The city of Abuja on Friday witnessed protest from ‘Buhari Must Go’ groups who voiced their opposition to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
This came shortly after the Independence Day broadcast by the President.
Some of the protesters brandished placards with inscriptions like:”#RevolutionNow” and “#BuhariMustGo.”
Omoyele Sowore, the convener of the protests had earlier made the announcement via the Twitter page of SaharaReporters, the media arm of his organisation.
I am urging all citizens and non citizens of Nigeria to boycott @MBuhari’s national “INDEPENDENCE DAY” broadcast scheduled for tomorrow, instead you should partake in protests across the country tomorrow to reject this man, the Failure-In-Chief of the Federal Republic #BuhariMustGo,” he said on Twitter.
On Facebook, the activist posted,” What is this Failure-In-Chief going to broadcast to the country? #RevolutionNow #October1stProtest #BuhariMustGo.”
Earlier in his speech, President Muhammadu Buhari pledged to ensure the prosecution of secessionists and insurrectionists who have created a climate of insecurity across the country.
Sowore had been arrested several times over his protests against the current administration.
Gunmen in the early hours of Friday abducted a man, Abdullahi Benda, and his 23-year-old son, Jibrin Abdullahi Benda at Yangoji village in Kwali Area council of Abuja.
Residents of the community told journalists the hoodlums scaled the fence into the victims’ house, destroyed the doors, and went into one of the rooms in the building before whisking the man and his son to an unknown location.
The Spokesman of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, Daniel Y. Ndiparya, confirmed the incident.
He said: “Yes, we are aware and efforts are being made by the command to rescue the victims.”
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Wednesday demolished about 2,000 illegal structures in the Mpape community.
The Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation, Ikharo Attah, said in a statement the exercise was aimed at sanitising the community.
He added that illegal structures on the roadside were obstructing human and vehicular movement in the area.
Attah said: “Mpape demolition was requested by the residents and landlords who came to FCTA and asked the Minister of the FCT, Muhammad Bello, to come and clear the road corridors.
So, what we are doing is in line with the request of the people who want the road corridors to be reclaimed so that there will be ease of movement. As a responsible government, we responded to the cries of the people.
“The sanitation and demolition were long overdue and were targeted at the roadside shanties and other unapproved buildings causing obstruction along the road
“We gave them enough notice, but many of them were basking in the euphoria that nobody can clear Mpape.”
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Abuja Zonal Office has secured the conviction of one Jacob Samuel on an amended one count charge of cheating.
Justice J.O. Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja convicted the defendant after he pleaded guilty to the charge brought against him.
Samuel was said to have falsely represented himself as a priest or spiritualist and induced one Rebecca into delivering to him the sum of N103,000 (One Hundred and Three Thousand Naira).
Based on his plea, the prosecution asked the court to convict him accordingly. But his counsel, M.K Agbontien urged the court to temper justice with mercy as the defendant was a first-time offender and had returned the proceeds of crime.
The court convicted and sentenced the defendant to six months imprisonment with an option of N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) fine.
Police operatives in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have arrested a 20-year-old man, Danladi Abubakar, for allegedly murdering a woman in the city.
The spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, Mariam Yusuf, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, said the suspect stabbed his victim with a knife after snatching her mobile phone at Kasuwa-Dere in Gwagwalada Area of the nation’s capital.
She added that the suspect was arrested by police detectives from Gwagwalada following an intelligence report.
The statement read: “The FCT Police Command has arrested one suspect for culpable homicide along Kasuwa-Dere, Gwagwalada axis.
Acting on credible intelligence, the suspect, one Danladi Abubakar, ‘m’, 20, was arrested by police detectives from Gwagwalada Division for the gruesome murder of a yet-to-be-identified middle-aged woman.
“The suspect, who was identified by another victim, confessed to being a member of a notorious phone snatching syndicate operating along the Gwagwalada axis.
“Exhibits recovered from the suspect are one sharp knife used for stabbing the deceased and one Tecno phone belonging to the late woman.”
Public primary school teachers in the Bwari local council of Abuja have commenced a strike over the delay in the payment of their June salaries.
Pupils, who came for studies on Wednesday morning, were sent back home by the teachers.
Meanwhile, the development comes barely two days into the third term examination for primary school pupils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
One of the teachers, who pleaded anonymity, said the area council chapter of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) had given the notice of strike through a circular on Tuesday.
Another teacher, who spoke on the development said out of the six FCT area councils, only Bwari has failed to pay primary school teachers their salaries for June, added that all efforts made by the NUT to get the salaries paid did not yield results.
