₦airaland Forum

By Jimitota Onoyume,


Leader of northern community in South-South and South-East, Alhaji Musa Saidu has called on governors in the South to ignore leaders of Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, who said they were coming to visit governors in the South over the killing of northerners in Rivers and South-East.

Alhaji Saidu, reputed for frank talks in the country, said the Arewa leaders allegedly did not show concern when northerners were killed in Obigbo, Rivers State, by suspected members of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, adding that he buried most of the corpses.

His words: “Those leading the Arewa Consultative Forum should be seen relating with the people they lead. But we don’t see them.

“We only hear the leaders make statements in newspapers. I saw where they said Arewa will meet with Afenifere and others.

“This is what I am saying; they must bring the people into what they do. What are you taking to the meeting? As a northern leader, I, like many others, will want to know,” he queried.

“I want to alert the public to be careful. And most of the heads of these regional organisations belong to political parties which shouldn’t be because it makes them politically partisan.

“When I was in PDP, I saw many of them at the national convention of PDP. To have attended a party convention makes it clear they cannot speak for any region,” he said.

“Governors in the South should not be in a hurry to meet with Arewa for now. They said they are coming to see Southern governors over death of northerners.

“When these northerners were killed we did not hear from them then. I received all the corpses and buried them.

“They should tell the people where the northerners died, where they were buried. The governors should be careful,” he said.

He also enjoined President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore suggestion to allow negotiation with any militant group in the East until those allegedly killed by IPOB in Rivers and Abia were accounted for.

In a harrowing series of TikTok videos, user @stacks1400 said he and his girlfriend were living with his granddad when he found evidence of an affair on her phone.

The man has said he still wants to be a part of the child's life

In what will come across as a really startling development, a man has claimed to have found out his girlfriend was cheating on him with his own grandad – and his son was biologically his uncle after being conceived from the infidelity.

In a harrowing series of TikTok videos, user @stacks1400 said he and his girlfriend were living with his granddad when he found evidence of an affair on her phone.

He films himself crying in his car and hitting his head against the seat and the on-screen text reads: "Found out my son was really my uncle.

"My granddad was sexing my girl the whole time we was staying with him."

The heartbroken dad replied to a commenter in another video and explained how he found out about his girlfriend's alleged cheating.

He said while she went in the shower he picked up her phone to go on YouTube and accidentally found "years' worth of messages and pictures and explicit stuff."

In another clip, he said he still wanted to be a part of the child's life, after believing he was his son for so many years, but couldn't understand why his grandfather would betray him like.

He added that he did blame his girlfriend for her part in the affair and said "it takes two".

His first video has been watched more than 11 million times and sent shockwaves through viewers who struggled to understand the complicated relationships.

One person commented: "I read this several times and am still confused thank god I didn't understand."

"I was confused and now I understand... I want to go back to being confused," admitted a second viewer.

A third user commented: "At least you know. Remember you're a good person don't let this bring you down. You ain't done wrong they have shame on them hold your head up high be strong."

Someone else said: "All blood ain't family.

Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH) students have protested the raping of female students and armed robbery by unknown gunmen.

The students, on Thursday, partially blocked the Okitipupa-Igbokoda expressway, impeding free-flow of traffic to register their grievances.

Damilola Okunomo, the Students Union Government’s president, said the hoodlums robbed students and raped female students at gunpoint.

Mr Okunomo disclosed that four female students were raped two weeks ago.

“We are tired of this insecurity. Armed hoodlums usually come to our off-campus hostels, rob students at gunpoint and also rape our female students. The school management is not doing enough. We are the ones securing ourselves by working as vigilantes most times; the situation is terrible.

“We urge the school management to do its best in securing us and complete all the uncompleted hostel accommodations in our campus as this will also guarantee our security,” Mr Okunomo said.

Reacting, Ilemobayo Oguntimehin, the dean of Students Affairs of OAUSTECH, stated that the school was doing its best to secure lives and property.

He added that the university was having a security meeting with the police, other security agencies and traditional rulers to address the situation.

He assured the students that their security was paramount to the institution’s management.

Mr Oguntimehin said, “We have been holding several security meetings over these issues, but we cannot expose the meeting, and I think the students are aware of this too.

“Presently, the management, the board council are having security meeting with the police, other security agencies and traditional rulers to arrest the situation, and I am assuring the students that they will be secured.”

The school official appealed to the protesters saying, “I urge the students not to take laws into their hands and allow the management to resolve these security issues amicably.”

He also appealed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) to complete their respective hostels to enhance the security of students.

A foreigner from an Asian country has been arrested by men of the Lagos State Police Command for slapping a Nigerian woman.

The incident happened on Wednesday evening in Abule Egba area of Lagos.

The eyewitness filmed the incident as angry youths almost lynched the foreigner if not for the intervention of three policemen who rescued him.

According to one of the persons present at the scene in a video, he said, "That's the foreigner that slapped a black woman in Nigeria. He's a criminal. He's supposed to be handcuffed. A white man beating a woman in Nigeria."

While the cause of the assault could not be ascertained, the man was whisked away by the policemen on a motorcycle.

This comes barely two weeks that a video of a Chinese man attacking a Sierra Leonean on a mining site went viral.

The Chinese miner was filmed attacking a Sierra Leonean Safety Officer with a rod on a mining site in Sierra Leone.

The incident happened at the Tonkolili Iron Ore mine on June 6, 2021.

The video started with the Chinese miner scolding one of the staff members, who is a local. He then spat on the floor directly in front of the man in derision.

The man then called him out for this, saying: "Get out. Out of this place man."

The Chinese man then walked to the Sierra Leonean Safety Officer and began pointing at him while scolding. Suddenly, he slapped the documents the man had in his hands and a fight broke out.

The Chinese man was duly fired by his company, China Railway Seventh Group.

Three young men have been arrested by men of the Ondo State Police Command for allegedly gang-raping a lady in Ondo town, headquarters of Ondo West Local Government Area of the state, after drugging her drink.

The suspects identified as Ojo Olaniyi, Akinseye Bayo, Akintosoye Ayo, gang-raped one Ogungbemi Adewumi, after forcing her to drink the laced alcoholic drink.

Speaking during their parade with other criminals, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Bolaji Salami, said the family of the victim who found her unconscious and naked reported the incident to the police after it was discovered that she has been gang-raped by the three men.

Salami said the three suspects were arrested and confessed to raping the lady and said “Three sex perverts are now cooling their heels with us at our detention facility.

The trio of Ojo Olaniyi, Akinseye Bayo, Akintosoye Ayo who gang-raped one Ogungbemi Adewumi after making her drunk with alcohol have confessed to their atrocious act.

“The incident which happened at Araromi Street, Ondo town forced the sister of the victim who saw her in her nude form, to report the incident to the Police. They will soon be arraigned in court.”

The Police boss also said the command arrested three men who specialize in dispossessing people of their motorcycles in Akure and its metropolis.


He disclosed that one Tosin Oluwarotimi was dispossessed of his unregistered motorcycle along FUTA road around 7:30 am and was macheted by the suspects in the process.

He said one Oluwajuwon was arrested leading to the arrest of two other members of the syndicate who includes Seyi Adeyemi and Emmanuel Sunday and the recovery of nine motorcycles from them.

He explained that one other victim, John Ede who was attacked and lost his motorcycle to the syndicate after being macheted was rushed to the hospital but died at the hospital.

By Taiwo Okanlawon

The member representing Daura Federal Constituency of Katsina State in the House of Representatives, Fatahu Muhammad, has expressed disappointment at Nigerian youths, saying Twitter was not food that Nigerians required.

Mr Muhammad, who is from Buhari’s constituency while defending the suspension of Twitter, said social media needs to be regulated for youths to put Nigeria first and face the real problems.

The lawmaker said this on Tuesday during the investigative hearing organised by the House joint committees on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values alongside the National Security, Justice and Commerce, on the suspension of Twitter.

“For God sake, what is social media? Are we eating social media? Let us go back to the resources, and harvest them, and let keep this thing aside, and face the real problem in Nigeria.

“My colleagues have spoken the mind of their constituents. If I would speak the mind of my constituents, I would include the president, because out of 360 of us, I am the only one voted by the president. Look, Nigeria first, let us be honest to ourselves, let us call a spade a spade,” he said.

He added that if Twitter was not suspended after they pulled down Buhari’s tweet, the insults to the sovereignty of Nigeria would have been more.

“We should please regulate the media.

“If the minister did not ban Twitter on the instruction of the President, the kind of insults to the sovereignty of Nigeria from the users of Twitter would be more than what we are facing.

“Let us tell ourselves the truth, Nigeria comes first. Sometimes, when I am reading tweets, I am disappointed with the youths (because) we are the future of Nigeria,” he added.

Meanwhile, Buhari has set a team to dialogue with Twitter on the suspension of the microblogging site in the country.

