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The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Ngozi Onadeko, has appealed to youths in the state to remain calm as the police probe the crisis that happened in Igangan, Ibarapa North Local Government Area on Friday. The Commissioner of Police also vowed that those responsible for the arson and other criminal activities in the town would be apprehended and brought to justice. She said this on Sunday in a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Olugbenga Fadeyi. The PUNCH reports that there was a crisis in Igangan on Friday after the visit of a freedom fighter, Chief Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Igboho, to the town. Some youths in the town were said to have set ablaze some properties and the Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Adamu, ordered that Igboho should be arrested and brought to Abuja. The PPRO said one police officer was injured while discharging his duty during the mob action. The statement read partly, “Sadly, the relative peace and calmness, being enjoyed, due to the visibility patrols of the security agencies were truncated by the visit of Sunday Igboho to Igangan, at about 1630hrs on 22nd January 2021. “The visit had culminated in a mob action by some youths in the town, who, armed with different types of weapons, embarked on arson and a breach of peace. In the process, grievous hurt was committed against one of the police officers, while discharging his statutory duties. “The commissioner of police will like to reiterate that the security agencies will not watch while some criminal elements take laws into their hands. “Investigation into the arson and the breach of the peace, which occurred at Igangan will be investigated to logical conclusion and culprits shall be brought to justice.” By Olufemi Olaniyi Source:https://punchng.com/igboho-we-ll-bring-culprits-to-justice-says-oyo-cp/

At least five soldiers of the Nigerian Army recently resigned to join Nnamdi Kanu’s Eastern Security Network, military sources have informed SaharaReporters, adding that the ESN is silently building a regional military force. One of the military sources noted that more soldiers from the South-East, particularly those in the Operation Lafiya Dole Theatre Command, are currently being wooed to resign and join the ESN. It was learnt that some of the soldiers who resigned did so on the grounds that the ESN, being funded by both international and local donors, has better welfare packages for its officers than the military. “The Kanu ESN boys are not a bunch of rookies and untrained fellows brandishing guns. I personally know five guys from my hometown in Anambra State who left the Nigerian Army to join the ESN. Two of them were formerly serving in Operation Lafiya Dole, Borno State, before they quit. “We are being reliably informed that there are other soldiers, particularly of the South-East extraction, who will soon leave for other various reasons and they are likely to be recruited into the fold,” one of the sources said. Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, had recently announced the formation of the Eastern Security Network as a regional force to protect the South-East and South South from banditry and attacks from Fulani herdsmen. In July 2012, about 356 soldiers in the North-East and other theatres of operation had resigned from the army – some on voluntary retirement, while others cited loss of interest as their reason for disengagement. The soldiers had written to the army chief, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, on July 3, 2020, under Reference NA/COAS/001, quoting the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service soldiers/rating/airmen (Revised) 2017. The approval of the voluntary disengagement of the 356 soldiers was contained in a 17-page circular from Buratai, AHQ DOAA/G1/300/92, signed by Brig Gen T.E. Gagariga for the army chief. Again, this January, another batch of 127 soldiers resigned from the Nigerian Army and are due to leave by May. They comprised one Master Warrant Officer, three Warrant Officers, 22 Staff Sergeants, 29 Sergeants, 64 Corporals, seven Lance Corporals and one Private. Two weeks after Kanu launched the ESN on December 12, 2020, the Nigerian Army on December 30 was reported to have deployed combat helicopters, gun trucks and soldiers to search some suspected forests in the South-East states where the ESN, was said to be camping. SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that the military search had been ongoing for days, and had no time frame, as the army was acting on “orders from above.” A video from the drones and hidden cameras believed to be installed by the ESN, had captured the Nigerian Army helicopters and their vehicles and soldiers searching for the camp of the ESN for possible arrests. “The Nigerian Army that is supposed to fight Boko Haram was seen everywhere searching for the camp of Eastern Security Network team. But they forgot they are dealing with sophisticated men. There are cameras and drones everywhere watching them,” an official had said. The police force had also stated last week that its personnel had yet to identify an ESN official or camp in the South-East, while dismissing Kanu’s ESN as propaganda and non-existent. BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK SOURCE:http://saharareporters.com/2021/01/22/nigerian-soldiers-resigned-join-kanu%E2%80%99s-eastern-network-%E2%80%93-military-sources

