Day: April 14, 2021

Northern Governors decry killing of Army personnel in Benue

Aminu Imam

The Northern Governors’ Forum, (NGF), has decried the killing of 12 army personnel in Konshisha local government area of Benue State. The chairman of the Forum and Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, criticised the act in a statement issued by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr. Makut Macham, on Tuesday, in Jos, the State capital. He cited the act as capable of demoralising security personnel from giving their best in fighting insecurity in the country, especially as the incident occurred when the soldiers were on assignment to ensure…

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20 nursery children die in school fire

Aminu Imam

Twenty nursery children died on Tuesday in a fire that gutted a classroom in Niamey, Niger Republic. “There were 20 deaths, most of them young children,” said head of the country’s fire service, Col. Bako Boubacar. He said the origin of the fire in Niamey was unknown. An official of a Niger’s teachers union said the school in the popular Pays Bas neighborhood had around 800 students, including children in the nursery section. “The fire apparently started around the school gate. Without an emergency exit, many were trapped and students…

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Ramadan: Zamfara shares 180,000 bags of grains, clothing

Aminu Imam

The Zamfara State governor Bello Matawalle, on Wednesday, distributed 182,000 bags of food items to some citizens as part of the government’s gesture for the holy month of Ramadan. The items include 60,000 bags of rice, 30,000 bags of sugar, 50,000 bags of millet, 30,000 bags of maize, 10,000 bags of beans and 2,000 cartoons of milk. Other items include 40,000 pieces of shadda and atamfa clothing materials. He also directed that the items be distributed to civil servants in an “efficient and equitable manner”. A statement issued by the…

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Insecurity: Nigerien security intercepts cache of weapons from Libya en route to Nigeria 

Aminu Imam

Four arms smugglers were arrested and a large number of arms recovered from them included: 77 AK-47 rifles, 7 RPGs, 30,000 rounds of ammo and two rocket launchers smuggled in Toyota Hi-Lux vehicles coming from Libya en route to Nigeria. According to reports, a security source said the arms smugglers were headed for Nigeria and would have penetrated through the North-East region but for the Nigerien security. “They were headed for Maiduguri Nigeria, through Agadez before they were intercepted and we suspect that they are those who supply arms to…

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Imo: “I was invited by EFCC, not arrested”, says Okorocha

Aminu Imam

Former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, yesterday said that he was not arrested by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), contrary to the speculations making the rounds. Okorocha, in a statement by his spokesperson, Sam Onwuemeodo, disclosed that he only honoured an invitation by the anti-graft agency. Recall that an on-line platform yesterday reported that the anti-graft agency had repeatedly invited the former governor to its Abuja headquarters in connection with multiple corruption allegations against him. Stating that the EFCC facility is not “a slaughterhouse”, the statement disclosed that…

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Communal clash: Gombe govt. imposes 24-hr curfew in 3 communities

Aminu Imam

The Gombe State government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Nyuwar, Jessu and Yolde communities, in Balanga local government area of the State, with immediate effect. The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Ibrahim Abubakar Njodi, who made the announcement yesterday, stated that the decision followed the violence that erupted in the communities. According to the SSG, the curfew becomes necessary to douse the tension and restore peace and order in the affected areas. The State government also said that security personnel have been deployed to restore normalcy while…

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774,000 jobs: Workers protest unpaid monthly stipend

Aminu Imam

Barely three months after the commencement of the Federal Government’s Special Public Works, (SPW), the programme has become enmeshed in controversy over unpaid salary. The SPW is a temporary social intervention initiated by the government to provide stop-gap three months jobs for 774000 persons, mainly artisans, to earn N20,000 monthly doing public works. One thousand youths were employed from each of the 774 local governments in the country as beneficiaries, bringing the figure to 774,000 councils.  The programme was inaugurated on January 5. The first batch of beneficiaries have completed…

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$1bn arms procurement: “I can’t answer you; invite those who made payment”, Army Chief tells Reps

Aminu Imam

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, has told the House of Representatives that he cannot answer questions on the $1 billion arms procurement because he did not sign-off the payment. Attahiru stated his point during a tensed-filled hearing of the House’s ad-hoc Committee on Arms and Ammunition investigating the purchase of arms by the military at the National Assembly yesterday. Drama ensued when the Chief of Army Staff refused to speak further on a document which he had presented to the committee, asking the committee instead to review…

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Gov. Tambuwal doles out Ford Explorer SUVs to 20 judges

Aminu Imam

Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has doled out eye-catching Ford Explorer Sport Utility Vehicles, (SUVs), to 20 judges in Sokoto. The gesture was to boost senior judicial officers’ morale, just as the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has urged the judiciary not to be partial in delivering judgments.  Malami stated this on Monday, while speaking at the inauguration of the reconstructed Sokoto High Court complex. He noted that as the last hope of the masses, the judiciary should remain impartial at all times.…

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Oyo: Traders count losses as fire razes another market in Ibadan

Aminu Imam

Traders at Bodija plank market in Ibadan are counting their losses following a fire outbreak which destroyed goods and properties worth millions of naira. It was gathered that the Bodija plank market, which is also known as Iso Pako, was engulfed by fire on Monday night. The Chief Fire Officer in Oyo State, Moshood Adewuyi, confirmed the incident yesterday. According to him, a wing in the plank market was affected. He, however, said that he cannot quantify the worth of the properties destroyed now. The fire incident at Bodija plank…

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