The Nation Newspaper

Category: SouthEast

Corps members dazzle at cultural carnival

The Batch B members of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State have made quite a splash. Dressed up in various cultural attires depicting the tribal spread of the country, they impressed their audience with dance steps as well as effort to remind everyone that there is strength in diversity.

A member of the House of Representatives, Hon Sam Onuigbo who represents Ikwuano/Umuahia organised the cultural carnival.

The event took place at the Umunna Camp in Bende council where they Corps members received the lawmaker who has been of much help to them.

Platoon Four, the Fulani group, came first, winning N50,000 for their effort. Platoon Five representing Ibibio, took second, winning N30,000. Platoon Eight which represented the Benin, won N20,000 while N10,000 went to each of the seven platoons at the event.

Speaking at the ceremony, Onuigbo made a case for culture, saying that a people without it are lost.

He said, “When the culture of the people is sustained there will be unity as it could lead to several uniting factors like marriages and everlasting friendships, and when such exists, there will be no need for war and bickering among us.”

He urged the corps members who were participating to compete with zest and free mind so as to have a healthy competition, stressing that the cultural competition will help them to promote peace, unity and oneness, “So that the unity of the country will continue to grow”.

The federal lawmaker noted that NYSC has contributed in no small way to the unity of the country, “As most of the electoral workers during general elections have been mostly corps members and they have also been involved in the teaching of the children in their primary

assignments and heath care delivery, among others”.

Onuigbo reminded them on the need to take seriously the skill acquisition which they are being taught at the orientation camp, stressing that the era when government provide jobs for graduates is fast fading away, as time has come for the youths of the country to move from being job seekers to employers of labour.

He said that NYSC scheme is one which he is passionate about since he did his own during 1983/84 session in Kaduna state, “It was a great experience which shall remain indelible in my life and mind as I still reminiscence of them every day of my life”.

In his welcome speech the state coordinator of Abia NYSC, Omotayo Adewoye called on well spirited people in the state to emulate Onuigbo who he said has never relented in offering help to corps members posted to the state for many years by coming to the help of the scheme.

Adewoye recalled that Onuigbo has been sending vehicles to carry corps members posted to his village Obuohia Obi-Ibere in Ikwuano local government area of the state from the NYSC camp at Umunna and feeds them for a week until they are properly settled in their places of primary assignment.

Onuigbo also sends off departing Corps members with all manner of gifts.

The Abia State NYSC coordinator appealed to Onuigbo and others like him to come to their aid in the maintenance of camp facilities, saying that government alone cannot bear the burden.

November 20, 2015
Woman blinded by brain tumour needs N2.5m

She said it started with what she thought was a simple headache. But when no medication could cure it, worry set in naturally. Then, the ache became severe.

One day, Mrs. Veronica Amadi of Eziomume village, Ohaechara community in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State was rushed to hospital where it was discovered that the sickness was not a mere headache, but a brain tumour. At this time, she had lost her sight.

Amadi, 36, and mother of four, was taken to various hospitals including Memfys in Enugu for neurosurgery.

A medical exam conducted by Dr. A.C Onuh, a consultant radiologist, and a neurosurgeon, revealed what was called “a large hetero-intense mass in the right occipital cerebral lobe.”

In an interview, Mrs. Amadi said she started noticing anomalies in her brain 10 years ago with a severe headache but that it worsened in April this year.

She said she had been visiting hospitals for medical treatment but to no avail, prompting her to visit the neurosurgery hospital in Enugu where the ailment was diagnosed.

All hope is not lost for Mrs Amadi, a seamstress. She can still regain her sight if the tumour is removed, the doctors told her.

But, the major stumbling block is the N2.5m she must pay the surgery. Neither she nor her husband has the money.

She said, “Doctors assured me that I will be okay and that I will regain my sight as soon as surgery is conducted on me but the problem is that I don’t have the amount required for the surgery. My husband has sold off all his properties to ensure I’m okay and he has nothing left. His business has folded up because of my sickness. I’m appealing to government, NGOs and public-spirited individuals to come to my aid by assisting me to raise this money.”

She said she can be contacted with these phone numbers; 08078815110 and 08057422281 while anyone who wishes to pay money for her health should pay into FIDELITY BANK ACCOUNT NO 6018180380 with ACCOUNT NAME: AMADI OMEH.

