₦airaland Forum

Mynd44:
He travelled as a British Nigerian carrying a British passport.

This isn't so difficult

Gunmen have killed five persons, three of them policemen in Anambra.

The assailants, who stormed Abatete in Idemili North local government area, also set three vehicles ablaze on Tuesday night.

They abducted one unidentified young man from Uke after several shots fired at him failed to penetrate.

He was dumped in the trunk of the vehicle and whisked away to an unknown destination, it was gathered.

A source told The Nation the hoodlums invaded the community in two Highlander jeeps and one Sienna car.

The incident, according to the source, occurred at Eke-Agu area in the community.

Anambra Police spokesman, ikenga Tochukwu, said he has not received any information on the incident.

But another Senior Police Officer, confirmed it to The Nation.

Lately, some individuals and civic groups have, in some show of support for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, indicated that they will ‘monitor’ his trial. In the same vein, some have also called for a fair trial. Fair trial of what? Illegality in high places?

While it’s commendable that Kanu has attracted such avalanche of support across the spectrum, it’s important to make it clear from the outset that there won’t be any trial to monitor. None. Nnamdi Kanu cannot be tried on the basis of this extraordinary rendition that brought him in Nigeria.

If you truly support Kanu, you don’t need to monitor his trial or ensure he gets a fair trial. What you need to do is to oppose his trial. Saying that you will monitor his trial gives the impression of bestowing legality to the illegality that brought him to Nigeria.

To better understand how Kanu ended up in Nigeria and why he won’t face trial, you need to juxtapose it to what happened to Umaru Dikko in 1984 and it’s aftermaths. Dikko’s kidnapping was, like this one of Kanu, a brazen act of attempted rendition, which is a State crime under international law and it comes with dire consequences - legal, diplomatic and political.


Though the kidnapping of Dikko failed, it brought the following consequences: Britain swiftly arrested seventeen people, four were convicted and they served between six to eight years in prison. Britain expelled the Nigerian High Commissioner and broke diplomatic relations with Nigeria for 2 years. And most tellingly, Nigeria’s subsequent requests to Britain to extradite Dikko and others were summarily denied.

All these were done even as Dikko was not a citizen of Britain but a mere resident. Conversely, Kanu is a bonafide citizen of Britain, traveling on a British passport when he was unlawfully renditioned to Nigeria from Kenya. That should counter for more countervailing measures.

What this means is that, apart from answering to its conscience as a nation, Nigeria shall ultimately answer to Britain, to the international community and even to Kenya if Kenya succeeds in denying official complicity in the rendition.

A nation does not go to jail. So, when I stated that Nigeria will answer for the rendition, it means a mix of consequences, some of which are already unfolding. The easiest one to see is that Nigeria has, by her own hands, lost its jurisdiction to subject Kanu to trial. In sporting terms, you can say that Nigeria scored an own goal.

How that own goal was scored and its fallouts is a complex legal subject that will certainly be ventilated in court and within the diplomatic circles to which Nigeria is subject. But one thing that is clear is this: No valid prosecutorial or judicial action can proceed from such a manifestly criminal conduct by a State.

So, when you say you will be monitoring Kanu’s trial or that you want a fair trial for him, you are unwittingly buying into a grievous crime that should shock your conscience. Put another way, you will be making yourself complicit in what was done to Kanu or as lawyers would say: you’re making yourself an accessory after the fact.

Conversely, it would be a great thing to say that you will monitor the trial if Kanu’s presence in Nigeria was compliant with due process. That due is nothing but what is generally known as extradition.

Extradition is the only valid means of surrendering an international fugitive from one country to the other. That’s why Nigeria was punished for daring to kidnap Dikko. There’s no reason to think that Kanu’s case will be different.

Nigeria has an extradition statute which is known as the Extradition Act. Kenya has a similar law but with slightly different name. Britain has its own. All three are, in substance, very similar and strict to boot.

What I can tell you for now, assuming you don’t know it already is that Kanu’s rendition will live in infamy because it violated the extradition law of Kenya (the country of abduction), Britain (the country of domicile and citizenship) and even Nigeria (the country of destination).

If you add other municipal and international laws, conventions and protocols to which Nigeria is subject but chose to break just to bring Kanu to Nigeria, you begin to see why you must oppose his trial instead of monitoring it.

