Metro

Danger As Bandits Vandalise Makurdi Power Pylon

Published

2 years ago

September 1, 2023

A sight of a dangling tower, one of which carries the 33 KV transmission line of the Jos Electricity Distribution Company, JED, to Makurdi from its transmission hub in Apir, sends instant fears to the beholder.

The reason is not far-fetched; the implication of having the tower crash down when the lines are energised is better imagined.

The death toll and properties that could go up in flames might be beyond comprehension. But this scary consequence was certainly not taken into account by the vandals who tampered with four of the 33KV towers in the Genabe axis on the outskirts of Makurdi town, positioned directly opposite Makurdi Correctional Centre and near the Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority, LBRBDA, Headquarters in Makurdi.

One of the towers that has remained energised is almost collapsing as parts of the angle bars used to fortify its base have all been removed by vandals.

The gigantic tower was left dangling to the point of collapsing on the busy Makurdi-Aliade road in what looked like a devastating disaster waiting to happen. Findings indicated that the vandals also tampered with three other towers on that stretch, leaving them at the mercy of strong winds that could easily get them crashing down.

While no Genabe community member was ready to speak on how such a very important installation was vandalised by criminals, it is generally agreed by all those who expressed shock at the level of destruction of the towers that it could not have been done by people from outside.

That much was said by Mr. James Luger, a commercial bus driver who claimed that he plies the road on a regular basis. He said, “Those who did this couldn’t have come from outside; this immediate community should be held responsible for this act. How can anyone in his right senses decide to vandalise a tower like this? Maybe they do not know that if these towers come down today, several people who live around them might not survive it. The community must take steps to ensure that those behind this are arrested and handed over to the police because they are loosening the towers to sell the metals to buyers of scrap metal and, by so doing, endangering the lives of hundreds of people, including those locked up at the Correctional Services. Luckily, the JED officials have come to take urgent steps to save the towers from collapsing, but the community people must show responsibility by ensuring that they preserve their lives and property by being vigilant to arrest the vandals who, for the peanuts they sell scrap metal for, want to wipe out the community.”

On his part, the Managing Director of JED, Engr. Abdu Bello Mohammed, who led a team from Jos to assess the damage done to the important power installations, expressed shock at the state of the towers after being tampered with by criminals. Mohammed who spoke on the importance of the towers to the residents of Makurdi town and the dangers of having them vandalised to the point of having them crash down, described the installation as a double-circuit 33KV tower. He said: “One is feeding GRA, Wadata/town, Wurukum, and High Level. And the second is feeding the entire North Bank area of Makurdi town up to Gbajimba in Guma Local Government Area, LGA. Then the Industrial Layout and Ankpa Quarters axis. Four of the towers were vandalised, and one is already twisted. If the affected towers come down, two-thirds of Makurdi town will be in darkness. Besides, if the towers come down while energised, anyone who comes in contact with them and the lines will be killed on the spot. In fact, everyone living in this neighbourhood will be endangered, as will road users and travellers on the Makurdi-Aliade road.

“I had to come here to see things for myself because these towers are very important to us as a company and our consumers as well. It carries two circuits of 33 KV lines, and if it collapses, that means the two circuits will be out of supply. And you can imagine the number of customers that will be out. What happened here is a case of vandalism. I initially thought it was a natural occurrence, but when I came here, I discovered it was an act of vandalism, which is most unfortunate. We also discovered that, apart from this one that is almost coming down, some others have been tampered with. So we are going to inspect the entire route length of this 33KV feeder to make sure that the tower members are returned to their normal positions so that there won’t be any twists like this again.

“In view of what happened here, my advice to the communities where we have our towers is that they should take ownership of the infrastructure. If the lines go out, they will be the first to be impacted. Apart from endangering their lives, they will not enjoy supply, and economic activities in the community will be badly affected. Imagine that there is no power supply and the tower falls on individuals, cars, or buildings; the damage will be great. Then, if it has power and falls, the consequences can only be imagined. That is one more reason why this must not be allowed to continue. The vandals targeting these installations must be stopped on their tracks because they are exposing innocent Nigerians to danger.”

Metro

Customs Unveil E-clearance Platform To Decongest Apapa Port

Published

12 hours ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

The Nigeria Customs Service has launched Overtime E-Clearance System, an automated platform aimed at improving cargo management and reducing port congestion at Apapa Port.

According to the Service, the platform, unveiled on Monday, will address a staggering 15-year backlog of abandoned cargo and tackle corruption in the system.

