The Zamfara State Government has suspended the Emir of Sabon Birnin Yandoto of Tsafe local government area of the state, Aliyu Garba Marafa, for turbaning a notorious repentant bandits’ leader, Adamu Aliero, as Sarkin Fulani (leader of Fulani).
This was contained in a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Kabiru Balarabe, and made available to newsmen on Sunday night.
The statement reads, “This is to inform the general public that the Zamfara State Government has dissociated itself from the alleged turbaning of a Sarkin Fulani by the Emir of Birnin ‘Yandoto of Tsafe Local Government Area”.
“In this regard, the State Executive Governor, Hon. Bello Mohammed Matawalle, MON (Shattiman Sokoto) has directed for suspension of the Emir with immediate effect.
“Accordingly, the Executive Governor has approved the appointment of a Committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the action of the Emir.
“In the meantime, Alh. Mahe Garba Marafa, who is the District Head of ‘Yandoto is hereby assigned to take charge of the affairs of the Emirate.
The PUNCH had reported that the Emir conferred the traditional title of Sarkin Fulani on Aliero in a colourful ceremony that took place last Saturday.
“Accordingly, the Executive Governor has approved the appointment of a Committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the action of the Emir.
“In the meantime, Alh. Mahe Garba Marafa, who is the District Head of ‘Yandoto is hereby assigned to take charge of the affairs of the Emirate.
The PUNCH had reported that the Emir conferred the traditional title of Sarkin Fulani on Aliero in a colourful ceremony that took place last Saturday.
he Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has congratulated Osun State Governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke, on his victory at Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
The PUNCH reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke, who is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, as the winner of the Osun governorship election.
The Returning Officer for the election and Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, announced that Adeleke got a total of 403,371 votes beating the incumbent, Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress, who got 375,027 votes in a keenly contested race.
He said, “I declare Adeleke Ademola Jackson Nurudeen, on behalf of the chairman of INEC, of the PDP, having satisfied the requirement of the law, is hereby declared the winner and he is returned elected.”
According to the total votes recorded by the electoral umpire, the PDP won 17 of the 30 Local Government Areas of the state, while the APC won the remaining 13.
The PDP won in Ede North, Ede South, Ifelodun, Boluwaduro, Egbedore, Odo Otin, Osogbo, Ila, Atakumosa West, Olorunda, Ilesa West, Obokun, Oriade, Orolu, Ife North, Irepodun, and Ejigbo LGAs.
While the APC won in Boripe, Ilesa East, Ayedire, Ifedayo, Ife Central, Ayedaade, Iwo, Olaoluwa, Isokan, Atakumosa East, Irewole, Ife South, and Ife East LGAs.
Reacting to Adeleke’s victory in a statement on Sunday night, Obi, who is a former Anambra State governor, congratulated the LP governorship candidate in the state, Lasun Yusuff, on his “resolve”.
He said, “I congratulate the Labour party candidate, Rt. Hon Lasun Sulaimon Yusuff and his running mate, Adeola Adekunle Atanda, for a hard-fought battle and their spirit of resolve and sportsmanship, despite the outcome.”
Justifying the party’s performance, obi said, “To the Obidient Movement Family and our supporters nationwide, the outcome of this particular election is not a verdict on our exponentially growing strength nationwide, especially when viewed against the fact that we are barely one month old in the party and we had to contend with forces that have been entrenched in the state for the last two decades.
“However, within this very short period of only a few weeks, the Labour Party has made its presence and political impact felt nationally.
“We must strengthen our collective resolve not to relent in our noble march to take back our country. Much work remains to be done, hence we must focus the totality of our efforts now on the forthcoming 2023 General elections.
“In the fullness of time, our message of rescue and recovery will resonate throughout the length and breadth of the Nation and most Nigerian electorate will buy in into our mission to take back Nigeria, for the purpose of rescuing it from continued decline, shift the National psyche from consumption to production and from sharing dwindling resources to creating wealth and frontally combating poverty. – PO”
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Sunday said its operatives arrested a 27-year-old drug queen, Opoola Mujidat, for planting drugs concealed in fetish bowls containing “scary native black soap and sponge” on two Oman-bound male passengers at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
The passengers, Raji Kazeem and Akinbobola Omoniyi, were reportedly travelling together to Oman on an Ethiopian Airline flight on Monday, July 11, when they were intercepted by NDLEA operatives at the airport.
The spokesman for the agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, said, “A search of their luggage revealed wraps of cannabis sativa hidden in bowls of native black soap and sponge packed into a bag containing food items, which Kazeem was carrying.”
The statement noted that both Kazeem and Omoniyi immediately alerted the anti-narcotic officers that Mujidat, who was still within the vicinity, gave the bag containing the illicit substance to them at the airport and she was promptly arrested.
