Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Wednesday 23rd March 2022

Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Wednesday 23rd March 2022

Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 23/03/22

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nigeria newspapers Wednesday 23rd March 2022

Poor Welfare: Policemen Beg Nigerians To Persuade Buhari-led Government To Meet Demands Or Risk Nationwide Protest, Strike Action

Despite moves by the Nigerian government and Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba to dissuade junior police officers from embarking on a strike, the cops have insisted that there is no going back on the planned industrial action. Speaking to SaharaReporters, one of the leaders of the aggrieved officers said the failure of the Muhammadu Buhari-led government to increase their salaries and address other demands before 11:59 pm on March 25 will lead to a total shutdown of police stations across the country. 

He urged well-meaning Nigerians to persuade the Nigerian government to look into the plights of officers of the Nigeria Police Force. “We are giving the federal government between today and 11:59 pm of 25 March (Friday), failure to pay the new salary arrangements, and other demands the strike action will begin. “I urge the well-meaning Nigerians to persuade the federal government to look into the plights of the Nigeria Police Force. We are suffering. Remember that the greatness or otherwise of any nation depends on how good their Police are taken care of. “We are ever ready and willing to put in our best in performance of our various duties, but as the saying goes ‘a hungry man is an angry man’, we can’t give what we don’t have. Policemen are hungry. “Recall that after the #EndSARS saga, the Nigerian government accepted the recommendations of the organisers which includes increased salary for police officers, better working conditions, habitable barracks, up to date crime-fighting equipment, etc. But as we speak, none of those recommendations has been met. “On three different occasions after the #EndSARS protest, Nigerian government have publicly claimed to increase police salaries. We only read them on the news. “Our demands are payment of minimum salary of N100,000, removal of police from Pension administrators, procurement of up-to-date crime-fighting equipment for the police, building habitable barracks for the officers and men of Nigeria police and improving working conditions for Nigeria Police Force.”

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How Unknown Gunmen Stormed My House At 11pm Monday In Imo, Leader Of Separatist Group, Biafra Nations League, Narrates

A pro-Biafra group, Biafra Nations League (BnL) has said suspected policemen raided the residence of its leader on Monday.
According to the group, the armed men suspected to be Nigeria Police Force personnel stormed the Owerri residence of its national leader, Princewill Richards.

Richards, in a statement on Tuesday, said the gunmen stormed his house at 11 pm “when he was already asleep”, during his two-day visit to Owerri, the Imo State capital.He said he was awakened “by one of his boys who was sitting opposite the building, an upstairs”.According to him, he was in Owerri to prepare for a meeting he would be hosting in Enugu State on Friday.The statement reads, “Yesterday I don’t know the people that came to my house heavily armed.“I came into Owerri yesterday evening, went inside, at 11pm my phone rang, I couldn’t pick because I was tired and I didn’t know the number, the call kept coming, and I picked. It was one of my boys.“He told me to be observant that a bus with heavily armed men in black was in front of my house, (they were) looking at the building, that he was sitting somewhere when he sighted the bus.“They slowed down when they got to my house, and passed, later reversed and came back and stopped, and were still inside the bus. He said they noticed him and came down, then he ran away. I opened my window from upstairs and discovered how they were looking in front of the building and looking up.“I was watching (to see) if they wanted to climb up, by then I had decided on what to do, but still watching them.“They stood for 15 minutes and drove back. This morning the boy said he suspected they were a special team of the Nigerian Police because their trousers look like that of the police, but (they were) putting on black tops.“I said whoever they are, I don’t want to know, I have escaped so many gunmen attacks that came unexpectedly, especially the one that happened in Benue, and how I usually escape from their midst is unexplained, talkless of these ones I’m conscious of and observing from my window.“Probably they came to visit me, and were observing how they could climb upstairs… but left in shame.” The BnL is a separatist group that operates mainly in border towns between Cameroon and Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Bakassi Peninsula.The leader of the BnL is said to have been arrested twice in Bakassi by the Nigerian Army and the police in 2016 and 2018.

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Exclusive: How Officer In Charge Of Enugu Prison Heads Cartel Smuggling In Sacks Of Cannabis, Alcohol, Mobile Phones For Inmates

 An investigation by SaharaReporters has revealed how corrupt and criminal activities have been going on for a long time at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Enugu State.
 
