Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Sunday 28th June 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 28/06/20
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Man Who Raped Three-month-old Baby In Nasarawa Arrested
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has arrested a man accused of raping a three-month-old baby in Adogi Village in Nasarawa State.
He was arrested on Tuesday, the NSCDC announced via its Twitter handle.
The para-military security outfit said its operatives arrested the man after thorough investigations.
“After a thorough intelligence gathering and investigation, the Nasarawa State Command of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps arrested a man Tuesday accused of raping a three-month-old baby in Adogi Village of Nasarawa State,” the security outfit tweeted. village of Nasarawa State.Detail later@gbengaekunola @TVCNews_Africa @TVCconnect @channelstv @daily_trust @MobilePunch @lindaikeji @THISDAYLIVE @nannews_ng @raufaregbesola @MoIServicesNG @MinOfInteriorNG @SaharaReporters— NSCDC (@CIVILDEFENDERS) June 23, 2020
The suspect pic.twitter.com/KH7x3U7nkd— NSCDC (@CIVILDEFENDERS) June 23, 2020
The incident happened on May 27 when the mother woke up at night and discovered that her baby and mobile phone were missing.
“The incident occurred on Wednesday 27 of last month when suddenly I woke up around 3am and found that my baby was missing. I checked my phone which was also close to me before I slept, but it was also missing,” the mother narrated.
She explained that both men and women of the village went out in search of the baby on foot and motorcycles, and eventually found the child in an uncompleted building bleeding.
“She was found lying in the building with her pants kept aside. Everywhere across her private part was blood and then we rushed her to the hospital,” she said.
The baby received surgical treatment at Jos University Teaching Hospital as a result of the incident.
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Bandits Attack Katsina Village, Abduct Two Women, Baby
A group of armed bandits have attacked Karare Village in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State and kidnapped two women and carted away cows and food items.A resident of the area, Mustapha Ruma, who spoke with our correspondent, said the attackers invaded the area on Tuesday with dangerous weapons.He said the bandits numbering about 20, stormed the village on motorbikes valuables.
He said the bandits attacked many residents including the district head, Ciroma Ahmadu Karare, and abducted his 20-year-old daughter.Ruma disclosed that the assailants collected the mobile phone of the district head and handed over a new Subscriber Identity Module card to him to enable them contact him for ransom negitiation.Our correspondent also gathered that a 23-year-old woman with a little child was also abducted during the attack.Ruma lamented the incessant attacks on Batsari LGA despite the deployment of soldiers to the area.He said the situation had forced many residents to move out of the community to safer areas.
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BREAKING: Nigerian Soldier Arrested After Making Video Saying Buratai, Service Chiefs Have Failed Nigerians
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Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo Phones President Buhari, Apologises Over Embassy Demolition —Presidency
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and President Buhari
The Nigerian Government has said that Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, had spoken with President Muhammadu Buhari to apologise for the demolition of a building in the Nigerian High Commission in Accra.
On Monday Geoffrey Onyeama, Foreign Affairs Minister, had summoned Iva Denoo, the Ghanian Chargé d’ Affaires in Nigeria to explain how yet to be identified person demolished a Nigerian diplomatic building in Ghana last Friday.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Garba Shehu, spokesperson for President Buhari, said Ghana’s President had apologised for the incident and ordered an investigation into the incident.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and President Buhari
It reads, “President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana Tuesday spoke with President Muhammadu Buhari, expressing his sincere apology for demolition of a building on the premises of Nigerian High Commission in Accra, Ghana.
“In a telephone call, the Ghanaian leader told President Buhari that he has directed full investigation into the incident.
“Earlier in the day, it further emerged that some suspects had been arrested and will be arraigned in court.”
