Obi of Akokwa @ 50

Obi of Akokwa @ 50

- By Ingram Osigwe 

Attaining the golden age is a no mean feat. It's a biological, natural milestone that calls for deep introspection and celebration.

One, not everyone crosses the 5 and 0 mark. Many died on the cusp of 50, majorly at 48, 49. Secondly, crossing 50 rekindles hope of longevity.

Therefore, His Royal Highness, Eze (Sir) Ikenna C. Okoli (KSC), Okoli V, Agbakwuruibe III, the 11th Obi of Akokwa, has every reason to be grateful to God. Not only that he has attained the golden age, His Royal Majesty will be clocking 19 years on the throne of his forefathers later this year.

Come February 28, 2021 , all roads will lead to the ancient kingdom of Akokwa. That day is His Royal Majesty's day. On that date, Nigerians from all walks of life, people of goodwill, friends, associates and well wishers will empty into Akokwa to felicitate with Agbakwuruibe 111.

The effervescent Eze ( Sir) Ikenna C. Okoli was born into the Ezesiobuna Royal Family in Obi Uzouhu Village in Akokwa on February 28, 1971.He attended St’ Peter’s Primary School, Akokwa between 1976 and 1982 where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate the same year. Thereafter, he proceeded to Federal Government College, Azare, Bauchi State and Federal Government College, Sokoto, Sokoto State where he obtained his West African School Certificate in 1987.

In 1990, the young Okoli gained admission into the Abia State University, Uturu in Abia State where he obtained a BSc in Sociology/Anthropology in 1994.

Agbakwuruibe 111 is imbued with the zeal for entrepreneurship, hence after his graduation, as young as he was then, he decided to be an employer of labour as he  incorporated Equipment Alliance Limited of which he is the MD/CEO.

His Royal Highness thus  commenced the business of equipment leasing.Till date Equipment Alliance Limited which is also into Earth and marine equipment leasing, is still operational with Head office at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Akokwa is noted for peaceful and orderly ascension to the Obi stool. This explained the seamless emergence of Eze Okoli.After the untimely and painful demise of his late father, HRH Eze Osita C. Okoli (KSC) in the 2002, Eze Ikenna Okoli, as the first son of the late monarch and in line with the primogeniture rule of succession of Akokwa people,  was chosen by his people to ascend the ancient throne as the 11th Obi of Akokwa.

The Obi of Akokwa is deeply committed to the things of God and a dedicated Christian of the Anglican communion faith. No wonder the Ideato Diocese of the Anglican Communion found him worthy of knighthood and conferred him with one.

The same year he ascended the throne the church  investested him as a Knight of Saint Christopher. This was on December 8, 2002.

More wins were in store for him: On the 15th of March, 2005, the Imo State Government under the leadership of His Excellency Sir Achike Udenwa, the then Executive Governor of Imo State recognized and gazetted the name of Eze Ikenna C. Okoli as the Obi of Akokwa with effect from the 5th day of March, 2005.

 HRH Eze Ikenna Okoli  descended from a very long and illustrious line of rulers in the following order:

*Eze Okwarauhu Akokwa

 *Eze Dimonyegbesu Okwarauhu

 *Eze Ezesiobuna Dimonyegbesu

*Eze Dimesoro Ezesiobuna

 *Eze Okwaraononihu Dimesoro

 *Eze Ukachukwu Okwaraononihu

 *Eze Okoli Ukachukwu

 *Eze Joseph Okoli

 *Eze Patrick Okoli

*Eze Osita Okoli

 *Eze Ikenna Okoli (Present Obi of Akokwa)

His Royal Highness, Eze (Sir) Ikenna C. Okoli (KSC), (MSI) Okoli V, Agbakwuruibe III, the 11th Obi of Akokwa is  blessed with three wonderful children.

Notedly, the Akokwa ancient kingdom is a border & nodal  town in Ideato North LGA of Imo state.

It shares boundaries with Aro-Ndizuogu, Uzii, Osina, Akpulu and also a gateway to Anambra state as it shares border with Uga and Umuchu. Akokwa boasts of many industrialist, academics and technotracts.Some of these notables are: Sir Tony Ezenna, OFR, (Ijele Akokwa) Chairman, Orange Group, Chief Charles Anudu, MD/CEO Swift Networks Limited, Chairman of Envoy Oil ltd, Sir Linus Ojimba, Prof. Kevin Ibeh,Commissioner,Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and Pro Vice Chancellor (International) at Birkbeck, University of London, High Chief Fabian A. Onwuachu(Acharaugo) President Emeritus, Peoples club of Nigeria international and Patron/Trustee Peoples club of Nigeria international, Chairman of Tiger foods ltd, Chief Celestine Ebubeogu(Ide Akokwa),Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 2017 (MBGN), Miss Ugochi Mitchel Ihezue,Late Professor (Chief) Elechukwu Njaka who founded the famous ERNEST GAMES GRAMMER SCHOOL Akokwa.

