Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Thursday 11th February 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 11/02/21
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*-sexual-relationships Angola Decriminalises Same-S** Sexual Relationships
A new law decriminalising same-s** sexual relations in Angola has gone into effect on Wednesday.
According to reports, the new law overturned a colonial-era ban on h********* relations which described it as “vice against nature”.
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Activist Jean-Luc Romero-Michel tweeted, “The law decriminalising homosexuality adopted in Angola in 2019 took effect today. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is now reprehensible and even punishable by prison.”
He said it was “a great step forward” in the fight against state-sponsored discrimination against the LGBTQ+ (l******, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer and intersex) community.
Reacting to this development, Nigerian novelist, Elnathan John, predicts that Nigeria would likely adopt the law decriminalising homosexuality.
He wrote on his twitter handle, “So apparently the law decriminalising homosexuality in Angola goes into effect today. For those who think Nigeria is not ready, there are African countries doing this. It is possible. No decent society should have laws punishing people for their sexuality.”The changes were passed in January 2019 by Angola’s parliament, but was not signed into law by the country’s president until November 2020. The new law also prohibits discrimination based upon a person’s sexual orientation.The changes came from the first rewriting of the country’s penal code since gaining independence in 1975. Angola had previously been a colony of Portugal, and the amended laws had been a remnant of the colonial-era rule that encouraged discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.
According to Human Rights Watch, the previous laws on same-s** sexual relations had been rarely prosecuted, but served as a basis for undue scrutiny and discrimination. The new law includes imprisonment of up to two years for discrimination based on sexual orientation.
At the time, passage of the new law was seen as part of a broader effort strengthening the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the country. The government had given legal status in 2018 to the advocacy group, Iris Angola. The group called the move an “historic moment” in defending the rights of the community in the country.
“This is an act of sovereignty by the Angolan State which, after 134 years of being governed in the criminal and criminal fields, with a code that has been in force since 1886, from the colonial administration, now has the penal code totally inspired by political reality, legal, cultural and social Angolan,” Francisco Queiroz, minister of justice and human rights, said at the time. “Therefore it is an aspect that must be underlined, this is one of the consolidation of the national sovereignty.”Meanwhile, SaharaReporters had earlier reported the latest memorandum signed by United States President, Joe Biden, aimed at expanding protection of the rights of l******, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer and intersex (LGBTQI) people worldwide, including potentially through the use of financial sanctions.
The Biden Presidency threatened “swift and meaningful” responses, including financial sanctions against countries found guilty of human rights abuses of LGBTQI+ persons.
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Landlady’s Daughter Allegedly Beats Male Tenant To Death In Lagos
The police in Lagos State have arrested one Ms. Tina Essi for the alleged murder of 49-year-old Christian Akparie of No 26 Orijamogun Street, Oreyo street, Ikorodu.
The Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, disclosed this in a statement signed on Wednesday by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
According to the statement, preliminary investigation revealed that on January 31, 2021, an argument over the payment of electricity bill ensued between Essi, whose mother owns the house and the deceased, which led to a fight.
“After the fight, the deceased continually suffered severe pains but unfortunately, on Saturday, 6th February, 2021 at about 7am while the deceased was being rushed to the General Hospital, Ikorodu, he gave up the ghost,” the statement read.
“The police operatives attached to Ikorodu Division of the command were contacted and they arrested the suspect immediately. The Commissioner of Police has ordered that the suspect be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, SCIID, Panti for a thorough investigation.
“The suspect is presently cooling her heels at the State CIID, Panti, Yaba.
“The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has however urged the relatives of the deceased to remain calm as the command will do the needful to have justice done in the matter. The police boss also appealed to Lagosians to always manage their differences and conflicts with maturity and seek police intervention where necessary to avoid untimely deaths and running into troubles.”
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E2%80%99-bank-accounts-%E2%80%93-falana #EndSARS: CBN During Military Dictatorship Never Froze Activists’ Bank Accounts – Falana
Femi Falana, SAN.
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to stop freezing the bank accounts of protesters and activists in the country, saying the bank never did so when it was managed by professionals.
Falana stated on Wednesday that it was “infringement on the fundamental right to fair hearing and property” for the bank to freeze bank accounts of protesters.
The SAN recalled that even during the dark days of military dictatorship, it never happened that the CBN froze the accounts of protesters.
