The Rivers State Police Command has issued a stern warning against any further breaches of peace or unlawful activities by protesters in the state, stating that decisive action will be taken to restore order and ensure the safety of all residents.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Command acknowledged that the ongoing protests in the state have been hijacked by hoodlums, leading to criminal activities.
The statement, signed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, noted that the original organizers have lost control of the crowd.
The so-called protesters have begun harassing residents who are going about their lawful business.
The statement detailed that “protesters have been disrupting traffic flow, forcing passersby to attach leaflets to their vehicles, erecting canopies on main roads, destroying billboards, threatening traders to cease operations, and setting tires ablaze on roads, actions that are inconsistent with a peaceful protest”.
Iringe-Koko advised protesters to confine their activities to designated areas such as Abali Park and Pleasure Park.
The statement warned that any further disturbances will be “firmly resisted, and individuals found breaking the law will be arrested and prosecuted.”
The Police spokesperson, who emphasized that the situation has been overtaken by hoodlums, also urged parents and guardians to control their children and wards.
On Wednesday, hoodlums were said to have attacked peaceful protesters, as well as a Channels Television correspondent identified as Harris.
Protests in Rivers hijacked by hoodlums – Police
Protests in Rivers hijacked by hoodlums – Police
PROTESTS: Sanusi says security agencies knew of plans to loot in Kano but failed to act
The 16th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, has offered an explanation as to why violence and looting broke out during the #EndBadGovernance protests in Kano State.
He attributed the violence and looting to failure in intelligence and security to take proactive steps.
During a visit to assess the damage to several properties, including the Kano Printing Press, the NCC Digital Industrial Park, and Barakat Stores, the Emir criticized the security lapses that led to the destruction.
The properties were vandalized on August 1, the first day of the protests, by individuals who hijacked the otherwise peaceful demonstrations, causing significant damage and looting.
“As we used to say, whoever had a hand in this is an enemy of Kano and its people,” the Emir said.
He emphasized that the attacks were premeditated and that security agencies had been forewarned but failed to act.
READ ALSO:Press centre, police launch probe into attacks on journalists during hunger protests in Lagos
“Before this happened, the security operatives were notified in writing that it was going to happen, but instead of preventing it, it was allowed to happen,” the Emir lamented.
The Emir condemned those responsible for the destruction, expressing his dismay over the damage to the historic Kano Printing Press, which was established in 1938. “My grandfather had worked here. It is sad that a place like this is destroyed by their grandchildren,” he noted.
During his inspection, the Emir prayed for divine intervention and justice, saying, “Whoever did good knows, whoever did bad knows, and they all will see their result. We pray that God gives the government the opportunity to restore what was lost.”
He added, “We pray that God comes to the aid of these youths, and whoever is behind it, God will deal with them. I swear to Almighty God, those bent on destroying Kano will not succeed.”
Muhammad Tajo Othman, the state’s Commissioner for Science and Technology and ICT, assured that the state government had been authorized to repair the vandalized properties and replace the looted items.
He also noted that the NCC Centre, scheduled for commissioning this week, had been vandalized and partially set on fire.
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UNESCO harps on education investment as panacea to youth restiveness
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, has called for massive investment in education as the only solution to youth restivenes.
The President of UNESCO Read and Earn Federation, Abdulsalami Ladigbolu, made the call in Abuja on Thursday against the backdrop of the ongoing hunger protests.
Ladigbolu stated that quality education must be provided across the board in such a way that Nigerian youths would get engaged rather than being instruments of violence whenever protests arose.
He urged the government to use the trying times to turn things around between the administration and the youths by improving youths’ civic engagements and boosting their communication strategies.
According to him, the government can do this by letting the youths realize that they are working to effect the change and improvement youths have been waiting for to come to reality.
“There is a popular saying that education is the bedrock of any development, but what is the bedrock of education?
“The caregivers and teachers are the bedrock of education. The government should vigorously improve its investment in the continuous building of its capacity through various globally informed programs and activities.
“This will align with the nation’s priorities and aspirations. With this, we are sure that the keener revelation of the society’s soul (youths) will gradually improve the nation’s prosperity,” he said.
