25102020 - Looting spree in 9 states

PAGE 2—SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 25, 2020

SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 25, 2020, PAGE 3


#ENDSARS: 

Looting spree in nine states 

*10 lawmakers, Covid – 19 palliative targeted 

*Enough is enough, IGP warns 

*One killed in Edo, curfew continues in Osun, Delta, Plateau, Kaduna 

*Ekiti hoodlums loot poisonous food items 

*Daylight robbers terrorise Onitsha 

*Wike places N50m bounty on suspected IPOB leader in Rivers 

By Our Reporters 

On the 18th day of the 

#EndSARS protests in 

some parts of the country, it 

was looting spree, yesterday, 

as suspected hoodlums targeted 

the properties of 10 

lawmakers and warehouses 

where Covid-19 palliative 

items were allegedly stored in 

nine states. 

The development forced 

some state governments to 

reimpose curfew. 

The former and serving 

federal lawmakers had their 

properties attacked by hoodlums 

in Oyo (1), Cross River 

(3), Osun (4), Delta (1) and 

Kwara (1). 

Reports said seven of the 

invaders were arrested in 

Oyo. 

Other states where looting 

took place include Ekiti, 

Ogun, Kaduna and Plateau. 

In Ekiti, the state government 

raised the alarm that the 

items looted were poisonous 

and not fit for human consumption. 

The #EndSARS protests 

against police brutality had 

started penultimate Wednesday. 

Youths in several states 

across the country had taken 

to the streets to demand the 

proscription of the police 

Special Anti-Robbery Squad 

(SARS), prosecution of its 

personnel engaged in wholesome 

activities and reform of 

the security agency. 

The authorities acceded to 

the request, promising police 

reform and replacing SARS 

with Special Weapons And 

Tactical (SWAT) unit. 

The authorities also resolved 

to raise judicial panels 

in the 36 states to probe 

police brutality since SARS 

was established and work 

out compensation for victims 

and punishment for erring officers. 

On Thursday, President 

Muhammadu Buhari addressed 

the nation in a broadcast 

and sued for peace. 

Lagos, the hotbed of the 

#EndSARS protests, was 

calm yesterday. 

The result of the calm was 

the relaxation of the curfew 

imposed on the state by Governor 

Babajide Sanwo-Olu 

who allowed residents to go 

out between 8 am and 6 pm. 

But the situation was different 

in eight states where widespread 

looting led to reimposition 

of curfew. 

CROSS RIVER: 

Senators’ houses invaded 

There was pandemonium 

as hoodlums invaded the 

houses of Senator Gershom 

Bassey and former Senate 

Leader ,Victor Ndoma-Egba, 

who represented Cross River 

Central at the Senate. 

Other properties, including 

a lounge (Boulevard) reportedly 

owned by All Progressives 

Congress (APC) Senator Hillard 

Eta, were vandalized 

while a filling station allegedly 

owned by Governor Ben 

Ayade was destroyed. 

OYO: 

Hoodlums invade former 

Senate Leader’s residence, 

IGP Adamu Abubakar 

cart away items worth N200 

million 

Hoodlums invaded the residence 

of Senator Teslim 

Folarin (APC-Oyo Central) 

in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, 

and carted away empowerment 

materials worth N200 

million. 

The incident was confirmed 

by Folarin during a 

radio programme. 

Reports that the items carted 

away were meant for constituency 

empowerment programme 

of the lawmaker, 

scheduled to take place in December. 

Among the items carted 

away are about 300 motorcycles, 

deep freezers and food 

items. 

Folarin, the Chairman of 

the Senate Committee on 

Local Content and former 

Senate Leader, according to 

NAN, said he was relieved 

that no life was lost. 

Meanwhile, seven persons 

were arrested in connection 

with the invasion, according 

to Mr. Yinka Folarin, the lawmaker’s 

elder brother. 

OSUN: 

Four lawmakers suffer attacks 

In Osun, hoodlums went 

berserk moving round some 

communities and breaking 

into government and private 

property, looting valuables. 

The looting spree was witnessed 

in Osogbo, the state 

capital, Ikirun, Ede, Ilobu 

and Iwo, where local government 

secretariats and individuals 

homes were vandalised 

and looted. 

Iwo, Olorunda, Irepodun 

local government secretariats 

were vandalised and looted 

while there were no security 

personnel, except for few 

military personnel, who were 

overwhelmed by the hoodlums. 

In Osogbo, the hoodlums, 

after looting Olorunda local 

government secretariat, headed 

to Tuns International 

Farms along Ikirun road 

where the offices were vandalised 

before heading to the 

house of the Senate spokesperson, 

Ajibola Basiru, at the 

Government Reservation 

Area, Oke-Fia, vandalised the 

building and looted property 

within. 

One of Basiru’s aides, Adebayo 

Bello, said the senator’s 

wife, Habiba, had to leave the 

building through the back 

door when the hoodlums arrived. 

In Ikirun, the house of the 

lawmaker representing Ifelodun/Boripe/Odo-Otin 

Federal 

Constituency at the House 

of Representatives, Hon. 

Afolabi Rasheed, was also 

looted and vandalised. 

One of his aides, Oladimeji 

Safiu, said the looted motorcycles 

and generating sets 

were just delivered and meant 

for empowerment scheme for 

the constituents. 

In Ilobu, Irepodun local 

government headquarters, 

houses of the former Deputy 

Speaker, House of Representatives, 

Hon. Lasun Yusuf, the 

lawmaker representing Irepodun/Orolu 

state constituency 

at the House of Assembly 

and that of the Council 

Chairman, Anthony Oyedeji 

were also looted. 

Other places reportedly attacked 

by hoodlums include 

Osun APC State Secretariat, 

Governor Oyetola Campaign 

Office and the Constituency 

Office of the lawmaker 

representing. Irepodun/ 

Orolu/Osogbo/Olorunda 

federal constituency, Hon 

Bukola Oyewo, all in Osogbo 

Ȧlso, the farm of Senator 

Adelere Oriolowo in Iwo and 

the house of Hon. Kamil 

Oyedele at Orolu were also 

attacked. 

The state government reimposed 

24-hour curfew on 

the state to tame the growing 

wanton destruction and looting 

of government and private 

property in the state. 

DELTA: Hoodlums repelled 

at state facility 

SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 25, 2020, PAGE 5 

structure, including courts in 

Asaba. 

Hoodlums had, on Wednesday 

night, set ablaze the Federal 

Road Safety Operational 

office along Benin-Asaba- 

Onitsha expressway and 

Beautification Garden at 

Koka Junction. 

They also set ablaze a High 

Court along Ibusa Road on 

Thursday morning. 

In a related development, 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, 

yesterday, reviewed the 48- 

hour curfew he declared 

Thursday. 

Okowa, who made the disclosure 

while inspecting the 

Event Centre Asaba, said the 

CACOVID food palliatives 

have long been distributed. 

According to him, the 48- 

hour curfew earlier declared 

would expire by 6pm, yesterday, 

adding that the new curfew 

would take effect immediately. 

He said the curfew 

would now hold from 6pm to 

8am till further notice. 

Rep laments attack on 

property 

Also, yesterday, the member 

representing Ethiope federal 

constituency, Hon Ben 

Igbakpa, described the attack 

on his business mall in 

Sapele local government 

area of Delta State as a collateral 

damage. 

The mall, located along 

Ajogodo road, was invaded by 

hoodlums who operated under 

the guise of the #END- 

SARS protest and carted 

away goods worth millions of 

naira despite the 48hours curfew 

imposed on the state by 

Okowa. 

Reacting to the incident, the 

lawmaker, in a statement, 

said the incident, which he 

described as an act of evil, will 

not stop him from contributing 

his quota towards a better 

Nigeria of our dreams. 

KWARA: Saraki’s newspaper 

looted 

Reports from Ilorin, Kwara 

State capital said hoodlums 

invaded a local newspaper, 

National Pilot, owned by the 

immediate past Senate president, 

Dr Bukola Saraki, and 

vandalised the equipment 

and other gadgets in the premises. 

National Pilot was established 

in 2002 by Saraki. 

Contacted, the Editor-in- 

Chief of the newspaper, Alhaji 

Billy Adedamola, who 

confirmed the development, 

said that he and his staff 

members escaped unhurt. 

Adedamola said: “National 

Pilot was attacked by the 

rampaging hoodlums. 

“We thank God , however, 

that no one was hurt. I drove 

my staff, out of the office “ 

The Editor-in-Chief told 

Sunday Vanguard that an attempt 

by the attackers to burn 

down the entire premises was 

prevented by Okada and 

Keke Marwa riders in the area 

who rose in defence of the 

property. 

EDO: 

One feared dead as hoodlums 

loot COVID-19 warehouse 

ONE person was feared 

dead following the attack and 

looting of Edo pharmaceutical 

company warehouse in 

Benin-City by suspected 

hoodlums. 

Sunday Vanguard gathered 

that the victim died of exhaustion 

while struggling to gain 

entry into the warehouse as 

he fell and trampled upon in 

the process. 

The hoodlums were said to 

have carted away goods like 

In Asaba, Delta State capital, 

suspected hoodlums attempted 

to break into the 

State Event Centre but were 

repelled by security agents. 

The hoodlums had suspected 

that COVID-19 palliative 

were stored at the centre, but 

a reliable government source 

said the state government had 

since distributed the palliative. 

As of the time of filing this 

report, armed security men 

were seen manning all the 

strategic junctions, roundabouts 

and streets in the capital 

city. 

Fierce looking armed security 

men were also positioned 

in all critical public infracartons 

of pastries, LPG gas 

cylinders, bags of rice, gallons 

of vegetables oil, vehicle batteries 

among other valuables 

worth millions of Naira despite 

the state government’s 

curfew aimed at checking 

activities of miscreants as a 

result of the EndSARS protest. 

Other household goods, including 

Covid-19 palliative 

branded with the inscription 

‘CACOVID’ were also carted 

away. 

It was learnt that the warehouse 

situated on Medical 

Stores Road was stormed by 

angry youths in the locality 

as early as 6. 00 a. m. 

PLATEAU: 

Lalong slams fresh 24hrs 

curfew after hoodlums ransack 

palliative warehouses 

Following renewed disturbances 

in the John/Bukuru 

metropolis in Plateau State, 

Governor. Simon Lalong 

slammed fresh 24hrs curfew 

on Jos North and Jos South 

local government areas of the 

state. 

Warehouses had been ransacked, 

yesterday morning, as 

some residents carted away 

bags of grains donated, according 

to the State Commissioner 

for Information and 

Communication, Dan Manjang, 

by the Federal Ministry 

of Humanitarian Affairs, 

Disaster Management and 

Social Development as palliative 

to the state. 

Angered by the development, 

which came on the 

heels of Friday’s relaxation of 

an earlier 24hrs curfew imposed 

as the result of breakdown 

of law and order in the 

areas, the governor restated 

the restriction. 

The announcement caused 

panic among residents who 

went out for their daily activities 

and were running home 

and calling loved ones who 

were out to return to avoid 

being stranded. 

EKITI: Alarm over looting 

of poisonous food items 

In Ekiti State, government 

raised the alarm that huge 

quantities of poisonous items, 

mistaken for food yet to be distributed 

as COVID-19 palliative, 

were looted in warehouses 

in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, 

on Friday. 

Commissioner for Information 

and Civic Orientation, 

Mr. Akin Omole, said in 

a statement that raising the 

alarm became expedient to 

forestall any harm that could 

L 

ate, yesterday, Inspector- 

General of Police, IGP, 

Mohammed Adamu, ordered 

the immediate mobilization 

of all police operational 

assets and resources to 

bring an end to the wanton 

violence, killings, looting and 

destruction of public and private 

property, and reclaim the 

public space from criminal 

elements masquerading as 

protesters in some parts of the 

country. 

The IGP gave the order to 

all Assistant Inspectors General 

of Police (AIGs), Commissioners 

of Police (CPs), 

Heads of Police Operational 

befall anyone who consumed 

the items. 

Also reportedly looted was 

the office of the Agricultural 

Development Programme 

(ADP) in Ado Ekiti. 

KADUNA: 

Covid-19 warehouses 

looted 

Reports from Kaduna said 

the state government imposed 

a 24-hour curfew on 

communities in Kaduna 

South and Chikun Local 

Government Areas after 

hoodlums looted warehouses 

where COVID-19 palliative 

were kept in the two local 

government areas. 

Barnawa, Kakuri, and Television 

in Kaduna South Local 

Government Areas Maraban 

Rido, Sabon Tasha, 

Narayi and Ungwan Romi of 

Chikun Local Government 

Areas were placed under curfew. 

The state Commissioner 

for Internal Security and 

Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel 

Aruwan, said, in a statement, 

that security agencies had 

been directed to arrest and 

prosecute anyone found violating 

the curfew and those 

responsible for breakdown of 

law and order. 

Mayhem in Rivers: Wike 

places N50million bounty on 

IPoB leader 

GOVERNOR Nyesom 

Wike has, in the meantime, 

declared one Stanley Mgbere 

wanted with a 

N50million bounty for his 

arrest for allegedly leading a 

mayhem by people linked to 

the proscribed Indigenous 

Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) in 

Onne, Eleme Local Area of 

Rivers State. 

Wike, in a broadcast, also 

condemned perceived criminal 

incursions by IPOB into 

Rivers, declaring the state’s 

resolve to put an end to the 

development while calling 

for the arrest of any Rivers 

resident linked to the proscribed 

group in the state. 

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. 

“Mr. Stanley Mgbere from 

Onne is hereby declared 

wanted for leading members 

of the banned IPOB to cause 

the recent violence and destruction 

of lives and property 

in Onne in Eleme Local 

Government Area.“ 

IGP warns: Enough is enough 

*Asks AIGs, CPs to clear looters 

Units, Squadron and Base 

Commanders in charge of 

Zonal/State/FCT Commands, 

the Police Mobile 

Force, Counter Terrorism 

Unit and the Special Protection 

Unit. 

“In addition, CPs/Heads of 

Police Formations in the various 

states have also been 

charged to mobilize their 

men and work in sync with 

the Command CPs in the areas 

where they are domiciled, 

to dominate the public space 

and ensure peace and safety 

in the affected areas”, a statement 

by Force spokesman, 

Frank Mba, said.

PAGE 6—SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 25, 2020 

YORUBA, IGBO TENSIONS OVER LAGOS MAYHEM: 

Afenifere, Ohanaeze curse Lekki attackers, 

sponsors; hit divisive elements 

By Dapo Akinrefon 

& Dirisu Yakubu 

Yoruba and Igbo lead 

ers, under the auspic 

es of Afenifere and 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo respectively, 

have invoked curse 

on those who attacked protesters 

at the Lekki toll gate 

in Lagos on Tuesday, which 

led to mayhem in Lagos. 

They also frowned at the 

attempt by some people to 

use the fallout of the shooting 

to put a wedge between 

the Yoruba and Igbo. 

Some men in uniform 

had, on Tuesday, fired gunshots 

at the protesters at the 

Lekki toll gate who were 

demanding an end to police 

brutality in Nigeria. 

In the ensuing stampede, 

many of the demonstrators, 

operating under the aegis of 

#EndSARS, were reportedly 

injured and others killed. 

The Nigerian Army immediately 

denied deploying 

soldiers to attack the protesters 

in an attempt to enforce 

the curfew imposed by 

Governor Babajide Sanwo- 

Olu to quell the protests 

which had been hijacked in 

some parts of Lagos and a 

police station burnt. 

The Lekki attack later degenerated 

into full blown 

mayhem in the former Nigerian 

capital during which 

some business interests 

linked to a Yoruba leader, 

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, were 

attacked. 

Some Yoruba elements 

accused some Igbo youths 

By Olasunkanmi Akoni 

ational leader of All 

NProgressives Congress, 

APC, Bola Tinubu, 

yesterday, dismissed reports 

that he travelled to 

France in the wake of the 

shooting of protesters by 

suspected soldiers in Lekki, 

Lagos. 

He also described reports 

that his son, Seyi 

Tinubu, was kidnapped in 

London as fake news. 

A day after the shooting 

of peaceful protesters, the 

former Lagos State governor 

was reported to have 

travelled to France. 

On the heels of that, were 

reports that his son was 

also kidnapped in London. 

Both misleading reports 

were largely reported on 

social media while the 

mainstream media avoided 

them. 

Speaking with newsmen 

during a visit to Lagos 

State governor, Babajide 

Sanwo-Olu, Tinubu, who 

was accompanied by his 

son, said he is standing 

with people in this period 

of crisis. 

He further commiserated 

with the state governor 

over the civil unrest and de- 

of being behind the attacks, 

saying they were designed 

to cripple Yoruba businesses 

İnvoking a curse on the 

Lekki attackers in a statement 

signed by Afenifere 

leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, 

and Ohanaeze President 

General, Chief John 

Nnia Nwodo, yesterday, the 

Yoruba and Igbo leaders 

said: “The blood of those 

young ones will pursue their 

killers and those who ordered 

them to the gate of justice”. 

They also appealed to the 

Yoruba and Igbo to continue 

to live together in peace and 

harmony and not to allow 

divisive elements to put a 

wedge between them. 

The statement titled, 

‘Afenifere and Ohanaeze say 

no to wilful destruction’, 

reads: “”The leaders of 

Afenifere and Ohanaeze 

jointly commiserate with all 

the families who lost dear 

ones in the Tuesday bloody 

massacre in Lekki, Lagos. 

“The blood of these young 

ones will pursue their killers 

and those who ordered them 

to the gate of justice. 

“One fallout of the massacre 

was the looting and burning 

spree all over the city. 

“We do not endorse arson 

as responsible organizations 

and we call for a stop of the 

orgies. 

We have also noted the divisive 

attempt to use the violence 

to put a wedge between 

Yoruba and Igbo and destroy 

the new understanding we 

have built in the last three years. 

“We reject this devilish attempt 

and ask the police to 

investigate and arraign suspected 

perpetrators of the 

violence. The essence of law 

and order is for individual citizens 

to answer for their actions. 

it is where law enforcement 

is weak that you begin to 

cast ethnic slur when crimes 

are committed instead of 

holding the perpetrators. 

“We appeal to our peoples 

to continue to live together 

in peace and harmony and 

not allow divisive elements 

to put a wedge between them. 

Solidarity for ever.” 

Tinubu denies traveling to France, alleged abduction of son 

T 

struction of lives and property 

in Lagos, especially 

the Lekki Toll Gate shooting 

Ṫhe APC chieftain, who 

condemned the shooting at 

Lekki Toll Gate, berated 

By Olasunkanmi Akoni 

agos State governor, Mr. 

LBabajide Sanwo-Olu, 

has urged residents to disregard 

any attempt to instigate 

ethnic crisis through inciting 

videos trending on social 

media. 

He described the videos as 

“ tools of anarchists,” whose 

plan is to create hatred and 

divisiveness in Lagos. 

Sanwo-Olu, who made the 

appeal in a statement yesterday, 

through the state Commissioner 

for Information 

and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga 

Omotoso, said Lagos would 

emerge stronger from last 

week’s mayhem. 

The statement reads: “The 

attention of the Lagos State 

government has been drawn 

to videos on social media, 

#EndSARS PROTESTS IN ENUGU: 

School Principal begs security agents to 

rescue traumatized students 

Akpokona Omafuaire, Vanguard Senior Correspondent 

in Warri, Delta State, after he was assaulted 

by the police in Udu yesterday with clubs 

and other sharp objects while covering #END- 

SARS, #ENDPolicebrutality protest. 

youths for what he described 

as the failure to observe 

the curfew order of 

the state government. He 

added that those who sustained 

gunshot injuries 

should be questioned. 

Tinubu, therefore, appealed 

to the youths to give 

peace a chance and desist 

from vandalising private 

and public infrastructure 

across the state. 

TRENDING VIDEOS: Resist attempt to instigate 

ethnic crisis, Sanwo-Olu tells Lagosians 

he Principal of 

Queen’s School Enugu, 

Mrs. Ada Nweke, has 

dismissed the allegation 

that COVID-19 palliative 

stocked in the school were 

still there, stating that “the 

materials are no more in 

the school” as the items had 

been distributed by the state 

government Committee in 

August to the less privileged 

and vulnerable groups 

across the 17 Local Government 

Areas of the state. 

Speaking to newsmen 

when she led them to inspect 

the school, Nweke, who lamented 

that her students 

had been traumatized since 

the threat by hoodlums to 

invade the school came up, 

called on security agencies 

to come to their rescue. 

The Principal said that 

the call became necessary 

because “we don’t want 

what happened to Chibok 

girls to happen to these students”. 

She maintained that 

“there are no COVID-19 

palliative in Queen’s School 

Enugu” and urged the public 

to disregard such unfounded 

rumour. 

creating tension and encouraging 

ethnic conflicts. 

“Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu 

has urged Lagosians 

to disregard the videos, 

which are the tools of 

anarchists, whose plan is to 

create hatred and divisiveness 

for which Lagos is not 

known. 

“Inciting videos of this 

nature are not what our 

By Chris Onuoha 

he Human and Envi 

Tronmental Development 

Agenda (HEDA) have 

challenged the Federal 

Government to demonstrate 

some level of accountability 

to earn the trust 

of the citizens. 

In a presentation of research 

project meant to 

measure the trust of citizens 

in the government, by 

HEDA, in Lagos recently, 

tagged: “Leadership Approval 

Rating: Citizens Perception 

of Leadership and 

Governance in Nigeria,” 

HEDA Chairman, Olarenwaju 

Suraju stated that one 

of the major problems confronting 

Nigeria today as a 

country is lack of trust by 

the citizens and inclusion 

in policy making. 

According to him, the 

land needs now, following the 

loss of lives and destruction 

that fake news, misinformation 

and unfounded rumours 

have triggered in our dear 

state in the last couple of 

days. 

“This is a very critical moment 

for us as a people to 

stand together and remain 

circumspect as the brewery 

of falsehood is unrelenting in 

its mission.” 

HEDA challenges FG over 

accountability 

…says #EndSARS exposes 

citizens’ lack of trust in govt 

project was done to create 

platform for public inclusion 

and participation in the democratic 

process and also, 

provide a challenge in measuring 

the level of government 

response to emergency 

situations such as the Covid- 

19 pandemic among others. 

“The action was informed 

by the need to understand, 

with empirical fact, citizens’ 

perception of government at 

the Federal and State levels, 

with special focus on Lagos as 

pilot, to determine what level 

of trust is placed on the governments 

to represent and reflect 

citizens’ interest in the formulation 

and implementation 

of policies and programmes. 

Other considerations included 

allegations and misapplication 

and secrecy surrounding 

the utilization of resources 

and funds mobilized to 

combat the Covid-19 by 

these governments. 

#EndSARS: Protesters set 

Zik’s statue ablaze in Anambra 

H 

NAS demands immediate trial 

of 35 indicted officers 

By Johnbosco 

Agbakwuru, $ E X M D 

HE National Associa 

Ttion of Seadogs, NAS, 

has demanded immediate 

trial of all 35 officers of the 

disbanded Special Anti- 

Robbery Squad, SARS, a 

unit of the Nigerian Police 

Force indicted by the presidential 

panel on SARS. 

NAS, also known as 

Pyrates Confraternity, also 

expressed sadness over the 

looting, destruction of government 

and private properties, 

assault on police stations 

and policemen, prisonbreaks 

and attacks on innocent 

Nigerians by miscreants 

Delta commissioner denies deputy 

governorship ambition 

Delta State Commis 

sioner for Special Duties, 

Government House, 

Chief Henry Sakpa, has dismissed 

as cheap lies, allegations 

in some quarters, that 

he would be contesting deputy 

governorship position in 

the 2023 general elections. 

Sakpa who addressed a 

gathering of Urhobo youths 

and women leaders of the 

Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, at his residence in Udu 

Isoko club condemns murder of 

indigenes, appeals against reprisal 

By Jimitota Onoyume 

The Isoko Positive 

Agenda , IPA, has 

condemned last week’s 

brutal murder of eleven 

indigenes of Oleh, in Isoko 

South Local Government 

Area of Delta State at a 

disputed land between the 

community and Ozoro, in 

Isoko North Local 

Government Area. 

Appealing to indigenes of 

oodlums in Onitsha, 

Anambra State have 

destroyed the statue of Nigeria’s 

first president Dr. Nnamdi 

Azikiwe, erected in the city. 

The hoodlums are suspected 

to be some of those who 

hijacked the #EndSARS 

protest to wreak havoc. 

The News Agency of Nigeria 

(NAN) reports that the 

statute, located at Dennis 

Memorial Grammar 

School roundabout in Onitsha, 

was erected months ago 

by Governor Willie Obiano 

to further beautify the city. 

While vandalising the statue, 

the hoodlums, armed 

with dangerous weapons including 

machetes, were 

heard venting their anger 

against the late Nigerian 

statesman. 

“You are the cause of our 

trouble,” was one of the uncomplimentary 

remarks the 

hoodlums chanted. 

One of Azikiwe’s kinsmen, 

Mr Victor Ononye, described 

the incident as “heresy 

and sacrilegious”. 

He said Dr Azikiwe must 

be expressing regrets at the 

action as the deceased 

statesman was one of the architects 

of independent Nigeria. 

“What happened at the 

DMGS Roundabout, Onitsha, 

which I saw with my own 

eyes, evoked tears,” he said. 

He called the hoodlums, 

who hung a disused tyre on 

statue before dousing it with 

petrol and torching it, many 

unprintable names. 

“They decapitated the hand 

and went away with his title 

staff. That is the height of ingratitude 

by ignorant people 

who know nothing about 

history,” he said. 

Ononye said the hoodlums 

destroyed all the ornaments 

used in beautifying the site of 

the statue. 

“They were few in number. 

Why the police, a stone throw 

away to the roundabout, 

could not intervene, was a 

mystery. 

“All the iron bars erected 

round the site were removed. 

All the decorative lights and 

materials around the site 

were vandalised. I saw two 

vigilante men brandishing 

rifles and riding on a motorcycle. 

They stopped and the 

boys hailed them and they 

rode off. 

hiding under the #EndSARS 

protests. 

In a statement, yesterday, 

titled, ‘That Nigeria Beyond 

Lights Out in Lekki’, and 

signed by NAS Capoon, Mr 

Abiola Owoaje, the association 

frowned at the violence 

that gripped the country in the 

wake of shooting of protesters 

at Lekki toll gate, Lagos 

State. 

Owoaje, in the statement, 

said that the Federal Government 

has the responsibility 

to create an atmosphere 

for a sincere dialogue on the 

legitimate demands of the 

youths and show serious 

commitment to police reform. 

APC to protesters: Your message 

is loud, clear and well-understood 

By Omeiza Ajayi 

he ruling All Progres 

Tsives Congress (APC) 

has called on the #EndSARS 

protesters to ceasefire, saying 

their message has been 

heard clearly, loudly and 

well-understood. 

Yobe State Governor and 

Chairman, Caretaker/Extraordinary 

National Convention 

Planning Committee 

of the party, Mai Mala 

Buni, disclosed this in a statement, 

yesterday, in Abuja. 

