N50m Ransom : Kaduna Bandits Threaten To Kill Newborn Baby, Mother, 2 Sisters Within 48hrs

The family of a pregnant housewife that gave birth in captivity, the new baby and her two sisters in Kaduna State, have been given 48hrs ultimatum to pay N50 million ransom by bandits or receive their corpses.

The family has begged the government and good spirited Nigerians to help them secure the release of their loved ones, saying so far, they have been only able to raise N6.5 million.

They told journalists in Kaduna, yesterday, that although they offered the bandits the said N6.5 million, “it was vehemently rejected by the bandits.”

Speaking to journalists, a brother of the kidnapped victims, Kabir Yusuf, said he had begged the bandits and told them that the family had sold everything they had in order to raise N6.5 million but the bandits rejected it.

“One of my sisters, Zainab, who was heavily pregnant when they were kidnapped, gave birth in captivity without recourse to medical or human care for both mother and child. They were subjected to the harsh weather conditions, eating and drinking whatever is available in the forest.

“Since they took them away, we have been negotiating with them. The bandits initially demanded N140 million but we pleaded with them that we are poor people, so they reduced it to N100 million. We pleaded with them further and they later reduced it to N50 million and threatened that if we don’t have the N50 million ready, we should not call them again.

“My sisters cried to me on Sunday that they were being maltreated, that the bandits’ commander want to leave the camp and may not return until after a while, so we should talk to them. But I told them that we have sold everything we have but what we raised is not big and we don’t have anything to sell again. They started crying and I cried too.

“Now, the disturbing development is that, on Sunday, when I spoke to the bandits, I pleaded with them to release my sisters and the new baby, that we have only been able to raise N6.5 million. But, they started insulting me, they said if we don’t bring N50 million in the next two days, they will kill my sisters and the new baby.

“We are appealing to the Federal Government, Kaduna State government, charity organisations, philanthropists and well-spirited individuals to assist us in securing their release. We don’t want anything to happen to them, if anything happens to them, only God knows what effect it will have on our mother, who is now on wheelchair because of their absence.”

The three sisters were kidnapped on July 17, 2022, in Mando community Kaduna at their family house, where they came to look after their old mother, who has been ill.

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Pictures: Buhari's Son , Daughter Inlaw In Presidential Plane During UNGA Trip

Pictures show President Muhammadu Buhari's son Yusuf and his wife during a ride on the Presidential fleet as part of the President's entourage to the United States General Assembly in New York 

 

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8 PDP Governors Demand Ayu's Resignation

 

The number of those now asking for PDP National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu to go had increased exponentially. This was as many stakeholders across the different categories of leadership in the party considered the constant vituperations of the Rivers State governor as dangerous to their collective interest if not decisively addressed.

According to sources, at the last count, of the 13 PDP governors, eight had agreed to the demand that Ayu should go. But the governors of Sokoto, Taraba, Edo, Bayelsa, and Delta states remained supportive of Ayu’s continuation as national chairman.

The source stated that this latest development was the reason the chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum, Aminu Tambuwal, had been unable to call a meeting of the forum, knowing that majority of the governors were now of the view that Ayu should go and they might assert this position in their next meeting.

Apart from the sitting governors, the source stated further that of the 17 governorship candidates of the party, 12 had also bought into the idea. They realised Wike’s hard stance could harm their own election if the situational was not addressed and they are, therefore, speaking out more.

Similarly, former senate presidents of the party, except one,  had agreed to the position that Ayu should go as a sacrifice for the party. They believed, however, the situation could have been better managed.

We’re Not Threatened By Our Competitors, Says Campaign Council

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council, yesterday, said the party was not threatened by other candidates running for president in the 2023 general election. The council said the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and his running mate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, stood tall and above other contenders in the poll.

Spokesman of the council, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, speaking on a television interview, said the party was fully prepared for the commencement of campaigns, despite its internal wrangling. Aniagwu said Atiku and Okowa enjoyed massive support across the six geo-political zones in the country.

The PDP campaign spokesman said Atiku, Ayu and Wike were on same page on the need to carry out some balancing within the party, adding that the difference between their positions is the timeline for the demand. He said the time was too short to carry out such changes with the general election underway.

