Nelson Ugwuagbo

Sunday Igboho praises Obasanjo, Soyinka, others after his release from Beninese custody

Sunday Igboho  Yoruba Nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho, has regained freedom after two years of trial by the Beninese government.

Igboho who confirmed his release in a statement he read on his Instagram handle titled, “My Release in Benin Republic”, praised former president Olusegun Obasanjo; nobel laureate Wole Soyinka; Professor Banji Akintoye; Ayo Adebanjo and several traditional rulers for the roles they played in securing his release.

Igboho was arrested on Monday, July 19, 2021, by the International Criminal Police Organisation at the Cadjèhoun Airport in Cotonou, the Republic of Benin on his way to Germany.

President Bola Tinubu has declared that with the hitherto abandoned Ajaokuta Steel Complex now nearing completion, the project would have the capacity to employ 500,000 Nigerians once designated as a free trade zone.

The president further promised to fully harness the potential of the infrastructure once it was completed, as it would boost Nigeria’s foreign direct investment and provide avenue for the creation of the much-needed conducive business environment for all sectors to thrive.Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented the President, made this known yesterday, at the flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship campaign in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

The governorship poll in the state is slated for November 11.Addressing a mammoth crowd in Lokoja, Shettima also noted that the President remained committed to completing the constructions of the River Niger, the Kabba-Lokoja and the Abuja-Lokoja roads.

According to the vice president, Tinubu remains a man of many ideas who was determined to reposition the nation in its rightful place, especially as it borders on restructuring and stimulating the Nigerian economy.“Given Mr. President’s commitment to the development of Kogi State and indeed the entirety of Nigeria, Kogi in particular being a confluence state, cannot afford to have a governor who is hostile to the center. We must be partners in progress and work hand in hand to develop this great nation,” Shettima said.He further hinted about plans by the Tinubu’s administration to make the Itakpe crop processing project a dream come true, just as he promised jobs and affordable education under the present government.

Stressing that the welfare of the citizenry would never be willfully compromised, the vice president called on Kogi citizens to come out en masse on November 11, to vote for the candidate of the APC, Ahmed Usman Ododo, in order to consolidate on the achievements of the APC government in the state.He added that the natural endowments of Kogi State would be harnessed for the development of the state and the nation at large, adding that Tinubu had further given his nod for the rehabilitation of Obajana-Okene road in Kogi State.

Speaking earlier, Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, thanked Tinubu for accepting to flag off the governorship campaign in his state, disclosing that his administration has achieved a lot, and it is time for consolidation in order to move the state forward.His words: “We have done a lot in the area of security, education and health, among others. We want to consolidate on that. I am, therefore, calling on the people of our dear state to vote for our candidate in order to move Kogi State forward”.

Also speaking, APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, said because Bello has provided good governance to the people of Kogi, the state cannot afford to be left behind by giving power to another party different from the one at the center.

On his part, Chairman of the APC Campaign Council for Kogi State, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, enjoined the people of Kogi State to clean up their voter cards and turn out in numbers to vote for the candidate of the APC in the November 11 governorship election.In his remarks, Kogi State APC governorship candidate, Ahmed Ododo, pledged to carry the people of the state along if elected, saying he remained committed to the development agenda of Kogi State.

“We will build on the legacies of my mentor, Governor Yahaya Bello. We will give attention to security, education, agriculture and health. Our women will also be empowered,” he said.The vice president’s engagements in Kogi had started with an audience with traditional rulers and other stakeholders of the state ahead of the November 11 governorship election.At the audience with the stakeholders, Shettima also solicited support for the APC candidate in the forthcoming election.Responding on behalf of his colleagues, the President, Kogi State Traditional Council and the Attah of Igala, HRH Mathew Ipaluwa, pledged their support for President Bola Tinubu.The royal father commended the state governor, Yahaya Bello, for working hard in addressing security challenges in the state.

As Nigerian joins the world to commemorate the 2023 International Day of the Girl-Child, the Chief Executive Office and Founder, Health Aid for All Initiative (HAFAI) Dr. Ugochi Ohajuruka has task the federal government to start implementing, prosecuting and convicting anyone violating the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) act 2015.

It would be recall that VAPP was enacted in 2013 and passed by the House of Representatives (Nigeria) on May 14, 2015 and finally passed by the Senate of Nigeria May 14, 2015, the VAPP act aim eliminating violence in private and public life, prohibit all forms of violence against persons and to provide maximum protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders; and for related matters.

