The Arewa Youth Assembly, have called on the National Assembly to urgently enact laws carrying the death penalty for anyone found vandalizing any public facility.

The group, while reacting to the ongoing blackout in the Northeast geopolitical zone of the country, blamed vandals.

Three transmission towers (T1690, T1691, and T1692) along the Biu–Danboa 132kV transmission line and the alleged theft of 16 spans of conductors, as gathered by our correspondent, have left the region without proper electricity supply for over a month.

In a press statement issued to journalists, on Friday, in Jalingo, the North East coordinator of the group, Dr. Usman Shehu Jada, said until drastic measures were put in place, such acts would continue.

“We are calling on the National Assembly to enact laws carrying the death penalty on anyone found vandalizing any facility, otherwise they will keep destroying facilities made for the public and by so doing exposing the host communities to dangers of the destroyed towers and unending darkness,” he said.

He also tasked security agencies to work round the clock to avoid the continuous balkanization of power equipment and facilities in the North East and Nigeria,

Jada urged well-meaning Nigerians to be watchdogs to report any suspected move to security agencies.

He added that, “it is important to state that citizens and indigenes of the Northeast should be patriotic and treat government facilities and installations as their own, not that of TCN.”

He equally identified the need for the Vice President, the National Security Adviser and the North East Governors to rally support for the Minister of Power and the TCN Management to ensure the protection of critical government facilities and installations in the region.

Jada equally urged the Ministry of Power and the TCN management to remain resilient and focused, and not give up on its fight and efforts against vandals.

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday charged the Federal Government to explore a political solution to the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

Atiku made the call while condemning the killing of some soldiers in the Aba area of Abia State during Thursday’s sit-at-home exercise.

Posting on X, Atiku lamented the impact of the sit-at-home order on the conduct of the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, exam across the Southeast.

According to Atiku: “The violence that led to the killing of soldiers and civilians in Abia State on Thursday stands condemned.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who may have lost a loved one. May their souls rest in peace. But even more profound is the impact of yesterday’s sit-at-home in the Southeast region of our country on students writing WAEC examinations.

“The veil of the so-called Unknown Gun Men hiding undercover to unleash death and mayhem must be lifted to ensure that criminal elements are separated from legitimate agitators.

“To this end, without prejudice to the ongoing legal processes, I think the time has come to explore a political resolution to the Nnamdi Kanu and other associated issues. I believe that this will diffuse the compressor cooker situation in the region. It will be a win-win for all parties.”

Former President of the United States Donald Trump has expressed disgust over his conviction on all 34 counts bordering on falsifying business records in his historic criminal trial in New York.

Trump called the judgment a “disgrace” and attacked Judge Merchan, who presided over the case.

The judgment marked the first time a former or serving US president has been convicted of a crime and Trump is due to be sentenced on 11 July even as he faces a possible prison term, but legal experts said a fine is more likely.

In spite of the convictions and the dent in his spirited efforts to unseat current President Joe Biden in the November elections, Trump could still run for the election.

The court heard from 22 witnesses over six weeks, including Stormy Daniels, whose alleged sexual encounter with Trump was at the centre of this case.

According to analysts, Donald Trump’s criminal conviction presents a remarkable collection of historic firsts.

He’s the first former or serving US president to be found guilty of a crime and the first presumptive major-party nominee to become a convicted felon as well.

While Trump plans his appeal in the hush-money case and awaits a sentence on 11 July that could in theory include prison time and a hefty fine, it’s not too early to consider the political fallout.

“We often look to history to find some kind of hint of what’s going to happen,” Jeffrey Engel, Director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University said.

“But there is nothing in the record that comes even close to this,” he added.