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  • Amnesty programme: Dokubo’s magic wand

    A DISARMING smile is his trademark, a veritable asset that neutralizes the temperature of an environment he finds himself. For Prof. Charles Dokubo, coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, carrying a light heart creates a pleasant atmosphere for productivity to flourish and breed a fertile ground for fresh initiatives to actualize his vision for the Niger Delta.

    Several years before his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2018, Dokubo had been quietly working behind the scene on finding a solution to the Niger Delta debacle, as he shared the pains of his kith and kin in Nigeria’s oil-rich region occasioned by environmental degradation, economic deprivation and abject poverty.

    His expertise in dealing with regional and international conflict situations and resolution placed him on a vantage position in President Buhari’s determination to chart a new course for the Niger Delta region, and the privilege of being appointed coordinator of the Amnesty Programme provided him an opportunity to breathe a new lease of life into a people dying in installments of neglect and suffocation.

    Dokubo is unwavering in actualizing President Buhari’s developmental vision for the Niger Delta with human capacity building as the focal point, using the instrumentality of the Amnesty Programme as a vehicle to achieve the objective. And he has cautiously steered the wheel on full throttle, recording landmark achievements in a year and five months.

    Within a short period, he was able to not only complete, equip and activate the Oil and Gas Vocational Training Centre at Agadagba-Obon, Ondo State, but also commissioned the Basic Skills Vocational Training Centre at Boro Town, Bayelsa State. The Power and Energy Vocational Training Centre located at Bomadi, Delta State, is almost set to come on stream while work is ongoing at the Agricultural Vocational Training Centre in Gelegele, Edo State, where he performed the foundation laying ceremony on Friday, February 15.

    Also dear to Dokubo’s heart in his effort to fast-track training of beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme, is the Maritime Vocational Training Centre at Oboama, Rivers State. This is apart from the establishment of a liaison office for the Presidential Amnesty Programme in Port Harcourt, the state capital, as a pilot project in his plan to locate liaison offices across all states in the Niger Delta to ease interface with beneficiaries of the programme.

    In the next few weeks, 100 beneficiaries of the Programme will resume training at the Oil and Gas Training Centre at Agadagba-Obon, just as six others who had been trained in aviation and obtained their commercial pilot licenses are scheduled to undergo further training in Florida, USA, for their type-rating.

    Under Dokubo’s watch, 1, 601 beneficiaries have completed training in various skills out of 4, 014 allocated to specialized training vendors, while 1,271 already trained beneficiaries have been given empowerment packs in their respective trade areas to enable them start business. The empowered beneficiaries are among 4,269 scheduled for engagement on completion of their training in various vocational skills.

    While those trained acquired skills in fish and poultry farming; Greenhouse farming; tailoring and fashion design, mechanized rice farming and agribusiness; transformer repair/maintenance; pig farming, automobile, aquaculture and snail farming; shoe making/leather works, and ICT, among others, the empowered beneficiaries were on building materials, fish farming, poultry, welding, pig farming, plastic technology, electronic stores, cassava farming, commodity shop, and feed sales. The aggressive empowerment drive for beneficiaries drawn from all states in the Niger Delta is the result of efforts by Dokubo towards ensuring that already trained beneficiaries were fully engaged to fast-track development and deepen peace in the region.

    Unfortunately, his uncommon leadership style and amazing achievements propelled by a commitment towards rewriting the sad narrative of the Niger Delta is discomforting for some self-acclaimed leaders of the region who had fed fat on the Amnesty Programme, and he has been at the receiving end of poisonous missiles aimed at dislocating him.

    To be sure, Dokubo’s detractors are unrelenting in their efforts at throwing a spanner in the works for his effrontery in arresting the smooth flow of a food basket they had deliberately bled to swell their pockets. That sinister objective explains some fake news, fairy tales and vicious attacks on the person of Dokubo and the Amnesty Programme, with intent to blur his vision for the Niger Delta, break his spirit, and make him recoil into his shell. They’ve failed woefully.

    Dokubo’s passion for development of the Niger Delta is fired by affinity to a common history and destiny, and his burning desire to make positive change cannot be extinguished. His magic wand used in turning around the Amnesty Programme and deepening peace in the hitherto restive region has earned him resounding applause and overwhelming support from the leaders of Niger Delta ex-agitators, royal fathers, community leaders and stakeholders.

