Headlines
All Eyes on Afaraukwu As Nnamdi Kanu’s Parents Are Buried Today
There is palpable tension as all is set for the burial today of Eze Israel Kanu and his wife, Sally, the parents of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
The burial will hold in Isiama Afaraukwu in the Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State.
The Punch observed on Thursday that there was heavy presence of policemen at the command’s headquarters ready for action during the burial.
Earlier in the day, the Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Mr Ene Okon, ordered the removal of Close Circuit Television installed by unknown persons around Isiama Afaraukwu Umuahia ahead of the burial of Eze Israel Kanu and his wife Sally.
He said while individuals had the right to install CCTV in their homes, nobody had the right to install one on public properties on the street because of its security implications.
Okon spoke during a final meeting with the elders of the three communities that made up Afaraukwu on Thursday at the command’s headquarters in Umuahia. The meeting was meant to avert crisis.
He said the command had made plans to police the burial venue and would implement it to the latter.
He maintained that the state police command was ready to provide security during the burial of the monarch and his wife, adding that he had no plans to scuttle the burial.
He said, “I invited the elders of the Afaraukwu communities to tell you how prepared we are for the burial of the deceased monarch and his wife.
“I’m sure that the community selected February 14 as the burial date for the King and his queen to indicate the love they have for each other and I commend you for that.
“I want to assure that we are prepared to provide security during the burial of the monarch and beyond; but the police would not fold its arms and watch any group truncate the peace of Afaraukwu and Abia State in the name of IPOB, which is a proscribed organisation.”
The CP urged the elders to warn the Leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, to desist from playing propaganda with his parents’ burial.
“We are aware through intelligence that many IPOB members had arrived Kanu’s home on Wednesday night.
“But we advise him to let them remain in his house and if he wants them to bury his parents, let them do that within his compound while the elders sit down and watch them. Let them and posterity judge that,” the CP added.
Responding, The President-General of IsiamaAfara community, Chief Ikechukwu Ndubueze, said the community had remained peaceful and were ready to work with the police to ensure that the burial of its late monarch and his wife would be peaceful.
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
