Boko Haram insurgents have reportedly killed a Lieutenant Colonel and six soldiers following an ambush carried out along Biu-Buni Yadi road, Borno state.
Sources told Daily Trust that the Boko Haram insurgents ambushed the soldiers at Kamuya, a village close to Buratai, home town of former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai (rtd). The soldiers paid a supreme price on their way to Damaturu to buy fuel.
A security source said;
“It’s very sad; they were soldiers of 135 Special Force BN FOB in Buratai. They were ambushed on their way to Damaturu, Yobe state, to buy fuel.
“Unfortunately, we lost an officer, a driver, gunner and four other escorts, while the wounded are in the hospital responding to treatment.”
A local source who escaped the incident by whiskers also told the publication;
“I can’t describe the kind of gun battle that ensued, the insurgents who were in large number overwhelmed the soldiers. It’s by God grace that I survived.”
Apex northern socio-polirical group, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), has condemned what it described as the “unjustified” sacking of the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrimage Commission (NCPC), Rev Yakubu Pam, by President Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu had in January, approved the sack of Pam from the Commission and appointed Dr. Stephen Adegbite, the Bishop of the Diocese of Ikeja, Methodist Church Nigeria, and Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), as the new Executive Secretary.
The President had also approved the appointment of nine others to be on the NCPC board with Colonel Aloche Adole as the Chairman which many saw as a controversial appointment.
But in a statement on Saturday, the NEF said the manner in which Pam was removed was not only disgraceful but did not follow due process.
The statement signed by the Forum’s Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, stated that the removal of the Plateau State-born Rev. Pam who was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari lacked transparency and accountability as he was not allowed to complete his tenure.
READ ALSO:NEF cautions Tinubu against imposition of leadership on 10th NASS
“The Northern Elders Forum is deeply troubled by the recent removal of Rev Yakubu Pam from his position as Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrimage Commission,” the statement said.
“The sudden and unjustified nature of this decision has raised serious concerns within the Northern Christian and Muslim communities.
“Rev Pam, who has diligently served in this role for the past three years, was removed from his position without following due process.
“NEF is particularly alarmed by the lack of transparency and accountability in this decision, as Reverend Pam was not allowed to complete his tenure.
“The manner in which Reverend Pam was treated by his replacement is also troubling. Reports suggest that his belongings were callously thrown out of the office, causing him humiliation and disrespect. NEF condemns this behavior and demands that Reverend Pam be treated with the dignity and respect he deserves.
“NEF questions the decision to appoint someone from Lagos to replace Reverend Pam, the only top position given to the Northern Christian community.
“This raises concerns about the representation of Northern Christians in key leadership positions within the government,” the NEF statement noted.
EFCC Arrests Suspected Fraudulent Pastor for N3.9m Fraud in Ilorin
The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 arrested the General Overseer of CAC Freedom City Prophetic and Deliverance Ministry, Ilorin, Prophet Adeniyi Abiodun James, for allegedly defrauding a member of the church to the tune of N3,980,000 (Three Million, Nine Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira).
The victim, Oluwole Babarinsa, had in a petition to the Commission, alleged that Prophet James called him out during a church programme sometime in 2021 that he had a revelation that he would travel abroad.
According to the petitioner, the cleric, in the course of giving the revelation, asked him about his preferred country, to which he replied “Canada”. Thereafter, they reportedly struck an agreement to talk later in order to perfect arrangements for the trip.
The prophet, he said, later told him that he had a friend in Lagos who could help him facilitate his relocation to Canada, but at a cost of N1.7million and N2.5million for processing of flight ticket and travel documents, respectively.
The petitioner further disclosed that he had to sell some of his properties and took some loans before he could raise N3,980,000 which he gave the prophet to facilitate his quick relocation to Canada.
After prolonged waiting with no result, the petitioner became agitated and began to query the prophet’s vision, prompting him to ask for a refund of his money. He said that all efforts and entreaties to the suspect to refund his money yielded no positive result.
The suspect will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations.
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has criticised the management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over the persistent problem of unreliable power supply in the state.
Adeleke said it was unacceptable that Osogbo, the state capital, hosts facilities of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the National Control Centre (NCC), yet experiences frequent power outages.
The governor lamented that the frequent blackouts in the state have exacerbated the issue of insecurity and crippled businesses.
