Sahara Reporters Latest News Wednesday 24th April 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 24/04/19
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target=_blank>Boat Driver Commits Suicide In Bayelsa After Disagreeing With His Lover
Alabo Enai, a 29-year-old boat driver from Kemme town in Twon-Brass area of Brass Local Government Council, has committed suicide over alleged deterioration of his relationship with his lover.
The deceased was reported to have hanged himself with a strong fishing rope in his compound at about 1am on Easter Sunday. He was discovered by his lover.
His lover, identified as Blessing, an indigene of Ologbobiri in Southern Ijaw Area of the State, came back from an Easter party in Twon Brass and met the deceased hanging from the rope.
“Blessing started knocking from door to door with alarm that she did not know what his lover was doing with rope round his neck,” a community source told SaharaReporters.
“People rushed out and met him dead. But there was no suicide note. We later gathered from her that they had been having issues over her decision to relocate to her community in Southern Ijaw.
“After he complained about her decision, she reportedly changed her mind and decided to stay. On the fateful day, she said she asked him to come along with her for the Easter show. He declined and told her to have fun.”
The saddened lover, a salesgirl within the community, reported the incident at the police station in Twin Brass.
Samuel James, the Youth Leader of Kemme-town, also confirmed the development, saying although the deceased has been buried after necessary traditional rites, the incident remains a sad and mysterious one.
He said the family performed the traditional rite of hanging a white goat till it gave up the ghost as a sign of cleansing the land before the deceased was buried along with the dead goat.
“It is believed that if the deceased boat driver is brought down and buried without the cleaning rite, other members of his family would die mysteriously,” he said.
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target=_blank>Man Nabbed While Trying To Sell His Male Child For N200,000, Female For N150,000
Edet Essien Inyang, a 30-year old, has been nabed by the police in Calabar for attempting to sell two of his children to escape poverty.
Edet reportedly took his two children, one male and one female, to Murray Street where he sought buyers to enable him raise money.
An eyewitness identified simply as Ekem recounted his experience with Edet shortly before he was nabbed: “He came here with the children and asked after one rich man on this street and when he did not see the man we asked him what he was looking for the man for and he said was looking for someone to buy his two children. He said the male child is N200, 000 sand the female N150,000.”
Shocked at Edet’s disclosure, Edem said in order to stop him from taking the children somewhere to sell they had to “delay him while making efforts to contact the Police at Atakpa Police Station which is close by, and immediately sent a team to arrest him”.
“He said he is from Akwa Ibom State but resides in Using Inyang in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State,” Edem added.
At the Atakpa Police Station, the Divisional Police Officer confirmed the arrest of the man, saying the matter had been transferred to the State Criminal Division at the Police Command headquarters for further investigations.
DSP Irene Ugbo, spokesman of the Police Cross River, said she was yet to be briefed on the matter.
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target=_blank>Pregnant Widow, Five Others Arrested With N7m Worth Of Adulterated Petroleum Products
Authorities of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have arrested and paraded a pregnant widow and five others over alleged illegal bunkering and sale of adulterated fuel, kerosene, and diesel in some parts of Bayelsa State.
The suspects, identified as Mrs Udumudeno Omenuwome, a pregnant woman, and Messrs Yaya Anerohm, Lateefa Hamza, Ahmed Zibiri and Mr.Kelvin Owere, were arrested at Trofani in Sagbama and Okaki junction in Yenagoa, the Baylesa capital.
They were arrested with illegal products stacked in sacks estimated to be 33,000 litres in volume with a market value of over N7million.
The arrested widow claimed she resorted to the sale of the adulterated product as a means of livelihood.
While Oriade Clement claimed ignorance of the implications of their act on the unsuspecting Nigerians, the other suspects pleaded for leniency with a promise to turn a new leaf by engaging in a meaningful venture henceforth.
While parading the suspectsIdeba Pedro, the Bayelsa State Commandant of NSCDC, reaffirmed the command’s readiness to flush out illegal bunkering activities in the state.
