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"Governments are going to insist" on vaccines for international travellers, Qantas' boss tells the BBC.

Gunmen have razed the Isiala Mbano Police Divisional Headquarters located at Umuelemai in Imo State.

The gunmen, who invaded the divisional headquarters armoury on Saturday night, freed suspects in the detention facility and carted away arms.

It was gathered that the gunmen on arrival condoned off the divisional headquarters located at Umueze Road and opened fire.

According to Punch, the gunmen sacked police officers on duty, freed suspects, invaded the facility's arms storage department before setting it ablaze.

Four policemen allegedly sustained gunshot injuries from the invaders.

It was also stated that the culprits did not flee immediately but stayed by and supervised the burning of the police facility.

The source said, "The gunmen came, condoned off the divisional headquarters and immediately opened fire on the policemen on duty. This was after they had freed all the suspects and collected all the arms. Afterwards, they set it ablaze using petrol to ignite the fire. This is very unfortunate."

The Interim Management Committee chairman of Isiala Mbano LGA, Chika Okoroike, confirmed the attack. He said that he was facilitating the rescue mission.

He blamed the removal of soldiers from Anara town 24 hours before the attack.

Okoroike said that he made fervent moves to make sure that the military men posted out of Anara town on Friday without any reason returned, but all to no avail.

The police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, also confirmed the attack on the division.

This makes it the fourth police divisional headquarters that had been attacked since February after Obowo, Aboh Mbaise and Ihitte/Uboma divisions were attacked, respectively.

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Ekiti State Government has given farmers and herders another two-week window to register with the state government or be ready to be expelled.
 

Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Olabode Adetoyi, who disclosed this in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday, said the registration would commence on Sunday.

In February, it will be recalled that the state government had conducted a two-week registration of farmers and herders, but not all those involved seized the opportunity.

 

Commenting on the development, Adetoyi said the exercise became imperative to ensure that all farmers and herders could be accounted for.

 

He added that the registration was also aimed at ensuring peace between the two groups and bringing incessant clashes between them to an end.

 

According to him, the exercise was in line with the provisions of the National Livestock Transformation Programme of the Federal Government.

 

Adetoyi said incessant clashes between farmers and herders posed dangers to human and food security, hence the need to take proactive measures to curb the menace.

 

Special Adviser to Governor Kayode Fayemi on security matters and Chairman, Herders-Farmers Peace Committee, Ebenezer Ogundana, had earlier warned that whoever failed to register would be treated as a criminal.

 

Director-General, Office of Transformation and Service Delivery, Mobolaji Aluko, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that identity cards would be issued to registered farmers and herders free of charge.

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Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has described the killing in Omuo Ekiti on Saturday by suspected political thugs as “clear evidence of terrorism against citizens, who have rejected the party in government.”

 

Fayose said killing innocent people just because of the House of Assembly by-election was barbaric and shameful.

Ayodele Fayose

He said: “I thought we have gone past this barbarism in Ekiti State, especially when we are confronted with national insecurity to which the government have no solution.

 

“What was witnessed today in Omuo Ekiti is nothing but terrorism against the people of Ekiti, knowing that time has caught up with them and they are no longer popular.

 

“This will remain guilt in the conscience of the perpetrators and their sponsors perpetually for killing their people just because of a mere House of Assembly bye-election.

 

“Most importantly, everything that goes round in life comes round. Therefore, the perpetrators of this despicable act should remember that there will be consequences for all actions because the blood of the dead will surely speak and fight back.

 

“To the police in Ekiti, they know what to do and the people behind all these, if only they chose not to look away. Ekiti shall be free again if we collectively confront and win this battle against fake apostles of democracy.”

 

At least three people, including a female police officer, were killed in the violence unleashed on voters and security agents during the by-election for Ekiti East Constituency 1 in the State House of Assembly.

Five other persons are reportedly receiving treatment at a private hospital as a result of the incident.

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Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has described the killing in Omuo Ekiti on Saturday by suspected political thugs as “clear evidence of terrorism against citizens, who have rejected the party in government.”

 

Fayose said killing innocent people just because of the House of Assembly by-election was barbaric and shameful.

Ayodele Fayose

He said: “I thought we have gone past this barbarism in Ekiti State, especially when we are confronted with national insecurity to which the government have no solution.

 

“What was witnessed today in Omuo Ekiti is nothing but terrorism against the people of Ekiti, knowing that time has caught up with them and they are no longer popular.

 

“This will remain guilt in the conscience of the perpetrators and their sponsors perpetually for killing their people just because of a mere House of Assembly bye-election.

