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Please can I get a good Toyota car for 1M around Abuja. Please contact me.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control Wednesday night confirmed 22 new cases of coronavirus.

15 of the new cases were confirmed in Lagos, 4 in Nigeria’s capital city Abuja, 2 in Bauchi State and 1 in Edo State,” NCDC said.

“As at 09:00pm 8th April there are 276 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. Forty-four have been discharged with six deaths,” it added.

https://guardian.ng/news/nigerias-coronavirus-cases-rise-to-276/

(Reuters) - At least 30 people were killed in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno after an improvised explosive device detonated on a bridge, sources told Reuters on Monday.

The bomb detonated at roughly 5 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) on a crowded bridge in the market town of Gamboru that leads into neighboring Cameroon.

Witnesses in the market town said more than 35 injured people were taken to the local hospital following the attack.

"It is an unfortunate day for us to witness this frustrating and devastating incident in our community," eyewitness Modu Ali Said told Reuters.

"I just heard a loud sound of explosions, before I realized I saw many of our friends and colleagues were killed," Said added.

A military spokesman said he would provide comment later in the evening.

Two sources with the Civilian Joint Task Force, a group of citizens formed to fight Boko Haram, confirmed the attack and the early death toll estimates.

No group immediately took responsibility. Both Boko Haram and the regional offshoot of Islamic State, known as ISWAP, are active in the area.

Source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1Z526J

The Kirikasamma Local Government Area of Jigawa State, on Monday, enacted a bye-law banning members of the opposite sex from meeting at night.

The local government said this was due to rampant cases of out of wedlock pregnancy among girls.

The local government information officer, Sanusi Doro, said the council chairman, Salisu Kubayo, signed the law after ten councilors of the local government area unanimously agreed to it during a council meeting.

According to the new law, henceforth, members of the opposite sex (even lovers) found violating the law would be sentenced to six months in prison with an option of N50,000 fine.

Mr Doro said true lovers can only meet during the day to discuss. The signing of the law was done in a ceremony widely attended by residents of the area including the chief imam of the community.

Also, the leader of the local government’s councillors, Sa’idu Marma, said enacting the law becomes paramount following growing complaints from parents about incidences of out of wedlock pregnancy allegedly due to the night meetings and discussion between the opposite sexes.

Mr Marma added that as leaders they would be held responsible for the success as well as failure in the council area. He said fornication and unwanted pregnancy among girls is a major challenge bedeviling the council area which necessitated the enactment of the law.

Also at the event, the Chief Imam of Kirikasamma local government, Ali Liman, lamented the alien tradition of boys and girls frequently partying at various locations in the council area. He said this has resulted in many immoral activities between the opposite genders.

Mr Liman commended the council chairman on the new law. He said it would help in addressing the social vices which have become a nightmare for parents in the council area.

At the event, none of the officials discussed why modern family planning techniques, such as access to contraceptives, was not considered as an alternative to the unplanned pregnancies.

Jigawa, in North-western Nigeria, like most parts of the region, is a largely conservative state whose residents are predominantly Muslims.

The new law in the Jigawa council area comes days after Kano State banned members of the opposite sex from boarding the same commercial tricycles.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/nwest/370482-jigawa-local-govt-bans-men-women-from-meeting-at-night.html?fbclid=IwAR1B1uHgELibRatK4dtbn_glsOYZxuIIY-uY5NYCKIFfr--1B72MnFyH7jw

The suspension of the proposed banning of male and female on the same tricycle in Kano was greeted with jubilation in the ancient commercial city on Tuesday.

The Nation reports that Kano state Government suspended the implementation of the proposed ban, following public outcry and outright rejection.

It should be recalled that Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje had last week announced the plan through Commander General of Hisba Board, Harun Ibn-Sina at a function held at Bayero University Kano to effect the law from January 2020

A source from the government informed The Nation that the Governor has jettisoned the implementation of the law due to the controversy it has been generating and to safeguard the implementation from degenerating into crisis.

It was gathered that Governor Ganduje had gone into wide consultations and extensive deliberation with top government officials on their views on how to implement the law effective from January 1st,2020.

It was further gathered that he was advised not to implement the law nor make any statement about it considering the volatility of the situation on ground.

‘’You see we had to weight the option of effecting the law or otherwise. However, considering the feelers we are getting, it may lead to break down of law and order. Because how would those that would enforce the law differentiate a married man and his wife in a tricycle or otherwise, ‘’
‘’Similarly, we viewed it that the law is not new since it has been in existence since the Ibrahim Shekarau administration just that we had wanted to dust it from the shelve for enforcement. So the governor was convinced in the discussions to look the other way and the issue would die a natural death.’’

Another source, who confided with this reporter, said that “it could be the overzealousness of the Hisbah Board, DG’s unpopular perception, which he described as dead on arrival.

However, at the time of filing in this report,the government is yet to confirm the suspension of ban, while several efforts to get the views of the Chief Secretary Press to the Governor, Mallam Abba Auwal was not successful.

https://thenationonlineng.net/ganduje-suspends-ban-of-male-female-on-same-tricycle/?fbclid=IwAR1RGKbpM004Xse1uFotL78UnGQJKCj8UILXybQ5Qa7YulxgoHNQmBCN7UY

Celebrity photographer, Busola Dakolo, on Thursday said she would appeal the ruling of Justice O. A. Musa of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja against Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly over alleged rape.

Her lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said this in a statement sent to The PUNCH in Abuja in reaction to the court verdict.

He said, “We have received several calls after the ruling of the high court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Bwari this morning seeking our view on the decision of the court, hence, this statement.

“The court ruled that the matter is statute-barred because the events that crystallised to the cause of action took place 16 years ago and that the claimant Mrs. Busola Dakolo has only six years within which to seek redress in court in line with the statute of limitation.

READ ALSO: Court fines Busola Dakolo N1m, dismisses case against Fatoyinbo

“We are mindful of the decision as delivered by the court, presided over by the Hon. Justice A.O Musa. We are equally observant of the fact that the Court omitted to address the cause of action, the subject matter of the suit in determining whether it has jurisdiction to entertain the said matter.

“While we acknowledge the time of the court, we know in accordance with the Nigerian judicial system that the Court’s decision is not final as it is glaringly contestable.

“For all intent and purposes, having seen several sponsored misleading news reports in the media, we are duty-bound to state that the court has not and did not exonerate Biodun Fatoyinbo. As it stands, the substance of the matter has not received any judicial attention.

“Biodun Fatoyinbo through his lawyers have only argued that the court should not allow the matter to proceed to trial because it is an event that occurred long ago and hence out of time.

“We shall therefore in this circumstance approach a superior court to intervene for a better appreciation, and take a more expansive view of the suit considering that the subject matter is one that is novel in our clime.”
https://punchng.com/update-fatoyinbo-ill-appeal-court-judgement-busola-dakolo/

A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Bwari has dismissed a suit filed by photographer, Busola Dakolo, against the Senior Pastor of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo.

The court also ordered Busola to pay N1m for wasting the court’s time.

In a suit, filed by Busola, wife of Musician, Timi Dakolo, in September, she had accused Fatoyinbo of rape, adding that the alleged action of the pastor, as well as his denial in a statement adversely, affected her marital sex life.

She, therefore, demanded “a personal letter of apology” from the cleric to show honest remorse for his misdeeds.

Fatoyinbo’s lawyer, Alex Iziyon (SAN), however, argued that the prayer could not be granted, describing it as a frivolous suit.

In his ruling, Justice Oathman Musa held that the matter amounts to injustice and an abuse of judicial process adding that the case is empty and purely sentimental. Justice Musa said that the case was aimed more at cruelty than obtaining justice.

The court also awarded costs of N1m against Busola Dakolo and held that the fine should have been 10 times more because the court’s time was wasted.

