Exactly 49 days after his last visit to Daura, Katsina State, President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday left Abuja for his hometown on a four-day official visit.
The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, who disclosed this on his Twitter handle, said President Buhari would return to Abuja on Tuesday.
The president had travelled to Daura on a similar visit on December 11 last year.
Buhari’s last visit to Katsina coincided with the abduction of over 300 students from the Government Science Secondary School in Kankura local government area of the state by armed bandits.
The students were released a few days later in Tsafe, Zamfara State.
Shehu wrote: “President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived Daura, his hometown, at the start of a four-day official visit.
“The president is expected to return to the nation’s capital on Tuesday.”
An unspecified number of girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists in Chibok, Borno State, about seven years ago have reportedly escaped from the group’s captivity.
Ali Maiyanga, the father of one of the abducted girls, Halima, told journalists on Thursday that his daughter spoke with him from military custody and confirmed their escape from the Boko Haram den.
He said: “She (the daughter) asked me. Is this my daddy? Is this my daddy, and she started crying. The crying was [so] much and I couldn’t hear her very well. I was crying too. I never expected to hear from her again.
“The whole family is so happy. Our house is full of people who are rejoicing with us.”
The man said he didn’t get the opportunity to speak to his daughter properly as she was emotional and the call was short.
He said Halima confirmed that the girls are safe and are being looked after by the Nigerian Army.
But the Nigerian Army is yet to issue an official statement on the matter.
The Boko Haram insurgents had on April 2014 abducted over 200 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.
However, the Federal Government secured the release of about 100 girls after a series of negotiations with Boko Haram in 2016 and 2017.
A Dutch appeals court has ruled that the Nigerian branch of oil giant Shell is responsible for damage caused by leaks in the Niger Delta.
The court ordered Shell Nigeria to pay compensation to Nigerian farmers, while the subsidiary and its Anglo-Dutch parent company were told to install equipment to prevent future damage.
A group of farmers launched the case in 2008, alleging widespread pollution.
Shell says the leaks were the result of “sabotage”.
In a statement on Friday, Royal Dutch Shell said it was “disappointed” with the verdict.
The ruling can be appealed against.
The judgment could have implications beyond Nigeria, in terms of corporate responsibility and the duty of care multinationals have to the people in the places where they operate, reports the BBC’s Anna Holligan from The Hague.
While the oil spills in this case happened from 2004 to 2007, pollution from leaking pipelines continues to be a major issue in the Niger Delta.
The court said Shell had not proven “beyond reasonable doubt” that saboteurs were responsible for the leaks affecting the villages of Goi and Oruma, rather than poor maintenance.
“This makes Shell Nigeria responsible for the damage caused by the leaks” in these areas, it said. It added that the amount of compensation would be “determined at a later stage”.
The court found that a leak in Ikot Ada Udo village was a result of sabotage, but said it needed more time to resolve the case.
The four farmers who launched the case – Barizaa Dooh, Elder Friday Alfred Akpan, Chief Fidelis A Oguru and Alali Efanga – said the leaks from underground oil pipelines had cost them their livelihoods by contaminating land and waterways. Mr Efanga and Mr Dooh have died since the case was first filed in 2008 so their sons pursued the case instead.
“I’m very happy – the common man in Nigeria now has hope,” Princewill Efanga told the BBC.
James Oguru, son of Chief Oguru, said “justice had prevailed” but urged Shell to “do the necessary” so they could start farming again.
The farmers were backed by environmental group Friends of the Earth.
“Tears of joy here. After 13 years, we’ve won,” the group’s Dutch branch tweeted following the ruling.
This is the first time individual farmers who have had their sources of livelihood taken away by the environmental destruction in the Niger Delta hope to get justice.
It is being received with excitement among environmental activists, as it may open a floodgate of more litigation against Shell and other corporations involved in oil exploration in the region.
Kentebbe Ebiarido, who represents some of the farmers, said people in the area had been “cheated environmentally and economically” and that no matter how much the multinationals had misbehaved in the past, the communities now have hope.
For many years, Shell has been accused of being responsible for the contamination of the region through leaks from oil exploration – allegations it has always denied.
