Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Sunday 18th October 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 18/10/20
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BREAKING: Two EndSARS Protesters Killed In Osun
At least two persons were reportedly shot and killed in Osogbo, Osun State, on Saturday by security operatives attached to Gboyega Oyetola, governor of the state while dispersing #EndSARS protesters.
The incident happened at Ayepe area of the town around 4:00pm.
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An #EndSARS protester just killed in Osogbo by agents of the state governor, @GboyegaOyetola #NoGoingBack #RevolutionNow pic.twitter.com/5mfqGu3h0n— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) October 17, 2020
#Ebdsars This is the second victim shot by armed thugs affiliated with Osun state Governor, â¦@GboyegaOyetolaâ© today, he’s in precarious condition as we speak! #RevolutionNow pic.twitter.com/ZNAtXcFQtA— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) October 17, 2020
Earlier in the day, hoodlums wielding cutlasses had attacked protesters around the Olaiya Junction area of the town.
While many of the demonstators are injured, some are yet to be accounted for.
Two of the protesters, who were reportedly macheted by the thugs are currently receiving treatment in different hospitals in the state.
The incident happened around 9:00am.
Ismail Omipidan, Chief Press Secretary to Oyetola, however, said security details attached to the governor were not involved in the killings.
He said, “It’s not true, it’s not correct. Earlier in the day, the state APC issued a statement raising the alarm that thugs sympathetic to a political party had infuriated the protesters.
“The thugs were seen brandishing guns and even shooting into the air earlier today. So by this evening when Mr governor was addressing the protesters, he got there around 2:30pm.
“If anybody died, the hoodlums who hijacked the protest should be held responsible. We know some of the perpetrators.”
The #EndSARS protests have been taking place across major cities in the country with youths demanding an end to police brutality and killings.
Members of the defunct SARS have been accused of crimes such as extrajudicial killings, kidnapping, extortion and intimidation.
The Nigerian Government had promised on multiple occasions to reform SARS and make the squad more accountable but failed to fulfill that pledge.
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BREAKING: Again, Armed Thugs Attack #ENDSARS Protesters In Abuja
Armed thugs on Saturday in Abuja disrupted the peaceful #ENDSARS protest, injuring many persons in the process.
The protesters, who gathered under the Kubwa Flyover in continuation of their agitation against police brutality and oppression, were violently dispersed by the thugs.
The demonstators had blocked major roads in the city, leaving motorists and commutters stranded on the highway.
Trouble started when the hoodlums suddenly appeared from different directions with cutlasses and sticks and descended on the protesters.
Armed policemen, who had been keeping vigil on the protesters, looked the other way when the hoodlums started attacking demonstators.
The thugs later opened the road to allow free flow of traffic after they had succeeded in dispersed the protesters.
As at time of this report, the attack was still ongoing.
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BREAKING: Protesters Close All Entry Points Into Abuja
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Important Lessons From #ENDSARS Protests By Adewale Adeoye
There was no date announced for the protests. It took off like a single match, then it became a box of matches, and then became a huge fire.
Many Nigerians live under the illusion that revolution is not possible. They think Nigerians are docile. That is lack of a deep sense of history. How wrong. These protests have proved that nothing is permanent but CHANGE, including change in human thought processes.
The protest has been wrongly defined a YOUTH PROTEST. No, it is a protest by Nigerians irrespective of age. Youths are more because they form the bulk of Nigerian population. It is also essentially a middle class uprising. Hardly can you do any successful small scale business in Nigeria today. Interest rate is 1.4 percent. Interest on savings is almost nil. They don’t want you to keep money in the banks,not even your profit, so many companies are moving to Ghana, Gambia and Kenya. Some are moving cash. Borders are closed without end.Middle class is providing the funds for the protests. Farmers are angry because they and their wives can’t go to farms because of armed criminals. They victims never get justice.
Though we all call it #END SARs protest, the demands are far more than that. #ENDSARs is just a slogan for the demand for the transformation of Nigeria from a ghetto society to an egalitarian society. They impose electricity tariff, nobody spoke, they increased fuel, nobody spoke. People in power feel they can do anything and get away with it. This is a stupid way to think.
The protesters are creating wealth by making service providers richer. Sharing of pictures and videos have tripled in the last 5 days raising revenue for online services running into billions of naira.
The protests broke the cobweb of Nigerian intelligence community: DSS, NIA, DMI had no hint else they would have issued threats. It shows they don’t understand the society they govern. Nigeria also has no thermometer to gauge the mood of the people. They really dont care. Govt should have seen this coming.
