Index to Nigerian Newspapers

Not less than 201 people have been reported killed within five months in 27 attacks in seven local government areas in Plateau State, Daily Trust reports. The killings occurred between January 19 and June 20. The local governments are Riyom, Bokkos, Jos South, Jos East, Barkin Ladi, Bassa and Mangu. The figure is based on data sourced from reported killings in the state, therefore, the casualty figure may be higher. 

Residents and pundits have expressed worry over the recent killings in the state, recalling similar incidents first recorded in 2001 which dragged on for over a decade and claimed hundreds of lives and property worth billions of naira. They noted that while insecurity climaxed during the administrations of former Governors Joshua Dariye and Jonah Jang, there was a reprieve from 2015 when Simon Bako Lalong took over until around the twilight of his administration when the dark old days of killings resurfaced. 

Nine lawmakers of the Ekiti House of Assembly have fled to Ibadan, Oyo State, claiming their lives were unsafe. They alleged that a batch of detectives from the Force Criminal Investigation Department arrived in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday to arrest them, led by a Chief Superintendent of Police, Mohammed Abubakar. The lawmakers also alleged that some leaders of the All Progressives Congress were seen helping policemen identify their homes, stressing that they fled Ekiti because their lives were being threatened.The Assembly's Committee Chairman on Information, Youths, and Sports, Gboyega Aribisogan, said it was necessary to come to Ibadan to alert the public to the new clandestine plot by the APC-led Federal Government to cripple the government of Ekiti State. The Assembly has revealed that the three legislators declared missing by the state government actually ran into hiding to evade arrest by the officials of the Department of State Services.The lawmakers had gone underground since March 4, when a member of the legislature, Afolabi Akanni, was arrested and detained for 18 days by the Department of State Services (DSS) over alleged sundry allegations. The Assembly has directed the state lawmakers to shun any invitation from the DSS due to an alleged plot to arrest and detain them.

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has called on the Federal Government to increase the monthly allowance of National Youth Service Corps members due to the dwindling purchasing power of the naira. Fayose made the call during the swearing-in and official opening ceremony for the 2017 Batch 'A' Stream I of the NYSC at the NYSC Orientation Camp, Ise/Orun/Emure Ekiti. He stressed that the N19,800 monthly allowance was no longer sufficient for the survival of corps members and called for an urgent review of the allowance. The governor reiterated his commitment to the well-being of corps members serving in the state and promised to give further assistance to the NYSC. He lamented the monumental increase in the population of graduates annually without corresponding development in the facilities, leading to huge infrastructural decay in the NYSC camps nationwide. Fayose also assured the state government that the state government would continue to acknowledge and reward deserving youths with state honours award, automatic employment, and cash gifts. He encouraged corps members to go into farming, fishery, snail farming, and tap into the agriculturally-friendly environment of the state.