Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th US President – here are some of the best photos from inauguration day.
Help yourself with pictures of the inauguration of the 46th US president
What President Biden Will Do On First Day In Office.
In a statement on Wednesday, he said he would sign 15 orders after he is sworn in.
Mr Joe Biden, set to be sworn in as the 46th President of the US, has set out a flurry of executive orders.
In a statement on Wednesday, he said he would sign 15 orders after he is sworn in. They will reverse Mr Donald Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate accord;
Revoke the presidential permit granted to the Keystone XL Pipeline, which is opposed by environmentalists and Native American groups;
Revoke Trump policies on immigration enforcement and the emergency declaration that helped fund the construction of a Mexican border wall;
Bring about a mask and distancing mandate for federal employees and in federal buildings, and a new White House office on coronavirus;
End a travel ban on visitors from some, mainly Muslim nations;
Other orders will cover race and gender equality, along with climate issues.
Mr Biden’s vice-president, Kamala Harris, will swear in three new Democratic senators on Wednesday, leaving the upper chamber of Congress evenly split between the two main parties. This will allow the vice-president to act as a tie-breaker in key votes.
According to the BBC, Mr Biden’s legislative ambitions could be tempered by the slender majorities he holds in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
Donald Trump Departs White House, As His Tenure As President Comes To An End.
The helicopter which conveyed the President took him around the premises of the White House to give him a final view before arriving at Joint Base Andrews.
Outgoing US President Donald Trump has left the White House today, January 20, 2021.Trump took off from the lawn of the White House in company with his wife, Melania.
The helicopter which conveyed the President took him around the premises of the White House to give him a final view before arriving at Joint Base Andrews.
The event took place ahead of the inauguration of incoming President Joe Biden and incoming Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden who defeated Trump at the US presidential election of November 3, 2020, will be sworn in today at 17:00 GMT. The event will not be attended by Trump who continues to maintain his claim that the election was stolen from him.
The inauguration will, however, be graced by the outgoing Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell and other GOP leaders.
“We will be back in some form,” Trump told a modest crowd of supporters who gathered to see him off at Joint Base Andrews. “So have a good life. We will see you soon.”
According to CNN, Air Force One lifted off for a final time with Trump aboard, Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” blared in the background.
He departed a city under militarised fortification meant to prevent a repeat of the riot he incited earlier this month. He leaves office with more than 400,000 Americans dead from a virus he chose to downplay or ignore.
For his opponents, Trump’s departure amounts to a blissful lifting of a four-year pall on American life and the end to a tortured stretch of misconduct and indignities. Even many of Trump’s onetime supporters are sighing with relief that the White House, and the psychology of its occupant, may no longer rest at the center of the national conversation.
At least some of the 74 million Americans who voted for Trump in November are sad to see him go. Scores of them attempted an insurrection at the US Capitol this month to prevent it from happening at all. The less violent view him as a transformative President whose arrival heralded an end to political correctness and whose exit marks a return to special treatment for immigrants, gays and minorities.
He emerged for a final time on Wednesday, discarding tradition and boycotting his successor’s inauguration. Aides said he did not like the thought of leaving Washington an ex-president, nor did he relish the thought of requesting use of the presidential aircraft from Biden.
The ceremony was modest in scope, though it did include a red carpet, cordons of troops and a 21-gun salute. Before departing the White House, he offered a wave from his Marine One helicopter.
In a subdued, discursive speech on a windy tarmac, Trump made glancing references to his accomplishments in office but seemed bitter at his loss.
“I hope they don’t raise your taxes, but if they do, I told you so,” he said.
Aides had prepared a speech for the President that included references to the incoming administration and more gracious language about a peaceful transition, according to a person familiar with the matter.
But Trump discarded the speech, and teleprompters were removed from the stage before he arrived at Joint Base Andrews.
A person familiar with the matter said the decision was made after Trump read the remarks this morning at the White House.
“I wish the new administration good luck and great success,” Trump said. “I think they will have great success.”
He is expected to be ensconced in his South Florida club when he officially becomes an ex-president at noon.
Before he left, Trump did write the traditional handoff letter to Biden of the same type his predecessors wrote the men who replaced them. And he greeted residence staff at the White House who saw him off.
