₦airaland Forum

These people would just act and talk as if all power actually belong to them.

How could they ever change? How.

Pavore9:
It will serve as cooking gas, l have seen where it is operated. It can provide gas for the University's bakery if it has one.

Oh, ok.

I get your point now.

I previously thought u meant the sewage is to generate electricity ni!

Tears As Freed 21 Chibok Girls Meet VP Osinbajo - Some Dead, Married Off, Injured

There were strong indications on Thursday that the Federal Government freed some top Boko Haram commanders for the 21 Chibok girls, who were released by the insurgents at Banki, a border town between Nigeria and Cameroon.

The released girls were among the over 200 schoolgirls, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2014.

Most of the girls wept profusely when Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo met them on Thursday at the Abuja headquarters of the Department of State Services after the girls’ arrival in the Federal Capital Territory.

The 21 girls were released after 913 days in captivity.



A security source said five Boko Haram commanders were released in exchange for the 21 Chibok girls.

The source stated, “Five top commanders of the Boko Haram were traded for the released Chibok girls.

“Those released are not among those earlier released by the military in the North-East on October 1, 2016. These ones are confirmed Boko Haram commanders, who have been in the custody of the DSS.”

The source, who spoke to The PUNCH on Thursday, said the 21 girls were discovered by troops of the 21 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, which supervises the military units in Banki, Borno State, while they were filing out of the forest.

“I think it was a planned operation which involved the DSS. The released Boko Haram commanders were not in the custody of the military,” the source added.

The source explained that the insurgents released the girls and left them to wander into an area where they could be sighted by people and security personnel in the area.

“The girls were released in the forest at Banki. Obviously, the abductors took them close to where they could be sighted and gave them direction and left them,” he stated.

It was learnt that the Nigerian Air Force Mi 17 Hercules helicopters were deployed in the area to airlift them out of the operational area to freedom.

The helicopter “has capacity to airlift 15 people without difficulty.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government denied reports that it released some top terrorists to secure the release of the 21 Chibok schoolgirls.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, issued the disclaimer while responding to reporters’ questions during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

He said the Federal Government remained prepared to do everything within its powers to get the remaining girls out of captivity, stressing that “it is not true that there was a swap.”

“Whatever it takes to get the Boko Haram situation under control, we will do it. Dialogues, military operation, anything; there are still small girls under captivity. Mr. President wants to speak to the leadership (of the sect) who has credibility,” the minister said.

[b]However, a hooded member of the Abubakar Shekau-led faction of the sect, who appeared in a video it posted on the internet on Thursday, painted a slightly different picture.

The sect member, who spoke in Hausa, said the only condition it gave for the release of the girls was for the Federal Government to release its members, who were being detained in Maiduguri, Lagos, Abuja and other Nigerian cities.

The armed Boko Haram member, who appeared with dozens of the girls in the background, accused the Federal Government of lying to the world about the mass abduction for the two years the girls had spent in captivity.

“We want you to tell the Federal Government to leave our brothers. Unless our brothers are released, these girls (pointing to the girls in the background) will not be released.

“We are asking the parents to tell the Federal Government to release our brothers, if not we will never release these girls you are seeing,” he said.

The unnamed sect member, who was dressed in military fatigues and had his face covered, claimed that government never knew the girls’ location but kept using the media to deceive the world about securing their release.

In another breath, he said air raids by the Nigerian military led to the deaths of a substantial number of the girls.

He described the condition of some of the surviving girls as pathetic.

According to him, some of them have broken limbs while some are still being treated for injuries suffered during military bombardment.

The sect member announced that about 40 of the girls had been married off, but did not, however, say to whom.

He said, “Our message is first to the parents of the Chibok girls, some of your children are with us. About 40 of them have been given out in marriage. So many of them have gone to be with Allah because they were killed by the bombs from the aircraft of infidels; we will show you the video. Some were injured, some have broken limbs some are still being treated.”

He appealed to sect members, whom he claimed were in detention centres in Lagos, Maiduguri, Abuja and elsewhere in Nigeria to remain patient and prayerful, saying “by Allah’s grace, we will get you out.”[/b]

The terrorist called out one of the girls, who gave her name as Maida Yakubu, and asked her a few questions to establish her identity. He then asked her to make a direct appeal to parents on behalf of the others.

Yakubu, who spoke in Hausa and the local Chibok dialect, said, “My parents be patient and plead with the Federal Government to release their brothers so that they can release us.”

She then switched to her local dialect, where she could be heard calling “airplanes and bombs” intermittently.

The sect member then warned President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Military not to attempt to release the girls by force because they may not get them alive.

Mohammed explained that the girls were released at about 5.30am on Thursday before they were flown to Kaduna from the location of their release.

He stated, “This is the most glaring manifestation to date of the unwavering commitment of Mr. President to secure the safe release of the girls and reunite them with their families.

“It is also a result of the round-the-clock efforts by the administration to put a closure to the sad issue of the kidnap of the girls.

“Ahead of their arrival, we have assembled a team of medical doctors, psychologists, social workers, trauma experts, etc to properly examine the girls, especially because they have been in captivity for so long.

“They will also be adequately debriefed. We have the list of the 21 girls but we are now contacting their parents as part of the necessary verification exercise. As soon as that is concluded, we will release the names to the public.”

The minister added that the government received a credible lead which prompted the President to give the green light to the DSS to pursue it.

He said this was done in collaboration with a friendly European country (Switzerland) and a renowned international humanitarian organisation (Red Cross) with the support of the military.

Released girls to be tested for HIV, others

Doctors are to conduct medical tests on the 21 Chibok girls for any sexually transmitted disease like the HIV/AID, a security source told The PUNCH in Abuja on Thursday.

