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Rivers CP Orders Probe Of Alleged Killing Of 20-Yr-Old RSU Undergraduate
The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, says he has ordered full scale investigation into the alleged killing of a 20-year old undergraduate student of the Rivers State University (RSU), late Miss Beauty Nwigbaranee by her pastor-friend, Sodje Masodje, over the weekend.
It would be recalled that, late Miss Beauty Nwigbaranee was declared missing December 25, 2020, by her parents, and her lifeless body was found at a mortuary in Ahoada East LGA, last Saturday.
The spokesman of the Rivers State Police Command, SP Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the death of the Rivers State University undergraduate, saying that the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, has ordered a full scale investigation to unravel the cause of her death with a view to apprehending anyone found culpable.
According to him, the family was before the CP the other day during which the CP ordered an investigation into the matter, and appealed to “all parties to maintain restraint until we are able to conclude our investigation.
“Whatever our findings are will be made public. So far, we (police) have been able to locate and sight the corpse of the deceased girl and ‘accident’ vehicles have also been sighted. Investigation will reveal what really happened. We can assure the public that at the end of the day, justice will be served.
“All the parties will get justice, including the late girl. She will get justice based on what the CP has put in place. Nobody will be spared from the long arms of the law,” Omoni assured.
The Tide reports that tension is mounting, as the family of the 20-year-old undergraduate late Beauty Nwigbaranee is accusing the pastor of a new generation church, Mr Sodje Masodje of having a hand in the former’s death, who they said, paid him a visit the day she was declared missing.
It would be recalled that the family had reported Masodje to the Nigeria Army, 6 Division in Port Harcourt, alleging that their daughter who was the pastor’s lover, had visited him on December 25, 2020 (Christmas Day) but did not return two days after and could not be reached on her mobile phone.
The Tide learnt that Beauty’s family members became suspicions after Masodje, whose new generation church is located in Eneka, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, put a call across to them, asking of her whereabouts.
This development forced the girl’s family to officially report the matter to the Army, which led to the pastor’s subsequent arrest.
Counsel to Beauty’s family, Barrister Gobari Deebom told journalists in Port Harcourt that Masodje surprisingly refused to disclose the whereabouts of the girl during interrogation, with a promise that she would return home.
The lawyer, however, said Beauty’s alleged disappearance was initially a case of suspected abduction, saying that the family had to plead with the Army to hand over the matter to the police for proper investigation.
But speaking to The Tide, last Saturday, Deebom said Beauty’s lifeless body was found at the Ahoada General Hospital mortuary in Rivers State.
He, however, queried the information given to them that the girl died in an accident, saying that there was no trace of injury on her corpse.
“We discovered her dead body. Somebody that died through motor accident: would there not be bruises or wounds on the person’s body? Even if it is internal bleeding, there must be wound somewhere!
“They said there was a collision with two vehicles. They only saw one vehicle and the vehicle they saw also belongs to the pastor; and the police at Rumuji Police Station said the second vehicle involved in the accident is damaged beyond repair. If a vehicle is damaged beyond repair, where did you keep it, so that it will form part of the investigation?”
Asked how the family knew that Beauty’s corpse was deposited at the hospital mortuary, he said a kinsman of the family who saw the body at the mortuary contacted the family, having read the report of the girl missing in the media.
“A good Samaritan, who happens to be from the same tribe with the family members, after we posted it on social media, sent a message that so-so person is lying in the mortuary at so-so place. They should contact him.
“People started bombarding him with question: how he was able to discover the name of the person.
So, they happened to know the guy, and they called him. He said he went to that mortuary.
“They said there was accident, from there, they discovered an ATM card of the girl bearing the name that we posted. Lo and behold, they had to go there, and confirmed her body lying lifeless. No single spot. When they got to the police station at Rumuji, they saw her bag, and one oil that the pastor gave to her. For what purpose, nobody knows,” he explained.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.