By Our Correspondent

There is growing fear in Taraba State following the arrest of the President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Abdullahi Bello Bodejo, by suspected operatives of the Department of State Services.

Bodejo, who is seeking to contest the Taraba Central Senatorial seat in the 2027 general elections, was reportedly arrested on Thursday evening shortly after meeting supporters in Jalingo, the state capital.

The Miyetti Allah leader was said to have received a large welcome from supporters drawn from the six local government areas that make up the senatorial district during his visit to the state.

In a statement issued in Jalingo by the Director-General of the campaign council, Alhaji Adamu Isa Kurmi, condemned the alleged arrest, describing it as politically motivated and a threat to democratic engagement.

“The Campaign Council of Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Bodejo for Senate 2027 in the Taraba Central Senatorial District hereby expresses it sadness over the unfortunate arrest of its Principal Alhaji Bello Bodejo by security agencies in Jalingo on Thursday.

Bodejo and his entourage who successfully paid homage to the party secretariat in the state capital, Jalingo was taken away from the Blue Nile Hotel Jalingo at about 6:30 pm by plain clothes security agents suspected to from the Department of State Services (DSS) and driven to an unknown destination.

“The campaign council views this development as a violation of the aspirant’s fundamental rights and an intimidation to his outlined visitation to pay respect to state party leadership and to his supporters in the Taraba Central Senatorial District.

“We in the council feel that the opponents of our Principal Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Bodejo felt very intimidated by the mammoth crowd that received the aspirant from the Jalingo Airport through the city center to the APC state secretariat.

According to him, the sophisticated and well structured procession programme of the aspirant has sent fears through the spines of his opponents but that doesn’t scare them as they are determined to bring a new lease of life to the people of Central Taraba.

“Probably, it is the fear of the strength of our aspirant that made fellow competitors are exploiting every avenue to ensure that Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Bodejo is not allowed to go through due process despite the fact he has genuinely purchased, processed and returned his Intent/Nomination forms indicating his interest to contest the Senatorial Seat for Taraba Central Senatorial District.

He said that it is on record that the Thursday May 7th 2026 visit of Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Bodejo was officially communicated to all relevant security agencies in the state and acknowledged copies of receipts were obtained filed in the office.

He appeal to the supporters of Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Bodejo within the Taraba Central Senatorial District and beyond to calm down as his legal team are not relenting in securing his release to be back to the state and continue his campaign and other electioneering programmes.

The organisation alleged that Bodejo was arrested shortly after visiting the All Progressives Congress (APC) state secretariat as part of consultations ahead of his senatorial ambition.

The statement claimed that Bodejo was taken away from the Blue Nile Hotel in Jalingo at about 6:30 pm by plain-clothes operatives suspected to be DSS officials and moved to an undisclosed location.

“The campaign council views this development as a violation of the aspirant’s fundamental rights and an act of intimidation against his planned consultations with party leaders and supporters across Taraba Central Senatorial District,” the statement said.

The council also alleged that the large crowd that accompanied Bodejo from the Jalingo airport through major parts of the city to the APC secretariat may have unsettled his political opponents.

According to the organisation, the aspirant had complied with all legal and political requirements connected to his senatorial bid, including the purchase and submission of nomination and expression of interest forms.

It further stated that relevant security agencies had been formally informed ahead of the visit and that acknowledgement copies of the notifications were duly obtained.

The campaign council appealed to supporters to remain peaceful and law-abiding, while noting that Bodejo’s legal team had already begun efforts to secure his release.

As of the time of filing this report, the DSS and other security agencies had yet to issue any official statement regarding the alleged arrest.

By Our Correspondent

Governor of Rivers State, Similaye Fubara on Sunday left the APC screening exercise abruptly after a brief appearance before the screening committee, with party officials declining to confirm whether he was successfully screened or why he was shunned.

While other serving governors completed their screening on Saturday, Fubara was conspicuously absent from the process.

He later arrived at the Plateau Governor’s Lodge, venue of the screening, around 3:15pm on Sunday.

The governor entered the screening room but walked out out five minutes later and headed straight to his unnumbered car parked at the entrance.

Eye-Witnesses described his demeanor as visibly angry and agitated.

When newsmen approached him for comments, Fubara declined to make comments. “No comment,” he said, looking depressed before leaving the venue.

Sources at the screening center gathered that the process did not go well with the Rivers State governor, though details of what transpired inside were not disclosed.

