Nigerian Newspapers
Kidnapped Lagos council chairman relives ordeal
For about 30 seconds yesterday, Kehinde Bamigbetan, the chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), closed his eyes, muttering: “We thank God”.
When he opened his eyes, he began to cry. He spoke in a slow but steady voice that conveyed deep sadness, despite the joyous occasion. He would stop and cry again.
A small crowd gathered to celebrate his safe return from the den of his kidnappers. Many comforting hands touched him. Intermittently, there were songs of praise to God for the safe return of the chairman who was abducted on his Ona Iwa Mimo Street, Ejigbo, last Monday.
Outside, some well wishers gathered in groups. The celebration of his return began early for them. Wine bottles were opened and at the sound of the cork, a shout of “KOK”, Bamigbetan’s nickname, rented the air.
On Friday, the kidnappers told their victim they were satisfied with him. That was when the news of his release filtered out. But he was not allowed to go until 9:30 pm on Saturday. At around 9: pm, they took him, blindfolded, into a car and drove towards a check point. He was asked to drive the car and drop it at a particular point where they would take over.
“They asked me if I could drive a manual car and I took charge of the car at 9:30 pm. They said I should not look sideways. So, I obeyed. The first thing I did was to start singing ‘Great is thy faithfulness’,” Bamigbetan said.
The car is a navy blue Peugeot 406 with Anambra registration number NKK 553 AH.
Bamigbetan’s family was full of gratitude. The mood inside the green duplex on the lowly Eni Iwa Mimo Street was boisterous. The long faces were gone; so were the meetings. But the singing, dancing and the prayers remained.
Rev. Bisi Bamigbetan, the eldest sibling of the chairman who had led the prayers, said: “We thank God. We prayed and fasted and God heard us. Thank God for everyone that stood by us. We nearly lost hope, I said ‘let your fear be replaced with faith’. I went upstairs to shower when I heard the shout of joy. I rushed out naked; I was not conscious.”
Bamigbetan’s twin sister, Mrs. Taiwo Jacobs, remarked: “I am so happy because we have been expecting him since Wednesday. It got to a stage we were all crying, trying to reach people who can help us. God has remembered us. It is the favour of God that brought him back. “
Another sister of his, Mrs. Funmi Adenuga, said the family thought the kidnap would not last more than two days but the kidnappers kept the family in suspense up till the last minute.
Bamigbetan had a premonition that evil was lurking around that day because he woke up trembling with fear, he told The Nation yesterday. “I tried to find out where the fear was coming from but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to go to work that day but for two events that I had to attend. After that, I went to see our leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. I had wanted to stay the night on the island but I didn’t. I even changed my usual route. I came through Ikotun while the kidnappers came through Isolo. They saw my Sport Utility Vehicle and overtook us, and then I remembered all the premonitions and fear that I had that day.”
A shot from an Ak-47 was fired to stop Abiodun Olayiwola, Bamigbetan’s driver. Sensing danger, he tried to reverse and escape but missed his way and hit an electricity pole, forcing the car to a stop. Several shots were fired into the engine missing Olayiwola by whiskers. Then he opened the car and ran, shouting to his boss to do the same.
“Why didn’t you stop? Why are you running away? Did you do anything wrong? Next time always stop and don’t run ok?” the kidnappers told Bamigbetan immediately he alighted from his vehicle. They bundled him into their own car, put a tight blindfold over his eyes and forced him into the car. Then they kicked out a man who had been taken before him and drove on high speed towards Badagry. It was then they informed him that someone had paid for his life.
“The blindfold was very tight and I could not even raise my eyebrows; so, I didn’t know where we were going ,” he said. But immediately his brain kicked into action and he engaged his captors. He told them they got the wrong person and all his life he had worked for the cause of the poor, both as student and labour activist. He pleaded that as Chairman of a local council, he had provided free medicare for the elderly and free education for children. The men remained silent. When they got to their destination, they brought him down from the vehicle and pushed him into a dark house.
Bamigbetan did not know the exact location of the house he was taken to but said it was around Badagry.
He said: “When you are kidnapped, you are put down so you can just hear the movement; you can’t see. The only thing you know is the point where you are picked up and dropped. The place was dark; you are put on the carpet, laid onto the carpet blindfolded.”
He lived in this darkness for two days.
That same night a phone call was put through to his wife Fatima. “Madam, we have your husband. Somebody has paid for his life, but we will not kill him if you can bail him out. Don’t call the police, rally round your friends and get the money. Then they demanded for $ 1m” Fatima said yesterday.
