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Ribadu warns against ransom payment to terrorists, kidnappers, others
The National Security Adviser, NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday, warned against payment of ransom to terrorists, kidnappers and other criminals.
He gave the warning while receiving a fresh batch of over 60 rescued victims who had been in kidnappers’ den for over a month, following intense military pressure in Kaduna.
The victims, among whom was a deputy director in the civil service and a relative of Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, all hail from Zango Kataf in Southern Kaduna.
Speaking shortly before handing over the rescued victims, comprising 35 males and 29 females, as well as children to the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar, Ribadu advised Nigerians, especially families of kidnapped victims, to stop paying ransom to kidnappers.
According to him, payment of ransom is the engine encouraging the criminals to continue in their evil deeds.
He said: “Let me urge our people, families to stop giving ransom to these criminals. Please stop giving money to there people. The more money you give, the more you compound the problem.
“We have never given any money to any of these people. Giving money to these evil people is counter productive. The more money you give them, the more they request for more money.”
Attributing the rescue of the victims to the resilience of the armed forces who continue to track and pursue them across their hideouts, the NSA expressed special appreciation to the armed forces.
Commending President Bola Tinubu for the support he had continued to give to security agencies to achieve these feats, Ribadu said: “Daily, we are getting our brothers and sisters rescued from the hands of these evil people. But releasing them is not the end of the matter. We will go after them and they will face the consequences.”
In his remarks, Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar, commended the armed forces and the security forces, under the coordination of the National Security Adviser, for the untiring efforts in tackling security challenges in the country.
He said: “We have been working day and night and I know the NSA does not sleep, all in a bid to ensure these security issues are resolved. I want to thank Nigerians for the trust they are showing and for providing information which is assisting these successes.
“They should continue to have that trust in us, give us support by providing information because information is needed to overcome these evil people.”
One of the rescued victims, Adesiyam Michael, expressed appreciation for the efforts of the security operatives.
Lamenting that his wife was shot in his presence by the kidnappers, he said: “These boys are young, with ages ranging from 16 to 18 years.
“They lack training, they lack education. Something has to be done to get their likes go for training because they don’t have any experience to do any other trade or skill.”
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Ex+Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State and his daughter, Orode Uduaghan have dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Uduaghans returned to the APC on Wednesday.
Uduaghan and his daughter joined the APC at their Warri, GRA residence.
He was received into the party by its Delta South Women Leader, Alero Tenumah; the party’s Chairman in Abigborodo Ward 6, George Ino, and other party leaders in the ward and local government levels.
The ex-governor, whose new APC membership card reads: ‘Delta WRN//023/32001′, praised the party’s leaders for their solidarity and honour.
He assured them of synergy and continuous working relationship towards further development of Delta State.
Uduaghan’s daughter, who is the Delta State Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Community Support Services and Child Development, Orode Uduaghan, also picked her APC membership card from the ward’s leadership of the party.
Tenumah urged new members to contribute meaningfully to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as well as the agenda of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
She assured Uduaghan and the new members of the party’s support and collaboration.
By Francesca Hangeior
At least 120 endangered vultures died after eating an elephant carcass poisoned by suspected poachers in South Africa in one of the single largest such spikes in the region, wildlife officials said Thursday.
Another 84 vultures were evacuated by road and helicopter for treatment and monitoring after the poisoning in the Kruger National Park early this week, the park and Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) said in a statement.
“The scale of the tragedy is staggering: 123 vultures were found dead at the scene,” the statement said.
The dead birds of prey included white-backed vultures, Cape vultures and a lappet-faced vulture, which are all listed as endangered or critically endangered species.
Poachers had laced the elephant carcass with highly toxic agrochemical pesticides in a method increasingly being used to target species such as vultures and lions, whose body parts are in demand for traditional medicine, the statement said.
It was the biggest single such poisoning since 2019, when more than 500 endangered vultures died in Botswana after eating elephants whose carcasses were poisoned by poachers, EWT birds of prey programme manager Gareth Tate told AFP.
Poachers who use poison either lace a dead animal with a toxin or snare one to use as bait, he said.
“We have seen a massive spike in poaching for lion parts, for which sometimes vultures are the unintended victims,” Tate said.
In some cases, birds of prey are “maliciously targeted” by poachers because they are natural sentinels and can give away the location of the poaching of other animals, he said.
By Francesca Hangeior
The Director of Public Communications, Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Anthony Godono, on Thursday confirmed that the 133 Cardinal-electors for the new Pope would return to the Sistine Chapel to elect a new Pope after their first ballot on Wednesday failed to produce a new Pope.
Godono, described the process as flawless as the cardinals decisions were being directed by the Holy Spirit.
The Lagos archdiocesan communications director, spoke on the process, said that after the first ballot, no Pope elected that the trend has been for centuries.
“Today, May 8, the Cardinal-electors will return this morning to continue with voting until a Pope is elected. The Cardinals are expected to have two rounds of votes this morning and two more in the evening if we do not have a Pope elected in this morning’s session.
“Black smoke emanated from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel yesterday evening, indicating no new pope was elected during the first round of voting.
“One hundred and thirty-three red-robed cardinals from around the world have filed into the Sistine Chapel to the strains of a choir backed by organ music, and the doors were sealed behind them.
“The papal conclave — a centuries-old tradition to elect a new head of the Catholic Church,” he said.
He said that the announcement of a new pope will be made with white smoke billowing from the Apostolic Palace. Soon after, the new pope will emerge onto the balcony to greet his flock.
The cardinal electors faced a stark choice to select a pope who would follow in the footsteps of late Pope Francis, an Argentine reformer who advocated for migrants and the environment, or one who would guide the Catholic Church down a more traditional path.
The meticulous selection process has kept the world in suspense for weeks after the demise of Pope Francis.
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