A man identified as Ndubisi Wilson Uwadiegwu from Enugu State has allegedly beaten his wife, Ogochukwu Enene, to death over bread. The Razor Newspaper gathered that the the late Ogochukwu who was the senior prefect of Amenyi Girls Secondary school 2000 set, hailed from Umuokpu village, Awka, Anambra State. According to an online notice obtained by our correspondent, the first son of the deceased who is 14 years of age said their father used mirror to beat their mom to death because their mom asked him to buy bread for them and he said he had no money. The son added that when their mom used her money and got one loaf of bread for the children, the father went to the kitchen and ate the whole bread and when he was asked why he finished the bread without keeping any for the children, he started beating their mother leading to her death. THE ONLINE NOTICE READS: This is ADA Awka by name Ogochukwu Anene from Umuokpu village Awka. She was married to one Mr Ndubisi Wilson Uwadiegwu from Enugu State who beat her to death and is planning to bury her without informing her people properly. Ogo was blessed with five children, 4 boys and a girl. The first son who is 14 years of age said that their father used mirror 🪞 and beat their mom because their mom asked him to buy bread for them and he said he had no money. So when their mom used her money and got one loaf of bread, the father went to the kitchen and finished the whole bread and when asked him why he finished the whole bread without keeping any for the children, he started beating her leading to her death. Ogochukwu Anene was the senior prefect of Amenyi girls secondary school 2000 set. Please share this post to reach those that can help the family get justice coz Wilson is acting as if nothing happened. Please Ndi Awka umunnem Old girls association of GSSA OGOCHUKWU needs justice

Major General IS Ali has been appointed the new Theatre Commander of the Joint Task Force North-East Operation Hadin Kai in a major shakeup announced by the Nigerian Army on Saturday. Those affected by the redeployment include some Principal Staff Officers of the Army Headquarters, Corps Commanders, Commandants of Army Training Institutions, Brigade Commanders, Commanding officers and several others. Notable among the new General Officers’ Commanding (GOC) are Major General AB Ibrahim now appointed as the Commander Operation Safe Haven, Major General AS Chinade now GOC of Headquarters 82 Division, while Major General GM Mutkut is to assume command as the GOC 8 Division and Commander Operation Hadarin Daji in the North-West. The appointments take effect from January 11, 2023, according to a statement by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu. He said the routine redeployment is in an effort to ensure administrative and operational efficiency in the Nigerian Army. The Army spokesman also said the redeployment followed the recent promotion of senior officers as approved by the Army Council for the year 2022. Read full statement: NA REDEPLOYS SENIOR OFFICERS TO VARIOUS APPOINTMENTS In an effort to ensure administrative and operational efficiency in the Nigerian Army (NA), amidst recent operational successes recorded in combating emerging security challenges, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya has approved the redeployment of Major Generals, and Brigadier Generals amongst several other senior officers across NA formations and units in the country. Those affected in the redeployment include some Principal Staff Officers of the Army Headquarters, Corps Commanders, Commandants of NA Training Institutions, Brigade Commanders, Commanding officers and several others. Notable among the new General Officers’ Commanding (GOC) appointees are Major General IS Ali from Headquarters 3 Division to Theatre Command as the new Theatre Commander Joint Task Force North East OPERATION HADIN KAI, Major General AB Ibrahim from Army Headquarters Department of Training to Headquarters 3 Division as the new GOC as well as Commander OPERATION SAFE HAVEN, Major General AS Chinade from Headquarters 2 Division to Headquarters 82 Division as GOC, while Major General GM Mutkut is to assume command as the GOC 8 Division and Commander Operation HADARIN DAJI (NW) from Army Headquarters Department of Policy and Plan. Those newly appointed Corps Commanders are Major General CG Musa from Theatre Command to Headquarters Infantry Corps Centre as the new