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Tag: Adamawa State

  • Updated: APC chairman kidnapped in Adamawa

    The All Progressives Congress ( APC ) chairman in Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Mijinyawa Hamisu, has been kidnapped.

    The Commissioner for Information, Ahmed Sajoh, who confirmed the development, said it happened around 3am on Wednesday.

    He stated the kidnappers have been in contact and were demanding N20 million for Hamisu’s release.

    The Adamawa State Public Relations Officer of APC, Muhammed Abdullahi, said he had just been told of the incident.

    Abdullahi said: “I have been informed that some people took the chairman of our party in Demsa but we don’t know their motives as to whether it is political or other things but I am on my way to the place to confirm the true state of things.”

    Read Also: I’m for all APC candidates, says Buhari

    The incident happened hours before a scheduled campaign visit to the Demsa LGA by Governor Mohammed Bindow.

    The Adamawa State Police Command confirmed the incident but assured that it was working to redeem the situation.
    The Police Public Relations Officer, Othman Abubakar, told The Nation in a telephone interview that the state Police Commissioner, Sabo Ibrahim, had directed the command technical team to search out the kidnappers and get Mijinyawa back to his family.

  • Breaking: Governors in meeting with NSA over security, elections 

    Governors and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, are locked in a meeting ahead of the forthcoming general polls.

    The meeting which is at the instance of the NSA is currently ongoing at the national secretariat of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Abuja

    The country’s security situation is expected to dominate discussion.

    Read Also:Failed e-transactions: report defaulting banks to us, says CBN

    The same scenario played out few weeks to the 2015 general elections which eventually led to the postponement of the poll so as to allow the military make a last push against the Bono Haram sect who were then occupying almost the entire Local Government Areas in Borno and some part of Adamawa and Yobe states.

    A source said the meeting was called to update the governors on the security situation in the country ahead of the general elections.

    It was also gathered that the NSA intends to present to the governors the security arrangement with the aim of ensuring their support.

    A communique is expected to be released at the end of the meeting.

     

    Details later…

  • Buhari mourns APC Chieftain Hajiya Fati

    President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the government and people of Adamawa State on the death of Hajiya Fati Mohammed, who until her demise was a member of the Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    She was also former National Treasurer of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP.

    Read Also:Updated: Buhari, Mbaka meet in Aso Rock

    Extending heartfelt commiserations to the Mohammed family and the APC family in Adamawa State, President Buhari said he was extremely saddened by the death of the veteran politician, whom he had the pleasure of working with for many years.

    The President, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said he was grieved to learn that Hajiya Fati collapsed at a Consultative meeting of the Adamawa Central Senatorial District of the APC attended by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and was confirmed dead on arrival at the University Teaching Hospital, Yola.

    “The party has lost a hardworking leader who loved her work very much. My condolences to her family and well-wishers,” the President said.

  • Ex-CDS Alex Badeh laid to rest amid tears

    It was a hectic Wednesday at the Nigerian Air Force Base’s Protestant Church and the National Military Cemetary, Abuja, as top military Officers gathered to pay their last respect to the former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh.

    The Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin and the three Service Chiefs, as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and two serving governors, were among those who joined others to find comforting words for grieving family of late Badeh.

    Air Chief Marshal Badeh’s the immediate family members, friends and relations could not hold their tears at the church and Cemetery.

    Their moods were punctuated by the unfolding events in the programme schedules of the burial ceremony.

    Some members of the immediate family were seen holding onto one another, wiping tears streaming down their faces.

    The Air Chief Marshal was killed on December 18, 2018, by suspected gunmen while returning from his farm located along Abuja-Keffi expressway.

    The sad event sent a shocking way across the length of the country, especially regarding the status of the victim and the hypertensive security situation.

    The funeral service was conducted at the Nigerian Air Force Base’s Protestant Church.

    The atmosphere at the cemetery became more emotional as the body of the late ex-CDS was interned.

    Shortly after the body of the late CDS was conveyed into the church in a casket wrapped in national colours, solemn hymns were rendered to set the mood for the service, which commenced at about 10: 09 am.

    No sooner had the late CDS’ daughter taken the Scripture reading from Job 14:1 – 6 than tributes were delivered by the deceased family.

