Month: February 2024

The residents of Minna, the Niger State capital, have flooded the streets to protest the rising cost of food and living in the state.

 

The protesters, in large numbers, blocked the Minna-Bida Road at the popular Kpakungu roundabout as early as 7 am on Monday.

 

Efforts by the police to control the crowd almost resulted in violence as protesters asked police to leave, forcing the police to fire several shots in the air to disperse them.

 

Details later

…

 

There was pandemonium on Wednesday, January 31, after a fight broke out among some cult groups said to be students of Community Senior Grammar School and Ikotun High School at Ikotun in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State.

 

PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident happened as a result of a long-time rivalry between two groups in the schools.

 

The fight which started during the closing hour was said to have caused some policemen nearby to intervene to restore calm.

 

On sighting the officers, the troublemakers started to hurl dangerous objects at them.

 

The situation however degenerated when the officers called for reinforcement and after that shot teargas canisters into the premises of the school to disperse the groups.

 

It was gathered that the incident led to a stampede as some of the students sustained varying degrees of injuries, while those said to be asthmatic reportedly slumped in the process.

 

Speaking to our correspondent, a parent who identified herself simply as Bimbo said about 10 students were hospitalised.

 

She said, “The quarrel between some of the students of both schools started immediately when the school closed. One of the boys took a bottle and broke it and the police officers close to the school saw that they quickly wanted to address the issue but the Community Senior Grammar School students started throwing stones and planks at them.

 

“The police then retreated towards the main road. On getting there, they met another patrol van coming, alerted them and went back into the school. But the mistake they made was throwing teargas inside the school compound because they had to force their way into the compound with the patrol van.

 

“The moment they shot the teargas and started shooting into the air, the students started running and that caused a stampede, and you know some of the students have health challenges. The teargas affected them and some of them started to collapse while some got injured during the stampede. One of them is asthmatic.”

 

She added that the affected students were rushed to a nearby health centre before being transferred to Igando General Hospital.

 

In a video sighted by our correspondent, one of the students was lying on the bare floor while she was placed on oxygen.

 

Another eyewitness who craved not to be named said some students were arrested and locked up at the Ikotun Police Station.

 

“So many innocent students were picked and locked up until the following day when we had to go and protest at the police station because we know some innocent students who were picked while the troublemakers escaped because they are smart,” the eyewitness said.

 

While noting that some of the students have been discharged,

 

Israel Olusegun, who has two children in the school, said he had withdrawn them due to the incident.

 

He also urged the government to relocate one of the schools instead of leaving them on the same premises.

 

He said, “The students of Community Grammar School are very tough. There was a time when the parents were contemplating that (relocation) for peace to reign.

 

“This is not the first time this is happening. Sometimes, they quarrel with students of the Technical School close to them and sometimes when they start, the teachers and even the principal would run away. We have been hearing about cultism in the school. This incident is one of the unfortunate things that have been happening in the school,” he added.

 

Our correspondent gathered that some of the injured victims had been discharged while the arrested ones were released the following day.

 

The state Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotoso, said an investigation was ongoing to unravel the cause of the incident.

 

The Commissioner for Education has visited the school. Investigation is going on into the matter.”

The Alara of Ara in the Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Oba Adebayo Fatoba, has recounted his escape from a recent attack by gunmen that resulted in the tragic deaths of two of his colleagues last Monday.

 

On January 29, Fatoba escaped after gunmen killed two monarchs: the Onimojo of Imojo, Oba Olatunde Olusola, and the Elesun of Esun Ekiti, Oba Babatunde Ogunsakin, while returning from a security meeting.

 

The killing of the Ekiti monarchs raised eyebrows over the increasing insecurity in the country, with a spate of kidnappings across the country.

 

Awikonko TV Live in a video on Sunday, Oba Adebayo Fatoba recounted the harrowing experience, stating that the community had sought permission from the state police to address the persistent attacks by herders on the communities.

