metro
Insecurity: Activists, labour, youth leaders protest in Lagos, Abuja, others
Rights activists, leaders of labour unions and youth bodies and civil society organisations took to the streets of the Lagos, Osun, Edo states and Abuja on Monday protesting against deteriorating insecurity and what they called bad governance in Nigeria.
In Lagos, an activist and lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), led the protest, which included his musician son, Falz, and others, under the theme ‘National Day of Action Against Insecurity in Nigeria’.
They marched to the Lagos State secretariat at Alausa, Ikeja, the state capital, where they were received by members of the state House of Assembly.
Falana said there was a need to provide for the poor so that peace could be guaranteed in the country.
He urged states that had not adopted the Child Rights Act to urgently do so and take the children off the streets to enable them to get an education.
“The South-West has 54 universities; graduates are being churned out daily but nobody is planning for their future.
“We are asking you because Lagos is where everybody comes to. This is the home of every Nigerian, and we are asking you to intensify your efforts and increase the budget of the poor so that there will be peace.
“It is now clear in our country that without peace for the poor, there cannot be peace for the rich. For those who want to fight banditry and terrorism, we must put all our children in school.”
In Osun State, protesters converged on Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo at 9.30am and later marched to the popular Oke-Fia Junction.
They chanted anti-government songs and waved their placards and banners with various inscriptions such as ‘End insurgency now’, ‘Things are getting worse in Nigeria’ and ‘Buhari should speak up’.
Leader of the groups, Waheed Lawal, said, “I urge the residents of the state to rise against injustice, killings and other sad issues in the country.
“Despite the richness of Nigeria in natural resources and fertile land, our economy still suffers greatly. Poor leadership has put the country in the wrong direction, leading to untold hardship among the masses. We are out today to sensitise the residents of Osun to always ask for a better Nigeria.”
In Edo State, an activist, Osagie Obayuwana, said the protest was meant to call the attention of those in position of power to honestly tackle the deteriorating insecurity and bad governance in Nigeria.
Obayuwana, a former Edo Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, said, “We gathered at New Benin Market and we were to move to this place, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre. There is an agency of the Edo State government called PUWOV with volunteers on matters of public works. But they attacked us, destroyed our banners and placards, took away our laptops and smashed them. They said we were against the government of Godwin Obaseki. How can that be?
“The protest is a nationwide mobilisation against insecurity and mass poverty in the country. Our coming out today is to say that the Nigerians can no longer keep quiet.
“At no time in the history of our country has insecurity been as terrible as it is today. You cannot travel from one town to another. Even within your village, you cannot go from your house to your farm. Children in schools have been objects of abduction.”
metro
Repentant Boko Haram members burn NDLEA, Customs checkpoints in Borno
Repentant Boko Haram members burn NDLEA, Customs checkpoints in Borno
A group of suspected repentant Boko Haram insurgents, on Wednesday stormed the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigeria Customs Service checkpoints at Kasuwan Fara, a suburb of Maiduguri metropolis, chasing away the personnel on duty and setting ablaze all structures at the checkpoints.
The incident, according to security analyst and counter insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, followed a fierce encounter between the former Boko Haram combatants and the police at the Kasuwan Fara Divisional Police Office.
The suspected repentant insurgents, reportedly wearing military uniform, had pounced on the police office to forcefully set free their eight colleagues arrested at the suburb over criminal activities bordering on dealing in hard drugs.
The arrest was made on April 24 during a raid carried out by the police on the notorious spot at the criminals-ridden Kasuwan Fara.
“Due to the rise and persistence of criminal activities and sinister operations by drug peddlers comprising dismissed military personnel, repentant insurgents and other hoodlums, who assemble there to conduct nefarious activities, the area had since been earmarked for closure by Borno State Government.
READ ALSO:
- Lagos GDP hits N41tn, earns N433bn from IGR
- Police identify officer who shot man dead at fuel station
- US students slam Biden’s comments on Gaza encampments
“The April 24 raid, where the eight suspected repentant insurgents were arrested and 426 bottles of spirits such as dry gin confiscated, was conducted to sanitize the area, pending the final closure.
“The arrested persons were detained at the Kasuwan Fara police division since the day of their arrest.
