Against killings perpetuated in recent days over allegations of blasphemy that have resulted in attacks and counter-attacks among Christians and Muslims in the North, leading bishops at an event in Yola yesterday advised Christians against attempting to retaliate if attacked.

Bishop of the Yola Diocese of Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Most Rev. Marcus Amfani; and President of Supernatural Love Ministry Yola, Archbishop Calvin Antonza II said Christians have no basis to pay violence against them with violence.

Speaking at the 11th Synod of the Yola Diocese of the Anglican Communion which was held at the Anglican Church of Redemption in Jimeta, Marcus Amfani said: “Let there be tolerance in our land. Nobody should take the law into their own hands in the name of religion.”

He added that the three-day Synod (Meeting of the highest policy-making body of the Yola Diocese of the Anglican Church) which was officially rounded off yesterday, was about the biblical injunction of showing love to one’s neighbours, irrespective of whatever background or convictions they profess.

He advised Christians and Muslims to abide by the teachings of their respective faiths, saying: “The Holy Prophet Mohammed was ridiculed several times. They called him names, but he did not advocate killing. Paul in 1 Corinthians 4 asks us not to judge but to leave judgment to God. So, I call on us all to let there be tolerance in the land.”

Also, Archbishop Calvin, who is also the Bishop of International Praise Church Jimeta, urged Christians to take a cue from Jesus Christ in event of violence against them.

“When Jesus was being persecuted, he said: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” I won’t expect a Christian to use a method not natural to him. The method that is natural is love. You can’t fight hate with hate. Pay hate with love. Love will always conquer,” he said.

The Sunday session of the 11th Synod of the Yola Diocese of the Anglican Communion was attended by guest ministers, including the guest speaker, Calvin Antonza.

The Emir of Gwandu in Kebbi State Alhaji Muhammadu Iliyasu-Bashar, yesterday sought forgiveness from all he may have offended, as he said he had forgiven all those who might have offended him knowingly or unknowingly.

The Emir, who is the Chairman of the Kebbi State Council of Chiefs, stated this during a special prayer to mark his 17th year anniversary on the throne at Abdullahi Fodio Palace in Birnin-Kebbi, the state capital.

The prayer session drew together Islamic clerics from all sects across the state.

The octogenarian said: “I want to appeal for forgiveness from all, whoever feels that I offended him/her should forgive me and whoever knew that I’ve done something good to him/her should give glory to God Almighty. I remember that was my last speech to Adamawa people while leaving there as military governor.”

Iliyasu-Bashar thanked the Almighty God for keeping him healthy to achieve a series of successes in life while thanking his parents for their efforts to rear him to become useful to society.

He described leadership as a burden that must be taken with special interest and fear of God Almighty.

The Emir urged leaders to reflect back, to borrow a leaf from the good leadership style of the past toward building a bright future.

The Chairman of the occasion and Emir of Yauri, Dr Muhammadu Zayyanu-Abdullahi, praised the sterling leadership qualities of the Emir which, according to him, centred on peace.

He advised leaders at all levels to be just in dealing with those they lead, to be able to achieve greater success.

In their separate remarks, the Commissioners for Works and Housing and that of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Abubakar Chika-Ladan and Alhaji Hassan Muhammad-Shalla, commended the unique leadership qualities of the Emir.

They thanked the Emir for organising a weekly special prayer in search of peace, apart from extending useful pieces of advice to those in positions of authority.

They described him as a true father who always advised his subjects on the need to ensure proper upbringing of their children towards building a sound and virile society.

Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) on Friday flagged-off distribution of relief materials for Internally Displaced Persons in Southern Kaduna.

The relief materials for the flag-off include 180 bags of rice, 100 bags of beans, 80 bags of Garri, 200 packs of pampers, 200 cartons of Indomie. 100 tins of vegetable oil.

Other items purchased for distribution include educational items, food and medical needs, among other needs of the displaced persons.

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SOKAPU said over 148 communities have been displaced in the region by terrorists in the last few years.

Flagging off the distribution of the materials,  SOKAPU President, Hon. Jonathan Asake said the relief materials were bought from the share of money it got from Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike’s N200 million donation to IDPs in Kaduna State.

Governor Wike had, during his campaign tour to Kaduna State chapter of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for presidential primaries election, announced a donation of the N200 million.

Asake said the donation was shared between North and Southern Kaduna to the various IDPs camps across the respective regions of the State.

