When Ibrahim Kapala, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulwahab Bello were arrested by the police in Bauchi on suspicion of stealing chickens, they had no idea all their lives were going to be on the line as a murderous DPO, Superintendent Baba Ali Mohammed, allegedly beat two of them to death.

With two broken legs, Abdulwahab Bello considers himself lucky to be alive after seeing a police officer beat his two friends, Ibrahim Kapala and Ibrahim Babangida to death in Bauchi.

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The three men were apprehended for stealing chickens belonging to a retired police officer.

Abdulwahab did not know that the chickens were stolen.

He did not imagine that they would nearly cost him his life and the lives of his two friends.

I was on my way when I met two of my friends, Ibrahim Kapala and Ibrahim Babangida, who were looking for buyers of chickens and I suggested a customer at the Muda Lawal Market.

I didnt know that they were stolen chickens, he said.

After accompanying his friends to sell the chickens, he went about his business until he saw a team of policemen in a tricycle alongside his friends.

He was arrested and driven to the Township Police Station, in Doya Area of Bauchi where the police also brought the man who had bought the chickens.

Apparently, Ibrahim Kapala and Ibrahim Babangida had broken into the home of a retired police officer and stole five chickens.

The owner reported that they had taken 24 chickens but would later say he had found 13 of them.

The DPO,  Superintendent of Police, Baba Ali Mohammed, however, seemed to have taken the theft as personal and demanded payments for the chickens, alongside bail money from the suspects.

They said that we should pay the money for the chickens and my mother brought them N4, 000, Bello said.

The DPO told my mother to pay another N2, 000 for my bail before I would be released.

Since his mother did not have any other money to give the police, Bello was detained alongside the other suspects despite paying for the chickens.

However, their real ordeal was about to begin.

We were ordered out of the cell and he asked us to go behind his office where the DPO asked us to lie face down on the ground.

He ordered that Ibrahim Kapala should be tied up, he said.

Bello, and his friend Ibrahim Babangida, watched SP Baba Ali Mohammed went and fetched a broken pestle which he used to beat Ibrahim Kapala, who was tied up.

He struck the victim on the legs and broke both his legs while other policeman stood by and watched.

In the process of beating him, he was saying that from today stealing chickens has ended and he continued beating him until he fainted.

After he fainted, he started kicking him with his foot even though he was unconscious, until he died, Bello said.

The DPO ordered for the next suspect to be brought forward.

Immediately he was brought, he descended on him also and broke his legs by using that same pestle.

He also used it to hit him on his chest and his back.

The victim too fainted, Bello said.

With the two suspects lying lifeless on the ground and the DPO screaming at them to die, Bello feared that he too would suffer the same fate.

When it came to me, he used the same pestle to hit me continuously and broke two of my legs where I sustained two fractures on one leg, he said.

The three suspects were then bundled onto the back of a police van and driven to their various houses.

At Ibrahim Kapalas house, Bello said, they threw out his lifeless body on the ground and said his relatives should be told he was an armed robber.

When we reached the house of Ibrahim Babangida, the DPO brought out a big stick and hit him on the head with it.

He died subsequently in the hospital, Bello said.

When they got to Bellos house, the SP Baba Ali Mohammed readied his big stick for the final blow.

When he saw the number of people in the area, he changed his decision, he said.

Ibrahim Kapalas mother, Hajara Ismail, said the day her sons corpse was thrown out of the police van was the saddest in her life.

I dont know what my son did to the police, she said.

When the police came, they entered our house and asked some boys to carry him in and they asked them to dump him for me inside the house.

Then, the DPO said, heres the corpse of your son, hes a robber, we arrested him, then he turned and left and then turned again and said we were not the people who did this to him, we too picked him up like that.

She said at 30, her son was unmarried and each time she had asked him about taking a wife,  Hed tell me that he wont get married now until he help us get our own house.

For Babangida Bala, father of late Ibrahim Babangida, his mind has never been at peace since the incident.

I have not been sleeping ever since my son Ibrahim Babangida was tortured to death by the police who are expected to protect lives and property of the masses, he said.

When I heard that my son, alongside his two friends, were arrested for stealing chickens, I refused to go and bail him, expecting that the police would take them to court for prosecution, but unfortunately they took the law into their hands, he said.

He called on the Inspector General of Police to ensure that the case is not swept under the carpet, a call echoed by Alhaji Bello Mukhtar, father of the survivor, Abdulwahab Bello.

When a policeman takes the laws into his hands and kills your son, tomorrow if you see him, what would you do to him? Mukhtar asked.

What I have spent so far in treating my son is more than N100,000.

