Sahara Reporters Latest News Thursday 12th September 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 12/09/19
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target=_blank>BREAKING: 57 Navy Detainees In Apapa Embark On Hunger Strike
Some 57 prisoners being illegally detained by the Nigerian Navy in Apapa, Lagos, have embarked on indefinite hunger strike, SaharaReporters can authoritatively report.
The 57 persons have been in the custody of the Navy for yet to be disclosed criminal offences and have not been charged to court since their arrest.
They are being held in a crowded cell at the NNS Beecroft in Apapa.
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target=_blank>BREAKING: Nigerians Evacuated From South Africa Arrive Lagos
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Some Nigerians evacuated from South Africa over the recent spate of xenophobic attacks in the country, have landed in Lagos.
The Air Peace flight, which evacuated them on Wednesday, arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos at exactly 9:35pm.
More to come…
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target=_blank>BREAKING: Buhari Reacts To Tribunal Victory, Says “We Are Now Vindicated”
President Muhammadu Buhari has reacted to his victory at the election petition tribunal on Wednesday, calling it a vindication of his well deserved victory.
The tribunal dismissed Atiku Abubakar’s petition challenging the results of the 2019 presidential election for not being able to prove satisfactorily all the allegations he brought before the panel.
In his response on Wednesday evening in a series of tweets, President Buhari tweeting @Mbuhari said, “Today’s ruling is a well-deserved victory for Nigerians who trooped out overwhelmingly to elect us for a second term in office.
“I was unperturbed all along because I knew Nigerians freely gave us the mandate. We are now vindicated!
“I dedicate this victory to the Almighty God and to all Nigerians. And I commend the judiciary for dispensing justice without fear or favour.
“I am hereby extending a hand of fellowship to everyone who felt aggrieved at the outcome of the election and went to court.”
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target=_blank>HURIWA Condemns Judgment Of Presidential Election Tribunal
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has condemned the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal THAT dismissed the petition filed by candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari during the February 23, 2019, election.
In a statement on Wednesday, the group said it was horrified by the judgment, stating that the judicial system is compromised and tainted by political loyalty.
The statement reads, “We are not surprised that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has wrongly confirmed the overwhelming perception of most critical-minded Nigerians that nothing good will ever come out from the current contraption we call the Nigerian judicial system.
“The Nigerian judicial system as it is currently constituted is dysfunctional, is compromised, is tainted politically, is populated and driven physically by people with the wrong mindset who are not patriotic, who are not committed to the real essence of justice as it should be.”
The group said it was befuddling that the tribunal dismissed important issued raised by Abubakar and his party, stating that Nigerians are interested in verifying if President Buhari indeed has a secondary school certificate as required by law.
The tribunal had upheld that the certificate of President Buhari with the Nigerian Military was higher than a secondary school certificate and therefore he was ‘eminently’ qualified to contest for the position of president.
However, HURIWA said the constitution was clear on the educational requirement for anyone willing to participate in Nigerian elections.
The group said, “It is inconceivable that the judiciary would close its eyes to the fact that there are lingering debates and argument strong enough to disqualify one of the candidates which are the exact whereabouts of the secondary school certificate.
“If the constitution says you need at least a (secondary) school certificate, what the constitution means is that the secondary school certificate is the minimum benchmark.
“Secondly, we are highly disappointed in the first instance by the dismissal of the application that was filed by the petitioner seeking to get the Supreme Court’s nod to compel INEC to allow the petitioners to supervise the server.”
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target=_blank>FBI Arrests 167 Alleged Scammers In Nigeria, Seizes $3.7m
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The United State Federal Bureau of Investigation said it has arrested 167 alleged Business Email Compromise fraudsters in Nigeria and seized nearly $3.7m.
The US Department of Justice made the disclosure in a statement released on Tuesday, stating that a total of 281 arrests were made within the United States and overseas.
There were “167 in Nigeria, 18 in Turkey and 15 in Ghana. Arrests were also made in France, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom”.
The FBI said the alleged fraudsters do not only focus on businesses but also individuals.
It said same criminal organisations that perpetrate BEC also exploit individual victims, often real estate purchasers, the elderly, and others, by convincing them to make wire transfers to bank accounts controlled by the criminals.
The statement said, “Foreign citizens perpetrate many BEC scams. Those individuals are often members of transnational criminal organizations, which originated in Nigeria but have spread throughout the world.”
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target=_blank>US Charges 22-year-old Nigerian For Money Laundering
A 22-year-old Nigerian, Abasiakara Ekanem, has been charged alongside four others for alleged offences of conspiracy and money laundering in the United States.
The United States Department of Justice disclosed that Ekanem and the other defendants were part of those indicted in another court in Witchita for international fraud.
Others mentioned include King Essien, 26, Franklin Okapu, 20, Oluwatimileyin Diyaolu, 21, Emmanuel Daramola, 22.
