File photo used to illustrate story.

A bill seeking to establish a Federal University in Abia State on Wednesday scaled through the first reading stage at the Nigerian Senate amid poor funding of the educational sector and a strike by university lecturers that is in its fifth month.

 

For many years, little or nothing has been achieved in the education sector by successive Nigerian leaders who observers believe have only paid little or no attention to the sector. This is despite the promises made by politicians during campaigns that they will give education the deserved priority in the country’s polity.

While primary and secondary school systems have gradually slipped into comatose with many private schools springing up on almost every street in the country, the Nigerian government is going the same route with tertiary education with the establishment of universities it cannot fund.

 

Currently, the Academic Staff Union of Universities and other bodies like the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Educational Institutions are all on strike to compel the Nigerian government to revitalise the country's educational system.

 

But that did not stop the Senate from adopting a bill to establish a new federal university.

 

Titled “A bill for an Act to provide for the establishment of Federal University of Medical Sciences and Biomedical Technology, Umunna, Abia State and for Matters Connected Therewith 2022. (SB. 985),” the bill was sponsored by the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.

 

The passage of the bill followed its presentation by the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Ajayi Boroffice during plenary.

 

The lawmakers in a voice vote presided by Senate President Ahmad Lawan voted in favour of its passages shortly after it was read to members of the Red Chamber.

 

The bill will go through second reading.

 

According to the bill, the university will award diplomas, first degrees, postgraduate research and higher degrees with an emphasis on planning, adaptive, technical, maintenance, developmental and productive skills in the field of Medicine, biomedical engineering, scientific, and allied professional disciplines relating to health resources.

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Zenith Bank

Stakeholders unanimously called for support of Nigeria’s Non-Oil Export Sector at the 7th Annual Edition of the Zenith Bank International Trade Seminarthemed “Unlocking Opportunities in Nigeria’s Non-Oil Export Business”, which was held on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagosand virtually.

 

In his Goodwill Message Presentation, the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia, CON, called for a concerted effort towards diversifying Nigeria’s export base through the promotion of non-oil exports. Highlighting the importance of non-oil export to the nation’s economy, Ovia pointed out that Nigeria exported cocoa and several other non-oil products for years before oil was discovered. He cited the example of the 25-storey Cocoa House in Ibadan, which was built with proceeds from cocoa exports. He pointed out that many countries in the world, such as Japan and China been successful because they are doing a great deal of innovation, production and manufacturing of goods and services. According to him, we should also look at promoting the nation’s non-oil export sector through technology to create technological giants like Apple, Tesla, and Google. And we already have technology companies in this mould in Nigeria, such as Flutterwave, which has a valuation of $3 billion, making it more valuable than some banks in Nigeria. Speaking further on the enormous potential in Nigeria’s non-oil sector, Ovia highlighted the phenomenal growth of Nigeria’s emerging financial technology (Fintech) companies such as Flutherwave, OPay, Interswitch, Kuda and Paystack, with market valuations of $3 billion, $2 billion, $1 billion, $500 million, $200 million, respectively. According to him, this underscores the enormous opportunity in the Fintech space. He also noted that the most capitalized companies in the world, such as Apple, Microsoft,  Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Tesla, Visa, etc., are not oil companies but are in the technological innovation space.

In his welcome address, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said that the annual Zenith Bank Trade Seminar has served as a veritable platform to deepen the conversation on promoting non-oil export in Nigeria, bringing together non-oil export practitioners and relevant government agencies to interact and explore the opportunities and proffer solutions to the challenges of non-oil export in the country. Speaking on the origin of the Zenith Bank Annual International Trade Seminar, Onyeagwu said that the commodity price slump of 2014-2016 was a watershed moment. According to him, “when crude oil prices plummeted from $114.55 per barrel in June 2014 to $28.76 in January 2016, with an attendant effect on the availability of foreign exchange, it was time to look towards the non-oil export sector for a more sustainable source of foreign exchange that is not susceptible to external shocks and price volatility. 

 

Highlighting some of the salient outcomes of the past six Zenith Bank Annual International Trade Seminar editions, Onyeagwu noted that previous editions’ outcomes have found expression and influenced policy initiatives. For instance, the extension of the period of repatriation of Non-Oil Export proceeds from 90 days to 180 days and the policy mandating shippers not to carry export without a Nigeria Export Proceeds (NXP) Form Number were recommendations from previous seminars. Also, the need to incentivize exporters to repatriate their export proceeds through the official channels and the recommendation to create export terminals across various export hubs in the country were also from past seminars. Also, previous editions recommended having Export Desks in commercial banks, which has now been instituted. He also stated that Zenith Bank has trained over 100 exporters through its Zero to Hero programmes which provide a platform for grooming and exposing beginners to become strong exporters by providing training on documentation, product sourcing, access to market and financing. He noted that Zenith Bank will continue the advocacy of promoting non-oil export.

 

Delivering his goodwill message, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, CON, commended Zenith Bank and its leadership led by the Founder and Chairman of the Board, Jim Ovia, for its laudable initiative in organizing an annual export seminar to explore opportunities in Nigeria’s non-oil export with a view to increasing the nation’s non-oil export base and ultimately increasing its share as a percentage of total export. In his words: “This is why the theme of this year’s seminar “Unlocking Opportunities in Nigeria’s Non-Oil Export Business” is timely and appropriate. This is because the global economy and structure are changing rapidly before our eyes. The previous world economic order underpinned by globalization and seamless trade possibilities seems to be suffering major disruptions lately. We believe Nigeria has a lot of potentials, and we can harness this for the good of our people and country.” He pointed out that the CBN has undertaken several initiatives to promote the non-oil export sector because of its firm belief that the non-oil export sector holds enormous potential to contribute to employment generation, wealth creation and economic growth of the country.

