Controversial media personality, Daddy Freeze and Peter Okoye of Psquare have reacted to the video of Ugandan pastor Jackson Senyonga celebrating the death of prophet T.B. Joshua with his members.
Naija News earlier reported that Nigerian televangelist and founder of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua (alias TB Joshua) reportedly died in Lagos on Saturday evening after concluding a programme at his church in Ikotun.
The cause of death was not immediately disclosed but family sources said his remains had been deposited at the morgue and an autopsy would be performed forthwith.
In the video shared, the Ugandan pastor questioned the late prophet, saying ;“What makes you think that you can kill others because you want sacrifices”
Reacting to this, Freeze outrightly condemned the pastor’s action, saying; ”Are they rejoicing over TB Joshua’s death? Even if they were sworn enemies, is this what the Bible teaches?🙄◄ Proverbs 24 ►
New Living Translation
[17] Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall;
don’t be happy when they stumble.
[18] For the LORD will be displeased with you
and will turn his anger away from them.”
@Peter Of Psquare reacted to the video, he wrote; ‘This life just do you! Nobody send you’
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday ordered a lot of changes in the nation’s security operations during a meeting with the newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff (COAS), Maj.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya.
Newspot had earlier reported that Buhari met with Yahaya at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd), said Buhari shared his military experiences with the new COAS and reminded him of the current “pressure on security” in the country.
On what President Buhari told the new COAS, the minister said: “He told him that there’s a lot of pressure on security and being an actor, at one point or the other, he has given us a direction in which we can learn from his experiences and apply them to our modern operations and I think we have taken the advice seriously.
“The issue of synergy among the security forces was also stressed and I’m sure there will be a lot of changes as regards to the security operations in this country.”
On what the military was doing in the Northwestern part of the country, Magashi said: “In the northwestern part of the country you know that the more concern we have is the insecurity of banditry, kidnapping, and other criminalities.
“We are taking the challenge, but you know, really, this is the constitutional responsibility of the police, we are only an aid to the police and we are giving maximum cooperation to the police in order to see an end to this banditry and insecurity in the Northwest, otherwise I think it’s quite different from the Northeast.
“In the Northeast, it’s Boko Haram issue and we are up and doing to ensure that we bring an end to this Boko Haram issue, especially with this development of ISWAP.”
The apex leader of the umbrella body of Yoruba self-determination groups, Ilana Omo Oodua, Professor Banji Akintoye, has raised the alarm that war had been declared on Yoruba people with the recent attack on Igangan area of Oyo State by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
He described the attack in which no fewer than people were killed as a declaration of war against peace-loving Yoruba people.
Accusing the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government of backing terrorist herdsmen that have been maiming, killing and raping people in Yoruba land, Akintoye, in a statement personally signed by him and made available to journalists on Monday by his Communications Manager, Mr. Maxwell Adeleye, called on Yoruba people to arm themselves with whatever they can lay their hands upon to defend their land against external aggression.
While saluting Rotimi Akeredolu, the Governor of Ondo State who doubles as the Chairman of South-West Governors Forum for his bold stand on the Igangan massacre, Akintoye called on the governors to put aside constitutional objections to defend their people, saying “Yoruba land has been surrounded, and we must act now.”
The renowned historian said historically, the Yoruba people have never been conquered, while urging the younger generation of Yoruba people never to surrender to any form of intimidation or harassment.
He said, “The Alana and worldwide leader of Ilana Omo Oodua, Emeritus Professor ‘Banji Akintoye, on behalf of all patriotic and concerned Yoruba people, and in consultation, and collaboration with hundreds of self determination groups at home and in the Diaspora, express uttermost shock and horror at the news of the barbarous killings and destruction by Fulani and other terrorists upon our people at Igangan, Ibarapa area of Oyo State.
“While commiserating with our people in Igangan, we hereby issue a red alert to all Yoruba people at home and in the Diaspora.
