11052021 - Insecurity: Bandits attack Katsina mosque, abduct 10

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A’Ibom community leader, residents at daggers drawn over alleged power abuse, pilfering •Udobong, village head, denies allegation AKWA A IBOM … LAND OF PROMISE By Chioma Onuegbu Uyo IKOT AKPAN EDIENE- HEAD of Akpan Ediene Village, Oku Clan, Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Eteidung Japhet Udobong, and inhabitants of the community are at loggerheads over purported misuse of power and misappropriation of funds. Water pump, generator unilaterally removed One of the residents who spoke to NDV, Mr. Nkereuwem Effiong, complained: “We are worried about what is happening in our community. This borehole here was done by Rotary Club International for Saint Philip Lutheran School, but our village head removed the water pump, and G-Pee tank for his private use. Even the village head has divided the school land, sold some portion to people and used the money for his personal benefit. “If government wants to develop or put up a project for us in the school in future, there will be no land again to do that. This borehole water project was supposed to serve this school, instead of the pupils crossing the busy road to either drink water or wash their hands. The community wants him to prove to us that relevant authorities like the Ministry of Lands and Ministry of Education gave him permission to sell portions of the school land. “And in this community those that own a borehole sell a gallon of 20 litres for about N20, as a community, we approached Akwa Ibom State Social Community Development in partnership with World Bank, they came to our rescue by giving us water and a 6.5KVA generator in case there is no light. Someone was commissioned to man the project so that it will not fail, but sadly, the same village head took the generator to his house, and locked up the place. That is why we are complaining. Community petitions govt “We had written to the Ministry of Local Government and THE TEAM Emma Amaize - Editor Samuel Oyadongha - Yenagoa Jimitota Onoyume- Warri Gabriel Enogholase- Benin City Festus Ahon- Asaba Egufe Yafugborhi- Port Harcourt Emmanuel Una- Calabar Akpokona Omafuaire- Warri Paul Olayemi- Sapele Harri-Okon Emmanuel- Uyo Chioma Onuegbu-Uyo Ike Uchechukwu- Calabar Davies Iheamnachor- Port Harcourt Emem Idio- Yenagoa Brisibe Perez- Ughelli Theresa Ugbobu- Agbor Ochuko Akuopha- Oleh Chancel Bomadi Sunday - Bomadi Paul Olayemi- Sapele Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu- Benin City Chijioke Nwankpa, Port Harcourt Barnabas Uzosike, Benin City •Borehole project at St. Philips Lutheran Primary School, Ikot Akpan Ediene village, Uyo, allegedly vandalised. Chieftaincy Affairs in 2014, we wrote again, April, this year, because the village head does not want to stop. In fact, if you condemn what the village head is doing, he would arrest you with the police. We are trying to remind government with our new petition that this matter has not been resolved. Let the village head account for all the things he has done.” Why I quit village council- Daniel Another villager, Mr. Whyte Daniel who said he once served a secretary of the Village council, stressed: “Because of the village head’s atrocities, I decided to opt out of the council. Some times when I tried to advise him, he would tell me that I am not in the position to advise him on what to do. He started using his teenage daughter to sign documents that I, as the secretary, should sign and he does that without my knowledge” Village head shuns clan head’s invitation Similarly, a deputy family head, Mr. Imo Ekpe Ukam said: “Actually what the village head is doing is very bad and if you try to tell him that what he is doing is bad, he will not listen. We have written several petitions to our clan head and when he invites him, he does not honour the invitation. And when you try to advise him, sometimes, he invites the police to arrest you. He will frame you up,”Ukam said. Udobong has shown no remorse even after suspension —Okpong, clan head Contacted, the clan head of Oku clan, Uyo Local Government Area, Etebom Aniefiok Okpong, who described the situation as unfortunate, said since the village head was suspended by the clan council few months ago, he has not shown any remorse. “There are 15 villages under my control which Ikot Akpan Ediene is among. It is true that the community has written series of protest letters to me in terms of selling of community lands, fraudulent acts, threat to people’s lives and misuse of What the community is doing is in order; they need to hold their leaders accountable and accountability in government starts from the community office. The community has written to me, and when I invite him (village head), he will not tell me the true version, instead, he will take a reverse action against my advice. “In fact, maybe because of the advice I have been giving him, he tried to look down on my office. As the clan head, that village is under my clan and every By