The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has thrown his support behind Yoruba activists calling for secession and establishment of Oduduwa Republic.
Adams made this call in an interview granted to BBC Yoruba on Thursday, April 1.
According to him, the Oduduwa Republic is not negotiable because he also wants its creation.
“Whatever they want is what I also want. But we are supposed to ask where our kings, leaders and politicians are going because I also want the Oduduwa nation,” Gani Adams said.
Gani Adams also addressed the security threats bedevilling the South-West region, describing such as unfortunate.
“It is the fault of security chiefs who have failed in their responsibilities to protect citizens, that is why people are agitating for the creation of Oduduwa nation but if the security forces join hands together with the citizens, we will be assured of strong security.”
He said although insecurity problems affect all the states in the country, it has been worse in some regions in the past six months.
Gani Adams said he has started working together with different groups and there are plans to protect the people of the South-West region against kidnappers and bandits.
According to him, the meeting has started yielding good results.
“We have written letters to all the Obas in Yorubaland, and I signed the letters alongside members of the Oodua Peoples Congress and security guards to report any issue of insecurity,” he said.
A fake legal practitioner, Azeez Agboola who appeared in a Magistrate’s Court has been arrested by the police in Ogun.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi in the state, confirmed the arrest of the suspect in a statement on Thursday.
The 50-year-old suspect, a resident of Oko Afor area of Badagry in Lagos State, was arrested following suspicious over his presentation while appearing as a counsel before Chief Magistrate B.I. Ilo at the Chief Magistrate Court in the Agbara of Ogun State.
“Upon his arrest, the suspect was personally interrogated by the Divisional Police Officer (Agbara Division), Superintendent of Police Dahiru Saleh, and he confessed that though he read law in the university, he has not been called to bar since he has not passed the law school examination,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun has ordered that the suspect be charged to court as soon as possible.
The police in Bauchi State have arrested two youths in the Azare Local Government Area of the state who were alleged to have insulted Governor Bala Mohammed during his tour of some projects in the area.
According to The Nation, there was drama in the area when two of the youths booed the Bauchi State governor during the tour and the police clamped both of them in a van.
Mohammed was on an inspection tour of projects awarded by his administration across the state at the Urban Primary Health Care centre in Azare on Thursday when the incident occurred.
When the governor’s entourage got to a location in Azare, two of the teeming youths, not minding the presence of security personnel shouted “Ba mayi!” in Hausa language, which translates to “we are not supporting you.”
Though Mohammed did not bat an eye, security operatives attached to his convoy arrested the duo.
They were given a hot chase by security agents, who gave them resounding slaps before shoving them into the police van.
A member of the Rapid Response Squad of the Bauchi Police Command, speaking to Nation, faulted the audacity of the youths, saying it was disrespectful.
“Just imagine, how will you tell a governor to his face that you don’t want him and you are not in support of his government, it’s an insult,” he stated.
However, it could not be ascertained whether they were later released or not as of press time.
In a bid to effectively tackle cases of sexual and gender-based violence in the state, the Lagos State Government has inaugurated another sexual assault referral centre at the Alimosho General Hospital.
The centre, which is the third in the state and the 30th in Nigeria, is an initiative of the British Council and is funded by the European Union.
Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, wife of the state governor stated that the establishment of the centre showed the commitment of the administration to put an end to the reign of sexual and gender-based violence in the state.
She said, “The establishment of this centre heartily confirms the commitment of the Lagos State Government to stamp out the menace of sexual and gender-based violence in our dear state and by extension the country at large, and most importantly, care for the victims of those crimes.”
Ibijoke noted that the facility is situated in the local government that carries a huge burden of domestic violence.
“It is particularly reassuring and comforting that this centre has been strategically and intentionally established in Alimosho, which currently carries a huge burden of being the local government in the state with the highest cases of domestic and sexual violence crimes.
The acting Director of the British Council in Nigeria, Stephen Forbes, said the centre would provide victims with an environment of confidentiality.
