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Tag: Enugu State

  • Gunmen attack Police Division in Enugu, 5 personnel feared dead

    Gunmen attack Police Division in Enugu, 5 personnel feared dead

    Gunmen on early hours of Tuesday attacked Iwollo Police Division in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State and razed down the station.

    The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Mr Mohammed Aliyu has confirmed the attack.

    Aliyu, who could not give details of the incident, said he was already on ground to ascertain the level of destruction and casualties.

    “More information will be pushed out to the public as soon as we conclude our preliminary investigation,’’ he said.

    However, an eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told NAN, that the hoodlums attacked the division in their large numbers in the wee hours of the day.

    The eyewitness said that the attack threw the entire Iwollo community into fear and panic throughout the night.

    “They succeeded in completely razing down the buildings in the divisional station.

    “The hoodlums might have also killed probably five gallant police personnel that confronted them when they attacked’’.

    Recall that on April 21, unknown gunmen shot two police operatives dead during an attack on Adani Police Station in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State.

    The station was also set ablaze completely at about 2:30am on that fateful day.

  • Police rescue suspect from mob action, recover bus

    Police rescue suspect from mob action, recover bus

    The Police Command in Enugu State has rescued one Ugo Nweke from an angry mob that caught him allegedly trying to steal a commercial bus at Abakpa-Nike in the Enugu metropolis.

    In a statement on Sunday in Enugu, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, said the suspect had been arrested.

    Ndukwe said that the police operatives recovered a yellow Toyota Hiace commercial bus which the suspect had attempted to nick.

    He said that the timely intervention of police operatives saved the suspect from being lynched on April 29 at about 8:40 a.m.

    “Police operatives, following a distress call received, immediately rescued and arrested one Ugo Nweke,34, of Cabinet-Amahausa, Obiagu, Enugu, from an angry mob.

    “The irate mob was at the verge of setting him ablaze with a tyre for allegedly attempting to steal a bus from where it was parked at Texaco, Abakpa-Nike in Enugu metropolis.

    “The suspect will be charged to court on conclusion of investigation,’’ he said.

    Ndukwe said that the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Aliyu, had commended police operatives for successfully carrying out the operation and other operations within the state.

    He said: “The commissioner has charged officers and men of the command to remain resolute and committed to the quest of ridding the state of unrepentant criminals and their activities.

    “He also enjoins law-abiding residents to continue to assist the police with timely and credible information needed to further curb acts of crime and criminality in the state’’.

  • Daddy is back – Adoration Ministry confirms return of Fr Ejike Mbaka

    Daddy is back – Adoration Ministry confirms return of Fr Ejike Mbaka

    The Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), headquartered in Enugu State has confirmed the return of its founder and spiritual leader, Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) the whereabouts of Father Mbaka caused a stir in the State on Wednesday as the Catholic cleric failed to show up at the Ministry’s usual Wednesdays programme.

    The priest arrived at the Catholic Bishop’s Residence in a motorcade amidst jubilation from his Adoration faithful around 2.45pm.

    He, however, stopped in front of the Bishop’s Court and addressed his supporters urging them to remain calm and return to the Adoration ground for further information.

    “Daddy is back. Glory be to God in the highest,” Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN) shared on its official Facebook page.

    While reactions have continued to trail the disappearance of the fiery Enugu priest, nothing concrete has come out in the air of what actually happened.

    Both the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) have denied involvement in the disappearing act.

    Read reactions that followed the disappearance of Father Mbaka below:

    https://twitter.com/TundeEddnut/status/1389962210101927945?s=19

     

  • Hijackers of Dangote’s truckload of cement in Enugu State arrested

    Hijackers of Dangote’s truckload of cement in Enugu State arrested

    With the price of cement ever increasing in the country, two suspects who allegedly attacked and hijacked a Dangote’s truckload of cements in Enugu State have been arrested.

    The Enugu State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Daniel Ndukwe made this known in a statement on Sunday, revealing the incident happened within Nsukka-9th Mile Expressway in the State.

    Ndukwe also revealed that the command recovered a small blue-coloured unregistered Mercedes Benz truck; which the suspects planned to offload the bags of cement to.

    He stated that the arrest was achieved by a joint team of police operatives attached to 9th Mile Police Division and personnel of the Nigerian Army, 82 Division, Enugu.

    According to him, on April 15 at about 1:35 a.m., Goodluck Samuel, 31, and Ifeanyi Ozo, 30, were arrested along Nsukka- 9th Mile Expressway by 7-up in Udi Local Government Area.

    “The suspects and others at large, were alleged to have attacked and hijacked from its driver and motor-boy, a Dangote’s Sinotruk truck with registration number: GRZ 430 XA loaded with bags of cement en-route Awka, Anambra from Obajana, Kogi.