According to him, the APC 

“is saddened by the unfortunate 

tragedy that had enveloped 

some parts of the country 

in the last few days by 

hoodlums who took over 

what was supposed to be a 

peaceful protest against the 


(SARS) of the Nigeria Police”. 

The party therefore 

“pleads with Nigerians to 

halt the #EndSARS protests 

for the collective corporate 

interest of our dear country. 

We have no other country 

than Nigeria”. 

Local Government Area, said 

he was conscious that the 

governorship slot had been 

zoned to Urhobo. 

He insisted that he would 

not in any way work against 

the interest of his people by 

serving as deputy to any non 

Urhobo come 2023. 

“I have an urgent need to 

address this matter. I am not 

working to undermine the interest 

of Urhobo nation in the 

2023 gubernatorial polls’. 

not to carry out any reprisal 

action, Chairman of the 

organisation, Chief John 

Araka and the Public 

relations officer, Mr Isaac 

Atikueke in a statement, 

called on the state 

government and security 

operatives to unmask those 

behind the brutal murder for 

prosecution. 

The statement stressed that 

the ugly development was 

capable of plunging the 

whole of Isoko nation into 

crisis.


PAGE 8 — SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 25, 2020 

Email:biolasobowale@yahoo.com 

Phone Number: 08055069026 

Twitter:@DrDeleSobowale 

Instagram:delesobowalefranklyspeaking 

Website: www.delesobowale.com 

Anarchy: I told you so 

last year 

My fellow Nigerians, I 

told you what to expect 

last year. Read: 

NEXT LEVEL IS PURE 

ANARCHY 

“Katsina State government 

has cancelled all activities 

lined-up for the inauguration 

ceremony of the new 

administration in the state” - 

PUNCH, May 24, 2019, p 2. 

The government gave its 

reasons: “The decision on a 

low-key celebration was 

taken following the 

unfortunate incessant attacks 

by bandits in some areas of 

the state which led to the 

death of many people and left 

several others injured or 

homeless.” 

Katsina, it needs to be 

repeated, is Buhari’s own 

state. Unless charity no longer 

begins at home, we have the 

scary scenario of a leader who 

cannot defend his own home 

not to talk of assuring the rest 

of us of our safety. Anarchy is 

here. When Buhari is swornin 

on May 29, 2019 for his 

second term (which cannot 

end soon enough for me), his 

state would have been on 

record for posterity as the first 

state to succumb to the 

dictates of hoodlums – now 

called bandits. When, a few 

weeks ago, the article, FROM 

BEGGING TO BANDITRY: 

REVOLT OF THE 

ALMAJIRIS, was published, 

a lot of things were 

deliberately omitted from the 

facts presented in order not to 

frighten too many fellow 

Nigerians – especially those 

who we were told provided 

Buhari’s winning margin. 

Katsina was one of them. 

Close to ninety-eight per cent 

of the voters there voted for 

their ‘Baba’. I have bad news 

for them. A Baba is supposed 

to take good care of his kids 

in any society. Otherwise he is 

unworthy to be called ‘Father’. 

The government’s 

submission to the will of 

bandits – formerly almajiris – 

is the beginning of more state 

surrender of power to 

unelected governments 

called warlords controlling 

certain areas of the state. Let 

me cite another one. 

Unknown to Nigerians and 

perhaps also unknown to 

their Baba, the criminals have 

already CHANGED the 

annual farming calendar in 

the state. Hitherto, farmers, 

mostly women, start as early 

as the end of harmattan to 

prepare the land for a new 

year. This year, not only in 

Katsina but in all the states of 

the North, the bandits have 

already driven millions of 

subsistent farmers off the land. 

A woman, stupid or crazy 

enough, to go to the farm 

alone, as in the past, would be 

fortunate if all she suffers is 

rape. She might disappear; as 

many have done. Thereafter, 

the farm lies fallow. So, the 

bandits of Katsina have 

The government’s 

submission to the 

will of bandits – 

formerly almajiris – 

is the beginning of 

more state 

surrender of power 

to unelected 

government 

already decreed inescapable 

mass starvation as the year 

progresses. Anarchy is here. 

“A man’s home is his castle”. 

That was several years ago. 

Today, in most communities, 

the home is turning to a 

detention centre while 

bandits ransack the entire 

place – taking with them food, 

money and women as well as 

girls. Increasingly, home is 

becoming not a place you run 

to for safety but a place you 

run from for dear life. The 

Katsina government was 

unavoidably honest by 

admitting what informants 

from that state had told me 

months ago. Main urban 

centres in the state - Katsina, 

Funtua, Dutsin Ma, 

Malumfashi etc – are now 

bursting at the seams as 

thousands of refugees stream 

in from rural areas now ruled 

by bandits – without challenge 

from anyone. Anarchy is here. 

Katsina is not alone now. 

Hemmed-in between Kaduna 

and Zamfara states, where 

several communities are also 

under the control of rough 

necks, the state will not 

experience respite until the 

other two states can control 

their armed gangs. Outgoing 

Zamfara Governor, Yari, 

abdicated his responsibility 

years ago and handed the 

state to cattle rustlers, farm 

produce thieves and, of 

course, bandits when he fled 

to Abuja to govern from there. 

Only in a country where 

impunity gives way to chaos 

can a state governor abandon 

his state and nobody – not 

even the President of Nigeria 

– called him to order. Can the 

Governor of Kentucky or New 

York State run to Washington 

DC to set up his office? Yet, this 

was the Chairman of the 

Nigeria Governors Forum. 

Anarchy is here. 

“Nature abhors a vacuum”. 

That is what physics told us in 

secondary school. That is 

what political science tells all 

those who care to learn the 

truth. While Yari was AWOL 

in Abuja, he left a power 

vacuum which was 

increasingly filled by 

hoodlums. He was not alone. 

Buhari and the armed forces 

also ignored the growing 

menace of the Organised 

Private Criminals, OPC, of 

Zamfara State. Buhari’s 

negligence was especially 

incomprehensible. I had 

thought that an old man, like 

me, would know that “when 

your neighbour’s wall is on 

fire, it becomes your business” 

(Horace, 65-8BC). I had 

expected the President to 

understand that Zamfara 

cannot long remain in the 

hands of OPC, who took 

control after Yari abdicated 

without eventually affecting 

Katsina. He ignored Yari’s 

dereliction of duty; did 

nothing as the OPC crept 

closer to his state border. Now 

anarchy is here. 

People in several places in 

both states now pay protection 

money to the OPC who don’t 

pay tax. They know which 

government controls their 

lives; and it is not the one in 

Gusau or Abuja. During a 

stopover in Chafe, last year, 

after the terrified residents of 

a small community had 

coughed up the ‘tax’, I asked 

“what is government doing 

about it?” The looks on their 

faces said it all. “This fellow 

must be a lunatic”. One finally 

politely told me: “By the time 

the police or soldiers arrive we 

will all be dead; so we pay 

them.” Anarchy is definitely 

here. 

“You don’t fight terror with 

appeasement. You fight terror 

with terror” - Adolf Hitler, 

1897-1945. 

Even a world class terrorist 

can teach us something. 

Hitler, as one of world’s first 

class terrorists himself, had a 

point when he uttered those 

words now carved in stone. 

When the Federal 

Government under Buhari 

started to openly allow 

herdsmen to terrorise farmers 

and communities with 

impunity, the last thing they 

must have considered is the 

boomerang effect. When 

millions of farmers 

discovered that government 

was not about to check the 

atrocities of the herdsmen, 

who soon became ranked 

among the deadliest terrorists 

globally, some farmers 

resorted to self-help. 

Herdsmen, to some extent, 

created cattle rustlers. There 

are some communities in 

some states which herdsmen 

avoid like the plague. Some 

of those communities were 

once docile victims of 

herdsmen invading their 

farms and destroying 

everything they had laboured 

to produce. Eventually, 

according to information 

reaching me, some of the 

young men banded together 

and formed the avengers. 

They went after the herdsmen 

at night and the rest is history. 

They never returned to 

farming. What is more, they 

now police their community 

and prevent herdsmen 

invasion. Some of them have 

since gone beyond defending 

their community. They now 

rustle full time and send meat 

home frequently. Anarchy is 

here too. 

A sign should be placed at 

every entrance to Kaduna 

State reading: Hell is here. 

Once the most congenial of 

the three regional capitals, 

Kaduna has now almost 

become a ‘No go area’ for 

many people. Bandits, 

kidnappers, cattle rustlers are 

here. Governor El-Rufai is 

also here. While the other 

northern governors are 

mostly victims of anarchy 

created by collective neglect 

and incompetence, Kaduna 

has another element added to 

its list of perils – its governor. 

Governor El-Rufai, I have 

read, is extremely intelligent. 

But, nobody ever called him 

wise. El-Rufai is on course to 

provoke lasting anarchy in 

Kaduna long after it has been 

erased in other states. More 

on that later. 

“But, far more numerous was 

the herd of such, who think too 

little and who talk too much” 

- John Dryden, 1631-1700. 

The Academic Staff Union of 

Universities, ASUU, is once 

again threatening to go on 

strike. The Federal 

Government has allegedly 

failed to redeem its pledge to 

them and they are unhappy 

with the leader of the FG’s 

negotiating team – Dr Wale 

Babalakin. That is not 

surprising to me. ASUU had 

been led since 1999 by people 

who talk a lot but think very 

little. Like the Nigerian 

Labour Congress, NLC, they 

threatened to make the 2019 

elections impossible by 

withdrawing their members. 

In the end, they suspended the 

strike for the sake of their 

pockets. I can recollect how 

many times ASUU had been 

dribbled by the FG before 

elections only to renege after 

the votes were counted. The 

current leadership learnt 

nothing from the experiences 

of their predecessors. Now, 

another strike is threatened. 

It will get them nowhere. They 

will only succeed in sending 

the kids out into the warm 

embrace of drug dealers and 

other criminals. There is 

hunger in the land and anger 

is pervasive. 

Continues on 

www.vanguardngr.com 

Let not your faith fail 

Brethren, we thank God 

for bringing us to the 

last Sunday in the 

month of October. It does not 

matter what is happening 

around us, God is in control. 

We must however not allow 

the political situation; make 

us shift from the focus our 

individual desires. 

At a time like this, when we 

are counting down the days 

of the year, we are likely to 

wonder if God still answers 

prayers. This is more so for 

someone who has been 

praying for a particular issue 

but is yet to receive. 

It is time to look away from 

the challenge, do not allow 

your faith to give way to fear. 

Refuse to be afraid and call 

upon the Lord. 

Being a Christians does not 

mean we would not have 

challenges but our strength is 

the ability to overcome with 

the help of our Lord Jesus. 

Let’s take a look at someone 

who was close to Christ but 

still had a challenge that he 

couldn’t overcome. 

In one her morning 

devotion messages, Pastor 

Mrs. Funmi Falana of Four 

Square Gospel Church made 

reference to Peter and his 

inability to overcome the 

spirit of fear citing, Matthew 

14 vs. 27-32. (KJV) Jesus was 

already walking on the sea but 

his disciples who were 

watching were afraid. Verse 

27 “ But straight way Jesus 

spake unto them, saying, Be 

of good cheer; it is I; be not 

afraid”. 

A bold Peter then made the 

move to walk along with the 

Master on the sea, Jesus 

invited him to come along. As 

recorded in verses 29-31 “ 

And he said, Come. And when 

Peter was come down out of 

the ship, he walked on the 

water, to go to Jesus. 

But when he saw the wind 

boisterous, he was afraid; and 

beginning to sink, he cried 

saying, Lord, save me. 

And immediately Jesus 

stretched forth his hand, and 

caught him, and said unto 

him, O thou of little faith 

wherefore didn’t thou doubt? 

And when they were come 

into the ship, the wind ceased”. 

Brethren, many of us are like 

Peter, we are afraid. Some 

have even moved from fear to 

doubt in the ability of God to 

remove all challenges. 

We must however bear in 

mind that only those who call 

on the Lord will overcome 

challenges. Stop thinking that 

the year is running out. For 

the Lord, time is not running 

out. 

In the passage above, Peter 

cried out to the Lord for help. 

Brethren, to whom are you 

crying? Are you allowing fear 

and doubt to move you from 

Christ to other gods? Stop 

and retrace your steps 

immediately. 

I’ll share with you the story 

of a lady who is currently 

undergoing some challenges. 

The lady is pregnant. She 

feels it but doctors cannot see 

the baby. Her Pastor advised 

her to remain in the church 

and continue praying 

assuring her that at a point in 

time, the baby will be seen 

scientifically and she would 

deliver. 

However, the lady became 

so disturbed and was advised 

by her friends to visit an 

herbalist. She began to take 

herbal medication. Soon, she 

began to bleed 

uncontrollably. It got so bad 

that she began to faint. Her 

herbalist claimed to be giving 

If indeed you 

believe that God 

hears your cries, 

be confident that 

the answer is on 

the way 

her herbs to produce blood. 

Unfortunately, her situation 

got worse. 

At a point, she realized that 

it was better for her to return 

to the Lord Jesus. After about 

four weeks she returned to the 

church where prayer 

continued. To the glory of God, 

the bleeding has stopped and 

baby has started growing 

again. 

Brethren, I have narrated 

this lady’s story to renew our 

faith. 

No matter what we are 

going through, we should 

never think of alternatives to 

God. Indeed, there is NO 

ALTERNATIVE TO THE 

ALMIGHTY GOD. 

Do not allow mockers to 

push you away from the Lord. 

We have an assurance that 

God will answer us if we fulfill 

His conditions. 

2nd Chronicles 7 vs. 14 

(KJV) “ If my people, which 

are called by my name shall 

humble themselves, and pray, 

and seek my face, and turn 

from their wicked ways; then 

will I hear from heaven, and 

will forgive their sin, and will 

heal their land”. 

You may be a Christian but 

have you humbled yourself in 

prayer, have you asked for 

forgiveness of sin, have you 

decided to turn away from 

sins? All of these, you have to 

do to genuinely seek the face 

of the Lord who has promised 

to heal . 

Healing your land in this 

sense, means, making you to 

conceive and deliver safely. It 

means turning your days of 

mourning into joy. It means 

an end to all challenges. 

Remember, it is not 

everyone that calls on the Lord 

that receives immediate 

answer. Only God decides 

when to answer you. Not even 

your Pastor can tell when the 

Lord will answer. 

Let’s look at sister Elisabeth 

the wife of Pastor Zechariah. 

The Holy Bible said of the 

couple in Luke 1 vs. 6: “ And 

they were both righteous 

before God, walking in all the 

commandments and 

ordinances of the Lord 

blameless”. 

Yet they had a challenge . 

As stated in verse 7 of the same 

chapter, “ And they had no 

child, because that Elisabeth 

barren; and they both were 

now well-stricken in years”. 

Their story of this couple 

simply tells us that they had 

been praying but they didn’t 

receive answer. 

Suddenly, the LORD 

answered . 

Whatever is that challenge, 

the God of suddenly will visit 

you before the year ends in 

Jesus name. 

Luke 1 vs. 24 ( NIV) “ After 

this his wife Elizabeth became 

pregnant and for five months 

remained in seclusion”. 

You want to ask, why 

seclusion when she got what 

she had always wanted. 

Elizabeth was 

dumbfounded. The miracle 

manifested when she least 

expected. 

Luke 1 vs. 25 ( NIV) “ The 

Lord has done this for me. “ 

she said. In these days he has 

shown his favor and taken 

away my disgrace among the 

people”. 

In the remaining days of this 

year, God will take away 

whatever has been bringing 

disgrace to the name of God 

in your life. 

Remain with the Lord. Be 

strong in the Lord. Do not fall 

for trials and temptations. 

In-laws, even siblings may 

mock you, just remain firm in 

the Lord. 

At a time like this one must 

look unto the Lord only. Shift 

your focus away from the 

challenge. Focus on the 

miracle and keep praying. 

God still answers payers. 

We have an assurance of this 

in Psalm 34 vs. 15 ( NKJV)” 

The eyes of the LORD are on 

the righteous , and his ears are 

open unto their cry”. 

If indeed you believe that 

God hears your cries, be 

confident that the answer is 

on the way. 

Notwithstanding our 

individual challenges, let’s 

pray for our nation. 

Psalm 122 vs. 6: “ Pray for 

the peace of Jerusalem: they 

shall prosper that love thee”. 

Let’s pray for our country 

that we may prosper. 

Shalom!


ECONOMIC LOSSES PUT AT N1.5TRN: 

It may take 8 

years to recover 

from mayhem 

—Economists 

•Massive job cuts loom as victims count cost 

•Hard times await uninsured businesses 

•How unrest will negatively affect Nigeria as 

investment destination 

By Tunde Oso 

Business owners may have begun to count 

their losses after the mayhem that visited 

Nigeria last week even as economists 

warned that losses to the economy, still 

struggling from the effects of several weeks of 

lockdown occasioned by the Covid-19 

pandemic and downturn in the price of crude 

oil, are huge. President Muhammadu Buhari 

had, in his 2021 budget speech, asked 

Nigerians to prepare for a recession shortly 

after he painted a gloomy picture of the 

nation’s economy. And one particular analyst 

who spoke to Sunday Vanguard in the wake 

of the ongoing #EndSARS crisis, put a 

timeline on recovery, saying it may take about 

eight years. 

He conservatively estimated losses at around 

N1.5trillion. 

Local and multinational businesses were not 

spared in the unrest that has enveloped the 

country in the past two and a half weeks. 

Tens of thousands of youths have joined the 

protest against the now-disbanded Special 

Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit which 

rights groups had, for years, accused of 

extortion, harassment, torture and murders. 

On Wednesday, the protests escalated into 

mayhem, which particularly spread in many 

parts of Lagos, with mindless attacks, looting 

of shops and arson on banks and public 

buildings. 

At the last count, three banks in Lagos Island, 

Shoprite in Ajah and shops/malls in the area 

were looted, Lagos Oriental Hotel damaged 

while the Federal Road Safety Commission 

(FRSC) and Vehicle Inspection Service offices 

in Ojodu Berger area and the palace of Oba 

of Lagos were attacked. 

Hoodlums also attacked Igbosere High 

Court, Lagos, stealing computers, printers, 

case files, fans, air conditioners and other items. 

TVC, a television station, and The Nation 

newspaper offices were torched. 

Several buses of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) 

scheme plying Oyingbo, Yaba & Berger routes 

were either burnt or damaged. 

The mayhem was triggered after witnesses and 

rights groups said soldiers 

opened fire on a crowd of 

peaceful protesters defying a 

curfew at Lekki toll gate, where 

Amnesty International alleged 

that at least 12 protesters were 

killed. 

Outside of Lagos, the prisons 

in Benin City, Edo State capital, 

and Warri, Delta State were 

attacked and inmates freed 

while political party offices, 

among other public places, in 

Ondo were burnt. 

Sunday Vanguard sought the 

opinions of economists, 

financial and data analysts 

and labour leaders on the cost 

implications of the wanton 

destruction of public and 

private assets and the 

ramifications on Nigeria as an 

investment destination. 

Crisis will impact 

negatively on Nigeria as 

investment destination 

—Yusuf, LCCI D-G 

The Director General of Lagos Chamber of 

Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda 

Yusuf, said it is extremely sad that, at a time 

The cumulative 

effect of the 

shock to the 

economy is an 

increase in the 

unemployment 

rate, especially 

among the 

youth 

when all hands should be on deck to 

attract investments (domestic and 

foreign), we had this unfortunate 

situation. 

“Definitely it will negatively impact 

on the perception of Nigeria as an 

investment destination”, Yusuf told 

Sunday Vanguard. “The scale of the 

looting and destruction is 

unprecedented in our recent history. I 

expected better responses from 

security agencies to prevent this 

wanton destructions and lootings. 

“The mayhem and destruction of 

public and private properties in the 

last few days were most unfortunate. 

“The loss of lives is regrettable and we 

empathize with families affected. The 

escalation was avoidable. 

“It was a case of complete breakdown 

of law and order. The costs of these to 

the economy, the government and 

private entities are huge. 

“No efforts should be spared to ensure 

the restoration of normalcy. It is sad 

that this is happening at a time when 

the economy is yet to recover from the 

devastation of COVID 19. 

“Many businesses were still grappling with 

the consequences of the pandemic and 

lockdowns. We should have an urgent 

discussion around a permanent resolution of 

the crisis”. 

Looting raises risk profile 

of doing business in 

Nigeria — Shitta-Bey of 

Proshare 

Proshare Managing Editor, Teslim Shitta-Bey, 

said the looting of ShopRite is a poor 

understanding of economic realities by the 

looters, saying it is a short-term rush of blood 

to the head with more severe medium-term 

implications. 

“The looting raises the risk profile of doing 

business in Nigeria and raises the cost of 

business funding”, he pointed 

out. 

“This, in turn, discourages 

capital importation (which has 

already been adversely affected 

by COVID-19) and would 

likely equally constrain 

potential job creation. In other 

words looters suffer the 

consequences of their own 

actions in what economists 

might call the fulfilment of 

‘Murphy’s law’ or a situation 

in which what can go wrong 

can really get worse”. 

The analyst stressed that the 

principal economic growth 

impact of the mayhem may 

include lost work place manhours 

nationwide; lost business 

output and workplace 

disruptions leading to lost 

income, buildings and 

movable assets torched during 

the riots. 

“The buildings would be marked-to-market 

value rather than book value. The movable 

assets would be adjusted for depreciation; Lost 

lives, the protesters, police and other 

casualties”, he said. 

“This would involve the lost cash flow from 

the future stream of their earnings adjusted 

for the country’s average life expectancy; 

intangible costs exist including the cost of the 

pain and anguish of a nation traumatized by 

a war on itself. 

“It would be a surprise if ShopRite 

goods were not insured. 

“If the shopping outlet was insured for riots or 

vandalism then part of the cost of business 

recovery would be borne by the superstore’s 

insurers. 

“The cost would likely run into hundreds of 

millions which would worsen the insurance 

company’s operating loss ratio and cut 2020 

profitability”. 

Govt aid needed for 

businesses vandalised 

— Adetunmbi, Convener, 

Capital Market Roundtable 

Seye Adetunmbi, the Convener of Capital 

Market Roundtable in Nigeria, said the attack, 

destruction and looting of shopping malls is 

bad news for the nation as Nigeria will be 

classified as an unstable state, politically, due 

to bad governance and poor leadership. 

Adetunmbi, who is also Chief Responsibility 

Officer, Value Investing Limited, stated that it 

is also a red flag for investors that Nigeria is 

not a safe place for investment destination, 

especially in the economic sectors and cities 

prone to vandalism in the event of an uprising. 

“The resultant effect is loss of job, which will 

have a negative multiplier effect on the 

economy in the short and long run. Coming 

when we are yet to get over the effect of the 

pandemic Covid19 and dwindled oil revenue 

on the economy”, he said. 

“It is a tripartite economic misfortune for 

Nigeria - Collapsed oil revenue, Covid19 

pandemic and EndSARS fallouts. It is triple 

jeopardy for the Nigerian economy. 

“We are in for a long haul of economic 

challenges. Most companies are going to 

report poor performance in the 2020 financial 

year. 

“Dividend yield earned on some investments 

will reduce in 2021. 

“Solution includes being prepared for a rough 

ride until things pick up again and make 

necessary adjustments appropriately. 

“Government should seize the opportunity to 

block leakages in the system and reduce 

excessive cost of governance; cut drastically 

recurrent expenditure on the redundant work 

force; and review the overheads on the 

executive and legislative arms of government. 

“There has to be a way to help businesses that 

were adversely affected by the vandalism 

during the riots. 

“The Federal Government needs to make 

positive pronouncements and take decisive 

policy directions that will reassure investors 

(locally and internationally) that Nigeria is a 

safe investment destination. 

“The President missed an opportunity with 

his speech of yesterday. We can only keep hope 

alive on Nigeria. 

“For instance, the book I just published could 

not be delivered to enable me recoup the 

money invested in time. 

“Also, I couldn’t follow-up on a client’s job at 

Alausa which outcome is to facilitate 

investment inflow. 

“Same applies to many people all over 

Nigeria whose economic activities have been 

disrupted. 

“An airline that was airborne to Nigeria had 

to turn back to New York because of unsettling 

situation in Nigeria. 

“What smart people in government who mean 

well for the masses do when the game is up is 

to retreat, take stock and accommodate the 

popular call for a new order for peace to 

reign”. 

We have sent red signal to 

investors — Ali, NLC Chief 

Hadiza Ali, Vice Chairperson of the National 

Women Commission (NWC) of the Nigerian 

Labour Congress (NLC), said the action 

of the hoodlums, who perpetrated this 

looting of the Shoprite, banks and other 

businesses, calls for total 

condemnation. 

“As a labour leader, we are always 

agitating to protect existing jobs and 

also to create more jobs either in the 

government of private sectors”, Ali said. 

“I believe that one of the grievances of 

the youths is lack of jobs to do. Shoprite 

though a foreign investor has been able 

to create jobs for our citizens especially 

the youths. “Now, the implication of 

the looting is that those youths who 

were in gainful employment of 

ShopRite will stand the chance of 

losing their jobs, thereby creating 

another job deficit. 

“The massive looting is sending a red 

signal to other investors and those 

with the intention of making 

investment will be discouraged and 

not make the investment. “And such 

action by the potential investors will 

definitely have a negative effect on the 

Nigerian economy especially now 

that the economy has gone into 

recession as a result of the crippled 

economy activities suffered from the 

Covid-19 pandemic lockdown”. 

Loss to economy will 

top N1.5trn — 

Alabede, US-based 

economist 

Waheed Alabede, a New York - based 

economist, risk & data analyst, said, “The total 

long term loss to Nigeria’s economy will top 

N1.5 trillion in direct and indirect losses now 

and in the next couple of years even if 

normalcy returns. 

“Conservative estimate of direct losses of 

Wednesday alone is currently over N60 

billion when replacement cost, loss of use, 

and other costs are factored in. 

“The challenge going forward is in the 

long term impact on the economy. 

“On the economic front, and coupled with 

downturn caused by COVID-19, it will 

take over eight years for Nigeria, and 

especially Lagos, to recover from the loss 

of confidence among investors 

occasioned by the attacks on private and 

public properties. 

“One of the effects of destructive protest 

or riot is that it heightens the level of risk 

assessment of nations which in turn means 

local, and international investors and lenders 

will increase interest rates to compensate for 

the high-risk business environment brought 

on by the disruption of business activities, and 

the destruction of private and public 

properties. 

“The cumulative effect of the shock to the 

economy is an increase in the unemployment 

rate, especially among the youth. 

“Additionally, government will have to divert 

funding from essential services like education 

to repair or replace the damaged properties. 

“Among others, farmers and the poor will also 

be significantly impacted. 

“Government must do all it can to bring 

the youth to the table and the youth must 

understand that it is time to select a leader 

within their rank and file. 

“Nigeria survived worse events in the past 

and we will survive this too but we must 

work together to turn this to a win for all. 

“As it often happens during any economic 

crisis, there are losers and winners. 

“While the majority of Nigerians including 

large corporations and SMEs will be losers, 

the winners, in this case, are the construction 

and maintenance companies, suppliers of 

damaged goods, CSOs and NGOs. 