When contacted, the Vice Chairman of the Bwari area council, Aminu Musa, said the issue was sorted out last night and the salaries would be released before 10 am on Wednesday.
Young Nigerians protesting against bad governance and insecurity on Monday morning staged a peaceful protest along the airport road in the federal capital territory.
Protesters stormed Dantata Bridge, along the road which serves as a major entrance and exit point to the capital city as early as 5:00am chanting #BuhariMustGo.
The Expressway was barricaded with bonfire, preventing vehicular movement along the road.
This comes 9 days after a protest was staged across several states in the country.
On June 12, youths took to the streets of Lagos, Abuja, Oyo, Ondo and other cities demanding an end to insecurity, bad governance, corruption, impunity among others.
A group of women under the aegis of the Amalgamation of Northern Women Associations, on Saturday, demanded a referendum to allow Biafran agitators to chose whether or not to remain in Nigeria.
The coordinator of the group, Hadiza Adamu, spoke on behalf of other members, during a protest in Abuja, on Saturday.
She said, “Nigerian History has shown that women carry the heavy burden of war and acts of insurrections and terrorism. We have gone through it from 1967 to 1971, our men died and left us with the children to cater for out of nothing, other men that survived simply moved on but we never moved on.
The aftermath of the war and the sufferings left lifetime scars in our hearts and on our bodies. It is for this reason that we (have) come together today and say we don’t want another war, another insurrection.
We, therefore, unanimously call on President Muhammadu Buhari as the leader and father of the country; and the leadership of the National Assembly, President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawal; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; to immediately call for a referendum in the country.
“Let people choose to live in peace in Nigeria or leave, any other group or nationality that wants to secede to exercise their rights of self-determination like the South-East has been agitated for decades to be allowed to leave Nigeria peacefully, without resorting to a second civil war.
“Today the Igbo nation has turned the entire South-East to almost a war zone, northerners irrespective of their tribes are no longer safe, states’ infrastructures are no longer safe, service personnel from police to army are not safe, INEC offices and other symbols of democracy in the country are being destroyed on daily basis, our husbands that go to do business in South-East no longer return home safe, our political leaders who travel to the South-East on national assignments are assassinated in broad daylight.”
Some militant groups in the nine states of the Niger Delta led by the Supreme Egbesu Freedom Fighters have backed ex-militant, Government Ekpomupolo, also known as Tompolo over the seven-day ultimatum given to President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately constitute a substantive board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The militant groups also declared their readiness to form an alliance with the umbrella body of Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), while threatening to shut down major oil exploration flow stations and oil wells in the area.
The Supreme Egbesu Freedom Fighters, in a statement issued on Sunday via electronic mail at the end of an emergency meeting conveyed by the Commanding officer, Major General Agadagba 1 Obus, also known as Thunder, said, “We will have no choice but to join hands with all other forces with the Ijaw Youth Council and other agitating militant groups in the creeks to shut down oil exploration activities on all flow stations in the region.
“We have identified targets to include the Escravos-Warri to Kaduna NNPC major delivery crude line, the Escravos Lagos atlas cove delivery line and the Trans Escravos Warri Kaduna gas line that supply electricity to Abuja will not be spared and there will be no gas supply for electricity in Abuja, Lagos Kaduna and the Northern part of the country also the Trans Forcados 48- inches terminal underwater shell/NNPC crude delivery pipeline with most of the Chevron RMP24 Clough creek line will all be brought to stand still in the wake of this 7 days ultrasound.
“On this note, the Supreme Egbesu Freedom Fighters group and the other agitating militant groups in the creek urged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC (All Progressives Congress) federal government, as a matter of security concern and for the interest of peace and economic stability immediately call the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Godswill Akpabio and his cohorts to lay off their hands and let the presidency quickly call for the inauguration of the NDDC board without any further delay for the interest of peace in the Niger Delta region and for the overall interest of the country.
President Buhari
“And if Akpabio and gang of corrupt-minded fellows of cronies refuse to yield to this noble piece of advice and still go against the common interest of the Niger Delta people and decide to continue to hold the entire Niger Delta region to ransom and refuse to let go of the grid of refusal and opposed to the inauguration of the NDDC board which means whatever that will be the fall out of this in the creek on before the expiration of this fresh one week ultimatum in alliance with the Tompolo one week declaration, this will lead to shutting down of this major crude flow stations and NNPC major crude oil delivery pipelines in the specific targeted locations in the creek then SEFFM should to be blamed rather all the blames and the economic woes should be channelled to Mr Akpabio and his fellow corrupt minded cronies at the presidency.