    It is heartwarming that even as his enemies who are blind to the reality on ground are resolute in their evil machinations, well-meaning Niger Deltans appreciate and have supported him in good conscience. The message is that Dokubo’s presence at the Amnesty Programme is divine, and those bent on pulling him down should not test the will of God. Dokubo is simply doing his bit in oiling the wheel of peace, security and development in the Niger Delta region and by extension, Nigeria. He needs to be encouraged.

     

    • Ganagana is Special Assistant (Media) to the Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme

     

  • Kano governorship tussle: I did not cancel disputed election results says INEC returning officer

    Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer who superintend over Kano State Governorship Election, in Nassarwa Local Government, Professor Ibrahim Khaleel, has dismissed the allegations of issues of over voting and violence attributed to the cancellation of outcome of the elections in Gama Ward.

    The university don, who appeared before the State Election Petition Tribunal, on subpoena, said there were no formal reports of cases of violence and over voting during the governorship election held on March 9th in Gama Ward.

    According to him, the INEC Returning Officer assigned to Gama only failed to reconcile the results scored by the gubernatorial contestants, disclosing that twice, he gave injunction to the ward Returning Officer to reconcile the discrepancies evident in the ward results.

    Khaleel said “I did not receive a formal report about the violence in Gama; I did not cancel the results in Gama ward.”

    Read Also: Kano guber tussle: no case to answer – Ganduje

    Earlier, Khaleel told the judicial panel that “Hon Farouk Lawan and some others stood on me, which was intimidating, and the collation hall was crowded; some people came from behind me, I did not see their faces to know who they were, then pandemonium broke out.

    “I ran out of the building and took cover, later we relocated to the state collation centre for safety,” the court heard.

    He also said: “There were gunshots, there was chaos and the electoral documents were carted away by one Dr. Umar Tanko Yakasai, who was my former student, I know very well.”

    The presiding judge, Justice Halima Shamaki, ordered the matter adjourned to August 26th for continuation of hearing.

    Meanwhile, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has described the suit filed by Abba Kabiru Yusuf of the PDP challenging his March 2019 victory as lacking in burden of proof.

    Ganduje said his PDP rivals have failed to establish their burden of proof before the tribunal.

    The counsel representing Ganduje, Ibrahim Mukthar, reacting to questions from judicial reporters at the Miller road court complex said the Ganduje camp is far from being under pressure to counter the allegations filed by the petitioners.

  • APC in a quandary over Kogi’s Bello

    GOVERNOR Yahaya Bello of Kogi State is widely regarded as the most inept governor in the country, barring perhaps the stiff competition former Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari, gave him in the past two or three years. But since the exit of his competitor after a most uninspiring rule, Mr Bello has become incomparable. He is widely regarded as youthful, a claim now being put to the test by his detractors who insist he is in fact older than he looks and claims. Having punished Kogi for about four years with nothing really to show for his governorship other than that he wasted the state’s time and resources, he has shockingly indicated a desire to fight for re-election on the assumption that his first term could be attributed to his electoral effort.

    For a man eager to get a second term, and having sadly neither worked for it nor earned it, it is passing strange that he is going about it the wrongest way. He has still not cleared the salary backlog of civil servants, other than make highly publicised token gestures, and he has neither courted nor befriended state workers and other Kogites whom he has oppressed and scandalised. Yet he has presented himself to be canonised by his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to seek a second term in November. He seems to think that since his party initiated the ugly and reprehensible conspiracy to foist him on the state some four years ago, it should be wiling again to get him into office by hook or crook. It is not clear how they would do it, or whether they are even willing to affront all civilised values to sanction his participation.

    But whether the APC allows itself the humiliation of embracing Mr Bello’s ambition or not, it beggars belief that the governor sees the brutalisation of the state as the surest way to make an unforgettable impression on the electorate. He has thrown his hat into the ring. It should have been immediately and forcefully picked up and hurled at him. There are many reasons to do this beyond his scandalous management of the state’s financial and human resources, beyond his deliberate refusal to pay civil servants their salaries. He hopes to contest the governorship three months from now, but he has done nothing of significance to justify even one vote, indeed, no reason at all to endear him to the electorate. He has fought everyone, some of them the state’s leading social, political and judicial elite, and befriended no one, no matter how insignificant, including unknown and uncelebrated lawmakers.

