One person is feared dead and no fewer than five persons have been shot in Gberigbe, a suburb of Ikorodu in Lagos following violence by suspected land grabbers allegedly aided by law enforcement agents.
The victims, said to be members of the Gberigbe Orelade Family, claimed that they were shot by thugs, mobile policemen and soldiers led by a notorious alleged land grabber in the area.
They accused the assailants of attempting to seize their lands.
Two of the gunshot victims, Segun Tijani and Daniel Adebori, were seen receiving treatment at the Ijede General Hospital, Ikorodu.
Both men were shot Thursday morning.
Tijani was hit on the hand and leg, while Adebori was shot on the right arm.
Nigerians on social media and off social media are reacting to the bill criminalising payment of ransom to kidnappers.
On Wednesday, the Senate passed a bill for a second reading to slam 15 years’ imprisonment on anyone caught paying ransom.
This bill comes amidst rising insecurity and thriving kidnapping across the country. Travelling on some highways across the country have become dangerous in recent times. One of the most notorious highways are the Abuja Kaduna highway, Abuja-Lokoja express and several others.
In the Southwest, kidnapping for ransom prompted governors of the region to form the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Amotekun. Just recently, southern governors banned open grazing and made other eleven security resolutions.
Mass abductions have also been perpetrated in some parts of the country. These started in 2014 with the infamous abduction of the Chibok girls. After then, the country has had a series of abductions, with some still in captivity.
The Bill, sponsored by Sen Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi, seeks to amend the terrorism prevention act.
Speaking with DAILY POST, Amir Bala, who works in Abuja but whose family lives in Kaduna, said train stations in Abuja are enjoying more patronage, not due to the convenience alone, but because of the fear of being kidnapped on the road.
“It is an extra cost to go down to either Idu or Kubwa station, but people are scared of using that road. Even at the stations, you will see army generals and even those lawmakers making the same law.
“In the event that a family member is kidnapped and the security personnel are unable to get them, will you fold your arm? Losing money is better than losing your life.”
On social media, the reaction to the bill has been more of criticism, rather than acceptance.
A Twitter user, Demola of Lagos, with user name @Omogbajabiamila, faulted the bill, noting that “You can’t protect people from kidnappers. You can’t rescue those already kidnapped. Yet, you want to imprison those that are willing to pay ransom to get their loved ones out of captivity.”
“What kind of place is this?”
Popular CSO, Enough is Enough also weighs in on the bill. EIE accused the government of attempting to blame the victims for the attacks.
“The elected government of any nation is responsible for the safety and security of the people. But today in Nigeria, the victim takes the blame for being attacked.”
Speaking to DAILY POST, Rasheed Bakare, a legal practitioner, said in the event that the government fails in its core function, citizens are allowed to seek redress.
“Section 5 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) entrusted by empowering the President and Governors with executive powers to uphold the tenets of the constitution by ensuring among other things security and protection of her citizens and properties and coordinating good governance. Where the Executive arm has failed hitherto, the citizens could not be crucified for bending towards negotiation for the release of their loved ones. Placing jail terms for giving or offering ransom should outrightly be discouraged and set aside.”
The committee on Judiciary will still have to conduct a public hearing on the bill.
Cross Rivers State Governor Ben Ayade has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Aayde announced his decision on Thursday morning in a meeting with six APC governors who visited him at the Government House.
The governors who visited Ayade include Governors of Kebbi, Imo, Yobe, Plateau, Jigawa and Ekiti State.
PDP spokesman Kola Ologbodiyan had said the All Progressives Congress is embarking on a wild goose chase by going after Ayade.
He said the Cross River State Governor as a Committed party member was aware of measures put in place by the leadership of the PDP, the Governor Aminu Tambuwual-led PDP Governors Forum and the Senator Bukola Saraki-led Reconciliation and Strategy Committee to make him comfortable within the party’s fold.
Ologbondiyan said, “The APC Governors, as usual, went to Cross River as part of their jamboree. How can a party which has failed to hold congresses and a convention for over one year attract a committed PDP member who is at home with a structured party?
“The APC should be made aware that Governor Ayade has assured our party of his unalloyed loyalty.”
Intelligence sources have confirmed that Boko Haram Leader, Abubakar Shekau is finally dead. This was following the ISWAP attack on Sambisa fortress of shekau led by ISWAP commander, Baana DUGURI. Shekau was said to have blew himself to avoid being captured alive.
