Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Sunday 21st March 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 21/03/21
Read also
Four Officers Injured As Gunmen Raze Imo Police Station, Free Prisoners
Gunmen have razed the Isiala Mbano Police Divisional Headquarters located at Umuelemai in Imo State.
The gunmen, who invaded the divisional headquarters armoury on Saturday night, freed suspects in the detention facility and carted away arms.
It was gathered that the gunmen on arrival condoned off the divisional headquarters located at Umueze Road and opened fire.
According to Punch, the gunmen sacked police officers on duty, freed suspects, invaded the facility’s arms storage department before setting it ablaze.
Four policemen allegedly sustained gunshot injuries from the invaders.
It was also stated that the culprits did not flee immediately but stayed by and supervised the burning of the police facility.
The source said, “The gunmen came, condoned off the divisional headquarters and immediately opened fire on the policemen on duty. This was after they had freed all the suspects and collected all the arms. Afterwards, they set it ablaze using petrol to ignite the fire. This is very unfortunate.”
The Interim Management Committee chairman of Isiala Mbano LGA, Chika Okoroike, confirmed the attack. He said that he was facilitating the rescue mission.
He blamed the removal of soldiers from Anara town 24 hours before the attack.
Okoroike said that he made fervent moves to make sure that the military men posted out of Anara town on Friday without any reason returned, but all to no avail.
The police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, also confirmed the attack on the division.
This makes it the fourth police divisional headquarters that had been attacked since February after Obowo, Aboh Mbaise and Ihitte/Uboma divisions were attacked, respectively.
Police
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
Register Within Two Weeks Or Be Expelled From Our Land, Ekiti Tells Herdsmen
Ekiti State Government has given farmers and herders another two-week window to register with the state government or be ready to be expelled.
Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Olabode Adetoyi, who disclosed this in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday, said the registration would commence on Sunday.
In February, it will be recalled that the state government had conducted a two-week registration of farmers and herders, but not all those involved seized the opportunity.
Commenting on the development, Adetoyi said the exercise became imperative to ensure that all farmers and herders could be accounted for.
He added that the registration was also aimed at ensuring peace between the two groups and bringing incessant clashes between them to an end.
According to him, the exercise was in line with the provisions of the National Livestock Transformation Programme of the Federal Government.
Adetoyi said incessant clashes between farmers and herders posed dangers to human and food security, hence the need to take proactive measures to curb the menace.
Special Adviser to Governor Kayode Fayemi on security matters and Chairman, Herders-Farmers Peace Committee, Ebenezer Ogundana, had earlier warned that whoever failed to register would be treated as a criminal.
Director-General, Office of Transformation and Service Delivery, Mobolaji Aluko, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that identity cards would be issued to registered farmers and herders free of charge.
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
E2%80%94-fayose Ekiti By-election Killings Is Terrorism, Evidence Nigerians Have Rejected APC — Fayose
Ayodele Fayose
Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has described the killing in Omuo Ekiti on Saturday by suspected political thugs as “clear evidence of terrorism against citizens, who have rejected the party in government.”
Fayose said killing innocent people just because of the House of Assembly by-election was barbaric and shameful.
Ayodele Fayose
He said: “I thought we have gone past this barbarism in Ekiti State, especially when we are confronted with national insecurity to which the government have no solution.
“What was witnessed today in Omuo Ekiti is nothing but terrorism against the people of Ekiti, knowing that time has caught up with them and they are no longer popular.
“This will remain guilt in the conscience of the perpetrators and their sponsors perpetually for killing their people just because of a mere House of Assembly bye-election.
“Most importantly, everything that goes round in life comes round. Therefore, the perpetrators of this despicable act should remember that there will be consequences for all actions because the blood of the dead will surely speak and fight back.
“To the police in Ekiti, they know what to do and the people behind all these, if only they chose not to look away. Ekiti shall be free again if we collectively confront and win this battle against fake apostles of democracy.”
At least three people, including a female police officer, were killed in the violence unleashed on voters and security agents during the by-election for Ekiti East Constituency 1 in the State House of Assembly.
Five other persons are reportedly receiving treatment at a private hospital as a result of the incident.
Politics
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
INEC Suspends Ekiti By-election Over Violence
The Independent National Electoral Commission has suspended the Ekiti East constituency I bye-election over an outbreak of violence in various polling units in the Local Government Area.
At least three people, including a female police officer, were killed in the violence unleashed on voters and security agents on Saturday.
