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Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, has read the riot act to Igbo leaders and monarchs in Lagos State, warning that he will make life unbearabl... -
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Justice Ayo Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division, said he would give a ruling on the various bail applications filed in the court by the counsel for the officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria and other banks involved in the N8bn mutilated currency fraud on June 15. At the inception of the bail application hearing on Tuesday, Justice Emmanuel called on all the counsel for the accused persons to formalise their bail applications and return for hearing in two hours. Ten accused persons from the CBN, Sterling Bank and EcoBank were brought to the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and they were charged alongside two others at large. The hearing which consumed several hours was done in three batches, with Patience Okoro, Afolabi Johnson, Ilori Sunday, Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Adeola and Fatai Yusuf, all from the CBN in the first batch. Babalola and Yusuf were also docked in the second batch with Kayode Philips, Salami Ibrahim and Oddiah Emmanuel. In the third batch, Kolawole, Adeola and Philips appeared with Tope Akintade. After hearing arguments with EFCC lead counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, opposing the bail applications of the counsel for the accused persons which was hinged on a possible disappearance of the accused persons in the suit, Justice Emmanuel ruled that the accused persons be remanded in prison custody until June 15 when ruling would be given on their bail applications. In a 19-paragraph affidavit submitted by the counsel for Akintade, Femi Jarett-Edema, told the court that his client was standing trial for only one-count charge and that there were no sufficient facts that the accused person would abscond if admitted on bail. He also argued that his client had no criminal record while also submitting additional five-paragraph affidavit in reaction to EFCC’s counter affidavit to the bail application. In his submission, the counsel for Olaniran Adeola, Olalekan Ojo, said that it was unfair to imprison an accused person to await his trial. He said that the gravity of his client’s offence was irrelevant to the bail application and that there were no materials in support of possible interference of prosecution witnesses by his client. He also accused the prosecution counsel of serving offensive counter affidavit opposing the bail application. He said, “The counter affidavit of the prosecution is offensive. This country has gone beyond the dark era when accused persons were refused bail during trial.” Responding to the allegation, EFCC lead counsel, Jacobs, denied filing any offensive affidavit while also calling on the court not to grant bail to all the accused persons. In his opposition to the bail application on behalf of Mrs. Okoro by her counsel, Kazeem Lawal, Jacobs pointed out that the affidavit deposed to by Okoro failed to state how the information in it was derived. “This particular case involved N10m in which only cut-to-size newspapers were presented and burnt, as if they were mutilated notes. There was no single naira in the box. This discovery triggered the whole case.
The Delta State Governor, Mr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has announced a five-point agenda which his administration will pursue for the next four years. The agenda, tagged SMART, means: Strategic wealth creation; Meaningful peace building platforms; Agricultural reforms and accelerated industrialisation; Relevant education and health policies; and a Transformed environment through urban renewal. Explaining how he would achieve his goals, Okowa said job creation would be the cornerstone of his policies. “It is the common thread running through our policies and programmes in education, health, agriculture, industrialisation and infrastructure development. We shall embrace and embark on projects and programmes only when we are convinced and satisfied with their job creation content,” he said. On agricultural reforms, the governor said his government would encourage and create an enabling environment for commercial farming to thrive through the private sector and Public-Private Partnership. “Delta State has vast potential and capacity in the production of rubber, oil palm, rice, yam, cassava, potato, plantain, tomato and fish,” he said. The governor also promised to improve the standard of living of the people of Delta by reforming the environment and focusing on urban renewal. “We shall strive to upgrade the infrastructure of selected towns in each federal constituency to ensure even development in the state; to attract investment, boost and stimulate economic growth,” he said. He pledged to work with the private sector to meet the challenge of housing in the cities and put measures in place to address the housing needs of the poor. The governor also said that emphasis would be placed on technical and vocational education that would empower the people with requisite knowledge and entrepreneurial skills for business, trade and commerce.
A suit seeking fresh investigations into the murder of a late governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Funsho Williams, was on Monday reopened before a Federal High Court in Lagos. The applicant, Bashir Junaid, approached the court again after the same suit had been struck out on April 29, 2015 by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia for want of diligent prosecution. The judge however allowed the suit to be returned onto the cause list after entertaining a fresh motion and argument from the plaintiff’s counsel, Tunji Adesheye, on Monday. Junaid, a cemetery attendant, who was arrested and detained by the police during preliminary investigation into Williams’ murder, filed the suit seeking a mandamus order compelling the Inspector General of Police to conduct fresh investigation with the possibility of a fresh trial. The applicant, who is seeking N5bn as exemplary damages, joined a former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, and 10 others as the respondents. Williams, who was strangled to death in his Dolphin Estate residence, in Ikoyi, Lagos, on July 27, 2006, was a governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. Junaid, in his 48-рaragraph ѕtаtеmеnt of сlаim, alleged that the police disregarded his freely made statement, which could have assisted them to know who killed Williams. He claimed that the concrete evidence that he tendered was diѕcarded by the Federal Central Invеѕtigаtiоnѕ Dераrtmеnt, Alagbon, Lagos. Junaid, who alleged that Tinubu used his influence with the police to exonerate himself, equally accused the police of compromise by allegedly allowing the legal adviser to the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Muiz Banire, to change his statement after he had been cautioned. At the Monday’s proceedings, Adesheye informed the court that in compliance with an earlier order of the court before the suit was struck out, his client had ensured personal service of the concurrent writ of summons on the defendants that were outside the court’s jurisdiction. The lawyer urged the court to grant the motion seeking to re-list the suit in the interest of justice, saying the defendants would not be prejudiced in anyway whatsoever if the request was granted. But counsel for the 1st and 4th defendants, Kingson Uwandu, while opposing Adesheye’s submission, pointed out that the plaintiff had yet to pay the N25, 000 fine placed on him by the court when the matter was struck out. Uwandu said it was improper for the plaintiff, who had failed to comply with an order of the court, to turn around seeking a favour from the same court. But when probed by the court on when the order for the payment of the N25, 000 fine was made against the plaintiff, Uwandu said he could not remember because he was not with the case file. Ofili-Ajumogobia, who eventually vacated the earlier cost of N25, 000 made against Junaid, also granted the prayer to enlist the suit. Further hearing in the matter has been adjourned till September 29, 2015.
