The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kogi State

  • Kogi traditional ruler, Obobanyi dies at 116

    The Obobanyi of Ohionwa in Ihima, Okehi Local Government of Kogi State, Chief Jeremiah Akaava, has died at the age of 116.

    A statement issued by the Ohionwa clan in Lokoja on Saturday said that the monarch died in the late hours of Friday.

    It said the deceased spent 36 years on the throne.

    Read Also: Kogi guber: Bello faces tough battle

    The statement, signed by Mr Yusuf Itopa on behalf of the Ohionwa Clan, described the late monarch as a man who stood for peace, unity and progress of Ohionwa, Ebiraland and Kogi and Nigeria as a whole.

    The clan expressed its gratitude to men and women of goodwill who appreciated the late Obobanyi’s role as a unifying force in the land and consequently showed love and respect to him while alive.

    The late monarch has since been buried.

    NAN

     

  • Senate rejects motion on oil producing status for Kogi

    The Senate on Wednesday rejected a motion seeking recognition for Kogi State as an oil producing state.

    The motion was rejected following observations by senators at plenary that the Senate lacked the powers to declare any state as oil producing entity through a mere motion.

    Senator Isaac Alfa who moved the motion, however refused to withdraw it despite persuasion from his colleagues to do so, saying, “I have moved the motion and I am not ready to withdraw it”.

    Senator Alfa moved the motion following what he described as restiveness in border communities contiguous to Kogi, Enugu and Edo states.

    Read Also: Senate leadership: APC governors step in

    The Senate urged governors of the three states and other stakeholders to resolve the communal crises in their various communities.

    It also called on the Federal Government urged to direct the National Boundary Commission to its report on the determination of the boundaries contiguous to OPLs 915 & 916.

    It’s the quest for derivation from oil resources in the OPLs 915/916 that has continued to trigger communal clashes in the communities.

    The lawmakers similarly appealed to the Federal Government and governments in the affected states to ensure that the displaced persons in the communities are allowed to return to their homes and adequate compensation paid to them.

     

  • Police release father of abducted five-day old baby in Kogi

    Tosin Ojuola, father of the five-day old child, abducted by two gunmen on April 11 at Ijagbe community in the Mopa-Muro Local Government area of Kogi State has been released by the police authorities.

    Ojuola told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Wednesday that he was released at about 6:30 p.m. on April 23 after spending nine days in police custody.

    He said that the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Busari, ordered his release after interrogating him and two other suspects being detained in connection with the incident.

    According to him, the two suspects, his landlord and a co-tenant are still being held by the police.

    NAN recalls that Ojuola’s five-day old male child was snatched by two gunmen at about 8 p.m. on April 11.

    He promptly reported the incident to the police, who visited the house the following day and arrested his landlord and a co-tenant as suspects.

    The matter, however, took a new twist on April 14 when the police invited Ojuola for questioning and consequently, detained him in connection with the incident.

    ”I am very grateful to the commissioner of police for ordering the investigating police officer to release me because I am innocent.”

    Read Also: Police warns officers against misuse of weapons

    He appealed to the police to help him recover the abducted baby.

    ”I want the police to do everything to help me find my baby either dead or alive; that is the only way I can get justice,” Ojuola pleaded.

    He also asked the police to arrest and interrogate three community leaders, who forced him to take them to the spot where he buried the placenta of his baby to perform rituals.

    NAN

     

  • Gov Bello’s wife donates food, baby items cash to quintuplets

    The Wife of Kogi State Governor, Mrs Rashida Bello has donated food items, baby items and cash gift to the 42-year-old  mother of the quintuplets.

    Bello, visited Mrs Uchenna Okeigbo, who  delivered a set of five babies (quintuplets) at Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Lokoja, Kogi, after 18 years of barrenness.

    Okeigbo, an indigene of Olokoro Amangbo Community, Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia, gave birth to three boys and two girls on April 17 through a Caesarean Section.

    She who gave out undisclosed cash to the parents, advised the mother to breast feed them well so that they can be very healthy.

    Read Also: Group holds prayer for Tinubu, Bello

    Bello commended Dr Grace Ogoke, the Consultant, Obstetrician, Gynecologist , and the entire medical team for their professional service, stressing that the State Government would prioritise health care service for expectant mothers, to eradicate maternal and infant mortality in the state.

