First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s leading financial inclusion services provider has launched the Virtual Payment card, a Naira denominated debit card and digital representation of the plastic debit card. The card is designed to be linked to either a customer’s operative account or wallet account.
The FirstBank Virtual Payment Card is a suitable alternative to the use of cash and cheques, with its wide-range features which include the ability of cardholders to protect his/her card using the block and unblock capabilities; PIN Reset; Change PIN as well as view statement at one’s convenience. It also enables diaspora customers to spend from his/her FirstBank account within the spend limit advised by the bank without the need for a physical card.
The FirstBank Virtual Payment Card is a safe, convenient, and easy way of making e-commerce payments amongst other functionalities.
The Virtual Payment Card can be created via the Bank’s leading digital channels; FirstMobile or Firstmonie Wallet applications. Customers can download the card, activate the card and consummate transactions all at once from the comfort of their homes/offices. No branch visit is required. Customers are advised to update their mobile application to the latest version, then select Card Services on the FirstMobile App and My Virtual Card application to create a Virtual Card at the cost of N215 (VAT Inclusive).
Speaking on the launch, Mr. Gbenga Shobo, Deputy Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria Limited said ‘the launch of our Virtual Payment Card is yet another secure and seamless way we promote electronic banking, whilst enabling customers to carry-out their transactions on the web”
“The Virtual Payment Card is also designed to guard against the spread of the COVID-19 as it does not require physical interaction between the customer and FirstBank Branches. We enjoin our customers to download the application and stay ahead in modern banking,” he concluded.
Similarly, FirstBank recently launched the FAST Track ATM, the next generation ATM and first of its kind in Africa, designed to promote financial activities on the ATM without any form of physical interaction with the machine.
For more information on the Virtual Payment Card, kindly click here for the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
Regardless of how Ugandans decide to vote in today’s presidential elections, the incumbent Yoweri Museveni will most likely be declared the winner. Museveni has ruled the country for five consecutive terms. He has historically been able to manipulate elections in his favour, because he controls Uganda’s military, judiciary, and Electoral Commission with an iron fist.
Throughout this electoral campaign, however, the long-standing Ugandan president has been upstaged by a formidable young challenger: popular musician-turned-parliamentarian Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine. Since being elected as a Member of Parliament in 2017, the 38-year-old leader of the National Unity Platform has become the new face of Uganda’s opposition.
There are four things worth knowing about Bobi Wine and Uganda’s politics.
Building a movement, defying expectations
Bobi Wine has repeatedly been underestimated by government supporters and critics since he first ran for parliament. He was forced to run as an independent after the two major opposition parties, the Forum for Democratic Change and the Democratic Party, turned him away.
He nevertheless easily won the by-election in the Kyandondo East constituency within Kampala with 78% of the vote. Since then, he has proved himself to be a skilled politician who has successfully built a strong political movement – from scratch.
Within his first two years in office, he forged a reputation as a principled and fearless opponent of Museveni’s policies. He was a leading voice against the president’s ultimately successful effort to remove presidential age limits from the constitution. He also led protests against the government’s proposed tax on social media in July 2018.
Over the course of that same year, he endorsed opposition candidates who went on to win four consecutive parliamentary by-elections.
By 2018, he had created a political pressure group called People Power, Our Power. When the government blocked its registration as a formal political party, Bobi Wine outmanoeuvred the Electoral Commission by aligning himself with a smaller, pre-existing one, which he re-christened as the National Unity Platform. Almost immediately more than 20 MPs left more established opposition parties to join his party.
A target of unprecedented state repression
Bobi Wine has been a regular target of state repression.
The Museveni regime responded to his early successes by repeatedly blocking him from holding concerts and banning the public from wearing People Power’s trademark red berets.
Since being elected, Bobi Wine has been arrested countless times. He has never been convicted on any of the charges. Some of his movement’s members and supporters have been killed, sometimes in suspicious circumstances.
Many have been arrested. Perhaps most notoriously, in August 2018, as he campaigned for a fellow independent candidate in a by-election in Arua in northwestern Uganda, Bobi Wine and at least 35 of his political associates were arrested following dubious reports that Museveni’s motorcade had been stoned. That same night the opposition leader’s driver, Yasin Kawuma, was murdered with a bullet that Bobi Wine believes was intended for him.
