News
JUST-IN: Police Nab Niger Delta Congress President After Calls for Protest Against Emergency Rule
- /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot_20250327-105538.jpg&description=JUST-IN: Police Nab Niger Delta Congress President After Calls for Protest Against Emergency Rule', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 72
https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot_20250327-105538.jpg&description=JUST-IN: Police Nab Niger Delta Congress President After Calls for Protest Against Emergency Rule', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
The Niger Delta Congress (NDC) president, Nubari Saatah has been nabbed for calling for a protest against Emergency Rule.
In a statement issued by the group on Sunday, they condemned the state of emergency and the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and the state legislature. NDC is a socio-political group established in Port Harcourt in 2019 to help promote the political and economic autonomy of the Niger Delta region.
It was learnt that the police arrested Saatah on Tuesday evening and were holding him at the Octopus division in Diobu, Port Harcourt.
The NDC statement reads in part, “By suspending two branches of government and imposing a military caretaker, the federal government has made it clear that political rivalries can supersede democratic principles. We demand that President Tinubu immediately reverse this decision, reinstate Governor Fubara and the elected assembly, and commit to dialogue over diktat. To this end, we call on our people to take to the streets in a peaceful protest against indirect and undemocratic rule in Rivers State.”
While confirming the arrest to FIJ on Wednesday, the NDC’s national spokesperson said he got a call from Rivers State Police on Tuesday, asking him to report to the division in Port Harcourt. This was after he had received a letter from the State Intelligence Department in Lagos, inviting him to appear at the SID office in Ikeja on or before 11:00 am on Tuesday.
“I told them that I was not in Rivers State but in Lagos. I also told them that the president was in Rivers. The reason for the invite was a statement on Sunday and a radio interview aired on Monday calling for a protest against this state of emergency in the state,” Ogboru disclosed.
“I told the police officer that there was no need for me to attend the invite in Lagos since I was planning to be in Rivers, and he said it was fine. It was this morning that I got to know that the president had been apprehended and was still in detention.
“Because the NDC is a peaceful organisation, we were even ready to honour their invitation and dialogue with them.”
Ogboru also disclosed that the national president was arrested alongside another NDC member, who was later released that same day. The arrest was made by operatives of the Octopus Squad, a unit of the police force.
He said he still spoke with Saatah on Tuesday morning, only for the police to arrest him by evening. He said none of them have been able to reach the president since his arrest.
“What the police are doing is unconstitutional. We were very clear that the protest would be peaceful, so I don’t know why the police are doing this,” Ogboru said.
“After learning of the arrest, I called the police officer who called me earlier. He said he was not aware of any arrest. It was later that we got to know that the Octopus Squad of the police arrested him.”
Amayie King, the founding chairman of the congress, also told FIJ that the police used another member who was arrested to get the detained national president.
“He is like a PA to the president. The police felt that if they got to him, they would definitely get to the president. He was released immediately after they arrested the president,” King said.
King, who is also the coordinator of the Throw it Back (TIB) movement, a community of human rights defenders, said Saatah was arrested around 5:30 pm.
“I spoke with the commissioner of police this morning, and he said it’s just an invitation. He claimed that they wanted to talk to the president. They are just trying to shut down people’s voices by all means,” King told FIJ.
Gists9ja understands that if the police force does not release the NDC president by the end of Wednesday, the protest they are trying to avert in Rivers could happen.
Grace Iringe-Koko, the police spokesperson in Rivers, could not be reached for comments. When FIJ dialled her number around 11:20 am on Wednesday, a lady who identified as her personal assistant told our reporter that she was in a meeting.
“You are speaking with her PA. She is in a meeting. You may need to drop a message for her,” said the lady.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Suspected bandits have kidnapped retired Major General Rabe Abubakar, former Director of Defence Information, and his wife on Matazu Road in Katsina State.
Security sources told PRNigeria that the couple was ambushed on Saturday morning, May 30, 2026, while travelling in a red Peugeot 504 saloon car.
The gunmen intercepted the vehicle and whisked the retired officer and his wife to an unknown location.
The driver escaped with gunshot wounds and is receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, a security source said.
The former DDI and his wife were waylaid by armed men on the route. The driver escaped with gunshot injuries and is receiving medical attention,” the source stated.
Security forces have launched search-and-rescue operations and deployed intelligence assets to track the abductors, according to the source. Official confirmation from the military was still pending at press time.
