News & Announcements

Following a shooting attack in the Maiyanga community in the Plateau State LGA of Bokkos, three deaths were announced on Monday.

It was discovered that two additional people were shot during the attack that took place on Sunday night.

Bulus Sule, a resident of Maiyanga community, confirmed the incident to The PUNCH in Jos on Monday and stated that the injured were transported to the hospital to receive treatment.

Sule said, “It was last night (Sunday) that the gunmen came and attacked the people in Maiyanga community. They shot three persons dead while two persons sustained gunshot injuries. The shooting was just too much. Right now, the community is in pain.”

Another resident of the community, who identified himself as Ilya, condemned the killing of the villagers.

He said that the security officers had been informed about the attack and that they had arrived in the neighborhood some hours after the shooters had left the site.

In order to prevent further attacks on the populace, he urged the authorities to step up security in the neighborhood.

When reached about the attack at the time this report was filled up, Alabo Alfred, the spokesman for the Plateau State Police Command, did not answer his phone.

On Monday morning, protesters gathered outside the entrance of the University of Ibadan in Oyo State to voice their displeasure with the country’s continued economic instability.

The institution’s gate was blocked by community members, obstructing traffic and other activity.

Soldiers and Operation Burst officials had already arrived at the area, according to a student who does not want her identity used in this article.

However, Mrs. Adejoke Akinpelu, the university’s communication officer, informed our correspondent that the security forces had dispersed the demonstrators.

She said, “The U.I Chief Security Officer told me that it was some miscreants in the community who gathered themselves together at the gate this morning, causing problems. Our students are sitting for their exams so they are not part of them. I was also told the security personnels who came have dispersed them.”

Nigeria has been dealing with a hurting naira and a petrol shortage for several weeks.

There have been reports of angry citizens of Ibadan damaging both public and private facilities because they were unable to withdraw money from banks or purchase fuel because of the shortage.

Nigerians are under tremendous pressure and hardship on a national level as many are unable to withdraw money from banks, ATMs, and point-of-sale operators.

The fuel crisis has also made things more difficult because the cost of gas at the pump has surged, increasing the cost of transportation at motor parks all throughout the country.

Mrs. Sylvester Onome, a pregnant woman, was detained by agents of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the NAHCO export shed of the Muritala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos State after 800 grams of skunk were allegedly found hidden in two miniature radio sets she was shipping to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In a statement on Sunday, the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the event and added that the suspect was taken into custody on January 30.

The statement read, “Another housewife, Mrs Okpara Chizoba, was arrested at her residence at 37, Obashola Street, Ijesha, Lagos, on Friday, January 27, following the seizure of 300g of skunk hidden in a bag of crayfish she was sending to Dubai, UAE, through a freight agent.

“In the same vein, operatives at the SAHCO export shed of the airport on Thursday, January 26, intercepted a sack of new clothes going to Sierra Leone.

“During a thorough search of the consignment, a parcel of white crystalline substance that tested positive to methamphetamine with a gross weight of 1kg, as well as 300g of skunk and 100g ecstasy were recovered. A freight agent, Mfonabasi Joseph, was already arrested in connection with the seizure,” Babafemi added.

He said that on January 2nd, operatives in the Jekadefari region of Gombe State also detained a 40-year-old secondary school teacher named Sani Isah for trafficking a brand-new psychoactive drug called Akuskura.

He was caught with precisely 2,198 bottles of the drug hidden in six suitcases, despite saying he started the illegal enterprise in 2018.

A mother and her seven children aged two to 14 died after a fire broke out while they slept in their house in northern France on Monday, police and firefighters said.

Just after midnight, a fire broke out in the family’s residence in Charly-sur-Marne, a town located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Paris.

Just before 1:00 am(0000 GMT) , neighbors called the fire department to report the incident.

They claimed that the woman’s husband, who is the father of three of the children, suffered severe burns and was taken to a hospital.

There were two boys and five girls among the kids. Four of them were from the mother’s previous marriage.

On Saturday, gunmen stormed Amagu Ihube, Nnaemeka Obiaraeri’s hometown in the Okigwe Local Government Area of the state, where he is running for the Imo State House of Assembly.

Obiaraeri’s house and cars, and the houses of his father and uncle were burnt by the gunmen who were said to have stormed the community in the early hours of Saturday.

The LP candidate accused the APC-led governments in the state and at the federal level of failing to address the “awful condition of insecurity in Nigeria” in a statement.

The statement read in part, “Unknown gunmen (surely known to their sponsors), went to my hometown in Amagu Ihube to burn down my house and burn to ashes my operational factory vehicles parked there.