Senator Ahmed Lawan(Borno), who emerged the consensus candidate of the All Progressives Congress, was not nominated. Details later.. —————————————————————— ——- Earlier today (9:08am) President Muhammadu Buhari is currently holding a meeting with National Assembly members, elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, to resolve the crisis that has engulfed the party over the lawmakers’ battle for top seats in the federal legislature. The meeting is holding an hour before the inauguration of the 8th legislature, scheduled for 10am today (today) in the National Assembly complex, Abuja. A mock election, organised by the leadership of the APC on Saturday, produced Senator Ahmed Lawan (Borno) for the Senate Presidency while Femi Gbajabiamila(Lagos) emerged as the party’s candidate for the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Senator Bukola Saraki, who lost to Lawan, and Ibrahim Dogara of the House of Reps, have faulted the process and vowed to go ahead with their bid regardless of the outcome of the ‘primaries’ or the decision of the party.
of the Ecobank Group, has announced the
appointment of Ade Ayeyemi as its new Group Chief
Executive Officer with effect from September 1.
According to a statement from the pan-African bank,
Ayeyemi, 52, would replace Albert Essien, who would
be retiring on June 30, after 25 years of service with
the Group.
It said an interim arrangement would be made by the Ecobank Board for the management of the Group during the period, July 1 through August 31, pending the resumption of the new GCEO. The bank described Ayeyemi, a Nigerian, as a highly experienced banker who has had a long and successful career with Citigroup. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup’s sub-Saharan Africa division, based in Johannesburg. The bank said, “He is an accounting graduate of the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, South-west Nigeria, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree with First Class Honours. Ikazoboh said, “He also studied at the University of London and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme. “Ayeyemi is also a trained UNIX Administrator and Network Operating Systems Manager.” Ecobank Group Chairman, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, said after a thorough and extensive search throughout the African continent, they were able to secure such a person. “We are delighted to have secured Ayeyemi as the person to lead Ecobank through the next phase of its development and beyond as a world-class pan-African bank. “Ayeyemi is a truly outstanding individual with deep knowledge of banking across Africa, and we welcome him to the Board. “At the same time, I should like to thank Albert Essien for his 25-year career at Ecobank and for his stellar service as Group Chief Executive Officer over the past year. “We wish him well in his retirement.”
The Group of Seven leaders have threatened to
strengthen sanctions against Russia, if the situation in
eastern Ukraine worsens.
An official at the meeting in southern Germany, said
on Monday that the G7 leaders also agreed to back a
binding target to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.
The agreement represented a significant win for German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who had joined French President, Francois Hollande, in calling on the G7 leaders to support efforts to tackle global warming. Both Merkel and Hollande are keen to avoid a repeat of a 2009 conference in Copenhagen, which ended in disarray and was seen as a setback for attempts to address global warming. The leaders of the world’s major economies have also expressed their determination to demonstrate solidarity in the face of what U.S. President, Barack Obama, called “Russian aggression in Ukraine.” Echoing Obama’s remarks, Merkel told a local broadcaster on Sunday that: “I’m assuming that we will send a united signal from here. “Sanctions can only be lifted if the conditions under which they were imposed are no longer there and the problems have been solved. Global warming topped the agenda on the summit’s final day. As a former environment minister and a trained scientist, Merkel has supported action on climate change through most of her political career. Germany currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7, which in addition to the US also includes Britain, Italy, Canada, Japan and France. Monday’s G7 summit was also attended by the leaders of Iraq and key African nations – Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria and Senegal. The G7 has turned its focus to combating terrorism, economic development and the role of women. The leaders are also thought to have discussed with African leaders, discussed the Mediterranean refugee crisis, which has emerged as a major issue in Europe.
A parole board is set to recommend that the disgraced
athlete, Oscar Pistorius, convicted in the killing of his
girlfriend, be released from prison in August, South
Africa’s Department of Correctional Services said on
Monday.
Pistorius, 28, was sentenced in October to five years
in prison for culpable homicide in the killing of Reeva
Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. In South Africa,
culpable homicide means a person was killed
unintentionally but unlawfully.
Pistorius acknowledged firing shots through the
bathroom door in his home, but said he thought there
was an intruder in the bathroom rather than his
girlfriend.
In his 2014 trial, a judge found Pistorius to be not
guilty of murder. Prosecutors are appealing that
verdict.
Both of Pistorius’ legs were amputated before his first
birthday. In the 2012 Summer Olympics in London,
Pistorius became the first athlete with both legs
amputated to participate in the Olympic Games,
running in the 400-meter race and the 4×400 meter
relay.
Under South African law, Pistorius must serve at least
one-sixth of his sentence — 10 months — before
being released. The parole board is prepared to
recommend that he be released on August 21, 10
months to the day since his sentencing.
Over 120 passengers, including the Director, Muslim Rights Concern, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, on Friday evening escaped death as an Aero Contractors Airline Flight 180 from Lagos to Kaduna developed technical fault mid-air. The aircraft was said to have suddenly lost altitude, 20 minutes after it departed the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, forcing the aircraft to wobble in the air for over one hour before it was eventually diverted to Abuja. Akintola, who broke the news to New Mail, said the flight took off from Lagos at exactly 6.30pm. He said 20 minutes into the flight, the aircraft lost altitude and the passengers had to make use of the oxygen masks as the plane continued to wobble, while dropping steadily. Akintola said, “The plane lost altitude 20 minutes after takeoff. We had to make use of the oxygen masks. We saw smoke outside the plane, probably coming from the engine compartment. “At this time, the whole plane was thrown into commotion. Many passengers screamed and some fainted. Prayers upon prayers were offered. Some shouted Allah , others Jesus.” Akintola said it was in the midst of the commotion that the crew, whom he commended for their professionalism and unusual calmness, announced that the plane would be diverted to Abuja. He said, “While the pilot was making the announcement of the flight diversion, I noticed that his voice was trembling. He told us that Abuja was 120 miles away and that we would land in 25 minutes. But we were not sure we would make it. “In fact, I quickly recited the Kalimah (the Quranic invocation of the oneness of Allah), believing that the end had come,” Akintola added in messages to New Mail. He said that the plane finally touched down in Abuja at about 9.00pm and upon landing in Abuja, the officials of the airline told the devastated passengers that the fault would be hurriedly repaired and that the plane would proceed to take them to Kaduna, their original destination. As of the time he spoke with New Mail at about 9.30pm, he said he was already in a taxi taking him from Abuja to Kaduna as he could not risk being “flown in the same aircraft that was divinely saved from crashing.” Akintola said, “As I am talking to you, I am now in a taxi taking me to Kaduna. They said they wanted to repair the plane and that we should wait so it takes us to Kaduna. Allah forbids. They asked how many of us wanted to disembark and almost everybody came out.”
