The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Enugu State

  • ‘Why Enugu is safest state’

    The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Mr Mohammed Danmallam has revealed that proactive and cooperative policing approach made Enugu the safest state in the country.

    Danmallam disclosed this in Enugu while addressing student participants from the National Defence College (NDC), Course 26 on a study tour in the state on a courtesy call to the state police command headquarters.

    He noted that since he took over the command in February this year, he had motivated and led various operations, units and squads on the field to ensure that “officers and men were on top of their game as they see their commissioner with them.”

    “So, we have been highly pro-active, while my commanders and team leaders had been up and doing; that is why we have reduced crime and incidents of criminality in the state to zero level.

    “For, the issue of car snatching it had since been reported last over a month ago; kidnapping had disappeared while we have battled cultism and gangsterism as well.

    “The command also received tremendous co-operation from other security agencies especially the Nigerian Army, Air Force, NSCDC, NDLEA, Prison Service and neighbourhood vigilante groups in various communities in the state.

    “We have conduct joint internal security patrols, joint show of force sessions, seminars and monthly meetings to ensure that collectively we are ahead of criminals and other emerging security threats,’’ he said.

    According to him, the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has been highly supportive and given the command all necessary encouragement needed for continuous success.

    On youth employment in the state, Danmallam said that the governor had done a lot to see to the engagement of youths through various senatorial skill empowerment programmes.

    “The governor has ensured that workers get their salaries on or before 25th of each month; he also inaugurated neighbourhood watch in every community in the state and engage youths in the watch groups.

    “Just of recent, he engaged over 200 youths in the state traffic control unit as well as various sporting activities and competitions, where youths are gainful engaged by the sports clubs and association,” he said.

    According to him, youths in the state had been highly engaged resulting that during the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) clashes with security agencies in the zone; Enugu State had never been a ground for IPOB rallies since February.

    The Team Leader of the NDC, Commodore Olumuyiwa Olotu, thanked the commissioner for keeping Enugu very safe and peaceful; adding: “We can see that peace and calm even from the ordinary people we have interacted with so far’’.

    “We have seen and met with a very happy, approachable and hospitable people in the state since our stay. This is a laudable testimony to the peaceful atmosphere that exist here,” Olotu said.

    He noted that the students of participants of National Defence College (NDC), Course 26 on a study tour on the topic: “Youth Empowerment’’.

    “Sir, we urge you to give us all necessary co-operation as well as answers to questions which would assist us carry our assignment in the state,” he appealed.

     

  • ‘Women are born to make impact’

    ‘Women are born to make impact’

    Women workers at the Federal College of Education (FCE) in Eha-Amufu, Enugu State have held an end-of-semester get-together.

    The women gathered under the aegis of Women in Colleges of Education (WICE).

    Its Chairperson, Mrs. Celine Etesike, said the event was part of the recreation initiated by the body to give members opportunities to celebrate and foster unity.

    She noted that WICE had been making impact outside the institution, saying it was time members of the college felt its impact.

    She said: “The maiden WICE’s week of activities is special to us, because we believe charity begins at home. We decided to use this occasion to care for ourselves, love and appreciate and honour ourselves. More so, we are out to celebrate every member of the college community.”

    Mrs. Etesike, who pointed out that WICE should not be seen as a pressure group, said the body had been a partner in progress for the college to actualise its vision and mission.

    She said: “WICE is an association with objectives to provide opportunities for professional development for members, as well as enhance the educational development of our immediate communities and the nation.”

    She disclosed that the body planned to extend its impact and community relationship to members of the college’s host communities by organising seminars in secondary schools and skill acquisition for women in rural areas.

    Chairman on the occasion Sir Pascal Onah described the event as timely, stressing that women remained a force to be reckoned with in the college as they worked to improve on their professional worth.

    He observed that women were created to make impact in education, politics, banking, industries and other economic activities.

    Onah extolled the group for initiating the event and urged members to include medical outreach in their next event. This, he said, was necessary to prevent women from contracting terminal diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.

    WICE honoured some members of the college as fellows, grand patron and patroness. Students were also given the opportunity to join the group’s activities.

    The highpoint was the unveiling of the body’s journal Journal of Women in Teacher Education (JOWITE).

    Those honoured included the Provost, Prof Benjamin Mbah, as grand patron, while the Registrar, Mrs. Celine Nnebedum, is grand patroness.

    Mbah praised members of the body for the honour, pledging college’s support for its subsequent activities. The provost advised the women to live above board in the discharge of their duty and avoid anything that might jeopardise the vision of the college.

  • NPS begins manhunt for two escapees in Enugu

    NPS begins manhunt for two escapees in Enugu

    The Nigeria Prisons Service ( NPS ) in Enugu State has begun manhunt of two male convicts who escaped from the prison in the state capital on Oct. 6.

