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Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • IBB: Identify yourselves as Nigerians at all times

    FORMER military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has charged Nigerians to ensure they identify themselves as Nigerians all the time.

    He said Nigeria is a country to be proud of; adding that whoever wants to denounce his citizenship should have a rethink.

    Speaking with newsmen during the celebration of his 78th birthday at his Uphill residence in Minna, Babangida said Nigerians do not have any other country apart from Nigeria.

    He stressed the need for everyone to work towards ensuring the country survives its challenges.

    “We do not have any other country except Nigeria, let us all work together, men and women, young and old, to make sure that this country survives.

    “We need to work to ensure that the unity of this country is maintained and make sure we identify ourselves as Nigerians all the time,” he said.

    On his 78th birthday, the former military leader said, “I give God thanks for sparing my life up till this time. God has been very kind and I remain grateful.”

    The Uphill residence of the Babangida was flooded with family, friends and well-wishers from all walks of life who were on ground to celebrate with him on his birthday.

    Most of his friends and well-wishers came with greeting cards of different colors and sizes with different inscriptions.

    Among the early callers were former Chief Justice of the Federation, Alfa Belgore, lawmakers from the National Assembly, former military administrators and governor, as well as relations.

    Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the former military president, on his 78th anniversary.

    In a message to Babangida, Buhari said “On behalf of the Federal Executive Council, my family and all Nigerians please accept my warm felicitations on your 78th birthday.

    Read Also: IBB: The lonely long distance runner

    “On this special day of your life, the reminiscences of your courage and invaluable service to the army in protecting the sovereignty of the country come to the fore. Thank you for the role of statesman you are playing in the affairs of the nation.

    “As you age gracefully, the country will continue to look up to you for guidance and wisdom. May Allah continue to increase your health and grant you the strength to give your best to your family and the nation,” he stated.

    Also, former vice president and the presidential flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party in the February 2019 polls, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has extolled Babangida’s virtues describing him as “a great patriot, statesman and iconic visionary leader.”

    In a special congratulatory birthday message, signed by Paul Ibe, his Media Adviser, Atiku praised the nation-building roles played by the Minna, Niger State born former president, who turned 78 yesterday 17.

    “General Babangida as a young officer fought for the unity and indivisibility of our fatherland. And as head of state, he not only spearheaded the physical relocation of the nation’s capital from Lagos to Abuja, but politically too, championed and implemented the ideal of a two-party system which enlisted majority of Nigerians.

    “In and out of office, general Babangida carries himself with immense grace, comportment and dignified charisma,” the Waziri of Adamawa said.

    Atiku further prayed for good health and long life for IBB in the continued service of our nation.

    Other dignitaries who sent their congratulatory messages to Babangida early yesterday included the Senator representing Niger East Senatorial District, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa and former Niger State Governor; Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu.

    The duo who spoke at different occasions said Babangida is a nation-builder who has continued to champion the unity and indivisibility of Nigeria.

    “General Babangida is indeed a leader whose influence traverses beyond the shores of Nigeria. While he was the president, he played a great role in the unity of Africa, particularly in the struggle against apartheid regime in South Africa.

    “We are proud of him, and will continue to celebrate his iconic leadership and lifestyle. This is why many leaders go to him to seek his advice,” Senator Sani Musa said.

    Former Niger State governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, who spoke to newsmen in Minna, said Babangida is the most experienced leader in Nigeria, adding that Nigerians need him around as an elder, leader and an adviser.

    “I am happy that he is still alive and helping us. He advises us; he warns us, he reconciles us and he has been very busy with affairs of Nigeria and the world over.

    “We are happy he has reached 77 and we are counting. We hope he stays far longer for us. He is the most experienced leader we have had in this part of the world and we need him around as an elder, a leader and an adviser,” he said.

     

  • NAHCON hails Saudi Arabia for a hitch-free hajj

    THE Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammed, has congratulated the Saudi Arabian government for a successful hajj season.

    Coming on the heels of the Mina Hajj rites and pilgrims’ safe return to Makkah, Muhammad commended the authorities for what he described as “successfully hosting pilgrims from all over the world in 2019 Hajj season.”

    The NAHCON Chairman praised the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for their professional handling of the activities which resulted in a hitch-free exercise.