He said, “On November 4, 2020, the CBN approached the Federal High Court for an ex parte order to freeze the bank accounts of#EndSARS protesters. The CBN asked for 180 days to investigate the #EndSARS protesters for the offences of money laundering and terrorism.
“Convinced that the CBN was telling the truth, the court ordered that the bank accounts be frozen for 90 days. Since the #EndSARS protesters did not commit any offence whatsoever, the CBN did not investigate them until the ex parte order expired on February 4, 2021.
“It was on the basis of the expiration of the ex parte order that the case of the CBN was struck out by the Federal High Court today.
“It is pertinent to recall that during the dark days of military dictatorship in Nigeria, those of us in the front line of the battle for the restoration of democratic rule in Nigeria were routinely arrested and detained under the obnoxious State Security (Detention of Persons Decreed) No 2 of 1984. But we regained our liberty on the orders of courts that acted as guardians of the civil rights of the Nigerian people even when judges were required to blow muted trumpets.
“In desperation, the military dictators charged us with sundry criminal offences, including treasonable felony for having the temerity to challenge their corrupt practices and human rights abuse. But the courts ensured that we were admitted to bail in liberal terms.
“Our passports were impounded at the airports and confiscated by the National Security Organisation (now State Security Service) to prevent us from travelling abroad to expose the atrocities of the dictators. But the passports were released to us on the orders of our courts.
“It is on record that the Central Bank of Nigeria, which was then manned by professional bankers, never filed any ex parte application to freeze our accounts. Let the CBN stop freezing the bank accounts of activists because it constitutes a gross infringement on the fundamental right to fair hearing and property. If the CBN does not desist from the illegal practice, our courts should turn down frivolous applications for freezing the bank accounts of activists and other citizens.”
The Federal High Court in Abuja had earlier today ordered the CBN to unfreeze the accounts of 20 individuals linked to the #EndSARS protests.
The judge, Ahmed Mohammed, issued the order unfreezing the accounts on Wednesday after the legal teams of both the CBN and defendants decided to end the case.
The CBN had in October 2020 asked banks to freeze accounts of 20 #EndSARs protesters.
Some of the affected individuals include Bolatito Racheal Oduala, Chima David Ibebunjoh, Mary Doose Kpengwa, Gatefield Nigeria Limited, Saadat Temitope Bibi, Bassey Victor Israel, Wisdom Busaosowo Obi, Nicholas Ikhalea Osazele, Ebere Idibie, Akintomide Lanre Yusuf, Uhuo Ezenwanyi Promise, Mosopefoluwa Odeseye and Adegoke Pamilerin Emmanuel.
Others are Umoh Grace Ekanem, Babatunde Victor Segun, Mulu Louis Teghenan, Mary Oshifowora, Winifred Akpevweoghene Jacob, Victor Solomon and Idunu A. Williams.
Their lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), explained that he vehemently opposed the Nigerian government lawyer, former Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa, who told the court they were still in reconciliation and that the order had expired since last week.
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Unknown Gunmen Kill Three In Anambra
Three people were shot dead by unidentified gunmen at the Civic Centre, Eke Nkpor, Anambra State on Wednesday.
According to reports, the gunmen stormed the centre and opened fire on the crowd gathered shortly after the inauguration of Nkpor Community Tax Force at the Civic Centre.
In a statement issued by the spokesperson for the state police command, Haruna Mohammed, the police received reports of an alleged shooting of one Izuchukwu Idemili, Chidi Oforma and Bongo Muoghalu.
Haruna said the incident took place when two unknown persons drove a black unregistered Mercedes “V Boot” and opened fire on the crowd.
He said, ”Following the report, police detectives attached to Ogidi Division, led by the DPO, CSP Ekuri Remigius, visited the scene and rushed three victims who sustained gunshot injuries to Crown hospital along Nkpor-Umuoji Road for medical attention where all the three victims were certified dead by the medical doctor while receiving treatment. Corpses deposited at the hospital mortuary for autopsy. Two expended ammunition of 7.62mm were recovered at the scene as exhibits.”
He also said the police had begun investigation into the case to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident and that efforts were being intensified to apprehend the perpetrators of the crime in order to bring them to justice.
