A former leader of the the Movement for the Emnacipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Asari Dokubo has captured a notorious commander of the Eastern Security Network, ESN.
Dokubo, in a statement on his facebook profile(Cibi Dabo) on Wednesday, mocked the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and its ESN arm, announcing that he had captured on of their commanders and he was ‘talking like a parrot.’
It will be recalled that Dokubo has been in a running battle with IPOB and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu over their activities in the South-East.
He has constantly derided the group stating that it was one of the ‘worst’ things to happen to the region.
He has threatened to kill any ESN/IPOB member that dares him and also once threatened to kill Kanu with his bare hands anytime he appears in court.
A deacon at the Evangelical Church Winning All, Onikoko, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Francis Ogunnusi, has died while preaching in the church on Sunday.
The late deacon was the Baale of Onikoko community, near the Panseke area of Abeokuta.
Our correspondent gathered that Ogunnusi was on the pulpit on Sunday preaching against the get-rich-quick syndrome that had become the order of the day in different parts of the country.
Our correspondent saw a video where the deceased was heard warning those killing others to get rich, saying when they died, the money would be taken by other people.
Ogunnusi, while preaching in Yoruba, said, “The money you make through unlawful means, killing people, sucking human blood, when death comes, it will belong to another person.”
However, as his interpreter was about presenting the words in English language, Ogunnusi fell with the microphone in his hand.
This led to commotion in the church hall, as people rushed him to a hospital.
A member of the church, who did not want to be identified, said the victim was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Idi Aba, Abeokuta, where he was pronounced dead.
Greedy youths in search of quick fortune resort to money rituals, send victims to early grave
The source said, “The man was not the pastor of that church; he was just an elder. He was the Baale of Onikoko. He was the one that delivered the sermon on Sunday.
“He was talking about death and people who made money by killing other people. All of a sudden, he collapsed. He was rushed to the FMC, where he died. We don’t know what happened. I was very scared. Everything was disrupted. We just said the grace and went home.”
The source could not tell if Ogunnusi had any health challenge before the incident, adding that the deceased was between 60 and 70 years old.
It was gathered that the church at Onikoko is the headquarters of ECWA in Ogun State.
The corpse was said to have been deposited in a mortuary.
National leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu visited the Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-rufai on Tuesday.
Tinubu, who is 2023 Presidential aspirant, met with El-rufai to comisserate with him over the recent Train attack by Bandits that led to the loss of several lives.
Tinubu, who was accompanied by former Governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima, announced the donation of N50 million to victims of the attack. He was received by Governor El-Rufai and Senators Uba Sani and Suleiman Abdu-Kwri at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, the Kaduna State seat of power.
Others on Tinubu’s entourage include the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and Senator Abu Ibrahim. The Lagos Politician described the train attack as a national disaster.
According to him everybody should be concerned about the attacks going on in Kaduna state which have claimed hundreds of lives and properties in recent times. He added that killings by bandits is no longer acceptable and must stop. He also appealed to well-to-do Nigerians to support the Kaduna state government in addressing the humanitarian crises created by bandits attacks.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, has declared his intention to contest the 2023 gubernatorial election in the state.
Malami, who declared before his supporters in Kebbi State, promised not to betray them.
“If God in His mercies permits, and all goes well, I will as a politician contest the governorship of Kebbi state. I am seeking your support.
“I want to announce that I will contest indeed and as such I am counting on your prayers and support so that we can all work and survive the race together. I have no history of betrayal and I won’t betray you people. I will work for you,” he told his supporters in Hausa, in a video that was seen yesterday.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, pointed out that leaders need followers and followers in turn need their leaders in order to ensure that the citizens benefit, even as he promised to work day and night to turn the life of citizens around.
Malami had previously told close friends of his intention to contest the Kebbi state election.
He certainly would be contesting under the All Progressives Congress (APC) and would be seeking to succeed the current Governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, who is completing his second term.
In 2014, Malami picked nomination form to run for Kebbi State Governor under the platform of the APC, but lost to Bagudu in the party’s primary election.
The Attorney General of the Federation was appointed into his current position by President Buhari in 2015. He was born on 17 April 1967 in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
Malami obtained her First School Leaving Certificate(FSLC) from Nassarawa Primary School, Birnin Kebbi. He proceeded to College of Arts and Arabic Studies for his secondary education.
He obtained a degree in law from the Usmanu Danfodiyo University in 1991 and was called to Bar in 1992.
In 1994, Malami obtained a Master Degree in Public Administration from the University of Maiduguri.
