The Editorial Board of Pacesetter Frontier Magazine, organisers of the Frontier Discourse Annual Public Lecture Series and Awards, have announced an end of the voting process to determine the recipients of honours at the Third Frontier Discourse Annual Public Lecture and Awards slated for Saturday, November 18, 2023 at Hotel Sunshine, Presidential Road, Independence Layout, Enugu by 11am.
In a statement made available to newsmen by the Ag. Editor in Chief of the magazine, Daberechukwu Egbo, she thanked the public for participating in the voting process.
Stating that over 40 countries of the world participated in the process, she noted that the list of awardees who emerged will be made public in the coming days.
The statement reads in full: “On October 5, 2023, the voting process to determine the awardees for the third edition of the Frontier Discourse Public Lecture and Awards commenced and ended on October 14, 2023, lasting an entire 10 days.
“We appreciate the entire public for participating in the voting process which recorded a total of 24,593 unaudited votes spread across more than 40 countries of the world including, in no particular order, Nigeria, USA, UK, South Africa, Canada, Rwanda, Netherlands, Zambia, Mexico, Australia, Kenya, Poland, Italy, Austria, Benin Republic, Germany, Ghana, Sweden, Angola and Japan.
“Others are South Korea, India, Gambia, Finland, Malta, Cameroon, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, Turkey, Hungary, Spain, France, Vietnam, Ivory Coast, Thailand, Greece, Tanzania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, among others.
“In 2022, 24,931 audited votes spread across 20 countries of the world were recorded while 5,286 audited votes were gathered in the first edition of the Frontier Discourse Public Lecture and Awards.
“Although the votes slightly dropped in this edition, we do not take this participation for granted and we hope to have a better event in the fourth edition.
“The final list of awardees from the voting process will be announced in the coming days, after the sorting and auditing process of the recorded votes have taken place.
“Kindly stay tuned and keep a date with us as we make history in the entire Southern Nigeria and beyond.”
While also calling on corporate bodies and good spirited Nigerians willing to partner with the magazine to reach out, she revealed other details of the public lecture and awards as being:
Topic: The Post Subsidy Economy – Exploring Bold Initiatives for Economic Recovery in Nigeria
Keynote Speaker: Ike Neliaku, Ph.D, fnipr, ficmc (President and Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.)
Partners: Odengene Airshuttle Services Limited, OPEANS Nigeria Limited, 9th Holdings Nigeria Limited, Human Development Center.
It was projects galore, Thursday, as the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, flagged off the construction of New Enugu City roads made up of 17km dual carriageway and feeder roads, 40km Owo-Ubahu-Amankanu-Neke-Ikem dual carriageway, and the construction/reconstruction of 71 urban roads in Enugu capital city.
At the Premier Layout road project awarded to IDC Construction Limited where he carried out the symbolic flag-off of the construction/reconstruction of 71 urban roads, Mbah assured that the urban roads would be simultaneously executed and delivered before the end of December.
“These 71 roads as identified in the first phase will be completed between now and December. The funds for these roads have been secured. So, there is no reason the contactors will not complete these roads as and when due. We are not going to entertain any variation, any delay or time overrun because the funds will be provided and we will ensure that we put in place a close monitor to ensure not only that the standards we have agreed are met, but also that the timelines are met strictly.
“We are also providing the highest quality of roads. We are all making sure that the roads are well paved. You are not going to have open drainage so that you will have pedestrian parts well paved, you will have streetlights, and roads that will last us a long time”, he stated.
At the flag-off of the New Enugu City roads project, which sits on a 10,000 hectres of land off Enugu-Abakaliki Road and traverses Enugu East, Enugu North, Enugu South, and Nkanu West LGAs, Mbah reiterated his administration’s determination to restore Enugu to its number one position in Nigeria and beyond.
He said the project being handled by China Communication Construction Company, CCCC, would rub shoulders with any great city in the world, stressing that “we will have a functional New Enugu City between now and the next 24 months”.
“We are here not only to witness the construction of a road, we are here to witness the construction of infrastructure. In this New City, we are going to have a dedicated power project, a central sewage system, high speed internet, and there is hardly anything you will find in any modern smart city that you will not find in this City”.
He said the first phase of the project would cover 26 square kilometres comprising the Happy Island, the Vitality Bay, and the Innovation Park in line with the purposes the New City is to serve.