Ahmad Gumi, Islamic cleric, says it is unfair to compare the activities of criminal herdsmen with those of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The cleric, who is known to have access to bandits, said herdsmen’s crimes weigh significantly lesser than those of IPOB.

Speaking on Arise TV on Wednesday, Gumi called for “fairness” in the comparison between the two groups, saying one “is killing our gallant men” while the other is “kidnapping children to make money and not to kill them”.

“IPOB is attacking the police, the army, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other government institutions; killing our men in service,” he said.

”And the herdsmen are kidnapping children not to kill them but to get money; so how can you compare somebody who is killing our gallant men directly to somebody who is kidnapping children to make money and not to kill them. Look, we need some fairness in what we are doing.”

Bandits have kidnapped over 800 school children across the north since December 2020.

The security challenge has led to the death several students, notably the killing of five Greenfield University students.

Since IPOB launched its militia arm called Eastern Security Network (ESN) a few months ago, attacks on security operatives and government infrastructure have surged. A number of security operatives have been killed by the militia.

A correspondent of the Punch Newspapers in Imo, Chidiebube Okeoma, was on Monday brutalised by Government House security and some policemen attached to Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA) for interviewing some widowed street cleaners protesting the non payment of their stipends.

The women had converged on the gate to Imo Government House on Friday to demand the payment of their salaries.

However, the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Imo, Nnamdi Anyaehie, who ran into the protesting women in front of the Government House gate had promised them their payment would be effected on Monday.

He had assured that as listening government, Governor Hope Uzodimma, was not one that would allow workers, not to talk of women to suffer.

He had also told them that the problem arose because some of them had not provided their account numbers.

However, on Monday the women came back to inquire about the CoS’s promise.

But instead of listening to them, police chased them away.

Okeoma, who went to interview them, was accosted by some policemen who questioned the authority on which he was talking to the women.

All explanations to them that he was doing his legitimate duties were rebuffed as the police bundled him to the office of the Chief Security Officer, CSP Shaba Adamu

The CSO did not listen to him either as the humiliation continued.

Okeoma said that on seeing him, Adamu requested he be detained but on a second thought asked the journalist to explain what he was doing where the women were protesting.

The CSO deleted all the videos and pictures on the correspondent’s phone before freeing him.

Okeoma, who appeared rough and distraught, said he was able to get out of the brutality by God’s intervention as he could have been tagged an unknown gunman.

He said they confiscated his gadgets and attempted to shoot him if he dared say any word.

After beating the journalist, the visibly charged policemen drove him into the governor’s office in Owerri.

The journalist said, ”I was at the government house roundabout where I was covering widows who were protesting their six months non payment of salaries owed them by the state government.

“While I was there, policemen welding rifles with thugs from OCDA berged into me after cocking their guns. One of them immediately slapped me while the other punched me on my left eye and immediately took all my gadgets.

“They demanded to know who gave me the permission to cover the protest but in response I told them that my power to cover the protest was enshrined in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. They immediately dragged me on my waist and put me inside one of their operational vehicles and drove me to Imo state government house.

“The policemen who were harassing and intimidating me in the vehicle, matched me like a common criminal to the office of the governor where I was bundled into the office of the government house Chief Security officer, Shaba Adamu.

“On sighting me, Adamu said that I ought to have been detained instead of bringing me to him but I told him that I am not criminal but the Imo state correspondent of The PUNCH newspapers. He requested to know whogave me the permission to cover the protest but I insisted that my roles as a journalist are enshrined in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.

“The policeman then demanded to see the video footages I made and on seeing them he ordered on me gunpoint to delete them which I did. He ordered that my gadgets be released to me afterwards.

He later gave me N5,000—to use and treat myself which I collected at gunpoint—and warned me not to ever repeat it again. I have since taken the money to the police but the police authority didn’t take it.”

Okeoma said that he is still feeling some pains internally owing to the beating the policemen gave him.

The journalist said that he had since reported the development to the state commissioner of police, Abutu Yaro.

Okeoma said that the state commissioner for information and strategy, Declan Emelumba, apologized to him.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said it may detain unverified private aircraft after the 30 days importation verification deadline given to owners elapses on July 6.

At a briefing in Abuja on Monday, the Public Relations Officer of Customs, Deputy Comptroller Joseph Attah, said so far, only six owners of private aircraft have responded to the invitation since the verification window opened on June 7, 2021.

“The Service believes that owners of private aircraft are highly-placed individuals who would be willing to comply with extant laws of the land governing importation of the aircraft they own, this includes payments of all appropriate duties and taxes,” Attah said.

He also asked owners of private aircraft or their representatives to report to the Customs headquarters in Abuja before July 6, with the necessary documents that include Aircraft Certificate of Registration, NCAA’s Flight Operations Compliance Certificate (FOCC), NCAA’s Maintenance Compliance Certificate (MCC), NCAA’s Permit for non-Commercial Flights (PNCF) and Temporary Import Permit (TIP) where applicable.

According to the Customs spokesman, there were indications that some people brought in aircraft under the Temporary Import Permit (PIP).

“The period for such temporary importation for some of the aircraft, has expired and they have neither renewed nor re-exported the aircraft in line with extant laws governing that in Nigeria. At the end of the verification, some of the things we are suspecting will come to light and we will make further details known.

“As agency of government responsible for enforcement of laws governing imports and exports in Nigeria, NCS will not hesitate to invoke appropriate sanctions on any defaulting private aircraft owner immediately after the expiration of the verification period on Tuesday July 6, 2021,” he said.

He added that the essence of the holistic audit is to ensure that all aircraft privately owned in the country were properly imported and cleared with all appropriate taxes paid.

Gboyega Akinsanmi

Unlike the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that boasted to rule Nigeria for 60 years, Nigeria’s foremost human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday disclosed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had perfected plans to rule the country indefinitely.

Falana, a former President of the West African Bar Association (WABA), also said the Electoral Amendment Bill might not be signed into law citing the failure of the National Assembly to complete the process of its enactment and transmit it to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.

He expressed these grave concerns during an exclusive interview with THISDAY yesterday, pointing out how the Buhari administration reneged on different promises made to Nigerians during presidential campaigns in 2014.

Falana, who spoke on diverse issues of national concerns during the interview, said: “Unlike the PDP, which boasted that it would rule Nigeria for 60 years, the APC has perfected plans to rule Nigeria indefinitely.

“Hence, the new Electoral Amendment Bill is not likely to be signed into law. Very soon, Nigerians will be told that the bill cannot be signed by the president since the 2023 elections are around the corner,” he observed.

Reflecting on Buhari’s breach of campaign promises, Falana explained how the APC had campaigned to reform the electoral process by implementing the recommendations of the Justice Muhammed Uwais Electoral Reform Panel before the 2015 elections

Upon assumption of power, however, the human rights lawyer noted with grave concern that the ruling party reneged on its pact with the people on electoral reform.

Before the Ekiti State governorship election in 2014, he explained how some APC leaders obtained court orders, which restrained the Jonathan administration from deploying the armed forces in the management of elections.

He, however, said[b]: “The APC government deploys armed military and police personnel in the manipulations of elections including local government elections. As if that is not enough, voters are induced with money, rice, beans and salt in utter contravention to the Electoral Act.”[/b]

On these grounds, the senior advocate claimed that the Buhari administration had failed to reform the country’s dysfunctional electoral system after six years in the saddle, hence contravening its campaign promise.[/b]v

Before the 2015 elections, the APC entrenched restructuring in its manifesto and campaigned for power devolution from the centre to the other federating units, one of the reasons it garnered popular support nationwide.

Apart from its promise to devolve powers to the federating units, [b]the APC also campaigned to reform the country’s electoral system in line with the recommendation of the Justice Muhammed Uwais Electoral Reform Panel.

On December 7, 2018, Buhari rejected the Electoral Amendment Bill that could have transformed the country’s electoral system positively on the ground that it could affect the 2019 elections contrary to these promises.

In the same way, the president had not taken any concrete step to implement the report of the APC Committee on True Federalism; the outcome had fuelled agitations either for return to regional government or outright separation from Nigeria in different parts of the country.


Despite Buhari’s lukewarm approach to comprehensive electoral reforms, Falana challenged the National Assembly to fast-track the process of amending the Electoral Amendment Bill ahead of the 2023 general election.

He recommended the need to legalise the use of card readers and electronic voting and collation of results and direct transmission to INEC central server.

He urged the National Assembly to prioritise the review of the Electoral Amendment Bill since the president did not sign the bill into law in 2018 on the ground that it was too close to the last general election.

The human rights lawyers observed that the new bill “has not been passed and forwarded to the president for his assent for reasons best known to both chambers of the National Assembly.

“The delay is affecting the preparations of INEC for the 2023 general election. It is high time sufficient pressure was mounted on the federal legislators to pass the Electoral Amendment Bill as a further delay will adversely affect the conduct and management of future elections in the country.

