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Tag: Anambra

  • Anambra Peace Commission pays tribute to slain security operatives

    Anambra Peace Commission pays tribute to slain security operatives

    Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Chairman of Anambra Truth, Justice and Peace Commission (ATJPC), has paid glowing tribute to personnel of security agencies who paid the supreme price in the course of duty.

    Odinkalu said this after a closed-door session of representatives of the security agencies who appeared before the panel in Awka on Monday.

    The chairman, who described the session as helpful, said it was an affirmation to the multidimensional nature of insecurity in Anambra and Southeast in general.

    He, however, regretted that the authorities of the security agencies were not doing enough in recognising the sacrifices of their personnel.

    According to Odinkalu, a very important thing is that service personnel have suffered significantly; some have died, some have been kidnapped and disappeared while others have suffered injuries.

    “In all cases, we would like to see those sacrifices better acknowledged and their families better taken care off. It is important that we exercise this and we hope our recommendations will be acknowledged when the report comes out,” he said.

    Odinkalu said Anambra security situation was a peculiar one which manifested from the interplay of multiplicity of causes including land pressure, cultism, communal leadership tussle and organised crime.

    He said there were parts of the state where we have IPOB/ESN problems but it did not represent the majority of the states.

    “Anambra represents a particular theatre with unique manifestations because of the land economy and high population density.

    “It is a complex situation which goes beyond the mono narrative of IPOB/ESN, that theory is no longer Sustainable.

    “We have cultism, organised crime, gun running, politics, intra communal governance crisis between Traditional Rulers and Presidents General,” he said.

    The Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Nigeria Correctional Services were some of the agencies that appeared on Monday.

     

  • Police nab notorious suspect ‘Alagbon’

    Police nab notorious suspect ‘Alagbon’

    Operatives of the Anambra State Police Command have arrested one Obioma Okafor-Ama, popularly known as Alagbon who has been torn in the flesh of people of Nise Community in Awka South Local Government Area.

    Alagbon, who has been on the Police wanted list for a long time, was finally arrested by personnel from the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, in his hideout following a tipoff on Oct. 19

    CP Aderemi Adeoye, Commissioner of Police in Anambra, confirmed the arrest to NAN in Awka on Friday.

    Adeoye said the suspect was arrested in his hideout in Nise by his men from RSS, Awkuzu after days of intelligence.

    He said he was presently in custody and would be charged to court after investigation was concluded.

    Alagbon is alleged to be a ringleader of a notorious cult group that has terrorised residents of the town and neighbouring communities with attendant maiming and killing of victims.

    “The notorious cultist and his gang have been on the wanted list of police for a long time.

    “Alagbon is part of the group responsible for several cult related killings in Awka.

    “We are happy and jubilating when we heard the news of his arrest,” a source said.

  • Anambra apprehends woman for alleged sale of grand child

    Anambra apprehends woman for alleged sale of grand child

    The Anambra Government said it apprehended one Oluchukwu Nwosu, 45, who allegedly sold her three-month-old grand child for N50,000.

    The Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs Ify Obinabo, disclosed this at a news briefing in Awka on Sunday.

    Obinabo said that the baby had been rescued, following consistent intelligence report and surveillance that lasted almost a month.

    “The rescue operation followed a report by Ijeoma Nwosu, who claimed that her mother, Oluchukwu, forcefully sold her baby soon after he was born and refused to tell her the baby’s whereabouts.

    “Following receipt of the allegation, the ministry immediately took action to identify and apprehend the perpetrators.

    “Four suspects involved in the crime have been apprehended and would be handed over to the police for questioning and further investigation.

    “It is sad that the baby is looking sick and underweight.

    “According to the buyer, she has no money to buy proper baby food and she resorted to feeding the baby with soya bean powder,” she said

    The commissioner frowned at the continued practice of illegal adoption in the state, in spite of government’s efforts to put an end to it.

    She warned that perpetrators of unlawful adoption would be made to face legal actions.

    Speaking with newsmen, Oluchukwu pleaded for forgiveness, saying that the baby she sold was the third child her daughter, Ijeoma, had outside wedlock.

    “We are poor. There is no money to feed and take care of ourselves and the children.

    “So, when I met one Tochukwu Asiegbu, we bargained and agreed that he will pay N50,000 and he paid me the money,” she said.

    Also, Asiegbu said his profit from the deal was N30,000, adding that he only connected Oluchukwu to the buyer.

    The buyer, one Evelyn Egwuatu, from Uruagu in Nnewi, said she paid N200,000 to obtain the baby from one Ebelechukwu Uba, who hail from Ebonyi but resident in Anambra

    Uba, however, said he was just a middleman, adding that Asiegbu and Oluchukwu, made the decision to sell the baby to Egwuatu.

