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Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Friday, inaugurated the 272 Special Constables from the 17 local government areas, recently recruited and trained at Oji River Police College, for Community Policing in the state. It would be recalled that Gov. Ugwuanyi, on July 9, 2020, inaugurated the 17-man Enugu State Community Policing Advisory Committee (SCPAC), under the Chairmanship of the State Commissioner of Police with the Chairman of the State Traditional Rulers’ Council, HRH, Igwe Amb. Lawrence Agubuzu, as co-chairman. The novel Community Policing programme, which is an initiative of the Nigeria Police Force, as communicated by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu Abubakar, is saddled with the responsibility of deepening community approach as well as confidence, trust and mutual respect between the Police and the people, in the management of crimes and criminalities. Inaugurating the 272 Special Constables, also known as Community Policing Officers (CPOs), at t...

Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Idayat Hassan, on Friday, advised President Joe Biden to strengthen United States-Africa relationship. Hassan also called on African leaders to take full responsibility for ameliorating the conflict ravaging the continent. Hassan made the call at a virtual event: “From Africa to the US: Recommendations for the Biden’s Administration”. The CDD Director noted that liberal democracy, security, and accountability must be encouraged between America and Africa. On liberal democracy, Hassan cited eight serving Heads of State who have spent at least twenty years in power in a continent where the average age is about 19 years old. “90% of African countries now practice democracy, but there are 8 leaders who have stayed in power for more than two decades. But overall, Africa has made progress with more elections and peaceful transitions” Hassan said. To promote security and democracy, she advocated active engagement with civil society, ...

The Police have dispatched teams of operatives along the Lekki corridor ahead of Saturday’s End SARS protest at the toll gate. The Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command confirmed the deployment. “CSP Yinka Egbeyemi is presently leading a team of police officers on a show of force to Lekki Toll Gate (Admiralty Plaza) Obalende, Ikoyi, Jakande Roundabout, and other areas in Eti Osa”, RRS tweeted Friday night. The Police department said this was “part of efforts to deter crime as well as boost the morale of his officers in the areas”. Two opposing camps – #OccupyLekkiTollGate and #DefendLagos – are planning separate protests on Saturday. This commenced after majority of the 9-member Lagos Panel of Inquiry approved the reopening of the toll plaza. The chairman, Justice Doris Okuwobi and four others ruled in favour of another application by the Lekki Concession Company (LCC). Others were DIG Taiwo Lakanu (Police), Lucas Koyejo (National Human Rights Commission), Segun ...

Popular Nigerian singer, Peruzzi, has opened up on his recent health challenge. Peruzzi took to his Twitter page to reveal the medical condition of his spine. In the post which he shared, Peruzzi said an MRI scan of his spine showed something was wrong. He added that he has been warned by his doctors against stress, working out, or doing any performance of any sort. His tweet read: “So MRI shows my spine is fu*ked. Doctor says not to stress, work out or perform for now. “Kinda scary but yea, we move. Say a prayer for me because I got this.” Peruzzi is expected to release his latest album anytime from now.

The Federal Government has threatened to stop the salaries of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) over their recent indefinite strike action. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen Chris Ngige who made this known during a meeting with the unions said the federal government might be forced to invoke Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act 2004 which permits it to stop the salaries of workers when they are on strike. Ngige further revealed that it would be their next action if members of the non-academic staff unions fail to observe the rules guiding social dialogue. “You asked for an adjournment, we gave an adjournment and you used the period of adjournment to go on full-blown strike. This is not social dialoguing. “It is against ILO statutes. The ILO statute says you have a right to go on strike and your employer has a right not to pay you and use the same money to keep the enterprise going. “We are permitted...

Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed on Thursday said Fulani herders have no option but to carry AK-47 for self-defence because they are being attacked and killed by cattle rustlers. He also condemned South West, South-East Governors, and also Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State over the manner in which they are handling farmer-herder clashes. “The Fulani man is practicing the tradition of trans-human, pastoralism, he has been exposed to the battery of the forests, the animals, and now, the cattle rustlers, who carry guns, kill him and take away his commonwealth – that is his cows – he had no option than to carry Ak-47 because the society and the government are not protecting him. “It is not his fault, it is the fault of the government and the people; you don’t criminalise all of them because in every tribe there are criminals. You should be very sensitive. We have to be careful,” Governor Mohammed said. While condemning his colleagues in South-West and South-East over the manner in...

