NEWS
Gunmen Abduct Bayelsa Guardian Correspondent, Demand N5m Ransom
FROM TAYESE Mike, Yenagoa
A gang of armed men suspected to be kidnappers on Sunday morning abducted the Bayelsa State correspondent of Guardian Newspaper, Mr Julius Osahon and other passengers who were on transit to Ughelli in Delta state.
The Bayelsa State-based journalist was attacked along Evwreni Community axis of the East-West road near Patani, when the gunmen suddenly emerged from the bush, opened fire on the ill-fated bus, killed the driver and abducted passengers including Osahon into the bush.
According to a source who pleaded anonymity, the kidnappers suddenly came out from the bush when the bus got to Patani axis of the East-West road and started shooting directly at the passenger bus, hitting the driver who died instantly.
It was also confirmed that five of the kidnapped passengers were miraculously released on Monday, March 28, around 8:30am.
A neighbour to the abducted reporter in Yenagoa, disclosed that a female passenger who was among the five passengers released by the abductors on Monday came to their neighborhood to inform them about what happened to them and how Osahon and other passengers were held captive by the abductors.
He said: “The journalist boarded a bus on his way to Ughelli. The incident happened along Patani axis of the East-West road. The gunmen suddenly came out from the bush and started shooting directly at their bus.
The bullet hit the driver and he died instantly. “The girl recognized Osahon as someone she knew in Yenagoa l and they boarded the same bus. She was in the bus with him when the gunmen suddenly came out of the bush and attacked their bus. The girl was jittery and traumatised because of the experience.
“She said about five of them, three from Delta and two from Yenagoa were among the passengers in the bus who were miraculously released by the kidnappers on Monday morning around 8:30am while the rest of the passengers including Osahon were still held in captivity.”
A source close to the family has also confirmed that the kidnappers have already contacted his wife and family members and are demanding for N5 million ransom before he will be released.
Some persons within the neighborhood decided to go to Sunny Eru Terminal in Yenagoa to confirm if what the girl said was true, but discovered that the same bus that was attacked by the hoodlums has been towed back to the terminal with bullet holes all over it.
Meanwhile, the leadership and members of the Federated Correspondents’ Chapel (FCC) of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa State council has condemned the abduction of the journalist and other Nigerians who were going about their legitimate businesses.
The Chairman of the chapel, Mr Chris Eze and the Secretary, Bassey Willie in a statement on Tuesday, urged the security agents to ensure that the abducted persons are rescued unhurt.
He said: “The chapel wondered why gunmen would attack someone who is only discharging his responsibility as a journalist.
“The chapel urges the security agents both in Bayelsa and Delta states to collaborate and ensure that Mr Osahon and all those abducted in the ill-fated bus are rescued unhurt, and the Federal and State governments to ensure that there is adequate security on our highways especially the Bayelsa and Delta axis of the East-West road.
“Security situation in our nation is becoming worrisome on daily basis, innocent citizens are being killed, kidnapped and their valuables carted away by criminals, that is why we call on government to discharge its responsibility of protecting citizens’ lives and property optimally.
“Journalists are not wealthy men in the society but just doing their duties to contribute to the growth and development of the nation, that is why we wonder where Mr Osahon will get N5 million demanded by the kidnappers to regain his freedom,” he said.
The FCT Customary Court, Dutse, Abuja has appealed to the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to facilitate the renovation of its court complex which fell victim to vandalism and arson during the 2020 EndSARS protests.The President of the Court, Aderinto Adesoji, made the appeal during a resumed hearing in a divorce case between a petitioner, Chiwendu Nwadi and her husband, Emeka Nwadi in Ushafa, Abuja.
