Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Friday 16th April 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 16/04/21
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Nigerian Soldiers Rescue Herders, 200 Cattle As Bandits Attack Kaduna Communities
Two herders have been rescued by troops of the Nigerian Army under the auspices of Operation Safe Haven following an attack by gunmen in Mabuhu village, Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna state.
Samuel Aruwan, Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
Aruwan said the herders, Zakariya Ahmadu and Abubakar Kofar were attacked while grazing their cattle in the village.
He said the troops in conjunction with the Special Forces of the Nigerian Air Force, responded to a distress call and rescued both herders with their 200 cattle and handed them over to their employer, one Alhaji Alhamdu.
The statement read, “Similarly, troops of Operation Safe Haven responded to a distress call relaying information of a kidnap operation along the Gidan Waya-Jagindi Road, Jema’a Local Government Area.
“The troops rescued one Ibrahim Tafida from the scene, after armed bandits had opened fire on his vehicle, forcing it to a stop in a bid to kidnap the occupant.
“The bandits, who abandoned their mission and fled as they sighted the approaching troops, are currently being trailed.
“On a sad note, troops discovered the dead body of one Jafaru Isah in the bushes beside a river in Farin Hawan village, Jema’a local government area.
“The troops mobilised to the area following a tip-off and found the decomposing body which was handed over to the family of the deceased for burial. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.
“Acknowledging the reports, Governor Nasir El-Rufai noted with sadness the discovery of the corpse in Jema’a LGA, and sent condolences to the family of the deceased, as he prayed for the repose of his soul.
“The Governor thanked the troops for the timely rescue of the citizen in Jema’a LGA, and the herders in Zangon Kataf LGA.”
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Oyedepo’s Church, Living Faith To Spend N160 Billion On New 100,000-Seater Auditorium
The Living Faith Church founded by Bishop David Oyedepo is to spend over N160 billion to build its 100,000-seater auditorium, known as ‘The Ark.’
The groundbreaking ceremony for The Ark was carried out by Bishop Oyedepo in March 2021.
According to reports, N45 billion has already been released for the project out of the N160 billion earmarked for it.
Thus, the project has already kicked off and to be completed in three years.
First announced in late 2015 as the “Faith Theatre”, the 100,000 seats stadium-like project has now been officially renamed as “The Ark”, unveiled at the church earlier last Month.
Sited on about 1,000 hectares of land (the site of the old Faith Academy compound), within the vast premises of the current church building, the Ark will specifically accommodate 106,000 seats and will include a 24-Floor Mission Tower (International Headquarters Facility) made up of two twin towers of 12 floors each.
Upon completion, the existing 50,000 seaters Faith Tabernacle will serve as an overflow facility.
Oyedepo had recently said members of the church would not be tasked to contribute to the project.
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E2%80%99s-attorney-general-malami-collapses-sokoto-hospitalised Nigeria’s Attorney General, Malami Collapses In Sokoto, Hospitalised
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami on Monday collapsed in Sokoto state.
Malami was in Sokoto for the inauguration of the reconstructed State High Court complex by Governor Aminu Tambuwal.
It was gathered that the minister collapsed after delivering his address at the ceremony and was quickly revived by his aides and dignitaries who helped him to stand.
He was subsequently hospitalised at a private facility upon his return to Abuja.
Malami however attended the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday but was returned to the hospital few hours later, a source said.
Known to be interested in taking a shot at 2023 presidency, SaharaReporters had in the past exposed how Malami acquired several properties whose value run into billions of naira since he was appointed by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s chief law officer.
For example, the AGF has an underground hotel in Sokoto, three houses at Peace Estate, Abuja, a brand new state-of-the-art school in Kebbi, two houses for his sons worth N100 million each and a new hotel under construction in the Jabi area of Abuja.
Malami also bought a house this year worth N150 million in the Gwarimpa area of Abuja.
The newly constructed school is located at the back of NITEL in Gesse Phase 1, Birnin Kebbi, while a new house worth N600 million on Ahmadu Bello Way, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, are among properties acquired by Malami since he became a minister under President Buhari.
The houses he built for his sons in Kebbi are 200 metres apart in a posh area in the city.
Malami also built a N3 billion multipurpose event centre in Kebbi State named Azbir Arena for his son in Kebbi.
The facility is said to be an entertainment centre with a yet-to-be launched plaza, kids playing section and a hotel under construction, all in one place.