Led by the officer in charge of the centre, Deputy Controller of Corrections, Madumere Felix Chinedu, junior and senior prison officials have together been running a notorious cartel that smuggles several banned items, especially hard drugs into the facility for inmates.
 

SaharaReporters discovered that three trucks filled with Cannabis, alcohol, mobile phones and other prohibited substances were on March 14, 2022, smuggled into the facility for use by inmates under the watchful eyes of Chinedu.
 
In return, the officer in charge and others in the cartel raked in a decent amount of money and many other benefits following the success of the ‘operation’.
 
Though such activities had been going on for some time at the Enugu Custodial Centre, SaharaReporters learnt it had become full blown and gone out of control since September 2021 when Chinedu was posted to the place as head of the facility.
 
It was learnt that he has been presiding over and coordinating all smuggling of banned items into the centre for inmates against civil service rules.
 
“Smuggling of banned items is now a norm in Enugu Custodial Centre. The smuggling of items such as Cannabis Sativa, alcohol and other intoxicating substances into prison for inmates is mostly carried out by the rank and file who are acting under the instruction and directives of superior officers in the custodial centre.
 
“The frequency of this act became more prevalent since the new officer in charge was posted to the custodial centre in September 2021.
 
“The new officer in charge of the Enugu Custodial Centre during his early period of administration behaved like a saint initially towards the negative activities going on within the prison.
 
“After few months of being in charge of the facility, he conspired with the inmates and other superior officers to smuggle in banned items into the centre in three trucks for sale to them.
 
“He has gone as far as bribing superior officers in charge of the custodial centre’s intelligence, even up to the national headquarters,” a source within the facility, who confirmed SaharaReporters’ findings, said.
 
Further findings by our correspondent revealed how DCC Chinedu has been wielding power at the Enugu Custodial Centre, implicating and pushing to the firing line prison officials, who try to outsmart him in smuggling banned items into the facility for inmates.
 
A case in point is that of a junior officer, Assistant Inspector of Corrections, Ifeoma Osmond, who was on March 18, 2022, implicated by DCC Chinedu for dealing in hard drugs and subsequently arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
 
SaharaReporters reliably gathered that Osmond is one of Chinedu’s most trusted lieutenants in the illicit business of smuggling in Enugu Prison but the officer in charge felt threatened by his rising profile, hence the plot to frame and get him out of the way through the arrest.
 
“The recent act of smuggling that occurred at Enugu Prison where an official who is working for the officer in charge to bring in trucks of contrabands into the place was framed by the same person for trying to smuggle in the remaining Cannabis Sativa they brought in a few days before that period.
 
“He was set up, arrested and transferred to the NDLEA without being tried departmentally, which is the right thing to have done as a regimental agency.
 
“The officer in charge of Enugu Custodial Centre and his lieutenants are the ones who should be under NDLEA investigation, not AIC Ifeoma Osmond, who they framed and used as a sacrificial lamb for the evil they are committing at the place,” another source at the correctional centre said.
 
It was further discovered that a large volume of hard drugs and other intoxicating substances were stashed at the correctional facility by members of the cartel led by DCC Chinedu for sale to inmates.
SaharaReporters learnt that at least 2,000 mobiles phones are in the hands of prison inmates, which is illegal.
 
An investigation by SaharaReporters into the profile of DCC Chinedu revealed how the officer in charge of Enugu Custodial Centre had a history of breaking the law at every command of the service he previously worked.
 
For instance, it was discovered that he was notorious for smuggling in banned items for inmates when he served at the correctional centre in Warri, Delta State.
 
Apart from selling hard drugs to inmates, he was also found to be running other shady dealings with them, forcing the authorities to transfer him to a correctional centre in Edo State where he continued with his illicit business.
 
He was in September 2021 moved to Enugu to head the correctional centre after allegedly leveraging his networks within the criminal cartel of the Nigerian Correctional Service to make that happen.
 
At his present station, DCC Chinedu is known for servicing the interest of inmates in return for huge financial compensation.
 
When confronted by SaharaReporters with the discoveries, spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Francis Enabore, denied the involvement of DCC Chinedu in drug smuggling at Enugu Custodial Centre.
 