In the aftermath of these arrests, the Kyadondo East MP was charged with treason and possession of illegal firearms. Over his next ten days in custody, he was beaten so brutally by government security forces that he could not stand, sit or walk. He eventually sought treatment for his injuries in the US.
International outrage at this incident has not stopped the Museveni regime from escalating its tactics of repression during this election cycle.
The arrests have continued unabated throughout the current campaign. In addition, campaign rallies have been restricted and the government has met opposition supporters with deadly force on multiple occasions. Most tragically, following Bobi Wine’s arrest in mid-November, nationwide protests erupted during which state security forces killed at least 54 people.
In response to these abuses, in early January, Bobi Wine and two other co-claimants filed a 47-page complaint to the International Criminal Court against Museveni and nine of his regime’s security officials, accusing them of gross human rights violations dating back to 2018.
Generational dimension
Uganda’s changing demographics have a great deal to do with Bobi Wine’s electoral appeal. The East African country of 46.5 million people has one of the world’s youngest populations, with a median age of 16.7. Just over one in five Ugandans are between the ages of 15 and 24 and 77% of the country’s population is under the age of 30.
Although these young people have benefited from reforms to public education introduced by the Museveni regime, they see little hope for the future. By some estimates, youth unemployment in Uganda is as high as 70%. Frustrated young people can, therefore, easily identify with Bobi Wine, who grew up in the Kampala ghetto of Kamwokya. Like him, they have only known life under Museveni. He was not even four when Museveni first came to power in 1986.
Bobi Wine has skilfully appealed to this demographic. He frames his political movement in generational terms: the “Facebook generation”, which he represents against the “entrenched interests of the ‘Facelift generation’” of the Museveni regime. He has been able to speak to – and articulate – the deep sense of anger and grievance that young Ugandans feel towards the Museveni regime. In so doing, Uganda’s “Ghetto President” has come to be the face and voice of young people’s collective desire for generational political change.
Populism
In the final weeks of the campaign, Museveni derided Bobi Wine as a populist politician. While this adjective was intended to dismiss his young adversary, there is some truth to this label. In my research, I argue that Bobi Wine’s inclusionary brand of populism has also been a key to his political success.
His use of populist rhetoric has effectively forged a new collective sense of identity among his mostly youthful supporters around the nodal point of “the people” and in antagonistic opposition to the country’s political elite .
But Bobi Wine’s brand of populism is novel because his conception of “the people” is defined not in ethno-nationalist terms (as with right-wing politicians in the US or Western Europe). Rather it’s defined largely in generational ones. This has helped him to build a burgeoning political coalition across ethno-regional lines.
If Bobi Wine’s brand of generational populism proves successful, its repercussions could be felt across Africa. It could serve as a model for opposition politicians who are operating in countries with similar demographic characteristics and facing many of the same political obstacles.
Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking House Republican, said Tuesday she will vote to impeach President Donald Trump, as at least four GOP lawmakers will move to charge the president from their own party with high crimes and misdemeanors.
She is the highest-ranking Republican to call for the president’s impeachment in the wake of last Wednesday’s deadly Capitol Hill riot, which Trump helped incite with lies and incendiary rhetoric.
Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., earlier said he would support impeachment after the president stirred up a mob that attacked the Capitol while Congress counted President-elect Joe Biden’s presidential win. Reps. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., later joined Cheney and Katko. The riot left five people, including a Capitol police officer, dead.
In a statement, Cheney said Trump “summoned this mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack.”
“Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President,” the Republican conference chair said.
“The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”
Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday evening that he will not try to remove Trump from office by invoking the 25th Amendment.
“I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution,” Pence wrote in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Pence did not specifically mention the impeachment push. However, he did urge Congress “to avoid actions that would further divide and inflame the passions of the moment” as “we prepare to inaugurate President-elect Joe Biden as the next President of the United States.”
The House plans to vote Wednesday on whether to charge Trump with high crimes and misdemeanors. Democrats have said they have enough votes to impeach the president for an unprecedented second time.
