Enugu State

By Muhammad Ibrahim 

The National Chairman of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, has called on security agencies to investigate a viral video showing a man in the organisation’s First Aid Group uniform allegedly calling for weapons to attack Enugu on Sunday.

In a statement dated Monday, October 26, 2026, Bala Lau condemned the remarks and urged the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to identify those involved and bring anyone found culpable to justice.

He distanced JIBWIS from the statements, stressing that the organisation did not endorse violence or threats against any community. He also warned that wearing its uniform did not necessarily mean the individual was acting with its authorisation.

The cleric said the incident could be an attempt to misrepresent the organisation and damage its reputation, urging authorities to investigate the man’s identity, affiliation and motives.

Bala Lau cited JIBWIS’s recent international conference in Abuja, which brought together Muslim and Christian leaders to promote interfaith dialogue, religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

He maintained that the organisation, established about 48 years ago, remained committed to Islamic teachings, education, humanitarian services and peaceful coexistence among people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The Senate has ordered an investigation into the death of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Comrade Etimbuk Daniel, at the orientation camp in Enugu State.

The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance raised on Thursday by Senator Aniekan Bassey, representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Bassey expressed shock over Daniel’s death and identified him as a former Students’ Union Government president of Akwa Ibom State University who had proceeded for the mandatory national service.

The senator said reports indicated that Daniel died from complications linked to a minor headache after allegedly experiencing delays in receiving adequate medical attention at the camp clinic.

He said the incident had raised concerns about the quality of healthcare available at NYSC orientation camps, particularly the availability of qualified medical personnel, functional facilities and effective emergency referral systems.

Bassey added that the government had a constitutional responsibility to protect citizens’ welfare and ensure that graduates undertaking national service received appropriate medical care.

He said Daniel’s death had plunged his family, the university community and Akwa Ibom State into mourning.

Seconding the motion, Senator Tahir Monguno, representing Borno North, called for a comprehensive investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the death and ensure accountability where necessary.

The Senate subsequently directed its committees on Police, Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Youth Development, and Health to investigate the incident in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS).

The investigation is expected to determine whether negligence or other failures contributed to Daniel’s death.

Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, commended Bassey for bringing the matter before the chamber and urged the committees to conduct a thorough investigation.

By Muhammad Sulaiman

Tensions erupted at the Bariki Market in Enugu State when a group of Igbo butchers reportedly confronted and attacked their Hausa counterparts over a disagreement tied to meat prices.

According to eyewitnesses, the incident began when Hausa butchers allegedly sold their meat at lower prices, a move that some Igbo traders viewed as undercutting the market. The disagreement escalated into a physical altercation, resulting in injuries and disruption of business activities in the area.

Observers have noted that Igbo traders operate freely across markets in Kano and other parts of northern Nigeria, with no reports of similar incidents. Some commentators expressed concern that the Enugu clash had not received widespread media attention, suggesting that the coverage might have been more prominent had the situation been reversed. However, a video clip of the clashes has been widely shared on social media in Northern Nigeria.

There are also concerns that, in other contexts, such disputes risk being misrepresented as ethnic or communal violence, further heightening tensions.

Market authorities and local security agencies are yet to issue an official statement on the incident.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A mother of three has committed suicide due to incessant economic hardship after abandoning her children at a police station in Enugu State.

It was gathered that the woman went to Ogui Road police station with the children, handed them to officers, stripped herself naked and run under the moving vehicle which crushed her to death.

The ages of the three children are reportedly six, four, and two. Her husband allegedly ran away from home months ago due to increased hardship, abandoning his wife and children.

When asked about their father, the eldest of the children simply said he was lost. She could not provide any other information about their family, town, or residential address.

The wife of Enugu State Governor, Nkechinyere Mbah, who rushed to the police station upon learning about the incident, was told that the woman might have been suffering from depression.

Mbah was touched by the development. She said she would take care of the children and educate them from nursery school to university.

She announced that sponsorship for the children would be undertaken by her Custos Care Foundation.

Mbah also directed the immediate relocation of the children from the station to a home where the state government could take care of them.

She urged people who suffer from depression to seek counseling and avoid rash decisions.

She also urged the Commissioner, Ministry of Children, Gender and Social Development, Ngozi Enih, to intensify sensitisation and counselling, especially for the depressed.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Unknown gunmen have stormed the Enugu state office of the National Electoral Commission (INEC) and set the place on fire.

The attack, which was coming few days to the country’s general elections, also lead to the murder of a policeman, who was shot by the gunmen and breathed his last on the spot.

Festus Okaye, the National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, delayed the news go journalists.

He said that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Enugu State, Dr. Chukwuemeka J. Chukwu, reported the incident to the headquarters of the commission.

He added that, “The incident occurred around 9.12pm yesterday, Sunday 15th January 2023. The security gatehouse was razed. Of the two Policemen deployed to protect the facility, one of them lost his life while the other sustained injuries and is receiving treatment.”

“The commission prays for the repose of the soul of the deceased policeman and the speedy recovery of the injured. The attack is being investigated by the security agencies,” Okoye said.

He added that it was very fortunate that the attackers could not gain access to the main building as a result of responses from police and army personnel 82 Division.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

A native doctor named Odoh Emmanuel has been detained by the Enugu State police after it was claimed that he used a rifle intended for testing the bullet-repelling charms he had created for his client Onunze Benedict to kill him.

The terrible incident was said to have occurred in Umuaram Village, which is a part of the Ikem neighbourhood in the state’s Isi-Uzo Local Government Area.

The victim, an Eha-Amufu resident, reportedly asked the local oracle to create the charm for him.

The native doctor, who was only 23 years old, made the decision to try the charm on his customer by shooting him several times.

Commenting on the incident, the Enugu Police Command, through its spokesman, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, said in a statement: “On 16/11/2022 around 11 pm, Police Operatives serving in Isi-Uzo Police Division of the command arrested Odoh Emmanuel (male and a native doctor) aged 23, of Umuaram Village in Ikem community of Isi-Uzo LGA, for shooting and murdering his adult male client, one Onunze Benedict, of Eha-Amufu community in the same. 

“Preliminary investigation reveals that the suspect confessed to having used a locally-fabricated single-barreled gun to shoot and murder the said victim in his shrine at the mentioned location while testing the gunshot protection charm he had prepared for him. The gun has been recovered, while further investigation is ongoing at the Homicide Section of the State CID Enugu”.