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Yoruba Holds Security Summit, Resolves to Combat Banditry, Kidnapping with Natural Power

Published

2 years ago

March 2, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The Yoruba, have held a one-day Security Summit to decide the way forward as banditry, kidnappings and killings have been the order of the day in the region, and the country generally.

At the Summit, convened by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, and held in Ife Grand Resort, the stakeholders including the governors of the region, traditional rulers and more, took decisive decision to tackle the menace of security among which is combating the menace with traditional and natural powers.

The Summit also caution the traditional stool to maintain respect for the institution, support the administration of President Bola Tinubu among others.

Below are details of the Summit as presented in a communique:

BEING A COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AFTER A DAY YORUBA SECURITY SUMMIT HOSTED BY THE AROLE ODUDUWA & OONI OF IFE, OONI ADEYEYE ENITAN OGUNWUSI, CFR, OJAJA II AT THE IFE GRAND RESORT, ILE-IFE ON THURSDAY, 29th FEBRUARY, 2024

PREAMBLE:

Due to the recent upsurge in the killings, maiming and kidnappings in South West, Nigeria, the House of Oduduwa today, Thursday, 29th February 2024, held a Yoruba security summit at Ojaja Arena, Ife Grand Resort, Ile-Ife.

Two major themes were addressed:
i.Kidnapping and banditry, delivered by Dr. Solomon E. Arase (Ex Inspector General of Police).
ii.Yoruba Legacy of African Science: Overcoming the twin menace, delivered by Dr. (Chief) Ifayemi Elebuibon Osundagbonu.
The summit, which enjoyed the support of H.E. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria and under the chairmanship of Retired General Alani Akinrinade, CFR.

The Governor of Osun State was represented by his Deputy, Prince Kola Adewusi while the other five Governors of Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Lagos and Ogun States sent representatives.

The summit which was conveyed by the Arole Oduduwa & Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, CFR, Ojaja II, was a gathering of Traditional Rulers across Yoruba land.

The summit was attended by the Olowo of Owo Alayeluwa, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye III, Osemawe of Ondo, Alayeluwa Oba Victor Kiladejo, the Deji of Akure, Owa Ajero of Ijero-Ekiti, Akarigbo of Remoland, Olowu of Owu,Abeokuta, Alayemore of Ido-Osun, Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Akire of Ikire-Ile and a host of other Yoruba traditional rulers.

The summit also featured presentations by; the Alara of Ara-Ekiti, Iba Gani Adams, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Mr. Sunday Igboho and Mr. Akin Osuntokun and a host of others.

OBSERVATIONS

i.The security summit noted that there have been organized systematic attacks on Traditional Rulers and eminent sons and daughters of Yoruba land by suspected herders.
ii.The summit further noted that the herdsmen attacks have been largely responsible for food insecurity and food scarcity in the South West because of the organized attacks on farmers who, for fear of attacks, stay away from farmlands.

RESOLUTIONS

1.That Yoruba people should take full control of their forests, homelands and farmlands.

2.That the Amotekun corps should be strengthened in terms of;
i.Given recognition and to be transformed to the status of State Police;
ii.Motivation, finances, training and retraining of personnels and that those who are familiar with nooks and crannies of our forests should be recruited into the Amotekun.
iii.Provision of training grounds for its personnel.
iv.Provision of adequate budgetary allocations to the Amotekun corps.
v.The summit agreed that a department of Forest Amotekun corps be created

3.That the Yoruba, especially the traditional rulers should make recourse to their natural resources including natural powers to combat banditry and kidnapping; that Yoruba Obas should not jettison traditional values.

4.That government at all levels should recognize the roles of traditional rulers and factor them into the national security architecture.

5.That the entire Obas in Yorubaland should work in unison to ward off the evils of banditry and kidnappings as each of the states could only succeed in chasing the marauders to another state.

6.Traditional rulers are advised to uphold and value the custom and tradition of the land.

