TheNewsGuru

Tag: Ondo State

  • Gunmen abduct 50 wedding guests in Sokoto

    Gunmen abduct 50 wedding guests in Sokoto

    About 50 wedding guests have been reportedly abducted by gunmen in an attack on vehicles on Sokoto-Gusau Road.

     

    This was as four farmers including three males and a female, residing at Elegbeka community near Ifon in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, were reportedly abducted too.

     

    On the Sokoto-Gusau Road kidnap, TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) gathered that The commuters were returning from a wedding in Tambuwal, Sokoto State, on Saturday evening when the assailants attacked them.

     

    The gunmen attacked a coaster bus and one other vehicle conveying the wedding guests as well as two private vehicles.

     

    Lawal Ja’o, a passenger who escaped from the assailants, said the attack occurred around Dogon Awo in Tureta council of Sokoto State.

     

    “We started hearing the sound of gunshots before the first vehicle was hit,” he said, adding that over 50 people were whisked away.

     

    “We kept hearing the voices and screams of our colleagues and friends but there was nothing we could do. After we heard the arrival of security men, we came out of the bush and identified ourselves,”  Ja’o as said.

     

    Another passenger, Jabiru Shehu, explained that, “we met four empty vehicles with some belongings including a phone and some travelling bags. We were there when some policemen from Tureta arrived at the scene.

     

    “From what I heard, there were more than 50 people with the bandits because we were there also when some of the travellers who ran into the bush returned to the main road.”

     

    In a similar development, the farmers were said to have been abducted in the early hours of Saturday.

     

    They were reportedly going to the Akoko area of the state when they were seized and taken away by gunmen.

     

    Sources said the abductors have contacted families of the victims and demanded N4m naira for each of them.

     

    The sources said there was exchange of gunfire between local hunters and some herders at Idogun.

     

    The hunters were joined by their counterparts from Idoani, Ipesi and Ifira.

  • The horror at Owo: Where was Amotekun? – By Hope Eghagha

    The horror at Owo: Where was Amotekun? – By Hope Eghagha

    Sunday the 5th of June 2022 started like any other Sunday in the year. It was a day set apart for God-worship universally. And for the faithful men and women who trooped into St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Owo that Sunday, they expected to meet God in spirit, seek His grace, praise His name, and atone for their sins. Alas, it was not to be! Tragically, the day ended with blood on the altar, tears in the eyes, and sorrow in the hearts. For the people of Southern Nigeria, especially the Yoruba people, palpable shock shook both fragile and stout hearts. Terrorism, long promised by blood-thirsty jihadists, was now on their doorsteps. Terrorism with impunity! Laying claims to land that was never and would never be theirs. How did we get into this mess of convoluted reasoning backed by some men in high places? This with our eyes wide open! How could any sane person or group still think that they can seize land by violence and displace its original owners in the 21st Century?

    If there were any smiles that day, it would be only on the ugly faces of the monsters, in the hearts of the sick men, wicked sons of the devil, Lucifer himself, who unleashed violence in the sacred confines of the House of God. In his response, the Sultan of Sokoto, Visible head of Muslims in Nigeria saw the massacre as ‘a direct attack on all law-abiding citizens, asking them to be in the vanguard of efforts to halt the evil assailing life, property and integrity of humanity, particularly believers in God’. After some ten odd minutes, some twenty-two odd persons were sent to their untimely graves while worshipping in the cathedral. Many were injured. Many more were traumatized. Trauma that they will live with for the rest of their days! The assailants, like ghosts, vanished into thin air. These scoundrels are not ghosts. They are degenerate specie of human beings. And I ask: where was Amotekun when the bullets rained in the house of God?

    The attack on worshippers was one too brazen, too many. In the last seven years, there have been reports that some Fulani men had taken to the forests in the southern parts of the country. As we write, some are in the bushes in Edo State, especially in northern parts of the state. Often they pose as herders, grazing their cattle. It seems that at night they transmute into ruthless kidnappers. Prelate of Methodist Church in Nigeria suffered torture in the hands of kidnappers some three weeks ago. He was very specific about the nationalities of his abductors- Fulani men! He said that the leader was born and bred in Umuahia though he is originally from Niger. This should have given the security forces enough clues to arrest him. Sadly, we have not been so lucky. The Prelate even indicted the soldiers who are stationed at the spot where he was kidnapped as accomplices.

