Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Saturday 10th April 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 10/04/21
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US Denies Offering New Type Of Work Visa To Nigerians
The US Mission in Nigeria has debunked claims that it is offering a new type of work visa to Nigerians.
In a statement on Friday, the diplomatic embassy denied a press release purportedly from the US Mission, claiming to offer new work visa to Nigerian citizens aged 40-55 years.
It encouraged Nigerians to visit only the official sources to get the needed information.
The statement read, “The US Mission to Nigeria is drawing the general public’s attention to a fake ‘press release’ claiming to offer a new type of work visa to Nigerians. Scammers and fraudsters circulate this phoney information that the new work visa applies to Nigerian citizens aged 40-55.
“The US Embassy in Abuja and Consulate in Lagos is warning Nigerians not to fall victims to the scam. It is the same old scam, but in fresh packaging – don’t become a victim! If you have questions about whether visa information is legitimate, please refer only to official sources: travel.state.gov, ng.usembassy.gov/visas, and www.ustraveldocs.com/ng.”
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E2%80%94-suspect How Fulani Men Recruited Me Into Kidnapping Gang In Ibadan — Suspect
A suspected kidnapper, Muhammed Hammed has said that he was recruited into a kidnapping gang at a beer parlour by some Fulani in Ibadan, Oyo State.
He disclosed this while responding to questions from journalists at the Osun state police command headquarters in Osogbo.
Hammed, who was arrested after kidnapping two persons at Wasinmi, spoke in Hausa language, saying it was his first job after he was enlisted into the gang.
He said, “I met some Fulani guys at a beer-drinking joint in Ibadan. They told me there is a business they run along the Ibadan-Ife Expressway and I was asked to join.
“We blocked the expressway, stopped a car and abducted two of the passengers into the forest. I was caught because I didn’t know the bush path very well and I got lost.
“The Fulani guys include one Alhaji, Buba, Siraju, Sodiq, and Seidu. I can’t recall other names now.
“I have never been a member of Boko Haram, I am from a village in Tambuwal local government area of Sokoto state and I was wandering around Ibadan before I met the Fulani guys that recruited me.
“It was destined that I would be caught because it was my first operation with them, though from what they told me, it was their usual job.
“I know I had been caught by the law, I don’t know what awaits me, but I wish the government can forgive me and give me another chance. I have never killed anyone before, this is my first act against the law.
“Sincerely, I don’t know where the six others are since I lost my way in the bush and I don’t know where they live because I met them at a drinking joint,” the suspect narrated.
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Prison Officials, Inmates Injured In Attempted Jailbreak In Bauchi
Two officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service in Bauchi State have sustained injuries, after a riot at the facility.
Spokesman for the NCS in the state, Abubakar Adam, in an interview with Channels Television on Friday, said the riot followed an attempt by some inmates to break out of prison.
Five of the inmates were also said to have been injured in the process.
He stated that the police command in the state sent reinforcement to manage the situation.
He noted that the attempt was triggered by the incident in Imo, where gunmen had attacked the prison and freed over 1,800 inmates.
He, however, maintained that none of the inmates escaped.
Adam said, “There was a riot, not sporadic gunshots traced by inmates. It was the inmates that instigated the riots, maybe wanting to break the prison and get out.
“It was as a result of what happened in Imo state where some gunmen broke out of the prison and got away with some inmates from there. We have some from the South and they are serving their sentences here.
“Hearing what happened down South, they wanted to experience the same thing here in Bauchi. We thank God the issue has been quenched.”
Over 1,800 inmates escaped from custody on Monday after gunmen attacked the Imo correctional centre in Owerri.
The gunmen also attacked the Imo police command headquarters.
While no life was lost during the attack, the NCS said a total of 1,884 persons escaped from custody.
As of Thursday, 78 of those who escaped from Imo prison were said to have been found.
Meanwhile, the NCS, on Friday, released names and photos of some of those still at large on its Twitter handle.
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Why WAEC Rescheduled May/June 2021 Exam To August
The West African Examinations Council, on Friday, confirmed that the May/June 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination will start from August 6th and end on September 30th.