He instead accused AIC Ifeoma and others of smuggling illicit substances into the prison facility for inmates.
 
“It’s completely untrue that the DCC was working with the man.
 
“With the information at our disposal, he didn’t implicate the officer in question.
 
“It was the discipline in the agency that led to the arrest of AIC Ifeoma. He wasn’t arrested by NDLEA, he was arrested by our officer and handed over to NDLEA,” Enabore said.
 
Despite the NCS spokesperson’s defence, checks by SaharaReporters from senior officers of the agency and even a handful of inmates indicated that DCC Chinedu is indeed the brains behind the cartel smuggling hard drugs and other banned substances for use by inmates at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Enugu.
 

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Woman Laments After Officers Brutalise Her For Entering Police Barracks In Kaduna

 A woman, Franca Agada has lamented the maltreatment she suffered from two police officers, Inspector Danjuma Yaro and Inspector Christopher Ashim, for entering the Kafanchan Police Barracks on March 11.In an interview with FIJ, Agada said she had just concluded a meeting with a senior officer at the barracks and was on her way out when the duo accosted her and beat her up, leaving her with eye injuries. 

According to her, Inspector Yaro first accused her of passing through the barracks, and as she tried to explain why, he threatened to beat her up for having the courage to talk to him. Ashim reportedly intervened, asking her what the problem was, and as she again tried to explain by addressing Yaro as “this man,” trouble started.“As he heard ‘this man’, he got angry and pushed me. I fell to the floor. When I tried getting up, the two of them slapped me several times on my cheeks. I told them that they didn’t know who I was and they said they would know who I was,” she narrated. She said she called the officer she came to meet and he stormed the scene in annoyance. The duo apologised to him on learning that he was a high-ranking officer.“The officer I came to see then took my picture to the station, but those at the station could do nothing because a DCO (Divisional Crime Officer) was there. The DCO said he had no right to handle the case. He suggested I go to the hospital. But as I was about to leave, a police officer asked me for money to buy fuel. I told him I didn’t have money. “At the hospital, I paid for the card and drugs. I did not know the conversation the police had with the nurse, but she prescribed Vitamin C and two other drugs. I got them for N200. When I went back to the police station, they collected the hospital card from me,” she said. According to her, the drugs the nurse prescribed for her caused her discomfort as she was not able to sleep on the night of the incident. She called a friend to find out what could be wrong as the drug also gave her a bad breath, but the friend asked her to go back to the hospital. Upon her return to the hospital, her card was nowhere to be found. She said after a doctor examined her, he remarked that the drugs she was given were detrimental to her health. The young woman decried how her assaulters were roaming free on the streets while she continued to suffer in silence.

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E2%80%99s-runway-inaugurates Buhari Directs Finance Minister To Source Special Funding For Airport’s Runway, Inaugurates Terminal Building At Lagos Airport

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday directed the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to look for special funding for the second runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Speaking at the inauguration of the new Terminal Building, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the President also directed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello to conclude the documentation of the approved 12,000 hectares of land to accommodate the runway and other developmental projects.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Friday.Further, the President tasked the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, to fast-track the airport concession programme, to boost aviation practice in the country and make the aviation industry reflect global standards. The President noted that the completion and delivery of five brand new international airport terminals since 2015, which were at 11 percent completion level then, aligns with the Aviation Roadmap of the government. The President described his administration’s investments in inter-state rail connectivity, road networks, agriculture, power and telecommunications, despite limitations in resources, as unprecedented.‘‘These include the designation of 4 airports, namely Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt as Free Trade Zones, in which customs duty is not applicable; removal of VAT on all forms of shared transportation, including air transportation; and exemption of commercial aircraft and spare parts from VAT payment.‘‘Similar projects at both the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and Port Harcourt International Airport were completed and commissioned by this administration and our people have since been benefiting from the positive economic impacts of those magnificent terminals.‘‘The one in Kano has also been completed, and will be commissioned soon, while work continues apace to complete that of Enugu shortly,’’ he said.The President expressed confidence that the new terminal in Lagos with 66 check-in-counters, 16 Immigration desks at arrival, 28 Immigration desks at departure, and eight security screening points, among others, would go a long way in contributing to the socio-political and economic prosperity of the country.He added that the improvement would increase airport operations and management services to about 14 million passengers per annum, create 3,000 direct and indirect jobs, increase inflow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and exponential growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He thanked the Government and People of the Republic of China, through the China Export-Import Bank and CCECC Nigeria Limited, for their commitment and support towards the completion of the project.The President also commended the aviation ministry and its agencies, particularly, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, for their efforts towards the realisation of the project.“With the delivery of this project, a new era of safety, security, and comfort has been ushered into the Nigerian aviation industry, and I am persuaded that it will get better with the passage of time,” he said.The Governor of Lagos State Babajide Sanwo-Olu said it was instructive that Lagos State in one day had witnessed the evolution of three major infrastructure development projects that will change the Nigerian landscape.He commended President Buhari for the infrastructural renewal and redevelopment necessary for a city like Lagos.He lauded the private sector in the aviation industry for their continued contributions to the growth of the country despite the challenges.Sirika said aviation is the worldwide rapid transportation network that facilitates international trade, commerce and tourism.The minister said the airport concession project including the new terminals has reached an advanced stage with the ministry issuing requests for shortlisted firms before the end of March.According to the Minister, a study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Nigeria in 2020, “showed that the sector created 241,000 jobs, direct and indirect, and contributed $1.7billion to the economy,” with a hope to grow the contribution of the sector from the current 0.68% to 5% or approximately $14.16billion.Sirika said the new terminal will be linked to the railway system.

