The price of Petrol has increased to about N617 per litre as at Tuesday, 18th July 2023. A visit to an NNPC filling station confirmed that the fuel price has now been adjusted from N539 to N617 per litre. Nigeria’s have taken to microblogging platform; twitter to vent their anger over the new development with several users confirming the new pump price. The immediate reason could not be ascertained but it is not unconnected to the recent projections by oil marketers that fuel price will hit N700 per litre soon. The Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NDMPRA) is yet to make any official statement to this effect.

  Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the lead counsel to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), says Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the group, has condemned “charlatans” causing mayhem in the south-east. In the 2023 global terrorism index (GTI) ranking released in March 2023, IPOB was ranked as the 10th deadliest terror group in the world – with 40 attacks and 57 deaths in 2022. The separatist group has introduced sit-at-home to demand the release of Kanu who is being detained by the Department of Security Services (DSS). Simon Ekpa, a self-acclaimed disciple of the IPOB leader, had declared a total lockdown in the south-east geopolitical zone from July 3 to 10, instructing members of the group to interrupt business activities and prevent people from carrying out their daily work.   However, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), had described the sit-at-home directive as the handiwork of a criminal enterprise, noting that IPOB has “publicly denied issuing such directive.” Speaking about the development in a statement on Monday, Ejiofor quoted Kanu as speaking during a visit to him at the detention facility, that those orchestrating the constant attacks on the geo-political zone are enemies of the people. “Onyendu was deeply worried about the heinous activities of charlatans who are unleashing havoc/mayhem on our peaceful people in the South-East under the guise of unauthorized sit-at-home orders, for which Onyendu, for the umpteenth time reiterated his strong rejection, disapproval, and condemnation of the activities of these obvious enemies of our people,” he said.   “Onyendu reminded those behind these criminal activities that by their ill-conceived actions, they are speedily destroying the economy of the south-east, for which the federal government of Nigeria will be celebrating and applauding them.”

  A 21-year-old undergraduate of Lead University, Ibadan, Oyo State, identified as Augusta Osedion has been reportedly killed by her lover, Benjamin, in Oral Estate, Ikota, Ajah, Lagos. According to reports, the loverbirds had a misunderstanding, which degenerated into a fight and the victim, Augusta, was stabbed to death in the process. It was learned that on July 11, 2023, Augusta called her mother that she had a quarrel with her boyfriend. Unfortunately, all efforts by her, Onwabhagbe Cordelia, to reconcile her and her boyfriend failed. Trouble, however, started when all attempts by Augusta’s mother to reach her or her boyfriend again on their phones and other mediums failed. Worried by the development, Onwabhagbe Cordelia resorted to reaching the daughter’s roommate, who led her to the boyfriend’s house, at Oral Estate, Ikota, Ajah. According to Cordelia, who reported the case to the police on July 15, “When we got to my daughter’s boyfriend’s house, her Mercedes Benz C30 was parked in front of the building but the apartment was locked.” Confirming the incident, spokesperson, Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, said: “Detectives led by DPOAjah visited the scene and the door was forced open, only to discover the lifeless body of Augusta and the female genital chopped off, in a pool of her own blood. “Corpse was recovered, despite its fast decomposing state. Marks of violence and signs of struggle were detected on the body, which was deposited at General Hospital mortuary, Yaba, for autopsy and preservation. “A note suspected to have emanated from the said Benjamin was recovered at the scene and treated as exhibit. Scene has been cordoned off to enable crime operatives gather evidence. Preliminary investigation is ongoing with a view to transferring the case to SCIID Panti, Yaba for discreet investigation.” Suspect on the run, confesses Meanwhile, the suspect, Benjamin, who is currently on the run through his Instagram handle on Monday confessed to the crime. He said: “I am truly sorry for the damage I have caused and the pain I have left, everything happened due to pain and betrayal, cheating, toxicity and all. “None of her body parts went missing. Nothing was intentional. We got into a fight and argument regarding something I rather not say in order to protect her image and respect for the dead. “But all that which led into argument and fight which led to her carrying a knife and stabbing then happened, which I wished never happened. I ran out of fear. I stabbed someone and didn’t know what to do at that point but nothing was intentional and none of her body parts was cut out. “I deeply regret and will give up myself and say nothing but the truth as I know I have only a few days on earth and only the truth can bring me peace and bring God’s acceptance. “I contacted her mom, yesterday, as well and I’m going to turn myself in and believe I deserve death now but regardless of anything, the truth deserves to be said and previewed and not manipulated. “I will turn myself in and pay with my own life. Whatever the fate is, I will take, including death as there is no justification for taking a life. I will be accountable.”