“Osun is a critical stakeholder in the Nigerian power sector with Osogbo hosting the National Transmission Control Centre.
“It is therefore unacceptable that the state will be having epileptic power supply. This situation is affecting the local economy and businesses badly,” Adeleke stated during a meeting with IBEDC management in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Adeleke expressed concerns about IBEDC’s operations in Osun, including alleged extortion of customers through the compulsory procurement of transformers, exploitative estimated billing system, and the inability of some residents to access electricity due to the outdated metering system.
To address these problems, the governor disclosed that the state government is working to enact the Osun Electricity System Law.
This legislation will enable the establishment of a Power Sector Regulatory Agency, which will ensure that the people of Osun State are properly served within IBEDC’s franchise areas.
Additionally, Adeleke stated that the state government will explore off-grid options and expand alternative energy sources to provide reliable power supply to the people of Osun.
“As a Government, we are already working to enact the Osun Electricity system law. We will be setting up a power sector regulatory agency. We will introduce off grid options and widen alternative energy sources,” Adeleke was quoted by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, as further telling the IBEDC management.
Osun Doesn’t Deserve Epileptic Power Because We Host TCN, NCC Facilities — Gov Adeleke Tells IBEDC is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
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Emmanuela llok, the Nigerian teenager who won the 2022 edition of the prestigious RISE program which includes scholarships to cover university education, has been accepted into 11 top U.S universities.
Emmanuela, who has an interest in software engineering was accepted into MIT, Stanford, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Columbia, Georgia Institute of Technology, Washington University, The University of Chicago, Duke University, and Granger College of Engineering.
The Nigerian teenager is said to be interested in machine learning, deep learning, and artificial intelligence.
Iran has said it reserves the right “to take a decisive response.”
An official of the United States of America has said that the country is on high alert and preparing for a possible attack by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in the region in response to Israel’s strike on the Iranian embassy in Syria.
Reuters quoted the official as saying, “We’re definitely at a high state of vigilance,” confirming a CNN report that said an attack could come in the next week.
Recall that suspected Israeli warplanes on Monday bombed Iran’s embassy in Damascus in a strike that killed an Iranian military commander and marked a major escalation in Israel’s war with its regional adversaries.
It was reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said that seven Iranian military advisers died in the strike, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in its Quds Force, which is an elite foreign espionage and paramilitary arm.
Iran has said it reserves the right “to take a decisive response.”
The U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday reportedly discussed the threat from Iran in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
A senior Biden administration official said, “Our teams have been in regular and continuous contact since then. The United States fully supports the defense of Israel against threats from Iran.”
Police operatives in Nasarawa on Friday killed a suspected armed robber at the Aso Pada community in the Karu local government area of the state.
The spokesman for the state police command, Ramhan Nansel, said in a statement on Saturday in Lafia that police received a distress call at 11:45 p.m., on Friday that a gang of eight armed robbers was attacking the community.
He said another member of the gang was arrested in the operation.
Nansel said: “Upon receipt of the information, police in collaboration with members of vigilance groups and some brave members of the community went after the hoodlums, neutralised one, and arrested another.”
The spokesman added that two stolen phones and other incriminating items were recovered from the gang.
He said the arrested suspect was giving useful information that would assist police in the investigation.
NLTF Commends EFCC for Raising its Remittance inflows to N2.1bn
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, ES/CEO, of the National Lottery Trust Fund, NLTF, Bello Maigari, has commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for helping to widen the revenue base of the Fund through enhanced remittance inflows from N800million to N2.1billion annually.
He gave the commendation in Abuja on Thursday, April 4, 2024 when he led his management team on a courtesy visit to the corporate headquarters of the Commission. Maigari stated that the intervention of the EFCC assisted his Fund to grow its revenue profile and number of lottery operators
“Before the Commission’s intervention, remittance inflows could not exceed N800 million annually. However, when the exercise started in 2020, there was a significant increase in remittance inflows between N1.8billion and N2.1 billion and the same applied to number of lottery operators from barely 10, their numbers steadily increased to 48 as at last count”, he said.
He lauded the rising performance of the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede since he assumed office, pointing out that his performance has been phenomenal. “Let me once again congratulate you on your well-deserved appointment to this high office and to commend you and members of your able team for your exemplary leadership, courage and patriotism in stemming the tide of growing financial crimes in the country.
