The six area council chairmen in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have sworn their allegiance to Dr Ramatu Tijanni Aliyu, the territory’s Minister of State.

The FCT Administration’s Area Councils Services Secretariat, which is likewise under the minister’s control, has also pledged its full commitment to him.

The chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Abdullahi Adamu Candido, who signed on behalf of the council chairmen, said in a joint press statement issued by the six area council chairmen and the FCT Area Council Services Secretariat to debunk media reports that the two were insubordinate to the minister.

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“We are devoted not just to the FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, but also to our esteemed National Assembly representatives. If we want to deliver democratic dividends to our communities, we can’t work in silos as local council leaders.

Mrs Omolola Olanipekun, the Ag. Secretary of the FCT Area Council Services Secretariat, also slammed the report, claiming that the Area Council and the secretariat were working together to drive the administration’s policies.

Vivian Akpagher has revealed for the first time about how condom and sperm discharge were found in her private area before her daughter, Keren-Hap­puch Akpagher, a 14-year-old Premiere Academy Student, died in Abuja.

The bereaved mother, who could not hold back her sorrow, revealed the news to press in Abuja on Wednesday.

She claimed she brought her kid to the hospital after picking her up from school because she was complaining of pains and weakness.

She further claimed that when trying to administer drips to her, the doctor opted to place a urinary catheter due to her frailty, but that following a medical test, she discovered sperm discharge and a condom left in her private area.

“All of this began on Friday, June 18, 2021, when my daughter sent a message and subsequently called to say that we should come and pick her up for medical attention since she had an eye infection,” the mother explained.

“I informed the school matron that I would come pick her up, and she warned me that if I did, she would be placed in isolation for seven days. She stated that I could pay and the school would transport her to the clinic for therapy and then return her to me. That was the first time I’d heard that, despite the fact that I’d been taking her out for medical checkups. I consented, and they delivered her to me at Nisa Premier Hospital, where she was treated.

Read also: Igboho’s lawyer claims that he is chained like an animal in Cotonou and refutes rumours of his release

“She was brought in with a nurse and a teacher, and when it was time for her to return with them, she asked me, ‘Mummy, are you still leaving me with these people?’ I advised her not to be concerned and to go gather her belongings.

“When I got to school, my daughter called again on the school phone, requesting that I come pick her up, and I told her that I would, but the school would not allow me to step inside, so I became enraged.”

It was at this point that the mother dialed the principal’s number, but she did not answer, according to what was learned. It was also learned that the principal afterwards texted her, requesting that she be released.

She claimed that when she arrived to the school, security requested her to wait because he wanted to speak with the principal on the phone, which kept her at the gate for more than an hour. The principal, on the other hand, later came out with her daughter.

Chief Yomi Alliyu SAN, the counsel representing the defendant, stated on Tuesday that his client was chained inside the cell, tortured on the hand, and forced to cry like a baby. The lawyer confirmed that Igboho sobbed during their telephone conversation on Tuesday.

The lead counsel for arrested Yoruba Nation activist Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho has described his client’s treatment in police custody in Benin Republic as inhuman.

Chief Yomi Alliyu SAN, the counsel representing the defendant, stated on Tuesday that his client was chained inside the cell, tortured on the hand, and forced to cry like a baby. The lawyer confirmed that Igboho sobbed during their telephone conversation on Tuesday.

According to him, Igboho’s wife, Ropo, a German national who was arrested alongside the activist, was also held in a separate cell by police in the neighboring country.

“They chained him in the cell where they put him in Cotonou,” the lawyer told Punch. Yesterday, when he was arrested, there was a fracas at the airport. They struck him in the hand and then handcuffed him; he is in pain and was sobbing like a child when I called and he heard me.

“The wife was also placed in a separate cell, but she was not chained. He was crying, his wife was crying as well, and he was writhing in agony. We can only hope they do not hire someone to assassinate him. You cannot put someone in a cell and then chain them.

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“As you are aware, he sustained an injury and was not rushed to the hospital for treatment. We heard that he will appear in court tomorrow, but I’m not sure that will be sufficient.”