We await official confirmation from #ISWAP and @DefenceInfoNG & @HQNigerianArmy
over this news. This mark the end of an Era. Shekau finally killed by his own group that broke away after many years. While this is a big victory for Nigeria, it’s still not uhuru yet for the military
Attorney General of the federation and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, was recently a guest at Channels television. Channels TV host, Seun Okinbaloye took up the duty to interview the minister.
However, many Nigerians are of the view that Seun Okinbaloye is not an intelligent host as he failed to ask sensitive and vital questions. They felt Malami should have been grilled with so many big questions in relation to Nigeria’s current situation.
Here are some interesting tweets concerning Seun ‘s interview:
Lee tweeted: Seun Okinbaloye should resign and go home
His interviews on channels this days is nothing to write home about , very annoying , asking baby questions instead of reasonable and challenging questions
If you’re scared then stop doing interviews
Another tweet read: They give little or nothing but feel so entitled. Spare parts sellers rent shops, buy landed properties, pay taxes, kill no one, rapes no one. But those who destroy alcohol and still enjoy its tax revenues from other state are making weak comparisons, Seun you are not doing well!
Channels TV tweeted: On the issue of banning grazing, the AGF asks if you deny the rights of a Nigerian citing the example of Northern governors coming together to ban the trade of spare parts in the north. Does it hold water.
Nigerians on Twitter were displeased with such comparison and called it a weak one.
OG tweeted: That was a very poor comparison.. selling of Spare parts does not lead to insecurity… but open grazing clearly does, Seun just didn’t point that out.
A.zed tweeted: And this is my biggest frustration with Seun. He gets the biggest newsmakers on his show but rarely challenges them nor does he ask intelligent follow up questions.
Anybody – Malami, Fayose, Gumi – can come on his show, make the most ludicrous claims & Seun will let it slide
It’s obvious from tweets that Seun lacks the skills required of a good host. Do you think so?
NLC suspends 5-day warning strike as FG invites el-Rufai, Labour to meeting in Abuja today
THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Wednesday, suspended the five-day warning strike in Kaduna, to honour the invitation of the Federal Government to a meeting in Abuja today. The union president, Ayuba Wabba, confirmed the receipt of the invitation by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, adding that the leadership of the union thereafter met and agreed to honour the invitation.
The development in Kaduna State since Monday made the Federal Government to invite both the state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and the labour leadership to an emergency meeting today.
Ngige sent personal letters to both Governor el-Rufai and the NLC president, Wabba, to invite them for the meeting.
Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Charles Akpan, said the minister “has, therefore, invited the two parties to the trade dispute, the governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Na- sir el-Rufai and top officials of the state on one hand as well as the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and top NLC leaders on the other hand, to an emergency conciliation meeting by 11.00 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, May 20, 2021 at the office of the Minister of labour and Employment, Federal Secretariat, Abuja.”
The minister further directed the two parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum, pending the resolution of the issues in contention. Also speaking, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, while briefing correspondents at the end of the virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, said apart from efforts by Ngige to resolve the issue, security apparatus have taken pre-emptive measures to ensure that the protest is not hijacked by hoodlums.
Mohammed said: “The Federal Government is not folding its arms and already, the Minister of Labour and Employment has waded in and is in touch with both the government of Kaduna State and also the Labour.”
The leadership of the National Assembly will also engage both el-Rufai and NLC leadership over the crisis as former Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, told a delegation of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), led by its president, Comrade Ambali Olatunji, that the governor ought to have negotiated with the unions before it degenerated into the present level.
Earlier on Wednesday, another set of thugs had invaded the state secretariat of NLC in Kaduna as early as 6.30 a.m., while some pro-government protesters also took over the NEPA Roundabout Junction, venue of the labour unions protest.
Numbering about 50, the thugs were later dislodged by the security personnel before the workers assembled between 9.00 a.m. and 10.00 a.m., from where they moved to the Secretariat. Among the protesters were another group of women who came to protest against the NLC but had to fight their contractors for deceiving them and failure to pay them as mobilised.
One of the women who spoke on camera in Hausa language said, “we were only given placards to come and support the governor in a political rally. How can I support the governor on this after all our relations were sacked?”
While addressing the workers, Wabba gave the reason why the action would take its full course, unless the state government opted for dialogue. He vowed that the strike would be to escalate to the national level, adding also that Nigerian workers will report the Kaduna State government to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for prosecution against violation of human rights.
