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Ebonyi Assembly bans church crusades of spiritual cleansing

The Ebonyi State House of Assembly has passed a motion banning all forms of spiritual crusade aimed at community cleansing and fishing out witches and wizards by self-acclaimed prophets of God.

The ban took place during the plenary at the Assembly’s complex on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by the Assembly’s Public Relations Officer, Sylvester Egede and made available to newsmen, the deliberation came under matters of urgent public importance and was preceded by an earlier report on the interference with community peace and disruption of public activities resulting from the Christian crusade organised by Prophet Ubadimma in Izzi Council Area.

“The report has it that an undisclosed amount of money, four residential buildings, properties worth millions of naira and other valuable items belonging to Chief John Ekpono and his three wives of Aghara-Oza village, Ndiebor Ezza Inyimagu in Izzi LGA of the state, were completely destroyed by the youths of the community following the inciteful accusation of the victim by prophet Ubadimma and his cohort.

“He accused them of using wizard and witchcraft powers to tie the destinies of the community youths, hence, their inability to make meaningful progress despite their effort,” he stated.

The motion, sponsored by the member representing Izzi West state constituency, Godwin Abiri, said it took the timely intervention of Izzi Council chairman, Stephen Nwankpa, to save the ugly incident.

The lawmaker explained that such activities could destroy the prevailing existing peace in the state under Governor Francis Nwifuru and prayed for immediate clampdown of such church programmes conducted without due clearance from the leadership of any community and security outfits to avoid a future occurrence or the resort to jungle justice by youths.

While urging his colleagues to support the motion, Abiri maintained that if the barbaric act is not controlled, Ebonyi communities may be thrown into crises.

The Leader of the House and member representing Afikpo North West, Kingsley Ikoro, who seconded the motion, condemned the act in its entirety and added that the market cost of building houses in the present economic reality in the country calls for brotherliness rather than destruction of already existing structures.

He called for the immediate arrest of the perpetrators to serve as a deterrent for anyone thinking in that direction.

Also, the member representing Ebonyi North East, Mrs Chinyere Nwogbaga, and Chikezie Nwankwo, who represents Ohaozara East, condemned the act, which they said did not help in moral upbringing and spirit of togetherness and called for the arrest of the perpetrators of the dastardly act to account for the damages.

The Speaker of the House, Moses Ije-Odunwa, put the motion to the vote and the members unanimously adopted it.

News

Yahaya Bello is not in our custody, still wanted – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied reports claiming embattled former governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, is in their custody.

In a statement released on Wednesday, September 18, EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said the ex-governor remains wanted “for alleged N80.2billion money laundering charges.”

“Media reports today that a former Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello is in the holding facility of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is incorrect. The Commission wishes to state that Bello is not in its custody.

Bello, already declared wanted by the Commission for alleged N80.2billion money laundering charges, remains wanted with a subsisting warrant for his arrest,” Oyewale said.

Earlier today, Bello’s media team released a statement claiming he had honored the invitation from EFCC.

News

Police commences investigation into officer’s altercation with Elderly woman

The Lagos State Police Command has commenced an investigation into circumstances leading to the altercation captured on video between a police officer and an elderly woman.

Preliminary investigation reveals that the incident took place in the Alagbado area of Lagos State in the first week of September 2024.

In a statement released, the spokesperson of the command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the Police Inspector and his supervising DSP have been brought in for questioning while the Complaint Response Unit has established contact with the woman in the video.

Hundeyin added that the Lagos State Police Command totally condemns the unprofessional conduct of the Inspector as it does not represent the ethics and operational standards of the Nigeria Police Force.

He stated that the command assures Lagosians that the investigation will be swift, thorough and conclusive while ensuring that the officers are disciplined as appropriate and members of the public are updated accordingly.

News

EFCC operatives storm Kogi Governor’s Lodge to arrest Yahaya Bello

In a dramatic turn of events, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reportedly stormed the Kogi State Government Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, on Wednesday night in a mission to arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello.

According to a statement released by the Director of Media, Ohiare Michael, the operatives arrived in an aggressive manner, allegedly firing shots sporadically around the premises.

The statement noted that Bello had voluntarily visited the EFCC office earlier in the day but was told to leave and return at a later time.

“It was reported earlier that the former Governor went to the EFCC Office voluntarily, but the Commission told him to leave and come at a later date, only to mount a Gestapo-like attack on the Kogi State Government facility in Asokoro.”

The media team expressed grave concern over the manner of the EFCC‘s actions, warning that the agency should be held accountable for any harm that might come to the ex-governor.

“We want to place it on record that the EFCC should be held accountable if anything untoward happens to him,” the statement continued.

Bello’s team condemned the attack as unnecessary, stating that the former governor had already made himself available to the EFCC for questioning earlier in the day.

“Tonight’s attack was needless as the former Governor made himself available to the EFCC in their office for interrogation. The EFCC had no questions to ask Alh. Yahaya Bello in the morning, but suddenly, they are out to arrest him,” the statement said.

The media team accused the EFCC of using its powers for political purposes rather than fulfilling its mandate to combat corruption.

“This action is condemnable. They have displayed the very reason many Nigerians believe they were fighting political battles instead of the mandate to fight corruption. This action reflects much more than the fight against corruption,” the statement said.

As of now, no official statement has been made by the EFCC regarding the incident.