“It must now be clear to all Yoruba people of all classes and economic circumstances that war has come in a big way to our homeland. This war has been coming relentlessly for five years, but some of our own people failed to understand the full intent and impact of it. Some have thought the answer is to do one constitutional or political thing to Nigeria and the war would go away. But we must now all know that such propositions concerning Nigeria are blatantly unrealistic.
“And indeed these endanger Yorubaland, the Yoruba people and the Yoruba civilization by diverting the attention of our people from the manifest reality of our time.
“We now call on all Yoruba people at home and abroad to focus on the danger of the moment in a manner that will be powerful enough to preserve our nation and civilization.
“First we call on our State Governors to push aside all the constitutional objections that have been constantly raised from certain quarters whenever our governors have taken measures to defend our people.
“We are particularly grateful to Governor Akeredolu of Ondo State and all other Governors who support him in the patriotic and manly statement that he has issued on the Igangan disaster.
“We repeat what we have said again and again that we will stand fully and powerfully behind our Governors in any measure that they may adopt to defend our people.
“We say to our state governors, your first constitutional duty is to ensure the security of life and property in our Yoruba states. In the face of that important task, constitutional and political finesse and obstructions are a danger to the lives and property of our people.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has failed woefully to protect the Yoruba people, along with other indigenous peoples of the Nigerian South and the Middle Belt against these invading, marauding forces.
“In fact, when we consider all the behaviour of the federal government in the face of this danger to the indigenous peoples and citizens of Nigeria, we can not avoid the conclusion that the federal government is a sponsor of the terror in our land.
“The federal government started by saying and doing nothing about the terrorism while apparently instructing the security agencies to do nothing to confront the terrorism.
“The federal government persistently gives to the wide world a false picture of the situation by claiming that everything is a product of climate change even as the Fulani insistently issues statements that their mission is to conquer and subdue all the indigenous peoples of Nigeria and forcefully take their land for Fulani folks from all over West Africa. And even as international terrorist organizations such as ISIS, Al Qaeda and even Al-Shabab come to reinforce this Fulani terrorism all over Nigeria.
“While allowing the Fulani to move freely with and to import various categories of weapons into Nigeria, the Federal Government prohibited the possession of any kind of fire arms by any indigenous citizens of Nigeria, sending the police and army to seize such privately owned weapons including those for which these citizens had earlier been licensed for hunting and sports.
“In the light of all the foregoing,
we call on all our governors to stop letting objections by federal officials to obstruct the defence of our peoples.
“We call on all Yoruba people to rise up as one to defeat this danger. We Yoruba have a proud history that we have never been conquered.
“Let us not succumb to conquest now. Let us thank the countless young people of our land who have been standing up against the invasion of our land.
“But let us now rise to do more than merely thanking them and rise to give them all the support they need to clear our land of all terrorists of all kinds.
“Let us show to the world that though we are a civilized and life respecting people, we are nevertheless a people supremely capable of defending our people and our homeland.
“The persistent Ilana Omo Oodua calls to arms of all Yoruba people on their farms, hamlets, villages, towns, cities and other communities must now be urgently activated with communal self defence systems, around their abodes and places of work.
“You must urgently install early warning alarms; human, manual, scientific or spiritual.
“Also the traditional and hi-tech defensive mechanisms must come into place. Encourage and assist our young people to form dynamic teams that not only defend but attack the enemies wherever they have dug themselves into our forests and farmlands.
“Arm yourselves with whatever you can lay your hands upon, create or develop as individuals, and as communities to confront the enemy.
“Ensure they no longer succeed in their mission anywhere in Yorubaland. Our technology wizards are already putting together structures that will protect our land and destroy the enemy.
“To the elite of the Yoruba Nation, our businessmen and our professionals, we
now appeal that you decide and take action to assist all the efforts outlined above.
