Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Wednesday 27th November 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 27/11/19
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Before The Hate Executioner Comes By Femi Akintunde-Johnson
Not many Nigerians will pick bones with Senator Sabi Abdullahi (representing Niger North Senatorial district) for sponsoring a private bill aimed at ‘prohibiting hate speeches and (for) other related matters’. Many discerning Nigerians have been alarmed at the crippling enthronement and insidious effects of hate speech on our body politics, since the acrimonious electioneering campaigns of 2007 presidential and National Assembly elections. The cancer of hate speech took an upswing to the dirty rafters in the actions and statements of political combatants in the civilian power-shift tsunami of 2015.
Four years after, the past-masters of hate speeches (as opposition guerrillas) have now seen the light, and are anxious that things should not be allowed to fester further. Today’s leading lights of fake news and hate speeches are uncontrollable, unprincipled and inconsolably frustrated at the seeming absence of progress and prosperity in the efforts and policies of government. A heaving, restless volcano.
Apart from hate speech, the bill also seeks to clamp down on ethnic discrimination, ethnic harassment, discrimination by way of victimisation, and ethnic hatred, either committed as individuals or groups. While these insolent offences have sentences and fines upon conviction as 12 months and N2m and up to five years in prison or/and N10m fine; the special case of hate speech is given sledgehammer glove. The bill says: “Any person who commits an offence under this section shall be liable to life imprisonment and when the act causes any loss of life, the person shall be punished with death by hanging”.
It is perhaps more ironic that the bill was masterminded by a lawmaker who served as spokesperson for the 8th Senate, and currently the Deputy Chief Whip. He is also proposing an independent commission with administrative, investigative and prosecutorial powers to deal with this menace.
We commend the sense of purpose and urgent desire to curb the nightmare and dangerous repercussions hate speeches and similar pernicious activities, mostly vented through the social media, can wreak on the fabrics of a delicately balanced structure like Nigeria. But any knee-jerk reaction to troubling circumstances will inevitably lead to greater misery and intolerable disaster in a nation rife with youth unrest, high unemployment, deepening gulf between government and its ordinary people who are disfigured by socio-economic discomfort and political disappointment.
What the Senate is risking with the hate speech bill may eventually be recorded in history as an affront on the people’s rights to free speech and freedom of expression. It is quite easy to recall many other Acts, enactments and regulations in our statutes that can effectively serve the purpose of policing and convicting those who infringe on the rights of others, on the sick and narrow reason of race, ethnicity, tribe, sexual orientation, and so on.
The ridiculous disregard for human life that makes lawmakers feel comfortable to suggest death sentence or life imprisonment for admittedly highly inflammatory offences where mechanism for competent and transparent investigation, adjudication and prosecution has been very weak, is really troubling. We can generally admit that our law enforcement and judicial arbitration, even of common crimes and infractions, have not been seen or felt to be above reproach or beyond doubt. Now, we want to add a tinder box of emotionally charged offences where same political leaders take the lead in sowing divisions and derision within our diverse and potentially distrustful nationalities.
While we must always condemn and discipline purveyors of hate-filled, ethnic-biased vituperations, irrespective of the provocations or enabling circumstances, we must advise our lawmakers to rush slowly into a cul-de-sac legislation that will add to our misery, and further harshly project our fault-lines so irredeemably to the extent that the so-called prohibition bill could fast-track the disintegration of our already polarised country, much faster and more viciously than attempts by those we had assumed were enemies of Nigeria!
Before we move on, we ought to remind our lawmakers that the sole purpose of criminal law is not merely to punish offenders; it is imperative that deep within the punitive framing of the law should be clauses to aid redemptive, reforming and rehabilitating imperatives. Legislating punishment for its own sake, and in gloating satisfaction of thrashing perceived opponents, is essentially a crime against humanity. It is more profitable to increase the number of our citizens who walk across the notorious hate divides to cross into more wholesome and productive citizenship, than to merely expunge and expire undesirable elements from amongst us. Ditch the hate bill!