7.That each time an attack took place, the offenders were quickly left off the hook by the powers that be and that the judicial process should be strengthened to mete out appropriate punishments to culprits or bring them to justice.

8.That the Governors of South West Nigeria should organize Regional Security Summit at the earliest practicable time, including all stakeholders to chart the way forward and give teeth to all the concerns raised at this (current) summit.

9.The security summit called for strong support for the administration of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the larger interest of Yoruba race.

10.The security summit called on Yoruba Traditional rulers to return to the pristine Yoruba traditional, spiritual and cultural values. At all times, the traditional rulers should recognize that, in spite of whatever nature of religion they practice, they must recognize that the stool they preside over is traditional.

11.The summit called on Yoruba traditional rulers to take full possession of their forests, homelands and farmlands.

12.The summit called on Local, State and Federal Governments to employ use of drones and other appropriate technology for the effective surveillance of Yoruba forests and roads.

13. The summit agreed that the Yoruba security summit should be held quarterly basis so as to capture intervening and supervising variables in our polity.

14. We take due cognizance of the difficulties and challenges Nigeria is going through. We dare say that our son; Bola Tinubu whom it has pleased God to make the President of Nigeria is doing his level best to grapple with, and overcome the challenges. We appeal to our colleauges from all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria to cooperate and support him to make a success of his government.

Featured

Court Orders Final Forfeiture of 48 Assets Linked to Ex-AGF Malami

Published

2 days ago

July 15, 2026

Eric

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 out of 57 properties worth N212 billion linked to the former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami.

Judge Joyce Abdulmalik granted the final forfeiture application filed by the EFCC and dismissed several objections filed by Mr Malami, his family members, and some companies claiming ownership of the properties, saying they all lacked merit.

She held that the issue before the court was not “who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the properties.”

The properties to be forfeited span Abuja, Kebbi, Kano, and Kaduna states and include luxury hotels, duplexes, plazas, warehouses, shopping units and residential estates acquired over several years.

Below is the full list of the 57 properties, including hotels and luxury homes initially seized by the EFCC through an interim forfeiture order. 48 of them will be handed over to the federal government following today’s court ruling.

1. Luxury Duplex at Amazon Street, Plot No. 3011 Within Cadastral Zone, A06 Maitama; File No: AN enhancement 11352, which was purchased in December 2022 at N500, 000, 000.00 (value after enhancement at N5,950,000,000).

2. Two Winged Large Storey Building Situate at No. 3, Onitsha Crescent, Area 11,Garki, Cadastral Zone, A03, Abuja (formerly Harmonia Hotels Limited), FCT, which was purchased Dec. 2018 at N7,000,000,000.

3. Plot 683, Jabi District, Cadastral Zone B04, Comprising of a five storey Building (Now Luxurious Meethaq Hotels Ltd, Jabi with 53 rooms/suites), which was purchased in Sept. 2020 at carcass level at N850,000,000 with additional N300,000,000 to take possession (value after completion N8,400,000,000).

4. Property No. 3130 within Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District, FCT, Abuja, Comprising Terraces, purchased in January 2021 at N360,000,000.

5. Property No. 3 Rhine Street, Maitama, Abuja (Meethaq Hotels Limited, Maitama With 15 ROOMS), which was purchased in February 2018 at N430,000,000 (current value after rehabilitation is N12,950,000,000).

6. Plot No. 1241B, Asokoro District Zone (No. 11A Yakubu Gowon Crescent) AsokoroDistrict, which was purchased in July 2021 at N325,000,000.

7. Shop No. C82 Citiscape — Shariff Plaza, Plot 739 Cadastral Zone A07, Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse Il, FCT, Abuja, which was purchased in March 2024 at N120,000,000.

8. No. 4 Ahmadu Bello Way, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, which was purchased in December 2022 at N300,000,000.