 

“Most importantly, everything that goes round in life comes round. Therefore, the perpetrators of this despicable act should remember that there will be consequences for all actions because the blood of the dead will surely speak and fight back.

 

“To the police in Ekiti, they know what to do and the people behind all these, if only they chose not to look away. Ekiti shall be free again if we collectively confront and win this battle against fake apostles of democracy.”

 

At least three people, including a female police officer, were killed in the violence unleashed on voters and security agents during the by-election for Ekiti East Constituency 1 in the State House of Assembly.

Five other persons are reportedly receiving treatment at a private hospital as a result of the incident.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has suspended the Ekiti East constituency I bye-election over an outbreak of violence in various polling units in the Local Government Area.

 

At least three people, including a female police officer, were killed in the violence unleashed on voters and security agents on Saturday.

There are allegations that the thugs, who unleashed violence on voters and security personnel at different polling units, were sponsored by the All Progressives Congress.

 

INEC resident electoral commissioner for Ekiti, Tella Adeniran, disclosed suspension of the election in a statement.

 

The statement read, "The situation is such that a conducive environment no longer exists for further electoral activity at the PUs and the Collation centres.

 

"Given this development, the commission has suspended the election forthwith."

 

"The safety of electoral officials, security personnel and election materials, as well as the credibility of the process, cannot be guaranteed

 

"It is unfortunate that despite the commission's effort in giving Nigerians free, fair, credible and inclusive election, some people appear to be unprepared for an improved electoral process."

 

The Ekiti East constituency seat became vacant following the death of Juwa Adegbuyi, the former representative.

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Militants from the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have reportedly killed a Nigerian soldier captured during Tuesday's raid on a military base in Damasak town, Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno State.

A military source confirmed this to SaharaReporters on Saturday. 

The soldier, whose name is yet-to-be-revealed, has now joined the list of countless men of the Nigerian Army who had lost their lives due to insurgency in the North-East region.

In a video shared online by Amaq News Agency, a news outlet linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the insurgents killed many other soldiers in the attack. 

They were seen shooting sporadically in all directions.

A resident, who had earlier spoken with SaharaReporters, said the gunmen came in different groups and could not be counted.

He added that some Nigerian soldiers were killed while others fled into the bush.

"Hundreds of them cam with guns, trucks, and grenades and started firing from different directions. The soldiers ran away and left us on our own. They didn't shoot at them (insurgents) at all. Though some soldiers were killed, I can't say how many," he told SaharaReporters.

‪It was learnt that the insurgents also burnt a Nigerian army tanker and some buildings in the military base.‬

The attack on the base took place just days after Boko Haram fighters ambushed a military convoy in Gudumbali, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State.

Over 15 soldiers, including the commanding officer, 123 Special Forces Battalion, Major U.I. Urang, were reportedly killed during the incident.

Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, have killed thousands and displaced millions in northeastern Nigeria.

The Nigerian military has repeatedly claimed that the insurgency has been largely defeated and frequently underplays any losses.

In the past months, soldiers have been targeted by the insurgents. 

Many soldiers and officers have been reportedly killed since January 2021.

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Militants from the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have reportedly killed a Nigerian soldier captured during Tuesday's raid on a military base in Damasak town, Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno State.

A military source confirmed this to SaharaReporters on Saturday. 

The soldier, whose name is yet-to-be-revealed, has now joined the list of countless men of the Nigerian Army who had lost their lives due to insurgency in the North-East region.

In a video shared online by Amaq News Agency, a news outlet linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the insurgents killed many other soldiers in the attack. 

They were seen shooting sporadically in all directions.

A resident, who had earlier spoken with SaharaReporters, said the gunmen came in different groups and could not be counted.

He added that some Nigerian soldiers were killed while others fled into the bush.

"Hundreds of them cam with guns, trucks, and grenades and started firing from different directions. The soldiers ran away and left us on our own. They didn't shoot at them (insurgents) at all. Though some soldiers were killed, I can't say how many," he told SaharaReporters.

‪It was learnt that the insurgents also burnt a Nigerian army tanker and some buildings in the military base.‬

The attack on the base took place just days after Boko Haram fighters ambushed a military convoy in Gudumbali, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State.

Over 15 soldiers, including the commanding officer, 123 Special Forces Battalion, Major U.I. Urang, were reportedly killed during the incident.

Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, have killed thousands and displaced millions in northeastern Nigeria.

The Nigerian military has repeatedly claimed that the insurgency has been largely defeated and frequently underplays any losses.

