recorded in prices of potatoes, yam, and other tubers, wine, fish, Meat, oils and road transport fare. It stated that the inflation figure was at 0.22 percent points lower compared to the rate recorded in May 2021, which is 17.93 percent while on a month-on-month basis, the Headline inflation rate increased to 1.78 percent in May, a 0.02 percent rate higher than the rate recorded in April (1.76 percent). Composite food index rose to 19.50 percent on a year-on-year basis, a decline of 2.78 percent compared to 22.28 percent in May 2021. “This rise in the food index was caused by increase in prices of Bread and cereals, Food products, potatoes, yam, and other tubers, wine, fish, meat, and oils.” “On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased to 2.01percent in May 2022, up by 0.01 percent points from 2.00 percent recorded in April 2022.” The All items less farm produce or Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 14.90 percent on a year-on-year basis, up by 1.75 percent when compared to 13.15 percent recorded in May 2021. “On a month-on-month basis, the core sub-index increased to 1.87 percent in May 2022. This is up by 0.65 percent when compared to 1.22 percent recorded in April 2022.” It said the highest increase was recorded in prices of gas, liquid fuel, garment, solid fuel, cleaning, repair and hire of clothing and passenger transport by road. Similarly, urban inflation rate increased to 18.24 percent (year-on-year) but a 0.27 percent decline compared from 18.51 percent recorded in May 2021. “On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate rose to 1.81 percent in May 2022, this is a 0.03 percent increase compared to April 2022 (1.78). The corresponding twelve-month average percentage change for the urban index is 17.00 percent in May 2022. This is 0.91 percent higher compared to 16.09 percent reported in May 2021.” While rural inflation rate increased to 17.21 percent in May 2022 (year-on-year) basis; this is a 0.15 percent decline compared to 17.36 recorded in May 2021.

Post Date : June 15, 2022

Army Finds ‘Chibok Schoolgirl’ In Borno, Eight Years After Abduction

Troops have found a lady believed to be one of the schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists in Borno, more than eight years after they were kidnapped from the Chibok community in the northeastern state. The Nigerian Army disclosed this on Wednesday via its social media handles where it shared a picture of the young lady identified as Mary. According to the army, Mary was found with her son on Tuesday by troops of 26 Task Force Brigade while on patrol around Ngoshe – a town in Borno State “Troops of 26 Task Force Brigade on patrol around Ngoshe in Borno State on 14 June 2022 intercepted one Mrs Mary Ngoshe and her son,” the army said on its Facebook page. “She is believed to be one of the abducted girls from GGSS Chibok in 2014. Further exploitation ongoing.” Troops of 26 Task Force Brigade on patrol around Ngoshe in Borno State on 14 June 2022 intercepted one Mrs Mary Ngoshe and her son. She is believed to be one of the abducted girls from GGSS Chibok in 2014. Further exploitation ongoing. pic.twitter.com/RqKH0FaqQv — Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) June 15, 2022 Nigeria recorded one of its worst abductions on April 14, 2014, when Boko Haram insurgents invaded the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, and abducted more than 200 students in the process. The school was said to have been closed for a few weeks due to deteriorating security conditions at the time, but students – aged between 16 and 18 – came around to take their final exams. Following their abduction, 57 of the schoolgirls escaped on their way to the location, where they would be held captive by their abductors. Over time, several others regained freedom either by escaping or being released by the insurgents as a result of negotiations with the Federal Government. While scores of others are believed to still be in captivity, the situation sparked outrage within and outside Nigeria, to calls for the return of the girls by various individuals and groups, including a former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.

