State
Nigeria seeks to halt looting amid fury over ‘food warehouses’
Nigerian security forces are struggling to contain increasing cases of looting on government-run warehouses across the country, in the latest incident of unrest following widespread, youth-led protests against police brutality. The storage facilities hold tonnes of relief materials including food meant for distribution during lockdowns previously enforced to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. While the distribution programme had been temporarily halted across several states in the country in recent months, it emerged this week relief items were still stored in some of these facilities, as well as the private homes of politicians. The news angered many in the country with the biggest number of people living in extreme poverty globally. “The food items belong to Nigerians. Why are the...
#EndSARS: Nigerian government sets up N25 billion youth fund – minister
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, on Saturday, said the federal government has created a N25bn youth fund as part of efforts to address the dissatisfaction of #EndSARS protesters and other youth-related restiveness in the country. The minister made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting with the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, in Kaduna on Saturday. According to Ahmed, the meeting was in line with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to ministers and governors to dialogue with stakeholders and the youths with a view to addressing their agitations. The minister, who explained that the youth fund would be increased to N75bn within a period of three years, explained that the fund aims to support youths to actualise their entreprene...
#EndSARS: IGP orders clampdown on hoodlums
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered the immediate mobilisation of all police operational resources to bring an end to the wanton violence, killings, looting and destruction of public and private property across the country. The IGP said this according to a statement by the Force Public relations Officer, Frank Mba. According to Mr Mba, the directive by the IGP is to reclaim the public space from hoodlums who have operated almost freely in many states. Vandals have attacked public and private property, especially those belonging to politicians, since Tuesday when soldiers shot at unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos. In many states, warehouses holding food aid meant for residents during the COVID-19 lockdown have been broken into and looted. The IGP, a...
Policeman, Boko Haram insurgents killed in Yobe shoot-out
A policeman and six members of the Boko Haram terrorist group have been killed in a gunfight in Yobe State. The spokesman for the State Police Command, Dungus Abdulkarim, confirmed the incident and those killed to newsmen on Saturday, hours after it occurred. He, however, said the police were gathering more information (at the time of this report) to give a definite number of casualties. This followed an evening attack by the insurgents on Babban Gida community – the headquarters of Tarmuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State. Local sources told newsmen that the assailants drove into the community in four Toyota Hilux vehicles around 4pm and started shooting sporadically. Although the military has yet to speak about the incident, newsmen sighted the mobilisation of heavy military hardware ...
#EndSARS: Out-of-School children a future time bomb – Senator Okorocha
Rochas Foundation Former governor of Imo state and Senator representing Imo West in the National Assembly, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has described the violent twist to the #EndSARS protests as a wake up call to Nigerian leaders, expressing concern that Nigeria’s huge population of out-of-school children is another time-bomb waiting to explode in the future. At a news conference weekend in Abuja, Okorocha who was flanked by leaders of different socio-cultural and political groups from across the country said; “Today, we have millions of out of school children in the country, it is another time bomb for tomorrow. While the situation is getting under control, government and leaders must rise to their responsibilities to ensure that such occurrences do not happen again”. According to him, the os...
#EndSARS: Osun governor declares 24-hour curfew
The Osun State governor, Gboyega Oyetola, has imposed a 24-hour curfew on the state. This is coming barely 24 hours after suspending an initial curfew imposed on the state over the unrest caused by hoodlums. The governor made the announcement in a statewide broadcast on Saturday. Oyetola said the curfew, which takes immediate effect, is indefinite. According to him, the curfew was reintroduced to “prevent the current state of anarchy from degenerating into a large-scale breakdown of law and order.” He said, “Government notes with huge disappointment, the abuse of the suspension, a day ago, of the 24-hour curfew earlier declared in the State to forestall the breakdown of law and order and protect the lives and property of citizens and residents. “It is unfortunate that hoodlums and criminal...
