National Chairman of APC Arrives in Maiduguri Ahead of APC Deputy National Chairman’s Children’s Wedding

By: Our Reporter

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has arrived in Maiduguri, Borno State, leading the National Working Committee of the APC and other party stalwarts.

The visit is in honor of the wedding ceremony of the children of Rt. Hon. Dr. Ali Bukar Dalori, Deputy National Chairman (North) of the APC. Upon arrival, Dr. Ganduje was warmly received by the Borno State Deputy Governor, Hon. Umar Usman Kadafur, Deputy National Chairman, Hon Ali Bukar Dalori and other dignitaries, including the Borno State APC Chairman.

The wedding ceremony, scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 18, 2025, promises to be a grand celebration of love, unity and family. The event will be attended by prominent politicians, business leaders, and dignitaries from across Nigeria.

The arrival of Dr. Ganduje and other APC leaders is a testament to the strong bonds of unity and solidarity within the party. It also underscores the importance of family and community in Nigerian culture.

As the APC family gathers to celebrate this joyous occasion, we are reminded of the party’s commitment to the values of love, unity and family. We wish the happy couple a lifetime of happiness, love and prosperity.

National Chairman of APC Arrives in Maiduguri Ahead of APC Deputy National Chairman’s Children’s Wedding

VP Shettima Arrives In Maiduguri On Condolence Visit To Families Of Slain Soldiers

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on a condolence visit to the families of soldiers who lost their lives during a terrorist attack in Damboa.

The Vice President is in Maiduguri to extend the condolences of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the federal government to the families of the fallen soldiers and to honour their ultimate sacrifice.

The soldiers who died during the attack in Damboa, Borno State, paid the ultimate sacrifice while successfully repelling an onslaught that resulted in the neutralisation of 34 terrorists at a Forward Operating Base in Sabon Gari.

In the wake of the tragic event, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had called for a thorough investigation to uncover the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident and ensure it serves as a valuable lesson to prevent similar occurrences.

The President extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers, saying their sacrifice in defending the nation will forever be honoured and remembered.

President Tinubu also commended the armed forces for their swift and decisive response, particularly the air component, in launching effective retaliatory strikes.

The targeted air raids resulted in the significant neutralisation of numerous terrorists and the destruction of their assets as they attempted to flee.

During his visit to Maiduguri, the Vice President will, at the instance of the President, also pay a condolence visit to Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum.

On the delegation of the Vice President are federal lawmakers from the state, including Senator Kaka Shehu Lawan (Borno Central), Hon. Abdulkadir Rahis (Maiduguri Metropolitan Federal Constituency), Hon. Usman Zannah (Kaga/Magumeri/Gubio Federal Constituency), as well as the Minister of Transportation, Hon. AjiKolo Ali Gujja, and a prominent politician, Sen. Saidu Alkali, among others.

On arrival, the Vice President was received at the Maiduguri International Airport by the Borno State Governor, the Deputy Governor, Umar Kadafur; Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu; Special Adviser to the President on Health, Dr Salma Anas-Kolo; Deputy National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) North, Hon. Ali Bukar Dalori.

VP Shettima Arrives In Maiduguri On Condolence Visit To Families Of Slain Soldiers

Scavenging Outlawed on Abuja streets, activities restricted to dumpsites

By: Michael Mike

Scavengers activities have been restricted in and around the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to dumpsites as they have been warned against moving around either during the day or at night in the city.

The present ban followed the criminal activities of some scavengers popularly known as ‘baba nbolas’ in the area.

They have been alleged to be involved in carting away critical infrastructure especially manholes from the expressways in the city.

Parading 36 scavengers who were arrested with dangerous weapons and vandalized items, the Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Dr Olusola Odumosu, said scavengers who roam the streets of FCT, indiscriminately, perpetrate all forms of criminal activities under the guise of scavenging.

According to him, the move by the FCT Administration was necessitated by the need to nip vandalism of public infrastructure such as manhole covers, streetlights, solar panels, armoured cables, and so on, in the bud.

Items recovered from the 36 suspects include four daggers, three jack knives, two chisels, three knives, two pinches and 10 bottles of codeine syrup.

Others are 45 wraps of indian hemps, thrash bags, pieces of iron rods and narcotic drugs.

The scavengers, he explained, go about the nooks and crannies of the city and satellite towns; house-to-house, estate-to-estate, scavenging for plastics, scrap metals and irons.

He said: “But from previous arrests, interrogations and investigations, we have realised that their real business is to vandalise and remove our road infrastructure such as: manhole covers, flood drain covers, streetlights, armoured cables, rail sleepers, iron rods for bridge enforcement and the likes, which would fetch them good money.

“The public also needs to know that some ‘Baba Nbolas’ now disguise to rob innocent commuters and bystanders as they go about with dangerous weapons to attack and disposes them of their personal belongings especially at night. Our record shows that many who dared to challenge them in the past had met their untimely deaths while others are maimed in various parts of the Federal Capital Territory” he said.

Many residents of the FCT and environs, Odumosu noted, have experienced sudden disappearances of many of their household items like generators, cooking pots, stoves, pressing iron, air conditioners, compressors, car batteries, security light panels, iron drain covers and so on.

“Scavengers are major suspects to most of such disappearances and they carry out these activities whenever they notice that there is no one in sight, but not without wielding dangerous weapons in case they are busted by the house owners.

“The most vital is that many of them work as informants for armed robbers, kidnappers, hired assassins, terrorists, bandits a#nd all sorts of criminal gangs. Many families have fallen victims of kidnapping, abduction for ransom, murder, assassination and the likes because they give information about your family, the number of children you have, the types of cars you drive, where you work and by extension, keeping tabs on your movement.

“They (baba nbola) also assess and profile you through the kind of household waste products you dispose which, in most cases, reveal your status and lifestyles.

Unfortunately, and in most cases, many of us perceive these miscreants and criminals as ordinary innocent, poor Nigerians, hustling for their daily bread so they move about unchecked and unquestioned by anyone, some of us even sympathise with them, by extending alms to them, whereas, they are responsible for the various crimes happening around you.

“Owing to these revelation and credible intelligence at our disposal, it is therefore imperative that citizens and residents join hands with the corps and other security agencies to flush out these dangerous elements in the FCT by chasing scavengers away whenever you see them in front of your houses, your streets, neighbourhood or estates.

“The public should note that, although, they appear innocent, armless and vulnerable, most of them are extremely dangerous, their activities are criminal in nature and they constitute threats not only to the safety and security of lives, property and infrastructure in the FCT but to Nigeria’s national security architecture as a whole” he noted.

The commandant used the occasion to advise FCT residents to dispose their refuse properly and stop patronising the Baba Nbolas for the sake of their own safety and that of their family members.

Scavenging Outlawed on Abuja streets, activities restricted to dumpsites