Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Monday 4th April 2022
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 04/04/22
Read also
E2%80%99s-prince-hamzah-bin-hussein-renounces-his-title-gives-reason Jordan’s Prince Hamzah Bin Hussein Renounces His Title, Gives Reason
An outspoken half-brother of Jordan’s king has relinquished his princely title.Prince Hamzah bin Hussein posted the announcement on his official Twitter account on Sunday.
He wrote that he was driven to the decision because his convictions cannot be reconciled with the “current approaches, policies and methods of our institutions.”It was the latest chapter in an ongoing palace feud that saw the junior royal placed under house arrest a year ago, Al Jazeera reports.He stopped short of directly criticising King Abdullah II and the ruling elites, as he had done in the past, but his tone signalled that the rift has not been mended, as the Royal Hashemite Court suggested in the past.The Royal Hashemite Court made no immediate comment.Abdullah and Hamzah are sons of King Hussein, who ruled Jordan for nearly a half-century before his death in 1999. Abdullah had appointed Hamzah as crown prince upon his succession but stripped him of the title in 2004.The monarch had placed Hamzah under house arrest last April for his alleged plot to destabilise the Western-allied kingdom.In a video statement at the time, Hamzah denied the allegations, saying he was being punished for speaking out against official corruption.Last month, Hamzah apologised to his brother, according to a letter released by the Royal Hashemite Court at the time. Hamzah went on to express hope that “we can turn the page on this chapter in our country’s and our family’s history.” Analyst Amer Sabaileh said he expected Hamzah’s announcement to rekindle the royal rift that many in Jordan believed had been resolved with the prince’s apology.Sabaileh noted that Hamzah had made the decision unilaterally and announced it on his personal Twitter account, rather than in consultation with the royal family.
International
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK
Disable advertisements
:
Celebrating Innocent Chukwuemeka Chukwuma: 1966-2021 By Chido Onumah
It has been a year since the passage of Innocent Chukwuma, my friend, brother, and Comrade. It looks like yesterday when I got that devastating response from Prof. Chidi Odinkalu saying, “We may have lost Innocent.” I had called in response to a barrage of WhatsApp messages from Chidi, which started with, “Good evening, sir. How are you doing? Family? Have you heard about Innocent…?”Innocent Chukwuma, or Innoma, as I called him, was 55, and the immediate past Regional Director (West Africa) of Ford Foundation. He was full of life and ideas. His death was devastating in many ways. It depleted the ranks of civil society and human rights activists in Nigeria, which has suffered severe blows in the last two decades from the death of the inveterate organizer and leading democracy activists, Chima Ubani, in 2005, to the consummate scribe and Principal Private Secretary to former Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Olaitan Oyerinde, in 2012, to lawyer and human rights activist, Bamidele Aturu, in 2014, to former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and ExecutiveDirector of Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE), Emma Ezeazu, in 2015, to radical communication scholar and activist, Dr Yima Sen, in 2020, to the political activist and national publicity secretary of Afenifere, the Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Yinka Odumakin, on April 3, 2021, and many others.
Innocent Chukwuma died on Saturday, April 3, 2021, 24 hours after he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML),three days before he was due to travel to the University of Oxford to commence writing his autobiography after eight yearsin charge of Ford Foundation, West Africa.Innocent and I had life-long friendship which started in the late 1980s as student activists—he at University of Nigeria, Nsukka,and I at the University of Calabar. We both served in the same orientation camp in Maiduguri, Borno State, for our NYSC and would later connect in Lagos after service. As young men tryingto find our feet in our different endeavours—he worked at Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Nigeria’s foremost human rights organisation, while I was a reporter at the TheNews—his flat which he shared with two of his Mbaise kinsmen, Okey Nwaguma, the Executive Director of Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) and Dr. GeoffreyAnyanwu, was a weekend getaway for me. In my friendship and collaboration with Innocent Chukwuma,which spanned more than three decades, what has remained with me, beyond the banters and social engagements, are the conversations we had about the future of Nigeria. These conversations started from what Innocent and I have in common: 1966, the year of our birth. As with everything about him, it started as a joke. He had teased me about the fact that he was two months older than I. I ignored him. Then he got serious, reminding me that 1966, the year of our birth, was a pivotal moment in the history and political evolution of the country. Of course, I knew that, but it wasn’tsomething I had thought about deeply in terms of how historical coincidence could trigger an attempt to confront the Nigerian malaise. Innocent had suggested the formation of a group, the “Class of 66,” to undertake that task.On January 15, 1966, barely six years after independence, the country witnessed a military coup, which truncated the First Republic with the assassination of the country’s first Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Belewa, the Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Ladoke Akintola, and the Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, among other high-profile casualties. On July 29, 1966, there was another coup, which overthrew the government of Gen. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigeria’s first military head of state. He and his host at Ibadan, the first military governor of the Western Region, Lt. Colonel Francis Adekunle Fajuyi, among others, were assassinated. The ugly consequences of these two events would spill over leading to a civil war, which lasted from July 1967 to January 1970. Fifty-two years after, the country has yet to make any meaningful effort at national redemption. It is no surprise, therefore, that the leadership is rudderless and the countryremains comatose. Innocent would be shocked at what the country has become in the last one year, a veritable killing fieldawash with the blood of compatriots spilled daily courtesy ofruthless kidnappers, bandits and terrorists who have capitalized on unexampled poor governance to share coercive powers with the state and carve out territories of their own in the forests and highways. Innocent Chukwuma, indeed, was many things to different people. One of his legacies is the Oluaka Institute in Imo State, a technology incubation village, which he set up to bridge the technology gap and tackle youth unemployment.
