The Nation Newspaper

Tag: killers

  • Our Girls: Killers, Drugs and Potholes

    It is now four years + since our Chibok Girls were viciously kidnapped on April 15, 2014. However we await the release of the remaining Chibok girls and the Dapchi girl-child, 15 year old, Leah Sharibu. Is President Buhari’s team stopping the killings? No!!! In Adamawa, 12 people killed and 15 killed in a Zamfara village and life goes on. If Buhari will not take adequate containment measures, how can it end? Buhari should immediately empty the country’s barracks and transfer all soldiers to the state battlefronts to save the indigenous farming communities across Benue, Taraba, Plateau, Nassarawa States and 21 other attacked states. Soldiers have no right to be in officers and NCO messes and barracks when their C-in-C has informed the country that the herders’ attacks have sinister links with Ghaddafi terrorists confirming that we are at war by an infiltrating army in collaboration with known violent herders. This killing must stop before elections. President Buhari, this killing will stop your re-election. Far too many Nigerian voters have been traumatized directly and been attacked or forced to evacuate their ancestral lands by Fulani herder terrorists. Nobody will forget by 2019 election.  Unless Buhari creates a miracle, his ‘I am MR Clean’ will not cleanse him or his government of the ongoing tragedy of the herders’ terrorism and he will lose the election on ‘security’. Nowadays we talk of ‘security architecture’ so Buhari should review the ‘security architecture’ in every state and hamlet!

    The drug epidemic among the youth has finally hit the media and is highlighted by the outcry against Codeine containing cough mixtures and Tramadol. The vulnerable youth are educated and not educated, wealthy and poor. They mix these drugs with hemp, power drinks and other medications in an unregulated, unmeasured dangerous ‘Champaign Cocktail’ and drink ‘innocently’ from a soft drink bottle. Why? The usual suspects in every country – boredom, joblessness, availability of funds through stealing or scams or family money, and fads of peer pressure. Add medical treatment gone wrong, especially the misuse of painkillers, sometimes in collusion with medical staff. It is difficult to measure pain as it is a subjective personal perception prone to be exaggerated. There are too many important prevention steps that Nigerian leaders at every level have refused to institutionalize, thus forcing the whole country to abandon our responsibility to provide prevention to the youth, the physically and mentally challenged and the elderly. Already Ebola rears its head again. However it was expected that the Ministry of Education would involve the Ministries of Health, Transport, Sports, Youth and other ministries to come up with a ‘Life Skill’ Course Textbook teaching about the above topics. State and Federal Level must take such important educational information from co-curricular to curricular mainstream and include the subject ‘Life Skill Education’ as an examination tested subject.

    For many of our youth such prevention measures are too late. We failed them! Our ineptitude is now causing a serious drug use epidemic among our youth and young adults. This has arisen partly from stupid adventurism of youth and also for a lack of being taught the Dangers of Drugs’ as a classroom subject all added to a backfired culture cultivated by Corporate Nigeria creating ‘Instant Millionairism’ with no work done. Since 1994, 24 years ago, Educare Trust was probably the first youth NGO to pioneer an education programme in communities, schools and universities aimed at avoiding youth hazards captured in an Educare Trust acronym called  the SAD Syndrome= Smoking & Sex & Sickle Cell, AIDS & Alcohol & Abortion & Addiction, Drugs & Dangerous Driving and recommended to our Youth to be GLAD –Good Lungs, Abstinence, Diligent Driving and Democracy-Voting at 18. All this was done as a ‘Life Skill Project’ under co-curricular activities with willing schools numbering in the thousands and cooperative teaching staff and also on NTA, BCOS and elsewhere to reach a wider target audience comprising many millions.

    Certainly the time has come for not just NGOs but government Health and education ministry joint serious consistent drug surveillance and quarterly reports from such surveillance in student facilities, hostels and boarding houses. Governments must learn that government achievement is not just measured in statistics like financial figures on inflation and job rates. Students must be treated like athletes and have urine drug testing in and out of examination time.

    I want to ask us what type of evil animal are we that we have approximately 1000 major life-threatening craters and big potholes, some dug up every night, every night to criminally promote ‘go-slow’ and sellers’ business or actual vehicle crashes and robbery, on old sections of the Lagos Ibadan Road. They are begging to kill us and we are begging that ‘Road Surveillance and Repair’, denied us ever since the misleading hype of the 400 road engineers in 1999, be implemented by road crews filling temporarily such potholes and craters until contractor corporation or ministry of Works, deem it fit ‘to save lives today’ by filling these craters and bad patches, while waiting for the big bucks denied the road by an apparently greedy, selfish NASS. We do not even put Highway Code recommended ‘Warning Signs’ before major potholes but ‘FRoadSafetyC’ and Police checkpoints gather nearby. What work do they actually do?

