Blames insecurity, killings

Restiveness and killings in Anambra State and the Southeast geopolitical zone in general will deny women the opportunity of having spouses.

The declaration was made in the report of the Anambra Truth, Justice and Peace Commission (ATJPC), the Executive Summary of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka, the state capital, yesterday.

It noted that restiveness and killings had resulted in a structural problem of demographic sustainability because women were finding it difficult to find mating partners.

The report stated that women are some of the worst-hit victims as they have suffered and might continue to suffer from killings, rape, loss of husbands and sons, and denial of livelihoods.

It noted also that thousands of young people had been killed since 1999 when restiveness became pronounced in the region, just as many had fled the rural areas.

“The killings from the ongoing violence in Igboland generally and in Anambra in particular due to violent crimes and claims of agitation have once again disproportionately affected the stock of young males in the region.

“It has reduced the likelihood that women will be able to find suitable mating or marriageable partners while also increasing the likelihood that females will end up unmarried and reproductively unfulfilled.

“It will further swell the number of unmarried women in the region, particularly among those who reside in the homeland and have limited interaction outside the boundaries of home.

“These women could remain unmarried or wait out their productive years in search of a suitor who has likely been killed.

“They may feel intimidated about giving birth to a child outside marriage for fear of being labeled wayward and humiliating their families for birthing children into illegitimacy,” it declared.

The report recalled the case of Amaka Igwe, the lawyer who was killed in Onitsha alongside her husband.

It also recalled the killing of Harira Jubril near Umunze in Orumba South Local Government Area on May 25, 2022 alongside her four daughters.

It stated that the killings had resulted into destitution or dependencies among men and had led to economic impoverishment for many women, mass widowhood and enforced childlessness.

It noted that in rural or farming communities, polygamy had remained prevalent and women’s access to land depended on their relationship with the men in their lives.

The livelihood consequences of the killings for women could be very severe, it stressed.

“Married women who have no sons can lose access to land and to subsistence in a political economy in which re-marriage can be quite difficult for a woman with children.

“Naturally, the additional stress of this kind of life on top of the trauma of the disappearance of the husband or bread-winner can lead to diminished outcomes for physical and mental health.

“As many communities devolved subsequently into more generalised forms of atrocity and violence, hospitals and healthcare facilities had been destroyed in the restiveness.

“Healthcare workers had become afraid of showing up for work and access to reproductive healthcare and facilities had become more rarefied in the rural areas.

“Unlike most other parts of Nigeria which have a problem of girl-child school enrolment, Anambra leads the states of Southeast Nigeria in a unique regional problem of diminishing boy-child school enrolment and retention,” it stated.

It noted that women typically contributed to the livelihood and education of their children, but with their sources of income cut off, their children were denied access to basic nutrition and to social services.

The report stressed that consequences of insecurity had negated previous progress made on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Anambra as young boys abandoned education and fled their communities for fear of being killed or abducted.

The United Nations created 17 world development goals called the SDGs in 2015 with the aim of peace and prosperity for people and the planet, then and into the future.

The goals have 2030 as their attainment target date.

Anambra’s 14-man ATJPC was inaugurated in June 2022 to investigate insecurity in Anambra and the Southeast in general.

It submitted its final report to Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Wednesday.

It had Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, a human rights lawyer and former Chairman of Nigeria Human Rights Commission, as its chairman.

Says 24 million Nigerians currently in food crisis

Customs intercepts 880 bags of beans, 584 bags of onions, others

About 31.5 million people, including 83,846 IDPs in 26 states and the FCT, are expected to be in crisis or worse between June and August 2024, a report, Cadre Harmonisé, has said.
The report also stated that 24.7 million people including 14,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will be in food crisis or worse between March and May 2024.

Cadre Harmonisé is a food and nutrition insecurity analysis by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with technical partners including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Analysiing the result further, it noted that about 1.1 million people in Adamawa State are expected to be in crisis or worse between June and August 2024, and about 2.1 million people in Borno are expected to be in crisis or worse between June and August this year, while 1.5 million people in Yobe are expected to be in crisis or worse between June and August this year.

Also, deteriorated food consumption situation was also observed among populations in the inaccessible areas and the IDPs in Adanawa, Borno, Sokoto, and Zamfara states.

It noted that the deteriorating food consumption results from a significant spike in food prices due to high production and transportation costs caused by the removal of fuel subsidies and its resultant impact on inflation and consumer price index rates on both food and basic non-food items.

The report noted that the high cost of transport, inflation rate, and the volatile dollar-naira exchange rate have negatively affected households’ income.

In the projected period (June to August 2024), poor microeconomic conditions and conflicts are expected to drive limited access to livelihood opportunities.

“The nutrition situation in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) and northwest states of Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara revealed the prevalence of malnutrition for Under-5 children to be in crisis in the current situation.

However, the report said key drivers of the crisis include conflict and insecurity, fuel scarcity, naira devaluation currency crisis, and rising inflation and Consumer Price Index (CPI) rates.

In his remarks, Country Representative of the FAO to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr Koffy Kouacou Dominique, said the FAO will continue to support the Cadre Harmonisé process, especially in terms of funding as well as technical support and capacity building, across the country.

Dominique, who was represented by the Deputy FAO Country Representative, Suleiman Abubakar, said the Cadre Harmonisé analysis produces the most reliable and widely acceptable data/results for humanitarian programming and food security.

Read Also: NLC to Fed Govt: let salaries, wages be commensurate with cost of living
Also, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Temitope Fashedemi, who was represented by the Director of Special duties, Adedayo Modupe, said the government has put machinery in place to address the challenges to food and nutrition insecurity.

Meanwhile, the Seme border command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone ‘A’, Ikeja has intercepted 880 bags of white beans, 584 bags of onions and 400 sacks of grains on the verge of being smuggled into Benin Republic.

The unit also intercepted export bound trucks loaded with 18 bags of dry pepper at Ajilete/Idiroko Road in Ogun State.

