Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Monday 8th June 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 08/06/20
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Ogun PDP Calls For Investigation Into $250,000 Bribery Allegation
The Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State has called on the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the alleged bribery allegation against a Federal High Court judge in the state.
In a letter signed by Samson Kayode Bamgbose and Adeleke Shittu, Chairman and Secretary of the party respectively, the duo called for a probe.
The letter reads, “Our attention has been drawn to a petition written in respect of the suit by the Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Elder Yemi Akinwonmi, that we bribed Honourable Justice Abubakar Shittu with the sum of $250,000 to do our bidding in the suit pending before the honourable judge.
“As parties in the matter and those alleged to have ‘bought’ judgment, we are obliged to respond to the allegation even when it lacks merit and material fact.
“It is clear that the Honourable Justice Shittu became a marked person since they could not compromise him in 2019. Hence, the resort to cheap blackmail, outright fabrications and lies.
“We believe that this is the way to go to serve as a test case and deterrence to those in the habit of making false and unsubstantiated allegations against law-abiding citizens and public officials, including members of the Nigeria Police Force because they believe that nothing will happen.”
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Sokoto Islamic Cleric Deletes Sermon On Rape After Criticisms
After incurring the wrath of Nigerians on various social media platforms for sharing a story on how a five-year-old girl raped an adult male, an Islamic cleric based in Sokoto State, Dr Mansur Ibrahim Sokoto, has deleted the post from his pages.
Sokoto was accused by many Nigerians of attempting to change the narrative on rape and blame women and girls for the scourge.
Angered by the situation, many Nigerians also called on the police to launch an investigation and arrest the narrator of the story.
Checks by SaharaReporters on the post on Sunday showed that the Islamic cleric had bowed to pressure and pulled down the post.
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Sokoto Cleric Sparks Outrage For Sharing Story On How Five-year-old Girl ‘Raped’ Adult Male
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Sokoto is a professor at the Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto State.
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E2%80%94heda Lagos Assembly Panel Designed To Free Obasa From Corruption Charges —HEDA
Lagos Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa
Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has been accused of setting up a panel that appears destined to exonerate him from raging allegations of graft. In a letter addressed to the lawmakers through the Clerk of the House, foremost anti-corruption group, Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (HEDA Resource Centre), said the Speaker, whose second term had been marred in a string of corruption charges, is using the House investigation Committee as a smokescreen to exonerate himself from the allegations. In a statement, Chairman of HEDA, Mr Olanrewaju Suraju, said, “The panel set up by the Lagos State House of Assembly is made up cronies of the Speaker. There is no way justice will be delivered to the people of Lagos whose resources Obasa was said to have pillaged.”
Lagos Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa
The HEDA Chairman said his group, which was invited to substantiate the corruption allegations, got the invitation through email few hours to the sitting of the committee and at a time when the committee was already dramatising the invitation in social and mainstream media. HEDA said its petition to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission subsists and that the Speaker and his panel should not assume they can take over the work of the anti-graft institution. HEDA added, “Considering the inherent fundamental flaws and procedural defects in the procedure, appointment of the committee, process of invitation and the shenanigans of the committee, we have decided that the committee does not deserve a response from our organisation. “Your committee, via our official email address sent an invitation to our organisation at 6:07pm on Wednesday, at a time when offices had closed, and requested our appearance before a committee at 10.00am the following day. A sincere, impartial and independent committee will never send an invitation to an individual and organisation for an appearance at the sitting of the committee with less than 24 hours notice, as was the case in this circumstance. “Under the principle of fair process, the House is unfit to be a judge in its own case by constituting a committee to investigate allegations of crime against it. The Committee was impatient in its haste to arrive at a predetermined conclusion. Hence, its alleged turned down of its invitation to the invited civil society organisations was already communicated through a press address to the media less than one hour after the expected “appearance” of the invitees. “The Speaker cannot constitute a committee of his loyalists, many of whom have defended him on these allegations through the vote of confidence passed on him and expect any iota of seriousness or credibility attached to the committee or its recommendations. This simply goes without saying. “The allegations against the Speaker are criminal in nature and completely outside the parliamentary power of the Assembly. We have directed these petitions to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for their actions. It would be honourable for the Assembly to allow these agencies discharge their statutory responsibilities of investigating this matter.” HEDA said the agenda of the Committee and the Assembly is to create a semblance of clean bill of health for the Speaker with the hope of deceiving the public and stampeding the law enforcement agencies. It added, “This is clearly manifested in the hideous appearances and submission of bank officials before the panel.”
