The images of the policeman, Supol Ayeni, who was crushed to death by a patrol van belonging to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) unit of the Ekiti State Police Command has surface online.
Recall that the RRS operatives while chasing suspected fraudsters, otherwise known as Yahoo boys hit Ayeni who was on a motorcycle along Federal Polytechnic, Ado/Ijan Road in Ekiti.
The deceased, who was attached to Odo Ado Police Station, was said to have died on the spot.
The pictures of the deceased have been exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters.
The 2019 governorship candidate of Action Alliance (AA), Chief Uche Nwosu, yesterday said he was arrested by hooded operatives over an allegation that he was an arms supplier to militants and sponsor of the insecurity in Imo State.
Nwosu, therefore, called on the Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Usman, to investigate his arrest and the activities of the state Police command.
He spoke yesterday with reporters at his Owerri. The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain had on Monday said the operatives threatened to blow off his head if he resisted arrest.
Nwosu was arrested during an outing service in honour of his late mother, Jemamah Nwosu, at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Eziama-Obaire in Nkwerre Local Government Area of Imo State.
The incident led to a verbal altercation between the Senator representing Imo West in the National Assembly, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, and the Imo State Government.
Nwosu, who is Okorocha’s son-in-law, said that at the Tactical Squad Office, Abuja where he was taken to, he was informed that someone alleged in a petition he was an arms supplier to militants.
He said: “They accused me of sponsoring insecurity in Imo state. I want to thank the IGP who intervened and ordered my release,
“I want to appeal to IGP to look into the activities of the police personnel in Imo State because what happened was because it is Uche Nwosu, what about those that are not Uche Nwosu. I am not talking about me what about other Imo youths who have nobody to speak for them.
“I am appealing to the IGP to look into this. The IGP is a good person because, without him, something else would have happened to me.
“I was taken to the Tactical Squad Office, Abuja where I was told that someone wrote a petition against me alleging that I supply arms to militants.”
Read Also: PHOTOS: Okorocha’s in-law Uche Nwosu before and after arrest
The former AA governorship candidate said the whole drama was done to humiliate and malign his image.
Further narrating his experience, he said: “Over 15 masked security operatives jumped into the church. While some rushed to the altar, some came to where I was sitting and ordered me to move or move me. They started shooting and disrupted the sermon that was ongoing. I demanded to know what was going on but they said they had an instruction to bring me.
“They manhandled me and bundled me into one of the vehicles they came in. One of them ordered me to lie down and one of them placed his leg on my head.
“When they drove off, they started making calls in the Hausa Language, and unknown to them, I understand the Hausa Language. They were telling one Shaba who is the chief security officer that they have got me.
“At Umuaka, they stopped and ordered that I should get down. At that point, I thought they were to assassinate me. They bundled me into another vehicle and they drove off.
“When we got to Owerri, three other vehicles drove straight to the government house and the one carrying me drove towards Okigwe Road and I began to ask them where they were taking me to but they never responded to me. They drove towards Okigwe and stopped.
“At that point, I thought they wanted to assassinate me. They asked me to remove my clothes, handcuffed me, snapped me, made a video, and sent it to the CSO.
“We continued until we got to Enugu airport where we boarded a charted jet to Abuja. We moved to Force Headquarters and we did an interview. They accused me of sponsoring insecurity in Imo State.”
He however said that what happened cannot deter him from being who he is or cause him to run away from Imo State.
“I am not afraid and can never be afraid to enter my state. So what happened cannot stop me from entering my state, I am now more courageous because God has delivered me from their hands. If I want to die it is better to die in my state than outside the state. So I am not afraid,” Nwosu added.
Like Nwosu, Okorocha called for an investigation of the Sunday incident, which he said was neither ordered by the state police command nor the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
He however believes that the arrest would pave the way for the unmasking of unknown gunmen who have killed many persons in the state.
Okorocha spoke on Politics Today, a Channels Television live programme monitored by The Nation.
Lamenting the manner in which Nwosu was arrested, the former governor raised the alarm that Imo State was fast sliding into Banana Republic where people now live in fear.
“What is happening in Imo state is really unfortunate and the state is becoming a banana republic and everybody appears to be living in fear. What happened to Uche Nwosu is an aberration and should never happen under our democracy,” he said.
Okorocha insisted that those that perpetrated the act were from the Imo State Government House.
