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Wednesday, September src4, 2022

Tiga dam

The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, has called for the closure of the Gadar Sarkin Kogi at Tiga in Bebeji Local Government Area of Kano State for both motorists and pedestrians for their own safety.

Mr Adamu made the call during a joint assessment visit to the Tiga and Bagauda Dams respectively with Governor Abdullahi  Ganduje of Kano state.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the deputy governor, Hassan Fagge on Wednesday in Kano.

He explained that the spillway at the two dams were functioning properly.

The minister said that the floods did not affect the Tiga and Bagauda Dams, adding that the level of the water in the dam has not risen.

He directed the Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority to continue with routine maintenance of the dams.

Represented by his deputy, Nasiru Gawuna, Mr Ganduje assures of the commitment of the government towards ensuring protection of lives and properties of its citizens.

The governor described the visit as a demonstration of concern by the federal government to the development of the state.

He, therefore, extended his appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari through the Minister for the timely response.

Overflow of the Tiga Dam on September 8, destroyed farmlands, roads, houses and displaced residents in the areas. 

(Bioreports)

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In an era of fake news and overcrowded media marketplace, the journalists at Peoples Gazette aim to provide quality and practical information to help our readers stay ahead and better understand events around them. We focus on being the balanced source of true, stimulating and independent journalism.
The Peoples Gazette Ltd, Plot src095, Umar Shuaibu Avenue, Utako, Abuja.
+234 805 888 8330.

Wednesday, September src4, 2022

UN Security Council

Dai Bing, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, has called on the Security Council to adjust the sanctions imposed on Darfur.

Speaking at the Security Council’s review of the situation in Sudan on Tuesday, Mr Dai said the sanctions imposed on Darfur had severely restricted the Sudanese government’s ability to maintain stability and protect civilians there.

He said the sanctions should be adjusted according to changes in the situation until lifted.

According to him, China regrets that the Security Council failed to set a benchmark for adjusting the sanctions on Sudan before August 3src as required by the resolution and urges the writing country to fulfil its responsibilities earnestly.

China also urged the writing country to resume consultations as soon as possible, make maximum efforts to achieve consensus, and emphasised that the relevant benchmarks should be clear and feasible.

The country added that the benchmarks should not go beyond the Darfur issue and existing sanctions, let alone become a political tool to delay the lifting of sanctions against Sudan.

Mr Dai also mentioned that at present, Sudan’s economy and people’s livelihoods “continue to deteriorate, droughts and floods are hitting in turn, food security and displacement need to be solved urgently, and the humanitarian situation is facing severe challenges.”

“When the Sudanese people need help the most, suspending economic aid and debt relief for political purposes will aggravate Sudan’s economic and humanitarian pressure and will not help Sudan get out of the current predicament,” he said. “China calls on relevant countries and international organisations to adopt responsible policies, resume international aid to Sudan as soon as possible, and help Sudan relieve its economic and humanitarian difficulties.”

The envoy said Sudan was at a critical stage of political transition.

According to him, the international community should adhere to the principle of “Sudan-led and Sudanese-owned,” maintain necessary patience for internal consultations and dialogues in Sudan, as well as support and encourage the political efforts of all parties in Sudan. 

(Xinhua/Bioreports)

We have recently deactivated our website’s comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

In an era of fake news and overcrowded media marketplace, the journalists at Peoples Gazette aim to provide quality and practical information to help our readers stay ahead and better understand events around them. We focus on being the balanced source of true, stimulating and independent journalism.
The Peoples Gazette Ltd, Plot src095, Umar Shuaibu Avenue, Utako, Abuja.
+234 805 888 8330.

Wednesday, September src4, 2022

John Kerry and Buhari

United States Special Envoy on Climate Change, John Kerry, says it is imperative that Nigeria tags along the global energy transition goals which seeks to cut out fossil fuel emissions by 2050.

Nigeria depends on its vast deposits of crude and gas for revenue and industrialisation.

But Mr Kerry says the U.S does not want Nigeria to cause set back with its support for fossil fuel refineries.

“What we don’t want to have to happen is that Nigeria and other countries make a decision that they’re going to build out a capacity infrastructure that is going to undo what we’re trying to do and set us back. Now, we had a huge amount of agreement in our conversation,” he said. 

Mr Kerry, a former U.S. Secretary of State met Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, in Abuja on Tuesday. At the meeting, Mr Kerry disclosed that his government has “put $src2 billion on the table” to help cushion the adaptation challenges and mitigate the immediate impacts of the climate crisis. 

The visit was in line with article 9 of the Paris Agreement, to which Nigeria is a signatory. The article obligates developed country parties to provide financial resources to assist developing country parties with respect to both mitigation and adaptation in continuation of their existing obligations under the Convention.

Despite Nigeria’s commitments to energy transition, the federal government has given the Dangote refinery an operating license to generate fossil fuel. Mr Kerry says these emissions “from Nigeria or anywhere in the world would affect Mother Earth.” 

Although sub-Saharan Africa is at a major receiving end of the climate crisis, it is only responsible for 0.55 per cent of world emissions. Climate change analysts have said that Africa has to be allowed a more relaxed obligation to meet net zero by 2050 due to its underdevelopment and poverty crisis. Mr Kerry says Nigeria has src0 years to harmonise its development plan with the transition process, but its effort by the end of the period has to be clear. 

“The minister made it very clear to me that Nigeria intends to be thoughtful about these src0 years. But beyond that, realising that we have this cushion here, we have a few years during which gas will be part of the transition. No question.

“But after you get past those src0 years or so, everyone is going to have to be on a glide path where you’re reducing emissions, because otherwise, we can’t reach net-zero by 2050,” he said.

We have recently deactivated our website’s comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

In an era of fake news and overcrowded media marketplace, the journalists at Peoples Gazette aim to provide quality and practical information to help our readers stay ahead and better understand events around them. We focus on being the balanced source of true, stimulating and independent journalism.
The Peoples Gazette Ltd, Plot src095, Umar Shuaibu Avenue, Utako, Abuja.
+234 805 888 8330.

Wednesday, September src4, 2022

Atiku Abubakar, Ifeanyi Okowa and Seyi Makinde

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and his running mate Ifeanyi Okowa on Wednesday held a private meeting with the governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, at the Government House in Agodi, Ibadan. 

The meeting had members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) in attendance. 

Although the details of the meeting have not been disclosed, it is believed that the flag bearer of the party is making attempts to reconcile the disagreements within the party. 

Last Saturday, Mr Makinde voiced his displeasure against the emergence of the party’s chairman and presidential candidate from the same region. According to him, the PDP cannot restructure Nigeria if it failed to observe inclusivity in its own internal affairs. 

The internal rift has lasted for months since Mr Makinde’s ally, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, lost the presidential primary election and was edged out of scheme in the selection of the vice presidential candidate. 

Mr Wike has since publicly withdrawn his absolute loyalty to the party. “Rivers state will only vote candidates who have their interest at heart,” he says. 

We have recently deactivated our website’s comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

In an era of fake news and overcrowded media marketplace, the journalists at Peoples Gazette aim to provide quality and practical information to help our readers stay ahead and better understand events around them. We focus on being the balanced source of true, stimulating and independent journalism.
The Peoples Gazette Ltd, Plot src095, Umar Shuaibu Avenue, Utako, Abuja.
+234 805 888 8330.

Wednesday, September src4, 2022

Jubna

Finding new ways to generate revenue is a very key part of surviving as a Nigerian publishing company given the current economic conditions in Nigeria and intense competition for the attention of online readers. Since Q4 of 202src more publishers in Nigeria have leveraged the immense power of highly engaging native format ads on their pages that match the interests of users and translate to more revenue for publishers with consistent performance that shows native ads work better than traditional ads when served in the right way.  

Jubna prides itself as one of the leading native ads providers in Africa that help dozens of Tier src publishers generate more revenue opportunities by facilitating a relationship between publishers and performance advertisers looking to advertise different products and services, all through one simple code integration.

Jubna’s decision to venture into Africa is a strategic decision that represents a huge growth opportunity for Jubna and it’s why the Dubai-based native ad network is taking steps to cement its footprint in the country and the african region.

Jubna’s main guiding principle is that users prefer to see ads that don’t disrupt their online reading experience and that match their interests. Jubna’s unique native ad formats have helped guide different online readers’ experiences in ways that have helped relevant advertisers achieve results.

Compared to all the other native advertising platforms in Nigeria, Jubna has the highest number of monthly users reach with over 20 million users and serves close to 40% of internet web traffic in Nigeria. The company has also been able to partner with top Nigerian publishers like -, Dailytrust, Politics Nigeria, Daily Post, and Leadership while also working with publishers in regions like Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.

Jubna’s goal is to replicate its impressive record in the MENA region in Nigeria where the company has worked with 500 publishers, with an estimated 300 Million user reach and over 3 Billion recommendations in the MENA region.

One key to Jubna’s growth has been its incorporation of machine learning algorithms which helps businesses target their ads more accurately and thus see a higher return on investment which results in more revenue for publishers in Jubna’s network.

Many advertisers trust Jubna’s platform because they believe their message is getting through to the people who are most likely to be interested in them. Jubna helps advertisers optimize their campaigns, as they can direct their advertising budget towards people who are most likely to buy their products or services as well as target customers who are interested in a particular topic with ads for related products or services.

As the company continues to create new native ad solutions, advances in technology are at the heart of Jubna’s strategies. Combined with a great user experience, Jubna is tapping into the immense power of technology and data to create a virtuous circle – one in which increasing consumer engagement and attention can lead to the capture of more data and more insights into what it’s partners want. 

Speaking on how Jubna’s has been providing opportunities for Nigerian publishers, the CEO of Jubna, Basel Sayaf, had this to say: “After taking the lead in MENA, Jubna now brings its 8 years of Ad-tech experience to the African region and we are committed to providing leading web publishers in Africa with new monetization solutions, connecting them with hundreds of advertisers from around the world through our simple and intuitive platform.”

Commenting further on how Jubna is providing more opportunities for Publishers and Advertisers Marketing and Growth Manager Babajide Esho who leads the African team further went on to say “Jubna’s value proposition was developed fully to benefit our publishers and this is why we have recorded impressive growth over the last 6 months. We have created value for many Nigerian publishers with services that have been crafted with the Nigerian publisher in mind. It is also important to note that Jubna is the only native ad network in Nigeria with a fully local team ready to assist publishers optimize their user experience and fully utilize the monetization potential of their web properties.”

