The Nation Newspaper

Category: Southeast report

  • Ebonyi: 200 women trained in cassava production

    No fewer than 200 women from Ohaozara, Onicha/Ivo Fderal Constituency of Ebonyi have been trained in cassava value chain and food production.

    The training was facilitated by the member representing the constituency in the National Assembly, Linus Abaa Okorie, through his Caring Heart Foundation.

    Speaking at the opening ceremony of the three-day training exercise in Uburu Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state, Okorie highlighted the need for farmers in the country to look beyond the immediate gains of subsistence farming and move into agro-business to increase their returns.

    Cassava is one of the most popular staple crops in Nigeria especially in Ebonyi State with virtually every farmer engaging in its cultivation at various scales.

    The lawmaker further explained that the training was aimed at changing the mindset of the participating farmers and exposing them to other confectionery values of the crop to enhance their productivity.

    He noted that his Caring Heart Foundation had in the past years trained about six hundred youths on cassava value chain to improve on their economy.

    A resource person at the event who is also the Head Agriculture Project Management, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute Ilorin Kwara State, Mr. Abdulrazaq Yahaya urged farmers to embrace value chain which he described as vital for rapid development of the nation’s agro business.

    Some of the participants including Mrs. Chioma Ogwe and Miss Rita Nwafor commended the Lawmaker for organising the programme and promised to deploy the knowledge they would garner at the training into good use.

    Meanwhile, Mr Okorie has embarked on the completion of a one thousand sitting capacity Examination Hall started by Onicha Christian Women Forum at Community Secondary School Agunkwo in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

    At the handover ceremony on  the secondary school premises, Okorie explained that he took over the project to contribute his quota to the educational development of the community.

    The construction of the one thousand sitting capacity Examination Hall was embarked upon by Onicha Igboeze Christian Women Forum in 2012 with the aim of providing the final year students of the school a comfortable Hall to undertake their Examination and engage in other academic activities.

    However, seven years down the line the, Hall is yet to be completed due to paucity of fund as explained by the President General Onicha Igboeze Christian Women Forum, Mrs Doris Chukwu at the handover ceremony.

    In his remarks, the President General Onicha of Town Union, Chief James Aninwankwo described the Hall as an important infrastructure in the academic development of children of the Community and appreciated the Lawmaker for the initiative

    The Coordinator Onicha West Development Centre, Mr Ogbonnaya Oti commended the Lawmaker for his effective representation and called on his constituents to give him maximum support  in his public service.

    Okorie had while receiving the architectural design of the Hall explained that work would commence immediately at the site while all building materials necessary for its completion had been procured.

    Mr Okorie further noted that he would continue to complement the efforts of Governor David Umahi both in human capital development and infrastructure pointing out that apart from the Hall project, his Foundation had trained over six hundred women and youths in agro business and ICT.

  • Imo to be become tech hub, says commissioner

    Imo State Commissioner of Science, Technology and Vocational Education, Hon. Emma Bukar Iwuanyanwu said one of the major reasons Governor Rochas Anayo Okorocha created the Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Education is to make the state a technological hub in the country and a paperless society by 2020.

    The commissioner stated this during a visit by students of Nigeria Army College of Logistics Course 15, 2018 to Ministry of Education, which has been split into three ministries: Basic and Secondary Education, Tertiary Education and Science Technology and Vocational Education ministries.

    In a statement, the ministry’s Public Relations Officer Sunday Orisakwe, stated that Iwuayanwu explained that his Ministry is saddled with ensuring quality science, technical and vocational education and also to make Imo the technological hub. He said Owelle Okorocha went to even greater lengths by establishing Information Communication Technology (ICT) centres in the 27 local government areas, which are functional. He said it is the Ministry’s duty to standardise privately-owned computer and ICT centres in the state.

    To create awareness among science students in the state, Iwuayanwu said the ministry is putting arrangements in place to conduct the first-ever science quiz contest among students of secondary schools. Iwuayanwu solicited a partnership between the Army College of Logistics and the ministry to give Imo youths the knowledge in science and technology that will help them confront the challenges of the century.