 

In his keynote address, the President & Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, GCON, said that “Nigeria’s non-oil export is quite low compared to other African top oil producers. This exposes the economy to oil price/production risks. There is much room for growth, and the CBN is helping drive this through the RT200 programme”. According to him, the CBN RT200 FX programme, which aims to achieve $200 billion in foreign exchange earnings from non-oil proceeds over the next 3-5 years, has very laudable objectives, including enhancing foreign exchange inflow, diversifying the source of FX inflow, increasing the level of contribution from non-oil export, and ensuring stability and sustainability of FX flows.

 

In his Goodwill Message, His Excellency, WamkeleMene, Secretary General, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, enumerated the progress and achievements of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the efforts to improve intra-Africa trade. Also, in his Goodwill Message, Professor Benedict Oramah, President / Chairman of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), highlighted the efforts of Afreximbank to enhance intra-Africa trade through the implementation of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS). According to him, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System will make it easy and seamless for Africans to trade amongst themselves and receive payment for goods and services in their local currencies, eliminating currency conversion challenges.

 

Zenith Bank remains committed to promoting the non-oil export sector in Nigeria by identifying emerging opportunities which help stimulate non-oil exports and develop robust financial products and incentives for operators in the sector. The bank launched the Non-Oil Export Seminar in 2017 as an initiative to deepen the discourse on promoting the non-oil export business in Nigeria.

 

 

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A petrol index report done by Picodi.com showed that the purchasing power of the average Nigerian for petrol has reduced drastically under President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime.
It also means that Nigerians are left with a lesser amount of money than they used to have after buying fuel.

According to the analysis of petrol prices and wage purchasing power in Nigeria and worldwide carried out by the organisation, the monthly income of an average Nigerian – put at ₦67,484.00 – could afford 501 litres in 2019, but that has been reduced to 391 litres in 2022.
The report which examined the dynamics of petrol price change in Africa and around the world in the first quarter of 2022, says, "In Nigeria, after conversion to dollars, the petrol price is one of the lowest in Africa – 6th place out of 7 accounted for countries at $0.42/litre. Low petrol prices can also be enjoyed by citizens of Algeria ($0.31/litre) and Egypt ($0.52/litre).
"This year we also checked the relation between petrol prices and local average wages.
"With the average wage, drivers from South Africa (865 litres), Algeria (764 litres) and Egypt (437 litres) can buy the most petrol.
"According to the newest data presented by Numbeo, the average wage in Nigeria is ₦67,484.00 net monthly. This means that an average Nigerian for an average wage can buy 391 litres of petrol. Compared to the previous year’s petrol index, the purchasing power of the average Nigerian wage in the context of petrol has slightly decreased.
"This is what the petrol index in Nigeria looked like in the last few years: 2019 – 501 litres; 2020 – 539 litres; 2021 – 431 litres; 2022 – 391 litres.
"Prices of petrol around the world: prices did not increase everywhere.
"Having substantial raw material resources saved some countries from the increase in the price of petrol. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar were not affected by the world’s economic situation. The governments of countries such as Columbia, Ecuador and Kazakhstan have decided to either freeze or set the upper limit on petrol prices.”

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A human rights organisation, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has released details of the alleged killing of wedding guests in Imo State by Ebubeagu South-East Security Outfit on Sunday.
 
The group while calling for an independent commission of enquiry and immediate disbandment of the South-East security outfit, Ebubeagu, insisted that all the operatives of the outfit and its collaborators in the Nigerian secret police, Department of State Services, must be arrested and prosecuted.

SaharaReporters reported a preliminary investigation of the Intersociety on Tuesday, over the gruesome killings.
 
However, a detailed and full investigative report made available to SaharaReporters by the group on Wednesday, faulted the claim of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma that the slain youths were criminals and were killed in their den.
The report, which was signed by the Board Chair of Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi and other principal officers, said that the governor's decision to lie against the innocent and defenceless deceased persons is not only ‘repercussion/justice-in-waiting’ but also confirmed how the Nigerian security operatives and the government of Imo State have been killing defenceless and innocent citizens of the state since 2021.
 
The report partly read: "Having earlier spoken based on preliminary findings at its disposal; Intersociety hereby wishes to give full details into the animalistic and cruel barbarous act as follows:
 
"That on Sunday, 17th July 2022, a newly married young man/chief celebrant, Citizen Chigozie Nnanna from Otulu Community of the above-named Local Government Area in Imo State, Southeast Nigeria graciously invited his kinsmen, friends and well-wishers to accompany him to a post wedlock/wine-carrying reception in the ancestral abode of his new wife in Okwuoji Village, Awomama Community in the State. Awomama Community shares boundaries with Otulu before another Community called Mgbidi
 
"That the marriage reception went well and was free of hitches after which the chief celebrant and his kinsmen, friends and well-wishers made a convoy return, in batches, to their Otulu Community from 6.30pm-7pm upwards.
 
"That their journey home convoy had included private vehicles and motorcycles with pairs of unarmed and defenceless youths of the Community riding back home in joy and happiness following the success of the marriage reception.
 
"That on getting to Ishieke Junction in Awomama Community, sounds of live bullet gunshots started raining and rented the air leading to a stampede, confusions and running helter-skelter by the returnees with some scampering for safety and others felling by live bullets
 
"That in the ensuing melee, scores were shot at close range and felled by bullets while others ran into the nearby bush and managed to escape.
 
