Gov Makinde threatens to expose those politicising insecurity

 

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has said he will soon expose those politicising insecurity in the state.

Admitting the state was facing insecurity challenges, Makinde insisted the situation was not peculiar to Oyo but a nationwide phenomenon.

“If they are politicising the issue of security because they want to be in power in 2023, it means they are making a huge mistake”, Taiwo Adisa, his spokesman quoted him as saying.

The governor stated that his administration had taken time to investigate and proffer solutions to reports of anxiety.

Makinde implored those fuelling insecurity issues ahead of the general elections to desist and stop engaging in actions that cause palpable fear.

“We are doing different things. As a matter of fact, it is on record that there is no government in this state that has spent more money on security than this current one.”

Makinde pointed out that his administration donated vehicles and communication gadgets to security agencies, and re-established Swift Response Squad (SRS) as well as Operation Burst.

“I must warn that politics is inherent in this insecurity issue and in the days to come, I will expose the people that are politicising it”, he said.

Buhari’s official driver, Afaka is dead

 

President Muhammadu Buhari’s official driver, Sa’idu Afaka is dead.

He passed away at the State House Clinic on Tuesday after a prolonged illness.

Buhari has extended his condolences to the family of Afaka, a Master Warrant Officer,

The President, in a statement by Garba Shehu, his spokesman, also condoled with the government and people of Kaduna State.

Buhari described the late Afaka as an honest, capable and reliable person who handled his job with utmost care and responsibility.

He recalled that in 2016 the soldier, while on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, picked up a bag containing a large amount of foreign currencies and turned it over to the National Hajj Commission.

The action earned Afaka praises from the Saudi and Nigerian authorities.

Buhari prayed the Almighty Allah to ‘”bless the soul of the departed with an elevated place in heavens,”.

The Nigerian leader also wished the family and friends divine comfort.

Goodluck Jonathan’s mentorship, secret of my success – Gov Bala Mohammed

 

Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, on Tuesday revealed that the mentorship he received from former President Goodluck Jonathan was the secret of the successes he had recorded since he assumed office as governor.

Speaking at the inauguration of 6.2 kilometre newly constructed Sabon Kauran road in Bauchi metropolis, named the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Drive, Mohammed informed that Jonathan impacted his life greatly by teaching him the art and science of leadership.

The governor said on assuming office in May 2019, the administration hit the ground running and made good governance its deliberate policy for development intending to create the desired impact.

He informed that his administration policy thrust was predicated on global best practices of implementing programmes targeted at improving the quality of lives of the people.

The governor said his administration met a sorry state of infrastructure deficit in both urban and rural areas, adding that his government confronted the situation by embarking on accelerated urban renewal, development and programmes, which he said was the only way to reverse the ugly trend.

Governor Mohammed informed that having been mentored by former President Jonathan, his administration executed its projects through evaluation and revaluation principle.

“Again with the mentorship you have taught me, we executed all infrastructural projects through evaluation and revaluation in tandem with basic engineering management and evaluation to ensure value for money and price competitiveness,” he informed.

In his remarks, Jonathan commended Governor Mohammed for standing by him even after he left office as president, saying that from his experience in leadership, most political associates usually desert a leader after he leaves office.

The former president said Governor Mohammed’s invitation to inaugurate the first legacy project in the state, which the state government used to immortalise him, was a big honour to him which he would always remember.

He then expressed gratitude to the people of Bauchi State for voting for Governor Mohammed during the 2019 general election and urged them to continue to support the administration for it to succeed.

MASSOB accuses FG of sponsoring attacks in biafra land

 

The leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Mr Uchenna Madu has accused the federal government of being responsible for the attacks in Igboland.

The group claimed it discovered the truth of the attack from its intelligence agency, stressing that the attack was undertaken by the government to discredit the struggle for freedom and portray the Southeast and the secessionist as violent.

In a press statement made available to in Awka and signed by Madu, the group condemned recent attacks in the zone, saying the attacks had nothing to do with the struggle for Biafra.

“MASSOB condemned the terrorist attack against Chukwuma Soludo at Isuofia, we equally condemned the unwarranted killings of Ebonyi state indigenous citizens by Fulani terrorist herdsmen, MASSOB condemned in totality, the breaking of Owerri prison by the so-called unknown gunmen.