The United Kingdom Supreme Court has ruled that polluted Nigerian communities can sue oil giant Shell in English Courts. According to BBC Africa, the decision overturns a previous Appeal Court ruling and represents a victory after a five-year legal battle. The Niger Delta communities say decades of pollution have severely impacted their lives, health, and the local environment. Shell in its defence had argued that it was only a holding company for a firm that should be judged under Nigerian law.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has narrated how the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) allegedly duped the State of N400 million. The Governor said the State Government was duped over a failed partnership to develop the Mother and Child hospital in Port Harcourt, the state capital. Wike made the claim while addressing visiting House Committee on NDDC, led by Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Thursday. “NDDC fraudulently duped us over the Mother and Child hospital. They had an agreement with the State government to build a regional hospital called Mother and Child hospital. They agreed that it will be N1.7 Billion Naira,” Wike told the lawmakers. “State government was to bring N800million, NDDC N900 million. The state government at the time paid their N800million. NDDC mobilised the contractor with N400 million of the N800 million we brought, then abandoned the contract, and the contractor left the site,” he added. Wike said when his administratio...

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC has confirmed 938 fresh cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria, bringing the total number of recorded infection in the country to 143,516. NCDC made the announcement last night via a report on its website. According to the report, 8 fresh fatalities were also recorded as total deaths has now hit1,710. NCDC also confirmed the recovery and discharge of 536 patients in Lagos State, and that about 118,012 patients have so far recovered after successful treatment. The report reads: “938 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-236 FCT-123 Plateau-92 Benue-63 Katsina-53 Oyo-50 Osun-45 Kaduna-43 Edo-33 Ogun-31 Ebonyi-31 Akwa Ibom-30 Kano-26 Gombe-18 Bauchi-16 Delta-12 Imo-11 Cross River-10 Rivers-10 Niger-5 143,516 confirmed 118,012 discharged 1,710 deaths “Our discharges today includes 536 community recoveries in Lagos State managed in line with guidelines”.

Anambra State Panel of Enquiry on Police Brutality, Extra-Judicial Killings and Other Related Matters yesterday announced that petitions from victims of the recently disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have increased to 114. Anambra is noted to be one of the states with the highest number of SARS brutality, torture and extrajudicial killings in the country, with the police unit’s Awkuzu headquarters officially code-named ‘hellfire’. Chairman of the panel in Anambra, Justice Veronica Umeh (Rtd) announced during the panel’s sitting yesterday at the Anambra State government house that more petitions were coming in, and that so far, 114 petitions had been received. She said, “We have started in earnest. We have 114 petitions so far. We dismissed some the other day and treated some too. We have a total of 114 now, and from Thursday, we will announce a new sitting arrangement, and we want you all to bear with us. “From next week, we will produce a tag for all members of the panel, so...

A clash between rival groups of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, has left Obalende area of Lagos State in pandemonium. The clash broke out on Thursday morning. Residents are scampering for safety as gunshots are heard. Several properties are said to have been destroyed, while scores reportedly sustained injuries. As of the time of filing this report, the clash which started at about 8am, is still ongoing. Amid the clash, motorists and residents have been advised to take alternative routes, pending the arrival of security personnel.

The Federal Government has said that security agencies are ready to stop another version of the #EndSARS protests at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed, who made the announcement, said any protest to block the toll gate would not be tolerated. According to the Minister, protests are constitutionally allowed only in designated places but not toll gates. The protesters planned to reconvene in the Lekki Toll Gate on Saturday for another protest. The Minister said: “However, any further resort to violence in the name of #EndSARS will not be tolerated this time. “The security agents are ready for any eventuality. A situation in which six soldiers and 37 policemen were murdered in cold blood by hoodlums will not repeat itself. “The attack, looting and razing of 269 private and public property will not happen again. The killing of 57 civilians will not be re-enacted. “No government anywhere will allow a repeat of the kind of destruction, killi...

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to be a patriot and statesman by building national strategic infrastructures such as railways, bridges, roads and other assets within Nigeria. HURIWA said Buhari should use Nigerian funds to build assets for the nation rather than building for other countries The rights group was reacting to the building of railway lines to Maradi, Niger Republic. Buhari had on Tuesday  flagged off the $1.9bn rail line  connecting Nigeria to the Niger Republic. However, the group faulted Buhari for wasting public funds on building a rail line connecting Nigeria to the Niger Republic when the Southern part of the country has no functional rail lines. The rights group gave the advice in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf. According to HURIWA: “President Muhammadu Buhari should be a patriot and statesman by building nat...