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target=_blank>Spoken Word: The Change We Need In Nigeria By Hannatu Musawa
It’s amazing to think that four years ago, Nigerians were deep in the fray of politics and the opposition was chanting the change mantra. Since then, a lot has happened. Now that the APC ruling party has been in office for a full term, Nigerians are beating down the doors of government asking to see where the change is. As I, myself, reflect on where exactly that change is, I want to tell you a short story…
“…Some time ago, back when there was rabid fuel scarcity, I did something that I am not too proud of.
Driving with a low tank of fuel, I was forced to head to a fuel station. Arriving at the fuel station, I met an incredibly long queue, of which I joined. With the queue not moving and having been there for a while, I concluded that queuing at the station indefinitely was not an option I was willing to embrace. So, I decided to leave the queue and drive up to the station. As I approached the station, lots of young men offering black-market fuel approached me. I thought about obliging the black-market trade fleetingly, but eventually decided against it. I settled on cutting my losses, going home and sending a driver to join the queue instead. But then, a well-dressed middle-aged man approached my vehicle and asked if I wanted fuel from the station.
“Yes,” I replied without hesitation…“But the queue is too long. I will just go home and send a driver to join,” I said.
“I work at the station and I can let your car in to fill your tank now, now Ma… for a small amount,” Offered the man.
I understood perfectly what he was offering and, I must admit, it didn’t take me long to decide whether I was going to accept his offer or not. Yes, I was going to get the tank filled now!
I had justified the trade in my mind; you see… It had been a long, tiring day and I had fasted. And paying extra to jump the fuel queue may have been a form of injudiciousness, but it was one I felt I deserved at the time.
So, it was! I followed the man with my car and he led me into the fuel station through a separate entrance. After some motor acrobatics, I aligned my car with the fuel pump and within a few minutes, I had a full tank of fuel in my car. The whole operation took less than ten minutes.
Satisfied and smug, I drove out of the station. Feeling a little guilty and sorry for those I had bypassed on the fuel queue, I turned to look at them. That was when I made contact with a woman in the queue sat in the driver seat. She had three young children in the back seat. The kids looked like they were all under ten years old. The one that looked like the youngest was crying non-stop and the two elder kids seemed to be fighting. Between trying to console the younger child and trying to mediate the fight with the older children, she turned and looked at me. She had the most desperate, forlorn and tired look on her face. She was sweating and looked overwhelmed. That was when a large surge of disappointment followed by utter guilt hit me.
Thinking that I had dishonestly paid a bribe, jumped the queue and shortchanged law-abiding Nigerians, while a woman in her situation had done the right thing by following the queue, despite her circumstance, made me feel so bad, guilty and disgusted with myself. It was then that I had an “A-Ha moment’ about what the change, that so many Nigerians fought to have was. What it symbolized!”
…By God’s Grace, as I sit here and watch my fellow countrymen and women ask where exactly the change is, I am reminded of my misadventure that day in the fuel queue. ?The question shouldn’t be ‘where’ the change is; it should be ‘what’ the change is.
So what is the change? Perhaps it is for every single one of us in this nation to commit ourselves to make a change for the better. As Mahatma Gandhi once advised, every single one of us has a responsibility to be the change we wish to see in our respective communities.
So, when we speak of Nigeria’s urgency to see ‘change,’ whom do we expect that change to come from? The expectation for change has been fixated on the government. A long to-do list has been placed at the foot of the President. But in reality, the wind of change that ushered in a new government in the last election wasn’t so much about voting one man into office. It was about the need of a people to see a change in the very fabric and marrow of their country. And if that is what it was, then it includes every single one of us that considers ourselves a member of the collective known as Nigeria.
We live in a time when people speak about requests in terms of needs, needs in terms of rights, and rights in terms of entitlements. Government, and government alone, is thought compelled to provide the expected change. And while such an expectation may be valid, to a large extent, we have to refer to the very concept of responsibility and accountability when we speak of the mantra of change that Nigerians yearn for.