“The presidency and the federal government should hold Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and his cousin, the sole Administrator of the NDDC, Mr Effiong Akwa responsible and therefore whatever that befalls in the creek of the region, the supreme Egbesu Freedom Fighters and the other agitating militant groups should not be held responsible.”
It was a night of cold tears and loud cries for the family of one Mr. Blessing Michael who suddenly met with death, after being stabbed on the neck and wounded severely by unknown persons assumed to be criminals at Ceddi Plaza, Abuja. Mr. Blessing was assassinated on his way to deliver one of his several printing services to Genesis Cinema, located at Ceddi Plaza, FCT Abuja.
According to reports, the police is presently investigating the situation to uncover perpetrators of the sad death of 25years old Blessing Michael, who was doing averagely well in his printing business. While gathering reports, our Reporters where told that Blessing Michael had left the popular UTC Complex to deliver some jobs to his Clients before his untimely death.
The Police and other authorities have urged the general public to come up with any relevant information that could support investigation into the death of the young Printer who was Stabbed at the neck by unknow assailant, leading to profuse bleeding and eventual his death.
As at the moment of this report, no relevant information have been provided as regards the possible Suspects responsible for the assassination of Blessing Micheal. Friends and family Members have described the diseased as a peaceful and loving person, wondering why he met which such a bittered and untimely death.
For any information please contact: 08051775199 or 08033001031
Two of the victims of the marauding kidnappers, who spoke with SaharaReporters, recalled their horrendous experiences in the hands of the assailants, noting that it was” “a journey of life-and-death.”
Residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have expressed worries over the rising spate of kidnapping in the country’s capital, saying the menace calls for urgent action by the security agencies and the government.
Two of the victims of the marauding kidnappers, who spoke with SaharaReporters, recalled their horrendous experiences in the hands of the assailants, noting that it was” “a journey of life-and-death.”
SaharaReporters had recently reported the case of a Punch newspaper journalist, Victor Nnodim, who was kidnapped alongside two of his neighbours by gunmen in his house at Kubwa, Abuja.
On Sunday, barely days after, gunmen also abducted one person and shot at three others in Abuja’s Pegi community when the victims were returning home from work.
This was the same period that a retired Assistant Comptroller of Immigration, Alhaji Abdulahi Idris Rakieu, was kidnapped in Abuja alongside his wife, another family member and one Olushola Agun.
Location of F.C.T
In a chat with SaharaReporters, one of the freed victims, who did not want to be identified for security reasons, stated that the kidnappers refused to feed him for the days he spent with them.” “They tied my hands backwards and also my two legs. At that point, it was more difficult for me to breathe or to walk. For days, I was asked to lie on the dusty ground. I was abducted from my house. There is no food in the forests and no sounds. Just cold, darkness and all the terrible things any mortal can imagine.” “My kidnappers were beating me all over the back. As I cried, they put me on the phone so that my family members could hear my agony and they also could have heartbreaks.
“It was a terrible moment in my life. I paid a ransom of N5million before I was released. The attackers had demanded N10million from my poor family” one of the victims said.
Speaking with SaharaReporters on Monday, some Abuja residents noted that it was true that kidnapping was now rampant but added that the abductions could not extend to the city centre, where a respondent claimed” “is very safe.”
The FCT is segregated into three partitions – satellite towns, City Centre and neighbouring cities. Chima Obi, a resident, thinks the kidnap occurrence happens in the neighbouring towns close to the highways already notorious for harbouring bandits.
“I have not heard of kidnapping in the city centre and the satellite towns. The much I have heard of kidnapping are people travelling from Abuja down to Kaduna or any of these neighbouring Northern states. These are the places the abductions take place.
“Within the city centre, there are no many incidents of kidnapping. Almost every political office holder in Nigeria lives in Abuja,so that makes the city centre very safe because they don’t play with security” he opined.
Another resident of Abuja, Chinedu, said he is more concerned than scared about the situation. He believes the rise in kidnap incidents in the FCT should make anyone concerned as no one knows who the next victim might be.
He said,” “As a resident, I am concerned about the incident but not so scared because this used to be one of the safest places in the country.”
Chioma Ruphina buttressedChinedu’ss view, saying kidnapping is more common on the highways linking Abuja to some Northern states.
FG contemplates lockdown in hotspot local governments in Lagos, Abuja and others.
The Federal Government has announced that it is contemplating a targeted lockdown in hotspot local governments in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and major cities in the country.