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Femi Akintunde-Johnson
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Borno Governor Gives Ultimatum To Traders Of GSM Market To Relocate
Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, on Tuesday gave a December 31 ultimatum to members of the Maiduguri GSM Market to relocate to New Bulunkutu GSM Market or risk having their shops demolished.
Recall that the Maiduguri GSM Market was gutted by fire on October 31, 2019, leaving over 47 shops and property worth millions of naira destroyed.
Zulum gave the ultimatum when the traders paid him a visit at the Government House in Maiduguri, the state capital, on Tuesday.
He said, “I give you till December 31, 2019 to relocate from GSM Market to New Market in Bulunkutu or risk your shops being demolished.”
Zulum said the move was to decongest the area to allow free flow of traffic and movement.”
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Bayelsa Residents Accuse Youths, Iteo Contractors Of Nembe Creek Trunk Line Sabotage
Residents of Nembe in Bayelsa State have accused youths in the area and contractors used by Iteo of sabotaging the Nembe Creek Trunk Line.
NCTL is one of two pipelines used to convey Nigeria’s most sought after petroleum grade, Bonny light, for export.
Ginah Olali, a chief in Nembe kingdom, said youths in the communities hosting the pipeline are hungry and angry.
He said, “Vandalism did not come from the community, we have aggressive youths, the people are angry, people are hungry.
“People need empowerment and employment in this region. When they are not getting it, one or two persons can put heads together and decide to burst pipeline.
“If somebody happens to come and shut down your business it is because you don’t cooperate with the landlord.
“If the landlord is telling you ‘come and see me before you do any operation,’ if he gives you warning after two or three times, I think he would come and shut your shop down,” Olali said.
The indigenous oil exploration firm said joint investigative visits carried out to ascertain the cause of the ruptured pipeline, showed that the attacks were down to third party infractions.
In the last two years, Iteo and Shell, which drills the oil that passes through the trunk line, have declared ‘force Majeure’ on the facility.
The pipeline carries 200,000 barrels of oil daily.
With a 61-day shutdown in 2019, the country has lost 12m barrels of its most priced grade.
At an average Brent crude price of $60, Nigeria would have forfeited $720m.
Residents of Nembe in Bayelsa State have accused youths in the area and contractors used by Iteo of sabotaging the Nembe Creek Trunk Line.
NCTL is one of two pipelines used to convey Nigeria’s most sought after petroleum grade, Bonny light, for export.
Ginah Olali, a chief in Nembe kingdom, said youths in the communities hosting the pipeline are hungry and angry.
He said, “Vandalism did not come from the community, we have aggressive youths, the people are angry, people are hungry.
“People need empowerment and employment in this region. When they are not getting it, one or two persons can put heads together and decide to burst pipeline.
“If somebody happens to come and shut down your business it is because you don’t cooperate with the landlord.
“If the landlord is telling you ‘come and see me before you do any operation,’ if he gives you warning after two or three times, I think he would come and shut your shop down,” Olali said.
The indigenous oil exploration firm said joint investigative visits carried out to ascertain the cause of the ruptured pipeline, showed that the attacks were down to third party infractions.
In the last two years, Iteo and Shell, which drills the oil that passes through the trunk line, have declared ‘force Majeure’ on the facility.
The pipeline carries 200,000 barrels of oil daily.
With a 61-day shutdown in 2019, the country has lost 12m barrels of its most priced grade.
At an average Brent crude price of $60, Nigeria would have forfeited $720m.
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Bayelsa Elections: Jonathan’s Role Not Buhari’s Business, Says Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, has said that the role former President Goodluck Jonathan played in the just concluded Bayelsa elections was not the business of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said the claim that Buhari blackmailed Jonathan into supporting the candidate of the All Progressives Congress was false.
Shehu said, “It just doesn’t make any sense. Our media really must learn to verify whatever they publish.
“And people who make wild allegations during interviews should be made to produce the facts backing their claims by editors.
