Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Thursday 3rd September 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 03/09/20
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E2%80%99s-lawyers-thursday-after Blasphemy: Kano Sharia Court To Handover Copies Of Judgment To Musician’s Lawyers On Thursday After Global Outrage
Yahaya Sharif Aminu
The Upper Sharia Court in Kano State that sentenced a musician, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, will on Thursday handover copies of its judgment to the musician’s lawyers and Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, SaharaRepoters has learnt.
Sharif-Aminu, who was sentenced to death on August 10, 2020, for alleged blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed, was given 30 days by the court to appeal the judgment, meaning that the time would lapse on Wednesday, September 9.
Yahaya Sharif Aminu
Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), had accused officials of the court of refusing to make available certified true copies of the judgment.
Falana said there was a need for things to move quickly since Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, had said last week that he would sign the convict’s death warrant once the time for the appeal lapsed.
“They have not released the judgment and time is running out. And if we cannot obtain copies of the judgment, we cannot appeal. They have just been saying the judgment is not ready and the days are counting,” Falana said.
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Humanists Condemn Death Sentence On Singer Accused Of Blasphemy By Leo Igwe
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Reacting on Wednesday, Baba Jibo Ibrahim, spokesperson for the court, denied the accusation.
Ibrahim said the judgment was handwritten and had to be typed.
He said that three copies had been made; one for the court, one for the Kano State Attorney-General and the third copy for the lawyers that formally requested for it.
“The delay in making the judgment available to lawyers that volunteer to rescue the life of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu was a result of the fact that Arabic scripts had to be entered in the judgment,” he said.
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I Won’t Waste A Minute Signing Death Warrant Of Musician Accused Of Blasphemy –Kano Governor, Ganduje
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The musician, who is a resident of Sharifai in Kano metropolis, was accused of committing blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed in a song he circulated via WhatsApp in March 2020.
Irate youth burnt down his family home and led a protest to the Sharia Police, Hisbah, demanding Sharif-Aminu’s death.
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Ex-Nigerian Minister, Nweke, Emerges President Of Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association
A former Minister of Information in Nigeria, Frank Nweke Jnr, has emerged President of Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association of Nigeria.
Nweke served as Minister of Inter-governmental Affairs; Special Duties and Youth Development; and later Information and Communications under former President, Olusegun Obasanjo’s government.
Nweke was elected alongside Aminu Mukhtar Dan’amu (Vice President).
Dan’amu is a former Kano State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development and served as Economic Adviser to two governors in Kano State.
In his acceptance speech, Nweke Jnr said, “As beneficiaries of a Harvard education and its accompanying networks and pedigree, the burden of responsibility is upon us to do all that we can to lead in navigating this new world by contributing our knowledge, skills, experience, network, and resources, towards transforming our country, society and communities for the better.”
HKSAAN leverages on resources at the Kennedy School and its alumni network in hosting informed policy discussions that can help contribute to greater growth and development in Nigeria.
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NCAA Approves Lagos, Abuja Airports To Resume International Flights On September 5
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, and Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, as the two airports allowed to resume international flight operations as from September 5, 2020.
NCAA made this known in a letter with ref NCAA/DG/AIR/11/16/255 to all aviation stakeholders and foreign airlines operating in Nigeria.
The letter signed by Director-General of the NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu, stated that other airports would be gradually reopened, stressing, however, that the two would have to adhere to existing COVID-19 protocols for approvals.
The letter reads, “Other international airports namely Mallam Aminu International Airport, Kano (DNKN), Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa (DNPO), and Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu (DNEN), will remain closed to international flights until a new date is determined and announced.”
Nigeria had on March 23, 2020 shut its airspace to international travel to contain the spread of the Coronavirus.
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E2%80%99s-south-west-region-cry-out-help-over-lack-adequate-rainfall Farmers In Nigeria’s South-West Region Cry Out For Help Over Lack Of ‘Adequate’ Rainfall
Farmers in Nigeria’s South-West region have expressed concern over the unusual frequency and length of rainfall and dry spells, saying it could portend a national food crisis if government’s intervention does not occur.
The Nigeria Meteorological Organisation had predicted that in the year 2020, the severe effect of the little dry season is expected over the coast of Lagos, Ijebu-Ode, Ibadan, Akure, Shaki, Iseyin, Ilorin, Ado Ekiti, Enugu, Benin and Lokoja lasting about 10-25 days.