    These so-called herdsmen become kidnappers who show no mercy to hapless abductees. Hundreds of people have paid different sums as ransom to those sons of the devil. Once one is kidnapped, he is one his own. The State does nothing, apart from giving the usual assurances. These scums have now degenerated further into mass murder. The intent is to instill fear.

    When they struck in Ondo and killed the daughter of Chief Fasoranti Mrs. Funke Olakunrin in 2019, there was tension in the air. Shortly after some men were arrested and paraded as killers of the innocent lady. In 2020, the southwest Governors came together and formed a regional security outfit Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Amotekun. It was said at the time that Amotekun would ‘assist the police, other security agencies and traditional rulers in combating terrorism, banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping and also help in settling herdsmen and farmers contentions in the region. Brilliant idea! So, what happened?

    This brilliant idea was killed by threats from the federal government. First to react was the Nigeria Police which warned ‘that they will arrest any operative of the outfit that carries illegal arms’. On the 14th of January, the federal government declared ‘Operation Amotekun’ as an illegal operation, stating that it is not backed by the Nigerian Constitution!

    In a sense therefore, Amotekun’s inability to rise to the occasion of regional security is the type of federation which the 1999 Constitution has foisted on us. A federation where a region or constituent part cannot devise legitimate means to protect its citizens is no federation at all. It must be unbundled. This is where the State Governors have played politics with the lives of the people who elected them. By acquiescing to the federal government, by not pushing hard on creating a strong, vibrant security framework, the states have been left to the mercy of the federal authorities. Anybody who sticks rigidly to the current security framework is locked in time. The system has failed.

    Sadly, the same week that the massacre took place in Owo, the federal capital Abuja played host to a Special Convention of the APC. All attention was focused on the flagrant and gaudy display of filthy money in the name of primaries. Soon, the Owo massacre will be an anecdote, forgotten, no lessons learnt. We will move on. But the nation will be stuck in memory. The wounded will move on. But their psyche will be dented. Faith in Nigeria is further bruised; reduced to shreds, almost gone.

    The federal government needs to step its game. Security in the nooks of the country cannot be controlled or monitored from Abuja. We need community policing. The number of federal policemen should be increased. Local vigilantes should be allowed to bear arms once they are licensed.  Once the president buys into creating different levels of policing and nudges the National Assembly, we can tinker with the Constitution before this administration goes into oblivion. Too many lives have been lost to insecurity. When leaders call on the people to be vigilant, I ask myself: to what end? The communities that have reported that dangerous men are embedded in their forests have not received any help from security agencies. Whatever happens, as a nation we must forget the lessons of the Owo Massacre. Their blood will cry, and has cried to heaven. And those who ought to protect them failed, God will demand an answer! And the nation will continue to bleed. Is this the type of nation that we need?

    POSTSCRIPT: After I finished the essay it was reported that the federal government has identified ISWAP as the group that carried out the attack. Further steps should be taken to arrest and prosecute the scoundrels to deter others from copying the trade of killing worshippers all because they want to trigger off a religious war!

     

    Professor Hope O. Eghagha (BA, Jos; MA; PhD, Lagos) MNAL

    Department of English

    Faculty of Arts

    University of Lagos

    Akoka Lagos

    NIGERIA

  • Owo terror attack was a message to South-West – Soyinka

    Nobel Laureate and renowned playwright, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has described the attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, where many worshippers were killed, as a message to the entire people of South-West.

    Soyinka made his view known on Friday while paying a condolence visit to Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu  over the terror attack last Sunday.

    He described the attack as a message and said it was targeted at the governor who has been showing leadership in terms of internal liberation of his people.

    “He (governor) was targeted and there is no question about that.

    “It was not an accident and it passed a massage to the rest of us. That is why I’m here. I want the governor to know that we have received the message.

