Metro
Precious Owolabi: Dusk at Dawn
The death of University of Ilorin graduate and a reporter with Channels Television, Precious Ayo Owolabi, came to many as a rude shock, and to others as a consequence of a failed nation in dire need of salvation.
Precious, a youth corps member, was covering the clash between security agents and violent Shiite protesters when a stray bullet hit him in the stomach, killing him shortly afterwards.
While the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Adamu, has promised to fish out the perpetrators at no certain time, more Nigerians are skeptical of the outcome, expressing fear that it will go like the others – swept under the carpet.
However, whether the culprits are found or not, a life in its prime has been cut short, unavoidably killed while on duty for both country and Channels TV.
Ayo, as most of his close friends call him, had his lofty dreams…dreams of revolutionalising the film industry in addition to practicing frontline journalism, but militants’ or is it Police bullets silenced those lofty dreams. His parents in Zaria, Kaduna State where he grew up are left forlon and so are his loved ones.
It is not known how long the Shiite/Police clash will last, or what the Federal government is doing to put an end to such clashes, but it is sad to imagine how many more lives will be wasted in the coming days as a result of the imbroglio between those two.
The Shiites are calling for the release of their leader, Sheik El-Zakzaky, who has been incarcerated by the President Muhammadu Buhari led government. The Muslim leader was arrested in December 2015, and ever since, has been remained incommunicado, notwithstanding several court judgements for his unconditional release. The President has confided that the reason for holding El-Zakzaky bothers on national security, but his followers will hear that, and so escalates the crises. The issue is taking a terrible turn as even the Islamic republic of Iran has taken an unusual interest. No one can tell how it will all end.
Precious is gone, and so is Deputy Commissioner of Police Umar, who was also hit by bullet on the same day. Dreams have been shattered and homes depressed, and so the Federal government should wake up to some responsibilities.
And is it not time adequate security is provided youth corps members wherever they go?
The Senate has brought forward the screening of newly appointed Service Chiefs to Wednesday, October 29, reversing its earlier decision to conduct the exercise next week.
The announcement came shortly after Senate President, Godwill Akpabio, read a separate correspondence from President Bola Tinubu, seeking the confirmation of appointment of Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede.
Akpabio said the change was necessary to enable the military chiefs to assume their duties immediately.
President Bola Tinubu had urged the Senate to give expeditious consideration to the confirmation process to ensure continuity and effective coordination of the nation’s security architecture.
Following the new schedule, the Committee of the Whole is expected to conduct the screening exercise during plenary on Wednesday.
A few days ago, Tinubu reshuffled the military hierarchy. Tinubu removed General Christopher Musa, with Oluyede (a former Chief of Army Staff) replacing him as the Chief of Defence Staff.
He, however, retained Major-General E.A.P. Undiendeye as the Chief of Defence Intelligence.
The rejigging, according to presidential aide Sunday Dare, was due to “the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria to strengthen the national security architecture”.
“All appointments take immediate effect,” he wrote.
But critics have faulted the rejig of the military hierarchy, with the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC “as an opposition political party, our interest remains the stability of our country and our democracy. In the light of developments in our neighbourhood of Chad and the Sahel States, we are gravely concerned”) asking President Tinubu to come out clean on the reason for the move.
“Our position remains, therefore, that the Federal Government owes Nigerians a categorical explanation about what truly happened,” the ADC wrote in a statement by its spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi.
Senator Ned Nwoko on Sunday said he feels sorry for men with one wife, insisting that polygamy provides men greater stability and balance.
The lawmaker representing Delta North, who made the comment while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today, also addressed recent allegations of domestic violence against him by his actress wife, Regina Daniels.
When asked how he copes with managing four wives—something many men find nearly impossible- Nwoko hesitated for a while before reacting.
“That is a different topic for discussion on another day. Yes, every man should do that. The example I give is this: just imagine telling you to stand on one foot or leg. You know how difficult it is.
“But to stand on two, three, four is much more balanced. That’s just the example I give. So I feel sorry for those who have one wife because it’s difficult to stand on one leg,” he stated.
When reminded that the Holy Bible does not endorse polygamy, Nwoko countered, “The Old Testament does. I am a man of faith. But that’s not what we are here for.”
Asked whether he had any regrets about his marital choices, the senator shook his head.
“No, I don’t have any regret. I will do the same thing again. Of course, that’s the way it should be. You should marry who you want to marry,” he defended stoutly.
On the domestic violence allegations trailing him, Nwoko dismissed them outright, saying, “No, come on. You know I am not a violent person. I respect my wives. I love them and my kids.”
His comments came just hours after Nollywood actress Regina Daniels, his estranged wife, flaunted a newly acquired mansion on social media amid reports of a marital crisis.
In a post on her Instagram page, Daniels shared photos and videos of the property with the caption, “In my house, I am a Queen! I needed a roof over my head, so I got this for me and my family.”
The post followed a viral video from October 18 showing the actress in tears outside her Abuja residence, lamenting alleged abuse.
“In Ned Nwoko’s house, I am nothing, but in my own house, I am a Queen. Not again. I can’t stand the violence, it’s too much,” she said in the footage.
The couple’s six-year marriage, once the subject of public fascination due to their wide age gap, has recently degenerated into a full-blown crisis now playing out before millions of Nigerians on social media.
The Punch
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in the early hours of Sunday, October 26, raided Proxy Night club at 7, Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, where a drug party was going on, and arrested over 100 suspects.
Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, while making this known, said the suspects arrested include the owner of the club, Mike Eze Nwalie Nwogu, alias Pretty Mike, who was taken into custody for interrogation.
“Cartons of illicit substances, including Loud and laughing gas, were recovered from suspects at the party and the club’s store.
“The raid followed intelligence about the drug party. NDLEA operatives who were embedded in the party between 11 pm on Saturday, 25th October, however, disrupted the gathering at 3 am on Sunday, 26th October, in line with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
