Television Nigerian

Between January and August 2023, the Imo State Police Command reported that it had detained around 150 terrorists who belonged to the Independent People of Biafra’s Eastern Security Network, also known as unidentified gunmen.

Several Imo and Anambra state residents and some Nigerians of South Eastern ancestry who recently migrated to the South-Western part of the country have revealed how the insurgency brought on by the actions of the group known as the gunmen has caused a mass exodus of people from the Eastern part of the country.

Though the Anambra Police Command spokesperson was unavailable for comment, Henry Okoye, the police public relations officer for the Imo State Command, told our correspondent over the phone that the CP’s order to stop and search people has had a negative impact on IPOB/ESN activity.

The difficulty that we have been dealing with for more than three years, he remarked. The Imo State Police Command, however, is making every effort to secure the state under the direction of Commissioner of Police Mohammed Barde. Security has improved, and we’ve increased patrol.

“The CP has ordered tactical commanders and area commanders to deploy personnel and do feasibility policing and stop and search in important points in the state, and it has assisted in decreasing the activities of these IPOB and ESN people,” the CP said.

“We also have our SID officers who collaborate with the DSS, and this has assisted us in getting reliable information that has assisted us in raiding and dismantling multiple IPOB/ESN camps. Due to this, between January of this year and the present, we have detained more than 150 criminal members of IPOB and ESN as well as individuals responsible for armed robberies and kidnappings in Imo State.

Imo State is now more secure than it was. Only the areas along Oguta LGA and Okigwe, which are areas that share a border with other states, are an issue for us right now. We have already secured Owerri and are working to secure Orlu.

Some of these criminals used to go from nearby states, cause havoc, and then leave. However, with the backing of the governor, Hope Uzodinma, we are working to secure all state entrances in order to drive these criminals out.

While this is going on, some locals who spoke with our correspondent noted that markets are typically not as busy as they once were. They also stated that the IPOB-induced insurgency has given other criminal elements and groups the confidence to continue committing crimes like armed robbery, rape, assassination, and banditry.

Because of the actions of these IPOB members, the South-East is no longer safe. especially the state of Imo. Recently, these ‘unknown gunmen’ entered a Mbaise king’s palace and murdered the man. How about the average person, if a king is no longer safe?

“I used to live in Mbaise, but I currently reside in Akure, Ondo State, as I don’t feel comfortable there. I was born and raised in Imo State, where I lived there for more than 20 years till I moved out about two weeks ago, despite the fact that I am mostly Igbo and partially Yoruba. Johnson was the young man who made this claim.

I live here in Owerri, Imo State, said a young woman who only gave her first name, Ijeoma, out of dread of the masked gunmen. We haven’t slept a wink since their brutality began. Because they may show up at any time, especially on Mondays to attack and murder people, our markets are now deserted, and the majority of our stores are typically empty.

“Many individuals are currently escaping Owerri and scurrying to Lagos. Rape and robbery have also escalated in Owerri as a result of these factors. A guy and his wife were robbed of more than N2 million today (Saturday), and the well-known phone store SLOT was looted a few days ago. It now occurs on a regular basis.

A 31-year-old man who only went by the name Chinedu stated, “These IPOB men are not at least putting our minds at ease here in Anambra, Ihiala LGA, where I live. The market or the waterways are not peaceful places to visit. We hope the government will help us because it is exhausting.

In Awka, Anambra State, I reside. The insecurity has forced almost all of my friends and cousins to relocate to Lagos and Ibadan from Anambra. A second Anambra resident, Chukwudi, informed our correspondent, “Our businesses are no longer growing as many people now fear going to the market since they don’t know when the unknown gunmen may attack.

The Niger Delta Development Commission said that it had started talks with French and German development organizations to encourage job creation and raise agricultural output in the Niger Delta region.

When he led a high-level team on a two-day visit to the offices of the German Development Agency and the French Development Agency in Abuja, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said this.

This was said in a statement released on Saturday in Port Harcourt and signed by Pius Ughakpoteni, the NDDC Director of Corporate Affairs.

The MD was accompanied by the NDDC’s Executive Director of Finance and Administration, Major General Charles Airhiavbare (retired), the Executive Director of Projects, Mr. Charles Ogunmola, a specialist in partnerships named Dr. Uche Igwe, and a number of NDDC Directors.

Dr. Ogbuku emphasized the NDDC’s readiness to investigate cutting-edge funding options and acquire technical know-how for worthwhile initiatives during the visit.

He emphasized the Commission’s intention to use innovative approaches and best practices from throughout the world to successfully solve the development issues present in the Niger Delta.

The director of NDDC emphasized the Commission’s dedication to fulfilling its duty to improve the standard of living for Niger Delta residents.

Dr. Ogbuku was quoted in the announcement as adding, “The Niger Delta Development Commission is unrelenting in its pursuit of sustainable development within the region.”

Our joint efforts with prestigious partners like GIZ and the French Development Agency “amplify our collective power to bring about positive and long-lasting change,”

Earlier, Mr. Xavier Muron, the AFD Country Director in Nigeria, informed the NDDC delegation that the organization is a development partner that places a higher premium on supporting initiatives and programs that address climate change mitigation.

Similar to this, the GIZ Country Director, Dr. Markus Wagner, stated that there were numerous opportunities for the NDDC to collaborate with the organization, including technical assistance for farmers seeking to access the expanding market for fresh African foods, assistance with improving farmer productivity, and vocational training.