We have a really difficult year across the world with the rise in sexual and gender-based violence enabled by people being at home and unable to complain but momentum is building in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence. We have had so many people telling their stories and that is a start,” he said.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has extended its membership registration and revalidation exercise by three weeks.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Secretary of APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, said the extension became necessary given the number of people that are willing to join the party.
The statement read: “The audit of the reports received from the National Membership Registration, Revalidation and Update Committee; the States’ Registration Committees; and that of our Situation Room indicate as follows:
Most states for varied reasons started late, and require additional time to conclude the exercise.
An avalanche of applications from critical stakeholders (including all States Caretaker Chairmen) for an extension of time to capture Nigerians who are still desirous of joining the fold of the progressives.
“The Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) under the leadership of His Excellency, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, had done everything possible to keep to the earlier timeline, however, it has become imperative to extend the duration of this very important party activity.
Consequently, the CECPC has approved the recommendation of the National Committee for the Membership Registration, Revalidation, and Update to extend the duration of the exercise for three weeks.”
Investigations may soon commence in a bid to unravel the circumference that led to the disappearance of a Nigerian Air Force Alpha Jet which went missing on Wednesday evening after it lost contact with radar.
This line of action was further confirmed by the arrival of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, on Thursday, April 1, in Borno State.
Upon arrival, Amao was briefed on efforts to recover the missing jet.
The missing jet was involved in the anti-terror war against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province when it lost radar contact in the north-east state.
The radar is the main air traffic control system for the airspace around airports. Air traffic controllers monitor aircraft within the airspace from the radar.
The NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, in a statement, said the CAS “arrived Maiduguri this morning and was briefed on ongoing search and rescue efforts in connection with the missing Alpha Jet aircraft”.
Gabkwet said Amao “urged pilots, engineers and technicians to remain undeterred and resolute in their commitment to ensuring that peace returns to the North East.”
Ali Isa Pantami, the minister of communications and digital economy, says 51 million Nigerians as of Wednesday have registered for their national identification numbers (NIN).
Pantami announced the figure at a weekly statehouse press briefing on Thursday in Abuja.
Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Thursday began a 15-day working vacation as first instalment of his 2021 Annual Leave and handed executive powers to his deputy, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa.
The Governor who will resume for duties on Monday, April 26, 2021 notified the State House of Assembly that the leave will commence from Thursday, 1st to Friday, 23rd April, 2021, including both days, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Richard Olatunde confirmed.
It is described as the first instalment of the Governor’s annual leave for the year.
Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu,SAN, today Thursday, April 1, 2021, begins a 15-day working vacation as first instalment of his 2021 Annual Leave.
“In a letter transmitted to the State House of Assembly and addressed to the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Bamidele Oleyelogun, Governor Akeredolu said the leave will commence from Thursday, 1st to Friday, 23rd April, 2021, both days inclusive.
“While Governor Akeredolu is away on vacation, the Deputy Governor, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa will perform the functions of the office of the Governor.
“The Governor will resume for duties on Monday, April 26, 2021.”
Gunmen on Wednesday night attacked the residence of former Minister of Sports, Damishi Sango, in Ganawuri, Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State.
One security man was reported killed in the attack, while other security officers who sustained injuries have been taken to the Jos University Teaching Hospital.
Ripples Nigeria learnt that the former Minister was at home with his family at the time of the attack.
The Commissioner of Police and his team had visited the scene of the incident while a team of detectives and intelligence officers have commenced investigations and a manhunt for the criminals launched, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Gabriel Uba who confirmed the incident said.
He pointed out that Mr Sango and members of his families were unhurt.
The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has confirmed the death of a police officer, CSP Ben Ajide and two others in what it said was an ‘unprovoked attack’.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Odiko Macdon, said the deceased officer, a Commander of the Command’s Quick Intervention Unit and his colleagues were maintaining peace on 30th March 2021 when they were attacked, while four others are still missing.
He also said the divisional police station in Essien Udim Local Government Area was attacked by suspected hoodlums.
