feared dead as explosion rocks Benue community

 

Scores have been reportedly killed in a fuel tanker explosion at the Amoke village of Apa Local Government Area in Benue State.

 gathered that the incident occurred on Monday morning when the vehicle conveying petroleum product went into flame in the area.

An eyewitness, Godfrey Idede who spoke with  correspondent said the number of deaths could not be ascertained at that moment.

He revealed that the incident led to panic in the area as economic activities came to an abrupt halt.

However, the Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Benue State, Yakubu Mohammed, while confirming the incident to newsmen, said only three persons were killed.

Mohammed who attributed the unfortunate incident to brake failure said aside from the three victims, no other person sustained injury.

He stated that the fire was put out after some hours, noting that there was no Fire Service stationed close to the scene of the incident.

BIAFRA NEWS : Northern Coalition Sues National Assembly Over Constitutional Review, Demands Support For Biafra

 

 The suit was filed by the leadership of the group, Nastura Ashir Shariff, Balarabe Rufa’i l, Abdul-Aziz Sulaiman and Aminu Adam joined against the defendants: Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; and the National Assembly. 

THE Coalition of Northern Group (CNG) has dragged the National Assembly to court, asking that the ongoing constitutional review across the country be stopped with immediate effect.

The suit was filed by the leadership of the group, Nastura Ashir Shariff, Balarabe Rufa’i l, Abdul-Aziz Sulaiman and Aminu Adam joined against the defendants: Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; and the National Assembly, Daily Trust reports.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the coalition's spokesman, Abdul-Aziz Sulaiman, argued that instead of the ongoing constitutional review, the defendants should immediately provide a framework for the actualisation of agitators’ demand on self-determination.

The Coalition on June 11, had urged the National Assembly to suspend the constitution review to enable the Government to organise a referendum on the actualisation of a Biafra Republic.

It also urged the National Assembly to invoke the doctrine of necessity to organise a Biafra referendum as the final step towards the separation of the Igbo from the rest of Nigeria.

The group argued that the unrelenting disturbances created by certain interest groups in the South-East, in the form of the agitation for a separate State of Biafra, had turned violent.

It appealed to the government to invite the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to initiate the process of self-determination that will mandate the Biafrans out of the Nigerian union by leveraging the several relevant international treaties and conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory.

BIAFRA NEWS : We're Considering Oduduwa-Biafra Collaboration, Britain Created Hatred Between Yoruba, Igbo— Igboho's Aide

 

Olayomi Koiki, spokesman for Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho), has revealed that there are possibilities that the Oduduwa Republic agitators will liaise with the Biafran Republic agitators to help them achieve their objectives faster.

Koiki, who spoke with SaharaReporters, said the Yoruba and Igbo are brothers but colonialists from Britain cast the aspersion of hatred between the two ethnic nationalities.

He noted that the 1914 amalgamation was responsible for the notion of enmity between the Igbos, Yorubas and Hausas.

Koiki said Yoruba Nation agitators have always enjoyed the support of their Igbo brothers, while reiterating Igboho's stance that any attack on Igbo people is an attack on Yoruba people. 

He said, “Yes, we are looking in that direction. The 1914 amalgamation brought enmity amongst us in the first place. The Igbos never had any reason to hate the Yorubas and we also had no reason to fight them because we all had our nations before the British came in the 1900s, we were all independent and living well not until the 1914 amalgamation when Britain decided we must come together for whatever aim they wanted to achieve.

“The Igbos had existed before the creation of Nigeria, the Yorubas too have been in existence before the creation of Nigeria likewise the Hausas but the 1914 fraud brought all these upon us. Then the 1966-70 civil war now created this distrust amongst us which is what we are battling with today.

“That's why we are calling for self-determination. Let everyone manage their resources so that there won't be an unnecessary struggle among us. We are very much likely to collaborate with the Biafran agitators so we can achieve this. I know many people refer to the distrust and all but there are some people who do not even trust their own biological brothers or sisters so what are we saying?

”We have always enjoyed their support and they also, have enjoyed ours and that's why we keep saying that any attack on the Igbos is an attack on the Yorubas and we won't take it lightly.

“We are not requesting for too much. We have not asked for what's not ours, so why is the government holding on. All we are saying is, give us the right to self-determination of our land, our resources so if liaising with the Biafran agitators will help us achieve this, why not? We are actually looking towards that.”

Igboho had earlier warned that any attack by the Nigerian Army on the South-East would be repelled.

In a statement by his media aide, Igboho said attacks on the South-East is an attack on the Yoruba people, urging the government to put a stop to raids in the South-East region.

He further stated that if there are further attacks on the people of the South-East, Yoruba Nation Now agitators will mobilise and support them. It was, however, not stated the kind of support that would be given.

