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Tag: war

  • One dead, RRS man injured in Iyana-Ipaja gang war

    One dead, RRS man injured in Iyana-Ipaja gang war

    One person was killed and many others, including a policeman, were injured in a gang war in Iyana-Ipaja on Wednesday.

    The clash which occurred at Abule-Oki, Iyana-Ipaja, was over a girl.

    It was gathered that youths from two streets engaged in a free-for-all on Tuesday, following the harassment of the Iyana-Ipaja girl by suspected cultists at a party in Elere, Agege.

    The girl reported to youths of her area, who went on a reprisal.

    They were said to have thrown bottles across the road, obstructing traffic until the arrival of policemen.

    The fighting resumed on Wednesday during which a young man was killed.

    An RRS officer was wounded on the head when the warring youths smashed the rear windshield of his patrol car.

    An eyewitness said: “Their movement on the old Abeokuta expressway created huge panic as passersby ran for their lives.”

    Yesterday, police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni told reporters at the Command’s Headquarters, Ikeja that the body was recovered.

    He said: “The command received a distress call around 11pm on Tuesday that some youths were engaging themselves in a free-for-all. One person died in the clash while eight others were arrested.”

    But RRS, in a statement, said 20 were arrested.

    According to Owoseni, “preliminary investigation conducted by the police revealed that a lady who resides at Iyana-Ipaja area had attended a party at Elere. While at the party, she was attacked by some youths in the area. When she got back to her base at Iyana-Ipaja she recounted her ordeal to those in her area who immediately embarked on a reprisal attack.

    “As at 2am yesterday when the situation was brought under control, a body was recovered. This brings to question the moral of those involved in the fracas. The command will soon hold meeting with stakeholders and leaders of political parties in the area ahead of the Local Government election on the need to have a free and fair election that is without fracas. We have done it before and we promise to do it again. Anybody or group of persons arrested for actions likely to cause a breach in the peace will face the law.”

    In its statement yesterday, RRS said over 100 youths set up bonfire on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, halting vehicular traffic on both sides of the road.

    “The officers were pushing back the youths into the inner streets of Abule Oki when the youths pelted the police with stones and broken bottles which smashed the head of an officer and the rear windshield of one of our operational vehicles, a Toyota Corolla marked RRS 041 LA.  While the RRS officer was taken to the hospital, those arrested have been transferred to Area Command,” the statement said.

  • War forces two million South Sudanese children to flee

    The UN says war and famine have forced more than two million children in South Sudan to flee their homes, creating the most worrying refugee crisis in the world.

    The civil war in the oil-producing country began two years after it won independence from neighboring Sudan,when President Salva Kiir fired his deputy in 2013.

    The fighting that followed split the country along ethnic lines, spurred hyperinflation and plunged parts of the nation into famine, creating Africa’s biggest refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

    Valentin Tapsoba, the Africa chief for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in a statement said: “no refugee crisis today worries me more than South Sudan.”

    The UN said in a country of 12 million people, nearly three in every four children do not go to school.

    The UN also said that no fewer than one million children have fled outside South Sudan while another one million are internally displaced.

    UNHCR and UNCEF also said more than a thousand children have been killed in the fighting.

    The true figure may be much higher since there are no accurate death tolls available for South Sudan, one of the world’s least developed nations.

    Many South Sudanese refugees have fled into neighbouring Uganda, Kenya, Sudan or Ethiopia, nations which are already struggling to provide enough food and resources for their own populations.

  • Kinsmen at war

    Kinsmen at war

    Bodies litter Cross River communities over boundary dispute Houses burnt, farms destroyed.

      Hunger, starvation loom as farmers flee war theatre.

    The Iyamitet people have killed so many members of our community. So many children have been killed and there are so many that are missing at present. We cannot estimate the number of missing children. If you enter our farmlands and plantations, they are all there with the intention of killing our people. We don’t go to farm again and hunger is now the order of the day. 

    After the crisis that happened in 2016, I learnt that a man in Ababene cautioned the people not to come for revenge in Iyamitet. The youth in the community had to kill that man. When the son came from Lagos and heard what happened, he mobilised other people and started killing Iyamitet people along the road… The Ababene people invaded us through Agere Road and burnt two houses. That was the beginning of the crisis that happened recently.

    No longer at ease, the title of one of Chinua Achebe popular novels, captures the mood in Obubra Local Government Area of Cross Rivers State. Things have fallen apart in the previously tranquil area and the centre appears incapable of holding since June last year when the crisis began. The serene nature of the area has given way to sporadic gunshots that reverberate in different parts of the local government, leading to mindless killing of promising members, old and young. Residents lament that lifeless and decomposing bodies dot different parts of the area from time to time, leaving them with palpable fear.

    The crisis, which was reportedly caused by a lingering boundary dispute, has pitted Iyamitet people against the people of Ababene, Arobom and adjoining communities. It has been accusations and counter-accusations between the two warring camps in the last 10 months, with the Ababene group alleging that the Iyamitet people are out to exterminate them.

    The head of the Ababene community, Chief Amon Obo, claimed that they had lost so many lives, especially children, in attacks by the Iyamitet people since the crisis began.

    He said: “The Iyamitet people have killed so many members of our community. So many children have been killed and there are so many that are missing at present. We cannot estimate the number of missing children. If you enter our farmlands and plantations, they are all there with the intention of killing our people. We don’t go to farm again and hunger is now the order of the day. We are tied down here at Ababene,” he said.

    Recalling how his brother, Chief Inyang Egba, was killed, a bereaved member of the community, Hon Chief Philip Ikpan, said: “My brother went to the farm and on his way back, he was attacked by the Iyamitet people. They cut his head, one of his hands and one of his legs and took them away, leaving the remaining parts of the body there. It was the remaining parts that we buried.

    “When the Iyamitet people got back home, they started jubilating. His wife and children are now with me because they also had their house burnt. We are living in fear every day because of the attacks.”

    The deceased’s wife, Mary, was in tears when our correspondent sought her comments on her husband’s death.

    “I have lost everything. They killed my husband and burnt our house. My children and I are deeply traumatised and confused,” she said.

    Another victim, Monday Egbe, was yet to come to terms with the murder of his elder brother when our correspondent spoke with him. He felt like hearing somebody say to him that the story of his brother’s death was a joke, but all he got were words of consolation from sympathisers.

    In tears, he said: “My brother, Oyama, who was a teacher here in Ababene, was murdered by some Iyamitet people on his way to school. He was an easy going man, which makes one to wonder why such a bestial treatment was meted out to him. We are not happy with the development at all because Iyamitet people have turned us into preys.”

    But aside from the bestial murders, the people’s houses and farms are also being destroyed. Some of the survivors who spoke with our correspondents said they had been keeping vigil as the attacks occur day and night.

    Tale of woes

    It was also a tale of woes when our correspondent spoke with Joseph Ewop, who narrowly escaped death.

    Counting his losses, Joseph said: “My personal house as well as our entire family houses were razed by Iyamitet people. I don’t have a place to lay my head again. I have taken my children to my brother in Calabar. There is no day they don’t attack our people. We don’t go to farm again and they have harvested our cassava along Obrema/Iyamoyon axis.