National Incident Manager of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr Mukhtar Muhammad disclosed this while appearing on a Channels Television Programme on Friday January 29.
Muhammad said they noticed the most affected places are urban areas and the restriction will be in those places.
He said; “Certainly, even if we are going to have a lockdown, it is not going to be a total lockdown. A couple of weeks back, we analysed the data and we identified the hotspot local government areas.
“Mostly, the areas affected are the urban local governments in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Plateau. Even in most other states, it is the urban areas that are involved. So, if we are going to have any restrictions, it will be in these areas.
“The urban areas are the most affected and that is why we have these superspreaders and that is where we are going to target. We have analysed that and we are advising the states based on the data that these are the focused areas where these transmissions are more than the others.”
The military authorities have on Wednesday, deployed 300 female soldiers to provide security on the dreaded Kaduna-Abuja highway.
The female combatants would complement the existing operations along the highways and the environs.
The first batch of the troops who are of Nigerian Army Women Corps (NAWC), were formally received by Governor El-Rufai at their Kakau base on the highway.
Governor El-Rufai on the occasion, expressed optimism that, with the deployment of the female soldiers, the insecurity along the highways will soon be a thing of the past. He expressed gratitude to the Nigerian Army for deploying the troops and assured them of the continued support of the Kaduna State Government as they work for security in the State.
“The problem of Abuja-Kaduna road will be over with these female soldiers because what a man can do a woman can do better. We believe in the capability of women in this State. ”
“I am confident the road will be the safest in Nigeria. We will do everything possible to make this operation comfortable. We are very happy to have you. Your presence will inspire others girls to join the military. That is why we have female deputy governor to inspire other women,” he said.
The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Major-General Usman Mohammed, thanked Governor El-Rufai and the Deputy Governor Dr. Hadiza Balarabe for personally coming to receive the female troops.
He acknowledged the support the Kaduna State government has provided to the military in its internal security operations.
In schools observed by SaharaReporters in Kubwa, Maitama, Mpape and Zuba areas of the FCT, the schools opened but there was a significant drop in the number of pupils, as parents kept their children back at home for fear of the pandemic.
Attendance dropped significantly on Monday in most schools across the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as pupils resumed amidst the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
In schools observed by SaharaReporters in Kubwa, Maitama, Mpape and Zuba areas of the FCT, the schools opened but there was a significant drop in the number of pupils, as parents kept their children back at home for fear of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, some of the schools observed COVID-19 safety protocols as stipulated by the guidelines by the Nigerian government while others partially complied.
Some schools in Zuba also complained about water scarcity and the difficulty of having running water and basins for pupils to wash their hands in classrooms and at school entrances.
Some of the schools, which preferred not to have their names in print due to victimisation, agreed that they would not be able to sustain the COVID-19 safety guidelines without increasing school fees.
“How do we survive with all the health and safety gadgets you need to put in place in the school? You have to have a sick bay equipped with nurses, have an isolation room; build more classrooms for social distancing and all. The school fees also have to go up. Some of the parents when they were given their bills, literally asked their children to stop coming,” one of the headmistresses explained.
At the Local Education Authority Primary School, Kubwa, there were a few pupils and there was also no observance of the COVID-19 guidelines.
A teacher in the government school, who identified himself only as Mr Abdullahi, said the pupils would be assisted to observe the guidelines through the donation of face masks and hand washing materials for them, with “many of them coming from poor homes or no homes at all.”
The Head of a school on Arab Road, Kubwa, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the low turnout was due to the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Oyo State, where schools had resumed since last Monday, teachers and pupils ignored COVID-19 protocols.
As of Monday morning, confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state stood at 4,695 while 573 persons were on admission and 4,054 had been discharged. Sixty-eight persons had died of the coronavirus in the state.
Still, the level of compliance in public schools has been poor in the state.
But it was observed that some private schools in Ibadan, the state capital, strictly complied with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) directives and also sent home pupils without face masks.
At Oba Akinbiyi Model School, a public school, the pupils and some of their teachers did not wear face masks.
Though there were buckets of water placed in the school compound of the building, pupils were not washing their hands
SaharaReporters also observed that most pupils and teachers of Islamic Model School, Basorun, Ibadan did not wear face masks to protect themselves, but few teachers did.
It was observed that pupils and teachers in Obaseku High School and Baptist Grammar School, both in Eruwa, did not comply with the COVID-19 protocolS.
SaharaReporters gathered that few teachers had been using face masks in Ogbomoso Baptist High School, while most of their pupils had not been wearing theirs.