In recent times, in Essien Udim Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, security personnel, particularly, the Nigeria Police, Akwa Ibom Command have come under persistent unprovoked attacks, leading to deaths and destruction of property, a trend which is totally absurd and unacceptable.
“Whereas the remote and immediate causes of these unprovoked attacks are unknown, a discreet investigation is on to unravel same and seek lasting solution.
The Commissioner of Police, Amiengheme Andrew is deeply saddened by the unprovoked attack on security personnel who were out maintaining the peace yesterday, 30th March 2021 which led to the demise of CSP Ben Ajide who was the Commander of the Command’s Quick Intervention Unit and two others, while four others are missing,” he said.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has announced a hunger strike at the penal colony where he is held, to demand proper medical treatment.
He has complained on Instagram of not receiving medical help for back pain and problems with his right leg, as well as being deprived of sleep.
Navalny, 44, returned home from Germany in January after treatment for a nerve agent attack in Siberia in August.
He was taken into custody immediately and then given a jail sentence.
He is currently being detained at the IK-2 corrective penal colony 100 km (60 miles) east of Moscow and has accused the guards there of denying him proper treatment for his ailments.
Russia’s federal penitentiary service has rejected his complaint, insisting he had “all the necessary medical assistance in accordance with his medical indications”.
A fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin, Navalny was given a two-year and eight month sentence last month for violating the probation terms of an embezzlement case.
The conviction was widely seen as politically motivated and the European Court of Human Rights said he should be freed because of the risk to his life. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this week that Navalny was “responsible for his deeds under the law” and no different from any other Russian.
image captionNavalny’s most recent photograph in the penal colony was published in an Instagram post
Navalny’s Instagram post on Wednesday, published by his lawyers, shows a handwritten note in which the Kremlin critic writes: “I have declared a hunger strike demanding that the law be upheld and a doctor of my choice be allowed to visit me.”
“I have the right to invite a doctor and receive medication. But they are simply not allowing me to do either. The back pain has spread to my leg. I’ve lost sensation in parts of my right leg and now the left leg too. Jokes aside, this is getting worrying,” he wrote.
He said in an earlier post that he had only been given two tablets of the painkiller ibuprofen and was yet to be diagnosed. The penitentiary service (FSIN) said at the time that his health was stable and satisfactory.
Navalny has also complained of being woken up every hour by a guard during the night which he argues amounts to torture. The FSIN said in its statement on Wednesday that staff carried out “a visual inspection of the convicts’ presence on their beds” but that did not disturb their sleep.
As well as serious back pain, he spoke of numbness in his leg which was preventing him from standing on it. He thought he was suffering from a pinched nerve after standing “crookedly” in cages during court appearances and travelling in police wagons.
418 Nigerians who were stranded in Saudi Arabia returned to the country on Wednesday.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), which announced this on its Twitter handle, said the returnees arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, aboard a Saudi Air plane at about 12:20 p.m. on Wednesday.
The returnees brought the number of Nigerians that had arrived from the Middle East nation this to 1, 068.
The returnees, according to the commission, will proceed on 14-day quarantine at the Federal Capital Territory Hajj camp in line with the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
A security guard working at a fuel station in Ondo town, Abiodun Osuntimehin has been arrested by the state police for his alleged involvement in the robbery of the station.
While Abiodun who allegedly orchestrated the robbery attack was arrested, one of the gang members was killed, while the others reportedly escaped with the sum of N2 million.
Parading the suspect, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Bolaji Salami, said the suspect had confessed to the crime and would be charged to court.
He said, “A security guard was killed and about N2m stolen from the safe, but the good news is that the man behind that dastardly act was immediately nabbed by our detectives, who did not leave any stone unturned to see to his arrest.
“Abiodun Osuntimehin, a guard with same company, was the mastermind behind the act; he has confessed to the crime and will soon be prosecuted.”
The suspect said he regretted his involvement in the crime.
“I now regret the killing of my colleague; I did not share out of the money as the gang ran away with the loot. It was my boss that got me arrested. I knew there would be money at the station that day,” Abiodun stated.