9. Plot 157, Lamido Crescent, Nasarawa, GRA, Kano, purchased in July 2019 with no specific amount stated.

10. A Plaza, Commercial Toilets, Laundering, Warehouse Tanks Adjacent to Birnin Kebbi Market at N100 million.

11. 100 Hectares of l;and Along Birnin Kebbi, Jega Road, which was purchased in 2020 at N100,000,000.

12. Four Bedroom Bungalow Gesse Phase, Birnin Kebbi, which was purchased in 2023 at N101,000, 000.

13. Shops Nos. A36, B3 Vegas Mall, Wuse 2, Abuja, which was purchased in July 2023 at N158,000,000.

14. No. 26, Babbi Drive, Bua Estate, Abuja, purchased in 2022 at N136,000,000.

15. No. 27, Efab Estates Avenue, 5th Avenue, 59th Crescent, Gwarimpa, Abuja, purchased in January 2016 at N120,000,000.

16. Four Bedroom/ 2 Rooms Boys Quarters at No. 10B, Doka Crescent Abakpa GRA, Kaduna, purchased in January 2018 at N40, 000, 000.00.

17. Plot No. 13, Ipent 7 Estate, Karsana District, Abuja, purchased in June 2018 at N85,000,000.

18. A Bedroom Duplex & Boys Quarters at No. 12 Yalinga Street, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse Il, Abuja, purchased in Oct. 2018 at N150,000,000.

19. Two Warehouse Shops B40 And B46, Wuse Market, Abuja, purchased in July 2020 at N50,000,000.

20. Twin Houses at Zone E, Apo Legislative Quarters, Cadastral Zone B01, Plot 14014, Gudu District, Abuja, was purchased between February and May 2017 at N250,000,000.

Properties acquired by Khadimiyya for Justice & Development Initiative at the Academic Garden City, Birnin Kebbi, sold by the Federal Housing Authority Mortgage namely.

21, 22, and 23. Nine units of three bedroom, bungalow, three units of two bedroom bungalow, and 5.4 hectares of land, which were purchased between February 2023 and September 2023 at N187,000,000, among other assets listed in the schedule.

RAYHAAN UNIVERSITY, KEBBI STATE

24. Rayhaan University Permanent Site -N56,000,000,000.00

25. Rayhaan University Temporary Site -N37,800,000,000.00

26. Rayhaan University Third Site – N2,450,000,000.00

27. Rayhaan University Vice Chancellor – N490,000,000.0

RAYHAAN AGRO ALLIED FACTORY IN KEBBI STATE

28. Factory Buildings -N4,200,000,000.00

29. Factory Machines and Plants Units -N10,500,000,000.00

30. Factory Mosque – N2,450,000,000.00

31. Rayhaan Mill Staff Quarters – N1,487,500,000.00

32. Rayhaan Bustan Building – N3,150,000,000.00

AZBIR ARENA KEBBI STATE

33. Azbir Hotel – N10,325,000,000.00

34. Printing Press – N1,050,000,000.00

35. Gallery – N581,000,000.00

36. Gardens – N392,000,000.00

37. Mosque – N252,000,000.00

38. Azbir Clothing – N350,000,000.00

39. Azbir Pharmacy and Supermarket – N175,000,000.00

OTHER PROPERTIES HELD IN KEBBI STATE

40. Al-Afiya Energy Tanker Garage opposite Rayhaan University Health Centre, along Sani Abacha Bypass Road, Birnin-Kebbi – N2,450,000,000.00

41. Rayhaan Model Academy -N11,200,000,000.0

42. Rayhaan Primary and Secondary School – N8,750,000,000.00

43. Rayhaan Security House, off Sani Abacha Bypass, Birnin Kebbi – 245,700,000.00

44. Rayhaan Radio along Sani Abacha, Bypass Road, Birnin, Kebbi – N78,750,000.00

45. Uncompleted 2 Storey Complex Plaza located opposite Central Motor Park, (Eastern Park) Birnin Kebbi – N665,000,000.00

46. Amasdul Oil and Gas Ltd filling station Structure along Sani Abacha Bypass, Road, Birnin Kebbi near Jambali Automobile Workshop, Birnin Kebbi – 1,050, 000,000.00

