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Tag: Rivers

  • Unidentified Helicopter Shoots Passenger Boat In Rivers

    Unidentified Helicopter Shoots Passenger Boat In Rivers

    At least one person is reportedly in a critical condition after a yet-to-be-identified helicopter shot at a passenger boat along the Port Harcourt – Bonny waterway in Rivers State on Thursday night.

    An eyewitness told Channels Television that the wooden boat was ferrying traders and their goods from Port Harcourt to Bonny when it was targeted by the unidentified helicopter.

    He said many were injured, but one person is reported to be in a critical situation after sustaining an injury which is believed to have affected his spinal cord.

    On the possible motive of the attack, the eyewitness who is a boat driver at the Bonny jetty in Port Harcourt, said the helicopter which he thinks was on surveillance duty, may have suspected the boat to be conveying illegally refined petroleum products, which is a common business in the area.

    No security agency has claimed responsibility and the police are yet to make any comment regarding the incident.

  • Seven ESN Members Killed In Rivers – Army Spokesperson

    Seven ESN Members Killed In Rivers – Army Spokesperson

    The Nigerian Army on Saturday said it has stormed a “terrorist enclave” run by members of the Eastern Security Network in Rivers State and killed at least seven persons.

    ESN is the military arm of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which is seeking the creation of a Biafra nation carved out of Southern Nigeria.

    A Nigerian court has outlawed IPOB and the Federal Government has designated the group as terrorists.

    “Troops of 6 Division Garrison, Port Harcourt and 29 Battalion in conjunction with operatives of Nigerian Police, DSS, and NSCDC on Thursday, 27 May 2021, conducted a Clearance/Raid Operation at suspected IPOB/ESN enclaves at Agbomchia Forest along Pipeline Road Ogali/Komkom Boundary between Eleme and Oyigbo LGA’s of Rivers State,” a statement signed by army spokesman, Brigadier-General Mohammed Yerima said on Saturday.

    “In the fire fight that ensued during the Clearance/Raid Operation, 7 IPOB/ESN members were neutralized while 5 suspects arrested.

    “Various items belonging to the criminals including arms and ammunition were also recovered by the security forces. The camp was promptly destroyed while suspects and corpses were handed over to the Police for further actions.

    “There was no casualty on own troops and other security operatives as they have returned back to base in high morale.

    “The Nigerian Army urges members of the public to always avail the troops with accurate and timely information that will help in tracking down and neutralise the so-called Unknown Gunmen (UGM) who are terrorizing the region.”

  • PDP Holds Zonal Congress In Rivers

    PDP Holds Zonal Congress In Rivers

    The PDP has commenced its South-South Congress in Port Harcourt despite a restraining order of the Calabar High Court.

    Addressing reporters on Tuesday in Rivers State, the Chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum and Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa said the party is getting ready to take over power at the national level in 2023.

    He, however, didn’t make any mention of the court order.

    At 1:56 pm, the national legal officer of the party moved a motion to dissolve the tenure of the current zonal executives, to pave the way for the election of the new executive.

    The motion was seconded by Senator Matthew Urohghide from Edo State.

    Voting started at 2:05 pm with delegates from Akwa Ibom State.

    The Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse said the voting will be done in alphabetical order of the six states.

  • Rivers: Wike dragged to Court for building multi-million Naira quarters for judges

    Rivers: Wike dragged to Court for building multi-million Naira quarters for judges

    A group under the aegis of CLUB-401 has dragged the Rivers State Government to court over the building of multi-million Naira homes for Judges in the State.

    CLUB-401 in the suit filed at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt said the action of the Governor was a bad precedent because it violates the rule of Separation of Powers as enshrined in Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.

    The group also questioned the purchase of vehicles for members of the National Assembly, the building of hostels and auditorium for the Nigerian Law School in Bayelsa State, the building of quarters and offices of Federal establishments and hosting of conferences for professional organizations; all with Rivers State funds.

    The suit is also asking the Court to make declarations that Governor Nyesom Wike should stop spending funds that are not appropriated for in the budget on the things that have no economic value for Rivers State.

