₦airaland Forum

arantess:
Kaiii you people sef.

You are more interested in suppressing truth and facts?!

No single empathy or sympathy for the deceased and her family

Too bad

Last week, in response to mounting, difficult-to-controvert, empirically impregnable accusations that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu disproportionately favors his Yoruba ethnic group in consequential federal appointments, the presidency circulated a list of Tinubu’s appointments to countermine the firmly fixed national narrative of Tinubu’s unexampled ethnocentrism but was compelled to withdraw it because it was embarrassingly error-ridden and factually inaccurate.

Sunday Dare, the President’s Media Adviser on Media and Public Communication, tweeted on April 10 that the presidency had “noticed a number of errors in the list of appointments tweeted,” said they were “sorry,” and that they would “provide an updated list later.”

More than a week later, we haven’t seen the updated list that Dare promised, which will supposedly show that, in spite of incontestable evidence to the contrary, Tinubu’s appointments reflect fairness to the ethnic and regional complexities of Nigeria and that the Yoruba people don’t dominate appointments and control the commanding heights of the economy.

Interestingly, while the presidency is still updating its list and eating humble pie, a more damning list of Tinubu’s appointments has emerged. It is longer and shows an even more indefensibly insidious, not to mention unexampled, ethnocentric capture of the major levers of government.

Again, while we are awaiting the updated list of Tinubu’s appointments that shows evidence of a fair distribution of federal appointments, the government chose to undermine itself and provide additional ideational ammunition for his critics who say he is beholden to advancing the unfair dominance of his ethnic group.

On April 16, the administration announced the formation of an eight-member committee to oversee preparations for the national census. Of the eight, five were Yoruba. In a country comprising over 500 ethnic groups, such a configuration reflects a troubling insensitivity to the symbolic and political weight of representation, especially in a matter as contentious and identity-laden as a national headcount.

The exclusion of the northeast, southeast, and south-south from the committee cannot be dismissed as oversight. Nor can the disproportionate Yoruba presence be defended as incidental. The demographic sensitivities surrounding census exercises in Nigeria are historically fraught.

That the president’s team would assemble a committee so lopsided at such a politically volatile time betrays either a stunning lack of political judgment or a deeper confidence that no consequence will follow such overt ethno-regional privileging. Either way, the signal is unmistakable and deeply corrosive.

Equally emblematic was the decision to have the president’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila — a fellow Yoruba and an unelected official whose role has no constitutional standing — inaugurate the committee. This move, while procedurally permissible, was laden with semiotic overreach.

The constitutionally designated deputy of the president, Vice President Kashim Shettima, a northerner, was bypassed despite being present in the country. The optics communicate the message of an informal inner circle displacing formal constitutional roles, with ethnicity as a defining axis of inclusion and exclusion.

For an administration straining excessively hard to convince a skeptical nation that the evidence of ethnic bigotry in governance that stares them in the face isn't what they think it is, gestures like this do not merely raise questions; they answer them in ways that deepen cynicism and confirm suspicions.

I think honchos of the Tinubu administration shoot themselves in the foot and expose themselves to ridicule when they try to defend the administration’s Yoruba-centric favoritism because their rhetoric is often hysterically at variance with the evidence.

They have two options. The first option is silence. There is more dignity in silence than lies, easily refutable lies. It’s better to be thought a fool, as the saying goes, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

The second option is to be bold and point out that Tinubu is merely expanding the ethnocentric path that Buhari paved. In several previous columns where I railed against the Arewa-centric favoritism of Buhari’s appointments, I repeatedly warned that Buhari’s southern successor would expand on his bigotry and that defenders of Buhari’s favoritism who insulted me would have no moral pedestal to stand on when that happened.

That time has come. To be frank, I am enjoying seeing people who defended, explained away, or ignored Buhari’s favoritism (because they imagined that he would be in power for ever) squirming and complaining of Tinubu’s more expansive, unapologetic ethnic capture of the levers of government.