November 13, 2015
‘Happy to give back to God’

Heaps of consumables here, some livestock and hand-made items there, parishioners in Aba, Abia State gave freely at their end-of-year harvest service, reports SUNNY NWANKWO

one woman rimmed her unfurled umbrella with crisp N500 notes. A man sweated as he wheeled in a barrow-load of huge tubers of yam and a bunch of plantains. Behind him, another laboured under the weight of a sack of rice. Further behind, more yams were on the way. That was not all. Some self-employed parishioners had no qualms bringing to the Lord a set of workshop-fresh furniture or factory-made footwear.

It was remarkable harvest and thanksgiving service at Christ Holy Church International (CHC), Aba, Abia State which was attended by home and Diaspora members.

Livestock, beverages, perishables and non-perishables were in good supply.

General Superintendent of the church, Most Rev. Daniel C. Okoh quoted Psalm 117 as he harped on the need to always give thanks to God with a pure and thankful heart.

Some of the parishioners who spoke to our correspondent said that they were happy and would not hesitate to give back to God during harvest, adding, though, that there is no gift to repay God for all He has done for them all through the year.

They noted that there were people who had plenty but were no longer living to either enjoy their wealth or offer part of it to God. They described the opportunity of being partakers in the 2015 harvest ceremony as a privilege that they would ever cherish.

November 13, 2015
Aba’s losses amid Biafra agitations

Residents of Abia State’s commercial capital lost cash, their freedom and convenience as pro-Biafra protesters held up the city for days. SUNNY NWANKWO reports

One of the protesters warned Aba residents to stock up food because the protest would cripple activities for a week. For three days, members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) very nearly crippled the commercial city. For about eight hours on each day, shops and other business facilities were shut as the protesters took over the streets. From their balconies and windows some residents watched the procession below, of mostly young men with a sprinkling of the elderly and women. They saw the crowd swarming through their streets holding aloft the Biafran flag.

Commuters had quite an ordeal. The buses and taxis were shut out and people had to trek over long distances. Shop owners, especially those at Ariaria Market, dared not open up for business, fearing they might be attacked by IPOB members.

“Most of our customers were stranded,” said a trader who simply wished to be identified as Nnamdi. “Some of them came from Akwa Ibom; Ugep, Ogoja, Oron in Cross River; Port Harcourt, Ogoni, Bayelsa and other parts of the country and the West African region only to meet the market locked. Some of them waited till evening and when it became obvious that the market was not going to open, sadly went back.

“Some who came from Cameroon, Togo and Ghana including some of our customers from the North decided to sleep over in Aba in hotels or were accommodated by their core customers to observe things for themselves and later bought what they wanted to buy on Tuesday. Even while they were sleeping in some of our houses, we also were praying that thieves won’t come because banks on Monday, we learnt, were forced to close for business, making it difficult for people to go to bank to deposit their money.

“It was really an experience that we wish not to have again and I am using this opportunity to call on the federal government to see how they will address the situation that brought about the protest.”

A patent drug marketer in Ariaria, George Obiefule corroborated Nnamdi’s position, stressing that he lost about N1m during the days of the protest.

Obiefule expressed mixed feelings about the protest. He said though the protest on Monday had a huge impact on their businesses, he hoped it would help to draw the attention of the federal government to the plight of the people of the Southeast and Southsouth.

The protesters have been growing in strength, staging their procession through Onitsha, Anambra State; Asaba, Delta State; Enugu, Rivers, Bayelsa and now Abia. They said they want their leader Nnamdi Kanu, Director of Radio Biafra released unconditionally from detention. Mr. Kanu is held by federal government security agents.

The protest, though peaceful saw the protesters move round the length and breadth of commercial city forcing business owners to close for business as the IPOB members had warned.

There was traffic gridlock and in some places and commuters had to wait long for a ride, or trek to their destinations.

The situation was so overwhelming that even the presence of security agencies could not stop the protest even after the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase had warned the group against the protest.

Some of the traders who spoke to our reporter on Monday expressed mixed feelings on the protest.

While many of the traders were in support of the protest, others lamented its negative economic effect.

