Category: Security

Chairman, South-East Governors’ Forum and Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Umahi, yesterday, said his government was ready to negotiate with unknown gunmen and empower them only if they are ready to turn a new leaf and repent.

Umahi stated this at the Grand Finale of a seven-day prayer and fasting at the Christian Ecumenical Centre, Abakaliki, condemning the killing of policemen and burning of police stations within the Southeast region.

He reiterated the resolve of his administration to empower repentant bandits, saying that he was putting modalities in place to ensure the empowerment of 3000 Ebonyi youths including those outside the state.

“Why are we killing security agencies and burning police stations. Our people are the ones burning police stations and killing security agencies. Most of the security agents being killed are from the Southeast. We have brought war to ourselves.

“Nobody has the capacity to come and kill us here. We are the only region at war with itself and we pretend. We are the architects of our problems. When war starts, the situation will become different. No place will be the same. No herdsmen will make attempt to kill us again,” Umahi said.

Umahi also warned that herdsmen within the region must conform to the culture of the people or face the music. “Never again to killings. Let them not try it again. That rubbish must stop. This madness in this country must stop. The situation calls for repentance, it must not continue .

Whenever Fulani threaten Igbos with war, I laugh because Fulani has never fought a war with Igbos.

The only tribe Fulani can threaten in Nigeria is only Hausa because they conquered them through Jihad.

The Nigerian Civil War was fought between Biafra and Britain.

They should remember that we fought almighty Britain with our locally made weapons for 3 years.

Fulani are just making noise because their brother is in power.

Time will tell!!!

The Nigerian Army condemns in the strongest term possible, the indiscriminate sharing on social media of graphic pictures of personnel who paid the supreme price in the cause of defending and protecting the country from its adversaries.

This act is not only unpatriotic but very insensitive and utterly reprehensible.

Officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army deployed to various theatres of internal security operations are on legitimate duties and are in the harm’s way to defend and protect the country from those who are intent on destroying it.

The Nigerian Army consider this despicable and unpatriotic act totally unacceptable and will henceforth take legal actions to protect troops who die in action from being ridiculed on social media or any platform

I joined other well-meaning Nigerians in condenming the attacks and gorusome murdered of innocent Nigerians in some parts of country.
The attacked in Geidam and Mainok in Yobe and Borno States is regrettable, barbaric and unfortunate which calls for urgent Government action to deal with this growing insecurity.

The kidnapping of University Students in Kaduna and Benue States,the killings of a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) along other 8 gallant officers and attack on the residence of the Executive Governor of Imo State speak the volume of the current security situation in Nigeria.

The era of sitting on the fence of ecthnic and religion colourations at the time the nation is burning is no longer as feasible but it is a time for collectivism to overcome this challenges confronting us as a people and as a country.My prayers and thoughts are with those who lost their lives over the reported incidents of attacks , Kidnappings and killings across the country.

I call and urge the federal government in collaboration with the State Governments to urgently rally round stakeholders to fashion out ways of overcoming the obstacles holding us to ransom otherwise we will soon recounts our lost.

Finally ,the Government must remember always that they are in power primarily to safeguard the lives and properties of Nigerians at all cost which means they must swing into action to make the country saver for all and sundry.

Unknown gunmen have shot the Imo State Commissioner for Entrepreneurship and Skill Acquisition, Iyke Ume.

The unknown gunmen shot the Commissioner at Orji, on Owerri- Okigwe Road very close to the Orji Divisional Police Headquarters.

According to report, one of the motorists who was shot was driving an unmarked security vehicle.

He was driving in the vehicle, when they double crossed him, shot him before attacking other vehicles, including commercial buses.

The ugly incident caused panic in the area and equally brought to an end to commercial activities within the area as people, including those drinking at nearby bars who scampered for safety.

Ikonso Don was a well known hardcore IPOB member before he joined ESN and emerged a commander… He was killed yesterday when he surfaced at Umuoma alongside other ESN to defend the land from Fulani invaders.

He was ambushed and killed after thesame Igbos he was fighting for gave out his details to the security forces. Ikonso was betrayed by his own people.

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FORMER Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Usman Yusuf has said that there is no military solution to banditry in northern Nigeria.

Yusuf said this while speaking at a live webinar titled ‘Nigeria’s insecurity: Addressing the challenges of Banditary and Kidnapping’ organised by The ICIR on Thursday, April 15.

According to Yusuf, while there was a very important role for the military in resolving banditry in the North, the solution to banditry would not be achieved through the use of force.

“Banditry in northern Nigeria is essentially a social problem and not a military problem,” he said.

He noted that Nigeria had been militarising what was essentially a social problem, and that the country lacked enough military personnel to tackle banditry and insecurity across the nation.

He further stated that the onus of resolving banditry and insecurity in the country no longer rested exclusively on the government and the military, but was now the duty and responsibility of the citizens of Nigeria.

Yusuf suggested dialogue as the first of several steps in resolving banditry and insecurity in Nigeria, saying there was no other viable option left..

“Dialogue is a legitimate tool used in all conflicts. It is used usually before a conflict, during the conflict, and after the conflicts hostilities. It saves lives, properties and is more enduring than war.”