In her suit, which was filed on her behalf by her lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi and Co of Law corridor, Mrs Dakolo asked the court to declare that Fatoyinbo’s denial of his alleged acts contained jointly and/or severally through a press statement he released on June 28, 2019, had caused her continuous emotional distress and amounted to intentional infliction of emotional distress on her.

Olajengbesi said, “The claimant avers that she was immediately terrified and in shock while the defendant pinned her down on the couch following which he caressed her body, fondled her breasts, pulled her pants, quickly half-pulled his trousers and ordered her to allow him to have his way with her.

“The claimant avers that the defendant in the process used his hand to cover her mouth, thereby muffling her screams. The claimant avers that the defendant made efforts to penetrate her vagina, whilst she struggled to fight him off; however, the defendant overpowered her and penetrated her vagina and had sexual intercourse with her.

“The claimant avers that while she was in shock of the incident which had rendered her befuddled and mortified, the defendant rushed out of the living room area of her family home and briefly returned with a bottle of soda (Krest) which he forced down her throat thereby making her breathing difficult.”

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force says the probe into the allegation of rape against Fatoyinbo is slow because the alleged crime took place 20 years ago.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, said this during an interview with PUNCH.

Mba said the matter was being investigated but the police would not be pushed into filing charges for the fun of it.

He said once the police are done with the investigation, the public would be notified regarding the next step.

https://punchng.com/court-fines-busola-dakolo-n1m-dismisses-case-against-fatoyinbo/

That's a child play. When you face the real war you will understand

Adelani Adepegba, Ade Adesomoju, Leye Aluko and Godwin Isenyo

The Federal Government has obtained a court order to proscribe the Shiites’ organisation formally referred to as the Islamic Movement in Nigeria.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday ordered the proscription of the Shiites’ movement as protests by the Islamic organisation rock Abuja.

Saturday PUNCH reports that Justice Nkeonye Maha issued the order in a ruling in which she also designated the activities of the Shiite organisation in any part of Nigeria “as acts of terrorism and illegality.”

The court restrained “any person or group of persons” from participating in any form of activities involving or concerning the IMN “under any name or platform” in Nigeria.

To complete the process of the proscription of the group, the court ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation “to publish the order proscribing the respondent (Islamic Movement in Nigeria) in the official gazette and two national dailies.”

The judge gave the order following an ex parte application by the Federal Government.

A copy of the ex parte application marked FHC/ABJ/CS/876/2019 which was sighted by Saturday PUNCH on Friday, was filed in the name of the ‘Attorney-General of the Federation.’

Justice Maha granted the four prayers contained in the application shortly after the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr Dayo Apata, argued the application on Friday.

The IMN was the sole respondent to the application but the group was not represented by a lawyer on Friday since it was an ex parte hearing.

Ruling on Friday, the court made “a declaration that the activities of the respondent (Islamic Movement in Nigeria) in any part of Nigeria amounts to acts of terrorism and illegality.”

The court said, “An order of this honourable court proscribing the existence and activities of the respondent (Islamic Movement in Nigeria) in any part of Nigeria, under whatever form or guise either in groups or as individuals by whatever names they are called.

READ ALSO: Why FG disobeys certain court orders – Malami

“An order restraining any person or group of persons from participating in any manner whatsoever in any form of activities involving or concerning the prosecution of the collective intention or otherwise of the respondent (Islamic Movement in Nigeria) under any other name or platform howsoever called or described in any part of Nigeria.

“An order directing the applicant (the AGF) to publish the order proscribing the respondent (Islamic Movement in Nigeria) in the official gazette and two national dailies.”

The Federal Government had filed the application before the court on Thursday, barely 72 hours after a protest by members of the group in Abuja led to a bloody clash between them and the police.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Federal Capital Territory Command, Usman Umar, and a Channels Television journalist, Precious Owolabi, died in the clash with many others injured and property destroyed.

The Shiites have for over two years been regularly taking to the streets particularly in Abuja to demand the release of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenat.

The couple has been in the custody of the Department of State Services since December 2015 after a bloody clash between members of the group and soldiers in the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, in Zaria, Kaduna State.

In the application for the proscription of the group, the Federal Government accused the group of carrying out coordinated violent protests in the country.

It alleged that the “aggressive activities” of members of the group had led to the loss of lives and destruction of private and public property in the Federal Capital Territory and other cities in northern Nigeria.

The Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations in the FCT Command, Nyinnaya Adiogu, who deposed to the affidavit filed in support of the application, also alleged that the Shiites engaged in series of illegal activities, “which are inimical to the corporate interest of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Such activities, according to Adiogu, who said he was briefed by the Inspector-General of Police and the Solicitor-General of the Federation included setting up of a para-military guard called ‘HURRAS’.

The group was also accused of “nefarious activities”, murder, attacks on security agents and provocative preaching and hate speeches while working towards an agenda of creating an Islamic State in Nigeria.

The affidavit, which highlighted what it described as “series of violent and unlawful activities” of the group since 1991, stated that the activities of the IMN members under the guise of clamouring for the release of their leader had not only heightened tension and insecurity in the country but also earned the country negative rating globally.

The affidavit stated in part, “On July 22, 2019, the respondent’s members again launched another vicious cycle of violent protests around the Federal Secretariat (Abuja), during which they set a sub-station/Ambulance Bay of the National Emergency Management Agency, containing a truck and an ambulance on fire.

“A Deputy Commissioner of Police, Usman Umar, in charge of Operations in the FCT; a national youth corps member by the name of Precious Owolabi, reporting for Channels TV and others were killed by the protesters. (Copies of media reports by The Nation, Daily Trust, Leadership, Punch and The Sun newspapers dated July 23, 2019, on this incident are attached herewith and marked as Exhibit FGN 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E).

“The violent and aggressive activities of the members of the respondent under the guise of clamouring for the release of their leader have not only heightened tension and insecurity in the country, but it is also earning the country negative rating globally.

“Both the US and UK governments have already issued travel warnings on Nigeria on account of these violent protests which are equally deleterious to foreign investments. (A copy of the above report by The Punch newspaper is attached herewith and marked Exhibit FGN 5).”

It recalled that before the July 22, 2019 incident, the group’s members, in a violent protest on July 9, 2019, while trying to force their way into the National Assembly complex, “inflicted fatal injuries on policemen stationed at the National Assembly, shot two policemen and also injured other policemen with stones and clubs, damaged police vehicles and other vehicles belonging to visitors and staff members of the National Assembly who also sustained varying degrees of injuries.”

The affidavit also stated the “nefarious activities” of the group, to include, “unauthorised blocking of public highway (especially the Zaria-Kano Highway during their processions), engagement in illegal road traffic functions, illegal roadblocks, imposition of illegal curfews and checkpoints, raids on police posts, prevention of arrest of their members, invasion of court premises to abort legal proceedings involving respondent members, refusal to submit to ordinary security checks, and attacks on security agents which led to the death of Corporal Dan Kaduna Yakubu;

“Setting up of a para-military guard known as ‘HURRAS’ through which the respondent has been terrorising local residents; respondent has also instituted unregistered security outfits and performed paramilitary ceremonies, hoisting of flag, combat exercises, parades and inspection by the respondent leader reminiscent of state authority.

“Provocative preaching and hate speeches aimed at inciting members against non-members while working towards its agenda of creating an Islamic State in Nigeria.

“Brazen acts of disrespect of Nigerian laws and non-recognition of constituted authorities, refusal to operate within the ambit of the law, failure to register with the appropriate authorities.”

The affidavit also recalled the clash between Shiites and soldiers in the Chief of Army Staff’s convoy in Zaria on December 14, 2015.

It recalled similar clashes between members of the IMN with “security forces in Kaduna” in 1991, and another incident in 1996 when the members of the group allegedly “seized and decapitated a Christian, alleging that his wife used pages from the Quran to clean their baby.”

