Owerri
Imo PDP chieftain joins APC
Mr Hillary Ugochukwu, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Ugochukwu, a former senatorial aspirant of the party, announced his defection at a reception organised in his honour by the state leaders of the APC in Owerri on Saturday. Ugochukwu lauded Gov. Hope Uzodimma on his achievements in office and expressed willingness to work with him towards taking the state to greater height. The former aspirant, an agriculturist and estate developer, called on his supporters to join him in his struggle to make the state a better place. He said he registered with the APC in his home ward in Ogwa in Mbaitoli Local Government Area (LGA) of the state before his advancement to the state level. ”After careful thought and due consulta...
Imo: NDLEA arrests 60, takes drug war to churches, schools
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has seized 646.23 kilograms of hard drugs and arrested 60 drug suspects in Imo State between January and June 2021. The seized drugs are Cannabis Sativa (Indian Hemp) cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and tramadol while the suspects arrested were between the ages of 17 and 60 years. Briefing newsmen on the commemoration of 2021 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking, the Imo State Narcotics Commander, Nse Inam, said that the Federal Government Special Border Task Force had transferred 4,784kg of Cannabis Sativa to the state command. Inam, an Assistant Commander General of Narcotics, further said: “15 drug addicted persons admitted, two persons were successfully rehabilitated and discharged while five others ...
Imo: Army chief asks troops to redouble effort in fighting IPOB
The chief of army staff, Faruk Yahaya, has asked troops deployed in Imo to redouble their effort in the fight against the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The army chief who made the call while he visited the troops said he was in the state to have an assessment of the security situation. There has been a series of attacks in Imo in recent weeks. IPOB has been accused of perpetrating the attacks, but the group has continued to deny the allegation. In a statement on Wednesday, Onyema Nwachukwu, army spokesperson, said the army chief also hailed the troops for their resilience. “The Chief of Army Staff ( COAS) Maj Gen Faruk Yahaya has lauded the resilience and doggedness of troops of 34 Brigade and operatives of other security agencies in turning the tide of the recent spate of...
Nigerian airlines record low patronage over insecurity
Nigerian airlines have confirmed that passenger traffic has reduced in the last four weeks. This, they attributed to the growing insecurity in different parts of the country. Those who spoke to newsmen insisted that high airfares could be a factor, but insecurity was also identified as major reason. They noted that even at the peak of high cost of tickets in May and April, passenger traffic was still high. Newsmen learnt that some airlines that resumed flights to some destinations in the north had to withdraw, while the south-east airports, which used to be lucrative routes after Lagos and Abuja have recorded reduction in passenger movement. Head of Communications, Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa, told newsmen that there is slight reduction in the airline’s load factor in its flights to Enugu, O...
Imo commissioner confirms attack on his country home
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Imo, Mr Declan Emelumba, has confirmed the attack on his country home in Ubulu, Oru West Local Government Area. Emelumba narrated to newsmen in Owerri how the incident happened in the early hours of Sunday morning. According to him, the attackers on arrival at the area, shot sporadically into the air, causing panic before setting his two buildings in his family compound ablaze. The commissioner expressed joy that no life was lost during the attack. He said: “In the early hours of Sunday, between 1am and 2am, some people called me from the village that heavily armed gunmen stormed my compound, broke the gate and set the buildings ablaze. “My gateman, who was the only person around when they came, managed to escape unhurt. “The bandits had eas...
Troops foil another attack on Imo police command, neutralise five assailants
The Nigerian Army (NA) says its troops operating in Owerri, Imo State capital, on Sunday, foiled an early morning attack on the Imo State Police Command, killing six assailants. The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Yerima, disclosed in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Yerima said that the troops, assisted by the Police Special Forces eliminated a top IPOB/ESN operational commander, Joseph Nnachi, alias King of Dragons. He said that Dragon had been orchestrating attacks against security agencies and government establishments in the South Eastern States. According to him, Dragon has been at the centre of several heinous attacks since the death of Ikonso, who gave up the ghost, during an encounter with security forces on April 24, at Awomama Village of Orlu East Local Gover...