As part of the first-year remembrance, Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, Innocent’s widow, and CLEEN Foundation, the organisation he founded in 1998 and led for many years before joining Ford Foundation, have lined up several activities befitting a man who was at home with creative ideas and solutions. “Impact and Legacy. Those are the two words that best define Innocent’s life on earth,” notes Josephine Effah-Chukwuma. Anyone who knew Innocent or even met him for a few hours would agree. On Thursday, April 7, in Abuja, there will be an official launchof a foundation in honour of Innocent Chukwuma, the Innocent Chukwuemeka Chukwuma Empowerment Foundation (ICCEF). This will be followed by the official launch of an academic chair and fellowship, the Innocent Chukwuma Social Impact Chair and Fellowship (ICSICF) on Friday, May 13, the day he was interred a year ago. The chair and fellowship are being hosted bythe Lagos Business School with support from Ford Foundation. On that day, there will be a reading of excerpts of Innocent’s biography being written by Dr Nduka Otiono, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator at the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa,Canada. This is being done with support from Ford Foundation. It is heartwarming that Josephine Effah-Chukwuma and her children, Chidinma, Amarachi, and Nkechi, as well as CLEEN Foundation, Ford Foundation, friends, and associates, have come together to remember and celebrate Innocent Chukwuemeka Chukwuma. He would be proud. Truly, #InnocentChukwumaLives!?Onumah, co-host of @90MinutesAfrica, can be reached via @conumah
Opinion
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Chido Onumah
Disable advertisements
:
Disengaged Nigerian Policeman, With Amputated Leg, Spinal Cord Injury Cries For Help As Government Evicts Him From Home
Sunday Ige, an ex-serviceman in the Mobile Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, in Ondo State, has cried out for help following an “eviction notice” served on him by the Nigerian Government, at his current apartment. Ige, who is currently occupying a unit of one-bedroom at the Federal Housing Estate, Shagari area of Akure, had earlier been given two weeks to move out of the house.
