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To defeat banditry, Kidnapping, Residents must put eyes on visitors’ movements – Ahmad Kwarah
To defeat banditry, Kidnapping, Residents must put eyes on visitors’ movements – Ahmad Kwarah
By Mohammed Kaka Misau
In order to defeat acts of banditry and Kidnapping, residents have been urged to put eyes on the movements of visitors within their domains, a local hunter who specializes on fishing out bandits, kidnappers and other criminally minded persons in Bauchi state, Ahmad Mohammed Kwarah has said.
Speaking in an interview with our Corresspondent yesterday, Kwarah who inherited the task from his late elder brother, Alhaji Ali Kwara, noted that all eyes must be on the suspicious movement of visitors passing or settling in Bauchi state to curb incidents of banditry and kidnapping.
He lamented that many communities played host to strangers without necessarily finding out who they are, perhaps due to the peace been enjoyed in their areas.
“In areas where there is breach of peace, they hardly receive visitors just like that, they have to scrutinize them, unlike we here that are living peacefully. Yes, it’s good to welcome visitors, but while hosting them, we have to be extra careful, people should report strangers with questionable character to the relevant authorities, they should not harbor them”, he said.
“We have been contributing to maintenance of security and peaceful co-existence within and even outside Azare where I come from. As I am talking to you now, you cannot hear incident of kidnapping or banditry in Azare, we have succeeded in curbing them”, Ahmad Kwarah said.
The bandit fighter said he alongside his team are operating in all parts of Nigeria with the support of the Police and other security agencies.
“We thank God that we are succeeding, many people know that we are succeeding in our operations. We really thank members of the public for their support to us in this fight against bandits and kidnappers, many people are praying for us to succeed and thank God we are succeeding”, the hunter said.
Kwarah who said as a result of the successes he has recorded, a lot of well meaning Nigerians have been commending him for sustaining the fight against bandits and kidnappers.
According to him, he is encouraged by the massive support given to him by the federal and state governments as well as the security agencies and the general public.
“I am operating with their consent. When ever I am embarking on an operation, I call the IGP to inform him about it, I call the CP to inform him and we have always received huge support, 100 percent”, he added.
Ahmad Kwarah who reiterated that the Police has been very supportive to his operations, noted that without their support, he wouldn’t have attained the successes recorded.
“They have supported me immensely, we are working in collaboration with the police and we don’t have any problem with them”, he said.
While calling on the people to be conscious of movements around them, Ahmad Kwarah observed that any community with cases of kidnapping, there’s likelihood of harboring strangers with questionable character.
Ahmad Kwara who said security cannot be guaranteed without good information, explained that he has informants in different parts of the country.
“We have informants in so many towns and villages, and that is why we are getting our operations easier, before we embark on any operation, we always ensure that we have adequate information”, Kwarah said.
“We are enjoying support from members of the public to that regard”, he stated.
Kwara who noted that he is operating voluntarily in line with what he inherited from his predecessor (elder brother, Alhaji Ali Kwara), said he derives his earnings from his business (buying and selling of grains).
While commending Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state for recognizing his contribution in the fight against insecurity, Kwarah said he was further encouraged when the Governor summoned him to a meeting.
Ahmad Kwara while observing that 95 percent of theft, burglary are caused by drugs, said he has been able to go after drug peddlers within Azare which has resulted to drastic reduction in cases of theft and burglary among the youth.
NBMA Debunks Allegations of Negligence, Compromise Against It
By: Michael Mike
The Director General and Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO) of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Yemisi Asagbra debunked some allegations level against the agency by some non governmental organisations (NGOs) concerning negligence and compromise.
Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, Asagbra said: “The negative statements circulating are misleading and lack credible scientific backing. The agency asks these organisations to present verifiable scientific evidence for their claims and we relies on sound scientific research and internationally recognized protocols to make informed decisions. It is part of the Cartagena Protocol with over 180 parties, our mandate is to protect the health of Nigerians and the environment. It will not compromise on this as it is an agency of integrity.
She added that: “The agency is transparent and accountable in its operations. It invites review of its processes and rigorous evaluations of GMO products. We are confident in our procedures that it’s meet global standards and it is a leader in effective regulation in Africa”.
On the source of the allegations, she said “over the years they have been advocating to have their presence in the board where all these products coming will be thoroughly Investigated, but it hasn’t been given. Most times we rely on the information given by Nigeria Custom Service to furnish them with needed information, which most time is not always easy if they have other things doing.