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BREAKING: Lagos Discharges 31 More COVID-19 Patients
The Lagos State Government has said 31 more COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from the state isolation centres.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in a statement on Sunday said that the number of patients successfully managed and discharged was 1025.
He said, “Good people of Lagos, today, 31 fully recovered #COVID19Lagos patients; 25 males and six females were discharged from the Onikan, Gbagada, Agidingbi, Lekki and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) isolation facilities to reunite with the society.
“The patients, six from Onikan, four from Gbagada, two from Agidingbi, six from Lekki and 13 from LUTH isolation centres were discharged having fully recovered and tested negative to #COVID19.
“With this, the number number of #COVID19 confirmed cases that have been successfully managed and discharged in Lagos has risen to 1025.”
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Policeman Electrocuted In Abuja While Cutting Tree
A Chief Superintendent of Police, Lasaka Habila, has been electrocuted in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The deceased was said to be cutting branches of a tree opposite the National Intelligence Agency, Garki, in Nigeria’s capital when the incident happened.
Idriss Abbas, Director-General, FCT Emergency Management Agency, announced Habila’s death in a statement on Sunday.
Abbas advised Abuja residents to always seek approval from the Parks and Recreation Department before cutting any tree.
He added that in the rainy season, most trees would bloom and come in contact with electricity cables, which may transmit high currents through leaves and branches.
The statement reads, “At the scene of the tragedy was a cutlass seen lying around the tree after the incident said to have been used by the victim to cut down branches from the tree which were seen littered around the scene.
“It is also believed that the victim may have been electrocuted by a high voltage from the high tension wire close to the tree.
“The victim who was seen stuck on the tree was eventually brought down by the Search and Rescue team of FEMA.”
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Ondo University Lecturer Slumps, Dies Inside Own Apartment
Gilbert Ibitola, a senior lecturer at the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, Ondo State, is dead.
Ibitola slumped at the weekend in his apartment before he was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead on arrival.
Several family sources and close associates told SaharaReporters on Sunday that the lecturer was not sick before his death.
Mr Dipo Akomolafe, Chairman of Academic Staff Union of University in the school, confirmed the demise of Ibitola on Sunday.
He said the death of the senior lecturer was shocking to the university community.
He said, “He (Ibitola) has several publications in renowned academic journals to his credit and had not been known to compromise academic standard in his research pursuit in any way or form.
“The union will greatly miss his comradeship, his department will miss his academic contributions.”
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E2%80%99t-sack-workers-amid-covid-19-pandemic-ascab-warns-nigerian-government-states-lists Don’t Sack Workers Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, ASCAB Warns Nigerian Government, States, Lists Roadmap To Economic Revival
A labour and civil society group, Alliance for Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond, has urged governments at all levels and the private sector in Nigeria not to sack workers as the country prepares for more consequences of the pandemic on the economy.
The group led by prominent human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, said sacking workers at this moment may spur social crisis that may affect the country’s socio-political fabric.
It said COVID-19 imposes a new sense of awakening to re-order priorities.
“Government and the private sector must resist an easy recourse to job cuts and reduction of public spending on social services especially healthcare services,” ASCAB said in a statement signed by its Secretary for Publicity, Adewale Adeoye.
The group also listed steps government should take to ensure the economy and workers’ interests were protected.
It said, “The suggestions range from short term protection of jobs and a complete overhaul of the Nigerian economy which involves a paradigm shift from dependence on oil to diversification and investment in production rather than consumption.
“Unlike other oil producing nations of the world, Nigeria has little to show for six decades of oil exploration, production and exports, other than facilitating crude accumulation by state actors through massive looting of state resources.
“It is said the six decades of crude oil exports have not translated into any significant development of the nation’s productive forces while the country remains consumers of goods including items are little as tooth pick.
“It observed that one of the immediate impact of COVID-19 is the drop in volumes of sales of crude oil as well as reduced pricing in the international market resulting in lowly foreign exchange earnings.
“The COVID-19 crisis has worsened the vulnerability of all working people and the least protected in society. It is highlighting deep economic and social inequalities and inadequate health and social protection systems that require urgent attention as part of the public health response. The impact of lock-downs on jobs, livelihoods, access to services, including health care, food, water, education and social services, safety at home, adequate standards of living and family life has been severe.”
ASCAB said COVID-19 had proved that the future of every country rests on production of goods and services and not a cosmetic programme that is solely dependent on foreign products.
It said the ruling class had failed to diversify the productive base of the economy, but had funded budgets that oils corrupt bureaucracy and waste.
It added, “Increased spending on public education would allow decongesting overcrowded classrooms by employing more teachers and urgently building more class rooms before children will resume school. Doubling public expenditure in these areas will bridge huge gaps in service provision in these critical areas which are important for the early containment of COVID-19.
