The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • Family agonises over N10m ransom as bandits abduct newly-married ABU student

    Family agonises over N10m ransom as bandits abduct newly-married ABU student

    Family members of a 28-year-old student of Ahmadu Bello University kidnapped by bandits on Kaduna-Abuja highway are in a dilemma as her kidnappers insist on taking N10 million as ransom, reports KUNLE AKINRINADE.

    It was like a scene from the movies on Saturday, March 5, 2022, when sporadic gunshots from men in military camouflage halted an 18-passenger bus at Jere section of the Kaduna-Abuja highway.

    There was confusion as fearful passengers rushed out of the bus and ran in different directions for their lives with gunshots renting the air. It turned out that the uniformed men were not security forces but bandits disguising as soldiers to intercept travellers and carry out abductions.

    The arrival of a detachment of soldiers on routine patrol restored the confidence of the fleeing passengers to come out of hiding and continue their journey to Lagos. But by the time normalcy was restored by the minions of the law, two of the passengers conveyed by the bus had been seized by the gun-wielding hoodlums and dragged into the bush. According to one of the passengers of the bus who narrowly escaped being kidnapped, two of the occupants of the bus fled into the waiting hands of the hoodlums who were in the nearby bush.

    “We panicked when the guns continued to boom ceaselessly and we all fled in different directions. By the time soldiers arrived at the scene to drive the bandits away, a man and one Miss Halimat Oguntoyinbo, a student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, had been seized by the bandits who ran with them into the nearby forest,” said one of the escapees who identified herself simply as Aaliyah.

    “I don’t know the name of the other person abducted by the bandits, but Halimat and I were seated on the seat behind the driver and we had launched into a friendly conversation as we journeyed on until the hoodlums attacked our bus. She told me that she stays in Lagos and that she came to the university to submit her final year project.”

    Our correspondent gathered that Halimat was looking forward to completing her post-graduate programme at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State when she visited the university to consummate her final year project.

    She had earlier earned her first degree in Geology in the same university just before her family relocated to Ogun State, following the retirement of her father who passed away last year. She was yet to adjust to life in Lagos where she resides with her husband after she got married in November last year.

    “She was in the school to secure a nod for Masters in Geology, and upon finishing with the presentation of her completed work for scrutiny by faculty supervisors, she set out to return to her base in Lagos on Saturday, March 5, 2022, hoping that the stress she had gone through in putting the project together would pay off by the time her project would be approved and she would graduate from the school,” said a source who asked not to be named.

    “She had boarded an 18-passenger Toyota bus at Mando Park en route Lagos, not knowing the fate that laid in wait for her and other passengers on the bus on the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway.

    “The bus was suddenly flagged down by some men in military camouflage, who shot sporadically after halting the bus. It turned out that the men were bandits who disguised as soldiers to terrorise commuters and motorists in the axis.

    “We learnt that Halimat and other passengers rushed out of the bus and fled in different directions. However, others came out of hiding when some soldiers arrived at the scene and returned to the bus to continue their journey but 27-year-old Halimat did not return. It turned out that she had run into the waiting hands of the bandits who had laid an ambush in the direction she fled inside the bush nearby.

    The Kaduna-Abuja highway has gained notoriety for banditry with many travellers abducted or killed by hoodlums on the road.

    It will be recalled that the police recently killed a notorious bandit terrorising the Kaduna-Abuja highway on November 24, 2021. The hoodlum identified as Yellow Magaji was shot dead by the operatives in Kaduna.

    According to the spokesman of Kaduna Police Command, ASP Muhammed Jalige, operatives of the Kaduna State Police Command in collaboration with the Federal Intelligence Bureau and Special Tactical Squad Force headquarters, Abuja, on the directive of the Commissioner of Police, CP Mudassiru Abdullahi, acted on credible intelligence and raided a hospitality outfit, Sir Joe Guest Inn, located at No.8 Sajo Street, Unguwan Maigero Area of Sabon Tasha in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State, where suspected bandits were said to have lodged.

    He said: “While the cautiously coordinated raid was ongoing, the suspected bandits on sensing danger took to their heels, shooting sporadically, leading to a gun duel with the operatives.

    “One notorious bandit popularly called Yellow Magaji a.k.a Arushe was wounded in the shootout whereas his equally notorious partner, Yellow Ashana, and others escaped with bullet wounds.

    “He was thereafter taken to Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital for possible resuscitation in a bid to obtain useful information but was confirmed dead on arrival by a medical doctor.”

    Family in agony over N10m ransom

    While Halimat who got married on November 27, 2021, underwent torture in the hands of the hoodlums, her family members were oblivious of the condition fate has thrown her into until the driver of the bus got in touch with her family after checking the bus manifest where the phone contact of her next of kin was written and broke the news of Halimat’s abduction to her family.

    A family friend who craved anonymity said: “On Saturday, March 5, the driver of the 18 passenger bus she was travelling in called her mother, saying that Halimat had been kidnapped by bandits.

    “They were attacked at Jere, a village along the Kaduna-Abuja highway. The driver said that other passengers returned to the bus after some soldiers came to their rescue. Two of the passenger including Halimat did not return.

    “The bandits wore military camouflage and shot sporadically when they attacked the bus. The driver of the bus later asked Halimat’s husband to come to a motor park in Ogere, Ogun State to identify her luggage and take them.

    “On Wednesday, March 9, the bandits got in touch with her family on the telephone and demanded that a ransom of N100 million be paid to secure her freedom.

    “The hoodlums briefly gave the phone to Halimat to enable her to speak with her mother and also urge one of her sisters to convince her mother to cooperate with them by paying the ransom.

    “The family pleaded for reduction in the amount but the hoodlums declined, threatening to severely deal with Halimat if the money was not paid. We later learnt that the sum had been reduced to N10 million, which the family still cannot afford.

    “The victim’s father died last year and the family has just relocated to Ogun State from Kaduna while the husband does not have that kind of money to get her out of the dungeon of the bandits.”

    She added: “Halimat’s mother is hypertensive and the plight of her daughter has worsened her health condition so far. For now, we are only praying that those who kidnapped her would see reason to reduce the ransom to what the family said they can afford.”

    Speaking with our correspondent, Halimat’s sister, Tawakalit Oguntoyinbo, said the family was in a dilemma as they feared for her safety while the amount demanded by the kidnappers has not been secured due to paucity of funds.

    “We are worried by the unfortunate development. We lost our father just last year and our mother is still managing her health condition.

    “My sister’s husband too doesn’t have the kind of money the kidnappers are demanding and we fear for Halimat’s life as she is still being held by her abductors, who have insisted on nothing but the N10 million ransom.

    She added: “When we were allowed to speak to Halimat on the phone, she told us to sell whatever we have to bail her out (of captivity). She (Halimat) said she was in pains.”

  • Girls…girls…girls, don’t let any boyfriend scatter your destiny this year!

    Girls…girls…girls, don’t let any boyfriend scatter your destiny this year!

    MY darling, precious, glorious, dignified, world-famous and heavenly celebrated Nigerian daughters,

    I began an interesting and highly impacting series in January which would help you succeed this year! Please Google and read my last 4 articles

    2022: A phenomenal year of shining for the sexually-pure (1 & 2)

    Girls, manifest your dreams in 2022 and shine like a star! (1 & 2)

    Story continued from last week!

    “I had always wanted to run a medical professional course (medicine or nursing precisely), so after my third failed attempt which I told my boyfriend about, he bluntly told me to accept any lower course I’m  given. Only then did I start realizing something was terribly wrong somewhere! I knew somewhere deep inside of me that what I needed was even if I needed it at all-someone that will bring out the best in me and not someone that will kill the light in me! Then began my fourth admission trial!

    My guardians who loved education so dearly decided to sort my admission out painstakingly and were struggling and working towards paying 360k for my admission in school as I got admission to study combined social science at UNN not nursing, medicine, biochemistry, dentistry etc. I was devastated  and when I told him about the new development, Mr. Man said I should accept it and move on with my life that certificate doesn’t speak again in this country (most times when he talks like this I wondered if he is indeed a graduate as he claimed yet I was lost in him.

    I still made up my mind to fight again and then BOOM I realized I had missed my period for 3 months! I thought it was an infection and before I knew it I was four months getting to five months then I began feeling movement in my tummy and I noticed my lower abdomen was strong so I decided to seek medical help. I thought I was smart but was really shocked when the doctor told me I was pregnant! I was in disbelief , I couldn’t stop crying and all of a sudden the eye patch that I had on me all this while fell off as I kept asking myself how I got to that point!  My family and everyone around me were shocked beyond words! I appeared as a leper and traitor before them! The disgrace and disappointment was nothing to be compared with….then I contemplated SUICIDE!

