13 persons kidnapped as gunmen invade another Abuja community, demand N900m ransom

On Sunday night, a group of gunmen stormed Piko, a remote community in Bwari Area Council of Abuja and reportedly kidnapped 13 individuals.

The operation which went on for a whole hour without any resistance is reported to be the latest in a series of attacks on the Council.

A community source said the Madaki of the community, Chief John Jatau also confirmed that 10 residents were kidnapped from his domain, including four nomadic Fulani herdsmen. 

He noted that out of the four Fulani, one escaped from the kidnappers custody, and that the kidnappers have demanded for a ransom of N900 million Naira.

According to him, the following people were kidnapped from his community and are still with their abductors, Nuhu Anyiwoyi, Emmanuel Nuhu, Danjuma Ali, Parisa Numa, Ezekiel Jatau

Shekwosa Ezekiel, Roseline Samuel, Salome Jacob, Abyelo Ezra, and Ezra Male.

The source said, “the kidnapping incident occurred last night being Sunday 05/05/2024, at about 11pm. The kidnappers raided the village for about one hour without any response, reaction from the community or outsiders. The major challenge the community faced last night in terms of communication to others was as a result of no telecommunication network in the village, so they picked people house to house.

“From the community they picked about 13 people, and later released three.

“The Madakin Piko informed me that they have called and they said they need the ramson of N900 million. They picked about four Fulani people and one of them later escaped.”

The Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike had recently provided logistic support, including motorcycles for hard-to-reach areas, for security agencies in the territory.

In a similar event last week, the residents of Bmuko community in Dutse Baupma axis of Bwari area council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, were thrown into a state of panic after four individuals were kidnapped from the community.

According to a resident of the community, who goes by the name Isah, the incident took place around 11:50 PM at the residence of one Engineer Patrick.

According to him, the kidnappers who were more than 30 in number stormed Zone C, Road 5 of the community and shot sporadically into the air, before they broke into the house of the engineer and abducted two of his family members.

From the engineer’s house, after carrying his wife and brother, they divided themselves into two groups. One group went towards the riverside that leads to Kubwa and Bwari, while the other group went towards the hillside.

Naira slides by 4.6% against dollar at official market

The Naira on Tuesday depreciated at the official market, trading at N1,416.57 to the dollar.

Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), showed that the Naira lost N62.36.

This represents a 4.60 per cent loss when compared to the previous trading date on Monday when it exchanged at N1,354.21 to a dollar.

However, the total daily turnover increased to 160.77 on Tuesday, up from 84.83 million dollars recorded on Monday.

Meanwhile, at the Investor’s and Exporter’s (I&E) window, the Naira traded between N1,445 and N1,301 against the dollar. 

“Cybersecurity levy designed to milk a dying economy” — Peter Obi

Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, has expressed his opinion on the newly introduced Cybersecurity levy by the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government.

Obi believes that this levy is one tax too many and finds the implementation excessive and raises concerns about its impact on the public.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday directed banks to begin charging 0.5% cybersecurity levy on transactions.

A circular released by the apex bank said the implementation of the levy would begin two weeks from the day of its announcement.

The circular was directed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks.

The circular revealed that it was a follow-up on an earlier letter dated June 25, 2018 (Ref: BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/05/008) and October 5, 2018 (Ref: BSD/DIR/GEN/LAB/11/023), in compliance with the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015.

Peter Obi in his reaction to this, noted that the tax is ill conceived and designed to milk a dying economy.

The former Anambra State Governor said this in a series of tweets on his X handle, on Wednesday.

According to him, instead of nurturing the economy back to health and growth, the current administration with its  multiple taxation,  is more interested in heaping additional burdens on Nigerians who are already under severe economic stress.

Obi said,  “The  introduction of yet another tax, in the form of Cybersecurity Levy, on Nigerians who are already suffering severe economic distress is further proof that the government is more interested in milking a dying economy instead of nurturing it to recovery and growth.

“This does not only amount to multiple taxation on banking transactions, which are already subject to various other taxes including stamp duties but negates the Government’s avowed commitment to reduce the number of taxes and streamline the tax system.

“The imposition of a Cybersecurity Levy on bank transactions is particularly sad given that the tax is on the trading capital of businesses and not on their profit hence will further erode whatever is left of their remaining capital, after the impact of the Naira devaluation high inflation rate.

“It is inconceivable to expect the suffering citizens of Nigeria to separately fund all activities of the government.

“Policies such as this not only impoverish the citizens but make the country’s economic environment less competitive.

“At a time when the government should be reducing taxes to curb inflation, the government is instead introducing new taxes. And when did the office of the NSA become a revenue-collecting center?

Contact call centre to report officers’ misconduct, emergencies: LASTMA

The Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) says it will introduce a call-up centre for road users to promptly report any misbehaviour by its personnel or other incidents on Lagos roads.

Catholic Bishop seeks support for victims of Plateau crisis

The Catholic Bishop of Pankshin in Plateau State, Most Rev. Michael Gokum, has urged the Federal Government to urgently provide support to victims of crisis in the state.