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E2%80%94-oluwo-tells-buhari-governors Teach Herdsmen To Embrace City Life, Not Bush Life — Oluwo Tells Buhari, Governors
File Photo: Herdsmen.
The Paramount ruler of Iwoland, Osun State, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari and state governors to educate herdsmen to embrace city life, in an open letter to them.
His appeal comes amidst the recent worsening state of insecurity across the country.
The traditional ruler stated that educating herdsmen about city life would change their orientation on how to go about their trade legally.
In the letter issued on Wednesday, the Oluwo said, “…Formal education or vocational skills should be made compulsory for herders… The herders should be educated to embrace city life and not bush. They should be empowered with education. The life is richer in the cities than the bush. Doing such will shape their aspiration to legal means of making huge income.”
He said some of the herders who have become kidnappers and rapists have lived all their lives in the forest, adding that their desire to enjoy life’s luxuries with no formal education have made them a disaster.
He faulted the Nigerian government for neglecting Fulani people over the years and refusing to address their nomadic lifestyle.
He said, “The root cause of today’s predicament associated with insecurity and credited to the Fulani/Bororo was invited by past corrupt and visionless leaders who could not foretell it that, leaving people to stay in the forest without amenities, luxury of life and modern technology will unavoidably promote insecurity at a slight exposure to those accessories.
“Today, some Fulanis/Bororos in the forest have been exposed to luxurious benefits such as cars, magnificent houses and amenities. We have them as house maids, house assistants, gatemen while we kept our cows with some as business.
“At a taste of such luxuries and in comparison with life in the forest – of no wife, no electricity, no road, no spices, no car, no modern structure, they took to arms, kidnapping, raping, torturing and demanding ransom to enjoy life accessories.
“The end justifies the means, some Fulanis are neglected. The government knows they are Nigerians but refuses to address their solitary lifestyle. Many of them refused to be educated. We have such in major ethnic divisions in Nigeria. These people in the core grassroots feel little or no taste of government. And they feel the pleasure of having houses, cars from all of us. They device means, illegal or not, they care less.
“At an attempt to belong, they resorted to means of raising their standard, not minding the consequence. In the unrepentant move, many became victims, innocently maimed and killed. The Fulanis are everywhere. They have domesticated their lifestyles. They know the nooks and crannies of everywhere.
“Unfortunately, many of them are not attracted to formal education. That complicates the problem. To make the matter worse, the bandits who find joy in disturbing human peace infiltrated. They operate together and develop technicalities in kidnapping and ransom collections.”
He also described effective data management in Nigeria as a necessity at this critical time to efficiently monitor and detect infiltration.
He commended the Nigerian government for enforcing the compulsory registration of National Identity Number. “The value is priceless. The enlightened will appreciate this better, soon. Creating data bank for Nigerians will enable security agents and agencies to easily monitor criminals and crimes,” he said.According to the traditional ruler, ranching should be promoted by the government. He said developing countries like Nigeria should be attracted to modern means of raising animals, most especially cattle.
He opined that open grazing may continue to lead to breach of peace, thus, the government has to give orientation to everyone, not only Fulani people, on effective means of raising animals.The statement partly read, “I begin to read about Nigeria and Nigerians at my early days in primary school. Nigeria is a complex nation with numerous ethnic attachments. I grew to note that Nigeria was born with many challenges, competing with human to discredit official leaders. All leadership positions are not without challenges as managing human and resources is the most difficult task. “A nation built on ethnic rivalry as Nigeria requires painstaking management. Some families and peers’ failures have invited countless hardship on the leaders, presumably government and traditional rulers while failures of past occupants of various leadership positions have given people zero trust in leadership.”I must condole with Nigerians and families of those who have lost their relatives to banditry and all forms of insecurity. I pray for the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss. As a natural paramount ruler and one of the fathers to the nation, I’m bereaved. No father is happy when his children are killed. To you all, may God forgive your shortcomings.”Oba Akanbi advised that the affairs of people at the core grassroots without social amenities and basic infrastructures should be properly monitored and catered for urgently.He also said any parents of children between the ages of 5 and 25 seen with cows should be prosecuted.He urged traditional rulers across Nigeria to see themselves as fathers of the nation irrespective of their ethnic background.
Oba Akanbi also said it was high time leaders across Nigeria started organising special intervention programmes for people at the grassroots, whether Fulanis or not.