When you initiate an action, you can’t determine the nature and contour of the reaction. Saying Buhari was less exclusionary than Tinubu is now is a weak charge. Buhari shouldn’t have started it, and the people who defended him or looked away should have known that this moment would come.

Of course, the people who benefit from or who defend Tinubu’s unabashed Yoruba-centrism should be aware that, like Buhari’s Arewa-centrism, it also has an expiration date, and that the successor to it may be worse than it.

Defenders of the narrow-mindedness of the Tinubu regime should also be aware of other unintended consequences of their ethnic triumphalism. Just like Buhari has caused the Fulani (including poor, innocent ones) to be reviled all over Nigeria, everyday Yoruba people who also suffer the consequences of Tinubu’s economic policies, will be targets of transferred aggression.

Like the Fulani, the Yoruba may become the objects of undeserved and unearned ethnic hate on account of the president’s inability to see beyond this ethnic enclave in appointments and symbolic actions.

It doesn’t matter that, like a Yoruba friend tells me each time this issue comes up, Tinubu’s outward Yoruba-centrism actually masks a more exclusionary Lagos-centrism. He says most of the Yoruba people Tinubu appoints to important positions have connections to Lagos.

I don’t doubt him. In fact, in a January 24, 2024, column titled, “North and Tinubu’s Back-to-Lagos Moves,” I made that point.

“With a few notable (and in some cases unavoidable) exceptions, Tinubu’s government is largely the re-enactment of his time as the governor of Lagos,” I wrote. “It is, for all practical purposes, an unabashed Lagos-centric Yorubacracy. To be fair, though, with the possible exception of Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, all civilian regimes since 1999 have been insular ethnocracies.”

I should also point out that in spite of appearances to the contrary, many well-informed, cosmopolitan Yoruba people are embarrassed by Tinubu’s unabashed favoritism toward Yoruba people at the expense of other ethnic groups.

For example, when Tinubu was considering Bayo Ojulari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, it was a Yoruba man who is close to the Tinubu power orbit, who reached out to me, giving me the privilege to be the first person to break the news months before it was officially confirmed.


In my widely shared December 28, 2024, column titled, “Tinubu’s Buharization of the NNPC,” I wrote the following:

“Ironically, this column was inspired by a well-regarded Yoruba supporter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is worried, in fact embarrassed, by the optics of what he says is Tinubu’s relentless Yorubacentric take-over of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).

“His concern wasn’t just partisan discomfort; it was a profound unease about how this nepotistic approach undermines national cohesion.”

However, after I discovered that Ojulari is a northern Yoruba, not a Southwestern Yoruba as my source had thought, I wrote a follow-up column (see “NNPC and Fresh Perspectives on Ojulari’s Identity,” January 04, 2025) to clarify my position and to argue that it’s disingenuous to deny the northern identity of northern Yoruba people only when they benefit from the representational benefits of being northerners.

As I have argued many times in the past, appointments are the symbolic conduits through which citizens relate to governments. That is why representational justice is crucial for a complex, multi-ethnic country like Nigeria.

However, since our national leaders have historically chosen to find comfort only in their ethnic and regional cocoons and to abandon the hard task of building bridges and integrating our disparate but entirely collapsible identities, we will continue to sink deeper and deeper into the low water marks of exclusion and bitter divisions.

Three officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have been hospitalized after gunmen attacked them during a raid in Jahi area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Thursday night.

Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement on Friday.

“The incident occurred when a team of NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence and surveillance report raided an uncompleted building at NNPC area of Jahi where 74 bottles of codeine, 10 litres of codeine syrup, 48grams of tramadol 225mg and 4.9kgs of skunk, a strain of cannabis, as well as five android phones were recovered.

“As the NDLEA team made their way out of the location, they came under gun attack,” Babafemi said.

FCT polls: PDP chieftain tells Wike to allow people make their choice

He said that three of the NDLEA personnel involved in the raid sustained gunshot injuries: one in the rib and two others on their back and leg.