    Also welcoming the Nigeria Army College of Logistics students to the Ministry was the Commissioner of Basic and Secondary Education, Hon. Gertrude Oduka who expressed her gratitude to the Army College of Logistics for visiting Imo State. She said Imo is associated with Education. She told the Army College of Logistics Students that one sector in which the Governor is so passionate about is the education sector. Hon. Oduka said at the inception of the present administration of Governor Rochas Okorocha, the Governor promised Imolites that he is going to give them free Education and this he has done and have lived up to that promise. She said there was a time mothers in Imo State sold their wrappers to pay school fees for their children but that the administration of Rochas Okorocha has given Imo people free education from primary to university level, a feat that has never been achieved in the history of the state. She said there has been an enrollment explosion into primary and secondary schools because parents find it easier to send their children to school. She further explained that apart from been free, the education is also qualitative, which has enhanced the State’s performance in WAEC and JAMB. She stated that presently the state has 80 per cent public schools and 20 percent Private schools.

    Also welcoming the Logistics students, the Commissioner for Tertiary Education Prof. Emenalo Chizoba told the students that the Governor in his wisdom dimmed it important to split the Education Ministry into three in order to focus on the importance of all aspect of Education in the State. She said Tertiary Education in the State has been given lots of attention in order for the State to accommodate thousands of Imo youths who are seeking for tertiary education.

     

  • Oguta bemoans five-year blackout

    Indigenous people of Oguta in Imo State are proud of their pedigree and endowments. Oguta, seat of Oguta Local Government Area, also hosts a famous lake named after the community. The coastal, oil-producing town was one of the first places from which the British gained access to other parts of Igbo land. It also produced such illustrious personalities as the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, novelist Flora Nwapa and musician Dr Alban, among others.

    But for five years, Oguta’s enviable profile has paled in significance. Why? The community has been in utter darkness, as though forgotten by the nation’s electricity firm. The blackout has left residents in agony, their economy ruined.

    According to the residents, the blackout started when the Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ISOPADEC) failed to live up to its responsibility of paying the community’s electricity bills.

    Mr Christian Okororie, an Oguta youth development activist, said, “My Oguta has been out of electricity for five years now and we no longer want to rely on ISOPADEC whose responsibility it was to pay the electricity bills of oil host communities. We no longer need EEDC either.

    “All we want is Agip to give us electricity just as it has given Omoku in Rivers State and other oil host communities in Bayelsa and Delta states. Why is Oguta an exception? We are going to protest until Agip grants us our request. We have endured enough and we say no more”.

    Okororie was speaking at the community town hall, where the Eze, Ndi Okpara (elders), social cultural groups, youths and other stakeholders of the community gathered to deliberate on their years of suffering without electricity, and chart the way forward.

    “The Oguta community has resolved that we need electricity  supply from Agip gas turbine or from Agiri gas plant”.

    Responding to the situation, Hon Nanah Opiah, a member of the House of Representative representing Oguta constituency, suggested how the problem can be resolved.

    He said, “I think that between the local government and the Oguta leadership there should be a committee to find out exactly what the problem of power is in Oguta. There should be power supply in Oguta, Oguta is an urban area.

    “If there’s electricity supply in Owerri, no matter how little it is, it should be so in Oguta. It is important to find out whether it is the payment of bills and why it has not been paid.

    “ISOPADEC was established to manage the electricity issue in Ohaji, Egbema and Oguta areas. There was power supply, ISOPADEC was paying the electricity bills on a monthly basis and we were liaising with power holding companies in identifying difficulties from time to time and ratifying them. Now ISOPADEC is malfunctioning and it’s impotent, so to say”.

    He said further that the second solution would be for Agip to give the oil host communities electricity, adding that he has been making effort to reach out to Agip to give Oguta and Ekekwuru Egbema communities power supply.

    “About the oil producing companies in Imo State,” he said, “I made my findings and I came to the understanding that one of the oil-producing companies operating in Imo in particular in Oguta and Ohaji Egbema is Agip. Agip has a policy of ensuring power supply in all the localities where they operate. They operate in four states of Nigeria such as Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Imo. It is sad to note that Agip gives power supply to all the communities they operate in the three states effectively except Imo.

    “In Imo, the direct landlord to Agip is Oguta and Ekekwuru in Egbema. These two communities don’t have power supply from Agip and I took it up as a major issue. It is more worrisome that in remote communities where there’s no presence of electricity infrastructure in riverine communities in Bayelsa and Rivers, Agip buys giant generators, they also maintain generators, they provide diesel, they pay upfront for repairs just to make sure that they have regular power supply. For me, it is a clear case of neglect.”

