Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Friday 10th September 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 10/09/21
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E2%80%94-femi-adesina-tackles-sheikh-gumi-over-calls-amnesty Bandits Are Going To Hell — Femi Adesina Tackles Sheikh Gumi Over Calls For Amnesty
Femi Adesina
Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, has taken a swipe at the controversial Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, over the latter’s comment that military onslaught would worsen banditry in Nigeria.
Adesina, in an article on his Facebook wall on Thursday titled, “I like this pampering. Don’t you?,” made a cryptic reference to Gumi as a “bandit-lover”.
Femi Adesina
He quoted the cleric’s statement verbatim, noting that Gumi’s position on the military bombardment of the bandits is “false”.
Gumi, on Monday, asked the Nigerian government to grant amnesty to bandits like it gave to Niger Delta militants.
In a Facebook post, titled, ‘Zamfara: The flaring crisis’, the Islamic cleric had said, “Let us face the reality, these herdsmen are going nowhere, and they are already in battle gear, and we know our Military very well, so before things get messy, we need cold brains to handle this delicate situation.”
Reacting, in his article, Adesina said bandits are going to hell fire.
He wrote, “Before they got to this sorry pass, they had the chance to turn a new leaf. Zamfara, Katsina, and many other states offered dialogue. The governments tried to negotiate with them. But they were contumacious.
“Like dogs fated for destruction, they refused to hear the hunters’ whistle. They filled the land with sorrow, tears, and blood, ‘dem regular trademark’ (as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti would say). Now, the shoe is on the other foot.
“In the different evil forests, when the Nigerian Air Force strikes from the sky, the remnants of the evildoers not killed immediately attempt to flee. The ground troops then pick them off like flies. I say it again. One has never been prouder of our troops. They are cleaning up the country.
“Shocking and disconcerting, however, that in the middle of all these, you still hear words meant to discourage our gallant soldiers. A bandit-lover is on record as saying military offensive would not work, and that the bandits “are going nowhere.” True? False. They are going somewhere. And that is: hell.”
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BREAKING: Bandits Invade Sokoto Community, Kill Six, Abduct Many Residents Despite Military Strikes
Six people have been killed and many others abducted by suspected bandits in the Tureta Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
Tureta shares a border with Zamfara State where military bombardments in a continuous operation have been taking place.
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The area is also affected by the current shutdown of telecommunication network in the neighbouring state.
The attackers were said to have raided the area around 2am on Thursday.
They were said to have deceived the unsuspecting members of the community using the Muslim’s call for prayer.
The state Deputy Governor Maniru Dan’iya, on Thursday afternoon visited the area to condole with residents over the incident and reiterated the government’s commitment to end banditry.
He also said that the state government would foot the medical bills of the injured.
Sokoto, Niger, Katsina, Zamfara and many other states in North-West and North-Central Nigeria are bedevilled by bandits’ attacks.
The bandits kill and kidnap at will despite the large deployment of police officers and soldiers to the affected states.
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Police Arrest Peoples Democratic Party Chief For Kidnapping, Murder In Ebonyi
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The zonal ex-officio of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi, Francis Okechukwu Kalu has been arrested and detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department of the Ebonyi State Police Command, Abakaliki.
Vanguard reports that Kalu was arrested by the Imo State Police Command and later transferred to the command in Abakaliki for further investigation.
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The reason for his arrest bordered on kidnapping, murder and armed robbery.
But in reaction, the PDP Publicity Secretary, Silas Joseph Onu, said “However if someone is charged with all the above offences, the victims will also be identifiable. The person he killed, the person or people he robbed and kidnapped.
“These are critical in ascertaining the veracity of these allegations. However, if the arrest turns out to be based on falsehood, it would have become an embarrassing overzealous arrest for the police and a clear case of political intimidation and abuse of public office by the police.
“The mere fact that someone submits a complaint containing allegations of a serious nature, without supporting evidence that is convincing to warrant an arrest, it will be too political and hasty for the police to jump into arresting politically exposed persons or anyone at that, based on unsubstantiated allegations.
“So, we await the outcome of the investigation. But will not take it lightly if all the arrest was designed to cause embarrassment to the PDP using an official as a point of contact.”
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Enugu Man Beats Pregnant Wife To Death For Failing To Provide Dinner
A resident of Uburu-Ekwe Street in Ugwuagor, Abakpa Nike, Enugu State, Eke Nweofia, has been arrested by the police for beating his eight-month-old pregnant wife to death during an altercation over dinner on Wednesday.
