29032020 - El Rufai tests positive as experts insist on Total lockdown

PAGE 38 – SUNDAY VANGUARD, MARCH 29, 2020
SUSPECTED HERDSMEN KILLINGS IN DELTA:
By Festus Ahon, Asaba
FOR residents of Issele-Azagba in
Aniocha North Local Government Area
of Delta State, life h<strong>as</strong> become unbearable
<strong>as</strong> suspected herdsmen have laid siege to
their forest from where they launch attack
on them once they are hungry.
The suspected armed herdsmen have
apparently occupied the forest from where
they launch attack on unsuspecting
residents of the hitherto peaceful
community.
The community farmers no longer go
to farm <strong>as</strong> they used to for fear of being
attacked by the hoodlums.
Since October 13 l<strong>as</strong>t year when the
marauders launched their first attack on
the community by invading the Issele-
Azagba Secondary School and
kidnapping the Principal and some
teachers after beating security at the gate,
the community h<strong>as</strong> not known peace.
It h<strong>as</strong> been more or less one week, one
trouble for residents of the community.
The suspected herdsmen have launched
over six different attacks on the
community and several persons killed,
several others kidnapped and many others
sustaining bullet wounds.
On February 23, the suspected
herdsmen stormed the community,
attacked the residence of one Daniel
Benwari, shot sporadically, killed the
man, who w<strong>as</strong> said to be of Ijaw and
Urhobo ethnic extraction, injured his
daughter and kidnapped the wife, Helen.
Few days later, the wife w<strong>as</strong> rele<strong>as</strong>ed
with body injuries after undisclosed
amount of ransom w<strong>as</strong> paid.
She w<strong>as</strong> immediately taken to the
Federal Medical Centre, Asaba where the
daughter had earlier been taken for
treatment.
Again, the suspected herdsmen, on
March 4, besieged the community, killed
the manager of a hotel and kidnapped eight persons.
Lamenting the situation, President General of the Issele-Azagba
Development Union, Mr Ben, called on President Muhammadu
Buhari to come to their rescue.
Illoh confirmed that the suspected herdsmen had killed four and
kidnapped several persons who were freed after the payment of ransom
in separate attacks.
He said residents of the town no longer sleep with their two eyes
closed, appealing to Buhari to prevail on the security agencies to
liberate them.
According to him, the situation had overwhelmed the local vigilante
group.
co.uk
Attackers take advantage of our
hospitality — Issele-Azagba natives
Illoh said: “These attacks have become a very big
problem to us. The vigilante and government presence
is here. The police have arrived and there is a serious
patrol going on but we want more support.
“For example, teachers are afraid to go and teach, it
took serious efforts to get some of them back to school
and the presence of vigilante operatives h<strong>as</strong> given them
the courage”.
The community youth leader, Mr Ogebu Edozie, who
also spoke, said “Issele-Azagba is very receptive to
strangers irrespective of tribe or religion”, adding,
however, that “bandits have taken advantage of such
hospitality to unle<strong>as</strong>h terror on us”.
Edozie <strong>insist</strong>ed that armed herdsmen were responsible
for the series of attacks on the community, noting that
those who have encountered the hoodlums, including
freed kidnapped victims, confirmed that the attackers
are Fulani going by the language they speak and their
physical appearance.
His words: “Victims confirmed that these people are
Fulani herdsmen from the language they speak and their
physical appearance.
“We were told by those abducted that they were
speaking Hausa. We are not trying to stereotype
anybody; if a Fulani man is involved, nobody should
shield him, likewise an Igbo man or a Yoruba man, it is
not about tribe.
“What we are saying is that we are under siege and
vicious attacks. The people doing this are our enemies.
They come with very sophisticated weapons which you
cannot see around here. It is not war between us and
Fulani, but war between us and bandits, criminals and
killer herders”.
Saying the attacks had taken a huge toll on the socioeconomic
life of the people, he said, “Social activities
are now at the lowest level while farmers are too scared
to go to their farms to avoid deadly confrontation with
bandits”.
