A former member of Cross River House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Patrick Uguge has been arrested by the State Police Command for allegedly raping his wife’s niece, who is only 19 years old. According to report, a Human Rights lawyer, James Ibor of Basic Right Council Initiative (BRCI), revealed in Calabar, that the suspect committed the crime at a hotel in Ogoja. He was thereafter reported & was taken to Police Custody on Thursday, April 27, 2023. “The victim alleged that on the 21st day of April, 2023, the man raped her in a hotel at Ogoja. When the girl came to us , we had to verify & confirm her story, we put up a petition to the Police, and they have commenced investigation & taken custody of the man. “Rape is a felony and the rate of sexual abuse is alarming, so we need to protect the female gender. We are in touch with the girl’s parents, who have confirmed that the suspect was still a virgin before she was raped,” Ibor said.

  Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral and related events following her death last September cost UK taxpayers nearly £162 million ($201 million), the government revealed on Thursday in its first public estimate. The elaborate state funeral for Britain’s longest-serving monarch, which was held in early May, entailed a vast security operation for hundreds of foreign heads of state and royals. In a written statement to parliament, finance minister, John Glen, said the total estimated cost ran into £161.7 million, with the interior ministry, responsible for policing, accounting for the biggest proportion (£73.7 million). The Department for Culture, Media and Sport spent £57.4 million, while the Scottish government billed £18.8 million. “The death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, and the period of national mourning that followed was a moment of huge national significance,” Glen said. The disclosure comes shortly after the coronation earlier this month of Elizabeth’s son, King Charles III, with its likely bill raising eyebrows – and complaints – as many Britons struggle with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. Buckingham Palace has rejected reports that the total for that vast security operation would top £100 million. AFP

  The military says it lacks the capacity or technology to know the whereabouts of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in 2014. Director, Defence Media Operation, Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami, said this in Abuja on Thursday while fielding questions from journalists shortly after bi-weekly press briefing.   “Precisely on the Chibok girls, the Chibok girls are just like any other human beings like us here; you cannot see anybody walking and just identify that this is a Chibok girl. There’s no way the military can have the capacity or technology know that precisely this is where the Chibok girls are. “It’s quite some time now that these girls have been missing or abducted. So, now because of the intensity of operations, most of them are escaping from the terrorists and coming out. It’s only when they come out that we can now identify that this is one of the abducted Chibok girls. “Our troops are conducting operations daily in Sambisa forest and are recovering weapons and ammunition. Majority of the weapons displayed for the Nigerians to see were recovered from Sambisa forest,” he said. He also said the Sambisa forest “is not impenetrable” as operations were conducted there forcing terrorists to come out and surrender. He assured that the military and other security agencies were working round the clock to make the May 29 presidential inauguration successful.

  Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has revoked the Right of Occupancy of nine companies belonging to a former Governor, Senator Ahmed Muhammed Makarfi. The affected properties have also been slated for demolition. According to Daily Trust, the notice of revocation and withdrawal of the right of occupancy had been served to the officials of the affected companies. The official notice of revocation was addressed to the Director of Cane Properties, Plot 11, Murtala Square, Doka, Alhaji Ibrahim Makarfi who responded, “Our Lawyers will respond accordingly to the revocation and withdrawal of right of Occupancy of the companies”. However, reacting to the revocation in a text message sent to Senator Makarfi, he confirmed receipt of nine revocation letters. He said, “There is a serious issue. We need to meet Ustaz Yunus (SAN) to go to court to stop the state government; they just sent nine revocation letters to us”. Listed among the affected properties are five plots in Mogadishu, three plots on Kwato road, and the Doka plot. In separate letters of revocation and withdrawal of right of Occupancy signed by the Registrar of Kaduna Geographical Information Service (KADGIS), Mahmud Aminu said, “I have been directed to refer to the above Right of Occupancy, and inform you that His Excellency, Governor of Kaduna State has in the exercise of power conferred on him under section 28 (5) (a) and (b) of Land Use Act 1978, revoked and withdrawal your rights and continued failure and contravention of covenanted terms and conditions of the Right of Occupancy”. El-Rufai has 10 more days to govern Kaduna as he would exit office on May 29, 2023, after serving two terms.

