DFCNews

BREAKING: Gunmen attack Adamawa police headquarters

Share:

NPFGunmen were said to have attacked the Adamawa State Police Headquarters, Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area, in the early hours of Wednesday, sending residents of Yola into panic.

According to Daily Trust, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Suleiman  Nguroje, confirmed the attack, but said things were under control.

Nguroje said, “The attack was repelled, but the identities of those behind it was unknown.”

The newspaper quoted a source as alleging that the attackers were military personnel on a revenge mission, following the alleged killing of a military officer by the police

Although the newspaper said it could not independently verify if military personnel were involved, but the police said investigations were ongoing to ascertain the cause of the attack and those behind it.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that there was a faceoff last Friday between officials of the EFCC and some personnel of the Nigerian Air Force at the Kaduna Zonal Command of the anti-graft agency.

The NAF personnel were said to have stormed the commission’s office in an attempt to release their colleagues earlier arrested by EFCC operatives for allegedly attempting to forcibly release fraud suspects from custody.

The anti-graft agency noted that its operatives arrested five suspects at an eatery located in the Barnawa area of the state on Monday following credible intelligence about their alleged internet-related fraud activities.

A statement released on Friday by EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, gave the names of the suspected fraudsters as Favour Itung, Rachael Ande, Zuleiman Haruna, Abubakar Ismaila and Solomon Olobatoke.

The EFCC, however, noted that after the sting operation, six military personnel who witnessed the operation at the eatery stormed its Kaduna Command and attempted to forcibly release the arrested fraud suspects but were subdued and detained over the security breach.

According to the anti-graft agency,  the intruders are four Air Force personnel: Lawal Abdullahi, Chukwuma  Christian, Alfa Suleiman and Emmanuel Ekwozor, and two students of  Nigerian Air Force Institute of Technology,   Chidera Anuba and Joseph Tokula.

The EFCC added that while in detention, there were inter-agency communication and discussions by the leadership of the EFCC and the NAF to resolve the matter.

The statement added, “Unfortunately, dialogue on the release of the combative Air Force personnel broke down on Friday, November 17, 2023,  when some unruly NAF Officers stormed the Kaduna Command in a commando-style, to forcefully release their detained colleagues.

“The EFCC exercised restraint in the face of the provocation and flagrant abuse of power.

“The Commission continued to engage with the leadership of the Nigeria Air Force and released the officers to the NAF Provost after they had been duly profiled.

“The EFCC wishes to assure the public that it will continue to carry out its statutory mandate of tackling all cases of economic and financial crimes, without let or hindrance.”

Previous Article

Navy hands over seized oil-laden ship to EFCC

 Next Article

Rising inflation and low economic growth in Nigeria will push a further 2.8 million people into poverty by 2023’s end, the World Bank has disclosed. This is based on a report titled, ‘Macro Poverty Outlook: Country-by-country Analysis and Projections for the Developing World,’ released recently. The Washington-based bank said, “By the end of 2023, the rise in inflation and low economic growth will have contributed to an increase of 2.8 million people in poverty (y-o-y), a 0.4 percentage points bump to 37.5 per cent of the population.” It noted that Nigeria’s high inflation reached a17 17-year high of 24.1 percent (y-o-y) in July 2023, partly reflecting surging food prices and the temporary impact of the removal of the fuel subsidy. It stated that a cumulative 725 basis points hike in the monetary policy rate since May 2022 has had little effect on reining in inflation due to clogged transmission channels, also weakened by direct credit allocation by the central bank, and the continued monetization of the fiscal deficit. The global bank further declared that federal fiscal deficit has risen to 63 per cent higher between January and May 2023 than in the same period in 2022, due to increasing interest payments, higher capital spending ahead of the elections, and the continuous large cost of the fuel subsidy. The impact of this is set to spike public debt to 45 per cent of GDP and keep debt service above total revenue in 2023. It said. “The fiscal financing need and the devaluation of the naira are expected to push the public debt to 45 per cent of GDP and keep the debt service above total revenues in 2023. “The current account balance (CAB) recorded a surplus of 2.2 per cent of GDP in Q1 2023, driven by lower imports and income outflows. However, the small CAB surpluses and capital flows since 2022 have been insufficient to increase foreign reserves, as oil export FX flows to CBN contracted, likely as a result of the direct crude sale-direct fuel purchase arrangements.” The Bretton Woods Institution further predicted that future economic growth in the country will depend on the continued implementation of macro-fiscal and inclusive structural reforms. It stated the current reforms of the government will boost economic growth to an average of 3.4 per cent in 2023-2025. It also expects inflation to begin to moderate by 2024. The World Bank added, “The share of Nigerians living below the international poverty line is expected to peak in 2024 at 38.8 per cent before beginning a gradual decline, as inflation cools down and economic growth picks up. Targeted measures, including cash transfers, could mitigate short-term adjustment costs to the poor and vulnerable and mitigate their risk of falling into intergenerational poverty traps.” Earlier in June, the bank disclosed that inflation pushed an estimated four million people into poverty between January and May 2023. Inflation has since risen to 27.33 per cent as of October 2023.

You may also like

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.