There have been settlements in the past. But in those instances – like in 2005 when Shell agreed to an $84m (£60m) deal for fishermen in the Bodo community – thousands of residents of the Niger Delta were lumped together. When such settlements eventually got to each of them, it did not amount to much.
But this time, even though no-one knows what the compensation will be, there is little doubt that it will different to before.
The Presidency on Friday said that there was a compelling reason to alert the nation of another alleged orchestrated smear campaign against President Muhammadu Buhari.
Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, claimed the plot was to use some online newspapers and blogs to carry out the smear campaign.
“The campaign, scheduled to be launched anytime soon through editorials and purported special investigative stories, is designed to further exacerbate tension in the land, by portraying the President as pandering to ethnic and other primordial tendencies, contrary to his pledge to belong to all Nigerians.
“Impeccable security findings indicate that those behind the plot have procured online blogs and newspapers, which are to launch coordinated publications, alleging subjugation and suppression of a particular religion and ethnic groups.
“A specific medium has so far contacted some opinion leaders, especially those very critical of President Buhari.
“Part of the planned publication is to make unwary readers believe that the President has continually used the powers of his office to shield and protect an ethnic group against crimes of murder, kidnappings, rape and banditry in the southern, middle belt and some northern states.
“The publication will also refer Nigerians to a 58-page document, which chronicles purported atrocities of the ethnic group in the South since 2017, all of which it claims the Presidency has turned blind eyes to.
“Again, the hatchet job will allege that the President has continued to place members of his ethnic nationality in sensitive positions, so as to confer undue advantage on them. This allegation is by no means supported with reasonable facts and figures.
“Just on Thursday, President Buhari, while meeting with the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), led by Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, restated his even-handedness on the issues of ethnicity and religion,” Adesina said.
He quoted Buhari to have told Sultan and his group that “the Federal Government under my leadership does not, and will not, allow religious prejudice or partisanship to influence any of its decisions and policies. It is my solemn decision to be fair and just to all segments of society.”
Adesina added, “Those who are bent on stoking ethnic and religious unrest in the country remain deaf to reason, and impervious to reality. They are hell-bent on distorting reality, and Nigerians are urged to be wary of them. It is all about quest for power, and filthy lucre.
FG contemplates lockdown in hotspot local governments in Lagos, Abuja and others.
The Federal Government has announced that it is contemplating a targeted lockdown in hotspot local governments in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and major cities in the country.
National Incident Manager of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr Mukhtar Muhammad disclosed this while appearing on a Channels Television Programme on Friday January 29.
Muhammad said they noticed the most affected places are urban areas and the restriction will be in those places.
He said; “Certainly, even if we are going to have a lockdown, it is not going to be a total lockdown. A couple of weeks back, we analysed the data and we identified the hotspot local government areas.
“Mostly, the areas affected are the urban local governments in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Plateau. Even in most other states, it is the urban areas that are involved. So, if we are going to have any restrictions, it will be in these areas.
“The urban areas are the most affected and that is why we have these superspreaders and that is where we are going to target. We have analysed that and we are advising the states based on the data that these are the focused areas where these transmissions are more than the others.”
A group, the Niger Delta Development Initiative (NDDI), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio.
NDDI based its call on the allegation that Akpabio hijacked the “functions of the NDDC in violation of the spirit and letters of the enabling law” that set up the commission.
This was contained in the group’s petition to President Buhari on Thursday and signed by its President, Ebikalome Tonye Anselm and Secretary-General, Johnson Oghenekevbe.
NDDI also in the petition, appealed to Buhari to inaugurate the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which he appointed in August 2019.
It said there were currently many illegalities in the NDDC and called on President Buhari to act in accordance with the law setting up the commission.
The NDDI wants Buhari to inaugurate the which had the names of Dr Pius Odubu as Chairman; Bernard Okumagba, as Managing Director and 13 other member nominees, which Buhari sent to the Senate for approval in October 2019.
After the senators gave their approval of the nominees, rather than inaugurate the board, Buhari had instead appointed an Interim Management Committee (IMC) for the NDDC.
