A leaked memo addressed to the Lagos State Ministry of Health indicating that the State Government approved N61,285,000 for the mass burial of 103 persons identified as 2020 EndSARS victims has gone viral on social media, sparking outrage. The memo dated July 19, 2023, captures steps for the processing of funds after approval by the governor. Earlier, a Ministerial Tenders’ Board Meeting reportedly sat over the recommendations of the Procurement Planning Committee, after which no objections were raised to the award of the mass burial contract to a funeral service provider. The five-paragraph leaked memo also directs that relevant taxes and deductions are remitted by the approved company. In response, the Lagos State Ministry of Health confirmed the letter in a statement on Sunday evening, but insisted that details were being misconstrued. The state government argued that the victims were from incidents of violence that occurred in the aftermath of the EndSARS protests. There has been controversy over the number of deaths recorded during the EndSARS protest, resulting in the governor setting up an inquest led by Justice Doris Okuwobi. Since the protest in 2020, both the Lagos Government and the Federal Government have consistently denied any mass killing during the EndSARS protests. The memo is coming over two years after the widespread protest across the country. The Lagos Government has yet to comment on the leaked memo. Thousands of Nigerians across the country took to the streets to protest police brutality and called for far-reaching reforms, particularly with regard to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the police. The weeks-long protests, which gained international attention, culminated in the controversial shooting of protesters at the popular Lekki Tollgate in Lagos, one of the rallying points for those who partook in the demonstrations. However, the Lagos State Government, in its response to the memo, maintained that the victims to be buried were not from the Lekki Tollgate shooting. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Olusegun Ogboye, said the Lagos State Environmental Health Unit (SEHMU) picked up bodies in the aftermath of #EndSARS violence and community clashes. The areas cited included Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo and Ajah areas of Lagos State. Ogboye added that there was also a jailbreak at Ikoyi Prison. “The 103 casualties mentioned in the document were from these incidents and NOT from Lekki Toll-gate as being alleged. For the avoidance of doubt, no body was retrieved from the Lekki Toll Gate incident,” the statement read.

  Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, says Taoreed Lagbaja, the chief of army staff (COAS), will wipe out terrorism and banditry in Nigeria. El-Rufai, in a Twitter post on Saturday, said Lagbaja leads from the front, adding that Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other criminal bodies are afraid of the new COAS. The former governor posted a video of the new army chief directing the troops to wipe out all criminal elements and stop the killings in Plateau state. He said Lagbaja served as the general officer commanding (GOC) during his administration as governor of Kaduna. “A new kind of chief of army staff who without a doubt will wipe out terrorism, banditry, vandalism and militancy in Nigeria,” el-Rufai said. “I know the new COAS very well. Gen Taoreed Lagbaja was my last GOC as governor of Kaduna state. He always leads from the front anywhere he is “He personally led troops to confront bandits in Kaduna state. He did the same in the north-east and south-east. The operatives of Boko Haram, IPOB, ESN and the bandits know well and fear him. He is the best choice as COAS. “This video says it all. Thank you general Lagbaja. Keep on doing what you have always done so well and with valour. God Bless you.” In June, Lagbaja took over from Faruk Yahya, as Nigeria’s 23rd chief of army staff.