    The two convicts are: Lucky Sama and Balogun Joseph with charge numbers CME/566c/17 and CME/669c/17, respectively.

    A statement signed by Mr Emeka Monday, the Public Relations Officer of the Prisons command in the state, and issued in Enugu on Sunday, said the convicts escaped from the prison around 11.00 p.m. on Friday.

    Monday said the prisoners were sentenced to two years imprisonment by an Enugu East Magistrate’s Court, for stealing .

    He said that the Controller of Prisons in the state, Mr B.N. Ogbodo, had deployed intelligence unit and search party throughout the state and beyond for their arrest.

    The prison spokesperson said that the service was also collaborating with sister security agencies in the manhunt of the prisoners.

    He described as ‘false’ some media reports of jail break in the Enugu Maximum Security Prison.

    Monday said that the prison formation was peaceful and calm, adding that the inmates were in safe custody.

    He urged the general public to assist the command with useful information on the whereabouts of the escapees on 08063306606 or the nearest police station.

    NAN

  • Police arrest four armed robbers in Enugu

    Police arrest four armed robbers in Enugu

    The Police Command in Enugu State says it has arrested four suspected armed robbers who have been terrorising residents of Oji River axis in the state.

    Mr Ebere Amaraizu, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the command in the state said this in a statement he issued on Friday in Enugu.

    Amaraizu said that the suspects were arrested on Sept. 28, adding that items recovered from them included a locally made short gun, English made pump action long gun and ammunition.

    “Other items recovered from the bandits include a DVD player and two generating sets, three televisions and home theatre with sound system with a television stand,’’ he said.

    The PPRO also said that the suspects were arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Oji River Zone, acting on a tip-off.

    “Through intelligence information, operatives of SARS, Oji River Zone, promptly nabbed four suspected armed robbery gang which has been a thorn in the flesh of members of the public in Ndeaboh Aninri and Oji River axis of the state.

    “They are notorious armed robbers/cult and burglary kingpins that have caused nightmare to residents of Oji River axis of the state and its general area,’’ he said.

    Amaraizu said that the suspects were helping police operatives in their investigations in relation to their nefarious activities.

    “The command has maintained that its operatives, in partnership with sister security agencies and relevant stakeholders in the state will not rest on their oars.

    “Suspected hoodlums are being fished out from their hideouts with huge recoveries as exhibits.’’

  • Three Enugu communities get N300m for acquired land

    Three Enugu communities get N300m for acquired land

    Three communities in Enugu State have been presented with N300 million cheque for their land acquired by the state government for the development of an industrial project.

    The communities, Ogwofia Owa, Enugu Eke and Akama Oghe were compensated for  2000 hectares of their land and the economic crops and structures on it.

    The cheque was presented to the communities by the state government on behalf of itself and its partners Lion Business Park Limited, a Chinese firm, with whom it paid the compensation.

    The state government considers this a major breakthrough in its efforts to attract foreign investment in the state.

    The Chinese firm is coordinating the project.

    The Lion Business Park industrial project is an initiative of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration designed to create a manufacturing and integrated industrial hub in Enugu State and the Southeast geopolitical zone at large and facilitate Chinese manufacturers’ entry into the state to feed the Nigerian and African market through the existing sales channels of Onitsha and Aba in partnership with Nigerian business organisations.

    Presenting the cheque, Ugwuanyi who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, stated that the project was in line with his administration’s determined efforts to attract direct foreign investments to the state, disclosing that the State Executive Council approved and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the group of Chinese Investors for the establishment of the Industrial Market, to be known as Lion Business Park.

    The governor commended the company for the prompt fulfillment of the compensation aspect of the MOU and also expressed gratitude to the people of the three communities “for their wonderful understanding, partnership and cooperation in the entire process”.

    Ugwuanyi appreciated the massive benefits that the industrial market will bring to the economy of the state, saying that it will stimulate investment inflow in diverse sectors of the economy and create a huge economic value chain that would engender employment as well as production and availability of “much needed goods and services”.

    He reassured the foreign partners and all potential investors of the government’s resolve to sustain the business-friendly environment that currently exists in the state, stressing that “Enugu State is indeed ready and open for business”.

    He equally thanked the state Ministry of Commerce and Industry, members of the land acquisition steering committee and all those who assisted in ensuring a successful acquisition of the land as well as the enumeration and evaluation of the economic trees on it.

    In his remark, the Chairman of Lion Business Park Limited, Dr. Okechukwu Mbonu commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for his “great vision in making Enugu State a West African industrial hub”, saying that the company is only complementing what his administration has already started in the state.

    Mbonu assured the governor of the foreign partners’ determination to actualize their mandate in a record time, thanking the host communities for the support and understanding.

