Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Sunday 23rd August 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 23/08/20
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BREAKING: Fulani, Atyap, Hausa Communities Agree To Embrace Peace In Southern Kaduna
Warring communities in Southern Kaduna have agreed to sheath their swords after a peace meeting between Atyap, Fulani and Hausa communities in the area.
Participants at the meeting condemned the killings and destruction that have occurred and resolved to forgive each other, help security agencies with information to arrest and prosecute criminal elements.
The meeting, which was held on Saturday at Mariyamu and Yakubu Event Centre in Ungwan Wakili under the auspices of His Highness, the Agwatyap, Dominic Gambo Yahaya, brought together the three communities in a peace atmosphere.
In a 14-point resolution, the meeting called on all residents of Atyap Chiefdom not to take laws into their hands and instead submit all grievances to lawful authorities.
The communique reads, “The meeting appreciated the fact that all Nigerians have the constitutional or fundamental rights to move and reside anywhere in Nigeria, including Atyap Chiefdom, without any fear, molestation or harassment from anybody or any source whatsoever.
“The summit therefore called on the authorities to facilitate the return of displaced persons.
“It recommended the establishment of a standing peace committee that should comprise of Hausa, Fulani and Atyap and their youth to organise robust engagement/dialogue on security issues from time to time with a view to sustaining peaceful coexistence.”
Meanwhile, President of Southern Kaduna People’s Union, Jonathan Asake, and spokeperson of the group, Luka Binniyat, confirmed the presence of the union at the meeting.
Binniyat, while speaking with SaharaReporters said, “We wish for peace if it is going to bring final peace. If the people have agreed that they have stopped, peace is what we have been yearning for.”
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We’ll Use Armed Thugs, Others To Rig Ondo Governorship Election, Says APC Stalwart, Isaacs Kekemeke
Isaacs Kekemeke
Isaacs Kekemeke, a former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, has said that the party will use armed thugs and militants to disrupt the October 10, 2020 governorship election in the state.
Kekemeke, who spoke in a video obtained by SaharaReporters, said the party would also contract leaders of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in the state to rig the election in favour of the APC.
Isaacs Kekemeke
He said the APC needed to win the governorship election at all cost, noting that the party was prepared to use ‘federal might’ to influence the election.
Kekemeke, who attacked the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Eyitayo Jegede, said the APC would not allow an opposition party to win the governorship election.
He said, “We will use NURTW members and thugs loyal to us (APC) to win this election at all cost.
“Eyitayo (PDP candidate) is only crying foul that they tore his posters in town. He has not seen anything yet.
“Governor Rotimi Akeredolu is the only one dealing with him now he has started crying, what if the Federal Government arrives the state for the election, he will run away.”
Video of APC Chieftain Caught On Tape Threatening To Cause Violence, Disrupt Ondo 2020 Governorship Election
APC Chieftain Caught On Tape Threatening To Cause Violence, Disrupt Ondo 2020 Governorship Election
WATCH VIDEO: APC Chieftain Caught On Tape Threatening To Cause Violence, Disrupt Ondo 2020 Governorship Election
Kekemeke also contested the APC governorship primary election in Ondo but lost out to Akeredolu, who is vying for a second term in office.
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El-Rufai: Kaduna Muslim Lawyers Threaten To Boycott NBA Conference
Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai
The Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria, Kaduna branch, has threatened to boycott the forthcoming Nigerian Bar Association Conference following the withdrawal of the invitation to Kaduna governor, Nasir el-Rufai, as guest speaker by leaders of the association.
The governor had been scheduled to participate in a panel discussion at the virtual NBA conference slated for August 26-29 but his inclusion sparked controversy among lawyers, who pushed for his removal as a participant.
Nasir El-Rufai
The Muslim lawyers at a press conference in Kaduna on Saturday insisted that the NBA did not give the governor a fair hearing.
Chairman of the group, Abbas Masanawa, said its members will not be attending the conference.
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BREAKING: Nigerian Bar Association Withdraws El-Rufai’s Invitation As Speaker At Conference Over Kaduna Killings
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He said, “The said decision of the NBA NEC is deemed by MULAN Kaduna Branch as being parochial, sentimental, disuniting and tainted with favouritism and ethno-religious considerations.
