Again, gunmen attack another school in Kaduna

 

The Kaduna State Government has said that bandits stormed Government Science Secondary School, Ikara, Ikara Local Government Area, in an attempt to kidnap students, but the students utilized the security warning system in place, and were thus able to alert security forces.

The State Commissioner, Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, while briefing newsmen on Sunday on the security update of the state explained that, “Between the late hours of Saturday night and the early hours of today, suspected bandits stormed the Government Science Secondary School, Ikara, Ikara Local Government Area, in an attempt to kidnap the students.

“Fortunately, the students utilized the security warning system in place, and were thus able to alert security forces in the area. The security forces comprising the troops of the Nigerian Army, Police and some security volunteers moved swiftly to the school and engaged the bandits, forcing them to flee.”

 

He stated that the military and the police were still on the trail of the armed bandits.

He explained that following a head count by the school management, the Kaduna State Government confirmed that all 307 students have been verified safe and present, stressing that the attempted kidnap was foiled completely and no student was taken from the school.

Samuel Aruwan further explained that similarly, around Ifira village in Igabi Local Government Area, bandits attempted to attack a senior staff quarters around the Kaduna Airport general area.

He noted that the attempt was also foiled as troops of the Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian Army engaged and repelled them, with several of them escaping with gunshot wounds.

 According to him, the Kaduna State Government acknowledges the efforts of the security agencies in the recent rescue of 180 students in the vicinity of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, pointing out that these efforts have being mentioned in interviews given by some of the rescued students.

Dokubo dares Nigeria, declares Biafra government

 

The agitation for a Biafra State has taken another dimension with a new proclamation by ex-militant leader, Asari Dokubo.

The former warlord dared the federal government to constitute a Biafran government.

Dokubo, on Sunday, declared himself the leader of the new Biafra defacto Customary Government (BCG), The Sun reports

Uche Mefor, Head of Information and Communication of the customary government, announced that George Onyibe will be the Secretary, while Emeka Esiri will be in charge of the legal matters.

Mefor, in a statement, blamed injustice and marginalisation on the Igbos found in various zones of the country as the reason for the new government.

Dokubo assured that the defacto administration will tackle insecurity challenges faced by the Igbos and improve the lives of the people of the region.

The former warlord said the BCG decided to take its destiny in its hands and bring freedom to children and generations of Biafrans yet unborn.

Dokubo said he hesitated a little, “but I thank God that it’s time for us to do our duty and our service to the motherland, I have accepted this role. I have dedicated my life a hundred percent to play this role”.

“I want to call on our brother, George Onyibe to come on board to join as the secretary of the defacto customary government of the State of Biafra. He will take care of the administrative, day to day administration of the Biafra State. I also call on our brother Emeka Emeka Esiri to take care of the legal needs of this nascent government.

“My brothers and sisters, the four of us will kick start the process, others will come on board. We want volunteers who are committed, we want volunteers because there is nothing anymore. We are the people who have volunteered to salvage ourselves and the rest of us.

“I also call on Biafrans in the various province of the Biafra nations in Aba, Abakiliki, Anang, Awka, Calabar, Degema, Eket, Enough, Nsukka, Ogoja, Oji River, Okigwe, Onitsha, Opobo, Orlu, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Umuahia, Uyo and Yenegoa province.

“We are going to proceed to set up provincial structures of government starting with provincial assemblies and provincial governance and administrators. Let nobody be mistaking that Biafra will be worse than Nigeria.”.

Dokubo listed the areas the government will concentrate on. He cited securing the lives and properties as the most important.

He assured of investment in science and technology “to increase the scientific and technological discoveries, fabrications and making life easier for people through science and technology.”

Dokubo also mentioned education and agriculture as key areas of focus. He condemned the stoppage of food transportation to the South.

“You are all aware of the recent plot where they decided to stop food from the north. They failed woefully, they will continue to fail. The Government of Biafra States will look to make sure that we only eat what we can produce.

“Nobody can stop us. Nobody can blockade us as they did in the first war. We’re not going to fight any war with anybody, we’re walking to freedom. We will not shoot any gun with them, they will prepare their weapon but they will have nobody to kill with their weapon,” he added.