“Due to the recent event, CSOs will be 

flooded with donations from within and 

mostly outside of the country. CSOs and 

NGOs are in one of the few industries that 

often expect strong financial performance 

after a major crisis”.

PAGE 10, SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 25, 2020 

TWIS 

WIST T ON SARS’ 

BRUT 

UTALIT 

ALITY Y PROBE: 

36 state governors 

wasting their time 

— Odinkalu, ex-Human Rights 

Commission chief 

•Says they have no power to probe police 

•Wants independent international panel to investigate 

Lekki shooting 

•Speaks on the implication of failure to constitute 

governing council of NHRC 

By Nnamdi Ojiego 

Professor Chidi Odinkalu is a 

human rights activist, lawyer 

and writer. He was the 

Chairman of the Governing Council 

of National Human Rights 

Commission, NHRC. In this interview, 

Odinkalu speaks on the judicial panels 

of inquiry raised by some state 

governments to investigate alleged 

human rights abuses by the personnel 

of the disbanded Special Anti Robbery 

Squad, SARS. He also x-rays the 

consequences of the Federal 

Government’s failure to constitute the 

governing council of NHRC, among 

other issues. Excerpts: 

With the setting up of judicial 

panels of inquiry by some state 

governments to investigate 

human rights abuses by the 

defunct SARS, what next would 

you suggest to be done? 

Governors have always had the 

powers to set up judicial panels of 

inquiry under the judicial inquiry law 

of each of the states and the 

Commission of Inquiry Act of the 

Federal Capital Territory. So the 

question now is, why would the 

governors need to be directed to 

exercise their powers? The second 

thing is that the judicial panels of 

inquiry set up by governors are not 

applicable to the Federal Government. 

They only apply to the benefitting states. 

So, the commission of inquiry will report 

to the governor and the governor will set 

up a white paper committee which will 

consider the recommendations, and then 

issue a white paper which will then be 

applicable to the state. The problem is 

that police is Item 45 in the Exclusive List. 

That means the police is a federal 

institution, and so may not necessarily be 

bound by the recommendations of state 

judicial panel of inquiry. The other matter, 

of course, is that the police under Section 

2153 of the Constitution are actually 

subject to directive from the President. So, 

whatever the state judicial panel of 

inquiry does, the President can, in one 

directive to the IGP, override everything 

and make it entirely nonsensical. 

Based on your submission, can we 

then say that the states are 

embarking on mere jamboree? 

I want to use my own words, not yours. 

The reason the Federal Government tends 

to be doing what it’s doing is because of 

the decision of the Supreme Court of 2001 

in General Babangida suit against Oputa 

Panel. The ruling didn’t say the Federal 

Government could not investigate any 

state government, it only said the Federal 

Government could not exercise the power 

of judicial of inquiry outside Abuja. And 

in respect of that, two things may be said. 

Through that decision, the Federal 

Government has set up many panels 

including the Abdulmalik Panel on Boko 

Haram, the Turaki Panel on Security 

Crisis in Northern Nigeria, and the 

Justice Uwais Electoral Reform 

Commission. In 2019, it asked the 

Executive Secretary of the National 

Human Rights Commission, NHRC, to 

lead a panel on SARS reform. As we speak, 

a former President of the Court of Appeal 

is heading a panel to investigate a former 

Chairman of the EFCC. That means the 

Federal Government has been setting up 

panels before. So, 

why can’t they set up 

one on the police? 

So, the rationale 

States 

commission of 

inquiry does not 

exist and setting 

commissions of 

inquiry even with 

the best team in 

the world will 

come to naught 

does not make sense. 

The second thing is 

that power is 

obtained from the 

governing council 

of the Human 

R i g h t s 

Commission which 

this government 

has refused to 

constitute for the 

past five and half 

a years since it 

came into office. 

This is my way of 

saying that the 

rationale does not 

exist and setting 

up commissions of 

inquiry even with 

the best team in the world will come 

to naught. 

In view of this, what would you 

suggest to the Federal 

Government? 

The Federal Government has more 

than enough ideas to go on. Since 

2005, at least, we have had five to six 

major investigations in different 

aspects in the work of the police such 

as the Tony Ojukwu Presidential Panel 

on SARS Reform in 2019. All of those 

examined the various aspects of the 

police and the security sector and give 

ample recommendations to the 

Federal Government. There is no need 

•Odinkalu 

for another again. The 

recommendations are very extensive 

and cover everything from diagnosis 

to the various aspects of the police 

reform, recruitment, funding and 

budget, financial control, discipline, 

operations, issues of forensics and 

equipment, oversight, decentralization, 

you name it. They addressed absolutely 

everything including that of training 

institutions. All they need to do is to go to 

these reports and issue white papers and 

sequence the recommendations. I think 

that’s all that is required. I don’t think 

there’s a lot more that can be done 

beyond what those reports contain. I 

think it’s also safe to say that police 

reform will not be achieved overnight. 

It will take time, that is, credible police 

reform, but if 

government is willing, 

they can start with the 

reports and it will go 

a long way. 

Do you think that 

state policing will help 

in this regard? 

It is not that easy. 

Having state policing 

system is really not 

easy at this particular 

time. In a federal 

system, ideally, you 

should not have one 

federal police. 

However, having state 

policing system in our 

political system at the 

moment could actually 

be counter-productive 

because governors are 

so overwhelming and 

not subject to control. Therefore, it 

could end up in a situation where 

governors abuse their police 

institutions and powers to the 

detriment of democratic tenets. 

Meanwhile, we already have 

evolution of political settlement that 

ultimately could well address the issue 

of state policing. For instance, in the 

North-East, you have ‘Civilian JTF’, 

in some parts of the North-West, you 

have Hisbah enforcing Sharia norms, 

in parts of the Middle Belt and South- 

East, you have state vigilante existing 

under the law or you have security 

formations for traffic management as you 

have in Imo or Lagos State and now you 

have Amotekun which is a regional 

security arrangement in the states of the 

South-West, all of which suggest that 

security provisioning by some form of 

creeping political understanding is not 

something that the Federal 

Government can do alone. How that 

settlement will be ultimately resolved, 

I think, may take some time to 

crystallize. Quite clearly, we are 

moving along in that direction. 

However, I don’t think everyone is yet 

aligned on the question of state 

policing. 

More human rights abuses 

have been recorded with the 

Lekki shooting and a few others. 

What are the implications? 

I don’t think anyone in his right sense 

will support what happened in Lekki. 

Many Nigerians are heartbroken because 

young peaceful protesters were mauled 

down by people in uniform under the cover 

of state instigated darkness and those who 

orchestrated it don’t even seem to have 

the courage to accept that they were the 

people who did it. They are denying 

something that happened before our very 

eyes. Only a rogue government will kill 

its young people all in the name of power. 

I think we are at the point where any 

investigation or institution by this 

government will not be considered 

credible by most Nigerians. So, the best 

possible scenario will be for independent 

international inquiry into what 

transpired. 

The major responsibility of the 

President is to protect lives and 

property. It seemed he has failed in 

this regard. Some people think he 

has committed impeachable 

offence. Do you agree? 

It is not my business to say if he’s 

committed impeachable offence. It is left 

for those whose responsibility it is as 

enshrined in the Constitution. What I do 

know is that, under this government, there 

has been ample, wanton abdication of 

that primary responsibility and the 

Constitution is very clear in Section 42 

that the safety and security of everybody 

in Nigeria is the primary responsibility 

of government. In that respect, the 

President is not just the Commander-in- 

Chief but also the police-in-chief. He is 

responsible for all of the institutions of 

safety and security including the police, 

the armed forces, the State Security 

service and Customs, Immigration, Civil 

Defence and many others. He can issue 

directive to the heads of these agencies 

and they are obliged to obey him and that 

role cannot be delegated, no other person 

can perform it. From what’s happening 

now , the President appears to have 

abdicated that responsibility and it’s 

resonating very serious consequences on 

safety and security in Nigeria. Under his 

watch, the insecurity in the northern 

Nigeria has metamorphosed from the 

North-East where Boko Haram was 

rampant to the North-West with 

endemic banditry and the North- 

Central with rampant armed herders 

jostling around and massacring 

people. Since this regime began in 

2015, with Zaria massacre which 

involved the armed forces as well, and 

the Shiite, and now, you have the 

Lekki shooting in 2020. So, given the 

fact that one of President Buhari’s top 

three cardinal programmes was 

addressing insecurity, I think he’s 

been absolutely abysmal in his 

performance of that. 

Government has refused to 

constitute the NHRC governing 

council. What are the 

implications in the protection of 

the rights of Nigerians? 

The President is unwilling to do that 

which clearly shows that he does not 

prioritize the issue of human rights. 

The protection of human rights does 

not mean much to this particular 

government. That is the only reason 

it would have spent all this time 

without doing the needful, and under 

the circumstance, still refused to 

constitute the governing council. 

There’s no other reason.

Police misconduct 

forced soldiers 

out of Lagos patrol 

– Ret. Col Stan-Labo, ex-OP MESA Operations Officer 

• ‘It was easy to see #EndSARS mayhem coming’ 

• Speaks on the fate of ‘masked soldier’ 


C 

olonel Hassan Stan-Labo (ret.), as Chief of Staff, 9 Brigade, 

Nigeria Army Cantonment Ikeja, superintended over OP 

MESA as its first Operations Officer. In this interview, Stan-Labo 

captures his experience with the police at that time and shares his perspective 

on #EndSARS protest and the authorities’ response. 

Let us look at the events of the past two 

and a half weeks that started with #EndSARS 

protests. What is your perspective and what 

do you think actually went wrong with that 

unit of the police? 

The #ENDSARS protests are a reflection 

of the frustration, determination and 

resilience of the Nigerian youth over the 

inherent defects, deficits and drawbacks of 

our governance system. The protests, which 

started as a simple #ENDSARSNOW 

demand, have snowballed into the agitation 

for good governance with the protesters 

metamorphosed into a national movement of 

sort. Every sovereign national police 

maintains a special force component that 

could be drafted at short notice to take on 

special tasks under daring conditions. The 

defunct SARS and MOPOL of the Nigeria 

Police fall into that category. Usually they have 

their briefs and job descriptions well cut out. 

The problem with the SARS was that they 

went out of their briefs. They embarked on 

initiatives they shouldn’t have, taking the law 

into their hands. Secondly, there was a high 

level deficit in supervision and oversight 

functions along chain of command. 

You were at a time the Commander 

of OP MESA in Lagos which must have 

collaborated with the police or 

specifically SARS. Can you relate to 

us your experience at that time 

especially on the allegations that have 

now come to light concerning police 

extrajudicial killings, extortion, 

conniving with criminals, etc? 

Yes, as Chief of Staff, 9 Brigade, Nigeria 

Army Cantonment Ikeja, I superintended over 

OP MESA as its first Operations Officer. Being 

at its formative stage, we wanted a synergy in 

operation. We tried to achieve this by ensuring 

that each patrol team had men from both 

forces. 

However, it wasn’t too long that it became 

necessary to discontinue with this operational 

style due to some unprofessional conduct 

noticed with our men. It became clear that the 

synergy we sought to achieve wasn’t giving us 

the expected result but rather impacting 

negatively on our men. These conducts 

included soliciting tips from the public, 

instilling fear, unleashing unprovoked 

aggressiveness and involvement in nonsecurity 

related matters, all to the detriment 

of the Army’s image and relationship with the 

public. I had to take time off to meet with 

local chiefs, community leaders, influencers 

and nobles to assuage and win their hearts 

and minds back. Otherwise the public could 

see us as some occupational force out to 

oppress them. It must be said that whenever 

SARS elements were to be part of the team, 

they were often properly dressed. But the team 

would usually come across SARS men looking 

tattered like armed robbers on the highway, 

brandishing AK 47 rifles, appearing in 

bathroom slippers, wearing dark glasses with 

handkerchiefs tied round their heads. 

I have had the cause to bundle a few into the 

military cell at the Ikeja Cantonment and 

demanded to see their bosses. Oftentimes their 

bosses would plead that I shouldn’t make their 

cases official as the CP then was a very close 

friend and a strict disciplinarian. So, SARS 

problem is failure of command issue. When 

leadership is itself complicit, moral authority 

is lost. This is a fundamental issue with the 

Nigeria Police. 

Now, let us talk about the authorities 

handling of the #EndSARS protests. 

Are you satisfied with what you have 

seen? 

I am not satisfied with the handling or the 

crisis management strategy deployed by 

government. Ab initio there was failure of 

intelligence. I wonder why the intelligence 

community didn’t see this coming and 

advising government on steps to avert it. The 

absence of timely response is doing so much 

damage to this administration. Things are 

often left to degenerate beyond redemption 

before you see semblance of 

action as though those 

running this country don’t 

reside in Nigeria. A week 

before the commencement of 

the #ENDSARSNOW 

protests, I had concluded at my 

own micro-level that a storm 

reminiscent of the Arab Spring 

was gathering momentum in 

Nigeria. I said this after 

personal analysis of the 

situation in Mali, the 

instability in next door 

Cameroon, the restiveness in 

Guinea and the near failed 

states of Niger and Chad. 

A presidential address a few 

days before the protest or 

The team 

would usually 

come across 

SARS men 

looking 

tattered like 

armed 

robbers on 

the highway 

immediately 

on 

commencement would have 

saved the nation the trauma 

and challenges we now face. 

And now that the crisis has taken this turn, I 

am yet to hear of visitation to victims’ families 

by government officials. I am yet to hear of 

visitation to victims in hospitals. 

I am yet to hear of visitation to those severely 

injured and lying critically ill in hospitals as a 

result of the Lekki shooting by anonymous 

persons. 

SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 25, 2020, PAGE 11 

•Stan-Labo 

All investigating panels, judicial inquiries 

etc. should have representation from youths. 

Otherwise such inquiries would be lacking in 

transparency. And this would rub off on 

integrity and would fail to command public 

acceptability. Implementation timeline for 

accomplishments of demands must be given 

and followed through. 

All orderly room trials should youth 

representatives in attendance. Youth 

representatives must not be handpicked by 

government officials. 

Efforts must be deliberately made to 

overcome the trust deficit that current exists 

between government and the people. Nobody 

takes government pronouncements serious 

anymore. 

Many people believe the 

protesters 

conducted 

themselves in an orderly 

manner until things went out of 

hand with the attack on Benin 

prisons and release of 

prisoners, and the burning of 

police stations in Lagos? What 

do you think? 

Protesting youths were well 

organised and conducted themselves 

with utmost sense of responsibility. We 

must give it to them, for they 

introduced a new and refreshing 

dimension to protest in Nigeria. 

Unfortunately they were infiltrated by 

hoodlums. Who could be behind 

these bad eggs? My guess is it could 

be any of these: 

a. Opposition parties hoping to 

cash in and rubbish the ruling party’s 

chances come 2023. 

b. Ruling party/administration who, in its 

desperation to get the youths off the streets, 

would attempt to discredit them, a case of 

giving the dog a bad name in order to hang it. 

c. Subversive and unpatriotic elements 

made up of persons and organisations with 

ulterior motives aimed at destabilizing our 

hard earned democracy. 

For the arsonists at work, it is a pity because 

the infrastructure you are burning down 

actually belongs to you. Your resources would 

still go into fixing them and leaving government 

with little for infrastructure. 

5. As the protests went on at the weekend, 

the Army announced the commencement of 

Operation Crocodile Smile VI on Tuesday and 

the development stoked tension in the polity. If 

you were the Chief of the Army Staff, would 

you have taken that step? 

Given the present realities with our security 

situation on ground, I wouldn’t have introduced 

Crocodile Smile VI now as COAS. Even 

though we know it to be an end of year 

operational event, it would be only proper to 

avoid such a coincidence. 

What is your take as somebody who 

operated at a high level in the military 

on the deployment of soldiers at Lekki 

where protesters were apparently 

attacked and many killed? 

Except I have an ulterior motive, I wouldn’t 

opt for a night operation knowing that I am 

dealing with young persons who could exhibit 

some level of exuberance. However, this is only 

when the initiative for deployment rests with 

me. If I am under command and only obeying 

orders and instructions, I’ll subtly advice 

otherwise and await the last order. This is why 

I said from the beginning that the entire crisis 

management strategy deployed by the 

Government to this crisis is faulty. It was either 

never well thought out or there was no due 

consultation or, better put, very limited latitude 

for additional opinions and perspective on the 

strategy to be adopted. Not all situations call 

for the application of kinetic engagement of 

protesters. 

Persuasion, display of humility and remorse 

in utterances by government officials while 

attending to demands would have long calm 

the youths even before the Lekki incident. 

The military authorities have denied 

deploying troops. Is there the 

possibility of rogue soldiers at work? 

If truly they were not at Lekki, then the 

situation calls for serious national security 

concerns. Because the import is that we are, 

unknowingly as a nation, harboring armed 

uniformed elements with the capability to 

cause severe destabilization or injury to our 

national interest. However, investigations 

would unravel all that. I suggest investigative 

hearing open to the public. 

Another dimension to the crisis is the arrest 

of a ‘masked soldier’ who in an online message 

asked his colleagues to refuse orders to kill 

protesters. What do you make of that 

development? 

One man’s hero is another man’s… 

He represents different things to different 

persons. 

The ‘masked soldier’ argued that any order 

by military authorities to attack protesters 

would amount to a bad order. Is there anything 

called bad order in the military that could be 

refused by soldiers and there won’t be 

repercussions? 

There are bad orders, but who defines a bad 

or good order? The giver or the recipient? Mind 

you in most cases the recipient has the 

challenge of identifying the originating source 

more so when he is not a part of the command 

chain. 

In essence, could the troops who 

allegedly attacked Lekki protesters 

have refused that order because it was 

‘unlawful’? 

You can only refuse what you know of or else 

you go ahead and do your job. 

What do you think is the fate of the 

‘masked soldier’? 

The outcome of the investigation will point 

out what direction to go. 

What is your advice to the military 

authorities on their conduct in this 

crisis? 

Under democracy, the military is subservient 

and in total submission to political authority. 

So the question should be what is your advice 

to government in its management of this crisis? 

I’ll advise as follows: a. Presidential address 

to the nation. 

Not the empty speech we heard on 

Wednesday. The President did not speak to 

the issues. He did not appeal to the emotions of 

the youths. Mr. President was completely silent 

on the Lekki incident as though it never 

happened. He did not express surprise at the 

shooting. There was disconnection between the 

speech and the expectations of the ordinary 

Nigerian. The speech could not have endeared 

him to the protesters. It was long in rhetoric 

and short on action. The President’s men speech 

drafters did a poor job at marketing the 

President to the public. 

b. Do everything possible to take hoodlums 

off the streets. More so when some Nigerians 

believe that politicians may be behind them. c. 

All hands must be on deck to meet the demands 

of protesting youths without the usual double 

speak and falsehood that characterize 

government utterances today. d. Draw up 

timeline and implementation framework 

spelling out milestones for attainments. e. 

Visitation to SARS victims’ families. f. Visitation 

to Lekki victims’ families. g. Visitation to the 

injured in hospitals and clearing picking all 

medical bills. h. Set in motion necessary 

machinery for the reforms of the police.

PAGE 12, SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 25, 2020 

How corruption, 

nepotism killed SARS 

– Ex-IGP Suleiman Abba 


Suleiman Abba, Inspector General 

of Police under the Jonathan 

administration, is Chairman, 

Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Police 

Trust Fund. In this interview first aired on 

Channels Television, Abba 

speaks on the crisis rocking 

the police. 

If you are to diagnose 

the crisis in the police, 

especially SARS, what 

will you say? 

The first reason SARS is in 

crisis is because of nepotism. 

Nepotism comes in when 

those in leadership try to 

bring in their own people. 

The second reason SARS lost 

it is corruption. And this is 

associated with the problem 

of leadership. When you 

don’t have direct supervision, 

the likelihood is that people 

will try as much as possible 

to satisfy whoever will 

prevent them from having 100 per cent 

freedom, you do whatever you like, you 

We got to where 

we are in the 

police because 

of three things: 

High 

handedness on 

the part of 

police officers, 

corruption and 

nepotism 

investigate cases the way you want, detain 

people for as many days as you want and 

perhaps cause loss of lives because 

nobody is supervising you properly. That 

is one aspect of it. The other aspect is when 

focus is completely lost simply because 

of the combination of corruption and lack 

of leadership. And this leads to so many 

things. These boys get 

overworked because they 

don’t have control. They now 

go out looking for cases. 

During our time, we didn’t 

send SARS on the roads. They 

went out as a strike force. If it 

was a rescue mission, they do 

it and return to the office. If 

the mission was to arrest 

robbers, they do so and return 

to the office. 

On the claims that 

policemen carry POS 

machines to extort 

victims 

Never in my wildest 

imagination did I think I 

would see SARS operatives 

checking vehicles on the road, wearing 

slippers, wearing wrong dresses. They are 

supposed to be properly dressed. They are 

CISLAC: Positioning legislatures 

for prevention, treatment of 

Severe Acute Malnutrition 

Reliable statistics indicate that acute malnutrition remains high in northern Nigeria 

with about 2.2 million out of 2.5 million children severely malnourished. It was against 

this backdrop that Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), a nongovernmental 

organisation, convened a one-day legislative summit with legislators in 

affected five states. 

By Charles Kumolu, Deputy Editor 

EACH year, about one million Nigerian 

children die before their birthday and 

malnutrition contributes to nearly half of these 

deaths. While malnutrition reduces the GDP 

of a nation, Nigeria records the highest-burden 

in Africa. The disease impedes physical 

growth and cognitive development of a child, 

with one in three Nigerian children 

experiencing nutrition deficit. 

Constructive comparative analysis of 

malnutrition and under-development remain 

key to understanding the critical role 

adequate nutrition plays in the nation. 

While Nigeriar ecognises the importance of 

adequate nutrition status to its development 

through the adoption of various policies on 

nutrition, policy neglect in the 

implementation process remains a serious 

setback. 

Impacts 

The dreaded impacts of malnutrition 

include monumental economic and 

productivity losses, irreparable potential loss, 

increased susceptibility to communicable 

diseases and other infections. 

With the UniversalDeclaration of Human 

Rights, Sustainable Development Goals 

(SDGs), and ChildRight Act, adequate 

nutrition status constitutes a Child Right in 

Nigeria. 

More importantly, the existing ailing and 

under-funded Primary Health Care facilities 

across the country hampers efforts at 

achieving adequate and sustainable 

treatment and prevention of Severe Acute 

Malnutrition (SAM) at all levels. 

The consistent dwindling funding for 

nutrition in the national and state budgetary 

allocation is a serious concern that if not 

promptly addressed may exacerbate 

increasing cases of SAM with resultant child 

mortality in the country. 

Worried by this trend, Civil Society 

Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), led 

by its Executive Director, Auwal Rafsanjani, 

organised a legislative summit on the 

Prevention and Treatment of Severe Acute 

Malnutrition (SAM) for Speakers, chairmen 

of committees on Health and Appropriation, 

Clerks of Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano,and 

Kastina State Houses of Assembly, including 

state Nutrition Officers and Civil Society 

Organisations (CSOs) in the states. It was done 

because of thefunding challenges posed by 

the COVID-19 pandemic and how to mitigate 

the challenge. The one day summitheld at 

Bafra International Hotel, Kaduna State, on 

October 17, 2020, providedan opportunity for 

the stakeholders to ruminate on the way 

forward. 

Among the dignitaries at the summit are, 

member, Board of CISLAC, Adesina Oke; 

Rafsanjani; Speaker,Gombe State House of 

Assembly, Abubakar Sadiq Ibrahim; Speaker, 

Kano,Abdulazeez Gafasa; and Deputy 

Chairman, Committee on Health, Kano State, 

Dr. MusaAli Kachako. 

In his remarks, CISLAC boss said the 

summit became imperative because he was 

concerned about the available reports 

indicating that malnutrition remains high in 

northern Nigeria with about 2.2 million out 

of 2.5 million severely malnourished children 

from the region. 

He said malnutrition impacts negatively 

on the socio-economic development of 

Nigeria, adding that sustainable development 

cannot be achieved in the country, especially 

at the sub-national levels without prioritised 

attention to nutrition investments . 

Hence the need toinvolve all stakeholders 

particularly state legislatures. 

N800 million 

“ We find it worrisome that during the 

review exercise of the 2020 federal 

government budget as a response to COVID- 

19 impact, the N800 million that was initially 

allocated for the procurement of Ready-To- 

Use-Therapeutic-Food (RUTF) was expunged. 

We also note, with serious concern, that the 

one hundred and forty-six million,fourteen 

thousand naira (N146,014,000) allocated for 

the treatment of severe acute malnourished 

children in the proposed 2021 appropriation 

•Suleiman Abba 

investigators. So they can appear in 

mufti. 

But they became a rogue unit in 

the police. And the irony of it all is 

that our police officers, when they 

go for international missions, they 

shine… 

Even in SARS, you have among them 

very good officers. I recall in 2000, there 

was a case of armed robbery in Abuja that 

saw me leading the operation. I went to 

State, recently. 

bill currently with the National Assembly is 

grossly inadequate to cater for the millions of 

children requiring treatment for Severe Acute 

Malnutrition in the country,” he said. 

Having identified the problems, therefore, 

the summit provided a platform for 

legislators from the five target states to share 

experiences on their role towards sustainable 

and improved nutrition funding in their states. 

It was also a platform to review the current 

efforts of their states at ensuring improved 

nutrition interventions. 

Also, it was needed for the legislators to 

understand their states’ nutrition situation, 

toguide them in making commitments on 

how to ensure that Severe Acute 

Malnutrition prevention and treatment is 

properly focused and prioritised as ahuman 

rights issue through appropriate legislative 

interventions. 

Presentations 

In their presentations at the forum, nutrition 

officers narrated how their respective states 

are trying to get rid of the ugly trend but also 

identified some of thechallenges. For instance, 

Gombe State government has adopted 

different strategies to address SAM. 

The state implemented various 

interventions and basic nutrition packages 

for women and children toaccess the services. 

To strengthen and ensure continuity of the 

nutritionactivities, the state government was 

said to have approved N75 million for 

procurement of Ready to Use Therapeutic 

Foods’ (RUTF) in the year 2020. N25 million 

was released to UNICEF and 1,159 cartons 

of RUTF were procured and distributed to 

implementing Local Government Areas 

(LGAs). The State Committee on Food 

andNutrition (SCFN) and LGAs Committee 

on Food and Nutrition (LCFN) were 

Lagos to investigate the case and used 

SARS officers throughout. We did the first 

arrest at Ikorodu, second arrest at 

Federal Palace Hotel, we went to Warri, 

we went to Agbor, arrested the last batch 

of suspects at Agura Hotel. Some of the 

victims were highly placed Nigerians and 

the gang of armed robbers operated in 

two groups: one operating in Asokoro 

and Maitama, and the other operating at 

Garki and Wuse. 

Amid the public distrust of the 

police, they have the constitutional 

responsibility to maintain law and 

order in the society. Where do we 

go from here? 