“The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Paul Usoro (SAN), said ‘NEC’s decision had no ethnic or religious colouration or connotation howsoever and whatsoever.’
“MULAN Kaduna Branch asks Mr President if the topic: Who is a Nigerian? has anything to do with Southern Kaduna. An honest answer in this direction would reveal the clandestine motive of the NBA.”
Recall that the Jigawa and Bauchi states branches of the association had also threatened to boycott the event if Governor el-Rufai was not recalled.
The groups maintained that el-Rufai was not given the opportunity to defend himself.
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Soldiers Allegedly Torture Policeman To Death In Rivers State
A police inspector, Hosea Yakubu, has died after he was allegedly tortured by four military men at Eleme Petrochemical gate, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
It was gathered that Yakubu was beaten to a pulp by the soldiers attached to the company last week Sunday for driving against traffic.
A brother to Yakubu said the deceased and two other officers were returning from normal patrol duties when due to traffic gridlock along Eleme they decided to drive against the normal flow.
On approaching the petrochemical gate, he said they were stopped by someone on mufti, not knowing he was a military personnel, who challenged them for driving against traffic.
This led to argument with the military personnel on mufti slapping the police driver.
However, when Yakubu came down to challenge him, the other soldiers joined their colleague and the whole thing escalated into a fight.
He said one of the soldiers took a heavy plank and smashed Yakubu on the head.
“He fell down and couldn’t move. He was subsequently rushed to the nearest hospital from where he was referred to UPTH and admitted at the ICU.
“After 24 hours on admission, he gave up. Up until today, neither the police nor the military have said anything or taken action to bring the culprits to book,” the victim’s brother said.
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MURIC, CAN Will Set Nigeria On Fire By Fredrick Nwabufo
Fredrick Nwabufo
Violent crisis of ethnic and religious complexion does not just happen. It grows relentlessly like cancer and metastasises until irreversible fatality. Some of the bloodiest riots in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa have been spawned by conspiracy theories operationalised in religious and ethnic slants. The 1980s religious clashes in Kaduna and Kano, for instance, were ignited by extremist leaders who stoked the furnace.
God forbids it that Nigeria slithers down the haunted tunnel of inter-religious crisis again. Nobody wins a religious war. It is the reason religious and political leaders must be disciplined in their utterances. Those who cultivate and circulate divisive messages must understand that they could become victims of their own devices in the outbreak of a religious war. Again, nobody wins.
At this time that Nigeria appears to be floating in a butane bubble like some flotsam and jetsam, caution is wisdom. Really, Nigerians have been sorely divided along the devious line of ethnicity and religion by the insensitivity of the current administration. But the utterances of religious bodies like the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) are butting the country to the precipice.
Fredrick Nwabufo
I think, both CAN and MURIC have outdone political parties in their forte of propaganda. These religious groups are accomplished conspiracy theory factories. While CAN rides on the farcical theory of Islamisation, MURIC flies the kite of Christianisation, hate and bigotry.
Savaging the government, CAN described the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) as an attack on the church and an attempt to eviscerate the clergy of power. According to the association, the law is “unacceptable, ungodly, reprehensible and a war against Christianity’’. I wonder why every issue in the country must be put through the petri-dish of religion. Though I have addressed the Act and its antagonists in a previous essay, I think CAN’s indignation is misdirected.
Is CAN afraid of the ‘’karma of CAMA’’ as regards bringing transparency in the church industry? The association lacks the power and the will to hold members to account. I recall when CAN even declared its support for a pastor accused of rape. This is not the type of association that can hold members to probity.
Over the years, the finances of churches in Nigeria have escaped scrutiny. It is the reason public officers enlist pastors to launder money. Even civil servants who loot public funds find sanctuary in the church where they sow a portion of their loot as seed.
In November 2015, the EFCC arrested a civil servant on grade level 14 at the ministry of finance whose salary was N121,000, but had paid N60m as tithe to a church in Abuja. There is also the recent case of a public officer who reportedly used a certain pastor to launder N543 million abroad.