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Nothing justifies the killing of unarmed protesters –Musa, Shiites spokesman

It also alleged that in June 2005, the group “clashed with emirate authorities in Sokoto over access to the city’s central mosque.”

It alleged that in July 2007, the group “murdered” a Sunni cleric in Sokoto, Umar Dan Maishiya, “for being highly critical of Shiites.”

It added as part of the group’s unlawful activities that the activities of the respondent’s members in Gyallesu, Zaria and environs have been threatening the peace and security of the affected areas over the years.

“Constant conflicts with local communities and forceful takeover or appropriation of mosques not belonging to the respondent in Kaduna and Kano states as well as other northern states.

“Violent protests, creating ethnoreligious strifes and other criminal acts of aggression against individuals and communities which often results in deaths, grievous bodily harm and destruction of property.

“The respondent has over the years manifested its penchant for launching attacks on security agents.”

We won’t abandon our religion –Shiites

However, the spokesperson for the group, Ibrahim Musa, said the government could not proscribe the movement, pointing out that its members were Muslims practising Islam as “revealed” by Prophet Muhammed.

He said the group was neither an association nor a political party that could be proscribed by fiat.

Musa, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH on Friday, noted that the IMN was a mass movement and could not be made to abandon its religion just like that.

Musa said, “Firstly, we are not an organisation or association or a political party that can be proscribed by fiat.

“We are Muslims practising Islam as revealed to Prophet Muhammed under the leadership of his family. Ours is a mass movement, hence we can’t abandon our religion just like that.

“We don’t bear arms, we don’t force others to join us, we are just demanding justice within the ambit of the law, therefore, proscribing us won’t work.

“We can’t say this is what we will do if we are proscribed, because it just won’t work. We are in each and every facet of life like other citizens.”

Three of our members died in police custody, Shiites claim

The IMN also said three of its members who were shot and held in police custody had died.

The sect explained that the deceased were arrested during Monday clash between its members and the police during which about 13 persons, including a deputy commissioner of police, died in Abuja.

The President, Media Forum of IMN, Musa, in a statement in Abuja on Friday, said the three detainees died as a result of bullet wounds they sustained during the incident.

The Federal Capital Territory police spokesman, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, could not be reached for comments as calls to his phone rang out. He had yet to reply to a text message as of the time of filing this report.

FG, IMN may explore truce as negotiator meets El-Zakzaky

Meanwhile, the Federal Government may have begun moves to negotiate with the IMN in order to end the sect’s violent agitations for the release of its leader, El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenat.

However, the development had yet to be independently verified as of the time of filing this report on Friday

A senior IMN member, Abdulrahman Abubakar, who confirmed the development on Friday, said the movement was waiting for the government to set up a committee that would negotiate with the Shiite members.

Abubakar, who is the coordinator, Free El-Zakzaky Campaign, explained that the representative of the European country handling the negotiations had met with El-Zakzaky in custody to hear from him.

Also, other sources said the Federal Government might have opened talks with the IMN to stop their protests against the continued detention of their leader.

Sources at the Nigerian Army Guards Brigade, Abuja, told our correspondent that the FG was not happy with the protests, which turned violent.

At the office of the National Security Adviser, a top source told our correspondent that he was not aware of any negotiation between the FG and Shiites.

READ ALSO: Stop holding protests in Abuja, pro-Buhari group tells IMN

Mr Femi Falana (SAN), who has been defending El-Zakzaky in court since 2015 and obtained the Federal High Court’s December 2, 2019 judgment which ordered the clergy man’s release from custody, told one of our correspondents on Friday that he was not aware of the said talks between Shiites and the Federal Government.

“I am not aware of such negotiation,” he said.
https://punchng.com/court-declares-shiites-movement-terrorist-group/

Presidential Results for Song L.G.A Adamawa State


APC 17,350

PDP 22,648


Total No. of Registered Voters Song 94,627

Accredited Voters 45,377

Total No. of Valid Votes cast 41,071

Rejected votes 2,683

Total votes cast 43,754


Collation officer Dr. Abbas Babayi

Summary of results of the Presidential election so far collated for 15 L.G.A in Adamawa State. The state has 21 L.G.A



Hong L.G.A

APC 20,471

PDP 23,039


Ganye L.G.A

APC 20,360

PDP 17,770


Guyuk L.G.A

APC 10,825

PDP 22,059


Lamurde L.G.A

APC 8,123

PDP 21,404


Yola South L.G.A

APC 34,534

PDP 20,414


Mubi South L.G.A

APC 19,361

PDP 10,514



Mubi North L.G.A

APC 26,746

PDP 23,156


SHELLENG L.G.A

APC 13,531

PDP 11,912


Girei L.G.A

APC 17,765

PDP 14,673


Yola North L.G.A

APC 43,865

PDP 27,789


Numan L.G.A

APC 10,610

PDP 23,469


Demsa L.G.A

APC 6,989

PDP 29,997


Mayo- Belwa L.G.A

APC 20,842

PDP 23,734


Madagali L.G.A

APC 8,208

PDP 14,594


Maiha L.G.A

APC 17,034

PDP 7,916

A report released on Monday has accused Nigerian security and law enforcement agencies of pocketing as much as N100 billion in roadside bribery and extortion in the South-eastern part of the country alone over the last three years.

In a Monday morning statement to PREMIUM TIMES, the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law said findings into the report began in August 2015. It accompanied the report with pictures that seemed to show officers receiving bribes at checkpoints.

A breakdown of the questionable operation showed that Nigeria Police Force pocketed N78.02 billion, the military (Army, Navy and Air Force) received N6 billion and paramilitary formations (Customs, Road Safety, NAFDAC and NDLEA) took N16 billion. These totalled N100.02 billion ($330 million).

The report reinforces fears that the controversial culture has worsened despite decades of condemnation even amongst top security chiefs. Successive police leadership over the last two decades have ordered the removal of checkpoints, but compliance is sparsely enforced and hardly are errant officers punished.

Emeka Umeagbalasi, a senior official at Intersociety who coordinated the report, said it was released to coincide with this year’s Yuletide, during which bribery and extortion by security agencies are said to be at their peak as millions embark on holiday trips to the Southeast.

“We hope this would help those travelling home to celebrate Christmas be aware of the tactics of security agencies, and the disastrous economic impact on the region,” Mr Umeagbalasi said.



The Nigerian Army and the Federal Road Safety Corps immediately dismissed the report, telling PREMIUM TIMES their respective personnel operate with strict ethical standards and those identified for misconduct are usually promptly disciplined.

Know Your Levy

The research for report, titled: Welcome to Southeast Region: Nigeria’s Headquarters of Official Highway Robbery; was conducted in all the South-east states and some parts of Delta State with predominantly residents of Igbo origin.




Intersociety found that the security agencies have designed specific levies for different categories of motorists across the South-east, and enforcement sometimes turns deadly.

“For every shuttle or Mitsubishi L300 bus loaded with passengers (only) in Anambra State, it is N50 at every police roadblock, and extra N200 is paid if loaded with goods and passengers,” the report said.

“For every commercial motorcycle or tricycle or Datsun or medium range truck loaded with goods, it is N200 at every police roadblock, and for every private vehicle owner accused of “incomplete” vehicle particulars, the least demanded sum is N4,000 or more, which must be paid randomly or on the spot to avoid being dragged to police station and have his or her vehicle impounded and indented as ‘stolen vehicle’,” the report said.

Some motorists are detained and bailed with illegal bail fees, ranging from N10,000 and above, the report found.

The questionable conduct, which has continued despite decades of condemnation even amongst top security chiefs, also differs from state to state in the region.

“Police extortions in Enugu and Ebonyi States, and to an extent, Imo State, are not as “lucrative” as those of Anambra and Abia States,” it said.

