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Police on fresh Benue massacre: Say, 17, not 100 killed *Don’t retaliate – Alia
Communities in two Local Government Areas of Benue State, in fell into the hands of gunmen after which 17 bodies were counted as victims of their slaughtering weapons, the Benue State Police Command, said on Friday.
Sewuese Anene, spokesman of the command, who confirmed the number of the fatalities, said five people were mowed down in Gbagir, a community in Ukum Local Government Area, while another 12 were slaughtered in Logo Local Government Areas, both in the Sankera axis, while
Giving details of the attack, she said information was first received that a large number of suspected militia had invaded the Sankera axis of the state and the police moved in to engage the militia in Gbagir, where they had killed five persons, but while still repelling the attack another group of militia simultaneously attacked the neighbouring Logo Local Government Area, killing 12 people and bringing the total death toll in the area to 17.
The police, which spoke against the backdrop of reports on the social media, where it was claimed that the attacks were carried out by herdsmen who invaded the area and killed about 100 persons, cautioned against unconfirmed rumours in dealing with casualty figures.
The police said in a statement: “Information was received that a large number of suspected militia had invaded the Sankera axis of Benue state with the intention to attack communities around Gbagir, Ukum Local Government Area. Upon receipt of this report, the Commissioner of Police, Benue State Police Command, CP. Steve H. Yabanet FCID, psc (+) ordered tactical teams to move to the area and join forces with police officers on ground and other security agencies to forestall the attack.
“Following this order, a team of officers moved to the area and engaged them. While the attackers were being repelled in the early hours of today, they shot sporadically at unsuspecting farmers as they came across them. Five (5) persons were recovered at the Gbagir area and taken to the hospital, where they were confirmed dead.
“Unfortunately, an unsuspected simultaneous attack was carried out in Logo, where twelve (12) persons were killed before the arrival of the police, making a total of seventeen persons. However, Security agencies within the Sankera axis are still engaging the bandits as they retreat back to the forest around the Taraba axis.
“The CP warns social media users who are reporting unconfirmed reports and inciting the general public to desist from such actions that are capable of creating unnecessary tension in the state. He reiterates his commitment to fight the attackers and encourages the good people of Sankera to continue to cooperate with the police as the operation is ongoing.”
This statement is coming two days after suspected herdsmen stepped up violent attacks as no fewer than three communities in Emichi, Odudaje, and Okpamaju, all in Otukpo Local Government Area, where five persons were killed in February.
The communities came under simultaneous attacks just a day after the killing of 11 persons at Otobi Community, also in Otukpo LGA, with local sources confirming that several people may have been feared dead again in the fresh attack.
Wednesday’s attack came hours after Hyacinth Alia Governor of the state, who said moves were being made to contain the situation, confirmed the arrest of three suspected herders in connection with the invasion of Otobi village on Tuesday night.
Alia, who had told reporters in the state after the Good Friday Mass at Holy Ghost Parish in Makurdi, that the attacks were condemnable, cautioned communities against resorting to self-help, as his government, was in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), towards developing a strategic plan to end the killings by suspected invaders.
Nigeria would not be in the sort of socio-political and economic mess it is currently facing but for the cowardice of the present crop of governors, Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers state, said on Tuesday, saying the country needed courageous leadership at the state levels to confront the ugly situation.
As chairman at the public presentation of Sule Lamido’s autobiography titled: Being True To Myself, written by Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa State, Amaechi, who later became a two-time Minister of Transportation under President Muhammadu Buhari, bewailed the parlous political situation where governors could no longer speak for the people.
Stressing the timidity of his successors, the former governor, who was apparently miffed at the rate at which opposition governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were defecting to the ruling APC, in spite the parlous economic situation in the country, he said such a crisis would never have been allowed during his own time.
Amaechi, who was chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) during Lamido’s second term, but eventually defected to the APC to lead the campaign for the election of Buhari, told his audience: “I asked you (Lamido) this morning, what is going on currently in the country, in Nigerian politics — would it have happened when we were governors?
“You said no. And the answer is no. We would confront the government, confront the President. That’s how radical we were, that’s how our governors forum operated, that’s how determined we were to change things.”
Dwelling on his relationship with the ex-Jigawa governor, who was in office between 2007 and 2015, Amaechi said their working relationship was strong, despite occasional disagreements — including Lamido’s initial objection to his election as NGF chairman.
“We were quite good friends in government. We had our bad times when we disagreed. I made the mistake of assuming he was as radical as I was. So, he was one of the governors I clung to when it came to radical decisions. The last one before we broke ranks was when we all agreed to go against President Jonathan. We formed a committee of governors and others.
“At the end of the day, he went to find a new party, the SDP. We said, ‘If we go to the SDP, we will lose the election. Let’s hang on to this one called the APC.’ He disagreed and left us. That’s where we parted ways. You must never forget the battles we fought.”
