News

‘Enemies of Progress’ Bombed Nwodo’s House, Say Police As PDP, Ekweremdu React

Published

7 years ago

April 30, 2018

Eric

The Nigeria Police Force, Enugu State Command, has described those that bombed the country home of the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, on Sunday as enemies of progress.

The home of the chieftain was rocked by an explosion which is believed to have been caused by an improvised explosive device thrown by a yet-to-be-identified person into the compound of the building at Ukehe, in the Igboetiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, around 5.30am.

Windows of a building located close to the gate of the compound was shattered by the explosion.

The ceilings as well as the air conditioning units in the building were equally damaged.

It was gathered that Nwodo was not in the house when the incident occurred, as he spent the night at his residence in Enugu metropolis.

The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, Danmallam Mohammed, who led a team of the police Explosive Ordnance Department to inspect the site of the explosion, vowed that the perpetrators of the incident would be apprehended.

A statement by Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, said Mohammed described those behind the explosion as ‘enemies of progress.’

“Those behind this are enemies of progress and we have to fish them out. We thank God that there is no loss of life or major destruction, we have to be more vigilant and security conscious and be able to partner security agencies to ensure that there is no repeat of such an incident,” the police commissioner said.

Amaraizu, who described the incident as a ‘minor explosion,’ disclosed that preliminary investigations revealed that the perpetrators threw the explosive device into the compound through the fence.

“The Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Danmallam Mohammed, has vowed to unmask those behind the dastardly incident of minor explosion at the Ukehe residence of Chief Nnia Nwodo, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

“Background checks revealed that the perpetrator, who did not have access through the entrance gate, might have thrown the object through the fence and it landed on the ground near the windows and exploded and gave some impacts,” Amaraizu said. He added that the operatives of the Explosive Ordinance Department collected some of the samples from the debris of the explosion for proper analysis and classification.

The police spokesman added that “the area was rendered safe by the EOD operatives,” even as the state commissioner of police had directed the Area Commander to beef up security and surveillance within the axis.

Mohammed wondered why anybody would be after Nwodo’s life, who, he said, was only serving his people.

He however urged residents of the area to be more vigilant, and report strange faces to the police and other security agencies.

Meanwhile, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has condemned “in strong terms” the bombing of the country home of Nwodo.

Ekweremadu reacted to the attack in a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu.

He said, “This is a dastardly act. It is certainly ugly, evil and outrageous. I roundly condemn it. This is quite an unusual development in the South-East and we will not accept it.

“I call on the security agencies to get to the root of this devilish act and ensure that the culprits and masterminds are brought to book immediately.”

Nwodo, who was at the residence during the police commissioner’s visit, commended the police for their prompt arrival on the scene.

A statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emeka Atama, said Nwodo was surprised that some unknown people were after his life.

The statement added that Nwodo vowed that the attack would not deter him from continuing to lead Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

The traditional ruler of Umudele community, in Ukehe, Igwe Lawrence Aroh, thanked God for saving Nwodo’s life.

Aroh assured the police commissioner that the people of the community would be extra-vigilant in order to prevent future attacks.

The Director of the Department for State Services in Enugu State, Mrs. E. A. Likiyon, also visited the scene of the incident on Sunday.

The Sunday explosion came on the heels of media attacks launched against Nwodo by a faction of the Ohanaeze Youth Wing, the youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and the Indigenous People of Biafra.

The Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro-led OYC recently announced the ‘suspension’ of Nwodo, after passing a vote of no confidence in him.

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, and the party have condemned the bombing of Nwodo’s house.

Secondus told one of our correspondents in Abuja on Sunday, that there were indications that President Muhammadu Buhari was already tired of providing security for the citizenry.

He said, “…Maybe the man was targeted because he was among the leaders who met in Abuja last week and criticised the President and the Federal Government for the way they are handling the issue of herdsmen and others in the county.

“Nwodo is a man of peace and cannot even hurt a fly. Why would someone like that be targeted for evil? Nigerians should rise up and condemn the action and also ask the international community to take proper note of happenings in the county.”

Secondus also called on the heads of security agencies in the country to be alive to their constitutional responsibilities.

Also, the PDP has described the action of the arsonists as callous, horrendous and wicked.

The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja on Sunday, asked security agencies to unravel the identities of the masked characters behind the dastardly act.

