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Okuama Killing: Lawmaker Calls For Caution, Professionalism to Avoid Collateral Damage

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By Gloria Ikibah
Lawmaker representing Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives of Bayelsa state, Rep. Rodney Ebikebina Ambaiowei, has said that in the execution of the intelligence report of the killing of some military officers in Okuama, Delta state, should be done with utmost caution to minimize collateral damage to innocent and law abiding citizens.
Rep. Ambamaiowei also stressed that caution and professionalism must be the watch word to forestall unpleasant and regrettable consequences in the approach to bringing the culprits to book.
The lawmaker stated this at a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja on the aftermath of the cold blooded murder of military personnel at Okuama Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State on the 14 March, 2024.
He also condemned in its entirety the dastardly act which he called “A Great National Tragedy”.
He said: It has become imperative and compelling to lend my voice in condemning an event which is uncalled for and avoidable loss of lives of Nigerians on the side of the Nigerian Military and the communities affected in Ughelli South and Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency.
“There is no gainsaying that the gruesome and unprovoked murder of sixteen officers and men of the Nigerian army consisting of a Lieutenant Colonel, two majors, a captain and twelve other men of the military by criminals in Okuama community, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State is one of the worse things to have happened to our gallant soldiers in recent history.
“I am aware that the Nigerian Army has the capacity to gather intelligence within a short period. The execution of such intelligence reports should be done with utmost caution to minimize collateral damage to innocent and law abiding citizens. I say this, bearing in mind the invasion and carnage that took place in Odi, November 1999 following the killing of some soldiers and policemen which remains fresh in our memories. Caution and professionalism must be the watch word to forestall unpleasant and regrettable consequences in the approach to bringing the culprits to book.
“At this juncture, I want to align with the thinking and disposition of the President, His Excellency, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly and all the good people of Nigeria who crave for the swift arrest of those criminals who untimely cut short the lives of those officers and men of the Nigerian army who were merely on a peace mission to Okuama. Their dastardly act has created young widows and orphans whose future is now made bleak”.
Rep. Ambamaiowei condoled with President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian Armed Forces, the families of these fallen heroes, and Bayelsa State government.
“I am sadly compelled to issue this press statement following the callous and senseless murder of these officers who were said to be on their line of duty at Okuama, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State which event spilled into Igbomotoru, a hitherto peaceful community in my FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY, Southern Ijaw which is more than one hundred and fifty nautical kilometres from Okuama and in less than twenty-four hours spilled into Igbomotorumy Federal Constituency. This led to the invasion of the once serene community by men said to be of the military in search of the perpetrators of the heinous crime at Okuama. The aftermath of the invasion was the destruction and killing of some innocent and peace loving citizens of IGBOMOTORU community which is rather unfortunate and saddening.
“Let me express my heartfelt condolences to the Bayelsa State government and the widows, widowers and the good people of Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency,
specifically the Igbomotoru community for the untimely demise of innocent citizens arising from the unfortunate military operations”, he added.
He called on the people of Igbomotoru and the entire Southern-Ijaw Federal Constituency, to be vigilant and report any strange movements in their various communities to the nearest law enforcement agents.
Thelawmaker urged the federal government to provide palliatives for the people of these communities as they can no longer go about their businesses, neither can children go to school as they have take  shelter in  the forest and bushes for fear of the military.
“Additionally, I implore parents not to even spare taking drastic actions against their children and wards who are getting out of control. There is a biblical saying that if you spare the rod, you spoil the child.
“Let me most sincerely thank the Bayelsa State Government and Delta State Government for their swift response. I use this medium to call on Federal Government and International Organizations to send Palliatives to the affected Communities whose livelihood has been affected. Those who have lost bread winners in the process and children who as a result of this unfortunate incident have lost precious school time”.
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Nigerian Man Nabbed For Stabbing Fellow National To Death In France

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A 27-year-old Nigerian man, identified only as Popori, has been arrested in Grenoble, France, for allegedly stabbing a fellow citizen, Monday, to death.

It was gathered that the incident occurred on the evening of Friday, November 22, when a fight broke out between two men during an altercation in a grocery store in Grenoble, Isère, France.

