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BUSTED: Police arrest alleged IPOB/ESN financier, 25 others in hotel

Published

3 years ago

August 2, 2021

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Operatives of the Imo command police have arrested the alleged financier of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN), one Boniface Okeke, from Obor Autonomous Community in Orlu Council Area of Imo State.

Parading the suspect and 25 other suspected members of IPOB, including seven women arrested in a hotel, located in Orlu, at the Command’s Headquarters Owerri, Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro said the suspects were been held in connection with terrorism and attacks on security agencies and private individuals where several Police stations were burnt down and police officers killed in numbers.

According to him, on interrogation, Okeke, 57, confessed to being a facilitator and financer of IPOB/ ESN operations in the state to the tune of N10m while he was outside the country.

The police boss disclosed that the suspects were arrested through the assistance of one of the bandits, Emmanuel Nnaji(15) years, a native of Awala in Ideato South LGA of Imo State, who was arrested after the recent attack on Omuma Police station and Njaba Police Station respectively.

READ Sanusi backs FG’s move to relocate CBN offices to Lagos, says ‘ethnic bigots will always shout’

He said: “On interrogation by the command’s tactical teams, the suspect gave a vivid description of a hotel located in Orlu as where they, the bandits stayed and planned before they execute their dastardly act on the police stations.”

The commissioner of police listed the items recovered the suspects to include,

“One AK47 Rifle with two magazine loaded WITH 55 ROUNDS OF LIVE AMMUNITION, FIVE PUMP ACTION GUNS, TWO DOUBLE BARREL CUT TO SIZE GUNS, FOUR DOUBLE BARREL LOCALLY MADE PISTOL, THREE SINGLE BARREL LOCALLY MADE PISTOLS, EIGHT SIX LIVE CARTRIDGES, CHARMS, TWO BAGS OF WEEDS SUSPECTED TO BE INDIAN HEMP , BIAFRAN FLAG AND BERET ESN CAP, FOUR PAIRS OF ARMY CAMOUFLAGE UNIFORMS AND A CAMOUFLAGE BAG and A SIGN BOARD WITH BIAFRA INSIGNIA.”

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FG extends FEC meeting to Tuesday, says ‘far-reaching decisions will be made’

Published

4 hours ago

May 13, 2024

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The Federal Government has extended the federal executive council (FEC) meeting to Tuesday.

Mohammed Idris, minister of information and culture, announced the extension of the FEC meeting on Monday while speaking with State House correspondents.

The FEC meeting was held on Monday for the first time since March.

Idris said the FEC meeting will continue on Tuesday at 12pm.

“The council meeting will continue tomorrow, therefore, there will be no press briefing today,” the minister said.

“A lot of far-reaching decisions are being taken and the conclusions will be made available to you tomorrow. FEC will continue at 12 noon tomorrow.”

During the FEC meeting, President Bola Tinubu swore in two additional commissioners of the National Population Commission (NPC).

The two commissioners are Fasuwa Johnson from Ogun state, and Amidu Raheem from Osun state.

Earlier, the cabinet observed a minute’s silence in honour of the late Fabian Osuji, a former minister of education; and Ogbonnaya Onu, a former minister of science and technology.

READ Troops neautralise seven terrorists, recover arms in Kaduna

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Electricity tariff hike: We’ll go back to drawing board, FG tells labour

Published

5 hours ago

May 13, 2024

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The Federal Government has said it will go back to the drawing board with relevant stakeholders to address the issue of the electricity tariff hike.

Mamudah Mamman, permanent secretary at the federal ministry of power, spoke in Abuja on Monday while addressing members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Members of organised labour were out to picket offices of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), ministry of power and the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) in Abuja over the tariff hike.

The NERC on April 3 approved an increase in the electricity tariff for elite customers.

Organised labour is calling for a reversal of the increase and a return to the negotiating table.

Mamman said members of the national assembly have told the ministry to do a wide consultation with relevant stakeholders on the matter.

The permanent secretary assured that the ministry would sit down next week with the leadership of the NLC to see how the issues could be resolved.

READ Gunmen abduct women leader in Imo church

“The national assembly had written the ministry to go and do a wide consultation with all the relevant stakeholders,” he said.

“What the ministry does is give policy directions. We realise that the policy direction given is pushing Nigerians to the corner, and we need to do things differently.

“What we need to do is for all of us to come to the table, look at it, and decide what is the best way. I don’t have the power to reverse the tariff, so we will go back to the drawing board with the regulator and NLC.

“I’m going to take your message to the relevant authority, and we will look at it and inform you.”

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Reverse electricity tariff — we won’t accept band classification, Ajaero tells NERC

Published

8 hours ago

May 13, 2024

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The president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, says the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) should reverse the electricity tariff.

Ajaero spoke on Monday when members of the labour body picketed the headquarters of the NERC in Abuja over the increase in electricity tariff.

The NERC on April 3 approved an increase in the electricity tariff for elite customers.

Ajaero said the protest was due to NERC’s unresponsiveness to the multiple letters sent by the NLC.

He added that the increase in tariff was arbitrary, noting that NERC did not consult relevant stakeholders before taking the decision.

The NLC president argued that Nigeria has 4,000 megawatts of electricity for over 200 million people, as against the global index of 1,000 megawatts for one million citizens.

“We are here on a peaceful protest having written so many letters to NERC that they cannot increase tariff without meeting with Nigerians, that the process of adjusting tariffs in every tariff methodology requires that they meet with all stakeholders, including labour, that we don’t know where this tarrif is coming from,” Ajaero said.

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“And that NERC is not oblivious to the fact that Nigeria is wallowing in power poverty, that while the whole world gave a global index of one million people for 1,000 megawatts, Nigeria has 4,000 megawatts for over 200 million people.

“What Nigeria is generating today is not enough for Lagos, and it is bad enough to say some Nigeria are better than others; some will get 20 hours, some will get two hours; even in South Africa, such has never happened.

“Use the same magic that you are using to give some Nigerians 20 hours to give everybody in Nigeria 20 hours. Nigerians are saying no to discriminatory power allocation.”

He noted that the Manbilla power plant in Plateau state can generate 3,600 megawatts of renewable hydropower but has remained underperforming 30 years after its inauguration.

Ajaero urged the federal government to put an end to all taxes that could further increase the burden on Nigerians.

READ IPOB/ESN gunman, Ejike, 3 others killed in shootout with army