During a press briefing in Lagos yesterday, its Area Controller, Hussein Ejibunu, said instead of seizing the food items, the unit ensured the trucks were re-directed to the Nigerian markets where they were sold to Nigerians by the owners.

The Customs chief also raised the alarm over smugglers new defined means of smuggling foreign parboiled rice in petroleum Jerry cans.

According to him, the act is not only illegal but also exposes the potential consumers to the risk of eating contaminated grains that have ingested poisonous properties possibly from premium motor spirit (PMS), diesel or other petroleum products.

“Due to violation of various sections of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, and the federal government import and export prohibition guidelines, we vigorously and relentlessly prosecuted our anti-smuggling campaign which resulted in a total number of 93 seizures, arrest of nine suspects made to prevent smuggling and protect our national economy. The seizures made are worth a total duty paid value of N751.1million.

“As usual, rice was top on the list of our February 2024 seizures in terms of volume and value. A total of 3,779 X 50kg bags of suspected foreign rice equivalent to over seven trailer loads worth over N365 million were seized from various parts of the South West.

“Other items seized in the month under review include one locally made gun and six pieces of empty cartridges at Abeokuta road, 731 parcels of Indian hemp weighing 482kg, 1 X 40ft container found to contain 286 cartons of new rubber slippers, seven units of used motorcycles, 28,000 litres of premium motor spirit (PMS) and 2,420 pieces of used tyres.

“Worthy of note is the interception of export bound three trucks headed to the Republic of Benin laden with 880 bags of white beans, 584 bags of onions and 18 bags of dry pepper at Ajilete/Idiroko road in Ogun state.

“Instead of seizing the food items, this Unit ensured the trucks were re-directed to the Nigerian markets where they were sold to Nigerians by the owners. The seizures made are worth a total duty paid value of N751.1million,” he stated.

Ejibunu also disclosed that N78.16 million was recovered as revenue into the federation account through the issuance of Demand Notice (DN) on Customs duties that were discovered to be underpaid.

“We also prevented the smuggling of eleven exotic used vehicles worth over N200 million into the country through our area of responsibility. Smugglers of these vehicles met our stiff resistance against their duty evasion and deviant behaviour.”

Ejibunu added that the “sum of N78,164,255.20 was recovered as revenue into the federation account through the issuance of demand notices (DN) on Customs duties that were discovered to be underpaid.

“These outcomes were achieved despite the unrepentant behaviour of economic saboteurs who deploy many tricks and antics to beat our checks but they failed.

As we approach the Easter celebration, he said, “we have strengthened our intelligence-led anti-smuggling operations strategies to forestall any attempt by smugglers and duty evaders to circumvent the law.”

State governors committed to new minimum wage – Bala Mohammed

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has insisted on a living wage for workers in the country.
The Congress asked the Federal Government to allow salaries and wages to be commensurate with the cost of living.

President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero said this at the 11th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria yesterday in Abuja.

On Thursday, the NLC presented N709, 000 for consideration as the new national minimum wage at the public hearing for the North Central.

The Trade Union Congress on the other hand presented N447,000 as its proposal for consideration as the new national minimum wage.

The current minimum wage of N30, 000 passed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari would expire in April this year.

Ajaero lamented that workers have been reduced to beggars because of the economic hardship in the country.

He said: “Food has become so scarce that Nigerians have become scavengers and resorting to raiding food trucks and warehouses for food. If those in government cannot see the danger in what is happening, we see it and must ensure that government fulfills its duties to the people.

“We are increasingly going hungry in our father’s land and cannot continue in this destitution. The greatest unifier and mobiliser of a people is hunger so it insults commonsense when those in government assume that somebody is sponsoring people who are protesting because of hunger.

“If anybody is arousing the people, it is those in government whose policies have impoverished the people and stripped them of those values that make them human beings.

“The looting of food trucks and warehouse is what you get when this happens. Unless something is done, this may unfortunately escalate. We pray it does not.

“Those who therefore think that they can stop us from this divine mission with their threats and violence should think twice. We cannot be cowed. We cannot surrender our natural mandate to powers and agents of poverty and emasculation. We are not after anybody’s job but we must insist that the instruments of governance must be used for the greater good of the people and not to wreck their lives.

“We must insist that any political calculation that does not put the lives of Nigerians first fails abysmally and is totally unacceptable. The people of Nigeria must have to survive first so that Nigeria can survive before we begin to talk about 2027.

“We must all work together to build power with which we can use for successful engagement with those who are in charge of the various corridors of power in our dear nation. Nigerians look up to us and we must not fail them. We in the NLC, which includes your Ag. President and Deputy President of Congress; Comrade Ado Sani Minjibir will always court and cherish your support to build the necessary structures that will make the NLC stronger thus challenge the vicissitudes of the nation’s current socioeconomic realities.”

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha said the government was committed to providing affordable healthcare for Nigerians.

Onyejeocha, who was represented by the Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, Yusuf Mohammed also said the government was committed to providing better welfare packages for health workers.

Acting National President, Medical and Health Workers Union, Kabiru Minjibir said the removal of fuel subsidy has “unleashed hardship on Nigerians.”

Minjibir noted that “anarchy may be looming if nothing practical is urgently done.”

Meanwhile, Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, has affirmed the commitment of Nigerian governors to effectively implement a new minimum wage for workers.

The governor made the declaration on his verified Facebook page following his participation in a meeting in Yola, convened by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage (North-East Zone) yesterday.

“We are collaborating to ensure the smooth implementation of the new minimum wage,” he stated.

The governor further expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his support to state governments and his endeavors to enhance the well-being of all Nigerians.

Nigerian-born British boxer Anthony Joshua showed class once more early Saturday as he recored a brutal second-round knockout victory over his Cameroonian challenger Francis Ngannou.

The highly anticipated heavyweight clash took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and AJ, a Joshua is popularly called, was simply ruthless as he floored his opponent.