    “Iyamitet people rely on the fact that they have ammunition and people in government. They attacked one of our women and beat her so badly that she had to be admitted in a hospital. We report the matter to the police each time it happens.

    “The recent attack came at a time we were planning to host them for a peace meeting. We had gone to their place (Iyamitet) for peace talks and they were supposed to come to our place for the second leg of the talks. But instead of peace talks, it was an attack they unleashed on us the same day.

    “We had made preparations for them to come for the meeting, but the moment they arrived in their cars, they started shooting.”

    A retired army officer, Captain George Erim, who had his valuables and his late elder brother’s house burnt in one of the attacks, said: “I was in a church service in Calabar when my wife told me that our son called to say that Iyamitet people had invaded Arobom. When I checked my phone, I saw several missed calls and called back my first cousin in Iyamitet. He told me there was trouble at home and that I should call. It was then that I was told that Arobom had been completely burnt.

    “The following day, I travelled home to see the army brigade commander who told me that our representatives in the House of Assembly and House of Representatives had come to tell him what happened. When I got to my place, I was surprised to see that Arobom was totally finished.

    “From there, they moved to Ababene to attack our people. They burnt the house of my late elder brother and destroyed all the yams meant for planting. They have occupied the farm. They almost burnt my house before security men came. Last year, my building materials were ravaged.

    “The police came but could not contain the Iyamitet people. It was when soldiers came that they retreated. But before then, they had killed three people.”

    He added: “As I am speaking with you, they are still on our land. Just on Monday, they attacked six women who had gone to the farm to get something for their hungry families. They inflicted machete cuts on them and broke their legs.

    “The security men are not positioned at the right place. The policemen are supposed to go to the boundary between Ababene and Iyamitet to prevent them from entering our farmland, but it was not done that way. I don’t know why it is like that.”

    Genesis of unending mayhem

    Digging into the remote cause of the crisis, Chief Amon said: “On June 1, 2016, there was a rumour that two Iyamitet boys who were returning from Ugep were abducted at Oyadama. A day after the incident, Iyamitet people invaded Obubema community, which is about 24 kilometers away from theirs.

    “I as the village head of the community was present when they came in a white bus, heavily armed. They didn’t ask questions from anybody before they started shooting sporadically, burning houses and falling all our economic trees.

    “In the process, one man was shot dead while another had bullet wounds. As the village head, I quickly alerted our people and told them to run for dear lives. Many of my people died in the attack. We eventually ran to the next community called Arobom.

    “Unfortunately, the attackers chased us to Arobom where we went to seek refuge the following day, which was June 3, 2016. There they killed a man who was a manager in a palm oil plantation. They burnt down everything in the neigbouring communities on their way to Arobom. Eight people died and nine suffered bullet wounds. About 428 people were displaced.

    “That action went on for four days, covering Obrema, Ofura, Apkantere, Oron and several other communities.”

    The crisis, according to Chief Amon, started on January 19 this year.

    He said: “We heard that FERMA (Federal Roads Management Agency) was coming to do something about the buildings that were burnt down during the 2016 attacks, so we went there as a community to keep the place tidy.

    “After the exercise, I learnt that two boys fought and one was badly injured. As a community, we never wanted any problem again and consequently had to take care of the treatment of the injured boy who was from Iyamoyong.

    “On January 26, I got a call from a member of my community that there were palm leaves setting on our playground, which was an action indicating war. I had to call the village council head of Iyamitet to find out why they did that, but he said he was not aware of it.

    “After some time, he called back and invited me to Obubema, saying that they had resolved at their council that even though they were not involved in the setting up of palm leaves, they would come and remove the setup so that it would not cause trouble.

    “As a leader, I rushed to the place to witness the whole thing. On getting there, I met one Nkanu Bassey, the village council chairman, and another man who is an engineer. A few minutes after we exchanged pleasantries, some boys from Iyamitet, numbering about 20, came on motorbike and I wondered what had brought them.

    “I saw them struggling to get wood to make fire. I inquired to know what the fire was meant for but got no meaningful response. When I studied the situation, I discovered that something awful could happen, so I quickly whispered to the chiefs and two other boys who had gone there with me and we ran back.

    “The following day, which was January 27, there was a total blockade from Ababene to Iyamoyong/Iyamitet highway. They set up palm leaves across the road and a group of armed boys gathered there and prevented people from passing through the road, claiming that it was the point where our people cut their people’s heads. The place is called Liberation Checkpoint, and as I speak to you now, the whole place is blocked.

    “They are there on a daily basis, armed and preventing our people from going to their farms. For a very long time, our people have left their farms unattended to. They have looted all our farm crops. The police, the army and the SSS have called for several meetings but none has been successful.

    “On January 30, 2017, the security adviser to the state governor invited us (Iyamitet and Ababene) to Calabar for a meeting. We attended the meeting but no one came from their side. It was only the member of the House of Assembly, who we voted for, and another man who lives in Calabar that represented them.

    “On March 5, our number one traditional ruler died. In our culture, when a ruler of that status dies, you don’t immediately announce it to the people. You only tell them that he is sick. The death occurred on a Sunday when nobody goes to anywhere.

    “Between 3pm and 3.30pm, Arobom, which is a clan in Ababene Ward, was invaded by a group of armed men from Iyamitet. They burnt down the entire community and killed so many people. We only knew of it when they started crying down to Ababene. We couldn’t do anything because the information came very late and there was no way we could rush to inform the government because we would meet the armed Iyamitet boys on the way.

    “The following morning, which was 6th, the attack spread to our place as we were planning to report to security operatives. They also burnt down many houses at our place. We had to resist them when the damage was becoming too much. We did this with the aid of the police and soldiers who came to rescue us.

    “On March 9, the Iyamitet people came from another direction (Apkantere) and attacked us. We put up a strong resistance and drove them back to their place. If you hear that we went to Iyamitet, it was because of this attack.

    “They burnt down primary schools in Arobom, Obrema and Apkantere in 2016 and we had to attach the pupils to the school in Ababene. The question we have been asking ourselves is if there is no longer a government in the state and if the rule of law no longer exists to guarantee the safety of our people.

    “We have always reported this matter to the police. And if I tell you that the Divisional Police Officer has done nothing, I will be telling you a very big lie.

    “The Iyamitet people are saying that they want boundary. If they want boundary, is it by fighting or killing people that they will get it? At a point, they claimed that the attack was because one of their sons, who is a pastor, was beheaded. If such a thing indeed happened, why would they not report to the police for proper investigation instead of taking the laws into their hands?”

     

    Our action was retaliatory, says Iyamitet council chair

    Reacting to the allegations levelled against his community by the people of Ababene, the town council chairman of Iyamitet, Nkanu Bassey, said the killings had never been one-sided.

    According to him, “Iyamitet has also lost so many people to the crisis. The problem started when Ababene people killed one Elijah from Iyamitet along with another boy at a place we call Goodbye. They also killed one Pastor Elijah, a woman and two other boys. It was after they attacked Iyamitet people that they also attacked Ababene.