“But it is doubtful if the country can hold a peaceful general election in 2023. In 2015, the Jonathan administration postponed the general election for six weeks because some local governments in Borno State were under the control of terrorists.

“Today, a number of state governments and hundreds of local governments are under either total or partial control of insurgents, bandits and other gunmen. It is hoped that the federal government will not invoke and apply Section 135 of the 1999 Constitution,” he observed

He noted that the section empowered the president “to postpone elections if he considers that it is not practicable to hold elections on the ground that the country is involved in a war in which its territory is physically involved.

“This is why all hands should be on deck to enact a new electoral law, which should provide for electronic voting. That is the only way to ensure that elections are conducted in many parts of the country at any given time.”

Former World Boxing Champion Deontay Wilder has disclosed that he has traced his roots to Edo State, Nigeria.

“I want to go back and learn more about my culture and information with things about me,” says the Bronze Bomber in a viral YouTube video seen by Peoples Gazette on Saturday.

Mr Wilder, who has never been to Nigeria, said he wants to return to Edo state in Nigeria to learn a little more about his roots.

“Once I’m done with what I’m doing, I’m going back to see my tribe Edo,” Wilder said.

“I want to see my culture and my ancestors and learn a lot of things. We all have lots of things that we are connected to that we know nothing about. I’ll love to go there and do research about my roots and my tribe,” he added.

The U.S. based professional boxer enjoyed a 5-year reign as the WBC heavyweight champion between 2015 and 2020, losing his strap in a bout with Tyson Fury in February, 2020.

It is not immediately clear if Wilder’s realisation of his roots informed his moniker, “Bronze Bomber.” The Binis are known for their expertise in bronze works. Many ancient Benin bronze carvings were carted away to the West during colonial raids.

After suffering his first professional defeat at the hand of Fury in a seven round bout last February, the former WBC champion will in July seek to reclaim his title as he takes on Fury for the third time.

The fight is billed to be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Nevada on July 24 and the winner would challenge Anthony Joshua.

Nigeria has been a force in world boxing since the 1940’s, producing top boxers like Dick Tiger and Hogan Bassey; both undisputed world champions, Tiger at middle and light heavyweight, and Bassey at featherweight.

The country has continued to maintain its dominance in the world of boxing today, producing world champions like Anthony Joshua, and Deontay Wilder.

More details have emerged about what led to the death of Michael Usifo Ataga on Thursday and who actually killed him. Ataga, the CEO of Super TV and a director with Super, who resided in Banana Island, Lagos, was reported missing on Sunday by concerned friends and family after all efforts to reach him proved abortive.

Checks at his Victoria Island office showed that he wasn’t there either and this put everyone in a panic mode including his wife and children, who reside in Abuja.

Unfortunately, his lifeless body was found on Thursday morning in a flat in Lekki phase 1, Lagos with multiple stable wounds after several withdrawals were made from his account. Usifo, who would have been 50 years old this week had reportedly met a girl about two weeks ago and they began a relationship. He wass married to a manager in Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

Usifo allegedly rented Airbnb in Lekki, Lagos where they both checked into before the unfortunate incident. Following his disappearance, a combined team of concerned friends, family members, the police and DSS operatives all the way from Abuja through the concerted efforts of the wife, were said to have tracked down the owner of the Airbnb, who received payment from the woman’s bank account into which Ataga had previously made a transfer for the payment to.

The apartment was reportedly broken into and that was where he was found dead with multiple stabs in his neck, chest and thigh.

Apparently, the woman allegedly carried out the murder after she must have drugged him as the security guards at the rentals said no 3rd party came visiting Ataga and the woman besides a dispatch rider who brought drugs for the girl.

The woman, who was last seen on Tuesday when the murder happened, was equally tracked down and arrested alongside the owner of the Airbnb. Many of Ataga’s friends have expressed shocked at how the lady was able to pull the dastardly act all alone as Ataga was said to have been an amateur boxer who was very strong.

“After the woman left the apartment following his gruesome death, money began to disappear from Atage’s Guaranty Trust Bank account and it was when an email from Ataga’s email address asked for a change in his account details, did the withdrawals stop. With this, GTBank put an embargo on the account to prevent any further withdrawal.

Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State has said two weeks before bandits attacked Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, there was an intel on bandits presence.

The school wasn’t closed, instead a detachment of special Anti-terrorism Task Force was deployed there.

When he visited the school in Birnin Yauri for on-the-spot assessment, the governor addressed parents, staff and the students that escaped being kidnapped.

He said when he consulted with the federal authorities on the situation at hand, it was agreed that since the school would be closing in two weeks time after the students finished writing their terminal examination, the school should be provided with security for the period.

“About two weeks ago we heard that there was a bandits movement. Bandits were sighted around here.

“We consulted with federal authorities and they told us that the schools has about two weeks to finish their terminal exams.

“At that consultation we all agreed that if security could be found and stationed in the school that could support the children to finish their exams before going home.

“The police commissioner graciously enough find a big contingent from the special Terrorism Task Force that were stationed in the school before the incident that happened yesterday (Thursday).

He added that it was that bandits confronted policemen who were providing security to the school and overpowered them and unfortunately, made away with some of our children, some teachers and other employees.

The Nigerian Bar Association and some Senior Advocates of Nigeria on Thursday said the Federal Government lacked the power to dabble into land matters.

While they doubted the existence of any gazette on grazing routes recently referred to by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), they said the Land Use Act overrides it even if it exists.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Rapulu Nduka, and the SANs spoke in separate telephone interviews with our correspondents on Thursday.

Recall that the President, in an interview with Arise Television on Thursday, said he had directed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, to bring out a First Republic gazette which marked out grazing routes in all parts of the country.

But the NBA spokesman, Nduka, said the Federal Government lacked the power to dabble into land matters that was within the purview of the state government.

He said, “Every lawyer knows that with the Land Use Act, every land belongs to the governor of a state. The governors of the states hold it in trust for their people. It is held in trust for the people by the governor of the state. So, why will the Federal Government take it upon itself to be talking about this issue?

“I have not seen the gazette. As a lawyer, I cannot be making argument until I see the gazette. But like I said, the governors of the state are the ones with the power over land.

“Cattle rearing is private business, and not a government venture. Anybody who wants to rear cattle should go and buy land. It is as simple as that. Buy land or lease land and do ranching. What is difficult about that?

“This is what the Federal Government should be encouraging, not every day we are talking about grazing routes.

“The impression the Federal Government is trying to create is that some sections of Nigeria are against herdsmen or cattle rearing, but that is not the truth. Everybody has freedom of movement, everybody also has freedom to acquire property, and nobody is stopping them.”

When asked if the gazette mentioned by the President existed, he said “I don’t know if such gazette exists. But if the President says so, until we see the purported gazette; that we can still be discussing grazing routes in the 21st century is worrisome.”


No gazette operates length and breadth of Nigeria – Ozekhome

Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), agreed with Nduka that the Land Use Act overrides any gazette.

Ozekhome said, “There is no such gazette that operates or operated across the entire length and breadth of Nigeria. Even if there was, the Land Use Act overrides it because it has constitutional flavour and imprimatur in Section 315.

“By virtue of Section 1 of the Land Use Act, all lands in states belong to the state governors, to be held in trust for the people. Indeed, the Federal Government has to request lands from states as it does not own lands in states.”

Also, Remi Olatubora (SAN) said the Federal Government could not designate a grazing route where none existed.

He said, “Before the passage of the Land Use Act in 1978, different land tenure and land management systems operated in Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria. While the land management law of Northern Nigeria created grazing routes, the land management laws of the Southern states did not. That accounted for the reason why ranching was practised as a system of animal husbandry in the South.

“There are also evident in the criminal law regime applicable in southern Nigeria in support of the proposition that it is a crime to do open grazing in any of the southern states. The Land Use Act enacted uniform regime of land ownership, management and administration throughout Nigeria. It vests in the governor of each state ownership, management and control over all land within the territory of each state.

“The Land Use Act is incorporated in the constitution and it is clearly entrenched constitution in the sense that it can only be amended by a special majority of the National Assembly and with the support of not less than 24 of the 36 State assemblies.

“In effect, the Federal Government of Nigeria acting, either through the President or any other federal authorities, cannot designate a grazing route, where none existed.

“My humble advice to the Attorney General of the Federation is to advise his client (the President) to request the governor of any state where he intends to create grazing routes that you cannot revoke the right of occupancy of the citizen for the purpose of giving the land to the private commercial interests of another sets of citizens.”

Also, Norrison Quakers (SAN) said the laws regarding the control of lands in Nigeria were contained in the Land Use Act.

Quackers said, “If I am not mistaken, you have Section 1 and 2 of the Land Use Act explaining that the control of lands is a power of state governors who have the sole authority over lands in their territories.

