Sahara Reporters Latest News Tuesday 23rd July 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 23/07/19
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target=_blank>El-Zakzaky: 54 Shiites Arrested, 3 Police Officers Shot, Says Frank Mba
Frank Mbah, Police PRO.
Frank Mba, Force Police Public Relations Officer, has disclosed that 54 of the Shiites members that took part in today’s protest have been arrested.
Mba said this while speaking in an interview with TVCNews.
He also confirmed the death of DCP Umar while adding that two other officers with the rank of DCP were injured in the clash and are currently undergoing treatment.
Mba alleged that the protesters engaged in an indiscriminate attack on innocent citizens and police officers.
He said, “The protesters numbering well over 3,000 came out and without any hurt or provocation, they indiscriminately attacked citizens and policemen on national assignment and embarked on a streak of destruction on national properties.
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BREAKING: Many Injured As Police Clash With Shiites in Abuja, ChannelsTV Reporter Shot
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“The most unfortunate part of today is their use of lethal weapons and DCP Umar was shot and rushed to hospitals where he died.
“Two other DCPs sustained injuries and are currently undergoing medical treatment.
“54 suspects, nine of them females are arrested and are undergoing intense interrogation. As far as we are concerned, they are violent protesters who broke the law of the land.”
The Police PRO stated that the arrested Shiites members are still being profiled and would duly be prosecuted by law.
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BREAKING NEWS: Police Disperse Shiite Protesters With Teargas In Abuja
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He also noted that the police would continue to act within the bounds of the law and obey laid down standard operating procedures when dealing with protesters.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported a clash between the members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), popularly known as Shiite, and the police while the former were protesting to demand the release of their detained leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
The protest, which began from NITEL junction at Wuse 2, was disrupted by armed policemen who had cordoned off the road leading to the National Assembly and three arms zone.
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BREAKING: Deputy Commissioner Of Police Killed In Police, Shiites Clash
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target=_blank>Naira Gains 50 Kobo At Parallel Market
Nigerian Stock ExchangeNigerian Stock Exchange
The naira on Monday gained 50 Kobo to trade at N358.5 to the dollar at the parallel market in Lagos, slightly stronger than N359 traded on Friday.
The Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N458 and N403 respectively.
The naira traded at N360 to the dollar at the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro exchanged at N458 and N403, respectively.
Trading at the investor’s window saw the naira closing at N361.48 to the dollar as market turnover stood at 231.92 million dollars.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the naira had been relatively stable at the parallel market due largely to the interventions of the CBN.
Activities at the market, however, remained slow on Monday as traders await the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the CBN.
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E2%80%94-vc target=_blank>500 Prisoners Enrol With NOUN — VC
No fewer than 500 prisoners are currently enrolled with National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) to study various courses free-of-charge, Prof. Abdalla Adamu, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution has said.
Adamu made this known when he paid a courtesy visit to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Sonny Echono, in the company of the President of Commonwealth of Learning, Prof. Aisha Kanwar.
According to the vice-chancellor, all Nigerian prisoners are entitled to free education under the NOUN up to whatever level they choose to pursue their education.
Earlier, the President of Commonwealth of Learning, Kanwar, appealed to the permanent secretary look into the problem of Nigeria’s non-payment of annual dues to Commonwealth of Learning.
Kanwar also requested that Nigeria should appoint a representative to the Commonwealth of Learning to replace Hajiya Ladi Katagum who had successfully served out her tenure.
Responding, the permanent secretary said provision had been made under the 2019 budget to enable the ministry to meet its obligations to the organisation.
Echono also told the visiting President of the Commonwealth of Learning that the process was ongoing to ensure the replacement of Hajiya Katagum at the Commonwealth.
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target=_blank>El-Zakzaky: Amnesty International Knocks Nigerian Police For ‘Recklessness’ During Shiite Protest
Amnesty International has condemned the use of live bullets to disperse protesting members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).
The police had earlier today cracked-down on the Shiites demanding the freedom of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, killing six, with many left injured.
Reacting to the attack on the protesters, Seun Bakare, Programme Manager at Amnesty International Nigeria, described the police action as “reckless use of lethal force” while calling on the police to exercise restraint in the use of force against protesters.
