News
Five soldiers feared killed in Rivers
About five soldiers and other security operatives were killed in the orgy of violence reportedly perpetrated by members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra in Rivers State this weekend.
The police earlier linked IPOB members hiding under the #EndSARS protest, to the attacks and destruction of the Police Area Command and police stations at Oyingbo Local Government Area.
The attackers reportedly killed three policemen in a bizarre manner cutting off the hand of one of the police operatives, that attempted to shoot at them.
Sources said they hacked the police Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) driver to death, burnt the second victim alive and stoned to death the third policeman.
They were said to have burnt over 15 police vehicles, a hospital and an Appeal Court complex located in Oyigbo
The circumstances surrounding the killings of the soldiers were unknown, a source wrote on his Facebook wall on Thursday said that he was at the Military Hospital in Port Harcourt when the corpses of the soldiers were brought into the facility.
The source, who spoke in confidence said: “I am at the military hospital in Port Harcourt and I can confirm that five soldiers were brought in dead two days ago (Wednesday).
” I witnessed a very short session when one of the captains instructed the soldiers on mannerism and how to talk to the people. However, people should not take their humanity for granted.
“They are hurting. They already have an instruction not to shoot and that instruction though fair can also hurt seeing that their brothers are being killed”.
The Spokeperson for 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj. Charles Ekeocha, however, said the matter had not been reported to his office.
But the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, in a statewide broadcast listed the killing of soldiers, policemen and wanton destruction of properties as part of the reasons why he reinforced the ban on the activities of IPOB in the state.
Wike in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, also placed N50million bounty on one Stanley Mgbere said to be the leader of IPOB in the state.
Wike said no form of procession or agitation by the group or any of its affiliates would be allowed to take place in the State henceforth.
He said that the activities of the banned IPOB were not just dangerous to lives and property, but were also threats to the existential interest and aspirations of Rivers State and all her people.
He said: “Security agencies are hereby directed to stop any form of procession or agitation by IPOB in Rivers State or any part thereof and arrest and prosecute any person or group that identifies with the membership or activities of IPOB in the State.
“Government will issue an executive order to strengthen and ensure the effective enforcement of these measures.”
The governor promised to hold meetings with all leaders of youth groups and community development committees in the State on 26th October to take holistic measures to counter and stop all IPOB activities in the state;
“One Mr. Stanley Mgbere is hereby declared wanted for leading members of the banned IPOB to cause the recent violence and destruction of lives and property in Oyigbo Local Government Area; and a ransom of N50,000,000.00 will be given to any person with useful information that would lead to his arrest and prosecution,” he said.
He recall that since IPOB was classified as a terrorist organisation by the Federal High Court and subsequently proscribed in September 2017 by the Federal Government, the group had carried out intermittent processions in parts of Rivers State, especially in Oyigbo and some notorious suburbs in Port Harcourt Local Government Areas.
He said IPOB aim was to disturb the peace of the State by unleashing violence and destruction on lives and property at will.
Source: The Nation
A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in Osun State, Senator Felix Ogunwale has said the Nigerian presidency should lead the way for others to follow in cutting down cost of governance.
Senator Ogunwale spoke on Wednesday in Osogbo while fielding question from a panel at a programme, The Frontliners’ organised by the Osun State Chapter of Association of Veteran Journalists, AVJ.
He said the right thing to be done was for the president of the country to show commitment to changing the narrative by not only asking Nigerians to endure the current hardship but to demonstrate the willingness to also make all arms of government to also feel the impact in their budget.
“I have always said it that we are note being driven by ideas in Nigeria but money. You can’t be asking those in the National Assembly to reduce their pay now when in actual sense the reason for some of them being their is to amaze wealth.
“Do you know what to correct this, it’s if our president, I am not referring to the current president, it’s the day our president decide to be riding bicycle to his office, the day the balance in his account is not more than 10 million, the day our president refuses to take more aides than it’s necessary, the day our president doesn’t believe in amazing wealth.”
The chairman of the event, Dr. Muyiwa Oladimeji who also shared the views of the guest urged the people of the State to continue to support the Administration of Senator Ademola Adeleke to be able to achieve his dream of developing all sectors of the State.