Mrs. Janet Ibe, a vegetable trader told our correspondent that she lost over N10,000 to the Saturday and Sunday protests. She said she could not sell the veggies and all went bad.

Another trader at New Market who gave her name as Mrs. Ginikanwa lamented that the crowd pushed down her wares during the protest.

Major markets in the city including Ariaria, New Market, Shopping Centre, Bakassi Shoe Plaza, Ohabiam Motor Spare Parts including shops on major streets and financial institutions closed for business until the end of the protest. Traders who came from other parts of the country and the neighbouring ECOWAS region were stranded.

Throughout the protest, vehicular movement on major roads including Azikiwe, Aba-Owerri Road, Okigwe Road, Faulks, Umule, Port Harcourt Road, and Osisioma Junction was almost at snail speed which caused commuters to either wait endlessly before boarding commercial buses or trek to their destinations within the time the protest lasted.

Some of the group members who spoke to our reporter on the ground of the protest vowed that they would continue with the protest at the end of this week if the federal government failed to release their leader who is currently in detention.

They said the one-million-man-march was peaceful and successful, adding that it was an attempt by the group to draw the attention of the global community to what they described as inhumane and injustice the Federal Government of Nigeria was meting out on their leader who has been in detention for over two weeks.

They said that unlike other Biafra agitators, they chose not to be violent because the “price has already been paid by our forefathers and the price we are going to pay for the sake of Biafra in this our time is exactly what our director (Kanu) is paying for at the moment”.

“Remember the role the Aba Women Riot of 1929 played when they were asked to pay taxes by the Europeans? We decided to join in the call for the release of our leader and director because he has stayed in detention more than required. Onitsha, Asaba, Bayelsa, Anambra, Awka, Imo parts of Southeast and Southsouth states are equally protesting. The case of Aba will not be different and what do we have in our shops that will be more important than joining our brothers to call for the release of our detained leader? It is a struggle that we will not relent in pursuing even when our harmless members that I regard as martyrs of this cause were shot by the police and its agents without any good reason for their actions”, a protester that gave his name as Chukwudi said.

According to them, Aba residents should buy foodstuff and store in their homes because there was going to be a massive protest for one week or more even as they stressed that they would ensure that markets in Aba and its environs would be shut down as long as the protest lasted.

The residents of Aba however appealed to the federal government to see ways to listen to the yearnings of the group even as they expressed fears that the situation could degenerate into chaos if the protest was allowed to continue without being stopped by the government.

Until the time of this report, it was not clear if there were members of the group that were arrested by the police or other security agencies in Aba and the state.

But The Nation gathered that the three day protest gave the police and other sister agencies headache as they worked tirelessly and more troops from various parts of the state deployed to Aba to ensure that hoodlums do not capitalise on the protest to unleash mayhem on innocent citizens.

November 13, 2015
Divided by fallen bridge

An old bridge linking Ebonyi, Enugu and Benue states has collapsed, leaving its users in a foul mood. OGOCHUKWU ANIOKE reports

It may not have been the most beautiful, but the Ikem Bridge had served the people for decades. Now it has collapsed into the Ebenyi River in Isi-Uzo local government area of Enugu State.

The bridge, built by the Nigerian Army shortly after the Civil War, was a link to several communities in Enugu, Ebonyi and Benue states. Those communities have been grieving.

The hanging bridge gave way after a cement-laden truck said to belong to Dangote Group lingered on it. The truck was reportedly conveying about 900 bags of cement.

Many communities in Enugu, Ebonyi, Benue have been cut off as a result of the fallen bridge. Some of those communities are in Udenu, Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s home local council.

Residents quickly started putting up a makeshift bamboo bridge to trek across the river to get to their homes.

“It’s now a divided kingdom,” said Mr. Frank Nnamani, who was cut off between his home and his block industry across the river.

Commuters travelling from Ehamufu to Enugu now stop at various points of the river and swim across to continue their journey.

The fallen bridge has also divided the community’s Orie Market in two, with one at its original venue and a new one at Ikem Junction across the Ebenyi River.

Mr. Nnamani lamented their plight, saying, “Now that there is nothing to manage again as we were managing, the best thing is for the state government to re-mobilise the contractor who absconded from the site, to continue work on the concrete span bridge abandoned by the past state administration.”

