Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Thursday 17th June 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 17/06/21
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Zaria Residents Organise Prayer Session Against Kidnapping, Banditry, Slaughter 2 Rams As Sacrifice
Residents of Kusfa in Zaria, Kaduna state have organised a prayer session to tackle the insecurity in the country.
The residents who slaughtered two rams as sacrifice during the prayer sought Allah’s help to win the war against kidnapping and banditry.
The prayer is coming a few days after the Emir of Zazzau, Ahmad Bamalli cried out that Zaria Emirate was under the siege of bandits.
According to the monarch, Zaria city and its surroundings are experiencing incessant attacks and abductions.
Bamalli stated this on Monday while hosting a delegation of the heads of security agencies serving in Kaduna at his palace.
PHOTONEWS: Residents Of Kusfa In Zaria Sacrifice Two Rams In Prayers Against Kidnapping And Incessant Attacks By Bandits As @MBuhari Governmentâ??s Bloodletting Continues pic.twitter.com/x48K6UYNA7— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) June 16, 2021
The delegation was led by the state’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan.
The emir described the situation as unacceptable and urged the government to arrest the situation before it gets out of control.
He said despite the location of military formations and training schools in the emirate, the area is not secure.
“There are many villages where the residents cannot sleep because of gunshots and the village heads are crying profusely at the palace over the deteriorating security condition in their domain,” Bamalli said.
“This is how bad it is in some parts of the emirate.”
SaharaReporters had reported how bandits attacked Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria last Thursday, killing a student and kidnapping others.
The incident makes it the fourth attack on a school in Kaduna state in 2021.
The bandits continued the siege for many days, attacking Kofar Gayan and Kofar Kona areas of Zaria and abducting many residents.
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Gunmen Abduct Four Chinese Railway Workers, Kill Policeman In Ogun
File Photo: Gunmen
Unknown gunmen numbering about eight have abducted four Chinese expatriates handling Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway project, on Wednesday evening.
Eyewitnesses told SaharaReporters that the gunmen, dressed in black, stormed the site of the rail project at Adeaga/Alaagba in the Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State.
File Photo: Gunmen
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The AK-47 wielding kidnappers reportedly killed a policeman attached to the foreign workers while trying to abduct the Chinese expatriates.
Residents of the area said there have been increased patrol of the areas by police patrol vans, blowing sirens throughout the day, andcausing panic among the people.
The body of the deceased policeman was evacuated by a team of policemen and officials of the Federal Road Sector Corps (FRSC) shortly after the incident.
According to the Baale of Alaagba village, a sleepy town between Oyo–Ogun border, Chief Adekunle Olabamiji, the fierce-looking gunmen suspected to be Fulani had laid an ambush in the surrounding forest for the expatriates.
He said it was shocking to witness such a gory scene, especially as the railway workers were always guarded by policemen and soldiers.
The kidnappers were said to have taken the Chinese men immediately after disarming the security men and headed to the forest.
Speaking on the incident, Mr. Azeez Adila, who is the youth leader of Adeaga village, narrated how members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) traced the kidnappers into the forest, searching the entire bush path in an attempt to apprehend the kidnappers and rescue their victims.
He said despite the efforts made by the village youths and the OPC members, the kidnappers and the expatriates could not be found.
The police public relations officer (PPRO), Ogun State Command, Mr. Abimbola Oyeyemi did not answer his calls.
But a source close to the Command confirmed the death of a policeman attached to the Chinese workers.
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UPDATE: Three Soldiers, 7 ISWAP Fighters Killed As Terrorists Invade Borno Military Base Ahead Of Buhari’s Visit
Militants belonging to the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Tuesday razed a military formation in Kwamdi village, Damboa Local Government Area of Borno state.
Damboa LGA is located in Southern Borno with a distance of 87km from Maiduguri.
SaharaReporters gathered that three soldiers were killed during the attack while about seven members of factional Boko Haram sect also lost their lives.
The militants were said to have carted away weapons belonging to the military during a gun duel.
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BREAKING: Ahead Buhari’s Visit, Boko Haram Terrorists Set Military Base On Fire In Borno
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The fighters were said to have stormed the area in 10 utility vehicles, and burnt down one Ammour Personal Carrier (APC) and a gun truck.
According to a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF), Hamidu Abu, the deadly group targeted soldiers camp but not residents.
