News
Boko Haram has attacked me more than 50 times – Zulum
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, says he has been attacked by Boko Haram insurgents more than 50 times.
He stated this on Tuesday while briefing State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa.
Zulum said over 100,000 people had been killed in the 12-year-old insurgency in the North-East.
The governor said about 2,600 insurgents had surrendered and in custody, adding that not all of them are criminals.
He said many of those who surrendered are women and children who were forced to join the insurgents and trained to handle AK-47 rifles.
“I came to brief Mr. President over the ongoing surrender by insurgents. I think, to me, and to the greater majority of people of Borno state, this is a very good development,” Zulum said.
“In the last 12 years thousands of lives were lost; people have completely lost their means of livelihood. We have a total number of over 50,000 orphans and widows; these are official figures. The unofficial figures are more than this, and we were able to cultivate not more than three percent of our total arable land because of the insurgency and right now, the whereabouts of not less than 10 percent of people of Borno state is not known to all of us at all.
“This is a very serious matter and I think the report of the surrendering of the insurgents, to me in particular and to the greater people of Borno state, is a very welcomed development. Unless we want to continue with an endless war, I see no reason why we shall reject those that are willing to surrender.
“I’ve been in this. For the last 11 or 12 years, I was attacked for more than 40 to 50 times. I know the magnitude of this problem. More than 100,000 people were killed, I’m telling you. Therefore, I’m in total support of this ongoing surrender by the insurgents, we support them and those who have surrendered shall be dealt with according to the extant rules and regulations.
“But mind you, among those that have surrendered, some are innocent. They were forcefully conscripted into this programme. Some are teenagers, below the ages of 11, 12, who can handle AK-47 and there’s one very important thing that Nigerians need to understand; if this issue of Boko Haram insurgency is not resolved, I believe it will never end because it is a generation.”
Zulum added that no law prescribes the killing of surrendered insurgents, saying that they would be trained for the purpose of reintegration.
News
Under-pressure AIG Okolo says state police comment personal opinion, not IGP’s
Under-pressure AIG Okolo says state police comment personal opinion, not IGP’s
Inspector-General of Police in charge of Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) at the Force Headquarters, Benjamin Okolo, may have been under pressure for saying Nigeria is not ripe for state police.
Since he represented the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, at a forum on Monday with former Nigeria’s presidents and leaders of thoughts, the statement was simply attributed to the IGP.
It was at a national dialogue on state police organised by the House of Representatives in Abuja.
Okolo however on Tuesday retracted the comment, saying he was not directed by IGP Egbetokun to disagree with the position of former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, and the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, on the issue of state police at the forum.
Okolo had also proposed that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) be merged to become a department under the police.
Newstrends had quoted Okolo as saying at the Monday forum, “It is the submission of the leadership of the Nigeria police force that Nigeria is yet to mature and ready for the establishment of state-controlled police.
“In view of this, the police leadership rather is recommending the following instead of creating state police.
“First, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety to form a department under the Nigeria police.”
But in a U-turn, Okolo, at a press briefing at the Force Headquarters, Abuja on Tuesday, said he only made the comment in his personal capacity to stimulate the discourse, and not the official position of the IGP and the police force.
He said, “My expressions on state police at the session held at Abuja Continental Hotel on 22nd April, 2024 are my personal opinion to stimulate the discourse.
“They are not the views of the Inspector-General of Police or the Nigeria Police Force.”
News
Shun politicking, FG tells new 17 Chargé D’affaires, Consuls General
Shun politicking, FG tells new 17 Chargé D’affaires, Consuls General
The Federal Government has advised newly appointed five new Chargé D’affaires and 12 Consuls General to the nation’s mission in other countries to shun politicking and focus strictly on their job.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, gave the charge while unveiling the new appointees on Tuesday.
He also charged them to be good ambassadors of Nigeria.
A statement by Alkasim Abdulkadir, the minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, gave these details.
While asserting that they were pivotal to the economic drive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Tuggar further stressed that as seasoned career diplomats, they should recommit themselves to their calling of diplomacy for the collective interest and development of Nigeria.