“There was a time I visited the Fulanis and I called myself their Emir. I understand the phenomenon and move along. Leadership requires giving your people the desired attention and catering for them. Irrespective of your ethnicity, you are my subjects on my land. Our monarchs, being the closest to every tribe in their domain, should embrace them such that at a fragile point as this, they can be easily controlled.”
He added: “For those who know me and have read about me, I’ve experienced war. At war, there is no children, no parents, no family and no friends. At war, you will see human eating human flesh. Is that what we are drumming? No, I can’t be part. I appeal to Nigerians to embrace peace. What war can do, peace can do better.
“Once again, I mourn the victims of insecurity, condole with their families and pray for a peaceful nation. And to all of us in leadership positions, this is the most critical time to domesticate special intervention programmes to the grassroots dwellers. It does not have to be Fulanis alone. Banditry knows no tribe. Nigeria will rise. Let’s promote her greatness.”
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Barber Detained In Kano For Giving Customers Haircuts That ‘Offend’ Islam Released
Elijah Odeh, the young barber who was arrested by the Kano State Hisbah Corps for allegedly giving his customers haircuts which allegedly offend the Islamic faith, has been released.
The senator representing Benue South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Abba Moro, confirmed his release in a statement on Wednesday.
Odeh, who hails from Adum East, in the Obi Local Government Area of Benue State, was first arrested on January 15, 2021 and rearrested on Wednesday, January 27 after two of his customers were caught with hairstyles deemed blasphemous to the Islamic religion.
According to Moro, the case was struck out on Wednesday by a magistrate at the Gyadi-Gyadi Magistrates’ Court, who had refused to grant him bail earlier.
The statement read, “I’m pleased to announce the release of Elijah Odeh, a young barber from Obi LGA arrested and detained in Kano State over hairstyle he designed on two of his customers. The case was struck out today,” the statement reads.
“Like I said the other day, I won’t allow any of my constituents, anywhere in the country, suffer unjustly as long as I remain their senator.
“Elijah was unjustly arrested and even denied bail but thank God he’s now free.
“Many thanks to Governor Samuel Ortom and all those who, in one way or the other, lent their voices in the struggle to get the young man released. It’s victory for all of us!”
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E2%80%98lover%E2%80%99-spends-one-month-cell-without-trial Uyo Female Corps Member Who Killed ‘Lover’ Spends One Month In Cell Without Trial
A female member of the National Youths Service Corps in Akwa Ibom State, Princess Odume, who was arrested by the police for hacking a man suspected to be her lover to death, on January 10, 2021, has now spent one month in police cell without trial.
SaharaReporters learnt that Odume is still in police custody and it is not clear whether the police have underlying interests other than taking her to court promptly for prosecution.
A source told SaharaReporters that the police might either be trying to “settle the matter without court action” or allowing time to pass so that Nigerians will forget about the case after some time.
On January 10, Odume, a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, was arrested by the police after she allegedly hacked her male friend, Japhet Akwaowo, to death, with a machete.
It had been reported that the female corps member was stripped naked and humiliated by neighbours of the deceased, who caught her trying to jump over the fence with the cutlass.
SaharaReporters had On January 11 reported that Odume was caught at Abak Road after neighbours saw the corpse of the suspected lover lying in a pool of blood with several cuts on his body.
The police had on January 12 said the corps member committed the crime in self-defence.
The police spokesperson in the state, Odiko Ogbeche-Macdon, had said that the lover, Akwaowo, threatened to kill her upon her refusal to oblige his request to remove her clothes so that he could have s** with her.
A source confirmed to SaharaReporters on Wednesday that Odume was still in police custody one month after and no time had been given yet to commence her prosecution.
He said, “She is being detained at the police headquarters in Uyo. There is so much controversy around the issue. She was not allowed to be interviewed by the press, so the claim of self-defence by the police does not hold water. She slept in his house all night and they had been friends altogether.
“Till date, after a month, the police have yet to charge her to a competent court of law and they are still detaining her. In the long run when eventually the case is called up in court, it may take years for justice to be served.”
A Facebook user, who was at the scene of the incident, had posted about the incident on his timeline after it took place.
“She was accused of killing a young guy early this morning at Abak Road. I saw a large crowd gathered at Abak Road by Afaha Offot so I ran there. Lo and behold, this young lady was being beaten and stripped totally naked.