In a statement signed by the council’s acting Head of Public Affairs, Demianus Ojijeogu said the International timetable for the conduct of the school examination will be released soon.
He said the attention of WAEC, Nigeria has been drawn to publications in some national dailies and online media, that the council has postponed the May/June 2021 WASSCE.
According to him, the information allegedly given by the Head of the Nigeria National Office (HNO) of WAEC, Patrick Areghan, at a briefing was misinterpreted.
He said: “Consequently, the council wishes to inform schools, candidates and the general public that the examination will hold from August 16, 2021, to September 30, 2021.
”We wish to categorically state that the Head of National Office was quoted out of context.”
He said the HNO had in his address during the briefing said, “Let me also use this opportunity to dispel rumours being peddled about by some people regarding the conduct of WASSCE for school candidates, 2021.
“The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still very much felt in the education sector. The academic calendar has been distorted. It will, therefore, not be possible to have the examination in May/June this year. A convenient International timetable for the conduct of the examination will soon be released.”
The spokesperson said the arrangement was in line with the current academic calendar and was done in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education.
Areghan had earlier revealed that registration for the May/June 2021 WASSCE was ongoing and said about 1.8 million candidates had registered for the school examination.
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Wike Bans Meeting Of Igbo Group In Rivers
Rivers Governor Wike
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has placed a ban on a planned meeting of some Igbo residents in the Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state over fears that such a meeting could spark fresh unrest in the area.
The meeting by a group known as the United Igbo community is scheduled to be held at Oyigbo on Saturday, April 10, 2021.
Rivers Governor Wike
Wike in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim directed security agencies to ensure that the said meeting does not hold to forestall a breakdown of law and order in the area.
Oyigbo LGA which shares boundary with Abia state is considered a stronghold of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Wike had in October 2020 declared a 24-hour curfew in Oyigbo after a police station and other facilities were attacked by hoodlums.
The governor claimed that Rivers won’t allow troublemakers to take the law into their own hands and use the protest period to commit anarchy.
Wike also declared a N50 million bounty on a leader of the pro-Biafra group, Indigenous People of Biafra in the state, Stanley Mgbere.
Wike accused Mgbere of “leading members of the banned IPOB to cause the recent violence and destruction of lives and property in Oyigbo Local Government Area (of the state).”
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E2%80%99t-pay-ransom-even-if-my-son-kidnapped-bandits-%E2%80%93-el-rufai I Won’t Pay Ransom Even If My Son Is Kidnapped By Bandits – El-Rufai
Kaduna State Governor Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai
Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai says he will never pay ransom to bandits even if they kidnap his son.
The governor disclosed this in a radio chat on Friday in Kaduna to underscore his government’s policy of not negotiating with bandits.
Kaduna State Governor Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai
El-Rufai said he had warned his family members to be careful to avoid being abducted.
“I mean it and I will say it again here. Even if my son is kidnapped, I will rather pray for him to make heaven instead, because I won’t pay any ransom,” the governor said.
Asked what his government was doing to secure the release of the students kidnapped at the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Kaduna, in March, the governor said the government would keep exploring other ways to get them back to their families but stressed that the government is absolutely not paying ransom.
He said the state government will keep exploring those other means until the students are released.
Kaduna is among states that have come under attacks by bandits who sack villages and kidnap residents in exchange for ransom.
SaharaReporters had reported how about 39 students were abducted at the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State in early March.
Ten of them have regained their freedom, leaving 29 of them in captivity.
The state government has since vowed not to negotiate with the kidnappers who have demanded a ransom of N500 million.
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Ezekwesili Knocks Omojuwa Over Embattled Alpha Reach, Demands Apology, Financial Documents
A former Minister of Education and co-convener of the BringBackOurGirls movement, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, has slammed a social media contractor, Japheth Omojuwa, saying she was never a director of his company, Alpha Reach, as claimed.
Ezekwesili said on Friday that Omojuwa must produce a public apology as well as send to her the financial correspondence of the company to be sure that her name was not forged further in any of the dealings.
The former minister, speaking through her counsel, Falana and Falana’s Chambers, stated this in a letter, titled, “Complaint over Fraudulent Use of the name of Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili as a director of the Alpha Reach Limited; Demand for full disclosure and public apology.”
