Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Friday 18th March 2022
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 18/03/22
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E2%80%99s-wife-acted-thugs-should-be-arrested-%E2%80%93-activist-adeyanju Bianca Ojukwu, Governor Obiano’s Wife Acted Like Thugs, Should Be Arrested – Activist Adeyanju
A human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, who is also convener of Concerned Nigerians group, on Thursday said the wife of outgoing Governor of Anambra State, Ebelechukwu Obiano; and widow of the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Bianca acted as thugs when the two women publicly fought at the inauguration of Chukwuma Soludo as the governor of the state.
Adeyanju also said the two women should be arrested by the police for breach of public peace, noting that both Bianca and Ebelechukwu set a bad precedent for young ladies present at the event.The activist spoke in a chat with Punch while reacting to the clash of the two women at the Government House, Agu-Awka, Awka, the state capital.He said, “The police should arrest and charge the two women for disturbance of public peace. They are thugs. What has happened is a bad precedent for young women. It is unfortunate that these are the people we have up there. The loss of values is so obvious. It is sad.”When contacted on whether the police would invite both women on the account of disturbance of public peace, the spokesman for the police in Anambra, Ikenga Tochukwu, told Punch to send him a text message.The PPRO was yet to reply to the text message sent to him as of press time.The two long-feuding women locked horns at the event on Thursday and exchanged slaps before cameras. The development made the outgoing governor, Willie and his wife to abruptly leave the venue of the swearing-in ceremony of Soludo.
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Top Nigerian University, OAU Gets New Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bamire
The management of Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU Ile-Ife, Osun State, has announced the appointment of Prof Adebayo Simeon Bamire as its new substantive new Vice-Chancellor.The appointment, according to Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Owelle Oscar Idoko, takes effect from June 7, 2022.
The tenure of the current Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede ends on June 6, 2022.The Chairman of Council, while addressing a press conference at the Centre of Excellence, inside the campus, said Bamire was appointed after a thorough selection process from 20 applicants.He said, “As you are aware, the post of the Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ile will become vacant by 7th June 2022.“Council, at its meeting held on 7th December 2021 flagged off the processes for the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor who is expected to assume duties on 7th June 2022.“In line with the approval of the Council, the vacancy was widely advertised in compliance with relevant Statutes and Acts guiding appointment to the position.“At a Special Meeting of 14th February 2022, the Council perused the Curriculum Vitae of all the twenty (20) applicants who indicated an interest in the position. At the end of the exercise, sixteen (16) of them were shortlisted, having met the advertised criteria.“The interaction with the candidates began on Monday, 14th March 2022 and ended on Wednesday, 16th March 2022. All the sixteen candidates appeared before the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board, with fifteen of them present physically and one, at his request, virtually.“The Selection Board painstakingly examined the Curriculum Vitae and interacted with each candidate, and scored them accordingly to stipulated criteria. The three highest-scoring candidates were presented to the Council for further consideration as provided by the law.“The entire exercise of the Joint Selection Board was witnessed by the representatives of the Federal Character Commission who have confirmed the exercise was fair and transparent and carried out in full compliance with the provisions of the Federal Character Commission Act.“In line with the provisions of the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act as amended, the report of the Selection Board was considered by the Council which, after a careful and dispassionate review of the report, decided to appoint Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire, Professor of Agricultural Economics from the Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, as the Vice-Chancellor of the University with effect from June 7, 2022, The decision of the Council shall be communicated to the Visitor to the University, His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari through the Hon. Minister of Education.”
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Anti-corruption Agency, EFCC Arrests Nigerian Pastor On FBI’s Wanted List For Wire Fraud, Others
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Enugu, have arrested one Kelechi Vitalis Anozie, a suspect on the watch list of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI.
Anozie, who is the founder of Praying City Church located in Owerri, Imo State was arrested in Enugu on March 10.
The church founder was alleged to have, alongside three other suspects, swindled a United States resident of $135,800 (N56 million) and another $47,000 (N19 million).
His arrest, according to a statement by Wilson Uwajuren, the EFCC’s spokesperson, on Thursday, followed credible intelligence linking him to alleged conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering.