Emma Amaize YENAGOA — YOUTHS and agitators in Niger-Delta have expressed concern over the alleged never-ending persecution of Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the Niger-Delta Development Commission, NDDC, by self-proclaimed critical stakeholders over ongoing forensic audit and inauguration of a substantive board for the interventionist agency. The campaigners under the auspices of 21st Century Youths of Niger-Delta and Agitators with Conscience, 21st CYNDAC, in a statement by the coordinator, Izon Ebi, asserted: “We are Niger-Delta Voice, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 — 25 directive should be taken from here. When anything is reported to us and we advise him to come, he will just give us negative reply. Like where he sold somebody’s land and that person brought the matter here. “To accord him full respect, we invited him and he gave us the story that a woman who is married cannot take any position in his father’s property, which is very wrong. So we placed an injunction on that land he sold and that injunction is for peacemaking. Then we invited the parties to come. Instead of him to come, he went and removed the injunction, so the clan now took him to court. Govt should intervene “So these are areas that we are concerned about, although he is given a certificate of recognition by government; that does not give him the right to intimidate people. His certificate can be withdrawn. The certificate is with instruction, if you go contrary to such instructions, if government deems it wise, it can withdraw it from you. “You see, apart from criminal acts by people, in civil matters you do not involve the police, but he has been using the police to handle issues in his community, victimizing people, frames people up. In fact, some of his subjects are afraid of him. The community has written to people that gave him the certificate of recognition, and the letter will reach the state governor. “If the matter is taken to court, the judiciary will not take it kindly with him because there are some areas that are incriminating. You do not expect such from a traditional ruler. Police cannot handle traditional matters except where there is crime like stealing, killing, kidnapping and all that. But in the case of land matters and opening of community roads, you have to take advice from the people, we have family heads, who are next to village heads. “Some of them are senior people who know the norms and ethics of the village. The community recommended him and when they bring their complaint to me and I invite him, he will not come, believing that the cap that we are wearing are the same. It is not good, so it is for the government to look into the matter immediately because it can cause serious problems in the community. They’re telling lies against me – Village head Reacting, the village head, Udobong denied the allegations levelled against him, noting that trouble started after some of them who were members of the village council were replaced by new Youths, agitators decry incessant harassment of Akpabio, NDDC BAYELSA …JERUSALEM OF IJAW NATION alarmed at the continuous harassment of the NDDC and Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs by so-called critical stakeholders on the forensic audit and the inauguration of a substantive board for the commission. “The lampooning and provocation call to question the patriotic bent and integrity indices of this so-called critical stakeholders. If we may ask, why are these stakeholders not asking about the trillions that had been frittered away with nothing to show; why are they not interested in the malfeasance that have been the norm rather than the exception in the commission? Like the unaccounted for 19 trillion and the 1 billion dollar consultancy fee, etc. “Rather, their vituperation is on a new board, not the conclusion of the forensic audit instituted by Mr. President to reorganise the commission? It is obvious that the traducers of the commission and the minister are those that have people after their own tenure expired. He also denied locking up the borehole project meant for the community, saying: “They have been writing series of petitions on the school land, I did not do anything. If you come to the school, you can ask the teachers whether there is any problem there. I have opened up 48 new roads for the community. Even the tarred road in the community, I applied to the Niger-Delta Development Commission, NDDC. They are lying against me, all the petitions that I did this, I did that, when the police come for investigation, they will find nothing. “If they also said I use police to intimidate and arrest the people in my community, tell them to mention to you the police station where it happened because from there you will find out if what they have said is true or not. That is how they go about making trouble in the community. They are just jealous of me because of my position, which is the problem. Clan head never invited me “My clan head went and placed an injunction on a land