News
Police arrest 1,100 protesters, military threatens to intervene
The Nigerian military has said it will intervene if violence recorded in some states in the ongoing nationwide protest tagged #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria escalates.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, during a press conference in Abuja, said the military would step in to control the looting and violence being witnessed in some parts of the country.
The #EndBadGovernance protest started on Thursday with no fewer than 17 people feared killed as violence erupted in Abuja, Kano, Niger, Borno, Kaduna and Jigawa states. Businesses and banks were shut, while major roads were deserted.
The protest continued Friday as the police and protesters clashed in different parts of the country.
The CDS noted that while he was aware of the “grievances” of the protesters on the challenging economic difficulties in the country, they must show understanding.
He appealed to Nigerians to be united during “these trying times” and cautioned against looting and vandalisation of property. The defence chief decried the destruction of valuables during the nationwide protests, describing it as “crazy.”
He stressed that the military and other security agencies “will not fold” their arms and “allow this country to be destroyed.”
“The Armed Forces and the entire security agencies will not stand by and see that to continue. We want to warn those that are recalcitrant; those that don’t want to listen that we will not fold our arms and allow this country to be destroyed.
“We will take action and the action we will take, we will take it professionally. Anyone that is caught will be taken to court and will be dealt with.
“There are a bunch of people who believe that it is only through this medium that they will be able to loot, steal and destroy. And that is what they tried to do yesterday but we have arrested most of them that broke into places to steal and they will be prosecuted accordingly.
“We are also going behind to ensure that we also identify those that are involved; there are individuals who are sponsoring them, pushing them to do this, we are going after them,” he added.
Police disperse Abuja protesters, shoot hoodlums
Some Nigerians, including journalists who reconvened on Friday for the protest were injured after police made attempts to disperse them in Abuja.
Our correspondents gathered that when the demonstration began at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, protesters refused to be confined to a spot as directed by an FCT High Court order, and also ignored police warnings against holding a procession.
As tension mounted and protesters decided to stage a walk, they were ambushed near the National Hospital area, and dispersed with tear gas and live ammunition.
Five injured protesters said they jumped into the bush when the shooting started.
When other protesters heard about the police harassment, they left the national stadium to reconvene at the Berger Roundabout, but were tear-gassed.
A few minutes after being tear-gassed, the defiant protesters reconvened, vowing not to back down until their demands were met by the Federal Government.
A protester, who gave his name as Tari, criticised the police, saying the group would not be intimidated.
Another protester, Michael Zayi, said if the President had listened to Nigerians earlier, the situation would not have escalated.
He maintained that protesters were committed to demanding better lives for all citizens despite the use of force.
But the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, in a statement on Friday, directed hospitals and medical personnel to report anyone who presented with gunshot wounds to the nearest police station.
The command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, noted that policemen engaged some hoodlums in “a fierce gun duel”, with many escaping with gunshot injuries.
According to him, the hoodlums took advantage of the hunger protest to embark on extortion and assault of innocent citizens along the Lugbe end of the FCT.
Adeh revealed that residents alerted the police to the development.
“Following distress calls about the activities of some hoodlums who took advantage of the ongoing protests, which began on Thursday, 1st August 2024, to block the Lugbe end of the Shehu Musa Yaradua Expressway at about 10pm, embarking on massive robbery and assault of innocent citizens, which led to an exchange of fire with police operatives in the Lugbe area of Abuja, the FCT Command hereby puts all medical personnel in and around the Federal Capital Territory on high alert to the possibility of receiving victims with gunshot wounds,” she said.
Adeh explained that the command was making the request in line with the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017.
She said the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bennett Igweh, warned against committing crimes under the guise of protest.
Police tear gas demonstrators, journalist in A’Ibom
In Akwa Ibom State, men of the state police command were reported to have fired tear gas canisters at a group of protesters who gathered at the Ibom Plaza to continue the hunger protest for the second day.
A journalist with the New Nigerian Newspapers in Akwa Ibom State was also tear-gassed while interviewing protesters.
One of our correspondents reported that the group was singing solidarity songs when the police opened the canisters on them and marched them to Unity Park, along Udoudoma Avenue, where they had been restricted to.
A protester, who spoke on condition of anonymity at the plaza before the police intervened, said they were protesting because life in Nigeria was becoming increasingly unbearable for the average person.
He said, “We are here to protest against the high cost of fuel. In this country, we can do better as a people. We cannot produce crude oil in Nigeria and buy fuel for N900 per litre. This is unacceptable.
