Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Tuesday 6th October 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 06/10/20
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Election: APC, PDP Planning To Import Thugs For Election, Says Ondo Deputy Governor
Agboola Ajayi
Agboola Ajayi, deputy governor of Ondo State and candidate of Zenith Labour Party, has called on the Inspector-General of Police and Director-General of the Department of State Services to reorganise the security architecture of the state to curb violence during Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
Ajayi, who made the call in a statement by his media aide, Allen Sowore, on Monday, alleged that candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Eyitayo Jegede, had recruited thugs to unleash attack on members of opposition parties and residents of the state on election day.
Agboola Ajayi
The ZLP candidate added that the plan of the two political parties was to bring in armed thugs from neighbouring states like Kogi, Ekiti and Lagos to cause chaos during the election.
The statement reads, “The deputy governor and candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, Agboola Ajayi, has uncovered a clandestine plan by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, and the Peoples Democratic Party to attack innocent citizens of Ondo State before and during October 10 governorship election in the state.
“The callous plan to bring thugs from Lagos through Epe waterway, Ekiti, Kogi and Oyo States is part of an orchestrated plan to unleash terror on perceived opponents during the election in Ondo State.
“The Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress have practically turned Ondo State to a theatre of war as the 2020 governorship election draws nearer through incessant attacks and retaliation, which caused panic and palpable fear in the electorate.
“The deputy governor and candidate of Zenith Labour Party is left with no other option than to call on the Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, and Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, and other security agencies to take proactive action with a view to curbing the ugly trend in Ondo State.”
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Effective Leaders Listen, Sam Adeyemi Tells Presidency Over Restructuring Issue
Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, Sam Adeyemi, has joined millions of Nigerians to demand for restructuring.
Adeyemi queried the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, over his statement that the Nigerian Government would not succumb to threats emanating from some quarters in the country.
Shehu had in the statement described recent calls for the restructuring of the country as “recurring threats to the corporate existence of the country”.
But Adeyemi via his verified Twitter handle stressed that effective leaders must listen to the views of citizens and take appropriate actions.
When did it become a threat for citizens to express opinions, even if strong, about the structuring or restructuring of their country? Effective leaders listen.— Sam Adeyemi (@sam_adeyemi) October 5, 2020
Earlier, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, warned of a possible collapse of Nigeria if the Muhammadu Buhari-led government failed to restructure the country.
He said the restructuring of the country must be done “as soon as possible” to forestall a breakup of the various social-ethnic components that made up Nigeria.
“Without any doubt, we must restructure and do it as soon as possible. A United States of Nigeria is more likely to survive than our present structure,” he said.
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Bandits Kill Customs Officer, Nine Others, Kidnap 20 Farmers In Katsina
The Katsina State Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has been thrown into mourning following the murder of one its officers by bandits at a checkpoint in Dan Arau Village along the Katsina/Jibiya Highway.
Garba Nasiru, who was an Assistant Superintendent of Customs, was killed on Friday afternoon.
According to Katsina Post, security operatives engaged the bandits in a gun duel before his corpse could be retrieved from them.
Nine other persons were also killed by the gunmen in the state.
Efforts to get comments from the customs divisional headquarters in the state proved abortive but sources within the division disclosed that the late officer had since been buried according to Islamic rites.
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Spokesperson for the Katsina State Police Command, Gambo Isah, however, confirmed the incident but did not give details.
He said, “Yes, the incident was true; bandits killed a customs officer at the Dan Arau Village checkpoint but approached the customs for details.”
In a similar incident, armed bandits also kidnapped 20 people working on their farms in Mallamawa Village under Jibia Local Government Area according to local sources on Sunday.
Katsina State has recently been in the news following renewed attacks by bandits, a development that has sparked protests by residents and visits of security chiefs to the state as part of efforts to tackle the problem.
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DSS, CAC Frustrate Registration Of Human Rights Group, Offer No Explanation
For the seventh time in the last three years, the Department of State Services and Corporate Affairs Commission have frustrated the registration of a civil society group, Concerned Nigerians.
SaharaReporters gathered that the DSS stopped the CAC from issuing the group led by Deji Adeyanju the certificate of incorporation even after it was duly registered after the seventh attempt.
