The Nation Newspaper

Category: Abuja Review

  • Ticket racketeers invade Abuja-Kaduna rail station

    Authorities are battling to curb the activities of ticket racketeers at the Abuja-Kaduna rail station, writes FAITH YAHAYA

    The Abuja-Kaduna rail came alive in 2016 after it was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari. For those who had not been born in the 60s and 80s when rail was one of the most vibrant means of transportation, it was a thing of amusement and an opportunity of a lifetime to ride.

    Between 1963 and early 1980s, Nigeria had a vibrant rail system which conveyed agricultural, livestock and solid mineral resources to Lagos and Port Harcourt seaports from where they were exported to other parts of the world. Buhari had, at the commissioning, hinted that it’s the vision of his administration to restore the country to its good old days with the restoration of the rail transport system.

    The hallmark during the flag-off was safety, speed and reliability. Three years down the line, one can say that the Abuja-Kaduna rail axis is drifting from the dreams the administration envisioned.

    The bad road and prevalent insecurity in the country, and mostly on Abuja-Kaduna highway, has made people embrace the train service more. The Abuja-Kaduna highway is notorious for criminal activities, mainly kidnapping. The criminal act has resulted in passenger surge at the rail service, which plies the Abuja-Kaduna four times daily.

    Heavy passenger traffic on Mondays and weekends, has made it difficult for passengers to secure seats in the coaches. This has forced many of them to opt for standing through the two-hour journey. And with a surge in passenger traffic comes the deplorable act of ticket racketeering by some railway officials.

    Piqued by the ugly trend, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had, during one of his unscheduled visits to Idu and Kubwa stations, Abuja, sometime in 2017, ordered the immediate removal of the station manager, ticket sellers and porters at Idu and Rigasa. They were caught red-handed by the Minister in the act of ticket racketeering. But that seems not to have deterred the perpetrators of the act.

    During the minister’s visit, it was learnt that some officials were extorting money from passengers in business class. The fare is pegged at N1500 for the first and last trip for economy class, while the second and third trips in the economy class are N1300. For the business class, the first, second, third and last trip remained N2500. However, some of the officials were discovered to have doubled the fare for desperate passengers.

    Narrating how desperate passengers are extorted, one of the officials who didn’t want his identity disclosed said, “Those behind this act sometimes lie to passengers that there are no more tickets. Because of desperation, insecurity and probably because they have appointments to meet, they pay whatever amount to get on board.”

    In recent times, some unscrupulous officials have devised other means of selling the tickets to desperate passengers at under-the-counter rates. And with the fear of sudden abduction on the Abuja-Kaduna highway, the hapless passengers are being forced to comply. These days, the fear of armed kidnappers is the beginning of wisdom for travellers, military chiefs not an exception.

    And for their safety, many of these passengers do not care even if they have to stand all through the trip. Recently, a serving senator of the Federal Republic, Ali Ndume, had to stand throughout the two-hour trip from Kaduna to Abuja because he couldn’t get a seat in any of the coaches. Like ordinary Nigerians, the senior lawmaker had avoided the Abuja-Kaduna highway.

    Giving hints of how they sell “standing tickets”, a source in Nigerian Railway Corporation said, “I can confirm to you that they sell more than 300 tickets to standing passengers per trip and we have four trips in a day. The days they make so much money are usually weekends and Mondays. Assuming that they sell the tickets at a flat rate of N1500 to the 300 standing passengers, it means they make nothing less than N450,000 for a single trip. And this excludes the seating passengers who are over 300 too. With this, it means about N1,000,000 is supposed to be recorded for the sale of tickets daily.

    Another source in one of the stations revealed that some of the top staff members of the Corporation benefit so much from the sale of standing tickets. He said, “The officials are involved. The chain of corruption as it concerns ticket racketeering is long. So much money is made but the money is not remitted into the NRC’s coffers, which most people believe is the reason why NRC has continued to maintain that they are running at a loss.

    “I suspect that they have duplicated the rail tickets. You know we Nigerians don’t pay much attention to things. I feel if more attention is given to the sale of tickets, the perpetrators will be fished out and the unwarranted stress they make passengers go through will stop.”

    To reduce the pressure, the Minister, a few weeks back, directed the Managing Director of the Corporation, Fidet Okhiria to halt rail services on Itakpe-Warri route. The Minister said the coaches used on the axis should be deployed to Abuja-Kaduna rail line to cater to the passenger surges on the route. He also attributed the current surge to insecurity in some parts of the country.

    The minister said: “We deployed coaches from Warri-Itakpe to feed Abuja-Kaduna axis because of the passenger surge. I have also told them to shut down Warri-Itakpe just to enable us to feed Abuja-Kaduna. But even if we do that, we will be taking away about 200 passengers and we will still be left with about 1,900 passengers to cater for.

    “We are however expecting new coaches by November. By November, we should have new Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs.) We will introduce ten and I hope the ten can reduce the pressure. But even if it does not, between December and January, we will have more.”

    On economic viability of the deployment, he said: “I tell people that it is not economically viable for NRC to operate with more coaches on Abuja-Kaduna route because the challenge we are facing now is temporary due to security pressure. Immediately the security pressure is resolved, we will go back to 300-400 passengers a day. So what happens to the excess capacity you have built? It will be a waste of money.

    E-ticketing as solution

    The NRC boss, Okhiria, in an interview, disclosed that over 112 companies applied for the online railway ticketing contract but that only three were shortlisted for the contract. According to him, the online ticketing will address issues of overcrowded stations, security challenges and ticket racketeering.

    On the contract for online ticketing and when it is likely to start, Okhiria said, “It is not the online ticketing that is the problem. I can download an online app that people can use now. But we have to consider the hardware and secure the station so that people without tickets won’t access the platform.

    “We also have to talk about the security of the online system we are putting in place so that the ticket can take them in. For instance, with online ticketing, if you buy a ticket to take you from Idu to Kubwa, the online platform must ensure that it does not take you beyond that. The physical infrastructure has to also be in place. If ten passengers enter the train, I should be able to look at it from my system. The Director of Operations has to be able to see it too. So, that is the way we are going. We want to have a system in which if you buy a ticket to take you to Kubwa, the ticket will not grant you access to go beyond that, as it is done outside the country. We need physical equipment on the ground to have it come to fruition.”