We got to where we are in the police 

because of three things: High handedness 

on the part of police officers, corruption 

and nepotism. Now we are here, how do 

we get out? Listen to divergent views of 

all stakeholders/actors: Leadership of the 

police, government and everyone 

involved in the peace process. Everyone 

needs to sit down and negotiate. I became 

the IGP in August 2014. During my tenure, 

there were no SARS operatives on the 

road. Community policing is the way out 

of this crisis. Under this arrangement, the 

community tells the police how they want 

to be policed. I implore the people to let 

the police demonstrate what the 

community wants. There have been quite 

a number of important moves. SWAT is 

one of them and the unit will be deployed 

only when there is the need like it is done 

in the USA. I am opportune to lead the 

Police Trust Fund. The objective is to train 

and retrain police officers, buy equipment 

and provide office buildings, ensure 

welfare, etc. If you look at the reports of 

all the past committees on police reforms, 

they talked about three things: adequate 

funding of the police, manpower and 

welfare/remuneration. Now look at the 

objectives of the trust fund. It means the 

trust fund should take the lead and we 

will live up to expectation. 

From Left: Member, Board of CISLAC, Adesina Oke; Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal 

Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani); Speaker, Gombe State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abubakar 

Sadiq Ibrahim; Speaker, Kano State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdulazeez Garba 

Gafasa; Deputy Chairman, Committee on Health, Kano State, Dr Musa Ali Kachako and a 

participant at the legislative summit on Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), held in Kaduna 

functional, with developed nutrition cost plan 

of action and nutrition policy,sign and 

approved. 

An update on Kano nutrition in the last 

quarter also showed the distribution of 

deworming tablets for Adolescents Nutrition 

Programme across the 44 LGAs among 

others. And for Katsina, the nutrition situation 

is characterised by malnutrition with about 

one-third ofthe children less than five years 

stunted (more than half in the northwest). 

In Bauchi, only UNICEFis providing 

support. While sentisisation programmes on 

radio and television are ongoing, the major 

problems identified to have been an 

impediment are inadequate information to 

caregivers on the differences between Polio 

Vaccine and Vitamin A and inadequate 

knowledge on complementary foods. 

To CISLAC and its team, they believed 

problems identified are already solved , 

adding that it is essential to open critical 

deliberation on the challenge. 

It is hoped that aresult-oriented deliberation 

will be applied in support of legislative and 

policy processes towards sustainable 

prevention and treatment of SAM in Nigeria. 

The speakers in their statements 

demonstrated commitment to do more 

towards improving budgetary allocations on 

nutrition. After deliberating exhaustively on 

various thematic issues, it was observed that 

the dreaded impacts of malnutrition include 

monumental economic and productivity 

losses, and increased susceptibility to 

communicable diseases and other 

infections. 

Global malnutrition 

It was noted that Nigeria is one of the 

countries responsible for 80 percent of global 

child malnutrition and the northwestern states 

bear the most burden of SAM in the country.





Police matters: The reluctant 

advocate 

Nothing else in 

Nigeria’s 

contemporary 

history has received as 

much widespread support 

as the campaign against 

police brutality in Nigeria 

initiated some two weeks 

ago by the nation’s youths. 

No person of conscience 

was truly opposed to the 

campaign. Even the 

Nigerian government 

which was understandably 

uncomfortable with the 

protests because of their 

adverse socio-economic 

consequences did not 

dismiss the demands of the 

youths. Instead, President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

personally endorsed the 

demands, while his Vice; 

Prof Yemi Osinbajo openly 

apologized for the excesses 

of the police. Nigeria will 

do well to assimilate the 

lessons of the campaign in 

order to avoid mixing-up its 

goals with its incidentals. 

Put differently, the issue of 

police brutality ought to be 

separated from the related 

subject of police welfare 

because the tendency in the 

past to mix them up seems 

to account for why it has 

been difficult to deal with 

the problem. 

While the debate on how 

the #EndSARS protest was 

managed rages on, the 

police as an organization 

which was at the root of the 

PhD,Department of 

Philosophy, 

University of Lagos 

08116759758 

opuruiche2000@gmail.com 

ecause most of 

BChinweizu’s 

conclusions from the tragic 

experience of Dr. Izuogu are 

appropriate and insightful, it 

is important to continue with 

his response in this 

concluding part of our 

discussion. Chinweizu affirms 

that only “a brilliantly naïve 

Igbo” would believe that a 

hardened caliphate 

colonialist like Abacha 

would deliver on his promise 

to assist him achieve 

technological breakthrough. 

What is on display, he says, “is 

political incompetence. Does 

a doctorate degree in political 

science necessarily bestow 

political warrior spirit and 

skills? Is passing an exam in a 

subject a sign of operational 

mastery of the subject? Does 

having a PhD in soccer make 

one a Pele or Ronaldo?” 

Chinweizu continues: 

“Regarding unconscious 

incompetence, it has been 

observed that the more 

incompetent a person is, the 

less he realises his 

incompetence. Again, that 

total ignorance of a subject 

tends to produce supreme 

confidence in one’s 

knowledge of it. Consider the 

Igbo example: since 1830 the 

Igbo have exhibited an 

unconscious political 

incompetence. And since 

1940 they have confidently, 

even boastfully, regarded 

themselves as paragons of 

political competence. Their 

unconscious political 

incompetence is the flaw that 

has reduced them to their 

present pitiful plight which 

protest needs to be 

critically examined. Our 

premise is that the 

simplistic proposition that 

police brutality in Nigeria 

is caused by poor welfare is 

not true. While it makes 

sense to argue that because 

the work of the police is 

tedious and therefore 

deserves good working 

conditions and 

commensurate 

remuneration, it does not 

similarly make sense to use 

it to justify the brutality of 

police operatives on 

members of the public. The 

facts which support this 

position are many. First, 

not every police operative 

is brutal. Indeed, there is no 

evidence that those 

committing atrocities in 

our police force are in the 

majority. Therefore, that 

some operatives are not 

brutal suggests that police 

brutality is not necessarily 

caused by poor welfare in 

the police system. If this had 

been the dominant 

reasoning over the years, 

the police organization 

itself would have since 

made police brutality a nogo 

area for its operatives. 

Even the more 

conceivable imagination 

that poor salaries of police 

operatives can justify 

corruption in our policing 

system is similarly 

untenable. This is because 

The tragic experience of Dr. Ezekiel 

Izuogu and its corollaries (2) 

they blame simply on the 

enmity of the British, the 

Fulani and other ethnic 

groups in Nigeria. However, 

that a lion wants to devour you 

is not a problem; that’s just a 

fact about your situation. What 

are you and your fellows 

prepared, competent, and 

organised to do to escape its 

hungry jaws? That is the 

problem. And life is a daily 

adventure in problemsolving. 

Since 1954 Ndigbo 

have been under the threat, 

made publicly by Sir Ahmadu 

Bello, of extermination by 

their Fulani enemies. We are 

still waiting for Igbo brilliance 

to solve this fundamental 

existential problem.” 

Accordingly, how soon 

brilliant Ndigbo address this 

problem and organise 

appropriately to solve it is the 

real issue. 

Chinweizu advises Igbo 

people to learn from what 

happened to Izuogu and 

acquire strategic 

commonsnense, the absence 

of which crippled his political 

thinking and behaviour 

despite his academic and 

technical brilliance. He uses 

an analogy from medicine to 

buttress his argument: “Lack 

of vitamins afflicts the 

physical body with deadly 

nutritional deficiency diseases 

– like beriberi, pellagra, 

rickets and scurvy – whose 

consequences include 

blindness, mental confusion, 

memory loss, delirium with its 

incorrect comprehension of 

reality, diarrhoea, softening of 

bones, lack of coordination in 

muscles and eventually death, 

not every police operative 

is corrupt. Only last month 

when the Independent 

Corrupt Practices and 

Other Related Offences 

Commission, ICPC, 

celebrated its 20th 

Anniversary, the tiny figure 

of 8 citizens only that she 

picked to honour, included 

a policeman. That 

outstanding awardee was 

introduced to the nation as 

Francis Erhabor, 

Divisional Police Officer 

(DPO) ‘D’ Division, Itam, 

Uyo in Akwa Ibom state. 

The decision to honour 

Erhabor was based on the 

finding that in spite of a 

meagre salary, he refused to 

accept an annual 

N6million naira bribe, at 

N500, 000 per month from 

criminally minded oil 

bunkers, out to defraud the 

nation. The point which 

Erhabor’s transparent 

honesty exemplifies is that 

the propensity of some 

police operatives to be 

corrupt is not due to 

inadequate remuneration; 

rather it is due more to 

greed as it is in the larger 

Nigerian society, in which 

many of our wealthy leaders 

have been convicted for 

corruption. 

Premising police 

corruption or brutality on 

obsolete facilities and poor 

pay is therefore an error 

that leaves in the sub 

consciousness of everyone, 

the conclusion that the twin 

malaise can only be 

corrected by better welfare. 

It is a proposition that a 

methodical analyst ought to 

be reluctant to advocate. 

Rather, our police ought to 

be worthy of their hire; they 

should develop a better 

disposition to duty to 

deserve a better pay. Who 

would not advocate triple 

promotion for the Erhabors 

The situation 

of Ndigbo is 

paradoxical 

if untreated.” Similarly “a 

lack of strategic 

commonsense [or in local 

parlance number six] afflicts 

the body politic with assorted 

warrior spirit deficiency 

diseases. The consequences 

include blindness to threats 

and dangers, mental 

confusion about what’s vital 

and what’s not, memory loss 

of precious historical and 

cultural lessons, a delirium of 

desires based on incorrect 

comprehension of reality – 

like believing that money is 

the one and only important 

thing for the good life – a 

diarrhoea of boasting and 

bragging, a softening of social 

bones and binding structure, 

and loss of coordination 

organisationally. These 

combine to bring extinction 

on the society, if untreated.” 

Chinweizu yearns for an 

“Igbo society that would allow 

itself learn the vital lesson that 

strategic thinking ability is 

more precious than exampassing 

or moneymaking 

ability because it alone can 

guarantee the safety of life 

and the protection of wealth.” 

Of utmost importance is an 

Igboland “where the breast 

milk of every Igbo mother is 

fortified with commonsense 

vitamins so that babies grow 

up without that lack of 

strategic thinking ability that 

afflicted Dr. Izuogu in his 

incarnation that has just 

ended.” From the foregoing 

one can infer that the central 

message of Chinweizu is that 

Ndigbo should operationally 

internalise the idea that sociopolitical 

praxis rooted in 

enlightenment and strategic 

thinking is absolutely 


of the police? We also because “Adamu’s International, many 

accept that many such wellmeaning 

operatives may be issued similar directives countries particularly in 

predecessors had also foreigners in different 

in the system but the which were only observed Europe who greatly assisted 

organization does not seem in breach.” It had been me did so because of the 

done by IGPs Ogbonna respect they had for 

Onovo in 2009, Hafiz Nigeria which they 

Ringim in 2010, attributed to the high level 

Mohammed Abubakar in of professionalism 

To advocate better 2012, Suleiman Abba in displayed by our police 

2014, Solomon Arase in with whom they interacted 

working conditions 2015 and Ibrahim Idris in during international peacekeeping 

missions. Even at 

and higher salaries 2018. In the case of SARS, 

the situation has been home, organizations that 

for our police 

same. When the then acting have been given part of the 

presupposes that the 

President Osinbajo ordered police mandate are still 

it to be banned in 2018, it utilizing police personnel 

standards of her was merely renamed and systems. Therefore, we 

FSARS. The current 

operatives will 

ought not to allow our 

resurrection of End SARS police to die. As earlier 

correspondingly rise into SWAT, is therefore stated, police work is 

instructive. 

tedious and risky and 

to fully appreciate the Thus, we need to call on therefore deserves good 

amount of damage the those in charge of the police working conditions but not 

current nation-wide now, to immediately many will support her if she 

condemnation of police undertake a critical does nothing about her 

attitudes typifies. Although introspection at this point current contributory 

there are occasional of her history, otherwise she negligence. 

reports of disciplinary may lose the opportunity of A police that brutalizes 

action on offending police ever becoming a great the citizens she was set up 

operatives, the frequency of institution. One can recall to protect will never fly. In 

repetition of the same that in her days of addition, to advocate better 

misdemeanor leaves the prominence, she had a working conditions and 

police with a poor vibrant motor division that higher salaries for our 

institutional statement. was excised and turned into police presupposes that the 

The number of times the the Federal Road Safety standards of her operatives 

public is made to observe Commission FRSC. Also, will correspondingly rise. 

flagrant disobedience by arguably on account of Entry requirements must be 

the rank and file of public distrust, her raised and most 

instructions made at the jurisdiction over the crime importantly, the conduct of 

apex of police hierarchy is of corruption was the operatives in service 

worrisome. Whether it is the transferred to our current must be one of good 

banning of police checkpoints 

or the withdrawal of Today, each of her former organization. Luckily, the 

anti-corruption bodies. ambassadors of the 

all police officers attached branches is probably better current IGP came to office 

to Very Important Persons funded and equipped than with a quantum of 

(VIPs); a common trend the police. Even basic professional and 

has been the refusal of internal security of intellectual experience to 

police personnel to obey maintaining law and order take the police to the 

directives by their is being frequently assigned appropriate level. 

successive Inspectors to the military. 

Mohammed Adamu must 

General. When some four I am one Nigerian who leave us with a police that 

days ago, the current IGP, has every reason to support is imbibed with modern 

Mohammed Adamu made the police; my friends and global practices that are 

the same order which he relations abound there. attuned to the most effective 

said was to take immediate Besides, when I was going and efficient ways of 

effect, one major newspaper round the world many policing. 

saw it as a mere ritual years ago to install NTA 

necessary for their own 

survival. 

Every reasonable Igbo like 

myself who is very 

disappointed with the 

condition of Ndigbo and 

Igboland in general should 

see Chinweizu’s advice as a 

clarion call for Igbo people 

to re-examine their sociopolitical 

and economic 

realities in Nigeria. The 

situation of Ndigbo is 

paradoxical. Without a doubt 

they contributed more than 

any other ethnic nationality 

to the nationalist struggles 

leading to independence in 

1960 and, as the eminent 

historian, Prof. Tekena 

Tamuno, correctly noted the 

Igbo are the makers of 

modern Nigeria. Yet they are 

at the lowest rung of the 

pecking order when 

compared with the other two 

demographically dominant 

groups in Nigeria, the Hausa- 

Fulani and the Yoruba. Now, 

the biggest mistake so-called 

Igbo leaders have been 

making all these years is this: 

they are so preoccupied with 

futile lamentations about how 

Fulani caliphate colonialists 

in particular have 

emasculated Ndigbo without 

recognising that their toxic 

mixture of political 

incompetence, greed and 

stupidity is the greatest 

crippling disease which has 

been afflicting Igboland with 

increasing devastation 

especially from 1970 onwards. 

Of course, President 

Muhammadu Buhari’s 

unprecedented nepotism-onsteroids 

has indeed reinforced 

the belief that the vicious 

Fulanisation and 

Islamisation project 

formulated by Alhaji Ahmadu 

Bello shortly after 

independence is on course. 

Even so, naïve and unwise 

decisions at crucial moments 

by prominent Igbo 

personalities beginning with 

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe actually 

jeopardised the collective 

interests of Ndigbo. It is on 

record that when Azikiwe was 

working tirelessly for One 

Nigeria based on his 

overconfident belief that 

Ndigbo were destined to 

liberate Africa from 

existential darkness, Mazi 

Mbonu Ojike warned him 

about the potential dangers of 

his unitarist approach. 

Competent historians of the 

Biafran war agree that the 

pogroms against Ndigbo in 

the north in 1966 and Lt. Col. 

Yakubu Gowon’s treacherous 

refusal to implement the Aburi 

Accord the following year 

were the main proximate 

causes of that devastating 

conflict; they also concur that 

Gowon, egged on by hawkish 

warmongers from the north 

and Britain, brought war to 

Biafra. But with the benefit of 

hindsight a plausible case can 

be made that despite 

tremendous pressures he was 

under, including the mandate 

he received from leaders 

across the eastern region, Lt. 

Col. Chukwuemeka 

Odumegwu Ojukwu 

probably should not have 

declared an independent state 

of Biafra on May 30, 1967 

because he ought to have 

known that Gowon and his 

northern backers and Britain 

would respond with full force 

and that Biafra was illprepared 

for armed conflict. 

Put differently Ojukwu grossly 

misjudged the imperialist 

determination of the north 

and Britain to keep Nigeria 

one just as Viscount Harcourt 

and Lord Lugard envisioned 

in 1914. Furthermore in spite 

of my misgivings about the 

ignoble role of Chief Obafemi 

Awolowo against Biafra 

during the war and the shifty 

character of some prominent 

Yoruba politicians, Dr. 

Azikiwe should have teamed 

up with the Unity Party of 

Nigeria (UPN) in 1979 rather 

than with the National Party 

of Nigeria (NPN), the latter 

being essentially a 

reincarnation of the 

extremely parochial 

ultraconservative Northern 

Peoples Congress (NPC) of the 

first republic. 

Not to be forgotten is the 

betrayal by Igbo political 

chameleons led by Orji Uzor 

Kalu of Dr. Alex Ekwueme’s 

meritorious quest to be the 

presidential candidate of the 

Peoples Democratic Party 

(PDP) in 1999, a party he 

(Ekwueme) formed with other 

notable politicians when Chief 

Olusegun Obasanjo who 

eventually got the ticket was 

in prison. Again inasmuch as 

the suspicion of a Fulani plot 

for total political domination 

is increasingly becoming a 

reality, greedy and myopic 

Igbo politicians are actually 

helping the Fulani ruling cabal 

to achieve it. For instance, 

south-east governors are 

providing settlements in their 

states for the Fulani 

encouraged by the Buhari 

administration to migrate to 

Nigeria from different part of 

West Africa and the Sahel. So 

one should not be surprised 

that in the next decade or 

thereabout there would be 

emirates across Igboland, a 

prospect every sensible Igbo 

must resist. We should also 

point out the failure of various 

administrations across 

Igboland to provide enabling 

environment for Ndigbo to 

invest in Igboland rather than 

elsewhere. Suffocating federal 

government’s anti-Igbo 

policies notwithstanding, 

governors of contiguous Igbospeaking 

states could have 

established interconnected 

institutional frameworks and 

infrastructure to bolster 

economic renaissance in 

Igboland similar to the vision 

and unsurpassed 

achievements of Dr. Michael 

Okpara in the old eastern 

region. Unfortunately the 

dominant political class in 

Igboland is afflicted with the 

diseases highlighted above. 

Consequently unless these 

existential ailments are cured, 

Ndigbo will continue to 

wallow in the slough of 

despond and the primary 

lesson from Dr. Izuogu’s tragic 

error would remain unlearnt 

by the very people that need it 

most. Concluded.

PAGE 18—SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 25, 2020 

LEKKI SHOOTING, SARS BRUTALITY: 

How victims will get justice 

— Ebun Adegboruwa, Lagos 

probe panel member 

•Says illiterates dominate the police 

By Charles Kumolu, Deputy Editor 

Human rights activist and member, Lagos State Judicial Panel of 

Inquiry on activities of disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, 

Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN, in this interview, speaks on how judicial 

panels of inquiry on human rights abuses set up by states can achieve 

results. He also looks at the shooting of peaceful protesters and other 

issues surrounding the latest calls for police reforms. 

Some states have inaugurated judicial 

panels of inquiry on human rights 

abuses committed by members of 

defunct SARS and you are a member of the 

Lagos State panel. Nigerians do not seem 

to have faith in the panels having seen 

similar ones that were not fruitful. Is this 

going to be different? 

I believe those expressing pessimism 

about panels of inquiry set up by 

government are vindicated by a sense of 

history. Given our history, they can’t be 

blamed. There is a distrust that exists 

between the citizens and government in 

terms of previous declarations by 

government, which have not seen the light 

of the day. It was in the light of that 

experience that when this panel was 

announced, I extracted sufficient 

commitment from the state governor 

concerning the autonomy of the panel. I 

got those assurances. Since it was not 

something that was lobbied for, I pleaded 

with government to allow me to serve on 

the panel on part-time basis. By that 

arrangement, I won’t be entitled to 

remuneration or sitting allowance. It would 

put one in a position where he can make 

informed decisions, and take objective 

views of all matters coming before the 

panel. I also looked at other members of 

the panel, especially the Chairman, Justice 

Okwuobi, retd, who is acknowledged to be 

a very forthright and steadfast judicial 

officer. We have representatives of the 

National Human Rights Commission, 

NHRC, and representatives of the civil 

society and initiator of the #EndSars 

movement, Segalink. Against that 

background, I don’t have any doubt that 

this would be a different panel. 

Independent job 

So long as government would continue 

to honour its commitment to allowing us 

to do an independent job, the panel would 

be different. As part of the efforts to ensure 

we do a good job, we demanded and got 

instruments of appointments under the 

Tribunal of Inquiry Law of Lagos State, 

which has given legal backing to the panel. 

We got letters of appointment also. Against 

that background, I see some level of 

seriousness on the part of the governor. 

Immediately after the panel was 

inaugurated last Monday, we commenced 

mock sitting because the stage had been 

set. Several social media platforms have 

been created. There is a telephone help desk 

and we are ready to hit the ground running 

but for the events of the #EndSars protests, 

which has become a little uncontrollable. I 

believe the panel will do a good job. 

In view of the immediate reasons for 

setting up the panel, which is the demands 

of #EndSars protesters, don’t you think the 

six-month period given to the panel is too 

long? 

From the instrument of appointment 

constituting the panel, the governor gave 

an initial period of six months. It was stated 

that the panel is entitled to regulate its 

proceedings and draw up its rules of 

engagement. A panel of inquiry is more like 

a court where normal procedures for due 

process has to be followed. We are talking 

about people bringing complaints about 

brutality, rights violations and abuses. It 

would involve making allegations against 

some persons or institutions. Those 

allegations must be verified, they must be 

serious so that they can be on oath. It is to 

ensure they don’t just make frivolous 

allegations against people that cannot be 

defended. As it is normal in the court 

parlance, we have to create a system 

whereby those complaints can be 

interrogated. And before you decide on the 

fate of the person who complaints have 

been made against, you need to hear from 

the person. For instance, if there is an 

allegation against a police officer, we need 

to send a summons to the 

police to make him appear 

before us. If there is a written 

complaint, we need to avail 

him the opportunity to 

receive the complaint and 

respond. He must be entitled 

to confront the person 

making an allegation against 

him, either by himself or 

through his legal 

representative. 

Complaints 

I listened to the President 

of the Nigerian Bar 

Association, NBA, who said 

the NBA has appointed 

lawyers who would assist 

people to ventilate their 

complaints before the 

tribunal. We will listen to 

their complaints, we would 

look at the evidence and give 

a decision about whether to 

uphold the complaints and if 

we do, what would be the 

compensation and the mode of payment. 

Beyond complaints of brutality against 

SARS, government also asked us to help 

set up procedures for an interface between 

the police and civilians. Also, we were 

Watching the 

video clips on 

social media was 

quite horrific 

and one was 

heartbroken 

seeing the 

bloodshed and 

the wickedness 

unleashed on 

peaceful 

protesters 

asked to look at how to ensure that 

henceforth, police procedure accommodates 

the rights of the people, especially in 

matters relating to granting bails and 

investigations of offences. I think that it is 

not too long a time. It is for us to ensure 

that if we hear a case today, we would 

ensure that within the next two or three 

days, our decision or judgment should be 

ready. It would also depend on the 

cooperation between the complainants and 

respondents on preparedness to proceed 

with their cases. We are ready. If we can 

take a case in a day and deliver judgment 

on the same day, it would be nice doing 

that. 

In the past, people of influence had 

been summoned by judicial probe 

panels and they refused to appear. If 

these panels summon someone, who 

complains has been laid against if 

the person decides not to appear, 

what happens? 

Comparison to the Oputa Panel is actually 

one of the issues that led to the procedures 

adopted in setting up the various panels 

across the states. The challenge then was 

that the then President of Nigeria, Olusegun 

Obasanjo, set up a truth and reconciliation 

panel, otherwise called Oputa Panel. And 

the panel was to take complaints from all 

over the land. It was sitting in Lagos. When 

the panel invited former military President, 

Gen Ibrahim Babangida, retd, his lawyers 

advised him not to appear. The lawyers 

checked and discovered that the President 

had no power to constitute a tribunal of 

inquiry beyond matters that happened at 

the federal level, especially Federal Capital 

Territory, FCT. They went to court and the 

court upheld their argument that in a federal 

republic such as Nigeria, the President 

cannot set up a panel to investigate affairs 

in Lagos State. That is why in this particular 

instance, governors are the ones setting up 

the panels. Under the Tribunal of Inquiry 

Law, any panel set up under it has the right 

to summon witnesses, and if those witnesses 

refuse to appear, it would issue a warrant of 

arrest to the police to arrest the witnesses 

and bring them to the tribunal. Like the 

regular court, it has the same power of 

summoning attendance of persons 

considered to be important witnesses. It is 

to reach a correct decision by 

the panel. I think the reason 

the National Economic 

Council, NEC, got involved 

is because of the federal 

institutions that the panel 

would relate with, 

especially the police and the 

Prisons. We are working on 

that to ensure there is 

synergy, which would lead 

us to achieve results. 

What is the scope of 

the panel‘s job? 

We are trying as much as 

possible to accommodate 

everybody that has genuine 

complaints from their 

experiences with the 

notorious SARS. To that 

extent, I think we have to 

look at it from the period 

SARS was established. And 

from our evidence, SARS 

was established in 1991. 

Since the immediate 

protests are about ending 

SARS, we cannot take complaints of 

incidents that happened before SARS was 

established. Necessarily, we would be 

dealing with matters relating to police and 

SARS right from the year SARS was 

established. But that is not to say that if we 

have any compelling case in which there 

is substantial injustice or brutality, we 

won’t attend to it. There is no restriction in 

terms of time or scope but we are just 

looking at it in terms of the reality of how 

we can prosecute the cases. When you 

bring a case involving police brutality, 

spanning over 20 years, it may be that the 

person has retired from the force, passed 

on or that evidence has been compromised 

because of the length of time. We want to 

deal with matters that we can get sufficient 

evidence to reach a decision that would be 

pleasing to the complainant and the society. 

For now, there is no time frame. 

The demand for better policing 

necessitated the setting up of the 

panel. And when the panel concludes 

its job, it’s expected that some 

recommendations would form part of 

the ingredients for the reforms. What 

are the key reforms the police need? 

Two things are involved in the challenges 

we have with the police. The first is the 

regular absence of qualification and 

manpower. The entry point of enlistment 

into the police is primary school certificate. 

And that has thrown a challenge because 

the people who do the major work in the 

Police are the rank and file. They include 

the sergeants, corporals and constables. 

They are the ones that interact with the 

public most often. Because of their level of 

education, the only way they have learnt to 

relate with civilians is to impose force and 

use their position to intimidate, harass and 

subjugate suspects. The first step of reform 

is to ensure that the entry requirement is 

increased in such a way that we can be 

considering OND or some kind of 

educational background that would put the 

person in a position to appreciate the rights 

suspects have. The second thing is funding. 