Omojuwa, founder and Chief Strategist, Alpha Reach, Abuja, Nigeria, has been heavily criticised by the public since Thursday over a media campaign seeking the release of a Colombian citizen, Alex Saab, charged with money laundering.
Alpha Reach and Omojuwa allegedly paid other Nigerian influencers and mercantile journalists to drive the campaign for public sympathy for Alex Saab, who is under house arrest in Cape Verde and could be extradited to the US.
Mr Saab was arrested and detained for alleged corruption by Interpol and security operatives on a US arrest warrant in Cape Verde during a stopover to refuel while travelling from Venezuela to Iran in June 2020.
After the explosive news, Nigerians on Twitter began to question those who were behind the Alpha Reach company in which Mr. Omojuwa is the chief strategist.
This was at the point the names of notable Nigerians which include; Governor El-rufai Nasir, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Damilola Ogunleye, and Japhet Omojuwa popped up as the directors of the company.
Ezekwesili, reacting through her lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, distanced herself from the company and demanded a public apology.
She said, “Sometime in 2012, a company called Alpha Reach Limited was incorporated by the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja. The company has as its object general construction (Building and civil engineering) and listed as its Directors; Japheth Omojuwa, Damilola Ogunleye, El-Rufai Nasir and Ezekwesili Obiageli.
“In 2017, a notice of Change of Directors was filed through which the list of directors was altered and the name of our clients Mrs Ezekwesili Obiageli was removed as a director and replaced with Mallam Indimi Ahmed Mohammed.
“On March 30, 2021, someone from Buzzfeed reached out to our client, informing her that she was listed as one of the directors of Alpha Reach Limited, alongside Nasir El-Rufai and Japhet Omojuwa, our client, who was certain that she has never been involved in incorporating any company with you and/or Mallam Nasir El-Rufai promptly informed the Buzzfeed official so.
“It is our brief that our client promptly contacted you but you informed her that the Alpha Reach Company Limited is your company and that she is not involved in it at all.
“Our client also requested for the incorporation documents from you and you promised to make same available to her within a week but you never did. Due diligence search and investigations conducted revealed the following;
“One, that you never sought her consent and/or participation in incorporating any company whatsoever and for any purpose whatsoever. On account of the foregoing, we have the firm mandate and instruction of our client to demand the following: one, that you upon receipt of this correspondence cause to be issued a public statement and apology exonerating our client from the incorporation process and activities of Alpha Reach Limited.
“That you give a detailed account to our client via correspondence the circumstances leading to the incorporation and the correspondence must include the details of all financial dealings of the company from 2012 to 2017.”
Earlier this week, Twitter suspended over 1,500 accounts linked to the campaign to save Saab, including those of popular influencers like Pamilerin Adegoke, for receiving payments to tweet about the Colombian citizen who is currently under house arrest in Cape Verde.
Restrictions on many of those accounts have now been lifted, and Mr Omojuwa did not appear to have been suspended at all.
Meanwhile, Omojuwa, the founder and chief strategist of Alpha Reach has stated that Dr. Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili was not on the board and never a co-owner of the company.
This was contained in a clarification document issued by the company and signed by Omojuwa published on its Twitter handle @alphareach.
The company said it became necessary to clear its name and its officers from the media campaign seeking the release of a Colombian citizen charged with money laundering.
After the explosive news, Nigerians on Twitter began to question those who were behind the Alpha Reach company in which Mr. Omojuwa is the chief strategist. This was at the point the names of notable Nigerians which include; Governor El-rufai Nasir, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Damilola Ogunleye, and Japhet Omojuwa popped up as the directors of the company. “Engaging in platform manipulation — regardless of the intent — is a violation of the Twitter Rules. This includes gaming hashtags, artificially boosting content, or paying for fake engagement,” Twitter said in a message to Peoples Gazette. “As a result of these behaviours, we’ve suspended more than 1,500 accounts associated with these hashtags and our investigations continue,” the company said. The Gazette had previously reported that some Nigerian media outlets were paid as part of the image laundering arrangement and some of them had started taking down the links after Twitter’s measures became public. Some of the influencers were said to have received Saab campaign briefings in January, according to a document produced on the letterhead of Digital Good Governance for Africa (DIGA), a UK-based nonprofit led by Nigerian Naji Makarem.
