President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the Federal Republic of Germany address members of the press after a productive bilateral meeting between both delegations
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and senior officials of his government and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the German Delegation hold Bilateral talks as well as Business Roundtable Discussions.
The Business Roundtable seeks promote Economic Collaboration and Trade expansion between Nigeria and Germany
Police in Ghana have arrested more than 100 people - mostly opposition supporters of President-elect John Mahama - over acts of lawlessness.
Supporters of the newly elected president who want jobs have allegedly attacked some state institutions, looted properties, and engaged in disturbances that have left some police and military personnel injured.
The irate supporters also torched two electoral commission offices due to a delay in announcing the outcome of Saturday's elections and disagreements over some parliamentary results.
Mahama has condemned the vandalism and called on President Nana Akufo-Addo and security agencies to "act decisively" in addressing the violence.
Vice-President Bawumia, the defeated presidential candidate of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), has publicly called on the president-elect to reign in his supporters.
In Ghana, it is common for supporters of the winning party to take over state institutions, demanding that the incumbent government's appointees vacate their offices before the president-elect is sworn in.
This phenomenon is rooted in the country's winner-take-all politics, where the party in power gets to control everything, including jobs and contracts.
There have been similar attacks during previous transitions - a development which civil society has condemned.
The police have warned all individuals and groups engaging in violence, saying they will not tolerate any form of lawlessness.
So far 106 people have been arrested, including nine who were arrested on Tuesday over the burning of an electoral commission office in the Eastern Region.
The Ghanaian army has also cautioned the public against attempts to disarm soldiers, following incidents of groups targeting those deployed to support the police to maintain order in the country.
"The Ghana Armed Forces wishes to caution that military personnel on authorised duty have the right to defend themselves, innocent civilians, and property, including the use of lethal force, if necessary to preserve life," said a statement signed by Brig Gen E Aggrey-Quarshie.
Catholic bishops have condemned the violence as "unacceptable and go against the core values of peace, unity, and respect for life that we, as a nation, hold dear".
They have urged political leaders to take responsibility for the actions of their followers. In a live broadcast on Tuesday night, Mahama condemned the acts of vandalism and urged his supporters to exercise restraint, while also calling on the outgoing administration and security agencies to take immediate action.
"Because state power is still in the hands of the present administration, I call on the president and security agencies to act decisively to curb the ongoing acts of lawlessness immediately," he said. Mahama is due to be sworn in on 7 January 2025.
backtalkG: these world leaders might be seeing something we are not seeing because i dont understand their influx into nigeria recently. under buhari i cant remember any President worth his onions visiting nigeria
Both the president and chancellor of Germany visited Nigeria when Buhari was president.
My attention has been drawn to a malicious and entirely fabricated report making rounds on social media, falsely alleging a raid on my residence in Kaduna by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). This baseless claim, accompanied by a recycled image from a separate and unrelated incidents in 2017 and 2022, is nothing but a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, tarnish my reputation, and sow confusion. On a lighter note, the people I represent know what will happen if I was blessed with such figures. For those sponsoring these ignorant attacks, I assure you that we will continue to serve the people and we will continue to enjoy how it annoys you. Quality, frank and honest representation is here to stay in Kaduna North.
For clarity purposes, let me state unequivocally:
1. No raid whatsoever has occurred at my residence in Kaduna or anywhere else. I was in the Chamber today with my colleagues. Additionally, I do not have a residence in Kaduna. Our family home is in Unguwar Sarki and that is where I stay when I visit Kaduna. That has been my home since I was born.
2. The image being circulated as evidence of this supposed event were originally published in April 2017 on Vanguard (vanguardngr.com/2017/04/money-…), and on November 2022 in an unrelated EFCC operation involving a Bureau De Change operator in Abuja (newsoneng.com/breaking-efcc-…).