Over the years, the police as an institution have 

been neglected. I believe the funds going into 

the Police Trust Fund, which is a percentage of 

the profit of all companies in Nigeria, should 

be enough to reform the police if there is 

willpower to do so. I believe that one of the 

challenges is transferred aggression from the 

police to civilians. It stems from the frustration 

they go through in the hands of their superiors. 

If you want to reform the police, they should 

be given improved welfare. When that is done, 

they would have no cause to extort Nigerians 

as a means of sustaining their livelihood. 

The shooting of Lekki protesters has 

added more work to the tribunal’s 

work… 

The events that happened at Lekki Toll Gate 

would increase the scope of our work. And I 

have stated in various statements I issued on 

the matter that we would take the shooting of 

protesters as part of the incidents to investigate. 

And we will give it a serious priority. Watching 

the video clips on social media was quite 

horrific and one was heartbroken seeing the 

bloodshed and the wickedness unleashed on 

peaceful protesters. It gladdens the heart that 

the governor of Lagos State has already given 

a directive for an investigation. We would 

combine the outcome of the investigation with 

the evidence we have on social media to 

determine the culpability of anyone that may 

have been involved in using live bullets against 

protesters at Lekki Toll Gate. My personal pain 

is that the centre has been the most peaceful, 

the most coordinated and the most 

enlightened. There was no reason 

whatsoever to have cut down the lives of 

anyone there. We are going to work with 

government and if there is any cause to 

indict anyone, we would not shy away from 

doing it. 

Continues on www.vanguardngr.com


#EndSars: Falz, 

Runtown, others 

vow to keep 

fighting 

A 

fter the unfortunate incident of Tuesday at the 

Lekki Toll Gate which led to widespread violent 

demonstrations across some parts of the country, the 

#EndSars protests have been outlawed by the federal 

government of Nigeria. Immediately after the 

President’s broadcast the steam seems to have drained 

out of many protesters but not some entertainers who 

have been leading the front-line of the struggle since 

inception. 

Falz, Runtown and a few others have vowed to 

continue the fight even just as many 

others have thrown in the towel after 

the president’s broadcast. In that 

breath, many entertainers have 

elected to make jokes and memes of 

the president’s speech, threatening 

to migrate to other countries. 

“Anyone making memes and 

jokes about running away is 

stupid and lost their damn minds. This 

is not over until it’s over,” Runtown 

fires. 

The leading lady of 

Nollywood and the 

“Lionheart” star Genevive 

Nnaji, has vowed to continue 

to donate to the course of 

uplifting Nigerians. 

“God bless you for your 

hardwork ladies. But 

please don’t stop. I’m tired 

of people dying because they 

can’t pay before service at 

hospitals. Bail money will be 

crucial now more than ever. 

I want to keep donating for 

it is clear our lives and 

well-being are in our 

hands, she tweets in 

reaction to a statement 

released by The Feminist 

Coalition on shifting 

their focus from 

supporting the protests 

to other means. 

Recording artiste and 

actor, Falz says, “ If they 

don’t have regard for 

the lives that we have 

lost these past few 

days I definitely do. 

And for their sake, I 

will never, never lose 

hope. Justice must be 

served. It is the very 

least they deserve,” 

he tweets. 

Popular Instagram comedian, Mr 

Macaroni also shares his thoughts on 

Twitter. 

He said, “ Too late to back down 

now. I refuse to be let down. I 

refuse to lose hope. Nigeria 

will be better. Wellmeaning 

Nigerian 

youths, now is the time 

to come together as 

one irrespective of 

tribe and religion 

and make plans 

on how to make 

Nigeria better 

for all of us. One 

voice.” 

Banky W is 

canvassing for a 

nationwide zoom 

conference. He 

has tweeted, “What 

do we think about 

having a nationwide 

zoom conference? We 

can share victims’ stories, 

talk about our protest 

experiences, and exchange 

ideas about the way forward. 

We can’t lose hope. It’s a 

marathon not a sprint. 

Police reform is just step 

one, the journey has just 

begun.” 

It would be recalled 

Falz and Runtown 

started the chain 

reaction of protests at 

the Lekki Toll Gate 

after the planned 

protest by Naira 

Marley was cut 

short by the Police 

who prevailed on 

him on the larger 

implication of the 

course. 

•Falz 

•Runtown 

•Genevieve 

Buhari’s speech reminds celebs 

of Jonathan 

Since the presidential speech of 

Thursday night, by President 

Muhammadu Buhari, following 

the outrage and massacre of Tuesday and 

Wednesday, many Nigerians have been 

left speechless, perplexed and utterly 

frustrated. They were not only shocked 

by the President’s total apathy to the 

Lekki Toll Gate inhuman incidents 

perpetrated by the military, but also 

miffed by the smug way he announced 

he would not tolerate further protests of 

the same nature. 

The President’s detached reaction to 

the “Lekki Toll Gate issue” has got some 

entertainers going down the memory 

lane to the era of former President 

Goodluck Jonathan. The first person to 

light up the memory flame is former 

Kcee’s manager, Soso Soberekon, who 

eulogizes the former president’s 

presidential virtues. 

According to a post on his 

Instagram page, Soso says there 

are questions Goodluck 

Jonathan needs to answer. He 

listed a number of questions 

to praise the former 

president’s fortitude in 

Two 

Nigerian 

entertainers, Omoniyi 

Makun popularly known 

as Yomi Casual, brother to 

celebrity comedian, AY 

and Nollywood actress and 

singer, Uche Elendu have 

suffered heavy losses in the 

wake of violent protests 

and looting that took place 

in Lagos on Wednesday 

after the Lekki Toll Gate 

shootings in Lagos on 

Tuesday night. 

The actress without 

mincing words stated that she 

is in shock and deeply pained 

as all her years of struggle and 

hard work had been taken from her. 

Uche Elendu took to her official 

Instagram page to lament her loss as 

her shop was vandalized and looted. 

. 

She wrote: “They took all 

my years of struggle and 

hard work from me, 

everything. I thank 

God for life. 

Posterity will 

judge all of 

dealing with the citizens. 

He writes: “GEJ needs to explain to 

Nigerians how he managed to pay fuel 

subsidy and yet sold fuel at N86 per liter.? 

“- GEJ needs to explain to Nigerians 

how he managed to swallow our insults, 

criticism and protests without using the 

military and DSS to hunt us down ? 


how he managed to handle our group 

protests and yearnings without calling us 

terrorists? 


how he managed to control our borders 

and yet a bag of rice was sold for 8k.? 


how he managed to build 17 federal 

universities in 17 states in Nigeria? 


how he managed to build almajiri schools 

in all the Norther Local governments? 

“GEJ needs to explain to Nigerians how 

he managed to hold $1 to N165 fo 4yrs 

Yomi Casual, Uche Elendu lose millions to looters 

•Iretiola 

you. E shock me ooooo #endsars 

#endbadgovernance.” 

Omoniyi Makun alias Yomi Casual 

was a bit stoic about his loss and took 

it like a man. He said he woke up on 

Thursday to learn of the immense 

damages that had come his way. 

“Woke up to this and the first 

thing that came to my mind is “It’s 

already too late to educate the 

hoodlums that this fight is for 

all of us and not at each other. 

If you are in Surulere please 

stay safe , Surulere stores are 

being looted by hoodlums.. 

Safety first,” he lamented 

His shop is located on 

popular Bode Thomas 

Street in Surulere and 

almost every shop and 

office was looted by 

hoodlums in the name 

of the #EndSars 

protest. 

•Uche 

Why I never voted for this 

govt —Iretiola Doyle 

Nollywood actress, producer and 

presenter, Iretiola Doyle of “Tinsel” 

fame has taken a swipe at the Buhari 

government by revealing two reasons she 

didn’t vote for the government, in an 

Instagram post. She said she could not 

come to terms with voting for Buhari as he 

didn’t cut the picture of the president that 

fits her reasoning. 

She said, “I didn’t vote this govt in for 2 

major reasons: 1. I couldn’t in all good 

conscience vote for anyone who 

had been actively involved in 

running state affairs over the 

last 2 decades and 2, I was 

desirous of someone young, 

vibrant and in tune with current 

world events and Nigeria’s 

place in all of it. When in our 

typical knee jerk reaction to 

national issues combined with 

our desperation to remove a 

leadership that was no less 

incompetent he emerged winner; 

I was willing to suspend my 

disbelief in spite of my 


how he managed to push Nigeria’s 

economy to be number 1 in Africa. 


how he fought Ebola without closing 

Schools, Banks, Courts, Mosques, 

Churches and banning weddings/ 

gatherings... And without foreign 

intervention.. 

“GEJ, we need answers.” 

Since he made the post many 

entertainers have done the same on 

their pages. 

•Jonathan 

•Yomi 

reservations.” 

Continuing she added, “In the face 

of growing evidence, a tiny part of me 

still gave the benefit of doubt, mindful 

that we live in the age of 

disinformation, focusing my attention 

mainly on the trickle of reports of his 

“great strides in infrastructure & 

poverty alleviation”, believing that 

when the dust settles posterity will be 

kind to this President and his 

administration. But THIS? Nah... Last 

night, every illusion I may have had 

has been shattered. I am forced to reexamine 

everything I thought I knew. 

I am bereft and totally horrified at 

the magnitude of what Nigeria is up 

against. And by that I don’t mean 1 man 

or 1 administration but a ruling class 

that will do anything; including 

devour their young while the world 

watches to maintain the filthy status 

quo. We’ve been shown the extent of 

their might; they have no inkling as to 

the full array of the superpowers of the 

people when they speak with one 

voice. We. Will. Not. Forget.”


EDO JAIL BREAK: 

Fears, robberies 

as escaped rapists, 

serial killers flood state 

•1,818 prisoners still on the run 

•'Fleeing inmates awaiting execution, serving jail terms, standing trial' 

By Ozioruva Aliu 

& Omeiza Ajayi 

F 

o 

prison 

l l o w i n g 

lastMonday’s 

break 

in Benin City, 

residents are now at the 

mercy of armedrobbers as many robbery 

cases were recorded in various parts of 

the city in thelast five days. 

The prison break,which resulted in the 

escape of 1,993 prisoners from two 

correctionalfacilities, made the state to be 

flooded with escapee prisoners, who 

arebelieved to be responsible for the 

attacks. 

Ever since theincident happened, robbery 

incidents have been recorded in some parts 

of Beninincluding Ekhuean, Upper 

Sakponba, GRA, and First East Circular. 

For instance, lastThursday, a police 

officer was disposed of his service pistol and 

uniform along Reservation Road. 

The police officer inmufti carrying a bag 

containing his uniform and service pistol 

was forced tohand over his bag to a group 

of young men in an unmarked white 

ToyotaSienna. 

A few metres away theydragged the 

handbag of a fruit seller along the road 

while displaying hiswares. 

Last Thurday, asalesgirl in one of the 

business centres in GRA was also robbed of 

her phoneand handbag in a commercial 

bus by the driver and his conductor. 

Sentenced 

Hoodlums who hijackedwhat had been 

peaceful #EndSars protest had released the 

inmates at Oko Prison and another facility 

called White House on Sapele Road. 

Of this number, as of press time, 1818 were 

still at large while 163 have either been 

recaptured or returned willingly. 

Specifically, six were gathered to have 

returned. 

However, among those still at large is a 

notorious killer cultist who is also a serial 

killer. 

Sunday Vanguard learnt that he was 

sentenced to death in 2018. 

His fellow cult members were said to have 

held a welcome party for him at an 

undisclosed location in Benin. 

He was sighted in a short video on social 

media, washing his gun while being hailed 

by hisgang members. 

Besides him are other hardened 

criminals who had kidnapped prominent 

persons like theManaging Director of Ogba 

Zoo a few years ago. They killed three 

policem enduring the operation. 

Also among the escapees are some 

suspects, who a few months ago kidnapped 

and murdered a legal practitioner, 

Osiobase Omo-Iyoha. They buried him in 

a shallow grave behindtheir house. 

Also on the run are the suspected killers 

of a100-level University of Benin student, 

Mary Uwaila Omozuwa, who was allegedly 

gang-raped and murdered when she went 

to read in a church close to her residence. 

•Prisoners, aided by hoodlooms, scaling the fence of 

Oko Prison, Benin-City 

D-Day activities 

Indications that all was not well with 

thedemonstrations emerged last Sunday, a 

day before the prison break when the 

protests became violent in several parts of 

Benin. 

There were reports that protesters were 

harassing and extorting motorists, setting 

bonfires across the state capital, which left 

many people stranded forhours. 

Some people who were trapped in the 

ensuing traffic, and those who tried to trek 

home, were robbed of their belongings. 

Others were reportedly raped. 

By Mondaymorning, as 

early as 6:30 am, all the major 

roads and adjoining streets 

across the state capital were 

blocked, parents who were 

taking their children to school 

could not proceed and schools 

were hurriedly closed. It was a 

harvest of bonfires across the 

state capital. 

At the same time, a crowd 

had started gathering by the 

Central Hospital Junction in 

frontof the Correctional Centre, 

Sapele Road, mounting 

bonfires 

and 

chanting#EndSARS slogans 

with many oblivious of what 

would happen thereafter. 

After the hoodlums 

believed they had gained enough numerical 

strength, they surged forward and began 

their destructive activities. 

They pulled down the signpost and the 

Also on the 

run are the 

suspected killers 

of a100-level 

University of 

Benin student, 

Mary Uwaila 

Omozuwa, who 

was allegedly 

gang-raped and 

murdered 

security post in front of the building and 

started throwing stones and whatever 

objects available at the facility. 

The sentry was easily overwhelmed while 

the back-up started shooting from the rear 

of the prison building. In what looked like 

a coordinated attack, while the protesters 

were shouting in front of the gate, some of 

the prisoners had found their wayto the top 

of the prison fence and their sight further 

emboldened the crowd and they ran towards 

the gate to help the prisoners jump down. 

Mission accomplished,the protesters took 

their protest to the Oba Market Police 

Station which was ransacked and its 

armoury looted with young 

boys publicly brandishing 

gunstaken from the police 

station. 

At that point,those still in 

doubt on the motive of the 

protesters were convinced 

that theprotesters had a 

different agenda from the 

#EndSARS demonstrations 

as several pump action guns 

were brandished openly. 

Thereafter, theystarted 

chanting “Oko is next” and 

proceeded to Oko 

Correctional Centre whichis 

about five kilometers from 

Ring Road where the 

protesters were. 

Sunday Vanguard learnt 

that the management of Oko 

facility had immediately called 

forreinforcement from sister security 

agencies particularly the police andmilitary 

but the support did not come. 

.uk 

The prison arms guards kept the 

protesters at bay for over four hours while 

they hoped for the much-needed back-up. 

The protesters kept surging forward from 

the gate until the prison personnel 

exhausted their ammunition and the 

protesters struck. 

Coordinated 

It was gathered that while the protesters 

were outside, the prisoners were already 

rioting inside the prison, an indication that 

the attacks were coordinated and some of 

theinmates were aware of what was going 

to happen. 

The protesters, having overpowered the 

armed guards, gained entry into the facility, 

vandalised and looted all the shops on the 

sides of the road leading into the building. 

They destroyed all the vehicles parked 

outside the residential buildings inside the 

facility. They ransacked homes and offices 

carting away valuables including 

electronics, generating sets, sewing 

machines and other valuables that could 

not be quantified. 

A sourcein Oko narrated thus to 

Sunday Vanguard: “It was a harrowing day 

for all of usin Oko. We have heard that they 

went to the Sapele Road Centre and were 

anticipating they would come to Oko and 

we quickly called for reinforcement from 

the police and the army which never came. 

If we had reinforcement, we would have 

been able to repel them because we held 

them for over four hours until we ran out of 

ammunition. We tried to tell them that we 

share their grief about police harassment 

but all those fell on deaf ears. 

”They came in their thousands and 

their mission was to free the inmates. They 

have been communicating with the inmates 

because even before they broke into the 

facility, the inmates were already rioting 

inside the place. We are lucky we didn’t lose 

any of our men but some of them are 

critically ill as a result of beatings and 

machete cuts they received from the 

hoodlums.” 

Hijack of 

EndSARSprotest 

Narrating what happened, a protester, 

who pleaded anonymity said: “We had 

gathered ourselves from Ekheuan Road, 

armed with Nigerian flags and our plan as 

was being done atthe Ugbowo axis of the 

city and Lekki Toll Gate was to march 

peacefully to Ring Road, after which we 

would take over the road. We had already 

warned our peoplenot to harass road users. 

While we were marching to Ring Road close 

to Oba Market, we saw people running 

towards our direction and on enquiry, we 

weretold that the Benin Prison had been 

broken and prisoners set free and Oba 

Market police station sacked. We saw some 

of the prisoners finding their way,one said 

he had been there for 37 years. Another said 

26 years and some others were asking for 

directions to find their way. Immediately, 

we mobilised ourmembers and went back 

to Ekheuan Road.” 

Awaiting execution, 

serving jail terms, 

standing trial 

On implication of the jailbreak, Director of 

Press and Public Relations, Ministry of 

Interior, Mohammmed Manga, said some of 

the escaped inmates pose threat to lives and 

property. 

He said: “It must be reiterated that the 

custodial centres are high-security zones. The 

primary duty of the institution is to keep 

custody of convicted criminals and awaiting 

trial suspects. This comes before their 

reformation. It is integral to the justice 

administration system. 

“The integrity of the custodial centres is 

therefore fundamental to justice. Inmates of 

the centres are expected to pay their dues to 

society, undergo reformation and be 

reintegrated into society as changed-for-better 

persons. When this process is disrupted in any 

way, the integrity of justice and societal 

renewal is subverted, with dire and 

unimaginable consequences. 

“Most of the inmates held at the centres are 

convicted criminals serving terms for various 

criminal offences, awaiting execution or 

standing trial for violent crimes. Their being 

let loose gravely imperils lives and property. 

It is an unacceptable and intolerable threat to 

national and communal security. 

Government’s primary duty is to protect lives 

and property and keep the people safe. We 

shall not be shirking from our responsibility 

and we shall not disappoint the people.”





Viewpoint 

By Mai Moustapha Muhammad 

It has been 40 days since we lost our 

quintessential royal father, Mai Umar 

Mustapha Aliyu Biu. 

Death comes but once. It is inevitable and 

inescapable. It is a reality that evokes sympathy 

even if the dead was not a friend. 

However, when the dead is not only your leader 

for decades but also a pleasant and compassionate 

with whom one shared some of the most cherished 

moments in life, no one but you can explain the 

emptiness caused by such death and the pain of 

putting pen on paper while writing a tribute for 

such a loved.The only solace is that while feeling 

the pain for the loss of such a very distinguished 

personality, who had used experience, tact and 

extraordinary diplomacy and intelligence to rule 

over a people so significant in the Nigerian State, 

the eulogies that have continued to trail his passage 

and legacies he bequeathed, are soul-lifting and 

heartwarming, culminating into a force that 

propels me to remember our Emir, a father, a 

unifier and most importantly a bridge that 

connected and fortified the bond which had glued 

and kept the entire people of Biu Emirate together. 

With a strong faith in Almighty Allah, the Most 

Beneficent, the Most Merciful, and believing in 

By Babajide Komolafe 

lobally, there is quest for new and bold 

Gmeasures on the part of policy makers 

to reverse the adverse effects of the COVID-19 

pandemic on the national economy and welfare 

of the people. 

This quest is reflected in the recommendations 

of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its 

World Economic Outlook, October 2020. 

“The path ahead will require skillful domestic 

policies that manage trade-offs between lifting 

near-term activity and addressing medium-term 

challenges. 

“Besides combating the deep near-term 

recession, policymakers have to address complex 

challenges to place economies on a path of higher 

productivity growth while ensuring that gains 

are shared evenly and debt remains sustainable,” 

the IMF said. This is even more urgent in Nigeria. 

The nation’s economic activities as measured by 

the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been 

projected by the IMF to contract by 4.4 percent 

in 2020. More people, about five million 

Nigerians are expected to fall into poverty, due to 

widespread unemployment, rising prices of goods 

and services triggered by 27 percent naira 

By Emmanuella Oyinkro Ibinabo 

he battle for the soul of the Delta State 

TGovernment House for 2023 in recent time 

is leaving no one in doubt as to what the election 

year holds for the oil-rich ‘Big Heart’ State and 

her people as so much mudslinging are being 

thrown in the air targeting just one man. 

As the clock ticks, the political undercurrent is 

becoming so disturbing with so many 

subterranean moves are being made by the 

gladiators to undo one another, some even by 

those who are serving in government and are 

supposedly bound by the principled position of 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, in his instruction that 

none of his cabinet members must openly engage 

in politicking for 2023 gubernatorial ambition, 

at least for now. 

When he started his consultations to party 

chieftains and ardent followers of the Peoples 

Democratic Party (PDP), across the state—crisscrossing 

all the local governments and wards in 

a very weird manner vis-à-vis his subsequent 

acceptance by the people, one may not be in 

doubt that Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi’s 

By Sam Vincent 

he universal declaration of human rights 

Tincludes the right to life, right to 

privacy,health and equality. There is also the 

right to freedom of expression, freedom of 

speech and freedom of being discriminated 

against by law or other unpleasant acts of 

injustice such as violence through torture. But 

most parts of Africa continue to violate human 

rights. 

In the case of Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual and 

Transgender (LGBT) in Nigeria and other parts 

of Africa, a stigma surrounds the minds of 

many individuals that lesbianism or gay is a 

taboo that needs cleansing. 

Many people with such sexual orientation 

often suffer humiliation, torture, human rights 

By Cleric E. Alaowei 

ingsley Otuaro embarked on several 

Kpeople oriented programmes to 

change the fortunes of Nigerians across 

board, especially in the Niger Delta region. 

He used his divine charisma and messianic 

leadership qualities to douse the renewed 

oil crisis in the region. At the wake of the 

militants struggle being championed by the 

Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) in 2016, 

Otuaro put his position at risk in liaising 

with all critical stakeholders in the region 

for the purpose of restoring peace to the 

volatile region. 

To this end, the Delta State Government 

led by Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa in collaboration 

with the Federal Government of Nigeria 

setup a Delta State Advocacy Committee 

Against Vandalism of Oil and Gas Facilities 

in 2016. The committee was headed by 

Kingsley Otuaro who used his Godly wisdom 

to bring all contending parties to a round 

Mai Umar Mustapha Aliyu Biu: A Tribute 

•Mai Umar Mustapha 

the fact that every mortal must have a taste of 

death, I remember a Royal Father, our Emir who 

until a couple of weeks ago, ruled over a people 

with love and compassion, a people whose history 

transcends centuries but have continued to live in 

peace and harmony. 

Even in death, a good person still lives. One 

could shed tears that he’s gone or one can smile 

that he has lived. For the late Emir of Biu in Borno 

State, Alhaji Mai Umar Mustapha Aliyu (1940- 

2020), it’s still a mixed feeling to many. Very few 

mortals were so mourned in the history of the 

Emirate where he ruled for many years. An 

Emirate that grew in leaps and bounds due to the 

leadership style of a highly revered royal father 

whose death left a people in large communities 

where some are still in a numbing sense of the 

irreparable loss. 

For a very long while, the people of Biu Emirate 

in Borno State, Nigeria, had not seen the kind of 

growth and development that was witnessed 

during the reign of the late emir. Despite the threats 

by insurgents and their negative exploits across 

neighboring communities, Biu, with help of Allah, 

had remained safe and enjoyed a conducive 

atmosphere in which the people have a flourishing 

business climate and peaceful learning 

environment. The late emir’s reign will remain in 

History as an epoch which saw Biu becoming 

host to a university where students, researchers 

and other academic greats from across the 

country, converged for higher academic pursuits. 

Therefore, to reiterate that the late emir had 

lived an exemplary and dignified life, would not 

be out of place. He lived a life worthy of emulation, 

DELTA 2023: Why we back Olorogun 

personality will be attacked or banana-peel 

thrown on his way in the form of distractions by 

those envious of him. His political outings— 

consultations and general acceptance in the 

State have made him the most envied by jealous 

minds within the political system. 

Detractors are often too jealous to be 

reasonable; they are too envious to make sense 

in whatever direction they may choose and this 

is the realities on ground in the Delta political 

space, which also accounts for their abysmal 

failures too. 

If distractions do not come in the way of 

Olorogun Gbagi in the course of his growing 

political popularity in the State, it may be 

considered a proof to the fact that he is not 

making any impact in his political sojourn; it 

may be seen that his politics have no teeth to 

bite. But, as it stands now that is not the case; the 

most competent man and front-runner for the 

Office of Governor of the ‘Big Heart’ State is 

being attacked. 

Nonetheless, Deltans are happy to note that 

Olorogun’s efforts at becoming the next Governor 

of the oil-rich State is gathering momentum and 

righteously too. 

When the former Minister of State for 

Education loaded truckloads of rice, vegetable 

oil, and sundry food items and distributed same 

to Deltans cushioning the effects of lock down in 

their domestic economies, where were the neoactivists 

today who have formed a wall 

destruction round a God-made-man who of 

course they cannot destroy? We know, betrayal is 

as old as man. 

With a giant stride, the business mogul and 

entrepreneur of repute has uplifted so many 

families from poverty and that, he is still doing to 

the astonishment of those to whom he is a thorn 

in their flesh. Olorogun Gbagi is a creator of 

ideas, be it in commerce, politics, education, 

business, security... and these are virtues that pitch 

him against people who think the only option 

left for them is to pull down the man already 

a life spent in the service of Almighty Allah, for his 

people, for the entire Borno State and Nigeria. 

Alhaji Mai Umar Mustapha Aliyu who died 

was blessed with a large family. He had four wives, 

over 70 children and 200 grandchildren, which 

showed that leadership and maintaining an 

equitable equilibrium in his daily affairs, were 

deeply entrenched right from his immediate 

milieu. 

The great monarch died at age 80 on Monday, 

the 14th of September, 2020 at the Federal 

Medical Center in Gombe after a brief illness. He 

was born on 9th November, 1940 in Biu and 

attended Kwaya Kusar Junior Primary School 

between 1947 and 1949 and Biu Central Primary 

School from 1950 to 1953. Later, he attended 

Hausari Primary School in Maiduguri between 

1953 and 1955.The late Emir had contributed to 

the development of Borno State as he had worked 

as a Veterinary attendant (1958), Member 

representing Biu Emirate at the Borno State 

Council of Arts and Culture, and was District Head 

of Biu town from 1975 to 1989 when the Royal 

stool became vacant and he ascended the throne. 

*Mai Moustapha, Executive Director, FCMB 

PENSIONS and former Chairman of Biu 

Forum, writes from Abuja. 

Continues on www.vanguardngr.com 

Lagos Economic Summit 2020: Leveraging Partnership for Post-Covid growth, devt 

devaluation. Meanwhile governments at every 

level are contending with steep fall in revenue 

prompted by the sharp decline in crude oil prices 

caused by the impact of the pandemic on global 

crude oil demand. 

