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Enugu Community Express Confidence To Get Justice In Case Of Police Intimidation, Land Grabbing

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By Gloria Ikibah
Chairman of the Obeagu Town Union Litigation Committee, in Obeagu Awkunanaw local government of Enugu State, Chiene Chiene, has expressed confidence that the community will get justice in the case of an alleged police harassment as well land grabbing in a petition presented to the House of Representatives.
Naijablitznews.com reports that the community had petitioned the House over allegations of land grabbing and police harassment which led to the destruction of property as well as the loss of lives by certain interests.
A petition was written to the House Committee on Public Petitions, and during hearing , the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Mike Etaba, struck out the case of land grabbing, and said it was before a court of competent jurisdiction.
He however vowed that the issue of intimidation and harassment by the police would be followed up to the letter.
In his submission, Chiene said, “We presented our petition asking the national assembly to come to our rescue to stop the police intimidation and harassment. That is why we went there so that whether this issue of whether or not our land was legally acquired should be put to rest. They are forceful land grabbers. We are happy with the situation as they are sending their legal consultant to do some underground assessments of the situation. So we believe very strongly that we would get what we are looking for which is justice and peace given the facts before them”.
He said the police should not be used to harass them as the matter is in court.
According to Chiene, there was a siege laid against the community at large as a result of the conspiracies and plans orchestrated principally by the trio of Dr. Festus Uzor, Kingsley Eze and Barrister Gozie Okoye to forcefully take over their land.
The petition presented to the House reads: “We must state that the attempt to forcefully take over and sell off our ancestral land was hatched sometime in 2009 by the ‘three musketeers’ named above. The question is what is their connection in relation to this issue at stake?
“As earlier stated, sometime in 2009, Dr. Festus Uzor was the Commissioner for Lands, Enugu State during the tenure of Bar. Sullivan Chime, Bar Gozie Okoye was the Branch Manager of Diamond Bank, Enugu while Kingsley Eze of Private Estates Int’l West Africa, (PEIWA) who was hardly known then, apparently dangled this heinous project or what we could regard as ‘operation take over Obeagu land’ to the other two who gladly saw the potentials of the ‘deal’ and keyed into it.
“Thus, Dr. Festus Uzor used his office as the Commissioner for Lands, and did sign the letter of offer to PEIWA, then Barr Gozie Okoye used his office to secure a Two-Billion-naira loan facility secured with our land, and thereafter hell was let loose, and our community became a battle ground for every land grabber to unleash their selfish pangs against us. It is needless to say that since this conspiracy was hatched and purportedly executed, we as a community have known no peace; as we have been continually victimized, dehumanized, degraded, incarcerated and made to suffer helplessly.
“We pray you to come to our rescue and protect us from the stranglehold of those named persons, particularly, Kingsley Eze of PEIWA, who have left nothing to spare in their bid to emasculate and annihilate us to enable them take over our land. We must not also fail to report the activities and oppressive conducts of SP Chidiebere Ijomah, DCP Olasoji Akinbayo and the Area Commander Metro, ACP Sogbeba Dulphine, who are being used by the land grabbers to oppress, intimidate and cow us to submit willy-nilly to the illegal acquisition and take-over of our ancestral land.”
The community prayed the House to stop the menace of the allegd land grabbers and save our community from the invasion and forceful takeover of our ancestral land.
“We are convinced you have the capacity to draw the attention of the Enugu State Government to the excesses of the officials of ECTDA who are being used by the land grabbers to forcefully dispossess us of our ancestral land. The Enugu State Government must bring an end to these unwholesome activities of these land grabbers in order to pave way for the peaceful development of the state.
“We have it on good authority that because the fraudulent loan as granted by Gozie Okoye and his cohorts to PEIWA, secured with our land, which loan has obviously been mismanaged, the AMCON may get involved, which implies that we may permanently lose our land if nothing is done now. We implore you therefore to invite the NDIC to investigate the circumstances which led to the said loan and the use of our land as security without our knowledge or consent.
“Lastly, we also pray you to direct the police high command to apply appropriate sanctions against the above named officers who have clearly abused their offices in their pursuit of their selfish interest or personal aggrandizements,” the community requested.
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Shettima becomes 1st VP to lead Nigeria’s delegation to UN Assembly in 25 yrs

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has decided not to attend the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York this year.

