₦airaland Forum

princeking2:
Na you talk am o

By Tunbosun Ogundare


The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has said it would not call off the ongoing strike until the Federal Government yield to its demand.

The President of the union, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, stated this on Sunday in Lagos while briefing newsmen on the update of the about two-month-old ongoing union industrial action.

He said the federal government had not shown reasonable commitment so far to resolve their differences.

According to him, ASUU strike shouldn’t be a threat to the 2019 elections and therefore, the strike should not be politicized in any way.

princeking2:
It is well. He cares about the family so much.

notoriousbabe:
Liverpool is losing this one






Pls friends, I really need ur help, how much is flight from Lagos to Nigeria??

By Toyin Adebayo


Abuja – Telecom Satellites Limited (TSTV) said they are re-strategising to take over market from DSTV, StartTimes and other pay TV industries in Nigeria.

Benjamin Zida, TSTV Chief Operating Officer, said they have entered into a a fresh and strategic relationship with reputable international brands with the aim to supply its customers with premium and uninterrupted transmission and content.

He made this known during a press briefing on Friday in Abuja to hint Nigerians on the firm’s plans to take over the market from other pay tv companies, saying, “They are only DTH platform transmitting all of her channels from Nigeria.”

According to him, “TSTV has not forgotten her promises to Nigerians, neither have we abandoned them. In our bid to serve our customers better, we have recruited seasoned, experienced talents and, veterans who have occupied similar roles and capacities in the pay tv industry to manage TSTV”.

He added: “One of such partnerships is with Azercosmos. Azercosmos is an open joint stock company and a satellite operators based in Azerbaijan, and the first satellite operator in Caucasus region.

“We have entered into partnership to improve our content offering. We are also in various advanced talks with other international content providers to acquire more premium content and channels.”

He further added that currently, transmitting over 50 channels, all free to Nigerians, reviewing and optimizing these channels as well as creating a distribution network for easy accessibility of our products.

Zida said that the subscription model will be on a pay-as-you-watch basis for all available channels charged on an hourly rate.

He said: “They currently run a single bouquet and all the channels on the bouquet will be available for this hourly rate. The validity period is 45 days, thus is to allow our customers have value for their money.

Earlier, Samaddin Asapov, Chief Financial Officer, Azezcosmos OJECO, said customers extraction is one of the goals of the partnership.

About 70 HD channels will be available soon on its platform according to the pay tv company.

Materials in a suitcase seized nearly three years ago by Swiss authorities may unlock the identities of the Nigerian recipients of the $1.1billion in corrupt payments by Shell and ENI over the purchase of OPL 245 from Malabu Oil.

A Geneva prosecutor is now reviewing the materials and will decide what can be shared with Italian authorities, where some trials have begun in the monumental bribery scandal.

The prosecutor received the green light after Switzerland’s top court, the Federal Tribunal, rejected an appeal by Nigerian defendant Emeka Obi to prevent his bag from being unsealed. The Lausanne court’s Nov. 8 ruling, published online, said that the confiscated material – including documents, an external hard drive, British and African passports, and USB keys – could have “potential pertinence” in the criminal investigation and the sealing could be lifted without violating Swiss law.

“The Geneva prosecutor now has access to all the material in conformity with the Federal Tribunal ruling,” it said in a reply to Reuters. He will select the material to be handed over, it said.

Under Swiss law, privileged information cannot be shared in international judicial assistance in criminal matters and the prosecutor’s choice of documents can be appealed. Obi’s Geneva lawyers, Paul Gully-Hart and Charles Goumaz told Reuters that they were cooperating with the prosecutor’s office.

“With respect to the ongoing proceedings in Switzerland, regarding the suitcase of our client, we can confirm that no decision has yet been taken in respect of the transmission of any of its contents to the Italian authorities,” they said in a statement. “Our client has maintained his innocence in regards to the various allegations made by the Milan prosecutors and is confident that the final evaluation of the contents of his bag will confirm this.

“Our position remains, as it has always been from the beginning, that the only material that should even be considered for transmission to the Italians must be strictly limited to non-protected material that is directly related to our client’s involvement in the OPL 245 transaction,” they added. An Italian judge said on Monday that Eni and Shell were fully aware their 2011 purchase of a Nigerian oilfield would result in corrupt payments to Nigerian politicians and officials.

Eni and Shell bought the OPL 245 offshore field for about $1.3 billion in a deal that spawned one of the industry’s largest corruption scandals. It is alleged that about $1.1 billion of the total was siphoned to agents and middlemen. The Milan judge made the comment in her written reasons for the September conviction of Obi and Italian Gianluca Di Nardo, both middlemen in the OPL 245 deal, for corruption. The pair was jailed for four years.

Obi and Di Nardo have been tried separately from Eni and Shell, which also face corruption allegations over the same deal in a hearing that is expected to drag on for months. Eni has denied any wrongdoing. Shell said on Monday that neither Obi nor Di Nardo had worked for Shell, and that there was no basis to convict it or any of its former staff of alleged offences related to the deal.

Obi brought the Swiss case to keep the contents of the bag seized in Geneva in April 2016 from being shared with foreign authorities. Its confiscation led the Geneva prosecutor to open a criminal case for suspected corruption of foreign officials and money-laundering.

Days later, Italian authorities requested judicial assistance, arguing that the suitcase and its contents had been deliberately stashed in Geneva, the Swiss ruling said. Italy’s proceedings targeted 13 defendants and two companies suspected of corruption activities from 2009 and 2014 linked to acquiring prospecting rights in Africa, it said.

By Juliana Francis


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It was like a scene straight out of a movie script, when a stranger, later dubbed Police informant, sauntered into the office of the operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Lagos State Police Command, located at the Ikeja, GRA, and gleefully announced, “I’m a robber! My gang stole the missing truck and container, with its N147million worth of goods.”
If the informant was trying to get the operatives’ attention, he definitely did. Seasoned operatives, who had seen and been to hell, looked coldly at him, with their stares almost boring holes into his face and body.

The informant squirmed in trepidation, but he had come prepared. He knew that right then, there was no going back. For him, going back was as difficult as going forward. He took the plunge and his words jumped, stumbled and tumbled over each other as he tried to tell his story.

The informant was quickly ushered into the office of Philip, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) in charge of the IRT Unit in Lagos State.
After several minutes drilling under the unrelenting gaze of Philip, the story came pouring out of the informant. Yes, he truly was an armed robber. The operatives, who had seen a lot of characters in their line of work, knew there was a catch somewhere in his story and his willingness to surrender himself to the police.

The informant told them he came to surrender himself to the police because he wanted to be punished for his crimes, but he quickly added that he was not alone in the robbery operations.

He told Philip and other operatives that a police Inspector, identified as Mr. Asom Ubi, working with Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), was the leader of the gang.

