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Tag: Makurdi

  • Ex-Customary Court president murdered in Makurdi

    Ex-Customary Court president murdered in Makurdi

    Benue State Judiciary has been thrown into mourning following the brutal murder of retired Justice Margaret Igbetar.

    Justice Igbetar  retired as President, Benue  Customary Court,  and lived a quiet life in Makurdi,  the Benue State capital.

    The Nation learnt that the retired jurist who was last seen on Tuesday lived in her Gboko Road sprawling compound.

    She was said to have been found dead on Friday in a pool of her own blood. Her remains were found in the kitchen with a deep cut on her back.

    The Benue State Police Command confirmed the incident, saying that it had arrested one Aondohemba Joseph, over the death of Justice Margaret Igbetar.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Sewuese Anene, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Saturday in Makurdi.

    “On August 24, information was received at ‘E’ Police Division Makurdi, that Justice Margaret Igbetar (rtd), could not respond to calls and was nowhere to be found. Detectives were immediately deployed for investigation.

    Read Also: NDDC to partner French, German agencies for job creation, farmers’ productivity

    “A search conducted within her house at Wantor Kwange Street, Gboko Road, Makurdi, led to the discovery of her body,” the statement said.

    The deceased was born on October 17, 1950, in Mbape, Shangev-ya, Tsar-Mbaduku, in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State.

    She started her career as an  Assistant Registrar, Grade I Area Court, Katsina-Ala, Benue State in 1971, and rose to become a judge of the Customary Court of Appeal in 1995, a position she held till 2003 when she was appointed President of the court.

    Igbetar was a founding member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers, Benue State, a life member, the first Chairperson of the Benue branch and a National Trustee of the association.

    The late Justice served as a member of the Election Petition Tribunal, Bauchi State, between 1998 and 1999, the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal Imo/Abia State in 1999 and the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, Kebbi State.

    She was also a member of the Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution in 2000.

  • NiMet predicts cloudy, sunny atmosphere for Sunday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has predicted cloudy to partly cloudy and sunny weather conditions with widespread thunderstorms over most parts of the country on Sunday.

    NiMet’s Weather Outlook on Saturday, in Abuja, predicted partly cloudy to cloudy morning over the central states with day and night temperatures of 32 to 41 and 20 to 27 degrees Celsius.

    It also predicted possibilities of thunderstorms over Lafia, Makurdi, Abuja, Lokoja, southern Kaduna and Jos axis as the day progresses.

    The agency predicted that Northern States would experience morning sunny conditions and partly cloudy to sunny afternoon and evening with day and night temperatures of 41 to 43 and 21 to 29 degrees Celsius.

    Read Also: NiMet predicts cloudy, sunny weather for Wednesday

    According to the report, Southern States will witness cloudy morning and thunderstorm over Ijebu with widespread thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening period.

    It said the temperatures of both day and night would hover between 33 and 36 and between 24 and 26 degrees Celsius respectively.

    “Sunny to partly cloudy conditions are to prevail over the northern parts of the country.

    “However, there are possibilities of thunderstorms over the central cities and widespread thunderstorms activities over some parts of the southern states in the next 72 hours,” NiMet predicted.

    NAN

  • Insecurity: Bishop backs creation of state police

    The Archbishop of Lagos Province and Diocesan Bishop of Lagos Mainland of the African Church, the Most Reverend Julius Oludotun Ogunseye, has expressed his support for creation of state police as solution to the nation’s security challenges.

    The clergyman also urged Nigerians to embrace peace, noting that only a peaceful atmosphere can aid the rapid development of the country.

    Bishop Ogunseye made the remarks in a sermon he delivered on Easter Sunday at the African Church Salem Cathedral, Ebute Metta, Lagos.

    He said: ‘’As a nation let us always embrace peace. I heard in the news yesterday that about 11 people were killed leaving several injured in Makurdi, Benue State, while they were in the church by unknown gunmen. I am appealing to our federal government to enact the laws that will allow the creation of state police. We are not save again in this country.’’

    Read Also: Killings: Human blood too sacred to be wasted – Bishop

    The clergyman also called for the retraining of policemen as way of curbing or reducing their unprofessional conduct on duty and extra-judicial killing of citizens.

    ‘’Our police officers need to go for retraining. Our police colleges must be restructured. It seems there is a huge gap between the training from the colleges and the real life situation. In Nigeria today, if you make a mistake instead of our police to correct you, they will always want to capitalize on your error and will want to extort you. The way our police do go about extra judicial killings these days is becoming totally unacceptable.

    ‘’ Also, the way our brothers and sisters are being killed in Diaspora looks like we do not have recognition in the international scene or we do not have external affairs ministry. Our leaders must show service to humanity, selflessness, and emulate the way Jesus Christ showed us love. In a situation where citizens are subjected to hunger, poverty, insecurity and all worth not, I pray the reason for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ will heal our land in Jesus name.’’