In the past months, soldiers have been targeted by the insurgents. 

Many soldiers and officers have been reportedly killed since January 2021.

Boko Haram Military News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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Officials say anyone living in low-lying areas of the city must leave as torrential rains continue.

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In Nigeria, almost everywhere you turn, you are likely to find a young person who owns one business or another. From Logistics, Food retail, cosmetics, event planning, interior design, fashion, style, Agriculture, tech or even as a Vendor, young people in Nigeria are trying to either start a new business or manage an existing business, despite the harsh and tough business climate in Nigeria, but who is thinking about them really?

For me, I consider that many of these businesses that have remained largely at the subsistence level, if carefully identified, aggregated, supported, and adequately nurtured, can transform from small businesses, to become big employers of labour, pay tax, contribute to government revenue, and ultimately to the growth of the economy, but again who is thinking about them really?

Let’s even pretend to agree with Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, that the number of micro, small and medium enterprises is about 37 million (a figure that I dispute because I think it is underreported anyway), but despite what I have described as underreporting, the ministry disclosed that, the number alone accounts for more than 84% of Nigeria’s labour market. Huge

There are at least two facts that support this present entrepreneurship bulge, the first is that unlike the generations before them, the Gen Y also known as Millennials (the generational cohort 1981-1996) are entrepreneurial in nature. Globally, Millennials and the generation after them Gen Z, have less of the traditional 9-5 or white-collar disposition. It is the reason you are now likely to hear about remote working and all that new stuff you are unlikely to have seen in practice before now. This disposition is also partly responsible for the reason work culture is changing in terms of engagement, style, and disposition, simply because more young people are growing to be indisposed to the white-collar culture!

The other fact that also supports this bulge, is that opportunities in the formal sector (the typical white-collar jobs) are limited if not completely absent in Nigeria. As a reminder, Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently reported that the total number of unemployed people in Nigeria is now 23 million, up from 27% in Q2 2020 to 33% in Q4 2020, the implication is that at least a third of Nigeria’s labour force, did absolutely nothing within that period. So, for most young people, starting a small business has become the only way to make some money to survive at the very least.

At the wake of each new day, there is at least one young person who is starting a business, but for most the intention is simply and squarely to survive. But I have said before, that it is dangerous to have the bulk of our population on what my friend Aisha Seriki calls “Survival mode”, they will hardly be productive. I have said this loud enough, that the Nigerian people particularly its young people should live for much more than survival, they should live for opportunities, hope, potential and possibilities, in this case, young business owners must live with the certainty that Nigeria has an environment that will enable their business to grow, expand and thrive.

Seun Awogbenle

It is in trying to find answers to this conundrum that I decided to call the prodigiously brilliant and renowned Economist, Tope Fasua who is in far away Kano by the way, touring and beaming searchlights on some big business activities in Kano, most of these big businesses hardly even hug the headline.

In our conversation, we both agreed that entrepreneurship cannot be sustainable when it is anchored on survival. He quickly reminded me of the thoughts of Austrian Political Economist Joseph Schumpeter on entrepreneurship who had since described entrepreneurship in terms of innovation or creating a new market. Fasua added that if Nigeria had just 2 million innovators, we will not be where we are today.

I completely agree with him, but the challenge is that you can’t have an innovative population when the bulk of that population are unemployed and in extreme poverty, you need a population that is thinking beyond survival to be able to innovate and invent, people who are hungry cannot innovate and that is the reason most Nigerians turn to entrepreneurship as a means of survival. 

It is for this reason that we must all remind government and political leaders of their responsibility to provide opportunities for the people, so that starting or managing a business in Nigeria is not just about survival but growth, expansion and the potential to contribute to the economy. 

But now that we already have a large population of small business owners, who is thinking about them? Government has a duty to think about them, government must commit to identify, aggregate and support small businesses so that they can become employers of labour and big contributors to the economy.

It is in this spirit that I was full of effusive praise for Media Influencer and Author of Digital: The New Code of Wealth JJ Omojuwa, who recently rallied people to raise over N6 Million to support small business through his #PitchCH initiative. I was also particularly happy, because one of my friends whom I had watched over time start her fashion brand from zero, also made the cut. I believe that Omojuwa’s #PitchCH initiative has provided a sustainable model that government and political leaders can adopt, which is to identify and support small businesses purely on the merit of their work and the potential of their business.