As the man further revealed the gang’s modus of operandi and the sharing formula of loots, the suspected catch in his surrendering himself, fell into place. The puzzle was complete.

He was a robbery suspect allegedly cheated by Ubi. Vexed at being cheated, the informant decided to hand himself to IRT operatives, just to ensure that Ubi was also arrested.

According to him, he felt that if he went to SARS office at Police Command, Ubi might be allowed to go free since he was part of the SARS’s family, thus he chose IRT.

A police source said: “Ubi is among SARS operatives that newly joined the Lagos State Police Command. He has only spent a month at SARS, Ikeja, before he was posted to Onireke Police Station, after the police outpost was created. He was drafted there, and being the most senior person there, he was made the Station Officer (SO).”

Since Ubi started working there, different kinds of allegations had been trailing his footsteps. One of the allegations was that Ubi used to disappear from his duty post for more than two weeks or more. Whenever he was about to do his vanishing act, he goes with his rifle.
This rifle, according to a source at Onireke Police Station, was always in his car, contrary to police rules. Every policeman was expected to keep his rifle at the station’s armoury when leaving for home.

In the middle of this year, a truck, carrying 40 feet container, loaded with GNLD products was snatched. Two weeks after this truck disappeared, the stranger walked into IRT office. He declared that he was a robber and also had information for the police about the missing truck.
He met Philip and further told him that he was involved in the snatching of the truck. According to him, he was among those that snatched it. He promised to lead operatives of IRT to where the truck was kept.

The source disclosed: “When he was further quizzed, he said that they were a seven-man-gang that carried out the operation of robbing the truck driver and confiscating the products. He added that the operation was led by a police Inspector, attached to SARS, serving at Onireke police outpost.”

A stunned Philip was said to have quickly dispatched his men to Onireke, where Ubi was arrested. It was further alleged that Ubi confessed to the crime.

Acting swiftly on the heels of the informant’s information and Ubi subsequent arrest, Philip and his men embarked on intense investigation, leading to police invitations being sent to the driver and conductor of the stolen truck.

“The driver and conductor were brought for identification. The driver identified Ubi. The driver explained that the gang members bundled him and his conductor into the boot of a private car and later dropped them off along Ibadan Express Way. He said that they were robbed at night along Ikorodu road and that the gang made away with the truck and container,” said the police source.

The source further said: “When the container was snatched, the gang went to Alaba International Market to sell the product. The gang also sold the truck and container. They sold the product for N45 million, but it was actually worth N147 million. Ubi told the police that he got N6.5 million in the deal. The informant was given just N150, 000. The informant felt the money given to him was too small. He approached Ubi and complained. Attempting to placate the informant, Ubi told him that the money the gang made from the robbery was not enough, stressing that the buyer was yet to finish payment. Not satisfied, the informant went to complain to other members of the gang.


“Other gang members told him that his share was actually N3 million and that it was handed over to Ubi. He went back to Ubi, but Ubi denied, insisting that the other gang members were lying. Angry and feeling cheated, the informant decided to give himself up to the police just to ensure that Ubi was arrested. So, on that fateful day, he walked into IRT office and announced to anyone who cared to listen that he was an armed robber. He was ready to go down and wanted to drag Ubi with him.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari, in charge of IRT nationwide, said that although he was aware of the arrest of Ubi, he didn’t know or have the facts of the case.

Representatives of the Governors Forum, who met with the President over the issue then, included governors of Zamfara, Lagos, Kaduna and Enugu; while the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, was also in attendance.

The Amal Pepple Tripartite Committee on the Review of National Minimum Wage had, on November 6, submitted its report to President Buhari where it recommended N30,000 as the new national minimum wage.

While receiving the report, the President expressed his commitment to ensuring the implementation of a new national minimum wage and pledged to transmit an Executive Bill (on National Minimum Wage) to the National Assembly for its passage within the shortest possible time.

However, the 36 state governors had since expressed reservations over the proposed N30,000 new minimum wage by the Amal Pepple committee, saying the state governments were not in a stable financial position to pay it.

The Chairman of the Governors’ Forum and Governor of Zamfara, Abdul’aziz Yari, had, on November 15, told newsmen at the end of an emergency meeting of the governors in Abuja that payment of N30,000 wage was not practicable.

Sola Ojo, Kaduna

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has concluded plans to begin an indefinite strike starting from Wednesday, December 12.

ASUP President, Comrade Usman Yusuf Dutse, who addressed the press in Kaduna, said the nationwide industrial action became necessary due to the failure of the federal government to service the union’s demands overtime.

Speaking through the Zonal Coordinator, Zone A, Kabir Yunusa, Dutse also condemned the alleged move by the legislative arm of government to establish additional 80 higher institutions in the country, saying it was not in the
interest of the masses.

“The important thing is to maintain the existing ones rather than making political establishment of institutions in the country because it is not how many polytechnics or universities we have in this country that matters, but the quality of services rendered,” he said.

He said the union was also irked by non-payment of the salaries of its members.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday assented to the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) Amendment Act, which allows graduates of the institution to participate in the one-year compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Nigerian Law School for Law graduates.

Presidential Assistant on National Assembly (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, made the announcement while addressing State House reporters in Abuja.

According to the Presidential Aide, “President Buhari has also assented to National Open University Amendment Act, which allows the National Open University to operate as all other universities, having the same power and functions and the same administrative structures eliminating possible discrimination as some use to want to have on its products and programmes.

“It has also allowed the establishment of some centres to be called study centres and given conditions for the establishment of such study centres,” he said.

The National Assembly had passed a bill for an Act to Amend the National Open University Act Cap N6 LFN 1983 (Amendment) Bill 2017.

Kamorudeen Ogundele, Abuja

The All Progressives Congress is worried by the decision of some aggrieved members, including the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibukunle Amosun, and his Imo State counterpart, Rochas Okorocha, to shun the APC governorship candidates in their states, The PUNCH has learnt.

Some members, who were aggrieved by the party’s primaries, had vowed to work against the APC candidates in their states.

Besides the two governors, some lawmakers, who could not secure the party’s tickets have also vowed to work against the party’s candidates, except the President.

The APC National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, had earlier on Wednesday said the party could win the governorship elections in Imo and Ogun without the support of Okorocha and Amosun.

It was, however, learnt that despite the statement of Oshiomhole, the party leaders were concerned that some aggrieved members could spoil the chances of the APC.

This, a source said, informed the decision of the party to convene a consultative forum with governorship candidates, state chairmen and secretaries at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja on Thursday.

The source stated, “The party is disturbed by the tales from some states and decided to tackle the issues head-on so as not to play into the hands of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

“We know the party is waiting in the wings and looking for those who will be spoilers among us, so we have decided to be ahead of them.”