The lady was said to have accepted responsibility, stating that she brought the luggage for the two passengers to give to her husband in Oman.
“Mujidat, who hails from Oyo East LGA in Oyo State, confessed during a preliminary interview that the bag containing the food items was packed by her with different items, including the black soap used to conceal the illicit substance,” the statement added.
Portuguese tactician, Jose Mourinho has revealed his new tattoo.
The former Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Inter Milan and current Roma coach won a historic European triumph with Roma last season and by doing that became the first manager to win all three UEFA competitions after guiding Roma to the first ever Europa Conference League last season.
Mourinho established himself as a European specialist when he won the UEFA Cup and Champions League in back-to-back seasons with Porto.
He then moved to Chelsea, where despite his dominance of English football, he failed to bring a European Cup to Stamford Bridge. However, after moving to Inter Milan, he quickly turned them into European champions, beating Bayern Munich in the 2010 final.
His time with Real Madrid ended without adding honours in UEFA competitions, before he won the Europa League with Manchester United in 2016/17. And in just his first season in Roma, Mourinho was back in the winners’ circle, completing the collection – becoming the first manager to achieve the feat.
The 59-year-old has now told followers on his Instagram that the passion of the Roma supporters has made him decide to honour his latest victory, with an image of all three trophies with the badges of the teams he won them with.
“This is my tattoo,” Mourinho posted on Instagram alongside an image of the design. “The joy of the Roman people led me to do it.
“Then I thought about something special, something that would honour all the clubs where I won European competitions. At the same time, I wanted a unique tattoo, one that, so far, I am the only one who can have it.
“Alberto showed me some proposals, I just changed a few details. Here is my tattoo.”
Mourinho was visibly emotional after his current club won the final in Tirana, admitting that it was special to win another trophy with what he claimed was a team not expected to compete for honours.
“The great thing about my career is that, aside from the Europa League with Manchester United, doing it with Porto, Inter and Roma is very, very, very special,” Mourinho said.
“It is one thing to win when everyone expects it, when you made the investments to win, but it’s quite another to win when something feels immortal, that feels truly special.
“This remains in the history of Roma, but also mine. I was told only I, Sir Alex (Ferguson) and Giovanni Trapattoni won trophies in three different decades. It makes me feel a little old, but it’s nice for my career.”
New photos have revealed Kanye West’s nearly $60 million Malibu home is far from complete.
The 45-year-old rapper and fashion designer purchased the beachfront property in 2021 and began renovating it for personal use ever since then.
However, new images reveal that the updates to the planned residence are nowhere near completion, with just a table and desk sitting on the upper levels of the home.
The house was designed by architect Tadao Ando,a Pritzker Prize-winning architect, and according to Dirt, the rapper first encountered his work during a visit to the art island of Naoshima, Japan on which it is prominently featured.
The 3,665 square feet house, which sits on a 5,672 lot, was planned to have a total of 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms.
The House required ‘1,200 tons of poured concrete, 200 tons of steel reinforcement and 12 pylons driven 60 feet into the ground.’
West’s house is roughly a half-hour’s drive to the Hidden Hills compound that he previously lived with his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, and their four children.
An elderly woman lost her life over the weekend after being attacked by two alligators when she fell into a pond near her home in Englewood, Florida.
The incident occurred at a pond at the Boca Royale Golf and Country Club in Englewood, south of Sarasota, Sarasota sheriff’s officials said.
The woman, who was not identified and whose age was not released, was observed falling into a pond along the golf course near her home and struggling to stay afloat, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
While in the water two alligators were observed near the victim and ultimately grabbed her while in the water,” deputies said, per ABC News.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and a death investigation was launched at the golf course following the incident.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Doug Foote, the general manager of the Boca Royale Golf & Country Club, said, “This is a tragic situation, and we are deeply saddened that it happened. Our hearts go out to the family members and friends affected by this loss, and we offer our deepest condolences.”
He added: “There is an ongoing investigation into details of what happened, and we are working with authorities to provide any information we have.”
Officials said that the alligators have since been removed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, according to ABC News.
One of the alligators was eight feet, 10 inches long, while the other was seven feet, seven inches long, the agency said, per the outlet.
In a statement, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it is still unknown, however, if the specific alligators were the ones involved in the fatal incident. They added that there are currently no plans to remove any additional alligators from the area at this time.
“The FWC and Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office will be working jointly on this investigation until cause of death is determined by the Sarasota County Medical Examiner’s Office,” the agency said, per ABC News.
Former rugby league star, Ricky Bibey has been found dead in a £350-a-night riverside hotel in Florence, Italy.
Bibey was found on Sunday, July 17, according to local newspaper La Nazione.
