Folarin Kehinde

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has reacted following reports of an explosion in the Maitama area of the Federal Capital Territory.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, has said that contrary to initial speculation of a bomb blast, the incident was a result of an overheated metal refuse bin.

The statement reads: “The FCT Police Command hereby wishes to update the public on an alleged explosion on 24/01/2024 at about 1145 hrs, near a refuse dump outside the Bureau of Public Enterprise premises in Maitama, Abuja.”

“A rapid response team and members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit was deployed to assess the situation and preliminary findings indicate than an overheated metal refuse container activated under intense heat, exploded, thereby causing injury to two of the refuse evacuator, who are currently receiving medical attention in Maitama General Hospital.

“The FCT Police Command urges members of the public to exercise caution and refrain from using metal refuse bins. Instead, we recommend the use of plastic or rubber containers for waste disposal, as they pose a reduced risk of incidents related to overheated metal refuse containers.”

Residents of Maitama, a highbrow area in Abuja, have raised alarm over what they described as an explosion in the area.

In a series of tweets via X on Wednesday, some residents said the sound emanated from a nearby dump site.

According to an X user, A Y Rafindadi, two men sustained various degrees of injuries.

He said: “A truck came to pick up BPE trash, whilst they were in the process of emptying the second trash can, an explosion occurred, I was merely 4 mts away from the explosion (on that pavement) when it happened. 2 men where injured rushed to the hospital. & my windscreen was shattered.

He said: “A truck came to pick up BPE trash, whilst they were in the process of emptying the second trash can, an explosion occurred, I was merely 4 mts away from the explosion (on that pavement) when it happened. 2 men where injured rushed to the hospital. & my windscreen was shattered.

The Ondo State Governor Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has picked a former Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Olaide Adelami, as the deputy governor of the state.

This came a few hours after the governor sacked all the commissioners and special advisers on Wednesday.

In a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Ebenezer Adeniyan, the name of the new deputy governor has been transmitted to the state House of Assembly for approval.

“His nomination will be announced by the House of Assembly later today,” the statement read.

Details later…

President Bola Tinubu has departed Abuja for Paris, France, on a ‘private visit’.

This was disclosed in a statement by Tinubu’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, on Wednesday.

The statement was silent on the reasons for the trip.

The statement simply said the trip was a private visit.

The statement added that the President will return to the country in the first week of February, 2024.

Recall that Tinubu hosted the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Tuesday.

The rush by Nigerians to leave the country for greener pasture reached its crescendo in the new year as 32,462 persons have so far applied for international passports and uploaded their documents from the Nigeria Immigration Service site between January 8 and 21,2024.

Of these applications, 15,113 have reportedly been approved for biometric capture and production, which is fifty per cent of the total application.

The summary of passport applications for the year 2024 was provided by the Comptroller-General of Immigration Service, Caroline Adepoju, who was on a visit to Ikoyi and Alausa passport offices, yesterday, to see how things were working, regarding the introduction of the automated passport application process.

Briefing journalists at the end of the assessment, the Immigration boss said of the 32,462 applications, 11,505 were awaiting approval, while 3,406 who made payment were yet to book appointments.

According to her, 1,438 applications were queried for various reasons.

Adepoju said: “50 per cent of the total applications have been successfully approved for biometric capture, production and issuance, 35 per cent awaits approval, 11 per cent made payments but yet to book appointments and only four per cent of total applications were queried.

“When queries are successfully answered, the applications return to the queue and are subsequently approved for biometric acquisition, production and issuance “.

Adepoju, who noted that the introduction of the automation of passport applications was not new, clarified that further: “The major difference now is that supporting documents are now uploaded online. It is a research-based decision and we have been recording successes.

“As of this morning (yesterday), we have only recorded four per cent rejection of uploaded documents which may be due to errors on the side of the applicant. But our help desk is operational 24/7.

“The Nigeria Immigration Service, our technical partners, service providers and other stakeholders worked together with the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to come up with this reform on the automation of passport process which has been in place since the inception of the issuance of enhanced e-passport in 2020.”

She explained that the automation of passport application was aimed, among other benefits, at easing the application process and reducing human interface which had been a major complaint from applicants who had been extorted by touts during application.

The Immigration boss called on Nigerians to be patient and allow the NIS to ensure the perfection of the process.

About 30 persons have been killed in Plateau State by gunmen who attacked Kwahaslalek village, Mangu Local Government Area of the state.

The incident happened in the early hours of Wednesday.

The victims, mostly women and children, had run to the house of a community leader in the area on Tuesday night for safety following earlier unrest during the day in Mangu town when the gunmen surrounded them and killed all of them

A community leader in the area, Mark Haruna, confirmed the death.

Haruna said, “What happened at Sabon Gari and Mangu town yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) was just a distraction so that the attention of the people will be shifted away from the villages.

“For the second time, my village Kwahaslalek (behind NYSC camp) came under attack by gunmen yesterday (Tuesday)night. They came at about 12:30 am and killed over 25 people, mostly women and children.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Mwaghavul Development Association, Joseph Gwankat, also confirmed the killing, describing it as callous.

“I couldn’t sleep last night as a result of what happened in Mangu town during the day yesterday. Now, I have just been told Kwahaslalek village was attacked last night and about 30 people were killed.

“From what I was told, the unrest in Mangu town yesterday created fears in many communities. Some people in the village went and evacuated their loved ones and assembled them in a place where they thought was safe.

“So in the night, the killers went to Kwahaslalek village where the people mostly women and children were assembled and killed all of them,” he said.

The chairman who condemned the killing added, “I was told that no security was on ground to save the villagers. This act is pure wickedness. How can people who are in their villages be targets of constant attacks and killings without anything being done to stop the perpetrators?”

The Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, had on Tuesday declared a 24-hour curfew on the Mangu LGA over the deteriorating security situation in the area, which included the burning of several houses, churches and mosques.