—Rising concern in Katsina—
The abduction comes amid persistent insecurity in parts of Katsina despite ongoing military operations against bandit groups in the North-West.
In recent years, several serving and retired security personnel have been targeted on highways linking Katsina to neighbouring states. PRNigeria reports that criminal groups now see high-profile individuals, including retired military officers, as lucrative targets.
Maj-Gen Abubakar served as Director of Defence Information and was one of the Nigerian military’s most visible spokespersons during the counterinsurgency campaign against Boko Haram.
The incident is expected to renew calls for stronger security along major highways and rural communities in Katsina, where residents continue to face kidnapping and banditry.
Credit :PRNigeria
Abia State Police Command has nabbed two suspects for conspiracy, attempted child theft and possession of hard drugs.
The Command which made this known on Saturday, named the suspects as Nzubechi Chinagorom and Chinonso Chibundu, indigenes of Olokoro, Umuahia South LGA of the Abia State.
In a statement signed by DSP Maureen Chinaka, the Police Public Relations Officer, the Command said its officers apprehended the suspects through actionable intelligence, in collaboration with Olokoro vigilante personnel.
She stated that the suspects went to the residence of one Miss Amarachi Chinyereugo and attempted to forcibly take away her two-week-old baby girl.
DSP Chinaka said that the Nzubechi Chinagorom allegedly stabbed the nursing mother with a kitchen knife during a struggle, causing the baby to fall and hit her head on ground.
The police spokesperson said that the two suspects fled from the scene and ran into a nearby bush on realizing that the nursing mother, Miss Amarachi Chinyereugo cried out for help.
She added that the suspects were later apprehended at a bus stop
where they had reportedly gone to take hard drugs.
“The mother and child were immediately rushed to the hospital, where they received treatment and have since recovered.
“The suspects were apprehended, exhibits were recovered and investigation has been conducted at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID). Suspects will be charged to court on 2/06/2026,” Chinaka said.
Ex-Minister of Labour and Productivity, SellJoel Ikenya, has been declared winner of the governorship primaries conducted by the Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Taraba State.
Mr Felix Hyat, the chairman of the election committee, who announced the results in Jalingo on Saturday, said Ikenya scored 34,173, to defeat Mr Dinshiya Usman, who polled 4,853.
Hyat, who described the exercise as free, fair and transparent, commended the state working committee of the party for the peaceful conduct.
Ikenya, in his acceptance speech, pledged to revive Taraba to her days of glory if elected governor in 2027.
“I will transform Taraba; I will change the state from salary base, to an industrialised state.
“My desire is to also revive the state infrastructure and attract more investors to boost the economy,” he said.
The governorship candidate, however, denied the allegations of factional PDP in Taraba.
“There is no factional PDP in Taraba; I don’t know where the other people are coming from.
“PDP in Taraba is one, and we do not have any faction in the state. We are working as one united family to reclaim our mandate from Gov. Agbu Kefas of the All Progressives Congress (APC),” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that, the Nyesom Wike led faction of the party had recently declared senator Emmanuel Bwacha as its governorship candidate in Taraba.
NAN
Insecurity: Gunmen abduct ex-Defence spokesperson Maj-Gen Rabe Abubakar, wife in Katsina
Breaking: PSG rule Europe again defeat Arsenal via penalty shootout
Police nab two for attempted theft of two-week-old baby in Abia
-
Metro16 hours agoPolice Arrest Mother, Daughter Over Alleged ₦18m Romance Scam Targeting Malta-Based Victim
-
News16 hours agoThe Politics Of Maturity: Why Rivers May Need Healing More Than Victory
-
Politics16 hours agoNollywood Actress Gets 2027 Presidential Ticket
-
News16 hours agoNigerian Governors Propose ₦100,000 New Minimum Wage
-
News16 hours agoAkpabio Hails Tinubu’s Reforms, Endorses Re-Election as President Marks Three Years in Office
-
News16 hours agoSouth African Lawmaker, MK Party Chief Whip Arrested Over Alleged R233,000 Salary Fraud
-
News16 hours agoLawyer Petitions NBC, Seeks Suspension of BBNaija Over Alleged Indecent Content
-
News10 hours agoCJ Reassigns Nafiu-Bala’s Case Against ADC Leadership To Justice Lifu
Warning: Undefined variable $user_ID in /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/comments.php on line 49
You must be logged in to post a comment Login