Meanwhile, Dr.Ohajuruka while speaking in Abuja over the weekend explained that it is time government implement laws, follow through the policies and let people know that wrong is wrong and right is right.

“We want to see perpetrators going to jail because they cut their daughters for nothing that they know nothing about.”

Dr.Ohajuruka revealed that lack of menstrual solutions is part of why girls don’t stay in school or even engage in class and sport activities, hence HAFAI gives sanitary supplies to these girls, while advocating against harmful barbaric activities.

“We say the law has been passed and these practices have to be abandoned and we are happy that our organization is making lots of milestone in these regards.”

She however advised parents to be hands on and be more open and accessible to their children so that they will be able to confide in them when they are faced with challenges.

“Charity begins at home, the foundation of anybody’s life starts from the home that is why when we run community engagement program we discuss with religious and traditional leaders who are parents and parents of the girls as well that they should be more involved in the lives of their girls.”

One of the girls, Adamu Hauwa on her part charged the government to
create more organizations like Global Glow and HAFIA in empowering and mentoring girls, teaching them to build self-esteem and leadership skills.

Hauwa added that government should provide scholarship opportunities for girls because many of them lack access to basic education.

The theme of the 2023 International Day of the Girl-Child is ‘Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership, the 2023 event aims to unite adolescent girls with advocates for their rights, including UN leaders, NGOs, businesses, and governments.

HAFAI promotes the rights of girls/women to education and safe reproductive healthcare choices using a holistic approach to behavioral change; and sustainable menstrual hygiene management solutions.

HAFAI works to reduce maternal and infant mortality through disease control, immunization against common childhood diseases and population management.

The Imo state Police command, on Saturday, paraded a suspect, Wisdom Mmaduka, a 30-year-old man, over alleged fake marriage promises to six ladies just to defraud them of their money.

The suspect was paraded at the Imo State Police headquarters in Owerri, alongside other suspects in connection with criminal activities.

Addressing newsmen, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, tagged the suspect an “advance fee fraudster”.

Narrating how the suspect was apprehended he said: “Intelligence-led investigation and data tracking analysis by detectives of Owerri Area Command led to the arrest of notorious and advance fee fraudster named Wisdom Mmaduka, 30, of Onicha.

“He fraudulently obtained N1,400,000 via ATM transfers from Miss Judith, in the guise of marrying her.

“In the course of the investigation, the accused revealed that his modus operandi is to go after wealthy unmarried ladies, promise them marriage and in the process defraud them of their hard-earned money.

“He has a syndicate he uses as parents and in-laws, who he takes these unsuspecting young ladies to in his village in Mbaise for confirmation of his intention.

“On seeing these, the innocent lady will believe he has good intentions, thus he will steal their ATM cards, withdraw all the money in their account, and fade into thin air.

“Amazingly, on his arrest six ladies he has defrauded surfaced at the station, confirming being defrauded by this same suspect of huge sums of money with the same promise of marriage.

“But luck ran against him this time and he was arrested.

“One Red Highlander Jeep with Reg No. LLD 54AR he stole from one of his unsuspecting victims, Rose Mgbe, of Cross River State, was recovered.

“More so, he has a duplex he allegedly built at Naze with the money he got from his fraud dealings. He has been arraigned in the Federal High Court, Owerri, and remanded in police custody.”

I only collected money from two ladies – Suspect

Reacting, the suspect, Mmaduka, said: “I only collected money from two ladies. I don’t know about six ladies.

“I did not steal their money. They gave me the money. One of them promised to buy a car for me.

“I did not force them. They do it for me freely. One of them even gave me the money to open shop for her and I opened the shop for her.”

The Nigeria Broadcasting Commission’s warning to Arise TV over what the regulatory body called ‘unguarded incendiary remarks’ by the station’s guests is an erosion of press freedom.

According to him, “This is a very unfortunate situation and gross erosion of press freedom in Nigeria which has been on for a long time now. Imagine the sickening and so much slavish ways Arise TV tried to absolve itself from the bare facts presented by Kenneth Okonkwo and Dele Farotimi.

“Just like a slave trying to protect and whitewash the crystal clear brutality of his master to avoid backlash. Yet NBC (the master’s tool of terror) still wants to punish the tv station.

“Let no one tell me that the Nigerian broadcast media is free. And if the media is not free, then the Nigerian press is not free. Pactising journalists should wholly condemn this caging of the press.”