The Harbingerngr News

FOR long, there have been serious complaints by residents of Lagos over the absence of policemen at night in major areas of the city.  From the highbrow Lekki, Ikoyi, Victoria Island areas of the city to the densely populated areas of Ajangbadi, Iyana Ipaja, Iyana Ishachi, Ogba, Badagry, Iyana Oworo etc, extending to the capital city, Ikeja, policing, in the past, stops at midnight.  Between the hours of midnight and morning, it will be like ‘to your tents Oh Israel’ as both motorists and pedestrians traverse the length and breadth of the city without feeling police presence. Aside this, whatever services you may encounter is always skeletal and this happens in major areas that are less prone to criminal activities. However, the situation is gradually changing with the arrival of the new Commissioner of Police, Fayoade Adegoke who seems to have taken up the gauntlet and vowed to break the jinx so that Lagosians will sleep with both eyes closed.  Since his assumption of du...

*Gov Makinde joins protest in Oyo, says there’s hunger, anger in the land  THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has made a 17-point demand to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assuage the poverty, hunger and mass suffering inflicted on the citizens by the policies of the Federal Government. This is even as Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State participated in the protest in Ibadan, the state capital, saying there are hunger and anger in the land. Suspends protest However, leaders of NLC, yesterday suspended the two-day nationwide protest after the first day, saying its suspension was based on the fact that the street action achieved overwhelming success. In a communiqué at the end of its National Executive Council, NEC, meeting yesterday in Abuja, President of NLC and Acting General Secretary, Joe Ajaero and Ismail Bello, said: “The NEC-in-session, therefore, reviewed the execution of the first day of the nationwide protest to assess its effectiveness and take decision on further necessary ...

Three siblings, a boy and two  girls, on Sunday, died of suffocation inside a car parked in their residential quarters in Ilorin, Kwara State. The incident occurred at 8, Boluke Line, Zango-Kulende quarters in Ilorin East Local Government Area of the state . It was gathered that the incident occurred about 2p.m., when the three children of the same parent were playing inside the car and mistakenly locked themselves in the parked car. The car, it was gathered, was borrowed by their father from his sister, within the same premises of their quarters for quick domestic use. Their mother, Shade Silifat,  had gone out to buy noodles for the children's school meals on Monday when the tragedy occurred. Their mother, who returned from where she went to buy noodles discovered their foot wares outside the parked car, raised the alarm after forcing the doors of the car open. She reportedly fainted when she met the three children motionless as a result of suffocation inside the car. That e...

YORUBA  Nation agitator, Mr. Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, has vowed to continue defending his people against invaders. He said this at Igboho town during the burial service of his mother, who died last year when he was away from the country. Recall that Igboho fled the country on July 1, 2021, when combined security agents invaded his Soka residence in Ibadan, killing two persons, while 13 of his supporters were arrested. Igboho was later arrested in Benin Republic on his way to Germany.  He was, thereafter, granted bail by the Beninoise government.  He noted that he led the protests against the killing of his people when everyone in the West remained silent. Speaking on the invasion of his residence during the previous administration, he narrated how former President Muhammadu Buhari allegedly wanted to kill him. He said: "Buhari wanted to kill me. Our elders and kings were all afraid to talk. They were afraid of Buhari. When the Fulani herders were killi...

Nasarawa State Police anti-kidnapping squad, yesterday, raided suspected kidnappers' den located in Nasarawa Eggon and arrested 109  illegal miners in the area. This followed the determination of the Commissioner of Police, Musa Nadada, to rid the state of criminals and criminality. The operation carried out in collaboration with the Vigilante Group of Nasarawa Eggon was in compliance with the directive of the Commissioner of Police,  Nadada  towards reducing the spate of criminal activities in the state It will be recalled that Nadada had directed  the command’s anti-kidnapping unit in collaboration with the Vigilante Group of Nasarawa Eggon council to embark on a massive raid of kidnappers’ den located at Alogani mountains, a  hideout  of the kidnappers terrorising the residents of the state.  The operation stretched from Mada station to Wakama, a mountainous area, where the criminals (kidnappers) use as hideout to keep their victims until a ransom i...