He, however, charged the youths to work on a purposeful unity while mending gaps to fast-track the transformation of the country.
UNESCO harps on education investment as panacea to youth restiveness
UNIBEN announces reopening with conditions for students
The University of Benin is scheduled to reopen on August 11, following a temporary closure due to student protests and unrest.
According Online reported that the varsity’s management on July 4 halted academic activities indefinitely and ordered the students to vacate their hostels immediately, in a statement by the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Benedicta Ehanire.
In a circular released on Wednesday, the university’s registrar, Ademola Bobola, announced that students are expected to return to their halls of residence on Sunday, with lectures resuming on Monday.
The registrar stated that during the closure, the university management resolved the issues that led to the shutdown, including electricity and water supply, as well as the renovation of the halls of residence
“The decision to reopen the university was made by the Senate at its meetings held on July 23 and 24, 2024, in tandem with the position of the Governing Council, critical stakeholders, and after a review of the current atmosphere in the country.
“As part of the conditions for resumption, each returning student is required to swear an affidavit of undertaking to be of good conduct while at the university.
“The affidavit must contain cardinal points, as captured in the document attached to the circular.
“Students are expected to upload the sworn affidavit on their Kofa page of the university and submit the hard copy to their departmental course adviser within two weeks of resumption,” he said.
The varsity registrar warned that non-compliance with the directive could result in the withholding of the results of students who fail to adhere.
Bobola assured students that all necessary measures had been taken to address the issues that led to the closure, expressing confidence that academic activities would resume smoothly.
The registrar urged students to take note of the resumption date and comply with the conditions to avoid any penalties.”
Police recruitment: Successful candidates to report on Saturday
The Police Service Commission, PSC, on Thursday said successful candidates of the just concluded 2022 Police recruitment exercise are expected to resume training on Saturday, August 10th, 2024 at different Police Colleges in the country.
Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations, in a statement said the resumption will last from the 10th to the 20th of August, just as he said the candidates expected to report for training are those who confirmed their status in the Police Recruitment Portal; ng.
“The names of the candidates are already with the Management of the Colleges and will only admit persons whose names are on the list.
“The Commission wishes to state that it has rested the previous Portal, www.policeservicecommission.cloud where names were initially released after an elaborate meeting with the Police Management and where it was agreed that the Portal used from the beginning of the exercise should be sustained till the end to ensure fairness, justice and inclusivity in the recruitment process,” the statement said.
It added that only candidates whose names appeared on the agreed portal or who received official messages inviting them to report at the Colleges will be allowed for the training.
“Messages are currently being sent to successful candidates including Specialists who are to report for training between the 28th of September and 10th of October, 2024.
“PSC Chairman, DIG Hashimu Argungu rtd says the candidates should ensure that they report to the Colleges at the exact dates required of them.”
According to the statement, the Commission will continue to monitor the candidates’ progress throughout their stay in the training colleges to ensure they come out fully prepared to serve the nation and contribute to the fight against banditry and terrorism.
Police recruitment: Successful candidates to report on Saturday
NAF strikes terrorist enclave, destroys bomb factory in Borno
The Nigerian Air Force says the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai has destroyed terrorists’ Improvised Explosive Devices factory at Grazah, a location deep in the Mandara Hills in Borno.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, AVM Edward Gabkwet, on Thursday in Abuja.
Gebkwet said that the air interdiction was a sequel to the recent attacks on innocent civilians in the state using IEDs and suicide bombers.
He said air strikes were conducted on August 2, following intelligence which revealed the sighting of a possible IED factory and storage area for other logistics.
According to him, for some time now, this IED factory was suspected to have been relocated, first from Gwoza to Timbuktu Triangle in Sambisa Forest and finally berthing at Grazah in the Mandara Hills.
He said, “Frequent relocation of IED factories has been attributed to the enormous fire power on the terrorists’ enclaves by the combined efforts of the entire security apparatus of the theatre of operation.