He said the girls, who were camped at the national headquarters of the DSS, were being held in order to ascertain their state of health before being released to their parents.

One of our correspondents, who visited the headquarters, was told that there was a directive from “above” not to allow journalists to have contact with the girls.

The source said, “They have lived with criminals, who thrive in drugs and all sorts of other things that are peculiar to criminals.

“These are innocent girls, who didn’t prepare for what happened to them. We will guide them, check them and also find out their state of health.”

We’ll continue to secure Nigerians –Buhari

Also, Buhari on Thursday assured Nigerians that his administration would continue to protect them wherever they were.

Buhari made the promise in an interview with journalists at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly before he left the country for a three-day official visit to Germany.

Reacting to the news of the release of the 21 Chibok girls, Buhari said, “Well, I am very pleased about it (the girls’ release).

“I expect you to get through to the Minister of Information and Culture.

“I believe he will be duly briefed by the Vice-President so that he will give you the details. I have just been briefed about it.

“To Nigerians all over, it is our responsibility and we will continue to secure them wherever they are.”

The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President, Laolu Akande, later released a statement indicating that the government was assembling medical experts that would attend to the released girls.

“The Federal Government is now gathering medical and other support and care in Abuja for the just released 21 Chibok girls,” he said.

Meanwhile, there was muted celebration at the sit-out of the BringBackOurGirls on Thursday following the release of the 21 Chibok girls.

The BBOG members were full of praises for the Federal Government, but were quick to urge it to hasten the rescue of the remaining 197 girls still in the Boko Haram captivity.

The Chairman, Chibok Community in Abuja, Tsambido Abana, expressed appreciation to the Federal Government and the BBOG group for campaigning for the release of the girls, who had been in captivity for 913 days.

Abana said, “We really thank God, but we are still waiting for the other 197. We don’t know the system they are going to adopt; whether they will allow us to meet them with the parents to identify them.

“We are happy, we thank God. We thank you all.”

Also, Rebecca Ishaku, one of the Chibok girls, who escaped during the April 2014 abduction, said she dreamt about her colleagues in captivity daily, adding that she wept for joy when she heard about the release of the 21 girls.

Speaking at the BBOG sit-out in Abuja on Thursday, Ishaku said she had almost lost hope of ever seeing her friends again, commending the BBOG for not giving up on the campaign for the rescue of the schoolgirls.

“When I heard about the release of my friends by the Boko Haram, I was so happy; tears of joy fell from my eyes. I was thinking that it may not happen; Since I escaped, every day I think about them, I prayed for them and today; God helped me, my classmates are back,” Ishaku said.

Recalling how she escaped abduction, Ishaku said she simply prayed for divine assistance, adding that she was afraid of being with the terrorists, having heard and seen the terrible things they did.

She said, “It was God that helped me. I had an operation around that time, so I said I was not going to follow these people. I said, ‘oh God, if you know I am going to disappoint you, please help me to escape’, and I was able to jump from the truck and escaped.”

Esther Yakubu, a parent of one of the abducted girls, described the girls’ release as a positive development and commended Buhari for his efforts.

“We thank the President for his efforts and we want the government not to relent, but to press harder for the rescue or release of others in the Boko Haram captivity,” Yakubu said.

I participated in negotiations to release Chibok girls –Senator

A member of the National Assembly, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday that the negotiation for the release of the school girls started in 2014.

The Senator, who claimed to be part of the talks, said the DSS and the Army were part of the deal.

He said, “There were several meetings held in Sudan, Swiss Embassy, Ben and Geneva in Switzerland since 2014. It is a product of three years of intensive negotiations.

“The lead negotiator is Mustapha Zanna, a lawyer. I was the person that contacted the Swiss Embassy and initiated the first meeting.

“I was the one that involved the International Committee of the Red Cross based in Geneva and connected them to Zanna, who spearheaded the negotiation.

“The ICRC started talks with the DSS , Army and Zanna since 2014.

“Zanna was the lawyer to the commissioner who was killed in the Ali modu Sherrif’s government in Borno State, over Boko Haram related issues. He is also the proprietor of Future Prowess School in Maiduguri.”

Our hope is renewed, says BBOG

In its reaction, the BBOG expressed delight over the release of the girls, saying its hope had been rekindled in the pledge made by the Federal Government to rescue all the abducted girls.

“We are extremely delighted and welcome the news of the release of 21 of our 218 #ChibokGirls, who have been in Boko Haram captivity for 913 days. Our hope is renewed that our Government will fulfil the pledge it made to rescue all our #ChibokGirls as well as every other abducted citizen of our country.

“Now, we can continue to make our demand for the rescue of the remaining 197 #ChibokGirls with greater expectation of their quick return,” the group said in a statement by Co-coordinators, Oby Ezekwesili and Aisha Yesufu.

“We also thank the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Swiss government and all negotiators involved in securing the release.”

Girls’ release silences doubters of Buhari’s sincerity –Shettima

Also, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State on Thursday said the release of the 21 Chibok girls had silenced those he described as doubters of the sincerity of Buhari to the fight against insurgency.

Shettima, in a statement by his spokesman, Mallam Isa Gusau, on Thursday said, “If any Nigerian had doubts about the sincerity and commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to the rescue of our precious daughters, abducted by Boko Haram insurgents at Government Secondary School, Chibok, on April 14, 2014, as well as his sincerity in rescuing all other victims and ending the Boko Haram insurgency, such doubts should be eliminated by the success of the negotiation that led to their release.

“This of course does not mean that the rescue efforts are over. I am certain that the recovery of our 21 precious daughters from insurgency only strengthens the resolve of the Buhari administration to continue to work tirelessly until all the girls and all Nigerians abducted are freed and until the Boko Haram insurgency is brought to an end to guarantee public safety.”