  Enugu State Government has again, urged Enugu residents to disregard Monday’s sit-at-home order by the factional members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and go about their normal businesses. The government directs the resumption of normal activities on Monday and threatened to sanction civil servants, schools, markets, and others that observe the illegal IPOB order. Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, Secretary to the State Government, gave the directive in a statement he signed on Saturday in Enugu. He said, “The Enugu State Government wishes to remind the good people and residents of the state that the ban on the illegal Monday sit-at-home order remains effective. “In view of this, civil servants, schools, markets, financial institutions, business premises, and others, are hereby directed to resume normal activities on Monday.” He added that the state government had restated its resolve to apply sanctions against defaulters of its cancellation of the illegal order. “Markets that fail to open to customers on Monday shall be shut down indefinitely and shops in the markets that close on Monday shall be sealed and re-allocated to those eager to do business in the state. “Government extends the same warning of sanctions against schools, financial institutions, shopping malls, department stores, business premises, and others that may defy its directive,” he said. Onyia further reiterated that the illegal sit-at-home order was totally at odds with the Igbo spirit of industry, hard work, enterprise, productivity, and creativity. “Therefore, the general public is urged to go about their normal daily activities as adequate security measures have been put in place to protect lives and property,” he advised. (NAN)

  It was a rude shock to a notorious drug kingpin who specializes in sponsoring young Nigerians to traffick Class A drugs to Europe especially Italy, when operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), stormed his hotel room in Okota area of Lagos late on Friday 21st July when he was preparing a recruited courier to swallow 93 pellets of cocaine meant for distribution in Italy. The 48-year-old drug kingpin, Charles Uwagbale, had recruited Uju Dominic, 35, from his base in Italy with a deal to come to Nigeria, ingest 100 pellets of cocaine on Friday 21st July and return to Italy on Saturday 22nd July. True to plan, upon arrival in Nigeria, the mule was lodged in Golden Heaven Hotel located at Enoma street off Ago-Palace way, Okota, Isolo, Lagos where Uwagbale brought 93 wraps of the Class A drug for him to swallow at about 23:45pm Friday night. NDLEA’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that the drug lord and his mule were in the process when operatives who have been on their trail following credible intelligence stormed their hotel room, arrested both and recovered the drug exhibits with a total weight of 1.427 kilograms. Operatives of the Lagos state Command of the Agency who made the arrest and seizure had on Thursday 20th July raided Akala in Mushin area of the state where they recovered 37.5kg cannabis from the home of a fleeing suspect. Meanwhile, attempts to smuggle 98 cartons containing Five Million One Hundred and Twenty Two Thousand Nine Hundred (5, 122, 900) pills of Tramadol 225mg with an estimated street value of about Three Billion Seven Hundred Million Naira (N3.7billion) only into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, have been thwarted through the robust synergy between men of the Nigeria Customs Service and NDLEA officers at the airport as well as those at the DHL cargo warehouse. Preliminary findings revealed that the consignments were imported from India and Pakistan, while some of the seized consignments had Freetown, Sierra Leone as final destination. In the same vein, NDLEA operatives in Bauchi state have recovered a total of Six Million Two Hundred and Sixty-Five and Eighty (6,265,080) pills of opioids from three suspects: Emmanuel Onyebuchi, 32; Uche Iyida, 33; and Chinedu Ezeanyim, 32 following their arrest alongside a truck driver and his assistant at Shopping Complex, Maiduguri Bye-Pass, Bauchi town on Wednesday 19th July and the subsequent follow up search of the residence of Iyida on Friday 21st July. In another development, no fewer than Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Five Hundred (999,500) tablets of Exol-5 were also recovered by operatives from a shop close to the market at Hong Road, Gombi, Adamawa state on Friday 21st July, while 46,000 capsules of tramadol were seized from a suspect, Paul Ajaegbu, 36, along Owerri – Aba road, Imo state on Monday 17th July. Same suspect had earlier been arrested, precisely on 9th February 2023, for the same offence. In Ondo state, NDLEA operatives in their numbers stormed the Ofosu forest where they destroyed 29 hectares of cannabis farms on Thursday 20th July. The quartet of Osamezu George Chukwuemeka, 51, who owns the farm; his wife Kate Osamezu, 43; Agboola Wasiu, 37 and Mustapha Sanni, were arrested during the operation, while 118.5kg processed cannabis was recovered from the farm. In