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Reps probe alleged killing of vigilante members in Enugu by army
The House of Representatives has begun investigation into the alleged gruesome murder of some vigilante members in Eke, Udi Council Area of Enugu State by the Nigerian army.
Abdulraheem Egidi, the chairman, House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the murder disclosed this when the members of the committee visited Gov. Peter Mbah at the Government House, Enugu on Thursday.
Reports had it that men from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army allegedly opened fire on some members of the Eke Vigilante Group who were on their way to respond to a distress call in their community, killing two of them including a woman and inflicting gunshot injury on three others.
Egidi who expressed the committee’s resolve to unravel the reasons behind the unlawful killings of the Enugu indigenes, stressing that the National Assembly “is worried by the way and manner the lives of Nigerians are being wasted on a daily basis, and resolved to end this by whichever means possible.”
While briefing Mbah who was represented by his Deputy, Ifeanyi Ossai, of their mission, Egidi expressed displeasure with the way the Nigeria soldiers killed some vigilante groups who were responding to distress call on banditry and kidnapping, added that they were on a fact-finding assignment in the state.
According to him, the investigation followed a motion moved by a member representing Ezeagu/Udi Federal Constituency, Mr Sunday Umeha, to investigate the “gruesome murder of some Nigerians by soldiers in the state on the 29th of June, 2023.
He explained that following that motion, the House of Representatives resolved to embark on a fact-finding mission.
“The House considering this as a matter of urgent public interest as it affects the lives of Nigerians, resolved to set up this ad hoc committee to among other things; investigate what actually happened on that fateful day, and punish those found culpable.
“Visit the victims critically lying at the hospital, and families of the deceased, and urge the National Emergency Management Agency to provide relief materials to the victims of the gunshots,” he said.
The Chairman further commended Mbah, for the support his administration had been giving the security agencies in his efforts to protect the lives and property of the citizens, and rid the state of crime.
Egidi, said the governor had shown resolve in combatting criminality and ensuring the “protection of lives and properties of the people” by providing adequate support in cash and kind to the security agencies to complement the efforts of the federal government.
Responding ,the governor extolled the resilient spirit of the committee for being proactive in their response to the plight of Nigerians, adding that the state government would give them maximum support and protection as they discharged their duties.
Mbah said the state welcomed the development with delight even as he condemned the unfortunate loss of lives
.He called on the committee to discharge their duties without partiality, urging them to listen to all sides, including witnesses, before drawing their conclusions.
The governor observed that the security agencies in the state had been doing their best efforts to ensure that the lives and properties of Nigerians were protected in the state, and called for a robust relationship between those saddled with the responsibility of guaranteeing the life of every citizen and members of the public.
Mbah, who further bemoaned the heavy spending and other sacrifices the state had been making to keep the state safe, appealed to the National Assembly to consider allocating special security funding to Enugu State in the next cycle of budget.
“The investment this government is making on security is enormous. We have enjoyed the collaborative synergy with the security agencies, but we need the federal government to assist us to do more.
“We need investment from the FG to rejig and re-equip the security apparatuses in the state. We need the federal government in providing tools that the security services need so as to gradually relieve the state of the burden of what we have been investing,” he appealed.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Anambra State Sector Command, has confirmed the death of a woman in an accident at Okpoko Market on the Asaba-Onitsha Road.
The Sector Commander, Mr Adeoye Irelewuyi, who confirmed the accident to journalists in Awka on Thursday, said that the woman was hit while she was crossing the road.
He said that the accident, which occurred on Wednesday, involved a commercial tow truck with registration number XA550BMA.
“Eyewitness report reaching us indicates that the truck was towing a vehicle in an uncontrollable speed along the axis.
“The vehicle that was being towed got detached from the tow truck.
“It hit and killed a female adult, who was said to be crossing the road, while the tow truck continued its movement.
“FRSC rescue team came to the scene and took the woman to Toronto Hospital, Onitsha, where she was confirmed dead and her body deposited at the hospital’s mortuary,” he said.
While sympathising with the family of the dead, the sector commander urged motorists, especially tow truck drivers, to exercise a high level of professionalism.
He also urged the drivers to always use standard equipment and avoid speeding.
The Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Mojeed Iyiola, said the state government’s maize palliative to members of the association made a positive impact on the sector.
Iyiola said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.
“We received about 150,000 tons of maize in February from the Lagos State government as palliative to cushion the effect of high feed prices.
“The major benefit of the palliative is that it actually cushioned the cost of production for most poultry farmers in the state.
“The palliative was beneficial as it made the cost of some poultry produce, especially eggs to drop,” Iyiola said.
He noted that prior to the palliative, a crate of egg was sold between N3,500 and N3,700 at the farm gate, but after the palliative, it now sells between N3,200 and N3,400.
According to the PAN chair, retailers and middlemen who sell from N3,800 to N4,200 do that for their personal gain.
“We have urged our members to sell their eggs at reasonable prices following the receipt of the palliative from the government.
“We appreciate the Lagos State government for the palliative but we also urge the federal government to do likewise, to further reduce the cost of production in the sector.
“This will consequently lead to drop in the prices of all poultry produce across board,” he said.
He said the palliative was shared among financial members of the association at no extra cost.
“As an association we shared the grains equally across PAN’s eight zones in the state equally. We also mandated each zone not the sell even a grain of the maize.
“We, however, considered new poultry farmers who wanted to the join the association as beneficiaries of the palliative,” said Iyiola.
He noted that through the palliative, more poultry farmers were recruited into the association.
“The maize was shared only to poultry farmers and not feed millers, it is the major component of poultry feed formulation,” he said.
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