    “I was having a meeting somewhere when I received a call that they had killed two Iyamitet people. When I got there, there was so much tension and my car was vandalised by Iyamitet boys who frowned that I had been the one preventing them from taking the law into their hands against the Ababene people. I ran for my dear life when the heat was too much.

    “For about two or three weeks, I went into hiding in Ikom. From there, I was still making efforts to resolve the crisis. The DPO in Obubra can bear me witness.”

    Bassey added: “After the crisis that happened in 2016, I learnt that a man in Ababene cautioned the people not to come for revenge in Iyamitet. The youth in the community had to kill that man. When the son came from Lagos and heard what happened, he mobilised other people and started killing Iyamitet people along the road.

    “It was a situation that I could no longer control as a community leader. At a point when tension had subsided and we were planning to have a peace meeting, the Ababene people invaded us through Agere Road and burnt two houses. That was the beginning of the crisis that happened recently.

    Also speaking, the lawmaker representing the area in the state House of Assembly, Dr Elucate Okora Edom, absolved himself of any form of involvement in the crisis.

    He said: “As somebody occupying a public office, I keep hearing that I am the one inciting war. Am I the one inciting Ababene people to kill Iyamitet people and thereafter go to Iyamitet people to tell them to  attack them in return? What is my interest in doing that?

    “There is no logic in saying that I am the one inciting crisis. I am in Calabar and these are two sister communities. There is nobody that receives the heat I receive after each of these crises,” he said.

    As the representative of the two communities, Elucate said: “I am duly conscious that I am living with their mandate. Therefore, all I appreciate is that the people should live in peace.

    “Unfortunately, the crisis between the two communities has always come through one axis. On each occasion, I have tried to intervene to avert trouble. The first case was that there was an abduction of two Iyamitet people at Oyadama and there was sporadic shooting of people across Iyamitet/Iyamoyong axis.

    “I got the report and asked Iyamitet people to go to the police and incident the matter. I made contacts so that the two communities could resolve the matter and if possible fish out the culprit so that there would be no crisis.

    “The then DPO, who the matter occurred at his instance, was not able to be of any use to us. The matter degenerated, especially as they couldn’t find the culprits or find the abducted people. I ran home from Obudu to Iyamitet to make sure that they laid down their arms, and that was how I stopped the crisis.

    “Later, when the youth went for community work, one Iyamoyong boy was almost beheaded. I had to make a call immediately to the Iyamoyong motor chairman, who is my good friend, to make sure that people from the other side were protected.

    “After that incident, I organised a meeting in Calabar where I called the political leadership in Obubra in that constituency and we told ourselves the truth. We came up with a communiqué and told everybody to lay down their arms.

    “Then I went to the crisis point and dismantled the local vigilante group that was there, because Iyamitet people said that was the point where they had been abducting and killing their people. I dismantled the group so that the Ababene people could have access to their farms.

    “Immediately I dismantled the vigilante group, Ababene people killed another Iyamitet pastor on a Sunday. That was the cause of the recent crisis.

    “There is a plantation point that is inhabited by Ababene that is very close to Iyamitet. It is at that point that the secret killings are being carried out from the Ababene axis.

    “The killing of the pastor provoked Iyamitet people; even when we made efforts to  report the matter to the police, the Iyamitet people refused. They said even if they should report the matter, the culprits would be fished out, and that was how they went to war.

    “We have prevailed on them and the war has subsided. The brigade commander, who is our friend, has been doing very well. He sent soldiers to go and occupy Ababene to avoid further invasion by the Iyamitet people.”

    Asked what he was doing to bring a lasting solution to the crisis, Elucate said: “As I speak with you, engagements are going on. I have prepared a list of stakeholders in the two clans so that we can constitute a permanent peace committee that will work out modalities for permanent peace.

    “One of the practical steps we have taken is to ensure that the DPO who was serving in that place and was of no security value to us was removed from Obubra. I am sure the new one is worth his onions and we would be working with him to make sure there is peace.

    “There is no more war. There is no more fighting. The police have left and the army have also left. The cost of putting police or army on duty outside in such isolated area is too high to be borne by us as individuals. The military may not make such provision and thus leave it to the state or the local government. We don’t have the muscle to foot such bills.”

    He added: “The security operatives have long left. What the people are now doing is keep vigil on the path they have often suffered those attacks. We have had reports that they don’t allow other people to access their farms and we have told them that is not their mandate. They should allow them access to their farms.

    “The allegation that Iyamitet people have taken over their farms is what we call psychology of war. In a war situation, you have lost confidence in yourself and the peace process is to rebuild that confidence, and that is what we are doing.”

    Elucate noted that leaders of the constituencies have agreed that one of the causes of the crisis is demand for boundary demarcation, and they are committed to resolving it.

    He said: “The crisis is caused by boundary demarcation. The state government has arbitrated over this matter. They have about two administrative panel reports with concrete resolutions and recommendations to the state.

    “Although, they have not been implemented, we have come to term with the act that if we need government to give us peace, it may be a far cry. So we want to give ourselves peace. We are committed to it.”

    In spite of the claims by the feuding parties that several members of their communities have been killed, the state police command said people only sustained injuries but nobody died.

    In a telephone chat with The Nation, the command spokesperson, ASP Irene Ugbo, said: “We are not aware that anybody died during the crisis. Some people were injured and have been treated. The police is on top of the development as the commissioner does not waste time to draft men and officers to crisis points.”

    In another telephone chat, the Special Adviser to the state governor on Security Matters, Jude Ngaji, said: “I have met with all the leaders, and as I speak with you now, I can tell you there is heavy military presence in that place.

    “Our focus as a government is to mop up the arms in the hands of people, because when they don’t have arms, they will not fight with bare hands. This problem is bigger during the planting season. We would do a lot of sensitisation on this.

    “The governor has constituted a state boundary agency that will go to all these crisis areas, and by the time they are done, the government will bring a lasting solution to the problem.

    “For now, we will concentrate on how to bring about peace and security of lives and property in the area.”

  • How to win war against malaria, by don

    How to win war against malaria, by don

    ‘We must dedicate ourselves to cost effective healthcare that focuses on clear goals and produces measurable results. Government health policies should exhibit continuity for sustainable performance’

    A professor of Parasitology, Comfort Adejoke Ibidapo, has

    said the fight against malaria could only be substantially attained by eliminating mosquitoes-breeding points.

    According to her, it is often difficult to get rid of malaria because parasites have developed resistance.

    She said: “They (mosquitoes) also change their code so that the host’s immunity will not be able to eject them.’’

    Ibidapo, who delivered the 61st inaugural lecture of the Lagos State University (LASU) entitled: Man against parasites: An endless battle, said because most of the control methods against malaria have failed, the strategy is to clear stagnant water and gutters which are mosquitoes-breeding grounds.

    “Those days when health inspectors used to clean the gutters should come back. Then they would kill the mosquitoes before they mature so that it would reduce the number of adults they have,” she said.

    She also said since economic development helps in improving the overall health status of the populace, it becomes necessary to integrate health financing interventions into all other programmes.

