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INEC Office Fire Attacks: Yoruba Nation Agitators, Politicians Fingered

Published

2 years ago

November 14, 2022

Editor

The recent attacks on two offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in two States of the South-West have been generating speculations among concerned residents who were shocked by the unexpected incidents.

To indigenes and residents of the South-West, an attack on INEC office is strange and extremely unusual.

In some other parts of Nigeria, especially in the South-East, many INEC offices have been set on fire by unknown individuals.

In many of the attacks, members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were fingered as the masterminds. This is so because the group has continued to agitate for an independent nation, saying no to the 2023 elections.

Since the Tuesday incidents in Osun and Ogun, some Nigerians have speculated that the brains behind the fire attacks might be some Yoruba Nation apologists, who have not stopped threatening that there would be no elections in Yorubaland in 2023.

Like their IPOB counterparts, Oodua Republic agitators have insisted that there would be no elections.

Since 2021, the self-styled Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Igboho, and his spokesman, Olayomi Koiki, have insisted that there would be no elections next year.

Though Sunday Igboho has ‘lowered his voice’ since his ordeals in Benin Republic, however, he recently said there is no going back on Yoruba Nation.

“I, Sunday Adeyemo and all those who are following me on the issue of Yoruba Nation, there is no going back for us. There are talks around that we have stopped clamouring for Yoruba nation, that is not true, it is an unconfirmed rumour. We want Yoruba Nation.

“I want you, the Yoruba monarchs, to call a meeting, come together, you can see how our people are being killed everywhere, this is not good. Please come together and support us, may you live long. Yoruba Nation, no going back,” he said.

In March 2022, a group known as the Yoruba One Voice (YOV), said the 2023 general elections were not on its agenda but rather, the agitation for self-determination of the Yoruba nation.

Likewise in May, a group identified as Yoruba Referendum Committee (Agbajoowo la fi n soya) called on the lawmakers in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti States to pass into law, the Bill for a Referendum, which they claimed has already been sent to them twice.

Also, the leader of Yoruba Self-Determination Movement (YSDM), Prof Banji Akintoye, recently expressed optimism that Yoruba Nation would have been achieved before February and March 2023, when the elections would take place.

In less than four months to the elections, some agitators, who have not seen any signal that their plans for a sovereign State would materialise, could have resorted to self help, our correspondent gathered.

Professor Akintoye alluded to the fact that the young ones in the struggle are eager to have their own independent nation, stating that, “I know that young people want to jump now. But their elders would hold them back by telling them to wait, and that they should not jump yet.”

Akintoye added that there are about 200 groups in the mission for Yoruba independence.

“We have very many organisations in the struggle. They are up to 200. We deliberately did that from the beginning. Let there be many organisations and don’t let the authority be able to decipher who is who. That’s why we assisted many of our youths to establish their own organisations,” he added.

Earlier in the month of October, a coalition under the auspices of the Yoruba Appraisal Forum (YAF) had raised the alarm over alleged plans by Yoruba Nation agitators to cause violence and chaos in the South-West.

YAF National Coordinator, Adesina Animashaun, at a press briefing in Lagos State, said the objective of the secessionists was how to truncate the conduct of the 2023 general elections.

He alleged that some disgruntled persons in the South-West had been engaging in clandestine activities to spark off “killings, arson and mayhem that would undermine the electoral process and ultimately truncate next year’s elections” throughout the country.

According to him, the violence was planned to coincide with the campaigns by political parties in the six South-West States, as it was aimed at “re-enacting the arson and killings that characterised the unfortunate ‘Operation Wetie’ violence”, which he said took place in the First Republic.

“It appears the alarm raised by the YAF group was not taken seriously by security agencies and the resultant effect was what we witnessed last week in Ogun and Osun INEC offices,” a source told DAILY POST.

It would be recalled that some Yoruba Nation agitators recently attacked soldiers in Ota area of Ogun, carting away the rifle of an officer who also sustained injuries.

A senior security operative in the South West confided in our correspondent that the Yoruba Nation agitators are prime suspects in the unfortunate incident.

According to him, it was not a coincidence that the two INEC offices were set on fire same day, same time. He recalled that the two were torched with loaves of bread soaked with gasoline.

“This is really a coordinated attack by those agitators who do not want the 2023 elections to hold. They are seeing that everything is getting set and they don’t know what to do to stop the election.