    It is estimated that the e-ticket sale will generate N16 billion by 2029. The Director-General of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr. Chidi Izuwah, revealed that the sale of an online ticket for train services would hit N16 billion by 2029. He disclosed during the presentation of the Full Business Certificate for the concession of the e-ticketing system to the Minister of Transportation recently.

    Izuwah said: “Financial model shows that NRC and the federal government will earn over N16 billion as revenue from e-ticketing by 2029. That will provide additional revenue for the government. So basically, we have turned a problem into an opportunity.”

    Highlighting the benefits of the e-ticketing system, Izuwah explained that the objective of the project was to increase revenue generation through the reduction of fraud and also increase passenger fare purchase options. “We want to increase passenger convenience by introducing the fare dual hub. This will also improve service welfare to passengers and create a wider aisle of fare policies through additional added value because those tickets can also carry adverts and become a substantial part of revenue.”

    Responding to the introduction of e-ticketing sale as the solution to ticket racketeering, the minister said: “I agree that it is a solution to the madness that we have in Rigasa station down to Idu. But the most important solution is the provision of more coaches and locomotives. This will go a long way to reduce the madness because if people can buy their tickets from their offices and homes, they will not be coming to the train station to cause the chaos we are seeing there. The moment we get more coaches, we will completely eradicate the current madness going on in the different stations between Rigasa and Idu.”

    Most of the passengers in Kubwa station told The Nation that another unscheduled visit by the Minister would curtail ticket racketeering at the station.

    One of them said: “We learnt that when the Minister paid an unscheduled visit to the station, some people involved in the act were caught and he directed that they should be sacked. I think that the Minister should pay another such visit soon to put things in shape and reduce the suffering of Nigerians. When the Minister visits again, I hope some of the infrastructures in the coaches and the stations would be looked at and fixed because the amount of money generated from the sale of tickets alone, if properly channelled, would contribute immensely to the country’s GDP.

    As a response to the yearnings of the passengers, the minister had taken to his twitter handle @ChibuikeAmaechi, to announce taking delivery of the first batch of new trains built to ease passenger traffic.

    The tweet reads: “1st batch of new trains built for us by CRRC- 2 motored cars and 4 Locomotives. I have taken delivery & they would soon be in Nigeria. Work is ongoing on the 2nd batch of trains. The plan is to connect & unite the entire country by rail. Together, let’s ride to the #NextLevel”.

    On concerns over maintenance of the new trains, the Minister, via his Twitter handle, stated, “I have seen some comments here on maintenance & sustainability of the new trains. We are taking that issue seriously & have made plans for it. One of the many things we are doing is that we have sent Nigerians to China for training & to understudy the Chinese manufacturers. After their training, the plan is to have these Nigerians run & maintain the trains & our rail lines. I met some of them in China on Wednesday (last week) & they are very eager to come back home to manage & maintain the new facilities & trains. Building #NextLevel human capacity.”

  • The rot called Abuja National Stadium

    The Abuja National Stadium (now Moshood Abiola Stadium) has become an example of the rot in the fabric of the country where a good number of national monuments have gone into a state of total disrepair, writes ANDREW ABAH

    The Abuja National Stadium, which had been the nation’s sports monument and national pride, is now a shadow of itself.

    From afar view of the National Stadium Abuja, now renamed MKO Abiola Stadium, is a monument which is a beauty to behold. But on entry, the facility is empty of everything that makes a monument of its kind a national pride. It’s a story of decay and disarray that had plagued the stadium as a result of neglect by sports administrations.

    The stadium, built-in 2003 with $360 million, hosted the 2003 All Africa Games under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. As it was then, the facility brought smiles to faces of Abuja sports-loving residents. It has now become a ghost of itself and more of a national embarrassment.

    This is a stadium on which the federal government spent billions of naira to put the various infrastructure in place, elevating it to a monument of developmental attention in the history of the country.

    Rated among the 50 most expensive stadia in the world, the Abuja Stadium consists of a 60,491 capacity covered main bowl, presidential suite and viewing area. It also boasts 56 corporate suites, modern turnstiles, box office, post office, media facilities and FIFA standard football pitch.

    The stadium, for some time, was a pride of sports-loving Nigerians. However, 16 years down the line, the edifice has practically become a rot, a shadow of its old self: a sad commentary of the poor maintenance culture which has eaten deep into the national fabric.

    The Main Bowl is worst hit by the pervasive rot. The football pitch shares similarities with a typical make-shift pitch in some villages where children test their soccer skills on patches of sandy space with ‘galloping-green’ grasses mostly used for the horse race.

    For a very long time, many have been wondering why the Super Eagles have been moving from one state-owned stadium to another in preparation for crucial engagements. In the last six years, the senior national team has moved from the stadia in Calabar, Cross River state, to Uyo in Akwa Ibom state. The Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba in Delta state and Agege Stadium, Lagos have continued to host the national team for international matches instead of the Abuja stadium.

    Observers said the stadium started experiencing decay when past and present started approving the use of the main bowl for recruitment exercise, religious activities and other social events. Till date, the stadium has remained a designated venue for religious and other social events as a revenue-generating venture. Sadly, the accruing revenues have never been used for the maintenance of the facility.

    A visit to this magnificent edifice leaves one asking questions on how this mighty monument was turned into a place for religious activities, music concerts and shelter for the homeless.

    The activities of such religious groups and some musical shows that take place on the pitch make the place look more like a grazing ground for animals.

    Moreover, the successive Sports Ministers had promised to arrest the situation, but such pledges have never seen the light of day.

    It was gathered that the former Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, in 2017, used close to N60 million naira to re-grass the pitch, which some considered a step in the right direction. But the situation remains the same as the Super Eagles rejected playing at the stadium due to the bumpy nature of the pitch.

    Why we take solace in state-owned stadia -NFF

    Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said it had to play most of its international games outside Abuja as a result of the poor state of the pitch at the stadium.

    The NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, in a chat with our correspondent during the week, revealed that the stadium currently lacked the necessary facilities for national teams to play conveniently.

    According to Sanusi, “You can’t bring international matches to the stadium where the pitch is nothing to write home about and that is why we find solace in some states like Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta and Lagos that have been coming to our rescue in matches involving the Super Eagles. The Ogbemudia stadium in Benin City, Edo State, serves as the home for Nigeria’s Super Falcons and other junior female national teams”. The NFF scribe said that the Federation will be ready to return the Super Eagles to Abuja if the pitch is put in FIFA graded standard. “Using the pitch the way it is now will attract sanctions from the world football governing body”, he said.

