Some soldiers clashed with butchers on Thursday afternoon in Aba, Abia State.
The development caused apprehension among residents of the commercial city.
The cause of the clash has not been ascertained at the time of filing this report.
However, other security agents have been deployed to the scene to prevent the incident from escalating.
Details later…
The Abia state Commissioner of Police (CP), Joshak Habila said that his command has recovered two more vehicles which were stolen by a fake army officer, Ahanna Chinagorom Ogwezi from car shops, who wears army uniform to dupe people.
Speaking in Umuahia while parading some armed robbery suspects, Habila said that his command has been doing a follow up on the case of the fake army officer, who was paraded by him in January this year.
Habila said that his men have recovered a black Toyota Avalon (Sport) 2004 model, which was stolen from a custom officer in Onitsha, Anambra state in December last year and sold to one Japhet at Owerri.
The Abia CP said that the suspect had sold the car to Japhet at the cost of eight hundred and fifty thousand naira (N850, 000), adding that the fake soldiers used fake custom documents to sell the car.
He said that the police have also recovered a Lincoln MKX SUV black colour belonging to Bright Oranta, which was stolen at Asaba, Delta state and sold to Pastor Olatunde in Calabar, Cross River state at the cost of N4.3 million, adding that the car was stolen from Ikechukwu who is car dealer.
Habila said that a Toyota Highlander SUV which was stolen in Enugu in 2013 from the owner, Tony Mba and sold to one Kingsley in Warri Delta state, stressing that Kingsley later sold the car to one Pastor Yomi in Port Harcourt at the cost of N2.8 million, “From whose possession the vehicle was recovered”.
It could be recalled that the fake soldier who specializes in stealing of exotic cars from car shops while wearing military uniform is currently facing charges at the court.
While parading the armed robbery suspects, Habila said that a sister security agency in the state transferred to the command three suspected armed robbers, Chimnonso Ikpegbu aka Ojingwa, Emeka Acha aka Osuofia and Chijioke Kingsley Ifeanyi.
The CP said that three were arrested on the allegation of being car snatching syndicate, “The suspects are ex-convicts have been involved in series of car snatching incidents on gun point and Ikpegbu and Acha have confessed to the crimes”.
Habila said that during interrogation that Ikpegbu led the team to Ndoro in Ikwuano local government area of the state, “Where a locally made pistol was recovered in a kiosk, while efforts are being made to recover the stolen vehicles”.
A young man identified as Mr. Samuel Ogwo has reportedly committed suicide at Ehere village in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.
The incident took place at the weekend in a yet-to-be completed three storey building located at Nwobasi Estate, some kilometers off the commercial hub of the state.
Information about the incident, until the time of filing the report was sketchy as people were yet to know why the young man should decide to take his life that way.
But a source in the area told our correspondent that the victim before hanging himself, placed some blocks which he climbed to enable him carry the ungodly act.
The source who could not also confirm whether the body of the victim has been brought down from the rope holding him by the villagers said “I am not an indigene of Ehere, but in situations like this, I know that they used to perform some rituals take down the corpse of a victim that die in such manner like suicide,” the source stated.
The source said that though the villagers are yet to find out what could possibly lead the victim into such stated that some sections of the residents were suspecting foul play.
The family members of the victim cannot be reached, but the Police Public Relations Officer of Abia State Command; DSP Ezekiel Udeviotu Onyeke confirmed the incident.
Udeviotu added that the victim before committing the suicide sent a text message to his family members informing them of his intended act.
According to him, preliminary investigation ruled out foul play as some people may have been speculating, he however said that investigation into the possible cause of the act is being carried out by the Easter Ngwa Police Division police crack team under whose jurisdiction the incident happened.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Abia State Command has paraded seven male suspects, allegedly arrested for being in possession of banned/prohibited substances.