    He also extolled the establishment of Mutawwifs for Pilgrims from African Non-Arab Countries, popularly referred to as Mu’assasah, for the excellent arrangement in Mina and Arafat, that helped to enhance the comfort of Nigerian pilgrims in the tents, especially with the provision of air conditioning units at no extra cost to the pilgrims.

    He noted, “Their well-organised service teams that were placed on standby to attend to the pilgrims throughout the period deserve appreciation.”

    Read Also: No intending pilgrim will be left behind – NAHCON

    Similarly, Muhammad had commendations for the General Car Syndicate and other transport companies that moved all pilgrims within stipulated time and brought them back without delay.

    The NAHCON chairman, who had earlier, at a post-Arafat stakeholders’ meeting in Makkah, commended the entire NAHCON staff, together with the different states pilgrim welfare boards across Nigeria, also expressed profound “happiness at the conduct of Nigerian pilgrims and their officials, for their “decorum” and for ‘abiding by the rules and regulations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” adding that “this indeed made Nigeria proud.”

    Meanwhile, the Chairman has extolled the NAHCON media team covering this year’s hajj.

    At a brief meeting with the team at the NAHCON head-office in Saudi Arabia, Muhammad commended the good work, coverage and team spirit of journalists covering this year’s Hajj activities, stressing that it is the best team he has so far worked with.

     

     

  • Women societies join FG in fight against nudity

    The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) and the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) are to jointly embark steps to sensitise the youth against nudity.

    Both Councils met at the headquarters of NCAC in Abuja with a common resolve aimed at redirecting the drift to moral decadence especially among young women which they both agreed was getting out of hand.

    Speaking during the meeting, the National President of the NCWS, Dr. Laraba Shoda, who led members of her executive, condemned the upsurge in public display of nudity citing the recent video spectacle of near-naked girls dancing in full public glare inside a transparent van in Lagos.

    She described another scenario where a young lady walked into a mall completely naked lamenting that such indecent behaviour by females particularly, negates the very essence of our culture which promotes the dignity of the African woman.

    Read Also: Man drags brother to court over nudity, Indian hemp smoking

    Shoda said there was the need to create television programmes with good cultural content unlike what obtains now just as she extolled NCAC for taking the lead in the campaign against the debasement of the African culture which according to her promotes high moral values amongst young women.

    On his part, the NCAC Director-General, Otunba Segun Runsewe said the partnership between women societies and the NCAC will signal a new dawn in the crusade against cultural degeneration and foreign erosion of our culture.

    He was upbeat that with the NCWS speaking up and with the new found collaboration with the NCAC, the time has come to nip the menace in the bud in order to avert another future crisis in the country.

    He informed that the council is working on legislation with the National Assembly to curb the negative trend of public nudity while also packaging a culture friendly television programme to excite the youths with the hope of re-establishing our esteemed cultural values of time past.TTT

  • ‘Engage youths to curb security challenges’

    Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Saturday advised that youths should be engaged to help curb the security challenges in the country.

    He spoke in Abuja at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), The Everlasting Arms Parish (TEAP), Teen Career Conference with the theme: “Nurturing your talent, developing your character.”

    Fayemi said: “we must get the youths busy. The young ones that are here now are not going to be involved in any criminal enterprise. We have a duty as leaders to nurture aright.

    “We must also provide avenue for youths to unleash that youthful energy positively because it is there, you cannot run away from it, rather than enable them to resort to criminal activities that will not really elevate their personalities. I think that is what the church and our spiritual institutions have been good at. But we need to take it beyond that to societal institutions to play their own role in character building, in learning, in nurturing their talent, in ensuring that they become leaders of today, because the future is right here with us,” he said.

    The governor urged youths to always be hard working and learn to avoid gratification no matter the situation. “Define what yours values are. Learn to delay gratification. Change will not come if you wait for some other time.”

    Read Also: Fayemi set to secure bond to defray outstanding gratuities

    A popular comedian and media personality, Dr. Helen Paul, also advised youths at the conference to be focused in life and shun bad friends.

    She said: “learn to control your emotions. Shun bad friends; do not allow inferior complex to take over you. Always say great things to yourself. You must keep learning on whatever you are doing to achieve more positive result. Do not allow people talk down on you. Do not allow circumstance to change you.”