“We remember with gratitude that when the COVID-19 crisis loomed all over the world in 2020, our businessmen quickly put together a fund amounting to billions of naira to help fight the dreaded virus.
“We call on you now to do the same, to set up a large fund for the defence of our homeland and help with your expertise to set up the disbursement, management and auditing of the funds.
“The important goal must be that the funds be made to reach as quickly and adequately as possible all defensive and offensive groups and teams that demonstrate capabilities to produce quick and abiding results.
“We are Yoruba and we will prevail in this crisis. And then we will go forth and manage our own sovereign Oduduwa Nation to the admiration of all mankind- a land of security, opportunity and confident hope in prosperity for all our people and all peaceful and enterprising foreigners who come to our land.”
The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan has said the bank will support the establishment of agriculture technology hubs across the country, stressing that it will further generate activities in the entire value chain and also provide a base for exporting agriculture technology services to other parts of the Africa.Mr. Akinwuntan who was speaking at the 2nd edition of the Ecobank Agribusiness virtual Summit organised in association with Vanguard Economic Forum Series with the theme: “Digitizing the agricultural value chain for unlocking productivity, economic growth and food security”, said he “finds the idea of agriculture tech hub quite exciting. I can directly say Ecobank will support this initiative because it brings the efficiency of a solution factory that is not only available in Nigeria but can also be a base for exporting agric-technology services to drive agriculture in the whole of Africa. I put Ecobank forward as a partner to bring this to reality. “
Earlier, the Co-Founder, Corporate Farmers International, Mr Akin Alabi had disclosed that his organization has initiated an agric technology hub to attract youths participation in the agric sector, noting that access to technology and innovations will further drive activities in that segment of the economy. “We have developed a big platform, called a hub to serve both government and private institutions. The hub is generating interests and solutions. And now, we are in partnership with Lagos and Kebbi state governments. We are also working with series of agricenterprenures in the country. We have also used the power of technology, mobile phones to bring agric products from the farm gate to the market. We need the support of the private sector to develop the agric tech hub. A lot of Fintech hubs are developing different solutions, we also need that in the agric space. In Nigeria today, we can use digitalization to change the narrative and get younger ones to be interested in agriculture. At corporate farmers, we also created an e-learning academy during the covid 19 lockdown to bridge the gap between agriculture and education”. He stated.
In his contribution, the Vice President, Nigeria Agricbusiness Group (NABG), Emmanuel Ijewere noted that digitization in agriculture must be brought to the actual people in the field who might not be well educated, noting that through technology one can buy food from vendors from wherever they are in any part of the country. Further, Mr Ijewere noted that we can build a warehouse and make them efficient with the support of technology. According to him “Commodity exchanges cannot thrive unless the goods are there. How we move these goods with the support of digitization and enabling us provide a sufficient market is very strategic”.
The 2nd edition of the Ecobank Agribusiness Summit organised in association with Vanguard Economic Forum Series had its primary content objective to discuss the role of technology and digitisation across the agricultural value chain. The virtual summit had strategic partners such as the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG). The speakers and panelists included Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director-General, Partnership for Delivery, at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA); Aliyu Abdulhameed, MD/CEO, NIRSAL; Ndidi Nwuneli, Co-founder/Managing Partner, Sahel Partner; Akin Alabi, Co-founder, Corporate Farmers International and Ayodeji Balogun, Country CEO, AFEX Commodities Exchange.
This virtual conference is part of Ecobank’s Digital Series which is in line with the bank’s vision to consolidate a modern Pan-African market, contribute to the economic development and financial integration of the continent. The summit examined the potential impact of agriculture technology investment in fixing low productivity in Nigeria’s food production; evaluate existing traditional agriculture finance models in Nigeria and the role and impact of technology-enabled commodity exchange trading across the agriculture value chain amongst others.
