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BREAKING: Abdulsalam, Tinubu’s envoy, land in Niger, warn military junta, amid tension
Abdulsalami Abubakar, leading the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), dispatched by President Bola Tinubu, to negotiate with the military leaders that sacked that country’s elected President, Mohammed Bazoum, is already meeting with Abdourahmane Tiani, the new military Head of State appointed by the coup makers, last week.
Abubakar, himself a former Head of State, who brokered the current democratic government in Nigeria by transferring power to the first elected civilian government after a 25-year military intervention is seen in a picture discussing with the head of the military junta in the country’s capital, Niamey.
On the heels of the decision of the leaders of ECOWAS resolving last week that the junta in Niger must restore the former President to power, as coups were no longer acceptable in Africa, and ahead of the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum to relinquish power, the former Head of State, accompanied by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Abubakar, and Alieu Touray, president of the ECOWAS commission, had earlier been pictured landing at the Niamey airport on Thursday before the meeting with, Tiani, who was before the coup, head of Bazoum’s presidential guard.
The Nation reports that the Abdulsalam’s delegation was to hand over a strong message of the consequence of failing to respect the position of ECOWAS that President Mohammed Bazoum should be reinstated, a direct message by President Bola Tinubu, the chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Governments of the sub-regional body.
Another delegation, the second sent to the country with a similar message, was reportedly led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe with a mission to persuade leaders of Libya and Algeria – Niger’s Northern neighbours – to lend their support to the pressure on the military usurpers.
The sub-regions Chiefs of Defence Staff, after concluding their meeting in Abuja, have returned to their respective countries to brief their Commanders in Chief on their decisions and readiness for a military offensive, if necessary.
United States (U.S.) President Joe Biden, was quoted on Thursday to have given his total support to ECOWAS decision that the junta should step down, according to presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, who explained in a statement that the President acted in line with the resolution reached at the end of last weekend’s extraordinary summit of ECOWAS in Abuja.
Niger has been embroiled in crisis since July 26 when a military junta overthrew the Bazoum, who has been under detention since then, after accusing his government of poorly handling the security situation in the country, as well as a gamut of other crimes, including official corruption.
But the incident, had sparked outrage at various levels of the international community, particularly the ECOWAS which gave the junta till August 6 to reinstate Bazoum, after reeling out a rash of sanctions against the country, ranked as one of the poorest in the world, living on aides from the developed countries, despite housing one of the hugest deposits of uranium, a major raw material for nuclear energy.
To underscore its readiness to get the coupists comply with the resolution, the ECOWAS leaders also weighed military option in the country to flush them out, should they rebuff the warning, with its regional forces meeting in Abuja, the Nigerian capital at the weekend, in apparent readiness to strike.
As part of the first move to punish the government, Nigeria the major supplier of electricity to the country, has since cut off power supply, throwing parts of the troubled country and one of its neighbours in the Northern region with a population of over 27 million, into darkness Yesterday.
Even with the Defence Headquarters of the Nigerian military, clarifying that it had yet to receive an order to deploy troops to commence the military operation, help appears already on the way to defend the Niger junta headed by 62-year-old Tchiani with Russia, warning that such action would not be the best option and countries like Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, which already have military governments in power warning that they would back the government in Niamey.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
Slavery is a wound on the memory of the Universal Church, Pope Leo XIV, said on Monday, as he issued a fresh apology over the participation of the the Catholic Church in the centuries-long delay in condemning slavery.
The pontiff stressed the position of the church after his predecessors had offered similar apologies, said: “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
Writing in a major text that warned about “new forms of slavery” behind the digital economy, the joined John Paul II, who denounced slave trade in 1992 before issuing a sweeping request for forgiveness for historical injustices in 2000 and Pope Francis who also repeatedly denounced contemporary forms of slavery.
In his own vein, Pope Leo, pointed out that the Church owned slaves until the Middle Ages and it also advised European sovereigns on how to justify the enslavement of “infidels.”
He stressed in “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), a document focused primarily on the rise of artificial intelligence, that it was only in the 19th century that “a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated.”
Hear him: “It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached.”
Qowiy Oloyede, a resident of Oriya Sokoto road, Atan Ota, is currently telling operatives of the Ogun State Colice command, the reasons that pushed him into making a video suggesting that a part of the state was under attack of terrorists, knowing same to be fake.
Oloyede, reports say, dragged to the police on May 23 by one Ayinla Sodiq, who accused him of creating and sharing a misleading TikTok video falsely claiming that bandits had invaded the Atan Ota community..
Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency publication, which broke the news, said on immediately being questioning by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Oloyed, allegedly confessed to fabricating the video to gain followers on social media.
Apart from admitting that that he created the fake bandit attack content to gain followers and trend online, said in a video currently on social media the herder featured in the clip was a cattle rearer who usually grazed cows behind his shop and had initially refused to participate before eventually agreeing.
Oloyede, who also claimed he could neither read nor write, adding that his apprentice wrote the caption accompanying the video posted online, maintained that he had only produced and posted two similar videos, one on Monday and another on Wednesday.
The command, said to have recovered photographs and video evidence linked to the fake publication during preliminary investigation, added that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Abeokuta, for further investigation, warning residents against spreading false information capable of causing panic and public disorder, and for the public to verify information before sharing content on social media.
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