another raid of the warehouse of a suspect at Elegbeka, Ose LGA, not less than 107 jumbo bags of the same illicit substance weighing 1,132.5kg were recovered on Monday 17th July. While operatives in Sokoto state arrested a suspect, Charles Nwankwo, 50, with 610kg of cannabis in Tamaje area of Sokoto on Friday 21st July, their counterparts in Yobe also same day nabbed a fleeing suspect Shaibu Musa, 29, in Dawasa while he was offering them a bribe of N500,000 following the seizure of 36kg skunk in his house on Wednesday 19th July. Meanwhile, in Edo state, operatives on Monday 17th July raided the Utese forest Ovia North East LGA where they arrested Victor Asukwo Jack, with 59 bags of processed cannabis sativa weighing 640kg. His two cannabis farms measuring 1.489895 hectares and 2.445295 hectares were destroyed. Also, Endurance Chukwuma, 50, was arrested with seven bags of processed cannabis sativa weighing 68kg, while his cannabis farm measuring 0.254324 hectares was destroyed. A total of 273kg cannabis was earlier intercepted in a Toyota Sienna Vehicle marked RBC 451 CM on Wednesday 19th July at Ogida, Benin City, and a suspect, Lucky Oriakhi, 41, arrested while operatives also seized 48,380 pills of tramadol in a commercial bus marked KAK 66 XA along Ewohimi road, heading to Kabba, Kogi state and arrested the driver, Ibrahim John. In Nasarawa, two suspects: Abubakar Suleiman, 30 and Shehu Garba (aka Shagari), 29 were arrested along Keffi – Akwanga road on Tuesday 18th July in a Peugeot J5 vehicle loaded with 1,608.4 kilograms of cannabis sativa. The consignment was loaded in Edo state and meant for distribution in Bauchi state. While a total of 1,556.1kg of cannabis was recovered from two suspects: Jonathan Nuhu, 54 and Mohammed Abubakar, 18, following their arrest at Wudil area of Kano State on Thursday 20th July, 76kg of same substance was seized from Yakubu Muhammad, 32, on Monday 17th July along Okene/Lokoja highway in a trailer coming from Port Harcourt to Kano. In the same vein, operatives in Ogun state on Wednesday 19th July, recovered 810 parcels of cannabis weighing 604kg from the house of one Adetunji Abiodun. A fresh bid to smuggle into Nigeria, another consignment of Colorado, a synthetic variant of cannabis, through the Tincan port in Apapa Lagos was again on Friday 21st July frustrated by NDLEA officers who discovered a total of 323 parcels of the illicit substance weighing 161.5kg concealed in one of the four used vehicles in a container marked MEDU 7519460 coming from Montreal, Canada, during a joint examination of the shipment. At least, three suspects are currently in NDLEA custody over

  A distraught Congolese soldier shot dead at least 13 civilians, most of them children, in a village in the northeast of the conflict-plagued country, military and local sources said Sunday. The naval serviceman couldn’t bear the fact that his child had been buried in his absence, the day before he arrived in the village of Nyakova, according to testimonies gathered by AFP. Nyakova is a fishing village in the Djugu territory, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) east of Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, one of eastern DR Congo’s violence hotspots, where deadly attacks are common. The angry soldier “fired on civilians” gathered on Saturday evening “at the place of mourning, on the grounds that… his child had died and been buried without him being informed”, army spokesman Lieutenant Jules Ngongo told AFP. The soldier had been with his unit in Gobu, 55 kilometres away. The death toll is “13, including his two children. The soldier is on the run and is wanted” for trial, he added. The Kivu Security Tracker (KST), a respected conflict monitor, confirmed the circumstances of the tragedy and said the death toll included “10 children and two women who were said to have taken part in the funeral of his son, who died in his absence”. Bahati Franck, leader of a local youth association told AFP that 13 people had been killed at point-blank range “including nine children, who died on the spot”. Another local official said that a fourteenth victim died on Sunday morning as a result of his injuries. Armed groups have plagued much of eastern DRC for decades, a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s. AFP Editor’s Note: Thie photo is for illustrative purpose 

  The Enugu State Command of the Nigeria Police has apprehended the suspended Councillor representing Umualor Ward in Isi-Uzo LGA of Enugu State, Hon. Maxwell Aluagbo, who was accused of defrauding the Council and embezzling N1.1 million naira meant for ameliorating the suffering of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in his constituency. According to Jounalist101, Aluagbo, male, 33, was arrested in a hotel with a lady who simply identified herself as Blessing. She denied being a member of any criminal gang and said her relationship with Maxwell Aluagbo is sex for money. The incident happened when men of the Nigerian Police in Enugu were raiding the area following a tip off that some criminal gangs that have been terrorizing the city were using some hotels