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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 7, 2012
News
Man, 35 abducted on his wedding day in Kwara From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin
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HE mysterious disappearance of a-35-yearold fuel attendant, Zubair , Fulani, is still a riddle to his family members in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. Zubair , a Fulani, was allegedly abducted by yet-to-be identified men on September 28th, 2012, the day of his wedding and kept in their custody for about five days. The wedding preparation of Zubair Aliyu Balogun and his heartthrob had commenced on Thursday, September 27, only for him to disappear Friday morning and his whereabouts remained unknown for five days. However, the groom was later found naked by an Okada man in a bush at KanguOlunlade Village, Ilorin where he was purportedly dumped by his abductors early Tuesday morning, October 2, 2012. He was then taken to a private hospital by his people when they converged at where he was found. The victim is still recuperating at an undisclosed hospital. The matter was reported at the “A” Division police station in Ilorin, where investigations was said to have commenced to unravel the mystery behind the five-day abduction and torture of Zubair. The head of BalogunFulani family, Alhaji Mahmud Durosinlorun Atiku Fulani, said there was no suspicion prior to the abduction, vowing that the family would use all legal and spiritual means to fish out the perpetrators.
Teachers are agents of change, says Amosun
Kwara police arrest Corps member, two others for alleged robbery O
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HE Kwara State Police command has arrested three men, including a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving in the state, for alleged robbery. In her reaction to the development, the Kwara State coordinator of NYSC, Mrs. Ezinne Ezekwe, said she could not confirm the incident. According to her,”I am expecting the Police Commissioner to brief me of the incident officially before I can make any comment.” The spokesman of the state’s command, Olufemi
From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin
Fabode ,however confirmed the incident, adding that investigation had commenced on the incident. It was gathered that the corper and his gang allegedly stormed a big shop along Taiwo, Ilorin, where all manners of expensive phones and accessories are being sold and held customers and the staff at gunpoint. He said that “in the operations that lasted about 30 minutes, the armed robbers forcefully collected money, phones and accessories from
customers and the staff running into millions of naira and bolted away in a waiting Toyota salon car. “Luck, however, ran out for them when the victims, that is the customers and the staff raised an alarm of the robbery incident, pointing at the runaway car that was taking the suspects away. Passers-by and other enraged sympathisers gave the suspects hot chase and nabbed them in a traffic holdup. “The suspects, having noticed that the game was up, jumped out of the vehicle and
took to their heels before they were nabbed and taken to ‘A’ Division police station. “It was at the ‘A’ Division Police Station that the suspects were handed over to members of Special Anti Robbery Squad, who during interrogation discovered that the leader of the armed robbery gang is a youth corper. “It was revealed that the suspect was posted to serve in Ira, a small town near Igbaja in IrepodunLocal Government Area of the state from where he and two others came to rob at the state capital.”
PPA Boss: Reject 2013 budget if...
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HE National Chairman of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Chief Sam Nkire, has called on the Nigerian public to reject any state or federal government’s budget proposal for 2013 which projects a recurrent expenditure that is more than capital expenditure. Chief Nkire said the poor state of public utilities in the country had made it imperative for Nigerians to begin to ask questions about how the tax payer’s money as well as the nation’s resources are spent or managed. The PPA boss said for some time now, government at the federal, state and local government levels had failed in their primary duty of providing the basic needs of the people due to excessive emphasis on the comfort of government officials, which is funded by uncontrolled recurrent expenditure. He regretted that the few public servants in Nigeria made adequate provision for their welfare and comfort by budgeting nearly 75 percent for their food, travel, shelter, healthcare, and security while over 150 million Nigerians are left to fend for themselves. According to him, “There was no reason why cost of running government should be higher than cost of providing infrastructure and taking care of the welfare of the people.” The PPA National Chairman advised the federal and state governments to ensure that this trend is reversed in order to tackle the problems of poor road network, unemployment, disease and insecurity in Nigeria.
GUN State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has described teachers as potent agents of social change, noting that the Nigerian society places on them an onerous responsibility of nurturing a future for it. He stated that it was in the light of this that his administration placed a high premium on their conditions of service. He therefore informed the teachers of the plan of his government to grant seven percent Teachers’ Peculiar Allowance as additional motivation. The governor spoke at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, during the 2012 World Teachers’ Day. While explaining that his administration had kept his promises to workers by implementing the National Minimum Wage, paying their salaries as and when due and creating a work-friendly environment for them, the governor lamented the occasional delay being experienced by primary school teachers in receiving their monthly pay, blaming it on the laws guiding payment of salaries of primary school teachers and the menace of ghost workers in the local councils. Amosun stated that the ongoing biometric data capturing exercise will rid the system of ghost workers. He said his government had approved the promotion of 4,951 teaching and nonteaching staff, which was due since 2009 and 2010. “I understand your letters of promotion are ready and that some of you have even received them,” he said.