    Two of his enemies stand out, two gentlemen who had nothing against him starting out, and who even actually befriended him and helped pave the way for him to be accepted and crowned. The Chief Judge of the state, Nasir Ajanah, an Ebira like him, stands out. For elementary reasons, including refusing to subordinate the judiciary to the executive branch, Mr Bello singled out Justice Ajanah for excoriation and intimidation. Adopting the reprehensible style by which former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, was unceremoniously shoved out of office, using a combination of propaganda and judicial heresy, Mr Bello had hoped to quickly get rid of the chief judge in favour of his Man Friday. He cajoled the mannequins at the Kogi House of Assembly to initiate impeachment process, and hoped that his intimidatory tactics would persuade the public and help galvanise the state judiciary to endorse his wish.

    Not only did the judiciary stand pat and courageously resisted his bullying tactics, judicial workers also lined up behind their embattled chief judge. Consequently, the legislature’s floundering plot to unseat Justice Ajanah failed miserably, embers of the conflict nevertheless still flickering. Judicial workers union, Kogi branch, was shocked to see that the top wigs of the judiciary in Abuja were ambivalent towards a chief judge they had a duty to protect against the infamous executive putsch hatched by an irresponsible politician.

    Since he lacked policies and programmes, Mr Bello seemed to have nothing else to do than engage in verbal and judicial brawls with officials and politicians he has had no reason to fight. His other prominent enemy, who started out as a loyal party member, is the deputy governor, Simon Achuba. Mr Achuba was not as discriminating as Abiodun Faleke, the late Prince Abubakar Audu’s running mate who should have constitutionally inherited the governorship mantle when the APC candidate slumped and died in 2015 after the governorship election had been fought and won. Mr Faleke, angry because of the injustice perpetrated by his own party against him, spurned the indignity of being asked to be the automatic running mate of the inexperienced and untested Mr Bello. But Mr Achuba rushed in where angels feared to tread, and only months later became public enemy number one of the cantankerous governor. All manner of intimidatory tactics have been brought to bear on the deputy governor in order to force him to quit. And yet he was no radical, nor even a querulous politician. Sadly both the legislature and the judiciary have signed on to the Bello rigmarole designed to force Mr Achuba out. The conspirators may succeed because there are really not many people left with any spine in the state.

    Mr Bello is sustained in office by his supporters and mentors in Abuja. The support is so wide-ranging and so massive that he does not feel burdened by the dictates of conscience to act responsibly in office. He hopes their support will get him the ticket, assuming the APC at the national level caves in to injustice. More, he hopes that once he gets the ticket to run for re-election, he would use all manner of state coercive machineries — all of them without exception — to win the November poll and coax a pliant judiciary to endorse the repugnant outcome. These are the reasons Mr Bello is fighting everybody, exempting no one, a few months to a decisive election that could finally ruin the state. He has made no friends, and is not encumbered to make any. He has enacted no great policy and built no significant structure, because he has by his obnoxious habit formed the opinion that his powerful political and judicial friends in Abuja have his back.

    If Mr Bello surmounts the controversy swirling around his real age, and manages to extricate himself from the double registration trap INEC has woven around his neck, he may indeed get the ticket. APC under its staid former national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, could not absolve itself of blame for enthroning an undeserving and incompetent politician. It remains to be seen whether the current party chairman, the pugnacious Adams Oshiomhole, can withstand the wiles and savagery of Abuja to dethrone Mr Bello. The obstacle is not one of ethics, it is one of courage. Indeed, everyone knows the right thing to do in Kogi. The problem is to find those to do it. It will take a truly herculean effort by Mr Oshiomhole not to disappoint himself and Kogites, for Mr Bello could not conceivably win a free and fair election in a state he has loathsomely brutalised and bastardised.

  • Joint account: Governors opt for legal battle with NFIU

    The 36 state governors are heading to the courts over the decision of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to strip them of their hold on the State Joint Accounts.

    The governors met in Abuja on Thursday and rejected a political solution to the disagreement with the NFIU over the Local Government statutory allocations from the Federation Account.