    “We must dedicate ourselves to cost-effective healthcare that focuses on clear goals and produces measurable results. The government health policies should exhibit continuity for sustainable performance.

    “A national programme of neglected tropical disease control and elimination, coupled with increased access to clean water and sanitation, would simultaneously serve to strenghten health systems in many parts of Nigerian states. In parallel with expanded disease control and elimination efforts, Nigeria’s best universities and research institutes must expand their research and training capacity for NTDs, ” she said.

    She advised that there should be use of mass drug administration for the control of neglected tropical disease or preventive chemotherapy, saying it would result in the control or total elimination of these diseases. “The administration of albendazole and mebendazole would impact positively on school performance and the diseases burden of soil transmitted helminthes,” she said.

    The don said through improvements in child growth, intellect and cognition, pregnancy outcome and worker productivity, there would be a Nigeria free from the high prevalence of NTDs, adding that this could accelerate the nation’s economic development.

    “Through expansion in integrated NDT control and disease elimination, Nigeria should become an important model for all of Africa,” she added.

  • Anti-graft war: Northern group accuses Buhari of double-standard

    Anti-graft war: Northern group accuses Buhari of double-standard

    A group under the auspices of Arewa Peace Coalition has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of double-standard in his anti-corruption wars.

    The group, in an open letter to the President, titled: “A tale of two anti-corruption war” and signed by its National Coordinator, Abdulkadir Mohammed, said it was worried about the way the anti-corruption war was being fought by the Federal Government.

    It accused the Federal Government of double standard by referring the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. David Babachar Lawal, to an administrative panel for investigation.

    According to the group, the suspended SGF should have been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the Federal Government did to a personal physician of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Fortunate Fiberesima, who is being accused of fraud worth N285 million.

    “A critical comparison is the case of your suspended Secretary to Federal Government (SGF) and the personal physician to the former President Goodluck Jonathan. This is a case where the SGF was indicted by a Senate committee for a grass cutting scam worth N220 million. And the later, Fiberesima, is also being accused of fraud worth N285million.

    “Firstly, the Senate committee however recommend to the Presidency for the removal of the SGF based on its finding which indicted him. But Nigerians watched for months without any action from the Presidency not until recently when another administrative panel was set up to be headed by the vice president with the Attorney General of the Federation included , whom had initially cleared the SGF of any wrongdoing .

    ‘The question Nigerians are asking is “why subject the SGF to an administrative panel and not subjecting him to EFCC, Directorate of State Services (DSS) or Police”? And what are we expecting from a committee, which has the Attorney General of the Federation as a member, who had earlier cleared the SGF? These are questions putting a doubt on your credibility in fighting corruption sir.

    “Secondly, the perception in the public domain is that your war on corruption is only targetted at your political foes, Goodluck Jonathan and members of the previous administration.

    “The case of Goodluck Jonathan’s personal physician may want to prove this point.

    “In this case, Fiberesima is being tried by the EFCC for an alleged fraud of N285 million. Our concern here is that, why not use the same rules across board to prove to Nigerians that you are not out to witch-hunt the former President Jonathan and members of the previous administration. It was this observation that prompted Senator Shehu Sani to allege that “the President Buhari uses deodorant to fight corruption in the presidency” while Colonel Abubakar Umar on the other hand, recently accused the Presidency of only trying to vilify former President Jonathan in the name of fighting corruption.”

    The group said it was not too late to correct some of the president’s mistakes and to redeem his promise to Nigerians because the group still believes in Buhari’s ability to deliver on his promises.

    “As a progressive Northern based organisation, we are willing to support and partner with you to succeed.

    “We will however, advice you not to compromise national interest for a few selfish persons around you who may be in your government only to further their personal interest and also using your platform to fight their personal battles, embedded in the fight against corruption,” the group added.

  • ‘Nigeria ‘ll win anti-terror war’

    ‘Nigeria ‘ll win anti-terror war’

    Oladimeji Odeyemi is the President of the National Committee of Yoruba Youths. He spoke with reporters in Lagos on the war against terror and other issues. Excerpts:

    You recently led a team of your officials to a meeting with the Yoruba community in Maiduguri. What  your assessment of the security situation in that axis?

    Let me first state that our trip to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, was on the invitation of our kinsmen in that city, who have been following our activities as a result of our various interventions and advocacy on the effort of the Nigerian Military in the war against insurgency and the need for normalcy to return to that part of the country. We are glad that we made the trip, going by the warm reception we got, most especially from the Yoruba community, and our ability, to observe that truly, peace have returned to Maiduguri, which was once, a center of the activities of the now decimated Boko Haram insurgents. Businesses are now re-opened, people now go about their daily activities and we are proud to have taken the opportunity, to also visit neighborhood markets which were once deserted by the people. In fact as a people, we should be indebted to the Nigerian Army for this noble feat.

    Could it be said that normalcy has truly returned to the Northeast?

    Without sounding immodest, I think I may be constrained to encourage groups and individuals, particularly the media, to visit Borno State so that they can have a first-hand assessment of how Nigerian Army under the leadership of General Tukur Buratai has been able to restore normalcy to this otherwise troubled, environment. Let me remind you that only recently, one of the major political figures in Nigeria, who incidentally is also a fellow Yoruba, visited the State, and had the cause to do on-the-spot assessment of projects and even commission several projects, that has been embarked upon by the government of Borno State. Also recall, that the Borno State Government recently declared every December 22nd, starting from this year, as a public holiday in the state, in acknowledgement of the victory over Boko Haram, with the capture of the once dreaded Sambisa forest, by the gallant Nigerian Soldiers.

    The Nigerian Army recently held a Small Arms Championship in the famous Sambisa Forest. what’s your take on it?

    Firstly, we must commend the leadership of the Nigerian Army, under the leadership of General Buratai, for the innovations, and reinvigoration of the Military operations in the North East. The successful conduct of the Small Arms Championship by the Nigerian Army in Sambisa forest, is a testimony of the perseverance, resilience, and patriotism of the Nigerian Army, in protecting the territorial integrity, of Nigeria, such that no part of our land, will be occupied by these dissidents and notorious elements. This competition itself has showcased the armory, the manpower, expertise and professionalism of the Nigerian Army. This has also laid credence, to the popular saying, that the Nigerian Army, is the pride of the Black race.

    The Nigerian Army has been accused by the Amnesty International of violation of right. what is your take on the conduct of the Nigerian Army, as regards respect for human rights, during their operations?

    As you can see, a lot of patriot and Nationalists, have factually faulted the clearly sentimental report of Amnesty International, against the Nigerian Army. While one may sympathize with a lot of those groups, we must sincerely acknowledge that the Nigerian Army under the current leadership has taken the issues of human rights, civil engagement and discipline of errant officers as a priority. We are all witnesses, to how the Army has in recent times, dealt decisively with her men that have been reported to have molested or abuse, the right of citizens, in various parts of the country. This is unprecedented and I strongly believe that as Nigerians, we must acknowledge this and commend the courage and forthrightness of the Nigerian Army leadership.