As he was set for show-down, el-Rufai had also threatened the labour leaders to get ready for prosecution over their “criminal” act of grounding the economy of the state. Speaking while declaring open the 23rd Annual Tax Conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria ((CITN), currently ongoing at Murtala Square, Kaduna, Kaduna said as much as workers have the right to embark on strike or stage protest, they do not have the right to shut down institutions and businesses who are willing to open to transact their legitimate businesses.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has charged Governor el-Rufai to immediately and unconditionally reinstate all workers he sacked from the state public service. In a statement by the party’s national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, it said it was alarmed that the administration had sacked about 70,000 workers since 2016, as it described such act as “wicked, insensitive and unacceptable.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said yesterday it had concluded arrangements to resume Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) on June 28.
Its chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at the commission’s meeting in Abuja with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Yakubu said the commission was working to update its registration software to accommodate the newly established polling units to enable prospective voters to register.
“However, more work still lies ahead.
“Apart from the CVR, we shall continue our preparations for two bye-elections scheduled for June 19 in Sabon Gari State Constituency in Kaduna State and Gwaram Federal Constituency in Jigawa State,” he said.
He said the commission was waiting for the official declaration of vacancies by the House of Representatives for the Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency in Plateau and Lere Federal Constituency in Kaduna State.
“Furthermore, preparations for the Anambra State Governorship election to be held on Nov. 6 and the FCT Area Council election scheduled for Feb. 12 will be prioritised.
“Similarly, we shall continue our early preparations for the 2023 general elections.
“In this regards, the commission has already established an Election Project Plan (EPP) committee to work on the 2023 election plan.
“The idea is to complete the plan early enough and make sure that we are fully ready for the election, which is now only 640 days away,” he said.
Yakubu said INEC had successfully concluded stakeholder engagements on the expansion of voter access to pulling units.
The chairman said the commission would soon meet to finalise the compilation and coding of polling units and would thereafter make the information public.
Curfew has again been imposed on Ikere Ekiti, headquarters of Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti state following another round of bloody cult clash that has claimed two lives.
This was made known in a statement by Mr Femi Ayodele, Chairman of the council, citing security reasons and the need to restore normalcy to the area on Wednesday.
It was gathered that this was the second time within two months that such curfew would be imposed for similar reasons.
It could be recalled that only last month, the town, which is the second largest in state after Ado Ekiti, was thrown into mourning as a result of killing of six persons while several others sustained varied degrees of injuries during a rival cult clash.
According to the Wednesday’s statement by the chairman, the 6 pm to 6 am curfew had become necessary as two people were reportedly killed by cultists on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
He called on the people of the town to abide by the curfew as security personnel had been drafted to deal with recalcitrant persons who may wish to forment trouble, saying anyone caught violating the order would face the consequences.
“In view of the rising killings among the suspected cultists in lkere Local Government, the leadership of the Council has now imposed curfew from 6pm to 6am from today, Wednesday, May 19, 2021 to Sunday, May 23, 2021, to curtail this ugly act.
“This step is necessary following the killing of two people in lkere-Ekiti by suspected cultists on Tuesday 18h May 2021.
“This is to therefore call on the good people of lkere Local Government to adhere strictly to this instruction as security personnel will severely dealt with anyone arrested violating this order”, the statement reads in part.
Also speaking on the development, the spokesman of the Police Command in Ekiti, ASP Sunday Abutu, confirmed the incident, saying investigation had commenced and that security had been intensified in the area to forestall breakdown of law and order.
The Senate, on Wednesday, moved to prohibit the payment and receiving of ransom for the release of any kidnapped, imprisoned or wrongfully confined victim in the country.
This followed the consideration and second reading of a Bill by the upper chamber, titled: “Terrorism prevention (amendment) Bill, 2021,” and sponsored by Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi.
Onyewuchi in his lead debate said the Bill seeks to amend the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2013 to outlaw the payment of ransom to abductors, kidnappers and terrorists for the release of any person who has been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped.
According to Onyewuchi, the bill essentially seeks to substitute for section 14 of the Principal Act a new section to read: “Anyone who transfers funds, makes payment or colludes with an abductor, kidnapper or terrorist to receive any ransom for the release of any person who has been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped is guilty of a felony and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years.”
He expressed worry that kidnapping has become a fast and lucrative business, saying “it has now remained the most virulent form of banditry in Nigeria and the most pervasive and intractable violent crime in the country.”
