Monday 13 November 2023 Dangote refinery secures licence to refine 300,000bpd crude FG aims for 1.9m bpd, intensifies war against oil theft Abuja Airport Runway Closed As Aircraft Crash-Lands Five Dead, One Wounded In Ogun Road Crash Suspected Cultists Kill Five In Rivers Community Five US Service Members Killed In Helicopter Crash More bakeries shut down over high cost of flour, other ingredients Man denies alleged N15m fraud allegation by ex-wife Alleged admission racketeering: Senate probe is welcome —JAMB Yobe Arrests 36 For Taking Alcohol NNPC: TotalEnergies, PENGASSAN, NUPENG have reached agreement to end strike Social Media Regulation Bill: Gagging free speech or taming monster? JAMB accuses UNN of admission racketeering Inflation rises on soaring food, energy prices Netanyahu to Macron: condemn Hamas, not Israel Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  The European Union has called for an investigation into the reported killing of around 100 people in Burkina Faso last week. ”Around 100 civilians, including women and children, were believed killed in a massacre,” said EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell in a statement. The United States has also condemned the attack. It is not clear who was behind the November 6 attack in the village of Zaongo. Borrell called on Burkina Faso’s military junta to shed light on the circumstances of the deaths. It has not yet responded Burkina Faso is trying to contain a jihadist insurgency that spread from neighbouring Mali. The military government has been forcing civilians to join the fight against the Islamist groups, who are said to control about 40% of the country. About a quarter of Burkina Faso’s schools have been forced to close because of the insurgency, according to aid agencies. One resident told the AFP news agency that Zaongo was one of the few villages in the area not to have been “emptied out by the terrorists”. ”Some suspected the inhabitants of collaborating with them,” the resident said. The army seized power last year, vowing to stop the jihadist attacks. If anything, the number of deaths has since increased. Last year was the country’s most deadly on record, according to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (Acled), with more than 1,400 civilian deaths. So far this year, almost 8,000 people have been reported killed due to violence in the country, Acled said.

  Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 45-year-old physically challenged man, Godwin Emuneyin, who uses his wheelchair as cover to deal in illicit substances, such as methamphetamine and cannabis in Afuze, headquarters of Owan East Local Council of Edo State. The suspect was arrested on Tuesday, November 7, at his base in Afuze following credible intelligence. Confirming this development yesterday, spokesperson for the Agency, Femi Babafemi, said at the time of his arrest, a wooden box used to conceal illicit substances, including 18 pinches of methamphetamine, one block and 71 wraps of cannabis, was recovered from him. In other interdiction operations in Edo State, NDLEA operatives on Monday last week, recovered 42 bags of cannabis weighing 480kgs from a camp in Aviosi forest in Owan West Local Council, while the Utese forest in Ovia North East Council was also raided same day with 231.5kgs of the substance recovered, and a cannabis farm measuring 0.778960 hectare destroyed. In Adamawa State, operatives on patrol along Ngurore-Yola road on Thursday, November 9, intercepted a Toyota Corolla car marked TZG 97 KY loaded with 30, 899 Tramadol 225mg and 100mg pills concealed inside the body compartments of the car. The driver found in possession of the drug exhibits, Sani Samaila (a.k.a Isa Male), 25, said he was conveying the consignment from Jalingo, Taraba State to Yola, Adamawa State. The previous day, Wednesday, November 8, a suspect, Abdullahi Sani (a.k.a Danfulani) was arrested at Ngurore town in possession of some quantity of dried weeds suspected to be Cannabis sativa in a white nylon. He, thereafter, led operatives on a follow up operation to the home of a drug lord, Alhaji Bubakari (a.k.a Dan Mamuda), an ex-convict, where 19 blocks of compressed cannabis that weighed 13kgs were recovered. In Ogun State, about 18.875 tonnes of Cannabis sativa on 7.55 hectares of farmland were destroyed. Another 100 jumbo bags weighing 1,100 kilogrammes of the psychoactive substance were recovered at James town, Ogunmakin area of Obafemi Owode Local Council last Monday by a combined team of NDLEA operatives with officers and men of the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Defence Intelligence Agency and the State Security Network, Amotekun. Okpor Chukwuma and six other male suspects found on the farmland were arrested. While a commercial bus driver, Olayinka Sowo, 25, was arrested on Friday, November 10, along Ibadan – Akure expressway over alleged conspiracy to transport 45.150kgs cannabis from Lagos to Osun State, NDLEA officers in Abuja on same day intercepted 7, 980 pills of diazepam and 567 bottles of codeine syrup in a commercial bus along Abaji-Abuja highway after which a follow up operation at Zuba motor park led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Ugwu Ikenna, 30. In Delta State, NDLEA operatives backed by men of the Nigerian Army raided a remote forest in Umuchime community, Ndokwa West Local Council, where they destroyed 12.5 tons of cannabis on five hectares of farmland, and recovered 53.22kgs processed weeds and seeds of the substance. A suspect, Christopher Anim (alias Ogidi) was also arrested in the course of the operation. Two suspects: Amarachukwu Eugene, 32, and Abdulaziz Auwal, 25, were arrested in another operation by operatives in Kano with 202 blocks of cannabis weighing 113.1kgs on Tuesday, November 7.

