October 18, 2021

[GIST] UPDATE: Police Sergeant Killed As Unknown Gunmen ‘Bomb’ Ebonyi Station

[GIST] UPDATE: Police Sergeant Killed As Unknown Gunmen ‘Bomb’ Ebonyi Station

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A police sergeant has been killed in Ebonyi State following an attack by gunmen on Ohaukwu Police Headquarters at 135 Ezzamgbo, Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state.

SaharaReporters gathered that the attack happened in the early hours of Monday.

File photo used to illustrate story.

Confirming the incident, Loveth Odah, Police Public Relations Officer in Ebonyi said the gunmen threw a petrol bomb into the station.

She said, “Some yet-to-be-identified gunmen came to Ohaukwu Divisional Headquarters to attack the men and officers on duty and they were repelled. In the process 

"One police officer, a sergeant paid the supreme price.

“They threw (a) petrol bomb into the station and unfortunately, it got one of the patrol vehicles and exhibit vehicle parked at the place.

“The commissioner of police has visited the station for on-the-spot assessment of the area. He has met with the community leaders.

“This is the first time we are experiencing such a thing and the non-state actors, being the vigilantes and all those security outfits are of great assistance to the police. It is a very surprising thing to us, we don’t expect any attack.”

The incident is the latest in what appears to be a growing trend of attacks on police stations and security personnel in the South-East region of the country.

The governors in the region recently announced the establishment of a joint security outfit, codenamed ‘Ebube Agu’ to "battle rising insecurity".

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[GIST] Plans For #EndSARS Memorial Protests Gain Momentum In Oyo, Adamawa, Rivers, UK, Canada, Others As Organisers Release Details

[GIST] Plans For #EndSARS Memorial Protests Gain Momentum In Oyo, Adamawa, Rivers, UK, Canada, Others As Organisers Release Details

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More information has emerged regarding the planned #EndSARS protests to be held across Nigeria and overseas, in commemoration of its first anniversary and memorial for last year's victims. 

From fliers that have now gone viral on social media, SaharaReporters observed that youths in states such as Lagos, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Kwara, Oyo, Ondo, Plateau, and Rivers have been gearing up for the protests on Wednesday, October 20.

Also abroad, youths are being mobilised for protests in the United Kingdom and Canada. 

For Adamawa State, the protesters will converge at the Bekaji Parliament, Yola while those in Bayelsa have planned to hold the anniversary at Etegwe NIIT Road By Boro-pit, Yenagoa. 

Protesters in Delta State will meet at Cenotaph, Asaba, and Edo protesters will be meeting at Museum ground, Kings Square.

Kwara protesters had planned a walk to the ministry of justice but will be meeting at Challenge Junction while the candlelight procession is to be held at Point Post Office Under Bridge. 

See Also Plans For #EndSARS Memorial Protests Gain Momentum In Oyo, Adamawa, Rivers, UK, Canada, Others As Organisers Release Details 1 Hour Ago

Enugu protesters are to meet at Okpara Square.

Protesters in Rivers State have mapped out plans as follows: On Tuesday, 19th of October, they plan to have a live session with victims of police brutality and in agreement with their counterparts from other parts of the country, they will converge at the Waterlines, Port Harcourt.

The plans come amid threats by state governments and the police against such protests. 

However, while the Lagos State police command has made a U-turn and now vowed to protect protesters, the Oyo state command has yet to make a U-turn.

The plans of police commands in other states have yet to be disclosed. 

In October 2020, Nigerians across the country stormed the streets to demonstrate against police brutality and bad governance under the #EndSARS campaign.

However, on October 20, soldiers from the Bonny Camp, 81 division, invaded the Lekki tollgate, where some demonstrators had gathered. 

They fired gunshots, killing an unspecified number of protesters. 

Though the right to peaceful assembly and the right to protest are constitutional rights of Nigerians, the police have continued to clamp down on peaceful protesters.

Just recently, Nigeria police opened fire on members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) during a peaceful procession in Abuja. 

Also, during a peaceful protest on Nigeria's independence day, men of the Nigeria Police Force fired tear gas canisters at protesters in Abuja. 

The peaceful protesters could be seen chanting and displaying banners and placards saying 'Buhari Must Go'. 

Six of them were arrested by the police, brutalised and detained for demanding the resignation of Buhari. 

They were later released. 

#EndSARS ACTIVISM News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
[GIST] #EndSARS 2020: Justice, Ou Est Tu? By Ozodinukwe Okenwa

[GIST] #EndSARS 2020: Justice, Ou Est Tu? By Ozodinukwe Okenwa

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Last year October, the 20th to be precise, blood of innocent young Nigerians flowed in Lekki Toll-Gate Plaza in Lagos. On that fateful day following weeks of sustained demonstrations across the country against the storied atrocities of the then notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) some zombie military officers opened fire on unarmed protesters waving the national flag and singing the national anthem. It was a spectacle of sadism, of horror! Since then it has been recriminations galore.

 

Some observers and eye-witnesses had said that scores of youths were brutally massacred that gory night in Lekki. And others had declared that well up to a dozen folks were killed extra-judicially by the trigger-happy soldiers. While the number of those murdered could not exactly be ascertained what is clear is that the state killed its citizens for demanding accountability in government and above all, an end to the abuse, extortion and executions by SARS.

SOC Okenwa

Of course SARS was banned as the fire and fury on the streets raged. Promises of justice were made by the governments (states and federal). But up until now we have not seen any justice served for the fallen heroes and heroines. Those compatriots gunned down in their prime deserve nothing but justice!