In their petition, NDDI said it was Akpabio that advised Buhari against the inauguration of the board, whose objective it said was to join other compatriots to develop the Niger Delta region.
This is not the first time people from the oil region had called on Buhari to sack Akpabio.
In August 2020, monarchs and stakeholders of oil bearing communities had also urged Buhari to urgently restore peace to the NDDC by sacking Akpabio.
They had then accused the minister of being the mastermind of the massive corruption in the NDDC and that he deceitfully misled Buhari to set up the IMC and to transfer the commission to his ministry to enable him hijack it.
The Host Communities Producing Oil and Gas in Nigeria (HOSCON) has pleaded with the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government not to yield to calls asking him to scrap the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The umbrella body of the oil and gas producing communities described the calls as “irresponsible, an insult and gross disregard and disrespect of the untiring efforts” of some people in the Niger Delta working to ensure a better deal for oil communities.
HOSCON made the appeal in a statement issued by its National Leader, Professor Jasper Jumbo, on Thursday.
He said the reason NDDC had so far failed to live up to its expectations was primarily because those who did not understand the vision for which the commission was set, have continued to serve as its managers and directors.
On how to ensure the vision for setting up the intervention agency is realised, Jumbo suggested that “patriotic Nigerians who are genuinely committed to the Niger Delta struggle” got appointed into the board and management of the NDDC.
There have been several calls over the last few months for the scrapping of the NDDC due to alleged massive corruption cases coming out of the interventionist agency.
Many have argued that the commission has been turned into a cash cow by some group of people, to the detriment of the region and the people.
Ripples Nigeria had at various instances carried out investigative reports that had exposed how the commission had abandoned, or even failed to carry out projects for which huge sums had been disbursed.
Recently, acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei had fainted at a public hearing by the House of Representatives probing allegations of financial mismanagement and fraud at the commission.
The probe had since been abandoned after that incident.
Families of police officers killed during the #EndSARS protest that ravaged the country in October, 2020, have been paid a total sum of N160 million as compensation for the loss of their bread winners.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, who presented the cheques to 39 beneficiaries on Thursday at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, said the Nigeria Police Force would never abandon ‘families of colleagues and officers who gallantly laid down their lives in the service of the country.’
Adamu added that the Force Insurance Unit was able to process and pay the entitlements of the police officers in record time, noting that though the profession is a unique and highly rewarding career, it also came with a high risk for the officers.
“Today, we shall be presenting 39 cheques of group life insurance and the IGP Welfare Scheme amounting to N160,153,998 to families of officers killed during the #EndSARS protests.
“I do appreciate that no monetary reward can compensate for the lives of loved ones and bread winners, but our prayers are with families of affected officers,” he said before presenting the cheques to the families.
“We want you to utilize the money judiciously in meeting the training and welfare needs of the children and wives of the late officers so that their deaths will not be in vain,” he added.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has warned Yoruba activist and freedom fighter, Sunday Igboho, not to take laws into his hands even as he is fighting for the liberation of the Yorubas from criminal herdsmen.
The Ooni who gave the warning while appearing on Arise Television programme on Wednesday, said that having spoken out for the downtrodden and shown everyone that he really cares for his people, it was time for Igboho to allow the constituted authorities including the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, and other leaders to take charge and handle the security challenges in the state.
“Let us be very objective. He (Igboho) is being a mouthpiece for the downtrodden. He came up and everybody is listening now, but my advice to him, as a traditional ruler, is that he needs to be very careful so that the politicians won’t hijack the whole motive from him,” the Ooni said.
Continuing, the first class monarch added:
“He has done well and we’ve already praised him, but he shouldn’t take laws into his hands. We have the governor there, he is the chief security officer of the state and Mr President has invited him (Makinde). Let the right people that are being authorised to do what is right do it.
“He (Igboho) has done well and the world has heard him but everything should be done in moderation.”
The government of Kwara State has confirmed no fewer than 115 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the state and the discharge of 56 patients who have recovered from the deadly virus.