Post Date : June 15, 2022

‘It is insensitive’ — Catholic church kicks against Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket

The Catholic church of Nigeria has kicked against having a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket — where the presidential candidate and his running mate are both from the same religion. The church made its aversion known on Monday in a press statement jointly signed by Zacharia Nyantiso Samjumi, secretary-general of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, and Michael Nsikak Umoh, its director of social communications. Since parties concluded their presidential primaries, the two major political parties — All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — have been asked to pick Christians as running mates of the presidential candidates who are Muslims. However, recent developments seem to suggest that the APC might opt for a Muslim-Muslim ticket for its presidential standard-bearer. In the statement, the Catholic church said parties must understand that the unity of Nigeria has over the years been maintained by a “delicate” religious and regional balance. “While all this is going on, we must not lose sight of the fact that the unity of this country has, over the years, been maintained by a delicate balancing of the religious and the regional. Even in the despotic military era, most juntas ensured a balance of the religious architecture in their regimes,” the statement reads. “For instance, we had Murtala-Obasanjo, Obasanjo-Yar’adua, Babangida-Ebitu Ukiwe, Abacha – Diya. This also applied to the heads of the various military formations and the different government parastatals like Customs, Immigrations, Finance, etc. “Significantly, it was only during the General Muhammadu Buhari era as military Head of State (31 Dec. 1983-27 Aug. 1985) that we had a Muslim-Muslim military dictatorship. Similarly, only once did we have a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 1993 democratic elections, which featured Abiola-Kingibe ticket and turned out to be one of Nigeria’s freest and fairest elections. But that government never took off!” The church said the idea of a Muslim-Muslim ticket would not have been a problem if Nigeria had not become “badly polarized” in the past years. While citing Kaduna as an example, the church also said with the lack of mutual trust, peaceful co-existence and the growing insecurity bedeviling the country, a Muslim-Muslim ticket will be “most insensitive”. “Fast forward to 2022, 30 years later, some individuals have tried to suggest the Muslim-Muslim ticket for the presidential election in a country like Nigeria that has unfortunately been badly polarized. “Ordinarily, there would have been nothing with a Muslim- Muslim or Christian-Christian ticket in a democratic dispensation if there is mutual trust and respect for the human person and where the overriding desire for seeking political office is the fostering of the common good. But one cannot really say so of our country at the moment. “With the present glaring crisis and division in the nation, a Muslim-Muslim ticket would be most insensitive and a tacit endorsement of the negative voices of many non-state actors who have been threatening this nation’s unity and peaceful coexistence without an arrest. “Going by the Kaduna experience, we can perceive the havoc the Muslim-Muslim ticket has brought upon the predominantly Christian people of Southern Kaduna. “We, therefore, strongly advise those political parties toying with divisive agendas to have a rethink by presenting a more inclusive ticket, while calling on all people of goodwill to resist this budding injustice that may be hatched against a cross section of the people.”

Post Date : June 15, 2022

Gunmen abduct journalist in Abia

Unknown gunmen Tuesday night abducted a former Sun Newspapers Correspondent in Umuahia, Chucks Onuoha, from his Umungasi, Ohuhu Umuahia country home. According to a family source, Onuoha who is now the Editor-in-Chief of All Facts newspaper was abducted around 10 PM Tuesday night by the abductors who scaled the fence. The source further disclosed that his Jeep was also taken along with him. His abductors were said to have since established contact with the family and allegedly demanded a N10 million ransom. When contacted, the Abia State Police Command said it was yet to be officially notified of the incident. The Command Public Relations Officer, Geoffrey Ogbonna, said, “we are yet to be officially notified”. However, the President-General of the community, Suleiman Anyalewechi, confirmed the incident to journalists. He said he was contacted by the secretary of the community last night to inform him that some men took Chucks Onuoha away. He added that they were not sure what it was all about until this morning when the kidnappers established contact with the family that he is in their custody. Also, his present employer confirmed the incident.