“However, Section 28 states that the Federal Government can forcefully take over lands for issues of federal interests on special occasions. Though I am not sure that in the explanation of the section, you will see something like cattle grazing. So, in summary, lands are under the control of state governments.

“As regards the gazette, a gazette is a publication of the law and you need to understand that the Land Use Act contains the law binding the use of lands in Nigeria, and it has been made public for all to see.

“If perhaps there is a gazette that speaks on grazing routes, it must have been made public at some point, there must have been individuals who have sighted it. But for now, the Land Use Act has annulled every pre-existing gazette on land matters.”

Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) said the gazette existed in the North.

He stated, “Gazettes are legal notices or documents that contain anything that would be published in it. Obviously in the North, it is very common; market places, cattle routes are gazette; if you check the laws in the northern part of the country, to protect them.

“Usually, when the government wants to possess or acquire lands, there are processes that should be followed. The Federal Government can get or possess lands through the state government. This does not mean it cannot possess one, the FG needs to follow due process and the purpose must be in the public interest.”

Rasheed Adegoke (SAN) also faulted Buhari. He said, “The statement made by the President referring to grazing routes and the ‘rights’ of herdsmen to open grazing is not well-informed. It is unfortunate that the President is not aware that there is no such law that sustains grazing routes for animals or herdsmen in Nigeria.

“The fons et origo of our laws is the constitution which has integrated the Land Use Act as one of the Acts of the National Assembly that can only be amended in line with the amendment provisions applicable to the Constitution itself.

“In this regard, the law regulating use and management of land in Nigeria today is the Land Use Act which has vested land in the governors of each state. The Federal Government does not own land the same way the governor owns land.

“Thus, the Federal Government cannot appropriate land in any part of Nigeria except in accordance with the Land Use Act which requires the Federal Government to go through the governors and it must be for overriding public interest like building a hospital, constructing roads, dams etc. The Federal Government cannot instruct the Attorney General to go and retrieve land for grazing of animals which is a personal business of herdsmen or cattle rearers. There is no law in Nigeria today that preserves grazing routes for animals.”

Another SAN, Ifedayo Adedipe, stated, “I am not aware of a federal gazette that marks Nigeria across the six geopolitical zones with grazing routes. As I understand it, during the First Republic, there were some grazing routes in the North but not in the entire country.

“If the President is sure that a gazette exists, which maps out grazing routes across the whole of Nigeria, then he should produce it. What worries me the most is the fact that the President seems so fixated on this grazing issue involving the Fulani. He is the President of Nigeria for crying out loud, not the President of the Fulani. His position on this issue is so embarrassing.”

Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), berated the Federal Government. He said, “Land, in itself, is not a federal issue. The control of land is vested in the governor of each state as provided under the Land Use Act. The Federal Government has no power to interfere in any land matter, except where it concerns the Federal Capital Territory.

“I think it is a very simple and straightforward matter. Open grazing is archaic and we should not be talking about it in 2021. As a matter of fact, open grazing constitutes cruelty to animals and it should not be encouraged at all.”

Adegboyega Awomolo, (SAN), told The PUNCH that Nigerians should be guided by the Land Use Act.

He stated, “In my view, the Land Use Act, which has become part of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has changed the narrative and objectives of the whole issue. I believe we should all be guided according to its provisions.”


Grazing reserves: FCT, 22 states register, seven provide 400,000-hectares, says FG

Meanwhile, the Federal Government on Thursday said 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory had registered for the National Livestock Transformation Plan as part of measures aimed at establishing grazing reserves.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, who stated this at the 44th National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development, in Abuja, said seven of the states had mapped out 400,000 hectares of land for grazing reserves.

Nanono said this as Acting Director, Animal Husbandry Department in the ministry, Winnie Lai-Solarin, said the 19 northern states, Oyo and Ogun states were among states that had registered for the NLTP

The Spokesperson for the Senate, Dr. Ajibola Basiru, on his part, challenged the Husbandry Department of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to produce grazing reserves gazettes which it claimed, were in 21 states of the federation including Oyo and Ogun states.

According to a report on Thursday, the department said there were grazing routes in 21 states including Ogun and Oyo.

Basiru in while responding to The PUNCH’s enquiries, faulted the ministry’s claims

He said, “Let them (Ministry officials) send copies of the laws and the gazetted locations to me.”


Western Region created farm settlements in Oyo not grazing routes – Makinde

Also, the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, said there was no grazing route in the state.

Makinde, while responding to an inquiry by one of our correspondents through his Chief Press Secretary, Taiwo Adisa, said on Thursday that he was not aware of any grazing route or grazing reserve anywhere in the state.

He said, “ I am not aware of any grazing route in Oyo State. The Western Region, which gave birth to Oyo State was not known for cattle grazing.

“Rather the leaders of the Western Region set up farm settlements which had spaces for ranches. So, it is not likely that Oyo State, would have made provisions for grazing routes.”

The Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) says personal income tax of employees in the state will now cover “income from all sources” as provided under the Finance Act (FA) 2020.

Ayodele Subair, LIRS chairman, in a circular recently released by the agency, clarified the position of the FA 2020 on the personal income tax act (PITA) which applies to Lagos tax laws.

Section 29 (2) of FA 2020 amended Section 33 (2) of PITA provided a new definition of gross income for the purpose of personal income tax.

Accordingly, “Gross Income” is defined as income from all sources, less all non-taxable incomes, income on which no further tax is payable, tax-exempt items listed in paragraph (2) of the Sixth Schedule and all allowable business expenses and capital allowances.

This implies that “all statutory contributions to national housing fund, national health insurance scheme, national pension scheme, life assurance premium and gratuities as enjoyed or subscribed to, by the taxpayer, to arrive at the gross income of a taxpayer which serves as the basis for computation of consolidated relief allowance (CRA),” Subair explained.

IMPLICATION FOR WORKERS

According to PwC, this means that employees will no longer benefit from the tax relief previously claimable on income that relates to the national housing fund, pension contribution, and other tax-exempt items usually contained in the consolidated relief allowance.

The CRA is a relief granted to taxpayers to reduce the tax burden and increase disposable income.

“The new definition means that tax exempt items should now be deducted from gross emolument before computing the CRA,” PwC said in a policy document.

“As a result, employees will no longer benefit from the additional 20 percent relief previously claimable on the portion of their income that relates to the national housing fund, pension contribution and other tax-exempt items.

“The reduction in CRA would result in higher effective tax rate and lower disposable income. Employers need to update their payroll templates or applications to ensure compliance.”

Last December, the Nigerian senate passed the 2020 finance bill, amending capital gains act; companies income tax act; industrial development (income tax relief) act; personal income tax act; tertiary trust fund act, customs and excise duties tariff; value-added tax act; stamp duties act; and electronic transaction levy.

The finance act amended the definition of gross income for the purpose of personal income tax.

Also in paragraph 33 of the Third Schedule of the PITA (and section 22 of the finance act 2020), which is a catalogue of tax-exempt items, the LISR boss said it means that “all taxable persons in employment earning the gross income of national minimum wage, (currently set at N30,00= monthly i.e. N360,000 per annum) or less are expressly exempted from paying personal income tax on the employment.”

“Additional income from other sources excluding salaried employment of taxable persons on national minimum wage or less shall be subject to tax at the applicable rate(s).”

It advised all taxable persons within the state to file their statutory annual income tax returns via its electronic tax platform.

To kick-start the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP), the Federal Government has sanctioned the establishment of grazing reserves in the 19 northern states and two others in the South West ­– Oyo and Ogun.

While Ogun is yet to be gazetted for the scheme tailored at having at least a ranch in every state, the Acting Director, Animal Husbandry in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Winnie Lai- Solarin, confirmed the development.

Also speaking yesterday in Abuja during the 44th regular meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD), the minister, Sambo Nanono, affirmed that 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had registered with the NLTP’s office.

He said a Dutch consortium was partnering with the government to begin the pilot phase for the project in Nasarawa State, adding that the site will serve as a hub for knowledge and skill transfer to the pastoral communities and encourage them to adopt ranching as a mode of farming.

“We are all aware of the troubles that our nation is going through with respect to the farmers-herders clashes, which have often produced violent and expensive consequences. This administration is more committed than ever to resolve this problem on a more permanent solution,” the minister noted.

He said when fully implemented, the NLTP would bring an end to the incessant clashes and introduce the herders to the modern way of raising cattle, with all the added benefits of improved feeding, animal and human health, genetic improvement, value addition and better socio-economic standing for participants.

He stated that the scheme had been adjudged well-conceived globally, with the government resolving to create an enabling environment to attract more investments into the sub-sector.

However, to ensure effective monitoring of government interventions in the agriculture sector, the current administration has established an online portal to capture bio-data of 10 million farmers and link them with their plots, crops and volumes of production in the country.

