Following the Friday road march by members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Onitsha calling for boycott of the November 18 Anambra State governorship election, the police command in the state yesterday said the proscribed group cannot stop the governorship election in the state.
The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Garba Umar, who spoke through the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nkeiruka Nwode (ASP), on the IPOB protest and its call, said the group’s action amounts to nothing as the State Police Command was on top of security situation in the state.
Nwode said: “Some IPOB members were seen in Onitsha distributing leaflets, saying the November 18 poll would not hold. But the IPOB march was of no effect as the police in the state had concluded arrangements for effective policing of the state during the election.
“INEC has fixed the election and it must hold. Nobody or group can stop it,” the PPRO said.
She assured the people of the state of adequate security during the poll, and asked them to go out en masse to exercise their franchise on the day of the election, stressing that their security would be guaranteed.
IPOB members on Friday took to the roads and streets of Onitsha and its environs to campaign against next Saturday’s Anambra state governorship election.
The group marched along major roads such as Awka road, Old Market road, New Market road to Main Market as well as to Oguta road Upper Iweka to Owerri road, saying that there would be no election in Anambra state and Biafra land pending the conduct of referendum for the exit of Biafra people from Nigeria.
They held Biafran flags and distributed handbills with inscriptions such as “IPOB call for referendum is not call for war, Biafra Exit, ‘Our Mumu Don Do’, No election in Anambra, ‘No election in Biafra land, sit-at-home, etc.”
One of the members who gave his name as Ogbonnaya said that the reason the people of Biafra should not vote was because the system was skewed in favour of the North, stressing that voting would not change anything.
“Whether you vote or not, it does not change anything, whoever gets there will swear allegiance to the Fulani slave book called constitution and immediately becomes a demon against his people. We need to boycott the elections to avoid giving their government legitimacy and the only presence of federal government in Nigeria military and police.
“Tell them that we are not miscreants, touts, criminals, toothless bulldogs as they branded Biafrans. Tell them that the genuine power belongs to the people and we are withholding it for good and for the sake of our freedom,” Ogbonnaya said.
The group however warned anybody that would come on the Election Day to vote should take whatever comes out of it.
The Onitsha rally few days ago by IPOB members under the leadership of Nnamdi Kanu with the message of NO REFERENDUM DATE, NO ELECTION is totally uncalled for and it is a sign that we have sold our sanity.
We all know that the IPOB are fighting a just cause but the way they are going about it will not only frustrate the struggle but will elongate the actualization of Biafra and make those in the struggle to look foolish.
How can they claim they need referendum without clear understanding of what referendum is and how referendum works? Referendum is a political process which entice the people to vote for or against self government. Now can they tell the general public those who are responsible for conducting a referendum in a state? is it not the constituted government that conduct the referendum ?
Coming to Anambra election. I think the decision of the IPOB to boycott the election is totally a nightmare as boycotting the election would never be supported by any rational and reasonable mind at home. I think the best thing Nnamdi kanu should have done is to use his power as their leader to adopt a political party and field a pro Biafran as their flag bearer. Believe you me, there is no doubt that their group will triumph over every other political parties. Now if they secure Anambra state Government House and in 2019 they do same to other Biafra states. This will help Biafra to secure their states politically so that when ever issues of Biafra is raised in federal level, they will surely advocate for BIAFRA..
WHY IS THIS NECESSARY?
It is very important because even if Biafrans shout referendum from now till eternity, without having control over the political system of their territory, they are just chasing shadows. We have equally heard from them that by boycotting election UNITED NATIONS will know they are serious. But hear it clear now. Even if the United Nations want to look into Biafra matter, they can never meet any of those boys shouting on the streets rather they will work through an existing Government institutions
Having a disorganised leadership as we have now in Biafran political environment, they can never subscribe to self government because of all their looting in the system. So now how can one achieve something out of these people? Besides , even if Nnamdi Kanu group did not come out for the election, definitely there are thousands if not millions of people in Anambra who will surely participate in the up coming election…. So my people let us wake up from our slumber and join hands to develop Biafra land politically and economically just like the CATALONIANS. So that we shall have both political and economic power so that even if biafra comes we shall never lack..
So I call on every sensible Biafran to neglect the call for election boycott and think ahead on how to put a pro Biafra on seat to facilitate what we are agitating for.