Another chieftain of the party, who would not want his name revealed because of the sensitive nature of the issue, cited Imo, Ogun and Zamfara states as places with high number of dissenters.

Okorocha, Amosun and the Zamfara State Governor, Abdul-Azeez Yari, are aggrieved that their preferred candidates did not get the tickets of the party.

The source said, “In Imo, Governor Rochas Okorocha has allowed his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, to pick the nomination form of another party while he remains in the APC to contest the senatorial seat. We see this as handwriting that the governor will work against the party in the governorship election.

“His position and body language is sending wrong signals to our members, so we need to quickly move in to motivate our members in order to heal many wounds as may be possible. Many of them think the crisis must be handled fast to avoid a gale of defections.

“Also in Ogun, the governor has said he is working towards the re-election of President Buhari but said he would work against the party’s governorship candidate.”

Plateau Governor, Simon Lalong, confirmed this fear in his opening remark at the consultative meeting.

Lalong said, “We have started to hear people say that they will campaign for the president, not the governor. The party structure is one and if they are not going to campaign for the governor, don’t campaign with us.

“Raise another structure in Abuja and remain in Abuja because if you come you are likely to dilute the message of the APC.”

Lalong urged the APC to release the campaign council so as to start working for the party.

“That is why I am also of the opinion that the earlier you release the campaign council, the better. Some of the items we intend to build into our campaign slogan are also for the president,” he added.

According to a communiqué signed by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Issa Lanre-Onilu, the consultative meeting resolved that party leaders must campaign for all candidates of the party (presidential, governorship and legislative positions).

“A situation where leaders engage in selective support by picking and choosing candidates to campaign for and support is anti-party.

“The Enugu State Chairman, Ben Nwoye, distanced the state chapter from the condemnable actions and utterances of a senatorial aspirant in the state, Mr Osita Okechukwu,” the communiqué stated.

The meeting also called on governorship candidates to run an issue-based campaign centred on the unprecedented achievements of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration which is evident in all the states of the federation.

It urged the party’s governorship candidates to run an inclusive campaign by bringing onboard former aspirants.

The communiqué added, “The party’s governorship and other stakeholders were also encouraged to domesticate ongoing peace and reconciliation efforts by the National Working Committee.

“The consultative meeting passed a vote of confidence in the NWC led by the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole. The NWC was urged to continue its effort to protect the best interest of the party and pursue efforts to achieve peace and reconciliation in the party.”

Speaking earlier at the opening, Oshiomhole said the consultative meeting was called to get feelers from states and to chart a way forward for the party’s victory in the 2019 general elections.

He lamented that there were some aggrieved members working with governors in states ruled by the opposition to ensure the APC did not have candidates.

“I am aware that we have some instances where some people have to go to court. And they are in two parts. There are some who are asking the court to declare them as the winner…where people are going to court to claim that there were no primaries such persons are not looking for solutions. Such persons are more or less agents of the opposition because if the court were to uphold their prayers, it means our party would have no candidate in such states. And the implication is that opposition will win such states.”

Oshiomhole said members had the responsibility to work wholeheartedly to deliver our candidates in their respective states.

“To be honest, l think that each and every one of you has one important role to play. Your actions could help the process of reconciliation and it could also deepen division. It would be helpful. No matter what anybody from outside who is helping you to reconcile with those who contested with you, your action would be far more potent in the process.”

Oshiomhole urged the candidates to woo over those who contested the party’s tickets against them.

“For example, in constituting your campaign organisation, if you find that there were those who wanted to be governors like you and who indeed have what it takes to be governors but the system can only produce one candidate, l think it would be best for you to identify such persons and bring them close and integrate them into your campaign organisation or if possible ask them to head the campaign.”

Also speaking, the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bello, stressed the need to bring back aggrieved members.

“What we should do is to extend hands of fellowship to them and like the national chairman said, make them part of your campaign council. It will help to douse tension and give them a sense of belonging so that by God’s grace when we win in 2019, we must carry them along.

“The reconciliation committee is a good effort but we should set up similar committees at the state level. What we are doing in Niger State which we feel can help in other states is to refund the money they used in buying the forms. It will help douse a lot of tension. It is good that we are one united APC and together on one platform.”

By Victor Azubuike


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Mr. Wilfred Nwovueze, has insisted that Prince Owabie aka J-BOY, the suspected killer of his pregnant daughter, Betty must marry her corpse.


Nwovueze told newsmen on Thursday that the marriage is in line with a compulsory traditional rites of Ndele people in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State where the deceased hailed from.

He, therefore, pleaded with security agencies to ensure that justice is done in the killing of his daughter.

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“I don’t want any problem. That girl is my daughter and what I want the Police to do is to allow this J-Boy of a man or his family members to marry my daughter before they bury her.

“All the rites that are due any girl of marriageable age in my community will be done so that there will be no calamity,” he said.

In the meantime, the Rivers state Police Command has exhumed the body of Betty Nwovueze, the murdered girl friend of Prince Owabie in Rumuepirikom, Obio-Akpor Local government area of the state.

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DAILY POST reports that the suspect, Owabie led the personnel to his room where he buried his girlfriend in a shallow grave.

Spokesman of the Command who was also at the scene said the body of the girl will be deposited in the morgue after which an autopsy will be conducted.

Posted By: Kolade Adeyemi


A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State, Dr. Jamil Isyaku Gwamna on Wednesday said the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari were visible enough for APC to defeat the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the next general elections come 2019.

Dr. Gwamna who is the Sardaunan Gombe, made this disclosure in a chat with newsmen, saying that the people-oriented programmes and policies of the Federal Government would make APC defeat any opposition in 2019 with ease.

He insisted that it would be difficult for the PDP or any party to convince those who have benefitted from the good governance of the current administration not to vote APC at all levels.

According to him, President Buhari and APC do not need to campaign like other parties because the people are now more political-conscious than any time in history to know the difference between good governance and bad leadership.

“President Buhari and the APC do not need to campaign like the PDP or other political parties. The people-oriented programmes and policies of the federal government which have affected positively the lives of Nigerians will speak for the president.

“It will be difficult for the PDP or any party to defeat President Buhari and Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe state, because the people have tested lives under these two political parties and are more knowledgeable to differentiate between the good governance of APC and the bad leadership of the PDP.

“Without sounding immodest, the PDP has a lot of campaigning to do because they performed poorly while in power and even in Gombe State within the last years.

“How will the PDP convince the 500,000 N-power beneficiaries, farmers who have been given loans through Anchor Borrower Programme, those enjoying the over 3000MW of power that has been added to the national grid, the residents of the North East who had abandoned their homes for fears of Boko Haram, are now back to their normal way of life, not to vote the APC?

“So you see why I said the PDP has a lot of campaigning to do in terms of denying the reality on ground which is not possible,’’ he said.