He said the government initially intended to capture 2.4 million farmers but ended up extending the target to 10 million on the advice of the Economic Sustainability Plan Team.

A circular, alleged to have emanated from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) claiming to offer visas to Nigerian citizens, is circulating on instant messaging platforms — particularly on WhatsApp.

The circular, dated June 11, 2021, and purportedly signed by the director of USCIS with no name attached, offers “20,000 eligible Nigerians between the age of 25 to 55 years” a new work permit in the US.

The statement claimed that President Joe Biden signed an executive order that interested Nigerians are eligible for the “American work e-visa and residence permit”.

“President Joe Biden, the 46th U.S. President has signed an Executive Order that interested citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who measure in some special professions are eligible for American Work E- Visa and Residence Permit,” the statement said.


https://f5p3e9e4.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG-20210617-WA0006-1-768x796.jpeg
The fake circular

“This was communicated to the Nigerian Mission in the United States by the U.S Department of Immigration. The Terms of the executive Order allow 20,000 citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between the age of 25 to 55 whose expertise are among the following: Health Workers; Engineers; Marine Workers; Civil Servants; Business Administrators; Accountants; Lecturers; Special Skills Workers.

“Successful Applicants are required to make a deposit of $250 for English Proficiency Test which must be undertaken in America upon arrival before resumption of any official duty. Children of applicants below the age of 16 are not required to make this payment, however, couples are bound to make payment as principal applicants.”

The statement came into circulation months after the US president lifted the immigrant visa ban imposed on migrants from certain countries, including Nigeria, by Donald Trump, his predecessor.

Upon assumption of office in January, Biden reversed the ban and directed the State Department, through an executive order, to restart visa processing for individuals from the affected countries.


VERIFYING THE CLAIM

When TheCable checked the website of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), it was discovered that the last news release issued by the agency was on June 9 titled: “USCIS Updates Policies to Improve Immigration Services”. There was no mention of such a visa for Nigerian citizens on the website. Further checks by TheCable also showed that the circular was not posted on the official Twitter handle of the agency on the said date.

Also, TheCable found out that a similar statement, with slight changes, had been circulated earlier in March which the USCIS denied and warned Nigerians to beware of scammers. Below are the changes:

In the old statement circulated in March, the age bracket for prospective applicants was 40-45 years as against the new one that stipulated 25-55 years.

TheCable also found some grammatical errors in the recent statement.

For example, paragraph six of the statement reads: “Applicants are advised to monitor their email always for a feedback afterwards”. Feedback is an uncountable noun and does not need the indefinite article ‘a’ before it.

In the last paragraph — “Offer Lasts until 20,000 Applications are Approved, Based on First Come First Serve. Please note that any fake documents or false representation shall apply the U. S. automatic sanctions.”

The correct form is “first come, first served” since it is in the past tense.

In addition, the US Department of State does not require immigrants to pay for an English proficiency test before travelling. As part of the requirement for some visa classes, you are required to write an English proficiency test (IELTS or TOEFL) before you leave your home country. The result will then be uploaded to the visa application portal or shown at the embassy during the visa interview.

Reacting to the circular, a US State Department official described it as fake news.

“The circulating image is fake. We advise your readers to be wary of online scams. Our websites ––ng.usembassy.gov, travel.state.gov –– and other US government sites are reliable sources of information for our programs and announcements,” the official told TheCable.


VERDICT: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services did not release any statement claiming to offer a new work visa to Nigerian citizens. All evidence points to the fact that the statement was fabricated.

The crisis rocking the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) turned bloody on Wednesday as a former Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on political matters, Mr Edo Aguebor, was attacked by people suspected to be thugs at the Egor Local Government Area Secretariat of the party.

Aguebor, who sustained varying degrees of injury and is currently on admission in one of the public hospitals in the state, sources said, had gone to the party secretariat to submit his certificates, Curriculum Vitae and other documents, as demanded by the governor for those who were seeking public office in the state.

The former aide appealed to the law-enforcement agencies, leaders of PDP and Governor Obaseki to wade into the crisis in Egor Local Government Area to prevent a full blown crisis.

“Today (Wednesday), those of us who were interested in appointments were invited to the party secretariat to come and apply. I went there with my certificates, Curriculum Vitae and other documents.

“When we arrived the venue for screening, we met a very rowdy session caused by members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers who were led by a prominent leader of the body,” Aguebor said.

“So, I quietly stood by my car and waited for those in charge to invite us into the secretariat. The next thing I saw, one man and his younger brother attacked me with other thugs.

“They broke my head, they injured me and destroyed my car. They took my original certificates, my ATM card, my shoes, my glasses and my money away. Is this is all I get for going to apply for appointment?” he quipped.

“I am calling on the PDP leaders and the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki to come to our aid in Egor Local Government,” he added.

It would be recalled that in the last one month, the PDP in the state has been at daggers drawn, following the allegation that Governor Obaseki wanted the elected executive councils of PDP in the state, from the Ward to the state levels dissolved so as to accommodate former All Progressive Congress (APC) members, who defected alongside the governor in the build-up to the September 19, 2020 governorship election.

Obaseki, who was hitherto in the APC, was denied a second term ticket and had to seek refuge in the PDP, which adopted him as its candidate. In doing so, an appreciable number of the APC leadership in the state followed the governor to his new party.

‘Sacking’ appointees and dissolving executive councils by Governors is not new but what surrounds the sacking/dissolution seems to be a mystery to many political observers.

Governors including AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara; Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia; Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe; David Umahi of Ebonyi and some others have either dissolved their cabinets and retained some persons or sacked their political appointees.

Checks by The Nation revealed that many Governors see this process as ‘rejigging’ their cabinets.

Some others for the best reason(s) known to them change their cabinet members altogether.

Here are Governors that have either sacked their appointees, dissolved their executive councils or both in 2021:

AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq(Kwara): AbdulRazaq in January announced the dissolution of the State Executive Council but the dissolution took effect from December 31, 2020.

Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia): Ikpeazuin January approved the immediate dissolution of the State Executive Council.

He stated that those affected by the dissolution are to handover all government properties in their possession, together with their handover notes, to their respective Permanent Secretaries.

Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe): Yahaya in March, sacked three commissioners and reassigned portfolios to six others.

The sacked Commissioners were: Alhassan Ibrahim Kwami Information & Culture; Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Gana Health and Mela Audu Nunghe (SAN) Special Duties.

Yahaya said the cabinet rejigging was part of efforts to further consolidate operations in his administration.

David Umahi (Ebonyi): In May, Umahi dissolved the State Executive Council with immediate effect.

Umahi noted that the dissolution was to be done in phases, pointing out 83 of the 106 members of the council being affected in the first phase.

He also explained that the dissolution was aimed at enabling the government to carry out an appraisal of their performances.

Bello Matawalle (Zamfara): Matawalle in June dissolved the State Executive Council with immediate effect.

The Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff were also sacked. He also relieved all chairmen and members of Commissions and Boards of various agencies.

Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta): Okowa in May dissolved the State Executive Council shortly after the Council’s meeting presided over by him.

Okowa asked all commissioners, special advisers, Chief of Staff, Secretary to the Government (SSG), senior political adviser and the chief strategist to handover to the person next to them.

The Governor thanked all members of his government for their contributions both those who have been there in the past six years and those who joined the train two years ago.

Bala Mohammed (Bauchi): In June, Mohammed dissolved the State Executive Council with immediate effect.

He also sacked Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Sabiu Baba, the Chief of Staff (CoS) Government House, Dr. Ladan Salihu and all Special advisers.

Ben Ayade (Cross River): Ayade in May sacked four commissioners from his cabinet.

Ayade also relieved five other appointees – Leo Inyambe, Orok Duke, Victor Okon, John Bassey, and Mbeh Agbiji – of their appointments.

While no reason was given for the Governor’s action, he thanked the affected commissioners and appointees for their services to the state and wished them well in their future endeavours.

Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna): El-Rufai in May, approved the disengagement of 19 political appointees

The Governor explained that the 19 disengaged staff are the first phase of public servants who will depart the public service, in continuation of rightsizing the workforce.

Hope Uzodimma (Imo): Uzodimma in May also dissolved his cabinet relieving 20 of his 28 commissioners of their duties.

The Governor said the dissolution became necessary to rejig and re-energise the system for maximum productivity.

Uzodimma thanked the affected Commissioners and assured them that they will still be found relevant in other areas if eventually they did not make the new cabinet he said will be reconstituted soon.

Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has described the real estate sector as one with grand scale corruption in the country.

The EFCC boss added that about 90 to 100 percent of resources are being laundered through the sector.

Bawa stated this while featuring on Sunrise Daily, a current affairs programme, on Channels Television on Tuesday.

He said the commission investigated a female minister, who he said, bought $37.5m property from a bank and deposited $20m cash.

