I’m Now Left With Nobody – Husband Of Woman Killed With 4 Kids By IPOB – Newstrends
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I’m Now Left With Nobody – Husband Of Woman Killed With 4 Kids By IPOB

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pregnant woman killed along with her four children

The husband of the pregnant woman killed along with her four children by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Jubril Ahmed, said he is still in trauma.

Jubril who works as a security guard in Anambra State told Daily Trust that his wife was nine months pregnant and the family was expecting a new baby within the week when they were killed.

He said, “They were coming back home after she visited her sister who was living in the nearby town. She and the four children were all wearing hijabs; that was why the gunmen targeted them.

“As I’m talking to you, I’m in the process of recovering their corpses. The police have given me some documents which I will use to collect the corpses. I’m in the mortuary now, they are demanding N30, 000 from me before they will release the corpses of my family.

“My hope is to take the corpses to Ganye Local Government Area in Adamawa State and bury them because the cemetery the Arewa community is using here is already filled.

Jibril gave the name of his late wife as Harira Jibril, 32, and those of the four children as Fatima, 9; Khadijah, 7; Hadiza, 5; and Zaituna, 2.

“I’m now left with nobody; they have wiped out my entire family. I am so worried and in trauma, there is a need for the government to do something,” Jibril said.

The leader of the Hausa Community in Orunba South, Sarki Kabiru Bakari, told Daily Trust that they later recovered the corpses of the victims Tuesday evening.

He, however, said the plans to take them to their hometown in Adamawa for burial had been cancelled because the corpses were not taken care of in the mortuary, and could not withstand the travel to the North.

“We have now decided to bury them in Awka Wednesday (today). The mortuary attendant did not treat the corpses, no preservation measure was done; hence we cannot travel with the corpses as they have already started decomposing. We have no other option than to take them to Awka and bury them there,” he said.

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Bakari added that the security personnel had been deployed in the area and that the Anambra State police commissioner has visited them and assured them of swinging into action.

“But after we bury the victims, we will all relocate to our hometown in the North; we are no longer safe here. The husband of the woman will also relocate back to Adamawa as soon as he buried his family; he is working here as a security guard,” he said.

ACF, NEF condemns killings

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) have condemned the killing of northerners in the South East by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

While the NEF urged the government to take decisive actions to end the killings, the ACF called on the government to pay attention to security.

The NEF Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said northerners and even easterners must be protected from the activities of IPOB.

He called on the government to take decisive steps to end the killings and the targeting of northerners.

“The events in the south East particularly the events in recent days are tragic and very dangerous. There is a lot of anger in the land as there appears to be an attempt to provoke some local communities as well as some parts of Nigeria. Our position is that those with the responsibility to stop this must stop it now.

“We are appealing to everybody to remain calm and not to take the laws into their hands but we are demanding that northerners must be protected same way that we are demanding that easterners must be protected from the activities of these people who are killing.

“There is no excuse for failure to stop what IPOB is doing and we hope that in the next day or two, we will see decisive action on the part of governments, on the part of governors, and on the part of northern leaders and the elite to speak up and stop what is going on there, the targeting of northerners in the southeast must stop. The killings of even south easterners by IPOB must stop; we cannot have a country like this.”

The Secretary-General of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Murtala Aliyu, said it was important for the government to bring issues of insecurity to the forefront, secure the country, secure the south East from IPOB and secure the North from bandits and all other threats.

He said, “It is important that government pay attention to security more than any other thing today. ACF is worried like every Nigerian over the killings in Anambra State. Our main worry is the general situation in the south East. Our people, the northerners are also victims, but even the other Nigerians that are living there are not safe, especially even the Igbo themselves.

“The important thing is to look at the whole issue holistically beyond regional or sectarian issues but look at the security of the country. It is quite unfortunate that today, in Nigeria, Nigerians are not safe wherever they are.

“Our own take is that government must take this seriously, a lot of energy is spent on the electioneering, yes, the election is necessary, bringing a new government is necessary but we think that before this government leaves, they must do something about the insecurity otherwise, even election will be impossible in some locations.”

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CAN condemns killing

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State chapter, has condemned the murder of the pregnant woman and her children.

Describing it as barbaric, the association said it was unfortunate that people no longer value life in the country.

The CAN chairman in Kaduna State, Rev. Joseph John Hayap, in a statement titled, ‘The expansion of evil versus the silence of godly people in Nigeria,’ lamented how evil had taken over Nigeria on the ground of religion, region, ethnicity and other differences.

The association urged the federal government to go after the murderers and all others who have killed any Nigeria from any region or of any identity.

“Until our government and law enforcement agencies go after all criminals and murderers and justice is seen to have been done on all murderers, this evil will not stop and the murderers will not see their crime as evil but instead, they will smartly make us fight amongst ourselves and pay less attention to their crime.”