Later, the APC National Secretary and Secretary of the Screening Committee, Senator Ajibola Basiru, was approached by newsmen but he was evasive when asked specifically about Fubara’s status.

“It appears that everybody must appear before the screening committee, of course, it is necessary as part of the process,” he said.

Basiru stressed that no conclusions could be drawn yet about anyone’s fate.

“After the exercise, the screening committee will issue its report. As at now, the screening committee, when it has completed seeing everybody it is supposed to see, will sit down and come up with reports on the screening,” he stated.

Pressed further on whether the Rivers governor had been screened, Basiru responded ambiguously by saying, “I don’t know what you mean by screening. Anybody that appears before screening committee, of course, is necessary as part of the process,” he said.

He reiterated that the committee had not submitted its report. “As of now, there’s no report of the screening committee,” Basiru added.

The incident has fueled speculation over Fubara’s standing within the APC ahead of the 2027 elections, with the party yet to provide clarity on the outcome of his appearance.

While other serving Governors were successfully screened on Saturday, Governor Fubara was conspicuously absent

By Our Correspondent

Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has declared May 30 2026 sit-at-home as a remembrance day throughout Biafran land and for Biafrans in diaspora in honour of those who lost their lives during the Nigeria/Biafra civil war and those who died in the course of the struggle to achieve a Biafran State.

In a statement signed its image maker, Emma Powerful, the movement said, “The supreme leadership of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, hereby solemnly declares 30 May 2026 as a sacred day of remembrance, mourning, reflection, and honour for all Biafran heroes and heroines who paid the ultimate price in the defence of our people, our dignity, and our collective right to exist.

“The generation of 1967–1970 were men for men — a rare breed forged in fire, deprivation, sacrifice, and impossible odds. They stood virtually alone against the combined weight of overwhelming military power and yet wrote one of the most astonishing resistance stories in modern history.

“They faced the geopolitical machinery of the United Kingdom, which openly backed Nigeria diplomatically and strategically throughout the war. They faced foreign weapons, Soviet arms supplied to Nigeria despite the Cold War divide, mercenaries, foreign advisers, blockade warfare, aerial bombardment, starvation policies, and hostile forces assembled from far beyond Biafra’s borders. And still they stood.

“Hungry, outgunned, isolated, abandoned by the world — but never broken in spirit. What they defended was more than territory.They defended the right of a people to survive.
That is why their memory can never die.

“The world may move on. History books may reduce their sacrifice to footnotes. Governments may prefer silence. But for us, remembrance is not politics. It is sacred obligation.

“,As long as one Biafran still breathes anywhere on this earth, the story of those men and women must continue to be told. Their courage must continue to be honoured. Their suffering must continue to be remembered.

“Because nations that forget their defenders eventually forget themselves. So every 30 May is more than remembrance. It is covenant. A solemn vow between the living and the dead that their sacrifice will never be erased by propaganda, fear, or time itself.

“We remember the soldiers who fought barefoot with empty stomachs. We remember the scientists who turned scraps into survival.
We remember the mothers who buried children and still found strength to carry on.
We remember the civilians starved under blockade.
We remember every fallen hero whose blood watered the survival of a people.

“And we remember especially the heroes and martyrs massacred at Nkpor and Onitsha during the 30 May 2016 Remembrance observances — unarmed men and women whose only offence was gathering to honour their dead and affirm their identity. Their blood joined the long and painful river of sacrifice that runs through our history. We shall never abandon their memory, and we shall never allow their sacrifice to be erased from the conscience of our people.

“For history will forever record that a besieged people, abandoned by the world, resisted the combined machinery assembled against them and still refused to surrender their humanity.

“Accordingly, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), worldwide, calls for the strict and total observance of the annual 30 May sit-at-home across every town, village, and city in Biafraland in honour of all our fallen heroes and heroines.

“This sacred day is not for politics, commerce, entertainment, weddings, burials, meetings, market activities, or social events. It is a solemn day of reflection, prayer, mourning, honour, and national remembrance.

“We urge all Biafrans at home and in the diaspora to observe this sacred covenant with discipline, dignity, and reverence worthy of the sacrifices made by those who came before us.

“We further encourage every governor across the 13 states of Biafraland to demonstrate moral courage and historical conscience by flying the Nigerian flag at half-mast on 30 May in honour of the millions who perished during the war and in the years that followed. Such a gesture would not diminish anyone; rather, it would acknowledge the humanity of the dead and affirm that their lives mattered,” IPOB stated.