He commeded the AVJ for championing such efforts geared towards charting a way forward on how to achieve all round growth and development of the society and the nation at large.
Earlier, the chairman, AVJ, Adepoju Atobatele had described the programme as another opportunity to get Nigerians engaged on salient issues of national and global dimensions on the Front Liners.
Atobatele said, the association considered it a duty as professionals in the pen fraternity, to deepen democracy by constantly provoking Intellectual disputes that would widen public horizon of issues that are germane to the wellbeing, progress, security as well galvanizing interest in the affairs of the Country.
He said “The FRONTLINERS has been very active in widening discussions and analytical assessments of issues, events and personalities involved in determining the socio-economic and political directions of our dear Country, Nigeria.
“These we are carrying out successfully with the resources available to us in different ways, through the instrumentality of the Media.
“Ours as a professional body of retired media practitioners, still active in the concept of information management, has thus taken it as a sacred duty to act as change agents in a society yearning for objective information dissemination.”
…as Nigeria sets to sign MoU with Saudi Arabia
The minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, on Tuesday, continued bilateral discussions with ministers and representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Brazil and Jamaica, expressing Nigeria’s government interest in learning from their knowledge and experiences.
This was revealed through his media aide, Ismail Omipidan, in a statement issued on Tuesday evening.
Recall that Oyetola, on Monday, held bilateral meetings with representatives of Greece, Qatar, and Mexico, on the sidelines of the ongoing 33rd General Assembly session of the International Maritime Organization, IMO, in London, United Kingdom.
During his meeting with the Brazilian Chief of the Navy’s General Staff, Adm José Augusto V. da Cunha de Menezes, the minister said Nigeria would want to learn from the operations of the Brazilian coast guards, as the ministry was desirous of setting up one so as to further secure the maritime space and the country’s waterways.
Oyetola further noted that: “We want to also focus on sectors such as Marine Renewable Energy, Marine Mining, Subsea Cabling and Piping, Marine Genetics, and Biotechnology, so as to grow the marine and blue economy.
“As we continue to expand and develop the activities of the sector, there will be need to deepen security architecture within the maritime space. In this regard, we are considering setting up Coast Guards and we believe that they will complement the existing security architecture to further secure our maritime space.”
The minister while expressing Nigeria’s desire to tap into technology to revolutionalise the maritime sector, further said “technology and innovation are vital for boosting Nigeria’s trade and investment prospects within the Marine and Blue Economy. Advanced marine technologies, including innovations in maritime logistics and smart logistics solutions, will significantly enhance the efficiency and sustainability of maritime transport and port operations, making Nigerian ports more competitive globally.”
Oyetola also met the newly elected Vice President of IMO, who is the Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK, Saida Muna Tasneem and Saudi Arabia’s Saleh bin Nasser AIJasser, who is the minister in charge of the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services of Saudi Arabia, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Both Saudi Arabia and Nigeria during the meeting agreed to sign a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cement their corporations, collaboration and partnership in the maritime space.
The Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke on Rural Water and Environmental Sanitation Agency RUWESA, Chief Lanre Odelade has described the one year Administration of Governor Adeleke as pace setting.
Speaking with newsmen today,the Special Adviser says, the tactful method of Intervention in critical areas of the state’s economy and social welfare has given out the Administration as commited to the welfare and advancement of their living conditions.
Chief Odelade particularly lauded the state government for it’s quick response to correcting the infrastructural deficit,impaired health care delivery,and neglect of public sector workers,all of which were inherited from the previous ApC Governments.
The Special Adviser particularly noted the swift response of Government to water Provision which led to the sinking of solar and generator powered bore holes to the 332 wards in the state.
Chief Odelade is optimistic that Governor Ademola Adeleke will consolidate on the gains of the past one year with renewed focus on taking the local government Administration from the duldrums to the centre stage of development and self reliance in accordance with the five point agenda of the state government.
He called on the people to give maximum support to Governor Ademola Adeleke in his determined efforts to take Osun state to the promised land.
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