The Head planning, research and statistics National Biosafety Management Agency Mrs. Bello Scholastica said the agency is concerned with safety to our health and safety to our environment.
She further reiterated that what NBMA stands for is to establish first regulation from identification of the gene of interest, “of what you are interested in, from then till commercialization, and even after commercialization, they still follow suit to make sure that the approvals they gave hasn’t caused any harm, or those that were given approval to that they stay put to what they were asked to do”.
She further explained that the agency has put in effort to promote environmental conservation and biosafety in Nigeria.
NBMA Debunks Allegations of Negligence, Compromise Against It
House of Reps Assures on Passage of Human Rights Defenders Bill
By: Michael Mike
The House of Representatives has revealed that it is interested in the passage of the Human Rights Defenders Bill into law, saying that the bill has already passed the first reading and will soon be subjected to second reading.
The House also promised to take the necessary steps to ensure an improvement in the 2025 budget of the NHRC, pointing out that the N5 billion approved for it in the 2024 budget is inadequate considering the myriad of human rights violations in the country.
The Chairman House Committee on Human Rights, Hon. Abiola Makinde made this disclosure during the oversight visit of Committee to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
The Chairman, who was represented at the occasion by his Deputy, Hon. Mudashiru Lukeman assured the NHRC that the Committee would continue to advance the course of human rights in Nigeria by ensuring that the House of Representatives passes critical bills on human rights issues as well as makes adequate budgetary provisions to ease the work of the Commission.
Makinde also stated that in a bid to improve some aspects of Civil and Political Rights, the House of Representatives had ensured the establishment of human rights desks in all police formations and Headquarters across the 36 States of the Federation.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Dr. Tony Ojukwu who received the lawmakers with his management staff told the Human Rights Committee that the Commission relies heavily on them for the enactment of human rights friendly laws and enhanced budgetary provisions to discharge it broad mandate of promotion, protection and enforcement of human rights in the country.
He used the opportunity to commend the legislators for their role in the amendment of the NHRC Act 2010 as well as the support of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila in the payment of compensation to victims of human rights violations by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force.
He equally informed the legislators who were on oversight visit about the recent report released by the Commission following the findings of the Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter-Insurgency Operations in the North East Nigeria , which he noted has saved the country from possible invitation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He noted that the aforementioned wide spread allegations of human rights infractions against some government institutions could result in the ICC extending invitations to some of the leaders to respond to the allegations, but the Commission has done the needful in compliance with the international principles of omplementarity.
He thanked the Committee for promising to improve the budgetary allocation of the Commission in the 2025 fiscal year.
House of Reps Assures on Passage of Human Rights Defenders Bill
FG Confirms Arrest of Simon Ekpa
By: Michael Mike
The arrest of Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa in Finland has been confirmed by the federal government.
A statement on Friday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Nigerian-Finnish citizen and prominent leader of the proscribed Indigenous People
of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested by Finnish authorities on Thursday.
According to the statement, Ekpa was
charged with inciting terrorism and promoting violence.
The Finnish District Court of
Päijät-Häme ruled to detain him on probable cause for publicly inciting crimes with terrorist intent.
The Finnish authorities alleged that Mr. Ekpa used social media platforms to spread
separatist propaganda, incite violence and encourage illegal actions, which had caused
significant disruptions in the South-East of Nigeria. Finnish investigators had also linked
him to incidents of violence in Nigeria, which were believed to had been fueled by his
online activities.
The statement said “the arrest of Mr. Simon Njoku Ekpa follows sustained diplomatic
pressure by the Nigerian government on Finland, to take action against his activities,
which were linked to violence and instability in the South-East of Nigeria. The request
for action featured during high level engagements between countries.”
The Ministry stated that the arrest of Ekpa, is a significant development in addressing the activities of IPOB, and also neutralizing the influence of transnational actors and “their impact on our national security.”
The Ministry promised to continue to monitor the legal proceedings and provide further updates as the case progresses.
FG Confirms Arrest of Simon Ekpa
NBMA Debunks Allegations of Negligence, Compromise Against It
Nigerian lawyers Ask to Collaborate with Chinese Colleagues in Law Relating to Investment and Dispute Resolution
House of Reps Assures on Passage of Human Rights Defenders Bill
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