He said that the wounded officers were initially stabilized at the Police Clinic in Garki Area 1 before they were transferred to the National Hospital Abuja for further medical attention.

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the staff of the Police Clinic for their prompt support.

He also thanked the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital who was personally reached by him for overseeing the treatment of the wounded officers.

The NDLEA boss who is in Kano for on official engagements also spoke on phone with the injured officers to wish them quick recovery.

He assured them that the agency will deploy every means at its disposal and work in collaboration with other security agencies to fish out those responsible for the attack on them.

A vehicle in the convoy of wife of the Nigerian president, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has killed a seven years old girl identified as Saratu Lawal in Akure, Ondo State, SaharaReporters has exclusively gathered.

Mrs Tinubu was in Akure on Thursday to flag off the South-West leg of the Renewed Hope Initiative to improve the well-being of women and girls across the country and distribute no fewer than 10,000 professional kits — comprising Crocs and scrubs — to nurses and midwives in the South-West region.

Multiple sources told SaharaReporters that a butter coloured hilux in the First Lady’s convoy knocked Saratu around Oba Ile while the president's wife was moving from the airport to the venue of the event.

“A seven years old girl by name Saratu Lawal, and a pupil of Islamiyar Arabic School, Shasha, was knocked down by a butter coloured hilux in the government convoy of her Excellency, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is on official visit to Ondo State,” the source told SaharaReporters.

“The incident occurred today, Thursday 17th April, 2025 in Oba Ile, before the Oba Ile Central Mosque.

“It claimed the life of the child as every effort to save her could not yield the desired result even when she was rushed to the primary healthcare in Oba Ile.”

When contacted, Malam Lawali, the father of the deceased, who is a trader at Oba Ile market, said he has “handed everything to God.”

SaharaReporters learnt the lifeless body of the child has been handed over to the family for burial in line with Islamic injunction.

Calls put across by SaharaReporters to Ondo Police command’s spokesperson, DSP Ayanlade Olushola were not picked nor returned.

His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has said that traditional rulers are more concerned with the spate of killings and insecurity in Nigeria than the average politician in the country.

The sultan, who spoke at the Northern Traditional Ruler’s Council 7th Executive Committee Meeting in Maiduguri, on Tuesday, said they have come together as servants of the nation to discuss contentious security issues in a closed-door meeting.

“Our coming together as traditional rulers in the North, I believe we have more than 86 in the North. We will speak with one voice to say ‘enough is enough’ of this senseless killing of innocent people across the North and across the country.

“We have released so many statements of condemnations, but how many times do we need to condemn these killings before our political leaders and security agencies stop or reduce the insecurity in the country to the barest minimum?

“We, the traditional rulers, feel bad and saddened when our people are killed by people we don’t know. It’s high time we worked harder, talk to ourselves and in closed door meeting discuss it. We shall advise our political leaders, they are at the helm of affairs and we will work with them,” he said.

The sultan, who expressed optimism that the insecurity in the North can be resolved, however, said that will be if the political leaders, traditional and religious leaders and citizens alike are sincere and willing to play their parts.

“As traditional rulers, we are not competing with governors of our states, we are only helping them. We will not and will never be in contention with political leadership or governors,” he said.

In the closed-door meeting, the sultan mentioned that they will discuss all the contentions of insecurity in the country and North in particular.

“Since we are here, we will discuss the happenings in Borno. We heard some comments that Boko Haram is returning, and I say Insha Allah (God willing) Almighty Allah will give us the strength and wherewithal to defeat them.

“Also, our coming here is to put a joint statement that we are all brothers to one another, and whatever we shall do, we must do to help our brothers out,” he said.

He called on the people in the region and the country as a whole to have trust in God, citing the insecurity happening around the world.

“Yes, there is insecurity in some parts of the Borno, but there is insecurity everywhere in the world not only in Nigeria.