“Politicians will not go and burn voters’ cards because they know their members would be affected too. They will rather find another way to rig elections,” the security officer spoke anonymously because he is not permitted to address the press.

In his own view, a public commentator, Alhaji Ola Animashaun, said anything is possible as far as the arson is concerned.

However, Animashaun wants security operatives to dig deep in fishing out whoever was responsible for the attacks.

“Nothing is impossible and anything is possible in Nigerian politics, Ogun State inclusive.

“But without necessarily being restrictive, I would rather wish politicians should be effectively ‘x-rayed’ in this instance. However, some anti-democratic fifth columnists could also be at work for some unexplainable agenda as it were.

“I think the 2023 desperadoes should not be off the radar of those looking into the Ogun/Osun (Ede) INEC area offices fire disaster. Coordinated or coincidental, some people somewhere, within or outside INEC, are in what can be called “desperate mode,” Animashaun stated.

Speaking, a political leader in Ogun State, Chief Dapo Adeyemi, opined that the attacks might be the handiwork of some politicians who are afraid of their seamy popularity among the electorate.

“It is not the first time that INEC facilities are being attacked or burnt. I am not sure the latest attacks, though happening in the South-West, could be the handiwork of Yoruba Nation agitators.

“One obvious fact is that the recent attack has political undertone and this is where the security agencies should ensure that the arsonists are fished out and their sponsors identified,” Adeyemi posited.

INEC, security agencies take actions

Meanwhile, at an emergency meeting of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee On Election Security (ICCES) held Friday to discuss the simultaneous attacks on INEC offices in Abeokuta South of Ogun and Ede South of Osun, it was resolved that security agencies would upscale intelligence gathering, sharing and utilising same to stem further sabotage.

The meeting, which was co-chaired by the Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), was attended by the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, representatives of the Armed Forces and others.

It was agreed at the emergency meeting that there would be the deployment of joint Security and Safety Teams to all INEC assets and facilities nationwide henceforth.

The teams, DAILY POST learnt, would include the police, Army, DSS, Civil Defence, the Federal Fire Service and others.

“The meeting appealed to Nigerians to continue to support the INEC and the security agencies to ensure a peaceful and secure environment for the 2023 General Election,” a statement released by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Security Committee of INEC, Maj. Gen. Modibbo A. Alkali (rtd) said.
DAILY POST

Related Topics:#INEC Igboho Yoruba nation

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Kudos As Nigeria Gains Additional Territory ‘Five Times The Size Of Lagos’

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1 day ago

May 15, 2024

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has commended the High Powered Presidential Committee, HPPC, on Nigeria’s extended continental shelf project, a team of experts who worked hard over the years to advance the project.

The president gave the commendation when he received the report of the protect yesterday in Abuja.

According to Vanguard, the project aims to extend Nigeria’s maritime boundaries in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982.

The president expressed his appreciation in Abuja after listening to technical presentations by Professor Larry Awosika, a marine scientist and member of the committee, and Surveyor Aliyu Omar, Secretary of HPPC.

The experts have been involved in the project since Nigeria’s initial submission to extend its continental shelf to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in 2009.

They informed the President that the UN has approved Nigeria’s submission, granting sovereignty over additional square kilometres of maritime territory.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, quoted the President as saying: ‘’When the HPPC briefed former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022 on the status of the project, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, CLCS, was still considering Nigeria’s submission and having technical interactions with the HPPC.

‘’These interactions and consideration have now culminated in the approval for Nigeria to extend its continental shelf beyond 200M (200 nautical miles).

‘’As it stands now, the area approved for Nigeria is about 16,300 square kilometres, which is about five times the size of Lagos State,” Surveyor Omar told the president.’’

He added that the official notification of the decision was conveyed to Nigeria by the UN Nations Commission on the limits of the Continental Shelf, CLCS, in August 2023, shortly after President Tinubu assumed office.

Omar outlined the available options for Nigeria following the approval: “The first option is to take the area gained and finalize the registration with the UN Secretary-General and close everything, meaning that we are satisfied with what we got. This will take at least one year.

“The second option is to take what we have right now, acquire more data, do a support write-up, and make a revised submission as recommended by CLCS for further consideration. This will take another four years. Either way (options), Nigeria will keep what has been approved.”

In his presentation, Professor Awosika explained that the approval came after years of meticulous scientific research on geophysics, geology, geography, and diplomatic efforts, which solidified Nigeria’s legal rights over a vast expanse of seabed and subsoil beyond its traditional territorial waters.