Flood cuts off East-West Road
•From left: Wife of late Chief Lateef Adegbite, Modinat, wife of Lagos State Governor, Abimbola Fashola, daughters of late Adegbite, Aisa, Jemeelat, and son, Ahmed, at the 7-day Fidau Prayer for late Adegbite at the Ake Palace in Abeokuta, yesterday Photo: NAN
Tight security for Plateau bye-election
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HERE was water-tight security in Jos and environs yesterday as voters filed out to perform their civic duty in the bye-election meant to elect replacement for the vacant seat of Plateau North in the National assembly. The tight security, according to the state police commissioner, Emmanuel Dipo Ayeni, was to ensure total compliance with the order banning vehicle movement during the election. He also said the restriction of movement was to prevent rigging of the election. The only vehicle Seen on the streets in all the six local governments of the zone were those of security agencies, electoral officials and media personnel The election was generally peaceful though the turn out of voters was low in the morning. It was observed, however that voters later trooped out later in the afternoon to cast their votes. While six parties, Action Congress of Nigeria, People’s Democratic Party, All Progressive Grand Alliance, Democratic People’s Party, All Nigeria People’s Party and the Labour Party fielded candidates for the senatorial election, only three of them presented candidates for the House of Assembly election. The two seats became vacant on July 8 following the death of Senator Gyang Dantong and former Majority Leader, Mr. Gyang Fulani, while
From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos
leading a funeral procession for victims of sectarian clashes between the Berom farmers and Fulani herdsmen. The PDP candidate, Mr. Gyang Pwajok, voted at his Angwan Dalyop Polling Unit in Alikazaure Ward of Jos North, while Governor Jonah Jang, cast his vote in his Ladura Du Ward of Jos South. Speaking variously after
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casting their votes, Jang and Pwajok expressed satisfaction at the voter turnout in their units. The ACN candidate, Mr. Yusufu Pam, who voted at the Gold and Base Polling Unit, urged the electorate to come out and exercise their civic right as remaining at home would not help their cause. He expressed optimism at the outcome of the election, adding, however, that as a good
sportsman, he was ready to accept the wishes of the people if the election was conducted in a free and fair manner. The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Habuh Zarma, earlier promised that the election would be free and fair. As at the time of filing this report, votes were being collated in some local governments while voting was still going in some other polling units.
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HE East-West road has been cut into two at the Bolu-Angiama-Umeh stretch of the road in Delta State by the Forcadoes Rivers. The development has forced many travellers to find alternatives or abandon their trips altogether. Some of such stranded travellers are said to be fleeing from the flood which has devastated their homes in Bayelsa and Delta States. Scores of the travellers have taken up temporary shelter at an abandoned petrol station in Patani while others remain by the roadside with some of their belongings.
Police begin manhunt for killers of UNIPORT students
OLICE in Rivers State are on the trail of the mob that beat to death four male students: Ugonna, Ilyod, Tekana and Chidiaka of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) at the weekend. They were set ablaze after putting car tyres on their necks, for allegedly stealing mobile phones and laptops. The incident took place at Aluu community, beside UNIPORT, where most of the students who could not secure accommodation on the campus reside, making the area to be thickly populated, with a lot of commercial and social activities always going on there. Aluu is off the ever-busy East-West Road, currently being dualised by the Federal Government. The residents of the ancient communityare now fleeing to avoid indiscriminate arrest by policemen, especially
•Residents flee Aluu community From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt
of innocent persons. The Rivers Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ben Ugwuegbulam, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in a telephone interview confirmed that four persons were killed on Friday at Aluu for stealing, but could not ascertain if the victims were students of UNIPORT or not. He also stated that the Rivers State Police Command was investigating the unfortunate incident, while warning residents of the state against taking the law into their own hands. He urged members of the public to always make useful information about criminals in their midst available to the command, while assuring that their identities would be well
protected. It was learnt that the owners of the expensive mobile phones, including BlackBerry and the laptops at the off-campus hostel, expressed displeasure to their friends over the loss of the items, thereby raising the alarm, which attracted indigenes of Aluu and passersby. The missing phones and laptops were later traced to the killed students, who were young men in their early 20s, and were said to have denied knowledge of the development, without being given the opportunity to defend themselves, before they were beaten to death and set ablaze by the angry mob. The Deputy Registrar, Information, Dr. Williams Wodi, when contacted yesterday said: “Right now, I am not in a posi-
tion to confirm to you that the alleged victims are bona fide students of UNIPORT, as is being widely speculated. “The alleged incident took place at Aluu Village, about two kilometres outside our main campus. We do not have responsibility for security in Aluu communities, which are beyond our jurisdiction. The relevant security outfits are working with our security department to establish the true identities of the victims and what actually transpired on the day of the reported incident.” The Vice-Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Joseph Ajienka, who is marking two years in office, has been waging war against lawlessness, cultism and criminality at the Federal Government-owned higher institution, thereby restoring peace, with law and order ensured.