    She urged expectant mothers to register early and diligently attend ante-natal clinics in government hospitals, for standard medical care.

    Responding,  Mr and Mrs James Okeigbo, thanked Bello for her kind gesture.

    They prayed that God Almighty will bless her as she continues to reach out to women and children in Kogi.

     

    NAN

     

  • Kwara community to author: stop distorting our history

    Youth and elders have cautioned the writer of a book entitled “The Panoramic Survey of the History of Akumarun-Isanlu,” of Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State against distorting the culture, tradition and history of the community.

    Besides, the community added that all the impressions created in the book are a figment of the writer’s imagination.

    It warned the general public and would-be readers to take the information in the book with a pinch of salt.

    Speaking with reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, Elesa of Isanlu Esa Oba Ogunremi O. Theophilus agreed that five communities of Isanlu-Esa, Ohun, Okunran, Okoloke and Okara, all in Yagba West local government area historically make up what is today known as Akumaru-Un Isanlu.

    Oba Theophilus disagreed that the colonial masters made Okoloke the administrative head and Isanlu-Esa the traditional head of the communities.

    He said that “Isanlu-Esa community sternly warns the writer to stop bastardising our culture and heritage in future. If he wishes to write on any topic regarding Akumarun he should henceforth liaise with stakeholders to avert being accused of bias.”

    The writer of the book, Olarewaju Ajayi, is a staff of National Institute for Fresh Water Fisheries Research (NIFFR), New-Busa, Niger State.

    Read also: Kwara South elders back North for speakership

    According to Mr. Ajayi, the book is meant to give insight into the communities being referred to as Akumaru Isanlu, as well as to explain the meaning of Isanlu and the harmonious relationship among the various groups.

    Oba Theophilus accused the writer of not interviewing stakeholders, obas and chiefs in the communities except the Obalohun of Okoloke in coming up with the book.

    Said he: “The writer did not give other stakeholders and respected individuals in the communities the opportunity to give the historical background of clans, families and town to give their opinion; therefore, the panoramic survey as the book is titled is fake and could serve as hydra-headed monster of dichotomy within the Akumarun communities.”

    He said that the writer had forgotten the ethics and tradition in writing historical book for it to be regarded as valid, reliable and authentic by all stakeholders.

    In his foreword to the book, the Obalohun of Okoloke Oba James Ogunyanda agreed that the book has revealed “archival records of our past and to this, I will say all Akumarun communities both at home and abroad owe the author a debt of gratitude for a job well done.”

  • Gunmen abduct five-day-old baby, police detain father

    A five-day-old baby allegedly abducted in their home in Ijagbe community, Mopa-Muro Local Government Area, Kogi State, is yet to be found 10 days after the incident.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the incident occurred at about 8 p.m. on April 11 when the gunmen invaded the home of Mr Tosin Ojuola and at gun point, forced his wife to surrender the child to them.

    Narrating the incident at Police Headquarters, Lokoja, on Sunday, Ojuola told NAN that he left home barely 10 minutes when the gunmen arrived and invaded his apartment, beat up his wife and asked her to surrender the baby at gun point.

    “I left home and was on my way to church for vigil on that fateful night, when I suddenly heard my wife’s voice crying and shouting for help.

    ”I quickly ran back to my apartment and my wife told me that two armed men had forcefully taken our baby away and ran into the nearby bush.

    ”I shouted for help and some youths immediately joined me to go after the gunmen to rescue my baby, but all our efforts yielded no result as we were not able to get them.

    ”We searched all the nearby bushes to some kilometers away, but because it was night, we could not go very deep into the bush,” he said.

    He stated that he reported the matter immediately at the Divisional Police Station in Mopa, where the police promised to investigate and search for the baby.

    Ojuola said that the following morning, more villagers were mobilised to search for the baby far into the bush, including farms and Fulani settlements, but that all efforts were abortive.

    He explained that the police came to his house also the following day to arrest his landlord and a Fulani man, who is a tenant.

    According to him, the Police said that they were the principal suspects.

    Read Also: Gunmen attack Adamawa community, kill 4

    But, Ojuola said that the matter took a twist on April 14, when police invited him for questioning and later detained him in connection with the incident.