     

  • 20 killed, 100 houses set ablaze in Benue over fishing pond

    Over 20 persons have been killed and 100 houses set ablaze in Aila, Egba ward of Agatu local government area in Benue state.

    The chairman of Agbaduma Development Association (AGA) Makurdi branch Benjamin Eigege disclosed this during an interactive session with reporters in Makurdi, Benue state capital

    He called on the state and federal governments to deploy security men in Aila community to protect lives and property.

    He alleged indigenes of Aila in Egba ward Agatu local government area in Benue south have been under incessant attacks from neighbouring Egba community over a disputed fishing pond.

    He said suspected militia have so far killed 20 persons in Aila and set houses ablaze with many rendered homeless.

    According to him, the lingering crisis assumed a more dangerous dimension on March 18 when an Aila man, Nghede Ibrahim, was shot dead at the fishing pond by suspected militia from Egba an adjoining village.

    He stated further while the acting chairman of Agatu Local Government Council Alhaji Oyigbocho visited Aila community to calm down tensions and pleaded against reprisal attacks, some suspected militia stormed Aila community and killed 9 persons immediately he left.

    “They set over 100 houses ablaze and destroyed property worth millions,” Eigege lamented..

    He traced the history of the bloody lingering crisis to a fishing pond which is in dispute.

    Read Also: Benue community laments incessant killings

    He said attempts to get protection from the Benue security outfits has failed, forcing the community to resort to ” Save our Souls ” messages to the state and federal government.

    He hoped for the immediate intervention from the government to enable Aila people go back to their ancestral land and farm as raining season sets in.

    Benue Police command said more policemen would be deployed to the community and called for calm.

    Chairman of Agatu local Government area Alhaji Oyigocho could not be reached for comment.

    But a member of Agatu cLocal Government council said efforts were in top gear to bring the Egba/ Aila lingering crisis to an end.

    He said a meeting of critical stakeholders is scheduled to hold to find a lasting peace among the warring communities.

  • Benue Police guarantees security for supplementary polls

    Ahead of Saturday’s March 23rd Governorship and State Assembly elections, Benue State Police Command has assured the polls would be conducted in a violent- free and fair atmosphere.

    The Police Commissioner U.M Muri said adequate security measures have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the exercise.

    He spoke while briefing newsmen on the command’s preparedness for the polls at the command Headquarters in Makurdi.

    READ ALSO: Benue Police Command gets first female PRO

    He stated that all routes and flash points within the State have been fortified with sufficient patrol teams to protect the electorates, electoral materials and INEC staff.

    He also stated police deployment has covered all polling units, collation centres and INEC offices.

    The Police Commissioner warned violators of electoral process that severe consequences await them accordingly.

    Muri urged parents, religious leaders and traditional rulers to prevail on their subjects not to be used to disrupt the electoral process.

    He enjoined voters to come out without fear of harassment or intimidation to exercise their franchise and advised them to conduct themselves in line with the electoral act.

     

     

  • NiMet predicts cloudy, sunny weather for Monday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted cloudy to partly cloudy, sunny and hazy weather conditions with chances of thunderstorm activities over most parts of the country on Monday.

    NiMet’s Weather Outlook on Sunday in Abuja predicted partly cloudy to cloudy conditions with day and night temperatures of 35 to 37 and 19 to 23 degrees Celsius.

    It also predicted chances of localised thundery activities over Mambilla plateau, Lokoja, Makurdi, Jalingo and Bida in the afternoon and evening period.

    The agency also predicted that Northern States would experience sunny and hazy conditions with day and night temperatures of 35 to 39 and 19 to 20 degrees Celsius.

    Read Also: NiMet predicts hazy weather

    According to NiMet, Southern States will experience cloudy morning and localised thunderstorms over Benin, Calabar, Warri and Port Harcourt with day and night temperatures of 34 to 37 and 20 to 25 degrees Celsius.

    “Sunny conditions are expected to prevail over the north while partly cloudy to cloudy conditions over the central states.

    “There are chances of localised thunderstorms activities over the southern part of the country within the next 24 hours,” NiMet predicted.

    NAN

  • Ortom, Akume quarrel over destruction of billboards in Makurdi

    Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has accused former Governor George Akume of leading youths to destroy the billboards of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state on Wednesday in Makurdi, the state capital.

    But Akume, the senator representing Benue Northwest (Zone B), in a statement by his legislative aide, Isaac Vembeh, said he did not authorise the destruction of any poster and billboard belonging to any politician in Benue Atate.

    The statement said the State APC Leader was celebrating President Muhammadu Buhari’s grand victory in a motorcade with a huge crowd of his supporters.

    He condemned the alleged destruction of posters and billboards by overzealous unidentified persons, describing the action as primitive, barbaric and unnecessary in modern democracy.

    Addressing reporters at the Government House in Makurdi, Ortom expressed disappointment at Akume, saying the senator led other APC members to destroy PDP’s posters and billboards.

