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Wike Responsible for Killing of Soldiers in Rivers, Says Army
The Nigerian Army has blamed Governor Nyesom Wike for causing the killing of three soldiers in River State during the 2019 general elections.
Security men attached to the governor were accused of shooting at soldiers stationed at the collation centre in the Obio Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State during the 2019 elections, leaving three of them dead and one injured.
The General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Jamil Sarham, made the allegation when he appeared before the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee investigating the alleged killing of employees of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Dr Ferry Gberegbe and Mrs Ibisaki Amachree, during the elections.
The House had on April 11, 2019, resolved to carry out the probe following the adoption of a motion by Mr Kingsley Chinda, blaming the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police and the Nigerian Army for the killing of Gberegbe and Amachree.
At the hearing, Sarham said soldiers deployed for electoral exercise in Rivers particularly those deployed in the collation centre, acted professionally in the face of provocation by those allegedly sponsored by the state.
The GOC said soldiers were also killed during the elections, including one Lieutenant Kurumi who was killed on February 23 and three other soldiers who were killed on March 2.
He said, “The soldiers who were at the outer cordon are supposed to stop anybody coming to either harm the voters or disrupt the polling (exercise). So, when Kurumi tried to enforce that, unknown to him, there were other people with different agenda and they snuffed life out of him.
“At the outer cordon three soldiers lost their lives. May be since you didn’t refer to it, Lieutenant Salami currently is on life support at Cedar Crest. No less person than the Executive Governor of Rivers State led a convoy of more than 40 vehicles to attack a collation centre and shot at Salami, manhandled Corporal Abiodun; these you can verify. That was at the Obio Akpor Local Government Area, at the collation centre there. We have laid this complaint to the police and it is well-documented. The Commissioner of Police is here and, he can testify to it.”
Earlier, Chairman of the committee, Rimande Shawulu, said the lawmakers had visited Rivers where they met with Wike, chairmen of the LGAs and other stakeholders.
He said, “We spent two days taking testimonies. We have the presentation of the two of them; the governor and the (INEC) Commissioner whose house was invaded. What really happened in the case of Dr. Ferry Gberegbe?”
Responding, Sarham said, “Operation Save Conduct is designed to assist the Nigeria Police and INEC to conduct 2019 election.
“So, arrest or whatsoever, anytime it was made, the suspects were usually transferred to the civil police.”
The hearing, however, took a dramatic turn when a member of the committee from Rivers, Boma Goodhead, accused the army of telling lies about military operations during the polls.
Wiping off the tears on her face, she said, “What took place in Rivers State during the elections and other places were done by the Nigerian Army and SARS, and nobody should deny this because we saw them.”
But the GOC said, “Nobody was arrested apart from the people who were directly responsible for the killing of Lieutenant Kurumi. There were actually people in Rivers State who were responsible for the killing of an officer and three soldiers during that election.”
The Punch
The Senate has granted approval to the ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2b) loan request of President Bola Tinubu after a voice vote in favor of the request.
The Senate presided by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, approved the loan after the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Wammako Magatarkada (APC, Sokoto North) presented the report of the committee.
The request which was submitted by the President on Tuesday is part of a fresh external borrowing plan to partially finance the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year.
Tinubu had on Tuesday written to the National Assembly, seeking approval of a fresh N1.767 trillion, the equivalent of $2.209 billion as a new external borrowing plan in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
The fresh loan is expected to stretch the amount spent on debt servicing by the Federal Government. The Central Bank of Nigeria recently said that it cost the Federal Government $3.58 billion to service foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024.
The CBN report on international payment statistics showed that the amount represents a 39.77 per cent increase from the $2.56bn spent during the same period in 2023.
According to the report, while the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.37m, the highest monthly expenditure in 2023 was $641.70m, recorded in July.
The trend in foreign debt servicing by the CBN highlights the rising cost of debt obligations by Nigeria.
Further breakdown of international debt figures showed that in January 2024, debt servicing costs surged by 398.89 per cent, rising to $560.52m from $112.35m in January 2023. February, however, saw a slight decline of 1.84 per cent, with payments reducing from $288.54m in 2023 to $283.22m in 2024.
March recorded a 31.04 per cent drop in payments, falling to $276.17m from $400.47m in the same period last year. April saw a significant rise of 131.77 per cent, with $215.20m paid in 2024 compared to $92.85m in 2023.
The highest debt servicing payment occurred in May 2024, when $854.37m was spent, reflecting a 286.52 per cent increase compared to $221.05m in May 2023. June, on the other hand, saw a 6.51 per cent decline, with $50.82m paid in 2024, down from $54.36m in 2023.
July 2024 recorded a 15.48 per cent reduction, with payments dropping to $542.50m from $641.70m in July 2023. In August, there was another decline of 9.69 per cent, as $279.95m was paid compared to $309.96m in 2023. However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 per cent increase, with payments rising to $515.81m from $439.06m in the same month last year.
Given rising exchange rates, the data raises concerns about the growing pressure of Nigeria’s foreign debt obligations.
Channels TV
Self acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, has been arrested by law enforcement in Finland.
The BBC reports that Ekpa was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.
Ekpa was said to have committed the crime in 2021 in Lahti municipality.
The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also arrested four other men over alleged terrorist offences.
A citizen of Finland and Nigeria, Ekpa has described himself as leader of the separatist IPOB group since Nnamdi Kanu’s incarceration.
Finnish police say Ekpa’s activities and social media rhetoric may have fanned the flames of violence in the south-east of Nigeria.
“He carries out these activities from his social media channels, for example,” said Otto Hiltunen, detective chief inspector of the NBI.
In February 2023, Ekpa was arrested by police at his residence in Lahti but was released after hours of questioning.
Using his social media channels, Ekpa had directed Igbos not to participate in Nigeria’s 2023 general election.
In September 2021, the Biafra agitator and secessionist denounced Nigeria and vowed to return the medal he won for the country at the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championships.
The Court of Appeal has sacked Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo as the National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
In a ruling that upheld the earlier judgment of the National Industrial Court, the appellate court sacked MC Oluomo and reaffirmed Tajudeen Baruwa as the legitimate leader of the union.
Baruwa had assumed office after a properly conducted election held at the union’s headquarters in Abuja.
The three-member panel of the Appeal Court dismissed the appeal filed by MC Oluomo’s faction, declaring it devoid of merit.
In addition, the court imposed a fine of N100,000 on the appellants, further solidifying Baruwa’s leadership position.
Reports quoting court documents said to have been released on Friday detailed the ruling, which effectively countered any attempts to displace Baruwa from his role as the NURTW president.
The judgment read: “This is an appeal against the judgment/decision of the National Industrial Court Sitting in Abuja, in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/263/2023, delivered on the 11th March, 2024, by Justice O. O. Oyewumi.
“Upon reading the Record of Appeal compiled and transmitted before this court, together with the respective briefs of argument, and after hearing the counsels for the appellants and respondents, it is hereby ordered that:
“This Appeal is devoid of merit, and the same is hereby dismissed.”
The ruling reinforces the legitimacy of Baruwa’s presidency, concluding the legal dispute over the union’s leadership.
Meanwhile, MC Oluomo’s son Idowu Akinsanya (King West) had bragged about his feat of emerging the NURTW president, saying: “We are now in charge of Nigeria, not only Lagos,” a comment that attracted public opprobrium.
MC Oluomo, a diehard supporter of President Bola Tinubu and a prominent figure in Lagos politics, was the sole candidate in the election, which took place at the union’s zonal secretariat in Osogbo. His perceived victory was deemed to carry significant implications for the future of the NURTW and the political landscape of Nigeria.
