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Church, Community At Loggerhead Over Land Ownership In Edo

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Chief Efemwenkiekie Eresoyen, the Enogie of Irue N’Owina, Iyekogba area of Oredo local Government Area, and the Catholic church are at loggerhead over land acquisition.

The Enogie alleged that St Paul Catholic Church, Benin City in connivance with some persons in his community have acquired several plots of his ancestral land for their church’s expansion.

Two letters by his counsel, Olayiwola Afolabi, to the Archbishop of the Catholic Church, Most Rev Augustine Akubeze and the Parish Priest of St Paul Catholic Church, Rev Fr. Nosakhare Omorogbe said the church acquired the said land in connivance with “some infamous young men in the village parading themselves as Community Development Association (CDA).”

READ ALSO: Publish Reports Of Forensic Audit Now, IYC Tells FG, NDDC

The letter said, “these said persons illegally purchased and took over our client’s community lands including our client’s own ancestral home which was utterly destroyed and bulldozed.”

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It continues, “The extent of the land wrongfully taken amounts to over thirty five plots on which your church has erected several structures even after been aware of the confirmation of the position of our client by an order of court vide a judgement delivered on the 23rd Day of June 2014 in suit number B/339/2009 in a case which lasted for about four years.”

The letter claimed the church was still meeting with the people its claimed misled the church into the crisis but that it was ready to amicably resolve the crisis but without people he claimed were masquerading as CDA which has been banned.

READ ALSO: Court Awards N500m Damages To MFM, Olukoya In Case Against Blogger

But reacting to the incident, Chancellor, Catholic Archdiocese of Benin City, Very Rev Fr. Michael Oyanoafor denied the allegation saying the Church acquired the land from the elders of the community to build schools with a view to bringing development to the community.

He said, “I do not think his case is tenable because St Paul’s Catholic Church was given a land in that community to build a church and they did, that church has been there now for more than ten years, then the community said they don’t have school, they gave land by the church and a school was built, nursery and primary school.

“They were to pay stipend but the church discovered that they could not pay, the church requested for more land to also build a secondary which is on-going and then decide to make education free for the community, the church employed teachers and paying them.”

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He said the church requested to meet with Eresoyen and the community when he claimed to be the Enogie but that he failed to attend the meeting.

READ ALSO: American Pastor Zacharia Offers To Replace Leah Sharibu

He added that when the church requested that the meeting be held in the community, he also declined, an indication that he was not in charge of his community.

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Man, 38 Escapes Assassination Attempt In Benin

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Innocent Omoruyi

By Omokha Andrew

A 38-year-old activist, Innocent Omoruyi, narrowly escaped assassination in the early hours of Wednesday, July 19, 2023 as his residence at Obe Community,Sapele Road in Benin city was attacked by yet to be identified gun men.

The attack which eye witnesses say was viciously executed on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 bore the markings of a dreaded cult group terrorizing Benin City, the state capital.

The Obe, Sapale Road incident, it was learnt, happened soon after Omoruyi left the house to attend to matters of interest some few metres away from his home.

The assailants were said to have shot sporadically in their frustration as residents scampered for safety.

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However, Omoruyi escaped unharmed.

One of the eye witnesses who craved anonymity said: “The felons apparently went for the kill, weilding guns and other dangerous weapons. “We are shocked that they didn’t see Innocent Omoruyi who was just some few metres away from home when they arrived”.

“How that happened, only God knows and it was obvious that it wasn’t his time to die yet and just before that not long ago his business place on Lagos Street, Benin City was burnt down in the middle of the night by unknown arsonists.

“This sequence of events is not ordinary. We know it’s politically motivated due to the role he played in the last general elections. He has been advised to go into hiding at the moment for his personal safety”, he concluded.

When contacted, the police Public Relations Officer Chidi Nwabuzor said he was yet to get any information as regards the latest incident. He promised to feed our correspondent with relevant details as soon as they become handy.

Our information source however revealed that the matter has already been incidented at the Love World Police station on Sapele Road, Benin city.

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Nigeria To Earn Over $4bn Revenue As FEC Okays Concession Of Abuja, Kano Airports

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Nigeria will earn over $4 billion in nominal revenue as the Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday okayed the concession of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, to the Corporacion American Airport Consortium, a Luxembourg-based company.

James Odaudu, the Special Assistant on Public Affairs to the Minister of Aviation, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

According to him, the Council also approved that the Federal Ministry of Aviation would be renamed the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace.

READ ALSO: ATMs To Be Upgraded For Loans Services As CBN Gives Banks Ultimatum…

The statement noted that the company would make combined upfront payments of $8.5 million for the concession of NAIA and MAKIA.

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He added that the development would spur evidential growth within the Nigerian aviation industry.

In alignment with the Aviation Roadmap, approved by Mr President on 18th October 2016, the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace is delighted to inform all stakeholders, both local and international, and the media, that the concession of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano has been approved by the Federal Executive Council,” the statement said.

READ ALSO: Peter Obi, LP Must Pay N1.5million To Access Documents – INEC

In December 2022 and January 2023, Corporacion American Airport Consortium was announced as the preferred bidder for the airport’s concession after scaling through a series of evaluations of technical and financial bids.

Nominal revenues mean income not adjusted for inflation and decreasing purchasing power.

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Russia Expelled From Council Of Europe Amid War With Ukraine

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The Council of Europe says it has expelled Russia with immediate effect after 26 years of membership because of the Ukraine war.

The Committee of Ministers took the decision in a special session, the rights body announced in the French city of Strasbourg on Wednesday.

Earlier, Russia had already declared its withdrawal from the Council of Europe after it had taken steps to exclude it.

On Tuesday evening, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted unanimously in favour of Russia’s exclusion.

Russia joined the Council of Europe on Feb. 28, 1996.

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Together with the formal notification of the withdrawal, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe also received information from the Russian Federation on Tuesday about its intention to denounce the European Convention on Human Rights.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the leaders of the Council of Europe once again condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

READ ALSO: Ukraine: Horror As Russian Forces Shoot People Queuing For Bread

They expressed their solidarity with the Russian people, who continue to belong to the European family and share its values.

The body said it would continue to stand by Ukraine in the fight against the aggressor.

The Council of Europe monitors the observance of human rights in its 46 member states and is not part of the European Union.

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The body reacted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago by suspending Russia’s membership, this decision was considered historic.

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