This was contained in a daily update issued on Wednesday by the spokesman of the state COVID-19 Technical Committee, Rafiu Ajakaye, who said that the state has recorded 40 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The update issued by Ajakaye also puts the total number of confirmed cases of the virus at 1,952, while a total of 1,610 patients have so far been discharged after testing negative for the deadly disease.
“The total number of active cases now stands at 299, with 358 as pending tests.
“A total of 15,317 tests have been conducted and 13,007 returned as negative,” the update added.
Nigeria currently has 1,861 fresh COVID-19 cases of the virus according to the latest figures provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), which disclosed this on its Twitter handle.
The Niger State Governor, Sani Bello, said on Wednesday the All Progressives Congress (APC) national membership registration and revalidation exercise would improve the party’s chances in the 2023 general election.
Bello, who is the chairman of the APC national membership registration and revalidation committee, stated this during the inauguration of members of the committee in Abuja.
He said the registration exercise was conceived to expand the party’s membership base ahead of 2023 general election.
The governor recalled that the last membership registration in APC was done in 2014, adding that while some members had died, a few others had left the party.
Bello said: “We believe that when we are done with the exercise, it will increase our membership base and our chances in the coming elections.
“We have very few members that had left the party and many had also joined us. We have young boys and girls that have turned 18 between 2014 and today.
“And we believe they should be given opportunity to register as members of our great party.”
He expressed optimism that the exercise would afford everyone, including those who decamped from other political parties, the opportunity to be fully registered in APC.
Bello assured that the party would ensure that no one is left behind during the exercise.
He, however, warned that the APC national leadership would tolerate the hijack of registration materials by any group or individual.
“We should also know that domination of the registration process by an individual or group will not be accepted.
“I appeal to the chairmen and secretaries of this committee to stand their grounds and ensure that justice and fairness prevailed.
“I pray that Allah protect our party and our leaders, especially President Muhammadu Buhari, all our governors, National Assembly members, Council Chairmen, and all our party members so that we can flourish and excel,” the governor added.
The appointment of new service chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari has been described as illegal and unconstitutional by a famous human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN).
In a statement on Wednesday, Falana said Buhari was wrong to have announced the appointment of new service chiefs without the approval of the National Assembly.
Following the resignation of the former service chiefs, President Buhari on Tuesday, announced the appointment of new service chiefs to replace them.
But, the human rights lawyer, who faulted the appointment based on a 2013 judgment, said that Buhari had only nominated the service chiefs.
Falana’s statement read in part, “Yesterday (Tuesday), President Buhari was reported to have appointed new service chiefs for the armed forces.
“Upon a critical review of the law on the subject matter the members of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAP) have found that the appointments remain inchoate as President Muhammadu Buhari has not forwarded the names of the proposed service chiefs to the National Assembly for approval in strict compliance with the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the Armed Forces Act.
“The appointments of service chiefs without the concurrence of the National Assembly which had been the practice since 1999 was challenged in the Federal High Court sometime in 2008 by Mr. Festus Keyamo SAN in the case of Keyamo v President Goodluck Jonathan (unreported Suit No FHC/ABJ/ CS/611/2008).
“In his landmark judgment delivered on July 2, 2013, Adamu Bello J. (as he then was) held that it was illegal and unconstitutional, null and void for the President to single-handedly appoint Service Chiefs without the approval of the National Assembly having regards to the combined effect of Section 218 of the Constitution and section 18 (1) & (3) of the Armed Forces Act.”
According to Falana, the 2013 judgement, which was never challenged by federal government remains binding on all authorities and persons in Nigeria in accordance with the provisions of section 287 of the constitution.
He, therefore, asked Buhari to forward the names of the new service chiefs to the federal lawmakers for confirmation in accordance to the law of the land.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed concern over the country’s porous borders which have led to a deluge of undocumented migrants.
The concerns were raised on Tuesday by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola who said that Nigeria was seeking stronger collaboration with relevant stakeholders to check the problem.
Aregbesola who was speaking at a meeting with an European Union delegation led by Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ketil Karlsen added that Illegal migration creates room for unplanned human presence.
He said; “Illegal migration is a thing of concern as it not only depletes a region of viable and reliable labour, talent and human resource, but also makes room for unplanned human presence.
