The governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma has condemned the killing of soldiers in Abia State, south-east Nigeria.

Naija News earlier reported that masked gunmen on Thursday morning, attacked and killed four soldiers in Obikabia Junction in Aba, the commercial hub of the Abia State.

The assailants who burnt the soldiers’ patrol truck were said to be enforcing the sit-at-home order declared by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) across the South-east to mark the Biafra Day which is celebrated annually in the region.

Reacting to the development, Uzodinma who also doubles as the chairperson of the South-east Governors’ Forum, described the attack and killing as “unfortunate.”

He said the attack and killing of the soldiers would act as a setback to efforts being made to solve rising attacks in the South-east.

The governor stated this while briefing reporters in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

He subsequently called on security agencies to track down those who killed the soldiers in the state.

“On behalf of my brother governors in the South-east Governors’ Forum, I condemn that incident and loss of the lives of soldiers who were on their duty posts.

“Without any provocation, they were attacked by the men of the underworld. I want to condemn that and also to urge security agents to go all out and ensure that those behind that are caught and brought to book.

“The unfortunate thing is that it is going to act as a major setback to the peace process which the governors from the South-east have been pursuing in talking to the federal government, security agencies, and other critical stakeholders on how best to resolve the problem of insecurity in the South-east,” he said.

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has characterised President Bola Tinubu’s first year in office as “tumultuous.”

However, the group commended President Tinubu’s commitment to developing Nigeria’s infrastructure, agricultural development and enhanced security since his assumption of office.

MACBAN National President, Baba Othman-Ngelzarma gave the commendation in a congratulatory letter to President Tinubu on Friday.

Ngelzarma stated that Tinubu’s one year in office stands him as a man of courage, conviction and vision to make Nigeria great.

The letter reads, “Congratulations to Mr President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Bola Tinubu, on your one year in office. On behalf of the over six million pastoral communities in Nigeria, the chairman of the board of trustees, the national executive, management, and staff of MACBAN, I wish to congratulate you on your successful one-year anniversary in office.

“Your one year in office, though tumultuous, stands you as a man of courage, conviction and vision with ‘Renewed Hope’ to make Nigeria great. Your commitment to developing Nigeria’s infrastructure, agricultural development and enhanced security is a testimony that you are not only up to the task but to deliver dividends of democracy to the larger Nigerian populace.”

The group noted that Tinubu’s agenda on agriculture, which intends to make Nigeria self-sufficient in its food security, entails massive agronomy and livestock production investment.

In view of this, MACBAN said it looks forward to the president’s promise of creating a ministry for livestock to handle the N15 trillion industry and its value chain.

The group stressed that the industry stands to provide millions of quality jobs to Nigerian youth wallowing in unemployment and abject poverty, which is a threat to national cohesion and security in the country.

To achieve this objective, the group called for the immediate establishment and inauguration of the livestock implementation committee, which you promised during the report presentation.

It also appealed to Tinubu to allow the National Commission for Nomadic Education to exist independently for the continued well-being of Nigerian nomads.

The letter added, “We appreciate the efforts of security agencies in the country in combating crime, but we express concern with the way and manner in which innocent pastoralists are being profiled and extorted. Your Excellency, the hope you exude should be made a reality to strengthen the faith of ordinary Nigerians on your renewed hope agenda.

“We will continue to support you in your quest to strengthen institutional frameworks to make Nigeria and Nigerians the pride of Africa in innovation and productivity.”

A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to a Facebook content creator , Chioma Okoli, in the sum of N5 million with two sureties.

Okoli was arraigned on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 before Justice Peter Lifu but was later remanded at Suleja Correctional Center in Abuja.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the two counts of conspiracy and cyberstalking levelled against her.

In his ruling on the bail application filed by her lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, on Friday, the judge granted her bail with two sureties in like sum.

Justice Lifu held that one of the sureties must be her spouse or blood relations and must be resident in Abuja with verified means of livelihood.

She must also deposit her passport with the court, if she has one.

The court held that the ruling was predicated on Section 365 (5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended on the presumption of innocence. The court held that denying her bail would be a wrong application of discretion and tantamount to pre-trial judgment and judicial rascality.

Naija News reports that the case has been adjourned to June 13, 2024 for trial.

Recall that the CEO of Erisco Foods Limited, Eric Omeofia, alleged in 2023 that a negative product review made by Chioma Okoli adversely impacted his business after she said that the Nagiko Tomato Mix she bought had too much sugar.