As the world gears up to celebrate the World Environment Day (WED), Brand Communicator’s focus on Eco-Friendly Brands in the Nigerian market falls on Nigeria’s premier and perhaps the strongest financial institution, FirstBank of Nigeria Limited. The focus is on the Bank’s environmental policies and its impact on the global environmental issues.
This brings to fore the importance of environmental sustainability in our world today. Environmental sustainability is one of the biggest challenges and most important targets of the present times. Stakeholders (researchers, academicians, scholars, governments and non-government organizations involving individuals, communities, countries, and the continents, are increasingly focusing their attention on how to tackle the challenges associated with driving environmental sustainability. Key stakeholder concerns include the constant exploitation of the environment due to economic development. While the current generation is enjoying the fruits of economic development, they tend to be oblivious of the uncertainty and dangers that future generations would confront as a result of scarce natural resources and polluted environment. It is therefore, our responsibility to leave the planet as a self-sustainable system providing equal opportunities of survival not only to our future generations but also to all other species co-habiting with us.
In Nigeria, studies have shown that various sectors of the economy are vulnerable to climate change. These include human settlements and health; water resources, wetlands and freshwater ecosystems; energy, industry, commerce and financial services; agriculture, food security, land degradation, forestry and biodiversity; coastal zone and marine ecosystems.
Because of the seriousness of climate change and the impact it poses to the environment, an organization like FirstBank of Nigeria Limited is leaving nothing to chance in ensuring an eco-friendly society. Its recognition of the environmental and social impacts of its operations has made it adopt policies and procedures that minimize negative environmental and social impacts.
In doing business, the Bank, which is Nigeria’s first and arguably its most prestigious, takes cognizance of potential environmental risks with a view to nipping them in the bud. This it has done by constant interactions with stakeholders, driving sustainable insurance and putting necessary frameworks in place towards ensuring that its actions as a corporate entity does not impact negatively on the environment.
As such, the sustainability of the societies and physical environments in which the Bank operates are critical to its own sustainable success. Therefore, the Bank has shown over the years that it is committed to making positive contribution wherever it does business while avoiding or minimising any direct or indirect negative impact on communities and the environment resulting from its activities, beyond its responsible lending and investment efforts.
The acknowledgement of the fact that its environmental impacts can be indirectly linked to climate change and its global effects has led the bank to adopt an approach to environmental sustainability which is two-fold based on its direct and indirect impacts. The approaches to reducing the direct impacts of its operations include approach to minimising carbon footprints and carbon offsetting; work towards carbon neutrality as well as promote wildlife and biodiversity conservation and preservation.
In minimising waste, the Bank works to improve energy efficiency in its data centres and offices as well as reduce air travels and implement safe paper use initiatives. It also increased the use of conference calls for meetings as against attending physical meeting schedules thereby minimizing fuel consumption and carbon emission from vehicles. Its ‘Going Green’ efforts have also seen the Bank purchase renewable energy; promote tree planting initiatives and the indirect impact of its activities focuses largely on responsible lending.
The Bank’s key objectives of minimizing carbon footprints through the planting of trees, creating awareness among school children of the need to preserve wildlife and biodiversity, developing and educating environmentally conscious students through partnerships with reputable NGOs and institutions, are huge. The challenge in implementing this project is not just in identifying suitable locations with the right soil and climatic conditions for tree planting, but also ensuring students’ participation.
These objectives and FirstBank’s responsible approach to protecting the environment has seen it partner with Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Nigeria’s premier non-governmental environment conservation foundation dedicated to nature conservation and sustainable development in Nigeria. Its on-going partnership with the NCF has seen it actively support annual activities promoting conservation and preservation of wildlife and biodiversity.
The FirstBank Conservation Initiative is part of our long-term approach to promoting sustainability, which involves minimising our direct and indirect impacts on the environment. And the success of this initiative is dependent on our meaningful engagement with our stakeholders.
