World News

Cash-strapped South Sudan owes workers four-month salaries with oil sales tied to debt servicing

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South Sudan is battling to pay the salaries of its public servants with the government currently hit by cash crunch.

South Sudan has been beset by several challenges since gaining independence from neighbouring Sudan in 2011, and recently income from oil exports had been tied to servicing the country’s growing loans until 2027.

A statement from the country’s Finance Minister, Agak Achuil on Tuesday said the affected workers who are mostly government employees including members of the security forces, teachers, doctors and nurses, are being owed for four months and have been demanding their salary arrears.

He added that there was little the government could do as there was no money to pay them.

Achuil said: “The reason why we are not paying the arrears is that the oil money is going towards the payment of loans which have been taken before and paying for some of the priorities of the government.”

Civil servants in the war ravaged country were last paid their salaries in November and December last year and have not received their salaries for the first four months of this year.

The government depends on oil proceeds to pay salaries and finance other development projects as the internally generated revenue resources are not enough to support government expenditure.

However, the government has borrowed heavily against the country’s oil exports and in 2019, agreed to allocate 10,000 barrels of crude oil per day day as payment to Chinese firms building roads in the country.

Critics have also accused the Salva Kiir’s administration of taking corrupt loans as many were finalized without parliamentary approval.

World News

Four Russian govs resign as war-induced sanctions bite

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Four prominent Russian governors on Tuesday resigned from their positions as the country continues to feel the impact of worldwide economic sanctions imposed by the West following the February 24 invasion of Ukraine by its security forces.

The affected governors who are regional leaders of Tomsk, Saratov, Kirov and Mari El regions, all announced their immediate exit from office, while the head of Ryazan region said he would not run for another term with elections scheduled to take place in all five regions in September.

Though Russian governors are elected, they are politically subordinate to the Kremlin and several of the outgoing governors represent regions where the ruling bloc United Russia recorded low votes in last year’s parliamentary elections.

Unpopular governors are regularly removed from office, often submitting their resignations in clusters in the spring months.

The head of the Centre for the Development of Regional Politics think tank in Moscow, Ilya Grashchenkov, said the resignation of the governors was masterminded by the Kremlin.

“There’s a need to restructure the economy, especially in those regions where Western economic influence had been significant. These governors need to be replaced by younger alternatives,” he said.

World News

Taliban orders Afghanistan women to wear burkas in public

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Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on Saturday, May 7 have ordered all Afghan women to henceforth wear burka clothing in public.

Specifically, the blue burka became a global symbol of the Taliban’s previous regime in Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, and the decision to make it mandatory again marks an escalation of growing restrictions on women in public.

The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice read a decree from the sect’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada at a press conference in Kabul.

“We want our sisters to live with dignity and safety,” said Khalid Hanafi, acting minister for the all-male ministry – which replaced the country’s women’s ministry after the militants took control in August 2021.

The decree says that if a woman does not cover her face outside the home, her father or closest male relative would be visited and eventually imprisoned or fired from government jobs.

It also states that if women have no important work to be done outside, it is better for them to stay at home.

Islamic principles and Islamic ideology are more important to us than anything else,” Mr. Hanafi said.

The decree adds that the ideal face covering is the blue burka, which shows only the eyes.

Shir Mohammad, an official from the vice and virtue ministry, said: “For all dignified Afghan women wearing hijab is necessary and the best Hijab is chadori (the head-to-toe burka) which is part of our tradition and is respectful.

“Those women who are not too old or young must cover their face, except the eyes.”

Most women in Afghanistan wear a headscarf for religious reasons, but many in urban areas such as Kabul do not cover their faces.

The Taliban previously decided against reopening schools to girls above grade six (around 11 years old), going back on an earlier promise.

The international community has urged its leaders to reconsider.

Prior to their takeover in 2021, the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until the US-led invasion in 2001, and banned female education and employment.

After the regime was toppled, girls and women were allowed to return to school and work, and the international community had made the education of girls a key demand for any future recognition of the Taliban administration.

World News

Over 50 worshippers killed in Kabul Mosque blast

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More than 50 worshippers were killed in a powerful explosion at a Sunni Mosque in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan during Friday prayers, the head of the Mosque, Sayed Fazil Agha, said in a statement on Saturday.

