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Killing Of Soldiers: Markets, Schools Shut Down As Tension Heightens In Aba
Markets and other public facilities have been reportedly closed down as tension heightens in parts of Aba, Abia State, following the gruesome murder of five military personnel by gunmen suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPOB).
The Tide’s source reports that the bloodthirsty gunmen, who have been wreaking havoc in the SouthEast, attacked a military checkpoint at Obikabia junction, Ogbor Hill in Obingwa Local Government Area last Thursday.
The incident, which claimed the lives of five soldiers, occurred when members of the proscribed secessionist group were enforcing sit-at-home in the region to mark the 2024 Biafra Heroes Day.
The daredevil gunmen also destroyed two patrol vans belonging to the military.
The Tide’s source gathered that at least six civilians were also killed in the crossfire.
The soldiers who paid the supreme price are Sergeant Charles Ugochukwu, Sergeant Bala Abraham, Corporal Gideon Egwe, Corporal Ikpeama Ikechukwu and Corporal Augustine Emmanuel.
Reacting to the incident, the Defence Headquarters on Friday vowed to fight back, saying it would be fierce in its response.
A statement issued by the Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba accused IPOB and its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network, ESN, of carrying out the heinous attack.
“The situation leaves more to be desired. Accordingly, it is absolutely imperative that the military retaliate against this dastardly act against troops.
“The military would be fierce in its response. We would bring overwhelming military pressure on the group to ensure their total defeat,” the statement said.
The Tide source gathered that hours after the military’s stance, the entire Aba was enveloped in palpable fear.
Reports emerged on Saturday that the tension was heightened as two military helicopters were sighted hovering over the Ogbor Hill area and its environs.
Sources said on Saturday that the city of Aba is currently under siege by the military, triggering fear of attacks.
It was also gathered that some schools were closed on Friday following the statement by the military.
President General of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, Goodluck Ibem told Tide’s source that the military has shut down four markets including Ngwa Road Market, Alaoji Market, Cemetery Market and Enyimba Market since the incident happened.
“There is a serious tension in Aba right now. The presence of the soldiers alone is very intimidating. They have blocked any road that leads to their checkpoint. No vehicular movement in those places.
“Some markets are no longer functional because the military closed them down.
“They have closed down four markets. Ngwa road Market, Alaoji Market, Cemetery Market and Enyimba Market are not functioning at the moment.
“Other markets are scanty because of fear of attack by the army”, the COSEYL’s President General added.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the State, Chinaka Maureen declined speaking on the tension, saying “it is a military matter, I only speak for the police”.
However, a police source, who spoke to The Tide’s source on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak, confirmed the development, saying people no longer step out of their homes.
According to him, the only solution to the impending face-off between the army and the community where the attack was carried out is for residents to fish out the assailants.
He said, “The Nigerian army will not back down until the perpetrators are apprehended.
“So the best thing the people of Aba will do to save the innocent people is to bring out those that carried out this attack.
“They know themselves. The gunmen were not ghosts, definitely they are members of the society. They should fish out the bad eggs.
“I’m sure that the army is not after any innocent person but you can’t attack and kill military personnel like that and think that you will be free.
“The residents are scared because of what happened in Delta State early this year when soldiers were killed and the military took over the community. The best thing for them now is to help the military apprehend the criminals”.
Meanwhile, the Abia State Government has placed a N25 million bounty on the killers of the five soldiers.
The Commissioner for Information in Abia State, Okey Kanu, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
“To underscore its resolve, the state government is offering a N25 million reward to anyone with useful information that could lead to the location and arrest of any of the criminals connected to the unfortunate killings, and the subsequent state of apprehension across the city of Aba and environs,” he stated.
The commissioner added that security agencies in the State have been directed to treat informants with confidentiality to guarantee their cooperation and assistance until the killers were arrested.
Similarly, while reacting to the killing of the soldiers, President Bola Tinubu on Saturday vowed that the federal government will come down heavily against the criminal elements.
Tinubu in a statement he personally penned down, said on no account should anyone, under any guise, have the audacity to kill agents of state.
He warned that the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the armed forces have the capacity to crush violent non-state actors.
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.