IYANDA'SBLOG

01/17/21

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NDDC: Ijaw Youths Suspend Protest Over Appointment Of Sole Administrator

IYC members demonstrating

Ijaw youths from the nine states of the Niger Delta region have announced to put on hold their planned protest and shutdown of the headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

According to the youths under the aegis of Ijaw Youths Council, the decision to put on hold the planned action was reached following consultations with critical stakeholders, leaders of thoughts within the region and critical organs of the council to allow the Sole Administrator superintend over the conclusion of the forensic audit as alluded by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

IYC members demonstrating IYC Worldwide

The spokesman for the umbrella body of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Comrade Ebilade Ekerefe, while speaking on Saturday in Yenagoa, noted that despite the pressure and compromising stance of a few, the agitation resulted in breaking the silence of Akpabio on a new timeline for the appointment of a substantive board.

Ekerefe said, "He said and we quote 'a substantive board will be appointed in April 2021 by which time the forensic auditors would have submitted their report to the Federal Government'.

"What we have gathered from the new timeline is the fact that the Sole Administrator, Mr. Akwa Effiong, has a four-month tenure to remain in office.

"Though we have observed that the past promises made by the Federal Government on the issues of NDDC, Amnesty Office, the East-West Road, and other issues concerning our development have never been fulfilled, we would be waiting, monitoring and engaging the Federal Government and the minister, Godswill Akpabio, on these numerous contentious issues.

"And on the appointment of Udengs Eradiri as SA Youth to the Sole Administrator, though positive and for a purpose, it should not be taken as a means to silence the Ijaw youths agitating for a substantive board for the NDDC.

"While it is unanimously agreed that Udengs Eradiri has what it takes, both in capacity and in competence to reaching out and pacifying Ijaw youths and youths from other ethnic nationalities within the region who are aggrieved over the appointment of Mr. Effiong Akwa as Sole Administrator of the NDDC, our position has not changed.

"We are irrevocably committed to ensuring that a substantive board for the NDDC with fair representation of the nine member states of the region making up the commission is immediately constituted as enshrined in the act.

"On the issue of protest, let me reiterate that those against the protest are at variance with the overwhelming majority of Ijaw youths who have concluded plans to embark on a peaceful, but decisive demonstration at the NDDC headquarters to press home the demands of the region.

"Such conscious mass movements cannot be terminated because of the appointment of Engr. Udengs Eradiri as SA Youths to the Sole Administrator. However, as a former president of the Ijaw Youths Council, he will enjoy our support and collaboration in discharging his duties effectively to the admiration of all.

"Therefore, having consulted with critical stakeholders, leaders of thoughts within the region and critical organs of the council, we therefore resolved to put on hold the planned “Mother of All Protest” at the headquarters of NDDC in Port Harcourt, to allow the Sole Administrator superintend over the conclusion of the forensic audit as alluded to by the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

"We urge the external forensic auditors to hasten up their assignment and conclude within the stipulated April timeline as Ijaw youths will not tolerate excuses anymore for negligence as our plans to carrying out a mother of all protests is still on course if the substantive board is not inaugurated by April."

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Bandits Kill Ward Head, 80-year-old Woman, Three Others In Kaduna

File photo used to illustrate story.

Bandits have killed an 80-year-old woman, Hauwwa Umaru, and the Ward Head of Konti, Samaila Yohanna, in Kaduna State.

Samuel Aruwan, Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

File photo used to illustrate story.

Aruwan said the armed bandits invaded Sharu and Konti villages, raiding several homes.

He added that two other persons, Alhaji Sani and Malam Rabiu, were killed at Dande village while an unidentified woman was shot dead when the gunmen opened fire on commuters plying the Fatika/Kidandan Road.

The statement read, “Security agencies have reported the killing of an aged woman in Sharu village, Igabi Local Government Area.

“According to the report, armed bandits invaded the village and raided several homes. As they shot sporadically, Hauwwa Umaru, 80, was hit by a bullet and died instantly.

“In another incident, unknown gunmen killed one Samaila Yohanna, the Ward Head of Konti, in the Chikun Local Government Area.

“Also in the Chikun Local Government Area, bandits killed two locals, Alhaji Sani and Malam Rabiu, at Dande.

“In the Giwa Local Government Area, armed bandits barricaded the road between Fatika and Kidandan and opened fire on commuters plying the road.