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There Must Be No Reprisal, Ghanaian Lawmakers Call For Calm Over Demolition Of Nigeria Building In Ghana
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Lives Of Atheists Matter By Leo Igwe
Leo Igwe
The Black Lives Matter has helped draw the attention of the world to police brutality and racial injustice against African Americans. They have used the canon of life to highlight the place and predicament of blacks in American society. As seen in the protests that followed the brutal murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, the movement has underscored institutional and structural inequities that underly the mistreatment of blacks in western countries. However, a category of unmattered black lives has so far been ignored- the lives of persons, of black persons-of African persons who do not believe in God (Allah). As a matter of faith, persons who openly and publicly criticize islamic religion or belief in Islamic God have been accorded little or no value. To be specific, the lives of atheists in Islamic Nigeria, in Islamic Africa and the Islamic world have been deemed expendable by those who claim to be on Allah’s side.
Shortly after the gruesome killing of George Floyd, the life of another black person, Mubarak Bala, has been on the line, not due to racism or white police brutality, but due to religion. Bala’s life is in peril, not in America or in Europe but in Africa, to be specific in Northern Nigeria. Bala’s life has been in danger not for being black in a dominantly white society, but for being an atheist in a predominantly Muslim section of the country. Bala’s life has been at risk due to institutionalized oppression and persecution of persons who are open about their atheism in Muslim communities. Bala’s case has highlighted the inability of atheists and persons who hold views that are critical of Allah or the prophet of Islam to ‘breathe’ in Muslim majority societies.
You may ask: what was Mr. Bala’s crime? He made comments on Facebook that implied that the prophet of Islam was a terrorist and a pedophile. That was all. Nothing more. And for that reason, some Muslims want him prosecuted and jailed. Others have threatened to kill him. They said he blasphemed, that he insulted the prophet of Islam. And for that reason, his life no longer mattered to them. His life worth nothing to them. Bala must die. Yes, some Muslims are saying that Bala must be killed. Bala has been arrested and held incommunicado for almost two months. Meanwhile, in the same region, violent jihadists are on the rampage, killing, raping, maiming and kidnapping with impunity daily.
Leo Igwe
The death sentence which some Muslims have passed on Bala is not unusual. This kind of mistreatment is not new. It is not new to Kano state. It is not new to Nigeria. The reactions of some Muslims are not alien to Islam in Nigeria and the world. The persecution of Bala is not new to the religious enterprise. Religion has been at war with the other; theism with atheism since human beings created the various gods. Religions especially Islam and Christianity have a history of using violence, intimidation and threats of violence against atheists, nonbelievers, and disbelievers. While Islamic religion is critical of other religions, it expressly prohibits the criticism of its claims and teachings. Inspired by the verses in the Qur’an and the Hadith, those who believe in the Islamic God(Allah) have waged a physical and structural battle against those who do not believe or those who espouse views and expressions that object to or challenge Islamic theistic viewpoints and prophetic ideas. In Muslim dominated societies, entrenched hostility towards criticism has been more pronounced and has created a situation where the lives of atheists and apostates do not matter. For instance in Nigeria’s sharia implementing states, Islam is the state religion. And Islamic theism is a state policy. Atheism is outlawed. Being an atheist is socially a dishonor to Muslim families and the Ummah. Killing or eliminating an atheist a way of restoring the family and community honor. It is a form of religious duty, for which Allah would reward in the hereafter. Apostasy is a crime and the punishment for apostasy is death. Thus those who are born into Muslim faith must remain Muslims or they leave Islam and risk being executed. They renounce Islam and lose their human worth; their human life. They lose what makes them matter to Muslims. Even as an apostate or an atheist, one is not allowed to express views that are critical of Islam because the person risks being accused of blasphemy as in the case of Mubarak Bala. And to blaspheme against Islam, Allah and the prophet, not other religions, other Gods and prophets is an offense that attracts the death penalty. Thus in Muslim dominated communities, there is no worthwhile space for an atheist. There is no place to live a dignified life as an infidel.Simply put, in Muslim majority communities, the lives of atheists do not matter. It is only the lives of those who profess Islam and belief in Allah and Muhammad his messenger that count. It is only the lives of those who express views and beliefs that are compatible with Islam that have value. It is only the lives of Muslims that matter. The lives of non-Muslims and ex-Muslims do not count and do not matter.
