SARS operatives detained us for 8 days over land dispute - Ogun residents

Operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad,
Abuja, have been accused of unlawfully arresting
one Abdulrahman Abdulkabir and two other
residents of Makun Sagamu, Ogun state.
Chief Idowu Sanya and Dauda Owolabi were said
to have been arrested and detained alongside
Abdulkabir for eight days, Punch reports.
notes that Sanya alleged that the
operatives chained him to their operational
vehicle from Sagamu to Abuja, adding that the
policemen released them after spending eight
days in custody, telling them to go home and
make peace over an expanse of land in the
community.
He said: “ On Monday, March 24, 2018, I visited the palace
of the Ewusi of Makun. Shortly after I left the palace
around 10pm, some SARS operatives intercepted me. They
ordered me into their vehicle. They also arrested two other
residents (Abdulkabir and Owolabi).

abroad with UK used phones - RRS
“None of us knew why we were arrested until they finally
took us to Abuja. It was more like abduction, as they never
produced any warrant of arrest. They first drove us to the
SARS office in Magbon, Abeokuta, and put us in a cell for
three days. On Thursday morning, they took us to Abuja.
“My right arm was chained to the body of the vehicle with
handcuffs all through the journey from Sagamu to Abeokuta
and from Abeokuta to Abuja. We later discovered that our
arrest was instigated by some land grabbers. The policemen
told us to go home and make peace with them.”
Recounting his ordeal, Abdulkabir said: “They
didn’t even allow me to put on my clothes before taking me
away. I was in a pair of boxer shorts. Throughout the three
days we spent in the Magbon cell, I slept on the floor,
wearing nothing but the boxer shorts. The most painful part
of the story was that the policemen discovered that my
name was not listed in an alleged petition that led to our
arrest when we got to Abuja."
The third victim, Owolabi, said that the
operatives did not give them food throughout the
three days they spent in Magbon.
ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the police public
relations officer in Ogun state, said that the SARS
operatives were not from the state command.
He said: “The SARS operatives are not from our
command. Maybe somebody wrote a petition against them
in Abuja and policemen came from there to arrest them.
But it is not possible for the police to arrest and detain
somebody for days without telling the person the nature of
offence committed. They should not be economical with the
truth. The police will even show you the petition written
against you, which I believe those policemen did.”

 previously reported that 32
officers of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS)
were arrested and under investigations for
various cases of misconduct. The officials were
locked up in various cells in Abuja and were
allowed to see their families or lawyers.
A source claimed that the order for the officers
to be arrested and transferred to Abuja came
from the inspector general of police, Idris
Ibrahim.

Minimum wage of N96,000 is achievable if government is serious - ULC

The United Labour Congress and the Nigerian
Labour Congress have called on the federal
government to treat workers with greater
respect, saying that the development of the
country rests on Nigerian workers.
The call was made during the parallel workers'
day celebration held in Kaduna by ULC and the
Nigeria Labour Congress on Tuesday, May 1,
Vanguard reports.
NAIJ.com notes that while the ULC held a
procession from the Lagos street round about
and terminated at the Ahmadu Bello stadium, the
NLC held a rally at its secretariat along the
independent way.

days over land dispute - Ogun residents
The chairman of the ULC, Lagos state chapter,
said that Nigerian workers deserved better than
they were presently getting, adding that the
proposal for a minimum wage of N96, 000 was
achievable.
He said: "The government can pay the N96,000 being
demanded by organised labour as minimum wage, Nigerian
workers can no longer allow themselves to be treated as
slaves.
The choice of N96,000 as a minimum wage was arrived at
after all key “factors and indicators” were taken into
consideration. We are concerned about the welfare of
Nigerian workers. That is why we proposed a minimum
wage of N96,000 after looking at all key indices and factors.
We know that government can pay the money if it is
serious. But beyond that, we are even ready for
negotiation.”
The NLC chairman in Kaduna state, comrade
Adamu Ango called on Nasir El Rufai of to obey
court order by paying the entitlements of

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Meanwhile,
minister of labour and employment Chris Ngige
said President Muhammadu Buhari was
interested in the well fair of Nigerian workers
and would enhance their salary in the year 2018.
Ngige who made this known in a chat with
journalists at Ifitedunu, Dunukofia local
government area of Anambra state, said a
national tripartite committee set up by President
Buhari on minimum wage had commenced work

7m people die every year from exposure to polluted air - WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on
Wednesday, May 2, said seven million people die
every year from exposure to polluted air.
According to a WHO report, ambient, or outdoor
air pollution alone caused some 4.2 million
deaths in 2016, while household air pollution
from cooking with polluting fuels and
technologies caused an estimated 3.8 million
deaths in the same period.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that
those figures are on a par with the number of
deaths recorded in an earlier study published
two years ago.

accept 5% petrol levy - Workers fume
WHO said air pollution levels remain
dangerously high in many parts of the world.
New data showed that nine out of 10 people
breathe air containing high levels of pollutants.
According to the report, more than 90% of air
pollution-related deaths occur in low- and
middle-income countries, mainly in Asia and
Africa, followed by low- and middle-income
countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region,
Europe and the Americas.
“Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most
marginalized people bear the brunt of the burden,” WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
said.
“It is unacceptable that over 3 billion people – most of them
women and children – are still breathing deadly smoke
every day from using polluting stoves and fuels in their
homes.
“If we don’t take urgent action on air pollution, we will
never come close to achieving sustainable development,”
he said.