Saraki hails release of abducted girls

Senate President Bukola Saraki on Thursday commended Buhari, the Nigerian security agencies, the government of Switzerland and the international community for the combined efforts that led to the release of 21 of the Chibok schoolgirls.

In a statement by the Media Office of the Senate President on Thursday, Saraki said, “We join all Nigerians to rejoice on the return of our daughters. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families of those who have returned, and those girls who remain in the hands of the terrorists. It is our hope that the release of more of the girls is imminent and that our nation remains vigilant in the face of the continued crisis in the North-East.

“The release of the 21 girls is a testament to the perseverance of our men and women in uniform, the Civilian Joint Task Force and a clear indication that this government has been relentless in securing their release.”

Girls’ release diversionary, Fayose tells FG

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, however, described the celebration of the release of 21 Chibok girls by the Federal Government as diversionary.

He said it was a “tactic employed by the Federal Government to divert the attention of Nigerians away from the hunger and outrage generated by the crackdown on judges.”

Fayose spoke in Iyin-Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state on Thursday while inaugurating a block of four classrooms built for the Erelu Angela Adebayo Children’s Home by his wife, Feyisetan.

The governor announced the donation of N250,000 to purchase uniforms for the inmates in the orphanage and another N250,000 for food, while placing a curse on any official, who would divert the money.

Fayose added, “What they came out today to tell Nigerians that 21 abducted Chibok girls have been released by the Boko Haram group is diversionary. Nigerians have never had it so bad.

“People are very hungry. What they did today is just to divert attention from what they did last week by clamping judges and justices into detention. While no one is saying corruption should be condoned, but due process must be followed.

In her speech, the governor’s wife said it was an uncommon divine opportunity to be in charge of the state at this point in time.

Nigeria asked us to negotiate with Boko Haram –Swiss govt

The Swiss government on Thursday said its involvement in the deal to swap Boko Haram terrorists for the release of the 21 Chibok girls was at the instance of the Federal Government.

According to the United Kingdom’s International Business Times, Switzerland conducted the negotiations, which included the International Red Cross Committee between Nigeria and the terrorists leading to the release of the girls.

“At the request of the Nigerian government, Switzerland facilitated contacts between representatives of the Nigerian government and intermediaries of Boko Haram on the release of the Chibok girls,” a spokesman for the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pierre-Alain Eltschinger, told IBTimes.

“Switzerland’s engagement in this operation was guided by the principles of neutrality and non-interference. The role that the Nigerian government has asked Switzerland to play is fulfilled.

“Switzerland welcomes the release of 21 Chibok Girls and calls for the liberation of all the remaining girls as soon as possible.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross also confirmed its participation in the negotiation to release the girls.

“Today we transferred 21 of the Chibok girls and handed them to the Nigerian government authorities, as a neutral intermediary.

“We cannot provide any further comment at this stage in the best interest of the girls concerned,” the ICRC stated on Thursday on its Twitter handle.

FG offers released Chibok girls scholarships, jobs

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo promised the 21 Chibok girls that the Federal Government would take care of their education or jobs.

A statement by his spokesman, Mr. Laolu Akande, quoted Osinbajo as making the promise while visiting the girls at the DSS Medical Centre, Abuja, where they were receiving medical attention on Thursday.

He also told them that the government had made provision for their accommodation, saying their parents were allowed to visit them.

He said, “You can’t immediately be taken out of here because we need to be sure that you are in very good health.

“I am sure you are going to be very well taken care of. We have provided very good accommodation for you where you will stay where you will sleep and your parents will come and meet you there also.

“We are also going to see to it that everything that you require going forward, perhaps your education, those who need to go back to school, those who need to find employment, we are going to make sure that we make all the provisions for you.

“The Federal Government is very committed. The President in particular, has asked me to tell you, how excited he is. When you were away, he kept saying that if it were his daughter, he wouldn’t even know what to do.”

Story by: John Alechenu, Fidelis Soriwei, Olusola Fabiyi, Everest Amaefule, Olalekan Adetayo, Kamarudeen Ogundele, Sunday Aborisade, Leke Baiyewu, Adelani Adepegba, Kayode Idowu and Bayo Akinloye

Source: http://punchng.com/tears-freed-21-chibok-girls-meet-vp-osinbajo/

Bad mouth person..

Prophet of doom.

Nay sayer

Pavore9:
With the population of the various universities, they also look into generating energy from their sewage.

Bros, you bad gan an o

Sewage bawo??

When power finally improves, and the students and staffs upgrade from eating beans, they won't poo often na. Then this your option wont sustain itself. Well, I don't really know if this method id used in developed countries of this world or its just an African experiemnt..

Think about that too.

FriendChoice:
Marginalization. Why not in northern Nigeria. The north is backward in education, so it's supposing to be in ABU, Unimaid where boko is Haram or B.U.K. Buhari cannot govern this nation. I repeat this government is a joke.


Example of how they reason.

You just want to be funny this early morning, abi?


Now, I hereby declare you FUNNY

I hope there are no doubting Thomases to this!!!!

I have colleagues in my workplace that won houses (or do I call it flats) at Surulere and at Abattoir.

They were even given a set of cooking gas upon the payment of their balance self.

Good one from LASG.

But its somewhat expensive to the common man, except this is for the medium income folks.

Does Lagos State Deserve Special Status?

Lagos State truly deserves a special status. That is a fact nobody can dismiss. In terms of commerce, job creation, investment and population, Lagos is clearly ahead of other states. So, it deserves a special status. I do not expect anybody to dispute the demand that the state should be given a special attention in terms of development. We should not forget that Lagos, just like Calabar, was once a federal capital.

