NYSC boss' son allegedly shot by hired SSS operatives

Preye, who is said to be the son of the Chairman of the Governing Board, National Youth Service Corps, Chief Gordon Bozimo, has been allegedly shot by suspected operatives of the Department of State Security in Bayelsa State.



Preye was said to have been shot in the stomach in Peretimi Hotels located at Imgbi Road, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where he had lodged.

The victim alleged that the manager of the hotel hired operatives of the Department of State Security to shoot him.

He said on Sunday that three suspected DSS operatives were personally led by the manager of the hotel to deal with him and finally shoot him in the stomach.

It was learnt that following the incident, the hotel was shut down for about five days after some of the workers were arrested, detained and later released by the police.

Preye, who hails from Bomadi, Delta State, spoke in his hospital bed at the Surgical Ward of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, where he is lying critically ill.

Preye, a building contractor and founder of Prezimo Global Resources, said he lodged in the hotel on September 30 with his cousin, Mr. Nathaniel Alaweremi.

But he said trouble started when he had an argument in the room with his cousin over some financial miscalculations.

The quarrel, he said, attracted the hotel manager whose office was located directly opposite their room.

Preye said, “Last week, Tuesday, I came into Yenagoa so, I went to Peretimi Hotel on Imgbi road. I got there and paid for a room. I had little argument with my cousin on monetary issues involving our construction.

“Our voices went high due to the little argument. The room I lodged in was opposite the manager’s office. She came and accused us of chasing one of her customers away because of our noise.

“She said we were so noisy and didn’t think we could stay in her hotel. So, we said no problem that she should refund our money to us. I approached her and told her that as a manager, she was not supposed to treat her customers like that. She immediately responded and said she would show me.”

Preye, who was writhing in pains, said the manager left them and shortly came back with three armed persons he identified as SSS operatives.

He added, “She left and came in with three SSS men. They were in suites and they wore glasses with two guns and a big riffle. Immediately, they asked my cousin to leave the room. They locked me inside.

“Everything looked suspicious to me because I know that it is not how to arrest a person. While I was trying to plead with the manager that the matter had not got to the level she took it, the SSS men punched on me.

“The next thing I heard was a shot and I realised it was on my stomach and I fell to the ground inside the room and they started hitting me. The other one said, ‘empty his pocket’ and they took all my money, my ATM cards, my wrist watch, pulled my trousers, took my shoes and my car key.

“It was a clear robbery. They now dragged me outside. I was on t-shirt and on boxer shorts. They dragged me through the pavements; all my ribs were paining me.

“Then they fired two shots into the air. When my cousin came to where I was lying, they threatened to shoot him on the leg.They took me into their bus and went away. When we got to the station, they put me on the ground and I was bleeding.”

When asked the name of the station he was taken to, he said, “I did not really no because I was dizzy but it was an SSS station. On the ground, I was bleeding and shouting everybody refused to attend to me.

“But when they saw the amount of blood coming out of my body they now decided to take me to the hospital. So, I was asking why they shot me like a common criminal. They said that they are security agents and they choose to do whatsoever they wish to do and that there is nothing I can do.”

The 32-year-old man said he lost all his valuables including about N100,000 to his attackers during the incident that happened between 12 and 2pm on the fateful day.

Preye continued, “They shot me in my stomach. One of the bullets went in and came out. The other bullet that went in, they still haven’t seen the bullet and the doctor here said I have to go for further check abroad because they have done their best.

“They said even if they see the bullet, they can’t operate it. So, this is the situation. These men were so confident of themselves because they said I can’t do anything. I think they have been doing this kind of thing.”

His cousin, Alaweremi, who corroborated the story, insisted that men of the DSS were persons hired by the hotel manager to beat and shoot his cousin.

He said, “The manager was laughing at my brother’s ordeal and she said that we got what we were looking for. My brother did nothing wrong. The doctors are saying that they couldn’t handle the case here and that he should be taken abroad. Where will the money come out from to run these expenses?”

Though the state Director, DSS, Mr. Dawa Everest, could not be reached for his comments, the Commissioner of Police, said he had yet to get details of the incident.

Nigeria Military orders arrest of General for running into bush with troops for fear of BH.

The Army High Command has allegedly ordered the arrest and detention of a Brigadier-General attached to the 3rd Division of the Nigerian Army (names with-held) over allegations of negligence that gave Boko Haram terrorists an opportunity to overrun some communities in Borno State recently.

It was gathered that the senior officer who hails from one of the states in the South West, was the officer coordinating the military onslaught to dislodge several Boko Haram terrorists from Bama, Gwoza, Madagali, Michika and other communities in Borno and Adamawa states that later fell into the hands of the terrorists.

The General was accused of providing poor leadership and failed to instil confidence in the soldiers, resulting in several soldiers allegedly abandoning the fight against the terrorists while several of them lost their lives.

According to the source, when the Boko Haram insurgents came in full force to attack Bama,some top brass of the unit offered no resistance by running into the bush.