“Anozie and four other suspects: Valentine Iro, Ekene Ekechukwu (alias Ogedi Power), Bright Azubuike (alias Bright Bauer Azubuike) and Ifeanyi Junior, are alleged to have defrauded one F.F who lives in Illinois, United States, the sum of $135,800 US Dollars and another $47,000,” part of the statement reads.
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Panic As Petrol Tanker Explodes In Lagos
There was panic in the Ijora Badiya area of Lagos state on Thursday when a tanker laden with gasoline exploded at Ijora Palette Junction beside Lagos State Homes Estate.NAN reports that the explosion occurred at 1:30 p.m. According to eyewitnesses, passersby observed that the tanker was leaking and drew the attention of the driver to the leakage.
The driver reportedly got down and attempted to use a fire extinguisher before it exploded.Meanwhile, firefighters and officers from the Ijora Badiya Police Division have been drafted to the area to ensure the security of lives and property.They eventually put out the fire.No life was lost in the accident, it was learnt. The police have since diverted traffic from the road to prevent traffic congestion and hoodlums from attacking innocent citizens.
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New Anambra Governor, Soludo Invites IPOB, ESN To Work With His Government To Fight Insecurity
The newly sworn-in governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, on Thursday, sought the cooperation of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militia arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) to tackle insecurity in the state.Giving his inaugural speech in Awka, the state capital, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria said it was time to interrogate the purpose of the pro-Biafra groups.
“It is time to interrogate the purpose of IPOB and ESN. The politicians using it as a means must come out for a consensus regarding our future. The conspiracy of silence by stakeholders must stop“I challenge the group denying the killings to come out and work with my administration to ensure peace and security in the state,” he said. The Nigerian government and its security agencies have accused IPOB along with its militia arm, ESN of being behind the violence experienced in the South-East, an allegation the Nnamdi Kanu-led group has denied.IPOB has also denied the enforcement of sit-at-home exercises on Mondays in the region, saying Kanu has since directed that it should stop.
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Exclusive: Nigerian Army Captain Who Owns Over 10 Luxury Cars Allegedly Threatens, Forces Landlords In Kaduna Community To Sell Houses To Him
Some landlords in the Babban Saura area of Kaduna State have accused Captain Sahabi Mohammed, an officer of the Nigerian Army currently serving in Ilorin, Kwara State, of issuing several threats and forcing them to sell their houses to him.The house owners disclosed that many of them had yielded to the demands of the army captain out of fear of being victimised by him considering his position and influence in the military.
But despite reporting the situation to various government agencies including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since 2020, nothing has been done to tame the excesses of Mohammed, they said.According to them, the army captain had taken over most of the houses on Sale Street in Kaduna metropolis, Kaduna State, while also making efforts to further forcibly acquire more property within the area.“He wanted to buy a house near him recently but the woman who owns the house told him that she will not sell to him. He threatened and told her that if she didn’t sell the house to him, anything could happen to her. Before she realised what was happening and moved her things out of the place, the army officer brought in bulldozers to demolish the house.“How can a young captain in the army own so many houses and cars plus money? It is absurd,” a landlord in the area told SaharaReporters on Thursday.Revealing that the source of wealth of Captain Mohammed was questionable, another landlord in the area, who spoke with SaharaReporters, wondered how the army officer made money to buy 10 luxury cars, including recent models of Lexus, Mercedes Sports Utility Vehicle, Mercedes GLK, Mercedes E350, power bike and several other expensive automobiles.“Recently, one of his neighbours noticed two SUVs offloading three sacks and, in the process, one fell and money spilled out of it. When the soldier realised that the neighbour had seen the huge amount of money in the sack, he immediately told him to name his price, that he wanted to buy his house.“We don’t know how much he eventually paid but the soldier forced the man to sell the house to him and ensured he moved out of the community. That is how powerful the soldier is and he has continued that style to intimidate and blackmail landlords into selling their houses to him,” another landlord in the community said.Berating the EFCC, army authorities and other government agencies for doing nothing about Mohammed’s high-handedness despite receiving petitions from members of the Kaduna community, another landlord in the area revealed that they were worried and afraid of what next might happen to houses in the community if the army captain was not immediately checked.“We have sent a petition to the EFCC since August 2020 and copied the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, State House, Aso Villa, Abuja, and Department at State Services Headquarters without any action taken on the matter.“We wonder why the authorities have kept mute about the activities of Captain Mohammed and how he has been threatening every house owner close to his property in Kaduna.“The authorities must do something fast about this issue before things get out of hand,” a leader in Babban Saura neighbourhood in Kaduna said.Calls and a text message on the issue sent to the mobile number of the army captain offered by a landlord in the area were yet to be responded to as of the time of this report.Also, calls put across by SaharaReporters to the Director, Army Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, on the issue were not answered nor returned. A text message also sent to his mobile line had yet to be responded to as of the time of filing this report.