However, the SOKAPU leader expressed disbelief that of all the 2023 presidential aspirants that came to Kaduna to campaign, it was only  Governor Wike, “from far away Rivers State that remembered the plight of IDPs in Kaduna State, particularly in Southern Kaduna”.

The Federal Government will be establishing anti-trafficking and violence against persons squads in all the 110 unity schools across the country.

Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi said the move is necessary in combating Violence Against Persons.

Waziri-Azi said this in Abuja at a two-day training programme for Public School Counsellors in the Federal Capital Territory on necessary content in combating Violence Against Persons.

She said, “We are currently establishing what we call a Trafficking in Persons and Violence Against Persons Vanguards in secondary schools. We started last year with the establishment of this platform in Federal Government Girls Collage, Abuja and early this year we got approval from the Federal Ministry of Education to establish this same platform in the 110 unity schools. We are starting with the unity schools before we gradually move into Government schools.

“This is a platform for young people to educate themselves and peers on the ills of trafficking in persons and violence against persons.”

“When we talk about violence against persons, people automatically think it just has to do with women? That is why the act is intentional by calling it violence against persons and not women. It also covers men.

“How many men know that if your wife or girlfriend destroys your TV or property due to a quarrel, it is a crime and it is punishable by two years? How many women know that when someone consistently calls you stupid, it says you are worthless or an idiot and it is a crime? It is called emotional abuse. We already have a law that protects us against all these things and penalises all the actions but you will not know that unless you know the content of that law.”

Some gubernatorial aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded primaries of the party in Benue State have called for the cancellation of the exercise.

This is even as the Appeals Panel for the primary elections in the state told the leadership of the party that it has failed the APC.

The aspirants, while making their submissions before the Appeals Panel in the state, argued that the primary was an aberration.

They include, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mike Aondoakaa; former National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Barnabas Gemade and Prof. Terhemen Shija among other contestants.

The Chairman, Governorship Primary Election Committee, Peter Ojie, had earlier declared Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia as the winner of the primaries, which was conducted by the mode.

The Appeals Panel for the primaries, which commenced sitting on Monday in Makurdi, also heard petitions filed by the gubernatorial aspirants of the party.

They challenged the process as an aberration, insisting that the primaries did not hold and called for outright cancellation of what they described as a “sham and charade.”

Making his submission, Prof Terhemba Shija observed that, “This primary election is a sham; it is a charade, it is an aberration and should not be allowed to stand.”

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Also advancing reasons on why the election should be cancelled, Aondoakaa insisted that justice must be served by cancelling the election, adding that there should be free, fair and transparent APC primaries.

He lamented that the party has treated them shabbily despite the fact that they have been funding it.

“When it was time to fund the party, the leader (Senator George Akume) asked I (Aondoakaa), Gemade and Ibuan (Dr Mathias Ibuan) to do so. We taxed ourselves to fund the Ward, Local Government and State Congresses.

“Then from nowhere, someone who wasn’t even part of the process was smuggled in and they went and manufactured votes and gave to him.

“We feel humiliated and cheated. We demand justice….”

On his part, Senator Gemade argued that, “We are all members of this party and we really want it to become a winning party; not an opposition party. And the only way it may become a winning party here is if things are done properly and there is still a window to do things properly now that INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) has extended the time to 6th and 7th of June.”

Reacting to the allegations, Chairperson of the Appeals Panel, Princess Uzoama Onyema stated that the leadership of the APC in the state has failed to conduct a just and fair primaries. “Benue APC Publicity Secretary, take this message to your Chairman, you people have failed us.”

The Police Command in Kano has restated that the ban on carrying passengers on motorcycles within Kano metropolitan area is still in force.

This is contained in a statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Abdullahi Haruna-Kiyawa, on Friday in Kano.

“The command wishes to remind the law abiding and good people of the state that the ban on carrying passengers on motorcycles (Achaba/Okada), is still in place.

“The command has directed all Divisional Police Officers within Kano metropolitan area to continue to enforce the ban.

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“Any individual or group that violates this ban will be arrested and prosecuted,” Haruna-Kiyawa said.

He also advised motorists to continue to adhere to traffic rules and regulations for their safety and that of other road users.

“Teams of Police Surveillance Patrols are mounted at strategic locations along Kano boarders to monitor activities of road users,” he added.

The command spokesman urged residents to report any suspicious activity to the nearest police station for prompt response and not take laws into their hands.