without my knowledge. If you want to place injunction in any community, you must let the leader of that community know. When the clan head first heard about that issue, he was supposed to call me and the woman, but he never did. “I believe it was God who made you to hear my own side of the story. If it were the clan head that heard these complaints about me, he will not care to hear my own side of the story like you just did. And it is not true that if the clan head calls me that I do not go, why will I not honour his invitation?” Community acting within the precincts of law – COMPPART Meanwhile, a human rights activist, and executive director, COMPPART Foundation for Justice and Peace Building, Mr. Saviour Akpan, while reacting on the issue said: “What the community is doing is in order. It is the fundamental right of the citizens because they need to hold their leaders accountable. And accountability in government starts from the community. “They are saying what the village head is doing is not good, therefore, the appropriate authorities should investigate. He should be subjected to further investigation and if he is found culpable, he should be relieved of that position. To me, I support what the citizens are doing, so long as they have not chosen to take laws into their hands,” he added. put the commission in dire straits. “The 21st CYNDAC and other patriotic youths in the Niger- Delta would not fold our arms and watch these economic buccaneers keep us back in Egypt. We are using this medium to urge the Federal Government to conclude the forensic audit and thereafter swear in a substantive board of the commission. “The clamour for immediate swearing in of a board is to muddy up the result of the forensic audit which will render some of the so-called critical stakeholders culpable. “We urge the Federal Government to jettison such calls, we also call on government to treat all those issuing threats to the government by threatening to destroy vital energy infrastructure as criminals because enough is enough,” the group said.
26 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 By Dapo Akinrefon & Olasunkanmi Akoni L AGOS—THE Commissioner of Police, Lagos Command, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, yesterday, claimed that the proscribed separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB; agitators for the Oodua Republic and commercial motorcyclists, also known as Okada riders, constitute security threats in Lagos State. He also alleged that IPoB intends to attack soft targets in Lagos. The allegations were rebuffed and described as a lie by IPoB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, nine Yoruba groups and the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams. These came on a day Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu said his administration has concluded plans to review the 2012 Lagos Traffic Law, guiding the operations of Okada riders, noting that there might be a total ban on their activities. It’s a plot to fuel division —Nnamdi Kanu Faulting Odumosu’s allegations, IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu said the report was a plot to cause division between the Yoruba and Igbo. Kanu said: “The public is hereby notified that the allegations that IPOB is plotting to attack Lagos is a lie. Their intention is to fuel a division between Yoruba and Biafrans. It won’t work. This is not 1967.” Police should avoid ethnic profiling —Pan Yoruba groups Also, the Pan Yoruba groups, in a statement, urged the Police to avoid ethnic profiling adding that the security report was an Igbo plot against Lagos and Yoruba people. The statement was signed by Messrs Femi Ajibola (Oodua Nationalist Coalition), Kunle Oshodi (Agbekoya), Taofik Adeyemi (Reformed Oodua People’s Congress), Diran Obalola (Oodua Liberation Movement), Femi Agbana (Yoruba World Congress), Rasaq Arogundade (OPC- Reformed), Eunice Okunola (Oodua Women Coalition), Goke Otunla (Network for Yoruba Alliance) and Ahmed Korede (Apapo Oodua Koya). The statement reads: “While we cherish the responsibility of the police to do their work, we are concerned about the public declaration of the alleged IPOB plans to attack Lagos by the Nigerian Police. “We are worried that since the police already claim to be in possession of what appears to be confidential information, the proper thing would have been to discreetly go after the IPOB members to arrest them unless the police are not sure of its information. “The police statement carries the possibility of being misinterpreted as an Igbo plot against Lagos and Yoruba people. This is dangerous given the fragile nature of Nigeria. “We are deeply concerned that the Police publicly declared allegation tempts the prospect of setting Yoruba in :Vanguard News the South West against Igbos. This is very unfortunate at a time that state institutions are increasingly being turned to instruments for pursuing primordial ethnic interests. The Yoruba will work never to allow this to happen “We are concerned that terrorists