A FIERCE gun battle has been reported between personnel of the Nigerian Army’s 14 Brigade, Ohafia, and unidentified gunmen in Mbata, Umuchima village, Isiala Ngwa North LGA, Abia state. Unconfirmed reports indicated that over 15 Hilux vehicles and armored personnel carriers arrived at Umuchima village around 6 a.m., targeting suspected gunmen reportedly camped near a river that marks the boundary between Abia and the Mbaise axis of Imo State. Soldiers have reportedly taken control of key junctions leading in and out of the village, while others engage the gunmen in nearby bushes. Gunfire has persisted as of the time of…
Author: James Nwakere
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A POLICE officer was reportedly killed on Wednesday when gunmen attacked a patrol team along Asaga road in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State. The ugly incident, which left two others injured, was said to have occurred around 7.30 am. According to eyewitnesses, the police officers were on patrol when a group of Young men numbering about six double-crossed them, killing one, while two injured ones managed to escape to the bush. “The area was immediately combed by officers from Ohafia Division and Soldiers from 14 Brigade as a comprehensive search operation was launched to locate the fleeing suspects.…
TWO police officers assigned to Hon. Ginger Onwusibe, a member of the House of Representatives representing Isiala-Ngwa North/South Constituency, were reportedly ambushed in a convoy by armed assailants while on official duty in Umuahia. The incident which occurred on Sunday around 8:30 pm left one police officer who sustained multiple gunshot wounds dead while the other officer and the driver escaped the attack. The Police Public Relations Officer, Maureen Chinaka, who confirmed the attack in a statement shared with News Point Nigeria on Monday, said the Abia State Police Command is committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice. The statement…
RESIDENTS of Ukpo, the hometown of oil magnate Prince Arthur Eze, and the neighbouring Abatete community have decried the absence of security forces as gunmen reportedly killed five people during a Monday sit-at-home enforcement. Ukpo is located in Dunukofia local government area, while Abatete lies in the Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra state. The attacks occurred between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. on Monday, with no security operatives present to assist the affected communities. Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants set several vehicles ablaze while firing indiscriminately and shouting, “No Biafra, no peace in Igbo land.” The gunmen, suspected to…
THE wife of the President, Oluremi Tinubu, has appealed to market women not to hike the prices of food items. She made the appeal in Ebonyi State while addressing women at the Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium, Abakaliki, for their 2024 Women’s Day Celebration. The First Lady’s media aide, Busola Kukoyi, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, saying Tinubu acknowledged the tremendous support women have enjoyed from the state governor, Francis Nwifuru, in the areas of appointment and interventions. “With the Yuletide season fast approaching, the First Lady appealed to market women to refrain from unfair hikes in prices…
GUNMEN attacked an army checkpoint early on Wednesday at Ekenobizi, a border community between Abia and Imo states in Umuopara, Umuahia South Local Government Area, killing two soldiers. A military source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the attack occurred around 6:18 am. The gunmen arrived in a white Lexus (350/400) model, although the exact number of attackers could not be confirmed. Confirming the incident in a press release on Wednesday, Lieutenant Colonel Jonah Unuakhalu of the Joint Task Force South East Operation UDO KA said: “In the early hours of today, 13 November 2024, troops of the…
THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has sealed an illegal petroleum refining site, following the arrest of four suspects in Ebonyi State. This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Ebonyi State Command’s spokesperson, ASC Emmanuel Uneke, and obtained by Channels Television on Monday. Uneke stated that the discovery was made on Saturday, November 9, 2024, through intelligence-led operation by the command’s Anti-vandal squad, who successfully disrupted an illegal oil refining activities at Ugwuachara in Abakaliki, the state capital. According to the statement, the suspects arrested are Patrick Peter, Monday David, Aliyu Muhammed, and Oke Jeremiah, adding…
GUNMEN on Monday launched an attack on the Police Rapid Response Squad facility at Owerrinta, located along the Umuahia-Aba Federal Expressway. News Point Nigeria reports that during the assault, a female detainee was fatally shot. Confirming the incident on Thursday, the state Commissioner of Police, Danladi Isa, said one suspect was arrested. Isa stated, “On that day, there was an attack on our facility at Owerrinta shortly after midnight. The assailants arrived in about three Hilux vehicles and opened fire on our facility.” “Our personnel repelled the attack. However, the assailants used dynamite to blow off our roof. In their…
THE Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, has clinched 15 chairmanship seats in Saturday’s local government elections in Abia, while the Young Progressives Party, YPP, won two seats. The chairman of the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission, ABSIEC, George Chima, announced the result of the chairmanship poll at the commission’s headquarters in Umuahia. Chima said: “We have carried out the duty we were inaugurated on September 5 to undertake. “It was not an easy task, but we went out on our way to create awareness about the elections across the state. “It must be noted that, in recent times, this commission has…
A VIDEO showing Alex Ikwechegh, member representing Aba North & South Federal Constituency, allegedly assaulting an Uber driver during a delivery at his residence in Maitam, Abuja, is currently trending. According to the driver, whose name is yet unknown, tensions escalated when he requested that Ikwechegh come outside to receive his delivery personally. In the video, the lawmaker repeatedly insisted that the request was disrespectful given his social status. As the altercation intensified, the footage captured Ikwechegh slapping the driver multiple times, insisting the request was disrespectful given his social status. At one point in the recording, Ikwechegh is allegedly…