According to Aniagwu, “The constitution of the Presidential Campaign Council is a clear determination of the Atiku-Okowa Campaign Organisation to carry everybody along. This is because if you look at other political parties, they have excluded those, who contested against them or those who have held views that are at variance with the views of those seeking to lead our country.

“But for us in the PDP, we are pursuing unified front, because Atiku’s number one agenda is to unite the country and in doing so, it requires that he carries everybody along, irrespective of the views they hold.”

‘Wike’s Statements Frivolous, Senseless’

A member of the PDP Presidential Campaign Management Council, Senator Dino Melaye, yesterday, said Rivers State Governor Nyesome Wike’s recent outbursts against the party were frivolous and nonsensical.

“Wike’s statements are frivolous and did not make common sense,” Melaye said while fielding questions on the Arise Morning Show. He stated that the statements made against some prominent members of the party were out of anger.

Melaye said, “The recent statements by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State against some prominent members of the PDP, including our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, are frivolous.

“I want to start by saying that we don’t react to frivolities. We are not going to react to the statement made out of anger. We are not going to respond to what he said.”

According to him, “We are just focused on moving with our campaigns and satisfying the quest of Nigerians by building a new Nigeria, where justice, equity, and egalitarianism will be the order of the day.

“We are not distracted, and we are not going to be distracted by responding to issues that do not even make common sense. To give spurious statements without evidence is not going to get our attention and reaction.

“We are more focused on how Atiku is going to become President. The country is in a situation that needs urgent attention. The country is not only sick but also suffering from a dreadful congenital abnormality. There is need for amelioration and correction, and that is our focus.”

On the withdrawal of Wike and some aggrieved members from the campaign council, Melaye expressed the hope that the issue would be resolved. He added, “That Governor Wike is aggrieved does not mean the party is in trouble. There is no time you can have 100 per cent compliance from all members of a party.

“Even Governor Wike’s issue is an on-going issue and in a matter of days, it will be resolved, and even the declaration by the Governor Wike group is not absolute, because I have spoken to very credible members of the group and they have told me they cannot work against PDP.

“In fact, some of them are already working in their various states for the actualisation of Atiku Abubakar as the next president of the country; so, that statement is not sealed.”

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Gov Ortom Parts Way With Wike, Backs Ayu Chairmanship

 

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, yesterday, dismissed insinuations that he was in support of the removal of National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, saying it is impossible for him to advocate the removal of someone he helped to appoint. Ortom reasserted his confidence in Ayu’s ability to lead the party to victory in next year’s general election, in a surprising contrast to the position of his close ally, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.

The governor was reacting to accusations by a group, Jemgbagh Development Association, that he was involved in the ouster moves against the PDP national chairman, a fellow Benue man.

But more PDP stakeholders continued to mount pressure on the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to persuade Ayu to resign in the larger interest.

Ortom’s position directly contradicts that of the group he belongs to in PDP, the camp of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike. The Wike camp’s irreducible minimum condition for resolution of the crisis that started after he was by-passed for Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa in the selection of presidential running mate was Ayu’s ouster.

The group, which Ortom is an active member of, has for months insisted that Ayu must resign for a southerner to occupy the PDP chairmanship post.    

Observers are, however, unsure of what Ortom’s latest statement represents, even as the Wike camp continues to dig its heels in, maintaining that Ayu must go.

Relatedly, the PDP Presidential Campaign Council said the party was not threatened by other candidates in the 2023 presidential election. The council said its candidate, Atiku, and his running mate, Okowa, stood tall above other candidates in the election.

The campaign council also dismissed some recent outbursts of the Rivers State governor as frivolous and senseless.

The council’s reactions came as Atiku appointed some prominent members of the party as special advisers, an idea he said was aimed at strengthening his presidential campaign team.

Ortom, in a statement in Abuja by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, said it was an open secret that he worked tirelessly, alongside other prominent Benue citizens, to ensure that Ayu was elected “as the national chairman of our great party even against all odds.”

To this extent, the statement said, “The governor could not, therefore, turn around to work against him to be removed from office.”