Bakare said, “This new crackdown is part of a shocking pattern in which security forces have used live ammunition to disperse IMN supporters who are simply exercising their freedom of expression.
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BREAKING: Many Injured As Police Clash With Shiites in Abuja, ChannelsTV Reporter Shot
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“Images of IMN supporters being driven from the streets of Abuja with gunfire demonstrates once again the Nigerian authorities’ resolve to use lethal force rather than the rule of law in addressing the grievances of the IMN.
“The police must exercise restraint at all times and use force only when strictly necessary.”
Amnesty urged the Nigerian government to promptly investigate in an “independent and impartial manner”, the attacks on the Shiites protesters and immediately begin the process to bring all those suspected of criminal responsibility to face fair trials.
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BREAKING NEWS: Police Disperse Shiite Protesters With Teargas In Abuja
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The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) is a Shi’a religious and political organization whose leader, Ibraheem Yaqub El-Zakzaky, has been a proponent of Shi’a Islam in Nigeria since the 1980s. His detention was described by a federal court in December 2016 as unlawful and unconstitutional.
An investigation by Amnesty International in October 2018 showed that the use of excessive force by soldiers and police led to the killing of at least 45 supporters of the IMN over two days. Between 12 and 14 December 2015, according to Amnesty International’s research, more than 350 IMN members were killed by security forces in Zaria, Kaduna State.
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target=_blank>Memo To APC: How Not To Run A Party By Emmanuel Onwubiko
Since 2015, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has had the fortune of a life time to have produced the holder of the office of the president.
Mind you, whichever political formation that forms the central government in Nigeria, is by that fact, a global player following a combination of factors.
First, Nigeria is the country with the largest black population in the world and is a continental giant in terms of its pride of place in the setting up of the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) which gave birth to the current African Union.
Nigeria remains one amongst the few players around the world that contributed significantly to the gaining of self-governments in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
At a time that even the very influential world leaders such as United States of America and United Kingdom saw nothing wrong with supporting white apartheid regimes and white dominated rule in South Africa and Zimbabwe, Nigeria was a key liberating platform relied upon by the then black freedom fighters to wrestle political powers from the white minority regimes just as the strides made by Nigeria and others precipitated the granting of political independence to Zimbabwe in the 1980’s or thereabout.
Nigeria was a factor positively that shaped the emergence of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
But for systemic corruption that has kept Nigeria backwards, the country which is enormously endowed with mineral and human resources would have been able to surmount the groundswell of absolute poverty that afflicts nearly 90 million of her populations.
These aforementioned factors have therefore positioned Nigeria as one of the most significant places on the planet earth which implies that whichever political party that forms the central government must be grounded ideologically and must be led by persons with proven records of integrity, credibility and persons who must be the type that would not tolerate the abuse of the fundamental and institutional tenets and laws that should guide the administration of constitutional democracy in line with global best practices.
Sadly, since coming to power up until now, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has remained a fractious bunch of unlike birds that are compelled to live together under one nest. The APC has become a nests of self-haters and a place whereby the members have engaged each other in unending intra-party crises of unprecedented scale.
The infightening assumed frightening scale since the former labour leader Mr. Adams Oshiomohole became the national chairman just before the last election.
The APC under Oshiomhole can be described as a house of commotion.
It would seem that the national chairman does not tolerate divergent opinions within the hierarchy and is known to have resorted to self-help measures to get at perceived rivals. His closest followers like his publicity secretary seems to be following his dictatorial footsteps and has built his own spheres of influence.
Adams Oshiomhole has also fallen out with some governors, former governors and even some of his fellow national executives to an extent that he activated and supervised the holding of kangaroo trials of such persons with independent opinions on how best to administer the ruling party even as these pre-determined but compromised trials have always led to the expulsion of these persons who are unhappy with the leadership style of the national chairman. The APC is becoming a party of zombies and anyone who tries to think rationally is looked upon as a rebel without a cause and must be dealt with summarily even against the constitution of the party which of necessity has a guarantee for fair hearing which is the major weltanschuung or Worldview (larger picture) of the Nigerian constitution.
