Politics, World News

N5Billion Fraud: Court Threatens To Issue Arrest Warrant On Stella Oduah, Others For Failing To Appear.

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A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah and other defendants if they fail to appear in court by the next adjourned date.

Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the warning on Monday after he was informed by Hassan Liman, counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that Oduah and one other defendant were not in court to take their plea.

Oduah, alongside eight other defendants, have been arraigned in court over an alleged N5 billion fraud.

The court had earlier fixed February 9 for the arraignment of the former minister and eight others.

However, Oduah, currently representing the Anambra North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, was not served with the court processes then, hence the arraignment could not go on.

The court also fixed April 19 for the arraignment but the strike embarked upon by members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria delayed the court hearing.

The lawmaker has been accused of fraud alongside others in a suit with the number: FHC/ABJ/CR/316/20.

The anti-corruption agency is alleging that Oduah misappropriated public funds to the tune of N5 billion while serving as Minister of Aviation.

When the matter was called, Liman, who informed that the case was scheduled for arraignment, said the anti-corruption agency had carried out the court order made on February 9.

“On February 22, 2020, my lord made an order of substituted service on the 5th and 6th defendants in the trial.

“We have carried out the order, my lord,” he said.

Justice Ekwo, however, said since the court did not sit on the last adjourned date, Monday’s proceeding should be for a report on the development and another date would be fixed for arraignment.

“How many witnesses are you calling,” the judge asked.

Liman, who said the EFCC would be calling at least 32 witnesses in the trial, said while some of the witnesses were within the court jurisdiction, others were not.

He added that the agency would produce two witnesses on the first day of trial commencement.

The lawyer called the court attention to the fact that Oduah, who is the 1st defendant, and another defendant listed as 4th in the trial were not in court.

“I will fix another date for arraignment and if they like, let them not come,” Ekwo said.

The judge, who told the prosecution lawyer to put his house in order, said “once the plea is taken, I am proceeding with trial.”

Ekwo, therefore, warned that any defendant who is not in court on the next adjourned date would be issued an arrest warrant.

“Apart from the 2nd and 3rd defendants, the other defendants are absent today. This is a note of warning that anyone absent will be issued with a warrant of arrest,” he ruled.

He adjourned the matter until October 19 for arraignment and trial.

Lifestyle, Politics, World News

FG Mourns Sound Sultan, Condoles With Family.

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The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said he is shocked and saddened by the untimely demise of the popular singer, rapper and songwriter Sound Sultan (Olanrewaju Fasasi).

In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday, the Minister described Sound Sultan’s death as a great loss not just to his family and the Creative Industry, but to Nigeria as a whole.

He expressed his condolences to the family, friends and fans of the departed Artiste.

”Our prayers and thoughts are with his wife, children and indeed his entire family at this time. May God comfort and strengthen them. May He also grant repose to the soul of the departed,” Alhaji Mohammed said.

Sound Sultan

Politics

Secondus has not shown good leadership to manage PDP affairs —Gov Wike

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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has taken the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Uche Secondus, to the cleaners following the internal crisis within the party leading to recent defections of its governors and lawmakers to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Wike, who was a guest at the 60th birthday bash of former Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke, used the opportunity to tongue lash Secondus, who hurriedly left the occasion to avoid Wike’s verbal attacks.

After dignitaries including ex-Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Secondus and a host of others had taken to the podium to extol Imoke’s virtues and political savvy, Wike stole the show when he went hard on with the PDP Chairman, describing him as a serial liar and one that could not be taken for his words.

Wike added that Secondus was fond of talking from both sides of his mouth and blamed him for the current woes in the party.

He said if Secondus, who came to the podium to talk about good leadership, had acted like a good leader, the party would not have been hit by the crisis that has started to consume it.

Talking about leadership, unfortunately, the National Chairman (Secondus) left before I start. We should not be theoretical but be practical in what we practice.

He goes to the church, you see the pastor, you pontificate him. He leaves the church, he does a different thing. What is the problem with this country: it’s leadership.

“If he (Secondus) had shown leadership in Cross River, our party would not have had the problem we have today.

“The National Chairman said we need good leadership in the country, but if you don’t show good leadership, the party cannot produce good leaders. That is the truth of the matter.

“We talk about character. What is leadership? Leadership is about character, boldness, selflessness and audacity.

As a leader, you must have character. Not to speak white in the morning and you speak black in the evening. Is that leadership? What are we telling our youths? We are talking about the future of this country.

“How many of us have been bold to speak out for our party? Those who are bold, those who are fair, those who have characters, do you want them to exist? Certainly not.

“Leadership is that you must decide whether to stand for the truth or not. You must decide whether to do the right thing or not. Leadership is the ability to say the decision I took was wrong and I have accepted that I was wrong and now I am in the position to correct it.

Politics, World News

APC dissolves caretaker committees in Zamfara.

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The All Progressive Congress (APC) Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) has dissolved the party’s executives in Zamfara.