Bawa, who is marking his 100 days in office, did not however disclose the identity of the suspect or whether she is a current or former minister.

He said, “One of the problems we have in the country is the real estate. Ninety to 100 per cent of the resources are being laundered through the real estate. Of course, they are being regulated but they are not enough in terms of how they give their returns to the Special Control Unit.

“We investigated a matter in which a bank MD marketed a property to a minister and agreed to purchase it at $37.5m. The bank then sent a vehicle to her house to evacuate $20m from her house in the first instance.

“The bank succeeded to put it in their system and paid the developer and then a lawyer set up a special purpose vehicle where the title documents were transferred into and of course, he is posing as the owner of the house.

“Without the help of the banker, the minister couldn’t have imagined collecting $20m from anyone with opportunity from the real sector; she could not have thought of where to launder the proceeds of crime.”

There were strong indications on Tuesday that the military had begun the bombardment of bandits’ hideouts in the North-West, North-Central and some parts of the North-East.

Top security officials, who confided in our correspondents, said the bombardment, which started in Katsina and Benue states would soon be extended to other states in the zones.

Recall that the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Mallam Garba Shehu, in an interview with the Hausa Service of the BBC in March, said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had ordered crackdown on bandits terrorising farmers across the country.

Also, during his interview with Arise Television on Thursday, the President said he had ordered security agents to shoot bandits carrying AK47.

In Katsina State, The PUNCH gathered that the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Air Force and the police had increased attacks on the hideouts of bandits in various parts of the state especially in Batsari, Jibia, Sabuwa, Danmusa, Safana, Matazu, Kankara, Dandume, Dutsin-ma, Kurfi and Faskari local government areas, where bandits had been kidnapping farmers and other residents.

A top security source in the state said, “We now carry out operations on identified bandits’ hideouts in the state virtually on a daily basis and at anytime.

“At times, when you see fighter jets flying, it is either we are launching an attack against bandits or we are carrying out mop up operations.”

The Special Adviser to the state Governor on Security, Mallam Ahmad Katsina, had yet to respond to the SMS sent to him after futile efforts to get him on the phone.

But when contacted, the spokesman for the police in the state, Gambo Isah, said the command was “evolving strategies to ensure that all parts of the state are safe.”

The PUNCH learnt that troops of Operation Whirl Stroke had started flushing out armed herders and militias from their hideouts in Taraba, Nasarawa and Benue states.

A security official, who confided in one of our correspondents, said, “We have carried out operations in the Sankera axis (of Benue State). That is the reason farmers can return to their homes and begin farming activities.”

When asked if state government could direct the military to help in sending troops to protect farmers, the source said, “We don’t take order from the state government. What we are doing is to send troops to flash points, like in Sankera axis, farmers are already going back to their farms.”

In Sokoto State, the police have intensified patrols of villages that are prone to bandits’ attacks.

The areas include Sabon Birni, Isa, Rabah and Goronyo local government areas.


But unlike in Katsina, military has yet to begin operations aimed at flushing out bandits from the areas.

A police source stated, “What we do is a routine patrol of areas under the jurisdiction of each divisional police officer. We have sensitised the villagers to quickly send distress calls in the face of attacks.”

On its part, , the Zamfara State Police Command said it had deployed more policemen in areas that were prone to bandits’ attacks.

Speaking to one of our correspondents on the phone, the spokesperson for the command, Mohammed Shehu, said, “The police, in collaboration with other security agencies, have mapped out strategies to ensure the return of farmers to their farms.”

He maintained that the command would engage the services of the repentant bandits as well as other locals who would assist in the fight against banditry.

In Kebbi State, vigilantes who were assisting in providing security suffered heavy casualties when bandits attacked some communities a few weeks ago.

As Kebbi State farmers battled problems of bandits, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and the Benue State Government on Tuesday disagreed over a military operation at a boundary between the state and Nasarawa State.

There was a report on Tuesday that military aircraft killed over 1,000 cows during multiple attacks on Fulani settlements in Keana and Doma local government areas of Nasarawa State.

According to the report, victims said the military launched the attacks between June 10 and June 13.

But on Tuesday, while the Benue State Government said no human life or cow was lost in the attack, MACBAN said 500 cows were killed.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to be more effective in securing the lives and property of Nigerians.

Commenting on the widespread insecurity in the country, Wike accused Buhari of attempting to shift his constitutional powers of securing lives and property to governors.

The governor spoke at the commissioning of the 21-kilometre Odufor-Akpoku-Umuoye Road in Etche Local Government Area of the State on Tuesday.

Wike said the All Progressives Congress-led federal government has no idea of how to tackle the troubling security issues and make the country safe for Nigerians.

He enjoined the federal government to admit that it can no longer fulfil the promises it made to Nigerians, adding that admitting weakness publicly when there is failure makes a leader respectable.

“Mr President, you are the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. You appoint Inspector-General of Police, you appoint the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, the Commissioner of Police, Director of Department of State Service, and other heads of security.

“Which one do we appoint? How can people appointed by Mr President be under me?

“It is not only to borrow money for Nigeria that you’re in charge. You must also be in charge of other things including security. Who signed order 10? Is it the governors?

“Mr. President was short of calling names of those governors who run to Aso Rock when they are supposed to stay in their states to see the needs of their states and people. Mr. President should have come out openly and said, my APC governors, stop worrying me. Go back to your states and do your work. On that, I support him.

“Thank God, Mr. President knows that I am not one of those that go to visit him over one problem or the other. I, as the governor of Rivers under PDP, you’ll never find me there.”

Critics of the Federal Government have lamented over the level of borrowing by the current administration but the Buhari government has defended its action.

By Taiwo-Hassan Adebayo



President Muhammadu Buhari’s often repeated promise to fight corruption with zero tolerance has remained “largely unmet”, a think tank has reported, saying the president’s failure fuels Nigeria’s worsening insecurity and undermines democratic promises.

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) slammed Mr Buhari for not doing enough to combat the endemic corruption in the public service, despite having gained power on the back of the promise to fight the ill, that is largely responsible for Nigeria’s rarely improving development crises.

“As the candidate who rode into office in 2015 on a wave of popular anger with entrenched elite corruption, he has made little effort to reform Nigeria’s patronage-fueled, scandal-prone public sector or hold his top officials accountable for their business-as-usual approach,” CDD said in its report, titled, “Buhari’s Anti-Corruption Record at Six Years: An Assessment.”

“With the 2023 election season already ramping up, and Buhari’s hands-off governing style largely unchanged, his government’s anti-corruption track record is set to go down in history as one characterised by missed opportunities and, in some respects, outright hypocrisy. His 2016 promise to “demonstrate zero tolerance for corrupt practices” remains largely unmet.”

Presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, did not respond to calls placed to have him comment on this report, nor did the anti-corruption aide, Abiodun Aikomo. But Mr Buhari himself in his Arise TV interview aired on Thursday said he would “ease out” any official found to be corrupt with “correct intelligence”.

CDD said, however, its criticism does not mean the Buhari administration has done nothing in the area of anti-corruption. It then gave an outline, including improved financial centralisation, referring to TSA and IPPIS; and higher conviction rates by anti-corruption agencies. The civic group also praised the president for appointing as a substantive EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, whom it described as “a dynamic and experienced investigator”.

Notwithstanding, CDD said it noted “several significant shortcomings,” including the president’s “willingness to appoint individuals of questionable integrity to key positions; his tendency to shield political allies from investigation and prosecution; his disinterest in how the ruling party funds its election campaigns; his failure to make key petroleum sector reforms; and his corruption-prone economic and fiscal policies.”

“Many of these challenges remain largely unaddressed,” CDD said.


“Two Pandemics: COVID-19 and Corruption”

In the name of controlling the spread of COVID-19 and cushioning the effects of the restrictions, CDD said the Buhari administration “opaquely” awarded contracts worth N450 million or $1 million to “briefcase firms” not registered with the Bureau of Public Procurement. It said the emergency spending was disbursed to politically-connected contractors and channeled through existing corrupt structures.

“Meanwhile, some government agencies used the pandemic as a pretext to spend lavishly on themselves The Niger Delta Development Commission, for example, disbursed 1.5 billion ($4.2 million) in large cash payments to its own staff members in the name of COVID relief. When questioned by legislators, the Commission’s managing director tried to justify the payments, saying: “we used it to take care of ourselves…we need to take care of ourselves”,” the think tank said.


Corruption and insecurity

Since Mr Buhari came to power in 2015, insecurity has intensified and spread, affecting virtually all parts of the country. In the north, apart from the Boko Haram in the North-east, armed bandits and terrorists alike are crumbling communities and mass-abducting students at schools in the North-west and North-central zones.

