Sahara Reporters Latest News Sunday 28th April 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 28/04/19
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target=_blank>Nigerian Army To Take N1bn Loan Towards Producing Indigenous Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Buratai Arms Procurement
Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff, has said the Nigerian Army needs N1billion to boost capacity of its vehicle manufacturing company to produce more combat vehicles, which will help to counter terrorists and other insurgents.
Nigeria has recently been bedeviled by different forms of insurgencies: Boko Haram, kidnapping, armed banditry, armed robbery and cattle rustling. But demonstration of locally-made bullet proof ballistic vest, NA Armoured Light Tactical Vehicle and mine sweeper produced by the Nigerian Army Vehicle Manufacturing Company (NAVMC) showed that the military will soon be better equipped to stem the challenge.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the Nigerian Army Combat Arms Training Week on Saturday at the shooting range of Nigerian Army Infantry Corp, Jaji, Buratai revealed that the Army would take a loan from its “number of investments that have been generating huge amounts of money”, for the purpose.
“The innovations by the Nigerian Army in the areas of equipment production, localizing and bringing back vehicles and equipment that are hitherto abandoned, is another major achievement that we recorded,” he said.
“You have been promised by the Group Managing Director of NAVMC that in the next three to four months, we should have brand new vehicles originally produced by the Nigerian Army for use in the Army and the general public that may find it useful, especially the paramilitary agencies. This, we believe, will transform the Nigerian Army and Nigerian industrial companies when we start mass production.
“We are already sourcing the sum of N1billion to support the Nigerian Army Vehicle Manufacturing Company. We a have a number of investments in the Army that have been generating huge amounts of money and we will take a loan from there to support Nigerian Army Vehicle Manufacturing Company to realize our dream of producing indigenous armoured fighting vehicles and to continue to maintain our existing equipment.”
Barnabas Bala Bantex, the Acting Governor of Kaduna State, commended the Military and the Police on their efforts to ensure peace in the state.
“The Nigerian Army and Police have helped to keep Nigeria and Kaduna safe,” he said. “They have helped in combating terrorism, armed banditry, kidnapping and other forms of insecurity.”
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target=_blank>Nigeria Cannot Have Free And Fair Elections Unless A Revolution Takes Place, Says Sowore
Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 general election, has said that it is impossible to have free and fair elections in the country unless a revolution happens.
He made the revelation while sharing his experience at the polls on Arise News TV’s ‘The Morning Show’.
Explaining the urgency of the situation at hand, Sowore said: “Nigerians must understand that unless something drastic happens, we cannot have elections that are won on the basis of ideas.
“They have destroyed the basis for any progressive politics. You cannot have a country where young people who are brilliant, who have ideas, are told to run for councillor while people with antiquated ideas are recommended to be presidential candidates; that’s why the country is the way it is.
“Unless a revolution happens in this country same way they had in Sudan or probably Algeria, it’s going to be difficult to have free and fair elections. And I’m saying it so that we are not under any illusion that somehow if we continue to talk — it is not a battle of wits — that the democratic space will open up for us to have a country where good people, great ideas can lead the country.”
When asked if he would have won the election if the younger candidates had come together to present one candidate, he said: “No. Look we had a formidable force but we didn’t have an electoral process which could help those forces to become something. The voting that took place at polling is not what was reported at the collation centres.”
Sowore said he was not challenging the results of the election in court because “we do not have the capacity to go back to their own court rooms run by their own people and expect that you will get justice”.
“They own the courts, they own the judges and that’s why I said earlier that something will give in in this country,” he added.
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target=_blank>Police Rearrest Emilie, Anambra’s ‘Most Wanted Kidnapper’ And ‘Killer’ Of Chikelue Iloanusi’s Father
Ikechukwu Emilie, a notorious Kidnapper who allegedly killed one Pa Iloanyusi, the then 85-year-old father of former Super Eagles player Chikelue Iloanusi in 2014, has been arrested by the Anambra State Police Command.
The Police in the state had named him the “most wanted kidnapper”.