“For some of us that have gone round the world will know, more people are being killed in some developed countries everyday than the total amount of people killed in Nigeria in one month or two months,” he said.

He, however, noted that killings are happening in different parts of the country and there is need for collective approach to stem the tide of the ‘endless’, merciless’ killings.

“What happened in Plateau yesterday, and within the week, over 100 people were killed. It’s very bad because people appear from somewhere, kill you and they are never arrested.

“Before them, people were killed in Sokoto on Sallah day, killed in Kebbi, as so many other places. If you put together the total number of people killed in the country in the last one month it is so high,” the sultan said.

He also advised people in the region and across the country to avoid profiling criminals or criminality to a particular tribe, religion or ethnicity, noting that in every tribe or religion, there are good and bad eggs. “So, let’s not look at some people and say they are the cause of our problems.”

The meeting, with theme “Enhanced Security As Panacea For Stability and Development of the North”, was declared open by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, who was represented by Governor Babagana Umara Zulum.

Empower youths to curb radicalisation – Zulum

Earlier in his remarks, Governor Zulum called on all stakeholders to focus on providing opportunities for the youth in Northern Nigeria.

“Our youth population is large, energetic and eager to contribute, but many are without opportunities. This vacuum is dangerous. We must invest heavily in skills acquisition, vocational education, digital innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Empowered youths are not only less vulnerable to crime or radicalisation, they become active agents of development,” he said.

Governor Zulum also stressed that agriculture has remained the economic lifeline for the North, hence deliberate effort is needed to enhance farming activities across the region.

Sustainable security can only be achieved through whole-of-society approach – IGP

Also speaking, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, said sustainable security can only be achieved through a whole of society approach, where security agencies, traditional rulers, government bodies and citizens work hand-in-hand for the common goal.

The IGP, represented by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 15, Kenechikwu Onwuemelie, assured the royal highnesses of his unwavering dedication to continued partnerships and pledged the full support of the Nigeria Police Force in safeguarding communities and advancing the development of Northern Nigeria.


Borno at risk of returning to turmoil – Zulum

Last week Tuesday, at the end of an expanded security council meeting with stakeholders in Maiduguri, Governor Zulum said the state is losing ground to Boko Haram terrorists due to renewed Boko Haram attacks.

He said the terrorists had so far dislodged military formations in Wulgo, Sabon Gari, Wajirko, Izge among others, stressing that the state is at risk of returning to turmoil.

Also, the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai Al Amin El-Kanemi, decried that three local government areas of the state are still under Boko Haram control.

The Shehu noted that the peace in the state is being compromised by settlers who came in disguise as those acquiring Islamic education and other businesses.

However, in a press statement, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disagreed with Zulum’s claim, emphasising that the administration remains committed to combating terrorism and banditry across the nation.

He argued that the security agencies are working round-the-clock to bring the situation in parts of Borno State under control.

More alarms by Zulum

On October 6, 2024, the governor raised grave concerns about the infiltration of Boko Haram insurgents into IDP camps, warning that the militants used these camps as hideouts after committing crimes.

The governor made the revelation during the resettlement of 3,800 displaced persons in Konduga LGA.

In June 2023, he raised similar alarm over renewed attacks by the terrorists on farming communities within the state. Zulum spoke during a condolence visit to five communities in Jere and Mafa LGAs where eight farmers and scavengers were killed.

Before the murder of eight farmers in Shuwari, Kaleri, Tamsu Ngamdua, Baram Karamwa, and Muna communities, there had been similar attacks on farmers in Borno communities around Gwoza.


Similar visits by traditional rulers


It could be recalled that the Sultan of Sokoto had alongside other traditional rulers from the North and South, visited Borno on December 14, 2020, where they supported Governor Zulum’s comment, urging the military to take the fight to Lake Chad and rid the place from Boko Haram control.

At the meeting, the Sultan called on the Nigerian military to occupy the Lake Chad region and the Sambisa Forest.