NOW SECURITY ALERT!
Information reaching the Customary Government has it that federal government have deployed battalions of security personnel / soldiers for the up coming election. Therefore my advice to Anambarians and youths is to coordinate and respect themselves throughout this election week and aftermath….. Any one who decide not to participate in the election, please kindly stay at home but if you must exercise your franchise on that election day, please do that. Never try to disrupt the election. AGBASIA ÓSÓ, AGUA MILE…. He who has ear, let him hear…
I am Ngwu Victor Bright.
Media Assistant to the Administrator, Customary Government of Biafra.
The final push for votes has begun among 37 political parties and their candidates, with just seven days left in Anambra State governorship election campaign. The most anticipated election of the year is down to the last week.
The next few days offer the candidates the final chance to perfect what needs to be done to swing the race in their favour.
With the November 18 finish line in sight, candidates know it is the last chance they have to touch the hearts of the electorate and try to help the ones that are undecided make their decisions fast – the contestants will hope to get the electorate to go to the polling stations and cast their votes for them.
By now, contestants must have told the people what they will do for them, why they wish to lead, why they should be voted into office, among other things. The electorate should know what each of the contestants has on the menu for the state if voted in.
In the run-up to the election, so far, the residents of Anambra have witnessed many rallies, interactions with politicians and heard lots of promises through the print and electronic media.
A major political campaign tool is the manifesto of the candidate, which is a public declaration of policy and aims, which the candidate and his party intend to implement when voted into office.
But over the years, politicians have failed to implement their campaign promises and this has made the people lose interest in manifestos. Out of the candidates contesting the election, only a few have shown evidence of articulated manifestos. Some of the media aides to the candidates stopped answering calls from Saturday PUNCH when it had become obvious that their principals had no manifestos to present to the electorate.
An Awka-based legal practitioner, Mr. Okoli Akilika, however, described the increasing disuse of manifesto as an aberration, saying “it is a social contract between the person to be elected and the electorate.”
“It is the manifesto that will make people hold leaders accountable so that they are able to ask: have you done what you promised to do?” He added.
Be that as it may, there are five contestants generally considered as the strongest candidates in the race, including incumbent Governor Willie Obiano, who have all promised to improve the lives of the people.
For instance, one of them, Godwin Ezeemo of the Progressive Peoples Alliance, had said he would focus on “security, health, agriculture, power, education,” which he had termed as SHAPE.
Osita Chidoka of the United Progressives Party promised to run a transparent, community-based and all-inclusive system, where institutions of government in all critical sectors would run efficiently for the desired quality of life for all citizens and residents.
The Peoples Democratic Party’s Oseloka Obaze also promised to ensure good governance and encourage public policy ownership, development strategy scheme, inclusive governance and free media.
Similarly, Dr. Tony Nwoye of the All Progressives Congress said his administration would focus on security, infrastructural development, job creation and attracting investments from local and foreign investors.
And Obiano, the current governor of the state and the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, had put emphasis on “continuity,” saying he would continue to improve on security, education, infrastructure, health care delivery and so on.
However, political analysts in the state had predicted a three-way race among the incumbent, Obiano; the PDP’s Obaze; and the APC’s Nwoye. The power of incumbency is on the side of Obiano, while it is believed that Obaze and Nwoye will offer a strong competition by virtue of the strength of the PDP and the APC – the two biggest parties in the country.
Also, according to analysts, beyond the usual rhetoric, Anambra people want a leader that will be ready to get down to business and deliver on promises made.
For example, to a community leader in Ogbunka, Orumba Local Government Area of the state, Col. Chuba Ikeagwu (retd.), the most important quality a leader must have is to be able to provide “good governance for his people.”
Similarly, a former councillor and Editor-in-Chief of Fides Newspaper, which is owned by the Awka Diocese of the Catholic Church, Jude Atupulazi, noted that the people of the state were in need of a visionary leader who could take the state higher.
“We want a governor that is mature, a governor that has vision and one that really knows what is needed to take the state a notch higher because every political regime has been trying to take the state higher.
“So we are looking for a candidate that will not disappoint us or take us back. We have not reached our destination but we hope that with a good candidate, we will get there,” he said.
One factor that will play a big role in the election, as identified by analysts, is zoning, which is the rotation of political positions to different geographical regions within the state.
