Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Sunday 27th March 2022
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 27/03/22
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Biden Calls For Putin’s Removal, Warns Of ‘Decades Of War’
United States President, Joe Biden, has called for Vladimir Putin’s removal from power as he warned that if the Russian President’s ambitions went unchecked, it could lead to decades of war in Europe.
Biden in an emotional speech on Saturday said the Russian President “cannot remain in power”.
He said, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”
Biden stated this as he paid an emotional visit to some of the more than three million Ukrainians, who have been evacuated from their war-torn country.
However, the White House moved to clear Biden’s words, saying the President was not calling for regime change in Russia, according to a report by Daily Mail.
“The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,” a White House official said.
In his speech, Biden drew a stark line between democracy and oppression as he accused the Russian President of dishonesty.
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President Buhari Arrives Venue Of APC National Convention
President Muhammadu Buhari has just arrived the Eagle Square, Abuja, venue of the All Progressive Congress national convention.
He arrived the venue at exactly 8:25pm, few minutes after the concensus list of the party was released.
Most of the governors after meeting with the President last werk had supported Senator Abdullahi Adamu,
the anointed candidate of Buhari, as national chairman of the party.
Satuday’s at the Eagle Square is to coronate Buhari’s choice for whom many aspirants had earlier stepped down for.
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BREAKING: Hoodlums Snatch Police Pistol At APC Convention, Dozens Arrested
A policeman attached to a politician has lost his service pistol to political thugs and hoodlums, who invaded Eagle Square, venue of the All Progressives Congress national convention on Saturday.
The incident happened when the thugs forced their ways into the convention venue.
The hoodlums took advantage of the poor security arrangement and pushed down the barrier, leading to commotion at the venue.
The ensuing stampede left many people with varying degrees of injuries.
Meanwhile, dozens of thugs were arrested by the police with knives, charms and other dangerous weapons at the venue of the convention.
Security operatives including personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and Departments of State Services were overwhelmed by the thugs.
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One Dead As Bandits Prevent Aircraft From Taking Off At Kaduna Airport
A staff of the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority was on Saturday shot dead as bandits invaded Kaduna Airport.
According to reports, the NAMA staff was shot dead around the runway area of the airport.
This is even as the bandits prevented an AZMAN aircraft scheduled for Lagos from take off from Kaduna Airport.
It was gathered that the AZMAN aircraft could not take off at about 12:30pm because of the presence of the bandits by the runway of the airport.
‘’As I speak to you now, there is already military presence to beef up security , though most of the staff are scared with the killing of the NAMA staff,” a staff of the airport was quoted as saying.
This comes few days after 50 persons were killed while an unspecified number of persons were abducted when bandits attacked nine communities in the Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
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Towards 2023: Opposition Politics And Electoral Democracy In Nigeria 1999-2022, By Richard Odusanya
This article seeks to assess the impact of electoral democracy in Nigeria especially in terms of the performance of the opposition between 1999 and 2022, evaluate the internal shortcomings of opposition parties, and make a projection regarding a vibrant democratic space that will go beyond routine elections to speak to the issues preoccupying the Nigerian masses and its attendant consequences.
The significance of opposition in nation-running is a tale as old as democracy. It ensures the accountability of government and preserves its institutions. Therefore, the need for vibrancy in opposition.
For a democracy as young as Nigeria’s, a multi-party system and solid opposition preempts a return to authoritarian rule. It also staves off the reoccurrence of one-party dominance. A type of dominance that breeds corruption and allows ineptitude to go unchecked. Thus setting Nigeria apart from the trend of African countries with suppressed oppositions and consequently volatile democracies.
Nigeria needs a vibrant opposition, the absence of which may further weaken Nigeria’s institutions and endanger human agency. A healthy opposition represents the people as much as the government does. It ensures the circulation of diversified opinions and criticisms in the political discourse. It also keeps the government in check.
In view of the half-hearted and lackadaisical attitude of the major opposition party, which gives an easy ride to the ruling party, APC throughout the duration of its wobble and fumble, President Muhammadu Buhari’s call for a vibrant and responsible opposition is timely and important.
