Oluwo over call for Fulani to relocate to his domain

 

The indigenous union for Ileogbo, a town in Ayedire Local Government Area of Osun State, Ileogbo Unity Forum, has reacted to the recent call made by the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed Adewale Akanbi, for the relocation of Fulani herdsmen into his domain.

The union described the call as a threat to the security of lives and property of the people of the area.

The ancient forum, which is the central union for Ileogbo indigenes home and in the Diaspora, viewed the call with great concern, saying the people of Ileogbo would not subscribe to the influx of Fulani herdsmen into any part of Ayedire, Iwo and Ola-Oluwa Local Government Areas in general and Ileogbo Kingdom in particular.

In a statement jointly signed by the National President, Anthony Owolabi and Social and Publicity Secretary, Ayotunde Adedokun, they stated that the decision of the Forum was with a view to nipping in the bud likely danger posed by infiltration of areas by criminal elements who might disguise as herdsmen.

The press release said, “This call, by all of its intent and purpose is capable of engendering an influx of all manners of Fulani herdsmen into the three Local Government Areas that make up Ayedire/Iwo/Olaoluwa Federal Constituency and threat to security of lives and property of the people of the area.

“In spite of our firm belief in the right to freedom of movement by every Nigerian and the right to reside and conduct their lawful business in any part of the country, the people of Ileogbo will not subscribe to an unregulated influx of Fulani herdsmen into any part of Ayedire, Iwo and Ola Oluwa Local Government Areas in general and Ileogbo Kingdom in particular.

“This is with a view to nipping in the bud the likely danger posed by infiltration of the rank of resident Fulanis by criminal elements who might disguise as herdsmen.

“It is with pain and bitterness that we recall the bitter experience of the past which led to the sack of old Ileogbo by Fulani mercenaries that were contracted by Iwo community to wage war on the ancient town of Ileogbo around 1820.

“We want to assure all Fulanis who have been residing in the Kingdom for ages of our continued hospitality, but we urge them not to play host to criminal elements who may want to infiltrate their ranks for the purpose of perpetrating their evil acts. We want peace and development in Ileogbo.

“We hereby call on the sons and daughters of Ileogbo and all residents to report to law enforcement agencies, all strangers, whose conducts are suspicious. Security of lives and property is everybody’s concern.”

I sacrificed my parents for Biafra, I will sacrifice everything – Nnamdi Kanu vows

 

Leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has vowed never to back down on the struggle for Biafra freedom.

Kanu said he had sacrificed his parents for the Biafran agitation and was ready to do more for the struggle.

Kanu stated this on Saturday evening through an inscription on an image he tweeted on his official Twitter handle which also indicated the date and time for his usual live radio program on Biafra radio.

“The inscription reads: I sacrificed my mother and father to get Biafra. I will sacrifice everything”.

Meanwhile, in a separate tweet, Kanu while reacting to a publication by an online news platform that reported “seven military officers arrested for supporting bandits”, said he earlier predicted it.

“I’ve been telling you this for long: BokoHaram, Fulani Herdsmen & ISWAP have infiltrated the Nigerian Armed Forces.

“And as TY Danjuma had said, if you don’t defend yourselves, you will all die one by one”, he added.

Deployment of military may lead to Nigeria’s break up – Ohanaeze

 

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, on Sunday, cautioned the Federal Government against any deployment of military to the South-East.

It warned that such action could lead to Nigeria’s break up.

Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Secretary General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, gave the caution in a statement he made available to  BLOGGER

He said the “Southeast has remained the nation’s safest place for foreign and local investments. What is happening now is not strange as the UK Ambassador announced in his earlier warnings that Northern bandits were sponsored to the South, possibly to wreak havoc and tensions in the region.

“Our belief and suspicions were reinforced through evidences of serial attacks and violence perpetrated in our zone by ‘unknown gunmen’, a few weeks after UK’s warnings of exodus of Northern bandits heading towards South, with provocative agenda to inflict crisis, anarchy and promotion of civil disturbances, especially in the peaceful Southeast and South-South for political reasons.”

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari “to resist the temptation of military deployment to the South-East as the consequences might be disastrous and a preparatory ground for unending guerrilla activities or another avoidable war.

“Ndigbo has implicit confidence on ESN and Ebubeagu for self defense.

“Military must focus on the insurgency in the North and refuse to fight at all fronts at the same time. Ndigbo are emergency experts and any infiltration in the process of Igbo defensive mechanism might spell doom for Nigeria.

“Ndigbo don’t need military assistance now, except there are high level manipulations to destabilize and destroy our region for political purposes and deny Ndigbo presidency in 2023.”

Chelsea end Man City’s Quadruple dream, qualify for final

 

 

Chelsea have qualified for the final of this year’s FA Cup.