“I also want to commend the EU and others for their support on the Migrants Information Data Analysis System (MIDAS) as the system had enhanced the documentation of immigrants entering Nigeria,” the minister added.
He also revealed that Nigeria would be collaborating with the EU on other projects soon to be unveiled.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, on Wednesday called on Nigerians to ask questions about COVID-19 vaccines before the government brings them into the country.
According to the Sultan, who spoke at a sensitisation programme on COVID-19 vaccines for Muslim scholars and Imams in Abuja, such questions would help authorities provide answers.
He said: “What we will take away from this interactive session is so important, because it will help us convince the people of the need to take the COVID-19 vaccine or not. I believe we cannot force people to take vaccines.
“For us as Muslims, we know that knowledge is very important, and we know that Islam was founded on knowledge. The vaccines are not yet in Nigeria but it is an opportunity to bring up questions and fears about the vaccines so that the authorities will offer answers and solutions.”
The Sultan, who noted that the coordination and partnership of northern traditional and religious leaders helped to overcome polio, noted that the same partnership would also help with COVID-19.
He said further: “When the Almighty Allah brought me to this position in 2006, we had very serious cases of polio in Nigeria.
“The then Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, approached me that he wants to use traditional rulers to sensitise the people. I said, ‘It’s okay… we want to see healthy communities.
“That was how we picked a senior traditional ruler from each of the 19 Northern states and the FCT, and set up the Northern Traditional Rulers Committee on Polio. It was the work of that committee that was able to give us the polio-free certification after 13 years.
“Such is the importance of traditional leaders. But traditional rulers cannot do much without religious leaders. Any monarch who is not close to religious leaders is not a good leader. A collaboration between the traditional and religious institutions gave us the victory over polio not coercion.”
According to him, the emergence of COVID-19 vaccine was trailed by negative conspiracy theories, stressing that truth and adequate knowledge were necessary to dispel the lies and half-truths.
“People talk of conspiracy theories such as that the COVID-19 vaccine is meant to kill us. But my take is that if a vaccine was meant to kill us, will anybody wait for the COVID-19 vaccine before killing us? We have been consuming soft drinks and other medicines that are imported into the country. If any foreigner wants to kill us, there are more than a million ways to do so.
“The vaccines are free. You are not going to pay for it. But to take it is your choice. How? You have to find out the truth about the vaccine yourself. How do you find out the truth? By seeking knowledge. How? By communicating with the right people”, he said.
In his own contribution at the event, the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, revealed that any COVID-19 vaccine that would be brought into the country must be certified by the National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC) before administration.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to commence the investigation of the tenure of the outgoing service chiefs over reported atrocities and crimes against humanity committed by security operatives under their command.
The PDP also calls on the INTERPOL and other world bodies to commence processes that will lead to the prosecution as well as firm sanctions, including travel ban and freezing of assets belonging to all those involved in killings and human right abuses by security operatives under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
In a statement on Wednesday by is spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the opposition party said:
“With the exit of the accused service chiefs from office, the PDP charges ICC’s Chief Prosecutor, Ms. Fatou Bensouda, to issue official warrant in line with the court’s earlier declaration that it has enough evidence to open a full probe on alleged crimes against humanity under the outgoing commanders.”
It asked the ICC to probe “cases of extra-judicial execution of innocent Nigerians, massacre of peaceful protesters, illegal arrests and arbitrary detention of citizens in dehumanizing cells, torture and rape allegedly committed by the military under the outgoing commanders, as detailed in the reports of credible international bodies including the United States Department of State, Amnesty International (AI) and Transparency International (TI).”
The PDP added that the exiting service chiefs must be made to provide answers for the reported massacre of unarmed protesters by the military in the North-West and South-East states between 2015 and 2018, including the 348 civilians reportedly killed by soldiers in Kaduna state as well as the 347 bodies found in mass graves in the aftermath of the Zaria massacre.