Ngannou, the former UFC champion, entered the bout with the aura of his impressive debut against Tyson Fury, but Joshua proved too powerful, solidifying his title aspirations.

Joshua displayed phenomenal power and precision, dismantling Ngannou in a mere two rounds.

Ngannou, who shocked the world by flooring Fury in November before a split-decision defeat, aimed for a repeat against the former two-time heavyweight champion.

The Cameroonian started strong, threatening with his left hook and a looping right.

However, Joshua countered with a devastating straight right in the opening round, sending Ngannou crashing to the canvas.

The second round saw both fighters swinging wildly.

Former Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, says that Steven Oronsaye’s report was not presented to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari during his administration.

Shittu was a minister during Buhari’s first term in office between 2015 and 2019..

According to him, the report was not brought to the attention of the Buhari administration, and as such, there was no need for implementation.

He said, “The report had been with the previous government (Jonathan’s) but they didn’t do anything. Nobody brought it to our (Buhari government’s) attention, at least not when I was there. So, the issue never came up for discussion at the Federal Executive Council meeting at all. If nobody brought it and there were no complaints, we didn’t have cause to look at it at all.”

There was controversy over the report since the Federal Government approved the implementation of some of its recommendations to reduce the cost of governance on February 26, about 12 years after it was submitted.

Twenty-nine government agencies are expected to be merged, even as eight parastatals will be subsumed into eight other agencies, even as some Nigerians fear that this may lead to job losses.

The National President, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Tommy Etim, had warned that job losses amidst the current hardship in the country could lead to mass protests.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, described the report as outdated, advising the Federal Government to ensure that “the crisis of insecurity is not compounded through the retrenchment of hundreds of thousands of workers.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government, on Thursday, inaugurated the implementation committee.

Speaking on the matter, Shittu said that civil servants should not be afraid of job losses, adding that only politicians would be affected as the number of appointees would reduce.

“We must avoid or do away with duplication of services because that would increase the cost of governance. When we talk about some people losing jobs, I think that national interest is more important than personal interest, and I don’t see any civil servant losing his job on that,” he stressed.

Also speaking on the matter, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yusuf Ali, said implementing the Oronsaye’s report would reduce the excessively complicated administration of ministries, departments, and agencies of government.

Ali said, “One of the things you will find is that there is a lot of inter-agency rivalry. It happens almost everywhere, including in the US. If the report is implemented faithfully, at least we will be out of the problem of rivalry as well as overlapping functions and duties.

“It may not affect the personnel because it will become a larger body. And it will lead to having a leaner government that will be able to manage bureaucracy better. The fact that you are merging A and B does not mean you will dismiss people. It only means that you will have a larger number of people working in the same space.

“If you are talking about the loss of jobs, what will you say with the advent of artificial intelligence and robotics? Should we say people will lose their jobs and not invest in AI, robotics like drones, and others? Anything that will bring progress, we should try to adopt it.”

Taraba state chief judge, Justice Joel Agya, on Friday, sentenced one Yusufa Adamu and Adamu Abdullahi to death by hanging for kidnapping Balkisu Kambe and Maryam Musa in Gashaka Local Government area of the State.

Agya, who delivered the judgment at the Taraba High Court 1 in Jalingo said the prosecution counsel has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the duo committed the crime in 2019.

He also found them guilty on the charges of criminal conspiracy and illegal possession of firearms, and he sentenced each of them to 10 years without the option of a fine for each of the offences making it 20 years each.

The judge explained that the sentence on criminal conspiracy and illegal possession of firearms would take effect from 2019 when they were arrested and detained.

According to him, the defendants had made confessional statements individually about the kidnapping of Balkisu Kambe at Angwan America in Baruwa on Sept 29, 2019, and that of Maryam Musa on Sept 2, 2019, at Serti and others in Gashaka Local Government area where they collected ransom.

He noted that one of the victims, Kambe identified the defendants as members of the gang that abducted her in her house when they could not find her husband in his room on that day, saying they unmasked themselves when they took her to the bush for two days before her husband sent them N1,000,000 ransom.

“Based on Section Three, paragraph eight of the Kidnapping and Abduction Law of Taraba 2019, I hereby sentence you to death by hanging on the neck, may God have mercy on your souls.

“You however, have the right to apply to the Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy to for the sentence to be committed to life imprisonment especially since no life was lost in the process of kidnapping,” he said.

Mr Samson Gimba, the Prosecution counsel hailed the judgement as sound and commendable.

Mr Mahanar Puki, counsel to the defendants had pleaded for mercy when the guilty verdict was pronounced before the judge passed the sentence.

Puki had told the court that the convicts were first-time offenders and had shown remorse throughout the period of trial and should be shown some mercy.

Negotiations for the release of no fewer than 287 abducted pupils and teachers of the Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School, Kuriga 1, in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, have begun, according to PUNCH report.

A highly placed source in the Kaduna State Government House, who is close to the negotiations but pleaded not to be identified because of security reasons, confided in PUNCH that the state government had reached out to the bandits through a private negotiator (names withheld) for the release of the pupils and their teachers.

The private negotiator is a highly influential negotiator who has been involved in negotiating several abductions with bandits in the past.

Bandits had stormed the LEA Primary School, Kuriga, around 8.30am on Thursday shortly after the assembly gathering and abducted the pupils and some staff members of the schools.

It was learnt that the secondary school was relocated to the primary school premises as a result of insecurity in the area.

Governor Uba Sani, who visited the school on Thursday, gave an assurance that the abducted pupils would be rescued unhurt.

Sani while addressing the community members said, “In my capacity as your elected governor, I am assuring you that by the grace of God, all the children will return unhurt.”

However, less than 48 hours after the abduction, which triggered national outrage, an official source said the government had reached out to the bandits for negotiations to release the 287 abducted pupils and the staff members of the school.

The source said, “The military has begun combing the forests in search of the children kidnapped by the bandits. Security agents have cordoned off the area and they have started searching for the abducted pupils.

“The government is doing all it can for the speedy release of the abducted school pupils.