Yusuf also noted that dialogue should be encouraged not only in the North, but in all parts of the country experiencing insecurity so that all grievances might be aired. He urged the leaders and citizens of the South-East and South-West to engage all warring parties in their regions in communication in order to avoid full-blown banditry in these areas.

It should be noted that Yusuf had gone along with the Sheikh Ahmad Gumi into the forests to dialogue with bandits in the North earlier this year.

A former senator who represented Kaduna Central Shehu Sani stated that the criminal activities of the bandits should be condemned and opposed by all. He also agreed with Yusuf that dialogue was a better approach to ending insecurity in Nigeria.

The former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Chidi Odinkalu stated, in his own contribution, that nobody had the monopoly of grievances in Nigeria. While agreeing that dialogue was needed in resolving conflicts in Nigeria, Odinkalu asked where dialogue would end and advocacy for terrorism begin. He went further to state that the biggest bandits in the country were the Nigerian politicians.

The issue of crisis entrepreneurs was raised by the Editor-in-Chief of the Guardian Newspaper Nigeria Martins Oloja, who stated that crisis entrepreneurs should be expunged from the system and that the issue of banditry should be approached with sincerity of purpose.

Islamic cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, has urged the Nigerian government to take his advice and grant amnesty to bandits for them to lay down their arms.

Gumi was reacting to the killing of three students of Greenfield University, Kaduna by bandits who abducted them from their school.

Speaking to our correspondent on Friday, Gumi said the incident had underscored his position that bandits were now at war with the nation.

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, says the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami should resign from office, irrespective of his recent volte-face on his previous support for extremist groups.

The governor noted that in an ideal society, an allegation that the United States of America has placed a serving minister on its watch list as regards terrorism should jolt any government into action.

He stated this during an interview with the African Independent Television (AIT) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Tuesday.

“If it was really where a government is working if an American government says your minister is on a watch list, it calls for concern for you say look there is a problem. The moment a high government official is on a watch list as to regards to terrorism, no government can fold its hands and allow it.”

Governor Wike, said the minister ought to have resigned from the government immediately the information about his extremist views in support of terror groups became a matter of public discourse.

The governor described as worrisome the decision of the federal government to remain mute amidst the raging controversy about the minister’s sympathy for global terrorist groups.

“I don’t understand why a reasonable government will allow such a person to be in the cabinet.”

The governor noted the All Progressives Congress-led federal government is known for its proclivity to shield persons of questionable characters, even when the country’s secret service presents overwhelming evidence against such individuals.

“But you were here when DSS wrote a report against (Ibrahim) Magu. What happened? Look, I have never seen a country that your secret service wrote a report about the nominee of Mr President, questioning his character and the rest, and that he is not appointable. What happened? So, what are you talking about? What removed Magu is a power play.”

Governor Wike also took a swipe on the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for not taking stern disciplinary action against former Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, who recently claimed he conspired with others to ensure that President Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2015 presidential election.

“If I was the leadership of the party I would have suspended Aliyu for that comment he made. But, you see nothing will happen. The National Working Committee will not do anything. Why? They need Aliyu to support them.

“I cannot understand why you are a leader, so to speak, you come out and tell the world why you fought your party. I have never seen a thing like that in my life. Assuming you did it, you now want to rub it on them and that nothing will happen.

“If I was the leadership of the party, I would have suspended Aliyu and heavens will not fall. What does he want to achieve? This was 2015, we have done the 2019 election. Jonathan had lost in 2015, why do you come out now to say how you fought him. Look at where we are today. So, you are telling us you made us be in this position where we are.

“You are telling Nigerians that you are one of those who have kept Nigeria in this state that we are. And then the National working committee will not do anything because Aliyu Babangida is one of the untouchables.”

Governor Wike stressed that as a leading opposition party in Nigeria, the PDP cannot afford to accept acts of gross indiscipline and impunity, because it might undermine its chances to wrest power from the APC in 2023.

He said it was heart-breaking to hear that while himself and others were campaigning for the PDP to win the 2015 general elections, the likes of Aliyu who ran for the Senate in the same general election, had hatched and executed a scheme to undermine the party.

“I sit back here as State governor, I suffer, I struggle and campaign for my State to produce the highest vote for PDP. somebody sits somewhere and he is boasting how they fought Jonathan and you want me to be happy? You have even insulted the people of the South-South.”

The governor demanded that Aliyu Babangida, who is a member of the Board of Trustee of the PDP should offer an unreserved apology to the party that provided him a platform to serve as two-term Governor of Niger State.

Governor Wike observed that the PDP as an opposition party has not been forceful in its attack on the policies of the ruling APC.

He emphasised that the business of any major opposition like the PDP is to bring to the fore inhumane policies of the ruling party before the public on daily basis and spur the people to vote out the government.

“I am not here to help APC. It is not my duty. My duty is to make sure APC fails. Because if I help them to win, then I (PDP) can’t take over government. So the business of my party is not to help them but to make sure they leave.”

The governor described the growing insecurity across the country as worrisome, particularly in the South-East. He said security agencies in Rivers state have taken proactive measures to ensure there are no security breaches.