Violence erupted in Igangan in the Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State on Friday when a popular Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, reportedly stormed the Fulani settlement in the town to eject the Seriki Fulani, Salihu Abdukadir, and some other herdsmen accused of fuelling security problems in the area. Unconfirmed reports claimed that some persons were killed while properties worth several millions of naira were set ablaze during the clash which occurred in the evening. Although Igboho could not be reached as calls to his telephone line indicated that he was out of reach, residents of Igangan however said that at least one youth from Igboora was killed by Fulani fighters while two others sustained injuries from gunshots. The Seriki also told our correspondent that one Fulani woman was killed. He said he had fled the town before Igboho returned on Friday. The claims from both sides could not be independently verified as of press time on Friday. Igboho had last week issued a seven-day quit notice to the Seriki and his associates. Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State had in a broadcast warned people fuelling ethic crisis in the state to desist from such act. Despite this, Igboho and his supporters stormed Igangan on Friday afternoon. Addressing the youths, Igboho said, “They started deploying soldiers here since yesterday (Thursday). When our people were being kidnapped and killed, there was not soldier to be deployed to secure them. Reacting, the Oyo State PPRO, Mr. Olugbenga Fadeyi, said, “Tactical police teams with Operation Burst are on ground to give maximum security protection while efforts are on to ascertain the situation there.” Makinde vows to resist ethnic crisis Meanwhile, Makinde said on Friday that his government would not allow anyone hiding under the guise of ethnic interest to perpetrate a crisis in the state. Makinde said the war to be waged by the state and the security agencies was against criminal elements, irrespective of their tribes, religions or creed. He added that his administration would not allow anyone to threaten the peace of the state by acting unlawfully as such was against the nation’s Constitution. The governor, who spoke while receiving the new Commissioner of Police in the state, Mrs Ngozi Onadeko, said the state government would not relent in placing priority on the welfare of security agencies in the state. The governor said, “For people stoking ethnic tension, they are criminals and once you get them, they should be arrested and treated like common criminals. For this administration, the major pillar for us is security, because we know that all the good economic plans we have won’t be possible in an atmosphere of chaos and insecurity.” “So, when people say things that are neither lawful nor within the spirit of Nigeria’s Constitution, it is not acceptable here. And they cannot hide under the guise of protecting Yoruba interest to perpetuate chaos in the state.” By Olufemi Olaniyi and Wale Oyewale Source:https://punchng.com/two-feared-dead-as-herdsmen-sunday-igbohos-supporters-clash-in-oyo/

Fulani herdsmen on Friday attacked and stabbed a farmer into unconsciousness in Akure, the Ondo State capital, while he was working on his farm. SaharaReporters learnt that the farmer was rescued and rushed to a nearby hospital by fellow farmers who were alerted to the attack. It was gathered that the injured farmer, whose name could not yet be ascertained as of the time of filing this report, was battling for his life. A youth advocate in the state, Oluyemi Fasipe, confirmed the attack on Friday, saying the cassava farmer was stabbed for refusing the herdsmen access to his farmland. He said, “Disturbing News; Fulani herdsmen stabbed a farmer in Akure, Ondo State today because he tried to stop them from destroying his farm and feeding his cassava to cows. The farmer, who was rescued by other farmers, is said to be in a very critical condition.” The Ondo State government on Tuesday vowed that it would not rescind the ultimatum it issued to herdsmen to vacate its forest reserves within seven days. The Special Adviser to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on Security Matters, Alhaji Jimoh Dojumo, said the state government was determined to put an end to cases of kidnapping and killing in the state. This was sequel to an order by the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, on Monday, asking Fulani herdsmen to vacate all forest reserves in the state within the next seven days. Akeredolu in a statement had also banned the movement of cattle within cities and highways, as well as night grazing. Akeredolu’s directive was informed by the killings and kidnappings happening in the state, which have largely been blamed on Fulani herdsmen. He also ordered the clearing of bushes on the highways across the 18 local government areas of the state in order to allow for a proper view of the highway. The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria had said that the agreement it had with the Ondo State government was to stop night grazing and use of underage boys for grazing cows, adding that at no time did the governor tell them to vacate the forest reserves. BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK SOURCE;http://saharareporters.com/2021/01/22/fulani-herdsmen-stab-ondo-farmer-coma-despite-vacation-order

Prominent Nigerians, including the immediate past President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo; a chieftain of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Chief Audu Ogbeh, on Thursday said there was an urgent need to restructure Nigeria for it to attain its full potential. They made the call at the 18th Daily Trust Dialogue with the theme: ‘Restructuring in Nigeria: Why? How? When?’ The prominent Nigerians suggested that the country should be restructured to make Nigeria work for all citizens. But in an interview with The PUNCH, the President’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said it was only the National Assembly that was empowered to restructure the country. He, therefore, advised proponents of restructuring to approach the legislature. On his part, the Spokesman for the Senate, Ajibola Basiru, described restructuring as a slogan. He called on advocates of restructuring, who had submitted memoranda to the Senate Committee on Constitution Review to meet their senators with a view to educating them better on the type of restructuring they were advocating. In his remarks at the summit, Nwodo said, “We must restructure to revamp our agriculture. When I speak of restructuring, some of my northern Nigerian friends have suggested to me that I do not want the North to partake in the oil revenue of Nigeria. “Well, I have just outlined the indisputable fact that oil is a fast-drying resource for earning foreign exchange. The truth is that the reliable source of revenue now is agriculture “The Netherlands is today the largest exporter of food in the world. Its cross-sectional area is about half the size of Niger State. It is the world’s largest exporter of potatoes. Its revenue from vegetables and dairy contributes more than $100bn annually to its economy. The secret is education, better mechanised farming, growth of green farm technology, drone monitoring systems and land reclamation by building of dams. “Northern Nigeria is Nigeria’s greatest treasure in agriculture. Northern Nigeria is blessed with diverse livestock production with its capacity for dairy production. It has various tubers of potatoes, yam, cassava and cocoyam. “Under a restructured Nigeria, Northern Nigeria will earn more from food production than the Netherlands. We must restructure because our current electoral system is dysfunctional and does not elicit confidence.” Nwodo also said restructuring would address insecurity in the country. He stated, “We must restructure to reduce insecurity in our country. While I was working on this speech on Monday, 18 January 2021, I paused to read the news for the day. I saw the following headlines: Bandits kill octogenarian, 14 others in Zamfara, Kaduna attacks “Cops arrest Police Sergeant for robbery in Port Harcourt; Robbers kill 22-year-old IT prodigy in Lagos; Gunmen hack Catholic priest to death, kidnap brother in Niger State, Bandits abduct 17 persons in Niger State. All these in one day.” While making a case for state police, the elder statesman said modern philosophy for security is local policing. On when Nigeria should be restructured, Nwodo said, “We must do all we can to restructure before the next election in 2023 because the level of dissatisfaction in the country as evidenced by the last #EndSARS protest gives one the impression that any delay may lead to a mass boycott or disruption of the next elections to the point that we may have a more serious constitutional crisis of a nation without a government. “To restructure, Nigeria we need a constitutional conference of the ethnic groups in Nigeria. To use the current National Assembly as the forum for constitutional amendments grants a recognition of the overthrow of our democratic norms by the enthronement of a military constitution by which they are composed.” The 1999 Constitution is a fraudulent document, we must discard it –Adebanjo Adebanjo, in his contribution, noted that the 1999 Constitution, which was bequeathed to the nation by the General Abdulsalami Abubakar-led military regime, was fraudulent. He argued that for any meaningful discussion to hold on a better structure for the country, the document should be discarded and in its place a people generated constitution in the mould of the 1960 and 1963 constitutions should be revisited. Adebanjo said, “This is not the constitution that Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Chief Obafemi Awolowo agreed to. All the problems we are having today is because of the fraudulent constitution that we are operating today.” Bad governance responsible for calls for restructuring –Jega A former National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, after explaining factors responsible for the growing agitation for restructuring, identified bad governance and the failure of the current system to address the myriad of socio-political economic problems facing the country as largely responsible. Jega said, “After a critical evaluation of the benefits versus the costs of each of these notions of restructuring, I believe that the starting point of desirable and serious, even realistic, restructuring is equitable redistribution of power and resources from the Federal Government to the sub-national governments. According to him, dismantling the current states’ structure and reconfiguring the states into pre-1966 regions, or into six geo-political regions or even into 12 states of 1976/7 are unrealistic. He stated, “The social and political costs of such an undertaking would by far outweigh the benefits. In many fundamental respects, creation of states has gone a long way to mitigate real and imagined/perceived marginalisation of minorities.” Restructuring alone can’t solve all our problems –Jonathan In his remarks, former President Goodluck Jonathan explained that Nigerians should exploit every opportunity on dialogue in order to make the nation better. He said, “My conviction is that discussion on restructuring will not help except we restructure our minds because some of the challenging issues at the national level still exist at the state and local levels “For instance, in some states, it is not easy for some persons to win an election because of the area they come from. The language they speak or their religious belief. “Take a look at how local government elections are conducted at the state level. Why is it very difficult for an opposition party to win a chairmanship or councillorship seat in a state, despite the fact that the same party probably secured seats in the state Assembly and National Assembly elections, organised by a federal election management body? “This shows that restructuring alone may not solve all the anomalies in the system.” In their separate remarks, Ogbeh and the Secretary General of the Northern Elders Forum, Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed noted that the North believed in Nigeria. Restructuring absolutely necessary to deal with problems confronting us –Ogbeh Ogbeh said, “We are in a country where the only big business is the government. Nwodo made a very important point. The economy of this country is dying so fast. We say the 1960 constitution was very good. If it was so good, why was there a coup on January 15, 1966 with that bloody massacre of leaders both military and civilian and six months later