Metro

Vehicular Movement Disrupted As Timber Dealers Protest Closure Of Edo Forests

Published

4 years ago

February 4, 2022

… Lament Untold Hardship

… Accuse Edo Govt Of Giving Chinese Access

Vehicular movement was on Friday disrupted in several roads around Benin City as a result of protests by timber dealers in Edo State.

The protesters who carried placards with several inscriptions against the state government, accused the government of closing down the forests to their operations in the last seven months thereby subjecting the over 8000 people involved in the business and their dependants to hardships.

They alleged that some Chinese who are also into business were being allowed into the forests.

Speaking to journalists at the Edo State Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Secretary of Edo Sawmillers Association, Dr Nosa Abosanmwan said “Our workforce is over 8,000 and all of them are at home, you can imagine the number of people depending on them. Many of these workers have families and you can imagine the ripple effects this is having on us. We supported the governor when he was contesting but we didn’t know he would put us into suffering this way.

“The painful part is that, our forests have been closed to indigenes but opened to the Chinese to be picking woods but we don’t want to take laws into our hands that is why we are staging this march.

“He has made a series of promises and none of these promises have been kept, we are going to continue until our demands are met.”

Also, the Chairman, Edo State Timber Lorry Owners, Walter Osadolor said there are about 2,000 trucks in the state and each has three to four workers.

He appealed to the public to prevail on the state government to allow them to go back to the forest.

Reacting to the development, the state’s Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Adaze Emwanta, Esq said the state was carrying out reforestation and that many of the loggers were carrying out illegal operations in the forests.

On the issue of Chinese operators accessing the forest, Emwanta denied the allegatio, saying it would be investigated.

He added that the government had commenced a meeting with the leadership of the unions to carry them along in the new regulations in Edo forests.

Metro

Tragedy As Erosion Sweeps Away Motorcyclist In Edo

Published

18 minutes ago

September 17, 2025

Editor

Photo: file copy

Tragedy struck Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, as a motorcyclist, popularly known as Okada, was swept away by erosion.

The tragic incident which reportedly happened after a heavy downpour on Tuesday evening, has sparked renewed concern over the worsening case of erosion in most parts of Edo State.

The incident was captured in a viral video that is circulating widely across social media platforms.

In the video, an individual was heard narrating that the incident occurred at Uwenlenbo Road, near Zekor Hotel in Ekpoma.

The narrator in the video
described the scene as horrifying, adding that the powerful rush of water overwhelmed the rider.

According to the voice, the rider was carrying a female passenger, before he was swept away by the furious erosion, which had a free day due to lack of proper water channel in most parts of the state.

Another voice was heard in the video asking people to assist the bike rider who was struggling with the wave of water until he was swept away.

The victim’s bike plate number was thereafter displayed by sympathizers who begged those who know him to come up to identify him.

the sympathisers in the video called for urgent intervention by both state and federal government agencies, lamenting that erosion continues to threaten lives and property in the state.

Metro

Customs Unveil E-clearance Platform To Decongest Apapa Port

Published

14 hours ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

The Nigeria Customs Service has launched Overtime E-Clearance System, an automated platform aimed at improving cargo management and reducing port congestion at Apapa Port.

According to the Service, the platform, unveiled on Monday, will address a staggering 15-year backlog of abandoned cargo and tackle corruption in the system.

Customs announced this in a statement on its X handle on Tuesday.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, officially introduced the system during a sensitisation exercise in Lagos.

He said the platform will enable consignees to submit and track applications remotely, cutting repeated visits to Customs offices and limiting manual interference.

“The system builds on an earlier policy that extended cargo dwelling periods from 30 to 120 days to give stakeholders more flexibility. The focus is transparency, integrity and adherence to the law. We urge stakeholders to test the system and provide feedback ahead of full deployment,” Adeniyi said.

NCos boss warned against attempts to abuse the process, citing a 15-year-old overtime cargo case still under investigation as an example of why loopholes must be closed.

He added that deliberate abandonment of cargo to evade duties would attract tougher sanctions, with intelligence units monitoring misuse.

Under the rollout plan, Customs will hold further sensitisation sessions this week with terminal operators, shipping companies and other stakeholders before expanding engagement to additional commands.

Deployment will follow once feedback is reviewed and legal queries addressed, the statement added.

According to The PUNCH, this development comes shortly after Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, directed Customs to suspend the implementation of the 4% Free on Board levy on imported goods.

Metro

DSS Sues Sowore, X, Meta Over Anti-Tinubu Post

Published

14 hours ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

The Department of State Services has filed a five-count charge against former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, alongside social media platforms X Corp and Meta Incorporation, over posts critical of President Bola Tinubu.

The suit dated 16th September,2025, was lodged at the Federal High Court in Abuja after Sowore allegedly refused to delete certain posts about the President.

The charges were brought on behalf of the DSS and the Federal Government by M.B. Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, alongside four other counsel to the DSS –M.E. Ernest, U.B. Bulla, Dr. C.S. Eze, and E.G. Orubor.

Confirming the development in a Facebook post on Tuesday , Sowore wrote, “The State Security Service, alias @OfficialDSSNG today filed a 5-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against ‘X’ (formerly Twitter Facebook, and myself. They claimed that because I called Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu a criminal, I have somehow committed a set of ‘novel’ offences they invented and spread across five counts.

“It’s hard to believe there’s anyone sensible left in these offices that should be making Nigeria work. Regardless, I will be present whenever this case is assigned for trial. #RevolutionNow.”

The human rights activist and African Action Congress candidate in the 2023 election had vowed not to delete the controversial tweet, despite a request from the DSS to X demanding its removal.

Restating his stance, Sowore wrote, “This morning, X (formerly Twitter) officially contacted me about the despicable threat letter they received from the lawless DSS over my Tweet on Tinubu. One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet. Thank you, @X.”

He also published the message sent to him by X, which confirmed that the platform had received a legal request from the DSS concerning his post.

The message from X read, “Hello @YeleSowore. In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a request from the Department of State Services regarding your X account, @YeleSowore, that claims the following content violates the law(s) of Nigeria. @YeleSowore, we have not taken any action on the reported content at this time as a result of this request.

“As X strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of our users, it is our policy to notify our users if we receive a legal request from an authorised entity (such as law enforcement or a government agency) to remove content from their account. We provide notice whether or not the user lives in the country where the request originated. This page provides more information

“We understand that receiving this type of notice can be an unsettling experience. While X is not able to provide legal advice, we want you to have an opportunity to evaluate the request and, if you wish, take appropriate action to protect your interests.

“This may include seeking legal counsel and challenging the request in court, contacting relevant civil society organisations, voluntarily deleting the content (if applicable), or finding some other resolution.

“For more information on legal requests X receives from governments worldwide, please refer to this article on our Help Centre and our biannual Transparency Report.”