“The ICC is further called upon to investigate reports of military invasion and mass shooting in communities in Borno, Yobe, Rivers, Abia, Anambra among other states where soldiers reportedly killed unarmed civilians, razed communities, burnt homes, displaced inhabitants, raped women, detained, beat up and tortured citizens in detention camps reportedly located in military barracks where deadly fumigation chemicals were allegedly used in overcrowded cells.
“Our party further implores the ICC to investigate the reported inhuman detention of thousands of Nigerian children by military operatives in the northeast camps particularly between 2017, when more than 1,600 children were reported to have been in illegal detention in cages and 2018, when the UN detailed 418 detained children. This is in addition to the no fewer than 1000 children reportedly released under negotiation by the UN in 2016.
“Also our party stands with Nigerians in demanding for a full scale investigation into the deployment of the military in the EndSARS protests, resulting in the shooting and killing of unarmed civilians at Lekki Toll gate in Lagos and other parts of the country,” PDP said.
The party had earlier on Tuesday, after President Muhammadu Buhari announced the appointment of new service chiefs, demanded for an immediate inquest into the tenure of the former service chiefs.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria is in a state of emergency and directed the newly appointed service chiefs to tackle insecurity across the country.
Buhari on Tuesday appointed new service chiefs: Major-General Leo Iraborthe as the Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General Ibrahim Attahiru as the Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo as the Chief of Naval Staff; and Air Vice-Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao as the Chief of Air Staff.
During his meeting with them at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday, Buhari told them that Nigerians expected a lot from them in the ongoing security operations across the country.
The service chiefs were led to the meeting by the Minister of Defence, retired Major-General Bashir Magashi.
President Buhari, in a statement released by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, charged the newly appointed service chiefs to be patriotic and serve the country well.
According to him, “We are in a state of emergency. Be patriotic; serve the country well as your loyalty is to the country.
“There’s nothing I can tell you about the service because you are in it. I was also in it and I will pray for you. I also assure you that whatever I can do as commander-in-chief will be done, so that the people will appreciate your efforts.
“You know the stage we were in 2015, you know the stage we are now, and the undertakings we made. We promised to secure the country, revive the economy and fight corruption. None has been easy but we have certainly made progress,” he said.
New service chiefs
The president said the morale of officers and men of the armed forces was paramount and urged the new service chiefs to pursue it vigorously.
He promised better equipment and logistics for troops to face the daunting task of securing the country.
While speaking to newsmen after the meeting, Gen. Irabor said they would not only work to bring security to lives and properties but also add value.
The CDS said: “We have just seen Mr President and we are mindful of the demands. We can only at this stage pledge our ultimate best to bring safety and security to lives and properties across the country.
“On behalf of the service chiefs, I am assuring the nation peace and security. We believe there will be value that will be added to the security disposition of the nation.”
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) on Wednesday warned Nigerians not to expect too much or dramatic change of the country’s fortunes in the area of security challenges, saying the effective performance of the new service chiefs will be largely determined by the Commander-in-Chief.
It specifically said the active involvement and interest of President Buhari in defence and security will determine the success or failures of their conduct, records and performances.
The Director, Publicity and Advocacy of the forum, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, warned the President to reduce his distance from defence and security matters, and hold service chiefs and senior commanders accountable for successes and failures.
Baba-Ahmed, however, warned the new service chiefs not to dash the hope of Nigerians by living up to the expectations in tackling security challenges ravaging the country.
“In our current circumstances where the nation is being swamped by old and new security challenges, a change of leadership in our armed forces should be a signal that President Muhammadu Buhari accepts the need to effect major changes in his disposition to security issues and improvements in the nation’s capacities to deal with security and public safety.
“Nigerians will hope that these changes, even if belated, are intended as a response to the persistent demands for changes at leadership levels as part of the requirements to improve professionalism, morale and integrity of command structures of our armed forces.
“The Forum warns the nation not to be misled into thinking that these changes will dramatically change the nation’s fortunes in its fight against multiple security threats.
“The new service chiefs will be a lot more effective if they are inspired by a commander-in-chief who adopts and involve an active interest in their conduct, records and performances.
Upon being served with the interim forfeiture order, the former senate president, through his counsel, Kehinde Ogunwunmiju (SAN), approached the court to discharge the temporary order.