Sen. John Akpanuodedehe, National Secretary of the CECPC, announced the dissolution in a letter dated July 9, 2021 and addressed to the dissolved Caretaker Chairman, Alhaji Lawal Liman.

The letter a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Sunday in Gusau, said the dissolution was with immediate effect.

“I write to please inform you that following recent development within the party in the state, the APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) has approved the dissolution of all the leadership organs of the party in the state (ward, local government and state executives).

“This development is with immediate effect,” the letter read in part.

It further said that a three man caretaker committee has been constituted to run the affairs of the party in the state.

The new constituted caretaker committee has Sen. Hassan Mohammed as Chairman with former deputy governor, Alhaji Muntari Anka as Deputy Chairman while Prof. Abdullahi Shinkafi, former Secretary to the State Government, would served as member/secretary.

The CECPC extended its appreciation to the dissolved executives and urged them to give necessary support to the new leadership of the party in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the change in leadership followed the defection of Gov. Bello Matawalle from the PDP to the APC.

Matawalle was received into the APC on June 29, by his Yobe counterpart and Chairman of the CECPC, Mai Mala-Buni.

Matawalle was also declared the party’s leader in the state as enshrined in the APC constitution.

News Agency Of Nigeria

Politics, World News

El-Rufai mourns former deputy, Bala Bantex.

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The condolence is contained in a statement personally signed by El-Rufai and made available to journalists in Kaduna.

The governor said “In Bantex, I have lost a dear friend and partner in the service of Kaduna State

“In the midst of trying times, I have received with utter sadness news of the departure of my friend and brother, His Excellency Barnabas Yusuf Bala (Bantex).

”From our days as undergraduates in the 1970s to our practice as professional colleagues in the construction industry and eventually partners in a governance project, Bantex was consistently a dependable man of brilliance and imagination.

“He believed in the potential of our state and in the capacity of our people to work together for progressive attainments.”

The stated further that ” Together, we took on the task of providing new leadership for Kaduna State in 2015.

“He brought to his duties as deputy governor during our first term his unique insights as a politician with experience in navigating the diversity of our state.”

According to the governor, Bantex radiated hope and optimism in the future of the state, even when the circumstances were dreary.

He said Bantex had served the people of Kaduna State in several capacities prior to becoming a deputy governor.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bantext served as a delegate to the 1994 Constitutional Conference, Chairman of Kaura Local Government Council and member of Kaura Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

“We would miss his brilliance and his commitment to Kaduna State, his easygoing manners, his sense of humour and steadfastness to his convictions.

” I have spoken to his family and conveyed our condolence on behalf of the government and people of Kaduna State. We shall work closely with his family to grant a befitting farewell to a man who gave so much to this even when hobbled by ill-health.

“We have been blessed to know Bantex and to work with him,” the governor said.

He also prayed God to grant him peaceful rest and to comfort his wife, children and the entire family in this moment of grief and loss.

News Agency Of Nigeria

Politics, World News

Details Of Car IPOB Leader, Kanu Was Driving When Abducted From Airport Parking Lot, Others.

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More details have emerged of the illegal abduction of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Kenya, including that of the vehicle registration plate or number plate of the vehicle in which he was taken.

SaharaReporters had reported that Kanu was taken from an underground parking lot of an international airport in Kenya, while trying to “meet a person arriving in the country for a high-level IPOB meeting”.

A source privy to how Kanu was illegally kidnapped in Kenya and brought to Nigeria by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has revealed that “it was only his Kenyan-based phone that was seized upon his arrest”.

The source said his “passport and three (major) phones plus laptop were not with him during the time he was kidnapped”.

Nnamdi kanu

Also according to the source, Kanu was arrested in an “Audi TT with licence plate number KCV 100 K”.

SaharaReporters also learnt that Kanu has engaged the services of a top law firm, Bindmans LLP, to represent him in the UK.

Politics, World News

Activists Demand Release Of Detained #BuhariMustGo Campaigners, Threaten To Occupy Dunamis Church Nationwide.

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Some activists on Sunday in Abuja staged a peaceful protest to demand the release of five activists arrested at Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Abuja for wearing T-shirts announcing #BuhariMustGo last Sunday.

The activists also threatened to occupy and shut down all branches of Dunamis Church across the country by next Sunday if their colleagues are not released by then.

The protesters, who were earlier harassed by a team of armed policemen and church security guards stationed at the auditorium’s gate, decided to hold the protest at the Galadimawa branch of the church.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Mr. Damilare Adenola called on the Senior Pastor of the church, Paul Enenche, asking him to ensure the release of the young Nigerians.

According to him, the activists have not committed any offence known to law.

He said, “Five of our colleagues have been in DSS detention for the past seven days and we went to Dunamis Headquarters today and they attempted to arrest us.

“They used police officers to intimidate us and that is why we have come here and our colleagues are doing this across Dunamis branches to vent our anger against the church for arresting our Christian brothers who came to church to express themselves.

“As much as I know and you will agree with me that people have the right to protest and express themselves.