    The chairman of Thisday Newspapers editorial board, Olusegun Adeniyi, said the essence of the conference is to teach the teenagers to take responsibility for their future, have their imagination fired through interaction with accomplished professionals in the society, make them realise that no matter the odds, they can reach their goals and get them to understand that God still intervenes in the affairs of men.

    Adeniyi, who is the head of the teen’s church, said: “I try to inspire as many as I can. It is like a calling to me. I started this idea about bringing successful people in the society who can talk to them and tell them stories about their own lives. We are very particular about the people we bring. We started four years ago. The key issue for us this year is character development. We registered 780 youths,” he said.

  • Cabinet: APC women leader hails Sanwo-Olu

    Mrs Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, has lauded Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for including 12 women in his 38 cabinet nominees.

    She spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on yesterday following Friday’s completion of the screening of the nominees by the 16-man ad hoc committee of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

    Okoya-Thomas, a former member of the House of Representatives, said that the state would be better with the gesture.

    “I am happy the leadership of the party has at least identified the quality ones among us. With 12 women out of 38 screened nominees, we are moving up.

    “Lagos is a city of excellence; we set the pace for others to follow.

    Read Also: Who is who in Sanwo-Olu’s cabinet-nominees?

    “So, if Lagos is putting 12 women of 38 cabinet nominees, I think the government has done very well.

    “Also, there are other positions that are envisaged will be given to some more women that worked hard during the campaigns that put our governor in place,” she said.

    According to the women leader, names of women are coming out much more than it used to be.

    Okoya-Thomas said that the governor had fulfilled his promise to give the position of the Secretary to the State Government to women.

    “With all these appointments coming up for women, the governor is true to his words. He is one person that one should believe in and trust,” she said.

    On the capability of women to deliver and affect the system positively, Okoya-Thomas said that women were better trusted with positions of authority.

    “You will be surprised about what these nominees will do. We are not leaving them.

    “We are going to be interfacing with them regularly to ensure that they are only to do what they have been appointed to do.

    “So, this particular set of women are not going to let the state down by creating problems. You will be amazed what they will do,” the former lawmaker said.

    She also commended the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the party for believing in women and their empowerment.

    “So, we have leaders that are gender-sensitive and that is what I will say about Tinubu. He has recognised the efforts of women in the society,” Okoya-Thomas said.

    According to NAN, the Commissioner and Special Adviser nominees, comprising of 12 women and 26 men, were screened in two batches by the committee, headed by Mr Rotimi Abiru, the Chief Whip of the House.

    The 12 women nominees are

    1. Mrs Yetunde Arobieke,
    2. Mrs Lola Akande,
    3. Mrs Solape Hammond,
    4. Mrs Shulamite Adebolu,
    5. Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka,
    6. Princess Aderemi Adebowale
    7. Ms Adekemi Ajayi-Bembe.
    8. Mrs Bolaji Dada,
    9. Mrs Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf,
    10. Mrs Folashade Adefisayo,
    11. Mrs Ponnle Ajibola,
    12. Ms Ruth Olusanya.

  • How IPOB members attacked me in Germany, by Ekweremadu

    The immediate past Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Ike Enweremadu has confirmed a physical assault on him by some members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) in Nuremberg, Germany on Saturday.

    Enweremadu confirmed the attack in a statement by his Media Assistant, Uche Anichukwu in Abuja.

    According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), a 64-second video about the attack had gone viral on the social media earlier on Saturday.

    There were initial speculations on the veracity of the video where the senator was attacked with eggs by the irate IPOB members.

    The Senator who also gave account of the event on his social media handle, @iamekweremdu, however, assured that he was safe.

    He condemned the attack and said he had immediately reported it to the Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Mr Yusuf Tuggar.

    He said: “I attended the Second Annual Cultural Festival and Convention organised by Ndi-Igbo Germany in Nurnberg today where I was billed to give a keynote address along with the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, who, however could not make it eventually.

    “I was given a resounding welcome by Ndigbo in Germany and everything went smoothly until some men, who identified themselves as IPOB members stormed the venue and began to complain about the killings in the South East, stressing that there would be no Igbo event at the venue.

    Read Also: IPOB remains proscribed, says Ebonyi Govt

    “I tried to engage them but when they became unruly, I had to leave the venue. The organisers also invited the police and I was accompanied out of the venue.