Arewa youths challenge Soludo to act

Also speaking on the issue, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) in a statement by its National President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, yesterday said the killings of northerners in the South East presupposed an ethnic cleansing agenda.

It urged governors of the region to take urgent steps to “end the killing of innocent northerners or face the legal consequences of their inaction.”

Rising from its emergency meeting in Kaduna, the AYCF said the murder of northerners working or trading in the South East at the slightest opportunity was an unacceptable act of undue provocation.

The group said it had expected Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra to use his exposure in governance and management to tackle the killings, but seemed to have been a ‘disappointment’.

The statement said, “The fact that the governors of the South East are the chief security officers of their states but do nothing to stop the unprovoked killing of northerners presupposes an ethnic cleansing agenda and we condemn it, in whatever guise – IPOB attack or ESN.

“The killing of a mother and the baby she cuddled as well as the Christian Aircraft Engineer of northern extraction means the lives of our own people are no longer valued in the South East, where IPOB, ESN, and so-called unknown gunmen are doing as they please as non-state actors, unhindered.

“Silence of these governors, despite the brutal attacks on our sons and daughters in the South East must be stopped now and we want to sound our note of warning, that no Nigerian has the monopoly of violence and that northerners’ respect for the rule of law should never be taken as a weakness.”

Northerners not targeted for killings in Anambra, says Soludo

But reacting, Governor Soludo denied that the coordinated killings were targeted at northerners in the state, saying it is a general case of insecurity affecting everybody.

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He said that the Anambra people had suffered more casualties in the ongoing killings in the state than any other.

The governor, in a statement released by his Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, said the story that northerners were the target was capable of inciting violence in the country.

Soludo said, “While it is true that there is general insecurity across the country, there is no targeted religious or ethnic killing in Anambra State. As a matter of fact, the Anambra indigenes have suffered more casualties as a result of the unfortunate killings.

He added, “The report, therefore, is totally unacceptable and inimical to the unity and progress of the nation. The government of Anambra State hereby states that the report is not only sensational but misleading and should be immediately retracted to reflect the real situation on the ground.”

The governor stressed that Anambra indigenes, the northerners and other people from other parts of the country had lived and done business together peacefully because of shared common values.

He assured of continuous efforts to work for the good and progress of all and sundry in the state.

Police reassure Hausa community of protection

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Echeng E. Echeng, yesterday visited the Hausa community in the state and reassured them of their safety.

The CP in a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, said the investigation had begun, adding that policemen had been deployed in strategic places in the state.

DAILY TRUST

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Osun man on death row for fowl theft shares how police subjected 17-year-old self to torture

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December 22, 2024

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Osun man on death row for fowl theft shares how police subjected 17-year-old self to torture

Segun Olowookere, a man who was sentenced to death for stealing fowls in Osun State when he was 17, has recounted how the police tortured and gave him a cutlass used as an exhibit against him as a minor in court.

FIJ had earlier reported that Governor Ademola Adeleke planned to pardon Olowookere after news of how Justice Sakariya Oyejide Falola sentenced Olowookere and Morakinyo Sunday to death in 2014 broke out.

Olowookere was charged in court with conspiracy, armed robbery and stealing. It was on these grounds that Falola delivered his judgment.

Olowookere and Sunday spent some days at a police station in Okuku before their arraignment and conviction. Olowookere said that the police gave them one cutlass each while at the station for weeding the premises.

However, the two of them were later transferred to Osogbo, the state capital, with the cutlasses. These cutlasses were later presented before the judge as exhibits of an armed robbery offence, Olowookere told The Punch in an interview on Sunday.

HOW HE WAS ARRESTED

Now in a custodial centre working with a medical team, Olowookere said he gave himself up for the arrest in November 2010.

“I was at my father’s shop in Oyan after returning from school. My dad and I were discussing my university admission and suddenly, we heard gunshots, and everybody ran away except my dad and a few others,” he narrated.

“My father was taken to a police van where there were some children. I was peeping out and could hear and see what was going on. The police asked my dad where I was and he asked them what my offence was. When they couldn’t give him a satisfactory response, my father shouted at the top of his voice that I should run away because the police wanted to arrest me.

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“But I was wondering what my offence was. So, I came out and went to meet them. I was detained at the police post in Oyan and was taken to Okuku Divisional Police Headquarters the following day. I met the children who were in the police van when they came for me sitting on the ground and eating rice.”

THEY WERE GIVEN CUTLASSES

Olowookere recalled that the divisional police officer (DPO) heading the station at the time accused him of being a leader of an armed robbery gang consisting of teenage children.