    “The police told me that the community leaders demanded for my arrest, claiming that the village oracle (Ifa deity) revealed that I have hand in the stealing of my own baby.

    “Meanwhile, before my arrest, three of the community leaders came to my house on the third day and said that they were going to make sacrifice to their gods to expose the perpetrators and recover my baby.

    “They asked me to provide axe, cutlass, hoe, palm kernel oil and fresh yam, which I did, and they asked me to take them to the spot where I buried the placenta of my baby.

    “I took them there and they did some incantations and poured the oil on the spot, and assured me that my baby would be found.

    “To my greatest surprise and shock, it was the same people that asked the police to arrest and detain me for allegedly stealing my own baby,” he said.

    Ojuola stated that the case was later transferred to the State CID at Police Headquarters, Lokoja, on Wednesday.

    “I have since been in police cell for seven days without food and without any hope of finding my stolen baby. My image has been tarnished.

    “Why would I do such evil against my own baby? I am a farmer, and a staff of Mopamuro Local Government Council, I have five children.

    “The stolen baby was my sixth child. I still owe N4, 000 at the clinic where I took the baby to after he was delivered at home.

    ”I have spent over eleven years in the community, my aged parents are in the same community; I have never been involved in any crime in my life.

    ”I am innocent; I am a devoted and committed Christian. How would I steal my own baby, to do what and for what,” he explained.

    ”I am appealing to the police to conduct a thorough investigation and fish out the perpetrators, and help me to rescue my baby because I am helpless,” Ojuola pleaded.

    Shade Ojuola, his wife and mother of the baby, in tears, expressed sadness over the snatching of her baby at gunpoint.

    She told NAN on phone that she had bathed the baby, laid him in bed and was receiving fresh air outside in company with their landlord’s wife when the two gunmen emerged from nowhere.

    “They flashed their torch light and commanded us to hands up.

    ”I started shouting when they brought out guns and ordered me to shut my mouth; they forced the door open and carried my baby away.

    ”My husband had just left the house for church not up to 10 minutes when the kidnappers came,” she explained.

    Mrs. Ojuola who corroborated her husband’s earlier statements, called for immediate release of her husband to enable the family to continue the search for their baby.

    “I am begging the police to please free my husband from cell in Lokoja because he is innocent; he can never do such a thing; he is a hardworking man, and he fears God.

    “We have been married for 11 years now with five children, and he loves me and all our children; I don’t want to lose him,” she said.

    The aged father of Tosin, Mr John Ojuola, 74, told NAN on phone that some people in the community were conniving with the police to implicate his son.

    “The police should concentrate their effort on finding the real perpetrators of the heinous act against my innocent grandson and bring them to justice,” he said.

    The traditional ruler of Ijagbe, Chief Amushin Adeleye, who also spoke to NAN on phone, confirmed the incident.

    He, however, denied any involvement in the arrest and detention of Tosin, the father of the baby.

    He said that Tosin had never engaged in any form of criminality, violence or social vice in the community.

    The monarch further confirmed that the two people the community suspected after findings and consultations were Ojuola’s landlord, Samson Johnson and one Fulani  man, Umoru Isah.

    He said that the community later reported Johnson and Isah as suspects to the police.

    The traditional ruler appealed to the police to release the baby’s father and ensure that justice was done in accordance with the law.

    When contacted, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Hakeem Busari, said that he was aware of the matter.

    When told that the complainant in the case, Mr Tosin Ojuola, had been in detention at the CID section, Busari expressed shock and asked for time to enable him to find out the real situation of things from the Officer in charge of CID.

    However, the commissioner did not get back to NAN as promised and attempts to re-establish link with him failed as his mobile phone had been switched off.

     

     

  • Kogi APC stakeholders seek leaders’ intervention

    Worried by the dwindling fortune of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State,  stakeholders have urged the party’s national leadership to address the drift and reposition the party for future polls.

    The stakeholders, under the auspices of Kogi Rescue Group, on the heels of last week’s announcement by the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) of November 2 date for the governorship election in the Confluence State.