"That some of the lucky escapees rang their PG (President-General of Otulu Community, Chief Nnamdi Agbor) from their bush hideout and the PG swiftly responded with several calls across to top political figures including state and federal legislators representing the area and top security commanders.
 
"That the mass shooting and tragic incident lasted up to 1am and above into next day being Monday, 18th July 2022 and in the morning of the same day, the President General and others organized a search party which included an Army patrol team, a Divisional Police Officer and others.
 
"That after arriving at the scene, seven dead bodies were recovered and on further traces, five others had gone missing, two terminally shot and injured and later hospitalized and three others arrested and taken to Ebubeagu Militia (Imo State Security Service) at their local headquarters located at Omuma (Gov Hope Uzodinma’s hometown/ headquarters of the Oru West Local Government Area).
 
"The names of the seven recovered dead victims/indigenes of Otulu Community in Oru West killed by Nigerian Army-allied/trained Ebubeagu Government Militia are Late Citizens Chigozie Obinwa, Chikere Anyadioha, Ifechi Ekesinachi and Emeka Ekesinachi (two blood brothers), Aboy Ihegboro, Chijindu and Ozioma; with five persons still missing
 
"That names of the terminally shot and injured but later hospitalized victims are Citizens Thank-God Iheukwumere and Oluebube Agbor, while those arrested by the Imo State Government killer outfit are Citizens Uchenna Orjiribeka, Chidoo Ekesinachi and Nnamdi Ekesinachi
 
"That following the mass shooting and massacre, the Otulu Community and neighbouring others got boiled leading to skeletal protests on Monday and full-blown protests on Tuesday, 19th July 2022
 
"That but for courageous and commendable efforts of the President-General of the victim Community (Otulu) and fearless and conscientious media reporters, the killings would have successfully been swept under the carpet and twisted by the Gov Hope Uzodinma-led Government of Imo State and the conformist and lying Nigerian security chiefs posted to the State
 
"That if truly the Imo Director of DSS fed the State Security Council with such perfidious lies as claimed by Governor Hope Uzodinma, DSS Director’s ethnic and religious identity and professional loyalty should thoroughly be investigated and he should be dismissed from the Service
 
"That by relying solely on perfidious lies of the DSS Director, if true, Gov Hope Uzodinma, though never credibly won his governorship, no thanks to the Supreme Court; has proven himself to be ‘a Gov in the Air’ in Imo State.
 
"That the Governor’s decision to lie against the innocent and defenceless dead citizens is not only ‘repercussion/justice-in-waiting’ but also a statistical confirmation of how the Nigerian security operatives and Government of Imo State go about killing at least 45 defenceless and innocent citizens of the State and burning down at least 50 of their homes and properties on monthly basis since January 2021.
 
"That this has further explained why the sum-total of our catalogue of statistics since January 2021 on Imo State alone has indicated that ‘under Hope Uzodinma as Governor, Imo State had lost not less than 800 defenceless citizens and 900 burnt or destroyed properties’.
 
"That our research statistics further indicated that 90% of those killed or maimed or abducted and disappeared without traces or held long months in security detention without trial are victims of jungle justice including unsubstantiated allegations/accusations, false labeling, criminal stigmatization, ethnic profiling, labeling for death based on hearsay; leading to extrajudicial executions or killings and disappearances since Jan 2021.
 
"That the arrested or shot and killed victims of the above-highlighted circumstances are hardly processed using procedural processes of ‘man-machine-mental’ investigations, prosecutions and sentencing.
 
"That the Government of Imo State under Hope Uzodinma and its conformist security agencies and chiefs have destroyed innocent lives and properties over a hundred times more than they claimed to be protecting them 
 
"That the Imo State Government under Hope Uzodinma is atrociously unrepentant and remorseless and instead of strongly condemning the massacre and arresting or disbanding the killer Militias, the Imo Governor defiantly rose in their defence and threatened to kill or massacre more with impunity."

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A brother of the young lady whose traditional marriage ceremony was aborted at Otulu of Imo State on Sunday by armed security men identified as operatives of the Southeast security network outfit codenamed Ebubeagu has narrated his experience.

 

Speaking in a video lasting two minutes, 50 seconds which was seen by SaharaReporters, the young man who was identified as the last child of the family, said that while the ceremony was going on at his father’s compound simply identified in the video as John, the security men stormed the place, saying that they were members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and holding a meeting.

According to him, without finding out what exactly was going on at the place, the security men opened fire on the people, killing some, while others escaped with injuries. He said they (Ebubeagu operatives) went into their rooms and took away their valuables including N150,000 cash, generator, Solar panel, foam, and mobile phones before setting the house ablaze.

 

The young man who spoke in Igbo said, “Those people came and said that we were holding an IPOB meeting. That they only killed IPOB members. But those people were those who came for marriage. They did not do anything wrong.

 

“They only came to collect a marriage list but the Ebubeagu people came and killed them, saying that they were IPOB members.

 

“They also carried our big generator, solar, foam, they carried all of them. The money I kept in my bag, N150,000, they took them. All our foods and properties, my power bank and charger, they took all of them.

 

“They also went to our neighbour’s house and took their charger and MP (Music Player) of the man’s daughter. They wanted to take their phones but later left them.

 

“They also went to my brother’s house and broke all the windows and doors and carried everything there.”

 

Meanwhile, whereas it was reported that 14 persons were killed, the man who made the video, whose identity was not disclosed said more people were killed.

He said, “It is being reported that 14 people were killed but the people I saw on the road including Okada riders (commercial motorcyclists) and those who were running for their lives that were killed on the road were up to 21. I am a live witness and eyewitness.

