Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Friday 1st January 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 01/01/21
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BREAKING: Sowore, Others Arrested In Abuja
Rights activist and Amnesty International designated Prisoner of Conscience, Omoyele Sowore, and other activists in Abuja who were carrying out a peaceful procession to mark the New Year have been arrested by Nigerian security forces.
Eyewitnesses say policemen suspected to be with the Rapid Response Squad stormed Gudu junction in Abuja, wounding Sowore before carting him away with other activists at the location.
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*-party Police Parade Organisers Of Kaduna S** Party
The Kaduna State Police Command has paraded some youths who were allegedly behind the aborted maiden edition of a s** party in the state.
The youths had advertised the event on social media platforms, revealing that the s** party was scheduled to hold on December 27, 2020 at an undisclosed location in the state capital.
The invitation detailed that participants, male and female, were expected to be naked as no clothes would be allowed at the venue
Also, the party which was slated to start at 8 pm, would last till daybreak to allow participants interested in having s** during the party to do so.
The invite stated that interested participants would have to pay N2,000 (for the popular side) and 3,000 naira or 5,000 naira (for VIP).
Speaking to journalists on Thursday, one of the promoters of the event, said, “Kaduna S** Party started as a joke between me and my friends; it was not meant to go public. It was not meant to cause any nuisance among the public in Kaduna State. It was just someone that felt that she was too brilliant that posted it on Twitter.
“I never posted the party invite on Twitter. Yes, I initiated it, yes, it started as a joke, but I keep saying it, it was not meant to disturb the peace and security of Kaduna. The whole thing was a joke. A friend made the flier that was posted on Twitter and put my number on it and we all laughed over it, but somebody sent it to someone and then to another person, until it got to Twitter.”
Earlier in the day, the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA) demolished Asher Hotel in Barnawa area of the state over the event.
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Nigerian State Governor of Kaduna Orders Demolition Of Hotel Proposed For S** Party
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The agency, which is in charge of the planning and development of all urban areas in Kaduna, announced this in a tweet.
It alleged that the hotel was the proposed venue for the s** party, though a flyer attached to the tweet had no detail of the proposed location for the party.
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E2%80%99s-trap-fredrick-nwabufo OPINION: Ndi Igbo Forget 2023 Presidency; It’s A Trap, By Fredrick Nwabufo
By my educated guess, it will take four decades to put Nigeria together after the exit of President Muhammadu Buhari. Nigeria is like humpty-dumpty – broken, amputated and cannibalised. The Buhari administration has wrought irreparable damage on the country across sectors. The mess is deep and stinks. The next president of Nigeria in 2023 will have to be a night soil man; in our parlance – a shit parker; agbepo; onye obulunsi.
All government institutions have caved in under the fatal incompetence of the Buhari administration. In fact, every sector with a semblance of life before the erosive coming of the ‘’recession team’’ has been wizened by the tainted touch – a reverse Midas touch — of the current administration. To be clear, it appears there is nothing left to salvage.
As a matter of fact, the debilitation of institutions by the Buhari administration was deliberate. The government wanted to rule unchecked and unfettered. It is the reason it menaced the judiciary by dispatching DSS operatives to break down doors of judges like armed robbers in the dead of night, hounding and arresting judges in 2016. The government even took its paranoia beyond the stratosphere, removing the chief justice of Nigeria who is from the south and installing another from the north. By dint of that, it effectively wolfed the judiciary.
The government also succeeded in appropriating the national assembly. The national assembly essentially became the minion of the executive – cowering, genuflecting and catching cold anytime the first arm of government sneezes. It is the reason I disagree that the legislature is the symbol of democracy as popularly believed. The symbol of democracy is the critical and vocal masses – the free people. The legislature can wed the executive as we have seen in the case of Ahmad Lawan/Femi Gbajabiamila’s national assembly and the Buhari administration.
Perhaps, the most affected victim of the Buhari administration’s Sadim Touch is the security institution. Lack of cohesion and disharmony is diseasing the military and paramilitary organisations. Owing to the president’s refusal to give the spent service chiefs, who have overstayed beyond retirement, the boot, the promotion of some officers has been stunted. There is rancour and bitterness in the military; this explains why the war against insurgency and banditry is not making any progress. The government infected the military, which was known to be apolitical and professional, with politics and nepotism.