    “Much as I am disappointed in their conduct, especially as I am one of the persons, who have spoken up on justice for Ndigbo, the Python Dance, judicial killings in Igbo land and elsewhere both on the floor of the Senate and in my written and personal engagements with the Presidency and the media as well as rallied the South East Senate Caucus to secure Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s release with Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe taking him on bail to douse tension in the South East, I nevertheless do not hold this to heart against them, for they know not what they do.

    “I have received thousands of solidarity calls and messages from well- meaning Ndigbo.

    “I want to assure them that I am hale and hearty. I have also spoken with the Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar.”

    NAN

     

  • Controversy as FBI arrests 32-year-old Nigerian over alleged $11m wire fraud

    THE US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested the Nigerian young billionaire, Obinwanne Okeke, for alleged conspiracy to commit computer fraud.

    Okeke is being held for the alleged hacking of an account belonging to the CEO of Unatrac Holding Limited, a steel company.

    At stake was $11million.

    The arrest of the man cited by Forbes in its ‘Africa’s 30 Under 30 List in 2016’ immediately sparked an outrage in the social media.

    The FBI said it is also holding at least 29 other Nigerians for fraud.

    A Special Agent of FBI, Marshall Ward, said in a sworn affidavit in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, that illicit financial transactions were traced to a G-mail account believed to be owned by Okeke.

    According to Ward the transactions   and conspiratorial communications with at least six other emails were carried out between 2016 and 2019.

    He said: “Unatrac’s Chief Financial Officer received a phishing email containing a web link purportedly to the login page of the CFO’s online email account hosted by Microsoft Office365.

    “When the CFO opened the link, it instead led him to a phishing website crafted to imitate the legitimate Office365 login page.

    “Believing the page to be real, he entered his login credentials, which were captured by an unknown intruder who controlled the spoofed web page.

    “Between April 6 and April 20, 2018, the intruder accessed the CFO’s account at least 464 times, mostly from Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in Nigeria.”

    He deponent added: “There is a probable cause to believe Okeke has conspired with several individuals to access computers without authorisation, and using such access to cause the fraudulent wire transfer of funds.”

    The FBI agent said the investigations began in July 2018 after Unatrac Holding Limited, an export sales office for Caterpillar heavy industry and farm equipment in the United Kingdom was defrauded of $11 million through a phishing scheme.

    The report led to an investigation, which began in July 2018 after the FBI reviewed the submitted documents and eventually led to the arrest of Okeke.

    The credentials were used to remotely login into the CFO’s account, monitor his correspondences and intercepted legitimate emails from employees on the company’s financial team. The emails were marked as read and moved to another folder outside the CFO’s inbox.

    Unatrac financial team members, deceived by the genuine-looking emails initiated by the intruder, processed 15 fraudulent payments between April 11 and April 19, 2018.

    “For instance, the finance staff received and processed three invoices to Pak Fei Limited: one for $278, 270.66, one for $898, 461.17 and one for $1, 957, 100,” Ward said in the affidavit.

    “In total, nearly $11, 000, 000 was sent, all of which went to overseas accounts.”

    Okeke is the Chief Executive Officer of Invictus Group.

    Giving details of the arrests in a statement, FBI said: “Those individuals are often members of transnational criminal organizations, which originated in Nigeria but have spread throughout the world. Fraudsters can rob people of their life’s savings in a matter of minutes.

    “Operation Wire Wire, a coordinated law enforcement effort by the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, was conducted over a six month period, culminating in over two weeks of intensified law enforcement activity resulting in 74 arrests in the United States and overseas, including 29 in Nigeria, and three in Canada, Mauritius and Poland.

    “The operation also resulted in the seizure of nearly $2.4 million, and the disruption and recovery of approximately $14 million in fraudulent wire transfers.

    “Business Email Compromise, BEC, also known as ‘cyber-enabled financial fraud,’ is a sophisticated scam often targeting employees with access to company finances and businesses working with foreign suppliers and/or businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments.

    “The same criminal organizations that perpetrate BEC also exploit individual victims, often real estate purchasers, the elderly, and others, by convincing them to make wire transfers to bank accounts controlled by the criminals.

    “Those individuals are often members of transnational criminal organizations, which originated in Nigeria but have spread throughout the world. Fraudsters can rob people of their life’s savings in a matter of minutes.