 

“This is De John (Brother John) that they burnt down. The person I am interviewing is John's last born. The one that they came for her marriage on Sunday is the immediate elder sister to this one. They killed the people and carried everything including cooked rice, a generator, a fan, foam and two cars.

 

“Hope Uzodinma said it was DSS (Department of State Services) officers that went to their camp (IPOB) and killed them. I don’t know if John’s house is the camp of ESN or the camp of unknown gunmen.”

 

Meanwhile, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State had claimed the killing was done by officers of the Nigerian secret police, DSS.

 

 

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Armoured tanks, which were used as a sombre reminder of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, were seen deployed on the streets of China amid widespread protests by people who took to the streets calling for the release of their money that had been frozen by banks.

This was seen in a fresh video that went viral on the internet recently. The Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA) tanks on Wednesday rolled through the streets in a bid to frighten and disperse Henan bank protestors.

It is pertinent to mention here that conflicts between Chinese police and depositors have been happening in the country's Henan province for the past several weeks, with the latter claiming they have been unable to withdraw their savings from banks since April of this year, according to the local media reports.

The tanks were reportedly deployed on the streets to protect the banks and keep the protestors from attacking them. The incident follows a statement made by the Bank of China's Henan office that deposits made by customers are "investment items" therefore, they cannot be withdrawn, India Times reports.

As per local media reports, authorities have said that they will begin releasing deposits of people whose funds have been blocked by a number of rural banks following protests in Henan's capital, Zhengzhou. However, according to non-mainstream media in China, only a few depositors have received payouts, which raises the critical question of whether banks have any extra cash.

These reports further noted that the white-clothed men, who are reportedly members of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force, dispersed protestors in front of the Zhengzhou division of the People's Bank of China (PBoC) during the widespread protests in Henan province demanding the release of frozen funds.

The tanks on China's streets raise the crucial question of whether history is destined to repeat itself as this incident serves as a grim reminder of the Tiananmen Square massacre, which occurred on June 4, 1989, when Chinese leaders brought in tanks and highly armed forces to clear Beijing's Tiananmen Square, where student demonstrators had congregated for weeks to call for democracy and greater freedoms.

The crackdown is shunned in the classroom and closely regulated in the media and online. It is pertinent to mention that the Tiananmen Square massacre resulted in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of unarmed demonstrators.

Meanwhile, Zheng Yuhuang, a professor at Beijing's Tsinghua University, claimed in a video that 2022 will be a challenging year for China.

According to Zheng, 4,60,000 businesses closed down in China in the first half of the year, 3.1 million industrial and commercial households were written off and enterprise liquidation increased by 23 per cent year on year, ANI reported.

Adding further he said, 10.76 million college graduates have entered the workforce under heavy employment pressure and 80 million young people are still unemployed.

 

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A four-year-old girl (name withheld) has been allegedly raped by one Nigerian Army Staff Sergeant, Bulama Salish from 232 Battalion who is attached to 23 Brigade SP BN in the Maiha Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

SaharaReporters learnt that the victim is the daughter of one Mallam Abubakar who resides in the state.

This was contained in a memo on the situation report on a rape case which was obtained by SaharaReporters on Thursday.

 

The Staff Sergeant, Bulama Salish with 97NA/45/7383 is said to have been apprehended and locked up in 23 Brigade SP BN custody for further action.

 

The memo reads, "SPECIAL SITREP.SITREP AS AT 181800A JULY 2022. RAPE CASE,97NA/45/7383 SSGT BULAMA SALISU FRM 232BN ATTACHED TO 23BDE SP BN MAIHA, RAPED ONE (NAME WITHHELD) 4YRS OLD, DAUTHER TO ONE MALLAM ABUBAKAR....

 

"SNCO HAS BEEN APPREHENDED ND LOCKED UP IN 23BDE SP BN CUSTODY FR FURTHER ACTION, PLS ACK//"

 

A soldier, Corporal Aliyu Yakubu was dismissed from the Nigerian Army and sentenced to five years imprisonment for rape and assault by a court martial in Maiduguri in 2020.

 

He was tried by the Nigerian Army 7 Division Court Martial, Operation Lafiya Dole, for raping a minor (a 15-year-old girl) at an uncompleted building behind a prison yard in Bama, Borno State, on July 1, 2018.

The soldier was serving with 202 Tank Battalion in the counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast.

 

 

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The Nigerian Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has said that the nationwide protest scheduled for July 26 and 27 by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the lingering strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is against labour practice.
 
Ngige, who noted this on Wednesday while speaking with newsmen on the matter, added that he would be surprised should the NLC carry out its threat of organising a nationwide protest.

SaharaReporters reported that the NLC had informed its members across the country of its resolve to go on a two-day protest in solidarity with ASUU which went on strike on February 14, 2022 over unresolved issues bordering on funding of universities, as well as salaries and allowances of lecturers.
 
But the labour and employment minister, who had been leading negotiations with the striking university lecturers for President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, said that NLC had been part of the negotiations the government had been having with ASUU, the university lecturers’ union.
According to Ngige, “NLC is on the table of the discussion,” adding that he invited their officials.  
“I invited them. And so, they are on the table as their senior partner. That’s one. Two, we have a National Labour Advisory Council inaugurated in January 2021. It is an ILO instrument, an ILO architecture for labour unions, governments, and the private sector to come together at any given time.
 
“So, we’ve just finished our meeting in March, and this issue was tabled before them. And the NLC is in NLAC, the National Labour Advisory Council. And much more importantly, the head of NLC, Nigeria has an affiliate of the workers’ federation world over called the International Trade Union Congress.
 