” Subsequently, at about 7:40 am of Thursday, May 2, a dozen of the suspected repentant insurgents in military uniform, stormed the Kasuwan Fara police station in an attempt to rescue their arrested fellows.
” The Divisional Police Officer alongside his men were able to repel the attack while the perpetrators fled.
” Consequently, the assailants, in an apparent transfer of aggression, reverted to attacking NDLEA and NCS personnel checkpoint along the Maiduguri-Gubio road Kasuwan Fara, where they burnt down the checkpoints alongside the sandbags heaped on the road and fled the scene, ” Zagazola Makama said.
Borno Police Command spokesman, ASP Kenneth Daso, who confirmed the incident, said investigations were ongoing to apprehend the attackers, adding that the arrested eight suspects have been handed over to relevant security quarters.
Repentant Boko Haram members burn NDLEA, Customs checkpoints in Borno
metro
Police identify officer who shot man dead at fuel station
Police identify officer who shot man dead at fuel station
The Police Command in Lagos State has identified the officer who allegedly shot a man dead at a filling station in the Obalende area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the development in a post he shared on his verified X handle@ben Hundeyin on Thursday.
He said that the officer had been identified.
“The person behind the shooting has been identified as a police officer serving at Special Protection Unit (SPU) Base 17, Lion Building, Lagos.
READ ALSO:
- US students slam Biden’s comments on Gaza encampments
- Gaza: Police arrest 2,000 pro-Palestine protesters on US campuses
- Three senior govt officials arrested over alleged illegal citizenship for foreigners
“Investigation is still ongoing and further findings will be made available, ” he said.
According to Hundeyin, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Adegoke Fayoade is working with the family of the deceased to ensure that there is no miscarriage of justice.
It could be recalled that the deceased, Toheeb Eniasa, was shot dead by a policemam on Wednesday while struggled to buy fuel.
It was learnt that two officers drove into the station to purchase fuel but motorists asked them to join the queue.
In the process, an argument ensured which resulited into a fight and one of the officers shot Eniasa and ran away.
Police identify officer who shot man dead at fuel station
metro
N3bn fraud: Court adjourns trial of ex-Benue governor Suswam until May 8
N3bn fraud: Court adjourns trial of ex-Benue governor Suswam until May 8
The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned until May 8, 2024, the N3.1 billion money laundering case against former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam.
This was contained in a circular issued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
“Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, has adjourned to 8th and 10th May 2024, for the continuation of the trial of the former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswan, in the N3.1 billion money laundering case instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,” the circular stated.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls that it was alleged that Suswam attempted to influence the outcome of his trial by bribing the former judge handling the case, Justice Ahmed R. Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
READ ALSO:
- Group protests alleged imposition of Imam in Osun
- FG paid $500m to terminate Ajaokuta Steel contract – Minister
- Rivers: Wike, Magnus Abe settle long-standing rift
According to sources, Suswam allegedly gave the judge the equivalent of N500 million (in foreign currency) at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja in 2019.
The EFCC accused Suswam of selling shares belonging to the Benue State Investment and Property Company and diverting part of the proceeds (N3,111,008,018.51) to a company named Fanfash Resources, with a Zenith Bank account that belongs to Abubakar Umar, who operates a Bureau de Change in Abuja.
The sum was later withdrawn and converted into foreign currencies, allegedly handed over to the former governor at his residence.
N3bn fraud: Court adjourns trial of ex-Benue governor Suswam until May 8
Dam collapses, death toll rises in Brazil floods
Repentant Boko Haram members burn NDLEA, Customs checkpoints in Borno
Lagos GDP hits N41tn, earns N433bn from IGR
-
metro2 days agoLabour Day: Nigerian workers are dedicated, resilient, says NURTW leader
-
Auto2 days agoAppeal court takes over NURTW case as NIC withdraws
-
News2 days agoLabour-FG face-off imminent as NLC rejects new salary increase
-
News2 days agoFG approves salary increase for civil servants, military, police
-
metro2 days agoTerrorists release video of kidnapped palace servant, others in Zamfara
-
News3 days agoAmid fuel scarcity, petrol marketers threaten to withdraw services over ₦200bn debt
-
metro1 day agoSecurity forces, vigilantes arrest kidnapper terrorising communities in Kogi
-
News3 days agoFG set to repatriate 20,000 Nigerians from Chad, Cameroon