Chief John Oyegun, a former governor of Edo state and former national chairman of APC has on many occasions accused the current national chairman of using sledge hammer to deal unduly with perceived independent minded members in a way that offends the constitution of the ruling party. Oyegun has specifically accused Adams Oshiomhole of waging war against Godwin Obaseki his successor in office of governor of Edo state because he (Obaseki) has refused to become the rubber stamp governor.
The deputy national chairman Malam Shuiabu who voiced an opinion asking Oshiomhole to resign for leading the party to record massive defeats to People’s Democratic Party in the governorship polls, was axed by Oshiomhole who deployed illegality to get even with this Deputy Chairman for daring to call him out.
The national chairman has watched as his national publicity scribe also descended on the national vice chairman (north) of APC Inuwa Abdul-Kadir (SAN) and has purportedly expelled him even when the man had gone to the Sokoto state high court to challenge the petition against him sent to the national secretariat from the Sokoto state branch. The hasty announcement of his expulsion was meant to impose a fait accompli on the court which is already adjudicating on the same subject matter. This is certainly unconstitutional and definitely not how to administer a political party.
The issues around the purported expulsion of the vice national chairman of APC are linked to the demand for retraction of a defamation of his character which the vice chairman of APC Malam Inuwa Abdul-Kadir sent to the national publicity secretary of APC Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu who as we stated has made himself a power broker in APC by hook or crook.
Abdul-Kadir had written thus: “My attention had been drawn by several persons to statements credited to you in the course of making a rejoinder to a personal letter written by the Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Lawal Shuaibu to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (hereinafter referred to simply as the Party), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole”.
Abdul-Kadir submitted that in the said rejoinder, as published in various Newspapers and other social media, the publicity scribe was credited with making the following statements concerning Chief John E. Odigbe-Oyegun, former National Chairman of the Party and the entire members of National Working Committee (NWC) of the party that served with him – “The Adams Oshiomhole led All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday said the party lost some states to the PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP) due to the indiscipline and inaction of the National Working Committee (NWC) under Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. The APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, in an interview with journalists, said …the former NWC led by Chief Odigie-Oyegun lacked the courage to confront the political despots who could not operate by the party’s rules”.
In his thinking, Abdul-Kadir says Lanre Issa-Oniru’s statements above no doubt do carry the apparent implication/inference and, indeed were understood as such by all who read them, that all of us who were members of the National Working Committee with Chief John Oyegun are irresponsible persons/officers who are lacking discipline, character and pedigree to hold the offices they occupied by virtue of which were members of the NWC of the party”.
He therefore demanded retraction when he further affirmed that the said publication has greatly lowered his estimation in the eyes of right-thinking members of the society and brought him to underserved public contempt, ridicule and odium.
Categorically, Abdul-Kadir affirmed that: “I have no doubt that the statements you made were on your own volition and deliberately done using your position as the Acting National Publicity Secretary to give official coloration. I so hold this position because I am a member of the current National Working Committee (NWC) led by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, I was duly elected at the National Convention of the party and interestingly, twelve(12) of us out of the twenty-one(21) members of the current NWC served in the Chief John Oyegun-led NWC and I know as a matter of fact that at no material time did the current NWC or any organ of the party meet and consider the tenure of the Chief John Oyegun-led NWC and make conclusions as contained in your statements either before or after your appointment as the Acting National Publicity Secretary Of The Party”.
Another linked issue is the petition from Sokoto state branch of APC which I think resulted from the defeat suffered by the party and the suspicion which is totally unfounded that the vice chairman did not do much to stop his friend Governor Tambuwal who left APC to PDP from winning the polls. But the APC headquarters forgot that Senator Magatakarda Wammako is also a friend of Tambuwal and was indeed the man who put him in office in 2015.
The truth is that the national secretariat of APC has blundered by hurriedly and illegally announcing any form of sanction against the vice chairman Abdul-Kadir who was already in court. Why the hurry? Why not wait for the due process of the law to be exhausted?
As a law abiding Nigerian, this man illegally expelled had written to the party lamenting the illegality.
Abdul-Kadir wrote as follows: “My attention was drawn to a public statement issued by Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, Acting National Publicity Secretary of my party, The All Progressives Congress conveying a purported decision of the National Working Committee upholding a disciplinary actions of Magajin Gari “A” ward, Sokoto and the party’s Sokoto state Executive Committee against me knowing fully that the basis of the purported decision has been the subject matter of an action filed in suit SS/33/2019 pending at the Sokoto state High Court in which the party, National Chairman, Sokoto state chairman endorsed as defendants and had entered appearances”.
