The Harbingerngr News

NO fewer than four  persons were feared killed after a clash between rival groups over the right for the sale of tickets and collection of tolls from truck drivers along the port corridor. Sources claimed that the clash was between members of the Lagos State Park and Garage Management and other unions that are yet to be identified. Although, the names of the victims are not ascertained, an official of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, who said he does not have the authority to speak on the matter, confirmed the death of four of its members, adding that the leadership of the union will issue an official statement on the matter tomorrow. It would be recalled that members of the Lagos State Parks and Garage Committee, last week, invaded the port’s access roads, dislodging members of truckers’ unions and selling tickets to truck drivers at the second gate of the Tin-Can Island Port in Apapa. A visit to the port by our correspondent showed that members of the committee came into t...

Nigeria Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba.   FOLLOWING incessant and unauthorised possession and usage of police uniforms by some individuals, movies and skit makers, as well as illegal sale of police materials and accouterments by traders in shops, open stores not approved nor recognised by the authorities, the Nigeria Police Force has threatened to arrest those breaking the law. The IGP also frowned on the demeaning manner in which movie and skit makers portrayed the police institution in their movies and skits, using the police uniform without recourse to the provision of Section 251 of the Criminal Code law, and Section 133 of the Penal Code Law, which criminalise such unauthorised use with accompanying necessary sanctions. Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, who disclosed this yesterday, said: “The IGP, therefore, charged all commands and formations, IGP Monitoring Unit, Provost Marshals and X-Squad to arrest and immediately prosecute, in acc...

Abdulmalik (left) and Hanifa. Kano State High Court, has sentenced the Proprietor of Nobel Kids Academy and North West Preparatory School, Abdulmalik Tanko, who masterminded the kidnap and killing of 5-year-old school girl, Hanifa Abubakar, to death by hanging. Tanko's accomplice, Hashimu Ishyaku, was also sentenced to death by hanging by the court Delivering judgment on the case, Usman Na’abba also sentenced Fatima Musa to two years imprisonment. Tanko, proprietor of the school Hanifa attended, was paraded by the police in January 2022, during which he confessed to having killed the girl with rat poison and buried her in a shallow grave. It would be recalled that the trio of Abdulmalik, alongside his accomplice, Isyaku, and Musa, were arraigned before the court, by the Kano State government, on five count charges bordering on criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, abetting, confinement and culpable homicide, contrary to section 97, 274, 277, 221 of the penal code. Justice Na'abba sa...

About six people were reportedly killed by bandits in Pinau community, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State Wednesday. It was also gathered that the bandits carted away foodstuffs and other personal effects of fleeing villagers. One of the villagers, Ishaku Yahaya, said he was lucky to have escaped being hit by stray bullets on his way back to Pinau after attending an engagement in Wase town. “On my way back, I heard the commotion in the community and had to wait for all to calm down. Apart from those people stray bullets hit, some others were injured as they were running to find hiding places.” He stated that the casualty figure was low because many people were not home when the bandits arrived. It would be recalled that about five days ago, residents had raised concern about the withdrawal of security personnel from the area, noting that such would increase the incidences of invasion.  Already, residents in vulnerable communities are trooping to Wase town and other places ...

A prominent leader of Iba-Oloja community, in Ibeju-Lekki Local Council Development Area, LCDA, of Lagos State,  Hasan Lawal, yesterday, urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to intervene and save the community from imminent crisis that is capable of disrupting the peace of the community. The community leader, while reacting to the unlawful invasion of the town by suspected land grabbers, said: “The land grabbers invaded our community with some suspected police officers, who shot sporadically for over an hour. “One of the residents, Kayode Fatai, was in the hospital as a result of the gunshot injuries he sustained during the attack. “Mrs Glory Benuju, a pregnant woman in the community also collapsed and had since been receiving treatment at the Intensive Care Unit at Akodo General Hospital. “So, I am using this opportunity to call on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to come to our aid in getting rid of these land speculators that are ravaging the community.” Lawal insisted that the attack w...