 

His words: “We have a security committee in the local government. There are 25 communities in the Ikole Local Government Area. When Fulani people started coming in to graze and do all sorts of things, we got permission from the police to assist them. This was about three or four years ago. I was made the chairman of the committee. One of my counterparts who was killed (Onimojo of Imojo) was the deputy, and we used to go everywhere. We volunteered to do it for Yoruba land.

 

“So it happened that they came to check some people’s houses between Aiyebode and Aiyedun communities. They killed someone there. Then my deputy called to tell me that these people were back. It was on a Sunday, so I told him that I would come on Monday.”

 

“I was reading something on my phone when I suddenly felt that the driver slammed the brakes. As we looked up, we saw guns pointed at us. If they were kidnappers, they would ask us to get down, raise our hands, and so on.

 

“I wish I could show you my body; you would have seen the cuts.”

 

Narrating his escape, Fatoba stated that the situation was a “war zone” and dismissed claims that he ‘disappeared’.

 

He said, “I noticed that they didn’t understand English. They had a big machete, and they had other ones too. I saw an AK-47, a pump-action gun, and a locally made one. One of the assailants tried to hit my head with a weapon, but I used the door to protect myself, so it was the door that was hit.

It was a war zone. People who said that I disappeared—I want them to know that it is a lie. I ran to the security guards we put in that area because it had been a hotspot. I wanted to get to them.”

 

According to him, upon reaching one of the security guards, he instructed the guard to fire into the air, but the firearm jammed. He added that the security guards were gripped by fear and were unable to approach them for a rescue operation.

 

Speaking further, he added that his driver also escaped because the gunmen did not concentrate on him and only collected the car key.

 

He said, “They didn’t concentrate on the driver. He wore a shirt and had a small stature. They only collected the car key. They killed the others; we didn’t escape with the aid of spiritual power.”

 

He continued, “What happened was that they first came to me. Two came out from my right side and one from the left side. They came aggressively. The moment they collected the car key from my driver, they left him. He prostrated on the floor with his hands on the ground.

 

As for me, I fought my way out, and they shot. I heard the gunshots. God didn’t allow the shots to hit me. By the time I looked back, my colleagues were on the ground. I don’t know how that happened. Some cars that were behind us had to reverse.

 

“I was reading something on my phone at the time, so the attack came as a surprise. I lost my phone, but the security guard had the phone number of the monarch, whose community was close by. It was the monarch who mobilised more security guards to meet us there.”

 

On Sunday, the Ekiti state police command paraded one Alhaji Baboga for his alleged involvement in the killing of the two traditional rulers.

 

By Biola Lawal
Port Harcourt (Flowerbudnews) The 11th Edition of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) National Swimming Championship has ended in Port Harcourt with a commendation of the National Sports Commission (NSC) for initiating the competition in 2009.

The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, who was represented by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC), Rear Admiral P.C. Nwatu, gave the commendation at the closing ceremony of the championship on Friday on Port Harcourt.

Rear Admiral Nwatu noted on behalf of the CNS that the championship had led to the discovery of talents that would represent Nigeria in next year’s swimming championships.

He recalled that the competition had produced many stars in the past, including Lt-Cdr. Labake Oriretan who had represented and won many laurels for Nigeria.

The FOC NAVTRAC urged the participants to maintain the friendship that they have established among themselves during the championship.

Rear Admiral Nwatu also enjoined them to continue to practice and train hard for future champions.

He noted that the championship was held annually on public-private partnership basis involving the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Aquatic Federation, stressing that swimming was synonymous with the Navy.

Swimming”is a very important activity and recreation for the Nigerian Navy,’: Rear Admiral Nwatu said. (Flowerbudnews)

The former governor of Yobe State, Bukar Abba Ibrahim, died at the age of 73.

 

 

 

He died in Saudi Arabia after a protracted illness, a source who preferred anonymity claimed.

Another source close to the family posted on his Facebook page, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun.

 

Sen. Bukar Abba Ibrahim has passed away just now in Makkah. May Allah grant him peaceful repose and Jannatul Firdaus as his final abode Amin Thumma Amin.”