He is understood to have arrived in the picturesque city with a woman on Friday night and they arrived back at the Hotel Continentale ‘in high spirits’ at 2am on Saturday.
The woman is understood to have been found bloodied and bruised before being taken to hospital.
Police sources in Florence told MailOnline they hoped to question the woman this evening or at the latest tomorrow morning.
An insider said: ‘She is recovering but is still sedated so we are waiting for the go ahead from medical staff at the hospital.
‘She has not been arrested and it will not be a formal questioning it’s more a question of trying to understand what happened in the room.
‘The hope was for an autopsy to be carried out on the man sometime today but that will now happen on Monday.
‘That will establish levels of alcohol and if any drugs were present but at this moment all we know for certain is that no third party was involved. We are satisfied of that.’
Italian media have reported that a ‘type of truncheon’ had been recovered from the couple’s first floor room as well as ‘other objects’.
The source added: ‘Obviously items have been taken from the room as with any investigation and pictures and video have been taken but at the moment we are not disclosing what exactly.’
A source at the hotel said: ‘Noises had been heard coming from the room and then a chamber maid saw the woman emerge half naked, with blood on her and screaming for help.
‘That’s when the alarm was raised and the police and paramedics were called. The man was on the floor and despite attempts to save him he was declared dead at the scene.’
Bibey is reported to have worked as an estate agent in the years following his retirement, and had previously run a development company.
The ex-sportsman, who retired from the game in 2012, made 215 appearances for five rugby league sides, including three stints at hometown club Leigh Centurions.
Bibey’s former team, Wakefield Trinity, wrote on Twitter: ‘Trinity are saddened to hear of the passing of former prop-forward Ricky Bibey, aged 40. We send our condolences to Ricky’s family and friends at this tough time.’
Leigh East, where Bibey started playing as a junior, also paid their respects.
A club spokesperson tweeted: ‘All at the club are saddened to hear about the death of our former junior Ricky Bibey who passed away on holiday.
Ricky played professionally for a number of clubs including Leigh, Wigan, St Helens and Wakefield. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time.’
The Foreign Office said: ‘We are in touch with the Italian police following the death of a British man in Florence.’
Paramedics raced to the hotel, a stone’s throw from the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge.
the woman was taken to the city’s Careggi hospital where she was said to be in a serious but stable condition.
The couple had only arrived at the hotel on Friday night and the alarm was raised early on Saturday morning.
A police source told MailOnline: ‘The people involved are both British and at the moment we are working on two theories an erotic game that went wrong or some sort of domestic argument, but the general direction is that of an erotic game.
‘The man was found with a series of cuts, bruises and other injuries on his body and so was the woman, although she was more seriously hurt and the man appears to have had some sort of seizure.
‘There is blood in the room and the forensic teams are working there at the moment while the woman has been taken to hospital for treatment.
‘Her current condition is serious but she is stable and her injuries are not life-threatening. We hope to question her at some point in the next few hours.’
Sources said the couple were from Manchester and ran an upmarket estate agent and they had arrived at the hotel late Friday night.
The pair went out shortly after arriving on Friday and returned just before 2am on Saturday with witnesses saying they were in ‘high spirits’.
Police sources said the woman had children through a previous relationship but was not married to the man who died.
Four persons, including a police officer have been killed by flood that ravaged over twelve communities in Gulani and Gujba Local Government Areas of Yobe State.
Mohammed Goje, the Executive Secretary, Yobe State Emergency Management Agency, (SEMA), who confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday, July 18, said the flooding was triggered by a heavy downpour that lasted several hours.
“In the last 24hrs, Yobe State Emergency management Agency received with shocked the devastating incident of flooding in some part Yobe State, the impacts of the reported flooding have assumed a threatening proportions, resulting in loss of lives and properties,” he stated.
“Over 11 communities in Gulani and 1 in Gujba were affected by flooding as a result of a heavy downpour. The flooding has led to displacement of hundreds of Households across 11 communities in the 2 LGAs. Livestock and food reserves worth millions of Naira were swept away by the flood.”
Goje said he and stakeholders from Gulani went round 7 out of the 11 communities to rapidly inspect the damages and commiserate with victims.
“Unfortunately, four (4) persons have been reported death including a police officer while score of others were injured. The affected four communities (Gulani, Bara, Gagure and Njibulwa) were rendered INACCESSIBLE as the main bridge linking the town has been damage and washed away because of the flooding.
“The displaced persons are currently taking refuge at Government buildings across the communities, SEMA as directed by his Excellency the Executive of Yobe State Hon Mai Mala Buni is mobilizing resources and intensifying effort to bring immediate relief to the affected communities while alternate route will be used to support the inaccessible communities.” he added.