The APC is a veritable example of a non-invasive laser shape focused on vibrant opposition. The party at infancy, showcased the capacity and determination to put the government of the day on its toes. They mobilized both the civil society and the citizens for aggressive opposition that resulted in what we have today. Disappointedly, we have no such incongruence that could checkmate the current gladiators.
Today, as the ruling party APC goes on with the consensus arrangement that is programmed to produce a unity list majorly dominated by a clique of the former PDP members as the incoming National Working Committee (NWC). The one million dollar question is, what manner of opposition are we expecting from the major opposition party whose better half are the ones running the show in the ruling party?
Similarly, at the heart of these expectations lies the pertinent issue of elections. Elections are meaningfully democratic if they are free, fair, participatory, competitive, and legitimate. You know a democracy is in trouble when two out of three voters don’t bother to turn up for a presidential election.
In Nigeria’s presidential poll of 2019; President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected “allegedly” with the backing of 15.2 million voters compared to the 11.3 million votes his main rival Atiku Abubakar, was credited with. Although this gave Buhari 56% of the total votes cast, in a country with a population of more than 200 million, including more than 84 million registered voters, 15.2 million votes hardly qualifies as a huge mandate.
The 35% voter turnout was down from 44% in the 2015 presidential election and way down from the 54% turnout in 2011. In fact, turnout for Nigerian presidential elections has been dropping at an alarmingly consistent rate since 2003. The question then is why are increasingly fewer Nigerians feeling the need not to vote in elections that decide the most powerful political office?
Political participation is an essential aspect of democracy. By competing in elections, political parties offer citizens a choice in governance, and when citizens volunteer their time to participate in politics by voting during elections, they are exercising their basic democratic rights.
It is, therefore, incumbent on us to either choose to sit and throw verbal missiles on social media or to chart a new course for our nation by coming out en masse to vote for a TRANSFORMATIONAL, creative and innovative leader during the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
ARISE ‘O COMPATRIOTS.
Richard Odusanya is a Social Reform Crusader and the convener of AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE ACRI
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Three Police Officers, Others Shot Dead During Cultural Procession In Taraba
File photo used to illustrate story.
No fewer than three police officers have been killed during ethnic clashes in Takum and Kurmi local government areas of Taraba State.
The policemen were reportedly on a peacekeeping mission in the area but were overpowered by a militia group, which not only killed them but also stole their rifles.
File photo used to illustrate story.
The security agents were said to have stopped a cultural procession of the Kutep cultural group in Takum town after the planners of the occasion ignored the orders from the authorities.
This resulted in a confrontation between them and security agents.
Daily Trust reports that the confrontation later turned into an ethnic crisis between Kutep and Jukuns, leading to the killing of many people and the burning of several residential buildings in the town.
A resident of Takum, Bala John, said three natives of Kutep were killed by the security agents during the confrontation.
He further stated that gunshots were heard in the night on Friday at different locations in the town and many corpses were found in the bush outside Takum.
He said curfew was enforced on the town, which helped in controlling the crisis.
In Bissaula, it was also learnt that many people were killed when a militia group attacked Ichen tribe in the town.
The militia group were said to be operating from Cameroon border.
The militia, it was further learnt, were used by a party in the Ndaka and Ichen ethnic crisis in Kurmi Local Government Area which had claimed several lives in the past three months.
However, further findings revealed that normalcy was gradually returning to both Bissaula and Takum towns.
Spokesperson for the Taraba State Police Command, DSP Usman Abdullahi, said in Takum town, normalcy had been restored while the curfew was still in force.
He said, however, the police had no record of the casualty in Takum but several arrests were made.
Usman also said that re-enforcement was dispatched to Bissaula town to restore peace and order while a manhunt for killers of three mobile policemen had begun.
He said, “The policemen who were on peace mission in the area were overpowered by a militia group and killed and their rifles stolen.”
He said the state police commissioner had directed that killers of the three mobile lolicemen in Bissaula must be fished out and made to face the law.