    I drank a poisonous substance but after a while I vomited it! I guess God didn’t want me to die yet. The baby in me went through hell like she was the cause of my stupidity. It was so painful as I did all manner of things which I would rather not discuss! I later went through a D & C at 7 months (the pain, the risk and the death I saw with my eyes was and is still the beginning of wisdom)!  And lo and behold, the man who promised heaven and earth then, disappeared till date…even after helping him out with my hard-earned money for upkeep!

    I later went back to my heart-broken widowed mother who amidst the shame and disappointment I gave her accepted me back but grounded me for a year from anything school and that was when I reconciled with God! I then decided there and then to walk a disciplined life if not for God, for the pain I went through at the age of 21! I also took up a teaching job in a school to while away the time!  Each time I looked at my mom I saw the pain and disappointment in her and I prayed to God to help me heal her as I didn’t want her to die as I had seen in my dreams.

     

    Trust me when I say God is good-He accepted me irrespective of my filth and made me whole!  I prayed to him to guide me in my next jamb and give me the institution He desires for me. I passed my JAMB and he also revealed the institution beforehand. I even told Him to turn my story back to a testimony at least the one that will make my family receive me back a little and forget some of the pain I caused them. He did exactly that for me!

    And then the devil reared its ugly head again…one of my colleagues back when I was teaching came with his marriage proposal. He wanted a marriage without courtship! He was way older, bossy and manipulative!

     

    • To be continued

    I invite you to follow me on Facebook –TEMILOLU OKEOWO Instagram @ Okeowo Temilolu.

  • Tearful returnees from Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, others recall ugly experiences with human trafficking ring

    Tearful returnees from Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, others recall ugly experiences with human trafficking ring

    • Pregnant underage victim loses twin babies after profuse bleeding
    • I don’t think I can ever have a child, laments another
    • How men used cucumber to deflower minors — Survivor
    • Some lost their wombs, contracted viral diseases —Returnees
    • Experts: how ratification of free movement protocol cancurb irregular migration

    Many young Nigerians and citizens of other African countries are on a daily basis losing their lives and promising future to the nefarious activities of human traffickers who are on the prowl around the continent. While global attention on human trafficking is largely focused on movements across the Mediterranean Sea, human traffickers have continued to expand their dragnets, wreaking unimaginable havoc in the black continent. Experts are of the view that ratification of the free movement protocol by African leaders may go a long way in addressing the menace as well as other forms of irregular migration, INNOCENT DURU reports. 

    Favour, a 16-year-old Mali returnee, journeyed through the valley of death recently after a strange feeling in her body resulted in her going into forced labour. It was a challenge that many thought would claim her fledging life, but she survived it miraculously and thereafter gave birth to a premature set of twins.

    “Victory at last!” Everybody around them chorused as Favour’s mother celebrated her arrival in the league of grandmothers. It turned out, however, as an anti-climax; the beginning of a journey into another round of crisis.

    “After giving birth, she started bleeding. They said her fetus could not take care of the premature getting to six months,” the distraught mother and widow lamented in a chat with our correspondent.

    “They referred me to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH). When I got there, they said the incubators were full. From there, they referred me to another hospital. Before I could run from one hospital to the other, the twins died. It was just like I laboured in vain. But God knows best,” she added.

    Favour was not at home when our correspondent called. But her distraught mother took time to explain how she was trafficked to Mali from where she returned home with the pregnancy.

    She said: “When she came back, we started treating her. I did 11 different lab tests for her in a hospital. To God be the glory she had no disease.

    “Incidentally, she was found to be pregnant, and because of my faith, I could not terminate the pregnancy.  I started taking care of her.

    “At one point, she had blood shortage and I started buying blood tonic for her.   When we went for a scan, they said she was pregnant with twins.

    “I continued to run around for her with nobody to help me.”

    On December 2, Favour, lying beside her mother, said she was feeling somehow. “I took her to the clinic where she was admitted. Then the situation started getting worse.

    “Before we knew what was happening, she went into contraction pain which resulted in forced labour, and she gave birth to twins.

    “It was something we never prepared for.  We were expecting her to deliver between April and May.”

    How Favour was trafficked

    On the 11th of June 2021, Favour went to school, and while the mother was waiting for her to return home, she didn’t show up. The situation triggered anxiety for the family especially the mother.  “Later, I saw her call. And when I called her back, she said she had entered a wrong vehicle.

    “Eventually, I discovered that they had trafficked her out of the country to Mali.”

    Worried by the strange development, the mother went to a police station to report  the case.

    But she didn’t stop there. “I also went to the DSS office and together with Mr Solomon Okoduwa of IYAMDR, we started running around.”

    For many weeks, she neither heard nor spoke with her daughter. Her frayed nerves were subsequently soothed when between August 1st and 2nd, she had the opportunity of speaking with her daughter.

    But it was not a cheering news for the distressed woman.

    She said: “A number called me and said that they were in Mali, and if I wanted to get my daughter back, I should bring N1.5 million.”

    A big bang sounded in her head. She had neither saved nor touched such amount all her life.

    “I told them I don’t have such money. I am a widow and I have nothing. I am only hawking to take care of my children,” she said.

    Her lamentation, however, failed to soften the rocky hearts of her daughter’s traffickers as they insisted without the money, Favour would be lost forever.

    “I swiftly replied that she would not be lost because she is a child of God. They told me that they would not release her even though she was crying and disturbing their camp,” she said.

    With no hope of where to raise such a huge amount, Favour’s mother resorted to praying for her daughter’s release. “We started praying and reporting the matter to God Almighty.

    “While we were praying and making other human efforts for her return, we didn’t know they were even planning to sell her off to Senegal. But God didn’t allow them,” she said.

    She recalled that on many occasions, she attempted calling back the traffickers but the various mobile numbers they used to call her were not reachable.

    “My daughter told me when she came back that the traffickers often destroyed each SIM card they used to call immediately after they ended the call.

    “I also observed that I was always not able to reach any of the numbers they used to call as soon as they ended the calls, and the next time they would call, it would be with another number.

    “Each time they called, I would request that they give her the phone so she could speak with me.

    “Each time she was given the phone, she would say, ‘Mummy, save my life’, and I would tell her that my God would save her. They would immediately collect the phone from her.”

    Recalling what Favour told her when she returned, the distraught mother said: “She said there were many of them in the camp and that a good number of the girls were pregnant and giving birth there.

    “She said out of the three of them that were kidnapped, one of them has been nowhere to be found till now.

    “She said there was a room in that place that the madam and some men don’t open. She said the room had many freezers and it is like they are even selling human parts there.”

    Lucky return

    Tears of joy rolled down the cheeks of Favour’s mother when she called to tell her that she had escaped from the traffickers’ den.

    The mother said: “In the place she was trafficked to, they don’t speak English. But one fateful morning, she ran away from the camp and the person she met, with the help of God, could speak  English language.  The person took her away from that place to Burkina Faso.

    “When she got to Burkina Faso, she met someone from Ebonyi State (Nigeria) and used the person’s phone to call me.  We used Google to search for the nearest church to where she was in Burkina Faso and found it was an Assemblies of God Church.

    “I told her to run to the church. Already, I had been told to send N80,000 to cross her to Cotonou but I didn’t have such money. I started looking for money everywhere.

    “When she got to the church, the pastor called me and told me not to worry; that whatever it would cost her to come back to Nigeria, the church would sponsor it.”

    The visibly elated mother added: “That was how God used them over there in Bukina Faso to bring my daughter back. She left there on a Wednesday and got here on a Saturday.

    “When she came, all the hair on her body had disappeared because she used to be very hairy.

    “Merely looking at her, you would know that she experienced death but it was only God that brought her back.

    “When they were counseling her she could not even talk. Sometimes, she would have shock and say Mummy I remember this, mummy I remember that. ”

    She said that all through the trying period, sleep and appetite for food eluded her.

    “If not for the people that God used to calm me down while she was in Mali and the courage I gave myself, the story would have been different.

    “I asked myself that if I allowed anything to happen to me, who would help her? I was praying without eating or sleeping.

    “For almost two months, I couldn’t sleep or eat. I was in the house of God and my house praying. “I don’t pray that anybody will experience this kind of thing. How would I sleep or eat when I didn’t know where my child was and what was happening to her?

    “I really thank God and Okoduwa who have been with me all along. I really need help.

    “I will thankfully appreciate whoever can be of help to me because I am under pressure to pay back all the huge debt I incurred in the course of running around for my daughter.

