News
Gun Men Kill Police Raid Station In Abia
Two Police officers attached to the Obingwa Divisional Police station, Umuobiakwa in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia state have been killed by armed men suspected to be members of a criminal gang.
In another development, the Police in Abia State have arrested four teenagers in a bush in Umuahia where they were allegedly conducting the initiation rites.
News of the attack filtered into the state capital last Tuesday when the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ali Okechukwu, confirmed that the command actually lost two officers during the attack.
The hoodlums stormed the Police Station in the early hours of Saturday, September 5, 2009 in a Rambo movie style to free one of their gang members said to be held in detention by the police.
Witnesses said the assailants, in the process, sprayed the station with bullets while Police men, stunned by the surprise attack, took to their heels in search of safety.
The attackers were said to have shot their way into the detention room and freed the suspects but the PPRO said that the police were doing everything possible to track down the hoodlums and also re-arrest the escapee suspects.
Meanwhile, about five teenagers suspected to be members of a cult gang have been arrested by the Abia State Police Command in a joint operation with the state Vigilance Services (popularly known as Bakassi Boys.)
Outgoing Abia State Police Commissioner, Edgar Tam Nanakumo, who paraded the suspects Tuesday, said that they were nabbed at Amuzukwu area of Umuahia, the state capital, where they were initiating new members of the cult fraternity identified as the Bukaneers.
Nanakumo said that the teenage suspects, including two brothers, were rounded up at an initiation ceremony inside a bush at Amuzukwu village in Umuahia North Local Government Area following a tip off.
He said that on sighting the security operatives, the cult members attempted to escape but were caught by the Policemen.
The police boss gave the names of the suspected cultists as Ndubuisi Igbokwe, 16, Humphrey Onuigbo, 15, Udochukwu Ihemeudu, 16, Ikechukwu Ihemeudu 15, and Chidiebere Elijah, 16, adding that one of them is a student of Ibeku High School, Umuahia, while others are school drop outs.
In separate interviews with the suspects, they all denied the allegations levelled against them, saying they were out to collect money from one of their friends when the police arrested them.
Also paraded by the Police were seven suspected armed robbers and kidnappers, while items such as one locally made single-barrel short gun, three pump action guns, 20 live cartridges, one expended cartridge, eight handsets of different models and three identity (ID) cards of the Abia state Vigilance Services.
The police boss, who said that crime control and prevention had yielded fruitful results, added that police would not relent in the task of chasing away criminals from the state.
He, therefore, called on the state government to help the command with more vehicles and communication gadgets to accomplish their task.
Nanakumo used the forum to announce that he had been posted to Abuja, adding that the Commissioner of Police in-charge of Administration in Lagos Airport command, Mr. Jonathan Johnson, had been posted to replace him.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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