    They insisted that the NFIU Act 2018 lacks the power  to issue guidelines on local government finances, especially imposition of sanctions.

    It was learnt that the governors chose legal battle than political resolution in order to “lay the matter to rest once and for all.”

    They also argued that political option would amount to conferring legitimacy on “assumed powers by the NFIU which may set a bad precedent.”

    A governor, who spoke in confidence, said: “Initially, we thought of prevailing on the presidency to broker talks between the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and the NFIU because we are also committed to probity and accountability.

    “When we met, all governors agreed that the NFIU guidelines are unconstitutional and we should not use political rapprochement to confer legitimacy on the assumed powers of the agency. We have realized that the issues at stake border on the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

    “All the governors have resolved that we should take the battle to the court for a clear cut decision which will guide the present generation of governors and their successors.

    “We want the court to interpret Section 7(6) (a) and (b) and Section 162(6), (7), and (8) of the Constitution.

    “If you look at Section 7(6) (a) and (b) of the Constitution, it gives the National Assembly and the State House of Assembly the powers to make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to the local councils in the Federation and within the State respectfully.

    Read Also: ‘Governors reluctant to implement Houses of Assembly financial autonomy’

    “Section 162 (6) makes provision for the creation of the State Joint Local Government Account (SJLGA) into which shall be paid all allocations to the LGAs of the State from the Federation Account and from the government of the state.

    “Section 162 (7) of the Constitution empowers the National Assembly to formulate the terms and manners in which funds from the SJLGA may be disbursed.

    “In Section 162(8), the 1999 Constitution mandates the State House of Assembly to prescribe the manner in which the amount standing to the credit of the local councils in the state shall be distributed.”

    “We see the whole matter as constitutional; we prefer to go to court instead of sleeping over our rights.”

    Another governor said: “Our position is that the guidelines are illegal, unconstitutional and cannot be binding on state governors.

    “Some of us tried as much as possible to prevail on the presidency to broker peace between the Governors’ Forum and the NFIU but the latter was not forthcoming.

    “At our meeting, we realized that we have a strong case. We will fight to the end. The beauty of democracy is that the judiciary is the arbiter.

    “If we have an under-the-table deal with the NFIU, it will backfire later. We won’t follow this path.

    “This is not the first time we are going to court. During the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Excess Crude Account (ECA) was created and the governors challenged it because it was illegal.”

    The NFIU, in guidelines effective from June 1, banned banks, governors other financial institutions, public officers and relevant stakeholders from tampering with the statutory allocations of Local Government Areas from the Federation Account.

    Errant individuals and companies face direct international and local sanctions.

    Some of the sanctions are possible blacklist of errant governors and the Chief Executive Officers of the affected banks, a complete shutdown of any bank and watch-list of violators in 160 countries where they cannot transact business or pay bills.

    The agency also imposed a daily N500, 000 cash transaction limit on all the 774 local governments in the country.

    The guidelines restored the financial autonomy of the local governments.

    Thus, each local government is free to spend its funds without taking directives from state governors who had hitherto hijacked the monthly allocations of the third tier of government under the guise of State Joint Local Government Account.

    The governors however asked President Muhammadu Buhari to call the NFIU to order because, according to them, the guidelines are in violation of the 1999 Constitution.

    They accused NFIU of stoking mischief and also deliberately seeking to cause disaffection, chaos and overheat the polity.”

    It was learnt that despite their letter to the President, NFIU has been giving state governors a tough time through what a governor described as “intimidation of our bankers.”

    The governors chose to go to court.

  • We are fully equipped to deliver, says Omotoso

    Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, has assured Lagosians that members of the state executive council have been fully equipped to deliver on the promises of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

    He gave the assurance on Saturday while addressing correspondents in the company of some of his colleagues and the Head of Service (HoS), Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola on the outcome of a four-day retreat organised by the state government for the exco members and permanent secretaries at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    He said the retreat has prepared them fully for the task ahead promising that Lagosians will see a lot of actions from the government as everything that has been planned will now be put to action.

    According to Omotoso, “We have had an intensive, energy sapping and intellectually fulfilling four-day retreat, it is a spring board for us to take off, now Lagosians are going to see a lot of actions from this government, because everything that has been planned will now be put into action.