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E2%80%93 Bandits Killed Two Soldiers, 32 Others, Burnt 200 Houses In Southern Kaduna Attack – Commissioner

At least 34 persons, including two soldiers, were killed by bandits on Sunday night in Agban Kagoro, in the Kaura Local Government Area of the Kaduna, the state government said on Tuesday.The government said seven persons who sustained injuries during the attacks had been receiving medical attention in an undisclosed hospital.

According to the state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, Tsonje, Agban, Katanga and Kadarko, all four communities in the Kagoro Chiefdom were attacked by the terrorists.Aruwan listed those killed during the attacks as including Angelina Aboi, Godiya Iliya, Peace Iliya, Stephen Emmanuel, Patrick Pius, Gwamna Ishaya, Philip Joseph, Godwin Latong, Aba Chawai and Nancy Luka, Sophia Luka, Hosea James, Daniel Sofa, Geoffrey Ado, Bala James, Henry Dauda, Augustine Iliya, Irmiya Michael.Others are Murna Luka, Monday Buki, Reuben Kumai, Zilien Gudak, Anita Dauda Kawai, Rifkatu Dauda Kawai, Titi Bawa, Jacob Yayock, Samuel Ufui, Silas Bulus, Victor Ayuka, Jummai Yunana, Sunday Tachio and Hope Luka.Meanwhile, a woman identified as Mrs Abigail Joshua from Adan community is said to be missing.The state government on Monday imposed a 24-hour curfew on Jema’a and Kaura local government areas following the deadly attack.Aruwan said the curfew was in force to curb insecurity in the affected areas.Apart from the heavy casualties, the commissioner said over 200 houses and 32 shops were burnt during the attack.He noted that three vehicles and 17 motorcycles were also vandalised.Quoting the state governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, the commissioner condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of the victims and the military, which also lost two personnel.“Security agencies have reported to the Kaduna State Government that after search operations and detailed checks, 34 people have been confirmed dead following Sunday’s attack in Kaura LGA. “According to the report, four locations were attacked by unidentified assailants: Tsonje, Agban, Katanga and Kadarko, all within Kagoro Chiefdom of Kaura LGA. “Two military personnel were among the 34 killed, with local residents making up 32 casualties. One Mrs Abigail Joshua, from Adan community, is currently missing. “Furthermore, over 200 houses and 32 shops were burnt in the attack. Three vehicles and 17 motorcycles were vandalised.”

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How Nigerian Pastor, Fufeyin Ordered Police To Arrest Physically Challenged Woman Whose Child Went Missing In His Church

A physically challenged woman, Ruth Matthew, whose two-year-old child went missing in Christ MercyLand Deliverance Ministries (CMDM) has not regained her freedom from detention, SaharaReporters learnt on Tuesday.The founder and senior Prophet of the church, Jeremiah Fufeyin had been accused of using the police to arrest and detain the physically challenged woman for complaining about her missing son.