    “We understand it and we came to sympathise with him that he was selected as a medium of that message,“  Soyinka said.

    Akeredolu thanked the Nobel laureate for the visit, saying that the state would remain hugely indebted to him.

    “It is a cause that he has dedicated his life to and I thank God for his life. The state wants to appreciate you for finding the time to come at this hour of grieve.

    “This is like a dagger drawn at our heart and it is an assault on the psyche of those of us in the South-West.

    “I believe they think they can create some fears in us but they made a mistake as the attack will make us more fierce in our condemnation of their actions,” Akeredolu noted.

  • BREAKING: Killers of Afenifere leader’s daughter sentenced to death

    An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has sentenced to death by hanging three out or four persons that killed Olufunke Olakuri, daughter of Afenifere Leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.

    The trial Judge, Justice William Olamide, however, discharged and acquitted one of the accused who is the public relations officer of Miyetti Allah, Auwàla Abubakar.

    Olufunke Olakuri, daughter of Afenifere Leader, Reuben Fasoranti was shot dead in June, 2019 by gunmen in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    She was buried few weeks after her gruesome murder. Her alleged killers were later arrested and arraigned, six months after her death.

  • ONDO: Police debunk rumour of another 6 killed

    Ondo State Police Command has debunked rumour of six persons being shot dead at the Sabo Area of Ondo town of the state on Wednesday night by gunmen.

     

    The Command’s spokesperson, SP Funmilayo Odunlami, made this clarification in a statement signed and tagged: “Attack on Hausa Community; An Unhealthy Rumour To Stir Still Water.”

     

    The PPRO said the attention of Ondo State Police Command had been drawn to fake news being peddled by mischief makers to cause panic, tension and strife in the state.

     

    Odunlami said the Command wished to state clearly that there was no reprisal attack on the Hausa Community at Sabo area in Ondo town or any part of the state.

     

    “On Tuesday, June 7, 2022, there was an attempted robbery on a J5 vehicle marked MKA – 469 YJ carrying Onions and Potatoes coming from Zaria enroute Ore, had a stopover at Ondo town and was attacked by men of the underworld around 0110hrs.

     

    “In the cause of this attempt, the robbers shot the driver, while the motor boy escaped with bullet injury, a motorcyclist alongside the pillion and a passerby were also hit by stray bullets.

     

    “It is however disheartening that these peddlers who are out to achieve no good, did not confirm the story before spreading this falsehood as the victims involved in this failed robbery are from Yoruba, Igbo and Northern extraction,” she said.

     

    Odunlami said that an investigation had since commenced and effort was ongoing to arrest the assailants.

     

    “On this note, the state Commissioner of Police, CP Oyeyemi Adesoye Oyediran, urges the people of the state to remain calm and disregard the fake news, as the rumour mongers are out to stir unnecessary chaos and disrupt the peace of the State.

     

    “This is also to warn the peddlers of this fake news to desist as the command will not fold its arms and let them shatter the peace being enjoyed in the state,” PPRO added.

  • U.S. writes Gov Akeredolu over Owo terror attack

    The United States of America (USA) has condoled the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu over the last Sunday terror attack at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa street, Owo.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports 40 persons out of the 127 involved in the attack were killed, leaving 61 survivors currently on admission in different hospitals and 26 already discharged.

    In a letter to Governor Akeredolu, dated 7th June, 2022 and signed by the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, the USA extended its heartfelt condolences to the people of Ondo State, and the Owo community.

    The USA condemned the attack in strongest terms, while expressing its concern over the growing pattern of violence that afflicts communities across Nigeria.

    The letter reads: “On behalf of the United States and the staff of the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to you, Ondo State, and the Owo community for the horrific event and lives lost at the St. Francis Catholic Church on Sunday, June 5.

    “This tragedy saddens us deeply and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families during this difficult time.

    “The United States condemns this attack in the strongest terms, and we are concerned with the growing pattern of violence that afflicts communities across Nigeria.

    “We remain steadfast in our efforts to support Nigeria in enhancing civilian security throughout the country.

    “Once again, please accept our deepest condolences.”