Some people may argue that Kano State also commands a commercial status that is similar to that of Lagos. But if we put aside sentiments, we would see clearly that Lagos is ahead of Kano in terms of population, commerce and investment.

If you talk about the North, you pick Kano. If you talk about the South, you pick Lagos. But if you have to pick a model state between Lagos and Kano, the former is preferred. Lagos deserves the special status that has been proposed. And that should not be dismissed if we want it to continue to serve as the major driver of the country’s economy. •Yerima Shettima (President, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum)

As far as I am concerned, Lagos deserves such a status. Remove Lagos from this country; and it is like its economic activities are down. There is no ethnic group in this country that does not have more than a thousand residents in Lagos. It is a reflection of Nigeria. When Lagos is healthy, the whole country is healthy. When Lagos is sick, the whole country is sick. In terms of the economy, Lagos has the largest share. For me, the Senate should look at it from a nationalistic angle and should not be parochial. They shouldn’t allow their sentiments to override national objectives. To me, it is for the good of Nigeria at large. •Prof. Dauda Saleh, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Abuja



It is an indisputable fact that Lagos State is the business capital of Nigeria. For that reason, it deserves a special status. The capital of the United States used to be New York. Since the capital has been moved to Washington DC, New York has remained the business/investment hub. It has maintained that special status.

What New York is to the United States is what Lagos is to Nigeria. Hence, nobody should deny Lagos a special status. In fact, it is in the interest of the country to make Lagos a special state. Apart from being the business capital of the country, Lagos serves as the port of call for foreign investors. So, Nigerians must join hands to develop the state in the interest of the entire country. •Fred Agbaje (Human rights lawyer)

I think that the agitation had been on before Senator Oluremi Tinubu raised it on the floor of the Senate. Firstly, the rationale behind it is that Lagos, for several years before the capital territory moved to Abuja, had the might of federal institutions and apparatus. Secondly, it is believed that a great percentage of the revenue generated in Nigeria comes from the economic and commercial activities happening in Lagos, which include Value Added Taxes, aviation, among others. It is assumed that the population explosion arising from these socio-economic activities makes the special status necessary.

But the question is how do these fit within the context of the Nigerian population? If we are, indeed, committed to the principle of federalism, it is a far-fetched agitation. If you are saying there is the need for special status for Lagos, what you mean in effect is that all states are equal; but for the reasons given above, ‘we want a special status’, which defeats the principle of federalism. Federalism recognises the development and activities of the federating units at different paces.

If we are practicing proper federalism, it stands to reason that all of these commercial activities and the presence of federal institutions in Lagos, being a former capital territory, would have impacted naturally. •Mr. Malachy Ugwummadu, National President, Committee for Defence of Human Rights

Whether a state deserves a special status or not, the measuring rod is if the special status is going to improve the welfare and security of the people. Chapter II of the Nigerian constitution made it abundantly clear that welfare and security shall be the primary aim of the government. So, whether Lagos State Government wants a special status or not, it should be concerned about how that is going to advance the cause of the average Nigerian, who resides in or outside Lagos? I have gone through the bill but I have not been able to understand its final implications on the masses of this country. The fundamental principle of state is what we call social contract, which means there is a contract between the state and the people. The contract means the state is an employee of the people and the people are the employers, where democracy is really in place.

I look at it (special status) from the perspective of ‘how does it translate to change the life of the average Nigerian?’ About 10.5m children are out of school in Nigeria. The price of rice has skyrocketed. There are over 18,000 private schools in Lagos State. The state has only 1,700 public schools. Parents are withdrawing their children from different schools because of the state of the economy and putting them in any school they can find around. So, whatever the status that is going to be granted to Lagos should be able to address all these issues.

I am neither for the special status nor am I against it. I’m not standing aloof too. I am just saying that whatever argument the protagonists of that agenda are going to canvass, they must be able to convince the average Nigerian on how it translates into food on the table; on how it changes the country from a consuming nation to a manufacturing nation; how does it put our children in schools; how does it affect our crumbling health sector? What happens to us most times is that people bring forward arguments without linking them directly to the people.

Whatever status Lagos State has, if it does not meet the aspirations of the average Nigerian, who resides in Lagos; then it is still a status that satisfies and helps the upper crust to continue to oppress the lower crust. •Taiwo Akinlami (Social Development Lawyer)

Lagos State accommodates so many other people from across the federation. What do you give the state to cushion its revenue so that it can sustain those people that come into the state unrestricted? You attend their schools unrestricted, use their infrastructure unrestricted. And they cannot plan well because of this influx. We have so many people trooping into the state almost on a daily basis. The population explosion is unimaginable. So, how can Lagos cope without Federal Government’s intervention? That is the basis of that request. It is not for the government; it is because of the position of Lagos as the most attractive state in the whole of the federation. Planning is difficult in Lagos State. If you plan for certain children to enter into a primary school, by the time you realise what is happening, everybody flocks it. So, any policy that is of social importance, people flock Lagos to enjoy it.

The special status is possible; but we need to lobby them (the Senate) and convince them with statistics and figures in terms of subvention to maintain the facilities and keep Lagos State alive as a state that virtually belongs to everybody in Nigeria. •Adeseye Ogunlewe (A former Minister of Works and Housing)

I don’t think the special status Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was pushing through Senator Oluremi Tinubu was necessarily wrong. What they were saying was that given the contribution of the economic activities by Lagos, it should be entitled to one per cent of the federal revenue. However, Lagos was a state built by Federal money. So, the infrastructure in Lagos was actually federally contributed. The fact that the federal capital was moved to Abuja leaves all the economic infrastructure in Lagos.