But this unfortunate situation must change.
As in the case of the Black Lives Matter, the little or no regard for the lives of atheists is linked to unjust structures and atheophobic facilities that exist and operate in Muslim communities. The Islamic establishment has allowed these iniquitous structures to fester and proliferate over the years. These institutions need to be reformed or dismantled. Quranic indoctrination and Madrassa school programs should be abolished or overhauled including Muslim clericalism because these are structures that orient Muslims at very early stages in life to accord no value to the lives of atheists and apostates. Islamic narratives and Quranic texts that vilify atheists and designate atheistic and Islam-critical views as contemptible should be critically examined. Passages in the Quran that sanction death for unbelievers or incite violence against atheists and critics of Islam need to be reviewed, revised or expunged. There is an urgent need to end the killing, persecution, and oppression of real or imagined atheists in Muslim communities. People who criticize Islam or the life and teaching of the prophet should be treated with dignity and respect. Criticism of Islam should not be a death sentence. Views that fault the life and legacy of the prophet should be met with civil, not violent reactions. Muslims should learn to tolerate dissenting opinions. They should learn to value the lives of those who renounce Islam, or those who question Islamic doctrines and beliefs. Muslims should realize that if they are to debate and dialogue with atheists; if they are to convince or eventually convert atheists, atheists must first be alive.
Thus there is no reason for the arrest and incarceration of Mubarak Bala for expressing an opinion about the prophet of Islam. There is no justification to kill or to threaten to murder him for making a Facebook post. Muslims who are unhappy with the posts should make counter posts on Facebook or Twitter. They should not issue death threats or ask that he be arrested and prosecuted for insulting religion. This intolerant, hateful, anti-life, and anti-atheist strand of Islam needs to discarded and abandoned. As a matter of urgency, Islam’s bloodletting machinery needs to be dismantled and disabled.
Muslim societies are long overdue for a reformation that guarantees equal rights for all persons including the rights to life and freedom of expression for all Muslims and non-Muslims, Muslims and ex-Muslims, Muslims, and atheists. The Ummah needs to embrace the idea that the lives of Muslims matter. Lives need not be wasted in the quest to redress any real or imagined insult on Islam or the prophet. More importantly those who profess Islamic faith need to realize that the lives of atheists and ex-Muslims matter.
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Court Bars PDP From Excluding Obaseki In Edo Primaries
A Federal High Court in Ekpoma, Edo State, has stopped the Peoples Democratic Party from excluding Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo, from participating in its gubernatorial primary election.After a suit filed by Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, a PDP aspirant, a Federal High Court in Rivers State had restrained Obaseki from contesting Thurdays’s primary on the grounds that he did not purchase the form within the stipulated time on the party’s time table.
However, in another suit brought before the high court in Edo, one Felix Irioh asked that Obaseki be allowed to contest the primary on the grounds that the PDP granted him a waiver, The Cable reports.
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Court Stops Obaseki From Participating In Edo PDP Governorship Primary
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In his ruling, J. O. Okeaya-Inneh, the judge, said, “I find in my humble view that the applicants have satisfied the guidelines for the grant of the orders sought as enjoined in the celebrated landmark case of Kotoye v CBN (1989), 1 NWLR PT. 98, 419 at 441.“The balance of convenience is in favour of the 1st and 2nd applicants and there is no undue delay in bringing this application. It is in that light that I find merit in this application.”
