There was pandemonium in Kaduna metropolis on Monday morning, as angry mob were said to have lynched to death, a man suspected to have burgled a house the previous night in Kabala West area of the city.
Security agencies have however arrested 18 persons suspected to have been involved in the unrest that followed the lynching in Kabala West and Ungwan Muazu.
A Kaduna State Government statement said that security agencies arrested the hoodlums around the two communities following reports of threats to law and order.
The Nation gathered that, the incident started around Kaje street of Kabala West on Sunday, but it led to serious fracas between youths of two neighboring communities of Kabala West and Ungwan Muazu on Monday.
Accordingly to an eyewitness account, the incident which occurred on Sunday evening led to fracas on Monday morning between two groups suspected to be for and against the alleged thief that was lychned to death by angry mob.
This development caused tension around the city, as many drivers, passing through Kaduna had to divert to another routes from Nnamdi Azikiwe bypass, western side of the city.
The protesting groups were seen throwing sharp objects at each other as well as at other passersby.
Another eyewitness account said, “Some of us cannot go back home since we managed to escape from the area in the morning because soldiers and police have blocked the roads leading to our houses.
“Those residents that left for work in the morning have to call back home to their families to remain indoor while those that have left the house are asked to look for a safer place within the city centre and stay.
“It is unfortunate that people are linking the fracas to religion, but I want to tell you that it has nothing to do with religion at all, a thief was lychned to death and his so called friends decided to take law into their hands.
“We are however happy that security people intervened immediately, and the situation is returning to normalcy as I speak to you”.
Spokesperson to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Samuel Aruwan while confirming the arrests of the suspects, said they will be charged to court as soon as the investigations are concluded.
Aruwan dismissed stories making the round on social media that the crisis has escalated to other parts of Kaduna town leading to the killing of a few person and others injured and warned those peddling false stories to desist.
According to him, “the state government has sent a high powered delegation to mediate between Kabala West and Ungwan Mu’azu communities. The delegation was led by Acting Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim Sani, the Special Adviser on Internal Security and Special Assistant Media and Publicity Samuel Aruwan.
“The delegation met with the leaderships of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), youth leaders, security agencies and traditional rulers of the two communities.
“At the end of the meeting, the two sides unanimously agreed that all those responsible for the unrest should be fished out and brought to justice. The delegation also commended all residents of the communities that collaborated with security agencies in containing the unrest that could have degenerated beyond the two communities.
“The meeting resolved that all communities will be proactive in reporting any suspicious movements or activities to security agencies, and that it is illegal to resort to self-help or any act that amounts to taking the law into their hands”.
The Union of Tipper and Quarry Employers of Nigeria (UTQEN) says it is against plans by the Lagos State Government to introduce multiple haulage charges on their services.
Mr Aliu Mayungbe, the Acting National Chairman of the union, disclosed the position of the union at a media briefing in Lagos on Monday.
He said that the state Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development recently attempted to impose haulage levies on trucks moving sands from dredging sites.
Mayungbe described the plan as unlawful and a disincentive to businesses in the state.
The union chairman said that his members had been paying the said charge to government regularly through the Ministry of Transportation.
He said that attempts by the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development to use collection agents to collect the charges from truck drivers would amount to multiple charges.
According to him, the union maintains a position of neutrality and refuse to be entangled in the payment dispute between the government and the Dredgers Association of Nigeria.
“Officials from the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development met with our members to solicit support for the introduction of haulage fees on our activities.
“The collection process was for truck drivers to obtain N500 from dredgers on each truckload of sand moved from their site and pay to the ministry’s collection agent positioned at the gate of the site.
“We resisted the fees because our activities are not regulated by Ministry of Waterfront and Infrastructure Development, but by Ministry of Transportation.
“Moreso, the dredgers that we are been pitched against are members of our union and every increase in charges by government impacts negatively on our operating costs and reduces job creation opportunities,” he said.
Mr Abimbola Odusanya, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Chapter of the union, said that officials of the ministry threatened to imprison truck drivers who refused to boycott sites of dredgers that did not comply with the payment.
“Obeying such order will hinder our business activities and relationship with dredgers.
“We instructed our members to resist efforts of government officials that tried to collect the payment from them.
“The issue of multiple charges is killing businesses, making Lagos unfriendly to entrepreneurs and a major factor for the increasing cost of doing business in the country,” he said.
Mr Batare Akpomejero, President, Dredgers Association of Nigeria, said that a judgement of Federal High Court had restrained the state from seeking to control commercial activities of dredgers.
“Due to multiple taxations on our activities from federal and state agencies, the court had ruled that the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and NIMASA were the proper and lawful agencies with authority in matters relating to the commercial activities for dredgers.
“To now have officials of the state government lobbying UTQEN through the pretence of introducing unauthorised charges to collect fees that the court restrained them from obtaining from us is unlawful,” he said.
Akpomejero said that multiple taxations was inimical to business expansion and growth, reduced profit, worsened unemployment rate and discouraged investments in the country.
The Lagos State Police Command on Monday said it had commenced an investigation into the alleged rape of some secondary school students in Ikoyi area of the state.
The spokesman for the command, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, told newsmen that the police had visited the affected schools and interrogated their principals on the matter.
“The matter is under investigation. We are gathering our information from all sources.
“So far, all we have gathered is that there is this culture of final year students tearing their uniforms and some pouring water on themselves after their final exams.
