Herdsmen from Libya, Mali, Others Still Killing Benue People, Ortom Cries out – Newstrends
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Herdsmen from Libya, Mali, Others Still Killing Benue People, Ortom Cries out

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*Buhari: I will crush terrorists before I hand over in 2023
*ACF seeks urgent action against criminal acts in schools

Benue State Governor, Dr Samuel Ortom has raised the alarm that herdsmen from Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Libya and Senegal were still maiming and killing the peace-loving people of his state.

However, President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to crush terrorists across the nation before he hands over power in 2023.

Buhari’s reassurance is coming as the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has called on governments at all levels to take urgent steps to stem the menace of anti-social and criminal acts going on in schools nationwide.

Also as part of the efforts to tackle banditry, the Special Task Force, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), maintaining peace in Plateau and parts of Kaduna and Bauchi states, has trained 103 youths on armed combat and intelligence gathering.

Speaking on ARISE NEWS Channel, Ortom however, disclosed that the strict enforcement of the state’s 2017 Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law has reduced the level of insecurity, pointing out that herdsmen now comply with the provisions of the law.

The state government had enacted the anti-open grazing law on May 22, 2017, to curb the nefarious activities of herdsmen carrying AK-47 rifles about the state, maiming peasant farmers, killing them and taking over their parcels of land.

But following the failure of the law to deter herdsmen from destroying farmlands and killing farmers, the Benue State House of Assembly amended the law, which was signed by the governor on Thursday with stiffer penalties against violators.

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Speaking on the amended legislation, Ortom acknowledged that all “is going well with the enforcement of the law except for the notorious criminal elements of Fulani herdsmen, who came from Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Libya and Senegal.”

Ortom noted that the intention of the criminal elements “is not for grazing or doing cattle business, but to send people away and take over their land.

“Currently, as I talk to you, those people who come around with AK-47 rifles, AK-49 rifles and other associated sophisticated weapons are not just here with cattle. These notorious elements come to kill or maim our people.”

The governor cited the plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs), who attempted to return to their homes and continue with their farming activities, but were attacked, maimed and killed.
He lamented that the activities of the notorious criminal elements “are part of the reasons we have still over 1.5 million IDPs in our camps across the state.

“The children, who are not going to schools, are not happy. The old men, who are forced to stay in these camps, are not happy. The camps we established here are not even standard. Sometimes, the camps are sited in the school environment.

“The one close to a standard camp is what we have in Makurdi here. The General Theophilus Danjuma Committee constructed it to rehabilitate people. No person wants to live in this camp. But they are forced to live there.

“They want to go back. I am ready to provide logistics for them so that they can go back. But those who attempted to go back were maimed, killed and raped. These terrorist Fulani herdsmen amputated women’s hands.

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“The security personnel posted to Benue State have also done their best. But over 100 of them have been killed since 2017. If security personnel, who were trained with sophisticated weapons, were killed, what do you expect averaged farmers, who were displaced and in distress, to go back and do?”

The governor, thus, commended all security agencies including Operation Whirl Stroke, the Army, Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the agro rangers for working hard to ensure compliance with the anti-open grazing law and maintaining relative stability in the state.

The governor disputed claims that the legislation “is targeted at Fulani herdsmen in the state. This amendment came as a result of those who felt they have enough money to pay fines or demurrages.

“The issue of the cattle business, as it is today in Nigeria, is not just being done because they have collected enough money. So, they are always ready to pay those meagre sums,” noting that the Tiv, the Igede and the Idoma are equally affected.

Within five years that it had been experimented, Ortom clarified that the law “is not targeted at Fulani herdsmen, Hausa, Jukun or Igbo. It is targeted at every person, including the indigenous people of Benue State.”

He noted that the state’s livestock guards have done well by arresting over 50,000 heads of cattle, while over 600 people were arrested for carrying out open grazing.

“These include the Fulanis, the Hausas, the Tiv, the Idoma and the Igede,” he added.

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Defamation: Court orders arrest of prophet, two others

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Defamation: Court orders arrest of prophet, two others

Justice Olaolu Olanipekun of Oyo State Magistrates’ Court 7 sitting in Iyaganku, Ibadan, has issued a warrant for the arrest of a prophet of a Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) church, Ojo Amos (aka Elewuogbo).

Justice Olanipekun ordered that Elewuogbo and his two sureties be arrested and detained for jumping bail.

Elewuogbo is on trial for alleged defamation of character of the Founder of One Love Family, Sat Guru Maharaj Ji.

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Elewuogbo and a Lagos-based blogger, Gbenga Asabe, had, through publications, accused Maharaj Ji of selling human body parts for money rituals.

The court also granted request for consolidation of the cases against Elewuogbo and Asabe brought by Maharaj Ji’s counsel, Dapo Akinosi.

Akinosi prayed the court that since the facts were related, they should be merged. The court granted the application and adjourned the case till April 30.

Defamation: Court orders arrest of prophet, two others

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Students drag university to court over payment of registration fees

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Students drag university to court over payment of registration fees

Three students of one of the universities in northern part of the country, Al-qalam University, Katsina, have dragged the institution to a High Court in Katsina over payment of registration fees.

The applicants, Hauwa’u Sani-Barda, Rabi’atu Sani-Barda and Hafsat Sani-Barda, all students of the respondent, got admission in 2018 and 2019, and graduated in 2022 and 2023.

They, however, claimed that the respondents had refused to mobilise them for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), because they had not settled all fees due to the institution.

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During the proceedings on Thursday, the applicants’ counsel, Muhammad Mukhtar-Lawal, told the court that his clients had filed an exparte motion in pursuance to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Mukhtar-Lawal said that the application sought the leave of the court to apply for judicial review.

After the counsel’s submission, the judge, Justice Abbas Bawale, said that the applicants should have filed a motion on notice.

Bawale, however, granted a leave order to the applicants to apply for judicial review by way of mandamus.
He said after that, processes would be served on the university and enable the court to hear the case.

Students drag university to court over payment of registration fees

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NAFDAC busts fake Eva water factory, arrests suspect

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NAFDAC busts fake Eva water factory, arrests suspect

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has exposed a counterfeit bottled water operation in Port Harcourt, specifically targeting the renowned brand Eva water.

Following a tipoff, NAFDAC officials conducted a raid on a derelict shop situated on Pipeline Road, Eneka.

The establishment disguised as a pool house and served as the hub for producing the fraudulent water.

During the operation, authorities discovered that used Eva plastic bottles were being refilled with contaminated water sourced from a paint bucket.

The water was then filtered through unhygienic rubber funnels covered with cloth.

Counterfeit Eva labels were affixed to the bottles, which were subsequently sealed with fake Eva corks.

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One suspect, identified as Chibunna James, was apprehended while in the process of loading the adulterated water for distribution. However, the mastermind behind the operation remains at large.

The confiscated products were promptly evacuated to the NAFDAC office for further investigation and analysis.

Cyril Monye, NAFDAC’s Public Relations Officer for Rivers State, disclosed that the scheme of the perpetrators involved repackaging contaminated water in used Eva bottles, employing makeshift filters made from unsanitary materials, and applying fake labels and corks to deceive consumers.

While efforts are underway to locate and apprehend the ringleader of the syndicate, NAFDAC urges the public to provide any relevant information that could aid in their apprehension.

Furthermore, Monye revealed that thirty packs of the counterfeit products were confiscated and transported to the NAFDAC office in Port Harcourt for thorough investigation. To prevent the circulation of the counterfeit water, the uncorked bottles were emptied and disposed of.

NAFDAC busts fake Eva water factory, arrests suspect

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