    “Now, in this operation alone, we have arrested 42 people in the United States and 29 others have been arrested in Nigeria for alleged financial fraud.

    “This operation demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises that target American citizens and their businesses.

    “We will continue to work together with our law enforcement partners around the world to end these fraud schemes and protect the hard-earned assets of our citizens. The public we serve deserves nothing less.

    Read Also: FBI arrests 34 Nigerians for alleged cyber fraud

    “Following an investigation led by the FBI with the assistance of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Gloria Okolie and Paul Aisosa, both Nigerian nationals residing in Dallas, Texas, were charged in an indictment filed on June 6 in the Southern District of Georgia.

    “According to the indictment, they are alleged to have victimized a real estate closing attorney by sending the lawyer a spoofing email posing as the seller and requesting that proceeds of a real estate sale in the amount of $246,000 be wired to Okolie’s account.

    “They are charged with laundering approximately $665,000 in illicit funds. The attorney experienced $130,000 in losses after the bank was notified of the fraud and froze $116,000.

    “Adeyemi Odufuye aka “Micky,” “Micky Bricks,” “Yemi,” “GMB,” “Bawz” and “Jefe,” 32, and Stanley Hugochukwu Nwoke, aka Stanley Banks,” “Banks,” “Hugo Banks,” “Banky,” and “Jose Calderon,” 27, were charged in a seven-count indictment in the District of Connecticut in a BEC scheme involving an attempted loss to victims of approximately $2.6 million, including at least $440,000 in actual losses to one victim in Connecticut. A third co-conspirator Olumuyiwa Yahtrip Adejumo, aka “Ade,” “Slimwaco,” “Waco,” “Waco Jamon,” “Hade,” and “Hadey,” 32, of Toledo, Ohio, pleaded guilty on April 20 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. “Odufuye was extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States and on Jan. 3, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

    “Nwoke was extradited to the United States from Mauritius on May 25, marking the first extradition in over 15 years from Mauritius. His case is pending. “Richard Emem Jackson, aka Auwire, 23, of Lagos, Nigeria, was charged in an indictment filed on May 17 in the District of Massachusetts with two counts of unlawful possession of a means of identification as part of a larger fraud scheme.

    “According to the indictment, on two occasions in 2017, Jackson is alleged to have possessed the identifications of two victims with the intent to commit wire fraud conspiracy.

    “Attorney General Sessions expressed gratitude for the outstanding efforts of the participating countries, including law enforcement actions that were coordinated and executed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria to curb business email compromise schemes that defraud businesses and individuals alike.”

     

     

  • Obasanjo: Food import restriction must be backed by right policy

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described lack of access to finance as one of the fundamental challenges militating against the growth of the agricultural sector in the country.

    He spoke in Lagos as a special guest of honour at a public forum organised by the Institute of Credit Administration (ICA).

    The former president who spoke on ‘Agric business and food security: The role of credit,’ said “Agriculture is the way to go and must be the centerpiece of our economy. But lack of credit is seriously hurting the sector.”

    Recalling his own experience as a farmer, he said: “One thing that I know is that I’m a debtor. To succeed as a farmer, you need funds. You either accumulate credit or you go to the bank and borrow. You need funds for development. You need funds for agriculture.”

    He added: “Agriculture business is very important because food is essential for our daily existence. You can’t have food unless you have agric business.

    Read Also: How Oyegun earned my confidence, by Obasanjo

    “Not enough attention is being done to grow agriculture because it is not a very viable or vibrant money-making thing like oil and gas, trading. But agriculture is one thing we have to take very seriously. So you have to put money in it.”

    He said government was not doing enough to grow the sector.

    His words: “The government has always seen agriculture as a project and once there is a little problem government leaves it. Agriculture must be taken as a business. It must not be taken in silos.

    “We must work together. All hands must be on the deck. We are all stakeholders in agric business. If you are not a farmer, processor, produce merchant, at least you are a consumer. So we all must work for the success of agric business.”

    Citing the efforts of his own administration to boost agriculture, he said: “Between 2005-2007, we were able to boost cocoa output from 150,000 metric tonnes per annum to 400,000. We did the same thing with cassava from 30million tonnes to 50million metric tonnes.

    “All that was done successfully because we took them commodity by commodity; we met with all the stakeholders within the sector whether the farmers, researchers, marketers, processors, we met every quarter within a space of five years and we achieved quite a lot.”