    In his opening address, the State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo disclosed that the event was “a major breakthrough geared towards the full actualisation of the investment vision of the present administration of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi”.

    Ogbu-Nwobodo noted that the project was an outcome of the 2016 Oganiru Enugu State Investment Summit that thrives on the existing trade cooperation between Nigerian business organizations and their foreign counterparts especially from China for the purpose of furthering their mutual interests.

    The commissioner stated that the state government’s vision “is to create a conducive and profitable environment for Chinese companies to produce in Nigeria ahead of other countries and to enhance strong and enduring bi-lateral ties between the People’s Republic of China and the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

    While thanking Ugwuanyi for his firm commitment to investment promotion in the state, the commissioner stated that the milestone achievement was in keeping with the governor’s inaugural address that his administration “will drive with full force investment promotion…’’ and ”provide the necessary legal and policy framework to make investment thrive in the state”.

    Ogbu-Nwobodo said that the remarkable feat recorded towards the commencement of the project in the state was the fruit of the governor’s “focused and genuine commitment to the rapid industrial and general economic development of the state”, borne out of his deep devotion to the welfare of the people of Enugu State.

    He added that the governor’s interactive sessions with the Traditional Rulers, Presidents General of the various communities and most importantly, about fifty-one indigenous Professors from the area, during the process of acquiring the land were “quite engaging and productive”.

    According to the commissioner, “this ingenious and unprecedented approach made the entire acquisition exercise very smooth. The governor gave the entire process a human face, demonstrating very clearly that his government is that of the people, for the people and by the people – which is the hallmark of democracy.

    “Following this noble example, the committee actively engaged the entire communities in a transparent and honest way, with community visitations, town hall meetings and several other meetings, all aimed at sensitizing the people of Ogwofia owa, Enugu Eke, and Akama Oghe communities of the socio-economic importance of the investment, which attracted them to support this critical industrial development.

    “This achievement we are witnessing today is one of the remarkable impacts in the life of this administration, which have ushered in enduring peace and good governance in the state backed by vision, unprecedented infrastructural development, innovation, fiscal discipline, transparency and other structural and institutional initiatives, aimed at driving massive investment inflow into the state’s economy.”

  • Police investigate explosion in Enugu market

    Police investigate explosion in Enugu market

    The Police Command in Enugu State has commenced investigation into an alleged heavy explosion that occurred in the former New Artisan Market on the outskirts of Enugu.

    The command’s Spokesman, SP Ebere Amaraizu, disclosed this in a statement Tuesday  in Enugu.

    Amaraizu said the explosion took place at the former New Artisan Market, along Enugu-Port Harcourt Road on Monday night.

    He said the command had dispatched its crack team of investigators, mainly from its Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD), to the scene of the incident.

    Amaraizu said the EOD team was currently combing the entire area and its environs in order to ensure that it was safe and secure for all.

    He, however, said that no life was lost in the incident. “The command through its operatives has commenced full scale investigation into the alleged incident of explosion at the scrap site of the former New Artisan Market in Enugu.

    “The cause of the explosion is yet to be ascertained and no life was lost. “However, the incident is alleged to have caused minor destruction in a nearby food shop, including two vehicles parked near the said shop,’’ he said.

    He advised residents of the state and travelers along the road not to panic as “the command is on ground and on top of the situation to unravel the causes of the incident’’.

    “The command is advising the good people of the state, particularly residents of that axis not to entertain fear or panic, but to go about their normal lawful businesses.

    “All hands are on deck, the command is working in partnership with relevant sister security agencies and stakeholders to ensure a safe and secure Enugu and its environs,’’ he said.

  • We don’t depend on Paris Club refund to pay salary – Enugu govt.

    We don’t depend on Paris Club refund to pay salary – Enugu govt.

    Enugu State Government says it is yet to expend its share of the second tranche of Paris Club refund as there is no pressing need for it now.

    The state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Ogbuagu Anikwe, made this known in a statement in Enugu on Monday.

    Anikwe said that the government was already meeting its obligation of paying workers salaries and pensions before the issue of Paris Club refund came up.

    He said that the government was not indebted to its workforce and pensioners unlike other states that utilised their share to offset such debts.

    The commissioner explained that the fact that the state government had not expended its second tranche share of the refund should not be misconstrued as owing salaries.

    “Enugu state public workers’ salaries used to be paid promptly on the 25 day of each month.

    “However, beginning from three months ago, the governor ordered that civil servants be paid on the 23rd of the month.

    “By this executive stroke, Enugu state has become the first state in Nigeria to pay its workers early, with effect from three months ago,” he said.

    Anikwe said that though the state was in a precarious situation and sat fifth from the bottom of the monthly federal allocations, it was prudent in managing its resources.

    “The governor has through prudent management of resources and an aggressive internal revenue generation, fully discharged his obligations to workers.