“She was found this morning around 9.30am trying to jump over the fence of a young guy she went for hook-up with. Bloodstains were all over her so she was caught and beaten into a stupor and also stripped naked.
“Some bike men (commercial motorcyclists) there said that she used to send them (to get her) weed always, ever since she was deployed to Akwa Ibom for her NYSC (National Youth Service Corps),” the Facebook user had posted.
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E2%80%99s-residence-not-attacked-herdsmen-trespassed-his-land-%E2%80%93-son Soyinka’s Residence Not Attacked, Herdsmen Trespassed On His Land – Son
Olaokun, son of Professor Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate, says herders did not attack his father’s house in Ogun State but trespassed on his land.
Olaokun disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
He was reacting to a viral video on social media, in which it was alleged that the Nobel laureate’s house was attacked by herders on Tuesday.
According to the narrator in the video, the herders were arrested and remanded at a police station in the state.
The younger Soyinka, however, said while it was true herdsmen and cows trespassed on his father’s land, there was no attack or attempt to enter his father’s residence.
He said, “Please send this information back down the chain and also if you know this Koiki Media who took the videos. Spreading such disinformation is dangerous.
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Fulani Herdsmen Invade Wole Soyinka’s Abeokuta Residence, Groups Condemn Attack
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“To repeat, I have confirmed that while cows did stray onto his land yesterday, there has been no attack, no violence and no attempt to enter the house.
“Kindly debunk this information where you can. We do not need confusion added to the already tense situation in the country.”
The Southern and Middle Belt Forum had condemned what it called an invasion of the Abeokuta residence of Soyinka by Fulani herdsmen on Tuesday.
In a statement issued by the forum on Wednesday, signed by Yinka Odumakin (South-West); Chief Guy Ikokwu (South-East); Senator Bassey Henshaw (South-South); and Dr Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt), the group described the invasion as a painful development.
The group also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to caution Fulani herdsmen in the country, saying their criminal activities could cause division in Nigeria.
The statement read, “Hours after Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, warned this country that the activities of Fulani herdsmen could lead to a civil war and urged President Buhari to denounce them clearly to show he is President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, the herdsmen stormed the elder stateman’s residence in Abeokuta around 1 pm on Tuesday and caused serious scare before the professor called in the police.
“It is a painful development that herders will not even give a scant regard to a man of Soyinka stature in their madness let loose on Nigeria with no authority to call them to order.
“If there are people still living in denial about the intention of these criminals and those shielding them, there is no further evidence than this.
“We do not know what they have that they are playing this roulette but we are sure when a blind man says we have to settle this stoning ourselves, it is either he is stepping on or clutching one.
“We also want to warn them of the implications of hurting a man like Soyinka with the fragile unity of the country.
“Let President Buhari know that these criminals are working hard to make him the last President of One Nigeria.”
The President, Women Arise and Centre for Change, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, had also condemned the alleged invasion, saying it showed Nigeria was dying and on the edge of a precipice.
Okei-Odumakin in a release on Wednesday noted that Soyinka had only last week warned about the herdsmen’s violence but the Presidency dismissed the warning saying President Muhammadu Buhari would become a talkative if he replied every statement.
She said, “After a confirmation from Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, that some herders struck at his Abeokuta home on Tuesday at 1pm, leading to a siege on the world literary figure, we can now safely say that Nigeria is at the edge of the precipice.
“Soyinka had warned the country last weekend of how close Nigeria is to civil war if President Muhammadu Buhari did not act fast.
“Instead of the president acting, his media aides said he would become a talkative if he continued to speak on Miyetti Allah. Nigeria is dying before our very eyes and its death pang is what the attack on Soyinka symbolised.
“We hope security agencies will still have the guts to accost the assailants and bring them to justice, although the prognosis does not look good at all.”
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E2%80%99ve-not-joined-apc-though-we%E2%80%99ve-had-meetings-across-party-lines%E2%80%93-fani-kayode I’ve Not Joined APC Though We’ve Had Meetings Across Party Lines– Fani-Kayode
Femi Fani-Kayode
A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has denied leaving the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.
Fani-Kayode in a mail sent to SaharaReporters on Wednesday, said, “Though we have had meetings across party lines and we are in a season of political consultation, I have not left the PDP.