In 2011, Malami served as the National Legal Adviser of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Chairman, Legal Team, CPC Presidential Campaign Organisation and Chairman Legal Team, CPC Presidential Campaign Organization.
Malami was among those that drafted the manifesto of the APC and a member of the inter-party Merger Committees of the CPC, ACN, ANPP, a faction APGA, DPP towards the formation of the APC·
About 11 soldiers have been killed in an attack by suspected gunmen on a military base in Birnin Gwari LGA of Kaduna state.
The gunmen who came in large numbers were said to have invaded the base at Polwire village on Monday and engaged the troops in a fierce gun battle.
Military sources told TheCable that the bandits came on motorcycles and carrying heavy weapons including rocket-propelled grenade (RPG).
The fight was said to have lasted for about two hours before the soldiers were dislodged.
“We lost 11 men while 19 soldiers were wounded in action, after they overwhelmed the troops. They also burnt down three armoured personel carriers (APC) after they overwhelmed the troops,” one of the military sources said.
The gunmen were also said to have carted away with several weapons from the troops.
TheCable understands that the wounded soldiers were evacuated to Birnin Gwari General Hospital and 271 Nigerian Airforce Medical Center while those who were killed have been evacuated to the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital Kaduna (44 NARHK) in Kaduna.
Onyema Nwachukwu, army spokesperson, was not immediately available to comment on the attack.
In past recent months, there has been a series of attacks on Kaduna communities, including military bases.
In August 2021, gunmen attacked the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), killing two officers.
The attack on the military base comes days after gunmen attacked a train in Kaduna, which left several people dead and scores injured.
Nollywood star, Funke Akindele-Bello has opened up on the reason she keeps her sons’ faces hidden.
Speaking in a recent interview on TVC, the actress stated that she wants her children to live their own lives without the public judging them by the standard of their parents.
She maintained that when they become adults they can decide to show their faces to the world but as children, she would rather keep their faces hidden and protected.
She said: “Don’t you see my home? Don’t you see my husband? Don’t you see the back of my children?
“How is that one private? The children’s face is that what you are trying to say? No.
“When they are old enough, they should show their faces if they want to. But for now, I don’t want them to show their faces. I want them to have their lives and enjoy it.
“Their dad and I are already in the public eye. They are children, don’t forget. They are children They are vulnerable so you have to just keep them away, keep them safe.
“Let them go to school, let them enjoy their lives without “Ah!” that’s Jenifa’s son. That’s JJC’s son. Ah see his leg, see his face” Leave them private!”
The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike on Monday visited a former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida and former head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.
The presidential aspirant was accompanied by some Peoples Democratic Party Governors; Seyi Makinde,
Okezie Ikpeazu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and former Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State.
Recall that Wike declared his intention to contest the presidential election in 2023 during his visit to Benue State.
The Deputy Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Governor Ikpeazu while addressing newsmen after the meeting said the delegation was in Minna to consult with the former Head of State ahead of the 2023 election.
He said, “I have come with my colleagues, the Governor of Rivers, Governor of Enugu, Governor of Oyo, some members of the National Assembly and other stakeholders
“First, to consult with the former Head of State and discuss national issues: economic development, security, and unity of our country.
“And also, to commend him for his support for the unity of this country. And the discussions went very well and we will advance it from there.”
Ikpeazu while speaking on the response IBB gave them, said the former military president expressed strong concerns about the need for younger Nigerians to be courageous in taking up the challenge of providing leadership to the country.
He called on the youths to take up the baton and rescue Nigeria.
Photos as Ooni of Ife visits Lagos Assembly, meets with Obasa
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, on Monday hosted His Imperial Majesty (HIM) Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogúnwusi, Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife.
Clad in his traditional royal apparel, Oba Ogunwusi, who arrived the Assembly complex at about 1.30pm, immediately went into a meeting with Speaker Obasa.
The Ooni of Ife left after the brief meeting just before the House commenced the day’s plenary.
Oba Ogunwusi had been a friend of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
In 2016, he commended the House of Assembly for its laudable steps towards promoting and preserving the rich cultural heritage of the Yorubas.
In 2017, when he led some chiefs on a visit to the House, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi urged other state Houses of Assembly in the Southwest to emulate the Lagos State House of Assembly in the promotion of Yoruba Language.
“I am very happy to be here and see the Lagos State House of Assembly, using Yoruba language to conduct its activities. I therefore enjoin all other Houses of Assembly in Yoruba Land to take a cue from this House.
“People in other countries honour and cherish Yoruba language, but sadly here at home, we seem not to cherish what is ours.