“So, I will be surprised if he’s going ahead with his NEC to do a demonstration, knowing fully well that that is not permissible in international labour parlance,” the minister said. 

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A pro-Biafra group, Biafra Nations League (BnL), has condemned the killing of 14 youths who were returning from a traditional marriage at Awo-Omamma in the Oru West Local Government of Imo State on Sunday.
 
There are reports and eyewitness accounts of how the operatives of the South-East Ebubeagu Security outfit, led by Ogwu Mozambique allegedly killed the wedding guests.
 
Governor Hope Uzodinma had said the killings were carried out by Nigeria's secret police, Department of State Services (DSS) and not Ebubeagu as claimed. He has also vowed that the killing of those he described as criminals would continue, adding that no amount of blackmail would deter him.
 
The DSS has also admitted that it carried out the operation, alleging that those killed were criminals. The Service said that they were killed during an exchange of gunfire.
 
But the pro-Biafra group after an emergency security meeting in Bakassi Peninsula on Wednesday night vowed to avenge the alleged unprovoked killing of innocent persons in the South-East who didn't commit any offence. The group said they were killed because they were “Biafrans”.
 
The leader of BnL in Bakassi Peninsula, Ita Bassey, who briefed journalists on Thursday after a security meeting held on Wednesday night, said his group and other highly placed officials had been briefed on the outcome.
 
Bassey added that members of the separatist group came under gunfire from the Nigerian Navy near Ikang where they met, but noted that no one was injured.
 
He said the meeting went according to plan despite the attack, adding they had to relocate to another venue immediately.
 
Meanwhile, BnL and a Finland-based official of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa have reportedly formed an alliance.

A faction of IPOB loyal to Ekpa has been accused by some sections of the public of enforcing sit-at-home on Mondays in the South-East and causing violence in the region. 

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Fatima, the daughter of the All Progressives Congress vice-presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, is set to get married.

The wedding Fatiha is scheduled to hold on Saturday, July 30th, 2022 at the Shehu’s Palace in Maiduguri, Borno State.

She will marry her fiancé, Sadiq Ibrahim Bunu.
The groom’s father is Ibrahim Bunu, an architect and a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Bunu served from May 1999 until February 2001 in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
 
He was said to have designed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Towers in Abuja.
 
Shettima was officially unveiled as APC vice presidential candidate on Wednesday at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.
 
Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the party, who is a Muslim, has insisted on having him, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate.
 
Tinubu is from Southern Nigeria while Shettima, a former Borno governor, is from the Muslim-dominated Northern part of the country.
 

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Terrorists on Thursday morning invaded some communities around Kamapani Waya in the Kontagora local government area of Niger State.
The villagers were put on alert while some were urging the women and children to go and hide.

Some cows were taken away to be hidden.
Vehicles coming from Minna had to stop to avoid getting into the crossfire, The Nation reports.
But military troops have been mobilised to the road.
Some of the military troops were seen after Kamapani Waya as they directed motorists. Others also entered the communities to engage the terrorists.

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Abba Kyari

A Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted as exhibit the sum of $61,400 which the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari allegedly offered as a bribe to the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

 

The money was admitted by Justice Emeka Nwite on Wednesday after it was tendered as evidence by the NDLEA through the third prosecution witness, Peter Joshua.

The NDLEA had claimed it obtained video footage of Kyari negotiating the $61,400 sum as a bribe with its investigators to prevent the testing of the 17.55 kilogrammes of the drugs.

 

This was a part of the 21.35 kilogrammes of cocaine brought into the country by the convicts at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, around January 19 to 25.

 

 

 

The witness also tendered 24 packs of cocaine brought before the court in two travelling bags containing nine packs wrapped in white cotton sacks, three additional packs of cocaine, and 12 pellets that were separately tied in nylon bags.

 

In March 2022, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ordered that Kari and six others facing drug trafficking charges with him should be moved to the Kuje Correctional Centre.

 

The court ordered the NDLEA to transfer the defendants to prison custody, shortly after they were denied bail.

 

The case has been adjourned till August 30 for further hearing.

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Following the condemnation that trailed the appearance of some persons, who masqueraded as bishops and pastors at Wednesday’s unveiling of Senator Kashim Shettima as the Vice-Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), a Conference of Concerned Christians of Nigeria (CCCN) has joined the array of critics and demanded the Identities of those behind such derogatory action.

In a statement jointly signed by its National President, Rev. Bitrus Chollom, and National Secretary, Pastor James Alkali, the Christian organisation challenged the APC to disclose the names of the ‘Bishops, and their respective denominations, to allow for scrutiny.

The statement warned that harsh judgement awaits those that seek to embarrass the Body of Christ, for a mess of pottage.

It, nonetheless, vowed to make public the identities of all those they described as “interlopers and usurpers”, in a bid to convince Nigerians that the APC – as presently constituted – is, indeed, a scam that happened to the country.

For instance, many, who witnessed the ‘show-of-shame’, wondered why true ‘men of God’, who are worth their salt, will shove and push, to gain entrance to the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, the venue of the unveiling

“As a responsible body that serves to preserve the ends of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), we will deploy all legal and legitimate resources at our disposal, to unveil the veil that the detractors of Christianity thought will shield their identities.

“It is unfortunate that these evil men failed to ponder over the persecution Christians are suffering in the North – especially – before embarking on this infantile journey.

“May we use this opportunity to assure the CAN, and by extension, the majority of Nigerians, that the will of God will prevail come 2023, regardless of whatever gimmicks the APC and their presidential candidate may be up to.