He added that the base was razed down as several valuables were stolen by the assailants.
The attack comes two days to the planned visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the State, which is the epicentre of insurgency war in Nigeria.
Ahead of his election in 2015, Buhari had promised to defeat Boko Haram but six years into his government, that promise has not been fulfilled.
In February 2020, residents of the state booed the President as his convoy drove in and when it was leaving Maiduguri, state capital, during a condolence visit.
The residents were heard shouting in Hausa “Bama so, ka samu a kunya.” Meaning “We don’t want you, because you have disappointed us.”
Thursday will be the first time the President will visit Borno since the February 2020 incident.
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Conditional Cash Transfer: Poverty Reduction Programme Marred By Ricketiness, By Israel Olatunji Tijani
Photo showing non-electronic payment of conditional cash transfer in Ningi LGA, Bauchi State.
Photo story:Engagement session with beneficiaries of the CCT at Ba Kuye Ward, Ede-South LGA
It began with a 183 km journey from Lagos to Ede-South local government area of Osun state. According to the data made available by the National Social Safety-net Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Ede-South LGA has 3,673 households and 12,947 individuals captured in the National Social Register (NSR).
I headed to the social development office at the local government where I met and engaged Mrs Oladejo, the Desk Officer in charge of the CCT to shed light on some of the issues raised by masses concerning the programme. She was succinct as she navigated between the success stories and challenges that have accompanied the programme since its inception not leaving out the fact that the last cash transfer made to beneficiaries was in June 2020 and the prolonged delay has aggravated the poor condition of the beneficiaries. She said “Many of the beneficiaries that went into petty trading are now out of business”. During an engagement session to hear from the horse’s mouth, the beneficiaries could not hold back their emotions while narrating how the prolonged delay in payment has affected their means of livelihood.“The little trade I started with the previous cash transfer is on the brink of collapse because of the unsteady payment. It is my only means of income,” said one of the beneficiaries. Another beneficiary narrated the repeated embarrassment her fellow contributors are giving her. She said “I joined a contributory thrift saving scheme popularly known as ‘Ajo’ but since the payment has stopped, I’m unable to meet up with my thrift contribution dues and those involved have been coming to my house regularly asking me to pay the accumulated debt”.
Photo story:Engagement session with beneficiaries of the CCT at Ba Kuye Ward, Ede-South LGA
A key finding shows the deviation of NCTO from the framework designed for the programme to take off. The programme framework for beneficiaries to be identified during payment is via the following means:
Credentials: NCTO will issue CCT programme identity cards containing bio-metrics of beneficiaries upon enrolment of the eligible households.
Special provisions: Each beneficiary has a unique identifier encoded in barcode and will be employed for cashing out.
Electronic end-to-end payment: The payment system will transfer cash benefits directly from NCTO at Federal level to beneficiaries using commercially available payment services and minimize the role of intermediaries.
Photo showing non-electronic payment of conditional cash transfer in Ningi LGA, Bauchi State.
This manual method has aided extortion and illegal deduction of beneficiaries’ payments which has formed about 5 percent of cases reported to the Grievance Redress mechanism (GRM) a body established to receive complaints from both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries on issues such as poor service delivery, lack of or inadequate information on programme activities, payment-related issues, and staff misconduct (including bribery and corruption-related behaviour, intimidation, sexual harassment).
Countries Implementing Cash Transfer/Social Investment Programmes
Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs started in the late 1990s in Latin America and have become the antipoverty program of choice in many developing countries in the region and beyond.
Argentina: Adopted universal allocation per child, established in 2009. Eligibility for the scheme was focused on families without formal employment and earning less than the minimum wage who ensured their children attended school, received vaccines and underwent health checks. By 2013 it covered over two million poor families and by 2015 it covered 29 percent of all Argentinian children.
Bangladesh: The Female Secondary School Assistance Project, established in 1994 is a form of CCT program which focuses only on school attendance for girls and unmarried by providing tuition and stipends.
Egypt: Program Minhet El-Osra started in 2009; it is currently being piloted in an urban slum in Cairo, Ain Es-Sira, and 65 villages in rural Upper Egypt by the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity
South Africa provided CCT in 2009 to poor households through the grant child support initiative.
United State of America: Opportunity NYC, ONYC ended on August 31, 2010. The program built on the conceptual framework and success of international conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs and was the first major CCT initiative implemented in the United States. The principal objective of Opportunity NYC Family Rewards was to test the impact of monetary incentives on children’s education, family health and adults’ workforce outcomes.
