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Army Rescues Five Abductees, Kill Bandits In Katsina
By Augustine Okezie – Katsina
A joint military operation in Katsina/Zamfara border forest on Saturday led to the rescue of five abducted residents and left several bandits dead.
The Secretary to the Government of Katsina State, Mustapha Inuwa, who confirmed the development while receiving the rescued kidnapped victims from representative of the Commander, 17th Brigade, Katsina, said the coordinated operation was simultaneously carried out by the joint ground forces of the 17th Brigade and the Air force from Katsina and those in Zamfara axis.
He said the Joint military action, which started in the morning and lasted in the evening, had successfully led to the destruction of the bandits camps and recorded several casualties on their side.
”Some of the bandits fled and abandoned their kidnapped victims who became stranded and finally ran into the hands of the soldiers,” he stated.
A statement by the Director Press to the Secretary to the Government of Katsina State, Abdullahi Aliyu Yar’adua, quoted the SGS as saying: ” if the coordinated military occupation continues and carried out simultaneously in all the affected states, very soon armed banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling would become history in the North West”.
The SSG commended the troops for their gallant operation and called on the leadership to sustain the tempo.
The five rescued persons include 2 males: Amadu Rufa’i, 45years and Habibu Yakubu, 25, both of Mazanya village in Jibia local council of Katsina State.
The three females were: Hauwa’u Lawali,13; Khadija Rabe, 13 and Sumayya Rabe, 10, all of Karamne village in Madarumfa region of Niger Republic.
Narrating their ordeals, the two men said they were kidnapped while working on their farms while the girls said they were hawking onions in Gurbi, which is a neighbouring town in Zamfara State, when the bandits whisked them away.
According to Rufa’i, they spent five days in captivity, adding that the bandits had started demanding for N10m ransom from his family when the military aircraft suddenly stroke followed by “gound soldiers”.
All of them attested that the operation had caused serious damages to the bandits and their camps, claiming to have stepped over several of their corpses in a struggle to get out of the forest.
Sourced From: Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics
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Nigeria News
Woman Kills Her Maid Over Salary Request
Operatives of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Yaba of the Lagos State police command have arrested one Mrs Nene Steve for allegedly killing her maid, Joy Adole
The maid was allegedly beaten to death by Nene for requesting for her salary at their residence located at 18, Ogundola Street, Bariga area in Lagos.
Narrating the incident, Philips Ejeh, an elder brother to the deceased said that he was sad when they informed him that his sister was beaten to death.
He explained that the deceased was an indigene of Benue State brought to Lagos through an agent and started working with her as a maid in January 2020.
‘’She reported that her boss refused to pay her and anytime she asked for her salary she will start beating her.
She was making an attempt to leave the place but due to the total lockdown she remained there until Sunday when her boss said she caught her stealing noodles and this led to her serious beating and death,’’ Ejeh said.
He called on Lagos State Government and well- meaning people in the country to help them in getting justice for the victim.
The police spokesman, Bala Elkana, stated that the woman and her husband came to Bariga Police Station to a report that their house girl had committed suicide.
Detectives were said to have visited the house and suspected foul play with the position of the rope and bruises all over the body which confirmed that the girl had been tortured to death and the boss decided to hang up the girl to make it look like suicide.
He said: “The police moved on with their investigation and found a lot of sign of violence on her body that she has been tortured before a rope was put on her neck.’’
He added that the police removed the corpse and deposited it in the mortuary for autopsy to further ascertain the cause of the death.
Elkana said the matter has been transferred from Bariga police station to Panti for further investigation while the couple have been arrested and will be charged to court.
Public Service
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala Gets WHO Appointment As COVID-19 Special Envoy
The World Health Organisation has appointed former Nigerian Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as a Special Envoy of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced the appointment on Friday, during the launch of the initiative, which he described as “a landmark collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19.”
Dr Okonjo-Iweala was appointed to the role along with British business executive and former CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, Sir Andrew Witty.
“The ACT Accelerator brings together the combined power of several organisations to work with speed and scale,” the WHO DG said.
“Each of us is doing great work, but we cannot work alone. We’re coming together to work in new ways to identify challenges and solutions together.”
More than two million people have been infected by COVID-19 and more than 190,000 of them have died globally with more than a billion people forced to stay at home as the world battles to curb the spread of the disease which was first reported in December 2019.
I am especially grateful to Sir Andrew Witty and Dr @NOIweala for accepting appointments as Special Envoys for the ACT Accelerator. We are facing a common threat, which we can only defeat with a common approach! #COVID19
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) April 24, 2020
To combat the pandemic, the WHO DG believes “the world needs these tools, and it needs them fast.”
“Past experience has taught us that even when tools are available, they have been not been equally available to all,” he said.
“We cannot allow that to happen”.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala also confirmed the appointment on her Twitter handle in response to a congratulatory message.
“Honored and humbled to serve with Sir Andrew on this challenging and vital global endeavour,” she said.
Thanks to @DominicRaab and all my well wishers. Honored and humble to serve with Sir Andrew on this challenging and vital global endeavor. https://t.co/7kNYugVpam
— Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (@NOIweala) April 25, 2020
Authority Newspaper
Banning Journalists For Life: Izunwanne Lashes At Gov Umahi
Asks him to tender unreserved apology – By Adelola Amihere
A body of veteran and serving journalists of the South-East extraction, Izunwanne, has berated the Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. Dave Umahi, for threatening the life of Chijioke Agwu and Peter Okutu, Ebonyi State correspondents of the Sun and Vanguard newspapers respectively.
The governor had following investigative reports filed by the two reporters on separate issues, arrested them and declared them as persona non grata in the state.
