No fewer than 40 worshippers were kidnapped by terrorists during a service at the Bege Baptist Church, Madalla on Buruku Baringi road in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday. The chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Kaduna State chapter, Rev. John Hayab, confirmed the incident to newsmen on Monday in Kaduna. According to Hayab, the incident occurred around 9:30am during the worship service.   He said, “The worshippers were in the Sunday service in the Church when around 9:30 am they heard gunshots very close to the Church. The gunmen attacked the Church and went away with 40 worshippers.” He did, however, add that 15 of the abducted worshippers escaped, leaving 25 others in the kidnappers’ den. “Along the way, somehow 15 of the kidnapped persons returned remaining the rest 25 who are presently in captivity without any word from their abductors,” he said. Hayab added that efforts were being made to contact the abductors on the remaining 25 victims.   “Efforts are being made to get in contact with the abductors concerning the remaining people and prayed that the abductors would be merciful to release the remaining 25 back to their families,” the cleric said. Neither the state government nor the state police command provided official confirmation. Mohammed Jalige, the state police command’s Public Relations Officer, had yet to respond to a call or text message from our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.

  Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, says he did not discuss reconciliation with the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, during their meeting on Sunday. Obi had released pictures he took during his visit to Soyinka, giving the impression that the visit was to get a soft landing for his followers who insulted the literary giant last month. Referred to as Obidients, the politician’s suporters had used all manner of words on the globally renowned author over an interview he granted on the elections. In the interview, Soyinka said he had warned Obi that if he lost the presidential election, it would be due to his supporters.   Amid the barrage of criticisms and caustic remarks, Soyinka had fired back at Obidients and challenged Datti Baba-Ahmed, Obi’s running mate, to which a spokesman of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign responded by dismissing Soyinka as an old man. But on Sunday, Obi said he made attempts to reconcile the professor with his followers whom he referred to as Obidient family. “Today (Sunday) I visited one of Nigeria’s most revered figures and an international literary icon, Prof Wole Soyinka. Prof Soyinka has been my father whom I hold in very esteem for what he has achieved and stands for in the struggle for a better Nigeria. His reputation as a fighter for justice and equity in our society has been legendary and we will never ignore them. “I reminded the Nobel laureate of the huge price he paid just before the outbreak of civil war, fighting for the cause of the Igbos. I cherish this Sunday visit which was intended to erase the needless misconceptions about the relationship between the great icon and the obidient family,” Obi had said. However, in a statement on Monday, Soyinka said reconciliation was never discussed during his meeting with Obi. He said: “Before it gains traction and embarks on a life of its own, I wish to state clearly that the word ‘Reconciliation’, inserted into some reports of Peter Obi’s visit to me yesterday, Sunday, May 7. is a most inappropriate, and diversionary invocation. “Let me clarify: I know the entity known as Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party. I can relate to him. I know and can relate to the Labour Party on whose platform he contested elections. There are simply no issues to reconcile between those two entities and myself. “However, I do not know, and am unable to relate to something known as the ‘Obidient’ or ‘Obidient Family’. Thus, albeit in a different vein, any notion of Reconciliation, or even relations – positive, negative or indifferent – with such a spectral emanation is simply grasping at empty air. “During that meeting, attended by two other individuals only, the word ‘Reconciliation’ was never bruited, neither in itself nor in any other form. It simply did not arise. By contrast, there were expressions of ‘burden of leadership’ ‘responsibility’ ‘apology’, ‘pleading’, ‘formal dissociation from the untenable’, all the way to the ‘tragic ascendancy of ethnic cleavage’, especially under such ironic, untenable circumstances. Discussions were frank, and creative. The notion of Reconciliation was clearly N/A – None Applicable. It was never raised. “The following should be understood, but never underestimated. What remains ineradicable from that weekend of orgiastic rave in the social media was the opening up of the dark, putrid recesses in the national psyche that we like to pretend do not exist. “It invited – into minds seeking a grasp on reality – gruesome variations on images from Dante’s Purgatorio. A fathomless pit was exposed, at the bottom of which one glimpsed a throng of the damned, writhing in competitive lust for the largest of the gangrenous ladles in a diabolical broth. “To peek over the edge of that pit for a prolonged spell was to turn giddy, with a risk of falling into the tureen of inhuman pus. To attempt to navigate one’s way, however gingerly, along a mat spread across the infernal abyss, is an invitation to moral suicide. “For the serious minded, I call attention to essays I have offered on the theme of Reconciliation based on Truth, and the ethical imperative of Restitution. There will be further elaborations forthcoming in DEMOCRACY PRIMER III – Bookcraft’s INTERVENTION series, now brought forward for publication on June 12, the watershed extorted from the current regime as the nation’s Democracy Day. “If, from here on, I now comply with entreaties from several valued, genuinely concerned directions, and ignore new provocations, however vile, it is only because I also approve of Mohammed Ali’s strategy of Rope-a-Dope, where blind menace is left flailing hopelessly at the disdainful manifest of Truth.”