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Corps Members Protest As Policemen Shoot Colleague In Oyo, Victim Unconscious
Some members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on Thursday protested against the shooting of their colleague by policemen in Ibadan, Oyo State.The victim was said to be coming from the weekly community development service (CDS) at the headquarters of Oluyole Local Government Area when the yet-to-be-identified cops stopped his car and shot him through the windscreen.
It is not clear what crime the police accused the corps member of having committed, but the officers were said to have fled the scene after the incident.“He was coming from the LGA where he went for CDS and the police started chasing him. He was even unaware till they overtook him and asked him to park.“He actually parked but refused to wind down the glass, asking them what happened. One of the officers was angry and shot at him. He is unconscious at the hospital now,” a colleague of the victim said.The incident led to a massive protest by corps members and some other youths in the area.The protesters demanded the arrest, prosecution and dismissal of the officers involved in the shooting.
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E2%80%98yahoo-yahoo%E2%80%99-governors-azu-ishiekwene Triumph of the ‘Yahoo-Yahoo’ Governors By Azu Ishiekwene
In the midst of our current misery, the Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu thought we needed something to cheer last week, so he offered a joke, which was telling and disturbing. In the row between the Governor of Yobe and interim chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mai Mala Buni, and governors who wanted to overthrow him, Akeredolu, who was on the side of the protagonists, reached into the gutter for words to describe his enemies. He plumbed the depths, far below the sepsis reached by the sarcasm of Salihu Lukman, the former director-general of the Progressives Governors Forum, and gave gutter language a new lease of life. Akeredolu called governors of his own party, yahoo-yahoo governors.
Let me be clear. I have absolutely no interest in APC’s house of commotion. And if it is true, as is being alleged, that Buni procured court judgements to stall the party’s national convention for the third time since his inexplicably extended tenure, if it is true, as is being alleged, that Buni the referee plans to join the race, if it is true, as has been alleged, that Buni is offering the party’s primaries ticket for sale; in short, if it is true, as is being alleged, that Buni is the party’s problem, then perhaps Akeredolu’s description would be a fitting epitaph. But Akeredolu being not just a lawyer but a senior advocate and former president of the Bar, knows there is a difference between an allegation and a fact. It’s possible that he was overcome by the poor habit of politicians who hardly talk to make sense. To call governors of his own party yahoo-yahoo, deserves not only the attention of the party but also that of bystanders who should take more than a passing interest in this linguistic slur. After Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State made an unusual appearance on Channels TV and vowed that Buni may return as Alhaji Buni but certainly not as chairman of the APC, it is possible that Akeredolu may have seized on that premature funeral to make his own obsequies. But in doing so, he described governors of his own party in a language which even the opposition may have been reluctant to deploy. Are we really hostage to yahoo-yahoo governors? Yahoo-yahoo, a cruel twisting of the search engine, is Nigerian speak for con-artistry; a confidence trickster who earns a living – often outrageously flamboyant living – from transactions guaranteed to leave the other party with the short end of the stick, if not in premium tears. The ruling APC has 22 governors across Nigeria, but Akeredolu did not name names. He did not say which of them is yahoo-yahoo, but mocking fingers are pointing in the direction of three governors – one in the South-East, one in the North Central, and the other one in the South-West, reflecting a federal character of sorts. As of the time of writing, Buni, the man who El-Rufai vowed publicly will not return as chairman for causing the inexplicable disappearance of APC’s manhood among other embarrassing misdemeanours is back in the saddle, riding the party’s horse with his team including John Akpanudoedehe the secretary who has resigned and has been reinstated more times than it takes to say yahoo-yahoo. From a bystander’s point of view, it is not only Buni’s dramatic comeback and the potential resurgence of the so-called yahoo-yahoo governors that are concerning. Akeredolu’s mudslinging also says something about the ruling party and the political elite as a whole that is tragically true. And it is true for a good number of the progressive governors today as it is for governors and politicians in the opposition. How, for