Gwamna also advised the people of Gombe State to be wise in their voting, adding that vote-buying should be resisted as it portends grave danger to good governance.

He expressed his optimism that President Muhammadu Buhari would win the 2019 general elections.

He, however, appealed to Gombe electorate to cast their votes for Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya to align Gombe to the center and jettison the ‘opposition’ status that was tagged to the state.

Furthermore, Dr. Gwamna said, “Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya is a prudent businessman who has administrative prowess to lead the state to the next level,” adding that, “the state has not fared well under the PDP in the last seven years.”

In a verbal tirade, Tinubu described Atiku as confused and directionless and called on Nigerians to reject the opposition party.

Sunday Ani & Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday, took the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to the cleaners.

In a no-holds-barred verbal tirade, Tinubu described Atiku as confused and directionless and called on Nigerians to reject the opposition party.

According to the former governor of Lagos State, Atiku has changed membership of political parties so many time that if asked which party he belonged, “he must ask of the year you are referring to before he could provide an answer.”

He added: “Atiku has changed political parties such that if you ask him the direction he is going, he would answer North, South, East and West at the same time.”

According to him: “Any man who intends on going everywhere at the same time is a man intent on going nowhere. Atiku has every right to engage in such personal confusion. But, he has no ethical right to try to substitute his personal confusion for our national mission.”

However, the PDP dismissed the statement by Tinubu at the National Consultative Forum organised by the National Committee of the Buhari Support Group, Abuja, as an indication of “how panicky the APC has become over Atiku candidature.”

The PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, who is also the Director, Media and Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Council, stated that what Nigerians expected from the ruling party in the run-up to the polls is an explanation of how they have managed the resources of the country in the past three years and not insult against Atiku.

“If indeed Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu described our candidate in those words, then it shows clearly how panicky the APC has become. It also shows that the hierarchy of APC has nothing to offer Nigerians.
“In the PDP, we believe the APC will use this campaign period to showcase to Nigerians their achievements in the last three years.

“But instead of showcasing what they have used humongous sums of money doing in the last three years, all they do is to attack the personality of our candidate. All they do is to be fixated with the personality of our candidate. But that is not the questions that Nigerians are asking.

“The questions that Nigerians are asking is come to us and demonstrate the manner in which you have helped our cause in the last years. Is it through the education of our children? Is through security? Is it through provisions in the budget that have affected our lives directly?

“How have they affected your life and mine positively in the last three and half years? So, we are not surprised that they have resorted to insults on the personality of our candidate, who Nigerians, across board, have generally accepted is the best person for our country today. Like we always told them, when they go low, we go high,” the PDP spokesman stated.

But Tinubu insisted that Nigerians must reject PDP, which he alleged consumed the years of plenty and depleted the national storehouse.

“They now ask for the keys to that storehouse, so they can return to the scene of their malfeasance. They seek to come back not to repair what they did but to repeat it. We will not allow that to happen because we prefer progress over regression. We are here because we support honest government that will bring peace, justice and prosperity to all,” he submitted.

He described President Buhari as a man committed to building the necessary foundation for a prosperous nation and diversified economy that will provide employment and fair opportunity for all.

“The PDP standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, has changed parties so many times and collected so many membership cards. He could build a house of the party membership cards he has accumulated. But, one thing he should remember is that a man, who builds a house of cards, ought not to cast stones at a man who is building a house with a firm and true foundation. He should also realise that such a feeble house will collapse as soon as the wind of truth blows on it.”

He described Buhari as a man, who has no tolerance for corruption and is vigorously ridding the nation of it.

The APC leader described the 16 years of PDP as years of locust, characterised by plunder, destruction and poverty.

He lamented that $16 billion was wasted on power without a spark of light.

“At the end of this long trail, they improved power generation not at all. Sixteen billion dollars was the price we paid for a sojourn into greater darkness. An ordinarily incompetent government can give you darkness for no extra cost. It takes a monumentally corrupt and inept group to burn a mountain as high as 16 billion dollars, and not produce the slightest spark of light in the process,” he said.

Tinubu also lambasted the opposition party for destroying the country’s economy with a debt hang over of $63 billion.

“The PDP federal and state governments raked up over 63 billion dollars in debt. The PDP distorted financial markets by outborrowing the private sector, yet, they left salaries unpaid, pensioners were left abandoned, and some made homeless by PDP’s neglect. Infrastructure projects went uncompleted,” he stated.

He also blamed the PDP for Boko Haram insurgency, which he said would have been a thing of the past if PDP had not diverted funds meant to procure equipment for soldiers to prosecute the war.

“Funds intended to make the nation safe from Boko Haram were diverted for pecuniary gains,” he claimed.

He lauded the organisers for putting up the programme, which he said was to remind Nigerians that in four years and with lesser resources, Buhari has created a better foundation for Nigeria’s future than all the PDP governments combined, adding that one Buhari is worth more than the three PDP presidents who preceded him.

Indications emerged last night why South-East governors voted on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are foot-dragging to support the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar.

A source close to the governors told Daily Independent that since Atiku settled for Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, as his running mate, the governors have been giving his ambition cold shoulders.

The source attributed their attitude to their personal ambition, noting that they are angling to contest for the presidency in 2023 when their tenures as governors will end.

He said originally they were pandering to President Muhammadu Buhari following their fear of sacked Lawal Daura, former director general of the Department of State Services (DSS), noting that they have now overcome that fear with Daura out of the equation.

“Their concern now is all about 2023 when their tenures will end. And since the South-East is likely to produce the presidency they are all angling to position themselves. But Atiku picking Obi as his running mate puts Obi in a vantage position to contest for the presidency in 2023. That is actually their problem with Atiku”, he said.

He said the issue of not consulting them before picking Obi as running mate is just a cover-up to their personal ambition of the presidency in 2023.

The source noted that the South-East governors may align with the All Progressives Congress (APC) that has also promised the zone the ticket in 2023.

He said that the president’s men and their colleague governors have been wooing them and any time the president travels out of the country he picks one of them to be among his entourage, noting that there’s a reason to this.

Meanwhile, Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, said he did not resign his position as the South-South coordinator of the Atiku campaign team.

According to the governor, “I am the one to lead PDP campaign in South-South, my purported resignation rumour from PDP campaign team was orchestrated by those that are panicking already”.

Some reports claimed that Wike had resigned his appointment as the South-South zonal coordinator of the PDP presidential campaign council.

The PDP had in October named Senate President Bukola Saraki as Director-General of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Council, along with prominent leaders of the party as zonal coordinators.

Announcing their appointment, the party’s national chairman, Uche Secondus, had said, “After due consultation with party stakeholders, PDP, under my leadership has approved the following as members of Atiku Presidential Campaign Council.”