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REVEALED: How Former Minister, Tanimu Turaki, Released N200m Out Of N359m Approved For Townhall Meetings By Ex-Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, In 2014
Umar Tahir, aide to former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, has told the Federal High Court in Abuja how an ex-Minister of Labour, Taminu Turaki, released N200m out of N359m for a series of town hall meetings on security across the country in 2014.Tahir, who was a Senior Special Assistant on Islamic Affairs, made the allegation before Justice Inyang Ekwo while testifying as the first prosecution witness in Turaki’s trial on money laundering charges involving about N854m.The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had on May 4 arraigned the former minister alongside his former Special Assistant, Sampson Okpetu, and two firms; Samtee Essentials Limited and Pasco Investment Limited, on 16 counts of money laundering charges.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants used the companies to launder funds totaling about N845m stolen from the two ministries when the minister held sway under the then administration.However, Turaki and Okpetu pleaded not guilty to the charges.Testifying on Tuesday, Tahir disclosed that due to the shortage in the funds released, the programme that was planned to be organised in each of the 19 Northern states and six geo-political zones of the country could only be executed in the North-West zone, South-South zone, Abuja, Kaduna and Kano states, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.He told the court how he was invited by the former President on June 23, 2014, to discuss the security challenges posed by Boko Haram, fake speeches, amongst others in the country.
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EFCC Arraigns Former Minister, Tanimu Turaki, Aide, For Alleged N714.6m Fraud
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The witness, who was led in evidence by EFCC’s counsel, Mohammed Abubakar, said part of the advice he offered Jonathan was to let his office organise “a sensitisation town hall meetings across the 19 states and the six geo-political zones which the Vice President and top members of the government would attend.”He said he raised a memo on June 30, 2014, in which he enumerated how he planned the programme and indicated the need for funds to be released to organise it.“But as a Senior Special Assistant to the President, I did not have ministerial accounts.“So, I was asked to liaise with the Minister of Special Duties so that the money would be sent to him and he would then send it to me.“The President in his minute on my memo gave his approval through the Vice President and my office.“Therefore, on July 7, 2014, the approval was conveyed to my office and that of the Vice President,” he narrated.Tahir said he subsequently held meetings with Turaki after, which he sent a budget of N359m for the programme to the minister on September 2, 2014.“In January 2015, the President granted the approval that the Minister of Finance should release N359m for the programme,” he said.The witness however, alleged that out of the N359m approved by the President, only N200m was released to him.According to him, of the N200m, the sum of N150m was paid to me in three tranches of N50m each in January 2015 via an account he submitted to the minister.He said he collected the balance of N50m in cash from the ex-minister’s aide.He said it was when he was invited by the EFCC to shed light into the transactions that he was told that the total sum of N359m was released to the minister.“I gave EFCC copies of the cheques I issued for the disbursement of the money released to me.“I said it was only N200m that was released to me. They said the complete N359m was released to the minister but he only gave me N200m,” he added.Justice Ekwo then adjourned until September 21 for the cross-examination of the witness.Earlier in the proceedings, Justice Ekwo ordered the EFCC to produce its investigation reports in respect of the case and the statements of four of its proposed witnesses and have them served on the second defendant.The judge gave the order following an application by the second defendant’s lawyer, A.K Ajibade, SAN. Abubakar did not oppose the application.
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BREAKING: Nigerian Soldier Arrested After Making Video Saying Buratai, Service Chiefs Have Failed Nigerians
Lance Corporal Martins berated the security chiefs of Nigeria for deliberately not acting to stop the incessant killings of Nigerians by terrorists and armed bandits.
A soldier of the Nigerian Army, Lance Corporal Martins, has been arrested after making a video blasting the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, and other security chiefs in the country.
The soldier was arrested on the orders of Buratai, sources revealed to SaharaReporters.
According to the source, the soldier was picked by senior military officers, who said they were acting based on an “order from above”.
Lance Corporal Martins berated the security chiefs of Nigeria for deliberately not acting to stop the incessant killings of Nigerians by terrorists and armed bandits.