With its huge expertise in environmental issues, the Bank found a worthy and perfect partner in the NCF to help implement this programme successfully. The NCF used its experience and influence to engage the various stakeholders to support the programme. This included utilising its conservation clubs, which provided educational sessions for the students on the importance and benefits of conservation and supporting biodiversity. The subsequent enthusiastic participation of the students, and the encouragement they received from the Ministry of Education and school authorities, enabled the programme’s objectives to be achieved.
So far, 240 trees have been planted at the Lagos State Civil Service Model College Igbogbo in Ikorodu, and Evboesi Mixed Secondary School, Benin City. More than 1,000 environmental sustainability champions have also been appointed in these locations. These champions are young people who look after the trees and ensure that they are adequately cared for to help the bank achieve its afforestation goals. “The planting of trees is just part of our efforts to contribute to Nigeria’s green economy and to combat deforestation/desertification, while recognising the key role of children and young people in the sustainability agenda,” the Bank in a statement disclosed.
Through its partnership with Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN), FirstBank sponsored the National Company of the Year (NCOY) Competition. The competition is an extension of the COY programme that brings secondary students together to form a company, choose a business name and elect officers to oversee operations of the company for the programme duration. It teaches students to put theory into practice in order to fully understand what financial literacy and entrepreneurship is. At the end of the programme, the students that complete the programme successfully, compete in the regional competition and represent their school in the National Company of the Year competition in Lagos. In 2020, the New Phase from Brookstone Secondary School, Port-Harcourt, Rivers state emerged winner, producing an eco-friendly block. The eco-friendly construction blocks were made from plastic waste. These sustainable blocks are the next wave of sustainable construction.
Beyond the initiatives above, responsible lending remains one of the strategic pillars in delivering the sustainability goals of the FirstBank Group. FirstBank has put in place an Environmental, Social and Governance Management System (ESGMS) to help the Bank integrate environmental social and governance considerations into its decision-making processes. This includes an ESG policy and procedures for screening transactions. The ESG policy is based on existing policy documents and international best practice, while procedures to screen transactions are aimed at conducting ESG due diligence on potential transactions. These are based on Central Bank of Nigeria’s Sustainable Banking Principles, IFC Performance Standards, and international best practice and are tailored to FirstBank’s procedures, risk management framework, risk appetite and tolerance, and adapted to its strategic objectives
The key objective of this policy is to ensure that all the transactions that FirstBank is considering funding, include adequate provision for actions necessary to prevent, control and mitigate negative impacts on the environment and communities, and improve environmental quality.
With this, FirstBank has shown its commitment to integrating social and environmental principles in all its operations; promoting good corporate governance and ensuring social and environmental considerations are included in the business decision making; reviewing and managing potential social and environmental risks in its lending and investment processes and activities and reviewing all borrowers against the criteria like exclusion list; the International Finance Corporate Performance Standards, and other applicable international standards as well as the Nigeria Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBP) requirements.
Others initiatives are, providing constant education and training for all staff on issues of environmental and social responsibility relevant to the business; regularly communicating to all stakeholders on progress of commitments including achievements, challenges and future direction; continuous improvement on the way in which it identifies, assesses and manages Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) risks within its businesses.
The successful and productive implementation of the ESGMS has propelled the bank to integrate the associated checklist (which is usually completed by a relationship manager and verified by an analyst against the EIA report), into the bank’s credit application platform designed for reviewing credits. The goal is to ensure efficiency through automation as relevant implementation documents such as the environmental, social and governance risks screening checklist will be fully automated.
These initiatives over the years and activities have shown that environmental sustainability remains a key corporate responsibility & sustainability focus for FirstBank.
Great visions attract the best people, and so is the case at Ecobank Nigeria. The Nigerian franchise of the Pan-African financial institution is making good on its mission to empower Nigerians with all the tools to take control and make the most of their finances. With the recent revamp of its full-stack mobile banking solutions – *326#, Ecobank Mobile app, OmniLite, Omni Plus, EcobankPay and NQR, the Bank’s Marketing and Corporate Communications department is being built up to connect customers to greater value in banking and to ensure that the innovative products are effectively articulated to the public.
