IGP disbands SARS satellite offices nationwide

AgegePulse

SARS Operatives

The inspector general of police Mohammed Adamu has ordered the disbandment of satellite offices of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) across Nigeria.

Deputy inspector general of police in charge of Criminal Investigations Department Peter Ogunyonwo made the announcement during a courtesy visit to the family of late Remo Stars Sports Club player Tiamiyu Kazeem in Sagamu area of Ogun State.

“It is those (SARS) satellite offices that IG has ordered that should be disbanded immediately,” Ogunyonwo said.

“For example, there’s one in Ikorodu. From what we heard, there’s another one in Ijebu-Ode; there’s another one in Obada Oko from where officers came to cause this mayhem. So, all have been disbanded with immediate effect and the CPs have been ordered to take over such offices.”

In recent times, the Nigeria police have come under criticism by members of the public due to persistent extra-judicial killing, extortion, illegal arrest and harassment of citizens by officers attached to the SARS unit of the police.

On Saturday, February 22, SARS operatives arrested the late Kazeem who was allegedly accused of being an internet fraudster in Sagamu.

The arrest which led to his death has been attributed to different claims by the police and his teammate Sanni Abubakar who was with him during the arrest.

“The SARS officer stopped Tiyamiyu Kazeem, insisting that he was a Yahoo boy. He brought out his identity (ID) card to identify himself as a player of Remo Stars FC, but the officer insisted on taking him to the nearest police station in Sagamu,” Abubakar said.

He accused the police officer of pushing Kazeem out of a moving vehicle which led to his death.

But spokesman to Ogun State Police Command Abimbola Oyeyemi said the footballer was arrested for always wearing military apparels without being military personnel. He also refuted eyewitness’s claims about Kazeem’s death.

“While taking the deceased in a vehicle to Abeokuta, the vehicle they were travelling in developed a mechanical fault and while the officer was trying to rectify the fault, Tiamiyu jumped down from the vehicle to escape,” Oyeyemi said.

“In his bid to run across the road, an on coming vehicle which is on high speed knocked him down and he died on the spot.”

While the police is yet to conclude its investigation about Kazeem’s death, the IGP has assured Nigerians of ensuring justice prevails.

The Nati

Minimum Wage: NLC suspends planned nationwide strike

AgegePulse Magazine

November 6, 2018Azeezat Adedigba

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has called off the nationwide industrial action initially scheduled to commence on November 6 to further press for workers’ demand for new national minimum wage.


The President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, said this on Monday night in Abuja while addressing journalists at the end of a meeting of the tripartite committee set up by government to negotiate labour’s demand.

Organised labour had threatened to commence nationwide strike on November 6 should government fail to accede to its N30,000 minimum wage demand. The federal government had offered to pay N24,000 while some state governments are even offering less.

But briefing journalists on Monday night, Mr. Wabba said, “The tripartite negotiating committee this evening concluded its assignment. Agreement has been reached and also documents have been signed. The report will be submitted to Mr. President tomorrow by 4:15pm.

“Therefore, as organised labour, we want to use this medium to thank all the tripartite partners for their understanding and importantly for concluding this very national assignment.

“And having reached this position, and also the fact that the assignment has been concluded, organised labour also decided that the proposed industrial action is hereby suspended.

“Therefore, we thought this should be communicated appropriately without also any delusion or missing information.

“As the chairperson have said, mutual agreements have been reached and this will be make public tomorrow and we must appreciate the roles that organised private sectors have actually demonstrated and the attitude brought to this process and to members of the tripartite negotiating team.”

The Chairperson, Tripartite Committee, Amma Pepple, corroborated Mr Wabba’s claim, saying her committee had reached a truce and concluded its assignment.


“We are going to present our report to Mr President tomorrow at 4:15pm and he will reveal the figure that we have recommended,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, commended members of the committee for their time and commitment to the long and tortuous negotiation processes.

“I am confident that government will give expeditious consideration of the report tomorrow by Mr President and very soon the processes will be put in place to truly actualise your recommendations so that the status of our working populace will be enhanced and they would receive appropriate and commensurate payments for the services they offer to our nation and to the different sectors of our economy,” he said.

Government and labour had been at loggerheads over the demand for a new minimum wage. Labour says the minimum wage of N18,000 is paltry and no longer acceptable.

More to come…

Premium Times

NNPC Crashes Price Of Petrol, Cooking Gas Nationwide

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that their sustained strategic intervention in the efficient supply and distribution petroleum products, has led to a significant reduction in the prices of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, nationwide.

Spokesman of the corporation, Ndu Ughamadu, in a statement on Sunday, said a national survey by oil and gas forum, NNPC’s weekly TV programme, indicated that in the last few weeks, the price of petrol has fallen steadily from N145 per litre to between N142 and N143 per litre in some stations across the country.

According to him, NNPC mega and affiliate stations across the country are selling for N143 per litre, while the pump price range is between N142 and N145 per litre in some major and independent marketers in Lagos, Abuja, Sokoto, Enugu, Delta and other major cities.

“One of the respondents in the survey and a manager at an independent fuel retail station in Abuja, Mohammed Abdullahi, said the station currently sells petrol at N142 per litre in line with the prevailing market situation in order to sustain the turnover of the business and to attract more motorists to the station,” the statement read.

“Another independent marketer in Mosimi, Emeka Ikechukwu, said the going ex-depot prices of PMS had dropped from N138 per litre in most depots to N133.28 in NNPC depots and between N130 and N131 per litre in private depots.

“However, the situation is slightly different in Aba and Umuahia in Abia State and Calabar in Cross River state where most independent fuel stations as well as major marketers selling the product at N145 per litre.

“The survey also showed a similar trend of drop in price for cooking gas with the average price for refilling 5kg cylinder at N2,215.96 from the former price of N2,500.00.

“The study further revealed that states with the lowest average price for the 5kg LPG refill were Kaduna and Niger at N2,000; Kogi at N2,005.00; and Oyo at N2,033.33.”

Ughamadu also said the prices of cooking gas have also reduced.

“At the NNPC Mega and retail stations nationwide, a 12.5kg of cooking gas that was sold for N4,500 a few months ago is now sold for N3,800 while other retail outlets sell the same quantity for N4,000,” he said.

“NNPC has sustained its interventions through sustained improvement in the supply of the products and remodeling of distribution channels to address sufficiency issues across the country.”