WHAT’S NEWS? October 24, 2023
By Ezinwanne Onwuka
● Gunmen abduct Gender Studies Lecturer in Nasarawa
Dr Comfort Adokwe, Deputy Director Centre for Gender Studies, at Nasarawa at state-owned Nasarawa State University, Keffi [NSUK] in north central Nigeria reportedly has been kidnapped, two weeks after four students of the university were kidnapped. The students have since been released after authorities paid an “undisclosed” amount as ransom for their freedom.
The lecturer was kidnapped from her residence in Agwan Jaba town in Keffi County of Nasarawa State on Sunday night. The gunmen broke into her house late at night, shooting recklessly to scare away neighbours. At the end of the operation, Mrs Adokwe was taken away to an unknown location.
Read more: https://newtelegraphng.com/gunmen-abduct-nasarawa-varsity-lecturer-in-keffi
● Nigerian military kills 4 bandits, arrests 120
The Nigerian Army has killed four bandits and arrested 120 others for crimes ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery to illegal possession of firearms during the past week.
The operation was carried out by the Operation Safe Haven [OPSH] wing of the Nigerian military in Bauchi, Plateau and Kaduna States.
“We rescued four kidnapped victims, arrested two suspected cattle rustlers and four suspected drug peddlers,” spokesperson of the OPSH Captain Oya James said in a press briefing on Monday, “We prevented five attacks on vulnerable communities and promptly responded to 28 distress calls.”
Read more: https://gazettengr.com/suspected-bandits-killed-120-alleged-criminals-nabbed-in-kaduna-plateau-army/
● Nigeria wins $11 billion gas judgement
Justice Robin Knowles of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales on Monday stopped Nigeria from paying a $11 billion [N8.4 trillion] arbitration charge to Process & Industrial Developments [P&ID] Ltd., a hedge-fund backed firm based in the British Virgin Islands. The legal wrangling between the Nigerian government and the company dates back to 2012 after a gas processing contract signed in 2010 went south.
P&ID entered into an agreement with Nigeria in 2010 for the construction and operation of a new gas processing facility in Calabar, the capital city of south-south Cross River State. In August 2012, P&ID initiated arbitration, alleging that Nigeria had repudiated the contract. An arbitration tribunal in London awarded P&ID $6.6 billion [N5.8 trillion] in damages plus interest of 7% p.a. which has since swelled to $11 billion.
Judge Robin Knowles found that the massive arbitration award in favor of P&ID Ltd. was tainted by bribes. “The awards were obtained by fraud,” Judge Robin Knowles said in his ruling on Monday. Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has lauded the judgment, describing it as a “victory for our long-exploited continent.”
● Terrorists kill 5, kidnap 5 in Katsina
Terrorists on Sunday night struck Danmusa County of Katsina State and killed five people, including a former local government caretaker chairperson, Dauda Mai Iyali. Five persons were abducted, and 12 persons were critically wounded from gunshots.
The armed gang invaded the town at 10:00 p.m. and went on a rampage for an hour. Security agencies and vigilantes, Nigerian-speak for volunteer citizen guards, were able to quell the attack but not after much damage had been done.
“If not because of the efforts put up by the security operatives and the vigilante in the town, the casualties could have been much bigger,” a resident told Channels. KatsinaGovernor Dikko Umaru Radda over the weekend called on the central government to allow citizens to bear arms to protect themselves from terrorists.
● 108 stranded Nigerians return from Niger
The Nigerian government has evacuated no fewer than 150 stranded Nigerians from Niamey. The returnees, 32 adult males, 29 adult females, 44 children and three infants, arrived in Lagos at 18:50 Monday.
The repatriation was facilitated by the Nigerian Mission in Niamey and the International Organization for Migration [IOM]. “In line with Mr President’s ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda, the returnees will be integrated into various government programmes, as well as the reintegration programmes of the UN Migration Agency,” said Alexander Oturu, zonal coordinator of the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons [NCFRMI], Tuesday in Abuja.
More than 4,000 Nigerians were repatriated from across the world between February and July 2023. The Nigerian government has spent not less than N4,497,469,900 [$5,091,135] evacuating Nigerians stranded in foreign countries in times of crisis during the last five years.
Read more: https://punchng.com/108-stranded-nigerians-return-from-niger/
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Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