The Digital economy industry in Nigeria is expected to reach $src.6Billion in 2022 and Jubna is hoping to be part of the growing economy in Nigeria with its business activities that surely would create benefits for individuals and wider economic and social benefits through improved welfare outcomes, skills and education, job creation and productivity.

For more information on Jubna’s products and services visit www.jubna.com/ng or send an email to info@jubna.com

We have recently deactivated our website’s comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

In an era of fake news and overcrowded media marketplace, the journalists at Peoples Gazette aim to provide quality and practical information to help our readers stay ahead and better understand events around them. We focus on being the balanced source of true, stimulating and independent journalism.
The Peoples Gazette Ltd, Plot src095, Umar Shuaibu Avenue, Utako, Abuja.
+234 805 888 8330.

The Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Task Team on City Sanitation says the massive influx of people to Abuja has created conditions for illegal developments and crime.

Properties estimated at billions of naira have been demolished for various reasons over the years within the high and low-density areas of Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja.

Many of those demolitions are surrounded by stories of official extortion, violence and allegations of corruption involving both physical development control enforcers and residents. The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCDA) collaborates with security agents to enforce the laws in the sector and residents have different stories to tell.

In this interview with Samson Adenekan of PREMIUM TIMES, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah, explains some of the controversies around the operations of the FCTA and why the demolition of properties may not end soon.

Mr Attah is the Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Task Team on City Sanitation. Since his appointment in 20src9, he has led scores of controversial demolition exercises in different parts of the FCT.

Excerpts:

PT: Following your recent outing at Durumi 3, there have been widespread allegations that the FCDA rarely gives adequate notice before demolition. How true is that?

Attah: I think it’s not true that they were not notified. The Development Control Department of the FCDA came for notification, mapping, marking and serving notices on the 5th of May. Exactly 5th of May! They had a conflict which led to a police ASP being badly cut in the head. One person from the community was also injured while the police officer has not even resumed (work) yet, it has been almost four months now. He went through four head surgeries as a result of their attack.

We had to go back, we did so much engagement. The FCT Police Command, through the office of the Police Commissioner which DC Operation, Ben Akigwe stood in for, had meetings with them. So, when you say we did not duly notify them, I don’t think that is true.

The issue of manhandling them on that day is not true. When we went there for the demolition exercise, the Madaki (community head) was with me. The chief himself put calls through to some key persons in the community. Hon. Micah Jiba (AMAC/Bwari House of Representatives member) called and we said the indigenes were not even touched. At least two relevant SSAs to the AMAC Chairman were all here on that day. We laughed and talked, the community even gave me a bottle of water to drink during the operation. So I don’t know what you mean by manhandling them (community members), I am shocked to hear that.

PT: Whenever indigenes are moved from their ancestral homes, the FCT authorities are expected to resettle them. It seems nothing is being done in the case of Durumi 3 people.

Attah: No, we are not moving them. If we are moving them, they would have been resettled. We are not moving them. We only removed the markets and other empty places and indigenes were not even touched.

It is not even about removing, they are not even touched. Let me explain. I led the operation and I will give my report to the minister. To touch the indigenes, we will need to resettle and adequately compensate them. We understand that law. That’s why they were not touched. Even if we were going to come, we are not going to come for the indigenes, we are coming for the non-indigenes who bought lands from them.

They have a right and we must respect those rights. The way the allegations were raised sounds very frivolous and I’m even just shocked. The same people that we ate, drank and even played with their chiefs together? I’m shocked.

PT: The last time we had this rate of demolition in Abuja was during the Nasir El-Rufai administration. What has changed between then and now?

Attah: What has changed is that there has been a massive influx of people into Abuja. Extreme influx that we cannot deny. People are now coming in their millions and we are now seeing massive shanties and bashas. Illegal structures are now common. Most of those villages have now become over-expanded. We have found so many illegalities.

So, the city has become more complex than before. That is why when we go out, we go out well armed because we have had casualties, we have had problems and our men are being maimed. We now have over 80 per cent of development control staff on the field carrying wounds inflicted on them during demolition exercises.

The city has become so complex and illegality has become more rampant. Look at the demolition we carried out at Ido-Sabo by UniAbuja. Look at Ido-Seriki. Look at Mpape becoming a theatre of illegality. Look at Kuje, some people had the guts to sell railway corridors. Sold the food marker out. The roadsides are no longer passable. It’s becoming unbelievably alarming.

When you look at Gwarinpa, it has become a place where drug addicts hide in road corridors, which we are reclaiming. If you go to Gishi area, Karu, Nyanya, Karshi, Oronso, we are still in those areas. I think the complexity is that the problems in the North-east, North-west, South-east, and others are flown into Abuja. So, Abuja is carrying extreme loads. And sadly, many of the people coming into Abuja don’t want to stay in the suburbs, everyone just gets some nylon bags, some woods, some bashas and hangs around the city centre. That is the problem.

As a result of these, we see the crime rate going up and all are traced to these shanties, bashas, and others. It has really put pressure on us and if PREMIUM TIMES go round, you will find out that we are dealing with more complex problems than we ever had during the El-Rufai period.

If you go round any demolition site, you will meet scavengers, waiting to scavenge. Babanbola (scavenger) is a problem. You see them living in shanties and bashas, you will have hoodlums, you will have many things there. You will see expanded shanties and others. So, I think it is a complex issue but what I believe is that if we do not give up we will win.

It is tough, there are petitions, there are allegations, there are complaints but we can not leave the city to die. We will work and tell our own story, and pray that history will be nice to us.

PT: There is also another angle to this entire argument. Whenever you demolish buildings, I have seen cases where people come with documents awarded to them to own some of these properties. Don’t you think there are shady things going on at your end?

Attah: No, no, no. They do not have documents. Go round, you will not see documents. If they had documents they would have taken us to court. They do not have documents. Nobody has any documents. They cannot show you the documents. The ones who told me that the chief sold it to him, I said bring it (the document), they refused.

Even the ones that took us to the National Assembly, we asked them to bring their documents, they brought a foolscap sheet with signatures, we cannot take that.

The person that successfully brought a document, the chief who sold it to him said he sold it to him as farmland. On the document, you signed “SALE OF FARMLAND.” They signed the sale of farmland, why did you go and build on it? They do not have any titled documents.

If they have legitimate documents, by now we would have been sleeping in court. If people have documents by now they would have taken us to court. If somebody has documents, like the ones we touched at Mpape, the ones we demolished at Ido, they all brought out one paper that they signed with a foolscap sheet. They signed the documents with some local people and that only carried the sale of farmland, no building approval.

PT: How many legal cases are you facing at the moment from the people whose houses or structures you have demolished?

Attah: I think we have old cases, some even back to El-Rufai days. Some during Bala Mohammed, Adamu Aliero, every single time we have legal cases tied to litigations over land. They are very many that we face.

I cannot count the number of legal cases. But for petitions, we have petitions in their thousands coming in here. For legal cases, there are always legal cases on the issues of land. On land disputes, there are many. On property removal, they are also much because development control goes out every day besides the task force work and they have litigations.

PT: Do you have the exact number?

Attah: Except we find out from their offices.

PT: What is FCDA doing to sensitise security operatives they go out with? Because we have seen and there have been allegations of them brutalizing even the innocents during your operations.

Attah: We hold workshops. Every morning before we go out, we hold a parade. When we finish, we come back and we hold review parades. Are you getting me now?

Yes, there are moments when tempers get high, it is normal. Even in the newsroom tempers flew. Just when tempers fly, especially when someone wants to react, one or two persons will react from the crowd, one or more from our side too. We always hold them and ensure that we stop them. Are you getting me? Both from the crowd and both from the security agencies, we all intervene together to stop them.

There are moments like that on every field, even on the football field, even in the newsroom. Everywhere people actually react, sometimes they will even want to go physical. But we do all we can to stop them. Any officer we see doing that we will fine the person. That is why the Police Commissioner, Sunday Babaji, and the DC Operations, Ben, would always come to the parade ground to address them to please be civil at all times.

But you will just see somebody accuse you. Like the policeman they cut him in the head, it was because he was civil. That is why a man could walk up to him with his AK 47, with a knife, a cutlass and cut him on the head. If the man has not been civil you cannot do that. That is the truth.

He has done two brain surgeries. I think he is improving now, we hope that by next month he will resume work.

PT: You have been at the forefront of the demolition of properties in Abuja for a while now. What has been your major challenge leading your team to different sites to enforce this demolition?

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Attah: My major challenge is that people do not believe that the government is serious. I am sorry, that is my word. People do not see the government as being serious. You know you own an illegal structure on a road corridor or on a railway line or on an illegal corner or a basha. When we mark the basha, they do not move, they wait for us to come.

They wait for us to meet them there and sometimes also the major challenge is the babanbola (scavengers), when we mark a building people do not remove their things. A scavenger would come, so as we are demolishing, people whose houses are demolished or cleared would want to remove the zinc sheet or remove iron rod or remove something, and the scavengers would want to steal. So most times we end up confronting them with tear gas, arresting them and others.

And sometimes also, we have challenges in dealing with some of the indigenes. We will be seeing the areas where their houses are, we would want to leave their own property but they will be showing us houses that are not their own house as their house. When we get there we discover it is not their own house because we also do our surveillance and engagement.

So the challenges are many. Above all, the challenge is that the work is enormous and we do not sleep at all. There is no day we do not get more than 20 calls from people telling us to come and remove scavengers, babanbola, shanties. Every single day we get calls. This morning, I woke up to about four or five messages telling me about areas where criminals, bashas, shanties, illegal structures and all of that. We get calls, sincerely and as I said if we are determined it would not come.

PT: Lastly sir, there are suggestions that some of the lands allegedly taken from original indigenes were taken not because they are illegal but to sell to the highest bidders, who are most times developers. What do you have to say to that?

Attah: No, no, no. I am sure. We do not sell land. Nobody sells land in FCDA. Only the minister allocates land. Nobody sells land. You know the beauty of this, since we started, nobody has accused me of taking land. I have not been given any land and I have not gone to remove any land and take the land. Are you getting me now? The lands allocated were done by the ministers of the past, not even now.

