News
Chibok Girls: PDP Tasks APC On Mercenary’s Allegation
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has tasked the All Progressives Congress (APC) to respond to allegations by a mercenary, Eeben Barlow, suggesting that it was the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 that stalled attempts to rescue the abducted Chibok girls.
Over 200 secondary school girls were abducted in Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents on April 14, 2014 during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Jonathan had dithered and failed to act two weeks after the abduction of the girls.
However, some of the girls were rescued shortly after President Buhari mounted the leadership saddle.
But in a recent interview with Al-Jazeera, Barlow, a mercenary, who claimed to have been hired by Jonathan to rescue the girls, had claimed that his efforts to rescue the girls were frustrated by the pending election of Buhari in 2015.
Barlow also alleged that the then United States Government, under Mr Barack Obama, had instigated the termination of a contract awarded him by Jonathan for the rescue of the abducted school girls.
Based on Barlow’s accounts, as reported by a national newspaper, the PDP has accused the APC of being responsible for the escalated violence, insurgent attacks, bloodletting and worsened insecurity in the country.
But in a statement, yesterday, its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP challenged the APC to respond to Barlow’s reported allegation that its administration terminated the nation’s counter-insurgency operations.
The party also echoed Barlow’s claims that his botched rescue contract was to satisfy foreign interests, a development the PDP said, had resulted in escalated violent attacks and bloodletting in various parts of the country, particularly in the north.
“The APC should explain the assertion by international security expert, Eeben Barlow, who reportedly on international television, Aljazeera, told the world that our nation was successfully routing insurgents in the North-East before the APC and its administration terminated the counter-insurgency operation to satisfy an alleged American interest that assisted it to manipulate its way to power.
“It is instructive to note that the APC had engaged in unwarranted attack on the PDP and Atiku Abubakar as well as sponsoring negative divisive publications in the last few days in the bid to divert public attention from this very grave issue.
“Nigerians can now see why insurgents, marauders and bandits, who had been pushed to the fringes under the PDP administration, suddenly resurged in renewed ravaging of communities and killing our compatriots unabated, while the APC and its administration engage in lip service and empty condolence messages,” the PDP said.
The main opposition party said the APC has been feeding fat and servicing its interests from the pains and anguish of suffering Nigerians who daily face the agony of economic repression, death and violent attacks.
It urged Nigerians to be wary of APC’s renewed attacks and baseless allegations against the PDP and its leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, all in the failed bid to divert public attention from its atrocities against the country, including compromising security architecture for selfish purposes.
Continuing, the PDP said: “Nigerians are aware of how the APC imported political mercenaries, thugs and miscreants from neighboring countries, including Niger Republic and used them to unleash violence on Nigerians during the 2019 presidential elections.
“The APC has failed to account for these miscreants, most of who are now unleashing violence as kidnappers, armed robbers and marauders, pillaging our communities without restrain under the APC.
“It is important to observe that the APC had failed to apologise or join other well-meaning Nigerians in forcefully demanding for the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of the mass killings in Benue, Borno, Plateau, Taraba, Kogi, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Yobe, Adamawa, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Abia, Nasarawa, Niger and other parts of the country, under its watch.
“Only recently, Edo state Governor Godwin Obaseki accused the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, of always relying on thugs for elections and Nigerians know the devastation thuggery and its associated violence had caused the nation in the last five years of the APC”.
The party further stated that instead of clinging on straws by attacking the PDP and Atiku Abubakar, the APC should account for or demand for investigation and prosecution of its leaders responsible for the alleged looting of over N14trillion from federal coffers, including the alleged stealing of N9trillion exposed by the leaked NNPC memo on oil subsidy theft.
It also charged the APC to account for the N1.1trillion worth of crude oil, allegedly siphoned by its leaders using 18 unregistered vessels, and the alleged stealing of over N48billion meant for the rehabilitation of victims of insurgency.
Similarly, the PDP challenged the ruling party to also account for the N33billion National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) saga in which a very top member of the Buhari administration was mentioned, as well as the alleged looting spree in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) under its watch.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.
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