    ‘Maintenance of stadium to gulp N1bn annually’

    To meet standards prescribed by FIFA, about N1 billion is required annually for the maintenance of the stadium. This was the result of an assessment said to have been carried out by a committee set up by the immediate past Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr Solomon Dalung. According to him, the stadium was constructed in a manner that makes maintenance almost impossible without giving the job out to contractors on a retainer ship basis. This, Dalung said, was far above the N300 million that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved annually for the maintenance of the Abuja stadium and other federal government-owned stadia across the country.

    Speaking on the state of the stadium during his tenure as Minister, Dalung had said, “Maintaining the stadium became a problem when Julius Berger left and the contractor that was approached asked for close to a billion naira yearly for maintenance. But the Federal Executive Council only approved N300 million per year, including other stadia owned by the Federal Government.”

    But Sports Minister Sunday Dare has vowed to return the Abuja stadium and other stadia owned by the Federal Government to their past glory. He said his first task was to make Abuja stadium home for Super Eagles where all matches involving national teams would be played in Abuja.

    Dare said, “I have visited my predecessor and he has given me brief on how to go about it. I am equally studying his handover note, which is very rich. I have made contact on how to re-grass the football pitch and make it a FIFA standard. I know it will cost money but I am determined to do it.”

    Dare also stated that the inspection visit by the House Committee on Sports, led by Mr. Olumide Osoba, will assist in making adequate budgetary provisions for the regressing of the football pitch and replacement of dilapidated facilities within the stadium.

    And until the stadium is adequately funded and maintained to attain FIFA standards, bringing the Super Eagles to play in Abuja will continue to remain a pipe dream.

  • Dying to return home

    Safiya Ahmadu, who has lived at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Durumi 1, Abuja for four years, is one of many who look up to a better tomorrow, writes TONY AKOWE

    Safiya Ahmadu is in primary five but has lived at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Durumi 1, Abuja for four years. Her biggest desire is to return to her ancestral homeland in Gwoza, Borno State where she believes life will be better.

    Safiya wants to study, but not outside Gwoza. Unlike Safiya, however, Isa Adamu is not thinking of returning home anytime soon. According to Adamu who is in his late 30s, there will be nothing for him to do if he returned to Gwoza because the forests in Gwoza have been taken over by the Boko Haram insurgents. The experience of these two inmates of the Durumi IDP camp reflects the mindset of the over 3000 inmates of the camp who rely mainly on the goodwill of fellow Nigerians for their daily survival. Like every other IDP camp across the country, the inmates live in squalid conditions far worse than the way they lived back home before they were sacked by the benighted insurgents.

    A recent visit to the camp by the Federal Commissioner in charge of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed, afforded the residents to vent their frustrations and how their daily existence has become a nightmare since they were brought to the camp some four years ago.

    Although they were happy to be visited by a government representative after a long while, it was an opportunity for them to open up on their pitiable state of existence. Speaking with our correspondent, Safiya said, “I have been living here for about four years now and I want to go home”. Asked if she would want to go to any other place rather than Gwoza, her response was an emphatic no, saying “I want to go back to Gwoza, I don’t want any other place.”

    Earning a living as IDP

    Isa Adamu, who had been a farmer back home, is still farming while living in the camp. He farms on rented land in neighbouring Nasarawa State where he grows maize and beans for sale and his family consumption. He said “I am a farmer and as a farmer, my place is in the bush. But Boko Haram has taken over the whole forest in Gwoza and so we can no longer farm there. What will I be doing in Gwoza when I go back. You want me to go and be staying in the city? That is not possible because I have a mother and younger ones to take care of. So, I must farm”. Isa who was tending to his huge harvest of maize when our correspondent visited the camp, said for the past few years since he came to the Abuja camp, he has taken to farming to earn a living. “I harvested this (maize) from my farm in Nasarawa state. What we have here is 30 bags of maize and that is not all. We still have beans on the farm which we will harvest later in the year.” But how did he get the land to farm since he is not from the area? He said “we rent land from the owners who may not want to farm on the land. We pay them part of the money before we start cultivation and pay the balance later”. For better yields, Isa pleaded for government support in terms of farm implements and fertilisers. He stated further that himself and other farmers in the camp divide their farm produce into two; selling one half and feeding the family with the remaining half. What does he do when not farming and during the dry season? “When not farming, we engage in business and ride commercial motorcycles (Okada) to the smaller villages around us to earn some money. Some of the motorcycles are given to us on hire purchase basis and when you finish paying for it, it becomes yours”. Though itching to go back to his ancestral home, Isa said he will only go back when the forests are cleared of the insurgents.

    Traditional birth attendant to the rescue

    With health care facilities are out of reach of the inmates, a traditional birth attendant, Mrs Liyatu Ayuba, has been the saving grace for pregnant women at the camp.

    Ayuba said she had helped with the delivery of 98 babies since the camp was set up four years ago and that 10 of the babies were delivered this year. According to her, not a single stillbirth has been recorded in all the 98 deliveries. Being the first woman to arrive at the camp, Ayuba is recognised as Women Leader, said she was trained as a traditional birth attendant by one Dantata. Rueing the plight of the women in the camp, Mrs Ayuba said unlike their male counterparts, they could not go out to work as they have children to take care of. She, however, disclosed that several agencies have been coming to offer the women one form of vocational training or the other.

    Our correspondent observed that many of the women in the camp were engaged in knitting traditional caps and other materials for sale. One of the young women who identified herself simply as Maimuna, said it takes her about two weeks to complete one cap, which is sold for between N12,000 to N14,000 in the open market.

    Feeling the bite on Okada ban

    Owing to the prevalence of criminal activities by commercial motorcycle riders, the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory a few weeks ago, banned operators of the motorcycles from plying some routes within the outskirts of the capital city, including Durumi where the camp is located. But Mrs Ayuba complained that the ban has been taking a huge toll on the general economy of the camp. According to her, many of the young men in the camp depend on the commercial motorcycle business to feed themselves and their families. She regretted that the ban has threatened the means of livelihood of many families at the camp. She pleaded with the Minister of the FCT to reconsider the ban, stressing that if the ban is allowed to continue, may families in the IDP camp may starve to death.