Timeline of killings in the North

On April 14th, 2025, no fewer than 40 people were killed in a midnight attack on Zike community in Bassa LGA of Plateau State.

On April 12, 2025, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents killed eight passengers along Maiduguri – Damboa highway.

On 8th April, 2025, six other people were reportedly killed and about 59 others abducted in separate attacks across communities in Katsina State.

On April 7, 2025, the insurgents returned to Gwoza in large number and attempted to invade the town, but were repelled by troops, hunters and vigilantes.

On April 6, 2025, Boko Haram terrorists attacked a military location at Izge village, Gwoza LGA of Borno State, killing a captain and corporal, and carting away weapons. The attack, which was launched around 1am, also left many Boko Haram fighters dead.

On March 25, 2025, the insurgents also raided two military bases in Wajirko in Damboa and Wulgo in Gamboru Ngala local government areas of Borno State, reportedly killing some soldiers.

On January 11th, 2025, at least 21 government-backed fighters were killed in an ambush by bandits in Katsina State. Katsina police spokesman, Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, said the convoy of the fighters was returning from paying condolences to the family of a dead colleague when it came under fire from bandits in the village of Baure, in the Safana district.

On December 24, 2024, the terrorists launched a drone attack on the Forward Operating Base in Damboa LGA and injured at least six soldiers.

On October 26, 2024, the terrorists attacked Chad army garrison bordering Borno State, killed over 40 soldiers and carted away weapons.

Nigerians on several social media platforms have begun to count their losses as a digital asset trading platform popularly known as CBEX reportedly swept over N1.3 trillion from their investors’ accounts.

The digital trading platform crashed on Monday after the money in their investors’ wallets vanished.

CBEX also locked its telegram channels and postponed its withdrawals while giving investors the lifeline of $2,000 for $200 verification and $1,000 for $100 verification.

Analysing the crash on X space organised by Trending X, a cryptocurrency expert and security analyst, Taiwo Owolabi said data has shown that the money was moved to a TRX address (yourself:TDqSquXBgUCLYvYC4XZgrprLK589dkhSCf) and a total volume stolen so far in USDT is $847 million and likely to increase.

Owolabi stressed that the invested funds are gone because CBEX is not a licensed platform, and the creators designed a weak website to look like ByBit, which is a legitimate trading platform.

“They designed the weak website to convince people in the future that it was a security breach that affected them. Apparently, when you make payments, you pay them into a TRX account, and then, immediately, they move it from that TRX wallet, gather it, convert it to USDT, then to ETH. So, when you are logging into your account, there is literally no money on your profile.

“What you see are just numbers. All the daily activities you do to ‘trade’ increase your money. All the AI trading is fake. When it’s time for withdrawal, they will send you another person’s money.

“Since, you won’t be leaving them because of greed. You will most likely put the money back and even more. So, they will use that same money to pay another person. As you spread the word for them, more people will join and do the same.”

What exactly is CBEX?

CBEX is a digital trading asset platform that gives investors 100 per cent Return On Investment in 30 days. Its purported goal was to create a secure, transparent environment for transactions.

However, its operational model now comes under scrutiny as allegations of fraud and deceptive practices emerge. The platform is said to display falsified withdrawal records to mask the difficulties users encounter when trying to access their funds.

Owolabi, while explaining on the X space, said that in reality, all the funds are gone. Unless people decide to pay the $100 and $200 verification fees, that way, they will settle some people and leave others to languish.

He also maintained that it was the same way popular Ponzi schemes that have duped Nigerians in the past behaved, adding, “It is a rob Peter to pay Paul’ deal.

SEC warns Nigerians against investing in Ponzi schemes

However, amid the growing concerns of the crash, the SEC clarified that, in accordance with the ISA 2025 recently signed by President Bola Tinubu, it is now an offence for any entity to operate an online forex trading platform or provide related services without prior registration with the commission.

“By virtue of this Act, it is an offence in Nigeria for any entity that is not registered by the commission to carry out the business of online foreign exchange trading platforms or related services.