This has not been easy for me at all if not because of the intervention of one of my sisters who has been helpful in footing his medical bills, he said.

Meanwhile, the Bauchi State Police Command said it has launched a full investigation into the alleged torture and dehumanization leading to the death of the suspects.

The Commands Public Relation Officer DSP Ahmed Mohammed Wakili said that already, the State Police Commissioner, Lawan Tanko Jimeta has ordered for a full investigation of the incidence.

Similarly, a human rights group, Prison Inmate Development Initiative (PIDI-Nigeria) has written a petition on the incidence.

In the petition dated 23rd July 2020, and signed by Executive Director Mbami Sabka Iliya, submitted to the Commissioner of Police in the state on the same date, PIDI requested the Commissioner of Police to charge the DPO and those involved in the alleged torture, extortion and extrajudicial killing of the suspects.

The available information made known to us shows that the said buyer had already slaughtered one out of the five chickens while the remaining four were recovered, he stated.

The group further said that the buyer was ordered to pay for the five chickens again at the rate of N2,000, which he did, as well a bail fee of N2,000.

In total, the group said all the suspects paid a total sum of N 22,000 for the chickens and N8,000 as a bail condition.

Yet even that was not enough to spare the lives of both Ibrahim Kapala and Ibrahim Babangida.

While demanding justice for the victims, PIDI also demanded that the outcome of the investigation be made public for the interest of justice and the said DPO punished to serve as a deterrent to others.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) last week declared Nigeria free of polio, a virus that has killed and led to the paralysis of thousands of children in Africa.

The certification came after no incident of wild polio was reported in the country for three consecutive years.

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The last record of the virus in Nigeria occurred in 2016.

With Nigerias exit from the polio-endemic countries list, WHO has equally declared Africa free of the virus, as Nigeria was the last of the 54 countries in Africa to be certified polio-free.

Dr. John Hewko, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rotary International, which led the vigorous campaign to eliminate the virus from Africa, said of the feat: Todays victory over the wild poliovirus in the African region is a testament to what can happen when partners from a variety of sectors join forces to accomplish a major global health goal.

It is something the world can and should aspire to during these turbulent times (of COVID-19).

The disease was endemic in 125 countries in the 1980s, to the point that it claimed the lives of over 350,000 children per year, according to WHO.

Today, it is only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which recorded as many as 102 cases in 2019, that wild poliovirus is prevalent in the world.

This feat was achieved as a result of global efforts stimulated by Rotary under its Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), launched in 1988 to fight the scourge.

Under the scheme, Rotary worked with WHO, UNICEF, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and Nigerias National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).

The huge project was said to have gulped the sum of $17 billion.

A former cardiologist and chair of Rotary Internationals Polio-Plus Committee in Nigeria, Dr Tunji Funsho, spoke on the Nigerian experience thus: The polio eradication programme in Nigeria has gone through some difficult times, but I never once doubted that this day would come.

Any time that weve experienced a setback, Rotary and our partners have been able to find solutions and develop new strategies for reaching vulnerable children.

We commend all the local and international organisations who jointly laboured to kick the wild poliovirus out of Nigeria.

We further congratulate all field workers who endured the difficulty in accessing rural areas in the country to ensure that children received the polio oral vaccine in order to develop immunity from the deadly disease.

The proclamation has proved that the pain they endured was not in vain, after all.

Now that Nigeria is wild poliovirus-free, the onus rests of government to ensure that every child born in the country is immunised against the disease.

To achieve this, Primary Health Care clinics across the country must be provided with polio vaccines and equipped to carry out the routine immunisation.

This would prevent the fire-brigade approach adopted in the last two decades through dedicated national polio immunisation programmes.

Again, to effectively manage it, the country needs well-trained health care workers to administer the shots.

As a result of the emergency measures put in place to deal with the deficiency, government had depended largely on volunteers, many of them not properly trained, to carry out vaccination.

With proper planning and availability of vaccines in clinics spread across the country, immunisation could be carried out seamlessly, no matter how remote the place of birth of a child is.

We call on government and health agencies to continue to enlighten Nigerians on the harmless nature of the vaccine.

The country suffered a setback a few years ago when a section was misinformed and made to believe unfounded conspiracy theory around polio vaccines.

It has been proved that the vaccine is harmless; rather it enhances the health of children and protects them from the wild virus.

Poliovirus has been kicked out of Africa for good.

The Federal Government of Nigeria Thursday asked all the state governments and school administrators to start making preparations for full reopening of schools.

It also asked the National Youth Service Corps to start making preparations to reopen its orientation camps nationwide.

