New Militant Group Demands Niger Delta Peoples Republic

A group, Movement for the Survival of Niger Delta Indigenes (MOSUNDI) has commenced agitation for self-determination and independence from the present Nigeria. The demand is coming on the heels of a similar recent agitation by the Lower Niger Congress (NLC) for the restructuring of Nigeria to allow each region of the country to be equal and to also control its resources for the betterment of their people. NLC is made up of people of the South-South and South-East geographical region.
MOSUNDI which in itself represents the six states of the Niger Delta (South-South) and part of the present Ondo State say its agitation for self-determination and independence is anchored on wicked marginalisation, deprivation and slavery by the major ethnic groups in Niger inspite of fact that Niger Delta produces the economic wealth of the nation.
In a letter to the Secretary-General of United Nations, Dr. Ban Ki-Moon and signed by its President, Prince Samuel Amaiwo, Chimezie Ezebunwo Timothy, Hon. Okan Obukohwo Okan and spokesman Godgift Edigbe, MOSUNDI seeks for a United Nations’ Supervised referendum for self-determination of the Niger Delta Peoples of Nigeria based on the UN charter, Articles, resolution, International Court of Justice decision and the Scotland referendum.
The agitation for the Niger Delta Peoples Republic according to the letter is predicated by political, Social-economic and religious discrimination of the Nigeria, Hausa and Yoruba against Niger Delta people.
It said, “from independence in 1960, the Niger Delta has been a well spring of Nigeria resource of revenue due to the huge oil deposit but the people have continued to wallow in abject poverty, environmental degradation due to economic, political, social and religious violence visited on them by the majority Hausa-Fulani/Yoruba’s Islamic elites, our people as a result of economic, political, social and religious violence visited on us, live in abject poverty without the minimum basic necessities of life, that is, water, sanitation, healthcare, education.”
“Oil exploitation and exploration and production in the Niger Delta has degraded our environment, devastated our fish stocks and our farmland, the principal sources and strength of micro-economic activities of our people health reducing life expectancy and also damaging physical infrastructure that the cost of living has sky rocketed beyond the reach of the people, of note in the oil industry which has created a ‘NEW NOVEAU RICH’ amongst the Hausa-Fulani/Yoruba elites that has wickedly and deliberately denied our people management jobs within an industry that is located at the heart of the Niger Delta Communities, the letter said.
The group noted that the people of the Niger Delta disputed the result of the 2006 population which was carried out by the Federal Government, reason being that the ploy was a measure to depopulate and reduce the number of people of the region which is being used in allocating resources in Nigeria. It queried why Nigerian Federal authority did not use water resources or the inclusion of transportation of Petroleum through VAT in determining resource allocation.
It said the proposed Niger Delta Peoples Republic is economically viable and would not depend solely on international hand-out from other countries except with respect to contributory shared Debt of the Federation of Nigeria. According to MOSUNDI, the proposed new country has would be politically stable, culturally compatible, geographical contiguous as well as religiously congruous.
It further accused the Hausa-Fulani and Yoruba of allotting 90% of the oil blocks in Niger Delta to themselves due to their vintage position at the central government level. It further remarked that the agitation for a republic of the people of Niger Delta has become a long struggle starting from the era of Willincks Commission due to the lop-sidedness of Nigeria Federalism and massive greed of the majority ethnic Nationalities and insisted that peaceful separation is the key to lasting peace in what it termed the faulty federation called Nigeria.

Police Kill 26 Cultists In Rivers

About 26 persons suspected to be cultists have been killed allegedly by men of Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of Rivers State Police Command in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the state. It was gathered that the incident occurred in a forest around Obesemini community in Egi in that LGA.
Though the name of the cult group could not be ascertained, it was learnt that men of the SARS stormed their camp in the wee hours of Thursday, and gunned them down. A security source who did not want to be mentioned said neighbouring communities around the forest were Akabuka and Oyioga.
A member of a vigilance group, who also confirmed the story said the suspected cultists could be responsible for the killings that had been recorded in recent times in ONELGA. He added that the corpses which were abandoned in the forest, were discovered by some hunters early in the morning.

