The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nasarawa

  • Ganaru signs a year’s deal with Nasarawa

    Ganaru signs a year’s deal with Nasarawa

    Former Kano Pillars coach Mohammed Baba Ganaru has finally signed a year’s contract with Nasarawa United.

    This has thus put to rest the reported return of the coach to Kano following pressure from the Nigeria league champions.

    “As I talk to you, Baba Ganaru has just signed an official contract with us,” confirmed Nasarawa United chairman Isaac Danladi to MTNFootball.com.

    “Ganaru has signed a one-year contract that would see him take charge for the 2013/2014 season. We have agreed on terms, but it would be out of place to divulge his earnings from the contract. However, within the week, we shall make public the club’s expectation from the coach ahead of the forth coming season.”

    Ganaru sensationally quit Pillars, saying he was pushed out by some top officials who did not appreciate his efforts. He spent five seasons at the club during which time they won the league crown thrice with him being in charge for their last two triumphs.

  • Horror in Nasarawa

    Horror in Nasarawa

    When will government rise to the security challenge of the Ombatse cult?

    The alarming descent to sheer anarchy and bizarre barbarism in Nigeria was again in evidence last weekend in Nasarawa State, in the North-Central geographical zone of the country. Residents of the state were shocked to the marrow when the bodies of two bankers and their driver were discovered in a massive riverside grave, buried along with their car! The victims were the Managing Director of the Police Microfinance Bank, Alhaji Hassan Gidado, Mr Tunde Banwo and their driver who had travelled to Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital from their base in Abuja, to attend the wedding of a child of the Police Commissioner in charge of Cooperatives.

    The men were allegedly ambushed by suspected members of the notorious Ombatse cult, taken to the bush, killed, set ablaze and buried in their car, perhaps to hide any trace of the atrocity. But for the vivid and horrifying photographs published in this newspaper yesterday, it would be difficult to believe the astounding scale and inhumanity of this savagery.

    How exactly have we descended to this bestial level where human life is daily devalued with ever-increasing brazenness across the country? Aside from the Boko Haram terrorist group that has become a thorn in the flesh of Northern Nigeria, sundry criminal groups – kidnappers, armed robbers, militants, ritual killers, rapists, assassins, etc – are on the rampage throughout the land, spreading fear and snuffing out lives.

    On May 7, over 50 policemen and operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) had been allegedly killed in an ambush by members of the Ombatse cult in the same Nasarawa State, on their way from Lafia to Lakyo village, described as the hotbed of the murderous group. Their mission was reportedly to arrest the leader of the cult, AlaAgu, described as the spiritual head of the Lakyo community. The Ombatse had become notorious for reportedly administering concoctions on people, to initiate them into the cult as well as molesting innocent citizens, including Fulani cattle breeders.

    It is surprising that such a group that had obviously become a menace to the society was able to grow and flourish in a country where there are security agencies. Equally astonishing is the fact that despite their alleged implication in the death of so many security agents, there is no evidence that the leaders or other members of the group were ever called to question by the relevant agencies. Although the Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko al-Makura, set up a Judicial Commission of Enquiry to probe the murder of the security operatives, nothing has come of it and the culprits are still apparently moving about freely.

    Indeed, AlaAgu granted press interviews in which he openly declared that “It is the governor that asked the people (police officers) to come here and arrest me, cut my head and take my head to him. When they came, because they were themselves drunk, my god did not allow them to come to me and they died on the way”. Yet, there was no vigorous response to such a direct challenge to the authority of the state. Is it any wonder then that others would be emboldened to so gruesomely take the lives of the latest victims as happened last weekend?

    Maintenance of security is the most critical function of any government and the foundation of the social contract between the government and the governed. When a state has lost its capacity to protect the lives and property of its citizens as is currently the case in Nasarawa and many other parts of Nigeria, it has lost its most fundamental reason for being. It is certainly time to stop treating this parlous and fragile security situation with kid gloves, lack of seriousness and creativity.

  • Nasarawa compounds 3SC’s woes

    Nasarawa compounds 3SC’s woes

    • Babatunde, Namo shine

    3SC’s desire to further push upwards in league ladder suffered a major setback Wednesday following their 3-0 demolition by Nasarawa United

    It was a tie that saw Solid Miner’s duo of Solomon Babatunde and Victor Namo emerging heroes after finding the net in the 22nd, 39th and 42nd minutes respectively. While Babatunde opened the floodgate, it was Namo that grabbed two goals in an interval of three minutes to put the game out of the reach of Oluyole Warriors who had hoped to at least pick a point away to improve their standing on the log.

