Youths Hold Rally, Storm Late Mohbad’s Ikorodu Home

Numbering in their hundreds, youths on Tuesday, gathered at the Okeletu Bus-stop, Ikorodu, to demand justice over the death of singer, Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad. The singer died on Sept.12, at 27, and the occurrence has continued to generate controversy, following which the Lagos State Police Command has set up a 19-man special investigation team to investigate the incident. Youths, carrying placards with photos of MohBad, chanting, “We need justice for MohBad” and singing songs, marched on streets and sought investigation to unravel any foul play, and justice on the occurrence. According to reports, the former residence of the popular musician in Ikorodu at Okeletu reports the youths marched from the area toward Ijede Road. Kazeem Ayinde, one of the youths, said that the rally was organised to show their last respect to the late musician. Ayinde said there would be a candlelight event for the deceased later in the day because he died a week ago. During the visit, Mrs Felicia Adedara, the grandmother of the deceased, said that they would not discuss any matter relating to the death with anybody until investigation was completed. Adedara said Mohbad’s father had gone to the police to help them in their investigation. “I am the only woman left as mother to the dad, I came in from Ekiti immediately I heard about the incident. “Right now, we have been instructed by the police not to talk to anybody until they complete their investigation,” she said. Sympathisers at the residence commended the Nigeria Police for their timely intervention and urged them to unravel the mystery behind the death without delay. “We will all miss MohBad in this community, just of recent he distributed palliatives to residents of this community. “Some of us who were not around during the period went to the dad and he gave us our packages. “We are calling on the police to unravel those behind his death, because everybody in this community will miss him because he is so generous,” one of the sympathisers who declined to give his name said.

Park Ownership Dispute: Unknown gunmen trigger pandemonium in Anambra

An unsettling situation unfolded on Wednesday in Nkpor, situated within the Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The cause of the upheaval was the contentious matter of park ownership, which escalated to the point of armed masked individuals purportedly assuming control of the parks. In the midst of this dispute, chaos ensued, leading to the reported injury of at least five individuals due to the commotion caused by gunshots fired by the armed intruders. Emmanuel Idemili, the Chairman of the Amafor Nkpor community, addressed the media regarding the unfolding situation. According to him, his team was duly authorized by the state government to manage and generate revenue from the parks. He revealed that he was away on official business in Awka when he received a distressing call from his staff at the parks. They reported that a group of masked and armed individuals had forcefully entered the scene under the fly-over bridge, immediately resorting to gunfire and driving his team away. Idemili expressed his concern for the wellbeing of his staff, mentioning that he was uncertain whether any of his members were among the injured. The intensity of the shooting triggered a stampede, causing traders at the Nkpor New Auto Spare Parks and Nkpor Relief Markets to hastily close their shops and seek safety. In an attempt to verify the unfolding events, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, was contacted. However, he stated that he had no knowledge of the incident, leaving the situation shrouded in uncertainty. This alarming incident in Nkpor, Anambra, underscores the potentially volatile nature of disputes over public spaces and their management. The clash over park ownership not only led to injuries but also disrupted the local commercial activities, highlighting the need for swift and effective resolution to maintain order and safety in the community.

Gov Inuwa rounds-off 1st phase palliative distribution to 420,000 vulnerable persons

*Acknowledges receipt of N2bn from FG Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON says Gombe State has received N2 billion out of the N5 billion relief funds that the Federal Government allocated to states for the purchase of food items for distribution to vulnerable members of the public to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal. He however stated that the government awaits the receipt of the balance as well as the 1 billion Naira worth of maize which the Central Bank of Nigeria is selling to each state from the national strategic reserve. The governor disclosed this while speaking at round-off of the first phase of statewide palliatives distribution exercise embarked upon by his administration.  He applauded the Federal Government for providing the relief funds to each state of the federation out of which 48% is a loan that will be paid back over a period of 20 months at N120,000,000.00 monthly starting from November this year.  Assuring that his administration will ensure effective and judicious use of the funds, the Governor revealed that “We will set up a special committee under the Deputy Governor, Dr Manassah Daniel Jatau to ensure effective distribution of the FG’s palliatives to the deserving people of Gombe State”. Governor Inuwa also assured of his administration’s continued commitment towards addressing the plights of the people. “This exercise will continue, we will not relent in our efforts until our people are taken out of this difficult situation”, he stressed. He said the palliative distribution exercise was the 8th in the series of interventions carried out by his administration, adding that he will not relent in attending to the plight of his people. “I am not happy distributing palliatives to the people, I will rather be happy if every household in Gombe State would be able to meet their basic needs”, he added. “Our intention is to make sure that the palliatives we have provided reach the most-deserving people at the grassroots. We have provided an effective and efficient framework to achieve this by taking the exercise to the polling unit level. In every polling unit, 10 beneficiaries have been selected from making up the 30 thousand beneficiaries for this phase”, he noted. “Our ultimate target is to help not fewer than four hundred and twenty thousand (420,000) people in in this phase”, he added. He decried the lingering food crisis in the country, describing the ugly trend as a complex problem that calls for comprehensive solutions from all stakeholders, cautioning that distribution of palliatives from the government will only provide a temporary relief. “Despite series of palliatives distribution from the government, the problem of rising cost of food commodities persists, because that is not the way to go. Palliatives will not provide permanent solution to the problem. It is therefore pertinent on all stakeholders to find a permanent solution to the problem. He enjoined the beneficiaries to use the items judiciously, cautioning them about selling the items as this will defeat the intent of the exercise. “Use the fertilisers and insecticides on your farms to cultivate what can sustain your families and avoid selling them out. Look for potential places suitable for dry season farming and venture into irrigation agriculture. This is the way to go as we cannot continue to rely on handouts from the government”, he said. He used the occasion to call on famers in the state to avoid selling their farm produce during harvest period as the practice afflicts more hardships to the farmers and their families in the near future. Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Secretary to the Gombe State Government, Professor Ibrahim Abubakar Njodi thanked Governor Inuwa for his magnanimity in attending to the plight of his people at this difficult time. “It is out of his sympathy and magnanimity that Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya moved to rescue his people from the grab of economic difficulties”, he said, calling on people to continue supporting the polices and programmes of the government. In his address, the Executive Secretary, Gombe State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, who is also the chairman state distribution committee, Abdullahi Haruna Abdullahi said the committee has succeeded in inaugurating the LG level teams and flagging off of the distribution exercise in all the 11 Local Governments Areas of the state. Mr Haruna promised to uphold the trust and confidence reposed in them by ensuring judicious distribution of the item across the state, explaining that the exercise will commence in earnest in every LGA that finished setting up its ward level committees. The chairman said, the Items distributed include bags of Fertilizer, insecticides, rice and spaghetti and will draw 10 beneficiaries from each polling unit in the state.

NAF Special Forces rescue kidnapped victims in Kaduna

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Special Forces on night patrol on Sunday rescued seven kidnapped victims, comprising six females and one male near Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State. This is contained in a statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, on Monday in Abuja. Gabkwet said the female victims on interrogation revealed that they were kidnapped from Paikoro in Niger State while the lone male victim said that he was abducted from Rijau in Niger State. He said the terrorists, on sighting the troops, abandoned their victims and fled into a nearby forest. According to him, six of victims were subsequently taken to NAF Medical facility at Birnin Gwari for review and subsequently released. Gabwet said that the last victim, the male, was still being observed at the facility. “The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar has since commended the efforts of the troops, while calling for intensified efforts toward ensuring all areas within Kaduna State and environs are free of terrorists, kidnappers and other criminal elements,” he said.