Metro

Nigerian @64: :CSOs Protest In Edo,Demand Restoration of Fuel Subsidy, Others

Published

1 year ago

October 1, 2024

Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Edo State on Tuesday took to the streets of Benin, demanding the restoration of fuel subsidy, improvement of security, revert to single legislature among others by the Bola Tinubu administration.

The protesters caused traffic gridlock on the ever busy Mission Road and its adjoining streets.

The coalition who moved from the Kings Square (Ring Road) chanted solidarity songs while bearing placards with different inscriptions: ‘restore fuel subsidy’; ‘we are hungry’; ‘end insecurity,’ among others.

The coalition, which included: African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ); Talakawa Republic; Take it Back Movement and Faculty of Peace Organization, during their to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State council secretariat, Benin City, lamented that the removal of fuel subsidy, insecurity and floating of the naira have made life very difficult for Nigerians.

Speaking, Take it Back Movement coordinator in Edo State, Dr Lawal Haifz, said they were on the streets to demand that restoration of fuel subsidy, improve on security so that farmers could go to farm.

Haifz also bemoaned the free fall of the naira and urged government to restore the hope of the common man.

According to him, “We are here to protest the current situation in Nigeria. People are really suffering. We demand the restoration of the fuel subsidy. Insecurity has made it impossible for our people to go to farm and that is why you can no longer buy foodstuffs.

“We don’t need the Senate and House of Representatives at the same time .The money spent on the two House can go a long way to take care of Nigeria needs. The so called minimum wage cannot even buy a bag of rice . There is extreme hunger.”

Also speaking the convener of Faculty of Peace Organization, Comrade Kelly Osunbor, said the Nigerian political class are just being wicked. He queried where the money distributed to voters during the Edo State Governorship election on the 21st of September came from ?

“They tell us that there is no money,where did they get the money shared to voters during September 21 election came from? Just calculate the #10,000 to #20,000 distributed to voters ,and they said there is no money. These guys are just being wicked. My father hoped for better Nigeria,he is dead now. He did not see a better Nigeria. Today we are hoping for a better Nigeria.

“Government does not provide anything. We sink our own borehole and the fuel God has given to us freely is what they are using to punish us. Let me tell you that they are calling for revolution. If a parasite goes into its host, it will never stop until it finishes the host,the Nigerian political class is like a parasite..They are calling for revolution,and they must get revolution. We have tried BEVAS,it did not work, we have tried IReV,it did not work. We have tried Athahiru Jega, that one did not work. So,the only thing they will hear is revolution.” He said.

The coalition moved from the Kings Square (Ring Road) chanting solidarity songs while bearing placards with different inscriptions like. ‘Restore fuel Subsidy’, ‘We are hungry”. ‘ End insecurity ‘ among others and caused traffic gridlock on the ever busy Mission Road and it’s adjoining streets.

Metro

Police Bust Kidnap Ring, Rescue 23 Foreigners, Arrest 14 Suspects Near Abuja

Published

2 hours ago

November 1, 2025

Editor

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has dismantled a transnational kidnapping syndicate that demanded N230 million ransom from foreign nationals lured into Nigeria under the guise of lucrative job offers.

Operatives of the command’s Scorpion Squad launched the sting operation around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba, Nasarawa State, a border community near Abuja.

Fourteen suspected kidnappers were arrested and 23 foreign nationals rescued in the process.

According to police findings, the victims, all West African nationals, were deceived into travelling to Nigeria by a criminal network posing as employment recruiters.

Upon arrival, the victims were held captive, and the kidnappers demanded ransom from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms.

FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said on Friday that investigations identified the ringleader as Abubakar Jigiba, a suspected notorious cross-border criminal with known residences in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria.

The syndicate, she explained, demanded four million CFA francs (about N10 million) per person, a total ransom demand of N230 million.

Adeh confirmed that efforts are ongoing to track down the principal suspect, Abubakar Jigiba, and his brother, Sougule Zoubere, both of whom remain at large.

She said: “In a major breakthrough against kidnapping and human trafficking, operatives of the FCT Police Command’s Scorpion Squad have successfully arrested fourteen (14) suspected kidnappers and rescued twenty-three (23) victims, all foreign nationals, from captivity.

“The intelligence-led operation took place at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday, 21st October 2025, at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba, Nasarawa State.

“The operation followed a report indicating that several foreign nationals had been lured into Nigeria under the pretext of lucrative job offers. Upon arrival, they were held hostage by their abductors, who demanded ransom payments from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the syndicate is coordinated by one Abubakar Jigiba, a transnational criminal kingpin with known residences in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria. His younger brother, Sougule Zoubere, handles the recruitment, kidnapping and smuggling of victims from Mali into Nigeria, where they are detained pending ransom payments. The group demanded four million CFA (N10,000,000) for each victim.

“Further investigations revealed that the victims were trafficked into the country through illegal border routes in a journey lasting about three days. They were subsequently confined in two fortified two-bedroom apartments under inhumane conditions.

“Acting on actionable digital and reconstructive intelligence, the Scorpion Squad traced the hideout to the above address, where a total of twenty-three (23) victims — fourteen (14) males, eight (8) females and one (1) child — were rescued unhurt, except one who sustained a minor ear injury and has been taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for treatment.”

Metro

Woman Begs Court Not To Grant Husband’s Prayer For Divorce

Published

2 hours ago

November 1, 2025

Editor

A housewife, Fauziya Ibrahim, has begged an Area Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, not to grant her husband, Hamza Musbau’s prayer of divorce.

She told the court that she does not want her marriage dissolved.

“I have been married to my husband for 16 years and I want to remain in this marriage,” she told the court.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),Earlier, Hamza prayed for divorce on grounds of lack of love and affection.

The judge, Mr Toyin Aluko, said that on the strength of the provisions of the Holy Quran, Almighty Allah allows a wife to seek for settlement, just as divorce is allowed.

He, therefore, advised Fauziya to try her best to make peace and settle any misunderstanding between them.

Aluko adjourned the case.

Metro

Woman Seeks Divorce Over Alleged Abandonment, Abuse

Published

2 hours ago

November 1, 2025

Editor

A married woman, Love Thomas, has dragged her husband, Joshua, before an upper Customary Court sitting in Kaduna, Kaduna State, over alleged abandonment and violence.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the complainant’s lawyer, Victoria Omajawu prayed the court to dissolve their marriage on the grounds of abandonment.

She also prayed the court to restrain the defendant from threatening and disturbing her client’s peace or tranquility.

The defendant was however not in court.

The judge, Mrs Patience Musa, adjourned the case.