Author: James Nwakere

UNIONS in the aviation industry have directed the withdrawal of all flights to Owerri, Imo State, from all airports in Nigeria. This is in response to the directive of the Labour Union, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) following last week’s brutalisation of the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, in Owerri. The aviation unions including the National Union Of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots And Engineers (NAAPE), said this in a joint statement. The joint…

THE leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has ordered an immediate shutdown of flights and power supply in Imo State. The leadership of the two union reached the resolution after an extraordinary National Executive Council meeting on Tuesday in Abuja. In a communique issued after the meeting and co-signed by TUC President, Festus Osifo; and NLC Deputy President, Adewale Adeyanju, the two unions also declared a total nationwide strike effective next Tuesday, November 14, 2023. Labour accused the Governor Hope Uzodimma administration of non-compliance with national minimum wage, intimidation and harassment of trade…

THE Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Soludo on Monday lost his father, Pa Simeon Nwankwo Soludo, (Ichie Akukananwa 1). The chief Press Secretary to the governor, Christian Aburime, in a statement said Pa Soludo died in the early hours of Monday after a brief illness. According to him, Pa Soludo is survived by seven sons, eight daughters-in-law, 22 grand-children and six great grandchildren. He said Governor Soludo noted that his late father lived a fulfilled life and died at the age of 92. Aburime in the statement noted that further information would be communicated to the public in due…

THE convoy of the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Imo state for the November 11 governorship election in the state, Senator Athan Achonu was on Sunday ambushed at an Anglican Church in Obibiezena. According to a family source, Senator Achonu was on his way to attend a meeting at the church when the incident happened. “Gunmen suspected to be Uzodinma’s rogue squad shot sporadically at us to prevent us from entering the church and we were accompanied by unarmed women supporters”, the source told this newspaper. A video obtained by News Point Nigeria showed Senator Achonu and…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has issued a 5-day ultimatum for the redeployment on the Commissioner of Police in Imo State. The ultimatum is a response to the attack on the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, in Owerri, the Imo state capital on Thursday. The Organised Labour made this call in a press briefing in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory on Friday. They also demanded the arrest and prosecution of the Special Adviser to the Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, on Special Duties, threatening to embark on a nationwide industrial action if there demands are…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress has accused the police of beating up its President, Joe Ajaero after he was arrested in Imo State on Wednesday afternoon. NLC’s Head of Media and Publicity Benson Upah said this in a statement, confirming the release of the Mr Ajaero. He said, “Contact was made with Congress President, Comrade Joe Ajaero this evening around 1530 hours at the Police Hospital in Owerri from where he was taken to Federal Medical Centre, Owerri where he is receiving medical attention.” The police had said Mr Ajeoro was taken into custody for his protection, but the NLC said…

THE President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has been arrested in Owerri, the Imo State capital. Ajaero was picked up from the NLC State Council Secretariat by heavily armed policemen in Owerri and taken to an unknown destination. The Head of Media at the NLC Headquarters, Benson Upah, confirmed the arrest via a WhatsApp message while replying to News Point Nigeria’s inquiry about the incident. The NLC is leading a statewide protest and strike in Owerri over what it described as lack of respect for workers, unpaid salaries, amongst others. More details shortly…

THE President of the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, has said that Nigeria, as well as certain West African nations, have been crucial in the recovery of over €2 million linked to several organised crime syndicates across the world. Al-Raisi made this known on Monday at the 4th edition of the Conference and Retreat of Senior Police Officers at Owerri in Imo state. The INTERPOL crackdown tagged “Operation Jackal” organised between 15 and 29 May,l2023 mobilised police forces, financial crime units, and cybercrime agencies across 21 countries around the world to deliver a targeted strike against Black…

THE Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, says that all is set for the smooth take-off of the Special Intervention Squad (SIS) in 10 pilot states. He made this known in his address at opening ceremony of the Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers at the Landmark Event Centre in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Monday. According to the IGP, the establishment of the Squad, a standby team of specially trained officers to rapidly intervene in major incidents, is a priority in his administration’s effort to confront the menace of violent crimes in the country. Egbetokun noted…

THE Abia State Government has discovered over 50 decomposing bodies, over 20 headless bodies and countless human skeletons all around Lokpanta Cattle Market in the Umunneochi Local Government Area of the state. Governor Alex Otti disclosed this during his monthly media chat held in Government House, Umuahia, on Monday. He assured the people that his government is committed to tackling the issues of insecurity headlong without minding whose ox is gored. Otti said that prostitution, narcotics trade and other criminal vices around the Lokpanta Cattle Market necessitated the raid of the market as some brothels were recently brought down in…

THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to boycott its meeting with the Federal Government on Monday, October 30, 2023, should the Minister of Labour Simon Lalong attend it. The President of NLC Comrade Joe Ajaero issued the threat while fielding questions from journalists in Abuja on Sunday after briefing them on the plights of workers in Imo State. Ajaero criticised Lalong for not being able to establish a cordial relationship with organised labour. “Hopefully, we may meet tomorrow (Monday) with the Federal Government to see whether the agreement with organised labour on the fuel subsidy removal palliatives was met…

A VIGILANTE was beheaded in Abia State when gunmen attacked a team of security personnel in the Ossioma area of the state. The spokesperson of the Abia State Police Command Maureen Chinaka confirmed the vigilante’s death in a Friday statement. “Yesterday 26/10/2023 At about 15:50 hrs, Abia State Police officers stationed at Osisioma Police Headquarters received credible information concerning an attack on a group of security personnel in Isiahia village, Umuojima, Osisioma. The attacked team included one policeman, one special constabulary personnel, and three vigilante men,” she said. “Upon arrival, an unregistered Sienna bus and a headless corpse were discovered.…

SENATOR Ifeanyi Ubah representing Anambra South Senatorial District has dumped the Young Progressives Party (YPP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC). According to a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during a brief plenary session on Thursday, Ubah’s defection was due to irreconcilable differences in the YPP. Ubah, however, did not explain the irreconcilable differences. The letter further explained that Ubah’s decision is in the interest of his constituents. Ubah was the sole member of the YPP in the 10th Senate before his defection to the APC.

THE Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, Abia State, has dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s petition against the election of Governor Alex Otti for lacking merit. The court also confirmed Otti as the duly elected governor of Abia State. The tribunal, which dismissed the petition brought by Ambrose Ahaiwe and the PDP challenging the outcome of the March 18, 2023 poll, on Friday, was led by Justice H.T.D. Gwadah. Delivering judgment on the matter, Justice Gwadah held that the contention over Otti’s qualification to contest the election and the arguments of the petitioners were pre-election matters. According to…

THE Supreme Court has fixed December 15 to deliver its judgement on the appeal that is seeking to compel the Federal Government to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from detention. A five-member panel led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun fixed the date after counsel for both the Federal Government and the detained IPOB leader adopted their final briefs of argument. While Kanu Agabi led Kanu’s team of lawyers, Mike Ozehkome, presented his appeal to the apex court panel. Ozehkome prayed the court to not only order the immediate release of his client from detention…

VEHICLES and a market were burnt when gunmen suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)/Eastern Security Network (ESN) on Monday unleashed terror in Ebonyi State. The situation forced people to scamper for safety as the gunmen struck the Ezamgbo junction, along Abakaliki/Enugu Expressway in the South-Eastern state. The incident took place a few minutes before 8 a.m. and left two commercial buses, four motorcycles, and a shop within the Ezamgbo Market burnt. An eyewitness who craved anonymity said he could not tell how they were, but upon arrival, the armed men shot in the air which…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has raised the alarm that the growing level of violence and insecurity in Imo and Kogi States, is not only “unacceptable, unnecessary and worrisome”, but also capable of scaring potential voters. The INEC National Commissioner and member Information and Voter Education Committee, IVEC, Mallam Mohammed Kudu Haruna, raised the alarm yesterday, at a one-day workshop organized for media executives in Owerri, by the Commission. Haruna said: “We have gone so far with our preparedness for the off-cycle elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States. “The Commission is truly worried about the growing level of…

DOZENS of commuters are stranded as a bridge has collapsed on Enugu along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway on Monday. This was made known in a statement by Dan Nwomeh, the Head of Media to the Office of the governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, on his X account, formerly Twitter. According to Nwomeh, the government has cautioned motorists to avoid the route which is between New Artisan and Naira Triangle in Enugu. He added that Federal and State officials were already at the scene to curtail the impact. He, however did not disclose if there were casualties from the collapse…

UNKNOWN gunmen have reportedly killed two Police Mobile Force officers while another sustained bullet injuries during an ambush in Enugu State. News Point Nigeria gathered that the incident happened at about 7:30 pm on Wednesday along the Udi-Ozalla Road as a team of police officers from Operation Restore Peace Enugu was on routine patrol. The slain officers were identified as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Danjuma Joseph and Inspector Abu Elamaje. They were rushed to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Ituku-Ozalla for treatment but were pronounced dead on arrival. The police officers were reportedly swiftly transported to the…

NO fewer than eight security agents comprising soldiers, policemen and Nigeria Security And Civil Defence Corps have been killed by gunmen in Imo State. News Point Nigeria report that, the incident which happened on Tuesday afternoon in Umualumaku community, Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of the state has thrown the area into panic. The joint security taskforce team who were in two security trucks were ambushed, fired on and set ablaze by their attackers. None of them survived as they were burnt inside their operational vehicles. A security operative who doesn’t want to be mentioned told this newspaper that reinforcement…