Some other residents said, “It is even good that the bridge has come to an end so that attention will be paid to the abandoned bridge contract.”

Reactions have also been trailing the collapse of the bridge by different people who learnt about the development: Mr. Emma Nweze, a journalist said: “We should pray for Nigeria. How can such a bridge be found in a country called giant of Africa?”

N’dozie Odunze an indigene who leaves in Lagos suggested that the 900 bags of cement be used in constructing the bridge, while Albert Ejike, an indigene of Ikem residing in Lagos blamed the Isi-Uzo LGA administration for the disaster.

Silas Okwor who lives in Germany described the collapse as “very sad”.

Emeka Ogene from Ehamufu lamented that whereas there is no thoroughfare through Nkalagu in Ebonyi state for the same bad bridge and road, the only alternative route which was Ikem is now no more.

An Abuja-based legal practitioner from Neke, Austin Nwaro, said: “This ugly incident really provokes the thought of asking the necessity of local government administration. Is LG as third tier of government actually necessary or better still are they doing what they are supposed to do vis-a-vis the amount of money allocated to them?”

Reacting, the Chairman of Isi-Uzo LGA, Augustine Nnamani maintained that his council has been spending money to maintain the collapsed bridge.

He noted that the council is still making monthly contributions to the state government for the Enugu-Ikem road project adding that 90 percent of the contract has been completed about two years ago.

Another resident of Ikem community said the local government has mandated the member representing Isi-Uzo state constituency at the Enugu state House of Assembly, Dr. Emeka Ogbuabor, to immediately move a motion on mater of urgent importance on the floor of the house to cause attention to the tragedy in his constituency.

November 13, 2015
‘Family unit key to national security’

A security expert and retired Commissioner of Police, Chief Frank Odita has warned that any effort in tackling security without first rebuilding the family unit and values will be ineffectual.

Odita said that the concept of security has no limit or dimension, noting that it is the foundation upon which every human activity revolves.

Odita was speaking on the topic “Community Policing: Success and Challenges” at a training workshop for town union executives and community development associations, which was organised by CLEEN Foundation, a nongovernmental organisation, in collaboration with Agape Foundation and Abakaliki Local Government Area.

Odita said a secure family leads to a secure environment.

“Every family built on oneness, fear of God and true moral principles will be a secure family and produces a secure environment. Parents must be in control of children, know their friends, teach them morals and ask questions when they come home with expensive items you didn’t buy for them,” he said.

The retired Commissioner of Police, who is also the Vice Chairman CLEEN Foundation Board of Directors, said that community policing, which he described as the cooperation between security agencies and communities in taking care of the security of their environment.

In another paper presentation entitled “Corruption, Governance and Security, the Executive Director of Agape Foundation, Pastor Gabriel Odom, asserted that privileged Nigerians in position of authority must stop politicising anti-corruption, selective anti-corruption war and using anti-corruption agencies to settle political scores.

He also warned politicians to stop abusing Nigerian youths by equipping them with small arms and mobilising them to indulge in various degrees of cultism and violent crimes, while Legislators should use legislation to prevent public office holders from sending their children to schools abroad or private schools in Nigeria.

In another paper presentation entitled “Conflict prevention and management”, Ifeanyi Anyanwu, Programme Officer, CLEEN Foundation described conflict as the disagreement between two or more people, noting that efforts should be geared towards preventing or mitigating conflicts by adhering to early warning signals.

The training workshop which was sponsored by Ford Foundation was attended by The Caretaker Chairman of Abakaliki Local Government Area, Chief Peter Nwogbaga, traditional rulers and other stakeholders.

November 13, 2015
Cleric rehabilitates abandoned school

Ikwuorie Comprehensive Secondary School in Ohanku-Ndoki of Ukwa East local government, Abia State was always in a free fall. The fall began over a decade ago. One after the other, the structure of the school started falling apart, beginning with the chairs, then the tables. The chalk boards gave way too, followed by the roofing sheets.

The deterioration ate in so much that students started sitting on bare floors for classes. Heavens opened up on them effortlessly during raining season. One of them recalled he wrote examinations for over five years in the school under leaking roofs.