    The suit reads in part; that; “the Court should make a declaration that the principles of Separation of Powers and Rule of Law as provided in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, it is not within the powers of the Governor of Rivers State to build houses for retiring or retired Chief Judges and Presidents of the Customary Court of Appeal of Rivers State outside the budget of the Judiciary as contained in a duly approved Appropriation Law of Rivers State and contrary to all extant Laws for the benefit of retired judicial officers in Nigeria and public officers in Rivers State such as the Pension Rights Judges Act.

    Given the Federal system of government established under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, “A declaration that in view of the Stateral system of government established under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1an 999, it is ulta vires for the Governor and Government of Rivers Staye to build structures with Staye funds in other States other than for use as liaison office or as investment for economic profit.

    Attorney General of Rivers State, Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the Council of Legal Education of Nigeria are all defendants in the matter.

    The suit is yet to be fixed for hearing.

    In September, 2020, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike handed over some finished blocks of duplexes to accommodate Judges in the state.

    Governor Wike also announced that N150 million has also been handed to Judges who opted for cash payments to build their own houses.

  • Police sergeant arrested for armed robbery in Rivers

    Police sergeant arrested for armed robbery in Rivers

    A police Sergeant, Ibrahim Odege, attached to the Operations Department of the Rivers State Police Command has been arrested over alleged involvement in armed robbery.

    Sergeant Odege was arrested alongside one Sampson Inomoghe,32, on Saturday night, for robbing residents of Elekahia Housing Estate in Port Harcourt.

    It was gathered that the suspects entered the community with a motorcycle, robbed people of their valuables until one of the victims raised an alarm and all exit routes from the community were blocked, leading to their arrest.

    Spokesman of the State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Sunday, said operatives of the Elekahia Division responded to a distress call at the Elekahia Housing Estate around 10pm and arrested the two suspects, who were robbing people. 


    Items recovered from the suspects included assorted mobile phones and a locally made Bareta pistol.

    One of the victims, Mrs Doris Elechi, identified the suspects as the same persons that dispossessed her of her valuables.

    The PPRO said the suspects confessed to have carried out the robbery attack among other revelations.

    Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Joseph Mukan, has condemned the act and ordered the immediate transfer of suspects and exhibits to the State Criminal Investigation Department for investigation.

    He appealed to members of the public to increase their security consciousness and report any suspicious character and movement around them to the Police.

  • BREAKING: Supreme Court strikes out Bayelsa suit against Rivers on Soku oilfield

    BREAKING: Supreme Court strikes out Bayelsa suit against Rivers on Soku oilfield

    The Supreme Court has struck out a suit against Rivers filed by the Bayelsa Government over the disputed Soku oilfield.

    The court said Bayelsa was liable to abuse of court processes by asking it to make judicial pronouncements on a matter that the Court of Appeal had yet to adjudicate on.

    Bayelsa approached the Supreme Court after a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered it to refund the 13 percent derivation it had received over the years from the disputed Soku oilfield to Rivers.

    The Special Assistant, Media to Rivers Governor, Kelvin Ebiri, in a statement, said at the resumed hearing of the matter on Tuesday, Justice Ngwuta, who led a panel of seven justices, wondered why Bayelsa decided to file a suit at the apex court bypassing the Court of Appeal.

    Ngwuta observed that Bayelsa jumped the gun insisting that the apex court could not make pronouncement on a judgment that was given by a Federal High Court when the appellate court had not entertained the matter.

    He explained the Supreme Court lacks the jurisdiction to make orders on on a matter directly coming from the High Court and asked to take its grievances to the Court of Appeal.

    The Bayelsa State government through its Lawyer, Kemsauode Wodu, applied for a formal withdrawal of the suit and it was struck out by the Supreme Court.

    Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had while delivering judgement in a suit filed by the Attorney-General of Rivers State against the National Boundary Commission, had declared that the Soku oilfields belonged to Rivers.

    Ekwo noted the failure and refusal of the National Boundary Commission to rectify the admitted mistake in the 11th edition of the administrative map of Nigeria since 2002, which erroneously showed St Batholomew River instead of River Santa Barbara as the interstate Boundary between Rivers and Bayelsa States ,was a breach of commission’s statutory duty and a flagrant disobedience of the order of the Supreme Court contained in its judgment delivered on October 10, 2012.