He assured that rigorous patrols, raids of criminal hideouts and black spots would continue throughout the state.

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has described as frustrating, humiliating and callous, the abduction of the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence Samuel Kalu-Uche by Fulani terrorists, saying that “the unabating cases of kidnapping are making living in Nigeria worthless.”

Governor Ortom condemned the spate of kidnappings in the country, just as he urged the federal government and security operatives to think outside the box by seeking help from other nations.

According to the Governor, “Listening to the aged reverend gentleman recall his experiences with his Fulani abductors on national television was heartbreaking. It was dehumanising and obvious of how our nation has been brought to its knees by the these terrorists who are usurping out sovereignty. This should not be allowed to continue.”

He added: “We cannot continue to live in a helpless situation. Nigerians are frustrated living in their fathers’ land. It seems we cannot find the solution to this menace. The alternative is to seek help from other nations.

Read Also: Ortom laments AIG Awunah’s death

“Gradually, our economy is grinding to a halt as farmers cannot go to farms; our religious freedom is hindered as churches and Pastors are either kidnapped or killed by these terrorists without adequate responses from the security forces who are themselves overwhelmed.”

He went on: “There is nothing to be ashamed of if we seek help from other countries. We should rise to find solutions to this menace by the terrorists. Let our people be free and live a normal life”.

The Governor noted that “there is no need to pretend that we can address the problem. It has manifested clearly that our security architecture is incapable of providing the solutions to allow our people to live freely in their fatherland.

“The only way to prove otherwise will be when the security of lives and properties are guaranteed and citizens can go about their legitimate businesses in any part of the country freely and unmolested.”

Ortom however urged Nigerians to be vigilant at all times to help security operatives fish out the killer herdsmen terrorising the people of this country.

Efforts to rid Apo District of criminals being harboured at the scrap market was intensified on Friday, when the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) ordered owners of the empty plots of land providing a cover for such illegal activities to immediately commence development or have them revoked.

The popular scrap (Pantaker) market with over 4,000 demolished shanties, had operated for several years illegally, occupying a large expanse of land within a residential district.

Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement to FCT Minister, Ikharo Attah, who led the team to continue with the demolition, said owners of the empty plots should immediately proceed to the Department of Development Control to get their building plan approval and commence development.

Read Also: FCTA insists Abuja Okada operators must get permit

Attah warned that the administration would have no option than to revoke the titles to the plots, if the owners fail to take over the reclaimed lands.

According to him, the place had been infiltrated by all manners of dangerous criminals, hence the need to demolish it. He said it was regrettable that original allottees had kept the land with the intention of making more money off it.

He further advised those who are interested in the Pantaker business to move to Gosa Dumpsites, and not relocate to other illegal places.

“To avoid criminalities in the scrap market, we have also advised them to move to the permanent site and develop internal mechanisms to stop criminals from infiltrating them”, he added.

The Federal Government yesterday launched the Compendium of Tuberculosis (TB) best practices, which is a compilation of all best practices that helped Nigeria to achieve increased notification in TB case finding despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The compendium is designed to help other countries to improve their treatment rates following the Nigerian approach because, despite the pandemic, TB notifications increased from 120,266 cases in 2019 to 138,591 in 2020, and then to 207,785 in 2021, which represents a 45 per cent increase.

International organisations such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Health Organisation (WHO), Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), and others have described Nigeria’s feat in the TB programme as remarkable and worthy of emulation by countries still struggling to get their interventions on the right track.

Read Also: ‘Nigeria accounts for 34 per cent of global tuberculosis deaths’

During the official launch of the compendium in Abuja, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire said: “The implementation of innovative strategic interventions put in place by the TB programme managers, including the integration of TB control into COVID-19 response measures, eventually led to a 15 per cent increase in TB notification from 120,266 cases in 2019 to 138,591 in 2020, and by 50 per cent from 138,591 in 2020 to 207,785 in 2021. This made Nigeria one of the few countries in the world to record an increase in TB case notification during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Senior Programme Manager for Tuberculosis at IHVN, Dr Taofeekat Ali said: “Globally, Nigeria is being praised for its achievement in increasing TB case finding. IHVN played a pivotal role; IHVN is currently the Principal Recipient (PR) of the Global Fund support for private sector engagement for TB services. This started in 2019, and it was the first time that would happen in Nigeria increased TB services in the private sector – talking about community, patent medicine vendors, community pharmacists, and hospitals, among others. This was the critical investment that helped us to achieve this.