Apart from the Senate President, Ayo Fayose, Aminu Tambuwal, Ibrahim Dankwambo, Samuel Ortom, Nyesom Wike and Dave Umahi were named as zonal coordinators.

While Governor Aminu Tambuwal was named as the zonal coordinator for North-West, Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo was appointed zonal coordinator for North-East, Governor Samuel Ortom for North-Central, Governor Dave Umahi for South-East, Nyesom Wike for South-South and former Governor Ayodele Fayose as zonal coordinator for the South-West.

Again, Wike also said he may not be in Sokoto today for the kick-off of Atiku campaign because he is hosting the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Rivers State.

Kanu, has faulted the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed on his position over alleged cloning of alleging cloning of President Muhammadu Buhari was cloned.

It will be recalled that the Lai Mohammed had said that it was “not only absolute idiotic but also sheer bunkum” to allege that Buhari is dead.

Lai Mohammed reportedly said the allegations of Lai Mohammed “does not require any response from any responsible government or its agencies”.

Nnamdi Kanu reacted to Mohammed’s statement during a live broadcast via radio Biafra on Saturday.

Kanu said: “We are going to dismantle the lies of Lai Mohammed and his brother, there was one Yoruba senator, very mischievous and a lying toad, he said he owes a doctorate degree in genetics as anyone heard about the man before? He a Yoruba senator.

“Do you see how clever they are? This Yoruba senator said that nobody can clone a 75-year-old. Lai Mohammed echoed the same sentiments.

“If you’re not intelligent enough, you will think Nnamdi Kanu said that Buhari was cloned into Jubril, that was not what I said. I said that Jubril is an impostor. They brought him in to act and behave like the dead Buhari. I never said he was cloned. But you see how clever these lairs are? Like lying Mohammed.”

Abiodun Nejo, Ado Ekiti

A member of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr Samuel Omotoso, has removed markings of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from a two-storey commercial building in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.

The building, marked “Under Investigation, Please keep off” by EFCC, was among property believed to be linked to former Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, that the anti-graft agency sealed on November 22.

Omotoso said removal of the markings at the weekend was consequent upon presentation of documents to EFCC to prove his family ownership of the property.

The lawmaker, in a statement entitled “Re: Marked Ekiti Lawmaker’s Property: Issues Resolved with EFCC”, that he signed, stated: “I have been given clearance to remove the markings on the property.

“All questions and expectations on our documentation on means of purchase and construction of the said property by me and my wife have been sufficiently demonstrated to the EFCC.

“This demonstration necessitated my unaccompanied personal visit to the EFCC Headquarters on 29th of November 2018, where the issue was resolved.

“The Property in question at No 10 Odundun Street, Okesa, Ado- Ekiti, belongs to me and my wife without let or hindrance.

“The EFCC also explained that contrary to perception, our property wasn’t sealed nor was I indicted for any infraction, but marked so as to identify the owner.

“We also agreed that based on logistics reasons, time constraints and on request, that I have been given clearance to remove the markings on the property so I can live my private life in peace.

“We also resolved that this country belongs to all of us and all hands must be on deck to strenghten our institutions and preserve personal liberties,” he said.

By Hope Abah Emmanuel, Makurdi



A former Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Barr. Sam Ode has emerged the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State.

Ode, a native of Idoma from Otukpo Local Government Area of the state would now be the running mate of the APC gubernatorial flag bearer, Barr. Emmanuel Jime, instead of one Barr. Vembeh Gbihi Isaac whose name earlier appeared on the list released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Daily Trust gathered that the list by the INEC which indicated that the 40-year-old, Isaac, would deputise the APC’s governorship candidate, was a temporal development as the party at the time the commission published the names was yet to resolved whom to choose between the ex-minister and Peace Corps’s Dickson Akor for the position.

But, the Acting State Publicity Secretary of APC, James Oruguga, told our correspondent Sunday that the party finally announced its decision to settle for Ode on Friday.

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The party’s decision however finally put to rest the dust that the issue had generated in the political space of the state following opposition parties mocking the APC for its inability to pick a running mate without much ado.

Ode possess several university degrees to include; a B.A in Theatre Arts from University of Jos and LLB in Public and International Law from the University of Abuja. He was recently called to bar after completing the Nigerian Law School in Bwari- Abuja.

The former minister at various times served as Special Assistant to the ex-Governor, Gabriel Suswam, Chairman of Otukpo Local Government Council and Special Adviser, Bureau of Local Government & Chieftaincy Affairs during the Suswam’s tenure and minister of State, Niger Delta Affairs as well as being a Board Chairman of Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority in the President Goodluck Jonathan’s era.

ASABA – Worried by the increasing rate of ritual activities of Yahoo Boys in Delta State, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has directed security agencies in the state and country to commence a massive crackdown on them.

This may not be unconnected with the brutal murder of Elozino Ogege, a 300 level female student of Mass Communication, Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, by suspected ritualists masquerading as “Yahoo Boys”.

The governor gave the order in a condolence message to the family of Elozino.

Governor Okowa, who was greatly distraught by the sad development, ordered a serious crackdown on all “Yahoo boys”, ritualists and all those involved in unexplainable and sudden wealth in the state.

In a statement by Charles Aniagwu, his Chief Press Secretary, in Asaba on Monday, Okowa expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family, the Isoko nation and the Delta State University, Abraka community.

The governor noted with serious concern the increasing and disturbing activities of suspected ritual killers and criminally-minded individuals, whose obtrusive and flamboyant escapades are becoming more conspicuous.

“On behalf of the government and people of Delta State, it is with a heavy heart that I write to express our profound commiserations to the family of Elozino Ogege, the Isoko nation, her friends, both within and outside the university community.

“I am glad that the security agencies have made serious progress in the investigation into the murder and l can assure Deltans and Nigerians that justice will be served on the perpetrators of this dastard act.”

The governor appreciated the solidarity exhibited by Deltans and Nigerians in condemning the bizarre act and urged security agencies in the state and country to commence a massive crackdown on these criminal elements veneering as “Yahoo Boys”.

“As a government whose primary responsibility is the protection of lives and property, as well as the welfare of her citizens, I urge Deltans and Nigerians to partner with the government and report to security agencies the activities of these gangs with a view to assisting the society to get rid of such dangerous groups. Never again as a people shall we condone the activities of these known criminals as we all seem to agree that “enough is enough”.

“May the soul of Elozino Ogege and all those who lost their lives in similar circumstances find eternal rest in the bosom of God Almighty,” the governor wrote.

By Victor Ogunje




There was panic Tuesday evening as a 49-year-old civil servant in the Ekiti State Civil Service, Mr. Abolarinwa Olaoye, hanged himself within the state Secretariat in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

The body of the father of five, who was a night guard at the Ekiti State Scholarship Board, was found hanged with a clothing material to the railing of a building at the Ministry of Education where he had reported for duty around 6pm Tuesday.

