12012021 - COVID-19: FG may suspend NIN registration — MINISTER

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6— Vanguard, TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021 Delta LG polls: Women protest assault of 68-year-old grandmum By Festus Ahon ASABA—HUNDREDS of women from Ubulu-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area, Delta State, yesterday, stormed the state Government House, Asaba in protest against alleged assault of a 68-year old grandmother, Mrs Patricia Odiaka, by the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the March 6 local council election, Mr Jude Chukwunwike. The women, under the aegis of Concerned Women of Aniocha South Local Government Area, besieged the Government House gate demanding the withdrawal of Chukwunwike as the party’s flag-bearer in the forthcoming council elections. Carrying placards with various inscriptions, the protesters in a letter addressed to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, called for the arrest and prosecution of Chukwunwike over the alleged attack of the 68-year-old woman. They alleged that Mrs Odiaka was slapped several times and was rushed to a hospital in Agbor where she was reportedly revived. In the letter, which read in parts, the women said: “Your Excellency, our findings revealed that Chukwunwike is a bully and cannot be entrusted with the position of the local government chairman, as such position will further empower him to visit violence on women. “We wish to add that Aniocha South women have continuously supported and voted PDP in all elections since 1999, but we will not hesitate to withdraw our support for PDP if this matter is swept under the carpet. “We demand justice not just for Mrs Patricia Odiaka, but the entire Aniocha South women as injury to one is an injury to all.” Meanwhile, the protesters also called for sanction against Director-General of Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency, Mrs Amaechi Mrakpor, over her alleged role in the matter. Female corps member hacks lover to death in A-Ibom •18-year-old girl sets lover ablaze in Benue By Harris Emmanuel & Peter Duru A female corps member, Chidimma Odume was almost lynched by residents of Abak Road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital after she allegedly hacked her boyfriend to death on Sunday. It was gathered that Chidimma Odume graduated from University of Nigeria, Nsukka and is currently serving at Bureau of Political and Legislative Affairs, Uyo. The corps member, who hails from Enugu State, was reportedly caught while trying to jump over the fence of the compound to escape after committing the act. She was said to have been stripped naked and beaten to a pulp by the angry mob when the lifeless body of the unidentified man she had macheted to death was found in the apartment. An eyewitness, Godwin George, said: “She macheted a young guy to death this morning, whom she went out with. She killed the young guy instantly after inflicting several cuts on his stomach and face; on trying to jump out from the fence she was caught. “Some bike men there said she used to send them to buy weed for her ever since she was deployed to Akwa Ibom for her NYSC.” The suspect is said to have since been arrested and taken to the police station for further interrogation. Contacted, state Public Relations Officer, Odiko Macdon, confirmed the incident, saying: “At about 11.00 p.m on Sunday, the police got a distress call and we responded swiftly at 219, Abak Road in Uyo. “One Chidinma Odume, a Youth Corps member serving at the political desk at Edet Akpan Avenue, was said to be at the verge of being mobbed by angry youths but the police rescued her.” Macdon explained that the police have received the corpse and deposited it in a mortuary. 18-year-old girl sets lover ablaze in Benue RESUMED: Students of Seed of Life Nursery and Primary School, Eleyele, Ibadan washing their hands before entering the school premises as schools resumed for 2021 academic year in Ibadan, Oyo State, yesterday. #EndSARS: I’ve not seen my husband 8 yrs after arrest, woman cries out By Ozioruva Aliu BENIN CITY— A middleaged woman, Mrs Rita Okungbowa, yesterday, told the Edo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry for victims of SARS and related abuses that she has not seen her husband for the past eight years after he was arrested by men of the now-disbanded Special Anti- Robbery Squad, SARS. She told the panel that her husband, a Benin movie director, Prince Osayande Okungbowa, was tagged a kidnapper and was taken away by men of SARS and that every effort to know where he was incarcerated has proven abortive. Mrs Okungbowa told the panel that having waited till date, she was left with no option than to conclude that he might have been killed by SARS operatives. She said: “On September 12, 2012, SARS operatives came to my house and picked my husband alleging that he is a kidnapper. “My mother-in-law and I went to the State Criminal Investigation Department, and immediately I mentioned the name of my husband, they drove us away. They did not allow us to see him. “The next day, we also went back; they did not allow us to also see him. So, one of the Chidimma Odume, the suspect. police officers then told us that they have taken him to the court and thereafter, to the prison. “So, I asked which of the prisons, they said the White House (that is the maximum prison at Sapele Road). We went there, we did not see him. We went back to the station, but they later referred us to Oko prison, and we did not also see him there. “So, I decided to take a lawyer, and when we got to the station, the OC then asked, who was in charge of the matter, they told us one Sergeant Esezobo was the Investigating Police Officer, IPO. “When we asked for the Esezobo, they said he had gone to the canteen and we went to the canteen and immediately he saw us, he ran away. “So I have been going to the police station to search for him (my husband) and I have not set my eyes on him for the past eight years and because of that, I decided to approach the panel so that they can help me ask the disbanded SARS operatives where they kept my husband." The distraught woman pleaded with the panel to compel the SARS operatives to compensate her to enable her to give her children a better life. “Even house rent, I can’t pay. I sleep in the church, Celestial Church of Christ, that is where I normally stay because there is no money to rent a house. I don’t have anything to do, I go out to wash people’s clothes just to survive. Is that not painful?" Also, an 18-year-old girl (name withheld), has been apprehended by the Police after she allegedly set her boyfriend ablaze after a quarrel in the Wadata area of Makurdi, Benue State. An eyewitness disclosed that the teenage girl carried out the dastardly act, yesterday, at about 2 am when the victim was fast asleep. According to him, “the victim’s scream attracted the attention of neighbours, who rushed to help him but he had already suffered many burns. “The neighbours immediately took him to the nearby Makurdi Federal Medical Centre, FMC, where he was admitted.” Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene, who confirmed the incident, said the 18-year-old poured petrol around the victim’s one-room apartment before setting it on fire. She said: “We don’t know why she did that. We are yet to question her but I can confirm that she has been arrested and just brought to our custody." 3 family members die in Kano fire incident By Bashir Bello KANO— Three members of a family, yesterday, lost their lives in an early morning fire in Rijiyar Zaki, Ungoggo Local Government Area of Kano State. It was gathered that the family was trapped on the ground floor of a building when the fire incident occurred at about 3:18 am. Spokesperson of Kano State Fire Service, Sa’idu Muhammad, who confirmed the incident, yesterday, said its rescue team deployed to the scene to put out the fire rescued the victims to the hospital where they were confirmed dead. According to him, “At about 3:18 am, we received a distress call through Malam Salisu Muhammad, informing us of a fire incident at Rijiyar Zaki (Rumfar Shehu) Ungoggo Local Government Area of the state. “Upon receiving the call, we deployed our officers from Rijiyar Zaki fire division to the scene of the incident. “Our officers controlled and put out the fire. The three victims trapped were rescued and taken to Murtala Muhammad Hospital where they were confirmed dead. “The victims, Hauwa Musa, 25; Mubarak Musa, 13; and Salamatu Musa, 20, were members of the same family."
Vanguard, TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021—7 Our kidnappers collected N2m cash, counted it on the highway — Abducted couple in Ondo •Say police lied over rescue claim By Dayo Johnson AKURE—A couple, Mr and Mrs Gbenga Ibikunle, who were abducted along Uso–Owo highway in Ondo State have narrated how their abductors collected N2 million cash along the highway before releasing them. It would be recalled that the couple, who travelled to the wife’s home town in Ebonyi State with their three children were heading back to the state when they were kidnapped. While the couple were marched into the thick forest by the gunmen, their three children and the Lexus SUV in which they were travelling in were abandoned on the highway. They were released after spending three days in the kidnappers’ den. Police image-maker, Tee Leo lkoro, had claimed that two suspects were arrested after combing the forest by joint security operatives after the abductors demanded N2 million ransom. How it happened But while narrating their ordeal to newsmen in Akure, the husband, Gbenga Ibikunle, said the claims by the security operatives that their release were secured by them were far from the truth. According to him, “it was my family members that paid the ransom demanded by the kidnappers. The security agencies were not involved in our release at all. “We were travelling back from Ebonyi State to Akure on January 5 and when we got to Uso towards Ogbese, I saw a bike man riding in front of my car on the same direction. All of a sudden, he stopped and I hit him with my car. “As I stopped to help the man alongside my wife, the kidnappers came out from the bush and started shooting for about 10 minutes. “They started beating me and later marched us into the bush and other suspects ransacked my car and carted away valuable items, including a huge sum of money. “My children wanted to follow us to where they were dragging us but the kidnappers chased them back to the major road. “We walked for like five hours inside the bush and they later took us to where they kept other victims. They tied us and started beating us again. “We were in the bush with them for three good days without food. They treated us like criminals. They beat us with stick and cutlass. “We met a man in their den, who was also released the same way we were. His family parted with N10 million before he was released. Attempt to rape my wife “At a point, they wanted to rape my wife, but she tricked them that she was three months pregnant. They later gave us a mobile phone to call our family, demanding N20 million. At the end of the day, my family rallied round and paid N2 million. “Other victim we met there paid N10 million and we were all released at the same spot. They collected the ransom along the road without being jittery. In fact, they counted all the money before they released me to my brother, who brought the N2 million. Police lied over rescue claim “l was then surprised that police were claiming that they rescued me. This is nothing but a lie coming from the pit of hell. “I can say it boldly that no security agency came to our rescue. We were released around Gbenga Ibikunle 1 am after ransom was paid to them. “If the police were professional enough, they would have arrested them all because they came out on the major road to collect the ransom. They are just deceiving us all.