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The WHO recognises that air pollution is a
critical risk factor for non-communicable
diseases, causing an estimated one-quarter (24%)
of all adult deaths from heart disease, 25% from
strokes, 43% from chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease and 29% from lung cancer.
 previously reported that the United
Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF)
said that only one out of four Nigerian children
receive recommended vaccination annually
across Nigeria.
The international agency said, although Nigeria
has made great strides in reducing the death of
children under the age of five from 158 to 120
per 1,000 births between 2011 and 2016, the
coverage of the main vaccines offered through
routine immunization has declined.
UNICEF in a statement said the immunization
coverage for pentavalent vaccine between the 36
states varies dramatically from 80% in Lagos to
3% in Sokoto.

Breaking: Police IGP snubs Senate invitation again

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotum
Idris, today, Wednesday, April 2, snubbed the
Nigerian Senate yet again.
The Senate had summoned IGP Idris to appear
before it over the recent killings and security
situation across the country.
NAIJ.com previously reported that a group, the
Democratic Youth Congress (DYC) has faulted the
Senate for inviting the Inspector General of
Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, to appear before it
personally to explain the circumstances leading
to the arrest of Melaye.
The group, in a statement by Kassim Muhammad
Kassim, the national chairman of DYC for Buhari
2019 at the weekend argued that it was Senator
Melaye that should be called to order and not
the IGP, who was following the constitutional
mandate given to him to maintain peace and
order in the country.

Breaking: Masked DSS operatives, policemen deployed to National Assembly

Some masked security men, bearing guns have been
reportedly deployed to the National Assembly.

Daily Trust reports that the sight of the masked
security men has begun to raise tension at the
National Assembly complex.

alleged plan to sack thousands of civil servants
NAIJ.com gathered that at the main entrance of
the Senate chamber where the mace was stolen
two weeks ago, a masked security man bearing
AK- 47 was sighted on Wednesday morning, May
2.
It was gathered across all entry points to the
National Assembly, policemen were seen
mounting surveillance.
This is happening as the Inspector General of
Police, Ibrahim Idris, is expected to appear today,
May 2, over the arrest of Senator Dino Melaye
(APC, Kogi) and the killings in part of the
country.
The Punch also reports that some operatives of
the Department of State Services in hoods
manned the entrance to the Senate chamber and
the lobby adjoining the House of Representatives.
It was reported that it could not be confirmed if
the Director-General of the DSS, Lawal Daura,
who had earlier been summoned with the IG
over the spate of insecurity in the country, would
be appearing today, May 2.

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported
that the Senate had summoned the Inspector-
General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to brief the
house on Melaye’s case and the killings by
armed herdsmen and militias throughout the
country.
The Senate had summoned the police boss to
brief the house on Melaye’s case and the killings
by armed herdsmen and militias throughout the
country.

Workers oppose 5% petrol levy, power sector privatisation

introduction of 5% levy on petrol by the federal
government, Punch reports.
The workers under the Trade Union Congress
(TUC) said the union is totally against the levy on
Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) which is contained
in the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill
recently passed by the National Assembly.
Commemorating the 2018 May Day, the president
of the TUC, Bobboi Kaigama, said the
privatisation of the power sector had failed.
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honours Nigerian police officer, Julius Adewale
Adedeji who has never taken bribe
Kaigama said it is important to query why the
imposition of the levy is coming at a time when
Nigerians are going through pains surviving.
He said: “ We are against the five per cent fuel levy hidden
in the PIGB. The question is, why is it coming now that
Nigerians are going through excruciating pains from the
mismanagement of the economy?
“What is the necessity of the marginal levy when Nigeria
has not fully broken the shackles of fuel scarcity? If the
National Assembly cannot lessen our burden, they should
not make it worse. That levy has to be removed
immediately. The excuse that the money will be used to fund
the Petroleum Equalisation Fund is not tenable.
“The investors have failed in most of their undertakings so
far and are even arm-twisting the government to cover up
their failure. We urge the government to hold these
investors to account and stop treating them with kid gloves.

alleged plan to sack thousands of civil servants
“They must comply with the agreement they signed in their
contracts with the Bureau of Public Enterprises. Excuses
must stop. The contracts should be reviewed immediately.
We need real investors to take over the power sector. This
so-called privatisation has failed."
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com earlier reported that the
Bauchi state governor, Mohammed Abubakar
had said the state government would not be able
to pay the proposed N66,500 as minimum wage
to civil servants.
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The governor said the state can only afford to
pay such minimum wage demanded by the
Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) if the federal
government increases its allocation.
Abubakar said taking such steps would be
difficult for the Bauchi state government to
actualise because the state generates little
revenue.