     

    • NB: Uncover ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019 -SDG 16.  

  • Butter and Margarine, are they killers or life promoters?

    Can Blue Band Margarine cause heart and blood vessel damage, heart attack and stroke? Consumer Protection Council (CPC) is expected to answer this question after it concludes investigation into the claims of a social media video circulating with fury in the country.

    In the video, what is said to be a cut of Blue Band Margarine, produced by UNILEVER Nigeria Plc, is placed in glassware, and hot or boiling water is the poured over it.

    The substance in the glassware is indifferent to the heat all around it. That means it does not melt, and this is taken to mean that, in the human body, it would behave as it does in the glassware, smearing and blocking blood vessels, damaging them, damaging the heart, causing heart disease and attacks, and even stroke.

    UNILEVER has issued a public statement in defence of Blue Band Margarine, saying constituents of this product in no way endanger health or life.

    Brickbats of this nature against any brand of margarine are not new in many parts of the world. Many assailed products come out of this war stronger in the market, the consumers get better informed, and either remain loyal to their brands or trust their heels.

    I have followed the BUTTER and MARGARINE debates since the 1970s. I was a margarine lover before my exposure to this battle for the dining table.

    Frightened, I switched over to butter and cheese, but have bailed out of their boats, too.

     

    Butter and Margarine

     

    Please pay attention to the following. Most modern foods are poison. Governments in country after country know this, but there is very little they can do about it. For many jobs and huge tax incomes are tied to the industries which produce and market these killer foods and drinks. Once in a while, paid researchers claim they have conducted stringent investigations into these foods and drinks, and have found them not inimical to health. An independent study months or years after may report the contrary. In the battle for supremacy between butter and margarine, it is common to find studies which uphold the virtues of one and denounce those of the others. Even within the butter industry, we often encounter studies which warn us not to consume butter made from the fat of the milk of corn fed cows, and suggest for us that butter from grass fed cows is better.

     

    History

     

    Butter is made from the fat of cow and goat milk. Its consumption is as old as Western civilization. Even the Christian Bible reports that father Abraham and his wife Sarah, offered three Angels who visited them a meal which included a yellow cream spread, by the third century.

    Butter eating had become so popular in cold and temperate countries that the church banned it consumption during the season of Lent, and rich people who did not wish to comply paid the church heavy tithes to please their palate. So huge have these tithes become that the cathedral Tour de Beurre or Butter Tower was built from this income. We may be familiar with IRISH BUTTER.

    Butter as so critical to the Irish economy that in a place called Cork, a Butter exchange was set up to help regulate butter trade.

    By the nineteenth century, butter consumption had become so popular in France that Emperor Napoleon wished to make it affordable for members of the Armed forces and the poor. He offered a reward to anyone who could create a cheaper, alternative to butter. In 1869, A french Chemist named Hippdyte mege – Mouries offered a substance he called Oleomargarine made from beef fat, he intended it to be less easily perishable than butter, and to be cheaper. In 1869, Mouries patented his production process but failed in successfully commercialised the invention. He sold the patent to Dutch company. JURGENS a member of the UNILEVER group.

     

    Transformations

     

    With margarine becoming more popular, its transformation from the original French content began with beef fat as a basic or starter ingredient. In 1871, margarine was made in New York from vegetable oils and animal fat and even cotton seed oil. This is important for health seekers. Overconsumption of vegetable oils in relation to Omega 3 fatly acids has been implicated in many, if not all, of today’s degenerative diseases preceded or accompanied by inflammation and pain. Cotton seed oil, especially, has been implicated in declining sperm count and infertility, among many other health hazards.

    It was as though butter manufactures of that time had a premometone of what health troubles margarines had in store for the future. By the 19th century, about 37 companies were producing margarine in the United States threatening the butter industry. The butter industry asked the government for protection. The government obliged, paving the way for the 1886 Margarine Act. The law imposed punitive fines on the margarine industry.

    Soon, animal fats became scarce and expensive. Meanwhile, new production techniques have made it possible for vegetable oils to be hydrogenated and hardened at room temperature.

    And, not before long, margarine began to appear as a combination of animal fats, hardened and unhardened vegetable oil.

    Then came the depression of the 1930s in Europe. The rationing of World War 11 reduced availability of animal fats and butter. And, by 1945, it was difficult to find original margarine in the market.

    New laws and an unfriendly raw materials market led manufacturer to go exclusively for vegetable oil and fats by 1950.