    There are insinuations in some quarters that the Army authorities was behind the picketing of the Abuja Office of the Amnesty International….

    As someone, who is actively involved in the Civil Society struggles and as a keen follower of the activities of the Nigerian Military, particularly the Army, I will say, that it is unfair and inaccurate to subscribe, to the devious notion, that the leadership of the Nigerian Army, will stoop so low, to sponsor protests, against an organization like Amnesty International. Let me remind you, that when there was a controversy arising from certain misrepresentation of the character of the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, by an online magazine, He and the Army, did not resort to self-help. The current Army leadership from our observation as a group believes so must in constructive engagements and democratic approach to issues, rather than getting involved in such charades, as witnessed in the picketing of the Abuja Office of Amnesty International Nigeria, by those protesters. Anyway, I will want us to see this, as part of the scripts, by those elements, who are desperately out, to discredit the Nigerian Army and its Leadership.

    With the renewed threat of attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents, what do you think the government needs to do to curtail this?

    I beg to differ a little from your assumption that there are renewed attacks by the Boko Haram elements. What we are witnessing, as it can be observed globally wherever that are incidences of insurgency, are cased of isolated attacks, which is a major sign of the last hours desperations of a defeated group, such as Boko Haram. My opinion is that it requires our collective effort as Nigerians, to join hands with the various security agencies, in order to expose and route out the remnants of the Boko Haram and their collaborators, from our various communities, particularly in the North East.

    How in your opinion, can the populace, collaborate with the Nigerian Army and other security agencies, to minimise the activities of Boko Haram, and other separatist organizations,  currently operating in the country?

    Trust is the key issues here. We as the people of Nigeria, must trust the Nigerian Army, and other security agencies, with useful and sensitive information, that can assist in their operations. We must also shun all forms of negative news, that can be of distraction to the Nigerian Army and its leadership. Most importantly, we must always appreciate and salute the gallantry of our men that have abandoned the comfort of their homes, in order for us as Nigerians to have a peaceful and united society. Also, the media, should see themselves as equal partners in nation building, rather than dwelling on issues, that can distract the focus of our security agencies.

    A lot is being achieved and I can attest to this, from the point of our last visit to Maiduguri, it is our hope that the federal government will further empower the Military to ensure that this victory is not only sustained, but that we can also return our country completely to what it was before the insurgency era.

  • Anti-graft war: Reps seek 20-year jail term for looters

    Anti-graft war: Reps seek 20-year jail term for looters

    Despite Senate’s  insistent rejection of the nomination of Ibrahim Magu as the substantive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) last week, the House of Representatives is seeking to make the agency financially and operationally independent of the executive and legislative arms of government.

    The bill seeking to further empower the anti-graft scaled second reading with unanimous support despite a few dissenting voices to a proposal for a special court devoted to the trial of financial and other related crimes. According to two of the four sponsors of the consolidated  bill, Kayode Oladele (APC, Ogun) and  Bassey Ewa (PDP, Cross River), if passed into law, neither the Executive nor the Legislature can turn the anti-graft agency into its tool. Oladele said: “The bill is seeking to expand the scope of those that can head the agency. The extant law restricted it to only former or serving security personnel but we want a situation whereby people of character can be sourced from non-security sector; we don’t want the door to be shut on the rest of brilliant Nigerians with impeccable character. The independence of the agency can only be guaranteed if it is placed on first line charge. If that is done, the agency will no longer have to make do with whatever it was given to it by the Budget office, which may not be enough for its financial activities”. Oladele added that the creation of Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) domiciled in EFCC but independent would go a long way in tackling corruption in the country. “It would enable Nigeria access the international data of the Egmont Group in tackling complex corruption cases with international dimension,” he said.

    On his part, Ewa said the bill is seeking a 20-year minimum jail term for public servants, who corruptly enriched themselves while in office as well as the creation of EFCC court, designed to try corrupt officials to avoid undue delays.

    In his comparative analysis of other countries that have passed through similar circumstances, Ewa said Ghana prescribes 15 years with hard labour, Republic of Cameroun had 20 years imprisonment, and India has 20 years imprisonment while Egypt has 20 years imprisonment.

    On funding of the agency, Ewa said the bill seeks to delete Section 35 of the Act to be replaced with 0.1percent of the total value of contracts awarded by the Federal Government shall be credited to the commission’s account; 0.1percent of the Internally Generated Revenue of the Federal Government shall be credited to the commission’s account; and 0.1percent of the sums of money recovered from the looted funds shall be retained by the commission.

    “The EFCC Act is further amended to establish an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Court to handle all cases emanating from investigations carried out by the EFCC bothering on financial crimes. The court, so established, shall have divisions in the six geo-political zones of the country. The court shall within 180 days dispense with any matter that is properly brought before it as appeals emanating from it shall only lie to the Court of Appeal and the Court of Appeal shall within 90 days dispense with any matter brought before it from the judgment of EFCC Court,” he added.

    While Oladele cautioned his colleagues on the establishment of the EFCC court, a number of his colleagues vehemently opposed it. Oladele opined that the scope of the EFCC court would be too limited which was why he was proposing an all – encompassing Special Court Bill that would take care of variety of financial, terrorism and other related crimes. “There is need for us to bring all the special crimes such as cybercrime, terrorism, financial crimes together into one so that the special court can be fully operational”.

    While he supported operational autonomy for the agency, Oladele however called for caution over funding of the agency, saying if passed into law as proposed; the funding sources might turn out to be over-pampering of the agency. Tajudeen Yusuf (PDP, Kogi) who also supported the EFCC court, said it has become necessary to free the agency from its dependence on the Executive. He however faulted the proposed funding of the agency saying it was too huge.

    However, antagonists of the EFCC got a boost when Speaker Yakubu Dogara pointed out that the position of the constitution should be considered on the feasibility of the EFCC against High courts. While Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta) aligned with the Speaker, saying there was a need to examine the position of the constitution, Igariwey  Enwo (PDP, Ebonyi) said, “Mine is only a voice of caution because it is easy to give out powers but very difficult to take it back as this special court may have to serve as subordinate court to the state high courts”. Mohammed Soba (APC, Kaduna) and a number of others said the EFCC court is unnecessary. According to them, the constitution has already empowered the High Court to carry out the proposed duties for the EFCC court. They opined that being a constitutional issue, an amendment of the constitution must be carried out. They said if passed into law, the powers of the High Court would be usurped. They also felt that the creation of the court would also give too much power to the anti-corruption agency.

    But when the bill was put to voice vote, it got the support of the majority of the lawmakers.

  • Obiano, Okorocha in ego war

    Obiano, Okorocha in ego war

    Correspondent OKODILI NDIDI examines the face-off between Anambra State Governor Willy Obiano and his Imo State counterpart, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, and its implications for the Southeast integration

    In the last few weeks, the public was inundated with a bitter press war between Governors Okorocha of Imo State and Willie Obiano of Anambra State.

    The two governors stopped at nothing to drive home their anger and animosity against one other, while the national dailies buzzed with headlines to capture the heat of the moment.

    What started like a mere exchange of unpleasant words between the governors escalated to a full blown media war that threatened the economic and social relationship between the two states.