example, do you describe a governor who upon falling out with his godfather on the eve of an election, goes on his knees just to trade his party’s broom symbol for another party’s umbrella and then after securing reelection, drags and beats his benefactors with the umbrella?Or a governor who after being elected on the platform of a party, decides in the twilight of his second term, that he must decamp to the ruling party to serve not those who elected and re-elected him in his state, but to ensure the success of his new paymasters in Abuja against whom he had been in opposition for nearly seven years? If that is not yahoo-yahoo, then what is it?How do you explain the ascension to power of a governor who was not first or second but third by 176,919 votes, but who in spite of that ascended to power through a rare process of judicial iberiberism (apologies to Rochas Okorocha, wannabe pilot and presidential aspirant), and is currently being paraded as the icon of the new politics in the South-East? If it is not yahoo-yahoo, then how come a politician who once said a government that cannot fix power in six months is unfit for office now serves in a government that has been unable to fix power for seven years? And this same government is struggling to guarantee the supply of petrol after the country spent $5.8 billion to repair refineries between 2015 and 2020? It seems that after the temporary relief from drug barons and their yahoo-yahoo cousins who took politics hostage in the 2000s, we’re once again returning to the era when con-artists ruled the roost. And what is more, between the accusers and the accused, it’s increasingly difficult to know who is yahoo-yahoo by politics or yahoo-yahoo by nature. There are many reasons this resurgence which Akeredolu said has taken hold of the ruling party, is worse than the current low-grade version popular among desperate, young people holed up in many hotels across the country today. While the police and other crime-fighting agencies can still hope to pursue and rout perpetrators of the low-grade version, what Akeredolu has described is a more dangerous variety. The perpetrators of yahoo-yahoo in Akeredolu’s class and party, not only enjoy immunity from prosecution while they are in office, but they also have the security agencies at their beck and call. In other words, yahoo-yahoo politicians swindle you and yet reserve the power and resources to protect themselves from being held to account. If the governor insists that he used the phrase in a more general sense, perhaps as a rallying cry to save his party from falling apart, it would then be fair to insist that indeed not only those accused of backing Buni but perhaps a significant number in the current class of governors fall under this yahoo-yahoo group. We don’t have to go far for examples. After a week during which power supply has been at a catastrophic low, with many urban households going for days without electricity, not to mention the long petrol queues and run-away inflation, the memes of politicians who swindled voters by making empty promises have flooded the internet. It would be unfair to write politicians off, especially those in the ruling party, as all scam and no work. Some serious work has been done to rebuild infrastructure, which may take some time to show. But if, for a moment, we set aside Akeredolu’s passion for the regional security network, Amotekun, and for legalising the sale of Indian hemp it would be interesting to see what his five-year ledger in Ondo looks like. Even though the governor would like us to believe that con-artistry in his party is limited to Buni’s circle of supporters, the evidence is that it is far more widespread. If it is not political con-artistry, how can a ruling party which promised so much seven years ago leave the country struggling to secure itself, and its citizens bereft, poorer and more divided than they were when the government came to power? And see how even the management of the party’s convention has shown that yahoo-yahoo is not just an accident but a lifestyle for the party: in less than one week, the same man who was vilified as a political fraud unworthy of the progressive banner is back in charge, and his enemies, including Akeredolu, must now bow at his feet under strict presidential orders. It’s a Nollywood script written in a London hospital beyond anything that Akeredolu’s genius or sense of humour could have imagined. Yet to think that Buhari who hardly says a word has written two epistles in one week to save his party is proof that even the directors of this script are sometimes victims of their own con-artistry. A most humbling experience indeed. Or does Akeredolu still think it’s a laughing matter? Ishiekwene is Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP
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Lawyer Demands 250Million Compensation From Nigerian Railway Corporation After Lagos-bound Train Ran Out Of Fuel
File photo used to illustrate story.