    “That was what I went through and nobody was there to help me in any way. As I am talking to you now, I am not fine because of the stress I went through during that period.”

    I don’t know if I can give birth in my life, says Cote d’Ivoire returnee

    Another heart-rending tale came from Bella, who was trafficked to Ivory Coast.

    Because of the bestial life she was compelled to live there, she is skeptical she would ever be able to have children in life.

    She said: “After I came back, I faced a lot of difficulties including dealing with sicknesses and diseases. I don’t even know if I will be able to give birth in my life because even my body system has changed.”

    Explaining how she was trafficked, Bella said: “After I finished completing my apprenticeship and taking my freedom from my boss, I wanted to work to be able to open my own shop when a neighbor introduced me to an agent who promised he would get me a well-paying  job as a stylist abroad.

    “I paid him almost  300,000 to get me a passport and organise the trip. He then took me to Côte d’Ivoire, telling me they would collect my travel documents there.

    “Upon arrival, I was sold to a woman who subjected me to forced prostitution.”

    Describing prostitution as a very terrible job, she added: “We worked from morning till night with one meal per day. A customer even injured me with a knife and almost killed me that night after sleeping with me for hours. I told him I was tired and he attacked me.

    “The madam forced me to make an oath that if I ever tried to run away without paying her money, I would run mad or die.

    “The oath was what made me to be scared of running, because I did not let any of my family members know what I was going through over there.

    “Life over there is not easy at all. I’m just praying for all the people that are still there to return home safely.”

    After two years of working as a forced commercial sex worker, Bella was told she had made enough money to pay for her freedom, and was asked to recruit women and girls from Nigeria.

    She said: “I left the house and confided in a Nigerian woman I had met. The woman helped me connect with an organisation that eventually facilitated my return home.

    “I have been struggling since I came back so I would be able to open my own shop, but things are still not easy for me.”

    Lanrin, another Mali returnee, recalled how minors in her camp were forced into prostitution and deflowered by men using cucumbers.

    She said: “Some of the girls were still virgins when they brought them there.  They were using cucumbers to deflower them. I am talking of 10, 11, 12 years old girls.

    “One of the girls I left there is just 13 years old. Many girls have died there. Some girls there have contracted HIV\AIDS, some people’s wombs came out, some cannot give birth again because their wombs have been damaged.”

    Some of the Malians, according to her, were always quick to raze the tents when enraged.

    “If the Malians are angry for whatever reasons, they would just set the tents on fire. They can even kill a girl they are sleeping with inside the tent.

    “The Nigerians there are far more than 200. The villages are many, and in my own madam’s place, we were 15.

    “Malians mine gold in that area, and once they finish mining in one area, they would move to another village.

    “When they move to another place, our people would go with them to build new tents and start working (prostituting) there. I don’t want to remember it.

    “Some of the girls that I met there were homeless in Nigeria. Some were orphans. The traffickers picked some on the road.” friend’s sister’s friend.

    “She told me I was going to work in Malaysia. I told them to discuss it with my parents and she did. My parents accepted but pleaded with her to monitor me very well.

    “Two weeks later, she told me I was going to go to Cotonou for the passport. This happened during the lockdown period.

    “I went to the Idi-Iroko border where they have an agent. The agent took me to Cotonou to procure the passport.”

    She added: “The agent didn’t follow me. He merely crossed me into Cotonou and called somebody from there to come and pick me.

    “We didn’t pass through the main road. We passed through a place that looked like a desert.

    “The woman that linked me up told me we were going together, but when I didn’t see her, I called to know why. She said I should be going ahead because she was going to pick some other girls to come with her.

    “I subsequently left with the man that the agent handed me over to. When I got to his place, I saw so many other girls there.

    “Along the line, they said the passport would be done in Togo and not Cotonou as earlier said.

    “I spent two weeks with them in Togo where I met a lady from Ogun State who told me she had spent one week in that place.

    “They gave us one yellow passport which I recently threw away. Before I left Nigeria, the woman who linked me up had given them a name that I would be bearing. That was the name that they put on the passport.

    “Later, the man asked some vehicles going to Mali to come and pick us up. He gave them the number of the person who would come and pick us.

    “They dropped us at the Mali border and called the woman.

    “On getting to Mali, we were taken deep down to a very distant village where they mine gold. They used sacks to make tent-like houses.

    “At that point, they told us we were there to work as prostitutes. The woman said she bought us for 500 CFA and that we would have to pay her 1.5 million CFA.

    “Aside from that, you will be the one to pay for the nylon house and everything the madam needs.

    “If you do anything that displeases her, she would give you a fine of about 1000 CFA. I stayed there for one year.”

    My trafficking, rape experiences going to Libya

    Temmy, a Libya returnee got more than she bargained for when she was deceived to quit a degree programme she was pursuing at the National Open University for a better life in Libya.

    She said: “My mummy’s friend who was there was behind my going there. I thought that going there, everything would be alright and that I would go ahead to complete my education.

    “Unfortunately, I spent three months in the desert before getting to Libya. We stopped over in different places in the desert where we were molested.

    “Some of the people raped us because they believed that the girls passing through that road are used for prostitution.

    “When I got there, my mother’s friend said she had already sold me out to a Ghanaian and that I would have to work there for 15 months.

    “They changed my name  to Ibrahim Aishat and  I started using a Ghanaian passport. The Ghanaians got their passport for me. They bought me as a bride price.

    “The person they bought me for was a just wedded woman and they didn’t want her to work.”

    Continuing, she said: “After working there, I decided to go to the embassy that I wanted to return home.

    “On my way, policemen kidnapped and raped me inside a car. They later took me to prison. In the prison, I was telling them I was a Ghanaian.

    “Someone in there later sold me to another Ghanaian. The Ghanaian had a brothel and I was forced to work there. The money I was making was being collected  by them.

    “Aside from the work we did during the day, they used to carry us out at night to do till day break.

    “When they returned to us one morning to go and bring others, I used the opportunity to escape.”   Temmy has since returning home been campaigning against irregular migration.

    She said: “It was when I came back  that I developed interest in being an advocate against irregular migration. I have set up an NGO in my community to change the mindset of the youth.

    “There are many young people in my community who want to embark on similar journey, but I have been using my experience to disabuse their minds.

    “I have about six returned migrants through my work. They contacted me on Facebook where I do my awareness. I link them up to the embassy in Libya and they have been assisting to bring them back home.

    “I am also working with IOM under their Migrants as Messengers project. We create awareness on the dangers of irregular migration. They reintegrated me when I returned.”

    How ratification of Free Movement Protocol can curb irregular migration

    Migration experts have identified that the ratification of the Free Movement Protocol Treaty by leaders can mitigate the challenge of irregular migration.

    The African Union (AU) agreed to establish the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to facilitate the free flow of goods and services within Africa. Simultaneously, the AU adopted a protocol supporting the free movement of persons between the countries of Africa. Both are considered necessary for the successful social and economic development of the countries of the African continent. As of January 2021, 54 countries had signed the AfCFTA and 35 countries had fully ratified, whereas 33 countries had signed the Free Movement of Persons (FMP) Protocol and only four countries had fully ratified.

    IOM’s Senior Regional Adviser for Africa., Bernardo Mariano, in an article titled “Free Movement of Persons in Africa: What are the benefits and challenges?” said but the potential benefits of free movement extend beyond trade and labour markets. At the sub-regional level, free movement has been shown to boost tourism, ease demographic pressure in sending countries and increase cultural exchange. Importantly, it can reduce irregular migration, which often leaves migrants at the mercy of smugglers and traffickers.”

    President of Journalist Forum for Migration, Ajibola  Abayomi, said: “Irregular migration is fuelled largely because of crisis, economic needs and lack of access through regular channels. If there is free access, people won’t take to unapproved routes.

    “However, this is not a ticket for those who want to jump through the Mediterranean sea, unconditional and free movement of persons is the right of any living being to correct the impression that only those with means should migrate.

    “In fact, it is a shame that African leaders have refused to break the barrier of the border.

    “Right now, we need 24 hours free movement with adequate security in the continent.

    “This is the only way to meet up with the millennium goal.”

    The IOM in a statement posted on its website said the movement of people between countries within Africa is the defining feature of migration on the continent.

    “The second edition of the Report on Labour Migration Statistics in Africa (2017), released by the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa on 29 September, reveals that the number of new arrivals from a different African country almost doubled from 13.3 million to 25.4 million migrants over the decade (2008 to 2017), an average annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent.”

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) as at the time of filing this report  was yet to respond to our question on  what the agency is doing to rescue hordes of Nigerians trafficked to different parts of the continent.