Trump is the first president in 150 years to stage such a boycott. While Vice President Mike Pence will attend Biden’s swearing-in, other members of Trump’s family, including wife Melania and daughter Ivanka, will be absent. The decision is emblematic of a presidency animated by Trump’s highly fragile ego and run by officials whose chief concern was managing Trump’s feelings.
Freshly impeached for a second time, this time with support from a few Republicans, Trump ends his term with the lowest approval rating of his tenure. Republicans remain divided on whether he represents the future of their party. He’s been shunned by senior leaders in Congress, who were left aghast at his incitement of a mob that sent them running for safety inside the Capitol.
Watch below as Donald Trump leaves the white house:
‘We did what we came here to do. No US president matched my achievement,’ Trump boasts in farewell address
The outgoing United States President, Donald Trump, said on Tuesday his team did what Americans elected him to do about five years ago.
Trump, who was elected in 2016, lost his re-election bid after he was defeated by Joe Biden in last year’s presidential election in the US.
His tenure officially ends on Wednesday with Biden expected to take over as the country’s 46th president later in the day.
In a farewell address released on Tuesday, Trump celebrated his legacy in the four years he was in power, saying no president achieved what he was able to achieve.
Though he wished the new administration of Biden and his Vice Kamala Harris success in the years ahead, he did so without acknowledging his successor by name.
Before a sudden change of heart, the president had refused to offer a full concession to Biden who secured 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232.
In a recorded address, he said:
“We did what we came here to do, and so much more. I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices, because that’s what you elected me to do.
“This week, we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous.
“We extend our best wishes, and we also want them to have luck – a very important word.
“The greatest danger we face is a loss of confidence in ourselves, a loss of confidence in our national greatness.”
While also taking on Twitter and other social media platforms for suspending his accounts following the January 6 Capitol Building insurrection, Trump added:
“Shutting down free and open debate violates our core values and most enduring traditions
“America is not a timid nation of tame souls who need to be sheltered and protected from those with whom we disagree.”
The outgoing president also had strong words for China with whom he was involved in a long-drawn war all through his four years in the White House.
He also noted that the Middle East peace deals his administration brokered helped in a great way to bring peace to the region
“We revitalized our alliances and rallied the nations of the world to stand up to China like never before.
“I am especially proud to be the first president in decades who has started no new wars.
“Now, as I prepare to hand power over to a new administration at noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning.
“I go from this majestic place with a loyal and joyful heart and optimistic spirit, and a supreme confidence that for our country and for our children, the best is yet to come,” Trump concluded.
Zimbabwe Foreign Affairs Minister , Moyo is Dead.
Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Sibusiso Moyo, has died, with details on the circumstance around his death unclear.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa eulogised Mr Moyo as a “devoted public servant and a true hero”:
Mr Moyo, a major general, was the face of the military takeover which ousted former President Robert Mugabe.
On the night of the coup d’etat, he appeared on television, in uniform, to ask Zimbabweans to remain calm and assure them that only “criminals” were being targeted.
Two cabinet ministers, Ellan Gwaradzimba and Perrance Shiri, have died over the last six months. Mr Shiri died from Covid-19.
President Mnangagwa took to Twitter and said: “It is with a heavy heart that I announce Foreign Minister Dr SB Moyo has died.
“Zimbabwe has lost a devoted public servant and a true hero, and I have lost a friend. He fought his entire life so that Zimbabwe could be free.
“May he rest in peace.”
Lil Wayne gets 11th hour Trump pardon.
Lil Wayne is among the recipients of a slew of pardons being issued by President Trump just hours before the commander in chief leaves office.
The “6 Foot 7 Foot” rapper had faced up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal firearm charge last year. The entertainer, born Dwayne Carter, Jr., was charged in 2019 with illegally carrying a loaded handgun while traveling from California to Florida.
Trump’s pardon comes after he met with Lil Wayne last year.
The 38-year-old performer revealed he had a “great meeting” with Trump in October, saying the two discussed the president’s proposed “Platinum Plan” to help the Black community. A photo of the pair, showing Trump giving a thumbs up next to the grinning rapper, raised eyebrows when Lil Wayne tweeted it following their face-to-face.
Trump has been criticized for forgoing the traditional process and wielding his pardon power to help prominent supporters of his, as well as those with famous connections.
