Kidnappers of the 23 students and a member of staff of Greenfield University, Kaduna have raised ransom for the remaining 16 students in their den to N160 million, Newsfocusng gathered.
Recall that they had earlier reduced the N500 million they sought as ransom when the students were 17 to N100 million. The kidnappers also asked that 10 brand-new Honda motorcycles be delivered to them as part of the conditions for the freedom of the abductees..
But we gathered yesterday that the bandits jettisoned the idea of collective payment of the N100 million for individual payments by the parents of the students.
One of the parents who confirmed the development said: “They (bandits) called today(yesterday) and asked me to bring N10 million to get my child out.
According to her; “We don’t even know what to do now. They initially asked for N100 million for all the children, after we had paid them more than N55 million. With this now, it means they are asking for N160 million because there are 16 of our children with them presently.
“We are helpless. When we told them we could not raise N100 million collectively; where do they want us to get N160 million?”
It would be recalled that 23 students and the matron of female student hostel were abducted from the university were abducted on April 20, 2021.
Five of the students were killed few days after the abduction following what the kidnappers called the failure of the parents and the school management to pay N800 hitherto demanded by them.
The bandits last week issued a threat to kill the remaining captives if the ransom which they later reduced to N100 million was not by last Tuesday.
The Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network (Amotekun Corps) have arrested four suspected kidnappers and rescued their victims.
Newsfocusng gathered that the kidnappers abducted three persons who were taking shelter from the rain at a bus stop in the area.
While two of the victims were rescued, they held on to the remaining victim demanding for payment of ransom.
In the course of collecting ransom, one Usman Garuba was arrested by the operatives.
He took security operatives to their hideouts where others were arrested and the remaining female victim was rescued.
Ondo State Amotekun Commander, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said other security agencies joined in the rescue operation.
According to him; “We were able to rescue two victims that same day but the kidnappers held onto to one. We sold a decoy to them of ransom payment and in the course of that we were able to nab one of them who led us to their hideouts and we arrested others.
“This Umar Garuba has confessed to carrying out other kidnapping activities.
Speaking to journalists, Usman said he was introduced by a man he called his master who promised to give him a job.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has said that Eld-prayers should hold only in Juma’at Mosques premises.
This, according to him is to contain the further spread of the dreaded COVID-19 and stem the third waves.
Bello hinted that having gone through a first wave of COVID-19 pandemic and a second wave that caused more fatalities and had increased number of positives cases, it becomes imperative to prevent a possible third wave as is being witnessed in some countries across the world.
The Minister gave this hint on Monday at a meeting he chaired consisting of the FCTA and a delegation from the FCT League of Imams Initiative led by its Chairman, Imam (Dr) Tajudeen M.B Adigun to discuss the modalities of holding Eid prayers for the upcoming Eid el-Fitr celebrations.
The Minister, however, thanked the religious leaders for their cooperation in the course of the battle against COVID-19 in the FCT, saying, having gone through a first wave of the pandemic and a second wave that caused more fatalities and had increased number of positives, it was imperative to prevent a possible third wave as is being witnessed in some countries across the world.
Consequently, based on presentations made by officials of the Health and Human Services Secretariat of the FCTA and the Implementation Guidelines for Phased Restriction of Movement issued by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 on Monday. 10th May 2021, the following guidelines are hereby issued:
“There will be no Eid prayers at the National Eid prayer ground along the Umaru Musa Yar’adua Expressway (Airport Road); All worshippers are enjoined to hold Eid prayers outdoors within the premises of their neighborhood Juma’at mosques; Indoor worship are to be limited to less than 50% of installed capacity.
“More so, Religious authorities are advised to regulate the flow of people entering and exiting places of worship; All non-pharmaceutical intervention protocols of facial coverings, physical distancing and hand washing are to be observed; and All other Eid celebrations and activities should be confined to homes as all public parks, recreation and entertainment centers are to be closed.”
The League, while speaking during the Chairman of the FCT League of Imams Initiative, Dr Tajudeen Mohammed Bello Adigun said “In Islam, you listen to experts, those who are specialists and those who have actually discussed with us are experts in the field of medical sciences. In Islam, you also abide with the commands of leadership”.
He added “Based on this and what we are convinced of, we urge Muslim Ummah to also respect this stand of the Administration of the FCT by observing our Eid prayers within our localities”.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha on Monday hinted that the surge and violence of infections of the new variant resulting in mass deaths in India, among others, are the reasons the Federal Government re-introduced COVID-19 restrictions.
He explained that the government was being pro-active to prevent a third wave of the virus in the country.
Mustapha stated that; “This step has become compelling in view of the fragile state of our health systems, the disruption to the vaccines delivery and the lack of compliance with the extant public health measures and social measures contained in the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Health Protection Regulations 2021.
“In taking this step, the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) requests the state governments to please step up to play lead roles in the area of enforcement and sanctions.”