In fact, the Buhari administration has infected every institution of government with nepotism. Again, it will take decades to inoculate these agencies against the virus. Really, it is not that there was no nepotism in the national life before Buhari’s government, but the current administration made it a state policy.
Insecurity is now a quotidian experience, and abnormal normality. It is nearly six years in the life of this administration but there is nothing to celebrate. Nigerians cannot travel on the roads for fear of bandits; they are not even safe in their own homes. Insecurity has devoured the country. No one is spared. Citizens cannot afford basic necessities and the economy is in tatters. But what is worse, there is no hope of respite from these plagues.
In the past, I have made arguments for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2023. My position was influenced by patriotism. I reasoned that having a president of Igbo extraction in 2023 will help to foster oneness and unity.
I had said: ‘’I believe healing will begin for Nigerians when political justice is seen to have been done to all. At that point we can build a country defiant to disunity. But political justice must be done to all first to get to this stage.
‘’In the name of all that binds us as a country, we must begin now to work for a “red cap with an isi-agu” in Aso villa in 2023. Nigeria is for all of us, and we must work towards a society where justice breathes in the busy streets of Aba; where it hovers across the brown roofs of Ibadan, and where it strolls on the fine sands of Sokoto.’’
As noble as this stance is, I believe Ndi Igbo need to really consider the perilous corollaries of their quest for presidency in 2023. If the intention is just to have an Igbo president so as to fulfil a psychological longing, I think we need to probe our objectives. As it is, I doubt if any president that comes after Buhari in 2023 will do much. He/she will spend four or eight years cleaning up after Buhari. It is the reason I see the 2023 presidency as an entrapment.
Conversely, we could forge alliances with progressive groups with the primary aim of achieving restructuring or devolution of power to states ahead of 2023. That is, we support any candidate from any section of the country who has indemnifiable commitment to restructuring. We extract that commitment. The reason for my argument is a president of Igbo extraction pushing for restructuring will be resisted by the north. In fact, it is a campaign fail if any candidate from the south-east preaches restructuring. The nagging fear and suspicion that the Igbo will secede from the country if they get to power is intense.
So, what do we hope to benefit from Igbo presidency if we cannot have restructuring?
Let’s forget 2023 presidency, it’s a trap.
Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist.
Twitter@FredrickNwabufo
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E2%80%99t-order-closure-churches-lagos-police-commissioner-says Crossover: I didn’t order closure of churches, Lagos Police Commissioner says
Lagos CP Hakeem Odumosu.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has said he did not order the closure of churches in the state.
Odumosu had in an earlier statement, on Thursday, instructed policemen to enforce all protocols by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, including the restriction of movement between 12am and 4am.
In another statement issued by the force, the CP, however, said he did not order the closure of churches, but nightclubs, bars, lounges, and event centres, countering a publication (not by SaharaReporters) that he had ordered closure of churches.
The statement partly read, “The command’s statement was explicit on the enforcement of COVID-19 protocols as clearly stated by the Presidential Task Force and the Lagos State Government respectively.
“For clarification, the preventive COVID-19 protocols include the use of face masks at public places, maintaining social distancing, closure of night clubs, bars, lounges, event centres; no social party, street carnivals and due enforcement of the Federal Government imposed 12 midnight to 4am curfew.
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Enforce 12am To 4am Curfew, Lagos CP Orders Policemen
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“No closure of churches was included in the already established and released COVID-19 protocols, contrary to mischievous publications.”
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E2%80%98witch%E2%80%99 Nigerian Soldier Kills Mother For Being A ‘Witch’
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The Kaduna State Police Command has arrested an Army Corporal, Charles Thomson, for allegedly killing his mother, Modupe Thompson.
The incident happened on Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at their residence in Sabon G.R.A, Kaduna.
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Speaking while being paraded at the police headquarters on Thursday, the 30-year-old soldier, who confessed to the alleged culpable homicide of his mother, said he stabbed her to death because she was a witch.
Thomson added that his mother used to turn to a serpent at night.
He said, “I was arrested for culpable homicide, because my mother died in my hands while I was fighting with her. We were fighting as a result of a spiritual dispute; I saw her turning to a serpent severally at night, so, it angered me.
“She was even appearing and disappearing. And when I went into her room, I saw her with a 10-year-old boy running around her. That was what led to the fight.”
Asked about his father, the young Thompson said, his father abandoned him and his only brother with their mother about 20 years ago.