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National Coordinator, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Sani Aliyu, who spoke at the briefing of the PTF in Abuja Thursday, said: Educational institutions, which include daycare, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, should begin the process of working towards potentially reopening within this phase.

He, however, said the PTF strongly recommended that states conduct risk assessment to ensure all schools are at a level of compliance and create a monitoring mechanism to assess, create, and monitor this level of preparedness.

All daycares and educational institutions are to remain closed to in-classes until this level of risk is assessed.

And if there will be opening of schools, it must be staged and preferably carried out in phases to ensure that this does not pose a risk to the general public and in particular to vulnerable groups that might end up getting infected by students going back home, Aliyu said.

Aliyu said the government was in the process of developing strict guidelines to forestall the outbreak of infections when the NYSC camps eventually reopened.

NYSC orientation camps were closed in March as part of measures to halt the spread of coronavirus.

He said: The NYSC is to consolidate on safety measures currently being put in place and start preparing for the reopening of orientation camps when educational institutions open.

Were in the process of developing strict guidelines to ensure there is no outbreak of Covid-19 when this process starts.

Aliyu also said the government had relaxed the nationwide curfew imposed to reduce the coronavirus spread.

The curfew, which was hitherto from 10pm to 4am, is now from 12am to 4am.

Were modifying the curfew to commence from 12 midnight to 4am nationwide, effective from 12:00 tonight.

This does not apply to people on essential services and international travelers that might be returning from abroad, Aliyu said.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the PTF, Boss Mustapha, said Nigeria was not ready yet for a full reopening of the economy.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari had extended the six-month mandate of the PTF, earlier scheduled to expire this month, to the end of December.

Mustapha said the global response had continued to witness huge deployment of resources and collaborative efforts to combat the pandemic and that the global statistics depicted the virulent nature of the virus.

He said: The PTF believes that while Nigeria is not ready for a full re-opening of the economy, there has been sufficient progress to warrant significant further relaxation of the restrictions applied.

Based on the foregoing, the PTF today submitted its 7th Interim Report to Mr. President for his consideration and approval.

The main thrust of the recommendation is that Nigeria advances to the third phase of eased restrictions with further amendments, to address economic, socio-political and health concerns.

This will last till a time when the epidemic is sufficiently controlled in Nigeria.

He said Buhari had considered and approved the transition into the third phase of the National Response to COVID-19 for a period of four weeks with effect from 12.01 am today in line with amendments to address economic, socio-political and health considerations reflected in the implementation guidelines.

There is widespread concern about the use of illicit psychoactive substances among young people, including teenage girls in Borno State.

These drugs, according to the  authorities, are being imported from neighbouring countries and consumed in large quantities.

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Some of the psychoactive substances are found in medications and plants.

Fatima, 19, (the second name withheld), who lives in Maiduguri  picked up cannabis smoking barely a year ago mainly due to peer influence.

She said, Most of my friends use marijuana and I watched them roll the joint before it is lit.

Sometime last year I developed an interest in it and collected a wrap from a friend and inhaled the smoke: that was how I started.

She said her friends smoke cannabis to get high but it makes me drowsy and I feel hungry.

She said that illicit substances were brought to local dealers in Maiduguri who in turn sold to consumers in a number of places either undercover or in the open.

Fatima, who took a softly-softly approach to every question directed to her had dark skin and lips and was getting taller.

She had a strong body but is not fat.

She said she could not get cannabis by paying money but obtained and frequently shared joints with friends.

When asked whether she was aware that sharing a rolled joint could lead to disease transmission, she paused and avoided the question and said some of the avid cannabis smokers she knew, displayed some symptoms of mental illness.

What Fatima said actually coincided with the assertions of Borno State Governor, Professor, Babagana Umara Zulum on how illicit drugs have become a social menace in the state.

He said the menace has led to rising prostitution and gangsterism at the Internationally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.

He said of  great concern to authorities,  was the fact that secondary school students were involved in illicit substance abuse leading to dropout, extreme violence, rape, suicide, poor health and poor academic performance.

The governor, who participated in the burning of 19,234.58 kilograms of seized illicit psychoactive substances by the officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Maiduguri, said state official would be empowered to complement the anti-drug efforts.

Ahmad Bilya, was a cannabis smoker in his twenties who said that most illicit substance dealers were familiar with their customers who could come from lower, middle and upper societal classes and the kinds of substances they patronise.

He said married women usually had errand girls or boys who buy the substances for them.

He said, Indian hemp is sold in different sizes; the smaller ones are wrapped up in sheets of papers and sold for N50 while the bigger parcels go for as much as N8,500.

He said there were a few patent medicine (chemist) stores, which sold drugs including tramadol and codeine that are illegally taken in excess to alter the brain.