    The governors did not hide the fact that there was no love lost between them as they freely used all manner of unprintable words to undermine one other, without minding the reaction of the public.

    The battle started after a stakeholders meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held in Owerri, where Okorocha disclosed to his audience that three governors in the Southeast were ready to defect to the APC.

    The Anambra Governor, in reaction to Okorocha’s claim, described him “as everything a leader should not be”.

    This drew the anger of the Imo State governor, who responded with equal bile and taunted Obiano as “an aggressive individual and a drunkard, who should have done better as a militant than a governor”.

    The exchange of uncomplimentary words continued until the Anambra governor announced his tactical withdrawal by describing the scenario as a “politically motivated distraction”.

    Before then, Obiano was asked to make public his achievements in office by Governor Okorocha as a yardstick to measure who is a better leader between the two Governors.

    But, beneath this sudden outburst of anger, lie a deep-seated cold war between the two governors. Obiano has reportedly snubbed the Imo governor as the oldest serving governor in the zone.

    He has tactically avoided all meetings of the Southeast Governors convened in Imo State or any other state.

    It was gathered that his animosity against the Imo governor, started immediately after his election because of Okorocha’s support for Senator Chris Ngige, who was the APC governorship candidate.

    Okorocha, during the election in 2013, mobilized both physical and financial support for the APC candidate against Obiano, who is of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    Since then, the relationship between the two governors has been far from cordial and it has continued to nosedive. In 2015, during Okorocha’s re-election, Obiano, who vowed to stop him in retaliation of his support for Ngige during his only election, also mobilized huge funds for the APGA candidate to challenge Okorocha’s re-election.

    Another reason adduced for the faceoff was Okorocha’s defection from the APGA, the platform with which he came to office to the APC, which was fiercely criticised by Obiano who saw the action as a betrayal of the Igbo party and identity.

    And most recently, the two Governors fell further apart after Okorocha vowed that the APC will sack Obiano in the 2017 governorship election.

    Obiano has distanced himself from all efforts by the Imo Governor to bring the Southeast governors to forge a common front.

    The press war maybe beyond mere exchange of unpleasant words. What played out between the two Governors maybe a campaign chip of the APC, judging by the damage it may have done to the psyche of the Obiano camp.

    The most damaging and calculating blow released by the Imo Governor against Obiano, was his demand that he should publish his achievements.

    In Anambra state, different socio-political groups have re-echoed the demand that Obiano who has been accused of non-performance should list his achievements in the last four years.

    Having apparently woken up to the ploy, Obiano quickly called off the war to concentrate on the campaign for his re-election slated for November this year.

    Observers are of the opinion that there was more to the war of words between the two Governors than meet the eyes. Some are of the opinion that it was externally motivated to clip the growing political sagacity of the Imo Governor and also to undermine any effort to unite the Southeast Governors.

    The faceoff, according to observers, will have a far reaching effect on the Igbo question. For instance, while the battle lasted, the governors were supported by their people, creating a situation of mutual distrust and acrimony between indigenes of Imo and Anambra states.

    Igbo leaders and other stakeholders also feared that it would further polarise all Igbo groups that were beginning to come together under the new leadership of the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohaneze Ndigbo.

    To this end, many pan Igbo groups including the Igbo Youth Council (IYC), the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), among others, quickly condemned the situation and called for a truce.

  • LOOMING WAR AVERTED

    Itaji-Ekiti and Ayede-Ekiti are two neighbouring communities in Oye Local Government Area of  Ekiti State that had coexisted and intermarried for centuries but now they are sworn enemies. They are battling for the ownership of a farm settlement in Orisunmibare located between them and the battle has claimed  lives. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports.

    A communal war is looming on the northern fringe of Ekiti State. The tension is between Ayede-Ekiti and Itaji-Ekiti located in Oye Local Government Area and the people of the two communities are now at daggers drawn over ownership of a farm settlement.

    The two communities are battling for Orisunmibare, a farm settlement located between them. Their people are using all manners of weapons against one another and by the time the smoke cleared, at least two persons have been killed.

    While one was shot dead, the other was beheaded and his limbs cut off in a most savage manner one can think of. The killings have triggered fear among the locals and the other communities located along that axis.

    Residents are afraid that if the crisis is not nipped in the bud in good time, it may snowball into an internecine war like the one between Ife and Modakeke in Osun State and Aguleri and Umuleri in Anambra State.

    The stand-off has turned the two brother monarchs into adversaries. Mutual distrust and suspicion now reign between them. Travellers on the major road that passes through the communities are gripped with fear of the possibility of being caught in a crossfire between the gladiators.

    The battle has turned wives to widows, some children have now become fatherless and only God knows what may happen next. The presence of riot police in the disputed area has restored a temporary peace but the people know that it is a peace of the graveyard.

    The crisis reached the peak on January 31 when an Ayede indigene, Seyi Oladipupo, was killed during a protest by Ayede people kicking against an alleged encroachment by Itaji people.

    The protesters trekked to the palace of Onitaji of Itaji-Ekiti, Oba Adamo Idowu Babalola, immediate past Chairman of Ekiti Council of Obas, chanting war songs and alleging that the monarch sent the Asiwaju of Orisunmibare, Chief Segun Akanbi, to kill one of their own.

    Tension between the two communities is palpable and thick, to the extent that it can almost be sliced with a knife. A detachment of policemen were seen guarding the Onitaji’s palace, which is barely two kilometres to Ayede town.

    Oladipupo was allegedly shot on Egan farmland, a land which has been a subject of three-year dispute between Itaji and Ayede communities. He had led a team of youths assigned by the Attah of Ayede, Oba Mumuni Adebayo Orisagbemi, on the morning of January 31, to remove some poles allegedly erected on their land by the people of Itaji.

     

    Ayede youth leader: we know Oladipupo’s killer

    According to  a youth leader in Ayede, Segun Ajayi, the Attah had sent the team of youths to remove the poles as they indicated an encroachment on their own land by the people of Itaji. He claimed that the chief, who shot Seyi, allegedly now at large, had invaded them on Egan land while after they had removed the poles.

    Ajayi said: ” Seyi and I usually lead others to the land when issues like that arise. We had been told to find out about the land five days earlier. We were not sent to fight anybody but were instructed to removed some poles the people of Itaji had erected on our portion of the land.

    “We were not also armed. We got to the place and removed the poles encroaching on our portion of the land as we were instructed. It was then some boys came around and they were escorted by policemen. Those were the people who had used the poles to encroach on our land. So we were deliberating on how we would all come to our monarch to resolve the issues and how the police would escort us to the town.

    “That was when a chief of Orisumbare came, armed. I was the first to tackle him; I reminded him that the land in dispute was between Ayede and Itaji and does not concern him who is from Orisumbare town.

    “He replied me by saying that I should keep shut and that he was on his land which was given him by the monarch of Itaji, Oba Adamo Babalola. Then I asked him which of the Onitaji, the one dead or the one alive? He said I should keep shut and leave the place or he would shoot me.