The suspect said to be a dealer in scrap metal at Nkpor Street in Abakpa, was supposedly under the influence of alcohol when he committed the crime.
According to Sun, an eyewitness, Chibuike Ozor, said that the victim, mother of four “Mama Goodluck”, was beaten to stupor by her husband and was later rushed to a nearby hospital where she was confirmed dead in the early hours of Thursday.
Ozor narrated that Nweofia who came home from work Wednesday night demanded food from his wife but was told that the only food in the house was for the children.
The wife supposedly explained to him that she had to beg for a bowl of garri from one of her neighbours for the children to feed since the suspect did not provide money for food before he left for work.
“This response obviously got the husband angry and he pounced on her and beat her mercilessly. Before we could come to her rescue, she had collapsed. So we helped in rushing her to the hospital where she was later confirmed dead in the early hours of Thursday,” Ozor stated.
The eyewitness said that Eke was in the habit of beating his wife at any slightest provocation. “When this pregnancy was about 2-months-old, the husband battered her and it took our intervention to save the woman that day.”
The suspect has since been arrested by men of the Ugwuagor Vigilante group and handed over to the police.
When contacted, the Chief Security Officer of the area, Ikechukwu Ukwuani, who confirmed the incident, noted that it was a shocking development.
“The sad story is true. I just came back from Abakpa Police Station where we handed him over to the police,” he added.
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E2%80%94-buhari Igbos Are In Charge Of Nigeria’s Economy, It’s Unthinkable They Wish To Break Away — Buhari
Buhari in Imo
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, says it is “unthinkable” that any Igbo man would clamour for a separate nation.
The president said Igbo people are relevant people in the country, adding that they have successful businesses across different locations in Nigeria.
Buhari in Imo
He further claimed the people of the region are the ones in charge of the country’s economy.
He spoke at a town hall meeting with South-East leaders during his one-day official visit to Owerri, the Imo State capital.
A statement quoted the president as saying that with less than two years left in his eight-year tenure as President, security remains a major priority for his administration.
Acknowledging the resourcefulness and enterprising spirit of the Igbo people, the President said, “The fundamental thing about the Igbo people is that there is no town you will visit in Nigeria without seeing the Igbos being in charge of either infrastructure or pharmaceutical industry.
“Therefore, it is unthinkable for me that any Igbo man would consider himself not to be a part of Nigeria.
“The evidence is there for everyone to see that Igbos are in charge of Nigeria’s economy.”
His comment comes amid the constant agitations in the region by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra seeking a separate Biafran nation.
Buhari further noted that no country can make any meaningful progress without the development of infrastructure, the President expressed regret that successive governments at the Federal level contributed to the decay of critical infrastructure in the country.
He promised that the Federal Government would complete ongoing key projects in the South East, including the 2nd Niger Bridge as well as the railway lines and routes linking the region with other parts of the country.
“I firmly believe that when you get infrastructure right, Nigerians will mind their own businesses,” he said, adding that as a group, the Igbos stand to benefit more from the ongoing development of infrastructure in the country because “they are more enterprising.”
Buhari had earlier commissioned four projects executed by Governor Hope Uzodinma, including the Naze/Ihiagwa/Nekede/Obinze link road, the Balloon Driven/Flood Control drainage at D*** Tiger Road, the Egbeada Bypass road and the New Exco-Chambers, Government House, Owerri.
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Naira Plunges Further To N543 Per $1 Under Buhari Government
File photo used to illustrate story.
The Nigerian currency, the naira, has hit an all-time low after exchanging for N543 against the dollar, at the parallel market on Thursday.
While bureau de change operators in Abuja bought dollar at N540, it was sold for N543.
File photo used to illustrate story.
The British Pound was also sold for £1/N740.
This is barely a week after the naira exchanged for N530 against the dollar, at the parallel market.
SaharaReporters had reported that the naira also dipped to 720 against the pound at the parallel market from 717/£1 last week Wednesday, while the euro rose to N620 from N616.
The Central Bank of Nigeria some months ago barred the sale of forex to all bureau de change operators across the country.
On June 27, 2021, the CBN ended the sales of Forex to BDCs saying the parallel market had become a conduit for illicit Forex flows and graft.
The CBN said it would also no longer process applications for BDC licences in the country.
Weekly sales of foreign exchange by the CBN will henceforth go directly to commercial banks, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, said.
The Committee of Banks Chief Executive Officer headed by the CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, had stated on July 29 that the exchange rate would drop to around N423 to the dollar on the parallel market.
