The Harbingerngr News

“Let me also use this opportunity to call on my fellow contestants and to assure them that I am ready to cooperate and work with them and give them a sense of belonging in this party and our next government." The Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has urged his fellow contestants in the primary election to work with him for the victory of the party. Mr Abubakar said this on Sunday morning in Abuja in his acceptance speech after he was declared the winner of the PDP primary and the party’s candidate. He described the primary election that produced him as free and a well-fought election. He pledged to work with the co-aspirants and give them a sense of belonging if elected. “Let me also use this opportunity to call on my fellow contestants and to assure them that I am ready to cooperate and work with them and give them a sense of belonging in this party and our next government. “Therefore, my fellow compatriots, I want

*Wike takes second position, Saraki third AFTER a fierce contest for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, last night, emerged as the presidential candidate of the main opposition party for the 2023 general elections. Atiku polled 371 votes to beat his fellow contenders for the PDP ticket. His closest rival, Governor Nyeson Wike of Rivers State, scored 237 votes; Senator Bukola Saraki, 70; Governor Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom State, 38; Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, 20; Senator Pius Anyim, 14; Mr Sam Ohuabunwa  and Oliver Diana, one vote each. There were 12 voided votes out of the total 767 ballots. With the victory, Atiku is set to go head-to-head with  the winner of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary in the February 2023 election. Before the commencement of voting,yesterday, the Chairman of the Chairman, 2022 PDP National Convention Organising Committee, Sen. David Mark, announced that one of the

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu F rontline Presidential aspirant and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has released his manifesto for the transformation of Nigeria if elected president of the country. The APC presidential aspirant,  according to a statement signed by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Director of Media and Communication, said his team  would lead Nigeria to a new era of economic prosperity, peace, security  and political stability.  Tinubu, who was governor of Lagos State between 1999-2007, presented his vision within five thematic areas. He promised to improve security by decentralising the policing of the country and creating hundreds of  thousands of new jobs simultaneously and transform Nigeria into an enviable country where there will be justice, peace and prosperity for all, with a “robust economy”. Titled: ‘My Vision for Nigeria’, Tinubu promised in the document, “a nation transformed into greatness, the pride of Africa, a role model for all

A 52-year-old man Nkereuwem Etim Emah of Mbiabam in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, of Akwa Ibom State has been condemned to die by hanging for killing his pregnant wife. The father of five, butchered his wife of 12 years whom he accused of infidelity on February, 12, 2018 in their Mbiabam, Ibiono Ibom residence while she was sleeping. He was arraigned and took his plea before the State High Court sitting in Uyo, presided over by Justice Bassey Nkanang on  December, 6, 2018 and pleaded not guilty to the charge.  The judgment came after four years of litigation in which, the prosecution called three witnesses, one of them, a 10-year-old son of the deceased, Christian Sylvanus Etim who narrated how his father took the life of his mother. He had testified that, “On 12/2/2018, my father, (the accused person), a mechanic with the Water Board used a matchet in the night to cut my mother who was sleeping and my mother died.  “The incident took place in the house we all lived in. The villag

Pastor Adeboye. THE General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye on Friday told Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State that the security challenge facing Nigeria was not ordinary, but assured that God’s intervention was real and inevitable. ‘’The problem of Nigeria today is beyond human comprehension, a situation where non-state actors dictate to government when people should come out and not to come out,” Adeboye said during a courtesy call on the Governor at the Government House Owerri in the company of some of his senior pastors. Pastor Adeboye said his team and members have been fasting and praying for the restoration of the land for days but that God directed him to visit the places and lands across Nigeria where the forces of darkness were enveloping light, hence the visit to Imo for a prayer session. He informed the Governor that the reason for his visit was not just to have his feet touch those lands and places where the forces of darkness