This predication, however, failed in most of the areas with rainfall ceasing in some parts since June 21.
Kolawole Olufemi, who grows Cassava and Maize in Ibadan-Ibarapa area of Oyo State, says his crops wilted, prompting him to take out a loan to buy water to irrigate his farmland.
He said, “The rains did not start early this year but we were able to plant, hoping that it will become more frequent around May-June.
“When the rain stopped around last week of June, non of us in our association took it seriously but then it continued. My cassava started drying in the ground, some started rotting, and my maize started turning yellow, you know how it turns yellow when there is no fertiliser. I had to take a loan from our corporative to pay water tankers who come to water the farm now. How much is my profit from everything that I am buying water?
“Many others with smaller farms may not be able to afford that and that is why we are pleading with Makinde and everybody to help us to cope, they should provide package for farmers to cushion the effect of he loses.”
Another farmer in Ogun State, Lekan Balogun, who is also an extension worker, said the only reason his crops have made it so far is because of his knowledge of the irrigation techniques.
He said, “The South-West if you look at it comprises of a swampy vegetation. We always have rain at the right time so people here are used to it but times are changing. The family who owns the plot after my own, if you ask them what irrigation is, they don’t know. They farm as a means of subsistence and so when it fails to rain they cannot cope. The other day another farmer in the area saw my pumping machine and hoses and said he could never afford such unless he sells his farmland and we laughed over it.
“This is the reality, the government must invest in extenstion services to teach farmers in rural areas the best practices so that they can take care of them selves like when things like this happen. Many farmers have only heard of the word climate change radio or TV, they have never contributed to causing it ut will affect them more and so the government must step in with more education and facilities.”
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The Road To Yusufari By Isa Sanusi
Isa Sanusi
Sixteen years ago, many assumed that building a road from Gashua to Yusufari in northern Yobe state was an impossibility. There are 31-kilometres in between the two towns. The idea of impossibility was born out experiences of traveling on that desert and dusty path, with vehicles and people, often moving, as if on a wild guess or a game of chance, trudging through sand dunes, acarcia trees and tonnes of thorn. It was short journey full of suspense. The wheels of the vehicles can be stuck in sand dunes that can terminate the journey or make it look like an adventure.
Isa Sanusi
The dust will keep rising and obscuring the view of both the driver and the commuter. The types of vehicles that undertake such journey were largely open four-by-four trucks and outdated USSR made military vehicles. Whenever such vehicles were auctioned they are moved to start a new life on the route from Gashua to Yusufari and Bulatura and beyond. These are places quite close to Nigeria’s border with Niger Republic.
In 2009 i and colleagues visited Bulatura on BBC Hausa’s outstanding ‘BBC Hausa A Karkara’ – village roadshow that took radio to the people; to neglected places. As we finished broadcast in Bulatura, a man took me aside and started narrating how desert encroachment was working hard to render him homeless. The sand dunes moved and he had to moved too. Years ago, he said, desertification claimed his farm and he was close to tears while narrating how it is moving towards putting him and his family in a cul-de-sac of desert.
Days before my recent visit to this area a friend told me that now, you can travel to Yusufari in minutes and return back to Gashua. It sounded like a fantasy until i took a road that leads to Yusufari. Although i did not travel all the way to Yusufari but i took the road and went on and on, as if trying to trying to cast away doubts. Indeed there was a road to Yusufari and beyond. In fact there is now a road that easily connects people through; to Geidam and Baymari.
These are places in the vast arid part of Yobe state that were largely neglected to the extent that, years ago, many people never believe a road can be built to connect communities that need to be accessible to each other to survive. Until the former governor of Yobe state Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam built the roads that connected these places within minutes rather than the previous hours of toil. What these roads mean socially and economically can hardly be understood if one never experienced the daunting nature of travels in these areas.
People in some parts of Nigeria need only roads and development follows. On the road to Yusufari there is a gigantic ongoing hospital project that is near completion. The sign board by the road shows that it is a project brought by the Senate President Ahmad Lawan. It is meant to be a women and children’s hospital but it is going to be more than that. With rapid increase of population the hospital standing tall in the desert will be of service to both the people both Gashua and Yusufari.