BIAFRA NEWS : Police detained me for days, said I would die for selling Biafra newspaper –Delta vendor

 

 

A newspaper vendor in Asaba, Delta State, Mr Patrick Onwanaha, who spent 13 days in police detention and was recently granted bail by a court, narrates his ordeal to MATTHEW OCHEI

What is your name?

My name is Patrick Onwanaha.

What is your occupation?

I am a newspaper vendor.

You were arrested recently by the police. Can you recall how it happened? 

 BIAFRA NEWS : Northern Coalition Sues National Assembly Over Constitutional Review, Demands Support For Biafra

I was not arrested by the police at first. It was the officers from the Department of State Services that arrested me.  What happened that day, May 14, was a terrible experience in my life. I was doing my usual newspaper business as a vendor along the streets of Asaba when I saw where people gathered in the Arcade event centre. I entered there to sell newspapers when I saw some of my DSS friends at an event there. I greeted them as usual because anywhere there is a function in Asaba and its environs, especially government functions, I use the opportunity to sell my newspapers. So, most of the security personnel know me very well. 

BIAFRA NEWS : We're Considering Oduduwa-Biafra Collaboration, Britain Created Hatred Between Yoruba, Igbo— Igboho's Aide

 One of the DSS officers told me to give him a copy of a newspaper as a Sallah gift. In the process of giving him the newspaper, he saw a copy of a Biafran paper and demanded it. He said he preferred to read the Biafran paper, so I gave it to him. One of them whispered to him and he started making a call. After the call, he said their oga (boss) wanted to see me. They ordered me to enter their vehicle and I did without arguing with them because my conscience was clean.  BIAFRA NEWS : Police detained me for days, said I would die for selling Biafra newspaper –Delta vendor

What happened next?

Before I knew what was happening, they covered my face in the vehicle. When we got to their office, they uncovered my face and I asked them what my offence was. They said I was an IPOB member and that I was sent to monitor what was going on. I told them I was just a newspaper vendor hustling to make ends meet and not an IPOB member. I told them I didn’t know any member of the group, that I only read them in the pages of newspapers. They removed the handcuff on me and asked me to write a statement. And I told them that I didn’t know how to write but I could read. They wrote the statement and said I should sign which I did.  Miami building collapse: 159 missing,

What happened after signing the statement?

I was thinking the DSS officers would take me back to the place they brought me, so I would continue selling my papers, but they took me to the police headquarters and handed me over to the anti-kidnapping unit. On Friday morning, the police brought me out of the cell and the Investigating Police Officer, one Sunny, told me to write a statement, and I still told him that I cannot write but I can read. So, he (IPO) wrote the statement and asked me to sign, I told him that I will read what he wrote first before I sign. But he said I could not read it, and forced me to sign.

After signing, I begged him to allow me to call my wife to know where I was. That was when I informed my wife that I was at the police headquarters. A few days later, they brought me out, used a big rope to tie my hands and hit me with a baton even when they knew I was sick. They said my members bombed police stations and killed policemen but I told them I was not a member of IPOB, that I was just an ordinary newspaper vendor. So, they asked for the chairman of the Newspaper Vendors Association and the person who allocated newspapers for sale, and I gave them the names.

 The police said I was the one printing the Biafran paper and I told them I wouldn’t have been poor if I was the one printing the paper. Linking me with the IPOB was very wrong. Even the police said though I was a well-known vendor in Asaba, they would still punish me and kill me. After beating me, one of the officers begged them to untie me but they refused, saying I was as good as a dead man. They carried me back to the cell with my hands tied to my back. I stayed there until Monday evening and I couldn’t bear it again as I was almost dying, I started shouting in the cell up to a point where I found it difficult to breathe. That was when the IPO told my cellmates to untie me.  BIAFRA : Abaribe wears a 'dot nation' t-shirt after President Buhari's comment

 

How did you regain freedom?

It was on May 20 that one officer who visited the cells brought me out and asked me why I was there. I explained to him. By the time he saw my hands, after they untied me, he shouted. He called a doctor at Federal Medical Centre to come and treat me. Then, on Tuesday, 25 May, I was taken to the court. When we got to court, immediately the judge saw my hands and asked me what happened, I also explained to him, and the judge granted me bail immediately to go for treatment and come back to court on June 8. It was a bad experience.  DOT IN circle : Buhari’s ‘dot in a circle’ comment attempt to divide south-south, south-east

How many days did you spend in detention?

I spent about 13 days there. I felt very bad especially when I knew I did not commit any crime. If you saw me when I was granted bail, you would know I was close to death.

What impression did your experience give you about the police?

The truth is that the Nigeria police need total reform. Most of the time, innocent people die for what they don’t know anything about; they go through pain and agony. Maybe they keep people in the cell to make them changed persons, but with what I saw inside the cell, innocent ones would go there and meet the bad ones. What I suffered there, I would not wish my enemy to experience it.

