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Gunmen shoot Ebonyi worshippers at crusade ground

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Businessman shot dead, body set ablaze in Ebonyi
 • A worshipper injured due to the sporadic shooting
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An attempt by Mgbalukwu people in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State to seek the face of God over alleged misfortunes and stagnation that had befallen them has turned tragic.

No fewer than five people are now in hospital following bullet wounds inflicted on them by yet-to-be identified gunmen during a crusade organised by a man of God popularly known as Prophet Okunerere in the area.

Spokesperson of Ebonyi State Police Command, Onome Onovewakpoyeya did not pick calls placed to his phone to confirm the incident. Also, the State Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Scamb Nwokolo declined to speak on the issue, saying that he had not received complaint over the dastard incident.

However, the Ebonyi State Command of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) was reportedly investigating the matter.

Saturday Sun gathered that Paul Nwite, Mgbage Friday, Ominyi Mathias, Angelina Onwoshi and Onuvu Ukamaka sustained injuries when suspected assailants stormed the Onwonwiya market square in Mgbalukwu Community on September 10, 2023 and sprayed bullets on the congregants.

Christian faithful at the religious programme said they were not apprehensive of any problem before they were attacked. Three of the victims were taken to Sudan Mission Hospital at Iboko, the Council headquarters, for medical treatment while two others with severe cases were referred to the Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (AE-FETHA).

It was alleged that a cleric from Mgbalukwu community (names withheld) masterminded the attack following his grouse that a man of God from another village, Ndieoke Inyimagu in the same council area, was brought for the crusade instead of an indigenous minister.

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Village Chairman, Monday Nkwegu informed the reporter that the decision to engage Prophet Okunerere for the crusade was taken by the stakeholders of the community.

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He also disclosed that the people of the community made financial contributions towards the success of the programme. Nkwegu, however, expressed shock that on the second day of the crusade, five gunmen invaded the place with a tricycle, attacked the worshipers and disrupted the event.

“Everywhere was peaceful before the programme and in the cause of planning, no one objected to the idea of holding the crusade but while everyone was busy praying, the men started shooting at us without any known reason. It was after some people had run away for their lives that we discovered that five of our brothers and sisters had been wounded,” he said.

Leader of the village vigilante group, Augustine Ede disclosed that it was the suspicious movement of the attackers with their tricycle that aroused his men’s curiosity. The eagle-eyed security squad immediately stopped them at the venue of the event without knowing that the people were on an evil mission.

One of the victims, Nwite told the reporter at the hospital that the gunmen accelerated dangerously in such a way that they almost injured some of the worshipers. This jolted the vigilante men who approached them for identification, but surprisingly, the invaders immediately opened fire on the innocent worshippers.

Another member of the vigilante group, Mgbage Friday, who also sustained bullet injuries, in his account said that his team was trying to find out from the people at the barricade in the market place, venue of the crusade, but in the process, a heated argument ensured between the two groups. Friday recounted: “As vigilante members, we stopped the people to know where they were going at that period of the night between 8:30 and 9:00pm but instead of them to identify themselves, they rather opened fire on us and along the line, shot at my two thighs.”

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Another resident who did not want to be mentioned fingered a pastor from the area who according to him, was not happy over the choice of the villagers in bringing the prophet from another area.

“The attack was a by-product of envy from one of us who is also a pastor. The so-called man of God purposely wants to stop the crusade and in the long run, he had achieved his nefarious act after causing serious havocs to his own people,” he lamented.  Saturday Sun gathered that Nwite and two other affected persons had been discharged by the Sudan Mission Hospital, Iboko after treatment but were held back following their inability to clear the medical bill of N213, 190. The management of the hospital insisted that the trio must settle the hospital bill. (Saturday Sun)

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Enugu community lauds Gov Mbah for siting SMART School in Egede

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• Elder Ben Eze Amuha, Secretary General, Egede a autonomous Community and leaders of Amozalla Uwenu community while briefing Journalists on the Enugu SMART School project at Egede on Saturday
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…says ownership claim of the school land by a section of Ekwueme family not only mischievous but an attempt to rewrite history

The leaders of Amozalla Uwenu kindred in Ibute Egede autonomous community in Udi local government area of Enugu State rose from a meeting on Saturday, 9th November 2024, with a call on Governor Peter Mbah to disregard attempts by some unscrupulous elements and land grabbers, who are on a mission to deny the people the benefits of the modern school, which the government has graciously approved for the community.