In a statement Tuesday evening, Pelosi named nine impeachment managers for the impending trial. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., will serve as the lead manager. He will be joined by Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Stacey Plaskett, the Democratic delegate for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., and Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa.
Once the House impeaches Trump, the Senate will decide whether to convict him. The chamber may not have time to vote to remove him from office before Biden takes office a week from Wednesday.
Even so, conviction in the Senate would prevent Trump from holding elective office in the future and he could lose perks given to former presidents.
The House Republicans revealed their stances as The New York Times reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has told associates he thinks Trump committed impeachable acts. The newspaper did not detail whether McConnell would vote to convict the president if the House sends articles of impeachment to the Senate or whether he would urge Republicans to vote the same way.
More Republicans could join Cheney, Katko and Kinzinger in backing the effort. No House Republicans voted to impeach Trump in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
“Good for her for honoring her oath of office,” Pelosi said in response to Cheney’s support for impeachment. “Would that more Republicans would honor their oaths of office.”
The move by Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, breaks from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who has opposed impeaching Trump. He and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., objected to counting Biden’s certified election victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania after the attack on the Capitol.
Cheney is the daughter of former vice president and Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. He joined the nine other living Pentagon chiefs earlier this month in warning against involving the military in disputes over election results. The Washington Post op-ed came three days before the Capitol attack.
Trump earlier said Democrats’ push to impeach him was dangerous and could spark more violence. Some of his Republican allies have argued the effort would hinder attempts to reduce tensions in the country.
Impeachment supporters have said Congress should not move on until they hold Trump accountable for his supporters’ attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.
The impeachment article Democratic leaders have appeared to back, titled “Incitement of Insurrection,” accuses Trump of committing high crimes and misdemeanors by encouraging an attack on a co-equal branch of government. It says the president, by lying to his supporters about the election results for two months and then encouraging them to fight the outcome shortly before the invasion of the Capitol, helped to spur the riot.
With days to go before Trump leaves office, the House rushed through the traditional process to bring impeachment to a swift vote in the full chamber. In a report supporting the impeachment measure, House Judiciary Committee staff said Tuesday that Trump “repeatedly sought to overturn the results of the election” and “continued a parallel course of conduct that foreseeably resulted in the imminent lawless actions of his supporters.”
The report goes on to say: “President Trump committed a high Crime and Misdemeanor against the Nation by inciting an insurrection at the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. The facts establish that he is unfit to remain in office a single day longer and warrant the immediate impeachment of President Trump.”
CATHOLIC Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has been called upon to “quickly and quietly leave the seat of Caliphate” or immediately stop his “malicious vituperations against Islam and Muslims” and tender unreserved apology to the Muslim Ummah.
The call by the Muslim Solidarity Forum, Sokoto was contained in a press statement. It came amidst allegations by the Department of State Services of a plot to incite religious violence in some states by some elements working with external forces.
The acting Chairman of MSF, Prof Isa Maishanu, while reacting to Kukah’s Christmas message, stated that Kukah, with his statements, was trying to break the age-long peaceful coexistence between the predominantly Muslim population and their Christian guests.
According to the statement, “In February 2020, he (Kukah) staged a demonstration in the heart of Sokoto over the killing of a single Christian priest, presumably, by the Boko Haram insurgents, but did not consider hundreds of Muslims, Fulani herders that were mercilessly killed by the Christian militia in Taraba state in 2018.”
The statement went further to ask the fiery clergy what he thought would happen if the peace-loving Muslims of the seat of Caliphate, responded to his incessant provocative attacks on them and their religion like what happened in Kafanchan 1987, Zango Kataf 1992, Tafawa Balewa in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 2001, Yelwa Shandam 2004, Zonkwa and Jarkasa in 2011?”
Reacting, the Chairman of CAN in Kaduna State and its National Vice Chairman (19 Northern States and Abuja), Rev. Joseph John Hayab, and Executive Director of FJPD, Kwamkur Samuel, said the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Foundation for Justice Peace Development faulted the quit notice served Bishop Kukah by the forum.