    In a statement by Alhaji Yusuf Mohammed Idah, they cautioned against using the results of the recently conducted general elections to rate the APC in the state, adding that only the presidential election, which was won by President Muhammadu Buhari, truly reflected the ruling party’s  status in the state.

    The statement reads: “The question is what the status of APC in Kogi State today? During the general elections, it won seven House of Representatives out of nine in the state.

    ”It lost West senatorial and two seats of the House in the National Assembly Elections, while the ADC and the PDP won the two seats in the House of Representatives in Yagba East/Yagba West/Mopa Amuro and Kabba Bunu/Ijumu Federal constituencies. APC, however, won in Lokoja/Koto Fedral Constitueny. President Muhammadu Buhari also won the election in the state.

    ”In the State Assembly election, the APC won all the 25 seats available. The State Assembly Elections were allegedly marred by serious violence and there were guns everywhere. Fake army in SARS uniform were used by thugs to intimidate voters.

    ”Money was also allegedly used to buy the unwilling voters. We are sure if the elections were free and fair, the results would have been different from what we have now.

    “In the elections, only the national elections were said to be free and determined on the basis of who was the candidate and not the party. The people voted for individuals that they know have doe well within the communities and cared less about the party platform they contested on.”

    The stakeholders described as unfortunate that Governor Yahaya Bello has frustrated every effort made to genuinely reconcile aggrieved members of the party since he took the saddle as beneficiary of the Audu/Faleke election declared inconclusive by the INEC.

    Prince Abubakar Audu, the APC was leading the then incumbent Governor Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with over 41,000 votes and the areas  where elections were cancelled/or not conducted had 22,000 voters that had the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

    The group described as strange that the electoral umpire declared the poll as inconclusive and ordered a makeup election when a clear winner had emerged on the first ballot.

    “As at that time, if all outstanding votes were given to the PDP free of charge, Audu/Faleke ought to have still been declared winner. But the powers that be denied democracy to prevail. This was the beginning of inconclusive elections by the INEC”, they said.

    The elders said that rather than incorporate members of the Audu/Faleke team that ensured victory for the APC, “Governor Yahaya Bello, who is the beneficiary, appointed council chairmen, commissioners, SSG, SA and SSA all from PDP, who worked against the success of the APC.

    “Remember that about three reconciliatory committees were set up and all the three met with Faleke and his team but GYB (Governor Yahaya Bello) rebuffed the committees and nothing came out of the reports.

    “The NWC on its part must as a matter of urgency call the old warring factions of Hon James Faleke-led group and that of GYB to a roundtable and agree on the way forward for the party in the state.

    “This is the major consideration to bring to the table if the APC must win the forthcoming governorship election and subsequent elections.”

    They warned the party against relying on intimidation of the electorate to retain the state as the voters had been politically educated to cast their ballot for individuals and no longer parties.

    According to them, the National Assembly Election in the Kogi West Senatorial District, which the APC lost attested to this fact.

    They said: “A very good exception of the above was that of the West Senatorial election, where the government of Yahaya Bello had turned Senator Dino Melaye to a household name with all the court cases and lack of good governance at home.

    “He made the people to have sympathy for Melaye and at the same time show anger against his government. Melaye was not particularly loved due to his role inthe annulment of the election that would have seen his kinsman become the first Okun man to be governor which the senator never wanted to happen.

    “Thus his victory at the senatorial election was because there was no alternative candidate that was credible to face Senator Smart Adeyemi and Yahaya Bello. The people thus opted for the ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend adage’ so the people voted against GYB not for Melaye, who was just the beneficiary of the protest vote.

    “The winning formula for the APC in the next governorship is if true, purposeful and satisfactory reconciliation is done before the party primaries.

    “The party must call Hon James Faleke, who inherited the Audu political structure and sustained it over the years, prevail on him and his team.”

    The Kogi Rescue Group said it has become important for genuine reconciliation to take place.

    “Remove Hon James Faleke from the equation and APC will be served the Adamawa and Bauchi dishes,” the group said.

     

  • 12-year-old commits suicide in protest against reprimand

    A 12-year old boy resident in Lokoja, Kogi State, who was simply identified as Bobo, on Sunday reportedly, took his own life in protest against reprimand by an elder sister.

    Residents of Aniebo Quarters in Gadumo area of Lokoja where the family resides were thrown into mourning following the news of the suicide by the 12-year-old.