The need to reduce the negative impact of these 

development and revive economic growth has 

led to rapid deployment of some policy measures 

by the Federal Government and some state 

governments. However, most of these measures, 

especially at the state level are short term in nature, 

whilst what is required is new set of policy 

framework that will provide the impetus for 

economic growth and development in the new 

digitally driven world expected to emerge in the 

post Covid-19 era. 

The Lagos Economic Summit initiative 

This prompted the Lagos State Government 

to revive its annual economic summit, which was 

last held in 2015. 

Tagged ‘Ehingbeti,’ the summit which started 

in 2000, is acknowledged as the first 

institutionalised economic forum by any state in 

Nigeria. Ehingbeti is a public-private sector 

roundtable that started as a collaborative effort 

between the Lagos State Government and 

Business Club Ikeja. 

Ehigbeti 2020 is scheduled to hold virtually 

from November 10 to 12, with the theme ‘For a 

Greater Lagos: Setting the Tone for The Next 

Decade’. 

Speaking on timeliness of the 2020 summit in 

the light of the challenges of the COVID-19 

pandemic, Chairman of Citi Bank Nigeria, Yemi 

Cadoso, who is also a Co-Chair of Ehingbeti 

2020, Ehingbeti 2020, said: “It is timely that this 

happening and I say that because Covid-19 and 

its aftermath has wreaked havoc in economies 

around the world and we are no exception to that 

and when it going to end nobody knows. 

“All we know is that countries around the world, 

pay dearly from being on lockdown and for any 

lockdown, you have a corresponding loss in Gross 

Domestic Product (GDP). With the challenges 

ahead and Lagos being the economic nerve 

center of the country, there is a large responsibility 

to ensure that they protect the citizens of the state 

and this is something that can’t happen unless it 

The case against LGBT in Nigeria 

violation and risk 14 years jail sentence or 

face mob justice if arrested.Some of the victims 

are killed. The Nigerian law against LGBT 

clearly provides punishment in form of prison 

sentence. In this light, people of such orientation 

do not come out for fear of being humiliated. 

The general public also frowns and metes out 

jungle justice on LGBT if caught. Some victims 

are beaten to death. It is high time this law is 

revisited to align with what obtains in the 

western world. So many of our youth out there 

are running away to the western world where 

they are free to choose sex partners. 

Lately, LGBT issues have been making 

headlines in Nigeria. In 2018, the police 

stormed a birthday party, believing it to be an 

LGBT night and arrested 57 people. The case 

is still on trial. It is unclear how many of them 

were released, but few could not justify their 

sexual orientation due to their position at the 

time of arrest. 

The likes of Austin Igbinovia, Juliana Isedor 

are on the run. The case of Juliana Isedor was 

reopened as it was alleged that she escaped 

police detention in Aba, Abia State after being 

caught in a scenario that led to the death of 

her partner, Jennifer Nosa. She was arrested 

by a police patrol team at Umuodi Street, off 

Ohanku road, and was being detained in an 

Aba police station. On October 15, 2017, she 

is planned for. 

“So, it is a great opportunity for we in the 

private sector to come together with the 

government again to show what Lagos is truly 

made off and show what Lagos can truly do in 

the most difficult and challenging circumstances 

of which we are in.” 

Roadmap for More Prosperity 

Noting that the Lagos Economic summit, was 

birthed and has always been driven by 

partnership between the Lagos State 

Government and the private sector, Mr. Sam 

Egube, the Lagos State Commissioner for 

Economic Planning and Budget, said that the 

goal of the 2020 summit is to design a resilient 

roadmap to more prosperity for Lagos state and 

then to facilitate the spirit of sharing and cocreation 

that can happen when people work 

together. “What Lagos state government is trying 

to do is stimulate contribution from the private 

sector, get them interested in the governance of 

the state and lead the way in terms of the 

outcomes”, he said. 

Continues on www.vanguardngr.com 

accepted generally by the people of Delta State 

to be their next Governor. Because with him, the 

people see a greater, better, more fulfilling and 

more promising future. 

There is a barefooted conspiracy to pull down 

the man generally described as a pillar of support 

for well-meaning Nigerians particularly Deltans 

by those who he has helped in the past. But 

incidentally, not even a string of Gbagi’s hair 

they can pull because he is the God’s chosen one 

for the seat and nobody can destroy him. And 

surely, the insurrection of the wicked has been 

defeated. 

For those of us in the riverine area of Delta 

State, otherwise known as Delta South 

Senatorial District, it is either Gbagi for 2023 or 

nobody. He is the most qualified out of the legion 

of contenders be it in or outside of Government 

and should be allowed to achieve what he has 

set for himself. Before the people of Delta State, 

nobody can pull down the former Minister of 

State for Education because God has structured 

him to be indestructible over the years. 

•Ibinabo writes from Port Harcourt 

was said to have attacked a female police 

officer and escaped.Isedor escaped from police 

detention three weeks before court hearing in 

her case. Many residents of Umuodi Street, 

including Ejike Emmanuel said they had been 

suspicious of the two ladies since they came to 

live in the area, stressing that they have never 

seen them associate with men. 

They were afraid that the ladies may have 

introduced other girls in the area to LGBT. 

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) 

in Abia State, Superintendent Geoffrey 

Ogbonna, was unavailable for comments as 

of the time of writing this report. However, a 

senior police officer who spoke on the 

condition of anonymity, confirmed the 

incident. 

OTUARO, PEACE AMBASSADOR: Why he is crowned best Niger Delta deputy governor? 

table for the purpose of resolving the 

skirmishes. 

Other members of the Committee are: 

Dr. Chris Ekiyor (Secretary), Hon. Asupa 

Forteta (Member), Barr. Bosin Ebikeme 

(Member), Hon. Kelly Pinawou (Member), 

Chief Boro Opudu (Member), Hon. Mofe 

Pirah (Member), Hon. David Tonwe 

(Member), Chief Dan Ekpebide (Co-Opted 

Member) and Mr. Smart Asekutu (Co- 

Opted Member). 

In line with some of the demands of the 

aggrieved youths in the region, he 

recommended to the Federal Government 

for the award of the oil pipeline contract to 

the indigenes of the oil producing 

communities as well as employments of 

youths from the host communities as Oil 

Pipeline Surveillance Guards. Not only has 

the Federal Government considered and 

approved his recommendations in addition 

with other sundry demands of the Niger Delta 

people, it has also collapsed its (Federal 

Government) delegation headed by the 

Minister for State of Petroleum, Mr. Ibe 

Kachikwu to the region in the Otuaro’s led 

Advocacy Committee. 

In a similar vein, the Delta State 

Advocacy Committee also work in 

consonant with the Pan Niger Delta Forum 

(PANDEF) for the latter to present its 

historic 16-point demand bothering on true 

federalism, resource control, ownership of 

oil blocks, immediate commencement for 

academic activities of the Nigerian 

Maritime University, Okerenkoko e.t.c to 

the Federal Government of Nigeria in 

November 1st, 2016. 

In commending Otuaro’s effort in 

bringing peace to the region through the 

Advocacy Committee, Okowa said, the effort 

also brought peace to the entire nation. : 

“Fortunately, in the past six (6) months, I 

must say that resources have improved due 

to the peace achieved. With more resources, 

we can touch more lives”, Okowa had said 

Otuaro also used his office and his divine 

wisdom to resolve the militants crisis in 

Ondo, Ogun and Lagos States. While at the 

peak of insecurity in these affected states 

through the activities of armed youth at the 

river belt, some of the armed youth invaded 

a Model College at Igbonla, Epe in Lagos 

State and kidnapped six (6) final year 

students. 

•Alaowei, a public affairs analyst, writes 

from Eseimogbene 

Continues on www.vanguardngr.com

SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 25, 2020, PAGE 25 , 

Three relationships that were meant to last forever – Where did she go wrong? 

Once beaten twice shy 

doesn’t necessarily 

ring true in 

relationships. The fact that 

you got your fingers burnt 

doesn’t dissuade you from 

dancing close to fire. Segi, 

now in her early fifties first got 

married when she was just 21, 

but that lasted barely a few 

years. According to her, “I’d 

been with my second 

husband, Samson for six 

years when he left me for one 

of my younger friends. At still 

under 30, I suddenly found 

myself a single parent looking 

after a young son and 

struggling to make ends meet. 

“I moved from Epe to Lagos 

to be near my family, but I was 

so lonely I wondered if I’d ever 

meet another man to share 

my life with. Six months later, 

I got myself a job in a big 

manufacturing company 

where I ran into Paul in the 

office canteen. He’d come to 

visit a close colleague of mine 

and we somehow clicked. He 

was a couple of years younger 

than me and very handsome! 

He worked in computer 

software and bowled me over 

with his generosity and highflying 

lifestyle. He was so 

charming and easy-going 

that when he asked me to 

move in with him, I jumped 

at the chance of finding 

happiness again. I couldn’t 

wait for him to come home in 

the evenings so we could relax 

and enjoy each other’s 

company. 

“When I discovered I was 

expecting a baby, I felt my life 

was complete. I was four 

months pregnant when Paul 

suggested we get married. 

My joy knew no bounds. We 

decided the wedding would 

take place after our baby was 

born. As soon as our son was 

born, we spent every free 

moment planning the 

wedding. Paul kept telling me 

he wanted the best party 

money could buy. I was so 

busy trying on dresses and 

conferring with the wedding 

planner I hardly noticed when 

he first lost interest. Then I 

realised I was making all the 

decisions on my own. When I 

asked him for his opinion, he’d 

say he had a lot of work to do 

and leave me to it. He began 

spending more time away in 

Ibadan where their head 

office was located, but I just 

thought he needed a breather 

from the stress of work and 

wedding plans. As the 

wedding drew closer, he 

became increasingly 

reserved. He said he was 

worried we’d spent too much 

money on the wedding and we 

were a bit short of money, but 

I put it down to nerves. I was 

so in love with him I couldn’t 

face the idea that he was 

having second thoughts. 

“Every last detail had been 

finished with a month to go. 

I’d just picked up my wedding 

dress when Paul and I had 

another row about our 

finances. When I asked him 

why there was nothing left in 

the joint account we created 

#EndSars: Time to cease 

fire — Adelami 

By ‘Tunde Oso 

A 

former governorship 

aspirant in Ondo State 

, Chief Olayide Adelami, has 

called for ceasefire in the 

ongoing violence that has 

trailed the #EndSars protests 

across the country. 

Adelami, in a statement 

released by his media aide, 

Rahaman Yusuf, expressed 

regrets that the once peaceful 

agitation has been hijacked 

by hoodlums masquerading 

as #EndSars protesters. 

He condemned the 

shooting of peaceful 

protesters at Lekki in Lagos, 

leading to loss of lives and 

property. 

“The shooting of peaceful 

protesters at the Lekki tollgate 

by men in uniform, as alleged, 

is barbaric and should be 

condemned by every 

Nigerian. My heart goes out 

to the families of those affected 

and I hope they find closure 

in due time.” 

Adelami also condemned 

the large scale destruction, 

attacks and looting of media 

houses and private properties 

on allegations that they were 

owned by the National Leader 

of the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola 

Ahmed Tinubu, urging 

Lagosians to beware of third 

force elements, whose motive 

is to destabilize the polity 

through the propagation of 

falsehood. 

He added that attacks on 

police personnel, formations 

and facilities, traditional 

institutions, public facilities, 

buildings and properties by 

hoodlums were unwarranted, 

despicable and saddening. 

He specifically described as 

worrisome the burning and 

looting of the state secretariat 

of the All Progressives 

Congress, APC, and the 

Peoples Democratic Party, 

PDP, office of the Special Anti- 

Robbery Squad, and other 

police facilities in Ondo State. 

for the wedding, he accused 

me of not trusting him and 

stormed off to his trip to 

Ibadan. He was due back the 

next day but when I didn’t hear 

from him for a couple of days 

I was worried. His mobile 

went straight to voice mail. I 

left messages he never 

acknowledged. Finally in 

desperation, I called his 

mother. We’d always got on 

well, but she told me blunt that 

Paul had rang to say he wasn’t 

coming back. I was stunned. 

I sat and cried for hours. Days 

passed with still no word from 

him. When the kids asked 

when he was coming home, I 

could only sit and weep. 

“After we split up, Paul’s 

family cut all contact with me. 

My own parents tried to 

comfort me the best way they 

knew how. We hadn’t always 

been that close, but they said I 

was better off without him. 

By Ochuko Akuopha 

LEAGUE of Women 

Voters of Nigeria, 

NILOWV, has urged the 

Federal Government to 

commence immediate 

judicial investigation into last 

Tuesday's shooting of 

unarmed #EndSARS 

protesters at Lekki toll gate 

L-R: Programme Manager, Civil Society Legislative 

Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Salawudeen Hashim ; Chief 

Executive Officer, CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa - 

Rafsanjani; Programme Officer, Bertha Ogbimi;and Board 

Member, CISLAC, Adesina Oke, at the inter-agency 

roundtable forum on security sector reforms in Nigeria 

ogranised CISLAC in colloboration with Transparency 

International in Lagos 

AS Abia State 

government 

prepares to conduct election 

into the 17 councils of the 

state, two major groups in 

Ukwa East Local 

Government Area have 

pledged support for the 

candidacy of Honorable 

Chuks Wabara as 

Chairman. 

In separate statements in 

Aba, the groups stated that 

Wabara has the credentials 

and capacity to turn around 

the fortunes of the council 

in the December 19 polls. 

Ndoki Elites Club and 

Ukwa East Professionals 

They thought he’d taken 

advantage of me, but nothing 

they said seemed to help. I did 

rely on them for support 

though. They were all I had 

really. A lot of our friends 

obviously found it difficult to 

speak to us both, so in the end, 

even some of my close friends 

deserted me. 

“I stayed in the house for 

weeks and refused to go out. I 

just couldn’t bear the thought 

of facing everyone. I felt like 

such a fool and I was 

convinced everyone was 

laughing at me. I’d left it up to 

Paul and his family to tell 

everyone the wedding was off. 

I couldn’t face the 

humiliation. Also, I had the 

children to think of and I 

couldn’t let them down. I felt 

so bitter and angry inside, but 

I knew I had to sort myself out 

if I was ever going to get 

through this dark period of my 

life. 

“In the end, my survival 

mode kicked in. I made a fiveyear 

survival plan for my life. 

The first step was find a better 

job now my mother’d agreed 

to help with the kids. I also 

did some petty trading on the 

side. I started saving a bit of 

money and eventually bought 

a shop in a government 

owned market which I used 

as a food canteen. Shortly 

after, I ran into Mabel, a 

childhood friend and we 

picked up our friendship 

where we left off. She was a 

single parent like me whose 

last relationship had been as 

disastrous as mine. We hit it 

off and when we saw a big ice 

making shop for sale, 

complete with a functioning 

generating set, we jumped at 

the chance of buying it. We 

were determined to prove we 

could be a success without 

men. Two years later, we 

diversified into setting up a 

big fast-food restaurant. We 

had to convince two bank 

managers to lend us the 

money, but now we are the 

proud owners of a thriving 

business and it’s us who are 

giving the orders!”. 

And her advice to those 

suffering from their partners’ 

betrayal!? “Never give up”, 

she said firmly. “And always 

be the best at everything you 

do. If someone lets you down, 

you have to keep going to 

prove you can do without 

them. The first few weeks after 

Paul left were devastating, but 

if I had just carried on feeling 

sorry for myself, where would 

I be now? 

“I’d still love to find someone 

to share my life with. I do think 

there’s someone special out 

there – I just have to find him. 

I now have two businesses to 

take care of and my life has 

meaning again. You have to 

stay positive because you 

never know what’s around the 

corner!” 

Who has more 

fun? (Humour) 

Q: Why are married women 

heavier than single women? 

A: Single women come 

home see what’s in the fridge 

and go to bed. Married 

women come home, see 

what’s in the bed and go to the 

fridge!. 

Women’s Response 

to Size (Humour) 

3 inches: Very unsatisfying. 

4 inches: I’ve had bigger 

5 inches: Wish it was slightly 

longer 

6 inches: Perfect 

7 inches: Love it 

8 inches: Wow! But 

struggled a bit 

9 inches: Manageable but 

felt stuffed 

10 inches: No way! 

This was customer feedback 

on supermarket sandwiches. 

What did you really think they 

were talking about! 

Lekki: Women group tasks FG on judicial investigation 

and bring those who 

authorised the actions to book. 

NILOWV, in a statement by 

its President, Dr. Esther 

Uduehi condemned the 

action, saying the "unarmed 

youths were carrying the 

Nigerian flag, singing the 

National Anthem when they 

were being fired at leading to 

the death of many protesters. 

These youths were peacefully 

calling for good governance 

and an end to police brutality 

which is their fundamental 

human right." 

The statement added: "The 

protest was very peaceful and 

harmless. If government had 

taken steps to provide early 

security for the peaceful 

protesters, the protest would 

not have been hijacked by 

hoodlums." 

"We frown at "the 

destruction of property and 

public assets in Lagos and 

other states. As mothers, we 

beg our youths to refrain from 

such 

retaliative 

actions.Burning or 

destruction of private and 

CAGG condemns hijack of protests, calls for halt 

By Gabriel Ewepu 

A 

Civil Society 

Organisation, Citizens 

Action for Good Government, 

CAGG, has called for a halt 

to the #EndSARS protests 

across the country, stressing 

that politicians and hoodlums 

have infiltrated the peaceful 

exercise, unleashing terror on 

innocent citizens. 

The National Coordinator, 

CAGG, Nazir Galadanchi, 

while addressing the media, 

said, “we are very much 

concerned and worried about 

the progressive deterioration 

of things and the slide into 

anarchy, as a result of the 

hijack of the #EndSARS 

protests by evil-minded 

persons and groups, leading 

to mindless violence, killings 

and destruction in several 

states of the country. 

“Most concerning is the 

alarming increase in violent 

assaults carried out against 

Abia council polls: Groups drum support for Wabara 

Mandate, in their 

statements, signed by 

Barrister Mark Okwu and 

Obum Nnamdi, and 

Comrades Okey 

Nwachukwu and Arch 

Glory Nwaigwe, Chairmen 

and secretaries 

respectively, commended 

the state Chairman of the 

Peoples Democratic Party 

(PDP), Hon. Asiforo Okere, 

for promising all 

contestants for the election 

a level-playing ground and 

warned them against 

overheating the polity. 

The Ndoki Elites Club, in 

its statement, condemned 

those dragging the name 

of former Senate President 

Adolphus Wabara into the 

contest and challenged 

them to channel their 

energies into marketing 

themselves or step down for 

Wabara instead of making 

unfounded allegations. 

It said, “The zoning 

formula of the PDP favours 

Hon. Wabara from Zone B 

area of the council and he 

is experienced and 

qualified having served in 

different capacities of 

leadership in the state 

including being the deputy 

chairman of the council”. 

In its own statement, the 

Ukwa East Professionals 

Mandate berated those 

who posted online 

materials suggesting that 

there would be crisis if 

Wabara emerged as PDP 

candidate. 

public property are not useful 

revolutionary actions, but will 

only complicate the post 

Covid-19 economy 

impoverishment". 

Condoling with the families 

of the bereaved and the nation 

at large, the group called for 

"peaceful dialogue with the 

youths as we implore all 

meaningful Nigerians and 

those in authority to please 

stop the attacks on the youth 

and bring those responsible 

for the killings to book." 

both citizens and police 

officers. The country is 

currently bleeding and we 

appeal to our fellow citizens 

to stand down and bring a stop 

to the protest across the 

country.’’ 

Foundation trains 

500 youths on 

food, paint 

production 

Possibility Specialists 

Foundation has restated 

its commitment to 

eradicating poverty and 

unemployment through its 

various empowerment 

programmes aimed at 

helping Nigerians to achieve 

financial freedom. 

The Leadman of the 

foundation, Abraham Egona 

stated this during the annual 

practical industrial 

empowerment training of 

over 500 people on 

production of foods, 

beverages, cosmetics, paints, 

household products, 

fertilizers and other business 

opportunities, held at Mab 

Royal Hall, Imoru Ijebu-Ode.

PAGE 26 —SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 25, 2020 

Sojourners and foreigners on earth 

There was strife between the herdsmen of 

Abraham and those of his nephew Lot. 

Therefore, Abrahamdecided it would be best 

for Lot and him to go their separate ways. He 

told Lot to decide which way to go: if hegoes 

left, he will go right; if he goes right, he will go 

left. 

Lot was greedy and impetuous. He did not 

defer to his uncle to make the first choice as his 

elder. He quickly chose the better-looking and 

well-watered land. However, the part he chose 

turned out to include evil Sodom andGomorrah. 

The part he rejected turned out to be the 

Promised Land. 

What is the moral of this story? Do not believe 

your eyes. The better-looking is not necessarily 

better. The good-looking man might 

not turn out to be the better husband. The beautiful 

woman might not be the better wife. 

Blindman 

I was born blind. As a result, I did not know 

I was lame. From birth, I was using crutches, 

but I did not know this. Neither did my parents 

or my colleagues. But one fateful day, God 

decided to tell me. 

What did he do? 

He had me waylaid and shot in the leg by 

armed robbers. Then I had to use crutches for 

a season. As a result, my spiritual condition 

from birth became physically manifest. Then 

he said to me: “Femi, you have been using 

crutches all your life, but did not know it. The 

only way I could get you to know it is by making 

your spiritual condition physical.” 

That has become a metaphor for my life. 

Success in life and ministry: The knowledge of 

God (3) 

I NTRODUCTION 

In the last serial, we saw the case 

study of Abraham as a man who 

knew the mind of God because He 

was a friend of God. We were also 

challenged to walk the same road 

Abraham took and become God’s 

friend by being born again. From 

then onwards, the Spirit of God will 

be leading you as a child of God. This 

is the pathway to success in life and 

ministry. In today’s serial, we will 

study another old Testament charac- 

Pastor Akinola 

ter who knew God very well, and hence was 

successful to an excellent degree. 

GOD KNEW MOSES FACE TO FACE 

Concerning Moses, the Bible had this to say: 

“But since then there has not arisen in Israel a 

If we were wise, we would 

not get caught up in the 

local lifestyle 

There is so much that I do not know. There 

is so much that I need to know. But only 

God knows and only He canreveal this to 

me. Flesh and blood cannot do this. That 

is why He says: “My people are destroyed 

for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6). 

Abraham’s heritage 

God told Abraham He would give his 

descendants the land that Lot rejected. But 

first, He would ensure that they would live 

as slaves in a strange land for over 400 

years. Thereafter, Hewould bring them back 

to His land of promise. 

But why? Why make them slaves in a 

foreign land? He did this to give them and 

us the message that we are all strangers in 

a foreign land on earth. Heaven is really 

where we belong. When we fail to heed this 

message, we waste our lives building and 

amassing wealth on earth, but sooner than 

later must leave everything behind. 

When we do not know this, the focus of 

our life is here and now. We yearn to be 

secure in our marriage and our careers. 

We want to overcome our problems and 

find fulfilment in life. We want to enjoy life 

and cling to it for as long as possible. 

Heaven is not our focus. We see it merely as 

prophet like Moses, whom 

the Lord knew face to face”. 

(Deut. 34:10). The beginning 

of Moses encounter with 

God was however at the 

burning Bush in Horeb. 

(Exod. 3:2). It was an unforgettable 

encounter that challenged 

his mindset, and 

turned his entire world 360 

degrees around. 

Before we study some dynamics 

about how Moses knew the mind 

of God, let us consider some key attributes 

in his life that will endear us to make him a 

role model of successful minister of God. 

ATTRIBUTES THAT ENDEAR 

a nice benefit at the end of the ride. Death is to 

be avoided at all costs. We do not see it as the 

gate way to everything we have to live for. 

But the fact of the matter is that we are only 

sojourners on earth. We are only here for a short 

while. Every day, eternity beckons. Therefore, 

Paul warns: “If only for this life we have hope in 

Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” 

(1Corinthians 15:19). 

An outsider does not live according to the cultures 

and traditions of a foreign country. If youlive 

in a hotel, you do not repaint and spend time 

and money redecorating your room. Howard 

Hendricks says: “Most people think they are in 

the land of the living, heading towards the land 

of the dead. But the truth is, we are in the land of 

the dying, heading toward theland of the living.” 

If we were wise, we would not get caught up in 

the local lifestyle. We would not imbibe the local 

value system. Again, Paul counsels: “Do not 

be conformed to this world, but be transformed 

by the renewing of your mind, that you may 

prove what is that good and acceptable and 

perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2). 

Servant king 

MOSES AS A MODEL SUCCESSFUL LEAD- 

ER 

Moses was a strong intercessor. It takes someone 

who knows God and is very close to Him to 

really be a successful intercessor like Moses. 

He pleaded for Israel and God relented from 

His wrath against them, and God heard. Moses 

knew of the severity of the wrath of God against 

Aaron and the house of Israel, for they had worshipped 

the golden calf. He pleaded with God 

to relent from His wrath, although God has told 

him not to do so (Ex.32:10). However, God relented 

from His wrath because of Moses’ prayer 

(Deut.9:19). 

Moses showed that he was very concerned for 

God’s work (Ex.32:11), name (Ex. 32:12), and 

covenant (Ex.32:13) more than any personal 

gain. This is a big challenge to us today, as many 

take on the work of ministry primarily because 

of what they will gain from it. God has no business 

with such people, because it cost Him His 

only begotten Son to give for the salvation of 

the whole world, and He didn’t spare. How can 

They were expecting a visiting Head of State 

from another country. The streets were lined 

with people. School children were everywhere, 

holding andwaving flags. The roads were completely 

cleared of all vehicles. 

Then suddenly there appeared a raggedy-looking 

man, riding a bicycle. “Get off the road,” 

they jeered. “Clear off. Stupid idiot, what are 

you doing there?” 

Little did they know the man they were abusing 

was the visiting Headof State. “Tell the 

daughter of Zion,‘Behold, your King is coming 

to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt,the 

foal of a donkey.’” (Matthew 21:5). 

Jesus was not the person they were expecting 

for the simple reason that He is from an entirely 

different kingdom. His kingdom is not of this 

world. 

They were accustomed to the pomp and circumstance 

of other“kings.” They had seen 

pastors zooming around the streets of Lagos 

in their cortege of outriders and expensive limousines. 

They would have recognisedHim if 

He had shown up with a retinue of fearsome 

bodyguards. But they did not know what to 

make of this abject“pretender” from Nazareth. 

Who has believed our report that this ordinary 

man is the King of kings and the Lord of 

lords? For this reason, those of us who are 

appointed to salvation must learn not to look 

at things that are seen, but at things that are 

not seen: “For the things which are seen are 

temporary, but the things which are not seen 

are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18). 

We must understand that the ways of God 

are not the ways of men. Jesus says: “What is 

highly esteemed among men is an abomination 

in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15). 

Collecting bottle tops 

When he was much younger, my son Femi 

Kevin, loved to collect bottle tops. He kept 

them in an old biscuit tin under his bed. Once 

you were having a drink, he came for the bottle 

top to add to his treasured collection. If 

you took any of those tops, you could expect a 

fight.If he could not find that biscuit tin because 

you had hidden it somewhere, he became 

greatly distressed. 