“There is no question that there are huge challenges. But if you look at the balance sheet that this President inherited — massive liabilities arising from the very reckless misuse of ways and means — you’d understand why these steps were necessary.”
These were the exact words of Adams Oshiomhole, Senator, representing Edo North at the National Assembly on the state of the Nigerian economy, expressing confidence that the way the President was going, it would not be long before the parlous situation would experience a marked improvement.
Oshiohmole, former Governor of Edo State and former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who was a guest of Politics Today, a public affairs progromme on Channels Television, said on Tuesday, Nigerians were justified to feel unhappy over the rising cost of living and the closure of businesses since the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023, but urged them to be patient and maintain trust in the reforms.
He added: “It’s a work in progress. The surgeon has gone to carry out the surgery. He understands that there is a level of pain — there has to be pain. But the good news is that the patient is healing. Maybe he could heal faster, but there can be no question that the patient is healing.”
Stressing on the issue of the exchange rate unification as a painful but critical decision to align supply with demand, he warned that failure to do so could have plunged the country into a Zimbabwe-like economic collapse, adding: “The consequential increase in cost of living was predictable. But if that was not done, Nigeria was on its way to Zimbabwe.
“President Tinubu deliberately chose to make all the difficult but necessary decisions in his first term to pave the way for long-term recovery. He took the right decision by insisting that in the first term, he would take all the tough decisions — prayerfully — so that as we move on, the situation improves.
“There is no magic to governance. I don’t think any Nigerian who understands the macroeconomic environment that was inherited by this government would expect that, in 24 months, everything would be fixed. Truly, this economy was badly mismanaged. This is not to blame anyone, but to speak to fact. I can say the worst is over, and we are going to begin to witness improvements in standard of living.
“As a governor, it took me time to have a holistic view of the challenges I inherited and to decide, in terms of priority, what to do first. As a Nigerian, I live in the community and among the people. I can say that there is a level of hardship, but things are improving.”
“Given where we are today in the economy, Tinubu will still win the presidential election. The President eliminated an exploitative foreign exchange regime that previously benefited only a privileged few. Tinubu abolished the ‘benefit of exchange rate’ transfer to bureau de change. Today, what he gets in exchange rate is what I get. Eliminating that free rate — which was available to a few people connected with the CBN management — took courage.”
Senate on Wednesday brushed aside the objections of Abdul Ningi, Senator representing Bauchi South at the National Assembly to commence acerated hearing on a whopping ₦1.783 trillion statutory appropriation bill for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The bill for the appropriation of the amount, came through President Bola Tinubu to the Senate in charge of making laws for the FCT, urging them to approve the proposal for the 2025 financial year.
Shortly after reading the letter transmitting the proposal, the upper chamber on Wednesday, harkened to the request of the President to give the bill expedited consideration, noting that its passage was critical to ensuring an effective and service-oriented administration for residents of the FCT.
But an attempt by the Bauchi Senator, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to halt debates on it pending when the members were abreast of the details was ignored as the Senate invoked Order 78 to allow the bill to scale second reading the same day it was introduced.
Palpably dissatisfied, Ningi, who was once suspended for questioning the financial integrity of the Senate, had raised concerns about the procedure under Order 77 (3 and 4), pointing out that lawmakers had not been provided with copies of the bill prior to the debate.
Leading the debate on the bill, after the objections were brushed aside, Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Leader, explained that the proposed legislation seeks to authorise the issuance of ₦1,783,823,708,392.00 trillion from the FCT Administration’s Statutory Revenue Fund to finance personnel, overhead, and capital expenditures between January 1 and December 31, 2025.
The budget breakdown includes N150.35 billion for personnel costs, N343.78 billion for overhead, and N1.29 trillion allocated for capital projects.
Bamidele underscored that the primary objective of the budget was to drive an effective and enduring service-oriented administration, with a strong focus on completing ongoing projects that have significant impacts on infrastructure and essential services in Abuja.
He noted that the budget prioritises the continuation of existing projects in the FCT, with the introduction of new ones deemed crucial.
It was on the same day that the Senate also confirmed the appointment of five Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) submitted by the President in March for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The confirmation, which followed the receipt and consideration of a report by Simon Lalong, Chairman of Senate Committee on Electoral Matters during plenary on Wednesday, who urged members to confirm the nominees having passed the screening exercise.
The approved RECs are Umar Yusuf Garba (Kano State), Sa’ad Umar Idris (Bauchi State), Chukwuemeka C. Ibeziako (Anambra State), Umar Mukhtar (Borno State) and Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem (Bayelsa State).
Tinubu having his way because today’s governors are cowards – Amaechi
Tinubu almost clearing Buhari’s economic mess – Oshomhole
Wike to get N1.78trillion as 2025 budget *Senate ignores Ningi’s objection
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