The Kwara State government has alleged plots by some political interests in the state to destabilize Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s administration. Spokesman of the governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, who disclosed this in a statement in Ilorin, on Wednesday, urged security agencies to be on the alert at all times. “Central to the evil plots is a resolve to instigate crisis, attacks and then instruct those who carry out the attacks to “drop” the names of the governor or his aides as their sponsors.” According to the spokesman, “They want to go as far as sewing clothes with the signature (AA) initials of the governor and give the same to their foot soldiers or hitmen to wear to blackmail the governor.” Ajakaye disclosed that “Another leg of the evil campaign is a planned and sustained media campaign of calumny, woven around baseless allegations of corruption, contract inflation and the likes using doctored documents and wicked innuendoes.” He said, “Those behind the plots, have paid for radio s...

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the unfreezing of accounts belonging to some promoters of the End SARS protest. Justice Ahmed Mohammed, who gave the ruling on Wednesday, ordered all affected banks to “immediately defreeze the affected accounts of End SARS promoters.” Justice Mohammed proceeded to strike out the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1384/2020 filed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Recall that the ex-parte order to freeze the accounts for 180 days was made on November 4, 2020. The court’s decision was reportedly informed by the withdrawal of all processes filed in relation to the suit by lawyers to all parties. At the commencement of proceedings, former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), who appeared for the CBN Governor and Femi Falana (SAN), for those affected by the freezing order resolved to withdraw all the processes filed. This is to ensure the unhindered progress of the ongoing process of rec...

A housewife, Martha Ojo, on Wednesday, prayed a Customary Court in Jikwoyi, Abuja, to dissolve her 12-year-old marriage to husband, Moses, because he was HIV positive. Ojo also said that Moses disappears every time and only sleeps with her once every two years. She made the allegations in her response to a divorce petition filed by her husband. “My husband became ill when our last child was about six months old. I took him to the hospital for treatment. His health kept on deteriorating. ”The doctor took our blood samples, and it revealed that my husband tested positive for HIV. ”I tested negative. ”My husband disappears every time. He only sleeps with me once in every two years,” she said. Moses, who was also present in court, denied all his wife said about his health. ”I am not HIV positive. My wife and her brother are planning to tarnish my image. They cooked up this story.’’ After listening to both sides, the presiding judge, Jemilu Jega, adjourned the matter until March 9, for judg...

The Bayelsa State Police Command has confirmed the attacks on commercial boats and the kidnapping of a 64 years old Chief and five others along Okpoama/Odioma and Nembe/ Brass Local Government Area of the state. The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Mike Okoli, has now ordered the immediate manhunt for the suspected sea pirates who perpetrated the two separate incidents which occurred simultaneously on Tuesday. In a statement issued and sent to DAILY POST on Wednesday through the Police Public Relations Officer Bayelsa State Command, SP Asinim Butswat, Okoli said a joint operation by officers of the Marine Police, Navy and a Joint Task Force of ‘Operation Delta Safe’ are combing the creeks to rescue the kidnapped victims and apprehend the kidnappers. The Command appealed to the good people of Bayelsa State to remain calm and volunteer useful information to enable the security agencies fish out the hoodlums. The State Chairman of the Nigerian Maritime Union, Comrade Ogoniba Ibinga...

A resident of Ughelli, Mr. Saturday Onajite has narrated how bullets came to lodge at the back of his head after an attack by armed robbers in Delta State. Onajite, a commercial motorcycle operator, said the robbers shot at him, disarmed him and went away with his motorcycle during an operation at Oberia street, Ughelli Community. The forty-nine-year-old man said the incident occurred at about 8am on Friday, February 5. Giving details of his ordeal to newsmen in Ughelli, the motorcyclist said he picked two passengers at the market road and conveyed them to Oberia street. “They said I should go to the corner and I did. The next thing I heard was a gunshot. They stole my bike and money. I could not know myself again because I was bleeding on the ground until people came to rush me to the hospital.” Onajite who still has bullets lodged at the back of his head said he spent over one hundred and thirty thousand Naira in the hospital for medical treatments and for attempts to remove the bull...