#EndSARS: NGO cleans up debris from aftermath protest in Surulere
An NGO, Thyaura Partner Concept Limited, on Saturday in Surulere, Lagos State, cleaned up garbage from the aftermath of the #EndSars protest which was hijacked by hoodlums. Mr Ekene Ebonyi, the Finance Manager of the organisation, told newsmen in Lagos that hoodlums had taken the advantage of the break in law and order to loot some property and shops. “This caused several damages to various small scale businesses leaving broken glasses and windows as debris on the streets thereby hindering the smooth movement of vehicles. “We are here to clear such obstacles also left from the burning of tyres so that the economy can return to normalcy,” he told newsmen. Ebonyi said that it was the killing at Lekki toll gate that escalated the whole situation which was already tensed up. “It was after the ...
#EndSARS: Cross River governor declares 24-hour curfew
Governor of Cross River State, Prof Ben Ayade, has imposed a 24-hour curfew on the state starting from 6pm on Friday. According to a statement signed by the Special Adviser Media and Publicity to the governor, Christian Ita, the curfew followed “the hijacking of the peaceful protest against police brutality in the state by hoodlums.” “Residents of the state are advised to observe the curfew as security agents have been mandated to arrest anybody who flouts it,” the governor warned. Hoodlums looted the state government’s warehouse on Bishop Moinagh Avenue on Friday. They carted away bags of rice, garri, cartons of noodles among other commodities. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should ...
#EndSARS: Hoodlums razed, looted FRSC offices in Abia, Lagos, five others – official
The Federal Road Safety Corps has lamented that its offices in Abia, Anambra, Delta, Edo, Imo, Lagos, and Enugu were attacked by hoodlums. While some of the offices were burnt, items and properties were stolen in others. The Corps Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal, Bisi Kazeem, made this known in a statement titled, ‘#ENDSARS: FRSC decries incessant attack on personnel, Operational tools’, on Friday. He also decried incessant attacks on its personnel and operational tools during the unrest in the country. Kazeem said, “Upon the escalation of violence upon the country, FRSC formations came under physical attacks resulting in the burning down of offices. “This includes Operational and other vehicles, damaging of sundry structures and massive looting of valuables of FRSC forma...
Governor Abiodun: Ogun needs 150 health workers to address shortfall
The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has said the State needs additional 150 health workers in the junior cadre to reduce the acute shortage of manpower in the state-owned hospitals. The governor disclosed this while speaking to journalists at the National Physicians’ week of the NMA in Abeokuta, the state capital. Abiodun said he has given approval to all state-owned hospitals to commence the recruitment of 20 consultant doctors as a way of addressing manpower shortage. The governor, who spoke through the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, said the recruitment was necessary to reduce the shortage of manpower and also boost healthcare delivery in the state. Abiodun added that he has also approved the regularisation of payment of appropriate remuneration for all doctor...
#EndSARS: Oyo veteran journalists condemn attacks on media houses
The League of Veteran Journalists, Oyo State Chapter, has condemned the burning down and destruction of media houses in Lagos, by fifth columnists that infiltrated the ranks of the #EndSars protesters. According to a statement by the Chairman of the League, Mr Banji Ogundele, the burning down of Vintage Press Ltd, publishers of The Nation, was condemnable and unacceptable. He said that the #EndSars protesters respected the Press and courted on them to help publicise their actions to the outside world, noting that the destruction was the work of the fifth columnists that wanted to give the protesters a bad name. Ogundele said that other media houses that were vandalised included TVC Network, Radio Lagos, Eko FM and traffic FM. He described the action as not only dangerous and unacceptable, ...
#EndSARS: Troops take over Oyigbo as fresh mob attacks hit Rivers
File Photo Troops of the Nigerian Army and the policemen have taken over the Oyigbo Local Government Area in Rivers State following fresh mob attacks in the area. The State Police Command had said members of the Indigenous People of Biafra were responsible for killing two of its operatives and burning of two police stations in the area on Wednesday. Gunshots rent the area from Thursday night till Friday morning as soldiers repel the hoodlums but there were still flashes of violence in Oyigbo. Governor Nyesom Wike had placed a 24-hour curfew on the local government but residents said they could not sleep because of the shootings. Chairman of Oyigbo LGA, Gerald Aforji, while reacting to the incident on Friday morning, said soldiers had intervened to restore calm in the area. Get more stories...