Led by the seasoned Pan-African financial services expert Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan, Ecobank Nigeria has been bolstering its digital capabilities and human capital with the goal of delivering optimum value for clients and shareholders across several value chains. It is in this line that Mr. Babajide Sipe was recently appointed to Head the Marketing and Corporate Communications department for Ecobank Nigeria. An experienced Marketing & Brand Manager, Mr. Sipe’s multi-faceted career, which cuts across several fields, industries and regions within the country and abroad will come to play in leading and enriching the Bank’s Marketing and Communications efforts with in-depth expertise, top-notch creativity and an extensive breadth of value-adding networks.
Under Mr. Akinwuntan, who is both the Managing Director and Regional Executive for Ecobank Nigeria, the Bank has strongly positioned itself as a key stakeholder and supporter in the growth of the real sector of the Nigerian economy. Recently, Ecobank announced that it would be empowering MSMEs with N100 Billion Naira, a special fund set aside for business growth and to reduce unemployment in Nigeria; and also the Ecobank Female Entrepreneurship Initiative (EFEI) targeted at boosting female entrepreneurship, amongst others.
Ultimately, Ecobank’s goal is to remain the go-to bank for Pan-African trade facilitation and payments. This would mean leveraging the full value of its unrivalled Pan-African footprint covering 33 African countries to create greater market access and financing opportunities. The Marketing and Corporate Communications department, under the leadership of Mr. Sipe thus has a huge task to position the Bank for the future. With the fine blend of experience, expertise and cutting-edge solutions, growth seems certain, if not near.
In a bid to foster positive business relationships, Fidelity Bank makes concerted efforts aimed at collaborating with the private and public sectors. The Bank had in the past paid courtesy visits to industrialists and top government officials such as the Governors of Ogun State, Lagos State, Oyo State, Imo State and Osun State, as well as the Founder of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu.
Just recently, EXCO members of the Bank led by Managing Director/CEO, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe paid a courtesy visit to the Office of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator (Dr.) Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen the existing relationship and support government’s economic initiatives.
L –R. Senator representing Katsina South Senatorial District, Senator Bello Mandiya; Executive Director, North, Fidelity Bank Plc, Alhaji Hassan Imam; President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, CON.; Managing Director/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali- Ikpe; and Senator representing Jigawa North West Senatorial District, Senator Abdullahi Gumel when EXCO members of Fidelity Bank led by Mrs. Nneka Onyeali –Ikpe paid a courtesy visit to the Office of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator (Dr.) Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan…recently
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said on Monday, mischief makers were behind the 2023 presidential campaign posters featuring him and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Chukwuma Soludo.
The Atiku-Soludo appeared in strategic locations in Abuja on Sunday.
Those behind the posters which appeared in several designs and colours claimed the duo possessed the required qualities to steer the country’s sinking ship to safety.
The ex-Vice President made the clarification in a statement titled: “Atiku preoccupied with helping to find solutions to Nigeria’s challenges,” signed by his Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, in Abuja.
The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to reports in a section of the media of campaign posters of His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, and Prof. Charles Soludo, an aspirant in the Anambra State governorship election in parts of Abuja.
“Ordinarily, we would have ignored the reports, but for the interest of those who may be misled by the disingenuous plot.
“We know nothing about the posters or those who may have promoted it.
“It is obvious that this is a work of mischief. For the avoidance of doubt, Atiku Abubakar is of the PDP while Charles Soludo is of APGA. It is silly of anyone to attempt to drag the former Vice President into an election in Anambra which outcome will be determined by the people of the state.
“Atiku Abubakar is presently preoccupied with joining hands with other well-meaning Nigerians to help in finding solutions to the myriad of challenges plaguing our nation such as insecurity and economic downturn marked by joblessness and extreme poverty.