“Due to the devastating impact of lock-down measures which have resulted in massive hunger among people working in the informal economy, ASCAB called for urgent payment of emergency cash grants to those working in the informal economy adding that it will boost local consumption and assist local industry to quickly recover from long closures occasioned by the lock-down.
“ASCAB listed steps the Federal Government needed to take in the next six months to reshape the country’s economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. They include doubling of the budgets for healthcare, public sanitation, water supply, and public education, funding for PPEs and adequate compensation for healthcare professionals in the frontline of caring and treatment of COVID-19 patients; intensified massive testing and building more well-equipped isolation centers with adequate provision for the care of those in isolation; a separate stimulus package for the informal sector through their cooperatives and organizations to boost local economies having been excluded from the CBN N50bn grant due to conditionalities.”
The group also called for rapid provision of water and sanitation services, adding that states can be directly supported to provide both temporary and more permanent water supply technologies in communities and public places.
It called for the provision and rehabilitation of collapsing healthcare infrastructures in the communities, rapid expansion of classrooms to decongest public schools both at primary and secondary school levels, support for development of local technologies for COVID-19 containment.
It observed that several universities and individuals had come up with designs for ventilators, respirators, face masks as well as claims on COVID-19 management and curative drugs, adding that the Federal Government should strengthen the framework to verify existing claims.
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Nation Building Is Our Collective Duty By Adeola Soetan
Adeola Soetan
God does not carry a nation’s burden.
Citizens do and unburden themselves with their courage and will-power to struggle. Even in God’s own country, Americans didn’t go to God through their prayer centres for divine intervention when killer Cop Derek publicly executed George Floyd. They are on the streets till now protesting and the civilised world joined them in solidarity to condemn racism and police brutality so that the world can breathe and breathe better.
I always smile anytime I hear Nigerians and their religious leaders, out of frustration, fear or despondency, saying that we should hang our socio-economic and political problems on God’s neck to solve for us. A supplication to God/Allah to fight our oppressive, irresponsible leaders in Nigeria who have made breathing very difficult for us while they can breathe well and also have access to inexhaustible reservoir of unpolluted oxygen “in case of incasity”.
Adeola Soetan
But if only you appreciate that the oppressors and bad leaders you want God to fight on your behalf are closer to God religiously then you will know that any supplication for intervention is a waste of time. They pray and fast regularly, they go on holy pilgrimage to Mecca and Jerusalem frequently while they also sponsor thousands of poor people to these places. Their palatial compounds are decorated with beautiful mosques and chapels where angels are literally enticed and domesticated to serve them only. Apart from this, they build and donate mosques and churches, empower pastors and imams and they have many leagues of paid or voluntary prayer warriors and intercessors who are ever ready to go to hell on their behalf.
Honestly, I don’t know how God can help you, the poor and struggling citizens, who because of your economic status, cannot even keep faith with your religious injunctions and scriptural expectations. Many of you cannot even afford specially fortified anointing oil and “Hantu”.
Honestly, I still don’t know how you want and expect God to fight your corrupt and irresponsible leaders, who have been unleashing bad governance on you over the years with your acquiescence and lethargy. I doubt.
Organise, mobilise and struggle for good governance right from your community to the national level. Don’t be hooked on religionism or ethnic prejudice as a distraction to protest and fight for common good. Heaven/God fights for those who fight for themselves for good governance.
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Lagos Assembly Speaker, Obasa, Confirms SaharaReporters Stories, Explains How Funds Were Spent
Lagos Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa
Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has subtly admitted to financial misappropriation under his leadership, explaining how funds were spent in the Assembly when he appeared before a panel on Saturday.
Obasa had set up a sham investigative panel to probe him of allegations of mismanaging public funds and awarding contracts to himself.
At the panel hearing on Saturday, Obasa explained that the monies approved by him followed due process.
Lagos Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa
In his explanations, Obasa said the documents exposing his activities were revealed to SaharaReporters by his enemies as he claimed NI.1m was used to print invitation cards.
It was also reported that about N2.4bn was spent within 11 months to procure 80 cars for the 40 members of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
A contract was awarded for 40 cars to be purchased for the lawmakers and less than a year after, another contract was awarded for the purchase of cars for the Assembly members in December and January, a report by The Guardian of March 1, 12020 revealed.
In a series of reports, SaharaReporters had exposed how Obasa fraudulently approved millions of naira for himself through the award of contracts to companies owned by him.
