POLICE COMMISSIONER LOSES SON IN PLATEAU MASSACRE

POLICE COMMISSIONER LOSES SON IN PLATEAU MASSACRE


Zayyan Gwandu, son of Haliru Gwandu Abubakar, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Special Anti-Robbery, has died.

Zayyan was one of the victims of reprisal attacks following the killings in three local government areas of Plateau State by suspected herdsmen.

Zayyans Gwandu 

Popular social commentator Gimba Kakanda shared the news of Zayyans death on Twitter, writing: “I’m devastated to learn about the killing of Zayyan Gwandu in the Plateau clash. He’s one of the travellers stopped and killed for sharing a religion or ethnicity with Fulani herdsmen. Killing fellow human beings for the wrong of people they don’t even know is savagery. Wow. RIP.”

Subsequently, Kakanda wrote on Facebook: “Citizens getting stopped and killed for sharing an ethnicity, religion or culture with criminals they don’t even know? Is this the overflowing anarchy we call a country? Of course I know what we have done wrong, Nigeria. Millions of things. We are here because we have been pretending that we don’t notice these killings and destructions until the victims begin to seek an illusion of justice in the wrong place.”

Although Kakanda refrained from revealing the identity of the deceased, SaharaReporters independently verified that he was CP Gwandu’s son.

“Yes, it is true that the CP’s son is no more,” a source very close to the Gwandu family told SaharaReporters, before asking to say no more as “this is a trying time for the CP’s family”.

Zayyan’s death marks an elongation of a very difficult period of time, personally and professionally, for CP Gwandu.

The SARS, which he oversees, has recently come under public scrutiny on account of the high-handedness and criminal activities of its officials. Following the relentlessness of the anti-SARS campaign, Gwandu was forced to announce a repositioning of the squad.

In December 2017, he announced that the Nigeria Police Force had begun the process of dissolving the federal and state SARS into one unit that would be under the supervision of the commissioners of police of each command. ‎

He said a lot of changes had taken place, and that there would be training and retraining of personnel of the unit to enhance efficiency. He explained that after the re-organisation, the unit would only concentrate on violent crimes such as murder, armed robbery and cultism. He also promised that at the completion of the ongoing re-organisation of the unit, extrajudicial killings by SARS would be a thing of the past.

Some months before then, Gwandu had been forced out of Edo State as the CP, following intense campaigns by citizens and a coalition of civil society groups over the rising crime rate in the state.

The reprisal that claimed his son was a reaction by Christians to killings of about 100 people by suspected Fulani herdsmen in many villages in Riyom, Barkin ladi and Jos South local government areas of Plateau.

Before the news of CP Gwandu’s son’s death filtered in, a source in Plateau had lamented the under-reported reprisals, telling SaharaReporters: “I lost four friends on the road; they were butchered. Birnin youth were killing all Muslims on the road. One of them clearly picked my friend’s phone and said to me, ‘We’ve killed him. Are they not the two Muslims in E-Class?’”

UNITE AGAINST KILLINGS NOW-US ENVOY TELLS NIGERIANS

UNITE AGAINST KILLINGS NOW-US ENVOY TELLS NIGERIANS

The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stuart Symington has urged Nigeria’s leaders and citizens to unite across divides to stop the unwarranted killings in some parts of the country.
The envoy gave the advise yesterday at a reception to celebrate U.S. 242nd Independence anniversary in Abuja.

He said, “Every day, all across this land, we work with good people to save lives and bend upwards the curve of economic growth, so that real opportunity and hope will outpace need.
“But, far too often, we see the deaths of innocents whose hopes are stopped forever, by those whose awful acts reflect no good and serve no cause.  These innocents must not be forgotten.
“Nigeria’s leaders and citizens have it in their power to make this killing stop now, if you are united across all regions, all occupations, and all faiths.
“When you act together with sincerity and high purpose and sustained effort, you will end this violence.  This is not a goal, this is the Cup itself. And it will mean the World for you to lift it high!”
According to him, security that lasts depends on strong citizens who support each other and their governments, saying “If ten million Nigerians mentor just a few people each, that will change the course of all those lives, this Nation, and our world.”
He said the embassy would reach out to other diplomatic missions in Nigeria to join in reaching out to ten people each. 
“If every government civil servant in Nigeria, Nigerian and foreigners alike, regardless of their jobs, became a mentor to just a few people, it is remarkable to think what good we would do. 
“And finally, if every Nigerian in business, large and small, would do the same, that would spur an extraordinary burst of hope and opportunity,” he added.

