The Police Command in Niger State has arrested one Umar Jibril, for allegedly killing a Chief Imam he claimed was his wife’s lover.

Jibril, a resident of Enagi village, in Edati Local Government of the state, was arrested on Tuesday, according to Mr Adamu Usman, the Niger Police Commissioner.

Usman said in Minna that the suspect was arrested on Monday “about 0100 hours, based on credible information”.

He added that the suspect allegedly stabbed one Alhaji Attahiru Alhassan, the Chief Imam of Edagi, to death, with an iron rod.

“During interrogation, the suspect claimed that while relaxing in front of his house, on Monday, the deceased walked past him and went towards his neighbour’s house.

He said that about the same time, his second wife, Aishatu Umar, also came out of the compound and indicated that she was going to the toilet, just behind the compound.

The suspect told the Police that after waiting for some time for her return, he went round to search for his wife and later heard her voice in the neighbour’s house.

He claimed that he entered the house and met the deceased with his wife, adding that he immediately left the scene and rushed to a brother, one Abubakar Abdulrahman, to inform him of what he had seen.

The suspect said that not long after, the deceased sent for him so that they could both discuss.

According to the suspect, in the course of the discussion, an argument ensued and he grabbed an iron rod and stabbed the deceased on the neck, leading to his demise.

The Police commissioner said that the suspect took to his heels after the incident and was pursued to Batati village in Lavun Local Government area, where he was arrested.

“Investigation has commenced and the suspect will be arraigned, as soon as investigation is completed,” he said.

Eight members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Region 30, Trinity Sanctuary, Kaduna were on Friday abducted by gunmen.

The development comes 17 days after 39 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State were abducted by armed bandits.

According to Saturday PUNCH, a Facebook user, Eje Faraday, around 7pm on Friday broke the news on his page with a picture of the white vehicle.

“All the passengers in this bus were just kidnapped along Kachia Road, 63 km from Kaduna,” Faraday wrote.

A credible source and an official of the church, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the report to the newspaper.

He said: “They were eight in number on the bus.

“They were going to Kachia in preparation for the church’s Let’s Go a Fishing Easter programme.

“The gunmen took them out of the bus and put them in their own operational vehicle.

“They have yet to contact the church.”

As old as the prophetic ministry is, it has been proven to be one of the most important part of the gospel through some of the things that has happened in the past, present and things that will happen in the future.

The custodians of this ever relevant ministry are called Prophets, and in the olden days, they were seen as God’s mouthpiece because that is what they really are. God never does a thing without first consulting them. God won’t speak to anyone except them. So they were highly revered and treated with utmost respect.

In our world today, it’s unfortunate that most people, especially the government, don’t respect these men anymore. They don’t take their words serious. Government has become like the Israelites who failed to listen to God’s word and end up perishing.

Although, it won’t be fair if we fail to note that some who were not called, parading themselves as Prophets of God, have brought disrespect to the ministry, but it still doesn’t justify that all prophets should be written off. God knew this would happen and that is why in his word, He established it that a true prophet is known when he says and it comes to pass exactly how he said it. This is one of the simplest ways to know a true prophet. A true prophet won’t call you and ask you to pay money. He won’t say a thing that God doesn’t say to you. Rather, He will give you the details of God’s word to you, then give you a solution, if God showed him.

Now, the question is: Do we have a true prophet in our world today? Yes, we do. Over the years, one of the most popular prophetic voices in Africa is that of Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church. Although Primate Ayodele is a Lagos-based prophet, his prophecies have gone beyond Nigeria, it has touched the global world, leaders, multi-national companies, to mention a few.

As said earlier, a true prophet is known when he says and it comes to pass as he said it. Also, a true prophet isn’t one that fluctuates, A prophet is consistent in everything he does. And except the spirit of the Lord leaves a prophet, he will continue to stay relevant as long as he lives. Just like the Prophets of old were.

Primate Ayodele has been into the prophetic ministry since he was little, but came into limelight in the early 90s, that’s over 30 years now. Ever since he came into ministry, his prophecies have always aimed at guiding, warning, providing solution and sharing the gospel of Christ. As at today, Primate Ayodele has had over 10,000 prophecies that have come to pass, and these are not just ordinary prophecies, they are prophecies people never thought would happen.

Some of these prophecies include the ravaging COVID-19 virus that has almost crippled the economy of the world. Primate Ayodele categorically said during the release of his 2020 prophecies that he foresees a global disease coming into the world. Few months after he said it, the virus came in and was named COVID-19. Up till now, so many are yet to recover from it.