Recall that Igboho and his wife were arrested on Monday around 8 p.m. at the Cadjèhoun Airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic. They were about to board a flight to Germany when they were apprehended by Interpol.

The senior advocate, who described his client’s arrest as shocking, urged the German, Benin, and international communities to “rise up and put an end to the Nigerian government’s impunity by refusing any application for extradition of our Client who already has an application before the International Criminal Court that has been duly acknowledged.”

On July 1, 2021, the Nigerian secret police raided Igboho’s Ibadan residence in the Soka neighborhood, arresting approximately 12 of his aides and killing two of them in a gun duel.

The Nigerian Federal Government had alerted the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Nigerian Customs Service to prevent Igboho from fleeing the country.

The Oyo chapter of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) has assured Nigerians of their commitment to increasing rice production in order to reduce the commodity’s high cost.

Mr Samuel Akande, Chairman of Oyo RIFAN, gave the assurance yesterday in Ibadan.

Akande stated that the farmers’ goal for years has been to bring high-quality rice to the table on a consistent basis and at a lower price than it is now.

He noted that the association encouraged members to engage in commercial agriculture of the commodity on suitable land in order to accomplish its objectives. “In Oyo State, the problem is not a lack of farmers willing to plant rice, but a lack of enabling facilities.

“We are still waiting to see what the government has in store for us in terms of land, land clearing, and tractors; up until now, it has been entirely up to the farmers here,” he explained.

Akande stated that the RIFAN/CBN/United Bank Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) was the state’s only certain hope for rice farmers.

He stated that the ABP package included all necessary inputs for smallholder farmers, based on the farmer’s assumed capacity. “Rice pyramids are making a comeback across Nigeria. On a more serious note, RIFAN has been selling rice paddy to millers in order to bring the price of rice down.
“Farmers are truly fearful of working at full capacity to produce food on a daily basis because they are being attacked and their rice fields are being grazed unhindered.

“Where land clearing equipment and irrigation systems are available, they are not maintained.

“Another area of difficulty is farmers’ inability to control flood/drought experiences without a well-planned and managed irrigation system, which smallholder farmers cannot implement without government intervention.

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“To increase rice production, what we, the farmers, can do and have been doing is to recruit and train more people to plant rice. With farmers on the ground, any willing government will find it simple to identify and locate the right farmers to support,” he explained.

According to him, RIFAN has received input loans for fertiliser, water pumps, hoses, sprayers, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.

Akande stated that in order to bring the market price of rice down, governments at all levels must make deliberate efforts in that direction.

“Because farmers can only produce for the market, and because our middlemen buy low and sell high, only the government has the wherewithal to maintain a desirable price level.

“We also encourage Nigerians to embrace the culture of eating locally produced foods in order to ensure the project’s continued existence. We can expect perfection only if we continue for an extended period of time,” he stated.

Mr. Yomi Alliyu, the lawyer for Yoruba nation agitator Chief Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho, has stated that his client is being treated inhumanely while being held in police custody in Cotonou, Benin.

The lawyer claimed in a statement released on Tuesday that Igboho is being treated like an animal in police custody and may appear before a court today for an extradition order.

“I received a call from a reliable source in the Republic of Benin just about three minutes ago informing me that Sunday Igboho has been placed in a very dehumanizing condition in a police cell in Cotonou,” he said.

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“The source informed me that they are under instruction from above to chain Igboho like an animal awaiting slaughter. He informed me that Igboho was shackled to the floor and was in excruciating pain.

“While I was on the phone with the source, I could hear our client sobbing and pleading for the chains to be removed, stating that he was in pain. However, I can hear one officer telling him that they are unable to remove the chains because they are following orders.

Alliyu, however, stated that the Nigerian authorities’ request for extradition is unlikely to be granted, given Igboho’s status as a political offender.

According to him, “I am aware that our client, Chief Sunday Adeyemo (a.k.a. Sunday Igboho Oosa), will appear in court tomorrow [today] in Cotonou, the capital of the Republic of Benin.”

“The Nigerian authorities and security operatives who arrested him will seek an extradition order to return Sunday Igboho to Nigeria.

