The insurgents have sent a demand notice to the village head to either pay a ransom of N28 million or lose the 52 captives in their custody.

Recall that many weeks after Boko Haram terrorists invaded Kwapre community in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State and made away with no fewer than 52 members of the area,

The terrorists, who are said to be emboldened by the proximity of the community to the dreaded Sambisa Forest and its inaccessibility by security agencies, have also threatened to be taking taxes from the community, which they now patrol with ease.

During the deadly attack on the community last month, the terrorists did not only kill 11 members of the village, but they also razed many houses and looted valuables belonging to the besieged community.

Our correspondent  gathered that majority of the captives are women and children whose parents, husbands and relatives are now wondering whether they are alive or dead, having not been seen since they were seized by the terrorists for over five weeks running.

Alarmed by the demand notice by the terrorists, the Village Head of Kwapre, Joel Kulaha, has sent a Save-Our-Soul plea to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Adamawa State Governor, Alhaji Fintiri, to come to the rescue of the people.

The village head lamented that they neither have the huge amount of money demanded by the terrorists nor know how to reach them for any form of negotiation to secure the release of their people from captivity.

The royal fathers called on the Governor to do everything possible towards securing the release of their relations, saying that their situation calls for concern and immediate intervention

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) , Prof. Is’aq Oloyede, has hinted that the board will decide if there is a need to extend the registration period and change the date of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Oloyede made this known in Friday at a zoom meeting titled, ‘Briefing session for the committees on 2021 UTME’.

Recall that the UTME had been slated to hold between June 5 and 19.

Oloyede, however, stated that the Mock examination would begin on May 20 as stipulated earlier.

The registrar explained that “Presently, we have 1.2million candidates that have registered but we expect 1.9million. 600,000 candidates had made attempt to register but because of NIN they could not. We want to do an appraisal of all the issues to know if we are extending registration or not.

According to him; “Extending registration may not be the solution if we found out that we can give 80 per cent of those who have made attempt another password, then there will be no need to extend registration.

“We have to determine where the problem is coming before we can say we are extending. After today, we will address the press tomorrow on the outcome of the meeting on the main examination date and registration. We want to assess what is happening.”

The zoom meeting had in attendance stakeholders who all stated their challenges while some others appreciated the innovations and transparency which Oloyede brought to the fore in the yearly conduct of UTME.

Ifa Unity Conference on Thursday warned the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi to stop ridiculing the Yoruba deities and traditional worshippers with his utterances.

The warning was issued during a conference by Traditional Worshippers tagged, “Unity and Growth of Traditional Religion; Way Out”, held at Sadiat hotel, Osogbo, Osun State.

The Araba Agbaye Olu Isese, High Chief Awolabi Aworeni, while speaking during the event said, “Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi is ridiculing us, the traditional worshippers.

He has been making utterances to disrespect us. Unfortunately, someone on that stool doesn’t know the importance and the relationship that should exist between the stool and traditional worshippers.”

High Chief Aworeni noted that the traditional worshippers are kicking against the disrespectful actions of Oluwo, saying, “after he ridicules us, he will later come begging, at this point we want to state that, he should stop such actions.”

He added that he has reached out to the president of Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), Mr. Bolaji Amusan, to caution filmmakers to stop desecrating Traditional Religion.

“I have called the president of TAMPAN, Mr. Latin over misrepresentation of traditional religion and worshippers in films, I even made it known in the presence of Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi when the theatre practitioners paid a courtesy visit to the monarch that we don’t want to fight other and that they should desist from desecrating our religion. Other religions are not exposed to such desecration.”

Earlier, the Guest Lecturer, a renowned Ifa priest, Chief Yemi Elebuigbon made a wake-up call to people to stop describing traditional worshippers as pagan or unbelievers noting that it is ridiculous.

On Oluwo of Iwo, he said, “there is no way a King will not be linked to tradition. Before a king is enthroned, Ifa will be consulted. But civilisation is changing thing in Yoruba land.

“Kingmakers and chiefs have converted to Islam and Christians and this is responsible for the backwardness in Yoruba land. There has been a lot of challenges with kingship and the palace since we embraced foreign religion. Some of the people whose duty it is to uphold culture have died and no replacement was made.”

The Former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko has asked the Southern governors to meet with their counterparts in the North to harmonise grey areas on the resolutions reached during their meeting in Asaba, Delta state.

He made this known in a statement he made available to newsmen in Akure saying, that the resolution of the southern governor’s forum was commendable and the next step is for them to meet with their Northern counterparts “to iron out what may just be minor areas of difference in substance and timelines.

According to him ” Timelines and details of these measures can be worked out amongst the governors.

The statement reads in parts, ” the resolution of the Southern Governors’ Forum, at the end of its meeting in Asaba, Delta State, on May 11 2021, is commendable.

“It is also salutary that members of the Southern Caucus of the National Assembly have weighed in.

” It’s all a reflection of the realization of the fact that the nation may be perching at the precipice, and of the urgent need to pull her back.

“The next step is for the Southern Governors to meet with their Northern counterparts to iron out what may just be minor areas of difference in substance and timelines.

“There cannot be any reasonable arguments against decentralization of policing to ensure the emergence of compact and efficient sub-national forces under State (sub-national government control).

“There surely cannot be any disagreement amongst the Governors on the issue of devolution of resources from the centre.

“As a matter of fact, the present Revenue Allocation formula has long been statutorily due for review.

“New sources of revenue will surely be needed for state policing, and to address ongoing security challenges in the state

” The Governors’ Forum also recently took a position on open grazing in its virtual meeting of February 2021.

“In a communiqué issued after the meeting, the Forum had noted: “The current system of herding mainly through open grazing is no longer sustainable, in view of growing urbanisation and population of the country.”.

The statement continued; ” That position has now been reiterated at the Asaba meeting, underscoring the need for, and urgency of implementation of remedial measures.

“Timelines and details of these measures can be worked out amongst the governors.

“he truly is, we may actually be closer to a national consensus on short to medium term solutions to our present challenges than we imagine!

The former governor added that ” let us act while there is still time.