Kogi State

By Muhammad Sabiu

The Nigeria Police Force confirmed the kidnapping of three kids in Kogi State.

This was contained in a statement issued on Friday night by SP William Ovye Aya, the public relations officer for the Kogi State Police.

Early reports claimed that unknown gunmen attacked Kaduna Estate in the Ajaokuta Steel Township Complex, Kogi State’s Ajaokuta Local Government Area, on Wednesday night in order to kidnap their victims.

According to information from a family source, the kidnappers sought N100m in order to release their victims.

In the statement, Aya made a hint that Kogi State Commissioner of Police CP Edward Ogbuka had sent members of the Police Mobile Force, CTU, and Quick Response Unit on the hunt for the kidnappers with the goal of freeing the kids and putting the criminals to justice.

It may be remembered that lately, in Jida Bassa, Ajaokuta Local Government, gunmen ambushed three police officers and five vigilantes, killing them all.

Kogi in the North Central part of Nigeria has also been one of the states badly hit by the activities of gunmen.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

It is no longer news that the security situation in the country is pathetic and worrisome. Even the blind can see that the country is held to ransom by forces that challenge the state’s monopoly of violence. It is appalling that governments at various levels have failed in their primary objective of protecting the lives and properties of citizens. Terrorism and other atrocious crimes are being perpetuated wantonly and daily.

However, the Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahya Bello, is doing something different and commendable. In a Nigeria stuck with a replete of security challenges, Bello seems to be a shining example worthy of emulation by the president and his brother governors. This explains the relative peace we enjoy in Kogi, although it shares borders with about ten states in the country. Even while the country’s capital is under siege by terrorists and bandits, the same can not be said of Kogi State, which is about two hours drive from Abuja. 

Other state governors have to learn that as chief security officers of their states, the responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of people in their state falls on their shoulders. As much as collaboration is necessary between the states and the federal government on internal security issues, there is apparent incompetence of the highest order on the side of President Muhammadu Buhari.

For example, whenever there is a security challenge in Kogi State, the governor actively engages locals and traditional rulers in the area of the security breach to proffer solutions. This has proved effective in curtailing crimes. Although every state has its peculiar security problem, it is high time the governors realized this and came up with creative solutions like Bello is doing. 

Although many Nigerians have realized President Buhari is a grand failure, it would still do the country immense good if the president adopts Bello’s carrot and stick approach to security. Bello queries and suspends government officials and traditional rulers complicit in security infractions.

Bello similarly rewards the officials who do the needful in forestalling attacks and maintaining peace. But, sadly, the president only expresses shocks and issues empty threats that are never backed with actions. He honestly needs to learn from Bello, his political son and acclaimed mentee.

Ahmad Deedat Zakari wrote from Kogi State via ahmadzakari111@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahya Bello, has ordered the suspension of a traditional ruler and queried the Chairman of Ajaokuta Local Government Area of the state because of insecurity

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the governor’s spokesperson, Onogwu Muhammad, on Sunday, July 31, 2022.

The Spokesperson said :

” Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has directed the suspension of the Ohi of Eganyi and Chairman, Ajaokuta Traditional Area Council, HRH Alhaji Musa Isah Achuja with immediate effect after an investigation that led to his arrest and detention by the security agency.”

Mr Muhammad added that the Chairman of Ajaokuta Local Government, Hon Mustapha Aka’aba has also been queried and asked to respond within 24 hours.

Mr Muhammad, in explaining the reason for the governor’s disciplinary action, also stated that: 

“The governor’s directive against the affected persons is in connection with the recent security breach in the area, which led to the untimely deaths of some security personnel on their legitimate engagements of maintaining law and orders. 

The governor strongly warned other traditional rulers across the state who may have connections in one way or the other with criminal elements in their domains to desist forthwith, saying that his administration will deal ruthlessly with anybody who romances with criminal elements, no matter how highly placed they are.”

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Alhaji Muhammed Jamiu Idris, the Chief Executive Officer of Always Petroleum Energy Services, has been abducted by unknown gunmen. 

Our reporters gathered that Idris was abducted at his residence in Idare in Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State.

However, he was said to have been beaten mercilessly before being whisked to an unknown destination.

A family source disclosed that the men disguised as Sallah visitors before they eventually brought out sophisticated weapons and instructed Idris to follow them.

The source added that the kidnappers shot sporadically to scare people who attempted to resist the kidnapping of Idris.