“However, it is improbable that the extradition order sought would be granted. This is due to our client’s status as a political prisoner who is immune from extradition. As I stated earlier today in a press release, even his arrest by security operatives was contrary to the political nature of his offense.

“An ex-tradition treaty exists between four West African countries – Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, and Benin Republic – that protects Igbo people from extradition to the Republic of Benin.

“The 1984 Extradition Treaty between Togo, Nigeria, Ghana, and the Republic of Benin prohibited the extradition of political fugitives. Additionally, it states that if the fugitive will not receive justice as a result of discrimination and/or undue delay in prosecution, the host country should refrain from releasing him.

“Article 20 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, to which the four countries are signatories, made agitation for self-determination a fundamental right that all countries must protect,” he explained.

President Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) voiced regret on Tuesday over the country’s limited amount of arable land being farmed, while encouraging more Nigerians to take up farming.

The President made the remarks Tuesday at his country residence in Daura, Katsina State, after Eid-el-Kabir prayers.

This was included in a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, headlined ‘I Was Surprised to Hear Only 2.5 Percent Of Arable Land In Nigeria Is Being Cultivated, Says President Buhari.’

According to him, the Presidential Economic Advisory Council informed him that just 2.5 percent of the country’s fertile land had been cultivated.

He also recognized that the country’s poor agricultural land utilization is inextricably connected to a wave of instability in different regions.

As a result, he ordered security firms to collaborate more with communities to create a more hospitable atmosphere for farmers. He directed security services to be more tenacious in preserving the country’s peace and to foster a more amicable connection with communities in order to gather information.

Read also: 49 Yoruba Nation agitators on Monday, and a Lagos State Magistrate Court in Yaba granted them bail

Buhari observed that the security situation in the North East and South-South has improved significantly, and measures are on to guarantee the same in the North Central and North West.

He promised Nigerians that further efforts would be made to apprehend those who have been disrupting the nation’s and citizens’ tranquility.

Additionally, at the prayer field, the Emir of Daura, Faruk Faruk, urged people to increase their support for the President in order for him to carry out his goal of enhancing security and strengthening the economy.

“Since the President took office, the nation has witnessed some good improvements.

“May God continue to bless the President with good health and the bravery necessary to lead the nation to peace. God would not allow Nigeria to suffer humiliation,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari expressed amazement at the bandit attack on a Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jet in Zamfara on Tuesday, but expressed relief that the pilot had survived.

In a statement released on Monday, Air Force spokesman Edward Gabkwet said a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jet aircraft was shot down by bandits on July 18. Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, on the other hand, “lucky” survived the bombed plane.

“Fortunately, the aircraft’s brave pilot, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, was able to successfully evacuate from the plane. The pilot, who came under heavy ground fire from the robbers, used his survival skills to elude them and seek refuge in neighbouring settlements until sunset,” Mr Gabkwet added.

Mr Buhari said the news was sad but he was relieved by the pilot’s escape in a statement sent by his spokesperson Garba Shehu on Tuesday.

“I was shocked to learn of the tragic news of the plane accident, but I was relieved to learn of the pilot’s successful ejection and subsequent rescue,” Mr Buhari said.

Read also: 49 Yoruba Nation agitators on Monday, and a Lagos State Magistrate Court in Yaba granted them bail

Mr Buhari prayed for Mr Dairo’s rapid recovery, saying, “May the injured pilot recover as soon as possible.”

The bombing of the NAF Alpha Jet by bandits occurs as over 134 students abducted in Tegina, Niger State, remain in a state of captivity.

The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, on Tuesday, challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to deploy the same energy against promoters of separatists groups to bandits in the country.

The Afenifere made the call in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi.

The group was reacting to the arrest of the self-professed Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho, in Cotonou, Benin Republic, on Monday night.

Afenifere insisted that the county’s insecurity would have ended if Buhari’s administration treated bandits and terrorists the way it has been treating Igboho; and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, who was arrested by security agents on June 27.

Read also: Sunday Igboho has been arrested in Benin Republic.

The statement read: “If half of the energy deployed to apprehend the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, and Sunday Igboho had been deployed to the menace of terrorists and bandits who kill, rape, rob, and kidnap people, we would not have been in the unfortunate security mess that we are presently.”