Corps Commander, Major General MS Ahmed from Headquarters Theatre Command (NE) to Headquarters Nigerian Army Armoured Corps as Corps Commander, Major General BR Sinjen from Nigerian Army School of Artillery to Headquarters Nigerian Army Corps of Artillery as the new Corps Commander, Major General PE Eromosele from National Defence College to Headquarters Nigerian Army Engineers, Major General AA Ayannuga From Army Headquarters Department of Army Transformation to Nigerian Army Cyber Warfare Command, Major General GS Abdullahi from Defence Space Administration to Headquarters Nigerian Army Signals. Among the new Defence and Army Headquarters Principal Staff Officers are Major General SE Udounwa who is redeployed from Army Headquarters Department of Special Services and Programmes to Defence Headquaters as Chief of Defence Training and Operations, Major General SG Mohammed redeployed from Army Headquarters Department of Policy and Plans to the Department of Army Training as Chief of Training, Major General UT Musa from Headquarters 82 Division to the Department of Army Administration as Director Personnel Management, Major General Y Yahaya from Headquaters 31 Artillery Brigade to Department of Army Administration as the Director Manpower (Army) among several others. Brigadier General TI Gusau is also redeployed from Army Headquaters Department of Special Services to the Directorate of Defence Information as the new Director. The newly redeployed Brigade Commanders include Brigadier General AM Umar from the Office of the Chief of Army Staff to Headquarters Guards Brigade, Brigadier General S Aliyu from Headquarters 6 Division to Headquarters 63 Brigade, Brigadier General HD Bobbo from National Defence College to Headquarters 31 Brigade, Brigadier General MT Aminu from Army War College Nigeria to Headquarters 35 Brigade among several others. It is imperative to note that redeployment in the Nigerian Army is routine, particularly with the recent promotion of senior officers as approved by the Army Council for the year 2022. The redeployment of all appointees takes effect from 11 January 2023. ONYEMA NWACHUKWU Brigadier General Director Army Pubic Relations 7 January 2023

  A former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim has described a recent attack on his convoy as a clear assassination attempt on his life and that of his family members. “The story has been told and retold and though some versions were not altogether accurate, the important thing is that I survived what was a clear attempt to assassinate me,” the ex-governor said in an 11-paragraph thank-you statement issued and signed on Saturday, “Even though the nationwide condemnation of such a despicable act was to be expected, I noticed, in all the messages and calls I received, deep personal love and regard for me.” Ohakim was attacked by gunmen on Monday evening around Ori-Agu axis in the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area (LGA) of the state while on his way from his hometown back to Owerri, the state capital, in company with his daughter and son. In his statement on Saturday, the former governor called on security operatives to leave no stone unturned in fishing out the perpetrators and unravel the mystery behind the attack. He also urged and security agencies to find a lasting solution to the seeming intractable national problem called insecurity. He expressed grief over the murder of four of his security aides during the attack and commiserated with their families, promising that they will not suffer untold hardship. He also thanked Nigerians and the people of Imo for their show of love. He expressed optimism that going by the performances of security operatives in Imo in combating crime in recent times, the perpetrators of the dastardly act will be fished out and made to face the wrath of the law.

  The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Birnin Kebbi/Kalgo/Bunza Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Abba Muhammed Bello, is dead. Bello is said to have died after returning from the United States where he went to check on his father and former PDP chairman, Dr Muhammed Haliru Bello, who has been sick for a while. The PDP candidate won the party’s ticket at the primaries held in May, where he was reported to have defeated the incumbent House of Representatives member, Alhaji Mohammed Bello-Yakubu, an All Progressives Congress (APC) defector.

