The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Owerri

  • Imo Police rescue stolen corpse

    …arrest killers of Imo Catholic priest

    Imo State Police Command on Thursday paraded two suspected criminals who stole a female corpse and demanded N5 million ransom from the owner of the morgue.

    The suspects, Chukwudi Chukwu and Bethel Ibe both from Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, were reported to have burgle into the Jesus Hospital Mortuary also in Ikeduru and carted away the corpse whose identity was concealed from journalists.

    They thereafter contacted the owner of the morgue, Prince Bright Njoku and demanded for ransom.

    But the Police busted their hideout, arrested them and rescued the corpse before the ransom could be paid.

    The State Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galadanchi, paraded the suspects and the corpse at the Police Headquarters in Owerri.

    Meanwhile operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Imo police command have arrested the suspected killers of Rev Fr. Jude Egbom of St Patrick’s Catholic Parish, Amucha in Njaba Council Area of the state.

    The Reverend Father was shot dead on Monday night along Nkwerre- Anara road and his vehicle stolen .

    Parading the suspects, Chigozie Uzoukwu,33 and Peter Ochokwu, 21, the Commissioner of Police, said the suspects were arrested in hideout in Nkwerre.

    Galadanchi who decried the killing of the cleric, said that “no murderer goes unpunished”.

    He disclosed that he activated the Tactical Units of the Command to nab the fleeing criminals immediately after they committed the heinous crime.

    According to him, “the efforts of the Command paid off with the arrest of the two suspects,recovery of the Priest’s vehicle and traveling bag”.

    He revealed further that one of the suspects, Ochokwu, was an ex convict who had spent one year in Owerri prison for alleged involvement in an armed robbery case.

    Read Also:Court slams death penalty on armed robber in Ondo

    The CP said “on September 11 at Owerri Nkwoji in Nkwerre LGA, Imo state ,F-SARS operatives led by CSP Godfrey Victor on a tip off arrested two suspects in connection with the murder of Rev Fr Jude Egbom. ”

    “The suspects are one Peter Ochokwu, 21, of Umuibu in Owerre Nkworji Nkwerre LGA and Chigozie Uzoukwu ,33,of same address.

    “A black Toyota Corolla with registration No FKJ 984 EV suspected to belong to the hoodlums who robbed and murdered the Cleric was recovered.

    “Interestingly, one leg shoe was found in the abandoned car of the Rev. Fr.the second leg of the shoe was found in the Toyota corolla of the suspects. Some of the property belonging to the victim was found in the house of one of the suspects”.

  • Crisis rocks Imo PDP over alleged alteration of delegate list

    The alleged plan to alter the delegate list of the Imo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ahead the primaries has thrown the party into turmoil.

    A pressure group within the party, PDP Mandate Initiative, (PMI) has kicked against plot, expressing worry that similar acts of impunity destroyed the party in the past.

    The group, while addressing newsmen in Owerri, Monday, described the attempt as “undemocratic, unconstitutional, anti-party and clearly damaging”.

    Read Also:Saraki not a dictator, says PDP elders

    In a statement signed by the Chairman, Chief Luke Udo Anujiofor, Secretary, Dr. Peter Claver Akpataku, and PRO Mr. Azuchiekuta Udodinma, the group alleged that an unnamed governorship aspirant was behind the plot.

    It alleged further that ” a governorship aspirant and his cohorts are  involved in the ridiculous and unconstitutional practice of impunity, imposition and hijack of the process of three-man Ad-hoc delegates’ Congress, scheduled to hold across the 305 Wards in 27 Local Government Areas (LGA) of Imo State on the Friday, 8th of September”.

    It continued that “as part of this group’s inimical plot is its resolve to the claims that some LGA’s delegates list have been ceded to it, hence, there cannot be any delegate election in those Local Councils”.

    According to the statement, “we equally condemn in totality, the statement credited to Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, at a PDP leadership meeting of Ikeduru LGA, that the appointed delegates list, drawn by Senator Anyanwu will be adopted and used as the authentic delegates without voting or election. We view this sad development as the height of impunity, intimidation and suppression.

    “This is the same practice that nearly destroyed our party in the past. This is in gross violation to the PDP’s Constitution (as amended in 2017), which provides in Chapter 8, Section 50 (8)”.