around the Nike Lake axis of Abakpa, Enugu, as their hideout. Maxwell Aluagbo, who went into hiding since the matter was exposed following petitions and his suspension by Isi-Uzo Legislative Council, was immediately arrested when he mentioned his name and identified himself to be a Councillor in Isi-Uzo LGA, as the police has been on the look out for him. He was subsequently taken to the Enugu State Police Headquarters where he was said to have confessed to the crime. Recall that the Isi-Uzo Legislative Council had on Wednesday, July 6, 2023, suspended Hon. Aluagbo for allegedly embezzling the funds meant to alleviate the suffering of IDPs, who took refuge at Umualor and other IDP camps in Isi-Uzo following the Eha-Amufu-herders crisis that led to loss of lives and property. He was also accused by his colleagues of divulging matters discussed during an executive session of the Legislative Council in clear violation of Rule 3(e) of the Legislative house. Moving a motion for Aluagbo’s suspension, the Majority Leader, who is also the Councilor representing Neke Ward 2, Hon. Nnabuike Ugwu, expressed worry over the petitions by stakeholders and leaders of Umualor community that the sum of N1.1 million naira approved by the Council to alleviate the sufferings of IDPs in their community was yet to be released many months after. Summing the debate, which saw many Councillors expressing anger over the report, the Leader of Isi-uzo Legislature, Hon. Irenus Anene Nnaji, described the allegations as serious and unfortunate, saying it was a sacrilege for anyone to temper with funds meant to deliver democracy dividends to the people of Isi-Uzo, let alone funds meant for IDPs. The Legislative Council, therefore, constituted a three-man Committee to further investigate the allegations and report back to it. However, in a swift reaction, the embattled Councillor, Hon. Maxwell Aluagbo had taken to the social media and some online news channels to allege that he was being witch-hunted by the Council and not paid his wardrobe allowance for attending the reception organised by Member representing Isi-Uzo State Constituency, Hon. Eze, after his inauguration on 13th June. But concrete facts show that payment of Councilors’ wardrobe allowances in Isi-Uzo was concluded in May and about 21 days before the said House of Assembly inauguration and reception. There is also evidence that the sum of N1.1 million was transferred to Maxwell Aluagbo’s UBA account number 2066599607 on March 3, 2023. A Councillor representing one of the Isi-Uzo wards, who, however, preferred not to be named in print since he was not authorised to speak on the matter under further investigation said the allegation by Aluagbo that he was not paid wardrobe for attending the inauguration of the Labour Party House of Assembly Member “is patently false”. He said: “The truth is that Maxwell Aluagbo is under investigation for embezzling the N1.1 million paid into his account for the benefit of his community. As a matter of fact, I was around the day he came to the Chairman’s office begging for a soft-landing. He said he used the money to weather a storm in his business and pleaded with the Council Chairman that the money be recovered by the Council through using his wardrobe allowance in lieu. So, I’m in shock that the same man has suddenly turned around to make the wild allegations. “Who cares if he attends a post-inauguration reception in the moon. And by the way, is Hon. Gabriel Eze not our son? Being in Labour Party does not take away the fact that he is a bonafide Isi-Uzo son. “Besides, Maxwell Aluagbo still receives his salaries and overheads as a Councilor like everyone of us till date. So, why didn’t the Council Chairman stop those payments too if he was being victimized as he claimed. He is not smart at all and people should be careful what they support for partisan reasons because what is at issue here is money meant for IDPs. Maybe they don’t understand what it means to be an IDP. ” Informed sources said Maxwell Aluagbo made a lot of contradictory statements during interrogation and later confessed to the crime. It was gathered that from alleging that the money was a part payment for a deal he did for the Council Chairman, Aluagbo later changed the narrative that the money was paid to him by the Council to fix his car and fund his wedding expenses. However, it was gathered that on further interrogation, Maxwell Aluagbo, who was marrying for a second time, was said to have confirmed that he wedded on 6th January, 2023 while the money in question was transferred to him about two months after, on March 3rd, 2023. A source from the Nigeria Police, Enugu said investigation has revealed that Maxwell Aluagbo’s allegation against the Isi-Uzo Council Chairman is clearly false and appears to be politically motivated as a lot of Labour party supporters came to plead for soft landing for the embattled Councillor who was also overheard telling an Hon. Member from Labour party that he was the one that put him in this whole mess. Credit: Journalist101