Justice Muhammed Liman of the Federal High Court Lagos has fixed February 19, 2021, for judgment in a suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the total and final forfeiture of two properties belonging to the former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki.
Justice Liman fixed the date on Tuesday after all parties adopted and argued their final written addresses.
Saraki, a two-term governor of Kwara, is being investigated by the anti-graft agency, which alleged that while serving as governor between 2003 and 2011, he withdrew over N12 billion cash from the account of the Kwara government and paid same into his accounts domiciled in Access and Zenith Banks through one of his assistants, Abdul Adama.
The court had on October 21, 2019, while granting an exparte application brought before it by the EFCC and argued by its counsel, Nnemeka Omewa, ordered the interim forfeiture of the two properties located on 17 and 17b, McDonald Road, Ikoyi, Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, which were said to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activity.
Upon being served with the interim forfeiture order, the former senate president, through his counsel, Kehinde Ogunwunmiju (SAN), approached the court to discharge the temporary order.
Bukola Saraki
The judge, however, declined to discharge the interim order. Instead, he ordered the parties to show cause why the two properties should be forfeited to the Nigerian government.
The court commenced hearing on the motion for final forfeiture of the said properties on February 6, 2020.
During the final forfeiture application hearing, the EFCC called three witnesses and tendered several documentary evidence, which the court admitted.
The anti-graft agency claimed the properties were obtained with loans from GTBank and repaid with Kwara State funds.
But Saraki told them that he was already a successful businessman before he came into politics. He told the court that EFCC must prove that the properties were proceed of an unlawful act.
At the resumed hearing of the matter on Tuesday, the EFCC’s counsel, Omewa, while citing a plethora of authority, said the agency had successfully established that the money used by the former senate president in acquiring the two properties sought to be forfeited was bought through illicit funds.
However, Saraki’s counsel, Ogunwunmiju, urged the court to dismiss the EFCC’s motion on the ground that the agency had failed woefully to prove its case against his client.
Ogunwunmiju also asked the court to discharge earlier interim forfeiture placed on the two properties.
The EFCC, in an affidavit attached with the motion for final forfeiture of the said properties, deposed to by one of its investigators, Olamide Sadiq, alleged that the former senate president acquired the two properties with proceeds of unlawful activity.
Odumosu said the security situation in Lagos had been commendable except in some areas like Ikorodu with a high rate of cultism, gangsterism, traffic robbery, ritual killings, amongst others.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has warned traditionalists in the Ikorodu Local Government Area of the state to stop fortifying cult members and criminals in the area with local charms, otherwise known as juju.
He gave this warning on Wednesday during the 2021 Ikorodu Town Hall meeting on security.
Lagos CP Hakeem Odumosu.
Odumosu said the security situation in Lagos had been commendable except in some areas like Ikorodu with a high rate of cultism, gangsterism, traffic robbery, ritual killings, amongst others.
He said 242 armed robbers and cult members were arrested in the local government area within the last six months while 28 arms and 120 ammunition were recovered.
The police boss said 192 cultism cases and 18 murder cases were also recorded in the period under review while 25 robbery incidents were foiled.
Odumosu said, “The local government councils in Ikorodu must occupy the frontline in combating crimes in the area. Their constitutional responsibilities cannot be jettisoned in the fight against cultism and crimes in general.
“The traditional institution in the division must be up and doing in condemning the activities of the bad boys (cult members), instead of supporting and celebrating them and their criminal acts.
“The members of the public, especially landlords, must key into this fight against insecurity in Ikorodu by screening those to be accommodated or harboured in their houses.
“The traditionalists and traditional worshippers in this area must stop promoting and protecting the criminals in Ikorodu axis and Lagos State in general. The ideas of fortifying the bad boys and providing native charms for them are counterproductive to our security architecture in this area. Their powers must be used to assist us not to jeopardise our efforts.
“The religious bodies must use all their platforms, links and ideological perspectives to promote peace and security in the state and Nigeria at large. The idea of preaching prosperity at the detriment of salvation is counterproductive to the security of lives and property in our contemporary society.”