“An average person can no longer feed their family because of the current state of affairs. The Federal Government claims to have increased the minimum wage, but it is worthless as it cannot even buy a bag of rice. If you earn N70,000, you need to borrow N20,000 to buy a bag of rice. We want the price of a bag of rice to be reduced to N10,000 and the price of fuel to drop to N100.”
Security operatives brutalise Bauchi PWD in wheelchair
In Bauchi State, security guards at the Government House gate wrestled with the leader of the Initiative for the Liberalisation of Physically Challenged People, Hamza Waziri.
In a trending video on social media, the security agents can be seen hitting the victim while he sits in his wheelchair.
Waziri stated that he was on the street of the government house alongside other physically challenged persons while exercising their constitutional right of peaceful demonstration when they were attacked by the guards.
He said, “I was doing a live video so one of the policemen came to me and said that I had filmed him and they were trying to grab the phone from me. As they were struggling to grab the phone from my hand, they kept brutalising me. They gave me a couple of punches as you can see from the video.
“There were not more than 10 of us, but I was the only one actually standing in front of the Government House just to raise our placards that said, ‘Employment should be for all’, ‘Everybody should be allowed to be employed’, ‘Inclusive Society’.”
Mukhtar Gidado, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, said an investigation was ongoing into the incident.
Hoodlums attack Yobe Red Cross office, burn vehicles
In Yobe, hoodlums attacked the office of the Red Cross in Gujba, Maiduguri-Potiskum Road, Damaturu, the state capital, destroying property and setting a vehicle ablaze.
Photos and videos obtained by our correspondents showed the vehicle on fire, as well as another Red Cross-branded Landcuiser and a bus damaged with their windows smashed.
When contacted on Friday, the Coordinator of Communications and Advocacy for the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Chima Nwankwo, confirmed the incident.
“The office was attacked around 1pm this afternoon (Friday). Some of our property, air conditioners, and vehicles were destroyed and they took some away, burnt our cars but there was no casualty,” he said.
He described the assailants as a “mob” with unclear motivations.
“They simply came to vandalise our property,” he said.
PUNCH
OSOGBO — The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the outcome of the August 15, 2026, Osun State governorship election as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it is not convinced that Governor Ademola Adeleke secured the highest number of valid votes.
INEC on Sunday declared Adeleke the winner after the Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Olalekan Ogunwale, announced the final results at the commission’s headquarters in Osogbo.
Adeleke, who contested on the platform of the Accord Party, polled 511,067 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dr Najeem Salaam, came third with 17,180 votes.
However, the APC said it would not accept the declaration without conducting a comprehensive review of the electoral process.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on Monday, the Director-General of the APC campaign for the Osun governorship election, Hon. Oluwole Oke, said the party had commenced an audit of the results and electoral materials from the poll.
Oke said the party had directed its agents across the state to submit relevant result sheets for scrutiny as it investigates alleged infractions.
“We need to do the needful which is to evaluate the process, review the process and then form an opinion. We’ve embarked on an audit process; we’ve asked all our party agents to submit copies of Form EC8A, B, C to our secretariat for review. We need to inspect all the materials because we do not agree with the declaration of INEC, and that’s our position for now,” he said.
The APC campaign chief also dismissed suggestions that the party was under pressure to immediately accept the outcome following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s congratulatory message to Adeleke.
Tinubu had congratulated Adeleke after the declaration, describing the outcome as a reflection of the will of the people.
Reacting to the President’s position, Oke said Tinubu spoke in his capacity as President and a democrat following INEC’s declaration.
“Mr. President spoke as the Father of the nation and a democrat following the declaration by INEC,” he said.
Oke, however, maintained that the APC would rely on its own assessment of the election after completing its review.
“We’re on ground and politics is local and, like I’ve told you, what we’re doing is to conduct a thorough review of the entire process and form an opinion,” he said.
He added that the party would not be rushed into congratulating Adeleke, insisting that its preliminary position was that the governor did not secure the highest number of valid votes.
“We won’t be under any subtle pressure to easily reach out to congratulate Senator Ademola Adeleke because we believe he didn’t score the highest valid votes,” Oke said.
The APC is expected to determine its next course of action after completing its audit and reviewing the electoral materials and results submitted by its agents.
ABAKALIKI — The 2027 governorship race in Ebonyi State is gathering momentum, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Chief Ifeanyi Odii, unveiling a package of reforms aimed at improving the welfare of workers, teachers and retirees.
Odii made the commitments during a meeting with representatives of Ebonyi civil servants and members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) at his Lagos residence, where he outlined his plans for a comprehensive reform of the state’s public service.
A major component of his agenda is a workers’ housing scheme designed to provide 1,000 housing units within his first year in office and up to 5,000 units over four years if elected governor.