The ultimatum expired last Friday.The 57-year-old former police officer was served the notice by the Office of the Implementation Committee according to the White Paper on the Commission of Enquiry into the Alienation of Federal Government Landed Property of the Presidency. Enlisted in the Nigeria Police in 1991, Mr. Ige was posted to Ekiti State after his mandatory training and was later moved out, and transferred to Ondo State where he was mobilised to the Mobile Unit of the Force in 1993. While serving in Akure, he was allocated the housing unit as a mobile policeman like his other colleagues, before he was posted to Lagos State in 2001 for a “special duty”.According to him, during his official duty in Lagos, he lost his right leg in a fatal car accident and had a spinal cord injury the same year he was posted to the state. The situation degenerated into a terrible health condition as he could no longer walk nor stand thereby he was disengaged from the service in 2006.Speaking in an interview, Mr. Ige said that shortly after his disengagement from the police, the Nigerian Government sold the housing unit to him for N1.25 million (One million, two hundred and fifty thousand naira).He explained that he was asked to make an initial payment of N125,000 which is 10 percent of the total amount of money to be paid for the house. The former mobile policeman said he paid the first tranche of the fund to acquire the house from the N250,000 (Two hundred and fifty thousand naira) he had received from the police as his gratuity. He noted that he could no longer pay up the balance due to his health condition after he was sacked from the police service. He said, “I was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force in September 1991 and I passed out from the training school, Iperu in 1992, and after the training, I was posted to Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti State while in 1993, I was mobilised to the Nigeria Mobile Force, Akure. “On January 16, 2001, I was posted for special duty in Lagos and I was attached to the Itire Police Station where I was knocked down by a vehicle while on duty.”When the accident occurred, I was rushed to the General Hospital, Ikeja and I was later moved to a private hospital. “When my situation could not be handled at both the general and private hospitals, I was moved to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Ile-Ife in Osun state. “At Ife (OAUTH), my leg was amputated and it was later discovered that I had a spinal cord injury, which has made mobility to be difficult for me. “I was discharged from OAUTH in November 2001. Then, all the medical expenses were over N1 million and were paid by me. “The police did not assist me to pay a single kobo out of the entire medical bill. I paid with the little I had as well as with the assistance of my family; my parents died on this matter.”On December 31, 2006, I was retrenched as a Corporal from the Nigeria Police and my salary was immediately stopped. “In 2009, the police authority paid me N225,000 as my gratuity with my pension pegged at N5,000 monthly. Later it was increased to N8,000 but with the minimum wage, I now receive N16,000 as monthly pension. “In 2003, the house was allocated to me while I was in service, and in 2007, the federal housing said that it wanted to dispose of the houses at the rate of N1, 250,000 million. We were told to pay 10 percent first. I picked up interest and I paid to buy the house. I have been living there since. “Since then, I have not been able to raise the balance because of my condition. Just last week, the ministry brought an eviction letter that I should pack out of the house. If I am evicted from this house, I have nowhere to go, that is the end of me because of my condition.””I have no wife because when the accident happened, I had yet to get married. It was the child I had when I was in secondary school that has been taking care of me since,” he added. While appealing to the government and well-meaning Nigerians to help him out of his predicament, Mr. Ige declared that he has no place to stay if he is sent packing from the house. “I beg the government and well-meaning individuals to come to my aid in the name of God. There is nowhere for me to go and there is no way I can raise the money.”My friends are the ones who have been feeding me and buying my drugs and rendering other assistance for the past 21 years. The government should please assist me.”
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK
Disable advertisements
:
Unknown Gunmen Attack Nigerian Road Safety Agency, FRSC Officials In Anambra, Kill Two
Gunmen on Sunday attacked officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), killing two of them.The officers were reportedly conducting a routine patrol operation along Igbo-Uku- Uga route in Anambra State at about 2.45 pm when the gunmen opened fire on the driver and two other officials while the fourth official escaped into the bush.
The Corps Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, confirmed the incident in a statement.Kazeem said the team leader, who sustained injuries, was rushed to a hospital for treatment.The statement read, “The Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, who was visibly touched decried the attack while condoling with the families of the deceased staff, the unit commander and staff of Igbo-Uku command, and the entire management and staff of the corps over the loss and prayed for their souls to rest in peace.”Oyeyemi also assured that the corps is working with the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to ensure that the attackers are arrested and brought to justice.
Insecurity
News
Opinion
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK
Disable advertisements
:
E2%80%98super-cop%E2%80%99-abba-kyari%E2%80%99s-fraud-trial-amid Hushpuppi: US Court Picks Date For Disgraced ‘Super Cop’, Abba Kyari’s Fraud Trial Amid Extradition Uncertainties
A United States court has rescheduled the trial of Abba Kyari, a suspended top Nigerian police officer, and five others, for alleged $1.1 million fraud coordinated by Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, PREMIUM TIMES reports.The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California rescheduled the trial from May to October 2022 based on a joint request by the prosecution and three of Mr Kyari’s co-defendants.