Since the reemergence of democracy in Nigeria, which signalled the beginning of the Fourth Republic, Anambra North, of the three senatorial districts in the state, has been the unluckiest.
Anambra South has produced Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Dame Virginia Etiaba and Andy Uba as governors, albeit Uba’s reign only lasted 14 days. Anambra Central, on the other hand, produced Chris Ngige and Peter Obi as governors.
However, Obiano has been the only governor produced by Anambra North and the general sentiment in the state is that the zone should be allowed to complete two terms, even if it won’t be the incumbent that gets to do so.
The candidates for the three main contending parties are from Anambra North. This underscores the value they have placed on zoning, with the hope that the strategy will allow their candidates gain more credence in the public.
Confirming the situation, a hopeful Ikeagwu, who is from Anambra South, said he was in support of having someone from Anambra North as governor for another four years so that the position could move to his zone by 2023.
He said, “In Anambra, we have been using rotation. Central finished its turn and it is now in the North and we want the North to complete eight years; then, power will move to the South where I belong. So there are internal issues in Anambra.
“Except one of the parties that got its candidate from Anambra Central, other candidates are from the North, including the candidate of the APC and the PDP.”
Money is also expected to play a major role in the election. Although Section 91 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, provides that a governorship candidate can append a maximum amount of N200m, analysts in the state are of the opinion that the law has been grossly abused by the candidates.
For instance, Akilika alleged that one of the candidates bought 326 shuttle buses for each of his party’s ward chairmen while blaming the Independent National Electoral Commission for failing to ensure candidates did not go against the law.
Akilika said, “You cannot divorce money from politics; but legally, the electoral act has pegged the amount a political party can spend in any election. But it appears that INEC is ill-equipped to implement the law. So I call on INEC to ensure that the law is complied with.
“How can you explain a candidate buying shuttle buses for 326 ward chairmen in a state? It is obnoxious. We don’t know about the ones he bought for hangers-on and so on, we are talking about the ones that are in public domain.”
Ikeagwu, who also lamented the situation, called for more public sensitisation on the matter.
“There are other people sharing money, so we are trying to reduce money politics drastically in the state. Most of the money being shared is stolen wealth. People can collect such money but on Saturday, they should go out and vote for good governance and their conscience,” he said.
However, Atupulazi noted that the Anambra people were becoming more enlightened and therefore shunning money politics for good governance, saying, “Money will still exchange hands but I think that the majority will still vote in line with their conscience. It has been happening for some time here and that is why we have been able to have good candidates in the state.”
All in all, the public discourse in the state has been centred on whether to go for continuity come next Saturday or to opt for change. But while some have yet to make up their minds, others have already made their decisions.
For instance, Ikeagwu, whose money was on continuity, said, “The campaigns have been calm and peaceful, but there have been the promises and vituperation from politicians, saying they would do this and that – the usual political talks. But the normal parlance is that ‘the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know.’
“Obiano is building Umueri International Cargo Airport, security in Anambra is very good, workers are not being owed salaries and he is also improving on other sectors.”
But Akilika, who countered Ikeagwu, was of the opinion that some of the achievements attributed to the governor had come at a huge cost to the public.
He said, “Yes, he bought vehicles for the police and took some other sundry actions on security, but he did that at a highly questionable cost to the state. The previous government bought vehicles and did so many things and the cost was barely N360m. But the governor inflated the cost of maintaining security in the state to N1bn, which was unwarranted. We are not happy about that.
“The previous administration operated a very lean government. But a situation where a governor has over 1,000 aides and so on is unprecedented in the political history of the state. It is unthinkable, unwarranted. People are suffering from the high cost of governance.
“Within two years of his governance, Anambra moved from stable state to a borrowing state. The question is that even if there was the need to borrow, what does he have to show for it? This a state where the governor opted to build an airport city project near his hometown.”
But whatever decisions are made by residents of Anambra next Saturday, it is the hope of political analysts that the outcome of the election will be in the best interest of the state and its people.
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwoof the Lagos State High Court, Igbosere yesterday, ruled that suspected kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike alias Evans and others have case to answer on two separate charges filed against themby the Lagos State Government .
The two separate charges bordered on kidnapping, possession of firearms, murder and attempted murder.
Evans had on October 23 rebuffed attempt by the state government to arraign him and others on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the charges.