Ahmad Lawan, the Senate President, on Wednesday, March 31, criticised the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari over the rejection of some National Assembly bills.
Lawan made this disclosure at a public hearing organised in Abuja by the Senate Committee on Health to deliberate on three bills.
The proposed bills are:
• The National University of Health and Medical Sciences, Suleja, Niger State (Establishment) Bill 2021, sponsored by Senator Sani Musa.
• The Federal University of Medical Sciences Abeokuta, Ogun State (Establishment) Bill 2021, sponsored by Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
The bill for an Act to amend the Orthopedic Hospital Management Board Act No. 21 of 1979 to provide for the establishment of the Federal Orthopedic Hospital, Kuta (Niger State), Bill 2021, also sponsored by Senator Musa.
During the session, Lawan bemoaned the absence of the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, and the Minister of State for Health, Dr Olorunmibe Mamora, or any representatives.
Lawan explained that the development was responsible for situations where bills passed by the National Assembly were denied assent by Buhari, adding that the President sometimes acted on wrong advice from ministry officials.
The Senate President said, “I have a written speech for this event, but before then, where is the Minister of Health or Minister of State Health? Or is there anyone representing the Ministry of Health?
This is an anomaly and we don’t take it kindly because sometimes, the National Assembly will process a bill and the bill will be taken to Mr. President for assent and somebody will just go round and mis-advise that the bill should not be assented to.
“This is done mostly by ministry officials. So, it is always in the interest of government and good governance that when there is a public hearing – the ministry, government officials, the technical people – should be around to hear the views of the people.
“If they have any objection, they should say so in the presence of everyone, so that they listen to arguments.
Therefore, it is sad that neither the minister, nor the minister of state, or anyone from the Federal Ministry of Health is here to attend this particular public hearing and I think it is sad. And nothing should happen to our bills.”
Two days before the swearing-in of president-elect Mohamed Bazoum, heavy gunfire was heard near Niger Republic’s Presidential Palace in the capital early Wednesday for about twenty minutes.
A few soldiers were reportedly arrested, according to a security source, as calm returned to the capital, Niamey.
“Heavy gunfire was heard for half-an-hour in the presidential palace area. The presidential guard repelled the attack and the situation seems to be back under control,” France 24 reported.
Witnesses who spoke to a news agency in Niamey said the heavy gunfire early Wednesday lasted between 15 to 20 minutes.
“It was around 3am, we heard shots from heavy and light weapons and it lasted 15 minutes before stopping, followed by shots from light weapons,” one resident said.
“The gunfire lasted about 20 minutes,” another resident said.
The US Embassy in Niamey put out a security alert saying it would be closed on Wednesday “due to gunshots heard near our neighbourhood.”
An elder statesman and member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, on Tuesday, said nobody can sack him from the party, noting that he is a life member of the party’s Board of Trustees.
He also stated that he has committed his winner time working for the success of the party.
Speaking during a visit by the caretaker committee of the Imo state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in his office in Owerri, the party chieftain said he was made a life BOT member of the PDP because of his commitment to growing the party.
He said, “I did not say I regretted voting for the PDP during the Imo state governorship election in 2019.
I did not also say I regretted voting for an Owerri zone man during the 2019 governorship election. I was quoted wrongly in the media and, because of this, a pack of riffraff has been calling for my sack from the PDP.
“No riffraff can sack me from the PDP. I am a life BOT member of the PDP. I know the prominent role I played in making sure that the party won the 2019 Imo governorship election.”
Earlier, the chairman of the caretaker committee of NUJ in the state, Precious Nwadike, said the union was happy with the elder statesman’s role in maintaining peace in the society.
The former president will return to social media in two to three months on his own platform, according to Jason Miller, a long-time Trump adviser and spokesperson for the president’s 2020 campaign.
Donald Trump is back online. The former US president and first lady, Melania Trump, have launched a website to serve their personal offices. The website, 45office.com, comes after Trump’s ban from social media sites in the aftermath of the January Capitol insurrection.