Also flagging off the construction off the 40km Owo-Ubahu-Amankanu- Neke-Ikem dual carriageway, the governor said the new government was bent on constructing at least 10,000km of roads in the next eight years to open the space for investors and make life better for Enugu people.
“This 40km dual carriageway road is going to be a major gateway to the North Central and it is going to open up our rural areas.
“Recall that we said we are going to unlock our rural economy and the best way to do that is to ensure that we have access roads to our farmlands and we will also create special economic zones in our rural areas. But we are not thinking about agriculture as food only, but also as export commodities”.
Mbah said put at 400km the total length of roads flagged off for construction in the first phase of the government’s quest to build 10,000km of roads.
Speaking, the contractors, including the Deputy Managing Director of CCCC Nigeria, Henry Li, assured the government of first-rate projects and early competition.
“As the contractor entrusted with this significant undertaking, we recognise the responsibility that comes with it. We pledge our unwavering commitment to delivering the benchmark road on time and with the highest quality”, he stated.
Meanwhile, the overjoyed communities, who trooped out with their leaders, including traditional rulers, council chairmen, thanked the governor for the massive projects, promising to cooperate with both the government and contractors to ensure speedy and hitch-free completion of the projects.
Ex Enugu Lawmaker, Rt. Hon. Paul Nnajiofor Ononenyi and family have fixed Friday, October 20, 2023 for the burial of his late Wife, Mrs. Vivian Oluchukwu Nnajiofor, JP.
The schedule of funeral activities which is to commence with a service of songs on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, by 5pm at Hon. Paul Nnajiofor’s Enugu residence will be followed by her funeral service and interment on Friday, October 20, 2023 at Late Isaiah Nnajiofor’s compound, Mbulu Owo community, Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway, Nkanu East LGA, Enugu State by 10am.
On Sunday, October 22, 2023, a church outing service will be held at Assemblies of God Church, Mbulu Owo by 10am.
The late Mrs. Vivian Oluchukwu Nnajiofor, JP, passed on in Enugu on July 9, 2023, after a brief but serious illness, aged 45.
1/3]The remains of a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel lies on a road where it fell in Ashkelon, southern Israel, October 10. REUTERS
Summary
Deif is secretive chief of Hamas military wing in Gaza
Held responsible for deaths of dozens in suicide attacks
Took two years to plan Saturday’s assault
Cites ‘rage’ over Israeli raids on Al Aqsa mosque
Israel calls last week’s devastating attack by Hamas its 9/11 moment. The secretive mastermind behind the assault, Palestinian militant Mohammed Deif, calls it Al Aqsa Flood.
The phrase Israel’s most wanted man used in an audio tape broadcast as Hamas fired thousands of rockets out of the Gaza strip on Saturday signalled the attack was payback for Israeli raids at Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque.
It was in May 2021, after a raid on Islam’s third holiest site that enraged the Arab and Muslim world, when Deif began planning the operation that has killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, according to a source close to Hamas in Gaza.
“It was triggered by scenes and footage of Israel storming Al Aqsa mosque during Ramadan, beating worshippers, attacking them, dragging elderly and young men out of the mosque,” the source said. “All this fuelled and ignited the anger.”
That storming of the mosque compound, long a flashpoint for violence over matters of sovereignty and religion in Jerusalem, helped set off 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
More than two years on, Saturday’s assault, the worst breach in Israeli defences since the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict, pushed Israel to declare war and launch retaliatory strikes on Gaza that had killed more than 800 people by Tuesday.
A survivor of seven Israeli assassination attempts, the most recent in 2021, Deif rarely speaks and never appears in public. So when Hamas’s TV channel announced he was about to speak on Saturday, Palestinians knew something significant was afoot.
“Today the rage of Al Aqsa, the rage of our people and nation is exploding. Our mujahedeen (fighters), today is your day to make this criminal understand that his time has ended,” Deif said in the recording.
There are only three images of Deif: one in his 20s, another of him masked, and an image of his shadow, which was used when the audio tape was broadcast.
The whereabouts of Deif are unknown, though he is most likely in Gaza in the maze of tunnels under the enclave. An Israeli security source said Deif was directly involved in the planning and operational aspects of the attack.
TWO BRAINS, ONE MASTERMIND
Palestinian sources said one of the homes Israeli air strikes hit in Gaza overnight belonged to Deif’s father. Deif’s brother and two other family members were killed in the strike, according to the sources.