“Any business entity with the plan of setting up a business in any of these areas is advised to visit the HOD DRM Department of the commission for further direction on how to register with the commission to avoid sanctions,” it added.

The commission noted that “Under the newly enacted legislation, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now empowered to regulate a broader scope of market activities as Section 3(3)(b) of the Act explicitly mandates the commission to “register and regulate securities exchanges, commodity exchanges, virtual and digital asset exchanges, and other market venues.”

Speaking on the development, the director general of the commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama, described the new law as “a landmark step in positioning Nigeria’s capital market to be more inclusive, robust, and in tune with global best practices.”

He stated, “The ISA 2025 has given the commission the legal backing to provide clarity, ensure investor protection, and enhance market confidence, especially in new and previously unregulated segments such as digital asset exchanges and online foreign exchange platforms.”

The commission reaffirmed its commitment to supporting innovation while maintaining strict oversight. “We welcome innovation, but it must occur within a regulated environment that protects investors and maintains the integrity of our market,” Agama added.

Power generation companies, GenCos, on Monday warned that power plants across the country were facing imminent shutdown due to a huge N4 trillion debt owed by the Federal Government.

In a statement issued by the Board of Trustee Chairman of the Association Power Generation Companies, APGC, Col. Sani Bello, Gencos said they were currently owed N2 trillion for power supplied in 2024 and N1.9 trillion in legacy debts.


The companies noted that plants were being paid less than 30 per cent of monthly invoices for power supplied to the national grid.


The companies stated: “It is no more news that the power generation companies have continued to bear the brunt of the liquidity crisis in the Nigerian Electric Supply Industry (NESI).


“GenCos, on their part as responsible investors with patriotic zeal, have made large-scale investments and have continued to demonstrate absolute commitment by ramping capacities in line with their contract these over (10) years, amid system constraints, policies & regulations that are not investors friendly, increasing debts owed by the FGN without a clear financing plan, lack of firm contracts and a market without securitisation but based on best endeavours, thereby hampering future planning.



“Notwithstanding this and other severe difficulties the GenCos have battled with since takeover in 2013, they have kept to the terms of their contractual agreements by ramping up capacity, which has been largely constrained systemically.


“Against the backdrop of the many challenges facing the power sector in Nigeria, the crises from cash liquidity are on the top burner and have reduced GenCos ability to continue to perform their obligations, thereby threatening to undermine the Electricity value chain completely.


“The GenCos expectations of being settled through external support such as the World Bank PSRO has also been dampened due to other market participants’ inability to meet their respective distribution linked indicators (DLIs), enshrined in the Power Sector Recovery Program (PSRP)”.

The GenCos added, ” In light of the severity of the issues highlighted above, the GenCos are requesting that immediate and expedited action be taken to prevent national security challenges that may result from the failure of the GenCos to sustain steady generation of electricity for Nigerians.

“The 2024 collection rate has dropped below 30%, and 2025 is not any better, severely affecting GenCos’ ability to meet financial obligations. Tax and Regulatory Challenges: High corporate income tax, concession fees, royalty charges, and new FRC compliance obligations are further straining GenCos’ revenue. GenCos are currently owed about N4 trillion (N2 trillion for 2024 and N1.9 trillion in legacy debts). No possible solutions, including cash payments, financial instruments, and debt swaps, are in sight.


“The 2025 government budget allocates only N900 billion, raising concerns about its adequacy to cover arrears and future payments. The power generated by GenCos have continued to be consumed in full without corresponding full payment, notwithstanding the commencement of the Partial Activation of Contracts in the NESI which took effect from July 1, 2022, the minimum remittance order, bilateral market declaration, waterfall arrangement, the risks of inflation, forex volatility with no dedicated window to cushion the effect of the forex impact, the supplementary MYTO order which leaves about 90% of GenCos monthly invoices unmet without a bankable securitisation, or financing plan. This situation has dire consequences for the GenCos and by extension the entire power value chain”.