    With 42 points in 33 matches prior to Wednesday’s encounter, the Ibadan based side will be looking forward to the next tie against Federation Cup champions Enyimba on Sunday at home with a strong desire to earn vital points.

    Though the Solid Miners who recently engaged the services of former Enyimba and Super Falcons coach Kadiri Ikhana, are equally down the ladder on the log, the Lafia based side have recorded some impressive results of late. Two earlier ties has seen the side defeat Bayelsa United 2-1 at home followed by a 1-1 draw away against Akwa United. The side will however be ready to battle to finish when they face ambitious ABS away at the weekend.

  • Nasarawa still in shock over killing of bankers, driver

    Residents of Nasarawa State were still in shock yesterday over the discovery of the bodies of two bankers and their driver.

    They were allegedly ambushed by suspected Ombatse boys, who took them to the bush, killed them, set them ablaze with their car and buried them with the car by the riverside.

    The incident happened at Tudun Adabu in Obi Local Government.

    The Police Command has arrested 14 suspects in connection with the murder.

    The deceased bankers are Alhaji Hassan Gidado, who was the managing director of the Police Microfinance Bank, and Mr. Tunde Banwo.

    The police, at a news conference on Monday, said after the the bodies were exhumed, they were deposited at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia.

    It was gathered that the two top bankers, who lived in Abuja, were in Lafia for the wedding of a child of the police commissioner-in-charge of Cooperative.

    Police Commissioner Umar Shehu said the suspected killers would soon be taken to court. He assured residents that measures had been taken to curb the activities of the outlawed Ombatse group.

  • APC to Fed Govt: don’t let Nasarawa become flash point

    APC to Fed Govt: don’t let Nasarawa become flash point

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the Federal Government to act fast to prevent Nasarawa State from becoming another trouble spot in the country.

    The party said the violence being perpetrated by the Ombatse cult/ethnic militia in the state “is fast spiralling out of control”.

    In a statement yesterday in Lagos by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC noted that should the Federal Government fail to act fast, Nasarawa State, which has the longest stretch of boundary with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), might be plunged into a crisis that would have a far-reaching effect beyond the state.

    It said the lessons of the Boko Haram insurgency which, through the same attitude now being exhibited towards the Nasarawa crisis, was allowed to fester and then degenerate into a slow-motion warfare, should guide the Federal Government to quickly bring the Nasarawa crisis under control.

    The APC said the killing of over 60 security operatives in May, by those believed to be members of the cult/ethnic militia, provided perhaps the best opportunity to deal a decisive blow to the cult.

    The statement reads: “In an inexplicable decision, the Federal Government resorted to a policy of appeasement against those who killed security operatives who were carrying out their lawful duties. These mindless cultists were supposedly forgiven without any of them being brought to justice, thus emboldening them to continue to perpetrate their dastardly acts.

    “The killing of security agents, last May, was not the first time the cult had attacked individuals and security operatives. Past attacks include the one between May 30 and June 1, last year, when the cult killed 15 people in an attack on Assakio community; the one on November 21, also last year, when the cult attacked Agyaragu community, killing nine people and the November 17, last year’s attack, when the cult mounted illegal road blocks and attacked motorists and commuters, injuring several people, including soldiers and other security agents.

    “Unfortunately, the kid gloves with which the cultists have been treated by the Federal Government, even after the killing of the security operatives, has meant more killings and destruction of property. The latest occurred last week, with deadly consequences.”

    The party said while it was not suggesting – and would not support an unbridled use of force that may inflict a collateral damage on innocent citizens – it believed that bringing to justice the perpetrators of crime among the cultists would be a good starting point.

    It said while the state government has acted promptly and firmly, including by proscribing the dangerous group, meeting with elders from the Eggon ethnic group and others to seek a peaceful solution and the sustained surveillance on the activities of the group, the federal government has yet to show the same level of commitment to efforts aimed at halting the cult’s activities.

    APC wondered whether the federal government would have remained equally docile in tackling the dangerous cult if it had been operating in a state that is not in the opposition, like Bayelsa or Rivers for example.

    “How has a vicious cult become a sacred cow that can so easily mow down security operatives without consequences? Why does the Federal Government need to wait before there is a conflagration before embarking on a panic deployment of troops to the areas hit by the latest attack by the Ombatse cult in Nasarawa? These and other questions are now being asked by right thinking Nigerians within and outside the state.