Inability of the court then to take Evans’ plea and those of the other defendants made Justice Taiwo to adjourn the matter then.
One of the charges preferred against Evans and others included an attempted kidnap of the Chairman of The Young Shall Grow Motors, Vincent Amaechi Obianodo.
Evans and second defendant, Victor Nonso Aduba, are standing trial on four counts of conspiracy, kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms.
Also, he and three others are facing seven counts of conspiracy, attempted kidnapping, kidnapping, murder and attempted murder The second to fourth defendants are Joseph Ikenna Emeka, Chiemeka Arinze and Udeme Frank Upong.
Justice Taiwo, in her ruling, yesterday, described the applications as misconceived and lacking in merit.
The judge held that the proof of evidence filed by the state in support of the charges disclosed sufficient material worth pursuing by the prosecuting counsel.
The dismissal of the applications paved the way for Evans’ arraignment on two fresh charges.
However, the prosecution could only arraign Evans and Aduba in the first charge. Their pleas were taken on four counts of conspiracy, kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms, but they pleaded not guilty.
While the prosecution led by Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, could not arraign Evans and three others in the second charge.
The prosecution amended the second charge without attaching proof of evidence to it, which made the defendants’ counsel to raised objection. Evans and others defendants prayed the court to strike out the charge for lack of competence.
Mr. Kazeem however, opposed the application on the ground that filing of charge was in line with laid down rules.
Justice Taiwo in her ruling on the fresh application of the defendants agreed with Evans and the others that failure of the prosecution not to attach proof of evidence to the new charge was a blunder that couldn’t be overlooked by the court. The court held that for the new charge to be deemed proper before the court, the prosecution must follow the due process.
Justice Taiwo, therefore, ordered prosecution to serve proof of evidence on the defendants, in order to proceed on the arraignment of the defendants.
He then fixed December 15 for the prosecution to open its case in the first charge, while the plea of the defendants will also be taken on the same date.
Following allegations by an employee of Diamond Bank, Mrs. Vivian Dimgba, that a Catholic priest and Principal of Imo Girls’ College, Owerri, attempted to assault her over how she dressed, the school management has now denied the woman’s version of the story.
It would be recalled that Dimgba’s story trended on social media and some news blogs over the week when she shared a picture of what she wore during her visit to the school to enquire about admission for her housemaid.
She identified the priest as Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Okwara.
Dimgba wrote on the Facebook wall that as she waited for information on her enquiry, “a priest in an all-white garb walked in. He came to me and said that he thought I was Bob Marley when I was walking in. I smiled, thinking he was trying to either banter or throw me a compliment.
“He now asked ‘Why are you dressed like this?’ I replied and asked him what he meant? I told him that it was a week day and I was working and it was how workers dressed. I was still smiling, trying to humour him and seriously hoping that it was all a joke.
“He said, ‘And why do you have a hair like that?’ I looked at the teachers, all with their weaves hair. I now turned and said, ‘Father, these are braids and I only came here to make inquiries.’
“He said, ‘Oh! You’re laughing! Oya, get up and get out. Go and change. We don’t tolerate hair like these here.’
“Then it dawned on me. I turned to the woman in front of me and I asked her if I was in model government college school? Maybe I was in the wrong place. While I was talking to the teacher, this priest, went in and grabbed a cane and started coming menacingly towards me with it.
“He wanted to start flogging me, screaming that I was indecent and a bad influence on the girls who saw me come in. He had to be held down by four women and man.”
One of our correspondents went in search of the Rev. Fr. Okwara, at the school on Friday but he was unavailable at the time.
However, the vice principal of the school, Mrs. Florence Amahuru, who spoke on his behalf, said that Dimgba’s allegations were “simply mischievous.”
According to her, unlike the attire the woman shared on the social media, she was indecently dressed, which made the priest to reprimand her.
The woman explained that the priest and the members of staff of the school were surprised by what the woman was putting on and told her that such indecent attire was a bad influence on the children, especially girls.
“The principal is a disciplined man. He never assaulted her but reprimanded her for putting on cloths that exposed her body. She was almost naked. The picture she shared on Facebook was not what she wore to the school. The inner wear including her breasts were exposed.
“It was when the argument became heated that he went into her car and wore a jacket to cover her exposed body. Her tummy was completely showing.”
Amahuru said she knew the woman was trouble when she came back to the premises with her husband and started taking pictures of people and shouting.