    The agency in 2021 said it had rescued over 17,000 victims of human trafficking and jailed over 550 traffickers.

    Its Director-General, Sen. Basheer Muhammed, said the agency would continue to rescue, counsel, rehabilitate and empower victims of human trafficking and ensure that offenders were prosecuted with a view to ending the menace.

    He added that “as at last count, over 550 traffickers were jailed, with many cases at various prosecution stages in courts across the country.

    “Over 17,000 victims were rescued and a good number of them were trained and empowered.”

  • David Umahi: From frying pan to fire?

    David Umahi: From frying pan to fire?

    Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, trended all week long. He became the major news item after an order sacking him from office along with his deputy, was made by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. The now controversial judgment is still being discussed by Nigerians with opinions sharply divided.

    After his initial uncomplimentary tirades against Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court for asking him to vacate office, Umahi on Wednesday recanted and tendered an apology to the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA). This volte face kept the embattled All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in the new.

    Justice Ekwo had last Tuesday ordered the sack of Umahi, his deputy, Eric Igwe, and Hon Francis Nwifuru, Speaker of the state assembly, over their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC. In his judgment, Ekwo held that their defection was unconstitutional.

    Umajhi, a two-term governor, who was elected on the platform of the PDP, joined the APC in 2020. Shortly after, the Speaker and some lawmakers joined them in their new party. In his ruling, Ekwo ordered all the lawmakers who defected to vacate their seats.

    The judge held that all salaries and allowances collected from the period of defection to the present should be forfeited to government coffers. In his immediate reaction, a visible angry Umahi said the judgment was null and void and of no effect. He spoke in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, while addressing journalists in his office.

    He vowed that he will not obey the judgment but will obey the state high court which did not fault his defection to the APC and similar ruling in Zamfara State that also okayed the defection of Governor Bello Matawalle to the APC. He described the judgement as a hatchet job and feared that justice was now being merchandised.

    He said: “I have listened to the judgment of Ekwo and it is very obvious that he was on a mission, he was making all efforts to overturn the rulings of the Supreme Court and Appeal Court on the issues like this. We have heard the rumours before now that he was determined to give judgment against all known laws and the constitution.

    “First, to embarrass APC, two to embarrass the Federal Government…for me, I do not feel worried but I feel so sorry for the judiciary. The Executive may have problems, the Legislature may have problems but the moment justice could be purchased, then we are in trouble in this country and the ruling this afternoon is clear evidence that this country is in trouble.”

    The governor’s reaction came under widespread condemnation with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) hitting hard at him for disrespecting the judiciary with his castigation of the judge. Umahi however apologised on Wednesday. “I’m using the opportunity to let Nigerians know that nobody castigated the judge and we will not and because the matter was not before any judge,” he said.

    “Today, we have appealed the judgement. We have done three things; we have done the appeal at Enugu, and when I say that, we have two judgements, I say that the judgement in Ebonyi state, which has equal powers with that of Abuja. We said we will obey the judgement in Ebonyi State. We will appeal the judgement of Abuja. We didn’t say we will disobey otherwise we would have not appealed,” he said.

    The governor added that he has mobilized over 17 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) to appeal the judgement of the Federal High Court sitting. “We are before the Appeal Court of Enugu State and that of Abuja. We have also filed a stay of execution. So, we are still the Governor and Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State” he stated.

    That may be cold comfort for him given that until these courts or the Supreme Court rule to the contrary, Ekwo’s judgment would be hanging like a Sword of Damocles over him, his deputy and the affected legislators.

    Many would be wondering if Umahi who thought he was fleeing a fiery frying that was the Ebonyi PDP, has not now landed squarely in the APC fire if the judgment sacking him is upheld.

  • Row over death of 33-year-old Nigerian in Dubai factory

    Row over death of 33-year-old Nigerian in Dubai factory

    The controversial death of a Nigerian youth in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sparked a row between his family and the company where he worked until his death, reports KUNLE AKINRINADE.

    How did the accident that claimed the life of Mathew Idiata Okhuleigbe, a 33-year-old Nigerian who died in a factory in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) occur?

    That has been the question on the lips of his friends and family members since the young employee of Madrid Marble, a marble manufacturing firm in Dubai, was said to have died during an accident at the factory on February 25, 2022.

    It was said that a load pulling machine wrongly dropped a heavy object on Okhueleigbe and another unnamed worker identified as a Ghanaian, and they were rushed to a hospital where they gave up the ghost a few hours later. His family however alleged that there is more to their son’s death than meets the eye because he was not supposed to be on duty on the day he was said to have died from industrial accident.

    “We first knew about his death through his roommate, who also works with the same company (Madrid Marble) on Sunday 27th of February, 2022.

    “According to the roommate, he had been unconscious in the hospital since Friday, 25th February, 2022. The company hadn’t reached out to his family at this time,” said the spokesperson for the family, Miss Ifeoma Okonkwo, in a statement.

    She claimed further that Okhueleigbe’s employers did not contact his family members until the family reached out to the company through one of its unnamed officials, who reluctantly confirmed the tragic death of their son.

    Okonkwo added: “When we contacted the company on the telephone (the recipient claimed to be the Manager) on the 27th of February, 2022, we were told that he was dead but without any explanation as to the cause and time of his death.

    “The company’s manager, after being told that we would be needing Okhueleigbe’s medical report and autopsy plus police report, was forced to answer the question on the time and date of death (7.00 pm, Friday 25th February 2022); as the same day of the purported work accident.

    “On 28th February 2022, the company was reached via one of its managers, Khalid Khalaf, and asked about the details of the cause of the death, but the manager informed us that Sarjah Police Department was investigating the case at the time. When asked why the company was yet to officially communicate with the family since the incident, the said manager claimed that the company didn’t have the family’s contact until Saturday 26th February, 2022.”

    She explained that after so much pressure, the police in Dubai eventually confirmed Okhueleigbe’s death, promising that his company would be contacted at the completion of investigation on the matter.

    She said: “On the 1st day of March, 2022, Sarjah Police Department was contacted on the telephone to confirm the incident and investigation. The police department confirmed the death and informed us that the company would be contacted as soon as investigation was completed.

    “On 2nd March, 2022, the police department was once again contacted (by the family) for a follow-up. We were informed that the investigation was complete and the company had been contacted.

    “On speaking with the company again through the Manager, he confirmed that the investigation had been completed and that the police had requested that the company should come to retrieve the deceased’s passport and the report of the investigation.

    “He promised to communicate with the Family in an official capacity. But the day passed and there was no call whatsoever from the company.”

    Family demands circumstances of death

    Mathew Idiata Okhuleigbe
    Mathew Idiata Okhuleigbe

    The family said that after waiting endlessly for the company to call back as promised, it was forced to place a call to the company, which in turn promised that the Nigerian Embassy in the country had been contacted over the matter and that an official of the embassy would soon speak with the family.

    It was said that shortly after the telephone conversation, the company linked the family with a man described as an official of the Nigerian Embassy. According to the family, on interrogation, the said embassy official turned out to be an employee of the company where Okhuleigbe had the accident.

    Okonkwo said: “On 3rd March, 2022, the company was called through the Manager to ask what was going on. He claimed that the Nigerian Embassy had been contacted and informed of the situation, and a representative from the embassy would be with him (Manager) in a few moments.

    “He said he would speak with the family in an official capacity when the Nigerian Embassy’s representative was with him.

    “After a few minutes, he called back, stating that the said Nigerian embassy representative was around and that he would like to speak with the family about the procedures.

    “A new person (Mr. Ronald) took up the conversation, consoled the family and started asking the family if they wanted the body sent home or buried in UAE.”

    The family, according to Okonkwo, is demanding an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the death of their son and refusal by the company to facilitate the representation of the family at the burial.

    “Questions such as what was the cause of his death? How did the accident happen? Why was Idiata at work on a Friday (he used to be off work on Fridays)? Why is the police report, doctor’s report and autopsy report yet to be sent and lots more were asked. Every response to these questions was haphazard.

    “Upon asking about the designation of the speaker and who he works for, he couldn’t give a response. We further asked if he works with the Nigerian Embassy, he said he doesn’t work with the Nigerian Embassy in Dubai. When asked if he works with or represents Madrid Marble, he responded by saying yes.

    “Mr. Ronald stated categorically that the company was willing to send the body home and the benefits and insurance would be paid. He also promised that a member of the family could be sponsored to attend the burial if the family wanted the body buried in UAE.

    “We agreed that the immediate senior brother be sponsored to attend the burial, but Mr. Ronald reached out to the family again on 4th February, 2022 stating that the company couldn’t get a way to process the visa.