While the virus was thriving in 2020, Primate Ayodele still stated that this virus will kill the influential and rich people more. Just weeks after he said this, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, died. Some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress in the House of Assembly and National Assembly died. Also some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party died. Some important personalities also died. The records of these prophecies are on the internet.

Also, Ayodele spoke about the loss of PDP in the last presidential election that happened in 2019. Primate Ayodele said long before the primaries held that the only way PDP can have a headway in the election is if a former President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, was given the ticket. Unfortunately, the ticket was given to Atiku Abubakar and the party lost.

When President Buhari won, Primate Ayodele said his second term will not be palatable to Nigerians, and specifically said that kidnappings will take a new dimension as a result of insecurity. This is the second year of President Buhari’s second term and the country is also calling for his resignation because of the insecurity and kidnappings being experienced on a daily by Nigerians. He also said the price of Dollar and petrol will increase.

In the United States of America, Primate Ayodele went popular after he said Donald Trump was going to survive his first impeachment move but will not come back for second term even when some pastors said he will retain his seat as the President of the US. People thought this man of God didn’t know what He was saying till Trump survived the impeachment move and lost his second term ambition to Joe Biden. Many in the United States today refer to Primate Ayodele as Biden’s godfather because he won by his counsel.

Primate Ayodele had in 2019 told the Democratic party to choose Biden as their candidate. After that happened, he told Joe Biden who to choose as his running mate. After that, he told him the states to focus on. And all these were exactly what Biden did to win the election. The records are on the internet.

Also, for Ghana election, Primate Ayodele warned John Mahama to focus on some areas if he wants to win the election against the incumbent President, Nana Akufo-Addo. He proceeded to say if Akufo-Addo wins the election, the Supreme Court will not be able to sack him. Taking a good look of what has played out in Ghana, one would be convinced that truly these are the words of the man of God coming alive.

However, the latest of his fulfilled prophecies is that of the death of Tanzania President, John Magufuli, who died after suffering a heart attack on March 17, 2021. The fulfilment of this prophecy remains shocking because just few weeks ago, Ivory Coast Prime Minister also died. These are prophecies the man of God gave in his 2021 Prophecies, which were released on December 22, 2020. He said Africa needs to pray against the death of a serving Prime Minister and President. Unfortunately, it came to pass this way.

People might be wondering why most of these prophecies are negative and about the death of important personalities. What people need to know is prophecies mostly come in form of warnings. Even in the bible, some prophecies of Elijah and Elisha are warnings to people involved. Primate Ayodele, just like the Prophet of old, will never give a warning without a solution. He warned some people about their death and what they need to do to avert it, but some don’t listen and they end up perishing.

Just few weeks ago, there was uproar on the social media after Primate Ayodele gave a warning that a businessman, Kessington Adebutu, should pray for his health because he sees it failing. Some opined that Primate Ayodele should have called him to tell him personally instead of coming to the public space. There is nothing wrong in him calling him, but the question is: How will this person involved see it? Won’t he see him as a prophet who wants money? Will he be respected as a man of God? Either he calls him or not, the fact remains he has told him and it’s left to him to heed or not.

Furthermore, one interesting thing about Primate Ayodele is that he keeps record of his prophecies in the hands of people. Since 1994, he has been publishing a book, titled: “Warning to the nations.” And every year, he prints thousand of copies to give people so they can be reading along as they come to pass. This is the height of confidence in one’s ministry. And ever since he started publishing them, there has never been a time he gets called out for his prophecy not getting fulfilled.

Finally, in a world where true prophets are rare, Ayodele has proven to be one of the truest prophets with the accuracy and fulfilment of his words. Indeed, Africa is blessed to have him. And now is the time to pay more attention to the words he says because they have been proven to be direct from God.

Oluwatosin writes from Lagos.

Those who are younger than 55 or thereabout may not easily get the joke in the expression: “We are all together,” which I’ve chosen as headline of this piece today.

The event happened 45 years ago in the country. A drunken military officer, Lieutenant Colonel Buka Suka Dimka, led a military coup in which the then Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed, was killed. He then proceeded to Radio Nigeria, made a rambling broadcast, which he concluded thus:

“Everyone should be calm. Please stay by your radio for further announcements. All borders, air and sea ports are closed until further notice. Curfew is imposed from 6am to 6pm. Thank you. We are all together.”

