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Okomu Attack: Edo Govt Has Failed In Its Responsibility; We Need Military Base – Community

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…say we’re Ijaw people; we have no link to Okagheles, cultism

Following incessant attacks on Okomu community, indegenes of the community in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State have appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, to provide them military base in the community.

Recall that some militia allegedly led by one Lawrence Yanbor invaded the community on May 14, 2024, burnt down over 30 houses in the community, shot some Edo State Security Network personnel in their base and also set ablaze a Horse Power Speed Boat donated by the Edo State Government.

The terrorists were said to have also invaded the community on June 7, attacked military personnel, shot the traditional ruler of the community and also carted away ancestral valuables.

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In a statement issued by Chief Edwin Denmene, the Ibeiyaidonwei of Okomu, on behalf of Okomu Traditional Council; Comrade Ayewa Eres, Vice Chairman, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Okomu clan, and Comrade Samson Yanbor, former Vice Chairman, IYC, West Zone, and made available to Info Daily, said until military base is stationed in the community and the culprits arrested, the attacks would persist.

READ ALSO: Okomu Clash: Obaseki Visits Wounded Soldiers, Vows To Apprehend Perpetrators

We want the government to come to our aid; we need a military base in our community to ensure peace in the community. If this is not done, and Lawrence is not arrested, this problem will continue,” the statement added.

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Speaking further, Chief Denmene said they have written several letters to the Edo State Government seeking to meet with the governor but to no avail, adding that they have also petitioned the Commissioner of Police and Director of Department State Services (DSS) in the state.

He said: “We have been calling on the State Government for intervention. Personally, the community has written letters to the governor and also informed him on this issue, but up till now nothing has been heard from the government.

“Even the local government chairman was informed of the incident on the second day of the incident. The chairman of the local government met with some persons affected in Benin and promised to meet with the governor alongside the affected persons, but up till now, we have not heard from the local government chairman, neither have we heard from the governor.

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READ ALSO: ICYMI: Armed Men Invade Okomu, Razes Houses, Shoot Security Guards, Indigenes Alert Edo Govt, IGP, INC [PHOTOS]

“We believe that the government has failed in its responsibility of securing the lives and properties of Okomu people. This is almost a month, we have not heard from the government. I don’t know if Okomu community in Ovia South West is not part of Edo State,” he stressed.

On the government linking the attacks to cultism and Okagheles, the Okomu Chief said: “The statement by the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, linking the attack in Okomu community to Okagheles and cultism was a pure mixup. The attack on Okomu has nothing to do with cultism or Okagheles, it is purely criminality.”

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We are purely Ijaw people, we don’t know what is called Okagheles in Ijaw communities.”

Also speaking, Vice Chairman, IYC, Okomu clan, Comrade Ayewa lamented that due to the attacks, the community has been deserted, adding that many are currently in the bush taking refuge while others have fled to neighbouring communities for safety.

He, therefore, appealed to the leaders of the Ijaw nation across the Niger Delta and beyond to rise to the challenge of rescuing Okomu from attack.

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UK Police Arrest Asylum Seeker Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed

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The UK police on Sunday arrested an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, whose crimes had sparked anti-immigration protests, after he was accidentally released from prison in an embarrassing blunder by British authorities.

London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested Hadush Kebatu in the north of the capital on Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after he was mistakenly freed around 30 miles (48 kilometres) away.

Kebatu, 38, had served the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, but was reportedly due to be deported when the Prison Service error occurred on Friday.

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His high-profile case earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, sparked demonstrations in various English towns and cities where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, as well as counter-protests.

READ ALSO:UK Police Hunt Asylum Seeker Mistakenly Freed For Sex Offence

Commander James Conway, who oversaw the manhunt for him, said “information from the public” led officers to the Finsbury Park neighbourhood of London, where he was found.

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He was detained by police but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service,” he added.

Kebatu is now expected to be deported.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was “appalled” by the “totally unacceptable” mistake that saw him freed rather than sent to an immigration detention centre.

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The Telegraph newspaper said he was wrongly categorised for release on licence and handed a £76 ($101) discharge grant.

READ ALSO:Alleged Misappropriation: MFM Accuses UK Agency Of Discrimination

Police had appealed Saturday for Kebatu to turn himself in, after reports emerged that he had appeared confused and reluctant to leave the prison in Chelmsford, eastern England.

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A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return several times in a “very confused” state, only to be turned away by staff and directed to the railway station.

The driver told Sky News he saw Kebatu outside the jail, asking, “Where am I going? What am I doing?”

He was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed,” the driver said.

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READ ALSO:UK Is A Home, Not Hotel, Kemi Badenoch Tells Immigrants, Starmer’s Govt

The father of Kebatu’s anonymous teenage victim told the broadcaster that “the justice system has let us down.”

Police arrested the asylum seeker in July after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.

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He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.

He was staying at the time at Epping’s Bell Hotel, where scores of other asylum seekers have been accommodated, and which became the target of repeated protests.

AFP

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Madagascar Revokes Ousted President’s Nationality

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Madagascar’s new government has stripped ousted president Andry Rajoelina of his Malagasy nationality in a decree published Friday, 10 days after he was removed in a military takeover.

According to AFP, the decree means that Rajoelina, who was impeached on October 14 after fleeing the island nation in the wake of weeks of protests, would not be able to contest future election.

The decree published in the official gazette said Rajoelina’s Malagasy nationality was revoked because he had acquired French nationality in 2014, local media reported, as photographs of the document were shared online.

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READ ALSO:Madagascar’s President Denounces ‘Coup Attempt’ As Gen Z Protests Escalate

French broadcaster RFI said it had confirmed the decree with the entourage of the new prime minister, Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, who signed the order.

The decree cited laws stipulating that a Malagasy who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality loses their Malagasy nationality.

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Rajoelina’s French nationality caused a scandal when it was revealed ahead of the November 2023 elections, nearly 10 years after it was granted.

READ ALSO:Madagascar Passes Bill To Castrate Child R*pists

It triggered calls for him to be disqualified but he went on to win the contested polls, which were boycotted by opposition parties.

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The 51-year-old politician fled Madagascar after army Colonel Michael Randrianirina said on October 11 his CAPSAT unit would refuse orders to put down the youth-led protest movement, which security forces had attempted to suppress with violence.

Rajoelina said later he was in hiding for his safety, but did not say where.

Randrianirina was sworn in as president on October 14, pledging elections within two years.

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Kamala Harris Hints At Running For President Again

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Former US vice president Kamala Harris said in a British television interview previewed in Saturday that she may “possibly” run again to be president.

Harris, who replaced Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate but lost to Donald Trump, told the BBC that she had not yet decided whether to make another White House bid.

But the 61-year-old insisted she was “not done” in American politics and that her young grandnieces would see a female president in the Oval Office “in their lifetime, for sure”.

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READ ALSO:FULL LIST: Trump, Kamala, Netanyahu, Others Shortlisted For 2024 Time’s Person Of The Year

“I have lived my entire career a life of service, and it’s in my bones, and there are many ways to serve.

“I’ve not decided yet what I will do in the future, beyond what I am doing right now,” Harris told the British broadcaster in an interview set to air in full on Sunday.

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The comments are the strongest hint yet that Harris could attempt to be the Democratic Party nominee for the 2028 election.

READ ALSO:Kamala Harris Secures Democratic Presidential Nomination

The interview follows the release of her memoir last month, in which she argued it had been “recklessness” to let Biden run for a second term as president.

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She also accused his White House team of failing to support her while she was his deputy, and at times of actively hindering her.

AFP

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