In 2018, he granted clemency to Alice Johnson following a meeting with reality TV star and criminal justice reform advocate Kim Kardashian West in the Oval Office. Johnson had been serving a life sentence for a drug offense. The president issued Johnson a full pardon after she delivered remarks at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Inauguration Day 2021: Schedule of events as US move from Trump to Biden
President-elect, Joe Biden will be sworn in on Wednesday as the 46th president of the United States alongside Kamala Harris who will be sworn in as the country’s first female vice-president.
The inauguration theme, “America United,” according to the Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) “reflects the beginning of a new national journey that restores the soul of America, brings the country together, and creates a path to a brighter future.”
However, due to COVID-19 restrictions and security concerns over the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol building, the inauguration will be much different from those held in past years with it being mostly virtual, while the crowd will be kept to a bare minimum as 20,000 National Guard troops have been deployed around Washington, D.C.
The PIC has installed a public art display called “Field of Flags,” at the National Mall to represent the people unable to travel to the city for the ceremonies.
Here is a schedule of what has been planned for the inauguration:
8:00 a.m.: Outgoing President Donald Trump has planned a sendoff at an airfield at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where he is expected to make remarks, then board Air Force One for the last time as he heads to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: The livestream event “Our White House: An Inaugural Celebration for Young Americans” will be hosted by actress Keke Palmer.
The event will act as an explainer for young Americans before and during the ceremony. It will feature incoming first lady Jill Biden and historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Erica Armstrong Dunbar.
The event will also include a trivia portion with questions produced by the Library of Congress and a segment on presidential pets produced by Nickelodeon.
11:00 a.m.: The inauguration ceremony begins.
12:00 p.m.: Biden and Harris will be sworn in at the US Capitol building. US Supreme Court Chief, Justice John Roberts, will administer the oath of office to Biden.
Then, US Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, will swear in Harris.
Biden will deliver his inaugural address. He is expected to discuss the pandemic and the unification of the nation.
Other participants will include:
Invocation: Father Leo J. O’Donovan, a Jesuit priest and spiritual mentor to Biden.
Pledge of Allegiance: Capt. Andrea Hall, the City of South Fulton, Ga. fire captain.
National Anthem: Lady Gaga
Poetry Reading: Amanda Gorman, the first Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles and the country’s first National Youth Poet Laureate.
Musical Performances: Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks
Benediction: Rev. Dr. Silvester Beaman, the Pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Del.
12:30 p.m.: Biden, Harris and their spouses, Dr. Jill Biden and Douglas Emhoff who will be addressed as Second Gentleman, will participate in a Pass in Review with every branch of the military.
Afterward, all four will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
3:15 p.m.: The two couples will receive a presidential escort to the White House, accompanied by the military and the drumlines from Biden and Harris’s alma maters.
The televised event, “Parade Across America,” will be hosted by Tony Goldwyn and will feature performances by Earth, Wind and Fire, TikTok star Nathan Apodaca, and comedian Jon Stewart.
8:30 p.m.: Another televised event, “Celebrating America” hosted by Tom Hanks, will include appearances from Biden, Harris, Kerry Washington, and Eva Longoria. Featured performances by Ant Clemons, Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato, and Justin Timberlake are planned.
Georgia Democrat introduces bill to bar Trump from Capitol after term ends.
Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) has introduced a bill to bar President Trump from entering the Capitol after his term in the White House is over.
Williams introduced the measure on Jan. 13, the same day the House voted to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting an insurrection one week after a mob of Trump supporters overtook the Capitol in an effort to stop Congress from officially counting the Electoral College votes certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
“The Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives, the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate, and the United States Capitol Police shall take such actions as may be necessary to prohibit President Donald John Trump from entering the United States Capitol at any time after the expiration of his term as President,” the bill states.
Trump’s term ends Wednesday once Biden is inaugurated around noon. Trump said he will not attend Biden’s inauguration, in a significant break from the traditional transfer of power.
“President Trump has shown time and time again that he is a danger to our democracy and a threat to the country,” Williams said, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “His actions on January 6 caused a deadly attack on the Capitol and for that reason he should not be allowed into the Capitol.”
Williams sits in the seat held by the late Rep. John Lewis, a renowned civil rights activist who died last year, representing Georgia’s 5th Congressional District.
