Immediate past Chief of Army Staff and Ambassador Designate, retired Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, says the late Chief of Army Staff was at the verge of making the nation proud before his tragic end.
Buratai in his tribute to late Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, said he was making tremendous progress in the counterinsurgency and counterterrorism efforts when the tragedy occurred.
He described the incident as tragic to all Nigerians and peace-loving people, adding that Attahiru and the officers that died with him were top-level officers whose records of service were meritorious.
According to him, this unfortunate incident deeply saddens me as it robbed us of the services of the Chief of Army Staff who had left no one in doubt as regards his determination to succeed in the various military operations across the country.
“He was at the verge of making the nation proud in the counterinsurgency and counterterrorism efforts when this tragedy occurred. I do not doubt his ability as he had served under me in various capacities and was well grounded for the job with active support and collaboration of his colleagues.
“I was deeply shocked and saddened by the news of the passing away of my immediate successor, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, the Acting Chief of Military Intelligence, Acting Provost Marshal (Army), his Chief of Staff, the Aide-de-Camp and the Acting Deputy Director Finance in the office of the COAS, his Orderly, as well as the pilots and crew in an air crash on May 21 at Kaduna Airport.
“I would like to, on behalf of my family, reiterate my deepest sympathy and condolences to the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Federal Republic of Nigeria, the families of the deceased, the Honourable Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Air Staff, gallant officers, soldiers and airmen of the Armed Forces of Nigeria over the passing away of these courageous, loyal and patriotic Nigerians in line of duty,” he said.
Buratai however, urged the armed forces to close ranks and make sure that the legacy of the officers lives on by consolidating on the gains made in the various operations.
According to him, they gave their lives in the line of duty and patriotic service to the nation.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these great heroes. May the Almighty Allah grant them eternal rest,” he said.
‘I Won’t Pay Redundant Workers’- El Rufai Boasts again
Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has pledged to redress the damages done by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on the state’s economy during its five-day warning strike, insisting that Government was not in a position to pay redundant workers.
El-Rufai, in a radio broadcast at the weekend, commended Federal Government for its effort to intervene in the logjam between Labour and the State Government. He also thanked citizens for their resilience during the strike period.
He said: “I address you, today, on behalf of the Kaduna State Government to thank you for your resilience in the face of sustained assault on your rights, freedoms, and livelihoods by the NLC over the previous four days.
“We appreciate the calm response by our citizens to NLC’s unwarranted provocation, lawlessness, and denial of essential services. We thank our traditional, community and religious leaders, who helped to manage the strong feelings of our people against the needless pain imposed on them.
“Kaduna Government wishes to express its regrets that such lawlessness was permitted by those with the duty to prevent it. We sympathise with all our citizens for the denial of electricity for four days and the persistent attempt to disrupt normal life and prevent government offices, hospitals, banks, and other private businesses from functioning. The laws of our country do not allow anyone to shutdown essential services. The right to strike does not include licence to violate public and private facilities or to shut them down in any way.
“Persons on strike can withdraw from the facilities where they are working, but they are not allowed to stop those facilities from functioning. As your government, we will pursue accountability for the crimes that have been committed and seek remedies for our people…”
He explained that the state Government has done a lot for the welfare of workers, including payment of the minimum wage, pension, and other entitlements of civil servants.
“Many states are yet to pay these wages, while some that began paying have reversed it. But it is the state that is consistently paying that the NLC came to sabotage. We will not become a state that only pays salary, and no amount of pressure will change that. We are a state that believes in progress and development, and we will continue to prioritise this…”
Bandits, on Thursday, raided the Sabon Rafinsanyin area of Suleja Town, in Niger State at about 2.30am, killing one person and kidnapping 11 others.
The Suleja incident came simultaneously with the raids on some communities in Munya local government of the state, which has been one of the epicentre of bandits’ attacks in the last couple of months, just as the Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has cried out that bandits were extending their activities to other parts of the state, particularly, the Niger North Senatorial zone
In a related development, suspected herdsmen on saturday attacked Tse Ancha, a community in Makurdi Local Government area of Benue State, killing eight persons and injuring many others.
However, in Niger, the man killed at new Rafinsanyin was identified as Nicholas while his wife and sister in-law, who were staying in the same residence with him were kidnapped.
A staff of the NNPC, whose name was given as Usman Mohammed, a yet-to-be identified staff of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC were also among those kidnapped.
According to a reliable source within the government, others kidnapped were the sister of the NNPC staff simply called Farina, Mr. Ishola, Mr. Baba Daniel and his brother.
