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Oyo State Governor Cautions Shasha Residents Not To Take Matters Into Their Hands.

faith Jegede
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Oyo State Governor Cautions Shasha Residents Not To Take Matters Into Their Hands.

The governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde has appealed to residents of Shasha community, in the state’s capital of Ibadan, to refrain from taking matters into their own hands.

He said this while visiting the community in the company of the Ondo state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu on Sunday February 14. He promised that compensation as well as palliatives would be made available to all residents who may have lost shops, houses and wares in the violence that erupted and overwhelmed the area.

What escalated into a crises started on Thursday and was ignited by a face-off between a Yoruba and a Hausa resident of the community.

The governor, called for the people to allow peace reign and not to think that resorting to “self-help” was an option. he promised that all the culprits will be fished out and brought to book.

he said, “I was reluctant to declare curfew here, because i feel the economic wellbeing of everyone here is important, and because this is where you get what you use to feed yourselves. i will engage with your leaders this evening. one thing is, if you allow those who don’t have anything to lose here to blow this matter out of proportion, one one will be able to say where the crises will end. By the grace of God, i pray we don’t lose anymore lives.

“You have been living together peacefully and all im pleading to you is, no matter what is making anyone angry, we will solve it with patience”

He went further to promise that house lost, would be rebuilt immediately and law abiding citizens who incurred loses would be compensated.

Governor Akeredolu later addressed the people saying that he was in the state un-behalf of all the other southwest governors to appeal to the people to embrace peace. He urged members of the community to think about their family members in other parts of the country and put an end to the crises.

“I have come here on behalf of my colleagues in Ekiti, Lagos, Osun and Ogun. All of them have sent messages. Ogun state has its own crises it is battling with, so does Lagos. But as the chairman, i decided to come here to appeal to us” he said.

“Though we are here in our fatherland, our own sons and daughters are in another persons fatherland. So let us think about this and continue to live in peace with one another. we don’t need to fight ourselves.”

Makinde begs Shasha residents not to resort to self-help

Chris Ottah
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Makinde begs Shasha residents not to resort to self-help

The governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has appealed to residents of Shasha community not to resort to self-help, as efforts are on to resolve the crisis.

He also promised to compensate all residents who lost their shops, houses and wares to the violence in Shasha area of Ibadan, the state capital.

The crisis, which started on Thursday, was said to have been caused by a face-off between a Yoruba and Hausa resident.

Speaking when he visited the area in the company of Rotimi Akeredolu, his Ondo counterpart, on Sunday, Makinde promised to give palliatives to those whose businesses were affected during the crisis.

He called on the warring parties to eschew violence, cautioning them that resorting to self-help is not an option.

The governor added that all the culprits will be fished out and brought to book.

“You have been living together peacefully and all I am pleading to you is, no matter what is making anyone angry, we will solve it with patience,” Makinde said.

“I was reluctant to declare curfew here, because I feel the economic wellbeing of everyone here is important, and because this is where you get what you use to feed yourselves. I will engage with your leaders this evening. One thing is, if you allow those who don’t have anything to lose here to blow this matter out of proportion, no one will be able to say where the crisis will end. By the grace of God, I pray we don’t lose any more lives.

“We must not lose any life needlessly anymore. What the government will do to ensure that those whose houses, shops were burnt, we will rebuild immediately. But please, I beg of you, let us stop fighting with ourselves. I can assure you that we will deal with the situation.

“We must continue to maintain the peace here. Those who are hoodlums here will be dealt with, but those who are law-abiding will be compensated for what they have lost.”

On his part, Akeredolu said he was in the state on behalf of all the south-west governors to appeal to the people to embrace peace.

He urged the people to think about their family members in other parts of the country and put an end to the crisis.

“I have come here on behalf of my colleagues in Ekiti, Lagos, Osun and Ogun. All of them have sent messages. Ogun has its own crisis it is battling with, so does Lagos. But as the chairman, I decided to come around to appeal to us,” Akeredolu said.