Following the Capitol riot, a host of corporations and political donors said they would pause giving GOP lawmakers money after some Republicans continued to object to the counting of some Electoral College votes hours after the violent takeover of the legislative branch that left five people dead and sent members of Congress scrambling for safety.
Attorneys urge Missouri Supreme Court to probe Hawley’s actions before Capitol riot.
At least 60 lawyers are calling on the Missouri Supreme Court to investigate the actions of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), an attorney, before the deadly riot by President Trump’s supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
The lawyers have signed onto a formal complaint asking the court’s Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel to look into Hawley’s efforts to challenge the certification of 2020 presidential election results.
The complaint, first reported by The Kansas City Star and later shared with The Hill by local attorney Hugh O’Donnell, is being circulated for signatures among Missouri lawmakers.
O’Donnell told the Star that more attorneys could still sign on to the effort, which includes lawyers from St. Louis to Kansas City.
The complaint is one in a series of letters drafted by attorneys accusing Hawley of professional misconduct, as well as violating his oath of office as a senator and additional actions.
Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney from St. Louis who circulated one of the letters arguing for sanctions against Hawley, argued that the Missouri Supreme Court should consider potential punishments against the Missouri senator ranging from a public rebuke to disbarment.
The Kansas City newspaper reported that Alan Pratzel, the chief disciplinary counsel in Missouri, would not confirm or deny whether the complaint against Hawley had already been filed.
“The accusations are serious enough to warrant disbarment,” Hoffman said, according to the Star. “But that’s not my determination to make.”
The Hill has reached out to Hawley’s office for comment on the report.
In a separate legal complaint shared with The Hill and filed with the disciplinary counsel office, Springfield, Mo., based attorney Joe Miller argues that Hawley, a fellow Missouri Bar Association member, “violated Missouri’s Rules of Professional Conduct by objecting to certified Electoral College votes and by making dishonest or misleading public statements, including statements questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.”
Hawley has been condemned by both Democrats and Republicans for his efforts to challenge the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win over unproven claims of widespread voter fraud in the election.
Several have called on Hawley, as well as fellow GOP Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), to resign or be expelled over accusations that their efforts helped spark the violent Capitol riot. Five people died as a result of the chaos, including a Capitol Police officer who sustained injuries while responding to the rioting and a woman shot by a plainclothes officer.
Last week, a coalition of nearly 6,000 law students and lawyers signed a petition calling for both Hawley and Cruz, graduates of Yale and Harvard law schools, respectively, to be disbarred, saying the senators contributed to inciting the deadly riot.
Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele specifically cited a photo of Hawley making a gesture of support to a crowd in Washington earlier in the day of the riot, with the petition adding that even after the violence, “Senators Hawley and Cruz still chose to stand in the chamber of the U.S. Senate and persist in their baseless objections to the will of the people.”
Hawley, whose Senate biography describes him as “one of the nation’s leading constitutional lawyers,” has defended his actions, writing in an op-ed last week that he challenged the results on behalf of his constituents who “have deep concerns about election integrity.”
“They have a right to be heard in Congress. And as their representative, it is my duty to speak on their behalf. That is just what I did last week,” Hawley wrote.
Hoodlums Attack Woman While Jogging On Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge
The attack was said to have happened on Monday morning.
Suspected hoodlums have attacked a young lady identified as Sike while jogging on the Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge in Lagos.
The attack was said to have happened on Monday morning.
A Twitter user named Lisa Folawiyo, @lisafolawiyo, who identified herself as Sike’s sister, said she was mugged and manhandled.
Lisa said as the attack was taking place, people passed by and no one intervened.
“It was my sister screaming! She was mugged and really roughed up. Traumatic. She screamed but no one helped. Everyone walked by like nothing was happening. I love humans,” she said.
It was my sister screaming! She was mugged and really roughed up. Traumatic. She screamed but no one helped. Everyone walked by like nothing was happening. I love humans.
— Lisa Folawiyo (@lisafolawiyo) January 19, 2021
Meanwhile, joggers have been advised to wait till the day is bright before they jog around the area.
“Please, if you know anyone living in LekkiPhase1/Ikoyi and they love running/walking on the Lekki Ikoyi Link Bridge (lately the streets lights are off)… Tell them to do there cardio when the day is bright… Today by 5.40am.. we overhead a lady screaming for help on the bridge,” a Twitter user, @fit_iam posted.