According to the DoJ, the indictment alleged that the defendants received money from victims of fraud in the United States and foreign countries.
The department said, “Essien’s account received cash depots of more than $190,000, international wire transfers of more than $120,000 and domestic wire transfers of more than $88,000. Two-thirds of the money was transferred to bank accounts in Nigeria and Ghana.
“Okapu’s accounts received cash deposits of more than $67,000 and total deposits of more than $337,000, including domestic transfers, money orders and cashier’s deposits.
“Diyaolu’s accounts received total deposits of more than $572,000. Three-quarters of the money was transferred to bank accounts in Nigeria.
“Daramola’s accounts received total deposits of more than $283,000. More than two-thirds of the money was transferred to bank accounts in Nigeria.
“Ekanem’s accounts received total deposits of more than $208,000. Almost half the money was withdrawn as cash.”
Together, the defendants allegedly transferred more than $923,000 to an unindicted conspirator in Lagos, Nigeria, and more than $211,000 to another unindicted conspirator in Lagos, Nigeria.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $500,000.
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E2%80%99s-petition-against-orker-jev target=_blank>Court Strikes Out Akume’s Petition Against Orker-Jev
George Akume
George Akume
The National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Makurdi, Benue State, has thrown out the petition filed by Senator George Akume challenging the victory of Senator Emmanuel Orker-Jev representing Benue North-West Senatorial District.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had returned Orker-Jev of the Peoples Democratic Party as winner of the February 23, 2019 election.
Akume had approached the tribunal to upturn Orker-Jev’s victory and declare him as the substantive winner.
In his judgment, Chairman of the tribunal, Justice P. O Odudu, maintained that the petition challenging the election did not cover less than 404 polling units but the petitioner had brought less than 20 witnesses.
Odudu said, “The petitioner is required to provide evidence polling unit by polling unit, ward by ward.
“Even if all 20 witnesses’ evidence were to be proven, it would just be like a drop of water in an ocean and therefore of no consequence to the overall result.”
He, therefore, dismissed the petition and awarded N100,000 damages each to the first and second respondents (Orker-Jev and INEC), who were joined in the petition to be paid by the petitioner.
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target=_blank>Scientists Discover New Planet With Water
Astronomers at the University College London, say they have discovered water on a potentially habitable planet.
The BBCsaid their findings were published in the Scientific Journal.
The scientists believe that up to half of the planet is made up of water.
Prof Giovanna Teneti, the lead scientist on the project, said the discovery made on the planet named K2-18B, was ‘mind blowing.’
She said, “This is the first time that we have detected water on a planet in the habitable zone around a star where the temperature is potentially compatible with the presence of life.
“Within the next 10 years, we will know whether there are chemicals that are due to life in those atmospheres.”
K2-18b is the only planet that showed it had water in it out of all the planets discovered by the Hubble Telescope between 2016 and 2017.
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E2%80%99ll-study-judgment-secondus-says target=_blank>Tribunal Verdict: We’ll Study Judgment, Secondus Says
National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, has said that the party would study the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that affirmed the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari during the February 23 election.
Secondus disclosed this shortly after the ruling of the tribunal in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said that the legal team of the party would go through the verdict and come up with an official position for them to decide whether to appeal or not.
But while reacting to the tribunal on his own part, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, urged the PDP to close ranks with the administration of President Buhari in moving the country forward.
He said, “It is time now to close ranks and work with the President and assist him to deliver on his mandate.
“It is a win-win for all and I don’t think PDP has lost. They suspected that we cheated and they have been reassured that they were not cheated.
“I want to appeal to PDP and let them know that Nigeria is one country and the argument is about who is preferred to rule and govern the country.
“Now that we have put this behind us, there should be no further distractions.
“We all can come together both the opposition and the ruling party through constructive engagement and assist government to do what it has to do to ensure that life is better for the average Nigerian.”
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PDP Rejects Tribunal Ruling, Heads To Court
The Peoples Democratic Party has rejected the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, describing it as a “subversion of justice”.
The tribunal had on Wednesday in Abuja struck out the petition of the PDP and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23 election.
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement after the ruling said that the party was shocked that the tribunal failed to point to justice despite the flawless evidence laid before it.
He insisted that President Buhari was not only unqualified to contest the election but also did not score the majority of valid votes at the polls.
He said, “The PDP finds it as bewildering that a court of law could validate a clear case of perjury and declaration of false information in a sworn affidavit, as firmly established against President Muhammadu Buhari even in the face of incontrovertible evidence.
“The tribunal raked up all manner of excuses to make up for the yawning gaps occasioned by the total absence of any evidence from the respondents.
“Nigerians and the international community watched in utter disbelief when the tribunal ruled that one need not provide a copy or certified true copy of educational certificate such individual claimed to possess. This is contrary to established proof of claims of certification.”
He urged all the party supporters not to lose hope and remain calm as the PDP’s lawyers are “upbeat in obtaining justice at the Supreme Court”.
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