The Kogi State Police Command has confirmed the incident to journalists. He stated that the abductors went to the house shortly after the Eid prayers.

The kidnappers had not made any contact with his family as at the time of this report.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

The Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has joined millions of music fans to partake in the ‘Buga Challenge’, the development that took many by surprise. 

Bello was seen displaying several dance moves to the trending song of Nigerian Act, Kizz Daniel, after he alighted from a vehicle.

This was in a video he posted on his Twitter handle with the caption, “after a hard day’s work…. we buga,”

His dance had thrown his followers into wild jubilation as he danced in excitement.

The trending song is said to have been one of the most popular songs in Africa that continues to enjoy massive streaming from fans/followers at the moment.

By Fatima Usman

Kogi State is one of the abundantly blessed states in Nigeria regarding natural and human resources and other things. Carved out of the old Kwara and Benue states, Kogi was created on 27th August 1991 by the then former president, Ibrahim Badamasi, alongside eight other states, including Delta, Edo, Abia Osun, Taraba states, etc. The state capital, Lokoja, is an ancient historical town that once served as Nigeria’s colonial administrative headquarters.

The birth of the new state was a reunion of a people who had shared history and had co-existed as one polity for over seven decades before being severed by the 1976 states creation exercise.

Kogi, among other states, has the most extensive mineral resources in Nigeria. These minerals resources, including coal, iron ore, dolomite, feldspar, tar, bauxite, and limestone, can serve as a source of income to the state and Nigeria as a whole only if utilised well. These alone can bring foreigners to the country for investment and serve as a tour state. It can also help eradicate poverty and create job opportunities for the people of the state and Nigeria.

Ajaokuta Steel Company alone can create millions of job opportunities for the youths, yet the government is not paying attention to it. Instead, they keep investing in another man’s land while ours dies.

Let’s not even talk about the rivers Niger and Benue, the two largest rivers in West Africa; their meeting point is in Lokoja, Kogi State.

The main aim is to make it a pleasurable delight to visitors, both foreign and local, thus boosting the tourism industry, economy, and social interaction in the state. But what have we done to it? Nothing. The government abandons it and never pays attention to it.

Sadly, Kogi politicians do not see that we have things that can make the state a better place, where people can talk about, and where people will come to search for greener pastures yet abandon them.

Those folks instead prefer to invest in other states and countries. All they know is to build hotels and filling stations all over the state, while most of them die after two to five years of operation. That happens because Kogi people depend only on salary and sometimes on percentage. Nobody is coming from other states or countries for any business meeting.

A state can be developed and have people coming after it only if it has good infrastructure, good roads, a standard manufacturing company, and other business activities. Without all these things, nobody will be interested in coming here.

Kogi state happened to be a state where people only depends on a salary after every 30 days of the month, which is not supposed to be.

We have other states who don’t have what we have, yet they are doing well. Their states have good roads, production companies that provide jobs for their citizens and even those who go there for greener pastures.

For Kogi state to be a better place, we have to appreciate what we have and utilise it well so that people don’t have to wait for white-collar jobs or wait for a stipend every month end before they can feed or live a better life.

Fatima Usman is a 300 level student of mass communication at IBB University, Lapai. She can be reached via usmanfatima499@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A stepmother identified as Elizabeth Abu, who allegedly burnt the butts of her stepson with pressing iron, was arrested on Monday, March 14, 2022. 

According to reports, the little stepson used his shirt to make a duster he was asked to bring to school. This angered the stepmother, who punished him this severely. The stepmother reportedly burnt his butts with pressing iron and rubbed pepper in his eyes and the burnt butts.

Mrs Abu has reportedly been on the run since the news of the dastard act broke on March 10, 2022, before her arrest today.

The Facebook user, Safiya Stephanie Musa, who shared the details of her arrest and others who reacted condemned the act in strong terms. Stephanie Musa posted, thus:

“And the wicked stepmother, Elizabeth Abu, who burnt her stepson’s butts with a hot iron, and rubbed pepper in his eyes, has been taken into Police Custody in Lokoja. How one can do this to a child because he used his cloth to make duster they were asked to bring to school beats me silly.Big thanks to the Governor and the Kogi Women Affairs Commissioner for taking action. The boy is currently in the hospital. May the Lord grant him full recovery without complications, Ameen.”

The Lokoja police command has yet to make any official statement on the issue while filing this report.