  A former lightweight boxer, Moses Olapade (56), has been arrested by the police for allegedly beating his wife to a coma in Akure, Ondo State. City & Crime gathered that the incident happened at No 9, Odamo Street, Oke-Aro community in Akure South LGA. Olapade, who is now a truck driver, was said to have punched his wife, Atinuke, after he returned home from a journey. The suspect, an ex-Lagos State boxer, was said to have asked his 44-year-old wife, Atinuke, to hand over the TV remote control to him, but that she declined. Mr Olapade, who plies the Northern part of the country and returns every fortnight, descended on his wife with several punches to her face. It took the intervention of neighbours to rescue the wife from her husband after the children ran out screaming for help. One of the neighbours, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said they had to bust into the house to rescue the woman. He said, “We met her on the floor lying unconscious and we had to rush her to the nearest hospital.” The police spokesman in the state, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, said the suspect was in their custody.

  The national leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have agreed to suspend their ongoing industrial action in Imo State to enable peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues in an atmosphere of mutuality.   The decision is contained in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Imo state government and the unions. According to the MoU which was signed by the Secretary to the Government of Imo State and Attorney General of Imo state on the government side, and the 4-man delegate sent from the national leadership of NLC and TUC, the tripartite committee will look into the areas of disagreeing and misunderstanding and resolve expeditiously. Both parties, however, condemned the circumstances that led to the alleged disruption of the NLC delegate conference and the alleged disruption of the May Day celebrations and pledged to ensure peaceful conduct of the activities of the NLC and TUC in the state.

  At least 22 people died when a tourist boat capsized in India, officials said Monday, with many of those on board thought to be children. It was not clear why the double-decker boat carrying at least 30 people tipped over in the southern state of Kerala’s Malappuram district late Sunday. Dozens of people searched for survivors in and around the stricken vessel all night, which was partially submerged, and the search continued into Monday. Some used ropes to stabilise the boat while others were in the water, desperately looking inside the vessel’s windows for any survivors. “We have recovered 22 bodies, including 15 females and seven males. There are around six people in the hospital. Rescue operations are on,” a police officer told AFP.   Local publication Onmanorama reported that 11 people from one family, including three children, had died in the accident. Rajisa, who was on the boat with her husband and daughter, told the publication most of the passengers on board were children and that there was smoke coming from the boat during the journey. “We survived only because we were wearing life jackets,” Rajisa, who bruised her neck after hitting the boat, was quoted as saying. She said three life jackets were brought to her and her family, and four jackets were given to children on the boat’s top deck. “The boat swerved sometime after it set sail. Everyone was thrown off to one side as the boat wobbled,” she told Onmanorama. “I fell before my child and sank into the water. The boat overturned on top of the people who had fallen into the water. There were mostly children on the boat,” she said.   Broadcaster NDTV said rescue teams, including personnel from National Disaster Response Force and the Indian Coast Guard, were using underwater cameras to look for those still missing. VD Satheesan, a politician from the opposition Congress party in the state, said the accident was “man-made” and called for a probe. “Nobody even knows if the boat had a licence or not,” he said Monday, speaking to reporters. A case has been registered against the boat’s owner for alleged culpable homicide, media reports said. Kerala’s sports and fisheries minister V. Abdurahiman, who was helping to coordinate rescue efforts, said most of the victims were children on school holidays. Onlookers gather near the site of a boat accident in Tanur, in Malappuram district on May 8, 2023. – At least 22 people died when a double-decker tourist boat capsized in India’s southern state of Kerala, officials said. (Photo by – / AFP) Police said that there were around 30 people on board. But NDTV reported that 40 people had tickets, although there were many others on the vessel who did not. Abdurahiman said four people were taken to hospital in critical condition, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. “Pained by the loss of lives due to the boat mishap in Malappuram, Kerala. Condolences to the bereaved families,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter, adding that families would get compensation. Onlookers gather near the site of a boat accident in Tanur, in Malappuram district on May 8, 2023. – At least 22 people died when a double-decker tourist boat capsized in India’s southern state of Kerala, officials said. (Photo by – / AFP)