He added: “There’s something that has to be unraveled in Imo State and that is unknown gunmen in the state and it appears these men are now getting to be known. And I task the IGP to tell the world the truth on this matter.
“It’s left for the police and Imo Government Government to unmask who ordered the arrest, paid for a private jet, and directed that Uche be humiliated but the truth will come out ”
However, the state government yesterday maintained that it has no hand in Nwosu’s ordeal.
Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba described his allegation as spurious and baseless.
“The attention of Imo State Government has been drawn to a spurious and baseless allegation by Uche Nwosu who was recently arrested by the police, for a yet to be disclosed crime, that the state government was behind his arrest. This is a malicious concoction, that can only be made up by a drowning man,” Emelumba said in a statement.
He emphasised that the administration of Hope Uzodimma did not believe in tyranny or lawlessness.
“It should be emphasized that the government of Senator Hope Uzodimma does not believe in tyranny or lawless behavior as was in the case when Uche Nwosu was the de facto deputy governor of the state,” the commissioner added.
Meanwhile, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said that the arrest of Nwosu was another vindication that it had no hand in the attacks and kidnappings in Imo State.
“This is another vindication that IPOB and Eastern Security Network (ESN) are not responsible for the numerous attacks, abductions/kidnappings in Imo State contrary to false accusations and propaganda by Hope Uzodinma and his co-travelers,” IPOB said in a statement by its Spokesman, Emma Powerful.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Imo State has however apologised to the Anglican Church over the invasion of its parish by security operatives.
CAN Chairman in the state, Rev. Eches Divine-Eches, tendered the apology on Monday while addressing reporters in Owerri.
Condemning the action of the policemen, Divine-Eches asked security agencies to ensure they carried out their duty in a professional manner.
The federal government and the family of the late Itunu Babalola, the Nigerian lady who died in Côte d’Ivoire after she was wrongly jailed, have rejected the autopsy on the cause of her death.
The Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and the father of the deceased, Mr Emmanuel Babalola, yesterday gave this position at a meeting at the NiDCOM office in Lagos.
Recall that 24-year-old Itunu from Oyo State reportedly died on November 14 and Nigerians took to social media to express their angst over her death.
Itunu reportedly got entangled in a legal battle when she reported to the police that her house in Bondoukou, Cote d’Ivoire had been burgled.
She was said to have been charged to court and the prosecutor, in collaboration with the police, allegedly compromised the case and accused her of human trafficking.
Itunu was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison which was later reduced to 10 years, but she died two years into her jail term.
Speaking, Dabiri-Erewa pointed out that the autopsy left so many questions unanswered.
“I am not a doctor but when I looked at the autopsy report itself, “Sepsis Complicated by Acute Respiratory Distress”, that is not acceptable even to me without being a doctor and I don’t think that should be acceptable.
“This autopsy, even to me does not appear acceptable. So, I hope that we would not let the case go like that. We are not going to relent. That police officer must be questioned.
“I am sure the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Geoffrey Onyeama) will take the next necessary steps to demand from Cote d’Ivoire a lot more information than they have given about what happened to Itunu’s case.”
Dabiri-Erewa stressed the need for African countries to treat one another with respect, decency and dignity.
Earlier, Babalola, who commended the federal government’s efforts to get her late daughter released from the prison before she died, said he was not satisfied with the autopsy.
Babalola said that doctors informed him that what the Ivorian government claimed killed his daughter could not have killed her within 24 hours.
He called on the foreign affairs minister and the National Assembly to intervene in the case.
NAN reports that Dabiri-Erewa presented a cheque of an undisclosed amount to Babalola as support from NiDCOM to the family. (NAN)
The spokesperson of embattled Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, Olayomi Koiki has alleged that the government of Benin Republic and the federal government of Nigeria are planning to kill his principal in custody.
Koiki made the allegation on Tuesday during a podcast monitored by Naija News.
According to him, the plan is to silence Igboho and other leaders of the Yoruba Nation agitation including Prof. Banji Akintoye.
He alleged further that the judiciary system in Benin Republic is not effective and that is why Igboho has so far remained in custody since he was arrested and detained in the country on July 19, 2021, by operatives of Brigade Criminelle (Criminal Brigade) in Cotonou.
Naija News reports that Igboho has spent over 161 days in detention with no sign of his release on the horizon.