  • New Yam Festival: Anambra to showcase best of masquerade, local delicacie – Commissioner

    New Yam Festival: Anambra to showcase best of masquerade, local delicacie – Commissioner

    Mr Don Onyenji, Commissioner for Culture, Entertainment and Tourism in Anambra says the state will hold the largest and most colourful new yam (Iri Ji) festival on oct.21.

    Onyenji, who spoke to the newsmen in Awka on Thursday, said the festival would hold at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka with Igwe Alfred Achebe, Obi of Onitsha and Chairman of Anambra Traditional Rulers Council as the Father of the Day.

    He said the Iri Ji festival was symbolic as it made the celebration of harvest season and the place of yam as the king of all crops in Igbo land

    The commissioner said Anambra had a rich cultural heritage including the intangible ones like ceremonies such as the new yam festival which is the most popular, normally held between August and November every year.

    He said Anambra was peaceful and safe and everyone was invited.

    According to him, in line with Gov. Chukwuma Soludo’s agenda for reviving and promoting the Igbo cultural heritage, I want to inform you that the Anambra Iri Ji festival will come up on Oct. 21.

    “As a State, Anambra is selling the festival to the world as one major cultural event, so the 2023 Iri Ji festival will be one with a difference.

    “All the traditional rulers in Anambra, Town Union leadership will be there and the 21 Local Government Area Councils will be on parade.

    “The festival is all about love and sharing, we invite all Anambra people and non Anambra citizens to come and witness the cutting of yam and the celebration associated with it,” he said.

    Onyenji said the governor who would be the chief host would recognise the person with bigger yam harvested with the king of yam ‘Eze Ji’ award.

    The Commissioner said there would be traditional wrestling, masquerade displays and Local Government dance parades.

    Onyenji said though new yam festival was for everyone, respect must be accorded to seniority and some of the abuse seen in some communities and kindreds should cease.

    “We shall have masquerade shows, best of local cuisine and palm wine, shall not entertain foreign delicacies, it will be local food all the way

    “There is a protocol for Iri Ji in Igbo land, nobody should perform the rite before the government recognised traditional rulers in that community; kindreds should also allow their most senior to do it before others,” he said.

  • Why I joined APC – Ifeanyi Ubah

    Why I joined APC – Ifeanyi Ubah

    Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (YPP-Anambra) says he decided to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) because he wants the South-East to align with the Central Government of President Bola Tinubu.

    Ubah said this when he visited the APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje in company of Senate President, Godswill Akpabio at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja on Thursday.

    He appreciated the party’s leadership for accepting him into its fold.

    Ubah commended President Bola for appointing Mr Dave Umahi as the Minister of Works, in spite of the party recording low votes in the South-East at the 2023 presidential election.

    “Our president is rewarding even those who didn’t vote for him, for that it will be very difficult for any man with conscience not to look at the direction of the centre party.

    “I don’t see anyone who will come against my coming into the APC,” he said.

    Ubah added that he consulted widely with his political family and critical stakeholders in the South-East before defecting to the APC.

    “It is not all about talking, it is about doing, I believe in action, Mr President just take it from me, I am going to deliver.

    “I have made my complaints to President Tinubu in front of the Senate President and he has graciously given me his words that he will support me.

    “I want to be sincere, it has always been difficult for the Igbo people to key into the national party because of our sentiments and emotions.

    “Our president is a politician that understands how it pains and how to console everybody. He has that capacity,” he said.
    Ganduje while receiving Ubah, said he was the biggest politicians that had joined the party since he assumed office as the APC chairman.

    “This is the biggest fish I have gotten,” Ganduje said.

    He expressed optimism that with Ubah’s defection, the party would soon takeover the South-East in the coming elections.

    “We will start a revolution, already we have two states in South East and with this timber and calibre, juggernaut, I think we have found the answer.

    “We thank you for coming. I describe him as a swing politician because wherever he is that party wins.

    “And we expecting this swing will swing through out South-East, especially to the other three states that don’t belong to APC,” Ganduje said.

  • Joint task force kill four suspected IPOB, ESN members, recover weapons in Anambra

    Joint task force kill four suspected IPOB, ESN members, recover weapons in Anambra

    Four suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network, ESN have been killed  by the joint Task Force South East, Operation UDO KA II, according to reports.

    The reports were made available to journalists  by the Acting Deputy Director Army Public Relations, 82 Division Nigerian Army, Jonah Unuakhalu on Sunday.

    According to the reports, the operation took place on Thursday along Orsumoghu-Ukpor road in Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria.

    The reports added that the daredevil gunmen ambushed the troops with Improvised Explosive Device (IED) before the officers engaged them in a gun battle leading to the killing of the four agitators.

    Unuakhalu explained that during the gun duel, the troops countered the ambush with superior firepower and neutralized one member of the IPOB group.
    He said three more bodies of the criminal elements who died due to gunshot wounds were recovered after the battle.