The All Progressives Congress has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for his shuttle diplomacy aimed at forging a stronger regional front against the Boko Haram insurgency. APC said the President should be praised rather than condemned for his efforts. The party position was contained in a statement in Abuja on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. It said, ”Boko Haram, which started off as a Nigerian problem, has now assumed a regional dimension, affecting many countries in West Africa. Therefore, any solution to the crisis, if it is to endure, must be regional in nature, with Nigeria taking the lead.” APC noted that since terrorism had assumed a global dimension, no nation, not even the United States, could fight the growing menace alone. ”This is why even in our days in opposition, we advocated a regional solution to the crisis,” it added. The party said Buhari’s trip to Niger and Chad, two of the countries worst hit by the Boko Haram insurgency, “showed that he understands the regional dimension that the insurgency has assumed, and that for any effort by Nigeria to yield positive results, it must seek the cooperation of its neighbouring countries”. APC urged the President not to relent in his efforts to forge a regional front against the terrorists, despite the “misguided criticism” emanating from certain quarters. It stated, ”It is baffling that some opposition politicians wanted Nigeria to go it alone against Boko Haram, even as the terrorist group has taken its battle beyond the shores of Nigeria, to such countries as Cameroon, Chad and Niger. “It is common knowledge that the terrorists use these countries as launch pads for their attacks against Nigeria, and vice versa, and that they routinely engage in cross-boundary raids. ”It is common knowledge that Boko Haram’s tentacles have spread as far as Mali, the home base of the Movement for the Unity and Jihad in West Africa, a splinter group of the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. It is no longer a secret that Boko Haram has now affiliated itself to the Islamic State, seeing itself as the West African chapter of the terror group. “How then can Nigeria effectively deal with Boko Haram without seeking the assistance of other concerned countries?” The party reminded the critics of the President’s trips to Chad and Niger that even the US sought and had continued to seek a global coalition against Al-Qaeda and Islamic State, despite the country’s enormous military, economic and political powers. APC said it was particularly delighted that Buhari had continued to insist that the Nigerian Army was capable of leading the fight against Boko Haram. “Meaning that while there is nothing wrong in seeking the cooperation of Nigeria’s neighbours, the country has no business hiring mercenaries to lead the battle,” it added.
The Lagos State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Tunji Shelle, says traditional rulers in the state rigged the April 11 election in favour of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress.
While speaking with our correspondent in an exclusive interview, Shelle alleged that most of the rigging took place in the Lekki/ Ajah area of the state.
The PDP boss said the election was rigged inside several palaces such that the number of voters exceeded the number of accredited voters.
Shelle said the PDP was aware of the plans beforehand and informed the Resident Electoral Commission, Mr. Akin Orebiyi, about the plans of the monarchs but little was done to prevent it.
He said, “The most annoying thing about the election was that some of the traditional rulers in Lagos State didn’t allow democracy to flow normally.
“Why in the first instance should ballot boxes be put in the front of obas’ palaces? All these things took place and INEC was warned beforehand. I told the REC personally about the traditional rulers and how they would sit down and ballot boxes would be set up around the palaces and that they should be stopped.
“The REC promised that the commission would stop the excesses of these monarchs but this was not to be. In one case, I called the REC to let him know what was happening and he sent his people there but they could do little or nothing because the traditional leader himself was sitting down and our agents were chased away and four ballot boxes were arranged in front of his doorstep. Outsiders could not vote.”
Shelle said he was hopeful that Ambode’s victory would be upturned at the Lagos Election Petitions Tribunal.
The PDP boss alleged that in local governments such as Badagry, Somolu and Epe as well as some in the coastal areas, the APC manipulated the election.
He said, “They manipulated election in the coastal areas where the terrain is difficult to access. They wanted to do a similar thing in Oshodi/Isolo but it was not allowed. The APC in collusion with INEC ensured that 10,000 ballot papers were missing in every local government.
“That of Somolu was detected and I informed the State Security Service and the REC. The 10,000 ballot papers were immediately brought out from the toilet. Why should a local government be used to store sensitive electoral materials?”
However, the APC Publicity Secretary in Lagos State, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, described Shelle’s allegations as baseless.
He described the PDP as a dead party which was only trying to remain relevant through cheap propaganda.
He said, “The fact is that the PDP doesn’t exist in Lagos and we need to emphasise this. At every election, different political speculators come together and after each defeat, you hear such nonsense like this.
“What made the PDP think that Lagosians that have experienced the real fruits of meaningful governance will embrace a dying cabal like it at a period the entire country was on a revolutionary song of change?
“This was a notorious cult that did everything to create a picture of presence in Lagos. They instigated the Igbo and other non-Yoruba against the Yoruba. They went on a violent march on the streets of Lagos, tearing down posters, billboards and other advert materials of the APC.
“They recruited the members of the Oodua Peoples Congress and other hoodlums to wage a war on Lagos. They went to recruit hoodlums and tagged them SURE-P officials but none of these desperate measures helped them as they were defeated in Lagos. Instead of going home to lick their wounds, they are here making wild and spurious allegations that they were rigged out.”