“One unidentified woman was killed, and three other persons were injured in the attack.

“Governor Nasir El-Rufai noted the reports with sadness, and conveyed condolences to the families of the deceased, praying for the repose of their souls. He also prayed for speedy recovery for the injured.

“The givernor also implored security agencies to ensure diligent investigations into the disturbing incidents.’’

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Late Gana’s Loyalists Invade Benue Community, Kill Three, Raze Houses

Three persons were reportedly killed at the weekend at Dyom village near Senga community in the Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State, when armed men in military camouflage said to be loyalists of the late militia leader, Terwase Agwaza, also known as Gana, invaded the community, Vanguard reports.

However, two of the armed men, who also razed several houses in the community, met their waterloo when men of the joint security operation in the state, also called Operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS, in a counter-operation, apprehended them and recovered their weapons.

Vanguard

According to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Col. Paul Hembe (retd.), the timely intervention of the OPWS personnel prevented what could have been a major bloodbath in the town.

He said: “These were armed men in military camouflage said to be loyalists of the late Gana. They stormed the area, killed three persons and also burnt down houses in the community. Luckily, while this was going on, information reached personnel of Operation Whirl Stroke who stormed the area, apprehended two of the armed men and also recovered their weapons which included live ammunition, an AK-47 rifle and a locally-made gun.”

The State Security Council had last week, imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Katsina-Ala and Ukum councils to check the increasing cases of banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery, as well as general insecurity in the two councils.

Last September, Gana (Terwase Agwaza) surrendered and was killed by the military. This was after the Nigerian and Benue governments had placed a N50 million bounty on his head.

However, soon after his controversial death, reports emerged that he had told his followers to avenge his death should anything happen to him.

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British Lawmaker Asks US, UK, EU, Others To Suspend Aid To Uganda, Sanction Government Officials

A member of the United Kingdom House of Commons, Dr Paul Williams, has called on international communities and organisations to suspend financial aid to Uganda.

Williams in a statement on Sunday called on the UK, US and European Union to sanction some government officials in the country for their roles in Thursday’s general elections.

CDC

The Uganda’s Electoral Commission had on Saturday declared long-time President Yoweri Museveni, winner of the disputed presidential election for a sixth term in office.

According to the results, Museveni, 76, secured 58.64 per cent of the total votes to beat his main challenger, Bobi Wine, who trailed with 35 per cent.

The British lawmaker said, “Museveni has used excuse of COVID-19 to restrict campaigning activities – opposition candidates frequently blocked from going to particular areas. Army and police have detained more than 400 people – evidence of beating torture and rape of activists, journalists, candidates and unarmed civilians.

“Internet shutdown on government orders from day before the election until now. Evidence of stuffed ballot boxes in Gulu, Kitgum, Tororo. Returning officers found with pre-ticked declaration forms in Kawempe.

“Ballot papers delivered very late to opposition strongholds in Kampala.

At least one polling agent/observer from the National Unity Platforom shot dead for refusing to hand over data collected in Tororo. Possibility of another in Kampala (Kibuye). Arrests of observers trying to verify polls in other locations. International observers denied accreditation to observe the elections.

“Electoral commission has declared Museveni winner with 59%, Wine 35%, others 6%. NUP believes the Electoral Commission is biased and that results have been fabricated. Wine says he has evidence of wrongdoing, but has been placed under house arrest and Internet still shut down: 'I will be happy to share the videos of all the fraud and irregularities as soon as the internet is restored.'

“USA embassy pulled out its observers as they were denied accreditation by the Government of Uganda. Ambassador Natalie Brown said: 'With only 15 accreditations approved, it is not possible for the United States to meaningfully observe the conduct of Uganda’s elections at polling sites across the country'.

“Strong statement from State Department last night says elections conducted in 'climate of intimidation and fear'. The European Union issued a similar statement saying that its observers were not going to observe the 2021 elections

“The Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) were invited by the Uganda Electoral Commission to observe elections in Kampala, Mukono District, Wakiso District, Luwero and Mpigi districts. No comments from them post-election. Museveni’s spokesman has said African Union and East African Community would send observers – no comments from them.

