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ex Presidential Aspirant, Hashim Urges FG To Free Nnamdi Kanu, Says “IPOB Must Renounce Violence”
A cheiftain of ruling All Progressive Congress and former presidential candidate, Mr Gbenga Olawepo Hashim has called on the federal government to consider releasing all seperatist agitators, including Nnamdi Kanu, as president Muhammadu Buhari initiate measure to restore peace in South East.
The business man also said that the condition for such action would be for the agitators to renounce all kind of violence, noting that violence will always produce a bad result.
Full statement
GPMB’s VISIT TO IMO AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEACE AND RAPPROCHEMENT
On Thursday 9th of September, three Nigerians emerged on top at the occasion of the visit of president Muhammadu Buhari to Owerri, President Mohammadu Buhari (GCFR), the host, Governor Hope Uzodinma, and the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Ambassador George Obiozor. The visit was a risky bet for the trio. For PMB, I am not sure he expected everyone to roll out their drums for him, but he received a vast crowd of party supporters who are his political troops in the South East.
He made the right statement, clad in Igbo attire, and not cutting the picture of the conqueror of the Igbos that some had painted him in. He delivered it straight and simple: the Igbos have no reason to be out of Nigeria and Nigeria needs the enterprising input of Ndigbo.IPOB by her sit- at- home order which was effective in the streets proved they were on ground.
Governor Uzodinma did the good work of a facilitator to set the stage and has won for himself a huge seat as a peacemaker. George Obiozor, an experienced diplomat, who had once headed the Nigeria Institute for International Affairs (NIIA) and was Nigeria’s representative to United Nations after a distinguished diplomatic career, lived to his billing.
He spoke the way elders should speak, making demands without being rude. We cannot take it away from the critics of APC Government that they will have their own interpretation of the speeches, but the impact of this visit cannot be diminished. We have been presented with the opportunity for peace in the South East, given the true window for rapprochement between belligerent forces and the sovereign representatives of a Federal State. This has opened the stage for the re-set of relationships.
The elders of Igbo land know better what war means than the young men who have only read it in books and watched it in movies. They know that is not a direction to face. I have been to testy spots in the world such as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Demarcation line at Pan Mun Jom, between North and South Korea, in a solidarity March with Lim Su-kyung in July 1989. She was a South Korean student leader then, who was known as a flower for reunification at the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students, held in Pyongyang, North Korea.
I attended as one of delegates of All-Africa Student Union (AASU). On our way down, we saw first-hand evidence of the carnage of the Korean war and the aftermath. Nuclear arsenals pointing towards the two Koreas and the dividing army of a superpower United States. At any mistake, hundreds of thousands can evaporate in seconds, including the solidarity marchers.
The second time I visited similar spot was in Syria, before the war broke out, and it was the funeral of Hafez al-Assad “the lion of the dessert”, who is the father of the current Syrian president.
I was on the delegation of the Federal Government, led by the then Foreign Affairs Minister Sule Lamido. From the airport where we were picked to the hotel, we saw mourners crying in the streets, in their thousands, in unison, mourning their departed hero. In the evening, the Nigerian Ambassador to Syria, Ambassador Abdul Ganiyu, came to give us some briefing that the wailing should not sway us on the streets. He added Damascus was tense and that several things have happened in Damascus capable of leading to war.
In the morning, they gathered all Foreign visitors in a hall to pay our respect to Hafez al-Assad. To my left was Robin Cook, former British Foreign Secretary, and to my right was Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan. The rest is history. How I wish there was a power on Earth capable of acting on Ambassador Abdul Ganiyu’s warning, as it would have spared Syria millions of deaths.
Thank God for elders like Obiozor leading Ndigbo now and a sensible Governor as Uzodinma and with the disposition of president Muhammadu Buhari, there is a genuine opportunity for peace in the East.
We can expect the mechanism already created by the facilitators to include an agenda for discussion of all items that may lead to the release of the unidentified youths from detention, which I believe includes Nnamdi Kanu.
The state, through the attorney general, has the power of nolle prosequi for crimes in the intent of peace and stability. I guess one condition for peace will be for the youths to renounce violence, as every self-respecting government will make that a condition. This is the route we need.
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‘If You Want It Dirty, You’ll Get It Dirty’, Benue Diaspora DG Escalates Threat Against National Record Reporter
By Our Reporter
The Editor-in-Chief of National Record, Iduh L. Onah, has raised alarm over what he described as ‘grave threats’ issued against one of the online newspaper’s reporters, Mr. Amos Aar, by the Director-General of the Benue State Directorate of Diaspora Linkages and Investments, Professor Abraham Tartenger Girgih.
In a letter dated June 25, 2025, addressed to Prof. Girgih and made available to the press, National Record condemned what it called “unwarranted threats” following the publication of a report on the funding challenges being faced by the Directorate under the DG’s leadership since its formation in 2024.
According to Onah, while the publication welcomes robust engagement in the form of rejoinders on stories perceived to contain among other things misinformation, misrepresentation or distortion, no one has the right to issue threats.
“While it is within your right to respond to perceived misinformation or misrepresentation and distortion or outright fabrication, in any publication, it is, however, beyond that right to issue a threat as grave as “dire consequences”, Onah stated.
The Editor-in-Chief further noted that the situation escalated after the publication of a follow-up report when Prof. Girgih called the correspondent and made what the paper considers to be a further threat.
“After the publication of the threat and other claims in your rejoinder, you again went ahead to issue what we deemed to be further grave threat when you stated: “…if you want it dirty, you will get it dirty”, among other words perceived as veiled threat, in a telephone conversation you had with our correspondent shortly after you may have read our follow-up report,” stated the Editor-in-Chief.