  The United States European Command (EUCOM), one of the 11 unified combatant commands of the US military, says it has lost five service members in an air crash. EUCOM confirmed the accident in a statement on Sunday, saying the service members died after their military aircraft “suffered a mishap” and crashed over the eastern Mediterranean Sea on Saturday morning during a routine training mission. The military officials said the aircraft search and rescue efforts began immediately. All five service members on board the aircraft were determined to have died. The statement added that an investigation into the crash is underway, though military officials say there are no indications of any hostile activity involved. “Our service members put their lives on the line for our country every day,” President Joe Biden said. “They willingly take risks to keep the American people safe and secure. And their daily bravery and selflessness is an enduring testament to what is best in our nation. “Jill and I are praying for the families and friends who have lost a precious loved one—a piece of their soul. “Our entire nation shares their grief. And, during this weekend when we pause to honor our nation’s veterans, we once more affirm the sacred obligation we bear to those who volunteer to serve our nation as well as their families, caregivers, and survivors. We pray for the families of all our fallen warriors today and every day.” Identities of the victims would not be released until 24 hours after their families are notified, EUCOM said.

  The Yobe State Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ethical Reorientation has arrested 36 youths comprising 17 females and 19 males for prostitution and drinking of alcohol and confiscated 50 cartons of alcohol. The Commissioner, Yusuf Umar Potiskum, who disclosed this to newsmen while parading the suspects at the weekend in Damaturu, said the violators of the state’s Sharia were arrested in Ajayi Lodge, Maina Lodge, Zango area and Gidan Alhaji Sala; all in Damaturu. Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Yusuf Hassan Yusuf, the commissioner said the ministry embarked on a patrol with NDLEA, civil defence, police, vigilantes and Hisbah. While noting that three of the female suspects were HIV positive, he said they would be reoriented and reunited with their families, adding that some of them would receive capital to start businesses to become self-reliant.

  *Condemn killing of YPP chieftain, kidnapping of PDP chieftain *Seeks adequate cover from security agents As Christmas approaches, residents of Nanka community have raised alarm over rising insecurity with hoodlums suspected to be unknown gunmen causing security breaches and serious fear among the residents by allegedly shooting and kidnapping in the community. The residents who preferred to speak on the condition of anonymity for fear of falling victim said they are raising the alarm following what they described as some incidents of insecurity particularly the shooting of a chieftain of Young People’s Party (YPP) known as Joe Mohel and kidnaping of one Ichie Partrick Ezeanaka identified to be a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). An online media had reported that Joe Mohel was shoot by unknown gunmen operating with a Lexus Jeep who also kidnapped Ichie Ezenanaka after beating him. According to a resident of Etti village who spoke on behalf of the residents, before the incident of yesterday, there have been several attempts of kidnapping in Nanka with a PDP member escaping kidnapping by whiskers by using his vehicle to brush aside a kidnapper and ran away. He mentioned another incident where someone was kidnapped and tied down with rope, dropped at Umuchukwu which went viral on the social media. He added “this is getting out of hand and the lives of all of us are in danger if something is not done urgently. So I am calling on security agents to come to our rescue and give us adequate security now that we are preparing for election in some polling booths in Nanka Ward one” About three weeks ago, the kidnappers wanted to kidnap someone nicknamed Ogbono in the same Etti village. But God helped him to escape from them. Further Investigations by our correspondent reveals that the unknown gunmen attempted to bundle Joe Mohel inside their vehicle at gun point but he resisted and attempted to run away before he was shoot while Ichie Ezeanaka surrendered to the gunmen at gun point and was whisked away. When contacted, the son of Ichie Ezeanaka ( name withheld) told our reporter that there is no contact with anybody in respect of his missing father yet as the matter has been reported to the relevant security agencies.

  A Labour Party (LP) agent in Imo State, Calistus Ihejiagwa, has been beaten and bundled out of the Imo State Collation Centre in Owerri. The incident happened on Sunday morning at the INEC collation center in Owerri. Trouble started when the agent objected to the results collated from the local government areas, saying the results brought before the state collation centre were at variance with what was on the Result Viewing Portal (IREV). Ihejiagwa repeatedly said he had a petition to submit before INEC but he was shut down by the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the election, Prof Abayomi Fashina, who said it was not in his purview to receive petitions. But, he was subsequently bundled out of the collation centre by some other party agents at 5am while collation continued.

  Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma has been declared winner of the state’s governorship election which held on Saturday, November 11. The announcement was made by the state Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer, Prof. Abayomi Fashina, in the early hours of Sunday morning after over eight hours of collation of local government results. “That you Hope Uzodimma of APC having satisfied the law, is hereby returned elected,” Fashina declared. Uzodimma, who was first declared governor by the Supreme Court in January 2020, secured re-election in this election, sweeping all 27 local government areas in the state. He defeated his closest rivals, Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Nneji Achonu of the Labour Party (LP), as well as Jack Ogunewe of the Action Alliance (AA) and 14 other opponents, by a significant margin. Uzodimma secured 540,308 votes, defeating Anyanwu with 71,503 votes and Achonu, who garnered 64,081 votes. The number of registered voters in the state for the poll was 2, 419,922 with 2,318,919 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), as reported by INEC . Details to follow