I think it is a very tricky situation if Lagos is viewed as asking to be compensated after the Federal Government has already invested so many assets in Lagos, which it cannot take away. From a pure economic equity and efficient point of view, it (the special status) will be unfair especially to other parts of the country that are struggling to develop their own states. In my own opinion, Lagos should be glad about the level of infrastructural development created in the state through the Federal Government’s investment. •Prof. Leo Ekpong, Financial Economics Department, University of Uyo.

Compiled by Afeez Hanafi and Geof Iyatse

http://punchng.com/lagos-state-deserve-special-status/

Emir’s marriage to 14-year-old irreversible – Katsina Emirate Council

THE Katsina Emirate Council on Thursday declared that the marriage between 14-year-old girl, Habiba Isa, and the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumin Usman, was irreversible.

The council said the marriage and Isa’s conversion to Islam were voluntarily and willingly entered into by the girl.

The council told officials of the Katsina State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, who visited Usman in his palace over the issue, that there was no evidence that the 14-year-old girl was forced to act against her wish.



The family of Isiyaku Tanko of Warkaza community in the Kudun Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State on Wednesday alleged that Usman forcefully abducted their 14-year-old daughter and forced her into marrying him.

She was said to have been abducted on August 16, 2016, by one Jamilu Lawal, an aide of the emir, who worked in the palace. She was converted to Islam and held incommunicado.

Isa is expected to clock 15 years on Saturday, October 15, 2016, and would have resumed school for the new academic term, but for her abduction.

She was said to have passed her Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination and was expected to start Senior Secondary School.

The incident was blown open when the father of the victim lodged a complaint with Stefanos Foundation, a humanitarian civil rights organisation, which took over the matter.

Isa was allowed to appear before CAN officials and others in the palace on Thursday, and was asked three questions by the Kaora Katsina, Alhaji Nuhu Abdulkadir, on behalf of the emirate council.

She was asked whether she was forcefully converted to Islam, to which she replied no.

She was also asked whether the emirate council or any other person forced her into the marriage with the emir, to which she also answered no.

The third question was whether by the time she met her husband, she was already experiencing menstrual period, to which she answered yes.

The Kaora Katsina said, “The three questions are in line with the dictates of the Islamic religion. Since Isa has voluntarily answered the three questions in our presence, there is no going back on her marriage.”

Abdulkadir explained that in as much as the emirate council would not want to be involved in the controversy surrounding the marriage, the palace of the emir was open to all Nigerians irrespective of religion and tribe.

A letter purportedly written by Isa’s father was read to the gathering, apologising to the emirate council for any embarrassment the issue might have caused it (the council).

The CAN Chairman for Katsina State, Very Rev. Nelson Ugochukwu, however, told the emirate council that Isa’s marriage did not have the consent of her parents, who he said, were crying for justice in Abuja.

The CAN leader said the association was not in support of the marriage and her conversion to Islam.

He said, “This girl (Isa) standing before us is 14 years. She is supposed to be in school and not given out in marriage.

“We are not pleased and we demand justice. Her parents are in Abuja, crying for justice. In my religion, you cannot give out any lady in marriage without the consent of her parents. This marriage does not have the consent of this little girl’s parent. The parents are not happy with what has happened.

“As the CAN chairman in Katsina, I am the father of all Christians in the state. Our people are not happy. The parents told me that the girl is 14 years. She is supposed to be in school. I want justice to be done in this matter. I want the emirate to look into the matter. To us, the girl is still a Christian.”

http://punchng.com/emirs-marriage-14-year-old-irreversible-katsina-emirate-council/

excess4luv:
I see only zombies commenting

Are u in the number?

And some people would rather believe these girls were never kidnapped...

Who will interpret 'Gane mini Hanya' to English make we understand the tin.

Hope the interview would be understandable to non-Hausa listeners.


What is a non-listening Hausa looking for in a Hausa broadcasting station sef...

Hope someone would transcribe for others

What now happens to the inflow dollars with these 19 banks??

Firefire:
APC again?

LOL.

Funny you.

patriotic9jaboy:
[s][/s]



Mere commissioner

You wish!!

Welcome back to the world

timawoku:
If I hear say you read am finish.

That thing long no be small. Join-join too much.

This is what Yorubas call 'orisirisi' news..

Nice one.

But this is too long in fruition.

Emefiele's wife own is shorter. But Why?!

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday said the government’s free National Home Grown School Feeding programme would start in some states of the federation this month.

According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, the Vice-President said this in an interview with some journalists.

The Federal Government had failed to commence the programme at the beginning of the current academic session in September as promised.



The programme, which was formally inaugurated on June 9, 2016 by Osinbajo, is part of the Social Investment Plans of the present administration for which N500bn has been budgeted for in the 2016 Appropriation Act.

The Federal Government, through the national manager of the programme, Mrs. Abimbola Adesanmi, had in July said it would commence the scheme in September when schools resumed, with 5.5 million pupils across the country.

But Osinbajo reportedly told the journalists that it was the expectation of government that the programme would kick off in several states before the end of the month.

He said while the Federal Government would fund the scheme for pupils in Primary One to Primary Three, it was expected that state governments would be responsible for pupils in primary four and above.

Osinbajo said, “Definitely before the end of this month, we expect that several states would have come on stream with their Home Grown School Feeding Programme.

“The programme will energise agriculture in the different states because it is what you plant that you feed the children with.


“We will be hiring caterers and cooks in each state because it will be Federal Government-funded from primaries 1 to 3 and the state governments hopefully would be able to cater for the other classes.”

The Vice-President said the programme was a section of the Social Investment programmes that would impact directly on the lives of Nigerian children and families.

He also disclosed that before the end of the month, government would also engage 200,000 out of the 500,000 graduates it promised to employ.