SaharaReporters on Sunday reported that the pastor ordered the police to arrest Ruth, leaving her other children stranded.SaharaReporters gathered that Ruth was arrested for demanding justice over the disappearance of his son in Fufeyin’s church some years ago. The woman was on Saturday moved by the police to Benin, Edo State and has been in detention since then.Isaac Obasi, human rights advocate and founder of Obasi Foundation for Justice on Tuesday posted a video showing how Ruth, came down from an aircraft in Benin City, Edo State and whisked away in a wheelchair.His post reads, “Three years ago, a physically challenged woman named Ruth Matthew went to the church of popular Warri-based prophet, Jeremiah Omoto Fufeyin with her four children (all boys). “She said when Jeremiah saw her, he asked if he was the mother of all these boys and she answered him yes, then from there at their ‘mercy land’ shrine, the youngest of her son who was then 2-years-old disappeared mysteriously. She began to look for him but couldn’t find him. “Jeremiah’s security couldn’t explain where the missing child was and they have refused to show the CCTV footage of what transpired. Ruth began to cry out for her son but the pulpit robber Jeremiah and his members began to attack her, telling her to stop asking about the child. “Ruth refused and kept raising her voice to make sure she gets back her son. A South African-based preacher who has been exposing occultic and rogue African false prophets, especially in Nigeria got in contact with her and began to help her out to see that justice is done and she gets back her child. “Jeremiah and his gullible followers didn’t like that, so they began threatening her and also promising her millions and cars for her to stop talking about her missing son but as usual she refused and on Saturday the highly corrupt and criminal Nigerian police on the orders of the fraudster Preacher Jeremiah came to abduct Ruth and took her to Benin. “As God will have it, a fearless and fiery woman of God, Bisola Hephzi-bah Johnson had flown into Abuja from Lagos to stand by Ruth and make sure she gets justice. She looked for her in Abuja police stations but couldn’t find her she was told Ruth had been taken to Benin and she decided to fly down to Benin and by fate, the aircraft she boarded was the one used to kidnap Ruth too and she made this video. “I don’t know how we got to this cursed state where false prophets like Jeremiah and his cohorts have been terrorising those speaking up and exposing their shenanigans and criminalities.”In the video, Bisola in her narration, said she enquired about Ruth in Abuja and told that she had been brought to Benin City.As the woman identified as Ruth was getting down from the plane, Bisola could heard saying, “Ruth, is that you? We are here for you; we are here live on Facebook. They kidnapped this lady in Abuja, we will give you Tsunami if that is what you want. Whatever they say you have done, that is the man who picked her up.“Don’t worry, we will follow you. They kidnapped her in Abuja and now I don’t know where they are taking her to.” She accused the pastor of kidnapping Ruth.”“She took her children to Jeremiah’s church and one disappeared. And now they are taking her to Jeremiah; they kidnapped her,” she said.When SaharaReporters called one of the church’s official numbers, a man who answered asked our reporter to call back. However, when SaharaReporters called the line again, it was not reachable. Our correspondent repeatedly called another phone line registered to the church but the calls were not answered. 

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2023 Election: Makinde, Fayose, Oyinlola, Mimiko, Bode George, Others Insist On Southern President For Nigeria

The extended zonal caucus of the Southwest zone of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday resolved that the PDP candidate for the 2023 presidential election should come from the South.
The resolutions reached at the end of the meeting of the Southwest extended zonal caucus of the party, which was held at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan.

The zonal chairman of the party, Chief Soji Adagunodo, in a communique he read at the end of the meeting, explained that the Southwest zone of the party was in support of the position of the Southern Governors’ Forum that the next President of the country should come from the South.
 
Three former governors from the zone, Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti); Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun) and Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo) attended the meeting.
 
Oyo State governor and host, Seyi Makinde; National Vice Chairman of the party, Taofeek Arapaja; Bode George; Ekiti former deputy governor, Olusola Eleka and Senator Francis Fadahunsi from Osun were also at the meeting.
 
Adagunodo further stated that the party resolved that all its members in the zone should work towards winning the forthcoming off-season governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti states for the party.
 
“We also resolved that the unity of the Southwest is a non-negotiable issue; to this end, we demand that all dispute resolution mechanisms should be on the front burner.
 