“Requests by Bobi Wine supporters from international partners; statement that this was not a free or fair election. Call for withdrawal of the army from Bobi Wine’s home. Call on Ugandan government to open up communication systems. Provide safe passage for Bobi Wine’s wife, Barbie, if/when requested. Call on Ugandan government to release all Ugandans who are in prison for supporting opposition candidates. The UK/USA/EU to suspend aid to Uganda and magnitsky sanctions on regime members.”

Wine on Sunday said the military had taken over his house in the last four days, placing him and his wife under house arrest

In his first tweet since Friday, the singer noted that they had run out of food supply and that his wife was assaulted by the military as she went outside to pick vegetables at the garden.

“It’s now four days since the military surrounded our home and placed my wife and I under house arrest. We have run out of food supplies and when my wife tried to pick food from the garden yesterday, she was blocked and assaulted by the soldiers staged in our compound. (ADMIN),” he tweeted.

“Everyone including media and my party officials are restricted from accessing me. @ZaakeFrancis was arrested outside my gate as he made his way to my house, he was badly beaten by soldiers. He is now in Rubaga hospital. (ADMIN)."

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Biden To Reverse Trump’s Muslim Ban On Inauguration Day, Return US To Paris Accord

Joe Biden

US President-elect, Joe Biden, plans to sign roughly a dozen executive orders on his first day in the White House, that will show a stunning rebuke of outgoing US President Donald Trump's policies.

According to a memo signed by Ron Klain, Biden’s incoming White House Chief of Staff, the executive orders include rejoining the Paris Climate Accord and ending the travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries.

Joe Biden AFP

New York Times reported that the executive orders also include new coronavirus prevention efforts and immigration legislation allowing for millions to gain citizenship.

The memo read, “During the campaign, President-elect Biden pledged to take immediate action to start addressing these crises and build back better. As president, he will keep those promises and sign dozens of executive orders, presidential memoranda, and directives to Cabinet agencies in fulfilment of the promises he made.”

The memo also outlines that Biden plans to send Congress a large-scale immigration plan within his first 100 days in office which would offer a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.

"Full achievement of the Biden-Harris Administration's policy objectives requires not just the executive actions the president-elect has promised to take, but also robust Congressional action," Klain wrote.

“He will sign a number of executive actions to move aggressively to change the course of the COVID-19 crisis and safely re-open schools and businesses, including by taking action to mitigate spread through expanding testing, protecting workers, and establishing clear public health standards.

“And on January 22, Biden will direct his Cabinet agencies to take immediate action to deliver economic relief to working families bearing the brunt of this crisis.”

From January 25 to February 1, Klain writes that Biden will issue orders on everything from directing his government to buy American products to beginning to fulfil promises to reform the criminal justice system.

During that week, the new President will also direct the federal government to determine how to reunite children separated from their families at the US-Mexico border, as well as sign additional orders aimed at tackling climate change and expanding access to health care.

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Katsina Police Arraign 21-year-old Man Over Alleged Sexual Violation Of 8-year-old Boy

The Katsina Police Command has arraigned a 21-year-old labourer, Abubakar Sani, before a Magistrates' Court in Katsina for allegedly sodomising an eight-year-old boy.

The police said Sani was caught having forceful sexual intercourse with the victim through the anus in a bush behind the Federal Medical Centre quarters, Katsina on January 5, 2021.

The victim’s father, one Abdulkadir Lamis, reported the incident at the divisional police headquarters, Katsina.

Police prosecutor, Sergeant Lawal Bello, told the court that investigation into the matter was ongoing.

He requested another date when the case could come up for mention at the court.

The presiding magistrate, Hajiya Fadile Dikko, granted the request and adjourned the case to March 31, 2021 for mention.

She directed that Sani be remanded at the Katsina Correctional Centre till then.

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2023: Why We Won’t Support Nigerian President Of Igbo Extraction —IPOB

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said it won’t support a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction.

IPOB, in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, alleged that all the people being prepared for the position are stooges that will be used against the interest of Ndigbo, Biafrans and the group.

Powerful added that the people at the forefront of the agitation were people who openly worked against the late Dr Alex Ekwueme at the Jos Peoples Democratic Party convention for the candidature of the President of Nigeria under the PDP in 1999.

He said what such people did to the late Ekwueme was similarly done by their likes to Peter Obi, in 2019 when he contested with Alhaji Abubakar Atiku as his running mate, alleging that they conspired and did not support or campaign for Obi despite being in the same political party, PDP, with him.