The attack came as worshippers at the Sunni Mosque gathered after Friday prayers for a congregation known as Zikr, an act of religious remembrance practised by some Muslims but seen as heretical by some hardline Sunni groups.

The Friday blast is the latest in a series of attacks on civilian targets in Afghanistan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to Agha.

Agha said someone they believed was a suicide bomber joined them in the ceremony and detonated explosives.

“Black smoke rose and spread everywhere, dead bodies were everywhere. I myself survived, but lost my beloved ones. The blast was very loud, I thought my eardrums were cracked,” he said.

An emergency hospital in downtown Kabul said it was treating 21 patients and two were dead on arrival. A worker at another hospital treating attack patients said it had received 49 patients and around five bodies.

10 of the patients were in critical condition, the source added, and almost 20 had been admitted to the burns unit,” an official at the hospital said.

The deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, Besmullah Habib, who also confirmed the incident, said the blast hit the Khalifa Sahib Mosque in the west of the capital in the early afternoon, but however, put the death toll at 10 while a spokesman for the ruling Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, also released a statement condemning the blast and saying the perpetrators would be found and punished.

World News

North Korea warns South it would use nuclear weapons if threatened

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North Korean autocratic leader, Kim Jong Un, has warned its southern neighbours that he could order the use of nuclear weapons in preemptive strikes if threatened, as he praised his top military officials over the staging of a massive military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, on Friday.

Jong Un expressed his “firm will” to continue developing the country’s nuclear-armed military so that it could “preemptively and thoroughly contain and frustrate all dangerous attempts and threatening moves, including ever-escalating nuclear threats from hostile forces, if necessary,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

Kim who called his military officials to praise their work at the parade where North Korea showcased the biggest weapons in its military’s nuclear program, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially reach the U.S. homeland and a variety of shorter-range solid-fuel missiles, insisted he would not hold back in ordering a strike on South Korea, Japan, or any country that poses a threat.

North Korea has conducted 13 rounds of weapons launches in 2022 alone, including its first full-range test of an ICBM since 2017, as Kim exploits a favorable environment to push forward its weapons program as the U.N. Security Council remains divided and effectively paralyzed over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

World News

Deposed Myanmar leader, Suu Kyi, jailed five years for corruption

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A military court in Myanmar on Wednesday, sentenced the country’s deposed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to five years in prison after finding her guilty on 11 corruption cases leveled against her.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate and leader of Myanmar’s opposition to military rule, was charged with 18 offences carrying a combined maximum jail term of nearly 190 years, all but killing off any chance of a political comeback.

But a judge in the court which was held in secret in the capital, Naypyitaw, handed down the verdict within moments of the court convening and gave no further explanation as information was restricted.

Suu Kyi, who has attended all of her hearings, was displeased with the outcome and said she would appeal, according to her media team.

The 76-year-old led Myanmar rules for five years during a short period of tentative democracy before being forced from power in a coup in February 2021 by the military, which has ruled the former British colony for five of the past six decades.

Since her arrest, Kyi has been held in an undisclosed location, where junta chief Min Aung Hlaing previously said she could remain after earlier convictions in December and January for comparatively minor offences, for which she was sentenced to six years altogether.

The latest case centred on allegations that Suu Kyi, accepted 11.4 kg (402 oz) of gold and cash payments totalling $600,000 from her protege-turned-accuser, former chief minister of the city of Yangon, Phyo Min Thein.

Suu Kyi called the allegations “absurd” and denied all charges against her, which included violations of electoral and state secrets laws, incitement and corruption.

Lifestyle, Politics, World News

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, has passed on.

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The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, has passed on.
He was 83 years old.
The top Yoruba monarch died in the late hours of Friday, according to palace officials.
Adeyemi died at the Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti.

The late Alaafin’s first son, Prince ‘Tunde, and other children had received the monarch’s remains at Idi-Igba, Oyo town early Saturday morning.
Palace sources confirmed that traditional rites had begun without giving details about his burial arrangement yet.