He said, “I am presently on sick leave, because I’m incapacitated. I was injured, I fell during an attack in Maiduguri, Borno. I was not dismissed; I am still serving.
“We had always had problems, there was no love. She didn’t have love for her children. So, I want to advise parents to always give assistance to their children and speak well about them in public.”
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Nigerian Government Investigates Murder Of 27-Year-Old Citizen Killed By Irish Police
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission has said it is awaiting the outcome of an investigation into the killing of a 27-year-old Nigerian, Mr George Nkencho, in Dublin, Ireland, by the police, while expressing dissatisfaction with the incident.
The NIDCOM Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, described the killing as “callous” in a statement on Thursday.
A statement by NIDCOM Head of Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said Dabiri-Erewa also described the death of the young Nigerian by a police officer as “wicked”.
She appealed to “the obviously enraged Nigerian community in Ireland to exercise patience and await the outcome of an investigation into the unfortunate incident”.
“Already, the African Advocacy Network Ireland has expressed shock following the killing of George Nkencho on Wednesday, December 30.
“Circumstances surrounding the killing of a mentally challenged young man have enraged the African community and (we have) demanded a full independent public inquiry,” the statement added.
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Black Community In Dublin Mourns Nigerian Killed By Irish Police, Denies He Was Thug
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Protests had erupted on Thursday in Dublin, the Irish capital, with hundreds of people calling for justice over the police killing of Nkencho, in the Manorfields Drive area, near the Dublin/Meath border.
The protesters, mostly blacks and believed to be Africans, were seen screaming, “Justice for George” as the policemen tried in vain to pacify the crowds.
Mr Nkencho was allegedly involved in two separate incidents in the Hartstown Shopping Centre at around 12.15pm.
The police stated that in both instances, he had threatened members of the public with a knife.
The police also said in one incident, a staff member in the EuroSpar received facial injuries. That man is receiving treatment in hospital for his injuries. Moments later, Mr Nkencho was involved in a public order incident in the local post office.
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Outrage As Irish Police Shoot 27-Year-Old Nigerian, George Nkencho Dead In Dublin
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The police further claimed that he continued to threaten members of the public and unarmed Gardaí (a member of the Irish police force) with the knife, a garda (Irish police) statement said this evening.
Gardai followed Mr Nkencho on foot and in vehicles from the Hartstown Shopping Centre towards Manorfields Drive, Dublin 15. During this period Gardaí were engaging him and encouraging him to drop the weapon.
Multiple videos taken by members of the public in the moments leading up to his death show the 27-year-old, who was said to have had mental health issues, walking across a green area and being followed by marked and unmarked garda cars.
Mr Nkencho was shot several times by a garda gun at Manorfield Drive in Clonee during the stand-off.
Gardaí have been made aware of several videos taken of the shooting itself and its aftermath. Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is investigating the incident also.
GSOC is an independent statutory body in Ireland charged with overseeing the national police force.
Amidst the uproar, the family of a 27-year-old Nigerian had appealed to people to not share footage of the incident online.
In a statement, Mr Nkencho’s sister Gloria said her brother was “suffering from serious mental illness and those who knew him know the type of person he was; he was not a thug nor a criminal”.
“Thank you all for your condolences and prayers. My siblings and I have witnessed the most traumatic experience of our lives as our brother was shot in front of us.
“My family greatly appreciate everything everyone is doing. I kindly ask to refrain from sharing the video of the shooting. It is not something I wish to be reminded of,” she said.
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#EndSARS: Nigerian Govt Yet To Increase Police Welfare Packages As Promised
Despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to reform the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), which includes increasing the salaries and improving the welfare of police personnel, nothing has been done.
The country had witnessed days of #EndSARS protests aimed at putting a stop to police brutality and comprehensively reforming the force.
The demands of the protesters had included increment in the salaries of police officers, which the government promised to address.
But about two months after, a top source in the police force told SaharaReporters that nothing had been done by the government regarding the demands of the protesters to improve the welfare of police personnel.
The source, however, revealed that efforts were already in place to implement a new salary structure following a recent directive by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, which he described as different from outright salary increment.
According to the source, the new structure is being prepared by the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
He said, “The new salary structure that we have now was prepared by IPPIS. A police constable earns nothing less than N40, 000. Then, as regards the promises made so far after the #EndSARS saga, we’ve not seen anything.
