Chuks Egbede

Governor of Cross River State, Prof Ben Ayade, has tasked orthopaedic surgeons in the country to devise local solutions to addressing bones and joint problems suffered by patients. Ayade gave the charge while speaking in Calabar at the 44th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Orthopedic Association, which was themed ‘The Burden…

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho rescued a 1-1 draw against Manchester United as the Italian’s penalty atoned for the blunder that allowed Jadon Sancho to put the visitors in front on Sunday. Thomas Tuchel’s side dominated for long periods at Stamford Bridge but fell behind when Jorginho’s poor control presented Sancho with the chance to score early…

Emirates Airline on Sunday announced that flight operation to and from Nigeria is still on hold. This is despite the Federal Government, through the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, announcing the lifting of the ban on the operations of the airlines in Nigeria. The ban was lifted in response to the United Arab Emirates’ removal…

Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, has said Nigerians will be making a grave error by returning the opposition Peoples Democratic Party back to power in 2023. He explained that the PDP cannot be trusted to rescue Nigeria because promoters of the party have an incurable appetite for corruption and a history of…

Claudio Ranieri’s return to Leicester ended in disappointment as Brendan Rodgers’ side got back to winning ways in the Premier League with a 4-2 victory over Watford in snowy conditions at the King Power Stadium. Free-scoring Liverpool laid down the gauntlet by hammering Southampton 4-0 the previous day to move to within one point of…

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has lambasted the Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi for comparing the group with bandits.

IPOB stated that Gumi was supposed to have been jailed for advocating for bandits if Nigeria were a sane country.
The group noted that it has not kidnapped innocent people, taken ransom or killed defenceless citizens.

The Nnamdi Kanu-led group stated this in a statement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, which was made available to SaharaReporters on Sunday.

Controversial Islamic scholar, Gumi had said on Friday that designating bandits as terrorists by the Nigerian government cannot change anything.

Gumi had said, "If you can remember IPOB was also declared a terrorist organization, the declaration was even backed by the order of the Court but as you can see even the international community did not recognize the Federal Government’s declaration of IPOB. So it has failed to be effective or to achieve the desired results.”
 
In reaction, IPOB described the statement by Gumi as both sacrilegious and insane.
 
"This is not only sacrilegious but insanity taken too far.
 
"In case Gumi has forgotten, Fulani bandits and herdsmen are already designated the fourth deadliest terror organisation in the world. But IPOB as a peaceful Movement maintains its presence in over 100 countries of the world without any molestations.
 
"It's only in Nigeria that Gumi and his likes will liken IPOB to a terror group that it is not. What blackmail!
 
"Gumi should hide his face in shame for his open support for mass murderers while on the other hand claiming to be an Islamic cleric.
 
"Were Nigeria to be a sane society, Gumi and his types should have been serving their jail terms for their unhidden sympathy for terrorists.
 
"But we assure him that definitely one day he and his likes will have to tell the world all they know about bandits and terrorists and how much that passed through them to the mass murderers as ransom.
 
"Can the mischievous Gumi be honest to tell the world if IPOB has kidnapped anybody at any time and demanded ransom for him to liken us with bandits? Can he swear by Allah that IPOB has carried out any terror attack against anybody at any time?
 
"IPOB remains a peaceful movement with the mandate of restoring the Sovereign State of Biafra. We believe in peaceful restoration of Biafra and our philosophy has not changed.
 
"Sheikh Gumi should tread with caution. The world is watching him for hobnobbing with bandits and terrorists.
 
"He should stop deceiving himself, the world already knows who he is working for, and whose interest he defends. Sheikh Gumi, tell us your friend, and we will tell you who you are! An advocate of bandits can't claim to be a true Islamic cleric," the statement partly read.
 

Suspected sea pirates early on Sunday launched multiple attacks on some workers with the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) in Okoroma and Ogbokiri–Akassa communities of Nembe and Brass local government areas of Bayelsa State.
 
The gunmen reportedly shot dead two workers of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company and personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). The skipper of their boat, who is an indigene of Okoroma community, has been declared missing by the locals.

SaharaReporters Media

In the ambush that occurred at Ogbokiri-Akassa in the Brass Local Government Area, six Nigerian oil workers who were busy doing maintenance job close to their platform were abducted and taken away.
 
The Agip oil workers and their security personnel were attacked around 6am on Sunday while working close to a Manifold in Bayelsa.
 
The spokesman for the NSCDC, Bayelsa command, ASC1 Ogbere Solomon, who confirmed the incident, said only one worker of the command died in the ambush, while two others who were missing had been found and were currently receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa, the state capital.
 