To be responsible is to be answerable for one’s action. When one acknowledges a legitimate call to do something, one has a duty to react. Accountability rests not only on a genuine call for action, but also in the ability to heed the call. Just as the President, all those elected into office and the respective governments have a responsibility to us and to the nation, we each also have a responsibility to every other Nigerian and to the nation at large. Once both the government and Nigerians accept the call for action, which we did when we voted for change, then we all have that responsibility to heed its call. What happened in the elections of 2015 was Nigeria’s call. What we did in voting for change was to heed that call. Now we have a responsibility to follow it through.
Indeed, our democracy has seen a nation’s call for change. Nigerians heeded and opted for that change. But our responsibility doesn’t stop after the inaugurations.
Responsibility doesn’t usually come from one single establishment or one union. Individuals in a family or a community bear the responsibility to care for its members, in the same way that the friends, neighbors, leaders and governments do.
Although we should all have expectations for the government to implement policies, which will make our existence as Nigerians more comfortable, we should be aware that we each have a role to play in that journey to change. Every single Nigerian has a role to play in actualizing change.
While government has a great responsibility to attain the parameters needed for us to grow and flourish, one must be realistic and keep in mind that government isn’t solely liable for taking care of every single one of us in our communities, neighborhoods and families. That obligation is the responsibility of every single one of us as participants in a variety of relationships and overlapping communities. One will intrinsically be indebted to fellow members by a shared principle, which unites their community and, as members of a shared community, we must rely on each other to attain common objectives. That would entail making claims upon each other as we collectively strive to satisfy the ideals our society struggles to actualize.
A government safety-net is there to make available, liberty, service and social justice, but it cannot give personal attention, on-the-ground instincts, or the flexibility sometimes required in an emergency situation. Governments’ responsibility and accountability has to be met by each of our communities and each one of us individually.
The fact that we are aware of government policies being put in place to effect the much-needed change may work to our disadvantage if we don’t value the social contract we have with each other and our communities. Because it may lead us each to relax our own social responsibility in the misleading belief that someone else is holding the forte.
As a nation, we are persons existing in a community, not self-standing individuals. People are not islands and we deny an important feature of our humanity once we approach it as such. Each of us shares some manner of link to one another; every one of us exists in a human society. Our actions have a domino effect on Nigeria and, thus, each have central moral obligations towards our collective.
Part of the government’s role is to employ public judgment when it comes to justice. The connection between government and its citizens is one of equal standing and protection under the law. We have got to understand that the government’s responsibility is not to be the sole harbinger of change. We each have that responsibility also.
Let us say that the government is able to achieve some of its main objectives in its change manifesto and I, as a part of this huge collective, continues to jump the fuel queue, as does the next person and the next person, then the expectation of change is incapacitated and untenable; purely because we didn’t play our part. It is like a big jigsaw puzzle and we each represent a piece of it. Any of the expectations we have towards government, as far as change goes, has got to start with us… each one of us.
If every single one of us, in our capacity as Nigerians, can make a change that will make Nigeria better, then we will see the change we so yearn for. If not, then it doesn’t matter what policies the government puts in place; there will never be change.
I don’t believe that change only comes in the form of a rescue package by government nicely wrapped in a bow. It no longer only means a list of executives with the exquisite cerebral capacity to make decisions to transform the economy. It is no longer who makes or doesn’t make the Ministerial, Ambassadorial or Executive lists. It is about each and every single one of us doing the right thing by making a change in an area that we know disadvantages the nation.
As long as we are talking about government responsibility to deliver change, we must also examine our own personal irresponsibility, which has an effect on that change. Besides government, we also have a collective responsibility to provide a better example so that those who come after us aren’t propelled toward bad choices or precedents.
While I am waiting to see the government finish putting into effect its policies of change, I’m determined never to jump a fuel queue or any other queue again, by the Will of The Almighty.