    This new era was not without it challenge. Butter made from the fat of cow’s milk was yellow in colour. Margarine made from hydrogenated vegetable oil and fats was whitish. It is like the egg of free range chicken and the egg of poultry chicken. The yolk of the free range chicken is yellow and the egg of the poultry chicken is not so yellow. To make this yolk yellow, colourings are added to the feed of the poultry chicken. Colouring are dyes, and some dyes cause cancer. As for the problem of colouring in margarine made from hydrogenated vegetable oils and fats, colourings were added to make them yellowish and to improve sales thereby. Wisconsin dairy farmers lead a campaign against margarine producers.

    Laws followed which prohibited this practice. But margarine producers would not give up. They sold their products as regulated by law, alright, but accompanied them with packs of yellow colouring which the consumer was expected to mix into the margarine. It was so bad that by 1951, a company, W. E. DENNISON COMPANY, placed a yellow dye in a package of margarine. The purchaser emptied the capsule inside the product and added it to evenly distribute the dye. Different brands of margarine continue to arrive in the market. Some were premium brands others were budget brands. These terms in themselves suggested that the qualities varied. Then, by the 1960s Scandinavian brands opened yet another debate, this time about what should be termed SPREAD, the term often used in Nigeria margarine advertising. By the 21st century, which is from year 2000 onwards, consumer appeal had continued to grow, with many brands knocking out hydrogenated oils and becoming Trans-fats free. The brands of this age are stable in the refrigerator. Some brands even claim to be enriched with Omega 3 fatty acid, to be salt free and to contain only about one third of the fat and calories value of the good old margarine. Some brands even claim to contain Olive oil and plant sterols, both of which boost immunity and protect against elevated cholesterol blood levels.

     

    Nigeria’s Blue Band Margarine

     

    Other than that Nigeria’s Blue Band margarine does not melt easily under boiling point temperature which its accusers say is inimical to health, there is hardly any other claim against it for now. We are left with a newspaper report which says the CONSUMER PROTECTION COUNCIL is investigating the report. The report, in This Day, says: “The Consumer Protection Council says it has opened enquiry into the controversy over whether Blue Band spread in bread is safe or not. Stating thus in a release made available to this Day and signed by the CPC Director-General, Babatunde Irukera, the control body said the purpose of the inquiry was to ensure Blue Band products differentiated or otherwise are safe and subjected to proper processes and in-trade handling consistent with the different properties and characteristics of each product. The DG said he was aware that a short demonstration video showing how Blue Band spread for  bread (a product of UNILEVER Nigeria Plc) reacts under certain heat conditions and has been circulating, particularing on social media, adding that the video or impression it conveys has become the subject of  anxiety and intense controversy. He said that this suggests that the product which the narrator considers a functional equivalent of Blue Band original is unsafe  because, when subjected to high temperature boiling water, it did not melt or dissolve. Available scientific information confirmed that, though butter, margarine and spread appear analogous, and share similar component, characteristics and uses, they are different products available to consumers. Butter and margarine share particular similar characteristic, low resistance to heat, as such both are likely to melt when subjected to certain levels of heat spread, however, have varying heat resistance depending on intended uses and production process. As a result, it is not necessarily unsafe that a spread does not melt under similar heat conditions as butter or margarine. Spread are produced in parts by adding emulsifiers which are additives used in stabilising and binding processed foods. They are not in inherently unsafe or uncommon. The specific emulsifying agent and amount used largely depends on many factors including shelf life, storage, and handling and climatic conditions inorder to prevent microbial activities.

    He said the manufacturer of the product has made a statement seeking to address public concern by differentiating its product and explaining purposes of the two different products.

    ‘The Council continues to collaborate with NAFDAC and SON regarding applicable safety standards, but advised that consumption of butter, margarine or spreads generally are not unsafe’.

     

    Conclusion

     

    I do not see much coming out of this dust at the end of the day. The video may very well be one of those junk stuff on the social media or the council may never really get to the bottom of it or, the consuming consumers may remain traditionally inert. Didn’t they behave as if nothing happened when soft drink exported from Nigeria to the United Kingdom were impounded by that country because they were overloaded with poisonous chemical which were unsafe for human health?  In such matters, I act on gut instinct. As I said earlier, I bade such stuff as bread, white flower or wheat based, milk, margarine, butter, poultry egg, poultry chicken and turkey, and even pond raised fish, by a long, long, time ago. In their places, I go for their more natural equivalent. Avocado pear is in season now. It serves the purposes of butter and margarine. It is rich in potassium, magnesium, Zinc, Omega-6 fatty acids, chlorophyll, mineral and vitamins, and lots more. When it goes out of circulations, Ube will come in season. If you must take butter and margarine, you may wish to protect your health by taking dietary supplements that are fat emulsifiers (Lecithin, for example) and blood thinners (Cayemne).