The Customary Court, Dutse has been sharing the court complex of a sister court in Ushafa for its sittings following the destruction. of its facilities, four years back.NAN reports that while Customary Court, Ushafa, the real owner of the facility, has its sittings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in a week, the Dutse court has its sittings on Tuesday and Thursday. Report says that Dutse and Ushafa are communities in Bwari Area Council of the FCT and they are about 17 kilometres apart.Addressing lawyers to the parties in the divorce case, when they were finding it difficult to agree on a date for next hearing in the matter, the President of the court said it is a recurrent challenge in matters before the courtAccording to him, the constraint of the panel, sitting only twice in a week has grossly affected quick dispensation of justice.He said most cases before the cout involve families, in particular, custody of children which require urgent adjudication, and should not be encumbered.Adesoji said, considering the fact that lawyers and their clients are affected by the constraints, the NBA should take steps to ensure that the appropriate authorities renovate the Dutse court complex.He said promises have been made by the association to that effect in the past, but they were yet to be actualised.Responding to the President’s appeal, Mr Moses Ibe, the lawyer to the petitioner promised the court that he would convey the message to the NBA, Bwari branch for necessary action.Ibe said this in an interview after the court session, that the distance of the court to its jurisdiction and the restrictive days of sittings have affected quick dispensation of justice.He said the essence of building the Dutse court was to bring justice closer to the people, but it has been defeated by the failure of appropriate authorities to renovate it for useThe Counsel promised to officially write to the NBA, Bwari branch to convey the Judge’s message and request for interventionAccording to Ibe, the Dutse court complex, used to serve as the Secretariat of the NBA Bwari branch, before it was vandalised and set ablaze by the EndSARS protesters.Meanwhile, the court has adjourned further hearing in the divorce petition until Oct. 21 to enable the respondent file his reply.Adesoji and other members of the panel, Nana Atipkoru, Aisha Hamza adjourned the case following the position of the respondent’s lawyer, Cornelius Simon, that his client was not served with the “particular of claims” in the petition.The panel directed that all necessary processes should be filed and served before the adjourned date so that the case would be fixed for definite hearing.The panel also ordered that the parties should maintain the status quo, particularly, as regards the custody of the children – the last child is with the petitioner, while the other two are in the custody of the respondent.In the case, the petitioner is seeking, among others, the dissolution of her 13 years marriage with her husband on the ground that “the union has broken down irretrievably”.She alleged that the husband, “is a man of unimaginable violence and cruelty, fetish, a serial wife beater and adulterer’The petitioner alleged that her husband deliberately poisoned her drink which led to losing her pregnancy.According to the petitioner, the union, consummated in 2011, under the native law and custom, as well as exchange of marital vows in a Church, has produced three children, ages, 12 years, 11 years and 2 years.She urged the court to dissolve the marriage, grant custody of the three children to her and restrain the husband from using thugs or any security agents to harass her. (NAN)
The Northern Youths Assembly has cautioned the National Assembly against passing the Tax Reforms Bill from the executive before the legislature.This is contained in an open letter to the lawmakers signed by the group’s President, Dr Ali Mohammed, and Secretary-General, Dr Garba Abduljafiz and made available to newsmen in Kano on Thursday.
The group said the bill, if passed into law, would not be in the interest of the people, particularly youths, urging for broader consultation on matters of that nature. The youths urged the National Assembly to concentrate on youth-friendly laws to safeguard the country’s future instead.“The youth are Nigeria’s future, “and our prosperity hinges on investments in education, skills development, and job creation.“As the largest political demography in the nation, youth must have a say in laws and policies that directly impact the country’s future.“We call for the creation of a special place at the centre, to allow the youths to contribute to solutions that may promote sustainable development, job creation, and economic empowerment,” the group said.The group urged the lawmakers to focus more on making laws that would improve investment climate and job creation.“We urge the National Assembly members to direct their resources and energy towards creating laws that would prioritise and encourage foreign investment.“The laws should encourage skills development and jobs creation for the teeming population of the youths, to improve measures that risk stifling the Nigerian economic opportunity.“We also urge them to stop complying with the dictates and advisory of the agents of destruction, IMF and World.“We must stay away from the trap of the IMF and World Bank, as they are all out to destroy our country through their ill-formulated policies and misleading advisory’’, the group said. (NAN)
The Defence Headquarters has confirmed the emergence of a new terrorists’ group known as ‘Lukarawas’ exacerbating insecurity in the North Western part of Nigeria.The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known while briefing newsmen on the operations of the military on Thursday in Abuja.
Buba said that the new terror group emerged from the Republic of Niger after the coup that led to the breakdown of military cooperation between Nigeria and Niger. He said that the terrorists began incursion into northern parts of Sokoto and Kebbi States from the Niger Republic and Mali axis, particularly after the coup in Niger Republic.According to him, prior to the coup, there were joint border operations with Nigerien security forces which kept the terrorist at bay.“The terrorists took advantage of the gaps in cooperation between both countries and exploited difficult terrains to make incursions in remote areas in some North Western states to spread their ideology,” he said.Buba said that the group was accommodated by the locals who initially thought that the group meant well for them, adding that they failed to report the movement to the military and security agencies.He gave assurance that toops had sustained Imtelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) to degrade the terrorists.He added that the terror group had continued to take advantage of the vast under-governed areas to hide and evade troops as well as harass the locals.According to him, troops are locating them and eliminating the threat. (NAN)
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