Confirming the arrest, Haruna Miuhammed, spokesman of the Anambra State Police Command, said the suspect jumped from three-storeyed hotel building and since then, all efforts to rearrest him were futile. The Police said he was arrested on Saturday at about 1:30pm,as he had allegedly been terrorising Anaku and Otoucha axes of Anambra State. Emilie was rounded up at Phix motel, Abagana, where he jumped down from a three-storeyed hotel building with handcuff and escaped since 2014. His arrest follows an intelligence report from police detectives attached to the Command’s Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS).
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target=_blank>Citizens Should Not Complain About The Kind Of Leadership They Tolerate, Says Sam Adeyemi
Sam Adeyemi, Senoir Pastor of Daystar Church, has asked Nigerians to compel their leaders to make policies that will empower the citizens, or replace them.
He made gave the charge while tweeting @sam_adeyemi on Saturday.
Adeyemi praised Sudan for taking action against their President and the Military through protest.
His tweet reads: “Lessons learnt from Sudan. Citizens should not complain about the kind of leadership they tolerate. Also, it’s not enough to replace a leader with another member of the elite class. Leaders must be compelled to make policies and spend money to empower citizens. #Leadership””We must go past participating in governance only during elections to deepen our democracy. We must engage public servants from the beginning to the end of their tenures, demanding for good quality service, especially at local levels. We need more rallies and town hall meetings””On my previous tweet. It’s not only for Nigerians. My followers on social media span all continents. I try to specify when I write to Nigerians only. We can learn even from failure. Credit to the Sudanese, they continued their protest when the military replaced their president”.
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E2%80%94-ortom-invites-citizens-pray-and-fast-against-killings-benue target=_blank>‘Devil Is To Blame’ — Ortom Invites Citizens To Pray And Fast Against Killings In Benue
Governor Ortom
Samuel Ortom, the Governor of Benue State, has called on people in the state to seek divine intervention to the rising crime in the state, which he identified as the work of the “devil”.Orton made the appeal appeal on Saturday at the NKST Church, Iortyer in Makurdi, capital of the state. He encouraged the people to participate in a one-week prayer and fasting programme organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in conjunction with the state government, starting next Monday, stressing that only the devil could instigate human beings to kill and destroy.“We must therefore collectively approach the throne of grace by going into sincere prayers coupled with repentance and sustained fasting particularly against the rising wave of crime because such problems emanate from the spiritual realm,” he said.“We cannot afford to fail Benue; like the Bible says, greater is the end of a thing than the beginning, and in that regard we will ensure that at the end of our second term in office, Benue people will have every cause to rejoice.”
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target=_blank>Will Our Generation Fail Too? By Senami Kojah
Senami Kojah
Senami Kojah
Earlier this week, the grey book while pouring into the English Mic acknowledged a truth which misplaced-reverence prevents many young Nigerians from speaking.”…my generation has failed Nigerians”- Wole SoyinkaThis failure reflects in the refusal to reject disastrous policies and the sickening love for custom made oppression.Like the Structural Adjustment Programme introduced in 1986 by Ibrahim Babangida with support from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; in the time of that very strange alliance, the Naira depreciated by up to 80% against the US Dollar and has never recovered.Or like when the lean general was elected; that faded Khaki who strings along as the puppeteers in the rock blow the country to smithereens one bad decision after the other.They have failed, but will you?The first failure that has bloodied the hand this generation is execution of idea’s at dawn.You stained your hands when you refused to participate in the 2019 general elections by contesting or voting based on idea’s and not sentiments or political party.
Redemption CallEvery day, the system encounters a glitch; a policeman that needs an anti-virus installed in his brain or a politician that needs to be restored to factory setting.You don’t like it when your President does election giveaways to other African countries when your election cycle is riddled with incompetence, what will you do about it?I heard you hate it when he hops on metal birds for unexplained ‘private visits’, what will you do about it?I’m aware the road in your part of town consumes it’s makers but what will you do about it?So before you lit a candle on your Facebook DP, create a group and rally, take the fight to the one who brought it to you.Before you resign in utter and complete hopelessness, pick a form and register to join a revolutionary party.In case all these rattle the chains to which you are bound with and upsets you, you can start small by joining the e-warriors association of Nigeria. Whatever your lot, thirty years from now when you have by your gifting and talents conquered the world, when you sit by that exalted Mic; I hope your song is not a dirge.Go and Succeed!Senami Kojah is a Writer, Journalist and Public Affairs Analyst who writes from Lagos.Kojahs2000@gmail.com
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target=_blank>JAMB To Release UTME Results ‘Anytime Next Week’
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has told all candidates who sat for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination that they will be able to view their results anytime from April 29.