The impeached Ondo State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, says Governor Olusegun Mimiko illegally ordered state officials to break into his residence to evacuate his property.
Olanusi said the governor gave the instruction without a prior court order.
The former deputy governor said this during an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday.
Olanusi, who was impeached for defecting to the All Progressives Congress two days to the presidential election, explained that he had been out of the country for a while and had not yet returned to Ondo State since his removal.
He said, “I was out of the country when they decided to impeach me. I was away for health reasons and only returned two weeks ago. Since I returned to Nigeria, I have not even been to Ondo State and have not been able to evacuate my things.
“I just received a call on Monday that some people acting on the orders of the governor broke into the deputy governor’s residence through the kitchen and evacuated all my things. They took all my belongings and those of my wife to an unknown destination.”
Olanusi said the proper thing for the governor to have done was to obtain a court order but the governor decided to toe the path of impunity.
“I know Mimiko did not get a court order before carrying out this illegality because courts in the state just called off their strike. I just learnt from one of my ex-aides that Mimiko is just attempting to get a court order in order to legalise what he has done.
“Mimiko could have informed me of this through the Permanent Secretary in the Deputy Governor’s Office, Kehinde Temikotan, but he failed to do so.”
However, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, said there was nothing illegal about Olanusi’s eviction.
He said Olanusi had been given ample time to vacate the quarters since his impeachment over a month ago but refused to do so. Akinmade said part of the conditions of Olanusi’s impeachment was that he would no longer be allowed to live in the deputy governor’s residence.
He said, “The impeached deputy governor was ordered to vacate the residence immediately but refused to do so. The residence in question belongs to the state government and not to Alhaji Olanusi.”
State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, has said that the impeachment plot against him by the 19 All Progressives Congress lawmakers will fail.
Fayose said this in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday when a delegation of the Peoples Democratic Party national leadership paid him a solidarity visit.
He said, “We are solidly on the ground. You know it will get to a stage when the people will act like the constitution themselves. When the APC lawmakers wanted to do ‘jankara’ impeachment, the people here became the constitution themselves and they said no.”
He assured the delegation, which was led by the party’s acting national chairman, Chief Uche Secondus, not to lose sleep over the impeachment plot.
“My party leaders, just go home and rest; we will be on the ground like the nation of Israel to protect our territory,” Fayose added.
The delegation included the National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo; National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh; National Organising Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha, and the National Auditor, Mr. Fatai Adeyanju.
Secondus said that the party neither begged President Muhammadu Buhari nor the APC not to impeach Fayose, saying that the PDP only appealed for the government of the day to be fair.
Fayose’s supporters barricaded the major road leading to the Ekiti State House of Assembly complex.
PDP members in Efon Alaaye made life difficult for commuters passing through the community.
A group, the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Awards, is set to honour the late Dr. Stella Ameyo Adadevoh and other health care workers who contributed significantly to the containment of the Ebola outbreak in the country.
The ceremony, the organisers said, would hold in Lagos this month.
Adadevoh led the medical team that handled the index case of Ebola in Nigeria at the First Consultants Hospital, Obalende, Lagos, in 2014.
The Chief Executive Officer, Global Health Project and Resources, and Programme Director of NHEA, Dr. Wale Alabi, in a statement, on Monday, said the honourees saved the country from a national crisis.
Alabi said, “Adadevoh and her colleagues deserve to be celebrated for their noble role. The late doctor’s courage saved the lives of so many people. Other health workers also ensured that the outbreak was contained. Subsequently, some paid with their lives. Their dedication and sacrifice for the greater good of the nation is inspirational and deserves recognition.”
According to Alabi, the event would also feature the recognition of the Best Health Facility of the year in various fields of medicine, IVF Service Provider of the Year and the Dialysis Service Provider of the Year among others.
The Principal Partner of Anadach Group and co-organisers of NHEA, Dr. Egbe Osifo-Dawodu, noted that the award would promote excellence and drive competition for better health care delivery in the country.
Osifo-Dawodu said, “Our aim is to ensure that we do not overlook certain stakeholders whose specialised services and support in the Nigerian healthcare service delivery are critical and valuable.”
The organisers, he added, nominated over 80 organisations and individuals for recognition on the occasion.
St. Ives Hospitals, Avon, May & Baker, Dangote Foundation, Federal Medical Centre, Gombe are some of the institutions due for recognition at the event.
THE Rivers State Police Command on Tuesday paraded about 36 suspected cultists, who were arrested after engaging security operatives in gun duel.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, said one of the suspects was killed during the gun battle inside the suspects camp located in Rumuekini, Port Harcourt.
Ahmad also said a combined team of policemen, who acted on a tip-off, stormed the suspects’ hideout before the gun duel began.
He added that three pump action guns, 80 rounds of cartridges, assorted charms and various electronics were recovered from the suspects, even as another group of five cult members were arrested in Chokocho, Etche Local Government Area by men of the Anti-Cultists unit of the command.
“On 31/05/2015 at about 8:00 pm at Rumuekini, Port Harcourt, combine team of policemen, acting on credible and reliable information, stormed suspected cultists’ enclave and engaged them in gun duel.
“The operation yielded the arrest of 31 suspected cultists while one was fatally wounded (killed). Items recovered from the enclave included three pump action guns, 80 rounds of cartridges, assorted charms and various electronics.
“On 31/05/2015 at about 11:00 pm at Chokocho in Etche, men of the Anti-Cultism unit stormed the suspected hideout of a gang of suspected cultists and arrested five suspects with one pump action gun and five locally-made guns,” Mohammad said.
He also recalled that one Ifeoma Amadi, who was kidnapped on May 29 at Eliozu was rescued on Tuesday from the camp of her captors along the Ogbakiri waterfront. He said the operation led to the recovery of one dane gun, two pump action guns, one locally-made pistol and cutlasses while three of the suspects were killed in a gun battle.
The state police spokesman listed the breakthroughs of the state police command in May 2015, saying that the command was determined to flush out criminals from the state.