“This is the place we can express ourselves and we are sending the message through their branch to the General Overseer, Pastor Paul Enenche to immediately swing into action and ensure that our colleagues are released from detention. If not by next Sunday, we are going to occupy all the branches of Dunamis Church across the country.”

He said it was obvious that the church ordered the arrest of the young Nigerians for reasons best known to the church officials contrary to the claim made by Enenche that the church had no hand in the arrest.

He added that Enenche, the church, and the Department of State Services were working together and orchestrated the arrest of the five activists who worshipped and took holy communion right in the church last Sunday.

Some overzealous policemen and church security guards had arrested two journalists from The Punch and Roots TV who came to cover the protest but were later released.

Politics, World News

FG inaugurates committee to end dispute between NLC and Kaduna Govt.

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The Federal Government has inaugurated a 10-man committee to resolve the dispute between Kaduna State government and Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and ensure industrial harmony in the state.

A statement issued by a Deputy Director in the ministry, Mr Charles Akpan, on Saturday in Abuja, said that the committee was inaugurated by Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee was headed by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Peter-Yemira Tarfa.

Ngige named Secretary to Kaduna State Government (SSG), Balarabe Lawal and Deputy National President, NLC, Najim Hashim as Co-chairmen of the committee and Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, ministry of labour and employment, Mrs O. U. Akpan, as Secretary.

He urged members of the committee to meet the expectations of President Muhammadu Buhari in ensuring that industrial peace returned to the state.

The minister recalled that the federal government had apprehended the strike initiated by NLC in the state in May, with parties signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to restore peace.

He said that the intervening circumstances had made the reconstitution of the committee inevitable.

According to him, the committee is expected to resolve all the issues in dispute between the state government and NLC.

Ngige, who acknowledged that the issues in contention bordered essentially on trade disputes, gave the committee 21 days to submit its report.

He urged the committee to resolve the issues holistically and be guided by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as well as the country’s labour laws.

Ngige noted that downsizing or rightsizing of workforce in any organisation, government or private sector, was a redundancy issue, which must be subjected to the principles spelt out in the Trade Disputes Act, Laws of the Federation, 2004, Cap L1.

“The law says in Section 20(A) that: “in the event of redundancy, every employer shall inform the trade unions or representatives of workers concerned of the reasons for or the extent of their anticipated redundancy.

“Section 20(B) also says that the principles of ‘last-in, first-out’ shall be adopted in the discharge of the category of workers affected, subject to all factors of relative merit including skill, ability and any reliability.”

“So, in applying this, we must subject it to the relativity of merit, skill, ability and reliability. If somebody has a forged certificate, he should be asked to go because he didn’t merit the job in the first instance.

“If you go to a nursing home and find somebody working in the ward with a Bachelor’s degree in History, he stands disqualified because he doesn’t have the skill in the first place.

“He has to go. So, these are the qualifications that must be noted in this principle of last in, first out. It is not absolute. It has exceptions and qualifications,’’ he said.

Ngige added that an employer had the right to reduce staff strength of his organisation but he is bound by law to negotiate redundancy payment with any discharged worker.

He asserted that there was nothing wrong in Kaduna State government stopping the expenditure of 96 per cent of the its earnings on personnel cost in order to save enough for capital projects, adding, however, that it must be done within the ambit of the law.

According to him, schedule two of the 1999 Constitution clearly states issues that are contained in item 34 of that schedule which are beyond the powers of state governments to act upon.

He said that they included matters relating to labour unions, industrial disputes, arbitration and conciliation as well as the National Minimum Wage, all exclusive to the purview of the federal government.

Meanwhile, the minister informed the committee of the expectations of the president on the speedy return of industrial harmony in the state, more so at a time the state was facing the challenges of armed banditry.

“Mr President has asked me to inform you of his expectation that peace returns to Kaduna, which has been his state of residence and home to many retired generals, permanent secretaries and seasoned administrators, amongst others of Northern Nigeria extraction.

“So, I appeal to you to approach this assignment with conciliation at the back of your mind so that we don’t have a repeat of what happened in May.
“I use this opportunity to appeal to you, as the minister of labour, father of labour unions and friend of Kaduna State, that we should tread the path of peace. With peace, we can make progress, both as government and as labour union,” he said.

Also speaking, Kaduna State SSG, assured of the state government’s commitment to restoration of industrial harmony, adding that government was not at war with labour.

In his remarks, NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba, said that labour was committed to resolution of the impasse in the state.

“I pray that it will be the last dispute between labour and Kaduna State government. This is a labour matter that can be resolved and should be resolved,” he said.

News Agency Of Nigeria

Politics, World News

Nnamdi Kanu’s UK Passport Still In Kenya Despite Arrest, Extradition.

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New evidence that Kenyan authorities have a hand in the arrest and extradition of Nnamdi Kanu, the Indigenous People of Biafra leader, has emerged.

A UK Newspaper, The Guardian, stated this in a report, adding that Kanu got a Kenya visa which was to expire in June, and he had been around in the country before his sudden arrest and extradition.