    The statement added that two AK-47 rifles were recovered at the scene of the fire fight, saying some of the criminals escaped into the nearby bushes with various degrees of gunshot injuries.

    “The Joint Task Force South East Operation UDO KA II wishes to reassure the good people of the South-East of its unwavering resolve and commitment to restoring lasting peace in the region as it will not relent in the fight to end the security challenges in the region.

    “The Task Force, therefore, calls on law abiding and good citizens of the South-East region not to relent in providing timely, credible and reliable Information which will lead to ending the menace of insecurity occasioned by activities of the irredentist group in the region.

    “Operation UDO KA II will continue combating crime and criminality in accordance with the extant rules and regulations guiding its operations”, the statement added.

  • Soludo renames Anambra Cargo Airport after Chinua Achebe

    Soludo renames Anambra Cargo Airport after Chinua Achebe

    Gov. Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, has renamed the state’s International Passenger and Cargo Airport after late Chinua Achebe, a novelist, to immortalise him for making an indelible mark on the history of human civilisation.

    Achebe a native of Ogidi in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state, died on March 21, 2013, at age 82, in Boston, Massachusetts.

    Soludo said this on Sunday in Awka at the Independence Day parade, to mark Nigeria’s 63rd anniversary, describing Achebe as an example of Africa’s unsung hero.

    “Achebe, a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic, gave the African literature an identity and a voice and he rightly reconstructed and refined the identify of the people,” he said.

    The governor said that Achebe was not just an Anambra hero nor a Nigerian hero, but an African and global hero and yet largely unsung at home.

    He said that henceforth, the state shall be deliberate in fishing out and celebrating its largely unsung heroes as motivation to children and youths.

    “Unfortunately, some people wrongly think of legacies in terms of brick and mortar. Legacy is about impact on human life and human civilisation.

    “Achebe was not a president or governor or military. He did not build bridges or roads or airports but he will outlive most presidents, governors and ministers in our minds.

    “Achebe rejected Nigeria’s national honours twice in protest against what he perceived as injustice to his home state Anambra. Today, Anambra will finally honour him.

    “After wide consultations, there is a broad consensus that no one is more deserving to be named after the first airport in Anambra than Anambra’s all-time greatest literary gift to the world, Chinua Achebe.

    “Consequently, we will rename the Anambra International Cargo and Passenger Airport, Umueri, to Chinua Achebe International Airport, Umueri.

    “Yes, it has to be an international airport, and we hope to work with the Federal Government to give full effect to its international status,” he said.
    Soludo urged Nigerians to be intentional about making the project Nigeria work and believe in the potential greatness of the country.

    “We have muddled through the past 63 years with squandered opportunities and yet with the promise of potential greatness

    “No country or nation is a perfect. Every nation continues to struggle in its match to a more perfect union. The path to stability, growth and sustainability will be challenging as there are no quick fixes.

    “But all of us must collectively think and work Nigeria out of the current challenges. We have no other country but Nigeria, and we must make it to work for everyone, “he said.

    The governor said his administration was founded on the true progressive agenda and would continue to create the enabling environment for residents to thrive and survive.

    The police, paramilitary organisations and students from different schools took part in the parade.

    NAN

  • NAF strikes IPOB/ESN hideouts in Anambra, Imo

    NAF strikes IPOB/ESN hideouts in Anambra, Imo

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says the Air Component of Operation UDO KA II, has destroyed several hideouts of the Indigenous People of Biafra and its Eastern Security Network in Anambra and Imo States.

    The Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Gabkwet said the strikes were carried out on Tuesday at Mother Valley Orsumughu in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra and Aku Ihube in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo.

    He said it was part of on efforts aimed at dislocating their nefarious activities while denying them the liberty to carry out their destructive acts and killing sprees on innocent and law-abiding Nigerians.

    According to him, the strikes at both locations achieved their intended outcome and were deemed effective.

    “Acting on credible intelligence that IPOB/ESN terrorists had perfected plans to disrupt civic activities lined up in the coming days in Anambra and other southeastern states.

    “The air strikes were authorised in conjunction with ground troops and other security agencies on the location believed to also house some of their weapons and ammunitions.

    “The strikes hit the target and were deemed successful following the ball of fire, fleeing terrorists at the location as well as feedback received,” he said.

    Gabkwet said that other air strikes were also conducted, the same day, in close coordination with surface forces at IPOB/ESN hideout camps in Aku Ihube in Imo after detailed analysis of intelligence on the terrorists converging for a likely rendezvous at their hideout.

    He said the air strikes were also authorised to take out the hideout where the targets were acquired and attacked in succession, with a high degree of success.

    According to him, efforts by the NAF and other security agencies to ensure all Nigerians, irrespective of where they reside, are safe and free to conduct their activities without fear or being threatened will continue.