CAN must see issues on their own merit; every matter should not be reduced to religious conspiracy. Though I must say the reason for these fears are partly due to the machination of the highly insensitive Buhari administration, which is notorious for nepotism and clamping down on dissent, there is some merits in CAMA – in that it will make the church enterprise accountable to God and man.
As I wrote in the previous article, some of the most famous churches in Nigeria have been indicted for fraud abroad through the instrumentality of the law regulating all religious and charity organisations in those countries. We need sanity in the church in Nigeria. CAN should not be a can of lamentations and wolf-crying.
MURIC is a portentously dangerous group for its propensity to spin off bizarre conspiracy theories from even the most innocuous and jejune of matters. Just last week, Isaq Akintola, MURIC leader, alleged that the Oyo state government Christianised the teaching service commission examination. He said Muslim candidates were made to answer biblical questions in the test. But the state government explained that there was no religious bias in its approach and that even Christian candidates were given tests on Islamic themes.
MURIC’s Akintola has produced other offbeat theories from its factory of oddities. He once alleged that Amotekun, the south-west security outfit, was Christianised, and that the mysterious deaths in Kano in May 2020 were an attempt to depopulate Muslims. On Friday, he said the disinvitation of Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna state governor, by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) was a declaration of war on Muslims and Northern Kaduna. A subject which obviously had no ethnic or religious bent suddenly assumed the slant.
Akintola succeeded in giving a purely associational matter a very dangerous twist. Nigerians on social media became divided along provincial lines and were at each other’s throat. This is the dark power of conspiracy theories. Nigeria is incubating danger with groups like MURIC.
It is distressing that associations which represent the two religions that preach peace could be so vile and vicious in utterances. Groups that should naturally promote the peace and unity of the country are themselves putting a dagger on the umbilical cord holding Nigerians together.
Members of CAN and MURIC should know, if Nigeria burns, they will not be spared. They have a duty to Nigerians to promote the values and teachings of the Bible and the Quran and to be guided by them.
Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalistTwitter: @FredrickNwabufo
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E2%80%99ite-member Security Operatives Allegedly Acting On Orders Of Kaduna Governor, El-Rufai, Kill Shi’ite Member
Kaduna State Governor Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai
A member of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria also known as Shi’ites has been reportedly killed by security operatives allegedly acting on the orders of Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai.
According to Reflections Online newspaper, Shi’ite members were preparing to come out for their Ashura Day Procession when combined security forces and thugs attacked them in Kaduna metropolis.
Kaduna State Governor Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai
SaharaReporters could not independently verify these claims.
Recall that Shi’ite leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, was arrested after the group clashed with the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, in Kaduna in 2015.
Although there have been court orders granting him bail, the Nigerian Government has failed to release him, agitating his followers.
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Who Dares Say The Emperor Is Naked? By David Hundeyin
David Hundeyin
At the ripe old age of 11, when people are typically most concerned with videogames, action figures and the onset of pubescence, I had a different set of, externally enforced, concerns. Born into a religious cult, I was going through an unusually early period of development and self-awareness that made me keenly, painfully aware that something was definitely off.
When I was forced to carry around a legal document insisting that I must not be given a blood transfusion in the event of an accident no matter what, I suddenly began to understand. With mounting alarm I began to understand that the religion I had known all my life was a polished, socially graceful version of the various American religious cults I was raised to look down on including the Branch Davidians and the Mormons.
David Hundeyin
Of course leaving the cult even as an adult would be far easier said than done. If I wanted to retain all the privilege I was born into, the easier decision was to simply put my head down and do as I was told. There was, however, a principle that I was unwittingly exposed to very early on that possessed me and made it impossible to think any other way.
The principle was this – if the emperor is not wearing clothes, never lie to yourself that he is anything but naked. Always tell the truth to yourself and if possible, to whoever will listen.
Debt + taxes + white elephants + Buhari = profit!