The plaintiff in the suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/1492/2020, urged the court to restrain the Attorneys-General of the 36 states of the federation and their various panels of enquiry from going ahead with the probe focusing on police impunity.
The Nigeria Police Force has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja praying for an order stopping the various states’ judicial panels of enquiry probing allegations of rights abuses and other acts of brutality perpetrated by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad and other police tactical units.
The plaintiff in the suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/1492/2020, urged the court to restrain the Attorneys-General of the 36 states of the federation and their various panels of enquiry from going ahead with the probe focusing on police impunity.
The defendants, totalling 104, who were sued by the NPF, comprised the Attorney-General of the Federation, the National Human Rights Commission which set up the Independent Investigative Panel sitting in Abuja, the Attorneys-General of the states, and chairmen of the states’ panels.
The decision to set up the various panels of enquiry was taken by the National Economic Council with members including the 36 state governors and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in the aftermath of the recent nationwide #EndSARS protests demanding an end to police brutality.
According to a report by Punch, the NPF, through their lawyer, Mr O. M. Atoyebi (SAN), argued in the new suit that the state governments lacked the power to constitute the panels to investigate activities of the police force and its officials in the conduct of their statutory duties.
According to the plaintiff, the state governments’ decision to set up such panels violated the provisions of section 241(1)(2)(a) and Item 45, Part 1, First Schedule to the Constitution and Section 21 of the Tribunals of Inquiry Act.
It argued that by the provisions of 241(1)(2)(a) and Item 45, Part 1, First Schedule to the Nigerian Constitution only the Federal Government had exclusive power to “organise, control and administer the Nigeria Police Force”.
It, therefore, urged to, among others, declare that “the establishment of a panel of enquiries by the governors of the various states of the federation of Nigeria, to inquire into the activities of the Nigeria Police Force concerning the discharge of her statutory duties is a gross violation of the provisions of Section 241 (1)(2) (a) and Item 45, Part 1, First schedule, 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Section 21 of the Tribunals of Inquiry Act, Cap.T21, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004”.
The plaintiff also urged the court to declare that “having regard to the circumstances of this case, the attitude of the governors of the various states of the Federation of Nigeria, in this case, is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and of no effect whatsoever”.
It sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the 3rd to 38th defendants (the state Attorneys-General of the 36 states) “from making or conducting any investigations, sittings, and inquiries and from making or conducting any further investigations, sittings and inquiries in respect of matters affecting the Nigeria Police Force, and or further setting up any panel of inquiry in any state whatsoever in the country”.
Following what it described as the effect of COVID-19 on the Nigerian economy, particularly its crippling financial situation on the school, the Department of State Services (DSS) has sacked the teachers and other staff members of its Community Staff Schools, Asokoro (CSSA), Abuja.
The secret police has also shut down the institution and directed the pupils in the nursery, primary and secondary classes to stay at home for two weeks.
The primary school commenced in 1992/93, while the secondary classes took off in 1998.
It was gathered that the fee for the nursery and primary classes was increased from N25,000 to N35,000 for children and wards of the rank and file, while children of senior DSS officers were required to pay N45,000 up from N35,000 per term.
However, for children of civilians, the tuition was increased from N45,000 to N60,000.
The tuition for secondary school classes was increased from 35,000 to 45,000 for children and wards of the rank and file, while
officers’ children were asked to pay N60,000 up from 40,000.
But students who did not fall in either of the categories will pay N90,000 from N70,000.
In the letter of disengagement dated November 2, 2020, signed by the Executive Secretary, CSSA, M. Onyilo, the DSS hinged its decision to sack the school staff on poor financial situation brought about by the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nation’s economy.
The letter was titled: ‘Disengagement from the service of Community Staff Schools, Asokoro.”
It reads partly: “Due to the effect of COVID-19 on the Nigerian economy vis-a-vis the crippling financial situation of the school, I am directed to convey the Director-General, State Services/Proprietor’s approval to disengage you from the services of the school with effect from 3rd November 2020.”
It was however learnt that the workers had in 2018 dragged the school management to the National Industrial Court (NIC) demanding better conditions of service, which the court okayed but the DSS failed to obey the court judgment.
An unconfirmed number of persons were injured and vehicles damaged when suspected thugs attacked Nigerians protesting against police brutality and extortion in Abuja.
The PUNCH gathered that the thugs attacked the protesters at Berger junction a few minutes after the commencement of the protest.
It was learnt that the thugs were armed with cutlass and other weapons.
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