  • Ondo Govt to provide land for mass burial of Owo terror attack victims

    …as Catholic Church plans memorial park

    …Gov Akeredolu gives update on death toll, casualty figures

    Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Wednesday assured that the state government will provide land in a good environment for the mass burial of the victims of the Owo terror attack.

    Governor Akeredolu gave the assurance while playing host to a team of Catholic Bishops from the South-West led by Most Reverend Leke Abegunrin. The team was on a condolence visit to the Governor at his Ijebu-Owo residence in Owo.

    This is even as the Catholic Bishop of Ondo,
    Most Reverend Jude Arogundade, said the Church will be organising a befitting burial for the lost souls.

    Governor Akeredolu noted that 127 persons were involved in the attack while 61 survivors are still on admission in different hospitals. He also disclosed that 26 persons have been discharged.

    The Governor added that the new figure followed the harmonization of the reports from the various hospitals including the private ones.

    He urged the people to discountenance the figures earlier rolled out.

    Governor Akeredolu explained that the state government has set up an account for donations following series of the calls and demand for an account number by well meaning individuals who are desirous of helping the families of the victims and the survivors.

    Arakunrin Akeredolu assured that all the donations made would be judiciously utilized for the purpose it is meant for.

    Governor Akeredolu said, “What we witnessed in Owo on that Sunday, I have been looking for a word to describe it but I’m not too sure I can find one because it is indescribable. There is no word to describe it. If you say horrific, dastardly, horrendous, all those ones are common words and we use them for many things.

    “But I have been looking for a better word to use because we have witnessed barbaric elements, animals in human’s skin. If you are humans you would not do what they have done. May be there are areas where they will do such a thing and they are not worried. But here were are worried because it is not something we are used to. Human life means a lot to us.

    “That is why one is moved. We will have a Memorial Park here where those who died in the attack will be buried. My Bishop sir, we will find a good place as a Memorial Park. It will also be my suggestion that even if there are people who have retrieved their family or members of their family, we must still have a symbolic grave there for them. And it will be there forever, it is not something we can forget and we should never forget it.

    On the update on the figures, the Governor said “the medical team led by the Commissioner for Health has sent figure to us, and it is slightly different. What I put out during my address on the broadcast to the State was wrong and we must accept it.

    “The figure I have now shows that 127 persons were involved, and that the number of death now is 40. On admission receiving treatment we have 61. 26 have been discharged. Those are the figures we have now from the commissioner for Health. So, government is not hiding anything.

    Earlier, Bishop Abegunrin, expressed his sadness over the unexpected attack, describing it as an attack on God.

    “We were saddened when watching on our small phones and later in the evening the whole episode as it was on the public television, it was really sad. The Bishop of Yoruba land in Lagos and Ibadan province are here to commiserate with you, Owo people, the people of Ondo State and with our brothers and sisters in the Catholic Church and Ondo Diocese.

    “It is very painful, it can provoke people to retaliate and do what is ungodly but we are people of faith; we leave everything to God to judge but humanly speaking, we heard what you have been doing in the state that those people who did this havoc to us will be brought to book before long and we are happy about that.

    “For sometime now since Amotekun started we know what you have been doing in Ondo State, that you are protecting the people in cities and villages. Even with threat and warnings, you shun every threat to provide security for the people and their property.

    “They attack human beings, but our own interpretation is that they attack God and the consequences are awaiting them. Whatever you have to do to bring them to book l, I pray God to assist and protect you. We thank you for your action, you are not just a Governor but filled with action. You are articulate, you are not afraid. You made your place known loudly and openly that you are not for nonsense and that you are for your people and Nigeria”, the Bishop said.

    Also, the Catholic Bishop of Ondo,
    Most Reverend Jude Arogundade, said the visit was to comfort one another and also inform the Governor about the plan to organize a befitting burial for the lost souls.

    “We are gathered here to comfort one another, it has been very difficult and painful not just because the incident happened in Owo but in Ondo Diocese. We are preparing for the funeral of the people who died at the incident

    “You have always taken the Catholic Church so highly in everything, that is the kind of person you are because you love God and respect him and you are a man of your word, you are the kind of leader we look up to in Yoruba land and Nigeria”, he said.