“I therefore urge the Lagos State House of Assembly, to do all within its power to persuade other state Assemblies in Yoruba speaking areas, to see the sense, in conducting their House businesses in Yoruba, as this, is one of the surest way to promote our language and cultural heritage,” the revered traditional ruler said during that visit.
Meanwhile, the House, on Monday, passed a bill to establish a training institute for law enforcement officers in the State.
The ‘Bill for the Establishment of Lagos State Training Institute, to provide for the training of law enforcement officers,’ was read for the third time and subsequently passed at a sitting presided over by Speaker Obasa.
Obasa, thereafter, directed the Clerk of the House, Mr. Olalekan Onafeko, to send a clean copy of the Bill to the State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for assent.
*He has delivered on key components of governance – Senate President Lawan
A sudden excitement seizes on Kwara as you read; it’s subdued yet electric. The chatter pauses for an instant, then erupts with cultured determination, sometimes, in wild abandon. Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is on song. He is the poetised visionary and the crowning progressive, the nurturant leader on whose watch Kwara has regained its greening.
Governor Abdulrazaq has earned the citizenry’s good graces, no doubt. He is a revolutionary leader and Prince Charming in one breadth. Before him there was nothing. Kwara careened and listed to the plunder of rapacious oligarchs. But at Abdulrazaq’s foray into the state’s political arena, Kwara, hitherto distraught, like the proverbial bride who lost her beauty and allure to the ravage of foul-minded suitors.
Kwara, proudly identified as the “State of Harmony,” lost its congruent repose amid the ruckus of rancorous oligarchs. The state, erstwhile notable for its rich melange of culture and ethnicity, lost its fabled peace and unity to the dissembling of felonious sons of the soil.
But no sooner did Governor Abdulrazaq assume the mantle of office than Kwara experienced the rejuvenation that eluded it throughout the locust years of the Bukola Saraki-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government and Saraki’s successor, Abdulfattah Ahmed’s unremarkable administration.
Infinitely gracious and sagacious, yet elaborately simple, Governor Abdulrazaq, has redirected the affairs of the state towards more promising trajectories, since he took over.
With unequalled grace, he has quietly gained the confidence of his people courtesy of the massive developmental projects that he initiated in the state. Many of these projects are ongoing in the state.
For instance, before his administration came into being, pipe-borne water was hard to come by in the state. Most residents relied on water tankers for their daily usage, while some who have the means provided their personal water supply system. Even the Government House suffered a dearth of water supply hence it also patronised the water vendors. This was undoubtedly an eyesore in the estimation of concerned citizens and illustrious sons of Kwara State, like Abdulrazaq, hence he intervened.
To put an end to this ugly situation, within his first year in office, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq embarked on projects that will ensure a seamless supply of water in the state. These include; rehabilitation of Lafiagi Water Works, rehabilitation of Asa-Dam Water Works, rehabilitation of Patigi Water Works, rehabilitation of Igbaja Water Works, rehabilitation of Kaiama Water Works, rehabilitation of Gwanara Water Works, rehabilitation of Up Kwara Water.
The Governor also ensured the refurbishment of Agbabiaka Water Tanks Ilorin, rehabilitation of Yashikira Waterworks, rehabilitation of Oro-Ago Water Works, Inter-connection of Eastern Reservoir, and Awolowo Road in Tanke, diversion of ductile iron pipes across Alagbado stream, repair of Lafiagi Water Works and its environment, among others.
Abdulrazaq’s intervention attains better resonance at the heel of water scarcity foisted on the state by previous administrations. In 2019, for instance, just about 6,725 households were connected to public water sources in Kwara. However, none of these households was getting water since the waterworks were either non-active, inoperative even as water corporation staffs were on strike to protest their unpaid salaries. The people were left at the mercy of politicians who moved round with water tankers in exchange for votes.
This has changed. To date, Governor Abdulrazaq’s administration has increased the number of households connected to public water supply to 10,426, that is, about 55 percent with defined access to potable water.
The number of public water stand pipes has risen by 1,107 more, or 72.31%. Measured against the population of the state, the figure is low but it represents a significant turnaround in the system. The administration has not only revived many of the moribund waterworks, including the one in Oyun, it is also building two new ones in Jebba (Moro) and Dumagi (Edu).
Aside from his remarkable success at restoring the state’s water supply, Governor Abdulrazaq has scored inspiring feats in the state’s erstwhile comatose education sector. Since he assumed office, Governor Abdulrazaq has given priority to education in the state. The sector had hitherto suffered neglect by previous administrations leading to the state being blacklisted from accessing the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) fund for more than seven years before his emergence as the governor.