 

Anambra community youths protest alleged criminal activities, kidnapping by herdsmen

 

Youths of Anaku in Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra State have protested the activities of Fulani herdsmen in the area, saying the herders were responsible for a series of kidnappings along the Adani-Kogi highway, in the community.

A source among the protesting youths said they came out in their numbers on the federal highway in the community at the weekend to protest the latest incident of kidnapping, which involved an undisclosed number of persons on Friday.

The source said, “The youths of the area expressed sadness over the recent incident and promised not to rest until the kidnapped persons were released.

“The security agents in the area led by DPO of Anaku Divisional Police in Ayamelum LGA, CSP Chukwunonso was also there. He addressed the youths, promising not to rest until the situation is brought under control. He also advised the community to maintain calm and continue with their lawful activities as the issue is being taken care of.”

The protest it was gathered also attracted the attention of the Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Uche Victor Okafor, who addressed the youths, condemning the current spate of kidnapping along the road.

Our source said, “You may be here in Awka, without knowing the high level of kidnapping by Fulani herdsmen, happening in the hinterlands in Anambra State. The current kidnapping took place on 12/ 3/ 2021.

“This infuriated some youths, and they (youths of Anaku) and the vigilante group members and other security agents had to team up to go into the forest in search of those who were kidnapped and to secure the area to avoid such activities again. It is very disheartening,” He said.

When  reached out to the Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Police Command, CSP Haruna Mohammed for comments on the protest, calls to his cell phone rang without a response.

D’Banj, former manager, Bankuli reconcile

 

 

Nigerian musician, Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, popularly known as ‘D’Banj’ and his former manager, Bankuli have reconciled.

D’Banj’s and Bankuli who was his manager back in the Mo’hits era had gone public with their long standing beef in 2019.

The relationship between the duo went sour when the Kanye West ‘Good Music’ deal came through.

However, Bankuli in a video with the singer shared via Instagram on Saturday revealed that they have finally set their differences aside.

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, to which indeed we are all one. Peace and love over everything. Osinawata Buruogaraya 1,” he wrote.

Recall that Dbanj had recently been accused by a lady of raping her in a hotel.

Ohanaeze youths’ faction rejects zoning of 2023 presidency to only Southeast Igbos

 

A faction of the Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), has rejected calls to restrict the 2023 presidential ambition to only Igbos within the enclave of the Southeast geopolitical zone.

The group says any person from Abia, Rivers and Akwa Ibom has equal rights to vie for the president of Nigeria in 2023, as many communities in the Southern states are still Igbos.

The OYC faction made this known in a statement signed by its President, Igboayaka O. Igboayaka and made available to on Sunday.

The group noted that it was the turn of Ndigbo to aspire to become president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, stressing that those talking about limiting the collective aspiration of Ndigbo to only include the Southeast lacks the common sense of history and are agents of divide and rule against Igbo unity.

It said a new generation of Igbo youths discovered that the artificial creation of states and geopolitical zones in Nigeria has caused greater harm than good to the Igbo race and the unity they desire.

The Igbo youth organization noted that states and geo-political zone creations are concepts of balkanization of the Igbo nation, adding that Igbos were originally occupying 13 states in the South-South, Southeast and North Central Nigeria.

OYC decried the harm of state creation against Ndigbo, recalling that in 1976, state creation divided Ndoki people into three wherein two communities was ceded to Rivers state and one to Abia state while another community was ceded to Akwa Ibom.

“Today, the culture and brotherhood of great Ndoki clan have been balkanized, but Ohanaeze Youth Council will not stand by and let this conspiracy continue. We must earnestly unify the Igbo race for economic and political advancement. Therefore, any person from Abia, Rivers and Akwa Ibom has equal rights to vie for the president of Nigeria in 2023”.

The Igbo group revealed that Umuine Igbodo in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State and Umuezeala, Ngor Okpala in Imo State are of the same ancestral fathers, but today Umuine Igbodo is located in South-South while Ngor Okpala is in Southeast.