    “They demobilised the truck, and were at the verge of trans-loading the bags of cement to a smaller Mercedes Benz truck they used for the operation, when the joint operatives arrested them.

    “The hijacked truck and goods have been secured, while the said smaller truck has been recovered,’’ he said.

    The police spokesman said that further discreet investigation had been ongoing on the matter to arrest other accomplices.

    He said that the suspects would be charged to court on conclusion of investigation.

    “Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Aliyu, has appreciated the collaborative supports from sister security agencies and law-abiding residents of the state.

    “The commissioner also called on residents to remain vigilant and continue to assist the police with credible information required to further curb acts of crime and criminality in the state,’’ he said.

  • INEC expands polling units in Enugu

    INEC expands polling units in Enugu

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expanded the polling units in Enugu State from 2,958 to 4,147 polling units to create easy access to polling units in the state.

    Dr Emeka Ononamadu, the INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner for Enugu State, told newsmen in Enugu on Friday that the new polling units were those converted from an existing 1,189 voting points.

    Ononamadu explained that the new polling units, which were created following strict adherence to the guidelines for conversion, was meant to curb overcrowding in polling units, also leading to lack of voters’ access.

    “The guidelines which state that polling units should be located based on the following considerations:

    “Must be in public places, preferably centrally located and accessible; and non-sectarian facilities like community halls, health centres, court premises, public recreation centres, amongst others.

    “Spacious facilities that can comfortably sit election officials, party agents, election observers and other legitimate election staff.

    “Adequately covered locations such as classrooms and halls; and locations or facilities that can take more than one polling unit,’’ he said.

    The commissioner said that the guidelines made it clear that that no polling unit would be located in private buildings, houses of traditional rulers, religious buildings, political party buildings or residence of government officials.

    “Or any building which a voter may under any circumstance be denied access, except as prescribed by the law.

    “No new polling unit should also be located in any building or facility that is in dispute or inaccessible to persons living with disabilities,’’ he noted.

    Ononamadu noted that it was necessary to address rumours and misinterpretation of the exercise.

    According to him, the same standard and guideline being applied in Enugu State is applicable all over the federation.

    “There were certain rumours that it was only some communities that secretly applied for new polling units that were given new polling units.

    “There was also rumour that it was the pressure from politicians to give them new polling units that INEC is yielding to. These rumours are all false.

    “INEC is simply converting existing voting points into polling units; therefore, polling units creating is not a direct response to any application or pressure,’’ he said.

  • Police arrest suspected ATM fraudster in Enugu

    Police arrest suspected ATM fraudster in Enugu

    The Police Command in Enugu State has arrested a suspect for allegedly engaging in an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card fraud in some banks in Enugu metropolis.

    The Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, said this in a statement on Saturday.

    Ndukwe said that the command also recovered a tricycle used by the suspect and his cohorts for their operations.

    He said that the feat was achieved by operatives attached to the New Haven Police Division within the metropolis on April 16 at about 9a.m.

    According to him, police operatives arrested one Chukwudi Chukwu, 25, at an ATM point along Chime Avenue, Enugu.

    “His arrest led to the recovery of a yellow-coloured Bajaj tricycle with registration number: ENU 677 WW, used by the suspect and his gang for operation and nine ATM cards of different banks.

    “The suspect, whose arrest was due to a swift response to a distress call and his rescue from an angry mob by police operatives, is alleged to have fraudulently swapped a victim’s UBA ATM card.

    “This the suspect did after offering to assist process his victim’s transaction on another bank’s ATM, with the intention of defrauding her.

    “He confessed to the crime as well as being a member of the syndicate that specialised in unsuspectingly swapping ATM cards of their victims at banks’ ATMs with non-functional cards.

    “This manipulative move they use to fraudulently obtain funds from their victims accounts,’’ the police spokesman said.

    He said that there had been discrete investigation to arrest other members of the syndicate, including the suspect’s accomplices who escaped on the said date of the arrest.

    “To this end, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Aliyu, has applauded the peace-loving residents for their assistance in the fight against criminals and their activities.

    “He, however, pleads with all and sundry to quickly submit arrested criminals to the police for proper investigation and prosecution, rather than indulge in mob actions that are tantamount to jungle justice.”

  • South East Governors announce formation of joint security outfit

    South East Governors announce formation of joint security outfit

    The Governors of the South Eastern part of Nigeria have announced the formation of a joint security outfit known as Ebubeagu with its headquarters located in Enugu State.

    The South East Governors announced the new joint security outfit following the first South East security summit held on Sunday in Owerri, the capital of Imo State.

    According to a communiqué issued by the South East Governors and heads of security agencies at the summit, Ebubeagu will coordinate all the vigilante groups in the geo-political zone.

    “Ebubeagu is the name of our joint security outfit with its headquarters in Enugu to coordinate our vigilante in the geo-political zone,” the South East Governors stated in the communiqué.