The 2019 UTME was conducted from April 11 to April 18, and over 1.8 million candidates registered for it. Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Board’s Head of Media and Publicity, said this in Abuja on Saturday.
“We are still screening but hopefully, anytime next week, the results will be ready,” he said. “Normally, results are expected to be out within 24 to 48 hours as obtained in previous examinations held in 2017 and 2018.
“However, the board does not want this to be business as usual. Hence the programmed delay, which is part of its deliberate effort to properly scrutinize, identify and address all forms of examination malpractice. The board will continue to act decisively with regards to any irregularity discovered even after results are released.”JAMB said that effective from when it would officially release the results, all candidates can simply send RESULT, via SMS, to 55019 using the same number that was used for registration.The result, it said, would be replied as an SMS shortly after.This process, the board explained, was simplified to eliminate exploitation by business centres and cyber cafés who often take advantage of candidates. JAMB also urged candidates to ignore all messages in circulation on how to check the results, sauing “they were all products of deceit”.
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target=_blank>Father Of 11-Year-Old Boy Killed By Okorocha’s Demolition Thugs Demands N20m Compensation
The father of Somtochukwu Ibeanusi, the 11-year-old boy who was allegedly shot dead by security agents during the demolition of Owerri Main Market on August 27, 2017, has demanded a N20million compensation from the state government.
Isaiah Ibeanusi, the bereaved father, who testified at a public hearing on police brutality, corruption and abuse in southern Nigeria, lamented the nonchalant attitude that the Police have displayed in the handling of his son’s murder.
At the event, organised in Owerri by a civil rights group, Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), Ibeanusi said it was unfortunate that two years after his only son was killed through a stray bullet, no efforts had been made to properly investigate the incident and prosecute the killers.
He accused the Police and the government of paying lip service to the killing of his only son.
Somtochukwu’s father, who asked for N20 million as compensation, said the money would cover all the expenses he incurred, including the burial expenses and N500,000 he reportedly paid for the autopsy.
“The compensation would at least cushion the pains of the loss,” he said. “I want a thorough investigation into the circumstance that led to the killing of my only son. I want justice. I want his killers to be brought to justice.”
In his presentation during the public hearing, Okechukwu Nwanguma, National Coordinator of (NOPRIN), stated that the foundation was committed to ensuring that police brutality and corrupt tendencies are brought to an end.
Nwaguma disclosed that the aim of the public hearing was to make sure that victims of police brutalities get justice.
“We want contributions to the ongoing advocacy and efforts to reform and transform the Nigeria Police from a brutal regime force to a democratic, professional, citizen-friendly, effective and accountable police force that serves and protects the rights and interest of the people,” he said.
“It is worrisome that despite the huge investment of resources, time and energy by civil societies, government and international development partners and foreign governments, police reform efforts have yielded no significant improvement.
“On the part of government, there seems to be more rhetoric than concrete actions. Even though when the government sets up police reform committees, their recommendations are never wholeheartedly implemented.”
Ibeanusi previously spoke of how, a few days after the incident, two State Security Service (SSS) officials believed to be acting on Governor Rochas Okorocha’s orders arrived at his home with an unbelievable message.
“They said I should not tell anyone that my son was killed in Imo, that I should instead tell anyone who asked me that the incident occurred in Rivers State,” he had said.
“They promised to do heaven and earth for me if I complied, but I shouted at them ‘over my dead body’. I told them I wouldn’t do it even if they offered me N10 million. The two of them came again the next day, around 4pm. I walked them out and told them I never wanted to set my eyes on them again!”
He had also said that when Somto’s body was taken to his native Anambra State for burial, Okorocha’s men were in attendance, too, to offer him a compensation of N2million cash. But he rejected it.