    “He also requested that the family could make a recommendation of any known agency that could process the visa. A reputable travel agency was recommended and linked to Mr. Roland.

    “On 5th March, 2022, Mr. Ronald left a message as early as 7.00 am Nigerian time to inform a brother of the deceased, John, that the UAE government had given them a 5-day ultimatum to remove the body of the deceased (Okhueleigbe) from the morgue. He asked that the visa processing be expedited.

    “After a couple more hours, at about 11:30 am Nigerian time, Mr. Ronald called again to inform the family that the government had given the company an ultimatum of three days to remove the body of the deceased from the morgue.

    “He claimed that if the brother could not make it to UAE by 7th March 2022, the family should either accept that the body would be sent to Nigeria or buried in Dubai without the presence of the family’s representative.

    “It is noteworthy that the company, through Mr. Ronald, was asked if there was any physical damage to Okhueleigbe’s body. He responded saying he was not allowed to discuss that.”

    The Nation gathered that the remains of the Uromi, Edo State-born deceased were buried around 11 am (Nigerian time) on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, while the family was trying to perfect plans for the brother to the deceased to procure a visa and travel to the Arab country.

    The statement added: “Sadly, around 6 pm on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, Ronald sent a Whatsapp message to John, the older brother of the deceased, explaining that he (Okhuleigbe) had been buried around 11 am.

    “The message reads: I just want to bring to your notice that the forensic laboratory at Sharjah  (Dubai) today ordered the two dead bodies (sic) including (that of) your brother to be buried, and therefore (sic) your brother is laid to rest today around 11 am UAE time.

    “Secondly, the company wants to know who the monetary issues for your brother should be sent to. (Also), after the company finish (es) with the judgment, the insurance company also needs the contact and name of (the family member) which the money will be sent to.”

    In his remarks, older brother to the deceased, John Okhueleigbe, said his brother left Nigeria about three years ago after graduating from University of Ibadan.

    John added: “He wasn’t married. He left the country for the proverbial greener pasture almost three years ago and he was doing well.

    “His death is a sad one because he was such a promising young man. More so, we still have aged parents who reside in Ibadan, Oyo State.”

    He added that plans were afoot for him to visit Dubai to ascertain the true nature of his brother’s death and seek clarifications from his employers on the events that led to his brother’s death and hurried burial.

    He said: “I am planning to visit Dubai to ascertain the veracity of the information provided so far by the company he worked for, and the events leading to his death from an accident in the company’s factory as well as reasons for his burial without his family’s presence, contrary to our agreement on the need to have the family’s representatives at his funeral.”

    Friends and associates of the deceased have since flooded his Facebook Page with tributes, with many of them describing him as a humble and good person while he was alive.

    Precious Amarachi wrote: “No story will ever be enough to explain how much of a good human being you were bro… Thank you for everything and may your gentle soul find rest with your creator… Till we meet to part no more.”

    Ifeoluwa Oladeji Akintonde said: “Idiata, it’s so sad I had to write RIP. Just 2 days ago I was chatting with one of our friends about how we used to have a dance group when we were still in SPED some 14 years ago, I even asked her if she’s was still in contact with you, she said no, only for her to tell me today that you lost d battle to death.

    “I am so sad right now cos u were a very good guy dat always had my back when we were in school. I did not believe her until I saw it myself….. u were a joy giver always happy and funny…. Rip Idiata…

    In her tribute, one Eunice Nnkiyy Ezeh wrote: “This bro was a philanthropist…he’s always positive in everything he does. He singlehandedly bought me a make-up kit and more… chai.”

    Company keeps mum

    Efforts made by our correspondent to reach the company’s manager, Khalid Khalaf, who had been in touch with the family over the matter were in vain at press time. Khalaf did not return several calls made to him, while he did not also respond to a text message forwarded to his phone.

  • Chidinma Ojukwu: Beauty behind the bars

    Chidinma Ojukwu: Beauty behind the bars

    Chidinma Adaora Ojukwu, prime suspect in the murder of Usifo Ataga, the late Super TV CEO, has once again come under the media spectacle. The 21-year-old Mass Communication student at the University of Lagos, is standing trial alongside her sister, Chioma Egbuchu and one Adedapo Quadri, for Ataga’s murder.

    She and three defendants were arraigned last year, on a nine-count charge preferred by Lagos State Government. Chidinma and Quadri face the first to eight counts bordering on conspiracy, murder, stabbing, forgery, making of bank statements, and stealing.

    They were both alleged to have conspired and murdered Ataga on June 15, 2021, by stabbing him several times with a knife in the neck and chest.

    Since her arrest, there have been concerns over how she has been treated in custody.

    She would later become a celebrity murder suspect granting interviews with so much calmness and a beaming face of vivacity.

    Chidinma was once brought to the court without handcuffs and on another occasion taken back to prison in a private cab, thereby fueling suspicion that she is being given ‘preferential treatment’ in custody.

    This week, the internet was abuzz when pictures of Chidinma, clad in a red flowing gown other than the prison uniform, went viral.

    Her make-up, new hair, spectacular sexy dinner gowns with sashes set tongues wagging.

    Viral reports and photos online noted that Chidinma won a beauty pageant at the Kirikiri female prison, as they marked the International Women’s Day with this year’s theme: #BreakingTheBias.

    Indeed her name ‘Chidinma’ which means ‘God is good’ in Igbo placed her in the atmosphere of beauty above other inmates.

    There were mixed reactions after the pictures went viral, showing her and other inmates participating in a beauty pageant.

    Some welcomed the development; others felt it was indeed a show of insensitivity from Chidinma with respect to the plight of the Ataga family who are seeking justice for the alleged murder of their father and husband.

    The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) said she was allowed to participate in the contest as part of its effort to rehabilitate the suspect and other inmates.

    Similarly, Joy Bringers Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, focused on reformation programme for inmates, argued that despite inmates alleged crimes, Chidinma (now Miss Cell 2022), and other inmates in the correctional facilities deserve a life while in prison.

    Meanwhile this is a trend in some other countries. In 2018, Veronica Verone, 25, was crowned Miss Talavera Bruce. Brazilian authorities stated that they organised the pageant to help the prisoners with their self-esteem and promote integration.

    In 2019, Kenyan women in the medium security section of Kodiaga Prison in the Kenyan city of Kisumu, took part in a beauty pageant and uplifting talent show. It was aimed at rehabilitating prisoners.

    For the Atagas, it has been months filled with memories, many of which are unpleasant, but this latest display by the key suspect in their loss could reinforce sadness and remind them of the tragedy.

  • For MC Oluomo, it never rains, it pours

    For MC Oluomo, it never rains, it pours

    Musiliu Ayinde Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, is once again in the eye of the storm.

    Oluomo is one of the arrowheads of transport unionism in Lagos, and by extension Nigeria.

    He has acquired cult of teeming admirers and supporters, especially Nollywood stars who openly fraternise with the union boss, who had chosen Oshodi as his base long before his ascension to the pinnacle of the industry

    Recently, he trended on social media for different activities. He became an honorary member of the Institute of Corporate Public Sector Professionals (ICPSP). Also, a photo of the book cover with the title in his name “My Service to Humanity: A Life Changing Experience” surfaced online.

    Then another report of the Lagos command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) decorating Oluomo as the agency’s ‘Ambassador of War Against Drug Abuse’ in the state (WADA)’ sparked debates.

    Still steeped in controversy, his alleged moves to become the ‘Oba of Oshodi’ elicited a flurry of reactions. His eligibility for the throne became a subject of discussion.

    But the Kupoluyi Almoroof family, one of the acclaimed ruling families in Oshodi, announced ‘MC Oluomo’, as its candidate for the traditional stool. They argued the declaration became expedient following an argument over his eligibility.

    Instead of the rumour going away, it is keeps getting stronger by the day and the man at the epicenter of it all has not helped douse it by confirming or denying it.

    Read Also: Mc Oluomo seeks N1b damages from NURTW chief

    Now, the crisis rocking the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) deepened after Oluomo pulled the Lagos branch out of the national body.

    The national leadership of the union suspended Akinsanya, following weeks of protracted conflict.

    He was accused of resorting to intimidation, harassment, and assault on the newly-appointed Chairman, Tricycle Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria, Azeez Abiola, popularly Istijabah. But he refuted the claim that he instigated members of the union to assault Abiola.

    He, however, noted that the legality of the TOOAN operations in the state was a subject of a suit pending before the National Industrial Court.

    Subsequently, the NURTW national body in Abuja announced the indefinite suspension of Akinsanya for gross misconduct and directed him to hand over to his deputy.