    Read Also: Photos: Badeh buried in military cemetery in Abuja

    In a brief tribute on behalf of the family, the late Badeh’s son expressed regret his father was consumed by the same “violence” he abhorred in his lifetime.

    In an emotion-laden voice, he said: ” Dad, you were never one to show your true feelings when things are tough.

    “You always had a smile on your face even in adversity, you stood up for what you believed was right and tried to be fair.

    “You were deeply principled and pragmatic. You might have been a big brash bulk of a man but you moved through the world gracefully.

    “You abhorred violence but in the end it found you. You are loved and will never be forgotten”.

    Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, said Badeh’s death must serve as a wake- up call to all and sundry to lend support to the fight against crime.

    Abubakar said the achievements Air Chief Marshal Badeh would remain a source of inspiration among military personnel

    “He is the 18 chief of Air staff and the 15th chief of Defence Staff. He was an astute airman who earned over 6000 flying hours during his flying career.

    “The death of this gentleman must steer the rest of us not only in the armed forces but indeed in Nigeria to rededicate ourselves in the service of our nation and people to deal decisively with crime and criminality.

    “I’m indeed deeply touched and saddened by the manner in which we lost such an accomplished general who attained the apex of his chosen career in the Nigerian Armed forces, the nation will remain grateful to you for service,” Abubakar said.

    Olonisakin noted that his immediate predecessor’s life was worth emulating.

    The ex-CDS was buried with full military honours amidst the traditional 21 gun salute and presentation of flags to his family.

    The laying of wreath was conducted at the Cemetary in the following order: Mr. Boss Mustapha (Secretary to the Government of the Federation); representative of the Minister of Defence, CDS, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai (Chief of Army Staff); Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (Chief of Naval Staff); Mrs. Mary Badeh (deceased’s wife) as well as representative of Regular Course 21, Badeh’s course mates at the Nigerian Defence Academy.

    The Governors of Adamawa state, Mohammed Bindow and that of Plateau, Simon Lalong, as well as the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State and some former governors of Adamawa state were among dignitaries that graced the occasion.

  • Drama as eight robbers sentenced to death attack journalists

    A state high court in Adamawa State has sentenced eight armed robbers to death by hanging.

    The condemned robbers reacted violently, attacking journalists recording the process.

    The affected journalists, one from the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and the other from Adamawa State Television (ATV), were cameramen filming the convicts who were handcuffed in pairs but who managed to get hold of pebbles around the court premises to inflict injuries on the cameramen.

    The cameramen and other people around the place were saved from further harm by prison officials drafted to provide security.

    The convicted persons were found guilty on nine counts, according to the presiding judge, Justice Abdulaziz Waziri of High Court Three, Yola, who said the judgement followed a thorough review of the statements of both the prosecuting and defense counsels.

    He said the presentations of the counsels and those of witnesses proved beyond any doubt that the suspects were guilty of the charges against them.

    Read Also: Police arraign three men for stealing, constituting public nuisance

    He, therefore, pronounced death by hanging against them but explained that they had 90 days to make an appeal against the judgement.

    The convicted eight included Aliyu Ardo, Sadiq Mijinyawa, Shaibu Abubakar, and Sani Musa, The others were Kabiru Abdullahi, Saidu Abubakar, Umar Mohammed and Sanusi Ibrahim.

    The Adamawa State Controller of Prisons, Umar Audu, who spoke on the violence by the convicts, said the authorities made adequate preparation against such act by providing 10 personnel to take them to court, but that the actions of the convicts came as a surprise as such a thing had never happened anywhere in the state before.

    He said the convicts who had since been returned to prison, had shown remorse for their actions.

  • NIHSA advocates smaller dams to check flooding

    The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), has called for the building of smaller dams around major rivers in the country to help check flooding during raining season.

    NIHSA’s Director –General, Engr Clement Nze,  stated that it was important for the country to construct dams in order to effectively manage the menace of flooding.

    Nze stated this at press briefing and three-day orientation/induction training of 100 newly employed staffs of the organisation in Abuja.

    He explained that for about 40 years, Nigeria could not build the Dasin-Hausa dam in Adamawa State to cushion the impact of any release of water from Lagdo dam in Cameroon, despite being advised by the neighboring country to construct a dam.

