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Alleged 2nd Niger bridge vandalism: Police begin investigation
The Police Command in Anambra says it has commenced investigation into the alleged vandalism of the second Niger bridge that is linking Asaba and Onitsha in Delta and Anambra respectively.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Onitsha.
Ikenga said that he was yet to confirm the incident; I have not confirmed the incident, but we have escalated it to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) to get the necessary information.
When asked about the 24 hours patrol launched on Aug. 4, 2023 by a Joint Task force of Anambra and Delta state Police Command as part of efforts to make the bridge safe for road users, he said that the operation was still ongoing.
He, however, said that he was yet to confirm if the video was a recent development or not.
NAN reports that a yet-to-be-identified man was seen in a viral video narrating how some rail fittings connecting the second Niger bridge was allegedly removed by some suspected scavengers.
When contacted on the development, Mr Uche Orji, the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister of Works, David Umahi, simply said that security action had been taken and he was not ready to disclosed further information.
Also speaking, Anambra Commissioner for Information, Mr Paul Nwosu, said that the incident of the alleged vandalism on the 2nd Niger Bridge had been brought to the attention of the Highway Department of the Federal Ministry of Works.
According to him, this is not to say that the state government is not concerned about the theft of those iron.
“Police is aware of the theft; before now, there has been an indication of nefarious human being looking to make away with those things.
“There has been a patrol of policemen along the bridge, you know these people; you won’t know where they are hiding to know if patrol has passed before they attack.
“One thing about criminals is that they are also members of our society.
“They know where you have security presence and where you don’t; immediately they noticed a kind of movement, they come out to do what they want to do.
“It’s not as if the security agencies are not on the alert, but just when it appears that they have moved to oversight in a different place, these thieves will strike.
“You know people who gathered condemn iron, but this one is not a condemn iron, this one is not a disposed iron.
“These are irons that are actively in use, to make sure that people enjoyed the brand new road that federal government put for us to enjoy, but security agencies particularly the police have been on patrol in that area,” he said.
The commissioner said that it had long been discovered that some thieves had been carrying out their nefarious activities on that bridge.
He said that a unit of mobile police would stationed on the bridge to forestall future occurrence. (NAN
Police authorities have called on the organisers of a nationwide protest billed for April 7, 2025, to shelve the plan.
The Take-It-Back (TIB) movement had scheduled a nationwide protest for Monday, April 7, 2025, citing several national issues.
However, in a statement on Sunday, the spokesman of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Muyiwa Adejobi, described the protest as ill-timed, especially as it coincided with the National Police Day celebration.
“In line with best global practices adopted by nations in celebrating the achievements of its Police institution, the Nigerian Government has taken the bull by the horn by declaring every April 7 as National Police Day,” the police statement read.
“The rationale behind staging a nationwide protest on the same day is however questionable and perceived to be a deliberate attempt and unpatriotic act that is capable of rubbishing and maligning the image of the Nigeria Police and the nation as a whole. The Nigeria Police Force hereby advises the organizers to shelve this planned protest as it is ill-timed and mischievous.”
According to the Nigeria Police Force, the organisers should instead give room for dialogue with the government.
“The Nigeria Police Force under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, while reaffirming the commitment of the NPF to adequately carrying out its mandate in accordance with the Law and respect for rights of citizens hereby urges all the organizers of the planned protest as well as individuals who intend to join the protest to pursue dialogue by engaging the proper institution of government to press home their demands,” the police said.
A longlist of notable politicians including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi are in talks to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
This is according to the SDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election Adewole Adebayo.
Adebayo said Atiku and Obi’s men are in talks for their principals to team up with the SDP, which recently welcomed a former Kaduna State governor and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (SDP) into its fold.
“People are joining my party, and we are welcoming them. You can see how active I am in welcoming them. The only little issue we have with some of them is to change the culture where if you have not been in an environment where rules are taken seriously,” the SDP chieftain said on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
“Some of them are doing some Boy Scouts, black market operations, we are dealing with that. But we welcome them into the party. All these people you have mentioned, El-Rufai, Atiku Abubakar, even former Governor Peter Obi are coming. A lot of people are coming, and we will welcome them.”
When he was asked to clarify if Obi, a former Anambra State governor, is joining the SDP, Adebayo said, “Supposedly, until somebody joins, we don’t know. But people have told me, and the Financial Secretary (SDP) has also informed me, that they are talking. So we will welcome everybody.
“Surely, when we come in, and we don’t become a tower of Babel; if we come in, follow the rules and allow one person to emerge transparently, clearly, without cheating, without criminality the way we did our convention in 2022, people applauded us transparently, no court case, no crisis, no allegations.
“If they can stick to our culture and follow the way we do in the SDP and produce a good alternative to Nigerians, we are going to manifestly defeat the APC and retire President Tinubu to Lagos or wherever he chooses in Nigeria.”
Obi, who enjoys the backing of millions of Nigerian youths, came third in the last presidential election after polling about six million votes.
Atiku was second in the poll won by the APC’s Bola Tinubu.
Despite suggestions to the contrary, Obi has repeatedly said he remains in LP, the party that powered his 2023 presidential ambition.
The National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu has expressed the Federal Government’s determination in finding a lasting solution to the incessant attacks and killings in Plateau State.
Speaking at Operation Safe Haven headquarters in Jos during an operational visit in the aftermath of attacks in some communities of the Bokkos Local Government Area LGA) of the state, Ribadu promised to end the killings.
Over fifty persons were killed within a week in attacks over five communities that left over three hundred houses burnt by suspected herdsmen.
The Plateau State Government, through the Secretary to the Government Samuel Jatau, also visited some of the affected communities to ascertain the extent of damages and also donate relief materials to affected victims.
Adu expressed the Federal Government’s determination in finding solutions to the incessant attacks and killings.
Also, speaking about the killings, the District Head of Manguna wants the government to provide more security personnel in the affected communities to curb rural-urban migration.