The statement read, “We cannot support any person that will kill us; that will mean the end of Biafra emancipation as we know. It is still fresh in our minds what transpired at Jos PDP convention when the the late Dr Alex Ekwueme contested for the candidature of the President of Nigeria under the PDP in 1999.

“Then the likes of Jim Nwobodo, Orji Uzo Kalu and virtually every other Igbo delegate at that convention voted against him. These Igbo men sabotaged Igbo presidency then, what has changed since 1999 that will make them come out now to shamefully clamour for the same Igbo presidency they publicly rejected in 1999?

“Similarly, when Mr Peter Obi in 2019 was contesting as running mate to Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, Governor Dave Umahi and his co-travellers in conspiratory business did not support or campaign for him despite being in the same political party - PDP.

“We are surprised that these people shouting President of Igbo extraction today but sabotaged their own people yesterday think we have forgotten; they also think others will support them when it is their turn.

“Besides, if these myopic and self-centred fellows think producing the President of Nigeria will solve the problem of Ndigbo: when Goodluck Jonathan, an Ijaw man from South-South was Nigeria’s President for six years, what did he do for the East in general and Ijaw people in particular?

“The same northern oligarchy that did not allow him to operate freely will still not allow any stooge they may eventually appoint from Igboland to succeed. So, it makes no sense clamouring for what won’t proffer any solution to our problems.

“The few major roads built in South-East and South-South were done, not by an Igbo man, yet none of these traitors masquerading as Igbo leaders today has been able to compel their slave masters to rehabilitate them. Most of these self-acclaimed Igbo and Old Eastern region leaders are caliphate bred traitors and we cannot trust them.”

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NIN: NIMC Shuts Down Head Office In Abuja Over Violation Of COVID-19 Guidelines

The National Identity Management Commission has shut down its headquarters in Abuja and stopped the National Identity Number enrolment activities to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

According to NIMC Spokesman, Kayode Adegoke, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, gave the directive on Saturday.

SaharaReporters had reported how large crowds visited the NIMC offices across the country for NIN registration.

The development comes after the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) directed telecommunications companies to block SIM cards not registered with the NIN.

Nigerians had criticized the directive which has been described as sudden.

Adegoke said the minister reactivated 20 other centres within the FCT to make the process of NIN enrolment much easier for applicants effective Monday, January 18 2021.

He advised members of the public, residents and visitors to the FCT wishing to enrol for NIN to use any of the 20 NIMC centres.

"The centres are: 2nd Floor, Block C, No 4 Maputo Street, Zone 3, Wuse, Abuja; Abaji Secretariat Complex, Legislative Section Abaji, FCT – Abuja; AMAC Secretariat Annex, Kabusa Junction Apo, FCT- Abuja; Area Council Complex Bwari, FCT, Abuja; CIPB Building (Old Secretariat), Gwagwalada, FCT – Abuja; Kwali Council Secretariat, Kwali, FCT – Abuja; Opposite Forest Pasali, Along Kuje/Gwagwalada Road, FCT; Beside Diamond Bank, Building Materials International Market; Dutse Alhaji, FCT – Abuja;

"Others are GWARINPA FHA/Waterboard Beside Police Station Off 3rd Avenue, FCT – Abuja; HIGH COURT LUGBE By Police Signboard, Close to Lugbe Market, Airport Road; JIWA AEDC Office, before Emir Palace FCT – Abuja; Women Development Secretariat, Karshi; Kenuj Angles Schools, Jikwoyi Phase 1 Extension, FCT-Abuja; Chief Palace, Kurudu; Nigerian Customs Service Karu; NIPOST, Opposite General Hospital, Phase 4, Kubwa; NIN Enrolment Center Ibro Hotel 34-36 Sokode Street Wuse 2, Abuja; Afritech multi Concept, Gwandal plaza adjacent EFCC, Wuse 2, Abuja; and NIN Enrolment Center No 8, Nairobi Street, Wuse 2, Abuja."

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N5bn Kogi Road Project Awarded By Gov Bello Since 2017 Yet To Commence, Residents Groan

The Onyedega, Ibaji-Idah Road in the Ibaji Local Government Area, awarded by the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello for rehabilitation since 2017, is presently impassable as work has yet to commence on the project.