    Hon Opiah quoted Agip as saying that since Oguta and Ekekwuru are on the national power grid, they do not deserve a second source of power since there are other communities without power at all.

    But the lawmaker dismissed this argument. “As for me,” he said, “that is no excuse. The national grid power is as good as nothing; every community will prefer power supply from Agip gas plant to any power grid which is not only epileptic but highly unreliable. A case in point is a town called Omoku in Rivers State. Omoku chose not to be on the national grid and they are enjoying steady regular power supply from Agip. So why Agip wouldn’t cut off Oguta from the national grid and ensure that they have regular power supply like their host counterparts in Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa states?

    “I have taken up the matter and I’m still meeting an agency on a better and impactful way of resolving the issue for the interest of the people and their development”.

     

  • The road a philanthropist built in Enugu

    The call to think home and build Igbo land is sinking in. It was in response to the call that a young Port-Harcourt-based philanthropist, Prince Lawrence Eze, decided to give his Mburubu community, in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, something to cheer and remember for life.

    He single-handedly built a 4.5km asphalt road with street lights to alleviate their suffering and enhance the evacuation of farm produce to Enugu metropolis and other States of the country. The road links Nara through Mburubu to Nomeh rail lines.

    The Prince had also way back in 2013, rehabilitated 3 bridges linking the communities of Ugbawka – Nara – Mburubu and Nomeh.

    The commissioning of the road project was however, part of activities lined up to mark the 50th Ofalla festival of his father, the traditional ruler of Mburubu community, Igwe Emmanuel Eze, the Ozulumba I of Mburubu, who has reigned for fifty years.ý

    Speaking while commissioning the project, Enugu State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, re-emphasised the need for the participation of the private sector in the development of the country.

    Ugwuanyi, who was full of praises for Prince Lawrence Eze for touching on the lives of his people, noted that the country needed more of the young Prince to move forward, as government alone cannot meet all the needs of the different communities.

    While congratulating the Mburubu community for having a son like the Prince, the governor expressed joy that the road network was completed and delivered before the rainy season when the farmers would need it most and called on corporate Nigeria to emulate the Prince of Mburubu example and support government in its rural development drive.

    Prince Lawrence Eze, who believes in action instead of much talking, told the people that his philanthropy was a continuous exercise, stressing that his target was to rehabilitate all roads within the community.

    He stated that the only way he felt he can appreciate God for His gift of life and resources, was to give a face-lift to his community and put smiles on the faces of his people through roads construction and award of scholarships to indigent students from Primary school to the University level. He said that he also believed that the luxury of good road network should not be the exclusive preserve of those in urban areas, adding that those in rural communities should have a test of it.

    The prince of Mburubu thanked the Enugu State governor for coming to personally commission the road project despite short notice and prayed God to grant him a deserved second tenure next year.

    The president General of Mburubu Town Union, Prof. Alphonsus Njoku, said that the road project was a great relief to Mburubu and neighboring communities, pointing out that for the past 100 years, movement in the area had remained difficult for his people, forcing them to trek long distances to sell their farm produce.

    Njoku, stated that in addition to the roads and bridges constructed by Prince Lawrence Eze, thousands of indigent students in the area had benefited from his scholarship scheme, even as poor pregnant mothers from the community had continued to enjoy financial lifeline from him.

    The president-General also appealed to the Enugu State governor to capture the enterprising Prince in his administration, since according to him, “the man has all the qualities of a good leader”.

    Guests at the occasion were later entertained with cultural dances and drama displays.

     

  • Ex-governor Orji gives N18m, fertiliser, tricycles to constituents

    Abia State’s former governor Theodore Orji, who represents Abia Central Senatorial District at the Senate, has given cash and jobs tools to 180 youths in his constituency.

    The youths earlier trained in various areas of agriculture across the country’s best agricultural institutions were empowered with the sum of N100,000 each including some bags of fertilisers, while others got tricycles to enable them fend for themselves.

    Speaking while presenting the cheques in Umuahia, the state capital, Orji said the gesture is aimed at ensuring that the beneficiaries have a decent life.