Hayab said, “We have tolerated them so that we can continue together and build a nation of respect for others’ opinion. We, therefore, see this call for an apology from Bishop Kukah by this group as a show of disrespect and a display of complex attitude to abuse our tolerance spirit and our desire for a peaceful Nigeria.
“We see this group as agents of blackmail and intimidation who want to infringe on the right and freedom of expression of citizens, which our constitution guarantees.”
In the same vein, Samuel said, “Those terrorising Nigerians daily are so strong that they are rewarded almost on daily basis with ransom even in foreign currency under the supervision of authority while those crying on pages of papers like Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, due to losses, experience and excruciating pains and love for the nation, are easily identified, intimidated and vilified by the same authority that is not able to secure the lives and property of Nigerians.
“I will advise this group of young and energetic Nigerians who are calling for the head of Kukah to join the families of victims of terrorists, kidnappers and bandits in Katsina, Maiduguri, Zamfara and other parts of Nigeria to get to the source and sponsors of killers of Nigerians.”
Big Brother Naija former housemate, Nengi, has reacted to Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri’s decision to replace her with Ebizi Blessing Eradiri as the Face of Bayelsa Girl Child.
Governor Diri removed the Big Brother Naija star and replaced her with Eradiri, the first female First Class graduate from the Faculty of Law at the Niger Delta University, NDU.
Eradiri also finished First Class from the Nigerian Law School.
The decision of the Governor to pick Nengi for the position had met strong criticism on social media as many believed that the double First Class Law Graduate, not only made Bayelsans proud but also the entire Izon nation.
And the Governor on Monday announced Eradiri as the New Face of Bayelsa Girl Child.
Eradiri and her father were at the Government House, Yenagoa, where the Governor also, among other things, gave her automatic employment to lecture at the NDU’s Faculty of Law.
Reacting to the development, Nengi tweeted, “Congratulations to Barr. Ebizi Eradiri. It’s amazing how you were able to pull that thru!
“Special thanks to my Governor for also finding her worthy for the honour. It is without doubt that we will both work together to see how we can front for a better welfare for the Girl child.”
Congratulations to Barr. Ebizi Eradiri. It's amazing how you were able to pull that thru!
Special thanks to my Governor for also finding her worthy for the honour. It is without doubt that we will both work together to see how we can front for a better welfare for the Girl child pic.twitter.com/88riQTUvK4
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is considering a move to bring former manager Avram Grant back to Stamford Bridge to work with current Blues boss Frank Lampard.
The Russian billionaire believes Grant’s experience could provide invaluable support to manager Lampard and his staff.
Chelsea have won only one of their last six Premier League matches and have dropped to ninth in the table.
Grant believes his strengths lie as a team manager rather than behind the scenes, so potentially the 65-year-old’s return to Stamford Bridge could be on a short-term basis.
Recently on social media, Grant backed Lampard, and urged Abramovich to give him time to prove his doubters wrong.
About the current situation, I can say only this. You need to be strong when things are not going well, when things are going well everyone is a genius and knows what to do,” Grant said in an Instagram post.
“But in the situation like this when things aren’t going well you need to be strong, look for solutions and show a lot about your character
“What I can say to Frank and the others at the club is be patient, and more than this do whatever is necessary to do, that’s for sure. Two things: never lose it even when things are going well, don’t lose your fighting spirit at the highest level.
“And second, don’t lose what you have here [points at head] – you need to think right and look for solutions. If you do that, then everything will be OK because the quality is there and there is a potential like there was [at Chelsea] in my time.”
In 2018, the former Portsmouth and West Ham boss had a spell as manager of Indian Super League team NorthEast United.
Prior to that, Grant managed Ghana, leading them to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, losing to Ivory Coast on penalties.
Grant guided Chelsea to the Champions League final in 2008 and Lampard scored 20 goals during 40 appearances in all competitions for the Blues during that season.
Frank Lampard says the arrival of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in 2003 made his career as a player but does not think his personal relationship with the club should influence the Russian’s decisions.
Former midfielder Lampard enjoyed a trophy-laden career at Stamford Bridge during the first decade of Abramovich’s reign before he returned to the club as head coach in 2019.