    The judge explained the continued reliance on the said defective 11th edition of the administrative map of Nigeria by the other government agencies/statutory bodies, particularly, the Revenue Mobilisation , Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the Accountant General of the Federation in the computation of revenue accruable to Rivers from the Federation Account resulted in the continued unjust denial of derivation funds accruing from the Soku oil wells situate within Rivers State to the detriment of the state government.

    Ekwo directed that notice be served of the decision of the Court on the RMAFC and the Accountant General of the Federation.

    The judge said the National Boundary Commission (NBC) could not unilaterally delineate boundaries between Rivers and Bayelsa after the Supreme Court judgment on the matter and also dismissed an objection to the suit raised by the NBC.

  • 5 to die by hanging for kidnap and murder of Shell staff in Rivers

    5 to die by hanging for kidnap and murder of Shell staff in Rivers

    Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, August 8, sentenced five persons to death by hanging for kidnapping and murdering a Shell staff, named Anthony Okoro.

    The five defendants out of seven persons in suit number PHC/324/2017, are Oluchi Charles (1st defendant), Miracle Anumuna (2nd defendant), Ifeanyi Simon (3rd defendant), Koko Basset (4th defendant) and Uchenna Stanley Amaechi (7th defendant).

    They were convicted of the 10 charges preferred against them by the Inspector General of Police bordering on conspiracy, stealing, armed robbery, kidnapping and murder.

    Chukwudi Etete (5th defendant) and Anthony Ugwu (6th defendant), the remaining two persons mentioned in the suit, were discharged and acquitted by the court.

    The suspects had on  May 29, 2016, attacked the home of one Anthony Okoro, a staff of Shell Petroleum Development Company, in Woji area of Port Harcourt. The suspects reportedly shot the victim and carried his body away with his Range Rover SUV. The deceased’s Kia Optima car, television sets, infinix phone and other valuables were also taken away by the suspects.

    The trial judge, Justice George Omereji, in his verdict yesterday, held that the prosecution proved its case that the first to fourth and seventh defendants were as guilty as charged. Omereji, in discharging and acquitting the fifth and sixth defendants, stated that the prosecution could not prove that they had knowledge of the crime, rather they unknowingly bought phones belonging to the victim.

    The judge also held that the prosecution proved the case of conspiracy against the convicts.

    “It was proven that the convicts had met at Genesis area of Woji in Port Harcourt and planned the kidnap of Okoro and the death of the victim was caused by the convicts,” the judge said.

    The trial judge also noted that the prosecution also proved that the death of the victim was caused by the suspects, regretting that Anthony Okoro was shot on his arm and taken away with his cars and other valuables by the suspects.

    Omereji, who based his ruling on Section 410 of the Administration of Criminal Justice 2011, sentenced the five convicted persons to death by hanging, adding that they should be held on the rope till they are confirmed dead.

    The prosecution counsel, I. Ubulom, described it as justice done. He said the verdict would serve as deterrent to others involved in criminal activities.

  • Easter: Rivers re-opens markets for 2 days

    Some designated markets in Rivers State on Tuesday morning recorded high patronage as residents of the state thronged the markets for Easter shopping.

    our correspondent reports that the state government had earlier ordered the closure of markets across the state as part of  measures to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic.

    Gov. Nyesom Wike, however, last week directed that some markets be reopened for business on Tuesday and Wednesday between the hours of 7a.m to Noon to enable households shop ahead of the Easter celebration.

    The governor’s directive did not however, include the reopening of some major boarder markets like the Oil-Mill and Slaughter/Trans-Amadi markets in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area (LGA) and Mbiama market in Ahoada West LGA.

    Some of the residents, who patronised the markets, expressed satisfaction over the government’s sit-at-home directive, while others lamented its hardship on small businesses and price increases on consumables.

    Mrs Ngozi Ume, a teacher on her part applauded the governor’s decision to reopen some markets for two days, adding that the measure would assist households to prepare for Easter.

    “The price increases I noticed on goods today aren’t a surprise, nation-wide celebrations like the Easter usually attracts little or moderate increase in prices of food items, clothing and other consumables.

    “For me, the sit-at-home order is rather a blessing in disguise, I don’t have to buy new cloths for my children and I’m not also expecting much guests this Easter.