The suspects, Uzochukwu Nnanna,35, Kingsley Ugwubueze 31, Agbaeze Kalu,40, Saidu Iliyasu, 29, Solution Kingsley, 22, Ikechukwu Nwankpa, 31, and Ugochukwu Nwachukwu, 22 were said to have been arrested in the month of March by NDLEA operatives.
The State Commander of the agency, Bamidele Akingbade told newsmen that the suspects were apprehended at various venues in the state with illicit substances (psycho-tropical substances) weighing a total of about 14.23 kilograms.
He said that some of the substances include Cocaine, Heroin and Indian hemp at the time of their arrests.
The NDLEA boss said that the suspects would be arraigned in court after they must have concluded investigation into the matter.
One of the suspects, Saidu Iliayasu, 29, a security man at a private hostel in Uturu, was said to have been arrested during a raid in Uturu after the incident at a private hostel in Uturu where two students of Abia State University, ABSU were reported to have been beheaded.
Iliayasu was said to have been in possession of Indian hemp of over N3000 he was yet to sell to prospective buyers.
According to Uzochukwu Nnanna, police officers caught him with Indian hemp and later handed him over to the NDLEA.
Nnanna who pleaded for forgiveness stated that he was pushed to go into the trade because of hardship.
Kingsley, admitted being in possession of cocaine (“White”), stating that he was pushed into the business after he lost his father at the end of his secondary education and had to seek help to further his education.
He noted that it was in the process of seeking help that he met a man called Nwa-Charlie who introduced him into the Cocaine business as a way to help him raise money to go further.
Another suspect, Kingsley Ugwubueze, a native of Ohaji-Egbema in Imo State said he was living in Ibadan by Orlu Street, Aba where he was caught for possessing Indian hemp last month.
Forty year-old Agbaeze Kalu, a wheel barrow pusher said he went to buy hemp for personal consumption when he was caught by the Vigilante in Aba and handed over to NDLEA.
He said that smoking weed helps to give him strength to continue working when he becomes weak after doing heavy jobs.
“I now know that it is dangerous to my health and when I leave here I will not return to it,” he said.
Ikechukwu Nwankpa, 31, from Eziama Nvosi who lives at the Omuma road said he was arrested with hemp.
He said he was shoemaker until he had a problem and had no money to continue with the trade and then his friend urged him to sell hemp to help him.
He said that if he sold his shoes in a day, he makes about N5000 gain but chose to be selling hemp which he could sale for N1, 500 for the time with gain of about N500.
Ugochukwu Nwachukwu who hails from Ugiri Mbano in Imo State said his father died in December 2015 and he had no one to help him which led him into the business of selling Indian hemp until he was caught.
They all pleaded to be pardoned saying that if they are released, they would not return to hard drug trade and consumption again.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia on Friday inaugurated the Governing Council of Abia State University (ABSU),Uturu.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, Ikpeazu charged members of the council to ensure that the institution occupied a leadership position among universities in Nigeria.
The governor said that ABSU was the pride of the state and commended the university authorities for the strides recorded with meagre resources.
“ABSU has always taken the lead in Law and Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, in ICT in the country, and the state took the first position in the recent WAEC examiniation.
“This reveals that Abia has made positive statements in the country’s educational firmament and I urge the university authorities to continue in that vein.”
He said that in order to check cultism in the institution, the council should do a profiling of the students of the institution.
Ikpeazu observed that there was a huge number of prospective university undergraduates who could not find space in other universities in the country.
He added that the council should be stringent in the implementation of the school’s admission policy, urging them to provide space in the school for the teeming youths.
The governor said that it was pertinent for the institution to commercialise research activities in order to raise funds for the university.
Responding on behalf of the other members of the council, the Prochancellor and Chairman of Council, Sen. Adolfus Wabara, thanked the governor for finding them fit to serve.
Wabara said that he was confident that the council would live up to expectation in the discharge of its duties.