    Reacting, Oluomo in his address titled, ‘Crisis in NURTW’, at the NURTW Secretariat in the Agege area of the Lagos announced his withdrawal and that of other followers from the union. He also asked Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to take over the running of all parks and garages in the state till peace returned to the union.

    In a swift move, the governor suspended the activities of the union from all parks and garages with immediate effect

    Matters like these among others sustain Oluomo in public glare. But he keeps forging ahead; he keeps weathering the storm. But whether he will bounce back to relevance after the current setback remains to be seen.

  • RETIRED POLICE AIG BOLA LONGE: I’ve never taken bribe in my life

    RETIRED POLICE AIG BOLA LONGE: I’ve never taken bribe in my life

    Until his retirement, Assistant Inspector General of Police, Bola Longe, was reputed as one of the radical elements in the Nigeria Police Force. Before his last assignment as AIG Federal at the Force Headquarters, he had served as the Commissioner of Police Nasarawa State. A well-read police officer, he obtained the Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) and Master of Science (M.Sc) degrees in Political Science at the University of Lagos. He also holds the LLB and BL degrees in Law as well as a masters degree in Peace and Conflict Studies.

    Longe was also on the United Nations Mission. He is a Senior Pastor of God’s elect Ministries International, Ibadan, Oyo State.   He also has extensive experience in intelligence, operations, administration, investigations and public relations. In this interview with GBENGA ADERANTI, he speaks about life as an officer, his future plans, how he managed to combine radicalism with policing and life in Nasarawa State as Commissioner of Police. Excerpts:

     

    You retired from the police last year. How has life been in retirement?

    Well I give glory to the almighty God, who is my backbone. He has been the one sustaining me since I lost my father about 50 years ago, even when I was stranded after my father’s death. God has been helping me since I retired.

    Life after retirement is interesting. I retired less than  eight months ago. Because of that, I have not seen much. But I have been able to rest, sit down and do a critical appraisal of my country. I have been able to read comprehensively, and I have been able to pray to God on a daily basis as well.

    Would you have continued in service if you had the option to do so?

    No

    Why?

    Police job is a job that is a little bit hazardous. Having spent 33 years and six months, some of my colleagues have died. A lot of them died in the line of duties.

    So, immediately I clocked my retirement age of 60, I was enthusiastic to leave the police because I was physically well and my life has not been captured by death. So I wouldn’t tolerate any extension. I don’t need it.

    Some retired officers would prefer to do one thing or the other for the police. Do you think this category of people should be given roles after their retirement?

    Well if there are roles that the retired officers can play, that is okay. But that should not be done at the expense of serving officers, because those who are retired have done their own bit. They have served their fatherland and should go and rest. But if there is experience lacuna, if there is a gap they can bridge and they are willing to do it, I think their services could be requested.

    You mentioned the hazards of the job. What were the dangers you faced while in service?

    For example, when I joined the police as a young officer, 1989, I was the officer in charge of patrol and beat at the Central Police Station, Iyaganku, Ibadan, Oyo State. Whenever criminals were robbing, we would be sent out to effect their arrest,  and in the process of doing that, they would shoot at us. As you were moving out you would be thinking whether bullet would come to you any time. But I thank God I survived all that.

    Several times I went out to pursue criminals. Some of my colleagues were killed during the process of pursuing criminals. Even some of those that were using walking talking alone, monitoring criminals on patrol, they were shot at and killed. The job is extremely hazardous. We are managing disaster, and because of that, anything could happen in the line of duty.

    How true is it that some police officers use juju?

    It could be true. But in my own case, I didn’t have black medicine or  any extraordinary power apart from the power of God. I am a born again Christian. I joined the police as a born again Christian. I gave my life to Jesus Christ 43 years ago. I have not done any medicine since my father died many years ago. When we were young, operating under our parental control, they did some incisions on our bodies. But since I lost my father to the cold hands of death in October 1972, I have not done anything like that. But a lot of people, because of the way I did my job, have been asking me whether I used something, because God has really helped me.

    I believe that whatsoever you believe in will work for you. I believe in the power of the most High God, who has all the leverages, all the aura, all the power; who controls everything and nobody controls Him. I used His power and His power worked for me.

    At the last Command before I was posted as AIG, people there were looking at me like somebody with an invincible power because things were falling in line for me. I based everything on prayer, on interaction with the members of the public, on intelligence, and then making use of your personnel, not to demand anything from them other than to maintain law and order and to protect lives and property, apprehend offenders and enforce all laws. So things worked very well.

     

    Those who are dwelling the realm of juju, some of them have been killed. Once we know how to tackle the criminals, they will not be able to do anything. Once you have the intelligence, once you have the cooperation of the people, no matter how dangerous some criminal elements could be, by the time you go after them and locate where they are operating, you will pick them like chickens. So, it is not a matter of medicine.

    How did you manage to stay away from trouble with your colleagues who did not believe in what you believe in, especially when you had clash of interests?

    I did not really have any conflicting interest with any of my colleagues during the dependency on the service to the Nigerian state, because most of the police officers, I repeat, most of the police officers are driven by passion to carry out their statutory and constitutional duties professionally. The only few ones who have ulterior motives are too few to have conflicting power over the majority police officers that are working very well.  When they know you are forthright, you are straightforward, nobody will want to come near you.

    I’m fanatical about my belief that policing should not be a mechanism for corruption, but should be a mechanism to liberate the people and to provide the enabling environment for the actualization of the lives of the citizenry. Because of that, I was never in conflict with anybody; not even with my bosses. I had good assessments. Out of the 31 annual performance evaluation reports that I had when I was in the police, I had about 28 As, and that was the best anybody could get. My bosses were always giving me As because I did my job with all my life, with all the power and knowledge God has given me. And most of them were not Yoruba, so it was not based on ethnic or primordial interests.

    Most of my bosses were northerners. They saw me from the angle of a young officer who was so committed to performing his duties. I never had conflict with anybody.

    With your assessment, would you have become an IG if you had stayed longer?

    The current Inspector-General of Police, my brother and my friend, IGP Alkali, we joined the police same day and we sat together for 18 months side by side. My chair and desk was next to his own and he is younger than me in age and had been appointed before I retired. So, there was no how I could be an IG when a younger person had been appointed as an IG before I retired. Even if I had stayed longer, the highest I could get was to be the DIG of Southwest. The current DIG was my course mate, and by the virtue of our record, he is younger than me. I could have stayed as AIG till I leave the police except God has created special way to make me an IG.

    I thought your performance could accelerate your promotion…

    Well as AIG, I do not think that there could be accelerated promotion again. At that level, promotion is strictly based on seniority, and DIG is based on political appointment. You have to be the most senior in your geopolitical zone. There was no way I could have been given any accelerated promotion. But whatsoever God has said would come to pass

    At the University of Ibadan, you were the Students’ Union president. I know that police and students are never friends. What then attracted you to the police?

    Yes, I was the students’ union president of the University of Ibadan 38, 39 years ago. I was not attracted to the police. But as a born again Christian, I believe you cannot be what God does not want you to be. I was one of those who were vehement against police operation on campus in UI, but at the same time, there was this Commissioner of Police who retired as a DIG, Archibong Nkanga. He saw me from a long distance and through interaction, he told me that they needed somebody like me in the police. He said he had studied me and that the gap between the police and members of the public was too wide. He said they were looking for a person who would be a bridge between the police and the radical section of the society and he said he would want me to join the police. When the form came out, I obtained the form and I did the interview and I was the best.

    Not only that, one night before the result came out, I slept and I saw myself staying in one office under the office of the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State. Eventually when I joined the police, I was brought into that office. It was the day I joined the police that I remembered the dream.

    Also, one of my best friends that we went to the UI together, Nwazukwu, called me from Lagos. He said, ‘Longe, I saw you, you were on a queue with others, they were distributing police uniform to you and you told them, give me my own and they told you that there were plenty uniforms, we will give you your own.’ My being in police was supernaturally engineered because as a person, I did not like the police while in the university. But now I’m in love with the police because the police are the bedrock of the survival of any state or society. There are many countries in the world without the military, but there is no single country without the police.

    You were on foreign mission, and people say the police do well outside the country. But in Nigeria, this has never been the case…

    I was on the United Nations peace keeping operation in Liberia between 2005 and 2006. I was the legal adviser for the Liberia National Police. I was the adviser on intelligence. I was the sole lecturer for intelligence and information analyst in Liberia.

