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  • One dies as Police, cultists clash in Delta

    A yet- to -be identified man has reportedly died in a gun duel between policemen and suspected cultists at Express Junction in Udu council area of Delta state.

    The incident occurred on Tuesday evening.

    It was gathered that Policemen from Ovwian/Aladja Division had gone to the area to put an end to a clash among rival cult groups.

    However, a suspected cultists from one of the groups allegedly opened fire on the team of uniformed security men, leading to an exchange of bullets.

    Read Also: Police arraign lawyer for threatening to kill Kashamu

    It was learnt that one of the suspects was gunned down by the Police while others fled the scene.

    Delta Commissioner of Police, Mr Adeyinka Adeleke, confirmed the development.

    He said: “Cultists clashed with Police and one was shot dead. The person is a cultist.”

    Udu council boss, Hon. Jite Brown, had only last week announced the imposition of a dusk to dawn curfew due to the incessant criminal activities threatening the peace and security in parts of the local government area.

  • FEC okays N310b for roads projects

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved three memos and a total of N310 billion for roads projects.

    The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola briefed State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa.

    He was with the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajuba and the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Laolu Akande.

    According to him, FEC approved N79.82 billion for Ibadan-Ilesa-Ife road, N200.176 billion for roads linking second Niger Bridge to Asaba and Onitsha, and N29.654 billion for phase 2 of Kano-Katsina highway.

    He said “The ministry of works and housing presented three memoranda and they were approved by the council: construction of Ibadan -Ilesa-Ife Dual Carriage Way, they are connected to Oyo and Osun State at the cost of N79.829 billion.

    “Secondly, for the link-road that connects the second Niger Bridge to Asaba and Onitsha. The Asaba link-road was awarded to Julius Berger and the Onitsha link-road was awarded to RCC at the total cost of N200.176 billion.

    “So this completes essentially the access road that will link the Bridge in the short time. You might recall that these roads were under-designed when the bridge was awarded.

    “So it is this administration that completed the design and we now awarded them so that you can have a bring that has link-roads. This was awarded initially under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) and the bridge in 2010 administration.

    Read Also; Buhari consoles VON DG over wife’s loss

    “The third approval was for phase two of the Kano-Katsina High Way from the point known as Gidan-Mutum Daya all the way to where Katsina Steel Rolling Mill is. This is a 78KM stretch approved at the sum of N29.654 billion.

    “That road is a 152KM road linking Kano and Katsina road from Kano. It was a single length Highway until it was awarded in 2013 by the previous administration in phase 1.

    “So we inherited it and we have continued to execute it. The award was to then expand the road into a dual carriage highway way. That means we are constructing the existing one and building another new one. It was awarded for the first 70KM plus for the phase 1 we we have now done is to complete the award to the same contractor so that there is a uniformity of construction.” he said

    Nwajuba disclosed that contracts amounting to N1.833 billion were approved for his ministry under Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).

    The first, he said, is N915 million for construction of Faculty of Environment at the University of Abuja.

    He said the second contract is N918 million for construction of Faculty of Education in the same university.

    “The memorandum approved was in respect TETFUND intervention programme in respect of University of Abuja. A key component of that was the award of contract at the sum of N915 million for the construction of the faculty of environment.

    “Another was also approved for he sum of N918 million for the award to build the faculty of education. Those are the two components arising from the special intervention programme that was awarded then in 2017. So we have to act to give effect to them so that they can proceed the delivery.”

  • French Ligue1: Osimhen, Kalu score Simon plays for 90 minutes

    Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen was on target once again for his French Ligue 1 side Lille Wednesday night as they beat Strasbourg 2-0 at the  Stade Pierre-Mauro.

    The former Wolfsburg ace shot his club into the lead in the 43rd minute of the game to the delight of teeming club supporters.

    Teammate Remmy Loic increased the tally for the home side in the 64th minute after enjoying an assist from Osimhen thus handing Lille two goals and three points.  Osimhen who joined the side in July this year making a debut against Nantes and scoring a brace in that encounter, has now netted six goals with only six matches played in the new season.

    The 20 year old has been in super form since moving from Royal Charleroi Sporting Club of Belgium where he also netted 19 goals in 34 appearances.

    Osimhen was not the only Eagle that shone like a million stars on Wednesday.

    Compatriots Samuel Kalu was also on target in Boardeaux’s 3-1 win over Amiens SC even as  Moses Simon played full 90 minutes in Nantes loan goal victory over Rennes.