  A gang of ten senior secondary school students in Ogun State reportedly waylaid and assaulted a teacher, Kolawole Shonuga, who stopped one of them from cheating during an examination in the school. Daily Trust learnt that the incident occurred on Tuesday at Isanbi Comprehensive High School, Ilisan-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of the State. Our correspondent gathered that Shonuga while invigilating the unified examination for the SS 1 Art class students, caught one Ashimi Adebanjo, 18 years, cheating and seized his paper. After school hours, the student ganged up with his peers waylaid the teacher and beat him up at the school’s gate, witnesses told our correspondent. One of them, Kazeem Adelaja, allegedly hit a stick on Shonuga’s head while others were beating him. Our correspondent gathered that police personnel from the Remo Division later pounced on the students and arrested about 10 of them. The police spokesman, Omotola Odutola, confirmed the incident, saying Shonuga had made a formal report on the alleged assault at Remo Police Division. Odutola also confirmed the arrest of ten suspects. Our correspondent gathered that the suspects had already been arraigned in court for assault, but the command’s Public Relations Officer failed to answer questions about the arraignment. The State Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), Felix Agbesanwa frowned at the incident and insisted that the students must face the the wrath of the law to serve as a deterrent. “The incident is true and I have been briefed. Our stand is that any student who raises his hand against his teacher should face the wrath of the law. There is no going back on that. No student must raise their hands against the teacher, whether Ogun Teach teachers or permanent teachers, a teacher is a teacher.” “They must be made to face the law to serve as a deterrent. I learnt they have been charged to court already.” The state government has also condemned the act and vowed that it would not condone acts of indiscipline by learners across the state. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu gave this warning in Abeokuta while receiving the new Executive of the Mathematical Association of Nigeria (MAN). He noted that part of the efforts put in place was the signing of Undertaking Forms by learners, parents and school heads to make learners and parents liable for any misconduct of the learners or parents alike, saying the aim was to have a safe learning environment free from the pandemonium of any sort. “I’m using this opportunity to advise parents to talk to their children, they should warn them, because we won’t tolerate any indiscipline from any child. Any student that misbehaves in school will be dealt with appropriately,” he said. In October 2021, no fewer than four cases of assault on teachers were recorded in different public schools in the State, forcing the government to introduce a compulsory undertaking signed by all the students and their parents to curb hooliganism.

  Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has taken legal action against the Central Bank of Nigeria for directing banks to obtain information on customers’ social media handles for identification purposes. In a press statement released on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said it filed a lawsuit seeking an order of mandamus to compel CBN to withdraw its directive and delete the provisions of Section 6 of its Customer Due Diligence Regulations, 2023. SERAP believes that the directive and provisions are inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. SERAP is also seeking an order to stop the CBN from implementing the provisions of Section 6 of its Customer Due Diligence Regulations, 2023, which mandates banks and other financial institutions to obtain information on customers’ social media handles. SERAP argues that such a requirement does not serve any legitimate aim and may be used to restrict citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy. The organisation believes that without the relief sought, the CBN will enforce the unlawful directive, which will be a violation of citizens’ rights. exploitative bank charges According to SERAP, there are other means of identification, such as passports, driver’s licence, Bank Verification Number, and Tax Identification Number, which banks and other financial institutions already require their customers to provide. The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Ms Blessing Ogwuche, read in part: “Obtaining information on customers’ social media handles or addresses as means of identification is more intrusive than necessary.” “According to Section 6(a)(iv) of the CBN Regulations, banks and other financial institutions ‘shall identify their customer and obtain information on the social media handle of the customer.’ Section 6(b)(iii) contains similar provisions.” “The purported mandatory requirement would inhibit Nigerians from freely exercising their human rights online. If obtained, such information may also be misused for political and other unlawful purposes.” The date for the hearing of the suit has not been scheduled yet, at the time of filing this report.