“I sent the money back and in addition I sent them two cartons of malt!” he said.
Still desperate to placate Ibeanusi, the state government renamed a part of the under-reconstruction market in honour of his slain son. But it made no meaning to him, still.
“I saw it last week; they put it there: Somto Shopping Mall,” he said in April 2018. “I found it disturbing; I just left the place. You know, it’s just as if this tragedy happened two days ago; I remember it but I don’t like to.”
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E2%80%99s-500000-father-christmas-gift-guinea-bissau-could-provide-50-classrooms-kano target=_blank>Buhari’s $500,000 Father-Christmas Gift To Guinea Bissau Could Provide 50 Classrooms In Kano By Fredrick Nwabufo
Fredrick Nwabufo
Fredrick Nwabufo
It is said: “It is better to give than to receive.” But I think, some giving(s) do not come from the quarters of charity, sacrifice, wisdom or chivalry, but from a place of deep insecurity and delusion of grandeur.
When the purpose of giving is to “maintain an appearance”, then that is a self-esteem problem. Over the years, Nigeria has had Africa as the “centrepiece” of its foreign policy. The country has played supportive and stabilising role in the affairs of most countries on the continent. It took the throttle in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa; it funded the ANC, and provided academic and corporeal sanctuary to the blacks of the country. Today, Nigerians are, perhaps, the most hated people in that country, routinely harassed, abused and intimidated.
Also, in the past, Nigeria provided substantial financial and material support to Chad and Niger; in fact, it has maintained this tradition. But as a matter of fact, these countries have not been very committed in helping Nigeria extirpate Boko Haram. There have been reports of both countries withdrawing their troops from the border areas, where the insurgents are secreted, over issues of “command superiority”.
It is not out of place to play the “big-brother”, but it is unwise to keep playing the role when effort is unrequited and when there is a blistering image problem. Nigeria, today, contributes 15.7 percent to the global poverty rate. It suffers from serious infrastructure denudation and its debt profile is perilously high. And the truth is our depressing situation is known to the world. So, who are we trying to impress? Why must we keep up appearances? Our charity will be counted as foolishness as long as the ranks of the poorest of the poor keep swelling.
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BREAKING: Buhari Donates $500,000 To Guinea Bissau’s Elections
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Where is the logic in a man throwing steak in the marketplace at a time his family is in dire need of protein and suffering from kwashiorkor?
President Buhari’s $500,000 gift to Guinea Bissau for its elections may be well-intentioned, but good intentions do not make great countries. There is no morality in international relations. What does Nigeria hope to get out of this gesture? Countries like, the US and UK, are notorious for putting strings to every act of charity; this is because they understand the law of sowing and reaping. There is no free money anywhere.
However, the $500,000, which is about N180,000,000, could have been much useful in providing about 500 water pumps for the people of Ogugu in Olamboro, Kogi state, who drink from a stream or in building about 50 classrooms in Rimin Kebe, Ungogo local government area, Kano state, where 499 pupils share a single classroom.
Our priorities have always been conflicted. I recall when our athletes had to resort to begging on social media to represent the country at an international event; yet they had a government.
It is bravery to decline a request when the weather is not favourable. And in exigent times, priority must be given to that which is most important. Charity begins at home.
Fredrick is a media personality.
Twitter:@FredrickNwabufo
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World’s Oldest Monarch Dies In Kogi At 116 — After 36 Years On The Throne
Chief Jeremiah Akaava, the Obobanyi of Ohionwa in Ihima, Okehi Local Government of Kogi State, has died at the age of 116.He is reputed to be the oldest monarch in the world.A statement issued by the Ohionwa clan in Lokoja on Saturday said the monarch died in the late hours of Friday.It said the deceased spent 36 years on the throne.
The statement, signed by Mr Yusuf Itopa on behalf of the Ohionwa Clan, described the late monarch as a man who stood for peace, unity and progress of Ohionwa, Ebiraland and Kogi and Nigeria as a whole.
The clan expressed its gratitude to men and women of goodwill who appreciated the late Obobanyi’s role as a unifying force in the land and consequently showed love and respect to him while alive.
The late monarch has since been buried.
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