Civil servants clustered around the spot of the incident and lamented the horrible twist of event for the man they described as jovial and amiable while alive.

The Boxer MB100 motorcycle with registration number ADK 210 WS
brought by the deceased to the office was parked within the building where the suicide took place.

The deceased, according to a sister-in-law, Mrs Elizabeth Babalola, also engaged in commercial motorcycle operation and farming to augment his salary.

Olaoye, a native of Igogo Ekiti, Moba Local Government area of the state, according to Babalola, came to her around 4.30pm on Tuesday and lamented the acute financial problems he had been encountering of recent.

Babalola added: “He came to me around 4.30pm on Tuesday and started lamenting that his house rent was due and that he could not pay due to irregular salary payment.

“He said he was also indebted to the government through housing and
car loans he obtained.

“He also complained about his inability to meet other financial commitments to his wife’s family. He told me he could go ahead and do something nasty. He told me clearly that he was tired of life.

“I tried to persuade him not to resort to anything nasty. I told him life is full of ups and downs and that he should just endure, but I never knew he would end this way.”

The Executive Secretary of the Ekiti State Scholarship Board, Mr. Ayo Ajimat, confirmed that the deceased was a member of staff of the board before his demise.

“Yes, he was our staff. He was a very prayerful, jovial and amiable person. I don’t understand what led to this. I don’t know the kind of problem he had that could lead to this,” he said.

As at the time of filing this report, the body of the man was still hanging in the room where he committed suicide due to the insistence of some people that certain ritual would have to be performed before he could be brought down.

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and policemen from the police station located at the old Iyin road with jurisdiction over the area where the incident happened came to the scene.

But they could not remove the corpse as they said they were waiting for the family from Igogo Ekiti to arrive before taking any action.

Posted By: Augustine Ehikioya



The Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi on Monday said that he is not interested in probing his predecessor, Ayodele Fayose and that he has left him in the hands God.

According to him, it is left for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other related bodies to carry out the probe.

Speaking with State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he said that he is only looking at the books.

He said “Well, I am sure I have never said anything about probe; I only gave hints that I would look into the books prior to my swearing in.

“Looking into books or account is the duty of any new governor; you need to know what you found on ground; I just talked about visitation panel into the education sector and institutions in the state.

“There are other sectors in the state; and it will be good for me not to check what we found when we came into office and share that with the citizens of the state.

“It is just accountability not probe. I am not EFCC; I am not ICPC; there are institutions that are charged with the responsibility to do that and it is entirely up to them if they want to probe the governor or not.

“It is not my business; I leave the governor to God; I have said that before.’’ he added
Fayose is being prosecuted by EFCC over 11-count charge of conspiracy and money laundering.

Fayemi also said that his administration is taking steps that will lead to an increase in school enrollment in all parts of the state.
According to him, the state government had since introduced free and compulsory education at the primary and secondary levels, to encourage school attendance.

“One of the very first things we are doing to increase enrollment is to make sure that all fees and levies that were put on the primary and secondary sector are removed. We have returned free education, compulsory and qualitative education to our basic education sector,” he stated.

He said the steps taken are aimed at restoring the state to its leading position in education in Nigeria.

The education sector in Ekiti State, he said, has suffered some setbacks in recent time and the State government is doing its best to return the lost glory.

The Governor however expressed regret that school enrollment has dropped and his administration is working hard to unravel the cause.

“We do have a tradition of being the intellectual capital of this country but we seem to have lost that edge lately so we are doing what we can to reposition the sector particularly the basic and tertiary sectors.

“On the tertiary sector we have set up visitation panels in all of the tertiary institutions, to review and recommend what the critical and challenging issues are and how government should respond to the yearnings of this sector and in the basic education site, we are working hard to encourage enrollment into primary and secondary schools,” he said.

He went on “We are doing all that we can to encourage more students to come into schools, so we are starting the school feeding programme in Ekiti State in order to ensure that students and kids that are not opportune to be in school are in school.

“We are also ensuring that we pay salaries regularly because you cannot expect parents who have not received salaries and wages for 6-10 months on one hand and their children are been asked to pay education levy on the other hand to have the capacity to send such children to school and we need to make sure that education, which we see in our party as a right not a privilege should be free at least at the basic level is free,” he said.

No doubt, the political sphere was stimulated last week with the launch of ‘My Transition Hours’, a book authored by former president Goodluck Jonathan.

In the book, Jonathan argued that it was not his biography but an account of his stewardship and a platform to justify that he was not clueless to accept the outcome of the 2015 election, which he described as “probably rigged”.

Except for his mother that was
praised in the book, Jonathan appears to have one person or institution to hold responsible for every lacuna witnessed during his administration.

In the book, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent, five entities were blamed by the ex-president.


Barrack Obama and John Kerry

One prominent person whose name appeared in the book is ex-president of the United States of America, Barrack Obama.
Jonathan blamed Obama for “eavesdropping” into the political affairs of Nigeria.

Also, he accused John Kerry, former US Secretary of State of being too concerned about Nigeria’s 2015 election.

Referring to Obama, Jonathan said: “Armaments, pre-emptive strikes, propaganda, and pack mentality and many other wet works otherwise known as espionage. They are all then encapsulated in a sophisticated international code of deeds. For instance, nations could listen in on other nations’ private conversations.
“It is okay, so long as you were not caught.

President Barack Obama would probably not consider eavesdropping in ten lifetimes, but what about that institutional order which transcends his personal preferences and principles?”
Jonathan also alleged that John Kerry visited him when the 2015 election was approaching to humiliate him.

He added: “John Kerry came from the United States to express further worry. It was at once comic and sobering. In fact, John Kerry showed great reluctance in accepting our explanation for the postponement.

“In attendance where the decision to postpone the election was taken were almost all the living former Heads of State of this country. How else does a foreigner become convinced that he was hearing the truth? How does a foreigner love one’s country more than the indigene?
“I have stated earlier how the Kerry visit was designed to humiliate a sitting Nigerian president and clearly take sides in that election.

“We watch today how the Republicans and Democrats are building up to the next tenant in the White House. Do you see anyone going from Nigeria to sit between Obama and Romney four years ago? It would be considered creative, even in Hollywood.”


Attahiru Jega and INEC

Though many Nigerians may argue that the Prof. Attahiru Jega’s led Independent Electoral Commission was outstanding, former President Goodluck Jonathan indicted the commission in his book.
He alleged that the INEC under the leadership of Jega contributed to his loss through its activities, which cumulated into the postponement of the election.

Part of the book read: “I should talk briefly about the INEC here. The PVC shortage was everywhere. The lopsided allocations grew into a national din. The housing of PVCs in emirs’ palaces was a topic. The card readers were not even in view. All of these happening despite years of preparation and huge votes made available! It was all building up to a perfect storm.