A Biafra separatist leader and UK national was arrested by Nigerian authorities in Kenya and taken to Nigeria in an act of extraordinary rendition, his family and lawyers have claimed.

Nnamdi Kanu, a British-Nigerian citizen, fled Nigeria in 2017 while on bail facing charges of terrorism and incitement. He was arrested last week and brought to Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

Nigerian authorities have declined to say where he was taken from. The sudden arrest caused widespread surprise in Nigeria, as his whereabouts had been unknown for years.

Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) – a prominent separatist movement proscribed in Nigeria – has long been a widely known and controversial figure in Nigeria. He has called for Biafra independence, including in broadcasts from Radio Biafra – a digital station he founded and ran from his home in south London.

Nnamdi Kanu wearing a Jewish prayer shawl as he left his house in Umuahia, south-east Nigeria, to meet veterans of the Nigerian civil war, in May 2017.

Kanu was first charged in 2015, when Biafra secessionist mass protests erupted in Nigeria for the first time since the Biafra civil war. The conflict is one of the darkest chapters in Nigerian history and the bitter legacy still reverberates in Nigeria.

Kanu’s whereabouts had been unknown since he left Nigeria in 2017, after soldiers attacked his home in Abia state during one of a number of military operations against separatist agitators in the region.

His brother Kingsley Kanu said he had spoken to him while he was in Kenya, days before he went missing in June.

“I spoke to him on the phone, he was well, in Nairobi. His associates said he went out, he didn’t take his documents with him so he wasn’t planning on going anywhere. Then all of a sudden we see him paraded in handcuffs in Abuja,” Kingsley Kanu said.

“It is an extraordinary rendition, aided by Kenyan authorities,” he said. “It is an outrage that cannot be allowed to happen. We are holding the Nigerian government and Kenyan government responsible. The British government, they know what is happening,” he said, adding that UK officials had made contact with Kanu’s family and legal team and that there were concerns he would be abused in detention.

“I am concerned for his wellbeing because you know how they will treat him,” Kingsley said.

Lawyers for the Kanu family accused the Nigerian government of “state kidnapping” and said he was abducted by Nigerian officials in Kenya and taken to Nigeria against his will.

Evidence seen by the Guardian shows Kanu entered Kenya this year on his British passport on a visa expiring in June. His UK passport remains in Kenya.

Kanu was not in possession of a Nigerian passport, his family said, and he has verbally renounced Nigerian citizenship in broadcasts.

The abduction of a person from a foreign country with the aim of rendition to justice is illegal under international law.

Nigerian and Kenyan authorities have denied that Kenya was involved in the arrest, while the UK consulate in Nigeria has said it contacted Nigeria’s government concerning the case. UK officials did not immediately respond to requests from the Guardian for information.

To Kanu’s many followers he is the most vocal and defiant advocate for Biafran independence. Secessionist protests have been brutally shut down in Nigeria. Yet broadcasts calling for mass uprisings, taunting the president, Muhammadu Buhari, and targeting ethnic groups in Nigeria have drawn the ire of Nigerian authorities.

Nigeria’s attorney general, Abubakar Malami, said on 29 June that Kanu had been extradited to Abuja, after cooperation between Nigerian intelligence services and Interpol.

“He has been brought back to Nigeria in order to continue facing trial after disappearing while on bail,” Malami said. He accused Kanu of “engaging in subversive activities” and of responsibility for rising armed attacks against police and civil authorities in south-east Nigeria that have been blamed on armed separatist groups.

The arrest of Kanu comes amid growing tensions around regional divisions within Nigeria, and armed separatism in the south-east.

Since security forces brutally clamped down on mass protests which began in 2015, armed attacks in the region have grown. More than 150 people were killed at pro-Biafra rallies between August 2015 and August 2016 according to Amnesty International.

The protests were in part a response to the election of President Buhari, who served as a brigade major in the civil war. Millions of people died in the conflict, mostly in south-east Nigeria, from starvation after a government blockade of the region prevented food supplies and humanitarian support.

Last month, Twitter deleted a post by Buhari for violating its rules on abuse, after he referred to the civil war in a threat against armed Biafran groups.

“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” the president said, drawing mass condemnation.

In retaliation the government banned the use of Twitter in Nigeria.

The legacy of the war is still bitter in Nigeria. Authorities censor cultural depictions of the conflict and the war is not taught in most schools.