Others include Late Dr. Otuokere Njaka, the second Republic deputy minority leader of the old Imo State House of Assembly,Engineer Ezekiel Izuogu, The designer of the first made in Nigeria car, John Munonye Nigerian educator and novelist( The only Son), Renowned banker and Economist, Prof Willie Uzoaga and many others 

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Ingram Osigwe ( Enyioha) is the  MD of Full page international communications Ltd

Nigerian Pastor Flees from Boko Haram

Boko Haram terrorism threats chased away Nigerian Christian preacher Pastor Sunday Igbaloju Peters from his home and church in northern Nigeria.

NEWS REPORT


Boko Haram terrorism threats has chased away a Christian Nigerian preacher, Pastor Sunday Igbaloju Peters from his base in Bauchi, Bauchi State on the basis of assassination crusade and threats by Boko Haram sect to eliminate him anywhere in the country according to the police investigation report.

Barrister Chima Obinna in Bauchi stated that the said pastor is currently seeking asylum in a European country. Boko Haram a terrorist organization has carried out series of attacks and bombings in the country including Abuja, Nigeria's capital city in the recent months. Nigerians are said to now be living in perpetual fear of falling victim to the spate of bombings, assassinations, kidnappings and other acts of terrorism in the country.

According to the preliminary police report, pastor peters' problem with the sect started on 8th February 2009 when he reported what he perceived to be dangerous to the peace of the state to the police. Boko Haram marked him for assassination as seen as police informant. Police further said that Boko Haram targeted him for four major reasons:

a) For informing the police on 8th February 2009 about their intention to over turned Bauchi state. The sect sees him as police informant.

b) For criticising against their mission to Islamize the entire nation with the force of Jihad.

c) For discouraging youths from allowing anybody or sect to use them as an instrument of violence and to pursue education because, it's the best heritage any man can get.

d) To revenge the death of their leader, Mallam Mohammed Yusuf. The sect sees him as an infidel that deserves to die. No wonder they declared many people wanted including the vice president.

The Boko Haram menace has taken a new and deadly twist, with the dreaded group issuing threats to eliminate all Christians and even Muslims currently serving in the Federal government. In the statement released by the group last week, it said: “This is a government that is not Islamic. Therefore, all its employees-Muslims and non-Muslims are Infidels.

Boko Haram is more dangerous than rabid dogs and should be destroyed. The
members should be crushed and not cuddled. They should not be understood; there is no method in their madness.

The sect’s campaign of violence, at once indiscriminate and selective, has dislocated normal life in many parts of the country. Maiduguri is like a city under siege. There is fear and there may soon be a shortage of food.

Bomb exploded by Boko Haram have killed close to 100 people in the last few weeks. Many members of the uniformed forces have been shot dead in targeted killings. Boko Haram members have also enjoyed a turkey shoot in Bauchi.

Boko Haram attacked the headquarters of the Nigeria Police in Abuja in June. About eight people were reportedly killed in the bomb blast and dozens of cars were burnt.

It was gathered that an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was thrown at a moving military patrol van near Fannah Dori Filling Station along Baga road in Maiduguri. The atmosphere of insecurity currently inflicted on the nation by the Boko Haram crises points to poor use of pre-emptive intelligence and a coherent strategy in the management of the security issues arising.

The group is not easy to monitor, according to Human Rights Watch researcher Eric Guttschuss. “Since 2009 the leadership has gone underground. It’s now unclear what the exact command structure is.”

A spokesperson for Boko Haram told reporters in June that members had received training in Somalia. Okechukwu Nwanguma, programme coordinator with non-profit Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), said this could indicate Boko Haram has “a link with the global terror movement”.

Other reports have suggested the same thing, saying Boko Haram already has links to international terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, and has the potential to link with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) which operates in nearby regions.



~ By Chima Emmaneul

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time

20 Jul 2011

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Why Boko Haram bombed the Nigeria Police Headquarters in Abuja

Nigeria: Boko Haram Terrorism Threats: Police Headquarters Bombing and our security

I must confess that I am neither surprised by the brazen attack on the headquarters of the Nigeria Police, the almighty Louis Edet House in Abuja, by members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect, nor by the reaction of President Goodluck Jonathan. Why?

