Abattoir republic !!! Terrorism : Fulani herdsmen slaughter father, son in Agatu, remove vital organs

Report reaching DAILY POST from Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State has it that suspected herdsmen have slaughtered one Mr. Andrew Ataboh and his son at Innahim farm settlement.

The incident happened Friday evening.

Our reporter gathered that Ataboh of Okokolo ward and his son were abducted by the herdsmen in a farm settlement yesterday and their lifeless bodies were found by residents of the area after much search.

A resident of the area, who gave his name as Agaba, said the herdsmen, after matcheting the father and son to death, removed their vital organs and dumped their bodies in the bush.

The attack came barely one week after residents of the area cried out over invasion on their community by suspected heavily armed herdsmen.

When contacted, the Benue State Police PRO, ASP Moses Yamu, promised to get back. - Daily Post

China bans online sale of Bible

The government of China has banned the sale of Bible online.

There have been reported that searches for the Bible on e-commerce sites JD.com and Amazon.cn do not produce results despite the government publishing a new document claiming that it allows freedom of worship.

Initially, China had always controlled sales of the Bible by only allowing it to be distributed and printed by state-sanctioned churches, but it had been available to buy online.

The latest restriction the country had placed on its fast-growing Christian population is the disappearance of Bibles on internet retailers.

However, religious freedom campaigners have said that freedom for Christians in China has been the worst its ever been.

The crackdown on Christians in China has meant that crosses have been removed from churches, churches have been demolished, and Christians suspected of worshipping at home have been detained.

A new Chinese government white paper on religious freedoms published this week asserted that all faiths must “adapt themselves to the socialist society”.

The paper listing official Communist Party policies added: “Religious believers and non-believers respect each other, and live in harmony, committing themselves to reform and opening up and the socialist modernization, and contribute to the realization of the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.”

William Nee, China researcher at Amnesty International, asked the Vatican to address the online Bible sale ban with Beijing. - Cable Nigeria

Jungle republic : Buhari, Osinbajo, ministers get seven days to reveal their running costs

The Conference of National Assembly Legislative Aides (CONASSLA), a forum of current and former aides to members of the national assembly, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to reveal their running costs.

They also asked to know what Aisha Buhari, wife of the president, ministers, heads of agencies and parastatals of the government receive in running costs.

In a statement on Saturday, Abdullahi Al-Mustapha, chairman of CONASSLA, said the executive should reveal its running costs in-line with the transparency agenda of the federal government.

CONASSLA said the information should be published “in seven days”.

Mustapha said failure on the part of the executive to do so would be an infringement on the trust of the citizens who elected the government to curb excessive spending.

“This request stems from openness of the national assembly in recent times, with the disclosure of the running costs of senators and the inexplicable 2018 budgetary provisions that show that the president alone, has budgeted over N900million for the running costs of his cars in 2018,” the statement read.

“The national security adviser (NSA) has budgeted over N1.14billion for the cleaning of his office in 2018; and the minister of transport has budgeted N10billion for his transportation vehicles in 2018.

“These figures, when combined with the fact that the Directorate of State Security (DSS) intends on spending over N2.2billion on social media running costs, and the minister of communication, has owned up to receiving $800,000 in estacode, begs the question – how much does the executive spend in running costs?

“We call on the executive branch to publish the full list of running costs of all the offices and individuals within its purview in seven days.”

The call for the executive to reveal its running cost is sequel to the revelation of Shehu Sani, senator representing Kaduna central, who said lawmakers in the upper legislative chamber receive N13.5 million monthly as running costs. - Cable Nigeria

PL : Antonio Conte urges Chelsea to keep fighting

Chelsea boss Conte has issued a rallying cry to his players ahead of their clash with West Ham.

It’s been a difficult season for the Blues, with Conte’s men sat in fifth place on the Premier League table and unlikely to challenge Tottenham Hotspur for their place in the top four.