Finland-based Nigerian-Finnish Citizen, Simon Ekpa Takes Over From Nnamdi Kanu At Radio Biafra
The appointment was revealed by Mr Ekpa on his official Facebook page, noting it is honour to serve the Biafra nation and a call to serve lovers of freedom.

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORKJUL 09, 2021

Simon Ekpa, one of the arrowheads of the agitation for the state of Biafra in Finland has been appointed to take over daily broadcast on Radio Biafra following the detention of the leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

The appointment was revealed by Mr Ekpa on his official Facebook page, noting it is honour to serve the Biafra nation and a call to serve lovers of freedom.


"Our Leader, Mazi Nnamdi on this day, 8th of July 2021 directed that I, Simon Ekpa should start broadcasting from Radio Biafra with immediate effect.

"On this note, it is honour, and at the same time, a call to service, a call to serve Biafra nation, and a call to serve lovers of freedom.

"This task, I will do with everything in me to see that we maintain the momentum and the legacy of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and IPOB.

"I will serve with everything in me and I will double my effort in media, diplomacy, and otherwise to the best interest of Biafra people.

"I am just a servant and I will serve. Our leader will continue to lead this struggle from wherever he is.

"I am Simon Ekpa, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's disciple on Biafra restoration."

Simon Ekpa LL.M (Master of Laws) is a human rights activist and a legal researcher and advisor.

He is a native of Ngbo in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State in Southeastern Nigeria.

He is said to be a chief and one of those in line to the throne as the son of the late King Nwangbo (The Ogaba Idu of Ngbo clan).

Simon has been living in Finland for more than a decade. He is a Finnish citizen and a politician. He was recently elected deputy councillor in his municipality.

Radio Biafra stands at the centre of the Biafra agitation struggle since its inception

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has affirmed its commitment to the rule of law and right to civic expression following controversy over the statement of one of its vice presidents on the Federal Government’s handling of secessionist agitations.

NBA President Olumide Akpata dissociated the association from the position of 1st Vice President John Mr Aikpokpo-Martins, who argued the President of Nigeria is required by the Constitution to “crush” agitators for secession.

Aikpokpo-Martins has been under fire among lawyers since Saturday following his Facebook post in which he further argued that self-determination agitations such as those canvassed by Boko Haram, Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho, are “simply unconstitutional”.

Reacting to the controversy in a statement, Akpata noted that, as The Nation reported, his VP’s opinion was personal and not that of the NBA.

He said: “My attention has been drawn to news reports, currently making the rounds, in which the 1st Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, was quoted as saying that the President of Nigeria is constitutionally bound to “crush” secessionist agitators in Nigeria.

"In response to the many enquiries I have so far received from members of the Association and indeed the general public, it has become necessary to state categorically that, as was affirmed in the said news report, the views expressed by the 1st Vice President are his personal views which he posted on his Facebook account in the course of an online exchange, and that the said views do not represent the position of the NBA on the subject.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the NBA, as an Association founded to defend the Rule of Law, will continue to champion and defend the rights of every Nigerian citizen and/or group including, inter-alia, the right to lawful and peaceful protest; the right to make lawful demands recognized under the Nigerian Constitution or international charters applicable to Nigeria; and the right to enjoy the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise by a Court of Law in a free and fair trial that accords with the basic principles of natural justice.”

Aikpokpo-Martins also clarified his comments, stating that he neither meant nor intended to be taken as giving the President approval to handle secessionist agitations in an unlawful or unconstitutional manner.

He said: “It was never my intention to suggest vide the said post, and same did not suggest that the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or any other person at that is at liberty to deal or engage any person or citizen for whatever reason outside constitutional confines and statutory restrictions guaranteed and established by the constitution and laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Let me say that as a person, a lawyer and the 1st Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association, I have not, cannot and will not advocate for any extra-legal and/or extra-judicial sanction that is contrary and inimical to the promotion of the rule of law within the confines of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to be meted out on any person alleged to have committed any crime…

“In the light of the above therefore, it can only be proper and brave to say; I am sorry for the stir.”

The Police Command in Akwa Ibom has confirmed Saturday’s attack on its Udung Uko Divisional Police Headquarters by gunmen.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Odiko MacDon, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Udung Uko in Akwa Ibom on Sunday.

Macdon said that the situation would have been worse but for the gallant policemen on duty who repelled the attack.

He, however, said that the three officers who sustained gunshot wounds were receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in the state.

