The Department of State Services has arrested the Kano State governorship candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, Abba Yusuf. Yusuf was said to have been arrested on the order of the wife of the Director-General of the DSS, Aisha Bichi, following a confrontation between the duo at the VIP lounge gate of the Aminu Kano International Airport on Sunday night. The governorship candidate’s convoy was said to have caused traffic congestion which prevented Bichi’s convoy from gaining access to the VIP lounge. In a move to clear the ensuing gridlock, there was an altercation between the DSS operatives and the aides of the governorship candidate. This subsequently degenerated into a confrontation between Yusuf and Bichi following an exchange of angry words between them. Bichi was said to have threatened to ensure that Yusuf did not board his flight. It was gathered that Yusuf was barred from boarding an Air Peace flight heading for Abuja before he was arrested. A source said, “The DSS DG’s wife actually ordered the arrest of the Kano governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Abba Yusuf, and barred him from boarding an Air Peace flight from Kano to Abuja on the fateful Sunday night. “The trouble started at the gate of the VIP lounge of the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano when the motorcade of the politician caused traffic which delayed Bichi’s convoy from gaining entry into the controlled area. “The action really angered Bichi as her security guards started beating up people and hitting vehicles for blocking the VIP gate.” However, all efforts to contact the spokesman for the NNPP candidate, Sanusi Dawakintofa, were not successful as his line was switched off. The DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, when contacted by our correspondent dismissed the report as, ”a cheap and baseless gossip not worth the attention of a professional journalist or newspaper”.

  No fewer than two persons have been feared killed after a group of Yoruba nation agitators clashed with men of the Lagos State Police Command around the Gani Fawehinmi Park in the Ojota area of the state. Recall that the police shot a salesgirl, Jumoke Oyeleke, to death while dispersing the Yoruba nation protesters at the same park on July 3, 2021. A coroner’s inquest into the circumstances surrounding the events that claimed the life of the 25-year-old indicted the police, but no suspect was released for prosecution. PUNCH Metro gathered that the agitators were protesting again on Monday when the policemen fired tear-gas canisters to disperse them. The demonstrators were said to have retaliated as the situation degenerated. A tricycle operator, who refused to disclose his name for fear of being arrested by armed policemen parading the premises, said the protesters were demonstrating peacefully when a policewoman gave the order to disperse them. He said, “I saw the woman receiving a call; she did not wear any uniform but she was part of the police team that was mobilised to the area. Immediately after she finished receiving the call, she gave an order for the protesters to be dispersed and they started shooting the protesters. “The bullets could not penetrate the protesters’ bodies, so the policemen fired tear-gas canisters. What the protesters did was use kerosene to rub their eyes so the tear gas would not affect them. There was confusion when they started shooting and firing tear gas; many of us ran away. “The protesters injured two of the policemen; I don’t know whether they died or not but I saw them carrying them away from the scene. A vehicle was also burnt.” Another eyewitness, who runs a business in front of Ojota Park and spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said the protesters arrived at the park around 3am. He explained that as buses dropped off the protesters, he saw them clustering and thought that they were stranded passengers. “No one was scared that they could be armed robbers because if they had that intention, we were just few that were around at that time. “But it was in the morning that we knew their true intention was to protest as we saw them clustering around the Ojota Park and displaying banners and the flag of the Oodua Nation. This was around 8am and they never acted in a manner that showed that they wanted to fight. “They were just protesting peacefully and it was when the police came that everything scattered as they started shooting tear gas canisters to disperse them. “I saw somebody lying motionless on the ground but could not wait to confirm if he was dead or alive as I had to run because the tear gas was too much and it was affecting me,” the businessman said. While speaking to the businessman, a policeman, who was unaware that our correspondent was sourcing information from him, said one of his colleagues was hacked with cutlasses. The policeman said, “If they were protesting peacefully, then why did they resort to damaging people’s property? They chased and caught up with one of my colleagues who fired tear gas canisters and used cutlasses to hack him. “He has been rushed to a hospital; if he dies, nothing will happen. There would be no compensation to his family. All we will just hear is that he died on active duty. “Why did the protesters burn an innocent man’s vehicle? They also vandalised the windshield of some of our vehicles. I would have also been a victim of the attack but had to release two bullets to scare them when they were coming in my direction.” At the scene, our correspondent observed uneasiness due to the presence of heavily armed policemen. No fewer than 28 police vehicles, including officials of the Lagos Rapid Response Squad; Lagos State Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit; the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and policemen from a nearby station, were sighted at the scene. Also, a Black Maria was sighted and people, some of whom eyewitnesses claimed were innocent, were seen in the vehicle. Shattered glass also littered the road as signs of a bonfire were observed at the spot where the vehicle was burnt. The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the incident in a post on Twitter, said one person died. He said, “In the early hours of today (Monday), miscreants masquerading as Yoruba Nation agitators came out in their hundreds, disrupting social and commercial activities in the Ojota area of the state. “A team of police officers, comprising Alausa division and the Raid Respond Squad promptly stepped in to disperse the unlawful gathering and prevent a breakdown of law and order. “The miscreants attacked the police, shooting, and destroying two vehicles in the process. One person has been confirmed dead, while two police officers shot by the miscreants are currently receiving treatment. “Four suspects have been arrested and investigations have commenced. Meanwhile, normalcy has been restored in the area.” Reacting to the incident, one of the leaders of the Yoruba self-determination group, Prof. Banji Akintoye, said two people lost their lives. Akintoye, while speaking in an interview monitored by our correspondent on YouTube, said the protesters gathered to carry out a peaceful rally in support of their agitation for the Yoruba nation. He said, “Their purposes are clear; self-determination for the Yoruba nation. Their methods have always been clear. A peaceful rally, no weapons, no violence of any kind, no regarding the police as enemies, no regarding any officials of the Nigerian state as enemies, those were the conditions upon which the young men gathered this morning to carry out a rally. “Even before they settled down as they were arriving at the centre where they wanted to carry out the rally, the Nigeria police approached them and started shooting them. Already, we learnt that two young men have been