“Though we are here in our fatherland, our own sons and daughters are in another person’s fatherland. So, let us think about this and continue to live in peace with one another. We don’t need to fight ourselves.

“We have security agencies that you can call their attention to any issue that could cause crisis. Let us not take the law into our hands.”

We’ll deal with anyone stoking ethnic hatred among Nigerians – Buhari

Chris Ottah
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We’ll deal with anyone stoking ethnic hatred among Nigerians – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has warned Nigerians against stoking violence through ethnic hatred, adding that his government will deal decisively with perpetrators of such act.

In a statement issued on Sunday by Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, Buhari said his administration is committed to ensuring the security of all Nigerians, irrespective of religious affiliation or ethnicity.

There was a clash among residents of Shasha community in Oyo last week, following an argument between a Yoruba man and a Hausa resident.

The clash led to violence, which resulted in the destruction of properties, and the death of one person.

The crisis had led to tension in the area, with unconfirmed reports flooding social media platforms of multiple attacks against persons in Oyo, based on ethnicity.

However, according to the president, such ethnic hatred would not be tolerated.

He also called on governors, religious leaders, traditional rulers, among others, to endeavour to promote peaceful coexistence in their communities.

“Our government will protect all religious and ethnic groups in Nigeria, whether majority or minority, in line with our responsibility under the constitution,” Buhari said.

“We will not allow any ethnic or religious group to stoke hatred and violence against other groups.

“I appeal to religious and traditional leaders, as well as Governors and other elected leaders across the country, to join hands with the Federal Government to ensure that communities in their domain are not splintered along ethnic and other primordial lines.”

NBA sues President Buhari over the extension of IGP Adamu’s tenure

Cleopatra Okohai
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NBA sues President Buhari over the extension of IGP Adamu’s tenure

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has sued President Muhammadu Buhari for extending the tenure of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, who attained the maximum 35years of service on February 1.

Mr Buhari, through the Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammad Dinggyadi, had on February 4 announced the controversial elongation of the tenure of Mr Adamu as the IGP by three months.

The NBA argued through its suit filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Thursday that the tenure extension was “outside and in excess of the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

It contended that the Nigerian Constitution and the Police Act, which was signed into law by Mr Buhari last year, prohibits a retired police officer from holding the office of the IGP.

“The need to prevent abuse of power necessitated the filing of this action by the Nigerian Bar Association, whose main objective is to promote the rule of law,” Charles Mekwunye, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who leads the NBA’s legal team, argued in the suit.

A copy of the court documents showing Mr Buhari listed along with the Police Service Commission (PSC) and Mr Adamu as the defendants was obtained.

‘Order Mr Adamu to vacate office, refund salaries, allowances’

The plaintiff in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/219/2021, prayed for among others, a declaration that Mr Buhari’s act “purporting to extend” Mr Adamu’s tenure as the IGP after his retirement from the service of the Nigeria Police Force “is in contravention of the provisions of Section 215(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended and therefore, null and void.”

Read Also: UNN Lecturer arrested for allegedly impregnating, threatening Student

The umbrella body of Nigerian lawyers also urged the court to declare that Mr Buhari’s act “is in contravention of the provisions of Sections 7(3) & (6) and 18(8) of the Nigeria Police Act. 2020, and therefore unlawful, null and void.”

It asked the court not to only set aside “the purported” tenure elongation” but to also order Mr Adamu “to vacate forthwith the office of the Inspector General of Police and refund all salaries, allowances and benefits received from February 1 2020 (when he retired from the Police Force) to the coffers of the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

The association also urged the court to issue an order of perpetual injunction restraining Mr Buhari from further acting in breach of the provisions of Section 2(5(I) of the Nigeria Constitution by extending the tenure of the occupant of the office of the IGP.

‘Be firm, NBA tells court’

Mr Mekwunye, who is the chairperson of the newly set up Public Interest Litigation Committee (PILC) of the NBA, added in his written address, “We respectfully urge this honourable court to be firm and give vent and flesh to the provision of section 15(5) of the Constitution which says, ‘The state shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power’.”

