Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Wednesday 10th March 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 10/03/21
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25 Killed As Soldiers, Boko Haram Clash In Borno
No fewer than 25 suspected terrorists and two soldiers died on Monday when troops of the Special Forces Brigade in Borno State engaged Boko Haram members in a gun battle at Chikingudu, a community in the Marte Local Government Area of the state.
According to a military signal seen by SaharaReporters on Tuesday, seven soldiers also sustained injuries while fighting the insurgents.
About 25 AK-47 rifles, three anti-aircraft guns, three general purpose machine guns, two automatic grenade launchers (AGL), and two gun trucks, among other arms and ammunition were also recovered by troops.
The signal read, “Sequel to elements of 402SF Bde encounter with BHTs on 8 Mar 21, additional details indicated that SF troops cleared Missene (an abandoned village where BHTs {Boko Haram terrorists} assemble to attack Marte and Dikwa, etc.), Hausari and Chukun Gudu villages in Marte LGA.
“Troops made contact with the enemy 3km from Chukun Gudu as apparently a top Amir had his family and assets in Chukun Gudu. The SF troops engaged them stoutly. Casualties on troops are 2KIA and 7WIA.
“Enemy casualties are over 25 elements killed. Items recovered are over 25 x AK47 rifles, 5 x FN rifles, 3 x AA guns, 3 x GPMG, 2 Automatic Grenade Launchers (AGL), 2 x enemy gun trucks (originally NA vehicles) and one x CJTF Hilux vehicle, among others. Troops’ morale and fighting efficiency remain high.”
Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, have killed thousands and displaced millions in northeastern Nigeria.
The Nigerian military has repeatedly claimed that the insurgency has been largely defeated and frequently underplays any losses.
In the past months, soldiers have been targeted by the insurgents, waiting in ambush for them.
Hundreds of soldiers and officers have been reportedly killed since January 2021.
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Protesters Demand Senate Report On Social Media Bill
The coalition of civil society groups in Nigeria, on Tuesday, took to the streets of the Federal Capital Territory to protest the delay by the National Assembly to publish its report on the proposed social media bill.
The protesters, who displayed placards with various inscriptions, defied the heavy presence of security operatives at the unity fountain and called on the Nigerian Senate to publish the report of the public hearing conducted on the bill.
Addressing journalists on behalf of the Coalition, one of the protesters, Maryam Ahmed, described the bill as a threat to freedom of speech and digital freedom in Nigeria.
According to her, the bill sponsored by Senator Muhammed Sani Musa in November 2019, has remained a lingering threat to freedom of speech and digital freedom in Nigeria.
She said: “Today, one year after, the future of free speech and democracy in Nigeria is still at the mercy of a Senate that appears to be uninterested in publishing the report of the public hearing, wherein the bill was overwhelmingly rejected, nor willing to conduct a third reading on the bill where it is expected to be killed and buried eternally.
“The apparent lack of interest from the Senate in killing the social media bill suggests a sinister intent to pass the dangerous bill, which criminalises freedom of expression when Nigerians are least vigilant.
“Despite several international instruments that Nigeria is a signatory to and developments within the last one year that ought to serve as enough reasons to kill the social media bill, the red chamber remains unwilling to do so.”
She added that even though the proposed social media bill has yet to be passed into law, the Nigerian government is already involved in internet censorship coupled with the occasional attacks on freedom of expression.
She cited the recent restriction of access to the People’s Gazette website, an online news medium, by some telecommunication providers in Nigeria.
Ahmed said democracy can only be strong in Nigeria through the promotion of citizens’ rights, especially constitutionally guaranteed ones like the right to freedom of expression.
She said, “The social media has proven over and over to be a platform of equitable expression for Nigerians. To pass a bill like the social media bill will not only be a direct attack on equity and free speech, but it will fundamentally alter Nigeria’s democracy in ways that may lead to unforeseen troubles for the country.
“We are, therefore, propelled to demand again that the Senate must not delay any further to kill and bury the social media bill permanently.
“This follows a suspected intentional truncation of internet services in some parts of the country on October 20, 2020, during the #EndSARS protest, and particularly after the deadly attack on peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos.”
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One Injured As Police, Shiites Clash In Abuja
One person was said to have sustained an injury when police officers in Abuja reportedly fired teargas canisters at members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria during a peaceful protest to demand the release of their leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.