•Portions of the school before the intervention

The physical state of the school affected learning and chased shocked teachers away. Many terrified students also stayed away. As at last term, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) threatened not to conduct final leaving examinations in the school again. This was due to absence of basic facilities for the smooth conduct of the exercise.

Parents watched helplessly; prominent indigenes and residents looked the other way; the community cried for help. But nobody could stop the school from falling deeper and deeper into oblivion. But all of these changed last Thursday. The hitherto written-off school wore a new look. So were members of the community as well as teachers and schools.

Everyone was in high spirits during the commissioning of the renovated block of classrooms by a son of the soil, Dr Chibuzor Chinyere. Though based in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Chinyere returned home to give back to his community.

Principal of the school, Dr (Mrs.) Nnadozie Sophie-Chikwere, who was recently posted to the school, said she was appalled by the state she met it. She said she could not believe that such a school could exist in a community that has produced prominent Nigerians.

“Our students were studying on bare floor. They wrote examinations with open roof over their heads,” she lamented. “We cried for help but none was forthcoming until God decided to help us this a man himself.” By renovating the building, she said Chinyere, who is General Overseer of Omega Power Ministries (OPM) has restored hopes to students and teachers alike as well as demonstrate his passion for education.

Sophie-Chikwere urged the preacher-cum-philanthropist to also intervene in the welfare of staff and provide instructional materials, especially in the area of equipping the science laboratory.

Chairman of the school’s Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) and board of Governors, Chief Godspower Nwankwo appreciated Chinyere for the gesture, saying it will go a long way in improving education in the community.

A former Supervisor for education in Ukwa-East council, Hon. Chibuzor- Nwankwo, said Chinyere had succeeded where government failed, saying the provision of books to the students will further inspire them to become future leaders. He said the gesture was timely because WAEC authorities were about delisting the school over non-availability of facilities.

President of Ndoki Students Union, Comrade Akparanta Emmanuel, thanked the preacher for the donation. He described Apostle Chinyere as an icon of development, human capacity builder and inspiration.

He appealed to him to revisit the award of scholarship to students from the community. Emmanuel advised Ndoki students to avoid acts of lawlessness that will affect their future and concentrate on their studies.

He led others executive members of the student body to present an award of excellence to Chinyere for his numerous contributions to uplifting youths from the area.

Chinyere, in his remark, expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done on the building and pledged to look into the principal’s demand.

He blamed suspension of the scholarship award on internal wrangling among the students and promised to immediately revisit the scheme.

Commissioning the three units of classrooms, including the laboratory and the office apartments, Chinyere thanked God for his achievements in life, ministries and the community at large.

He also donated An Sports Utility Vehicle, Armada Nissan, to the paramount ruler of the area, His Royal Highness, Eze Joshua Okwuonu-Dagbor.

November 6, 2015
NIPOST marks UNN’s anniversary with stamps

The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has clocked 55 but a memorable feature of the event is the printing of commemorative stamps by the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST).

NIPOST is itself making spirited efforts to expand and upgrade its services by equipping its offices with ICT infrastructure and internet connection.

Speaking at the launching of the 55th Anniversary Commemorative Stamps for the University of Nigeria, the acting Postmaster General of the Federation, Arch. Enoch Ade Ogun said the move would make post offices ICT compliant and widen financial services to Nigerians especially those who live in the rural areas and have no access to financial banks.

Ogun said, “The significance of today’s occasion cannot be over-emphasised. This is because fifty-five years in the life of an institution is not only a landmark but also a watershed that signifies consistency, growth and progress of this great university despite the challenges being faced by the education sector in Nigeria.

“The fact that the University of Nigeria has surpassed the ‘golden’ and is still waxing strong calls for celebration and we in NIPOST are proud to be associated with the institution in celebrating this anniversary with the launching of the commemorative postage stamps.

“Many people may be wondering why the university authorities have chosen postage stamps as part of activities to mark this important anniversary. All over the world, postage stamps are regarded as one of the most effective means of supplying information about a country’s history, culture and people. Postage stamps are often described as miniature encyclopedia and living reminders of events.”

He pointed out that the challenges posed by globalization required governments, institutions and even individuals to showcase not just their uniqueness but also their achievements and contributions in a manner that would be acceptable to the global community.