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Police: Bring to Justice Killers of Mgboebuba Nwankwo in Enugu, By Leo Igwe
On January 26, an advocate sent a message to the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW) urging it to investigate a case of an alleged witch murder in Awgu in Enugu in Southern Nigeria. The message states: “Please investigate the allegation that a woman was killed as a suspected witch because her husband who lives abroad accused her of being the reason why he dares(sic) not return home anymore, suspected that she killed their son, and her daughter, suspected that she was the reason she could not attract a spouse. The proof of witchcraft was that she had a list of people who died in the village, a fact that is found in every home because people always kept a list of those they gave gifts to during funerals. The town is Awgu in Awgu Local Government of Enugu State, Nigeria. Your investigation may help to reeducate the villagers against witch-hunting”.
AfAW is not a police agency but liaises with the police and other institutions to bring justice to the accused. Through its network, AfAW found out that this middle-aged woman, Agatha Mgboebuba Nwankwo, was accused of witchcraft and subsequently killed by a local mob. On January 5, one Silas Okolie made a Facebook post on the incident: “Sad: Villagers disgrace woman caught with ‘voodoo’ item. The worst happened in Awgu in early 2022 as Woman alleged to be perpetrating evil in the community was caught after an alarm was raised due to her ill actions. Stories have it that a paper was picked in her room that contained names of people she has allegedly dealt with and those she will still do including her daughters and new husband’s name. Lots of incriminating Items was(sic) found in her abode during a thorough search by the villagers. She was beaten mercilessly and sent to her creator. Parading someone (evil Doer) in the market or roadside is the worst disgrace anybody will ever receive in Awgu, Enugu State. The evil man does must surely live with them”.
Unfortunately, some of the people who commented on the post supported the murder of this innocent woman. One said: “Thank you Lord for exposing her”; while another noted: “They said it was even her daughter that saw the snake inside a bowl of water with some juju under her bed, and some names she wrote in a sheet of paper including her daughter name and her new husband to be, that she is going to kill them next week, whenever she killed them she will mark it, there was a man from Awgu that was found dead on a palm tree last month, they said his name was also among the list…that was how she was exposed to the world by her daughter, but thank God she has been killed and thrown away to the bush. May God always protect his children”
When contacted, Okolie confirmed that he made the post the same day that Agatha was murdered. But one of those who commented stated: “yes they killed her the day before yesterday”. Thus Agatha might have been murdered on January 3. Whether on January 3 or 5. This innocent woman is no more. The state police command and office of the National Human Rights Commission in Enugu have been contacted to look into the matter. Nobody has come forward to report the case. According to an informant the following persons need to be interrogated: Mr. Remijus Nwankwo – the husband in London can be interviewed by the investigators. His daughter, Chikwado Nwankwo was said to have found the alleged list. She was said to have been to a church that allegedly told her that her mother was responsible for her misfortunes and that she and the father of her four children were the ones who helped the villagers to discover that the mother and grandmother were the witches causing problems. Mark Chukwuino was alleged by the husband to be his uncle who sent him similar lists. Emmanuel Nwankwo Mba is the uncle of the woman alleged to have suspected that she also killed his wife with witchcraft and must have seen her attackers because she was allegedly killed near his home.
As an informant explained: I have just spoken to a relative who told me that he suspected his uncle, Mr. Mark Chukwuino, as the instigator because he had been threatening his wife. According to him, the uncle recently sent him a list of dead enemies allegedly compiled by his wife but it was typewritten and so no way to prove that his wife compiled such a list. The uncle then sent another handwritten list but it was not in his wife’s handwriting. He asked the wife to leave the family home and go and stay in a hotel for a while but she told him that no one runs away from his father’s compound. The uncle then phoned and threatened to send ‘ndu ogba ozi’ or messengers to force her out if she did not leave. He said that someone later sent him a video of how some people broke into his house and dragged his wife out and beat her to death. He promised to forward the video to me and I will forward it to you as soon as I receive it. I asked him if he has reported the murder to the police and he said that I must know how the police work in Naija. I do not know what he means by that but I know that it is believed to be an abomination for a family member to invite the police in matters that involve other family members. He said that he had been ill since he returned from a visit home last year but that he is better now and is working to save for his airfare back home to see what he can do”.