“Evidence seen by the Guardian shows Kanu entered Kenya this year on his British passport on a visa expiring in June. His UK passport remains in Kenya. Kanu was not in possession of a Nigerian passport, his family said, and he has verbally renounced his Nigerian citizenship in broadcasts.

“The abduction of a person from a foreign country with the aim of rendition to justice is illegal under international law,” the UK newspaper report says.

SaharaReporters had on Wednesday reported that Kanu recounted his experience in Kenya while speaking with his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, saying he was “mercilessly beaten and tortured” in the East African country before his extradition to Nigeria.

Ejiofor had confirmed the words of Kanu during an interview, adding that Kanu told him how he was detained not in the Kenya official detention centers but in a private residence for about eight days, before his extradition to Nigeria.

The lawyer had said, “There was a clear collaboration between the Kenya government and the Nigerian government. I am happy that they now deny the fact that Kanu was arrested there.

“But by the time we finish with them at the International Criminal Court, they will never remain the same. He was arrested at the airport there, and he was taken to an unknown residence. He was subjected to inhuman treatment.

“Kanu was tortured, maltreated and mercilessly beaten, as confirmed by him to us. After spending eight days in their illegal custody, they now beckoned to the Nigerian government. Kanu was lifeless and unconscious by the time they were bringing him to Nigeria.

“To tell you the level of their conspiracy and the desperation to get him, they brought him here on a Sunday and the federal government is fully aware that I am his legal counsel.

“He was brought into the country and inflicted with several injuries and he is having many medical issues today. It was at the behest of the Federal government that Kenya was doing those things. This is against all international laws. We are going to address an international court at that level.”

The Kenyan authorities had denied that they had anything to do with the arrest and extradition of Kanu to Nigeria.

Politics, World News

”They are not the property of the state government”- Oba of Benin kicks against Edo state govt’s decision to take custody of 1,130 stolen artefacts to be returned from Germany.

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The Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, has kicked against the decision of the Edo state government to take custody of the 1,130 stolen Benin artefacts that are in the process of being repatriated from Germany.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki and the other top government officials are currently in Germany to facilitate the return of the stolen artefacts that were allegedly looted during the invasion of the Benin Kingdom in 1897 by the British led by Captain Philip.

While the palace wants the artefacts kept in the Benin Royal Museum which will be built within the palace, the state government wants the items preserved in the proposed Edo Museum of West African Arts which would be funded and executed by a private company named Legacy Restoration Trust Ltd.

At a press conference held on Friday at the palace, the Benin monarch said that there was no controversy over the issue as an agreement had been reached that the artefacts would be housed in the royal museum. He opined that since the artefacts were stolen from the Benin palace, it is expected that they be returned to the monarch when they are repatriated.

“I have called this meeting today (Friday) to intimate you of the matter of the Benin artefacts in Europe on the verge of being repatriated, which I am sure you have heard and read about in recent weeks. You may also have heard about the recent activities of a group of individuals who incorporated a company since January 2020 called Legacy Restoration Trust Limited.

It has become germane to note that the advocacy and demands for the return of the artefacts looted from the Benin Kingdom in 1897 have been going on for decades before the emergence of the incumbent Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki. I must sincerely thank the governor for joining the struggle and showing commitment to retrieve our stolen cultural heritage from Europe.

While anticipating the return of the looted artefacts from Europe, I want to note that attempts to divert the destination or the right of custody of the artefacts is not in the interest of the people of Benin Kingdom, to whom the Palace of the Oba of Benin provides leadership. The looted artefacts awaiting repatriation from Europe are the cultural heritage of the Benin Kingdom created by our ancestors and forefathers within the traditional norms and rites of the kingdom.

They are not property of the state government or any private corporate entity that is not a creation of the Benin Kingdom. The right and only legitimate destination for the artefacts to be repatriated as already pronounced by my father is under the aegis of the Benin Royal Museum that will be sited within the precincts of the Palace of the Oba of Benin, from where they were looted, and also, the proper traditional institution that is also the custodian of all the cultural heritage of the Benin Kingdom.

The palace, therefore, strongly advises that anyone, group, organisation, or government – national and international – that is dealing with any organisation or artificial group in the process of returning the looted artefacts from the Benin Kingdom would be doing so at their own risk and against the will of the people of the Benin Kingdom.”

Speaking further, Oba Ewuare II said

“I informed him (Obaseki) that Oba Ewuare II Foundation had been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and had worked out a framework for not only receiving the artefacts but also building a modern structure, the Benin Royal Museum, within the precincts of the palace and that land has been secured for the building of the Benin Royal Museum under the supervision of the traditional institution.

But for reasons best known to him, the governor has gone against the understanding, given recent events. As a matter of fact, the people of Benin Kingdom and other stakeholders, especially the Benin Dialogue Group, had at different meetings endorsed the Benin Royal Museum to be built within the palace, as well as endorsing the Oba Ewuare II Foundation for fundraising and other requisite administration processes.