Nineteen years later, that basic principle, the backbone of my decision to leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses as soon as I could, is still an ever-present element in how I view the wider world of politics, governance, economics and culture. There are very few young Nigerians who maintain an intellectually consistent worldview. Few can hold their own in the face of peer pressure to conform to the latest narrative. Perhaps most never had to deal with existential questions at 11 years of age. however, so it is understandable why
From Kigali to Harare to Abuja, post-independence African governments, are unfortunately all too aware of this. So many African states put an incredible amount of work into seeding slanted public discourse and planting convenient narratives whose singular aim is to confuse young Africans and misdirect their political energies.
In Nigeria for example, there is a well-funded independent media, marketing and public relations organisation known as the Buhari New Media Centre (BNMC), whose sole raison d’être is to push pro-government and pro-party narratives – regardless of how distinctly illiterate or divorced from reality they are. This organisation has people who work day and night to seed social media with strategic lies and mischaracterisations, place dishonest stories and opinion pieces in print media, lead broadcast conversations with compromised TV and radio personalities, and even call in on talk shows to shill for the Buhari junta while posing as regular callers.
The ruinous effect of this incredible effort to deliberately make Nigerians ignorant is undeniable. It has blinded most to the economic suicide mission Nigeria has embarked upon. Nigeria now owes more than it earns in year. To plug this gap it is harassing an impoverished private sector. At the same time splurging billions of dollars on gas pipelines to Kano and railways to Maiduguri. A growing number are either completely unaware that this is the state of their country, or are ‘Buharistans’ – true believers in the doctrine of Buhari. are
The emperor’s privates may be out in the open, but as long as the Buhari New Media Centre and its various partners and proxies stay on their job, everyone will either keep quiet or convince themselves that he is dressed in resplendent, glorious, flowing robes visible only to those who ‘believe.’
Nasir El-Rufai is definitely not naked
Here is a question: Since 2015, what Nigerian state has been in the news almost exclusively for death and disaster including an internationally-condemned massacre of over 300 Shiite Moslems, constant kidnappings and attacks on travelers, and a series of consistent and well planned village massacres by apparently amorphous “armed bandits“? Here is a second question: Who is the governor of that state?
Clearly the state in question is Kaduna state and the governor is a certain Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai. Said individual is an internationally recognised ethno-religious demagogue and a blatant, unhidden supporter of ethnic purges on the people of southern Kaduna who happen to belong to a religion he openly despises. If there were to be an objective ceiling-to-floor ranking of current Nigerian public office holders based on their statements and conduct in office, El-Rufai would be buried beneath the foundations of the building.
For added measure, he even manages to radiate the same horrible energy he is renowned for through his children, who regularly appear on social media and threaten to rape elderly women, use vile ethnic slurs and boast about their father’s unexplained wealth. Nasir El-Rufai is about as statesmanlike as he is Russian – the entire concept of political stability, respect and basic human decency is completely lost on him. There are few people in existence whom I would argue have no redeeming feature whatsoever, but he would be right at the top of my list.
The reason I used three paragraphs to outline the extent of El-Rufai’s abominable public profile is to juxtapose it with how his name still apparently remains popular in conversations about ”Nigeria’s best public administrators,” ”the best president Nigeria never had,” and even ”Nigeria’s next president.´ If one is not familiar with how the BNMC template is used to deceptively orchestrate public discourse so as to make someone who is an objectively despicable politician, a mediocre administrator and an abject human being appear to be some sort of messiah, one might be confused as to why such a person continues to have his name mentioned in such conversations.
If one is then not willing to stick one’s head above the wave of manufactured opinion to call out Nasir El-Rufai’s clear state of undress, the big lie goes unchallenged. As this continues, eventually everyone will conclude that his continued presence in the public space must mean that he somehow has something to offer, as against merely being a cynical political operator who spends money on hired mouthpieces to loudly praise the beauty and quality of his wonderful invisible clothing while his gonads lazily flop around in the savannah wind.
The past week saw the first stirrings of a possible critical mass of young Nigerians who finally got tired of taking part in this charade and loudly called out the accidental public servant’s clear state of nakedness. While high fives are in order, it would be a huge mistake to think that the war has been won. More traditional media mouthpieces will be enlisted in the coming days and weeks. Paid social media amplifiers will be furnished with glitzy photos of areas making up less than 0.1 percent of Kaduna state. Mr El-Rufai will be inundated with public messages of support and sympathy from his own political formation.
