The Department of Defence Communication of the Nigerian Army on Thursday launched a toll-free line for individuals to report issues of insecurity in their communities across Taraba State.
The initiative, according to the 6 Brigade acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, Captain Oni Olubodunde, is aimed at enhancing the responsiveness of security agencies to threats and incidents.
Oni, who made the announcement via a circular made available to journalists in the state capital, identified the toll-free number as 0800020205.
The decision, according to him, was necessitated by the directives from the Chief of Defence Staff, aimed at ensuring quick responses from security forces, especially the army, across the nooks and crannies of the country.
The toll-free lines, he said, will be made available at the headquarters of all defence-led operations and the Defence Headquarters Joint Operations Centres.
“Following the Chief of Defence Staff’s directives, the Department of Defence Communication has activated toll-free lines for all defence-led Joint Task Force operations. These lines are for individuals in their respective communities to report issues of insecurity,” the statement stressed.
“The lines will be accessible for emergencies and complaints at each Joint Task Force headquarters.”
The statement also urged the public to work round the clock to disseminate the toll-free number, 0800020205, to all the available platforms, as it would go a long way to assist in reporting incidents of insecurity in the state.
Army activates toll-free line for reporting insecurity in Taraba
Army activates toll-free line for reporting insecurity in Taraba
Protect your children during rainy season, FCTA tells mothers
The Mandate Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory for Health Services and Environment, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, has urged caregivers and mothers to take special precautions to protect the elderly and children during the rainy season to reduce the risk of communicable and non-communicable diseases prevalent during the season.
This was disclosed in a statement on Thursday by Fasawe’s Senior Special Adviser on Media, Bola Ajao.
Fasawe emphasised the importance of ensuring the health and safety of all, particularly the vulnerable groups, who are more susceptible to illnesses like the flu and other respiratory diseases due to increased humidity and exposure to rain.
She recommended equipping these groups with raincoats, waterproof shoes or boots, umbrellas, and quick-drying clothing.
She also stressed the importance of maintaining a clean environment to prevent mosquito breeding and reduce the risk of malaria.
“This includes regularly removing stagnant water and properly covering stored water. She advised using insecticide-treated mosquito nets and keeping doors and windows closed to prevent mosquitoes and other harmful insects from entering homes,” the Mandate Secretary stated.
She noted that diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, and typhoid become more common due to rainwater contaminating water sources.
To prevent waterborne diseases, the medical expert recommended boiling drinking water before use, properly cooked and covered food to avoid contamination by flies, and that fruits and vegetables are thoroughly washed before consumption.
In case of illness, she advised that professional medical care should be sought rather than self-medicating, emphasising that taking preventive measures is always better than seeking treatment for preventable illnesses.
She encouraged mothers and caregivers to invest time and adhere to preventive measures to safeguard the lives of the elderly and children during the rainy season.
“The government has implemented measures to protect vulnerable groups, such as providing a free insurance scheme, conducting advocacy campaigns on mother and child health, and promoting continuous sensitisation on immunisation and vaccination.
“Additionally, efforts to promote healthy living and prevent epidemic outbreaks are ongoing,” Fasawe concluded.
Hunger protest: Tinubu should address Nigerians
The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Shehu Gabam, has asked President Bola Tinubu to address the nation ahead of the planned August 1 nationwide hunger protests, under the hashtag #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria.
Gabam stated this during Thursday evening’s Politics Today programme on Channels Television.
According Online reports that the planned protests, scheduled for August 1-10, 2024, have been a subject of discussion among Nigerians over the past week, although no group has claimed responsibility as the organisers of the protest.
The SDP chairman urged the President to address the nation, to clear misconceptions in the minds of the citizens, adding that the President should not continue to rely on “second layers” of dishing out information.
“What I expect this President to do as the number one citizen is to address the country. This is my first expectation. All other things are secondary layers. Let me tell you what it would do; people are angry, and so many perceptions have been created out there.
“He needs to clear this perception that no, Nigerians, I know what is going on, I have access to all your complaints, and I will address them. Relying on second layers of dishing out information at this critical time is not advisable for him.