Although, fair enough to the federal government, a point which Fasua also alluded to, they recently registered several businesses for free as part of the government’s enabling business environment reform, the recently signed Finance Act 2019 also exempt businesses below N25million turnover from paying VAT. So, by this intervention, I do not feign ignorance of the government's effort in this regard, but the government must do more. Government must see small businesses for their incredible potential and capacity to help to reduce Nigeria’s staggering unemployment and poverty index.

The first way to start is for the government to segment the market which is the aggregation I talked about earlier, further ease business registration, since most businesses are tech driven particularly with social media, government must improve access to the internet, provide quality funding and support among other intervention.

The difficulty of starting, managing and scaling a small business in Nigeria should worry anybody, I am worried!

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Senator Dino Melaye said on Friday that he had apologised to God and Nigerians for supporting the candidacy of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

He said the agenda that brought Buhari into office was the "greatest scam that came out of Africa", noting that he regretted supporting Buhari.

Dino Melaye Sahara Reporters Media

Melaye, who once represented Kogi West in the Senate, was in the Peoples Democratic Party before he, alongside other PDP members under the aegis of new PDP, defected to the All Progressives Congress in 2014 ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Buhari was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the 2015 presidential election, which he won, defeating the then incumbent president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

Speaking on Channels Television's programme, 'Politics Today', Melaye said the Buhari regime had failed Nigerians in all aspects, from security to economy and infrastructure.

He added, "To start with, I apologise to God Almighty, who is the supreme controller of the universe and to Nigerians for supporting Buhari. The Buhari agenda is the greatest scam that came out of Africa. The Buhari presidency in 2015 is the greatest scam that came out of Africa.

"Once I was blind, now I can see. How can one remain in a political party or support a president with what is happening today in Nigeria? How? So, I regret very seriously because we were scammed."

Responding to the report that the PDP planned to make its 2023 presidential ticket open as against the position of many that the south should produce the next president, Melaye said the party had yet to deliberate on the issue.

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Two suspected bandits, Abdullahi Danshoho and Illiyasu Salleh, have owned up to their roles in the kidnapping of two patients and a nurse at a hospital in Nasarawa State.

The suspects and their gang members at large reportedly invaded Kunwarke Clinic and Maternity in Lafia, Nasarawa State, sometime in November 2020 and abducted two patients and a nurse.

File photo used to illustrate story.

They were alleged to have collected N6m ransom before freeing their victims.

Danshoho and Salleh were arrested recently by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team led by DCP Abba Kyari.

Married with four children, 25-year-old Danshoho stated that he was a truck driver but went into kidnapping because he was not making enough money from the job.

He said, "I finished my NCE (Nigeria Certificate of Education) in 2020 but I have yet to collect my results. I became a truck driver but things were difficult. I met my friend, Illiyasu (Salleh), sometime in September 2020 and he told me the easy way to make money. He told me that kidnapping was the only way out. He told me to look for people with money that we can kidnap."

He said he had participated in five kidnap operations – the last being in December – including his neighbour's abduction, who refused to give him money.

He explained that he gave the man's details to Illiyasu, who arranged his abduction, adding that he got N100,000 share from a ransom paid.

Danshoho stated in a report by Punch, "Illiyasu arranged the second successful operation. That clinic is where we usually go for treatment. My job was to confirm that the director of the hospital was around. On the day we struck, I was sure that he was in the hospital. Unfortunately, he managed to escape. That was why they decided to abduct patients.

"After some days, they gave me N100,000 as my share. I did not complain because they told me that the patients were farmers and the nurse was from a low-income family. I later learnt that they collected N4m.

"A week later, I brought the third job. It was my friend and we used to hang out. I decided to kidnap him because I was sure that his parents could afford to pay for his release. They paid N1.5m and I got N100,000 as my share. It was when he returned homesick that I regretted my action. I used part of my proceeds to pay outstanding fees at the school so that I can get my certificate."

Salleh, 24, said he was into cattle rearing and farming but quit because they did not fetch him enough income. He said he decided to go into kidnapping "because it is an easy way to make money."

"The truth is that we don't make much money from cattle rearing and one needs to stay with a cow for many months before it will be ready for use. Kidnapping gives quick money," he stated.

Narrating how the kidnapping at the hospital was carried out, he said Danshoho, who the nurses well know, pretended as if he came for treatment of headache.

He said, "I was outside. My gang members, Maigari, Bodejo and others (at large), entered the clinic but did not see the director. It was like he heard the gunshot and escaped before they could reach him. Maigari then decided to abduct two patients and a nurse.

"After a ransom was paid, l got N200,000 and was angry. I threatened to expose them if they did not give me an extra share. I got an additional N100,000 but I don't know the actual amount that was collected."

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