The Nation Newspaper

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  • Two killed in police-cyclists clash in A’Ibom

    THE war between the police and commercial motorcyclists over government’s regulation of motorcycle operations in Akwa Ibom state is yet to abate.

    On Tuesday, the cyclists or okada riders clashed with police in the oil city of Eket. Two  motorcyclists died in the exchange, but a Volvo station wagon car used by the police for surveillance was also burnt by the cyclists.

    Police spokesman, Odiko MacDon, a Superintendent of Police, confirmed the incident, saying that 19 suspects have been arrested in connection with the fracas.

    MacDon said the suspects arrested defied government’s restriction order which allows okada riders to operate between 6am and 6pm.

    He insisted that the police cannot be intimidated and will not stop the enforcement of government’s directive.

    Yesterday’s incident happened just a week after the police allegedly killed an ‘okada’ rider in Uyo which sparked off wild protests resulting in the torching of the NTA station and massive destruction of properties in the capital city.

    Read Also: Three killed in Akwa Ibom cult clash

    The Nation gathered that tension in Eket reached breaking point following an order placed by Eket local authorities restricting the operation of okada riders from 6am to 6pm. The government had said the decision was to check the upsurge in crime in the area.

    It was gathered that some okada riders did accept the restriction order and went ahead to operate beyond the time limit.

    An eyewitness Emman Okposin said the police surveillance team chased them away from the road from 5:30pm as against the 6pm deadline and that they beat his colleagues and impound their motorcycles.

    Okposin said last Sunday night one their members was shot dead by the police while chasing the operators.

    “Last Sunday our member was shot dead in the night and  the corpse has been deposited in mortuary at Immanuel General hospital, Eket.

    Continuing, Okposin said the incident that caused them to revolt occurred yesterday when a policeman beat a motorcyclist until he collapsed on the spot before the victim was rushed to hospital.

    He said the victim identified as Udo from Idung Udoe in the area died the previous night while receiving treatment at Immanuel General Hospital, Eket.

    “Our member Udo from Idung Udoe in Eket died last night from injuries he sustained at the hands of police, so we revolted.”

    He said the youths and all motorcyclists operators took the corpse to Eket local government council and later to the area police station as the council chairman Frank Archibong was not available to address them.

    Okposin said the police prevented them from entering their station and they returned the corpse to the mortuary.

    He said all the cyclists and the youths regrouped and moved to a police checkpoint along James Town road and burnt down their patrol vehicle as policemen at the checkpoint escaped.

     

  • Ndume: repair Borno’s bad roads

    Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) has urged the Federal Government to rehabilitate major roads in Borno State.

    Ndume addressed reporters after meeting with the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, with lawmakers from the state.

    The lawmaker said the intervention would remove the harrowing experience commuters face as a result of poor roads.

    He said work on Biu-Gombe, Biu-Maiduguri, Biu-Damaturu, Biu-Gombi, Bama-Gwoza-Mubi, Gwoza-Damboa-Buni Yadi, captured in previous budgets and awarded, had not taken off fully.

    Ndume said no serious work was done on the roads, adding that a journey that should take one and half hours often took more than six hours.

    He said: “I and other lawmakers from the state met the minister of Works to intimate him of our experiences. We came to beg the minister to intervene to take the hardship away from the people; we hope serious work would begin on those roads.

    “There is only one connecting road that is motorable. From Maiduguri to Biu is 186 kilometres drive, which is about one and half hours, but because of the insurgency, the road is completely closed. Travelling that road now takes six hours.

    Read Also: Be patient over bad roads, Sanwo-Olu appeals 

    “The sad story is that the road from Biu to Buni Yadi is so bad. The road leads to Sambisa forest and if anyone should travel there, the person has to slow down and you know what that means. The only road we started using since last week is Biu-Potiskum-Damaturu road.

    “So Maiduguri is locked. The only exit is through Borno South and that is not good considering the traffic in that axis.”

    Ndume urged the Federal Government to prioritise road work to ease the pains of a people ‘who are already devastated by insurgency’.

  • Kogi 2019: PDP seeks redeployment of REC, police chief

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State has called for the transfer of the Commissioner of Police Hakeem Busari, and Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Prof. James Apam.

    PDP made the resolution in Lokoja Local Government after its stakeholders meeting yesterday.

    The party said removing Busari and Apam would guarantee fairness, equity and justice.

    Read Also: Kogi 2019: INEC expresses worry over possible violence

    Signed by the party Chairman in Lokoja, Abubakar Idris, the communiqué warned against deploying Dr. Amina Zakari, national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to oversee the election.

    The party, however, passed a vote of confidence in the Nigerian Army (Records) Command and the DSS in Lokoja, saying they had lived up to their billing in the conduct of elections in the state.

    It restated its commitment to ensure victory for the party and its candidate, Musa Wada, and called on members to work for him.