     

     

     

     

  • Gunmen abducts wife of Nigerian Railway MD

    A woman identified as Francisca Okhiria, the wife of the managing director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria was abducted by suspected gunmen in Benin, Edo State on Wednesday.

    The gunmen, who were in police uniform was said to have trailed her from the airport and kidnapped her on the way to her house.

    Our reporter learnt that the gunmen while escaping with the victim shot a soldier, who was standing by the road side.

    When contacted, the state’s Police spokesperson, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, who confirmed the incident, said an Army Sergeant attached to the woman was also shot and has been taken to the military hospital for medical attention.

    DSP Nwabuzor said the woman was kidnapped at Irhirhi along NNPC filling station in Oredo local government. “It is confirmed that she was kidnapped and the police recovered the vehicle; a Land Cruiser Prado jeep when the incident took place.

    Read Also: Gunmen abduct businessman in Ekiti

    “The Army sergeant shot by the hoodlums was with her as a security personnel and eventually taken to the military hospital by the police. The gunmen came in a Toyota Camry,” he said.

    He noted that investigation into the incident has commenced.

    When our correspondent called the telephone number of the Managing Director yesterday evening, one of his aides picked the phone, saying his boss is not available.

    When asked to confirm the incident, the aide said: “We have no comment for now.”

     

     

     

  • Police exonerate reps member of rape allegation

    The Imo State Police Command on exonerated a member of the House of Representatives representing Ohaji/Egbema Oguta and Oru West Federal Constituency, Hon. Uju Kingsley Chima of the rape allegation levelled against him by one Mrs. Nkeiruka Cynthia Kamalu.

    The Command dismissed Kamalu’s allegations against Hon. Uju as false and baseless.

    It stated this in a statement signed by Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Orlando Ikeokwu, which was obtained by The Nation.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the command has been drawn to the news making the rounds in some media, dailies and other social platform in which one Nkeiruka Cynthia Kamalu claimed that she was raped by one Hon. Uju Kingsley Chima and as such claimed she was unlawfully arrested, tortured and detained.

    “The command wish to state that on 6/5/2019 the command received a report of a case of advanced fee fraud, conspiracy, child trafficking, forgery and threat to life against one Nkeiru Cynthia Kamalu ‘f’ 40 years of Plot 4, Ademola Close By Ire-Akari Estate, Ago, Lagos State.

    Read Also; ‘Lawmaker raped me, promised to give me N20m if my husband divorced me’

    “The command arrested two suspects namely -(1) Nkeiruka Cynthia Kamalu ’f’ and (ii) Emeka Muoneka ’m’. Both of the suspects made confessional statements as to the offence committed. For the purpose of clarity, the said Nkeiruka Cynthia Kamalu ’f’ called Hon. Kingsley Uju Chima claiming to be pregnant for him and as such blackmailed him into sending her various sums of money. She later claimed to have given birth to twins and one died of which she sent him picture of a baby boy.

    However, in the course of the investigation, the following were discovered.

    “That she was never in Canada as she claimed.

    “That she forged Canadian visa which she snapped and sent to Hon. Kingsley Uju Chima to trick him into sending money.

    “That Emeka Muoneka ‘m’ took her to Nnewi in Anambra State where she bought a three-day old baby boy at the sum of N1,800,000.

    “That she installed a software in her phone in which she used to call Hon. Kingsley Uju Chia, to ensure that a foreign number appears whenever she calls.

    “That both Nkeiruka Cynthia Kamalu and Emeka Muoneka led operatives to Nnewi, Anambra State where they bought a three-day old baby, for the purpose of deceiving Hon. Kingsley Uju Chima and blackmail him into sending money to her.

    In view of the above findings, the command said she was charged to court for the offence, adding that there was no time she was victimized, torturer detained.

    Read Also: One dies as Police, cultists clash in Delta

    The command therefore urged members of the public to discharge the allegations as “they are false and baseless.”

    On September 11, 2019, Kamalu, a businesswoman, filed a fundamental rights suit marked FHC/L/CS/1458/19 alleging “intimidation, mounting surveillance and or illegal oral invitation threat of life and annihilation of property,” against the lawmaker.

    She alleged that she was raped by Chima, on August 9, 2015, while she was married to a United States-based doctor.

    “I lodged the case first at New Owerri Police Station wherein he influenced it and I wrote a Petition to the Inspector-General of Police, Force State Quarters, Abuja. The petition was assigned to Zone 9 Police Command, Umuahia, Abia State.

