Sunday 22 April 2023 Tinubu not under pressure over cabinet – Alake Sudan conflict: FG raises evacuation panel as trapped Nigerians knock govt South Africa is open for tourism, says Consul-General Bandits Release Four Kebbi Schoolgirls After 22 Months In Captivity 21 Bodies Exhumed In Kenya Cult Probe – Police Sources Taraba Rep-Elect Maihanchi Is Dead Building Collapses In Sango Police Barracks Ibadan High Cost Of Living A Global Crisis, Not Peculiar To Nigeria – Garba Shehu Why RECs are reckless —Justice Uwais Report 10th NASS: Govs’ zoning formula fuels tensions ahead of Tinubu, APC’s decision NBS: Nigeria’s internet subscribers increased to 154m in Q4 2022 — up by 9.7% EFCC: We’re investigating Abuja estates acquired from proceeds of money laundering Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  A human rights group, the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) has asked Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State to step down from the state’s governorship race over the recent killing of five police officers and a couple in the state. Gunmen had on Friday morning, killed the five officers who had stopped by to eat at a local restaurant at Okpala Junction in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of the state. The attackers also killed a couple identified as Mr and Mrs Chinaka Nwagu, who owned a nearby shop, where two of the officers ran to for safety. Group reacts In a statement on Saturday by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA condemned the killing of the officers and the couple during the attack. The group asked Uzodinma, who is seeking a re-election in the 11 November governorship election in the state, to announce his withdrawal from the governorship race. The governor recently picked the governorship ticket of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the election. HURIWA accused the governor of failing to engage in “constructive dialogue” with restive youths to address growing insecurity in the state. The group urged the governor to set up a reconciliation commission and pay compensations to the families of the affected victims. “We call on the governor to step down from being on the ticket of the APC for a second term in order to save Imo from continuous killings,” HURIWA said. “Governor Uzodinma, if he means well for the state, should announce that he won’t be running in the November governorship poll, then set up a reconciliation commission by offering apologies to families of all those killed including security operatives and civilians. “He should also pay compensations where possible, offer amnesty and open avenues for peacebuilding through withdrawal and submission of arms by sundry armed groups. But the reconciliation must be sincere and pragmatic,” the group added. Police launch manhunt for killers Meanwhile, the police in Imo State said they had launched a manhunt for the gunmen who killed the officers and the couple in the state. The police spokesperson in the state, Henry Okoye, said the police had deployed operational and tactical teams to the area, to track down the hoodlums and forestall breakdown of law and order in the area.

  A block of flats in the Sango Police Barracks in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, on Saturday evening, collapsed. However, the number of trapped persons or casualties, if any, remained unknown. The collapsed structure is in front of a residential three-storey building in the area. All attempts to reach the officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Ibadan, and the Oyo State Police Command for comments on the incident were futile at the time of filing this report. Meanwhile, residents in the area are intensifying efforts to evacuate the rubble. •Details later…

  Angry mob has lynched a suspected cultist, Chima, also known as Jasper, after stabbing a mechanic Chigozie Anumwee to death over a minor quarrel at Umuonyeashi, Nsokpo Ogbaku in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, on Fridaym It was learnt that Jasper, who hails from Amakohia Ubi in Owerri West LGA but lives in his maternal home, was allegedly stoned to death by an angry mob after reportedly stabbing Anumwee to death. It was also gathered that the tragedy occurred at about 11am on Friday at Umuonyeashi, Nsokpo Ogbaku, and the people of the community retaliated almost immediately and stoned Jasper to death. A community source, who pleaded anonymity, said Jasper stabbed the deceased from Lawa in Isi-Ogbaku autonomous community in the lower abdomen after a little quarrel ensued between them. He said the young man attempted to run but was apprehended by the mob when they realized the victim had died, beating him and stoning him to death. Confirming the incident, the Secretary of Ogbaku Youth Association, Justice Chukwunatu Nwafor, said the matter had been reported to the police at Ogbaku Police Division and that normalcy has been restored in the area. He described the incident as “the height of barbarism at this time and age”. When reached, Henry Okoye, spokesman for the Imo State Police Command, confirmed the incident. He said, “Acting on information received on 21/04/2023 at about 0930hrs, that one Chima ‘m’ surname yet unknown stabbed one Chigozie Anuwe ‘m’ of Umunegelawa, Ogbaku, to death with a dagger, operatives of Ogbakwu divisional headquarter swiftly mobilised to the scene. “On arrival at the scene the team realised that the suspect Chima have already been lynched by angry mob, he was rushed to the hospital but was confirmed dead on arrival. Both corpses have been deposited at the mortuary. “Preliminary investigation is ongoing at Ogbakwu and subsequently will transferred to State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (SCIID) for in-dept investigation. “Members of the public are advised to shun jungle justice, extra judicial killings and avoid taking Laws into their hand as we live in a civil society and not in a jungle. They are encouraged to promptly report any activity of similar nature to the nearest Police station or via the Command’s emergency line 0803773600 or 08098880197.

  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says the commission is focusing its searchlight on fraudsters who use real estate to launder money. Speaking during a media workshop in Benin, Edo state capital, Chris Mishela, a lawyer with the EFCC, said many estates springing up in the country, especially in Abuja, are built with illicit funds. “The sources of these funds are unlawful,” Mishela said. “The funds are illegally gotten either from the government or from international crime and are laundered through real estate business. “So, EFCC is actually working to look into that dimension and the new Money Laundering Act has provided an opening for the government to look into the aspect of real estate as we have seen under the Act. “Real estate is one of the designated and non-designated professions that are also under our obligation, under the establishment to do a full disclosure. “It is an investigation that is going on; not that we have identified any specific entity to these proceeds of crime, but we are working to unravel what those areas are.” The aim of the workshop, according to the EFCC, is to help journalists and the public understand the new anti-money laundering act’s structure and the part they were supposed to perform.