Chelsea have endured some testing times this season but their manager has called on the players to show the fighting spirit required to succeed. As quoted by the club’s official website, Conte demanded that his players refuse to give up in the run-in towards the end of the season.

“They must work, continue to work, and try to put everything in every day to help change the situation. The players play the game, not the coach. The coach can prepare, but then the players go on the pitch to fight with the right desire and pride and will to win the game.”

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However, Conte is clearly focusing his attention towards the task at hand and is looking to help Chelsea to a positive end to the season.

“We are Chelsea, and when you play or you are a coach for this type of club, you must show great pride until the end and don’t give up. Don’t give up. It’s my philosophy. I don’t want to see one person giving up.”

 The former Italy manager’s future is under intense scrutiny at this stage, with the likes of Massimiliano Allegri and Luis Enrique linked with moves to become the next Chelsea manager.

Postman arrested after storing mail in his house for three years because he 'wasn't paid enough'

Italian police have arrested a postman after finding nearly half a tonne of undelivered mail stashed in his house.

The 33-year-old, who has not been named, told officers he did not deliver post for three years because he felt he was not paid enough. He quit the job last year.

The hoard of undelivered mail was discovered by police after they searched his home in the northern city of Turin.

Officers’ grew suspicious after a routine traffic stop, during which they found a 20cm folding knife and 70 letters in the suspect’s car.

They searched his home, where they uncovered a further 40 boxes of undelivered mail including bank statements, bills and other private correspondence. The stash weighed 400kg in total.

“I wasn’t paid enough and so I quit,” the man is reported to have told police.

He faces charges of theft, misappropriation of correspondence, and possession of a weapon.

It is the second time this year that Italian police have discovered piles of undelivered mail at a postman’s house.

A 56-year-old was arrested in January in the northern town of Vicenza after officers found 500kg of post stashed away in his garage.

Police were called when workers from a recycling plant were sent to empty the garage and found 43 plastic postal containers stuffed full of letters, bills, bank statements and even electoral pamphlets dating back to 2010.

Police said it was the largest haul of undelivered mail ever found.

The Vicenza postal service promised to deliver the post, albeit several years late. - The Independent

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The Vicenza postal service promised to deliver the post, albeit several years late. - The Independent

Transfer news : Arsenal to fight Manchester United for Borussia Dortmund star

Arsenal have been linked with a surprise swoop for Borussia Dortmund centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

The Gunners are cited by Italian reports as a potential destination for the Greek international, who has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Bundesliga in recent years.

Arsenal’s defensive woes have been well publicised throughout the season and a move for a top quality central defender would come as no surprise this summer.

The 29-year-old is, however, a vital player in Peter Stoger’s Dortmund side and it’s unlikely that the Bundesliga outfit will want to part ways with Sokratis in the imminent future.

Sokratis has often been linked with a move to the Premier League but has never seen a transfer materialise. However, a host of top flight clubs from England are rumoured to be pondering a move in the summer.

According to reports, Arsenal will be joined by both Chelsea and Manchester United in their pursuit of the defender. - Read Sport

Abattoir republic !!! Fulani herdsmen attacks: Police recover 10 bodies in Benue communities

The Benue State Police Command confirmed yesterday it had  recovered 10 bodies of villagers killed by herdsmen in Tse-Audu and Enger villages in the Gwer West Local Government Area of the state.

Spokesman for the command, Moses Yamu,an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP),  said the bodies were victims of the Thursday attacks on the villages.

He said they had been found by the mobile police contingent deployed in Naka, the headquarters  of the local government area.

He attributed the deaths to armed herdsmen, claiming that the police had in their routine surveillance, also encountered the herdsmen.

“Eight dead bodies were found in the bush around Tse-Audu and Enger villages in the Gwer West Local Government Area.

“This is in addition to the two bodies that were removed from the same area on the same day,” he said.

The police spokesman, however, assured residents of the communities of the safety of their lives, pointing out that a detachment of police team on counter insurgency had been deployed to the area.