“The government has established contact and reached out to the bandits for negotiation through a popular bandit negotiator. The negotiator was the one who worked for the return of some of the students abducted some years back.

“He (the negotiator) had negotiated the return of so many abductees in the past. He negotiated the return of those students abducted in Katsina State years back.”

Two other government officials confirmed the development to one of our correspondents but insisted on not being identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

They also refused to provide additional information as they insisted that doing so might frustrate the ongoing efforts to secure the victims’ release and put them in harm’s way.

One of them said, “You know this is a highly sensitive issue. I can’t give more information on the negotiations because of the security implications. We don’t want the bandits to harm the pupils and their teachers, and we don’t want to put the lives of the negotiator and the security operatives at risk.

“The only thing I can say is that the Kaduna State Government will do everything humanly possible to secure their release, just as the governor promised on Thursday when he visited the affected community.”

It was gathered that an emergency security meeting was convened by the governor on Friday but details of the discussions were not available to journalists.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, confirmed the security meeting and said details would be provided later.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Shehu, did not take his calls and had yet to respond to a text message sent to him on the development as of the time of going to press.

At least two worshippers were killed during Friday’s prayers at Anguwar Makera in the Kwasakwasa community, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of the state.

The incident happened around 2pm on Friday, according to locals in the area.

A community leader, Hudu Kwasakwasa, who confirmed the incident, said the bandits opened fire on the worshipers.

He said the worshippers were in the second raka’at of the Salat prayer when they were attacked, forcing the remaining people to run for their lives.

He added that a few days ago, bandits abducted about nine persons from the Angwar Kanawa community.

Kwasakwasa appealed for help from the authorities concerned, adding that bandits were raiding the communities unchallenged.

The state government and the police command were yet to react to the mosque incident as the PPRO could not be reached on the telephone and had yet to reply to a text message sent to him seeking confirmation as of the time of filing this report.

When Saturday PUNCH established contact with one of the parents of the kidnapped pupils through a Joint Task Force operative, who availed one of our correspondents of the use of his mobile telephone, the traumatised father, who spoke in the Hausa language amid sobs, said, “I never knew I would be in this situation. I heard of things like this, but I never knew I would be a victim.

“What have I done to deserve this? Please I’m not myself. I should die.

“I pray for the governor to fulfil his promise of my son’s release along with the other innocent children, otherwise, we are finished.”

The JTF source informed Saturday PUNCH that the villagers saw over 100 bandits conveying the pupils on motorcycles.

This claim was also corroborated by a community leader, Alhaji Idris Abdurra’uf.

According to Abdurra’uf, a community leader from Birnin-Gwari, a neighbouring community to Kuriga, residents of the community are fleeing the area for fear that the bandits may return.

Abdurra’uf, who expressed concern over the latest incident, added that Kuriga was the same community where a school principal, Idris Abusufyan, was killed and his wife and two children abducted about three weeks ago and were still being held hostage by the bandits.

He also disclosed that residents of Doka village, which the terrorists used as a pathway to Zamfara State, said they spotted scores of the bandits on motorbikes carrying the abducted pupils.

The community leader told Saturday PUNCH that the residents were yet to ascertain the number of the abducted pupils abandoned by the terrorists on their way to Zamfara State.

According to him, as of Thursday night, they were told that some of the abandoned schoolchildren had been evacuated to Birnin-Gwari “and after profiling, we’ll be able to know how many students were abandoned and they would be reunited with their parents.”

He added that the situation at Kuriga was tense even before the latest abduction of the pupils, noting, “Most residents have evacuated their families and they have become Internally Displaced Persons, some in Birnin-Gwari and others in nearby Igawa.

“Kuriga village, which is not more than 26 kilometers from Birnin-Gwari town in the Chukun Local Government Area, is situated along the Kaduna Birnin-Gwari highway.

“The village is not far from the terrorists’ enclave in Manini, which is the gateway to Niger State through River Kaduna; the terrorists from Zamfara pass through that place to Manini to Alawa and Shawara in Niger State.

“Three weeks before the abduction of the pupils, the terrorists had killed the principal of the Government Secondary School Kuriga around 4am, while his wife and two children were abducted. The wife and children are still in captivity.

“The secondary school was the first structure you would see on the road when you are coming from Kaduna before you enter Kuriga, but because of the proximity to Manini (six kilometres), the school was relocated to the main town of Kuriga where the primary school is also situated; that was why when the terrorists struck, they took away pupils of both the primary and the secondary schools.”

Abdurra’uf added, “As it is now, we’re yet to ascertain the number of the primary school pupils the terrorists abandoned on their way to Zamfara. Yesterday night (Thursday), some of the locals in Doka, which is also the root of the terrorists in Zamfara, said that they saw over 100 motorbikes carrying the kidnapped students.

“As of last night, we were told that some of the abandoned schoolchildren of Kuriga were evacuated to Birnin-Gwari, and after profiling, we’ll be able to know how many students were abandoned and they’ll be reunited with their parents.

“We gathered that 220 students from both the primary and secondary schools were abducted.

“The situation in that town was highly tense even before the kidnapping of the students. Most people have evacuated their families and they’ve become IDPS; some are in Birnin-Gwari and others are in nearby Igawa, which is also a town on the Kaduna highway, and Buruku close to the Kaduna International Airport, all in the Chikun Local Government Area.”

The abductors of the over 200 IDPs from the Ngala camp, Gamboru-Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State have not contacted the families of the abductees for ransom.

Immediately after the report of the abduction, the state government sent a fact-finding team led by the Director-General of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Barkindo Saidu, to the Nigeria-Chad border town.

Saidu told newsmen in Maiduguri on Friday, “No abductor has up to this moment called for any ransom on the abductees.

“We don’t even believe that they were abducted. If they were abducted, the abductors would have by now called for ransom; but nobody has called anybody for any ransom yet.”

The DG argued that the IDPs probably lost their way back home from wherever they went in the bush, adding that some of them had already returned to the camp.