There are allegations that the thugs, who unleashed violence on voters and security personnel at different polling units, were sponsored by the All Progressives Congress.
INEC resident electoral commissioner for Ekiti, Tella Adeniran, disclosed suspension of the election in a statement.
The statement read, “The situation is such that a conducive environment no longer exists for further electoral activity at the PUs and the Collation centres.
“Given this development, the commission has suspended the election forthwith.”
“The safety of electoral officials, security personnel and election materials, as well as the credibility of the process, cannot be guaranteed
“It is unfortunate that despite the commission’s effort in giving Nigerians free, fair, credible and inclusive election, some people appear to be unprepared for an improved electoral process.”
The Ekiti East constituency seat became vacant following the death of Juwa Adegbuyi, the former representative.
Elections
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
Boko Haram Kills Nigerian Soldier Abducted During Raid Of Military Base In Borno
Militants from the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have reportedly killed a Nigerian soldier captured during Tuesday’s raid on a military base in Damasak town, Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno State.
A military source confirmed this to SaharaReporters on Saturday.
The soldier, whose name is yet-to-be-revealed, has now joined the list of countless men of the Nigerian Army who had lost their lives due to insurgency in the North-East region.
In a video shared online by Amaq News Agency, a news outlet linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the insurgents killed many other soldiers in the attack.
They were seen shooting sporadically in all directions.
A resident, who had earlier spoken with SaharaReporters, said the gunmen came in different groups and could not be counted.
He added that some Nigerian soldiers were killed while others fled into the bush.
“Hundreds of them cam with guns, trucks, and grenades and started firing from different directions. The soldiers ran away and left us on our own. They didn’t shoot at them (insurgents) at all. Though some soldiers were killed, I can’t say how many,” he told SaharaReporters.
?It was learnt that the insurgents also burnt a Nigerian army tanker and some buildings in the military base.?
The attack on the base took place just days after Boko Haram fighters ambushed a military convoy in Gudumbali, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State.
Over 15 soldiers, including the commanding officer, 123 Special Forces Battalion, Major U.I. Urang, were reportedly killed during the incident.
Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, have killed thousands and displaced millions in northeastern Nigeria.
The Nigerian military has repeatedly claimed that the insurgency has been largely defeated and frequently underplays any losses.
In the past months, soldiers have been targeted by the insurgents.
Many soldiers and officers have been reportedly killed since January 2021.
Boko Haram
Military
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
Who Is Thinking About Small Businesses In Nigeria? By Seun Awogbenle
Seun Awogbenle
In Nigeria, almost everywhere you turn, you are likely to find a young person who owns one business or another. From Logistics, Food retail, cosmetics, event planning, interior design, fashion, style, Agriculture, tech or even as a Vendor, young people in Nigeria are trying to either start a new business or manage an existing business, despite the harsh and tough business climate in Nigeria, but who is thinking about them really?
For me, I consider that many of these businesses that have remained largely at the subsistence level, if carefully identified, aggregated, supported, and adequately nurtured, can transform from small businesses, to become big employers of labour, pay tax, contribute to government revenue, and ultimately to the growth of the economy, but again who is thinking about them really?
Let’s even pretend to agree with Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, that the number of micro, small and medium enterprises is about 37 million (a figure that I dispute because I think it is underreported anyway), but despite what I have described as underreporting, the ministry disclosed that, the number alone accounts for more than 84% of Nigeria’s labour market. Huge
There are at least two facts that support this present entrepreneurship bulge, the first is that unlike the generations before them, the Gen Y also known as Millennials (the generational cohort 1981-1996) are entrepreneurial in nature. Globally, Millennials and the generation after them Gen Z, have less of the traditional 9-5 or white-collar disposition. It is the reason you are now likely to hear about remote working and all that new stuff you are unlikely to have seen in practice before now. This disposition is also partly responsible for the reason work culture is changing in terms of engagement, style, and disposition, simply because more young people are growing to be indisposed to the white-collar culture!
The other fact that also supports this bulge, is that opportunities in the formal sector (the typical white-collar jobs) are limited if not completely absent in Nigeria. As a reminder, Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently reported that the total number of unemployed people in Nigeria is now 23 million, up from 27% in Q2 2020 to 33% in Q4 2020, the implication is that at least a third of Nigeria’s labour force, did absolutely nothing within that period. So, for most young people, starting a small business has become the only way to make some money to survive at the very least.
