Gunmen on Friday killed two persons and kidnapped five others along the Ifon-Owo Expressway in Ondo State.
The victims were the driver of a commercial bus and a female passenger who were shot dead at the scene by the hoodlums.
A member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was among the five passengers whisked to an unknown destination by the armed men.
An eyewitness told journalists on Saturday the bus was coming from Anambra State and heading towards Akure when it came under attack.
The spokesperson for the Ondo State police command, Fumilayo Odunlami-Omisanyan confirmed the incident to journalists in Akure.
She said police operatives are currently combing the forest for the kidnappers and the hostages.
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Gunmen kill two, abduct 5 in Ondo
NSCDC arrests nine illegal fuel dealers, others in Akwa Ibom
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested nine suspects for illegal dealings in petroleum products and other offences in Akwa Ibom State.
The NSCDC Commandant in the state, Mr. Eluyemi Eluwade, disclosed this during a media briefing at the command headquarters in Uyo on Saturday.
Eluwade said the command’s Anti-vandal Unit arrested the suspects along the Ikot Abasi- Port Harcourt Expressway on July 14.
He added that the agency’s operatives impounded three trucks conveying 135, 000 litres of petroleum products in the operation.
He said: “The trucks were halted for a routine inspection of documents by NSCDC personnel, who insisted on sighting relevant papers including a licence to buy, sell and convey petroleum products as stipulated in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“The inability of the suspects to produce complete relevant documents led to their arrest and their trucks impounded for illegal dealing in petroleum products, an offence punishable by section 17 of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
“Two of the trucks were conveying about 45,000 litres each of Automative Gas Oil (AGO) popularly known as Diesel.
“The third truck was conveying about 45,000 litres of petroleum product suspected to be crude oil or used engine oil, a petroleum by-product for which a license is also required to buy, sell or transport.”
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NBA election: Tinubu has no preferred candidate – AGF clarifies
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, has clarified that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has no preferred choice for the Presidency of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.
Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, said that the president has not instructed anybody or a group to canvass votes for any particular candidate.
Fagbemi clarified a statement he signed and made available to newsmen on Saturday in Abuja.
The statement reads in part: “My attention has been drawn to the news making the rounds in the social media to the effect that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has endorsed Afam Osigwe, SAN, as his preferred candidate in the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) election.
“To buttress these lies, I was made a point of reference for confirmation. I wish to state categorically, that at no time did Mr President give any such instruction. I completely dissociate myself from such a statement because nothing of such happened.
“I am also in a position to confirm, and I do so, that the president neither had a discussion with the author nor did he give any such divisive instruction. I also had no such discussion with anyone.
“The news is a lie from the pit of hell being peddled about by mischief makers seeking cheap popularity to ride on the acceptance of Mr President among lawyers.
“Mr President is a democrat who believes in playing by the rules. He has not and will not endorse anyone as a preferred candidate in the ongoing NBA election. As a democrat and president of the country, he will abide by the outcome of a free and fair election. He is also ready to work with any candidate that emerges.
“I seize this opportunity to call on those who are bent on causing disaffection among NBA members on the one hand and between our respected president and the respected NBA, on the other hand, to desist from such an unprofitable venture. The president wishes the NBA a hitch-free election and is looking forward to working with whoever emerges.”
NBA election: Tinubu has no preferred candidate – AGF clarifies
Nationwide protest: Group alleges plot to arrest Peter Obi
The Peter Obi Media Reach, POMR, has cried out over what it described as “wild, wicked and baseless allegations” by one of the spokespersons in the Presidency, Bayo Onanuga, accusing the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi of being the mastermind of a planned protest in the country.
Onanuga, in a statement, said Obi should be held responsible for any mayhem that may occur in the protest.
But in a statement signed by Yunusa Tanko,
POMR spokesman, the group said it can report from good and reliable authority that the unsubstantiated allegations are being orchestrated to arrest Obi, limit his freedom and stop his propagation for good governance.
The group said that Peter Obi, by his mien in and out of political office, has not in any way shown or been associated with violence even in the face of the most obvious provocations.
“He has always shown even during the electioneering that he is issue-driven as he carries on without calling anybody’s name.
“POMR is also aware that multiple attack dogs have been hired and strategically deployed to ensure that Obi does not enjoy the ear of the Nigerian populace who are keen on hearing his voice on issues.
