Sahara Reporters Latest News Saturday 5th October 2019

Sahara Reporters Latest News Saturday 5th October 2019

Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 05/10/19

target=_blank>Ex-Vice Chancellor Abducted In Ondo, N20m Ransom Demanded

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A former Vice Chancellor of the African University in Bayelsa State, Prof Valentine Aleto, has been abducted by gunmen along Elegbeka/Ipele Road in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Prof Aleto was said to be travelling from Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa, in his personal vehicle at about 6:45am on Thursday when the incident occurred.
The suspected kidnappers reportedly appeared on the road and forced him into a shop before he was taken into the bush.
It was gathered that the abductors demanded N20m as ransom from the victim’s family to release him, according to a report by Channels TV.
Sources said by the time the police got the information about the incident, the hoodlums had escaped with the professor.
However, security operatives have recovered Aleto’s vehicle and given it to the police in Ifon.
According to the spokesperson for the police in Ondo, Femi Joseph, they had commenced investigation into the incident.
He said, “I can confirm to you that one professor travelling in his personal car was kidnapped along the Elegbeka area in Ose Local Government Area of the state.”

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target=_blank>Borno: Troops Kill Three Terrorists, Recover Ammunitions In Gwoza

Troops of Nigeria Army on Friday ambushed and killed three terrorists and recovered arms and ammunition in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.In a statement on Friday, Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, and 7 Division spokesperson, Col. Ado Isa, said, “Following credible information from some patriotic Nigerians about terrorists movement along Banki Road Junction, Pulka in Gwoza general area, troops of Special Response Area under the Nigerian Army Super Camp Gwoza, in collaboration with Civilian Joint Task Force, conducted a successful night ambush on Thursday, which resulted in the neutralisation of three terrorists, recovery of two AK 47 rifles and two motorcycles.
“Uncomfirmed number of terrorists were reportedly wounded during the ambush.
“There was no casualty on the side of the Nigerian Army or Civilian JTF.
“Items recovered by troops include two AK 47 rifles and two motorcycles. “Similarly, at about 2250 hours on Thursday, in what seems like a repraisal attack to avenge the loss of their members in the ambush conducted by the troops, some marauders/criminals woefully attacked the Delta Company Location of the SRA at Pulka.
“Consequently, troops swiftly responded by effectively repelling the attack, one bandit lost his life and one Ak 47 rifle was recovered.
“No casualty was recorded by the Civilia JTF or the troops.”

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E2%80%99s-aggressive-loan-policy-could-worsen-state-banks-%E2%80%93expert target=_blank>CBN’s Aggressive Loan Policy Could Worsen State of Banks –Expert

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The determined drive by the Central Bank of Nigeria to mandate commercial banks to increase lending to the agriculture, manufacturing, SME sectors of the economy could worsen the quality of assets in the Nigerian banking industry.
Adedayo Bakare, an analyst with Afrinvest, said in a chat with SaharaReporters that non-performing loans in the money lending sector is 10 per cent to 100 per cent above the CBN’s threshold of five per cent.
This, he believes, would only get worse with the apex bank’s insistence that banks should make 65 per cent of their deposit loans to the real sector.
He said, “The CBN threshold is five per cent, but the actual performance is 10 per cent.
“The bad loans in the system are already too much. The CBN is saying you cannot do above five per cent, the industry is doing above 10 per cent.
“It could get worse for banks if they are not careful or relax their risk management.”
In a show of force, the CBN fined 12 banks over N499bn for failing to give out 60 per cent of their deposit as loans by September 30, 2019.
Bakare said the move was not necessarily good for the health of the lenders as the volume of cash they could borrow to customers had been depleted.
Bakare also noted that the commercial lenders are already forced to keep 22.5 per cent of their deposit with the CBN.
He added, “This means the banks can only draw on 77.5 per cent of their deposit on paper which is actually lower in practice.
“For every N100 deposit that bank’s collect from the public, you must keep N22.50 with the CBN and CBN does not give them any interest on that. It is out of N77.50 they must do their lending.
“In practice, it is actually higher than 22.5 per cent. Deposits will fluctuate on a daily basis, when deposits reduce, CBN is not going to give them more money.
“If you are taking an extra N500bn from these banks, it means you are reducing their liquidity.
“They might start relaxing their requirements and taking on more risks, which means there is more potential for loans to go bad.
“Banks will lend more but I don’t think they are going to meet their 65 per cent target.”
Bakare did not completely condemn the CBN’s policy stance but said the market for lending to high risk clients was still weak as credit worthiness remains an issue.
He stated, “The plan is not necessarily bad because every economy requires credit to be able to grow.
“Before banks lend to the real economy, there must be an improvement in terms of the credit worthiness of the people.
“The agric sector which the CBN thinks they want to encourage lending, the farmers are not paying back.
“In a bid to improve the chances that a small business holder will gain access to loans from banks, PMB signed the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act, 2017.
“This allows small businesses to use items of value other than buildings.”
Bakare however noted that the act has not been taken advantage of.