We wish to use this medium to call on the Federal Government to take custody of these artefacts on behalf of the palace until the Benin Royal Museum is ready for their collection. Under no circumstances should the custody of our age-old artefacts be handed to any privately contrived entity like Legacy Restoration Trust.”

Politics

Adebanjo has nothing to do with Gumi – Afenifere

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Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, on Friday distanced its leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, from controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.

The cleric had been holding talks with bandits hiding in forests in northern part of the country in a bid to ensure release of students abducted by the hoodlums in several states in the region.

Gumi also accused the military of colluding with the bandits terrorizing the citizens during an interview on Arise TV last month.

Some pictures of Adebanjo and the cleric standing together at a forum had recently surfaced on social media.

The National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Jare Ajayi, who reacted to the development in a statement, insisted that the 93-year-old elder statesman has nothing to do with the cleric.

According to him, the pictures in question were taken during a trip to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s home in Abeokuta, Ogun State, before the 2019 presidential election.

He said the Afenifere leader had in a joint statement issued alongside the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide; and Middle Belt Forum in February condemned Gumi for demanding amnesty for bandits.

The spokesman said Adebanjo was “never known to be in cahoots with any criminal or those who keep company with alleged criminals and bandits.”

The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to some pictures making the rounds in which the acting Leader of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, was alleged to be in company of Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, the Islamic preacher who is negotiating with kidnappers in the northern parts of Nigeria.

As everyone knows, Chief Adebanjo, a lawyer, is not only a man of peace for whom human rights matter a lot, he is never known to be in cahoots with any criminal or those who keep company with alleged criminals and bandits.

“The pictures being circulated in which Adebanjo was seen in the same flight with Gumi and later in a handshake in the presence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo were taken in 2018 in the run-up to the presidential election that took place in 2019.

It would be recalled that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar elicited the assistance of various important Nigerian personalities to help him secure the support of his former boss, Obasanjo, in his (Abubakar’s) bid to become the country’s President then. Those Atiku Abubakar approached for this purpose included Sokoto Catholic Archbishop Mathew Kukah; Bishop David Oyedepo, Founder of Living Faith Church and Senator Ben Bruce, among others.

“The picture taken in the plane was when the delegation was being flown to Abeokuta, Ogun State home of Chief Obasanjo. Chief Adebanjo was in the rear of the private jet of Atiku Abubakar that convened the team to Obasanjo’s home. Those on the same flight with Gumi and Chief Adebanjo included PDP Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.

Thus, the pictures being circulated were taken over two years ago, long before kidnapping became this rampant and long before Gumi engaged in negotiating for bandits.

“As a matter of fact, it is on record that Chief Adebanjo condemned the present actions of Gumi as contained in the statement jointly issued by Adebanjo-led Afenifere, PANDEF, Ohanaeze and Middle Belt Forum among others, as reported by newspapers of February 28, 2021.”

Politics

HURIWA bemoans Nigeria’s huge debt profile, seeks renaming of Finance Ministry

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The frequent accumulation of foreign loans which had led to an increasing debt profile has elicited a reaction from the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA).

The group has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to change the name of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to “Ministry of Foreign Loans Collection.”

This call was made on Friday via a statement issued by the HURIWA National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko.

According to the HURIWA, “Vexed by the unrelenting applications by the Federal Ministry of Finance and Budget for foreign loans since the assumption of office of the President Muhammadu Buhari government in 2015, a call has gone to the President to rename the ministry of finance and Budget to Ministry for foreign loans collection.

We honestly think that the President should table before his weak Federal Executive Council the proposal for a change of name of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National planning to the Federal Ministry for Foreign Loans and Debts accumulation.

This is because Nigerians have come to see that the Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed does nothing else than inundating Nigerians with the bad news of the constant requests from all kinds of places around the world for external loans which are actually not being utilised to grow the economy or advance the living conditions of Nigerians, but these huge loans are used to service the ballooning costs of running government and paying juicy allowances to Federal government officials”.

HURIWA further slammed the assertion by the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan who stated that the poor state of the economy was the reason for the frequent loan applications.

The statement further reads that it “made no sense to accept such a fallacy from the Senate President because in the first place, Nigeria is not poor but resource rich but has poor and corruption infested political leadership and importantly, poor nations without resources aren’t given or granted loans by creditors unless such debtors have collateral by way of resources that the creditors like China can fall back on if Nigeria fails to meet her repayment conditionality.”

Politics

Insecurity has set education in the north 20 years backward —Former Head of State, Abdulsalami

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A former military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) has lamented that the insecurity in the northern part of Nigeria has taken education in the region 20 years backward.

The former head of state spoke on Thursday when he received officials of the Niger State chapter of the Campaign for Democracy and Human Rights (CDHR) led by its state chairman, Comrade Abdullahi Jabi, at his Minna residence in Niger State.

Abdulsalami noted that many children of school age can no longer go to school while those in schools are being kidnapped.

He said, “Insecurity has taken education in the north back 20 years. We are facing serious insecurity. Some heartless people keep kidnapping our children. forgetting that they too have children.