    Do not forget Fish oil, flat seed oil or the proprietary blend of  Udo’s oil, for Omega -3 fatty acids. They not only help to bridge the 1.25 Omega 3 ratios to Omega -6 ratio towards the ideal 1.1 ratio, they are anti-inflammatory and blood thinners as well. Hydrogenation changes the chemical structure of oils. Structure is function. Altered structure means altered function. Hydrogenation causes total cholesterol levels to rise and raises the level of High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), the dangerous cholesterol fraction and decrease the good cholesterol. It causes inflammation, over acidity, heart disease, diabetes and many more. This is why I avoid foods in which hydrogenated oils are present. Margarine is one of them.

  • Bereaved father: I’ve forgiven killers of my child

    Bereaved father: I’ve forgiven killers of my child

    Mr. Hyginus Ekezie, father of 15-year-old Miss Queendalin Ekezie, who was punished to death by a soldier attached to the 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, said he has forgiven the killers of his daughter.

    Queendalin, a pupil of Army Day Secondary School, Obinze, who got to school late, was asked to do “frog jump” until she got exhausted and passed out.

    Mr. Hyginus Ekezie said his family has decided to let the matter be.

    Ekezie, who spoke to our correspondent at the family’s residence in Ama Oso, Umuagwo, Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area, said he decided to forgive the killer of his daughter after due deliberations with his kinsmen.

    He said: “There is no point talking about this issue again, we have decided to allow peace reign, we have forgiven anybody who might be involved in the death of our daughter, God knows best.

    “I sat with my kinsmen and they told me to forget all that happened.”

    He added that an Army delegation has visited his family to pay their condolences.

    The deceased’s friend, Delight Aguocha, who witnessed the incident, said: “On that day, we set out at 7am. We waited for a motorcycle till 8am. When we became frustrated, we decided to board a cab, but the driver did not leave the park until the car was filled up.

    “When we got to school at 9am, we met three sets of late comers. Two soldiers were asking each set to do frog jump to a particular distance after which they picked their bags and entered their classes.

    “When it was our turn, we were about reaching the finishing line when they said we were not doing it right and we should start again. After we repeated it, we went to pick our school bags, but one of the soldiers said he was still not satisfied.

    “I completed the punishment the third time and I picked my bag and left. I suddenly discovered that my friend was not with me. When I returned to the place, I saw her crying. She started vomiting the food she ate that morning. She was saying, ‘my back, my chest.’ The soldiers were just staring at us.”

    She added that when they got to the hospital, the victim was given an injection and was put on a drip, but unfortunately she didn’t survive.

    The Imo State government has launched an investigation into the matter, with a promise to bring the killer to justice.

    Commissioner for Education Mrs Gertrude Oduka, however, said the government would not be in a hurry to conclude on the incident.

    Her words: ”We have launched an investigation into the matter, and because it is a sensitive one, we would not be in a hurry to issue any statement, but we have dispatched senior staffs to find out what happened.”

  • Police parade killers of colleagues, others in Niger

    Police parade killers of colleagues, others in Niger

    The culprits who killed 19 villagers and two policemen in Alawa, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, have been arrested.

    Police spokesman Jimoh Moshood, while parading the suspects, said the culprits burnt the police station.

    He added that the bandits, who have been terrorising Tegina, Makera, Shiroro in Niger State and Zamfara State, confessed to the crime.

    They were arrested by a Special Tactical Squad under Operation Absolute Sanity, set up by the inspector general of Police (IG).

    It was gathered that the suspects were once vigilantes before taking to kidnapping.

    Gang leader Lawal Kwali (Mai saje) said he was not commissioned to kidnap and kill anybody.

    “I killed them just like that. What my boys did, the people they killed, was done under my directive. I was not paid or commissioned for their kidnap or killing, I did it and gave the orders out of my own discretion,” he said.

    One of the suspects, Zakari Mamman, recalled how a father pleaded that his son be spared, but both were killed on Kwali’s order and buried in a school at Alawa.

    His words: “I was the one who interviewed the seven people brought from the mosque, and after interviewing them, we marked them for death. My master has those who specialise in slaughtering, I only supervise the killings.

    “There was a 12-year-old whose father begged that he be spared, but we slaughtered the boy in his father’s presence before killing the father.”

    A victim identified Lawal Kwali and his team as vigilantes in his community, saying he and his brother were kidnapped on their way from the market and released after his people paid N350,000 ransom.

