News

Obi Reacts To Decomposing Bodies Found In Abia

Published

2 years ago

November 2, 2023

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, said the decomposing, headless bodies found in Abia State are a reflection of the scale of insecurity in the country.

Recall Alex Otti, governor of Abia, while speaking at a media parley on Sunday, said 20 headless bodies and countless human skeletons were found around Lokpanta cattle market in the state.

The market is located on the Umunneochi axis of the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway.

Reacting to the development in a thread on his official X page on Thursday, Obi described the development as “barbaric and cruel.”

Obi stated, “I read the bone-chilling story coming out of Abia State, where over 80 bodies were reportedly recovered around the cattle market, with about 20 headless decomposing bodies.

“This level of barbarism and extremely cruel acts only reflects how insecure our environment has been.

“It unearths how insecurity has continued to ravage many parts of the country, taking innocent lives and killing the economy.

“I thank the Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, for taking such a bold step against insecurity in the State. This is highly emulatable.”

Obi further said that while he was governor of Anambra, he faced a similar situation.

“I recall facing a similar situation in 2013 as the Governor of Anambra State.

“I was accompanying President Goodluck Jonathan to an official engagement outside the country when I received the sad report of about 35 decomposing bodies floating on the Ezu River, Anambra.

“I had to leave everything to rush back to the state to attend to the situation and ensure that order was restored in the vicinity.

“Investigation was immediately commenced, with autopsies conducted, before the Federal Government took over the process and asked the State Government to hand it off.”

Obi added that the security of lives and property remains the primary duty of any government and the key to any meaningful development.

He called on governments at all levels to make more efforts to tackle insecurity in the country.

“Security of lives and property remains the primary duty of any government and the key to any meaningful development we hope to experience as a nation. We must therefore prioritize it,” Obi said.

“I encourage governments at all levels to make more efforts to combat insecurity in the nation.”

News

IYC Expresses Displeasure Over Okpebholo’s Neglect Of Edo Ijaw

Published

10 minutes ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Western Zone, have expressed displeasure over what they described as the “persistent marginalisation of the Ijaw political class, traditional institutions and the ongoing abandonment of Ijaw communities,” by the Governor Monday Okpebholo-led Edo State government.

The IYC, in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Nicholas Igrama, Barr. Ebi Olowolayemo and Comrade Tare Magbei, Western Zone Chairman, Secretary and Information Officer respectively, lamented that despite the “massive support Ijaw people gave to Okpebholo across the five Ijaw clans in the state,” not a single appointment has been given to the Ijaw speaking people in the state.

The statement which was made available to newsmen in Benin on Tuesday, said that the “conspicuously absent of Ijaw man or woman in the State Executive Council,” gives credence to their claim.

The IYC, while stating that “we state this not out of bitterness or entitlement, but as a call for fairness, equity, and justice,” emphasized that “despite our enormous contributions to the state’s treasury through natural and human resources, Edo Ijaws remain conspicuously absent in the State Executive Council.”

The statement reads: “It is important to remind the Governor that the Ijaw nation mobilised massive support across the five Ijaw clans in Edo State to ensure his victory at the polls.

“Our voice was loud, our mobilisation was firm, and our votes counted significantly toward the success of this administration.

“Regrettably, one year after, this government has not deemed it necessary to appoint a single individual from the Ijaw extraction, nor has it addressed the glaring infrastructure deficit in our communities and also left our traditional issues unattented to.”

The statement noted that “the Ijaw areas are the bedrock of the state’s oil wealth, the same wealth that qualifies Edo State as an oil-producing state and entitles it to the 13% derivation fund. Yet, there is no visible reflection of this revenue in our communities.”

“We state this not out of bitterness or entitlement, but as a call for fairness, equity, and justice.”

The IYC, therefore, urged the governor to “have a rethink so it doesn’t take to another form of agitation in the state where we contribute.”

News

EPL: Arteta Gives Update On Havertz, Saliba, Gabriel, Others

Published

2 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has provided the latest update on four of his players ahead of his side’s Premier League clash with Brentford on Wednesday.

The four players are Kai Havertz, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães and Leandro Trossard.

Arteta’s side will host Brentford in a Premier League tie at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

Arsenal head to the game following a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in their last game over the weekend.

“Kai Havertz is still weeks away,” Arteta said at his pre-match press conference as quoted by Fabrizio Romano on Tuesday.

“We are all desperate to have him. I mean, it is a player that, personally, I love so much for what he brings to the team – his character, his personality. I see him suffer, being outside.

“Gabriel Magalhães is doing very well, but it will take weeks to see him back.

“For William Saliba and Leandro Trossard, hopefully it’s a matter of days.

“For Saliba, this one is very bizarre injury… but hopefully it will be a short time out.”

News

BREAKING: Tinubu Nominates New Defence Minister

Published

4 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Christopher Gwabin Musa, rtd, as the new Minister of Defence.

In a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu disclosed Musa’s nomination as the successor to Alhaji Mohammed Badaru, who resigned on Monday.

Musa served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. He won the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.

Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa received his primary and secondary education there before attending the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria.

He graduated in 1986 and enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation in 1991.