Policy Recommendations
CCTs require effective infrastructure to be successful. Poor infrastructural systems limit the impacts of CCT programmes. Impacts should be viewed in terms of socio-economic growth, effectiveness of health and education institutions of the country.
National Social Register Compilation: In the area of indigent community identification, this report would recommend the use of a technological based approach informed by Geographic Information System (GIS) for mapping out poor and vulnerable households.
Beneficiaries Tracing: Proper addressing system will also go a long way in identifying unstructured areas. It will allow poor and vulnerable people to connect and be traceable, improve emergency response and increase access to targeted beneficiaries. Impact Measurement: The implementation of conditional cash transfer programs should be followed by a systematic effort to measure their effectiveness and understand their broader impact on household behavior.
Training for front-line workers delivering CCT programmes can have transformative effects on the way these programmes are received with empowering dimensions.
Using the lens of anti-graft agencies, the GRM should leverage the dynamic partnership with Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to ensure that violators are identified and prosecuted under the law. Only when the convictions of offenders are secured and the racketeering in the system flushed out before the programme can be seen as credible.June 2021 makes it exactly one year since the beneficiaries have last received the cash transfer; we await the reaction of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs as we continue to mull over what is responsible for the rickety in the payment, knowing that the CCT programme has a 3-year span.
By Israel Olatunji TijaniThis Investigative Report is supported by Orodata Science
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Wife Of Osun Governor, Oyetola Who Owes Pensions, Spends Millions Of Naira To Organise Prayer Against Insecurity
Kafayat Oyetola
The wife of the Osun State Governor, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola, gathered hundreds of women on Wednesday In Osogbo, the state capital, for a prayer programme that gulped millions of naira as directed by the Nigerian Governors’ Wives Forum.
Kafayat, whose husband, Gboyega Oyetola, has not paid pensions of workers who retired as far back as 2017, said the programme was to seek the face of God for Nigeria.
Kafayat Oyetola
At the inter-religious prayer session which was held on Wednesday, women from two religious circles were led in prayer over incessant killings, kidnappings, banditry, among other challenges currently bedevilling the country.SaharaReporters learnt that millions of naira were spent on mobilisation and refreshments for the event. Speaking, the Osun first lady said Nigeria needed divine intervention in all aspects of life.
She said, “The challenge of insecurity has continued to assume various dimensions. They are dimensions that affect every aspect of our daily living.
“This development has raised concern for every Nigerian. This is the reason why we, (the Nigerian Governors Wives Forum {NGWF}), have resolved to have this country-wide programme of prayer.
“It is also pertinent at this juncture to call on each one of us to begin to change our approach to issues of nationhood. We must start a cause of behaviour change. Let us change our attitude in relation to one another, in relation to community affairs, in relation to our state affairs, and in relation to our national affairs.
“Yes, Nigeria is a nation with a large number of churches, mosques, and homes of traditional religions. It is also a fact that Nigeria is one of the nations that seriously need healing in all aspects of life. This healing can come only through the divine intervention of God.
“However, the intervention will require that we work. We must start from our homes. Let’s change the culture that places money as the ultimate value of a relationship. Let us enthrone virtue, let us enthrone love, let us bring back the virtue of humanity that our great grandparents handed down to us.
“Mothers should begin to teach our children these abandoned virtues. They were virtues that made our society greater than many of those that our children run to today. We can still reclaim our land. Time is ticking for this individual and collective intervention.
“I, therefore, plead with our mothers, the teachers in our schools, our religious leaders, our trade unions to make this a key assignment. We should make messages and teachings of these virtues to be at the forefront. We should de-emphasize the love of money as the ultimate value. We should begin to imbue our children with a sense of dignity, love, and service to the community. This will generate significant wealth for our communities and our homes. It would generate peace of mind and safety. It happened before in our nation. We can make it happen again.”
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Save Us From Killers Supported By Buhari’s Government, Gani Adams Writes UN, AU, US, Others
Gani Adams
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams on Wednesday wrote a letter to the international community over the insecurity in Nigeria, seeking intervention to put an end to the killings and carnage in the region.
In a letter made available to SaharaReporters, Adams wrote the Secretary-General, United Nations (UN), Chairperson of the African Union (AU), Secretary of State, United States (US).