At the wake of each new day, there is at least one young person who is starting a business, but for most the intention is simply and squarely to survive. But I have said before, that it is dangerous to have the bulk of our population on what my friend Aisha Seriki calls “Survival mode”, they will hardly be productive. I have said this loud enough, that the Nigerian people particularly its young people should live for much more than survival, they should live for opportunities, hope, potential and possibilities, in this case, young business owners must live with the certainty that Nigeria has an environment that will enable their business to grow, expand and thrive.
Seun Awogbenle
It is in trying to find answers to this conundrum that I decided to call the prodigiously brilliant and renowned Economist, Tope Fasua who is in far away Kano by the way, touring and beaming searchlights on some big business activities in Kano, most of these big businesses hardly even hug the headline.
In our conversation, we both agreed that entrepreneurship cannot be sustainable when it is anchored on survival. He quickly reminded me of the thoughts of Austrian Political Economist Joseph Schumpeter on entrepreneurship who had since described entrepreneurship in terms of innovation or creating a new market. Fasua added that if Nigeria had just 2 million innovators, we will not be where we are today.
I completely agree with him, but the challenge is that you can’t have an innovative population when the bulk of that population are unemployed and in extreme poverty, you need a population that is thinking beyond survival to be able to innovate and invent, people who are hungry cannot innovate and that is the reason most Nigerians turn to entrepreneurship as a means of survival.
It is for this reason that we must all remind government and political leaders of their responsibility to provide opportunities for the people, so that starting or managing a business in Nigeria is not just about survival but growth, expansion and the potential to contribute to the economy.
But now that we already have a large population of small business owners, who is thinking about them? Government has a duty to think about them, government must commit to identify, aggregate and support small businesses so that they can become employers of labour and big contributors to the economy.
It is in this spirit that I was full of effusive praise for Media Influencer and Author of Digital: The New Code of Wealth JJ Omojuwa, who recently rallied people to raise over N6 Million to support small business through his #PitchCH initiative. I was also particularly happy, because one of my friends whom I had watched over time start her fashion brand from zero, also made the cut. I believe that Omojuwa’s #PitchCH initiative has provided a sustainable model that government and political leaders can adopt, which is to identify and support small businesses purely on the merit of their work and the potential of their business.
Although, fair enough to the federal government, a point which Fasua also alluded to, they recently registered several businesses for free as part of the government’s enabling business environment reform, the recently signed Finance Act 2019 also exempt businesses below N25million turnover from paying VAT. So, by this intervention, I do not feign ignorance of the government’s effort in this regard, but the government must do more. Government must see small businesses for their incredible potential and capacity to help to reduce Nigeria’s staggering unemployment and poverty index.
The first way to start is for the government to segment the market which is the aggregation I talked about earlier, further ease business registration, since most businesses are tech driven particularly with social media, government must improve access to the internet, provide quality funding and support among other intervention.
The difficulty of starting, managing and scaling a small business in Nigeria should worry anybody, I am worried!
Opinion
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Seun Awogbenle
Disable advertisements
:
Marwa To Parents: NDLEA Drug-free Certificate Should Be A Requirement For Marriage
Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Buba Marwa, has said young Nigerians will soon be required to obtain a drug-free certificate from the agency before getting married.
According to him, parents will be asked to list such documents certifying their children’s spouses free from illicit drugs as part of the requirements for approving their children’s marriage.
Marwa disclosed this on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti at a colloquium tagged: “Walk Away from Drugs” organised by Ekiti State Ministry of Justice.
According to him, the measure has become imperative, considering the worsening menace of drug use in the country.
He said: “In Nigeria today, there is no challenge that is more worrisome than drug abuse.
“For instance, insurgency, kidnapping and banditry are seen as peculiar to certain parts of the country, but drug abuse has no boundary or respect for ethnicity or religion.
“The menace is so worrisome that within the last two months, more than N60 billion worth of illicit drugs have been seized and perpetrators arrested and prosecuted.
“If access to drugs is prevented, criminality can be reduced by 50 per cent,” Marwa said. He called for concerted efforts by stakeholders to campaign against the use of illicit drugs.”
The anti-drug agency boss suggested that parents should include drug certificates as part of the criteria to give their daughters and sons hands in marriage.
“This will be the beginning in reducing drug usage and its prevailing economic effects on the nation,” he added.
Declaring open the event, Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, restated his administration’s commitment to reducing drug abuse.
Drugs
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
Girl, 18, Stabs Brother To Death In Ondo
Tragedy struck in Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State as an 18-year-old girl, Idowu Biletiri, has reportedly stabbed her elder brother, Kehinde Biletiri to death.