Most of the lands were lands given by past ministers, not even the current one. When you check the title document for any developer that owns the land, some of them backdate to about src0, src5, 20, and 30 years. So, we do not sell land.

The amended bills were transmitted to the House of Assembly for ratification in March 2022.

The Ekiti State House of Assembly has approved the creation of state police and judicial autonomy in the ongoing fifth alteration to the src999 Constitution.

The House also ratified the provisions stipulating the procedure for the removal from office of principal officers of the Houses of Assembly.

The amended bills were transmitted to the House of Assembly for ratification in March 2022.

Speaking with journalists in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday on the position taken by the Assembly, the House’s Leader of Government Business, Gboyega Aribisogan, said the lawmakers ratified the alteration to the issue of law reform in the country for radical improvement in the qualities of laws that will guide the three arms of government.

“At the plenary today, the Assembly approved four areas being considered for amendment to the src999 Constitution by the National Assembly,” he said.

“What we did was just a concurrence to the amendments and not further alterations to what had been done by the National Assembly.

“These include the approval for the law mandating the state to have a state police to improve security across the county.

“We also approved a law stating the procedure to be followed for the removal of the principal officers of the Houses of Assembly to ensure stability and improve the quality of governance.

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“The Assembly also unanimously approved the alteration to the Constitution allowing State to have a law backing the establishment of State Judicial Council just like the National Judicial Council at the Federal level, so that the judiciary can be autonomous.

“It also approved the amendment to the proper regulation of the law reform to ensure that quality laws are made to guarantee good legislation and robust governance and equality in the system.”

The National Assembly in March this year transmitted 44 passed Constitution alteration bills to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for concurrence.

The Clerk to the National Assembly, Amos Ojo, distributed the copies of the bills to clerks of the state Assemblies at a transmission ceremony in Abuja.

The federal lawmakers voted on the 68 amendments recommended by the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Special Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of the src999 Constitution.

The amended clauses were made possible after a two-third or four-fifth majority of each of the Senate and the House of Reps had approved the amendment.

It will take the concurrence of two-thirds or 24 of the 36 of the state Houses of Assembly to give effect to the amendments made by the National Assembly.

An official said the suspects were saved from being lynched by angry youth.

Four persons suspected to have been involved in the killing of an officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Segun Ayebulu, in Ekiti State last week have been arrested.

It was gathered that the arrest was made possible through the efforts of local hunters in collaboration with other security agencies.

Mr Ayebulu was travelling with three of his relatives along the Oke-Ako/Irele Road when he encountered the gunmen on 3rd September.

He was said to be on his way to his hometown in Ogbe, Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, when the incident happened.

The gunmen shot at his vehicle and he died from bullet wounds.

They eventually abducted other occupants of the vehicles and only released them after collecting N5 million as ransom.

The Chairman of Ajoni Local Council Development Area of Ekiti State, Micheal Ogungbemi, confirmed to journalists in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday that the suspects were arrested by Ajoni Local Security Network, codenamed Operation Eradicating Bandits at the Borders of Rural Ajoni Communities (EBBORAC).

He said the local security operatives arrested the suspects while patrolling the border area between Ekiti and Kwara states on Tuesday evening.

“They had confessed to have perpetrated the killing of the NSCDC operative and kidnapping of his family members,” Mr Ogungbemi said.

“If not for the prompt action I took, they would have been mobbed by angry youth.

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“Recovered from them were two AK47. Immediately after the arrest, my office was contacted and I instantly informed the team from Amotekun Corps, Ikole Command, Officers of the Divisional Police Officer, Ikole LGA for immediate detention, investigation, and prosecution of the culprits.

“They are presently being detained at the police station in Ikole Ekiti.”

The Corps Commander, Ekiti State Amotekun Corps, Joe Komolafe, confirmed the arrest of the four suspects.

“Yes, they are now with the police. The local security network worked with our operatives in arresting the suspected killers and kidnappers,” Mr Komolafe, a retired Brig. General, said.

“Since the incident happened, our men have not rested. We have been combing the surrounding bushes at the border area. We are sounding a warning to criminals that Ekiti is not in any way safe for them.”

The president praised Governor Uzodinma’s administration in Imo State.

President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed Nigerian elite for not contributing to the development of the country, particularly the fight against insecurity.

Mr Buhari stated this on Tuesday shortly after commissioning some projects in Imo State done by Governor Hope Uzodinma’s administration

The projects commissioned included the dualised 36-kilometer Owerri-Orlu Road and the first phase of the dualised 53-kilometer Owerri-Okigwe Road.

He also commissioned the newly reconstructed Imo House of Assembly Complex.

Mr Buhari said Nigeria has not recorded the expected developments because of a number of factors and inability of the elite to assist the country.

“To be frank with you, I am blaming the Nigerian elites for not sitting and thinking hard about our country,” he said, without giving details.

“Between src999 and 20src5, when we came in – I like people to check (from) the Central Bank of Nigeria and NNPC. The average (oil) production was 2.src million barrels per day at the cost $src00 per barrel.

“So, Nigeria was earning, at this time, 2.src million times multiplied by $src00 per barrel. But look at the state of infrastructure. Look at the railway, it was virtually killed. Power, we are still struggling,” Mr Buhari stated.

He said despite efforts to reposition the country, his administration was frustrated by growing insecurity in different parts of the country, which affected crude oil production.

“When we came, unfortunately, the militants were unleashed, (oil) production went down to half a million barrels. Again, being unfortunate, the cost of petroleum went down from $37 to $28,” the president said.

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The president also said when he came into power in 20src5, Boko Haram terrorists were in control of some local governments in the North-east. He said his administration “successfully conquered them” on his assumption of office.

He described the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists operating in the North-east region as “fraudulent people”.

Lauds Uzodinma

Meanwhile Mr Buhari applauded Mr Uzodinma for the three projects which were commissioned, pointing out that he was impressed that the governor has completed some projects within a short period of his administration despite the lean resources available to him.

“On our part, the federal government will continue to support the government of Imo State to ensure that it continues to give dividends of democracy to the people,” he said.

The president said he would extend the same support to other state governments irrespective of political affiliations.

“Our administration recognises the importance of critical infrastructure in economic development. And we are determined to drive the economic development of Nigeria through the provision of vital infrastructures across the length and the breadth of the country.

“I am therefore happy that the administration of Governor Uzodinma is doing similar things in Imo State. So, I say bravo to the governor whose name I was informed means ‘Good road,'” Mr Buhari said.

He thanked residents of the state for giving him with “warm reception” like they did during his first visit, and urged them to continue to support the state governor to do more projects in the state.

The soldiers have intensified clearance operations in the troubled part of the state.

Troops of the Nigerian Army have rescued ten kidnap victims during clearance patrols conducted around the Chikun and Igabi Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.

The state’s Commissioner for Internal Security, Samuel Aruwan, told reporters on Tuesday

On Monday, troops rescued six other kidnap victims around the Kangon Kadi area of Chikun Local Government as they continued their offensive against terror gangs in the area.

Mr Aruwan said the troops also killed several terrorists and dislodged their hideouts in the forest traversing Chikun, and Igabi council areas.

“Troops of Operation Forest Sanity neutralized several bandits and dislodged camps during clearance operations conducted across some hard-to-reach locations spanning Chikun and Igabi LGAs.

“As disclosed in operational feedback, the troops neutralized an unspecified number of bandits while clearing out insurgent and bandit camps at Apewohe in Chikun LGA.

“The operation extended to Dakwala and Kunai hills in the same LGA, where more hideouts were cleared, though no contact was made with bandits, he said.

Mr Aruwan said another camp was also dislodged at ‘Daban Lawal Kwalba’ in Igabi LGA after the troops overpowered heavily armed terrorists guarding the hostages.

“The troops after clearing out the bandits stormed the hideouts and rescued ten kidnapped persons who were chained and bound with ropes. The images attached depict the dire situation in which the hostages were found, Mr Aruwan added.

He said freed hostages are Surajo Aliyu; Ayuba Yakubu; Ibrahim Abdulrasheed; Aliyu Mohammed; and Magaji Tasiu.

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Others are Nasiru Ahmed; Mohammadu Ibrahim; Ayuba Abdulsalam; Kelvin Musa and Paul Patrick.

He said the troops, despite coming under severe attacks, successfully evacuated the hostages to a military facility where they are receiving medical attention before they are reunited with their families.

Also, another camp was cleared at Rafin Gwaska, Igabi local government area where guns and other valuables of the terrorists were recovered.

He said the troops recovered three locally made rifles, one AK-47 magazine, one AK-47 top cover, four Bafoeng radio chargers, eleven mobile phones, three music boxes, two sets of military uniforms, one frag jacket, spanners, knives and chains.

“The Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufa’i noted the report with satisfaction and thanked the troops for the rescue of the ten citizens. The Governor commended the troops for the relentless spirit displayed in the ongoing operations and encouraged them to sustain these efforts to ultimate victory.

“Citizens are strongly advised not to harbour or provide medical aid to suspicious individuals carrying what may be gunshot wounds. Such cases are to be immediately reported to the Security Operations Room on the lines 09034000060 and 08src70src89999, the official statement said.

The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi has counselled King Charles III, the new king of the United Kingdom to adopt policies that will sustain and promote the monarchical system in his reign.

Recall that King Charles III acceded to the throne on Thursday, September 8, 2022, upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

In a congratulatory statement made available by Alli Ibraheem, his Chief Press Secretary, Oba Akanbi added that such would strengthen and brighten the hope of not only the parliament but also the subjects in the institution.

The statement noted that, “having the trust of the parliament and that of the people is sacrosanct. It will not only strengthen the monarchy System, but will also endear people to the revered institution. To enjoy this trust, I enjoin King Charles to improve the tempo of humanity service and cut costs. Cutting the cost of maintenance is in respect of the global economic challenges.

“The Monarchy in modern times should be seen alleviating sufferings of subjects and not about amassing wealth. The happiness of the people and their welfare is the wealth of a king! Times are changing and conservative Monarchy should move with time as conservative progressive. Sustainability of Monarchy in the 2srcst century is on the test all around the world and the Monarchical institution needs to be preserved because without Monarchy, there is no tradition and culture!