    “Unfortunately, the insinuation in certain quarters now is that the Federal Government has deliberately delayed action in bringing the cultists to justice for the crimes they have perpetrated or in stopping them from committing further atrocities because it wants the situation to deteriorate so it can then benefit from the chaos by taking over the state, either by hook or crook.

    “It is also being said that the fact that the Eggon ethnic group boasts of powerful sons, including one who is now the acting Minister of Defence, may be the reason why a dangerously-evolving killing machine has been allowed the leeway to continue to perpetrate its devilish activities.

    “We do not know if the insinuation is true or not. But the only way the FG can convince Nigerians, especially victims of the Ombatse cult/ethnic militia, that it is not tacitly endorsing the activities of the cult, is to join hands with the state government to stop the cult in its tracks and bring to justice those among them found to have committed crimes. Failure to do this will only confirm the insinuation that the FG is shielding those who pose a clear and present danger to the peace and security of Nasarawa, the FCT and the entire country, just to pave the way for an easy take over f the state by the Peoples Democratic Party” the party added.

  • Three die in Nasarawa clash

    The Nasarawa State Police Command said yesterday that only three people were killed in the renewed communal clash between the Alago and their Eggon counterparts at Assakio in Lafia Local Government Area.

    Police spokesman, Cornelius Ocholi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), told The Nation that three people died and four others were injured.

    He said the injured were receiving treatment at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia, the state capital.

    Ocholi said Police Commissioner Umaru Shehu was touring the affected area with his men.

    The spokesman said the situation had been brought under control with riot policemen as well as soldiers deployed in the area.

    On the extent of damage, Ocholi said about 30 houses were razed on both sides.

    He denied the reports that 50 people died in the clash.

    The police spokesman urged journalists to crosscheck their facts before going to press.

    Though calm has returned to the affected areas, it was learnt yesterday that tension still hung in the air.

     

  • 2015: ‘It’s turn of Nasarawa North to produce governor’

    2015: ‘It’s turn of Nasarawa North to produce governor’

    Former House of Representatives member Usman Isah Ambaka spoke with BUKOLA AMUSAN on the zoning principle in Nasarawa State and other partisan issues.

    How would you assess the recent development in Nasarawa State?

    There have been good political developments in the state. I say this because people are becoming more conscientised. They want to know and enforce their political rights. Their consciousness of what to expect from the government has also grown. Where the government is going wrong and where the government need to sit up. So, as far as that aspect is concerned, Nasarawa State is developing, especially, in the areas of physical infrastructure. In short, we are beginning to see the dividends of democracy in the state, unlike what obtained in the past. What I am saying is that the the present government has scored a pass mark as far as physical development is concerned.

    This is the era of politicking, are you satisfied with the zoning structure in the state ?

    I want to believe that the zoning arrangement is about to be thwarted or violated because of the quest of the incumbent governor to go for a second term. I believe the concept of zoning is what is sustaining the system nationally. So, in Nasarawa State, the Nasarawa South West Senatorial District produced the first democratically elected governor in the person of Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu now a sitting Senator. He served for two terms from 1999 to 2007 without any rancour and without any struggle. It then shifted to Nasarawa South in 2007. Alhaji Aliyu Akwe Doma from Nasarawa South emerged as the Governor without any struggle because we believe we ought to respect the zoning arrangement so that stability will be ensured and development can be guaranteed.

    He was supposed to have come back for a second term from 2011 to date but unfortunately something happened somewhere and he was edged out and we have the incumbent governor who is also from the same zone but from a different party, the CPC. Normally, for the spirit of oneness and for the spirit of democracy and the principle of zoning, we believe that zone has finished its own turn. We now bring it to Nasarawa North which is already waiting for the incumbent governor to finish his term so that it can take over. But now that the governor wants to come back again, it would mean a violation of the zoning policy in the state. We are, however, saying that there is the need to respect the principle of zoning and respect that gentleman’s agreement. We are saying that we should allow Nasarawa North to produce the next governor of the state in the spirit of fairness and equity. Our argument is that Nasarawa South has finished their term, irrespective of the party, whether its PDP, APGA or whatever, they have done their two terms.

    If he wants to come back again it means Nasarawa South would rule the state for 12 years. That is total violation of the principle of zoning and the spirit of living together.

    I am from Nasarawa North, and if I don’t speak out now posterity will judge me. I am a stakeholder and I feel this thing has to be corrected. Anybody can come from Nasarawa North and be the governor, but all I want is that the zoning arrangement should be respected. That is why I am appealing to the incumbent governor and all the stakeholders in Nasarawa State to consider and reconsider the second term ambition of the incumbent governor to cede power to Nasarawa North. Let the North produce the next governor irrespective of the party.

