By Nwaorgu Faustinus

A pan Igbo group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide has described the former Governor of Rivers State and current Minister of Transport Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as a bonafide Igbo man, and such more of an Igbo man than a Lagos based All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain, Joe Igbokwe

The group who warned against the disparagement of Igbo political leaders, said campaigns of calumny, casting of aspersions will be unsuccessful, added that,”Verbal diarrhoea and vituperative predispositions of Joe Igbokwe against Chibuike Amaechi is an act of timidity and cowardice.

“Igbokwe’s unprovoked onslaught aimed at the Minister of Transportation should be investigated as it’s organized rogue operations of political musketeers, as its defamatory, calumnious and slanderous”

The pan Igbo group in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro and circulated to journalists, explained that Amaechi is a registered member of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the Rivers State chapter since the year 2000, as well as a bonafide member of the Ime obi( the apex decision making organ in Ohanaeze) based on his position as former Governor and current minister from Ikwerre, Igbo speaking area of Rivers State since 2015.

“This is our verdict, Chibuike Amaechi is a bonafide Igbo man, and there is no reason why anyone would incite crisis just for cheap political goals, the issue raised on abandoned properties in Rivers state after Biafra war is a hoax and diversionary, as based on the facts before us, there is no record of any Ikwerre man or woman that benefited from the obnoxious policy and nobody should blackmail an Ikwerre with the abandoned property saga,” Ohanaeze said.

In a recent article with the caption “The cry of the hang man” written by Oby Ndukwe, a socio-political analyst, commentator and publisher based in Port Harcourt, had called on the pan igbo group to caution their son Jeo Igbokwe.

The article read in part, “The vituperation of a respected son of Igbo land and his discordant tunes in the market square faraway Lagos reveals the selfish motive of Joe Igbokwe and other lost sheep of Ndigbo.

“Just as I would prefer a Pius Anyim than a Dave Umahi in 2023 is the same way Joe Igbokwe would choose a Tinubu than an Amaechi for the top job. It is purely for personal reasons.

“Tinubu is accepted in Lagos as a Lagosian in spite of his natural roots in Osun. It will be foolhardy for anyone to try to separate Asiwaju from Ekó! Same way Joe cannot tell Amaechi his real roots in spite of boundaries created for a specific purpose.

“Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, the fight is yours except there is an agenda to change your Constitution on who constitutes the Igbos of Nigeria” Oby Ndukwe declared .

Agency Report

Residents of Kogi State were on Thursday advised to shun cow meat for at least one week as 20 cows died mysteriously in Lokoja.

The state government says there is the possibility that the cows ingested poisonous substances while grazing.

The Director of Veterinary Services, Kogi Ministry of Agriculture, Salau Tarawa, gave the advice at a news conference.

He said beef from some of the cows were already in Lokoja markets, but had been recalled.

He said some of the cows had already been taken to markets in Osara in Adavi Local Government Area; to Ajaokuta, to Obajana, to Kotonkarfe and to Kakanda for sale to members of the public.

He said the ministry was collaborating with security agencies to bring the herders to question.

Speaking on the development, the Head, Agro Rangers Unit, Kogi State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Bayode Emmanuel, said the cows were discovered in Lokoja.

“The cows emerged from the back of the state’s secretariat complex where they had gone to graze. All of a sudden, they started behaving funny, slumped and died within minutes.

“Upon interrogation, the herder said he was coming out with the cows after grazing when the incident happened,’’ he said.

Mr Emmanuel assured that the NSCDC would investigate the development thoroughly to ascertain where the dead cows had grazed and also to prevent possible sale and consumption of the infected beef.

NAN

By Iliya Kure

Abductors of the Kaduna-bound train passengers say they are not after ransom money. Although they would not specify their demand, they claimed that Nigerian government knows what they want – threatening to kill all abductees if their demands were not met.

Their position was made known through a video that went viral on Wednesday.

The one-minute twenty-one seconds video was made prior  to the release of one of the abductees, Managing Director of Bank of Agriculture (BoA), Mr Alwan Hassan.