Okoli was arrested by the police in September 2023 with her lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, raising the alarm that the fundamental rights of his client were being breached by the police and Omeofia.

A 40-year-old Nigerian s3x worker, Rose Ikem, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment with hard labour by a Circuit Court at Asokwa, Kumasi, Ghana, for trafficking young girls from Nigeria to Konongo in the Ashanti region for pr*stitution.

Ikem, who was convicted of human trafficking and assault this week, will also compensate four of her victims, whom she lured from Nigeria, for GHȼ24,000 with each of them receiving GHȼ6,000.00. 

Her latest victims were aged between 17 and 24 years.

According to police prosecution, the convict has been trafficking young girls from Nigeria to Konongo, deploying them into pr*stitution, with some of them being subjected to abuse.

On April 23, 2024, police received a complaint from a resident of Konongo about the treatment being meted out to the victims by the convict.

Police proceeded to the Konongo SSNIT area residence of Ikem but met her absence.

According to ASP Stephen Ofori who led the police prosecution, the police detected that the victims were locked up in a room, and the whereabout of Ikem was unknown.

Police then laid an ambush until she resurfaced and was subsequently arrested.

When she was forced to open the room, police rescued two victims (name withheld) with the two others who ran away being rescued the following day, with the help of the complainant

The court, presided over by His Honour Fred Obikyere, was told how Ikem tasked her victims, who had worked between three months and two weeks, to make a daily remittance of GHȼ500 to her. This amounted to a total of GHȼ89,000.

According to ASP Ofori, any time the victims failed to meet their target, Ikem assaulted them physically, causing one of the victims to fracture her left hand.

The court sentenced her to 5 years with hard labour for trafficking and 12 months for causing harm. Both sentences will run concurrently.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano, Alhassan Yaryasa has called for the reconciliation of two former governors and the political leaders in the state, Abdullahi Ganduje and Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Yaryasa opined that the duo must sheath their sword if they want the people of Kano to live in peace.

The APC chieftain stated this during an interview with Punch in Kano.

According to him, Kano indigenes are after the progress and development of the state.

He stressed that it is the prayers of the Islamic scholars and other well-meaning Nigerians that are sustaining the current peace in Kano since the coming of the administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.

“Kano people want to live in peace, and they are after the progress and development of the state. There is the need for them – Kwankwaso and Ganduje – to forgive each other in order for Kano people to live in peace,” Yaryasa said.

He also advised people of the state not to engage in any act capable of plunging the state into trouble or violence.

“My advice to Kano residents and the entire people of the state is that they should live in peace with one another because it’s the bedrock of any development in the society.

“With the dissolution of the five emirates If not because of prayers, Kano would have been on fire or in chaos by now.

“The matter is currently in court. So, it will be a contempt of court or a disrespect to the court if Governor Abba went ahead and reinstated Sanusi,” he added.

Yaryasa, who is also a former coordinator of the Tinubu Campaign Organisation for Kano South, noted that the dissolution of the new emirates was nothing but vendetta against the person of the former Governor Ganduje.

“We know before now people who don’t wish the state well have been calling on the governor to dissolve the emirates, and now that he has dissolved the emirates, let’s see what will happen.

“Those calling for the scrapping of the emirates are nothing but enemies of the state. I said it before, and I’m still maintaining my stand that scrapping the emirates will not augur well for the state,” he insisted.

The Sokoto State Police Command has arrested ten members of a human trafficking and child abduction syndicate in the state.

Naija News reports that the state Commissioner of Police, Ali Kaigama, stated this while addressing journalists at the command headquarters in the state capital on Thursday.

Kaigama disclosed that the suspects include one Bala Abubakar of the Tudun Wada area of Sokoto, who sold out a total of 28 children, including six of his biological children.

The commissioner noted that the rescued children had been handed to the state orphanage home for proper care.

According to Kaigama, the suspects gave their victims to Kulu Dongoyaro and Elizabeth Ojah in exchange for between N150,000 and N250,000, claiming they were being taken to an Abuja-based NGO willing to shoulder the responsibility of their welfare.

In another development, Kaigama disclosed the arrest of one Saifullah Hassan of Gunmi Local Government area of Zamfara State, who was alleged to have killed one Balikisu Garba of Gidan Dare behind Jummat Mosque at the Ifeoma Hotel.

He said, “On May 24, 2024, at about 0620 hrs, Mr John, the manager of the Ifeoma Hotel in the Phase 1 Old Airport area of Sokoto, reported that a woman identified as Balikisu Garba of Gidan Dare was found dead.