He, however, appealed to traditional, religious and community leaders to take up more ownership and responsibility for risk communication and community engagement on the virulent nature of the pandemic, concerns over the variants of concern and the need for compliance.
The new restriction measures announced by PSC incident manager Dr. Mukhtar Mohammed that took immediate effect including:
Nationwide curfew from 12:00am to 4am Restrictions on mass gathering to a maximum of 50 people in an enclosed place Restriction on resumption of workers from GL 12 and below Closure of event centres, bars and night clubs Restaurants to provide eat-ins at 50% capacity People 60 years and above or with ailment advised to stay at home or avoid crowds Dr. Mohammed said military personnel are to monitor and enforce adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions on public transport, that is wearing face masks and maintaining social distance.
He expressed concerns over the shortage of vaccines for the larger population of Nigerians and the delay it would impose on the national rollout programme.
He said the situation was caused by the escalation of the dangerous strain of the virus in India, one of the largest producers of COVID-19 vaccine.
“While our vaccine rollout has begun, there is a shortage in global supplies, affected by the current situation in India. This translates to a delay in vaccinating a large proportion of the population and therefore a risk of a large outbreak, especially in the context of poor adherence to the recommended public health and social measures.
The SGF recalled that the PSC had issued a Travel Advisory which, he said, took into consideration, the utility of travel restrictions, outcomes of epidemiological risk assessment, factors that aid transmission as well as control measures that could be deployed.
He noted that in the Advisory, additional requirements were placed on passengers from India, Turkey and Brazil.
Mustapha regretted that there have been reports of some returning foreign passengers who violated the mandatory quarantine requirement under the advisory by escaping from the facilities.
“We deprecate such violation of the laws of our land and our hospitality. The PSC is awaiting the report of on-going investigations and we wish to assure Nigerians that appropriate sanctions would be imposed on the violators,” he assured.
He remarked that given the challenge of vaccine nationalism compounded by the production situation in India, the PSC is exploring other options to get Nigerians vaccinated.
The SGF reaffirmed that 1,690,719 persons had received their first dose of the vaccine, representing 84% of the targeted persons for this phase.
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) have resolved to establish a joint coordination committee to identify, document and disclose the real owners of Nigeria’s oil, gas and mining assets.
The decisions were taken at a meeting between the management of the two agencies held in Abuja.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by NEITI on Monday.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya, “The exclusion of information about our natural resources was at a huge cost to the Nigerian economy and affected Nigeria’s optimisation of revenues from its natural resource wealth.
Saying, with your cooperation and reputation, we can help our government fight the resource course which is the reason the EITI and NEITI exist.
“The knowledge reposed in the two agencies makes it important for us to work together to ensure that the commitment made by Nigeria to the international community on effective implementation of Beneficial Ownership in the extractive industry is realised.”
Also, the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, pledged CAC’s irrevocable commitment to partner with NEITI towards meeting the compliance standards set by the global EITI in beneficial ownership reporting.
“The CAC is already working on a comprehensive beneficial ownership register that will be a global standard.”
He,however, disclosed that since January 3, 2021, all companies registering to do business in Nigeria were required to disclose the identity of their real owners.
“This information became a requirement by the CAC for purposes of beneficial ownership information in public interest for anyone who needs it and at no cost to other government agencies.”
Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has shortlisted 6,105 candidates out of the 45,323 that applied to be enlisted in its 2019/2020 recruitment.
The spokesman of the ServiceMr James Sunday made this known on Monday in Abuja that further screening of those shortlisted would begin on May 24, 2021, at no cost to the applicants.
Sunday, however, advised applicants to check the NIS website for their recruitment status, examination location and other guidelines for recruitment.
He stated also that those shortlisted for the next screening should print their invitation slips preparatory to the exercise, adding that candidates without invitation slips would not be allowed to participate.The spokesman also advised possible aggrieved applicants to lay their complaints at: [email protected] or at the nearest ICPC or other anti-graft agency.
“Applicants whose names did not appear on the website should not go to any of the venues for the next screening,’’ Sunday warned.
A fresh oil spill from facilities belonging to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) has devastated the environment of Egbebiri community in Biseni Clan of the Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Newsfocusng gathered that the incident, happened on May 7, concurred from wellheads 5 and 11 operated by Agip.
Sources said the spewed crude oil had impacted trees, shrubs, grasses and terrestrial creatures.
Mr George ThankGod, the contact man for Agip in Biseni, however confirmed the incident and described it as “terrible”, saying it had polluted the environment.
He claimed that the oil spill was caused by equipment failure, said: “NAOC is the owner of this facility, Wells 5 and 11 where the spill happened on the 7th around 10:00pm till about 8:00am before they came and tried to stop it. And the level of damage is something terrible.