El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, were arrested by security operatives on December 14, 2015, after a clash between his followers and officers of the Nigerian Army.
On Tuesday, the protesting Shiites were intercepted at the federal secretariat when anti-riot policemen swooped in on them, firing teargas canisters at the IMN members.
There was confusion in the area as some members of the sect were beaten to a pulp by police officers while many others ran in different directions to avoid being assaulted.
One person, who reportedly sustained gunshot injury during the fracas, was whisked away by the police.
The Secretary of Academic Forum of the Movement, Abdullahi Musa, who confirmed the incident to SaharaReporters on Tuesday, described the attack as wicked, barbaric and unwarranted.
He said the movement would not be deterred in its demand for the release of its leader and his wife who have been in custody since December.
Meanwhile, normalcy has returned to the area as people were seen going about their normal businesses.
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Decline Of IPOB Organization & The Rising Of Biafra Nation By Ij Onuigbo
It is more important now than ever before for all ethnic nationalities of the former Biafra region, if not all regions of Nigeria seeking freedom from the Fulani caliphate, to unite for the sole purpose of materializing that which they all desire – FREEDOM from the oppression of the unfair 1999 constitution imposed on Nigerians without our collective consent. It is so important now because the country is fast spiraling into war and possibly becoming eternally enslaved by the Fulani cabal who believe that Nigeria is a land that was gifted to them by God. So, any proclaimed pro-freedom group that resists the call for unity among all for-freedom groups is a sabotage to the freedom of ALL; and this is due to the fact that no one group can achieve freedom all on their own.
The IPOB Organization led by the fearless Nnamdi Kanu has championed the fight for freedom for about nine years and have achieved the result of fully sensitizing the Nigeria people of the massive sociopolitical and economic inequities metered out to the people of South South and South East region of Nigeria. The organization now seem to be morphing into something that is very disturbing and a call for concern as reports of violence and abuse of human right within the organization is beginning to surface. These reports of human rights violation within IPOB seriously beg the question, why an organization that claim to be fighting for the freedom of its people has become marred by the same injustices it claims to be fighting against!
The truth is that by the year 2015, IPOB had reached its individual capacity of what it could achieve on its own. However, due to pride and personal aggrandizement, the leadership is adamantly opposed to humbling themselves and working with others who have solutions. By the time Nnamdi Kanu was in jail and IPOB seemed incapacitated and could not find any way forward, rather than unite with other groups, they filled their time by peddling propaganda and conspiracies. There were calls for them to unite with other pro Biafra groups to continue the fight; but the organization labelled anyone that made such suggestions a saboteur of the struggle not knowing that they, themselves, IPOB, have become the saboteur by refusing to work together with their people for a common purpose. IPOB is now a saboteur to the freedom of the Nigeria ethnic nationalities because, instead of uniting with groups that have a path to freedom, they have become a nuisance by pushing constant attacks against those doing something concrete towards achieving freedom.
Since then, IPOB have continued to disintegrate and loose membership of people who genuinely want freedom as they notice that IPOB organization is not the freedom fighter it claims to be. The problem with IPOB organization is that it has become a cult that worship one man – Nnamdi Kanu. You will hear the members say things like “only Nnamdi Kanu we know, if it is not IPOB under Nnamdi Kanu, it is nothing, every freedom fighter must come under Nnamdi Kanu,” and without question, they condemn anyone that Kanu instructs them to condemn, and so on and so forth. So, it begged the question, is it Nnamdi Kanu that you want, or it is Biafra freedom that you want? One of the best America Presidents, Barack Obama, said that the problem with Africans is that they “build strong men instead of strong institution;” and building strong men while neglecting processes and institutions is exactly the bane of the lack of progress and development in the third world countries like Nigeria today.
A strong man will die or leave you one day; but strong processes and strong institutions will span generations and make a country strong. The IPOB organization has obviously fallen into that hole of building a strong man in the name of Nnamdi Kanu; instead of fighting for freedom regardless of who is the leader. And because of that, the group had reached its maximum effect. They can no longer contribute anything positive to furthering our collective good because they are only working to please one man: their cult leader – Kanu. Therefore, we must move on and away from them unless Kanu repents and embraces democratic principles that guides true freedom.