The protests are not concentrated in one place, making it more difficult for the security operatives to isolate and destroy.
In a decent society, the Inspector General of Police should have resigned.
The protest is not a vote against democracy. Let no mad soldiers think they can be funny. The protest is a vote for the deepening of democracy, the rule of law, against corruption, insensitivity and reckless leadership at all levels including corporate and financial institutions all out to exploit and kill all of us with their anti-people policies.
Just getting out of COVID 19, millions now earn half salary. Millions have been sacked; the government solution was to come up with fuel electricity hike in the midst of the pains and pangs. Haba!!! Many Nigerians are seeing death lurking around them. This can lead to anything.
The protest is largely by decent people. Let us hope the next protests won’t be by the ‘baddest’ men and women. The choice will be made by the government, either to to address the grievances or gloss over it.
If there had been NLC/TUC rally against fuel and electricity hike last week, these ongoing mass protests would not have taken place. It would have been a case of a massive protest led by labour because this same crowd was gearing up to be part of the Nation-wide protest. Labour did not gauge the desperate mood of the long suffering people of Nigeria.Labour lost this great honour. If any labour leaders try to address the rally, I tell you, they will be mobbed. The beauty would have been labour leading this protest backed with fundamental demands that could have enhanced greater transformation of Nigeria. That is lost.
These rallies have proved once again that the people are the custodians of power, the power to protest, the power of liberation is in their pockets, not in the hands of any leadership. In our quest for a better society, Nigerians are not the problem, the leadership is, either in government or within the liberation movements including labour. Nigerians can be effectively mobilized with the right people leading them on the route for a better society.
The power of social media in effective mobilisation has been enormous. Some 126 million Nigerians have access to the internet. Civil society, the media, state and federal government should learn this truth. Those who think Nigerian people are disorganised are mistaken. Every Nigerian is organised in one platform or the other. This rally has further confirmed this reality.
I was in VI and Alausa on Tuesday and at Gbagada today. I see organised groups. We should study these protests and take notes. Knowledge is often learnt everyday. The protesters are teaching us new lessons. All over history, the wo(man) on the street has always been the great teacher. Great politicians learn from the actions of the people, their fears and aspirations, to be able to articulate their pangs in a development plan.
Without the traditional progressive movements, listen, Revolution can come in Nigeria. The nature, I don’t know. But it is sheer arrogance to assume that only a revolution led by already known people will be qualitative.
I’m not sure what will be the gains of the protests. I’m only sure the gains will be minimal for many reasons: No organized platform of leadership to negotiate with, no strategic leadership coordination for sustainability, no political platform to transform the energy into the quest for real, democratic society.
However, history has been made. I see more coordinated rallies in the future. I see more trouble. Let the operators of the system think. Let them act. Let them address hunger, poverty, cruelty of police and political leadership and the guzzling of public funds while millions of people live in misery. But will they ever learn?
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BREAKING: Protesters Close All Entry Points Into Abuja
Young Nigerians protesting against brutality, bad governance, corruption and insecurity in the country on Saturday blocked all entry points into Abuja.
The demonstrators have occupied the Kubwa and Mararaba highways and rendered all roads within the city centre impassable.
The youth have divided themselves into groups to carry out the protest simultaneously at different locations and this has led to traffic snarls across the city.
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E2%80%99s-daughter-colossal-loss-says-gani-adams Death Of Awolowo’s Daughter, A Colossal Loss, Says Gani Adams
Otunba Gani Adams, leader of the Odua People’s Congress
The Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, has described the death of a daughter of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Mrs Tola Oyediran, as a colossal loss to the entire family and the Yoruba in general.
Adams in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, expressed shock at the death of the Chairman of African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, publishers of Tribune titles.
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He said, “My heartfelt condolences go to my sister, Dr Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu and to the management of Tribune Newspapers, the Oyedirans and most especially the Awolowo family on the death of the eldest daughter of the first Premier of Western Region, the late Pa Obafemi Awolowo, who died in Ibadan yesterday.
“It is a great loss to me personally, however, the late Reverend Oyediran would be remembered for her humility and efforts in sustaining the legacies of the late sage alongside Dr Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu, who is co-Chairman of the ANN PLC.
“I wish to also express my condolences to Prof Oyediran, the widower, and the children including the wife of Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Dolapo.
“In her life, she was an epitome of humility, a pillar of the Awolowo dynasty and a great woman of substance. She took the baton as Chairman of Tribune titles shortly after the glorious passage of late Mama HID Awolowo and she made remarkable impact in sustaining the legacies of the Awolowos.