  The Sultan of Sokoto and President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, says these days, security operatives only appear at scenes of attacks to mock victims long after bandits have struck. He spoke in Abuja on Thursday at the second quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), with the theme ‘Media and Effective Nation Building’. The sultan described the resurgence of insecurity after the general elections as very alarming. He said, “Throughout the campaigns and the elections, we never had these cases of insecurity. Suddenly, after the elections, the killings continued across Niger, Plateau, Kaduna and other places.   “These killings are definitely not related to religion, but the activities of some set of uninformed people. “Imagine a situation where bandits would invade a community, kill people and destroy their properties, with little or no resistance from the security officials, only for the security officials to appear long after the attacks and perhaps, to mock the people or look at the ashes of destroyed items. “Few days ago, it was reported that some United States Embassy staff were killed and burnt in Anambra State. That’s barbaric and shouldn’t have happened because there is no justification for that. “Why this resurgence? Definitely, these resurgences are not religious. Since a new government is coming in, we’re sure we can engage the government to hit the ground running in bringing solutions to these problems. “But we cannot continue that way because when bandits just go into people’s communities, kill them and burn their houses and nothing is done, then when the deed is done, the security agencies will go there to do what? To look at the ashes that are being burnt?” The sultan noted that the media is a critical stakeholder in nation building and should be involved in government activities and programmes. He said, “Take a look at what’s happening across the countries of the world where the media compromised in quality, facts and truth. It’s unfortunate that Sudan is going through war and the role of the media is crucial in ending or prolonging the war. “The media played a different role in the 2023 elections. The media will also play a crucial role in the coming administration. So, we expect to hear from the media professionals on their challenges and expectations and pass the message to the incoming government,” he said. Also speaking President, Christian Association of Nigeria and co-chairman of NIREC, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, said the media has the power to prevent religious and ethnic crises in Nigeria “if they see their job as a calling and not a profession”. According to him, media professionals have the power and platform to cause and end crises, just as they have enough information “to set different religions and ethnic nationalities on collusion, hence the need for the professionals to understand the situation in Nigeria.” The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, noted that NIREC is saddled with the responsibility of providing leadership for the religious institutions in the country towards a harmonious and peaceful coexistence of the citizenry. He said the blueprint and terms of reference of NIREC provided the space and capacity that could give Nigeria a national renaissance and peaceful coexistence. NIREC Executive Secretary, Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua, said to grow a healthy society, there is need for justice and good governance, hence each level and societal class need some coordination for peaceful co-existence.

  The National Population Commission (NPC) says it has spent about N200 billion for the preparation of the 2023 population and housing census. Speaking at a breakfast meeting on Thursday, Nasir Kwarra, executive chairman of the commission, said the money spent was part of the N800 billion expected from the federal government as the total budget for the conduct of the population census. Kwarra said the money included the cost of more than five years of preparing for the exercise. He said the cost of conducting a digital census was high as the commission would be procuring equipment and data needed for the exercise.   He said about one million personnel have been recruited to conduct a credible and acceptable digital census. “It is important to sustain the tempo of the preparation for the census. The focus of the commission is to lay a foundation for future censuses,’’ NAN quoted Kwarra as saying. He assured the public of the commission’s commitment to ensuring a credible census.   Also speaking, Inuwa Jalingo, census manager, said the commission worked hard to conduct a digital census. Jalingo added that the commission was prepared to ensure a robust quality dashboard and data for the exercise. In April, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the postponement of the census. The exercise was billed to take place across the country between May 3 and 5.   Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, who announced the postponement in a statement, said the new date for the census would be determined by the incoming administration.

  Gunmen have reportedly kidnapped some National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State. It was gathered that the victims were on their way back from the recent orientation camping exercise in Ondo State. They were abducted around 9 p.m., Tuesday, on their way to Port Harcourt. The incident was confirmed by a witness, who called a radio station in the city to announce the abduction of her sister-in-law and colleagues. The witness said the corps members were abducted on the Rumuji axis of the East-West Road in Emohua, Rivers State. Five of the corps members were said to have escaped the abduction and reported at the Rumuji Divisional Police Station. Number of victims abducted by the kidnappers could not be ascertained at press time. Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Okon Effiong, has deployed a police tactical team to track down gunmen who abducted the NYSC members at Rumuji. Rivers Police Command’s spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, who disclosed the CP’s order in Port Harcourt, yesterday, explained without giving specific figures that some of the corps members have been rescued and efforts are on to free those still with the kidnappers. However, a security source and eye witness told Vanguard: “Those the police say they have rescued were lucky corps members, who escaped the kidnap. What happened was that a group of corps members, who live in Rivers were on their way to Port Harcourt from the NYSC Camp in Ondo after passing through orientation in that state. “It happened on May 16. They likely had jointly hired the Port Harcourt bound bus. At Rumuji, about 9p.m., on the East West Road, they were already in Rumuji when the bus was hijacked. It is not clear how many persons were abducted but five of the travellers escaped and ran to the Rumuji Police Division to report the matter.”