“He is the number one stakeholder, he is the one to bear the brunt, he is the one who applied for the job, he is the one who said he’s going to correct the problems, so he needs to address the nation, beyond any other thing,” he said.
Gabam, while commending the interventions of security agencies and traditional rulers to dissuade Nigerians from staging the protest, however, urged the government to facilitate quick interventions by talking with identified sponsors of the protest.
“If they know the organisers, what they need to do as a government is a quick intervention. Sit down with them, dialogue with them, and find out what the problems are. And of course, if there are criminal elements that will hijack the process, the essence of having security all over the world is to create deterrence,” he said.
He added that his party would not be participating in the August 1 protest but would endorse protests that were “devoid of any act of violence, or anarchy, or killing, or barbarism”.
“We have drawn lines of our endorsements, in line with the provisions of the Constitution, where citizens are guaranteed to protest peacefully by disagreeing with the policies and programmes of the government”, he added.
‘Operation Feed Everybody’: Gov Nwifuru distributes inputs to 2,000 Ebonyi farmers
Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has declared ‘Operation Feed Everybody’ in the state and distributed agro-inputs to 2, 000 farmers.
Nwifuru made the declaration during the official flag-off of agro-inputs and asset distribution at the FADAMA office, Onuebonyi, in Abakaliki on Thursday.
The governor, represented by his Deputy Governor Patricia Obila, said that the farmers were carefully selected from the 13 LGAs in the state, and added that the best way to end food insecurity is to empower rural and practical farmers.
Nwifuru noted that the programme, which is FADAMA CARES Result Area 2, would be beneficial to 2,000 farmers who are to access crop and livestock inputs.
He stated that the programme would support rice and cassava farmers to produce maximally, stating that the plan is to ensure food sufficiency and enhance livelihood while improving the standard of living.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mrs Nkechinyere Iyioku, commended Governor Nwifuru for what he is doing in the ministry, adding that the distribution, which started on Thursday, would run until the weekend.
She further emphasised that the distribution has been scheduled for the three senatorial zones on different days. She maintained that individuals and cooperatives would duly get their items based on their already profiled and available data.
She admonished all Nigerians to go back to farming, as farming does not stop one from engaging in one’s professional or career job to truly bring an end to the food shortage in the country.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Anthony Nwegede called on farmers to take advantage of the Nwifuru administration to make Ebonyi a basket food of the nation in the country.
Items distributed include rice seeds, cassava cuttings, fertiliser, agrochemicals, broilers, day-old chicks, pig feed, fish juveniles, rice threshers, knapsacks, grinding machines, water pumps and others.
‘Operation Feed Everybody’: Gov Nwifuru distributes inputs to 2,000 Ebonyi farmers
Burundi records first three mpox cases
Burundi has detected its first three cases of mpox, the health ministry announced Thursday, raising fears that a new, deadlier strain of the virus had crossed the border.
Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals that can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.
A global outbreak two years ago led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare mpox a public health emergency of international concern, the highest alarm it can sound.
Burundian authorities were alerted on July 22 to three “suspected cases” in two hospitals, one in a working-class district of the economic capital Bujumbura and another on the city’s outskirts, a health ministry statement said.
“The three samples tested positive for Monkeypox,” the ministry said, adding that the three cases were “progressing well, and a list of contacts has already been drawn up and is being followed up on”.
On July 11, the WHO warned of a swelling outbreak of a new deadlier strain of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which borders Burundi.
That outbreak “shows no sign of slowing” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned.
At the time, the WHO reported a total of 11,000 cases, including 445 deaths, with children being the worst affected.
Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for mpox, said the UN health agency was “very concerned”, and warned that the virus could move “cross border… because borders are very porous with neighbouring countries” in the region.
Mpox was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the DRC.
It has since been mainly limited to certain West and Central African nations, with people mainly catching it from infected animals, such as when eating bushmeat.
Then in May 2022, mpox infections surged worldwide, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men.
That surge was driven by a new subtype, dubbed Clade II, taking over from the Clade I subtype.
It was that spike in cases that prompted the WHO to sound its public health emergency of international concern alert in July 2022, which then ended in May 2023.
But since last September, a new, deadlier Clade I strain has been spreading in the DRC, with the outbreak beginning among sex workers and affecting non-LGBTQ people too.