DayFR reports that, according to Grenoble Prosecutor Eric Vaillant, who confirmed information from Dauphiné Libéré, the incident occurred around 8:30pm.

The two men were inside an exotic grocery store when an argument broke out, quickly escalating into a violent altercation.

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One of the individuals suddenly stabbed the other in the chest, for reasons still unclear.
Emergency services arrived on the scene but were unable to revive the victim.

On Saturday, the Grenoble public prosecutor announced that a 27-year-old Nigerian man had been taken into police custody at 12:30pm as part of an investigation initiated by the local judicial police service.

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Longest serving monarch dies at 111

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Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa, the longest serving traditional ruler in Bauchi State, is dead.

Inuwa, the village Head of Beli (Sarkin Beli) in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi, passed away at the Federal Medical Center Azare, Katagum Local Government Area of the state.

The monarch who was 111-year-old spent 91 years on the throne.

Chief Imam of Beli, Liman Musa Abubakar, confirmed the death of monarch which he described as a great loss to the entire people of Northern Nigeria.

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During one of the interviews with Daily Trust in his lifetime, the late monarch had said, “Their grandfather was appointed as village head of Beli. He spent 12 years on the throne. He died and our father was appointed the village head. He spent 17 years. After that, I was appointed to the throne when I was 19 years old. This means that by my calculation, I was born around 19 12 or 1913. I was appointed to the throne around 1933 by the Emir of Katagum, AbdulQadir.”

The monarch lived and worked with four different first class Emirs of Katagum.

“We lived with the Emir of Katagum Abdulqadir who appointed me for 12 years before he left the throne and died six months later. Emir Umaru Faruqu was appointed. We spent 35 years with him.

When he died, his son, Muhammadu Kabiru was appointed. We spent 38 years with Emir Kabiru before he died, Again, after Muhammadu Kabiru, the present Emir of Katagum, Umaru Faruq II, was appointed. We lived with him for Six years.

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Late Inuwa had said, “I am almost 91 years old on the throne. Alhamdulillahi, we live in peace with the people. And I gave birth to 11 people. Some of them died, but there are seven of them alive – four men and three women.

Many people interviewed said he was a peaceful ruler who [had] listening ears and worked for the peace of the land.”

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Katsina gov presents N682bn 2025 budget to State Assembly

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Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State on Monday presented the State’s 2025 Budget Proposal to the state House of Assembly.

This is the second full year budget the governor is presenting to the House, which is in the sum of N682,244,449,513.87, covering Recurrent Revenue and Expenditure.

The Budget’s Recurrent Expenditure stands at the sum of N157,967,755,024.36 representing 23.15% while, Capital Expenditure stands at N524,274,694,489.51 representing 76.85%.

The Governor in his speech, announced that, the total of this budget when compared with that of the 2024, has an increase of N200,535,619,501.61, representing 40% increase.

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The Governor, at the beginning of his speech, assured the House that his administration has achieved many of its goals and is on course to meet and exceed its targets.

He insisted that his administration has successfully reversed the tide of insecurity which severely threatened the peaceful co-existence of people in the State.

“Many of our local governments have been restored to normalcy while pushing the bandits to the fringes of the forests and, Insha-Allah, to the end of their existence.

“We have expended a lot of resources in fighting insecurity, and we shall continue to do all we can to protect lives and livelihoods in our dear state. I thank the Honourable Members for your support and dedication to ultimate victory,” he said.

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The Governor while ranking MDAs by allocations, revealed that the Economic Sector got N302,246,140,569.76 representing 44.3%, followed by the Education Sector with 95,995,873,044.70 representing 14%.

In the same vein, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development got 81,840,275,739.70 representing 12% while the Ministry of Rural and Social Development got 58,728,146,293.72 representing 9%.

Other sectors such as the Ministry of Water Resources, 53,832,219,322.46 representing 8%, Ministry of Environment, 49,835,521,799.25 representing 7%, Ministry of Health, 43,881,752,172.75 representing 6%, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs 18,938,508,746.95 representing 3%, Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport 9,684,806,758.56 representing 10%.

Other sectors he said are in the sum of 230,759,902,908.71 representing 31% of the total proposed budget

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