    He attributed the delay to lack of political will, funding constraint, among others as some of the factors that hindered the construction of the Dasin-Hausa dam in Nigeria.

    Nze, explained that it was important to note that not every flood that occurs in parts of Nigeria like Adamawa State and its environs were as a result of the opening of Lagdo dam.

    The NIHSA DG said: “Most of us are advocating that let Nigeria dam the tributaries of major rivers by building small dams instead of large massive dams in order to check flooding. For instance, we have the Kashimbilla dam on River Katsina – Ala, which was primarily built to address the problem of lake Nyos in Cameroon.

    Read Also: I’ll compensate farmers affected by flooding – Buhari

    “If we can build small dams within the tributaries of River Benue and do proper monitoring to know when to lower the dam and to know when to impound (water), it will go a long way to address any catastrophe coming from River Benue.

    “If we can adopt appropriate reservoir management without building this other large dam (Dasin-Hausa dam) it will help to monitor the flow of river Benue to avoid flooding.

    The NIHSA boss explained that many rivers in the North had the capacity to flood the region, as he stated that the Lagdo dam had been shut for more than three years and so could not be responsible for flooding in Nigeria during this period.

    He said: “But these days globally, the construction of large dams is being discouraged. Dams with heights of about 15 metres and above constitute what we call large dams. So it is being said now that people should build small dams. In India, they have thousands of small dams that can even supply up to one megawatt of electricity.

    “So the idea is that you target a community, build a dam there and it controls flooding issues, provides electricity and serves irrigation purposes. For instance, the Zungeru dam is to generate about 700MW, the Gurara phase two is about 300MW. This means you can build small dams like that which can help to control flooding, help in irrigation and support on power generation.”

     

  • We have had enough – Adamawa students tell FG, Lecturers

    Students of Adamawa State origin have protested against the persisting strike by university lecturers, telling both the lecturers and the federal government to find a common ground and have students resume classes.

    Expressing their frustration Thursday during a protest rally at the Ribadu Square in Jimeta, Yola, the students chorused, “We say no to this! We say enough is enough!”

    The students who rose for the protest under their umbrella, National Union of Adamawa State Students (NUADSS), said through their president, Ashraf Usman Marafa, “It is disappointing to see people who were beneficiaries of free and qualitative education denies students theirs.”

    Read Also: Poly lecturers begin indefinite strike

    University lecturers, mobilised by their Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have been on strike for about 10 weeks, while their polytechnic counterparts under the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) have spent nearly four weeks on strike.

    Speaking during the Thursday protest against the strike actions, the Adamawa students’ leader, Ashraf, said the students had taken more of the strike than they could tolerate.

    “We all know that for 10 weeks today, ASUU has been on strike. We’ve been tired of this for a long while now,” he said, threatening the federal government to either meet the demands of the lecturers and get them back to work or lose the electoral goodwill of students.

    “All we are saying is there are alternatives and with our large voting block, we will take a step should the strike continue. No vote for the incumbent should the strike linger,” he said.

     

  • Judge withdraws from forgery case against Bindow

    The judge of the Yola division of the Federal High Court assigned to hear a case of certificate forgery against Governor Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa State has excused himself from the case.

    The judge, Justice Abdulaziz Anka, said Wednesday that for personal reasons, he could not continue with the case but would return it to the chief judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja to reassign it.

    “Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done,” Anka said, reiterating that after hearing from the counsels and reviewing what had become apparent, he was uncomfortable about continuing with the case.

    The case in question was first filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja in September last year by a rights group, Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN), which claimed in its originating summons that the governor did not complete his secondary education at the Government Secondary School, Miango, which certificate he was using, for which reason the group asked the court to determine the qualification or otherwise of Bindow for re-election as governor in the coming general election.

    The case was first heard in the Abuja division of the Federal High Court in October last year by Justice B.O. Quadiri who granted the plaintiff’s plea for accelerated hearing, but the case was subsequently transferred to Yola where the first respondent resides.

    Reacting to the withdrawal from the case by Justice Anka and return of the case to Abuja, the chief counsel to Governor Bindow, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), told newsmen that his client was ready to follow the case to anywhere it may be taken.