    To buttress the points raised by Mrs Ayuba, the Public Relations Officer of the camp, Umar Gola, also pleaded with the authorities to reconsider the ban on Okada operations. Gola said, “We have over 600 young men who are doing motorcycle business in the town. But with the ban, I think we are creating more insurgency for our people because we will not have work for them. We are pleading with the honourable Minister of the FCT to have a re-think about this policy and help our young men who are in this business to get a livelihood for their families.”

    Living with diseases and infections

    Just like every other IDP camp across the country, inmates of the Durumi camp are exposed to poor sanitation, with the attendant infections and diseases, particularly among the women. Mrs Ayuba complained of different ailments plaguing women and children in the camp and pleaded with the authorities to provide better accommodation for the inmates. “We suffer from different sicknesses in this camp. The women suffer from toilet infections here and the children often suffer from diarrhoea and other sicknesses. “And because we all sleep in one place, the children often practice what their parents do and that is not good enough”, suggesting that the children are being exposed to sexual acts at a tender age.

    Our correspondent also observed that the inmates live in shanties erected with used cement bags and cartons, thereby exposing them to many hazards. Incidentally, many of these shanties are connected with power supply, thereby putting the lives of the inmates in grave danger. The environment isn’t appropriate for human habitation with thick bushes and drainages encircling the camp. The FCT authorities may have to take another look at the living condition of the inmates, particularly the children. Many of them are out of school at the moment. The makeshift classrooms provided for the camp have been turned into stores for storage of farm produce and items donated by kind-hearted members of the public.

    Promise of better accommodation

    During his visit to the camp, the Federal Commissioner in charge of the National Commission for Refugee, Migrants and IDPs, Basheer Muhammed, assured the inmates that the Federal Government was already working hard to relocate all IDP across the country to a more comfortable place. “Government is trying very hard and very soon, they will be out of here”, Muhammed said. But how soon can the government make good its promise of a better environment and decent accommodation for the traumatised residents?

  • Abuja inaugurates food screening laboratory

    By Gbenga Omokhunu

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has revved activities at its public health laboratory, dedicated to screening of food and food items in the capital city.

    Inaugurating the facility on Wednesday, the Acting Secretary and Director, Administration and Finance Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS), Alhaji Musa Abdulraheem, said that the secretariat would work toward replicating such laboratory in the six area councils of the FCT.

    Abdulraheem called on staff of the secretariat to continue to put in their best in the various departments, adding that it was hard work that earned the secretariat an award from the Joint Unions Action Committee (JUAC) FCTA/FCDA.

    He pledged that the HHSS would continue to give its support to public health whenever the need arose.

    “The award bestowed on the secretariat was due to hardwork; we shouldn’t stop in that direction,’’ he stressed

    Speaking earlier, the Director Public Health, Dr. Okechukwu Josephine, said that the laboratory was aimed at preventing and controlling outbreak of food-borne diseases in the territory.

    According to a statement issued by Samuel Musa of the Public Relations Unit of the HHSS, Dr. Okechukwu said that the laboratory would also ensure that food served to the public was prepared under hygienic environment, especially in the food service establishments.

    She added that, “The inspection of food and food items in the FCT falls under the purview of the environmental and occupational health division of the Public Health Department.

    “Between 2012 and 2016, screening of food establishments with the issue of medical certificates of fitness was being conducted by some private laboratories and some public laboratories under HHSS.

    “The engagement of these laboratories to conduct tests on food handlers, experienced some challenges which generated serious concern to the public health department.”

    She explained that the public health laboratory was established in 2017 and had since been a source of revenue generation for the HHSS.

    According to her, N10,321,600 was generated by the laboratory in 2017, while in 2018, it collected N24,752,700 and received N17, 238,000 from January to September 2019.

  • Car snatchers’ paradise

    Residents of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have raised the alarm over the menace of car theft and commercial vehicle robbery or one-chance in the nation’s capital. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

    The seat of federal power is fast losing ground to car thieves and robbers operating in commercial vehicles otherwise known as one-chance. This is a serious worry to residents. Many have fallen victim.

    The term ‘One Chance,’ a pidgin English expression used by bus conductors or touts to entice passengers in a hurry to take the last available space in a taxi or bus, has now been adapted to mean being in a fix or a difficult situation.

    These robbery gangs often operate in commercial taxis. They have members of the gang in the vehicle, usually painted green. Members pretend to be genuine passengers and drive around looking for victims.

    Threatening the security of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its environs is the rate of ‘one-chance’ activities being perpetrated by unscrupulous people who trap, rape and in some cases drug and kidnap unsuspecting passengers in taxis.

    In time past, various forms of vices like robbery, snatching of bags, pick-pockets and “one chance” were only rampant in places like Lagos, Aba, Port Harcourt and  Kano states but the wind of this criminal activity seems to have blown far, even to Abuja.

    Some of the residents, who spoke with Abuja Review lamented that their lives were in danger over the activities of bandits who steal cars and rob at gunpoint.

    A resident, Ayo Ojo whose Toyota Camry car was stolen while he was shopping in Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Lugbe, described the situation as “disturbing’’.

    He said that car theft had become rampant in the FCT, adding that there had been a deluge of complaints at the FHA Police Station where he went to report the case of his stolen car.

    “I quickly reported the case at the Lugbe Police Station, but I was shocked to meet some people with the same case of stolen cars at the station while some of them had already written their statements. I parked my car within the FHA Lugbe in front of the shop where I went to buy provisions at about 8:00 p.m. for my family and by the time I came out, I could not find my car,’’ he said.

    Another resident, Mr. Ibrahim Ibrahim said his car, also a Toyota Camry (pencil light) was stolen around 10:30 p.m. last July.

    Ibrahim said he had to park the car close to a shop and went to pick certain items, but was jolted when he discovered the car was no longer where it was parked.

    He said, “My car is a Toyota Camry with silver colour and other valuables like laptop, food items, and my purse were all in the car. Another problem threatening the security of the FCT is the rate of ‘one-chance’ activities being perpetrated by unscrupulous people to trap passengers in taxis either to rob or capture them for rituals or ransom.”

    A Nurse, Rose Ojomo in one of the FCT hospitals said she was a victim of a gang of ‘one-chance’ while returning from work last month.

    Mrs. Ojomo said that immediately she entered the vehicle, she became suspicious as there were only men in the car, adding that her fear later materialised when she was asked to open her bag and bring out all the money inside.

    Her words: “Immediately, they pointed a gun at me inside the car, I quickly told them I don’t have money. I was then asked to bring my ATM card where I led them to a bank to withdraw all the money in my account.”