Adeyemi ruled for 52 years before his demise, making him the longest-reigning Alaafin.
By tradition, the head of the Oyomesi, Basorun of Oyo, High Chief Yusuf Ayoola, would take over pending the appointment of a new Alaafin.
Basorun is also expected to brief the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, before an official announcement.

The late Alaafin of Oyo was from the Adeyemi branch of the Alowolodu family. He was born on October 15, 1938.
During his late childhood stage, he lived briefly at Iseyin.
Adeyemi III was the son of Oba Adeyemi II, the former Alaafin of Oyo who was deposed and sent into exile in 1954 for having sympathy for the National Council of Nigerian Citizens.

He succeeded Alaafin Gbadegesin Ladigbolu II in 1970 and was crowned on January 14, 1971.
He was a lover of boxing.
Adeyemi’s death came after the demise of the Soun of Ogbomoso, Jimoh Oyewumi, and the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Saliu Adetunji, who died on December 12, 2021, and January 2, 2022, respectively.

World News

Investigations on Osinachi’s death ongoing – IGP

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The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, on Wednesday promised to ensure speedy prosecution of all cases of sexual and gender-based violence in the country.

Baba, according to a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, stated this when the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, visited him at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.

He expressed sadness at the death of a gospel singer, Osinachi Nwachukwu, who was said to be a victim of domestic violence.

The IGP said the singer’s husband, Peter Nwachukwu, who is currently in police custody, would be prosecuted if found culpable for homicide.

He added that investigations into the matter are ongoing.

The statement read: “The IGP further emphasised that considering the sensitive nature of the case, and the need to get justice, and swiftly, the command has approached the National Hospital, Abuja, for post-mortem examinations on the deceased to ascertain the cause of death and her husband will be charged to court as soon as it is established that he was responsible for her death.

“He stressed that the alleged act is condemnable in all ramifications as it is both illegal and immoral for one human to take the life of another in any manner contrary to the provisions of the law.

“He reiterated the commitment of the force under his leadership to ensuring that cases of this nature, including domestic violence, sexual and gender-based violence, rape, and other social vices are accorded utmost attention with a view to bringing their perpetrators to justice according to the provisions of extant laws.”

World News

APC’s N100m for presidential form is recipe for corruption —Afenifere

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Afenifere, a Yoruba socio-political group, has criticised the high cost of nomination and expression of interest forms for presidential contenders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday.

According to the group, it would allow corruption to flourish in the country.

The APC had announced the sum of N100 million as cost for the presidential nomination and expression of interest forms for the party’s presidential aspirants.

Mr. Sola Ebiseni, the Secretary-General of Afenifere, reacted to the development by saying it was a tactic to prevent ordinary Nigerians from participating in government activities.

It is an insulting message to the pauperised Nigerians that they have no say in the governance of Nigeria or any part thereof. It is a direct affront to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and particularly the declaration in Section 14 (2) (b) that the participation of Nigerians in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.

How can the poor members of the party who are so blatantly discriminated against, on the basis of their situation in life, contrary to Section 42 of the constitution, participate in the governance of the country, particularly in a country where only a political party can field a candidate and no independent candidate allowed?

“Unfortunately, the two dominant parties are both guilty in this game of absurdity and conspiracy against the ordinary Nigerians in the access to their platforms for political participation,” the Afenifere spokesman stated.

He noted that for the PDP, it goes against the goals of their founding fathers, like Alex Ekwueme and Solomon Lar, adding, that the existing payment for participation is the pinnacle of political insensitivity and an open invitation to steal by anyone who could only rise to power through corruption.

The only path ahead for the country, Ebiseni claimed, was reorganization, which would bring every citizen to power.

Only the reconstruction of the country’s political architecture, which liberalizes citizens’ access to power, can prevent the country’s inevitable decline into oligarchy and anarchy, he said.

Felix Morka, the APC spokesman at the end of a closed-door meeting of the party’s NEC in Abuja on Tuesday, had revealed that members who want to run in the All Progressives Congress‘s (APC) presidential primaries must pay N100 million for nomination and expression of interest forms.