These people sell the drugs that require prescription freely to their customers, he said.

He said many girls and married women consume more than one illicit substance.

Bilya, who brought out a small parcel of cannabis from his pocket, said, this is the only thing I smoke, I do not take excessive medicinal drugs to intoxicate and my friends too.

But my girlfriend smokes and is addicted to different substances taken by her friends.

He agreed that many people have developed health complications from drug overdose.

NDLEA Chairman, Mohammed Mustapha Abdallah said drug abuse among Nigerians particularly women was alarming and that the agency would include drug tests as part of the conditions for marriages.

He said huge tonnes of illicit substances were being seized and destroyed after court orders.

According to him, the drug situation in Borno was complicated by proximity and porous borders with Chad, Cameroon, and the Niger Republic.

An opinion leader in Maiduguri said to win the fight against illicit substances, parents and teachers must monitor the movement of children and sensitise them about the dangers in drug addiction.

The Plateau Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dan Manjang, has said that the recent spike in the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the state was as a result of high level of testing.

Speaking to newsmen in Jos, the commissioner said that there is an increase in testing at the community level but assured that everything was still under control.

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There is an increase in community testing for the disease as Plateau State has three testing centres now.

Manjang said testing was going on in many communities in the state, which is being fully supported by traditional rulers.

He said the governor has also directed all civil servants in the state to go on compulsory COVID-19 test.

He said government had earmarked N11 billion in its revised 2020 budget to tackle the pandemic.

The commissioner assured civil servants  that Governor Simon Lalongs administration would sustain the payment of  their salaries as well as payment of pension despite the economic challenges.

He said the administration has prioritised payment of salary and pensions since it came on board in 2015.

He said: When we talk about payment of salary, some people say it is not an achievement and I ask; if payment of salary is not an achievement, what is lack of payment of salary that was witnessed during the previous administration.

We have continued to pay salary as at when due including the seven to nine months of salary arrears inherited from the previous administration.

We were about to pay the new minimum wage when COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

We suspended it in collaboration with labour and we will resume when the situation improves.

A military spokesman has reportedly faulted the claim that the gains of counterinsurgency operations were now being eroded in Borno State.

This is a matter both the military and the people of Borno State are equally capable of ascertaining.

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My emphasis here is on the response of the said military spokesman to a media report that 17 out of 27 local government areas in Borno State are under attack by the Boko Haram insurgents.

In a bid to solicit public understanding of the situation, the spokesman, among other things, said that unlike in the other North-East States of Yobe, Bauchi, Adamawa and Gombe, where substantial progress had been made in the military campaign against the insurgents, the terrain in Borno State was different.

According to him, among the serious factors hindering the campaign in Borno State was that the basic facilities that could assist in winning the war were absent.

He was quoted as saying that:

There is no semblance of governance or civil authority in Borno State.

No cross-country roads, no interstate roads, no intra-local government roads.

Some terrains are not easily accessible by troops because there are no road networks.

Even some roads constructed by DFFRI many years ago have become dilapidated and not repaired.

It is only federal roads that are better.

How many local government roads do they have?

There is no road linking the state capital to some of these local governments and war fronts. (The Nation, August16, 2020, p.5).

For the spokesman to have made such a powerful case for the need for road development network in Borno State is praiseworthy.

He has a point in stating that terrain is an important factor in warfare.

However, the handicap of road network in Borno and anywhere else would appear to have been overplayed.

As to the lack of effective administrative presence in some of the local government areas in the state, such a situation may be responsible for the Boko Haram insurgents seizing the opportunity to establish de facto local administration such as in the Sambisa forest where they have a hierarchy administration with identifiable Amir and his commanders mounting various checkpoints and communal and social activities somehow going on in several villages in the forest (Daily Trust, August 16, 2020, p. 36).

It is getting to nearly 9 years since the military campaign started.

The impression must not be created that it is only now that the military has realised that the terrain is an obstacle.

How does the terrain suit the insurgents better than the professional soldiers?

Wars have been fought and won even in medieval times when there was hardly any road of note.

European wars were fought and won before the Roman roads and the German autobahn.

Wars have been fought and won in jungles and deserts with hardly any recognisable road let alone a road network. Even in modern times we have had military campaigns in Congo, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Liberia, Iraq, Lebanon and Sudan.

Nigerian military participated creditably in many of these places.

And, here at home, the civil war and military campaigns in the Niger Delta were successfully undertaken.

Simply put, the road factor should not be stressed as it gives the impression that we may have to wait for the development of road network in Borno State before the military campaign would have its way over the insurgency.