    “The state still embarks on massive projects to promote its agenda of employment generation, maintenance of social services, and management of security and peace,” he said.

    He added that the state government had shown transparency in the management of the refunds since it started receiving it.

    The commissioner said that officials of the labour unions and other stakeholders in the state were usually privy to how the funds were disbursed.

    “What the state does each time it receives her share of the refund is to immediately call for a meeting of the stakeholders, including representatives of labour unions and pensioners.

    “Such meetings also include leaders of traditional institutions and community-based associations, and development experts to decide how best to utilise the refund,” he said.

    He said that sharing formula of the funds was established between the states and local councils at the meetings.

    “The portion reserved for salary and pensions payments are set aside and used to pay workers and pensioners as and when due.

    “Considering that many states are not in a hurry to share the refunds with their local councils, we think that Gov. Ugwuanyi should be commended for this visionary leadership,” Anikwe said.

  • Enugu: Police investigates food poisoning

    Enugu: Police investigates food poisoning

    The Police Command in Enugu State says it has commenced investigation into the alleged poisoning of the food of a prominent man in a restaurant in Enugu, the state capital.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), for the command in the state, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, disclosed this in a statement he signed in Enugu on Sunday.

    Amaraizu, who is a Superintendent, said that the incident happened about 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 8. at the highly populated Akwuke axis of Enugu metropolis.

    “It was gathered that a man was allegedly served rice and stew at a popular restaurant in Akwuke, ‘’he said.

    Amaraizu said that it took the timely intervention of police operatives to quell the activities of the mob that besieged the restaurant, immediately after the incident.

    “This, however, would have resulted into loss of lives among others, if not for the timely intervention of police operatives.

    “The command, through its operatives, has commenced full scale investigation into an alleged food poisoning at Akwuke axis of Enugu metropolis in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State.’’

    According to the spokesperson, a man is suspected to have poisoned the said food.

  • Enugu: Police investigate death of three children

    Enugu: Police investigate death of three children

    The Police Command in  Enugu State said it  had commenced investigation into the circumstances surrounding  the alleged drowning of three children in a  well at Ezeama.

    Ezeama is a village in Ohodo community in Igboetiti Local Government Area of the state.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Ebere Amaraizu, made this known in a statement he signed on Thursday in Enugu.

    He gave the names of the victims as Chibenyi Ugwuda, Chinedu Ugwuda and Chukwunora Ugwuda.

    Amaraizu said that the children, who were less than three years, got drowned during the weekend.

    The PPRO said, “The command’s operatives have commenced full scale investigations with a view to finding out how their death was bought about and circumstances surrounding it.

    “It was, however, gathered that the children had allegedly fallen  into a well at Ezeama village of Ohodo community in Igboetiti Local Government Area, and  died”.

    “Meanwhile, information gathered revealed that the three dead bodies have been buried.’’

  • Enugu: Police arrest two kidnap kingpins

    Enugu: Police arrest two kidnap kingpins

    The Enugu State Police Command said it arrested two notorious kidnap and cult group kingpins, who had been on the command’s wanted list.

    The command’s spokesman, SP Ebere Amaraizu, made this known in a statement in Enugu on Wednesday.

    Amaraizu said that the police recovered two suspected stolen motorcycles and a tiger generator.

    According to him, the arrest is part of the ongoing onslaught against criminal elements in Nimbo and Adani axis of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of the state.

    Amaraizu said that police operatives achieved the feat through intelligence information.

    He gave the names of the suspects as one Jonathan Okeagu and Simon Enejere all of Umuasa Village in Ugbene Ajima community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area.

    “Further intelligence information gathered by the operatives revealed that the suspect Jonathan Okeagu had once been arrested and charged to court.

    “He was later remanded in prison custody for various offences ranging from cult related issues to other vices.

    “He was also suspected to be having serious links with suspected kidnappers within the area.

    “A full scale investigations have commenced into their alleged nefarious activities.

    “The command has vowed to sustain the tempo of the onslaught against criminal elements within the axis and its environs,’’ he said.

    Amaraizu, however, assured the public that the command would not rest on its oars in the ongoing onslaught against crime and criminality in Uzo-Uwani council area until the entire area and its environs were made safe and secure.

    “The command has vowed to sustain the tempo of the ongoing onslaught against crime and criminality in Adani and Nimbo axis of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Nsukka Zone of Enugu State,” he said.

    He emphasised that there would be no hiding place for criminally-minded persons and hoodlums under any guise.

    The ongoing onslaught, which commenced on Aug. 27, led to the arrest of one Nnadi Daniel, a notorious armed robbery and kidnapping suspect in police wanted list for over two months on Sunday, Sept.3.

    It also led to the arrest of 15 hoodlums who had been disturbing the peace of the area on Aug. 29.