Nigerian Newspapers
Corruption, cause of insurgency, robberies in north, says Rep
On Thursday 15th of May, many unknown heavily gunmen invaded Daura town from about 10 pm, up to about 4 am. In the act, they razed down two police stations and literally burn everything to ashes and broke into four banks. Unfortunately, all the banks are located in one place, at a row. I understand that they were not able to access the stronghold of two banks but they succeeded in looting the others. They used heavy explosives, residents of the town were so panicked and many of them run to the outskirts of the town thinking it was a total war. In the process, I understand about 4 of the culprits were also killed by armed soldiers when they pursued them after they left.
From what has happened in Daura, majority of the people are of the view that this is as a result of a spill over from the states affected by the emergency rule, do you share this view?
From the way things went, one wouldn’t want to believe that this is the situation because the way they came in, their numbers and their ammunitions, and from what I gathered those four that were killed were not Nigerians. That is to tell you another thing; you know we have been saying that in the past that what happened in Libya may be the contributing factor. Arms and ammunitions found their way out, even the insurgency they have in the Niger Republic was as a result of the arm shipment. So some of these mercenaries are coming from outside the country to attack and rob Nigerians.
When I heard it the night it happened, because I was on the phone, and from what they were telling me, it is that the armed robbers are telling the people that they are not going to touch anybody, but they only came to whack. I was even saying that day that they will be caught because Daura is so strategic; it is in the border with Niger Republic. If they finished what they are doing,they have only three routes to follow, that is what gave me the conviction that they would easily be caught. Because they either follow Kano road or Katsina road or go into Niger, probably from where they are, but unfortunately they fled.
I read in one newspaper (not Peoples Daily) that gave two wrong information. One that the attackers burnt a prison, which is not true, they didn’t touch any thing like that and two, that when the attackers perpetuated their act, they went into town, to do what? Somebody who looted a bank will go into town? These are all wrong information.
Generally, there was insecurity problem in the north, and House Representatives recently adopted the state of emergency in three states of the region by President Jonathan. Do you think it will be the solution to the lingering crisis?
The insecurity in the north has reached an intolerable level; everybody will agree with that. Like when I was discussing with a colleague from one of the affected states, he was telling me that a whole local government was taken over by the insurgents; the whole local Goverment for that matter. They sent away the elected officers, they even sent away some of the traditional rulers! When such things are happening, one has to give the President the chance to tackle a very bad situation. In fact, in some of the affected states, some were happy that the army is coming to at least take care of the security.
As a member of the Congress for Progressve Change (PCP) one will have thought that you will toe the same line with your leader, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, who openly criticized the emergency rule?
What Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is talking about is that the state of emergency alone will not tackle the situation at hand and that I agree with him. But don’t forget this is the House of Representatives where there are so many people with different opinions. If now I will come and tell you that I don’t support the declaration, I will be lying because I was in that sitting when we took the decision, and we discussed it thoroughly. But we actually made some amendment to the gazette. Probably, Gen. Buhari may be talking the way he did when he looked at the gazette as it was submitted to us; but that was not what we passed.
Do you also share the views that the insurgency in the country was hatched to cripple the economy of the region?
You see, one will surely agree with that because one will only ask why is it only in the north, why? That is the question we should ask ourselves.
But there are cases of kidnapping in the south?
Kidnapping is different; it also happens in the north. Just recently an elder statesman was kidnapped in Maiduguri and was later released. That is a different kettle of fish. What is happening now in the north is so distinct and it has never happened in any other region of the country. So, anybody can think in that direction. For example if something keep happening in your house and your neighbor is moving freely, you will begin to wonder what is happening.
Going back to the issue of Daura attack, I remember last year, there was a similar attack in the Malumfashi axis. Can we now say that Katsina state is under heavy attack from armed robbers?
You can’t say Katsina is under heavy attack. Yes Daura is under heavy attack and the one that you are referring to happened around Kankara. In Malumfashi, they also destroyed police station and rubbed banks too.
Katsina state is generally known to be a peaceful state, with the recent happening now, what went wrong, or what should the governor have done to curtail the situation?
It is not about what the governor should do at this point, but what should the country do. We have a sitting President who is the overall Chief Security Officer. I have said it several times that what this country needs are two things: one, effective means of fighting corruption, because corruption is the major problem of this country. Resources meant for the populace are not being used on what they are meant for, that is to uplift the lives of the citizenry. Individual stole billions, unless that is checked, then we will begin to have funds for meaningful development. We will have more money to provide for healthcare, education, these are the things we need. Any government, whether federal or state, what we need is to really create job for the people; take care of people’s basic social needs. Once we do that, there will be peace everywhere. But when the government abandoned its people, with no jobs, basic health care services, education, it is pathetic.
On the issue of Katsna 10, one of the affected member, Hon Sada was quoted as saying that there was an irregularity in the judgment. For example he said that they already have the Certificate of Return which he said is in their possession; and that INEC has already faulted the court order that brought you into office, so all that is left is for them to comeback…
The unfortunate thing is, I wish Sada was in court when INEC was asked why they invalidated their certificates without a court order. Do you know the answer they gave? INEC said it had not issued any certificate to anyone before, it is now that they are issuing certificates. Because when you are doing something and you do it to the wrong person, what order do you need? You don’t need any order. The constitution and the electoral laws are very clear. There was no independent candidate; every candidate of a political party must be sponsored by that party before aspiring to any position; and they were not sponsored by the CPC, we don’t need to be going round and round. If they are not sponsored by the CPC and there is no provision for independent candidate then who are they representing? In fact the INEC said it considered that issue as faulty, so they had not issued it before; it is now that they have issued proper certificate to valid candidates of CPC. That is just the simple answer to that.
The post Corruption, cause of insurgency, robberies in north, says Rep appeared first on Peoples Daily Newspaper, Nigeria.
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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