3. These allegations are not only false but also a calculated effort to undermine my credibility and distract from my public service. I strongly condemn the use of fake news to manipulate public perception and instigate discord. The attempt to connect me to illicit activities through unfounded allegations is not only defamatory but an affront to the principles of justice and fairness. As a result, my legal team will be taking legal action against Glintnews and Newoneng.com. The money they pay for their lies will go to good use in Kaduna North.
Thank you. Signed: Hon. Mohammed Bello El-Rufai Aka, Jika Hanta.
She tweeted the false information and Bello El-Rufai offered a reward to anybody that could help in identifying her. Some people said that she might have gotten the story from somewhere else and he said that she would provide the source of the story when she is identified.
She also tweeted that she was not the source of the story and that she saw it somewhere else. She began deleting her tweets, but he said that it won't help her and he provided details to show that he had identified her.
The EFCC also released a statement that they did not raid Bello El-Rufai's house.
"False & Malicious": Afe Babalola Law Firm Partner, Ogunwumiju SAN, Sues Farotimi For ₦500M Over Alleged Libel In Book
By Unini Chioma December 10, 2024
Senior Advocate of Nigeria Kehinde Ogunwumiju has filed a N500 million lawsuit against lawyer and author Dele Farotimi over allegations of judicial corruption made in Farotimi’s book “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.”
According to court papers obtained by this newspaper, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and managing partner at Afe Babalola & Co, is suing lawyer and author Dele Farotimi for ₦500 million. The suit no: FCT/HC/5372/2024 , filed at the High Court of the FCT in Abuja, accuses Farotimi of making “false, mischievous and defamatory” statements in his book “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.”
Ogunwumiju, who was conferred with the rank of SAN in 2017 and the national honour of OFR in 2023, claims excerpts from Farotimi’s book depicted him and his law firm as unethical lawyers who bribe judges and manipulate the judicial system. The suit alleges the book, published in 2024, accuses Afe Babalola & Co of “compromising the integrity of the Supreme Court,” scheming with “crooked lawyers and incompetent justices,” and “doctoring” a Supreme Court judgment.
Beyond the monetary damages, Ogunwumiju is asking the court for an order compelling Farotimi to apologize in two national newspapers and halt further sales of the book, which is available in Nigeria and internationally on online platforms like Amazon. The senior lawyer says the book’s “false” claims have cost his firm clients and damaged his professional reputation.
“The words complained of are not only false, but also malicious, reckless and defamatory,” the court filings state. Ogunwumiju denies any wrongdoing and maintains he has never been involved in judicial corruption in his nearly two-decade legal career, which has included representing high-profile government and corporate clients.
Described in the suit as “one of the most distinguished legal luminaries of his generation,” Ogunwumiju is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association executive council, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK, and has headed Afe Babalola’s Abuja office since 2012.
Farotimi, the founding partner of law firm DF Legal in Lagos, reiterated some of the book’s claims during a Channels TV interview in August, according to the suit. He could not be reached immediately for comment as he is appearing in court today in Ekiti.
A date for hearing the suit has not yet been scheduled.
Lagos Street Gates To Open From 5.30AM To 12 Midnight - Residents
Jan 27, 2009 - The Lagos State Government, residents and other stakeholders at a Town Hall meeting on the impact of street gates in Lagos on traffic flow resolved on Tuesday that all Street Gates within the state will remain open from 5.30 am till 12 midnight everyday in order to ease the traffic bottleneck often caused by the Gates.
At the Town Hall meeting which had in attendance representatives of Community Development Associations, Community Development Committees, Traditional Rulers, Landlords, Security organizations, para-military formations and opinion leaders which took place at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium , Alausa, it was also agreed that all such gates will be manned by members of the Community Development Associations resident in such areas.
It was also resolved that the decisions jointly agreed on at the Town Hall meeting should become effective all over the state not later than seven days time.
The Stakeholders at the Town Hall meeting also agreed that the State Police Commissioner should ensure that all Area Commanders, DPOs, RRS, Neighbourhood watch and other security apparatus intensify street patrols.
Speaking at the interactive session, Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) said incalculable damages have been done to people through the persistent closure of gates, while also not preventing the attacks of men of the underworld.