This comes amid uncertainties plaguing the extradition proceedings filed against Mr Kyari at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where he is also undergoing trial on cocaine-trafficking charges.Ruling on March 29, 2022, the judge, Otis Wright, agreed that not granting the parties’ request could “deny defence counsel the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence.”He also said it “would unreasonably deny defendant continuity of counsel” and could make “proceeding impossible or result in a miscarriage of justice” if the court rejected the postponement request.The judge, therefore, postponed the trial from May 17, 2022, until October 11, 2022.“Defendants shall appear in Courtroom 5D of the Federal Courthouse, 350 W. 1st Street, Los Angeles, California on October 11, 2022, at 9:00 a.m.,” the judge ordered in the ruling, a copy of which the newspaper obtained.The ruling made it the second postponement of the trial, which the court originally scheduled to start on October 12, 2021. But based on the parties’ request, the court had shifted the trial to May 17, 2022, and, in the latest ruling, to October 11, 2022.The three co-defendants who joined the prosecution to call for the postponement are all U.S.-based.The three co-defendants – Rukayat Fashola (aka Morayo), Bolatito Agbabiaka (aka Bolamide), and Yusuf Anifowoshe (aka AJ and Alvin Johnson) – have been released from custody on bail ahead of trial.“The rest of the defendants – Kyari, Abdulrahman Juma, and Kelly Chibuzo Vincent are outside the U.S. and “remain at large”, the U.S. prosecuting authorities have said.The prosecution planned to conclude the trial within six days even with Kyari and two of the defendants still at large.In justifying the application for postponement of the trial in their joint application last year, the applicants said the U.S. government had already handed to the defence approximately 2.31 GB of data comprising 2,707 electronic files.They added that prosecutors were processing approximately 6,773 pages of additional discovery expected to be produced for the trial.Back in Nigeria, Kyari faces a just-starting trial on charges of illegal dealing in cocaine, alongside the extradition proceedings recently filed against him based on the U.S. government’s request to Nigeria to surrender him for trial in California.While he was on suspension over his indictment for fraud by the U.S. government last year, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested him in February, and subsequently charged him and six others, including four members of his former police unit, with illegal dealing in cocaine.Both the criminal trial on narcotic offences and extradition hearing are taking place separately before two judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja.At its current pace, the extradition hearing, hobbled by the country’s unwieldy judicial process, is unlikely to end before October when the trial in the U.S is expected to start.Yet, Kyari reserves the right to appeal up to the Supreme Court even if the court orders his extradition at the end of the ongoing proceedings.This makes the future of the extradition process uncertain, even as the trial court has recently ordered his continued detention pending the conclusion of the cocaine-trafficking trial.Lawyers also say Kyari’s ongoing trial on cocaine-related charges may scuttle the prospect of the extradition proceedings because of section 3 (6) of Nigeria’s Extradition Act.The provision, according to lawyers, exempts a suspect standing trial in Nigeria from being extradited to a foreign country until the conclusion of the Nigerian trial or the conclusion of a prison sentence.When asked about this recently, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, only said there was no confusion about the two cases without clarifying the impact one would likely have on the other.With three of the defendants still abroad, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and Assistant United States Attorney, Khaldoun Shobaki, hinted at a separation of trial In the application for trial postponement.“All defendants are joined for trial and a severance has not been granted,” the document signed by Shobaki on behalf of the U.S. government stated.Ms Fashola with her lawyer, Edward Robinson; Ms Agbabiaka with her lawyer, Daniel Nardoni, and Mr Anifowoshe with his lawyer, Lakeshia Monique Dorsey, endorsed the application.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in court documents released in July last year that all six defendants including Mr Kyari, were co-conspirators in the $1.1 million fraud coordinated by Hushpuppi, a former Nigerian Instagram celebrity.A Qatari businessperson was the victim of the scheme perpetrated between November 2019 and April 2020, the FBI had said.Kyari, a deputy commissioner of police, allegedly played a role in the scam by helping Hushpuppi to detain a disenchanted co-conspirator who wanted to warn the victim businessperson about the scam.He and his co-defendants face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and aggravated identity theft.Hushpuppi has pleaded guilty to various fraud activities, including the $1.1 million scheme in another case before the U.S. district court in Central California. He is now awaiting sentencing in July this year.He was arrested in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, in June 2020, and flown to the U.S. for trial.
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK
Disable advertisements
:
*-marriage%E2%80%94ukraine Everyone Says Putin Is Mad But He’s Fighting For Christian Values, Against Same-s** Marriage—Ukraine-based Nigerian Cleric
Pastor Sunday Adelaja, the founder of the largest evangelical church in Europe, Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations, has said he lost property worth over $4 million to the Russia invasion of Ukraine.
The clergyman said in his bid to avoid being caught up in the invasion, he had to leave the country with only one shirt.
However, he added that he is grateful to God for sparing his life.
He spoke via a Zoom meeting organised by Network of African Christian Journalists.