    Read Also: Sanwo-Olu to commissioners, special advisers: ensure Lagos remains top destination

    “Everything that we needed to know we have been told; we have giants from both the private and public sectors as well as professionals from all walks of life in the cabinet.

    “We are fully armed and fully energised and we are going to go into action and Lagosians will see a good, better and greater Lagos, the Lagos that we all have been dreaming of, that will be the pride of everybody,” the commissioner stressed.

    Also speaking, the HoS, Muri-Okunola said the retreat which was “fun filled, intensive and with strategy packed sessions will benefit Lagos and Lagosians at large.”

    He said, “It was necessary to have a forum that will create a synergy between the permanent secretaries and the new cabinet members, it is also aimed at bonding the relationship between the two principal officers of government.”

    The retreat, Muri-Okunola said was characterised by a high level of leadership topics, leaders of thought like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola both past governors of the state, Ben Akabueze, Director-General, Federal Budget Office, Wale Edun, Atedo Peterside, Mo Abudu, Dele Alake etc.

    “Who came to grace the occasion with their knowledge and personal as well as public service and public life with variety of topics aimed at creating a shared vision for everybody to key into, setting a tone for the administration sitting primarily on the pillars established by the governor with the acronym THEMES,” the HoS said.

    Also speaking, Ajibola Ponle, Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pensions said they have been told what is required of them so they are ready to roll up their sleeves to render service.

  • Akeredolu vows to sustain interaction with LU leaders

    ONDO State Head of Service (HoS), Dare Aragbaiye, has assured all workers in the state that Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu’s administration would continue to interact with the leadership of labour unions in order to sustain the cordial relationship between them and the government.’

    Aragbaiye gave the assurance at the second quarterly Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) management meeting held at the weekend in Akure, the state capital. The HoS had at a different gathering acknowledged the support of workers to the numerous achievements of his administration in the last two years.

    The Permanent Secretary, Department of Establishment and Training, Victor Olajorin, appreciated the HoS for facilitating and personally attending the meeting, which he said is a right step towards achieving harmonious government-labour relationship in the state.

  • Storm in Enugu over rape, murder of pregnant woman

    The Enugu State government on Saturday ordered an autopsy into the circumstances surrounding the death, earlier in the week, of a pregnant housewife, Mrs. Regina Mba of Nchatancha Nike, Emene, as outrage spread over the incident.

    Mrs. Mba was allegedly raped, killed, ripped open and her unborn baby taken away by her assailants, while returning from farm.

    President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo,    called for a  thorough investigation into the killing of the  woman  while in Nchatancha Nike in Enugu State while the Founder Igbo Youth Movement (IYM), Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko said  that by the incident, the Igbo “have been pushed  to the wall.”

    The Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Simon Ortuanya said in a terse statement that government had directed the Management of the Enugu State University of Technology Teaching Hospital to immediately carry out an autopsy on the deceased.

    He said the medical exercise was to assist the security agencies in their ongoing investigations.

    Nwodo calls for thorough investigation

    The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, asked for a ‘thorough investigation’ into the murder.

    Read Also: Mob ‘critically’ injures ASP, two other policemen for shooting pregnant woman dead in Lagos

    Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Emeka Attamah, he said that though the Executive of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu State had visited the home of the victim, it was still necessary for him to add his voice to the condemnation of the dastardly and inhuman act.

    Nwodo alleged that some detractors of the state government are out to destabilize the peace and tranquility in the State and rob it of its sobriquet of the most peaceful state in the country.

    The President General enjoined the state government not to be distracted by enemies of progress, but to continue to carry out measures it has put in place to secure lives and property in the state.

    He called on security agencies to unravel the conspiracy and tendency of hoodlums who want to make the state insecure through incessant kidnappings and killings which hitherto were absent.

    Nwodo commiserated with the family of the deceased and urged them to bear the loss with fortitude.  He called for general vigilance and precautions among the people to nip these acts in the bud.

    Ugochukwu-Uko: ‘We’ve been pushed to the wall’

    The founder, Igbo Youth Movement, Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, said the murder is “simply put, unpardonable and unacceptable.”

    He blamed the killing on herdsmen and said their horrific brigandage   “has gotten way beyond what is condonable and tolerable.”