  The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Monday said it intercepted a 40-foot container load of guns at Ports & Terminal Multi-Services Ltd (PTML) and Tin-Can Island Port destined for the South-East region of the country. Recalled that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has heightened the call for the Monday sit at home order in the South East. The discovery was made during a joint inspection exercise between Customs, Nigeria Police, the Department of State Security (DSS), and the National Drug Law Enforcement and Administration (NDLEA). Addressing journalists in Lagos on Monday, the acting Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Bashir Adeniyi said the discovery was through the dedication of officers and men of the service. He said after a thorough physical examination of a 40ft container conducted on July 5, 2023, “The examination revealed the concealment of 10 dangerous arms and various rounds of live ammunition inside plastic drums…. “The clearing agent, Mr Shokunbi Olanrewaju of Shooler Global International Ltd and Mr Joseph Nwadiodor, who was expected to take delivery of the container, are currently detained as suspects in connection with the seizure. “Similarly, within the same period, the Tin-Can Island Port Command of the Service, while acting on credible intelligence; subjected a 1by40ft container to 100 per cent physical examination with the relevant security agencies at the ports,” he explained. According to him, the physical examination uncovered 18 arms, packets of cartridges and rounds of live ammunition inside plastic drums.   He said the details are two Sar9 Sarsilmaz Pistols; one Ruger American Pistol and three Taurus G3c – Bainbridge Pistols). “Again, during a routine patrol along Owode/Ajilete Axis of Ogun State by officers of the Joint Border Patrol Team Sector 2, on Wednesday 12 July 2023, an unregistered Toyota Camry loaded with six sacks of charcoal, which was used to conceal three pump action rifles with 174 live cartridges was intercepted,” he revealed. He said investigation into the seizures was inconclusive and the outcome of the Service investigations together with the seizures would be handed over to the appropriate authorities for further investigation and prosecution.

L The suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has spent 33 days in the custody of the Department of State Services. The secret police arrested Bawa on June 14, hours after his suspension by President Bola Tinubu. The Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, in a statement announcing Bawa’s suspension, cited “weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him” as the reason for the President’s decision. Since his arrest, the DSS has kept mum on the specific offences for which Bawa was arrested, the level of investigation and whether charges would be filed against him in court. A statement by the DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, shortly after Bawa’s suspension on June 14, said the embattled EFCC chair arrived at the facility of the DSS in response to an invitation. “The Department of State Services has invited Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Bawa arrived a few hours ago. The invitation relates to some investigative activities concerning him,” the DSS spokesman had said. The PUNCH reported that days after the arrest, the DSS searched Bawa’s house and office in Abuja. Several calls to Afunanya on Monday to get an update on the matter were not answered. He also did not respond to a text message sent to his line by our correspondent. Commenting on the continued detention of Bawa, an Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said it was illegal for the DSS to keep Bawa in detention without trial. He said, “Without any contradiction, the continued detention of Bawa by the secret police for over three weeks now is unconstitutional and a breach of the fundamental rights of the detainee. “Illegality cannot beget another illegality. The DSS should immediately release Bawa to rejoin his family members without further delay, or charge him to court to face charges preferred against him by the Federal Government. Anything outside these two options is alien to law and won’t stand.”

  Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has blamed market forces for the increase in petrol pump price from N540 to N617 per litre.⁣ Speaking with state house correspondents on Tuesday after a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Aso Villa, Kyari said the increase is not based on a short supply of petrol. ⁣ More to follow…

