Breaking News
Abduction of 14 Passengers in Benue State, Police Confirms
Benue State Police Command has confirmed the kidnapping of 14 travellers who were en route from communities in the Igede axis of Oju and Obi Local Government Areas.
According to the police, the incident took place on Monday evening along the Okpokwu corridor of the state.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, confirmed the development and said security agencies had commenced investigations.
“Concerning the abduction of passengers on the Okpokwu road, it is true that it happened. Investigation into the incident is ongoing, and we are on top of the situation,” Edet said.
The victims were said to be heading towards the South-West when their vehicle was attacked at about 7 p.m. along the Okpokwu axis.
The attack occurred barely two days after armed men abducted nine worshippers during a night vigil at St John’s Catholic Church in Ojije, Utonkon, within Ado Local Government Area.
DAILY POST gathered that the assailants shot two of the passengers during the operation, killing them on the spot.
A resident who spoke with our correspondent by phone from Makurdi said the travellers had set out from Iheijwo Market in Oju Local Government Area around 7 p.m. on Monday.
“They passed through the Utonkon–Ojapo/Okpoga road in Benue State when the kidnappers stopped them and took 15 passengers into the bush. One person was shot dead when the driver initially refused to stop,” the source said.
Also confirming the incident, the Chairman of Oju Local Government Area, Mr Jackson Ominyi, told our correspondent on Tuesday that he was briefed about the killing of two victims during the attack.
Ominyi further disclosed that intervention by the Chairman of Okpokwu Local Government Area had resulted in the rescue of two of the abducted passengers.
“My security officer called me a few hours ago to inform me that some of our people were abducted around the Okpokwu axis.
“I commend the Chairman of Okpokwu LGA for ensuring the rescue of two persons so far and for his assurance that all the remaining 12 abductees will be rescued,” Ominyi said.
DAILY POST reports that the spate of recent attacks has intensified fear among residents and travellers in parts of the state.
Breaking News
POLITICS: Wike-led PDP Faction Takes Over Party Secretariat In Oyo
Members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, loyal to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, have taken over the secretariat of the party in Oyo State.
The secretariat, located in the Molete area of Ibadan, was in the custody of the faction loyal to Governor Seyi Makinde of the state until Thursday when the members loyal to Wike took over the premises.
DAILY POST gathered that the PDP members stormed the secretariat on Thursday and occupied the premises with hundreds of members of the party in attendance.
PDP chairman in the state, Professor Abdulrahman Akinoso, confirmed the development to DAILY POST.
Akinoso in a telephone conversation with DAILY POST on Thursday, insisted that the real owners have taken over the premises.
He said, “It is true. It is not faction. It is PDP. We have taken over the premises. It was in the morning. We were there in the morning. We just left the premises. We are now in control. We have taken over the premises.” .…For more, Complete your reading.
Breaking News
POLITICS: Foreign Recognition Won’t Secure Re-election – ADC Tells Tinubu
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has told President Bola Tinubu that foreign recognition will not secure him another term in office, insisting that Nigerians will judge his administration by its performance, not by diplomatic gestures from other world leaders.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party reacted to the Presidency’s celebration of a purported letter from United States President Donald Trump to Tinubu.
The ADC said presenting the letter as an endorsement of Tinubu’s administration was misleading, stressing that diplomatic correspondence between world leaders is a normal part of international relations.
“The Presidency’s attempt to present President Donald Trump’s letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as though it were a referendum on the state of the nation is not correct,” the party said.
According to the ADC, countries cooperate, leaders exchange views and letters regularly, adding that such communication does not amount to an endorsement of a government’s performance.
The party accused the Tinubu administration of being desperate for international validation instead of focusing on solving Nigeria’s challenges.
“It is apparent that this administration is desperate to seize upon any gesture of international recognition as proof of success at home,” the statement said.
The ADC maintained that “a letter from a foreign president, however well-intentioned, cannot substitute for the verdict of the Nigerian people.”
It added that the true measure of any government is not what foreign leaders say about it, but what citizens experience daily.
The opposition party argued that Trump’s letter had not changed the reality facing millions of Nigerians, especially those affected by insecurity.
“For the millions of Nigerians still living with the consequences of this government’s failures, President Trump’s communication changes nothing. It did not say that insecurity has been overcome or that Nigerians can once again travel freely, farm safely and sleep without fear,” the party stated.
The ADC also pointed to the continued captivity of hundreds of women and children in parts of Borno State and Kaiama in Kwara State, while many communities in Benue and other parts of the country still live in constant fear because of insecurity.
The party further noted that, despite the Presidency’s celebration of the letter, the United States Department of State has not changed its travel advisory for Nigeria.
According to the ADC, several Nigerian states remain under Level 3 and Level 4 travel advisories, with American citizens still being urged to reconsider or avoid travel because of crime, terrorism, kidnapping and civil unrest.
“We therefore wonder how correspondence from a government that designates several Nigerian states as ‘Do Not Travel’ areas can be regarded as an endorsement,” the party said.
It argued that the travel advisory shows the international assessment of Nigeria’s security situation remains different from the image the Presidency is trying to project.
The ADC said Nigerians are more concerned about their safety than diplomatic exchanges between presidents.
“The daily reality of Nigerians is shaped not by diplomatic correspondence, but by the guarantee that they can go about their lives without falling victim to violent crime or terrorism,” it said.
The party stressed that Trump’s letter was simply communication between two presidents and “does not amount to an endorsement of this government’s overall performance.”
It urged the Tinubu administration to focus less on celebrating diplomatic courtesies and more on delivering measurable improvements in the lives of Nigerians.
“Ultimately, Nigerians will not judge this government by the letters it receives from foreign capitals. They will judge it by whether .…For more, Complete your reading.
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