  The London Metropolitan Police, United Kingdom, has said it is probing a 71-year-old man who was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Sunday on suspicion of rape This is as controversy surrounded the arrest of the founder of DAAR Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, who was delayed by the Met Police at Heathrow Airport on Sunday for a few hours. Dokpesi had arrived via Frankfurt from Abuja on a Lufthansa airlines flight but was invited off the plane before other passengers disembarked. Confirming the development in a statement on Monday, the DAAR Communications management explained that Dokpesi was in the UK in connection with the invitation extended to the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, by the British government to speak on the 2023 presidential elections. The statement said he was delayed for some hours before his passport was subsequently stamped and he was cleared by British Immigration officials. It stated, ‘’Dokpesi arrived via Frankfurt from Abuja on a Lufthansa airlines flight and was invited off the plane before other passengers disembarked. “Dokpesi was delayed at the airport for some hours before his passport was stamped and he was cleared by British Immigration officials for entry into the country. “His visit to the United Kingdom is not unconnected to the invitation of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar by the British government to share perspectives on issues around the 2023 presidential elections. perspectives on issues around the 2023 presidential elections. Related News Alleged N2.1bn fraud: Appeal court strikes out Dokpesi’s appeal “The media founder is the Deputy Director-General, Technical and Systems of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council. Chief Dokpesi wishes to thank all for their outpour of love, prayers and support following the news of the incident and to reassure them that he is hale and hearty.” But responding to inquiries from The PUNCH about the reasons for Dokpesi’s arrest, the Met Police in an email did not mention the PDP chief’s name. The mail read, “On Sunday, 8 January, a 71-year-old man was arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of rape. The arrest relates to an allegation of rape in August 2019. The man has been bailed, pending further enquiries, to a date in early April. Enquiries into the circumstances continue. “Please, note that we don’t confirm the identity of any person who has been arrested but not charged.” Dokpesi could not be reached for comment on the statement from the police. But a source in DAAR Communication stated, “Rape! It’s not possible. I am not in the UK and don’t have information on why Dokpesi was held and released. If it was a rape case, will they release him? It is the most unfair allegation against him. Where did the rape occur? Is it in Nigeria or UK? “If Nigeria didn’t fight, is it the UK that will fight him over rape? Those who are brandishing that false allegation should be able to say where the alleged rape took place. Those brandishing that nonsense are not fair to that man. “Rape! At what age? Something that he didn’t do at a younger age, is it at over 70 years that he would do that?”

  The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Monday in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, said God foiled “deliberate attempts to destroy Nigeria.” Buhari also said the country has “bounced back” from its troubled days; thanking members of the Armed Forces and the Police for their sacrifices in protecting the country. “There was a deliberate attempt to destroy Nigeria but God did not permit it,’’ Buhari said at the palace of the Emir of Damaturu, Hashimi II El-Kanemi. This is according to a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina. Expressing delight at the return of normalcy in Yobe State and Northeast Nigeria, the President thanked Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State and his Borno State counterpart, Prof Babagana Zulum, for their persistence in reconstructing schools, health centres and institutions destroyed by the misguided terrorists. He noted that ‘‘there was a deliberate attempt to destroy Nigeria but God did not permit it,’’ adding that “God has helped Nigeria to bounce back.” He also commended members of the Armed Forces and the Police for their sacrifices in protecting the country. The President recounted that having fought to defend Nigeria’s unity during the Civil War, those who were part of that experience would never ‘‘allow anybody to fiddle with this country again.’’