“These spin doctors and hirelings, to justify their pay, indulge in all kinds of falsehood ostensibly to distract Obi and confuse Nigerians who already see Obi as suiting balm in the current turbulent political and economic environment.
“All the problems real and imagined created by their insensitivity and lavish lifestyle they have curiously tried to link to Obi.
“Notable challenges of the administration which are a consequence of their actions and inactions like fuel subsidy fallouts, growing poverty in the land, inflation, nepotism and unresolved historical conflicts among others they blame all on Obi.
“POMR therefore wish to urge Nigerians to ignore the Presidency’s cheap blackmail as Obi and the Obidient family all over the country and in the Diaspora remain resolute in their search for a new Nigeria that is POssible and would not be cowed or be made to lose focus,” the group said.
Nationwide protest: Group alleges plot to arrest Peter Obi
I’m not in APC, but appreciate Tinubu’s bold reforms —Okupe
A former Director-General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said on Saturday he is not a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but appreciates the bold reforms initiated by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Okupe, a former presidential spokesman stated this on his X handle while reacting to criticisms over his support for the president.
The medical doctor-turned-politician has been criticised lately by supporters of the LP over the statements credited to him on the party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
On Friday, he declared that he didn’t betray the former Anambra State governor but the latter betrayed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who brought him into politics.
He also insisted that President Tinubu won the 2023 presidential election.
In his latest remarks, Okupe urged his critics, especially a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Dele Momodu, to stop being personal in their criticisms.
He wrote: “I am neither a member of the APC nor an adviser of the administration.
“I appreciate the bold initiatives President Bola Tinubu took to remove fuel subsidy, which was assented to by all candidates during the campaign.
“I also fully support the sectoral equalisation of our forex market.
READ ALSO: For Peter Obi, others Labour Party was ’a means to an end’ —Okupe
“Both reforms are responsible for the hardship our people are currently experiencing, but which I believe will be temporary judging by the strenuous efforts the government is making towards ameliorating them.
“This is not praise singing. I do not count myself as a member of the opposition, hence I can be objective and understandingly supportive.
“I may not have had a hand in installing this government but it is my country and I am a stakeholder in it. I do not pray for it to crash or go down. This cannot be an offence.”
“For critics, we all are practitioners, players, and known actors in this amphitheater, no need to go personal. Let’s keep criticisms rational, mature, and professional.”
Okupe also dismissed claims he had been praising every government since 1999.
The ex-presidential aide said he only acted as an adviser in former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, which he described as one of the most successful since the advent of the Fourth Republic.
Okupe said that he did not play any significant role in the administration of late President Umaru Yar Adua.
He recalled that he became an adviser for the second time in ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
According to Okupe, his association with former Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Obi is in no way different from Momodu’s current association with Atiku.
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Suspected herdsmen kill 18, abduct three in Benue community
Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen killed 18 persons in Mbache Ward of Katsina-Ala local government area of Benue State on Friday.
The chairman of the caretaker committee in Katsina-Ala LGA, Mr. Justine Shaku, told journalists on Saturday that a man and his two children were also kidnapped during the attack.
Shaku said he received a distress call at 11:00 p.m., on Friday that some gunmen were going from house to house forcing people to follow them.
He said: “I quickly notified the military officers at Tor Donga but before they could reach Mbache ward where the incident was happening, the gunmen had killed 18 persons and left with three others.
“Yesterday night I was told it was 17, but today 18 bodies have been confirmed dead.
“All of them were assembled in one place and killed.
“This morning, I, the Benue State House of Assembly member and adviser on legislative matters held a meeting and we communicated the development to the Commissioner of Police.
“He is on his way coming. Since he is coming we asked the villagers to wait and let him join us here in Katsina-Ala town before we visit the scene.
“Yes some people were kidnapped, one man and his two children were kidnapped.
“In the recent days apart from what happened yesterday we have pockets of kidnappings.
“Kidnapping is also resurfacing in the area.”
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I was never suspended from Labour Party – Hilda Dokubo
Veteran Nollywood actress turned politician, Hilda Dokubo has stated that she was never suspended as a member of the Labour Party, LP, in Rivers State.
Dokubo, who is the LP’s chairperson in Rivers, was reportedly suspended on Thursday by the party’s ward executive committee over financial misconduct.