The immediate past governor of Abia state and the senator representing Abia Central in the Senate, Senator Theodore Orji has condemned the attitude of some security agencies over the constant attacks by Fulani herdsmen on some indigenes.
Senator Orji said that in most cases when the issue of Fulani herdsmen attack on indigenes of areas where they graze their cattle, the security men show signs of partiality where they should be impartial.
Speaking with newsmen in Umuahia, Orji said that security men should know that they are being paid with tax payer’s money and have no need to be partial, adding that the job of security men is to protect life and property and not to be partial.
Orji wondered how people who are supposed to be cattle herdsmen would be carrying AK 47 automatic rifle and attack defenceless people, stressing that the senate is not resting on its oars to ensure that the problem is settled amicably.
The senator noted that the issue of Fulani herdsmen attacking their hosts over grazing ground is not peculiar to South East alone, as it has happened at Agatu in Benue state, “Even when I was governor of Abia we had the same problem over grazing land in Ohafia.”
He explained that as members of the senate that they do not have arms, police or army to pursue the matter, “What we have is the ability to make laws that handle the case and believe that law enforcement agencies will enforce the laws”.
The Senator said that the senate is on the verge of providing grazing ground for the cattle herdsmen so that peace will exist between the indigenes who are the hosts and the Fulani cattle men.
He said: “Once the grazing grounds are provided with all the amenities in such places, we are sure that the issue of clashes between indigenes and Fulani herdsmen will be a thing of the past.”
On the issue of Nnamdi Kanu, Orji said that the South East caucus in the national assembly are talking and handling the matter in a manner that it will be settled in an amicable way devoid of rancour and acrimony.
“The Nnamdi Kanu matter even as it in the court one should not talk about it, we in the national assembly from the South East are not keeping quiet, we are working to ensure that an amicable solution to it will be arrived at to ensure peace in the zone,” he added.
Former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu Friday welcomed the verdict of the Supreme Court directing his trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged N2.4billion fraud when he ran the affairs of the state between 1999 and 2007.
The apex court had dismissed his appeal for lacking in merit.
Kalu who in the appeal, had sought to quash the charge of money laundering brought against him by EFCC, said moment after the Supreme Court’s ruling Friday that “this is another opportunity to prove my innocence.”
“I have all the records and facts of the case. I am willing to submit myself for the rule of law to take its course. That has always been my passion advocacy right from the lower courts where the case enamnated,” he said from London.
He added: “this clarification has become imperative lest oppositional forces mischievously misinterpret the ruling and mislead the public by injecting their jaundiced opinions into the routine directive as had always been with similar cases where the apex court intervened.”
He assured the EFCC of his “continued support and profound cooperation in any further investigation into this allegation,’’ and also claimed it “is part of the price I have to pay for opposing the third-term agenda fiasco of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.”
A similar appeal by Kalu’s associate, Udeh Jones Udehogo was similarly dismissed Friday by the Supreme Court for the same reason.
Justice Suleiman Galadima, who wrote the lead judgments in both appeals, upheld the concurrent decisions of the Federal High Court, Abuja and Appeal Court, Abuja in refusing the appeals.
The five-man panel of the apex court, in its unanimous judgments, directed the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to assign the cases to new judges for hearing.
On Kalu’s case, Justice Galadima, whose judgment was read by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, said: “The appellant had approached the Federal High Court, Abuja to quash the charges made against him by the EFCC.
“The Court dismissed the case. He went to the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division. He lost and approached this court.
“Having considered all issues raised and arguments by parties, I come to the conclusion that I cannot, but help in dismissing this appeal for lacking in merit. It is dismissed.
“I affirm the decision of the court bellow, which rightly affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court, that it was not bound by the ex-parte order of the Abia State High Court as to vitiate the charges preferred against the appellant.
“The learned Chief Judge of the Federal High Court should assign the case to another judge for expeditious trial,” Justice Galadima said.