It described as mischievous “allegations by an amorphous, little known group parading itself as Jemgbagh Development Association, Abuja chapter, that the Benue governor has a hand in Ayu’s current travails”.

Ortom maintained that with the backing of many leaders of the PDP, who believed his sense of judgment, they worked relentlessly in the run up to the party’s national convention to market Ayu as having the requisite capacity to lead PDP, especially, in the 2023 general election.

The statement said, “Governor Ortom vouched for the integrity and capacity of Dr Iyorchia Ayu to lead and rebuild the PDP to victory and rescue Nigeria from the misrule of the APC maladministration. That is why Ayu was returned unopposed by the northern caucus of the party and got elected as the national chairman of the PDP at the party’s convention.

“Where was Jemgbagh Development Association, when Governor Ortom galvanised support from across the leaders of the party to make Dr. Ayu PDP’s National Chairman? What was their contribution to that project that they now want to use clannish stance to blackmail the governor?”

He further described as laughable how “this amorphous and emergency Jemgbagh Development Association, Abuja, which has never been heard of before, is now masquerading as the voice of Jemgbagh to embark on campaign of calumny against Governor Ortom, who has worked selflessly for the people of Benue State.

“Governor Ortom is more Jemgbagh than most of the people claiming it now. This is fact, because he has done more for Jemgbagh, both in terms of appointments and projects executed as well as patronage in the area, than even one of the Jemgbagh sons, who was governor. Besides, Governor Ortom has consistently worked for the unity of Benue State and will never stand in the way of any of her citizens, either here in the state or in the diaspora

“For those, who claimed to be leaders of this Jemgbagh Development Association, Abuja, we urge them to be truly developmental in their drive to build cohesion among the people and attract real development to their area rather than engaging in mischief or blackmail.”

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Why We Endorsed Peter Obi....Afenifere

 

Pan Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, on Monday, restated support for the presidential ambition of Labour Party’s Peter Obi, saying it won’t compromise its cherished principles of justice, equity, and inclusiveness.

Afenifere’s leader, Ayo Adebanjo, stated this at a press conference held at the Wheatbaker Hotel in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State.

94-year-old Adebanjo said to keep Nigeria one in 2023, every Nigeria should be “Obi-Datti compliant”. Obi is running for Aso Rock’s top job alongside Datti Baba-Ahmed.

“The South-West has produced a president and currently sits as vice-president, the South-South has spent a total of six years in the presidency but the Igbo people of the South-East have never tasted presidency in Nigeria, and now that the power is due back in the South, equity demands that it be ceded to the Igbo.

“We cannot continue to demand that the Igbo people remain in Nigeria, while we at the same time continue to brutally marginalize and exclude them from the power dynamic.

“Peter Obi is the person of Igbo extraction that Afenifere has decided to support and back, he is the man we trust to restructure the country back to federalism on the assumption of office.

“We will not compromise this principle of justice, equity, and inclusiveness because one of our own Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a frontline candidate,” he said.

The nonagenarian’s comments come about a day after the Director of Media and Publicity of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, took a swipe at him (Adebanjo) over his public support for Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, saying the Afenifere leader speaks for himself and not for the Yoruba people.

Adebanjo, who defended his group’s position on Obi on Monday, said Nigeria’s next president should come from the South-East to keep the country together and quell dissenting voices along the lines of secession.

“We enjoin the labour movement, students, youth organisations, women associations, and every institution whose foundation is built on fairness and justice to join hands in this task of enthroning a democratic government by supporting Peter Obi.

“If we are sincere and honest about keeping Nigeria together in peace, the slogan henceforth should be ‘To keep Nigeria one, everyone should be Obi/Datti compliant.’

“In the final analysis, let it be said that we have no apologies but due courage of our conviction that Nigeria can only prosper in righteousness.

“For me, in the twilight of my sojourn on earth at 94, it is too late to derail me on the track of true federalism and National inclusiveness on which I have travelled for over 70 years of my life as one of the few surviving initial prophets, I prefer to ascend on a chariot of fire, fueled by justice and equity,” Adebanjo added.

Earlier, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide declared support for 61-year-old Obi.