His spokesperson on Tuesday said only the Benin President, Patrice Talon has the owers to free Igboho but the Nigerian government wants him extradited to the country for trial.
He said: “So many people have heard rumours in the past 24/48 hours. We know that God almighty is watching.
“If they are trying, they cannot be successful. If they are planning evil against Prof. Banji Akintoye and others, they are only trying but God’s power is superior.
“The enemies are trying to eliminate him (Igboho). Their plan is to eliminate him so that the Yoruba Nation agenda will be silenced, but God has shown that he is above them.
“If you think the legal route is what will set Igboho free, then we are wasting our time.
“Benin Republic judicial system is not working. Look at the way his case has been prolonged.
“I’ve spoken with our lawyer in Benin, and he told me that only the president can set him free.
“Now, diplomacy cannot work. We have to fight for our right.
“See the way they killed MKO Abiola, Funsho Williams – they were killed unjustly.
“We’ve issued so many ultimatum for Igboho’s release, but nothing has happened.”
Even though he has passed on to glory, it’s obvious that the legacy of late Prophet TB Joshua, the founder of Synagogue Church Of All Nations continues to live on.
Just as he used to say that the best way to live life is doing things that will outlive one, the life of Prophet TB Joshua has become a living epistle for everyone because it is clear that his many great works are outliving him.
Today Tuesday, 28th of December 2021, the disciples of late Prophet TB Joshua stormed the prestigious Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos state to give massively to the disabled which include the blind, deaf, dwarfs, albinos, crippled, and everyone with any form of disability.
They humbly presented 250 bags of rice and a cash gift of N1,500,000 to the disabled in a way to show love just as Prophet TB Joshua had always posited that Jesus is the reason for this season, therefore, showing love to everyone around is the best way to celebrate.
Though Prophet TB Joshua had always reached out to these special creatures, many of them had thought his death would cause an end to the philanthropic work until the disciples took it upon themselves to continue the legacy of the late Prophet whose spirit of giving has rubbed on them.
During the presentation, Evangelist Joseph, one of the disciples explained that the reason behind the gift is not far-fetched from the fact that it is a season of love and a time to share with others the good things that have been received from God’s generous hands.
He quoted Prophet TB Joshua’s popular saying that the whole being of any Christian is built on faith and love while making it known that there is no love that doesn’t express itself in giving.
‘’As we all know, this is a season of love, a time to share with others the good things we have received from God’s generous Hands, and with us here today are our friends, the Physically Challenged which includes those on the wheelchair, the visually impaired, the deaf, the dumb, the little people, the Albinos and other vulnerable people who have come from different places to converge here today, the 28th of December, 2021 in high expectation.
Prophet TB Joshua said, the whole being of any Christian is built on faith and love. Faith brings man to God and love brings him to him – Therefore, let love lead! Love must be uppermost in our hearts because all our doings without love are worthless. The man of God said, love everyone irrespective of their race, religion or physical dispositions. And there is no love that does not express itself in giving. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.
The whole world today can attest to Prophet TB Joshua’s track record in terms of caring for the less privileged in the society, both locally and internationally: The widows, the elderly, orphans, the physically challenged, the little people, the homeless, victims of natural disasters and others – providing food, shelter, accommodation, financial support, scholarships and so on.
This was what Prophet TB Joshua was born for, lived for and died for. And in continuation of his worthy legacies, we his Disciples and our committed supporters are here today to extend a hand of love to these friends of ours. We have come with bags of rice and cash gifts for them, to enable them also celebrate with their families this yuletide season’’
While receiving the gifts, the elated friends of Prophet TB Joshua couldn’t contain their joy as they bursted into songs of praise in appreciation of the bags of rice and cash gift.
Mr Biodun, a crippled man, expressed happiness on receiving his bag of rice and cash gift. He went down the memory lane by explaining how he has constantly received gifts from late prophet TB Joshua. He appreciated the disciples for continuing the legacy of the late prophet.
Also, Mr Lateef, A Physically challenged man who described prophet TB Joshua as father to the fatherless, expressed gratitude to the disciples for remembering the disabled just as the late prophet did during his lifetime.
Mrs Adebisi, a dwarf, noted that her joy knew no bounds when she heard the disciples of Prophet TB Joshua were planning something for the disabled. She explained that Prophet TB Joshua does it every year before he died and it’s worth celebrating that his disciples have taken up that responsibility.