He stated that it will be recalled that just last week, he made public his response to a telephone conversation in the evening of Wednesday 3rd July, 2019 and an invitation letter he subsequently received on Thursday 10th July, 2019 with and from Otunba Niyi Adebayo, the Deputy National Chairman of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) drawing his attention to his inability to appear before his committee on Thursday 4th July, 2019 because at that time he was in Sokoto and on the said appointed date the suit which he filed before the Sokoto state High Court in respect of the said petition/disciplinary action under reference was coming up and did counsel that the matter is subjudice therefore the proper thing to do is to keep the matter in abeyance this I assumed will be respected by the purported meeting of the NWC or even under whatever guise.
In view of the same reason he gave earlier last week, he disclosed that he was still constrained to comment on the propriety of the purported meeting of the NWC and decision therefrom but as a professional and responsible Nigerian citizen who is a stickler for rule of law not rhetoric, he will keep his patience for justice to prevail notwithstanding that the wheel of justice grinds slowly but certainly surely”
He spoke further: “I would like to assure our members nationwide and other well-wishers who knew of my leadership credentials and repose confidence in me and elected me twice as the National Vice Chairman (North West) of the party that I will not be deterred in upholding the tenets of justice and fairness for public good either as a party executive or elsewhere”.
This certainly is not how to run a party. These self inflicted infighting and disputes are unnecessary and constitute grave distraction to President Muhammadu Buhari. The President who is the leader of APC should play his objective fatherly role by calling the National chairman and the National Publicity Scribe to order.
*Emmanuel Onwubiko heads HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and blogs@www.emmanuelonwubiko.com,www.huriwa.blogspot.com,www.thenigerianinsidermews.com.
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target=_blank>Kabir-Yusuf, PDP Tender 241 Exhibits Against Ganduje At Tribunal
Abba Kabir-Yusuf, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the March 23 Governorship election in Kano State, has tendered 241 exhibits before the state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, NAN reports.
Kabir-Yusuf made the legal move on Monday.
Kabir-Yusuf and his party, the PDP, are challenging the declaration of Dr Abdullahi Ganduje of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election.
Named as respondents in the petition are Ganduje, APC and INEC.
The petitioners’ Counsel, Mr Adeboyega Owomolo, SAN, who tendered the exhibits before the tribunal, said his team hoped to bring additional exhibits to prove their case.
Owomolo told the court that among the exhibits were certified true copies of results sheets from polling units contained in form EC8As, EC8Bs from Albasu, Bebeji, Bichi, Danbatta, Garun Malam, Gwarzo, Karaye, Kura, Madobi, Nasarawa, Rano, Rogo, Sumaila, Tudun Wada and Warawa Local Government Areas of the state among others.
Counsel to the respondents, Mr Offiong Offiong, and Ahmad Raji, both SANs, had opposed tendering of the exhibits.
Offiong told the court that the petitioners had brought to court bags and not certified copies of the election results.
“The petitioners did not make the documents available for us to see, they only brought out bags, I am only concerned with the content,” he said.
However, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Halima Shamaki, dismissed the objection and accepted the documents as exhibits and adjourned sitting to July 23, for the continuation of hearing.
According to NAN, no fewer than 785 witnesses are expected to appear before the election tribunal to testify for both the APC and PDP on the conduct of the March 2019 governorship election in the state.
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target=_blank>Dakolo Vs Fatoyinbo: Police Transfer Case To Lagos For Thorough Investigation
The Nigeria Police Force has ordered the transfer of the ongoing rape allegation case by Busola Dakolo against Biodun Fatoyinbo, Founder and Senior Pastor of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly church.
Mohammed Adamu, Inspector-General of Police, gave the order on Monday. He directed DIG Michael Ogbizi, Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Yaba, Lagos to take over the case.
Adamu, in a statement released by Frank Mba, Force PPRO, also stated that the transfer would ensure a speedy and thorough investigation into the rape petition against Fatoyinbo as well as “investigation of the complaint made by Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo against the Dakolos.”