    Also, Miss Hosanna Ikechukwu, a civil servant said it was a sad day for her when she fell victim of ‘one-chance’ while returning from office.

    Ikechukwu said that she was dispossessed of her valuables and almost lost her life to ‘one-chance’, criminals who threatened to kill her if nothing valuable was found on her.

    She said that for the fact that she had money to part with; her life would have been in danger.

    Mr Innocent Uyime of Area A, last road, Nyanya phase 2 told Abuja Review that he was returning from his office at Area one  at 11:00pm after the day’s job.   He boarded a cab at Area 3 junction to go home, but immediately after the old CBN junction,  all the genuine passengers in the taxi were asked to co-operate, and the robbed them.

    At Wuse/Berger Park, a member of the Union of Painted Abuja Taxi, PAT, who spoke in confidence said painted taxis belong to a number of unions, aside the national union, NURTW, while he explained the colour type at the top of the taxi clearly states which union a taxi belongs to.

    He said: “You can differentiate the taxis with the colour on the top of the taxi to know which company a taxi is registered under. For instance, mine is painted blue which is under PAT and this other one (pointing to another taxi), you can see is painted orange which is under NURTW. Majority of the robberies that are being carried out by cabs are mainly by unpainted vehicles because there is nothing to identify them. For example, private vehicles are into the business of carrying passengers; if such operators commit crimes, they go scott free because no one can really identify or trace them”.

    The bandit modus operand is to pose as taxi drivers in a bid to carry a passenger to a lonely road where they can perpetuate their evil act.

    They do not pick more than one or two victims at a time. Then they drive them to a remote place, where they are threatened with gun, cutlass, charms or other dangerous weapons and dispossess them of their money, handsets, and other valuables.

    Sometimes , after dispossessing the unsuspecting passengers of their valuables, they push them out of the moving vehicle, and if they are kind enough, they stop for their victim to alight before they zoom off. These gangs operate mostly during the early hours in the morning and late in the evening.

    They have now added another dimension to their enterprise. They now target the SIM cards of their victims, alongside Automated Teller Machine (ATM), cards. It has been discovered that, with the SIM card, they can access their victim’s bank verification number (BVN) and have total access to other accounts linked to it.

    However, it was gathered that with the advent of ATM as well as the Point of Sale (POS) which helps to reduce the volume of cash people carry on them, the gangs have devised new methods of robbing unsuspecting passengers.

    They have realised that some people have their ATM cards in their bags or wallets, so, instead of robbing a passenger that falls prey to them and allow him or her to go, they search the passenger, take their ATM cards, take them to a particular destination and hold them hostage and demand for their ATM card pin number.

    Woe betide such victim if he or she does not have either money or ATM card at hand.

    A security expert told Abuja Review that: “Having disclosed the security code, one of the gang members would rush to the bank to empty the victim’s account, that is if the victim did not carry the POS with them. Don’t be deceived , they blind fold the victim and drop him on the way and zoom off.

    Severally, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (CIID) FCT, had announced that it had created an anti-One-Chance Squad to arrest the situation. But the criminal act is not reducing.

    Spokesperson , Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), FCT Command, David Akinbinu, recently told newsmen during one of the corps recent parade of suspects that their men and officers of the intelligence and special crime unit have been able to track down and arrest culprits.

    He  further explained that the command is not resting on its oars in ensuring that lives and properties of residents are protected.

    Akinbinu who said the crack team of the FCT command of the Corps has rescued several victims , said the arrests were made possible by the proactive crime fighting measures deployed by the Command and the support of public-spirited individuals who have been partnering with them through the provision of information.

    He said, “On the One Chance gangs, we have renewed commitment to rid FCT of the activities of one chance robbers, the Command’s newly-created Anti-One Chance Squad, has severally, smashed notorious gangs and recovered their operational vehicles.

    The FCT Commissioner of Police, Bala Ciroma few days ago vowed to tackle car snatching and other crimes.

  • Tree planting takes off in schools 

    The Department of the Satellite Towns Development (STDD) has flagged off its 2019 annual tree planting campaign at the LEA Model Primary School Kubwa.

    The flag-off is carried out by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Permanent Secretary, Christian Ohaa who was represented by the Director Office of the permanent Secretary Mr Samuel Udor Atang.

    Ohaa advised everyone in the FCT to cultivate the habit of tree planting stressing that the tree planting Campaign is an annual deforestation/ reforestation sensitisation programme meant to create awareness in the FCT and the 36 states of the Federation.

    He said, “I rate this occasion very high because it is a proactive measure geared towards preventing imminent ecological disaster while other efforts are directed at managing already existing challenges, as the common saying goes that prevention is better than cure.”

    The permanent secretary further stressed the need for constant tree planting hence it provides oxygen which is very important to human life saving respiration.

    He said with the present climate change challenge, tree planting will help to reduce erosion, flood, drought, desertification, ozone layer depletion, and global warming.

    Ohaa emphasised and encouraged everyone to plant a tree and here by direct the satellite Towns Development to raise million seedlings for all the vegetation of the Hill tops and Hill slopes, reclamation of borrow pits and as well as flood plains to forestall annual flood disaster in the FCT.

    He urged individuals and corporate organisations to join in tree planting.

    In the same line the Director STDD Mr. Felix Nwankwo Obiora, an engineer, in his speech advised everyone to join the department in continues tree planting and campaign for better tomorrow.

    Obiora also called on all FCT residents to replace all the trees that have been cut down by planting more. He encouraged everyone to cultivate the habit of planting a tree for clean and green environment, adding that dumping garbage in the drainage should also stop to enable free flow of floodwaters in all areas.

    He called on all Nigerian especially FCT resistance to stop cutting down trees because of the huge danger of it without commensurate replanting effort, in the wake of climate change.

    “If you love your environment, plant a tree,” he said.

    Also speaking at the occasion, the Director, Environment STDD Mr Olusegun Olusa said Ethiopia has a population of about 112.08 million people and they have succeeded in planting 2.6 billion indigenous trees between May and July 2019 in their bid to attain the 4 billion planting target by October 2019.

    He said Nigeria with the population of about 200 million can double that number and even do more.

    He called on both individuals, and organisations to come to STDD to collect trees for free  to plant.

    He said the department has raised and nurtured over 100,000 trees for planting.

    Mr Olusa said the department is given out all the trees for free to individual NGOs and organisations for planting just to encourage everyone to plant a tree.