This is apart from Rayhaan Hotel located on Zaria Road, opposite Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, which the AGF massively upgraded.
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Lightening Bolt Kills 8-year-old Pupil In Bayelsa
There were cries of pain at Imiringi Community in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State after a Junior Secondary School 1 pupil identified as Stephen Akanama was killed by lightning bolt during a football game. The deceased was a pupil of Matha Day Secondary School located at Imiringi and was living with his aunt in the same area.
He was reportedly with his peers when the lightning struck him dead. A source in the community said the deceased was trying to retrieve a ball from across a piece of land where he usually played football when he was struck by the lightning.
The football pitch is located behind a popular bar known as Blue Bar and owned by one Opiko. Also, a relation of the deceased said the deceased was indoors all through on Wednesday until a heavy rainfall started.
“A woman rushed to the house to tell us that our brother was dead. I could not believe it so I rushed to the scene. Upon sighting him on the ground, we rushed him to Christ the King Hospital and he was confirmed dead on arrival,” the relation said.
When contacted for comments, the spokesman for the state police command, Asimin Butswat, said the incident had not been reported at the Kolo Divisional Headquaters which covers the area.
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Why Twitter Picked Ghana Over Nigeria, By Chido Nwangwu
On Monday, April 12, 2021, Nigerians and the rest of the African continent read the important tweet that the owners of Twitter decided a few hours earlier to make Ghana its African headquarters.
Why?
What happened to the giant of Africa, Nigeria – which has more Twitter users than the entire population of Ghana?
Nigeria, who did this to you?
The tweet came from the CEO Jack Dorsey, who commended the forward-looking people of Ghana:
“Twitter is now present on the continent. Thank you Ghana and President Nana Akufo-Addo.”
Ghana’s well-spoken President, an intellectual and politician, fittingly responded with brevity, focus and value. In Nigeria, since 1999, the adjectives “intellectual” and “politician” are two words that rarely, very rarely go in the same sentence in my assessment of the dominant political discourses and visionless, social cannibalism masquerading as politics and struggle for power!
Akufo-Addo said: “The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is excellent news. The government and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. As I indicated in our virtual meeting of April 7, 2021, this is the start of a beautiful partnership between Twitter and Ghana, which is critical for the development of Ghana’s hugely important tech sector. These are exciting times to be in, and to do business in Ghana.”
In a bizarre, twisted spin of Nigeria’s loss of a leading technology innovator and multibillion corporation Twitter to a very small but relatively stable economy of Ghana, a technophobe and member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s APC political party, Adamu Garba, started spitting into the wind of progress! The same Garba who sued Twitter for supporting the #EndSARS protests (but later withdrew the nuisance case) proclaimed “I pray Ghana would not allow their country (Ghana) to be used as a platform for the orchestration of nuisance on the African internet space. Nigeria is safer with the hypocrisy of Twitter. We shall have to improve on our methods for elimination of fake news on the information space.”
In the mannerism of a zealot drunken by the intoxications of political power and partisanship, Adamu Garba, an apologist for the incapable, incompetent and unfortunately failing presidency of retired General Buhari, still had the chutzpah to attack Twitter for the woeful prevailing realities, daily existential combustion which Nigerians face daily, under Buhari and their APC party; for the inhospitable investment environment, kidnapping and beheadings, bombings and bigotries, mediocrity and medievalism, nepotism on steroids and infrastructural inadequacies of Buhari’s Nigeria; and so on and so forth! In Garba’s fictional Nigeria, Twitter and democratic rights platforms all around the world “just hate Nigeria because they know that the only country that can be the next African super power, fully democratic…”
Contrary to what the Garbas say or claim, the social media push for democratic rights, freedoms of expression (albeit imperfect) and against bomb throwers of all kinds.
Twitter has become the world’s most influential and global organic news network. It’s as important as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube, and WhatsApp. Twitter was created in March 2006 and launched in July of that year — by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams.
According to digital consultant, David Sayce, “as of May 2020, every second, on average, around 6,000 tweets are sent; that’s 350,000 tweets sent per minute; or, 500 million tweets sent each day; or, 200 billion tweets per year.”