Dimka was so uncoordinated, possibly tipsy and inebriated, that he declared a curfew from 6am to 6pm, instead of the other way round. So, the whole country was to be shut down from dawn to dusk, instead of from dusk to dawn. Laughable.

But the one that became the subject of scorn and derision for many decades after was the concluding phrase: ‘We are all together.” You only needed to use it in any enlightened setting, and guffaws followed.

The country was not with Dimka. In fact, university students trooped to the streets almost immediately the broadcast came, denouncing the coup. And the hierarchy of the military also rose with gusto, and crushed the rebellion within hours. But the irreversible had happened. Murtala Muhammed, a fast emerging national hero, had been killed. The country was thrown into mourning. Nobody was with Dimka. We were not all together, as he had thought and declared rather superfluously. It was superfluity of nothingness.

But if Dimka misread the national mood in terms of unanimity on his misadventure, there’s one area in which we must all be together today: fighting insecurity. Though tribes and tongues may differ, in brotherhood we must stand. Political affiliations, religious adherence and persuasions may differ, but there must be convergence in one area. Abhorrence of evil, and the need to extirpate it.

What is happening in our country is EVIL, in capital letters. Terrible, horrible things which could only have emerged from the pit of hell. Crimes that the human mind finds difficult to conceive. Wanton killings. Abductions. Kidnapping for ransom. Robbery. Carnage. Murders. Insurgency. Banditry. All sorts. EVIL. EVIL. And no mistake.

We are confronted with a grim battle between darkness and light. Evil and good. Righteousness and unrighteousness. Godliness and ungodliness. It is, indeed, a tussle for the soul of Nigeria.

Can evil ever win? Can darkness ever overcome light? When good and evil grapple, can good ever be worsted in such encounter? That is the state we are in now. Evil is stalking our country. In the forests. On the roads. In towns, villages, whole communities. Call them insurgents. Bandits. Kidnappers. One thing is common to them. Evil.

Till recent, we didn’t seem to know the enormity of what had descended on our country like tons of bricks. So we played politics with it. The Peoples Democratic Party was always quick to deride the All Progressives Congress government at the centre over any security glitch. Their reasoning was: you ran us out of town in 2015 by playing the security card, now the shoe is on the other foot. You Tarka me, I Dabo you. I’ll pay you back in your own coin.

But last week, something happened that indicated a reawakening in the land. The Governors of the PDP met in Abuja, after which they addressed a press conference, saying they were willing to support President Muhammadu Buhari in the fight against insecurity. Impressive.

For anybody to think that the severe security challenges facing the country are Buhari’s cup of tea, or just the business of APC, is to live in denial. We are all together. When the kidnapper strikes, he does not know who is Muslim or Christian, who is APC or PDP, or APGA (All Progressives Grand Alliance). He just grabs his victim, and leaves sorrow, tears and blood as his regular trademark.

When the insurgent plants his explosives, or throws a bomb into a crowd, he doesn’t care who gets hit: Muslim, Christian, animist, anybody. He is just interested in wreaking havoc, unleashing evil. Maximum damage is what he wants. And that underscores why we must all be together in the battle against insecurity. Encourage our government, and all the security agencies in the frontlines.

President Buhari met with traditional rulers from across the country last week. He took reports from the six geopolitical zones, and the situation was, indeed, dire. And when the President responded, he unfolded what the Federal Government had been doing, and where successes had been recorded, and where a lot more needed to be done.

The President told his royal guests. We are all together. Yes, the Constitution vests the responsibility for protection of lives and property in the Federal Government, but security is also a collective responsibility. It starts from the community level, where traditional rulers have a role to play. To the local government, State level, and up to Federal. We are all together. To secure our country is a collective duty, though the weight of responsibility may differ from level to level.

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Anyone that gloats when evil happens in any part of the country is an enemy of our Union. Anyone that sponsors, supports or encourages evil is an aching tooth, which is better out than in. Nigeria must survive, but it won’t survive without all of us. We have roles to play. We are all together.

Do you glean any ideology behind the many security challenges facing the country? Catch an insurgent, and ask him what he had been fighting for. He stays dumb, looking like a fool. True, he did not know why he was fighting. Apprehend a bandit, and ask him why he was doing what he did. He looks like a cornered rat, seeking a route of escape. He can’t defend what he had been doing. The same with all those engaged in various forms of evil. No ideological underpinning. Just evil. EVIL in capital letters.

And that is why this evil must be beaten. It takes all of us to do it, irrespective of political leanings. That is what the PDP Governors Forum has just demonstrated. To restore security to our land, we must all be together.