The British dad who left his partner for a Ukrainian refugee they took into their home has cried out that he is now broke.
Security guard Tony Garnett, 29, and his partner Lorna Garnett, the mother of their two daughters, took in 22-year-old Sofiia Karkadym following the invasion of Ukraine by the Russians.
Tony and Lorna had been together for 10 years before they sponsored Soffia to escape war-torn Ukraine.
However, Tony immediately fell in love with Sofiia in their Bradford home, sparking a furious row that split their family.
Just 10 days after Sofiia moved into the family home, Tony left his partner and ran off with the Ukrainian refugee.
His ex wifeHis current girlfriend who is a blonde
Now, he says he is broke because he has lost jobs over his affair with Sofiia.
He told the Daily Star: “I’ve been trying to get by and survive with Sofiia with nowt.
“I want to show people that I’m not a scrounger for government benefits, I know what is right.
“I used to have a very successful business. I’ve dedicated myself to it, some weeks I put over 80 hours a week into it.”
Tony said that he ran a security firm that had contracts he lost due to his relationship attracting so much attention.
He added: “Now and again I’m sending door staff to pubs and clubs but I’ve gone from earning nearly 2k a week to earning jack s***.”
This comes four days after it was revealed that Tony had released a rap criticising “an ex”.
The rap video was posted less than 24 hours after he was hit with a court order preventing him from contacting Lorna after she alleged he had sent her abusive texts.
Hours after the court hearing on Wednesday, July 13, Tony put out a YouTube song called “Ukraine to UK Rain” in which he accuses an “ex” of being “two-faced” and playing with his emotion like a video console”.
He raps: “I’m now with a blonde – but yes, my ex was a brunette.”
The song describes Ukraine as “a country torn apart with war crimes and bad pain”.
It also includes the lines: “Should I have stayed there just to be with my kids? No thank you, not today. You see my mental state forbids.”
He told MailOnline after the rap was released: “It’s important for me to explain my side of things. I didn’t name her, I just said ‘my ex’ in the lyrics. I know that won’t get me into trouble because a solicitor told me. It could be any ex I’m referring to. I told the judge that I’d be writing music about what had happened to me.”
Former Wales rugby captain and sports icon, Ryan Jones has revealed he is suffering with early onset dementia and believes the sport of rugby is ‘walking headlong with its eyes closed into a catastrophic situation’
In an emotional interview with The Sunday Times, Jones, aged just 41, opened up on his diagnosis with both dementia and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
He follows in the footsteps of England’s 2003 World Cup-winning hooker Steve Thompson, another former Wales international in Alix Popham, and others in dealing with dementia.
Reports suggest that a high number of ex-rugby players who have been diagnosed with early onset dementia and probable CTE could be up to 200 as scientists suggest a link between sports that involve head impact and heavy contacts like boxing, rugby and even football to dementia and parkinson’s disease.
‘I feel like my world is falling apart,’ said Jones, who won 75 Welsh caps and captained his country on 33 occasions said.
Jones continued: ‘I am really scared. I lived 15 years of my life like a superhero and I’m not. I don’t know what the future holds.
‘I am a product of an environment that is all about process and human performance. I’m not able to perform like I could. I just want to lead a happy, healthy, normal life.
‘I feel that’s been taken away and there is nothing I can do.’
Jones won three Six Nations Grand Slams with Wales in 2005, 2008 and 2012 as well as a Championship title in 2013. He captained the side to those 2008 and 2012 successes.
In 2020, Jones was employed by the Welsh Rugby Union and had worked for the governing body as director of community rugby and then performance director.
He was told of his diagnosis last December.
Jones added: ‘I’ve got three children and three step-children and I want to be a fantastic dad.
‘I can’t train harder, I can’t play the referee. I don’t know what the rules of the game are anymore.
‘We don’t know where to go, where to find support. We haven’t got any friends in this space.
‘It terrifies me. That’s the fear. That’s the bit that never leaves.
The Federal Government has trained over 30 independent monitors to evaluate the ongoing Cash transfer, Home-grown School feeding programme, N-power among others in Delta State.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, stated this in Asaba during the training personnel.
Farouq, represented by the Delta Team leader, Margret Chuka-Ogwuche, said the NSIP independent monitors would be monitoring the programme in schools, households, and market clusters in their communities with the focus of ensuring that the primary objectives of the NSIPs are achieved.
She said, “Today, we trained 30 in Delta and the ministry provides working tools in the form of Tablets for them to carry out their monitoring activities on the field.
“Monitors are one of the most important components of the NSIP and the ministry lays special emphasis on ensuring its programmes are closely monitored.
“The Programme is very important and strategic as we train the additional men and women that will serve as Stream 2 monitors. They will be given the prerequisite training and receive engagement letters and Tablets as working tools for monitoring the programme.