I was in Maiduguri and Bauchi August for over a week in 2009 after the Boko Haram attacks that set Borno and Bauchi States ablaze, literally. The level of destruction was unprecedented. I visited the prison and police stations that were sacked. I went to the police college where senior police officers on course were slaughtered while sleeping. I saw churches that were bombed. I went to the sect’s headquarters located at the Maiduguri Railway Terminus Areas (MRTA) that had been destroyed and taken over by security men. I was told of the atrocities committed in that very compound and shown what was alleged to be the killing chamber of the sect’s leader, Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, who was summarily executed by the police after his arrest.

I visited the compound of Yusuf’s father-in-law, the 72-year-old Alhaji Baa Fugu Mohammed, who was alleged to be one of the financiers of the sect. The man was also executed, his compound destroyed. I interviewed two young women – 22-year-old Patricia Ibe, who was an accountancy student then and 14-year-old Chidinma Obigwe. Two of them watched as three of their religious brethren had their throats slit.

They were taken away as spoils of war, only rescued when men of the Borno State special security outfit, Operation Flush, invaded the sect’s headquarters where they and over 1,500 other people, mostly women, were held hostage.

I spoke to Rev. Dr. Daniel Egboka, Assistant General Superintendent of the National Evangelical Mission and Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (Borno State chapter), who was also the Pastor of the National Evangelical Mission Wukari Headquarters, Maiduguri. Not only was his church burnt down, his Assistant Pastor, Sylvester Nseobong, his brother who visited from Akwa Ibom, Patrick James, and the church’s security man, Elijah Gambo, were the three men Patricia and Chidinma watched their gory execution.

Pastor Egboka showed me the bones of his fallen colleagues; still at the very spot they were burnt. As at the time of the interview, his wife had fled Maiduguri, vowing never to set her foot again in the state or any part of the North. I interviewed the then state Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, whose former Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Buji Fai, resigned his appointment to join the sect. Buji was also summarily executed. There were insinuations then that the Governor ordered the execution of Mohammed and Buji to stop them from spilling the bean. Sheriff denied the allegation vehemently, claiming that he was also a target. The Commander of the Operation Flush 11, Colonel Ben Ahanotu, who I met in the Governor’s office, spoke off record, detailing the enormity of the crisis and the atrocity committed by the sect members.

The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbal El-Kanemi, who only assumed office on May 31, 2009, barely two months before the mayhem, spoke. He said the irreverent Yusuf embarrassed not only the state but the entire Muslim community.

The University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) was filled to capacity with victims – men, women, children and the aged. I spoke with soldiers and policemen with all manner of wounds. The mortuary was overflowing. As a result, corpses were being dumped at the car park of the Umaru Shehu Ultra Modern Hospital, Bulumkutu.

Police denied me access to the arrested Boko Haram members, who were in detention, but I spoke to members who were not detained and they vowed revenge. I spoke to many other victims of the madness and came out with the impression that the sect’s capacity for violence was almost infinite. Scarier was my perception that they had the capacity to sustain the insurrection. I saw a people whose thirst for blood was insatiable.

In Bauchi, it was the same level of atrocity committed by the sect members. Many young people are now in their early grave as well as religious and political leaders. I interviewed sect members arrested by the police and vowed to wage war on the nation. Both traditional and religious leaders have been displaced. Bishop A.T Moses was mentioned as the enemy to their mission as well as Pastor Sunday I. Peters.

Since 2009, I have watched as they carried out attacks with astounding precision, knocking off high value targets almost effortlessly.

So, when the group issued a statement last Wednesday, boasting that their warriors had “arrived Nigeria from Somalia where they got serious training on warfare,” and vowing that they would “wage jihad on the enemies of God and his Messenger,” I sensed an escalation in the paroxysm of violence that had gripped the
country. The vow was a reaction to the Inspector General of Police Hafiz Ringim’s boast that the days of Boko Haram were numbered after receiving 10 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) from the Borno State government the previous day.

It is instructive that Ringim’s office was bombed a day after the group made its vow. It is also helpful, but by no means comforting, to note that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, the first time ever in Nigeria, after Boko Haram’s claim that their fighters had returned from Somalia.

I was also not surprised by Jonathan’s response when he visited Louis Edet House on Saturday. “Let me use this opportunity to assure Nigerians that it happens all over the world, no country is safe,” the President said. How the knowledge that terrorism is a global phenomenon can assuage the anxiety of distraught Nigerians, only the President can explain.