    One day, the Criminal Justice from the United States came to the Liberia National Police Headquarters. They were referred to my office and they started asking me questions. They said I should lecture them about Liberia’s justice system. I stood up and started lecturing them, and the leader of the delegation asked me, ‘How many years have you spent in Liberia?’ I said 40 days, and he asked 40 days? He now said these Nigerians are brilliant. He said ‘I saw some in Kosovo when I was there, he was talking like you. And now in Liberia here, oh, Nigerians are brilliant.’ Nigerians are brilliant, but our problem at home is that we do not have the tools to work with.

    In Nigeria, we work without most of the logistics needed. But I want to tell you that the Nigeria security personnel, though people are condemning them, they are angels. Not just ordinary angel but super angels because we are working without tools to do what we are doing.

    We are the best. That is why we are being rated best outside but when we come to Nigeria they look down on us. They treat us with disdain. We are still performing well. The problem is that those who are rating us, they have truncated view of the police and they cannot appreciate what we are going through.

    What were your high and low moments as a police officer?

    I had good time when I was in the police because one, God was driving me with His infinite love. Two, I acquired sophisticated education before I joined the police. I was a doctoral student of political science. I was well educated and I had read about policing. I had done exhaustive work on the theory of state. I knew before I joined the police what the police should do, when, why and how, and because of that, I didn’t have much problem.

    The only problem I had in the police was when they were over implementing quota system. When those who were far junior were being made to be our senior; that was when I was having negative feelings. But apart from that I had good time in the police. But there were some of my colleagues that were not above me before I left. I believe that promotion does not come from the east or from the west, but from the throne of God

    You belonged to the radical group in the Nigerian police. Most of the people that belong to this group always get into trouble. The case of Aloysious Ogbogbuaja is still fresh. How did you do it that you did not get into trouble with the authorities?

    My being in the police was driven by God. When God is with you, there is nothing any system can do. I was radical even when I was at the police academy. I was the leader of the cadet. There was a day the cadets rejected their food. I had to lead a team to the residence of the officer in charge and he was annoyed with me. That day, he disbanded our executive and appointed another set of people. But despite that, there was nothing anybody could do, because God wanted me to be in the police.

    I survived because God gave me the wisdom to survive. I was radical in the police. There was a day somebody told me to go and do something. I won’t mention what he told me to go and do. Senior officers came, and I told them that it was not part of my duty. I told them that I wouldn’t mind going to NUJ Press Centre, Iyaganku to resign and address a press conference. They said this one is mad with religion. They didn’t do anything to me.

    What are those things you are not likely to forget in a hurry about Nasarawa where you served as Commissioner of Police?

    Before I got to Nasarawa State as a Commissioner of Police, people were telling me lots of things about Nasarawa State. Negative things like Nasarawa State is a place that consumes it people. I didn’t lobby before I was posted there. The IG posted me there without me lobbying for it. Before I got to Nasarawa State, I prayed. I sat down and wrote down seven things that I would do in Nasarawa State. Immediately I got there, I called a meeting of my lieutenants and we reviewed Nasarawa State security wise, and there and then we took certain decisions.

    Where Commissioners of Police were not going before, I went there. I constructed a lot of security templates. I went to the nooks and crannies of the state. I went to the traditional leaders, I met with the farmers, I met with the hunters, I met with the pastoralists, I met the down-trodden and I mobilised all of them and they worked for us.

    And then I met a governor, his Excellency Alhaji Al-Makura. He gave us operational latitude and we were able to work very well. And when he left there, the current governor of Nasarawa State, Engineer A.A. Sule, without any hesitation, I would say that he is one of the best politicians we have in this country. Out of little, he was able to build highly fortified security in Nasarawa State. That is why sometimes before I left the police, Nasarawa was declared as the most peaceful state in northern Nigeria. There was a time we had a lot of kidnappers. We confronted them—the police, the military and other security agencies. We would not have been able to do that if the governor was not supporting us.

    The people of Nasarawa State are good people. They helped us to animate community policing. The traditional rulers of that state are good people. They gave us 100 per cent support.

    Did you sometimes fear for your life while in service? Was there any time hour life was threatened?

    My life was never threatened throughout my stay in the police because I knew the extent of the efficacy of the power of God when it comes to protecting His children. The bible says the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and they are saved. And the Bible says no weapon fashioned against you shall prosper. I believe in prayer. I believe in the power of the Most High God.

    I was always praying and had a wife that was always praying for me day and night; who mobilised people and they were praying for me. I had followers and subordinates who were fanatical about my leadership and we were moving things together. No security lacuna, no operational lacuna and nobody could get me. Get me for what? I was building a formidable security architecture, so I was not thinking about any death because I knew where God was taking me to and I know where He is still taking me to. He is still taking me to the summit of my life, so nothing can happen to me.

    I interacted with people and people told me that I was simple. I would get to the town and people would be hailing me and I would get down from the vehicle and start shaking hands with people. Common people will not be against you unless you are against the common people, and the rich people do not have wherewithal to get me where I was. They know that angels are guiding me.

     

  • My life endangered by forces within the church – Eboh

    My life endangered by forces within the church – Eboh

    Rev. LumenCristi Eboh is an ordained priest who recently resigned his priesthood in the Anglican Communion, Diocese of the Niger. In this interview with EMMA ELEKWA, the priest, currently the Spiritual Director of God in Action Adoration Ministry, Ogidi, Anambra State, reveals the crises that led to his decision to quit priesthood.

    What informed your recent decision to quit priesthood in the Anglican Communion?  First, let me say that I did not quit priesthood. A priest is chosen by God, and I remain a priest ordained in the order of Melchizedek. What I did was to turn in my resignation as priest of the Diocese on the Niger to my lord Bishop Owen Nwokolo.

    As per what led to that decision, I had a special call from God to spread his word in a peculiar way and to minister to souls, heal the sick and bring God’s blessings upon souls. For this reason, I was moved  by the Holy Spirit to start working in a congregation, which later metamorphosed to God in Action Adoration Ministry. This course of ministration by me is what I can say instigated antagonism and persecution from angles controlled by Bishop Owen Nwokolo.

    Bishop Owen Nwokolo is a widely respected cleric; a virtue that would make it difficult for anyone to believe your allegation against him…

    Well, no one would question the fact that my lord bishop Owen Nwokolo is well read and exposed, and he occupies a very relevant seat in the body of bishops in Nigeria, both Anglican and Catholic. What I am saying is that it was obstacles set and promoted by him that forced me to resign as priest of the Diocese on the Niger.

    Let me tell you, I have remained for some time the single largest contributor as priest with congregation to the diocese. I have given to the church without looking back, and to my lord bishop himself as God provided. I bought a land and handed it over to the diocese, and my financial contributions were unparalleled, and this I say with humility. I am the only priest in the diocese who is not on the salary list because I rejected salary.

    However, my lord bishop later called me and insisted that he wanted himself and his wife to be included as trustees  in the registered titles of the adoration ministry. When I prayed about his demand, I got clear revelation that God had different purposes for the bishop, but not within the adoration ministry, and I conveyed this message to him. He threatened to ban my activities within the diocese and to bring me down for this refusal, but I relied on God. Even if they kill me tomorrow, some persons are aware of my correspondences with the bishop on this matter, and by social media exchanges. That is just the problem.

    If the situation you painted is true, one would expect that it was capable of being resolved by friends close to both of you, especially other priests…

    That would have been so. Unfortunately, the atmosphere created by the bishop was such that most priests would not come close. Many had their own problems with him, while others had been panel beaten into nervous yes men. A very senior clergy from Onitsha town who could no longer bear the highhandedness of the bishop late last year spoke out by means of a protest letter to the bishop, citing instances of intimidation, harassment and insults to priests and their spouses by the bishop and his wife. Once you are not their yes man, you would face manipulations and conspiracies.

    How have you managed to cope with these developments vis a vis your vocation as a soul winner?

    The apostle Paul said I planted, Appolos watered, but it was God who kept making it grow. I have come within many conspiracies and threats engineered by forces within the diocese, but I have never weavered. Some persons have come to warn me in good faith that I could be assassinated if I did not remove myself from the diocese. Of course the bishop did warn me to stop all my activities within the diocese, but I am strengthened by God and not by man.

    There are rumours suggesting that your marriage has broken down. Can you confirm it?

    Sadly, it is so. My lovely wife within the circumstances of my travails with the diocese, suddenly turned into a tiger. I was not taken aback because God had earlier revealed to me that I would have additional challenge from that quarter. They bought my wife over and she began to antagonise me. As we speak, my wife resides in an apartment paid for by someone who knows that she is another man’s wife.