The source close to Hamas said the decision to prepare the attack was taken jointly by Deif, who commands Hamas’s Al Qassam Brigades, along with Yehya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, but it was clear who was the architect.
“There are two brains, but there is one mastermind,” the source said, adding that information about the operation was known only to a handful of Hamas leaders.
Secrecy was such that Iran, Israel’s sworn foe and an important source of finance, training and weaponry for Hamas, knew only in general terms that the movement was planning a major operation and did not know the timing or the details, according to a regional source familiar with the group’s thinking.
The source said that while Tehran was aware a major operation was being prepared, it was not discussed in any joint operation rooms involving Hamas, the Palestinian leadership, Iranian-backed Lebanese militants Hezbollah, and Iran.
“It was a very tight circle,” the source said.
Iran’s top authority Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday Tehran was not involved in the attack on Israel. Washington has said while Tehran was complicit, it had no intelligence or evidence that points to Iran’s direct participation in the attacks.
The plan as conceived by Deif involved a prolonged effort at deception. Israel was led to believe that Hamas, an ally of Israel’s sworn foe Iran, was not interested in launching a conflict and was focusing instead on economic development in Gaza, where the movement is the governing power.
But while Israel began providing economic incentives to Gazan workers, the group’s fighters were being trained and drilled, often in plain sight of the Israeli military, a source close to Hamas said.
“We have prepared for this battle for two years,” said Ali Baraka, the head of external relations for Hamas.
Speaking in a calm voice, Deif said in his recording that Hamas had repeatedly warned Israel to stop its crimes against Palestinians, to release prisoners, whom he said were abused and tortured, and to halt its expropriation of Palestinian land.
“Every day the occupation storm our villages, towns and cities in the West Bank and raid houses, kill, injure, destroy and detain. At the same time, it confiscates thousands of acres of our land, uproots our people from their houses to build settlements while its criminal siege continues on Gaza.”
‘IN THE SHADOWS’
For well over a year, there has been turmoil in the West Bank, an area about 100 km (60 miles) long and 50 km wide that has been at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since it was seized by Israel in 1967.
Deif said Hamas had urged the international community to put an end to the “crimes of the occupation”, but Israel had stepped up its provocation. He also said Hamas had in the past asked Israel for a humanitarian deal to release Palestinian prisoners, but this was rejected.
“In light of the orgy of occupation and its denial of international laws and resolutions, and in light of American and western support and international silence, we’ve decided to put an end to all this,” he said.
Born as Mohammad Masri in 1965 in the Khan Yunis Refugee Camp set up after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the militant leader became known as Mohammed Deif after joining Hamas during the first Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which began in 1987.
He was arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent about 16 months in detention, a Hamas source said.
Deif earned a degree in science from the Islamic University in Gaza, where he studied physics, chemistry and biology. He displayed an affinity for the arts, heading the university’s entertainment committee and performing on stage in comedies.
Rising up the Hamas ranks, Deif developed the group’s network of tunnels and its bomb-making expertise. He has topped Israel’s most wanted list for decades, held personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.
For Deif, staying in the shadow has been a matter of life or death. Hamas sources said he lost an eye and sustained serious injuries in one leg in one of Israel’s assassination attempts.
His wife, 7-month-old son, and 3-year-old daughter were killed by an Israeli air strike in 2014.
His survival while running Hamas’s armed wing has earned him the status of a Palestinian folk hero. In videos he is masked, or just a shadow of him is seen. He doesn’t use modern digital technology such as smart phones, the source close to Hamas said.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has pledged to launch a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas’s surprise attack.
Israeli forces continue pounding the Gaza Strip for a fifth day, killing at least 950 Palestinians. The death toll in Israel has climbed to 1,200 people.
Israeli forces sharing ‘doctored’ video: Monitor
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has shared a “doctored” video showing a “deeply disturbing potential war crime”.
“The IDF posted a doctored video alleging eliminating combatants. But their own footage shows said individuals unarmed, raising their hands up & kneeling down to surrender before IDF soldiers execute them from the back,” the monitor said on X.
“The crime scene has then been doctored & assault rifles appear to have been added to the bodies. These individuals may have been civilians who crossed the fence after its collapse. Their killing as they surrendered is an act of extrajudicial execution that constitutes a war crime.”