    While reiterating the immense benefits of agriculture, Obasanjo said unlike other sectors, agriculture has the potential to employ more.

    “We invested about $20billion in the liquefied natural gas sector and it could only employ 250 people at a go. But if you invest just $1billion in agriculture you can employ millions of people. Therefore to succeed in agriculture, we need to put in place short, medium and long term planning.”

    The high-point of the occasion was the presentation of an award on the erstwhile president as life honourable patron of the ICA by the Registrar and CEO, Prof Chris Onalo.

  • Insecurity: Miyetti Allah begins tour of Fulani settlements in Enugu

    The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) says it has begun the sensitisation of its members in the 14 Fulani settlements in Enugu State, with a view  to checking  infiltrators.

    The South-East Chairman of MACBAN, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu yesterday that the sensitisation tour had also taken them to the cattle and perishable good markets in the state.

    He said that it had become necessary for the Fulani community to be sensitive to their environment in order not to jeopardise their peaceful co-existence with members of their host communities.

    He said that the incidences of the past few months in some parts of the state informed their resolve to be more security conscious and report strange happenings around them to security agencies.

    “Everybody is happy with the step we have taken. This is to show that we are not happy with what is happening in the state. We are seriously worried,” he said.

    Read Also: Adeniran canvasses repentance to tackle insecurity

    Siddiki said that members of the Fulani community in the state had been appreciative of the move by MACBAN which was aimed at ensuring that the situation did not get out of hand.

    “We have so far visited four out of the 14 Fulani settlements in Enugu. We have also gone to all the cattle and perishable goods markets in the state.

    “We have sensitised our members on the need to ensure peaceful coexistence with members of their host communities. We need to respect them and their culture,” he said.

    He said that members of the Fulani community in the state had become more mindful of their immediate environment and were ready to expose infiltrators whenever they were noticed in their midst.

    “We will not allow infiltrators to destroy the good relationship we have built and maintained with our hosts over the years.

    “We have told our people to voice out anytime they notice something strange around them.

    “They should report such to any Fulani leader who will, in turn, report to the appropriate quarters or security agencies,” he said.

    Siddiki said that the sensitisation tour would continue in the coming days.

    The sensitisation followed the recent killings of two Catholic priests, Rev. Fr. Paul Offu and Rev. Fr. Clement Ugwu by gunmen in the state.

    The police commissioner in the state, Mr. Suleiman Balarabe, on Friday paraded the suspected killers of the priests, whose names he gave as Ibrahim Adamu and Idris Tobe.

    Besides, the traditional ruler of Obom-Agbogugu, Igwe Sunday Orji and his wife were kidnapped on Aug. 3 on the Enugu-Port-Harcourt expressway.

  • Gunmen kill nine mourners at burial ceremony

    A funeral ceremony unexpectedly turned bloody yesterday in Benue State after 10 gunmen swooped on mourners, shooting indiscriminately.

    Nine persons laid dead by the time the shooting stopped in the early hours of the day in Tongov district of Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of the state.

    Several others were wounded, eye witnesses said.

    The state police command immediately launched into an investigation of the incident.

    A stunned Police Commissioner Mukaddas Garba vowed to find the killers and bring them to book.

    He urged the public to come forward with information that could help the police in tracking the hoodlums.

    The incident occurred at the burial of one Tor Amaafu.

    Gunmen have repeatedly attacked Benue State for some time now killing and maiming people.

    Houses are also often set ablaze by the hoodlums.

    No one or group has so far taken responsibility for the attack.

    Read Also: Gunmen kill vigilance group leader in Rivers

    A similar attack by yet to be identified gunmen on mourners   in Nganzai district near Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, about three weeks ago claimed no fewer than  65 lives.

    The victims were returning to Badu Kuluwu from nearby Goni Abachari village where they had attended funeral prayers for a relative when they came under gun attack.

    Local hunters and militia recovered the bodies after survivors returned to the village and alerted them.

    Unknown gunmen, in the early hours of Wednesday, August 14,also  attacked nine Catholic nuns of Sisters of Nativity Okwungaga, Ugbokolo in Okpokwu local government area of Benue state and snatched their 14-seater Toyota bus.

    Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Kate Anene attributed the deaths to the crises between Ikurav and Shitle ethnic groups.