    Orji said when God blesses someone that the best thing to do is for such a person to reach out and bless others who are in need, stressing that by so doing that the society will be better and the youths will incline less towards crimes.

    The distinguished senator explained that contrary to what people have been saying, “What I have been doing is not to show off but to return to the system the little I have to ensure that the youths have a better life than the one they are currently living”.

    He said, “As your senator representing you at the senate, I want to assure you of adequate representation which has made me to achieve a lot at the senate in the short time I have been your senator”.

    Orji said that his interest runs beyond his senatorial district, stressing that one or the bills he sponsored was for the federal government to come and take over the Abia State Polytechnic in Aba, “So that the financial burden will be less on the state government”.

    The senator who enumerated some of his achievements at the senate said they include the motion asking the federal government to provide security along the rail lines to secure life and property of both the corporation and their commuters.

    He said that every academic session that ten students from the six council areas in his senatorial district benefit from his scholarship scheme with the sum of N 100,000 each, “I pledge to continue this scheme so long as I remain in the senate”.

    Orji used the forum to endorse Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and his deputy, Ude Oko-Chukwu for second term as the governor and deputy governor of the state and all others who are in different elective political positions in the state.

    He urged members of his party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to remain faithful, stressing that they are not going to disappoint them but urged them to go all out and obtain their PVCs to enable them return their candidates back to office come 2019.

    Earlier in his speech the chairman of the empowerment committee Chidiebere Nwoke said that financial grants (N100,000 each) will be given to those who have been trained in various agricultural disciplines to enable them take off.

    Nwoke said that 30 tricycles would be given out to beneficiaries while the young farmers will also be given bags of fertilizers apart from the sum of N 100,000 each, stressing that the constituency office of Senator Orji is the most vibrant in the country.

    He used the ceremony to call for the endorsement of Orji to go back to the senate come 2019 which the crowd gave their overwhelming voice vote in the affirmative asking him to return to the senate.

  • Ex-militants learn new skills in Abia

    Fifty repentant militants have been shipped to Abia State to learn new skills in agriculture, UGOCHUKWU UGOJI-EKE reports

    The Niger Delta militants have always attracted attention. When they picked up their guns and bombs everyone on earth noticed, and begged. When they laid down their arms in a federal government amnesty deal, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Even the amnesty arrangement has attracted attention, with some claimants saying they were either left out or that what they were getting was not enough. Many of them have been trained in various job skills to help them adjust to life after militancy.

    Now, no fewer than 50 of the ex-fighters have been taken to Abia State to be trained in various fields of agriculture.

    But why Abia, since the former combatants all hail from the Niger Delta? The state is said to have  developed its agriculture enough to accommodate the plan of the ex-militants’ minders. They want them to acquire diverse job skills to support themselves and stay off trouble.

    That was why they were shipped off to Abia where the former fighters will be taught skills in agriculture under the state’s Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) in conjunction with FADMOBAT Investment Limited.

    The exercise will last for two weeks, The Nation was told.

    Speaking at Abia ADP premises in Umuahia, the state capital, while welcoming the delegates, the programme manager of ADP, Batho Onyemaobi said they were in the state to learn the trade of modern-day agricultural farming to enable them become self-dependent.

    Onyemaobi recalled that before the advent of petroleum in the country that agriculture was the main stay of the economy of the country through which numerous investments were made for the benefit of the citizenry.

    The Abia ADP boss noted that before now that Nigeria was known for its agricultural prowess which led to the north having the groundnut pyramid, the cocoa in the west and palm produce in the east.

    He regretted that the agricultural economy collapsed with the discovery of petroleum to the extent that the country imports what she eats.

    “This has made the federal government to commence the efforts to return the country back to agriculture,” he said.

    Onyemaobi noted that this desire by the federal government to return people to farming has made them to ask people to start small farms at the back and sides of their homes at least to produce what they can feed on.

    The Abia ADP boss said that the aim of the federal government in this direction is to ensure that there is food for all even to the extent that “the much or excess we cannot consume could be exported to generate more revenue for the development of the country”.

    He explained that the results of what government has done are there for all to see as people have started planting enough rice to the level that some of them are now being exported to the outside world.