That is one good we must take away from Dimka’s evil. We are all together.

. Adesina is the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity.

Chigoziem Dike

A confession: I happen to be one of millions of Nigerians, who view corporate organisations, especially those with non-Nigerian origins, as being in the country for nothing other than profits. While I fully understand that a loss-making business is nothing more than a recreational activity, I still cling to the view that businesses in Nigeria, where regulatory institutions are frail, are in the game to make money and more money. Nothing else in spite of efforts by companies at “giving back to the society”, which I think are sometimes attended by obsequious publicity whichmakes them appear hollow.

That view is a product of my belief that what businesses “give back to the society” is measly compared to what they cream off their customers – an assumption devoid of any knowledge of their operational costs and which ignores the inclement conditions under which businesses operate. I hold a similar view of politicians, who I suspect, give tiny fractions of what they earn to their constituents via empowerment schemes. I have held on to this view for a long time, but my hold on it has weakened a little.

Why? How? By whom? I will answer the questions in reverse order. MultiChoice is the answer. I am a DStv subscriber and MultiChoice is the last company I thought had any feeling for its subscribers beyond taking their naira-of course, in exchange for the quality entertainment unavailable outside its two platforms. My two youngest siblings recently became subscribers of DStv and GOtv respectively, a reason for which they are thrilled. The thrill they are experiencing is not just that they now have access to what they have always wished for (both just got jobs), but the cost at which they got it.

They are, I believe, two of the earliest beneficiaries of MultiChoice’s ongoing price reduction promo via which aspiring subscribers can buy DStv and GOtv decoders at hugely discounted prices. The older one got herself a DStv decoder at N9,900 complete with a free one-month subscription on DStv Confam. The younger rewarded herself with a GOtv decoder for N6, 900, which came with free subscription on GOtv Jolli for the same period. The price slash promo, announced some four weeks ago, I believe, is appropriately timed, as it shows that the provider’s understanding of COVID-19’s impact on finances and desire to soothe its effects on its customers.

Hints of the understanding shown had manifested last year, just as COVID-19 berthed in Nigeria and threatened a never-seen-before disruption of socio-economic life. The balm provided was “We’ve Got You” campaign, an allusion to the willingness to support customers. The campaign, of which I was a beneficiary, ran for three months and provided DStv and GOtv subscribers an upgrade to the next higher bouquet on renewal of the subscription on his/her regular bouquets.

That gesture was also attended by the granting of access to Free-to-Air (FTA) news, kiddies and sporting channels. And with the ban on congregation for religious purposes, part of the measures to curtail the spread of the virus, a pop-up channel, Hallelujah, was introduced to bring the church to DStv and GOtv Christian subscribers’ living rooms just as Muslim subscribers were granted access to Sunna TV, starting from the beginning of Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month.

The lockdown, of course, imposed on fun seekers the obligation of staying away from parties. To fill the gap, party fun-loving DStv and GOtv subscribers were served weekly lashings of party fun through Turnup Friday and Owambe Saturday.  More fun came via COVID-19 Hope for Africa Concert, in partnership with One Africa Global Foundation.

Aside customers, the government and general public received support, as the country quaked under thinning finances and social disruption. To support government efforts at containing the spread of the virus, MultiChoice made cash donations of N200 million to the Federal Government and N50 million to Lagos State government.

It also donated 60, 000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to hospitals and Non-Governmental Organisations. Delivered10,0000 face masks to dealers and other inits value chain and provided PPE, sanitizer and immunity-boosting multivitamins to employees. These steps were accompanied by contribution to public education about the virus through partnership with the UN and the U.S Embassy to carry Educational Public Service Announcements (PSAs). 

Further support for public education and enlightenment was provided through regular highlighting of the helplines of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on more than 10 channels on DStv and GOtv platforms at a cost estimated to be in excess of N550 million.

With its finger permanently on the pulse of entertainment, MultiChoice realised that with the lockdown, the TV and film sector was headed for something akin to an intensive care unit. Productions were naturally affected, leaving professionals in the sector gasping in the financial sense. To save the situation, MultiChoice made a commitment of up to N400million, to safeguard the income of cast and crew on various production. Also, alumni of the MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy (MTFA) were financially supported to shoot documentaries.

There is no doubt that Covid-19 stole in on us all and shattered our plans, including the best-laid ones. That we, as a society are gradually emerging from the socio-economic rubble it bequeathed, is in large parts, due to contributions of corporate organisations like MultiChoice.

Dike a Public Affairs analyst, writes from Abuja