News
Suspected Fulani herdsman defiles girl, 14, in Abia community
A suspected Fulani herdsman has allegedly defiled a 14-year-old girl, Favour Okugbo, at Umuifi Anioma-Isu in Onicha Local Government Area of Abia State.
The pupil of Union Secondary School at Agueke-Isu had been admitted at an undisclosed medical facility for treatment.
A community leader Festus Nwachukwu said Fulani herdsmen in Umuifi Anioma-Isu threatened the peace and the agricultural revolution of the state government.
He noted that the herdsmen had been destroying farm produce and threatening the peaceful coexistence of the residents.
According to him, even though the suspect has been arrested by the police, his action remains an abomination to the land.
Nwachukwu said: “We are going to carrying out a cleansing ceremony on the land so that it will remain fertile.
“The Fulani herdsmen are destroying our farms. If you want to talk to them, they will threaten you with knives. Our major occupation is farming, but we can no more farm because of this menace. The herdsmen are fond of using their cows to destroy our farmlands and crops.
“The government policies on agriculture are being threatened in Onicha Local Government Area. I came back from church on April 9 and learnt that this girl was raped by a Fulani man when she went to the farm to get vegetables. She was threatened that if she refused, he would kill her. He used the knives to beat her on the back and then raped her.
“What has happened is an abomination on our land. The man has damaged the fertility of the land and we are going to use cows, fowls and many cartons of beer and palm wine to bless the land.”
Favour, who said she had been sad over the incident, urged the government to probe the activities of Fulani herdsmen in the community to protect the girls from sexual assault.
She said: “I went to the farm to fetch vegetables when I was attacked by a Fulani herdsman. He came to our farm with his cows. He asked me if I had some water and food and I said no. He went to get more cows to surround me and told me that if I allowed him to have sex with me, he would give me N700. I refused and started running away. He chased me and hit me with the back of his cutlass. I fell and he raped me.
“I feel sad. I want the government to come to my aid as young girls like me are no longer safe to go to the farm and help our parents. The government should arrest Fulani herdsmen and prosecute them according to the law. Every Fulani herdsman caught doing bad things should be made to leave our land.”
A member of the State Committee on Herdsmen, Mr. Amechi Oken, hailed Governor David Umahi for putting machineries in place to checkmate the excesses of herdsmen.
He said the committee usually visited locations where skirmishes between herdsmen and farmers occurred to resolve any misunderstanding.
Police spokesperson Loveth Oda, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said the command had not received any report on the incident.
She promised to investigate the matter and get back to The Nation reporter.
.The Nation
News
IPOB Declares May 30th As Sit-at-home Day Across The Southern East States To Honour Biafran Fallen Heroes
The Indigenous People of Biafra has declared May 30, 2024, as a sit-at-home day across the South-East to celebrate Biafran soldiers.
The pro-Biafran group said that day is set aside annually to celebrate the men and women who died in the Biafran war between 1967 and 1970 and beyond and even until now.
This was made known in a press statement by the group’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, on Thursday, adding that every Biafran in the South-East is expected to sit at home and reflect on the war.
He cautioned South-East residents to avoid loitering about on this day, adding that those who intend to travel to and fro Biafra land must do so before the evening of May 29.
The IPOB statement also directed that all the residents of “Biafra Land” are to stay indoors from 6 am to 6 pm on May 30, 2024.
He also called on christians and traditionalists to pray to Chukwu okike abiama for the fallen heroes, And also for the independence of Biafra from Nigeria.
News
Anambra State Government Arrests Man For Marrying Off His Underage Daughter
The Anambra State Government has arrested one Uzochukwu Okoli, for marrying off his underaged daughter.
Okoli was apprehended after his daughter reported to the State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare about the alleged ill-treatment being meted out to her by her father and the man he forced her to marry.
The daughter, Chioma Okoli, who is currently 16 years old, said after the death of her mother, her father took her and her sister out of Edo state and brought them to Anambra.
She alleged that she was first forced to live with a 70-plus-year-old man at the age of 14 but after some time, she ran back to her father’s house before he finally gave her out to a 34-year-old Chinedu Nweke as husband.
Chioma who was in the company of her sister, explained that life with Chinedu has been a living hell because he allegedly beats her and sometimes pees in her mouth.
She said this act made her run away with their 9-month-old baby. Her father, Uzochukwu Okoli, on the other hand, claimed her daughter is 18 years old and, at some point, said she is 20 years old.
After he was handcuffed, Mr Okoli threatened to deal with the daughters if he made it out of prison. He also urged Chioma and her sister to pray he dies in prison because he would make life more miserable for them.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Hon Ify Obinabo, has instructed that the case be charged to court so that the girl can get justice.
Both Mr Okoli and Chinedu Nweke were arrested and will be arraigned in court.
News
Nigerians Seek Woman Who Spoke Out Eloquently Against Fuel Scarcity In Viral 1994 TV Clip
April 30th 1994, 30 Years Ago, And Till Today Nothing Has Really Changed.
Netizens have gone in search of a beautiful and well-spoken woman who spoke out against fuel scarcity 30 Years Ago.
A user on X.com, Jackie, who identifies as #JWEZEE had shared the video yesterday with the caption, “On this day April 30 1994, same day same time, only difference 30years ago.
“Nigerians in long fuel queues lamenting, 30years later they are still lamenting. And In another 30years will still lament, why? Because patterns don’t lie.”
In the video, which has since gone viral, Nigerians were seen queuing to purchase fuel and lamenting their predicament as citizens waiting in long queues with their gallons to buy fuel.
The woman passionately addressed the unfairness of soldiers skipping queues to resell fuel, highlighting a longstanding problem.
She said in part, “You have the soldiers that come, they buy petrol, they put it in jerry cans they sell it right in front of these people, it’s ridiculous.
“They get the fuel themselves, why do they have to come here, they don’t join the queue, they just buy and they sell right in front of people, it’s ridiculous. Something has to happen.”
The 30-year-old video which recently surfaced coincides with the current fuel price hike across the country.
Here is the viral video from 30 years back.
Currently, the country is facing fuel scarcity and price hike, with fuel being sold at N900 per litre in some states. This has affected the price of goods in the nation.
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