14/08/2023
SouthEast
Operatives arrest three drug suspects, as community
takes to fe**sh in Anambra raid
the help of the gods and ancestors of the
land to restore peace, as well as fight
against those working against the peace
-
ful coexistence and development of the
area.
The procession of the Puritans, native
doctors and traditional worshippers, who
were adorned with red, and white clothes
and symbols of the deity of the community, as well as items of sacrifice, also
marched along and around mapped areas
and locations, supervised by the Palace
Administrator of the monarch (Igwe) of
the community, His Royal Highness Augustine Ngonadi, Daniel Nwabueze.
By Cajetan Mmuta, Awka
S
ecurity operatives have arrested
three suspects, including a 37-yearold nursing mother whose trade as
an illicit drug courier has continued to
fuel terrorism and other high-level criminal activities in Atani, the headquarters
of crime-ridden Ogbaru local government area of Anambra State.
This is as native doctors and traditional
worshippers on Tuesday embarked on
a spiritual purification procession along
major routes and junctions, pouring libations and chanting incantations to seek
A
n Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) staff mem
-
ber, Emmanuel Damis, on Tues
-
day, appeared before the Governorship
Election Petition Tribunal in Enugu as
a subpoenaed witness and tendered
Governor Peter Mbah’s qualifications.
Damis, the petitioner’s witness three,
works at the legal drafting and clear
-
ance department at the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC)
headquarters, in Abuja.
The tribunal is hearing the petition
filed by Labour Party (LP)’s Chijioke
Edeoga against Mbah of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP).
Edeoga is praying the tribunal disqualifies Mba over an alleged forgery of the
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)
certificate.
When the subpoenaed witness came into
the witness box to tender the documents
on the evidence, the counsels to the second and third respondents objected to
the tendering of documents and refused
the counsel to the petitioner, Eyitayo
Fatogun, to re-examine the witness.
The INEC staff then tendered Mbah’s
certificates, which he submitted along
-
side his governorship nomination form.
According to the witness, “The documents with me are Form EC9 and all
the attachments, for the PDP governor
-
ship candidate, Enugu State.”
The LP counsel applied to tender the
documents as exhibits and were admitted by the tribunal as evidence.
However, the petitioners’ counsel, Fatogun, equally cited a plethora of cases
that he said justified the evidence of the
subpoenaed witness.
Abia declares newly-built specialist hospital unusable
Enugu: INEC tenders
Mbah’s certificates as
Edeoga’s name goes
missing from register
CP talks tough, as command neutralises two criminals, seize arms in Anambra
T
he Abia State government has
declared the newly-constructed
and inaugurated Abia Multi-Specialist Hospital in Aba unfit for human
use following structural defects, poor
ventilation, and missing or old, unfitted equipment.
State Commissioner for Health, Ngozi
Okoronkwo, made this known yesterday while addressing newsmen during
an inspection of hospitals in the commercial capital, Aba.
Okoronkwo said the building, which
showed structural defects, has unfitted equipment, no proper ventilation and running water, and requires
structural assessment to ascertain its
capability to function as a hospital.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports that the former Governor
Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration in
the state had demolished the old Aba
General Hospital built in 1957 and
replaced it with Abia Multi-Specialist
Hospital.
Ikpeazu inaugurated the hospital on
May 27 before he exited office.
The commissioner said “The hospital
is bad; the structure and the design
approach were poorly done.
“The equipment is scattered all over
the place and we cannot ascertain if
they are still working or not because
there is no power supply.
“It is really a challenge. The idea of
The arrest of the suspects, some of
whose gang members are currently on
the run, followed raids on their hideouts
by the security operatives working in
collaboration with members of the Atani
local vigilante group coordinated and led
by the president-general of the riverine
community, Arinze Nzelu.
During the over three-hours raid, a large
carte of illicit drugs, including Indian
H**p, were discovered at their operational bases, shrines, residences, and
farm in the area.
The arrested suspects include 32-yearold Onyema Uzoka, Emnbuel Nsofor (an
indigene of Umunankwo) and 37-year-old
mother of four, Mrs. Ngozi Alum, whose
husband, Okwudili, is currently on the
run over his deals in hard drugs and alleged illegal sand mining and extortion
of revenue.
All the suspects confessed to the crime,
which they claim was to eke out their living due to hardship and joblessness.
Recall that the entire 15 villages of Ogbaru local government area, particularly,
the six villages of Atani, have been described as the hotbed of crises which led
to the burning of Atani Divisional Police
Station, violent killings of some persons,
r**e, armed robbery, as well as disruption of social and economic activities in
the town.
coming here is to look at the place to
see if it is ready for use, but from my
assessment, it will take a while.
Okoronkwo lamented the leaking and
flooding of rooms in the hospital,
moldy walls, lack of provision for air
conditioners or fans, and complicated
access within the hospital which, she
said, is dangerous.
She said that until she sees the contract papers that resulted in the poor
job, she could not determine if the
government would sustain the contract or terminate it.
The commissioner added that the government would meet with the contractors to know if their work meets the
current government’s standard or not.
By Cajetan Mmuta, Awka
A
nambra State Commissioner of
Police (CP), Aderemi Adeoye, has
read the riot act to criminals terrorising residents of the state, warning
them to turn a new leaf or be ready to
face the consequences of their actions.
Adeoye stated this during his maiden
press conference in Awka, the state capital.
He warned that the command does not
believe in the erroneous tradition of ask
-
ing criminals and their collaborators to
relocate to other states or areas because
the command has the capacity to deal
with troublemakers.
He disclosed that operatives of the command had on Tuesday night gunned
down two kidnappers after the hoodlums
engaged policemen at a checkpoint in a
hot exchange of gun battle along UgaEzinifie road.
The latest came barely four days after
Adeoye resumed duty in the state.
Apart from neutralising the two suspect
-
ed kidnappers, one vehicle, heavy-calibre
arms and ammunition, were also recov
-
ered in the process.
Speaking while parading the neutralised
suspects and arms, Adeiye said that under his watch there shall be zero tolerance for violent crimes, harassment and
corruption by officers of the command.
Eight aid workers of the United States
of America (USA) Embassy, including
six policemen escorting the team were
recently killed by gunmen along the Oso
-
mala-Umunankwo road in the Ogbaru lo
-
cal government area.
Findings show that the activities of the
criminal elements and their collaborators have depleted the revenue fortunes
of the local council and forced prospective investors to flee the area.
It was also gathered that due to the
bloody and violent attacks by the hoodlums on their targets, the usual busy
sand excavating sites had dropped from
20 to only five pits while peace is on
flight among the res
