From the drive by South-Eastern leaders for the release of Nnamdi Kanu to the discovery of 427 ghost officials in Anambra State, the past week has been eventful in South-Eastern Nigeria.
Here are some highlights of the top stories making headlines in the region over the past week.
NAFDAC closes 100 stores in Enugu market
The past week began with the closure of 100 shops at Ogbete Main Market, Enugu, by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on July 1.
NAFDAC South East Director, Martins Iluyomade, said the shops were sealed off because the owners were dealing in suspected counterfeit alcoholic drinks.
Photo of the operation (Photo provided by X @NafdacAgency)
Iluyomade, the pharmacist, said when officials from the agency raided the market on July 1, they sealed the shop.
He said during the investigation, authorities seized a truckload of counterfeit goods and arrested four vendors suspected of selling the fake drinks.
Military kills wanted IPOB leader, arrests two more ‘notorious terrorists’
The onslaught by the Nigerian military against suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) continued last Monday with the killing of an IPOB leader and the arrest of two others.
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In a statement on its Facebook page on July 1, the military said troops had conducted multiple raids on IPOB hideouts in Imo state, killing a terrorist kingpin and arresting two other notorious terrorists.
The operation was carried out in coordination with other security agencies.
Police have declared the officer a retired officer, seven others are wanted.
Last Tuesday, we reported that the Enugu State Police Command had issued a warrant for eight criminal suspects wanted for alleged murder and terrorism in the state.
Police spokesman in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, identified one of the suspects as Uche Asogwa, a 47-year-old retired police officer.
Ndukwe, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, named the other suspects as Gabriel Emebe, 41; Ogechukwu Ogbonna; Chimezie Ugwu, 26; Chizoba Ogbuabor, 21; and Everestus Eze, 36, 43.
The suspects wanted by police also include two others, Jude Nebeolisa, 27, and Chitor Okechukwu, 28.
Police said the suspects, all male, are residents of Igga community in the state.
Ndukwe did not give details about the crimes the suspects allegedly committed.
However, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the declaration was linked to the killing of two police operatives and three vigilantes in Igga community in early May.
Governors of the Southeast
South-East leaders step up pressure for release of Nnamdi Kanu
Moves to secure the release of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, gained further momentum last Tuesday with the resolution of South-East governors to meet with President Bola Tinubu on the issue.
The governors, at their meeting in Enugu, also resolved to tackle insecurity in the Southeast.
The meeting was also attended by other Igbo leaders and former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
President Obasanjo’s presence at the meeting fuelled speculation that he had orchestrated the governors’ resolution.
However, the former president quickly denied the allegations.
Apart from the governors’ resolution, 15 senators from the South-East region met the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, in Abuja the next day to pressurise the Federal Government for the release of the IPOB leaders.
Senators led by Abia South constituency representative, Enyinnaya Abaribe, have proposed the development of a political solution for Kanu’s release.
Governor Mba signs four bills to curb open grazing and land grabbing
The anti-open grazing law is set to be put to the test in Enugu State after Governor Peter Mba signed a bill banning open grazing in the state.
The new law, known as the Public Ranch Management Act, is intended to regulate the operations of cattle ranchers in the state.
The Act empowers the Enugu State Government to establish an agency to regulate both government and privately owned ranches in the state.
Governor Mbah (Photo credit: Governor’s Twitter account, https://twitter.com/PNMbah)
In 2021, the then South-Eastern governors banned open grazing in the region, but the ban did not yield any results.
Besides the Open Grazing Prohibition Bill, Mba also signed three other bills into law, including the Enugu State Property Protection Bill, which aims to stop land grabbing in the state.
The Governor said the new real estate law was in line with his pledge to improve ease of doing business in the state by curbing land grabbing.
Ghost Workers of Anambra
In a shocking revelation, the Anambra State Government has revealed that there are 427 ghost officials among the local government staff.
Chairman, Anabura State Local Government Civil Service Commission, Vincent Ezeaka, disclosed this while speaking with reporters in Awka.
Ezeaka, a lawyer, said of the 427 ghost staff, 59 are deceased, five are overseas and 40 are retired staff still drawing salaries in the two tertiary institutions in the state.
He said 222 of the ghost officials could not be identified in any of the 21 assembly districts in the state.
Ezeaka said the committee had engaged a retired Permanent Secretary to carry out the verification exercise.
He added that the discovery was made during a personnel audit launched to bring integrity to the state civil service.
Related article: Police bans planned ‘Cult Day celebrations’ in Anambra
Death of a female university student
It was a sad day at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, on Friday after the body of a female centenarian student at the institution was found abandoned behind the boys’ hostel on the campus.
The deceased, Faber Okeni, was a student of the Department of Clinical Laboratory Science at the university.
She went missing after attending a chemistry lab on Tuesday.
University officials said they were shocked by the discovery of the student’s body.
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