He will be invited to speak at dozens of events. Eventually as always, he will then start to rewrite the story of his disinvitation from the NBA conference in a way that will make him the victim of a sectional, ethnic and especially religious hang-up. He – the living embodiment of the word ‘bigot’ will annex that very word and weaponise it against those who got him disinvited. It is the Nasir El-Rufai way and he is nothing if not predictable.
How do you counteract such people whose breakfast, lunch and supper are bad faith actions and disingenuousness? Just do what I do in the face of a wall of propaganda and dishonest narratives – never lie to yourself that the emperor is anything but naked. Always tell the truth.
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Angry Youth Attack APC Musician, Rarara, While Shooting Video In Katsina
Dauda Kahutu Rarara, a popular musician for the All Progressives Congress, was on Friday attacked by aggrieved youth in Katsina State.
According to Katsina Post, the youth attacked the musician at the central market in Katsina, the state capital, as he was shooting a video of his latest song “Jahata Ce”.
The newspaper said Kannywood actor, Ali Nuhu, producer, Bashir Maishadda, and Tijjani Asase were with Rarara during the attack by the hoodlums.
It said the aggrieved youth upon seeing the singer, started shouting and condemning him in Hausa language.
Youths in the state have in the past carried out protests over insecurity and have called for President Muhammadu Buhari’s resignation.
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Boko Haram Recruiting Displaced Persons, Borno Governor Says
Governor of Borno State, Prof Babagana Zulum, has raised the alarm about the possibility of Boko Haram recruiting new members, mostly internally displaced persons.
Zulum expressed concern that the terror group was luring unsuspecting persons, including IDPs to its side.
According to him, the IDPs are exposed to the temptation to join if their desire to return to their homes and farms were not met.
He said, “Truly, the terrorists are working on people to join them and it is frightening.
“For the IDPs, if they could not get what they are looking for especially the opportunity to go back to their various towns and return to the farm, they may be forced to join the Boko Haram sect.”
Speaking during a BBC Hausa Service programme, Zulum said that IDPs were bored staying in camps with no solution in view.
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BREAKING: Boko Haram Attacks Convoy Of Borno Governor, Zulum, In Baga
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According to him, his administration had facilitated the return of displaced persons to Mafa and Kukawa, while plans were underway to return others to Kawuri. He said, “It is important that they go back to their various towns because no government can continue to be feeding them endlessly.
“I’m optimistic that the military will make it possible for people to return to Baga, Marte, Malam Fatori and Guzamala.”
The governor also commented on the Baga attack on his convoy, stressing that it was sabotage.
He said, “The attack on my convoy in Baga was shameful.
“I did not mentioned any name, whatever is done to hinder the fight against Boko Haram is an act of sabotage, including failure to buy arms.
“I was not afraid because I rely on God.
“I was attacked with bombs but Almighty God spared me.”
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UNILAG Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof Omololu Soyombo, Steps Down
Prof Omololu Soyombo
Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof Omololu Soyombo, has stepped down.
This followed the setting up of a Special Visitation Panel to the institution by the Nigerian Government on Friday.
Prof Omololu Soyombo
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The government also directed the university’s Senate to nominate a new Acting Vice Chancellor.
Soyombo in a statement on Saturday said he’s stepping down with immediate effect.
He said, “With this, I am stepping down with immediate effect as Acting Vice Chancellor of the university.
“I wish to express my sincere appreciation to all members of staff and our dear students, the staff unions, alumni, and the general public for their wonderful support and cooperation in the past 10 days since my appointment as Acting Vice Chancellor of the university on 12th August.
“As I noted in my address to a cross-section of staff on 19th August, I accepted the offer to serve as a call to service, with the objective of restoring peace and stability in the university.”
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UNILAG Crisis: Nigerian Government Orders Babalakin, Ogundipe To Recuse Themselves From Official Duties
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Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, was removed from office on August 12 after an emergency meeting of the Governing Council and some members of the school’s Senate in Abuja.
Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin, had masterminded Ogundipe’s removal over alleged financial misappropriation and misconduct.
The development plunged the university into crisis until government intervened by asking the two men to recuse themselves before also setting up a panel.
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