Daily News In Bits.

The South East States of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo are in the grip of fresh anxiety over safety of life and property after the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, called for a sit-at-home protest across the region today, Monday. The group branded it Biafra-wide solidarity lockdown to show support for Onitsha traders in the aftermath of the closure of the city’s main market for one week by Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo.

. Scores of terrorists were killed and others brutally injured during a gun battle with troops of Operation Fansan Yamma in North West Nigeria. The operation followed days of intensive surveillance by ground troops and the Nigerian Air Force, who intercepted the bandits on January 31, spokesperson of Operation Fansan Yamma, Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyi Osoba, said in a statement on Sunday.

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 The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has removed the names of the Julius Abure-led executive of the Labour Party from its portal following its sack by the Federal High Court. The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, confirmed this in a statement in Abuja. The party described the decision by the commission as “strange,” vowing to protest it.

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 The Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, has clarified the circumstances surrounding the death of a rising singer in the Federal Capital Territory, Ifunanya Nwagene, who died on Saturday after suffering a snake bite. The hospital stated that its medical personnel made concerted efforts to save her life but were unsuccessful.

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. Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji, has commended the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services, and other security agencies for what he described as remarkable operational successes recorded against bandits in Mariga LGA and parts of the Niger North senatorial district of the state. The speaker described the operation as a major breakthrough in the fight against insecurity in the state.

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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested Uche Franklin Onyekwere, a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, for concealing cocaine in his private part and the soles of his footwear. A full-body scan confirmed the concealment, and a subsequent search recovered 1.6 kilograms of cocaine in three large wraps.

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 Edo State Police Command has rescued three kidnapped victims— a husband and his two wives in Ekpoma—and arrested eight suspected kidnappers, the Command said on Sunday. In addition, five suspects were arrested for alleged vandalism of a petroleum pipeline in Edo Central Senatorial District.

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 Workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration received their January salaries last Friday, alongside the payment of one month out of the five months’ arrears owed under the Wage Award, officials have said. With the latest payment, two months of the five-month Wage Award arrears have now been settled, while the remaining three months are scheduled to be paid alongside salaries for February, March and April.

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 The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), on Sunday disclosed that he was among the intended targets of the recently foiled coup plot against President Bola Tinubu, revealing that the conspirators planned to arrest or shoot him if he resisted. Musa made the disclosure while speaking as a guest on Politics today, a Channels Television programme, where he also described the suspects behind the plot as “a bunch of very unserious individuals.”

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 Abia State Governor and leader of the Labour Party, Dr Alex Otti, has described the exit of the party’s former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as highly regrettable, admitting that his departure represents a major loss to the party amid its lingering leadership crisis.

 Otti spoke in Abuja during a meeting with members of the party’s Board of Trustees, leaders of the National Caretaker Committee and representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.

From dailypost