  • Bid to remove sealed warehouse property fails in Owerri

    THE police in Imo State have foiled an attempt by some people to cart away the property stocked in one of the warehouses seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Owerri, the state capital.

    The police also impounded two trailers allegedly deployed to evacuate the warehoused property and arrested 12 suspects in connection with the crime.

    The warehouse owned by Mrs. Nkechi Okorocha, wife of the immediate past governor of Imo State Rochas Okorocha, is situated along Aba Road, Owerri.

    One of the police officers at the facility said law enforcement agents moved in on a tip-off, adding that 12 persons were arrested in the act.

    Read Also: Native doctor, five ‘robbers’ held in Imo

    “Following a tip-off last night (Sunday), after two trailers had moved into the warehouse late in the night, a police team was dispatched to the premises,” said the officer, who spoke to journalists in confidence.

    “Those inside the premises, however, refused to open the gate. The police team therefore cordoned off the building till this morning (Monday, 30/9/19) when we stormed the premises. The two trailers were impounded and 12 persons arrested.”

    The spokesman of the state police command, ASP Orlando Ikokwu confirmed the incident, adding that the two trailers impounded were taken to the command headquarters, Owerri.

    Two months ago, the EFCC sealed some properties reportedly traced to former governor Okorocha, as well as those of his family members and cronies.

     

  • AbdulRazaq donates to special needs’ school

    Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq on Tuesday donated audio books to visually impaired pupils of the state’s special needs’ school. The governor congratulated the pupils on Nigeria’s 59th Independence anniversary.

    A statement yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, said the governor visited the school after the pupils returned from the Independence parade at the Metropolitan Square in Ilorin.

    AbdulRazaq inspected the renovation of two blocks of five classrooms, which he had pledged to upgrade when he visited the school in July.

    The headteacher, Mrs. Faoziyah Aroyehun, praised the governor for the books which she said would be useful for the pupils.

    She said: “These audio books are particularly useful for the visually-impaired students, and we appreciate … the kind gesture. We also thank him for the ongoing interventions in the school.”

  • Car snatched in Anambra recovered in Kogi

    THE Kogi State police command said it has recovered a Toyota Corrola car recently snatched by a three-man robbery gang in Anambra State.

    The command’s spokesman, DSP William Aya told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Tuesday that the car with registration number ABUJA ABX – 377 – PQ was intercepted on Lokoja-Abuja Road on September 27.

    He said some of the  operatives attached to the “B” Division, Felele area, Lokoja, intercepted the car while on  intelligence patrol.

    Aya said the police patrol followed information received from the control room of the Anambra police command that some three armed men forcefully snatched the car belonging to one Okaka Prosper Jideofor in Anambra.

    “Based on the above information, the operatives promptly swung into action, intercepted and arrested one Eze Emmanuel Ndudirim of Akwa Local Government Area of Anambra State with the vehicle.

    “During interrogation, he could not give a satisfactory explanation of himself and the vehicle. The vehicle had been recovered from him and  parked at the police station. Investigation is ongoing,” the spokesman said.

    Read Also: Tipper crushes two to death in Anambra

    Aya also said that one Zuberu Haruna, 19,  had  been arrested in connection with a recent armed robbery incidents around Ejule axis.

    He said his arrest was effected by  some of the operatives attached to Ajaokuta Division in conjunction with the local vigilante  who intercepted and arrested him at Ejule village.

    According to him, the suspect was arrested with one boxer motorcycle with registration number KOGI STATE LAM -75- VWX and a  locally made pistol.

    “He confessed to  belonging to a gang that specialises in snatching motorcycles at gun point. Efforts are ongoing to arrest other members of the syndicate,” the PPRO said.

    The PPRO also said that the the suspects would be arraigned in court on completion of investigation.

  • Hotelier jailed seven years for N29m fraud

    A HOTELIER Mr Jimoh Eleyele has been sentenced to seven years jail term by an Igbosere High Court of Justice for defrauding a Saki, Oyo State businessman to the tune of N29.5million

    Eleyele was arraigned before Justice Kudirat Jose by the officials of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a seven-count charge.

    The offences bordered on conspiracy to defraud and fraudulently obtaining millions of naira from one Jimoh Oyesiji as the cost for facilitating the release of his goods which were seized by the Nigerian Custom Service which the respondent (Eleyele) knew to be false in 2015.

    After about four years of legal proceedings, Justice Jose affirmed that the  respondent, (Eleyele) and the second respondent, are guilty of all the seven offences leveled against them, adding that the offences were contrary to sections 8(a) and 1(3) of the Advance Free Fraud and other fraud Related Offences Act No.14 of 2006.

    Read Also: Oyo warns illegal tax collectors

    The judge sentenced the accused to seven years imprisonment

    In his reaction shortly after the judgment, counsel to the claimant, Mr Kunle Afolabi noted that despite the years the legal battle took, the judges have again rekindled the hope of the common man in the nation’s judicial system.