    Has the governor publicly declared his intention to re-contest?

    It is obvious that he is coming back and because I know its not as easy as it is for you to just relinquish such a lucrative position. It takes a whole lot, a man of his words and a man that is not given to power. There are indicators and from what I see from his body language, he is sure to seek a re-election. I am a politician and I have been in the system. There are some things somebody will do that will tell you that he is still interested in coming back. The way things are going it has become apparent that he wants to contest. But whatever it is, he has the right to contest, being an indigene of the state. But we are appealing, that it is not right for him to contest again because of this zoning arrangement on the ground.

    If other zones have not relinquished the position he wouldn’t have the opportunity to contest, or rather, he would have contested with people from other zones. But because of the respect we have for that arrangement we allowed him to contest, and that is why we produced him today. So, he should as a gentleman, also respect that arrangement and give the next slot to Nasarawa North. That is my appeal to him and that is my appeal to all stakeholders in Nasarawa State. All those that have the yearnings of Nasarawa State at heart, all those that will want to see development in Nasarawa State, should allow this zoning principle to get to certain level. By the time we are fully matured and developed, all the advanced democracies of the world observe zoning in principle, so why can’t we adopt same? I am appealing to his Excellency and all the stakeholders in Nasarawa State to consider Nasarawa North and now is the time for us to do it.

    Are the stakeholders in Nasarawa North Senatorial District just sitting down and expecting the next ticket to be handed to them or they are also negotiating with the other senatorial districts?

    No, the Nasarawa North Senatorial District is not just folding its arms and waiting. There are three dimensions of leadership. There are some leadership positions that you get while sitting in your room, there are some you have to go out and get, and there are some you have to fight to get. So, these dimensions of leadership is what is applicable now in Nasarawa State in the zone. There are some that believe that if it is our time, it will come our way. That the governor and the people of Nasarawa South ,will feel it is right to give it to Nasarawa North. Some believe that we have to stand up and work for it while some believe we have to fight for it. But I believe in the principle that if leadership is not given to me, I will fight for it and that is why I am speaking, not on behalf of Nasarawa North, but as a native of Nasarawa North. If others feel they should fold their arms and wait, then so be it. But I believe that I have to struggle for whatever I want and for whatever is right for me. But I am not struggling for myself but for the sake of posterity. Even if this is not achieved now, it will be on record in history that one Hon Ambaka spoke out.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has registered four more partiesd, what does this portend for democracy in the country?

    It is one of the beautiful things that have happened to this country. We have been having oppositions upon oppositions unlike the first republic where the parties had their stronghold in the regions. Apart from that period, we have never had a situation whereby there has been one credible opposition like the emergence of the APC. This registration will bring back the dignity of Nigerians as far as democracy is concerned. APC as a party we believe will check the excesses as well as the propensities of the ruling PDP and put it on its toes. No leadership is strong, if it does not have constructive opposition. The situation now is that it is either APC takes over the government and the PDP becomes the opposition or APC will remain a leach on the PDP to ensure that the party stays away from iniquities.

    But it’s has been argued in some quarters that the emergence of APC could be likened to pouring an old wine in a new bottle, do you have a contrary opinion?

    Whatever their definition, the bottom line and most fundamental thing is that three different opposition parties agreed to collapse into one. Of course, it could be same old wine, but the perception is different. The new branding would give it a new focus and it will keep the ruling PDP on its toe. The fact that there are some people out there watching it and expect them to right the wrongs. Yes, it could be old wine in a new bottle ,but all we want to achieve is to check the excesses of the ruling party and ensure that things are done right.

     

  • Nasarawa violence escalates

    •Women, kids flee troubled spots

    THE communal crises in Obi Local Government area of Nasarawa State that claimed over 20 lives escalated yesterday with reports of razed properties at Asakio in Lafia Local government area of the state.

    It was learnt that the crises that started between the Alago and their Eggon counterparts last Thursday in Obi council area has spread to Assakio in Lafia Local Government Area.

    Though no life has been lost yet, it was gathered houses and belongings have been razed on both sides.

    Though the Police Public Relations Officer, Cornelius Ocholi, said he was not aware the crises had spread to Asakio area yet, it was learnt no fewer than 40 people, mainly women and children, have fled the area.

    They are said to be taking refuge in Keana Local Government Area while others are believed to have fled to the neighboring Benue State and other parts of Nasarawa.