Testing revealed it was a mutated variant of Clade I, called Clade Ib.
The WHO recommends populations continue to remain vigilant over the virus.
AFP
Stop selling petrol to motorcyclists, police direct Borno filling stations
Following the ban on motorcycles and electric bikes in Borno State, the state police command has directed filling stations to stop selling petrol to motorcyclists.
Disclosing this in a press statement obtained by our correspondent on Thursday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Nahum Daso, said the decision was made at a security meeting in the state.
According to him, defaulters would be sanctioned.
The statement partly read, “The command has observed the flagrant use of motorcycles, especially electrical bikes, in the state, and wishes to remind the general public that the ban on motorcycles in the state still subsists.
“The decision was taken at the Borno State Security Council based on the security challenges in the state.
“Members of the public are further advised to adhere to this order. Any person found in possession of electric or petrol-powered motorbikes will be arrested for violating the order.
“Filling stations are equally warned, to desist from selling petrol products to customers on motorcycles. Any filling station found selling petrol to motorcyclists will be sanctioned and sealed for prosecution.”
Daso further urged operators of logistics services to use tricycles.
“Delivery and logistic companies are advised to use tricycles (Keke Napep) to carry out their operations in the state.
“The command further seeks the cooperation of members of the general public for sustainable peace and security of our dear state,” he added.
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Police rescue abducted pastor in Benin
The Edo State Police Command on Thursday confirmed the rescue of abducted pastor, Solomon Ativiel, in Benin, the state capital.
The command’s spokesperson, Chidi Nwabuzor, who confirmed the incident through a telephone chat with our correspondent in Benin on Thursday, said that one suspected kidnapper was killed while two others were injured during the rescue operation which was carried out on Tuesday.
Nwabuzor also said that the suspects were transferred to the state police command headquarters on Wednesday.
“I can confirm to you that the pastor has been rescued while one of the suspected kidnappers was neutralised during the rescue operation.
“The other suspects have been transferred to the state command headquarters and the investigation is ongoing,” Nwabuzor added.
A source familiar with the case said, “The victim, Pastor Solomon Ativiel, was kidnapped by a seven-man kidnapping gang at Urhobo Camp of Iguelaiho Community in Ovia South-West local Government Area of Edo State.
“The victim was returning from his farm on Monday evening when the suspected kidnappers accosted him and whisked him away.
“The victim was taken through Igben waterway when community youths, including hunters and vigilantes, blocked the waterway with a larger boat and a gun battle ensued between them and the community youths.”
Similarly, on July 23, 2024, the Ondo State Police Command, said travellers, which included five members of the National Youth Service Corps who were kidnapped along the Benin-Owo Expressway were rescued after being abandoned in the forest by the abductors.
The kidnappers, numbering about 15, armed with AK-47 rifles, were reported to have accosted the Sienna bus conveying the travellers, at about 11 pm at the Omi Alafa Village in Ifon, Ose Local Government Area and dragged the victims into the forest.
According Online gathered that the five corps members, consisting of four females, and one male, were on their way from Enugu State, where they had undergone the mandatory orientation camp of the National Youth Service Corps.
NGX: Investors lose N117bn as equities market slump continues
For the third day running, investors in the Nigerian equities market lost N117 billion at the end of trading on Thursday.
This followed a crash in the share prices of stocks like OMATEK, CUTIX, and FCMB, amongst others on the trading floor today.
After five hours of trading at the capital market, the equity capitalization dropped to N56.7 trillion from N56.8 trillion posted by the bourse on Wednesday.
The All-Share Index (ASI) also decreased to 100,156.96 from 100,365.17 recorded the previous day.
The market breadth was negative as 12 stocks advanced and 25 declined, while 81 others remained unchanged in 8,198 deals.
CUSTODIAN, LIVESTOCK and WAPIC led other gainers with 8.51%, 3.91% and 3.90% growth in share price each to close at N9.40, N2.30, and N0.77 from the previous N10.20, N2.39, and N0.80 per share.
On the flip side, OMATEK, CUTIX, and FCMB led other price decliners as they shed 10%, 9.51%, and 8.75% each to close at N0.63, N5.33, and N7.30 from the initial N0.70, N5.89, and N8.00 per share.