  Media rights groups have called for South Sudanese authorities to release six journalists detained over a video reportedly showing President Salva Kiir urinating on himself. The staff at the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation were arrested on Tuesday by agents from the National Security Service, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, citing media reports and other sources familiar with the case. They are under investigation over footage that went viral on social media in December, according to the reports, the New York-based CPJ said in a statement issued late Friday. A video posted on YouTube shows Kiir, dressed in his trademark black hat and a grey outfit at what is described as a road commissioning ceremony, with a wet substance staining his left trouser leg. An official from SSBC quoted by independent station Radio Tamazuj said the outlet did not broadcast the footage. The arrests match “a pattern of security personnel resorting to arbitrary detention whenever officials deem coverage unfavourable”, said CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative Muthoki Mumo. “Authorities should unconditionally release these six SSBC employees and ensure that they can work without further intimidation or threat of arrest.” The Union of Journalists of South Sudan also called for a “speedy conclusion” of the investigation into the six, who it said were suspected of “having knowledge of the release of ‘a certain footage’ to the public”. “If there is a prima facie case of professional misconduct or offence then let authorities expedite an administrative or legal process to address the issue in a fair, transparent (manner) and in accordance with the law,” it said in a statement on Friday. Kiir, 71, oversaw the birth of South Sudan as an independent nation after it broke free from Sudan in July 2011. But the world’s youngest country has lurched from crisis to crisis since then, enduring brutal conflict, political turmoil, natural disasters and hunger.

  The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya has said that recruitment into the Nigerian Army should not be perceived as employment opportunity, as is the case in other conventional endeavours of life. He said that unlike other professions, recruitment into the NA is a national call to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Nigeria and therefore requires citizens who are not only physically and medically fit, but also mentally and emotionally stable. The Army Chief made the observation on Saturday 7 January 2023, shortly before flagging off a10Km endurance run for candidates undergoing screening to qualify for the 84 Regular Recruits Intake into the Nigerian Army (NA) at the Nigerian Army Battle Fitness Centre (NABFC) in Falgore forest, Kano state. Emphasizing that it is a job opportuniy and call to national service, he said it requires selflessness and if need be, the supreme sacrifice, stressing, it is not an all comers’ affair. Advising the candidates to take the screening seriously, as only the best will emerge in the final enlistment, Gen Yahaya also admonished personnel conducting the screening exercise to protect their integrity by avoiding any form of compromise. In his remarks, the Chief of Administration (Army), Maj Gen Wilson Ali, stated that the progressive provision of infrastructure, such as electricity, portable water, upgrade of medical centre, dormitories and lavatories in the centre, enabled a conducive environment to effectively conduct the exercise. He assured the COAS of a hitch free screening exercise. The COAS later embarked on a tour of the facility and paid a visit to candidates who were receiving attention at the medical centre. The COAS was accompanied during the tour by Principal Staff Officers from the Army Headquarters, GOC 1 Division, Commandant Depot NA and Commander 3 Brigade.

  There are concerns that the plan by the military to release another set of repentant terrorists into society could subvert the progress made so far in the war against insurgency. No fewer than 613 rehabilitated terrorists undergoing de-radicalisation are scheduled to be handed over by the military authorities to their respective state governors. This has, however, heightened fears that the repentant terrorists may have ulterior motives. In July 2022, some repentant Boko Haram members, despite renouncing their membership of the terror group, were accused of having contact with their former colleagues. The ex-terrorists were among the 800 persons who were recently reintegrated into the Bama community in Borno State and were resettled at the Government Girls Secondary School Bama. The repentant terrorists, who were alleged to have sneaked out of Bama town, were said to have dealt in scrap metals with some Boko Haram terrorists in a market known as Daula located on the outskirts of Goniri village before the incident occurred. Apart from this, the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and the Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, Major General Christopher Musa, had separately expressed doubt over the sincerity of the repentant terrorists in the past. Speaking in an interview with one of our correspondents on Friday, a security expert, Timothy Avele, said the ex-terrorists could not be trusted. He said, “On a personal level, I am not in support of the policy. You cannot release so-called repentant terrorists back into society when the war is still