The Nation newspaper also reported that the transfer of the case would provide personal supervision to all parts of the investigation to ensure justice and fair-hearing to all the parties.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported the invasion of Dakolo’s apartment by some personnel of the Police in an attempt to whisk the couple to Force Headquarters, Abuja.
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UPDATE: Policemen Ask Busola Dakolo To Recant Confession Against Fatoyinbo By Signing Document
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The police, however, stated that its officers only went to deliver an invitational letter to the celebrity couple adding that the letter is “not synonymous with a warrant of arrest, and must not be construed to be one.”
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target=_blank>BREAKING: Deputy Commissioner Of Police Killed In Police, Shiites Clash
A deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations in the FCT was reportedly killed in Shiite, police clash on Monday, ThePunch reports.
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BREAKING: President Buhari In Emergency Meeting With Security Chiefs Over Shiites Protest
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target=_blank>BREAKING: President Buhari In Emergency Meeting With Security Chiefs Over Shiites Protest
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President Muhammadu Buhari is currently holding a meeting with Nigeria’s security chiefs at the presidential villa in Abuja.
The meeting follows a clash between the Nigeria Police Force and the members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) which happened on Monday afternoon.
The meeting reportedly started at 4pm on Monday.
Details later…
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Court Dismisses Kalu’s Motion To Adjourn N4.6bn Fraud Trial
Kalu with his lawyer at Federal High Court, Lagos
Kalu with his lawyer at Federal High Court, Lagos
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The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos has dismissed the motion for an adjournment made by Orji Uzor Kalu, the senator representing Abia North senatorial district, to enable him to attend to election petition tribunal.
Kalu alongside Ude Udeogo, his former Commissioner for Finance, and Slok Nigeria Limited are answering charges bordering on money laundering and embezzlement preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The trial on Monday was scheduled for the senator to opened his defence on the allegation of money laundering and embezzlement.
However, when the trial commenced, the senator asked the court for an adjournment which was opposed by Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the prosecuting counsel.
Justice Mohammed Idris, the presiding judge, ruled in support of the prosecution and asked Kalu to open his defence as that was the stipulated business of the day.
Kalu took the witness stand and gave testimony on his credentials before becoming a lawmaker. He was led in evidence by his lawyer, Awal Kalu (SAN).
Thereafter, Kalu’s counsel repeated his motion for an adjournment to enable him properly give evidence in his defence.
This time, the trial judge granted the motion but insisted that the trial would continue on a day-to-day basis until it is concluded.
Recall that Justice Idris was elevated to the Court of Appeal in June 2018, but was given a fiat to sit on the case until its conclusion.
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Court Issues Fiat To Nigerian Judge To Hear Senator Orji Kalu’s Criminal Trial
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The first fiat was granted at the instance of Kalu’s Lawyer, who activated Section 396(7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, to prevent the case from being transferred to another judge. However, the fiat expired in November 2018.
A copy of a fresh fiat was issued for the trial to continue on a day-to-day basis from July 22, 2019, until the trial is concluded.
On July 31, 2018, Justice Idris dismissed the ‘no-case submissions’ made by Kalu and the other defendants and ordered them to open their defence.
But rather than open their defence, Kalu sought a six-week adjournment to embark on a trip to Germany to have surgery for an undisclosed ailment.
The defendants later challenged the jurisdiction of the judge in hearing the case, arguing that he was no longer a judge of the high court.
They also filed an application seeking a stay of proceedings pending the outcome of their appeals. Justice Idris dismissed both.
Subsequently, when Kanu did not make himself available for his trial, Justice Idris revoked his bail. The judge also ordered him to submit himself to the EFCC within 24 hours of his return to the country.
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Court Revokes Orji Kalu’s Bail
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On January 23, 2019, when the case last came up in court, the prosecutor complained about Kalu’s repeated absence from court, alleging that the former governor, then a senator-elect was taking the court for a ride. The EFCC’s lawyer also noted that despite the court’s order, Kanu did not turn himself in, as directed by the court.
But in response, Justice Idris said he could not proceed with the case as the fiat given to him by the Appeal Court President had expired in November 2018.
The trial has now been adjourned to August 26, 2019, for the commencement of a day-to-day trial.
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