It would be recalled that, prior to Abdulrazaq’s emergence as Kwara governor, the state foundered under the leadership of his immediate past predecessor, Ahmed. A major legacy of the Ahmed and Saraki administrations was the ghostly nature of the Kwara hinterlands.
That was a function of many things, atop of which is the lack of basic amenities like functional schools with teachers, healthcare facilities, drinkable water, and access roads.
Most schools in the Kwara hinterlands were without teachers, worsening the out-of-school children syndrome and drastically reducing the quality of education. In Isin and Oke Ero local governments, for instance, less than 50 percent of their senior secondary school teachers’ needs were met. Kaiama had just 68 teachers, falling below 45 percent of its needs, across its vast communities. Patigi had just 121, while Ekiti boasted just 135.
Abdulrazaq’s intervention in education, however, ensured new dawn of effectiveness and promise in the state; on his watch, Kwara accessed a backlog of N7.1 billion UBEC counterpart funds with a matching grant of N7.1 billion – these funds have been instrumental in no small measure to the gradual repositioning of schools and general improvement in education delivery in Kwara. The state is also carrying out renovation works in, at least, 43 basic schools. With the grants from UBEC now in the state coffers, about 600 basic schools are to get a facelift while teachers are also to be trained.
In order to increase the quality of education in the state, the governor recruited 4,701 qualified and competent teachers into the public primary, junior and senior secondary schools in the state.
The private school owners have also profited from his developmental efforts in the education sector. During the COVID-19 pandemic, proprietors of 1,119 private schools were given soft loans to help cushion the effects of the pandemic due to the shutdown.
Enthusing about Abdulrazaq’s achievements, incumbent Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, recently rated him very high on performance and project deliveries, saying his administration’s achievements have surpassed that of his predecessors, Bukola Saraki, and Abdulfatah Ahmed. According to Lawan, Governor Abdulrazaq has achieved in two years, what Saraki and Ahmed struggled to achieve all through 16 years of their administration.
Saraki, who is also Lawan’s predecessor as Senate President was Kwara’s governor from 2003 to 2011, while Ahmed took over from him in 2011 to 2019 before the ‘Otoge’ movement that ushered in the incumbent governor on the platform of All Progressives Congress.
Speaking in Kwara, at the mega constituency empowerment programme organised by Senator Umar Sadiq representing Kwara North in the National Assembly, Lawan urged Kwara residents to support Abdulrazaq in consolidating on his remarkable achievements in the last two years.
The Senate president said the governor’s administration has delivered on key components of governance in a style not seen before over the past decade in the state.
Likewise, a former member of Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon. Abdulmumin Katibi, said, “In May 2019, water tankers were the source of potable water in most parts of Ilorin, the capital city, even in the Government House. Today, pipe-borne water is back and stable in the metropolis while nearly 500 boreholes have either been dug or rehabilitated across the state. No fewer than nine waterworks have been fixed since this governor came on board while contracts for more have been awarded.”
A Yaba Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos State, on Monday, granted bail in the sum of one million Naira to the Lagos Island Branch B chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers charged with murder.
The NURTW Chairman, Azeez Lawal (a.k.a Kunle Poly), is charged along with one Adekanbi Wahab, 38.
Chief Magistrate, Linda Balogun, also transferred the case to a high court, stating that a prima facie case had been established against the defendants.
According to Balogun, Lawal, aged 48, is to be tried for accessory after the fact to murder while Wahab will face trial for membership of an unlawful society.
She added that the DPP advised that three other defendants, whose names were mentioned in the advice though they were charged separately from the two defendants, should be discharged.
She transferred the case to a high court.
A lawyer from the DPP, Mrs O. R. Saliu, had told the court that the legal advice was ready and in the court’s file.
Following an application by counsel to both defendants, Mr Adeshina Okulana, who told the court that the defendants had been in custody for 78 days, the chief magistrate granted each of them one million Naira bail.
Balogun also ordered that the defendants should produce two sureties each as part of the bail condition.
She held that one of the sureties must be a traditional ruler or religious leader, adding that both sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction.
She held that a self-employed person would not stand as the surety, adding that any civil servant wishing to stand as the surety must get a letter from the Head of Service of Lagos State.
Balogun adjourned the case until May 11 for the report on the filing of the case at a high court.
The defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, murder and membership of an unlawful society.
They were remanded for an initial period of 30 days on Jan. 27 and another 30 days on Feb. 28.
Balogun earlier remanded the defendants at the Police Zonal Monitoring Unit, Zone 2 Headquarters, Onikan, and subsequently, at Ikoyi Custodial Centre.
The alleged offences contravene Section 233 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, and Section 3 of the Anti-cultism Law of Lagos State, 2021.
