.Seeks pardon for some convicts
.As troops free another 12 kidnapped victims after gun battle on Mandara mountains
.Gunmen abduct 5 students from Rivers varsity
JACOB OGODO Abakaliki and EMMANUEL NLEWEDUM, Port Harcourt
Ebonyi state government has lamented that the state has the highest number of persons up to 482 on death roll in Enugu maximum security, noting that some of the criminals really committed the crime for which they were sentenced.
The Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Dr Ben Uruchi Odoh, made this disclosure during the maiden accountability forum organized for his office christened “civic catalyst, HAG open forum 2.0 empowering citizens advancing justice.
Odoh disclosed that the State Ministry of justice has written applications to the governor and has also started profiling the names of the sentenced criminals believing that in no distant time, the governor will grant pardon to some of them.
He said that 159 warlords were arrested during the Effium and Ezza Effium communal war and the ministry interfaced with the governor and he granted them amnesty, adding that there was de- radicalization exercise for the 159 warlords released from prison.
He also said that 151 combatants were arrested in Edda communal crisis and the wife of the governor, Mrs Mary Maudlin Nwifuru, paid fine for 109 inmates to secure their release from custody and empowered them.
“Ebonyi has the highest number of persons on death roll. 482 of them in Enugu maximum security. Some committed the crime for which they are sentenced. We have written many applications. We are profiling them and we believe the Governor will grant pardon.
“159 warlords from Effium, we interfaced with the governor and he granted amnesty to them. There is de – radicalization exercise for them. In Edda, 151 combatants were arrested. Wife of the governor through her pet project paid fine for 109 inmates, secured their release and empowered them’.
The Commissioner disclosed that the Ministry of Justice under his watch established Ebonyi muli- door court house, Ebonyi state citizens mediation centre and the office of the public Defender.
He noted that those offices have helped to enhance mediation, reconciliation, restoration, reintegration and reinstitution in justice delivery and in line with the strategic legal framework christened charter of justice.
He said that the Citizens mediation centre has helped to reduce unreasonable litigations and that the office of the office of the public Defender has effectively complemented the services of the legal aid Council by rendering services to the less privileged in the state.
Odoh pointed out that litigation is not the only way to have justice and that with Ebonyi state Mediation centre, people who can’t afford to pay for litigation, especially the indigents, the centre will sign their matter to chartered mediators.
He disclosed that the Ministry of Justice has been decentralized across three senatorial zones of the state and established an Information Communication Technology law reporting department and introduction of Ebonyi state Ministry of Justice law journal.
However, the Attorney General stated that part of his challenges are lack of adequate fund which according to him has hampered the activities of the ministry alongside other factors such as bureaucratic bottleneck, language barrier and how to improve the welfare of the judicial officers.
In her opening remarks, the Technical Assistant to the Commissioner, Oluchi Nwite said that the essence of the meeting was to provide a platform for Honourable Attorney General to report progress and ensuring accountability.
Nwite hinted that in a way to achieve sustainable peace in the state, there is need to pursue justice, adding that the forum was also to enable participants share key learnings and best practices as well as provide the forum for citizens input for the actualization of the charter of justice.
Participants expressed delight over the innovations which the Attorney General brought to the judicial sector and taken the ministry to the next level and promised to work in tandem with the aspirational legacy of the Commissioner to actualize the charter of justice for the state.
The meeting was well attended by stakeholders from different sectors in the state including Commissioner for Information, Bar. Ikeuwa Omebe, Police Public Relations officer, Ebonyi state Command, Correctional Service Public Relations officer among others.
Troops free 12 kidnap victims after gun battle on Mandara mountains
.As Gunmen kidnap another five students from Rivers varsity
Meanwhile, Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have rescued 12 kidnap victims during a coordinated clearance operation in the Mandara Mountains area of Borno, a military source said.
The source said the victims, comprising seven women and five children, were abducted by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists on Nov. 14 along the Gwoza–Limankara road.
He said the victims were freed after troops overwhelmed the insurgents in a pre-dawn offensive on Monday.
According to him, troops of 26 Task Force Brigade, 192 Battalion, operatives of the Brigade Garrison, and supporting Hybrid Forces, hunters and vigilantes advanced along the foot of the Mandara Mountains up to Uvaha, engaging the terrorists with superior firepower.
He said the insurgents, reportedly unable to withstand the volume of fire, abandoned the captives and fled.
“The victims, who initially scattered into nearby bushes for safety during the exchange of fire, emerged around 8:45 a.m. and were evacuated to safety by the troops.
“The women were identified as Fadi Musa, Jummai Manga, Hamsatu Musa, Jummai Ali, Inna Amadu, Falmata Musa and Hadiza Hamman.
“They told troops that the terrorists escaped during the intense firefight, leaving them behind.
“The rescued women and children were taken to the brigade field ambulance for medical attention. Many suffered blisters from long trekking and reported being severely beaten while in captivity.
“After receiving care and being served meals, the victims were handed over to the representative of the Chairman, Gwoza Local Government Area, for reunification with their families.
The source said the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) had commended the troops and urged them to sustain offensives against the terrorists across all theatres.
.as Gunmen kidnap 5 students from Rivers State University
The Rivers State Police Command have confirmed the abduction of five students from the Rivers State University.
The Command’s Spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko who confirmed this to newsmen in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, said the students were kidnapped at the off-campus residence of the University in Emuoha Local Government Area of the state.
Iringe-Koko who disclosed that the hoodlums stormed the area in early hours of day, shooting sporadically before whisking the students to an unknown destination, assured that measures have been put in place to ensure the students are freedom and suspects apprehended.
She said, “On 2nd December 2025 at about 0230hrs, a group of suspected cultists, numbering about five, attacked the area in Rumuche/Rumuohia Community, Emohua Local Government Area.
The hoodlums shot and abducted five persons to an unknown destination.
“Upon receiving the report, the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, PSC, and other service commanders of the State visited the scene of the incident for an on-the-spot assessment.
“The CP has mandated the Area Commander alongside all tactical units, and Joint Tasksforce to intensify efforts, ensure the safe rescue of the abducted victims, and apprehend the perpetrators.
“The CP further assured that all suspects involved will be brought to justice and made to face the full wrath of the law,” she said.
Recalled that students leaving outside the university’s Emuoha satellite campus last week protested the incessant attacks and harassment they face from hoodlums in the areas and called on the school management to relocate them to the main campus in Port Harcourt.
However, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, while addressing a press briefing on Monday, said the university would neither close down the Emuoha campus nor relocate the students because of pockets of criminal incidents there.
He said assured that appropriate measures are being taken, including a town hall meeting with the council authority and community stakeholders including chiefs and security agencies, to ensure the safety of its students and staff residing in the area.
One of the students who escaped from the kidnappers narrated the attack to newsmen saying that the criminals shot at her but didn’t succeed as God saved her.
She said, “One of them was running after me and even shot at me. I don’t know how many times because I couldn’t even look back, I was more focused on escaping.
“So the person just stopped and went back to my compound. Then someone from the bush came out and ran after me. I had to run faster for my life. Some of our students, about four or so, are missing now as we speak now.”
Another student who reside in the areas said, “We are no longer safe here, the school management, the government and security agencies must do something to ensure our security or else, am not going back there again,” she said.
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