“Such extortions are majorly concentrated on critical federal and state roads as well as few commercial areas of the three states, such as Ogbete, Abakpa, and Nsukka in Enugu State; Abakiliki and Afikpo in Ebonyi State, Orlu and commercial parts of Owerri in Imo State.

“The same non-uniformity applies to many roadblocks in the five Southeast states, as well as those in Agbor, Asaba and their environs, all in Delta State,” which has estimated 40 per cent Igbo population, the report found.

Statistical Breakdown

According to the report, there were 250 police roadblocks in Anambra State between August 2015 and August 2016, and each made an estimated N40,000 per day. The 250 police roadblocks on Anambra roads between August 2015 and August 2016 illicitly collected N10 million per day, which translated to N300 million per month and N3.6 billion per year.




According to the report, at N40,000 per day, the 200 police roadblocks in Abia State during the period unlawfully milked the people of the South-east a total of N8 million per day, N240m per month and N2, 88 billion per year.

Also, at N30,000 per day for each of the 150 police roadblocks then in Imo State, a total of N4.5 million was reportedly realised per day, N135 million per month and N1, 62 billion per year.

Also with N25,000 per day for each of 100 police roadblocks in Enugu in the same period, N2.5 million was unlawfully collected per day, N75 million per month and N900 million per year, the report stated/

In Ebonyi, there were 50 police roadblocks, and each earned an average of N25,000 per day, totalling N1.25 million or N37.5 million per month and N450 million per year.

Between August 2016 and August 2017, at N40,000 per day, the 500 police roadblocks on Anambra roads collected N20 million per day, N600 million per month and N7, 2 billion per year.

At N40,000 per day, the 400 police roadblocks in Abia State received N16 million per day, N480 million per month and N5.76 billion per year.

With N30,000 per day for each of the 200 police roadblocks then in Imo State, a total of N6 billion was earned per day, N180 million per month and N2.16 billion per year.

Also with N25,000 per day for each of 200 police roadblocks in Enugu in the same period, N5 million was unlawfully collected per day, N150 million per month and N1.8 billion per year.

The 150 police roadblocks in Ebonyi State allegedly made N25,000 per day, totalling N3.75 million per day, N112.5 million per month and N1.35 billion per year.

Between August 2017 and December 2018, at N40,000 per day, the 800 police roadblocks on Anambra roads must have by the end of December 2018 collected N32 million per day, N960 million per month and N15.36 billion in sixteen months.

At N40,000 per day, the 700 police roadblocks in Abia State must have by the end of December 2018 unlawfully earned N28 million per day, N840 million per month and N13.44b in sixteen months.

In the same period, the 500 police roadblocks in Imo State earned N30,000 per day each, totalling N15 million per day, N450 million per month and N7.2 billion in sixteen months.




At N25, 000 per day for each of 400 police roadblocks in Enugu in the named period, N10 million must have been unlawfully collected per day, N300 million per month and N4.8 billion in sixteen months.

Finally, at N25, 000 for each of the 400 police roadblocks in Ebonyi State, a total of N10 million was illegally collected per day, N300 million per month and N4.8b in sixteen months.

Intersociety estimated 3,000 police roadblocks, including about 200 in different Igbo parts of Delta State (from Agbor to Asaba) as well as those manned by “police-stop-and-move” teams using Hilux or other pick-up vans usually manned by police special anti-robbery squad.

At an average of N20,000 per “police-stop-and-move” roadblock since August 2015, N4 million was realised per day, N120 million per month and N4.8 billion in 40 months, August 2015 to December 2018.

Military, paramilitary cornered N22 billion

Intersociety, which was established in 2008 as a non-governmental organisation based in Onitsha, also found that military personnel deployed in the region earned N6 billion since 2015, while officers of the Nigerian Customs Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the National Drugs Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and others grossed N16 billion in illicit income.

Although the Nigerian Air Force was also mentioned as having been a part of the suspected extortion, its collection was negligent. Mr Umeagbalasi clarified to PREMIUM TIMES that the institution was added because Air Force personnel often collect bribes near their bases around the region, but whatever they received was deemed inconsequential largely due to the limited bases in the region.

The bulk of the N6 billion bribes allegedly went to soldiers, who could be seen in dozens of roadblocks across Southeast.

White-collar, blue-collar

The report further found that some patterns of police roadblock extortion in the South-east bear blue-collar outlook. This involves direct extortion using stationed police personnel. In this case, vehicles bearing goods with passengers are made to “pay” double (i.e., for loaded wares and persons). For instance, each load-carrying L300 bus with passengers is forced to part with at least N250 at each police roadblock.

In the case of drafted soldiers and other military personnel, as well as paramilitary bodies like Road Safety, patterns of their extortion are different; bearing white-collar outlook. This could be categorised as indirect extortion using hired third party or civilian touts or points-men, the report found.

Report sweeping, exaggerated

The police and Customs did not immediately return PREMIUM TIMES’ requests for comments Monday morning, but the Nigerian Army and Road Safety strongly denied allegations of fraud amongst their personnel.

“It is a sweeping statement, they need to be specific,” FRSC spokesperson Bisi Kazeem said, but added nonetheless that the agency “does not condone corruption or corrupt tendencies.”

“Bribery is not institutionalised in the corps. Whoever is caught is dealt with by dismissal after trial by FRSC disciplinary committee,” the spokesperson said.

“We have monitoring and surveillance team from unit level to sector level to zonal level ending at the headquarters,” he said. “FRSC officers and men have name tags, the vehicle has body codes and registration numbers.”

Sani Usman, a spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, also absolved military personnel from all acts of bribery, and slammed Intersociety as propagating falsehood.

“It is not true. The Nigerian Army is very professional and has clearly established rules of engagement and code of conduct,” Mr Usman, a brigadier-general, said. “Therefore, it cannot be associated with such tissue of lies.”



A worsening menace

The culture of checkpoint corruption has been a recurring feature amongst Nigerian security and law enforcement agencies, even as their respective leaderships continue to speak stridently against the practice with threats of harsh consequences.

The first Intersociety report into the conduct of officers on the road was first published in 2011. Even though the South-east weighed heavily in the report, its elements were gathered across the country at the time, and the final outcome revealed that the controversial practice was milder at the time.

The naira note benchmark used as ‘toll fee’ then was N20 denomination as against today’s N50 and N100 notes. The group found that between 2009 and 2011, police officers earned N53.4 billion in three years from 3,500 roadblocks across the country at the time. The South-east accounted for the lion’s share of N32.2 billion, followed by Southwest and South-south with N8.2 billion each.

Motorists in the North-Central coughed out N2.1 billion in bribes to the police. North-east and North-west were N1.2 billion each at the time. That nationwide investigation was built on the report of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) published on August 17, 2010, which looked at corruption and abuses in the police.

The HRW’s report, titled: Everyone is in on the Game: Corruption & Human Rights Abuses by the Nigeria Police Force,’ combined with further findings by Intersociety prompted Mohammed Abubakar, then police inspector-general, to order the urgent dismantling of all roadblocks. But that directive, like several before and after it, saw compliance for only a few days before fizzling out.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/302621-nigeria-security-forces-extort-n100-billion-in-southeast-in-three-years-report.html

A member of the House of Representative, Hon David Emanuel Ombugadu has won the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s governorship primary election held in Keffi yesterday.

Ombugadu scored 745 votes to defeat former minister of state of Federal Capital Territory Senator Solomon Ewuga who polled 551 votes.
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Senator Philip Gyunka scored 123 votes while a former deputy governor of the state Dameshi Barau Luka got 18 at the primaries held at Lion Gate hotel in Keffi.