The Nigerian-born preacher, who lived in Kiev, Ukraine for some decades, said he is planning to return to Africa in obedience to God’s instruction.
Adelaja urged African Christians to avoid misrepresenting the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, saying the man is fighting for traditional values of the Christian faith.
He said: “I’m beginning to believe that this Vladimir Putin who everybody is saying is mad and demon-possessed is the same man that is fighting for traditional values of the Christian faith.
“He is saying Christianity and satanism are not equal. He is against homosexuals, saying same-s** marriage is wrong.
“What is happening in Ukraine right now is pathetic and very unfortunate. Lives are being lost. My house, which is worth about $4 million, was burnt. I left the country only in one shirt.”
Adelaja, who hails from Idomila in Ijebu North-East Local Government Area of Ogun State, also said the Russian invasion may lead to Third World War except urgent measures are taken.
He said: “There is nothing I need from Nigerian Christians but what I want them to realise is that this invasion may escalate and lead to the Third World War whereby Russia will be ready to use nuclear weapons.
“Let us all pray against this. It could lead to war that may dictate how the world will be ruled. War is destructive, damaging, traumatising.
“I believe that this war is the judgment of God upon Ukraine, the attacker and the attacked, the victim and the aggressor are being judged.
“There is no way one can deny the fact that this is God’s judgment. God may use this to glorify His name.”
Adelaja, who also spoke about some of his plans, among which is to return to Nigeria to continue his vision, said: “God asked me to return to Africa but I asked him what becomes of the church which I have invested over 30 years on, but he showed me what will happen.
“I saw a vision where flowers were flowing everywhere. This represents my church members who were flying from Europe to another part of the world.
“This happened to the Apostles who were scattered all over after the death of Christ. In 2016, I had a revelation about the Nigerian church.
“God told me to round off my assignment in Europe and move to Africa. When I asked Him what becomes of the church, he said I should consider my Europe experience as a school and that the next phase of my ministry is in Africa.
“At that point, God asked me to leave, I could not leave because I had a lawsuit in my name and wanted to clear that before coming back to Nigeria.
“I was in court and made up my mind I won’t leave until I clear my name.
“I left the country because the American government was warning there is a list of people that the Russian government would eliminate when they take over.
“That was why I had to leave. Thank God I left because they came to my house to search for me.
“The person they met said they did not believe I was not in the house. They broke all the doors and searched everywhere.
“Thank God we had left. All the Russians and Africans and Ukrainians with me had also left.I believe only God’s plan will come to pass.
“In the second World War, the population of the world was about one billion.
“At that time, over 40 million people died in the war. The world might not come to an end. God forbid.
“If we experience the Third World War, it may lead to the death of 80 per cent of the world population,” he said.
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
saharareporters, new york
Disable advertisements
:
The Limitation Of Sophistry By Remi Oyeyemi
Remi Oyeyemi
I have read a lot of politically correct articles. I have read a lot of interesting views about the situation in Nigeria, particular what is unfolding in Yorùbá land.
I have heard narratives that pretend to be “civilized” while their homeland, their heritage and their history are being existentially threatened.
I have read direct and indirect rationalizations of the murder of our mothers, the raping of our daughters, the killing of our sisters, the massacre of our aunts, uncles, brothers and fathers. Many of them are maimed. Our villages and towns are being burnt down. Our ancestral land are being destroyed on daily basis without any abatement.
I have read postulations, as howlingly hollow as it could get, suggesting that there is nothing to really worry about as far as Nigerian situation is concerned. That it is just an ordinary issue of mis-governance. It would soon blow over.
Remi Oyeyemi
That all we need to do is to see a common humanity with the barbarians who are leaving our lands desolate. That all we need to do is to be open – minded with close – minded, cold blooded murderers.
That all we need to do is to put on our white linen garment and jump into the mud to appeal to the rapacious pigs who refused to be placated.
Haaa! I am already calling fellow human beings “pigs”! That is not right. That is not what we are. That is not “civilized.” That is not “open – minded.” Arrant nonsense.
Here we are speaking of efforts to erase ethnic nationalities that have not threatened any other. Or constitute any threat whatsoever to any other.
It is nauseating. It makes one puke. It makes one sick. It annoys. It irritates. But it must be tolerated. And it is even necessary.