Will they be happy if their children are kidnapped and traumatised?”

Also, he explained that insecurity is a major hindrance to the socio-economic development of the nation and called for all hands to be on deck to bring it to an end.

Meanwhile, he blamed the poor economic situation in the country on the effect of the COVID-19, saying it has handicapped the states and Federal Government financially.

“COVID-19 became a stumbling block to the world; COVID-19 brought a setback to all our programmes,” he added.

Politics, World News

Sunday Igboho’s Allies Arrested In ‘Illegal’ Night Raid Sue Nigeria’s Secret Police.

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Twelve persons arrested after a fierce gun battle with Sunday Adeyemo alias Sunday Igboho in Ibadan, Oyo State during a night raid on his Soka residence in Ibadan, Oyo state have sued the Department of State Service (DSS).

In a joint application filed by their lawyers at the Federal High Court, the allies of the Yoruba activist described their arrest and subsequent detention as unlawful.

The 12 persons include Abdullateef Ofeyagbe, Amoda Babatunde (Aka Lady K), Tajudeen Erinoyen, Diakola Ademola, Abideen Shittu, and Jamiu Noah.

Others are Ayobami Donald, Adelabe Usman, Oluwafelumi Kunle, Raji Kazeem, Taiwo Opeyemi and Bamidele Sunday.

The defendants are the Director General, State Security Service (SSS), also known as the Department of State Services (DSS) and the DSS.
SaharaReporters had reported how DSS operatives invaded Igboho’s residence on 2nd of July in Ibadan, two days before the planned Yoruba Nation rally in Lagos state.

Two aides of the agitator were killed while eleven males and one female were arrested during the raid.

The DSS also declared Sunday Igboho, who has gone into hiding, wanted and instructed that he reports himself to the nearest security agency.

“AN ORDER of this Honourable Court mandating and compelling the Respondents to produce the Applicants to enable this Honourable Court inquire into the circumstances constituting grounds of their arrest and detention since 2nd July, 2021 and where it deems fit admit applicant on bail,” the court document read.

“AN ORDER of this Honourable Court mandating and compelling the Respondents to come before this Honourable Court and show cause as to why the Applicants should not be granted bail in accordance with the provisions of sections 32 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and other extant laws in Nigeria.

“AND SUCH FURTHER ORDER OR ORDERS as this Honourable court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.
TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that this application is predicated on the following grounds.

“The Applicants are law-abiding Citizens of Nigeria who enjoy the protection of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) as well as other applicable laws, particularly the provisions of Sections 35(4), and 36(5) of the Constitution as well as Section 32 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.

“The Applicants were arrested in the early hours of Thursday, the 2nd of July, 2021 by officers and agents of the Respondents at the residence of Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, at Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, and are being detained at the Respondents facility in Abuja.

“The state of affairs relating to the arrest of the Applicants was later confirmed and published by the Respondents, who claim responsibility for their arrest and detention in Abuja.

“Upon the Applicants’ arrest, the Applicants were subsequently transferred to Federal Capital territory, Abuja under the watch and guide of the Respondents, who have since held the Applicants in detention till date.

“Following the Applicant’s arrest, concrete and concise efforts have been made by their lawyers to get access to the Applicants in order to provide them with necessary legal representation as stipulated under the law but same has been glaringly frustrated by the Respondents who have as well denied the Applicants access to their lawyers and other family members.

“Despite the clear provisions of law which place responsibility on law enforcement Agency to charge a suspect within 24hrs of arrest, the Respondent in flagrant disregard to the provisions of the law has continued to keep the Applicants under detention without any charge against them before a court of competent jurisdiction.

“The Applicants are aware that they enjoy the constitutional protection of presumption of innocence as well as fair trial within a reasonable time under the applicable laws in Nigeria.”

Politics, World News

Airlines’ owe FG agencies N37bn –Sirika.

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Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has disclosed that Nigerian airlines are owing federal agencies to the tune of N37 billion.

He said while Arik owes about N13bllion or N14billion, Bi-Courtney is owing Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) about N14 billion, adding that for the past 13 years since it began operations, it has not remitted a single dime to them as stipulated in the agreement.

Sirika, who was the guest at this week’s ministerial press briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team at the presidential villa, Abuja, said the debt was owed to agencies including Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) among others.

According to him, government had been cautious in demanding for the payment mindful of how the media and the Nigerian public might react.

The Minister, however, vowed that the government would go after the airlines to make sure that they pay what they owe.

Sirika, who addressed the controversy over the disbursement of the N5 billion COVID-19 palliative to aviation stakeholders, said the point was made that airlines owing aviation parastatals should not benefit.

He explained: “In fact, the service providers in our system, FAAN, NAMA, said oh these guys are owing us, we should take the money from the money being given as palliatives. We said no but the intent of President Buhari is to ensure that he cushion the effect on businesses. Let us find a way of surviving, and let them take the money. So we would have taken the money and left them with nothing and we stay with nothing.