    Read full text of the Communique…

    COMMUNIQUE ISSUED BY SOUTH EAST GOVERNORS AND HEADS OF SECURITY AGENCIES AT THE END OF THE FIRST SOUTH EAST SECURITY SUMMIT HELD IN OWERRI ON SUNDAY APRIL 11th 2021

    After exhaustive discussions on the current security challenges in the South East and with valuable contributions from participants at the first South East security summit in Owerri on this day Sunday April 11th 2021, it was resolved as follows:

    1. To strongly and unequivocally condemn terrorism and banditry in any part of Nigeria, particularly in the South East. The meeting strongly condemns the burning of police stations, violent attacks on custodial centres with the unlawful release of inmates, and the killings including security personnel, natives/ farmers and headsmen.

    2. That the five South East states are on the same page with the federal government on the issue of security challenges in the country. To this end, the meeting makes it absolutely clear that the South east will stand resolutely with the federal government to fight terrorists and bandits to a finish

    3. That the political leadership in the South East has resolved to bring together all the arsenals at their command, as one united zone, to fight and flush out criminals and terrorist from the zone.

    4. That the summit resolved that to achieve this, there is a need to galvanise all the relevant stakeholders in the south east, the political class, the business community, the bureaucrats and the intelligentsia to provide all necessary support to security operatives in the five south east states to ensure total success in the fight against criminality in the zone.

    5. That the heads of all the security agencies in the south east have resolved to exchange intelligence in a seamless, effective new order that will help to checkmate crime in the zone.

    6. That to fast track crime-busting in the south east, the heads of security agencies have been mandated to draw up a comprehensive list of their logistics and material needs for sustainable success in the fight against criminality, for the immediate provision by the leadership of the South East.

    7. That a committee made up of security personnel, government officials and relevant stakeholders be set up to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the south east joint security platform.

    8. To applaud the initiative of the South east security summit and to make it a statutory summit that will convene every quarter while its hosting shall rotate among the five south east states.

    9. The meeting resolved to maintain a joint security vigilante for the South East otherwise known as Ebube Agu.

    10. The meeting appreciated the formation of South East joint security outfit co. Named Ebubeagu. Headquarters in Enugu to coordinate our vigilante in the South East.

    11. South East Governors requested the Acting IGP to stop the influx of IGP monitory units but to allow cps and state and Zonal commands to handle their cases.

    12. Meeting approve that the acting IGP and other security chiefs do invite the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo and CAN to find out the reason for increasing insecurity of the South East .

    13. Meeting agreed that military policing in the South East should be adequately funded and become effective.

    14. Meeting agreed that open grazing has been banned and security agency should implement the ban.

    15. The meeting encouraged a peaceful coexistence of farmers and headers to allow Governors to succeed in the fight against criminality.

    Enugu State is in the hands of God!

  • Normalcy returns in Enugu community where 6 persons were killed

    Normalcy returns in Enugu community where 6 persons were killed

    Police have restored normalcy in Adani, a community in Uzo Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State which was engulfed in violence on Sunday.

    During the fracas between hoodlums and residents of the community, six persons were shot dead while many others sustained gunshot injuries.

    Shops were razed, just as lots of properties were destroyed.

    Police spokesman in Enugu State, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, said in a statement on Tuesday that normalcy had been restored in the community after police intervention.

    He said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Mohammed Aliyu, visited the community on Monday in company of heads of some security agencies in the state.

    “The commissioner, while calling for calm, ordered the Criminal Investigation Department to conduct thorough investigation to identify and bring perpetrators of the fracas to book.

    “He reassured of the Command’s commitment to collaborate with sister security agencies and relevant stakeholders in the community to avert a recurrence,’’ he stated.

    Ndukwe added that the commissioner also pleaded with members of the community to be their brothers’ keepers and to eschew violence.

    In his remarks, Chairman of the Local Government Council, Mr Chukwudi Nnadozie, thanked the police and other security agencies for the quick intervention which helped in restoring normalcy in the area.

    Heads of security agencies who accompanied the police commissioner were Brown Ekwoaba, State Director, Department State Security, Valentine Afrika, Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Enugu State and Abdul Abdullahi, NDLEA State Commander.

  • Why Enugu State House of Assembly stepped down controversial ex-governors life pension bill

    Why Enugu State House of Assembly stepped down controversial ex-governors life pension bill

    Enugu State House of Assembly has stepped down the controversial life pensions Bill for former governors, their deputies and spouses.

    The stepping down of the Bill came after public outcry about the jumbo packages contained in it for the beneficiaries.

    The Bill sought to appropriate at least 900 per cent of a governor’s annual salary as his monetary entitlements every year after leaving office.

    The wife of the governor would also have gotten N12 million as annual medical allowances provided she was married to the governor while in office.