A former senator, Patricia Akwashiki withdraw from the contest shortly before the commencement of the election.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/rep-david-ombugadu-clinches-pdp-governorship-ticket-in-nasarawa.html

By Ola Ajayi, Ibadan Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has faulted the comment credited to President Muhammadu Buhari that Nigerian youths are lazy, saying that following the difficult situations the youths are passing through in the United States, Libya and other parts of the world, “their great grandfathers would never say our youths are lazy”. Obasanjo-Buhari The ex-President spoke in Ibadan, Saturday, when the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) held a Town Hall meeting in Ibadan. Obasanjo said, “But let me assure you of one thing. Having gone this far, I will not leave you high and dry, and I know God will continue to be with us. But don’t ever think that it will be easy. Men of valour don’t run away from challenges and it is the same thing with women of honour, except lazy men and women. But they said our youths are lazy. “Recently, I was in the United States and I said our youths have gone through many things in the Sahara Desert, in Libya and the Mediterranean, and somebody would say they are lazy; their great grandfathers would never try to go that far”. Meanwhile, the CNM declared that it would tell its over three million members the platform it would use in the forthcoming general elections. The former President said since he had been through several difficult times in the past due to his unshaken belief in the progress of Nigeria, nobody could intimidate him again. The Town Hall meeting attracted many notable Nigerians, including a former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who is the national coordinator of the movement; a former deputy governor of Oyo State, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; and two former secretaries to Oyo State Government, Chief Olayiwola Olakojo and Mr Ayodele Adigun. Obasanjo said,“Don’t be afraid or be discouraged. They will try to intimidate you individually or collectively. For me, I don’t think there is anyone that can intimidate me. Let me remind you, I have gone through many things. I have been jailed without committing any offence. Where is the person that jailed me?”

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/04/obasanjo-attacks-buhari-great-grandfathers-wont-call-youths-lazy/

A new video produced by Boko Haram showing insurgents maneuvering tanks seized from the Nigerian military and graphic images of troops being killed has been obtained by SaharaReporters. The video also shows insurgents in a gun battle with Nigerian soldiers.

The seven-minute 48-second video, exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, provides proof of the group's claim that it successfully ambushed Nigerian troops when they ventured into the Sambisa Forest on 10 November. It also provides proof that the insurgents made away with arms and ammunition belonging to the military.

Earlier on Monday, SaharaReporters had obtained a screen grab supportive of the group's claim of success against the military, which is carrying out clearance operation in the area.

At some point, the video shows a very young Boko Haram commander, who claimed to have led the attack, praising the group's fighters and boasting that they are firmly settled in Sambisa Forest.
The young commander also said: "Allah will protect His religion." According to him, this divine claim is supported by the success of their ambush "against the enemies of Islam."

The commander is shown speaking while being flanked by two fighters, whose faces were covered with turbans. He urged Boko Haram members to remain patient in the face of hardship being endured.

Two days ago, SaharaReporters exclusively reported that most Boko Haram fighters are already battle-weary, a consequence of a sustained military onslaught on nearly all their strongholds around the Lake Chad.

The video's concluding scenes shows terrorists maneuvering one of the armored tanks seized along with trucks and arms.
http://saharareporters.com/2017/11/13/latest-boko-haram-video-shows-insurgents-displaying-captured-military-tanks-casualties

The Super Eagles who before now occupied the 38th position in the world dropped six places to become 44th. Only Tunisia among the top 5 teams in Africa moved up three places from 34th to 31st. Meanwhile Zambia who put up an impressive performance in the double header against Algeria rose eighteen places from 96th to 78th. Germany replaced Brazil as the best football team in the world The next ranking comes up Oct 16. Top 10 teams in Africa 1 Egypt 2 Tunisia 3 Senegal 4 Congo Dr 5 Nigeria 6 Cameroon 7 Burkina Faso 8 Ghana 9 Cote d’Ivoire 10 Morocco Top 10 teams in the World 1 Germany 2 Brazil 3 Portugal 4 Argentina 5 Belgium 6 Poland 7 Switzerland 8 France 9 Chile 10 Colombia

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/09/super-eagles-drop-latest-fifa-ranking/

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Another day in Northern Nigeria, another Christian village reeling from an attack by the Muslim Fulani herdsmen who used to be their neighbours – and who are now cleansing them from the area. The locals daren’t collect the freshest bodies. Some who tried earlier have already been killed, spotted by the waiting militia and hacked down or shot. The Fulani are watching everything closely from the surrounding mountains. Every week, their progress across the Northern states of Plateau and Kaduna continues. Every week, more massacres – another village burned, its church razed, its inhabitants slaughtered, raped or chased away. A young woman, whose husband and two children have just been killed in front of her, tells me blankly, ‘Our parents told us about these people. But we lived in relative peace and we forgot what they said.’For the outside world, what is happening to the Christians of Northern Nigeria is both beyond our imagination and beneath our interest. These tribal-led villages, each with their own ‘paramount ruler’, were converted by missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries. But now these Christians…sense that they have become unsympathetic figures, perhaps even an embarrassment, to the West. The international community pretends that this situation is a tit-for-tat problem, rather than a one-sided slaughter. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the press fails to report or actively obscures the situation. Christians in the south of the country feel little solidarity with their co-religionists suffering from this Islamic revivalism and territorial conquest in the north. And worst of all, the plight of these people is of no interest to their own government. In fact, this ethnic and religious cleansing appears to be taking place with that government’s complicity or connivance. Every village has a similar story. A few days before any attack, a military helicopter is spotted dropping arms and other supplies into the areas inhabited by the Fulani tribes. Then the attack comes… …The village of Goska was attacked on Christmas Eve. In a temporary shelter nearby, a young man describes how he ran towards his home when he heard the attack start. There he found his mother lying dead on the floor. Uniformed Fulani militia were everywhere. He fled across the fields… …Across the surviving Christian villages of the north, thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been displaced… …Villages have been persuaded to keep records of the attacks to show anyone who cares. One of the very few from outside who does – Britain’s own Baroness Cox – came here recently. Her vehicle was spotted by the Fulani, who came out hunting for her and only just missed their target. Because of attacks like this, almost nobody comes. Just one more reason why these atrocities do not attract the West’s attentions. The task of chronicling the outrages continues nonetheless. Village leaders keep ring-binders of their dead. Some have photograph albums of what their villages have been through: old women set alight; young women raped and shot; babies hacked to death… …A villager takes me to the bridge where the village leader and 13 others were recently gunned down in a Fulani ambush. Nigerian Army troops watched the whole thing from their base a couple of hundred yards away – just as they did the destruction of another Christian village, the remains of which sit, burned out and silent, right opposite them. The army seems to have no interest in protecting the Christians, while the government in Abuja appears to care more about passing new laws on cattle-rustling than on protecting human lives. When challenged after a massacre, soldiers often claim that they didn’t receive any orders – or had been commanded not to intervene. In a line that’s parroted by some NGOs, the government says that this is a land or agricultural dispute. Yet it is the Christian communities who are being systematically forced off it. If anybody wanted to find the culprits, they could find them living and farming on the land they have stolen. But such arrests never happen. The complicity between the army and the Fulani is obvious. Between Barakin-Ladi and Riyom – in sight of another army post – is a sacked Christian village which locals say now acts as a Fulani arms dump. The world’s indifference gives the Nigerian government the advantage in what looks like a quiet effort to rid northern Nigeria of its Christians. The moment three years ago when Boko Haram abducted 300 Christian schoolgirls from the north-east and ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ briefly trended on Twitter was the closest this situation has come to catching the world’s attention… …But similar atrocities go on all the time. At an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp Deborah, 31, describes the 18 months she spent held captive by the group. When they burst into her village, the Islamists killed her husband and the rest of her family, forcibly converted her and ‘married’ her off to one of their 20-year-old fighters. He complained about her bad temper and argumentativeness, but he still raped her, producing the nine-month-old boy now suckling at her breast. A Christian pastor has urged her to love and cherish the boy as though he was her murdered husband. The first time she escaped from Boko Haram, she was recaptured and lashed 80 times as punishment. At least she is now unafraid of death. ‘What sort of death would I be running from?’ she asks. ‘I have already died once.’ At night, she says, a military plane would sometimes appear over Boko Haram’s camp and drop off supplies. ‘Look what powerful friends we have,’ her husband would boast as he pointed to the lights in the sky above. Even if the Nigerian Army does not support Boko Haram, elements of it certainly do. Whenever an actual operation against the group is planned, they are always tipped off by forces within the country’s security apparatus. …If the international community meant anything by its promises such as the UN’s ‘responsibility to protect’ doctrine, then what is happening could not go on. But the international community is uninterested. Governments like ours are uninterested. The world’s media is uninterested…The Christians of Nigeria are alone…

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/06/will-protect-nigerias-northern-christians/

Dear Nigerians, I bring you good wishes from President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, who as we all know is away from the country on medical vacation.



