Headlines
Thank You for Your Concern, We Don’t Need Your Vigilante – South East Group Tells Miyetti Allah
The Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders has condemned the statement by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association that it will establish Fulani vigilante in the South-East.
The group described the offer as an insult and an abomination in Igbo land.
In a statement in Umuahia signed by its President-General, Chief Goodluck Ibem, the group stated, “Who told Miyetti Allah that the South-East is looking for vigilante that will protect it from bandits and hoodlums?
“For the past 12 years, Boko Haram and bandits have been terrorising the northern states and Miyetti Allah did not deem it fit to establish a vigilante group to protect their northern region and fight Boko Haram insurgents and killer bandits.
“They could not chase away bandits on the Kaduna-Abuja highway. They should have formed a vigilante group to stop killings in Zamfara, Adamawa and Borno states.
“The only place they are concerned about to establish a vigilante group is in the South- East because they are the good Samaritans. We say thank you for your concern; we don’t need your vigilante. Take it to the North and protect your states.
“This unguided statement by Miyetti Allah is provocative and insulting to the Igbo nation. The North has more land mass than the South-East, South-West and South-South combined together. Why are they so interested in this small portion of the South-East? The answer is simple; because they are troublemakers and greedy.
“We warn Miyetti Allah to, with immediate effect, withdraw this abominable statement and apologise to the people of the South-East.
“We, as a matter of urgency, demand the establishment of the Bakassi Vigilante Boys in the 19 states in the north to protect Igbo and their businesses.
“COSEYL also warned the South-East governors and traditional rulers in the zone never to sell or give out any portion of land, no matter how small, to Miyetti Allah or any other herders’ association in the geopolitical zone. If they dare it, they will face the wrath of the South-East people.”
Miyetti Allah’s secret agenda, the group said, “is to Fulanise, Islamise and declare jihad in the South-East zone.”
The group called on the state Houses of Assembly in the South-East states to promulgate laws to establish the Bakassi Vigilante Boys “to protect our land from intruders and killer herdsmen.”
The Punch
President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that Americans want him to run for another term, a step banned by the US constitution but which he continues describing as possible.
“People are asking me to run,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the possibility of a third term.
“I don’t know. I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that, but I have not looked into it,” Trump said.
Trump was asked about the prospect of a race pitting him against former president Barack Obama, who served two terms.
“That would be a good one, I’d like that,” Trump said.
“I’m not joking” about the idea of seeking a third term, Trump said Sunday in an interview with NBC News.
The 78-year-old Republican served from 2017 to 2021 and began his second term in the White House on January 20.
The first US president, George Washington, established a tradition by not seeking a third term after completing his second one in 1797.
But this tradition was not formally added to the US constitution until after World War II, with the ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951.
It says no one can be elected president more than two times.
Publisher of The Boss Newspaper and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Dele Momodu, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu not to “kill democracy in Nigeria.”
The appeal, which was made while Momodu was fielding questions during a live television show on Channel TV’s Morning Brief on Monday, was an aftermath of President Tinubu’s suspension of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly for six months due to a political crisis in the state.
The journalist expressed his concern over Tinubu’s decision, which he described the move as “worse than dictatorship.”
He added that he was disappointed by the president’s actions, especially given Tinubu’s past fight for democracy.
Momodu stated, “I think it is very unfortunate. I know President Tinubu very, very, very well. Though I’ve not been in the same party [with him] and all that, we were together in exile, and he fought gallantly for this democracy,” he said.
“So a lot of us, co-comrades at that time, are actually very embarrassed that we have a pro-democracy leader in government, and yet what we are witnessing is worse than dictatorship.
“I’m pleading with President Bola Tinubu, ‘Please don’t kill democracy in Nigeria.’ Everybody who loves him will tell him this. I don’t; I’ve not asked him for anything or anything, but we love him for his contributions to the motivation in the back, which is what is going down the drain.”
He also warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was trying to intimidate the opposition, urging Tinubu not to be misled by those around him, adding that he does not need to intimidate anybody.
“I’m saying it now openly to millions of Nigerians that people are deceiving President Tinubu, and he should not allow people to deceive you,” he said.
“He should just do his job. The only thing that can guarantee a second time is to do your job well. You do not need to intimidate anybody.”
President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Sunday, joined others for prayers at the National Eid ground in Abuja, as Nigerian Muslims mark the Eid-El-Fitr celebrations together with millions of others around the world.
Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and some ministers also observed the prayer at the same venue.
Eid-El-Fitr, meaning the festival of breaking the fast, is a time of gratitude, charity and communal harmony.
It began with special prayers known as Eid prayers held in Mosques and open spaces. Following the prayers, families share festive meals, exchange gifts and extend warm greetings.
Eid is a time to remember those less fortunate and to strengthen the bond of brotherhood and sisterhood. A key component of Eid is Zakat al Fitr, a mandatory charitable donation intended to ensure everyone irrespective of their financial situation can participate in the joy of the celebration.
This act of giving embodies the spirit of compassion and solidarity that Ramdan emphasizes. From the elaborate feast of South Asia to the festive clothing of Nigeria and the African continent and the warm gatherings of the Middle East, Eid celebrations vary across cultures, showcasing the rich diversity of the Muslim world.
However, the underlining message of unity, gratitude and compassion remains universal.
Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf Arab states are celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday from today, but other Middle Eastern countries will not do so until Monday.
“The Supreme Court has decided that tomorrow, Sunday, March 30, 2025, is the first day of Eid al-Fitr,” the Saudi Royal Court said in a statement carried by official media.
The timing of the holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced Sunday would be the first day of the holiday.
But neighbouring Oman and Jordan, as well as Shiite-majority Iran, said that Eid al-Fitr would not begin until Monday because the crescent moon had yet to be sighted. Egypt and other North African countries followed suit.
