The nationwide hardship protest of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), did not come without surprises, one of which was the involvement of the residents of South-Eastern States in the protest.

It was widely reported that residents of South-Eastern States will jettison the hardship protests against the President Bola Tinubu led government.

But, in a twist of events, pictures of the ongoing protest from the labour union in South-Eastern states have continued to emerge.

Pictures from Anambra State, the home state of the Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, shows that citizens turned-out for the hardship protest.

The Advice

There was an increased call for demonstration against the increased hardship Nigerians are going through.

This prompted prominent individuals and bodies from the South-eastern region including Ohanaeze Ndigbo among other to send warnings to residents of the region.

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The residents were advised to shun any form of protest against the President Bola Tinubu led government.

However, pictures from the Anambra NLC hardship protests indicates that there was a massive turnout on the first day of the NLC led hardship protest.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced that some areas in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), will experience six hours of total blackout on Saturday, February 10, 2024.

The TCN, published a statement on Friday via its spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah.

Mbah explained that the blackout would enable the commission’s maintenance crew to carry out a scheduled annual preventive maintenance on its 132kV line 1.

This is at Gwagwalada and Apo Transmission Substations.

Mbah added that the exercise would affect the 132/33kV Kukwaba Transmission Substation.

It will last for six hours, on Saturday while the maintenance holds between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Affected Areas

The statement identified areas to be affected.

They include parts of Lokogoma, Kabusa Garden, TradeMore, Pyakasa, Aherita, Chika, Games Village, Stadium, Wuye, Utako, Life Camp and Idu.

The TCN spokesperson apologised in advance to residents of the affected areas.

To them, the power supply would be restored as soon as the maintenance work is completed.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) wishes to announce that its maintenance crew will carry out a scheduled annual preventive maintenance.

“This will be on its 132kV line 1 at both Gwagwalada and Apo Transmission Substations.

“The maintenance is slated for Saturday, 10th February 2024, between the hours of 9:00am to 3:00pm.

“Consequently, there will be a power interruption at the 132/33kV Kukwaba Transmission Substation for six hours on Saturday, tomorrow.

“The areas affected include parts of Lokogoma, Kabusa Garden, TradeMore, Pyakasa, Aherita, Chika, Games Village, Stadium, Wuye, Utako, Life Camp and Idu.

The Attack

“Power supply will be restored as soon as the maintenance work is completed as indicated.

“We regret any inconveniences this will cause electricity consumers in the affected areas,” the statement read.

The TCN Gwagwalada-Kukwaba-Apo 132KV Transmission Line 1 in the Abuja axis was attacked by suspected vandals In December.

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The vandalism of the line was said to have taken place at night when the bulk power supply on the line was cut off.

This prompted an early morning investigation by TCN linesmen.

They discovered a vandalised portion of the line route between Tower 23 and Tower 25.

Fourteen travellers kidnapped by gunmen in Inele Eteke within Kogi State’s Olalamaboro Local Government Area have regained their freedom.

The spokesman for the Kogi State Police Command, SP William Ovye, revealed this on Thursday, February 8.

“I have just been informed by the DPO that all the kidnapped victims of God Is Good Motors, GIG and ABC have regained their freedom”, he said.

On Saturday, February 3, 2024, bandits hijacked two buses owned by GIG and ABC transport company.

The Ransom

They seized approximately 14 passengers and took them to an undisclosed location.

According to sources, God is Good Motors had 12 passengers while ABC had two passengers on board.

The GIG bus departed from Umuahia in Abia State at 7:30 am on Saturday, and was headed to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

The abductors of these 14 passengers, heading to Abuja, communicated with the families of the victims, requesting 15 million Naira as ransom.

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It remains uncertain whether the ransom was paid before the release of the abducted individuals.

The teachers and students of Apostolic Faith Group of Schools in Emure-Ekiti, Ekiti State, who were abducted last week, have regained their freedom.

The kidnapped victims were released by their abductors at approximately 2:00 a.m. on Sunday.

The Chairman of Emure Local Government, Adebayo Oluwatosin confirmed the development.

According to him, the victims were now in the palace of Elemure of Emure Ekiti.

He said the driver was killed while the other eight regained their freedom. Their freedom came after they spent roughly seven days with the abductors.

It is, however, unclear whether the ransom demanded by the kidnappers was paid before the release.

The Ransom

The kidnappers had demanded ₦100 million ransom for the release of the nine victims who were abducted on Monday.

The principal of the secondary section of the school, Boje Olanireti, confirmed the development via an interview on Tuesday.

The abduction of the school children and four staff members occurred when the school bus conveying 25 pupils home after school hours was stopped by gunmen in the Emure community in Ekiti State.

According to Olanireti, the dire incident occurred about a five-minute drive from the school.

The Kidnap

She said: “Immediately, the school closed at 3:00 p.m., and by the time we gathered all the children, it was already 3:30 p.m. It was that time that they moved.

“So, the incident happened between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.

“The school is in a suburb of Emure village, so they were going back home in Eporo.

“The incident occurred just about a five-minute drive from the school to Eporo.

“When the gunmen attacked, the people around heard the gunshots. They came to Emure with motorcycles to inform the people in the school about what happened.

“We immediately reported to the police station at Emure.

“The students were over 25 on the bus when the incident happened.

“When the gunmen attacked them, they shot the tyre of the vehicle and asked the children to come out of the bus.

“They asked all of them to lie down and picked five students and four staff members.

“They, after that, asked others to go”.

Olanireti added that “the five students comprise two from the secondary (school) and three from primary school while the four staff comprise two teachers, one driver and one bus assistant.

“When the parents heard about the incident, they came from Eporo and they have been making frantic efforts by reaching out to some security outfits, including the police and Amotekun.

The Demand

“The security operatives have also been talking to the proprietor of the primary school and he has been giving them information.

“By the time they opened communication, they first called the husband of one of the teachers and demanded ₦10 million for each kidnapped victim.
But when they later called the headmaster, they demanded ₦100 million for all of them.”

A family source at Eporo Ekiti, who preferred anonymity, also confirmed on Tuesday that the kidnappers had contacted the family of one of the children demanding ₦100 million on the victims.

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The source said: “They called the family of one of the school children and they are requesting ₦10 million per victim.

“What we gathered is that there are nine persons kidnapped – five schoolchildren, two teachers, one bus assistant, and a driver.

“The parents are at Eporo. The bus was taking them home after closing.

“It was in the process that the kidnappers struck. None of the families of the abductees can afford the ransom.’’