 

Judicial panels had been inaugurated from Lagos to Benin City, Awka to Port Harcourt but nothing has thus far come out of their proceedings. The military in Lagos State had first denied ever being responsible for the mass murder in Lekki. But they swallowed their lies by admitting that indeed some of their men were drafted onto the scene to cause chaos and destruction of lives and properties.

 

Who sent them to quell a civilian protest which ordinarly should be the duty of the police force remains mired in controversy. The blame game continues unabated.

 

The Lagos State Government led by Babajide Sanwo-Olu had acknowledged that an atrociously bloody incident did happen in Lekki toll-gate but they had denied responsibility by claiming that the Governor never sent any military elements to go put down the mini-revolution violently. Who then ordered the blood-thirsty soldiers out of their barrack?

 

In Anambra state (a state that boasted the worst form of SARS' evil machinations) the out-going Governor Willie Obiano had promised to do justice but no justice has been done. If CSP James Nwafor, the vampire who was said to have overseen the gruesome elimination of many people in the state) could still be roaming free then something must be wrong with our justice delivery system.

 

Since we are now living dangerously in a country where a retired military dictator is imposing his dictatorial will on the rest of us justice has been relegated to the background. Anyone could be killed anywhere without anything happening. With galloping insecurity now a daily staple of Nigerians genuine fears have been expressed by concerned Nigerians that the nation is heading inexorably towards anarchy. 

 

Chaos is already here and it could lead to anarchy sooner than later unless the authorities do the needful. Something must 'die' for something to give!

 

The unprecedented spectre of violence, murder, arson,kidnappings and gangsterism in the South-east region lately could not be disentangled from the prevalence of injustice, inequity and unfairness the Igbos have suffered for decades on end.

 

Under Buhari's watch foreign reserves had been depleted and billions of Dollars had been borrowed more! The Naira has taken a sound beating in the foreign exchange mechanisms. Poverty is rising fast as prices of essential commodities soar in the market.

 

Secessionist threats are resonating from the South-east to the South-west. Sunday Ighoho and Nnamdi Kanu are detained yet agitations for Oduduwa and Biafra independent nations are gaining more momentum.

 

Since independence, sixty one giddy years ago, we have never had it so bad. Nigeria is fast turning into a wasteland where terrorists, abductors, Fulani herdsmen and 'unknown gunmen' are holding sway. And the future holds no better auguries! We are in for worse times, going forward.

 

Many critics have argued that Nigeria needs an urgent structural surgical operation if she must survive the present storm. Others are of the opinion that what we need to make progress is nothing but revolution. Of course we hold that the elite misruling us from Abuja must come to terms with the fact that it is either restructuring or revolution! Otherwise implosion is inevitable!

 

The #EndSARS campaign last year achieved its objective minimally despite the fact that it ended sadly horribly. President Muhammadu Buhari must ruminate over the strong message sent across. There is need for the security goons killing and maiming and intimidating our people to be reined in. Democracy accepts divergent views and dissidence.

Opinion AddThis :  Original Author :  Ozodinukwe Okenwa Disable advertisements : 
[GIST] Nigeria's Secret Police Sue 19-year-old For Alleged N15million Blackmail, Releasing Nude Video Of Ex-Permanent Secretary In Bayelsa

[GIST] Nigeria's Secret Police Sue 19-year-old For Alleged N15million Blackmail, Releasing Nude Video Of Ex-Permanent Secretary In Bayelsa

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Nineteen-year-old Miss Charlotte Delhi has been arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa by the Department of State Services (DSS) over her alleged involvement in the sharing of a nude video of a former Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Education, Dr. Walton Liverpool on social media. 

She was also accused of blackmailing Liverpool, to extort the sum of N15 million him. 

The DSS, in the suit numbered FHC/YNG/33C/2021, filed one count against the defendant, alleging that she engaged in cyber-stalking with the intention of blackmail, which is contrary to Section 24(2)c and punishable under subparagraph (b) of the cybercrime (prohibition, prevention, etc) Act, 2015.

The charge read to the defendant said, “That you, Charlotte Delhi on the 14th day of September, 2021 in Yenagoa within the jurisdiction of this honourable court for the purpose of extorting the sum of N15 million from Dr. Walton Liverpool, intentionally posted a video showing the naked appearance of the said Dr. Walton Liverpool on a WhatsApp group tagged 'Off Liverpool' with an Iphone7 plus mobile phone and GSM. No. 08084267342.”

The Defendant, Delhi, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Principal Legal Officer of the DSS, Victor Uchendu Esq, a former Attorney-General of Bayelsa State and counsel for the Defendant, A.S. Arthur Esq disagreed on the issue of bail application but agreed that the trial should enjoy accelerated hearing.

Victor Uchendu Esq argued that the defence counsel had just a few hours before the trial handed him the application for bail process. 

He also said the key witness to the case was not in good health condition, therefore, seeking the judge’s leave for adjournment. 

"I was served the bail application two hours before the court sitting and there was no time for me to study the weighty allegations," he said. 

Meanwhile, Arthur argued that the defence team would have loved for the presiding Judge to hear the application for bail based on the age and gender of the accused. 

"She has been in detention for over 13 days," he noted, adding the DSS had refused to grant her lawyers access to her. 

The Presiding Judge, Justice Isa Dashen however adjourned the suit for hearing to Thursday, October 21, 2021, and ordered that the accused be remanded in the State Correctional Centre in Okaka.

The nude video of Liverpool was allegedly circulated on social media by the accused reportedly after the refusal of her victim to succumb to blackmail.

Legal News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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