The Albinos also registered their appreciation to the disciples, while admonishing them to always be of good cheer.
Society gazette reports that the Headquarters of the Enugu State Broadcasting Service has been gutted by fire.
Although the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained as of the time of publishing this report, it was learnt that the fire started shortly after the station opened around 5.30am.
President Muhammadu Buhari has received the 2022 Appropriation Bill from the National Assembly for consideration less than one week that the two chambers passed the bill for presidential assent.
Both Houses had delayed going on recess for the Christmas break to hasten consideration and passage.
While the House of Representatives passed its version of the budget on Tuesday last week before going on recess, the Red Chamber did extend its sitting to Wednesday before finally giving nod and proceeding on recess.
The chambers however raised the estimates as sent in by the president from N16.391 trillion to N17.126 trillion, also raising the oil benchmark from $57 per barrel to $62.
In an official communication signed by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Mr Ojo Amos, to the President, notifying him of the development with Reference Number NASS/CNA/37/Vol.1/35, and titled ‘APPROPRIATION BILL, 2022,’ Amos wrote: “In consonance with the Provisions of the Acts Authentication Act Cap. A2, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, I wish, with due respect, to forward to Your Excellency, the authenticated copies of Appropriation Bill, 2022, for your consideration and assent.”
The letter further read: “After Your Excellency’s assent, one copy of the signed bill should be retained in your office while the other two are to be returned for our further action, please.”
The budget will follow a return to the usual budget cycle suspended some years ago by the current administration following confusion in implementation, blames 9n recessions and factors the administration cited as unavoidable.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has given reasons President Muhammadu Buhari won’t assent to the Electoral Amendment Bill.
Malami explained that the bill did not capture the interest of Nigerians, hence Buhari will not sign it into law.
The AGF, featuring on Radio Kano, noted that the proposed bill has excessive cost implication, supports insecurity, and is discriminatory.
He said: “This means that you will repeat the general elections 18 times. Today INEC requires N305 billion for the 2023 general elections. Now if the general election, which is not the newly proposed electoral system, will cost this much, how much will it cost to do the same election in the APC? It might cost at least N200 billion because it will involve everyone.
“Although the good side of the law is that INEC is required to monitor it.
“Therefore, if it is assumed that every political party will spend N200 billion, how much will then be spent in conducting the same primary election in 18 political parties just to produce a qualified candidate? Let’s assume there are about 60 million politicians in the country, what about the remaining over 160 million Nigerians who have nothing to do with politics? Are you fair to them?
“All the people want are good projects, good road from Abuja to Kano, portable drinking water, good education, school feeding program and the rest of them. Are you fair to the 160 million Nigerians using their wealth just to conduct primary election to produce a party candidate, despite other demands by the public?
“My answer to this is that, to spend this N305 billion that will be given to the INEC and the about N200 billion to be given to the political parties is not fair to the remaining 160 million Nigerians who have no business about politics and political appointments. Their business is just a better life in Nigeria. This is the issue of cost implications.”
Renowned Nigerian journalist and publisher, Dele Momodu has made comments about joining the 2023 presidential race.
Naija News recalls that the former Presidential candidate in October 2021 officially joined the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The media mogul in a statement also made available to this news platform stated that he joined the PDP to contribute his quota to the growth and development of the nation.
Momodu stressed that he joined the PDP in order to help the party win the 2023 presidential election and sweep away the bad policies and practices of the All Progressive Congress (APC) government led by President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a post on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday morning, Momodu revealed how he was stunned some weeks ago when a former speaker of the house of representatives and serving Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal referenced him as MR President.
He disclosed further that some bigwigs in the ruling APC on Monday in Lagos chorused his name as Mr President.
Momodu explained how happy he was to receive such a remark even when he has yet declared his interest in contesting for the 2023 Presidency.
He wrote: “I was truly stunned when GOVERNOR AMINU WAZIRI TAMBUWAL exclaimed MR PRESIDENT when he saw me in Port Harcourt about two weeks ago.
“Yesterday in Lagos, some APC leaders also chorused the same song, even when I’m yet to make such a declaration.
“One of them said 2023 makes 1993 exactly 30 years and June 12 might reincarnate with a candidate loved across party lines like Abiola!” Truly humbled.”
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