The Chief of Staff to the President and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Accountant-General of the Federation have been called upon to step aside over their alleged links to the fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Making the call yesterday, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, lawyer and public affairs commentator Maxwell Opara, insisted that no public official should remain in office while under criminal investigation.

Speaking during an interview with ARISE News, Opara stated that the alleged establishment of the fake agency, the allocation of office space and the opening of bank accounts pointed to an already established criminal case that required equal treatment of all those implicated.

“There is an established crime. A fake agency was established. An office was given to the fake agency. An account was opened for the fake agency. Somebody was acting as a director in the fake agency.”

He maintained that while the alleged fake director had been arrested, other public officials mentioned in the investigation should not be treated differently.

“The Chief of Staff, the Head of Service and the Accountant-General are suspects. None of them is above the law.”

Opara criticised the decision to invite some officials for questioning while leaving them in office, arguing that such an approach could undermine public confidence in the investigation.

“If you have arrested somebody, these other suspects should be arrested like the principal suspect. Nobody is above the law.”

He further stated that public officials occupying sensitive positions should voluntarily step aside to allow an independent investigation.

“One expected all of them that are suspects in this matter to step down. If you cannot resign, step aside.”

According to him, remaining in office while under investigation creates the impression that those officials could influence the outcome of the probe.

“You cannot be a judge in your own case. People will see it as though you want to use your office to influence investigators.”

Responding to questions about evidence involving a deceased intermediary allegedly linked to financial transactions in the case, Opara said the courts would determine the weight of such evidence based on available testimony and documentary records.

“The court will decide based on the evidence presented, the testimony before it and the outcome of cross-examination.”

He also dismissed the Chief of Staff’s reported decision to pursue a defamation suit against the principal suspect, describing it as a distraction from the ongoing investigation.

“Rushing to court to sue for defamation is a distraction. The priority should be to step aside and allow the investigation to proceed.”

Opara expressed doubts about the outcome of the investigation, arguing that the seniority of those allegedly involved could affect the process.

“If they want Nigerians to believe they are fighting corruption, they should treat everybody equally. Nobody should be made a scapegoat.”

He concluded that public confidence in the investigation would depend on whether anti-corruption agencies applied the laws guiding impartially, regardless of the status or position of those implicated.

• MACBAN reacts, sues for peace

The Anambra State Police Command has confirmed the killing of four herders and the destruction of a cattle camp after suspected gunmen attacked a settlement in Ifite Awka Community, Awka South Local Government Area of the state.

The police said the attackers invaded the camp on Tuesday, killing four male victims, setting residential huts ablaze and slaughtering several cattle before fleeing the scene.

Confirming the incident in a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said a police-led Joint Security Team responded to the attack following a distress call.

According to him, the operatives discovered the bodies of four victims who had been brutally murdered.

“Preliminary observations revealed that the victims had their hands tied and sustained multiple injuries, including machete cuts and blunt force trauma. Also, two residential huts within the settlement were set ablaze during the attack,” Ikenga said.

The police spokesman added that officers also found four dead cows within the settlement, while two other cattle had been slaughtered, with parts of their meat removed by the attackers.

He disclosed that security operatives recovered sacks containing abandoned chunks of meat a short distance from the scene.

Ikenga said preliminary investigations indicated that the attackers were armed with sophisticated weapons, including AK-47 rifles, pump-action guns, double-barrel guns and machetes.

He added that one survivor escaped unharmed and was assisting investigators with useful information that could help identify and arrest the perpetrators.

“The survivor is currently assisting the Police-led Joint Security Team with useful information that could aid the ongoing investigation,” he said.

The police command urged residents to remain calm and support security agencies with credible information, assuring that further updates would be communicated as investigations progress.

Following the attack, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) condemned the killings and appealed to its members to remain peaceful while security agencies investigate the incident.

In a statement signed by its National Deputy Director-General, Gidado Siddiki, the association identified the four victims as Mohammed Bujumi, Hassan Bujumi, Abubakar Bujumi and Sani Bujumi, saying they were members of the same family.

According to Siddiki, the attack occurred at the cattle camp of Alhaji Aminu Mohammed on Tuesday.

“According to reports, unknown armed assailants invaded the cattle camp while the herders were peacefully engaged in their legitimate cattle-rearing activities,” he said.

“The attackers opened fire sporadically, resulting in the deaths of four herders, namely Mohammed Bujumi, Hassan Bujumi, Abubakar Bujumi and Sani Bujumi.

“Several cattle were also killed during the attack, while the assailants reportedly fled with some of the cattle carcasses towards the nearby Mgbakwu Community.”