“So, this brings to the question on the money owed the parastatals. It is about N37 billion that they are owing, especially Arik, the culprit. I know they’re owing us about, N13 billion or N14 billion.

“If you’re owing government, you are owing FAAN, the Bi-Courtney is owing about N14 billion as at the last count. It has not paid a single dime since the time he started to run the terminal building. And we have not ceased giving him electricity, water, fire cover, and so on and so forth. He hasn’t paid a dime for 13 years.

“And if we go to shut his doors, media, of course, and Nigerian people will say we’re killing businesses but he is killing our services too, because we have to have that money to provide for that toilet that you’re looking for in Lagos Airport. Most of these are living by their IGRs and so, we need the money but we will go after the money.”

Politics, World News

You are a member of APC, PDP tells Onochie.

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has berated the All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart and President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, for denying her membership of the ruling party in order to be appointed as a national commissioner in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Speaking during her screening before the Senate Committee on INEC, Thursday, Onochie said she withdrew her membership of the APC in 2019, immediately after President Muhammadu Buhari won his second term in office.

PDP in a statement by it National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, Thursday claimed that “Nigerians were amused to watch Lauretta Onochie, a nationally known APC front runner, as she spewed falsehood before the Senator Kabiru Gaya-led Senate Committee on INEC in denial of her membership of the APC.

“With her lies, Lauretta Onochie, a die in the wool APC member, whose name appears as number 2 on the ward 4 register of the APC in Aniocha local government area of Delta state, has further demonstrated her lack of integrity to be trusted with the position of a national commissioner in INEC, the party added.

Continuing, the statement read “Lauretta Onochie in her escapade in the Senate, may have forgotten that the lawmakers and Nigerians in general are aware of her subsisting oath filed in a pending suit in court affirming her membership of the APC, which she further reinforced and adopted under cross examination in the same matter very recently.

“With such proclivity to desperate denials in the face of the truth, allowing Lauretta Onochie, anywhere near INEC, would pollute the commission as well as the conduct of elections by the commission.

“Now that the fact of Onochie’s partisanship has been further laid bare before the Senate, the PDP urges the Senator Gaya Committee on INEC to stand on the side of the constitution and the sanctity of our electoral process by out rightly rejecting the nomination of Onochie as INEC commissioner.”

Politics, World News

South Africa’s Zuma Hands Himself Over To Police To Begin 15-month Sentence.

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South Africa’s ex-president Jacob Zuma turned himself in to prison late Wednesday to begin serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court, his foundation said.

In a historic ruling, the Constitutional Court last week handed Zuma a 15-month term for snubbing anti-graft investigators.

Police had earlier on Wednesday warned they were prepared to arrest the former president by a midnight deadline to enforce the ruling, unless the top court instructed otherwise, AFP reports.

But Zuma decided to make his way to an unnamed prison in his home province of Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN).

“Please be advised that (ex) President Zuma has decided to comply with the incarceration order,” the foundation tweeted.

“He is on his way to hand himself into a Correctional Services Facility in KZN,” it said, just minutes before the deadline expired.

A convoy of cars believed to be carrying Zuma drove out of his homestead at high speed about 40 minutes before the cut-off time for him to give himself up.

Zuma had mounted a last-ditch legal defence and refused to turn himself in by Sunday night as the court ordered. Under the ruling, police were given three days to arrest him if he failed to surrender.

He had pleaded with the court for an 11th-hour reprieve.

In an urgent request to the Constitutional Court late Wednesday, Zuma’s lawyers asked it to “direct the suspension of its orders… to prevent our client from being arrested prior to all legal processes being finalised”.

Zuma’s first application to halt his arrest was heard on Tuesday but the judgement was reserved until Friday.

Separately, he has pleaded with the Constitutional Court to reconsider and rescind its jail order. That challenge will be heard next Monday.

Zuma, 79, was forced out of office in 2018 and replaced by Cyril Ramaphosa after a nine-year tenure stained by corruption scandals and the taint of cronyism.

Critics nicknamed him the “Teflon president” for his perceived ability to sidestep justice.

But his fortunes changed on June 29 when the court issued its damning judgement against him for contempt.

Zuma had refused to obey a court order to appear before a commission probing the siphoning off of state assets under his presidency.

Politics

Why arrest Kanu and spare Gumi? – Bayelsa Governor queries Buhari

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Governor of Bayelsa state, Duoye Diri has questioned the decision of the President Muhammadu Buhari government to arrest leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, while giving a pass to renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, despite his alleged link to bandits.

Diri stated this on Tuesday, when he featured on a Channels TV programme, where he noted that Gumi had become somebody no one could touch, adding that it was very unfair.

The governor said; “Two things I have to say; first, they should give him (Nnamdi Kanu) a fair hearing so that the trial will not be done in a way that everyone (especially the Igbo) will see it as oppression.

“Second, as we talk about the IPOB, what about the boys (bandits and herdsmen) organising killings in the North and in the whole country? What of Sheik Gumi? He has become somebody no one can touch. That’s very unfair.”

