Headlines
Panic-Gripped Residents Flee Imo Street As Army, Police Begin Show of Force
There was panic in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Monday as news filtered in that a group of gunmen were on the rampage.
Schools, markets, banks and eateries immediately shut down as residents ran for their lives.
While parents and guardians rushed to withdraw their children and wards from schools, all roadside shops and motor parks were deserted.
Vehicles that were on transit when the news broke reversed and discharged their passengers.
One of our correspondents saw parents withdrawing their children from Orji Primary School, as students of Imo State University deserted the campus.
A parent who refused to disclose his identity told one of our correspondents that his neighbour told him that hoodlums were going to schools to attack pupils, saying that it was a huge risk to allow his children remain in school considering the current situation.
The PUNCH observed that the panic situation, which began at about 10 am, was as a result of Operation Show of Force embarked upon by the army and police in the state.
The situation forced vehicles owners, and barrow pushers to quickly leave the roads and streets just as road side traders also took to their heels.
The state Commissioner for Information and strategy, Declan Emelumba, said the stampede was uncalled for, adding that the security operatives were on Operation Show of Force in the state capital.
The 302 Artillery Regiment General Support, on Monday, launched ‘Exercise Golden Dawn’, to provide security in the state.
The exercise, according to the Commander 302 Artillery Regiment (General Support) Col Abdulkarim Usman, will help to combat insecurity in the state and foster inter agency cooperation.
Usman said the exercise would routine training in various South-East geopolitical zone.
He said that the rise of insecurity across the country had made it imperative that the Nigerian Army needed to come in to assist.
Usman said, ”The military will use the golden opportunity in conjunction with other security agencies to curb the existing security threats in Anambra State.
“The threats range from secessionist agitations, by the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, the Indigenous People of Biafra, and Eastern Security Network.
“Others are banditry, kidnapping, cultist activities, land disputes clashes, communal clashes, chieftaincy issues, assassinations and youths restiveness. To curb these countless security challenges, a robust posture in what the unit has always maintained”
The launching of the military operation was held as The PUNCH learnt that South-East governors and some selected Igbo leaders would be meeting on Tuesday (today) in Enugu to discuss the crippling effects of the sit-at-home and the detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by the Federal Government.
The Punch
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.”