  The All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State have expressed hope for victory as the Supreme Court today determines the authentic winner of the July 16, 2022 governorship election in the state. The PDP candidate, Ademola Adeleke, was returned elected by the Independent National Electoral Commission, but the APC candidate at the poll, Adegboyega Oyetola, rejected the result and approached the Election Petition Tribunal to challenge it. The Independent National Electoral Commissionm had declared that Adeleke polled 403,371 votes, to defeat then incumbent governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the APC, who got 375,027 votes. But Oyetola and the APC rejected the result of the poll and headed for the tribunal. In its January 27, 2023 majority verdict, the Justice Tertse Kume-led tribunal annulled Adeleke’s victory and declared Oyetola the winner of the poll. However, a minority judgment by Justice B. Ogbuli affirmed Adeleke as the winner of the poll. Displeased, Adeleke and the PDP headed for the Court of Appeal, which on March 24 nullified the tribunal judgment and returned Adeleke as winner. held the matter on Monday and fixed judgment for today (Tuesday). At the sitting of the apex court panel that heard the matter on Monday, the parties adopted their briefs and addressed the court after which the panel announced Tuesday for judgment. Speaking with The PUNCH on the expectations of the party, Osun APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, said his party was expecting victory, having done well in presenting its case before the panel. Olabisi said, “We are hoping for the best because of our watertight case. Everybody should go about their business. There should be no room for any form of crisis.” The Osun PDP Director of Media, Oladele Olabamiji, while speaking on the expectations ahead of the judgment, said the party was expecting the apex court to uphold the verdict of the Court of Appeal that validated Adeleke’s victory in the governorship poll. “We are positive as usual, we are expecting nothing but justice to uphold the judgment of the appeal court which upheld the election of Governor Ademola Adeleke. We believe and trust in God,” Olabamiji said.

  The Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has initiated extradition proceedings at the Federal High Court, Abuja judicial division, against three suspects, Samson Ogoshi, his brother, Samuel, and Ezekiel Ejemeh, over exploitation of a minor and production of child pornography. The Ogoshis and Ejemeh were indicted in a United States Federal Court on December 1, 2022, on charges of exploitation of minors and production of child pornography resulting in death, conspiracy to distribute child pornography and conspiracy to commit stalking through the internet. According to investigations, the suspects conspired to conduct sex-based extortion of minors and adults in the United States of America. The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, revealed in a Monday night statement obtained by our correspondent. Uwujaren said, “The trio, investigations also revealed, hacked some social media accounts, posing to be young attractive women to entice unsuspecting victims to send their sexually explicit photographs. “These pictures were then used in blackmailing the victims, thereby forcing them into making huge financial payments. “Consequently, Samuel Ogoshi is charged with sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of minors that resulted in the death of one Jordan DeMay, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a statutory mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison.” The trio is charged with conspiracy to sexually exploit minors by causing them to produce child pornographic images that they used to blackmail them. Uwujaren added, “They are further charged with conspiracy to distribute child pornography, which borders on sending images to minors, their families and friends, as well as conspiracy to commit stalking through the Internet. Both offences carry a minimum of five years and maximum 20 years imprisonment. “While the Ogoshis were arrested sometime in February 2023 around the Ojo axis of Lagos, Ezekiel was picked up in Nasarawa by operatives of the EFCC.”

  Gunmen suspected to be bandits stormed the palace of the Emir of Kagarko in southern part of Kaduna State, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, and took away nine of his children, grand children and three others in the town. A resident, who spoke to our reporter, said the gunmen stormed the area around 11:15pm and headed directly to the Emir’s residence.   “They took away his youngest wife, nine children and grandchildren but the wife escaped and returned back home,” he said. He said the gunmen also took three other persons, including a lady and injured one Audu Kwakulu of Ungwan Pah who is now at hospital receiving treatment. “The bandits also killed one herdsman in Kuchimi village and looted seven shops in Janjala village (both in Kagarko LG) on their way back,” the source added Kaduna Police spokesman, DSP Muhammed Jalige, did not answer calls at the time of filing this report. Kaduna is one of the North West State battling high wave of insecurity in the country. Bandits have been making life unbearable for residents in different parts of the state, with government making repeated promises to tackle the situation.