    He said the following trees are available for free; Khaya senegalensis (Mahogany tree), Terminalia mentalist (Satellite tree), Delonise regia (Flame of forest/Flamboyant tree) & Zyzgium sp (Black currant tree) and Terminalia mentalise.

    He therefore called on all the FCT Resistance to join in tree planting campaign.

  • Next Level’s anti-graft battle

    President Muhammadu Buhari declared in March 2019, shortly after winning his re-election, that his second term in office was going to be tough.

    While receiving the last Federal Executive Council on congratulatory visit in Aso Rock, he had stated that his fight against corruption was going to be intense, among the administration’s three cardinal objectives.

    But doubting Thomases never believed Buhari’s declaration as they thought it was going to be business as usual.

    Especially, those who felt and claimed that Buhari was fighting corruption using double standard.

    To them, Buhari was using insecticide to fight corruption in the National Assembly, Judiciary and the larger society, while using deodorants to fight corruption in the Presidency.

    Apart from claims that Buhari was selective in the fight against corruption in his first term in office, Buhari was also said to have been put under pressure before moving against the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, over alleged contract scam.

    Even last Thursday, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, had alleged that Buhari’s government is now more enmeshed in corruption.

    He had declared that governance is now in the hands of looters, claiming that some members of the new cabinet inaugurated last week Wednesday have been involved in high profile corruption.

    While calling on Nigerians to lower their expectations for true dividends of democracy, he asked them to expect unprecedented and astronomical rise in corruption.

    He pointed out that 70 to 80 per cent of the new ministers have, at one time or the other, been the guests of anti-corruption agencies with most of them still battling corruption charges in courts.

    Frank had said, “I urge Nigerians to brace for more hardships as corruption and incompetence have been enthroned with corruption masters turned ministers to run the affairs of government in Nigeria.”

    But the Presidency’s moves in the last two weeks, have shown that the government was ready to expose anybody involved in corruption, no matter how highly placed in Buhari’s administration.

    As a starter, the Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP) for the Recovery of Public Property, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, was suspended from office by President Buhari on the 14th of August, 2019.

    He was suspended due to allegations of misconduct, abuse of office, intimidation, unauthorized and malicious investigations.

    His suspension, according to the letter signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, will also subsist until the conclusion of ongoing probe of his academic records and financial impropriety allegations levelled against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

    While the mandate of SPIP is to investigate only cases referred to it by the government, the SPIP under Obono-obla was said to have carried out unauthorized arrests, seizure of assets and prosecution.

    The Presidency was also shocked that Obono-Obla was implicated in illegal secondment of over 100 policemen to the SPIP.

    The suspended chairman was found to be engaging lawyers to file charges against suspects without recourse to the Attorney-General’s office.

    The Presidency was said to be left with the suspension option after Obono-obla refused to follow due process after the Presidency drew his attention to his excesses and made him signed an undertaking to follow the procedure.

    Shortly after Obono-obla’s suspension was made public, the news of the grilling of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, hit the air waves.

    She was said to have been probed over alleged N3 billion contract scam.

    Her offence also included alleged abuse of duty tour allowances, money laundering and stealing of government funds.

    The N3 billion was allegedly traced to her through proxy companies.

    This was said to have been linked to her when some detectives were investigating the activities of a former Minister under whom she served as Permanent Secretary.

    While about N600 million was said to have been traced to the account of one of her aides, the aide had not given any justifiable explanation for the money.

    To get to the root of the alleged scam, the EFCC was also said to have quizzed two Permanent Secretaries and three Directors of Finance.

    While the two above cases are yet to be fully resolved, the Buhari’s administration last Thursday also promised to beam its anti-corruption searchlight in more areas.

    The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), said the anti-corruption agencies would now beam their searchlight on banks that had been aiding corrupt practices in Nigeria.

    “As bad news to the rogues within our financial system, in the next four years, the Federal Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with anti-corruption agencies, will beam searchlight on the financial institutions and non-designated financial institutions in order to make them pay dearly for the dastardly roles they played and are still playing in encouraging and deepening corruption in Nigeria.

    “From arms procurement fraud, INEC bribery case to Diezani case and several others, quantitative data available to the Federal Government abundantly shows that financial institutions are directly involved in most of the major corruption cases investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission from 2015 till date,” he said

    On the August 19, 2019 award of $9bn against Nigeria by a British court, he said “It must be placed on record that the Federal Government strongly views with serious concerns the underhand manners by which the negotiation, signing and formation of the contract was carried out by some vested interests in the past administration in connivance with their local and international conspirators all in a bid to inflict grave economic adversity on the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the good people of Nigeria.

    “As a government that has the mandate of the people, and their interests at heart, we shall not fold our arms and allow this injustice to go unpunished as all efforts, actions and steps shall be taken to bring to book all private individuals, corporate entities and government officials — home or abroad and past or present — that played direct and indirect roles in the conception, negotiation, signing, formation as well as prosecution of the purported agreement.”

    But in Nigeria, there is no step any leader will take that is not viewed with suspicion.

    It’s on record that one geopolitical zone have always suspected the other.

    So despite the current efforts to rid the country of corruption, some Nigerians still believed that there may be an underground plot as the last three major suspects, including the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, are from the southern part of the country.

    While the fight against corruption is expected to go round all sectors and geopolitical zones, what is really important is starting at a point.

    From his antecedent, Buhari is not likely to shy away from nailing any of his kinsmen involved in corruption as his main interest is for Nigeria.

    But the next four years will really show how far the President will take the antigraft battle.

    Will it be without fear or favour? Or protection of people from his area as being feared in some quarters? Only time will tell.

  • UN partners Benue on IDPs

    The United Nations has reached an agreement with the Benue State government and key stakeholders on the best way to bring succour to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as a result of the herdsmen-farmers crisis in the state.

    This resolution was reached on Monday, August 19, 2019, after a meeting of the development partners and the stakeholders at the Old Banquet Hall, Benue State People’s House, Makurdi, the state capital.

    At the conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed that partners will provide support to IDPs to undertake crop farming with the provision of seeds and inputs by the UN and alternative housing arrangement by the UN.

    The UN was assured that the Government  of the State in consultation with the relevant Local Government Councils and Key Stakeholders have been made land  available for planting and building in five local governments.