    Members of the state executive council led by the Secretary to the State Government, Princess Oladunni Odu joined the Governor to receive the visitors.

    Richard Olatunde
    Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Ondo State.
    June 8, 2022.

  • OWO MASSACRE: Church plans mass burial for anonymous corpses, 38 confirmed dead

    Authorities of the Diocese of Ondo have confirmed that 38 persons died in the Sunday terrorists’ attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.

     

    The Diocesan Bishop, Jude Arogundade, confirmed this on Tuesday.

     

    Gunmen had on Sunday attacked the church located on Owa-Luwa Street in Owo, the hometown of the State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, leaving many parishioners dead and several others injured.

     

    According to Arogundade, the diocese had been able to account for 38 victims.

     

    He, however, said some families picked up corpses of their loved ones and those could not be accounted for by the diocese.

     

    A source said: “People have been asking me about the figure of those who died. The figure that we can account for presently is 38. But we know that many people were taken to private hospitals. Even some people came to take the bodies of their loved ones. We are trying to trace those people so that we can have a recount for all.

     

    “But in the catholic hospital, which is St. Louis Hospital in Owo, and the Federal Medical Centre in Owo, we have 38 bodies.”

     

    Meanwhile, TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) gathered that the diocese may consider mass burial for the victims of the massacre as some bodies had not been identified and claimed by their relatives since the incident happened.

     

    The source, however, said a final decision has not been reached on the date and other burial arrangements.

     

    He said, “There are plans to give mass burial to those who lost their lives in the Sunday attack. The decision was taken due to the nature of their deaths. So we have to bury them instead for them to just be in the morgue for a long time.

     

    “Those that will be given mass burial are those whose bodies could not be identified by anyone. Definitely, when the necessary arrangements have been concluded, the church will notify the public on when the mass burial will be done.”

     

    Meanwhile, Akeredolu said no fewer than 22 people were killed in the attack.

     

    He said the attack affected 80 people out of which 22 lost their lives, while 56 survivors are on admission at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, St Louis Hospital, Owo and the Owo General Hospital as well as some other private hospitals.

     

    Akeredolu stated this on Tuesday during a statewide broadcast to the people of the state.

     

    He said, “The total number of people involved was 80. As at now, 56 are on admission, two discharged, while the death toll is 22. Efforts have been deepened to prevent further casualties.

     

    “The site, that is, St. Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa, Owo presents a gory war-like scene. The Federal Medical Centre, Owo, the St. Louis Hospital, Owo, the General Hospital, Owo as well as some private hospitals in Owo were filled with the injured, most of who were in critical conditions.

     

    “The most unfortunate part is the lives of innocent children cut down in their prime and some severely injured by the mindless attackers. At Owo, the anger was palpable. The tension was at an abrasive level just as the urge for reprisals was high. Without doubt too, the ripple impact of this heinous act as well as the understandably angry reaction across the state could not have been different.

     

    “I urge our people to be calm but remain vigilant. Do not take the law into your own hands. Leave the rest for government to shoulder.”

     

     

     

  • Owo killing: Yoruba Ronu commends Tinubu’s N75m donation to victims of attack

    The Yoruba Ronu, a socio-political group on Tuesday lauded Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his N75 million donation to victims of Sunday’s attack at a worship centre in Owo, Ondo State.

    Newsmen reports that Tinubu, a leading presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) left the party’s convention in Abuja on Monday and arrived in Owo to condole with victims.

    Yoruba Ronu’s commendation is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Akure by its chairman, Prince Diran Iyantan.

    Iyantan said the donation would serve as succour for the victims in moving forward from the ugly, unprovoked and unwarranted experience.

    The chairman also commended Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, some governors and political leaders who also came to commiserate with the victims.

    Iyantan, who condemned the mindless killing of innocent worshippers, said it was an attack too many, saying such assaults must stop.

    According to him, the group is extremely saddened after seeing the footages of the gruesome killing of slain children and women in pools of their blood.

    “The major concern is to ensure the survival of those injured in the reckless attack by providing for their adequate medical care.