 Bandits, Monday night, attacked the Yan Nasarawa community in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State, killed eight and kidnapped 38, who were mostly women and children.  The bandits also looted shops, rustled animals and set buildings on fire before leaving the community.  The locals who survived the attack, told the BBC Hausa Service that they were overpowered by the bandits, who  parked their motorcycles on the outskirts of the village, stormed the community and shot sporadically.  A son to the Village Chief of Yan Nasarawa, who claimed  that his father was among those killed, said the bandits rode on about 40 motorcycles and invaded the community wielding dangerous weapons.  “They killed my father, who was the community head and his brother,” he said. Another local said: “They killed no fewer than eight persons. Six died immediately while the other two died afterwards. They set fire on seven cars and abducted about 38 persons. “Security age...

NO fewer than nine persons were confirmed dead while seven others sustained injuries in an accident involving a truck and a Mazda bus at Kere bridge on Lagos-Abeokuta expressway. Spokesperson, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, in Ogun State, Mrs. Florence Okpe, confirmed the accident to newsmen in Abeokuta, yesterday. Okpe explained that the incident occurred at 8a.m., saying it was caused by excessive speed and route violation which led to head-on collision between the truck without number plate and the bus with number plate, SMK 808 YD. She explained that 17 persons were involved in the accident, which comprised seven men, nine women and one female child. “A total of seven persons were injured which comprises of five women, one man and one female child. Unfortunately, nine persons were recorded dead from the crash which comprises five men and four women,” she said. She added that the injured victims were taken to General Hospital, Ijaye, while the deceased were deposited at same hospi...

 •We should interrogate what’s beneficial — Afenifere scribe •On restructuring we stand— Agbekoya •We prefer restructuring—CYE •Restructuring, Yoruba nation urgently required—Yoruba forum THE clamour for Yoruba Nation and restructuring has reached high heavens.  The call has been persistently made by prominent elders, leaders and associations in the South West zone of the country.  They are all unanimous on the call for discontinuation of the current lopsided federalism that is being practised. Since President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, it appears the Yoruba Nation agitation has gradually fizzled out.  When Vanguard spoke with the proponent of the two, it was observed that there have been divergent views by the proponents.  While a larger percentage feel that restructuring of the current system of government is the only antidote to incessant killings, kidnappings and wanton destruction of lives and property, a minute percentage still mainta...

HUMAN rights activist, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, yesterday, faulted the Presidency for accusing him of ‘misrepresentation of facts’, adding that he would continue to ask pertinent questions in the public interest. Falana, in a statement titled: ‘Femi Falana, Covid-19 fund and the art of misrepresentation’, insisted that he will not be intimidated to  speak truth to power. The statement reads: “At the memorial lecture held by the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, CDHR, in Lagos on Sunday, February 12, 2024, in honour of its foundation president, the late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, I urged Nigerians to demand accountability in respect of the huge funds gained the removal of fuel subsidy. In the course of my presentation, I informed the audience that the sum of N135 billion was distributed to the 36 state governments last December to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. “In a rejoinder to my statement, Mr Temitope Ajayi, a Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, accused me...

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, has, announced a N5 billion intervention fund to cushion the affects of rising cost of living and inflation in the state.  Addressing a press conference held at the Olusegun Osoba Press Centre, Governor's Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Governor Abiodun said the fund would cover education, health, workers' deduction and food palliative. He said: "As our administration acknowledges the concerns raised by many of our citizens regarding the rising food prices and shortages, coupled with the depreciation of the Naira, we identify with you and are taking proactive measures to alleviate the impact of these challenges to guarantee the welfare, well-being and wellness of our citizens in this difficult time. "In this direction and through targeted interventions, we aim to address these challenges by implementing a series of phased initiatives aimed at alleviating these burdens on all our citizens. "The State has taken the following steps:...

Allegation completely false, mischievous, misleading — Police  COMMERCIAL activities and vehicular movement were, yesterday, grounded for hours as protesters from Ekiugbo community barricaded roads within Ughelli metropolis, over alleged misconducta of Police and local security agents in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.  But the state Police Command has said the protest by Ekiugbo community was a sham, aimed to mislead the public and detract from pursuit of justice by criminal minded individuals. The protesters armed with placards bearing inscriptions such as ‘Police brutality is getting too much,’ ‘Police in Ughelli are fighting the innocents instead of criminals,’ ‘Too much of police illegal activities in the land,’ ‘Ughelli Police should allow our people free movement,’ among others. They accused a section of the police and hunters attached to the Ughelli Area command of alleged kidnapping.  Addressing newsmen, the President General of Ekiugbo commun...