The Blues defeated Manchester City 1-0 in Saturday’s semi-final at Wembley Stadium.

Hakim Ziyech scored the only goal of the game, tapping into an unguarded net from Timo Werner’s cross.

The result ends Pep Guardiola’s dream of winning a Quadruple with City this season.

 

Chelsea will now find out who they face in the final tomorrow, as Leicester City take on Southampton in the other semi-final.

City returns to Premier League action on Wednesday with a trip to Aston Villa, while Chelsea host Brighton and Hove Albion the day before.

 

Entertainment : I’m moving to Nollywood – US-based Cameroonian actress, Olive Eko

 

Olive Eko, a Cameroonian US-based actress, has declared her interest to join the Nigerian movie industry, Nollywood.

The actress, who became popular with her lead role in the movie ‘Humanity,’ spoke about her new interest in an interview with  on Saturday.

Discussing her interest to explore Nollywood, Miss Eko, who has a degree in Cybersecurity, said, “The Nigerian movie industry is arguably the best in Africa.

“There have been several efforts over the years that have helped the industry stay at the top.

“Obviously, this would not have been possible without all the special talents therein.

 

“I am looking forward to meeting and working with the likes of Rita Dominic, Genevieve, Omotola, Ramsey Noah and a whole lot of them”.

On her favourite role and how she intends to mix with the Nigerian culture, she added: “I have deep roots in Africa, precisely Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria. I’m ready for the challenge.

“Learning has always been a special thing for me so I would love to play as many roles as possible, I don’t have any preference!”.

Signed and managed by Aflik Tv, Olive, who starred in the award-winning American comedy series, “The Big Bang Theory” in 2019, said she has the talent to hit the ground running in the ever-competitive Nigerian film industry.

Mourinho responds to Paul Pogba’s criticism

 

Tottenham boss, Jose Mourinho, has refused to join issues with Manchester United midfielder, Paul Pogba, over the Frenchman’s recent comments about him.

Mourinho said he ‘couldn’t care less’ what the Manchester United star has to say about him.

Pogba had taken a swipe at Mourinho, his former manager at Manchester United, comparing his(Pogba) relationship with current manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to what life was under Mourinho.

Speaking with Sky Sports, the former Juventus midfielder had said, “What I have now with Ole is different, he wouldn’t go against the players. He wouldn’t go against the players.

“Maybe Ole wouldn’t pick them, but it’s not like he puts them on the side like they don’t exist anymore. That’s the difference between Mourinho and Ole.

“Once, I had a great relationship with Mourinho, everybody saw that, and the next day, you don’t know what happened.

“That’s the strange thing I had with Mourinho and I cannot explain to you because even I don’t know. So, yeah.”

And during his post-match press conference on Friday, after Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Everton at Goodison Park, the former Real Madrid manager was asked about the comments made by Pogba.

And the Portuguese would not waste his time responding to the Frenchman’s criticism.

“I would like to say that I couldn’t care less with what he says. I am not interested at all,” Mourinho told reporters.

Without a win in their last 3 Premier League games, Tottenham are seventh on the table – two points behind Liverpool in sixth position.

Harry Kane put the visitors ahead in the first half but Gylfi Sigurdsson equalised for the home side from the spot 12 minutes later. Sigurdsson then gave Everton the lead in the second half only for Kane to score again to secure a point for Mourinho’s men.

 

FedEx employee breaks down over shooting

 

I am heart broken

By Teo Armus

“I am heartbroken by the mass shooting at the FedEx facility here in Indianapolis and praying for all affected by this tragedy,” Rep. André Carson (D), who represents the area in Congress, said on Twitter. “I am communicating with local authorities to get all details of the attack and my office stands ready to help everyone affected any way we can.”

Video from the scene showed a parking lot outside the FedEx facility closed off with police tape and multiple ambulances and police cruisers standing by.

The site of the shooting, a one-story FedEx Ground facility in southwestern Indianapolis, is five miles away from a much larger company hub at the city’s airport.

Jim Masilak, a spokesman for FedEx, said in a statement that the company was “deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of our team members.”

“Our most heartfelt sympathies are with all those affected by this senseless act of violence. The safety of our team members is our top priority, and we are fully cooperating with investigating authorities,” the statement said.

Indianapolis Deputy Police Chief Craig McCartt said the shooting “probably only lasted one to two minutes.”

“The information that we have is that it was very short,” he told CNN early Friday.

According to McCartt, who oversees the agency’s criminal investigations, the gunman entered the parking lot, exited his vehicle and quickly began shooting outside. He then entered the building but was not able to make it very far.

“It wasn’t precipitated by any kind of a disturbance or an argument with anyone there,” he added. “He just immediately started shooting.”