The document was said to have outlined a social media push that would recruit influencers in Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal to tweet in support of the kingpin, twice a week as the campaign was expected to run from January 18 to February 18.
“The influencer is expected to use the hashtags #FreeAlexSaab and tag prominent Nigerians, Ghanaians and Sengalese handles from government, business, celebrities, activists, etc. which will be provided to the influencer,” the five-page document read in part.It instructed influencers to engage with replies to their posts about Saab and to tag the @wakandanomics Twitter account if they needed additional information.The tweets gained traction in March as the ECOWAS Court ruled that Mr Saab should not be extradited to the U.S. The case continues in Cape Verde, however, and the country’s highest court ruled for the extradition process to continue. The report said 40 Nigerian influencers were recruited to participate by Mr Omojuwa’s Alpha Reach.
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BREAKING: American Rapper, DMX Is Dead
American rapper, DMX has died.
He had reportedly tested positive for coronavirus while in the hospital fighting for his life.
The Grammy-nominated performer died after suffering “catastrophic cardiac arrest,” according to the hospital in White Plains, New York, where he died. He was rushed there from his home April 2.
The raspy-voiced hip-hop artist who produced the songs “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” and “Party Up (Up in Here)” and who rapped with a trademark delivery that was often paired with growls, barks and “What!” as an ad-lib, has died, according to a statement from his family on Friday. He was 50.
Associated Press reports that the rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, had struggled with drug addiction since his teenage years. His lawyer, Murray Richman, had earlier said he could not confirm reports that DMX overdosed.
He was reported without oxygen for like 30 minutes while unconscious when police arrived on the scene on April 2 and transported him to the hospital.
DMX was reportedly on life support and in a coma in the hospital’s ICU for some time.
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Imo Jailbreak: Nigerian Correctional Service Releases Names, Pictures Of Inmates Who Escaped From Prison
The Nigerian Correctional Service, on Friday, has unveiled some of the inmates who escaped from the Owerri Custodial Centre, Imo state during Monday’s jailbreak.
The names and pictures of the inmates are being released in batches by the NCS on its Twitter handle.
So far, 36 of the escaped inmates have been unveiled.
The tweet read, “Faces of persons who escaped from Owerri Custodial Centre, Imo State. Please note that more photographs of the escapees are on the way and efforts are on to get clear pictures for the blank spaces.”
SaharaReporters had reported how over 1,800 inmates escaped from custody on Monday after gunmen attacked the Imo correctional centre in Owerri.
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During the attack, vehicles and part of some buildings within the premises were razed.
The gunmen also attacked the Imo police command headquarters.
While no life was lost during the attack, the NCS had said a total of 1,884 persons escaped from custody. However, as of Thursday, 78 escapees were said to have been found.During a visit to the facility in Owerri, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, had said inmates who returned voluntarily will not face sanctions for escaping from custody but added that those who decided otherwise would be prosecuted.
Meanwhile, a report by Vanguard stated that some of the 1,800 inmates who escaped during the Owerri jailbreak have taken up cleaning and menial jobs for survival.
According to the report, the escapees took up majorly hawking and cleaning jobs in brothels, motor parks and market squares to raise money for their feeding and survival.
Areas affected as stated in the report, include the Control post along Onitsha road, Whethdral Roundabout up to Poly Junction, IMSU junction as well as Irete axis on Owerri/Onitsha Road.
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E2%80%94can Muslim Military Women Free To Wear Hijab If That Will Protect Them From Bullets —CAN
General Secretary of Christian Association of Nigeria, Joseph Daramola, has said the Armed Forces and para-military organisations in the country can permit Muslim female officers to wear the Islamic veil, commonly known as hijab if it will shield them from bullets at the battlefield.
The body was responding to a reported bill tagged Religious Discrimination (Prohibition, Prevention) Bill, 2020, before the House of Representatives seeking to compel the Armed Forces and para-military organisations to permit female officers to wear hijab.