47. Malami Support Organization Building – 210,000,000.00

48. ADC Kadi Malami Foundation Building – N56,000,000.00

49. Abubakar Malami SAN’s House GRA – N350,000,000.00

50. Abubakar Malami SAN’s House Behind Mobil – N490,000,000.00

51. Abdulaziz Malami (First Son’s House) at Gesse Phase II in Birnin Kebbi – N1,659,000,000.00

52. Abiru-Rahman Abubakar Malami (Second Son’s House) at Gesse Phase II in Birnin-Kebbi – N2,989,000,000.00

PROPERTIES IN KANO

53. Assets of Zeennoor Hotel at Kabuga Satellite Town, off Gwarzo Road, Kano with 131 rooms – N11,200,000,000.00

54. Zeennoor Mosque at Kabuga, Satellite Town, off Gwarzo Road, Kano – N84,000,000.00

55. Zeennor Old Hotel Building -N280,000,000.00

56. Rayhaan Hotel, Kano Located at Plot 27/28 Opp-Aminu kano Teaching Hospital, Southern Kano (Land And Luxurious Building of more than 50 rooms, with appurtenances- N2,240,000,000.00

57. Rayhaan Gym, Kano House Comprising of a Storey Building Opposite Rayhaan Hotel – N1,225,000,000.00

Featured

Gunmen Attack Kogi School, Abduct Principal, NECO Staff, Students Writing Exams

Published

2 days ago

July 15, 2026

Eric

Gunmen suspected to be bandits on Tuesday reportedly invaded a school in Olowa, Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, kidnapping the school principal, four students, and an ad hoc National Examinations Council (NECO) staff member.

The development was disclosed recently by a counter-insurgency and security analyst covering the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama.

According to him, the incident occurred at a school identified as Government Secondary School (GSS) while students were sitting the ongoing NECO examination.

The armed assailants allegedly stormed the school premises at around 5.25 pm while candidates were in the examination hall.

Makama said: “They abducted four students alongside the principal of the school and an ad hoc NECO official before fleeing to an unknown destination.”

He went on to report that a combined security team immediately launched bush-combing operations, intelligence gathering, and surveillance across the area to locate the kidnappers’ hideout and rescue those still in captivity.

Makama further noted that security sources had confirmed one of the abducted students had been rescued, while efforts had been intensified to secure the release of the remaining victims.

He concluded that investigations into the incident were ongoing as security agencies tried to restore normality to the area.

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NDC Backs Makinde Amid Call for UN Probe into Oyo School Abduction

Published

2 days ago

July 15, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has thrown its weight behind Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde’s call for an independent United Nations (UN) investigation into the abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area.

The party said an impartial and transparent international investigation would help establish the facts surrounding the incident and boost public confidence in the ongoing efforts to unravel the circumstances of the abduction.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the party believed a UN-backed inquiry would uncover the truth, ensure accountability and deliver justice to the victims and their families.

According to the party, Governor Makinde’s request for a UN investigation was driven by the need for transparency rather than politics, stressing that all questions surrounding the incident should be addressed through a credible and independent process that Nigerians can trust.

The NDC also urged the Federal Government to support every lawful initiative aimed at uncovering the truth, strengthening public confidence in the country’s security institutions and preventing similar incidents in the future.

It maintained that the safety and security of Nigerian children should never become a subject of political disagreement or speculation, insisting that the lives of students deserve the highest level of accountability.

The party added that an independent investigation would not only clarify the circumstances surrounding the abduction but also reinforce confidence in Nigeria’s security and justice systems.

Governor Makinde had earlier called for a UN-led investigation into the school abduction, saying an independent inquiry would lend credibility to the findings and address public concerns over the incident.

The kidnapping of students and teachers in Oriire has sparked nationwide outrage and renewed calls for stronger security measures in schools and better protection for pupils, students and educational personnel.