“On receipt of the report, police operatives from the Old Airport Division led by the DPO swung into action, and as a result, the suspect bag, which was abandoned after the act, containing some receipts of payment and some SIM cards, was recovered.

“These recoveries led to the identification of the suspect as one Saifullah Hassan of Gunmi LGA of Zamfara State, which intensified the investigation, and the suspect was later traced and arrested in Funtua, Katsina State.”

The CP assured the state’s residents that the command remains committed to upholding law and order and commends the governor, Ahmed Aliyu, for his support throughout the investigation process.

He called on the good people of the state to continue cooperating with the command to create a safer environment.

A former Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmus, has called for the arrest of the proprietor and head teacher of a private school (name withheld) for singing the old national anthem.

Naija News recalls that President Bola Tinuby had on Wednesday signed the old National Anthem Bill 2024, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’ as a replacement for the national anthem “Arise, O Compatriots.”

In a post via her Instagram page on Friday, Dolapo described the refusal to revert to the new national anthem as an unpatriotic attitude and it would not be tolerated.

The police officer noted that it was against the law to use the old anthem after President Tinubu signed and assented to the new national anthem, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’.

Dolapo Badmus added that the proprietor and head teacher will be charged to court for the offence.

She wrote, “If, as of today, three days after the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria signed and assented the new national Anthem into law, you are not able to recite it in its entirety, then you are a suspect.

“I just passed through a private school, and I could hear them singing the old National Anthem! Arise oh compatriots”! (We are no longer arising as compatriots; it is Nigeria we are hailing now.)

“I have called police to come and arrest not only the proprietor but the head teacher inclusive ( I will make sure they are charged to court) Don’t ask me for what offence? Consult any lawyer to learn more. Anyone not singing the new national anthem is sabotaging Nigeria. I won’t tolerate any unpatriotic attitude.”

...As Negotiations Continue On Friday

The federal government has invited the leadership of organised labour for fresh talks on Friday as it battles to meet the May 31 deadline set by the union for the government to end negotiations on the proposed new minimum wage.

Recall that the President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, had said on May Day that “If by May end, we don’t have a new minimum wage that will take a worker home, we will not be able to guarantee industrial peace. We are sticking to that ultimatum.”

However, the negotiations for a new minimum wage had been stalled on Tuesday, after the federal government delegation increased their earlier proposal by N3,000 to N60,000 with organised labour reducing theirs by the same margin to a final proposal of N494,000.

THE WHISTLER reported that organised labour was disappointed with the pattern of negotiation, which prompted the meeting to end in deadlock and adjourned indefinitely.

But THE WHISTLER learned on Thursday that the continuation of the tripartite meeting will continue on Friday, May 31 2024, by 10 am, with both unions reiterating that the May 31 ultimatum is still in motion.

A top source who spoke anonymously said, “We will meet with the federal government in Abuja on Friday by 10:00 am to continue the minimum wage discussion.

“Our bone of contention is for the federal and state governments, Organised Private Sector (OPS) and other tripartite members to explain how they arrived at the N60,000 proposal.

“Although negotiations continue tomorrow, it will not stop the earlier announcement of the May 31 ultimatum”.

Also speaking on the issue, the National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) Etim Okon, said, “A joint National Executive Council (NEC) gave us a mandate to uphold the ultimatum, so everyone should wait till May 31”.

Okon, who is also the Vice-President of the TUC when asked if the TUC will honour Friday’s meeting, said, “I cannot reply to this, we are not working as TUC but as organised labour as far as the issue of minimum wage is concerned”.

He described the N3,000 increase as “embarrassing”, alleging that the federal government is not serious about the minimum wage discussion.

Okon said, “We have been able to explicitly defend our demands, but after we walked out, they increased it by N3,000 which is very embarrassing, and we also responded by a N3,000 decrease.

“They are coming to the negotiation table without seriousness, It is a clear indication that the government is lackadaisical in their statement and approach to ensuring that the national minimum wage comes to stand.

“The government needs to know that the informal economy receives from workers take-home pay, we want the government to show seriousness.

“Because we walked away, you issued notice for another meeting, who is fooling who”.

Earlier the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, in a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Olajide Oshundun appealed to organised Labour to be considerate and patriotic in their demands for the ongoing minimum wage negotiation.

She had said, “We appeal to organised labour and, indeed, other relevant stakeholders to be considerate and patriotic in their demands, recognising that our economy is still recovering from the devastating effects of the pandemic and other global economic shocks.

“We are committed to putting the people first and ensuring that our economic policies benefit all Nigerians, not just a select few”.