He said a Toyota Camry car belonging to one Mr. David Nwoka snatched at gunpoint was recovered with one AK 47 rifle, ten rounds of 7.62 ammunition, one pump action gun and eleven cartridges.
Mohammad attributed the command’s achievements to the security consciousness of the citizens and the provision of reliable information.
“The Command equally reiterates its determination to sustain the onslaught against criminals’ hideouts. Such operation will be sustained with all vigour until the nefarious activities of the undesirable elements are brought to a halt.
“Accordingly, criminals are warned to turn a new leaf and recant crimes. But if they are ready to test our renewed commitment, they should be ready to face the full wrath of the law,” the state police spokesman added.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday held a closed door meeting with the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).
It was learnt that the meeting, which
held at the Defence House, Abuja, was aimed at assessing the security
situation in the country, against the backdrop of renewed attacks by the
Boko Haram sect.
It was gathered that the President was
concerned about the renewed attacks by the sect and the duo discussed
ways of checking the insurgents.
Investigations also revealed that the
meeting centred on ways of carrying out the President’s plan on the
relocation of the military central command to Maiduguri, the Borno State
capital.
Buhari, had in his inaugural speech
said, “The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain
until Boko Haram is completely subdued. But we cannot claim to have
defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other
innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.”
After the meeting with the President on Monday, Dasuki, however, declined comments when approached by reporters.
The President’s media office, however,
announced that Buhari would on Wednesday and Thursday, visit Niger and
Chad in furtherance of his desire to subdue the sect.
The Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the President
would travel to Chad and Niger for talks on the Boko Haram menace.
This will be the President’s first official visit outside the country since assuming office.
According to Shehu, the two-day trip,
will focus on “matters of security,” because Nigeria needs the
cooperation of its neighbours to succeed in its campaign against the
terrorist sect whose activities have so far claimed an estimated over
15,000 lives since 2009.
He said, “Buhari will go to Niger
Republic on Wednesday and will spend a night there before proceeding to
Chad the next day (Thursday).”
Contrary to the widespread speculations
that the President will immediately relieve the service chiefs of their
appointments, there are indications that he will hold a meeting with
them within the next few days.
The service chiefs who were appointed on
January 16, 2014 are the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex
Badeh; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah; the Naval
Chief, Vice Admiral Jibrin Usman; and the Chief of Air Staff, Air
Marshal Adesola Amosu.
Investigations by one of our
correspondents revealed that the President’s pronouncement directing
that the military should move its command and control centre for the
ongoing operation against the sect in the North-East, has ignited
serious interest in military circles.
It was gathered that the decision had caused disquiet within military circles.
A security official who spoke to one of
our correspondents on the condition of anonymity said the statement was
politically reassuring but could pose tactical challenges.
The official explained that since the
military was involved in multiple operations across various theatres
within Nigeria, it would raise tactical issues to move the command and
control centre to one theatre of operation.
He observed that the Americans had
Africom command for Africa based in Germany and they had another base in
Oman for the Gulf States; stressing that moving the DHQ to Maiduguri
was not necessary.
The Vice-Chancellor, University of
Ilorin, Prof. Abdulganiyu Ambali, has said that universities in the
country may review their position on the post-Unified Tertiary
Matriculation Examination if the current computer-based examination
continued to be efficient.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation
Board this year fully inaugurated the CBT for candidates seeking
admission to the nation’s tertiary institutions.
The VC spoke in an interactive session with journalists in Ilorin on Monday.
Ambali said, “The University of Ilorin
was the first to start CBT and I am glad that it is being embraced
nationwide, especially by JAMB.
“So,
let us give JAMB a couple of trials and once the board restores
confidence in the system, many universities may review the need for
their post-JAMB. But in the meantime, we will continue to watch JAMB to
see how consistent it would be in handling its CBT.”
Meanwhile, a professor of Agricultural
Economics at the UNILORIN, Prof. Olubunmi Omotesho, has called on the
government to give agricultural development a priority.
This, he said, would fast-track development, industrialisation and national food security.
He spoke while delivering an inaugural lecture of the university entitled, ‘Let the Small-Scale Farmer be in Good Standing.’
Canvassing that greater attention be
given small-scale farmers, he noted that it would help them in producing
enough food for the nation.
The don, who called the government to
support farmers, also urged it to increase import tariff on agricultural
products into the country.
According to him, this would form a part of agricultural products protection policies needed to protect Nigerian farmers.
Omotesho said, “Currently, agricultural
lending represents only about two per cent of the total lending of banks
in Nigeria. This performance is below the level of other developing
countries like Kenya, which registers 6 per cent.
“Lack of reliable access to credit is
therefore a major impediment to improving small farm operations and
enhancing the livelihoods of rural households.
“In order to ensure a better performance
of modern credit institutions and make farmers to access to credit
facilities, the government, in conjunction with various agricultural
financial institutions, should review the interest rate on loans to the
smallholder farmers.
“It should move it from about 14 per cent
to less than five per cent. It should also simplify the loan
application process, ensure timely disbursement of loans to
beneficiaries and scale down the amount of collateral demanded by the
institutions.”
A former Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu and the outgoing Senate
President, David Mark, on Monday disagreed on the need for National
Assembly to cut its budget in line with the current economic realities
in the country.
They spoke at a retreat organised for
the Peoples Democratic Party National Assembly members-elect in Port
Harcourt, Rivers state.
Ribadu had stirred up a hornet’s nest by
calling on the lawmakers-elect to make their monthly salaries public and
also cut their budgets. His call immediately attracted side talks by
the participants which included governors and the leadership of the
PDP.
Obviously
aware that his advice was not being welcomed by majority of the
lawmakers-elect, the former anti-corruption czar, reminded them that
they would be going to the National Assembly as the minority.
He said that Nigerians would not support
the PDP if they (Nigerians) did not know what was earmarked for the
National Assembly and how much a senator or a House of Representatives
member earns.
Ribadu, who was the PDP’s Adamawa State
governorship candidate for the March 28 election, pointed out that
patriotism and quality contributions by members of the PDP in the
National Assembly would go a long way in reinventing and preparing the
party for a successful comeback in future elections.