A 23-year-old graduate of Business Administration from York University in Canada,  Chinonso Anene , has allegedly committed suicide in Lagos. It was gathered that Chinonso Anene reportedly locked himself inside his apartment last Wednesday at House 9, Emmanuel Court, Olusegun Aina Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi and thereafter used a pump action gun to shoot himself.   His lifeless body was discovered inside the wardrobe when police officers broke the door to his apartment.  Confirming the incident, spokesperson, Lagos State police command, SP Benjamin Huydeyin, said the DPO Ikoyi Division received a distress call from the Chief Security Officer of Parkview Estate, Mr Daramola, that Chinonso Anene has committed suicide.  He said:  “Based on the report, a team of detectives visited and photographed the scene, the door was forced open and one expended cartridge was recovered. The remains of the deceased have been deposited at Lagos Island morgue for autopsy wh...

Akwa Ibom State government has raised the alarm over the resurgence of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, noting that 14 persons have been infected in the state. State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Augustine Umoh, who disclosed this to newsmen, yesterday, in Uyo, advised the citizens and residents to ensure they observe the Covid-19 protocols particularly, regular washing of hands, use of facemasks, hand sanitisers and social distancing as the mode of transmission had not changed.  Umoh said his ministry had  already commenced fresh public enlightenment campaign to create awareness on the resurgence, adding that laboratories have been prepared for testing. He said:  “We have about 14 active cases in the state. We are not surprised. What is important now is for us to get to the former tempo that assisted us to bring the number of patients down. “As I speak, the 14 cases that we have are on home isolation and monitoring. The process of contact tracing has recommenced. “The dise...

Daniel Reyenieju FORMER House of Representatives and coordinator of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Forum in South-South, Daniel Reyenieju has decried the composition of the recently constituted Board of Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited, describing it as lopsidedness in terms of the geographical origin of named members. Reyenieju, stated that a cursory look at the list of names of members of the Board brazenly demonstrates its bias in favor of a particular section of the Country such that preponderance of the names on the list including the Company Secretary is from the same geopolitical region to the disadvantage of the regions producing the oil and gas. According to the former lawmaker, the Niger Delta where the bulk of Nigeria’s oil and gas comes from suffers the untold negative effects arising from exploration, exploitations, and other activities associated with the production of oil and gas.  “It is most surprising that the North West from where no drop of cr...

Olalekan Olaniyan, Generator repairer. •Spent 5 years in prison over false allegation WHEN Olalekan Olaniyan, a generator repairer heard a knock on his door on July 20, 2017, which was his birthday, his thought was that perhaps one of his friends had come to congratulate him. When he eventually opened the door, four Police officers with some community leaders were standing there and all he heard was "are you Olalekan? When he said 'yes', the next thing he heard was, "you are under arrest." Like a dream, all Olalekans plan to celebrate his birthday in a special way turned into nightmare as he was taken to Apete Police station, Ibadan, Oyo State and later transferred to the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, also in Ibadan where he was subjected to severe torture and six of his teeth forcefully removed. In this edition, Olalekan narrates to Encounter, his near-death experience in SARS torture room and how he spent five years in Agodi Prison for a crime he di...

*Says it’s criminal to stop workers salary  *Notes workers tired of FG’s excuses, lamentations  *As NASS vows to step in THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and its affiliate unions, yesterday, shut down Abuja with  mega rally in solidarity with striking university-based unions, with workers taking the protest to the National Assembly. NLC also said it was criminal for the Federal Government to stop workers salary over its alleged ‘no work, no pay’ policy. Besides, labour said Nigerians, especially workers, were tired of the government excuses and lamentations, stressing that if after the solidarity protest, government remained adamant in addressing the demands of the striking university unions, the next phase would be a three-day national strike. The unions in large numbers hit the street of Abuja to continue the two-day protest, which had earlier held in various states of the federation to push the Federal Government towards ending the months long strike in the university...

  * Say bill does not adequately address interests of states  *To spearhead 6-year $500m World Bank’s LPRES programme Governors of the 36 states of the federation have rejected the proposed National Water Resources Bill 2020, saying it does not adequately address the interests of states. Rising from the 5th teleconference meeting of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, Tuesday, the governors, in a communique issued at the end of the meeting, said the decision to kick against the proposed legislation came against the backdrop of the fact that it would not address the issue of its inconsistencies with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The communique signed by the NGF chairman and Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, read:  “On the reintroduction of the National Water Resources Bill, governors argued that the bill does not adequately address the interests of the states and is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution of the Fede...

