₦airaland Forum

The Public Relations Officer, Kano Courts, Baba Jibo Ibrahim, says that the committee set up to take inventory of the exhibits looted during the attack on the State High Court has not recovered many exhibits including a gun.

The court spokesperson made this known while speaking to Daily Trust on Monday.

He said, “Up till this moment that we are taking, the statistics of the exhibits that have not been recovered are many including a gun. We are still compiling the list of the exhibits to take inventory.

“A committee has been set up to do that and they are still working to compile their report.”

Daily Trust reports that the looting exercise that marred the day one protest saw the destruction of many valuables at the Kano High Court sitting at Audu Bako Secretariat.

However, the police spokesman in Kano, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, urged the public to be vigilant, avoid mingling with the crowd and report any suspicious activity or persons that are not familiar to the police.

Daily Trust reports that the looting exercise that marred the day one protest saw the destruction of many valuables at the Kano High Court sitting at Audu Bako Secretariat.

However, the police spokesman in Kano, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, urged the public to be vigilant, avoid mingling with the crowd and report any suspicious activity or persons that are not familiar to the police.

10 killed in Niger, Borno, seven in Kano, others, FG complex looted, APC secretariat razed

•OPS counts losses as banks, ports, offices shut, FG begs protesters, NBA offers free legal services

No fewer than 17 persons were feared killed in Abuja, Kano, Niger, Borno, Kaduna and Jigawa during the #Endbadgovernance protest which was held across the country on Thursday.

One person was shot dead in Abuja and Kano, two killed in Jigawa, six others were reportedly gunned down by security forces in Niger, while four died in Borno and three in Kaduna.

The rally began peacefully but took a violent turn in some cities leading to violent confrontations between the police and the protesters.

Businesses, banks, shopping plazas and some markets did not open for fear of the protests escalating into a crisis.

In Abuja, the demonstration claimed a victim, who was shot dead along the Kubwa expressway.

An eyewitness, who identified herself as Ekaete, said the man, whose identity could not be immediately confirmed, was gunned down after the protesters became violent and blocked the highway.

‘’I was waiting for a bus on the expressway when the protesters in their numbers blocked the highway and harassed motorists. But as they became violent, the police fired live shots, killing the young man. Everybody took off on seeing the man fall,’’ she narrated.

The police also had another encounter with protesters at the Eagles Square, Three Arms Zone, located a few metres from the Presidential Villa.

A group of protesters converged on the Eagles Square, chanting the old “Arise, O Compatriots” national anthem and demanding an end to bad governance in the country.

In response, the security operatives fired a couple of teargas canisters to discourage the protesters, who only shouted back in defiance.

Shortly after, the Minister of State for Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, arrived at the scene and attempted to address the protesters, who shouted him down with chants of “hunger dey.”

However, he called for calm, stating that he wasn’t attempting to shut down the protest but to encourage them to be civil.

"I’m not here to fight you, I’m not here to ask you not to protest, it is your right. Like I said, I’ve been to over 100-500 protests,’’ Olawande stated.

But things quickly escalated upon the minister’s exit as the operatives fired more toxic gas and pepper spray, dislodging the protesters at about 10:30am after first firing warning non-lethal shots at the ground.

Courageously, a female protester confronted the police officers, holding up her baby and daring them to shoot.

She told journalists that she showed up at the protest with her baby after bandits killed her husband in Katsina.

“I came to protest the hardship in Nigeria and the police are shooting teargas at us. Do they also want to kill my baby? People cannot eat. Things are hard,” the protester, who did not disclose her name, said.

The policemen in a helicopter also fired teargas at a group of protesters occupying the city gate.

Some protesters had earlier gathered at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium as early as 6am, in compliance with a court order earlier obtained by the FCT administration on Wednesday, restricting them to the stadium.

They, however, resisted the police directive to hold their rally inside the stadium.

They later moved to the Eagle Square, when they learnt some protesters were being harassed by security forces.

Before then, five bus-loads of pro-government protesters were brought to the stadium.

The placard-carrying youths said they were opposed to the hunger protest.

One of them admitted that they were promised N5,000 each to stage a counter-protest.

They (organisers) picked us up and said they would give us N5,000 to protest against these people. I have collected N2,000 and I am waiting for my balance. I am hungry but the money given to him would not solve my problem,” he said.