“I have to sit here and say that when the owner came to Chelsea all those years ago, it made my career,” Lampard said.
“Maybe I would have gone elsewhere or whatever might have happened in my personal career, but fortunately I was at a club that had an owner who was brought in and absolutely changed the face of it and changed my life.
Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife Films, has kicked against the N2.5 billion allegedly demanded by Tobore Ovuorie, an investigative journalist, who accused her of copyright infringement with respect to ‘Oloture’, her 2020 movie.
Ovuorie had claimed that Abudu’s film adapted 75 percent of her 2014 undercover investigation on sex trafficking. She also alleged that it was done without her express permission.
The media mogul, however, debunked the allegations in a 10-minute video shared on her Instagram page on Tuesday.
The 56-year-old former human resources management consultant said Tobore’s lawyers sent a letter to her a month after the film was released on Netflix demanding N2.5 billion in compensation.
Abudu also said she had earlier reached out to the publishers of Premium Times, Tobore’s employers as of when the story was filed, and obtained a go-ahead to make the film while out of moral obligation promising the reporter’s NGO a five per cent cut from its theatre run.
“Tobore wrote the article titled ‘Inside Nigeria’s Ruthless Human Trafficking Mafia’, which was published on August 12 2014 by the Premium Times, her employer at the time. Premium Times Services Limited, the publisher of Premium Times, has disclosed that she can’t lay claim to the investigative report that belongs to them,” she said.
“According to the Premium Times editor-in-chief, only the media company and their partner on that project, Zam Chronicles, can lay claim to the copyright of that report based on Nigeria’s copyright law. We sought and obtained the rights from Premium Times, the owners of the story. As such, we fulfilled our legal obligations.
“And do not take kindly to suggestions stating otherwise. There are several instances where we have acquired the rights to books, stories, and places such as ‘Queen Hunter’ ‘Death of the Kings Horsemen’, and ‘The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives’. This is how our industry works. We dare not make a film without acquiring rights.
“Although I have addressed our legal obligations, there were moral issues to be dealt with in a case like this. In May 2019, 20 months before the launch of ‘Oloture’ on Netflix, we reached out to Tobore to acknowledge her journalistic achievements, to recognise and encourage her in her ongoing campaign against sex trafficking and that of her NGO.
“We granted her a private screening of the movie; gave her a special mention at the end of ‘Oloture’. And I interviewed her on ‘Moments with Mo’. In addition, we wrote to her and offered her five percent of the proceeds from our plan to cinema-run. This is to go towards her NGO, which she acknowledged. We also reached out to other NGOs.
“This was to pledge proceeds from our cinema run as ‘Oloture was never created as a commercial film. We felt it was an important film to make and donors helped us to raise the money. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the cinema release never happened. Instead, we decided to partner with Netflix, and the film was released on October 2, 2020.
“Within a few days (after release), Tobore went on social media making accusations. She wrote to Netflix, launched an attack against Kenneth Inyang, who never saw the script until we approached him to direct. A month after, we got a letter from Tobore’s lawyers alleging copyright infringement and demanding $5 million in compensation.”
Describing Tobore’s monetary demands as “extortionist and blackmailing” in nature, Abudu stated that she might resort to going to court if need be but said she remains open to settling the issue in an “appropriate conversation”.
“At this point, our in-house lawyer suggested that we needed to engage an external legal counsel, which we did. We knew we had not infringed on her copyright because Premium Times owned it. We did not have N2.5 billion to give. In order to understand what her demands were based on, our lawyers began meeting with hers,” Abudu added.
“That process stopped because her lawyers disengaged from her. Recently, Tobore started contacting out producers via WhatsApp and sending them horrid messages. To me, Tobore’s demands have become threatening, extortionist, and blackmailing in nature. If she felt she has a legal case, it could be best to come through the proper channels.
“A few days before the film was released on Netflix, I had sent her a text message: ‘Hi dear, it’s strictly on Netflix. No cinema due to covid. I promised you a cash gift towards your foundation and I will still make it happen even though we did not have a cinema release’. However, everything changed after the growing popularity of the film on Netflix.