World News

Al-Shabab claims responsibility for Somali parliament’s attack

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The Al-Shabaab terrorist group had claimed responsibility for a mortar attack on the Somalian parliament which injured at least six people during a joint session.

The newly inaugurated lawmakers were meeting on Monday to approve dates and procedures for the election of speakers for both the Upper House and Lower House later in the month when the attack occurred.

A presidential candidate, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, who confirmed the attack on Facebook, said several rounds were fired and six people were wounded, including two of his bodyguards.

The militant group, in a social media post, claimed responsibility for the attack and promised to carry out more of such in the future.

Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble in a statement condemned the assault on the parliament.

In posts on social media, Roble said the attack was a cowardly attempt to intimidate parliament, which was in the process of finishing Somalia’s indirect election.

World News

Stung by sunk warship, Russia renews strikes on Ukraine capital, hits other cities

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Angered by the loss of its Black Sea flagship which was sunk by Ukrainian forces a few days ago, the Russian military command has unleashed heavy attacks on Kyiv and other major cities in Ukraine.

The series of attacks on the Ukrainian capital and other part of western Ukraine on Saturday according to the city’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko, is another reminder that “Ukrainians are still under serious Russian threat despite Moscow’s pivot toward mounting a new offensive in the east.”

On Friday, a Russian military spokesman had warned of renewed missile strikes on Ukraine’s capital following the sinking of its warship with officials claiming they would only be targeting military sites.

In the towns and villages just outside Kyiv, authorities have reported finding the bodies of more than 900 civilians, most shot dead, since Russian troops retreated two weeks ago,” Klitschko said in a television interview on Sunday morning.

The mayor further advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return.

“We’re not ruling out further strikes on the capital. If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where it’s safer, do it.”

A Ukraine military spokesman said Russian missiles hit the Kyiv city just as residents were emerging for walks on Saturday night, following the failure of Russian troops to capture Kyiv and their withdrawal.

World News

Malian army arrests three suspected jihadists

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The Malian Army on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of three Europeans who were among a group of suspected jihadists in the country.

A spokesman of the Malian army said in statement on Wednesday, the three Europeans were part an Islamist insurgent group wreaking havoc in the country’s northern Sahel regions since 2012.

The military authority, which has ruled the West African country since 2020, was accused of carrying out a massacre of civilians at the beginning of this month.

But the army defended its actions, saying the operations were necessary to push back the jihadists.

World News

45 dead, hundreds missing as floods wreak havoc in South Africa

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At least 45 people have been confirmed dead with hundreds missing as several homes collapse due to overnight floods caused by heavy rain in the South Africa coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal.

The South African emergency service said in a statement on Tuesday, rescue workers were searching for missing people but the task has been difficult due to destruction of roads by mudslides.

“Some people in the city managed to climb up to their rooftops awaiting rescue, but local media report that only one helicopter was available to lift people away as key roads across the city were shut,” the agency said.

The mayor of eThekwini, an area including Durban and its surrounding towns, Mxolisi Kaunda, in a message of solidarity, apologised to residents who were left stranded after the emergency call centre was overwhelmed overnight.

Kaunda said efforts were underway to restore water and electricity supplies to parts of the city, after most of the city’s electricity power stations were flooded on Monday evening and a number of water treatment plants damaged.

“Residents who fear their homes may collapse should seek shelter in community halls,” the Mayor stated.

World News

Agency predicts East Africa’s worst drought in 40 years

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The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Tuesday predicted that countries in Eastern Africa would face the worst drought in the region for 40 years.

The Djibouti-based trade bloc said at a press conference in Nairobi, Kenya, that the region has recorded higher temperatures and less than normal rainfall in the last few years.

The IGAD member states are Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

The group’s Executive Secretary, Workneh Gebeyehu, said at the forum that millions of people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, including countries in the Horn of Africa, the Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes, as well as other countries in the Eastern region would experience the kind of drought not experienced in the last 40 years.

He said more than 29 million people in East Africa are currently facing high levels of food insecurity across the region, noting that between 15.5 million and 16 million people are currently in dire need of immediate food assistance.

Gebeyehu said: “The severe shortages of water and pasture are leading to smaller food production, significant losses in livestock and wildlife, and a rise in resource-based conflicts in the East African region.