”A newspaper can be sued for granting space to people who belch false allegations against individuals with no proof.”
Shehu said Jonathan had been out of power for almost five years without any previous allegations of government blackmail cropping up.
He also noted that there were more than enough reasons for Jonathan to work against his party in the Bayelsa election without interference by President Buhari.
Shehu added, “Anyone who has been following the politics of Bayelsa State should be aware of the sour relationship between Jonathan and the incumbent governor, Seriake Dickson.
“That’s more than enough reason for the former President to decide to work against his party if indeed he did.
“We really must stop this habit of blaming President Buhari for everything, including issues that are not his business
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1,200 Of 5,689 Students Fail Nigerian Law School Exams
The Nigerian Law School has called to the Nigerian Bar a total of 4,458 candidates, who were successful during the August 2019 final examinations.
Director-General of the school, Isa Ciroma, on Tuesday at a ceremony said that 5,689 students sat for the examinations out of which 4,455 came out successful, while three others were from the previous examination.
According to Ciroma, 147 candidates made first class, which is 2.58 per cent of the total figure, 741 second class upper division, making 13.03 per cent, while 2,247 made second class lower division, making up 39.50 per cent of the total figure, Premium Times reports.
Ciroma added that the candidates, who scored pass mark, were 1,321, making 23.22 per cent.
The DG, who rated the performance as outstanding, said that it justified the huge investment and sacrifice made by all.
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US Lawmakers Petition Nigeria Over Sowore’s Continued Detention
Photo Speaks: Omoyele Sowore’s Timeline
Photo Speaks: Omoyele Sowore’s Timeline
SaharaReporters Media
Robert Menendez, a United States senator and Josh Gottheimer, a member of congress, have petitioned the Nigerian Head of Mission to America, Sylvanus Adiewere Nsofor, over the continued detention of pro-democracy campaigner and Publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore.
The US lawmakers expressed concern over the continued detention of Sowore despite fulfilling bail conditions twice after court orders.
The petition reads in part, “We write to express our strong concern over closing media and civic space in Nigeria.
“There have been a lot of troubling reports about Nigerian security services assaulting and detaining journalists using excessive force on non-violent protesters and taking other actions that inhibit freedom of expression, and otherwise prevent Nigerians from fully exercising their fundamental constitutional rights.”
The lawmakers called on Buhari to do the right thing because the international community was watching and will not be quiet until Sowore and other prisoners of conscience were released.
Sowore, famed globally for exposing Nigeria’s corrupt politicians, was arrested in Lagos on August 3, 2019 for calling on Nigerians to take to the streets in peaceful demonstrations to demand a better country from the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The government is accusing him of insulting Buhari and planning to bring down his regime – charges observers around the world have described as baseless.
Despite two separate orders by the Federal High Court in Abuja directing his release after meeting stringent bail conditions, the DSS has refused to release Sowore, casting a huge shadow over the human rights record of Buhari’s regime.
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AfDB To Grade Banks On Loans To Women, Says Adesina
President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has called for greater access to finance for African women.
Akinwumi made the call when he addressed the inaugural session of the Global Gender Summit on Tuesday.News Agency of Nigeria reports that AfDB and the Government of Rwanda are hosting the Global Gender Summit from November 25 to 27 in Kigali.The summit is being organised by the Multilateral Development Banks’ Working Group.Adesina said, “When women borrow, they always repay and 90 per cent of them repay their loans without the least problem.“So, where is the risk? The problem is prejudice and the banks’ lack of flexibility.“We must leave this behind to allow women access to financing.”According to him, the financial sector has a responsibility to the women of Africa.He added, “From now on, we shall be grading every African financial institution on how well it helps women.“Every financial ecosystem must evolve to support women. “And we are going to put pressure on the guarantee banks.”
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E2%82%AC30bn-drug-market-report Boko Haram Funded By €30bn Drug Market -Report
Boko Haram and other terrorism cells operating in Africa are tapping funds from a €30bn drug market in the European Union.