Brother of Hamas military commander killed in air strike
The brother of senior Hamas commander Mohammed Deif has been killed in Israeli air strikes, Hamas-affiliated media has reported.
Abdul Fattah Deif and some other relatives were killed during the air raid on Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to the reports.
Mohammed Deif has survived numerous Israeli attempts to kill him. He is the commander of the Hamas military arm Al-Aqsa Brigades.
In August 2014, Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed Mohammed’s wife and his seven-month-old son at the house of a family they were staying with.
…says borrowing for development should be consistent with Open Governance Partnership
Frank Nweke Jr has reacted to the approval of the N170 Billion loan by the Enugu State government, decrying the increase of the state’s debt profile by almost 100% and charging the administration to adopt the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Nweke, who shared a statement with the press on Tuesday, October 10, stated that while he supported borrowing for development purposes, it should be consistent with the Open Governance Partnership requirements for transparency and accountability, per the provisions of the Debt Management Office for fiscal responsibility, and with the citizens apprised of the purposes of these facilities.
He revealed that the N170 Billion liability would take the State above the borrowing limit stipulated by the Debt Management Office by 226% and place Enugu State as the 4th most indebted State in the country.
Noting that the government and financial institutions would act in breach of the approved limit if these facilities were drawn, Nweke cautioned against circumventing the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the guidelines of the Debt Management Office as it would not be in the interest of the economy.
He also expressed concerns about the speedy approval of the loan request by the Enugu State House of Assembly, noting that a loan of that magnitude required rigorous analysis and clearly outlined projects with a cost-benefit analysis detailing the economic and social benefits.
He indicated displeasure at the government’s plan to include the Local Government funds in the repayment plan for the loans, saying that it is an encroachment on the fiscal autonomy of the Local Government. He opined that the sustainability of the debts and the proposed repayment plans are questionable considering the current revenue and liabilities of the state.
In conclusion, Nweke charged the ENSG to shun opacity and embrace transparency in the management of the state’s accounts. He reiterated the need for the government to publish the state of accounts, including the details of the N58 Billion supplementary budget which was approved by the current administration in September, stating that no clear plan has been communicated for which the borrowings are being effected.
“Enugu State faces the heightened risk of economic meltdown if fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability are not prioritised. As a citizen of this state, I demand that the government respond to these concerns and reevaluate the management of the State’s accounts”, he stated.
…as CP Kanayo lauds operatives, says onslaught against unrepentant criminals shall be sustained
Acting on credible information, Police Operatives serving in the Enugu State Command’s Awkunanaw Police Division, on 02/10/2023 at about 9.45 p.m., smashed a car snatching and stealing syndicate arresting one male suspect, Sunday Ogwa (male) aged 27.
The Operatives also recovered a light blue-coloured Lexus 330 Jeep that the suspect and cohorts at large snatched at gunpoint from their female victim (names withheld), in Uwani Enugu, on 28/09/2023 at about 8.10 p.m.
The suspect, a native of Obubra in Cross River State, confessed to the crime, stating that his cohorts invited him from Anambra State to join them in snatching and stealing vehicles in Enugu metropolis. The suspect will be arraigned in court upon completion of the investigation.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, psc(+), has hailed the efforts of the operatives and for quickly adjusting his operational policing strategies, while reemphasizing the unwavering commitment of the Police to sustain the onslaught against unrepentant criminals in Enugu State.
DSP DANIEL NDUKWE, anipr
Police Public Relations Officer
Enugu State Command,
State Headquarters,
GRA, Enugu.
10/10/2023.
Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kayode Ariwoola has described the late Justice of the Supreme Court, Centus Nweze as a jurist of impeccable character who has contributed significantly to the enhancement of the Nigerian judiciary sector.
Ariwoola said this during a valedictory Court session in honour of Late Nweze on Tuesday in Abuja.
“Nweze that I knew very well and had remarkable acquaintance with, was a dogged fighter for whatever cause he believed in; yet an astute advocate of the arts of mediation and reconciliation.
“He became a formidable refuge to a vast clan of followers who continually drew inspiration, succour and strength to guide their journey through life,” the CJN said.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abdulateef Fagbemi commended the apex court for honouring Nweze for his outstanding contribution to laws and nation.
Fagbemi was represented by the Permanent Secretary and Solicitor General of the Federation, Mrs Beatrice Jeddy-Agba.
“Nweze’s judicial activism, intellectualism and exploit will continue to illuminate the legal jurisprudence”.