A Cash Officer with a new generation bank was killed on Tuesday when gunmen attacked a bullion van conveying money from Aba to Umuahia, while three police personnel escorting the van were injured during an exchange of fire. The dare-devil robbers, who attacked the bullion van around Ntigha junction of Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, reportedly carted away an undisclosed amount of money before escaping the scene. One of the robbers was, however, gunned down by a Rapid Response team of police drafted to the scene following a distress call. Confirming the incident, Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, Geoffrey Ogbonna, said the robbers ambushed the bullion van at the expressway and opened fire on them immediately they approached the junction, adding that the incident happened around 1.13 p.m. at Ntigha junction, near Umuahia. He said the bullion van conveying cash from a new generation bank in Aba to Umuahia ran into the blockade mounted by the suspected robbers. The police spokesm...

By Mike Ozekhome, SAN  I watched and listened very carefully to my good friend, Chief Festus Okoye, INEC’s cerebral Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, on his recent Channels Television interview. I completely disagree with his take and analysis of the place and space of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in the organogram and scheme of things concerning the electoral process in Nigeria. His analysis, which literally dismissed the RECs with a wave of the hand in a most cavalier manner, if swallowed hook, line and sinker, has the dangerous effect of not only completely defanging RECs and rendering their electoral efforts at the grassroots state levels, completely useless, but also of creating avoidable turmoil and schism within INEC itself, as one homogeneous and independent family unit. It can also have the unintended consequence of self-immolation which can self-destruct. It amounts, in my humble view, to saying that the RECs who are constitutionally created a...

  A couple has been arrested for attacking a policeman in Oluwaga, Ipaja area of Lagos. A video, which went viral on social media, showed where the woman was attacking the policeman. It was gathered that the couple with their baby was driving a Mercedes Benz car without a number plate, at about 2.30 pm Monday. Three policemen from the Ipaja division said to be on routine checks, flagged the car down and demanded to know why there was no number plate on the car. From the video clip, an attempt by one of the policemen to sit in the passenger’s seat in front, apparently to take the car to the station, was resisted by the woman who sat there. The woman identified as Mrs Adebayo Ayobami, thereafter, got out of the car, grabbed the policeman by the neck and rained slaps on him. While holding the policeman with her left hand by the neck, she brought out her baby from the car with the right. She was heard saying: “See, my baby is crying, my baby is crying.” She dropped the baby back in the...

 ...on first visit to Lagos *We've no hand in the shooting —Task Force More information on the unidentified man that was killed by a stray bullet during the enforcement of the ban on Okada by a team of policemen attached to the Lagos State Task Force, Monday, at Second Rainbow busstop, on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway has emerged. It was gathered that Monday was the deceased’s first time to visit Lagos. He was said to have come in from Aba in Abia State to see one of his ailing relatives who is in the hospital. Unfortunately, a stray bullet allegedly from policemen attached to the Lagos Task Force, who visited the area to enforce the ban on commercial motorcycles hit and killed him on the spot. We've no hand in the shooting —Task Force But in a swift reaction, the Lagos State Task Force denied having a hand in the death of the man. Chairman of the agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye, in a statement by Director, Press and Public Affairs, Lagos State Task Force, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, yester...

*Falana faults FG’s claims on oil subsidy THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday began a two-day nationwide protest against failure of the Federal Government to resolve the strike embarked upon by unions in the nation’s university system, warning the government not to toy with another people’s uprising comparable to the  2020 #EndSARS protest. The strike has lasted five months so far. NLC, therefore, gave the government the ultimatum to resolve the issues within the two-week time-frame President Muhammadu Buhari gave Education Minister, Malam Adamu Adamu, to resolve the matter. The Congress gave the warning through the chairperson of Lagos State chapter of the union, Mrs Funmi Agnes Sessy, during the solidarity rally organised in support of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU and other unions in the university system yesterday. “As parents and critical stakeholders in the sector, we are tired of seeing our children and students idling away at home for over five mont...