McCartt added that police were still working to confirm the identities of the shooter and the victims.

As of early Friday, authorities were still working with FedEx to reunite employees at the warehouse with their families. That process was delayed because FedEx employees are not allowed to carry cellphones while working, he said.

3:03 a.m.

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Warehouse worker: ‘It could have been me’

By Teo Armus

Timothy Bouillat, a 29-year-old package handler at the warehouse, told The Post that he was eating dinner in an outdoor break area around 11:10 p.m. when he heard two shots clanging against metal. He initially mistook the sound for an engine backfiring.

His co-worker stood up to see what was going on and pointed out a man with a weapon coming out of the front door to the FedEx facility, Bouillat said.

As four or five more shots went off, the pair spotted another person going into a car and retrieving a gun of their own. Moments later, Bouillat said, that person was on the ground, apparently wounded by the shooter.

Bouillat, who has worked at the warehouse for a decade, said the shooting left him “dumbfounded.” The building is outfitted with metal detectors and security turnstiles at its entrance that require employees to scan their FedEx badges.

“I’m trying to process what happened and not lose composure,” he said. “It could have been me. I could have been the one on the floor, not being able to see my twin boys again.”

He and his co-worker were picked up by a third colleague at the facility, who drove them out of the parking lot. On their way out, they warned co-workers heading into the overnight shift not to approach the area.

2:45 a.m.

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Police: Eight victims pronounced dead at the scene

By Teo Armus

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer Genae Cook said at a news conference that officers responded just after 11 p.m. to reports of shots fired. As police arrived at the warehouse on Mirabel Road, they came in contact with an active shooter, she said.

Cook said that several people were found at the scene with gunshot wounds; eight were pronounced dead at the scene.

“It is very heartbreaking,” she said early Friday, as dozens of family members of FedEx workers began congregating in a staging area at a nearby hotel. “This is a sight that no one should have to see.”

Police said early Friday that “five victims with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds were transported to local hospitals for treatment” and that two victims were treated at the scene and released.

1:58 a.m.

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FedEx: ‘We are deeply shocked and saddened’

By Teo Armus

An employee who was at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis late Thursday when a gunman fatally shot at least eight people before killing himself says that the attacker was a man carrying what he believed to be an automatic rifle.

“I saw a man, a hooded figure … the man did have an AR in his hand,” said Levi Miller on NBC’s “Today” show, “and he started shouting and then he started firing.”

Miller said he was eating some food with his friends when he heard two gunshots from inside the building. He said he thought at first they were sounds from a car instead of gunshots. Then, he heard three shots, which he thought was an engine problem.

But then he heard six rapid shots, followed by another 10 shots. Miller told “Today” he stood up and saw the man firing “at random directions.”

Miller said the man was yelling things but that he could not make out what he was saying. He said the man worked at the facility, although he did not know him.

Father of FedEx employee breaks down over shooting: ‘There’s no need for this’

By Timothy Bella

The father of an employee at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis who survived Thursday’s mass shooting broke down in tears outside, crying over the latest gun attack in America.

The man, who identified himself to Fox 59 journalist Darius Johnson only as the father of employee Trent Mitchell, said that while he found out his son was in another building, he was in pain for all those lost.

“I just want everybody to love each other, that’s it,” he said. “There’s no need for this.”

He added, “I want people to love each other.”

The gunman who killed eight people late Thursday before killing himself has yet to be identified hours after the mass shooting, Indianapolis police said.

Craig McCartt, deputy chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said authorities “know very little at this point in time,” as police are still processing the crime scene.

“We don’t have a lot of information on him yet as he has not been positively identified,” McCartt told NBC.

He said to “Gunman kills 8 at FedEx facility before apparently shooting himself, Indianapolis police say

McCartt said police believe the gunman used a rifle.

Indiana Sens. Braun and Young offer condolences as ‘senseless tragedy’ rocks home state

By Timothy Bella

Indiana Sens. Mike Braun (R) and Todd C. Young (R) extended condolences Friday to the families of the eight people killed at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis.

Braun said that he and his wife learned of the tragedy when they woke up Friday morning.

“Our hearts are mourning for the individuals who’ve senselessly lost their lives, all of their loved ones, and their co-workers at FedEx who will be dealing with this tragedy for a long time to come,” Braun tweeted.

Anxious aunt of FedEx employee: ‘We don’t know if my nephew is okay’

By Timothy Bella

The aunt of a FedEx employee said early Friday that she has not yet heard from her nephew.

Charise Grice, whose nephew Raymond Grice works at the FedEx facility where eight people were killed in a mass shooting, said to Fox 59 that hospitals could not tell her if her family member was there after the attack. She said she’s been unable to reach him so far, as employees lock up their phones at work.