“The general elections, no doubt, will serve as a referendum on bad governance, occasioned by insecurity, biting poverty, hunger and excruciating concerns that debase humanity under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

“We are happy that the CAN has since reacted to the charade of endorsement that happened in Abuja.”

CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, during an interview with journalists, said: “Though the bishops in question are not members of the Christian Association of Nigeria at all levels and so, they are not known to us, the fact that they claim to be leaders of Christian churches necessitates that we clear the air and reiterate our stand against the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“Anyone can put on a cassock and claim to be a priest or a bishop. However, none of those men at the event is known to CAN as a church leader.

“Some desperate politicians are only seeking to deceive unsuspecting Nigerians and hoodwink them into accepting a Muslim-Muslim ticket by hiring fraudsters to brandish as Christian clerics to ensure their unpopular decision.

“Let them name the CAN officials at the programme and their offices. If they could use 2017 photos to claim that some pastors visited Shettima and lied that the CAN chairman in Borno endorsed him as a vice presidential candidate using an old interview he granted five years ago, then we are not surprised.

“This one thing is clear: CAN was not part of the unveiling programme of Shettima.”

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Police authorities in Anambra State have arrested suspected cult members who killed a member of a rival group and used his head to play football.

The incident happened on premises suspected to be the residence of some students of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University in Igbariam in September 2021.

The video which trended on social media shows how a young man with dreadlocks was dragged out of his car and shot at close range.

His head was later brought to a square, where the assailants used it to play football.

In another trending video, two arrested suspected young cult members, Chisom Okafor and Ikechukwu Chinweze, admit to being members of Ayes cult and participating in killings.
 
Twenty-three-year-old Okafor is seen in the video confessing, “I’m also known as Stamina. I’m from Igboukwu, but my mum is from Awka. I am 23 years old. I belong to Ayes cult group, and have killed only three people before.”
 
He identified two persons out of the three he said he had killed as Edu Obara and Savage. Both are suspected cultists who were murdered in 2021 and beheaded in a like manner. While Edu Obara was killed in Igbariam, Savage was killed and beheaded in Oko in the Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State, while his trunk was taken to Awka.
 
“I was among the cultists who went to Obj’s place (just nickname) and killed some security men. We were seven in number that went for the operation. I dropped out of school, but I’m a tiler, and I do tiling very well.”
 
Another cultist, who was also interviewed in the video said, “I’m Ikechukwu Chinweze, I’m 19 years old, from Umuzocha in Awka. I’m a school leaver. I was learning phone repairs before I met Chisom here in Ifite.”
 
Meanwhile, some residents of Anambra State have stated that the man named Savage, who was killed last year, was the same person, whose head was used to play soccer, suggesting that the now arrested cultists were responsible for the act.

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The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore, has berated the former Nigerian Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar over his reaction to the National Grid collapse.
 
Atiku on Wednesday after it was announced that the National Grid collapsed for the 6th time posted on his verified Twitter page, his displeasure over the repeated collapse of the grid that has continued to throw Nigerians into darkness.

Among other things he said on the thread, Atiku had noted, “I am reliably informed that there was a total National Grid Collapse at precisely 12:23pm today. This is one collapse too many. It is the 6th time this is happening this year alone.”
 
Reacting to Atiku’s tweet, Sowore said, “The National Electrical grid collapse started when you and Obasanjo invested $16 billion to procure darkness for Nigeria, the @MBuhari regime came to gazette grid collapse as a law.
 
“Alhaji @atiku, don't pretend that you care about the National Grid!”
 

The National Electrical grid collapse started when you and Obasanjo invested $16 billion to procure darkness for Nigeria, the @MBuhari regime came to gazette grid collapse as a law. Alhaji @atiku, don't pretend that you care about the National Grid! #WeCantContinueLikeThis

— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) July 20, 2022
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been accused of spending $16 billion on the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) to increase Nigeria’s power generation to 10,000 megawatts.
 
However, when President Muhammadu Buhari came to power and vowed to probe the alleged $16 billion investment in the national power sector, Obasanjo denied the allegation, describing it as “incorrect information based on ignorance.”
 
The House of Representatives had in 2008 described the alleged $16 billion spent on power projects between 1999 and 2007 as “a colossal waste.”
 
Civil Society groups including SERAP had called for a probe of the funds but in a statement by the Media Aide to the former President, Kehinde Akinyemi, published by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Obasanjo denied the allegation.
 
He said, “It has come to the attention of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that a statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari, apparently without correct information and based on ignorance, suggested that $16 billion was wasted on power projects by “a former President”.
 
“We believe that the President was re-echoing the unsubstantiated allegation against Chief Obasanjo.”

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The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended indefinitely the Air Transport Licence (ATL) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of Dana Air.
This was announced in a statement released by NCAA director-general, Captain Musa Nuhu, on Wednesday, stating that suspension of the operations of the airline would take effect from midnight of Wednesday, July 20, 2022.