OBASANJO WILL LIVE TO FACE PROSECUTION- OSHIOMOLE

OBASANJO WILL LIVE TO FACE PROSECUTION- OSHIOMOLE

The new National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to direct former President Olusegun Obasanjo to refund the $ 16 dollars allegedly spent on power if he cannot justify the expenses.   
Oshiomhole who spoke yesterday in Abuja at the APC national secretariat when Chief John Odigie-Oyegun formally handed over the mantle of party leadership to him, said Obasanjo would be alive to face prosecution.

He said, “As I was reflecting, I watched our president recently asking questions rhetorically, ‘you have spent $16 billion on power under PDP, where is the power?’

 “Nigerians in their various homes, those who have power that day or generator said, ‘Mr President, we don’t have’. So, $16 bn spent, the more dollars they spent, the more darkness the people suffered.
“Now the questions I had in my mind were…Since we don’t find the power, then you must bring the $16 billion that you spent. If he didn’t do that, then the accusations of limited anti-corruption may begin to have some currencies.
“So, to assist PDP to overcome their distinct, our president needs to do the needful. After all, it is already on record what other presidents didn’t do, with regards to the issue of late MKO Abiola and the criminal manner by which the election was nullified; and people pretended that  was never an issue, the president showed courage.
“That same courage should not fail him so that he can proceed to recover the $16 bn back to the treasury from the man who superintendent over the spending of that money.
 “So, what we need to do as a party is to provide the support that our president needs and for the Nigerian people to provide those supports and then they want to distract our attention when they are in trouble and say eh! ‘they want to kill me’.
“Our president does not know...Nobody since President Muhammadu Buhari assumes office, no political player of note has been murdered or assassinated for political reasons. But the president under whose watch a minister of justice was murdered in cold blood, that minister could not get justice and so, the shadow, ghost of the Harry Marshalls, Dikibo... You know all of them more than me, however you put it.
“The man said they want to kill him. No! To kill is to prevent the investigation. He must be alive to account. That is a typical distraction,” he said.
The APC national chairman who pledged to establish what he called “progressive institute” and hold yearly non-elective conventions, dismissed the notion that the ruling party had changed its slogan of “Change to Progress” as chorused by some party members during the convention.
He praised the contribution of Odigie-Oyegun to the party, particularly on the successes recorded during the 2015 general elections.
Chief Odigie-Oyegun in his remarks said he was confident in the ability of Oshiomhole to achieve more victories in the forthcoming elections in Osun and Ekiti states.

CHOOSE PRESIDENCY OR MIYETTI ALLAH, YORUBA LEADERS TELL BUHARI

CHOOSE PRESIDENCY OR MIYETTI ALLAH, YORUBA LEADERS TELL BUHARI

The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, yesterday condemned Buhari’s initial remarks in the aftermath of the killings in Plateau State, asking him to choose between the presidency and being a godfather to Miyetti Allah.
The group made this known in a communiqué at the end of its General Assembly in Akure, yesterday.

Miyetti Allah has been accused of being behind the attacks. It has also issued a statement saying the killings were in retaliation over rustled cattle.
“It is very infuriating that the president’s response and that of Miyetti Allah appeared to have been authored from the same laptop,” said Afenifere, stressing: “Their reactions did not depict any sense of sympathy or regret.”
The group also rejected the Federal Government’s plan to create cattle ranches across the country.

The Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also condemned the attacks.

Its chairman, Damishi Sango, regretted that no arrests have been made, 48 hours after the incident, noting that the development leaves room for suspicion and complicity.
“It is most painful when they keep referring to the mayhem as Fulani-farmers clash,” he said.
He said: “We are worried that some people have been considered a special race allowed to carry modern and sophisticated weapons to unleash mayhem on innocent locals with impunity, while those who attempt to act in self-defence are arrested.”
It came as the Plateau House of Assembly constituted a seven-man committee to investigate the killings.

This followed a motion by Peter Ibrahim, the member representing Jos Barkin Ladi Constituency.

He told the Speaker: “Many were severely injured and a lot of houses and farmlands were destroyed. As I speak, a lot of my constituents are missing and thousands have been displaced since the ugly incident started.”