The road to Yusufari began from a point where a new model primary school was built by Governor Mai Mala Buni. Such schools were built across all zones of the state. Getting education right from the basic point, or from the beginning was the reason why such schools were provided. The road to Yusufari, for me, on that day ended with a housing estate project current government of Yobe state is undertaking in major towns.
In areas largely neglected by federal government, until almost a decade ago, a road is more than a road. It is more than mere concrete and asphalt. It is also a new lease of life that opens the doors of possibilities. Location close to the a border creates real and imagined distance; the type of distance that begets an isolation that, to a large extent a road can eliminate.
For me, the road to Yusufari is not another version of Robyn Davidson’s 1977 trek across Australian desert accompanied by four camels. It is not the journey of a stranger in the wilderness. But it is an experience that shows that the familiar can wear the look of the strange. It just depends our ways of seeing things.
*Isa Sanusi, a journalist wrote from Abuja.
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Federal Executive Council Approves N11.74bn For Kebbi Road Construction, N1.20bn For NDLEA Property, Other Contracts
Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council has granted the Ministry of Works and Housing, Power, Justice, and Aviation a memoranda for contracts worth N26.06bn for the execution of projects.
The approval was announced to journalists after the 14th virtual FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.
Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said his office obtained an approval for a memorandum seeking to purchase an accommodation for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
Malami said the property was located at Plot No. 1123-1129 Cadastral Zone 0607 at Aviation Village, Airport Road, Abuja, and costs of N1.20bn to be purchased from Messrs. Chachangi Airlines Nigeria Ltd.
He said, “The council eventually considered the memo and gave approval for the agency to acquire the property for a consideration of one billion, one hundred and ninety six million naira (N1, 196,000,000), inclusive of 7.5 % VAT with a delivery period of four weeks.”
Hadi Sirika, Minister of Aviation, said he got an approval for the upgrade and refurbishment of the safe tower equipment in four airports including Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
He said, “This is just to increase the efficiency of the airports and reduce the workload in the control tower and to automate what was a hitherto analogue system to digital. The total contract sum is N13.122, 230, 999.17.
“This is in two parts. First component which is a foreign component is twenty eight million, four hundred and eighty nine thousand, five hundred and sixty five (€28,489,565m). The naira component is N3.491, 504,488.31. Of course, there will be 7.5% added VAT. It will be for completion period of 12 months.
“This has been approved as part of things that we do in civil aviation that passengers don’t see, that is our major work that we do, it is a terminal building or runway which you can see, these are the things that are out there in the bushes which contribute safety and security of our space.”
The Minister of Works and Housing said his ministry obtained two approvals for a memorandum for an emergency work as well as complete work on the Gadan Zaima-Zuru-Gamji Road in Kebbi State, at the aggregated cost of N11.74bn.
“The Ministry of Works and Housing presented a memorandum to Council for the Gadan Zaima-Zuru-Gamji Road in Kebbi State for two approvals. The first was to ratify the emergency works that were undertaken over seven kilometers between 2019 at N1.145bn, and then to approve the award by the same contractor to now complete the balance of 55 kilometers which was approved also at N10.589bn.
“So, just by way of emphasis, we did an emergency 7 kilometers out of 62 kilometers. Because it was emergency we need to come for ratification which was given and we now got approval to award the remaining 55 kilometers so that we can complete the road which was also given,” the minister said.
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E2%80%94pdp Fuel Hike: APC Pushing Nigerians To The Wall, Abiding To Law Not Sign Of Weakness —PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party has described the new hike in the pump price of petrol from N145 to N151 per litre as anti-people with the ability to plunge the nation into chaos.
The opposition party in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan, on Wednesday said it wondered why the government was deliberately trying to make life unbearable for citizens dealing with economic loses from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The PDP said, “It is distressing that the APC administration increased the cost of essential commodities at the time the leadership of other countries are offering palliatives to their citizens to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is instructive to add that our nation is doomed under the APC watch.
“We know that the APC is an unfeeling party but it is indeed shocking that it could go to the extent of approving such a hike at this trying time, when many Nigerians are struggling to afford staple foods and other necessities of life.
“Moreover, the APC and its government have failed to allow an open investigation into allegations of fuel price overcharge as well as the fraudulent subsidy regime through which over N14 trillion had allegedly been frittered by unscrupulous individuals in the APC.