An Ibadan-based lawyer, Barrister Abiodun Amole, has demanded the payment of the sum of N250,000,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) from the Nigerian Railway Corporation, as compensation for alleged negligence and breach of contract. He threatened to commence legal action against the corporation in court if it fails to pay the money within 30 days.
File photo used to illustrate story.
Abiodun said the legal action was necessary as he was one of the passengers who boarded a train that recently ran out of fuel on its way to Lagos from Ibadan, Oyo State capital. He described the incident as a clear breach of the implied contract Nigerian Railway Corporation entered into with him, to take him to Lagos on schedule.Hundreds of passengers on the train were stranded for some time as they had to wait in the middle of nowhere for the delivery of fuel to resume the journey. This led to apprehension considering the high level of insecurity in the country. According to Daily Post, Amole, in a petition written by his counsel, Olumide Ojedokun and addressed to the Chairman, Nigerian Railway Corporation, explained that he was completely frustrated when the train ran out of fuel.Ojedokun further revealed in the petition written on behalf of Amole, that the petitioner and other passengers who boarded the train were stranded in the thick forest with all the attendant security implications.He said his client and other passengers were almost choked to death in the stuffy cabin and were all sweating profusely throughout the time the train got stuck.He said, “We act as solicitors to Mr. Abiodun Amole, a resident of Ibadan, Oyo State and the Head of Chambers, Adeniyi Akintola (SAN) & Co. (hereinafter referred to as “our client”) and we write this letter pursuant to his instructions. We have been informed by our aforementioned client that he boarded your Corporation’s morning train service from Ibadan to Lagos at the Moniya, Ibadan train station on Thursday 10th March, 2022 at 8am and was scheduled to get to Lagos at 10 am.“Our client was in the first-class cabin and got ticket No. FC 143235 and seat No. C8/21. Our client was travelling to Port Harcourt, Rivers State en route Lagos and had planned to attend to very urgent official matters at his law firm’s Lagos office at Lekki for at least two hours before proceeding to the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja to board the Air Peace 2:30 pm flight P47194 from Lagos to Port Harcourt.“Unfortunately, your Corporation completely frustrated/disrupted our client’s plan to arrive Lagos on schedule on account of its sheer negligence and ineptitude as the train boarded by our client and several other passengers negligently ran out of fuel and consequently broke down during the journey and left our client and the other passengers stranded in the thick forest, for no fault of theirs with all the attendant security implications.“The ordeal of our client and the other passengers is better imagined than experienced as they were subjected to serious apprehension and fear of a possible imminent violent attack by criminals using forests as their hideout to perpetrate their nefarious activities.”The development further caused our client untold psychological, mental and emotional trauma as his memory was constantly filled with the worsening security situation in the country characterized by kidnapping, abduction, banditry and ritual killings throughout the period he was stranded along with the other passengers in the forest. Our client and all the other hapless passengers were, so to say, “in the lion’s den”, throughout the turbulent period.“Our client and all the other passengers almost choked to death in the stuffy cabin and were all sweating profusely throughout the time the train got stuck. It was indeed hell on earth, to put it mildly. The development, we wish to state constitutes the tort of negligence on the part of your Corporation as well as a clear breach of the implied contract it entered into with our client to take him to Lagos on schedule.“We have our client’s instructions to demand and we hereby accordingly demand the payment of the sum of N250,000,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) as compensation on behalf of our client to be paid through this chambers within 30 (Thirty) days of your receipt of this letter, failing which we shall have no option than to perfect our client’s further instructions to commence proceedings against the Nigerian Railway Corporation in the court of law for the tort of negligence and/or breach of contract and seek appropriate declaratory reliefs and heavy damages with all the attendant dire consequences, publicity and embarrassment.”
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BREAKING Anti-graft Agency, EFCC Arrests Ex-Anambra Governor, Obiano At Lagos Airport
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested former Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano.Obiano was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
He was said to be on his way to Houston, Texas in the United States.The EFCC had last November placed Obiano on a watch-list.The anti-graft agency had requested the Nigeria Immigration Service to inform it anytime the former governor was travelling out of the country from any of the international airports, as well as other points of entry and exit.
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