By Promise Eze

My heart was broken to smithereens when I read of how a 21-year-old Sule Mathew was horrendously despatched by unknown gunmen last week in Anambra state.

Sule Matthew graduated with a first-class from the Faculty of Communication, Bayero University, Kano, recently. The young man was on his way to participate in the forthcoming orientation programme of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) when he and other passengers were ambushed and butchered by unknown assailants.

It was reported that he lost his father a few months ago, but now his family has lost him. I think of the grief his mother would go through. I think of the agony and despair the bereaved family he left behind will suffer.

The young man had so much potential and could have done more for his country if allowed to live. I followed his Facebook page and it became glaringly clear that Igala land and Kogi state has lost a great individual, one who was ready to contribute positively to the development of his homeland. I saw that he was a fellow of a budding political movement, Gidan Yanci and also he was the cofounder of KogiYupp— a project that offers Kogi youth a chance to be involved in progressive political participation. But the young man was forced to wilt before he even bloomed.

He travelled to eastern Nigeria in a car, and he would return in a coffin. No thanks to the so-called unknown gunmen (UGM) who are responsible for his demise. UGM, a product of IPOB’s agitation for Biafra, came into the limelight in 2020. Their own way of demanding a new country is by attacking police stations, military checkpoints, and paramilitary officers.

UNG suddenly became worse than the ‘evil’ they were fighting. These mkpuru mmiri addicts now armed with guns colonized a once peaceful movement for a referendum and transformed it into an all-out war with the Nigerian government. Now, they’ve murdered a young man who has no business with whatever is going on in Eastern Nigeria. His only crime was going to serve his country.

It pains me that Sule was killed for nothing. It hasn’t been confirmed if ‘IPOB’s Unknown gunmen’ are responsible for the attack that led to his death, but we know that IPOB’s activities created a dark hole that armed robbers, hard drug users, kidnappers and cultists are fitting into. Now, anyone could carry out any attack and use the insignia of IPOB to cover his crime. This brings the question, ‘Is Biafra still worth fighting for?’ 

Ever since the resurgence of the call of Biafra, it’s been bloodshed after bloodshed. Chaos after chaos. Gunshots after gunshots. Igbo land which was known to be relatively peaceful is now a war zone. What kind of Biafra are IPOB and UGM clamouring for that demands so much blood? The blood of the innocent. The blood of Sule Matthew. The blood of the passengers who were killed too. If this is what Biafra entails then I do not want it to exist.

And I believe that the vast majority of Ndi Igbo would swear that they rather remain with Nigeria than involve themselves with this kind of Biafra—a Biafra where we all have to sleep with only one of our eyes closed.

Biafra died inside me the day I learnt about the death of Sule. May his soul rest in perfect peace.

Promise Eze is a journalist and writes via ezep645@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The new Attah of Igala, Mathew Opaluwa Ogwuche Akpa II, will officially receive the Staff of Office in March 2022.

In a statement signed on Friday, February 11, by the Kogi State Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barr. Salami Momodu Ozigi Deedat, the state government, invites the public to the official installation and presentation of the Staff of Office to the new Attah of Igala, Mathew Opaluwa Ogwuche Akpa II, by the Kogi State Governor, Yahya Adoza Bello.

The statement scheduled the installation as follows: “Date: Friday, 4th March 2022. Venue: Attah Igala Palace. Time: 9 am”.

It is also noted from the statement issued that there will be a presentation of the Staff of Office to other traditional leaders. The statement partly reads:

“Presentation of Staff of Office to other concerned traditional rulers holds the next day (Saturday 5th of March, 2022). Time: 10 am. Venue: Muhammadu Buhari Civil CENTRE, Opposite Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Lokoja”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Kogi State University, Anyigba (KSU), has officially changed its name to Prince Abubakar Audu University.

The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Kogi State Governor, Onogwu Muhammad, announced on Friday, January, 28.

In a Facebook post, the CPS wrote, “In honour of one of the State’s illustrious sons, Late Prince ABUBAKAR Audu, Kogi State Governor, His Excellency Yahaya Bello announced in 2019 that the Kogi State University, Anyigba should be re-named ‘Prince ABUBAKAR Audu University, Anyigba’

He made announcement in Anyigba and followed it up. Today, the name of that University has officially been changed to Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba.”

The late Prince Abubakar Audu died while at the verge of winning Kogi gubernatorial election for another tenure in November, 2015.