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EXPOSED: 64 Bank Accounts Linked To BVN Of Lagos Assembly Speaker, Obasa
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Other reports also revealed how he approved N17m monthly to maintain his personal residence and guest house, and N53m from the state coffers to travel with his mistress to the United States of America.
It was also revealed that 19 lawmakers led by Obasa went for a women leadership programme and received N80m as estacode after returning from the programme.
Defending himself on Saturday before the sham panel he set up, Obasa said, “We gave N4m to each of the participants for air ticket, hotels, feedings and local travel.
“Air ticket to Dubai alone is about N2m. Some of these allegations were raised for a crusade to get the Speaker out of office.
“The House of Assembly is above common standard of excellence and we have to train people, and this comes with a cost. Learning is not cheap and I have never collected N80m for estacode at a go before.
“That was why the House decided to buy the buses, the buses were there for everybody to see with documents to defend the purchases.
“We were invited by the Consular General for a programme in the United States. Later, the programme was postponed, but I had gone ahead.
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Lagos Assembly Speaker, Obasa, Deputy, 17 Other Lawmakers Received N80m As Estacode For Attending Five-day Event
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“I had to return home and I told others not to bother to come until the new date.
“They only remove documents and fly them around to please themselves. All our payments go through certain procedures.
“The expenditure had been there before I became the Speaker. There was no way I could have spent such amount on cleaning my guest house.
“On the issue of awarding contracts to companies belonging to me, they should come and show evidence of where I awarded contracts to myself.
“There was no way I could have tricked Ambode to release such money. We had a meeting of the Conference of Speakers, who came with three members each and we had sub-committees who were given N2m each.
“We paid for the tickets of each speaker, we paid for their hotel accommodation, feeding and souvenirs. We also provided local transportation for them.
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Lagos Speaker, Obasa, Gets N17m Monthly For Maintenance Of Personal Residence, Guest House
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“All these allegations are deliberate actions of my enemies to achieve their aim that they could not achieve in the House to remove me as Speaker, which was why they came up with such reports.”
Speaking on a document revealing how he ordered N258m to be released for the printing of invitation cards for the inauguration of the 9th Assembly, he said, “It is not possible to spend N258m to print invitation cards. We are not involved in such a frivolous expenditure.”
Clerk of the House, Mr Azeez Sanni, also defended the estacode for the trip to the United States, saying that it followed standard procedure.
Sanni said the programme was budgeted for under conferences and seminars.
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EXCLUSIVE: Lagos Assembly Speaker, Obasa, Approves N258m For Printing Of Invitation Cards For House Inauguration Two Months After Event Held
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He added that the House has taken steps to conceal the activities in the State Assembly especially financial activities.
Speaking further on other allegations against him, Obasa said, “We bought land cruisers for principal officers of the House. The cars we bought for them are always higher than those of other members and we followed due process in the purchase.
“We went through the Public Procurement Agency and others and the vehicles were distributed appropriately.
“It was agreed at the parliamentary meetings on about four occasions and the Clerk of the House, Mr Azeez Sanni, is the Secretary.
“Also, it is not true that my wife collects N10m monthly from the House. Anyone who says she does should come with proof and evidence.
“My approval limit as Speaker is N100m and anything above that would have to be approved by the Fund Management Committee.”
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EXCLUSIVE: How Obasa’s Wife Receives N10m Illegal Monthly Allocation From Lagos Assembly
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Despite several petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission by anti-corruption groups, the agency is yet to initiate the process of investigating the allegations against Obasa and prosecute him if found culpable.
Video of “Money Is For Spending,” Says Lagos Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, In Response To Corruption Allegations
“Money Is For Spending,” Says Lagos Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, In Response To Corruption Allegations
WATCH: “Money Is For Spending,” Says Lagos Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, In Response To Corruption Allegations
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Four Persons Killed In Ebonyi Communal Clash
Violence
The renewed boundary dispute between the people of Ishinkwo and their neighbouring community, Abaomege, both under Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has claimed four lives.
Also, properties worth millions of naira were destroyed when armed youths from Abaomege reportedly stormed Ishinkwo around 8:00am on Saturday, shooting sporadically at villagers.
SaharaReporters gathered that both communities have been locked in a land dispute that had claimed hundreds of lives and property worth several millions of naira for several years.
Violence
Efforts of successive governments at demarcating the disputed land had proved abortive.
The attack forced hundreds of residents of the area to flee the community.
A resident of Ishinkwo, who spoke with SaharaReporters, said tension was still high around the area with fears of repeated attacks and counter attacks among the people.
“Four people were killed, the tension here is still high. Police officers and army operatives came here yesterday but left after few minutes and asked the people to take care of themselves,” a resident told SaharaReporters.
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