During that time, Grice said she’s been calling and texting his phone with no response.

“We’re just waiting,” she said to the outlet. “We don’t know if my nephew is okay or not.”

Five people were taken to hospitals for injuries suffered in the shooting. Police said early Friday that all five appeared to be in stable condition.

No victims have been publicly identified so far.

The FBI is assisting Indiana authorities with the investigation into the FedEx shooting, offering them resources and looking for any federal nexus, a spokeswoman for the bureau said Friday morning.

The Indianapolis police said its homicide detectives are investigating the shooting alongside detectives with the Indiana State Police. A forensic agency serving Indianapolis and Marion County also headed to the scene to help collect evidence.

FBI assisting local, state police with investigation into shooting

Congressional Democrats pressure Senate on gun legislation

By John Wagner

Congressional Democrats on Friday morning seized on the Indianapolis shooting, seeking to put additional pressure on the Senate to pass legislation already approved by the House to tighten background checks on firearms purchases.

“We sent the Senate a bipartisan bill that will finally begin to address the epidemic that is gun violence,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) tweeted. “Their silence and negligence on this issue is deadly on a daily basis. They owe it to the people of this country to act and act now.”

The Senate is now controlled by Democrats, but 60 votes are needed to advance most legislation in the evenly divided chamber under filibuster rules.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) was among those who argued Friday that the inability to pass meaningful gun control underscores why the Senate should abolish the filibuster.

“The Senate needs to act and pass gun reform — NOW," he tweeted. “And if the filibuster stands in the way? Abolish it. Thoughts and prayers just aren’t enough anymore.”

Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), who represents the district in which a gunman killed 17 people at a Parkland high school in 2018, also weighed in.

“People gunned down on the porch and in the park,” he tweeted. “Killed watching a movie and killed enjoying a concert. Killed buying groceries. This gun violence epidemic won’t end with a vaccine. It will take politicians with guts.”

During an appearance on CNN, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) pitched gun-safety legislation recently introduced with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) that was modeled after state laws passed in Virginia.

While the Virginia laws did not satisfy everyone, they included strengthened background checks and addressed mental health issues, Warner said. “Until and unless we act [nationally], these tragedies are going to continue,” he said.

City council member calls on governor to address gun legislation

By Timothy Bella

Following Thursday’s mass shooting, Indianapolis City-County council member Ali Brown urged Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) and other state leaders to address gun-violence legislation.

“It would be absolutely coldhearted of House Speaker Todd Huston, Senate President Rodric Bray, and Gov. Eric Holcomb if they failed to address gun violence as the state is currently in session and able to find a solution to this problem,” Brown said in a statement. “The conversation will be tough, but we must get a firm grip of the situation and the collective epidemic — and if that means passing background check legislation, banning automatic rifles, and advocating for other common-sense gun control measures, let’s get that done immediately.”

Governor orders flags to fly at half-staff

By Timothy Bella

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) said Friday that he is ordering flags to be lowered until sunset on Tuesday, “in remembrance of those we’ve lost.”

Two prominent members of the Biden administration from Indiana — White House chief of staff Ron Klain and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — weighed in on the carnage in Indianapolis, both expressing exasperation that mass shootings continue at such a pace.

“It’s only April, and it’s not the first mass shooting in my hometown THIS YEAR,” Klain, a native of Indianapolis tweeted.

Six people, including a pregnant woman and her fetus, were killed in late January in what Indianapolis authorities said at the time was the largest mass casualty shooting in the city in more than a decade.

“We wake up once more to news of a mass shooting, this time in Indiana,” tweeted Buttigieg, who previously served as mayor of South Bend, Ind. “No country should accept this now-routine horror. It’s long past time to act.”

Buttigieg: ‘No country should accept this now-routine horror’

A gunman killed eight people and then apparently turned his weapon on himself at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis on Thursday, in a mass shooting that left several others injured, authorities said.

Here’s what to know

• The authorities were still working to confirm the identities of the shooter and the victims.
• As investigators search for a motive, police said the shooting “wasn’t precipitated by any kind of a disturbance or an argument.”
• Police responded just after 11 p.m. to reports of shots fired. Upon arriving at the facility, officers came in contact with an active shooter; the gunman then apparently killed himself.
• Eight victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Five people were taken to hospitals and two others were treated at the scene.

• Gunman kills 8 at FedEx facility before apparently shooting himself, Indianapolis police say

• It was the fifth public mass shooting in the United States in as many weeks, following massacres at three spas in metro Atlanta; a supermarket in Boulder, Colo.; a Southern California office building; and a private residence in South Carolina.
• Despite the pandemic, 2020 was the deadliest year for U.S. gun violence in at least two decades.