The ultimate power or preferably the influence of Twitter lies especially in the aggregation and highlighting of heavily referenced item in the news, persons, tech or idea. I believe and know Twitter is at the epicenter of the social media revolution. @Chido247
————*Dr. Chido Nwangwu, the author of the forthcoming 2021 book, MLK, Mandela & Achebe: Power, Leadership and Identity, serves as Founder & Publisher of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com, and established USAfrica in 1992 in Houston. He is recipient of several public policy and journalism excellence honors, civic engagement and community empowerment awards and has appeared as an analyst on CNN and SKYnews. He served as an adviser on Africa business to Houston’s former Mayor Lee Brown. @Chido247
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E2%80%99s-government-detained-several-nigerians-over-free-speech-%E2%80%93-group-replies-lai Buhari’s Government Detained Several Nigerians Over Free Speech – Group Replies Lai Mohammed Over Twitter’s Choice Of Ghana
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
A group, Concerned Nigerians, has lambasted the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for insinuating that “unpatriotic Nigerians” were the reason why media and communications multinational, Twitter, decided to situate its African headquarters in Ghana, rather than in Nigeria.
The group reminded Mohammed that under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the government had made free speech a criminal offence, and also detained citizens for simply exercising their right to free speech through social media.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The group in a release by its convener, Deji Adeyanju, stated on Thursday that the Buhari government under which the minister serves, is also notorious for attacking online news organisation – a bad pointer to the international world.
The group said, “It is no longer news that social media giant Twitter has chosen Ghana as its preferred destination to host its African’s office. While Nigerians, across board, have taken this information with some sobriety, on how much Nigeria has fallen down the pecking order as an investment destination, the Minister of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has chosen to close his eyes to the obvious realities by suggesting that Twitter’s decision was based on alleged acts of sabotage by ‘unpatriotic citizens’. Nothing can be farther from the truth.
“We recall, with great sadness, that at least six years prior to Twitter’s recent decision, Nigeria gradually evolved into an entity where free speech has become a criminal offence. We particularly note Alhaji Lai Mohammed’s utterances at various forums, where he pointedly threatened to close down the internet or social media in Nigeria.
“At various times, the Government of the day, for which Alhaji Lai Mohammed served as a principal actor, has arrested and indefinitely detained citizens for simply exercising their right to free speech through social media. We are also not unmindful of the government’s attack on online news platforms in Nigeria. Some of these platforms have been forced to publish their stories through alternative networks by bypassing the government regulated telecommunication companies. One needs no soothsayer to note that the Nigerian Communications Commission, the parent agency regulating telecom companies in Nigeria, is directly under the office of Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
“From the foregoing, we hasten to state that Alhaji Lai’s Mohammed attempt to place the blame on social media users and ‘unpatriotic citizens’ is ridiculous and embarrassing. In saner climes, Alhaji Lai Mohammed would have resigned his appointment to create a way for a more technologically exposed citizen.
“We therefore, call on Alhaji Lai Mohammed to retract his words and offer an unreserved apology to Nigeria citizens, as no entity has damaged the Nigerian brand like the present government.”
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E2%80%98biafran-flag%E2%80%99 Gunmen Attack Anambra Community, Destroy Vehicles, Hoist ‘Biafran Flag’
Gunmen on Thursday attacked residents of Abagana community in the Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra state.
They also destroyed two vehicles after hoisting a Biafran flag.
According to the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS), the gunmen went to a commercial bank in the community where they shot sporadically into the air, dispersing bank customers and passersby.
“The gunmen, numbering about ten, who drove in black Honda Pilot Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), equally hoisted Biafran flag at the gate of the bank, set fire on a Nissan Pathfinder SUV with registration number UR 640 KJA, and smashed glasses of a Honda car with registration number FST 456 AC, all parked in front of the bank,” a resident said. It is however not clear if anyone sustained gunshot injury.
The incident comes a few hours after Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), had accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of plotting to sponsor criminals to carry out attacks on banks while disguising as Eastern Security Network (ESN) operatives.
Speaking through the spokesman for IPOB, Emma Powerful, Kanu claimed that the propaganda was aimed at blackmailing ESN and tarnishing the image of the security outfit before the world.
He alleged that the money to be realised from the operation would be used to purchased arms, maintaining that the security outfit has no plan to attack banks in the South-East.
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DSS Planning To Sponsor Attacks On Banks In South East To Blackmail ESN, IPOB, Says Kanu
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The IPOB leader however assured residents and institutions including banks in the region of their safety.