They showered praises on Governor Mbah for considering Egede community(as part of Egede/Umoka Ward) as one of the benefiting communities of the special school, and pledged their loyalty and unalloyed support for his government.

The community leaders explained that the ancestral land presented to the government for the project, which has already commenced, rightly belongs to Amozalla Uwenu, explaining that the children of late TMT Ekwueme who recently raised an objection to siting the school in the area, did so out of ignorance and a move to illegally acquire the ancestral land belonging to Amozala Uwenu community.

• Amozalla Uwenu kindreds and village heads during their meeting on Saturday

According to the community, the children of late TMT Ekwueme and the rest of Ekwueme family have no basis of laying claim on Amozalla Uwenu land.

“The historical truth is that in 1937 late Stephen Ezenwude Ekwueme was having serious problems with late Jacob Enuife Ekwueme which prompted his age grade mate, out of love and to avoid shedding of blood between two brothers, late Ezebuilo Akanaezigwe of Umuokolo Amozalla Uwenu gave him (Stephen Ezenwude Ekwueme) a small portion of land to settle as a ‘refugee’ in Amozalla Uwenu away from the Ekwueme ancestral home in Amozalla Uwani,” the community leaders explained.

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The Advocate reports that the family members of late Chief Prince TMT Ekwueme and the father of late Dr. K.U.K Ekwueme and late Chief Ezenwude Ekwueme recently in a voice note circulated in the social media, called on Governor Mbah to come to their rescue by rejecting the land given to the government for the construction of the SMART school, claiming that the land was in dispute.

“Nothing can be farther from the truth because there is just no dispute over the land as the ownership has never been in doubt,” Amozalla Uwenu countered.

Leaders of Amozalla Uwenu community at the site of the Enugu SMART School project under construction at Egede

The Ekwueme family had also accused some natives of Ibute Egede of allocating the land which was part of their late father’s cashew plantation to the government for the SMART school project without consulting the family and other stakeholders in Egede.

Dismissing the accusation as totally false, the Amozalla Uwenu leaders said: “The truth is that the two staff of Commissioner of Education, Presidents General of Ibute Egede and Ikehe Egede communities and PDP Ward Chairman Egede/Umuoka Ward, were in the team that presented and inspected 3 sites in Egede and decided that our land met all their requirements for the project. We are very happy to offer the land for the progress and development of Egede.”

The natives of Amozalla Uwenu in Ibute Egede comprising Umuokolo and Umudinaneke, who own the ancestral land, Ishiagu Amozalla Uwenu, further refuted their claims saying the Ekwueme family has no legal right to any land in the area given to the government for the construction of the school and urged the government to ignore them.

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Speaking with newsmen after the community’s meeting, on Saturday, November 9th 2024, Secretary of Ibute Egede Autonomous Community, Elder Ben Eze Amuha, said: “We are very grateful that the Governor of Enugu State, His Excellency, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, the State Commissioner for Education, the Commissioner for Works, Our Distinguished Senator Ngwu, Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly and Chairman of Udi local government area are all aware of this project and they are very happy. We are thanking them for finding Amozalla Uwenu (on behalf of Egede) worthy to host the SMART school.

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“We are thanking them immensely on behalf of Amozalla and Egede in general, and Egede-Umuoka Ward in particular since this is a Ward project. We are extending our gratitude to all Egede people for their belief in the strength in unity. We trust that this project which has taken off will have all the enabling environment to be completed on schedule to enable our children reap all the associated benefits.”

Giving the historical background of the Ishiagu Amozalla Uwenu land and the circumstances that led to allocating a portion of the land to late Stephen Ezenwude Ekwueme by some members of his age grade from Amozalla Uwenu, Elder Amuha said: “It is very important to note that there was crisis between late Chief Jacob Enuife Ekwueme and his younger brother, late Chief Stephen Ezenwude Ekwueme. That case was between two of them regarding who will take control of the vacant seat of Igwe of Egede community.