The plaintiff’s lawyer stated that with the facts deposed to in support of the suit, “this honourable court would agree with the plaintiff that a gross breach of the provision of 1999 Constitution and the extant Police Act have been established against the defendants, and therefore entitles the plaintiff to the relief sought.”

“We pray our noble to hold that Mohammed Abbuakar Adamu, a retired police officer, cannot hold the office of Inspector General of Police,” the lawyer added.

The suit is the first major task of the newly inaugurated 13-man PILC of the NBA chaired by Mr Mekwunye, and co-chaired by Olumide Ayeni, also a SAN.

The NBA on January 13 announced the setting up of committee to start taking up public interest litigation against perceived arbitrary action of government officials and institutions.

The suit followed an earlier one filed by an Abuja based lawyer, Maxwell Okpara, on February 3 to challenge Mr Adamu’s tenure.

AGF defends IGP’s tenure extension

The defendants have yet to file their response to the suit, but the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, had, on Wednesday, insisted that the President acted within the ambit of the law by extending Mr Adamu’s tenure.

Mr Malami, while appearing on a Channels Television programme, ‘Politics Today’, added that the president acted within the timeframe stipulated by the Nigerian Constitution and exercised his powers to appoint persons into offices subject to confirmation by the Senate “What I am saying in essence is that within the context of official records, within the context of the action taken by Mr President in terms of extension of tenure, the necessary compliance of with the law has been consummated, and the president was and indeed acted within the context of the law,” he said.

Mr Adamu, 59, who joined the police force on February 1, 1986, has remained in office days after he attained the maximum service period of 35 years.

UNN Lecturer arrested for allegedly impregnating, threatening Student

Cleopatra Okohai
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UNN Lecturer arrested for allegedly impregnating, threatening Student

A senior lecturer at the Archeology Department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, has been arrested by the police for allegedly impregnating a student and going ahead to threaten her life.

The lecturer, Dr. Chigozie Odum, was alleged to have put the female student, Onah Chinyere in a family way after coercing her into a sexual intercourse.

According to Daily Post, a petition from the family lawyer of the female student, men of the Crack Squad, Enugu State Police Command picked the lecturer up in Nsukka from where he was moved to Enugu.

According to the petition, “It is our client’s instruction that she has been a student in the Archaeology and Tourism Department, Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

“According to her instructions, Dr. Odum Chigozie Jude is one of the lecturers in the said department.

“Our brief further showed that the said Dr. Odum Jude went and approached our client and demanded to be sleeping with her and threatened our client that if she refuses, she will never graduate from the said department.

“He further threatened her that he was a cultist while in school and that up till today he still has a good number of them under his payroll. He, therefore, warned our client to comply with his demands and requests in her own interest.

“Our information further showed that he called our client to his house and forcefully had sexual intercourse with her,” the petition signed by Barr. F. C. Ugwuama read.

Meanwhile, the lawyer at a press briefing disclosed that though the family had written to the authorities of the UNN over the matter, they were yet to get any response.

It was also learnt that though the petition was copied to the UNN VC, the HOD of the lecturer’s department, as well as Servicom, there was no response until the ultimatum given by the family elapsed. This was said to have prompted the petition to the police.

A source claimed that the UNN authority was shielding the lecturer, an indigene of Anambra State.

Read Also: N40m Fraud: EFCC closes case against ‘Mama Boko Haram’, others

Ugwuama added that “We will also go for civil claims to ensure that this girl’s rights are remedied. He is trying to claim the child by force, threatening every member of the family, but we are not going to let that happen.”

As of the time of filing this report, it was gathered that there is continuous pressure on the female student, as well as her family to drop the matter.

The family and the lecturer, as well as his lawyer, have also held a series of meetings with the police, but the outcome is yet to be known.

But when contacted by journalists, the embattled lecturer claimed feigned ignorance of the petition against him.