“The IED factory location at Grazah had been under surveillance for weeks with various installations observed and activities of armed terrorists in the area found to be consistent with those protecting a strategic location.
“Additionally, two gun trucks were sighted tucked under a large tree near the suspected IED factory.
“These findings thus necessitated the need for an air strike on the location in order to destroy the suspected IED factory and neutralise the terrorists.”
Gabkwet said the targets were acquired and effectively destroyed, adding that the thick cloud of smoke that followed the air strikes confirmed the destruction of the IED factory and the gun trucks.
(NAN)
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Lack of human security fueling unrest, instability in Nigeria – Group warns
Nigeria is on a tipping trajectory where the failure to protect and secure the human capital is fueling general insecurity across the country and the further decline of peace and stability.
Stakeholders who raised these concerns also worry that placing the security of the state and that of a few individuals above the protection of the generality of citizens is the perfect recipe for a failed state.
These were the issues on the front burner at the fifth National Summit on Mass Atrocities by Global Rights and Partners, with the theme, “A Standing Responsibility to Protect,” an event held to address the long-standing causes and effects of all the forms of mass atrocities witnessed in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu, in her remarks, said it was time to question governance failures that have led to poor access to education, food insecurity, energy poverty, mineral-linked conflicts and the culture of impunity.
She warned that such deprivations in any society guarantee social unrest and worsen insecurity, which eventually results in mass atrocities against innocent citizens.
She said, ”Nigeria is at a point on our national trajectory where we must think very strongly about how our failure to protect human security is affecting the general state of insecurity in the country.
”The government must invest in human security, invest in those things that make humans feel secure in society, such as infrastructure, education, health. Invest in enabling people live decent lives and ensure food security.
”Farmers are unable to tend their fields, worsening the already critical food insecurity situation and parents fear sending their children to school due to rampant abductions.
”It is imperative that we re-examine the state of insecurity in Nigeria, its devastating impact on the lives of Nigerians, and weigh the government’s efforts to address the critical issues”.
“To understand how we got here and how we can find our way back to becoming prosperous where peace and justice reigns, we must examine the underpinning governance failures that have accelerated our decline.
A member of the Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities, Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, on her part, tasked the government to investigate corrupt elements within the security forces and call attention to their responsibility to protect citizens first.
She said the posturing of some security agents and their leaders suggests they are more invested in protecting those in government who are supposed to be serving the Nigerian people rather than protecting the citizens.
”We have people within the security forces who mean well and want to do well but there are corrupt elements within the system, so the management and administration of our security agencies need to be investigated.
”Our security agencies need to do a lot more work in terms of using intelligence to protect citizens and their operatives, invest more in investigations so that Nigerian people can be safer.”
Meanwhile, Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Dr Tony Ojukwu, has warned that the amnesty programme of repentant insurgents has the potential of fuelling reprisals in the communities that are affected, except retributive justice is ensured.
He said the culture of forgiving and reintegrating known killers into homesteads where victims and, or their relatives still live without reconciliation could breed animosity and violence.
”Insurgency has devastated a lot of communities in the Northeast, we are looking at a situation where people who participated in the killing of others, destroyed farmlands, homes and livelihoods of others return to the communities forgiven and empowered by the government while victims are left in destitution. This kind of situation has the potential to fuel crises.
”We encourage law enforcement agents to return and occupy the space because there’s a need for constituted authority to return to those communities so that schools, police stations and courts can work to make sure that peace and reconciliation are truly restored to ward off future incidents of mass atrocities.
Lack of human security fueling unrest, instability in Nigeria – Group warns
Anambra agency suspends three traffic officers fighting over bribe
The Anambra State Road Traffic Management Agency said it has suspended three of its female officers caught on camera engaging in a physical brawl with a police traffic personnel at Aroma Junction, Awka, the state capital.
The three traffic officers were recently caught on camera publicly fighting with police traffic personnel over money purportedly given to them by a motorist.
Recall that a video circulated on social media a few days ago, showing four female traffic officers (comprising three ARTMA officials and one police traffic officer) throwing punches at each other while still in their uniforms at their duty post at Aroma Junction, Awka.