This is unthinkable.

One narrative states that with a navigation campus and a four-wheel drive vehicle with auxiliary gear one could easily approach Baga town on the shores of the Lake Chad from Gubio.

Because most of the terrain in northern Borno is sandy and short of bush, one could easily find ones way if one has these two vital logistics.

Indeed, one could easily surmise that these are what aid the movement of the insurgents in that part of the state.

There is another narrative by two women abducted by Boko Haram insurgents bearing AK47 rifles and wearing military camouflage.

The women were abducted from a farm near Tugunshe village in Konduga Local Government Area and taken to Sambisa forest on motorcycles.

On that deplorable road, it took the abductors and their captives two days to reach their destination in Sambisa (Daily Trust, August 16, 2020, p. 36).

This is indicative of the lack of sophistication in the nature of some of the operations of the insurgents.

Similar reports have been made of this kind of operation in the North-West.

These narratives indicate that the insurgents also face terrain-related challenges but have devised ways of surmounting these challenges to maintain their enclave and entrench themselves.

It is expected that the military should have the logistics to move in all terrains.

And since the development of roads in most parts of Borno State cannot be done without first dislodging the insurgents, the emphasis should shift from bemoaning the terrain to a re-evaluation of the militarys response to this protracted insurgency situation.

Although no one knows better than the military how this strategic reappraisal should be conducted or implemented, there appears to be an urgent need for it right now.

The fact that some traditional rulers who hitherto fled their domains had returned clearly demonstrates that once the military clears the insurgents from any enclave and security restored, civil authorities will return. Security is the key to that.

Certainly, there are several factors hampering or facilitating the military campaign which should be appreciated by all concerned.

However, in addressing the public, military spokesmen should always endeavour to adduce fairly convincing reasons.

To do otherwise would inevitably lead to the erosion of public sympathy and confidence.

Bukar Usman is a former federal permanent secretary

Farida Ahmed is the founder and CEO of Stitches By Farida (SBF), a fashion designer that specialises in both ready-to-wear and custom made bespoke pieces.

The 23-year-old Gombe based fashion designer ventured into tailoring immediately after she obtained a Bachelors degree in Islamic Studies from the Gombe State University.

In this interview, she spoke on why she opted for entrepreneurship.

What motivated you to venture into tailoring?

As a child, I nurtured a sense of uniqueness in dressing and I appearance in general.

I have been a very detailed person and appreciate perfection and uniqueness in fashion.

My first step into this passionate profession of fashion design began at the tender age of 13.

Then, I always wanted to create something out of nothing,

I just wanted to create a design and see the effort made in the creation put nto a fabric and the outcome was always  good and mind blowing.

So I can say that I started it initially as a hobby, where I designed and made the clothes I wore, but I began fashion designing as a business when I was in my final year in university.

So nothing motivates me more than having the soothing feeling of doing what I like most and constantly improving on it.

Also, the feedback and reviews I get from my clients are a major push in my career.

I take every review or feedback as my scorecard and improve where necessary.

What are your achievements so far?

I personally dont like counting my achievements.

I believe it is still dawn for the SBF brand.

But consistency itself is an achievement especially in the fashion industry.

I have been consistent with my dreams from the beginning of this journey and my focus is still intact.

Do you have plans to expand the business?

I have two plans in the pipeline, firstly to open an academy here in Gombe.

The SBF brand is certainly aiming at diversifying in the near future.

I foresee the brand delving into the female fashion world and also partnering with top Nigerian designers.

And within the next five years I expect the SBF brand to go international Insha Allah.

The second one is to mentor others in the business. For the industry to become progressive and lucrative for us all, the issue of mentorship needs to be emphasized.

The industry can only be sustained if and when young and upcoming fashion designers are groomed.

For instance, I was a student of the Fashion Academy Abuja, the academy was an eye opener for me by not only making me go through the rudiments of fashion but also helped in widening my network.

So I intend to mentor young people to be self-reliant rather than waiting for the non-available government jobs.

What are the challenges you face?

The major challenge is that I am still operating from home together with the two people that assist me in the shop.

For now the business is not lucrative enough to rent a big shop to employ and train more people.

Most of the patronage is during festivities and weddings.

Who are your customers and how do you meet them?

Some of them are family members and referrals from friends.

But I got about 60 per cent of my customers from my Instagram and Twitter, where I have active accounts; Stitches By Farida.

These social handles are a blessing to me as they linked me a lot of customers that still patronise with me and refer their friends to me.

Ahead of Saturdays resumption of international flights, the Federal Government of Nigeria on Thursday said only approved airlines would be permitted into the Nigerias airspace.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, at the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, Angolan TAG, Air Namibia and Royal Air Maroc were not approved to operate flights into Nigeria.