Femi Fani-Kayode
Earlier on Wednesday, Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, said Fani-Kayode had defected to the APC.
Bello disclosed this while speaking to journalists after revalidating his APC membership in Okene.
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Fani-Kayode Asked To Join APC – Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello
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The governor said Fani-Kayode personally approached him with a request to join the party.
He said, “Our brother and friend, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has joined our party in good faith. He is joining our party to come and add his own positive energy and make contribution into ensuring that APC is a party to beat.
“Remember that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode was a foundation member of this great party. Due to misunderstanding, he decided to port elsewhere, now he has decided to join our party, approached me, and by the mandate given to me by the party, I must not segregate or discriminate against any individual.”
The former minister had on Monday met with the Yobe State Governor and Chairman of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Mai Mala Buni and Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello at Buni’s guest house in Abuja.
The closed-door meeting, which lasted for about an hour, was brokered by Bello, who is also the Chairman of the party’s mobilisation and sensitisation committee for the ongoing membership registration and revalidation exercise.
Explaining why he met APC leaders, Fani-Kayode, a staunch critic of the ruling party, claimed the meeting centred on how to move Nigeria forward.
“Yesterday I had the honour & privilege of having a very productive & important meeting with the Nat. Chairman of the APC, Gov. Mai Buni of Yobe state & Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi state. We discussed the state of the nation, national issues, party politics & the way forward.
“These meetings are wide-ranging & ongoing & I am delighted to be involved in them. Despite the obvious benefits & wisdom in this noble initiative it amazes me that some people should feel that it is wrong for me to sit with other leaders in the country to discuss issues which touch and concern the national cohesion, future and stability of our country.
“This is a time in which we must set all our differences aside, build bridges and come together as one lest our country drifts into fratricidal butchery and civil war. It is right & proper for us to talk & to attempt to join hands across political, religious & regional lines to save Nigeria,” he posted on Twitter.
SaharaReporters had on Tuesday revealed that the former minister decided to join the ruling APC because of his current financial status and corruption cases.
“He is currently broke, when he was broke during the former President Olusegun Obasanjo era, he started attacking Obasanjo until he was offered a position which fuelled his drug filled lifestyle. As soon as he got a job with Obasanjo, he started attacking Prof. Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe. That was why Obasanjo said what politicians need to do for Fani-Kayode to hail them is to give him food,” a source had told SaharaReporters.
“Years after, he started attacking former President Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathan’s wife was so scared of him that she begged her husband to employ him, that was why he was made the spokesman for the PDP’s presidential campaign committee.
“When APC came on board, he started attacking President Muhammadu Buhari because of the various corruption cases against him but the late chief of staff, Abba Kyari, was shielding him from trial. Now that Kyari is dead and his trial is progressing well, he is afraid that he might get Metuh’s treatment. He is expected to be in court on February 23 and 24, 2021. He doesn’t want to go to prison.
“In addition, he is very broke. I hope you are aware he just had a new baby. He doesn’t even have money for the unknown wife and baby’s upkeep. So, he started reaching out to APC stalwarts. He also told some of us that journalists conspired against his nationwide tour of states where he was initially making money.”
Fani-Kayode was arraigned in 2016, alongside a former Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman; Danjuma Yusuf, and a firm, Joint Trust Dimensions Ltd over N4.9bn alleged fraud.
The former minister, who was also the Director of Publicity for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign organisation for the 2015 election, was accused of conspiring with the others to, directly and indirectly, retain various sums which the EFCC claimed they ought to have reasonably known were proceeds of crime.
In one of the counts, the defendants were accused of conspiring among themselves to “indirectly retain the sum of N1,500, 000,000.00 which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: stealing.”
The four were also accused of indirectly retaining N300m, N400m and N800m, all proceeds of corruption, according to the EFCC.
Fani-Kayode was accused of directly using parts of the money at various times, including N250,650,000.00, which he allegedly used between March 20 and 25, 2015.
He was also accused of making a cash transaction of N24m with one Olubode Oke, said to still be at large, on February 12, 2015 “to Paste Poster Co of 125, Lewis Street, Lagos Island.”
The duo were said to have made the transaction without going through any financial institution, an act the EFCC claimed was contrary to sections 1(a) and 16(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012, and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.