“They will monitor our programmes in the Delta State which included; N-POWER, National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme.
“For instance, the monitor can go to the school and ascertain how many pupils we are feeding, the quality of the food, evaluate them and send us the data”
The United Kingdom’s meteorological agency, on Friday, issued its first ever “red” warning for exceptional heat, forecasting record highs of 40 degrees Celsius next week.
“Exceptional, perhaps record-breaking temperatures are likely early next week,” Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said.
The Met Office said there was a 50-percent chance of temperatures topping 40°C (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time on Monday or Tuesday, and an 80 per cent chance that the country’s previous record of 38.7°C set in 2019 will be exceeded.
“Nights are also likely to be exceptionally warm, especially in urban areas,” said Gundersen.
“This is likely to lead to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure. This level of heat can have adverse health effects.”
A red warning is issued when it is “very likely that there will be a risk to life, with substantial disruption to travel, energy supplies and possibly widespread damage to property and infrastructure.”
The warning will cover next Monday and Tuesday for parts of central, northern, eastern and south-eastern England.
The service said while “extreme heat events do occur within natural climate variation,” their increase in recent decades “is clearly linked to the observed warming of the planet and can be attributed to human activity.”
UK hospitals have already warned of a surge in heat-related admissions and train operators have told passengers to expect cancellations.
Election monitoring and observation groups, HEDA Resource Centre and Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, on Friday, advised voters in Saturday’s Osun State governorship election against trading their God-given rights to choose their leader.
The Chairman, HEDA Resource Centre, Olanrewaju Suraju and WARDC Executive Director, Dr Abiola Akiode-Afolabi, who said the Osun governorship election would be yet another test for Nigeria’s democratic consolidation and citizens’ fidelity to laws and rules guiding the electoral process, harped on the need to discourage vote-buying.
Speaking at a press conference in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, Suraju and Akiode-Afolabi renewed call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other law enforcement agencies not to stop at arresting and prosecuting party agents involved in vote-buying, “but should also ensure to shine the spotlight on their sponsors.”
They said, “The issue of vote-buying remains about the biggest threat to a credible election in Nigeria and it remains a leading cause for concern as the country edges close to the 2023 General Election.”
Suraju and Akiode-Afolabi charged Osun voters to “come out en-masse to cast their votes and be part of selecting their own leader for the next four years through a credible electoral process. This God-given right should be honoured and not traded. It is not a commodity to sell, but a right to be exercised. Selling vote is criminal, casting it is the ideal.
“The implication of vote-buying is far reaching – it makes it difficult to call leaders to account since they paid their ways to the position occupied and beyond that, it affects the economy and living conditions as leaders would have no moral obligation to make life better for the citizens.
“Making public office holders accountable becomes negatively affected where the processes informing their emergence were largely compromised by vote-buying. Under such circumstances, the grip of corruption becomes quick to sight and preventing such becomes a difficult necessity,” they said.
The groups hailed security and anti-graft agencies for heeding the call to stem the tide of vote-buying, saying, “As reported in the news, the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, have announced their readiness to man the election with sufficient manpower to forestall any eventualities of vote-buying.
“It was also reported that the deployment of police personnel will be complemented by soldiers and civil defence corps. The Police Force has also promised to deploy the Federal Intelligence Bureau, Tactical Corps and the Special Forces to curb vote-buying. The Inspector-General of Police, Baba Alkali, had warned that the police would not take it lightly with persons or groups seeking to perpetrate vote-buying or any form of inducement in the elections,” they said.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday upheld the ban on Russian clubs from European competitions for the coming season and Russia’s exclusion from international tournaments, as a result of the war in Ukraine.
CAS rejected appeals by four Russian clubs against their banishment by UEFA from European competitions in 2022-2023 and another by the Russian Football Federation which contested its exclusion from all competitions organised by FIFA and UEFA.
“The escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the public and government responses worldwide, created unforeseen and unprecedented circumstances to which FIFA and UEFA had to respond,” the Lausanne-based CAS said in its press release.
“In determining that Russian teams and clubs should not participate in competitions under their aegis while such circumstances persisted, the panel (of judges) held that both parties acted within the scope of the discretion granted to them under their respective statutes and regulations.”
Russian clubs and national teams were initially suspended “until further notice” by UEFA in February in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
In early May, UEFA announced that “no Russian club” would participate in the 2022-2023 season of European club competitions, namely the Champions League, the Europa League or the Europa Conference League.
Zenit Saint Petersburg, who were denied a place in the group stages of the Champions League because of the ban, CSKA Moscow, Dynamo Moscow and Sochi all challenged the decision.