Monarchs from the North, under the umbrella of Northern Traditional Council, NTC, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, yesterday, told the Federal Government that the  hardship, insecurity, poverty and unemployment in Nigeria and the North, in particular, was getting to a level they could no longer pacify the people from revolting. Addressing members, yesterday, at the Arewa House, Kaduna, during the 6th executive Northern Traditional Council Committee meeting, the Sultan informed the government that the traditional rulers, religious leaders, as well as state governors, had been pacifying the masses and the jobless youths from revolting against political leaders at the helm of affairs. According to him, "It is getting to a level that traditional leaders could no longer pacify the people from revolting against government and political leaders that supposed to find solutions to their lingering socio-economic plight. "And let’s not take it for gra...

Activist and lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to compel the federal government, the 36 states of the federation and Abuja to provide free and compulsory education up to junior secondary school level in the country. Falana and his co-plaintiff, Hauwa Mustapha, filed the suit for themselves and on behalf of the Alliance on Surviving Covid 19 and Beyond, ASCAB. The 40 defendants/respondents are Attorney-General of the Federation, Minister of Education and Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC,  Attorneys-General of the 36 states, and  Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The plaintiffs are praying the court to declare “that by virtue of section 2(1) of the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act, 2004, the respondents were legally obligated to provide free, compulsory and Universal basic education for every Nigerian child of primary and junior secondary, school age. They also want the court to declare “that by ...

THE House of Representatives has passed for first reading a bill seeking to transform the presidential system of government to a parliamentary system.   Titled: "The Bills proposing constitutional alterations for a transition to parliamentary system of government" was sponsored by sixty lawmakers and read for first time during wednesday's  plenary in Abuja.  Briefing newsmen after plenary, the spokesperson of the sixty members group,  Hon Abdussamad Dasuki (Sokoto, PDP) said that the proposed alterations, when passed, would significantly impact the national political landscape. According to him, over the years, the imperfections of the Presidential System of Government have become glaring to all, despite several alterations to the constitution to address the shortcomings of a system that has denied the nation the opportunity of attaining its full potentials.  He said among these imperfections are the high cost of governance, leaving fewer resources for cruc...

  •Accuses her of working with renegades to destroy party THE National Working Committee, NWC, of Labour Party, LP, has ordered the immediate suspension of the party’s National Treasurer, Ms. Oluchi Okpara, for bringing the party to disrepute by making unsubstantiated allegations of financial impropriety against the National Chairman, Comrade Julius Abure. Her suspension came barely 24 hours after the party announced the constitution of a disciplinary panel to investigate her demand that Abure be made to account for N3.5billion, being proceeds of the sale of forms and revenue generated from other sources during the 2023 general elections. National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, who announced the decision of the NWC at a briefing in Abuja yesterday, accused the treasurer of playing out the script of disgruntled former party members. He said:  “At the meeting held Tuesday evening, February 13, 2024, in Abuja, in exercise of its powers as contained in the party's ...

A member of Delta State Revenue Task Force team, Tunde, popularly known as Osama has allegedly strangled a Keke rider, Augustine Williams, during a heated argument over ticket levy in Sapele.  Trouble was said to have started, Tuesday evening, along Awolowo area as Tunde was said to have flagged down Augustine’s tricycle demanding the daily revenue levy.  Sources, who begged to remain anonymous, disclosed that a heated argument ensued as Tunde attempted to seize the tricycle key. In an attempt to defend himself, Augustine grabbed Tunde’s hand, as the situation escalated into a fight. Shockingly, amidst the chaos, Tunde was alleged to have held his neck causing him to collapse in distress. “He was jerking uncontrollably and we managed to revive him briefly before rushing him to the hospital,” an eyewitness said. Doctors were said to have declared Augustine dead on arrival. The incident sparked outrage among onlookers, with fellow Keke drivers citing daily harassment and extorti...