Awosika highlighted the economic potential of the newly acquired territory, which includes hydrocarbons, gas, solid minerals, and a wide variety of sedentary species.

He, however, cautioned against total disclosure of sensitive data acquired during surveys, noting that this will jeopardize confidentiality as Nigeria is expected to monetize the information to recover project expenses.

Responding, the president thanked the experts for their diligence, emphasizing the significance of the achievement for Nigeria’s economic and strategic interests.
VANGUARD

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Police Give Tips On How To Report Erring Officers

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1 day ago

May 15, 2024

Editor

The Police have urged Nigerians to take the advantage of its Complaint Response Unit, at the Force Headquarters, to report misconduct of its officers and men.

The Head of the unit, CSP El-Musta Sani, made the appeal at a Summit organised in Abuja by the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) in collaboration with the Foundation for Youth Empowerment and Social Justice.

Sanni said that the unit was created in 2015 to handle complaints against police officers from members of the public.

He said, so far, from the first quarter of 2024, the unit had received 459 complaints from members of the public against officers and men, through its social media platforms.

He further explained that 265 of the cases had been resolved while 195 were still being handled by the police.

According to him, “It takes the Unit 21 days to receive and conclude investigations on all complaints”.

He said it was worrisome that members of the public did not know about the platforms to channel their complaints.

“The major problem is that the institutions are there, but Nigerians do not know their functions.

“We receive complaints through WhatsApp, Twitter handles, phone calls, and walk-in petitions.

“And the Unit is directly responsible to the Office of the Inspector General of Police through the Public Relation Officer,” he said.

Sanni assured more sensitisation to enlighten the public to take advantage of the opportunity to lodge their complaint for proper handling.

In his remarks, the Chief Commissioner of PCC, Mr Abimbola Ayo-Yusuf emphasised the need to strengthen institutions to combat administrative injustice and corruption.

He noted that, properly developed institution is key to good governance, adding that the summit aimed to improve service delivery and ensure that the right to complain and raise issues was available to everyone.

“The purpose of this Summit, which is to foster collaboration between the Public Complaints Commission and other organisations, is quite timely and key to the understanding of the mandate of the Commission.

“The PCC, known as the Nigerian version of the Ombudsman, was established to investigate complaints regarding administrative actions,” he said.

Ms. Sandra Benson, the Director Administration, Foundation for Youth Empowerment and Social Justice, said that the Foundation and PCC were working hard to ensure justice for those who had faced injustices over the years.

Banson emphasised the need for collective action to address the issues, stating that now was the time to match voices with action for good governance.

She highlighted the importance of addressing citizens’ complaints about administrative actions and called for immediate responses, sensitisation of workers on grievance channels, and cooperation for swift justice.

“The Summit marks the beginning of important engagements with stakeholders and the PCC, aiming to restore trust in the system and liberate workers from bad leadership.”

Also speaking, Maurice Okoye, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jewel Social Empowerment Initiative, said that the critical need for consequence management in addressing issues in Nigeria was necessary.

Okoye cited the absence of consequence management as a major challenge, leading to lack of accountability among government agency heads.

He also mentioned the reluctance of many to seek justice due to a lack of confidence in the system.

He cited an example where one of his friends chose not to pursue justice after a robbery due to high costs and skepticism about the outcome.

Okoye called for a restoration of public confidence in the justice system and emphasised the need for accountability and responsibility among leaders.

NAN

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Google To Offer AI-generated Answers In Search Results

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2 days ago

May 14, 2024

Editor

Google has announced it would introduce AI-generated answers to online queries made by users in the United States, in one of the biggest updates to its search engine in 25 years.

“I’m excited to announce that we will begin launching this fully revamped experience, ‘AI overviews,’ to everyone in the US this week,” Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said at an event in California on Tuesday, May 14.

Google’s search results will feature an AI summary at the top of the page before the more typical unfurling of links.

The AI answers generated by Google’s Gemini technology will offer succinct summaries of what it found on the internet with links to the online sources that supplied the information.

“You can ask whatever’s on your mind or whatever you need to get done – from researching to planning to brainstorming – and Google will take care of the legwork,” said Google Search team boss Liz Reid.

The change comes as Google feels growing pressure from AI-powered search engines like Perplexity, and from the rumors that OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is building its own AI search tool.

Searches through AI chats have also appeared on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, with users able to get information from the web without Google.

The change will soon spread to other countries, Pichai added, making it accessible to more than a billion people.