    Read Also: Bindow mourns kinsman, ex-defence chief Badeh

    “As we said in the open court, we are ready for the hearing in the case to continue, but the judge recused himself from the case and it is being sent back to Abuja. Wherever they take us, we will go,” he said.

    He added however that the case lacked merit and had no chance of going far. “From when this case was first filed in Abuja, we raised the objection that the plaintiff (GICN) is an artificial person who has no locus standi to institute the case. The plaintiff was not an aspirant and is not a citizen of Adamawa State and has no business challenging Bindow as the candidate of the APC for the forthcoming election,” Uche asserted.

    Responding in a separate interview with newsmen, the counsel to GICN, Edward Omaga, said the Global Integrity Crusade Network is an advocacy group registered by Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to carry out its functions for or against persons and organizations anywhere across the country, and could therefore not be said to lack locu standi in the suit against the Adamawa State governor.

     

  • ‘Lack of empowerment programmes cause of drug abuse, thuggery’

    A former Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako, has commenced a courtesy tour of the state with a charge on the electorate to vote in 2019 for credible candidates, especially for those who would empower them, as lack of empowerment programmes is responsible for prevailing drug abuse and thuggery perpetuated by youths in the state.
    Murtala Nyako whose long convoy spent all of Thursday touring Toungo, Ganye and Jada local government  areas in the southern zone of the state,  said his visit was to thank the people for their support during his administration.
    Nyako who governed Adamawa State between 2007 and 2014, said at the palace of Gangwari Ganye, “It is obvious for us to vote into power, credible people who would bring  empowerment and job creation. We must also vote for a government that would provide quality education to our children in the state.”
    Earlier, the Gangwari Ganye, Alhaji Umar Adamu Sanda, assured that the state and its people would tap from the wealth of experience of the former governor in view of positions he held in the past. “The state is fortunate to have you as son of the soil. Your track records and wealth of experience will serve as catalog for reference to all,” the Ganye paramount ruler said.

    Read Also: Clamping down on drug abuse

    Nyako who hails from Mayo Belwa, another LGA in southern Adamawa, served in the Nigerian Navy for 30 years, rising to the rank of a vice admiral and becoming the military governor of Niger State from February 1976 to December 1977 and then as Chief of Naval Staff between 1990 and 1992.
    Nyako started his Thursday tour from Ganye to Toungo and then to Jada, and had interactions with political stakeholders and his supporters, and  discussed on state and local politics, expressing optimism of better days ahead.
    The retired Vice Admiral Murtala Nyako is in the All Progressives Congress (APC), but his son, Sen Abzulazeez Nyako who left the APC to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is the governorship candidate of the party in the state.

  • 458 Adamawa Christians leave for pilgrimage

    The first batch of a total of 458 christian pilgrims left the Yola International Airport for Israel on Saturday.

    The Executive Secretary of the Adamawa State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board (ACPWB), Mr Joshua Dauda Atiku who announced the schedule of the airlifts, said those in the second and final batch will depart on December 26.

    “Our target is to take our pilgrims to the next level of their spiritual lives and make them better citizens of their communities, state and the nation as a whole,” Joshua Atiku said during an orientation service for the pilgrims on Friday at the LCCN Cathedral Jimeta, Yola.

    Read Also: Gunmen kill Adamawa medical doctor, wife

    Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of the ACPWB, Rt Rev Amos Yakubu who is also the LCCN Yola Diocese Bishop,  said that the orientation is significant considering that the pilgrims, particularly the first timers, need to be acquainted with the rules of Israel and the spiritual opportunities they would need to explore.

    In his sermon, the LCCN Cathedral resident pastor, Rev Ibrahim Audu advised the pilgrims to guide their heart while at the holy land to avoid being cursed instead of being blessed.

    Ibrahim Audu who took his reading from the Book of Isaiah 66:8-10, said Jerusalem had been chosen by the Lord as a city where Jesus Christ came for the salvation of mankind, and urged the pilgrims to make the best of their trip.

    The paramount ruler of the Bachama Kingdom, Hamma  Bachama Honest Stephen Irmiya, who is the leader of the delegation, was among the dignitaries who attended the orientation service.