Gani Adams
Others that have received the letter include the British Foreign Secretary, European Union (EU) member states, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and embassies including German, Canadian, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Swedish, South African, Ghanaian, Togolese and Beninoise.
The letter, personally signed by the Aare Onakakanfo, is titled: “Urgent Need to stop killings by Fulani Herdsmen in Yorubaland.”
In the letter, he expressed concern and worry over the incessant killings in the South-West.
He said: “This is to bring to your attention ‘a clear and present danger’ threatening the fragile union of our great country, Nigeria.
“Senseless killings and massacre of Nigerians, almost on a daily basis, are tragically sliding toward an anarchical terminal point.
“The inability or apathetic attitude of the Federal Government, pitiably as it is, is already compounding an already gory situation.
“While you already know, through diplomatic sources and the media, what is going on in the world’s most populous black nation, Nigeria, I want to urgently alert you that an agenda bordering on pogrom is gradually being executed in Yorubaland.”
Adams emphasised that it is incumbent on the global community to intervene and holistically address the issue, pointing out that statistics of prominent Yoruba people who have been murdered by killer-herdsmen and their collaborators are increasing daily.”Yorubaland has been put under serious pressure through payment of ransom – running into millions of naira – demanded by these conscienceless, unscrupulous, and ruthless murderers.
“Now, the agitation for them to leave our land has reached an alarming crescendo and the backing (that is the belief of our people) given to them by the Federal Government to continue to lay claim to the fact that ‘nobody can chase anybody away from any part of the country’, is not helping matters.
“The peace, stability, and tranquility of Yoruba people in this geographical space called Nigeria are being tested by blood-thirsty maniacs through invasion of our land.
“In our space, these herdsmen are accused daily of committing rape, kidnap, and murder.
“The invasion of Igangan, a rural community in Ibarapaland, Oyo State on June 6, 2021, leading to the massacre of scores of residents by these same band of roving killers, who prefer to stay in the forest because of their murderous intent, seems to be the last straw,” he lamented.He, however, urged the global community to urgently intervene in the situation.
He maintained that the earlier the global community intervened, the better it would be for the most populous African country.
“It may happen soon because all the security establishments are already showing signs of virtual ineffectiveness.
“Your Excellencies, if something urgent is not done, these series of attacks will soon have a negative effect on Western countries’ investments in Nigeria,” he added.
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Igboho Issues Fresh Eviction Notice To Killer-Herdsmen In South-West, Vows To Ensure Compliance
Sunday Igboho
Popular Yoruba Freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Sunday Igboho has given a fresh eviction notice to killer-herdsmen in the South-West, stressing that he will ensure they are all smoked out of the forests very soon.
Igboho stated this in an interview anchored by his spokesperson, Oluyomi Koiki, noting that he would never give any order without monitoring compliance.
Sunday Igboho
According to him, the issue of agitation for the Yoruba nation is non-negotiable and no Jupiter can stop it, Vanguard reports. Igboho also insisted that no governor can stop Yoruba nation rally, noting if any governor says that, it will not be obeyed because Yorubaland belongs to all Yoruba indigenes.
He further warned criminal elements hibernating in the forests to leave because henceforth, there must not be any issue of kidnapping again in the zone.
Igboho, who spoke in Yoruba, said, “How can six million people be commanding about 250 million of other Nigerians? Marriage is not by force. We can’t live with you again. The Yoruba nation is a vehicle of salvation and I want all Yoruba to board the vehicle and have their seats.
“How can we go back when we are almost at our destination? Those who have not joined us should do so now because there’s no election come 2023. Yoruba will go.”
He appealed to all youths not to insult elders in Yorubaland, including the traditional rulers.
“Please, don’t insult our elders again. I don’t want anyone to cast aspersions on our traditional rulers that they have collected money. No, don’t do that. Even, if they were given money, it’s part of the commonwealth that was stolen.
“Don’t fight the police or any security agents. Let’s do our rally peacefully. Tell President (Muhammadu) Buhari, if he doesn’t understand Yoruba, tell him in English that we don’t want bandits in our zone again. Work has begun already and from Monday, I will begin combing all forests in Yorubaland.
“I want all Fulani in Yorubaland to leave. I, myself will monitor compliance with the eviction notice. I don’t issue an order without ensuring compliance. As from Monday, we don’t want to hear of any kidnapping in Yorubaland again. I will show them the stuff Yoruba people are made of.