Residents Who Fought Bandits Flee Zamfara Villages Over Fear Of Reprisal.
The villages, namely Talli, Dutsin Gari, Mahuta and Munkuru, were deserted by the communities following an encounter between the bandits and the villagers which led to the killing of 15 people.
The residents of four villages in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State have fled to other places for fear of reprisal by bandits.
The villages, namely Talli, Dutsin Gari, Mahuta and Munkuru, were deserted by the communities following an encounter between the bandits and the villagers which led to the killing of 15 people.
The bandits, who were confronted by the four villages’ residents, could not succeed in abducting anybody due to the large number of people who turned out to defend themselves.
A resident of the area, Ibro Mamman, told The PUNCH that the bandits were currently hiding very close to the four villages waiting for the people to return to attack them.
He said, “The security situation is not favourable. As such, we will not go back until security agents are deployed to protect us.”
#COVID-19 Vaccines Meant To Kill Us – Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello.
He said Kogi would not respond to the second wave of the virus with “mass hysteria”.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has discouraged the use of COVID-19 vaccine, claiming that the jabs are meant to kill people.
The Nigerian government had said it was expecting at least 100,000 doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech approved COVID-19 vaccines to come in by the end of January 2021.
According to Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), provisions have been made for President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to receive the vaccine on live television.
Kayode Fayemi, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, while addressing journalists in Abuja after meeting with President Buhari last week, said he and his colleagues would also take the vaccine on live television.
He said, “We too will like to demonstrate to our citizens that we believe that the vaccines would work.
“Don’t forget, we have a lot of experience on this. The Governors Forum managed the polio vaccines administration in the country and we have garnered a lot of experience.”
But in a viral video, Bello condemned the use of the vaccine, saying it was produced to kill people.
Speaking to a crowd of people, the Kogi governor doubted the authenticity of the vaccine, saying there is no cure for HIV and many other diseases troubling mankind.
He however did not provide any evidence to support his claims that the vaccine could be dangerous to the health.
Bello said, “Vaccines are being produced in less than one year of COVID-19. There is no vaccine yet for HIV, malaria, cancer, headache and for several other diseases that are killing us. They want to use the (COVID-19) vaccines to introduce the disease that will kill you and us. God forbid.
“We should draw our minds back to what happened in Kano during (sic) the Pfizer polio vaccines that crippled and killed our children. We have learned our lessons.
“If they say they are taking the vaccines in public, allow them to take their vaccines. Don’t say I said you should not take it but if you want to take it, open your eyes before you take the vaccines.”
This is not the first time the governor would be making controversial assertions about the virus or the potency of the vaccine.
In a Channel’s TV programme last December, Bello also questioned the need for Nigeria to procure COVID-19 vaccine.
“What is applicable over there may not work in Nigeria. We don’t need to participate in this marketing of COVID-19 vaccine. We should channel the money we want to use to buy the vaccines to other things. The Presidential Task Force (PTF) should give the right advice to the president,” he said.
Also, in his New Year broadcast, Bello said it would be irresponsible of his government to see COVID-19 as a definer of 2020.
He said Kogi would not respond to the second wave of the virus with “mass hysteria”.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 1,449 people have died of COVID-19 complications across the country.
While the country has recorded 112,004 cases of the disease, 89,939 people have recovered from it.
Kogi is one of the states where COVID-19 figures are believed to be highly questionable as the governor has insisted that there is no coronavirus in the state.
Lagos Police Officer Tortures UNILAG Student To Coma Over Number Plate.
He was arrested for covering his number plate. He was held for hours for being rude to the Divisional Police Officer of the Mosafejo division in Oshodi.
A student of the University of Lagos, John Akinwale, has landed in the hospital after a power-drunk policeman tortured him to a coma in the Mosafejo, Oshodi area of Lagos State.
SaharaReporters learnt that Akinwale was arrested on Monday around 2 pm, after he bought fuel at a filling station, by police officers attached to the Mosafejo division.
It was gathered that the operatives extorted N5000 from the UNILAG student, who is also an activist, before dragging him to a police station.
According to a witness, Akinwale was arrested for having a “covered number plate.”