My advice, especially concerning the Biafra issue that brought me to the cell, is that I beg whoever that is involved in the bombing and killing of our security agents and their officers to please stop. There are other peaceful ways through which they could channel their grievances or agitation. 

 

After killing all these security men today, who will guard us tomorrow? Who will secure the lives of masses tomorrow? It is we, the masses, that would suffer it, not those people in Aso Rock. To the police, I want to beg them to handle cases professionally; they should carry out proper investigation on time to avoid innocent persons losing their lives.  I nearly died in their custody.

I want to use this medium to thank the media, especially PUNCH newspaper, for their role in securing my freedom, and the chairman and members of the Newspaper Vendors Association for their efforts. I also thank my brother who brought a lawyer. God used every one of you to save my life.

Miami building collapse: 159 missing,

 

The number of people listed as missing after the collapse of a 12-storey building in the US city of Miami has risen to 159, officials say.

Four people are known to have died.  BIAFRA : Abaribe wears a 'dot nation' t-shirt after President Buhari's comment

The mayor of Miami-Dade says they "still have hope" of finding survivors. Search teams working around the clock have reported hearing people banging beneath the debris.

What caused the 40-year-old building to collapse early on Thursday morning remains unclear.

At least 102 people have now been accounted for, but it is uncertain how many were in the building when it came down. Dozens of people have been evacuated from what is left of the structure.

President Joe Biden has approved an emergency declaration for Florida, meaning the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) will help state agencies with the relief effort.

Overnight hundreds of rescuers used sonar cameras and specially trained dogs as they scoured the rubble for survivors. Teams were tunnelling from an underground car park below the building in an effort to reach victims.

The mayor of Surfside, where the disaster happened, Charles Burkett, said at an early-morning news conference that some 15 families had walked out of the building.

Most residents would have been asleep when the collapse happened at about 01:00 (05:00 GMT).

"It's heartbreaking because it doesn't seem to me... that we will find people alive," Mr Burkett said.

However, on Friday Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said they would do "everything possible" to locate survivors.

"We will continue search and rescue because we still have hope that we will find people alive," she said.

BIAFRA : Abaribe wears a 'dot nation' t-shirt after President Buhari's comment

 

Senate minority leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe has been spotted wearing a 'dot nation' t-shirt after President Buhari's comment in an interview with Arise TV few days ago.  DOT IN circle : Buhari’s ‘dot in a circle’ comment attempt to divide south-south, south-east

In the interview on Arise TV, the President had said that the military and the police will be mobilized to go after secessionist group, IPOB accused of disturbing the peace in the South-East region.  

Buhari said in the interview;  South east govs want to sacrifice Igbo people for power, they’re desperate – Nnamdi Kanu

"IPOB is just like a dot in a circle and they have nowhere to turn to. They are spread everywhere and they have investments and properties everywhere and in other areas.

“They don't know what they are doing. How we will handle them is to mobilise the police and the military to go after them.”   Reps advocate social media regulation as FG insists Twitter ban is in Nigeria’s interest

Days after the comment which incited controversy, Abia-born senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has been spotted wearing a 'dot in the circle' t-shirt. Media personality, May Ubeku who shared the photos wrote;  Farouk Lawan bags 7 years jail term over graft

Abaribe representing The Dot Nation

 

 

DOT IN circle : Buhari’s ‘dot in a circle’ comment attempt to divide south-south, south-east

 

Annkio Briggs, social critic and human rights activist, says the “dot in a circle” comment by President Muhammadu Buhari is an attempt to divide the people of the south-east and the south-south. DOT IN circle : Buhari’s ‘dot in a circle’ comment attempt to divide south-south, south-east

 

“First of all, I don’t even recall any access or non-access to the sea during the onslaught of the civil war,” the activist said.

“It was the federal government that came through the sea and the creeks. So having settled that, there are millions of elders and there are millions of youths in the Niger Delta, and there are ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta that make up the south-South. https://saviournicodemus.blogspot.com/2021/06/dot-in-circle-buharis-dot-in-circle.html

“For the president to therefore assume that whoever has told him that there won’t be access to the sea, that gives him pleasure and gives him joy because obviously an attempt to divide and rule both the south-south and the south-east, which in the past between our people would have keyed into, and I warned against during the celebration of my hero Adaka Boro.

 

“We may not agree on things per se, but one thing we do know and have, is a common enemy, a common problem, a common crisis and we do almost have a common desire, which is our collective survival.”Reps advocate social media regulation as FG insists Twitter ban is in Nigeria’s interest

On his part, Don Pedro Obaseki, former managing director of DAAR Communications PLC, said the president “is trying to be clever by half by trying to play the devil’s advocate in between the south-south and the south-east”. https://saviournicodemus.blogspot.com/2021/06/reps-advocate-social-media-regulation.html

“He has made it clear from his body language, spoken language and all else that Nigeria is a different country with different nations,” he said.