Dimgba had said in her version of the event, “I don’t know the laws and regulations they have in these schools. But decency I know can be subjective. So, what was the yardstick he used to measure my indecency? He was going to flog me with a cane if not that he was held down.”
She had also indicated that she was suing the priest for abuse of power and threat to do bodily harm.
“He (the priest) comes in the morning and leaves by 10am same morning for the whole day. And he has done that every other day for the past three years,” she said.
But the vice principal of the school said this was another lie.
“I had to drink my urine to survive in the desert, Nigerians were just dying like chickens everyday on our journey through the desert. I buried some of them and others we just threw away their bodies because there was no time to bury them. I can never wish my enemies to go through such horror in a bid to travel outside the country to earn a living”.
This was an account of one of the 84 Nigerians who tried to escape to Europe through Libya but were deported to the country after spending one and a half years in dehumanizing conditions. It was indeed a tale of horror and a pitiable sight last Tuesday at Government House Benin City, when Governor Godwin Obaseki, received 84 Libya deportees as they narrated their ordeals in the hands of the Libyan authorities even as they also lamented the death of many Nigerians in the desert.
I went through hell in Libya——Survivor
Speaking with Saturday Vanguard, one of the deportees, 27 years old Eric Idemudia narrated his harrowing experience on his aborted journey to Italy through Libya “I stayed in Libya for one year and six months. My journey started when I met one man called Dickson in Benin who asked me if I was interested in traveling out and I said yes. He said he would help me to Italy but I told him I was only interested in going to Austria. When I asked him how much it would cost me, he said N500,000 and I told him I would pay. So, I looked for the money and I went to give him at Agbor park after informing my family that I was traveling outside the country. When I got to Dickson I discovered that we were five boys and nine girls.
The next day we boarded a vehicle to Kano and from there proceeded to Niger Republic on motorcycles. In Niger, we stayed in one Alhaji’s ghetto, spent about two weeks there before we mounted pressure on our sponsor to call the Arab man who was to take us to Libya. I complained to our sponsor that he did not tell me this was how the journey would be but he kept telling me that I should not be bothered. I was the one paying for everything, my family was even sending money to me. Then, one night they came with about 16 Hilux vehicles and took about 200 of us. 34 persons were inside the vehicle I boarded as we squeezed ourselves inside it. We spent two weeks in Agadez before we entered the desert.
After the third day in the desert, one of my friends said he was thirsty, but unfortunately what was available in the desert was salt water. At a point, my friend ran to meet somebody in another Hilux to beg for water but unknown to him, the person added Tramadol into the water and my friend drank it. After drinking it he became dizzy, he fell down and died. We dug the ground of about one foot, buried him and we moved on. “The next day, Saturday, another boy complained of being thirsty, and we advised him to drink his urine. I had been taking my urine also, that was the only way to survive in the desert because there was no water. As we set out again at about 2am to continue our journey, this particular boy fell down and died.
In the desert, there was nowhere to hide , the sun was just too hot. On our was to Tripoli, about ten persons died and the drivers said we should just push them out of the vehicle as there was no time for burial. I spent sixteen days in the desert before we got to Libyan Toll gate where we slept. The following day we got to a place called Saba, where we met a man who was notorious as a killer. He would get hold of the immigrants and ask them to inform their family to send money to them and those who could not get money, he would kill them. We saw a lot of corpses in that place.
At that point I wanted to go back home but it was not possible. I was in that ghetto for five months, I could not get to the sea to move to Europe. “Another thing I discovered was that some of us were sold as slaves to some Nigerians who were into human trafficking. They would ask the Nigerian immigrants to call their family in Nigeria to send money to them. We were therefore at their mercy because they gave us little food just to survive everyday. I was sold to one Nigerian unknown to me that I was a slave to him. My people back home sent over one million naira to him thinking I was the one making use of the money.
I spent five months in another ghetto, and it was there that some people came to arrest us, and took us to a prison called Griyan prison. We were fed with one small bread called Oza, and that was what we would eat throughout the day. The second day they came with partly cooked rice, soaked in water and people were eating and dying. After spending two days we were moved to Tripoli, which was the worst. They brought one pack of rice and asked five of us to eat it.
