The Bauchi State Police Command said on Wednesday that gunmen snatched two Hilux vans belonging to the United Nations following an attack on Soro town in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of the state.
Friday 18 April 2014
Thursday 17 April 2014
Jonathan reschedules meeting with governors on security matters
Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom and Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum, announced this to State House correspondents on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Akpabio spoke to correspondents after a two-hour closed-door meeting of the governors of the 20 PDP, Labour Party and APGA controlled states with national security chiefs, presided over by the president.
President Goodluck Jonathan (centre) inspecting parade during the Nigerian Army Day Celebration in Abuja On Saturday (6/7/13)
The governor said that the president rescheduled the meeting to enable all the 36 state governors, including those of the APC-controlled state to attend.
“This meeting is a fall out of our meeting which we held with PDP governors and we felt that there was a need for us to meet the president and the security chiefs.
“Mr. President has listened to us and even said that since it is a problem that involves all the states of the federation, It is better for all the state governors to be in attendance.
“Because of that, he has graciously agreed to meet with all the 36 states of the federation on Wednesday by 4 p.m.
“Of course, you know we are very much concerned first as PDP governors and the center belongs to the PDP and so we felt that we should see our dear president and if need be, with some of the security chiefs.
“He has graciously listened to us and he said since it is a national issue, we must have all the 36 governors in attendance.
“So I believe strongly that notice will be going out and all governors will be meeting with Mr. President and service chiefs next week Wednesday; so we can sit and discuss and proffer solutions to the current insecurity in the country,” he said.
Asked whether the meeting discussed the possible extension of the state of emergency in the three North-East states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, Akpabio said not at all.
“The president did not go into details with us.
“Of course, you know that is a national issue and if you are to discuss it, you can’t shave a man’s head behind him.
“The governors of the states that are involved in emergency are not here.
“So, I believe that issue will be taken on when all the governors are around on Wednesday,” he said.
When asked whether the APC governors boycotted the meeting, Akpabio said “no, they were not invited”.
“You know there was an initial requisition of this meeting by the PDP governors.
“This was as a fall out of our own meeting and so it was not something that was extended to all and that is why I said they have been invited on Wednesday.
“We just wanted to meet with our president and some service chiefs to hear our views and also make some suggestions.
“Now, the president is insisting, which is right too, that it is a national issue because it must be handled nationally and that is why all the governors must be here,”
On why the governors of Ondo, Olusegun Mimiko and Anambra, Willy Obianor who are from Labour Party and APGA respectively attended the meeting, Akpabio said he personally extended invitation to them.
The governor expressed the assurance that the governors from the APC controlled States would attend the rescheduled meeting.
“I do not think there is a governor who will not love to be here to also add his voice and suggestion and how we can tackle the current situation.
“We must face the situation and it is not something we can politicise; you don’t politicise security.
“All hands must be on deck; the entire country, every single Nigerian must contribute his or her own quota towards bringing the current situation to an end.
“Everybody is affected, and there is no way any governor in Nigeria will not be concerned and will not show interest in bringing this situation to an end,” he said.
The governors at the meeting include Gabriel Suswan (Benue), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Ramalan Yero (Kaduna), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Theodore Orji (Abia) and Ibrahim Dankwanbo (Gombe).
Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Willie Obiano (Anambra), Idris Wada (Kogi), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) and Jonah Jang (Plateau) also attended.
Others are Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo) and Acting Governor of Taraba, Garba Umar.
The deputy governors of Bayelsa and Kebbi also attended the meeting.
The Minister of Defence, Lt.-Gen. Aliyu Gusau (rtd.); the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki; the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar and the Director-General of State Security Service (SSS), Ita Ekpeyong, attended the meeting.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim; the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro; the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Barde and the service chiefs were also at the meeting.
NAN recalled that presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati, in a statement on Wednesday, said that the president had summoned state governors to an expanded security meeting to be held in the Villa.
Abati had said that the president called the meeting to review the security situation in the country and the current measures and operations.(NAN)
Ritualist beheads two-yr-old boy, rapes mother in Ogun
BY DAUD OLATUNJI
ABEOKUTA —A suspected ritualist, yesterday, beheaded a two‑year‑old boy and raped his mother in a bush in Ofada town in Obafemi‑Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The suspect, Momodu Bashir Ibrahim, was said to have trailed the mother, who had her boy strapped on her back, as she went to ease herself in a bush in the area.
Chelsea can cope with double bid, says Cech
LONDON (AFP) – Petr Cech insists Chelsea can cope with the demands of challenging for a Premier League and Champions League double as the Blues face Sunderland at the start of an eight-day period that could define their season.
Jose Mourinho’s side go into the latest round of Premier League matches in second place, two points behind leaders Liverpool.
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Principal Of GGSS Reveals: Military Lied About Rescue Of Abducted Female Students
Today, April 17, the Principal of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) Chibok claimed that therescue of 107 abducted school girls in Borno is false.
The principal Asabe Kwambura said: "There is nothing in the military statement that is true about our abducted girls.