  Late Chidera Controversy is currently trailing the circumstances surrounding the death of a 19-year-old dispatch rider, Uzoma Ezekiel, who died at the Ikoyi correctional centre. It was gathered that a bicycle assigned to him by a logistics company located on Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos State, where he worked as a dispatch rider was stolen. According to Chidera’s elder brother, Samuel Ifesinachi, “my brother started working with Errand360 in January this year, but around March the bicycle assigned to him by the company was stolen overnight from where it was parked where he lived. It was his friend that called to notify me of the development. “The company arrested him over the missing bicycle, he was charged to court without any of our family members knowing. He died at the Ikoyi prison on April 24, 2022. Even though the bicycle was replaced, the company didn’t withdraw the case. When we called the company they denied arresting him.” However, when we got to Ikoyi prison, where my broth

SOME  youths of All Progressives Congress, APC in Somolu Local Government Area, have rejected the fifth term bid of Hon. Rotimi Oluwo to recontest for the state House of Assembly. The youths under the aegis of Concerned Somolu People from Bajulaye APC have urged the the leadership of the party to disqualify Hon. Olowo from contesting the Somolu Constituency 1 seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly. They  insisted that if the APC failed to heed their call and allow Olowo to participate in the primaries, they might be forced to work against the ruling party in the general elections. They insisted that Olowo, who had been a member of the House of Assembly since 2007, cannot represent them again for a fifth term in the House of Assembly. They wondered why the lawmaker would make a U-turn after declaring interest and buying the nomination and expression of interest forms to contest for the House of Representatives. Speaking with newsmen on behalf of the protesters, an apex leader in the

THE killing of a youth leader, Ufot Job, in Ikot Andem community in Ukanafun Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom has created panic in the community. It was gathered that Ufot Job was killed, Monday, and his motorcycle, which was given to him as empowerment from a House member seized from him. Residents, yesterday, revealed that the armed hoodlums ambushed the deceased along the road linking Ekparakwa and Ikot Udo Ossiom village. A resident said: “The late Job was riding on his motorcycle from his village, Ikot Andem, and was ambushed by suspected cultists, who opened fire on him and fled with his motorcycle, leaving him dead in his pool of blood. “It was too late for him to be saved because when neighbours arrived following the alarm raised by eyewitnesses, he had lost more blood from the gunshot wounds." A youth leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The matter had been reported to the Police for immediate investigation to apprehend the suspects.” The Police Public Re

TWO suspects, Mubarak Yunusa and Emmanuel Okuagba, found with the mutilated body of a four-year-old boy, have been arrested in Lapai, headquarters of Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State by police operatives. It was gathered that the four-year-old boy, Hussaini Ibrahim, was declared missing by his parents last Friday only for his mutilated body to be found in a sack being carried by one of the suspects, Mubarak, the following day. Most parts of the deceased including his head, eyes and private part among others were said to have been removed for the rituals. It was also gathered that the suspect was about to dump the dismembered body into a stream in Lapai when he was caught. The arrest of the suspect, according to a source, was as a result of information availed the Lapai Police Command by residents of the town of the suspicious movement of one of the suspects. Upon the receipt of the information, Police operatives trailed Mubarak Yunusa and apprehended him. During interrogatio

...Building falls during conversion —Residents AS the rescue operation at the site of the three-story building that collapsed on Freeman Street, Lagos Island, on Saturday, May 21,  hit ground zero, an 18-year-old boy, simply identified as Matthew, was among the five persons that were rescued. It was gathered that four people died in the collapsed building that was undergoing conversion into a three-storey building. The last survivor, Matthew, who was miraculously rescued from ground zero of the building and rushed to the hospital, was said to have been away from work due to sickness before that Saturday, when he resumed.  A resident, despite that all hope was lost, he was miraculously rescued from ground the building and rushed to the hospital for medical attention. Giving an update on the rescue operations, Ibrahim Farinloye, zonal coordinator, South-West, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said five people were rescued. “The building crumbled during a downpour at about 1:45