“We expect that before the end of the month, we will engage 200,000 out of the 500,000 unemployed graduates the Buhari administration plans to hire in the N-Power jobs programme.

“The direct government job is meant to keep these young people occupied, pay them some amount of money and also give them a device, which will also help them to learn several skills that they can develop as time goes on.

“We expect that before the end of this month, we should have engaged 200,000 of them and we are hoping that before the end of the year we should have engaged more,” he said.

Osinbajo also said the micro-credit scheme for which the present administration would give loans to more than one million Nigerian artisans, traders, market women and others ranging from N60,000 to N100,000 would also start this month.

“For women across the country, we are giving loans, micro-credit loans to about 1.5 million women. We are focusing on market women and artisans.”

“We are working through the Bank of Industry. They are going to be giving out these loans and we have already identified the banks and everybody who is involved in this.

“We should be flagging-off hopefully before the end of this month,” he said.

Sourced at: http://punchng.com/fg-begins-school-feeding-programme-month-osinbajo/

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, has forwarded the names of more judges to the Department of State Services for investigation.

The PUNCH learnt on Tuesday that the names sent by the AGF to the security agency were those of judges whose cases of allegations of misconduct, contained in petitions earlier sent by civil society groups to the National Judicial Council, were allegedly not investigated.

It was learnt that the weekend’s arrest of some judges in different parts of the country followed complaints received by the office of the AGF and thereafter transmitted to law enforcement agencies, including the DSS.



Operatives of the DSS had between Friday and Saturday raided the houses of some judicial officers, including two justices of the Supreme Court, and arrested them on suspicion of corruption in Enugu, Gombe, Sokoto and Kano states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The DSS had, during the simultaneous operations, arrested Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and John Okoro of the Supreme Court; the suspended Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, Justice Mohammed Tsamiya; Justice Kabiru Auta of the Kano State High Court and Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Others arrested were a former Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike, and Muazu Pindiga of the Federal High Court, Gombe Division.

Besides the seven judges, the DSS said it was investigating eight other judges, bringing the total number to 15.

With the six names submitted to the DSS, the service is now investigating a total of 21 judges.

Large sums of money in local and foreign currencies were reportedly recovered from three of the arrested judges during the operations that lasted between Friday night and the early hours of Saturday.

One of our correspondents confirmed from a source in the Federal Ministry of Justice on Tuesday that the names of a fresh set of judges, marked for investigation, were sent to the SSS on Monday.

It was learnt that the letter by the minister was personally delivered at the DSS headquarters in Abuja by a senior aide.

The new names on the minister’s list, it was learnt, included two Chief Judges of High Courts, three judges of different divisions of the Federal High Court, and a Justice of the Court of Appeal.

The letter, containing the names, was accompanied by the summary of allegations levelled against the judges in the petitions earlier sent by individuals to the NJC by the Chairman of Civil Society Network Against Corruption as well as Human and Environmental Development Agenda Resource Centre between 2014 and May, 2016.

One of the petitions sent to the NJC against one of the Chief Judges, dated February 26, 2016, and signed by the Chairman of CSNAC, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, was titled ‘‘Request for investigation of contravention of the Code of Conduct by Judicial Officers.’’

Another petition by CSNAC against a Federal High Court judge was dated May 12, 2016.

Suraju also signed a petition (its date not stated) against a Federal High Court for allegedly granting a perpetual injunction, restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from investigating criminal allegations against a businessman.

Another petition, dated January 11, 2016, by CSNAC, also accused a Chief Judge of judicial misconduct, an allegation which its details were not stated.

CSNAC, also in another petition, dated April 20, 2016, sent to the NJC against a Justice of the Court of Appeal and others, who served on an election petitions appeal panel this year, accused the panel of receiving N8m from a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Yet, another petition accused the SAN of paying N500,000 into the account of a Chief Judge.

In another petition, CSNAC alleged that N7m was paid to a Chief Judge for a book presentation.

It was also alleged in another petition by CSNAC that a Federal High Court judge received N5m bribe from a SAN.

The AGF’s letter, forwarding the names to the DSS, described as unconscionable the alleged failure of the NJC to investigate the petitions.

The letter read in part, “It is unconscionable that all these petitions that border on the unremitting and impeachment of the integrity of these judicial officers have not been investigated by the National Judicial Council, the constitutional and statutory body vested with the power by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to so do.

“Undoubtedly, if this type of deliberate inattentiveness; lethargy and benign neglect and dereliction of responsibility by the NJC is allowed to persist in an administration that came to power under the mantle of change, it will surely lead to the death knell of the judicial branch of government, which centrality the maintenance of law, order, rule of law and social harmony cannot be overemphasised.

“It is unfortunate that despite the preachment of the administration on the need for the judicial officers to be above board, we still have some of them that have stubbornly refused to change from their old ways.”

When contacted on Tuesday, Suraju confirmed that he forwarded to the AGF office summaries of the petitions, which he earlier sent to the NJC but that he was not aware of the actions so taken on them by the minister.

“It is a welcome development. I actually forwarded to the AGF office the various allegations which I earlier sent to the NJC against some judges. But the AGF office has yet to contact me,” he stated.

CJN writes Buhari over allegations of corruption against judges

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Muhammed, has formally written to President Muhammadu Buhari on the decision of the NJC on the cases of misconduct established against some judges, The PUNCH has learnt.

A top source in the Presidency told one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity on Tuesday that Buhari received the communication on Monday.

Although the communication came at a time of outrage on the arrests of some judges by officials of the DSS, the source said the arrests and the raids on the judges’ homes were not part of the letter.

The source added, “As a matter of fact, two issues were included in the communication. The first was the issue of the judge, who was said to have collected a N200m bribe.

“The other was a comprehensive report of the National Judicial Council on some judges that were sanctioned for misconduct.