According to him; “When I came to site I met the military men on duty and I asked them what happened. They informed me that on that 7th (of May, 2021) the noise on the Well, the Christmas Tree was very high and they called the authorities (NAOC) and they came on that 7th May, to reduce the pressure of the well.
“After they left, at night they saw the spill incident and it was all over the place. And it continued until the following morning which is on the 8th of May, 2021. So I also, on my own called NAOC , that is Agip; that there is a spillage.”
He,therefore, called on the oil company, federal and state governments to come to the aid of Egbebiri as well as take steps for the remediation of the community’s environment.
He further said, “We have bush mango, we also have what we call bush rice all over. This is a forest where our people come to earn our living. We have snails and different animals too. But now, as I am saying, the environment is polluted.
“So, we need urgent response from NAOC. The spill occurred from Idu Well 11 and it was due to equipment failure.’’
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has alerted Lagosians of an impending plot of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to attack soft targets in the state.
Odumosu, who delivered a paper on ‘Appraisal of Security Situation in Lagos State’, at an ongoing security meeting, said the threat by IPOB has been put on the radar of the Command intelligence gathering and other security services in the State.
He said the Command has also taken note of threats by agitators of Oodua Republic and other Yoruba separatist groups.
According to him, 24 of these groups have been identified and being closely monitored.
He added that strategies are being put in place to neutralise their activities.
He, therefore, asked all and sundry to be vigilant at all times and report any suspicious person or movement to security agencies.
“Let us adopt the slogan of ‘when you see something, say something’,” he said.
Another major security challenge being faced by the command, according to the CP, is the use of motorcycle as a means of transportation in the state.
“A combination of factors can be identified as being responsible for the advent of motorcycles as a means of intra-city transportation in Lagos State.
“Foremost amongst these, is the quest of the government to expand the land transportation system and provide employment opportunity to the citizens.
“This made the government to at the onset, grant approval for commercial motorcycle operations in the State with necessary legislation to regulate their activities.
“The government’s good intention of providing additional means of land transportation and creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youths, has been negated by the atrocities being perpetrated by the Okada operators in the State. This include, the use of Okada as a veritable tool to commit crime and get away with it by hoodlums; disrespect to traffic rules and regulations; the Okada operators becoming nuisance and reckless on our roads, resulting into avoidable accidents with attendant consequences on human life,” he said.
The event was attended by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, security chiefs and members of the public.
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has asked the National Assembly to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari if he is unable to secure Nigerians.
The president has come under intense pressure as a result of the rising insecurity in the country.
Speaking on Kakaaki, an AIT programme, on Monday, Baba-Ahmed charged those who have constitutional responsibility to realise that the country is in a dire state, and do something other than just talking and making promises.
According to him; “One option we have is that the legislators will look at the record of the administration, understand the areas where the president has failed, understand areas where there is clearly no evidence that they’re going to do anything about it and refer to the constitution that says the whole purpose of government is to secure citizens and pursue their welfare.”
“If Buhari fails to do that, for me, those are impeachable offences. In the last six months, two years, what has the president done to secure the country? Absolutely nothing has been done and yet you see increasing failure of the state to protect citizens,” he said.
“Or, as our democratic system provides, those with the responsibility to get them off, should impeach those who are failing. If the president can’t deliver, he should be impeached.
“We don’t have a national assembly that appears to have the levels of patriotism and concern beyond partisan politics to realise that when this roof falls, it also falls on their heads.
“Partisanship is so pronounced that the people we elected and sent to Abuja think they serve the president rather than the Nigerian people.”
According to Baba-Ahmed, the second option is for citizens to get together and decide to do something.
He said the third option is: “Those leaders who are failing will recognize the fact that they are the problem, and they will resign because they clearly have nothing to offer in terms of leadership.
Baba-Ahmed spoke few days after the presidency said some leaders were pushing for regime change.
Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), has said that he has no link with any terrorist or bandit group within or outside the country.
He made this “clarification in a statement made available to newsmen in Minna on Monday which was signed on his behalf by his Media Aide, Dr Yakubu Sulaiman.
The former Head of State described the claim of him having such link as “false unfounded and fake news”.
Apparently reacting to the arrest of a helicopter for supplying food and weapons to terrorists and bandits in parts of the country, which was said to belong to him in publications by some social media platforms, Abubakar said he did not own such a helicopter.
He disassociated himself from such “a heinous crime that is unbecoming of any patriotic citizen”, saying that he would have ignored such “spurious reports but had to set the record straight”.
“This kind of fake news has the potential of aggravating the already tensed security situation in the country and should not be condoned,” he said.
He, however, regretted that individuals could be so callous to peddle such news and smear the image and character of people, pointing out that: “I urge Nigerians to ignore such treacherous acts and be careful with the kind of information being dished out and shared on the social media.”
He further urged Nigerians to continue to work and pray for enduring peace in the country, because no nation can attain greatness without peace and security of lives and property of it’s citizenry