But I was not surprised because that was the same answer he gave after the gruesome murder of the Governorship candidate of the Borno State All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Modu Fannami Gubio, who until his death was the Commissioner for Finance. Six other people killed in that brazen attack on January 28 included the Governor’s brother, Alhaji Goni Modu Ngala, who was former chairman of Ngala local government.

Since terrorism had become global merchandise, Nigerians have nothing to complain about, the President seemed to have suggested. But that is too simplistic a solution coming from him. No Nigerian is going to be comforted by the fact that bombs are also exploding in other parts of the world including the United States and Europe.

The fact of the matter is that Nigeria has become a haven for terrorists and this should give the President serious concern. Sadly, he doesn’t seem to appreciate the enormity of the crisis because if he does, he would have appreciated the significance of the bombing of the police headquarters. It is an audacious attack executed strategically to send a clear message that if the security of the seemingly impregnable police headquarters could be easily breached, then nowhere, not even Aso Rock is safe.

Leadership is not an easy task. It is only in Nigeria that people grow younger and look more robust when they are elected or appointed into public office. In other climes the reverse is the case because leadership exerts its toll on those who occupy public office. Anyone who is in doubt should look at President Barack Obama; how much he has aged in three years.
Presidency is not a feel good job. Jonathan must roll up his sleeve and work. We have full-blown terrorism on our hands. And the successful attack on the Louis Edet House, where the Inspector General of Police, Ringim, escaped death by the whiskers, is a morale booster. It is disturbing that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the country thinks that terrorism can be wished away which is what his statement that, “Nigeria is also having some ugly incidents lately but surely we will get over it and people should not panic at all,” seems to suggest.
However, it was learnt that preliminary police investigations into the 16/6 bombing showed that the Police High Command and the top leadership of the nation’s security agencies came to that initial conclusion from reading the footages of the incident from the Close Circuit Television at the Louis Edet House. The impact of the bomb, which destroyed about 77 cars in the IG’s parking lot and reduced the Honda to an engine stump, killed the suspected bombers right inside their car.
Journalists who went to the police headquarters shortly after the blast last week observed so much confusion among the police about the particular car that actually carried the device. A good number of the policemen pointed to a mangled car whose two tyres were on a culvert in the car park as the car driven by the bomber. It took a lot of protest from the journalists to get a close photograph of the car when the rescue team comprising men of the Red Cross and National Emergency Management Agency got the human parts from the car into some black cellophane bags.

It took a four-man team of journalists from the PUNCH close to one hour to extract that piece of information from a police officer who lost his car to the blast and two of his junior colleagues to disclose the real car that carried the bomb. However, the police have said that the ongoing investigations would soon unveil the sponsors of Boko Haram.

Boko Haram is a determined foe. It must be fought decisively and even if not totally vanquished, at least defanged or we should all consider ourselves dead.


Source: Emeka Owoniyi (JNCR)

Breaking News: Wanted People, Boko Haram Declares

Breaking News

Wanted People, Boko Haram Declares

On 05 June, the radical terrorist sect Boko Haram has declared the following people wanted in a statement reportedly dropped at various media houses by unknown persons yesterday.

Jima?atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda? Awati Wal Jihad translates roughly to ‘’People Commited to the Prophet’s Teachings for Propagation and Jihad is said to have considered the following people as police informants and enemies to their mission.

In a statement written in Hausa and Arabic reads in part: ‘’All praises go to the Almighty Allah, peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammed, the last of the Prophets.’’

The police informants and enemies said to be: Taju Yusuf, Pastor Emmanuel, Hon. Kazeem Konitan, Mallam Abubakar Usman, Imam Moshood, Bishop Moses, Pastor Sunday I. Peters and Bashiru Ahmed as well as corrupt politicians and police officers across the country.

It was re-called back last year September when the sect attempted Jail break in Bauchi, police recovered some provocative handbills being distributed by the sect where the names of these mentioned people are also listed.

‘’We will continue to fight to revenge the death of our leader and to achieve our mission, ensuring that all our enemies are eradicated Boko Haram said.

Thus far, existing Muslim-Christian tentions in Nigeria have had a destabilizing effect on the Nigerian state far outweighing by Boko Haram’s terrorist attacks. While these sectarian tensions simmer, all Boko Haram needs to do is to continue fuelling the fire with terror attacks against state institutions, government officials, and churches until the group becomes closer to achieving one of its more insidious objectives-launching Nigeria into a full-scale war according to terrorism monitor.