However, it appears that IPOB organization is running its final course. On 1 March 2021, during his radio broadcast, their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, authoritatively fired all his United Kingdom subordinate leaders on air, calling them all idiots and incompetents. He also, in the same broadcast, urged all members of the organization to destroy their phones and go underground to run away from the Nigeria government. Meanwhile, as the IPOB is apparently losing its luster, there is something promising to looking forward to. That hope is the rising of BIAFRA NATION (BN), led by progressive people who left the IPOB organization. These select group of people were courageous enough to tell Nnamdi Kanu the truth of his bad ways which led to their expulsion from IPOB; some of them resigned on their own due to the lack of integrity of IPOB leadership hierarchy. BN group leaders are tested and proven. They understand what true leadership mean as well as understand the need for inclusion and liberalism, (not tyranny and authoritarianism characteristic of Kanu’s IPOB), needed in pursuit of freedom from the Fulani Cabal, without which there can be no freedom.
Biafra Nation’s group watch word is UNITY among the ethnic nationalities. The group’s operative principle is based upon human fundamental rights and freedom. They boldly condemn the acts of violence, peddling of lies and conspiracies in freedom fighting, saying that such will not bring a nation that we all desire. BN have a radio and a Facebook platform profiled as BIAFRA HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM RADIO, where several members of their interim leadership present teaching programs almost daily in an effort to heal the damaged minds of Biafrans that were misled by IPOB organizations’ propaganda and conspiracies; they also broadcast on the ways forward to achieve freedom. They have already succeeded in uniting with many of the existing pro freedom groups and continues to work to further synergize the quest for freedom among all stakeholders. The group leadership encourages and calls on all lovers of freedom in Nigeria, regardless of tribe, to join them in unity of purpose to get the freedom that is so desperately needed from Nigeria.
Ij Onuigbo is a U.S. Army Veteran, human rights activist and a humanitarian.
You can follow her on Twitter: @ij_onuigbo
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Man Jailed Three Months For Internet Fraud In Abeokuta
The Ibadan zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, secured the conviction of one Akinrinmade Adeniyi to three months imprisonment for an offence bordering on impersonation before Justice Mohammed Abubakar of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He pleaded guilty to one count of fraudulent impersonation contrary to Section 22(2) (b) (i) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, brought against him by the Ibadan zonal office of the EFCC.
Aside from the jail term, the court also ordered him to restitute the sum of $500 (Five hundred US dollars) to his victim. He is also to forfeit his Toyota Lexus ES330, one Tecno K7 phone, and one HP laptop to the Nigerian government of Nigeria through the EFCC, being part of the proceeds derived from his fraudulent act.
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EFCC Arrests 10 Suspected Internet Fraudsters In Port Harcourt
Operatives of the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested ten suspected internet fraudsters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The suspects are Eberechi Kelvin; Promise Amadi; Golden Wopara; Abraham Okparuelu; Godwin Omeh; Iheanacho Chigaemezu; Paul Effiong; Nelson Uwoajgeaga; Samuel Collins and Meshack Aniekan.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the agency’s head of media and publicity, Wilson Uwajuren, said the suspects were arrested following verified intelligence about their suspicious involvement in internet-related fraud.
Uwajuren added that they were apprehended at God City Estate, Rumualgu, and 23, Sam Mba Close, off NTA, Akparale Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He added that items recovered from the suspects include a blue-coloured Toyota Sienna XLE 2006 bus, a black-coloured Mercedes Benz C240 car and an ash-coloured Toyota Camry car.
Others are 11 mobile phone devices, four laptops, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards, one power bank and one bluetooth speaker.
The agency said the suspects would be charged to court as soon as the investigation was concluded.
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Wakili: Police Release OPC Members Who Arrested Suspected Fulani Warlord
The Oyo State Police Command on Tuesday released three members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) detained for arresting a suspected Fulani warlord, Isikilu Wakili.
The three OPC men were arrested on Sunday after they stormed the base of the alleged warlord, arrested him and handed him over to police.
The OPC members were released from the police custody at Iyaganku command around 5.40 pm on Tuesday.
SaharaReporters gathered that their release followed the intervention of the Oyo State government and the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams.
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Insecurity
Oyo OPC Arrests Fulani Warlord, Isikilu Wakili Accused Of Terrorising Ibarapaland
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The three detained OPC members were released in the presence of State Coordinator of Oodua People’s Congress in Oyo State, Comrade Rotimi Oguntunde, aka Olumo; Special Adviser to Oyo State Governor on Culture and Tourism, Hon. Ademola Akeem Ige and counsel for the OPC.