    It continued that, “the position of our party’s Constitution is express on this issue and we call on the National Working Committee State Working Committee (SWC) to beam their searchlight to avert a looming crisis that could jeopardize the peace and stability our party has enjoyed since the recent past. Our party must hastily nip in the bud, any desperate act by any individual or group to undermine our chances at the 2019 general election.

    “More worrisome is the allegation that the Senator has been making frantic efforts to alter Imo State PDP statutory delegates list at the PDP National Headquarters, and replace them with strange names that will do his bidding during the primary election. This allegation is indeed unfortunate, unacceptable and must be investigated by the party”.

  • I regret supporting Buhari – Kwankwaso

    Former Kano State Governor and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential aspirant, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said he and other people that dumped the PDP to support President Muhammadu Buhari in 2014 against the then President Goodluck Jonathan are currently regretting their actions.

    Kwankwaso who was in Owerri, the Imo state capital on a consultation visit to PDP members, condemned President Buhari’s approach to “revving the nation’s economy”.

    The former governor expressed worry over the poor state of infrastructure in the Southeast, adding that the anomaly can only be corrected by a change of government in the center by 2019.

    He was hopeful that the PDP will form government at the center and in many states of the federation next year.

    According to him, Nigerians are fed up with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) “and would be happy seeing PDP return to power”.

    Read Also: Buhari: national interest should override personal liberty

    In his words, “from North to South, the citizens are looking for a government that would not pay emphasis on religion,ethnicity and culture but national development. PDP’s government in 2019 shall bring development and create the adequate platforms that provide jobs for teeming Nigerians”.

    “I have been in Southeast in last few days and I want to say that the state of infrastructure in this region is incredible. It is either that the government lacks the capacity to improve the economy or something. Electricity is important in this country. The people need a government that will be just and provide jobs for teeming young Nigerians”.

    In his speech, elder statesman and PDP Board of Trustee (BoT) member, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, described Kwankwaso as a good material for the office of the President.

    He urged Nigerians to join PDP to “vote out a government that had failed the country”.

    The Imo state PDP Chairman, Charles Ezekwem, who was represented by his Deputy,Martin Ejiogu, said that Igbo people would only vote for a presidential candidate that would restructure the country and create an additional state in the region.

  • IPOB: Relatives kick over denial of access to detained women

    Family members of the detained female members of the detained female members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Wednesday protested the refusal of the Owerri Prisons Authority to grant them access to the women.

    The 112 women were arrested and remanded in custody for protesting against the Federal Government over the whereabouts of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

    The women who protested half naked in Owerri, demanded for a referendum and boycott of the 2019 general elections in the Southeast.

    They accused the Prison Authority of deliberately denying the detained women, who are mostly nursing mothers and pregnant women access to their families in order to break and punish them to expressing their opinion.

    But the Public Relations Officer of Owerri Federal Prisons, James Madugba, said that prevailing circumstances made the Prisons Authority deny families members access to the detained women.

    Madugba, a Deputy Superintendent, described as untrue the allegation that the prison officers received an order from “above” not to allow the remanded women access to their loved ones.

    He said that the Armed Personal Carrier deployed in front of the prisons facility with Police and Soldiers was not to scare the relatives of the pro Biafra women from visiting their loved ones in their facility.

    He said that the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and the Police and Army officers deployed in front of the facility were part of the security measures in all the prisons nationwide.

    Madugba said “We did not ordinarily deny family members access to the Biafra women who are in our facility and there is no order from above asking us not to allow relatives of the the women access to them.

    Read Also: Anxiety as IPOB resumes call for election boycott

    “It is not also true that we exposed the women, especially the pregnant ones to cold and inhuman environment”.

    He added that, “the task of admitting and registering 112 people in any prison facility in Nigeria is tasking. You don’t just bring people into the prisons and the next minute you want to start visiting them .prisons is a regimented environment. There are regulations.

    “The responsibility of interviewing, admitting and registering such number of women would take four days. It is after these processes that you now allow families members to start visiting.

    “When the relatives came, the Deputy Controller of Owerri prisons, Freedman Ben-Rabbi addressed them but they started protesting. It is the routine and now we are through with the registration processes their relatives can visit.

    “The Deputy Control has equally taken special attention on the women,especially the pregnant ones because of their gender.

    “They are being taken care of properly .They are our responsibility. There is no order at all commanding us to be hostile to them.”

  • Imo APC condemn assassination of party Chieftain

    …”we won’t tolerate political killings”

    The Imo State chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC), has condemned in strong terms the gruesome murder of deato North Local Government Chairman of the party, Sunny Ejiagwu, by gunmenwho are suspected to be hired assassins.