Nigeria spy on Iran in South Africa
BY TONY UBANI
The Nigeria Football Federation is not taking anything to chance as they have delegated some coaches to South Africa to spy on Iran, one of their opponents for the Brazil World Cup starting in June.
2014 World Cup: Tammy Danagogo pledges support for supporters club.
Abuja – The Minister of Sports, Tammy Danagogo, on Thursday pledged the ministry’s support to the Nigeria Football Supporters Club to mobilise its members for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
At least seven killed in Taraba’s Christian Jukun, Muslim Fulani violence...
KANO (AFP) – At least seven people were killed in ethnic and religious violence in eastern Nigeria’s Taraba state, police said Thursday, with local residents putting the toll at 20.
Violence erupted in the town of Wukari on Tuesday through Wednesday when Christian Jukun gunmen attacked their Muslim Hausa-Fulani neighbours in a reprisal attack following fighting in a nearby village, state police spokesman Joseph Kwaji told AFP.
“Seven people were killed in the violence which started late Tuesday and continued overnight,” he said.
He said some 40 homes were razed in the violence, the latest to hit the deeply divided state in recent months.
“Jukun youths launched reprisal attacks on the Hausa-Fulani following an earlier bloody encounter with their kinsmen in neighbouring Nwunkyo-Kura village,” Kwaji said.
He said soldiers and police had deployed to contain the violence, but added that no arrests had been made.
Residents said the Jukuns had joined their kinsmen in Nwunkyo-Kura on Tuesday to fight suspected Fulani attackers who stormed the village from neighbouring Plateau state.
Ali Shehu, a Wukari resident, said he personally counted 14 bodies after the violence and was told of six other corpses found in different parts of the town.
“We just came under gun attack without any justification,” said Shehu, whose house was also razed during the fighting.
Religiously divided Taraba has seen a wave of ethnic and sectarian violence in recent months as the Jukun and their neighbours jostle for political control of the state.
On April 5, the state government imposed a round-the-clock curfew on the town of Ibi following bloody fighting between the two rivals which left many people dead.
2 siblings drown in Ebonyi village pond....
ABAKALIKI — Two children of the same parents, yesterday, drowned in a pond at Enwugba village in Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi, according to an eyewitness.
An eyewitness, who preferred anonymity, said the victims, Jideofor, 6 and Chinecherem, 4, had gone to fetch water from the pond.
JAMB releases UTME results, says 47 candidates scored above 250 points
By LAIDE AKINBOADE
ABUJA – THE Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Thrusday, said only 47 candidates scored 250 and above in the Paper Pencil Test (PPT) and Dual Based Test (DBT) modes of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted across the country last Saturday.
ABUJA – THE Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Thrusday, said only 47 candidates scored 250 and above in the Paper Pencil Test (PPT) and Dual Based Test (DBT) modes of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted across the country last Saturday.
The Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB,Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, stated this in Abuja, while announcing the release of the 2014 UTME results.
UTME: Nigerian Muslim Students commend JAMB
The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, MSSN, Lagos State Area Unit has commended the Joint Admission Matriculation Board following the successful conduct of this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination conducted on the 12th April, 2014.
The society gave the commendation in a statement signed by its President, Kaamil Kalejaiye after the conduct of the exams nationwide.
The youth-based organisation whose members are mostly students said the whole exercise was hitch free to a large extent.
Kalejaiye said, “I must sincerely commend the registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, Professor Dibu Ojerinde for the wonderful job he is doing and for following the global trend by conducting the second of its kind Computer Based Test – CBT for prospective higher institution candidates in Nigeria”
About one million candidates sat for the annual examination last week when the Paper Pencil Test (PPT) and the Dual Based Testing (DBT) exams were conducted with more waiting to write the CBT next month. However, the society advised the examination body to put things in proper perspective before the conduct of the CBT exam by providing necessary materials needed for the exam and to sensitize the candidates on how and what the CBT system requires.
“As students society, part of our focal area is training. We conduct a Pre-UTME training for our members which includes the PPT and CBT and I must confess it wasn’t an easy task” said Kalejaiye.
Kalejaiye also thanked President Jonathan for endorsing the idea saying it’s a good move in the right direction to develop our education system.
Tears, lamentations as Onitsha market fire victims count losses
BY NWABUEZE OKONKWO, ONITSHA
Tears are now flowing freely from the eyes of the victims of last Saturday’s fire disaster that destroyed goods estimated at over N1 billion at the food stuff section of Ose-Ekwodu market, Onitsha, Anambra State.
The losses which were earlier estimated at about N100 million by the market officials when the incident was still fresh, have now been properly evaluated at over N1 billion by the victims themselves.
Some of the goods destroyed by the inferno included tailoring materials, bags of rice, salt and brooms, onions and baskets, clothing materials, cosmetics, rolls of ropes, crates of soft drinks, cartons of beer, drums of local gin, tubers of yam, mirror, foam, palm oil, provisions, kerosine, cash, jewelries, among others.
For Mrs. Ndidi Okonkwo, a widow and mother of three whose two shops, stocked with bags of rice, were razed completely. “I am now living a miserable life and I don’t know where to start from”.