“Our fear is that the APC is pushing Nigerians to the wall with its obnoxious and anti-people proclivities and we caution that nobody should misinterpret the peaceful and law-abiding nature of Nigerians as a sign of weakness.
“Our party therefore restates our call on the National Assembly to save the nation by calling the APC and its administration to order before they plunge our nation into chaos.”
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Amnesty International Asks Nigerian Government To Stop Denying Kano Musician Access To Lawyer To Appeal Death Sentence
Rights group, Amnesty International, has expressed concern over the Nigerian Government’s refusal to grant Yahaya Aminu-Sharif access to legal representation to appeal a death sentence passed on him by the Upper Shariah Court in Kano on August 10, 2020 over alleged blaspemy of Prophet Mohammed.
AI said the Abdullahi Umar Ganduje-led government in Kano apart from denying the young musician the right to legal representation is also denying him access to the certified true copy of the judgment.
Recall that Ganduje, who was once caught on tape taking bribe in dollars, promised to sign the death warrant for the musician once it lands on his desk, sparking national and international outrage and condemnation.
The rights group in a series of tweets on Wednesday said, “Amnesty International is deeply concerned about reports that Yahaya Aminu-Sharif has not been granted access to lawyers for the purpose of appealing the death sentence passed on him by the Upper Shariah Court in Kano State. He was sentenced on 10 August 2020.
“There are seven days left for Yahaya Sharif Aminu-Sharif to appeal the court judgment of his death sentence and court officials are allegedly denying him access to his lawyers. Prisoners have the right to legal representation.
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Blasphemy: Court Officials Frustrate Kano Musician’s Appeal
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“In an attempt to deny Yahaya Shariff-Aminu his right to appeal, the Upper Shari’ah Court in Kano has so far not provided lawyers a copy of the judgment. This is a gross violation of his rights.”
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E2%80%99s-wedding COVID-19 Scare: Some Guests Decline Invitation To President Buhari Daughter’s Wedding
Most dignitaries invited to the wedding of Hanan, one of the daughters of President Muhammadu Buhari, and her husband-to-be, Mohammed Turad, son of an ex-lawmaker from Kaduna State, may not attend the event over fear of COVID-19, Presidency sources have told SaharaReporters.
The marriage is billed to take place on September 4, 2020 and being the first-ever wedding to take place inside Aso Rock Villa, expectations are high.
In preparation for the grand ceremony, First Lady, Aisha Buhari, had sneaked out of Nigeria in August to the United Arab Emirates under the guise of a medical emergency to shop for Hanan’s nuptials, which hasbeen dubbed ‘The First wedding’.
SaharaReporters gathered that the declination of invitation to the event by top guests might not be unconnected with the online newspaper’s story revealing the COVID-19 status of President Buhari’s closest aide and Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Sarki Abba, on Tuesday.
“Abba tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago but his current status as we speak is unknown, whether he has tested negative or not.
“All I know is that there’s conspiracy of silence with regards to his status,” a source told SaharaReporters.
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Wedding Of President Buhari’s Daughter, Hanan To Hold Inside Aso Villa
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Abba, who has since resumed duties after recovering from the virus, is considered still unsafe to mingle with others inside the Presidential Villa by some persons including the First Lady.
It was gathered that Aisha has vowed not to allow Abba attend the wedding ceremony as a result of this situation.
Aisha is also opposed to the idea of Mamman Daura, a nephew and close confidant of Buhari, attending the event but the President has reportedly insisted on having him be a part of the occasion.
It is, however, not known if Daura is in Nigeria at this time or not after being flown in a private jet to the United Kingdom after exhibiting respiratory difficulties with symptoms similar to Coronavirus in August.
“Aisha Buhari is insisting she must not see Sarki Abba and Mamman Daura at the wedding of her daughter. Though Daura is presently out of the country but incase he comes back to Nigeria before the event, the President said he should be allowed to attend.
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President Buhari’s Daughter, Hanan, To Wed Special Adviser To Ex-Lagos Governor And Minister Of Works, Fashola
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“Though Abba has recovered, he resumed yesterday after two weeks in isolation. I still don’t know why the First Lady doesn’t want to see him at the event. The press statement by the Presidency denying that Abba never tested positive was planned to douse tension.
“Apart from the First Lady, most of the guests invited are afraid. You know most of the President’s friends are those above 60 years and they are vulnerable to the virus,” a source said.