Some days after his arrest, his parents were still making efforts to secure his bail. While this was ongoing, the police engaged them in labour, giving them a cutlass each to cut the grasses at the station.

“The DPO told me that one of the children confessed to stealing two broilers and some crates of eggs. I met the broilers and the eggs at the station,” he said.

“The children were eight in number. He told me the children said I was their gang leader, which I denied. The children he was talking about were around 12 and 13 years old, while I was 17 then. I told him I knew the children but I didn’t have anything to do with them other than greeting them in the community.

“I met Sunday Morakinyo at the station, and he told the police that he didn’t know me nor had anything to do with me. I don’t even know where he was arrested. All the children were released but Morakinyo and I were not.

“We were seriously tortured from the first day I got to the Okuku Police Station under the supervision of the DPO. The children who allegedly committed the crime were not beaten. He repeatedly asked me to admit and confess to a crime I didn’t commit.

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“After some days, we were given cutlasses to cut the grass at the police station premises despite having injuries on every part of our body as a result of the torture.”

BAIL SUM BEYOND HIS PARENTS

Olowookere’s father was asked to produce N30,000 for his bail, but his father could only raise N20,000, and the police would not cut down this financial bail demand.

His father then left the station, perhaps to gather the shortfall of N10,000. Before his father could return, the police had ferried them to Osogbo.

“My father could only raise N20,000 out of the N30,000 they demanded. The police rejected it and insisted on the N30,000,” Olowookere said.

“My dad left the station to look for the money. But before he returned the following day, we had been moved to the SARS office in Osogbo. The cutlasses that were given to me and Morakinyo to cut the grass were presented to SARS as exhibits and they were told we were armed robbers.

“After 17 days in the SARS cell, we were taken to a magistrate court and charged with robbery, and from there to the High Court, where we were sentenced to death.”

The poultry farm from which they were alleged to have stolen fowls belonged to one of his uncles.

Despite initially promising not to pursue the case against him, the uncle went on to testify in court against him.

“We are from the same Ajerotutu Compound in Oyan. He was summoned to a family meeting where he said I was not among those who stole the fowls, but my name was mentioned by the children who were arrested,” Olowookere explained.

“He told the family that he would discontinue the case. But he later came to court to testify against me.

“I never wrote any statement to the police. My parents never had a flat, not to mention a six-bedroom flat. I lived with my parents until I was arrested.”

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Asked why his lawyer didn’t object to the statement during the trial, Olowookere said, “I didn’t know anything, but I am sure I didn’t write any statement.”

SUNDAY SUFFERS MENTAL ILLNESS

As a result of the torture they received at the police station before arraignment, Sunday began to bleed from several parts of his body.

Eventually, this bleeding led to his becoming mentally ill, according to Olowookere.

“He is now a mad person. He is at Ibara Prison. He developed mental issues when we were tortured at the police station in Okuku and by the officers of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad. I am just lucky, and I believe God’s grace is over me,” he said.

“Morakinyo was bleeding from the anus, ears, nose and on the head. The police did not treat him despite that. I cleaned the cell every day because his blood stained the floor. He was bleeding for the entire six days we spent inside the Okuku police cell before we were transferred to the SARS cell in Osogbo.

“We spent 17 days with SARS and Morakinyo bled every day. Some of the SARS officers noticed that he was not mentally normal again but others thought he was pretending, and from there, he developed full mental issues.

“When we were remanded at Ilesa Custodial Centre, the warders tried to manage his mental health but they didn’t have the capacity. His condition then worsened. As I am talking to you, he doesn’t recognise anybody again. His mother has stopped checking up on him.”

Olowookere said he was hopeful that he would regain his freedom someday to pursue his academic studies and become useful to the world.

“I first enrolled in Yewa College of Education, Abeokuta, Ogun State, after my sentence. It is my dream to study medicine, but it is not available at a college of education. I was later transferred to a maximum prison in 2016. But due to financial constraints, I couldn’t study my dream course,” he explained.

“However, I was encouraged to train under the medical practitioners in the prison. So, I applied and I was accepted into the medical line in 2017. Since then, I have been working with the nurses, pharmacists and doctors inside the prison.

“I believe I will be free one day, and when I regain my freedom, I will definitely go for medicine. I pray to God to set me free because I am innocent.

“I don’t know anything about the crime I am convicted for. I pray to God to give me the opportunity to prove my innocence to the world and be useful to society. I am not a criminal; I have never stolen anything in my life, not to talk of robbing somebody.”