    Dr Magdalyne Dura, Special Adviser to the Governor on Development Cooperation, SDGs and NEPAD revealed that the Local Government Areas include Agatu,  Buruku, Guma, Logo and Kwande.

    Meanwhile, the traditional ruler of Kwande Local Government Area Tor Kwande, Chief Ambrose Iyortyer, agreed for the project funded by the United Nations Human Security Trust Fund, to proceed with the implementation and that land will be assigned to support project initiatives.The  Kwande chief and his Makurdi and Guma Local Government Area counterpart Tor Lobi  Chief Moses Anangeende, appealed to the United Nations partners to continue intense talks with the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure that the crisis comes to an end and that IDPs finally return to their ancestral homes.

    The traditional leaders of the participating Local Government Areas appreciated the Governor of Benue State and development partners for their palliative measures but reiterated that a long lasting solution to the Fulani herdsmen attacks must be pursued.

  • A market for the rich and poor

    It is more than where people buy fish or pepper. Gosa Market offers such pocket-friendly prices that the haves and the have-nots often unite in a feast of commerce. VICTOR OLUWASEGUN reports

    A sea of heads, kaleidoscope of umbrella colours, rumble from jumbled traffic, loud buzz of haggling voices and waves of flaunted wares signpost Gosa market along the Airport Road, in Abuja, the Federal Capital City (FCT).

    Thousands flock to it weekly. Gosa’s profile is fast rising among Abuja markets, such that it can now hold its own and boast of customers that rival Wuse market or Garki New Modern Market, Utako, even Karmo Market. And it is contending with Dei Dei, and Kabusa among others. Is it still appropriate to call Gosa, a farmers’ market?

    Soon, Gosa will be crowned the king of markets to which all others must bow in the Federal Capital City, like Joseph’s biblical sheaf. But this is provided the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC that manages the affairs of the market can get its acts right. The truth is: what Gosa lacks in infrastructure, it has made up in content, prowess and goodwill.

    And this exponential growth and newfound respect and royalty is attributable to a factor that grips all impending converts by the jugular, something all prospective customers must succumb to: its low prices.

    So, given the right incentives, this market won’t be just another stretch of virgin land, and muddy roads dotted with ditches and swampy pools. It won’t be a place of unplanned garages, with unregistered commercial buses, cars and hundreds of irksome motorcycles and the ubiquitous garage boys and urchins; Gosa will be respectable, and armed with the right infrastructure, will be respected.

    The fledging market has been able to bridge the divide between the rich and the poor in the Capital City, by removing the cancer of Shylock middlemen. It showcases describable and indescribable wares, edible and non-edible at sometimes half the existing prices. This gives the market robust flesh and fresh blood, and is responsible for the active life and strength it flaunts.

    Every week on Fridays, it beckons to residents from Asoro, Maitama, Central area, Lugbe and environs and further to Kuje and beyond and they flock to Gosa like penitents with tributes of cash. Monday’s are for those interested in purchasing meat and associated livestock materials.

    “The reason I come here from Kuje is that the prices are cheap. You can get goods here at 50 percent off the price, especially the food items,’ a lady called Aisha said.

    Gosa is like a foetus in its early stage of life, that requires care, a giant with immense revenue potentials, a cash-calf with the possibility of becoming a cash-cow. But already, there are fears that It will be ran aground like poor administrators are wont to do, and that mismanagement will stop its giant pulsing heart in its infancy. Hence, causing the people, the blood that gives it life, to be spilled in all directions.

    The fears seem to be crystalising. Its immense potentials notwithstanding, Gosa, sadly, is a place of confusion. Owners of spaces in the market said multiple payments, a blurred administrative organogram and incessant demolitions are threatening the growth of the market. It’s divine destiny, they claim, is at risk

    Onyemaechi, who said he had been in the market for ten years said that ownership of a space in the market is confusing. According to him, AMAC collected N5, 000. (Five thousand Naira) for initial allocation, but that they had had to pay varying sums as authority kept shifting from hand to hand with the approval of AMAC.

    “What they told us is that if you want space, you go to AMAC and they will give you space, you pay N5000 for space measuring 8 feet by 8 feet and this was eventually demolished.”

    He said the land was given to a market manager who sold the same space for N24,000, N64,000, 80, 000 and eventually N100, 000, at different timespans. The sheds built “were eventually destroyed,” he lamented.

    Another space owner, Mr. Onyemachukwu corroborated the story.

    However, the AMAC Gosa Market Manager,Josiah Goni, while speaking with The Nation said it wasn’t true that anyone paid an amount above N5,000 for space in the market.

    HE SAID, “I’m Josiah Goni, the new manager and I came in from August, last year. The land mass of the market is up to 5 hectares and my job as the market manager, is to coordinate the affairs of the market and ensure that everything runs smoothly. I have a supervisor and a cashier that help me coordinate the market.”

    On the Process of administration, he said he reports to the Chief Market Manager, who reports to the DHR Revenue who reports to the Chairman of the Council.

    On the process of allocation, he said: ‘there is no proper allocation given to an individual here. But the sheds have been given to them pending when it will be made permanent. The fees paid is N5000 which is for development levy. And there is N50 daily ticket.”

    On the claim of different amounts being paid, he said: “Actually, regarding that, the one I know is N5000; I don’t know of any other amount.”

    According to him, the greatest challenge of the market is people refusing to come into the main market and displaying their wares by the road side. If you go inside, you will see market spaces empty.” He said they have set up task force for enforcement of rules with limited success, he said.

    He said, “This place has not been compensated to the owners, though the assessment has been done but the payment is yet to be done.

    He said the minister’s prerogative is required on if or not Gosa becomes a full-fledged market with the necessary complements of infrastructure.

    In the interim, Gosa’s fame continues to grow as it basks in this new-found limelight, attracting thousands with its shimmer and low-prices allure. But the question on the lips of market watchers and economic analysts is: how long will this allure endure?

  • El-Zakzaky’s return heats up Abuja

    There are security concerns in the nation’s capital following the abrupt return of Sheikh Ibraheem el-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) from a medical trip to India. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

    The return of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) Sheikh Ibraheem el-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat to Abuja, the nation’s capital, after the alleged lack of breakthrough in the impasse that ensued in his medical treatment in New Delhi, India, has been a source of worry to Abuja residents.

    Until Saturday, December 12, 2015, barely six months after President Muhammadu Buhari took over the helm of affairs, not many in Nigeria outside the North knew about the activities of the Shiites otherwise known as the Islamic Movement in Nigeria.