“Already, the IDPs, who could trace their way back home, are trickling back home. Even when I returned to Maiduguri from there yesterday (Thursday), I was called and told that two of the so-called abductees had found their way back to the camp,” he added.

The military refused to say anything other than the initial assurance by the spokesman for the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Lt. Col. Ajemusu Jingina, on Wednesday that troops, with the help of the air component of Operation Hadin Kai, had been despatched for search-and-rescue operation for the abductees.

The Nigeria Police, Abia Command, has rescued 16 pregnant women and eight children at a baby factory in Aba, its Public Relations Officer, Maureen Chinaka, said in a statement on Friday in Umuahia.

Chinaka, however, refused to disclose the location of the baby factory in Aba, opining that further details could compromise ongoing investigation.

She said the Police also arrested one Onyinyechi Okoro (29) and Ekene Okezie (32), suspected operators of the baby factory.

According to the statement, the rescued persons are: Joy Mathew (27), Stella Okon (22), Bella Okon (19) and Idara Emmanuel (24).

Others are: Blessing Okon (19), Blessing Edet (20), Promise Akpan (22), Joy Edet (17), Josephine Asuquo (19) and Glory John (19).

Goodness Peter (20), Ifeoma Ozoemena (22), Victoria Robert (20), Blessed Monday (17), Victoria Liberty (21) and Anita Sunday (21) were also rescued by the Police.

Among the eight children rescued are five females – China Marvelous (11), Nancy Sunday (9), Marvelous Sunday (6), Martha Ubong (2) and Deborah Ndifreke (2).

Three male children among those rescued are: Praise Answer (2) Goodness Destiny (4) and Victor Aniebeti (2).

Chinaka said the victims were rescued when the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in Aba, using credible information, raided the baby factory on March 7.

According to her, the rescued girls and children are kept by Mrs Onyinyechi Okoro from Ihechiowa in Arochukwu LGA and from Arondizuogu in Ideato LGA of Imo.

The PPRO said that discreet investigations were ongoing regarding the baby factory’s operations.

She, therefore, urged people to be security conscious and support police activities by volunteering information on suspects and criminal activities.

Chinaka said the police remained committed to protecting law -abiding citizens, adding that it would continue to ensure the safety of lives and property of residents of Abia.

Whenever the issue of the putsch of 15 January 1966, is raised, there is no way it will not awaken emotions and ugly memories for its horrors. Equally merciless and even more bloody and horrendous is what has been referred to as the revenge coup, given the number of deaths, and the rage that swept through parts of the Northern Region. This is why deliberate efforts must be made at reconciliation from deep our hearts, springing from our souls. Careless and impassioned pronouncements cannot be tools of reconciliation and the balm to heal wounds.

The question that has been asked for nearly six decades is what was the objective of the coup? The question could not have been answered better than by those who planned it. Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, the leader of the coup makers, said in his broadcast that the aim of the putschists he called the Revolutionary Council was to clean up the country and “establish a strong, united and prosperous nation free from corruption and internal strife.” On the indignity to which Nigerians were subjected internationally, he said: “We promise that you will no more be ashamed to say that you are Nigerians.” They were poised to fight those who made the country “look big for nothing… “Our enemies are the political profiteers…those that seek to keep the country divided permanently so that they can remain in office as ministers or VIPs at least…”

Was it an Igbo coup? Major Adewale Ademoyega, one of the three masterminds of the coup answers the question in his book, “Why We Struck”: “Contrary to the load of wicked propaganda that had since been heaped upon us, there was no decision at our meeting to single out any particular ethnic group for elimination or destruction. Our intentions were honourable, our views were national and our goals were idealistic. We intended that the coup should be national in execution so that it would receive nationwide acclamation. We planned that the use of force should be minimal so that our methods could at once be seen as superior to those of the politicians, who simply went on killing the very people that they were called upon to govern.”

The Daily Times which was the leading newspaper at the time reflecting the relief and joy of the nation in its issue of 18 January 1966, said in its Front Page Comment: “For some time now—almost right from the day we came onto our own, the country has been, as it were, at the sick bay. We have been groping along—rudderless, hesitant, unsure which foot to put forward first. For some time now—almost right from that day in October 1960 when we put out flags and bunting in celebration of the dawn of a new era—our experiment in parliamentary democracy, Westminster fashion, which we watched our old masters practice may have flourished, but it certainly did not appear to flourish. Opposition was virtually reduced to a position of nullity.

“For a long time, instead of settling down to minister unto the people’s needs, the politicians were busy performing a series of seven days’ wonders as if the art of government was some circus show. John Citizen was not amazed, but he was powerless, he was helpless.

“Indeed, at one period, it seemed as if the country had reached the famous last days about which Paul wrote to Timothy—the days when men become lovers of selves, covetous, proud, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, fierce, despisers of those that are good, heady, high-minded.

“Still we groped along as John Citizen watched politicians scorn the base by which they ascended. We groped from one trouble to another; from one calamity to another. It was too much, it was enough, but none there was to bell the cat, until the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Today, there is a new regime in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a new military regime. About time, too.

“Something just had to be done to save the Federation. Something has been done. It is a surgical operation which must be performed or the patient dies. The operation has been performed. It has proved successful. And it is welcome.”

Ethnic consideration did not cross the minds of the initiators of the coup. Ademoyega made strenuous efforts to convince the world that it was not an ethnic agenda. It began with him sleeping and waking up thinking about revolution and he found himself, in accordance with the Law of nature, drifting towards kindred spirits. When he appeared before the Selection Board of the Nigerian Army to be enlisted, he met Uche Chukwumerije. It was only both of them that came from outside and were to be tested and interviewed to join the Army. The others were already cadets who had gone through the Military Training College in preparation for further training overseas.