However, the Northern Elders Forum said it is still evaluating the frontline hopefuls and that it is open to supporting any of the candidates including Tinubu, Obi; Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party.

READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW:

PRESS CONFERENCE BY CHIEF AYO ADEBANJO, LEADER OF AFENIFERE, ON THE 26TH OF SEPTEMBER, 2022, 11:00AM,

AT WHEATBAKER HOTEL, IKOYI, LAGOS STATE.

 

WHY AFENIFERE SUPPORTS SOUTH EAST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR 2023 PRESIDENCY.

Before the political parties conducted their primaries, a journalist asked what is my view about the 2023 general election? I answered and said the country should be restructured before the general election, and he followed up by asking if there should be an election, which zone should the Presidency come from? And I unhesitatingly said, of course, the South East.

After the primaries and the candidates emerge with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu from the South West, APC, Atiku Abubakar on the platform of PDP and Peter Obi on the platform of Labour Party and I announced Afenifere’s support for Peter Obi, not a few Yoruba leaders question why I should be supporting Peter Obi a candidate of Igbo extraction against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Yoruba.

I took my time to explain that the presidency is not a contest between the Yorubas and the Igbos and to a large extent I was able to convince many.

But ever since social media has been filled with comments tending to ethnicize the campaign instead of making it issue-based.

Afenifere has therefore decided to address you today and through you educate the public on the ideological and equitable principles which have influenced our decision.

Let me state here for the benefit of those who may not know that Afenifere is the Yoruba interpretation of the social welfarist ideology of Action Group, a political party founded by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his colleagues in 1951 with strong advocacy for federalism as the best form of government to give the federating units the requisite autonomy to thrive and peacefully compete among themselves for the ultimate development of Nigeria.

The system was eventually agreed to by our founding fathers, Sir Ahmad Bello, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and endorsed by the Colonial Secretary, Sir Oliver Littleton in 1954 and embodied in the 1960 independence constitution.

This is the modest contribution of Afenifere in shaping Nigeria into a federation where no person or ethnic nationality is oppressed.

In the countdown to the 2023 General elections, long before the parties conducted their Conventions to elect their National Executives and candidates, we had insisted and still advocate restructuring before the elections proposing a synthesis of the identical Resolutions of the 2014 National Conference and the APC El Rufai 2018 True Federalism Committee. We did this as Afenifere and on the wider spectrum of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF). We did this, when politicians, in spite of the monumental crises confronting the nation, carried on as if the attainment of power was all that mattered, the SMBLF unanimously proposed that the minimum condition for a peaceful transition from the disastrous 8years of Buhari’s government headed by a President of northern extraction was to have the next President from the South.

This position was also supported by all the southern governors, irrespective of their political parties at a meeting held in Asaba, Delta State.

Incidentally, this North/South consideration which is at the very root of our amalgamated federation is also the most important testament of all political parties in Nigeria. The principle of federal character enshrined in the constitution dictates that the government of the federation or any part thereof shall not be concentrated in any ethnic group or a combination of such groups.

 It is therefore preposterous to adopt this principle for employment in public service admissions in educational institutions, political appointment, the composition of the executive committee of a political party only to jettison it in the most important question of rulership of the federation.

In this quest for peace, based on equity and inclusiveness, the Yoruba took the first turn at the zoning arrangement in 1999, and that led to the emergence of Chief Obasanjo, the current Vice President is a Yoruba man and equity forbids us for presuming to support another Yoruba person for the presidency in 2023. The current President is a Fulani from the Northwest and by virtue of the zoning arrangement that has governed Nigeria since 1999, power is supposed to return to the south imminently. The southwest as I have pointed out has produced a president and currently sits as VP, the South-South has spent a total of 6years in the Presidency, but the Igbo people of the South-East have never tasted presidency in Nigeria, and now that the power is due back in the South equity demands that it be ceded to the Igbo.

We cannot continue to demand that the Igbo people remain in Nigeria, while we at the same time continue to brutally marginalize and exclude them from the power dynamic.

Peter Obi is the person of Igbo extraction that Afenifere has decided to support and to back, he is the man we trust to restructure the country back to federalism on the assumption of office.