It was gathered that the incident caused gridlock as the fight occurred in the middle of the road, thereby attracting a large crowd to the scene and motorists slowed down to watch as the fight was going on.
The footage which showed the four officers exchanging punches over monetary disputes and sharing formula while on duty has sparked widespread condemnation on social media after the video went viral.
However, reacting to the development in a press statement on Thursday, the Managing Director and CEO of ARTMA, Emeka Okonkwo, expressed regret over the incident, stating that such did not reflect the agency’s standards and values.
Okonkwo said the three officers involved have been placed on immediate suspension pending further disciplinary measures.
The statement read in part, “The Anambra State Road Traffic Agency acknowledges the recent incident involving three of our personnel, who were filmed engaging in a physical altercation over monetary disputes with a member of another traffic agency at Aroma Junction while on duty.
“We wish to assure the public that we have conducted a thorough investigation into the matter. As a result, the personnel involved have been placed on immediate suspension pending further disciplinary actions.
“ARTMA has long been recognised for its dedication to maintaining order and ensuring effective road and traffic management in Anambra State.
“This incident does not reflect the standards and values upheld by our agency. We deeply regret the conduct of these individuals and understand the negative impact it may have had on public trust.”
He maintained that the agency remains firmly committed to its mission of delivering reliable and professional traffic management for the state.
Crossdresser found dead on Abuja road, police begin probe
The Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, Bennett Igweh, on Thursday ordered an investigation into the death of a yet-to-be-identified man dressed in women’s clothing.
The police, in a statement by the command spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, said it received a distress call about a woman’s corpse found along the Katampe-Mabushi expressway and promptly dispatched detectives to the scene.
Adah added that preliminary investigations carried out by the detectives revealed that the individual was a man fully dressed in female clothing with no means of identification on him.
She said the individual was immediately rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead.
Adah said, “In response to a distress call received by the Command Control Room on 08/08/2024 at about 07:40 AM, that an unidentified lady was seen lying motionless along Katampe – Mabushi expressway, a team of detectives were immediately dispatched to the scene.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the individual was a man fully dressed in female clothing with no means of identification on him. He was immediately taken to Maitama District Hospital where Doctors on duty confirmed him dead. “
Adeh said Igweh ordered a discreet investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding his death.
She said, “The Commissioner of Police, FCT, CP has promptly ordered a thorough and discreet investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding his death. Updates on this matter will be communicated in due course.”
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Fraud: Osun Govt disowns fake empowerment scheme
The Osun State Government has distanced itself from a fraudulent empowerment grant programme.
Declaring the programme to be fake, the Osun State Commissioner for Youth Affairs, Olagunju Moshood Olalekan, in a statement on Thursday, said the information relating to the fake scheme didn’t not emanate from his office.
Olagunju warmed unsuspecting members of the public, especially youths, to be cautious and not fall victim to the scam.
TVN gathered that faceless persons have taken to social media to announce an Osun Youth Empowerment Grant Program of ₦50,000 (Phase 1).
Olagunju, while warning the members of the public not to click on the link, revealed that the Ministry has taken steps to investigate and identify those behind the fraudulent scheme and also collaborate with relevant authorities to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators.
He said, “The Office of the Commissioner for Youth Affairs, Osun State, has been made aware of a fraudulent scheme circulating on social media platforms, purporting to be the ‘Osun Youth Empowerment Grant Program of ₦50,000 (Phase 1)’.
“This scheme is fake and did not emanate from the Ministry or the Osun State Government.
“We urge the public, particularly our youths, to be cautious and not fall victim to this scam.
“Please note the following: The link provided is not legitimate and should not be clicked.
“Do not provide personal information or make any payments.
“This scheme is not affiliated with the Osun State Government or the Ministry of Youth Affairs.
“We are taking immediate action to: Investigate and identify those behind this fraudulent scheme.
“Collaborate with relevant authorities to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators.”
The youth commissioner urged those who have fallen victim to the scam to report to the nearest police station or the Ministry for immediate action.
Fraud: Osun Govt disowns fake empowerment scheme