He added that if the gates are opened till midnight as agreed by the Town Hall meeting, traffic jams would be improved considerably.
Governor Fashola implored everyone to rise to the call of duty and for the common good of all which is a duty to do what is right saying “we cannot use old and unsuccessful methods to get new and different results”.
The Governor also said those who threaten the security of the society are an insignificant number and therefore in the minority, saying he will work with the people as he has already started doing and collectively, “we can defeat them and take back our common patrimony and safety back”.
The Lagos State helmsman explained that the gates in most cases constitute serious obstacles to the efficient management of the built environment and in particular to vehicular and pedestrian movement along roads that are funded and maintained from the commonwealth which is the tax payers money.
Said he: “In cases of fire outbreaks, burglar bars and street gates have prevented fire fighters from gaining access to homes and inner streets, sometimes resulting in needless loss of lives. It forces all of us to longer routes and eliminate by-passes or connectivity access to back streets through which we would otherwise have reached our destinations quicker”.
Governor Fashola asked rhetorically: “Have the gates stopped robberies? Have we gained more than we have lost by erecting them? If we do the same thing without getting a different result, must we continue in self delusion or must we find the courage by trying something new”.
The Governor reiterated that the state has swung into action to improve security by lighting up streets at nights even where there is no power (through solar powered lights), equipping law enforcement agents and inspiring them through improved welfare packages as well as deployment of technology through 767 Emergency toll free number and commencement of street cameras pilot scheme
He recalled that Lagos in the sixties was a safe and peaceful place to live and work in, adding that one of the unfortunate and bad consequences of the Nigerian civil war was the proliferation of arms with armed robbery becoming rampant all over the country.
He added that “it therefore seemed natural that with the increase in the crime rate, people took steps to guarantee the safety of their lives and property. Everybody became prisoners or victims of fear with the introduction of barricades within or without the home. With time, residents moved from burglary bars, erection of fences, to gated compounds and streets”.
Governor Fashola said the rate at which the street gates are being erected within metropolitan Lagos in recent time has become very worrisome to the government as estates have now graduated to multiple gates keeping only one opened manned by a security guard while others remain permanently locked.
He said equally worrisome is the fact that none of the gates have an approval which is a violation of town planning law.
Experts, Governor Fashola told the gathering, have shown that street gates constitute a major constriction to traffic flow, and that their removal will spring surprises about how positively impactful the outcome will be on the city’s transportation efficiency and lives.
He added that an area like Agege Motor road which constricted at Oshodi and Mushin is only one of the roads that everyone have been forced to abandon for over 20 years until most recently, because:”We allowed a few people to convert our transport infrastructure to a market place”.
“Your Government has shown courage to make your taxes and assets work for you by clearing the constrictions at Oshodi and Mushin so that it now takes only about twenty minutes to travel from Ikeja to Apongbon through Agege Motor Road”, he said.
The Governor added: “if you imagine 60,000 people, having to leave a campaign ground or rally or a football stadium through only one exit after the event is finished, I believe that you will appreciate the picture. Gbagada, Ilupeju, Anthony Village, Surulere, Aguda, Surulere, Aguda, Okota, Ogba, Maryland, Ikeja, Opebi, Mushin, Ilasamaja, Ipaja and Itire to mention a few are daily examples of these self inflicted pains”.
He disclosed that when people clamoured for an expansion of the BRT shuttle bus service to other areas, the Agege Motor Road constitute one of the most viable but which could not be plied due to the excesses of street traders, revealing that today, LAGBUS buses are plying the Agege Motor Road without any hindrance.
Governor Fashola said the convening of the Town Hall meeting on street gates is a fulfillment of the promise he made to the people to use all his skills, knowledge and energy to find solutions to the problems that make life difficult for everyone.
Speaking earlier, Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Developemnt, Mr Francisco Abosede said the provision of street gates have made interconnectivity practically impossible for all residents of Lagos.