Police IG, Makes New Orders, Bars His Men From Carrying Bags For Politicians, Wife, Others

There is a recent welcomed development in the Nigeria police sector, as the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, on Thursday made some new orders which included warning his men from detaining suspects more than 24 hours.
The Police high-ranked inspector stressed that appropriate due diligence should be conducted before arrest warrant was issued.
He also banned policemen posted to provide security for top government officials from carrying their bags or converting themselves to domestic staff, just as he emphasised his disdain against all forms of corruption.
According to him, "management decided to invite you for interaction so we get first-hand information from you. We expect that you should no longer collect money from members of the public, you should be civil to the public and observe all forms of human right abuses.
"Some of you who are escorting think they are in their bedrooms. Misuse of firearms, Force Order 223 is there. Make sure you observe the provisions of this law. You must change your attitude to the public because we need them to support us.
"We shall train you on alternative disputes resolution. All those who dabble into land matters and commercial matters should hands off and advise them to go to the court.
"You should no longer detain anybody more than 24 hours. Before you invite anybody, ensure that you have investigated the issue and have with you concrete evidence before you invite or arrest anybody.
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"Henceforth, only government officials are entitled to police protection. You should no longer carry people's bags, open their doors, man their gates or engage in any domestic chores for anybody. I have directed the commissioners in-charge of airports to arrest you if they see you dragging your pistol with boxes or bags of anybody.
"For your promotion, immediately after the inauguration, the DIG in-charge of training will invite those of you who are qualified to the various training colleges so that you can be trained for promotion.
"On no account should we see anybody on our highways wearing slippers or shabbily dressed. If we see you, we are going to arrest you. You have been given authority to arrest anybody who is blowing siren. It has been banned, but you must not carry horse whip, you must be civil," he ordered.

Pictures of Gov Fayose ensuring peaceful relocation of Hausas from Atikankan, Ado Ekiti to Sasa, Ikere road tod

 

Consequent upon the crisis between Hausas living in Atikankan, Ado Ekiti and some members of Drivers Union which has led to destruction of properties, especially the burning of the Oja Oba, Ado Ekiti, Gov Fayose directed that the Hausas be relocated TEMPORARILY to SASA, Ikere road.
The governor personally supervised the movement of the Hausas from Atikankan to Sasa this morning, making sure that none of them was attacked.
Vehicles were also provided by the government.

Police Parade 30 Crime Suspects In Ondo

The Ondo State Police Command has paraded 30 crime suspects, including two among the armed robbery suspects that escaped during the jailbreak in Ekiti prison in 2014.




The State Commissioner of Police, Isaac Eke, who gave details about the crime suspects at a media briefing, disclosed that 12 were suspected armed robbers, five were cultists, three were kidnappers, two were burglars, and seven were caught for motorbike snatching, among others.
Stolen items recovered by the Police from the suspects include one laptop computer, mobile phones, and two motorcycles.
The Police Commissioner‎ commended the efforts of the new Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and other sister security agencies in the state for the efforts made in combating criminality in the nation and the state respectively.
According to him, the two inmates that escaped during the Ekiti jailbreak, Tope Daramola and Banji Adedayo, equally confessed to committing other robbery crimes.
“On interrogation, they confessed to committing the crime and other robbery cases, including Ekiti bank robbery and that both were inmates that escaped during the Ekiti jailbreak,” he said.

10 Canadians arrested for trying to join jihadist groups

Canadian police have arrested 10 young people for allegedly attempting to join jihadist groups in the Middle East, reports said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement, cited by The Canadian Press on Wednesday, that no charges had been laid yet and that the investigation was ongoing.