  • Amaechi: Rivers people’s killers will face the law

    Amaechi: Rivers people’s killers will face the law

    Former Rivers State Governor and Minister of Transportation Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has said those involved in the killing of Rivers people on New Year’s Day will face the wrath of the law.

    He spoke at the weekend in Omoku, headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government, when he visited the bereaved families.

    The minister, who wept when addressing the people, said: “The only thing I can assure you is that the perpetrators of this act will be brought to justice. They cannot run away from it. They can’t get away with this. I was at the hospital to see a little boy that was shot, and his father and mother killed.

    ‘’How do you want that boy to live? How would he cope in life? They must pay for their actions.”

    Amaechi accused the Governor Nyesom Wike administration of failing to protect people’s lives.

    He spoke at the weekend in Isiokpo at a reception in his honour by Ikwerre Youth Movement (IYM).

    The minister said: “The first responsibility of a leader is to keep his subjects alive. The reason why the constitution puts every governor on oath, to swear that you will protect life and property is because if there are no lives, there will be nobody to lead. If there is anybody on earth that said I have met him as a cultist to take lives, let him come forward.

    “If there is anybody on earth that will tell you I have sat with him in a meeting and we planned to go and kill people to win election, let the person come forward, and let me tell you why I will not do such. It is not because I’m afraid of anybody. It is because I’m afraid of God.”

    He said God would not want those who sponsor killings of people to get back to power.

    Amaechi said: “I doubt that God was happy the day they killed 23 persons in Omoku. I doubt that God was happy the day they killed people in Omerelu or at Egbeda or at Andoni or at Ogbunabali or wherever.”

    He said as a governor, he gave jobs and foreign scholarships to youths through Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), but regretted that Wike, on assuming office, failed to continue his job creation programme and scholarship scheme.

    The minister advised the people to register, to vote out Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in the state next year.

    IYM President-General Sir Azubuike Chikere Nwanjoku said the reception was organised to honour the minister, fondly called the Lion of the Niger Delta.

    He said the state should be saved from crime and cultism and appealed to Amaechi to take their plea to President Muhammadu Buhari that they want to live and work in peace in Rivers.

    The lawmaker representing Rivers East, Senator Andrew Uchendu, said Amaechi was a man of character and likened him to Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

    He said the minister had led Ikwerre people since 2000.

    Uchendu described those who Amaechi helped but deserted him as traitors.

    The representative of Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Mrs. Loretta Onochie, described Amaechi as the hero of democracy.

    She urged Rivers people to support the Federal Government to bring dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

    The reception was attended by chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), IYM leaders from Obio/Akpor, Ikwerre, Port Harcourt City and Emohua local governments, APC leaders from Eleme, Tai, Khana and Gokana councils as well as women and youths.

  • MIYETTI ALLAH Killers or breeders?

    MIYETTI ALLAH Killers or breeders?

    Following the confusion over the real identity of the killer herdsmen ravaging villages and farmlands, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, takes a look at the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, a group recently accused of complicity in the Benue killings and herdsmen’s menace across Nigeria 

    Since reports of herdsmen’s brutal killings of unarmed farmers and villagers assumed regular feature in the country, concerned Nigerians have wondered how stick-carrying Fulani herdsmen they knew over the years suddenly transformed to AK 47 totting killers and midnight throat cutters.

    Coming at a time the Benue State Government and some other citizens in the state were already pointing accusing fingers at the group, whose leaders openly condemned the Anti-Open Grazing Law, passed by the state and threatened to make the state ungovernable until the law is amended, there has been calls to the government and the security agencies to investigate and establish whether the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association is the actual sponsor of the on-going bloodbath in Benue State and other parts of the country.

    The allegation notwithstanding, the leaders of the association, both in the affected states and at the national level have not shied away from repeating their insistence that the violence will not stop until the anti-open grazing law is discarded. Just before the latest massacre of innocent citizens in the state, in which 73people were killed, the Secretary-General of the association, Usman Ngelzerma, blamed the killings on the anti-open grazing law in Benue State.

    Ngelzerma, who accused a faction of his association, the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, for issuing threats before the latest attacks in Benue State said, “I like the Benue State governor. He is a peace-loving person but is working on wrong advice. The approach he took is wrong. You cannot change the way of life of a people like the way you turn off a light switch. We don’t wish for the crisis to continue but let us give it (the law) another look. We don’t like the killings; we will never condone the killing of people. Give the farmers their rights but consider the pastoralists too.”

    Just a day after the mass burial of the 73 victims of the recent herdsmen attacks, the National Vice President of the association, Husaini Yusuf Bosso, reportedly warned that more blood will be shed in the state if the anti-grazing law introduced by Governor Samuel Ortom is not completely scrapped.  “We, the association wrote a letter to him, even met him. We told him that this law cannot work. We told them that there is an international cattle route from Niger to Eastern Nigeria.