Months later, the former minister was rearrested and solely arraigned on five counts bordering on money laundering to the tune of N26 million.
According to the EFCC, Fani-Kayode allegedly received the sum of N26 million from the office of the former National Security Adviser (ONSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) in 2014.
SaharaReporters, however, gathered that some APC chieftains, especially the powerful northern oligarchs don’t want him to return to the party.
They accused him of being in the habit of insulting President Buhari and people of the northern region for several years.
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Oyo Police Parade 11 Suspected Kidnappers, Killers Of Ibarapa Businesswoman, Adisa Sherifat, Others
Mrs. Sherifat Adisa, CEO of Subawah Petroleum
Eleven people were on Wednesday arrested and paraded by the Oyo State Police Command in connection with the killing of a businesswoman in Idere, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Alongside the 11, some other suspects were arrested and paraded in connection with other crimes in the state.
Mrs. Sherifat Adisa, CEO of Subawah Petroleum
Tribune Online
Alhaja Sherifat Adisa, who was the Chief Executive Officer of Subawah Petroleum, was killed in Ibarapa by unknown gunmen on Saturday, January 2, 2021. Two people were also killed at her fuel station.
She was kidnapped around 7:30 pm at her office and her corpse was found around 11:00 pm, close to her station.
She was a member of Independent Petroleum Marketers (IPMAN) in the Idere area of Ibarapa.
Those who were arrested comprising Fulani men and two Yoruba men are Abubakar Idris, Shuibu Idi, Usman Saliu, Rabiu Usman, Umar Usman, Tiamiyu Isah, Rasak Ramon, Jare Mohammed, Umaru Amadu, Kabiru Adamu and Mohammed Abdullahi.
Two of the suspects – Tiamiyu Isah and Rasak Ramon – were private security guards who were absent from work on the day their employer, Adisa, was killed.
The two aged security guards claimed their absence from work on the same day was a coincidence.
They denied any knowledge of the abduction and killing of their boss.
Also paraded were 13 armed robbers, a 72-year-old pastor of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Oke-Aseyori, Iyana Church, Monatan, Ibadan, Mr. Jimoh Odunayo, who allegedly defiled a 13-year-old girl, Rasaq Aisha; and a 56-year-old lawyer, Remi-Oladiti, who allegedly defiled a 14-year-old girl, Fatima Souwara, in Bodija, Ibadan.
The state police commissioner, Ngozi Onadeko, who paraded the suspects at the Eleyele headquarters of the Force in Ibadan on Wednesday, said some of the arrested suspects participated in the kidnap and killing of Oluwole Agboola, who was killed in the Akinyele Local Government Area and a local government chairman killed on Igangan/Ado-Awaye Road in the Oke-Ogun area of the state, Adeleke Jacob Olayiwola.
Regarding the killing of the businesswoman, Onadeko said, “The prime suspect, Jare Mohammed, inserted his SIM card in a Nokia phone belonging to the deceased, Alhaja Adisa Sherifat, which was taken away from her during the armed robbery operation that claimed her life.”
She noted that eight armed robbery syndicates were also arrested in their hideout, in connection with a report of robbery at Ajanla junction, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Following the killing of Adisa in the first week of January, IPMAN shut down all filling stations in the Ibarapa area of Oyo State.
The Ibadan depot of the association also threatened to shut down all filling stations in the state if the government failed to provide security for its members.
The chairman, Ibadan Depot, Alhaji Bukola Mutiu, in a statement issued in Ibarapa, at the time, said the closure of all filling stations in Ibarapa was a warning to the Oyo State government to urgently arrest the growing trend of killing and kidnapping of petroleum dealers in the state.
Describing the killing of Adisa as one too many, IPMAN warned that except the trend was curbed, all filling stations in the state would be shut down.
Mutiu said: “Killing and kidnapping have become so rampant as a series of cases have been coming up recently.
“On Saturday, one of us, Alhaja Sherifat Adisa, who was the owner of Subawah Petroleum, was kidnapped around 7:30 pm at her office and two people were killed in her station. Her corpse was found around 11:00 pm, close to her station.
“However, the IPMAN has decided to close down all petrol stations in Ibarapa till something is done by the government to protect them and if something is not done, the shutdown of all petrol stations will be extended to Oyo State as a whole.”
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