raging on. Who monitors them? How is the government or military sure of their loyalty to the country instead of their terrorist brothers still in the battlefield? “As it stands now, neither the government nor the military, nor even the intelligence agencies can truly monitor these so-called repentant terrorists. We don’t have the technology to do so currently in Nigeria. We can only pray and hope that they will be good citizens, but there are no guarantees. “ But Brigadier General Bashir Adewinbi (retd.), on his part, dismissed the insinuations that those the military was planning to release to society would return to their old ways. He added that the military would have learnt from past experience to ensure that such mistakes were not repeated, noting that the ex-terrorists would be closely monitored. “The military must have learnt from the incident and ensured that they (repentant terrorists) might have been properly de-radicalised before releasing them into society. I think they will be watched closely and whoever is caught going back should be dealt with within the ambit of the law. I doubt that these ones will go back to their vomit,” Adewinbi stated. Another retired officer, Brigadier General Sani Usman, said the issue of repentant terrorists required a holistic approach, adding that the Federal Government must develop a unique modality for dealing with the issue of repentant terrorists. He also said the de-radicalisation and reintegration of the repentant terrorists must not be left in the hands of the military and the Borno State Government alone. Usman said, “There is a need to follow up on the collaborative effort of the whole society approach. Beyond this, there is also a need for the Federal Government to come to the aid of the military and the Borno State Government in finding a procedure for handling the over 80,000 repentant terrorists. “Some time ago, I heard the theatre commander talking about the Maiduguri initiative, that is fine but we are faced with a unique situation. There is nowhere in the world where you have such a huge number of terrorists surrender hence there is a need to come up with a unique approach to handle them. First, we need to work on our justice system. I have said on several occasions that people should not be allowed to get away with their crimes. We must ensure that justice is done not only to the victims, but to the suspects themselves. “With due respect to Operation Safe Corridor, the Federal Government must intervene and set up a committee and critically evaluate them on the basis of their participation in the insurgency. Some of them were conscripted, while some of them were terrorist commanders. Some of them even participated in attacking their own towns, how can you think of and rehabilitate those people? The judiciary must be fully involved. “We also have to dig deep into this issue to understand why they did what they did or are doing. That is where the criminal justice system administration has to come to play. It is a delicate and complex issue that has to be handled properly. We have assisted to reintegrate people elsewhere like Liberia, and Sierra Leone. We have come out with a blend of experience and best practices to effectively resolve the issue.” ‘Tread with caution’ Meanwhile, some security experts and researchers have asked the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, to tread with caution in his plan to hand over 613 low-risk repentant terrorists to their state governments. Irabor disclosed the plan on Thursday during the fifth stakeholders’ meeting of the Operation Safe Corridor in Abuja. Reacting to this move, a researcher in the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who has worked extensively on the matter, Dr Ugwueze Ikechukwu, said the Nigerian Army and its component units should tread with caution, noting that the move might backfire if not well handled. While stating that it was not a new move, Ikechukwu faulted the Army for not using a community-based approach in the rehabilitation and reintegration process. The expert, who had a paper published on the matter, said, “It is also known as Operation Safe Corridor, and for a very long time, we have continued to complain about the government’s use of the kinetic approach in resolving the Boko Haram issue. “The plan to rehabilitate and reintegrate these ‘repentant’ Boko Haram into society is only a soft approach to counter-terrorism, and we are shocked that it is still being used by

  The United Kingdom High Commission in Nigeria has said it will comply with all directives from the Federal Government, including the guidelines rolled out by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to curb money laundering and terrorism financing, which also applied to embassies. The Director and Chief Executive Officer, NFIU, Modibbo Tukur, had on Thursday announced the prohibition of cash withdrawals from accounts belonging to the Federal Government, all its agencies, state and local governments with effect from March 1, 2023. Tukur also said the policy applied to all foreign missions operating in Nigeria; accounts of all development partner institutions and the accounts of all instituted funds in the form of independent funds to be operated as mutual funds such as insurance funds, cooperative funds, brokerage funds, political party funds, or pressure group/union funds, once the funds were designated to exist as funds or to operate independently for management