“We will tell them there is a clear distinction between Yoruba and Fulani. All these weapons they are brandishing, we will collect them with ease. We will blow ‘wind’ into all the forests in Yorubaland. If we don’t prove to these people who we are now, they will be encroaching on our lands when we achieve our Yoruba nation.”
He challenged anyone who claimed to have given him money regarding his agitation to come forward and say it out.
“If you know you have given me money that I should shelve Yoruba nation struggle, come out and say it now. No amount of money can stop me from going ahead with this struggle. You can’t kill me. Kill who? Throw a bomb at me? If you throw a bomb, I, too, will send thunder,” he said.
Igboho also dismissed rumours of his kidnap, saying “no one can kidnap me. I know you Yoruba people love me. I’m not missing. We are almost there. All those who go out with me to rallies, you are safe. No policeman can arrest you. We are asking for our rights. No one can intimidate us in our fatherland. No governor can say we must not have rallies in his state.
“We are in Yorubaland. It will be okay if Britain or United Nations come to our aid to help us actualise it. If not, we will never back down. It’s possible some political hangers-on will align with politicians because of benefits they get from them, don’t mind them; they are too minute to stop us,” he said.
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E2%80%94-wike Open Grazing Ban: Bill To Protect Our People From Herders Will Now Be Sent To Lawmakers— Wike
Rivers Governor Wike
Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike says the ban on open grazing in the state will be given legal backing to protect Rivers people from marauding herdsmen.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Isaiah Odoli/Omerelu Streets in New GRA Phase 1 in the Obio-Akpor Local Government Area on Wednesday, Wike said the Anti-Open Grazing Bill will be sent to the state House of Assembly.
Rivers Governor Wike
According to Wike, the bill is also in keeping with the resolution made by the Southern Governors’ Forum.
“You can’t go to the farm anymore, those who rear cattle, they’ll not allow your crops to grow. Let me say clearly, now that the House of Assembly has come back, we have to submit the bill on Anti-Open Grazing as we agreed in the Southern Governors’ Forum.
“So, that everybody must understand it. It’s clear, without any hesitation, we must do it to protect our farms, to protect our women, to protect our youths, so that nobody will go and kill them.”
Wike also said Nigerians who had considered the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a better alternative to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015, must be regretting the deplorable condition of the country under the ruling APC.
“The exchange rate has now got to N510 to a dollar. When they took over, it was N150 to a dollar. They said they’ll give employment. Do we have employment today? Are your children employed?”
According to Wike, Nigeria is now on life support and requires prayers from well-meaning Nigerians to save it.
“Since APC came into power, you can now see what Nigeria has turned to. Each day you wake up, you hear people are being killed. If you watch television and read the news on newspapers, you will hear so and so number are killed or kidnapped in so and so state.
“That is not what I thought all of us needed. The country is on oxygen (life support). Nobody knows what will happen next. As we are today, Nigeria is in dire need of help. Nigeria needs prayers; to our mothers and sisters, you must kneel down and pray to God to salvage this country.”
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E2%80%94bandit-leader-says-video Buhari Should Personally Lead Peace Talks With Us To End Insecurity —Bandit Leader Says In Video
A gang of bandits tormenting the Northwestern part of Nigeria says banditry in the region began as far back as when Zamfara was carved out of Sokoto under the regime of the late military Head of State, Sani Abacha in 1996.
The bandits revealed this in a video interview they granted as seen with Daily Trust on Wednesday.
The leader of the gang who spoke in Hausa disclosed that Fulani herders have been subjected to humiliation, suffering, and neglect in the past under the democratic governments that began in 1999 till date which compelled them to take up arms.
According to them, the entirety of wealth in Nigeria is not shared with the nomads by the successive governments leaving them in illiteracy and hunger, and choosing banditry to survive became a necessity.
“It’s been long we started. We started not long after Zamfara State was created. We took up arms because we are herders and despite this country’s wealth, we are not carried along, we are not educated, we do not know anything. We do not have security, we do not have any benefit.
“We are the ones being killed but are always seen as the aggressors. We don’t have anything. Wherever a herder is, he is uneducated and has nothing. In this country, there is everything but we are not carried along. It is as if though we don’t exist. We are just being killed,” the leader of the gang said in the video.