....As govt clamps down on cart pushers COMMUTERS plying the Agbara/Igbo-Elerin/Okoko/Iyana Iba route were, yesterday, stranded, as some commercial drivers protested against alleged harassment and extortion by personnel of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, aka Task Force. The drivers, who carried placards with various inscriptions like ‘End Task Force wahala’ and ‘End Task Force in Lagos State', prevented commercial vehicles and trucks from taking one way at Church bus stop, Ojo, along the Badagry expressway. The Chairman, Shuttle Bus Drivers Association, Ojo chapter, Richard Adeboyega, said: "The road is under construction and, before now, we had a turn at Afro, another at Okoko, but the construction company has blocked the turns. “Drivers plying Agbara to Igbo-Elerin/First Gate had to drive to Ojo barracks before they can find a turn and drive back. When they take one way, officials of the Task Force impound our member's buses. We pay

*As court upholds  NFIU ’s regulations THE Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, dismissed a suit governors of the 36 states of the federation filed to query the constitutionality of regulations the  Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit , NFIU, issued to guarantee financial autonomy for local governments. The court, in a judgement delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the suit lacked merit, adding that the regulations, which came to effect on June 1, 2019, was aimed at ensuring that funds meant for local governments were paid directly to them, rather than through a joint account controlled by governors. Besides, Justice Ekwo noted that provisions of the NFIU’s guidelines were not in conflict with 1999 Constitution (as amended). It will be recalled that the state governors, under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, had on May 27, 2019, through their Attorneys-General, approached the court to halt the implementation of the regulations. The regulations had, asi

•A domestic gas explosion victim, Dr. Onyemaechi Nwagbo.  A staff of the National Veterinary Research Institute, Dr. Onyemaechi Nwagbo, yesterday, recounted how a domestic gas explosion claimed the lives of four members of his household at Umuokalu Orba in Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State. Nwagbo, who sustained severe burns from the explosion, said that he lost two daughters studying Medical courses at the Madonna University, Rivers State, his wife and a stepson. He explained that the incident happened at about 8:30 in the morning, when his late daughter, Mmesomma, lit their cooking gas, while trying to fry yam for breakfast. He explained that when the deceased noticed leakage from the gas cylinder, she turned the light off and covered the cylinder with a bucket. However, he said the leaking gas magnated fire from a charcoal stove outside the house and set the house on fire. “I was in my room that fateful day and, suddenly, I heard a sound. I rushed out to the corridor to put

Venerable Olu Obanla. ...Abductors demand N10m ransom A cleric, Venerable Olu Obanla, and his son, have reportedly been abducted along Ifon, in Ose council area of Ondo state. A family source said that the clergyman and his son were travelling along Okeluse road when they were ambushed, dragged from their vehicle and marched into the forest. Meanwhile, a family source said that the kidnappers have opened a line of communication with them, demanding for N10 million ransom. He said that the family were able to raise N1 million, which the abductors have rejected. The source said: “Venerable Olu Obanla and his son were kidnapped Saturday on their way to Okeluse in Ondo State.   “The kidnappers have contacted the family and ransom of N10 million was  being demanded by the kidnappers. The family had raised N1 million, but the kidnappers rejected it .”   “ We have begged them but they turned deaf ears to our pleadings. They have since not communicated with us. “ We are trusting God that they

Late Deborah Samuel By Femi Fani-Kayode IN the light of the murder of Deborah Samuel there has been much talk about “crossing of red lines” by members of the Muslim community. They have said that blasphemy is a crime punishable by death and that if anyone dares to indulge in it and cross that line they will pay for it with their lives. One particular individual who is an educated person and who I consider to be a notable intellectual went as far as to say anyone that does not like this should “go and hug a transformer!” The Christian community in Nigeria appears to be less enthusiastic, more ambivalent and more guarded about the wisdom of reacting harshly when red lines are crossed and opinion appears to be divided in their ranks on this vexatious and contentious issue. Some have suggested that Christians should do and say nothing when faced with evil, when their red lines are crossed and when they are confronted with an attack against their person or their faith. They say Christians m