Reacting on behalf of the new appointees, the just appointed Consul General for the Consulate in New York, Ambassador Abubakar Jidda, reiterated the commitment of his colleagues to uphold the ethos of the profession and pledged to bring the much-needed investments to the country.
He thanked President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the confidence reposed in them.
The new appointees are to resume immediately, the statement added.
FULL LIST:
Chargé D’affaires
Amb. Saidu Mohammed DODO, Damascus, Syria
Amb. Patrick Imoudu, IMOLOGHOME Pyongyang, Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea
Amb. Francisca Kemi OMAYULI
Singapore, Singapore
Amb. Babagana AHMADU
Bangui, Central African Republic
Amb. Mohammed MOHAMMED
Tripoli, Libya.
Consul General Conuslate
Amb. Auwalu Jega NAMADINA
Atlanta, USA
Amb. Nnamdi Okechukwu NZE
Bata, Equatorial Guinea
Amb. Francis Ntui ENYA
Douala, Cameroon
Amb. Gbadebo AFOLABI
Shanghai, China
Amb. Oludare Ezekiel FOLOWOSELE
Hong Kong, China
Amb. Abubakar JIDDA
New York, USA
Amb. Yakubu Audu DADU
Frankfurt, Germany
Amb. Taofik Obasanjo Coker
Buea, Cameroon
Amb. George Collins ONWUEKWE
Guangzhou, China
Amb. Umar Ibrahim BASHIR
Johannesburg, South Africa
Amb. Zayyan IBRAHIM
Dubai, UAE
Amb. Muazam Ibrahim Jibrin NAYAYA
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
News
Produce copy of invitation to me, Bello challenges EFCC
Produce copy of invitation to me, Bello challenges EFCC
The former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, refuted allegations that he disregarded an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to the EFCC, Bello was summoned for interrogation on January 27 this year but failed to appear, leading to a declaration of him as a fugitive after an unsuccessful attempt to apprehend him at his Abuja residence.
In response to this claim, Bello’s media office issued a statement on Tuesday, challenging the accusations and urging the anti-graft agency to produce a copy of the invitation letter.
READ ALSO:
- Ronaldo playing in Saudi league for money like me – Ighalo
- Passengers overpower bandits in Zamfara
- Emefiele spent N18.9bn to print N684.5m notes, says EFCC
The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to a publication/press statement with the above title, issued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, 22nd April, 2024, and signed by Wilson Uwujaren, its Acting Director of Public Affairs.
“In the said statement, which the Commission carefully circulated widely as usual, Mr. Uwujaren, who we have to believe is not a lawyer, continues the EFCC’s ongoing unconscionable lies against the former Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency, Yahaya Bello, CON, by labelling him as a fugitive from justice in order to disingenuously justify their established and willful pattern of defying lawful court orders.
“Contrary to Mr. Uwujaren’s claims, official records and court documents relating to their hounding of Alhaji Yahaya Bello establish a clear timeline of events. These documents are endorsed with dates and times of filing and payments, which are endorsed on court processes – all of which testify to the true sequence of events.”
The statement, signed by Ohiare Michael from Bello’s media office, dismissed the EFCC’s assertions and accused the agency of resorting to intimidation and harassment. It emphasized that while Bello respects the rule of law, he is not afraid of the EFCC.
Produce copy of invitation to me, Bello challenges EFCC
Father arrested for helping son to sit UTME
Updated: Rivers crisis worsens as attorney-general, finance commissioner resign
FG suspends Dana Air for comprehensive audit
-
Education4 days agoWhy we charge N42m fees for primary school pupils — Charterhouse Lagos
-
News6 days agoUpdated: More trouble for Yahaya Bello as Immigration places him on watch list
-
Auto4 days agoWe expect massive roll-outs of Nigeria-made cars by December 2024 – Minister
-
International6 days agoUpdated: Tragedy hits Kenya, Defence chief, nine others die in military helicopter crash
-
metro4 days agoJUST IN : Borrow pit collapses, kills seven Qur’anic school pupils
-
News4 days agoWe’re not part of Yoruba Nation agitation, says MKO Abiola family
-
metro2 days agoHow gunmen killed Babcock university lecturer, abducted two – Police
-
News7 days agoYahaya Bello: EFCC warns against obstruction of operations