Both were eventually selected and were to be trained at Mons Officer Cadet in Britain. They were meeting for the first time and instantly took to each other as if they had grown up together. Chukwumerije hinted him that he wanted to join the Army to stage a revolution. Both met Ifeajuna who had joined the Army in 1960. In their interactions, Ademoyega found that the three of them were birds of the same feather who were to flock together. Indeed, Ifeajuna and Chukwumerije had been together at the University of Ibadan. The latter meeting Ifeajuna was a pleasant reunion. To Ademoyega, too, Ifeajuna’s name rang a bell. He recalled his feat at the Commonwealth Games of 1954 in Canada where he won the gold medal in the high jump. When he got to Zaria to be enlisted in October 1961 he was met by Kaduna Chukwuma Nzeogwu who was the training officer. Lt. Nzeogwu as he then was, gave him a rousing welcome. Ademoyega was touched by what he described as his humbleness and humanity. And immediately they struck a lifelong friendship. Through their interactions, it did not take time for him to discover that he had found another kindred spirit. The four of them in separate discussions found that they shared the same vision of the political, social, and economic life of Nigeria and that revolution was the answer.

That was how the seed of revolution was sown which was to bear fruit albeit unsuccessfully on 15 January 1966. Chukwumerije was later to abandon his ambition to join the Army. He was successful in the selection test and interview in Kaduna quite alright. However, when he was making preparations to resume, he hinted a British professor at the University of Ibadan that he was going into the Army so he could launch a revolution using the Army platform. The Professor shocked him saying that the Army was a most conservative institution. If he wanted to realise his dream of a revolution he would advise him to look elsewhere. The conversation poured cold water on his spirit. Consequently, he backed out; he did not report for the flight with his colleagues to London, and his seat at the cadet college remained vacant. In other words, what was on the minds of the three principal coup plotters was how they could set off a revolution in Nigeria and from where any prospective participant in their operation came did not matter to them, especially at the last minute.

Mass education was top in their ideology and programme. They believed that mass education, formal and informal, was the answer to mass illiteracy in the land. “This was deemed essential to lift the vast majority of our people out of the bog of ignorance and disease, to make every individual a productive… liberate the minds of our people from darkness… Students and teachers must be made aware that they had a common cause “to destroy a common enemy—ignorance.”

One can begin to sense why they were rooting for Chief Awolowo, the chief driver of mass and free education in Nigeria. Nzeogwu said: “Neither I nor any of the other lads was in the least interested in governing the country… Chief Obafemi Awolowo was, for example, to be released from jail immediately and to be made the executive President of Nigeria.” Nwobosi was to say: “We planned after the coup, none of us was going to be Head of State. Awolowo was in Calabar prison and in our own minds this was the man we wanted to put at the helm of affairs of the Federal Government…We wanted to put somebody who was sincere. I don’t think he was even the best friend of Igbo. He wasn’t but we wanted the job done and we knew that the man who would do it well was Awolowo. You know Zik? Zik is from the next door to my place, from my town Obosi, but I wouldn’t trust Zik to do the type of things we had in mind. I’m telling you the honest truth.” The plan was kept to their chest, Awolowo did not know about it.

If a group had a programme meant to be of immeasurable benefit to the whole country and her peoples, such cannot be said to be an Igbo agenda, and therefore an Igbo coup. What was more, they preferred Awolowo, a Yoruba to Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Igbo, to be President to superintend over their programmes. They had arranged for an Air Force aircraft to be on standby to go to Calabar and fetch Chief Awolowo in the hope that their coup plan would succeed.

Law and order had broken down in the country, particularly in the Western Region following the Federal elections of 1964 and the Western Region elections of the following year, 1965. Both elections were regarded as a farce. Following frustrations with Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa’s administration there were party alliances to have him defeated in the elections. NCNC, Awolowo’s Action Group, Aminu Kano’s NEPU, and Joseph Tarka’s Middle Belt party, UMBC came together to form the United Progressive Grand Alliance to face Sir Ahmadu Bello’s Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) and Chief Ladoke Akintola’s NNDP together with MDF to form Nigerian National Alliance (NNA). Most of the candidates of UPGA were unable to file their candidacy papers because electoral officials made themselves unavailable. UPGA therefore boycotted the elections and insisted that they be cancelled and rerun elections be held. In some cases where elections were held, losers were declared winners. Government party candidates were announced to have won unopposed. NNA fought back, saying there would be no re-run elections. The President, Dr. Azikiwe, was asked to invite Balewa to form the government. The nation was kept in ominous expectation for days before reluctant Zik invited Balewa to form his government. These resulted in widespread rioting in most parts of the country; in addition to rioting were killings and arson in the Western Region reaching a crescendo in 1965. Nigerians yearned for deliverance. It was clear something must give as the upheavals were getting out of control and the capacity of the ant-riot police to restore law and order. While the Federal Government was planning a clampdown on the West in the third week of January, the putschists hastened their plan to intervene in the second week to pre-empt the clampdown.

The observations about the pattern and the unrepresentative spread of the killings were more of the problem and were not without merit; in many parts of the country, they remained unanswered questions. But then coup making is not what you advertise on billboards, in newspapers, or on television. So they used officers they could trust. The misgivings arose more from unfortunate coincidences and sabotage which led to the unrepresentativeness and presented the events as a continuation of ethnic rivalries among the diverse nationalities that make up the country that is Nigeria. The coup makers themselves were crest-fallen and they panicked. The complexities of our country and the unpredictability of human character stared them in the face. Some of their key officers were not at their duty posts on the night of action. Ademoyega says in his publication: “I recalled that about 14 hours before, five majors were gathered to start this action. Now only two of us were together. The remainder had vanished from our sight since half-past three in the night, that is to say, only four hours after we started and only one and a half hours since when action actually began. We had lost Ifeajuna and Okafor both of whom were our only source of troops, weapons, communication and confidence. If we did not have those two in the first place (in view of the strategic posts that they were holding), we would not have started at all. Now we were left in the lurch. Chuckwuka, too, had not joined us and Obienu did not report with his troops.”