The bandits, who were many and heavily armed were said to have raided the new Suleja layout moving from house to house to kidnap their victims and disposses them of their valuables.
“They were all herded into a bus and taken to unknown destination” the eyewitness further told THISDAY, saying there was panic among other residents, who were helpless, because no security people came to their aid.
THISDAY further learnt that bandits again raided some villages in the Munya Local Government Area of the state, killing two men suspected to be insane.
One person was reported to have been shot and was admitted at the Sarkin-Pawa general hospital for treatment.
These particular raids were said to have taken place between Wednesday and Thursday in broad day light.
An eyewitness told THISDAY that some of the villages raided included Kuchi, Guni and Chibane.
It was learnt that the bandits moved in large numbers and bore sophisticated weapons .
“They moved from vilage to village rustling cattle and taking away the property of villagers” anothereyewitness said but could not explain why the mentally derailed persons were killed, because the bandits were largely after rustling of cattle and dispossesing people of their valuable items
“They (Bandits) must have thought the insane men were normal human being and could attack them,” a different eyewitness said.
Shiroro and Munya Local Governments are among two areas where the military began bandits clearance operation last week resulting in those displaced returning to the communities.
Armed soldiers in several trucks were transported to the area on the orders of the new GOC of the I Mechanized Division of the Nigerian Army Kaduna, Major General Hamisu Ali-Keffi for the assault on the bandits.
The Police have not confirmed these incidents, because the Public Relations Officer of the Niger State Police Command, DSP Wasiu Abiodun did not respond to calls made to him afterwards.
Speaking after attending the burial of Bashar Saidu Namaska, son of the Sarkin Sudan of Kontagora,Alhaji Saidu Namaska on Friday, Bello said bandits, who were being dislodged from some communities in the Niger East Senatorial zone of the state had started moving into the hinterlands of the Niger North Senatorial zone to carryout their deadly activities.
The Sardauna Kontagora and three others were killed by bandits on his father’s farm at Masuga on the Kontagora – Rijau road on Wednesday evening.
Bello lamented that while efforts were ongoing to tackle the activities of bandits in Munyan and Shiroro Local Government Areas, the bandits had decided to move into the hinter land of zone C to perpetrate their evil acts and therefore reemphasised the need for the security architecture of the state to be strenghtened.
He said the rate at which banditry were thriving in the state and country as a whole called for every Nigerian to reflect, even as government continued to ensure that it supported the Vigilante, not minding the state’s lean resources, which is now being diverted to security issues.
“The situation on ground at the moment calls for every Nigerian to reflect, think and wake up to do the needful. We shouldn’t politicise matters, and particularly security matters,” he said.
According to him, armed bandits do not differentiate or carry out their nefarious activities along party or ethno-religious divide, hence the need for collective efforts in the fight against banditry, saying also that everyone should stand up to his or her responsibility in what ever capacity to bring the evil act of banditry to an end.
Bello, after the interment, paid a condolence visit to the Sarkin Sudan Kontagora, where he described the deceased son as “a close ally whose services will be missed by the emirate and the state”
He also described the circumstances surrounding his death as “Most unfortunate” and charged the monarch to take the incident as an act of God.
Meanwhile, suspected herdsmen on saturday attacked Tse Ancha, a community in Makurdi Local Government area killing eight persons, in a fresh attack that came less than a month after seven people were killed at the Abagena IDP camp in Makurdi.
Following the attack, the Executive Chairman of Makurdi Local Government Council, Hon Anthony Dyegeh, visited the scene of the attack for an on-the-spot assessment and evacuation of corpses and the injured to the hospital.
Dyegeh condemned the attacks on innoncent people of Benue State and called on various security agencies to stand up to their duties of securing the lives and properties of the citizens of the state.
The Chairman confirmed a total of eight deaths, seven men and a woman while five were badly injured and had been taken to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi.
Also, Special Adviser to the Governor on Security matters, Colonel Paul Hembah, who accompanied the chairman to the scene, called the people to stop relying on federal security alone but stand up to defend themselves and their Lands.
He extended Governor Samuel Ortom’s condolences to the people and prayed for peace to return in the state.
However, at the scene of the attack, an ATM Card bearing Audullahi Sabo with life and empty bullets were recovered.
Society gazette reports that amidst national grief on the day the late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Ibrahim Attahiru, is being buried, some Northern governors and ministers rather than join Nigerians to mourn, attended the wedding ceremony of Abubakar Malami’s son.
Mr Attahiru died on Friday in a plane crash with 10 other military personnel onboard the flight. The departed were buried today at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja.
President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed Mr Attahiru to the position earlier this year failed to show up personally, though it was later confirmed that he sent the Defence Minister, Bashir Magashi, to represent him.