“How do we sustain this priceless Monarchy institution for thousands of years and for the future? We have to protect this institution at all costs.

“Once again, I congratulate him on his ascension to the throne. His reign shall be filled with more achievements to the glory of the institution.”

Bayern Munich manager, Julian Nagelsmann has admitted he is happy former striker, Robert Lewandowski did not score against them on Tuesday night.

Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane got the goals as the Bundesliga champions beat Barca in the Champions League group fixture at the Allianz Arena.

The Blaugrana have now failed to win in their last seven visits to Bavaria, recording two draws and five defeats and being outscored by an aggregate total of src6-4.

For Bayern, the win came after three consecutive draws in the league.

“Barca had the better chances in the first half. We had to rely on [keeper] Manuel [Neuer].

“After the break we were more aggressive. We quickly scored two goals. We basically won because of higher efficiency.

“From our side I am also happy Lewandowski did not score against us tonight,” Nagelsmann said.

Chairmen of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the src9 Northern States and the FCT, Abuja, on Tuesday, reiterated their rejection of the same faith ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 elections.

They declared that they would not change their stand against the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.

The chairmen made their position known during a meeting convened by Yakubu Dogara, the former Speaker, House of Representatives and Babachir Lawal, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, in Abuja.

The former Speaker, who disclosed this on his Twitter handle, explained that the meeting with the Christian leaders from the North and the FCT was to decide 2023.

Dogara stated that the fight for justice continues, adding that they held a Consultative Meeting with Christian Leaders From the src9 Northern States and the FCT on the pan-Nigerian platform to adopt in 2023.

Rev. John Joseph Hayab, the Chairman of CAN in Kaduna State, also confirmed the meeting to DAILY POST, saying it was well attended in person by all the CAN chairmen from the North, except Katsina State.

He explained, “We are saying there is no going back on our stance against the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC.”

Hayab stated that they would consult with leading Christian politicians across party before deciding on the next line of action.

He added that they would also wait for signals from their (CAN) national body, stressing that they would point them to the way to go, “but the Muslim-Muslim ticket is out of the equation.”

He added that what they had expected from the APC was to explain themselves to them rather than hiring impostors to impersonate genuine Christian leaders.

DAILY POST reports that the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu settled for the same faith ticket despite stiff opposition from Christians.

Ever since then, the Northern Christians, who feel slighted, have been meeting to champion a way forward.

Tottenham Hotspur manager, Antonio Conte has said his players paid the price for mistakes following their Champions League defeat in Lisbon.

Spurs were on course for one point before Sporting scored twice in the dying seconds.

It was Tottenham’s first defeat of the season.

And Conte said: “The Champions League level is very high. You have to reduce the mistakes because at the end you can pay and we paid, we paid a lot.

“Now, instead of a draw, we are talking about a loss against a team used to playing in this competition. It’s a pity.

“All of the players know the level is an important level and you have to continue to improve yourself. A draw would have been more fair but Sporting were good to take their moment.

“We could not score and tried to win the game and then in the last src0 minutes we could have done much better.

“They scored with a corner and then the second goal after 90 minutes. It’s a pity but it was a difficult game.

“We had two or three situations where we could have done much better but now we must rest and think about the Premier League.”

The amended bills were transmitted to the House of Assembly for ratification in March 2022.

The Ekiti State House of Assembly has approved the creation of state police and judicial autonomy in the ongoing fifth alteration to the src999 Constitution.

The House also ratified the provisions stipulating the procedure for the removal from office of principal officers of the Houses of Assembly.

The amended bills were transmitted to the House of Assembly for ratification in March 2022.

Speaking with journalists in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday on the position taken by the Assembly, the House’s Leader of Government Business, Gboyega Aribisogan, said the lawmakers ratified the alteration to the issue of law reform in the country for radical improvement in the qualities of laws that will guide the three arms of government.

“At the plenary today, the Assembly approved four areas being considered for amendment to the src999 Constitution by the National Assembly,” he said.

“What we did was just a concurrence to the amendments and not further alterations to what had been done by the National Assembly.

“These include the approval for the law mandating the state to have a state police to improve security across the county.

“We also approved a law stating the procedure to be followed for the removal of the principal officers of the Houses of Assembly to ensure stability and improve the quality of governance.

“The Assembly also unanimously approved the alteration to the Constitution allowing State to have a law backing the establishment of State Judicial Council just like the National Judicial Council at the Federal level, so that the judiciary can be autonomous.

“It also approved the amendment to the proper regulation of the law reform to ensure that quality laws are made to guarantee good legislation and robust governance and equality in the system.”

The National Assembly in March this year transmitted 44 passed Constitution alteration bills to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for concurrence.

The Clerk to the National Assembly, Amos Ojo, distributed the copies of the bills to clerks of the state Assemblies at a transmission ceremony in Abuja.

The federal lawmakers voted on the 68 amendments recommended by the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Special Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of the src999 Constitution.

The amended clauses were made possible after a two-third or four-fifth majority of each of the Senate and the House of Reps had approved the amendment.

It will take the concurrence of two-thirds or 24 of the 36 of the state Houses of Assembly to give effect to the amendments made by the National Assembly.

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Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand, has singled out midfielder Thiago Alcantara for praise after Liverpool’s Champions League 2-src win over Ajax on Tuesday.

Ferdinand said Alcantara displayed his qualities for Liverpool against Ajax at Anfield.

Liverpool bounced back from their damaging defeat to Napoli last week by beating the Dutch champions thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah and Joel Matip.

At the heart of their performance was Alcantara, who operated brilliantly at the base of their midfield in defence and attack.

The Spain international won two tackles and seven duels against Ajax.

“He came on against Napoli and he was the only one who got any sort of positive words from the manager in terms of his intensity, stepping onto the game, onto opponents, and he took that into the game today.

“The way Jurgen Klopp’s teams play at their best is when they are right up against people, when they are in people’s faces and when they win it in transition, playing the ball forward. He epitomised all of that today,” Ferdinand told BT Sport.

Four persons suspected to have been involved in the killing of an officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Segun Ayebulu, in Ekiti State last week have been arrested.

It was gathered that the arrest was made possible through the efforts of local hunters in collaboration with other security agencies.

Mr Ayebulu was travelling with three of his relatives along the Oke-Ako/Irele Road when he encountered the gunmen on 3rd September.

He was said to be on his way to his hometown in Ogbe, Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, when the incident happened.

The gunmen shot at his vehicle and he died from bullet wounds.

They eventually abducted other occupants of the vehicles and only released them after collecting N5 million as ransom.

The Chairman of Ajoni Local Council Development Area of Ekiti State, Micheal Ogungbemi, confirmed to journalists in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday that the suspects were arrested by Ajoni Local Security Network, codenamed Operation Eradicating Bandits at the Borders of Rural Ajoni Communities (EBBORAC).

He said the local security operatives arrested the suspects while patrolling the border area between Ekiti and Kwara states on Tuesday evening.

“They had confessed to have perpetrated the killing of the NSCDC operative and kidnapping of his family members,” Mr Ogungbemi said.

“If not for the prompt action I took, they would have been mobbed by angry youth.

“Recovered from them were two AK47. Immediately after the arrest, my office was contacted and I instantly informed the team from Amotekun Corps, Ikole Command, Officers of the Divisional Police Officer, Ikole LGA for immediate detention, investigation, and prosecution of the culprits.

READ ALSO: Gunmen who killed NSCDC officer demand N30 million ransom for captives

“They are presently being detained at the police station in Ikole Ekiti.”

The Corps Commander, Ekiti State Amotekun Corps, Joe Komolafe, confirmed the arrest of the four suspects.

“Yes, they are now with the police. The local security network worked with our operatives in arresting the suspected killers and kidnappers,” Mr Komolafe, a retired Brig. General, said.

“Since the incident happened, our men have not rested. We have been combing the surrounding bushes at the border area. We are sounding a warning to criminals that Ekiti is not in any way safe for them.”

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What is the Dollar to Naira Exchange rate at the official CBN rate, aboki fx, and the black market? How much is the Dollar to Naira exchange rate today, src3th September 2022? You convert your dollar to Naira at these rates, or you convert your dollar to Naira at the most recent, official CBN rate, black market, or parallel market rate.
How Much Is Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate Today Official Rate?

The official rate today, Tuesday, September src3th, 2022, for src dollar to naira = ₦434.75/$src.

According to the data obtained from the FMDQ, where Naira is traded officially, the exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar opened at ₦434.75/$src on Tuesday src3th September and closed at ₦436.04 to $src.

US Dollar to Naira Black Market Rate Today, src3th September 2022.

Dollar to Naira (USD to NGN)
Black Market Exchange Rate Today

Buying Rate
700

Selling Rate
7src0

Naija News reports that the US dollar to naira exchange rate changes hourly. The exchange rate fluctuates depending on the volume of dollars available and the demand for it. This means the exchange rate you buy and sell the dollar could be different hours later (high or low).

Factors that could Influence Foreign Exchange Rates in Nigeria

Conditions of Trade
Speculators
Government Debt
Interest Rates
Inflation Rates

Bureau De Change operators have cited a lack of FX and a surge in demand for the recent uncontrolled uptrend recorded in the market. In the same vein, some bank users who have FX in their domiciliary account told Nairametrics that they have not been able to withdraw their funds from the bank due to tightened liquidity.

The Tinubu Support Group in Kano State has urged supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to focus on his campaign instead of criticizing other presidential candidates.
The State Coordinator of the groups, Baffa Babba-Dan’agundi made the call in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday.

He insisted that it was necessary to call some people to order as supporters of the APC flag bearer have now made it a habit of involving in clandestine social media attacks on the personality of other Presidential candidates.

He said: “It is not in our character and training to go on castigating opposition in replying back to whatever they say against our Presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Instead we should reply to them by showcasing the numerous achievements recorded by Tinubu during his two-term tenure as Lagos State Governor.”

He argued that those who are threatened by the former governor’s presidential ambition are the ones who engage in character assassination and making unguarded statements against Tinubu.

He said, “It is a well-known fact that Tinubu had done a lot for Lagos State, especially in terms of infrastructure development, security and empowerment programmes.’

“Give examples of such achievements like how Lagos remained peaceful ever since because of the foundation he laid on security by supporting all the security agencies.”