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E2%80%99ll-be-anarchy-unless-dss-obeys-court-orders-group-warns target=_blank>There’ll Be Anarchy Unless DSS Obeys Court Orders, Group Warns

The Initiative for Citizens’ Rights, Accountability and Development has said that the Department of State Services must begin to obey court orders otherwise there will be anarchy.
The organisation, through its Executive Director, Hassan Luqman, said this in a press statement.
Luqman lamented the rate at which the security agency disregards the rule of law, saying it is becoming “worrisome, scary and unhealthy”.
He said, “Rights to liberty and dignity of human persons are superior rights. They cannot be taken for granted by any arm of government or their agencies. Even the holder of such rights cannot sign them away as they are inalienable.
“It is, therefore, worrisome, scary and unhealthy, the rate at which the DSS is disobeying and disregarding these rights.
“Once there is a valid order of the court, it must be obeyed. Otherwise, there will be anarchy.
“The DSS had the opportunity of telling the court why Sowore should not be released.
“But the court, rightly so, thought otherwise after considering the strength of the cases of both Sowore and the DSS.
“After all, the most imperative consideration the court is expected to have in an application for bail is the availability of the applicant to face trial.
“The case of Omoyele Sowore is a clear example of abuse of power, disregard for rule of law and desecration of the sacred temple of justice.
“As if DSS has not done enough by its flagrant disobedience of court orders; the agency sunk to new low when contrary to all known civility, desecrated the temple of justice by rough-handling Sowore inside the courtroom in the glare of the public while the latter was granting press interview after his arraignment on September 30, 2019.
“Even if the DSS and its operatives think and behave like slave masters and see all of us as slaves and conquered people, they ought to exercise restraint in the face of the world.
“They ought to be wary of the image they give out about Nigeria and its human rights credentials.”
Sowore has been in DSS detention since August 3, 2019 when he was arrested in Lagos for calling on Nigerians to take to the streets in peaceful demonstrations to express their displeasure at the poor state of governance in the country.
He was granted bail by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 30 but the DSS refused to release him.
On Monday, he was arraigned before the same court but taken back to the DSS facility until Friday for his bail hearing.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the same court granted him bail on Friday under very stringent conditions.
Sowore remains with the DSS pending the fulfilment of his bail condition.

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target=_blank>Joe Odumakin, CSO Condemn Handcuffing Of Journalist, Agba Jalingo

Rights activist and Convener of Nigerians Unite Against Terror, Joe Okei-Odumakin, and a civil society organisation, have condemned the handcuffing of journalist, Agba Jalingo, by police and prison officials.
Jalingo, who is the Publisher of Cross River Watch, an online news platform, had been seen in several photographs making the rounds on the Internet handcuffed to a refrigerator and also other items in police cell and prison custody.
In prison, where he has been remanded for a while, wardens have cuffed his hands and legs.
Condemning this ill-treatment, Okei-Odumakin said the journalist should not be treated as a criminal when he had not been found guilty of any offence.
She said, “NUAT is appalled against this background to see a conscientious citizen, Agba Jalingo, being handcuffed like a common criminal while being paraded before the media as he was brought to the court by Cross River State Government on the directive of Governor Ben Ayade.
“We wish to state that such cruel treatment of Mr Jalingo is a conspicuous affront on human dignity in any civilised clime.”
Similarly, Enough is Enough, a rights group, questioned why Jalingo was handcuffed as he is being tried for doing his job.
In a post on Twitter, the group said, “While awaiting the outcome of #AgbaJalingo case, may we remind @senatorbenayade that journalists are not an extension of government public relations department.
“Why prosecute and handcuff a journalist for simply doing his job? #FreeAgbaJalingo.”
The group demanded a halt to the “orchestrated charade that has flowed so far from the trumped-up charges against Jalingo as we demand justice”.
Jalingo is currently facing four-count charge of terrorism and attempt to overthrow Governor Ayade of Cross River.
This was after Jalingo published an article exposing how the governor approved and diverted N500m meant for Cross River Microfinance bank.