“Through MASSOB intelligence Agency, we found out that all these attacks are sponsored and executed by the federal government of Nigeria through their protected militiamen called bandits and unknown gunmen.

“Their primary aim is to discredit non-violent pro-Biafra freedom fighters like MASSOB and IPOB. They want to create an erroneous impression that pro-Biafra agitators have turned violent and militant.”

The group wondered how untrained persons with no military training could overpower the entire security apparatus of Nigeria in the South East.

It also wondered why there was no security resistance during the breaking up of Owerri prisons and the Imo State police headquarters in an operation that lasted more than one hour.

The group said, “Nigeria military cantonment, Obinze Owerri is seven minutes drive to the scenes of the crime, Imo State MOPOL base is three minutes drive to the scenes of the crime but no resistance from security agencies.

“The terrorist attacks in Owerri are part of the ongoing destructive measures by the President Muhamadu Buhari led administration to discredit and blackmail the pro-Biafra organizations to create an erroneous impression that Biafrans are waging war against Nigeria.”

MASSOB further advised Governor Hope Uzodinma to stop heaping blames on IPOB or ESN or any other pro-Biafra organization, saying that freedom agitators are not responsible for all the criminal activities in Igbo land.

Gunmen kidnap family of five in Ondo

 

A family of five who were returning to their base in Abuja have been abducted by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers in Ondo State.

The victims who were on their way to Abuja after the Easter celebration in their hometown of Ajowa-Akoko in Akoko North West Local Government Area of Ondo State were kidnapped between Ajowa and Ayere in Kogi State.

According to a native of Ajowa, Ibrahim Olusa, the victims were a husband, wife and three children.

He added that they were abducted at gunpoint while exiting the community to Abuja where they reside.

A family source told that the kidnappers have contacted the family, demanding 10 million Naira as ransom before they can be released.

Following the development, there have been apprehension and anxiety in the community.

A resident of Ajowa Akoko and the immediate past Chairman of Ajowa-Akoko community council, Ajayi Bakare, attributed the kidnappings and robberies within the axis to the deplorable state of the roads.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Tee-Leo Ikoro said he was yet to be briefed on the development.

Kidnappers abduct another Chinese nationals from mining site in Osun

 

The Osun State Police command has confirmed the abduction of two Chinese nationals who were kidnapped at Ifewara, Osun State on Monday.

The foreigners, Messrs Zhao Jian, 33 and When, 50, were abducted at Okepa/Itikan village, a gold mining site in Ifewara, Atakunmosa West Local Government Area of Osun State.

It was gathered that around 4pm on Monday, some gunmen attacked and abducted the duo and shot their two private guards.

In a signal signed by the Police Public Relations Officer Osun Command, SP Yemisi Opalola, the “Two private guards were shot and have been taken to the general hospital for treatment.”

She continued that the Commissioner of Police, CP Olawale Olokode, immediately drafted a strong combined reinforcement of Police Tactical Units, JTF, and other security outfits who have embarked on a search/rescue operation of the two abducted Chinese persons and possible arrest of all the fleeing criminals.

“The Commissioner of Police enjoined members of the public to support, co-operate, and collaborate with the Police in fighting crime in order to bring it down to the barest minimum, by providing us with creditable and prompt information as he promised to rescue the abductees unhurt,” the statement read.

Bandits reportedly kill 9, abduct 25 along Kaduna-Kachia road

 

Suspected armed bandits have reportedly killed nine persons and kidnapped twenty-five others along the Kaduna-Kachia road in the early hours of Tuesday.

Those kidnapped, according to sources are mostly women.

Reports said the incident occurred near Kasuwan Magani in Kajuru local government area of Kaduna State.

The source explained that he sighted about nine (9) corpses at different spots with a bus conveying Anglican Church members abandoned and its occupants forced into the nearby forest.

He added that those killed were in a truck loaded with firewood, with the kidnapped persons, consisting of 19 occupants of an Anglican Church bus and six others from a Gulf-4 saloon car.

He explained, “There were 19 persons in the bus carrying Church women and Golf-4 car had six persons in it. Those killed were in a truck loaded with firewood.”

As of the time of filing this report, the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Muhammad Jalige, has not responded to calls put to him for enquiries