News
‘Emergency Rule Alien To Adamawa’
A cell phone dealer at the Jimeta Shopping Complex, Yola, Mr Boda Kassim, on Saturday said that the state of emergency imposed on Adamawa was alien to the people of the state.
Kassim made the observation in Yola in an interview with newsmen.
He said the emergency and communications shutdown in the state had seriously affected cell phone dealers to the extent that some of them had stopped opening their shops.
He said that before the emergency, the traders used to receive a significant number of customers daily, but with the emergency and the communication shutdown, they found it difficult to sell a single cell phone in a day.
Mr Audu Zira of Zira Communications, a dealer of GSM recharge cards on Ahmadu Bello Way, Jimeta, said he had more than 2,000 customers across the state who usually purchased cards from him.
According to Zira, the communication shutdown has seriously affected their business.
Commenting on the importance of the emergency rule, he said: “initially I supported the emergency thinking that it will not last long as it was introduced based on security challenges.
“But now the situation has crippled our business and we have nothing to do because we learn that the emergency was imposed on the state by Mr President,” Zira said.
He also appealed to the authorities to look into the peoples’ needs and ease the situation.
However, Mr Augustine Mako in Numan Local Government Area, said the emergency should continue until the security situation was normal.
“I used to remember that sometimes back there was crisis and killings of innocent lives in Adamawa, even in churches and markets.
“And what is happening now in the state in respect of the state of emergency should still go on for the time being.”
According to him, if the security operatives feel that the challenges are over, they should go ahead and lift it.
Meanwhile, business and other activities are now in full gear in Damaturu, Yobe, two months after the declaration of emergency in the state.
The Federal Government had declared a state of emergency in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states to contain the activities of Boko Haram terrorists.
A correspondent of the News agency of Nigeria (NAN), who went round the state capital on Friday and Saturday, reports that activities at the markets within the city were in top gear as traders and customer were fully engaged in selling and buying.
Similarly at the Central Motor Park along Potiskum Road, hundreds of passengers were seen boarding vehicles to various parts of the country.
Our correspondent also reports that popular bus transport companies from around the country have also resumed operations from the city.
Speaking to newsmen, the Chairman of the Bus Section of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Alhaji Usman Saleh, said he was happy that the situation in the state was normalising.
“In recent days, we have been recording influx of passengers travelling to different parts of the country and we sometimes run short of vehicles to convey the passengers,’’ he said.
He said that his members were not facing any problem with the security agents deployed to the state, adding that there was a mutual and cordial relationship between them and the security.
Alhaji Usman said that the union understood that certain measures had to be taken to ensure that security of lives and property in the state and had been cooperating with the authorities to ensure smooth operations.
“Personally I am in total support of maintaining check-points on the streets as well as the withdrawal of GSM services in the state as this will help check the activities of the insurgents,’’ Saleh said.
Also traders and customers who spoke to newsmen yesterday at the market said that they were delighted with the remarkable improvement in the security situation in the state.
“We now operate fully and we do not entertain much fear of attack as we used to,’’ a tomato seller, who declined to give his name, said.
Similarly all the banks in the capital have fully resumed their operations as customers were seen in many banking halls transacting businesses.
Commenting on the security situation in the state, the Special Adviser on Information and Media, Alhaji Abdullahi Bego, thanked the Federal Government for the declaration of the emergency, which he said saw to the deployment of more soldiers to the state.
He said that the state government would continue to assist the security agents to ensure the success of their assignment.
Also speaking to newsmen, the Joint Task Force Commander in the state, Col. Ibrahim Ali, said that the task force was able to achieve relative stability in the state since the declaration of emergency.
He said that there was no major encounter with the insurgents since the declaration of the emergency.
He thanked the people of the state for assisting his team with useful information which had led to the arrest of many suspects.
Our correspondent reports, however, that the state is still on a dusk to dawn curfew to enable the security agents curtail the activities of the insurgents.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said it has embarked on the distribution of food items to people affected by the insurgency in the state.