and/or investment. He said, “The rate of withdrawals above the threshold from public accounts has been alarming, over N701bn has been withdrawn in cash from 2015 till date. “The NFIU had told banks and government agencies at all levels to go fully digital by moving online, as all transactions involving public money must be routed through the banks for the purpose of accountability and transparency. “This is not reversible as we are only enforcing the law. As far as we are concerned, Nigeria will become a full non-cash economy by March 1, 2023. As a consequence, any government official that withdraws even one naira cash from any public account from March 1 will be investigated and prosecuted in collaboration with relevant agencies like the EFCC, ICPC and the NPF.” The NFIU noted that the enforcement, guidelines and policies were for the mitigation of money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation of weapons, and prevention of predicate crimes. Responding to inquiries from one of our correspondents, the UK High Commission’s spokesman, Dean Hurlock, said, “I’m not aware (of the NFIU guidelines), but I’m sure the right team is. We will of course comply with all Federal Government directives.” The missions of the United States, Canada and China have yet to respond to emails asking if they would comply with the NFIU guidelines as of the time of filing this report. Some former diplomats have, however, faulted the directive, stating that the agency has no authority over foreign diplomatic missions in the country. The foreign policy experts, who spoke in separate interviews with our correspondents on Friday, wondered how the NFIU would compel the missions to comply with its directive considering that they represented their home governments, aside the fact that they had diplomatic immunity. But speaking to Sunday PUNCH, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Mexico, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, said the NFIU policy was subject to local regulations only Amedu-Ode explained, “First of all, what is the law establishing NFIU and what latitude, in terms of legal enforcement of rules and regulations, do they have? And if they have such rules, do they cover diplomatic missions operating in Nigeria? “Of course, the person and the premise of a diplomatic agent are invaluable and I want to stress that it (directive) covers their bank accounts and all that, but it is subject to local regulations. “Can they categorise accounts belonging to foreign diplomatic missions and accounts belonging to Nigeria public institutions? However, does the NFIU have the legal authority to monitor what is going on in diplomatic missions and their bank accounts in Nigeria?” In the same vein, retired Ambassador Rasheed Akinkuolie said foreign missions could not be restrained, noting that diplomatic immunity for diplomats and missions was a mutually agreed convention. Akinkuolie stated, “Diplomatic missions in Nigeria fall under ‘Exceptions to the Guidelines’ in the NFIU cash withdrawal policy. Foreign missions cannot be restrained in any way in their legitimate activities in a host country, including their financial transactions. “If there is insistence on applying the stringent regulations by the Nigerian government, the same restrictions will be placed on all Nigerian diplomatic missions abroad. Diplomatic immunity for diplomats and missions is a mutually agreed convention, which countries are careful not to violate because of the consequences.” Corroborating the ex-diplomats, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Angola, Folorunsho Otukoya, noted that embassy accounts were not regarded as local, making it impossible for the NFIU policy to be enforced on the missions. Otukoya noted, “Whatever the specifics of the guidelines may contain, embassy accounts are not regarded as local. Since remittances come into them directly from their sending states, it may be difficult to strictly impose those guidelines to the letter. “From my experience in other lands, central banks have often prevented embassies from paying local currencies into their accounts once they withdraw the forex equivalent. This is to prevent what we call ‘double tripping’. “It is to prevent missions from taking out forex and going to the black market and coming back to deposit into their accounts to do local expenses. It’s an elaborate system but most missions still find ways of circumventing those provisions.” However, an ex-Nigerian Ambassador to Algeria, Ambassador Mohammed Mabdul, said as long as foreign missions were operating in a country, the law of the current country would apply to them and was in line with international best practices. According to him, the policy on money laundering applies to all foreign missions in Nigeria, stressing that the policy was being enforced in most countries. Mabdul, who retired from the Foreign Service last year after his tenure in Algeria, argued, “Even though the foreign embassies represent their home countries, the moment they are posted to another country, they are governed by the laws of the country. That is the standard procedure, especially when such laws do not contravene international best practices. “There are certain financial regulations that are practised, not only in the local banks, but by all the banks around the world. Most financial institutions operate to protect transactions of money in a legal way and to avoid illegal activity, which includes