    He said: “Every once in a while, the devil seems to take total control of events in a kingdom. The result usually is avoidable bloodshed, bedlam, mayhem and utter destruction which takes decades to rebuild. We are sadly, inexorably heading towards that path, the government is either overwhelmed or complicit.

    “Traditional rulers, priests and community leaders seem preferred targets of choice, these expansionist demons of death are schooled by their sponsors and masters to hunt.

    “General Danjuma screamed they are being protected by the military and security forces. Killing of policemen by soldiers in Taraba confirm soldiers could be compromised, confessions of arrested culprits that helicopters drop guns and ammunition for them, in the forest, simply completes the horror script. We have been under siege for four years now.

    “The hapless communities now have no other choice than to defend themselves or perish. The days of endless endurance and era of trusting the security agencies to protect our people are over.

    “The ferocious incursion into our farmlands and homestead with rape, beheadings, amputations and general terror is the age old well known trademark of these expansionist warriors for centuries. Our people are clearly in trouble.

    “The obvious inability or deliberate lack of interest or both, by the government of the day, to rein in these vermin has already resulted to lack of trust between our leaders and the masses who are incensed that politicians are not doing enough to protect them, as seen in the Nuremberg, Germany incident.”

  • Oyo traditional ruler decries incessant bloody attacks by herdsmen

    THE Baale of Araro, Ido Local Government, Oyo State, Chief Mustapha Ibrahim, is calling for help over alleged incessant attacks by herdsmen in the community.

    The traditional ruler said that despite series of complaints at police stations, attacks on farmers have not ceased.

    He narrated how seven farmers received machete cuts by alleged herdsmen after invading and destroying farmlands worth several thousands of naira.

    The village, a border town between Oyo and Ogun, close to Government Reservation, is about 20 kilometres away from the city of Ibadan, with its inhabitants mainly farmers.

    Read Also: Oyo impounds 400 vehicles

    When contacted, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olugbenga Fadeyi, a superintendent of police, confirmed that there has been incessant skirmishes between the farmers and Fulani herdsmen in the area, but said there was nobody harmed by herdsmen.  He explained that it was true complaints were made at the Omi Adio Police Station, by farmers from Araro community, and the DPO and some officers visited the area to access the situation.

    However, the Baale disagreed with the police and took time off to invite some of the victims to his palace and also acceded to the request of this reporter to visit hospitals where the victims were treated after the attack.

     

  • Akoko residents bar police from arresting suspected daughter’s killers

    RESIDENTS of Ikare-Akoko community in Akoko North-East local government area of Ondo State were alleged to have prevented men of the state police command from arresting one Felix Babalola.

    The accused was alleged to have beaten his four-year-old daughter, Testimony, to death last Wednesday on the allegation that she possessed evil spirit.

    Read Also: Woman escapes with daughter’s corpse in Ondo

    The little girl became unconscious after series of torture and was consequently rushed to the Ondo State University Teaching Hospital Akure by her mother (Babalola’s wife). But Testimony was confirmed dead on arrival by the doctor.

    It was learnt that the mother of the deceased fled the hospital premises with the corpse of the girl to an unknown destination and since then the police had been trailing Babalola and his wife.

    Mrs Babalola was said to have disappeared from the hospital for fear of being arrested by the police.

    However, sources said the police traced the suspects to Ikare town where they reportedly arrested them but the residents of the area allegedly prevented them from arresting the suspected couple.

    The reason for preventing the suspects from being arrested by the community was still unknown.

    When contacted, the state commissioner of police, Mr. Undie Adie, did not confirm or deny the development but expressed assurance that the suspects would be arrested.

     

  • Engaging divine vengeance for supernatural turnarounds!

    Welcome to the concluding part of this teaching! I hope you were blessed by last week teaching. Today, we shall focus on: Engaging Divine Vengeance for Supernatural Turnarounds!

    We discover from scriptures that we are in the season of God’s vengeance. Therefore, it is important to recognise that no one can maximise this season without a revelation of divine vengeance. Until God visits our adversaries with vengeance, the devil may not let us go. We must understand that we serve a God of vengeance.