The Agency’s Zonal Coordinator for North East Zone, Alhaji Muhammed Kanarr told newsmen in Damaturu that already it has distributed the relief materials in Damaturu, Potiskum, Bunu Yadi,Gaidam and Babban Gida towns, while distribution in Macina, Yunusari and Gashua will follow later.
Kanar said that item distributed included rice, millet, sorghum and beverages, adding that the distribution was targeted at women and children.
News
Rivers DPOs Receive Awards For Outstanding Performance In Crime Prevention …As Students, Media Group Honour CSP Worgu, CSP Yusuf
Two Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in Rivers State have been honoured by separate groups for their contributions to security, crime prevention and improved community-police relations in their respective areas of responsibility.
The beneficiaries are the DPO of Afam Police Division, CSP Endurance Worgu and his counterpart at Oyigbo Police Division, CSP Bello Yusuf.
CSP Worgu was honoured by a group of students under the aegis of Rivers State Graduate Students Associations for what they described as his commitment and outstanding performance in the discharge of his duties.
The students, led by Chidi John Enyie, Esq. said CSP Worgu was selected based on his track record and status as one of the longest-serving young DPOs of Rivers State origin.
According to the group, CSP Worgu has made significant contributions to the protection of lives and property in the area since assuming office following the #EndSARS period.
The students said they were particularly impressed by the improvement in community-police relations under his leadership, noting that professionalism had remained a key feature of his service.
Enyie represented by Comrade Briggs Soku, said the students community was pleased to identify with a Rivers indigene who had distinguished himself in the police force.
He said the students considered it necessary to encourage and celebrate CSP Worgu because of his achievements as a young Rivers man excelling in a profession that many people from the state were often reluctant to join.
Receiving the award at his office in Afam, CSP Worgu expressed gratitude to God and the students for finding him worthy of the honour.
The DPO said the recognition had boosted his morale and encouraged him to sustain his efforts towards maintaining peace and security in the area.
He said he least expected the honour, particularly because it came from the students, adding that the recognition would further motivate him to serve the people better.
CSP Worgu assured residents of Afam that the police would sustain the existing peace in the area.
He appealed to members of the public to support the police by providing credible and timely information, stressing that useful information from residents would make the job of security personnel easier.
Meanwhile, the Ikwerre/Etche Media Association has also honoured the DPO of Oyigbo Police Division, CSP Bello Yusuf, for his efforts in tackling criminal activities in the area.
The media group presented the award following the swift tracking and arrest of five suspected kidnappers who had allegedly terrorised residents of the Kom-Kom axis and other parts of Oyigbo.
The group commended CSP Bello for what it described as his determined efforts to restore confidence and security in the affected communities, particularly Kom-Kom and Obeama.
According to the group, the arrest of the suspects demonstrated the DPO’s commitment to tackling criminality and safeguarding residents.
The media association said residents had received the development with relief, noting that the police action had sent a strong message to criminal elements operating in the area.
Responding, CSP Yusuf appreciated the group for the recognition and reaffirmed that there would be no room for criminality in Oyigbo.
He also commended the media for its role in disseminating credible information to the public, saying the media had remained supportive of the police in the fight against crime.
CSP Yusuf warned criminal elements operating in Oyigbo to leave the area or be prepared to face the full weight of the law.
He assured residents that the police would continue to pursue criminals and work to dismantle their hideouts, regardless of where they might be operating.
The 5000 Achievers Christian Forum and Colleges of Bishops, Archbishops and Apostles, a Christian interdenominational organisation, has endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and all candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State for the 2027 general elections.
International President of the forum, Archbishop Lucky Aroh, disclosed this during the ordination and consecration of three new Bishops, as well as an award ceremony held in Port Harcourt.
Aroh said the performance of the APC-led Federal Government had endeared the party to the organisation, prompting the forum to declare its support for President Tinubu and other APC candidates in Rivers State.
He said the forum would support all APC candidates in the state during the 2027 elections and urged Nigerians to vote for the party.
Aroh, who is also the General Overseer of Caring Peoples Church, Port Harcourt, charged the newly consecrated Bishops to see their new positions as a great responsibility and dedicate themselves to the advancement of the kingdom of God.