“It is a great loss to lose such an amiable mother. I pray that God will grant the family the fortitude to bear this loss and also grant the soul of the departed eternal rest.”
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Nigerian Government Files Charges Against Seven Persons Over Alleged Terrorism In Delta Community
Police officers used to illustrate the story
The Nigerian Government has filed terrorism charges against seven persons over their alleged involvement in the killing of indigenes of Idumuje-Ugboko community under Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State.
The case has been fixed for October 21 at the Federal High Court, Abuja, according to a report by Vanguard.
The accused persons were said to have plotted with others within and outside the community to commit the act including the alleged burning of houses in May 2017.
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The trial was initially slated to commence on October 8 but postponed due to the absence of the presiding judge, Justice Okon Abang.
In the document attached to the charge, 14 witnesses are expected to give evidence during the trial.
The three count charge filed by Shuaibu Labaran, an Assistant Chief State Counsel, reads, “That you, Nwochie Agiliga Light, Aikhomo Omezi, Okey Ifejoku, Godvwin Akaba Aniemeke, Nonso Omefe, Dennis Nwoko Alias Uwadiegwu And Emeka Bidoku Alias Onyeboundle of ldumuje-Ugboko community, Aniocha North L.ocal Government Area of Delta State between the 18th and 25th of May 2017 at ldumuje-Ugboko community, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State within the jurisdiction of this court did conspire with others still at large to commit acts of terrorism.
“You thereby committed an offence punishable under section 17 of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act 2013.
“That you, Nwochie Agiliga Light, Aikhomo Omezi, Okey Ifejoku, Godvwin Akaba Aniemeke, Nonso Omefe, Dennis Nwoko Alias Uwadiegwu And Emeka Bidoku Alias Onyeboundle of ldumuje-Ugboko community, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State between the 18th and 25th of May 2017/ at Idumuje-Ugboko community, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State within the jurisdiction of this court did commit an act of terrorism in that you and others still at large burnt down houses and destroyed properties belonging to members of the ldumuje-Ugboko community namely Chukwuma Nwoko, Chief Chris Ugwu, Victor Omezi, punishable under section 1(2)(a) of the terrorism (Prevention) Peter Bama and Nwoko Kachido.
“You thereby committed an offence (amendment) Act 2013. That you, Nwochie Agiliga Light, Aikhomo Omezi, Okey Ifejoku, Godvwin Akaba Aniemeke, Nonso Omefe, Dennis Nwoko Alias Uwadiegwu And Emeka Bidoku Alias Onyeboundle of ldumuje-Ugboko community, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State between the 18th and 25th of May 2017 at ldumuje-Ugboko community, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State within the jurisdiction of this court did commit an act of terrorism in that you and others still at large participated in an attack on members of ldumuje-Ugboko community and killed one Cyprain Kumaorun.
“You thereby committed an offence punishable under section 1(2)(e) of the terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act 2013.”
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Flood: Catholic Priest, Two Others Drown In Bayelsa
A Catholic priest, Francis Ighorurhie, 38, drowned on Thursday night at the flooded area of Kaiama community under Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Two school pupils also drowned in Azikoro Town in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that Ighorurhie, a missionary of St. Paul from Delta State, was until his death the parish priest of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Kaiama.
He died after falling into a flooded area while walking on a wooden bridge as he made his way home from an outing.
Reports say that a section of the wooden bridge had been submerged by the rising water levels, making walking on the slippery structure a difficult task for users.
A priest, who spoke anonymously, said, “This is a sad moment for us. Father was on his way back from Bomadi in Delta State when he died. But for the flood, he could have driven his car straight to his residence instead of parking by the road.
“It was while he was walking on the wooden bridge part that had been submerged that he slipped and drowned. Those staying at his residence had to raise the alarm when they saw his car by the roadside and he was nowhere to be found.
“They, however, became suspicious when they saw a bag containing some provision floating on the water not far from the bridge. Divers were contracted and his body was recovered.”
The victim’s body has been deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.
Meanwhile, the two dead school pupils were reportedly killed in the flood while coming home from school.
The Bayelsa State Government in a statement sympathized with residents over the impact of the flood, assuring that efforts were underway to mitigate the effects on the people.
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Bauchi Residents Complain Over Inability To Vote In Local Government Election
Residents of Kirfi Local Government Area in Bauchi State have said that they are not being allowed to vote in the ongoing local government election.
The residents said electoral officials were yet to arrive at polling units for voting to commence.
Gidado, a resident of Kirfi, said while reports of election going on in other local government areas were being heard, no electoral official had been seen in the locality.