  Nineteen Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria have asked the serving Commissioner of Police in Imo State, CP Mohammed Barde to vacate office in the State. In joint press release signed by the nineteen civil society organizations in Owerri on Monday, the CSOs recommended that CP Barde should also face disciplinary sanctions over alleged display of partisanship during the 2023 Presidential and State Assembly elections in Imo State in utter violation of the Standard Operational Guidelines for Law Enforcement Agents on Election Duty. The Civil Society Organizations also said under CP Barde, scores of citizens were arrested, most of them arbitrarily, and illegally detained in police cells in some notorious police Units in Imo State Police Command. Full statement bellow: *JOINT CSO PRESS RELEASE* Monday, July 17, 2023 *COMMISSIONER OF POLICE (CP) MOHAMMED AHMED BARDE MUST LEAVE IMO STATE; FACE DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS FOR HIS DISCREDITABLE ACTIONS AS CP IMO AND AS CP FOR ELECTION SECURITY DURING THE ADAMAWA STATE GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION ON 15TH APRIL, 2023.* On Friday June 30th, 2023, the Police Service Commission (PSC) approved the appointment and deployment of eight Commissioners of Police to various state police commands in the country. The newly appointed Commissioners of Police included *Stephen Olarewaju, as new CP Imo State Command* to replace Barde. A statement by the Commission said the postings were as recommended by the acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun. All the newly deployed Commissioners of Police appointed for the various State Commands have since assumed duties in their respective new commands except the new CP for Imo. Curiously, the former CP Imo, Mr. Barde who was recently queried by the office of the IGP and still facing investigation for his discreditable role in compromising election security and sabotaging the electoral process in the Adamawa governorship election remains in Imo. It is unclear why Mr. Barde still remains in Imo despite his replacement as he faces investigation for gross misconduct. There are however, rumors that the governor of Imo State, Mr. Hope Uzodinma wants to have Mr. Barde retained in Imo to have him ‘supervise’ the forthcoming November 2023 gubernatorial election in Imo for him. Besides Mr. Bade’s disgraceful conduct in Adamawa, his tenure as CP Imo State has been characterised by incompetence, partisanship and unabated insecurity and human rights violations. Police harassment and intimidation of governor Uzodinma’s political opponents, and violence against the citizens have been rife. We recall that former Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, had queried Mohammed Ahmed Barde, over the illegal declaration of Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the 2023 governorship election in Adamawa State. Barde, who was the commissioner of police in Imo State then, served as the police commissioner on election duty in Adamawa for the governorship election. He was one of the three service commanders who allegedly assisted the embattled Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari to declare the APC candidate, Binani, as the winner of the poll before the conclusion of collation of results. In a letter addressed to Barde and dated June 1, 2023, the IGP highlighted his failure to deliver on his duties and accused him of conspiring with Yunusa-Ari. The letter came some weeks after the police authorities withdrew him from election duties in the state over the controversial incident. The letter, querying Barde, was signed by the then Force Secretary, AIG Habu Sani, on behalf of the Inspector General of Police. *The letter reads in parts,* “You are a Commissioner of Police in charge of Imo State Command, and by virtue of your rank and experience on the Job, you are expected to be conversant with extant laws, rules, and regulations guiding police officers as well as exhibit a high level of professionalism and responsibility in all your actions but unfortunately, the reverse is the case. “Recall that you were posted as Adamawa State Election Duty Commissioner of Police with the core mandate of supervising all aspects of security and related matters towards ensuring a peaceful and credible conduct of the election in line with the 2022 electoral Act as amended and other applicable laws as well as guidelines. “Your posting particularly placed you in charge of the Adamawa State supplementary Gubernatorial election held on 15th April, 2023. “Following the completion of the voting, collation of results commenced appropriately but before the completion of the said collation exercise, you accompanied the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa State and provided him the needed security cover to unlawfully announce a result of an inconclusive election to the consternation of all and sundry. “Knowing fully well that the said INEC REC is not empowered by law to announce any election result and being aware that the collation of results was yet to be concluded, you deliberately, willfully, and illegally colluded with the said REC to commit an electoral offense, undermine public trust, compromise a sensitive national assignment and impugned the integrity of the Nigeria Police Force. “These intentional and disgraceful acts of yours were despite prior notifications and warnings by the Deputy Inspector General of Police Operations who called you via GSM on the 15th of April 2023 intimating you of intelligence regarding the plans by the REC to illegally announce results, which he eventually did with your due presence. “The totality of your actions which were captured in viral videos generated public outcry and condemnation, portrayed the Force in an extremely negative light, and would have occasioned an enormous crisis in the State if not for the prompt deployment of reinforcements. “You have therefore undoubtedly debased the exalted rank of Commissioner of Police and brought the image of the Force to an all-time low.” The IG ordered the police commissioner to explain his “disgraceful” acts of serious misconduct within 48 hours, stating why disciplinary action should not be taken against him. The police said his actions culminated in a compromise of the security situation in the state

  Gunmen have shot and killed the traditional ruler of Nguru Autonomous community in the Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, Eze James Nnamdi on Monday afternoon. The monarch was shot dead at his palace on Monday afternoon when some gunmen invaded his home. The slain king was said to be receiving a guest, who was identified as chief Ignatius Nwaru when the attackers struck. A source who doesn’t want to be mentioned said ” the traditional ruler of Nguru in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area was around 3pm shot dead. The traditional who is popularly known as Eze Mmirioma was killed in his palace. This is so terrifying.” Our correspondent gathered that the slain king’s guest was rushed to an undisclosed hospital where he was being attended to. Confirming the killing of the traditional ruler, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Henry Okoye, said that the state commissioner of police, Muhammed Berde, had ordered an investigation into the murder incident. Okoye said ” The Commissioner of Police, Imo State, CP Mohammed Ahmed Barde has condemned in totality the gruesome murder of Eze Mmirioma, a Traditional Ruler in Aboh Mbaise who died while receiving treatment in the hospital after being shot severally in his house today by gunmen. “He has set up a high powered investigating team to investigate this case and ensure that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.”

  Abia State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo, has dismissed as untrue and unfounded, news making the round that the state government has sacked all medical doctors in the state’s public service. According to the Commissioner, “the purported sack is only the figment of the authors’ imagination as the government has no intention of sacking or disengaging any doctor or health personnel currently working to support our ongoing efforts at reviving the health sector in the state.” She also maintained that no one has been asked to submit “fresh expression of interest” as a fake circular directed. Dr. Okoronkwo advised the doctors and members of the general public to ignore the rumour and support the several initiatives of the government at driving holistic healthcare delivery in the state.