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Man Beheaded In Abia Attack Not A Cop – Police
The Abia State Police Command has refuted reports suggesting that a man beheaded in an attack in Isiahia village, Umuojima, Osisioma, on October 26 was a policeman.
The command clarified that the victim was a vigilante operative who had been collaborating with the police.
In a statement released on Friday shared on the command’s Facebook page, the command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Maureen Chinaka, disclosed that the security team involved in the attack consisted of one policeman, one special constabulary personnel, and three vigilante members.
The victim, identified as Obinna Ndukwe, was tragically beheaded during the incident.
ASP Maureen Chinaka said, “Yesterday 26/10/2023, at about 15:50 hrs, Abia State Police officers stationed at OSISIOMA Police Headquarters received credible information concerning an attack on a group of security personnel in Isiahia village, Umuojima, Osisioma.”
She further noted, “Upon arrival, an unregistered Sienna bus and a headless corpse were discovered. Through investigation, the deceased was identified as Obinna Ndukwe, also known as Socket, who was a member of the Abia State vigilante and often collaborated with the police.”
The police command reported that it had recovered the vehicle used by the assailants in the attack and is actively pursuing the perpetrators. The deceased’s body has been evacuated and placed in the mortuary, pending further investigations.
A political support group affiliated with Zamfara APC Unity Forum(ZAUF)has praised former Zamfara State governor and current Minister of State for Defence, Bello Muhammad Matawalle, for distributing over 500 million naira in cash aid to residents during the holy month of Ramadan.
According to the Forum, more than 5,000 individuals benefitted from the initiative, each receiving no less than 100,000 naira .
It said Matawalle has also spent over 200 million naira on providing rice to feeding centres across 14 local government areas in Zamfara State.
Defence state minister has also given over 300 million naira to party officials and stakeholders, including commissioners, special advisers, and many politicians.
The group stated that the beneficiaries were carefully selected by a team led by Ibrahim Maigandi (Danmalikin Gidan Goga), Matawalle’s special adviser on political matters.
“This team comprises party leaders, technocrats, academics, and youth leaders who ensured a fair distribution of the funds across Zamfara’s local government areas,” said Ismael Jibrin, the chairman of the support group in Gusau.
The group also criticised Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, accusing him of failing to provide relief for struggling residents.
“Despite not being in office as governor anymore, Matawalle continues to listen to the cries of the people and ensure that Zamfara citizens do not go to bed hungry,” Jibrin said.
“This is what we call true leadership, not mere media appearances like Governor Dauda.”
Matawalle’s Ramadan disbursement follows a similar intervention last December, when he reportedly distributed more than 1 billion naira to party loyalists, community leaders, and residents. That event, according to the Zamfara APC Unity forum, brought the state “to a standstill in awe of his generosity.”
Matawalle, who served as governor from 2019 to 2023 before losing to Lawal in last year’s election, remains a key political figure in Zamfara. His supporters describe him as a “beacon of hope” for the state’s residents in difficult times.
The senate has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to restore the Aniocha north II state constituency in Delta state in compliance with the supreme court’s judgment in suit no. SC/129/2019.
The upper legislative arm also directed the electoral commission to conduct an election into the Aniocha north II state constituency in the next state house of assembly poll in Delta state.
The senate’s approval followed a motion sponsored by Ned Nwoko, the senator representing Delta north.
Speaking with journalists after the senate’s plenary on Tuesday, Nwoko said the constituency, comprising towns such as Idumuje-Unor, Idumuje-Ugboko, and others in Aniocha north LGA, was initially created in 1991 but was later delineated.
He said residents initiated legal action in 2014 to restore the constituency but was dismissed by the federal high court.
The senator noted that the suit was upheld in 2017 by the court of appeal and affirmed by the supreme court.
“I am glad that we have managed to pull it through because it was not as straightforward as people might think,” Nwoko said.
“But the fact remains that this was a supreme court judgment and we all respect supreme court judgments.
“On this particular matter, it has taken several stages from the court of appeal and then supreme court.
“INEC also wrote to us seeking our consent to implement the supreme court judgment. I don’t know why INEC should seek our consent, but that is exactly what happened.
“They sought our consent at the senate and house of reps to implement the supreme court judgement.
“I am happy that we got it right. There are so many of such matters across the country and I am sure they will take cue from this particular matter today.”
By Abubakar Yunusa
Oil marketers have cried out about the negative impacts of unstable prices of Premium Motor Spirit or petrol in the country on their businesses.
President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gilly-Harris raised concern during Channels Television’s Business Morning on Tuesday.
According to him, fluctuating petrol prices in the last few weeks are constituting potential threats to the survival of businesses of its members.
Gilly-Harris’ concern comes on the heels of ongoign price war between the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Following the announcement of a price cut by the Dangote Refinery by N65 at the ex-depot price, the retail price at filling stations affiliated with Dangote dropped from N925-N930 to N860.
No sooner after, the NNPCL also reduced its price at its retail stations, further deepening rivalry between the two dominant players.
Billy-Harris said “In our consistently weekly reviews, we discovered that the size of loss, and the possibility of most of us getting out of business is glaring at us in the face. Because in today’s Nigeria, we have collaborative efforts being made between all the stakeholders, and we reach out to one another to know how the businesses are doing.
“As much as we are making efforts to make sure that Nigerians have product affordability from our end as the last mile in the industry, we also want to stay afloat and liquid.
“The challenge we have is that we buy products at a price today, and before the close of business, the price has reduced. We thought there should be a mechanism by which prices are analysed and ensure it doesn’t impact negatively on the industry.
“I have always said that every business can only survive by making some minimal profits that are commensurate to the price of paying the cost of doing business.
“We are fully aware that the international prices of crude oil and other related expenses are also being reduced. But when we invest to buy products at say N880, we are not going to sell at that price. And if such products become reduced to N840, N850, N860 or even N870 per litre, it becomes challenging how we will be able to recover our costs.”
Commenting on price monopoly in the downstream sector, Gilly-Harris said its members can either import products or buy from local refineries, however, it would not sell products at the expense of the survival of PETROAN members’ businesses.
He said “Yes, we have been in the forefront of always implementing what stakeholders agree. We have the capacity to import our products. We also have the capacity to buy locally refined products. But we see that prices consistently shift up or down, and there is no clear business consultation on how this should be done. That is why we said the NMDPRA and the consumer protection agency should swing into action and be able to work together with other stakeholders so that we can be able to have a stable market and a stable price.”