The Director of Mobilisation, Take It Back Movement, Damilare Adenola, said the protest would continue until President Bola Tinubu acceded to their demands.

The protesters are demanding the reversal of petrol pump price to N100/litre, an end to insecurity, the closing of IDP camps and electoral reform, among other things.

Adenola said, “The various orders of court restricting protesters to particular locations are an aberration. Our presence here today is an announcement that we have been oppressed for too long. Today, we have risen.

"We are saying that unless President Bola Tinubu acceded to our demands, we will remain on the streets. We want to see the President on the streets. During the protest, he was on the streets.”

One of the organisers of the protest, Michael Lenin, said it would continue on Friday (today) regardless of the intimidation by the security agencies.

The United State Mission in Nigeria has asked some of its staff not to come to work on the first two days of the planned nationwide protests.

Nigerians, many of them young people, have called for demonstrations from August 1 over soaring costs.

Living costs spiked in Nigeria after President Bola Tinubu ended the fuel subsidy and eased foreign exchange controls after coming to power in May last year.

Inflation hit record levels at 34.19 per cent in June, with food inflation more than 40.87 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The police, military and the Department of State Services (DSS) have warned against Kenya-styled protests.

Politicians, who surmised that the planned rallies might end up like the EndSARS demonstrations of October 2020, have continued to appeal to youths to shelve the planned rallies but the young people remain unfazed, doggedly insisting that the protests will hold.

In an emergency warning issued on Wednesday night, the U.S. Embassy Abuja and U.S. Consulate General Lagos, asked essential staff to operate only on Thursday August 1, 2024, and on Friday August 2, 2024.

Non-essential staff were advised to remain at home to avoid any disruptions that may result from the protests.

The advisory reads: “Media reports indicate that protesters are expected to begin gathering at Eagles Square in Abuja mid to late morning. In Lagos, protests may start as early as 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. and primary locations have been identified as Alausa Park, Freedom Park, and Peace Park.

“Additional possible protest sites in Lagos include Nahco Bus Stop (Airport Road), Marwa Bus Stop (Lekki-Epe Expressway), and Ikeja “Under the Bridge” (Intersection of Obafemi Awolowo and Allen Avenue).

"However, protests may occur at other times and locations in Abuja and Lagos, as well as in other cities and population centers in Nigeria over the coming days. Based on past occurrences, protests may involve roadblocks, checkpoints, traffic congestion, and physical confrontations.

“There is a risk of terror attacks in Nigeria and terrorist groups may take advantage of opportunities created during the potential nation-wide protests to conduct attacks.”

"Actions to take: Avoid the areas of the protest; Avoid crowds; Exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings or protests; Monitor local media for updates; Be aware of your surroundings; Keep a low profile;Verify flight schedules with your airline, if you have travel plans; Review your personal security plans and keep your cell phone charged in case of emergency; and Carry proper identification.”

The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, on Saturday, warned that President Bola Tinubu is not the messiah Nigeria needs.

Primate Ayodele said Tinubu only came to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy but nothing much will happen to the country’s economy.

Addressing journalists in Lagos, the prophet also warned that Tinubu would have challenges contesting for a second term.

The prophet warned that state police are not the solution to Nigeria’s insecurity problems.

He noted that some politicians would use state police as a weapon to cause insecurity.

According to Ayodele: “Tinubu is not Nigeria’s messiah but only came to do one or two things, and what he came to do is to strengthen our democracy.

Nothing much in the economy, we are still going to experience more hardship till 2025 and confusion in our economy.

“In the area of insecurity, the question is will there be anything special? We have good Service Chiefs but if they don’t improve their services, insecurity will continue.

“State police will not help our nation, it will even add to the troubles of insecurity, and as a matter of fact, some politicians will use it as a weapon to cause disorderliness in our security. So let’s suspend the issue of State police for now, it’s not the best idea.

An American, Nicole Kierulff Sayers, has told the FCT High Court Abuja how she was defrauded of $370,000 by a suspected Nigerian internet fraudster, Nwachi Chidozie Kingsley.

Sayers, who lives in Oregon, United States, narrated her ordeal as a witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Kingsley’s ongoing trial before Justice Peter Kekemeke on Wednesday, July 3.

