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Military eliminates 92 terrorists, 104 bandits in a week – DHQ
The military says it has eliminated 92 Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists and 104 bandits in its ongoing counter -insurgency and anti-banditry operations across the North East and North West in the last one week.
The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, disclosed this while giving an update on the Armed Forces of Nigeria operations between July 2 and 9 at a news conference Thursday in Abuja.
Enenche disclosed that in the North East, both the land and air components of Operation Lafiya Dole had continued to unleash massive onslaught against the terrorists from all fronts and recorded huge successes.
He said that troops’ encounters with the criminal elements resulted in the destruction of their structures and equipment, as well as the capture of arms and ammunition during the period.
According to him, the troops also captured some criminal elements and spies as well as the rescue of 35 captives, while four terrorists surrendered to them.
“Between July 2 and 3, the Air Task Force conducted comprehensive precision strikes, to mark the launching of its subsidiary Operation LONG REACH II on the fringes of the Sambisa Forest in Borno.
“The massive airstrikes resulted in the obliteration of BHT structures used as a meeting venue at Mainyakare Village leading to the killing of several of their fighters.
“More of these criminal elements were also killed and their logistics facilities destroyed in devastating air strikes executed at Mina on Gulumba Gana-Kumshe Axis in the Northern part of Borno.
“A total recorded number of 92 enemies of our country were deleted in the North East Zone within the period under review,” he said.
In the North West, Enenche said the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji killed 58 armed bandits in Katsina and Zamfara States with others escaping with gunshot wounds during the period.
He said that three repentant bandits embraced peace and surrendered to the troops with their arms and ammunition.
According to him, 367 cows and 184 sheep rustled, were recovered during the period.
“Interestingly, a total of 104 bandits were deleted from this zone of the country for the period under review.
“In the North-Central Zone, peace is gradually returning to the troubled locations while the confidence of the local populace is being enhanced.
“Furthermore, farmers are gradually returning to their farms as a result of troops’ patrols in the hinterlands to deny armed herdsmen, rustlers and other criminals, freedom of action,” he added.
In the South-South Zone, Enenche said the Maritime Component of Operation Delta Safe impounded 565,000 litres of suspected illegally refined AGO in Delta and Rivers States during the period.
He added that the troops of Sector 1 in conjunction with Forward Operating Base ESCRAVOS also deactivated all illegal refining sites identified within Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) pipeline general area.
“A total of 17 illegal refining sites were deactivated at Agor-Illa Warri Southwest Local Government Area while 30,000 litres of illegally refined AGO and 125.7 barrels of stolen crude oil were impounded during the operation.
“In another development, on July 2, Forward Operating Base ESCRAVOS took custody of TUG GULF EAGLE with 10 crew from Nigerian Navy Ship BOMADI.
“The vessel was arrested by Nigerian Navy Ship BOMADI off Ramos River Entrance for operating without her Automatic Identification System.
“At the time of arrest, the vessel had 125,000 litres of AGO.
“The vessel was subsequently moved to NNS DELTA for further investigation,” he said.
Enenche said the Military High Command commended the troops and personnel of other security agencies involved in various operations across the country for their commitment and professionalism.
According to him, troops are further encouraged to remain resolute and decisive in curtailing the activities of terrorists, armed bandits and other criminals across the country.
“The High Command of the Armed Forces, also reassures the general public of its commitment to securing the country for all human activities to strive.
“Members of the general public are always enjoined to continue providing timely information on the activities of criminals in their various localities to the nearest military and other security agencies for prompt action,” he said.
July 9, 2020
Senate Carpets NDDC for Financial Recklessness
By Lawrence Ekwonu
Ahmad Lawan, President of the Senate has decried allegations of financial recklessness and misappropriation of funds leveled against the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Lawan described them as unacceptable noting that the situation necessitated the ongoing investigation of the NDDC.
Lawan stated this in a speech delivered on Thursday to declare open an investigative public hearing by the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on the Investigation of the Alleged Financial Recklessness in the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The Senate President who underscored the need for the prudent application of public funds by Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government (MDAs), emphasised that same had become imperative in view of scarce income at the disposal of the Federal Government.
“Financial recklessness is not an attribute that anyone can afford, whether rich or poor. It is even worse with the poor, or for the organisation or a country with limited resources.