“We are not leaving any stone unturned and anyone found culpable will face the wrath of the law,’’ the police spokesman said.
Recall that one Michale Matthew had shared on social media how some final year students sexually assaulted their female counterparts on their last day in school at Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos.
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun
Says ‘we have Abia, Ebonyi in the kitty’ Party seeks N700m for congresses, convention Plans NEC meeting before Ramadan
Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The national chairman of All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said saturday that the party was now the choice political platform in the South-east that the people were willing to identify with and vote. He stressed that the November governorship election in Anambra State would prove this. Odigie-Oyegun spoke in Udi, headquarters of Udi Local Government Area, during a ceremony to formally receive the former governor of the state, Sullivan Chime, who recently announced his defection to APC.
In a related development, We learnt that APC was in desperate need of money to hold its state congresses and midterm convention. The two critical political events are estimated to cost more than N700 million, and it has been hard for the party to raise the money. The funding difficulties are fuelling doubts as to whether all is well with the ruling party.
The reception for Chime was well attended by APC leaders from across the country, including Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, APC National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso, and Chief George Moghalu, among other members of the party’s National Working Committee. Also at the event were APC’s national vice chairman for South-east, Chief Emma Eneukwu, Chime’s opponent at the 2011 governorship election, Okey Ezea, and Director General, Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu.
Speaking after receiving Chime into the party, Odigie-Oyegun said, “I have been to the East several times but this is the greatest visit. Change has finally come to Enugu State. South-east is special because for too long you have been yearning for change.”
He said APC will have a sweeping victory in future elections in the South-east, declaring, “The coming Anambra State governorship election will be a test of what I am saying. We have Anambra in our pocket. Abia is in our kitty. Or is it Ebonyi?”
The APC national chairman extolled the leadership qualities of Chime, describing the immediate past governor of Enugu State as the best performing governor during his tenure. Odigie-Oyegun said Chime had made the right decision by joining the progressives.
“I hope to return to the East very soon. This is more like a semi-final. We are coming back here for the finals very soon,” the APC chairman said.
In his remarks, Eneukwu said, “Chime left PDP on his own volition. He did not leave because of any threat or intimidation. It is because of the calibre of Chime that the national officers led by the national chairman stormed Enugu to receive him into the party.”
Responding, Chime said, “I believe that the APC is the only party that will lead our people to their aspirations.” He told the cheering crowds of supporters at the event to go home and spread the APC message.
Meanwhile, We gathered from multiple sources within the APC that the party’s financial situation was desperate, as it had no money to fund its activities, very few governors willing to help, and virtually no support from the Presidency. The sources said the party had for some time been shopping around for funds and had of late extended its search to many stakeholders, including governors, lawmakers, and even external voluntary donors willing to support it.
A source said APC planned to hold its National Executive Committee meeting before the Muslim Ramadan fast, which is expected to commence any time between May 24 and May 27. “The cost of the midterm convention has been estimated at N700 million and this includes all the activities, like state and local government congresses, which have to be conducted before the convention,” the source said. He explained that the budget included all expenditure to be made in organising state, local government and ward congresses in the 36 states and Abuja.
A highly reliable source in the top leadership of APC told us yesterday that that party had abandoned its earlier plan to hold the convention on April 29 because of shortage of funds.
When contacted for his comments on the budget for the national convention, the APC national publicity secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said he could not confirm the exact amount.
Abdullahi said, “Yes, there is a budget but I cannot tell how much it is and I don’t want to speculate.”
On suggestions that the party may depend on the collection of membership dues to raise funds for the convention, Abdullahi doubted the possibility because of the huge expenditure involved.
Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s advice to the NWC to explore means of raising funds internally to run the party’s affairs, the APC leadership had proposed an initiative to charge every card-carrying member a minimum of N100 per month. In this regard, a software was designed to facilitate the automatic deduction of the N100 from the airtime on each member’s mobile phone on a monthly basis.
The sum of N1.2 billion is projected to accrue from the membership dues every month. However, the party leadership sees that option of monthly fees as a long term proposal, which cannot be relied on to bankroll the convention.
One of the immediate options being explored by the national leadership of APC is to raise the needed funds from governors elected on the party’s platform. THISDAY gathered that a meeting was held recently at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja between the NWC and the APC governors to specifically solicit for assistance. It was learnt that the national chairman and his NWC members had to run to the governors after efforts to secure assistance from the Presidency failed. The leadership also made attempts to generate funds from serving ministers and legislators but only got minimal response them.
The governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, while speaking on the outcome of the meeting, said the “24 APC governors have resolved to give the national leadership all the support it needs.
“We will also engage in fund raising from our donors, sympathisers of the APC, to ensure that the national headquarters and, indeed, all organs of the party have the wherewithal to continue the difficult work of rebuilding the party.”
However, a top APC source that is close to the leadership of the party said Buhari had become inaccessible and barricaded himself with a cabal who did not care about the party or its needs. Although the source did not name those in the alleged cabal, he said they were mainly non-politicians holding sensitive positions in the Buhari administration.
The source, however, said Buhari’s current health challenge did not have anything to do with the delay in the convention.
He said, “The president’s attendance is not a problem, that issue has been sorted out and the party has gotten a go-ahead to fix dates for the National Executive Committee and convention with or without President Buhari’s attendance.”
In the meantime, APC said it had shelved the plan to levy every member N100 because of widespread disenchantment among stakeholders over alleged absence of proper reward system that guaranteed them federal government appointments.