That was what we suffered before we were finally deported. “I cannot advise anybody to pass through this in life. But the problem is that these sponsors are still hypnotizing our people to go this way, collecting money from them. People died like chickens every day there, I buried many people with my bare hands. So, it is better to suffer here than over there. Even if you don’t have food to eat in your country it is better than going to Libya to die.
I was a bricklayer before I left and I am ready to go back to it”. One of the deportees, Miss Blessing Sunday was from Ovia North East Local Government Area of the state. Another deportee, Miss Rosemary Oboh pleaded with the governor to employ her father while expressing their appreciation to the governor for the warm reception accorded them. She said, “It was wrong for us to sneak out of our country. We did it because we thought we would be able to achieve something. We love you for welcoming us back home as a father, a leader and our governor”.
Share your harrowing experience with others——Gov Obaseki
While receiving the deportees, Governor Obaseki who was visibly touched, assured the deportees comprising sixty males and twenty-four females, that his administration would place them on a monthly stipend for three months while they undergo various vocational training. “You should see your current situation as a passing phase in the journey of life. You are back to where you came from and you will be taken care of.
For the next three months, we will put you on a special stipend” the governor said adding that his administration would ensure that they receive vocational training while those who were interested in pursuing higher education would be given scholarship. He explained that the goal of the government was to make them ambassadors who would sensitise other youths about the risks associated with illegal migration. “You will not wish what you went through for even your enemies.
So we will make you ambassadors, to share your harrowing experience with others. We are not out to judge you, we will not judge you. We are all humans and we all make mistakes. Anybody can be deceived. I want to welcome you back home”, the governor said Earlier, the Attorney General of the State and Chairman Task force on Anti- Human Trafficking, Professor Yinka Omorogbe informed the deportees that her team was willing to receive all Edo indigenes back home because they were precious to the state. On how the returnees were received, Prof.Omoregbe narrated to Saturday Vanguard that “We received 84 returnees from Libya, comprising 60 men and 24 females. We have been doing a lot of counseling, we gave them welcome packs and we tried to let them know that they were precious people. We told them that this was a new beginning that they were back home to settle down.
The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA informed us that this batch was coming, we then dispatched our team to Lagos to bring them back to Benin. In our effort to ensure that they were fine, our medical team carried out full examination of the returnees. Some of them were referred to the hospital for further medical treatment. We intend to rehabilitate them back into the society. We have programmes lined up for them and we are determined to give them another lease of life”.
One week to the governorship election in Anambra State, the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra has threatened voters with death if they vote. They also vowed to disrupt the election.
The members of the group marched around some streets in Onitsha, Anambra State on Friday, vowing a lockdown on the day of the election, which is scheduled to hold on Saturday, November 18, 2017.
Members of the group can be heard threatening voters in videos of the march circulating online.
They said, ““If you vote you will die. Don’t go out, stay in your house. If you vote on November 18, you will die. We are not running around for the zoo.
“There will be no election. We will not participate, we will not vote. Nothing concerns us with any election. We are formidable.
“We are in Onitsha to tell the Federal Government to produce Kanu. They should release all the Biafrans in Nigerian prisons.”
Speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone, IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, noted that the purpose of the demonstration in Onitsha was to show the world that “the threat of bullet” would not stop the group from realising its aim of having Biafra Republic.
He said Igbo people living outside the South-East should contact their families at home to boycott all future Nigerian elections, including the governorship election.
Powerful said, “Today in Onitsha, we broke the python Buratai, Ohanaeze, Obiano and Igbo governors brought to our land. Anybody doubting the resolve of IPOB under the supreme command of Nnamdi Kanu is mistaken.
“We will put Anambra State on lockdown on November 18. This is a taste of what is to come. Nigeria should be prepared.
“It is also very critical to inform every Biafran, be you IPOB family member, businessman, farmer, artisan, driver, teacher, doctor, motorcycle/tricycle union, civil servant, trader, market leader, National Union of Road Transport Workers, National Association of Road Transport Owners, fisherman, market men and women, including politicians who believe in freedom and liberty of a free independent State of Biafra, to boycott the Anambra State election.”
According to him, the election boycott will give their agitation a global momentum needed to make world leaders accept a peaceful break-up of Nigeria.
“They will be morally bound to consider a possible date for Biafra’s referendum for independence without delay. A vote in Anambra elections will mean electing into office the same people who, over the years, have been responsible for the death, pain, misery, agony and suffering of our people. We would have only succeeded in renewing our suffering for another four years,” Powerful said.