The man in Enugu, Oguchi, was a substitute. Major Chude-Soke originally assigned to there had proceeded on a course in India. It was from Enugu units that soldiers were to be sent to Benin. Seeing that the coup had failed in Lagos, foiled by Ironsi the G. O.C., Ademoyega and Anuforo group made the last desperate efforts to salvage what remained of the operation. They headed for Benin and Enugu. It was all unavailing. There were roadblocks manned by soldiers loyal to Ironsi in several places. By this time General Aguiyi-Ironsi having foiled the coup in Lagos, had also made his broadcast that the coup had failed. This meant they had lost Benin and the Premier of the Mid-West Region, Dennis Osadebay as well. Nzeogwu had taken over in the North and had broadcast to counter Ironsi’s announcement in Lagos. He prepared to invade the East and Benin from Kaduna. The Premier of Eastern Region, Dr. Michael Okpara could not be arrested because he was hosting the President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios who came to visit him after the conference of Commonwealth Heads of Government which had just ended in Lagos. Because of international implications in the event anything happened to Makarios, action on unsuspecting Dr. Okpara was put on hold until the visitor left. Troops led by Oguchi surrounded the Government Lodge and put him under house arrest. Orders came immediately from Ironsi and troops loyal to him dislodged those he called “unfriendly forces.”

Were the coincidences contrived? That remains the unanswered question to this day. But certainly not by Nzeogwu and Ademoyega. The North was unimpressed by the narratives and was boiling with anger. In the book titled “Fellow Countrymen—The Story of Coup D’états in Nigeria” by Richard Akinnola, journalist and author of several books, reports Richard Akinjide, then Balewa’s Minister of Education, as giving an account of development in the Ministers’ camp on the day. On realizing that the Prime Minister was missing, they decided to meet where they nominated from among themselves an Acting Prime Minister in the person of Zana Diphcharima. It was only Dr. Azikiwe, the President that could confirm him and swear him in as Prime Minister, and in his absence, by whoever was acting for him. Dr. Azikiwe was out of the country in the West Indies on medical grounds. But there was an acting President, Dr. Nwafor Orizu. When approached he declined to swear in Diphcharima as acting Prime Minister, saying he needed to contact Zik. “Orizu who did not cooperate with us later cooperated with Ironsi and he and Ironsi drafted the speech handing over the government to the Army.” The reasoning was that if their nominee had been sworn in, nerves would have been calmed and tension doused in the North with the assurance that Balewa’s government was still in place. Diphcharima was deliberately nominated being a Northerner. If Ironsi kicked them out it would amount to a second coup. But Orizu said they did not know where the Prime Minister, Balewa was, nor his fate at that point in time. His stance, however, added to the unwholesome speculations about ethnic consideration in the whole saga.

With Ironsi now fully in charge, there was clamour for the trial of the putschists, but they were not brought to trial. The position of the North was six months later to be displayed in an altercation between Major Theophilus Danjuma and the General Officer Commanding, GOC: “You organized the killing of our brother officers in January and you have done nothing to bring the so-called dissident elements to justice because you were part and parcel of the whole thing. G.O.C.: ”Who told you that? You know it is not true.” Major Danjuma replied: “You have been fooling us. I ran around risking my neck to calm ranks and in February you told us that they would be tried. This is July and nothing has been done.” (Excerpts from Danjuma: The making of a General by Lindsay Barrett). The rest as it is said is history. Before the encounter, there had been fighting in Abeokuta, and killings. The North said there were five Battalions in the country. Three were at first headed by Easterners and it rose to four. The fifth was by a Westerner, Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi. There were grumblings that Easterners dominated the higher hierarchy of the officer corps. This broke open after the July revenge coup and Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon came to the saddle. Col. Adeyinka Adebayo as he then was, argued at a meeting of the Supreme Military Council that the way out to bring about balance and reduce the fear of domination was to have equal representation of five candidates per state being admitted at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). The recommendation was accepted.

Before the July coup, Major Nzeogwu held on to his own territory, determined not to surrender but to “liberate” the other parts of the country. He surrendered only after negotiations with Lagos. The Ironsi regime flew in a known friend of his who was a Military Attaché in London, Col. Nwawo, to do the negotiating and persuade him to let go. Nzeogwu spelt out his terms which included a guarantee for compensation to be paid to the families of officers and all men who lost their lives during the coup, a guarantee of safety for all his men–himself and his colleagues and the lower rank men who participated in the event of 15 January; a guarantee of freedom from prosecution; those overthrown would not be returned to power. There was the assurance that he and some of his men would be members of the government to drive their vision and programmes. The conditions were accepted by Ironsi on phone and personally accepted by his emissary. His friends Ademoyega and Anuforo soon arrived in Kaduna and they went through the agreement together with Nzeogwu. They were filled with optimism that all would not be lost after all. As it turned out it was all a ploy to get him arrested and locked up. There was a parade in his honour and after handing over to Lt.-Col. Hassan Katsina both of them embraced. Nzeogwu drove to the airport and flew to Lagos believing he was a free man. He landed in the midst of hostile faces and menacing guns and was driven straight to Kirikiri Maximum Prison where he found his colleagues earlier arrested. With Nzeogwu in the net, the search began for Adewale Ademoyega, Anuforo, and the others.

It was the end of their “revolution”. Memories began to run through Ademoyega. He recalled Uche Chukwumerije had warned him to be weary of Emmanuel Ifeajuna that he was not dependable and that he would let him down when he would need him most. He told Ademoyega of their days at the University of Ibadan and how Ifeajuna “deserted their group in the moment of action.” Ademoyega himself recalled that when he felt uneasy about the attitude of Donatus Okafor, he sought to take over the beat from him, but Ifeajuna prevailed on him with the assurance that Okafor would deliver. It was the two of them that failed the “revolutionaries” thus lending weight to widespread suspicion of ethnic colouration in the endeavours. Early in the life of his regime, Ironsi showed his hands as an ethnic jingoist. In the prison in Uyo, Ifeajuna and Ademoyega resorted to exchanging blows.