Today marks the second anniversary of our assumption of office. We must thank the Almighty God not only for preserving our lives to celebrate this second anniversary, but for giving us hope, strength and confidence as we faced the challenges of the past two years.
Our administration outlined three specific areas for our immediate intervention on assumption of office. These were Security, Corruption and the Economy.
In the Northeast of our country, the terrorist group Boko Haram openly challenged the sovereignty and continued existence of the state, killing, maiming, and abducting, causing the displacement of the largest number of our citizens in recent history. Beyond the North East they extended their mindless killings, as far away as Abuja, Kano And Kaduna.
But with new leadership and renewed confidence our gallant military immediately began to put Boko Haram on the back foot. We have restored broken-down relations with our neighbours, Chad, Cameroon and Niger – allies without whom the war against terror would have been extremely difficult to win. We have re-organised and equipped our Armed Forces, and inspired them to heroic feats; we have also revitalised the regional Multinational Joint Task Force, by providing the required funding and leadership.
The positive results are clear for all to see. In the last two years close to one million displaced persons have returned home. 106 of our daughters from Chibok have regained their freedom, after more than two years in captivity, in addition to the thousands of other captives who have since tasted freedom.
Schools, hospitals and businesses are springing back to life across the Northeast, especially in Borno State, the epicentre of the crisis. Farmers are returning to the farms from which they fled in the wake of Boko Haram. Finally, our people are getting a chance to begin the urgent task of rebuilding their lives.
Across the country, in the Niger Delta, and in parts of the North Central region, we are engaging with local communities, to understand their grievances, and to create solutions that respond to these grievances adequately and enduringly.
President Buhari’s New Vision for the Niger Delta is a comprehensive peace, security and development plan that will ensure that the people benefit fully from the wealth of the region, and we have seen to it that it is the product of deep and extensive consultations, and that it has now moved from idea to execution. Included in that New Vision is the long-overdue environmental clean-up of the Niger Delta beginning with Ogoni-land, which we launched last year.
More recent threats to security such as the herdsmen clashes with farmers in many parts of the country sometimes leading to fatalities and loss of livelihoods and property have also preoccupied our security structures. We are working with state governments, and tasking our security agencies with designing effective strategies and interventions that will bring this menace to an end. We are determined to ensure that anyone who uses violence, or carries arms without legal authority is apprehended and sanctioned.
In the fight against corruption, we have focused on bringing persons accused of corruption to justice. We believe that the looting of public resources that took place in the past few years has to be accounted for. Funds appropriated to build roads, railway lines, and power plants, and to equip the military, that had been stolen or diverted into private pockets, must be retrieved and the culprits brought to justice. Many have said that the process is slow, and that is true, corruption has fought back with tremendous resources and our system of administration of justice has been quite slow. But the good news for justice is that our law does not recognise a time bar for the prosecution of corruption and other crimes, and we will not relent in our efforts to apprehend and bring corruption suspects to justice. We are also re-equipping our prosecution teams, and part of the expected judicial reforms is to dedicate some specific courts to the trial of corruption cases.
We are also institutionalizing safeguards and deterrents. We have expanded the coverage of the Treasury Single Account (TSA). We have introduced more efficient accounting and budgeting systems across the Federal Government. We have also launched an extremely successful Whistleblower Policy.
The Efficiency Unit of the Federal Ministry of Finance has succeeded in plugging leakages amounting to billions of naira, over the last two years. We have ended expensive and much-abused fertilizer and petrol subsidy regimes.
We have taken very seriously our promise to save and invest for the future, even against the backdrop of our revenue challenges, and we have in the last two years added $500million to our Sovereign Wealth Fund and $87 million to the Excess Crude Account. This is the very opposite of the situation before now, when rising oil prices failed to translate to rising levels of savings and investment.
Admittedly, the economy has proven to be the biggest challenge of all. Let me first express just how concerned we have been, since this administration took office, about the impact of the economic difficulties on our citizens.
Through no fault of theirs, some companies shut down their operations, others downsized; people lost jobs, had to endure rising food prices. In some states, civil servants worked months on end without the guarantee of a salary, even as rents and school fees and other expenses continued to show up like clockwork.
We have been extremely mindful of the many sacrifices that you have had to make over the last few years. And for this reason, this administration’s work on the economic front has been targeted at a combination of short-term interventions to cushion the pain, as well as medium to long term efforts aimed at rebuilding an economy that is no longer helplessly dependent on the price of crude oil.
Those short-term interventions include putting together a series of bailout packages for our State Governments, to enable them bridge their salary shortfalls – an issue the President has consistently expressed his concerns about. We also began the hard work of laying out a framework for our Social Intervention Programme, the most ambitious in the history of the country.



One of the first tasks of the Cabinet and the Economic Management Team was to put together a Strategic Implementation Plan for the 2016 budget, targeting initiatives that would create speedy yet lasting impact on the lives of Nigerians.

Indeed, much of 2016 was spent clearing the mess we inherited and putting the building blocks together for the future of our dreams; laying a solid foundation for the kind of future that you deserve as citizens of Nigeria.



In his Budget Presentation Speech to the National Assembly last December, President Buhari outlined our Economic Agenda in detail, and assured that 2017 -would be the year in which you would begin to see tangible benefits of all the planning and preparation work. It is my pleasure to note that in the five months since he delivered that speech, we have seen tremendous progress, as promised.