    According to him, instead of staging a peaceful celebration of President Buhari’s victory, the senator allegedly went on rampage.

    The governor said they destroyed billboards of the PDP, raided shops and blocked major roads in Makurdi.

    He called for the examination of Akume’s character, stressing that the former governor’s vow to destabilise the state during and after the elections would be resisted.

    Ortom urged Benue youths to desist from committing crime that could truncate their future.

    The governor urged the residents to remain calm as the matter had been reported to security agencies.

    He advised the residents to resist resorting to reprisals but to report to security agencies where their rights were being infringed upon.

    The governor said the PDP would be victorious in the governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    Describing last Saturday’s elections as relatively peaceful, Ortom hailed the people for conducting themselves well.

    He urged them to sustain the same composure in the March 9 elections.

  • Protesters march on INEC Headquarters in Makurdi

    It took a firm and timely response from armed soldiers to stop two groups of protesters from storming the state Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters along One Jang Road in Makurdi, Benue state on Monday afternoon.

    Shouting no Akume, no Election and other slogans, scores of angry youths insisted on storming the collation centre within INEC complex where results were being collated.

    Another group which claimed to be members of the PDP descended on the area, insisting on forceful entry into INEC office to foreclose the possibility of incumbent Senator George Akume declared as winner.

    “We believe that they (INEC) can do whatever he wants but there are disputes over election figures in Akume’s Zone B ( Benue North-West senatorial zone) and he must be stopped,” one of the PDP youth who gave his name as Terseer Tyav told The Nation.

    However, one of those leading the pro-Akume group, Clement Iordaar, alleged that there was a mischievous ploy to deny Akume reelection.

    “Suswam and Abba Moro of PDP have won two of the senatorial seats but they are insisting on truncating Akume’s victory so that another PDP member, Orker Jev can take the seat and fulfill Ortom’s boast about retiring Akume from politics,” he said.

    However, alert soldiers effectively blocked the two groups of protesters from entering the INEC compound.

    Collation of the presidential results was still ongoing during the protest and results from fifteen local government areas had been declared.

    Those of the National Assembly elections were being awaited.

  • NiMet predicts sunny, hazy weather for Saturday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted sunny, hazy and partly cloudy weather conditions with thundery activities over most parts of the country on Saturday.

    NiMet’s Weather Outlook on Friday, in Abuja, predicted partly cloudy conditions over central cities with day and night temperatures of 33 degrees celsius to 38 degrees celsius and 17 to 28 degrees celsius.

    It also predicted prospects of thunderstorms over Nassarawa, Lokoja, Abuja and Makurdi in the afternoon and evening periods.

    The agency predicted that Northern states would experience sunny and hazy morning with sunny conditions in the afternoon and evening and day and night temperatures of 33 degrees celsius to 40 degrees celsius and 17 to 24 degrees celsius.

    Read Also: NiMet predicts hazy weather

    According to NiMet, Southern states will experience partly cloudy and cloudy conditions over the inland cities in the morning hours.

    It further predicted chances of localised thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening periods with day and night temperatures of 33 degrees celsius to 39 and 19 to 27 degrees celsius.

    “Sunny and hazy conditions are anticipated over the Northern region.

    “Partly cloudy and cloudy conditions are probable over the central and Southern cities in the morning with localised thunderstorms over South region later in the day,” NiMet predicted.

    NAN

  • Court orders EFCC, banks to pay Benue N100m

    A Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi on Tuesday ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC ) United Bank of Africa, UBA and Fidelity Bank to pay Benue state government N100 for freezing its accounts last year.

    Delivering judgement in the suit number FHC/MKD/CS/46/2018 filed by the Benue State Government challenging the legality of the EFCC freezing its accounts, Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon ordered the anti-graft commission to pay the Benue State Government the sum of N50 million as damages, while UBA and Fidelity are to each pay the sum of N25 million.

    Justice Olajuwon stated the Benue State government accounts frozen do not fall within the classes or categories of accounts liable to be frozen by the EFCC.

    She declared the action of the EFCC as illegal, null and void, saying the order to the affected Banks to freeze Benue State accounts was not obtained from a Federal High Court.

    The Judge thereafter granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining EFCC from further freezing Benue State Government accounts domiciled in financial institutions.

    Read Also: Court remands ex-SGF in EFCC custody

    Benue State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Michael Gusa described the judgement as sound, adding the Governor Samuel Ortom’s administration believes in the rule of law and due process and would not fail to challenge any act of illegality on the State.

    It will be recalled a few days after Governor Samuel Ortom defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the EFCC ordered the freezing of the accounts of Benue State Government in UBA and Fidelity Bank on the premise that the Governor’s security vote was being investigated.

    The State through the office of Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice approached the court seeking a declaration that EFCC acted against the law when it directed the banks to freeze its accounts.