The RCMP statement did not specifically mention which group they were joining, but said the 10 youths were “suspected of wanting to leave the country to join jihadist groups”.

The youths, whose names and ages were not reported by the police, were arrested at Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport last Friday, the report said.

“These are very difficult times for the relatives and loved ones of the persons arrested,” the RCMP said in the statement.

“As a result, family members often find themselves at a complete loss and unable to understand the decision made by the youth.”

The arrests come months after five boys and two girls from the Montreal area left the country and apparently joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant.

Another Canadian teen was arrested in March for aiming to join the armed group that holds sway over vast area of Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

Police Nab Suspects In The Deadly Lekki Bank Robbery | Photo

*Of the N15m loot, I got N50,000— Boatman

LAGOS—Police in Lagos have arrested four suspected members of the 22-man robbery gang that invaded the Lekki branch of First City Monument Bank, FCMB, two months ago in Lagos, killing five persons.
Recovered from the suspects were a 2008 model Honda Accord car purchased by one of the suspects from his share of the loot; a white Blackberry Z10 phone, one Apple i-Phone 5, one military face cap, used during the operation, and 120 expended ammunition.
Preliminary investigation revealed that some of the suspects were oil bunkerers recruited from Delta, Ondo states and Arepo in Ogun State. They were identified as Duke Odogbo, 38; Lawrence Kingsley, 31; Ebi Tosan, 20, and Ekelemo Kuete, 30.
One of the suspects, Odogbo, who gave a graphic explanation of how the bank robbery took place, revealed that it took the gang 24 hours to plan the operation at Tarkwa Bay.
He further told a crowd at the Police Command headquarters, where they were paraded, that his share of the N15 million loot was N500,000.
‘I was invited from Warri’
According to him, “I was invited by a friend from Warri, Delta State, to come for bunkering job. But on reaching Lagos, I was told it was a bank robbery.
“I told them I was into bunkering and not robbery. But because they told me we were going to make much money from it, I decided to join them.
“On the day of the operation, we left Tarkwa Bay at about 4.30 p.m., in two boats; with 11 persons on each. But one of the boats developed fault on the way. We all entered the good one.
“We got to the bank few minutes after 5p.m. Immediately we left the canal, some of us went to the road and started firing, thereby making way for those of us that would go inside. I led the team that went in.

The suspects and the recovered car (inset).

“We were all putting on Army camouflage. I shattered the entrance glass with bullets and when we got inside, we demanded for the money realized for that day. The manager told us they did not make much.
“But we broke into one of their strong rooms where we got some money. We also broke into two ATM boxes, but there was no money in either of them. We told ourselves that the operation must not exceed 40 minutes.
“To my surprise, by the time we were leaving, I discovered that my colleagues were with seven extra rifles. When I asked, they said they saw some policemen in a van, concluded they were there for us and shot at them. I was not the one that shot the policemen. I did not kill anyone.
“It was when we got to the forest, located in an island in Ikorodu that we discovered that the amount stolen was N15 million and I got N500,000. I used my share to boost my bunkering business.”
I was in charge of the boat—Kuete
On his part, Kuete confessed that he drove one of the speed boats, adding that he was given N50,000 at the end of the operation.
Kuete, who resides at Arepo area of Ogun State, said: “I must confess, I knew that we were going to rob a bank. I am a bunkerer at Arepo and I make at least N80,000 from each operation.
“I was hired to take them to the bank. I remained in the boat with four others, while the rest left for the bank.



“When they came back, we headed straight for our hideout, where our leaders shared the money according to individual’s involvement. I got N50,000.”
The dead
Parading the suspects before journalists, the command boss gave the identities of those who lost their lives in the operation as Inspector Bethel Agbobu, Sergeant Odehowho George, Corporal Imoise Ikechukwu, Mr. Sowemimo Kabiru and Miss Sarah Ibikunle, the 15-year-old girl, who sold fish close to the bank.

 Source: Vanguard