Gokum made the appeal on Sunday at the launch of the 2024 Lenten Campaign held at Christ the King Catholic Church, Dyis, in Pankshin Local Government Area of the state.

DAILY POST reports that gunmen recently attacked communities in Mangu, Bokkos and Barkin Ladi LGA, leaving many persons dead and scores displaced.

The cleric, who lamented the upsurge of humanitarian crisis following the attacks in many other communities in the state, called on government to provide succour to them.

”As we are all aware, communities in Plateau have come under series of attacks in recent past and these attacks brought about increasing humanitarian crisis in the state.

”Many communities are displaced, meaning that all the residents of these communities are taking refuge elsewhere.

”I’m using this medium to call on the federal government to urgently come to the aid of these people; they are not finding it easy.

”From my interactions with many of them, I realise that they are eager to return to their homes, so government should expedite action to enable them return to their original abodes,” he said.

He also called on the government to adopt more stringent modalities toward the safety of lives and property in the state and across the nation.

Looting of NEMA warehouse, symptom of impending revolution – Shehu Sani warns

Former lawmaker and social critic, Senator Shehu Sani, has reacted to the alleged looting of a warehouse belonging to the National Emergency Management Agency of Nigeria, NEMA, by some residents of the Federal Capital Terrritory, FCT.

According to Sani, the development is a dangerous symptom of an impending revolution.

DAILY POST reported some residents of the FCT had looted a warehouse belonging to the NEMA amid the current economic hardship across the country.

It was gathered that the residents carted away foodstuffs and other items.

“Masses looting foodstuffs from a Government Warehouse in our oil rich Nigeria is a dangerous symptom of an impending revolution that must be averted or contained,” he wrote on his X handle on Sunday.

Recall that the International Monetary Fund, IMF, had said that stalled per-capita growth, poverty and high food insecurity have exacerbated the ongoing cost-of-living crisis in Nigeria.

The report emerged amid rising inflation, exchange rate crisis, weak economic growth and business shutdowns.

Military forcefully took away suspected oil bunkerers from police custody – IGP tells court

Customs sets 90-day window for duty payment on improperly imported vehicles

Hardship: I knew they will deploy clerics – Aisha Yesufu reacts to ‘end time’ message

Amid worsening economic hardship and hunger in the country, a social critic and human rights activist, Aisha Yesufu, says she knew politicians would deploy clerics to confuse Nigerians.

Yesufu was reacting to a statement credited to an Abuja cleric and Senior Pastor of the Shepherd House Assembly International, Reverend Joshua Talena, that the current global unrest signals the approaching end times.

The cleric during a Sunday service in Abuja, emphasized that the scriptures foretold of widespread unrest, wickedness, hunger, and other evils in the final days.

Talena also pointed to insecurity in certain regions of the country as evidence of the end times, urging congregants not to lose hope.

However, Yesufu said she knew a time would come when they (referring to political leaders) will deploy the clerics.

She said: “I knew they will soon deploy the clerics!

“Didn’t the Prophet (SAW) tell us that signs of last days will include everyone being so rich that who to give Zakkah to will become a challenge to find?”

Canadian returnee demands disbandment of vigilante outfit over alleged threat to life

A Canadian returnee, Mr Chidiebere Eluwa, from Amakama community in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, has called for the disbandment of a local vigilante group in his community, citing threat to peoples’ lives as his reason.

Eluwa, who made the call in Umuahia, alleged that the group was becoming a source of fear to the people and a willing tool of oppression.

He alleged that the group attacked him at the invitation of his nephews when he attempted to evict them from his father’s house.

According to him, his nephews, who are the sons of his sister, have been living in his father’s house for many years after his sister had issues with the husband but regretted that they are causing problems for his aged father and their mother.

“I came back from Canada just to make sure there’s peace in my father’s house because I’m the only son. I gave money to my nephews to rent an apartment elsewhere so that my father who is very old, and my sister, can have peace,” he said.

Eluwa explained that he reported the matter to the Police.

But he said that some policemen who came to the community to handle the matter were attacked by members of the local security outfit who, according to him, also tried to seize an AK 47 riffle belonging to one of the cops.

He called for the disbandment of the security outfit, and a thorough investigation of their activities.

“The community has been living in fear of this group, and they are afraid to talk,” he added.

Eluwa who said that his nephews are now at large, cried out that they are still threatening him, using men of the community security outfit to harass him.

He further called on the Inspector General of Police to come to the aid of the community, and investigate the activities of the said vigilante group.

However, when contacted, Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, of Abia State Command, ASP Maureen Chinaka, said the matter has not been brought to her notice.

She advised Eluwa to report the matter to the Commissioner of Police detailing what happened, including the alleged threat to his life, for proper investigations.

‘Return on investment in Nigeria mouth watering’ – Tinubu woos Qatari investors

Zamfara Govt verifies over 3,000 retirees, settles N2.3bn backlog of gratuities