It was Pini Jason (may his soul rest in peace) who insisted that an idea under the table (not expressed in the open) would be ascribed wrong value. This is because no one has been able to see it and evaluate it. Jason philosophized that we must encourage every idea to be put on the table for everyone to see it, evaluate it, examine it, interrogate it, vigorously, thoroughly, forcefully and robustly.
Only then could the true value of such idea be adequately assessed.
PEACE is the most important element for a polity. But what we have in Nigeria right now is the fantasy of Thomas Hobbes. It is what has been foisted on us by a Fulani oligarchy.
And those who are carrying these heinous acts out are also Fulani. At least over 80% of them. And I remember my Mathematics class that if it is above .5, one could round it up to figure 1. Here we are speaking of .8 out of 1! Now should we call it an Igbo problem rather than Fulani? Or we should call it Tiv, Jukun, Hausa, Mumuye, Yorùbá, Ibibio, Igala and Nupe problem rather than Fulani?
What kind of argument is that? Is it not imperviousness to ignore extant facts? Is it not denial to rationalize obvious evil and plead for acquiescence under the garb of “civilized conversation” while we are being murdered on daily basis?
Is it not the right thing to do to be HONEST to each other and call a spade its true name so that we know how to preserve ourselves?
Why must we be courteous to those seeking to erase us from the surface of the Earth? Why do we need to be civil to those who refused to be placated and are bent on destroying us?
The issue on the TABLE right now is the SURVIVAL OF THE YORÙBÁ NATION AND ITS PEOPLES. The preservation of the lives of our sons and daughters is the PRIORITY right now.
Whatever personal relationship anyone has with any Hausa man, Fulani man, Igbo man or any man of any other tribe does not matter and does not count right now. And I know many of us have such relationships.
Sophistry as a tool to justify or rationalize or excuse the Fulani conscious, open, clear and dedicated efforts to annihilate, subdue and occupy our Yorùbá land has to be seen as despicable and must be totally rejected.
Enough of red herring and unnecessary distractions.
We must focus on how to preserve ourselves, our lands, our heritage and our history. The first step in this direction is to identify the ENEMY. And right now, the FULANI IS THE ENEMY. At least, the extant facts are in agreement with this.
Thank you.
Remi OyeyemiOmo Owá, Omo Ekùn.April 3, 2022
Opinion
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Remi Oyeyemi
Disable advertisements
:
Newly Recruited Officers Of Nigerian Anti-Narcotics Agency, NDLEA Owed 7 Months’ Salary Arrears, Now Rely On Bribes From Suspects’ Families
Some newly recruited officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Academy have accused the agency of owing them six months’ salaries.
The officers say they have yet to be paid their salaries since they joined the agency last year.
NDLEA in a memo obtained by SaharaReporters agreed that it owed the officers January salary, saying the February salary would be paid with January arrears.
However, the affected officers noted that it is disappointing that the agency failed to address the nonpayment of their remuneration for the other five months.
They said they are tired and demoralised by the condition they found themselves in. According to them, the situation is so painful as they have been living on borrowing to sustain themselves and their families.
The new personnel added that no formal communication has been done by the agency to assuage their pain.
They said their appointment letters were dated 25th July 2021 and they were trained and deployed immediately to far-flung parts of the country without a dime being paid to date.
“Personally, I borrowed money to report to camp for training as I don’t have parents or relatives who will sponsor me to the training,” one of them told SaharaReporters.
“I collected a loan of N45,000 with an interest of N20,000 monthly, hoping after spending two months in the camp, we will be paid but there has been nothing to show for it.
“When my colleagues raised the issue of nonpayment of salary early February this year, they promised to pay February and January at the end of February but up till now, only February and March salaries have been paid.
“I swear, we collect food on credit and sometimes we survive on the monies suspects’ relatives give ranging from N1, 000 to N2,000, depending on the kindness of the suspect’s relative. I’m making this complaint with pain in my heart. I must be sincere, we are not doing the job with sincerity because of the situation.
“Everybody is afraid to speak out because, during our training, they told us that if we protest, we will be sacked.”
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
saharareporters, new york
Disable advertisements
:
Abductors Of Abuja Monarch Ask Family Members To Sell His House To Raise N20Million Ransom
Abductors of the traditional ruler of Bukpe community in the Kwali area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) HRH Alhaji Hassan Shamidozhi, have directed family members to sell his house to raise the N20 million ransom they are demanding. Some kidnappers invaded the palace of the monarch last Wednesday night and took him to an unknown location.