    Onyemaobi said that the era of petroleum products being the order of the day is fast dwindling, stressing that those in authority have seen the future, “Which is the reason they have decided to engage the youths into farming to be useful instead of wasting away”.

    He noted that there are various arms of farming which the delegates will benefit for their own use such as poultry, piggery, snail farming among other forms of farming, “You should know that the best meat for sausage and its allied products are from pig, so there is a lot in farming”.

    The ADP program manager said, “While you are here, you will be trained in various aspects of mechanized farming which will include both theory and practical so that when you leave here it is expected that you will become useful to yourselves and the society at large”.

    In his response the coordinator of the delegates, Cletus Abangwu thanked the management and staff of Abia ADP for accepting to have and teach them, stressing that they are in the best place in the country for their agricultural training.

    Abangwu said, “They delegates are happy to be in their midst and we believe that they will learn a lot, at the end they are going to testify that they have benefitted a lot from their training which will go a long way to better their lives”.

    “We want to thank you again for the warm reception given to us since our arrival and the efforts you and your team have put in place to ensure that we enjoy our stay in Abia state as well as receive the best of agricultural training”.

    “Our major concern during the training is to ensure that the delegates get skilled in various agricultural areas which at the long run will be beneficial to them in particular and the country in general”.

    Reacting, Promise Uduku, one of the delegates pledged on behalf of others to work with the management and staff of Abia ADP, adding that all they are asking for is cooperation from all for them to work together to achieve their aim of coming to the state.

    Toru Baike another another delegate from Bayelsa state warned that the coordinator should not attempt to run away with their money, “It has always been the case especially when the training is about to end”.

    Baike said, “Mr programme manager we want you to warn the coordinator not to attempt to run away without money and if he tries it despite the presence of the military in this premises, we will scatter this place and they the military cannot stop us when we start”.

    Organisers of the training exercise are not likely to trifle with that warning.

  • Why security agents destroyed N30m fake polish in Anambra

    Fakers are no respecters of products; they fake anything they please, including razor blades. In Anambra State, though, where they have for years been passing off some counterfeit products packaged as Kiwi shoe polish, they have run into bad weather. Two truckloads of the fake polish worth N30 million have been destroyed in Onitsha, the state’s commercial capital.

    The sole distributor of Kiwi polish in Nigeria, ASCO Investments, and its West African manufacturing company, SC Johnson, have long complained to regulatory authorities in Nigeria without success. Not giving up, they turned to the fakers directly, warning them to stop their dirty habits. The fakers ignored the warning. One of them even  sued ASCO and SC Johnson, accusing them of harassment.

    The matter was instituted at an Onitsha High Court, presided over by Justice I. U. Ndigwe.

    The plaintiffs were Hyginius Chukwuma and Uju Anike, while the respondents were Chief Sam Anyanwuaku, who is the Managing Director of ASCO Investment and the police.

    On December 4th, 2017 Justice Ndigwe delivered a judgement in favour of the respondents, ordering that the products worth over N30 million be destroyed.

    Following the judgement, security operatives and ASCO Investment destroyed the two truckloads of the faked products.

    The fake Kiwi products were impounded in Onitsha, the commercial nerve of the state, through the help of ASCO Investment Limited, sole distributors of Kiwi polish in Nigeria in collaboration with the police.

    In his judgement, the court upheld an earlier agreement made out of court by the parties involved, for the destruction of the fake Kiwi polish.

    The execution of the court order which was carried out at the weekend was supervised by the police and officials of SC Johnson, manufacturers of the Kiwi brand of polish in West Africa

    Speaking after the destruction, Chief Sam Anyanwutaku, the  sole distributor of Kiwi Polish in Nigeria, lamented that fake products were not only limited to polish,blaming regulatory agencies in the land.

    He said the failure of regulatory agencies to stop the importation of fake products into the country was killing the economy.

    He said, “The public execution of the Onitsha High Court judgement is to make sure that consumers buy only original products, and a warning to those who deal in fake products to desist from doing so.”

    Also speaking, the Managing Director,  SC Johnson in West Africa sub region , Mr Oghale Elueni, took a swipe at the regulatory agencies including Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

    He accused them of frustrating the efforts of manufacturers by willingly refusing to act when complaints against fake product importers were brought before them.