Reacting to the report in a viral video on Instagram, Dokubo said: “I was never suspended. Everybody in that publication is a non Labour Party member because the LP has a register and knows all members, especially in Asarito torí community.
“So these are PDP boys carrying out the instructions of their master. So the question would be why?, I have worked in Nollywood for over 30 years with no blemish or scandal. I have worked with international organizations for 10 years. Not one day was it mentioned that I took anything. Because my work is heavy on integrity and honour. Those are the things they investigate before any job is given to you.
“When they say you venture into politics, you get into murky water. This is corruption pushing back. This is why I’m doing this broadcast. My lovers we are doing revalidation of membership and registering members to strengthen our wards. When you refuse to be bribed, they threaten you and if you refuse to be threatened. They are most definitely going to look for a way to hurt you.
“At no time was I suspended. Had no time to have any dealings with money. We do not have money. I am the chairman of the party in Rivers state, not a financial secretary or treasurer, I’m not even an executive of ward 3. So I think they missed the point out there.”
I was never suspended from Labour Party – Hilda Dokubo
Charly Boy challenges Odumeje to save Nigeria from ‘burning’
The former President of the Performing Musicians’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Charles Oputa aka Charly Boy, has urged controversial preacher, Chukwumeka Cyril aka Odumeje to use his power to save Nigeria.
He made the call after Odumeje chastised billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote for not “heeding to his prophecy” concerning the latter’s refinery in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos which caught fire about a month ago.
In a post on his official X handle, the eccentric entertainer asked the preacher to refrain from calling out Dangote because he has a lot of money and the hunger in the land does not affect him.
READ ALSO: Task force assaults Odumeje as Anambra govt demolishes church (video)
He wrote: “Dear Odumeje, we, Nigerians, have humbly come to you. Please can you stop the nation from burning…the economy is plummeting. We ask for your power in this desperate time of need.
‘‘Please, don’t pay any mind to Dangote. He has a lot of money, and the hunger in the land does not get to his side. That’s why he did not understand that he had to be humble before you.”
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Executive Order: Taraba Govt taskforce sets mining camp ablaze
The Chairman of the Special Taskforce Committee on Environmental Protection, Public Safety and Prohibition of Deforestation, retired General Jeremiah Aliyu Faransa, has threatened to set fire on mining camps in Taraba State.
It would be recalled that Governor Agbu Kefas had issued an Executive Order, banning all forms of mining activities in Taraba State.
Fulfilling his threat, Faransa, during the weekend, set ablaze a mining camp located in Akwana village of Wukari Local Government Area of the state.
According to him, the camp has been operating illegally despite several warnings.
“Despite several warnings, the illegal miners in the area refused to adhere to the Executive Order issued by His Excellency Governor Agbu Kefas.
“I will not hesitate to set ablaze any mining camp that will turn down the Executive Order of Governor Agbu Kefas in the best interest of the state,” he said.
The taskforce also arrested three suspected miners at the camp.
Faransa said the suspects will be arraigned before the Special Mobile Court on Environmental Protection, Public Safety and Prohibition of Deforestation for prosecution.
Executive Order: Taraba Govt taskforce sets mining camp ablaze
Police demotes Inspector for attempted extortion in Lagos
A police Inspector has been demoted to the rank of sergeant for trying to extort money from a drone operator in Lagos State.
The spokesman for the state police command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the demotion to journalists on Saturday.
He said: “The disciplinary process of the police officer that harassed one drone operator on Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge has been concluded.
“He has been reduced in rank from Inspector to Sergeant.”
Hundeyin had on April 6 responded to a viral video showing two police officers demanding a permit from a drone operator on the bridge.
He said the police officers acted within the ambit of the law by demanding to see a permit from the drone operator.
“For emphasis, Nigerian aviation laws stipulate that a permit must be obtained from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for the operation of drones weighing more than 250 grams anywhere within the country.
“Nonetheless, the Police Command in Lagos totally condemns the unprofessional conduct of the officers in attempting to extort the drone operator as can be seen in the concluding part of the video.
“The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, CP Adegoke Fayoade, has, therefore, directed the Commanding Officer of 49 PMF Akodo, from whose squadron the police officers were duly posted to the bridge, to produce the men for appropriate disciplinary actions,” the spokesman added.
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