Also for Madam Justina Eze, whose rolls of ropes, many quantities of umbrella, palm oil, provisions, soft drinks and local gin which she estimated at N1.5 million were lost to the fire: “My only hope is on the state government to come to our rescue”.
Reacting to the development, the traditional ruler of Ifite Anam and chairman of Anambra West Local Government Traditional Rulers’ Council, HRM, Igwe Sylvester Nnose whose wives and sisters were affected by the inferno, called on the state government to take urgent steps in rescuing the victims before they give up hopes.
Other victims who are equally counting their losses included the chairlady of the burnt line, Victoria Okoye and Papa Imo, chairman of Oguta line.
Governor Willie Obiano who paid a sympathy visit to the burnt market on Monday, consoled them and promised to rebuild the market for the victims, even though he did not mention a specific period to commence the rebuilding work.
The Chairman of Ose-Ekwodu Market, Sunday Ewulu, disclosed that a fast food dealer residing within the market premises was arrested by the vigilance group attached to the market and handed over to the police on the suspicion that the fire outbreak started from his residence.
Ewulu who noted that five suspects were initially arrested, said it was after a thorough screening by the vigilance group and the police that four others were released, while the actual suspect who disclosed on interrogation that he forgot to put off his stove before going out, is still with the police.
Ewulu who admitted that some vigilante operatives attached to the market were able to secure some goods, also called on the state government, public spirited individuals and groups to come to the rescue of the traders whose source of livelihood have been terminated by the inferno.
Also speaking, the President of Anambra Markets Amalgamated Traders Association, AMATAS, Chief Okwudili Ezenwankwo who also visited the market, expressed sympathy for the victims and specifically called on Governor Obiano to assist the victims in terms of rebuilding the shops for the traders and giving them funds to return to their businesses.
Ezenwankwo also called on the state government to provide fire-fighting equipment in all the markets to forestall future occurence, adding that government should set up a panel of inquiry to investigate the cause of the incident.
He disclosed that AMATAS would soon commence an enlightenment campaign on the need for the traders to take up insurance policies so that in the event of such an incident, the victims would be compensated by insurance companies.
Ezenwankwo also called on the state government to provide fire-fighting equipment in all the markets to forestall future occurence, adding that government should set up a panel of inquiry to investigate the cause of the incident.
He disclosed that AMATAS would soon commence an enlightenment campaign on the need for the traders to take up insurance policies so that in the event of such an incident, the victims would be compensated by insurance companies.
In far away Nnewi, the industrial town of Anambra State, another fire disaster was equally recorded at the multi-million naira Umuisiedo Market, Okpuno Egbu, Nnewi on the same Saturday night. Goods estimated at N50 million were said to have perished in the inferno.
Eye-witnesses said that the Ose-Ekwodu in Onitsha fire incident occurred at about 3.30 a.m., while the Nnewi disaster occurred at about 2.30 a.m.
Likewise, the Onitsha fire outbreak was brought under control by men of the state fire service from both the nearby Onitsha main market and Okpoko after all the goods had been burnt, while the Nnewi inferno was brought under control by sympathisers.
Likewise, the Onitsha fire outbreak was brought under control by men of the state fire service from both the nearby Onitsha main market and Okpoko after all the goods had been burnt, while the Nnewi inferno was brought under control by sympathisers.
At the scene of the Onitsha incident located at the bank of the River Niger, known by the traders as Zone 3, Marine Road, Ose Ekwodu, the debris and burnt remains of the affected goods, including roasted yams and burnt pieces of zink and planks, were seen littering the ground.
On the Nnewi fire incident, eyewitnesses stated that one of the shop owners, a pregnant woman, attempted to jump into the raging fire as the inferno destroyed all her goods. She was prevented from doing so through the prompt intervention of some sympathisers.
The inferno was said to have already burnt down eleven shops fully stocked with various kinds of groceries to ashes before the intervention by passersby. The traders alleged that fire fighters in Nnewi could not respond to their distress call until the Okpoko fire service station, near Onitsha, came to their rescue when great damage had been done.
It was gathered that while sympathisers were busy trying to secure the goods, some street urchins in Nnewi were said to have been busy looting the traders’ goods in the ensuing confusion.
It was gathered that while sympathisers were busy trying to secure the goods, some street urchins in Nnewi were said to have been busy looting the traders’ goods in the ensuing confusion.
One of the burnt Nnewi shop owners whose goods were all consumed by the fire, Mrs Adinu Mercy, said she was a returnee who fled from Kano State with her family due to incessant attacks by Boko Haram insurgents.
The pregnant shop owner who wanted to jump into the fire was heard shouting: “How can I repay the loan I took in opening this shop?”
For Mr Chikwendu Nnadi, another victim, “all hopes have been lost. “Where will I start from?” “where will I end?”. In fact, as I am talking to you now, I’m confused and I don’t know what to do”.
Chairman of the market , Chief Gilbert Eriobuna and chairman of Okpuno Egbu Security Organisation, Chief Amobi Nnoruka, expressed shock at the incident and pledged to investigate the cause of the inferno.
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