“They also destroyed my father’s house and that of my uncle… My aged mum and siblings are in trauma!!! Three Hilux trucks loaded with bandits and killers, went on a spree, burning houses and maiming people without anyone stopping them.

“I don’t know who I offended and why anyone will target me for destruction. I have not eaten anyone’s yam or fish.”

However, according to Obiaraeri, the incident made it much more important for Imo locals to support the Labour Party.

The statement added, “This is another evidence of the failure of the APC governments in Imo State and Aso Rock, to live up to their oath of office of protecting lives and property of law-abiding Nigerians.

“This again reinforces our call on Nigerians to pick their PVCs and help vote in Peter Obi and Datti Baba Ahmed of the Labour Party as the next President and vice president of Nigeria.”

The Imo State Police Command, however, said that the area’s security had been stepped up.

The police spokesperson, Henry Okoye, while confirming the attack, said, “Yes, it’s true and we have set up robust patrols around that axis to fish out those that are involved in that attack.”

Barely 24 hours after protest rocked Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, over the scarcity of fuel and new naira notes, another group of youths, on Saturday staged a protest at Dogo community in Apata, Ido Local Government Area of the state, leading to the death of three persons.

The youths were reportedly assembling when security personnel showed up and ordered them to disperse.

The security guards and the youths got into a fight after giving the order.

A source stated, “I cannot actually say what really happened. The youths assembled themselves and suddenly police and soldiers arrived in the area. Nobody knew what happened until one of them angrily shot into the air. People started scampering for safety.

“This action infuriated those youths, and they engaged security officers. The officers shot three people. One died immediately, the second guy died before getting to the hospital while the third person died at the hospital.”

The state Police Command responded to the unrest with a statement, claiming that only one person had been murdered.

The state police public relations officer, Adewale Osifeso, authorized a statement that read: “Today (Saturday) at about 1015hrs, while embarking on series of confidence-building patrols around different black spots and flash points, the joint convoy patrol comprising the police and other agencies ran into a band of hoodlums around Apata junction market, Apata Area, under Ido Local Government Area.”

Women in Bauchi who plan to cast votes in the upcoming general elections have been warned not to have henna one week prior to voting so that their finger prints can be recognized by the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

The advise was made by Modibo Abubakar, the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Bauchi, Borno, and Yobe, in response to queries from local press after observing the fake accreditation and BVAS machine operation on Saturday.

Twelve voting units in six Registration Areas/Wards, located in the three Senatorial zones of Bauchi, Darazo, Katagum, Ningi, Toro, and Zaki LGAs, participated in the Mock Accreditation to evaluate the functionality of the BVAS.

After observing the execution of the exercise in the Darazo LGA of Bauchi State, Modibo Abubakar Alkali (Rtd), the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Bauchi, Borno, and Yobe States, said the exercise was praiseworthy.

The National Commissioner added that the simulated election was yet another achievement in the country’s efforts to ensure the success of the upcoming general elections in 2023.

Out of the six local government areas where the simulated exercise was done, the National Commissioner stated that the certification process was outstanding because the statistics conformed strongly and optimally.

He added that all of the polling places visited had fantastic voter turnout, and more people were still anticipated to vote before the polls closed at 2:30 pm.

Modibo Alkali also praised the INEC for implementing the Biomodal Voter Registration System (BVAS), noting that it was speedier and more efficient because it recorded the fingerprint in less than a minute without wasting any time.

Then, in order for the machine to read their fingerprints, he instructed the women to refrain from applying henna on their hands at least a week prior to voting day.

However, he urged the public to always direct their complaints through the INEC and work with them to educate the public on the significance of the exercise, especially at the grassroots level.

The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) test run that was conducted in the State by the Bauchi INEC Regional Executive Committee, Mohammed Nura, was deemed successful.

Some voters at Majidadi ward, Ajiyari Primary School in Bauchi and Darazo local governments expressed their confidence on the BVAS machine, saying “We are now confident that our votes will count this time around”.

They applauded INEC and the federal government for using the BVAS in the upcoming general elections in the nation in 2023.

The electorate indicated confidence that the BVAS system will function smoothly during the general election in the same manner as it did during the mock exercise.

One of the voters, Aisha Musa said that, “I am very happy with the way the machine operated, it did not take me more than a minute to get accredited, it was not difficult at all. I hope that it will be same during the elections proper”.

In a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo, a supporter of Bola Tinubu’s bid for the presidency of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023, requested permission to take part in the distribution of sensitive election-related materials.

Oluomo who is also the general manager of the Lagos State Parks Management Committee (LSPMC) in his letter to INEC appealed to be allowed to distribute sensitive electoral materials and transport election officials on Election Day.