“This is the reason we have always highlighted the need for prudence in the application of public resources. The time when public resources is seen as nobody’s resources is long gone. We are in trying times, when we all have to be concerned about judicious use of scarce incomes.
“The NDDC is an important statutory agency that is supposed to improve the lot of the Niger Delta community. It is therefore unacceptable to hear about inappropriate use of resources, or outright financial recklessness,” Lawan said.
According to the Senate President, the weighty allegations of misappropriation of public funds to the tune of N80 billion by the Interim Management Committee of the NDDC prompted the upper chamber to investigate the Commission.
While urging stakeholders present at the hearing to cooperate with the Ad-Hoc Committee, Lawan assured the public of the Senate’s commitment to fairness and transparency in the discharge of its constitutional responsibility.
“This Senate is a responsive Senate, and it was partly the reason we made up this all-important committee in our sitting on Tuesday, 5th May 2020 to investigate the Alleged Financial Recklessness at the NDDC.
“I am happy the ad hoc committee has made excellent progress by requesting and receiving vital information from identified stakeholders.
“This public hearing should further help the committee get more information, to enable them to come to a pleasant conclusion on the facts on ground, before reporting back to the Senate.
“I have trust in the ability of this committee to do the right thing, but I add that you all have to cooperate with them and be open-minded and frank with your submissions.
“The Senate will be fair to all. Our aim is to get all evidence, to make excellent decisions, to benefit the citizens. Your cooperation is therefore very important”, the Senate President added.
Chairman of the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee investigating financial recklessness in the NDDC, Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi (APC – Ekiti North), in his welcome address said the panel in line with its mandate, seeks “to holistically investigate all financially related allegations, mismanagement and misappropriation and the breach of the extant procurement processes as enshrined in the public procurement Act 2007.”
The lawmaker added that, “the exercise is not aimed at witch-hunting any individual, groups, persons or institutions, but to rather get at the root of the matter, that will aid in repositioning the NDDC to effectively deliver on the mandate on which it was established, to block leakages of financial mismanagement as well as promote the effective utilization of its resources for the overall development of the people of the Niger Delta region.”
July 9, 2020
Police parade 100 suspected criminals in Ogun
Ogun state Police has paraded more than 100 criminal suspects, including fake drug manufacturers, cultists, armed robbers and rapists.
Briefing journalists at the Command’s headquarters in Abeokuta, the Commissioner of Police, Kenneth Ebrimson noted that he is determined to make the state hot for the criminal suspects and most of them were caught in the act.
He added that some of the arrested suspects were trailed to the border towns of Oyo State and to Ile-Ogbo in Osun state where they were arrested.
The Command also arrested some suspected cultists on July 7 where they were caught in the act of initiating and celebrating the 7-7 cultists anniversary
July 9, 2020
Ugwuanyi inaugurates 17-man Community Policing Advisory Committee
Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has inaugurated a 17-man Community Policing Advisory Committee headed by the state police commissioner CP Ahmed Abdul-rahman and co-chaired by the chairman, Enugu state traditional rulers council, Lawrence Agubuzu.
The inauguration was witnessed by the Inspector General of Police, represented by the Deputy Inspector General of Police in-charge of ICT, DIG Celestine Okoye and the new AIG Zone 13, AIG Dan-Mallam Mohammed.
July 9, 2020
Tambuwal Appoint New Executives To Oversee Vacant Ministries
By Muhammad Ibrahim, Sokoto
Gov. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has approved the appointments of two of his commissioners to oversee vacant positions in two ministries pending the filling of the positions in due course.
This is one of the outcomes of the state executive council meeting held in Government House, Sokoto, Wednesday.
According to the governor, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Alhaji Bashir Gidado Jegawa will oversee the Ministry of Budget and Planning while that of Basic Education, Alhaji Bello Guiwa, will be in charge of the Ministry of Lands and Housing.
The Ministry of Lands and Housing became vacant as a result of the death of its former Commissioner, late Alhaji Surajo Gatawa who died in May this year; while that of the Ministry of Budget and Planning became vacant after its holder, Hon. Balarabe Shehu Kakale won a seat at the federal House of Representatives to represent Bodinga/Shuni/Tureta federal constituency.
The appointments of Jegawa and Guiwa takes immediate effect until substantive appointments are made.