The Postmaster General assured Nigerians of NIPOST’s readiness to consistently ensure that major events in Nigeria’s national life were documented for posterity via the issuance of commemorative postage stamps, adding that postal services were still essential to every country’s economic and social structure.

He said University of Nigeria was eminently qualified to feature on Nigeria stamps given its importance in the country’s socio-economic development, adding that the university would become the third among the first generation of Nigerian universities to use the postage stamps to showcase their acomplishments and potentials.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Benjamin Ozumba said: “It is our belief that these commemorative stamps will carry the visions and missions of UNN not only to other parts of Nigeria but the world over.”

Ozumba emphasised that it was remarkable that the launching came at a time when the university secured the hosting right of the West African University Game (football and hockey campionships), saying that he hopes the launching of the stamps would showcase the university and the entire West Africa sub-region through the 4th West African University Game currently going on in the Nsukka campus of the institution.

The stamps which were launched at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium in Nsukka campus comprised four denominations of N120, N100 and two sets of N50 stamps. Portraits of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe; Dr. George Johnson, first Vice-chacellor of the university; a mascot of the university with the motto “To Restore the Dignity of Man” and that of Prof. Ozumba were embossed on the stamps.

October 30, 2015
Customs: Smugglers’ nemesis or extortioners?

Traders and rights activists accuse Nigeria Customs Service personnel of corruption and extortion. The Service denies the allegations, OKODILI NDIDI reports

Smugglers hate the Customs, naturally. The concern now, though, is that not only smugglers have issues with them; more people seem to be asking questions too these days about their conduct, especially in the Southeast.

Every day, amid media blitz, goods worth millions of naira are impounded by the Nigeria Customs Service in the region and often shown to the public.

But what happens to the seized items? Are they destroyed immediately or stowed away in some warehouse to rot and disposed of? Do they end up in somebody’s house or shared among NCS personnel? Are they sold off, and if so, to whom?

One other question is whether people whose goods are seized are really smugglers or genuine traders? Some of them in the region said they are neither smugglers nor bandits but genuine businessmen who have become victims of bad eggs in the Customs.

The business people are not the only ones worried about the activities of the NCS in the region. A civil rights organisation, the Campaign for Democracy (CD) has urged that Customs officers serving in the Southeast be probed.

The probe call was probably inspired by the recent outcry by traders whose goods were seized.

Following the threat by the traders to embark on a massive protest against the alleged extortion and other corrupt practices perpetrated by the Customs Officers, CD called on President Muhammadu Buhari to overhaul the leadership of the Service in the zone.

The CD in a statement signed by its Southeast chairman Dede Uzor A. Uzor appealed to the President to urgently intervene and save traders further harassment and massive extortion by the Customs officers.

According to the statement, the traders lost over N2 billion in the last four months to extortion and indiscriminate seizure of their goods by the Customs officers who allegedly waylay them at every entry point to the Southeast.

The organisation alleged further that the activities of the Customs officers in the zone were responsible for the continued rise in the prices of essential commodities in the zone, adding that the businessmen are often compelled to inflate the prices as a result of the huge bribe to pay to the Customs personnel at the roadblocks.

“The activities of the men of the Nigeria Customs Service in the Southeast have become an issue of serious concern to the CD given its grave consequences. The rate of extortion of the traders by the Customs Officers is alarming. At every checkpoint which is scattered all over the place, each lorry pays between N20, 000 to N50, 000 depending on the goods they are conveying, even though they have all the requisite papers.

“The most disturbing aspect is the fact that these same goods that were impounded still find their ways to the market because the wives and relatives of these officers own some of the biggest shops in the markets which they stock with the seized products.

“This is not just a mere allegation but a serious issue that should be investigated and those indicted should be punished accordingly. We are urging the President to extend his war against corruption to the Customs Officers serving in the Southeast. He should as a matter urgency set up a task force to monitor their activities.

“The impunity of the officers serving in the Southeast zone cannot be compared to what is obtained in other zones of the country and this explains the high rate of seizure of goods from that zone. Then the question should be why is it that these good are not seized at any other Customs checkpoints until they arrive at the Southeast,” the statement read.