“Gunmen on Saturday night attacked the Divisional Police Headquarters in Udung Uko Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.
“At least three officers sustained fatal injuries, resulting from heavy gunshots as policemen on duty tried to repel the attack,” he said.

According to him, the identities of the assailants are still unknown as at press time.

Meanwhile, a source, who claimed anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the gunmen came in a Sienna Toyota vehicle.

Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, was, on Tuesday, brought back to Nigeria to continue facing his treasonable felony trial which he fled from almost six years ago.

“Recent steps taken by the Federal Government saw to the interception of the fugitive Kanu on Sunday,” the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, announced triumphantly on Tuesday.

Mr Malami said, evasively, at a press conference that Mr Kanu “has been arrested through the collaborative efforts of Nigerian intelligence and security services.”

He did not take questions from reporters yearning to throw more light on the development for Nigerians.

The news hit many Nigerians like a thunderbolt on Tuesday, especially as Mr Kanu’s recent history on Twitter shows he has relentlessly tweeted every day up till Monday, except last Thursday and Friday.

Fraught with vague remarks on important issues on how Mr Kanu was brought back to Nigeria, Mr Malami’s announcement has raised some questions begging for answers.


Many have also raised concerns about the legitimacy of the procedure adopted in bringing the IPOB leader back to Nigeria due to too little official information on the matter.

At the end of Mr Malami’s press conference, which was immediately followed by a court appearance put together to obtain an order for Mr Kanu’s detention in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS), what was clear was that the IPOB leader was back in the country after almost six years abroad.

Where, when, and how he was brought to Nigeria remain a matter of speculation.


Below are some of the questions many Nigerians have raised just a few hours after Mr Malami announced Mr Kanu’s return to the country on Tuesday.

Where was Mr Kanu “arrested”?

One of the major gaps in Mr Malami’s remarks was the the exact location where Mr Kanu was arrested.

For a highly prized suspect like Mr Kanu who has been repeatedly accused by the government of threatening the country’s corporate existence and instigating violence that has led to the wanton loss of lives and destruction of property, both public and private, the omission of his place of arrest in the AGF’s remark on Tuesday could not have been an oversight.

TEXEM

Mr Kanu, who has dual citizenship (British and Nigerian), is known to have escaped to Israel and later to the United Kingdom after disappearing from public space following the September 2017 invasion of his home in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, Abia State, by soldiers.

The IPOB leader is believed to have been residing in the U.K., although the possibility of him travelling to other countries in the past five years cannot be ruled out.

No word has come from the British government, which has rebuffed the push by the Nigerian government to recognise IPOB as a terrorist organisation. They have not confirmed that Mr Kanu was arrested in the U.K.

Where the IPOB leader was arrested remains a matter of speculation as different places have been mentioned in media reports. Nigerians want Mr Malami to shed light on it.

When was Mr Kanu arrested?
Apart from the exact location of Mr Kanu’s arrest, the date of his arrest stated by Mr Malami has also raised questions.


Mr Malami said on Tuesday that Mr Kanu was ‘intercepted’ on Sunday, June 27, 2021.

But Mr Kanu, an avid user of social media, tweeted via his handle that has for long been identified with him, on that same day.

He tweeted, not just that day, but also on the day before (June 26) and a day after (June 29).

Was he allowed to tweet from custody or somebody else was tweeting for him? If it is taken that his tweet on Sunday was before he was arrested, what about his Monday tweet?

His Monday’s tweet was not just bereft of any hint of someone in a custodial condition, it fitted into the pattern of his regular hate campaigns against Nigeria and glorification of his dream “Biafraland”.

Mr Malami said the IPOB leader was intercepted on Sunday without stating the location or when he was brought to Nigeria.

How was Mr Kanu arrested or ‘intercepted’?
Another question begging for Mr Malami’s answer is about how Mr Kanu was arrested.

The minister said Mr Kanu “has been rearrested through the collaborative efforts of Nigerian intelligence and security services”, adding in another paragraph that “Recent steps taken by the Federal Government saw to the interception of the fugitive Kanu on Sunday the 27th day of June 2021”.

The “recent steps” referred to by Mr Malami remain unclear to Nigerians, leaving many to speculate that the IPOB leader was “abducted” or arrested through some illegitimate methods.