He cautioned them against conduct capable of bringing their offices into disrepute, stressing that their activities would be closely watched by members of the public.
“As Bishops, the eyes of the public are on your activities. You must therefore conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of your calling,” he said.
Also speaking, the International Coordinator of the forum, Bishop Saint Robinson, urged the newly consecrated Bishops to work diligently towards winning souls for the kingdom of God.
Robinson, who was the guest speaker at the event, stressed that the activities of Bishops must at all times be guided by godly principles.
He also called on members of the church to support and cooperate with the newly consecrated Bishops in the discharge of their responsibilities.
The Secretary of the College, Apostle Elizabeth Ayadi Abaye, said the organisation was established to advance the kingdom of God and promote spiritual development.
According to her, the forum has organised several crusades, conferences, prayer meetings, ordinations, consecrations, enthronements, empowerment programmes and other spiritual development activities across the country as part of efforts to win souls for Christ.
Abaye said the organisation has members across the world and disclosed that more programmes had been scheduled to promote the spiritual development and wellbeing of humanity.
The three Bishops consecrated at the ceremony were Prince Alban Chike, Testimony Omenihu Shedrach and Prince Ifemena.
Among those honoured at the event were the Chairman of the Community Development Committee (CDC), Abali Community, Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Manuchimso Prince Lemmy Wopara, and Clifford Oko Jaja, Coordinator of the 5,000 House-to-House for President Tinubu.
By: John Bibor
The Rivers State Police Command has arrested a 49-year-old suspected fake soldier, Andrew Atausi, and several other suspects in connection with various criminal activities, including kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism, one-chance robbery and the alleged murder of police officers.
The State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, disclosed this in Port Harcourt, recently during a press briefing at the Command Headquarters, where he said the arrests formed part of the operational achievements recorded by the Command between June and August 2026.
Adepoju said Atausi was arrested on August 10 by police operatives along Ada George, Port Harcourt, while dressed in military uniform and driving a Toyota Hilux painted in Army colours.
The Commissioner said investigation revealed that Atausi was not a member of the Armed Forces, adding that he was suspected to be a serial car snatcher, with three suspected stolen vehicles recovered from him.
He said the recovered vehicles included three Toyota Hilux vehicles without registration numbers and a Toyota Corona Premio with registration number BNY 380 ES, noting that the chassis and engine numbers of the vehicles had allegedly been tampered with.
Adepoju added that an axe and military accoutrements were also recovered from Atausi, as investigation continued into the circumstances surrounding the vehicles and other items recovered from him.
On the June 29 attack on police officers at Aluu Division, the Commissioner said three members of the gang allegedly responsible for the incident had been arrested by operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit, VCRU-AKU.
The suspects, identified as Maduabuchi Emeka, 34, alleged gang leader; Doctor Chinedu Owhor, 42, and Kamachi Joe, 28, alleged armourer, reportedly led operatives to their hideout at Omagwa where two AK-47 rifles stolen during the attack were recovered.
Adepoju recalled that two police officers were killed during the Aluu attack, while others were wounded and one officer had his leg amputated, stressing that efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fourth suspect.
On kidnapping, the Commissioner said five members of a suspected kidnapping syndicate were arrested in Oyigbo Local Government Area, adding that they allegedly confessed to operations in Kom-Kom, Railway, Obeama and Afam communities.
He said two other suspects from the same network, Anele Ogbogu, 35, alleged to be the gang’s armourer, and Kenneth Eke, 38, were arrested on July 27, with one AK-47 rifle and one SMG rifle recovered.
The Commissioner further disclosed the arrest of suspects in connection with alleged firearm offences, armed robbery, cultism and one-chance robbery, with firearms, ammunition and other exhibits recovered during the operations.
Adepoju assured residents that the Command would sustain intelligence-led, proactive and community-oriented policing in collaboration with other security agencies, while urging members of the public to continue providing credible information that would assist the police in combating crime across Rivers State.
By; King Onunwor