“This coupled with other stress factors such as conflicts in both our region and Europe, the impact of COVID-19 and macro-economic challenges have led to acute levels of food insecurity across the Greater Horn of Africa.”

World News

France also kicks out Russian spies working ‘under diplomatic cover’

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A few days after Germany and Denmark expelled Russian diplomats who were believed to be working for the Russian secret service, the French secret service (DGSI) has also kicked out six Russian agents “operating under diplomatic cover” uncovered in a “clandestine operation.”

In a statement on Monday evening, the French foreign ministry said the operation being “conducted by Russian intelligence services” on French territory had been dismantled by the DGSI.

“The operation was carried out by six Russian agents operating under diplomatic cover and whose activities proved to be contrary to our national interests,” the statement said.

The undercover Russian operation was discovered on Sunday, the day of the first round of the French presidential election, it added.

The Russian agents were declared persona non grata and the second-in-command at the Russian embassy was summoned to the ministry on Monday evening.”

The French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin who praised the work of the DGSI, said a “remarkable counterespionage operation” had been carried out by the secret service which he said “watches over our fundamental interests.”

A week earlier, 35 Russian diplomats were also expelled by France, the biggest eviction of Russian officials since the so-called Farewell Dossier in 1983, when some 40 Soviet agents were booted out after a KGB defector, Vladimir Vetrov, handed over incriminating documents to the French authorities.

World News

Rwanda vaccinates over 60% of population for COVID-19

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Rwanda is one of the few countries in Africa to vaccinate over 60 percent of its population for CCOVID-19, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The global health agency said in its report on Saturday that the East African nation had already administered vaccine doses to more than 40 percent of its 12 million population as at the end of 2021.

However, Rwanda trails the island nations of Seychelles and Mauritius where the rate of infections are very minimal due to strict compliance with restrictions and regulations.

“Rwanda has joined Seychelles and Mauritius as the first African countries to vaccinate 60 percent of its population in line with WHO‘s target,” the organisation said on Twitter.

So far, Rwanda remains an exception as about only 15 percent of the African continent’s population is fully vaccinated.”

The country achieved the feat by aggressively pursuing the vaccination of its citizens including setting up vaccination site in busy public places like bus stations and taxi ranks in the capital, Kigali.

Medical staff said between 200 and 400 residents received jabs each day and many of them had already registered for booster shots which is expected to kick off soon across the country.

World News

Russia admits suffering significant losses of troops in Ukraine

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In a rare moment of admission, Russia has admitted that it has suffered significant losses in the ongoing war in Ukraine which amounts to a “huge tragedy” for the country, according to Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.

In a statement on Friday following the expulsion of Russia by the UN Security Council, Peskov said:
“Yes, we have significant losses of troops and it is a huge tragedy for us.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a massive military offensive on February 24, was expected to last a few days due to its military might but more than eight weeks after, the war is yet to end with both sides suffering severe casualties.

The war has also caused the world’s fastest refugee crisis with more than 4.3 million fleeing Ukraine to neighbouring countries, while at least 1,500 civilians have been killed so far, according to the United Nations.

Casualties on the Russian side have been harder to assess with the country’s Defence Minister saying on March 25 that 1,351 of its soldiers have been killed in combat, while 3,825 were wounded.

But Ukraine rebutted the figures, saying not less than 19,000 Russian soldiers have been killed so far.

But experts say figures by both parties cannot be trusted as Kyiv is likely to inflate them to boost the morale of its troops, while Russia is probably downplaying them.

However, commenting on the Russian troop withdrawal from certain areas in Ukraine including from Kyiv’s northern region, Peskov said that it was an “act of goodwill” to “lift tensions” during negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Business, World News

Elon Musk overtakes Mark Zuckerberg on top five social media billionaire list

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Elon Musk has overtaken Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, on the list of the richest social media owners, after his acquisition of the largest share in competing microblogging firm, Twitter.

It was gathered that the top five social media billionaires are worth almost half a trillion dollars, about $465.9 billion to be exact, however, only Musk and Zuckerberg, crossed the $100 billion mark, according to data collated by Ripples Nigeria.