I wonder what happened to those bottle tops. 

I know for a fact that he no longer has them. I 

also know that we, his parents,did not throw 

them away. I believe they simply lost their 

value to him. They were, after all, bottle tops. 

But even if he still has them somewhere, 

imagine a situation where, some twenty years 

down the road, a thief breaks into his house 

and steals his bottle tops. I doubt if it would 

make any difference to him. The bottle tops 

were of value to him because he was a child. 

Paul says: “When I was a child, I spoke as a 

child, I understood as a child, I thought as a 

child; but when I became a man, I putaway 

childish things.” (1 Corinthians13:11). 

people be equating successful ministry these 

days with financial breakthrough? (Please 

read his statement in Deut.9: 18-19,25, and 

consider the gravity of it, and how many leaders 

today can do that). 

He was so selfless that he disregarded himself 

(he was over eighty years old) and fasted 

for another forty days and night prostrating 

continuously (Deut.9:25) even though he had 

just completed one round of forty days fasting 

on Month Horeb. (Deut. 9:18). 

CONCLUSION 

Surely, as the saying goes, “The arrow that 

will reach Heaven must come from bows that 

are fully bent”. Moses life was fully bent at the 

Burning Bush experience, and this went a long 

way to define His relationship with God and 

with man. 

J.K. Akinola. (Senior Pastor) 

The Gospel Faith Mission International 

(GOFAMINT), Ibadan, Nigeria. (Telephone: 

08033376660, 08055405095) 

Pastor (Dr). E.O. Abina – General Overseer 

Where will you be hereafter? 

MATTHEW 25:31-34 says: “When the 

Son of man shall come in His glory, 

and all the holy angels with him, then shall he 

sit upon the throne of his glory: And before 

him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall 

separate them one from another, as a shepherd 

divideth his sheep from the goats: And he 

shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the 

goats on the left. Then shall the King say 

unto them on his right hand, Come, he 

blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 

prepared for you from the foundation of 

the world:” 

Beloved, it is vey clear, and we all know 

that the life we live will come to an end one 

day. There will be death. And that will be 

the end. We all know what it means to die. 

Death is no respecter of persons, the rich 

die, the poor die, the old die, the young also 

die. 

The big question now is, what next after 

death. The bible, the word of God is clear 

on this; “that it is appointed unto men once 

to die, and after this, the judgement’’. Beloved, 

the essence of judgement is to determine 

where one will spend eternity. 

Unlike the world in which we live here, 

which is upredictable, because anything can 

happen, and death can come anytime, even when 

we least expect it. Eternity is forever, and ever. It 

is everlasting. It has no end. And it is in heaven, 

or hell. The quation here now is where will you 

spend your eternity? This question is for all of us 

to answer individually. Now, that we are living is 

the appropriate time to find answer this question, 

and know where to spend our eternity. This 

is so because, anyone who is ignorant of this, or 

fails to answer this question, is at the risk of missing 

heaven, and going to hell. 

Heaven is the throne of God. It is a holy place. 

And all that desires to go to heaven must be prepared 

for it. The starting point of this preparation 

is to be born again. Surrender your life to 

our Lord Jesus Christ. Further to this, you must 

be holy, and live right. On the other hand, hell is 

a place of torment, designed for the wicked, the 

unrighteous, the sinners. 

Now, beloved, these two extreems, heaven, 

and hell have been designed by our creator 

God almighty for man to spend eternity after 

death. Nothing will stop it. Nothing will 

change it. Not your riches. Not your beauty, or 

hansomeness. Not your fame. Not contacts. 

Absolutely nothing. The only solution is to 

decide now that you are still alive. And work, 

and live towards the choice you make. 

However, it is not the will of God that anyone 

should perish in hell. That was the reason 

He permitted the crusification our Lord Jesus 

Christ at the cross of calvary. That whosoever 

that believes in him, will not perish in hell. 

But, will have everlasting life in heaven. 

Luke 12:32 says: “Fear not, little flock; for it 

is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the 

kingdom”. Beloved, the above bible verse is 

from God, and is an assurance that heaven is 

real for you. 

Fear God and his judgments! 

As written in PSALM 7:11, the daily anger 

of God with the ungodly and the wicked, 

who are stubborn to the word of truth, is the 

cause of the judgments of God, which we see 

around us, and which we hear all over the world. 

God does not take pleasure in the death of the 

wicked, hence His longsuffering towards them, 

if peradventure they will repent. When the judgments 

of God are in the earth, the inhabitants 

of the world will learn righteousness-ISAIAH 

26:9. These judgments of God must begin at 

His house, so that the fear of God may come 

upon the people of God, as it happened in 

the early church, when Ananias and Sapphira 

were slain by the Holy Ghost to whom 

they lied-ACTS 5:11. 

God created man to fear Him by keeping 

His commandments-ECCLESIASTES 

12:13. For this reason God gave every man 

a conscience to convict man of wrong doing. 

The Pharisees who accused a woman 

of the sin of adultery, brought her before 

Jesus, but they were convicted by their conscience 

when Jesus told them-let him that 

is without sin, cast a stone at her- JOHN 

8:7, 9. Joseph was convicted by his conscience, 

when his master’s wife, enticed him 

into committing adultery with her-GENE- 

SIS 39:8-11. Even though a believer in Christ 

has not the Spirit of God, yet he/she should be 

convicted by his/her conscience to flee from the 

sin of any sexual immorality. 

Men do not fear God because His judgments 

are not speedily executed. The fear we have of 

God should be demonstrated by our unconditional 

obedience to every doctrine of God! And 

in MALACHI 1:6, God says, a son honours his 

father, and a servant, his master: if then I be a 

father, where is my honour, and if I be a master, 

where is my fear? Judas, an ordained apostle, 

called Jesus, Master but never feared God and 

His judgments! Many believers in Christ call 

Jesus, Lord but they will never do what He says 

because they do not have the fear of God-LUKE 

6:46. Therefore, all believers in Christ and even 

servants of God, should ask God to put His 

fear into their hearts, because He is the only 

One that can do it- JEREMIAH 32:40. It is 

very important that every believer in Christ, 

should have the fear of God if he/she wants to 

be blessed, and protected, and even if he/she 

wants to be delivered by the angel of God, as 

written in PSALM 34:7, “The angel of the Lord 

encampeth round about them that fear Him 

and delivereth them.” 

CHRISTIAN GOSPEL CHURCH (The 

Truth Centre) 

Email: cgc.com.ng@gmail.com 

+2347052061135, +2349030731406 

www.cgc.com.ng

The wonders of freedom from sin (4) 

Psalms 58:3 "The 

wicked are estranged 

from the womb: they 

go astray as soon as they be 

born, speaking lies." 

When you arrived into this 

world together with Cain and 

Abel, sin accompanied your 

entrance. 

Have you noticed that cunning 

character trait of that 

little boy or girl? The truth remains 

that there is no formal 

place where they are schooled 

at such early stage of life the 

course of disobedience. No 

one teaches anybody how to 

tell lies, pretend or become 

hypocritical. It is just innate 

and inbred within the subconsciousness 

of the mind of the 

person. 

Isaiah 48:8 "Yea, thou 

heardest not; yea, thou 

knewest not; yea, from that 

time that thine ear was not 

opened: for I knew that thou 

wouldest deal very treacherously, 

and wast called a transgressor 

from the womb." 

From the womb you inherited 

the act of sinning and that 

is why the scripture calls you 

a transgressor. It was never 

your fault to be born as such, 

but if you fail to realize that 

there are consequences for remaining 

in sin, then you will 

pay heavily for it. 

Pastor William Kumuyi 

Abel realized that much and 

knew that he lacked something 

and needed to fix the 

missing piece to solve the 

puzzle of his life. That is why 

he turned to God, his manufacturer, 

to piece together what 

was missing in his life. 

Hebrews 11:4 "By faith Abel 

offered unto God a more excellent 

sacrifice than Cain, by 

which he obtained witness that 

he was righteous, God testifying 

of his gifts: and by it he 

being dead yet speaketh." 

If you are going in the wrong 

direction, and though you detest 

to take that pathway, but 

because the current is too high 

that you cannot stop the pull, 

it is expected that you enlist the 

help of a stronger personality 

who would be able to rescue 

you from the deluge. 

The glory of youthfulness 

Our youths represent the 

freshness, charm and 

vigor that go with the resources 

of our nation. It is these 

attributes that characterize 

this stage of life in human development, 

along with its 

struggles. You cannot deny the 

youth their sprightly, energetic 

and enthusiastic spirit; but 

that is the one thing the aged 

continue to grapple with or are 

we still at a loss as to how we 

were able to go through it. The 

shooting incident of our youths 

on 20/10/20 at the Lekki toll 

gate is a global shame, and it 

hurts the human conscience. 

The beauty of youth is their 

strength – Prov. 20:29. 

Strength is meant to be given 

positive expression or else the 

upheaval will manifest in 

some dreadful arena. That is 

the more reason we ought to 

be glad that we have our 

youths right within our reach. 

One of the greatest wonders 

of life is when a young life is 

trying to express itself spiritually, 

mentally, economically, 

socially, and practically or 

through any other way that 

will give it the opportunity of 

pure positive expression. 

Spiritually we never grow 

old, through the passing of the 

years, we grow so many years 

younger - 2 Cor. 4:16. The 

characteristic of the spiritual 

life is its un-aging youthfulness 

which is exactly the opposite 

of the natural life. Spiritually, 

the older we get, the 

more vigorous, the more radiant 

and lively we ought to 

be. We estimate our life on the 

spiritual plane by our dominant 

interest which is often 

most obviously revealed in 

our critical moments, whether 

that of sorrow or joy. And 

our Lord Jesus Christ distinctly 

taught His disciples that if 

they were going to live the spiritual 

life, they must barter the 

natural for it – Mt. 6:33. If we 

are doing that right now, we 

can only continue to experience 

a boom. 

To be continued 

Rev. Emmanuel Awazie 

*Assemblies of God Church 

Nigeria, 111 Clegg Street, 

Surulere, Lagos. 

The mental domain provides 

another vast region that 

must attract the interest of our 

youths. Today’s economic 

and social landscape demand 

intellectual, rational, conceptual 

and even the psychological 

strengths, without which 

even the spiritual is held captive. 

We insult God by living 

as if He forgot to give us brains 

with which to deal with the issues 

of life. 

God has given us all that we 

shall ever need to take care of 

the matters of this life - 2 Peter 

1:3; we must task our intellects 

to produce for us. The 

Biblical injunction to study – 

2 Timothy 2:15 – is not only 

for memorization of scriptures, 

but for the development 

of our mental abilities so we 

can maintain relevance. Beware 

of the ban of finality 

about your present circumstance. 

God has new heights 

you must climb, more conquests 

awaits you. 

The continual renewal of the 

mind is the only healthy condition 

to live by - Rom. 12:2; 

and a man’s mental conviction 

will show sooner or later 

in practical life. 

sam.eyoboka@gmail.com 

By Sam Eyoboka 

The National President 

of Pentecostal Fellow 

ship of Nigeria, PFN, 

Rev. Felix Omobude has urged 

Nigerian youth to maintain 

peace as the EndSARS protests 

across the country turned 

violence. 

Commiserating with families 

of the affected victims, Rev. 

Omobude entreated the 

youths to embrace peace and 

allow the government to attend 

to their agitations. 


08023145567 (sms only) 

PFN calls for calm, justice for victims 

of extra-judicial killings 

The PFN Scribe also calls 

for justice and compensation 

for the aaffected protesters. 

In his words: “The Pentecostal 

Fellowship of Nigeria 

PFN, is deeply troubled that 

what started out as a peaceful 

protest, with objectives subscribed 

to by most Nigerians, 

Okotie backs protesters, calls for caution 

The Shepherd Superintendent 

of the Household of God 

Eklesssia, Rev. Chris Okotie 

has thrown his weight behind 

the #ENDSARS protests raging 

across the country over Police 

brutality and other governance 

issues. Below is the full 

text of a statement he released 

in Lagos early today: 

Pocas Palabras (A Few 

Words) 

Chairman Mao once posited 

that if the people no longer 

fear your power, it is because 

another power is on its way. 

The authenticity of that 

statement cannot be impeached 

when it is juxtaposed 

with the history of governance. 

I believe that such is true within 

the present Nigerian context. 

By Pastor G.C. Osuigbo 

CAC Madaiyese Regional Headquaters 

Plot 701/702 Durumi District 

P.O. BOX 2577 

Garki, Abuja. 

Contact us on: 08155555048, like us on 

facebook @cacdurumi 

The tears of a watchman (2) 

In these days of spiritual 

famine, very few people 

seem to notice that instead 

of real spiritual meat, 

we are being offered fast spiritual 

food in fast Sunday services, 

as though numerical 

strength were equivalent to 

spiritual strength. When those 

in the pew are fed with ill prepared 

meals, there can be no 

tears for sins but instead spiritual 

indigestion. 

Primitive Christianity, 

which is the unadulterated 

form of our faith, where there 

is utter dependence on Christ 

and him alone, has receded to 

If I speak in the tongues of 

men and of angels, but I 

do not have love, I am a noisy 

gong or a clanging cymbal. 

2 And if I have prophecy, and 

know all mysteries and all 

knowledge, and if I have all 

faith so that I can remove 

mountains, but do not have 

love, I am nothing. 1 Cor. 13: 

1-2 NET 

Love would never fail anyone 

who has made the conscious 

choice to love. 1 Cor 

Youth protests: GKS urges all sides to 

avoid violence 

The God’s Kingdom So 

ciety GKS, the Church 

of the Living God has observed 

with dismay and deep 

regret the violent turn that the 

protests by youths across the 

country has taken in the last 

few days. 

In a release signed by the 

society publicity secretary, 

Benedict Hart, GKS commiserate 

with the families of those 

who have lost their loved ones 

adding that violence in any 

shape or form is utterly abhorred 

by God Almighty, especially 

when it results in the 

loss of lives. 

The GKS enjoins all sides 

to the crisis to go to the negotiation 

table to iron out the issues 

in the fear of God knowing 

that everyone would give 

account of himself before God 

on the of judgement. 

“The people and government 

of Nigeria should, after 

several years of British rule 

and 60 years of Independence, 

have known how to 

manage delicate situations 

with wisdom and tact and due 

regard for God and His word 

by doing things in an orderly 

and decent manner by His 

grace. The Bible says: “Righteousness 

exalteth a nation; 

but sin is a reproach to any 

people.” 

Yet, the power that now approaches 

is neither political, 

religious, ethnic nor even – terrestrial. 

Rather, it devolves 

from the Creator who endowed 

man as a free moral 

agent. He therefore arrogates 

to himself the title of emancipator 

in his quest to dismantle 

any mechanism of oppression 

or suppression of the human 

will. 

The current youth agitation 

must be construed in this context. 

It is an extra-terrestrial 

phenomenon. It is a divine intervention 

to resuscitate the 

moribond kindred spirit of the 

Nigerian brotherhood. To aver 

that this movement is politically 

motivated is to submit to 

jejune partisan stimuli emanating 

from a reprehensible 

the background while pseudo 

Christianity or the amoeba 

like approach to the faith is 

now mainstream. Christianity 

has never been as formless 

as it is in our generation; it has 

always had a form which is 

Christ. 

As I think and say to myself 

“all but one of the apostles was 

martyred, will Paul the apostle 

be rejoicing in paradise 

over the lethargic poise of the 

21st century church?, when peter 

preached on the day of Pentecost 

the response after the 

populace was pricked in their 

heart was “men and brethren 

*Ituah Ighodalo is the Senior 

Pastor, Trinity House, Trinity 

Avenue, Off Ligali Ayorinde 

Street, Victoria Island, 

Lagos.+234-808-895-6162 

info@trinityhouseng.org 

Perfect Love (2) 

13: 8, whether there be prophecies 

they will fail. If you chose 

to love a person, that will never 

fail you. If you love someone 

you won’t quarrel with 

them, you will tolerate, and 

you won’t try to destroy the 

person. You say you love your 

parents, yet you have abandoned 

them somewhere and 

have refused to honour them. 

Love is great and is perhaps 

the greatest emotion you can 

ever have. 1 Cor 13: 13. If you 

are married today, go back 

home and love your spouse. If 

you have chosen to marry a 

person love them. Love does 

not destroy and always thinks 

of how to offer oneself for the 

benefit of another. When in 

love, you are always on the 

lookout for how best to meet 

the needs of the people you 

love and make their life better. 

In a nation, leadership is 

based on love. This leadership 

starts in the home and moves 

what say we do”, but today 

the preacher is jeered on with 

motivating words of encouragement 

by those who are 

supposed to have their hearts 

pricked by the Holy Ghost. 

How can the unrighteous jeer 

on the instructor of righteousness 

if he is carrying out his 

God ordained responsibility 

responsibly? 

How can there be tears in 

the pew when the supposed 

preacher of righteousness has 

become nothing but a glorified 

entertainer cum motivational 

speaker, don’t we know 

that a message born in the 

head will only reach the head? 

There is a new ministry gift in 

the 21st century church, it is 

called the office of the pastorprenuer. 

A pastor and entrepreneur 

all rolled into one. 

Since when did the Church 

become a profit making organ 

of society? How many 

entrepreneurs are truly truthful? 

But a few .As is said in 2 

all the way to 

local government, 

state, and 

the nation. If a 

leader, at home 

or in the nation, 

does not love 

then his leader- 

ship is a sham. 

Love is prepared to die for 

the object of love. Greatness 

comes from great love. The 

reason why we follow Jesus is 

because He loves us and He 

died on the cross for us. All 

who claim to love must be 

willing to die for the person 

they love. Nelson Mandela 

Corinthians 6:7. 

By truthful speech, and the 

power of God; with the weapons 

of righteousness for the 

right hand and for the left; 

Where is the truthful speech? 

Where is the power? Where are 

the weapons of righteousness? 

No wonder no more tears in 

the pews. The gift of 

technology(for example life 

streaming on the internet) 

which is but a tool, has not even 

provoked the kind of response 

the church obtained during 

the days of Charles Spurgeon 

,when dignitaries would disguise 

themselves and sneak 

into his services so that they 

could weep for their depraved 

souls under the conviction of 

the Holy spirit. Today technology 

seems to do more 

harm than good as many tattooed 

,numerous tele-evangelist 

with crazy looking hairstyles 

solicit for financial support 

instead of hammering on 

the need for weeping ,repentance 

and restitution. 

TO BE CONTINUED…… 

became one of the greatest 

people on earth because he 

was ready to die for South Africa. 

Is your love a choice you 

have made? Is your love prepared 

to die for someone or a 

people? If you truly love you 

can never die because God 

will raise you up again, just as 

He did with His only begotten 

son Jesus Christ. 

Today you need to reflect on 

your life how selfish and how 

arrogant you have been. 

Have you loved your husband/wife, 

children, neighbour, 

parents-in-law, colleagues, 

boss, nation? 

Check yourself and make 

amends, chose today to truly 

LOVE. 

Bible Society inaugurates two new Areas 

T 

he Bible Society of Nige 

ria BSN is set to inaugurate 

two new Areas: The new 

Areas are: Ijesa Area, Osun 

State and Oyo Area 2, Oyo 

State. 

According to the Manager 

Media & Public Relations of 

BSN, Benjamin Mordi, the Ijesa 

and the Oyo Area 2 will be 

inaugurated on October 28 

and 29 respectively. Ijesa Area 

will be carved out of the present 

Osun Area 1, while Oyo Area 

2 will be carved out of the 

present Oyo Area. 

With the new Areas, BSN 

has now taken on another dimension, 

with reports coming 

in of public and private properties 

on fire and hoodlums 

taking advantage to wreak 

havoc on the lives and property 

of ordinary Nigerians. 

“ We plead with all Nigerians 

for calm and peace to allow 

for government to start the 

process of rebuilding trust, restoring 

confidence, while also 

implementing the promises 

that have been made.” 

He further prays for peace 

and tranquility in every part 

of the nation and for an end to 

evil forces who instigate and 

thrive in an atmosphere of 

destruction and confusion. 

perennial insensitivity 

The word protest comes 

from the Latin word “prostestari”. 

It means to bear witness 

in public. Such is the propensity 

of the current youth imbroglio. 

It is not directed 

against any political party. It 

is an altercation with the status 

quo; it is a vitilitigation 

against decades of leadership 

ineptitude and mediocrity. 

And now they have gone public. 

They bear witness now to 

the political imbalances and 

economic disequilibrium 

that have characterized the 

chequered pavement of our 

walk towards nationhood. 

They bear witness to the stratification 

of the Nigerian society 

that allows the circumstabience 

of corruption by osmosis. 

They bear witness to a system 

that has elevated corruption 

to an institution of byzantine 

complexity. 

The bear witness to a system 

that has jettisoned their 

dreams and aspirations into 

the catacombs of oblivion. 

And now they rise against the 

forces of dissatisfaction, disillusionment 

and despondency 

from taking their souls in captive 

hopelessness. 

These young people are not 

rebellious dissidents. Rather 

they are emissaries of posterity. 

Galvanized by the indomitable 

spirit of the Nigerian 

psyche and the relentless cry 

of posterity, they have become 

veritable instruments in the 

hands of destiny to chart a realistic 

path for the Nigerian 

renaissance.Nigeria is about 

now has 31 full-fledged Areas 

and six Associate Areas making 

a total of 37 Areas across 

the country. 

The approval to create the 

two new Areas was granted at 

the National Board Meeting 

of the Society which took 

place virtually in August 2020. 

BSN is a not-for-profit 

Christian organization that 

translates the Bible into Nigerian 

languages, publishes, distributes, 

organises life transforming 

programmes and 

raises funds for the Bible work.


Being a successful cougar is an art! 

‘ 

COUGAR’ is a 

sophisticated word 

introduced to the 

dating scene year back. A 

cougar, aka Puma, aka 

American mountain lion is a 

fierce-looking animal who 

stalks its prey relentlessly. When 

it eventually over-powers the 

prey, the cougar tears it to 

pieces, devours it ferociously 

and licks its lips with 

satisfaction at the end of the 

‘feast’. The cougar has now 

replaced those we once knew 

as senior girls’ in the society. 

Women with a lot of money and 

power but with little patience 

to start running after men in 

their age bracket only to find 

such men to be bitter 

disappointments in the 

bedroom. The cougar knows 

the type of men she wants – not 

so old. Young enough to stand 

to attention at the push of a 

button! 

To the Cougar’s prey, the sky 

is the limit to the doors that 

might be opened to him – cars 

from his cougar’s garage at his 

disposal, lots of money to burn, 

and lot of business 

opportunities thrown his way. 

All he has to do is to ask ‘how 

far?’ when his cougar says 

‘jump!’ As long as a boy-toy 

knows his place and doesn’t get 

complacent enough to start 

eyeing some of his cougar’s 

friends with the hope of 

rendering same services 

with maybe better returns, 

he’s on solid grounds. 

Nkiru, now close to 50 

married very young. 

According to her, “I was a 

quiet 19-year-old virgin 

when my parents gave me 

out in marriage to a rich 

village chief almost 20 years 

my senior. He was kind and 

dependable but I was shy and 

inexperienced, unable to 

relax and enjoy sex. I just 

assumed great sex was a 

media myth, that orgasms 

were as unobtainable as the 

moon. The arrival of the 

children turned me off sex 

even more and my husband 

didn’t protest. He obviously 

had a below average libido 

or was looking elsewhere for 

gratification. 

“By the time he died 16 

years into our marriage, I’d 

known enough about his 

business to run things for 

myself. He died of cancer 

and had warned his greedy 

relatives to leave me alone 

after he’d gone. Not only that, 

he’d transferred all his liquid 

cash into my account and 

given me the title deeds to 

all the property he had. As 

soon as he died and my 

traditional mourning period 

was over, I sold off 

everything, so my husband’s 

family wouldn’t lay their 

hands on it, and came to 

Lagos to find a business of my 

own. 

“My first taste of 

meaningful sex came when 

one of my suppliers started 

teasing me with saucy 

innuendos. I was thrilled. He 

was married, tall, dark and 

handsome with mischievous 

eyes. That suited me to the 

ground. I had my four children 

and money; I wasn’t on the 

look-out for another husband. 

The day we finally got 

together was like magic. Like 

the magazines advised, I’d 

worn sexy underwear and 

spiced up my bedroom. We 

were nicely tipsy when we 

tumbled into bed. It was the 

first time I reached an orgasm. 

At last I understood that sex 

could be mind-blowing. And 

I wanted more. 

“I made sure he didn’t regret 

our liaison. I bought a lot of 

my raw materials from him, 

gave him money towards the 

price of a second hand car and 

bought him designer clothes 

whenever we travelled. It went 

on for a few years until his wife 

found out and had the nerve 

to charge into my office 

calling me all sorts of 

derogatory names. I was 

furious and threw her out of 

my office. I might be bunking 

her husband, but I was sure a 

lot of the freebies I threw his 

way went a long way into 

giving his wife and children a 

cushy life. 

“Telling him I didn’t want 

any scandal I cut him off and 

bought myself a few vibrators 

which kept me man-free for a 

while. Two years later, I met 

Joshua who was single and 

ready to mingle as they say! 

His youth made him eager to 

please and he was really 

energetic. `I love older 

women’, he said cheekily and 

he was better than any of the 

vibrators I’d used. In the 

bedroom, he actually made 

me ecstatic. He was matured 

enough not to talk about my 

private life and I gave him all 

the freedom he wanted. All I 

wanted was amazing sexpassion 

without 

responsibilities. And we were 

both free to sleep with other 

people, so I kept my options 

open. 

“Once in a while, I caught 

glimpse of jealousy in his eyes 

and I quickly called him to 

order. When he eventually told 

me he was getting married, I 

gave him my blessings but told 

him we were over. After that 

experience with an irate wife, 

I didn’t relish the idea of a 

`wife’ young enough to be my 

daughter shouting insults at 

me because I slept with her 

husband. 

“I’ve since met another man 

also young and virile. Like me, 

he enjoys slow, sensuous sex. 

And I’m having the time of my 

life. It’s difficult to believe that 

when I was younger, I thought 

orgasms were mythical, yet 

now, at my age, I’m having 

incredible sex and growing 

older has never been such fun! 

I’m looking forward to hitting 

the `great five-o!’ Who knows 

what spritely hip-wriggling 

stud I would spend that day 

with! Thank goodness all my 

children are abroad. My 

eldest son came to stay for a 

while and saw my new catch. 

He grimaced when I 

confessed we were lovers. 

`Just be careful mum’, he 

warned, `we don’t want any 

scandal!’ 

“I told him to grow up. Even 

in Britain where he stays, 

cougars abound and it 

wouldn’t hurt him to 

experiment with one or two 

before he settles down! I then 

discovered that a lot of my 

friends are into this cougar 

thing and some have even 

slept with each other’s lovers 

without any ill-feelings. I 

didn’t intend to take things 

that far and I insist on safe sex. 