BUHARI STOP THE KILLINGS NOW OR RESIGN -TIMI FRANK

BUHARI STOP THE KILLINGS NOW OR RESIGN -TIMI FRANK 

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Timi Frank, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently put an end to the frequent killings of Nigerians in the recent time, especially in thr North-central part of the country. President Muhammadu Buhari and Timi Frank Frank, however, called on all Nigerians and Civil Society Organizations to be ready to hit the ground running in the mission to salvage Nigeria from the current administration. He also said “It is high time the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG), Petroleum and Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and all well meaning Nigerians, wake up and defend the people because we don’t have any other country we can call our own.”

In an open letter Frank addressed to the President on Tuesday, titled “stop the killings or resign now”, he said: “The entire North Central has become a killing field with the lives of Nigerians being lackadaisically wasted without the security forces accepting the challenge to stop what now amounts to ethnic cleansing. “Nigerians have continued to die in their hundreds despite yearly increases in defence and security budgets and other extra budgetary allocations, the recent being $1billion withdrawn from the excess crude account by this administration. Notwithstanding, the security agencies have failed to protect Nigerians while it does appear that the more huge money is expended on security, the more deaths we procure.

Mr. President, may I remind you that one major plank of your electioneering campaign was the promise to personally lead Nigerian troops to dislodge and destroy Boko Haram and restore full security to all parts of the country. Regrettably, Nigerians have not seen you do that in the last three years. However, the increasing ferocious mass murder being carried out by Fulani herdsmen has made the Boko Haram insurgency seems like a child’s play. May I remind you that in Washington D.C you told President Donald Trump that the merciless killers were trained by Moumar Gadafi of Libya? In another breadth, your Minister of Defence, said the killings can only stop when the open grazing laws enacted in Benue and Taraba states are repealed. Tell me, is there any open grazing law in Plateau and Zamfara States? Besides, you have refused to declare the killer Fulani herdsmen as a terrorist organization because of your soft spot for them, which is contrary to the haste with which the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) – a group of agitators that never engaged in any bloodshed – was branded a terrorist organization and outlawed.

 Frank said the country cannot afford to wait and watch helplessly as innocent Nigerian lives are being wasted by the murderous terrorists, allegedly operating as herdsmen. “The time to rise up to defend our country and our people, by speaking up, is now! The ongoing pogrom in Plateau, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, Zamfara, Adamawa, Kaduna and other states must stop! Nigerians must demand for a new leadership that can guarantee their safety and welfare. Clearly, the present administration has failed in its responsibilities to protect the people. This deadly criminal gang that is killing, maiming and cutting short the lives of our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and children must be stopped now, otherwise, Nigeria may soon stop to exist as a country.”

BAYELSA STATE CIVIL REFORMS TOWN HALL MEETINGS

THE STAKEHOLDERS OF HON PRINCE DOODEI WEEK , HON MONDAY OBOLO EDWIN BUBO, HON KIA EBIDOUHEBOFA NIGERIA BACK, SUPPORT GOV.DICKSON PUBLIC SERVICE REFORM.

By Elaye Igbian Warifagha Yagila

From L-R
Hon.Prince Doodei Week Agric comissioner Bayelsa state 
Hon. Monday Obolo Edwind Bubo member Bayelsa state house of Assembly, Silga 2
 Rt Hon. Kobowei Benson speaker Bayelsa state house of Assembly Silga 4,
Hon.Kia E.Nigeria southern -Ijaw Council Boss,
Hon. Champ.Baraladei Daniel Igali member Silga 3.

The supporters of  Southern-Ijaw political leaders yesterday turned out in their numbers defying a heavy downpour to drum support for the ongoing public sector reforms embarked  by Governor of Bayelsa State His Excellency Henry Seriake Dickson.The stakeholders of  the Bayelsa state commissioner for Agriculture and  Natural Resources Hon Prince Doodei Week, the honourable member of the Bayelsa State house of Assembly Silga 2 and the caretaker chairman of Southern ijaw Council , jointly took turn to endorse the reforms during  groud finale of the town hall meeting on the sensitization exercise of  public service refoms in the headquarter of Southern-Ijaw Local Government Council. The stakeholders that are present were political appointees, lawmakers, women groups, students and youth leaders, bayelsa comrade family/unemployed graduates siliga chapther as well as traditional rulers,The people said they were glad and satified with the reforms exercise and called on the state government to show more seriousness in implementing the process by prosecuting those found culpable.

Hon Prince Doodei Week Commissioner
For Agriculture and Natural Resources
Bayelsa State. 