He said, “If Nigerians do not know how
much is earmarked for the National Assembly or how much money a senator
earns, they will not support you. We must understand the pulse or the
mood of the nation.
“The first step, therefore, is to open up
the National Assembly by ensuring transparency. Public office is what
it is; public. Also, at this critical time of austerity, be champions
by slashing your own budget.
“My very good friend, Ben Bruce (a
senator-elect) has already spoken about this. There are many others
already saying it. For you to excel, you must put in extra effort than
your colleagues in other parties.”
He stressed that the PDP
lawmakers-elect must not only be champions of probity and discipline,
they must wage war against corruption in the system and ensure strict
compliance with appropriation as well as due process.
Ribadu added, “As legislators, you will
be going to the National Assembly as the minority. There is a sense of
personal loss no doubt; but there are good opportunities for all and
democratic practice in Nigeria.
“Your patriotism and quality
contributions as members of the National Assembly will go a long way in
reinventing our party and preparing it for a successful comeback in
subsequent elections.
“You must demonstrate personal will and
commitment towards being above board if you really want to checkmate
others. The first charge for you is to be champions of probity in the
workings of the National Assembly as well as the Legislature-Executive
relations.”
But Mark, who showed his
dissatisfaction with Ribadu’s charge, wondered why “every time,
people will talk about National Assembly budget.”
Explaining that the budget of the
Assembly had always been in public domain, the outgoing President of
the Senate argued that Senators and House of Representatives members
had always made sacrifices in line with the nation’s economic realities.
“Every time, people will talk about
National Assembly budget; for Heaven’s sake, unless you would say you
have never seen the national budget, it is a public document. The
National Assembly budget is there with every other budget,” he stated in
an angry tone.
Mark,who added that the National Assembly
members “ were the first to make a cut in 2015 budget,” said that “
people should appreciate what we are doing and not to come and give an
impression that our budget is bloated while every other person had made a
cut.”
He stated further, “We are trying our
best more than any ministry today. I can put my hand on my chest without
fear of contradiction at all and say we made a lot of sacrifices in our
budgeting system.
“Our budget is open; what we earn as
National Assembly members is open. If anybody wants to receive his
salary and donate it, he is free to do so. He does not need to consult
us. I think we should not play politics with what is a very serious
issue. Our budget is in the open and everybody can see it.”
Mark however charged the PDP lawmakers-elect and other PDP members to always speak in one voice.
He said, “We must subject our individual
interest for our group interest. In the election of principal officers
of National Assembly, we must vote in one accord. We must know that
united we stand, divided we fall.
“We must take our destinies in our hands.
We must be ready to provide credible, vibrant, determined and focused
opposition to the party in power in a manner that would guarantee
development and good governance.
“In doing so, we must maintain a strong
synergy between our members in the National Assembly and the National
Working Committee. The PDP is still a brand all Nigerians know. We just
need to reinvent the wheels and move forward.”
He decried the spate of defections from
the PDP to the All Progressives Congress after the elections and
appealed to those remaining to be steadfast with the ideology of the
party.
In his keynote address , Deputy Senate
President Ike Ekweremadu maintained that playing the role of the
opposition was not a death sentence, but a soul searching for the way
out of the predicament.
Ekweremadu stated that the PDP stood a great chance of regaining power in 2019 should its members put their house in order.
He added that the governors elected on
the platform of the PDP were expected to play a major role in restoring
the party’s fortunes.
Ekweremadu said, “May I also remind you
that you have a big role to play in restoring the political fortunes of
the PDP because PDP governed-states will now be the major yardsticks for
evaluating our performance in the next four years.
“I call on you to demonstrate unbeatable
and undisputable capacity for good governance such as would stand the
PDP-governed states out as models in uncommon transformation and
actualisation of all the blessings and promises that democracy holds.”
Earlier, Governors of Rivers State,
Nyesom Wike, Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa; and other governors, who were
elected on the platform of the PDP gave various strategies on how the
party could regain power at the centre in 2019.
Aides to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State on Monday rescued two victims of a ghastly motor accident near the Ubakala Junction of the Enugu- Port Harcourt Expressway.
Ikpeazu, who was on his way to Aba to inaugurate road projects, ran into the crash and ordered his convoy to stop for any possible assistance to the victims who were still trapped under the truck.
The truck marked GWA 472 XF, which was conveying an empty 40-feet container, was said to be heading for Port Harcourt when the accident occurred.
Eyewitnesses said brake failure was likely the cause of the accident. They said the driver, apparently aware that his vehicle had lost control, made conscious efforts to avoid hitting other vehicles on the lane but skidded off the road, somersaulting into the median of the dual-carriage highway.
Meanwhile, only three occupants of the truck were involved in the crash as the truck turned upside-down while the empty container was thrown off.
One of the victims trapped under the cabin of the trailer was yelling for help, but sympathisers could only console him as they could not lift up the heavy truck.
Shortly after the governor and his deputy, Ude Okochukwu, arrived the scene, a pair loader from a construction firm working on the expressway was contacted to lift the truck, making it possible to pull out the trapped victims.
Two of the victims were critically injured while one was feared dead.
The injured were given some first aid treatment by the medical team on the governor’s convoy before they were rushed to a hospital in Umuahia.
The outing was Ikpeazu’s major official engagement after his swearing-in on Friday.
Another bomb blast rocked the troubled Borno State capital of Maiduguri late on Tuesday morning , leaving many dead and others wounded.
Prior to the explosion at the popular Kasuwan Shanu (meat market), residents were rudely woken up at 12:45am on Monday by gunshots that boomed in parts of the city till 2pm.
No official reason was given by the military authorities for the gunshots which many of the residents feared were fired by advancing Boko Haram insurgents.
But when business and other activities were peaking in the city , a bomb went off in the meat market, sending cattle rustlers, butchers, their customers and passersby scampering to safety.
Although the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the state Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Opadokun, as saying that five people died in the blast, Reuters reported 50.
Opadokun said the suspect, “who was shouting “Sai Buhari,’’ danced close to an abattoir in the market, before detonating the bomb strapped to his body when people had gathered around him.