I want excitement. I don’t 

intend to be reckless in my 

quest for meaningful sex! I 

want to be around long 

enough to see how far this 

adventure would take me!” 

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Ebenezer Obey celebrates Gtext Homes 

Chief 

Commander 

Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi 

has commended #EndSARS 

Movement by Nigerian youths. 

He said this while 

congratulating members of 

Gtext Homes family on their fifth 

anniversary. 

Speaking at the event, which 

took place in Omole, Lagos, the 

music maestro, who said there 

is no way anyone can please 

the world, hailed the youths. 

"This protest is a big surprise 

and no one was expecting it. 

Everyone was pushed to the 

wall. EndSARS is a good 

movement because that is the 

only way we can correct many 

ills and things that are not right 

in the country. Our leaders 

should see this and think that 

#ENDSARS: Oboh, ex-boxing champ, pleads with protesters, government 

F o r m e r 

Commonwealth and British 

Boxing champion, Peter 

Oboh, has called on the 

protesters to embrace 

dialogue and for the 

government to stop the use 

of force on peaceful and 

harmless #EndSARS 

protesters. In a statement, 

Oboh, who is retired and 

now a pastor, lamented the 

something is wrong beyond 

our imagination. I pray God 

would help us.” 

Obey, who also advised 

artistes of the day to sing 

meaningful songs, said, 

“People should invest in landed 

property. When you buy a land 

today, by next year, it has 

appreciated in value". 

state of the nation which he 

described as drifting towards 

tyranny and anarchy. 

He said: “Nigeria is on fire 

and on the verge of anarchy. 

What happened at the Lekki 

Toll Gate, Lagos, and some 

other cities across Nigeria is 

deplorable. 

“Under no circumstances 

must the army turn its guns 

on innocent protesters. It is 

high time the #ENDSARS 

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#EndSARS: Youths’ agitation would deepen 

democracy — Amechi 

By Adesina Wahab 

A 

businessman, Chief 

Tony Amechi, has said 

agitation by youths about 

their plight should be seen by 

leaders as part of the 

process to deepen 

democracy in the country 

Stampede as truck owners, drivers, stakeholders protest 

By Tony Nwankwo 

There was stampede at the 

Fatgbem axis of the 

Apapa Oshodi Expressway, as 

truck owners, drivers and other 

stakeholders of the industry 

held a peaceful march 

protesting what they described 

as the unending extortion by the 

Federal Task Team and Lagos 

State Task Force en-route to 

Tin-Can Island Ports and 

Apapa Quays. Speaking at the 

event, a truck owner, Prince 

Adeyinka Aroyewun, said they 

were in the streets to protest the 

concerted efforts of the 

governments task teams to run 

them out of business. “As truck 

owners, we are businessmen, 

and some of us can no longer 

service our loans from the 

banks, due to the continuous 

extortion of those put on the 

roads by governments to 

decongest the roads and the 

ports". The task teams 

continually impose 

exorbitant levies as our drivers 

make their way to the ports. 

You can imagine that a single 

truck pays N200,000 from 

Mile II to Tin Can ports, and 

they continuously make truck 

movements impossible as we 

spend over six weeks from 

Mile II to Tin Can Port, a 

journey of about twenty 

minutes". 

protesters stepped down and 

embrace dialogue rather 

than end up making a 

peaceful protest turn violent 

as it is happening now due to 

the intervention of soldiers. 

“It is sad that some protesters 

have been killed so far. On its 

part, government must 

withdraw the soldiers at once 

and dialogue with the 

protesters to chart a way 

forward. 

and should be given 

serious thought rather than 

been violently suppressed. 

This is just as he 

condemned in strong 

terms, the alleged shooting 

of unarmed #EndSARS 

protesters on Tuesday night 

at Lekki Tollgate area of 

Lagos. 

Amechi, who is the 

Chairman of Tony Amechi 

Foundation, in a statement 

yesterday, decried the 

shooting of innocent 

youths agitating for their 

rights. He described the 

development as ugly and 

unwarranted and a 

“misplaced priority.” 

Amechi, who is the Onwa 

1, Onotu of Umusadege, 

Utagba Uno Kingdom, 

Delta State, also 

condemned the 

destruction of properties 

across the country, and 

attacks on security 

structures and institutions 

by alleged protesters, 

saying those actions were 

avoidable and if allowed 

to continue could be 

counter productive. 

“Youths of this nation 

have constitutional rights 

to stage a protest against 

anything that is not 

favourable to them because 

they are the future leaders 

of our great nation, but this 

must be done in an orderly 

manner devoid of violence 

and destruction of lives and 

properties. 

“The youths constitute 

over 100 million of the 

Nigerian population and 

should be allowed to enjoy 

their fundamental rights as 

well as good governance. 

Therefore, if we must 

deepen democracy in 

Nigeria, the plights of the 

youths must be taken into 

consideration by 

governments at all levels,” 

Chief Amechi stated. 

According to him, the 

killing and shooting of 

innocent Nigerian citizens, 

destruction of lives and 

properties should stop 

forthwith adding; “We are 

already in a complex 

situation in Nigeria, and no 

authority or whosoever 

should worsen it."



INAUGURATION—From left: Newly appointed Commissioner for Education, Science 

and Technology, Prof Ayobami Arigbabu; Deputy Governor, Engr. Noimot Sakako-Oyedele; 

Governor Dapo Abiodun and his new Commissioner for Information and 

Strategy, Mr Waheed Odusile, after both commissioners were sworn into Ogun State 

Executive Council . 

CHILLING ACCOUNT OF RIGHTS ABUSE: 

How police degraded Nigerians 

— Ojukwu, NHRC Executive Secretary 

Amid nationwide out 

rage against the police, 

especially the now disbanded 


(SARS), for their brutality, the 

Executive Secretary of the National 

Human Rights Commission 

(NHRC), Anthony 

Okechukwu Ojukwu, has 

painted a gory picture of rights 

violation by the security agency 

vested with the mandate of 

protecting Nigerians. 

“It is a notorious fact that 

within the Nigeria Police, the 

people most of the time don’t 

get a fair deal, just for the fact 

that the people are powerless 

and police is all powerful and 

even where they oppress you, 

they are the people who will 

prosecute you in court and so, 

if they oppress you and decide 

not to prosecute you in court, 

there is nothing you can do”, 

Ojukwu told Sunday Vanguard 

in an exclusive interview. 

“So what has happened is 

first of all, the issue of bail; bail 

is a right as long as it is not a 

capital offence, but that is not 

the case. If you are being investigated 

and you need bail, you 

have to pay for it. 

“If you don’t have the money 

to pay, you will be subjected to 

all kinds of inhuman and degrading 

treatment, that is a violation 

of peoples right. 

“In the first place, you start 

from the beginning of the investigation. 

How do people get 

investigated by law enforcement 

agents? Most times, it is 

through a simple petition and 

the Constitution says if you are 

accused of any offence you are 

innocent until proven guilty. 

“But the pattern of investigation 

presupposes that you are 

already guilty and you have to 

now prove your innocence. 

“Otherwise if there is a petition 

against anybody, there 

should be investigation, preliminary 

investigation to find 

out whether the allegations 

have any basis for you to now 

ask further questions, that is the 

presumption of innocence. So, 

there is an allegation, the law 

should presume that these allegations 

are not true and give 

you a fair hearing, give you a 

fair opportunity, carry out some 

basic investigation to find out 

whether there are any of the allegations 

in that petition that 

warrant further questions or 

even asking you but that is not 

the case. 

“You see that once there are 

allegations against anybody, 

the first level of investigation is 

arrest and you are put behind 

bars and once you are put behind 

bars a whole lot of scenario 

plays out. 

“If you are able to be extorted 

and you pay some money, 

maybe you get your freedom 

and then you start following up. 

Then there will be other levels 

of extortion, if you are able to 

pay your way too, the matter 

would be looked upon on the 

facts of it and then you may not 

end up being charged to court. 

“So even if where you are innocent, 

you have already been 

subjected to some discomfort 

in terms of your arrest and detention 

and then having to pay 

money to get your freedom. 

“That means you are already 

adjudged guilty and you now 

have to pay money, that is a violation 

of your rights. 

“But if you are unfortunate 

and probably you don’t have 

the money, a lot of other scenarios 

also play out. 

“If you are not able to bring 

money for bail within the constitutional 

period of 48hours, 

they also get jittery, they get jittery 

and in order to justify holding 

you beyond the constitutional 

period, they throw you 

to the court and then when it 

gets to court at times even with 

the arraignment, you are, of 

course, now formally charged 

and then remanded in prison 

custody, you are no longer in 

police custody and of course the 

case is adjourned and you start 

struggling to get a lawyer to 

apply for your bail and all that. 

“Then if there is no evidence, 

you will see the case will be 

adjourned and adjourned, police 

will keep on adjourning the 

case because they have no evidence 

maybe for another 6 

months. 

“You are on a journey until 

the magistrate now strikes out 

the case for want of evidence 

and you must have suffered that 

six months in detention for offence 

you have not committed 

and you know our people, because 

of poverty, the ability to 

now bounce back and claim 

for their rights for compensation 

and apology is not there, 

they say, well, ‘I leave it to God’ 

and they go home and that has 

been the pattern. 

“Well, there are also criminals. 

There is no doubt about 

that but they are also not spared 

even though somebody is a 

criminal, they are presumed 

innocent until proven guilty. 

“But at times, the investigation 

process is more brutal in 

the sense that probably you are 

going to be tortured to confess. 

“So you go to court, more 

than 80% of the cases brought 

to court are all confessional 

statements. 

“Now, it may be or may not 

be true but any evidence obtained 

through torture is not 

a valid evidence and the law 

was not very clear on the consequences 

of torture. 

“The only thing it said was 

that if it gets to court and there 

is an allegation of torture for 

#EndSARS: Uzodinma unveils N6bn 

special youth empowerment 

programme 

overnor Hope Uzodim 

Gma has rolled out a 

N6billion package for accelerated 

youth empowerment 

programme in fulfilment of 

his promise to Imo State the 

youths during the #EndSARS 

protests, even as he has relaxed 

the 24-hour curfew in 

the state from 6pm to 6am. 

The governor disclosed 

these in a statewide broadcast 

yesterday . 

He said an initial take off 

fund of fund of N2billion of 

the N6billion will be immediately 

released to the state 

Ministry of Skills Acquisition 

and Entrepreneurship for the 

training of the first first four 

batches of the programme. 

According to him, the programme 

will train about 

500,000 youths in different 

skills within the next two years 

while providing them with 

capital to begin their own enterprises. 

Uzodinma said the first set 

of 5000 youths already 

trained in different skills will 

soon be given their start up 

capital to commence business. 

He commended Imo 

youths for making him proud 

by heeding to his wise counsel 

to them to call off the End- 

SARS protests, adding, “ I use 

this opportunity to particularly 

salute my beloved Imo 

Youths for making me very 

proud indeed. I have always 

known I can always count on 

you “ 

On the violence in the state 

which led to the burning of 

many police stations, courts, 

INEC offices and local government 

headquarters, the 

governor said intelligence 

reports at his disposal indicated 

that it was done by mercenaries 

hired by some pay 

masters. 

ALERT AFTER 20 POLICE STATIONS BURNT: 

Expect rise in violent crimes 

— Security experts 

By Evelyn Usman 

&Evelyn Usman 

evidence when confessional 

statement was taken, that there 

will be a trial within a trial to 

find out if there was torture and 

if there was torture the evidence 

is not accepted. 

“But the torturer goes back 

and continues torturing the 

next accused person. 

“But there is an anti-torture 

legislation now in place 2017 

and under that Act, if you torture 

and it is established you 

obtain evidence through torture, 

you will be tried for a 

criminal offence, but, to the best 

of my knowledge, I don’t think 

anybody has been convicted 

based on that because it is also 

the police that are going to 

charge their own person for torture. 

So, it a vicious cycle”. 

On the report of the presidential 

panel which investigated 

police brutality, the NHRC chief 

said they were following up on 

the recommendation for the 

dismissal of 35 officers, 33 others 

for prosecution and payment 

of N264million compensation 

to victims. 

*Full interview to be published 

next week 

Mama Comfort Magbejufor for 

burial 

THE families of the 

late Samuel Iboyi 

Magbejufor of 

Okegborode and the late 

Adogba Ojagbugbe of 

Sapele LGA, Delta State 

have announced dates for 

the burial ceremonies of 

their late mother, Mrs 

Comfort Adarun 

Magbejufor (aka Agbara), 

aged 95. 

Service of songs holds on 

Wednesday, Oct 28 at St 

William Catholic Church, 

Orerokpe to be followed by 

a funeral mass on Friday, 

Oct 30 at St Theresa 

Catholic Church, 

Adagbarasa Elume. 

Mama will subsequently 

be interred in her home 

town, Jakpa Elume. 

The deceased is survived 

by her children among 

whom are Chief (Mrs) 

Blessing Affe, Mrs Patience 

Ogbemudia and Mr Itaire 

Magbejufor. 

• The late Mama Comfort 

Magbejufor 

Following the attacks on 

police stations across the 

country by hoodlums, who carted 

away weapons and police 

uniforms, security experts have 

warned of a likely increase in 

violent crimes. 

They specifically urged Nigerians 

to be on alert, lamenting 

that guns are now in the 

hands of wrong persons across 

the country. 

No fewer than 20 police stations 

were burnt in southern 

Nigeria by hoodlums who hijacked 

the #EndSars protests. 

Speaking to Sunday Vanguard, 

renowned security expert, 

Dr. Ona Ekhomu, said 

apart from rise in crimes, Nigeria 

is likely to experience 

policing problems as a result 

of the destruction of police 

stations. 

He said: “It is very unfortunate 

that we saw these attacks 

on police stations and 

personnel. Violence targeted 

against police personnel was 

not anticipated. In the runup 

to the breakdown of law 

and order, there were predictions 

that it might degenerate 

into violence. 

I was surprised that security 

agencies including the 

Police did not do enough in 

terms of threat assessment. 

They did not do enough to 

be prepared for the kind of 

violence we saw. There is a 

potential for large-scale 

breakdown of law and order 

which cannot be contained 

by the Police. 

Policing problem 

“Like in Ajah, Lagos State, 

the policemen fought the 

hoodlums for six hours but 

there was no backup. Nobody 

came to rescue them 

until the hoodlums overwhelmed 

them. We also saw 

it in many other police stations. 

“It portends great danger. 

There are a lot of police uniforms 

out there. There are 

lots of police weapons floating 

out there right now. They 

are not in the hands of law 

enforcement officers and 

these guys are perfecting 

their tactics of taking on the 

entire society. 

“Another implication of 

this is that going into the future, 

we are going to have a 

serious policing problem. 

Where are the personnel going 

to stay in the short term? 

“I visited Ajah Police Station 

and it was in a mess. 

There were no roofs anymore 

and vehicles were burnt. Targeting 

policemen was a strategic 

move to gain arms and 

to do so, they needed to 

knock out security agents.” 

Hoodlums 

Also speaking, a retired 

Commissioner of Police, 

Frank Odita, said: “It is very 

unfortunate that what started 

as a genuine and legitimate 

demand for the scrapping 

of SARS has now been 

hijacked by criminals who 

unleashed terror on the Police. 

“That the Police could not 

protect themselves or their 

assets speaks volumes on the 

level of neglect and rot in the 

present day Nigeria Police. 

How can hoodlums burn 

and loot police stations and 

barracks without resistance? 

If the Police charged with the 

responsibility for internal security 

cannot protect itself, 

how can they protect the citizens? 

Unless urgent action is 

taken to reverse this situation, 

we may be slipping into unpleasant 

situations.” 

Frightened police 

On his part, another security 

expert, Dr. Bone Efoziem, 

said: “Now, we are dealing 

with the primary stage of the 

crisis, which is the stage of the 

attack and burning down of 

police stations, carting away 

arms and ammunition and 

police uniforms. One of the 

first implications is that in the 

next few months, seeing 

somebody in police uniforms 

will not make the person a 

policeman. “Seeing somebody 

carrying a gun belonging 

to the Nigeria Police will 

not actually mean that the 

person is a policeman. . Those 

in possession of the arms will 

be carrying out crimes 

against the civil populace 

because we already have a 

frightened police force. I am 

using the word frightened 

because henceforth, it will be 

difficult to see a policeman 

on the street arresting someone.” 

On his part, President, Eagle 

Crime Awareness and 

Prevention Initiative, ECAPI, 

Ambassador Samuel Adam, 

said: “There is no gainsaying 

that security of lives and property 

generally will be affected. 

With a lot of stations already 

burnt down, I expect 

local government chairman 

to quickly provide alternative 

operational base for areas 

affected. State governments 

should quickly provide operational 

vehicles to enhance 

patrols so that we can start 

confidence building.” 

Also, Chairman, August 

Eye Security Service, Dr. Roy 

Okhidievbie, said: “Arms and 

ammunitions are in the 

hands of people. Time and 

tide wait for no one, especially 

in security risk parameters 

assessments.” 

AFTERMATH OF #ENDSARS PROTESTS: 

Daylight robbers terrorise 

Onitsha residents 

By Nwabueze Okonkwo 

B 

arely 24 hours after the 

bloody EndSARS 

protests embarked upon by 

angry youths in the 

commercial city of Onitsha, 

Anambra State, armed 

robbers have started 

terrorizing residents of the 

commercial city even in 

broad daylight. 

Between the later part of 

Friday and early part of 

yesterday when the protests 

subsided, robbers have 

continued to operate freely, 

according to residents. 

The protests in Onitsha 

and environs had turned 

bloody, last week, as 10 lives 

were reportedly lost while 

protesters set no fewer than 

three police stations ablaze. 

Meanwhile, the EndSARS 

protesters have vowed to 

continue the protests until 

their demands were met, 

warning that the elders must 

give way for youths to take 

over leadership. 

Reacting to the 

development, some legal 

practitioners in Onitsha, Sir 

Ben Okoko, Sir Anayo 

Emejue, Ejike Efobi, 

Maurice Efobi, Sylvester 

E,ze and Chukwudi 

Nwokediuko, noted that 

protests are allowed under 

the law to express feelings 

but warned against 

violence during such 

protests. 

Okoko, Emejue, Efobi, 

Efobi, Eze and 

Nwokediuko pleaded with 

the Federal Government 

to address the demands of 

the protesting youths as, 

according to them, what 

the youths really need is 

job assurance, good 

governance, police 

reform, security and hope 

for the future.

Premier League stars plan aid for 

'EndSARS' victims 

ENGLISH Premier 

League stars are 

engaged in talks on how 

to send aid to families 

that have been affected 

by violence, which 

trailed the ‘ENDSARS’ 

protests. 

This was after Odion Ighalo 

pleaded for help for 

those who might be in 

need of assistance. Top 

EPL stars seem to have 

hearkened to Ighalo’s call 

and are keen to send 

emergency aid to affected 

citizens. 

Lagos and other major 

cities across Nigeria were 

rocked by rioting after 

peaceful protests by 

youths suddenly turned 

violent last Tuesday night 

at the Lekki Toll gate 

where unconfirmed number 

of persons have been 

reported killed. 

Ighalo, Wilfred Ndidi 

and Tammy Abraham, 

have already used their 

platforms to speak out 

against the harrowing 

scenes that have shocked 

the world. 

Ighalo said: ‘I’m not the 

kind of guy who talks 

about politics — but I can’t 

keep quiet any more about 

what is going on back 

home in Nigeria. 

‘I would say the government 

are a shame to the 

world — for killing your 

own citizens, sending military 

to the streets, to kill 

protesters because they 

are protesting for their 

rights.” 

Don’t go to Nigeria, Palace boss tells Eze 

Eze 

Aguero ready to apologise 

to lineswoman 

MANCHESTER City 

manager Pep 

Guardiola has said striker 

Sergio Aguero will not hesitate 

to apologise to a lineswoman 

if she is unhappy 

about the Argentine putting 

his hand on her shoulder 

during last weekend’s 

1-0 Premier League win 

over Arsenal. 

Aguero was widely criticised 

on social media and 

by pundits for putting his 

hand on Sian Massey-Ellis’ 

shoulder while he disputed 

a throw-in that she 

had awarded to Arsenal in 

last Saturday’s game. 

Manchester City rescued 

a point at West Ham United 

yesterday, and Guardiola 

was asked in a news 

conference if Aguero 

should have spoken to the 

official later and apologised. 

“I didn’t speak to Sergio 

Ighalo 

about this but I’m pretty 

sure if she felt bad he’ll 

apologise without a problem. 

All the people looking 

from outside judge, but I 

know the intention from 

Sergio,” Guardiola said. 

He confirmed that Aguero 

is set for another spell in 

the sidelines, this time with 

a different problem, after 

the Argentine striker limped 

out the game at West Ham. 

CRYSTAL Palace 

coach Roy Hodgson 

has urged Eberechi 

Eze to choose England 

over Nigeria for his international 

career. 

Eze joined Crystal Palace 

this season and 

Hodgson is hopeful that 

he would be invited to 

the The Three Lions by 

manager Gareth Southgate 

for the 2020 European 

Championship. 

“We want our players 

to represent England 

and we want them to do 

well,” Hodgson told 

South London Press 

when asked about Eze. 

Nigeria Football Federation 

had approached the 

youngster who was in the 

England team in their 

Euro Championships U- 

21 qualifiers against Turkey 

on October 13. 

Hodgson added : 

“We’re delighted to have 

him with us and I’m hoping 

that his U-21 career 

will blossom. 

“I for one will be hoping 

he continues to do 

well in the U-21 team 

and get selected for next 

year’s European Championship.” 

Mikel targets EPL return 

with Stoke 

FORMER Super Ea 

gles captain John 

Obi Mike has said his club, 

Stoke City are in frame for 

promotion back to the English 

Premier League. 

Stoke beat Brentford 2-0 

in yesterday’s Championship 

game with Mikel in 

action in his favourite central 

midfielder position, 

while also doing defensive 

duties. 

“I just keep going, get 

ticking over and get the 

team to play and help the 

team defensively as well,” 

he continued. 

“We’re trying to find a 

way to play out. You could 

see in the game (against 

Barnsley) that we did that 

a few times, we did come 

Mikel 

out really well. If we keep 

playing like this I think 

we’ll be there. 

“I’m enjoying myself to be 

back playing the game and 

the aim is to help get this 

club where it should be, 

which is in the Premier 

League,” he said. 

Arteta expects tough duel against Leicester today 

ARSENAL boss Mikel 

Arteta believes today’s 

English Premier League 

clash against Leicester City 

will be a tough game. 

Arteta’s side beat Leicester 

2-0 in their previous meeting 

in the League Cup last 

month, a win for the Gunners 

will keep them ahead of Leicester 

who are just a point 

above Arsenal on the table. 

Ndidi 

“We know that it’s going to 

be a really competitive match 

against a team that’s evolved 

a lot in the last year or so,” 

Arteta said. 

“They had an incredible 

season last year and it’s always 

a challenge to play 

against them. We’re expecting 

a big battle.” 

Meanwhile Arteta believes 

his captain and top striker 

Abraham 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 

can cope with the pressure 

after facing questions over his 

form. Aubameyang ended a 

run of four matches without a 

goal by striking late to help 

Arsenal seal a 2-1 Europa 

League win over Rapid Vienna 

last Thursday, and Arteta 

said the 31-year-old must create 

other opportunities for himself 

to silence the critics. 

SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 25, 2020, PAGE 31 

Sports Icon list criticism 

throws sports minister 

off balance 

By Ben Efe 

SPORTS Minister, 

Sunday Dare has 

been thrown off balanced 

following the unexpected 

barrage of criticisms 

that trailed his list of Nigerian 

Sports Icons. 

The list was released 

about a week ago and 

there was cheers in some 

quarters, over the inclusion 

of some individuals. 

But the omission of 

high achieving sports 

people attracted a chorus 

of disapproval, which 

seem to have drowned 

the applause. 

It was gathered from 

sports ministry officials 

that Mr. Dare is now torn 

between tearing up the 

list or going ahead to 

present it to the highest 

authority in the land. 

“The Sports minister 

has been on the edge 

since the release of the 

list,” a sports ministry 

source disclosed. 

“It remained to be seen 

his next line of action, 

whether to present to the 

presidency for approval 

or have a review. Credibility 

matters a lot.” 

The list caused a stir 

most especially among 

football and athletics enthusiasts, 

as prominent 

names were omitted. 

Former Sports Writers 

Association of Nigeria 

president Fan 

Ndubuoke, argued that 

the list is flawed in many 

ways. 

Also former national 

decathlon champion and 

Athletics Federation of 

Nigeria technical director, 

Brown Ebewele faulted 

the inclusion of athletes 

who have violated 

doping rules. 

“There is no where in 

the world where you 

make dope tainted athletes 

Icons. It makes the 

list less credible,” Ebewele 

said. 

Ancelotti backs Iwobi to 

score for Everton 

EVERTON coach 

Carlo Ancelotti, 

said he has total confidence 

Alex Iwobi would 

be a top goal scorer for 

the Toffess. 

Iwobi will hopefully 

get a start in today’s 

game against 

Southampton and Ancelotti 

believes the Super 

Eagles midfielder can 

deliver. 

Iwobi has endured 

mixed fortunes since 

joining Everton from Arsenal 

for £28m on deadline 

day last summer, 

with injury and inconsistent 

form leaving many 

Blues yet to be convinced 

on the forward’s 

ability to make a lasting 

impact at Goodison. 

“He has quality, he is 

a strong player physically, 

he has ability in 

front,” Ancelotti said 

“He did well when he 

played against Brighton, 

he gave an assist to 

James to score. 

“ He didn’t play a lot, 

but he played in the cup, 

he scored goals. I have 

total confidence with 

him.” 

Council of sports meeting holds 

tomorrow 

Dare 

Iwobi 

THE Council of Sports 

meeting earlier scheduled 

to hold in Lagos last 

Wednesday but following 

the ENDSARS crisis will 

now hold between tomorrow 

and Wednesday, according 

to a source close to 

the Ministry. 

It was however gathered 

that the meeting will no 

longer hold in Lagos but by 

virtual attendance by members 

from their respective 

bases. 

The Council of Sports 

meeting which comprises 

the top echelon of the ministry 

as well as Commissioners 

and Directors of sports 

of the 36 states of the Federation 

and the Federal 

Capital Territory was to discuss 

the way forward for 

sports in the country following 

the lifting of the ban on 

sporting activities caused 

by the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Part of the issues to be tabled 

at the meeting is the 

possibility or otherwise of 

holding the postponed 

National Sports Festival 

tagged Edo 2020 this year. 

The biennial sports Festival 

was earlier schedule 

to hold between March 20 

and April 2, 2020 but was 

shelved because of the 

Coronavirus which 

plagued the entire world.


SEE SOLUTION PAGE 5 

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Advert Dept: 01- 7924470; Hotline: 01-4544821; Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. 

E-mail website: sundayvanguard@yahoo.com, editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, sunvanguardmail@yahoo.com. Advert:advert@vanguardngr.com. Internet: www.vanguardngr.com 

(ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: WALE AKINOLA 08023145556. All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

25102020 - Looting spree in 9 states

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