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He listed British Airways, Emirates, Ethiopian, AWA, and Middle East Airlines as airlines permitted into the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

He also listed Egyptair, Virgin Atlantic, Turkish Airlines, AWA, Kenya Airways and Middle East Airlines as airlines allowed to operate into the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The government had in March shut the nations airports to halt the spread of COVID-19. It later approved the resumption of domestic flights from July 8; and international flights, September 5.

Explaining the reasons for the ban and the principle of reciprocity being applied to some countries, Sirika said Nigeria was simply following what each country had done to the country.

He said the country would go ahead and implement the principle of reciprocity to all countries that had banned flights from Nigeria.

Some of the countries which had banned flights from Nigeria are in the European Union as the EU included Nigeria on the banned countries on the first of July, 2020 when they opened their airspace.

The minister said that the approved international airlines would operate strictly on the Federal Government approved COVID-19 protocol.

Intending passengers must register online, pay for COVID-19 test fee and upload the COVID-19 negative result not older than 72 hours before boarding, he said.

While warning against sharp practices, Sirika warned that any airline caught with passengers without COVID-19 negative result would be punished with $3500 fine for each passenger and the passenger returned if he or she was a foreigner, while a Nigerian affected would be force into an isolation centre and be made to bear the full cost of isolation and treatment.

A judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, has recused himself from the suit seeking the disqualification of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and his deputy, Mr Audu Ganiyu, in the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State over alleged false information.

Justice Taiwo on Thursday announced the decision following a petition against him by one of the lawyers representing Ize-Iyamus APC, which he said affected his integrity as a judge, and decided to remit the case file to the Chief Judge, John Tsoho.

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The judge bemoaned the spate of petitions and accusations against judges which, he said, had assumed pandemic levels without the judges having the opportunity to defend themselves in the media.

The petition is coming after the judge had on August 24 refused a letter to the Chief Judge of the court demanding a transfer of the suit to another judge over alleged involvement with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, who is leading the PDP campaign in Edo State where Governor Godwin Obaseki is contesting.

Meanwhile, Governor Obaseki, who is the candidate of the PDP, has called on the electorate in the state to come out en masse on September 19, 2020 and vote for the PDP to enable him consolidate on his achievements.

He made the call Thursday while addressing party faithful at a campaign rally in Urhonigbe wards 7 and 8, Orhionmwon Local Government of the state.

In another development, the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES), in collaboration with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has organised capacity build workshops for Electoral Officers (EOs) across the 18 local governments towards achieving credible governorship election in the state.

Your Excellency Sir, I hope this letter comes to you with no surprises.

This is my second open letter to you since your emergence as the Governor of Gombe State in 2019.

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I struggled with my heart before writing you this second time, which makes it two letters within one year.

Today, as always, I am writing for two reasons; one is for the world to know what the ethnic nationalities of Gombe State are experiencing from your government, and secondly because this is the safest way to communicate to you as it has become public knowledge that you dont have the equanimity to listen to observations or constructive criticisms in a face-to-face civil conversation.

The first item is an old matter: The appointment of Chief Judge of Gombe State.

Your Excellency may recall that different groups ranging from professional bodies to tribal groups, individuals and elected representatives of Gombe South called out to you, not a call for favour but a call to be fair and just, to respect procedure and the time-honoured tradition of the Judicial arm of government.

Sadly enough, you clandestinely renewed the appointment of Justice Muazu Abdulkadir Pindiga on the 4th of June, 2020, bringing his acting period to third, consecutively.

As if that was not enough, you still went ahead to submit the names of Justice Pindiga and Justice Awak to the NJC for consideration for appointment as Chief Judge of Gombe State exempting the most senior judge in line without  justification.

Your Excellency Sir, your flagrant disregard for procedure which is heavily ladened with sentiment against Gombe South, is not only detrimental to your political sojourn but also against the teachings of the holy books.

I am glad that the NJC itself has not been compromised so far. Little wonder they directed that the right thing be done.

Your Excellency Sir, be afraid of Gods intervention. Do the needful!

The second issue I want to lay before you is the issue of Executive Order IV issued on the 14th July, 2020 and said to have taken effect on the 13th of the same month.

In this Order, reference was made to Section 3 of the Land Use Act (LUA) to justify the exercise of such powers.

Your Excellency Sir, it is important to remind you that, the Land Use Act is itself a draconian law with it origin traced to 1978.

The Supreme Military Council which was the all-encompassing ruling organ of the military government in Nigeria promulgated the Land Use Decree No.14. In 1979.