    It has really affected me as a young man who is permitted to marry, and who has lived with a woman, because though I am a priest, like our lord Jesus while he was on earth, I also eat and drink like a normal human being.

    There are reports that you are being investigated by the police for fathering a child with a young girl. How true is that? Firstly, the police cannot investigate me for fathering a child, if it is just that alone. I am permitted by my communion to marry, and like I said, sadly my marriage hit the rocks. I am working to resettle myself so as to focus, but they have also set moles and sidetrackers even within my congregation. Many anointed men of God have suffered similar distractions. I do not want to go into that issue in order not to prejudice the investigations as you said.

    Note that all these gymnastics are structured, sponsored and promoted by forces working to tarnish my image. They have spread different rumours; that I am a sex pervert, a magician who visits Voodoo priests and that I belong to the same cult as prophet TB Joshua.

    In the case you referred to, they said the young lady had schizophrenia and that I exploited the condition to put her in the family way. I am not a doctor. If you have schizophrenia, which  is a special condition, it would be confirmed by a doctor. And in that case, I would have no business with you but it would be just your doctor. I pray for sick people and those afflicted by foul spirits, yes, but I do not undertake to imperil medical procedures. Like I said, let their investigations be concluded, and only then can I answer you.

  • ‘I slept with my son to give my husband a child’

    ‘I slept with my son to give my husband a child’

    • Says husband can’t impregnate a woman

    • Relives how she lured 16-year-old son to bed

    It sounds abominable in every sense of the word that a woman would sleep with her own biological son just to test her fertility after failing to get pregnant for her husband in her second marriage.

    But that was exactly the case with Matina Agawua, a native of Yelwata, a remote settlement in Nasarawa State. She slept with the son she had from her first marriage to please her new husband who was threatening an end to their relationship if she would not conceive a baby.

    Matina, who lost her first husband to herdsmen attack after they were married for about two years, had just a son and decided to remarry after spending 13 years as a widow.

    But for more than six years after getting married to her second husband, an indigene of Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa state identified simply as Mr. James, she could not conceive a child for what she said was no fault of hers.

    “We had been married for more than six years but were still childless due to my husband’s fault, according to doctor’s report, and I was hearing from the grapevine that he was planning to take a second wife on the grounds that I could not give him a child” Matina told our correspondent.

    Trouble was said to have begun when Matina got married to her first husband, Mr Philip (now late), and the marriage was blessed with just a child before Philip died from a gunshot when some herdsmen invaded his village about two years later.

    After Philip’s death, Matina had picked up courage to remain in the village since she had a son with her late husband. But owing to some irreconcilable differences between her and her husband’s relatives, she left the village and returned to Yelwata, her maternal home where she started a mini restaurant to eke out a living for herself and her only child.

    Because of the remote nature of the community, however, the business was slow, hence she relocated to Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital where the business appeared to thrive better.  It was in the course of selling food that she met James, her second husband, and they later got married.

    But the marriage ran into a storm over its continued failure to produce a child that would cement the bond between them. In fact, matters got worse as Matina appeared to be giving more attention to her son than she was giving her second husband, causing James’s parents to feel that Matina was simply wasting their son’s time as she was incapable of bearing a child.

    James’s mother was said to be particularly unhappy about the situation as she had eagerly looked forward to carrying her grandchild when the marriage was consummated. But six years down the line, there was no sign of pregnancy, much less a baby. Thus a plan commenced to get James a second wife.

    At this point, Matina had joined resources with her husband’s to build a house in Lafia where they lived, with the implication that the new wife would occupy one of the rooms while Matina claims that she committed more resources to the project than her husband.

    Amid the frosty relationship, accusations and counter accusations created by the development, the couple did not deem it necessary to go for a medical check-up to ascertain the source of the problem.

    Matina however blamed James for the oversight, saying that she was willing to go for fertility test but her husband was not. She said she suspected that her husband was suffering from low sperm count which made him unable to father a child.

    Matina said she had undergone a test on her own since her husband refused to go for one, and the result showed that there was nothing wrong with her fertility. But to furtherconvince herself about her fertility status, she decided to lure her own son, a student in Akwanga, into a secret affair with a stem warming that he should not reveal it to anyone.

    Matina said she did not want to fall in love with an outsider so as not to betray her husband or make him feel bad.

    She said: “Since he is not comfortable with us going for medical checkup on the assumption that nothing was wrong with him, I decided to convince my little son, who is just about 16 years old and schooling in Akwanga

    “I visited him regularly. He stays in a private apartment with my relatives, so I was going there to spend some time with them, especially on weekends when my market is off.

    “It was actually difficult making love with my own son, but circumstances forced me to go into it. I needed to be sure of my fertility.

    “I know my husband very well. If he discovered I had an affair with a man outside, he would kill me.

    “I love him so much and I’m afraid of him, so this evil plan kept ringing in my mind to know how fertile I am.”

    “I tried to visit my son in Akwanga mostly when I was on my ovulation period. I decided to develop a crush on him and draw him very close to me. We got intimate and ended up having s*x.

    “One faithful day while I was on my ovulation period, I visited him. It was at about 11pm. I held his hand and made him sit beside me.

    “I asked him if he had ever had s*x and he said no. I held him in my arms. This time, I felt warm and I think he too did.

    “After that night, I felt extremely embarrassed, and guilty that I committed such an abomination with my own son.

    “It was actually a taboo, but I warned him to keep it secret.

    “I didn’t do it for any other reason than emotional turmoil.

    Matina told our correspondent that she didn’t actually have s*x with her husband for about three months, “because we were feeling a little disconnected from each other and boredom crept into our relationship

    “But from that singular session with my son, l missed my period that very month of January 2022, and a medical test showed that I was pregnant.”

    When she broke to her husband what ordinarily should be a piece of good news, he denied being responsible for it and suspected a foul play. James reminded her that they had not had an affair for about three months, wondering how that could have resulted in a pregnancy.

    The development led to suspicions which created a big crisis in the family, prompting a friend to suggest that they should subject themselves to medical tests to ascertain the paternity of the unborn child.

    The test at Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital Lafia shows that the husband is not the father of the child. Matters got worse as the test further revealed that her husband has weak and very low sperm count that would not enable him to father a child.

    As soon as these details were made known to the husband, he became angry, accusing his wife of adultery and threatening her life, which made her to open up on the details of the pregnancy.

    Not satisfied, the husband summoned Matina’s son who underwent the same test confirming that he is actually the father of the unborn child.

    Matina, who spoke to our correspondent after persistent pressure, said: “I am not a loose woman. I am just a woman who loves her husband very much and didn’t want to hurt or lose him.

    “I did what I did to save my marriage. I got reliable information that he was planning to take a second wife on the advice of his parents and that the wife would occupy one of the apartments we suffered to build together.

    “I was not comfortable with that idea and felt I could test my fertility with my son and impose it on him (husband).

    “I did that to get him a child and to stop him from taking a second wife. Taking a second wife is an indirect way of pushing me away, losing all we have suffered to put together.

    “Look at my age. I’m not getting younger and my husband was not prepared to address the matter medically.

    “Look at the result of the test; it shows low sperm count. There is no way he would have been able to impregnate me.

    “I know I was doing the wrong thing and betraying my husband, but I saw it as a lesser evil than going outside.

    “Now the man is even threatening to kill my son for impregnating me, so I had to move my son out of Akwanga and take him somewhere else to save his life.

    “This is more so because I was the one who put him into the whole mess. I have to protect him. ”

    Matina’s husband said he would not accept a pregnancy that did not emanate from him. “Even sleeping under the same roof with him is scary; he might harm me in the middle of the night.

    “He is very furious, so I have to leave the house for him. But all I want is that since he didn’t like me again for what I have done, I won’t abort it. Rather, I will allow it and deliver my baby.  I have been looking for it for long, so I won’t let it go. It belongs to my son.

    “I have decided to keep it because it is blood within my blood. I will keep it. All I want is that since the marriage didn’t work, we should sell the house, share the proceeds and everyone will go his way.”

    Matina said she has documents containing the house and bank transactions used in building the house.

    “I will engage a lawyer if my husband tries to do anything funny. He should not take me for granted as I’m prepared for him.

    “He can’t father a child. His sperm count is very low and he is not ready to address it. What does he want me to do?”

    When our correspondent contacted the husband, he expressed disappointment that the wife had opened up on all the secrets to the outside.

    “Why did she go to the media? he queried

    “How can she allow her son to impregnate her and try to foist it on me? How would she do that? That is my anger.

    “But if she is ready to go, let her go. We built the house together and whatever she wants, I don’t have an issue with that.

    “But I can tell you, that woman is a dangerous woman to stay with.”