Post Date : June 15, 2022

Imo civil defence rescues flood victim in Owerri

A ravaging flood, which followed a heavy downpour in Owerri, Imo State, on Tuesday evening, reportedly swept away a young lady, simply identified as Ada Adiele from Abia State. It was gathered that the unfortunate incident occurred at Imo State University Junction axis along Okigwe road, Owerri. An eye witness while making a distress call about the flood incident at the incident scene called for a search and rescue operation for the missing lady. Our correspondent saw a video clip where one of the shop owners who reported the incident said the victim fell into a flooded ditch/gutter on Tuesday evening after the road was submerged by a flood. He said they were able to identify her as Ada Adiele with her Zenith Bank ATM card which fell off her hand. He enjoined residents of the state to look out for the body of the lady. Reacting to the development, the Acting Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Imo State, Mr Chukwuemeka N Odinmba said the incident happened around 1600 hours. He said its personnel rescued a young lady, reportedly swept away by the heavy downpour in Owerri on Tuesday evening. The commandant said the task was done in collaboration with other stakeholders who provided assistance to the victim. According to him, “The lady is a visitor in Owerri capital of Imo State. The flood carried her all the way from the popular IMSU Junction to the NSCDC junction where some personnel saw her struggling in the flood before intervening to rescue the almost dead lady out of the flood with a few other good-spirited Nigerians. The Acting Commandant said, “you can imagine what she must have passed through before being rescued. At the moment she is still at the Life Spring Hospital Owerri where she is being revived.”

Post Date : June 15, 2022

Umahi Makes U-turn, Denies Asking Ebonyi People Not To Vote Peter Obi

Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi The Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi has debunked reports making the rounds that he asked people of the state to vote for only the All Progressives Congress, APC in the 2023 presidential elections. Reports emerged on Monday alleging that Umahi had said the state will not vote Mr. Peter Obi of Labour Party, LP, claiming that Ebonyi is for APC. Umahi was said to have stated this while addressing political leaders, traditional rulers, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, among other stakeholders of the state during the swearing-in of five commissioners, the states head of service, HOS, which had taken place at the new government house in Abakaliki. But Umahi, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Francis Nwaze said he was only reiterating his earlier promise to support the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu. The statement reads partly, “Our attention has been drawn to insinuations in some quarters suggesting that the Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. David Umahi, FNSE, FNATE has specifically asked Ebonyi People not to vote for a particular candidate in the 2023 Presidential election. “What Governor Umahi did during a Stakeholders’ meeting on Monday was in the spirit of sportsmanship to emphasize his earlier resolve to support the eventual winner of the Presidential election who later turned out to be Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

Post Date : June 15, 2022

Twitter, others must delete porn posts within 24 hours – FG

The Federal Government has ordered online interactive platforms, such as Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to ensure that they remove, disable or block access to any non-consensual content, which displays partial or full nudity, sexual acts, deep fake or revenge porn within 24 hours. This order was included in the recently released Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries (online platforms). According to the document, these online platforms have to “act expeditiously to remove, disable, or block access to non-consensual content that exposes a person’s private areas, full or partial nudity, sexual act, or revenge porn, where such content is targeted to harass, disrepute, or intimidate an individual. A Platform must acknowledge the receipt of the complaint and take down the content within 24 hours.” The Code of Practice also directs these platforms to take down any unlawful content upon receiving a notice from a user, or an authorised government agency. The platforms were also asked to exercise due diligence to ensure that no unlawful content is uploaded to their platform. The National Information Technology Development Agency announced the release of the Code of Practice on Monday. The Code of Practice was developed by NITDA alongside the Nigerian Communications Commission and the National Broadcasting Commission, with input from platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google, and Tik Tok. Aside from asking each online platform to have a country representative, who will interface with the Nigerian authorities, it also requires any platform with over 100,000 Nigerian users to have an office in Nigeria. Other conditions include registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission as a legal entity, complying with tax obligations, abiding by regulatory and legal demands, and providing information about users on-demand, among others. According to NITDA, the Code of Practice is aimed at safeguarding the fundamental human rights of Nigerians and non-Nigerians living in Nigeria, and regulating interactions on the online platform.