“Oloture is a story inspired by true events and involving the work of scriptwriters, the development of characters and locations, situations, and occurrences that were created by our writers. Certain incidents in Oloture are similar to what happened to Tobore and this is why she was given credits. But it could never be her life story as claimed.
“So many women from around trafficked to Italy have similar stories. Please let’s educate ourselves. If there is one thing I stand for, it’s about integrity, working hard, and standing up for what I believe in. We’ve not exploited Tobore or anyone else and we will not be exploited. The facts are clear. We have everything in writing.
“And we’re prepared to defend ourselves against baseless attacks and legal challenges. We will not be intimidated because of the financial success of Oloture. However, our door is always open to having a conversation that is appropriate and right. Anything else will be refuted and rebuffed and, if necessary, settled in a court of law.”
Based in Lagos, ‘Oloture is the story of a young, naïve Nigerian journalist who goes undercover to expose the shady underworld of human trafficking.
On the other hand, Ovuorie’s investigation, which was published on Premium Times, exposed the syndicates that caused the death of Ifueko, her friend, who returned from sex work in Italy in 1999 with AIDS and died later.
The Lagos State Police Command has again directed its operatives to go after unregistered vehicles, vehicles with covered numbers plates, fake number plates and unauthorised use of siren in the state as the operstives of the Response Squad (RRS), a unit of the Lagos State Police Command, on Friday 8th January, 2021, impounded three (3) vehicles for covering their number plates and forty three (43) motorcycles for plying prohibited routes in Alausa Business District, Ikeja.
The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, had warned vehicle owners against these acts of illegality towards the end of year 2020 as a result of the intelligence gathered on the planned usage of these categories of vehicles and motorcycles for committing crimes in the state and beyond.
In compliance with the order, police operatives in the state have been on the prowl of violators who are fond of using unregistered vehicles, covered and fake number plates, unauthorised use of siren or revolving light etc with many of them prosecuted and fined accordingly.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, while reaffirming his zero tolerance for traffic offences and the like, ordered the Commander RRS, CSP Yinka Egbeyemi to intensify efforts in impounding any vehicles/bikes found wanting in this regard. CP Odumosu however expressed shock at the volume of vehicles violating these order in the state and motorcycles prowling Alausa Business District, which are prohibited routes for bikes.
During the sting operation organised by the command, which was commanded by CSP Yinka Egbeyemi, to kick against these offences, the command siezed the opportunity to advise Lagosians to desist from such illegality. The command also warned Governments workers, who encourage commercial motorcycle riders to flout the rules on prohibited routes to desist forthwith, pointing out that the squad had the directive of the Commissioner of Police to impound such bikes and prosecute both the riders and passengers.
The Commissioner of Police Lagos State has however ordered that the three (3) vehicles and 43 motorcycles impounded be transfered to Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental Offences without delay for prosecution.
In another development, the zeal of the command to curtail traffic robbery in Lagos State paid off as the RRS men on decoy operation along Ogudu/Alapere Expressway on Saturday 9th January, 2021, arrested two (2) suspected traffic robbers.
The suspects are Dada Owolabi,m, 52 and Kolawole Olawoye, m, 25. The suspects were arrested at diffrent incidences at about 10pm. The suspects are assisting the police to apprehend other fleeing members of their gangs.
The police chief in Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, has oredered that the suspects be transferred to State CID Panti, Yaba, for proper investigation.
Arising from the dangers, the risks and the rising cases of fatalities occasioned by road traffic crashes recorded at night, the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi has advised fleet operators, other commercial drivers and patronisers of night trips, including private vehicle owners to desist henceforth from it, emphasising that night trip which is often characterised by poor visibility, fatigue, sleeping on wheels, excessive speed among others is not only unsafe, but utterly dangerous.
According to Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Public Education Officer, Oyeyemi gave the warning while reacting to some reports of fatal crashes recorded at night at the beginning of the year, which led to the death of several road users and left others with different degrees of injuries.
The Corps Marshal while speaking extensively on why night trips should be avoided, lamented that on January 5, 2021 alone, an avoidable fatal crash occurred in Kabba, Kogi State where 2 vehicles were caught up in a head-on collision as a result of a combination of some factors revealed to be fatigue and sleeping on the steering.