We will not compromise this principle of justice, equity and inclusiveness because one of our own Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a frontline candidate.

It is on this same principle, we condemn the PDP for sponsoring Atiku Abubakar, a Northern Fulani Muslim to succeed General Muhammadu Buhari another Fulani Muslim who will soon complete 8 years of uneventful and disastrous rule. One can imagine such a high degree of political insensitivity.

On our part, we are certainly not alien to sacrificing personal interests in the quest for a National coalition to put Nigeria on the proper pedestal.

In this regard, the starting point is Southern solidarity for which we first enacted a handshake across the Niger, which had dovetailed to the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum. We enjoin the labour movement, students, youth organisations, women associations, and every institution whose foundation is built on fairness and justice to join hands in this task of enthroning a democratic government by supporting Peter Obi. If we are sincere and honest about keeping Nigeria together in peace, the slogan henceforth should be

‘To keep Nigeria one, everyone should be Obi/Datti compliant.’

In the final analysis, let it be said that we have no apologies but due courage of our conviction that Nigeria can only prosper in righteousness.

For me, in the twilight of my sojourn on earth at 94, it is too late to derail me on the track of true federalism and National inclusiveness on which I have travelled for over 70 years of my life as one of the few surviving initial prophets, I prefer to ascend on a chariot of fire, fueled by justice and equity.

Thank you all

And may the good Lord bless Nigeria

Signed

CHIEF AYO ADEBANJO

Leader of Afenifere

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10-year-old Raped, Killed In Lagos, Comedienne Princess Alleges

Nigerian comedienne and actress, Damilola Adekoya, popularly known as Princess, on Monday raised the alarm on the rape and death of a 10-year-old in the Ayobo area of Lagos State.

In a video on her Instagram page, Princess stated that the incident happened on Sunday, adding that the police had denied the victim’s family access to the child’s corpse.

She, therefore, made a plea to the general public to visit the Ayobo police station and assist the child’s mother in getting justice.

The teary Princess said, “If you live around Ayobo, help me go to Ayobo police station. This girl was raped and killed yesterday. Her name is Aisha.

“When you get to Ayobo police station, please DM me your number. The police are not allowing the mother of the child to see the child. The police just said she couldn’t see her; that they’ve taken her to the mortuary.

“She’s almost losing her mind. I’m begging you. It could be anyone’s child. She was going to church yesterday. They raped her, killed her in the afternoon, and threw her into somebody’s compound.”

When reached, the Divisional Police Officer of Ayobo command, Charles Oladele, stated that he couldn’t speak on the matter, adding that the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Ben Hundeyin, was in the right position to do so.

“Please, if you need any information about this matter, pass through Lagos State PPRO. It is better if you try calling him. It is not the duty of my office to give you that information,” Oladele told our correspondent via phone call.

Calls made to Hundeyin were not answered, and messages sent to him were yet to be replied to at the time of filing this report.

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FG Withdraws Earlier Order To VCs To Reopen Universities..Full Details

 

The Federal Government, through the National Universities Commission, Monday afternoon, withdrew its circular which ordered vice-chancellors, pro-chancellors and governing councils to re-open federal universities

The reopening had been reported earlier in a circular tagged NUC/ES/138/Vol.64/135 was addressed to all vice-chancellors; pro-chancellors and chairmen of governing councils of federal universities ordering them to re-open universities.

But in another circular tagged NUC/ES/138/Vol.64/136, which was also signed by the Director, Finance and Account of the NUC, Sam Onazi, the commission withdrew the order.

Though it did not explain why. The letter tagged, “withdrawal of circular NUC/ES/138/Vol.64/135 dated September 23, 2022” partly read, “I have been directed to withdraw the NUC Circular Ref: NUC/ES/138/Vol.64/135, and dated September 23, 2022 on the above subject.

“Consequently, the said circular stands withdrawn. All pro-chancellors and chairmen of governing councils, as well as vice-chancellors of federal universities are to please note. Further development and information would be communicated to all relevant stakeholders.

“Please accept the assurances of the Executive Secretary’s warmest regards”

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