A family member of the traditional ruler said the kidnappers have vowed not to release him until they get N20 million, Daily Trust reports. “In fact, even on Saturday, morning, they called and directed the family to go and sell his house so that they can raise N20m ransom for them,” he said. “One of the family members that they were communicating with told them that even the house the chief is residing in is not worth N5 million.”
According to him, the leader of the kidnappers threatened to keep the monarch in their custody even if it takes a year to raise the N20 million demanded as ransom.
Insecurity
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
saharareporters, new york
Disable advertisements
:
Ogoni Peoples Movement, MOSOP Asks Buhari Government To Review 1995 Execution Of Ken Saro-Wiwa, 8 Others
Ken Saro-Wiwa
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has called for a review of the hanging of environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others by the Nigerian government in 1995.
The mass?based social movement organisation of the indigenous Ogoni people of Central Niger Delta said reviewing the unjust execution of nine Ogonis in 1995 will give room for true reconciliation in Ogoni land.
Ken Saro-Wiwa
Saro-Wiwa, a playwright, environmental activist and Ogoni leader was executed by the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.
Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders were tried by a secret military tribunal and executed by hanging on November 10, 1995, a tragic end to their non-violent campaign against the Royal Dutch Shell Company and the Nigerian government over the pollution of Ogoniland through oil exploitation.
Saro-Wiwa and the other eight Ogoni leaders were accused of being responsible for the murder of five Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting.
The other Ogoni leaders executed along with Saro-Wiwa were Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine.
The group also reiterated its commitment to Ogoni development through the implementation of the Ogoni Development Authority.
The Central Committee of MOSOP at its meeting in Giokoo, Gokana local government area on Thursday unanimously expressed the organisation’s willingness and commitment to promoting the implementation of the proposed development plan.
The meeting which was presided over by the president of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, was called to assess the state of the struggle and review MOSOP’s position on critical issues including oil resumption and development in Ogoni.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Alex Akori, Secretary-General of MOSOP and dated Sunday, April 3, 2022.
According to the statement, Nsuke said the Ogoni struggle was on course and would certainly achieve its purpose.
“We have recovered our struggle and it is strongly on course and I am confident that the people are able to keep and preserve it until our dreams are achieved,” he said.
“It has been a collective, grassroots struggle and the gains should be for the people and not for some few and we will resist every attempt to crystallise our pains, sacrifices, wounds and deaths into the pockets of some few individuals,” Nsuke told the Central Committee.
Shortly after addressing the Central Committee, the MOSOP President addressed a MOSOP Congress in Bera, also in the Gokana local government area where he called on the Nigerian authorities to encourage true reconciliation in Ogoni by reviewing the unjust execution of nine Ogonis in 1995. He said addressing the 1995 saga will help build goodwill for the government and help Ogonis to reintegrate into the Nigerian system. Nsuke noted that to date, some Ogonis are still refugees in foreign lands due to fear of possible persecution should they return to Nigeria.
On the resumption of oil mining in Ogoni, the MOSOP President said those preaching that there should be a total ‘no to oil production’ in Ogoni were not in tune with the current realities in Ogoni and the position of MOSOP on the issue. He noted that the focus of MOSOP from inception had been development and that its position today favours a negotiated entry that guarantees the interest of the Ogoni people in any oil resumption deal.
The statement reads in part, “If we are talking of development, it requires money and so we can’t be completely against oil production. What we should be talking about is that there should be a negotiation to guarantee the interest of the Ogoni people in any deal that is reached.
“In essence, we want development and the money from oil has to power that development so we cannot be completely opposed to oil production. We should be interested in a negotiated entry that will end decades of conflicts and killings in Ogoni over oil.”
He said MOSOP launched the Ogoni campaign which has become popularly known as the Ogoni struggle in response to underdevelopment despite the huge natural resource exploitation which had strong impact on the people.
Nsuke advised the government to stop attempts to cause crises in Ogoni through its current backdoor moves to fund mushroom groups who masquerade as Ogoni organisations, noting that MOSOP will mobilise a strong resistance against every attempt to short-change the interest of the Ogoni people through the creation of government-sponsored versions of the movement.
The MOSOP President pledged MOSOP’s commitment and willingness to continue engagement with relevant authorities to facilitate the resolution of the lingering Ogoni problem in the interest of all parties.
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
saharareporters, new york
Disable advertisements
:
Read also
You can also check