Customs announced this in a statement on its X handle on Tuesday.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, officially introduced the system during a sensitisation exercise in Lagos.

He said the platform will enable consignees to submit and track applications remotely, cutting repeated visits to Customs offices and limiting manual interference.

“The system builds on an earlier policy that extended cargo dwelling periods from 30 to 120 days to give stakeholders more flexibility. The focus is transparency, integrity and adherence to the law. We urge stakeholders to test the system and provide feedback ahead of full deployment,” Adeniyi said.

NCos boss warned against attempts to abuse the process, citing a 15-year-old overtime cargo case still under investigation as an example of why loopholes must be closed.

He added that deliberate abandonment of cargo to evade duties would attract tougher sanctions, with intelligence units monitoring misuse.

Under the rollout plan, Customs will hold further sensitisation sessions this week with terminal operators, shipping companies and other stakeholders before expanding engagement to additional commands.

Deployment will follow once feedback is reviewed and legal queries addressed, the statement added.

According to The PUNCH, this development comes shortly after Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, directed Customs to suspend the implementation of the 4% Free on Board levy on imported goods.

Metro

DSS Sues Sowore, X, Meta Over Anti-Tinubu Post

Published

12 hours ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

The Department of State Services has filed a five-count charge against former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, alongside social media platforms X Corp and Meta Incorporation, over posts critical of President Bola Tinubu.

The suit dated 16th September,2025, was lodged at the Federal High Court in Abuja after Sowore allegedly refused to delete certain posts about the President.

The charges were brought on behalf of the DSS and the Federal Government by M.B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, alongside four other counsel to the DSS –M.E. Ernest, U.B. Bulla, Dr. C.S. Eze, and E.G. Orubor.

Confirming the development in a Facebook post on Tuesday , Sowore wrote, “The State Security Service, alias @OfficialDSSNG today filed a 5-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against ‘X’ (formerly Twitter Facebook, and myself. They claimed that because I called Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu a criminal, I have somehow committed a set of ‘novel’ offences they invented and spread across five counts.

“It’s hard to believe there’s anyone sensible left in these offices that should be making Nigeria work. Regardless, I will be present whenever this case is assigned for trial. #RevolutionNow.”

The human rights activist and African Action Congress candidate in the 2023 election had vowed not to delete the controversial tweet, despite a request from the DSS to X demanding its removal.

Restating his stance, Sowore wrote, “This morning, X (formerly Twitter) officially contacted me about the despicable threat letter they received from the lawless DSS over my Tweet on Tinubu. One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet. Thank you, @X.”

He also published the message sent to him by X, which confirmed that the platform had received a legal request from the DSS concerning his post.

The message from X read, “Hello @YeleSowore. In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a request from the Department of State Services regarding your X account, @YeleSowore, that claims the following content violates the law(s) of Nigeria. @YeleSowore, we have not taken any action on the reported content at this time as a result of this request.

“As X strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of our users, it is our policy to notify our users if we receive a legal request from an authorised entity (such as law enforcement or a government agency) to remove content from their account. We provide notice whether or not the user lives in the country where the request originated. This page provides more information

“We understand that receiving this type of notice can be an unsettling experience. While X is not able to provide legal advice, we want you to have an opportunity to evaluate the request and, if you wish, take appropriate action to protect your interests.

“This may include seeking legal counsel and challenging the request in court, contacting relevant civil society organisations, voluntarily deleting the content (if applicable), or finding some other resolution.

“For more information on legal requests X receives from governments worldwide, please refer to this article on our Help Centre and our biannual Transparency Report.”

Metro

NAPTIP Rescues Eight Stolen Children From Delta Orphanage

Published

12 hours ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons on Tuesday said it rescued eight children suspected of having been stolen from northern states and trafficked to the south.

This followed a raid on a popular orphanage in the Delta state capital, Asaba.

NAPTIP’s spokesperson, Vincent Adekoye, revealed the development in a statement he signed and released on Tuesday titled ‘NAPTIP rescues eight suspected stolen children from a popular orphanage in Asaba.’

The agency said the operation, conducted with the Department of State Services, the Nigerian police and local civil society groups, followed years of complaints from parents in Kano and neighbouring states over missing children.

According to the statement, syndicates posing as traders allegedly lured children aged between two and 10 from communities and transported them south, often vanishing overnight.

“In 2017, some parents in Kano and other States in the Region raised an alarm on the unwholesome activities of some syndicates who move from one Community to another other luring children mostly between the ages of two years to 10 years and trafficking them to other parts of the country.