The police in Edo State said they have arrested a medical doctor who specialises in stealing cars from cab drivers after giving them lethal injections.

The doctor, identified as Abbas Adeyemi, 36, works at the General Hospital, Kaiama, Kwara State, Nigeria’s North-central.

He has confessed to stealing cars from his victims after giving them injections, the police said.

Mr Adeyemi, father of two, hails from Offa in Kwara State, the police spokesperson in Edo State, Chidi Nwabuzor, told PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday.

Mr Nwabuzor, a superintendent of police, said Mr Adeyemi confessed to killing a cab driver, Emmanuel Yobo, in Edo.

The doctor allegedly killed Mr Yobo, 39, on 3 September after injecting him with different substances.

The suspect, during his first meeting with Mr Yobo in Edo, solicited and got the victim’s help to sell a vehicle he brought to the state.

“On that 3th September (second meeting) he chartered the victim to take him round Benin City, where he injected different kinds of substance into his body which affected him adversely and resulted in his death,” the police spokesperson said.

The suspect then dumped the victim’s body along Benin-Ondo Road (Benin Bypass) and fled with his Toyota Camry, according to the police.

Mr Nwabuzor said the investigation by the Anti kidnapping and Cybercrime Unit from the police headquarters in Benin City led to the doctor’s arrest and the recovery of the car in Osogbo, Osun State.

READ ALSO: Police arrest 25-year-old for allegedly stealing mother’s car

“The suspect made confessional statements, admitting he killed the cab driver by injecting substances into his body,” Mr Nwabuzor said.

“The investigation led to the invitation of the buyer of the same vehicle who confessed how the suspect brought a vehicle from Kwara State, which he bought.”

Mr Nwabuzor said the suspect confessed to killing another car owner.

The suspect has been charged to court, according to the police.

PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately reach Kaiama General Hospital for comments as of the time of this report.

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Properties estimated at billions of naira have been demolished for various reasons over the years within the high and low-density areas of Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja.

Many of those demolitions are surrounded by stories of official extortion, violence and allegations of corruption involving both physical development control enforcers and residents. The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCDA) collaborates with security agents to enforce the laws in the sector and residents have different stories to tell.

In this interview with Samson Adenekan of PREMIUM TIMES, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah, explains some of the controversies around the operations of the FCTA and why the demolition of properties may not end soon.

Mr Attah is the Chairman of the FCT Ministerial Task Team on City Sanitation. Since his appointment in 20src9, he has led scores of controversial demolition exercises in different parts of the FCT.

Excerpts:
PT: Following your recent outing at Durumi 3, there have been widespread allegations that the FCDA rarely gives adequate notice before demolition. How true is that?

Attah: I think it’s not true that they were not notified. The Development Control Department of the FCDA came for notification, mapping, marking and serving notices on the 5th of May. Exactly 5th of May! They had a conflict which led to a police ASP being badly cut in the head. One person from the community was also injured while the police officer has not even resumed (work) yet, it has been almost four months now. He went through four head surgeries as a result of their attack.

Ikharo Attah, displaying machete and knife seized from an attacker at the scene of demolition.
We had to go back, we did so much engagement. The FCT Police Command, through the office of the Police Commissioner which DC Operation, Ben Akigwe stood in for, had meetings with them. So, when you say we did not duly notify them, I don’t think that is true.

Blood stains on the uniforn of a police officer.
The issue of manhandling them on that day is not true. When we went there for the demolition exercise, the Madaki (community head) was with me. The chief himself put calls through to some key persons in the community. Hon. Micah Jiba (AMAC/Bwari House of Representatives member) called and we said the indigenes were not even touched. At least two relevant SSAs to the AMAC Chairman were all here on that day. We laughed and talked, the community even gave me a bottle of water to drink during the operation. So I don’t know what you mean by manhandling them (community members), I am shocked to hear that.

PT: Whenever indigenes are moved from their ancestral homes, the FCT authorities are expected to resettle them. It seems nothing is being done in the case of Durumi 3 people.

Attah: No, we are not moving them. If we are moving them, they would have been resettled. We are not moving them. We only removed the markets and other empty places and indigenes were not even touched.

It is not even about removing, they are not even touched. Let me explain. I led the operation and I will give my report to the minister. To touch the indigenes, we will need to resettle and adequately compensate them. We understand that law. That’s why they were not touched. Even if we were going to come, we are not going to come for the indigenes, we are coming for the non-indigenes who bought lands from them.

They have a right and we must respect those rights. The way the allegations were raised sounds very frivolous and I’m even just shocked. The same people that we ate, drank and even played with their chiefs together? I’m shocked.

PT: The last time we had this rate of demolition in Abuja was during the Nasir El-Rufai administration. What has changed between then and now?

Attah: What has changed is that there has been a massive influx of people into Abuja. Extreme influx that we cannot deny. People are now coming in their millions and we are now seeing massive shanties and bashas. Illegal structures are now common. Most of those villages have now become over-expanded. We have found so many illegalities.

So, the city has become more complex than before. That is why when we go out, we go out well armed because we have had casualties, we have had problems and our men are being maimed. We now have over 80 per cent of development control staff on the field carrying wounds inflicted on them during demolition exercises.

The city has become so complex and illegality has become more rampant. Look at the demolition we carried out at Ido-Sabo by UniAbuja. Look at Ido-Seriki. Look at Mpape becoming a theatre of illegality. Look at Kuje, some people had the guts to sell railway corridors. Sold the food marker out. The roadsides are no longer passable. It’s becoming unbelievably alarming.

When you look at Gwarinpa, it has become a place where drug addicts hide in road corridors, which we are reclaiming. If you go to Gishi area, Karu, Nyanya, Karshi, Oronso, we are still in those areas. I think the complexity is that the problems in the North-east, North-west, South-east, and others are flown into Abuja. So, Abuja is carrying extreme loads. And sadly, many of the people coming into Abuja don’t want to stay in the suburbs, everyone just gets some nylon bags, some woods, some bashas and hangs around the city centre. That is the problem.

An injured police officer.
As a result of these, we see the crime rate going up and all are traced to these shanties, bashas, and others. It has really put pressure on us and if PREMIUM TIMES go round, you will find out that we are dealing with more complex problems than we ever had during the El-Rufai period.

If you go round any demolition site, you will meet scavengers, waiting to scavenge. Babanbola (scavenger) is a problem. You see them living in shanties and bashas, you will have hoodlums, you will have many things there. You will see expanded shanties and others. So, I think it is a complex issue but what I believe is that if we do not give up we will win.

It is tough, there are petitions, there are allegations, there are complaints but we can not leave the city to die. We will work and tell our own story, and pray that history will be nice to us.

PT: There is also another angle to this entire argument. Whenever you demolish buildings, I have seen cases where people come with documents awarded to them to own some of these properties. Don’t you think there are shady things going on at your end?

Attah: No, no, no. They do not have documents. Go round, you will not see documents. If they had documents they would have taken us to court. They do not have documents. Nobody has any documents. They cannot show you the documents. The ones who told me that the chief sold it to him, I said bring it (the document), they refused.

Even the ones that took us to the National Assembly, we asked them to bring their documents, they brought a foolscap sheet with signatures, we cannot take that.

The person that successfully brought a document, the chief who sold it to him said he sold it to him as farmland. On the document, you signed “SALE OF FARMLAND.” They signed the sale of farmland, why did you go and build on it? They do not have any titled documents.

If they have legitimate documents, by now we would have been sleeping in court. If people have documents by now they would have taken us to court. If somebody has documents, like the ones we touched at Mpape, the ones we demolished at Ido, they all brought out one paper that they signed with a foolscap sheet. They signed the documents with some local people and that only carried the sale of farmland, no building approval.

PT: How many legal cases are you facing at the moment from the people whose houses or structures you have demolished?

Attah: I think we have old cases, some even back to El-Rufai days. Some during Bala Mohammed, Adamu Aliero, every single time we have legal cases tied to litigations over land. They are very many that we face.

Demolished market at Durunmi 3 by the FCDA.
I cannot count the number of legal cases. But for petitions, we have petitions in their thousands coming in here. For legal cases, there are always legal cases on the issues of land. On land disputes, there are many. On property removal, they are also much because development control goes out every day besides the task force work and they have litigations.

PT: Do you have the exact number?

Attah: Except we find out from their offices.

PT: What is FCDA doing to sensitise security operatives they go out with? Because we have seen and there have been allegations of them brutalizing even the innocents during your operations.

Attah: We hold workshops. Every morning before we go out, we hold a parade. When we finish, we come back and we hold review parades. Are you getting me now?

Yes, there are moments when tempers get high, it is normal. Even in the newsroom tempers flew. Just when tempers fly, especially when someone wants to react, one or two persons will react from the crowd, one or more from our side too. We always hold them and ensure that we stop them. Are you getting me? Both from the crowd and both from the security agencies, we all intervene together to stop them.

There are moments like that on every field, even on the football field, even in the newsroom. Everywhere people actually react, sometimes they will even want to go physical. But we do all we can to stop them. Any officer we see doing that we will fine the person. That is why the Police Commissioner, Sunday Babaji, and the DC Operations, Ben, would always come to the parade ground to address them to please be civil at all times.

But you will just see somebody accuse you. Like the policeman they cut him in the head, it was because he was civil. That is why a man could walk up to him with his AK 47, with a knife, a cutlass and cut him on the head. If the man has not been civil you cannot do that. That is the truth.

He has done two brain surgeries. I think he is improving now, we hope that by next month he will resume work.

PT: You have been at the forefront of the demolition of properties in Abuja for a while now. What has been your major challenge leading your team to different sites to enforce this demolition?

Attah: My major challenge is that people do not believe that the government is serious. I am sorry, that is my word. People do not see the government as being serious. You know you own an illegal structure on a road corridor or on a railway line or on an illegal corner or a basha. When we mark the basha, they do not move, they wait for us to come.

They wait for us to meet them there and sometimes also the major challenge is the babanbola (scavengers), when we mark a building people do not remove their things. A scavenger would come, so as we are demolishing, people whose houses are demolished or cleared would want to remove the zinc sheet or remove iron rod or remove something, and the scavengers would want to steal. So most times we end up confronting them with tear gas, arresting them and others.