On the volume index, FIDELITY BANK led trading with 53 million shares valued at N561 million in 293 deals followed by ZENITH BANK which traded 40 million shares worth N1.464 billion in 564 deals.
GTCO traded 27 million shares valued at N1.20 billion in 460 deals.
On the value index, ZENITH BANK recorded the highest value for the day trading stocks worth N1.46 billion in 564 deals followed by GTCO which traded equities worth N1.20 billion in 460 deals.
UCAP traded stocks worth N562 million in 539 deals.
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Police to seize tyres in vulcaniser shops
The Ekiti State Police Command has received orders to conduct raids on all vulcaniser shops within its jurisdiction and seize all unused tyres.
This directive is coming ahead of the planned nationwide protests, scheduled to commence on August 1, 2024, under the hashtag ‘#EndBadGovernanceinNigeria,’ which has gained significant traction on social media.
A police wireless message, which has been widely circulated on social media, and addressed to Divisional Police Officers and various units, warns that any DPO whose area experiences burn fires during the protests will face sanctions.
The notice, titled ‘Order and directives re: Nationwide protest against end bad government in Nigeria,’ read, “In view of Inspector General of Police Conference/briefing with Assistant Inspector General of Police zones and Commissioners of Police in all the states on the above subject, Commissioner of Police directs you go out in the midnight, raid vulcanizer shops in AOR yours and seize all un-used tyres and dispose them off to prevent protesters from using same to set burn fire on the highway.
“Any DPO in whose AOR burn fire occurs will be sanctioned accordingly. All to ensure strict compliance please.”
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Command, Sunday Abutu, told According Online that “The directive became necessary due to an intelligence report received that some miscreants are planning to disturb the peace and movements of innocent citizens in the coming days using available and unused tyres on the street.”
He added, “Peaceful protest is part of the rights of all citizens, but protest characterized by threats, bloodshed and destructions of properties and lives of innocent citizens is unacceptable.”
The Presidency, police, and military have warned against the protest, citing the need for the nation to heal from the #EndSARS protest.”
No place like home, Tinubu tells Nigerians abroad
President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians living abroad to remember that there is no place like home.
He recalled that he once lived and worked abroad but returned home to contribute to the nation’s development.
The president, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, spoke at the 2024 National Diaspora Day Celebrations in Abuja on Thursday.
Tinubu said he expects those abroad to bring back their experiences to support his development agenda.
He said, “As someone who once lived and worked abroad, I can attest that migration can be transformative and serious. In the 1970s, I went to the United States, where I studied and worked, before returning to Nigeria to contribute to nation-building.
“I, therefore, urge our citizens who relocate abroad to remember that there is no place like home. We expect them to bring back their experiences to support our development agenda.”
Tinubu stated that although the migration of citizens abroad has its consequences, the government would not hold it against them for seeking better opportunities elsewhere.
The president, however, urged them not to forget their country.
Tinubu said, “As we celebrate our diaspora community, we must acknowledge the implication of this phenomenon for our collective growth. We cannot begrudge our citizens who are seeking better opportunities abroad, but we must urge them not to forget their homeland.”
Tinubu disclosed that a total of $646 million was received in diaspora remittances between January and May 2024.
He said, “The CBN has recently introduced some reforms in the sector, and the reforms are yielding fast results. In January, remittances totalled $138.56 million. We recorded $39 million in February, $104 million in March, $193 million in April, and $365 million in May 2024.
“The progression reflects the level of trust and the positive impacts of the mandatory reforms implemented by the Central Bank.”
Tinubu disclosed that a recent estimate from the Nigeria High Commission in Ottawa, Canada, suggests that around 200,000 to 250,000 Nigerians live in Canada.
Tinubu added, “Other estimates indicate that between 10 million and 14 million Nigerians are in the diaspora, most living in other African countries.
“The Nigerian Immigration Service’s recent data showed that Nigeria recorded a significant increase in emigration, with 3.7 million citizens leaving the country between 2022 and September 2023. However, Nigeria also received 1.3 million immigrants during the same period, making us the 46th country with the most immigrants globally.”