One of the bandits, who spoke in Hausa language, said, “You (government) should know that this is just the beginning of what we’re going to do….. Killing them is not a big deal to us. You know what we want and it’s not money. If it’s money, we’ll not be doing this. So, it’s left to you to hasten and do what we need from you if not, we’ll do what we want to do to them. This is our message,” he said.

Earlier, one of the abductors had said the Managing Director was released because of his age and for Ramadan fasting, the Islamic month where Muslims fast for 29 or 30 days.

“We are the people who abducted some people on a train some days back and you can see them. This one here (pointing at Mr Hassan) has been begging us to release him and considering his age and also because of the Ramadan fast, we decided to release him to his relatives.

“But this government should know what it’s doing. It’s nothing. We just decided to let him go. We’ll now let him speak if he has anything to add,” he said.

Mr Hassan, who also spoke in Hausa language, urged the Nigerian government to go into negotiation with the abductors in order to free the remaining abducted passengers.

“Peace be upon you all. I want you to know that the bandits have sympathized with me considering my age, but I also want you to know that I’ve left a lot of people behind (bandits’ camp) and they need urgent help for them to leave this place. I hope that government should reach out to the leaders of these people so that they can discuss and have the captives released in time,” he said.

The BoA Boss was seen standing in front of an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) Machine Vehicle, in between the abductors, who dressed in military camouflage with guns.

The Kaduna -bound train was attacked in the evening while coming from Abuja. The abductors were said to have planted explosives on the rail track and derailed the train from its track, damaging the engine and some coaches.

Government statement says 8 passengers were killed on the spot, several others injured, and unspecified number abducted.

By Iliya Kure

Inspector-General of Nigeria Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has approved the posting of new commissioners to Adamawa, Edo, Imo, and Kaduna states respectively.

A statement by Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, says the approval takes immediate effect, listing the commissioners as Sikiru Kayode, Abutu Yaro, Yekini Ayoku, and Mohammed Barde to head the Adamawa, Edo Kaduna, and Imo State Police Commands respectively.

The statement reads,

“CP Abutu Yaro, fdc, the new Commissioner of Police, Edo State Police Command, holds a B.A [Hons] from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He was appointed to the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police in 1988. He has served in various supervisory capacities within the Nigeria Police Force, including as Commissioner of Police in charge of Zamfara and Imo State Police Commands respectively. Until his recent appointment, he was CP Force Provost Marshal, Force Headquarters, Abuja.

“The new Commissioner of Police, Adamawa State Police Command, Sikiru Akande Kayode holds a B.Sc in Political Science from the prestigious University of Benin. He joined the service of the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet ASP in 1990 and has served in various operational, investigative, and administrative capacities within the Force. He has served as the Officer-in-Charge of Presidential/VIP Movement, State House Abuja. He was equally a one-time Commissioner of Police, Cross River State Police Command. Until his appointment, he was CP ICT, Force Headquarters, Abuja.

“CP Yekini Adio Ayoku, psc [+], mni, holds a B.Sc from the University of Ilorin. He is an indigene of Agbeyangi, Ilorin East Local Government Area, Kwara State. CP Ayoku enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet ASP in March 1990. He has served in several capacities in the Nigeria Police with a great wealth of experience. He was a one-time Commanding Officer, 24 PMF Squadron, Presidential Guard, and Escort. He has participated in peacekeeping operations and was decorated with the United Nations Medal for meritorious service in Kosovo. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

“CP Muhammed Ahmed Barde, the new Commissioner of Police, Imo State Police Command, is a versatile Police Officer. He has served in Police College, Jos and Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano as DC Admin. He equally served in Borno State Police Command as Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations. He was one time head of Force CID, Annex, Enugu. Until his recent appointment, he was the Commissioner of Police, Adamawa State Police Command.

“The IGP has charged the newly posted officers to hit the ground running in the areas of crime-fighting and public safety. He also called for support and cooperation from members of the public to the new Police helmsmen to enable them perform optimally on their mandate.”