In the South, herders’ violence has intensified and armed militias of the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra are operating, with attacks on INEC and security facilities and personnel and innocent citizens. The separatists were initially unarmed and Nigerian forces under Mr Buhari extra-judicially killed scores of them


Defence Headquarters says police and the Army are culpable in the incident
Defence Headquarters (DHQ)
en 2015 and 2016, a PREMIUM TIMES’ Global Shinning Light Award investigation found.

“Hollowed out by strategic- and operational-level corruption, Nigeria’s military and police appear incapable of safeguarding many parts of the country,” CDD said, drawing a link between the problem of corruption and insecurity, “The normalisation of security sector corruption means that military and police leaders failures’ offer them new opportunities to racketeer and profiteer, as well as embezzle from increased emergency security spending.”

It added: “For Nigeria’s top brass, peace is much less lucrative than perpetual low-intensity conflict. Yet President Buhari has done little to change their calculus, hold them accountable or exert strong oversight over their activities.”

“Under President Buhari, security sector corruption has become both a cause and a consequence of rising insecurity across the country. Defence procurement remains as opaque and graft-prone as it did under his predecessor and largely exempt from due process rules designed to prevent corruption.”


Democratic Backsliding Fuels Corruption

Under Mr Buhari, the civic space has continued to shrink, CDD said, mentioning violent crackdown on protests and moves to “impose tighter regulations on legitimate civil society groups while at the same time bankrolling hundreds of fake” NGOs.

“90% of Nigeria’s 360-plus progovernment NGOs have started operating since President Buhari took office, a correlation that suggests many enjoy high-level political support,” CDD claimed.

“At the same time, ruling party legislators have, in recent years, introduced two bills aimed at regulating NGOs through the creation of a new government agency. If they succeed, the Buhari government may be inclined to use such an agency to target civil society voices that criticise its governance, human rights and corruption record.”

The think tank expressed pessimism that the president would have the time or political capital to push through sustainable anti-corruption reforms, and called on other stakeholders to fill the gap.

“Integrity-conscious National Assembly members could, for example, introduce legislation outlawing security votes at the federal, state and local levels. Such a ban should be accompanied by transparent and comprehensive budgeting procedures and criteria for security expenditures that meet international best practices and incorporate robust oversight mechanisms,” CDD recommended.

It also called on Nigeria’s international partners to prioritise anti-corruption in their engagements and assistance toward the African nation.

President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that individuals who finance terrorism in various parts of the country do so to remain relevant.

The president stated this on Friday in an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and monitored by PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Buhari, while responding to a question about the alleged financiers of terrorism his administration recently apprehended, stated that most of them are wealthy individuals who are no longer relevant in government.

He said such people will be made to face the law.

“Their motive is that they are made irrelevant and they want to use their resources they accumulated over the years to prove that they are still around and the administration will deal with them. Anybody caught will be dealt with,” the president said.

About 400 businessmen, including bureau de change operators, were recently arrested for allegedly funding Boko Haram terrorists.

No one has been convicted in Nigeria for funding Boko Haram, the terror group that has caused tens of thousands of deaths in Northern Nigeria since 2009.

According to Daily Trust newspaper, the recently arrested businessmen were arrested in an operation being coordinated by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), in collaboration with the State Security Service (SSS), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The operation was said to have been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020.

The newspaper reported that an initial list of 957 suspects comprising bureau de change (BDC) operators, gold miners and sellers and other business persons was acted upon. The prosecution of the arrested persons was stalled because of the two months strike by judiciary workers which was called off two days ago, the attorney general had said.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has said that the Federal Government has no more job vacancies, adding that if they continue to promote insecurity, there will be no jobs from foreign investment.

He said this on Friday during an exclusive interview with the Nigerian Television Authority.

Buhari said, “As I said, the number one thing is security. If you don’t secure the country, people will not invest.

‘That was why those who organised the EndSARS. I sent all the Ministers back to their constituencies.

“Constitutionally, the ministers represent their states.

“So I asked them to go to their states. Let them speak to their Governors, their political leaders, traditional rulers, and very importantly, let them speak to the youths that the Federal Government says there is no more vacancy, virtually every department is filled.

“The same thing in the states and local governments.

“So you can have a good degree from a good university and you will never get a job. Because if you promote Insecurity by burning factories, institutions nobody will come and invest.

“So it’s in their own interests that Nigeria is secure.

“When the country is secure it’s potentially rich because God has endowed Nigeria with resources.

“People will come and invest. Countries that have something to invest, must make sure that they can recover their investments.”

By Yusuf Alli, Onyedi Ojiabor and Sanni Onogu


Senate President Ahmad Lawan has broken his silence on suspension of micro blogging and social network platform Twitter by the Federal Government.

He said Nigeria and Twitter need each other.

He called for amicable resolution of the feud with Twitter.

Lawan bared his mind at a briefing in Abuja to mark the second anniversary of the 9th Senate.

He said: “Our belief is that Nigeria needs Twitter just as Twitter needs Nigeria.

“Our expectation is that we will be able to resolve this issue.

” But beyond that, I am optimistic and I believe that all of us would have learnt our lessons. ”

He gave assurance that the nation would overcome its security challenges.

He added:” I believe this is the worst level we could get to. We cannot go beyond this level, it could only be better.

“i believe we are going to gave a reversal of this situation very soon. We shouldn’t despair, we shouldn’t be despondent. We should have hope and optimism that our situation will be better.”

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has warned of a genocide in the country if the Federal Government fails to arrest the growing extremism, particularly in the North.

Speaking yesterday during a virtual hearing on the escalation of violence by non-state actors in Nigeria and its potential to exacerbate deteriorating religious freedom conditions, USCIRF said it will push for a special envoy to be sent to engage the current administration on the ongoing killings in the North East and the Lake Chad region.

The body noted that insecurity was spreading in the country, with violent attacks against civilians and security forces occurring daily.

“Among the complex web of armed actors and motivations, extremists in various parts of the country target individuals and communities based on their religious identity. Christian and Muslim communities fear for their lives, risking death, mutilation and abduction when they worship in public and celebrate significant religious ceremonies.

“Amidst this shocking scale of violence, government’s inaction is pervasive. Impunity for extremists, who target religious communities and houses of worship, is systemic across much of the country. The Federal Government’s approach has failed to curb the violence and protect its citizens’ rights to freedom of religion or belief. As a body, we will encourage the U.S. government to support Nigeria in addressing impunity for extremist violence,” Anurima Bhargava, USCIRF chair, stated yesterday.

Panelists at the virtual hearing included U.S. ex-Representative member, Frank Wolf; Vice President, Global Affairs and Partnerships, Search for Common Ground, Mike Jobbins; founder, Choice for Peace, Gender, and Development, Hafsat Maina Muhammed; Catholic Priest; Head of Department, Religious Studies, Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, Anthony Bature; and analyst in African Affairs, Congressional Research Service, Tomás Husted.

The panelists said they were disturbed that the rest of the world was closing its eyes to the worsening insecurity in Nigeria.

Wolf said: “Nigeria is failing and there is little attention by the West to the crisis. History is repeating itself as it happened in Rwanda. If what is happening in Nigeria is happening in the West, the world would have been enraged but there is silence and inaction, which could prove fatal to the West Africa region and rest of the world.”

In April, USCIRF in its report recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its severe violations of religious freedom. USCIRF made the same recommendation in last year’s report, which State did follow in a December 2, 2020 announcement that condemned Nigeria for “having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”

Security operatives in Makurdi Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have allegedly beaten up the Makurdi branch chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Barrister Justin Gbagir.

Gbagir is currently receiving treatment at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH).

Speaking with reporters at the hospital, Gbagir said trouble started when he went to the EFCC office after receiving a telephone call that one of his female colleagues, Barrister Aver Shima, was being held by the EFCC.

“Yesterday, Tuesday 8/6/2021 at about 6:59pm, Benue State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Michael Gusa Esq, called to intimate me that our colleague who is also the Branch Treasurer was detained by the EFCC.

“On further inquiry, I found that our colleague was detained on allegation that she gave legal advise to the Chairman of Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) upon which the latter signed a document which is subject of investigation by EFCC.

“Our said colleague is a law officer with Benue State Ministry of Justice and assigned to offer official legal services to SUBEB. She also Chairs one of the Rent Tribunal Panels.”

He said that on getting to the EFCC office, he met stiff opposition from the security operatives at the gate who also threatened to gun him down.

He said this made him and few other colleagues, including the State Director of Public Prosecution, to move across the road in front of Royal Choice Inn, a hotel directly opposite EFCC office.

The NBA chairman said one of the operatives still accosted them and ordered them to leave the place.

He said the three government officials, including the state’s attorney-general, solicitor-general and a senior special assistant to the governor on legal matters, went into the EFCC office and later the solicitor general requested that he (Gbagir) should go in as well.