    The party warned that it will not condone politically motivated killings in the state, while urging security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act and make them face the wrath of the law.

    Briefing newsmen, Friday, at the party’s Secretariat in Owerri, the newly elected state Chairman of the party, Mr Daniel Nwafor, described the killing as barbaric and unwarranted, adding that “the Imo political space has been peaceful and we must resist any attempt to introduce political killings in the State”.

    APC condemns such killing he suspected to have been politically motivated.

    Read Also: Gunmen assassinate Imo APC Chieftain

    According to Nwafor, “APC condemn such killing, this should not be happening when our party known for its peaceful existence and has been preaching peace , we cannot start to have political killings, politics should be played without bitterness, people should be allowed to join any party they wish to join because the Nigerian Constitution provides for freedom of association”.

    While narrating how the incident occurred, Nwafor said that the gunmen had trailed the victim from Owerri where he attended a meeting of the party on Thursday to Akokwa, his home town.

    Nwafor narrated that, “the victim after noticing he was being trailed increased the speed of his vehicle but unfortunately, his assailants caught up with him, double crossed him as he fell into a gutter in the process, leaving the gunmen little effort to shoot him at close range and he died immediately on the spot.

    “Ejiagwu was with us in APC meeting with us on Thursday, after the meeting he complained to us how volatile his local government was, only for us to hear today that he has been murdered . It is normal for people to disagree in politics but to degenerate to this level is highly condemnable”.

    “We call on the IG of police and other security agencies , all culprits must be brought to book , we can’t afford to play this kind of politics in Imo, this has not existed for a long time, we would not tolerate it”, Nwafor stressed.

    When contacted, the state Police Public Relation Officer(PPRO) Andrew Enwerem confirmed the incident but promised to call back for details.

  • Breaking: Court nullifies Imo APC Ward, LG Congresses

    …orders fresh congress

     

    A Federal High Court sitting in Owerri, the Imo State capital Thursday nullified the Ward and Local Government Congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State.

    The presiding Judge, Justice Lewis Allagoa, in his ruling that lasted for about two hours, held that APC Ward and Local Government Congresses were never held in the state in the first place.

    He therefore ordered the party to conduct fresh Ward congresses in the state in line with the guidelines of the party, “they should go back and conduct fresh Congresses in accordance with the constitutions of the party; they should be responsible and save our democracy.

    Read Also:Imo APC Ward Congress characterized by confusion, controversies – INEC

    The Judge in his ruling observed that The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which is the body mandated by the Electoral Act to supervise primaries and Congresses of political parties in their report attached as exhibit by the Plaintiffs, affirmed that APC Congresses were not held in the state.

    Justice Allagoa in his ruling dismissed the argument of Counsel to the Defendants that the Plaintiffs lacked the locus standi to challenge the conduct of the Ward Congresses in the state.

    He ruled that the Plaintiffs having established the fact that they are members of the party and Ward Chairmen have the locus standi to challenge the outcome of the Ward Congresses.

    Justice Allagoa in also dismissed the argument by Counsel to the second and eight defendant, Kelvin Nwufor (SAN) that the Plaintiffs did not get leave of Court to serve the defendants outside the jurisdiction of the Court, stating that the Federal High has one jurisdiction.

    He therefore granted the Plaintiffs’ prayers that the Court declare as null and void results purported to have emanated from APC Ward Congress in the state as the Congress never held across the state.

    The Plaintiffs who are APC Ward Chairmen in the Originating Summon in the Suit with Suit No FHC/OW/CS/69/2018 had prayed the Court among other reliefs to issue an Order of injunction restraining the defendants by themselves, agents, or privies from announcing or declaring or making reference to non-existing results of the ward congress purportedly claimed to have been released by them as results of the inconclusive ward congress.”

    The defendants in the Suit include the immediate past APC National Organizing Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso, the State Chairman of the party, Chief Hilary Eke, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others.

  • Miss Niger Delta Peace audition for Owerri

    Come Saturday, June 30, audition and screening exercise will take place for the 17th edition of the Miss Niger Delta Peace Cultural pageant.

    The event takes place at the swimming pool side, Titanic View Hotel, Owerri, Imo State.

    Eligible contestants must be Niger Delta indigenes and be between 18 and 25 years with a minimum of West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). They must be single, 5 feet 8 inches tall  and must not have been convicted of any criminal offence. Contestants must also be prepared to carry out the role of an ambassador for peace and development and positive transformation.