Osun man on death row for fowl theft shares how police subjected 17-year-old self to torture

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Oil cabal sponsoring blackmails against Tompolo, Otuaro, Kyari, say Ijaw youths

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December 22, 2024

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Chairman of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo)

Oil cabal sponsoring blackmails against Tompolo, Otuaro, Kyari, say Ijaw youths

Stakeholders under the Ijaw Youths Network (IYN) have alleged a well-coordinated international blackmail campaign against High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), Chairman of Tantita Security Services; Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL); and Dr. Dennis Otuaro, Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

In a statement issued on Sunday by its President, Frank Ebikabo, and Secretary, Federal Ebiaridor, the IYN accused a cabal of oil thieves of sponsoring the campaign to undermine the successes of Tantita Security Services and other security outfits in combating oil theft.

The group specifically condemned a staged protest outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, describing it as a smear campaign filled with false criminal allegations against Tompolo, Kyari, and Otuaro.

The IYN called on the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and others entrusted with the nation’s security to ensure a thorough investigation of persons behind the blackmail and bring them to justice in the interest of national security.

The stakeholders also urged President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to be resolute in sustaining the reversal of the evils of oil theft against Nigeria and her citizens.

The IYN stressed that oil thieves and their operatives armed with billions of ill-gotten resources were funding the recurrent attacks on Tompolo, Kyari and Otuaro.

The youths insisted that a virulent cabal of oil thieves with a vast network across international boundaries was on the  rampage to orchestrate the campaign targeting the economy of the country and its leadership.

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The IYN said that the oil thieves were pooling resources together with their international collaborators to undermine the President, national security and the nation’s economy.

The group said that it was not unexpected that the deadly cabal that almost ruined the economy of the country by stealing billions of petro dollars would not give up their lucrative crime without a fight.

The IYN said that the achievement of the Tinubu Administration which had been able to attain 1.8m barrels of crude oil per day, after serious efforts into the battle against oil thieves should be protected from such influential, deadly gang.

The IYN added some of those fighting Tompolo, Kyari and Otuaro were persons, who pressed to be appointed Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme without success.

The Ijaw youths groups said that the antecedents of Otuaro and his capacity to deepen consultations and sustenance of peace in the Niger Delta might be hurting those behind the campaign of calumny in the region.

The group called on all sister organizations in the Niger Delta to support the campaign against oil theft, Tantita Security Service Limited, the NNPCL and the PAP leadership.

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The group said: “We are shocked at the extent to which this deadly cabal of oil thieves can go to orchestrate a campaign of calumny against hardworking people carrying out their lawful responsibilities in the Niger Delta.

“Of course, nobody expects a group of extremely wealthy, connected and influential people who has been involved in oil theft, stealing billions for years to go away without resistance.

“The show of shame in front of the UN headquarters is a most reprehensible attack on the country image, the President, national security and our economy.

“The unpatriotic characters are conniving with enemies of Nigeria in their criminal bid to bring back the dark days of oil theft and its impact on the nation’s economy.

“We call on the President, to be firm in sustaining what is good for Nigeria. Tompolo, and Tantita have shown that it is not impossible to stop the menace of oil theft as shown by the daily production of oil to 1.8 million barrels per day,

“We also urge the Mr Kyari and Dr Otuaro to be firm in carrying out their official responsibilities to this great country. That oil thieves are focusing attacks on the, shows in clear terms that their actions are suffocating their evil activities in the region.”

Oil cabal sponsoring blackmails against Tompolo, Otuaro, Kyari, say Ijaw youths

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NURTW scribe felicitates Nigerians on Xmas, urges caution 

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December 22, 2024

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NURTW scribe felicitates Nigerians on Xmas, urges caution 

 

The General Secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Comrade Kayode Agbeyangi, has enjoined Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of peace, love and compassion as taught through the birth of Jesus Christ.

He stated this in his Christmas and end of the year goodwill message to felicitate members of the union and Nigerians in general.

Agbeyangi urged Nigerians to use the festive season to reflect on the values of love, compassion, and sacrifice that Jesus Christ embodied.

“This period is not for merry making alone; we should also spare time to reflect on the birth and life of Jesus Christ.

“His birth teaches humility, love compassion and sacrifice. As Nigerians, we must show love to our fellow county men. We must love our country. As Nigerians, we must be ready to make sacrifices for the nation.”

The NURTW scribe also used the opportunity to appeal to members of the union and other road users to always exercise caution and adhere to all safety protocols while travelling during the festive season.

“As we celebrate, let us not forget the importance of road safety. The roads can be treacherous, especially during the festive season.

“I urge our members and all road users to drive safely, avoid overspending, overtaking at dangerous bends and overloading, and be courteous to other road users,” he stated.

He also advised drivers that all their vehicle papers should be up to date to avoid embarrassment from law enforcement officers on the highways.

Comrade Agbeyangi prayed for a peaceful and joyous celebration, and wished members of the union and Nigerians, a happy prosperous New Year.

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