News
‘Suspected kidnappers used my boy as collateral to buy rice’
A 12-year old Junior Secondary School (JSS-2) student, (name witheld), who was allegedly used to buy two bags of rice by suspected kidnappers has been found.
His father, Pastor Joshua Ogbonna on Sunday in Lagos that suspected kidnappers allegedly took his son and used him to buy two bags of rice valued at N180,000 from a food stuff seller.
He said that on Friday, March 1, at about 9.00 a.m., his son was asked to buy moi-moi (bean-pudding) for family breakfast and did not return home.
According to him, the boy went to the place to buy the moi-moi, the seller told him it was not ready, but collected the money and told him to return when it is ready.
He said some minutes later, his boy went back to the woman to collect the moi-moi, but the boy never returned.
“We were looking for him everywhere, we went to the place he was supposed to buy the moi-moi and asked the lady selling.
she explained that the boy was there earlier but the moi-moi was not ready, she collected N1000 from him and asked him to come back later.
“She explained that when he came back, he came with a man and the lady thought the man was his father, the man collected the moi-moi from her and they both left.
“She said the man was putting on white top and black trousers, dark in complexion. I told her we have been looking for him, and there after, we went to New Oko-Oba Police Division at Abule-Egba, to make entry, so that they can help me look for my child,” he said.
Ogbonna further explained that while they were still at the station, around 5.00 p.m., he received a call from another police officer, who said he was calling from Red House Police Station, Iju Ishaga.
Ogbonna said that the officer told him his son was with them and he should come to the station.
He said he went there with three policemen from New Oko-Oba Police Division, Where they told the officer that there was a report of a missing child.
“The police officer, who called me said, this is not a case of a missing child, but theft.
The officer said the child stole two bags of rice. I asked, how can a 12-year old boy steal two bags of rice, I told the officer that we live in Abule-Egba.
The police showed me a footage of two men and the boy, who went to the rice seller. The police man said that the men bought two bags of rice for N180,000.
“The officer said one of the men claimed that they had a church event and needed to buy rice. The man claimed he was the father of the boy.
“He asked the boy to wait at the rice shop, while he went home to get the money, he left with the two bags of rice in company of the other man,” he explained.
Ogbonna said the officer explained that when the man did not come back with the money, the rice seller asked the boy the “whereabout of his father who brought him there.”
“My boy told the rice seller that he didn’t know the man nor where he lived, they started beating him , calling him thief, while he was being beaten a man came up to his rescue.
“They told him all that happened. They went to police station with my boy to report the case, that was when they called me. The Police said there is a CCTV Camera that captured them when they were coming to carry the rice.
“They didn’t show me where they were carrying the rice. The rice sellers insisted that I must pay for the rice, I told them, I can’t pay for two bags, I will pay for one bag for my son to be released to me.
“I paid N90,000 for one bag of rice. After that Police said I must bail my child, I told them how can I bail a child. They insisted, then I told them, I will leave my child with them if they refuse to release him to me.
“I later paid N5,000 to bail my son,” he said.
Ogbonna said he left the Red House Police Station for Oko-Oba Police Division to close the case of missing child with N10,000 payment.
He said his son later told him how he met the man on his way to buy the moi-moi.
According to his son, while going to buy the moi-moi, a man stopped him, and requested him to hold his phone for him that he wanted to use water to wash his legs.
He said his son explained that after the man washed his legs, he collected the phone from him, hit his head, made some incantations, he said that was the last thing he remembered.
“My son said the only thing he could remember was that he was on top of a motorcycle to a place with the man, where they took a tricycle (Keke Maruwa) to another place, from there, they took another motorcycle to Opawale, where the man abandoned him.
“The trauma was hell for my son. He has not recovered up till now. It was God, who saved his life,” Ogbonna said
The Lagos Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident, stressing that the police was investigating the case.
Hundeyin advised traders, to beware of fraudsters using innocent children as collateral to obtain goods.
” Insist that they leave with their brother or sister and bring the money before they can take any item,” he counseled.
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.