He disclosed that the suspension order had since been communicated to the management of Dana Air.
The suspension was made pursuant to Section 35(2), 3(b) and (4) of the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 and Part 1.3.3.3(a)(1) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs), 2015,” Nuhu said.
Captain Nuhu explained that the decision came after a financial and economic health audit was carried out on the airline by the Authority, and the findings of an investigation conducted on the airline’s flight operations recently, which revealed that Dana Airlines was no longer in a position to meet its financial obligations and to conduct safe flight operations.
“The NCAA acknowledges the negative effect this pre-emptive decision will have on the airline’s passengers and the travelling public and seeks their understanding, as the safety of flight operations takes priority over all other considerations,” the statement added.
SaharaReporters on Tuesday reported that Dana Air said its Boeing 737 aircraft with registration number: 5N DNA made an emergency landing on approaching Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after one of its engines developed a fault.
The airline stated this in a statement posted on its Twitter handle, @DanaAir on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the incident happened at about 2:52 pm on Tuesday with 100 passengers on board safely disembarked.
“Our Abuja-bound Boeing 737 aircraft with registration number (5N DNA) embarked on an emergency landing today, July 19, 2022, due to an indication on one of its engines.
“The pilot in command briefed the passengers on the incident and landed the aircraft safely at the Abuja International Airport at about 2:52 pm.

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The desperation of the members of the ruling class to take over and continue from failed President Buhari stopped is more than alarming. But this is very understandable given the fact that Nigeria has gone pass sitting, but dancing on a keg of gunpowder. 

 

As it stands, the Nigerian rulers employs religious, ethnic, and such other divisions to keep the people enslaved, and ruled. From Obasanjo to Buhari, ethnicity; regionalism, religion, and minority agitations (in the case of Jonathan) has been the deciding factors with which such manequins of exceptional failures have been directing the social, political, and moral compass of the most populated black country in the world. 

Verily, the double victories of the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), since 2015 were hinged on these factors above. But in order to perpetuate their irresponsible ruining hold on the socio-economic undergrowth and mal-developments, the Tinubu/Shettima candidature is stucked trying to shift the goal post. 

 

Alas, with the terrorism and banditry, rising from the Northern hemisphere and particularly targeting and killing more Christians than other religions ( at least recently), the Muslim -muslim ticket is becoming a raging anger all around the country. I was in a bus where an Alhaji was even saying the ticket "will open the moslems to more attacks and hatred." He lamented that his Christian business partners are already behaving somehow to him. This is plus the facts that Tinubu himself is well hated by Lagosians because of the mass hardships, excessive taxations, insecurities, multiple extortions by both state and private thugs from commutters and mass unemployments. 

 

While we were moving from Ikeja to Ogba, I pointed at the Ikeja Industrial Estate and most companies there are churches. Workers have been turned to worshippers, watching and praying more than three times a week. Mechanic villages are being privatized and turned to expensive real estate while informal workers roam around without work. After all, aside the Technical School at Agidingbi, Tinubu's Lagos has no other College for skilled training. 

 

The way Ikeja Industrial Estate has been turned to Ikeja Gospel Estate is a handiwork of Lagos and Nigeria rulers who are kowtowing to IMF/World Bank policies of destroying the production system and impose the services sectors. Through importing and exporting, the raw resources are daily sold off while second-hand goods or even brand new ones are imported. The Naira has to be fraudulently devalued to dollarize the economy, while the NNPC is being sold off to private hands in the name of unbundling. 

 

In all of these years of sapping the economy through various articles of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP); the church has been complicit. In exchange for their loyalty to the ruling class, their sermons transformed from "righteousness" to "prosperity." Motivational speaking became a blue collar job. False hopes were sprinkled all around the books and corners of the streets, towns, and cities while the cancer of primitive capitalism is ravaging, killing, and destroying the now and futures of generations upon generations for over three decades. 

 

Just like Pastor Yemi Osinbajo was criminally silent and complicit all through in the ruinous and failed Buhari government, Nigerian Christian leaders as represented by Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) have been complicit in how we have gone from the African giant with lands of milk and honey to one of sorrow, tears, and blood. Buhari has failed to compensate the loyalty of Osinbajo with the presidency and has approved a Muslim -muslim ticket.

 

But it's encouraging that christians are rising. And I agree with the criteria spelt out by CAN of who christians should vote for. Competence, Character, Capacity, and Policies are outstanding four items that a real president that would lead Nigeria should posses. That document carries real substance that Christians must hold CAN accountable to. This is very important. CAN is never supposed to be association for the Church leaders alone. It should be for all christians. Same for PFN. 

 

I challenge all christians to hold on to the four criteria spelt out by CAN and make good researches both individually and collectively. The objective should be to have total liberation for all Nigerians and not for christians alone. The January 2012 Uprising and the #EndSARS Revolts show that we can all live together as citizens sharing love irrespective of religion and ethnicity. What matters is a better society for all!

 

By the time the fake Bishops employed by Tinubu/Shettima yesterday wake up this morning, they would have discovered that they should have gotten beyond what they got. The national disgrace alone is priceless. Not to talk of the fact as confessed by one of them that he was promised #100k but was handed #40k finally. That's about 60 percent rip off!

 

Aside the APC, both the PDP/Atiku ticket and their Obi/LP feeders Team live in the old tradition of private capitalism. This is obvious to even the blind. Nigerians must be ready to go the hard way. We must be ready to choose revolutionary candidates that would do totally away with the past, and dispel the wicked counsels of the babaric old as represented by Obasanjo (the authorizer of Odi and Zaki Biam massacres) and Babangida (the executioner of the Structural Adjustment Program SAP that destroyed the social Welfarist economy in favour of crude Consumption economy which has plundered Nigeria into mass poverty, hardships, and insecurities today.)

 

That hard way is the Sowore/Magashi ticket of the African Action Congress (AAC) that is hell bent in moving Left and building a new Nigeria through Collective Economic restructuring, pan-Africanist modernisation, and the unity of all oppressed!

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Bread bakers under the umbrella of the Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria have declared that they will shut down bread production across the country from Thursday (today) over an indiscriminate rise in the cost of production of their products.
 