When it is clear that Nigeria will never change if we sever our desire for change at the threshold of government alone; when we know that our self-destructive behavior batters the mantra of change that Nigerians chanted for one year ago, is it not time we end our own personal unprogressive conduct?
The change that Nigeria desperately needs starts when I, Hannatu Musawa, don’t pay a bribe to jump the fuel queue. The change starts with every single one of us… and it must start now!
Spoken Word Article Written byHannatu Musawa
I invite you to:Follow me on Twitter- @hanneymusawaFollow me on Instagram- hanneymusawaFollow me on Snapchat- hannatumusawaSend me an e-mail- hannatumusawaspokenword@gmail.com
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target=_blank>‘We’ll Change Our Style Soon’, Shi’ites Warn Nigerian Govt As They Mark El-Zakzaky’s Birthday With Protest
Members of Islamic Movement Of Nigeria (IMN) on Tuesday in Abuja warned the Nigerian Government not to push them to the wall in their demand for the release of their spiritual leader, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.
The group disclosed this during a procession to mark the 68th birthday of El-Zakyzaky and 1,224 days of his detention.
According to Shaikh Sidi Munnir from Sokoto State, a member of the movement who spoke to journalists, the movement would change its style and move to another step if the government fails to release their leader.
When asked what will be the next line of action of the movement if the government continues to keep him in detention, he said: “I am sure we will not be doing this kind of procession to call for the release of our leader; we will move to another step.
“If they push us to the wall, that means if they hold on to our leader and refuse to release him, the style will change. We will not only be protesting to call for the release of our leader. The story will change.”
He expressed optimism that President Muhammadu Buhari, with his next level slogan, will rescind his decision and release him from the detention.
He also called on well-meaning Nigerians and International community to intervene as a matter of urgency and necessity.
He added that the movement embarked on the rally to commemorate the 68th birthday anniversary of their leader even though he is in detention.
Also speaking, Abdullahi Isa Mohammad, Secretary of the Academic Forum of the movement, said the refusal of the government to release El-Zakyzaky has further increased the popularity of the leader and the movement.
He noted that the movement has achieved a lot with the protest by exposing the injustice being perpetrated by the government and creating awareness on the extrajudicial killings of their members by the security operatives.
He added that the continuous violation of rule law by the President has launched the movement to reckoning within and outside the country. He said that the movement will not give up on its demand.
“He has violated all the laws of the land, including an order by the court of competent law which is the Federal High Court that ordered for the freedom of our leader,” Muhammad said.
“They are keeping El-Zakzaky in their custody but El-Zakzaky movement is at the doorstep of the villa and is on the streets of Abuja and everywhere in the whole world. They have done nothing but increase the momentum of the movement to the other level.
“We have exposed the secrets of the government and told the masses what happened with this peaceful protest. So we don’t care if it continues for another four years, but all we know is that Sheik Zakzaky is in their custody and is our leader and we are ready to die for this cause.”
El-Zakzaky was born on 15 Sha’aban, 1372 (which corresponds to May 5, 1953) in Zaria. The word ‘Zakzaky’ means ‘Man from Zazzau’, and Zazzau or Zaria is an ancient City in Nigeria.
He attended prestigious Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, studying Economics and graduating with a First Class in 1979.
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target=_blank>Bindow Makes U-Turn, Files Petition At Election Tribunal After Congratulating Fintiri
Jibrilla Bindow, the incumbent Governor of Adamawa State, has at last approached the Adamawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in a move to overturn results of the governorship election in the state.
Bindow rescinded his earlier congratulatory message to Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, the Governor-Elect, and instituted a legal action challenging the latter’s victory at the polls.
In a statewide broadcast on March 29, Bindow had congratulated Fintiri on his election as Governor-Elect after Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said he polled 336,386 votes compared to Fintiri’s 376,552.