Back in their hide-out they began to question Bamigbetan on his activities. To authenticate his story, they dispatched a group to the council secretariat to verify his claims at the break of dawn. The spies went to the council secretariat and mixed with the group of sympathizers, asking questions. Nobody suspected them; they looked just normal.
“Interestingly, the second day they dispatched a group of their boys to the council to go and research and the result of that changed their attitude towards me because they said everywhere they went people said that I helped the poor and I was a nice person. They became much more realistic about what they wanted,” Bamigbetan said.
Bamigbetan said he was tied face down in the flat for the first two days. To reduce the risk of having to relieve his bowels, he began to drink water and coke. “One day, I will drink water, the next coke,” he said. In the dark room where he was kept, he could only lie on the floor. “There were AK-47 rifles everywhere and I knew it is only God that can save me through grace.”
The kidnappers were tracking the news report and soon the profile of their high calibre victim began to emerge. But the news reports almost ended the kidnap incident in a fatality. A national newspaper –not The Nation- had reported that council chairmen in the state were contributing N1, 000,000 each for his release. The kidnappers brought the paper to him and demanded an outrageous sum for his release, based on that report.
“I was able to debunk that story as a lie, that it was not true and that settled it,” said Bamigbetan. Unknown to him, however, another group involved in the negotiation for his release had told his family the same outrageous ransom. They kept pestering his wife for the money until Saturday night.
“They were still calling me up to the last minute asking for money. They said I should prepare to become a widow and that they will tell me where to pick his body. I was tired and afraid. I began to beg them. But I thank God he is back and alive,” Mrs Bamigbetan said.
According to Bamigbetan, the kidnappers were seven and they divided themselves into two categories. One group was hardened; it was responsible for the threat and abuse while the other group was more humane. “After the younger guys took over, things became easy; they gave me a mattress to sleep on, cooked indomie for me, bought me fruits, washed my clothes themselves and forced me to eat and take my bath.”
The kidnappers seemed to have been forced into criminality by the social circumstances in the country.
“The guys involved made a very clear point, many of them were graduates, have not been in jobs for years, and many of them have gone to take that risk, according to them, because they cannot match the millions and the billions that we talk about with what comes into their own pockets. They cannot understand why we budget billions of naira and graduates cannot get jobs so they have come to take their anger against the system. In that circumstance, one was just a victim of circumstance, it is clear no one is safe. It can happen to anybody at any time, but I don’t think we are prepared to handle this,” Bamigbetan said.
The kidnappers would not release him, until he had made a promise to take a very strong message to the government. “They asked me to take this message to the government – that they are angry. They said how can an engineering graduate not have a job for eight years and the government is budgeting billions annually. They said as the elections are coming, they too will be doing their elections with their guns.
“The boys said they just wanted to take their own share of the national cake, which has been denied them.” Bamigbetan sees this as another evidence of the rot of Nigeria under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) -led government.
“It’s a social question; the need to redistribute wealth in favour of the poor and the working class has become such a very imperative necessity, if Nigeria is going to move forward. That is the message they asked me to pass on – to let people know that they are not happy having to carry AK 47 around town at the risk to their own lives. Some of them are Human Resources graduates; some of them are Engineering graduates and this is what they have to do to survive. It’s a sad commentary on how the PDP government has been able to run this country. It shows you very clearly that no sane Nigerian seeing the challenges that we have should ever allow this party continue in power. The PDP government is really exposing us to danger.”
But there was still the issue of a ransom, some online news platforms claimed N15m was paid to secure his release. Bamigbetan would not confirm if such money was paid.
He said: “All of us are still exposed; there is no protection. There could be reprisals. Who is going to protect me against reprisals? I don’t want to be too salacious with information. I may not be able to control the consequences. It is not the issue of ransom, but safety. Former Anambra Deputy Governor paid a ransom and he was still killed.”
Bamigbetan seemed to have become a changed person after his ordeal. He has rededicated his life to the service of his people and to God. He also called for a special status for Lagos State to be able to cater for the millions of residents and migrants from other states. But he insisted he would not use a police security detail.
“I don’t use security details; I have never used security details. I am not too sure if it will change now. I believe in God’s protection, I work for the poor and believe that the prayers of those people will save me. I made my mind that if I work for the people they will pray for me. It is a stronger power.”
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: The Nation Newspaper
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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
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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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