and armed herdsmen of Fulani extraction have openly been attacking, kidnapping, raping and killing Yoruba people in the South West but at no time did the police call a press conference to announce such plan after before or after each horrendous killing. There was also never a time the police linked such attacks to any ethnic group. “Only recently, Yoruba in Mile 2 was attacked by these people, the police did not make any attempt to speak about the ethnic identity of the perpetrators yet we know they are largely from a section in the North. “We are concerned that the police allegation risks setting a greater danger of ethnic conflict between Igbo and Yoruba people, conscious that this will benefit a certain group who think setting Igbo against Yoruba will meet the objective of scuttling the search for peaceful self-determination by the two great civilizations. “We urge the police not to allow themselves to be used by the desperate Caliphate whose age-long dream is to divide the South and set the people against each other for its own narrow gains “We urge Yoruba people to ignore the conscious attempts to cause ethnic conflict between Igbo and Yoruba at this time that both ethnic groups need each other. “The police should avoid ethnic profiling. It is dangerous. The Pan Yoruba groups assure of our collective desire to sustain peaceful coexistence between Igbo and Yoruba and avoid any slide into ethnic conflict, an ill wind that blows no one any good. To this end, we shall set up a Committee to work out a platform to sustain ethnic harmony in Lagos. “On police plan to attack agitators for Yoruba selfdetermination, we urge the police to have respect for international laws and should signify the basic democratic principle which is the right of a people to debate their political and economic future.” I don’t believe IPOB can attack Lagos —Gani Adams When contacted, Iba Adams said he does not believe anyone or a group can attack Lagos State. He said: “I don’t expect IPOB to attack Lagos and I believe they (IPOB) will never do that. I also do not oppose their call for selfdetermination. I will be the last person to oppose any ethnic group calling for selfdetermination because no part of the country is safe from the attack of marauding Fulani herdsmen. “I don’t believe IPOB will do that and I don’t believe any Igbo man will attack Lagos because a majority of their businesses are in Lagos. We, in Yorubaland, are also feeling the pains because people are being killed and maimed on our farms, our farmlands are being destroyed. When you :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058 •Gani Adams •Sanwo-Olu •Odumosu INSECURITY: IPoB, Oodua Republic agitators on close watch —Lagos CP • Says ‘Okada' riders, religious intolerance top security threats • It's a plot to fuel division —Nnamdi Kanu • Police should avoid ethnic profiling —Yoruba groups • I don't believe IPOB can attack Lagos —Gani Adams • As Sanwo-Olu mulls total ban on ‘Okada' operations push a goat to the wall, the goat will fight back; I will not support anyone planning to cause crises in the South-West. If anything happens to Lagos, the country is gone. I don’t believe in that information that IPOB is about to attack Lagos but we had to react to it. Not only IPOB, but no ethnic nationality must attack Lagos, if they do, that is the beginning of trouble in Nigeria.” IPOB, Oodua Republic agitators on close watch The police boss spoke while giving an appraisal of the security situation in Lagos at the Stakeholders’ Meeting on Security, held in Alausa, Ikeja, organized by the state government. This stakeholders’ meeting was aimed at putting the security agencies, communities and entire stakeholders at alert, towards making the state safer for residents to live and carry out daily activities within ambits of the law without any apprehension or fear. On the activities of IPOB and Oodua republic agitators, the Lagos Police boss said: “The threat of IPOB to attack soft targets in Lagos is equally being put on the radar of the command’s intelligence gathering and other security services in the state. Strategies are being put in place to neutralize their activities. “Similarly, the command has taken notice of agitators for the Oodua Republic by some Yoruba separatist groups and the threats to disrupt law and order in the state. 