“On June 13, 2020, the commission granted approval for the reservation of the group’s name. The commission introduced the requirement that all persons seeking to register an incorporated trustees must apply and obtain the consent of the Registrar General.
“The registration was therefore queried on this ground. We subsequently applied for the Registrar General’s consent to use the name and consent was granted on July 17, 2020.
“Days after consent was granted, the registration was approved on the commission’s upload portal. A quick glance on the undersigned’s data page on the commission’s registration portal also shows that the Incorporated Trustees was registered by the commission on August 4, 2020.
“However, as at this time, the certificate of incorporation is yet to be sent to the group,” a source familiar with the registration told SaharaReporters.
Concerned Nigerian has in the last five years defended human rights and rule of law in Nigeria.
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The Cure For SARS Affliction Is SARS By Fredrick Nwabufo
Fredrick Nwabufo
The affliction called “the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)” has become resistant to every divine antidote. It was set up to treat the pestilence of armed robbery and other violent crimes. But the police unit became the behemoth of organised criminality. It became the canker it was commissioned to extirpate.
There have been many accounts of criminality and extra-judicial exertion by this police unit. But there is only a trickle of detail on the prosecution of these dispatchers of death by the police authorities. I must say, the police leadership is complicit in the SARS menace. The force is aiding its criminal minds in taking flight from justice.
In one year, between March 2019 and February 2020, the police, particularly the ill-reputed SARS, have caused the untimely expiration of 92 Nigerian souls – according to the Council on Foreign Relations (a non-profit US think tank). Some of the prominent reasons for the killings are “refusal to give a bribe, argument and accidental discharge’’.
Fredrick Nwabufo
Sadly, no single police officer involved in these abominable executions has been handed to the whipping post. This is where I am concerned, and why I strongly believe the police leadership is in cahoots with its men on the terrorism against citizens.
An example is the case of Ogar Jumbo, an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), who was mauled to eternal exit by police officers at Nyanya, Abuja while taking his children to school in March 2019.
Months after the murder, Desmond Jumbo, brother of the deceased, told TheCable, an online newspaper, that the last time his family heard from the police regarding the case was only the day after his sibling was bludgeoned to death.
According to him, “no contact (by the police), nothing; even when he was buried”.
“It was only the day after it happened that the DPO (Divisional Police Officer) visited but many people in the area were very angry with him,” Desmond said.
“He (the DPO) now went back to the Abuja command and lied that they wanted to kill him. And, of course, they were hiding under the excuse that the place was not secure, and they didn’t reach out.
“I am his elder brother and living directly behind the Garki police command, but they didn’t do anything.”
He also revealed that the case against the policemen involved in the murder had been sputtering for some contrived reasons. He said with note of hopelessness: “The police were not happy; they did not show up in the last hearing.”
Another interesting instance of police hierarchy conspiracy is that of Kolade Johnson, the football enthusiast, who was felled by the guilty bullets of some SARS operatives at a viewing centre in Lagos on March 31, 2019.
Boluwade, Jonhnson’s elder brother, had said (as of June) the last time the family heard from the police was only two months after his death — when they couriered a condolence letter.
He said with depressing finality: “Since then, no one has showed up. The police have never called the family since then. There was no compensation. It is only the governor that was showing up from time to time.” And on the killer police officer, the brother of the deceased wryly said: “They say he is in prison but whenever he comes to court, he is looking like he is in a hotel.”
Really, it is unimpeachable to say that the Nigerian police is the worst in the world. The International Police Science Association and the Institute for Economics and Peace corroborated this fact in their latest World Internal Security and Police Index (WISPI). As a matter of fact, the police are diseased at all levels of their hierarchy.
Okechukwu Nwanguma, executive director of Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), a group advocating reforms in the force, puts a perspective to police leadership complicity in the criminality of its men in an interview with TheCable.
He explained: “Police brutality is like an epidemic because of the unwillingness of the police to punish the officers involved and also because of lack of adequate legal framework. The moment these cases go to court, there is no way of monitoring and following up.
“There have been cases where police officers charged to court disappear because nobody is monitoring or following up. A DPO was involved in murder and ran away; a court issued an arrest warrant and the police said they did not know his whereabouts. Two years later, the man was located at zone 9 in Umuahia where he was serving in the office of the provost, who is in charge of disciplinary measures.”