Both the police and the NHRC offices in Enugu have asked anyone who knew about the case to come forward and lodge a complaint. Almost three months after this horrific murder, nobody has come to report the case. If nothing is done to investigate the case, this grievous crime will fizzle out. Nobody will be punished. But all advocates should not allow this to happen. According to an informant, no one has come forward to lodge a complaint because most people in the community thought the woman was a witch and the punishment was in order. Others are afraid of the lives an safety. A member of the community who was contacted regarding the case said: “Mgboebuba lili amosu laegbuishi ndu ibe ayi. Ive ogbulu egbu kalikwalu. Shite la eka ada e nwayi (‘Chikwado’ la di e) o kelu igbuko ka eshilu chofuta ive o la eme. Ndu Awgu lo daide juwe ive oji egbushi ndu eka va du ucha, ya shi lo ndu ino e ive ya legbu. Eva ndu o kalaeke igbukwe kaligbukwelu. O gbuagakwalu madu, kalegbukwe tufu adaide. Eva mpam la mmam, okeke kele la nwae nwoke, onyebuchi adae nwayi la nwae dukota la ekwukwo ndu o gbugolu egbu. Oo ndu Awgu jikolu eka kpufute la orie Awgu, megbuo akaje, kpuluihia bia la uhumbele ezi nnae lo tigbuo ye, palu ozue ga gbavuo la ejo ovia du la nduegu ululor. (“Mgboebuba ate witchcraft and was killing our people. The number she killed was a lot. Through the efforts of her daughter (‘Chikwado’ and her husband) whom she was preparing to kill too, that was how it was discovered what she was doing. Awgu people caught her and questioned why she was killing innocent people who have clean hands, she said that her enemies were the ones that she killed. The names of the people she was preparing to kill were numerous. She had killed too many people and was going to kill more before she was caught. My father and mother, Okeke Kele and his son, Onyebuchi, his daughter, and his grandchild were among the names found in the book of the people she had killed. The people of Awgu joined hands to drag her to Orie Awgu marketplace, mocked her, dragged her to her father’s compound in Obugo village, and beat her to death, then they carried her corpse and threw it away in the evil forest at the farm settlement of her husband’s village, Ululor”).
The informant said that the deceased refused to reveal the names of others who were suspected to be in her ‘witch’ group. Hence they killed her. The state police command in Enugu should rise to the occasion and take all necessary measures to investigate the murder of Agatha Mgboebuba Nwankwo from Awgu and bring to justice all those who carried out this horrific crime.
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E2%80%94sowore APC Convention Is Gathering Of Corrupt, Incompetent Politicians —Sowore
The author, Omoyele Sowore
Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has taken a swipe at the All Progressives Congress as the party holds its national convention on Saturday.
Sowore in a post on his Twitter handle described the national convention of the ruling party as the convening of some of the most corrupt and incompetent politicians in Nigerian.
The author, Omoyele Sowore
He also noted that members of the Peoples Democratic Party will now manage the APC.
Sowore tweeted, “#APCConvention @OfficialAPCNg is the convening of some of the most corrupt, incompetent, wicked, unjust and dishonest men and women politicians the world has ever known! And just so that you understand what we’ve being saying, @OfficialPDPNig will now manage @OfficialAPCNg.”
The national convention of the APC is taking place at Eagle Square, Abuja.
Party members and other supporters have crowded the venue of the event where new national and zonal officers of the party will be elected.
About 7,586 delegates are expected to vote at the national convention of the APC to elect officials into the national working committee of the party.
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Bandits Abduct Catholic Priest In Kaduna
Rev. Fr. Felix Zakari, Catholic priest of St Ann’s, Zango Tama in Guma Local Government Area of Kaduna State, has been abducted by bandits.
