Gunshots rocks Abuja as factions of NURTW engage in violent clash – Newstrends
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Gunshots rocks Abuja as factions of NURTW engage in violent clash

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Gunshots rocks Abuja as factions of NURTW engage in violent clash

Two factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) engaged in violence in Sapele Crescent, off Ladoke Akintola Boulevard in Garki II, on Tuesday, causing mayhem in several areas of Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Gunshots were reported during the conflict, which heightened the tension in the area. The exact number of casualties, if any, could not be confirmed at the time of filing this report.

This conflict underlines the escalating tension within the NURTW, a development that observers say requires urgent intervention to prevent further breakdown of law and order.

According to sources, a clash broke out when supporters of NURTW President, Prof. Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa, marched towards the union’s national headquarters, which is currently occupied by the Lagos Park Management Committee led by Tajudeen Badru Agbede.

“As you may be aware, members of the Lagos Park Management Committee, led by Agbede, forcefully occupied the Secretariat a few weeks ago, displacing the president and other executives.

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“Therefore, supporters of the current president mobilized themselves in an effort to forcibly remove Agbede and his group.

“However, they were met by a police blockade which resulted in a violent confrontation. Shots were fired, intensifying the gravity of the crisis,” an eyewitness disclosed to Vanguard.

Baruwa had been seeking intervention from the police and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to resolve the situation, without success.

“We shall henceforth not hesitate to defend our mandate with the last drop of our blood,” Baruwa had earlier vowed, accusing former NURTW leaders of illegally occupying the National Secretariat of the union.

He accused the former president of the union, Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin, and Agbede, the former National Vice President, of holding illegal meetings with selected past leaders of the union.

In a further development, Baruwa alleged that the police seem to favour the Lagos Park Management Committee.

Therefore, he called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Olukayode Egbetokun and Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi, to intervene in the matter.

He stressed that only a court of competent jurisdiction can invalidate their mandate, and encouraged aggrieved members to follow due process and seek legal redress, warning that anything short of this could lead to anarchy.

Gunshots rocks Abuja as factions of NURTW engage in violent clash

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Tinubu appoints Jami’u Abiola as Senior Special Assistant

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Jami’u Abiola

Tinubu appoints Jami’u Abiola as Senior Special Assistant

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Jami’u Abiola, son of the late MKO Abiola, as the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Linguistics and Foreign Matters.

Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), announced the appointment, which takes effect on November 14, 2024.

Akume’s statement, issued by Mr. Segun Imohiosen, Director of Information and Public Relations, highlighted that the appointment aligns with the Certain Political and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc) Act 2008, as amended.

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Before this role, Jami’u Abiola served as the Special Assistant to the President on Special Duties in the Office of the Vice President.

President Tinubu has instructed Abiola to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and leverage his expertise in his new responsibilities.

Jami’u Abiola is the son of Chief Moshood Abiola (MKO), the acclaimed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, and Kudirat Abiola, who was tragically assassinated during her efforts to restore her husband’s mandate.

Tinubu appoints Jami’u Abiola as Senior Special Assistant

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Hoodlums beat police officer to death in Adamawa

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Adamawa State Police Public Relations Officer, Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje

Hoodlums beat police officer to death in Adamawa

Some hoodlums in Adamawa State have reportedly beaten a policeman, Ibrahim Maizabuwa, to death.

Two persons, Ezekiel Kefas and Stephen Zabadi from Wamsa Suwa Ward in Lamurde LGA of the state, have been arrested in connection with the murder.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje, confirmed the incident in a statement on Wednesday.

He stated that the suspects were arrested on November 19, 2024 after the deceased’s son, Danlami Ibrahim Maizabuwa, reported the incident to the police.

According to him, investigations revealed that the police officer was killed and buried in the community.

The deceased was said to have visited his friend, Ezekiel Kefas, in the community.

The police command’s spokesman said during interrogation, Kefas claimed that the officer was killed by a group of thugs after he destroyed property and assaulted people in his (Kefas’) house.

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“My friend came and started destroying property including a pot of soup and water in my house and assaulting people as a result of which women and children raised the alarm which attracted thugs who beat him up.

“Those who killed him include Yakubu, Suleiman and Kilyobas. They beat him up with sticks to death.

“Yesterday, we went to the houses of those who killed him, but we didn’t meet any of them,” Ezekiel was quoted as saying.

The state Police Commissioner, Morris Dankombo, has ordered an investigation into the incident and prosecution of the suspects

 

Hoodlums beat police officer to death in Adamawa

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Court remands Yahaya Bello, two others in EFCC custody till Dec 10

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Yahaya Bello

Court remands Yahaya Bello, two others in EFCC custody till Dec 10

Former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, will remain in custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) until December 10 this year, an Abuja High Court has ruled.

Justice Maryann Anenih ordered on Wednesday that he should remain with the anti-graft agency till December 10, when the court would rule on his application for bail.

Also remanded in custody are Bello’s two co-defendants, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu.

The defendants had pleaded not guilty to a 16-count charge the EFCC preferred against them.

EFCC had specifically urged the court to deny the former governor bail.

The agency, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, told the court that Bello, who is the 1st defendant in the matter, repeatedly refused to make himself available for trial.

It told the court that several efforts to secure his presence before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, where he is facing another charge, proved abortive.

Consequently, the commission opposed a bail application that Bello filed through his legal team that was led by a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN.

Daudu, SAN, had after the former governor and his two co-defendants—Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu—pleaded not guilty to the charge, called the attention of the court to a bail application his client filed on November 22.

In the application he predicated on six grounds, the former governor argued that he enjoys the presumption of innocence under the law.

Insisting that he ought to be seen to be innocent of all the allegations the EFCC levelled against him until his guilt is established, Bello contended that granting him bail would enable him to effectively prepare his defence to the charge.

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His lawyer told the court that his client was only served with a copy of the charge against him around 11 p.m. on Tuesday, November 26.

He said the former governor’s presence in court was in obedience to the summons that was issued to him.

More so, Bello’s lawyer urged the court not to be swayed by EFCC’s claims with regards to a matter not related to the instant charge before it.

The prosecution counsel had informed the court that some of the witnesses billed to testify in the matter were available.

He, therefore, prayed the court to allow the EFCC to open its case immediately, an application that was opposed by the defence counsel.

Besides, EFCC argued that Bello’s bail application was incompetent since it was filed before the defendants were arraigned before the court.

“This court only assumed jurisdiction upon the arraignment of the defendants.

“It is only after arraignment that the bail application can arise and be heard.

“The application is premature, hasty, and contradicts the meaning of bail,” EFCC’s counsel, Pinheiro, SAN, submitted.

Ex-governor Bello and his co-defendants are facing trial over their alleged complicity in a N110 billion fraud.

The charge against the defendants, marked CR/7781, borders on conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and possession of unlawfully obtained property.

Specifically, the EFCC alleged that the former governor misused state funds to acquire properties, including No. 35 Danube Street, Maitama District, Abuja (N950 million), No. 1160 Cadastral Zone C03, Gwarimpa II District, Abuja (N100 million), and No. 2 Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja (N920 million).

Other properties the defendants allegedly acquired with funds stolen from the Kogi state treasury included Block D Manzini Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N170 million), Hotel Apartment Community: Burj Khalifa, Dubai (Five Million, Six Hundred and Ninety-Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Eight Dirhams), Block 18, Gwelo Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N60 million), and No. 9 Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N310.4 million).

The defendants were also accused of transferring $570,330 and $556,265 to TD Bank, USA, and possessing unlawfully obtained property, including N677.8 million from Bespoque Business Solution Limited.

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