    “He said he will not allow cattle to pass through Benue state even if it is the cattle route. We told him that if he wants to implement that law, he must provide a land for us to rent. He did not provide any land for cattle herders.  They have been in that state even before colonial days and co-existing peacefully. We advised him and he refused to listen to us. We are not against that law but he has to provide a land for these people before implementing such a law. If there is no land, there is a problem.”

    Also reacting to a question in a recent interview on why the breeders are opposed to ranching when President Muhammadu Buhari had done so, Ibrahim Galma, the Assistant Secretary of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, Benue State chapter said pointedly, “Buhari can ranch, I keep saying that ranching is good, but it is quite expensive to ranch our local breed.

    I will give you an example, to ranch 30 of the local Fulani cattle you will require about N30 million a year to feed them. That is how expensive it is to ranch our breed. However, I must say emphatically that ranching is good but very expensive to go into. Ranching is good but it should be a long time goal. It can be achieved but it has to be planned overtime. It is not what you can attain within a short time.”

    Who are the members of MACBAN?

    From reports, it seems obvious that Miyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association is a well-recognized and registered organization. Referred by some as the umbrella body of all Fulani herders, the association has chapters, with known officials in virtually all states of the federation where cattle is bred and sold. Critics of the organization claimed it has foot soldiers made up of the herdsmen.

    Although it is not established that the leadership of the association equip the herdsmen beyond what is needed to guard the cows, it is on record that soon after the inauguration of the current Buhari administration, the association, through its North/West youth Leader, Yusuf Usman, offered to help the government with the protection of refineries, pipelines and to combat vandalism in the petroleum sector.

    The forces behind MACBAN

    Following the boldness and forthrightness of the leaders of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in defence of the herders and the seeming inability of the Federal Government to listen to the demands of Benue State Government and some people to outlaw the group and arrest its leaders, some people are already alleging that the group is backed by the political and business in the country.

    Whatever is the situation, it seems obvious that since cattle breeding is an expensive business, the herdsmen, roaming around with the cows are not the actual owners of the cows. The owners, according to sources, are the very rich; the governors, senators, other law makers, former and current military leaders and other influential members of the society.

    “This fact explains why the organisation is so powerful and why the federal government seems unable to act fast now,” explained Dr. Israel Nwani.

    Notwithstanding that the association is well known, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Operations, Joshak Habila, recently said detectives are zeroing in on its leadership and other people allegedly involved in the Benue killings

  • Food and water poisoning: How to tame the widespread killers

    About few years ago, I had stopped over in one of the fast food chains in Lagos to eat. I had only eaten a meat pie and some gizzards. I was certain I did not consume anything else until the following day when I started vomiting with frequent bowel movements and severe abdominal pain.

    It took a great medical effort to bring my health into normality. I had a repeat of the same experience within the last 36 months when I bought a piece of roast plantain on the roadside.

    A female friend of mine who had just returned from the United Kingdom (UK) three weeks ago had bought some foods from a popular fast-food chain also, only to end up in our hospital facility few days after with severe vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, reduced appetite, generalised weakness and fever.

    The above is a tip of the iceberg of the experience of Nigerians when it comes to food poisoning. Like malaria, food poisoning is as common, affecting both men and women, children and adult alike. Depending on the lifestyles of the individual, class of the victim may not really be of any barrier against food poisoning. I have come across professionals, bank directors, company CEOs, business owners, politicians and so forth who had suffered from various forms of food poisoning.

    In the following series, I will be writing on causes of food and water poisoning focusing on the common agents such as salmonella typhi that is commonly known as Typhoid disease E.coli and other bacterial contamination of our food and drinks. Cholera is still a menace in Nigeria, breaking out occasionally in different parts of the country. Viruses and chemicals also cause food and water diseases that afflict us severely. We will also be dealing with treatment and preventions of these illnesses. For now, let us take a closer look at origin of food and water poisoning.

     

    Causes of food and water poisoning

    I will rely on World Health Organsation (WHO) for guidance on this. Credit to WHO too.

    As I mentioned earlier, food and water poisoning may be caused by various agents.

     

    Bacteria

    Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli are among the most common foodborne pathogens that affect millions of people annually – sometimes with severe and fatal outcomes. Symptoms are fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Examples of foods involved in outbreaks of salmonellosis are eggs, poultry and other products of animal origin.  Salmonellosis are not often reported or experienced in our environment unlike diseases of typhoid.

    Because of its great importance in our environment and the damage it causes us, I will discuss Salmonella typhi and paratyhi (typhoid diseases) separately next week.