So, it is clear as we advocate the amputation of the gangrenous SARS, we must push our luck further by insisting on a purge of the entire police. Our police force is in dire need of vacuuming. The septic characters in the security agency are a bigger problem than the unit upon which they traffic in perfidy. So, if we eliminate SARS without expelling the rotten eggs, we are only deodorising a ghastly matter. They will only regroup under another police outfit.
So, while we apply: Strategic Antidoting and Removal of the Sore (SARS) to the SARS menace, we must look deeper and not soar away on righteous emotions.
Vacuum the police!
Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist
Twitter: @FredrickNwabufo
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Ondo Election: Onaiyekan, Jega, Utomi, Na’abba Others To Hold Rally Against Violence On Friday
Following violent attacks by supporters of political parties ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State, some prominent Nigerians would on Friday, October 9, 2020 embark on a rally against violence and vote-buying in the state.
In a statement, Publicity Secretary of National Consultative Front, Dr Tanko Yunusa, on Monday in Abuja said the rally was aimed at calling for peaceful election among the political actors in the state.
The statement reads, “Perturbed by festering tension occasioned by flashes of violence and political skirmishes trailing Saturday’s governorship elections in Ondo State amidst allegations of voters inducement and political brick bats, the Leadership of National Consultative Front ostensibly in open solidarity with the Independent National Electoral Commission has invited some eminent Nigerians and leading peace advocates to address Ondo State stakeholders at a rally against vote-buying and electoral violence
“The convergence of frontline civil society advocates and eminent Nigerians has been slated to hold on Friday, 9th October at the Dome event centre in Akure, Ondo State capital, under the chairmanship of Cardinal John Onaiyekan.
“The historic rally is expected to hold between 10am and 2pm to enable NCFront 350 trained allied election observers and monitors to set up their Situation Room and prepare well for election monitoring the next day.”
The group explained that the rally would help in dousing and neutralising the festering tension being witnessed in the part of the state ahead of the poll.
Some of the key figures expected at the rally include former INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, a former presidential candidate, Prof Pat Utomi, Dr Tokunbo Awolowo Dosunmu, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’abba, NLC President, Ayuba Waaba, NBA President, Mr Olu Akpata, among others .
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Experts Set Agenda For National Assembly On Early Passage Of PIB
Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector have tasked members of the 9th National Assembly on the need to expedite action in the passage of the recently transmitted Petroleum Industry Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The experts expressed these views on Monday in Abuja at a forum to suggest the ways forward regarding the necessity of having the bill passed.
They also stressed the need for an efficient structured National Oil Company to create different economic opportunities using proceeds from the oil and gas sector.
According to the guest speaker at the event, Prof Uche Uwaleke, who delivered a paper on the impact of fuel subsidy on the nation’s economy, several drawbacks arising from its N1trn annual financial burden as well as its effects on the national budget deficit which ultimately necessitated borrowing was an issue.
He also called on policy makers to come up with ideas aimed at utilising revenues to be saved from subsidy to develop other sectors of the economy.
He, however, called on the government to engage in an enlightenment campaign and sensitise people on the advantages of subsidy removal to the economy and its long term benefits to the wellbeing of the people.
On his part as a legal consultant, Adegbite Adeniji called on the executive and legislature to use the current bill to reposition the oil and gas sector, which he said holds the key to the speedy and permanent diversification of the economy.
He said stakeholders must endeavour to solve the lack of inter-agency cooperation that has been the bane of effective regulations in the country, leading to duplications and multiple fines or levies imposed on regulated entities, thereby discouraging investment.
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E2%80%99s-agf-malami-moves-twist-land-grabbing-case-favour-ned-nwoko Nigeria’s AGF, Malami, Moves To Twist Land Grabbing Case In Favour Of Ned Nwoko
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in abusing the power of his office, has stepped into the case involving Nigerian billionaire and former senator, Ned Nwoko, and some residents of Idumuje-Ugboko in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State for opposing his attempt to forcefully acquire additional 90 hectares of land from an area earmarked for all indigenes of the community.
The former senator sought the intervention of the Justice Minister to twist the case in his favour.