    “So, in order to cope with high costs on commodities, I have channelled all resources to food and other daily family needs,” she said.

    Mr Effet Igo, a poultry products retail trader said that business was good as he welcomed the early morning rush by buyers.

    He, however, said that the operational noon limit by government was rather too short for buyer and sellers alike to conclude on their business activities for the day.

  • COVID-19: Rivers residents lament hike on prices of consumables

    COVID-19: Rivers residents lament hike on prices of consumables

    Some residents of Rivers, on Saturday lamented the hike on prices of food stuffs and consumables following the lock down on markets and interstate borders by the state government.

    The Rivers State Government had in a state wide broadcast on Wednesday, announced lock down on markets, as well as interstate border closures, as part of measures aimed at combating Corona virus (COVID-19), in the state.

    Some residents of Elelenwo, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area (LGA), of Rivers, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the high cost of living in the state was becoming unbearable, especially for low income earners.

    Mrs Max Ene, a petty trader, said her business had crumbled following the lock down on markets as traders were apparently chased out of the popular Oil-Mill market by armed security officials on Wednesday.

    She said her household was currently battling starvation as they could not afford essentials from the few stalls operating in the area.

    “I quite understand it is a very trying period all over the world, but our greatest challenge here in Rivers is the high cost on foodstuff, and this is more challenging than the COVID-19 pandemic itself.

    “A mudu (measure) of garri, which was sold at N450, is currently selling at N1500, while a litre of groundnut oil, sold at N550, now goes for N850.

    “Furthermore, a sizable tuber of yam sold for N700 now sells at N1000, same goes for rice, palm oil and other consumables,” she said.

    Mr Joel Ama, a civil servant in the state, also expressed dissatisfaction over the hike in the cost of foodstuff.

    Ama urged the state government to set up a price monitoring committee to check unnecessary inflation.

    “The government should set up a price monitoring committee just the same way it constituted the task force on COVID-19, to check inflation,” he said.

    Mr Johnson Egor, a businessman, urged the government to partner with the task force on Petroleum Price monitoring committee, to ensure that fuel stations in Rivers adhered strictly to the new reduction on pump price of fuel.

    “As we speak most filling stations are still dispensing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, at N145 per litre even when the Federal Government has announced a reduction to N125 per litre,” Egor said. (NAN)

  • COVID-19: Rivers records case; Nigeria’s total rises to 51- NCDC

    Rivers State has recorded its first case of Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 51, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said.

    Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General of NCDC, made this known in an interview with our correspondents, on Thursday in Abuja, while giving an update on the COVID-19 infections. 

    Ihekweazu said NCDC on Wednesday reported five new cases of coronavirus, with two cases each in Abuja and Lagos, and one in Rivers.

    The NCDC said out of the five new cases, three are returning travellers into Nigeria and two are close contacts of a confirmed case.

    “As at 11:25 pm March 25, there are, 51 confirmed cases, two discharge and one death,” he said.

    He classified the cases as 48 active cases, two recovered and discharged and one death.

    The death was a Nigerian with an underlying health condition.

    Ihekeazu said that NCDC would continue to share verified updates regarding COVID-19, and the importance of practising social distancing, regularly and thorough washing of of hands with soap or alcohol based hand sanitisers.

    “ If you’ve travelled recently to a country with widespread transmission in the last 14 days and you’re showing symptoms of Fever, cough or breathing difficulty, please stay at home and dial the NCDC toll free number : 080097000010

    “We’ve  highlighted the importance of social distancing in four languages- Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Pidgin, all on the NCDC website.

    “ To reduce the spread of fake news, there’s a World Health Organisation (WHO), but that is available globally to receive live updates on COVID-19 on your WhatsApp.

    “Please share this with friends and family, lets all do what we can to stay safe during this period. We can get through this, if we #TakeResponsibility, stay at home and reduce the spread of fake news,” he advocated.

    Daybreak reports that as the COVID1-19 pandemic grows, health officials continue to monitor the number of confirmed cases. Globally there are 468,156 cases and 21,180 deaths from COVID-19 outbreaks.

    COVID-19 has affected 198 countries and territories around the world.