“Jacob Enuife was the elder brother but was illiterate while his younger brother Stephen Ezenwude Ekwueme was more literate than him and because of that he wanted to take the throne from him. Based on the disagreement, the senior brother Jacob Enuife wanted to assassinate him, consequently Stephen ran away from their ancestral home in Umuezeunu and was looking for refuge. He ran to some members of his age grade in Amozalla Uwenu namely late Ezebuilo Akanezigwe, late Ifeagwu Anosike and late Anukaenyi. These are his age mates that helped to habour him in Amozalla Uwenu.

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“Thereafter they showed him a portion of land to build a hut, a mudhouse to stay there as a refugee. That was the only history of land transaction between Amozalla Uwenu and Ekwueme family and in particular with Stephen Ezenwude Ekwueme, whom we helped as a refugee.

“As for late TMT Ekwueme, Amozalla Uwenu has never had any land transaction with him and he has practically no locus standi to lay claims to the land of our ancestors. Therefore Amozalla Uwenu kindred of Ibute Egede Autonomous community has never had any land dealings with late T.M.T. Ekwueme and the Ekwueme family in general. It is our own land that we freely offered to Enugu State Government and Egede-Umuoka ward in general to build the SMART School for our children.

“We are therefore so grateful to His Excellency, Governor Peter Mbah and all the government officials who made this school project possible. We must not forget to thank all the stakeholders in Egede-Umuoka Ward such as the Community leader of Amozalla, High Chief Christian Obinna Nganga, Ugwunye Ezedike of Enugu State; Ichie Nicholas Amechi Udeh, Ezedike ne echlibe of Egede; Dr. Barrister Cosmas Agu, Managing Director of COMAG Engineering; Engr. Banabas Okafor, Igwurube I of Egede, Chairman PDP Egede/Umuoka Ward, Hon. Elder Ben Eze Amoha, Agunachouzo I of Egede, Engr. Ephraim Agu, Chairman Amozalla Uwenu and many others too numerous to mention for their unalloyed support for the project”

Elder Amuha further explained that the cashew plantation being claimed by the Ekwueme family was actually the project of the early missionaries, who settled in THE REST HOUSE at Agu Ugwueke in Amozalla community and left it behind for the host community, stressing that the Ekwueme’s have no legitimate claim to the plantation.

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Blackout looms again as vandals destroy another Transmission Line

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The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced a fresh attack on its 330kV Lokoja-Gwagwalada transmission line one.

In a statement from TCN’s General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, it was revealed that the attack damaged transmission towers T306, T307, and T308 along the line, disrupting bulk power transmission in the area.

Mbah reported that the incident took place in the early hours of Saturday, November 9, 2024.

“Early on Saturday, TCN engineers attempted to re-energize the 330kV Lokoja–Gwagwalada transmission line 1, but the line tripped. After efforts to reclose the line failed, a patrol team of TCN linesmen was dispatched to physically trace the line for faults. Upon inspection, they discovered the affected towers. Further examination revealed that the vandals had stolen two spans of aluminium conductor from line one,” the statement said.

She explained that the Lokoja–Gwagwalada line is a double-circuit transmission line, and while TCN is still supplying bulk power through line two, efforts were underway to source replacement aluminium conductors for the two spans stolen from line one.

She decried the rising trend of vandalism targeting transmission lines and towers which she said had become a significant challenge that is severely impacting the country’s power infrastructure and hindering the expansion and stability of the national grid.

“This recent incident adds to an alarming pattern of attacks on the transmission network nationwide. In the Gwagwalada area alone, recent acts of vandalism include the attack on the Gwagwalada–Kukuwaba–Apo transmission line on 10th December 2023, the Gwagwalada–Katampe line on February 26, 2024, and several others on that axis. Such acts of vandalism continue to disrupt the stability and growth of Nigeria’s national grid.”

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She appealed to members of the public, especially residents of communities hosting transmission lines and towers, to collaborate with TCN and security operatives in combating this menace, saying vandalism of power installations is a disservice to all and undermines efforts to strengthen the nation’s transmission system.

