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Assassination: Police Stop Bayelsa NUJ Procession

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The assaination of a Bayelsa State-based journalist working at the State Radio Station, Famous Giobaro has continued to generate controversy, tension, condemnation by well-meaning citizens and civil society organisations,
The issue took a different dimension when Bayelsa Police Command barred the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa Council from the planned procession in honour of its assassinated member with claims that the event and the publicity it would generate would jeopardise investigations.
Mr Famous Giobaro, a Desk Editor at Radio Bayelsa, a.k.a. Glory FM, was murdered last Sunday by gunmen at his residence in Yenagoa.
Mr John Angese, Chairman of Bayelsa NUJ, who spoke Wednesday in Yenagoa, said Bayelsa Police Commissioner, Mr Asuquo Amba, told the union to shelve the candle-lit procession.
The procession was billed to hold last Wednesday at the NUJ Secretariat in Yenagoa.
Angese noted  that the commissioner told the NUJ leadership to shelve the planned funeral procession, as he claimed that the event would obstruct tracking of the suspects.
Angese said that the police commissioner who declined to approve the public procession, pointed out that the ceremony would jeopardise ongoing investigation into the murder.
“Amba had assured the council that the police will fish out the killers of the journalist, saying that a suspect was being interrogated.
“The claim that our planned candle-lit procession would mar investigation is difficult to understand, but we have to shelve it, so that it will not be an excuse. They promised to conclude the case in one week, one week is not too far.
“We are waiting as we mourn the demise of one of us cut down in his prime, in cold blood,” Angese said.
The NUJ had in a statement on Monday condemned the assassination, urging the police to detect the culprits and prosecute them.
Meanwhile the Federated Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ), Bayelsa State council has condemned the recent murder of a Yenagoa-based journalist, Famous Giobaro.
Late Giobaro, a desk editor with state-owned radio, Radio Bayelsa, who hailedfrom Otuedo community in Ogbia Local Government Areas of  Bayelsa  State, was killed in the early hours of Easter Sunday by yet to be identified gunmen.
In a statement in Yenagoa jointly signed by the Chairman of the chapel, Comrade Kola Oredipe, and the Secretary, Chris Eze, the death was callous and most wicked.
The death of Famous Giobaro, who was a jolly good fellow is a great loss to the journalism profession.
The statement calls on the Bayelsa State Government and the State Command of the
Police to immediately cause an investigation into the gruesome murder to unravel those behind the killing.
This must not go as one of the unresolved killings of journalists across the country.
The chapel sends its condolences to the immediate family of late Giobaro and management and staff of Radio Bayelsa Glory FM, over the painful loss.
The statement prays God to grant the departed eternal rest.

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Niger Delta

Navy Pledges Improved Patrols, Welfare Boost For Personnel

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The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, has pledged to ensure improved welfare for personnel and more patrols on the maritime corridors of the nation.
He  disclosed this during an on the spot assessment of things at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Calabar, on Wednesday.
According to him, there is the need for officers to always be ready,  by improving on their welfare, in a bid to keep the country secured.
“I am here for an on the spot assessment of our operations and like you have seen, I have also gone round to check the ongoing buildings.
”These  are welfare issues and for us to be able to have our men ready and keep us secured, their welfare needs to be catered for.
“So, we are here to kill two birds with one stone,  which are basically operations and welfare issues.
”I am happy with what the command is doing; it is doing well in terms of keeping the maritime environment safe.
“We will continue doing what we are doing and improve on that, which is patrol of the waters and increase in the area of surveillance”, he stated.
As part of his visit,  Abbas commissioned the 12×1 Junior Rates Accommodation Block A and B, at the Navy Barracks at Atimbo in Calabar.
The naval chief also inspected other ongoing projects in the Akim Barracks, 1006 flats and the Navy hotel, all within Calabar.
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Niger Delta

Delta Begins Uromi Junction Flyover Construction 

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The Delta State Government says it has began construction work on the long-awaited Uromi Junction Flyover Bridge in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of the state.
Director-General (DG) of the Delta State Bureau for Orientation and Communications, Dr. Fred Oghenesivbe, confirmed the development to newsme in Asaba.
According to him, heavy-duty construction equipment have arrived the site, a project which is being handled by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, one of the country’s leading construction firms.
Oghenesivbe, described the flyover as a massive infrastructure project with far-reaching socio-economic benefits for the area.
He said the project would significantly transform the Agbor metropolis by easing traffic congestion, improving the city’s aesthetics, and boosting commercial activities within the local government area.
He described the State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, as a promise-keeper and pragmatic leader whose administration remains committed to infrastructure development and economic growth across the state.
The DG expressed confidence in Julius Berger’s capacity to deliver the project within record time and according to the highest construction standards.
“The Uromi Junction serves as a major link between different parts of the country but has recently been plagued by severe traffic congestion, making vehicular movement increasingly difficult”, he noted.
He urged residents to cooperate with the contractor and safeguard construction materials and equipment to ensure the timely completion of the project.
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Niger Delta

A’Ibom Rejects Ekid Ownership Claim Of Stubbs Creek

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The Akwa Ibom State Government has rejected claims by the Ekid People’s Union that it owns land within the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, describing such assertions as “false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”
In a recent statement, signed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom, the state government said it was compelled to respond in the “overriding public interest,” despite a pending court case instituted by the same group.
The government stated that contrary to claims circulating in the media, the historic case of Ntiaro and Ikpak vs. Ibok Etok Akpan and Edoho Ekid, decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1918, did not vest ownership of Stubbs Creek land in any ethnic group or community.
“The final judgement merely dismissed the claims before the court and granted title to no party whatsoever”, the government stated, adding that “any assertion to the contrary is false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”
According to the statement, the land was lawfully reserved by the colonial government under Forest Reserve Order No. 45 of 1930, later amended in 1941, 1955 and 1962, with “the principal rights of the land forfeited to the Government upon the change of status.”
It said the area has since been administered under applicable laws by the Akwa Ibom State Government, which “has at all times acted within its lawful authority in the management and allocation of land in the area for legitimate public and economic purposes.”
Citing the 1999 Constitution and the Land Use Act, the government stated that all land in the state is vested in the governor to be held in trust for the common benefit of Nigerians, noting that claims of absolute ancestral ownership are subject to existing laws.
The government “categorically denies allegations of fraud or misrepresentation” regarding Stubbs Creek or investments there and warned it would take “appropriate legal steps” against any individual or group publishing false or defamatory material capable of undermining public confidence or discouraging investment
The statement also assured the federal government of “full access and Right of Way” for the proposed Coastal Highway through any part of the state.
The government statement followed an earlier report in which the Ekid People’s Union accused Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State of making comments that allegedly linked the community to terrorism, while he was defending the Coastal Highway project passing through the Stubbs Creek.
Ekid People’s Union maintained that the people of Ekid are the original owners of the land known as Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, arguing that their ancestral ownership predates colonial rule.
The group cited historical occupation, customary ownership and a 1918 Privy Council case, which it claimed affirmed Ekid rights over the territory.
The union also accused the Akwa Ibom State Government of misrepresenting history to justify taking over the land for commercial interests and the proposed Coastal Highway, an allegation the state government has denied.
The group rejected any suggestion linking the Ekid people to criminality or terrorism, insisting they were peaceful citizens defending their ancestral land through lawful and civic means.
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