    “While the determination of the security agencies is unwavering, the support of all Nigerians to the security agencies remains critical to defeating these criminal elements whose only intent is to sow fear and division among the citizenry,” he said.

  • Court acquits Anambra varsity professor, others of forging chieftaincy documents

    Court acquits Anambra varsity professor, others of forging chieftaincy documents

    A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, discharged and acquitted Prof. Obiajulu Obikeze and four others of allegations bordering on forgery of chieftaincy documents.

    Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling on the defendants’ motion on notice dated April 29, 2022, and filed by their counsel, Kelvin Nwufo, SAN, quashed the 11-count charge in its entirety for being invalid, unconstitutional and ultra vires.

    “The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th defendants are hereby discharged and acquitted. This is the order of this court,” Justice Ekwo declared.

    The judge agreed with the defendants that filing the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/184/2021 after a similar matter had already been decided in an Anambra High Court and two more suits were still pending before the courts on same subject matter was an abuse of court process.

    “It is the law that where persons have submitted to the jurisdiction of the court, they are bound by the judgement thereof,” he said.

    It would be recalled that the police had, on Feb  22, 2022, arraigned Prof. Obikeze, who works with the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, formerly known as Anambra State University Igbariam in Anambra,

    Obikeze, the 1st defendant, was arraigned alongside Dr Raymond Ofor, Chief Ezue, Sir Amobi Nwafor and Okafor Bethram IK as 2nd to 5th defendants respectively.

    The Federal Republic of Nigeria, through the Inspector-General of Police, was the complainant in the 11-count charge.

    The defendants, however, pleaded non-guilty to all the charges.

    In the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/184/2021 dated and filed on July 6, 2021, by the prosecution lawyer, Celestine Odo, the defendants were charged for the offences of conspiracy, forgery of the constitution of the Igweship Constitution of Awa, and punishable under Section 1 (2) (c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap. M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.

    They were alleged to have committed the offence around Jan.15, 2019, at Awa, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra.

    While count two accused them of uttering forged documents, count three accused them of making “a forged letter to the Special Adviser to the Governor of Anambra on Chieftaincy and Towns Union Matters.

    The document was titled, “Submission of Awa Chieftaincy Constitution,” knowing it to be false, with intent that it may be acted upon as genuine at the Government House, Awka, Anambra State.”

    But in a preliminary objection dated April 29, 2022, the defendants’ lawyer, Nwufo, prayed the court to dismiss the charge for being an abuse of court process.

    The senior lawyer argued that an High Court of Anambra had already delivered judgment in a similar matter in suit number: AG/155/2018 on Jan. 29, 2020 in which the court dismissed the case.

    Besides, he said that two others matters were pending in the state courts.

    Delivering the ruling,  Justice Ekwo held that even if someone later wrote a petition on a matter that judgement had been given, It was the duty of the police to advise the parties or any person connected thereto to either obey the judgement or proceed on appeal.

    “It can be seen from the respective averments of the parties to this application that the criminal charge in this case, is an attempt by the nominal complainants to use the police to intimidate, harass, frighten and cow the defendants/applicants.

    “On this ground, I find that this charge is a product of self-help and cannot be allowed to stand and I so hold. I make an order dismissing it,” he declared.

  • Anambra accident: FRSC boss condoles with victims’ families

    Anambra accident: FRSC boss condoles with victims’ families

    The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr  Dauda Ali Biu, has condoled with the families of victims of the crash along the Onitsha -Inteje-Akwa axis in Anambra on Friday.

    This is contained in a statement by the Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO), Mr Bisi Kazeem, on Friday in Abuja.

    Biu, however, called on road users,especially fleet operators, to exercise caution and be conscious of their environment whenever they are driving.

    He urged motorists to avoid driving against stipulated speed limit on all roads, saying it was necessary for all to take caution.

    Biu said adhering to safety measures were important to help the corps eradicate or minimise incidences of a road accident caused by impatience and lack of mental alertness of motorists.

    “This advice came following the fatal crash that occurred involving a Mitsubishi L300 commercial Bus with vehicle registration number XE 245 AWK and a DAF Leyland Truck with registration number T-19094 LA at the aforementioned route.

    “According to the first information report from the scene of the crash, eyewitnesses stated that the DAF Leyland truck was coming from Onitsha while the Mitsubishi L300 bus was coming from Nteje axis.

    “8  vehicles got to the failed portion at the same time when the container of the Leyland Truck fell on the Mitsubishi Bus, ” he said.

    The accident, which involved 10 people, killed five female adults, injured two male adults and two female adults.

    The Corps Marshal commended FRSC operatives for their prompt response to the distressing situation.

    This, he said, ensured immediate evacuation of the victims to  the hospital for medical attention and clearance of obstruction, allowing free flow of traffic within the axis.

    NAN