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E2%80%99s-abduction-collect-n500000-husband target=_blank>Mother Fakes Own, Son’s Abduction To Collect N500,000 From Husband

A woman in Ilorin, Kwara State, Mrs Odunayo Olaniyi, has faked her own kidnap and that of her 10-year-old son in a bid to collect N500,00 as ransom from her husband.
A Chief Magistrates’ court sitting in Ilorin, which heard the case, on Friday ordered that Olaniyi be remanded in a correctional centre, according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria.
The police arraigned Olaniyi, Abdulrauf Folorunso, and Afolabi Adesina on three counts of self-kidnap, false representation and asking for ransom.
The Chief Magistrate, Ibrahim Dasuki, who gave the order, also remanded Folorunso and Adesina in custody and adjourned the case until October 10 for hearing.
Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Insp. Nasir Yusuf, had told the court that on September 19, the complainant, who is also the defendant’s husband, Segun, reported the case at the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Police Headquarters, Ilorin.
Yusuf said Segun told police that he received a message from his wife, Odunayo, that she had been kidnapped.
He alleged that Odunayo also told him that their 10-year-old son had also been kidnapped and that the abductors were demanding for N500,000.
Yusuf said that during discreet investigation, the police discovered that Odunayo, Folorunso and Adesina, had stage-managed the kidnap.
The offence, he said, contravened the provisions of sections 9, 14, and 12 of the Kwara State Prohibition of Kidnapping Law 2010.
The accused persons all pleaded not guilty.

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target=_blank>Niger: Angry Mob Kills VIO Official For Chasing Three Commercial Motorcycle Riders To Their Death

An angry mob on Thursday killed a Vehicle Inspector Officer identified as Ahmed Bello in the Mariga Local Government Area of the state.
Commissioner of Police, Adamu Usman, made the disclosure in Minna, the state capital, on Friday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria.
Usman said, “On October 3, at about 13:30 hours, three Fulani youths namely Malami Mohammed, Juli Musa and Dawa Ali, riding on an unregistered motorcycle, were told by the VIO to stop but they refused.
“They were chased by the VIO and they ran into a moving trailer with registration No. FKJ 512 XW that was coming from Tegina-Kampani Bobi area.
“All of them were crushed by the trailer and they died on the spot.
“On realising what he did, the VIO official ran towards Kampani Bobi Police outstation for safety but he was pursued by the irate mob and lynched.”

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target=_blank>BREAKING: Court Denies Journalist, Agba Jalingo, Bail

A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, and presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda, has denied journalist, Agba Jalingo, bail.
Jalingo was arraigned on September 25, 2019 on four count charges of treasonable felony, terrorism and attempt to topple the Cross River State Government after 34 days in police custody.
Justice Amobeda, who also threw out the preliminary objection of the prosecution counsel, held that the charges were grave with one carrying a capital punishment.
He also said that one of the grounds for which bail was applied for was health and there was no substantial evidence to prove that his health was failing.
Jalingo was arrested and is being prosecuted for publishing a report exposing how Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River approved and immediately diverted N500m meant for Cross River State Microfinance bank.

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target=_blank>Falana Kicks As Court Grants Sowore, Mandate Stringent Bail Conditions

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has frowned at the stringent bail condition given to his clients by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu had while ruling on the bail application of pro-democracy activist and Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, and Olawale Bakare widely known as Mandate, submitted that Sowore should provide N100m and two sureties in like sum.
The judge also said that one of the sureties must own landed property and deposit N50m and show evidence of tax payment since 2016, while Sowore was barred from travelling outside Abuja and also speaking to the press.

BREAKING: Court Grants Sowore, Bakare Bail

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of a federal high court sitting in Abuja hasgranted Nigerian pro-democracy advocate, Omoyele Sowore, and OlawaleBakare with stringent conditions.Sowore’s bail conditions include N100 million and two sureties in likesum, must have one of the sureties must own landed property anddeposit N50 million, and prohibited from travelling outside Abuja.Bakare was granted bail to the sum of N50 million and prohibited fromtravelling outside Osun State.Sowore and Bakare are prohibited from addressing the press until thecompletion of the trial.

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