NEWS
Declare State of Emergency on Insecurity, Lagos Catholic Bishop Urges FG
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Adewale Martins, has urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on insecurity in the country.
In a statement e-mailed on Saturday, the catholic archbishop said the call became necessary in order to save the country from the looming anarchy staring.
According to him, incessant cases of kidnapping, murder, burning down of police stations, correctional facilities, and INEC offices nationwide, among others, have made the declaration of a state of emergency on insecurity inevitable.
“It is obvious that insecurity, apart from corruption, has become the single most serious problem that is facing our country today.
“Many innocent persons are being kidnapped for ransom, many are being attacked in their homes and displaced with their property destroyed and normal life disrupted daily.
“Even policemen and their stations are being deliberately attacked with impunity. What this means is that the country is gradually drifting into a state of anarchy. This, no doubt, portends a grave danger for our collective wellbeing,” he said.
In the statement signed by the Director of Social Communications, Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonu, the prelate bemoaned the inability of government at all levels to unravel the root causes of insecurity and bring the perpetrators and sponsors to book.
” Efforts to rid the country of kidnappers and bandits, should include constant dialogue between representatives of the security agencies and major stakeholders such as religious leaders, traditional rulers, leaders of ethnic groups, the civil society, and political parties,” the archbishop said.
In addition to declaring a state of emergency, the prelate called on the federal government to roll out practical action plans with time frames within which insecurity will be brought under control.
However, Martins admitted, that the problem of insecurity being experienced all over was part of an age-long systemic problem with governance at the national level.
He also called on the National Assembly to fast track the ongoing process of the amendment of the 1999 Constitution so as to pave the way for the creation of state police and revalidation of the federal character of the republic.
” These would certainly help in restoring peace and security all over the country.
“This is no time to play the blame game or to play politics through sectoral efforts. There must be a collective effort through a robust consultation with all stakeholders.
“We all must come together to fight this hydra-headed monster of insecurity that is making life difficult for our people,” he explained.
The Archbishop commiserated with the federal government and families of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and other military officers that lost their lives in the recent air mishap, saying the only way to honour them was to overcome insecurity and make the country a better place for all Nigerians.
The prelate then appealed to the various ethnic groups agitating for self-determination to shun violence and embrace dialogue so as not to exacerbate the insecurity in the country.
He reminded the political leaders that Nigerians are going through a lot of hardship occasioned by the economic downturn, calling for various forms of interventions to help cushion the hardship.
The Archbishop also called on well-meaning Nigerians to be their brother’s keeper by extending hands of charity to the less privileged and the downtrodden in the society. (NAN)
The Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency (JISEMA) has distributed relief materials to the affected families of Majia tanker explosion, which occurred in Taura local government area of the state.
The items distributed by the agency on Saturday in Majia town include 25kg bags of rice, 25kg bags of millet, cartons of spaghetti, Maggi cube, seasoning, detergents, soap, semolina, gallons of vegetable oil and 110 rubber mats.
Dr Mairiga Haruna Mairiga, Executive Secretary of the agency, said the materials were donated by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, the National Emergency Management Agency, and JISEMA.
Mairiga said this after the distribution, that the items were distributed to the families of the 210 people affected by the tanker explosion.
Some of the beneficiaries who received the items, commended the Federal and State governments as well as wealthy individuals who assisted them since the incidence in October.
Mr Muhammad Habibu, father to a deceased victim, said the relief materials would assist them at a time that they lost a helper.
Another beneficiary, Mr Auwal Abdullahi, whose son is on admission at Rashid Shekoni hospital in Dutse, said the materials would reduce the hardship encountered due to the incident.
They commended JISEMA for coming to their aid and prayed to God to continue guiding the state Governor Umar Namadi, towards the right direction.(NAN)
The Veritas University, Abuja, on Saturday, graduated a total of 795 students in various disciplines from six facilities during its 13th Convocation ceremony
Report says that 716 of the graduands bagged first degrees while 79 graduated from the post graduate school.
56 if the first degree graduands came out with first class honours, 329 with second class upper division, 291 with second class lower division and 40 with third class.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof.
Hyacinth Ichoku, said that the impact of the institution had reflected in its standard of education.Ichoku said the students had recorded outstanding breakthroughs by winning awards for the school and country both at the national and international levels.
”Our students have continued to shine in the last years. The Software Engineering Department of the institution won the African Global Engineering Competition.
”We have also won the Commonwealth debating championship as well as an AI competition involving 150 university,” he said.
He added that the institution had inaugurated its endowment fund with the aim to generate funds to address the infrastructural need of the university.
He also said that the institution had just completed the construction of two separate hostels, each to accommodate 500 students, while also expanding its digital hub that would facilitate international teaching and learning.
He said pledged that the institution was planning the construction of its faculty of engineering and innovation.
In a goodwill message, the Acting Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris Maiyaki, lauded the institution its achievements.
Maiyaki said that the milestone resulted from years of hardwork, resilience and commitment in inculcating academics and moral values for the educational advancement of the country.
The institution’s Pro-chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council, Dr Matthew Kukah, said that the country was at the crossroads as a result of numerous challenges the country is faced with.
Kukah said that with the emergence of a new terrorist group, there was need for the country to brace up to this challenge to avert future problems.
He charged the graduating students to deliver on the confidence reposed in them to help the country find a lasting solutions to some of the challenges.
Highlight of the event included award of prizes to the outstanding students in their various departments and faculties.
Prominent Nigerians also bagged the institution’s honorary doctorate degree award.
The honorees were the Asagba of Asaba Kingdom, Prof. Epiphany Azinge, and the Executive Secretary, Sahara Power Group, Kolawole Adesina.
Others are Archbishop Emeritus of Ibadan Archdiocese, Most Rev. Alaba Job and Archbishop Emeritus of Owerri Archdiocese, Most Rev. Anthony Obinna.(NAN)
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, has hailed the outcome of investigation on the allegation of forced abortion leveled against the Nigerian military by the International Committee of the Red Cross ( ICRC) and Reuters.
Musa made this known in a statement by the Director Defence Information, Brig.
-Gen. Tukur Gusau, on Saturday in Abuja.Musa commended the Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter Insurgency in the North East for exonerating the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) from indictments regarding allegations on forceful abortions and other infractions in the sub-region.
He recalled that the report of the panel specifically stated that the allegations of systematic abortions, torture, rape and extra juducial killings levelled against the military were false.
The CDS commended the 7- man panel led by retired Justice Abdu Aboki for painstakingly carrying out a thorough job since its inauguration in March 2023 by the Nigerian Human Rights Commission.
He reaffirms the commitment of the armed forces to the defence of human rights and resolve to ensure that peace reigns in the country.
According to him, no amount of false accusations will distract the armed forces from exercising its constitutional mandate of protecting the territorial integrity of the nation. (NAN)
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