    Foodborne cases with Campylobacter are mainly caused by raw milk, raw or undercooked poultry and drinking water. Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (E.coli) are associated with unpasteurized milk, undercooked meat and fresh fruits and vegetables.

    Listeria infection leads to unplanned abortions in pregnant women or death of newborn babies. Although disease occurrence is relatively low, listeria’s severe and sometimes fatal health consequences, particularly among infants, children and the elderly, count them among the most serious food borne infections. Listeria is found in unpasteurised dairy products and various ready-to-eat foods and can grow at refrigeration temperatures.

    Vibrio cholerae infects people through contaminated water or food. Again, due to the importance of cholera in our environment, I will devote a separate article in this series on Cholera.

    Meanwhile, regarding viruses, the following are the major causes of food and water poisoning.  Norovirus infections are characterized by nausea, explosive vomiting, watery diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Hepatitis A virus can cause long-lasting liver disease and spreads typically through raw or undercooked seafood or contaminated raw produce. Infected food handlers are often the source of food contamination. We will examine issue of hepatitis A further in the series.

     

    Parasites

    Some parasites, such as fish-borne trematodes or worms, are only transmitted through food. Others, for example tapeworms like Echinococcus spp, or Taenia solium, may infect people through food or direct contact with animals. Other parasites, such as Ascaris, Cryptosporidium, Entamoeba histolytica or Giardia (common in our environment), enter the food chain via water or soil and can contaminate fresh produce.

     

    Chemicals

    Of most concern for health are naturally occurring toxins and environmental pollutants.  Naturally occurring toxins include mycotoxins, marine biotoxins, cyanogenic glycosides and toxins occurring in poisonous mushrooms. Staple foods like corn or cereals can contain high levels of mycotoxins, such as aflatoxin and ochratoxin, produced by mould on grain. A long-term exposure can affect the immune system and normal development, or cause cancer. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are compounds that accumulate in the environment and human body. Known examples are dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are unwanted by-products of industrial processes and waste incineration. They are found worldwide in the environment and accumulate in animal food chains. Dioxins are highly toxic and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and cause cancer. Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury cause neurological and kidney damage. Contamination by heavy metal in food occurs mainly through pollution of air, water and soil.

    From next weeks, we shall discuss in detail, illnesses, such as typhoid, cholera, hepatitis A and D.

    Finally, I shall touch on chemicals that poison us in our food and drinks.

  • Police arrest ‘killers’ of APC stalwart in Festac

    Police arrest ‘killers’ of APC stalwart in Festac

    Operatives of the Inspector-General of Police’ (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT) have arrested four suspects, who allegedly murdered a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Festac, Emmanuel Ubah, alias Onwa.

    Ubah, the head of Community Policing Youth Vanguard (CPYV) in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area (LGA), was shot dead on the eve of the council elections in July.

    He was shot four times in the head. His assailants threw all his mobile phones into the canal.

    Ubah’s death sparked outrage in Amuwo Odofin, with his friends and associates insisting that it was politically motivated.

    After months of tracking the culprits, the police yesterday paraded Michael Fashola, Mufutau Tokosi, alias TK, Abidemi Adeleye, alias Baido and Fatai Onifade, alias Apashe.

    The suspects were said to have been contracted to kill Ubah but they denied the allegation, insisting that they murdered him because they felt threatened by his influence in the area.

    It was gathered that the suspects, who fled to Cotonou after allegedly committing the offence, later had a disagreement on the balance of their payment.

    They were said to have been embroiled in fights with Onifade, who was allegedly their link to the person who ordered the murder.

    Acting Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal said a Barreta Pistol, two live ammunition and one pump action gun were recovered from them.

    Fashola said he was brought into the picture by Tokosi, who contacted him on the request of Adeleye.

    He said: “I did not know the Onwa. It was TK who contacted me. Baido asked him to call me for the deal. The initial plan was to harass Onwa but I shot him by mistake. I shot him more than once. It was on his head. Baido was inside the car with him. They told us where to meet them. I was not paid anything. I gave the gun back to Apashe after shooting him.”

    Adeleye, who called the deceased on phone around 8pm and requested for a meeting, admitted that Ubah picked him up at Synergy Bus Stop.

    He said: “I called him around 8pm and told him we needed to discuss issues relating to politics. He told me to wait at Synergy Bus Stop that he would call me in 30 minutes. I was the closest person to him. We were friends. He came and picked me up and said we should go and get Apashe (Onifade).

    “He did not know there was a plan to threaten him. It was my plan with Apashe because we felt he was too powerful. While on our way, Michael and Mufutau blocked us with motorcycle.