“I followed him into the EFCC office premises. As we entered, the Solicitor General introduced me to the EFCC Head of office that I am the Chairman, NBA Makurdi Branch, and offered the sit he was previously sitting before he went out to bring me. As I made to sit down, the EFCC Head of office said I cannot sit down because I am “an agitator”.

“I then asked whether I was brought in as an accused? When he did not answer me, I told the AG that with due respect, I cannot be made to be standing talking to the EFCC Head of office, and sought the leave of the AG to leave.

“As I made to leave, the personnel of EFCC numbering between seven and above pounced on me and started beating me. They broke my recommended reading eye glasses in the process and pushed me out of the premises. Outside the premises, they threw out my foot wear which I was dispossessed of in the course of the beating,” he added.

Gbagir, however, concluded that from what happened to him, it was obvious that the EFCC had failed in their primary responsibility.

He said they do not want lawyers to accompany their clients to the commission’s office because of their unwholesome activities.

EFCC deny allegation

Reacting to the allegation in a statement posted on the Commission’s WhatsApp platform, one Bayo Adeniran, a spokesman of the anti-graft body, said it is not true that Gbagir was beaten.

“We are investigating someone for forgery at SUBEB, and we invited her for interview. At about 8pm, some people came in mass after closing of work led by NBA Chairman protesting that we should release the woman.

“They were advised to leave EFCC premises in other to pave way for dialogue and eventually the said woman was released to the Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Justice.

“The NBA Chairman was not even around as the time the woman was released and he was never beaten as claimed. EFCC Operatives are always civil in carrying out their official duties,” Adediran stated.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Wednesday, disclosed the readiness of the popular social media giant, Twitter, for engagements with the Federal Government.

Citing interference, the Federal Government suspended the operations of the microblogging site on Friday.

Speaking with State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC), Mohammed said Twitter had reached out to the government seeking high-level discussion to resolve the issue.

He said that he got the message on Wednesday morning.

The minister stressed that the microblogging platform was suspended because it provided an avenue for people threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria.

According to him, the owner of Twitter helped to fund the recent #EndSARS protest while allowing the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, use the platform to call for the killing of policemen.

He said Twitter failed to take down Kanu’s tweets despite repeated requests to do so.

Mohammed listed conditions that must be met even if there is a discussion with Twitter including that it must now be registered in Nigeria as a business concern.

Apart from Twitter, he said other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram must be registered in the country.

He said freedom of speech has not been stifled by the suspension of Twitter as Nigerians can still use other platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

He dismissed the notion the suspension is not effective, wondering why Twitter is losing money as a result of the action if such view is genuine.

Nigeria's Inspector of General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, was booed in Lagos during his visit to the state on Wednesday.

He was booed by Lagos residents around Oshodi-Anthony Expressway while en route to an event, FIJ reports.

Alkali’s mission in the state is not clear but the state police public relations officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, told FIJ the IG had just landed and his address would soon be made known.

In preparation for the arrival of the police IG, the state police blocked the Oshodi-Lagos Airport Road and Maryland-Ojota axis of the highway.

Many Lagos residents were however unhappy with it as they were stuck in traffic for hours.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-Ade8-1xHo

As the police IG’s convoy passed the blocked road, the crowd booed and called him names in Yoruba. Some shouted “thief”, others screamed “you will never do well”.

The IGP’s visit comes three days to the June 12 nationwide protests that have been planned to take place at Freedom Park, Ojota.

The protests, being championed by civil society organisations and human rights activists, are to kick against bad governance under the President Muhammadu Buhari regime and his anti-democratic ways.

There are indications that the North is planning to foist its preferred presidential candidates of southern extraction on the two main political parties, if the region’s bid to retain power beyond 2023 fails.

A source, who is privy to the plan, told our correspondent that the plot is part of North’s strategy to ensure that it decides whoever succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari, whether a northerner or southerner. The plan, he further revealed, is aimed at ensuring that whoever emerges as the next president protects the interest of the North post-2023.

New Telegraph gathered that to actualise the plan, some northern political leaders have already been constituted into think tanks to shop for what was described as “credible candidates” of from both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Both parties are still wavering on where their respective presidential tickets will go – between the North and South.

The source, who is privy to the move by the North, told our correspondent that it is the region’s ‘Plan B’, should both parties agree to cede the presidency to the South after Buhari. Power is expected to shift to the southern part of the country in 2023, given the power rotation deal between the North and South, which took effect with the return to civil rule in 1999.

But indications are that the battle for the presidency may go beyond a north/ south affair if emerging developments in the polity are anything to go by. Some northern political leaders are insisting that their region should hold on to power after Buhari’s second term.

Their quest is premised on the need for the North to have another four years in order to be at par with the South as regards occupancy of the presidency since 1999.

The present democratic dispensation would be 24 years old by 2023 and the power rotation arrangement, though not constitutional, has seen the South had the presidency for 13 years through Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (South-West, 1999-2007) and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan (South-South, 2010-2015). For the North, the region would have been in power for 11 years by the time Buhari completes his second term as Umaru Yar’Adua, who succeeded Obasanjo in 2007, passed on after three years in office.

Besides the zoning debate, some other northern leaders are insisting on abandonment of the power rotation arrangement, not only for the Office of the President, but for other political offices as currently obtainable in the country. However, the position of southern leaders is that it would be suicidal for the North to retain power after Buhari, given that Nigeria’s unity is presently under threat. Irrespective of political divide, most political leaders in the South are of the view that the nation risks civil and constitutional crises, which may aggravate issues on ground if zoning of the presidency is abandoned.

Perhaps, the zoning debate, also explains why the two leading political parties have refrained from declaring which of the country’s political divides will get their respective tickets for the 2023 presidential election as well as the waitinggame being played by the various presidential hopefuls.

But confiding in New Telegraph that the North may back down from fielding a presidential candidate in 2023, a top northern politician, who spoke with the newspaper, said all the region wants in 2023 is a win-win situation.

He also disclosed that decision makers in the region are already looking at some politicians of southern extraction as possible presidential candidates, who, the North will in turn extract commitments from to ensure protection of the region’s interest after Buhari. Already penciled down by some northern APC leaders, the source further disclosed, are two ministers in the Buhari cabinet.

Surprisingly, the duo hail from the South-East. They are the Minister of State for Education, Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba, and his Science and Technology counterpart, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.

This seems to contrasts the belief in some political quarters that the APC presidential ticket for the 2023 election would be ceded to the South-West, with a former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as the main contender.

The conviction, perhaps, stemmed from the fact that the ruling party is more rooted in the South-West than the East. Presently, APC controls five of the six states of the zone – Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Osun and Ondo. In the South-East, the party is only in charge in two of the five states of the zone – Imo and Ebonyi states.

But the source, who spoke on the South-East chances of clinching the ruling party’s presidential ticket, said: “Onu is a Buharist to the core. He is also cool-headed, intelligent, experienced as a former governor and has no baggage. So, he is a potential candidate.

He has a lot of IOUs (I Owe You) to run on in 2023.” He added: “You will recall the role he played in 1999, when he stepped down as the presidential candidate of All Peoples Party (APP) to pave the way for the pact between the party and Alliance for Democracy to work, so that the contest would be South- West affair. That shows that he is a statesman.

“He doesn’t have all the money to prosecute a presidential project, but there are people in the North, who are ready to put their money on the table for him. I will also tell you that all the North will do to see to Onu’s emergence as APC presidential candidate is to mobilize delegates from the region to vote one-way at the party’s presidential primary election and he will defeat any other candidate.”

The source, particularly, noted that the game plan by the North is fast gaining currency within the APC fold than the PDP, as the ruling party will throw the contest for its presidential ticket open, while the main opposition party appears to have concluded that its ticket will go to the North.

Asked whether voters in the North will not prefer to support the PDP if the party opts for a northern presidential candidate, the source maintained that most northern electorate will still go with the APC in 2023 even if the PDP fields a candidate from their region as according to him, what matters most to the people of the region at the moment is a president who will stabilize the country.

“Insecurity is further accentuating poverty in the North and that explains why some people and groups in the region are calling on Buhari to resign as president. All the region is in interested at the moment is stability.

But when it comes to making choices, I don’t think the North is going to make a shift from the APC. “The people of the region would be guided by interest, when taking decision on who becomes the next president.

And it will interest you to know that North is more ready for progressive politics ahead of 2023. So, the consensus of most people in the region is that Nigeria needs a president, who will ensure security and development.” he said.

Following Federal Government’s suspension of Twitter operation in Nigeria, some banks have followed suit by suspending the micro blogging platform’s support for their online products.

One of the banks, notified their customers via email that it has suspended the Twitter support for two of its products.

Part of the mail read: “We have suspended Twitter support for… so unfortunately we won’t be available to respond to enquiries and feedback via Twitter.

“We understand the inconvenience this may cause, however you have nothing to worry about as we are still available via our other channels below: Facebook Instagram E-Mail