“We have been waiting for election materials but not heard anything from officials of BASIEC.
“We have been seeing posts on social media that election is going on in other places but nothing here,” Gidado said.
There have also been reports of late arrival of materials in the Alkaleri Local Government Area of the state.
The All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party have accused each other of perfecting plans to rig the ongoing election.
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E2%80%98lazy%E2%80%99-youths-have-arisen-achike-chude Now The ‘Lazy’ Youths Have Arisen By Achike Chude
ACHIKE CHUDE
Nigerians just do not seem to know the depth of their socio-economic and political morass. In fact, it would not be out of character to say that we are in deep s–t. Today, the continuously and consistently declining structure of the Nigerian state has now gotten to a point of saturation and our society can take no more. The structure of the state is on a tailspin of degeneration, and the decline of the superstructure is a natural consequence.
Any state that operates in the way and manner of the Nigerian state is a criminal enterprise using the paraphernalia of democracy, governance, electoral multi-partism as a decoy to foist a most heinous criminal endeavour on the Nigerian people. The criminal disposition of our political system is given credence by the unfortunate but true description of Nigeria by Karl Maier as: “A criminality run corporation where the leaders are armed and are hidden in the safe.”
The multiple purpose vehicles used by dubious, unconscionable people masquerading as politicians for carrying out this heist against the Nigerian people are the political parties, especially the two main political parties in the country that are set up and run in a manner that is nothing more than that of a organized criminal organisation.
ACHIKE CHUDE
The quantum of stealing, looting, banditry, and treasury emptying since the advent of this ‘unbroken democracy’ is stupefying, mind numbing, and breadth taking. That the political class is at war with the country and peoples have never been in doubt. A time there was when the baby was beaten but was at least allowed to cry. Today, it is an anathema to express unhappiness about your social and economic condition. You cannot cry! You must not cry, or the police or DSS will be sent after you.
A nation’s security infrastructure is necessary for the existence of the state and is built for both internal and external purposes of protecting the nation state. They are infrastructures for internal cohesion and a repellent force against external threat. Under a perverse, ill informed, parochial, unpatriotic, and corrupt ruling class in a quasi-democracy like Nigeria, the instruments of coercion, procured to protect the people is inevitably used to oppress and repress the same people. Under such a setting, state protection actually means the protection of the individuals and groups who make up the state at various levels, and it doesn’t matter whether those being protected with state resources are the very ones undermining the state through acts of omission or commission.
The repressive action of the President Muhammadu Buhari government against youthful citizens of our country who are exercising their constitutionally guaranteed right of dissent over their state of affairs is shameful, a disservice to the ideals and ethos of our democracy, and an assault on the constitution. Before the current sordid crackdown over the #ENDSARS agitation, the police in Lagos had forcefully cracked down on the peaceful protests by the Joint Action Front (JAF), Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) in their protests over the increase in the pump price of fuel and electricity, as well as the ‘RevolutionNow’ protesters on Independence Day.
If only the Buhari government is aware that it is fighting a battle it can never win. No government in the long run has ever won a battle against its own people. The sad aspect of the conundrum of the Buhari government is that it is only through repression that it can respond to its many monumental failures in governance. The consequences of these failures will manifest in increasing resistance to the government by the people through further protests and agitations which will lead to further clampdowns and more agitations until it grows beyond the ability of the government to rein it in. If and when such a situation occurs, then we all will really be in trouble. No one knows when such an inevitable conclusion will be reached but one thing is certain – the government can accelerate such an eventuality by the improper handling of the present situation.
That this government will go down being perceived as the worst in the history of Nigeria is a foregone conclusion. It can neither deliver on the economy, security, nor anti-corruption – the basis of its ascension to political power in 2015. Rather, the country is today worse off on these three indicators. To further compound its failures and confirm its ignominy and notoriety through arbitrariness and continuous hunting down of dissenters is the height of lunacy. The present happenings where the ‘lazy Nigerian youths from all over the country are responding in a definite and patriotic matter to the inability of the state to keep them safe should sound loudly as a warning bell to the government and the political class that our social dynamics are changing and that sooner or later the balance of power in our country will change whether they like it or not.
The situation is very fluid. Only an astute and proper handling of the matter can save the present situation from spiralling out of control. But even if the present situation is controlled, it can only be temporary because the underlying factors or forces of social, economic, and political degeneration in the country are still very much at play. Only a fundamental rejigging of the Nigerian state (system change) can provide a panacea to our historical, present, and future woes.
Those who have hunted with the hounds and run with the hare will sooner than later be at the mercy of the hunting pack.