  By MOHAMMED DANLAMI SINCE the election of Comrade Joe Ajaero as the President of Nigeria Labour Congrss, NLC, he has embarked on actions that appear to be against the corporate existence of Nigeria. As if borrowing from the playbook of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, he has adopted a combative and confrontational militancy against some state governments. And when he is not threatening the Judges handling the presidential election tribunal, he is engaging in action that could lead to economic sabotage of the country. Ajaero is playing an ethnic card against President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He is supporting Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party. If he was doing that in his personal capacity, nobody would be bothered. But when he uses the NLC platform to prosecute such a sinister agenda, Nigerians, especially the security agencies, ought to be alarmed, not just worried. For those who don’t know his history, Ajaero was once involved in splitting the NLC. That was when he lost the presidency to the former president, Comrade Wabba. He went on to form the United Labour Congress which later collapsed. That, of course, showed that he desperately needed the NLC platform for an agenda that has nothing to do with the defence of workers’ rights. The MoU that ended 5-year labour crisis He later got what he wanted, and more. Comrade Ajaero is an Igbo and the Secretary General of NLC, Comrade Goddy Ugboaja, is also an Igbo. Working alongside some highly placed Igbo in the Buhari government, they worked for Peter Obi who eventually lost the presidential election. Now Ajaero wants to use the platform of the NLC to scuttle the inauguration of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May29, 2023. He wants Peter Obi to be declared president. As earlier canvassed, if Ajaero was pursuing his agenda as a private citizen within the law, nobody would begrudge him. But he is using the platform of the NLC, a body that has millions of members with diverse political interests. For the avoidance of doubt, there is a huge difference between the NLC and the Labour Party. While the former represents the workers, the latter is a political party which platform is used to contest elections. One can be a member of one without necessarily supporting the other. That was why, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who has never been a member of NLC contested election under the Labour Party and won to become Governor of Ondo State. That was also why Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who was once the president of NLC ran for Edo State governorship not under Labour Party but Action Congress of Nigeria. Just recently, a member of the NLC and former president of NUT, won election under APC as the Governor of Kebbi State. His ambition was supported by former NLC president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba. These great men all knew the difference between NLC and Labour Party and separated same. But not Ajaero. Ajaero is not only content to lump his personal ambition with that of the NLC, he has gone ahead to embrace threats and blackmail in his quest to scuttle the inauguration of Tinubu as president. First of all, he has threatened the judges handling the presidential election petition tribunal. He said he would put them in a hall of shame should they rule against Obi. Secondly, he invited Peter Obi to this year’s May Day celebration in Abuja. That was to show the world that it was the candidate of the Labour Party he is backing. But Peter Obi cannot be the candidate of NLC because among the members, they have their preferred candidates: some APC, some PDP and some Labour Party. Why then is Ajaero hell-bent on imposing Peter Obi on members of NLC? But the reality on the ground is that Tinubu is the next president and Ajaero is expected to work with his administration. However, won’t he suffer identity crisis in dealing with the new administration. For instance, will Ajaero deal with Tinubu as president of NLC, or as leader of the opposition Labour Party or a leader of an Igbo irredentist group? That is the dilemma NLC is now embroiled in because of the bad choices of a leader who had allowed his personal ambition to imprison him. It is unfortunate that even top officials of NLC are not rising against this modern dictator who wants to destroy the Congress formed in 1978. It is also worrisome that security agencies have not yet realised that this man is a national security risk going by his antecedents. For instance, before the last elections, he had declared a total strike in Imo State, thus paralyzsing the economy of the state with possible disenfranchisement of the voters. All that was done to foist his stooge and classmate as the chairman of NLC in the state. He has similarly grounded the economies of Ebonyi and Abia states in a show of force that they must support the Labour Party candidates. Indeed, just recently, Ajaero reportedly used some members to disrupt flights to and from Imo State under the guise that the workers May Day celebration was disrupted in the state. Who does that? Who uses power so recklessly for purely selfish and personal reasons? Did the NLC Exco authorise such irrational action that cost an airline N700 million? Are the Exco members aware of the destructive action of Ajaero? If they are not, I believe that the security agencies are aware. That is why I align myself with the position of the Arewa Youth Assembly which recently called for the arrest of Ajaero, saying he was plotting with IPOB to scuttle the inauguration of President-elect, Bola Tinubu. It also accused Ajaero of economic sabotage against Nigeria in addition to using the NLC as a platform to achieve Igbo domination in Nigeria. According to the Arewa Youth Assembly, “the invasion of Lagos and Imo airports by IPOB fundamentalists masquerading as NLC is only but the beginning