In  his remarks, Hon Prince Doodei Week applauded the stakehokders for their massive endorsement for the reforms While calling for more support, he insisted that,those who are kicking against it do so either out of ignorance or mischief  while speaking he, commended Governor Dickson for taking the Tarakiri kingdom along in his administration’s developmental agenda, stressing that the area has not had it so good since the creation of the state   people are giving testimonies of your developmental strides towards the area he noted..

In his remarks, Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson  that there is no appology in sacking ghost workers ,overage,  and as well as certificate forgers while speaking he expressed delight with the impressive turn out and show of solidarity with the Restoration Government Daniel said Governor Dickson’s love for Southern-Ijaw people is exemplified in the unparalleled number of political appointments and projects in the area. He urged the people to sustain their support for the public sector reforms as the process would free up space for more employment and development opportunities. Fielding questions, the information Commissioner reassured applicants who are interested in the 1000 jobs in the public service of fairness and transparency, stressing that no politician would be given any employment slot, also he gave out his telephone numbers to the council staffs to report any overage persons who are still drawing Salaries from Government.

Earlier, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Southern-Ijaw Local Government Council Hon Kia Ebidoughebofa  Nigera, lamented that , at a point the Council decides its monthly bill of payment of staff salaries, not to talk about providing social amenities which is a primary function of governance. As we begin to look closely, we saw manipulations of our public service such as  certificates forgery , age adjustment, irregular recruitment,  ghost workers etc and it was so sad that people are receiving salaries from London, Abuja and river state without coming to work. People who have genuine certificates but are fallow, some people receiving over 20 peoples salary, some individuals inherited their parent's and guardian's employment, so on and so forth. So many irregularities which almost led to the breakdown of  council system.

Caretaker Chairman
Hon.Kia Ebidoughebofa Nigeria,
Southern-Ijaw Local Govenment Council 

Kia  also reveals that he has also been able to execute meaningful projects worth millions of naira without sorting for funds from the state government such as the buildings of Opuama Secondary School and Oporoma Police division Oporoma concrete workway , flooting Jetty, he also noted that the reforms had significantly reduced the council’s total wage bill  wherein the Council has been able to be saving five million naira #5million  every month after payment of workers Salaries . 



The Council had almost 1,500 staffs but we now have less than 800 as a result of the reform. Our monthly bill for each month was over,  cumulatively, primary schools and council was close to 200 million naira. But because of the reforms, and because we pay this policy very serious attention, our wage bill has reduced to just a little thing above 100 million naira.he hereby cautioned those saddled with the responsibility to play by the public service rules to embraced it for the betterment of future generation. In appreciation he appluaded the Restoration government for intiating the exercise across the state which is currently rescuing and sanitizing the system he said.

Hon.Monday Obolo Edwind Bubo Member
Bayelsa state House Assembly
Silga Constituency 2

Elaye The  Tarakiri Boy @ Political Strategst, Media Analysts and online Blogs Writer

SAY NO TO CHILD ABUSE!!!

MR IFEANYI AKPA WHO ALWAYS ABUSES HIS NEPHEW, CHIGOZIE OGBU, CAUGHT BY OSUBI COMMUNITY AND HANDED TO THE POLICE, TODAY 24TH JUNE, 2018.

A serial child molester, Mr Ifeanyi Akpa, a male and indigene of Onicha Igbeze of  Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, who resides in Francis Dogwu's compound in Osubi Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State, was caught today and handed to the police by Osubi community for the severe beating of his nephew, Chigozie Ogbu,13 years old, who is living
with him.

Comrade Friday Okpako, Osubi youth president, who alerted Orerokpe police, said there were several report by neighbours of severe maltreatment and corporal punishment melted on the boy daily, by Mr Akpa and his wife Mrs Ngozi Akpa, who has four (4 ) children from the marriage.

According to an eye witness, Chigozie does all the domestic work in the house, sells pure water during the day and yet they won't allow the poor boy to have his peace. He added that the boy has rounded up his primary education yet they refused to enroll him for secondary school. He also said the boy is very intelligent.

The Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, who is also the community leader, who was on his way from Sunday service, met the situation and immediately directed that the boy should be taken to the hospital for proper treatment from the serious injuries inflicted on the boy.

When he was asked to stand he could not, because of the excruciating pains from his swollen back.

Speaker Oborevwori, also directed Sheriff Oborevwori Foundation Scholarship/Bursary Committee Chairman, Chief Mrs E. E. Onokpasa, to award scholarship to Chigozie to University level to enable him continue his education. He said the Scholarship will run till the end of his university studies. He also promised to ensure the well-being of the child.

The police later whisked Mr Akpa to Orerokpe police station.