     

  • Nasarawa killings: Drama as panel impounds lawyers’ phones

    The Judicial Commission of Enquiry probing the killing of 63 police personnel and 10 State Security Service (SSS) operatives in Lakyo village of Nasarawa State yesterday confiscated the mobile telephone sets of lawyers and commission workers.

    This followed the reports on the presentation of the police, which the commission took in camera on Monday.

    The commission was said to have been miffed that what transpired at the closed-door hearing of the police report appeared in some national dailies yesterday.

    The Officer in Charge (OC) of Legal Services of the Nasarawa State Police Command, Saleh Adam Maidawa, was said to have drawn the panel’s attention to the reports on its proceedings during the closed-door session.

    Maidawa was said to have told the commission that the proceedings of the previous closed-door session were “leaked” to the press.

    It was also learnt that lawyers who arrived late for yesterday’s sitting were denied entry into the Magistrates’ Court II venue of the proceedings on Shendam Road in Lafia, the state capital.

    Besides the embargo earlier placed on the three “security memoranda”, our reporter gathered that the panel’s workers took oath of allegiance ahead of the closed-door sessions.

    The workers were also said to have been subjected to intense interrogation to know how the panel’s proceedings got to the newspapers’ front pages.

    The three submissions, tagged: Security Memoranda by the panel, included the presentations of the Nasarawa State Police Command, the SSS and the Nasarawa State Government on the killing of the security personnel in Lakyo village.

    It was learnt that a drama occurred during the submissions of the SSS, leading the panel to withhold the lawyers’ and workers’ handsets until the sitting ended.

    During the cross-examination of an SSS witness, a lawyer, Ovye Ezekiel Yakubu, asked how many security men went on the operation.

    Yakubu was said to be oblivious of the police counsel’s complaints on the “leak” because he was not there when it was made.

    The panel chairman, Justice Joseph Fola Gbadeyan, was said to have asked Yakubu to underscore the relevance of the question. The lawyer’s mobile phone was said to have rung at that point.

    It was learnt that as Yakubu wanted to pick the call, the chairman directed him to hand over the handset. After handing it over, the chairman reportedly asked Yakubu who the caller was and the lawyer said it was a “fellow lawyer”.

    The panel chairman was said to have mandated one of the workers to dial the caller’s number to ascertain if he was “truly a lawyer” and not a “journalist”.

    The caller was said to have identified himself as a lawyer and Yakubu’s friend.

    The panel yesterday adjourned till tomorrow.

    The one-day adjournment, according to our source, followed a request allegedly made by a counsel representing the state government, Sambo Vongjen, that the legal team would be ready for the panel tomorrow.

    Justice Gbadeyan ordered the lawyers at the hearing to switch off their handsets and hand them over to the panel’s Secretary, Abubakar Sadiq Ishaq.

  • My best friend seduced my wife, blind man tells court

    A blind man, Mr Shaibu Ibrahim, 56, of Aso Pada in Mararaba, Nasarawa State on Thursday told a Grade 1 Area Court in Mararaba that his friend, Shehu Sarki, 62, allegedly enticed his wife with money and seduced her.

    In his testimony to the court, Ibrahim said that he became friends with the accused some time last year when the accused assisted him to secure accommodation at Gwagalape, near Nyanya in the FCT.

    “He enticed my wife with money because he is rich.

    “He took advantage of a little misunderstanding I had with my wife over N1,000.

    “He was my very good friend. When he intervened, I thought he was concerned for me. I did not know that he had other evil plans,”

    Ibrahim told the court that the accused was the one who instigated his wife against him.

    “When I could not provide the N1000 daily savings to to secure a house, he took my wife and gave her another room in his compound.

    “Each time I go to see her or sit on her bed, she will send me out and say she has no business with me and that she has gotten herself a real husband now.

    “The accused began threatening me. He even told me that he has the money power to take my wife and marry her,”

    Ibrahim alleged that his wife through Sarki’s influence, has offered to pay him back the N19,000 he paid as dowry on her.

    After hearing Ibrahim’s testimony, the Presiding Judge, Mr Albert Maga, adjourned the case to Sept. 16, for defence.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that on Aug.27, Ibrahim dragged Sarki, his friend and Chairman of the Blind Peoples’ Association in Aso Pada to court for allegedly enticing his wife, Lami, 23.

    On the same date, Ibrahim told the court that the accused was the one who introduced him to Lami amd later enticed her and took her away from him (NAN)