Residents told SaharaReporters that the road, which connects to the South-East region through Anambra State and Idah LGA, has paralysed their socio-economic activities and brought hardship to the Ibaji community.

Our correspondent, who visited the area, observed that the 54-Kilometre road has at least eight gullies, which residents said had killed several travellers in the recent past.

Most of the gullies on the road are covered with water, and some people put boats on the gullies to wash their fishing nets during a visit to the area.

The state governor, Yahaya Bello, in his first term in 2017, visited the Ibaji community and announced that the government had awarded the road project.

In a video clip of the commissioning as reported by a national television, the governor boasted, "This road is contained in our new direction blueprint. A lot of your farm produce gets rotten and wasted in the farms and you take them to neighbouring states and buy them off you at very cheap prices. This time around, we have vowed to revamp the economy of Kogi State and indeed the economy of Ibaji people."

"Road has been a problem in this land and we have been forgotten for so long. Most times, we go to the farm. We farm so much but the farm produce do not see the light of the day," the then Deputy Governor and Ibaji indigene, Simon Achuba, had stated.

During the commissioning, the government had promised that the construction would last for 24 months, which meant that the road should have been completed in 2019.

However, during a visit to the area, residents, in separate interviews, said that construction work had yet to begin on the road.

One of them, a septuagenarian and retired civil servant, Jonathan Egwu, said during the rainy season, residents are forced to pay more than N3000 for boat rides to neighbouring areas, because of the impassable road.

He said, "I have been here since 1982. We don't have any road. Since the governor came here in 2017, nothing has been done on the road – not even a tractor or a bulldozer (was seen here). Yes, I was there when the governor came to commission the project in 2017 but that was the last we heard.

"He instructed that the construction should take off but there is nothing till now. During the rainy season, the road is very terrible and we use boats to get to the Idah LGA. The boat operators collect between N2,500 and N3,000 for round trips. This is the difficulty we face every year."

A lawyer and President of the Ibaji Progressive Youth Foundation, Apeh Kelvin, urged the state government to give urgent attention to the neglected road project.

He added that seven unsuspecting travellers died in one of the gullies on the road in 2020, during a visit to the Ibaji community.

The President said, "This road is one of the major challenges we are having in the Ibaji LGA. This road was commissioned in 2017 by Bello as the first sitting governor to visit Ibaji.

"The amount used to commission the road was N5billion. And since they commissioned this road till date, we have not even seen a tractor come to work on the road, not to talk of repairing the road.

"As you also observed, the situation of the road is getting worse by the day, and before you get to this Onyedega area from Idah, you will have passed about ten gullies that have also been causing accidents.

"Last year, one of the gullies killed seven persons coming from Idah, who did not even know there were gullies there. We don't know why the government backed out on a road project that was commissioned in 2017. But we are calling on the state government to make good on its promise."

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Suspected Yahoo Boy Arrested With Girlfriend's Corpse In Delta

Operatives of the Delta State Police Command have arrested a suspected Internet fraudster, popularly called yahoo boy, with his girlfriend's corpse after he was caught attempting to dump the body of the lady, Blessing Akpovwovwo, in a bush.

The suspect, said to be a resident of Urhuoka, Abraka in the Ethiope East Local Government Area of the state, is cooling his heels in police detention.

Sources said the suspect, whose identity has yet to be ascertained, was nabbed by a passerby on Thursday evening, as he (the suspect) was attempting to dispose of the lifeless body of Blessing.

It was gathered that though the lifeless body of the lady was intact, sources said she might have been used for rituals.

Other sources claimed that the deceased was pregnant, and it looked like a case of forced abortion to get the foetus for ritual purposes.

It was further gathered that the corpse had blood in her private parts.

Confirming the incident to journalists, the Head of Ugono-Abraka community, Chief Samuel Umunadi, said he was intimated of the lady's murder by some vigilantes late Thursday night, adding that the sad development had thrown the community into mourning.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, could not be reached for confirmation of the incident as of the time of filing this report.

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Museveni Must Not Be Allowed To Enjoy Stolen Mandate, Sowore Says

Omoyele Sowore

Omoyele Sowore, a Nigerian publisher and activist, has urged Ugandans to ensure that President Yoweri Museveni doesn't enjoy 'the fruit of a stolen mandate'.

On Saturday, the Uganda Election Commission declared Museveni the winner of Thursday presidential election in the country.