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau also praised Nweze for his contribution, erudition and promotion of the country’s laws.
NAN reports that Justice Nweze was sworn-in as the Justice of the Supreme Court on October 29, 2014 and died on July 29, in Abuja after a brief illness at the age of 64 years.
He was born in Obollo, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State on 25th September, 1958.
The Enugu State House of Assembly has approved the request of the Governor Peter Mbah administration to source for a N170 billion facility to fund capital projects, among others, in the state.
The lawmakers unanimously approved the request on Monday, saying that it would enable the government deliver on its mandate, especially in the provision of critical infrastructure needed to attract investments to the state.
The Assembly, which is dominated by the Labour, also expressed delight that the loan would run its full course in the first tenure of the Governor.
A breakdown of the request is as follows: N100 billion bank guarantee line; N10 billion term loan, N10 billion overdraft facility, and N50 billion credit facility.
A letter signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, and addressed to the Speaker, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu, disclosed that the request was sequel to the approval of the Enugu State Executive Council of the offer of N100 billion bank guarantee line, N10 billion term loan and N10 billion over draft facility from Fidelity Bank and N50 billion credit facility from Globus Bank.
The N100 billion bank facility will guarantee payment for contracts issued to approved contractors.
The loan will be repaid via Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) on consolidated Enugu State IGR accounts, which would be domiciled in Fidelity Bank and domiciliation of JAAC/FAAC/Infrastructure Support.
The N10 billion term loan is on a tenure of 48 months, and a monthly repayment via ISPO on consolidated Enugu State IGR accounts, which will be domiciled in Fidelity Bank and domiciliation of JAAC/FAAC/Infrastructure Support. It will be used for infrastructural development.
The N10 billion overdraft facility will be used for prompt payment of recurrent expenditures such as salaries and has a tenure of 12 months with monthly clean up and repayment via ISPO on consolidated Enugu State IGR accounts, which will be domiciled in Fidelity Bank and domiciliation of JAAC/FAAC/Infrastructure Support.
The N50 billion credit facility is for the refinancing of the outstanding receivables from Enugu State Government and the repayment plan is 42 months equal and consecutive monthly repayment of principal and interest, which will be debited from Enugu State FAAC account with Globus Bank PLC.
Hotel Presidential Not for Sale, Says Enugu Gov’t
The Enugu State Government has dismissed reports that it has put up the Hotel Presidential for sale, stressing that the hotel will never be sold.
The government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Aka Eze Aka, said it only gave the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation (ESHDC) approval to take over an undeveloped part of the premises to raise funds for public-oriented infrastructural development projects.
“The purported sale of Hotel Presidential is not true. Contrary to the reports, government is in the process of partnering with private sector investors to restore the hotel to its glory as the premier three-star hotel East of the Niger.
“The government only gave approval for the ESHDC to sell an undeveloped area of the hotel lying fallow for more than five decades without adding any value to the hotel.
“It is should be stressed that the present landmass of the hotel exceeds the minimum acreage for a three-star hotel.
“Government has decided as a matter of policy to dispose moribund and unusable assets at the current market values and deploy the proceeds to critical infrastructure and housing projects beneficial to the masses. The empty plots at Hotel Presidential are among such disposable assets, and others will be made known to the general public subsequently.
“But for the avoidance of doubt, Hotel Presidential has not been sold and will never be sold”, the Commissioner stated.
The Information Commissioner said the government had been inundated with credible security reports pointing to the use of the undeveloped area now marked for sale as a hideout for criminals, adding that a shrine for initiation of cultists was also recently discovered there.
“The sale of the lands will be open, transparent and competitive. Limited time shall be given to serious bidders to avoid the antics of speculators. The government is looking at how quickly the plots can be built up to add to the aesthetics of the prime location adjacent to the prestigious hotel”, the statement concluded.
Israel says it struck more than 500 targets in the Gaza Strip, while fierce battles with Hamas fighters continue in several areas in southern Israel.
The intense bombardment has so far displaced more than 120,000 people in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Gaza, home to two million Palestinians, is a small, self-governing Palestinian territory that came under Israeli occupation along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
Bordered by Israel and Egypt on the Mediterranean coast, the Gaza Strip is about 365sq km (140sq miles), about the size of Cape Town, Detroit or Lucknow.