The crash involved the driver of a white Toyota Hiace bus ( MSA 942 XA) that contravened COVID-19 protocols on physical distancing by overloading the bus with 18 passengers instead of the prescribed 8 passengers and a green Iveco trailer ( AKA 788 XC) carrying 07 passengers. Out of the 25 passengers on board the two vehicles, 08 were killed while 17 sustained various injuries.
Similarly, while maintaining that crashes that occur at night are more fatal than the ones that happen in the day time, Oyeyemi also lamented that just on January 9, 2021 2 vehicles; a white Sienna (KUG 538 BJ) and a Sharon bus without a number plate were involved in a fatal crash on Akwanga-Keffi road leaving the entire 17 passengers on board burnt beyond recognition.
Speaking further, the Corps Marshal disclosed that intelligence report reveals that most fleet operators and other vehicle owners, including private vehicle owners who are addicted to night journeys, do so for selfish economic gains, unnecessary overloading of vehicles with both passengers and goods and to avoid arrest and enforcement on physical distancing by FRSC patrol teams.
He warned that in as much as the Corps does not have the statutory powers to ban night trips, it has become very critical and a matter of urgency for patronisers of night trips to retrace their steps and plan their journeys in the day time because often times, when crash occurs away from FRSC rescue points, its difficult to access help from motorists at night.
In the same vein, while listing out the dangers associated with night travels, like poor visibility, fatigue, sleeping on wheels, dangerous driving, overloading, speeding among others, Oyeyemi also warned passengers whose journeys could wait for the next day to resist any temptation that could lead them into patronising fleet operators at night.
The Corps Marshal warned that these deaths are not only avoidable and preventable but totally unacceptable hence the need for all to take caution.
” On our part, the Corps will continue double its efforts by constantly engaging the motoring public nationwide, through aggressive awareness and sensitisation campaign, until the desired result is achieved” he added.
In the rekindled spirit of professionalism and enhanced productivity, the Nigerian Army has just released the postings and appointments of some affected senior officers.
The posting which was approved by the Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen TY Buratai is a routine/normal exercise intended to reinvigorate the system for greater performance and effectiveness.
The posting saw the redeployment of Major General FO Agugo from Headquarters Nigerian Army Signals Corps Apapa Lagos to Defence Headquareters Department of Communications as Chief of Defence Communications, Major General M Mohammed from Nigerian Army Resource Center Abuja to Pronto Tech Nigeria Limited and appointed Managing Director, Maj Gen AR Owolabi from Defence Headquarters Abuja (Department of Communications) to Headquarters Nigerian Army Signals Corps as Commander, Major General A Bande is to remain as General Officer Commanding 8 Division Sokoto, Major General E Akerejola from Army Headquarters Department of Logistics to Nigerian Army School of Supply and Transport, Benin as Commandant, Major General UM Mohammed to remain in the Office of the Chief of Army Staff as Special Adviser Nigerian Army University Biu and Vice Chairman Nigerian Army Property Limited, Abuja, Major General CV Eze from Office of the Chief of Army Staff ( Nigerian Army Special Projects) to Army Headquarters, Department of Army Logistics and appointed Director Engineering Services, Major General OF Azinta from Defence Space Agency, Abuja to Defence Headquarters as Director Psychological Warfare, Major General AM Dauda from National Defence College, Abuja to Army Headquarters Department of Policy and Plans and appointed Director Policy, Major General AL Dusu from Army Headquarters, Department of Policy and Plans to Nigerian Army School of Artillery, Kachia appointed Commandant and Major General H Ahmed from Headquarters Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police to remain as Provost Marshal (Army).
