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Eight Held As Army Foils Boko Haram Bid To Attack Lagos; No Cause For Alarm, Army, Police Insist

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Eight Boko Haram suspects arrested in connection with plans to attack facilities in Lagos are being held by the military, the army said at the weekend.

According to The Nation, the insurgents made attempts about two weeks ago to attack one of the universities in the state, but operatives of the 81 Division beat them to their game.

Four persons directly involved in the botched plan were arrested and immediately whisked to the Army Headquarters in Abuja for further investigation.

It was gathered that four other suspected members of the terrorist group were arrested within that period. They allegedly confessed their membership of Boko Haram.

General Officer Commanding (GOC), 81 Division Maj.-Gen. Olu Irefin, said the eight suspects had been transferred to Abuja.

He assured residents of Lagos and Ogun States that there was no cause for alarm, adding that there was solid security architecture in place.

The GOC said Exercise Crocodile Smile IV had kicked off.

He said: “We have started on the background. We have gone for simulation with all the security agencies involved in the Exercise.

“The exercise proper would kill off on November 19. It was supposed to start on November 11 but was shifted because of the NA’s Small Arms Firing Exercise holding between November 11 and 15 at Ibadan.

“There is no cause for alarm within 81 Division’s area of responsibility. We have been on top of our game on this Boko Haram issue. We are not sleeping and the people are assured of their safety throughout this period and beyond.

“Citizens can go about their lawful duties without panic because security agencies are doing a lot to protect them.”

But the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Zubairu Muazu, said there was no cause for alarm.

He assured residents that adequate security was in place.

“Lagos is safe. There is no Bono Haram scare and the people should not be afraid. We are not sleeping,” he said.

Plans by the insurgents to attack Lagos, including last year’s alleged attempt on the Third Mainland Bridge and some shopping centres, have consistently been prevented by the military. Many leaders of the sect who fled to Lagos were arrested.

Over 60 suspected Boko Haram suspects have been arrested in different parts of Lagos since 2015. Arrests were made at Kara Market, Agege, Alaba Rago, Lagos Island and Isolo.

In September 2017, three suspected Boko Haram members, hiding among the Hausa community in Isolo, Lagos Mainland, were fished out by leaders and handed over to security agencies.

The Civilian Joint Taskforce (CJTF) on March 29, last year, arrested a suspect said to be the fifth in command of the sect in Lagos State.

He was moved to the North for onward handover to the Department of State Services (DSS) who had declared him wanted before army operatives intercepted them in Bauchi State.

On December 21 last year, a Boko Haram leader, identified as Umar, alleged to be behind the Kuje and Nyanya bombings, was arrested by the Inspector-General of Police (IG) Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Lagos at a relative’s place where he was hiding.

The Department of State Services (DSS) on January 10, 2017 said it arrested four suspected members of Boko Haram-Fanayi Hassan, Butame Hassan, Kologoni Bukar and Amina Abubakar – at Oko-Oba, Agege, who fled the northeast to evade arrest.

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JUST IN: Autopsy Couldn’t Ascertain Cause Of Mohbad’s Death — Pathologist

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  • Says deceased body had decomposed

The autopsy conducted on the body of late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad, is said to have been unable to ascertain the cause of his death.

Wahab Shittu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, made this known while addressing journalists at the coroner’s inquest held in Lagos State on Wednesday.

According to Wahab, the pathologist in charge of the autopsy told the coroner that the deceased’s body had decomposed by the time the test was conducted.

He said, “According to him (pathologist), the cause of death cannot be determined because by the time they conducted the test, the body had decomposed and that it is not possible for them to determine the cause of death.

“So, in summary, he is saying the cause of death cannot be ascertained. When you say the cause of death cannot be ascertained, it means it is suspicious, it is not clear. No particular reason.”

According to Shittu, the pathologist further stated that the late singer may have died due to a reaction to certain drugs administered to him before he died.

“He went further to say that he does not know whether it is those drugs that led to the death,” he added.

 

More to come…

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JUST IN: Sanwo-Olu’s Deputy Chief Of Staff Gboyega Soyannwo Dies After Brief Illness

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Gboyega Soyannwo, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Lagos State Governor, has been declared deceased following a brief illness.

After celebrating his 55th birthday in October of last year, Soyanwo reportedly slumped and passed just a few hours later.

On Thursday, after being taken to a hospital after collapsing, doctors declared him deceased.

It was discovered that the deceased, who had been a part of Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration since the latter’s first term in 2019, had suffered a partial stroke over the weekend.

Insiders at the governor’s office revealed that after word of Soyannwo’s passing spread, his passing interfered with operations.

Many of the staff, according to the source, could not hide their expression after the Chief Of Staff, Tayo Ayinde, broke the news to the him.

Soyannwo was born on 3rd October 1968 and had his primary education at the Corona School Victoria Island, Lagos from 1974-1980 and his secondary education at the prestigious Kings College, Lagos from 1980-1985.

He thereafter proceeded to the Federal School of Arts & Science for his A-Levels which he successfully completed in 1987. He thereafter sought and was granted admission into the University of Lagos from where he graduated in 1992 earning a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. Hons.) Degree in Economics.

Soyannwo also holds an MBA (General Management) from the revered Lagos Business School.

Soyannwo started his career at the Central Bank of Nigeria in 1992 as a Youth Corp member. He subsequently worked in the following institutions where he served in various capacities: Financial Services Consultants Limited, STACO Insurance Plc., National Bank Of Nigeria Limited (now WEMA Bank Plc). Zenith Bank Plc. and Oceanic Bank International Plc (now Eco Bank Plc.), where he left in December 2009 as the Group Head – Commercial Banking to join the First Class Group Limited as Director, Finance and Strategy.

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JUST IN: Labour Rejects FG’s N48,000 Minimum Wage Proposal

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Organised labour has turned down the N48,000 proposed by the federal government as minimum wage for public service workers.

On Wednesday, May 15, during the reconvened tripartite committee meeting, the government presented its position to labour.

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) left the virtual conference in protest.

Attending the conference, a labour leader expressed doubts about the federal government’s commitment to providing workers with a decent wage.

“What the government has presented to us is wage reduction. This government is not serious about giving workers a living wage,” the labour leader said.

Tinubu had on May Day promised workers a living wage, assuring them that their days of waiting for a living wage were over.

NLC and TUC proposed N615,000 as minimum wage, citing the high cost of living as the yardstick for the proposal.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), which had earlier declared that the least worker in the private sector was paid N78,000, presented N54,000 as the new minimum wage.

As of the time of filing this report, the NLC and TUC have called for an emergency press briefing to present the federal government’s proposal at the meeting to pay workers the minimum wage, and their next line of action.

President Tinubu, through Vice President, Kashim Shettima, on January 30, inaugurated the 37-member tripartite committee to come up with a new minimum wage.

With its membership cutting across federal, and state governments, the private sector, and organised labour, the panel is to recommend a new national minimum wage for the country.

Shettima, during the committee’s inauguration, urged the members to “speedily” arrive at a resolution and submit their reports early.

“This timely submission is crucial to ensure the emergence of a new minimum wage,” Shettima said.

He also urged collective bargaining in good faith, emphasising contract adherence and encouraging consultations outside the committee.

The 37-man committee is chaired by the former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Goni Aji.

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