The police had detained the OPC members, alleging that they burnt his house and killed a woman in it.
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I’m Also A Victim Of Kidnapping, I Paid Millions As Ransom For My Sons Last Year – Suspected Fulani Warlord, Wakili
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E2%80%93-igp-adamu I Can Remain In Office Till 2023 – IGP, Adamu
The Police Inspector-General (IGP), Mohammed Adamu
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the law permits him to remain in office till either 2023 or 2024.
Adamu, who was appointed in 2019, clocked up the mandatory 35 years in service on February 1, and was expected to have been replaced by the President.
The Police Inspector-General (IGP), Mohammed Adamu
Twitter/toluogunlesi
But, on February 4, President Muhammadu Buhari extended Adamu’s tenure by three months.
Maxwell Opara, a legal practitioner, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/106/21, took the IGP to court contending that by virtue of section 215 of the Nigerian constitution and Section 7 of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, Adamu cannot continue to function as the IGP, having retired as a serving member of the force.
But Mr Adamu argued through his lawyer, in objection to the suit, that his tenure never lapsed on February 1.
The IGP argued that the new Nigeria Police Act gave him a four-year tenure which would only lapse in either 2023 or 2024.
According to him, his tenure will lapse in 2023 if counted from 2019 when he was appointed as the IGP, or 2024, if counted from 2020 when the new Nigeria Police Act came into force.
One of his written addresses reads, in part, “Therefore based on our submission above, the combined effect of Sections 215 and 216 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Section 7 of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, is that the 2nd defendant can validly function as the Inspector General of Police after midnight of February 1, 2021 in so far as he was a serving member of the Nigeria Police Force during the period of his appointment, as his tenure in office is specially regulated by Section 7(6) of the Nigeria Police Act which stipulates in unambiguous terms that upon his appointment he stays in office for four(4) years.
“Therefore, if the 2nd defendant’s tenure in office is calculated from January 15, 2019 when he was appointed into the office of the Inspector General of Police, his tenure lapses in 2023.
“However, if his tenure in office is calculated from 2020 when the Nigeria Police Act, 2020 came into force, his tenure in office ends in 2024.”
According to Adamu, the IGP office is not governed by the general provisions applicable to the rest of the police force.
He said the provision of “section 18(8) of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020 which is that ‘Every police officer shall, on recruitment or appointment, serve in the Nigeria Police Force for a period of 35 years or until he attains the age of 60 years, whichever is earlier,’ is with due respect, inapplicable to the office of the Inspector General of Police in the circumstance.”
He argued that the effect of section 7(6) of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020 “is that immediately a person is appointed into the office of the Inspector-General of Police, a new legal regime is triggered off.”
He added that from the various provisions of the law, it was “discernible” that “the office of the Inspector-General of Police is conferred with a special status, unique and distinct from other officers of the Nigeria Police force.”
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E2%80%99s-day-post Mr Macaroni Slams Nigeria Police Over Its International Women’s Day Post
Popular comedian, Debo Adebayo, alias Mr Macaroni has taken a swipe at the Nigeria Police Force following the backlash the security agency received on social media over its message to commemorate the International Women’s Day.
In a tweet he shared, Mr Macaroni said no amount of ‘packaging and branding’ could erase the awful and bitter experiences officials of the police force had put their fellow Nigerians through. He also asked if they had any conscience.
His tweet read, “Just go through the quoted tweets and comments here! No amount of packaging and branding can erase the awful and bitter experiences that you people have put your fellow Nigerians through. Don’t you people have conscience?”Just go through the quoted tweets and comments here! No amount of packaging and branding can erase the awful and bitter experiences that you people have put your Fellow Nigerians through. Donâ??t you people have conscience ? Debo Adedayo. (@mrmacaronii) March 9, 2021
Mr Marcaroni was arrested alongside other protesters on February 13 during the #OccupyLekkiTollGate protest and inhumanely treated by police officers.
Mr Marcaroni alleged that his phones were destroyed after he was arrested and that he also sustained bruises all over his body because he was beaten by security operatives.
The Nigeria Police Force had on International Women’s Day tweeted: “You are intelligent, strong, courageous, undaunted and dependable. Happy International Women’s Day.”
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E2%80%99s-central-bank-governor-godwin-emefiele EXPOSED: Multi-billion Mansion Being Built By Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele In Ministers’ Hill Area Of Abuja
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