“The issue of the raids on the homes of some judges and their arrests were not contained in the communication.”

The source suspected that since the letter was received on Monday, it could have been prepared before the weekend incident.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the DSS, Lawal Daura, met briefly with Buhari on Tuesday.

The agenda of the meeting, described as a routine one, was not made public.

Daura was also sighted joining worshippers for prayer at a mosque located beside the President’s office before leaving the Presidential Villa.

Senate knocks DSS, reviews powers of security agencies

On Tuesday, the Senate condemned the DSS for its clampdown on some judges across the country over the weekend.

It has therefore ordered a review of the laws establishing all security agencies while mandating its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, to review the aspects dealing with the powers of security agencies and put them in line with the tenets of democracy.

The committee is to submit its report in four weeks.

The Senate also called on Buhari to caution all security agencies and direct them to observe the rule of law in the discharge of their statutory duties.

The lawmakers condemned the action of the DSS, stressing that the security agency went outside the confines of its constitutional powers, which amounted to the usurpation of the powers of the NJC.

The Senate, however, rejected a recommendation that the Director-General of the DSS be summoned to explain to the Chamber what informed the action of the agency against the judicial officers.

The resolutions were made by the lawmakers, sequel to the motion of urgent public importance, brought to the floor of the Senate by Joshua Lidani (PDP, Gombe South), who raised questions on the action of the DSS, praying the Senate to intervene.

While leading the debate on the motion, Lidani said he was alarmed that such unconstitutional action could be adopted by the DSS to sanitise the Judiciary.

He said, “I am alarmed that the extra-constitutional approach to sanitise the judiciary in line with the war against corruption is bound to be counterproductive because it erodes the role of the judiciary and undermines the importance of the judiciary as well as demoralises many patriotic and upright judges who have determined to support the crusade against corruption”.

Lidani, who is a lawyer, said the DSS had no constitutional right to arrest or molest judiciary officers, arguing that the action of the agency was ultravires, unconstitutional, illegal, null and avoid.

Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West), opined that even though it was true that the judiciary was currently very corrupt with empirical evidences, and despite his total support for the ongoing fight against corruption, the DSS went outside its constitutional mandate, and must be cautioned in the interest of democracy.

He said, “It is also a celestial truth that judges have been dishing out what I call commercial rulings; it is also a fundamental truth that judges need to face the full wrath of the law, especially where the issue of corruption is concerned. This Senate, therefore, will continue to celebrate the war against corruption either in the judiciary, the legislature or the executive.

“The responsibility of the DSS is clearly defined in the National Security Agencies Act 2010, Cap 350, which states clearly that the State Security Services shall be charged with the responsibility for the prevention and detection within Nigeria of any crime against internal security of Nigeria. I emphasise the ‘Internal security of Nigeria’.

“The second responsibility as enshrined by the law setting up the DSS states that the protection and preservation of non-military classified matters concerning again, the internal security of Nigeria.

“The third and the last responsibility, as enshrined by law, is such other responsibilities affecting again internal security within Nigeria, as the National Assembly or the President as the case may be, may deem necessary.

“Mr. President, my respected colleagues, how does bribery and corruption become the issue of internal security? How does bribing judges or official misconduct in their official capacity become a threat to internal security? The point here is that the DSS in her fight against corruption overstepped its boundaries and abused its mandate.”

Also, Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Bala Na’Allah, recalled that the massive support and commitment of Nigerians to the government was because they were all unanimous in the fight against corruption, warning that the government should not do anything to betray it.

In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, cautioned that the anti-graft fight must conform with constitutional process.

“We must ensure that this fight against corruption is within the rule of law; any act of anti-corruption that goes against the rule of law does not help the corruption fight.

“That is why this action, as has been seen in this manner, is condemned by the Senate, and all agencies of government must ensure that they act within the rule of law,” he said.

House of Reps summons DSS

Also, the House of Representatives said on Tuesday that the DSS should appear before lawmakers to explain how it got the powers to invade the houses of some judges to arrest them.

An ad hoc committee was given the mandate to investigate the arrest of the judges, which took place on Friday and Saturday.

A motion on urgent matter of public importance, moved by the Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Mr. Kingsley Chinda, to investigate the invasion, was sustained.

The House, acting on Chinda’s motion, also recalled that the DSS had previously invaded the Ekiti State Government House and Akwa Ibom State Government House, among others in the past.

It said, “An ad hoc committee is set up to investigate all cases of invasion by the DSS since May 2015, to see how they comply with the National Security Agencies Act.”

Arguing the motion, Chinda cited Section 2 (3) of the Act, where he said the role of the DSS was principally to prevent crimes against the “internal security of Nigeria.”

He added, “The Act is not ambiguous but very specific. The function of the DSS is the prevention and detection of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria.

“The DSS’ functions do not involve investigation of corruption.

“The DSS, by its action, went against the law setting it up. This is a democracy and it is necessary for them to tell Nigerians how they derive their powers.”

The Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, quickly rounded off the debate, saying further comments by lawmakers could “prejudge” the outcome of the investigation.

“Whenever there is an allegation of breach of a law, we should not prejudge the investigation.

“Let us investigate the allegation and establish whether the DSS breached the law or not”, Dogara stated.

Earlier, an attempt by a member from Osun State, Prof. Mojeed Alabi, to halt the motion, was overruled.

Alabi had moved a counter-motion on the grounds that the House should not delve into an issue that was within the purview of another arm of government.

However, lawmakers shouted him down before Dogara also overruled him.

Some members chorused, “sit down”, “sit down”, “sit down.”

The House resolution came just 48 hours after its Committees on Federal Judiciary and Justice had criticised the DSS’ action.