House member accuses military of extrajudicial killings, looting in Imo
A member of the House of Representatives, Bede Eke, has said men of the Nigerian Army and the police are carrying out extrajudicial killings and displacement of people in Imo State following the recent killing of a former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak. Mr Gulak, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was killed by unknown gunmen on May 30 while on his way to Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, en route Abuja. According to the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, Mr Gulak was consulting for the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review, which he (Omo-Agege) heads. The police said Mr Gulak’s killers were subsequently killed in a gun battle. Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Mr Eke, who represents Mbaise/Ngor-Okpala Federal Constituency of Imo State, alleged tha...
Sultan: Scrapping NYSC scheme not interest of Nigeria’s unity
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, says agitation for the scrapping of the National Youth Service (NYSC) scheme is not in the interest of Nigeria’s unity. Abubakar spoke when he hosted some selected members of NYSC Batch A stream 2 corps members posted to Sokoto state in his palace on Monday in Sokoto. The Sultan said that those agitating for the scrapping of the scheme did not mean well for the country. The emir explained that the NYSC scheme was established to foster the nation’s unity and strengthen ties among Nigerians. “I heard there are efforts for the scrapping of the NYSC scheme, I assure you that those behind that struggle do not mean well for this country, ” Abubakar said. According to him, the NYSC scheme is the most needed programme in view of the present situation wh...
IPOB sit-at-home records success in Onitsha
The sit-at-home protest ordered by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, recorded total compliance and success with all the residents of Onitsha and Nnewi and business outfits complying with the directive. All business activities were shot down, all markets were under lock and key public and private Secondary and Primary Schools were shot down, government offices and banks were also not opened for business as they were under lock and key, Petrol and Gas filling stations were also not opened for business as streets and roads shops and artisans in both Onitsha and Nnewi shut for the day business when Vanguard moved round the cities. All the roads leading into and exit of Onitsha, the commercial city, and those ...
SGF: Ahmed Gulak murder barbaric
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, has described as barbaric the killing of Ahmed Gulak, an APC chieftain and an indigene of Adamawa State while on his way to Chief Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, Imo State. Mustapha, while expressing deep shock over the killing, also said the incident was unwarranted. In a statement by the Director of Press in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, Mustapha called for urgent investigation by appropriate security agency to unravel the motive of such gruesome murder. He expressed his condolences to the APC family, the government and people of Adamawa State, his family and prays to God to grant the soul of the departed eternal rest. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make M...
CP: Hoodlums in military uniform killed police officer in Imo
The Imo state police command yesterday confirmed that hoodlums in military uniform killed one of its officers, Sergent Loveday Obilonu, at Ukwu Uratta road in Owerri, Imo state. The state Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro, stated this to newsmen in Owerri, through the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Bala Elkana. Abutu said that Sergent Loveday was among the officers deployed to protect the citizens of the state against criminal elements. In their preliminary investigation, he added that the officer was killed by the hoodlums after they (hoodlums) had identified him as a police officer and was armed with his gun. However, the Imo police command has said that it has commenced investigations to apprehend the perpetrators. He said: “Attention of Imo State Police Command is drawn ...
Imo government condoles with family of student killed by stray bullet
Imo Government on Wednesday condoled with the family of Miss Divine Nwaneri, a first-year student of the Imo State University, who was killed by a stray bullet on April 24. The state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Declan Emelumba who received the family in his office in Owerri, described her death as a ‘huge loss’. Newsmen report that the 22-year old student of Soil Science in ABSU was hit by a stray bullet from an accidental discharge by a security personnel in front of the state Government House, Owerri. Emelumba assured the family that the state government would take all appropriate measures to provide them the needed succour. He added that cogent measures had been taken by the state government in synergy with security agencies to restore calm to the state and ensure se...
