Army Responds To Abuja Mall Closure + Outrage Over Kenya President’s $1.5M Flight To U.S. – Trending With Ojy Okpe

The Nigerian Army has responded to the closure of Banex plaza in the Wuse 2 area of Abuja, after traders engaged in a fight with two soldiers over the weekend.

In a statement on Tuesday, Onyema Nwachukwu, the army spokesperson, said the complex was temporarily shut down to enable the arrest of the hoodlums who attacked the two soldiers, further stating that the soldiers were unarmed and did not engage in any form of aggression.

In the wake of the controversy surrounding the federal government’s plan to deploy pension funds for infrastructure development in Nigeria, some retired police officers on Tuesday besieged the national assembly over unpaid pensions.

The retirees are demanding that they be removed from the contributory pension scheme. They called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio, to look into their plight, stating that many of them have lost their lives due to the prevailing economic hardship.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finally sent his condolences to the Government and the people of Kano State over the fire incident that led to the death of about 17 worshippers at a mosque in Gezawa Local Government Area of the state.

The President condemned the act of arson, which led to the tragic development, and directed law enforcement agencies to ensure diligent investigation and prosecution of suspects. The Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has vowed to sign the death warrant of the suspect, Shafiu Abubakar, if he is convicted of murder in the mosque explosion.

The governor issued the threat on Tuesday, when he paid a sympathy visit to the surviving victims at the Murtala Specialist Hospital, promising that the state government is willing to pursue the matter to its logical conclusion.

The governor also stated that the incident had nothing to do with terrorism and political violence, insisting that the incident was a devilish act by Abubakar, who failed to pursue his grievance with family members lawfully.

The governor further stated, that Abubakar would be taken to the Shariah Court to face the consequences of his action. In Kenya, citizens have expressed outrage over the cost of a chartered aircraft by the country’s president William Ruto, estimated to be a whopping $1.5 million dollars for his trip to the United States. Ruto is on a four-day visit at the invitation of his US counterpart, President Joe Biden. It is the first state visit by a Kenyan president to the United States in two decades, and the first by an African leader in 16 years.

The government of Kenya has defended the cost of the President’s trip, stating that the benefits from the visit far outweighs the cost by a million times. More than 30 people, including a popular comedian, are reported to be accompanying the president, who landed in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday.

It is not clear why the president opted for the private jet, which is reported to be from the Dubai-owned- RoyalJet company, instead of using his usual presidential plane for the trip, given his government’s austerity measures and the cost-of-living crisis.

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