July 9, 2020
WASSCE: Stakeholders express support for FG
Some stakeholders in the education sector have expressed support for the Federal Government’s decision not to allow students to sit for the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) amid rising cases of COVID-19 in the country.
They spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in Ibadan on Thursday.
NAN reports that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) had on Tuesday released its examination timetable and guidelines for the 2020 WASSCE.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, however, said on Wednesday that students in the country would not sit for the examination now, citing safety concerns because of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
Prof. Clement Kolawole of the Department of Education, University of Ibadan, said the government was in a better position to regulate its programmes based on the information and facts available to it.
“Although the development is a surprise, it is better to stay alive than to cause untold hardship or expose our children to COVID-19 through WASSCE,” he said.
Also speaking, Prof. Oyesoji Aremu of the Department of Guidance and Counselling, University of Ibadan, said there were implications for writing WASSCE on the wellness of the students, parents and officials who would conduct the examinations.
“Although WAEC has assured the public of ensuring the best of COVID-19 protocols, it goes beyond that given that examination itself could bring about a state of anxiety in students and their parents.
“Here, it becomes much more expedient to also ensure the mental wellness of the students while also safeguarding COVID-19 protocols.
“This is not only for the students but also for examination officials who may also be at risk.
“Chances are that there could be a student to student transmission in the course of writing examinations because chances are high that students will discuss with one another.
“There could also be students to officials transmissions either before, during and after a paper is written,” Aremu said.
He also cited the likelihood of high rate of examination malpractice under the guise of wearing face masks.
“WAEC officials would have to guard against it in order to ensure quality assurance of the whole exercise whenever the new date is set for the examination,” Aremu said.
Prof. Adams Onuka, an education evaluation expert at the University of Ibadan, on his part, said it was imperative to be cautious at this time.
“Since the government is expected to protect the lives of the people, they must have weighed the available options, did the analysis and came to the conclusion that only those who are alive can benefit from writing examinations.
“So what use is it for people to write examinations and then lose their lives? Who then will benefit from the fall out from the examination?
“It will not benefit anybody; parents, students, government and the nation.
” Therefore, we have to make haste slowly,” he said.
Onuka, who noted that Kenya had already cancelled the school year, added that it was ” better to lose one academic session than to lose a single soul to the pandemic. ”
He said except states were sure that adequate arrangements had been made to check community spread of the virus, reopening of schools and examinations should be put on hold.
“Afterall, we lost sessions in the past to strikes and heavens did not fall,” Onuka said.
July 9, 2020
Ekiti begins recruitment of personnel for Amotekun
The Southwest Security network codenamed Amotekun has commenced recruitment of personnel in Ekiti State.
Application online is open to Persons between the ages of 18 and 60 who have a minimum qualification of the Primary School leaving certificate.
Ekiti, Lagos, Osun to recruit 1320 personnel for Amotekun as …
According to the Corps Commander, Brig- General Joe Komolafe, the applicants would be required to get a letter from their traditional rulers to affirm their character and origin.
Ekiti state Governor, Kayode Fayemi and the state House of Assembly signed the bill backing the establishment of the network, into law in March.
The network is aimed at ending incessant kidnappings, killings, and other heinous crimes in the region.
July 9, 2020
Governor Tambuwal Worried Over Politicization Of Public Service
By Muhammad Ibrahim, Sokoto
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State has expressed concern over the politicizing of the operations of public office by public office holders.
SA media Muhammad Bello made this known to newsmen in Sokoto today.
The governor made the observation Wednesday when he received the National Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Professor Muhammad Isah at Government House, Sokoto.
The governor made the observation against the backdrop of a revelation made by Prof. Muhammad that the number of Sokoto indegenes benefiting from the conditional cash transfer instituted by the CCB is not much.
He said contrary to what the Chairman disclosed, the state government has been giving all necessary support to the programme, but some undisclosed highly placed personnel in Abuja were sabotaging its efforts, this shortchanging the people of Sokoto state.
Nonetheless, Governor Tambuwal said that state government has established a high profile team under the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Saidu Umar (Mallam Ubandoman Sokoto), in collaboration with the leaders handling the programme in order to ensure that significant improvement is recorded on the matter.