Was it a due extradition process and in which country? Conflicting dispositions of Nigeria and the U.K governments towards IPOB, separatist activities in the Igbo-dominated South-east region and Mr Kanu, are well known.

The U.K. reportedly played a crucial role in helping Mr Kanu return to the U.K. after he fled Nigeria in 2017.


As recent as April 2021, the Nigerian government through the information minister, Lai Mohammed, described as “disrespectful” to Nigeria the reported plan by the U.K government to grant asylum to “secessionists being persecuted in the South-east.”

Trial
While the questions mount, Binta Nyako, a judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday ordered Mr Kanu remanded in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS).

It was his first court appearance after he escaped from the country in 2017.

He is being prosecuted by the AGF’s office on charges of treasonable felony, among others, bordering on his group’s secessionist campaigns for the actualisation of the Republic of Biafra which will comprise the states in the South-east region and other neighbouring states.

The judge had earlier in March 2019 revoked the bail earlier granted the IPOB leader.

She also separated his trial from that of his co-defendants.

On Tuesday, she adjourned Mr Kanu’s trial till July 26.

I am sure there is no breathing being around the world who does not know that Nigeria is at the brink of collapse and disintegration. Every nook and cranny of our nation is bedevilled by deafening demurrer from Nigerians who are tired of Nigeria. There are groups in the Northern axis that want out. There is a legion of them in the South. Even on soils far away across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and away from Lagos and Abuja are huge assemblages of disenchanted Nigerians demanding outs from the contraption.

Fat-cat elites in Nigeria may be denying the possibility of a balkanised nation. Many of them think it is a joke, and they believe its present attending applause and ovation will soon run into a nosediving diminuendo. Tell those fat cats that what’s going on around now is more than the buccal rattling of jobless rabble-rousers. It is getting clearer by the day that Nigeria may be broken into parts that may never be gathered together again. Why are people chanting this song of balkanisation? They are tired of an asphyxiating system that will not allow them to achieve their life dreams. Before our eyes, destinies of our children are destroyed. And there are wicked men behind the lingering debacle. These wicked men are living large with more than enough for their children’s children. Nigeria’s extant dilemma is not just about kidnappings and killings that have become a lifestyle we are forced to endure. Nigeria has become a burden to Nigerians, and that is why groups are springing up desiring to leave the contraption and embrace their own Republics. No matter how anyone spins it, the government is not only labile and lame, it is also confused about how to tackle what’s pulling Nigeria apart. In some instances, the government is making it worse, exacerbating division and disunity with its action and inaction. There is just something about Nigeria that’s not working; and that may never work.

Anytime a nation is dealing with problems that will not go away, wise leaders should check out its foundation. It is only wise that the problems be dealt with from its foundation. Otherwise, we will only be dealing with the symptoms, not the disease entity itself. If the beginning and foundation of a nation are not revisited and overhauled, forever, that country will engage in witless shadow-boxing that will be rewarded with a crown of thorns. Let’s examine our history. Nigeria was conceived as a sick baby from the British fashioning womb. Our union was profoundly fraudulent. Its mortars and bricks were fashioned in deception. The Nigerian union was not built to last. It was a convenient business enterprise conjured by the British to wet their coffers. Nigeria is like one big square-peg ethnic groups rammed into a big, smothering round-hole geographical expression. A slice in the nation’s anthem infers that Nigeria is “one nation bound in freedom, peace, and unity”. Nigeria is too far from the dreamland of freedom, peace, and unity. How long can we hold on to a bond that appears like a mirage without talking about how to make it real and workable for all? A coerced relationship cannot run the long-haul course. The fundamental of our union is coerced. The spillover effects lurk in today’s widespread palpable tension. History is always a reminder of that which is the truth. The sooner we faced the truth, the better it will be to curtail injuries we continue to inflict on ourselves and on our destinies as different peoples.