‘‘Five people, including himself, died, while eight others sustained injuries,’’ he said, adding that policemen were mobilised to the scene to evacuate the corpses and convey the injured to the hospital.
But Reuters quoted a witness as claiming that “as many as 50 people were killed.’’
It added that Lawal Kawu, a paramedic, said 31 charred bodies were taken to a teaching hospital in Maiduguri.
Abubakar Mohammed, a college student, also told the news agency that he had to run away after the blast shook their school building.
A member of the youth vigilante group, who spoke on condition of anonymity with one of our correspondents, however said that the suspect dropped a bag under a table in a stall with an excuse that he wanted to pick up something somewhere.
He added shortly after he left, the bomb he hid in the bag went off.
The spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, North-East, AbdulKadir Ibrahim, put the death toll at 17 while his Red Cross counterpart in Borno State, Umar Sadiq, said 13.
“Our men working to evacuate the dead corpses have revealed that no fewer than 17 persons were killed by the explosion, But I cannot give the number of those injured, “ Ibrahim said.
He explained that officials of NEMA and humanitarian agencies were “still taking the injured to Umaru Shehu General Hospital, Maiduguri.”
But Sadiq said 24 were injured.
The spokesman for the youth vigilante group, Jubrin Gunda,who shed light on the Monday night gunshots, said, “just like a few days back, the insurgents tried to invade the town via the same spot, Ajilari Cross, but they were repelled by the military.
“The insurgents who seem determined to invade Maiduguri were driven back by the battle-ready soldiers.”
He added,”As far as I am concerned, there was no casualty as the militants were successfully repelled. There was exchange of gunfire too but the insurgents quickly fled back when they saw that the military were on the alert.”
There were two bomb attacks on the city at the weekend that killed at least 30 people.
Meanwhile, the nation’s service chiefs will in a few days work out the modalties for the relocation of military’s Command Centre to Maiduguri as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari in his inaugural speech on Friday.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice- Admiral Usman Jibrin, disclosed this after the first meeting the military chiefs held with Buhari at the Defence House, Abuja on Tuesday.
“On the relocation of the command centre, we are the ones to go back and work on it. Soon it will be carried out, it is a presidential directive, it must be carried out, and we must do that as quickly as possible,” he told journalists who wanted to know the details of the meeting held behind closed doors.
Usman said they used the opportunity of the meeting to give Buhari security briefing of the country.
He said they succeeded in giving the President insight into the security situation in the country.
The CNS explained that it was the desire of the service chiefs to maintain the tempo with a view to sustaining the successes so far recorded until insurgents were completely routed.
He however appealed to all Nigerians to continue to support the military by providing operatives with the needed intelligence.
The information, he said, should include suspicious movements around them.
“You know as we continue to put pressure on them in the Sambisa area, they will try to run away from there and then create further problems, using improvised explosive devices,” he said.
Reminded that the terrorists were becoming more daring, he said,”Like I told you, we are sustaining the tempo and the successes we have recorded so far. We want to continue to maintain that and if there are any suggested solutions that require amendments or alteration of what we’re doing, why not? Most especially the more they give us the intelligence, the better.”
Others who attended the meeting were the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh; the Chief of Army Staff, Kenneth Minimah; the Chief of Air Staff, Adesola Amosun; and the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase.
In Motokun, Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State, a clash between the residents and Fulani herdsmen led to the death of five people.
A source told journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday that some people were also wounded during the incident which was confirmed by the LGA Chairman, Uthman Ndako.
Ndako added that with the intervention of security operatives normalcy had returned to the troubled community.
According to him the council as well as the Patigi Emirate Council led by Etsu Patigi, Ibrahim Umar, had peace meetings with leaders of the Fulani herdsmen and elders of the community to forestall further hostilities.
He said, “We have on standby, riot policemen now in Patigi. Our council is peaceful now. Presently Patigi is calm; the neighbouring village is also calm.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Okasanmi Ajayi, “I cannot tell you the actual number of people that died. People were also injured.
“But the place is now calm and people are going about their normal businesses.
“We are investigating to know the immediate and remote causes of the violence and how to prevent future clashes.”
The Oyo State Police Command has
discovered a place in a remote village of Ibadan, where thousands of
fake pounds, euros, dollars and other foreign currencies were being
produced.
The Commissioner of Police in the state,
Mohammed Katsina, said that the discovery was made by the command’s
ambush squad in a village called Ojoku in Badeku, Ona-Ara Local
Government Area of the state. The police described the area as fast
transforming to an abode for criminals, having earlier served as a
kidnappers’ den.
Our correspondent, who visited the scene
of the crime on Monday, discovered that the police had cordoned off the
compound shielded by tall trees and thick bushes.
Two
Toyota Camry cars with number plate AA 125 DK and AA 207 DH and a
Nissan Almera lift back model with number plate AGL 882 DF were found in
the compound, which was fenced with corrugated iron sheets.
Several notes of fake foreign currencies littered the ground.
Apart from being a fake currency factory, the place also served as a shrine where several criminal activities were perpetrated.
There are two houses in the compound
with at least six rooms adorned with various statues to give the
impression that the place is being used as a shrine. The walls were
decorated with the group’s description of gods to scare victims.
Ismail Adesina, 43, who was arrested at
the scene, said he did not know anything about the currencies and that
the owners had escaped.
He said he was a herbalist and that he
had been involved in several financial crimes under the pretext of
helping victims to cure ailments and barrenness.
Adesina added that the owners of the three vehicles were canvassers who combed the town to woo customers.
He said, “I am a herbalist and I
inherited the skill from my father. I am also a conman. I cured
diabetes, barrenness, blindness and other ailments. I have cured many
people. My partner, who escaped yesterday, knows how the currencies were
produced. Taju and Wasiu are my other partners. We have been here for
about four years. We collected varying sums of money from our victims
but we do not kidnap people. We bought the land in the bush and built
the houses. I am a native of Beyerunka in Ibadan. The names of our
victims are with my partners.”
Adesina said his wife had left him and taken his child away because he could not provide for them.