    “Then I left him and the elders among us were discussing on how the matter could be resolved. It was then we heard the gunshot that came from the chief which he had fired at Seyi. We wouldn’t know whether he had anything against Seyi before. We then had to overpower him and disarm him so that he would not shoot any other person.

    “The policemen ran off when he fired the shot. But we ensured that he was disarmed and got the gun from him. We have given the gun to the police. Right now, we don’t know where he is because he ran away when we disarmed him. He boasted that he has about 10,000 of the guns”, Ajayi said.

     

    Attah of Ayede: go to court and prove if the land belongs to you

    Confirming that he sent the youths for the assignment, the Attah of Ayede, Oba Orisagbemi, expressed his displeasure at the development. He wondered why anyone would shoot another dead over a land dispute that could be resolved in court.

    Oba Orisagbemi said: “The land in dispute is a land where our forefathers have been farming. The people of Itaji are claiming that their forefathers gave the land to our own forefathers. But the issue is that even if it is true that our forefathers were given the land by their forefathers, would they have to claim the land with violence?

    “The right thing to do is to go to court and show evidence that the land in question belongs to you. Our forefathers have been farming on that land for ages. I want to say that Ayede people have a right to live and they have to survive. Towns and villages surrounding us are claiming they own our land; so where do they want us to be?

    “So, on this matter, we want justice to be done. The man said to have killed our man must not be allowed to go scot free. He must be made to face the full wrath of the law. We have given the police all the necessary evidence, which shows that it was the man who shot the deceased dead.”

    Oba Orisagbemi, who revealed that there had been over three years’ dispute between his town and Itaji over the said land, appealed to his people to be calm, saying: “Last year, I wrote a petition to the then state Commissioner of Police, informing them that we have some dangerous people encroaching on our land.

    “Incidentally, this man who shot our own man dead was among the people whose names I mentioned in that petition. I urge our people to be calm now and wait for justice to be done and I assured them we will get justice for Seyi.

    “We appeal to the government to kindly give employment to the wife of the deceased, although we are making effort to get something for the welfare of the children but it would be better if the wife is employed.”

    But the Onitaji, Oba Adamo Idowu Babalola, accused the people of Ayede of being the brains behind the attacks on his subjects. Babalola accused the people of Ayede of trailing an Orisunmibare farmer to his farm and beheading him.

    Unknown persons were said to have trailed a farmer from Orisunmibare to his farm where he was beheaded and his hands cut off.

    His assailants were said to have inflicted several machete cuts on him before cutting off his head and hands, after which they made away with severed head. The development has heightened tension in Ayede, Itaji and Orisunmibare, with some residents said to be relocating to other communities they consider safer.

    The exodus was triggered by the fear of a possible outbreak of communal war between Ayede and Itaji battling for ownership of Orisunmibare.

    The Onitaji, Oba Adamo Idowu Babalola, claimed that the perpetrators of the attack are from Ayede, who are now launching sporadic attacks on Orisunmibare in a bid to take over the land. Oba Babalola, who is the immediate past Chairman of Ekiti Council of Obas, maintained that Orisunmibare is a settlement under Itaji, wondering why Ayede people want to claim the land “by all means.”

    The monarch said: “Orisunmibare is a settlement under Itaji and is more than 10 kilometers from Ayede; Ayede people just went there one morning on the rampage and the scuffle led to the death of somebody from Ayede.  But, an Orisunmibare subject was killed inside his farm and he was beheaded. The Asiwaju of Orisunmibare was macheted and beaten to coma and was declared dead by Ayede youths.

    “The Ayede people were singing that they had killed Asiwaju Orisunmibare but he has been taken to the hospital where he is still under observation. We have been experiencing sporadic attacks from Ayede people and they have been threatening our peace since then. The police have been trying to maintain peace but we are disturbed by sporadic attacks, especially the ones carried out on the farm. Orisunmibare has been there for many years and the land is under Itaji.”

     

    Onitaji: I never gave my subjects gun to kill anybody

    Oba Babalola denied the allegation from Ajayi that he gave guns to the Asiwaju of Orisunmibare to kill anybody, describing the allegation as wicked, malicious, unfounded  and totally false.

    The Onitaji said he has his name and throne to protect and he had used his position to promote peaceful coexistence and had never been involved in any criminal activity in his life. Oba Babalola explained: “It is totally false, wicked and uncharitable for anybody to say that I gave guns to somebody to kill human beings for any reason. The allegation is wicked, malicious, unfounded and totally false.

    “I am a first class traditional ruler and by the grace of God had the privilege of being chairman of Ekiti State Council of Obas. We are promoting peace and we use our position to reconcile people.

    “I have been appealing to my subjects to be peaceful because there is nothing we can gain from war. How will somebody sit down in one corner and be fabricating lies? In a period like this, people will be saying all manner of things and anyone with evidence is free to bring it out.

    “So I want the press and the general public to ignore the allegation; the Itaji people are ready for peace and we will not do anything to undermine peace.”

    The Onitaji said further: “People might say whatever they feel to implicate their fellow human beings. I am quite sure Obas (monarchs) don’t tell lies; when we see any Oba telling lies, then that Oba must be a crook.

    “I have signed an undertaking with the law enforcement agents that if I have any weapon that is fully licensed, it will never be out of my own hand. I will not give it to anybody and I still maintain this. I did not give anything to anybody.  A lot of ‘Boko Haram’ attacks were organised by the Ayede people. What happened is a ‘Boko Haram’ attack.

    “If there is going to be a war, we should know on both sides that we are preparing for war. When I don’t know that they were going to fight, why would I give anybody anything? If you go and meet somebody at his home, you have over 50 people coming to meet somebody at home. It is the Ayede people who know what they are up to.

    “What I know is that the people of Itaji have no boundary with Ayede and Onitaji owns every bit of the land where the dispute occurred, which is called Egan farmland.

    “Even the Ayede people know that it is my predecessors who allowed them to settle where they are and there is a court judgment on this. I think when we continue dragging this issue, facts would be out on this matter.

    “However, it is very unfortunate that someone has to die on this matter. Our communities have coexisted for years and there have been no clashes like this. Even when there was a dispute, we went to court and the court judgment is in the archives. But I don’t know whether this is a new style of governance. Let me reserve my comment but we could avoid killing people; we could avoid unrest and every community should do this. We are to nourish our people and not to kill them.”

     

    Attah decries arrests of subjects

    The Attah, Oba  Orisagbemi, has condemned he alleged mass arrests of his subjects by the Police over the land dispute with Itaji. The monarch called on the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to save him from suspected hoodlums threatening to either kill him or frame him up on the communal crisis.

    He accused the people of Itaji of instigating the police to arrest his subjects, revealing that at least seven Ayede people have been arrested and detained at the state Police Headquarters in Ado-Ekiti

    Oba Orisagbemi disclosed that an Ayede chief, Kayode Adetifa, and other detainees were arrested at about 1.00 am and whisked away in the presence of their family members, adding that the arrests had thrown the community into panic.