It is very obvious that Nigerians are tired of one another. The Arewa in the North are already marketing the Republic of Arewa. Biafra in the East is marketing The Republic of Biafra. Oduduwa in the South-West is marketing Republic of Oodua. If everybody has resolved to leave, is that not enough an indication that there is something wrong with this relationship? What are we waiting for? What can anyone point to that indicates sincere love and enthusiasm to remain one? Before the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), came on board, there was ethnic division in Nigeria. But Mr. President has made ethnic co-existence and collaboration worse under his watch. He loaded up vital organs of government with his own people, and he is unrepentant about it. He said in his recent interview with ARISE TV that he doesn’t need to balance his appointments to powerful positions. He said he is about the longevity of service. I wish that was the same ‘fair’ rule for admission to Unity schools across Nigeria. Are admissions not balanced to favour one bloc of the nation? I wish that was the same approach in many of Nigeria’s government offices where merit is heave-hoed out of the window. We now know that in Mr. President’s dictionary, more qualified people for plum jobs in Nigeria are Northerners. When you have a blatantly displayed presidential double-standard such as this, you know Nigeria is in trouble. These are all evidence that we are far apart as a people.

I’ve always been a determined advocate of restructuring as a panacea for lasting peaceful coexistence among ethnic groups in Nigeria. But lately, I observed that the enthusiasm to keep going as one nation has evanesced from the hearts and minds of Nigerians. The honeymoon seems over. We all know it. Now, shouldn’t we take advantage of this mutual feeling; sit down, and peacefully slice off the pie and go about our businesses? Some may call this assertion ‘ignorant’. It is not. It is wise. It is smart. It is rooted in evidential truth that stares Nigerians in the face every day they wake up and go to bed. We will be better off apart than together. North, South, East, and West, we will all be alright independently. Those who think one region will suffer in the aftermath of a break-up don’t know what God has deposited all over the Nigerian soil. Too many precious stones and landmass for agriculture in the North. Too many precious stones under the ground and sufficient landmass too for agriculture in the South-West. The South-East and South-South have more than enough to remain buoyant. Everywhere in Nigeria is blessed.

Ethnic suspicion and hate will never end in Nigeria. The country can be broken down into autonomous nations and still benefit from one another as separate entities. We will forever be neighbours. We will still be friends. Obviously, staying together seems to be irritating everybody except for the elites who feed off of being together. I don’t know why we can’t just call for a referendum and end this endless bickering. We don’t have to shed a pint of blood. We don’t have to fire a shot! We don’t have to go to war. Narrow may be that road that takes every group peacefully to its tent, but war must not be the choice. Dividing Nigeria is better for all than all-consuming belligerence that may wipe the country off the map like Amalek.

Hashabiah:
Igbo Muslims are suppose to be nonexistent in Nigeria. So how did this come about or have they started loving money more than their conscience?

‘Igbo Muslims Making Life Difficult For Themselves’


By
Khadijat Lawal
Thu May 20 2021

Ibrahim Adike, an Igbo Muslim in Awka, the Anambra state capital, says the lack of love between Igbo Muslims is making life difficult for them.

Adike made the statement while commenting on the lack of harmony among Muslims in the Eastern part of Nigeria.

Islam is a religion, Igbo an ethnic group, says Sheik on persecution of Muslims

“Igbo Muslims make life difficult for themselves. They think that joining Islam will make you rich. Many of us are not educated, so they cannot get into places. If you are educated, and you are seeking for an appointment, they will give it to you.”

Adike added that the lack of unity amongst the Igbo Muslims is also a contributing factor to the challenges they are facing.

“Since we are not together, we will have challenges. It’s because we do not show love to each other, that we have problems moving together as a group.”

President Recep Erdogan of Turkey has told the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), that he expects Nigeria to show solidarity with Palestinians following the latest attacks by Israel on Jerusalem and Gaza.

Erdogan made the call when he spoke with Buhari on the telephone on Thursday evening.

The Turkish Presidency disclosed this in a message posted on its Twitter handle, @trpresidency.

The Turkish President told Buhari that his country was trying to get the international community to teach Isreal, which he described as “unlawful, unjust and unscrupulous” a lesson.

He expressed the belief that Nigeria will support Palestinians in “this rightful cause.”

The message read, “President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria.

“Exchanging Eid al-Fitr greetings, the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and regional developments.

“Drawing attention to Turkey’s efforts exerted in order for the international community to teach the necessary lesson to unlawful, unjust and unscrupulous Israel due to its attacks against Palestine, President Erdogan voiced his belief that Nigeria would show solidarity with the Palestinians in this rightful cause.”

Apart from Buhari, reports say Erdogan had also spoken with some other world leaders on the matter.

He was said to have spoken with Kyrgyz President, Sadyr Japarov; his Afghan counterpart, Ashraf Ghani; Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, a former Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad; and Libya’s Prime Minister, Abdul Dbeibeh.