Siddiki disclosed that another herder, identified as Usman Iliyasu, narrowly escaped the attack.

Describing the incident as “heinous and senseless,” MACBAN called on security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation, arrest those responsible and ensure they are prosecuted.

The association also urged the Anambra State Government to strengthen security across the state to safeguard lives and property.

While appreciating the prompt response of the Joint Task Force and the Anambra State Government in recovering the victims’ bodies, Siddiki appealed to members of the association not to resort to reprisals

“We urge everyone to cooperate fully with the security agencies and allow the government to carry out the necessary investigations and take appropriate action to ensure justice is served,” he said.

The latest attack has heightened concerns over security in Awka, the Anambra State capital, as authorities intensify efforts to track down those behind the killings.

…Targets agro-processing, food export

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, on Tuesday, flagged off the 2026 distribution of fertilizers and other farm inputs to 63,000 registered smallholder farmers in the state.

Mbah also said the move was in line with his administration’s commitment to eradicating poverty and growing Enugu State into a $30 billion economy, noting that 40 per cent of the growth would come from agriculture.

Mbah said his administration had always seen agriculture as more than just a mere source of food, but as big business, hence the efforts to migrate Enugu farmers from subsistence to commercial farming.

“We have done this in the last three years, essentially providing fertilisers, agrochemicals, stems, seeds, and seedlings to improve our yields. Today, we have 63,000 bags of fertilisers. We have to train our farmers.

“We also have to migrate our smallholder farmers from subsistence farming to mechanised farming, which is why we also invested in machinery. And that means that we are going to start thinking about a full value chain.

“We are looking at exports, playing in all the value chains, being able to export fresh produce from here to other parts of the world, being able to process our produce, add value, package, and then export. This is also why the airport concession and cargo terminal are important to us,” he said.

Mbah called on those saddled with the distribution to ensure that the inputs got to the farmers by sticking to the database and also warned the farmers against selling the inputs.

“We are working with our database. We are also going to implore all our stakeholders, the Local Government Chairmen, and the priests in the various communities to make sure that these inputs get to the end users, free of charge. Please, make sure that these inputs get to our farmers. We do not want middlemen.

“The fertilisers also have ‘Not for Sale’ boldly written on them. So, you must make sure that you use this to scale up our production so that we can have a bumper harvest and drive down the cost of food in Enugu,” he stressed.

He said the Special Agro-Processing Zones, one of the agro-industrialisation initiatives of his administration, would soon come on board to scale up production and cut post-harvest losses.

“We want to make sure that we increase the earning capacity of our various communities where we actually have a lot of our poor people. We’re building our farm roads so that it will be easy for us to evacuate what we have produced,” he stated.

Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Dr. Patrick Ubru, announced a significant increase in the 2026 Agricultural Free Inputs Distribution Programme compared to 2024.

“In 2024, over 12,000 bags of fertiliser, improved seeds, and chemicals were distributed, rising to over 40,000 last year.

“Today, over 63,000 bags will be distributed, representing a 58 per cent increase from last year.

“Thousands of farmers across the 17 Local Government Areas will receive free improved rice, maize, tomato and pepper seeds, cassava stems, fertilisers, and agrochemicals to boost productivity and reduce costs,” he said.

Beyond the support through inputs, Ubru said the Mbah administration had established a modern Seed Testing Laboratory and Seed Gallery, digitally profiled over 84,000 farmers, and integrated agricultural data into the state’s Geographic Information System (GIS).

“Over 25,000 farmers have been trained in climate-smart agriculture, while we are also providing Seasonal Climate Prediction Information through our partnership with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).

“The 260 Farm Estate Programme is underway in Enugu State, and a tractor assembly plant has been established through a partnership with Nortra Tractors, making mechanisation more accessible.

“Additionally, centre pivot irrigation systems are being rehabilitated to enable year-round cultivation of crops like rice,” he added.

In his remarks, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme Phase One (ATASP-1) Coordinator, Romanus Egba, assured the governor of well-planned distribution channels, using clergy and community leaders to ensure that the various items reached the intended beneficiaries.

In addition to a bag of fertiliser, he said, “each farmer will get one bag of maize or rice, cassava cuttings, herbicide, and vegetable seeds such as tomatoes or pepper.”

The representative of the Farmers Association of Nigeria (FAN), Enugu State Chapter, Sir Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Eneh, while thanking Governor Mbah for his consistent massive investment in agriculture, warned any farmer or anybody who colludes to sell any of the farm inputs to be ready to go to jail.