After the extortion, the policemen, not done, beat Akinwale to a coma, for being “rude” after which he was rushed to a hospital.
A source said, “John came out from the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority office and drove into a filling station. The policemen rushed at him just as he was about to leave the station.
“They collected N5000 from him and they dragged him to a police station. He collapsed in police custody after being beaten up by the officer. He was arrested for covering his number plate. He was held for hours for being rude to the Divisional Police Officer of the Mosafejo division in Oshodi.
“It was when he became unconscious that he was rushed to a hospital. It is now that he is regaining consciousness that he confirmed that he was hit by objects by the policemen.”
“I saw him use medication for Typhoid earlier that morning. We first thought it was the medication that reacted in his body. But the doctor at the hospital confirmed that it was not the drugs but that he was hit with an object.
“When he regained consciousness, he stated the same thing that the policemen beat him up,” another source said.
SaharaReporters was told that the matter was brought to the attention of the Area Commander but instead of him to scold the policemen over the brutality, he only called the DPO to ask him to consider releasing Akinwale.
Trump plans to offer last minute pardon to over 100 people —Report
Reports say outgoing President of the United States, Donald Trump, is expected to offer pardon to more than 100 Americans as his tenure winds down on Wednesday, January 20, when President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in.
According to Washington Post, Trump had, on Sunday, held a “meeting with his daughter Ivanka, son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and other aides to discuss possible pardons and commutations.”
At the meeting, Trump reportedly mooted the idea of granting widespread pardons or commutting of sentences of more than 100 people in his final hours in office, and could announce the decisions today, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
One of the sources said Trump and other aides spent a significant portion of the meeting reviewing a long list of pardon requests, as well as lingering questions about their appeals
“The president was personally engaged with the details of specific cases.
“In the past few weeks, the President has been particularly consumed with the question of whether to issue preemptive pardons to his adult children, top aides and himself,” the source said.
The other source who was present at the meeting said Presidential aides no longer expect a preemptive self-pardon or pardons for any family members, but the situation could always change with a “volatile and mercurial president like Trump.”
“Neither President Trump nor his children have been charged with crimes, and they are not known to be under federal investigation.
But the question of a presidential self-pardon has become more urgent and controversial since the January 6 storming of the Capitol by Trump’s supporters.”
Trump has been besieged by lobbyists and lawyers for well-heeled clients who are seeking to have their criminal convictions pardoned, as well as by advocates for criminal justice reform who argue that their clients were wrongly convicted or were given unfair sentences and deserve to be freed from prison.
While some aides believe Trump could face criminal liability for inciting the crowd, others think a self-pardon, never before attempted by a president, would be of dubious constitutionality, which could anger Senate Republicans preparing to serve as key jurors at Trump’s impeachment trial and would amount to an admission of guilt that could be used against him in potential civil litigation related to the Capitol attacks.
One person who is said to be under consideration for a pardon is rapper and music executive, Lil Wayne, who was charged with carrying a loaded handgun from California to Florida on his private jet.
He was barred from owning the gun because of past felony convictions, including a weapons charge.
Lil Wayne later met with Trump and posed for photos five days before the November 3, 2020 election, and in the process, got sticks from other musicians and activists for posting the photo to social media and crediting Trump with helping the Black community.
So far, Trump has granted pardon to 94 people, mostly friends and political allies, including 49 in the week before Christmas.
They have included people convicted in the special counsel investigation that dominated his first two years in office, such as his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and longtime confidant Roger Stone.
Just before Thanksgiving, Trump pardoned Michael Flynn, who had briefly served as his first national security adviser and later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during its investigation of Russian interference in Trump’s 2016 election win.
Other pardons issued in the closing weeks of Trump’s time in office have gone to Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, as well as three Republican former members of Congress and four military contractors involved in the killing of unarmed civilians during the Iraq War.
#COVID-19 : Schools Witness Low Turnout In Abuja, Partial Compliance With Protocols.
In schools observed by SaharaReporters in Kubwa, Maitama, Mpape and Zuba areas of the FCT, the schools opened but there was a significant drop in the number of pupils, as parents kept their children back at home for fear of the pandemic.