    The Word of God says, O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself (Psalm 94:1; see also Romans 12:19). From scriptures, we also discover that God is always eager to avenge His own elect (Luke 18:7-8). We serve a two-sided God Whose Word is a two-edged sword.

    We must understand this other side of God, or we will continue to live a beggarly life (1 Samuel 2:6). For instance, Pharaoh had ample opportunity to release the Israelites, but he refused until God descended with a final blow of vengeance. The day of vengeance is in God’s heart, so as to fulfil His agenda in our lives (Isaiah 63:4).

    Why Divine Vengeance?

    Every time a great door and effectual is opened to us, there are always many adversaries (1 Corinthians 16:9). So, vengeance becomes an important weapon for the fulfilment of prophecies.

    It is a Vital Aspect of God’s End-time Agenda: The Bible says, The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn (Isaiah 61:1-2).

    In Acts of the Apostles, vengeance was one of the earliest manifestations of the arrival of the Holy Ghost. Ananias and Sapphira fell and died and Elymas the sorcerer also became blind. That was not the case under the former rain. The former rain was that of mercy, while the latter rain began with judgment. So, the prince of this world and all his agents are ordained for judgment under the latter rain.

    Our Comfort is tied to His vengeance: Vengeance must be executed before we can be duly comforted in every aspect of our lives (Isaiah 61:3). Our breakthroughs and all-round comfort are not guaranteed without vengeance. Until vengeance answers in the camp of our enemies, we may never be comforted.

    It is the Platform for our Total Liberty: Vengeance is the gateway to our long-awaited liberty. It took the act of vengeance for the Israelites to experience liberty (Exodus 11:1). When God launched the plague in Egypt, there was calamity in the home of every Egyptian (Exodus 4:22-24). There are certain forces that will not let us go until vengeance is executed.

    To secure our Supernatural Breakthrough: Every time God breaks forth in our lives, the enemies gnash their teeth (Psalm 112:10). So, our breakthrough must be accompanied with vengeance, or it can become a breakdown (Isaiah 51:4-7). Also, it is our redemptive honour to execute vengeance upon the wicked (Psalm 149:6-9). Therefore, anything and anyone mocking our destiny is entitled to a curse (Mark 11:21-24).

    Weapons of Vengeance in Scriptures

    • Revelation: The Bible says, To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD (Psalm 149:9). We can only execute judgment with what is written. It is that revelation we engage to invade the camp of the powers of darkness. We have to get the revelation of the Word to execute judgment because what God confirms is not our cry, but His Word (Exodus 4:17; Mark 16:20).
    • Bold Declaration: As it is written, …open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. (Psalm 81:10). We cannot execute vengeance by speaking softly; we have to speak boldly in the Lord. It takes revelational depth to be bold. Any boldness that is not from the depth is boldface. The devil we do not harass will keep us in captivity. Every closed mouth stands to be oppressed, afflicted and tormented. We cannot execute vengeance with a closed mouth (Luke 21:15). God cannot confirm what we will not declare. What we believe in our hearts establishes our right standing. What delivers our salvation is our declaration. Our duty is to condemn everything sitting on our destiny, while God’s job is to confirm our words.
    • Prophetic Verdict: For it is written, And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved (Hosea 12:13). Prophets are anointed agents of vengeance. Prophetic verdicts are a vital instrument for executing vengeance.
    • Violent Faith: This is the ‘I won’t let you go’ faith. When our faith graduates into trust, we become violent (Psalm 125:1-3). We can only stop the harassment of the wicked on our lives by the weapon of violent faith.

    In summary, it is these revelations we engage to react against the manipulations of the wicked ones around our lives. We need to possess the revelation of our superiority over the forces that hold men captive because by redemption, we have been repositioned above the forces of wickedness (Ephesians 1:21, 2:6). So, we have the authority to execute judgment.

    However, we need to understand our new position in redemption before we can execute vengeance. This can only be possible when you are born again. Are you born again? If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so. Simply say the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me! Now, I know I am born again! For further reading, please get my books: Walking in the Miraculous, Operating in the Supernatural, Releasing the Supernatural and Commanding the Supernatural.

    I invite you to fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. respectively.

    I know this teaching has blessed you.

    Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280, or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org, Facebook: David Oyedepo Ministries International, Twitter: @DavidOyedepoMin.