The companies that called for the implementation of payment plans to settle all outstanding GenCos invoices observed that “the flow of money within the power industry is one of the fundamental problems preventing Nigerians from enjoying continued and sustainable improvement in electricity supply”.

Chienex24:
Op change front page na


[b][/b] Liverpool 2 vs 1 westham

The US District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered top law enforcement agencies to make information about President Bola Tinubu public.

Beryl Howell, the judge, made the order on Tuesday.


Responding to a motion by Aaron Greenspan, an American who is seeking a reconsideration of an earlier ruling, Howell said protecting the information from public disclosure is “neither logical nor plausible.”

Greenspan had accused the law enforcement agencies of violating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by failing to release within the statutory time “documents relating to purported federal investigations into” President Tinubu and one Abiodun Agbele.

Tinubu was said to have forfeited $460,000 to the American government in 1993 after authorities linked the funds to proceeds of narcotics trafficking.

At the Presidential Election Petition Court, the issue of Tinubu’s forfeiture of the funds featured prominently when his opponents – Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi – challenged the president’s eligibility to contest Nigeria’s presidency.

But in a unanimous decision, the election court dismissed the suits, affirming Tinubu’s election.

However, on Tuesday, Judge Howell ruled partly in favour of Greenspan.

The judge noted that the ‘Glomar’ responses asserted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are “improper and must be lifted.”

He said the FBI and DEA failed to show that they properly invoked the FOIA.

According to Howell, since it was acknowledged that Tinubu was a subject of an investigation involving both the FBI and DEA, “the claim that the Glomar responses were necessary to protect this information from public disclosure is at this point neither logical nor plausible.”

Explaining further, the judge established that a FOIA requester may challenge the propriety of an agency’s Glomar response in two ways: first, by “challenging the agency’s assertion that confirming or denying the existence of any records would result in a cognisable harm under a FOIA exemption,” and, second, showing that the agency “has ‘officially acknowledged otherwise exempt information through prior disclosure,” meaning that the agency “has ‘waived its right to claim an exemption with respect to that information.”

In this case, the judge said Mr Greenspan asserts both types of challenges to defendants’ Glomar responses: “The plaintiffs’ argument that (1) DEA has officially confirmed investigations of Agbele’s involvement in the drug trafficking ring, (2) the FBI and DEA have both officially confirmed investigations of Tinubu relating to the drug trafficking ring, (3) any privacy interests implicated by the FOIA requests to the FBI and DEA for records about Tinubu are overcome by the public interest in release of such information, and (4) the CIA has officially acknowledged records responsive to plaintiff’s FOIA request about Tinubu.”

A father and his two sons have reportedly been killed in Zogu village, Miango District, Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The spokesperson of Irigwe Development Association, Sam Jugo, confirmed the incident to journalists in Jos on Saturday.

Jugo gave the names of the victims as Weyi Gebeh, Zhu Weyi, and Henry Weyi.

According to Jugo, the victims were killed while they were asleep.

Describing the incident as barbaric, the community leader said, “The leadership of Irigwe Development Association has been notified of yet another attack on Zogu village, Miango which claimed the lives of a father and two of his sons namely: Weyi Gebeh, 56 years; Zhu Weyi, 25; and Henry Weyi, 16.

“This recent event brings to nine deaths recorded this week alone. IDA expresses its utmost displeasure on the deteriorating situation in Irigwe land and calls on the security agencies to do whatever is required to halt this barbarism on our land and get perpetrators apprehended to face justice.

“The way criminal elements invade our motherland and kill with impunity seems to suggest a more sinister motive than mere reprisals. IDA therefore, calls on the Plateau State government and the security to do the needful and stop the killing of innocent people in Irigwe land.”


Spokespersons of Operation Safe Haven, Maj Samson Zhakom, and the state police command, Alabo Alfred, were yet to respond to confirmation messages from our correspondent.

Immatex:
FG says Bornu is safe and there are no Boko haram activities in the state.