It maintained that Igbos in the South-South, Southeast and North Central will have the support of the Ohanaeze Youth Council(OYC) to vie for Nigeria’s Presidency in 2023.

“All the communities of Igbo Land, Abia, Anambra, Awka Ibom, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Enugu, Edo, Delta, Cross River, Kogi, Imo, Rivers and Benue are qualified for Nigerias’ President of Igbo extraction in 2023,” it added.

OYC appealed to all patriotic and progressive Igbo men and women with a sense of history to embrace Igbo unification to actualize Nigeria’s president of Igbo extraction come 2023, by adopting the Igbo concept of “Igwe Bu Ike” and “Onye Aghala Nwanne Ya”.

‘Missing arms funds’: APC not like PDP – Buhari’s aide, Shehu

 

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, on Friday, stated that no funds released for arms were mismanaged by former military chiefs.

Retired Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno, the National Security Adviser, had raised the allegation of missing money.

But the presidency boasted that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is not the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Buhari probed arms procurement after he assumed office in 2015.

In January 2021, he finally removed ex-Chiefs of Defence, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Army – Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Navy – Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Air – Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

They were replaced by General Leo Irabor – Chief of Defence Staff; Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru – Chief of Army Staff; Read Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo – Chief of Naval Staff; and Air Marshal Isiaka Amao – Chief of Air Staff.

In an interview with BBC Hausa service programme, Monguno while speaking on banditry and insurgency, said the new Service Chiefs confirmed they could not find anything with regards to the arms purchased.

The NSA stated that Buhari approved enough resources for tackling insecurity but some of the setbacks could be blamed on the former military heads.

“The President has done his utmost best by releasing huge funds for procurement of arms but they were not purchased. We couldn’t see anything on the ground. Now the President has brought in new hands who may have a different approach.

“I am not saying the former Service Chiefs embezzled the arms money, but it is a fact that money budgeted for that purpose has been misappropriated and no one can account for it,” he said.

When asked if the misappropriation has been probed, Monguno confirmed there will be an investigation.

“The President will surely investigate it. As I am talking to you, even the governors in their (Governors’) Forum have started complaining that billions of dollars have been allocated for security yet nothing on the ground. I can assure you that the President will not take this lightly.

“Investigations will reveal the facts of the matter, but it is certain that the money has been misappropriated. They cannot be accounted for. The new service chiefs have confirmed that they haven’t seen anything on ground to justify the allocated funds. Nothing is on the ground as I am speaking to you now.”

But despite audio of the interview, Monguno, in a u-turn, said he was quoted out of context.

Reacting, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, said funds cannot miss under Buhari.

He said about $1billion, taken from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) with the consent of Governors and used for military procurements, was judiciously spent.

Shehu insisted the NSA’s comments were “misconstrued and mistranslated”.

“NSA made two critical points. One is that we don’t have enough weapons which is a statement of facts; and two procurements made have not been fully delivered.”

“At no point did the NSA say that money has been misappropriated and that no arms is seen. They have not been delivered, that is correct; these are things you don’t get off the shelves,” Shehu noted.

“People are just been political, they want to draw moral equivalent between the PDP and the APC administrations – we are not the same, things like this cannot happen under a Buhari administrations”, he said.

Prominent northern politician, Dauda Dangalan is dead; Buhari reacts

 

Veteran Northern Elements Progressive Union, NEPU politician, Alhaji Dauda Dangalan, is dead.

Reacting to the prominent politician’s death, President Muhammadu Buhari described him as one of the most principled and steadfast followers of the late Malam Aminu Kano.”

Buhari, in a statement signed by Spokesman, Garba Shehu, said “Men like Dangalan are rare in our today’s politics, much of which is driven by motives that are contrary to the good of the ordinary voters.”

He noted that “in their days, Dangalan and Aminu Kano perceived politics as selfless public service rather than a gravy train.

“In their brand of politics, Dangalan and Aminu Kano put themselves at the service of the people,” President Buhari adds.

The President urged upcoming politicians to learn from the good examples of the veterans such as the late Alhaji Dangalan.

He prayed that Almighty God will repose his soul.