    El-Zakzaky and his religious group which has its administrative headquarters in Zaria, Kaduna State, were well known by residents of Kaduna State. Only travellers to Kaduna and Kano states who encountered its members during processions that usually take over large portions of the major highway knew the group before 2015. The movement began with a Shia Muslim university activist, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who is said to have become so impressed with the 1979 Iranian Revolution that he wanted one at home. Later, Zakzaky went to Iran, ultimately becoming a Shia cleric. At home he became the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and turned it into a vehicle for proselytising and gaining followers in the 1990s. As a result of his activities, millions have converted to Shia Islam in a country where they were rarely known before.

    There have been many processions by the sect in Abuja. The most recent were the ones at the National Assembly and at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja. During the protest at the National Assembly, the protesters clashed with security operatives while trying to gain access to the parliament. Two policemen were shot while several cars were damaged during the clash. Also, in the July 22, 2019 protest within the Central Business District of Abuja, many lives were lost on both sides. One of them was Deputy Commissioner of Police in Charge of Operations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, DCP Usman Umar and a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Precious Owolabi, who was deployed to Channels Television, for his primary assignment. Two Assistant Superintendents of Police were seriously wounded while 13 members of the IMN also died. The development drew national outrage.

    Abuja residents had thought that this last experience will put an end to the group’s daily protest and coupled with the fact that El-Zakzaky and his wife were meant to receive adequate treatment in India. But this turned out to be the opposite as he complained that security operatives did not allow him and his wife to see their doctors and that the Nigerian government was forcing him to accept to be treated as a criminal.

    There was a drama at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja last Friday as operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) sneaked in the embattled leader, El-Zakzaky and his wife when they arrived aboard an Ethiopian Airline by noon last Friday.

    He was taken through the Presidential Wing by the operatives, preventing journalists to have any contacts with the couple.

    Journalists present at the airport were asked to set their cameras at the arrival lounge of the International Wing but were not allowed to see him.

    The development led to the IMN issuing a statement condemning the circumstance, vowing to resume their suspended protest until El-Zakzaky and his wife are given proper treatment and freed.

    IMN refuted the claims by the Federal Government that the Shi’ite leaders rejected medical attention in India.

    In a statement, the President Media Forum of IMN, Ibrahim Musa said the  government “had an ulterior motive it was nursing using its connections in India when it violated court order and interfered with the procedures of the Sheikh’s treatment. This can also be deduced from the way the security agents whisked him away to unknown destination after arrival at Abuja International airport, without allowing him to have audience with the journalists that were waiting for his arrival.”

    The Federal Government said El-Zakzaky raised false alarm, alleging that the IMN leader planned to seek asylum while on medical treatment in India.

    El-Zakzaky’s other plan, according to the government, was to get an Indian court to grant him leave to relocate to another country. To achieve this plan, he was said to have engaged lawyers and some human right groups to help execute his agenda.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Culture, Mrs. Grace Isu Gekpe, said El-Zakzaky’s actions in India demonstrated malicious intents capable of embarrassing the Governments of Nigeria and India.

    Gekpe said the IMN leader also tried to violate an order of the Nigerian court by approaching an Indian court to seek asylum or leave to travel to another country.

    Part of the statement reads: “The Government notes with dismay the acts of misconduct exhibited by El-Zakzaky that necessitated his repatriation.

    “While in India, he initiated contacts with a team of lawyers led by Ali Zia Kabir Chaudary and Gunjan Singh in that country.

    “He also contacted some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), such as the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) and other Shiite groups.

    “His aim was to seek asylum and eventually relocate to another country.

    “The earlier statement of 14th August 2019 by the Government addressed the issues that would have raised some questions with the latest occurrences and particularly the uncelebrated return of El-Zakzaky from India.

    “The public may note that El-Zakzaky’s actions in India demonstrated malicious intents that were capable of embarrassing the Governments of Nigeria and India.

    “With total disrespect and complete loss of decorum for international procedures while in India, he initiated contacts with a team of lawyers led by Ali Zia Kabir Chaudary and Gunjan Singh in that country.

    “He also contacted some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), such as the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) and other Shiite groups. His aim was to seek asylum and eventually relocate to another country.

    “It is important to note that if an Indian court had granted El-Zakzaky asylum or leave to travel to another country, it would have violated the Nigerian court order that granted him permission to travel for medical treatment.

    “However, he used the opportunity of being in India to attempt to internationalise his cause by mobilising the Rights groups.

    “Even most unfortunate and rather embarrassing as earlier stated, was his quest to be relocated to a 5-Star hotel to receive visitors instead of being admitted in the hospital as a sick person he claimed to be.

    “In spite of his misconduct, El-Zakzaky’s spouse went further to antagonise the Indian and Nigerian security agents and accused the latter of killing her children.

    “These acts were aimed at winning international sympathy as well as disparaging the Nigerian Government.

    “Having subordinated the quest for medical treatment to other ulterior motives, it became obvious that El-Zakzaky was focused on realising some sinister motives thus the decision to return him to Nigeria”.

    Reacting to the arrival and detention of El-Zakzaky and his wife by the DSS, Abuja residents now live in fear of the unknown.

    Ibrahim Shittu said: “The return of El-Zakzaky to Abuja and his arrest is not a welcome development at all. Now that the security agencies have rearrested him, his followers will resume protests thereby pandemonium will continue to be the order of the day in Abuja. Government should find a lasting solution to this sad development. Now that his followers have vowed to resume protests, Abuja people are not safe on the street. We all remember what happened weeks back where people were killed just because of their protest. This should not be allowed to continue.”

    A security expert, Segun Olododo said: “These El-Zakzaky followers may not be holding any weapon but they are most times violent. Government should prevent the resumption of their protests which I know will be violent.

    “We all live in constant fear of violence, with mayhem and carnage reigning supreme. Several things about Nigeria shock the international community. The consequence is that global media giants now give the country a bad mention in their news bulletins due to the earthshaking story. We take in our stride stories that in other climes will elicit global shockwave. The world is moving on without Nigeria, the self-acclaimed giant of Africa, which has been reduced to a mere footnote in global affairs. We need to find s lasting solution to this sad development.”

    Others are appealing government to by all means ensure that this lingering issue is resolved to avoid more killings in the land.

    Security has been beefed-up within the capital city to forestall any breakdown of law and other especially when the IMN vowed to resume protest.