Similarly, on August 9, 2021, the Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, said the naira would rise in the parallel market towards 490-495 against the dollar in August/September.
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BREAKING: South-West Outfit, Amotekun Rescues Nine Of 12 Lagos-bound Passengers Abducted In Ondo
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The Ondo State Commander of the South-West security outfit, Amotekun, Adetunji Adeleye, has said nine of the 12 passengers kidnapped by suspected bandits in the state have been rescued by the men of the security outfit.
SaharaReporters had reported that some gunmen on Wednesday evening attacked a Lagos-bound 18-seater commercial bus along Idoani-Ifira Akoko axis in the Akoko South-East Local Government Area of the state.
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BREAKING: Gunmen Kidnap 18 Lagos-bound Passengers In Ondo
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The armed men were said to have blocked the highway on the bad portion of the road and attacked the bus heading towards Lagos from Abuja, forcing the bus to stop abruptly on the highway.
They dragged the victims into the bush to an unknown destination.
Speaking with journalists in Akure, Adeleye explained that gunshots from the gunmen attracted the officials of the Amotekun in the area who pursued the criminals into the bush.
He said only nine of the victims were rescued overnight by his men while they are still combing the forest to rescue the other three victims.
Adeleye assured that the three other victims will be rescued unhurt while the hoodlums will be brought to book, saying the anti-kidnapping unit of the command had swung into action to ensure the release of the victims.
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E2%80%93-ohanaeze-ndigbo-assures-buhari South-East Won’t Break Away From Nigeria – Ohanaeze Ndigbo Assures Buhari
Ohanaeze Ndigbo
The Igbo apex socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has assured President Muhammadu Buhari that the South-East region will not disintegrate from the country despite the array of secessionist activities.
The group, however, urged the President to restore the sense of belonging in Nigeria which has lost especially in the region adding that equity, justice and fairness are needed to preserve the country.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo
Ohanaeze disclosed this in a statement read by its President-General, Prof. George Obiozor during the President’s visit to Imo State to commission some projects executed by Governor Hope Uzodinma on Thursday.
Obiozor, while he lauded the nation’s leader on some capital projects he achieved in the region such as second Niger Bridge, he still begged him on other aspects to look into.
He said, “Mr. President, in spite of all the threats of secessionism or separatism facing the country, there is no doubt that no secessionist element can succeed in Nigeria provided there is good governance based on equity, justice and fairness to all the citizens. Ndigbo are committed to Nigerian unity and there is news for those trying to push us out of Nigeria. Ndigbo in Nigeria are like fish in the ocean, no matter how rough the storm is, it cannot drive the fish out of the ocean.
“Mr. President, it is in this context, that we see a new dawn in your distinguished presence in Igboland and believe that on your return to Abuja the significance and substance of this visit will form a new foundation of a platform for meaningful dialogue on critical issues of concern to the Igbo Nation.
“Your Excellency, the most urgent and imperative need of Ndigbo today is security. The security of Ndigbo in Nigeria and beyond has become a compelling primary responsibility of serious concern for Ndigbo. Regrettably our South-East Zone has recently become a theatre of conflict, negating the peace-loving nature of our people.
“In this context Ohanaeze Ndigbo calls for the establishment of a zonal and state police apparatus to support and complement the existing Federal Security architecture. It is in this same vein that Ohanaeze Ndigbo, appeals to you, Mr. President, to see to the release of Igbo youths detained by various security agencies across the country.
“Mr. President, we appreciate the infrastructural work being undertaken by the Federal Government in the South East such as the 2nd Niger bridge. It symbolises the unity and bridge across the various regions of the country.
“However, the South-East zone is in dire need of more infrastructure sponsored by the Federal Government amongst these are roads, bridges, railways and ports. It is the considered view of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, one that is also shared by the Igbo people that federal investments in these critical areas will revitalize the economy and will have the tangential effect of dousing the youth restiveness and unemployment in the zone.
“In conclusion, Mr. President, nothing is more important to the Igbos in Nigeria today, more than the restoration of serious sense of belonging and the spirit of Nigeria’s founding fathers based on one nation, one destiny. And we believe this is possible through Devolution of Power ensuring a sense of balance in our political system.”
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E2%80%99-attacks-schools-threaten-future-generation-%E2%80%93-un-warns-nigerian-government Bandits’ Attacks On Schools Threaten Future Generation – UN Warns Nigerian Government
File photo used to illustrate story.