The president has thus directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation.

President Tinubu, who returned to the country last Sunday after his trip to China and the United Kingdom, according to a statement yesterday by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, wants to focus on domestic issues and address some of the country’s challenges, especially after the recent devastating flooding.

“At UNGA 79, Vice President Shettima will deliver Nigeria’s national statement to the General Assembly, attend important sideline events, and hold bilateral meetings.”

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“The high-level General Debate, with the theme ‘Leaving no one behind: Acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations,’ will run from Tuesday, September 24, through Saturday, September 28, 2024,” the statement added.

Since return to democratic governance in 199, Shettima will be the first Vice President to Nigeria’s delegation to UNGA.

Only Goodluck Jonathan represented Nigeria as Acting president in September 2010 at the 65th UNGA, while late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua was away in Saudi Arabia due to his ill health.

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Plateau Assembly approves N5.8bn for LG election

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The Plateau State House of Assembly, on Thursday, approved N5.8bn for the conduct of the local government election in the state slated for October 9, 2024.

The approval by the House followed a communication from Governor Caleb Mutfwang, which was read at plenary by the Assembly Speaker, Gabriel Dewan.

The Speaker stated that the request was necessary as there was no budgetary allocation for the LG elections in the 2024 budget.

A member of the State Assembly, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak for the Assembly, confirmed the development to The PUNCH in Jos on Thursday.

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The lawmaker said, “Governor Mutfwang, at Tuesday’s plenary, sought the House’s approval for N5.7bn as the 2024 supplementary, which was increased after upward review by the legislators.”

He continued, “The House leader, Joseph Bukar, presented the bill during our plenary. While soliciting the support of members for speedy passage, he said PLASIEC was running out of time in preparation for the election.”

“In their individual contributions, Hon. Kalamu Dal suggested a downward review of the budget size, while Hon. Daniel Nanbol urged for a critical review and deliberations. Afterwards, members approved a revised sum of N5.8bn, as opposed to the N5.7bn requested.”

The increase, as explained by Bukar, was due to an increase in security allocation for the election, from N2.7m to N4.2m. “So, that is what happened, and that is where we are at the moment regarding the forthcoming LG election,” the lawmaker concluded.

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Enugu, Kwara tighten security ahead of LG polls

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Security measures have been intensified in Enugu and Kwara states ahead of their Local Government elections scheduled for Saturday, September 21, 2024.

In Enugu State, the Police Command has pledged to ensure the safety of lives and properties during the elections.

However, the peace accord signing for the elections was marred by the absence of major parties like the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress, and Labour Party.

Only representatives from the All Progressives Grand Alliance and Accord attended but chose not to sign the accord, citing the lack of participation from the leading parties.

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Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Kanayo Uzuegbu, said all wards and flashpoints had been identified, and security personnel would be on high alert to prevent any disruptions.

The Chairman of the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission, Prof. Chris Ngwu, said the commission was fully prepared for the elections with the support of the state government in procuring necessary materials.

In Kwara State, security agencies have been actively coordinating to ensure a smooth electoral process.

Over 3,000 personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps have been deployed across the state.

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The Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission has completed arrangements for a trouble-free election.

Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, reported that a strategic meeting with heads of various security agencies, including the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force, and others, had been held to ensure coordinated efforts for maintaining law and order.

The Commissioner of Police, Victor Olaiya, guaranteed maximum security for the election period.

The NSCDC Commandant, Dr. Umar Mohammed, announced the deployment of 3,000 personnel to various polling units and emphasised their role in preventing violence, ballot snatching, and other disruptions.

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Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission, Telumun Tombowua, announced on Thursday that eight political parties will participate in the upcoming LG elections in the state, scheduled for October 5, 2024.

Addressing journalists in Makurdi, Tombowua said the election would be conducted fairly and transparently.

He emphasised that the law establishing the BSIEC does not permit the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation Machines for this election.

Regarding the APC, Tombowua confirmed that the National Working Committee of the party had requested the commission to work with the seven-man caretaker committee appointed to oversee party affairs in the state.

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He noted that while 14 parties had initially shown interest, only eight completed the necessary processes and submitted their candidates.

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