The management of National Record expressed deep concern for the safety of its correspondent and other staff, especially given the hostile tone of Prof. Girgih in his conversation with the reporter.
The media organization said it is taking steps to notify security agencies, the Benue State Government, and professional journalism bodies about the threats, while also demanding a written assurance from Prof. Girgih that no harm will befall Mr. Aar or any member of the newspaper’s staff.
“We demand from you a written assurance of Mr Aar’s safety from harm and that of our other staff, and a further commitment to desist from harassing, heckling, intimidating or bullying us in whatever manner,” Onah wrote.
While no official response had been received from Prof. Girgih as at press time, National Record expressed hope for civility going forward and reiterated its commitment to its constitutional mandate as a stakeholder in the Fourth Estate of the Realm.
The letter reads in full:
Professor Abaham Tartenger Girgih
The Director-General
Directorate of Diaspora Linkages and investments
Makurdi, Benue State.
Dear Prof. Girgih;
THREATS ON OUR PERSONNEL AND ORGANISATION
On behalf of the Management of Contest Communications Limited, publishers of National Record, I bring you warm fraternal greetings.
We wish to express our dismay and concern over your threat on our Benue State Correspondent, Mr Amos Aar, in particular, and generally, our entire organisation, as contained in your rejoinder to a report we had published on challenges being faced by the agency which you head.
While it is within your right to respond to perceived misinformation or misrepresentation and distortion or outright fabrication, in any publication, it is, however, beyond that right to issue a threat as grave as “dire consequences”.
After the publication of the threat and other claims in your rejoinder, you again went ahead to issue what we deemed to be further grave threat when you stated: “…if you want it dirty, you will get it dirty”, among other words perceived as veiled threat, in a telephone conversation you had with our correspondent shortly after you may have read our follow-up report.
While we intend to take steps to formally note these threats before the appropriate security agencies, the Benue State Government under which you are serving, as well as our professional organisations nationally; we wish to inform you that the life of our Benue State Correspondent, Amos Aar, and our entire personnel, remains insecure in the context of your threats.
In that regard, we demand from you a written assurance of Mr Aar’s safety from harm and that of our other staff, and a further commitment to desist from harassing, heckling, intimidating or bullying us in whatever manner from carrying out our constitutional mandate as key stakeholders in the Fourth Estate of the Realm.
As we look forward to relating with you in formal, civilised manner, and prompt action on our demands, please, accept the assurances of our esteemed regards.
Iduh L. Onah
Editor-in-Chief
National Record (https://nationalrecord.com.ng)
The Enugu State government has inaugurated a steering committee to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, GBV, in the state, declaring zero tolerance for the social malaise.
The inauguration took place at the Government House Enugu.
The panel, which is chaired by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, draws its membership from the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education as well as the Civil Society.
Inaugurating the panel known as the Steering Committee for Strengthening Institutional and Community Responses to End Gender-Based Violence/Domestication of Enugu State Gender Policy using the Oputa Panel approach, Governor Peter Mbah restated his administration’s commitment to not bringing perpetrators of GBV to book, but also putting in place proactive measures – activities, infrastructure, and systems in place to prevent them.
Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “We take gender-based violence seriously. We have zero tolerance for it, and in Enugu State, we are ready to go the extra mile to deal with it.
“If you notice, the government has selected people that are very committed to this goal. This is not an activity where we just want to check-off the list. We will track this. We will monitor this, and we will have quarterly engagements on the successes that this particular committee has achieved in terms of reference that we are going to send.
“We will tighten those terms of reference indicators, so that we monitor what we are doing both in terms of cost input and the value added. It’s very important to us. Many people will be involved – civil society, the police and various ministries.”
He however, said that the effort was to protect everyone, men and women alike, as GBV was not restricted to any gender.
“The whole idea is to hold people responsible that are involved in matters relating to gender violence and deter people that by culture or by association get involved in that, protect women, protect our children, and in the case of violence against men, protect our men because most times we misconstrue gender violence to mean women, but it can also be men too.
“We encourage our men to speak out and to make sure they understand that the policy that Enugu State is soon going to domesticate is for everyone, and not only for the female gender,” he stated.
In her remark, Mrs. Enih, explained that the Oputa Panel approach was inspired by the need to cover all local peculiarities in domesticating the policy on GBV, restarting government’s confidence in the members of the panel.
“The approach we are going to use is the Oputa Panel approach, and in the Oputa Panel approach, we are going to tour the 17 Local Government Areas to get firsthand information about what our people are going through because policy is meant for the people, and a policy should suit the people.
“Again, every community has its peculiar problems, so that’s why the government decided that if we have to domesticate the gender policy, we have to hear from the people who own the policy and know the changes that they desire to see. That is the reason we are using this approach.
“The committee members are to also serve as judges. As we gather this information from our people, we will come back to tailor it in a way to suit the people of Enugu State, and then our policy is ready.
“We want the people to know that there is a gender policy for them. I can assure you that when the people are aware that there is such a policy, they will seek for the enforcement of that policy. So, this is not going to be one of those policies that will just lie on the shelf,” she said.
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has congratulated Christians in Nigeria on this year’s Easter celebration, and urged them to emulate the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
The company, in a goodwill message to the Christian faithful in the country, lauded their perseverance through the Lenten period which preceded Easter. It enjoined them to always promote the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the virtues of the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
“Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”, Globacom added.
The company enjoined all Nigerians to share in the lessons of promoting selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society. It also enjoined all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
Easter is celebrated yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of seamless voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
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