(2) pic.twitter.com/xmzs5f5646— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) June 16, 2021
Also, he spoke about a deal that was breached by the Nigerian government in the past which should have put an end to banditry in the region.
The bandits revealed that the government did not fulfil its end of the deal, lamenting that killing happens almost every day in the North West, with no particular regard to any tribe.
“Of course, it has been breached. You have asked for an armistice. An agreement was reached but you left that person in the forest with a gun and nothing was to substitute. What do you expect? How do you want that person to survive?
“All promises made to us, none of them was fulfilled and nothing was done to enrol the young ones in schools. We should be treated the same way and given jobs, by the government. The Hausa, Yoruba, and Fulani should be treated equally,” the bandits said.
Speaking, the leader of the marauding gang said President Muhammadu Buhari should head the peace talks if he is serious about ending banditry and insecurity in the country.
Furthermore, the bandits claimed they supported President Buhari because he promised to fix the country, but they can see now that the promise was merely a fantasy.
“The president should personally come and preside over the talks. When he was campaigning, he travelled all over, why would he not do it now? He does not take these peace talks seriously and every day people are being killed. There is no day that someone is not killed between Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna, Sokoto, and Katsina. No two days pass without someone getting killed in these places.
“There is no tribe that is spared. Gunmen kill, soldiers kill, vigilantes kill. Whoever you see with a gun today in Nigeria, uses it to kill people. You may not know, but if I were to tell you the situation of things in this country, you will cry. Even the president will cry. We supported this administration and accepted dialogue because we thought he will fix the country but he won’t fix the country.
“From the time he praised Goodluck (Jonathan), (Olusegun) Obasanjo, and late (Umaru) Yar’Adua. These were not praiseworthy. It would have been better if he had praised (Sani) Abacha because, under Abacha, pastoralists were being educated. During Abacha, there was allocation in the budget for the nomadic communities. There was no such thing again since Obasanjo became president.
“They stopped looking after Fulani. Their forests and grazing areas were taken over. You will see one person having as much as 1,000 hectares, just because he is rich,” the leader said.
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NBC Act: SERAP Threatens To Sue Buhari’s Government Over Moves To Suppress Media Freedom
Socio-Economic Rights And Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked members of the House of Representatives to reject a bill by President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, seeking to amend the National Broadcasting Commission Act.
SERAP, in a post on its Twitter handle on Wednesday, threatened to challenge the bill in court if it is passed into law.
The tweet read, “We urge members of the House of Representatives to reject the unlawful bill by Mr Lai Mohammed and the Buhari administration, which seeks to amend the NBC Act to control online broadcasting.
”We’ll challenge this illegality in court if the bill is ever passed into law.”The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Nigerian government has asked the House of Representatives to enact a law to regulate social and online media in Nigeria.
Minister of Information and Culture, Mohammed had asked the federal lawmakers to amend the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act to empower the Commission to regulate social and online media.
The minister pushed for this at a public hearing organised by the lawmakers on Wednesday through its House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics, and Values.
An earlier report by SaharaReporters noted that the bill, if passed into law, could award media organisations, personnel and workers who violate sections of the amended National Broadcasting Commission Act, one-year jail term, in addition to other punishments.
SaharaReporters obtained the Bill for the amendment of the NBC Act CAP N11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2010, which spelt out that the NBC now has powers to enforce jail terms on violators in addition to fines for breaching any of its provisions.
The bill which is going for public reading is an “Act for the Amendment of the National Broadcasting Commission Act, CAP N11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2010 to strengthen the commission and make it more effective for the commission to regulate broadcasting in Nigeria and for related matters.”
The bill seeks to amend the Section 2 of the Principal Act, saying, “The Section 2 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by totally deleting the existing Section 2 by replacing it or substituting it with a new Section 2 and 2A which shall read as follows;
“Receive, process and consider the applications for the establishment, ownership and operation of radio, television stations including; …online news; regulating and controlling the broadcasting industry; regulate digital-based broadcasting such as online news and digital terrestrial television etc.”
Checks by SaharaReporters into the bill showed that another section stated that “any person who acts in breach of the subsection 1 of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to; one, a fine not less than the fee for the relevant licence; two, imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year; three, both fine and imprisonment and four; forfeiture to the commission of the property, facilities, installations and equipment used for the provision and operation of the unlicensed service.”
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