“ The victim who said their abductors are Fulani lamented that Nigeria is in a big mess. He said: “We don’t have security in this country anymore. It is sad our security agencies are not effective. The kidnappers carried out their operations with impunity. They boasted that they will kill any policeman that wanted to rescue us. “I am weeping for this country because we are not safe. We can no longer travel. PARADED: 18 suspected kidnappers, armed robbers and car snatchers operating along major roads in the country paraded by Police Public Relations Officer, CP Frank Mba at STS Headquarters, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan. Gunmen kill 3 MOPOLs in Ughelli, cart away AK-47 rifles, 120 rounds of ammunition By Perez Brisibe UGHELLI— Three mobile policemen were reportedly killed, Sunday night, by gunmen in Ughelli, Delta State, thereby worsening the security situation in the town and its environs. The attack on the police team made up of two inspectors and a sergeant happened on the same day a couple was attacked at the Ekuigbo axis of Ughelli, killing the lady in the process in what witnesses described as a failed kidnap attempt. Giving details of the attack on the police personnel, a staff of the fast-food spot where the incident occurred, said two of the gunmen walked up to where the policemen were sitting and shot them. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, gave the names of the slain policemen as Inspector Simeon Madaki, Inspector Muktari Lawan and Sergeant Adamu Ibrahim, all from PMF 47, Zaria in Kaduna State. According to the source, the police operatives were attached as police guards to the fast-food before the unfortunate incident. Efforts to speak with the state Police Public Relations Officer, Onome Onowakpoyeya, were fruitless, but a senior police officer at the Ughelli Police Area Command confirmed the incident and the identity of the slain policemen. The source said the gunmen also went away with 120 rounds of live ammunition and the three AK-47 rifles belonging to the slain policemen. According to the source, “The fourth mobile policeman, who is an inspector, had taken cover during the incident, which lasted about five minutes. “We also recovered 26 expended ammunition of 2.62 calibres at the scene of the incident which we suspect were shot by the hoodlums." Another communal conflict rocks C-River, many feared dead By Emma Una BARELY a few days after an inter-communal conflict between the people of Abankang and their Alok neighbours left about five persons dead and residential buildings razed, another crisis has erupted around the same area. The conflict, which ensued, weekend, between the people of Edondon and their Ohumuruket neighbours in Obubra Local Government Area in the central district of the state has reportedly left some people dead and houses razed. Eyewitnesses said the people of Ohumuruket went to Edondon community for peace talks following skirmishes between youths of both communities some weeks back but conflict erupted during the peace talks leading to the hacking down of some persons and burning of houses. “The Ohumuruket people came to our village for peace talk but they came with machetes and guns and before we knew what was happening, a fight broke out and some of our people who were gathered at the village square were killed,” Thomas, a youth of Edondon, told Vanguard on phone. He said the population of Ohumuruket is higher than theirs and they took that advantage to attack and kill his people. However, an indigene of Kwara Director found dead in his office By Demola Akinyemi ILORIN—THERE was confusion, yesterday, in Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development along Jebba Road, Ilorin when a Director, one Dr Khalid Ibrahim Ndaman, was found dead in his office. Vanguard reliably gathered that Dr Ndaman, who until his death was a Director of Veterinary in the ministry, was sighted going to office in the morning hale and hearty. Further checks revealed that it was when one of the staff went to meet him about an hour after his arrival to discuss a pending official matter that he met him resting his head on the table, but already dead. One of the staff, who craved anonymity, said: “The staff knocked on his door, but there was no response, so after some time, he went inside. There was a pending official matter since Friday that he needed to conclude with him so he needed to see him. “Having waited outside and no response, the staff went inside the office and met him resting his head on the table. He greeted him without a response, he then moved closer and touched him to realise that he was already dead.” Spokesman of Kwara State Police Command, Kayode Okasanmi, who confirmed the incident, said: “I’m aware of the incident. For now, it is a case of sudden natural death until we complete the investigation. We will brief the press depending on the outcome of our findings." On whether there has been any arrest on the incident, he said no. Ohumuruket, who gave his name as Ekpotom, said the fight at the Edondon playground was provoked by their hosts, who were making provocative statements rather than peace talk. “We did not go there under any guise to attack Edondon as they are claiming but to make peace but during deliberations, the Edondon people started threatening us which led to the fight.” The state Deputy Governor, Professor Ivara Esu, has warned both sides to maintain peace and stop further violence. “We have been working towards peace in the area and we will not continue to tolerate further violence between you. Better warn your youths,“ Esu warned both villages.
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Page 19 and 20: C M Y K Nigeria lost N5.4trn to tax
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12012021 - COVID-19: FG may suspend NIN registration — MINISTER

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