Attendance dropped significantly on Monday in most schools across the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as pupils resumed amidst the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
In schools observed by SaharaReporters in Kubwa, Maitama, Mpape and Zuba areas of the FCT, the schools opened but there was a significant drop in the number of pupils, as parents kept their children back at home for fear of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, some of the schools observed COVID-19 safety protocols as stipulated by the guidelines by the Nigerian government while others partially complied.
Some schools in Zuba also complained about water scarcity and the difficulty of having running water and basins for pupils to wash their hands in classrooms and at school entrances.
Some of the schools, which preferred not to have their names in print due to victimisation, agreed that they would not be able to sustain the COVID-19 safety guidelines without increasing school fees.
“How do we survive with all the health and safety gadgets you need to put in place in the school? You have to have a sick bay equipped with nurses, have an isolation room; build more classrooms for social distancing and all. The school fees also have to go up. Some of the parents when they were given their bills, literally asked their children to stop coming,” one of the headmistresses explained.
At the Local Education Authority Primary School, Kubwa, there were a few pupils and there was also no observance of the COVID-19 guidelines.
A teacher in the government school, who identified himself only as Mr Abdullahi, said the pupils would be assisted to observe the guidelines through the donation of face masks and hand washing materials for them, with “many of them coming from poor homes or no homes at all.”
The Head of a school on Arab Road, Kubwa, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the low turnout was due to the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Oyo State, where schools had resumed since last Monday, teachers and pupils ignored COVID-19 protocols.
As of Monday morning, confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state stood at 4,695 while 573 persons were on admission and 4,054 had been discharged. Sixty-eight persons had died of the coronavirus in the state.
Still, the level of compliance in public schools has been poor in the state.
But it was observed that some private schools in Ibadan, the state capital, strictly complied with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) directives and also sent home pupils without face masks.
At Oba Akinbiyi Model School, a public school, the pupils and some of their teachers did not wear face masks.
Though there were buckets of water placed in the school compound of the building, pupils were not washing their hands
SaharaReporters also observed that most pupils and teachers of Islamic Model School, Basorun, Ibadan did not wear face masks to protect themselves, but few teachers did.
It was observed that pupils and teachers in Obaseku High School and Baptist Grammar School, both in Eruwa, did not comply with the COVID-19 protocolS.
SaharaReporters gathered that few teachers had been using face masks in Ogbomoso Baptist High School, while most of their pupils had not been wearing theirs.
Man Jailed 14 Months In Osogbo for Defrauding American of N19.6m.
According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibadan zonal office, has secured the conviction of one Oteyowo Akinkunmi Samuel over internet-related fraud.
Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State pronounced the 32-year-old, who claimed to be a graduate of civil engineering, guilty of a one-count amended charge of criminal impersonation on Monday, January 18, 2021 and handed him fourteen months custodial sentence.
The crime offends Section 22(2) (b) (ii) of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention Etc) Act, 2015 and punishable under Section 22 (2) of the same Act.
He was charged for defrauding one Warren Doht, an American, of a total sum of N19,664,128.50 (Nineteen Million, Six Hundred and Sixty Four Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty Eight Naira, Fifty Kobo).
The convict had, however, approached the Commission for a plea bargain agreement which formed the basis for the amended charge with which he was arraigned and convicted of on Monday.
After pleading guilty to the amended charge, prosecution counsel Murtala Usman urged the court to convict him accordingly.
Apart from the jail term, the court also ordered Oteyowo to restitute the N19,664,128.50 to the victim of his crime.
Pentagon denies Trump’s request for military farewell parade
The outgoing President of the United States of America, Donald Trump has been denied a grand spectacle of a US Armed Forces Farewell- a custom dating back to the end of Ronald Reagan’s presidential term in 1989.
Trump wanted a military-style farewell parade as he exits office on Wednesday, to include a massive crowd of his supporters but two senior Defense offices insist that the Pentagon will not participate in any such event.
US defence and national security website Defense One broke the news there will be no grand military spectacle, no 21-gun salute for the 45th president of the US, as his request was rejected by the Pentagon.
“Two senior defence officials confirmed to Defense One on Thursday [January 14] that no military farewell is being planned for the commander in chief,” the website wrote on Sunday.
Further reports say Trump, in a show of bitterness, will also not engage in any hand-off rituals that incumbents typically do to welcome newly elected Presidents – such as leaving a letter of advice to the new president or hosting a one-on-one conversation.