Odii said the housing programme would be structured to minimise dependence on direct government funding, with workers’ contributions and existing pension assets forming part of the financing framework.
He said the initiative would address the housing difficulties faced by workers and retirees, particularly retirees who often struggle to sustain rented accommodation after leaving government service.
The PDP candidate also proposed a paperless digital loan platform that would allow workers to access loans against their contributory pension savings without the bureaucratic delays associated with the existing system.
On retirement benefits, Odii pledged that workers would have access to their entitlements immediately upon retirement, arguing that retirees should not endure prolonged delays in receiving benefits accrued during their years of service.
He further promised to reform the promotion process through computer-based promotion examinations capable of producing results instantly.
According to him, the digital system would reduce delays, curb opportunities for manipulation and promote greater transparency and fairness in the career progression of civil servants.
Odii said the proposed reforms were aimed at creating a public service where workers would have improved access to housing, credit facilities and timely retirement benefits, while ensuring a more transparent promotion system.
He presented the proposals as part of his broader agenda to improve workers’ welfare and reposition the Ebonyi State civil service for greater efficiency if elected governor in 2027.
The MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited (MEDL) has confirmed the death of one of its operations staff in an electrical accident.
The Head of Communications, MEDL, Mr Emeka Ezeh, who confirmed the incident in Enugu on Monday, said that the incident occured on Aug. 13 at Eke in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Ezeh said that the incident, which occurred at about 1p.m., involved Mr. Samson Okechi, the Team Lead, Abor, attached to the company’s 9th Mile District.
He said, “Okechi was carrying out maintenance work on a 50kVA/11kV pole-mounted distribution substation at Eke when he sustained an electric shock.
“Okechi was immediately evacuated to Our Saviour Hospital, Ngwo, for medical attention but was pronounced dead by the doctor on duty. His remains were subsequently deposited at a mortuary.”
He said that the incident was formally reported at the Ngwo Police Station for documentation and other necessary statutory actions.
Ezeh also debunked claims circulating on some social media platforms that Okechi was murdered or that the incident was the result of sabotage.
“I wonder why some people take pleasure in conjuring unfounded narratives and circulating them, thereby creating unnecessary tension and bad blood. This is so unfair,” he said.
He urged members of the public to disregard the claims, describing them as baseless.
According to him, Okechi had requested a Station Guarantee (SG) for the Okwe 11kV Feeder, which was granted at about 11:06 a.m. at the 9th Mile Injection Substation. The feeder was subsequently opened and tagged.
“This is a very unfortunate development and a big shock to all of us, his colleagues. Our hearts go out to his immediate family as they grieve,” Ezeh said.
The MEDL spokesman disclosed that MainPower management had commenced a comprehensive investigation to establish the immediate, underlying and root causes of the accident.
He said, “We are committed to ensuring that the investigation is thorough and evidence-based.
“The findings will be used to identify any gaps, determine appropriate corrective measures, and strengthen safety procedures and operational controls where necessary.”
Ezeh MEDL assured its customers and stakeholders that safety remained a paramount priority in its operations, adding that appropriate measures would be taken based on the outcome of the investigation.
Idiaye, a third-term lawmaker, takes over from Blessing Agbebaku, who resigned as Speaker on Monday amid moves by lawmakers to impeach him.
The emergence of Idiaye was said to have been influenced by the gentleman’s zoning arrangement in the Assembly, which provides that when the governor is from the Edo Central Senatorial District, the Speaker should come from Edo North.
Idiaye, being the oldest member from the Edo North Senatorial District, was subsequently elected Speaker.
Without the zoning arrangement, the Deputy Speaker would have automatically succeeded Agbebaku, according to the new Speaker.
Members of the Assembly were at the Government House to inform Governor Monday Okpebholo of the change in leadership.
Agbebaku was said to have resigned early on Monday following alleged moves by lawmakers to impeach him.
Reports gathered that 17 of the 24 lawmakers had signed a notice of impeachment on Sunday night, a development that may have prompted his resignation.
Agbebaku’s resignation was confirmed by Ebojele, who said details of the development would be made public later.
She said, “I can confirm the Speaker’s resignation but details will be made public later.”
The Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, has resigned from his position.
Agbebaku stepped down on Monday amid moves by some lawmakers to impeach him.
His resignation was confirmed on Facebook by his media aide, Ivy Adodo-Ebojele, who said further details on the circumstances surrounding his exit would be made public later.
“EDO ASSEMBLY SPEAKER RT HON CHIEF BLESSING AGBEBAKU RESIGNS,” she wrote.
The development has thrown the Edo State House of Assembly into a fresh leadership crisis, with lawmakers expected to determine a new Speaker.
Details shortly…
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