I am unable to see Ironsi’s short-lived regime as a continuation of the attempted coup of the Nzeogwu group which was driven by high-mindedness but curtailed by limited appreciation of the complexities of a heterogeneous country such as Nigeria. The accidental Ironsi regime was without a mission. Consequently, it got the earlier adventure compromised and labeled as an Igbo coup. Lt.-Col. Pam was cruelly murdered contrary to the assurance that where there was no resistance, an officer and a high-ranking politician would only be arrested. Pam surrendered and his wife pleaded in vain. His own plea that his family was young, the youngest of his children being only four and a half months old, fell on deaf ears. Why should Col. Shodeinde be killed with his expectant wife? Why should the first wife of Sardauna who came between the invaders and her husband be shot dead with her husband?

In his book, Cannon Fodder, Recollections of Life in Biafra, Emezuom Nworgu succinctly put it: “A coup spearheaded by Eastern officers turned out to have left Easterners marked out for elimination untouched and alive. This was the first of the many chills of 1966.

“The people of the North, not letting matters lie as it were, went on the warpath, letting the blood of their compatriots from the East.”

Mankind is obtuse and obstinate to reflect: Is this how our world is supposed to be and how it will continue? We have fallen short and the truth is not in us. Mankind has deviated from the Will of God; hence the world is upside down. Nature is not mute, it is man that is deaf, so says Terence McKenna. We should begin to listen to the voice of Nature. Putting the harrowing and ugly events behind us is one of its admonitions to us. Grasping it is so the Dark days do not continue to linger and anger does not continue to rage. We must cultivate love for ourselves, for our Neighbour. It is the way to close the ugly chapter of our history and end all recriminations.

It is with rude shock and disappointment that we read the Press Release issued by the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media to the effect that the President has signed an Executive Order allegedly aimed at carrying out further Reforms in the Oil and Gas (Petroleum) Sector of Nigeria with the reported sole aim of encouraging more foreign and local investments into this sector. This planned reform is only about providing more Fiscal Incentives to interested foreign and local investors in this sector.

As an Organisation that has experts in petroleum operations and business particular in the Upstream Sector and has for over three decades been involved in the monitoring of the operations of the various oil companies and NNPC in the Nigerian Sector, we here declare that this Executive Order is suicidal to our Nation’s hope for urgent economic recovery and our desire for increase in foreign earnings to halt the free fall of our national currency, the Naira. We are very convinced that Mr President was wrongly advised on this and therefore we call on him to rescind his decision and have this Order, dropped.

OUR OBJECTION TO THIS EXECUTIVE ORDER IS PREMISED ON THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

This Executive Order (further Fiscal Incentives) is not needed at all because if implemented, would deny Nigerians and Nigeria the urgently and much needed Foreign Earnings needed to shore up the value of our naira that has sadly been on free fall in recent months against foreign currencies causing unprecedented level of socio-economic hardship across Nigeria and threat to our National Security, knowing full well that the Petroleum Sector provides over 90% of the total foreign income needed to accelerate socio-economic growth, development and stability of Nigeria.

It is also a fact known and acknowledged by Petroleum Experts across the globe that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Sector is the most lucrative in the world guaranteeing the highest Rate of Return (Profit) on Investment primarily because of the relatively low cost of production and the fact that it is almost a free for all Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation Companies to loot and steal crude oil and deliberately under-declare and not even declare the actual quantity of crude oil and gas they produce and export. This is the reason for recent rush by the Multinational Oil Companies and some Nigerian owned Companies to Offshore Fields where they operate virtually unchecked by Nigeria. The recent move by SHELL Petroleum International to divest or sell off its Niger Delta Onshore Assets and Operations in order to move and concentrate Offshore further confirms this.

It is also a fact that the multinational and local oil and gas producing companies operating in Nigeria and particularly in its deep offshore fields have since the 1990s been awarded so many unmerited and unjustified fiscal and tax incentives by the Federal Government of Nigeria causing Nigerian to lose billions of Dollars it would have accrued to it from the exploitation of crude oil in these fields. It is for this reason that the National Assembly recently reviewed some of these incentives and made the Petroleum Industry Act in order to rightly increase Nigeria’s share of the profit accruing from these fields. Why then do the promoters of this Executive Order seek to reverse this if not for their selfish interests at the expense of Nigeria?

While we sincerely appreciate the intention of President Tinubu to increase expected foreign revenues accruing from the exploration and exploitation of our nation’s oil and gas, we hasten to say that achieving this is simply by exercising his powers as President and Minister of Petroleum Resources to declare total and full war against the perpetrators and perpetuators of Decades of Massive Crude Oil Theft, Looting, Fraud, and Corruption in Multinational and Local Petroleum Companies operating in Nigeria as well as in the NNPC now NNPCL. According to reports made public, an estimated over 80% of expected daily revenue from this sector has been and still being lost to these persons better referred to as Petro-Terrorists.

It is therefore our humble Advice and demand on him to immediately discontinue with this proposed Executive Order on the Petroleum Sector. In its place he should urgently sponsor an Executive Bill to the National Assembly to completely delete the sections of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) which established from the long existing Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the now Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, NNPCL, which is clearly a worst danger to the progress and development of the Petroleum Sector and Nigeria. We either kill the NNPCL now or it will kill Nigeria.

What is also needed now is return to NNPC as it was established in the early 1970s and be made to operate strictly in line with the Aims and Objective of OPEC. IT MUST OPERATE IN VERY TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE MANNER AND ALL ITS INCOMES BE PAID INTO THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA. There should be very severe sanctions put in place for any staff who engages in Economic and Financial Crimes against NNPC and Nigeria. Death Penalty should not be ruled out!

It is our prayer that under his Leadership, OUR NIGERIA SHALL OVERCOME AND MUST RISE AGAIN.

COMRADE (ENGR) IGBINI ODAFE EMMANUEL.
National President,
Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy (VATLAD)