The Nigerian Army has deployed 100 female soldiers of the 1 Women Special Operation Battalion to secure the Abuja-Kaduna highway.The women soldiers will form part of Operation Thunder Strike.
This is the first deployment as another set of 200 soldiers are expected, making a total of 300. The female soldiers, who are of the Women Corps, are expected to complement Operation Thunder Strike and other existing operations along the highways and the environs.
Speaking at Kakau village along the highway where he received the 1st batch of 100 female soldiers of the 1 Women Special Operations Battalion Wednesday, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, commended the deployment by the Nigerian Army, which he said will boost the security situation along Kaduna-Abuja highway.The highway is being bedevilled by incessant kidnapping and killings.
The governor expressed hope that, with the deployment of the female soldiers, the insecurity along the highways will soon be a thing of the past.“The problem of Abuja-Kaduna road will be over with these female soldiers because what a man can do a woman can do better.“We believe in the capability of women in this State.“I am confident the road will be the safest in Nigeria with this deployment and we will do everything possible to make this operation comfortable.“We are very happy to have you and I believe your presence will inspire other girls to join the military.
“That is why we have female deputy governors to inspire other women,” El-Rufai said.The Deputy Governor, Dr Hadiza Balarabe charged the female soldiers to do their best to make sure everyone in the state and the state is safe.
Earlier, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Kaduna, Major-General Usman Mohammed acknowledged the support the Kaduna State Government had provided to the military in its internal security operations.Major-General Mohammed thanked Governor El-Rufai and his deputy for personally coming to receive the female troops
The Forum warns the nation not to be misled into thinking that these changes will dramatically change the nation’s fortunes in its fight against multiple security threats.
Northern Elders’ Forum has warned Nigerians not to expect any dramatic change in the security situation in the country with the appointment of new security chiefs.
The Northern elders said their performance will be largely determined by the Commander-in-Chief.
The Director, Publicity and Advocacy for the forum, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, urged the President to hold service chiefs and senior commanders accountable for successes and failures.
President Buhari and new service chiefs.
Baba-Ahmed also urged the new service chiefs to live up to the expectations of Nigerians in tackling the security challenges ravaging the country so as not to dash their hopes.
It read, “In our current circumstances where the nation is being swamped by old and new security challenges, a change of leadership in our Armed Forces should be a signal that President Muhammadu Buhari accepts the need to effect major changes in his disposition to security issues and improvements in the nation’s capacities to deal with security and public safety.
“Nigerians will hope that these changes, even if belated, are intended as a response to the persistent demands for changes at leadership levels as part of the requirements to improve professionalism, morale and integrity of command structures of our Armed Forces.
“The Forum warns the nation not to be misled into thinking that these changes will dramatically change the nation’s fortunes in its fight against multiple security threats.
“The new service chiefs will be a lot more effective if they are inspired by a Commander-In-Chief who adopts an involved and active interest in their conduct, records and performances.
“President Buhari must therefore reduce his distance from defence and security matters, and hold service chiefs and senior commanders accountable for successes and failures.
“The new service chiefs have been part of the military that has been severely challenged in the fight against a decade-old insurgency and many other threats. The only way they can retain the confidence of Nigerians is to substantially improve on the records of their predecessors.
“The Forum believes that the priorities of the new service chiefs should include real improvements in professional standards and morale of fighting men and women as well as fighting corruption within the Armed Forces.
“They will be aware that our frustrations regarding access to vital weapons and criticisms from foreign and domestic monitors of the war are related to the manner our Armed Forces execute the war, and it will be important for them to lead a military which will operate with higher standards of respect for rules of engagement.
“The Forum invites the nation’s attention to the need to rise in support of leaders to reduce tension and other threats to our security. Events unfolding in the South-West, particularly inflammatory comments and threats by groups and individuals represent existential threats to the whole nation.
“All Nigerians must eschew the temptation to tamper with sensitive matters in pursuit of narrow goals. The Forum repeats its call on President Buhari to summon a meeting of governors, leadership of security and intelligent services and other Nigerians with capacities to advise and assist in de-escalating tensions in the South-West.”
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