Meanwhile, Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr
Hafiz Inuwa, h<strong>as</strong> vowed to rid the state of criminal
elements, including armed herdsmen terrorizing
communities.
Inuwa said he w<strong>as</strong> determined to change the narrative
of crime and criminal activities in the state, maintaining
that vigilante groups were playing a pivotal role in
<strong>as</strong>sisting the police to fight crime especially at the
gr<strong>as</strong>sroots.
COVID-19: NIMR begins test trial tomorrow – Prof Salako
...to commence trial on efficacy of chloroquine in 2 weeks
By Chioma Obinna
• Prof. Salako
As part of efforts to provide lab
oratory testing for more Nige
rians following the incre<strong>as</strong>ing
c<strong>as</strong>es of Coronavirus dise<strong>as</strong>e in the
country, the Nigerian Institute of Medical
Research, NIMR, will begin clinical
trials on three rapid testing kits
for the dise<strong>as</strong>e tomorrow.
Also, the institute will commence
clinical trials on the efficacy of chloroquine
on people who tested <strong>positive</strong>
to COVID-19 and those showing
symptoms but not confirmed yet.
Disclosing these in an exclusive interview
with Sunday Vanguard,
Director- General of NIMR, Professor
Babatunde Salako, explained that the
free Rapid Kits Test w<strong>as</strong> designed to
<strong>as</strong>certain the accuracy of the kits compared
to the PCR testing which is the
gold stand recommended by the World
Health Organisation, WHO.
The free clinical trial of some Rapid
Test Kits, according to the Director-
General, is strictly for Nigerians who
just returned from high-risk countries
and are showing symptoms of COV-
ID-19.
His words: “We hope to start the test
on Monday. We are doing more clinical
trials on some of the new Rapid
Test Kits. There are about three of
them and we are trying to do clinical
trials on those devices and then compare
with the WHO recommended
gold standard which the country is currently
using. The result of the use of
the kits will be presented to the Nigerian
Centre for Dise<strong>as</strong>e Control,
NCDC.
“The test kits will determine if a per-
son h<strong>as</strong> the dise<strong>as</strong>e or not. We are also
doing this trail to know how effective
they are. For the one I have seen, the
result is generated within 10 to 20
minutes.”
Salako, who said the free testing for
Nigerians w<strong>as</strong> part of Federal Government’s
efforts to provide more testing
opportunities for Nigerians, said the
institute w<strong>as</strong> working with NCDC, and
Infectious Dise<strong>as</strong>e Hospital, Yaba,
Lagos.
According to him, <strong>positive</strong> persons
during the period of testing would be
sent to Infectious Dise<strong>as</strong>e Hospital or
the NCDC.
Noting that the test kits were still expensive,
he said they have up to 2,000
test kits provided by a group of people
free of charge to the institute.
He said: “We have enough to start.
We are testing the kits we want to use
which is about 2,000 and will get more
if we have more money. Plans are underway
for those who are supporting
us to ensure that that we have more.
“We are only going to test people
who have come in contact with <strong>positive</strong>
c<strong>as</strong>es and those who just returned
from high-risk countries with some
symptoms. We will not be able to cope
with testing everybody. We will start
with these people then, if we find out
that we have more kits we can review
the rules and bring in more people
whether they are showing symptoms
or not.
On Chloroquine trial, Salako said
they would be looking at the use of
chloroquine for people who are <strong>positive</strong>
for COVID-19 to determine
whether the drug works or not to be
able to advise policymakers.
He said:” Chloroquine will be used
on people that tested <strong>positive</strong> and also
on those who have come in contact
with confirmed <strong>positive</strong> persons and
then follow them up for about three or
four weeks.’’
On what they would do if the drug
becomes effective against the dise<strong>as</strong>e,
he said: “Ours is to write an official
report on it and p<strong>as</strong>s to the NCDC and
Federal Ministry of Health to decide.
“We are hoping to do it very quickly
to see if we can provide information
for the health sector for them to use it
on patients. We are starting in a few
weeks because there are processes,
ethica approvals involved. We have to
get the drugs but we are already close
to the ethics approval so within the
next few weeks we should start. We
will also let Nigerians know when we
start.”