“The investigation revealed that the syndicates operating under the guise of traders typically work in two batches.

“While a syndicate normally lives briefly within such a Community, gets used to the children, and later disappears with them, others come in as traders and operate from parks and terminals, where they lure unaccompanied children on their way to school and errands,” it read.

In the Asaba orphanage, operatives found over 70 children, including newborns, though only eight were confirmed as those abducted from Kano.

They have since been reunited with their families, the agency confirmed.

“The rescued children were identified through their pictures and other features by the representative of the concerned parents from Kano State, out of the over 70 children found inside the Orphanage, including neonates,” the statement quoted NAPTIP’s Director General, Binta Bello, as saying.

“NAPTIP is seriously worried over the unwholesome activities of these so–called orphanages and Care Homes. Imagine over 70 children inside an orphanage, and the number keeps increasing daily.

“The big question is, where are these children from?” she queried.

The activities of orphanages in Nigeria have increasingly come under public scrutiny in recent years, following investigations by journalists and campaigners into child trafficking rings.

In 2023, investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo exposed how some facilities had been used as cover for the sale of babies, prompting calls for stricter regulation of children’s homes.

NAPTIP said cases of child kidnapping incidents climaxed in 2022 when another set of over 25 children were allegedly lured and trafficked out of the northern region by the same suspected syndicate.

This, it said, prompted a public outcry from stakeholders, including members of the Civil Society Organisation in the Communities within the states.

In a letter dated 15th December, 2022, a Non – Non-Governmental Organisation, Protection Against The Abduction of Our Children, in a petition addressed to the Director General of NAPTIP, titled, ‘Demand for Justice and Address the Child Abduction in Kano State and Nigeria’ sought the assistance of the Agency in rescuing the abducted children.

The organisation said, “On behalf of over 200 parents who are the victims of the series of abducted children, past and present, we are writing to seek your support and demand justice following the terrible experience we are facing.”

“We, the parents, are in serious pain. Some of us are already hospitalised, while others passed away due to the shock of the children abducted and the continuous uncertainty and suspense daily waiting for the report whether they will be found dead or alive”, one beleaguered parent lamented.

After a series of interactions with the Kano State Government through the State Ministry of Women Affairs, NAPTIP said it commenced a discreet investigation to ascertain the location of the suspected trafficked children to rescue them unhurt.

“This led to the intelligence-driven operations in Anambra and Delta States,” Adekoye wrote.

“While the operation in Awka, Anambra State, was unsuccessful as the syndicate reportedly moved the children away to an unknown location overnight, the operatives moved to Asaba and rescued eight of the suspected trafficked children from one of the popular orphanages located inside Asaba, the Delta State capital.

“Report from the operation indicated that while over 70 Children were discovered inside the Orphanage with about 15 newborn babies, only eight children were identified as allegedly stolen from Kano State, and they were subsequently rescued,” he stated.

NAPTIP’s Chief, Bello, explained that the rescued children were identified through photographs and distinguishing features by representatives of the affected parents from Kano, out of more than 70 children, including newborns, discovered in the orphanage.

She expressed deep concern over what she described as the unwholesome activities of some orphanages and care homes, questioning the origins of the large number of children housed in such facilities.

Bello accused the operator of the orphanage of evading investigation by turning to social media to spread falsehoods against the agency, instead of presenting himself to NAPTIP’s Kano Zonal Command.

She clarified that operatives met the owner’s wife during the raid but did not arrest her since she was not the target, and that contact information was left behind for the owner to reach the agency.

“On the day of the operation, our Operatives met the wife of the Owner of the Orphanage there. She was not arrested because she was not our target.

“She was informed of the allegation, and the necessary contact was left behind so that the Owner can reach us,” Bello explained.

She added, “Those children were rescued and taken to the necessary arm of the Government in Kano State.

“They have been duly identified and reunited with their families.

“So, the raw falsehood based on religious labelling being sold to the public through social media by this unpatriotic individual is regrettable, and it will not distract us from carrying out our mandate.”

The NAPTIP chief urged state ministries of women affairs across the country to scrutinise the activities of orphanages and care homes, pledging that the agency would continue its oversight role in line with the Trafficking in Persons (Control of Activities of Organisations and Centres) Regulations 2019.

She commended the DSS, the police, and other partners for their collaboration, stressing that the operation underscored NAPTIP’s commitment to combating child trafficking, protecting vulnerable children, and ensuring justice in line with the law.
(PUNCH)