According to reports, the LSPMC recalled that the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) had been suspended in Lagos state in a letter dated January 12, 2023, and received by INEC on January 16, 2023.

He pleaded with INEC to break off all ties to the union and cooperate with the LSPMC to successfully distribute sensitive election materials around the state.

Oluomo further notified INEC in the letter that various states, including Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, and Osun, are no longer part of the NURTW.

The aforementioned states are governed by their own state parks and garages associations, claims Tinubu’s ally.

He claimed that in order to prevent technical, logistical, and deployment issues that would have an impact on the states’ elections, a notification and request letter to INEC became essential.

In continuation of its clampdown at elements frustrating efforts in making the redesigned Naira notes available to members of the public, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has arrested an official of one of the commercial banks for alleged sabotage.

The bank official, who is the Branch Service Head of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Deidei Branch, Abuja, was taken into custody for her deliberate refusal to upload cash into the branch’s Automated Teller Machines (ATM) even when the cash was available, and people were queuing at the ATMs.

When the ICPC monitoring team stormed the bank at about 1:30 pm to ensure compliance and demanded an explanation as to why all the ATMs were not dispensing cash, it was informed by the branch’s Head of Operations that the bank just got delivery the cash.

However, facts available to the ICPC operatives indicated that the branch took delivery of the cash around 11:58 am and either willfully or maliciously refused to feed the ATMs with the cash.

Against this backdrop, the ICPC team compelled the bank to load the ATMs with the redesigned Naira notes and ensured that they were all dispensing before arresting the culprit.

Investigations are still ongoing, and the Commission will take appropriate actions as soon they are concluded.

In a related development, the ICPC Compliance Team in Oshogbo has busted an FCMB in Osogbo, Osun State where some ATMs were loaded with cash with their wrappers un-removed, thus preventing the cash from being dispensed.

The Team, therefore, directed that the wrappers be removed, and the cash loaded properly.

However, when a follow-up visit was undertaken the following day to ascertain the level of compliance, the Team discovered that one of the ATMs was still loaded with the wrappers un-removed.

The Operation Manager of the Bank was arrested and taken in for questioning.

Similarly, seven Point of Sale (POS) operators as well as a security guard were arrested during the ongoing exercise in Osun State for charging exorbitant commissions for cash.

Investigations, however, revealed that they got the money from Filling Stations that collect new notes from fuel buyers, but they then resell the cash to the public at exorbitant rates. 

The arrested persons are helping the Commission with information to assist investigations and bust any syndicates involved in the hoarding or sales of the redesigned notes.

Mark Zuckerberg’s cost-cutting efforts for Meta have paid off for investors and him personally as the company’s stock price rose 22% on Thursday.

The boost extends the stock’s winning streak, bringing this year’s gains to almost 55%. Since Meta went public in 2012, Thursday’s performance was its second-best day at $189 per share.

The stock’s positive performance subsequently increased Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth by about $13 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index where he is ranked 13th.

Currently, the total value of his fortune is $69 billion.

Mark stated that the company’s primary product, Facebook, which gave rise to the corporation, now had 2 billion daily active users.

According to the corporation, about 3 billion people use its apps every day, up 5 per cent from this time last year.

After the firm reported its first-ever annual revenue decline, Mark Zuckerberg’s troubled social media company announced plans for a $40 billion share buyback.

Meanwhile, Meta said that it will spend billions more buying up its shares. The buyback announcement caused Meta’s shares to soar more than 22% in after-hours trading.

Note that share buybacks reward investors by giving them their money back and promote share prices by lowering the number of circulating stocks.

Despite the company reporting the first year sales decline in its history, Meta managed to rise.

Zuckerberg has proclaimed 2023 the “Year of Efficiency,” and he is committed to building a stronger, more adaptable organization.

Chinese-owned TikTok, which competes with Instagram and Facebook, is a significant threat to Meta.

Mr Zuckerberg said that his business was making significant strides with its AI discovery engine, an area where its Chinese rival has gotten a jump on it, and Instagram’s Reels product, which is viewed as a rival to TikTok’s short-form films.

Meta’s profits fell by 41% to $23.2 billion in 2022. A pricey round of layoffs and ongoing significant losses on Mr Zuckerberg’s metaverse wager harmed performance.

The Reality Labs branch of the social media business, which houses its metaverse operations, reported worsening losses of $13 billion, an increase of $3 billion above the $10 billion loss it reported in 2021. In just the last three months of 2022, the division lost $4.3 billion.

A restructuring charge of $4.1 billion was also made by the corporation, including 11,000 layoffs that were announced at the close of the previous year.