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Article 13(2) of the bill stated that “Any person employed in the security sector, whether within the military or paramilitary or otherwise, shall not be discriminated against on the ground of the exercise of his right to the manifestation of his religion in worship, teaching, practice and observance such as wearing religious emblem, head cover, or hijab in concomitant with the common uniform code or code of conduct in relation to the choice of colour, type, or design of such religious emblem, religious headcover or hijab.”
But speaking with Punch, Daramola said CAN remains unperturbed by the move, explaining that there are other issues such as governance, security as well as economy affecting the country to focus on.
According to him, in a country like Afghanistan, military women don the hijab, hence, Nigerian female Muslim officers can wear whatever they want as long as it helps them deflect bullets on the battlefield.
Daramola said, “If they like, they can wear skirt or agbada (flowing gown). If you go to Afghanistan, their military women wear hijab. That is not an issue. If hijab will help them deflect bullets at the battlefield, let them wear it, if that is what they want. Let us not worry ourselves about unnecessary matters.”
Meanwhile, the Christian body had earlier urged the leadership of the National Assembly to suspend a bill before the House of Representatives, which seeks to institutionalise the use of hijab in the country, saying the proposed law is ill-timed and uncalled for.
The statement dated March 21 had read: “The Christian Association of Nigeria calls on the leadership of the National Assembly to suspend a bill before the House of Representatives seeking to institutionalise the use of hijab in the country. It is ill-timed and uncalled for.
“The bill titled ‘Religious Discrimination (Prohibition, Prevention) Bill, 2021’ was seeking to provide a mechanism for enforcing certain provisions of the Constitution and other international laws that recognise the right of a female to adorn hijab in both public and private establishments in Nigeria.
“We wonder what the sponsors of the Bill seek to gain from it other than to compound the security problem and the wearing of hijab in public and Christian schools.
“According to the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the ‘National Assembly shall have the power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.’
“To what extent does this controversial bill seek to promote peace, order and good governance? Has the dress code become part of the Exclusive Legislative List?
“While the citizens are expecting the National Assembly to make laws that will address the lopsided appointments, insecurity, unemployment and economic predicament, our lawmakers are interested in making laws that seek to promote one religion. This is unacceptable in a country with multiple religions.
“Honestly speaking, it is not the wearing of hijab that is our problem, it is the legislation of the wearing of it in private schools, especially of the schools whose proprietors have a different culture to that of wearing of the hijab. If anyone travels to Rome, it is common saying that he or she should do as the Romans do since he was not forced to come!
“If any Christian pupil goes to a Muslim school, he or she should abide by their practices there and vice versa. Why should a Muslim student come to a Christian school which operates under different dressing culture and insist on her own culture? That appears provocative and disrespectful!
“Legislating the wearing of hijab in private schools would lead to the trouble that those who started it may not be able to handle. Abandoning school uniform for religious dressing is going to divide the students along religious lines and further polarise our society.
“Should the children of Ifa worshippers (god of divination) wear Ifa costume to the school as well, etc? Is that not going to bring confusion? Will the wearing of the religious dress make one student brighter in class than the other? What are we legislating for?
“CAN has been consistently calling on some state governments that are enforcing the wearing of hijab in the public schools to exempt the Christian schools where hijab culture is alien.
“We are not against the wearing of hijab in public and Islamic schools but our schools should not be included unless those states are looking for trouble.
“We have resolved to close down our schools and colleges to protest against this ungodly and disrespectful policy. We should return to the status quo ante where we were before the politicisation of hijab. Let those who want to be wearing hijab go to schools where it is allowed.
“Alternatively, let those state governments return our schools and stop funding them. We can manage them.
“We did not beg the government ab initio to partner with us. It was the government that couldn’t provide enough school that came in subtly to partner with us but now going another mile to take over completely. Can the government own what they did not spend their money to build?
“Those who took over our schools did not tell us that our religious traditions and culture would be eradicated.”
CAN urged Christians in both federal and state legislative houses to rise and speak for the Church if they have not compromised their faith for political reasons.
“If they failed to do so, God Himself will ask them of their stewardship one day and equally fight for His Church,” the statement added.
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