    Elueni said, “When you take a report to them, you find out that it takes as long as six months before they work on your complaints, at which time the importers of the products would have been alerted.

    “SON is empowered to fish out and impound fake products, but they still do not live up to this. SC Johnson is in over 88 countries of the world and has been in existence for over 200 years. It is only in Nigeria that we have a problem of our products being faked. The polish we produce is not just to make your shoes shine, but to also protect it. But when you use these fake ones, they destroy your shoes and also tarnish the corporate image of our company and brands, and we will not sit back and let that happen,” Elueni said.

     

  • ‘Blame pastors for Nigeria’s woes’

    Nigeria’s challenges, including its woeful growth profile, are the direct faults of ministers of God who neglect their calling, The Nation was told.

    The accusation came from no other than a minister of the gospel himself, Bro. Samuel Ajayi Okonkwo, founder of John 3:16 Ministries, Aba, Abia State.

    Okonkwo blamed the myriad of woes bedeviling the country on fellow ministers of God, accusing them of abdicating their divine responsibilities in pursuit of material things.

    Speaking in Aba, the state’s commercial seat, Okonkwo said it was a thing of worry that the country would be drifting while men of God charged with calling political leaders to order, would be praising them for pecuniary reasons.

    He said the church in Nigeria has disappointed God to the extent that many abominable things are happening in today’s churches and that God is no longer happy.

    Quoting the scriptures, Okonkwo cited the case of the Israelites whose leaders were admonished each time they drifted, and were told the consequences of their actions.

    “In the Bible we were told that when the people of Israel rebelled against God as a result of the activities of their leaders, the priests were always out to warn them of the consequences of what they were doing and with that admonition, they turned from their evil ways and seek the face of God who would in turn answer their prayers.

    “But in Nigeria today, the so called men of God, instead of condemning the actions of our political leaders, will go about hobnobbing with them, praising them to high heavens because of money and other material things thereby shutting the door for God’s intervention”, he said.

    He blamed the  doctrine of prosperity which now seems to be over and above the doctrine of salvation for the decline.

    He added that this negative focus of the church was responsible for the increase in crime wave in the country even when churches were multiplying in geometric proportions.

    He called for a change if the country must move forward.

    On the Biafra struggle, Bro. Okonkwo said he received a revelation that Biafra would not be achieved through war, but by the Igbo coming closer to God and through prayers.

     

  • Lawyer, community petition police over death of three men

    A human rights lawyer based in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, Dr Anthony Agbazuere, and community leaders of Ntigha Okpuala in Ntigha community of Isiala Ngwa North council area of Abia State have petitioned the Inspector-General of Police Abubakar Idris over alleged murder of three young men in the community.

    Addressing newsmen in Umuahia over the incident, Agbazuere said that his attention was drawn to an ugly incident that happened in that community when one inspector and two sergeants stormed the place to kill the youths.

    Agbazuere said the three policemen arrived in the community while they were holding a meeting and shot the three men whose names he gave as Adimchi Obiocha, Joseph Nwokocha and Obinna.

    He said that the police men arrived  in a Mercedes Benz 190 car and opened fire on the three young men, killing them instantly and quickly took off, stressing that it was only when they got to the divisional police office at Ntigha that they identified the vehicle.

    The human rights lawyer said, “The traditional ruler and his council of chiefs came to me and alerted me over the incident which made me to petition the IGP Abubakar Idris, and he has responded”.

    “The IGP in his response directed the Abia State Commissioner of Police (CP) Anthony Ogbizi to investigate the matter; the three police men have been arrested and are right now at the state Criminal Investigating Department (CID) Umuahia”.

    “However information available to me shows that there are people behind the scene who are making frantic efforts to ensure that the three suspects should be released but we will ensure that such will not happen”.

    “What we don’t know is if the killing was politically motivated or not but we want to make sure that the directive of the IGP must be obeyed and for the suspects to be prosecuted before a competent court of jurisdiction”.

    “We also have information that they have taken their case to the Assistant Inspector of Police (AIG) zone 9 boosting that they will be released, but when I heard the boost I just sent the IGP’s letter to the AIG and that was the end of that move”.

    Agbazuere explained that what he and the community want is for the three police suspects to be taken to court for murder and called on the state police command to investigate and prosecute them as they are not supposed to kill those they are supposed to protect.