Steer clear of Anambra, police warn IPOB
But the Public Relations Officer, Anambra State Police Command, Nkeiruka Nwode, said the IPOB march was of no effect, as the state police command had concluded arrangements for effective policing of the state during the election. She asked residents of the state to go out en masse to exercise their franchise on the day of the election.
Also, the Force spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, warned the IPOB members to steer clear of the state during and after the forthcoming governorship election, in their own interest, saying the police would deal with IPOB members “the way an outlawed group should be dealt with.”
He said the police were fully on the ground to ensure a hitch-free and violence-free poll, adding that battle-ready operatives including police special forces, anti-riot personnel, and counter-terror squad had been instructed to deal with troublemakers.
“They (IPOB) should steer clear of Anambra because we have deployed enough personnel in the state; any miscreant who misbehaves would have himself to blame as he would be dealt with. IPOB should not test our will or resolve,” Moshood cautioned.
Army places troops on alert
Meanwhile, the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, which covers the South-East region, has placed its troops on the alert to forestall any security breakdown in the Anambra governorship election.
Although the spokesperson for the division and Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa, said he could not comment on security measures for the elections, a top source from the division said the troops were on red alert.
“Talk to the Commissioner of Police,” Musa simply said when one of our correspondents called to ask for his response.
But, the source said, “The troops are always on ground to prevent any breakdown of law and order during the election. As you know, the police are the first line of security and we cannot usurp their role.
“On October 14, we ended the 30-day Operation Python Dance II in the South-East, including Anambra State, and the exercise was to sharpen the skills of troops for occasions such as this election. So, you cannot rule out our involvement.
“We have mastered the areas and we are familiar with the hideouts of the troublemakers. All these preparations will count for the troops on Saturday. But the army cannot deploy its troops unless the security situation degenerates, which is not anyone’s wish.”
We’ll deploy 5,000 men –NSCDC
Also, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Emma Okeh, said the agency would deploy 5,000 personnel, including special forces and regular officers. He cautioned against disruption of the poll by any group of persons, stressing that the corps would not spare anyone caught violating the law.
He said about 1,000 intelligence and surveillance operatives were on the ground in the state, adding that regular personnel would move in soon with sniffer dogs.
“I urge the electorate to come out en masse and vote for the candidates of their choice. It is their election, it is their state and whoever they elect as governor would determine their future,” Okeh said.
No inconclusive election in Anambra, Senate tells INEC
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission on Friday asked the commission to make sure that the election was conclusive, saying the credibility of the election would serve as a litmus test for the 2019 general elections.
The chairman of the committee, Senator Suleiman Nazif, stated this when he led other committee members, including Senators Mao Ohuabunwa and Aliu Sabi, to a meeting with INEC officials and political parties at the INEC headquarters in Awka, the state capital.
“I want the leadership of INEC to ensure that Anambra governorship election is conclusive, free, fair and credible,” Nazif said.
He urged INEC to ensure a level playing ground for all the political parties contesting the poll, adding that the committee members were in the state to find out the challenges of the commission, with the aim of putting heads together towards proffering solutions.
Speaking, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Dr. Nkwachukwu Orji, noted that the state was second in the country in terms of the collection of permanent voter’s cards, stressing that the collection of the cards in the area would end on November 15.
He said the commission would deploy one card reader per voting point and that there would be field technical officers who would handle any challenges arising from the use of the card readers.
Orji also reiterated the commitment of the commission to conduct a free, fair, credible and acceptable election to the people of the state.
Mr Popoola Olugbenga, a Physiotherapist with Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa has expressed concern over the habit of giving native massage to pregnant women in the state.
Olugbenga, who is also the Head of Physiotherapy Department in the hospital told the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Yenagoa after a two-day physiotherapy outreach that local massaging was not an alternative to ante-natal care.
He explained that the physiotherapy outreach organised and sponsored by the department was part of social responsibility activities to communities in Bayelsa State.
The physiotherapist said that the programme, held in about three communities in the state, was aimed at educating the people on the need for healthy living.
He urged pregnant women seeking native massage to desist from it, noting that such act could endanger the baby’s condition in the womb.