  Renowned political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi said landlords in Lagos are not renting houses out to Labour Party, LP to use as party offices. Utomi made this disclosure in an exclusive interview with The Niche, an online news platform. He said, “In Lagos State, you cannot put up a poster. If you want to rent a house, for Labour Party, the landlord will say he doesn’t want APC people to come and burn down his house. You put up posters, they are torn within minutes. “What kind of democracy is this? This is fascism that we are introducing into Nigeria. And I anticipated it. I wrote about it in a book that came out a couple of years ago – Why Not? It was about citizenship, state capture, creeping fascism and the criminal hijack of politics in Nigeria. “So, you get these kinds of conditions that obviously are all targeted at stifling democracy and then you get the actors conducting themselves in manners where you see an erosion of the legitimacy of the process,” he said. The economist further stated, “Until the Peter Obi phenomenon bust unto the scene, people were less and less interested in democracy in Nigeria. You can follow the afro barometer measures, longitudinal year on year. After 1999 when there was excitement for democracy, it has been down progressively. Fewer and fewer people were voting. “But when the ENDSARS generation, young people decided that they were going to use democracy to change this horrid condition that we are living in, registration went up. In spite of the things that may or may not have happened in INEC, we got nearly 13 million new voters registered. That is a phenomenal leap from a declining process. “People want to use this democracy and now these people, the oppressors, seem committed to doing everything to prevent the people from having their will. So, 2023 is about how the will of the people can triumph, how a country whose population has a median age of 18 can have a small group of people in their 70s and 80s, less than three per cent of the population, hold their knees on the neck of the people,” he said. Meanwhile, Pat Utomi described the governor of Delta state, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, as a moral cripple for accepting to be running mate to a Northerner. Similarly, he stated that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, idea of pushing an infirm presidential candidate – Tinubu – is a double moral tragedy.

  Tuesday 10 January 2023  How Yoruba nation protesters converged 3am, members killed DSS director’s wife orders Kano gov candidate’s arrest Pastor raped my daughter for three years – Mother Dokpesi: UK police deepen probe, controversy surrounds airport incident Attempt to destroy Nigeria failed, says Buhari In Lagos, landlords can’t rent house to Labour Party – Pat Utomi NDDC 2023 N500bn budget fraudulent – Wike 2023 is a year Obi will be sworn in as Nigeria’s president – Ezeife Why FG can’t intervene in rising kerosene price – Sylva Iran sentences three more people to death over nationwide protests INEC disowns purported final list of candidates Six Victims Of Edo Train Attack Rescued Tinubu Won’t Inherit Buhari’s 12m Bloc Votes, Says NNPP Spokesman Bolanle Raheem’s Burial Rites Postponed Over Legal Procedure World Leaders Condemn Anti-Government Mob Attacks In Brazil CBN’s Withdrawal Limits Begin Amid Concerns Over New Naira Notes Former Adamawa Governor Bindow Dumps APC For PDP Airtel completes deal for acquisition of 4G, 5G spectrum at $316.7m IGP served warrant to arrest Akwa Ibom PDP guber candidate FG: Nigeria to stop importing petroleum products by Q1 2024 Sources: Ohanaeze elders may invoke ‘doctrine of necessity’ to select interim leader 2023 Elections May Be Stalled Over Insecurity – INEC Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  The Management of DAAR Communications Plc, operators of AIT, RayPower and Faaji FM, has confirmed the arrest, in London, of the Group’s Founder, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi. It however disclosed in a statement issued on Monday morning that Dokpesi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was released after some hours and allowed into London. The statement reads: “The founder of DAAR Communications Plc, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi (Ph.D), was released after an incident which saw him delayed on arrival at the London Heathrow airport on Sunday January 8, 2023. “Dokpesi arrived via Frankfurt from Abuja on a Lufthansa airlines flight and was invited off the plane, before other passengers were disembarked. “Dokpesi was delayed at the airport for some hours before his passport was stamped and he was cleared by British Immigration officials for entry into the country. “His visit to the United Kingdom is not unconnected to the invitation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar by the British government to share perspectives on issues around the 2023 presidential elections. “The media founder is the Deputy Director-General, Technical & Systems of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council. Chief Dokpesi wishes to thank all for their outpour of love, prayers and support following the news of the incident and to reassure that he is hale and hearty.”