This was disclosed in a statement on Friday by EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, saying the suspect is being prosecuted on a two-count charge bordering on stealing, obtaining by false pretence and criminal possession of fake documents.

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Fatsuma Muhammad, the American identified the suspect before the court as the man who sent her messages on Facebook during her birthday.

I know the defendant, the defendant messaged me on Facebook on my birthday and he said he was a member of the same spiritual organisation with me,” she was quoted as saying.

“We engaged in romantic discussions and phrases and we engaged in conversations that escalated into a relationship of a romantic type.”

Sayers further told the court that the defendant asked her for money to finance the award of a contract by the Ministry of Works and Housing, claiming that some men were threatening his life if he didn’t provide money to secure the contract.

“Before we met each other, he had asked me for money about eleven days before, and his reason for asking for the money, according to him, was for the award of a contract by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and alleged that some men were threatening his life, if he did not provide the money to secure the contract.

He asked me for help, and supplied me with the details of the contract and logo and all the information, I believed that because I was in a vulnerable state and I had developed an emotional connection with him,” she added.

According to her, Kingsley told her that if she gave him $15,000, he would repay her within 45 days and she believed him, and transferred the money to the defendant, with an instruction to repay her the money.

Sayers narrated how she transferred the money and how she got to meet the family of the defendant.

Sayers said, “I transferred the money using a money transfer app, he received the money and within one week, he asked me to join him in a FaceTime Video with his family. This was his parents’ house and his entire family was there, which included his sister Doris Nwachi, Kenneth Nwachi, sister-in-law Loveline, his father Chizom, his mother Victoria and his alleged daughter Princess who was then two years old.”

The matter was, thereafter, adjourned till November 7, 2024 for continuation of trial.

A group of elders in Edo State has strongly condemned what they called “unwarranted barrage of insults and abuses” being directed at the Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty Oba Ewuare II, by supporters of the Labour Party and its gubernatorial candidate, Olumide Akpata.

The elders, who operate under the umbrella of the Edo Socio-Cultural Advancement and Good Governance Initiative, expressed shock and disappointment at what they described as a “childish, unwarranted and unacceptable behavior” of some Labour Party supporters across various social media platforms.

DAILY POST recalls that the 2023 presidential candidate of LP, Peter Obi and Akpata on Saturday paid a courtesy visit to the Oba’s palace shortly after inaugurating the party’s campaign office ahead of the September 21 governorship election.

During the visit, Akpata while seeking the support of the traditional ruler, repeatedly referred to himself as a “son of the palace” in both English and the local dialect.

But Oba Ewuare II later countered the claim.

According to a video clip making the rounds, the Oba swiftly dismissed his assertion, stating that he had asked one of his chiefs to verify Akpata’s claims, only to find that the candidate had no direct or distant links to the Palace.

The development did not go down well with some of the LP guber candidate’s supporters, with some of them verbally attacking the Oba on various social media channels.

However, in a press statement made available to DAILY POST on Tuesday, spokesman of the Elders’ group, Comrade Melvin Irabor, said the Oba was not out of place in correcting Akpata’s claim to be the “son of the palace.”

“Our Oba was not out of place in correcting the erroneous remarks and insinuations by the Labour Party candidate, Barr. Olumide Akpata, for claiming to be the ‘Son of the Palace’,” Irabor said.

He noted that they were inundated with a “barrage of abuses” on the revered Oba of Benin by Akpata’s supporters on platforms.

Irabor read out some of the “disappointing comments,” including one by a user who described the Oba as a “useless ruler,” and another who suggested that the Oba would have “warmly received” Akpata if he had brought “money full of ‘Ghana must go.'”

The group emphasized that the Oba of Benin, as the “mouthpiece of the gods and the revered royal father of the kingdom,” has a responsibility to stay apolitical and correct any candidate making “erroneous remarks and insinuations.”

"Every candidate contesting in this election has the support and blessings of our Oba. He is the father of all and he wishes every one of them well,” Irabor stated.

The elders warned the Labour Party supporters to desist from hurling insults on the Oba, stating that such actions would be considered an “affront on the palace.”

They called on all political parties to conduct their campaigns in a “democratic manner and keep the campaign issues-based.”