He added that in all places where such gates have been erected, it has not stopped criminals or armed robbers from terrorizing the residents, but has also created traffic snarls as motorists could not interconnect other areas.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa in his welcome address said the government observed that though the erection of street gates may seem attractive, the consequences on the overall urban efficiency, aesthetics and functionality of the city and most especially traffic flow poses difficult questions to answer.
He added that the state Governor mandated the convocation of the Town Hall meeting to create an opportunity for the people’s contributions and inputs before arriving at any acceptable policy.
The State Police Command in its presentation made on behalf of the Commissioner of Police by State Force PRO, Supol Frank Mba the erection of gates has made the job of policing the state more difficult as the Police sometimes have problems accessing scenes of crime due to locked gates.
Participants at the interactive sessions including Oba of Egbeda, Oba Balogun who spoke on behalf of all traditional rulers and Chairman of the CDC Advisory Council, Alhaji Moshood Dosunmu all unanimously agreed and called on all residents of the state to dismantle all streets gates and give unfettered access to everyone including security agents and first aid responders.
The event was attended by several dignitaries including the State Vice Chairman of the Action Congress, Alhaji Safiriyu Sumaila, representative of the State Police Commissioner, the Navy and Airforce as well as traditional rulers and community development associations across the state.
I found all my old posts and threads about this issue except one. The missing post is the one that deals with the history of the problem. Therefore I have changed my mind and I will now write a summary of the problem.
1) I read about this issue for the first time in the late 1980s or early 1990s. There were security challenges in some parts of Lagos and residents of some streets on the mainland erected gates at the beginning and end of their streets and hired security guards to man the gates.
2) I read about the issue because it affected journalists and entertainers. These two groups of people often went home at odd hours and anything that affected them often became public knowledge. Many journalists wrote columns about how they left their offices late at night or early in the morning, but could not get home because the gates on their streets were closed and the security guards refused to let them through. Some had to wait at the gate till daybreak, some wrote about the altercations they had with the security guards and some wrote that some security guards recognised them and knew that they lived on the street, but they wanted bribes.
I think it was sometime in the 2000s that the story broke about a musician that was involved in a fight with the security guards on his street because they refused to let him in.
3) Dear diary, you might remember that I told you about a very violent armed robbery that I witnessed on the mainland. I could track the movement of the robbers (I knew which street they were on) because they were shooting non-stop for 3 hours.
The police showed up after almost 3 hours. I saw their truck going down a street (they still had those Operation Sweep era sirens, which were not very loud. The truck passed close to me, but I could barely hear the siren). I saw the truck go back a few minutes later and I easily figured why. The gate at the end of that street was closed. The police had to go the long way round (and that's when the gun battle began).
4) In the 2000s some residents on the Island also erected gates on their streets.
5) Governor Babatunde Fashola decided to tackle the problem, so he had a meeting with representatives of residents associations from across the state.
The governor stated that many street gates were closed all day and night and this created massive traffic jams on major streets that had no gates. He said that the inner roads (that had been gated) were supposed to serve as alternatives to the major roads and to relieve the major roads of traffic during rush hour, but this was not possible because the inner roads had been blocked by street gates.
He further said that the emergency services often found it difficult to get to the scene of emergencies because of these street gates.
The residents' associations said that they had erected street gates in order to protect themselves from violent robbers.
A compromise was eventually reached. It was agreed that the street gates would be open from 5am till midnight and then shut from midnight till 5am. It was also agreed that the residents would hire security guards to man the gates, so that they could open them if the emergency services needed to gain access to the street. The government then created a task force that was charged with monitoring the situation and dismantling gates that were shut during daytime.
6) Sometime between 2010 and 2012, the Lekki Estate Residents Association (LERA) decided that the estate was too big for LERA to effectively manage on its own. It decided to encourage residents to create mini residents associations within their streets or zones.
7) Sometime around 2015/2016, a few of these mini residents associations erected street gates in their zones. They were very few.
8 ) The Covid 19 lock down took place in 2020 and there were a lot of reports of attacks on Lekki residents. Some joggers were attacked on the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge. Pedestrians were also attacked on Admiralty Way and in other parts of Phase 1.