Attributing the spate of kidnappings in the country to factors such as corruption, unemployment, poverty and connivance of security agents, Onyewuchi lamented that the frequency at which persons are kidnapped daily puts most Nigerians at risk.
“Kidnapping is on the increase in Nigeria and it is prevalent across all the geopolitical zones.
Read Also: Senate seeks review of NIN policy as requirement for JAMB registration
“Some blame the rise of this criminal activity on poverty, religion, politics, deficiency of existing laws, unemployment, connivance of security agents, corruption, and greed among others.
“Our unemployed youths are also turning out to kidnapping to get money (ransom) as a survival strategy.
“Whatever the reason, it is most obvious that kidnapping in Nigeria puts everyone at risk, the rich and the poor, old and young, male and female, foreigner or indigene, expatriate or non-expatriate, traditional rulers and religious leaders, among others,” he said.
Citing a report compiled by the Financial Times and the USA Global Risk Consultancy in November, 2019, the lawmaker noted that Nigeria has the highest rate of kidnaps for ransom of both locals and foreigners in all of Africa with kidnappers operating in each of its 36 states.
According to him, “the reason behind payments of ransom is rooted on the fact that people easily identify with individual suffering.
“However, History has shown that even where ransom is proven to have been paid, the life or safe return of a kidnap victim may not be guaranteed.”
He observed that countries like the USA and the United Kingdom do not support payment of ransoms to kidnappers.
“Payments of terrorist ransoms is illegal under the UK Terrorism Act 2000 while the USA adheres to a strict No-Concessions policy on the payment of ransom,” Onyewuchi said.
He advised that, “the continuous payment of ransom must not be encouraged, in addition government should provide adequate security and strengthen the economy as a matter of urgency, accelerate its poverty alleviation programs, provide employment opportunities targeting youths who are mostly involved in abductions and kidnappings, strengthen our law enforcement agencies, and provide the necessary support to end the menace of kidnapping.”
The Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Bill, 2021, after scaling second reading, was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for further legislative work.
The Committee, chaired by Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele was given four weeks to report back to plenary.
Meanwhile, two separate bills seeking to establish the Federal University of Science and Technology, Lau, Taraba State, and to amend the Federal Universities of Technology Act 2004 also passed second reading on Wednesday.
The bills were sponsored by Senators Shuaibu Isa (Taraba North), and Oyelola Yisa Ashiru.
Both Bills were referred by the Senate President to the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND for further legislative work and to report back in four weeks.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai has again threatened to prosecute the labour leaders who have been protesting against ‘anti-workers’ policies in Kaduna state, noting that he will pursue them with the law to ensure they don’t return to Kaduna.
Speaking as a guest of honour at the 23rd annual tax conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in Kaduna on Wednesday, el-Rufai said as much as workers have the right to embark on strike or stage protest, they don’t have the right to shutdown institutions and businesses who are willing to open to transact their legitimate businesses.
According to the governor, the protesters have prevented businesses from opening, an issue which he described as “criminal” and “unacceptable”, vowing to prosecute and take action against them in due course.
He said, “those of you that are in Kaduna know that our government is functioning, our economy is running and we are making efforts to ensure legitimate businesses are open. They have prevented businesses from opening. This is criminal, unacceptable and we are going to take action. We are making efforts to provide security for all businesses that want to open.
“We are not against the right to strike. You are free to strike but walk away from your institution and allow it to function without you, you have no right to stop any business from remaining open.
“We are going to take a very strict measure against people that have tried to do that. I think what this strike is about is to answer fundamental questions the part of which is this: Should an employer keep person with poor education, inadequate skills, qualifications, bad attitude in employment whether he likes it or not? Our answer in Kaduna state is negative.
“The second question is this: Is the right to protest or to withdraw your services as an employee equivalent to the right to shutdown the institution in which you work and attack public infrastructure?
“Our position is very clear and the law is very clear. You can walk out, you can strike but you cannot shutdown anything because public infrastructure is a public asset that belongs to the federation, belong to all the people of Nigeria. If you do, you are liable to be convicted under the Miscellaneous Offences Act which attracts a minimum of 21 years imprisonment.
“We are going to pursue the people that engage in this sabotage to the full extent of the law. We will deal with the criminals. We will prosecute all those that have broken the law. I assure you, they will never come back to Kaduna again by the time we are done them.”