Omoyele Sowore

Chairman of the commission, Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, said Museveni won a sixth term in office with 58.6 per cent of the votes while main opposition candidate, Bobi Wine, got 34.83 per cent.

The poll followed one of the most violent campaigns in years, with harassment and arrests of the opposition, attacks on the media and the deaths of at least 54 people.

Thursday's election took place in an apparent calm but under soldiers' oppressive presence and riot police and an Internet blackout.

Museveni has ruled Uganda without pause since seizing control in 1986 when he helped end years of tyranny under Idi Amin and Milton Obote. He is one of Africa's longest-serving leaders.

Once hailed for his commitment to good governance, the former rebel leader has crushed opposition and tweaked the constitution to allow himself to run again and again.

Speaking with Worship Media on Saturday, Sowore said the Uganda poll should be a lesson to Africans that electoral politics is not enough to deal with dictators.

He added that there should be a different level of engagement that combines election with physical actions.

The activist urged Ugandans to go into the revolutionary mode as the ballot has failed them.

He said, "There is nothing strange about what happened in Uganda. I was in touch with Bobi Wine until the day of the election. We knew that when they suspended the Internet, that was the last phase of the rigging process. Without social media, Bobi Wine's digital followers would have no chance to publish results from polling units across the country.

"This should teach us a lesson that electoral politics is not enough to deal with dictators; there has to be a different level of engagement that combines election with physical actions. I must say that Bobi Wine has taken the first step and his movement in Uganda did a fantastic job marching toe to toe with a dictator, Museveni, but this is not just enough.

"Ugandans should completely go into revolutionary mode at this point. The ballot has failed them. They must hit the street and ensure this guy (Museveni) doesn't enjoy the fruit of a stolen mandate. If someone successfully robs a bank, the society should not look back and say because he wasn't caught at the bank, they should let him spend his loot.

"We must go after him in every way we know, recover the loot and make him pay for his actions. It's the same way Ugandans should act. I think the level of social consciousness In Uganda is high enough to take this guy out of their political life.

"We would sound apologetic if we say they should wait for another four years. I can't imagine myself living under the Buhari junta for another two and a half years. I am overwhelmed already. Many Nigerians are already overwhelmed. So, can you imagine Ugandans going another five years under Museveni?

"Bobi Wine would have gone on exile, and nobody will remember him in the next five years. If they can stand up to this dictator now and take back from the dictator their stolen mandate and organize fresh elections, probably change the constitution, that would be the real democracy."

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Lagos Computer Village Boils As Police Arrest Three Kidnappers Inside Tunnel

There was tension on Saturday at the busy Computer Village market in the Ikeja area of Lagos State after three suspected kidnappers were caught inside a tunnel and arrested by police operatives.

SaharaReporters learnt that some traders in the market raised the alarm that some criminal elements were hiding in the tunnel, which passes through the market to Mobolaji Bank Anthony Road. They were suspected to be kidnappers.

It was gathered that the hoodlums attempted to use the other end of the tunnel to escape, but the traders mobilized and alerted the police from the Area F Command, Ikeja.

Some eyewitnesses told SaharaReporters that the kidnappers were caught with weapons and when they questioned about their mission in the tunnel, they could not state a genuine reason.

One of them said, "It happened right here in Ikeja. Three young men were arrested in the tunnel. They were caught with dangerous weapons. They are suspected to be kidnappers from the little interrogation the traders did with them.

"Nobody thought that criminals could hide inside the Ikeja tunnel. The men are so young."

"The matter was also reported to the Police Complaint Response Unit which must have alerted the Area F Command. The kidnappers were caught in the tunnel around Ikeja Under Bridge. They were hiding in the gutters and refusing to come out. They wanted to take the other route but we made sure they were arrested," another witness said.

It was learnt that the arrest caused a commotion in the market as traders fumed and demanded that the police must investigate and get to the root of the matter.

Lagos State has recently been notorious for kidnapping incidents perpetrated by suspects hiding in tunnels.

On January 7, the Orile area was thrown into panic after some residents discovered a tunnel under the bridge which connects to Lagos Island, being used by kidnappers and ritualists.

Residents had searched and found several school pupils' uniforms, a generator set, an air conditioner and other house items in the tunnel.

The residents had caught a suspect, but instead of taking him to the police station, an angry mob had descended on him and beaten him to death.

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