    He said: “It marvels me that the police could be arresting my subjects over the death of a farmer at Orisunmibare, even when they knew that one Asiwaju of Orisunmibare actually shot Popoola in their presence. The police gleefully arrested my people for being allegedly responsible while they failed to arrest anybody in connection with Popoola’s death, who was shot in the presence of the police at Egan. In fact, one of those arrested is an imbecile.

    “The whole Oye local government knew that Egan belonged to Ayede-Ekiti and the Itaji must prove that they ceded the land to us in 1845 through proper documents.

    “I want to appeal to the IGP to save me from embarrassment because my town in under siege. Seven persons have been arrested and detained even when the police knew who carried weapons to Egan when the crisis started.

    “Ayede did not go to Orisunmibare; Ayede people are not killers. Some people have been threatening that they will kill me and remove me as an Oba. I have told Ayede people not to make any trouble because we will not gain anything from war. Orisunmibare to our town is over five kilometers. After this incident, someone was beheaded in Omu. Were my people responsible for that as well? Were Ayede people in dispute with Omu? These and many more are what the IGP should consider in this matter”, he said.

    The monarch lamented that the two towns had cohabited peacefully for several years, saying the crisis is straining his relationship with the Onitaji, which he described as very unfortunate.

     

    Wife: we are feeling the pain of my husband’s murder

    But the family of the slain Oladipupo are feeling the pain of the killing of their breadwinner, who was sent to his early grave in the heat of the land dispute. His widow, Mrs. Folake Oladipupo, 35, said that the alleged killer of her husband has thrown the deceased’s family into a terrible tragedy by dispatching him into early grave.

    A tearful Mrs. Oladipupo said her husband’s killing has now left her with the Herculean task of catering to the needs of four children he left behind, calling on the state government to assist her in the task.

    Mrs. Oladipupo explained: “I was at the sawmill doing my petty trading, buying and reselling some firewoods when the director of the sawmill suddenly drove down to the sawmill that day and asked one Hausa Okada man to take me home, saying there seems to be some trouble in Ayede.

    “I asked him what happened and he said again that there was trouble in Ayede. So I went with the Hausa man but while we were near the general hospital in Ayede, my husband’s elder sister called to inform me that my husband was wounded with a gunshot and had been rushed to the general hospital.

    “So I headed straight to the hospital and when I got there I became very anxious when I saw many people there and demanded to see him but the nurses there said he wasn’t in a condition that I could see him. A nurse actually felt concerned with the way I was behaving at the hospital and she took me behind the doors to see him. He was shot below his groin and had lost a lot of blood.

    “We have four children; our first born is about 15 now and in the secondary school. The last is just about two years old. My husband has been singlehandedly taking care of all of us because I do not have a job.

    “I have a school certificate and also completed a Grade II teaching programme but because I haven’t got a job, I have been fetching firewoods at the sawmill to sell. I am only making very little doing that and that was why all the family responsibility was shouldered by my now late husband.

    “Now that the whole responsibility of taking care of the four children has become mine, I need urgent help from the government and other well-meaning people so I can take care of these children. I also want the government to ensure that my late husband gets justice. This is an unjust killing and the government should ensure he gets justice so that his soul can rest perfectly.”

     

    I had premonition of his death -Widow

    Mrs. Oladipupo said she had a  premonition that something bad would happen to her husband that day and tried to dissuade him from going out but all to no avail.

    She said: “That morning before my husband went out, I had asked him if he would eat pounded yam and he agreed. I told him I didn’t feel like eating pounded yam and he gave me money for my breakfast. I had prepared our children and they had gone to school.

    “While I was peeling the yam, he told me that he was searching for something on our wardrobe and also informed me that the community had sent them on an errand. He didn’t tell me the details of the errand.

    “He appeared to be in a hurry and was rushing to get what he was looking for. But the moment he told me that the community had sent them on an errand, I became very disturbed and something within me told me to dissuade him from going and I called him by his daughter’s name, saying Baba Deola, please don’t go to the place. My heart says you shouldn’t go. But he didn’t say anything. So I continued peeling the yam.

    “After a while, I heard him kick-start the engine of his motorbike and he was gone. I still felt that premonition about where he was going and I prayed for him. I eventually prepared the pounded yam for him and set the table so that he could eat when he returned but I never knew that would be the last I would see him.”

     

    Grieving father demands justice for slain son

    But Oladipupo’s father, Pa Babatunde Oladipo, who wept profusely while speaking with our reporter, called on the government to do justice to the family by fishing out the killer of his son and punishing the culprit.

    He said: “Please reporter, tell government to punish the killer of my firstborn and only one who has been taking care of me since I lost my wife.”

     

    Oladipupo’s aunt wants govt to employ widow

    According to the deceased’s aunt, Mrs. Comfort Abejide, said frantic efforts to save the deceased by rushing him to the Federal Medical Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, failed because she could not reach other relatives on time.

    Mrs. Abejide said:  “Seyi didn’t have time for any idleness and was always facing his work. He was the firstborn of his father.

    “And it took a lot of time after their marriage before his parents gave birth to him. His aged father, Pa Babatunde Oladipupo, is still in shock about his death. The octogenarian is still finding it difficult to believe he has lost Seyi, his firstborn.

    “Seyi was the only one taking care of his aged father as he and his family have been living with the aged father. We plead with the government to kindly get a job for his widow so that she could take care of their young children.”

     

    Deceased’s son says ambition to become army officer threatened by father’s death

    The first son of the deceased, Master Oladipupo Seyitan, who is in JSS 2 at Ayede Grammar School, recalled that his father had vowed to assist him become a soldier in future by sponsoring his education to that effect. Seyitan said: “Now that he has been killed, I don’t know who will help me become a soldier in future.”

     

    Govt raises panel to prevent war

    In a bid to prevent an outbreak of war, Ekiti State government has raised an eight- man panel of inquiry to probe the recent bloody clash over the disputed parcel of land between the two communities. The panel is headed by one of the prominent traditional rulers in the state,  the Oluyin of Iyin Ekiti, Oba Ademola Ajakaye.

    The panel’s chairman was the pioneer Chief Judge of Ekiti State and one-time  Administrator of the National Judicial Institute before becoming a king.

    According to the state Deputy Governor, Dr Kolapo Olusola, who stood in for the governor, Mr Ayo Fayose, at the inauguration, the panel is to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the crisis.

    The panel is also to identify perpetrators of the bloody encounters and bring them to book. It is also part of the panel’s responsibilities to proffer solutions to the crisis

  • `No war’, Gambian Army Chief pledges

    Gambia’s Chief of Defence, Ousman Badgie, on Friday said there “is not going to be any war or any fighting’’ as talks to convince Yahya Jammeh to cease power continues.

    The Gambian Army Chief assured that the West African leaders would continue to make a final attempt to convince Yahya Jammeh to cease power.

    “It’s a political misunderstanding; it is going to be solved politically, not militarily.

    “Security is guaranteed 100 per cent,’’ the army chief adds, inviting thousands of Gambians who fled their country in fear of violence to return.

    “West African troops that crossed from neighbouring Senegal into Gambia to help unseat Jammeh would be welcomed “with a cup of tea,’’ said Badgie. (dpa/NAN)