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Delta Bloodbath: Oborevwori Assures Okuama indegenes Of Safe Return As He Visits Troubled Community

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Editor

Governor of Delta State, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, on Saturday, visited the Okuama community of Ewu Kingdom in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state where 17 military officers and soldiers on a peace mission to the community were killed.

This was as he assured indigenes who fled the community in the wake of the crisis of their safe return reiterating that “innocent citizens would not be made to suffer for what they know nothing about”.

It was the first time Oborevwori was visiting the troubled community after he had earlier been allegedly denied access to the community by the military last month.

The PUNCH gathered that the boat conveying the Governor and his delegation to Okuama took off from the jetty of the Nigerian Port Authority in Warri on Saturday morning.

In the governor’s entourage were top members of his cabinet as well as heads of security agencies in the state.

The Governor was escorted to the community by operatives of the military Joint Task Force.

It will be recalled that the Okuama community had been cordoned off by the military authorities since the March 14 tragic incident which claimed the lives of the soldiers and some civilians.

Oborevwori, during a visit to President Bola Tinubu last month, had told State House correspondents that he had not visited the community because the entire area had been deserted by residents following the military operation in the area.

Recall that on March 14, 17 military personnel including a lieutenant colonel, two majors and a captain were reportedly ambushed and gruesomely murdered around the Okuama community while on a peace mission over a disputed portion of land between Okuama, an Urhobo community and Okoloba, an Ijaw community on March 17.

Following the killing of the personnel, the Nigerian military had earlier declared eight persons including the traditional ruler of the Ewu Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, King Clement Oghenerukevwe Ikolo, Urhukpe 1 and a renowned professor and President-General of Ewu communities wanted for the killing of the soldiers.

The Ewu monarch, barely 24 hours after he was declared wanted, turned himself in to the police in Delta, but was later handed over to the military for interrogation.

After spending three weeks in a military facility in Abuja, the traditional ruler was however released in the early hours of Friday and handed over to Senator Ede Dafinone, representing Delta Central Senatorial District.

Meanwhile, the released monarch of Ewu Kingdom, His Majesty Ovie Clement Ikolo, has applauded the three Senators from Delta State at the National Assembly for the key role they played in his release by the military.

The traditional ruler who visited Senator Ned Nwoko, representing Delta North Senatorial District in his Maitama, Abuja residence, in the company of his wife and some family members, shortly after regaining his freedom, expressed his gratitude to Senator Nwoko, stating that Nwoko not only visited the Chief of Defence Staff alongside other Delta Senators to intercede on his behalf but also visited him in his Asokoro cell.

He said, “The day you came to visit me was the day I regained my bearings. Your presence gave me hope”.

Responding, Senator Nwoko stated that he was humbled to have been instrumental in the process and grateful that the collective efforts yielded positive results.

He encouraged the king not to be discouraged by the ordeal.

“Who knows what could have happened if you weren’t detained? Perhaps it was necessary to prevent something worse”, the Senator said.

Details later…

News

Why I Wrote UTME Again, UNIZIK’s Best-graduating Student Reveals

Published

3 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Editor

A graduate of Chemistry from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Anambra State, Juliet Chidiebube Uka, has scored 324 in the just concluded 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

Uka was the best-graduating student in the Department of Chemistry at UNIZIK in 2021, graduating with a first class.

She said she sat for the 2024 UTME to study Medicine as she wants to fulfill her dreams of becoming a medical doctor.

Her result made public, showed that she scored an aggregate of 324 in UTME as she seeks to re-enter the university.

Her elder brother, Obiora Uka, said his sister made up her mind to study medicine and surgery at all costs.

“She has demonstrated resilience through outstanding performance. She has maintained that her ambition is to become a doctor. This led her to write Jamb again this year 2024 and scored an aggregate of 324,” he added.

Obiora said the family hopes she can actualize her lifelong dream of becoming a medical doctor.

Meanwhile, users of the social media app, X, have continued to the inflow of candidates’ results from the concluded 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, in its statement, disclosed that 1,402,490 candidates out of 1,842,464 failed to score 200 out of 400 marks.

Netizens have continued to display the results of some UTME candidates nationwide who had scored 300 and above.

One such is the daughter of a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in Kaduna State; Toro Shehu, who scored 348 out of a total 400.

News

Banned: Remove Your Eyelashes, Nigerian Pastor Orders Bride At Wedding

Published

3 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Editor

A Nigerian bride recounted how her pastor told her to remove her lashes during her church wedding.

Jessica Okah, the bride, disclosed this incident on TikTok, mentioning that the pastor had raised the issue of her eyelashes before the wedding day.

However, she said she had completely forgotten about it and thought it would be overlooked during the wedding.

She said, “What would you do if your pastor asked you to remove your lashes in the middle of your wedding ceremony? It was like a movie, but it was happening for real.

“After my husband’s family accepted me, that’s when my pastor realised that he told me the day before that I wasn’t supposed to wear lashes to the wedding ceremony.

“Let me not lie, I didn’t have a problem with it anyway, but truthfully, I forgot.

“He said before the service had to continue, I had to go and remove the lashes.”

She shared a video that captured the moment her pastor stopped the wedding proceedings over her eyelashes and resumed the ceremony after she had taken them off.

News

Operation Feed Edo: Obaseki Launches Christians Feeding Programme, Distributes 10kg 60k Bags Of Rice

Published

5 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Editor

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, on Friday, said he has earmarked nothing less than N1bn Naira monthly to feed vulnerable Christians in the state in the next three months.

This is as he said a similar programme has been mapped out for people in the Muslim faith in the state.

Obaseki disclosed this during the official flag-off of phase one of Edo State Food Support Programme also known as Christian Feeding Programme in Benin City.

The Governor, who said he was worried by the rising number of people who cannot afford a square meal in a day in the state, said he had to call Christian leaders in the state on how best to address the alarming situation.

Obaseki said in order not to make it look political, he decided not to involve political office holders, but Christian leaders in reaching out to vulnerable Christians in the state.

The Governor who added that the state government already had data of the vulnerable in the state database, said the means of reaching out to them maximally was the issue, hence using churches to reach out to them.

He said: “I was worried by the rising number of people who cannot afford a square meal in a day. So, I thought to myself how do we solve this problem. This is not politics I told myself.

“I then called the chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and some of the blockheads to a meeting and explained to them what I intended to do. So, that’s how we put our heads together to come up with this programme.”

Obaseki added: “I told them this is the amount of money I will be giving you every month. I’ll give you a billionaire monthly for three months first. At least, Let us try this for the first three months.”

The governor said the programme was not just to feed the vulnerable, but also together more data about people in the state on how the government can create employment for them and how the government can render help where necessary.

Earlier, in his remarks, Chairman of the Organising Committee who also doubles as the Chairman, CAN,
Apostle Irekpono Omoike, while thanking the governor for the initiative, said 10kg of 60,000 bags of rice have been purchased for onward distribution to the three senatorial districts in the state.

According to him, 27,000 bags of the 10kg would be distributed to the seven local government areas in Edo South, 15 bags to Edo Central and 18 bags to Edo North.

Further giving the breakdown, Omoike said 3, 000 bags would be distributed to each local government across the 18 local government areas, summing upto 54,000 bags, while the remaining 6,000 bags would be distributed to churches not captured under CAN.