Herdsmen Crisis: Ogun Begins Recruitment Of Amotekun Operatives

Henry Williams
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Herdsmen Crisis: Ogun Begins Recruitment Of Amotekun Operatives

Worried by the worsening herdsmen crisis in parts of the state, the Ogun State Government has commenced the recruitment of Amotekun operatives.

In a notice on Thursday, the government asked qualified individuals interested in joining the State Security Network to submit their applications.

It also called on local vigilantes, hunters, and ex-servicemen to be members of the corps, noting that the security outfit would fortify the existing security architecture.

Governments of Oyo, Ekiti, Ogun, Lagos, Osun, Ondo had last year agreed to float the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun to address the security challenges confronting the region.

The Amotekun Corps had also got the constitutional backing of the six-state assemblies in the region.

While Ondo, Oyo and Ekiti states have since commenced the operations of the security outfit, governments of Osun, Ogun and Lagos had yet to begin activities.

Anxious To See How Republicans Will Vote In Trump’s Impeachment Trial

Emenike Agu
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Anxious To See How Republicans Will Vote In Trump’s Impeachment Trial

President Biden says he’s “anxious”  to see how Senate Republicans will vote in the impeachment trial of former President Trump and whether they will “stand up” and support convicting the former president.

“I’m anxious to see whether, what my Republican friends do, if they stand up,” Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday morning.

Asked if he was planning on speaking with any GOP senators about how they may vote in the trial, Biden said, “No, I’m not.”

Trump was impeached last month on one count of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by right-wing extremists and other Trump supporters in an attempt to disrupt the congressional certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory over Trump. Five people, including a Capitol police officer, were killed during the storming of the Capitol.

After Democratic House impeachment managers spent two days presenting their case, Trump’s defense attorneys get their turn starting Friday.

Six Senate Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting Tuesday that it’s constitutional to hold an impeachment trial of a former president. That was a major indicator that a conviction of Trump in the Senate trial would likely fall far short. Eleven more Republicans would need to join the Democrats to reach the 67 votes needed to convict Trump.

Biden briefly answered reporter questions while he made a short and unannounced walk to the North Lawn of the White House to see candy hearts set up by first lady Jill Biden ahead of Valentine’s Day on Sunday.

China bans BBC World News from broadcasting

Henry Williams
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China bans BBC World News from broadcasting

China has banned BBC World News from broadcasting in the country, its television and radio regulator announced on Thursday.

China has criticised the BBC for its reporting on coronavirus and the persecution of ethnic minority Uighurs.

The BBC said it was “disappointed” by the decision.

It follows British media regulator Ofcom revoking state broadcaster China Global Television Network’s (CGTN) licence to broadcast in the UK.

Separately, the broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) said it would stop relaying BBC World Service programming in the region, prompting condemnation from the BBC.

It said that the BBC’s application to air for another year would not be accepted.

The BBC said in a statement: “We are disappointed that the Chinese authorities have decided to take this course of action. The BBC is the world’s most trusted international news broadcaster and reports on stories from around the world fairly, impartially and without fear or favour.”

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called the move an “unacceptable curtailing of media freedom”.

Amnesty, Activist Accuse Oil Giant Of Human Rights Abuses In Niger Delta After UK Court Judgment

Henry Williams
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Amnesty, Activist Accuse Oil Giant Of Human Rights Abuses In Niger Delta After UK Court Judgment

Following a recent United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruling against Royal Dutch Shell activities in some Niger Delta communities in Ogoniland, the Amnesty International says that the oil giant and its subsidiaries are guilty of human rights violation in the area.

BBC reported on Friday, that “the UK Supreme Court has ruled that polluted Nigerian communities can sue oil giant Shell in English courts.”

The case was earlier filed by representatives of the Bille community and the Ogale people in Ogoniland.

They had argued that their environment and lives had been polluted by oil exploration activities of the oil giant, but it was dismissed by a Court of Appeal.

Reacting to the development, Amnesty International’s director, Global Issues Programme, Mark Dummett, said that the apex court’s verdict was a welcome development and served as a moral boost for marginalized communities to seek justice.