“That explains why last Monday, the Waziri of Adamawa commissioned the headquarters of Standard Micro Finance Bank and two manufacturing plants, promoted by him in Yola to provide much-needed jobs and opportunities.
“We wish to restate that the purported 2023 campaign posters in circulation linking Atiku to Soludo were the handiwork of mischief makers and should be ignored.”
The Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba, has announced the immediate suspension of tinted vehicle windscreen permits in Nigeria.
Baba made the announcement during a meeting with senior police officers, including commissioners and DIGs from across Nigeria on Monday.
While making the announcement, the IGP reiterated that roadblocks remained prohibited in the country and warned that heads of commands must enforce it and key into the road patrol strategy as an alternative to roadblocks.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had on April 6 appointed Usman Baba as acting Inspector General of Police.
His confirmation was made known during the Police Council meeting, which was presided by the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday.
Gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen invaded Igangan community on Sunday, killing more than 10 residents.
Parents on Monday afternoon stormed some schools in Iyete, Igangan and Tapa in the Ibarapa North Local Government area of Oyo state to withdraw their children.
It was gathered that news of another attack on residents of the areas by unknown gunmen got to the communities after children had arrived in their schools.
It will be recalled that unknown gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen invaded Igangan community on Sunday, killing more than 10 residents.
Confirming the development to Saharareporters, the Elepe Tapa, leader of a community in Igangan area, Oba Titiloye Oyekanmi Sunday, said people have been running helter-skelter to ensure they took their children from schools.
“We couldn’t sleep till this morning. We just heard that those Fulani people are restrategising to attack us again but they didn’t tell us the precise time. No presence of security agencies here. We need government now,” he said.
Our correspondent learnt that Ayete, Igangan and Tapa are the major communities within Ibarapa North Local Government Area.
The Convener, Igangan Development Advocates, Mr. Oladiran Oladokun had on Sunday said one of the sons of the Seriki Fulani of Oyo state who was chased out of Igangan, Ibrahim Saliu had vowed to ensure Igangan is razed to aches.
Oladokun in a statement on Sunday said; “No state security apparatus got to us during the storm. If we had not made a little cover, perhaps Igangan would have become a dunghill of ashes.”
Oladokun therefore advocated for the relocation of the base of Amotekun Corpa in Igangan, conversion of Igangan Police outpost to headquaters, among other things as solution to the challenges facing Igangan.
He further said: “When the chips were down, our local hunters were the last man standing. Let the state via Igangan Development Advocates (IDA) get their list and use IDA to empower them with necessary logistics. We suggest that the government should relocate Amotekun base to Igangan, empower Amotekun to carry pump actions.
“It is time we deploy extreme measures for this extreme situations even if someone’s toes will be stepped on. The state is empowered to make legislation towards her security, therefore let the state flex some muscles.
“On numerous occasions, Ibrahim Seriki Saliu son kept pledging that Igangan will be raze down to ashes.
He had the audacity to proclaim this on social media as well as on radio shows, perhaps his words were taken as mere groans but local Vigilantes at Igangan kept receiving the news of impending danger.
“The state I believe thought it’s just another hype, for we notified the state of our fears on the 14th of april when covert information reached us of a meeting of the Fulani towards fulfilling their oath of allegiance towards reprisals
“Today we lick our wounds
We suffered heavy loss and casualties
The Fulani fulfilled their pledge.
I cannot say the same for those who are supposed to see to our security.”
Meanwhile SaharaReporters learnt that some of the assailants who were killed include two aides of the Seriki Fulani.
A source who confirmed the incident to our correspondent on the phone said they attacked Igangan as reprissal attack to revenge on Yoruba people.
“People recognised one of the four assilants killed by hunters as an aide to the Seriki Fulani. We know he was behind the attack. We are ready for them. Let them come now. Our people including the elders are not sleeping again. We don’t want any Fulani and their herds in Ibarapa land again,” he said.