Mr Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) is also the Minister of Justice. His son, Abirul-Rahman, wedded today at Alfurqan Juma’at mosque in the Kano metropolis.
The wedding was attended by Umar Ganduje of Kano; Bello Metawalle of Zamfara; Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto; Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi and Muhammad Yahaya of Gombe.
Aside the five state governors from the North, Ministers and federal lawmakers also graced the occasion, according to Abubakar Aminu Ibrahim, media aide to Kano State governor
Reno Omokri, former presidential aide, has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for not attending the burial of the late Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Attahiru, on Saturday.
It was earlier reported that Buhari and Osinbajo were conspicuously missing at the burial of the late COAS and other military officers on Saturday.
Attahiru died in a plane crash close to the Kaduna Airport on Friday.
Ten other officers were also killed when the Beachcraft 350 aircraft came down due to bad weather.
Their remains were on Saturday moved to the National Mosque and the Nigerian Air Force Protestant Church venues of prayers.
The burial rites started around 1 pm and were attended by top dignitaries in Nigeria’s Armed Forces.
Their bodies were later moved to the National Military Cemetery for the interment ceremony, where they were honoured with a 21-gun salute.
Reacting, Omokri, in a tweet via his Twitter handle, said, wonder why will anyone want to die for Nigeria after Buhari and Osinbajo failed to attend the burial of late COAS, other military officers.
Omokri’s tweet read, “@MBuhari called General Attahiru a “hero”, but he did not attend his funeral just 15 miles from Aso Rock. Yet, he travelled 4000 miles to Paris.
“Even @ProfOsinbajo did not attend, yet he traveled 2500 miles to Kampala. Why will anyone then want to die for Nigeria? ”
Gov Matawalle shuts down defection rumours, attends PDP Governors meeting
The Federal Government has come under severe criticisms on social media, particularly on Twitter, following reports that the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) collect the identification numbers of citizens phones. The identification numbers also known as ‘IMEI’ allows phones to be tracked and monitored. It also allows access to sensitive data of users.
The NCC’s Revised National Policy for Sim Card Registration, which disclosed the said plan stipulates that “implementation of a Centralised Equipment Identity and Register (CEIR), otherwise known as Device Management System (DMS) will serve as a repository for keeping records of all registered mobile phones’ International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) and owners of such devices.”
“IMEIs that have been reported as either stolen or illegal; will be shared through the DMS to all the operators and service providers. The purpose is to ensure that such devices do not work even if different SIM Cards are inserted in those devices.”
“Accordingly, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has directed that the Device Management System should be implemented within three months,” it read.
Outrage
The new policy comes months after the federal government announced compulsory integration of sim cards with National Identity Numbers (NIN). The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) tackled the government over the decision, claiming it is a violation of the 1999 Constitution.
“We urge President Buhari to direct the Nigerian Communications Commission to immediately withdraw the illegal directive asking Nigerians to submit the International Mobile Equipment Identity of their phones.”
“The directive cannot be justified under any circumstances, as it amounts to mass surveillance, which is contrary to the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended], and violates the rights to privacy, freedom of expression, and would have a profound impact on other human rights.”
“Asking Nigerians to submit their Phone ID is illegal and unconstitutional,” the group said.
A Twitter user who simply identified himself as Ayemojubar while reacting to the report on IMEI submission to Federal Government said, “You are at the mercy of whoever has your BVN, NIN and IMEI — your finances, your communication channels, your contacts, colleagues and family, your location, I mean the complete organogram of your existence.”
POLITICS NIGERIA also monitored an online poll on the subject of discourse and 90 per cent of the respondents said they won’t support submission of their phone identification number to the NCC. Amidst public outcry, the NCC in a statement by its spokesperson, Ikechukwu Adinde, on Friday, said it will get the numbers automatically without asking individuals to submit them.
“It is pertinent to state that the Commission is in the process of deploying a Device Management System (DMS). The DMS will essentially protect subscribers against phone theft and will identify and enable the elimination of fake devices from the networks. The system will capture IMEI automatically without any requirement for subscribers to submit same,” the statement said.
Pantami’s terror-related factor?
One major reason why Nigeria are skeptical about the development is the history of terror-linked Minister of Communication, Isa Pantami.The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is the independent regulatory authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria and the agency works directly under the watch of Mr Pantami who heads the Ministry of Communications.
The minister was recently attacked for his vociferous support for terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and Taliban.