Source: Segun Awofadeji

Security In The Country/Boko Haram Sect

PRESS RELEASE

Security In The Country/Boko Haram Sect

As mark of commitment and responsibility to our statutory duties, I find it very expedient to address the Press for the purpose of acquainting you and the nation at large with the recent happenings in Bauchi and Borno States

The Inspector-General of Police Hafiz Abubakar Ringim, NPM, mni wishes to inform the general public that the Police are fully aware of the current threat to security in some parts of the country.

The Police in collaboration with other security agencies are working tirelessly to restore peace and order in the affected areas and the IGP has vowed to bring to book the Islamic sect called Boko Haram and any other group of persons who are behind the current spate of bomb blasts in the country. Considering the previous activities of Boko Haram sect in the country, the sect is responsible for almost daily killings in remote northeastern Nigeria and is thought to be behind a bombing on Thursday 19/05/2011 that injured policemen and soldiers. The explosion followed an attack on a police station late on Wednesday by suspected members of Boko Haram, a group behind frequent attacks in the northeastern states of Borno and Bauchi.

On the 7th of September, 2010 at about 1845hrs during the Magrib prayer, (evening prayer) a group of about 200 suspected Boko Haram fanatics armed themselves with General Purpose Machine Guns and Locally made Bombs attacked Bauchi Federal Prisons and consequently set free 721 inmates. Among the forcefully released inmates were 105 members of Boko Haram sect who were previously remanded in the prison custody. 4 persons were reportedly killed during the incident, among them were, 1 Soldier, 1 Policeman and 2 civilians, while 4 persons were reportedly injured.

During this attack, the administrative Block, the Armoury and a van were set ablaze; the fire was later put-off by combined efforts of Fire Service and the Police. 171 empty shells and live ammunition of General Purpose Machine Gun were recovered at the scene. Also recovered are two provocative handbills where names of some clerics are written such as: Bishop A.T Moses, Mallam Abubakar and Pastor Sunday Peters among many others. Our investigation has revealed that most of the names and addresses are the people considered as critics and enemies.

Consequent upon this incident, Police has risen to the occasion and re-arrested 35 inmates. Also information has it that, some inmates have started returning to the prison on their own volition. We understand that lack of cooperation from the residents has hindered thorough operation in that area. According to the force spokesman in Borno, Boko Haram had killed 50 officers since its uprising.

Our investigation revealed that Boko Haram is linked with al-Qaeda and on 2 October 2010, an ‘Eid Address’ – also dated 2 October 2010 – from Sheikh Muhammed Abu Bakr bin Muhammed ash-Shakwa, named as the ‘Emir of the Sunni Group for the Islamic Call and Jihad in Some African Lands Known as Nigeria’ [aka the BokuHaram] was released onto jihadist forums. In it, ash-Shakwa makes a lengthy and very robust appeal for Muslims in Nigeria to wage jihad to defend Islam from its ‘enemies’. He says that the group is fully committed to carrying out the ‘programme of the Prophet’ and establishing Sharia law.

He also pays tribute to al-Qaeda, its regional affiliates and respective leaders in Iraq, Yemen and North Africa, as well as the Mujahidin Youth Movement [aka the Shabab] in Somalia, and ‘the mujahidin in Pakistan, Chechnya and Kashmir’. Ash-Shakwa’s address was released in a PDF format by al-Fajr Media and is sourced to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s (AQIM) media division, al-Andalus. It appears to be genuine. This is significant as in February 2010, an address from the head of AQIM, Abu Mus’ab Abdal-Wadoud, entitled ‘The Genocide of Muslims in Nigeria – A New Episode in the Ongoing Crusader War’ was released onto jihadist forums in which he offered to train and arm Nigerian Muslims to conduct attacks against Christians in Nigeria. Following the release of ash-Shakwa’s Eid address, several members on jihadist forums referred to the group as ‘al-Qaeda in Nigeria’.

On 24 April, 2011 the radical sect, Boko Haram, vowed to continue fighting until the Nigerian Constitution is set aside and Islamic government is established across the country.

However, the security agencies are in the process of identifying and arresting the perpetrators behind this mindless threats and mischief across the country and all persons are advised to be law abiding. The Boko Haram sect and its members are under surveillance and they will all be arrested and prosecuted in due course. Nigerians should discountenance their threats and go about their lawful duties”.

Signed
DCP OLUSOLA E. AMORE
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,
FORCE HEADQUARTERS,
ABUJA



Links on Boko Haram in Nigeria:

About the Boko Haram Sect

Boko Haram: Who are they?