Dr. Ogbuku characterized the conversations, which included participants from both agencies, as beneficial.

The discussions were centered on how to collaborate so that the skills and resources of all parties concerned could be utilised in harmony, Ogbuku continued.

The joint efforts are focused on hastening sustainable development in key areas while successfully tackling the various problems that the Niger Delta is facing.

Mr. Ogunmola, Executive Director of Projects, provided more details on the specific areas of cooperation that were being thought about.

“Our conversations covered a wide range of sectors, including youth vocational training, sustainable agricultural and energy initiatives, entrepreneurship development, and environmental conservation,” he stated.

This alliance “brings forward the potential to revolutionize these industries and create fresh opportunities for sustainable prosperity.”

On Saturday, August 26, Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum stated that N36.4 million had been set aside as relief funds for the 1,215 members of the youth corps who had been stationed there for their national service.

Each of them would get N30,000.

Four days after attending the oath-taking of the youth Corp members at the camp’s reopening in Maiduguri, the governor paid a weekend visit to the NYSC orientation camp.

He looked over the honor guard they had erected before addressing them.
He looked over the honor guard they had erected before addressing them.
In addition, Zulum sent 10 cows, 10 bags of 100 kg beans, 10 litres of cooking oil, 100 bags of rice, and 10 bags of 100 kg beans for a special supper to be prepared for the youth corp members during their ongoing three-week orientation program.

We wish to provide palliatives to National Youth Service Corps members, he said, noting that “Each of you will receive the sum of N30,000, that money will be paid to your accounts as soon as your bank information are submitted to me.”

“In addition to that, we have given you 100 bags of rice, 10 bags of 100 kg beans, 10 litres of cooking oil, and 10 bulls,” he continued.

The governor gave the corp members orders to follow the camp laws by maintaining good relations with one another and taking actions that will promote national harmony.

“I want you to respect and obey lawful authorities. Get to know people in this region of the nation so that we may work together to create a successful Nigeria with sustainable economic growth and development, Governor Zulum advised.

The governor thanked the federal government for enhancing Borno State’s security situation, which made it possible for the NYSC orientation camp in Maiduguri to resume operations after a 13-year hiatus.

Soon after Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado said the video of the former governor Abdullahi Ganduje allegedly receiving alleged kickbacks—in the form of wads of cash—was genuine, two anti-corruption agencies started investigating his activities.
Due to past hostility between the Kano anti-graft chair and Mr. Ganduje, the intense scrutiny being conducted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) is thought to be a witch hunt disguising as an investigation.
The Code of Conduct Bureau informed the Kano anti-corruption commission in a letter dated August 14 that it was looking into a case involving an employee of your organization named Muhuyi Magaji Rimin Gado and an alleged violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.

The CCB requested the letter of appointment, pay stubs from July 2020 through 2023, and service records for Mr. Rimingado.

When Mr. Ganduje, the state’s governor at the time, suspended Mr. Rimingado through the state assembly in 2021, tensions between the two men began to rise. Although the accusations against him were vague, he was accused of turning down an accountant who had been sent to the agency.

For his part, Mr. Rimingado asserted that his suspension was due to the governor’s inability to tolerate his investigation into questionable contracts given to the first family.

Mr. Rimingado was ultimately dismissed by Mr. Ganduje in January 2023, two years after his suspension. The embattled Kano anti-graft chair successfully challenged Mr. Ganduje’s decision in court.

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate Abba Kabir Yusuf was elected governor following the March elections, but Mr. Ganduje persisted in disobeying the court order ordering him to reinstate Mr. Rimingado. The new governor immediately followed the court’s directive and put Mr. Rimingado back in his previous position.

The head of the anti-corruption agency in Kano declared in May that forensic examination of the widely circulated video of the former governor Ganduje allegedly accepting a bribe by pocketing dollars revealed that it was real and had not been altered.

Mr. Rimingado, who describes himself as an ardent opponent of corruption, claimed to have received numerous requests to look into the dollar video, which had been a constant source of shame and embarrassment for Kano state and had damaged the state’s reputation both inside and outside of the nation.

After being rehired, the anti-corruption chief soon discovered that Bala Inuwa Muhammad and his family, who were close to Mr. Ganduje, had allegedly stolen billions of state dollars from the Kano State Agricultural Supply Company (KASCO).

According to court documents viewed by Peoples Gazette, Mr. Inuwa was accused of diverting N3.3 billion from the KASCO account to his personal account and that of his son, Bala Inuwa Muhammad Jr., “without any justifiable reason.” The case is currently in court.

The third through fifth defendants on the list, Mrs. Halima Bala Inuwa, Najib Lawan Muhammad, and Incorporated Trustees of Association of Compassionate Friends, were also recipients of state funds.

The lawsuit was allegedly brought by the Kano state government at the anti-graft chief’s direction. The anti-graft chief is currently under fire from the EFCC and CCB for looking into Mr. Ganduje’s allies.

Mr. Ganduje, who no longer has governorship immunity due to his close relationship with President Bola Tinubu and his chairmanship role in the APC, may appear untouchable due to these factors, but Kano’s anti-graft agency is determined to remove his corrupt allies who are viewed as low-hanging fruit.

Fears that the agencies are no longer independent and have become pawns and tools of oppression in the hands of whoever is in the presidency are being stoked by the abrupt actions taken by the EFCC and CCB to launch an investigation into Mr. Rimingado just three months after his reinstatement.