According to media reports, Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza has left 103 dead, including 27 children and 11 women.

The reports quoted the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Another 580 people were said to have been injured.

Folarxn:
Even when civil servants like myself, who are currently in service are telling you and have repeatedly mentioned it on this same thread, that age is inconsequential in the civil service when determining who's senior and who isn't.

Anyway, continue… I guess you love basking in blissful ignorance.

Unityp:
Two staff in one of the Federal Ministries got employment letter the same time,with the same grade level and step,both of them did documentation/assumption of duty the same day.One did in the morning while the other did his in the afternoon but the time was not recorded.
Now the question is how do you determine seniority between this two on the nominal roll?Pls admin gurus in the civil service should help out here because this is exactly what a friend is passing through in her place of work.

The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Eboka Friday has confirmed an attack on some police stations and checkpoints in Rivers State during which seven policemen were feared dead Friday night.

Speaking to the press on the matter, the CP said he was leading an investigation team to ascertain what actually happened.

The Rivers State Police boss on Saturday morning said he was leading a team to the place.


“Yes, that is what we heard. I am on my way to the place. I want to confirm it myself,” CP Friday.

Gunmen were on Friday night reported having attacked security checkpoints and police stations in Rivers State, with no fewer than seven security operatives allegedly killed.

A source told Tribune Online that the hoodlums attacked a police station along the Rumuji axis of the East-West Road in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The Rumuji police station was also burnt and two policemen feared killed, while some vehicles were burnt.

The source added that the gun all also attacked a police checkpoint at Ogbakiri junction in the same Emuoha LGA with two policemen feared killed and a vehicle burnt.

A checkpoint of the security outfit called C-4-i along the East-West Road was also attacked, with three operatives were feared killed there.

A spokesman for the State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, also confirmed the attack to newsmen saying he would make details available after visiting the areas attacked.

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB has clarified that the murdered Commander of its security outfit, Eastern Security Network, ESN was killed while he was sleeping in his father’s compound.

This was contrary to the previous report by the Nigerian army that the commander was killed during a gun battle.

Recall that Nigerian security forces carried out a joint operation in Imo State on Saturday, April 24 which led to the death of the ESN Commander, Ikoson and several others.



In a statement on Tuesday by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, IPOB alleged that the Nigerian security forces eliminated the commander over his decision to eradicate herdsmen from the Southeast.

“The bitter truth the Nigerian Government didn’t want people to hear, which IPOB disclosed at the said interview, was that Ikonso was murdered in his father’s house, not in any imaginary ESN camp or battlefield as the liars would hope to have us believe.

“The same Army, Police and DSS in Imo State that never for one day arrested or prosecuted any Fulani terror herdsman ravaging Imo State before the coming of Ikonso; the same Nigerian security agents that have always provided cover for terrorists and bandits, had the guts to ambush and kill the only man that drove Fulani terrorist herdsmen out of Imo State.

The group which accused the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma of plotting the death of the commander, had in a statement, vowed to launch a reprisal attack.

A fresh attack has been carried out by gunmen on a security formation in Rivers State and five soldiers have been reported killed.

The gunmen on Monday morning attacked the camp at Abua, in Abua/Odual Local Government Area, killing the officers.

Although the six Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt is yet to release an official statement, two top security personnel in Rivers State confirmed the attack and killings to Channels Television.

Meanwhile, all heads of security agencies in Rivers State are currently at a meeting at the headquarters of the Rivers State Police Command, ostensibly to re-strategise ahead of the new scale of insecurity in the state.

This attack comes barely 24 hours after gunmen killed some police and customs officers at their patrol base in Isiokpo, the Headquarters of Ikwerre Local Government, which is along the Port Harcourt-Owerri road.

While the Police are yet to reveal the casualty figure for Saturday night’s attack in Isiokpo, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) had said three of its personnel were killed by the gunmen.

The spokesperson for Zone C, Custom’s Federal Operations Unit, Mr Jerry Atta, told Channels Television on Sunday that the gunmen also went away with an AK-47 rifle and two Toyota Hilux vans belonging to the service.

He said a thorough investigation would be carried out to unravel the circumstances that led to the attack and to unravel the motive of the assailants.

Atta blamed the killing of the security operatives on armed smugglers whose businesses have been frustrated by the customs in recent times.

DubaiLandLord:
You're wrong. Majority of the students there are igbo muslims.