ENUGU State Governor, Peter Mbah, on Thursday approved ₦80,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the state. The governor disclosed this on his X page, saying the new minimum wage takes effect from October. “I have just approved a minimum wage of ₦80,000 for Enugu workers, effective October 2024,” the post reads. “We appreciate the hard work and sacrifices of the state’s workforce and will continue to prioritise their welfare in line with our campaign promises. Tomorrow is here.” Mbah’s approval comes a day after Akwa Ibom Governor, Umo Eno, announced a new minimum wage of N80,000 for…
PROFESSOR Humphrey Nwosu, who served as Chairman of the then National Electoral Commission (NEC) from 1989 to 1993, has passed away. The NEC is now known as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Born on October 2, 1941, Nwosu died in a hospital in Virginia, USA. He was appointed by the then military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida, and forcibly oversaw the June 12, 1993 election, widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest. In that presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) triumphed over Bashir Tofa of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC). Nwosu’s commission introduced…
IMO residents obeyed the Indigenous People of Biafra ( lPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN)’s sit-at-home order on Tuesday. This newspaper’s correspondent in the state reported that the situation was calm in the Owerri metropolis and its environs since Monday, when the lPOB and ESN gave the order. Worried by this order, the security agencies rolled out armoured cars and helicopters to ensure security in the state. Despite the measures by the security agencies, residents still complied with the directives of the IPOB/ESN. Our correspondent said both private and commercial vehicles were off the roads while both federal and state…
NIBO community in the Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State boiled on Sunday as an unknown number of persons were shot and feared killed by gunmen at Oye Nwochichi market near the Community Old Maternity. According to eyewitnesses, the hoodlums came in a brown-coloured Lexus 300 Jeep and immediately opened fire on the people. Although the total number of persons gunned down was yet to be ascertained, community members said no fewer than 10 corpses have been recovered so far. A police spokesman in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the attack and disclosed that it was a cult-related…
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed November 8th, 2025 for the Anambra governorship poll. INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu said this in Abuja on Thursday at the commission’s meeting with political parties. “As you are aware, the last governorship election in Anambra State was held on 6th November 2021,” Mahmood said. “By the effluxion of time, the governorship election is due next year. Consequently, the Commission has approved that the 2025 Anambra State Governorship election will hold on Saturday 8th November 2025.” According to him, a formal notice for the poll will be published on November 13th, 2024. Parties…
GUNMEN have killed crew members of broadcast outlet SuperSports in Anambra. A police officer was also gunned down. They were travelling to cover the Super Eagles 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Libya. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said Saturday that the victims were “killed by kidnappers in an ambush on the Ihiala-Orlu Road in Anambra State, on Tuesday, 8th October 2024” and is commiserating with the families of the slain persons. “Information gathered on the incident revealed that the bandits opened fire on the bus in which the SuperSport operatives were travelling, with Staff and security personnel…
GUNMEN have reportedly attacked Ehime-Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, leaving many soldiers dead. The attack was said to have occurred at the army camp in the community on Tuesday night. In a video circulating online, the gunmen could be seen chanting battle songs, while setting several operational vehicles on fire. “We are the angels. The angels are here. The army has run away. Why are they running? They should stand and face us. “We are live at Ehime-Mbano army camp. Today is the 8th of October, we are the angels. We have come to take over,” they chanted.…
THE pump price of fuel has reduced from N1300.00 and N1350.00 to between N1200.00 and N1150.00 in Abia, following the Nigeria National Petroleum Company opening its portal for direct requests and payments for fuel from members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria. The fuel situation monitored in Abia indicates that some petroleum marketers in Aba and Umuahia have started lifting fuel directly from the NNPC, thereby making the price of the product come down. In an interview on Monday, the Executive Chairman of the IPMAN Aba branch, Mazi Oliver Okolo, explained the reason for the reduction in price,…
TWO police operatives have been killed by an improvised explosive device detonated by unidentified gunmen in Uruagu, a community in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The Spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga who confirmed the incident, said it occurred in the early hours of Thursday while the officers were on investigation duties. The attackers were said to have launched a surprise attack on the police officers, leading to a fierce gun battle. The assailant then reportedly hurled an IED at the police team, which exploded, killing two officers instantly. “During the exchange of…
THE All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) coasted to victory in the September 28, 2024 local government elections in Anambra State, winning all chairmanship and councillorship positions across the 21 local government areas and the 326 wards. In a press briefing on Sunday, the chairman of the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission, ANSIEC, Genevieve Osakwe announced that APGA won all the 21 chairmanship seats and also cleared the 326 councillorship positions in each of the local government areas, as confirmed at the ward level. Describing the election as the fairest, Osakwe emphasised that the commission meticulously collated and analysed the results…