It is a matter of time!
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After #EndSARS, No Government Will Ever Ignore Nigerians Again By Fredrick Nwabufo
Fredrick Nwabufo
Power has returned to its rightful repository – the people. Our liberators did not come from the north, the south or the east and west of Nigeria. They emerged from the ruins of the country; they broke free from the noxious culture of silence and shattered the substructure of generational complicity and conspiracy. They are the youth of Nigeria; the deliverer of the colony of slaves – from the fowler’s snare and deadly pestilence.
The #EndSARS protests did not only end a ferocious unit of the police and constrained the capricious hands of the government into making pledges of initiating reforms in the force; it also galvanised Nigerians, particularly the young, across religions and ethnic groups to put the government to task. Government should be in the service of the people and not the other way around. Really, there is no mortar that can crush a people forged into a fist; when the people kill fear, the government becomes afraid.
#EndSARS could be the beginning of the end of all Nigeria’s maladies. Citizens – of all ages — have realised their voice counts. They have seen the government tremble in trepidation of a united assemblage of people. Just like Xerxes, the god-king, bled from the spear of King Leonidas, they have seen the very intransigent regime bleed. Nigerians have been unplugged from the matrix by a legion of young resistance. It may never be the same again. Power has returned to the people. The government should be afraid.
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The youth have pointed us to a path out of darkness, state repression and oppression. They have given us hope in the possibility of a new country where possibilities are not impossible. They have seized the baton on the relay race to a contemporary Nigeria. It could be a dawn of new beginnings.
I have seen arguments on the need to be cautiously optimistic about the fruits of the recent agitation. Some say the old order of things could return as soon as the #EndSARS protests peter out. Well, I do not want to be cautiously optimistic. I am very optimistic about the far-reaching and indelible impact of this movement. It may never be the same. A new precedent has been set upon which other exemplars will follow.
I do not think there has been anything of this magnitude in our recent history. When any government becomes insouciant about the plight of citizens, the #EndSARS protest will be an aide-memoire – to remind that government of citizens’ wrath. No sane government will want to be on the testy side of the people.
Again, the protest could be the beginning of the end of all Nigeria’s maladies. Yes, I am pushing it. I know. From #EndSARS, the demand has dovetailed to #RECONSTRUCTNIGERIA and #ENDBADGOVERNANCE. #EndSARS was just the needed spark to stir a whirlpool of changes in the system.
Deji Adeyanju agrees. He told me SARS is only but a metaphor of the general societal malaise.
Hear him: “You know SARS is a metaphor …SARS is just one end of all the societal ills….
“It’s not really the main issue; yes it’s one of the issues, one of the challenges we’re having as a country and as a people, however, it has become the single, common rallying point for every other thing we are passing through. So, as many of us have been saying. We have been praying for that thing that will create a spark. So, the EndSARS campaign is that spark that we have all been waiting for. That is my view. I believe that this is the spark; the right spark that we have been waiting for and we are extremely glad that it ignited.”
Also, Aisha Yesufu, a passionate advocate of good governance, says #EndSARS can be a catalyst to the struggle for a better future for the country.
Here is what she told me: “Like I stated a few days before, I said EndSARS can be the catalyst to fight for a better future and ensure the culture of bad governance, lack of accountability, lack of transparency is once and for all taken away. We are at a tipping point and I hope we are able to tilt towards the good part. What I think is that this government doesn’t understand that this protest is not like any other protest. This is a protest for survival. There has been a culture of silence over the years; over the decades, people have been in pain, people have been oppressed and suppressed; people have gone through so much pain and have kept it in, and now it’s bubbling to the surface.”
“I think Nigerians have been pushed to the wall, most especially the Nigerian youths. They’re trying to fight back; they are not interested in discussing, and the more they are killed, the more they are coming out because they’re saying, ‘it’s better you kill us here in public and the whole world is seeing you kill us than the one where you’re killing and wasting us one after the other under the cover of darkness where nobody is seeing it and nobody can now talk’. and I think if we don’t handle this with care, especially if the government doesn’t handle this with care, when they think they will do what they normally do before which is to first of all intimidate people, harass them, send in police, send in the military, send in thugs, stop the protest and all of that, and think it will work? It’s most likely would not because this cause is different; they are fighting for a right to live and nothing else, and we need to understand that particular bit of it.”
Really, Nigerians are in a fight for survival, and nothing else matters. By the time this night is over, I believe a dawn of healthy government-citizen relationship will set in. It is a fight to the finish. The government should fear the people.
Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist
Twitter @FredrickNwabufo
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