He advised members of the public to promptly report any suspicious movements to security agencies for immediate action.

The member of the House of Representatives from the area,Dickson Takighir,said on Thursday that at least 24 persons were killed in renewed attacks by suspected herdsmen in various communities in Benue State.

He said the killings were carried out  between April 2 and 4.

The killer herdsmen, according to him, attacked seven communities in the state and were  also laying siege to some others.

He said:”They (the herdsmen) are right now stationed at the Nzorov council ward, ready to attack Gbajimba in the Guma Local Government Area. There are others in Nasarawa, ready to attack Udei and Daudu with over 14 people killed in the last four days.

“Similarly, Sengev, Mbakyondo and Mbapa areas of the Gwer-West Local Government Area are currently under siege by armed herdsmen.

“In Tsegaase, two people have been killed; one person is missing in Zwatema, two killed in Tse Adeke, one killed in Tse Adudu with one missing in Tsekelefu.

“So far, we have yet to confirm the casualty level in Enger. On April 3, four people were killed in Anyebe and one person at Mbavihi, both in the Tonbo ward of the Logo Local Government Area.”  

Another looting spree for Chinese !!! NNPC, Chinese firms sign mega gas deal ‘to industralise Nigeria’

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it has signed a $2.8bn agreement for the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline and stations with a consortium of indigenous and Chinese companies.

The agreement covers engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and financing under a 100 percent contractor financing model.

Maikanti Baru, group managing director, NNPC said the AKK gas pipeline was a section of the Trans-Nigerian Gas Pipeline (TNGP) under the gas infrastructure blueprint designed to enable the industrialisation of the eastern and northern parts of Nigeria.

The project will also enable connectivity between the east, west and north, which is currently non-existent.

The federal executive council (FEC) had during a meeting held on December 13, 2017 approved the project following technical and commercial evaluation.

Under the terms of contract, Lot 1 with total length of 40inch x 200km stretching from Ajaokuta to Abuja terminal gas station was awarded to the OilServe/Oando Consortium.

Lot 3 which runs from Kaduna terminal gas station (TGS) to Kano TGS with total length of 40inch x 221km was awarded to the Brentex/China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPP) Consortium.

Baru noted that the AKK section has suffered “setbacks” due to scarce resources for government to fully finance the project, hence the adoption of the contractor financing model.

“The contract agreement for Lot 3 which covers 40inch x 193km stretching from Abuja to Kaduna will be executed in the weeks ahead,” Baru said.

“The two other pipelines, the OB3 & ELPs 2 in the Gas Master Plan blue print, are currently at various stages of completion and are being financed directly by the Federal Government.”

Nigeria has the world’s ninth largest gas reserves estimated at 800 tcf, but the lack of infrastructure hampered economic utilisation of the resource. - Cable Nigeria

APC : Bisi Akande charges at Oyegun, says tenure elongation is corruption, evil

A former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bisi Akande, has alleged that the . Chairman of the party, John Odigie-Oyegun, went about bribing people to facilitate his tenure elongation.

Akande said this while describing tenure elongation as the worst corruption in the world, adding that anyone involved in it is corrupt.

President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier declared that the move to elongate the tenure of Oyegun and others was illegal. 

Also during the week, Governors elected under the party met and decided that the party holds its convention to elect new leaders.

Speaking with the Sun, Akande, a former governor, wondered why a leader would not want to step down when their tenure was over.

He said, “Tenure elongation is the worst corruption in the world. Anybody who is on a sit and doesn’t want to leave that sit in a political appointment must be a corrupt person.

“The worst act of corruption is tenure elongation. I don’t believe in tenure elongation. Anybody arguing in favour of tenure elongation, if you look at that person very well, that person is involved in corruption.

“If he or she has not been caught, such a person would be caught one day. I was once a national chairman, if I should say that I don’t want to go, why? What is in it?

“What is the pot of honey that is placed there that would not let me to go? I was once a governor, why shouldn’t I leave after my tenure? If you are so insulted and not confident enough to resign, you must be a corrupt person.