The current situation, SaharaRepoters reliably gathered has sent panic across top circles of Nigeria’s elites planning to attend the ceremony inside Aso Rock Villa on Friday.
It was further gathered that invitation to the ceremony is being streamlined and as a result the groom’s family have made separate arrangements to host guests on Saturday.
The bride-to-be, Hanan, is a graduate of Photography from Ravensbourne University in England, who in July 2019 ordered the Department of State Services to arrest a young businessman based in Delta State, Athony Okolie, after he was issued a mobile number by telecommunications company MTN previously used and abandoned by her.
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SIM Card Case: Nigerian Businessman Illegally Detained Requests N10m Compensation As DSS Appeals Ruling
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Okolie spent 10 weeks in unlawful detention before he was finally released by the secret police.
Earlier in January, Hanan was again in the news after she attended an event to photograph a Durbar by Rilwanu Adamu, Emir of Bauchi, in one of the jets in the presidential fleet.
The move was condemned by Nigerians but the Presidency defended the action by saying that it was a normal procedure.
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National Water Resources Bill: Buhari Is Callous And Clueless By Bayo Oluwasanmi
Bayo Oluwasanmi
Major General Muhammadu Buhari has again resurrected the National Water Resources Bill that was overwhelmingly rejected by Nigerians in 2018. Renamed National Water Bill 2020, the National Assembly in collusion with Buhari has referred the bill to a “committee of the whole” for third reading and passage.
As expected, the bill was vehemently attacked by prominent Nigerians including Nobel Laureate in literature Wole Soyinka. Soyinka says “A roundly condemned project blasted out of sight by public outrage one or two years ago is being exhumed and sneaked back into service by none other than a failed government and with the consent of a body of people, supposedly elected to serve as custodians of the rights, freedoms and existential exigencies of millions.”
Bayo Oluwasanmi
“This bill on National Water Resources 2020 is designed to hand Aso Rock absolute control over the nation’s entire water resources, both over and underground,” says Soyinka.
With Buhari as President, Nigerians are daily nursing grief over rodent-inspired leadership of dictator Buhari. I have read autobiographies of leaders around the world. Some have been great leaders – respectful of their citizens, knowledgeable about the responsibilities of their offices. They conveyed a clear sense of vision, direction, and focus. These leaders have been a joy and blessing to their people and their nations. Then there were others – the callous and the clueless. They have nothing to show for leadership. Buhari belongs to this group. Three qualities are crucial for a leader: he must be sane, informed, and competent. Since independence 60 years ago, none of the leaders at the center possessed these critical virtues needed to move Nigeria forward.
Talking of a sane leader, Buhari is a textbook case of narcissism. Informed? Every time Buhari dabbles into issue of national importance, he made his ignorance more obvious. As far as competence is concerned, Buhari is a pitiable bumbler. He doesn’t know how to do the job he was elected to do. Buhari remains a callous and clueless captive of his own ignorance, nepotism, incompetence, wickedness, and insanity.
All Buhari is after is the hegemony of Fulanis. Already all top federal beuraucracy – military and civilian are filled with Fulanis. He is determined to impose Fulani suzerainty on Nigerians by forcibly acquire all living and non-living things for his Fulani kinsmen. Buhari is too callous and clueless to see anything wrong with a country that has been declared world poverty capital, world corruption capital, and world saddest place to live.
He has no clue how to create jobs for millions of unemployed and under-employed Nigerians. Safety, security, welfare and wellbeing of Nigerians are of no concern to him. Sponsoring a divisive national water bill in the face of competing economic and social pandemics facing Nigerians, reveals a clueless, shameless, and dissembling president bereft of answers to our national problems. Instead of initiating a bill that will pipe treated water into every Nigerian home, Buhari is fighting for water for cows of Fulani’s.
Nigeria is sick because its aged despotic President is sick physically, mentally, and spiritually. Buhari has only excelled in nepotism, in creating chaos, division, disunity, and terror. In his five years as president, he cannot boast of any achievement that directly and positively impact the lives of poor Nigerians, but failures. Buhari is so comprehensively ignorant of policy and history. He’s thoroughly lacking in a core of settled developmental national goals and progress. How barbaric and brutalized can Nigeria become under this most unpresidential President?
Like Deacon Femi Adesina preached: “Five years of Buhari, we are glad he came our way.”
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