    Apart from the N12 million provided for a former governor’s wife as annual medical allowance, both ex-governor and ex-first lady will also receive free medical services until death.

    The Bill guarantees to cover almost any possible major expenses an ex-governor could incur in his or her life, including financial responsibility for burial.

    Its Section six states: “where a former governor or former deputy dies, the state government shall make adequate arrangement and bear the financial responsibility for his burial.

    “It shall also pay a condolence allowance of a sum equivalent to the annual basic salary of the incumbent to the next of kin.’’

    Section Four provides for “such other gratuity or allowances as may be provided by any other law” as may be entitled to a former governor other than what was stated in the Bill.

    In addition to the lifetime annual basic salary (ABS) for an ex-governor, there is also a house maintenance allowance, an annual salary for five domestic staff and a vehicle allowance, each valued at 300 per cent of the ABS.

    It provides three vehicles for the ex-governor to be replaced every four years as well as a personal assistant on salary Grade level 14.

    There are also similar provisions for former deputy governor who get 200 per cent of their ABS each for house allowance, vehicle allowance and annual salary for three domestic staff.

    The former deputy governor will also get two vehicles to be replaced every four years, free medical services for him and his wife as well as N6 million medical allowance for the latter.

    Enugu State was only able to generate N12.2 billion as revenue in the first half of 2020.

    Soon as the Bill passed through the first reading at the House of Assembly last Thursday, the Save Enugu Group (SEG) a socio-political group issued a 21-day ultimatum to the State House of Assembly to kill it.

    Its National Coordinator, Chief Willy Ezugwu, said in a statement that the lawmakers must kill the Bill immediately for peace and tranquillity in the state’s political arena to be sustained.

    He stated that SEG was already mobilising “conscious citizens, civil society groups and labour unions in the state to shut down Enugu State House of Assembly for as long as it will take to kill the most insensitive Bill’’.

    “It is shocking that while a state like Lagos, with high internally generated revenue that runs into billions of naira monthly, has abolished pensions for former governors, the Enugu State House of Assembly allowed such a Bill to pass first reading,’’ Ezugwu added.

    Other stakeholders in the state shared the views of the SEG and called for the killing of the Bill.

    At plenary session on Tuesday, Speaker of the House, Chief Edward Ubosi, said the Bill was not the making of the seventh Assembly but had existed since 2007, adding that the 1999 Constitution as amended, gave backing for such legislation.

    Ubosi said the stepping down of the Bill would help his colleagues to thoroughly go through it to enable them to delete as well as add necessary sections to it.

    According to the speaker, the public should have allowed the lawmakers to study the Bill, which just passed through the first reading last Thursday.

    He noted that former governors serving as senators would not benefit from the pension scheme, while the spouse of the former governors would also not benefit from the scheme since the Constitution did not recognise the spouses.

    Earlier, the Leader of the Assembly, Mr Ikechukwu Ezeugwu, expressed shock at the level of protest that followed the presentation of the Bill, which he said was not necessary.

    The leader said that the public could not dictate nor teach the lawmakers how to do their job of enacting laws for the growth and development of the state and warned members of the public to mind their utterances.

    Ezeugwu noted, however, that the Assembly would be guided by the opinions of their constituents in the consideration of the Bill and added that it would hold a public hearing to allow members of the public to make their inputs.

    He maintained that the seventh Assembly was “not a rubber stamp’’.

    Ezeugwu stressed that the lawmakers were also not elected by their constituents just to be collecting salaries and other allowances without making laws that would better the lot of Enugu State.

  • Oruku crisis: Enugu Govt imposes 12 hour curfew

    Oruku crisis: Enugu Govt imposes 12 hour curfew

    Enugu State Government has imposed a 12-hour curfew on Oruku Community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of the state following the crisis that claimed the lives of two community leaders.

    The Commissioner for Information, Mr Chidi Aroh disclosed this on Thursday in a statement in Enugu.

    Aroh said that the curfew would become effective from Thursday Feb. 25 and terminate in March 31, 2021 after which the security situation in the community would be reviewed.

    He said that the curfew would be from 6pm to 6am within the said period and urged the people of the area to attend to their lawful businesses outside the affected hours.

    “The curfew was imposed by Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, pursuant to Executive Order No. 2: 2021 of Feb. 25, 2021.

    “The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command has been directed to take all legal measures to enforce this order and ensure the arrest as well as prosecution of the perpetrators of this heinous crime,” Aroh said.

    Recall that the traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Emmanuel Mba was killed on Dec. 26, 2020 by yet to be identified gunmen.

    The incident prompted the state government to inaugurate a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the crisis.

    Also, the Vice Chairman of Oruku Town Union Caretaker Committee, Chief Samuel Ani was on Feb. 24, murdered in a gruesome manner.

    Ani was expected to appear before the judicial commission on Friday before he was killed.