    “There should also be adequate follow-up on post-trauma experience that many of them will suffer later, especially, the children who survived the killing,’’ he stated.

    Iyantan sympathised with the victims of the shooting and prayed for the repose of their souls and forgiveness of their sins as they all died in the service and worship of Almighty God.

    He stressed that all hands must be on deck to ensure that all perpetrators of the hideous killing did not go unpunished.

    He called on all the security apparatuses in the country to go after the murderers and ensure they were brought to justice for their callous behaviour.

    Iyantan also sympathised with Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and the people of Ondo State over the loss.

    He commended the governor for acting swiftly by returning to the state from Abuja where he had gone for the national convention of the APC when the incident occurred.

    “Akeredolu is a great leader who is very conscious of the welfare and security of his people.

    “We are convinced that the attack was carried out to deter Gov. Akeredolu from his security consciousness.

    “Ondo State is known to be a very secure and peaceful haven to do business, live and sleep with your two eyes closed”.

    “We are convinced also that the murderers have failed as their attack will only make the governor to be more determined in his fight against bandits, criminals, and all forms of terrorism,’’ Iyantan stressed.

  • Owo killings: FG will not be deterred by attack – Aregbesola

    Following the killing of worshipers at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State by gunmen, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola has declared that the Federal Government will not be deterred in its effort to ensure adequate security of lives and property of Nigerians.

    This was contained in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Sola Fasure, on Monday in Abuja, when he paid a condolence visit to Owo to sympathise with those who lost their loved ones in the incident.

    He described the killing of the worshipers as devastating, senseless and an attempt to ignite ethnic violence.

    Aregbesola said that the attack was to dampen the moral of the government and Owo community, pointing out that the criminals were going after soft targets because they have been weakened.

    The minister, who conferred with the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin III, called for collaborative efforts between traditional institutions and law enforcement agencies in apprehending the fleeing criminals.

    He said that every piece of information on the attack was very important as it would go a long way in assisting the security agencies to bring the perpetrators to book.

    Newsmen reports that some gunmen had on Sunday, June 5, attacked St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, killing an unspecified number of worshippers.

    Aregbesola visited the church alongside  Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.

    They were received by the Church’s officiating priest, Rev. Father Andrew Abayomi.

    “It is worrisome that the attack happened in the South-West that has a measure of peace and tranquillity.

    “While the motive of the perpetrators is yet to be ascertained,  there is no doubt that their cowardly act is intended to cause chaos and instil fear in the people, provoke bloody inter and intra ethnic crises.

    “This could only have been intentioned to destabilise the state and plunge the nation into needless crisis.

    “Their action is capable of widening the cracks in national harmony and peaceful co-existence of Nigerians,  stoking ethnic and religious crises and pitting our people against one another on the basis of primordial cleavages,” he said.

    The minister appealed to them to reject the ugly and backward agenda and refuse to take any rash, inappropriate, primitive and precipitate action in the spirit of revenge.

    “Our neighbours from other parts of the country with whom we have lived together in peace and harmony are not and cannot be the enemy.

    “We must not be provoked to senselessly attack each other in reaction to the evil plot of some nihilists and criminals bent on plunging the nation into chaos and anarchy.

    “Those who attacked innocent people worshipping in the house of God are the enemies. They are cowardly savages and animals, “he said.

    Aregbesola assured that the entire security system of Nigeria was on the trail of the enemies that were responsible for the havoc.

    “We are on their trail, they will be apprehended and made to pay dearly for this unprovoked attack,“ he said.

    The minister said the security of lives and property of Nigerians remained the number one agenda of the Federal Government.

    He said that the Federal Government was going to do everything possible to make the nation secure and peaceful.

    Aregbesola said the Federal Government was outraged by the attack and would leave no stone unturned in getting to the root of it.

    “We must remain irrepressible and undeterred. We should not give the enemies the benefit of rejoicing over us. The attack was meant to dampen our morale and plunge us to gloom and darkness.

    “We must bounce back big time. We should rise to defend our land and take our historic position in leading the black race to fulfil its destiny,” he said.