The source disclosed that the insurgents entered the Brigade Headquarters and Armoury freely and carted away vehicles and Tanks.


NE was told that some of the commanders were rescued from the bush by a battalion deployed at Konduga, which was stationed about 15 kilometers behind Bama, the last deployment before Maiduguri.

The Military high command was said to be furious that the insurgents after taking over Bama and killing hundreds of civilians ransacked the armoury with no soldier offering resistance, leaving the insurgents to have a free day.

According to the source; after seizing the equipment at the 21 Brigade Bama, the terrorists used the same weapons to attack the infantry battalion at Konduga but met their waterloo where hundreds of the Boko Haram insurgents were killed.

The source added that the 21 Armoured Brigade which had several armoured tanks could not withstand the battle that was later decided by less than 400 infantry soldiers in Konduga.

It was further gathered that after running away from Bama, some top brass of the brigade and about 800 troops went straight to Maiduguri instead of joining the troops in Konduga to repel the attack.
To face court-martial

It was also gathered that a board of inquiry is investigating the conduct of the officers for acts of negligence among other offences.

Military sources further revealed that Boko Haram terrorists were not really better armed in the terror war but rather leadership of troops on ground has been discovered as a problem that needed to be tackled.

Giving an instance, a source said: “Commanders of troops are supposed to lead soldiers from the frontline but what we discovered is that most of the commanders operate and give orders from the rear.

“If not that our soldiers are rugged and know that the Boko Haram terrorists could not match them professionally, what we are seeing today would have been the opposite. Actually, when terrorists see soldiers coming, they run for their lives, but due to poor leadership, the back-up arrangements are not activated. When soldiers therefore run out of ammunition and the terrorists regroup, soldiers will have no other choice than to retreat”.

The source cited the successes recorded severally in the battles to take over Konduga as the perfect way the Nigeria Army operates, noting that even though there were four different attacks with heavy weaponry, the army was able to defeat them and recovered stolen weapons.

AIG Joseph Mbu detains AIT reporter for calling him a "controversial police officer"

The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in Zone 7, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu, yesterday ordered the detention of Africa Independent Television (AIT) reporter Amaechi  Anakwue.

Mbu invited Anakwue to his office for allegedly referring to him as a “controversial police officer” during a television programme.

It was learnt that on getting to the office, Mbu ordered that his men to detained Anakwue.

The management of DAAR Communications last night demanded the release of the reporter.

Mbu, who was Rivers State commissioner of Police was redeployed to Abuja, following his hostile relationship with Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

In Rivers State, Mbu was accused of authorising the use of “rubber bullets” to disperse a group preparing to hold a rally, in which Senator Magnus Abe was shot.

On getting to Abuja, he authorised the use of water cannon to disperse protesting lecturers of polytechnics and colleges of education at the Eagle Square.

He described himself as a “lion”, who tamed a leopard in Rivers State, apparently referring to Governor Amaechi.

But Amaechi shot back, saying Mbu “completely lacks the steel and strength of character of a lion, and is rather a shameless, corrupt puppet and toothless attack dog of a woman.”

Ghana plans to export electricity to Nigeria.

Ghana says it is planning to export thousands of megawatts of electricity to Nigeria, Ivory Coast and other neighbouring countries that have power deficit.



The Ghanaian President, Mr. John Mahama, who made the disclosure at the Africa Global Business and Economic Forum in Dubai on Wednesday, said his government had made huge investments in power generation that would enable the country to export excess electricity to Nigeria and others.

“We have given priority to electricity generation in our country. We have prioritised energy in such a way that we want to become the hub for power production in West Africa. We want to generate electricity to the point that excess power can be exported to Nigeria, Ivory Coast and other countries that have power deficit,” he said.

To achieve this dream, Mahama said his country had secured export-import financing from China as well as special funds from Abu Dhabi to commence series of power generation projects, adding that a third hydropower dam project was already at an advanced stage.

The Ghanaian leader spoke in a panel discussion along with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and President Mulatu Wirtu of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Mahama added, “Where Africa faces some of its challenges lies its biggest opportunities. We are leveraging on public-private sector partnership to build infrastructure. Be it roads, electricity, ports or communication systems; if we create the right environment, investors will come.

“Creating the right environment that will attract foreign direct investment is key.”

In achieving this, the Ghanaian leader joined Kagame and Wirtu to emphasise the need for African governments to strengthen anti-corruption agencies in their various countries.

“Issues of accountability and transparency are very important. There must be mechanism to fight corruption. We all have institutions but the major thing is resourcing them to effectively fight corruption and perform effectively,” he noted.

According to Kagame, African governments must create a system that is not sympathetic to corruption, saying this would help drive the required Foreign Direct Investment into the continent.

He said, “It is one thing to have the institutions; it is another thing to allow them to work. Governance and structure must be in place to make them to work,” he said.

“African governments must fix infrastructure, investment in development of education and skills, and also enhance connectivity among African countries.”