Maigari admitted that the lottery and gaming industry have grown significantly “to well over N2trillion.” He, therefore, called for increased collaboration with the EFCC to sustain the growth and to recover outstanding liabilities from lottery operators.
Speaking further, Maigari appealed to the EFCC to help in steering the implementation of the Revenue Assurance Platform of the NLTF, describing it as “a strategic revenue mobilization initiative being driven by the Federal Ministry of Finance on behalf of the National Lottery Trust Fund”.
Responding, Olukoyede, appreciated the visit and the good work Maigari is doing in the area of revenue mobilization and recovery. He charged him to work harder stressing that the Commission was ready to support his Fund in its drive for larger remittance inflows.
The EFCC boss urged Maigari to furnish the EFCC with intelligence on the number of registered and unregistered betting and gaming platforms across and outside the country, promising that unregistered ones would be compelled to comply with the laws of the nation to do the right things.
A midnight fire on Saturday razed part of Aphro Plaza located in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja.
Hoodlums took advantage of the fire incident at the plaza where Next Level Church is located and carted away goods worth millions of naira.
While attempts were being made by some shop owners to rescue their goods, the hoodlums broke into other shops and started looting the goods.
Abdullahi Abubakar, the security guard of Aphro Plaza, told THE WHISTLER at the scene of the inferno, that the fire began around 2am on Saturday morning and continued burning with no help from people or fire service to put out the fire.
Narrating how the fire started, Abubakar said he was just done “patrolling” the plaza and sat down to keep watch when he heard the explosion from the transformer.
He said on hearing that, he went downstairs and checked the transformer, but I saw everything looking intact, but suddenly part of the plaza where Next Level holds its church service was up in flames.
Aphro Plaza in Gwagwalada, Abuja razed down by fire caused by explosion from electricity transformer
“Then I began to call the caretaker of the plaza, Mr Bature, but I think he was asleep by then because he didn’t pick the call,” Abubakar said.
He explained that when the caretaker didn’t pick the call, he took a motorcycle and rushed to his house and banged on his gate but had no response .
Abubakar further explained that: “It was after I came back that I met one guy with a big wheel spanner, he was using that to break the locks on people’s doors.
“He had already broken one door down and I asked him to stop, then he asked: ‘who asked me to stop?’ then I told him I’m the one. From there, I noticed his body became weak and I didn’t know which direction he went. It was later that I realised he had climbed the stairs and broke into people’s shops.”
The Aphro security guard highlighted that he can recognise the guy when next he sees him, adding that, “he is from this neighbourhood, I know him very well.
“Once I’m done doing what I’m doing right now, I’ll start investigating his whereabouts.
“People got their belongings stolen, there’s someone that said his P.S (computer game) was stolen. The tailor woman there had her sewing machine stolen.
“Dream Centre had their keyboard stolen. The lawyer upstairs got his two laptops stolen, so many things were stolen.”
Meanwhile, Architect Bagudu, one of the tenants who lost his laptop to the thieves, told THE WHISTLER that he was called around 2:30 am by one of the boys working for him, informing him that the Plaza was on fire.
He narrated that it took him 30 minutes to reach the plaza, as he lives far away, and upon arriving, he met a busy and crowded place where people were busy trying to save their goods from the ravaging fire.
He said: “The other building there was burning, no attempt was made to quench the fire because people were just busy taking their belongings, because even the cause of the fire was an explosion, people were scared let it not come and explore and cause some more damage.
“The Plaza was just crowded, and in the process I even lost my phone because when I was trying to carry some of my items down my phone just fell and instantly somebody picked it up and turned it off.”
He explained that such an urgent situation made the tenants allow people they didn’t know to help evacuate their properties from the building without knowing who was who and some of the shops whose owners were not aware of the incident remained locked.
According to him, it was later that most of the tenants began to complain about their missing properties, adding that he too got his laptop stolen.
The architect said he had also reported the matter to the police station near the Gwagwalada market.
“They asked me to write my statement. The IPO that was in charge of the case told me that he came in the morning and people were complaining of the security issues and how the whole thing was handled but they’ll still come and investigate the issue.
“I’ve also gone to block my phone line,” he said.
Meanwhile fire service could not be reached for comments.
Midnight Fire Razes Aphro Plaza In Gwagwalada As Hoodlums Cart Away Goods is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