Former Niger Delta agitator Asari Dokubo has urged outgoing local government chairmen in Rivers State to vacate their offices peacefully and without causing unrest.

Dokubo made this call after a Sallah visit to Governor Siminialayi Fubara at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Monday.

He emphasised the importance of a smooth transition and stability in the state, advising youths not to allow themselves to be manipulated by politicians to incite violence.

According to Dokubo: “Only one man can be governor of Rivers State at a time. We will not have two governors. Rivers State is bigger than any individual. No individual can take Rivers State people for a ride and pocket us. It’s not possible.

“Local government tenure has expired today; they should quietly go home. If they want to seek election in accordance with the constitution, they should go and seek re-election. But there is no tenure elongation in the constitution. Their position is tenure-bound. That tenure has expired.

"Let them not cause unnecessary problems for the people of this state. And I want to advise young people: Don’t allow yourselves to be used.

"Most of these politicians’ children are not here. And their children have never come out to stand in front of any protest. They are not like Mandela and his children or me and my children. A lot of people have not done this, so nobody should be allowed to exploit the situation.

“Most of them were with us; today they’re bigger than us. They have become very wealthy; they have become very powerful. But is that why you should be used by them?”

Responding to youths occupying the council secretariat of some LGAs, Dokubo said: “The people are showing people’s power. The people have gone on their own to take over the local government secretariat because it’s the people.

"Nobody can say that we voted for a three-year tenure for a chairman and the chairman should exceed one second of that tenure. So the people of Rivers State are exercising their people’s power, and they’re ready to take over until the government is ready to conduct elections.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has said that the upsurge of corruption in the country is defeatable if every stakeholder on the anti-graft corridor makes concerted efforts.

The Commission’s chairman, Ola Olukoyede made this statement in his Eid-El-Kabir message.

He stressed that renewal of efforts towards combating all forms of economic and financial crimes is necessary to kill the menace.

“It is obvious that we can attain peace, love, progress and unity of purpose for a Nigeria free of corruption and unsavoury practices.

“Let’s keep building. Let’s keep attacking every threat to our progress. Let’s keep fighting economic and financial crimes together,” he said.

Olukoyede added that Nigerians were not inherently corrupt, and there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the nation.

The anti-graft boss felicitated with the nation on the occasion of Eid-El-Kabir, emphasizing that the lessons of the festival should drive more commitments to the anti-corruption fight.

“The lessons of forbearance, sacrifice, faith and hope in Almighty Allah which Eid teaches should imbue in us fresh desire to please God and serve our nation without corrupt practices.

“We should renew our efforts towards fighting all forms of economic and financial crimes,” he said.

The Tripartite committee on minimum wage has postponed its meeting “sine die”, sources familiar with the matter told our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, sine die means a situation, “without any future date being designated (as for resumption): indefinitely.”
Legal choices, a law website also describes sine die as a Latin word used when a law case has no fixed date for resumption.

The Federal Government on Tuesday added a sum of N3,000 to its initially proposed N57,000 minimum wage making it the sum of N60,000 proposed on Tuesday during the meeting of the tripartite committee on minimum wage in Abuja.

Organized Labour comprising of the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress also went down by N3,000 from its last proposal of N497,000 during the last minimum wage meeting.

Speaking with our correspondent, one of the sources who is a leader of the NLC said, “The meeting ended in a stalemate and meetings have been adjourned sine die.

The government proposed N60,000 which was not accepted by Labour.”

A member of the Labour side who spoke to our correspondent before the meeting started noted that the organized Labour would only go lower if the government goes higher on its demands.

Speaking with our correspondent, one of the sources who is a leader of the NLC said, “The meeting ended in a stalemate and meetings have been adjourned sine die.

“The government proposed N60,000 which was not accepted by Labour.”

A member of the Labour side who spoke to our correspondent before the meeting started noted that the organized Labour would only go lower if the government goes higher on its demands.


“This is simply a case of if they go higher, we will go lower. They need to propose something reasonable for us to propose something lower too. There is no two-way about it. Also, we have a way of meeting ourselves as members of the Labour before each committee meeting. This will help us to take a uniform stand by the time we get to the meeting front. So as long as the government is ready to present something reasonable, we will meet them in the middle,” the Labour leader said.