    Executive and External Relations Director, Pageant and Development Network, Mildred Emmanuel, said the exercise is to select credible contestants for the pageant which comes up in Owerri before the end of the year.

    “The pageant is a platform to promote re-orientation of positive values among female youths of Niger Delta, skills and entrepreneurial development, economic for self-reliance, hard work, good conduct and project the region positively for investment and sustainable development,” she said.

  • Medical doctor dies after watching Nigeria, Argentina match

    Dr Kennis Ebirim, a family physician with the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA), has been confirmed dead after watching the 2018 football match between Nigeria and Argentina holding in Russia.

    Family members, colleagues and neighbours confirmed the death of Ebirim to our reporter at his residence in Owerri.

    The deceased was reported to had slumped and rushed to hospital after Nigeria was ousted of the world football tournament by Argentina.

    Dr Chikere Ebirim, a lecturer in the Department of Public Health, Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), and younger brother to the deceased, expressed shock over the development.

    He said: “We were together on Sunday with my dad. He used to have cases of heart attack but he was also on medication.

    “This is so shocking because he was sound in health when he left Owerri on Monday morning for Abakaliki where he works.”

    Dr Hyacinth Emele, the immediate past Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Imo state branch, also confirmed the incident to our reporter, describing it as a heavy blow to the association.

    “The NMA in Imo and indeed in Nigeria is in deep shock. This is a heavy blow. More than just a colleague, he was a brother, one who could never hurt a fly,” he said.

    On the possible cause of the doctor’s death, Emele said: “Dr Ebirim has been a hypertensive patient who has also been on medication.

    “What happened to him is what we call sudden death syndrome which most times are caused by a cardiac arrest.

    “As a patriotic Nigerian who is passionate about his country just like many of us including me, it is possible the outcome of that match may have triggered the confusion in his system, causing him to slump.

    “I think an autopsy will reveal what exactly transpired in his system. When that is done, the exact cause of death will be made known to the public.”

    Sgt. Michael Attah, the Chief Security Officer (CSO), Heartland Estate, Owerri, where the doctor lived with his family until his death, said the management of the estate confirmed the incident on Wednesday.

    “We thought it was a joke until we confirmed it on Wednesday. We feel sad because he was someone we trusted with the position of treasurer in the estate,” he said.

    Ebirim is survived by his father, wife, four children and relations.

  • Police arrest suspects over death of Imo monarch

    The Police Command in Imo state has arrested two suspects in connection with the death of Eze Brendan Ibekwe, the traditional ruler of Mgbe autonomous community in the Orlu Local Government Area of Imo.

    The spokesman of the command, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, told newsmen on Wednesday in Owerri that Ibekwe was assassinated on June 24 by gunmen in his community while his body was found on the Orlu-Owerri highway.

    Enwerem said the Commissioner of Police in Imo, Mr. Dasuki Galadanchi, had directed the command’s Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department to take over the matter.

    Read Also:Gunmen dumps murdered Imo monarch’s body

    Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Samuel Ohiri, has expressed his concern over the murder of Ibekwe.

    He described the incident as a sacrilege for a traditional ruler to be murdered by gunmen.

    Ohiri called for thorough investigation into the matter, saying that the killers must be brought to book.

    NAN

  • Rainstorm destroys facilities at Owerri Prison

    …Prisoners sleep in the ‘open’

     

    Some critical facilities at the Owerri Prisons including the perimeter fence, administrative building and inmate cells have been destroyed in the Friday night rainstorm that wrecked havoc in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

    The development has heightened fears of possible security breach in the Prison which has been grappling with challenges of congestion.

    Some of the Prisoners according to an insider source who preferred not to be mentioned, have been forced to sleep in the open after the roof of the main Prison building was pulled off by the windstorm that accompanied the rain.

    Also damaged were the Welfare, Works and Records Offices, as well as the building housing the Logistics and Chief Disciplinary Officer.

    Public Relations Officer of Owerri Prison, Mr. James Madugba, said that the incident was devastating, even though no life was lost.

    He said that the rainfall uprooted a tree, which fell on the building housing the administrative block and the Armed Squad.

    According to him, “We never expected the incident because it happened in the night. This was also why we did not record any deaths because if it were in the day time, the story would have been different”.

    He added further that many of the officials were displaced from their offices while efforts are on to provide alternative offices for them.