    The deceased reportedly poisoned himself in their home by taking sniper, an insecticide.

    It was gathered that the elder sister had placed punished him for some misdemeanor shortly after they returned from church, which the deceased bluntly refused to serve.

    Read also: Kidnappers abduct driver, four others in Kogi

    The father was said to have intervened by asking him to do frog jump instead.

    It was gathered that after serving the punishment, the deceased retired into the room and took the poison, unknown to the parents.

    The parents only got to know much later by which time the poison had begun to take effect.

    All efforts to remedy the situation were to no avail.

    Spokesman of the Kogi State Police Command, Williams Aya, said he was yet to get any report of the incident.

  • Breaking: Driver, four others kidnapped in Kogi

    A commercial bus driver simply called Sapamo along with four passengers travelling from Ayetoro/Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, have been reportedly kidnapped along the Obajana – Kabba road.

    The victims were said to be returning to Lokoja, the capital on Monday, when they were attacked and abducted.

    Read Also: Breaking: INEC fixes Kogi, Bayelsa gov polls for Nov 2

    A relation of the driver said the kidnappers contacted the family and initially demanded for N10 million for their release, but “after much negotiation, the kidnappers lowered the ransom to N4 million” for their brother and the four others.

    All efforts to confirm the development from the state police command headquarters proved abortive, as the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Williams Aya was yet to respond to calls put across to his mobile lines.

  • Breaking: INEC fixes Kogi, Bayelsa gov polls for Nov 2

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed 2nd November, 2019 for governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.

    The decision, the National Commissioner in-charge of Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye in a statement was reached at the end of INEC’s meeting Tuesday.

    According to the timetable and schedule of activities for the elections, parties are expected to produce their candidates between 2nd and 29th August 2019.

    INEC stated campaigns by Political Parties in public shall commence on 2nd August 2019 and end on  October 2019.

    The statement reads, “The Commission at its meeting held today approved the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States. which will hold in both Slates on Saturday 2nd November 2019.

    “The official notice for both elections will be issued on 1st August 2019. while political parties that intend to sponsor candidates are to hold their primaries for the nomination of such candidates from 2nd -29th August 2019.

    “Campaigns by Political Parties in public shall commence on 2nd August 2019 and end on 31st October 2019.

    “The parties sponsoring candidates are required to submit the list of their agents not later than 2nd October 2019.

    READ ALSO: Appeal Court reverses sack of Niger East Senator, Umaru

    “The stated timelines are in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). All stakeholders are urged to take cognizance of and adhere strictly to them. ”

    Meanwhile, the commission has also approved the conduct of an extensive review and debriefing on the 201& general elections.

    These reviews and debriefing will take place between May and June 20l9.

    The Commission met today and approved a proposal to conduct an extensive review and debriefing on the 20l9 general elections in line with its existing practice.

    This is intended to evaluate the Commission’s performance of the key activities of the general elections. with a view to addressing identified challenges and strengthening operational and institutional capacities to conduct free, fair. credible and peaceful elections.

    The review will focus on the planning organization, conduct and coordination of the general elections particularly on the following: Logistics procurement and deployment of personnel and materials; Continuous Voter Registration and Collection of permanent voter’s cards; Legal environment of the elections particularly the legal challenges experienced over nomination of candidates and conduct of elections; Processes of party registration.

    Others are; Party primaries and nomination of candidates; Quality of ad hoc staff; Relationship between the Commission and diverse stakeholders including political panics security agencies, civil society organizations, the media and development partners; and Quality of inclusivity of the elections,  particularly regarding persons with disability, lDPs and gender balance.

    Two sets of activities are envisaged in the reviews as follows:  internal reviews involving National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners, Electoral Officers, Collation and Returning Officers as well as other key staff of the Commission; Review meetings with key stakeholders such as political panics, civil society organizations, security agencies, the media and development partners.

    The Commission he revealed has also commenced work on a comprehensive report of the 2019 general elections and has mandated its Electoral Institute to undertake detailed researches into various aspects of the elections.

    “It is the Commission’s hope that the outcomes of these reviews and studies will feed into further electoral reforms and its preparations for handing and future elections,” he further stated.