On its part, Shell described the ruling as “a disappointing decision” while adding that the “the spills at issue happened in communities that are heavily impacted by oil theft, illegal oil refining, and the sabotage of pipelines.”

It also argued that based on its corporate social responsibility, it had played a great role in the cleaning up the area.

But countering Shell’s position, Human Rights Activist and Executive Director,Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC), Rivers State, Fyneface Dumnamene, told THE WHISTLER on Friday, that the oil giant was merely denying it is to be blamed for the pollution in the land.

N40m Fraud: EFCC closes case against ‘Mama Boko Haram’, others

Cleopatra Okohai
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0
N40m Fraud: EFCC closes case against ‘Mama Boko Haram’, others

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Maiduguri Zonal Office, has closed its case in the ongoing trial of Aisha Alkali Wakil, popularly known as “Mama Boko Haram,” before Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri.

The prosecution closed its case today after calling the last two witnesses, Geoffrey Okolorie(PW3) and Bashir Abubakar (PW4).

Okolorie, a staff of the Digital Forensic Unit of the EFCC, Abuja office, while giving evidence told the court that his unit received a letter alongside five mobile phones belonging to Aisha Alkali Wakil, Tahiru Saidu Daura, and Prince Lawal Shoyode from the Maiduguri EFCC office, requesting that a digital forensic analysis be carried out on the mobile devices.

He said upon the receipt of the devices, a case file was opened and a number assigned..“I compressed the devices and took out the SIM cards and extracted the data from the SIMs through the cellebrite universal extraction device. The data was extracted in one terabyte storage device.

Read Also: Cryptocurrency Rendered Naira Useless – Senator

“Thereafter I cloned each of the SIM cards and slotted them in and connected the phones to the cellebrite charger device and extracted the data on each phone into the storage device.

“At the end of the process, I examined the data on a computer system using a physical analyzer which decode the data and as such the analyses did not reflect in its entirety the WhatsApp messages.

“I then manually examined the phones and found out the WhatsApp chat communication between Aisha Alkali Wakil, Tahiru Saidu Daura, and Prince Lawal Shoyode. I employed the cellebrite camera and took a screenshot using the cellebrite universal forensic extraction device.

“I finally copied the data on a Compact Disk and marked it with the case file number”.

After his testimony, counsel to the second defendant, Zanna Hamza opted not to cross-examine the witness. He informed the court that based on the scientific testimony of PW3, he will need a short adjournment to enable him to study the testimony and cross-examine the witness.

PW4 Bashir Abubakar, who is the complainant, told the court that he is a businessman at Gidan Madara, Maiduguri, and the Chief Executive Officer of To-Day’s Super Store and Duty-Free respectively.

According to him, “On 5th May 2018, the Programme Manager of Complete Care and Aid Foundation, Tahiru Saidu Daura called and informed me that his NGO had a contract for the supply of 5 X-ray machines at the rate of N13m each.

“I was later informed by Tahiru that they have a reputable contractor who can execute the supply, hence I was given a ‘Letter of Introduction’ and ‘Authorization’ to transfer the money.

“Based on the letters I received, I transferred the sum N40m into Saidu Mukhtar’s UBA bank account from my Fidelity bank account on 16th May 2018.

“I was later informed to come and collect an acknowledgment letter for the money I transferred and expect my money after forty-five days”.

He further testified that he was not paid after the promised date despite repeated appeals to the first and second defendants to honour the promise they made to him. He said he was left with no other option than to report to the EFCC.

Justice Fadawu adjourned till March 1, 2021, for the defendants to open their case and ordered further remand of all the defendants in Maiduguri Correctional Centre.

The first defendant, Wakil who is the Chief Executive Officer of Complete Care and Aid Foundation (NGO) is facing trial alongside Prince Lawal Shoyade and Tahiru Saidu Daura Programme Manager and Country Director respectively for alleged fraud to the tune of N40, 000, 000 (Forty Million Naira).

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