“Yes, our officers were ambushed and attacked by some unknown pirates while on their lawful duty of providing protection to some Agip oil workers close to Obama manifold in Okoroma community of Nembe Local Government Area. One person was killed while the other two who were missing have been found and are responding to treatment,” he said.

President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Francis Wale Oke has cautioned the Nigerian Government against further aggravating the suffering of Nigerians through the proposed fuel subsidy removal.

He said the removal of fuel subsidy will lead to hikes in the prices of petroleum products.

In a release issued on Sunday by his Media Office, Oke warned that the implementation of such a policy could increase the hardship currently being experienced by the people of the country.

He lamented that prices of consumables and other items were increasingly getting out of reach of the people, noting that if the proposed subsidy removal is done, it would worsen the hardship of the people of the nation.

"Everybody will feel it, particularly the underprivileged. The negative effects will surely outweigh the positive. The cost of transportation for humans and goods across the country will skyrocket and other things connected which will have a spiral effect on the general living standard of the populace; the suffering will be multi-dimensional. Please, let all stakeholders be sensitive to this avoidable path and do the needful," he said.

Oke said the situation has become worrisome due to the reduction in the purchasing power of Nigerians caused by the continuous fall in the value of the nation's currency at the exchange market.

The PFN president, therefore, admonished the government to do all it could to revive the four ailing refineries in the country, with a view to ensuring they operate at an optimal level for a lasting benefit for the country and its people.

"By whatever means, let the Federal Government put its heart into ensuring that our refineries are back to life. In addition, in order to stem the rising cost of living, farmers and others connected to them should be encouraged. This is what can help our economy," the cleric said.

While maintaining that the Christian body would always support policies that would enhance good governance, he urged the government to put in place tangible palliative measures that could ameliorate the hardship being experienced.

"Without begging the issue, there should be well-defined palliative measures in place that can cushion the effect of the hardship being experienced by Nigerians, especially the commoners. One is not talking about political palliatives that never last. We have seen enough of such," he said.

Continuing, the bishop pointed out that "an increase in the price of petroleum from its present N165 to N340 per litre can trigger tension and crises in the country which in turn can paralyse our economy if not handled with utmost care".

On the proposed N5,000 to be paid to about 40 million poor Nigerians by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to ameliorate the effects of the planned fuel subsidy removal, Oke asserted that "Again, the planned introduction of N5,000 for 40 million poor Nigerians is to create a cesspool of corruption. How do you define ‘the poor’? They, mostly, don’t use telephones. They, mostly, don’t have bank accounts. How will the money get to them?"

The renowned cleric advised the government to be wary of policies that could jeopardise the conduct of the 2023 general elections, insisting that all hands must be geared towards steering the wheel of the country to a better place.

As a panacea to the rising cost of food items, the PFN President advised that farmers and relevant stakeholders should be empowered with relevant tools and funds through loans with little interest.

Meanwhile, Oke who is also the presiding Bishop of The Sword of the Spirit Ministries implored the government not to relent in its efforts at ensuring that security challenges in the country become a thing of the past.

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were in a gun battle with military personnel on Saturday night at Gbenga Daniel’s Conference Hotel, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
 
The battle ensued following the invasion of the hotel by EFCC operatives during a social function during which they were shooting indiscriminately in the air to get many injured.
  File Photo
The action compelled some of the attendees to invite the soldiers, which led to a shoot-out between the anti-graft agency officials and the soldiers.
The reason for the invasion of the hotel by the Commission’s operatives and if there were any casualties could not be ascertained at the time of filing this report.
 
The videos of the incident were posted by some Twitter users early Sunday morning.
 
In the video posted by an eyewitness, gunshots and screams could be heard with people expressing shock and apprehension.
 

A tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol has exploded in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
 
It was learnt that the tanker overturned early on Sunday around Oju-Irin, in the Lafenwa area of the city.

File Photo
The Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed to Punch that rescue teams including TRACE officials, Police, Federal Road Safety Corps and the firefighters were working assiduously to restore normalcy.
 
Akinbiyi said transloading was in progress.
 
He also warned the general public, particularly the motoring public domiciled or moving around the axis to remain calm and cooperative and desist from scooping of fuel, use of handset and cooking gas to prevent fire from sparking off.
 
The fallen tanker, however, exploded eventually in the course of the rescue operation.
 
It could not be immediately confirmed if there are casualties as of the time of filing this report.
 
Meanwhile, motorists going inward Rounder axis from Lafenwa have been urged to use Olomore and Oke-Ata axis respectively as alternative routes.