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Obaseki’s whereabouts unknown, says Edo Gov-elect Okpebholo

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Obaseki's whereabouts unknown, says Edo Gov-elect Okpebholo
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Following allegations by the outgoing Governor of Edo state, Mr Godwin Obaseki that he has not been invited to the forthcoming inauguration of Senator Monday Okpebholo as Governor of the state, the incoming governor on Sunday declared that Obaseki has been missing since last Friday and now incommunicado.

In a statement made available to journalists on Sunday and signed by Godspower Inegbe, Okpebholo said Edo people are worried by Obaseki’s recent reckless utterances and urged him to evaluate his state of mind.

The Governor-Elect in the statement raised the alarm regarding the whereabouts of Obaseki, who on Friday reportedly fled Benin City, the Edo State capital, using am unmarked bus.

Edo Gov-elect Okpebholo

The statement revealed that Obaseki chased out everyone from the Government House on Friday before escaping to a yet-to-be known location more than 72 hours before his official departure from office.

“As of Friday, 8th November, the whereabouts of Obaseki is unknown. He has chased everyone out of Edo State Government House. He has abandoned governance in the State, and he is on the run.

“He has escaped through the road out of Benin. He did not pass through the airport. If he is as popular as he claims, why did he not use the airport to escape? Instead, he hired a bus and disguised while escaping from Edo State.

“Obaseki is trying to push out these narratives in order to distract the public. His antics will not work. We know his plans, and we will continue to expose his shenanigans to Edo people,” the statement read.

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Obaseki, on Saturday, claimed that Senator Okpebholo did not invite him to his inauguration, slated for next Tuesday. He also claimed without proof that the Governor-Elect has a stolen mandate.

But an angry Okpebholo said Obaseki needs serious and urgent attention.

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He said since he won the election, Obaseki has employed every means to frustrate a peaceful transfer of power. The Governor-elect noted that Obaseki has not extended any invitation to him for a meeting or a tour of the Government House.

“Again, Obaseki also claimed that Senator Okpebholo did not invite him to the inauguration, slated for next Tuesday. This is laughable, absurd, and questionable. Since Senator Okpebholo was declared winner, Obaseki has employed every means to frustrate a peaceful transfer of power.

“As a sitting Governor, Obaseki should tell Edo people and Nigerians if he has ever invited the Governor-Elect, Senator Okpebholo to Government House for a meeting or a tour as a responsible man. Has Obaseki called Senator Okpebholo to congratulate him since he won the election?

“According to the unpopular outgoing governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo stole the mandate freely given to him by Edo people. In his usual myopic mind, he wants to change the narratives and set a dangerous precedence,” Okpebholo noted in the statement.

The Governor-Elect said he won the elections convincingly and added that the tribunal will soon validate his claims. He said Obaseki would not get away with the reckless claims.

“Obaseki will not get away with this misrepresentation. Senator Monday Okpebholo, the Governor-Elect of Edo State, won the 21st September governorship election in Edo State.

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“Obaseki is still licking his wounds of defeat and is yet to accept the reality. Edo people, through the ballot, rejected the planned continuation of Obaseki’s satanic government through his glorified stooge, Asue Ighodalo,” he mocked Obaseki.

Okpebholo said Obaseki is trying to influence the outcome of the ongoing case at the tribunal by making false claims. He said the attempt will fail like a pack of cards.

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He said; “The Peoples Democratic Party is already challenging the outcome of the election in court. We are therefore worried that Obaseki is in a hurry to preempt the outcome of the tribunal by repeatedly making false claims.

“Unfortunately for Obaseki, his baseless claims will not stand. The Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Ighodalo, have no case against Senator Okpebholo. The tribunal will soon confirm that.”

He warned Obaseki to desist from making false claims and reminded him of severe consequences that may follow if he does not stop.

“Although Senator Okpebholo is a man of peace, we will not sit back and allow him (Obaseki) to keep misrepresenting the true outcome of what happened on the 21st of September.

“Obaseki will soon lose his immunity and if he continues to make his baseless claims, he will face the full wrath of the law very soon and he will prove his unfounded allegations when he is dragged to court.

“We urge Edo people to disregard Obaseki’s reckless statements and support the incoming administration of Senator Okpebholo to remedy the many wrongs of this government”, the statement added.

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