  • Anambra desilts drainages as flood displaces 100

    THE Anambra Government has started desilting drainages in parts of Ogbaru Local Government area of the state in a bid tackle flooding in the area.

    Mr Arinze Awogu, Transition Chairman of Ogbaru said this in Atani, the local government headquarters.

    The transition chairman said that no fewer than 100 displaced persons were taking refuge at the secretariat.

    Awogu said blocked drainages were partly to blame for the floods in Ogbaru, a flood-prone area.

    He said the cleanup being spearheaded by the newly created Anambra State Drainage and Forest Preservation Agency, would go a long way in freeing the drains and lead storm water to natural waterways.

    According to him, the Obodoukwu Road drainage channel that connects from Onitsha-Owerri Road to Elevant-House, Ojoto Street and Atani were the areas that witnessed the state government-led massive cleanup.

    Read Also: Suspected Anambra car snatcher arrested in Kogi

    “The massive clean-up is coming at a time when the council needed to open up blocked water channels so as to reduce the effect of the flood ravaging the council at the moment.

    “We want to thank Governor Willie Obiano for tackling issues of blocked drainages as most failed roads were as a result of water finding its way into the road because its channel had been blocked,” he said.

    Awogu said, “I call on the people to adopt acceptable ways of disposing waste because the era of dumping waste into water channels was over,” he said.

    Chief Augustine Uyanne, a resident of the area said some of the drainages have been blocked with silt for a long time, adding that whenever it rained, water found its way to their houses.

  • Alaafin: avoid those dividing us

    The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, has called for unity and oneness among the Yoruba, saying through unity development can be accomplished.

    Oba Adeyemi spoke on Tuesday at the inauguration of the  Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) in Ibadan.

    The monarch, who chaired the event, noted that some elements were trying to divide the Yoruba, but warned that the people must be careful and ensure unity.

    He emphasised that people must love and be peaceful for unity to be achieved in the region.

    “Some people want to divide the Yoruba but we should be very careful. We should continue to live in peace, one love and unity so that we can have the desired development. There is no love within us in Yorubaland, and we have to learn how to live in love and peace within ourselves; and I can assure you that this will foster the development we are yearning for.”

    Former Governor Abiola Ajimobi said the quality of the leadership of the CCII made him a proud Ibadan man, noting that the leadership style of the Yemi Soladoye-led council was worth commending.

    He recounted that money was raised to build an ultra-modern palace for the Olubadan, but it was unfortunate the project was yet to be completed.

    The ex-governor said he would contribute more to complete the project.

    Read Also: Democracy must thrive, says Alaafin

    “During my tenure …we raised N240 million to build an ultra-modern palace for the Olubadan, but it is quite unfortunate that the palace is yet to be completed. But I will continue to contribute my efforts to make sure the project is completed.”

    CCII‘s President-General Yemi Soladoye called on indigenes to contribute to development of the city.

    He hailed the achievements of the last executive, saying the city was still a long way to go.

    Soladoye said: “Despite the fact that we have made some modest progress in the life of Ibadanland, there is still a long way to go as a people. The fate of Ibadanland has been left for too long in the hands of nobody. Most of us see just the privileges of being Ibadan indigenes and not the responsibilities.

    “The aspects of Ibadanland that is known to the rest of the world are a people that lack political unity, people with crisis in their traditional system, people with fragmented leadership and the most populated single ethnic group in Nigeria that does not have its own state, palace or united ethnic agenda.

    “We are a people that do not appreciate our self worth and the leadership role we must play in Yorubaland. We are loved and respected by others, but we hate ourselves with passion.

    “We are a people that prefer to cede our love to outsiders than to ourselves, and our fighting strength exhibited more at home than outside.”

    Dignitaries present were the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji; the Eleruwa of Eruwa Oba Samuel Adegbola; Chief Bode Amoo; Commissioner of Police Shina Olukolu, among others.

    The Ibadan House headquarters of the council, a police station, among others, were also opened.

  • Imo eyes five-year development plan

    Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha has said his administration is planning a five-year economic blueprint to restore the state to its former glory.

    Ihedioha, who spoke at Nigeria’s 59th Independence anniversary celebration in Owerri, said the development agenda would be known as ‘Imo Growth and Strategic Development Plan’.

    The governor said his administration had built a strong institutional framework for good governance, adding that “we have adopted the ethics of due process in government transactions.

    Ihedioha, who hinted that Imo State now operates the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system, which was boosting Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), noted that the civil service had taken its pride of place as the engine room for the delivery of government services.

    Read Also: Imo Tribunal: Nwosu raises the alarm over refusal to release judgment

    He said: “Reforms are on to improve service delivery motivate the workforce and right the wrongs inflicted on the psyche of the personnel. We have embarked on a comprehensive plan of overhauling our infrastructure. Works are beginning shortly for the reconstruction of 14 critical roads.

    “It is important to state that we are reviewing our security architecture to ensure security and restoration of confidence in government.”