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E2%80%94-nigerians-react-presidents-return-uk “Buhari’s Return Won’t Bring Any Positive Change” — Nigerians React To President’s Return From UK Medical Leave
Mixed reactions have continued to trail President Muhammadu Buhari’s return to the country from London, UK where he had gone for a medical check-up.
Buhari had departed the country for London on March 30 to seek medical attention, a development which sparked heated outrage.
It also triggered the Buhari-must-go protest at the Abuja House, where he stayed in London.
The protests continued for days and was stopped barely two days ago.
Two weeks after he left the shores of Nigeria, however, he returned to the country – on Thursday.
In a terse statement on its Twitter page, the presidency wrote: “President @MBuhari is back in Abuja, after a private trip to the United Kingdom.”
But his return has continued to generate reactions with many Nigerians airing their views over the matter.
Many Nigerians on social media claimed that Buhari’s return to the country would not change anything for good.
For instance, Reno Omokri (@renoomokri), an aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, tweeted: “Dear General @MBuhari, Nigeria needs a Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, not a Traveler-in-Chief of Medical Tourism. Stay in Nigeria. Build hospitals. Because if you return to London, God sparing my life, I will also return to torment you!
“Regards #HarassBuhariOutofLondon Dear General @MBuhari, Welcome back to Nigeria. I am sure after the surprise package we arranged for you in London, you will think twice before returning. Now you know what my people and I are capable of, please focus on building hospitals for yourself and the masses.”
In the same vein, Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore), human rights activist, wrote: “Return of the #Expired Mannequin of Aso Rock! #Buharimustgo.” Similarly, @Oluomoofderby wrote “We don’t need to protest in London anymore. Buhari is back in Nigeria…He was embarrassed out of London. If the MP’s in the UK earned N29 million a month like the senators in Nigeria, we won’t have any world-class hospitals in the UK. Next time, use the hospital in Nigeria @MBuhari.”@Falcao38410124 also wrote: “Shameless man, disgusting and useless in power, only want to be called Mr president, not that he has any knowledge to govern.”
In the same vein, @chyydz1 wrote: “Hahaha. This one sweet me…Thank you sir @renoomokri. Who knows if he had planned to stay 3 months in the UK.”
@Augusti931559915 wrote: “If he was coming to something better. Nothing special about his arrival.”
@boladam4real wrote: “What’s ‘Breaking’ in this now? Would his arrival now revive the plummeted economy or the inflation rate going in the ascendency?… Let’s just pretend we have a president.”
@Dominic85887766 also wrote: “Then what will become the fate of ours (sic) that can’t travel for medical check-up, should we as a country be celebrating another man’s victory or ours.”
@cconyia wrote: “Welcome back sir. But the trip was not private. It was done with the presidential jet and taxpayers’ money.”
@ap_och wrote: “Thanks to Nigerians for chasing the impostor back.”
@lawehilegbu wrote “Who cares? What positive impact would that make now? He’s being around Nigeria worsens the Security situation. Looks like Boko Haram greets him every morning with gun salutes…we need peace oh. Not him.”
Similarly, @Wisdom wrote: “Hope the president will address the nation 1st thing tomorrow morning, it has been long we see him on television. Nigerians need to hear from him. Please it’s very important…”
@freemandj30 wrote: “That nigga is not a responsible president… I’m still waiting for when I’ll hear the news that one UK citizen comes to Nigeria for a medical check-up. I wonder what happens to our medical sector.”Adejoh Friday said: “He wanted to stay (for) more days if not (for) harass Buhari out of London protest. Kudos to Reno.”Udubrafore Otubure stated: “Imagine, number one citizen of a great nation in Africa going to another man’s country for medical check-up, when he has all it takes to make the health sector up to the very best. Since he can afford to go abroad for treatment, can everyone afford it? People die every day all because of the inadequate health sector, people die all over the world but the death rate in Nigeria is unimaginable, terrorists killing, bad road, killing, inadequate health sector killing, even the so-called leaders who are supposed to protect lives killing, it’s a pity, only God can save.”Facebook user, Mike Aduma, just like other users, opined, “Now that he has returned to Nigeria there will still be no positive change. His return should not attract celebration.”
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E2%80%94-final ‘University Of Calabar Shouldn’t Have Given Us Admission Since Courses Were Not Accredited’ — Final-year Students Unwilling To Return To Year 2
Some students of the University of Calabar have questioned the school’s credibility after its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Florence Obi, allegedly requested that final-year students in some selected departments return to 200 level over accreditation issues.