“But we strongly believe that some things are in the pipeline. The IGP has gone round most of the states, which I’m aware of and he mentioned that the welfare packages of police officers were being looked into alongside the salary structure, starting from himself down to the least police constable. We are hoping that by January, we’ll see the difference in the salary structure.
“All these things involve some processes; we believe once they implement it, there will be some arrears. Let’s hope by January, we will see some changes.
“The IPPIS is to prepare the new salary structure for the police. We have MSS (Mechanised Salary Section), MSS, which used to be used for the police salary before IPPIS came. IPPIS and MSS are working hand in hand now.
“Actually, when IPPIS came, there were some deductions. I think it happened in other sectors too like in the military. There were some deductions but after that, some amounts of money were added to the salaries, maybe N2, 500 or so, I can’t even remember.”
The source dismissed claims that there was an increment in the salary of police officers, explaining that what happened was adjustment in salary.
He added: “There was a salary adjustment for police officers, not salary increment. There was a rumour at a time that the salaries of police personnel had been increased. There was no increment, it was an adjustment in salary structure that was done. They are two different things.
“There was adjustment in salary structure. In the ministry, they don’t have levels but we do; we have level 11 up to 17. There was an adjustment in that structure to suit what the Department of State Services is using; to balance it up, just like an equivalent.
“For a newly recruited Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), before now, they used to be on Level 8 but now, they are put on Level 9 due to that structure adjustment. Level 9 for unconfirmed ASP, level 10 for confirmed ASP, a Deputy Superintendent of Police is on Level 11, and a Superintendent of Police is on Level 12.
“There was an adjustment in the structure not salary increment. Though indirectly, once there is an adjustment in structure, your salary will also increase but the salary for that particular level remains. But once there is a minimum wage adjustment, the salary for that level will increase.”
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NIN Registration: NIMC Pre-enrolment Portal Still Not Working One Week After Crashing
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) pre-enrolment portal is still not functional about one week after it crashed.
The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) had earlier ordered telecoms operators to disconnect SIM cards not linked to a National Identity Number by December 30.
Nigerians without National Identity Numbers had in a bid to retain connectivity thronged the portal to pre-enrol online before heading to the registration centres.
The portal, however, crashed under the heavy burden of people visiting the site frequently.
The NIMC had stated that it was working on bringing back the site to function. But a week after, this has yet to be done.
Rather, SaharaReporters gathered that the NIMC introduced a booking system for NIN enrolment.
According to a statement issued by the commission’s spokesperson, Kayode Adegoke, applicants are to visit any of the NIMC Offices closest to them during stipulated business hours (9 am – 1 pm) to submit their personal information which will be used to schedule an appointment.
However, applicants who come after the daily assigned number has been exceeded will be scheduled for the next day.
Nigerians are kicking against this, stating that it was already in place.
A cross-section of Nigerians have however questioned why the pre-enrolment portal could not be used for such.
For instance, Susan Onyedikachi said, “They are not reintroducing anything, it has been in existence for a long time. At the centre where I did mine, we picked numbers and if for instance, they said they would attend to 50 persons per day, the person who was number 51 would be scheduled for the next day. Why can’t they make the pre-enrolment portal functional?”
She suggested that the forms filled online via the pre-enrolment portal should be used to assign date and number to individuals as this would make the process faster.
Also, in an interview with SaharaReporters, Akolade Olusegun described the commission’s booking system as a waste of time, noting that activating the pre-enrolment portal is the best way to go about the process.
He said, “Since this NIN issue became important to us, it’s been one story or another, why can’t they find a lasting solution that will make the registration seamless? The use of the pre-enrolment portal is the way to go. They should do it in such a way that once each person inputs their local government area where they live, it will assign a nearby centre to them and people at the back-end will get their details and communicate with them whether via telephone or email, to let them know the date they will do the main registration.”
Olusegun said he believed the deadline for the NIN registration would again be extended, as according to him, the NIMC has yet to find tactical ways to get millions of Nigerians registered.
Another Nigerian, who has yet to register, Folabi Raymond, said he was tired of the process. “They are just going back and forth,” he said.
Raymond said he had the feeling that NIMC did not know what to do and that Nigerians were paying dearly for that.
He said, “If not that they would disconnect my SIM card, I wouldn’t even be bothered but I know if I don’t do it, at some point, I would not be able to make calls.”
He said the pre-enrolment portal should be activated for the sake of young Nigerians who are ICT-savvy, while the booking system should be used for adults and other sets of persons who cannot operate a mobile phone or personal computer.