The ruling military government articulated the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in which the Land Use Act was given a legal backing.

The essence of the insertion of the protective provision in the constitution was to ensure its continuity after the military might have left the corridors of power.

In my honest opinion sir, some laws need to be repealed to give way for inclusion and the flexibility that came with democracy, but unfortunately we are on sail with a Captain that loves moving away from the shores.

In your Executive Order 4 sub 4 where it was stated as follows:

(IV) As from the commencement of this order, it shall not be lawful for any Local Government Council to grant any right of occupancy to any person over any undeveloped land specified in sections II and III of this order.

Kindly cast your mind on the provisions of the LUA Part II, 6. (1) which states that

(1) It shall be lawful for a Local Government in respect of land not in an urban area

(a) to grant customary rights of occupancy to any person or organisation for the use of land in the Local Government Areas for agricultural, residential and other purposes.

(b) to grant customary right of occupancy to any person or organisation for the use of land for grazing purposes and such other purposes ancillary to agricultural purposes as may be customary in the Local Government Area

Can you please tell me what is Urban about Tudu Kwaya, Bangunji, Todi, Tanglang, Tal etc?

Your order went further to state the following:

(V) As from commencement of this order, it shall not be lawful for any person or authority by whatever name called or addressed to sell to any person any undeveloped land specified in sections 2 and 3 of this order.

(VI) The centre from whence to determine the circumference of any radius shall be the palace of the paramount ruler of the area in question.

(VII) Any instrument or agreement purporting to transfer any undeveloped land in contravention of this order or the Act shall be void or of no effect and any party to any such instrument shall be liable for prosecution.

Your Excellency Sir, I believe we are making progress in our democratic voyage; if so then some laws made in the past should be repealed not modified and reinforced just for self aggrandizement. Think posterity sir.

Many people dont understand the negativity associated with this executive order.

For simplification purposes; it means that one day the governor can just wake up and allocate a vast area of land in Todi area for example, as grazing reserve or cattle colony or for other purpose he deems fit.

(Do u sense the Ruga issue finding its way gradually?) What we have in Gombe South is vast arable land with good underground water that does not exist in other parts of the state, so the governor cleverly decided to pass an order to that effect.

What then happens to our customary lands?

All would be lost to a self-serving aristocrat out to fulfill some agenda unknown to us.

It is important to also view it from the angle of rendering the local councils useless as the foundation of the burial ground of the local councils was laid with the passing into law The Gombe State Joint Project Development Agency (JPDA).

I urge every well meaning Nigerian to look for a copy of that law, peruse it and make your voices heard.

In conclusion sir, I want to state categorically that majority of the indigines of Gombe State and Gombe South in particular, are not in support of the law that passed through the window of the State Assembly in respect of Joint Project Development Agency and are also not in support of your recent Executive Order (4) which is by its construct, anti people, Selfish,  loaded with bad faith and a move to reverse the present system to something akin to FEUDALISM.

Also note that urban areas are not created by mere executive orders but by executive ACTIONS.

When you take development to these areas as you are doing in Jekadafari and environs, the whole world will know that they are urban areas in the real sense of the word.

May God help you as you steer the affairs of the state.

I pray for more wisdom to do the right thing and to be fair to all that are concerned.

Benjamin Dangoma Tanglang

(Dan Mai Fadan Tanglang)

@dangoma10son

Traders in Edo State markets, whose shops and goods were destroyed by fire outbreaks in some markets in the state, have said they were assisted to overcome their misfortune by their children.

Four markets across Benin metropolis between late 2019 and 2020 were engulfed in fire outbreaks leading to the loss of  property worth hundreds of millions of naira destroyed in the  inferno.

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Niger Delta Trust reports that Oliha Market, Satana Market, Ekiosa Market and Oba Market, all within the metropolis were gutted by fire at different times between 2019 and 2020.

While those who are back to the markets said they were able to return with the help of their children, others said they were waiting for any help that would come their way.

When our reporter visited Oba market, the traders were seen undergoing screening at the market associations office.

A trader, Mrs Elizabeth Ofone, said she was helped by her children, who gave her money to restart her business.

I sell fowls at the market, but now I have nothing because all of them got burnt to ashes including the money I made that day which I left in the shop.

I was hospitalised for two weeks after the incident.

This cage was built by my children and they gave me money to start again.

They said they do not want me to develop high blood pressure.

Ofone, who said she was tired of talking to the media as all the interviews she did in the past amounted to nothing, called on government to come to their assistance.

The chairman, Fowl Sellers Association at Oba market, Stella Oni, said she lost over N1 million to the fire incident.