Sighting the annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Reuters observed that proceeds from the narcotics industry in the EU, which generated €11.6bn in 2017, are likely sources of revenue for extremists such as Islamic State and al-Shabaab.
Besides militant organisations, organised crime gangs are also making it big from the industry.
In South and Central America as well as Afghanistan, cocaine and heroin are growing at historic levels, the publication observed.
According to the report, the preferred hard drug in the year under review was Marijuana.
Cannabis and its resin constituted 39 per cent of total consumption for the year.
The proceeds earned in legal markets like California – $2.5bn was a mere fraction of what was earned in illegal EU markets.
Marijuana shops in the US West Coast provides most of what is consumed in the EU, while resin is imported from Morocco.
The centre added that prices and potency were on the high.
“The European drug market is increasingly characterised by consumers having access to a wide variety of high-purity and high-potency products,” an excerpt from the publication said.
Cocaine comes second, bringing in €9bn into the market, with heroin – sourced from Taliban dominated Afghanistan, €2bn behind.
Virtual currencies and high denominations like 200 and 500 euros are used to move funds for these groups.
The entire narcotic industry is valued at between €426 and 652bn, the drug centre noted.
The insecure Sahara Desert remains a trade route for illicit movement of humans, cash and drugs but African countries and Western states affected by the trade have refused to take action.
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Zamfara Assembly Repeals Law On Huge Pension For Ex-governors, Others
Zamfara State House of Assembly has repealed the law mandating the state government to pay pension and other entitlements to former governors and deputies, as well as those of Speakers and their deputies.
Presenting the bill before the House on Tuesday, House leader, Faruk Dosara, urged his colleagues to as a matter of urgency, consider the repeal of the law, which provided jumbo pay for former political leaders in the state to the detriment of retired civil servants.
Dosara said the category of past leaders were collecting over N700m annually, which he said the present state economy could not accommodate for now.
Seconding the motion, Tukur Tudu said the abolition of the law was necessary, arguing that “it is detrimental to the socio-economic wellbeing of our people”.
After deliberations and contributions by House members, the Speaker, Nasiru Magarya, ordered the clerk of the House to give the bill first and second reading.
The bill has now been passed into law and would be sent to the governor for assent.
With this development, all past political leaders in the state will no longer enjoy any entitlements unless those prescribed by the National Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, a report by PUNCH said.
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CACOL Condemns Court Order Barring EFCC From Prosecuting Ex-Custom Boss, Dikko
Abdullahi Dikko Inde
Abdullahi Dikko Inde
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership has condemned the order of a Federal High Court in Abuja barring the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from prosecuting a former Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Abdullahi Dikko.
CACOL stated that the order by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba given on the ‘non-prosecution’ agreement entered into between the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the ex-Customs boss, showed that the government does not speak with one voice.
According to a statement signed by Adegboyega Otunuga, Coordinator of Media and Publications, CACOL said the plea bargain Dikko entered into with the AGF was not in concordance with the anti-corruption agency.
CACOL said, “The very act of objection by the EFCC leadership greatly suggests that what the former Customs boss surrendered was insignificant compared to the humongous and unimaginable resources he frittered away.
“The normal thing would have been for the office of the Attorney-General to liaise very critically with the anti-graft agency to acquaint itself with all grey areas of the former’s investigation and findings towards arriving at a suitable and most patriotic synergy so as not to allow the nation to be shortchanged by corruption using such folly.
“This unfortunate scenario is probably why many critical stakeholders within the nation’s financial circle and anti-corruption assignments have called for certain prosecutorial and administrative powers on corruption to be taken away from the Office of the AGF.
“We could not agree more with that proposition.
“This is because, such loopholes or let-off is tantamount to a slap on the wrist for corruption culprits.”
CACOL noted that plea bargain should not be used as an avenue for financial criminals and corrupt elements to escape justice; especially when such elements could still claim innocence in future and craftily find themselves back in positions of power.
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