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Updated: Reps Deputy Spokesperson, Agbese narrowly escapes assassination as military nab suspects
Deputy Spokesperson of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Hon. Philip Agbese, on Thursday, escaped assassination attempt on him, as a military operation came to his rescue.
Agbese, who currently represents Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State, was said to have been attacked in Igumale, the headquarters of his own local government area of Ado, during a constituency outreach organised to mark the Easter celebration.
It was also gathered that, for the swiftly intervention of the ‘Operation Whirlwind’ of the Nigerian Armed Forces on peace keeping mission in the area, the assassins would have had their ways.
Some of the suspects were said to have been arrested by the military operatives and are currently giving useful information.
“Thanks to the swift response of security operatives present at the scene, the Enone Representative managed to evade harm, averting a potential tragedy. Several of the suspected perpetrators were promptly apprehended, shedding light on the disturbing chain of events”, an witness said.
When contacted, the vibrant Rep couldn’t say much because he was still in shock.
Hear him:
“I am in shock! I am in a great shock!! I can’t talk to you right now, please”, Agbese told our Correspondent last night.
But Mr. Lawrence Oduh, a media Aide to Hon. Agbese, confirmed the attack, adding that the arrested suspects, have also made stunning revelations to the military operation during the preliminary investigation which was witnessed by the locals.
According to Oduh, the suspects fingered Ado Local Government Council Chairman, Hon. Agbese Charles Onazi and Deputy Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly, Hon. (Mrs.) Lami Danladi Ogenyi during the interrogation.
“Hoodlums suspected to be aligned with the Ado Local Government Caretaker Chairman, Agbese Onazi, allegedly orchestrated the sinister plot in what appears to be a targeted attack”, he said.
He added that, “initial interrogations of the apprehended individuals have revealed damning information implicating both the Ado Local Government Chairman and the Deputy Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Hon. Mrs. Lami Ogenyi, in the heinous scheme.
“Shockingly, one of the culprits was found in possession of Hon. Mrs. Ogenyi’s official vehicle, raising serious questions about her involvement in the attempted assassination.
“The safety and security of public officials and constituents alike hang in the balance as the community grapples with the implications of this brazen attack”.
As at the time of filling this report Friday morning, no official comment from the military operations in Benue State or the Army authority on the matter, while the Deputy Speaker, Benue House of Assembly could not be reached for comments.
Our Corespondent, however, contacted the Council Chairman, Onazi on phone Thursday night, who promised to call back within 5 minutes as he was said to be on active phone with a security advisor to Governor Hyacinth Alia over the matter.
“Sorry, you just intercepted my call with the security advisor to the governor. We are on line talking. His phone just tripped off. I want to brief him on the matter. I’ll finish with him and call you back?
Please, let me call you back. Just give me, like five minutes, please”, Onazi told our Corespondent.
He, however, switched off his cell phone afterwards and could not be reached through the night, even until the time of this report.
It would be recalled that the Benue State ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been enmeshed with crisis since Governor Alia took over the affairs of the State, with Members of the National Assembly Caucus from the state at the forefront.
Agbese, who is the Spokesperson of the Caucus was seen in December 2023, removing the portrait of Governor Alia from his office in National Assembly, the move which did not go down well with the state government and some stakeholders of the party in the state.
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 24.23% in March 2025, according to the official government data source, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The rise in the country’s inflation rate, from 23.18% back in February 2025 to 24.23% in March 2025, reflected a major increase in the rising commodity and energy costs in the last few weeks.
According to the March 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report which measures the inflation rate released by the government agency on Tuesday, the country’s food inflation rate was 21.79% year-on-year in March 2025.
The food inflation rate, however, showed a decrease compared to the food inflation rate of 23.51% recorded in February 2025.
Economists had predicted that the country’s inflation rate which decreased minimally in February would rise when the Dangote Refinery and the state-run NNPCL got entangled in a petrol price war that culminated in the temporary termination of a naira-for crude agreement between the two oil companies and the subsequent increase in the pump price of petrol.
Some observers had also said the minimal reduction in the prices of food commodities experienced earlier in February was not sustainable, attributing the temporary decline in the prices of food to the importation intervention of the Federal Government.
Food and commodity inflation have skyrocketed as Nigerians battle what can pass for the worst cost of living crisis since the country’s independence over six decades ago, a development that economic wizards have attributed to President Bola Tinubu’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of the forex rates.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has apologised to the people of Bassa Local Government Area (LGA) for the failure of government and security agencies to protect lives and properties.
Fifty-one persons were gunned down early Monday in the Zikke community of the LGA, with houses razed and many displaced about two weeks after a similar attack led to the killing of scores of persons in Bokkos Local Government Area.
Less than two days after the most recent assault, Governor Mutfwang apologised for the government’s inability to protect the people.
Fifty-one persons were gunned down early Monday in the Zikke community of the LGA, with houses razed and many displaced about two weeks after a similar attack led to the killing of scores of persons in Bokkos Local Government Area.
Less than two days after the most recent assault, Governor Mutfwang apologised for the government’s inability to protect the people.
The governor said this on Tuesday at the palace of the Paramount Ruler in Miango.
“I will tell you the truth: I have been crying since yesterday because I had trusted God that all the arrangements were put in place, that this will not happen again. We have made investments in security,” he said.
But like all human arrangements, sometimes they fail. I want to admit that on Sunday night into Monday morning, we failed you. Please, forgive me.”
He urged the people not to relent in their efforts to secure their communities and ensure that they complement security agencies’ efforts by providing vital information for intelligence gathering and expose the antics of the criminals.
Governor Mutfwang, in the company of security chiefs and members of the state executive council, was in Zikke community to commiserate with the people on the death of over fifty persons killed in Monday’s attacks.
The Paramount Ruler of Irigwe land, Ronku Aka, who is the Brangwe of Irigwe, urged the government to come to the aid of the communities with the provision of social amenities in the area.
The governor and the entourage also went to see some of the families who lost their loved ones in the attack. The victims have been buried just as members of the community demanded action to stem the rising wave of insecurity in the state.
Plateau State has been a hotbed of attacks, but the renewed spate of attacks adds a fresh layer of twist to the decades-long crisis rocking the North-Central state.
After the most recent assaults, President Bola Tinubu ordered security agencies to fish out the masterminds, describing the attacks as condemnable.
While experts have linked the lingering Plateau crisis to farmers-herders tussle for resources, Governor Muftwang said it was sponsored and genocidal.
According to him, over 64 communities in the state have been taken over by gunmen.
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