All that we have was lost to the fire and you can see the place for yourself.

We are starting afresh and all these things you see  were done by our children who said they do not want us to be  sitting at home and start going to the hospital over the trauma.

I lost over a million naira to the fire.

I had five cages of fowls and each of them contained over N250,000 worth of fowls.

We are begging government to come to our aid because we cant take loan.

She said other traders who did not have grown up children were looking for where to borrow money to restart their businesses.

One of such traders is Mrs Celin Ewere, who sells clothes and said she was living by the grace of God.

I am a widow with seven children.

Shortly before the fire incident, I lost my husband. Presently, I am at zero level.

Before the fire incident I borrowed N300,000 to stock.

I didnt sell before the fire incident and everything got burnt.

She said she found it difficult to feed her family because she did not have another source of income.

Another trader, Mrs Vera Afona, said she has not been able to return to market due to lack of funds.

Since my shop got burnt, I have not been able to do anything.

I dont have money to start my clothes business as all my goods were completely destroyed.

Mrs Afona, who is a widow with six children, said she was at the market just to while away the time.

Government said it would help us but we are still waiting for the help.

I was selling clothes but I lost everything to the fire.

She called on government to come to her aid as she has nowhere to run to.

Speaking to our reporter,  the Secretary of Edo State Market Women Association (Oredo chapter), Mrs Okojie Maureen,  said the state governor had, during his visit to the market, promised to assist the traders affected by the fire.

All the traders you are seeing here lost goods to the fire.

So we are conducting a verification to ascertain the bank through which the money would be disbursed to them.

With this we want to make sure that the money gets to the affected traders.

The spokesman to the Edo State government, Crusoe Osagie, said the government was committed to fulfilling the promise made to the market women.

What we are doing is to ensure that the succour reached the real traders who were affected by the fire incident.

We have been taking our time to vet the list submitted to us to ensure that the people actually affected are those on the list.

He said the process of determining the actual traders was being concluded, adding  that In the next couple of weeks the  traders would start receiving support through their various market  associations.

Members of the Magala Fish Arewa Market Association, a section of the popular Ogbete Main Market, Enugu, have begged the Governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, to reopen the main gate leading to the section of the market.

South East Trust was reliably informed that the traders in that section of the market have been passing through difficult times since six months now the gate was locked by the Local Government Authority following the lockdown occasioned by the outbreak of Coronavirus.

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It has not been easy.

Even now the market has been reopened by the governor, the gate is still under lock and key.

The wheelbarrow pushers are finding it extremely difficult to push their loads into the market for the traders.

The trucks conveying goods from the northern part of the country cannot access the market rather they are forced to park outside the gate while the traders struggle with their goods which they carry on their shoulders and heads  to trek from outside the gate into the main market, one of the traders, Musa Abubakar, told our correspondent.

Another trader, Isah Ibrahim hoped that the governor would come to their rescue in the same way he recovered and returned their 40-year-old market portion to them after reopening of markets in the state.

Carrying bags of onions or fish or tomatoes on the shoulders from outside the gate and struggling to bring them into the market is quite a hectic.

Let them open the gate so that trucks can bring the goods into the market.

We have suffered a great deal, he added.

The Chairman of the association, Alhaji Kaka Waziri, however,  commended Gov Ugwuanyi for giving them back their section of the market that was reportedly grabbed by the council authority.

He said they were happy now their members have returned to their original portion from New Market, Enugu  where they were asked to relocate when the Ogbette Market was closed.

Waziri also explained that the governor did not only return them to the market but equally handed over the market portion to the association adding, he also directed us to go ahead and build the market structure as well.

He said: We are happy and the entire Ogbete Market had been jubilating since Monday when we came back from New Market, Enugu where the governor earlier directed us to stay during the heat of the COVID-19.

Now, Gov. Ugwuanyi has also directed that we return as well as build the structure of our choice in the original land portion belonging to the association since 1981.

As an association, we are very grateful to Gov. Ugwuanyis love and kindness to us and by extension the Arewa (Hausa) community.

Ugwuanyi remains a man of the people and the voice of the voiceless in the state.

Waziri assured the governor of the association and Huasa communitys support to his policies and programmes, adding that the associations executive would ensure strict compliance to the COVID-19 protocols in the state.

The Chairman of Landlords Association, Mr Ignatius Udeh, said that the return of the Arewa traders to their original spot would reduce the price of magala fish in the state.

He said: We thank the governor for directing the association back and gave us free hand to go ahead to build our market.

However, I appeal to the governor to open the Akwatta Main Gate leading to the market to allow trucks to bring in goods into the market with ease.