The Chairman, Committee on Federal Judiciary, Mr. Aminu Shagari, had told The PUNCH that the manner the judges were arrested, humiliated the judiciary.

NJC to blame for judges’ arrest, says SERAP

In a similar development, a human rights advocacy group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, has blamed the arrests of the judges on the failure of the NJC to live up to its responsibility of purging the judiciary of its rot.

The group, in an open letter on Tuesday, demanded that the NJC should immediately hand over the concerned judges to the anti-graft agencies for probe and prosecution, following their release on bail by the DSS.

In the open letter signed by its Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, SERAP noted that though the NJC was in the best position to sanction erring judges, its usual practice of merely sending culpable judges on compulsory retirement without prosecuting them had encouraged corruption in the judiciary.

The group recalled that it recently forwarded to the NJC a copy of its latest report titled, ‘‘Go home and sin no more: Corrupt judges escaping from justice in Nigeria’’, where it chronicled no fewer than 64 cases where judges were disciplined in that manner by the NJC between 2009 and 2014.

It said, “SERAP is seriously concerned that over the years the NJC has felt satisfied with applying only civil sanctions and has not deemed it fit to hand over corrupt judges to law enforcement agencies for prosecution nor recover the proceeds of corruption.

“This omission has left a destructive gap in judicial accountability in Nigeria, and resulted in other agencies of government, with no mandate, expertise and experience in the field, getting involved in the efforts to combat judicial corruption.”

Security agencies shouldn’t operate outside the law –Gowon

A former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, has said the arrest of the judges can be a threat to democracy should the Federal Government allow security agencies to operate outside their mandate.

He therefore urged the government to give directives to security operatives not to go outside the laws of the land.

The former Head of State spoke with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday ahead of the 20th anniversary of the ‘‘Nigeria Prays’’, a prayer movement for the country, scheduled for October 15 at the National Christian Centre, Abuja.

Gowon said, “It is a serious thing that judges could be arrested. By law, you cannot just arrest anybody just like that. There should have been a proper way of doing it.

“Honestly, it is a serious thing and I hope that the government would give directives to the operatives not to go outside the precepts and the law because if the situation is mishandled, it can be a threat to democracy.

“But you can really do something to make sure that it does not do further harm than it has done so far.”

Nigeria is not a banana republic, declare Catholic bishops

Also, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has condemned the arrests of the judges, saying Nigeria is not a banana republic.

The President of CBCN and Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Kaigama, who said this, stated that the rule of law must be followed, especially while dealing with cases concerning corruption.

Kaigama said, “We have been very clear with the President in our various meetings that the rule of law must be upheld and there should be no sentiments in the application of the rule of law. We are not in a system of government where people are just fished out for selfish or political interest.

“I condemn anything that has no legal backing. We are not just a banana republic; we are a serious nation populated by millions of people and we should measure up to international standard. We should be seen to follow due process. We wouldn’t like arbitrariness.

But the Executive Director, Advocacy for Societal Rights Advancement and Development Initiative, Adeolu Oyinlola, has hailed the DSS for arresting the judges.

He said, “Like Caesar’s wife, judges ought to be above even a whiff of suspicion, because a corrupt judge is worse than an armed robber, a kidnapper and an assassin rolled into one. We wholeheartedly support and endorse the raid on the homes of ‘Bureau de Change Operators’ masquerading as judiciary officers and, in fact, unreservedly encourage the DSS to hold more of the money-laundering members of the Bench to account, for a drastic problem requires a desperate solution.”

Also, a former member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Ebikekeme Ere, has carpeted members of the Nigerian Bar Association for protesting against the arrest of some judges by operatives of the DSS.

Ere described such a protest as “misplaced” and a “show of ignorance” against the backdrop that the judges were nabbed for alleged corrupt practices and professional misconduct.

He asked the NBA members and the critics of the DSS action against the accused judges to stop associating the constitutional action of the operatives to Buhari.

Ere, who represented the Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency at the National Assembly in 2003, said in Yenagoa on Tuesday that though the arrest of the “high profile judges” might have surprised many, including the NBA members, the arrest bordered on national security, which is the responsibility of the DSS.

Readings: http://punchng.com/agf-sends-names-six-judges-dss-probe/

I am tired of reading this kind of news...

Just fed up!!

RIP, woman.

May the rest of your people know no sorrow...

Good Omen.

Our legislative arm should not necessarily be rubber stamp people.

joinnow:
Your car na small Work shop. bros kodus
Hope Kazim no dey tap some things when you go workshop for repair

As if you knew it...

My two oxygen sensors and jack were removed during the last service routine. Had to buy new 10ton jack.

Who is this one

iamliwake:
never in ur life mention prophet muhammad for jokes again..... just stick to your propergander hell never in ur life mention prophet muhammad for jokes again..... just stick to your propergander hell

And whats the problem with him.

Make Google your friend, check up the meaning of whatever confuses you!

You need to see my vehicle booth.

All sort of things.

In addition to most you have listed, I kit my vehicle with:

1. Extra Fan belt,
2. Towing cable,
3. A set of auto-reversible spanner and Allen key set,
4. A 12v tyre-pumping machine,
5. Vacuum cleaner
6. Water,
7. Spare headlight bulb,
8. Different wire (electrical cables)
9. Vehicle (Check Engine) Scanner
etc

Different things that can be of immediate help in time of need

The bail conditions are somehow stringent.

She shouldn't have done that if the Principal isn't Nigerian.

Even if the Principal is Nigerian, she'd love the Bisi lady to be mindful of the cultural difference in her new location and adopt same.

Perhaps, she just knelt down on impulse.

lol.

lol

dacovajnr:
I dey on Exile before so no need

What is now the way forward

Hmmmm


PMB - Prophet Muhammadu Buhari?