And sometimes also, we have challenges in dealing with some of the indigenes. We will be seeing the areas where their houses are, we would want to leave their own property but they will be showing us houses that are not their own house as their house. When we get there we discover it is not their own house because we also do our surveillance and engagement.

Ikharo Attah, SSA to the FCT Minister on Enforcement, Monitoring and Inspection. He is the Chairman of the Taskforce enforcing demolition of illegal structures in Abuja.
So the challenges are many. Above all, the challenge is that the work is enormous and we do not sleep at all. There is no day we do not get more than 20 calls from people telling us to come and remove scavengers, babanbola, shanties. Every single day we get calls. This morning, I woke up to about four or five messages telling me about areas where criminals, bashas, shanties, illegal structures and all of that. We get calls, sincerely and as I said if we are determined it would not come.

PT: Lastly sir, there are suggestions that some of the lands allegedly taken from original indigenes were taken not because they are illegal but to sell to the highest bidders, who are most times developers. What do you have to say to that?

Attah: No, no, no. I am sure. We do not sell land. Nobody sells land in FCDA. Only the minister allocates land. Nobody sells land. You know the beauty of this, since we started, nobody has accused me of taking land. I have not been given any land and I have not gone to remove any land and take the land. Are you getting me now? The lands allocated were done by the ministers of the past, not even now.

Most of the lands were lands given by past ministers, not even the current one. When you check the title document for any developer that owns the land, some of them backdate to about src0, src5, 20, and 30 years. So, we do not sell land.

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Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Wednesday, src4th September 2022
src. “I Am Delighted To Be Back In Imo State, You Have Written Your Own History” – Buhari Tells Uzodinma
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday commended the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma for his developmental efforts in the state.

The President spoke when he visited the state to commission some projects implemented by the Uzodinma government.

According to Buhari, the projects implemented by Governor Uzodinma within his short stay in office have direct positive impact on the people of Imo.

The President added that past governments have shied away from the projects because of the difficulty in executing them but the Uzodinma administration even with scarce resources has tackled the projects.

The commissioned projects include the Owerri/Orlu dual carriage, Owerri/Okigwe road and the renovated House of Assembly Complex.

For these, the President observed that the Governor won’t be forgotten in the history of the people.

President Buhari added that it is a delight for him to be in Imo and for him to have visited the state twice in a space of three years shows his pleasure.

2. ASUU, Governing Council, VCs Meet Tomorrow
The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the governing council of universities and Vice Chancellors are expected to meet on Wednesday over the lingering industrial action by university lecturers.

According to Daily Sun, the meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, September src4, 2022.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari-led government on the 6th of September met with the vice-chancellors, pro-chancellors, and management of federal universities over the lingering strike.

3. PDP Crisis: Ayu Reveals Why Atiku Chose Okowa Over Wike
The National Chairman of the People Democratic Party, (PDP), Senator Iyorchia Ayu has given reason why the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar picked the Governor of Delta state, Ifeanyi Okowa as running mate over Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike.

Naija News reports that Ayu made this known while speaking during the Northern Christian Youth Assembly Summit in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to the PDP National Chairman, Atiku had picked Okowa because of his humility and more excellent performance in office.

4. You Are Not My Doctor – Tinubu Slams Peter Obi Over ‘Sick Man’ Comment
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu has replied his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi over a statement calling his health status into question.

Recall that Naija News earlier reported that Obi, while meeting with some of his supporters in Belgium accused Nigerian’s of supporting Tinubu despite being aware that he is a sick man.

He said, “Somebody said to me that this candidate fought Abacha regime to stand still. That he even lost everything. I said, but he has two planes now. Where is his company?”

“Once he comes here and gives you money, you will say Jagaban is the best candidate even when the man is not well. That’s the problem of the country.”

Speaking on Obi’s comment via a statement issued on Tuesday, the Director, Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, stated that it was mere beer parlour gossip.

He stated that the former governor of Anambra state was not Asiwaju’s doctor hence he could not give a verified statement on his health.

He went on to say that his principal is not sick adding that he meets people for 20 hours a day, strategising about finding solutions to Nigeria’s problems.

5. 2023: APC Has Taken Nigeria From Top To Bottom – Ortom
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has accused the All Progressives Congress-led government of bringing the economy of the country to a total collapse.

The governor made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, Naija News reports.

Governor Ortom said the APC has performed poorly in the past seven years and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is ready to rescue the country from the ruling party in 2023.

The governor, therefore, said the ruling party will lose the 2023 election after performing abysmally in the last seven years.

The Benue governor alleged that some members of the APC prevailed over the federal government not to release funds to his state to pay salaries and pensions.

6. Lawmakers Move To Withdraw Lagos Commissioner’s Appointment
There were moves in the Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday to withdraw the appointment of the Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure, Arch. Kabiru Abdullahi.

Naija News understands that lawmakers criticized the commissioner during plenary today for refusing to honour an invitation of a committee of the House which has oversight functions over affairs of the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development.

They had prayed that the Committee on Waterfront Infrastructure of the House be mandated to carry out a holistic investigation of the Ministry since Abdullahi’s appointment while the House places the confirmation of the commissioner’s appointment on hold.

The agitation to sanction Abdullahi was, however, brought to calm by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, as he appealed to his colleagues to reconsider their prayer.

Obasa urged the lawmakers to give the commissioner another opportunity to appear before the House.

7. ASUU Strike: NANS Block Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Tuesday led students within the Southern- Western region to protest the lingering strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that has lasted for more than six months.

The protesting students called the no-work-no-pay policy that the Federal Government declared against the striking university lecturers a fascist one.

Due to this, the students in their numbers thronged the highway and blocked the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Shagamu Interchange.

The body said the policy is not acceptable and went on to call on the government to pay the lecturers all their dues.

The body in a statement signed by the NANS South-West coordinator, Emmanuel Olatunji, also called on proper funding in the Education section, whilst threatening to shut down the country if the federal government fails to yield to their demands.

8. 2023: Chief Of Army Staff Speaks Amidst Fears Of Possible Military Coup
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Farouk Yahaya has assured President Muhammadu Buhari of the Army’s commitment to his government and the src999 Constitution amidst the fear of a possible military coup in Nigeria ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Naija News reports that the COAS assured that the Army would provide the necessary security assistance to ensure the successful conduct of the forthcoming polls on Tuesday.

Yahaya’s assurance came weeks after the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris while receiving Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the White House said it feels “very strongly” about the need for Nigeria to sustain its democratic rule to serve as an example to its African counterparts.

Kamala acknowledged Nigeria’s efforts in “tackling the democratic backsliding that they have been seeing in West Africa”, adding that the country “must remain a bastion of democracy for West Africa.”

In apparent response to fears being expressed from different quarters about Nigeria’s democracy, Lt. Gen. Yahaya assured that the military will provide a secure environment for the conduct of the 2023 general election through ‘Operation Safe Conduct’.

He noted, they are committed to discharging its constitutional responsibilities, as they are constantly reviewing its Rules of Engagement and Code of Conduct for officers and soldiers that would be deployed during the general elections.

9. DSS Granted Permission To Detain Tukur Mamu For 60 More Days
The Department of State Services (DSS) has been permitted to detain the publisher of Desert Herald, Tukur Mamu, for 60 more days.

Naija News reports the presiding judge, Justice Nkeonye Maha, gave the ruling on Tuesday in response to an ex-parte motion moved by counsel for the DSS, Ahmed Magaji.

In the motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/src6src7/2022 and dated September src2, the DSS had urged the court to grant its request to enable it to conclude the investigation on Mamu.

Recall that the Kaduna train attack negotiator was arrested at the Kano International Airport after he returned from Egypt where he had been detained on his way to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj.

Mamu, an aide to a popular Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, has been involved in negotiations for the release of persons abducted during an attack on a train in Kaduna, in March 2022.

src0. 2023: Nigeria Broke Under APC, Nigerians Cannot Afford Basic Commodities- Atiku
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said the country is very broke under the All Progressives Congress-led government.

The former Vice President added that the Muhammadu Buhari administration has continued to run the country on budget deficits since it came to power in 20src5.

Speaking on Tuesday at the presidential economic agenda forum of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Atiku said Nigeria is currently being dressed in borrowed robes.

He stated that since the assumption of the APC government, the economy has been bad and ordinary Nigerians cannot afford basic commodities.

Those are the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. - Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.

Egbin Power Plc, a subsidiary of - Group, has announced the appointment of Mokhtar Bounour as Chief Executive Officer, a notice by the company said on Tuesday.

The appointment was approved by the company’s board, the notice by the company.

The Lagos-based thermal plant powers over 20 million homes and businesses.

“Mr Bounour’s appointment would accelerate Egbin’s ongoing transformation and propel the company’s energy mix transition towards enhanced environmental sustainability,” the board said.

Mr Bounour holds a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, a Masters degree in management and leadership, business administration and international relations.

Prior to this, he worked in Europe for the better part of his career, and led Fertiberia Spain as CEO of Fertial and thereafter, became business development director for Africa, Middle East and Turkey.

ALSO READ: Egbin power plant resumes operations after fire incident

With 24 years of experience across Africa, Europe and Middle-East, Mr Bounour led multi-functional teams in operations and maintenance, power generation and fertilizers plants.

He is multilingual, being fluent in French, English and Spanish – an attribute that is expected to further propel diversity at Egbin Power which has employees from different nationalities.

His experience cuts across setting strategic direction for revamping, rehabilitation and management of change, contracts management, formulation, integration and auditing with implementation of effective customer coordination.

Others include, sales, business development projects, engineering and turn over acceptance policies, procedures and systems management for organizations.

Kola Adesina, Group Managing Director of - Power Group said the appointment would also lead plant optimisation strategies and spearhead the company’s emissions reduction and resource efficiency targets.

Speaking on his appointment, Mr Bounour said he was delighted at the opportunity to steer the future of the “iconic African power plant”.

He added that his interactions with the Board indicate that “the future holds a firm promise of unparalleled growth and sustained world-class performance in Egbin.”

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Joel Matip’s 89th minute header kickstarted Liverpool’s season as a 2-src win over Ajax at Anfield put the Reds back in the running to reach the last src6 of the Champions League.

Jurgen Klopp’s men had won just two of their opening seven games of the season, and suffered a 4-src thrashing at the hands of Napoli on matchday one.