    “Onwa opened the car and was arguing with them. One of his legs was on the ground. I was inside the car. The next thing I heard was gunshots. It was Michael that shot him and it is not true that I held his hand while he was struggling with him.

    “When they shot him, I ran away from the car. Then, I picked his phones and threw it into the water because I was afraid. I did not want anyone to trace me as the last person he spoke to on phone.”

    Onifade, who mastermind the attack, said he was bitter because the deceased was very powerful.

    He said he was threatened by the deceased’s influence and that as the leader of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) in the area, he felt that the deceased usually sponsored boys who attacked him.

    Onifade said: “We did not plan to kill him. We just wanted to shakara him. I am an OPC member and I know the number of times I have been shot at. I felt he was the one sponsoring the boys that usually attacked me.”

  • Ekhomu urges police to tackle ritual killers

    President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON), Dr. Ona. Ekhomu has called on the Nigeria Police Force to reinvigorate its efforts at combating ritual killings in Nigeria as the frequency of ritual murders is becoming too high.

    In a press release issued in Lagos (31st August 2017) Ekhomu urged the Police to set up Special Ritual Murder Squads in various State Commands in order to focus the investigation, detection, arrest and prosecution of ritual killers.

    He said that the high incidence of serial ritual killings demanded urgent action at the level of the police high command. According to the first chartered security professional in West Africa, citizens were rapidly losing faith in the ability of the police agency to detect and punish ritual killers.  This, he said was responsible for the increase in lynching of suspects as members of the public resort to violence to get redress for the heinous murders.

    Dr. Ekhomu said that the human rights of persons murdered by ritual killers  “must be restored by security agencies through diligent investigation, detection, arrest and prosecution”.

    Said he: “The conscience of Nigerians should be troubled by reports of recent ritual murders including that of  one-year-old Success lme in Calabar whose heart was ripped out from her small body for ritual purposes and was discovered in a Church along with other items for occult rituals. There is also the case of Pastor Samuel Okpara in Ahoada East LGA of Imo State who was kidnapped, killed and cannibalized by ritualists.  The pastor was reportedly beheaded and his liver and intestines used for pepper soup and plantain porridge. What a horrific occurrence?”

    The world-renowned security expert also decried the excesses of the Baddoo murder cult in Ikorodu Lagos State that specialised in smashing the skull of its victims with grinding stone and dropping white handkerchiefs as calling cards.  He said that the Baddoo cult killings were a direct challenge to the Police agency, which he felt the police should confront head on.

    Ekhomu commended the current internal reforms aimed at repositioning the police agency as an effective crime-fighting force. He advised police top management to sustain and reinvigorate the needed police operational reforms.

    He praised the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris for the huge successes recorded by the police agency in busting kidnap cases.  He charged the Police top management team to devise creative strategies to detect and severely punish ritualists and killer cultists.

    Dr. Ekhomu said that the economic recession in the land was not a licence to commit ritual murder.  He said that impunity was encouraging ritualists to commit murders because they believe they will not be apprehended or punished.

    He advised Nigerians against late night outings.  He said that driving alone at night was also dangerous as a vehicular breakdown could result in abduction by ritualists.  He advised commuters to always write down the identification markings of public conveyance vehicles which they enter and make phone calls to loved ones passing on the information. According to him, “ritual murderers always wish to be unidentified.  They want to kill people, but don’t wish to be apprehended. Once information about them has been passed on to someone else, it becomes difficult for them to do evil”.

    He urged Nigerian to properly assess public transport vehicles before boarding in order not to board the “wrong bus”.  He said that there is strength in numbers.  So Nigerians should always go out with “a buddy”.

    He advised women to carry whistles on them in order to raise an alarm if there is an attempt to abduct them.  According to him, the ritualists have to first kidnap and control a victim before carrying out the ritual killing.

    He urged Nigerians to exercise utmost caution in order to avoid victimization by ritual killers.

  • Police nab two suspected killers of student

    The police in Ondo State have arrested two suspects, who allegedly kidnapped and killed a female student of Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, for rituals.

    The command said yesterday it had arrested two of the suspects, who allegedly used the student for money rituals.

    The student was declared missing by her friends days after she reportedly left home.

    Luck ran out on the suspects after one of them was nabbed in a robbery, during which it was discovered he and others were linked to the kidnap of the student.

    This led to the arrest of another suspect. The third is at large.

    Confirming the incident, police spokesman Femi Joseph said the mutilated and decomposing body of the student had been recovered by detectives, who are grilling the suspects.

    He said the suspects would be arraigned after investigation and advised parents and guardians to monitor their children and wards.