“Tenure elongation is a shameful thing. How can you say you want to sit tight? I even understood that they were bribing people from all over the states to agree to this tenure elongation scheme.

“I also understood that the tenure ‘elongator’ said that if there is no tenure elongation, he would scatter the party. They will all get scattered, before they scatter the party.

“APC is the party of Nigerians, not few people can scatter it. Tenure elongation is bad, it is killing our party, I am a member of the executive caucus of the APC, for almost a year and half, there has been no meeting of the national executive committee of the party.

“Politics means mobilization; mobilization at ward, local, state and at the federal level. Mobilization involves meetings, rallies, elections, congresses and things like that.

“But when you are sitting down in one place mobilizing nothing and you want to remain there to continue to elongate your stay, the party, which is the platform that put you there, would die while such a person is still there. Only mobilizers can lead parties like the APC, not tenure ‘elongators!’ - Daily Post

Abattoir republic : Five persons killed in renewed communal clash in Cross River

At least five persons were killed in a renewed communal clash between the people of Yakurr local government area and Obubra local government area both in Cross River State.

The incident, which occurred on Friday morning, also caused destruction of several houses and other properties estimated at millions of naira.

A bus driver, who gave his name as Michael Ojong said, recalled that due to severity of the clash, he had to return back to Calabar.

“The war was fought in the highway, there was no movement and people were murdered in numbers”

‘Me and other drivers had to run away from the scene with a view to save the lives of passengers”

“Actually, nobody knew the cause of the clash but we gathered that the clash may not be unconnected with land ownership”.

When contacted, the Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Inuwa Hafiz told DAILY POST on phone that the situation was under control.

“Since morning, we have been on it. It has been a recurrent decimal. When they started this morning, we had to quickly mobilize to the scene.

“The report that reached me this night was that no casualty was recorded but scores of houses were set ablaze”, he stated. - Daily Post

Looting still ongoing at national assembly - Sagay

Itse Sagay, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), says looting of public funds still takes place at the national assembly through budget padding.

In an interview with PUNCH, Sagay said there is no looting at the executive level.

He said the implementation of treasury single account (TSA) by the Buhari administration has shown that country is making trillions of naira that “nobody knew about”.

Sagay said: “Nobody is sharing any money again — but perhaps at the national assembly looting is still ongoing due to budget padding. Some sharing may be going on at that level, but at the executive level, I can assure you that no sharing is going on.

“Remember, we have the treasury single account, though initiated by the Jonathan administration, but never implemented. The TSA has revealed the trillions of naira that this country had been making but which nobody knew about.”

The PACAC chairman said Nigerians need to be reminded of their past.

“Nigerians have short memory, we’ll keep on repeating it! We’ll keep on repeating it! Nigerians will keep complaining that they are hungry, but they won’t link it to the horror they were put through because of the PDP’s mismanagement,” he said.

“We have to keep on repeating it so that Nigerians will stop talking loosely about this government’s actions and inaction. Nigerians have short memory, so we need to keep on reminding them.

“We need to keep shaming those people who looted public treasury and the citizens need to know who the source of their problem are. Of course, work is going on.”

He said Nigerians can now go to sleep and be assured that every kobo the government makes is being put to good use for their benefit.

Sabi Abdullahi, spokesman of the senate, could not be reached for comments as calls put through to him did not connect and there was also no response to a text message sent. - Cable Nigeria

Restructuring : Osinbajo supports resource control and state police

Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo on Friday in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, said he agreed with some Nigerians clamouring for the restructuring of the country.

Osinbajo who spoke with journalists shortly after he attended the Great Nigeria Pastors conference held at University Teaching Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, also disclosed that states deserved greater freedom to control their resources, increase their income and internal security.

He said, “Restructuring is very important to us as a people and and as a nation. But we also have to be careful with what we mean by restructuring.

“One of the issued raised which I agree with is that States should be able to control their resources, control their own security, they should be able to generate more income and exercise greater freedom.