Other members of the panel: Justice Mahmud Mohammed (the Chief Justice of Nigeria), Bode Rhodes-Vivour, Sylvester Nwgwuta and Datijo Mohammed agreed with the lead judgments in both appeals.
In its decision on April 27, 2012 the Court of Appeal, Abuja division dismissed the appeal by Kalu against the ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja dismissing his motion seeking to quash the charge against him and his company, Slok Nigeria Limited.
Justice Ejembi Eko, who read the judgment on behalf of Justices Kayode Bada and Regina Nwodo resolved all issues in the appeal against Kalu and his company and dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit.
Justice Eko noted that the proof of evidence attached to the 97 count charge preferred against the appellants by the EFCC disclosed a prima facie case against the former governor and others.
Justice Eko said the facts raised in the proof of evidence established a prima facie case against the appellants. He further said that as far as there is a link which prima facie is all about, the appellants had an obligation to stand trial to defend themselves.
He further ruled that the ex-parte order of May 31, 2007 by Abia State High Court, asking the Federal High Court to stay all proceedings against Orji was a racquet suit aimed at frustrating his arrest and subsequent prosecution.
“That order was an order at large, personal rather than definite. It was an order made as an ex-parte and not at the course of trial.”
He described the ex-parte motion as an abuse of court process.
Justice Eko said the claim of breach of personal freedom raised by Orji was sentimental in nature, adding that the claim bordered on the realm of conspiracy theory and is politically motivated.
He said right to personal liberty is not absolute.
On whether EFCC had the competence to charge the appellants, Justice Eko held that both the EFCC Establishment Act and the Money laundering and Prohibition Act, (MPLA, 2003, 2004) had given the commission power to prosecute offenders.
“EFCC derives its competence to prosecute from section 6 and 7 of its Establishing Act. Equally, the definition of economic crime is quite wide,” he said.
The appellate court further held that the proof of evidence attached to the 97-count charge preferred against the appellants by the EFCC disclosed a prima facie case against the former governor and others.
Justice Eko also denounced the ex-parte order of May 31, 2007 by the Abia State High Court.
“That order was an order at large, personal rather than definite. It was an order made as an ex-parte and not at the course of trial.”
The EFCC had on July 27, 2007 arraigned Kalu before the High Court in Abuja on charges of money laundering, official corruption and criminal diversion of public funds totaling over N5 billion.
On September 3, 2007 Kalu filed a motion before the court seeking an order to strike out all EFCC charges against him and to vacate the terms and conditions of the bail earlier granted by the court. The court dismissed the motion, a decision Kalu appealed to the Court of Appeal.
The Abia government has banned all forms of touting in all parts of the state as it has been projecting the state in a very bad light and will do all within its power to ensure that the ban stands.
Speaking with newsmen in Umuahia on the outcome of the state Executive Council (EXCO) meeting, the commissioner for information, Bonnie Iwuoha said that security agencies have been directed to arrest anyone found touting in the state.
Iwuoha said that the state government frowns at the high level of touting in all parts of the state and since the present administration has zero tolerance to such illegality, that it has no other choice than to ban it in all forms.
He said that in the alternative that the EXCO has directed the state commissioner for sports to bring out a master plan that would enable them embark on massive sports development that will keep the youths busy.
The information commissioner said that his counterpart in the sports ministry is expected to go to the grassroots and fish out the talented youths whose energy could be harnessed for their benefit and that of the state.
Iwuoha said that it is expected that when the grassroots sports program commences, “It will make it possible for our youths to channel their enormous energy towards something more meaningful for both themselves and the state”.
He said that the state government is to embark on massive agricultural produce and has directed the state commissioner for agriculture to produce a program that will bring out a revolution in that sector.
The commissioner for information said that the program in agriculture will ensure food security, empowerment for both the youths and old, stressing that it will help to reduce crime rates in the state.
Iwuoha said that the state government is sourcing for the sum of N1 billion agricultural loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), “When this loan comes it will be given to only genuine farmers and will not be used to settle political jobbers”.