Although the governor has recanted threatening the journalists, Izunwanne described the reversed stated as one made in response to negative public reactions rather than coming out of conviction.
In a statement by Sir Abuchi Anuenyiagu, Convener and Ngwoke Ngwoke, Secretary, the group said they could not “imagine how at this age and time, an elected governor would make a broadcast, threatening journalists, in the course of performing their lawful duties, with life ban and imprisonment”.
They called on Gov. Imagine “to seek the path of civility, honour and rectitude in the conduct of government business”.
Details of the statement reads:
Re: The Travails of two journalists:
IZUNWANNE REJECTS GOVERNOR DAVID UMAHI’S OVER STEPPED BEHAVIOUR.
The attention of IZUNWANNE, a group of progressive- minded journalists of South East origin, has been drawn to the recent outrageous and unwholesome action taken by the governor of Ebonyi State, Engr.(Chief) Dave Umahi, whereby he took very unacceptable extreme actions against two journalists in his state for performing their lawful and legitimate duties which by his action, unbecoming of of a governor, didn’t go down well with him.
He came down from his Olympian heights and descended heavily on the poor and vulnerable journalists, flagrantly and impudently ordering their arrest and prosecution and subsequent bannishment from the state for life, an untoward and unacceptable action. This action has evoked outrage and attracted widespread condemnation because it’s not just a brazen flagrant abuse of power but also an aberration and affront meant to muzzle and suppress free speech and the press in the state.
The governor reportedly ordered the arrest, detention and prosecution of two journalists in his state, one Chijioke Agwu and another, Peter Okutu, Ebonyi State correspondents of the Sun and Vanguard newspapers respectively.
The governor did not stop there. He went ahead to ban them for life from operating in the State.
In a very unprecedented move, the governor, reportedly stated that the people of Ebonyi were aggrieved with the press, adding that he might not be able to restrain the people when they decide to unleash mayhem on journalists who are in the bad books of his administration.
IZUNWANNE is alarmed and scandalized that such crude and inciting actions are coming from am rlected governor who swore to an oath of office to protect the lives and property of the people living in the state, according to provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
As a responsible and independent body committed to the best traditions of the watch dog role of the media, and to the promotion of the common good of the Southeast geo-political zone of Nigeria, as well in exercise of the duty imposed on us by Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), IZUNWANNE has tried to establish the facts in the issues in contention, and we are convinced that the two journalists in question did not commit any offence in the particular reports as to warrant such reprehensible behaviour of the governor against them.
The reports, which the governor wrongly considered vexatious and unacceptable rather, eloquently speak for themselves as having met the professional standards in news reporting and were not write fiction but reported facts and balanced stories.
We cannot imagine how at this age and time, an elected governor would make a broadcast, threatening journalists, in the course of performing their lawful duties, with life ban and imprisonment.
Without any equivocation it was an unnecessary overreaction, especially by a person holding such responsible and exalted public office of state governor.
Though the governor and his government have in a subsequent action, that was seen as an afterthought and a volte face following the widespread condemnation of his action, tried to launder his image by attempting to deny ordering the arrest, detention, prosecution and banishing of the two journalists, claiming a distortion of his broadcast, IZUNWANNE finds it very difficult to believe the denials, given the obvious clarity of the broadcast.
We consider the denial a laughable weak defence that cannot stand, as we could not find anything in the particular reports that suggest a design to undermine the government and people of Ebonyi State as the governor alleged.
The reports passed the journalistic tests of balance and objectivity in which all sides were reflected or represented.
IZUNWANNE totally rejects as unacceptable the governor’s action and condemns it in very strong terms, as it is considered a despotic, despicable and tyrannical behaviour, typical of an incurable intemperate public office holder.
We urge him to retrace his steps, which are against social justice, democracy and rule of law.
If he had considered the reports in bad taste he should have availed himself of the lawful means or measures of seeking redress through the courts and the Nigerian Press Council, instead of resorting to self help, intimidation, crudity, cruelty, barbarism and wicked tactics that portray him as an imperial lord who is intolerant and not accountable to anybody or authority.
Governor Umahi has no doubt by his irrational action betrayed the oath of office he took. He must therefore be called to order to seek the path of civility, honour and rectitude in the conduct of government business.
And on the other hand, we call on journalists to, at all times in the course of performing their duties, operate within the ambits of the law and abide by the rules and ethics/tenets of their practice and to avoid any act of shame or compromise capable of putting them to public ridicule or odium and bringing down the image of journalism, no matter the lure because maintenance of integrity and honour matter a lot in life.
We condemn journalists that leave the path of honour and integrity and take to the dishonourable and ignoble act of mortgaging their consciences and throwing ethics to the wind thereby making themselves cheap because of pecuniary or unbridled reasons.
We appreciate the Sun and Vanguard correspondents for living up to the billing in their balanced reportage and for standing firm and resisting the attempt by the governor and his agents to intimidate and blackmail them.
Against this background, IZUNWANNE demands an unreserved apology from governor David Umahi for his reprehensible conduct and affront on the media.
*IZUNWANNE, a nonprofit making; nonreligious; nonpartisan and nonpolitical organisation, isade up of journalists of Southeast geo-political zone origin, retired or serving, living in any part of Nigeria or the world, who are desirous of and are working towards a better economic and socio-political development and progress of the Southeast geo-political zone as an entity. We promote the common cause/good of the zone, without fear or favour. We can be found in all legitimate fields of endeavour: journalism, broadcasting, public relations, law, banking, politics, religion, film making, business, etc.*
Signed
Sir Abuchi Anueyiagu,
Convener.
08080242128
Elder Ngwuoke Ngwuoke,
Secretary.
07036621678.
For and on behalf of IZUNWANNE.
April 25, 2020.
Sourced From: THE AUTHORITY NEWS