The site features a lengthy biography for the former president that starts, “Donald J. Trump launched the most extraordinary political movement in history, dethroning political dynasties, defeating the Washington Establishment, and becoming the first true outsider elected as President of the United States.”
According to CNN, it also includes more than a dozen pictures of himself, in which he is depicted boarding Air Force, greeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and, yes, kissing a baby. Other photos are of the president and Melania Trump dancing at the inaugural ball and at black tie dinners in the White House. The website makes no mention of his two impeachment trials. It does reference how “the coronavirus plague arrived from China,” and says that Trump “acted early and decisively to ban travel from China and Europe, which saved countless lives.”
As of Tuesday, Covid-19 has killed at least 550,371 people and infected about 30.3 million in the United States since last January, according to data by Johns Hopkins University.
Trump has largely remained off the internet since the January 6th Capitol insurrection that killed five people and led the Justice Department to charge at least 150 people with insurrection, a number that could increase to 400 or more. In its aftermath, Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter and other social platforms, such as Snapchat.
The former president will return to social media in two to three months on his own platform, according to Jason Miller, a long-time Trump adviser and spokesperson for the president’s 2020 campaign. The new platform will attract “tens of millions” of new users and “completely redefine the game,” Miller added.
Following Trump’s ban on Twitter, Jared Kushner, the former president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, intervened to stop the efforts of aides who attempted to get Trump on fringe social media platforms such as Parler and Gab.
Donald Trump
Visitors to the former president’s website can also request a personalised greeting from the president and the First Lady, or request that the Trumps attend an event. Due to the high number of requests, the greetings page says it will take up to six weeks for processing.
As for having the Trumps attend an event, the website said it there would be no status updates “due to the volume of requests President and Mrs. Trump receive. Requests must note if media will be present and if there will be any notable attendees.”
Two U.S. Capitol Police veterans who were on duty during the Jan. 6 riot sued Donald Trump accusing the former president of inciting the violent mob that injured scores of officers.
The complaint filed Tuesday follows earlier suits by two Democratic members of Congress who also blamed Trump for stoking the insurrection in a months-long effort to reverse his election loss to Joe Biden. Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby claim protesters attacked them with aerosol chemicals, including pepper spray and tear gas, that burned their eyes, throat and skin. The officers not only suffered physical injuries but Blassingame is also dealing with depression since the riot, according to the complaint filed in federal court in Washington.
Blassingame “is haunted by the memory of being attacked, and of the sensory impacts — the sights, sounds, smells and even tastes of the attack remain close to the surface,” according to the complaint. “He experiences guilt of being unable to help his colleagues who were simultaneously being attacked; and of surviving where other colleagues did not.”
The officers seek unspecified monetary damages for claims including aiding assault and battery and directing infliction of emotional distress.
The case is Blassingame v. Trump, 21-cv-00858, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).
Senate President Ahmed Lawan has refuted allegations that he is in support of a tenure elongation for President Muhammadu Buhari.
Lawan issued this disclaimer on Tuesday, March 30, via a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Ola Awoniyi, in Abuja.
According to the Senate President, he firmly stands by the constitutional provision for term limit for elected public officers and would not support any move to amend the section.
The statement reads: “The Office of the President of the Senate has noted a tweet by one Cmr Mayor attributing a fabricated statement to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.
In the mischievous tweet, the Senate President was quoted as saying he “won’t mind a constitutional amendment to allow unlimited term of office for President if President Buhari wishes to remain in office beyond 2023.”
Our initial reaction was to ignore the ignoble mischief especially since it is not new, having been posted two years ago on 27 March 2019.
“But because the tweet has been trending again on social media, it becomes necessary to issue a formal rebuttal of its purport.
“We therefore say categorically that the Senate President has never made any such statement, before or after 2019.
“The old tweet which was entirely the handiwork of mischief makers is now being circulated again on social media by purveyors of fake news
The 1999 Constitution has a firm position on the tenure of the President that reflects the popular stand of Nigerians”
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