Russia’s national team was kicked out of the qualifying competition for this year’s World Cup in Qatar by FIFA just before a crucial play-off tie against Poland in March.
Russia were also excluded from the Women’s European Championship currently taking place in England and will play no further part in the qualifying campaign for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
“The panel finds it unfortunate that the current military operations in Ukraine, for which Russian football teams, clubs, and players have themselves no responsibility, had, by reason of the decisions of FIFA and UEFA, such an adverse effect on them and Russian football generally, but those effects were… offset by the need for the secure and orderly conduct of football events for the rest of the world,” said CAS.
A clash between some bandits and a splinter Boko Haram sect, the Ansaru terror sect, has left two locals dead, The PUNCH reports.
The Chairman of the Birnin Gwari Emirate Progressive Union, Ishaq Kasai, who said this in a statement in Kaduna on Friday, said some bandits on motorbikes attacked Damari, Kazage ward in Eastern Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of the state, killing two locals.
Kasai also said the attack which happened on Wednesday left shops, vehicles, as well as a private hospital, burnt.
According to him, the clash between the two terror groups lasted for more than two hours with the Ansaru, with superior firepower overpowering the bandits, who also wielded sophisticated weapons.
The development led to the locals applauding the efforts of the Ansaru terror group for saving them from the bandit attack.
The BEPU chairman also disclosed that the terror groups’ clash forced hundreds to flee their communities.
The statement read, “Bandits numbering about 200 on motorcycles, wielding sophisticated weapons targeted and attacked Damari town of Kazage Ward in the eastern part of Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
“The attack took place around 5:00 pm on Wednesday, 13th July 2022, while Ansaru members were right inside the town preaching to locals.
“On hearing the sporadic gunshots from the bandits, the Ansaru members moved towards them and started exchanging fire. They clashed for about an hour. The Ansaru members who were also heavily armed overpowered the bandits which made them retreat and run away.
“During the clash, some damages were done to the town. One shop was burnt, two vehicles were burnt, one private hospital was burnt as well as two locals (labourers) were also killed by the bandits on their way from the farm, while the bandits were running away to the forest.
“The private hospital was burnt accidentally as a result of the fire spread from the second vehicle burnt nearby.
“As a result of this, most of the community members appreciate and hail the Ansaru members for defending the town from the bandits’ attack without which they believe that the situation could have been more damaging.
“Hundreds of persons including women and children migrated from the town as a result of the attack.
“The attack was a very organised one because the armed bandits knew that the Ansaru members are covering the town. Hence, it was countered by the Ansaru members.
“However, the casualty figure between the armed bandits and the Ansaru members is unascertained.
“The Ansaru members continue to preach and administer Shari’a justice to locals and also advise them to acquire arms to defend themselves against enemies, as well as fight government, in order to establish what they refer to as Islamic State.”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Lagos State House of Assembly in Ikorodu Constituency 1, Gbolahan Ogunleye is currently enmeshed in a certificate forgery scandal.
Gholahan, who is a son of Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, former Lagos State deputy governor, in May during the APC primaries defeated the House Majority Leader, Sanai Agunbiade, who has represented the constituency for almost 20 years.
Sources said despite failing to present some vital documents such as his birth and West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) certificates during screening, he was cleared because of his father’s influence.
Gbolahan claimed to have graduated with a pass in Economics from Lagos State University in the 1999/2000 set but documents obtained by Sahara Reporters show that the APC candidate’s name is not on the school’s brochure, listing the names of graduating students for the set.
Checks by SaharaReporters on the list of graduates for the set show that none of them graduated with a pass.
The list stops with Economics graduates with Third-class degrees as seen on the university’s brochure and none of the graduates listed is Ogunleye Gbolahan Adetokunbo.
“You can see the results stopped at Third class as seen on the university brochure and there is no name like his on it.
“Economics stops at page 108 of that brochure. Every LASU graduate has their name published in the university brochure. Mr Gbolahan Ogunleye should present a brochure that has his name published,” an employee of LASU told SaharaReporters.
The university authorities also confirmed Gbolahan’s record could not be found in the Examination and Records Division.
“Having gone through records available at the Examinations and Records Division, I write to confirm that there is no record that the Notification of Result in respect to Mr OGUNLEYE Gbolahan Adetokunbo with Matriculation Number 94/06/01/092 was issued to him by the university,” a letter signed by Odusami Adetutu, Deputy Registrar of the institution read.
SaharaReporters however learnt that Adetutu has been queried for issuing the letter saying Gbolahan Ogunleye has no records in the school.
The Deputy Registrar who issued the disclaimer on June 28, 2022, was said to have been issued a query by the school management under the influence of Gbolahan’s father.
Another letter dated July 14, 2022, was issued saying the APC candidate graduated with a pass.
