Tinubu Leaves for Guinea Bissau Today

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

 President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja for Guinea-Bissau today to attend the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in Bissau, capital of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau.

According to a release issued yesterday by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Mr. Dele Alake, the Summit, which holds on Sunday, July 9, is expected to address memoranda on pressing sub-regional issues including Report of the 50th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council (MSC) covering security challenges faced by the member countries; Report of the 90th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Council of Ministers on the financial situation of the body and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as well as Report on the status of Transition in the Republics of Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

Other issues slated for discussion include; Memoranda on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme and the Report on Obstacles to Free Movement of Goods on the Abidjan- Lagos corridor.

President Tinubu will be accompanied by some members of the Presidential Policy Advisory Council and other top government officials.

He is due back in the country at the end of the meeting. 

Mutfwang Charges Security Agents to Hunt Down Bandits, as they Kill 5 in Plateau Community

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has condemned the brutal attacks on the people of Mper of Bwai and Kogul communities of Panyam, in Mangu Local Government Area of the state by suspected bandits, which led to the death of at least five persons.

Charging security agents in the state to stop at nothing in ensuring that the assailants were brought to book, the governor said he is pained by the continuing attacks on communities in the state.

Residents of Kogul Village confirmed that the militia arrived the community at about 9p.m. on Thursday and shot randomly at the people leading to the death of five, adding that their houses were also burnt.

They expressed concerns that security agents in the state have not been able to make arrests and bring the attacks to an end.

The governor said he was surprised that some individuals would invade a community, kill and maim the people as well as destroy houses and property worth millions of naira for no just reason.

Reaffirming his commitment to exploring all available legal avenues to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly acts, Mutfwang said government was mapping out strategies to ensure that the cycle of attacks and killings in the state was brought to an end.

While sympathising with communities across the state that have lost their loved ones in recent times, the governor said that he shares in their pains, and appealed to them to take solace in God as everything was being done to end the persistent killings.