Others include, – Major General TA Gagariga from Nigerian Army School of Artillery, Kachia to Defence Space Agency, Abuja appointed as Deputy Chief of Defence Space Agency, Major General JO Iwara from Army Headquarters Department of Standard and Evaluation to Department of Army Logistics appointed Director of Logistics Planning, Major General PI Eze to remain at Headquarters Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE Maiduguri and appointed Theatre Logistics Component Commander, Major General OO Oluyede to remain in Sector 2 Operation LAFIYA DOLE, Damaturu as Commander, Major General BR Sinjen to remain in Army Headquarters Department of Training and Operations, Abuja as Director Operations, Major General R Abubakar to remain in Defence Headquarters as Defence Liaison Officer Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, Major General OO Soyele from Defence Hedquarters, Abuja to Nigerian Army Resource Center, Abuja as Senior Research Fellow, Major General AK Ibrahim to remain in Headquarters 7 Division/ Sector 1 Operation LAFIYA DOLE, Maiduguri as General Officer Commanding/Commander Sector 1 Operation LAFIYA DOLE, Major General SI Igbinomwanhia to remain in Sector 3 Operation LAFIYA DOLE, Monguno as Commander and Major General IM Jallo from Headquarters 63 Brigade, Asaba to Headquarters 6 Division, Port Harcourt appointed General Officer Commanding.
Similarly, Brigadier General AIM Lapai from 302 Artillery Regiment (General Support), Onitsha to Headquarters Nigerian Army Corps of Artillery, Kontogora appointed Director Field Defence, Brigadier General Kawugana from Warrant Officers’ Academy, Jaji to Hedquarters 9 Brigade, Ikeja Lagos appointed Commander, Brigadier General MO Jimoh from Defence Headquarters to Defence Space Agency, Abuja and appointed Deputy Director, Launch Vehicle Systems, Brigadier General MA Bolarinwa from Nigerian Army School of Supply and Transport Benin to Defence Headquarters(Annex), Lagos and appointed Deputy Director Supply, Brigadier General SM Uba to remain in 401 Special Forces’ Brigade as Commander, Brigadier General WM Dangana from Army War College Nigeria, Abuja to 3 Division Garrison, Jos appointed Commander, Brigadier General AGL Haruna to remain in 7 Division Garrison, Maiduguri as Commander, Brigadier General AM Garba from Headquarters Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE, Maiduguri to Headquarters 23 Brigade, Yola appointed Commander, Brigade General AG Laka from Army War College Nigeria, Abuja to Nigerian Army Operations Centre, Abuja and appointed Coordinator, Brigadier General IA Ajose from Training and Doctrine Command, Minna to 4 Special Forces Command, Doma as Chief of Staff, Brigadier General DK Zirkushu from Headquarters 1 Brigade, Gusau to Headquarters 28 Task Force Brigade, Chibok and appointed Commander.
Accordingly, Brigadier General M Ibrahim from Operation SAFE CORRIDOR, Gombe to 14 Brigade Ohafia appointed Commander, Brigadier General A Idris from Army Headquarters Department of Administration Army to Headquarters 63 Brigade, Asaba appointed Commander, Brigadier General RT Utsaha from 34 Brigade Garrison, Owerri to 32 Brigade, Akure and appointed Commander, Brigadier General MA Sadiq from Headquarters Operation DELTA SAFE, Yenagoa to Headquarters 4 Brigade, Benin and appointed Commander, Brigadier General IH Daniel from 304 Artillery Regiment Maiduguri to 34 Brigade Garrison Oweri as Commander, Brigadier General EO Ojabo from Defence Headquarters, Abuja to 81 Division Garrison, Lagos and appointed Commander, Brigadier General SS Tilawan to remain in Headquarters 5 Brigade as Commander.
Others are – Colonel FD Babatunde from Headquarters 81 Division, Lagos to Headquarters Operation SAFE HAVEN Jos appointed Sector Commander, Colonel OJ Majebi from Operation SAFE HAVEN, Jos to 31 Brigade Garrison, Minna appointed Commander, Col JC Mbanefo from Headquarters Nigerian Army Corps of Artillery to 301 Artillery Regiment (General Support) and appointed Commander, Colonel MA Maaji from Depot Nigerian Army Zaria to 4 Operation DELTA SAFE and appointed Commander amongst others.
All the postings and appointments take effect from the 18 of January 2021.
While wishing all the officers well in their respective appointments, the Chief of Army Staff enjoins them to take their new responsibilities/appointments seriously and discharge all duties professionally with utmost loyalty to the Nation and the Service.