On education the information commissioner said that government is to renovate all the schools across the state and that the funds for the project will come from Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
He said that the funds when it comes will be channeled towards the project, “The era when funds accessed for projects in the state are diverted is over and the UBEC funds will be used to give the schools a facelift.”
Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State and other parts of the state may witness scarcity of bread if the threat of bakery operators in the state was anything to go by.
Although efforts to reach the leadership of Bakery Operators in Aba failed, The Nation authoritatively gathered that consumers of bread and other flour products may look for substitute if the market price of flour continues to rise in weeks ahead.
Our correspondent who visited many bread stands in Aba and its environs reports that some of the bakery operators who could not survive the harsh condition of production have closed down, while the price of bread that made the stand witnessed a fifty percent increase. This is even as some of the bread sellers feared that many bakery operators may soon wound down.
According to some bread sellers and bakery operators who pleaded anonymity, they attributed the closedown of some of the local bakeries to scarcity, high cost flour, cost of fueling and maintaining their machines and generating set including other production expenses.
“Some of our colleagues who could not cope with the cost of flour and other things, including payment of staff have closed down for business, at least for the moment. Flour is costly and people are not advised to use bromate in preparing bread because of the said negative implication it has on human health. So, there is no way people can cover their expenses at this time that the economy of the country is biting hard on people,” a bakery operator said.
The source however hoped that the federal government would wade into the situation by addressing some of the bottle necks that gave rise to the cost of flour in the market, stressing that a further increase on the price of bread means creating more hardship for bread and bakery food consumers.
The source feared that if nothing urgent was done to save bakers from over expenses; many more bread will be out of stock from the stands or will leave them with no choice than to further increase the price of bread and other bakery products in order to cover the cost of their production.
The source disclosed that bakers may be forced into a striking action in the nearest weeks to further push their demand for a reduction on the price of flour from its present market price.
Some residents of the commercial town that spoke to our reporter over the issue expressed worries over the rapid increase in the price of bread and other bakery products, stating that it will be difficult for them to source for other alternatives to bread and other flour products.
The buyers who lamented that the situation has narrowed their choices, however appealed to the respective authorities to see ways of addressing the situation by reducing the price of dollars and to encourage people who can afford to import flour into the country to do so.
The Supreme Court on Friday held that Okezie Ikpeazu was returned as governor of Abia because Alex Otti failed to prove the allegations brought against his victory in the April 11, 2015 governorship election.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ikpeazu and Otti contested the election on the platforms of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) respectively.
Giving reasons for its Feb. 3 judgment, Justice Suleiman Galadima held that Otti and the APC were unable to prove the issue of over voting, allegations of violence and corrupt practices allegedly perpetrated by the respondents.
“On the issue of over voting, the court holds that there was no sufficient proof as the voter register and the card reader report were not tendered.
“The criminal allegation of corrupt malpractices carried out by PDP loyalists for the benefit of the governor was not also proved,’’ he held.
On the cancellation of the election results in Obingwa, Osisioma Ngwa and Isiala Ngwa by the returning officers, Galadima held that it was wrong.
“That action amounted to the disenfranchisement of voters. It was also inappropriate for the tribunal to order the cancellation of election.
“All of this misappropriation only gave room for the unlawful declaration of the APGA candidate by the lower court.
“Those actions were perversion of justice and the apex court could not have allowed them,’’ he said.
Galadima further held that the evidence placed before the court showed clearly that the tribunal usurped the constitutional duties of INEC.
“On the card reader, the court maintains its earlier position that the tribunal cannot supplant the voter register.
“The gadget is only meant to authenticate bearers of voter card and not meant to usurp the statutory power of the voter register.
“At the moment, the voter register remains the only authentic document as provided by Section 49 of the Electoral Act to prove allegation of fraud in elections,’’ Galadima declared.