“The zone is desirous of fairness, justice and equity in the distribution of federal positions and appointments.
 
“We will support all efforts geared towards national cohesion through equitable distribution of federal positions and appointments among the geopolitical zones of the country,” the communique read.
 
 

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E2%80%93-shehu Bandits Now Behind Federal, State, Local Governments As Fourth Tier Of Government In Nigeria – Shehu Sani

Shehu Sani

Senator Shehu Sani, who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th Senate, on Tuesday said Nigerians need no additional proof to know that bandits have become the fourth tier of government in Nigeria.Nigeria has three tiers of government namely federal, state and local governments.Sani, who wrote on his verified Twitter handle on Tuesday made reference to a comment made by the Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani-Bello, that bandits occupy 12 of the 25 local government areas (LGAs) in Niger State, to support his claim. 

Shehu Sani

“The Governor of Niger revealed that terrorists occupy 12 of the 25 Local Governments in the state. Niger is a state that neighbours the Federal Capital. What additional proof is needed that bandits have become the fourth tier of Government?” Sani-Bello had said during a recent visit to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the Central Primary School, Gwada recently that bandits had taken over 12 local government areas in his state. He also said no fewer than seven communities had been submerged by flooding in the Shiroro LGA due to the ongoing construction of the Zungeru hydro-electric power station in the state. Sympathising with the displaced persons, Sani-Bello said, “We have almost 4,000 IDPs displaced by banditry and the construction of Zungeru dam.”He also noted that “some communities have been flooded and are underwater and have left, while they have not been paid compensation”.He lamented the “influx of bandits and Boko Haram elements in and out of Shiroro Local Government Area,” adding, “They have continued to detonate improvised explosive devices in Galadima-Kogo.” The governor noted that about 12 local government areas in the state were being occupied by bandits, adding that security agencies were using new tactics and strategies to neutralise them. He said the bandits are taking advantage of the size of the state and the inadequate number of security officers on the ground.

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Hardship: You’re A Coward And Hell Awaits You If You Don’t Protest, Group Tells Nigerians

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has urged Nigerians to go out and protest against the economic problems the country is grappling with. According to the human rights advocacy group, any citizen who fails to speak out and eventually dies in hardship is not only a coward but will also go to hell. 

The position of the group was made known by its National Coordinator of Emmanuel Onwubiko, while addressing a press conference on Monday. Onwubiko further berated the security agencies, especially the Department of State Services (DSS) for always intimidating Nigerians into not protesting, insisting that protest is a constitutional right of Nigerians. He pointed out that it is not a crime for people to demonstrate against the high cost of living and the lingering scarcity of fuel but a crime for the security services to stop Nigerians from protesting in peaceful manners. “Peaceful assembling is permissible under the constitution of this country. If you cannot protest in a democratic government then that democracy is dead,” the group said. “Buhari’s government was brought to being by protest. Nigerians were on the streets where the likes of (Prof Wole) Soyinka were leading the protest. Nigerians are still waiting for Soyinka, who is a grandfather to come and lead a protest. “You don’t expect people of Soyinka’s age to come and lead a protest. The reason why these killings and bad governance are manifesting all over the place is Nigerians are just okay waiting for Soyinka to come and call us out for the protest. “You don’t wait for anybody before telling the whole world that you’re starving to death, that you cannot get fuel. It is that every other person is not facing the same problem that we see all around us where filling stations will divert their allocations to the black market and you have the DSS that one of the core responsibilities is to stop economic sabotage and you have economic saboteurs in smaller forms. “Those guys who carry jerry cans parading all over the streets are economic saboteurs. They are some of the people making fuel to be scarce because they are the agents of the fuel dealers but the DSS is seeing them but has failed to arrest them. “But they instead go after people who say they can no longer keep quiet and die. If you keep quiet and die, you’ll go to hell. If you keep quiet and die of suffering in this country, you’re not going to heaven because you kept quiet, no. “You may end up in hell because you did not defend your fundamental human rights. It is your obligation to protect your rights to life. So, if you keep quiet and die, you’re not going to heaven. You’re a coward. “That’s a simple fact. So, it’s wrong for the DSS to say they want to stop people who want to protest. The best the security agencies can do is to provide security and make hoodlums do not hijack the protest.”

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