But the Nigeria Customs Service has vowed to sustain the onslaught against the smugglers, irrespective of attempts to blackmail the Officers.

The Public Relations Officer of FOU Zone, C Owerri Onuigbo, Ifeoma, while addressing newsmen, said “sequel to unrelenting onslaught against smuggling, duty evasion and other illegalities by smugglers which is being fought by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone C Owerri, smugglers of fake drugs may have commenced a campaign of falsehood against the Zone.

“They have now resorted to using human rights and faceless groups to attack the zone and allege all sorts of things including compromise against our unit in a recent national publication at a time the unit should be commended for raising the anti-smuggling tempo to a greater height.

“This act is not only illegal but unpatriotic against Nigeria and the new government of President Muhammadu Buhari that has not hidden its determination to stamp out all forms of corruption and fight against all the illegalities that has been drawing the country backward.

“The smugglers and their co-travellers they use in attacking the zone on the pages of newspapers but make their activities suspicious as they have demonstrated a senseless sympathy with economic saboteurs

“For spurious allegations to be churned out against our uncompromising operatives soon after we made 32 seizures with Duty Paid Value of over N814 million last month, the highest so far this year throws a spanner in the will of progress.

“In retrospect, we also arrested 24 suspects in connection with the seizures with 21 cases in courts for the month of September alone. Also last month, we made underpayment recovery of N26, 272,009 into government coffers and therefore should be commended instead of vilified,” she said.

The NCS said their intelligence has revealed that the present desperation is borne out of the smugglers desire to make money from Yuletide sales billed for December.”

She continued that, “We will continue encouraging legitimate trade while frustrating unlawful imports and smuggling. We are not surprised that these wild allegations are coming barely two weeks after we clamped down and stopped some merchants of deaths from bringing fake and deadly drugs into the country.

“We know that criminal cartels must fight back but we know they are fighting a lost battle as we shall continue to interdict, seize prohibited and smuggled goods as well as arrest suspects involved in the acts within the law.

“We find it imperative to educate members of Campaign for Democracy and the public that we implement government extant laws as enshrined in the Customs Excise Management Act (CEMA) and other enabling legislation.

“We are not and will never be open for any form of dialogue to compromise our statutory duties. We advise Campaign for Democracy to visit our warehouse and show proof of any seizure wrongly made by presenting evidences of genuine duty payments.

“We also advise them to show to the public, the shops where customs operatives stock or put for sale seized goods.

“On the allegations of official misconduct by our patrol teams, the human right group may further avail us with information to enable the Customs Area Controller, Dimka Victor David to investigate and bring to book any erring officer aiding and abating unlawful activities.

October 30, 2015
Kumuyi backs anti-corruption fight

The General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) Pastor William F. Kumuyi has thrown his weight behind President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption and insurgency.

He said the onslaught against vice and terrorism is “legitimate and necessary”.

The clergy was speaking to journalists at the end of a worship service of the church which was held at Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State.

H e said, “I am a layman when it comes to politics. But from what we can see, I believe that the President is in the right direction and if we support him with our comments and in other ways, I believe that we will see all these things brought down very quickly.”

Speaking on how the church can help the President and other leaders in the fight against corruption, Kumuyi said “When we say the church, we are not just talking of buildings; we are talking of people that comes to church who also goes to offices. And for the church to support, preachers should teach our people to learn how to contribute positively to the progress of the country anywhere they are and so if you are a governor, commissioner, teacher, minister and among others, be your best for the country. Don’t think of what you can get out of the place that you are working, but how they can contribute to the place in order to support the efforts of the government”.

He further advised politicians to always remember to fulfill their campaign promises which have attracted criticisms from their subjects.

Earlier in his sermon, the DCLM GS preaching on the topic Riches of Christ’s Supernatural Love” described Gods love for man as inexhaustible and one that is beyond the imagination and understanding of man, adding that it was because of the love of God for man that made God to send His only begotten son to die so that man can be redeemed and reconciled back to God.

According to him, God is on a rescue mission and is ready to reach out to the deepest part of the earth to rescue anyone who wants to turn a new leaf.

He said, “Abia is Gods Own State and because I will like to plant in a place where the seed will germinate.”

The theme of the programme was, “Open for Extraordinary Blessings”.

October 30, 2015