₦airaland Forum

AChief Magistrate’s Court in Warji, the headquarters of Warji Local Government Area of Bauchi State, on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced two persons to two years imprisonment for witchcraft.

The convicts, Adama Mamuda, female, 45 years and Ibrahim Shehu Ganye, male, 43 years, were charged by the police for holding one Hansatu Sani by witchcraft for the past four years.

Police prosecutor, Inspector Mato Albasu, told the court that the accused conspired and held their victim by witchcraft for the last four years, contrary to Section 216 of the Penal Code.

The accused confessed to the court of committing the offence they were charged for and were compelled by the court to return the spirit of the victim which they did.

The presiding judge, Chief Magistrate Ahmed Shuaibu kept the victim on observation for a week to ensure that she recovered fully after her spirit was restored by the accused.

While delivering his judgment on Wednesday, Chief Magistrate Shuaibu ordered the accused to pay their victim the sum of N100,000 for the sufferings and trauma she went through for over four years and sentenced each of them to two years in prison, with an option of fine of N10,000 each in accordance to Section 216 of the Penal Code Laws of 1963.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described former military President Ibrahim Babangida as an ardent advocate of unity, tolerance, social harmony and peace in Nigeria.

The former Vice President, who stated this in a good message on the occasion of Gen. Babangida’s 70th birthday said that even after leaving office, Gen. Babangida has not lost his zeal and energy in his avowed commitment to the unity, stability, peace and progress of the nation.


According to Atiku Abubakar, Gen. Babangida is one of the initiators of zoning and power rotation in 1999 because of his unwavering faith in the right of every section of Nigeria to produce the President through such fair, equitable and democratic method of sharing power.

Atiku noted that Babangida’s critics should assess him more objectively and with an open mind, thereby appreciating his great achievements and legacies.

Atiku, who was the northern consensus candidate in the struggle for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in January of this year, said when critics allow prejudice to influence their attitudes, they might not be able to appreciate that Babangida’s achievements are far greater than his perceived shortcomings.

While noting that there is no leader who is totally perfect, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar advised Nigerians to develop the culture of appreciating the contributions of their leaders and at the same time forgive their shortcomings.

He prayed to God to grant Babangida more good health and long life in his abiding faith in the unity and stability of Nigeria.

http://dailytrust.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25880:ibb-is-a-pillar-of-unity-stability-says-atiku&catid=2:lead-stories&Itemid=8

General Ibrahim Babangida has been roundly condemned over his scurrilous attack on former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
IBB had in an interview to mark his 70th birthday described Obasanjo’s eight- year rule as a failure.

But reacting yesterday, Senator Kola Ogunwale defended Obasanjo saying he did very well. In fact, he charged the Minna-born general to beg Allah for forgiveness for the untold hardship his regime brought on Nigerians.

“For eight years that General Babangida was in the saddle, there was no iota of developmental programme that he put in place, except maradonic tendencies, that has thrown up mediocres in the corridors of power, without any commensurate achievements to show for it,” he said.

According to the Osun-born senator, “It is the same General Babangida that threw the whole nation into jeopardy through the criminal annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election and in the process, made Nigeria to lose one of its finest citizens in person of the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola. “General Babangida should stop taking Nigerians for a ride through his unguarded utterances. Obasanjo ensured stability in our body polity and whether we like it or not, he has ensured that democracy come to stay with one civilian administration handling over to another.

“General Babangida needs to do a rethink on his years in power and use the Ramadan period to ask Allah for forgiveness concerning the hardship he brought on the ways of Nigerians. He should keep silent forever and watch events as they unfold under the divinely ordained leadership According to the statement: “Obasanjo became the Head of State in 1976 and handed over rulership voluntarily in 1979, thereby, fulfilling the norms of democracy, while General Babangida conducted the fairest and freest election in 1993, yet he refused to handover. General Babangide was the ruler of Nigeria for eight years, during which we witnessed increase in our external debt and decrease in our external reserve.

“In 1999 Nigeria external debt was N34billion, which Obasanjo cleared through hard negotiation with the Paris Club of creditors. He subsequently left an external reserve of N45billion when he left office in 2007.
“As a leader who believes in industrial revolution and worked towards it, Chief Obasanjo wouldn’t have toyed with the power sector reliability.

The problem with power sector are so extricating in a vast country like Nigeria. And can we rule out sabotage in some of the measures taken by Obasanjo at improving the power sector as a school of thought believes. Giving the fact that Obasanjo may not be a saint and that he does not possess monopoly of wisdom, it may be that most of these power project contracts were abandoned or sabotaged without his knowledge.”

Ogunwale expressed optimism that President Goodluck Jonathan will try his best to accomplish his transformation project, without meddling from the types of General Babangida. “This is not the time for General Babangida to put his well-known horse-trading skills and power intrigues, which was his survivalist norm when in power. Nigerians now know better.

Nigerian are well-articulated and well-versed in political happenings around them. General Babangida, I said with all emphasis at my disposal, cannot navigate the extreme odds against him as far as his political sins against Nigerian are concerned,” he declared.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/aug/18/national-18-08-2011-023.html

FINANCE Minister Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala spoke yesterday on her priority.

“Let me say that the thrust of what the President wants for now is the creation of jobs. So, everything that we do in terms of pushing forward has to be geared around how we can have a true job growth in the economy.

“So, we are going to be working on that. Those micro economic structures, reforms and investments in key sectors that need to be done in order that we create jobs for our youths, will be the critical thrust, but we can expand on that later,” she said.

On the debt profile, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said government would be taking a critical look at the “fiscal issues in the country studying possibilities of fiscal consolidation and that includes looking at our debt level”.

She added: “As you know, I am somebody who believes that we should have a prudent approach to our debt. But, we will be able to tell you more later when we have started the process of looking at the budget.”

On the banking reforms, she said: “there is no reform package by the CBN and no reform package by the Ministry of Finance. There is a reform package for Nigeria, which is being led by President Goodluck Jonathan. We are here to make sure that his priorities are met.

“CBN is dealing with monetary, currencies and exchange rates policies and the finance sector is fiscal policy. The two have to come together in order to make a whole. So, there is no division,” she said.

Taking over at the ministry, Okonjo-Iweala said the government’s expectations from the ministry is “efficiency, effectiveness and delivery”.

She said the Ministry of Finance “is critical to the implementation of the job creation agenda of government”.

She warned the staff that she is a very demanding person who is not afraid to do what is expected of her.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala dismissed any claims to a magic wand in solving the country’s economic problems. She told the permanent secretary, directors and heads of parastatals that the execution of the government’s policies would be based on hard work and attention to the three laid down criteria of efficiency, effectiveness and delivery. The ministry, she said, should set the example.

“Nobody is too big to serve his or her country,” she said, adding that her decision to serve is because she loves the country with a passion.

Nigeria, the minister said, can do better than it is doing now, if all those saddled with implementing the policies play together as a team.

She was received by the Minister of State for Finance, Alhaji Yerima Lawan Ngama.

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