9) In October 2020 there was a very violent riot in Lekki Phase 1. A lot of properties on Admiralty Way, Fola Osibo Street, Adewunmi Adebimpe Drive, Ogungbe Crescent, etc were destroyed. Gangs of youths patrolled the estate and destroyed everything in sight. Some people noticed that the inner roads that had street gates did not experience the destruction and terror.
10) In the aftermath of the End SARS riots, residents of most of the streets that did not have street gates erected gates on their streets, while those that already had gates further fortified them. Some streets hired armed guards to assist the private security guards that manned the gates. You might remember that I told you that my shortcut to the petrol station had been blocked by a street gate and I had to drive the long way round when I wanted to buy petrol.
11) In 2021 Governor Sanwo-Olu had a meeting with residents associations and it was decided that street gates should be open from 6am to 10pm and that they could be closed from 10pm till 6am. They must be manned by security guards when they are closed.
13) However, there were more incidents after this enforcement exercise. End SARS protesters continued to stage protests in the Lekki area (e.g. on October 1st, on October 20th, etc) and they have often entered the estate when either the police refused to allow them block the expressway or when they were chased away. Therefore, even more streets erected street gates. Streets that I never imagined could have street gates, like Olateju Crescent, (aka Waterside) now have street gates. You need to have the access code in order to enter most of those streets.
14) I got this message around 2 weeks ago.
Good morning everyone.
Just to share briefly the incident that occurred at my residence during the early hours of yesterday.
At approximately 5:10AM, a white Corolla vehicle with four unknown men pulled up at the main gate of my residence on Engineer George Enenmoh crescent.
According to my security guard, the vehicle hooted a few times to get his attention and a man from the vehicle approached the gate and requested to drop off a package for Oga of the house.
Unfortunately, my security guard was careless at that point as he totally assumed it could be a valid delivery service and instead of him reaching out to me for confirmation, he opened the pedestrian gate but to his surprise, he met 3 men who forced there way in by overpowering him.
One of the men had a rifle and these men assaulted my security guard, injured him badly and threatened to shoot him if he made any noise or caused any disruptions.
Whilst the robber with the rifle subdued the security guard, one of the robbers (who obliviously is a very well experienced mechanic) broke into my Toyota Prado by using a chemical to weaken one of the car windows and within about 5-7 mins was able to remove the brain-box, glove compartment and all four window controllers.
Note that the whole operation took about 12 minutes before the robbers left my compound.
4 robbers made up of 1 mechanic who carried out the car vandalization and extraction of valuable parts. 1 driver who manned the car all through keeping the engine running. 1 mask man with a rifle who subdued the security guard. 1 in charge of surveillance all through the operation.
Key points to note for everyone 1. The case of car burglary is now on the increase according to various feedback from the police. 2. The robbers now operate with arms (at least one rifle) 3. They carry out their surveillance via different means over time to identify their targets. There are some vehicle brands & models they target due to high demand of their parts. 4. They now also operate at unusual hours especially between (5:00AM till about 7:00AM) this is a new strategy. I was shown a similar case to mine at the police station yesterday where the incident started at 6:33AM and occurred in Lekki 1 just last week. 5. There is a need for everyone to be more security conscious. Educate your workers on security awareness. 6. There is need to revisit the modus operandi of the estate security to be more effective ( noting that they did not detect the robbers when they entered and left the loop). 7. The police have advised that at least two mobile police men be assigned to support the estate security between 7PM to 7AM every day. Recall the security guards are not armed and we now know that the robbers we want them to prevent are armed.
God bless & keep everyone
This has made some people advocate for more street gates and armed guards at the gate.
15) However, people who don't live in Lekki Phase 1 are sick and tired of the street gates as you can see from the screen shots below (the screenshots continue in the next post).
Politics › Re: Arrival Ceremony For The President Of Germany Steinmeier In Aso Rock (Videos) by naptu2(op): 3:43pm On Dec 11, 2024