However, the latest twist is that Bindow is asking for an order of the tribunal to either declare him the winner of the governorship election or order a fresh conduct of the polls in the state. He premised his argument on the claim that results from seven Local Government Areas were marred with various electoral irregularities.
Umar Duhu, former All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice chairman (Northeast), who is an ally of the Governor, announced Bindow’s position in Yola on Tuesday.
“Yes, the Governor congratulated the PDP candidate, but new facts at our disposal signal otherwise about our purported loss,” he said.
“There was over-voting in almost all the seven local governments, according to facts obtained from (INEC) records. We strongly believe that there were massive irregularities in those local governments, and I can assert that by the time the issues are properly determined we’ll reclaim our mandate.”
He attributed some of the party’s ordeal to some members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s immediate family, alleging thus: “Some members of Mr. President’s family are romancing with the opposition here in the state.
“I can tell you that the so-called town hall meeting by the wife the President was all about conferring legitimacy on the so-called victory of the PDP Governorship Candidate.”
Duhu further berated the Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO) for “undermining the unity of the APC as revealed in the proposed list of prospective appointees forwarded to the President for consideration into the new federal cabinet”.
“From what we have learnt, all the 20 names presented to the President for consideration as ministers or other aides are people drawn from the defunct CPC bloc; and I think it is dangerous,” he said.
“I therefore make bold to assert again that if Mr. President allows the trend, it will destroy the APC. We all labored to wrest power, therefore we should all be carried along.”
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target=_blank>Pay Us Our Benefits Before You Leave, Radio Lagos, Television Retirees Beg Ambode
Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State, has been implored to pay some retired workers of the Radio Lagos and Lagos television their benefits before leaving office on May 29.
The passionate appeal was made by Biodun Akinbusuyi, spokesman of the the group, on Tuesday while fielding questions from newsmen in Lagos.
Akinbusuyi said that they were transferred from two parastatal-agencies to main service in 2016.
He added that the Lagos State Pension Commission returned the retirees’ files to the two parastatal-agencies and said their terminal benefits should be paid by the organisations.
“We are appealing to Ambode to assist the parastatals-agencies by approving the terminal benefits, which is not up to N100 million, before the administration winds down,” he said. “We are not more than 20 retirees affected by this development.”
At the last congress of the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kehinde Bamigbetan, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, had promised the retirees that their terminal benefits would be paid.
He said the ministry would assist in ensuring that issues causing the delay in treating the files of the affected retirees would be sorted out.
He said though Radio Lagos/Lagos television are financially insolvent to pay the retirees’ terminal benefits, the Governor would do his utmost before handing over.
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target=_blank>Shari’a Court In Kaduna Jails Two Ladies For Two Months For Wearing Skimpy Dresses
Two ladies, Farida Taofiq and Raihana Abbas, have bagged two months in prison each for wearing skimpy dresses.
The sentences were handed down to the 20-year-olds by a Shari’a Court II sitting at Magajin Gari, Kaduna State.
Before learning of their fate, the two convicts had pleaded for leniency, saying they won’t repeat the crime.The ladies, who are residents of Argungu road in Kaduna, were convicted after they pleaded guilty to “constituting public nuisance and indecent dressing”.The judge, Mallam Musa Sa’ad-Goma, however, gave the convicts an option to pay N3,000 fine each.Sa’ad-Goma also ordered them to return to their parents’ homes.Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Aliyu Ibrahim, said that Taofiq and Abbas were arrested on April 16, at a black spot along Sabon-Gari Road roaming the streets in skimpy dresses.
“When they were asked where they were going, they said they were going to the house of a friend who had just put to bed,” the prosecution said.
Ibrahim said the offence contravened the provisions of Section 346 of the Sharia Penal Code of Kaduna State.
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target=_blank>Stella Oyedepo, Managing Director Of National Theatre, Dies In Auto Crash
Dr. Stella Oyedepo, Managing Director of the National Theatre in Lagos, has died.
Until her death, she served was MD and the Chief executive Officer of the National Theatre.