The aggrieved students lamented how much they had put into paying school fees and other dues alongside the money spent on assignments and projects over the years and how the development had left them unsettled.
The students, who spoke with SaharaReporters, said they look forward to a revocation of the order by the Vice-Chancellor so that they can finish up their programmes without any problems.
They alleged that the President of the school’s Students’ Union Government had been bribed by the Vice-Chancellor who bought him a car.
Another student also stated that the heads of the affected departments had done nothing to rectify the issue as they were all scared of the Vice-Chancellor.
One of the students said, “The Vice-Chancellor still insisted that we must go back to 200 level without considering us. The head of the department is doing nothing and the SUG President is also mute, he has decided not to fight for our rights simply because the VC bought him a car.
“The SUG is aware of this issue but they have done nothing. The HOD and the lecturers, they are all scared of the woman. They should know that we have spent money so far to get to this level.
“Some of us sponsor ourselves in school. Most of us do different things just to go to school. If things are not handled well, some people can commit suicide because they might not have the courage to bear it.
“Many of us sponsor ourselves and after all these years of struggling to pay school fees, feed and ensure we do well so we can graduate and continue with life, all these things are coming to play.
“Many of us engage in hard labour to raise school fees. When we go back to Warri, Delta State, we engage in strenuous jobs so we can get money to pay school fees, buy materials to carry out projects and assignments when we get back for the semester.
“Some of our ladies in Lagos work in bars and pubs as waitresses for a while, especially during the holidays. The country is really hard, everybody is struggling to make ends meet. Parents cannot afford school fees and we chose to raise it ourselves and now, we are asked to get back to a level we’ve passed, it’s so unfair.”
Another student said the affected students are planning to send a letter to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu so an end can come to the problem.
“We will file a letter to the minister of education so he will get to know about this, our voices must be heard.
“This is simply to show that they have been fooling us, they now want us to go back to 200 level and start all over again, how is that even possible?
“The HOD has not been able to do anything, he is just joining meetings upon meetings. They have not been able to come up with anything reasonable,” the student said.
Another student said, “Is this school a scam? Is this not how fraudsters behave? We were given admission letters by the school, they were not forged, they are official. Now it seems like the school is saying that our admission was a scam. We paid school fees, from 100 level up till now and we are asked to go back to a particular level, where have all the fees we paid over the years gone?”
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Issuance Of New SIMs To Resume April 19, With National Identification Numbers, Nigerian Government Says
The Nigerian government has said the issuance of new SIM cards will resume on April 19.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, disclosed this in a statement released by Femi Adeluyi, his technical aide (information technology), on Thursday.
The Nigerian government had in December 2020, suspended the activity as it embarked on an audit of the subscriber registration database.
Pantami announced that the country is set to implement a revised national digital identity policy for SIM card registration, adding that the national identification number (NIN) is mandatory at all levels.The statement read: “The policy includes guidelines on new SIM Acquisition and Activation, SIM Replacement, New SIM Activation for Corporates and Internet-of-Things/Machine-to-Machine (IoT/M2M), amongst others.
“The possession of a National Identity number will be a prerequisite for each of these categories.
“For the corporate registration, institutions will be required to appoint a telecoms master (at the minimum of an executive management level) to provide the operational Primary NIN representation. The telecoms master will also be responsible for ensuring that the users provide their NINs to serve as a secondary NIN.“For IoT/M2M activations, SIM security protocols would be implemented on the SIM profile to ensure that SIMs can only be used for point to point data services specific to the URL they are working with. All other services will be barred.
“In the event that a data-only service is particular to individual use (eg home car tracking, WiFi, MiFi services, etc), the standard NIN registration process will be followed. A telecoms Master will also be required for corporates requiring IoT/M2M activations.
“The full details of the requirements for each class of service will be made available in due course.”
Pantami further directed the Nigerian Communications Commission and the National Identity Management Commission to ensure that the provisions of the policy are strictly followed by all operators and subscribers.The statement added: “The revised policy will ensure that operators conform to the required standards for biometric capture,” the statement added.
“The guidelines in the Policy have been painstakingly developed and while they are thorough, it should be noted that they have been developed that way in national interest since the SIM is essentially a national resource.
“The implementation of the policy will commence on Monday, 19th of April 2021. The issuance of new SIMs and other suspended activities will resume on the same date, as long as verification is done and the guidelines are fully adhered to.”
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