    According to her, the police persuaded her to settle with the lawmaker and soon after, they resumed an incestuous relationship

    Mrs Kamalu claimed that afterwards, the lawmaker offered to pay her N20 million if she was divorced by her husband, Mr Gabriel Igbibi. Her husband subsequently left her and her new resumed relationship also failed, she said.

    She further alleged that the lawmaker caused her to be arrested in Lagos on 27th day of May, 2019 by SARS and that she was tortured and detained for seven days, after which she was arraigned on a fictitious N40 million theft charge.

  • Fire kills husband, wife, 2-year-old daughter in Kano

    Tragedy struck in the ancient city of Kano, on Wednesday, when unidentified arsonists, reportedly set ablaze a family of three, who were burnt to death.

    It was gathered that the arsonists were said to have locked up the gate of the house and went ahead to set the entire building ablaze.

    An eyewitness account indicated that the gory incident happened in the early hours of Wednesday at Gayawa quarters in Ungogo Local Government area of the State.

    Eye witnesses told reporters that all efforts by neighbours to break the doors to rescue the family failed as the fire raged through the night.

    Read Also: Police shut down O’Pay Kano office

    However, the spokesperson of Kano State Fire Service Sa’idu Ibrahim, said that they received a distress call on Wednesday at about 3:57 am by one Mudassir Abdullahi, who alerted them about the fire outbreak at Gayawa quarters.

    “Upon our arrival around 4:08 am, we broke the door of the house, and found out that three members of the family, the husband, 50 year old Aminu Bala, his wife, 30 year old Rukayya Aminu and their 2-year-old daughter, Aisha Aminu have suffered high degree of injuries.

    “Our men rushed them to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, where a doctor on duty certified them dead,” Ibrahim said.

    Also, the Police spokesperson in Kano DSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, who confirmed the incident, said that the Police Commissioner, Ahmed Iliyasu, directed for a discreet investigation to ascertain the cause of the dastardly act.

     

     

     

  • Why we focus on security, infrastructure development – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in New York, at the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly, met with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal, and explained why Nigeria was investing heavily on infrastructure development.

    The president, in a statement by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja, said no country would develop without investments and infrastructure.

    He said: “We are a large country, with vast population and poor infrastructure. But we need people to come and invest, that’s why we are focusing on roads, rail, power, airports, and many others. Without infrastructure, investment would be slow.”

    He thanked Portugal for its “steadfast support” to Nigeria on many fronts, adding that “concern about global issues is genetic for Portugal.”

    Buhari said the Sahel was awash with illegal small arms, exacerbating the security situation in the North East of Nigeria, but added that government was doing a lot to bring things under control.

    On security in the Gulf of Guinea, he solicited for the support of Portugal, saying most of the stolen crude oil from Nigeria and other countries pass through the region.

    Read Also: Only democracy acceptable in Ghana, Africa – Buhari

    The president said in the second term of his administration, “we will consolidate on what we started in the first term, so that I can thereafter retire in peace and comfort.”

    The Portuguese president commended what he called “the excellent relations” between his country and Nigeria.

    He said: “We have Portuguese companies in Nigeria; we share the same opinion on international issues; we share your worries; follow closely what is happening in the Sahel, and we support you in fighting terrorism.”

    Sousa, who revealed that Portugal would be hosting Euro-African Forum in 2020, invited Buhari to declare the event open in Lisbon, “even if it’s for half a day.”

    He said it would be a great honour to have the Nigerian leader in Portugal, “and we have been waiting for you to visit for three years. Many African leaders have come, but we want Nigeria.”

    NAN

     

     

  • Army to launch operation Egwu Eke IV, Ayem Akpatuma II Oct. 7

    The Nigerian Army has said that it set to commence its special routine training exercises across the six geopolitical zones of the country codenamed ‘Ayem Akpatuma II, Egwu Eke IV and Crocodile Smile IV.

    Acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa, in a statement said that the operation is in line with the Nigerian Army’s “spirited efforts to combat insecurity across the nation”.

    He said exercise will commence simultaneous in all the zones.

    According to the statement,  “the exercises are Exercise AYEM AKPATUMA II in the North Central and parts of North Western States of Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi and Taraba as well as Kaduna and Niger States in 1 and 3 Divisions Area of Responsibilities (AOR) including Headquarters Command Army Records, Guards Brigade and 707 Special Forces Brigade, Exercise EGWU EKE IV which will be carried out in the South Eastern part of Nigeria comprising Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States in 82 Division AOR, while Exercise CROCODILE SMILE IV will as usual  take place  in the South South and parts of South Western States of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Ogun and Rivers States in  2, 6, 81 and 82 Divisions’ AOR.