“I am not against the booking system but they can also do online booking with their website. For the sake of those who are not learned, booking in the office is good but for those of us that have phones, let us book online. It will reduce the crowd at the NIMC offices.”
A Twitter user, Chijioke Okoro (@Mazi_Chi) tweeted, “In Nigeria, you must suffer for everything this government initiates. The online pre-enrolment portal has been completely not reachable for days now, meanwhile; the government has placed a deadline for updating SIM with NIN. Sad realities.”
Efforts by SaharaReporters on Thursday to reach the NIMC spokesman to speak on when the portal would be functional proved abortive as he neither answered his calls nor replied to text messages.
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Home Office To Deport Nigerian Man After 16 Years In The UK
A Nigerian man who has been living in Liverpool, UK for the past 16 years is fighting a government decision to deport him.
According to ECHO, Barido Nwinaene arrived in the city on a student visa and studied for a degree in business and marketing at Liverpool Hope University.
Nwinaene, who is now 35 years old, went on to obtain a master’s in computer information systems at Liverpool John Moores University.
He lives in his friend’s flat in Toxteth and has a 10-year-old daughter, now living in the Midlands.
But after exhausting appeals to remain on Merseyside, the Home Office has ruled he must return to Nigeria.
Nwinaene argues that he is a fully integrated citizen in Liverpool, a place he considers home, and has many friends and an uncle.
Since acquiring his qualifications, he has not worked because he has been unable to secure the relevant visa for employment.
But letters from the Home Office appear to indicate that because Nwinaene has spent nine years and eight months in the UK with “lawful leave” – during his studies and lengthy appeal process – it is just short of the 10-year continuous residence required to remain in the country.
Riverside Member of Parliament, Kim Johnson, is supporting her constituent and has told the Home Office that, “As a member of our public who calls this country his home, and has contributed so much already to is community, both local and academic, I feel it would benefit Mr Nwinaene greatly to receive permanent status.”
The Toxteth man believes he will face significant hardship if he was forced to return to Nigeria and will be made homeless.
At one point, about five years ago, he spent six months being transferred to different detention centres around the UK, in Glasgow, London and Manchester before he was allowed back to Merseyside.
In an interview, Nwinaene said he would face significant hardship and homelessness if he was forced to return to Nigeria.
“Liverpool is my home and has been for the last 16 years. It would be devastating to return to Nigeria, I’ve not been able to get hold of any family there for a long time. I ‘m really integrated in Liverpool and Toxteth and I can offer a lot to the city and community. I have fought a long battle with the Home Office, I would like them to grant me permanent residency.”
However, a Home Office spokesperson said, “All applications are carefully considered on their individual merits, on the basis of the evidence provided and in accordance with the immigration rules. This case has been tested before the courts and our position has been upheld.”
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Trouble Looms In Petroleum Training Institute Over Alleged Victimisation Of Candidates
Members of the Right Education Empowerment and Development Centre (REED), a non-governmental organisation in Delta State, have alleged that there are moves to disenfranchise some candidates vying for the position of CEO/Principal at the Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Effurun-Warri.
The group wrote to the chairman of the Federal Character Commission to inform him of the alleged injustice being carried out by the current management board of the PTI.
It also stated that mass protests might follow if justice, equity and fairness were not considered in the appointment process for a new CEO/Principal for the institution.
SaharaReporters gathered that the PTI board recently increased the age limit for candidates aspiring to become the institute’s Chief Executive Officer from 40 to 50 years.
This was contained in the advertisement for appointment into office as published in the Vanguard newspaper of December 16, 2020.
This means that anyone who is not up to 50 years of age as at December 2019 is not qualified for appointment into the office of the institute’s CEO/Principal.
The REED alleged that the move was introduced to disqualify some candidates who were not yet 50.
They stated, in the letter, that the board increased the age limit to favour the current Principal, Sunny Iyuke, because they want him back for a second term despite an alleged poor performance in office.
The group also alleged that the outgoing Principal had been widely accused of maladministration, inefficiency and corruption.
A statement issued by the group read, “In 2015, when the governing board made a similar advertisement for appointment into the same office, the age limit was put at 55 and below.
But this time round, according to REED, the latest adjustment made in the age limit is a deliberate tactic intended to “disenfranchise certain competent individuals with the requisite academic qualifications and popularity to become the next Principal of the institution.”
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