THE family of Pastor Austin Awolor, who has been missing for over two months, has appealed to the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, Force Headquarters, Abuja to assist them to locate his whereabouts. In a petition to the police through the law firm of Lois-Preston and Co, the family alleged that before Pastor Awolor’s recent disappearance, he had been ambushed and attacked on two occasions by armed herdsmen. The family claimed that Awolor sustained gunshot wounds on March 28, 2019, after he was attacked by men suspected to be bandits along the Dede area of Abuja. After initial emergency treatment at Nigerian Police Hospital at Dede along Abuja road, the family said Awolor was referred to a private hospital where he spent over six months before he recovered.  They added that in December 2021, the pastor boarded a taxi in Abuja and was kidnapped by unknown persons who held him in a forest for over two weeks before he miraculously escaped from their c

Kingsley Essien, the suspect. ...sells 2-year-old son for N600,000 A 36-year-old man, Kingsley Essien , has been arrested by men of Ogun State Police Command for trafficking his wife to Mali for prostitution and selling her two-year-old son for N600,000. The suspect was arrested following a report lodged at Agbara divisional headquarters of the command by the wife, Bright Essien. She reported that sometime in October 2021, her husband, Kingsley Essien, informed her that he had secured a job for her in Bamako, Mali and that he has assisted many people to that country for greener pastures. She said she didn’t suspect any foul play until she got to Mali only to discover that she has been sold to a human trafficking cartel headed by a woman at the rate of N1.4 million. While in Mali, she was forced into prostitution, but later found her way to Nigerian embassy in Bamako where she was assisted back to Nigeria. On getting to Nigeria, she discovered that her two-year-old son in the care of he

Residents of Owoseni Street woke up to the cry of a baby in the early hours of Tuesday as a mentally challenged woman, identified as Ethel Akuboh, delivered a baby girl. Ethel, who lives alone with her two-year-old daughter inside a one-room apartment at 7 Owoseni Street, Mechanic bus stop, along Badagry expressway, gave birth to a healthy baby herself without any support. It was gathered that her husband, Remiguis Akuboh, who rented the apartment for her five months ago disappeared afterwards. When pressmen visited the location, Ethel was sitting on the bare floor, with her two-year-old daughter, Blessing, inside a dirty room with all sorts of junk scattered around, while her baby slept in an old baby cot. Rallying around Ethel, a neighbour gave her food and helped tidied up the room.  Another neighbour, a nursing mother, boiled water to bathe the newborn. Looking very awkward, Ethel said: “I am from Isoko in Delta State, my relatives are in the village. It is only my husband, who kno

  A suspected cultist, Adegoroye Afeez, 24, has revealed that he raped his girlfriend (name withheld) because she refused to have sex with him. This is as his accomplice, Olamilekan Elijah, 23, denied raping the girl but only stayed in the room to record the scene. Speaking with journalists while being paraded at the Amotekun office at Isale-Osun of the state capital, Afeez said he had been dating the victim for almost a year and she refused to consent to have sex with him. Afeez said: “I’m a cocoa seller from Iwo. I am married and have a child. I have known the victim since last year and we have since been in a relationship. I raped her because she would not give consent to my sexual demand. “That was our first time. My friend and I were in the house, but he didn’t take part in the act.” He, however, denied knowing that the victim is in her menstrual period. His accomplice, Olamilekan, who also claimed to be a cocoa seller and married too, admitted to recording the scene but did not p

THE management of Beer Barn, the upscale leisure facility in  Lekki area of Lagos where a sound engineer, David Sunday, was burnt to death last week  by commercial motorcyclists, has disclosed the efforts it made to save the deceased from his assailants. According to the leisure facility, its staff had been told by three naval officers when trouble broke out that they were trying to resolve the dispute that led to the mob setting David Sunday ablaze as well as its foiled attempt to kill his colleague, Philip Balogun, for allegedly using charm on a commercial motorcyclist who lost, but later regained consciousness. Beer Barn stated in a statement that David Sunday, a sound engineer with a live band it hired to provide musical entertainment for its patrons, was killed after the naval officers were unable to get the situation under control because of the intensity of the anger of the mob, which believed that the alleged victim of the chance had died. The leisure hub’s management said the