Last season’s Champions League finalists were much more like their old selves but still needed a late winner from an unlikely source after Mohammed Kudus had cancelled out Mohamed Salah’s opener.

Victory takes Liverpool level on three points with Ajax and Napoli, who travel to Rangers in the other game in Group A on Wednesday.

The match was preceded with a minute’s silence to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Liverpool fans had booed the national anthem before winning both domestic cup finals last season, but any fears of a mass political protest were dispelled with only small band of individuals interrupting the moment of reflection.

On the field, Liverpool have had enough bad headlines to cope with so far this season.

Klopp described their demolition in southern Italy last week as the worst performance of his nearly seven years in charge.

A record-equalling defeat in the Champions League for Liverpool compounded an already poor start to the Premier League season.

But with Matip, Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota restored to the starting line-up after injuries, Liverpool were a far closer reflection of the side that came to within two games of a historic quadruple last season.

Jota’s inclusion came at the expense of Darwin Nunez as Liverpool’s new 80 million euro signing had to settle for a place on the bench for the second consecutive game.

The Portuguese international more than justified his inclusion, though, as he latched onto Luis Diaz’s header and teed up Salah to score his first goal in four games.

But the defensive deficiencies that have dogged Klopp’s men in the early months of the season were exposed for Ajax’s equaliser.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was again guilty of not tracking a runner as Steven Berguis broke down Ajax’s left and Kudus spun onto his cross before crashing in a shot off the underside of the bar.

Liverpool responded positively from that setback, but failed to make their dominance count for over an hour.

Remko Pasveer in the Ajax goal blocked efforts from Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Jota either side of half-time, but was not required to perform miracles.

Nunez was introduced along with Roberto Firmino for the final half hour as Klopp threw caution to the wind with a front four also featuring Salah and Diaz.

That decision nearly backfired as Ajax were inches away from picking off the hosts on the counter-attack to leave their Champions League hopes hanging by a thread.

Daley Blind nearly gave fans of his former club Manchester United something to cheer as his header drifted just wide.

Nunez has endured a far from stellar start to his Liverpool career after being sent off on his home debut for a headbutt on Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen.

The Uruguayan blew his big chance to silence the critics when he skewed wide with just Pasveer to beat eight minutes from time.

Moments later, Nunez nearly made amends when his dangerous low cross was deflected just out of the reach of Diaz.

Salah’s deflected shot then hit the woodwork, but just when it appeared Liverpool’s luck was out, they struck from the resulting corner.

Matip rose highest to meet Kostas Tsimikas’ corner and the ball had crossed the line before Dusan Tadic cleared.

AFP

Two second-half goals in three minutes, including a superb chip from Leroy Sane, helped Bayern Munich defeat Barcelona 2-0 on Robert Lewandowski’s return to Bavaria in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Bayern’s France defender Lucas Hernandez headed in a corner to open the scoring, but it was Sane who put the game beyond doubt for the home side.

Former Manchester City forward Sane, who scored one and created another in Bayern’s 2-0 opening Champions League win at Inter Milan, helped turn the match, which was well in Barca’s favour after a furious opening half.

The Germany attacker scored Bayern’s second in the 54th minute, chipping a ball over Catalan keeper Marc Andre ter Stegen, just three minutes after Bayern’s Hernandez headed in a corner from Joshua Kimmich to open the scoring.

Lewandowski, greeted by warm applause from the home fans during the pre-game warm up, had several chances to open the scoring.

Lewandowski latched onto a dipping pass from Pedri in the src9th minute, but shot too high, just tickling the top of the crossbar.

Just one minute later the Poland forward again received the ball just metres from Bayern’s goal, but his header was saved from close range by Manuel Neuer.

Raphinha, starting his first Champions League game after making the move from Leeds in the summer, drilled in a low shot past a stranded Neuer after 27 minutes, but the Brazilian missed the goal by inches.

In the dying stages of the half, Barca had appeals for a penalty waved away by referee Danny Makkelie when Alphonso Davies brought down Ousmane Dembele on the edge of the box, with replays showing the Canadian made clear contact with the Frenchman’s legs.

At half-time, Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann brought on Leon Goretzka for Marcel Sabitzer and the move almost paid immediate dividends, with the former’s rocket from outside the box deflected out by ter Stegen for a corner, which Hernandez would score from.

Bayern travel to Barcelona for the return fixture on October 26th.

AFP

Following its protest on Tuesday that grounded the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the National Association of Nigerian Students appears to be relentless in seeking the urgent resolution of the ongoing strike action of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

The student body has therefore announced the continuation of its protest for Wednesday.

In a statement signed by the National Public Relations Officer of NANS, Giwa Temitope, Tuesday night, sent to -, NANS said it would be converging at popular Iwo Road roundabout in Ibadan on Wednesday to continue its protest.

NANS said the Federal Government had shown “crass irresponsibility” regarding the strike.

“In sustaining the #EndASUUStrikeNow struggle, which commenced today, we call on all Nigerian students, parents and workers to join us in Ibadan tomorrow as we continue the agitation.

“ASUU strike has been on for exactly seven months with the Federal Government showing crass irresponsibility.

“For the past seven months, a total of src5 negotiations have been done with no tangible result. The Federal Government has displayed their unreadiness towards committing to the wellbeing of lecturers and the funding of the educational sector.

“Nigerian students have had enough of staying at home. We will not allow our rulers to use their irresponsibility to kill the future of Nigerian students,” the statement read partly, asking students to converge at Iwo Road, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

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The Department of State Services on Tuesday informed a Federal High Court in Abuja that during its preliminary investigation, it found out that terrorits’ negotiator, Tukur Mamu, was involved in the supply of logistics and aiding and abetting of terrorism.

The organisation braised the allegation in an affidavit filed before the court and deposed by Hamza Pandogari, its legal officer.

The DSS averred that Mamu was intercepted by INTERPOL in Cairo, Egypt, on September 6, 2022, while on his way to Saudi Arabia for a clandestine meeting with commanders and top leaders of terrorist organisations across the globe.

Pandogari said, “That upon his interception and subsequent repatriation back to Nigeria, a duly signed search warrant was executed in his residence and office at No. 4, Ali Ladan Street, Sabon Kawo GRA and No. src4, Mamona Road, Anguwan Sarki, Kaduna State and various exhibits and items to establish his complicity with terrorists were recovered.”

Some of the items recovered from Manu’s residence and office, according to the DSS, included $src5src; 20 pounds sterling; src,530 Indian Rupees; one Saudi Riyald; 70 Dirham; Nsrc,506,000; and src6 assorted foreign coins.

The DSS also alleged that two packs of pump action cartridges; src6 ATM (auto-mated machine) cards from both local and foreign banks; seven cheque books from different banks; six laptops; four tablets; 24 handsets and three international passports belonging to Mamu; one firearm licence; eight pieces of Nigerian Army uniforms; src6 pieces of Nigerian Naval uniforms, were among 34 items recovered.

The secret service said its preliminary investigation found that “the defendant (Mamu) has used the cover of his profession as a journalist to aid both local and international terrorist groups.

The DSS also claimed that Mamu’s actions caused the deaths of many “security personnel in North-Central and North-East parts of Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, Justice Nkeonye Maha granted the ex-parte motion brought by counsel to the DSS, Ahmed Magaji to further detain Mamu for 60 days.

The vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, on Tuesday, warned against what he described as cyberbullying as political parties squared up for campaigns on September 28.

He also expressed optimism that the PDP would win the 2023 elections because Nigerians had keyed into the project.

The governor who spoke during a summit by the Northern Christian Youth Assembly with the theme, “Unifying Nigeria: The role of Northern Christian Youths and Women”, which held in Abuja, also kicked against the Muslim-Muslim ticket, saying it “is not a good thing to do particularly in a troubled nation as we are in today.”

Okowa told the youth that with their support, they were going to win the 2023 elections.

According to him, the PDP would be receiving many defectors, adding that people were keying into the Atiku/Okowa project.

While commending the group for organising the meeting to discuss Nigeria’s challenges on the pathway to finding solutions, he added that it was the hallmark of those who thought and used their brains.

He said, “The PDP will win the election because many people have keyed into this project. We are receiving defectors in droves. When we say that the future is for the youths, it is actually from today. But the real truth is, our youths, particularly youth leaders must be in position to have a clear understanding so that they are able to guide others aright because if you have a leadership that is not able to provide that true leadership of guiding people aright and people begin to think in the wrong way, you create further problems rather than finding solutions and we go the wrong path.

“We are going to see bullying in the cyber space of our country. I think that everybody should have his space, time to be able to think, make comments without being bullied. We need to do critical thinking and that is why we are gathered here today.

“The topic for the event is key because it talks about unifying Nigeria. This is instructive because there is strength in our diversity but that will only be when we are able to unite ourselves.

“I personally do not believe in the Muslim-Muslim ticket. The reason is that there is diversity when it comes to that. Therefore, sticking to one faith is not a good thing to do particularly in a troubled nation as we are in today. It’s almost like going on to having the presidential candidate from the North and also picking the vice-presidential candidate also from the North.

“So, the only ticket that can work for our Nigeria is the ticket that is not trying to build itself to election victory to either the Muslim or Christian faith.”

GOBABIS- Thirty four year-old Erwin Meroro believed he would never get sick with COVID until he was hospitalized with the disease for over two months in the Gobabis State hospital. Meroro, the patient with the longest hospital admission for COVID-src9 at Gobabis State hospital narrowly escaped death. That experience changed his perspective on COVID-src9 and life. 

“I had this belief that brandy (alcohol) would protect me against COVID. As I lay helpless in the hospital, I thought about my previous beliefs and attitude toward the disease and I was filled with regret. That’s when I learned that you should never say never because anything can happen in this world. Nothing is impossible,” he explains.  

When Meroro was discharged from the hospital, he got a label (sticker) for his car with the words: “nothing is impossible” to remind him of his battle with COVID. 

“I’ll be honest with you. I never fully adhered to COVID regulations. I can say that only about 40% of the time did I really take precautions to adhere to the regulations and that was mostly in places where these were strictly enforced,” he says. 