China to Sanction US Officials for ‘Nasty Behaviour’ Over Taiwan.
US officials who have engaged in “nasty behaviour” over Chinese-claimed Taiwan will face sanctions, China’s Foreign Ministry said, after Washington lifted curbs on exchanges between US and Taiwanese officials.
Sino-US ties have worsened as China has already condemned this month’s easing, announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the waning days of President Donald Trump’s presidency.
Further adding to China’s anger, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, spoke last week to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, after a planned trip to Taipei was called off.
Asked at a daily news briefing how China would follow through on its pledge to make the United States “pay a heavy price” for its engagements with Taiwan, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said some US officials would face sanctions.
“Owing to the wrong actions of the United States, China has decided to impose sanctions on responsible US officials who have engaged in nasty behaviour on the Taiwan issue,” she said, without elaborating.
When asked about US sanctions on six mainland and Hong Kong officials announced last Friday over the mass arrests in Hong Kong, Hua said that China has decided to impose sanctions on US officials, members of Congress, personnel at non-governmental organisations and their family members over their “nasty behaviour” on the Hong Kong issue.
China said last month it would sanction US individuals as a reciprocal response to the US sanctions on more than a dozen Chinese officials. It was unclear from Hua’s reply on Monday whether the Hong Kong-related sanctions were new.
Hua also did not specify the names of the US officials under sanction and the nature of the sanctions.
Democrat Joe Biden will be sworn in as president on Wednesday, and a new team will take over at the State Department, including a new secretary of state.
China says Taiwan is the most important and sensitive issue in its relationship with the United States, and has previously announced sanctions on US companies selling weapons to Taiwan, though it has not been clear how, or if, they were enforced.
Beijing has responded to increased US support for Taiwan, including arms sales and visits by senior US officials, by stepping up military activity near the island, including flying its air force aircraft nearby.
Relations between the United States and China, the world’s two biggest economies, have plunged to their lowest level in decades, with disagreements on issues including Taiwan, Hong Kong, human rights, the coronavirus pandemic, the South China Sea, trade and espionage.
China last year unveiled sanctions on 11 US citizens, including lawmakers from Trump’s Republican Party, in response to Washington’s sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials accused of curtailing political freedom in the former British colony.
CNN correspondent, Stephanie Busari, in shock after receiving a bill of N150k from Eko Electricity Distribution Company.
Stephanie Busari, CNN correspondent, has taken to her Twitter handle to express her shock at the outrageous bill sent to her home by the Eko Electricity Distribution Company.
Busari in a tweet posted on her handle said she was hardly in her home in December 2020 and was shocked to receive a bill of N150, 000 from PHCN.
”I was away for all of December and all major appliances were off, and somehow according to @EKEDP my electricity bill was 150k. This is more than even the months I was there. Amazing!”
Internet Restored in Uganda as Military Raids Opposition Party Offices.
The internet shutdown in Uganda that had entered its fifth day on Monday has ended, with reports suggesting social media is still blocked and only be accessed through VPN.
The Internet was shut down on Wednesday night, a few hours to go before polling stations opened for Thursday’s general elections.
This was shortly after Facebook apparently suspended hundreds of pro-government Ugandan accounts.
President Yoweri Museveni while commenting about Facebook’s decision said there was no way anyone would come to Uganda and decide what was good or bad.
Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, however, told NBS television that government was still assessing the level of threat before a decision can be taken to restore internet services.
Meanwhile, offices, where agents were gathering material for an election petition, were raided by military officers, the spokesman for Uganda’s biggest opposition party, National Unity Platform (NUP) has said.
Joel Ssenyonyi told the BBC that the party was in the process of collecting election results forms that show evidence of irregularities in last week’s election.
“Each presidential candidate is provided with the DR [declaration results] form, why doesn’t he want to present the DR forms that were given to us by his electoral commission?”, Ssenyonyi questioned.
The opposition said they had photos and video evidence too.
“Mr Museveni knows we have those things that is why he is shutting down the internet; he doesn’t want us to put those things out there for the whole of Uganda and the international community to realise how much of a fraudster he is,” he said.
President Museveni said the poll could be the “most cheating-free” in the history of the African nation.
The EU, the United Nations and several rights groups have raised concerns. Aside from an African Union mission, no major international group monitored the vote.