Elon Musk

Zuckerberg started the year on the list of the richest social media owner. However, he fell to the second spot, behind Musk, the wealthiest man on earth, whose networth is $282 billion as of April 7, 2022.

Ripples Nigeria recalls that Musk purchased 9.2% in Twitter, which has a market valuation of $38.45 billion, to add the social media firm to his investment portfolio, which includes automotive business, Tesla, and Space company, SpaceX.

Mark Zuckerberg

Zuckerberg, ranked second, is worth $79.6 billion, drawing his wealth from Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and virtual reality business. The 15th richest man, according to Forbes, is also planning to add digital currency to his portfolio.

Although, Zuckerberg’s firm, now known as Meta Platform (Facebook), is worth $606.86 billion, according to Thursday’s trading, making it the world’s most valuable social network.

Zhang Yiming

The third spot was taken by TikTok founder, Zhang Yiming, who is an Internet entrepreneur from China. The 39-year-old’s total fortune is estimated at $49.5 billion, sitting on the 26th spot.

Yiming’s Bytedance created TikTok in 2015, and it has a market valuation of about $250 billion according to Forbes report in 2021. The billionaire also owns news aggregator, Toutiao.

Ma Huateng

The internet company of Chinese billionaire, Ma Huateng, Tencent Holdings, owns WeChat, China’s largest social media gathering, although the messaging app was created by Allen Zhang.

The 50-year-old businessman is ranked 33rd on Forbes world’s richest, with a networth estimated at $39.7 billion, which he gross from Tencent, carmaker Tesla, streaming service Spotify, and Snapchat.

Pavel Durov

Pavel Durov is the founder of Telegram, and the Russian billionaire is worth $15.1 billion, ranking 130th in the world – thanks to the over 600 million users connecting on the social app.

Durov and Telegram were both based in Russia before he relocated to become a French citizen and based his business in Dubai, following his refusal to share users’ information with Russian secret service.

World News

Over 30 people killed, 100 wounded as Russian missile hits Ukraine train station

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More than 30 Ukrainians have been killed with 100 others seriously wounded after a Russian missile hit a crowded train station in the eastern part.

The station was crowded with civilians fleeing Russia’s onslaught in eastern Ukraine city of Kramatorsk on Friday morning.

According to Donetsk regional governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, thousands of people were at the station at the time, as residents were being evacuated to safer regions in Ukraine.

“Police and rescuers have reported that dozens of people have been killed or wounded, after rockets hit the station,” Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram.

The chairman of Ukrainian Railways, Oleksandr Kamyshin, who also confirmed the attack, said the train station in the city of Kramatorsk is one of the busiest in the city with thousands of passengers passing through it everyday.

“The Kramatorsk train station was crowded with civilians fleeing Russia’s onslaught on eastern Ukraine at the time of the rocket strike,” Kamyshin said.

Kramatorsk is one of the easternmost stations still operating in Ukraine, and the governor of Donetsk said thousands of people were there at the time, trying to get on to trains out of the area.

World News

Police rescues 12 kidnapped passengers in Kogi

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Police operatives in Kogi on Thursday rescued 12 abducted passengers in the state.

The state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Edward Egbuka, confirmed the development in a statement issued by the spokesman for the state police command, William Ovye-Aya.

Egbuka said the 12 victims were among the 16 Benue-bound passenger bus recently intercepted by suspected kidnappers along Anyigba – Ankpa road.

He said: “The Command received a distressed report that a Toyota bus, with Registration Number- Benue 192 XA, driven by one Bernard Ejeh conveying 16 passengers from Abuja to Benue State via ANKPA, ran into kidnappers at Ojuwo-Ajebgo village of Ofu Local Government Area, along Anyigba road.

“Without waste of time, the operatives of Quick Response Unit, stationed at Itobe, promptly swung into action, pursued the hoodlums into the bush and rescued 12 passengers including the driver while four other passengers are yet to be seen.

“Luckily too, I was on a visiting tour to Kogi East Senatorial Zone, so when I got the information while on my way to Ejule, I immediately moved to the scene, where I met with the rescued passengers.”

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