He also considered Osama bin Laden “a better Muslim than himself in a country where Boko Haram insurgents have claimed the live of thousands of people”. He was first the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency and later the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
A report on his alleged activities generated controversy after he was said to had been placed on the U.S. watch list for terrorism. The article was later retracted but the damage had been done. Some days after the publication, some videos of his teachings 20 years ago also surfaced online.
Documents of him volunteering to command a militia to fight against Christians in a Plateau community also went viral online; then reports that he offered public condolences to the notorious Al-Qaeda leader, Abu Musa’b al-Zarqawi. Asides all these, Mr Pantami, whose agency is expected to have citizens IMEI in a few months time, reportedly “issued a fatwa” on several Christian students on campus, leading to the eventual killing of one of them.
Mr Pantami has renounced his past statements, but calls for his resignation have continued to gain traction. This among others won’t make Nigerians support the submission of phone identification number directive.
Govt incessant gag against press freedom
Another reason why Nigerians will not support the order is the incessant gag against press freedom by President Muhammadu Buhari administration. Several Nigerians have in the past been a victim of this. A popular instance is the case of Dadiyata who has been missing for months after criticising a state governor.
The order will also poses threats to investigative journalists who try to hold authorities to account.
“Nigerian government cannot be trusted,” Dunsi Olowolafe said. “Some of us in the media will be picked from home anytime we write about their irregularities.”
The Governors on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have warned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against witch-hunting opposition parties.
The PDP Governors’ Forum said that the recent invitation of officials of the PDP by the EFCC acting on a spurious petition by a disgruntled former member of PDP raises questions on the seriousness and impartiality of the anti graft agency to do its work.
The Governors in a statement by its Director-General, CID Maduabum said, “while PDP as a political party is accountable to its members and the general public for its actions, we are, however, concerned that the old tactics of using the EFCC to silence political opposition are creeping into our polity once again.
“We had expected that the EFCC under a new leadership will learn from the mistakes of its predecessors.
“It is a misplaced priority for EFCC to abandon revelations of monumental fraud by various officials and agencies of the Federal Government to pursue the PDP which is the main opposition party doing a yeoman’s job of preventing the descent into chaos and anarchy in Nigeria.”
The governors said that the assertive role PDP is playing is given the government a sleepless night, hence the action of the EFCC.
“Perhaps certain interests in government are worried about the increasingly assertive role the PDP is playing in calling out corruption in government and wants to weaken and silence it,” the governors said.
The Forum noted that the petition in question didn’t talk about embezzling of government funds, adding, “even the petition in question did not make a single allegation of misuse of government funds, nor cheating of any individual or public authority by the PDP.
“It is therefore surprising that EFCC should use its scarce human and other resources to begin an investigation into PDP finances. If EFCC is even – handed and non-partisan, it should also conduct an investigation into other political parties including APC, the ruling party.”
The governors said that PDP is up to date in making financial returns as required by the Constitution to INEC, “and we are not aware that INEC made any complaints to EFCC on PDP’s Returns.
“The times are really perilous. We face existential threats as a nation and PDP shouldn’t be distracted from its main role as a political watchdog on behalf of Nigerians.”
The remains of the officers who died in the Air crash together with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru have arrived at the Protestant Church, Air Force Base, Abuja.
A burial service has already commended for five of them at the Church.
It was reported that on Friday, Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru died in an air crash at about 6:00p.m.
A military Beachcraft 350 carrying him went down at the Kaduna International Airport on Friday, claiming all passengers.
The top military officer, alongside his senior aides and other senior army officers, were in Kaduna on an official trip. DAILY POST gathered that they passed on with him.
BREAKING: Agitators Flood Akure To demand Yoruba Nation
Hundreds of Yoruba nation agitators have arrived in Akure, Ondo State to demand the separation from Nigeria.
The agitators held a rally in the state capital, Akure, displaying banners showing their demand for Yoruba Nation.
A spokesman for Ilana Omo Oodua, the group coordinating the rally, Maxwell Adeleye, said, “We are in Akure to demand Yoruba Nation. This current structure is not working. There will be no election in 2023. We want a Yoruba nation and we are ready to gain that peacefully.”
Navy Cancels 65th Anniversary over Army Chief’s Death
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, has directed the cancellation of the events marking the 65th Anniversary of the Nigerian Navy.
A statement by the Director of Information, Commodore Suleman Dahun, said: “this decision followed the sad demise of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, some senior officers, other officers and personnel in the air crash of yesterday, May 21, 2021 in Kaduna.
“The CNS commiserates with the nation and offers the condolences of officers and ratings of the Nigerian Navy to Mr President, the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Air Force as well as families of the departed. May their souls rest in peace.”