On that Wednesday morning, early in June of 202src, Meroro came down with the flu. “I also felt dizzy and very weak,” he explains. He chose to seek medical attention from a private doctor. “During that time we all had this belief that everyone who got sick with COVID was dying at the state hospital,” he related. When he saw that he was not getting better, Meroro lost all hope but decided he would go to the state hospital. 

“I could see I was not getting better so I told myself, I’m done with private doctors I will hand myself over to the state and see where the state will take me,” he narrated. Meroro’s condition had deteriorated so much that he had given up on living. “When the doctors gave me medicine to drink I just drank for the sake of it. I gave up…I threw in the towel. I knew God could come anytime,” he says. 

To this day, talking about his experience makes him emotional. “I thought I was a man. I thought I was strong but no,” he says. The presence of death in the hospital ward where he was admitted still haunts him, Meroro says. 

“I saw at least 2src people dying in front of me. Every four hours someone was gone,” he says. “That was hard and that is what made many people give up. We were surrounded by death. People were dying all around us and some of them appeared to be responding well to treatment. So, I was thinking to myself, if this guy who was doing better than me didn’t make it, that means I’m next,” he says, as he tries to smile. His eyes betrayed him as fought back tears.   

Meroro knew many of the people who died in the ward where he lay hopeless.  “Some were aunties I knew very well. Others were chiefs and CEOs. I also lost my biological father and his brother to COVID during that period,” he says, considering himself lucky to have survived. “It was horrible…it was traumatic. I was bedridden with diapers and unable to respond to what people around me were saying,” he remembers. 

Through this trial, Meroro says he learned to value his health. “Some of us were fighting the information given without even experiencing the misinformation that was going on at the time for ourselves. My advice to people is ‘do what is best for you and do not make decisions based on someone else’s experiences,” he says. Today, Meroro is fully vaccinated. “I also took my boosters,” he said. 

Between June and August 202src, 270 people died of COVID-src9 in Omaheke. The collaboration between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Kingdom government which led to the deployment of the UK Emergency Medical Team (UK-EMT) to Namibia during the delta wave contributed to preventing more fatalities, says the WHO’s Country Representative, Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses.

The UK-EMT was deployed to Namibia to surge capacity of the healthcare workforce, which was overwhelmed with the exponential number of cases that arose from the highly transmissible and virulent delta variant. The team also trained frontline healthcare workers on management of severe and critical cases of covid-src9. “The magnitude of the pandemic was too much for any system to bear,” said Sagoe-Moses. In addition to technical support, the WHO also coordinated the United Nations and other partners in providing support to the Namibian government. 

The WHO repurposed its funds initially planned for other activities towards the COVID-src9 pandemic. The COVID pandemic also provided an opportunity to strengthen the Namibian health system, says Sagoe-Moses. The health system is now in a better position to respond efficiently to outbreaks as well as to detect diseases through surveillance. 

“Through this pandemic the health system has taken advantage to improve the availability of oxygen in most of the country’s hospitals. The hospitals also established isolation facilities and some malfunctioning equipment were repaired. We have better mechanisms now to quickly respond to any outbreak,” said Sagoe-Moses. 


 

When Dr Ifeolu Oyedele first learned that he would be going for training on the World Health Organization (WHO)’s ‘Clinical handbook for the health care of survivors subjected  to intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence’ he did not think he would learn anything new from the session.

In fact, he was already sensitized through his medical training to see signs of abuse and trauma. It was only while attending the training session in September 202src that it dawned on him the seriousness of Gender-Based Violence and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) as well as the trauma it causes to the victims.

“The training opened my eyes to what happens after we see patients of GBV. The impact the training made was that I was now starting to give the sexual assault cases a higher priority,” said Oyedele, the Acting Senior Medical Officer at the Rundu State Hospital. He adds that before the training he and other doctors at the hospital did not really prioritize GBV victims.

Before, patients who would come to the Rundu State hospital for a sexual assault case had to wait for long hours before a doctor would attend to them. Patients were told to wait for the doctors’ lunch hour to be seen because of the high number of patients doctors at the state health facilities attend daily. This changed because Oyedele realized ‘the sensitive nature’ of these cases.

“We would schedule their appointments from lunchtime but now after the training instead of giving her (victim) an appointment I would just see her as immediately as possible, basically I would finish my current patient and then see them and do the rape kit,” he explains.

He further elaborates: “My eyes were just opened to the sensitive nature of the issue and that they are going through a lot of psychological stress and trauma and telling them to wait, and they haven’t bathed or showered is a bit insensitive. I now do it as soon as feasible”.

Oyedele works in the gynaecology department and when doctors in other departments pick up cases of GBV or IPV they are referred to him. “It’s only my department that is dealing with these cases because we are the ones with gynaecological experience,” explains Oyedele.

Oyedele is one of 282 healthcare professionals trained in the clinical handbook nationwide. The purpose of the training is to orient health professionals, primarily doctors and nurses at government healthcare facilities to identify signs of abuse in patients.

The doctors and nurses are trained to see clinical cues and identify violence that healthcare providers are likely to miss in their patients. The doctors and nurses are also trained to be empathetic when dealing with victims of GBV and IPV. 

Dr Leonard Kabongo is a Chief Medical Officer in the Erongo region. He was also trained on the ‘Clinical Handbook on the Health Care of Survivors Subjected to Intimate Partner Violence and/or Sexual Violence, Namibia’.

“In the past, all we did was a quick physical examination of the patient and concluded that there was no sign of rape or sexual intercourse and that was it. But, now we know that GBV and IPV are not always physical,” explains Kabongo. Through the handbook, Kabongo has developed the ability to listen to his patients. He was also able to transfer these skills and other lessons provided in the handbook to other doctors countrywide as a trainer of trainees.

“It is very important to listen because the story of the assault or the violence is actually guiding you on how to approach this individual (survivor) and where exactly your focus will be as you are listening,” explains Kabongo. By actively listening to his patients, Kabongo has also learned to empathise with his patients.

Timely intervention

Dr Alice Kabongo, is a Senior Medical Officer at the Gobabis State hospital. She says that doctors in the state health facilities have to attend to many patients and that sometimes makes it difficult to prioritise sexual assault cases.

“Although we know that GBV cases should not wait because it’s an emergency we are sometimes forced to use the triage system where we prioritise who we will see. For example, if it’s a young patient we will attend to them at whatever time we have that day and if it’s an older patient we let them sleep in the ward and we see them in the morning,” explained Alice.

Meanwhile, Kabongo (Leonard) feels that even if the state hospitals are busy, GBV survivors equally need urgent attention. “We do a triage to attend to patients who need urgent medical attention, including survivors of IPV and GBV because they are also hurt emotionally and they need support and a place of safety,” Kabongo explained. GBV and IPV are emergencies, he emphasized.

In addition, time is of importance, especially in the case of a sexual assault. “If you wait too long to attend to the patient you are losing that opportunity to prevent infections, so there are medications that they need to receive, prophylaxis which they need to receive to prevent certain types of infections that could be the result of the assault,” he adds.

Equally, waiting too long to attend to a sexual assault patient increases the chances of losing forensic evidence. The result is that there will not be sufficient evidence to prove in court that a sexual assault has occurred. “Forensic evidence actually disappears with time so the more time has elapsed the more the evidence is gone,” adds Kabongo.

Forensic kit

Dr Oyedele and Alice both have been using the rape kit for years. Oyedele says that he studied the instructions on the rape kit manual and has been doing it accordingly. “I just followed the manual that comes with the rape kit. This has already been part of the work I do so it didn’t add to the workload,” Oyedele explained. However, not every doctor knows how to use one, says Kabongo. The training was also helpful to the doctors who did not know how to use the forensic kit, Kabongo adds.

“Most of the doctors are not really exposed to forensic examination, for example, how do you collect the evidence appropriately and how do you defend yourself in the court of law if you are summoned to be an expert witness,” he explained.

Exposing the doctors to the forensic kit during the training has increased their confidence, adds Kabongo. “And that’s another powerful component of the training that has actually helped to appropriately select the evidence. In the past, we have had cases dismissed due to a lack of evidence, including tampering with evidence. Now, people are aware of when they should open the rape kit,” he said.

In the event that they are summoned to court regarding a GBV or IPV case, doctors who have undergone the training know what type of evidence to present.  “If I present myself in court and I’m being asked questions by lawyers I know how to respond. All these come as a component of the clinical handbook and I think it has really empowered doctors to be able to defend their cases effectively,” Kabongo explains.

Abuse knows no gender or age

While it is common for women and girls to be the faces of GBV and IPV, they are not the only ones who experience abuse, Kabongo emphasizes. The clinical handbook training touches on the human being and this includes men and boys.

“Men and boys can also be subjected to this kind of violence and they too need care,” he adds. Oyedele says that the patients he sees for sexual assault and other forms of GBV are mostly women of reproductive age.

“The youngest patient I saw for suspected abuse is three years old and the oldest is 4src years old,” Oyedele says. He has been keeping records of GBV patients he has attended since October 2020.  “Even if they are picked up from somewhere they refer them to me,” he adds.

GBV survivors must be protected

Meanwhile, Alice credits the GBV training on the clinical handbook for her alertness and ability to pick up subtle cues and probe suspected abuse. “We take the patient’s comprehensive history to rule out abuse,” she says.

Still, she feels that more needs to be done to protect survivors of GBV and IPV. People who report to the hospital for obvious abuse need to be protected, she says. At the moment, these patients’ first contact point is the casualty department where everyone can see they “have been abused,” says Alice.

“GBV is a sensitive issue and we need a place where these people can be seen and received. For now, we send them to a ward or in the Old Theatre of the hospital when we suspect abuse. But we are advocating for a corner where they can be seen privately,” says Alice. She also feels that more medical professionals should be trained and a designated doctor should be assigned for these cases.

“The only issue is that we are working in an environment where there is a shortage of doctors. In other hospitals, there is literally a separate doctor who attends to those cases and doesn’t have to attend to any other patients,” agrees Oyedele. The response to the handbook has been overwhelming with some doctors requesting more training, concludes Kabongo.

The ‘Clinical Handbook on the Health Care of Survivors Subjected to Intimate Partner Violence and/or Sexual Violence, Namibia’ is an initiative of the WHO in collaboration with UN Women, the United Nations Population Fund and the Ministry of Health and Social Services. The handbook draws on the work of professionals who are dedicated to preventing and responding to GBV.