The 16th Fulani Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has mounted the palace seat, receiving royal greetings.

This development comes in spite of a joint security agency in Kano State declaring that they are upholding a court order that prohibits the reinstatement of the monarch.

Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, who came out from the Emir’s inner palace to the outer palace, where traditionally Emirs receive their subjects and conduct court sittings, was cheered by hundreds of his supporters as he majestically rode a horse.

The state Deputy Governor, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, earlier told newsmen that “nobody can change their position on the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II because they did it legally.”

He said, “The so-called court order banning them from reinstating Sanusi was not officially submitted to them, and as at the time they did the reinstatement, it was after working hours, which shows that anything coming from the court on that matter is already late.”

Former Vice Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Yusuf Baba-Ahmed, has insisted that he and Peter Obi won the last 2023 presidential election.

Baba-Ahmed said he will never stop saying it.

He stated this while featuring on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Friday.

Baba-Ahmed alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Result Viewing portal (IRev) was switched off while results were returned manually.

He said: “Not at all. In fact we hold our heads high. When we look at, where are the campaign promises of the APC, or the ongoing government? What have they achieved?

“The iRev was switched off. They returned the results manually. And then the Constitution was twisted, and the meaning of the English language was changed.

"We won the 2023 election. I will never stop saying it. Now the Labour Party as at today is in a better state than the CPC was in 2013/2014 leading up to the 2015 election, far better than it was.

“Continue looking at the failures, the worsening insecurity, the declining economy and aggravated corruption that is now going on.

“Add that to when Nigerians will now wake up to the realization that beyond 2027, there’s probably a grand scheme to dismember Nigeria into six autonomous zones because there’s no way to explain the failure, and because the only way is to carry those failures and run away.”

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says he will continue to run for the presidency of Nigeria if he is healthy, despite the challenges his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently facing.

Atiku has ran to become Nigeria’s President for six times within three decades, his most recent attempt being in the 2023 presidential election as the PDP candidate.

At his last attempt, the 77-year-old got 6,984,520 votes to come second in the poll won by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who garnered 8,794,726.

When asked whether he would try again, Atiku told Voice of America Hausa: “God willing”.

He added that he won’t back down from running for President “As long as God gives me strength, good health, and long life”.

“A former President of America, Abraham Lincoln, didn’t he vie seven times?” he asked rhetorically.

The former vice president also admitted that it is important for the PDP to collaborate with other parties to regain power from the incumbent APC.

“As the PDP party is right now, it is the only one standing up for election. There is no way it will win the election. It requires joining forces with other parties,” he said.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has said that the military personnel who were involved in Saturday’s clash between some soldiers and customers at New Banex Plaza in Abuja have been handed over to the Nigerian Army for necessary sanctions.

The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, who made this known in a statement said the police had addressed the situation and restored normalcy to the area.

Personnel of the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police on Saturday evening reportedly stormed Banex Plaza in Abuja and beat up passersby and security guards.

The assault on civilians was said to be a reprisal for an earlier free-for-all that broke out between four military police personnel and some traders at the popular electronics and telecommunications gadget market earlier on Saturday.

The soldiers’ attacks on civilians and show-of-force by the military police came a few hours after the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bennet Igweh, settled the scuffle between the soldiers and the traders at the police command.

The FCT police spokesperson in the statement said, “Following a reported unrest at Bannex Plaza today being May 18, 2024 at about 01:30 PM, involving some occupants of the plaza, customers and some soldiers, operatives of the FCT police command, swiftly mobilized to scene, assessed situation and restored order.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that one Suleiman Ahmed who had earlier gotten a phone from one Suleiman Ibrahim, a shop owner at New Bannex, went with four soldiers to persuade the seller for replacement upon discovery that the phone is faulty, which met the resistance of the shop owner.

“This action resulted in a confrontation and squabble with the military personnel. This development led some irate mobs to attack the military personnel which led to an uproar in the environ.

“All parties were invited for questioning, the military personnel have been handed over to their organisation for necessary action to be taken.

“While normalcy has since been restored in Bannex and its environs, the Commissioner of Police FCT, CP Benneth Igweh, urges residents to peacefully go about their lawful businesses without fear from any quarters.”