“The Deputy Registrar who issued the first one has been queried and already put into trouble because of Gbolahan. Remember his father is a former deputy governor,” a source told SaharaReporters.
“A member of LASU Governing Council is close to Gbolahan Ogunleye’s father. He was the one who influenced the second letter.”
However, efforts to reach Gbolahan Ogunleye were not successful as calls to his mobile line were not answered nor returned.
A text message also sent to his line had not been replied to at the time of filing this report.
A property developer, Mr Cecil Osakwe, who was charged with alleged N130 million fraud by the Nigerian government has accused one Asabe Waziri, an employee of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of blackmailing him.
In a petition to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Osakwe said he was not legally notified or served with the said charge by the judicial workers.
Osakwe through his counsel, Victor Giwa and Associates alleged that Waziri has been using Malami’s name to intimidate and harass the judiciary, policemen and other security agencies in a bid to achieve her objective of taking over his property through the stalled transaction which a competent court had terminated.
According to him, on February 17, 2022, Justice Musa Othman of the FCT High Court delivered a judgment which terminated the said transaction and ordered him to refund all the payments made by the NNPC staff.
The property developer said he immediately paid Waziri the sum of N150 million being total of all fees as directed by the court. Attached to the petition were photocopies of the cheques for the refund.
The petition read, “It has come to the attention of our client through reports in various media both electronic and newspaper publications about a purported charge and arraignment on ‘trumped-up charges’ of obtaining by false pretences the sum of one hundred and thirty million naira (N130,000,000.00), from Ms Asabe Waziri, a staff of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
“Although our client was not legally notified or served with the said charge, the charge was later sent to our client through one Police officer, after the media sensation aimed at defaming our client.
“Honourable Minister Sir, it will interest you to know that Ms Asabe Waziri had threatened our client with the use of your office when the transaction went awry; a threat we took with a pinch of salt. However, the latest development now reveals that the threat is being carefully executed using some person in your office, an office that should be highly regarded.
“Following the blasphemous publication and the attempt to use of your office to settle personal scores, we are constrained to bring to your notice these developments which we believe might not be within your knowledge, as the said Asabe Waziri has been using your name to intimidate and harass the judiciary, policemen and other security agencies with a bid to achieve her dubious objective of taking over a property through stalled transaction with our client which a competent court had terminated. It is therefore pertinent that we present the fact of the case.
“Ms Asabe Waziri had approached our client sometime in 2022 February, to purchase 2 units of 2-bedroom apartment which was priced at 130 million naira each totaling 260 million naira.
“She made various (payments) totaling about 140 million naira, after which she was given possession of the flats even while she had not completed her payments.
“Shortly, after possession was delivered to her in the same year, Asabe Waziri converted one of the units into a short let apartment in violation of the covenants of the apartment.
“Based on the various breaches and her mode of payment, our client approached Asabe Waziri to terminate the transaction and offered to refund her money, an offer Asabe bluntly refused, prompting our client to approach the FCT High Court Abuja.
“On the 17th of February, 2022 the said High Court Coram Hon Justice Musa Othman delivered a judgment which terminated the said transaction and ordered our Client to refund all the payments made by Asabe Waziri and further ordered that Asabe Waziri immediately deliver possession to our client. Attached is the judgment.
“Immediately, our client refunded to Asabe Waziri the sum of N150 Million being the total of all fees as directed by the court. Attached are photocopies of the cheques.
“On the 18th of February, after the payment, Asabe Waziri through her counsel ILS Attorneys Barrister and Solicitors returned the instrument of payment stating that Asabe Waziri has appealed the judgment in the Court of Appeal. The said letter is attached.
“On the 18th of March, 2022 the said judgment was enforced and Asabe Waziri was vacated from the apartment.
“Shortly after the said enforcement, Asabe Waziri and her agents started contacting and employing senior police officers to intimidate and harass our client and his lawyer, Giwa Victor Esq coercing them to issue her the title to the property even when the matter is before the court of appeal with appeal number CA/ABJ/2022 for adjudication.
“Sir, we were shocked on the 3rd of July, 2022, when the media was awash with the news of the arraignment of our client by the Federal government on the charges of obtaining by false pretences the sum of N130 Million. This becomes more disturbing that we were not even served with the said charge before the news report.
“It will be invidious and odious to speculate that Ms Asabe Waziri in conjunction with her cohorts in the Ministry of Justice is using the Minister of Justice to pursue her personal vendetta against our Client all in a bid to embarrass and damage our client’s hard-earned reputation.
“However, we are fully aware that you will not allow your office to be used as an instrument for settling personal scores, we further believe you will take the appropriate steps when such anomalies are brought to your attention.