Gaza was part of historic Palestine before the state of Israel was created in 1948 in a violent process of ethnic cleansing, in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their homes.
The number of people killed by Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has gone up to 493, health officials say. More than 2,750 are also injured.
Iran calls for OIC meeting
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman says the country is calling for an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) over the regional developments.
A fourth mosque was destroyed in an overnight Israeli air strike on the el-Yarmouk neighbourhood in Gaza, also forcing thousands more people to evacuate their homes, Al Jazeera’s correspondent Youmna el Sayed reported.
As of Monday morning, the number of people seeking shelter at a UN facility for IDPs in Gaza has already reached 100,000.
“Dozens of homes were completely destroyed and are inhabitable,” el Sayed said, adding that residents reported the smell of white phosphorus, which was previously used by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza – a weapon prohibited by international humanitarian law.
She also personally reported itching in her throat, chest and eyes as soon as she entered the area.
Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, has regained freedom after over two years of incarceration in the Republic of Benin.
A video clip showing Mr Adeyemo announcing his freedom and appreciating his supporters circulated on social media platforms on Sunday.
“I am now free to return to Nigeria and visit any country in the world,” he also told Tribune Newspaper.
“I have fulfilled all the legal conditions attached to my bail a few years back and I am coming home to Nigeria, my country of origin, any moment from now.
“I can confirm to you that I am now free to come back to Nigeria. There is no legal encumbrance again,” he added.
Mr Adeyemo was decked in white and seated on a plastic chair as he read out a prepared speech in the video clip circulating online on Sunday.
He thanked “sons and daughters” of Yoruba all over the world for their support, and also singled out a leading figure of the Yoruba nation agitation, Banji Akintoye; Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, for their roles in securing his release.
He also acknowledged the sympathetic gestures he received over the death of his mother during his incarceration. He said that her body was still being kept in the morgue for him to return to give her a befitting burial.
Mr Adeyemo came to the limelight after he, in January 2021, issued a seven-day ultimatum to Fulani residents in Igangan in Ibarapa Local Government Area of Oyo State to leave to check kidnappings allegedly perpetrated in the area by herders linked to the ethnic group.
He would later lead a mob to burn down the house of the Seriki Fulani of Oyo State, Saliu Abdulkadri, in the community.
He soon became a target of the State Security Service (SSS) as he became more aggressive in his campaigns against herdsmen accused of kidnapping in South-west states, and agitation for the Yoruba nation.
He touted his agitation as the only way to liberate Yoruba people from insufferable attacks and being shortchanged in the Nigeria nation.
He was declared wanted by the State Security Service (SSS) over his agitation for Yoruba nation sovereignty.
SSS operatives would later invade Sunday Igboho’s house, located in Soka, Ibadan, capital of Oyo State around 1:00 a.m. on 1 July 2021.
The spokesperson for the SSS, Peter Afunnaya, later said seven AK 47 rifles, pump action guns and 5,000 rounds of ammunition and other weapons were recovered from the apartment.
His vehicles, including his G-wagon, and Prado Jeep, and some valuable properties including furniture, and windows were destroyed.
He said security operatives recovered the weapons after a “hot gun duel between them and Igboho’s guards”. The SSS also admitted that two of Mr Igboho’s men were killed in the process while a security agent was shot in the right hand and hospitalised.
Mr Igboho later said the weapons were not his and that security operatives planted ammunition in his house to implicate him.
The secret police also declared Mr Igboho wanted.
On 19 July 2021, the campaigner for Yoruba self-determination was arrested in neighbouring Cotonou, Benin Republic, while trying to travel to Germany.
A local newspaper in the neighbouring country, Banouto, quoted Beninise authorities as saying Mr Igboho was nabbed at Cardinal Bernardin International Airport in Cotonou.
He was “disembarked from his plane, arrested by the Beninese police while he was trying to travel to Germany and then transferred to the Cotonou Criminal Brigade.”
On 17 September 2021, a judge of the Oyo State High Court awarded N20 billion cost “as exemplary and aggravated damage” against the State Security Services (SSS) over the invasion of Igboho’s residence on 1 July 2021.
However, the Court of Appeal in Ibadan in August 2022 nullified the N20 billion judgementbecause the lower court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
![[WATCH] Mbah Flags off Construction of New Enugu City, 40km dual carriageway, 71 Urban Roads](https://news.pacesetterfrontier.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG-20230529-WA0045-585x372.jpg)