She died on Easter Monday while returning to Lagos from an official trip. Her car was said to have rammed into an articulated vehicle in Sagamu along the Benin- Ijebu-Ode Expressway.
Abiodun Abe, the Director in charge of Business Development at the NT, confirmed the development to the media on Tuesday.
He said he and the Public Relations Officer of the NT, Steve Ogundele, and other management staff were taking the corpse of the deceased to Ilorin, her hometown.
Abe added that funeral arrangements will be released soon.
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NCAA To Demolish Globacom Masts, Others’ After 30-Day Ultimatum
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued Globacom Limited and other Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) operators 30 days ultimatum to remove their over 7, 000 masts or risk seeing them demolished.
According to NCAA, the masts, erected at different locations within the country close to the nation’s airports, are obstructing flight safety and can cause accidents if not removed.
A statement by Sam Adurogboye, the General Manager, Public Affairs, NCAA, stated that the regulatory body had written to the different GSM operators, including Globacom, to remove the masts, but they blatantly refused to do so.
Adurogboye also said the companies failed to obtain the statutory Aviation Height Clearance (AHC) from NCAA, stressing that without AHC, all the masts and towers constitute danger to safety of air navigation.
He insisted that under the Civil Aviation Act, 2006, Section 30(3) (1), NCAA is empowered to prohibit and regulate the installation of any structure, which by virtue of its height or position is considered to endanger the safety of air navigation.
He added: “Furthermore, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) Part 12.1.7.1.3.1 stipulates that no person or organisation shall put up a structure (permanent or temporary) within the navigable airspace of Nigeria unless such a person or organisation is a holder of Aviation Height Clearance Certificate granted under this regulation.
“Consequent upon this provision, the regulatory authority requires an Aviation Height Clearance (AHC) approval for every tower installation irrespective of the height and location.
“Contrary to the above regulations, the promoters of GLO telecommunication and these other defaulters have failed to obtain the mandatory Aviation Height Clearance (AHC) from NCAA, which is considered as a violation of safety regulations.”
He declared that several letters and entreaties from NCAA to Globacom Limited and other GSM providers were not responded to, despite that they were duly received by the relevant executives and duly acknowledged.
He insisted that Letters of Investigation (LOI) were written and delivered to all the concerned organisations, but no response recorded till date.
The statement recalled that in a meeting with the Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman, early this year, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) members were candidly advised to ensure they obtain Aviation Height Clearance.
Adurogboye said that this was to reiterate the need for all masts and towers erected in the country to adhere to safety regulation and ensure safety of air navigation.
“At the meeting, Globacom representatives were present and were asked questions concerning GLO’s refusal to obtain Aviation Height Clearance Certificate. In response the delegates demanded to be furnished with the location of the masts. A booklet containing the coordinates and locations of the masts has since been made available to the organisation,” he continued.
“As a result of the meeting, other telecommunications providers have implicitly demonstrated considerable compliance by duly obtaining the requisite height clearance from the authority except for these few defaulters.”
Adurogboye expressed that there are over 40,000 masts and towers in Nigeria, stressing that statutorily, all telecommunications operators should obtain AHC and renew their annual validity, but the owners of over 7,000 masts have refused to comply.
“What this means is that Globacom and these other defaulting GSM providers have been running their networks and providing interconnectivity to millions of subscribers without Aviation Height Clearance Certificate thereby jeopardising safety of air navigation.
“In Part 12.1.7.1.6. the authority shall use all legal means of ensuring the removal of any structure which are erected or constructed without compliance with the provisions of these regulations. A 30-day ultimatum has therefore been given to Globacom Limited and these other defaulters in Nigeria to regularise their operations with NCAA forthwith.”
The statement hinted that if there was no response within the stipulated period, NCAA would immediately embark on mass decommissioning and demolition of all the masts and towers in Nigeria.
He assured that NCAA would continue to provide a level playing field for aviation and related services to thrive in Nigeria, without jeopardizing safety, which he described as critical
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