“We discussed about security and we believe we should do more. We agreed that people feel more secured when they can control their security which bring to fore the issue of state police. It will give them confidence”.

Osinbajo, who expressed optimism about the future of Nigeria, said the forces of darkness is being fought for light to shine.

Speaking on the theme “Nigeria of our Dream” Chairman of Oyo State chapter of Penticostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Taiwo Adelakun told the Vice President that Nigerians deserve to know the truth about how government was handling some issues which have been of concerns to them.

He said Nigerians would want to know what, the government that put the fight against corruption as its cardinal programme, is doing to fight graft within its government and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Adelakun said, “We Pastors want to know what the government that put fighting against corruption in the front burner is doing about “Mainagate” and other government officials alleged of corruption.

“Many Nigerians believe that the anti corruption war is selective and that is why it is not effective”.

He said the recent upsurge in killings and kidnappings by the terrorist Boko Haram group in the North East and government seeming lukewarm attitude to checkmating the nefarious activities of killer herdsmen were of grave concerns to Christians.

According to him, “We have been told that Boko Haram had been technically defeated but they have killed many and kidnapped over 120 people this year alone”.

He also asked the Vice President to speak on the incessant clash among security agencies, citing the instance of the public scuffle between operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and men of Department of State Security (DSS).

Adelakun said Christians would continue to pray for the release of the Dapchi School girl, Leah Sharibu who is still being held by Boko Haram for refusing to deny her faith. - Daily Post

Ado-Ekiti : Residents tackle Fayose, stop demolition of shrines

There was pandemonium yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, after angry residents resisted the demolition of some shrines and sacred trees by officials of the state government.

The ongoing demolition of structures in Ado-Ekiti is part of the urban renewal policy of Governor Ayo Fayose’s administration.

During the pandemonium, adherents of the deities at the shrines almost attacked men of the demolition squad but the intervention of armed security men deployed to the scene saved the day.

The residents of neighbourhoods in the Oja Oba area insisted the shrines would never give way for the urban renewal exercise which they said was done in bad faith by the state government.

They had mobilized themselves on sighting two bulldozers deployed to pull down the two shrines in the vicinity.

The Ogun shrine and the Ejeye Oka Ere shrine are located in the court of the Arowa of Ado-Ekiti.

Armed security men were mobilized to the scene and entrance to Ewi’s Palace, to prevent breakdown of law and order.

The protest led to temporary suspension of work on the shrines and the sacred trees.

But the locals remained at the scene raining curses and pouring invectives on the government for the action they described as “desecration of tradition which will have dire consequences.”

The latest demolition operation which started on Thursday saw at least four corpses exhumed from where they were buried which angered the deceased’s family members.

The bodies had been relocated elsewhere.

About seven graves were marked for demolition which sparked tension with family members keeping vigil awaiting the demolition squad.

A relation of one of the deceased who craved anonymity alleged that the compensation reportedly paid by the government did not cover the exhumation of the corpses and dismantling of the shrines.

Houses, shops and makeshift structures adjacent the palace of the Ewi were brought down by government bulldozers on Thursday.

A cold war erupted between the governor and the people of Ado-Ekiti over the latest demolition which led to a face-off with the Ewi, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe at his palace, about three weeks ago.

The state government claimed it had paid a total of N400m as compensation to people whose houses were demolished so far in the ongoing demolition exercise in the state.

The government, however, was silent on those whose properties were to be demolished in the latest exercise.

Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development, Tayelolu Otitoju who disclosed this said the exercise did not affect Ado Ekiti alone,.

According to him, more than 300 houses had so far been demolished under the exercise in Ado, Ikere, Efon Alaaye, Omuo,  Ise, Emure and Ijero, among other major towns.

He explained further that government embarked on the project to ease traffic congestion, adhere to urban policy expected of any civilized society especially Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

Otitoju added that government would not compensate owners of demolished houses that were built on waterways and setbacks. -The Nation