Gumi had recently warned the government against the killing of bandits, insisting that the criminals were victims too.

Last Tuesday, Nigeria’s Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, announced the rearrest of Nnamdi Kanu and listed the allegations against him, saying he must continue his court trial in earnest.

Politics

Any Igbo person criticising Nnamdi Kanu is insane —Methodist Bishop

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The Bishop of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Onitsha Diocese, Rt Rev. Biereonwu Livinus Onuagha, has said any Igbo person criticising the leader of the proscribed Igbo secessionist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu, is naive and insane as he represents 99.9 percent Igbos.

Speaking during a press conference in Onitsha on Tuesday, the cleric said though Kanu had exhibited youthful exuberance in his agitation, most Ndigbos identifie with his struggles and quest for an entity called Biafra.

Bishop Onuagha added that Kanu is an asset not only to the Igbos but to entire Southern Nigeria, and the Igbo person that criticizes him now “is a lost soul, a bastard and a naive person”.

Bishop Onuagha also said that the handcuff on Kanu’s hands is a handcuff in the hands of every Igbo person in a country dominated by ethno-religious identity politics.

In the statement entitled “My take on Nnamdi Kanu: Nnamdi Kanu is not the problem of Nigeria,” Bishop Onuagha said as long as Northerners are still standing with the likes of Pantami, Gumi, Miyetti Allah and others, he will continue to stand with Kanu.

“In the last few days, there have been mixed feelings in the nation of Nigeria.

“It is no longer news that Nnamdi Kanu has been arrested. Many people have their opinion on this and they are entitled to them. I am equally entitled to mine.

Some people are rejoicing that Nnamdi Kanu has been arrested. Others are not happy because of that. The chase after Nnamdi Kanu is a misplaced priority.

To me, any Igbo person openly criticizing Kanu now is a lost soul, a bastard and a naive person. No apology.

“Those Igbos rejoicing like Joe Igbokwe in Lagos, is only being ignorant of the hand writing on the wall. Let me refer him to the Scripture if he reads his Bible:

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, and there we wept, when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps; for the wicked carried us away captivity, and required from us a song. How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”(Psalm 137: 1-4.)

Joe Igbokwe does not know or understand that handcuffs on the hand of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, is handcuffs on the hands of every Igbo man. If I may ask, why is Joe Igbokwe thanking God for the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu?

“If I take a look at the apartheid policy in South Africa, the legend of our time, Daddy Nelson Mandela, he spent 27 years in prison to emancipate his people.

“He died in the struggle. Joe Igbokwe is only being selfish. How many of his investments are in Onitsha, Enugu, Awka, Abakaliki, Umuahia and Owerri? He is only making himself as a Tobias or Samballat.

“I listened to Senator Victor Umeh talk about the ideology of Nnamdi Kanu where he said Kanu may have spoken like a young man he is but there is truth in all he is saying.

Can somebody tell me why Nigeria is insisting that Biafra should not be self governed? Is the Igbo man in the second agenda of this government?

“In a country dominated by ethno-religious identity politics, throwing your own under the bus is the biggest blunder anyone could commit.

“As long as the Northerners are still standing with Pantami, Gumi, Miyetti Allah, etcetera, I will stand with Nnamdi Kanu.

“Nnamdi Kanu may have his youthful exuberance but he is representing 99.9% of the Igbo and the entity called Biafra. This is no time to openly talk about his mistakes.

“Like every human being, he is not infallible. He has his Achilles’ heel and its attendant hubris. Even with his mistakes, Nnamdi Kanu is an asset not only to Ndigbo but to Southern Nigeria as a whole. His courage has earned my respect.

He is the catalyst providing oxygen to all the agitations in the South today, be it Biafra or Oduduwa. The question is, the injustice and oppression that Kanu is fighting, are they real or imagined? Of course, even the blind can see them.

“You may not know the value of a mad man in your family until herds of other madmen invade your ancestral home.

“Nigeria is not working and can never work until something drastic is done about its lopsided structure. What is happening in Nigeria is total injustice, calculated intimidation, sidelining and enslaving a group of people.

Make no mistake, those that are benefitting from the systematic injustice will never allow the current system to be tampered with.

Politics

Former Finance Minister, Adeosun, wins legal suit in NYSC Certificate saga

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A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, cleared the former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate forgery, which resulted in her resignation in 2018.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo, in his ruling on the originating summons with suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/303/21 brought by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, on her behalf, held that the NYSC certificate based on the constitution is not a mandatory requirement for holding a political office in the country.

I am of the view that denying the plaintiff of the relieves sought is not going to be doing justice to the matter,” he said.

The judge, therefore, granted all the four relieves sought for determination by the former minister.

Taiwo noted that the AGF, in his counter-affidavit, did not challenge the avirement of the plaintiff, wherein the defendant stated that the Federal Government did not withdraw the ministerial appointment of the plaintiff or ask her to resign, but that Adeosun resigned on her on accord.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that while Adeosun was the plaintiff in the suit, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) was the sole defendant.

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