“We, therefore, appeal to you that you do not allow Asabe Waziri with her accomplice to abuse the office of the Attorney General of the Federation by using it to continue to harass and intimidate honest citizens who are using their hard-earned resources to provide the much-needed employment to Nigerians.”
Oyo State Chief Justice, Munta Abimbola, on Thursday constituted a seven-man panel to investigate the allegations levelled against the deputy governor of the state, Rauf Olaniyan, by the House of Assembly.
The House of Assembly has been pushing to impeach Olaniyan, a move that was intensified after the deputy governor defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
The state governor, Seyi Makinde and the majority of the state lawmakers are in the PDP.
Olaniyan’s camp had alleged that Makinde sidelined and relegated him to the background of his government before his defection.
However, the panel was formed pursuant to the resolution of the House of Assembly, and as requested by its Speaker, Adebo Ogundoyin.
Ogundoyin made the request in a letter dated July 6, 2022.
The Speaker in the letter requested the constitution of the panel by virtue of the power conferred on the State Chief Judge by section 188 (5) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The members of the panel comprise Chief Kayode Christopher (Chairman); Adebisi Soyombo; Chief Lawal Adekunle Dauda; Princess Olanike Olusegun; Rev Fr. Patrick Ademola; Chief Mrs Wuraola Adepoju (JP); and Alh. Tirimisiyu Akewusola Badmus.
Justice Abimbola urged the panel members to be fair in their investigation of the allegations against the deputy governor.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the State High Court sitting in Ibadan stopped state lawmakers from going ahead with the impeachment of Olaniyan.
The court presided over by Justice Oladiran Akintola gave the order when the case filed by the deputy governor came up for hearing.
This was to allow the Assembly to respond to issues raised by the deputy governor.
A Court of Appeal sitting in Sokoto has approved the defection of Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle from the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
This was revealed on Wednesday in a judgement presided over by Justice A. A. Gumel.
This judgement dismissed an appeal case filed by some PDP members, Bashiru Saleh, Abdulhameed Haruna and Ibrahim Muhammad Turaki, seeking the removal of Governor Matawalle from office for defecting from the PDP to the APC.
In Appeal No. CA/S/61/2022, the court in a unanimous decision in the appeal argued by Matawalle’s counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, held that Governor Matawalle has the right to defect to any political party of his choice in exercise of his fundamental right to freedom of association as guaranteed by section 40 of the 1999 Constitution and as earlier decided by the Supreme Court in the case of ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION V. ABUBAKAR (2007) 10 NWLR (PART 1041) 1 at page 124; and subsequently followed by the Court of Appeal in OGBUOJI & ORS v. UMAHI & ORS (2022) LPELR-57166(CA).
Other Justices who concurred with the lead judgment are Justice Mukhtar, JCA, and Justice Dan-Juma, JCA.
At the trial court, the appellants, as plaintiffs, had approached the Federal High Court, Gusau, via an Originating Summons, which amongst others, sought a declaration that Governor Matawalle having defected on June 29, 2021, to the APC from the PDP which sponsored his election to the office of the Governor of Zamfara State, is deemed to have repudiated from his election to the said office and therefore had resigned from the office of the Governor of Zamfara State effective from the date of his defection.
But the court affirmed the earlier decision of the Federal High Court, Gusau, which had held that Matawalle cannot be removed from office simply because he defected from the PDP to the APC.
On the substantive issue of defection, the court held that a governor cannot lose his seat on the ground of defection from one party to another.
The court affirmed that a governor can defect from one party to another without losing his seat in tandem with the provisions of section 40 of the Constitution, and the binding decisions of the supreme court in A.G. FEDERATION V. ABUBAKAR (Supra); and the Court of Appeal in OGBUOJI V. UMAHI (Supra).
The court also held that the provisions of the Constitution are very clear to the effect that no punishment was provided for a governor who defects to another party; that Governor Matawalle cannot, therefore, vacate his seat; and no court
of law can remove him just because of his decision to defect to another political party of his choice in exercise of his constitutional right of freedom of association.
The court added that once a governor is sworn in, he ceases to be under the control of the political party which sponsored him, and he can only be removed from office in line with the provisions of sections 180, 188 and 189 of the 1999 Constitution.
SaharaReporters had reported that cases were filed challenging the defection of Governor Matawalle of Zamfara to the APC.
The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Junaidu Aminu, disclosed this in Gusau after the sitting of the investigative panel on the impeachment of Deputy Governor Mahdi Aliyu-Gusau.
Four years after losing his Bakura/Maradun Constituency seat in 2015, Matawalle became the 2019 PDP governorship nominee and got to the office after a Supreme Court ruling disqualified the original winner.
In 2021, he defected from the PDP to the APC after a rally in Gusau alongside many elected officials in his government.
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