    In his response one of the chiefs, Omerenma Ubani said that they were in their community on the said day when they heard gunshots which led to the people running away for the fear of the unknown.

    Ubani said that the initial thinking of the people of the community was that herdsmen had invaded their place while some thought that kidnappers had arrived since one of their women was recently kidnapped in such incident.

    He said that when they came out that they saw three young men on the ground, “Our first reaction was to take them to the hospital in a bid to save their lives only for them to be confirmed dead”.

    Agbazuere later gave The Nation a copy of the IGP’s response which was written on the 9th of March 2018 and addressed to the Abia state CP asking him comment on the allegation and was signed by ACP Usman A.K. Umar, Principal Staff Officer to the IGP and was received by the CP’s office on 13th March 2018.

    When contacted the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Geoffrey Ogbonna said that he is not aware of the incident but since the letter was written to the CP that newsmen should contact him.

     

  • How 3-month-old baby survived blocked intestine

    Little Emmanuel Sunday was born three months ago with a serious anomaly which threatened his life. All efforts by his poor parents to treat him were not successful. As they contemplated the next step to take, Caring Heart Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) launched a free medical clinic in their hometown Akaeze, Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

    The couple decided to take him to the clinic where the doctors declared his condition critical and referred him to the Federal Teaching Hospital (FETH) Abakaliki for emergency attention. He was two months old at the time, and his health had deterioriated.

    A sponsor of the Caring Heart Foundation, Linus Okorie, a member of the House of Representatives representing Ohaozara, Onicha and Ivo Federal Constituency, on hearing of the boy’s condition, quickly mobilised an ambulance to rush him to the hospital.

    That timely intervention saved Little Emmanuel, according to doctors at the hospital. The boy was diagnosed with intussusception or blockage of the small intestine. This seriously affected blood supply to the affected areas. The condition was considered life-threatening and required urgent surgical intervention.

    The surgery was carried out on February 18, 2018 and reported successful to the collective relief and joy of his parents and the Caring Heart team.

    He was to be discharged on the 24rd of February, I was alerted to the fact that Emmanuel was to be discharged the next day being 24th.. But alas, that was not to be. Before the 24th,  Mr Okorie was jolted by the terrifying news that Emmanuel’s stitches suddenly broke and his entire guts or intestines spilled out of his bowels. This was a devastating blow and a huge shock to everyone.

    “Accordingly, he was rushed back into the theater and operated on again. For days he was in excruciating pain and cried uncontrollably. Worst of all, he was unable to take anything including the mother’s breast milk. Those were days of extreme anguish and worry for all of us involved in his case,” said Okorie in a chat with our Reporter.

    Gradually, Emmanuel recovered and has been discharged. After a comprehensive assessment, the medics said he has fully recovered and was in good health.

    Coincidentally, the day he was discharged was the birthday of his benefactor, Linus Okorie who single-handedly footed the bills for his double surgery and sundry expenses.

    Speaking to The Nation after the discharge of her son, Emmanuel’s mother, Mary Sunday thanked God for saving her son from death. She further appreciated Mr Okorie for standing by them throughout the ordeal.

    Also, Mr Okorie in his own reaction said the discharge of Emmanuel is the best birthday gift for him.

    “Join us in rejoicing with Master Emmanuel Sunday and his entire family for the gift of life and health. I thank all of you, good people, for your prayers and goodwill for Emmanuel’s recovery over this past month. Permit that I particularly appreciate the Amurt Foundation (especially its Dr Agu), Caring Heart programme contact person, Onyekachi Ani, FETHA Medical team and Emmanuel’s mother who went through the entire trauma”.

    “Team caring heart would be full satisfied even if Master Emmanuel’s recovery ends up the only success of our programmed 10 month sojourn across our ten clans in the federal constituency. His life, which God allowed the privilege of contributing to is worth more than all the money in this world and every effort and commitment to the entire outreach programme,” Okorie added.

    “As we programme berths this Sunday March 18, 2018 at Ugwulangwu, Ohaozara Local Government Area, Mr Okorie appealed for participation and support of all stakeholders to make it another success.

    “We must encourage all those requiring medical attention within Ugwulangwu to come out enmass to avail the opportunity presented by the programme,” he said.