Take the example of our Social Investment Programme, which kicked off at the end of 2016. Its Home-Grown School Feeding component is now feeding more than 1 million primary school children across seven states and would be feeding three million by the end of the year. N-Power, another component has engaged 200,000 unemployed graduates – none of whom needed any ‘connections’ to be selected. Beneficiaries are already telling the stories of how these initiatives have given them a fresh start in their lives.
Micro credit to a million artisans, traders and market men and women has begun. While conditional cash transfers to eventually reach a million of the poorest and most vulnerable households has also begun.
Road and power projects are ongoing in every part of the country. In rail, we are making progress with our plans to attract hundreds of millions of dollars in investment to upgrade the existing 3,500km narrow-gauge network. We have also in 2017 flagged-off construction work on the Lagos-Ibadan leg of our standard-gauge network, and are close to completing the first phase of Abuja’s Mass Transit Rail System.
In that Budget speech in December, the President announced the take-off of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative. Today, five months on, that Initiative – the product of an unprecedented bilateral cooperation with the Government of Morocco – has resulted in the revitalisation of 11 blending plants across the country, the creation of 50,000 direct and indirect jobs so far, and in the production of 300,000 metric tonnes of NPK fertilizer, which is being sold to farmers at prices significantly lower than what they paid last year. By the end of 2017, that Fertilizer Initiative would have led to foreign exchange savings of US$200 million; and subsidy savings of 60 billion naira.
The Initiative is building on the solid gains of the Anchor Borrowers Programme, launched in 2015 to support our rice and wheat farmers, as part of our move towards guaranteeing food security for Nigeria.
All of this is evidence that we are taking very seriously our ambition of agricultural self-sufficiency. I am delighted to note that since 2015 our imports of rice have dropped by 90 per cent, while domestic production has almost tripled. Our goal is to produce enough rice to meet local demand by 2019. In April, the President launched our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan which built on the foundations laid by the Strategic Implementation Plan of 2016. The plan has set forth a clear vision for the economic development of Nigeria. I will come back to this point presently.
Another highlight of the President’s Budget Speech was our work around the Ease of Doing Business reforms. As promised we have since followed up with implementation and execution. I am pleased to note that we are now seeing verifiable progress across several areas, ranging from new Visa on Arrival scheme, to reforms at our ports and regulatory agencies.
The President also promised that 2017 would see the rollout of Executive Orders to facilitate government approvals, support procurement of locally made goods, and improve fiscal responsibility. We have kept that promise. This month we issued three Executive Orders to make it easier for citizens to get the permits and licenses they require for their businesses, to mandate Government agencies to spend more of their budgets on locally produced goods, and to promote budget transparency and efficiency. The overarching idea is to make Government Agencies and Government budgets work more efficiently for the people.
The impact of our Ease of Doing Business work is gradually being felt by businesses small and large; its successful take-off has allowed us to follow up with the MSME Clinics -our Small Business support programme, which has taken us so far to Aba, Sokoto, Jos, Katsina, and we expect to be in all other states in due course.
Let me note, at this point, that several of our Initiatives are targeted at our young people, who make up most of our population. From N-Power, to the Technology Hubs being developed nationwide, to innovation competitions such as the Aso Villa Demo Day, and our various MSME support schemes, we will do everything to nurture the immense innovative and entrepreneurial potential of our young people. We are a nation of young people, and we will ensure that our policies and programmes reflect this.
One of the highlights of our Power Sector Recovery Programme, which we launched in March, is a N701 billion Naira Payment Assurance Scheme that will resolve the financing bottlenecks that have until now constrained the operations of our gas suppliers and generation companies. Let me assure that you will soon begin to see the positive impact of these steps.
Our Solid Minerals Development Fund has also now taken off, in line with our commitment to developing the sector. Because of our unerring focus on Solid Minerals development over the last two years, the sector has, alongside Agriculture, seen impressive levels of growth – in spite of the recession.
On the whole, just as the President promised in the Budget Speech, these early months of 2017 have seen the flowering of the early fruit of all the hard work of our first eighteen months.
We opened the year with an overwhelmingly successful Eurobond Offer – evidence of continuing investor interest in Nigeria. We have also launched the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020, to build on the gains of last year’s Strategic Implementation Plan. And the implementation of our 2017 Budget, which will soon be signed into law, will bring added impetus to our ongoing economic recovery. In the 2016 Budget we spent 1.2 Trillion Naira on infrastructure projects, another milestone in the history of this country. Our 2017 Budget will double that investment.
That budget also provides for substantial investment to implement the rollout of Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones (SEZs), as well as our Social Housing Programme. The Industrial Parks and Economic Zones will fulfil our ambition of making Nigeria a manufacturing hub, while the Family Home Fund of our Social Housing Programme will provide inexpensive mortgages for low-income individuals and families across the country.
These plans offer yet more evidence that we are ramping up the pace of work; the work of fulfilling all that we promised. In the next two years, we will build on the successes of the last two. We have demonstrated a willingness to learn from our mistakes and to improve on our successes. The critical points that we must address fully in the next two years are: Agriculture and food security, Energy, (power and Petroleum,) Industrialization and Transport infrastructure. Every step of the way we will be working with the private sector, giving them the necessary incentives and creating an environment to invest and do business.
Our vision is for a country that grows what it eats and produces what it consumes. It is for a country that no longer has to import petroleum products, and develops a lucrative petrochemical industry. Very importantly it is for a country whose fortunes are no longer tied to the price of a barrel of crude, but instead to the boundless talent and energy of its people, young and old, male and female as they invest in diverse areas of the economy.
And that vision is also for a country where the wealth of the many will no longer be stolen by or reserved for a few; and where the impunity of corruption – whether in the public or private sectors – will no longer be standard operating practice; a land rid of bandits and terrorists.
As citizens, you all deserve a country that works, not merely for the rich or connected, but for everyone. And our promise to you is that we will, with your support and cooperation, take every step needed to create that country of our dreams.
We also know that this journey will of necessity take time. But we will not succumb to the temptation to take short-cuts that ultimately complicate the journey. We did not find ourselves in crises overnight, and we simply do not expect overnight solutions to our challenges.
The most important thing is that we are on the right path, and we will not deviate from it, even in the face of strong temptation to choose temporary gain over long-term benefit. As the President has summed it up: “The old Nigeria is slowly but surely disappearing, and a new era is rising.”
And so, we commemorate this second anniversary of our administration with confidence and optimism. I firmly believe that we have put the most difficult phase behind us; and we are witnesses to the ever-increasing intensity of the light at the end of the tunnel. We ask for your continued cooperation and support, to enable us realise all our best intentions and ambitions for Nigeria. On our part, we will continue to carry you along on this journey, speak to you, explain the challenges, and share our Vision.
And while we all daily pre-occupy ourselves with pursuing the Nigerian Dream – which is the desire to better our lives and circumstances vigorously and honestly – it is inevitable that grievances and frustrations will arise from time to time.
This is normal. What is not normal, or acceptable, is employing these frustrations as justification for indulging in discrimination or hate speech or hateful conduct of any kind, or for seeking to undermine by violent or other illegal means the very existence of the sovereign entity that has brought us all together as brothers and sisters and citizens.
Nigeria belongs to all of us. No one person or group of persons is more important or more entitled than the other in this space that we all call home. And we have a responsibility to live in peace and harmony with one another, to seek peaceful and constitutional means of expressing our wishes and desires, and to resist all who might seek to sow confusion and hatred for their own selfish interests.
Before I end this speech, let me ask for your continued prayers for the restoration to full health and strength and the safe return of our President.
I congratulate all of you on today’s commemoration of this important day in the democratic calendar our country. Nigeria is on a journey of greatness, and together we shall arrive at the destination of our dreams.
May God bless you all, and bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/232427-democracy-day-osinbajo-highlights-successes-challenges-of-buhari-administration.html

Despite recent warnings by the Federal Government against illegal sale of Meningitis C vaccines, members of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and other clients complain of difficulties before obtaining the vaccines.

However, Lagos Director for Disease control, Dr. Erinosho Eniola, said the state is yet to receive the vaccine, arguing that since about 13,420 suspected cases of meningitis have been reported from 23 states with 1,069 deaths, the vaccine is still not available at Lagos public hospitals.

Yet, some NYSC members, who spoke to The Guardian yesterday, including, Angela, Promise Umeh and Obinna, disclosed that staffers at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), demanded N6, 500 from them as gratification before accessing the vaccines.


One of the respondents, who identified himself simply as Obinna, said upon his posting to Kano for the mandatory one-year service, possession of the vaccine was given as one of the pre-camping requirements.
Narrating how he went to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), and other general hospitals without success, he added: “When we came to LUTH, one of the nurses asked us to pay N6, 500 for the vaccine, I thought the vaccine was supposed to be free at government hospitals.”

Another prospective corps member, Promise Umeh, while confirming the allegation of extortion, disclosed that she was also asked to pay N9, 000 before getting the vaccine, stressing that corps members were desperate to obtain the vaccine.

On her part, Angela said although she went to some private hospitals where the vaccine sells at N15, 000, she could not understand why a public facility should be selling instead of giving it out free.

