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Idoma Lawyers Write IGP Over NSCDC Officer’s Death
The Association of Idoma Lawyers in Nigeria has issued a petition to Inspector General of Police, IGP, Haruna Mohammed, over the alleged killing of Ogah Jumbo, an Assistant Superintendent of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.
Our correspondent reports that OgahJombo, was allegedly killed on Wednesday in the presence of his wife and children, when he was stopped by policemen for alleged violation of traffic regulation.
The police command, in response, said it has taken into custody two of its officers, who allegedly killed the NSCDC personnel.
However, the FPRO, Frank Mba, in a statement, claimed that the NSCDC officer slumped at the police station, which led to his death.
But, seeking justice for the deceased, Idoma lawyers in a statement by signed by its patron, Chief Godwin Obla SAN and forwarded to DAILY POST, warned the IGP to take into consideration the evidences of videos and pictures on social media fingering its officers in passing out judgement unless be sued in court.
The lawyers warned that in “event of any cover or foot-dragging in the persecution of this heinous and clear case of wanton culpable homicide, the association will spare no efforts at exploring the alternative persecution available under the criminal laws of the FCT.”
They added that the two policemen in whatever circumstance had no right to allegedly assault a citizen rather be issued a fine.
The statement read: “We have taken pains to recount the above details to you in response to and in clarification to the unsuspecting public, the shocking cavalier and misleading exculpatory press briefing held on Thursday, the 21st if March 2019, on behalf of the Force in which the Force Public Relations Office, Frank Mbah was quoted as saying that the force was not responsible for the death of the deceased NSCDC officer, Ogah Jumbo.
“While the force PRO can choose to interpret the demand of his job description only for the narrow prism of protecting the image of the force at all cost and to any extent even at the expense of values of humanity and sanctity of live, however, to do so in the face of contrary hard facts of verifiable eye-witness accounts and video recordings of the incident is counterproductive to the very essence of the very ends of good image sought to be achieved by that office.
“For whatever it may be worth, assuming the deceased officer was indeed guilty of the alleged violation of the road traffic regulation, would that fact in itself be enough to constitute the officers of the Nigeria Police Force into a murderous two-man gang of assassins for an alleged offence of interaction of Road Traffic Regulation that carries no more than penalty or fines?
“Against the above backdrop of the factual accounts, should the inspector General of Police be convinced to dispassionately take appropriate steps to prosecute the officers involved in the murderous outlawry, we wish to suggest that the farce go to whole hog of objective test of justice delivery by not allowing itself to prosecute a case where it is also the accused, for to do so will fall short of the objective parameters of judgement delivery from the perspective of a reasonable man
“The association shall be willing to offer free prosecutorial services from its crops of competent lawyers including services of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, in this regard to the farce.
“Furthermore, the Association, consistent with the pursuit of objective parameters of justice delivery, wishes to strongly suggest, and indicate its interest to be mutually involved in, a post-mortem examination of the cause of death of the deceased.
“These indication and suggestion should not be understood to mean our lack of confidence in the police authority to carry out a dispassionate work in this regard, but as stated above, only towards achieving the pursuit of the whole hog of objective parameters of justice delivery.
“Otherwise in the event of any cover or foot-dragging in the persecution of this heinous and clear case of wanton culpable homicide, the association will spare no efforts at exploring the alternative persecution available under the criminal laws of the FCT.
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.