The Punch

News

Sack Wike Now, Niger Delta Youths Tell Tinubu

Published

4 hours ago

March 15, 2025

Eric

The youth chapter of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Nyesom Wike, to retract his publicly disparaging remarks against the Ijaw nation and the leaders of this socio-political body.

According to the youths, it is embarrassing that Wike insulted the late former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, even in death without respecting him.

Addressing journalists on Saturday, the National Youth President of the Youth Wing, Doben Donyegha, who gave the ultimatum, said that it was annoying that Wike abused the leaders of the South-South geopolitical zone less than 24 hours after its delegation met with the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Wike, during a media chat on Thursday, described PANDEF as “the worst organisation anybody can rely on”, while also calling the board of trustee members of the body “political merchants”.

Donyegha, who also urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately sack the minister from his cabinet, said that the youth wing no longer had confidence in him and that keeping Wike in his cabinet may affect the president’s re-election chances in the Niger Delta come 2027.

The President of the PANDEF youths also asked the Code of Conduct Bureau to investigate the minister, alleging land-grabbing activities in the FCT.

News

Ahead Budget Presentation, Amaewhule-led Rivers Assembly Adjourns Sitting Indefinitely

Published

1 day ago

March 14, 2025

Eric

The Rivers State House of Assembly has adjourned its sittings indefinitely.

The decision to adjourn legislative duties indefinitely was reached during plenary, presided over by the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, in Port Harcourt on Friday.

The development comes hours after the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, wrote to the Speaker, informing him of his intention to visit the House to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill for consideration and approval.

The governor, in a letter dated March 13 and addressed to the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, said he intends to present the budget on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, or any other day within March that the House may deem fit.

Fubara said his decision is in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment and in response to the lawmakers’ request for him to re-present the budget.

He recalled the bitter experience of visiting the Assembly Quarters with his entourage, where the lawmakers were temporarily sitting to present the budget, but he was denied access to the complex.

News

Suspension: Natasha Sues Akpabio, Others for Contempt

Published

2 days ago

March 13, 2025

Eric

The Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has filed contempt charges against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and others over her six-month suspension without pay from the Senate.

Others listed in the Form 48 contempt charge, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja and sighted on Thursday, include the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct, Senator Neda Imasuen.

It will be recalled that Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on 4 March, while delivering a ruling on an ex parte motion filed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan through her legal team led by Mr. Michael Numa (SAN), restrained the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct from proceeding with any investigation against the plaintiff/applicant.

This investigation related to alleged misconduct following events that occurred during the Senate plenary session on February 20, 2025 and a subsequent referral on February 25, 2025.

The court’s order was to remain in effect pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.

The court also issued an order directing the defendants to show cause why an interlocutory injunction should not be granted to restrain them from proceeding with the purported investigation against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan for alleged misconduct, as such actions would affect her privileges as stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Senate Standing Order 2023, and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act.

Additionally, the court declared that “any action taken during the pendency of the suit is null, void, and of no effect whatsoever.”

The Court granted Akpoti-Uduaghan permission to serve the originating summons and accompanying documents on all defendants through substituted means, such as delivering them to the Clerk of the National Assembly, cited as the 1st Defendant, or by pasting them on the premises of the National Assembly and publishing them in two national dailies.

However, just two days after the court’s ruling, the Senate proceeded to suspend Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months.

In response to the court order, the Senate President contested the power of the court to interfere in the internal affairs of the legislature, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to intervene in Senate matters.

In her contempt charge, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan argued that her suspension constituted wilful disobedience to the subsisting court order issued on March 4 stating that an enrolled order of the interim injunction issued by Justice Egwuatu was duly served on the defendants on March 5.

According to Form 48, the defendants/contemnors “deliberately and contumaciously disregarded” the binding directive of the court and “proceeded with acts in flagrant defiance of the authority of the court.”

The court, in a notice of disobedience of a court order signed by its Registrar pursuant to Section 72 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act 2004, informed the defendants/contemnors of their wilful disobedience to the court order issued by Justice Obiora Egwuatu.

It warned that defying the subsisting order rendered Akpabio, Senator Imasuen, and the Clerk of the National Assembly liable for contempt of court, which could result in their committal to prison.