Residents of Idumuje Ugboko community are accusing Nwoko of using the police and Ministry of Justice to dubiously harass, intimidate and lock up elders and sons of the town.
In the case with charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/11/19 currently before a Federal High Court, Abuja, some community residents were dragged to court and charged for murder.
Cheta Okolo and Onyeisi Isuzor, who Nwoko saw as a barrier to his illegal ownership of the land, are both standing trial for terrorism and murder at the Abuja court.
The defendants wrote the court to transfer the case to Asaba being the appropriate and convenient jurisdiction for the trial of the case in line with Sections 93(1), 98(1) and 386(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
However, interfering in the matter after being approached by Nwoko, Malami wrote an official letter to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, directing him not to transfer the case from Abuja.
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Malami claimed that continuing the trial in Abuja would guarantee the safety of the lives of the prosecution witness and others involved in the case.
He said, “May I respectfully bring to the attention of Your Lordship that the decision to prosecute the matter in Abuja borders strictly on security and safety of lives of all the parties involved especially the prosecution witnesses who are mostly inhabitants of the said community in the light of the nature of the offence and the status of the defendants in the case.
“My Lord may wish to also note that the matter is already ongoing before the Abuja Division of the court without any hitches before the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice sudden transfer on account of a petition by the counsel who is not a party in the case on record. This development has no doubt brought a set back to the wheel of progress in this case.”
On July 7, 2020, the Nathaniel Bama, who Nwoko said was attacked by the duo, swore to an affidavit that they did not commit any crime against him.
The DPP on August 4, 2020, advised that there was no prima facie case against Cheta and Onyeisi, and recommended their release from custody.
It was further learnt that on the DPP’s advice, the magistrate court on August 5, 2020 struck out the charges against Cheta and Onyeisi and ordered their release.
Instead of releasing them, SaharaReporters gathered that the duo were transferred to the Force Criminal Investigative Department in Abuja on the orders of Nwoko where they have been in custody for weeks.
Having gotten wind that the DPP had again advised that there was no prima facie case against them, the former lawmaker quickly got officials of Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, to file a charge of terrorism and murder against Cheta and Onyeisi at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
SaharaReporters recall that residents of Idumuje Ugboko had earlier accused Nwoko of using police and Ministry of Justice officials to dubiously harass, intimidate and lock up elders and sons of the town.
“He imports police from Abuja to ambush and arrest the men who oppose him, then transfer them to Abuja and have them locked up indefinitely without due process. Many of them were held in Kuje Prison on trumped up charges of terrorism and murder for months, while others were unjustly locked up for upward of two years in Agbor Prison, Delta State.
“It is imperative to place on record that the Nigeria Police Force has become a willing tool in Ned’s malevolent schemes to totally annihilate any opposition in his inordinate quest to forcefully dispossess the ordinary people of Idumuje Ugboko of the ancestrally bequeathed possession,” the residents said in a petition signed by Jerry Isichel and Daniel Osakwe and submitted to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.
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Gunmen Abduct 25-year-old Female Lawyer In Rivers State
A female lawyer, Paulette Abisola Ajayi, has been kidnapped by gunmen in military fatigue and dark T-shirts at Rumuokurusi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The 25-year-old female lawyer was intercepted by the gunmen on Saturday along Woji Street while trying to enter their apartment.
A family source said the incident occurred between 8:30pm to 9:00pm, lamenting that the assailants were yet to contact the victim’s family.
Spokesperson for the police in Rivers State, Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the incident.
He assured that the command had put in machinery for the lawyer’s speedy rescue from her abductors.
Her abduction is said to have sent shivers down the spine of many residents of the area.
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US President Donald Trump To Leave Hospital Today
US President Donald Trump.
United States President, Donald Trump, has said that he would leave hospital in a few hours after receiving treatment for COVID-19.
Trump was admitted last Friday after he tested positive for the virus and was being taken care of at the Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Washington DC.
US President Donald Trump.
Trump in a tweet on Monday said, “I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of COVID. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump administration, some really great drugs and knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!”
His personal physician, Colonel Sean Conley, is expected to brief journalists shortly on Trump’s health status.
It is unclear if the US President has now tested negative for COVID-19.
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