When contacted, Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode, denied the allegation, arguing that since the hospital does not have the vaccine in stock, the supposed extortion could not have taken place in the hospital.

The Federal Government, which has maintained meningitis vaccine is free throughout the country, has been advising Nigerians against paying for it.

For instance, Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, in a statement, called on citizens to report any health centre or health worker who extorts money for the ongoing meningitis immunisation to the nearest law enforcement agency.

Shuaib noted that vaccination against CSM, like other vaccination in the National Immunization schedule, is free, adding that government had spent billions of naira to procure, store, maintain and distribute such vaccines to all parts of the country.

According to him, the vaccines preventable diseases are covered free-of-charge under the National Immunisation schedule, which include; Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG), Poliomyelitis and Hepatitis B.

He listed others as: Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus toxoid -(Pentavelent vaccines), Haemophilus influenza type B, Pneumococcal vaccines, Inactivated Polio virus vaccines, Measles, Yellow Fever and of course, Meningitis vaccines.


In the interim, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Communications Officer, Lawal Bakare, recently disclosed that Meningitis outbreak continues to decline as more vaccines arrive, stressing that efforts at securing more vaccines for the country are continuing with another batch of vaccines expected to arrive in the next few days and mobilising vaccines for other affected states continues to be a priority.
A recent NCDC report on the outbreak indicates a drop in the number of cases, adding: “In the previous two weeks, the most affected States (namely Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and Kebbi States) have all recorded a drop in number of cases. Kebbi and Niger States reported zero deaths over this period.”

Meanwhile, Health Minister, Prof. Isaac Adewole, yesterday, told newsmen that the Federal Government would cover all prospective corps members posted to high-risk states.

“We shall cover NYSC members going to high-risk states free. We have to link up with NYSC on Monday to address this urgently,” Adewole said.
https://guardian.ng/features/meningitis-c-vaccines-not-free-at-luth-say-corps-members/

Nigerian are fools. MMM is not releasing any 2016 Marvo. what MMM did was to increase their percentage of PH to 40% instead of 30%. Use ur brain and be free from this people

Nigerian are fools. MMM is not releasing any 2016 Marvo. what MMM did was to increase their percentage of PH to 40% instead of 30%. Use ur brain and be free from this people

Nigerian troops fighting Boko Haram terrorists have suffered major setbacks, with the terror group sacking an Army Battalion, killing eight soldiers and wounding 11 others in two separate attacks in three days, reliable military insiders have said. The army formations involved in the incidents also lost several arms and ammunition, and were yesterday calling for urgent restocking of their armouries, according to reports. The first incident, involving troops deployed at the Forward Operating Base in Sabon Gari, Borno State, occurred at about 6p.m. on Monday, when over 200 Boko Haram terrorists on motorcycles suddenly descended on the base. It was learned that the terrorists had five gun trucks on which twin-barrelled artillery guns were mounted. The Nigerian troops fought back, but were dislodged from their location after about an hour of battle. Five soldiers were killed in action, while nine others were injured. Four other soldiers were missing at press time. Army authorities did not immediately comment on the development. Army authorities keep mum Efforts to get Army spokesperson, Brigadier General Sani Usman; Defence spokesperson, Major General John Enenche, and Commander of Multi-National Joint Task Force in Maiduguri, Major General Leo Irabor, were unsuccessful. While Usman and Irabor did not respond to calls and text messages to their respective phone lines yesterday, an assistant to Enenche said his boss was at a meeting. The subordinate, who identified himself as Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi, said Enenche was holding a seminar with defence correspondents and will revert back as soon as possible. Subsequent calls to his phone two hours later were neither answered nor returned. The initial text messages sent to his line were also not replied to at press time. It was gathered that hours after the unit retreated from its Sabon Gari base, the surviving troops, along with reinforcements from 25 Brigade, returned to the location in several armoured cars and buses in a counter-attack that was largely successful. Second attack However, two days later, troops of 82 Division Task Force Battalion ran into an Improvised Explosive Device, IED, laid by the terrorists. That attack occurred at about 8:45a.m. yesterday, while the soldiers were on administrative patrol along the Ngoshe-Bokkotinta-Pulka axis. Three soldiers were killed in the incident, while two were injured. The troops also lost one gun truck, one mine lab detector device and four AK-47 rifles. Our sources said a large number of terrorists were killed in the two incidents, while several others escaped with gunshot injuries.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/04/boko-haram-terrorists-kill-11-soldiers-borno-attacks/

Nigerian troops fighting the extremist Boko Haram sect have suffered major setbacks, with the terror group sacking an army battalion, killing eight soldiers and wounding 11 others in two separate attacks in three days, reliable military insiders have told PREMIUM TIMES.
The army formations involved in the incidents also lost several arms and ammunition, and are calling for urgent restocking of their armouries, our sources said.
The first incident, involving troops deployed at the Forward Operating Base in Sabon Gari, Borno State, occurred at about 6 p.m. on Monday when over 200 Boko Haram terrorists on motorcycles suddenly descended on the base.
The terrorists, according to those familiar with the incidents, had five gun trucks on which twin barrel artillery guns were mounted.
The Nigerian troops fought back gallantly, but were dislodged from their location after about an hour of fierce battle.
Five soldiers were killed in action while nine others were seriously injured. Four other soldiers are yet to be found as at the time of this report
Army authorities did not immediately comment about the development.
Efforts made by this newspaper to get Army spokesperson, Sani Usman; Defence spokesperson, John Enenche; and head of the Army’s operations in Borno, Lucky Irabor, were unsuccessful.


While Mr. Usman, a brigadier general, and Mr. Irabor, a major general, did not respond to calls and text messages sent to their respective phone lines on Thursday; an assistant to Mr. Enenche, a major general, said his boss was at a meeting.
The subordinate, who identified himself as Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi, said Mr. Enenche was holding a seminar with defence correspondents and will revert back as soon as possible.
Subsequent calls to his phone after about two hours later were neither answered nor returned. The initial text messages sent to his line were also not replied to before this publication.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that hours after the unit retreated from its Sabon Gari base, the surviving troops, along with reinforcements from 25 Brigade, returned to the location in several armoured cars and buses.
The counterattack was largely successful, but the army is currently lamenting the loss of their equipment, arms and ammunition in the incident.
Our sources gave a list of equipment carted away by the terrorists to include three Steyr Armoured Personnel Carriers, one gun truck mounted with anti-aircraft ammunition, and 9 self-propelled guns.
The terrorists also carted away 16 AK47 rifles, one HF radio, two rocket-propelled grenades, two 60MM mortals and all the reserved ammunition and drugs in the base.
But two days later, just as the army was trying to address the loss caused it by that incident, troops of 82 Division Task Force Battalion ran into an IED ambush laid by the terrorists.
That attack occurred at about 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, April 19, while the soldiers were on administrative patrol along the Ngoshe-Bokkotinta-Pulka axis.
Three soldiers were killed in the incident while two were wounded.
The troops also lost one gun truck, one mine lab detector device and four AK 47 rifles.
Our sources said a large number of terrorists were killed in the two incidents while several others escaped with gunshot wounds.
The latest Boko Haram attacks despite the efforts of the Nigerian soldiers indicate they have not been completely defeated. The terror group has lost virtually all the territory it once controlled to Nigerian forces and displaced persons have since started returning to such communities.
The recent attacks also come about one week after the world marked three years since the abduction of over 200 female students by the Boko Haram from Chibok in Borno State. President Muhammadu Buhari has, however, indicated his administration’s determination to ensure the return of the 195 girls still believed to be held captive by the terror group.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/229160-boko-haram-strikes-sacks-army-battalion-kills-nigerian-soldiers-seizes-arms.html

Please a concern citizen just want to know where his president is because he has not been seen in public for a while. Thanks