He added that he had bought a car from
the proceeds of criminal activities but had to sell it. Asked if his
father also taught him how to swindle people through fake healing,
Adesina said that he was a genuine herbalist before he took to the
crime.
The police said apart from taken money
from their victims, the suspects also devised a way of gagging them by
taking their nude pictures and threaten to release them if they failed
to keep the secret.
Tension rose again in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti
State, on Monday as supporters of the state Governor, Ayodele Fayose,
and some Peoples Democratic Party members laid siege to the state
House of Assembly in Ado Ekiti .
Their action was to prevent the 19 All
Progressives Congress lawmakers from gaining entry to the assembly to
actualise their move to impeach Fayose.
While the siege lasted, the national
leadership of the PDP and Fayose urged President Muhammadu Buhari to
intervene in the matter.
News had filtered into the state on
Sunday night that the lawmakers had assembled in a hotel in a
neighbouring state preparatory to sneaking into Ado Ekiti to remove
Fayose and his deputy, Kolapo Olusola.
It
was gathered that the news made the police to quickly cordon off the
major roads leading to the Assembly complex with their patrol vans
and an Armoured Personnel Carrier .
The PDP members and commercial motorcyclists blocked the secretariat and NTA roads which also lead to the complex.
As of 3p.m on Monday, the policemen, the PDP members and the commercial motorcyclists were still seen blocking the roads.
As the tension heightened, Fayose made a
statewide broadcast during which he again called on the people to
defend the mandate given to him by them.
After the broadcast, commercial life in
the city went dead as traders hurriedly locked their shops while civil
servants closed their offices and left for their homes.
Fayose had before the broadcast told
journalists that all the entitlements of the APC lawmakers had been
paid, contrary to Speaker Adewale Omirin’s denial.
The governor flaunted copies of Skye Bank cheques dated May 26, 2015 and issued to the lawmakers to corroborate his claim.
One of the cheques, which bore the name
Boluwade Kehinde was received on behalf of the lawmaker and had a sum of
N2, 149, 052 .37 on it.
Fayose warned that it would amount to
contempt of court for Omirin and his colleagues to continue with the
impeachment proceedings against him.
He made reference to the ruling by
Justice E.S. Chukwu of the Federal High Court, which ordered that the
status quo as of April 23 be maintained pending the determination of a
motion on notice before him(Chukwu).
The factional Speaker, Dele Olugbemi,
and six other lawmakers had in the suit sought an interlocutory
injunction among other reliefs restraining the APC lawmakers from
commencing impeachment against Fayose.
The governor said, “They have been
dropping the name of President Buhari as giving them the backing to
impeach me. How can an Assembly, whose tenure will wind up on Thursday
be planning this. I wonder why the issue of the past should be allowed
to come to play out now.
“As of the day the court gave the order,
I mean April 23, Omirin was not the speaker. It will be wrong for the
court order not to be respected. This is illegality and I want to raise
this for the public to know.
“Omirin had gone to court to challenge
his impeachment but he later withdrew his case, which means he accepted
he had been impeached. A cost of N100, 000 was awarded against him.
“So, he is not the Speaker. I am calling
on well-meaning Nigerians, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice
Mahmoud Mohammed, and President Buhari to intervene in this matter.
“How can somebody be living in another
state and be planning to invade his own state; this is something else
and I view this as a major crime anyone can commit against his people.”
On the payment of the salaries and other
benefits to the APC lawmakers, Fayose said, “They came to collect the
cheques in Ado Ekiti in company with the Commissioner for Finance,
Toyin Ojo.
“The issue would have been discussed
publicly during a peace parley but they insisted that it should not be
discussed openly because they didn’t want the leaders of their party to
know,” he added.
Fayose urged the Ekiti people to keep their eyes on the lawmakers and prevent them from carrying out their plot to remove him.
In Abuja, the PDP accused the outgoing
APC lawmakers of trying to cause mayhem as a means of securing
political control of the state.
The party warned in a statement by its
National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, that its members would
be fully mobilised to resist the scheme.
It alleged that the move to create
confusion in the state by the lawmakers was a final attempt in their
failed mission to unseat Fayose.
The PDP warned the lawmakers to watch
their steps and not to take its civility for granted as it would not
hesitate to defend the governor with all the force availed by the law.
The statement read in part, “We wish
to state in very clear terms that we would not condone any more move by
the rejected APC lawmakers to subvert the will of the people of Ekiti
state as expressed in the mandate freely given to Governor Fayose.
“These outgoing APC lawmakers whose
mandates have already been withdrawn by the people should watch their
steps and not in any way take our civility and Governor Fayose’s
deportment for peace, unity and harmony for granted.
“We issue this as a final warning. Our
members and supporters in Ekiti State are able, willing and ready to
defend our mandate using all available instruments granted by the law.
“We have the capacity and will have no
other option unless the APC lawmakers retrace their steps and embrace
peace. Enough is enough.”
It added that it would not in any way “condone or tolerate any move by the APC lawmakers to subvert the course of justice”.
While commending the people of the state
for their courage in standing by Fayose, the party urged Buhari to
caution the lawmakers especially given the olive branch already extended
to them by the governor.
The party also charged security agencies
to be on the alert and ensure that there was no breakdown of law and
order in the state.
In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the
Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, also said that
Buhari and the the international community needed to intervene in the
Ekiti crisis.
Secondus accused the APC of planning to
cause confusion in Ekiti and other PDP-controlled states, warning that
such a step was detrimental to the survival of democracy in the country.
He said, “It is the plan of APC to cause
crisis in Ekiti State. It is the plan of APC to systematically cause
crisis in the PDP-controlled states and this will not augur well for
democracy in Nigeria.
“If you recall, PDP has nurtured this
democracy for 16 years and we are having today, that has the rule of the
game, they are now in power. They were not coerced; they were allowed
freedom of the press; rule of law was obeyed and today, Buhari is the
President of our dear country.
“We call on the President and we call on
the international community to quickly look at what is happening in
Ekiti. We ask that the rule of law should be followed.
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