The United Nations Mission in Nigeria has warned the Federal Government that the attacks by bandits on schools in the country put the future generations under threats.
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, who raised alarm, noted that the collective future of Nigeria is under threat.
File photo used to illustrate story.
Edward, who warned the Federal Government on the dangers of attack on schools and abduction of students, condemned the incessant attacks on schools.
Edward made this known in a statement on the 2021 International Day to Protect Education from Attack, commemorated every 9 September.
The statement partly reads, “Attacks on schools are direct attack on the future generation, it is traumatic for the children, undermines their individual dignity, and sometimes leads affected families to withdraw them from education entirely.
“I strongly condemn every form of attack that has kept many children away from schools. I call on the Federal and State Governments to do more to protect schools from attack and to ensure that teaching and learning is safe and conducive in all schools in Nigeria,” he added.
“Whenever teaching and learning is disrupted, the impact on human capital development is enormous as the recovery period is always tortuous and longer than the length of the initial disruption.”
He explained that Nigeria cannot afford to leave the situation of incessant attacks on schools to remain unabated.
“Children are traumatised; parents are scared; teachers and school administrators are afraid; attacks on schools are gradually spreading to areas not known to insurgencies. With education under attack, the collective future of Nigeria is under threat. This must stop now.”
Kallon who explained that too often, the right to education fell under attack, especially in conflict-affected areas, where entire populations could be denied learning, encouraged the Federal Government to review progress made in implementing safe schools under the declaration and fully put into practice commitments made in 2019 by taking decisive action to protect education from attack and give this great nation’s children the chance to fulfill their promise.
“With over 10million children already out of school, conflict has aggravated the situation and deeply affected education and the prospects of many young people, especially its most vulnerable ones. In the last academic year, it is estimated that 1.3 million children have been impacted by attacks or abductions at schools in Nigeria.
“Across the north-east region alone, over 600,000 children remain out of school and some 1.1 million need educational support to stay in school. This has all been compounded by the setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
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E2%80%99s-agency-firs-insisting-value-added-tax-meant Afenifere Tackles Nigerian Government’s Agency, FIRS For Insisting On Value-Added Tax Meant For States
Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has commended the decision of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt which ruled that the Rivers State Government had the powers to collect Value Added Tax generated within its territory.
The group said the judgment of the court enhances true federalism and therefore advised the 36 states to step up carry out legal actions to be free from the actions and policies of the Federal Government.
Afenifere National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, in a statement on Thursday, said the Federal Inland Revenue Service was wrong for appealing the VAT judgment which actually brought more federalism to states.
The statement was titled, “PH Court’s Ruling On VAT Enhances True Federalism, Afenifere Says.”
Last month, the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt in a judgment in suit number FHC/PH/CS/149/2020, held that the Rivers State Government had the powers to collect VAT within its territory.
Although the Federal Inland Revenue Service applied to the court for a stay of execution, Justice Stephen Pam rejected the application, saying granting it would negate the principle of equity.
Governor Nyesom Wike, who had lamented the injustice in the country, had also revealed that the Rivers State generated N15bn VAT revenue in June this year, but got N4.7bn in return, while Kano generated N2.8bn in the same month and got the same N2.8bn back.
Wike had also assented to the Rivers State Value Added Tax Law 2021 in August after it was passed by the state House of Assembly.
Meanwhile, some states have since followed suit with the Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday passing the Value Added Tax Bill, which Speaker Mudashiru Obasa directed that the Acting Clerk of the House, Olalekan Onafeko, transmit a clean copy of it to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for assent.
VAT is a consumption tax paid when goods are purchased and services are rendered. It is charged at a rate of 7.5 per cent.
In its statement, Afenifere “called on the state governments to use the opportunity provided by these landmark judgments to explore other areas that the Constitution empowers them to assert themselves as federalists. In other words, they should step up actions that will liberate the states from the stronghold of the federal government that has turned Nigeria into a Unitary State – in contradistinction to the federal spirit prescribes by the Constitution.
“They should be assured of Afenifere’s support as they give vent to power devolution and entrenchment of true federalism in Nigeria.
“Areas in which the states need to assert themselves include agriculture, health, education, electricity, physical planning, title registration, registration and production of vehicle number plates and casino licensing etc as Lagos State Government did in the past.”
The group led by Pa Ayo Adebanjo also called on FIRS “to resist the temptation to keep appealing the judgment that empowers states to collect local taxes as such a step is another assault on the federal system that we are supposed to be running.”
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