    Similarly, Operation POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION will also be extended across the nation to checkmate bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, ethnic militia, cattle rustlers as well as other sundry crimes across the various regions of Nigeria.

    Read Also: Kidnapping: Army dismisses three soldiers in Borno

    “In the same vein, as part of programmes imbued into the exercises, – the Nigerian Army Women Corps, will stage a robust show of force/confidence building patrols in some selected locations in Nigeria.

    “Accordingly, in order to consolidate on the existing cordial civil-military relations, an elaborate  civil military cooperation line of activities in the areas of community outreaches such as free medical outreach, educational outreach, rehabilitation of identified dilapidated roads, hospitals, schools and old people’s homes in various selected  communities in Nigeria.

    “Additionally, the Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association, will as usual, visit and donate to motherless babies homes and other identified disadvantaged groups in selected communities across the nation.

    “These exercises will start concurrently from the 7th of October to 24th of December 2019.

    “The NA, once again, use this opportunity to enjoin all Nigerians not to panic on seeing an increased presence of military personnel and other security agencies as well as movement of Military vehicles /hardwares. The NA wishes to reassure the nation of her commitment and determination to secure the country, protect lives and properties of all Nigerians (which in addition to training of her personnel) is one of the basis for the exercises”.

     

     

  • Man ‘caught’ selling marijuana at NDLEA office

    A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday remanded a man, Ayobiojo Hammed, who was allegedly caught peddling marijuana at the Lagos Command of the National Drug Laws Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

    Justice Sule Hassan kept Hammed, of 7, Moshalashi Street, Empire, Surulere, Lagos, in prison custody, following his plea of guilty to a one-count charge of unlawfully distributing 630 grammes of the narcotic drug.

    He adjourned till October 11 for review of the facts of the case and sentencing.

    Earlier, NDLEA prosecutor Fingere Dinneys alleged that Hammed was arrested on March 26, 2019, while distributing 630 grammes of the substance to some construction workers on the NDLEA’s premises, No. 4, Shaw Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    Read Also: NDLEA intercepts 238kg of cannabis in Edo

    The court heard that the defendant’s offence infringed Section 20(1)(a) of the NDLEA Act, 2004 and was punishable under Section 20(2)(a) of the same Act.

    Following Hammed’s plea, his counsel, C. W. Ezeonyeziaku, who stood in for Mrs. Susan Agu, did not oppose the prosecution’s remand application.

    The charge against the defendant marked FHC/L/198c/19, reads: “That you Ayobiojo Hammed, Male, Adult, of 7, Moshalashi Street, Empire Surulere, Lagos on or about 26th March, 2019, at 4, Shaw Road, Ikoyi, Lagos without lawful authority distributed 630 grammes of Cannabis Sativa otherwise known as Marijuana, a narcotic drug similar to Cocaine, LSD and Heroin and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 20(1)(a) and punishable under Section 20(2)(a) of the NDLEA Act 2004”.

  • Vibetone drops debut single ‘PAMI’

    Young prodigy and Afrofusion artiste, Adeniji Samuel Adedolapo, also known as Vibetone has released his debut single titled ‘Pa Mi’ meaning Mesmerise me in his indigenous Yoruba language.

    ‘Pa Mi’ produced by DXL da beat is a feel good and danceable song which expresses the intoxicating love from his love interest, received by the singer. The guitar strings is deftly struck by by Fiokee. It is a potential hit song released today and would be played on many radio stations.

    Vibetones says the song is one of the many coming out from his repertoire as he storms the music world.

    “My song is influenced by the old generation Nigerian classics highlife and majorly Afropop. Music to me is an escape route from life daily struggles. My way of forgetting my problems and I want my listeners to to get same feelings when they listen to my songs,” says the talented Nigerian singer who is based in New Jersey, United States.

    READ ALSO: Guchi drops debut single, ‘No Be Jazz’

    Born 28 years ago, Vibetone grew up in Lagos, from a family of nine in Ojodu suburb of Lagos listening to the music of great Nigerian stars who helped shaped his musical influence.

    He went to Mayflower Secondary School at Ikenne, Ogun State.

    Vibetone began music professionally in 2017. The likes of Meologo, Sir Dauda, Burna Boy, 1da Banton are the Artistes that inspire him.

    The young artiste who believes in the impact of education already has a bachelors degree from University of ilorin, and MBA from Saint Joseph’s university in Philadelphia USA.

    Pa mi is a song everyone would love to listen and dance to the vibe.