Olugbenga said “women should know that pregnancy is not a disease that they should be going out from the routine antenatal care; moreover, not even every health challenge needs massaging.
“Pregnant women should know that the native massagers have limited knowledge about antenatal care; they have limited knowledge about other related diseases like stroke, cerebral palsy, facial nerve palsy, among others.
“Obviously, these diseases can be preventable if people begin to give proper attention to their health.”
On prevention of stroke, Olugbenga said regular exercise, good lifestyles, eating balanced diet, regular check up with medical experts, especially on blood pressure could go a long way.
The physiotherapist added that stroke, cerebral palsy and facial nerve palsy, could occur when blood circulation from the brain to other parts of the body was poor, describing the brain as power house of human body.
Mr Francis Iyado, another Physiotherapist, explained that many stroke-related issues were caused by lack of attention to one’s health.
He said “stroke could be in form of blindness and one may not know that it was stroke; sometime, it could make one unconscious and you begin to loss memory.
“We must always give proper care to our health, exercise regularly, avoid excessive alcoholic drinking, maintain healthy lifestyle, among others,” Iyado stated.
Mr Genesis Nemekie from Okutukutu Community, Yenagoa Local Government Area, said the medical outreach to the people in the area was a welcome development.
The Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar II, on Wednesday said the injustice in appointments and allocation of resources in the country were responsible for crisis and disunity in the country.
The monarch said this at a Collaborative Interfaith Peace and Security Capacity Building Workshop, organized by the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, NARC, in collaboration with Inter-Religious Peace Initiative in Abuja.
Represented by the Executive Secretary of Abuja National Mosque, Alhaji Ibrahim Jega, Abubakar said an all inclusive governance remains the panacea in addressing the myriads of problems confronting the country.
He urged leaders at all levels to be equitable, fair and just to every member of the society in the distribution of amenities and resources, irrespective of the political, religious and tribal inclinations of members of the society.
According to the monarch, “When it comes to issue of dispensation of justice and equitable distribution of resources, that should be done without fear or favour, affection or ill will.
“You are not there yourself as a leader and because you have some encounters with a group of people, either a person or a group of persons in a particular area, you should not hold on to it so as not to extend justice to them.
“Allah says “do not allow your hatred of a particular group of people to make you decide not to extend justice to them. Whatever happens, you must extend the spirit of justice to them all without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.
“This issue of justice goes down to whatever decision you are going to take, whether it’s against you or against your parents or against your own children or against your other relations, let alone saying you will not extend justice because you know somebody or because he is from your town. Justice must be based on fair and equitable distribution of assets to all.”
The men of the 32 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Akure, Ondo State, have arrested four men in Ikaramu Akoko, in the Akoko North West Local Government Area of Ondo State, for allegedly posting nude pictures of some ladies on the Internet.
Though the identities of the suspects had yet to be disclosed by the brigade, punch metro gathered that three of them were members of the National Youth Service Corps who were serving in the state.
According to a source, the suspects usually invited their girlfriends to a hotel where they would ask them to put off their clothes before taking their nude pictures.
The source added that the suspects would later demand money from the ladies with the threat to post their nude pictures on the Internet if they failed to do so.
He said, “Many ladies, including female corps members, have fallen victims. They were making a lot of money from the act before they were caught.
“They would invite their girlfriends to a hotel in Ikare Akoko, and after having sex with them, they would take their nude pictures.
“Some days after, they would demand money from the ladies and threaten that if the ladies failed to give them the money, they would post their nude pictures on the Internet. Any of them who failed to give out money, would find her nude pictures on the Internet.”
The Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Major Ojo Adelegan, confirmed the arrest of the suspects and said they had been handed over to the appropriate security organisation for further action.
Adelegan, however, refused to disclose the identities of the suspects.
“I can confirm their arrest, but they are no more with us. They have been handed over to another security agency,” the army spokesman said.
Similarly, the Head of the Public Relations Unit of the NYSC in Ondo State, Mrs. Christy Olatoye, confirmed the arrests.
She said the suspects were in the custody of the Department of State Services in the state.
She said, “The matter is with the DSS; we cannot interfere. All we will do is to give them any information they need. It is a criminal offence; we can’t stop the DSS from doing their work.”
However, the Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Police Command, Mr. Femi Joseph, said the matter was not reported at the command.
“We don’t know anything about it. We are not aware of the matter,” Joseph said.