It was gathered that Idowu allegedly killed her brother during a hot argument. The argument was said to have started when the deceased questioned the suspect over her whereabouts in the previous days.
The suspect was alleged to have returned home after some days that she had left home and her brother was said to have queried her, seeking to know where she had been since she left home.
A source said, “The suspect, instead of answering her brother, reportedly went into an argument with him. When the argument was ongoing, the suspect went into the kitchen, took a knife, and stabbed her brother. Only two of them were at home when the incident happened.”
The source said the suspect was consequently arrested and handed over to the police at the Igbokoda Police Division.
The Public Relations Officer of the State Police Command, Mr Tee Leo-Ikoro, confirmed the incident and said the command had commenced an investigation into the matter.
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
Female Police Officer, Two Others Killed In Ekiti By-Election
At least three people, including a female police officer, have been killed in violence that ensued during the by-election for Ekiti East Constituency 1 in the State House of Assembly.
The seat became vacant following the death of Juwa Adegbuyi in February, who represented the constituency.
It was gathered that political thugs unleashed mayhem on voters and security agents on Saturday.
There are allegations that the All Progressives Congress sponsored the thugs, who unleashed violence on voters and security personnel at different polling units.
Five other persons are reportedly receiving treatment from a private hospital as a result of the incidents.
The shootings happened three hours into the poll at Ward 7, Unit 7 of the Senator representing Ekiti South, Biodun Olujimi.
The senator only escaped by whiskers as the political thugs went on a rampage in her polling units.
Elections
Police
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
N5bn Scandal: How AGF Malami, Senate President Are Frustrating Stella Oduah’s Trial
L-R: Ahmed Lawan; Stella Oduah; Abubakar Malami.
The Accountant General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and Senate President Ahmed Lawan are allegedly using their powers to frustrate the trial of former Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah over a N5bn scandal.
It has also been alleged that the prosecutor, Hassan Liman, is a close friend of the AGF and Senate President.
L-R: Ahmed Lawan; Stella Oduah; Abubakar Malami.
Oduah, who the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission indicted in 2014, alongside the Nigerian subsidiary of Chinese construction giant, CCECC, in alleged fraudulent cash transactions of about N5billion, had refused to appear in court with the backing of the AGF and Senate President.
The EFCC was set to arraign Oduah on February 22, 2021, in the Federal High Court, Abuja, for alleged financial impropriety, but the defendant had refused to appear in court.
Justice Inyang Ekwo had earlier fixed the date for February 9, 2021, but rescheduled because the former minister was yet to be served with the court processes.
A source told SaharaReporters, “She was to be arraigned on February 9, 2021 but she didn’t come to court on the excuse that she had not been served the papers; the court then adjourned to February 22 for her arraignment.
“That date is also past now, but she was not arraigned. Malami is working with Senate President Lawan to frustrate her trial. She uses Senate President and AGF to either scuttle frustrate the trial or water down the trial.”
Oduah, who now represents Anambra North in the Nigerian Senate, was removed as the Minister of Aviation by then President Goodluck Jonathan following a scandal over N255million armoured cars, which she made the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), an agency under her supervision as Minister of Aviation, buy for her at inflated prices.
On December 17, 2020, EFCC filed 25 counts against Oduah (1st defendant), CCECC Nigeria Limited (9th defendant) and seven others comprising persons and firms.
One of the other defendants in the case, Gloria Odita (2nd defendant), is said to be an aide to Oduah when she was Minister of Aviation. She is said to be the company secretary for Sea Petroleum & Gas Company (SPGC) Limited, a firm founded by the former minister.
The rest of the defendants are an employee of SPCG and aide to Oduah, Nwobu Nnamdi (3rd defendant), Chukwuma Chinyere (4th defendant), Global Offshore and Marine Ltd (5th defendant), Tip Top Global Resources Limited (6th defendant), Crystal Television Limited (7th defendant), and Sobora International Limited (8th defendant).
The EFCC, in the 25 counts, accused them of conspiracy to commit money laundering, transferring, taking control and taking possession of proceeds of fraud, aiding and abetting money laundering and opening anonymous bank accounts.
Specifically, the prosecution alleged in two of the 25 counts that Oduah and Odita opened anonymous “private banking nominee” dollar and naira accounts with First Bank, thereby committing an offence contrary to section 11(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended) and punishable under section 11(4) (a) of the same Act.
Corruption
Legal
Politics
News
Reports
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
Read also
You can also check
