Metro

Day 2 Protest: Police Teargas Protesters, Journalist In Akwa Ibom

Published

1 year ago

August 2, 2024

Editor

Photo: file copy

Police tear-gassed protesters and a journalist converged at the Ibom Plaza, Uyo Friday as the #EndBadGovernance protest entered Day 2 in Akwa Ibom state.

Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Timfon Jobn, in response to the situation, said the Police Command, Akwa Ibom State, was too busy monitoring the protest to have time to respond to a media enquiry.

Trouble started as Uyo Correspondent of the New Nigerian Newspapers engaged Jonathan Titus, Leader of Akwa protesters under the platform of the “Good Good Governance Renaissance’ in an interview on the situation when the Police on guard urged the protesters to vacate the the Plaza which is usually a protest rallying venue.

Vanguard gathered that when the protesters questioned why they were urging them to move to Cenotaph, Unity Park, along Udo Udoma Avenue, the security agents tear-gassed the crowd to disperse the protesters numbering about 15 as the crowd gathered momentum.

The state correspondent of the New Nigeria Newspaper was also affected by the teargas.

Before the tear-gassing, the protesters were seen moving around the Plaza Roundabout displaying placards of various inscriptions, some reading, “Politicians Pity us”, Nigeria Jaga, Jaga”, High cost of Living don kill the Living”, Give Us 10 more refineries “, “End Bad governance Nigeria, End Hunger in Akwa Ibom”, Reduce Fuel Price to N100.00″ among others.

The protesters later began chanting solidarity songs as security agencies including the Police were seen escorting them to the Unity Park, Udo Udoma, where Commissioner of Police, CP Waheed Ayilara had restricted them to the protest.

One of the leaders of the group, Jonathan Titus, speaking at the Ibom Plaza before the Police disruption, said, “We are here to protest against hardship.

“We are here to protest against hunger, high cost of living, high cost of fuel in this country. In this country we can do better as a people, we cannot produce crude oil and buy fuel at N900 per litre.

“This is unacceptable. An average person cannot feed his family again because of the way things are going. The federal government has increased the minimum wage to N70,000. Seventy thousand Naira minimum wage is useless because it cannot buy a bag of Rice.

“If you collect N70,000 you must borrow another N20,000 before you can buy a bag of Rice. So we are saying that we need a bag of Rice to be brought down to N10,000 and fuel pump price brought down to N100 per litre “

The Protesters were escorted to Udo Udoma along with not less than 15 trucks of armed security operatives as the “Good Good Governance Renaissance” vowed not to relent in the face of intimidation from security operatives.

Police PRO, Timfon John told Vanguard, “We cannot just give out any information for now. I have been on patrol with the Commissioner of Police, going to different places. It’s only one place we saw protesters in all our movements. And those protesters were not even up to 20.”

Related Topics:#EndBadGovernance Protest Protests

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Metro

Nigerian Army Suspends Statutory, Voluntary Retirement For Specific Officers

Published

19 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Army has announced the indefinite suspension of all statutory and voluntary retirements for specific categories of officers.

According to an internal memo dated 3 December 2025, signed by Major General E. I. Okoro on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, this is in response to the nationwide security emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu.

Okoro explained that the measure is intended to preserve manpower, expertise, and operational readiness while the Armed Forces rapidly expand to tackle the escalating insecurity across Nigeria.

Citing the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers (HTACOS) 2024, the document pointed out that officers normally retire upon reaching the prescribed age for their rank, completing 35 years of service, or after repeated failures in promotion or conversion processes.

However, Paragraph 3.10(e) permits service extensions when it is in the interest of the military.

“Military service of a commissioned officer entails a period of unbroken service in the AFN from the date of enlistment or commissioning to the date of retirement. The period of service is determined by conditions enshrined in the HTACOS Officers 2024. These include attainment of age ceilings on various ranks, 35 years maximum length of service, and other criteria provided in Paragraphs 11.02(d) and 17.15, among extant regulations,” the memo partly read.

“Notwithstanding these provisions, Chapter 3.10(e) of HTACOS Officers 2024 allows for extension of service to officers in the interest of the service.

“The President and Commander-in-Chief declared a nationwide security emergency on November 26, mandating the expansion of the AFN and other security agencies. In line with this, and to rapidly expand manpower, it has become expedient to temporarily suspend all statutory and voluntary retirements from the Nigerian Army with immediate effect.”

According to the memo, the suspension affects Army officers in the following categories: Those who have failed promotion examinations three times, those passed over for promotion three times, those who have reached the age ceiling for their current rank, those who have failed conversion boards three times and those who have completed 35 years of service.

It explained that affected officers who wish to remain in service may apply for an extension beyond their original retirement dates.

However, the memo clarified that: “Officers in these categories who are not interested in extension of service are to continue with the normal retirement procedure. Officers desirous of extension should note that upon extension, they are not eligible for career progression, including promotion, career courses, NA sponsorship, self-sponsored courses, secondment, or extra-regimental appointments.”

Metro

NDLEA Seizes 7.6m Tramadol Pills, 76,273kg Cannabis In Nationwide Raids

Published

20 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has announced the seizure of more than 7.6 million tramadol pills and 76,273 kilograms of cannabis strains in coordinated operations across several states, with multiple suspects arrested.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the seizures were made during intelligence-led raids between 1 and 6 December.

In Delta State, operatives recovered 3,874,000 tramadol pills and 252.2 litres of codeine syrup from a warehouse at Oko market, Asaba. In Imo State, 1.2 million tramadol tablets were intercepted from a vehicle driven by 35-year-old Kelechi Nwakocha along the Onitsha-Owerri road.

In Adamawa, officers stopped a Toyota Hiace bus travelling from Jos to Mubi with 1,577,112 capsules of tramadol and exol-5 tablets concealed in jumbo bags mixed with footwear. Two suspects, Kabiru Buba, 25, and Hamza Abubakar, 32, were arrested. Another suspect, Mudansir Rabiu, 27, was apprehended in Kano with 197,000 exol-5 pills.

In Ekiti, NDLEA destroyed 14,654 kilograms of skunk in Omuo forest and 54,300 kilograms in warehouses at Asin-Ekiti, Ikole Local Government Area. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the operations. In Ondo, 5,442 kilograms of skunk were seized in Igoba forest, Akure North, with five suspects taken into custody.

Further arrests were made in Niger State, where 500 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a van along Mokwa-Jebba road, and in Abuja, where 22 kilograms of synthetic cannabis known as Colorado were intercepted at Abaji expressway. A follow-up operation at Jabi park led to the arrest of a female receiver, Ali Blessing, 33. Another suspect, Aliyu Usman, 39, was arrested with 24 kilograms of skunk and 573,500 exol-5 pills along Kwali-Gwagwalada expressway.

In Lagos, 113 kilograms of Canadian Loud were recovered from Ezenwa Udoka at Ladipo market, while Izuchukwu Usulor was arrested with 351 kilograms of skunk in Onipanu. Susan Okoro was also arrested with 104.1 kilograms at Trade Fair complex, Ojo. In Edo, 447.5 kilograms of skunk were seized from two vehicles in Agho forest, Akoko Edo, and 315.8 kilograms were recovered from a warehouse in Isiefve community, Ohuwunde Local Government Area.

The Agency confirmed that sensitisation activities under its War Against Drug Abuse initiative continued during the week in schools, worship centres and communities across Kano, Benue and Rivers States.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers involved.

“Their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, are well appreciated,” he said.
The Agency stated that investigations are ongoing and suspects will be prosecuted accordingly.