  Twenty-one bodies have been exhumed in Kenya in a probe into a cult whose followers are believed to have starved themselves to death, police sources said Saturday, warning the toll could rise.   Officials had earlier reported seven deaths in connection with the investigation in eastern Kenya following the arrest of Makenzie Nthenge, who reportedly told followers to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus”. “In total since yesterday, we have 21 bodies,” a police source told AFP on condition of anonymity, referring to exhumations in the Shakahola forest outside the coastal town of Malindi. “We have not even scratched the surface which gives a clear indication that we are likely to get more bodies by the end of this exercise,” the source added. Another police source confirmed the same toll, also on condition of anonymity. At least three children were among the victims, said one police source. Nthenge, leader of the Good News International Church, turned himself in to police and was charged last month, according to local media, after two children starved to death in the custody of their parents. He was later released on bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings ($700). Police reported his arrest on April 15 after discovering the bodies of four followers whom he reportedly told to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus”. Kenyan police said on Friday that they had exhumed three other bodies. Eleven other followers of the church — the youngest just 17 — were taken to hospital, three of them in critical condition, after being rescued on April 14. Police raided the forest after receiving information of the deaths on “ignorant citizens starving to death under the pretext of meeting Jesus after being brainwashed” by Nthenge. AFP

  The Federal Government has commenced the payment of the 40 per cent pay rise arrears for civil servants, Saturday PUNCH has reliably learnt. Our correspondent who spoke to some federal civil servants on Saturday learnt that workers started receiving bank alerts of the arrears on Saturday, April 22, 2023. A high-ranking civil servant who spoke to our correspondent anonymously in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, noted that the arrears came in alongside the April 2023 salary. “I received my own arrears today. Some of our other colleagues have also confirmed receipt of their arrears. It came in alongside our April salary.” Another civil servant who confirmed the development via a chat with our correspondent in Ibadan said, “Yes, it is true. Though I am a teacher with a Federal Government school, I can confirm to you that I received my April 2023 salary alongside my arrears.” The PUNCH had earlier reported that the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd), proposed a 40 per cent pay rise for workers to cushion the effects of the planned removal of fuel subsidy. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity, Olajide Oshundun, who spoke to The PUNCH noted that the rise will be applicable to all workers from level 1 to 17. Earlier in March, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, disclosed that the Federal Government had approved a pay raise for civil servants in the country. He added that the pay rise had been included in the 2023 budget, noting that it would take effect from January 1, 2023. Ngige described the pay raise as a peculiar allowance for civil servants in view of the current economic reality and it is meant to help government workers to cushion the effects of rising inflation, the rising cost of living, hikes in transportation fare, housing and electricity tariffs. Details later…

  The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, on Friday, said the rising cost of living is not only peculiar to Nigeria alone but a global phenomenon. Shehu, who spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, defended President Muhammadu Buhari on some of the problems encountered by Nigerians in the last eight years. He said the current administration has within the past eight years done well in ensuring food security and reducing the cost of living in Nigeria. The presidential spokesman also blamed the global crisis on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic that grounded economies of the world. “The cost of living crisis is a global phenomenon. Nigerians need to just look beyond our shores and see how national economies are going into liquidation. See what is happening to Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, and even Europe.   “There is a global crisis that has afflicted the entire (world) globally. When Covid came, all countries of the world recessed in their economies, except perhaps China. “This has continued to be compounded by the crisis in the supply systems warranted by the ongoing situation between Ukraine and Russia and all of that. Everyone is managing a bad situation and Nigeria is not doing badly in doing this.” During the interview, Shehu also spoke about his principal’s efforts in addressing the problem of insecurity in the country. He argued that the Federal Government has performed creditably in its efforts at tackling the myriads of security challenges that have bedevilled Africa’s most populous nation.

  The Kaduna State Police Command has apprehended a middle-aged man, identified simply as Kenneth, for allegedly hacking his girlfriend to death in the state capital. City Round gathered that the man allegedly hacked his girlfriend, Ebenezer Agada, 27, using a machete to cut her into pieces for allegedly plotting to dump him for another man. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Jalige, while confirming the incident, said the command rescued the suspect from a mob, which wanted to lynch him. Jalige, in a statement titled, ‘Operatives arrest suspect for killing his girlfriend,’ said, “A suspect, who allegedly murdered his girlfriend, has been arrested while about to be lynched by a mob, which would have jeopardised investigations. “On April 14, 2023, around 9.30pm, a distress call has it that there was a mob action at NEPA Roundabout and that the unruly crowd was about to lynch a suspect. “Operatives were mobilised to the scene, where they met the suspect lying unconscious and surrounded by the crowd. “Information gathered reveals that the suspect, Kenneth, surname not yet known, attacked his girlfriend, Ebenezer Agada, 27, of Command Secondary and Nursery School, Sokoto Road, with a machete and inflicted multiple injuries on her face, arms and hands. “In the process of the attack, he severed her left hand completely, alleging that he had spent a lot on her and she wanted to dump him for another man. “The victim was rushed to the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital for treatment, where a medical doctor on duty confirmed her dead. The corpse has been deposited at the same hospital for an autopsy.”