“The other front in the heat of Nigeria’s election moment in 2015 was the foreign interest. They mounted serious pressure on us in their apparent disbelief the postponement was without
ulterior motive. They maintained the curious posture of one who had been deceived severally before and therefore, had every reason to cede no credence to our position. But there was no such instance.”


Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima

Jonathan believed that one of the key reasons why he lost the 2015 election was the kidnap of the Chibok girls. The situation, the president said, could have been salvaged if Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, was proactive enough.

The ex-president alleged that Governor Shettima asked the schoolgirls to return to the zone where they were kidnapped.
The book read in part: “The hash-taggers and crucify campaigners did not stop to ask the governor why he asked the girls to return to that

dangerouszone. They did not ask why he pointedly promised WAEC and the girls security, which he did not have to give. Was he so terribly interested in their SSCE exam and so disinterested in their staying alive? Or was the governor part of a bigger scheme?

“Why would a state governor be that interested in the SSCE exam of a single school? Really, if it were the Commissioner of Police promising security, the story would probably have been different. No one was interested in knowing why the girls were left alone in Borno State of that time. How does a Borno state governor of a time like that miss that kind of call?”


Punch, Nation, Channels, TVC and Other Media Organisations

The ex-president believed that major newspapers and broadcast media jilted him at the wake of the 2015 election. He wondered why they were not asking enough questions and refusal to inform the voters appropriately.

He claimed that majority of the media organisations lacked integrity, adding that they refused to effectively report the “violent rigging” that allegedly took place during the election.

The book read in part: “We allowed ourselves to be constantly programmed by a section of media establishment with vested interest and negative politics. Perhaps it is time to bypass the filter of the media, which does not stand on any obvious moral pedestal.

“Since the putsch to which we were so familiar had left the vogue, being out of sync with democracy, even democratic
pretences, then the coup’s cousin – violent rigging, becomes the alternative. Violent rigging in itself must be an absurd phrase since rigging on its own, even without bloodshed, hardly adds anything to the measure of devilry which ab initio exists in rigging.

“This must be the habitat of the media with a head totally buried in the sand, while its body remained an elephant in the room. The media is also the home of mercantile academics holding pre-eminence in the trade of politics, albeit at the fringe, mostly.”


Emirs, Afenifere, Ohaneze Ndigbo
and ACF

The ex-president blamed the Arewa Consultative Forum for opposing his second term bid; expressed doubt in the safety of the PVCs kept in the Emirs palace; and faulted the Afenifere and Ohanaeze Ndigbo for not delivering as expected.

In the book, he said: “For clarity, I am saying these primordial blocs usually bargain better with united fronts at the Nigerian table until the new kids on the block forced a change in the rules of engagement. It was called tribalism and painted in uninspiring colors, but it appeared the only time genuine growth registered in the Nigerian fledgling state, even if by the regions. However, such cultural representatives like the Afenifere and Ohanaeze Ndigbo were politically emasculated and eventually rendered mere shadows of themselves.

“However, the Arewa Consultative Forum thrives because it did not suffer that fate. The housing of PVCs in emirs’ palaces was a topic.”

By Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti


The British Government has clarified that it will maintain neutrality as Nigerians go to the polls in 2019 to elect a new president.

This is as international agencies in conjunction with local civil society organisations told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fashion out ways in which Peoples Living with Disabilities (PWDs) will easily participate in the electoral system in 2019.

The agencies, which include British High Commission and Australian High Commission in Nigeria, British Department for International Development (DFID) and Foundation For Justice and Social Development (FOJSOD), stated that excluding the people living with disabilities from the electoral system is not in consonance with the global best practices.

Speaking at a one-day dialogue tagged: ‘Enhancing Electoral Participation of PWDs in 2019 General Election’, the Political Adviser to the country’s Deputy British High Commissioner, Mr Wale Adebajo, said the British government neither supports President Buhari nor the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other candidate in the election.

Adebajo said the National Disability Bill that is awaiting presidential assent will help in resolving some of the issues bedevilling the group in the country.

He applauded INEC for including PWDs in its strategic plan for the 2017-2021 elections, saying the British Government and the United States Department for International Development (USAID) were favourably disposed to the action.

“When we pointed out in the Ondo governorship election the need to make the PWDs more inclusive in our elections, INEC responded positively to our response by establishing desk officers in INEC offices to take care of the PWDs. This to us was a signal of INEC’s commitment to improving access to electoral system.

“We want to clear the air that the British government is not supporting any candidate in the election. We are neutral when it comes to election in Nigeria,” he said.

The DFID Regional Programme Officer, Mrs Margaret Fagboyo, said the agency has always believed that PWDs should be the beneficiaries of the sustainable development in Nigeria, which unfettered access to participate in elections was part of.

“In 2019, INEC must ensure that ballot boxes are placed where they can access easily. The police shouldn’t harass them; they should be accorded respect. They should be seen as critical stakeholders in any election.

“We commend INEC for noticing where there are lapses and trying to improve on them. We can’t leave these people behind while taking critical decisions just because they are having one form of disability. If this happens, definitely there will be problem,” she said.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ekiti State, Prof. Abduganiy Raji, said INEC has identified those critical areas where PWDs are having problems in the electoral system, adding that such were being tackled through policy formulation and strong legal framework.

Raji said those with disabilities were effectively sensitised before the July 14 governorship election in the state and that it accounted for the major breakthrough recorded in the poll.

“The overall goal of this programme is to consolidate inclusive electoral process that would be in consonance with the international best practices devoid of any rancour or acrimony but free, fair, transparent and acceptable elections.

“In this programme, we must also identify those critical challenges affecting participation of PWDs in elections. They should understand legal provision and policy framework that can support electoral participation and to engage electoral stakeholder to mainstream PWDs into electoral engagement,” Raji said.

Nuhu Salihu aka “Smally”, one of suspects in Senator Dino Melaye’s gun running trial has been announced dead.

Melaye, who is representing Kogi West, is answering charges bothering on gun running allegations levied against him and two others – late “Smally”, Kabir Seidu, aka Osama.

Melaye on twitter on Monday said Smally died in the police custody.

He said: “Nuhu Salisu AKA Small has died in questionable circumstances in police custody. He is one of the two suspects arraigned along with me in the case of conspiracy and illegal possession of fire arm. Both suspects have since denied before the court knowing me or getting any fire arm from me.”

Last week, the prime suspect in the April 5 Offa robbery attacks, Michael Adikwu, died. Senate President Bukola Saraki was alleged to be the one that equipped the robbers.

It will be recalled that the Police had filed a case in a Lokoja court accusing Melaye and three other persons of illegal possession of firearms.