Tambuwal also called on the federal government to properly fund the CCB to enable it perform its duties effectively.
On COVID-19 palliatives received from the federal government., Governor Tambuwal said they were handed over to the state’s Zakkat and Waqaf Commission (SOZECOM), which distributed same judiciously to the needy.
He called on the public service to give maximum cooperation to the CCB to encourage it in conducting its duty without any hitch.
On the request for public enlightenment on the activities of the bureau in the state media organisations, the governor directed the ministry of information to collaborate with it (CCB) with a view to allotting them free airtime for the publicizing of the activities of the organisation.
Earlier in his address, the national chairman CCB, Professor Isah said they were in the state to monitor the distribution of COVID-19 provided by the federal government to different states.
He expressed satisfaction with the method used by sokoto state government in the distribution exercise of the palliatives.
Professor Isa also challenged the Sokoto state government to intensify efforts to ensure that the number conditional cash transfer beneficiaries registered increases.
He also stressed the need to the state government to intensify the effort on public enlightenment and training of officers that are suppose to handle the programme.
The CCB Chairman had earlier condoled the governor, his family and people of Sokoto state over the death of late Barrister Inuwa Abdulkadir, former Vice Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
July 9, 2020
My Administration Is For The People Not Politics
By Muhammad Ibrahim, Sokoto
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has admonished politicians in the state to sheath their swords of discord in the interest of the overall development of the State.
Gov. Tambuwal, who was in company if his Zamfara state counterpart, Alhaji Bello Muhammad Mutawalle, his deputy, Barrister Mahdi Aliyu Gusau and some cabinet members of the state, made the call Wednesday in Sokoto at the third day prayer session of the deceased National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Barrister Inuwa Abdulkadir.
“We should surrender all our affairs to God. It is only HIM that is capable of taking care of the affairs of men. It is not proper for us to be having disagreements between us all the time, especially on the issue of politics.
“We should be circumspect. After electioneering campaigns, we should focus on working for the people. This is why I often say my administration in Sokoto state isn’t that of politics, but that of the people of the state.
“This is because the people have entrusted us with their lives and property. So, anything that concerns the government should be that which concerns the people and not politicians,” the governor stated.
He added that: “we should all know that we’re each other’s brothers in this state. The state is ours, so politics should not divide us.”
Gov. Tambuwal while calling on all citizens of the state to cultivate the culture of forgiveness, appealed that “it is imperative for us as Muslims to forgive the deceased (Inuwa Abdulkadir) for any wrong he may have done to any one of us.”
July 9, 2020
Tambuwal Earmarks N10.2b For Construction Of Flyovers In Sokoto Metropolis
By Muhammad Ibrahim, Sokoto
Sokoto state government will spend over N10 billion on the construction of intra-city flyovers and roads dualization within the state capital this fiscal year.
This was part of the resolutions of the state executive council meeting presided over by Gov. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal this week.
At the close of the meeting the Commissioner for Information, Hon. Isa Bajini Galadanci and his colleague of the Ministry of Finance Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki along with those of Basic Education, Works and Water Resources respectively: Hon. Bello Abubakar Guiwa, Hon. Salihu Maidaji and Hon. Umar Bature, briefed journalists on the outcome.
According to Hon. Dasuki, Gov. Tambuwal has directed that all paperwork on the awards of the contracts should be completed within five days after the Wednesday meeting to enable the contractors commence work on time.
The governor’s directive, Dasuki said, also covers the trio of contracts on mega hospitals planned for Sokoto State University Teaching Hospital (SOSUTH) and two others which over N10 billion awards the Council approved last week.
He said the directive also include modalities for the payment of compensation in all affected sites where the projects would be located.
A breakdown of the expenditures on the five approved projects on Wednesday indicate that while the flyovers will gulp about N6.8 billion, thus carrying the lion share, the roads dualization make up the rest of the total sum.
The roads earmarked for dualization are those of Waziri Abbas, Maituta and the Illela Terminus roads which will gulp N709 million, N277 million and N2.856 billion respectively.
The sum of N3.4 billion apiece are set aside for the construction of the flyovers to be located at Dandima and Rijiyar Doruwa intersections of the state capital.
The Council also received and adopted the recommendations of a committee set up by the state government on the inter-ministerial integration of water supply in the state.
July 9, 2020