there was a counter-coup and the civil war where two million people, mostly in the South-East, died. What was the cause if the constitution was perfect? The big issue is the economy. In dealing with the problems confronting us, restructuring is absolutely necessary. “In what shape is the question. Will states surrender their autonomy, like Jega said, very unlikely. Are we returning to the regions of 1960? Very unlikely, that is where the problem lies. Baba-Ahmed said it was not true that the North was opposed to restructuring. He stated, “The North has never opposed restructuring on the basis of ignorance. When a person says he does not understand it doesn’t mean he is stupid.” “The North is completely interested in restructuring without conditional ties. We are willing to engage anybody anytime, anywhere. We are Nigerians, we think Nigeria is not working for the North nor working for anybody. “We believe it can be fixed and it has to be fixed by all Nigerians on the basis of respect, on the basis of an understanding of what works for all of us. It is wrong to say the North is opposing or will oppose restructuring, it is misinformation. What we will not accept is a situation where the North is put on the defensive and made to agree to everything other parts of the country throw at it.” N’Assembly, not Buhari, is empowered to restructure Nigeria –Presidency Shehu said those agitating for restructuring of the country should approach the National Assembly for a change in constitution. He said only the parliament was empowered to effect a change in the nation’s structure or constitution. Shehu urged those clamouring for restructuring to take advantage of the ongoing constitutional amendment in the National Assembly. He said, “Our position on the call for restructuring has not changed. “People are calling it restructuring, the ruling party, APC, and the government call it devolution. “Whichever name you call it, the government is not opposed to it. What we are saying is that the parliament is the body empowered by law to effect any change in the nation’s structure. “The process of constitution review is ongoing in the National Assembly now. We advise proponents of restructuring to approach the parliament and take advantage of the opportunity that ongoing process offers.” Restructuring a slogan, we need details –Senate But the Senate explained that the National Assembly could not initiate the process of restructuring the country because the concept meant different things to the various ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. It called on proponents of restructuring to explain it to their senators. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Basiru, who is also a member of the Constitution Review panel, gave the clarification while responding to an enquiry on the matter in an interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja on Thursday. Basiru, however, expressed the fears that the type of restructuring that some people were advocating might not be part of the amendment if they had not submitted any memorandum to the panel before the deadline for the submission elapsed last year. He said, “We expect anybody who has a memorandum regarding restructuring which they want to be included in the constitution amendments that the Senate is doing, to have submitted it through his representative in the National Assembly by now. “The Constitution Review Committee has started work already. The idea of restructuring is a slogan. We expect anybody who is advocating it to have come up with specific details of what he wants before the committee. “As far as we are concerned, restructuring means different things to many people. The type of restructuring being canvassed by Afenifere may not be the same thing that the Ndigbo or the Arewa people are canvassing. “The National Assembly is made of people’s representatives. We need our people to tell us what they need by engaging us in dialogue or through memoranda. We cannot impose any concept on the country. “We can only move based on what is presented before us as the aggregate opinion of the people. “Rather than passing the bulk to the National Assembly, we expect advocates of restructuring to do their homework by submitting their input through their representatives. “We have the power to amend the constitution. We have called for memorandum which had elapsed, so, anyone who had not submitted memoranda before the deadline elapsed, there is nothing we can do again. “However, if they had submitted memoranda already, their position would be considered when the activities on the constitution amendments fully begin. “Meanwhile, they have to hold regular consultative meetings with their representatives on the matter to ensure its acceptability by all sections of the country,” Basiru added. Faulting the Presidency, the spokesman for Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, in an interview with The PUNCH, said, “It is clear that even after the collapse of Nigeria under a bad structure, this government will still be engaged in buck passing.” Ohanaeze backs FG, says restructuring can’t take effect without NASS But the Ohanaeze Ndigbo backed the Federal Government that the proponents of restructuring should approach the National Assembly. Ohanaeze National Publicity Secretary, Chief Alex Ogbonnia, stated this in a telephone chat with one of our correspondents. Ogbonnia, who was reacting to the Federal Government interview with The PUNCH, said that going to the National Assembly was the right thing. He stated, “Restructuring cannot take effect without having legislative authority. It is just a way of saying that we must go through the legislature which of course is the right thing to do.” “What we are looking at as a matter of fact, once you are talking of restructuring it must have a legislative backing for it to take effect.” By Olalekan Adetayo, John Alechenu, Sunday Aborisade, Friday Olokor and Raphael Ede Source:https://punchng.com/calls-for-restructuring-go-to-nassembly-presidency-tells-acf-nwodo-adebanjo-as-agitation-spreads/