24 of these groups have been identified and being closely monitored. “The command is using this medium to solicit for the support of all and sundry to be vigilant at all times and report any suspicious person or movement to security agencies. Let us adopt the slogan of “when you see something, say something.” Okada riders, religious intolerance top security threats in Lagos He, however, identified various security challenges in the state with the menace of commercial motorcyclists, popularly called Okada riders, and the intolerant attitude of religious leaders top the lists of security threats in the state. He stated that 192 died in 280 okada accidents recorded by the police between January and May 7, 2021, across the state. Odumosu said: “One of the areas of concern to every citizen is the current security situation in the country and the need to continuously appraise the existing strategies in Lagos State to combat the threats in order to keep the hoodlums at bay will not be out of place. “To sustain the fight against crimes and criminalities in the state, it is gratifying to inform the gathering that, from 1st January 2021 till date, the command has been able to bring down to the barest minimal, as all indices of serious crimes, like cultism, armed robbery, kidnapping, civil unrest, violent protests and targeted attacks on Government facilities by aggrieved groups have assumed a downward trend. “Our intelligence report revealed that most miscreants now use abandoned buildings as hideouts and in most cases, initiation camp, use uncompleted buildings, dwelling house and hotels to hibernate before and after the commission of the crime, use abandoned vehicles to store their operational arms and their loots, build shanties on abandoned open spaces and convert it to their sanctuaries to commit crimes, use vehicles with covered number plates to perpetrate crimes, illegal fabrication and possession of arms, use of tinted vehicles to commit crimes.” Sanwo-Olu mulls total ban on Okada operations in Lagos Meanwhile, speaking at a Stakeholders’ Meeting on Security, held in Alausa, Ikeja, Governor Sanwo-Olu lamented that commercial motorcyclists were flouting the restrictions imposed on their activities His words: “Nigeria’s ability to reach its full economic potential will be severely constrained in the absence of guaranteed security of lives and property in Lagos. In recent times, we have recorded a worrying trend of nefarious activities in the state; from kidnappings, armed robbery, cult clashes and violent assaults. We have tried, as a state, to respond in real-time to the majority of these challenges by deploying a range of tactics from force-for-force, to carrot-and-stick to diplomacy. “To advance our interests and objectives as a state, in the context of security, is to ensure that we contain and arrest every form of aggression and crime that threatens the development, progress and growth of the state; and by so doing improve upon the welfare and quality of life of the people. “For us in Lagos State, there is a direct correlation between security and longlasting economic growth and development. We cannot speak of a 21stcentury megacity and the vision of a Greater Lagos if we are unable to assure and guarantee the security of our citizens and their properties. “The resultant effect of the #ENDSARS mayhem has contributed in no small way to the severely fragmented security architecture that we have today. We have risen to the arduous challenge of arresting this general state of insecurity with all the resources we have at hand. Over the last couple of weeks and months, we have instituted a number of measures designed to curb activities that engender insecurity, all with a view to secure our state. “We have noted with dismay the fact that okada riders disregard and flout the restrictions imposed on their activities in certain areas of the metropolis. We have also observed the ongoing war between commercial motorcyclists and law enforcement agencies. “This propensity for lawlessness is not who we are as Lagosians. The Lagos State Road Traffic Law, enacted in 2012 to safeguard the lives of people and to maintain law and order on our roads, is the legal backbone for the restrictions put in place early last year and designed to curb the okada menace. “We banned the activities of okada and tricycle operators on key roads, highways and local government areas but, sadly, many have continued to disobey the law and, in some cases, resist enforcement by engaging in organised attacks on law enforcement agencies. “Our mission of attaining a Greater Lagos can only be achieved when we all resolve to live in an orderly manner. Consequently, and based on all that we have seen and experienced in the past couple of weeks, as well as the increasing threats posed by the activities of commercial motorcycle operators to the safety and security of lives, we will be announcing further changes to the parameters of motorcycle and tricycle operations in the state. “We are also excited to announce that next week, we will be launching the ‘Last Mile Buses’ that will ply inner roads and safely get passengers to their final destinations. We envisage that this initiative will also generate employment opportunities for Lagosians, including the commercial motorcyclists who will be employed as operators of the Last Mile Buses.” On the re-launch of the Lagos State Residents Card, the governor said: “This database will form a critical part of our security architecture, as it will ensure that we know who is who, at any point in time.”
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11052021 - Insecurity: Bandits attack Katsina mosque, abduct 10

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