In the 12-minute video, the soldier expressed his anger at the security chiefs especially Buratai, and Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, for not being committed to end the incessant killings of Nigerians by terrorists and armed bandits. VIDEO: Lance Corporal Blasts Chief Of Army Staff, Buratai, Over Incessant Killings In Nigeria@HQNigerianArmy @DefenceInfoNG WATCH FULL VIDEO: pic.twitter.com/gRDXt7Jk2q— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) June 23, 2020
He revealed how the military ordered the illegal detention of some soldiers, who demanded better weapons and ammunition to combat Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the country.
He stated that though he might be arrested and probably killed for the video, he is ready to sacrifice himself for the country.
Video of Lance Corporal Blasts Chief Of Army Staff, Buratai, Over Incessant Killings In Nigeria
Lance Corporal Blasts Chief Of Army Staff, Buratai, Over Incessant Killings In Nigeria
WATCH FULL VIDEO: Lance Corporal Blasts Chief Of Army Staff, Buratai, Over Incessant Killings In Nigeria
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Despite Agreeing To Bear Evacuation Cost Of Stranded Citizens, Nigerian Government Charges $840 To $1350 To Airlift Potential Returnees From South Africa
Nigerians stranded in South Africa due to COVID-19 travel restrictions are set to be evacuated back home at the cost of between $840 to $1350.The cost of evacuation is despite the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation announcing on May 19 to use N1bn raised to pay for the evacuation of about 4,000 Nigerians abroad, who have indicated interest in returning home.After coming under intense fire for cost of evacuation at the time, Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said, “I got in touch with the Governor of the CBN and the GMD NNPC. The CBN Governor very generously agreed. The amount that I was talking about over a billion naira is needed because we have over 4, 000 Nigerians out there and even if 3,000 of them come back, the cost of accommodation, feeding and everything we don’t have it. So, the CBN and NNPC agreed to share the cost.”
Despite this promise, the Nigerian Government has continued to charge citizens willing to be evacuated home.200 Nigerians are expected to be evacuated from South Africa on Thursday aboard an Airpeace Airline flight, The Nation reports.
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COVID-19: Nigerian Government Bows To Pressure, To Pay Cost Of Citizens Evacuation —Foreign Affairs Ministry
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Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa, Kabiru Bala, confirmed the evacuation, saying payments were being made by evacuees at the moment.He said, “We are working towards the evacuation on Thursday. A max of 200. Payments are being made by the evacuees. There are outstanding logistics. We are however hopeful all arrangements will be on the uptick.”
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APC May Hold Virtual NEC Meeting This Week Over Party’s Crisis
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The Victor Giadom-led National Working Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress seems to have concluded plans to hold a National Executive Council meeting where the crisis rocking the party will be addressed.
SaharaReporters gathered that the meeting may be virtual and anchored from the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Sources familiar with the development told SaharaReporters that governors elected under the platform of the party and relevant officer in the Presidency are consulting with the Giadom-led NWC towards a quick resolution of the problems confronting the party.
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Though the specific day the NEC meeting will hold could not be ascertained at the time of this report.
A group of protesters had on Monday stormed the secretariat of the party to demand the sack of current members of National Working Committee of the APC.
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Renowned Labour Activist, Ayodele Akele, Is Dead
Respected labour leader and activist, Ayodele Akele, is dead.
A close associate of the former Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Lagos State wing, confirmed to SaharaReporters that Akele died on Tuesday morning after succumbing to an undisclosed illness.
The late Akele was a former Secretary-General of the National Conscience Party founded by late legal luminary, Gani Fawehinmi.
Video of Rodents Invasion: Nigerian Government Can Lie Till Eternity – Ayodele Akele
Rodents Invasion: Nigerian Government Can Lie Till Eternity – Ayodele Akele
Rodents Invasion: Nigerian Government Can Lie Till Eternity – Ayodele Akele
Video of Buhari Is A Confused President, Nigeria Needs A Revolution -Ayodele Akele
Buhari Is A Confused President, Nigeria Needs A Revolution -Ayodele Akele
Buhari Is A Confused President, Nigeria Needs A Revolution -Ayodele Akele
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