The police took the action, following the confession of two alleged thugs who claimed to be working for Melaye.

“The men were arrested on January 19 at Ogojueje in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State after a shootout with the Police; and have confessed to being hired by Melaye to cause mayhem in the state,” the force PRO Jimoh Moshood said.

One of the persons arrested was identified as 31-year-old Kabiru Saidu, a.k.a Osama.

The other was Nuhu Salisu, who is 25 years old. The third person charged to court was identified as Muhammed Audu, a politician, who is said to currently be at large.

The police said they seized from the thugs and their gang members two AK-47 rifles, five pump action guns, two locally made pistols and heaps of charms.

According to the police, the men not only confessed to have been involved in several kidnappings in the state and environs, they also claimed to be hired thugs for politicians.

“According to the gang leader, Osama, he has been working as a political thug for one Alhaji Mohammed Audu, a politician in the state.

“He said Alhaji Mohammed Audu invited him to Abuja and introduced him to Senator Dino Melaye and they met on Airport Road, Abuja, inside Senator Dino Melaye’s car in the month of December, 2017.

“The suspect further confessed that Senator Dino Melaye told him that they should start working for the Senator as his political thugs and they should recruit and train more other (sic) thugs to work for him in preparation toward 2019 general election to enable him (Sen. Dino Melaye ) challenge his political opponents and disorganise Kogi State,” Moshood added.

Posted By: Onimisi Alao,



https://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Man.png


A youth, Abubakar Yahaya, has chopped off the wrist of the left hand of another youth, Mohammed Jafar, in a fight over a girlfriend.

Abubakar, aged 23, of Geriyu Junction in the Bypass area of Jimeta, Yola, and Mohammed Jafar from Demsawo, also in Jimeta, got engaged in the fight that involved their respective friends over the subject of the dispute, Mariam Boni, and Abubakar managed to have the upper hand by using a machete to chop off Mohammed’s wrist, according to a police report on the incident.

The report indicated that the fight started when Mariam, who was Abubakar’s girlfriend, decided to end the relationship, and that Mohammed became a target of attack because she chose him as her new boyfriend.

The police said they swung into action immediately after the incident, which occurred on Wednesday, November 21, and were able to arrest Abubakar, Mohammed (now on hospital admission), Mariam, and the friends of both Abubakar and Mohammed who were involved in the bloody fight.

The lot and some other suspects to do with other crimes were paraded at the Police Command headquarters in Yola Thursday evening by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Othman Abubakar, who told newsmen that the arrest of the suspects was a result of deliberate efforts to check crimes across the state.

He said Abubakar’s gang had first started a fight on November 20 when they attacked Mohammed’s gang at a gathering and that the police had stepped in to stop the fight, only for it to be repeated the next day and taken to the extent that Mohammed would at best now come out of hospital as a young man without a left wrist.

“This act is reprehensible and the police will be diligent in prosecuting the offenders according to the law,” the PPRO said.

Posted By: Yusuf Alli and Gbenga Omokhunu




IT was a ceremony meant for the presentation of a book, but the gathering in Abuja turned out to be more – an x-ray of all that ails Nigeria.

Among the dignitaries was the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who said Nigeria had no basis for spending $3billion to $4billion annually on fuel subsidy.

It was at the launch “From Frying Pan to Fire”, written by the Chairman of ThisDay Editorial Board, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi in Abuja.

The emir lamented that the richest man in Africa is from Nigeria and ironically, the country “is also the poverty capital of the world”.

According to him, that contradiction was typical of the world the country created.
The monarch said: “If you come to Abuja Airport, it is filled with private jets. If you land in Abuja you will think Nigeria is a very rich country. We have beautiful roads and bridges; we have everything in Abuja.

“Go to the rural areas and see the large number of Nigerians there. It is a completely different world. It is a sad case and we need to deal with that. We must also remember that the discourse is not just a humanitarian discourse and it is not value free.”

He also spoke of a mismanaged economy and misplaced priorities, stressing that subsidy funds should be spent on education, power and industry to create jobs.

In his view, Africans need jobs and they need a life to stop them from migrating to other countries.

Sanusi, however, said global inequality accounted for the migration crises being experienced in Europe, America and even Nigeria.

He asked African leaders to find solutions to migration problems to prevent their citizens from invading other continents for greener pastures.

“We have to grow up. We cannot blame Europe and America for our problems; we have mismanaged our economy, we have misplaced our priorities, we have not understood the importance of development. We think these roads and bridges are developments and not the human beings.

“How much are we spending in an attempt to give ourselves cheap fuel? $3billion or $4billion a year? So-called petroleum subsidy? Imagine putting that money into education or into power or industry. That won’t deal with migration unless we have jobs. Why can’t we have electricity?”
The Emir, however, said global inequality accounted for the migration crises being experienced in Europe, America and even Nigeria.

Sanusi also attributed irregular migration to circumstances of the economy, poverty and climate change.

Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki said about 4, 200 migrants had returned to the state from abroad.

He said: “This book will assist to deal with the scourge of irregular migration. In Edo State, we acknowledged and accepted that since almost 65 per cent of irregular, all trafficked migrants come from our state, we have now accepted that we have a problem. Rather than being in denial, we accepted it as a challenge and we now openly speak about it…

“In addressing this scourge, let us just look back and try to understand the causes. It has been economic pressures, ignorance, family pressures, lack of jobs and ignorant.

“For us as a government, we have decided to ask ourselves why Edo State? We have decided to approach the issue of migration differently. As long as those that have migrated want to return home, we must create a passage for that.

“So, the first thing in our approach to this crisis is a Returnee Management and Reintegration Policy. When we find people in situations like this, the state decided to take up the responsibility and setup up our own anti-trafficking agency at the state level.

“And also we decided to reenact with stiffer penalties the federal anti-trafficking laws in Edo State. On December 4, this month we are having our second dialogue in Benin City, where we will be looking at all the available resources to deal with this issue.

“For every returnee who comes back home to Edo State, we have a team to receive him or her. From the airport down to Edo State.

And we subject them to medical, physiological screening and proper documentation. So, today we have about 4, 200 of them that have returned and we have documented every one of them and their experiences.”

Adeniyi spoke about the background to the book.

He said: “This is a book that has always been there for me to write, but I never really thought of it until about three years ago when I delivered a lecture somewhere.

“My younger brother for six years was practically lost in this irregular migration saga between 1993 and 1998. It was God that brought him back. So, at different intervals, he was telling me stories. The one that struck me most is in 2005 when three Nigerians were killed in Indonesia. So, I couldn’t sleep knowing that one of those guys that were killed, we were together in Mali in the 90s.

“The guy was killed in Indonesia for drug trafficking. So, my brother was saying if there is anything I can do. He said then that there were 48 other people on death roll. It was then that I decided to write this book.”