Metro
Police Confirm Killing of APC Campaign DG in Rivers
The Director General for the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign in Ahoada West Local Government Area, Chisom Lenard, has reportedly been assassinated.
Lenard was reportedly gunned down on Saturday afternoon during the governorship and State House of Assembly election in his LGA.
The Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the Commissioner of Police has ordered a speedy investigation to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.
“The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Election duties in Rivers State Command, CP Echeng Echeng, has tasked operatives of the Command to deploy all necessary human and investigative assets to ensure that the killers of the Campaign Director-General for the All Progressives Congress in Ahoada West in Rivers State, Hon. Chisom Lenard, are brought to book,” she said.
“From information gathered, the Campaign DG was shot by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in the afternoon of Saturday 18th March 2023.
“The Commissioner of Police commiserates with the family of the bereaved and has promised to bring perpetrators of such heinous crime to justice.”
Metro
Court Grants Cubana Chief Priest N10m Bail
Instagram celebrity, Pascal Okechukwu aka Cubana Chief Priest, on Wednesday, pleaded not guilty for alleged Naira abuse.
He pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The socialite was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Lagos before Justice Kehinde Ogundare on Wednesday.
The anti-graft commission filed a three-count charge against Cubana Chief Priest accused of abusing the naira at a social event, an act said to be contrary to the provisions of the Central Bank Act of 2007.
After pleading not guilty, the court granted him bail in the sum of N10million with two responsible sureties in like sum, who must be gainfully employed with the federal or state government and not less than grade level 16.
The sureties, the court emphasized, should have landed property and the document must be verified by the court.
Cubana Chief Priest is also to submit his travel passport to the custody of the court.
The bail conditions must be perfected within seven days but in the meantime he was released to his lawyer who must give an undertaken to produce him later. Failure to do so, he will be remanded in correctional facility.
The charge filed on April 4 by EFFC’s prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) alongside seven other lawyers representing the chairman of the Commission, are as follows:
Count 1: “That you, Okechukwu Pascal on 13th February, 2024, at Eko Hotel, within the jurisdiction of the court, while dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.
Count 2: “That you Okechukwu Pascal sometime in 2020, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.
Count 3: “That you Okechukwu Pascal sometime in January 2024, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.
Meanwhile, the defendant also informed the court of his pending application to challenge the jurisdiction of the court to hear the charge.
Justice Ogundare has adjourned till May 2nd to hear the application
This is coming days after the EFCC arraigned controversial cross-dresser Idris Okuneye better known as Bobrisky on similar charges for which he was sentenced to a six-month jail term.
Metro
Nobody Should Rubbish Civil Defence – NAOSNP President, Oki
The President of the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), Mr. Samson Oki, has commended the solid efforts the men and officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) are making in safeguarding the nation’s assets and infrastructure ever since its inception, and more especially under the leadership of the Commandant General, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, saying that nobody has any rights to rubbish the Corps, they have lived up to expectations.
Oki made the remarks when he led a delegation of the Association’s executive to pay a working visit on the Commandant of the Corps, Lagos State Command, Adedotun Sunday Keshinro, in his office at the state headquarters, Alausa, Ikeja.
The NAOSNP president, recognised the achievements of the Lagos Command under the leadership of Keshinro, and urged a continuous synergy between the Corps and the media.
“We have seen. We have heard, and we have reported the gigantic strides you have shown ever since you took over the helms of affairs in Lagos State, and we commend you while urging you to sustain the tempo, taking into cognizance that CG Audi has turned around the fortunes of the Corps in frustrating the activities of oil bunkerers, and assets and infrastructure vandals, ” Oki noted.
He eulogised the cordial relationship that has existed between the media, especially NAOSNP, and the Corps, from the national to the states, adding however, that it could be taken a notch higher by getting the media more involved in the activities of the Corps other than just being recipients of releases and statements.
“Every activity should be reported from various angles, and it behoves on the journalist to witness it, and feed the public with what they see. So there’s the need to invite the media for firsthand information at all times,” Oki harped.
Responding, the State Commandant, who was represented at the meeting by the Deputy Commandant of Corps, Budget, Planning, Research and Statistics (B-PRS), Olusola Jimoh, lauded NAOSNP’s unbiased reportage of security news over the years, urging the members to keep up with the good work, stating that “we are all equal stakeholders in the Nigerian project”.
He further noted that the Association has distinguished itself in reporting security issues, thereby promoting safety and security not only in Lagos State, but the entire nation.
The two groups pledged to sustain their relationship, which has projected the NSCDC in a positive light, and created a positive measuring value for the activities of the Corps.
The President used the opportunity to present a certificate of credence to CC Keshinro to identify with his efforts and achievements as well as invite him and the NSCDC family to the Association’s forthcoming NAOSNP Walks and Workshop billed for May 21 and 22, 2024.
Among other executive members of the Association, who were present at the parley were the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Eric Elezuo; Treasurer, Bakene Kazeem; Mrs. Bose Adelaja, Mr. David Oladimeji, Mr. Femi Arikawe and Mr. Godwin Onyemaechi.
Metro
Days after Oyo Assembly, Gunmen Invade Ekiti Secretariat
Barely three days after armed Yoruba Nation agitators invaded the Oyo State Government Secretariat, gunmen on Tuesday, stormed the Ilejemeje Local Government Area Secretariat in Ẹda-Oniyọ, Ekiti State, causing pandemonium among the workers.
The attackers disrupted normal activities and forced employees to flee the premises for safety.
The hoodlums, who were said to have come from the Obbo-Ayegunle community in the neighbouring Kwara State, violently stormed the secretariat, firing several gunshots, making workers run in different directions for dear lives, and in the ensuing pandemonium, one person was injured.
Reports said the hoodlums vandalized the Secretariat building and other property of the council.
Although the cause of the attack was still sketchy as at the time of filling this report, it was however gathered that the two communities have been embroiled in crisis for some time over land disputes.
During the attack, which lasted for several hours, one person was said to have sustained serious injury and rushed to the State Specialist Hospital in Iye-Ekiti.
The hoodlums reportedly heavily armed with dangerous weapons including gun, charms and cutlasses. They invaded the Secretariat at about 10:am.
Speaking on the attack, the Eleda of Eda Oniyo community, Oba Awodipo Awolola, explained that the hoodlums had in few days attacked some residents of the community, with charm in their farmlands, the development which the monarch said had resulted in panic and tension in the community.
The traditional ruler, who lamented the absence of police post in the area, said there is a need for security outfits to mobilise more officer to the community to prevent further breaking of law and orders.
Similarly, the Chairman of Ilejemaje Local Government, Mr. Alaba Dada, said the suspected hoodlums were from the Obbo-Ayegunle community in Kwara State.
He attributed the attacks to the lingering land disputes between the two communities, he explained that though security agents had been mobilised to the town to prevent repraisal attacks.
He said there is need for the Ekiti and Kwara State governments to meet, and settle the land dispute in the interest of peace and harmonious relationship.