Zakari was among those abducted by bandits during attacks on communities in Guma on Thursday.
Patrick Adikwu Odeh, the chancellor, Catholic Diocese of Zaria, confirmed the incident in a statement.
The statement reads, “We regret to officially announce and confirm the abduction of one of our Priests, Rev. Fr. Felix Zakari Fidson shortly after he left his residence at St Ann’s Zango Tama on his way to the diocesan headquarters on Thursday.
“We call on all men and women of Goodwill to pray for the safe release of Rr. Felix Zakari Fidson and others from the hands of their abductors on this day of the solemnity of the snnunciation.
“Through the intercession of our Lady, the Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and our mother. May our brother, Rev. Father Felix Zakari Fidson, and others return to us safe and sound.”
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IPOB Disowns Self-styled Nnamdi Kanu’s Disciple, Simon Ekpa
Simon Ekpa
The Indigenous People of Biafra has reiterated that Simon Ekpa, the self-acclaimed Finland-based disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, is not a member of the group.
IPOB in a statement issued by Emma Powerful on Saturday said Ekpa could not abide by the group’s rules and at such formed his own group that was not in any way related to IPOB
Simon Ekpa
The group further urged Ekpa to stop using the group and Eastern Security Network to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
The statement reads, “We, the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra under the command and leadership of Mazi Nnamdi KANU wish to disassociate our noble movement from the ignoble and criminal activities of Simon Ekpa and his autopilot group.
“IPOB has been existing long before Simon Ekpa and autopilot group came on board. Simon Ekpa and his group are neither part of IPOB worldwide family neither do they subscribe to our operational methodology and people should therefore stop associating them with the revered IPOB under the command of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“Henceforth they and the general public are put on notice to desist from using the name of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, ESN and IPOB to defraud the unsuspecting public or for any of their activities. Ekpa and his group should stop their attempt to ridicule and debase the institutions our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu sacrificed all to establish.
“We want to place it on record that Simon Ekpa is not, and has never been a member of IPOB. Since he does not want to abide by the ideals of IPOB he should form his own group and pursue Biafra freedom the way he is convinced and stop attaching himself to the cherished name of IPOB.
“Simon Ekpa should know that the politicians sponsoring him and his group to demonise IPOB, ESN and Nnamdi Kanu will soon abandon him and his sinister activities.
“We want his family, friends and associates who know him to advise him to leave IPOB out of his activities. Simon Ekpa, autopilot and Umuada highways in America should stop their attempt to tarnish the hallowed name of IPOB and its security arm the ESN established by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to liberate our people from the bondage of Fulani terrorists nation called Nigeria.
“The purported Nollywood classroom unveiling of what was termed M.Branch was a folly taken too far which simply revealed the motive and the agenda of Simon Ekpa and his sponsors.
“The general public should stop associating IPOB with such Nollywood movies. We are confronted with very serious existential threat and can not for any reason turn this noble cause of freedom and liberty of the Indigenous people of Biafra into a circus. Please the public and the mainstream media should be properly guided.
“These self-acclaimed autopilots without aeroplanes should desist from creating the impression that they are part of this noble family led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu because they are not.
“We are calling on European Union and the world to take note of anyone trying to use the name of IPOB to instigate crisis in our land
“We want to clarify that M-Branch which these dissidents are claiming to be forming in a room somewhere, was commissioned by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu many years ago before launching ESN.
“IPOB’s M-Branch personnel do not have uniform. M-BRANCH is the IPOB international secret service. They are not in uniform Just as secret service people anywhere are not uniformed men. So, anybody claiming to be forming M-Branch with uniform is on his own.
“M-BRANCH is a secret service in the ESN structure created by MNK. No one has seen them before. They have no uniform and very few people actually know about their operations. So ask yourself why would anyone claim he has publicly launched an intelligence Unit in IPOB if such a person is not working sinisterly for a paymaster in the pursuit of an evil agenda?
“People should be properly guided and not allow themselves to be scammed. A word is enough for the wise.”
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