The association made this known in a statement signed by its President, Emmanuel Onuorah, who lamented that operating a bakery in Nigeria has become almost impossible due to incessant hikes in the prices of baking materials and diesel which have unleashed adverse effects on them.

In a statement, Onuorah said bakeries were operating under harsh conditions to produce bread and it was no longer sustainable hence the plan to go on strike for four days and extend if nothing was done to improve the situation.
 
Onuorah, therefore, stated that “to ensure the survival of the premium bread-making industry in Nigeria, we have decided to embark on a withdrawal of services beginning from Thursday 21st of July, 2022 for four days in the first instance and where there is no intervention from the government, we shall escalate the duration of the withdrawal”.

He continued, “The reasons for the withdrawal of services included an incessant increase in the price of baking materials, Federal Government’s 15 per cent wheat development levy on wheat import, NAFDAC’s N154,000 penalty charged for late renewal of certificates, the inability of its members to access grants and soft loans being given by the Central Bank of Nigeria to Micro, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises and multi-agencies regulation of the bread-making industry.”

In June, the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria declared that it would embark on a two-week strike over the rising prices of baking materials.

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The Tinubu Campaign Organisation has said the alleged impostors at Wednesday’s unveiling of Kashim Shettima as the All Progressives Congress (APC) vice-presidential candidate in Abuja, were not fake clerics as noted on social media.

 

In a statement, Bayo Onanuga, the spokesperson for the organisation, said the event was an open affair, which allowed members of the public to attend, including the people in cassocks and some others now being allegedly derided by hirelings of the opposition.

"We want to say that those clergymen were not fake, not mechanics or yam sellers as the purveyors of hatred have made Nigerians to believe in the social media. They are not big names in Christendom yet, they are gradually building up their missions,” the statement read.

 

"They are church leaders who genuinely believe that Nigerians must eschew politics of hatred and religious bigotry and rather embrace politics of peace and nation building.

 

"We, therefore, deplore the hysterical twisting of the presence of these men and women in cassocks and the false accusation against our candidates, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Shettima.

 

"The orchestrated social media sensation over the presence of the men is needless and all calculated to detract from the huge success recorded at the momentous event on Wednesday.

 

"We believe Nigerians are too wise and discerning to see through this shenanigan. Asiwaju Tinubu and his running mate and our great party are working very hard to provide purposeful leadership and good progressive governance that will improve the quality of life of Nigerians.

Muslim-Muslim Ticket: Tinubu Camp Hires ‘Unknown Bishops’ To Venue Of Unveiling of Kashim Shettima As Running Mate

Submitted by siteadmin on Wed, 07/20/2022 - 09:27

"We are well aware that the opposition parties and the sponsors of the social media charade are jittery and threatened by the intimidating political credentials of our candidates. The only way they hope to shift attention of public scrutiny away from their uninspiring candidates and credentials is to create social media distraction.

 

"Our campaign is determined on focusing on core governance issues that affect all Nigerians with a view to confronting them and make the desired improvements in the standard of living of our people."

 

Many Nigerians, particularly Christians and Christian bodies have condemned the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the APC.

 

Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the party, who is a Muslim, has insisted on having Shettima, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate. Tinubu is from Southern Nigeria while Shettima, a former Borno governor, is from the Muslim-dominated Northern part of the country.

 

The Christian Association of Nigeria has also accused Tinubu’s camp of desperately trying to sell Shettima to Christians, and doing everything, including lying to push out a wrong narrative.

 

“CAN wonders why the desperation. First, a story was out claiming to have come from the Chairman of CAN Borno state only to be refuted. Secondly, there was another lie that BAT (Bola Ahmed Tinubu) and his running mate were on their way to meet CAN President one night. A meeting that was not true and was on a night that the CAN President was in Alabama USA attending Baptist World Alliance Conference of which he is the Vice President.

 

“Another desperation story was that they met Papa Adeboye which the RCCG later refuted. If Christians are not important why the desperation?

 

“BAT is free to hire mechanics and other artisans and sew clerical garments for them. An effort that will only add to their many ropes when the political exercise is over but will not change the need for fairness and justice that CAN is calling for.

“CAN appreciate that we are in a democracy, no need to do funny and dubious things just to prove a point because it will in the end bounce back. BAT team should simply do what is right and stop the drama," CAN said.

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Hope Uzodinma

As outrage continues to trail the killing of 14 Imo wedding guests on Sunday, survivors have narrated how the team leader of Ebubeagu South-East Security Outfit in the state, Ogwu Mozambique and other members of the outfit allegedly killed their relatives.
 
They said that contrary to claims by the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma that those killed were criminals and that the operatives of Nigeria’s secret police, Department of State Services (DSS) carried out the operation.

Governor Uzodinma on Tuesday while briefing journalists, absolved Ebubeagu outfit of blame, stating that operatives of DSS traced the victims to their camp and killed them. He also vowed to sustain the killings as no amount of blackmail would deter him.
 
The DSS on its part claimed responsibility, noting that the murdered persons said to be wedding guests were criminals. The Service said they were killed during an exchange of gunfire.
 
But narrating the incident, a survivor, Nnamdi Nnanna, the elder brother of the groom, Chijioke Nnanna, said he only survived the massacre by the mercy of God.
 
He alleged that Ogwu Mozambique, leader of Ebubeagu, shot his brother who was carrying him on a motorcycle and when they fell down, he came to kill him but one of them told him to stop.
 
Nnamdi, who narrated the encounter on Wednesday, noted how Ebubeagu operatives, allegedly shot and killed seven of his kinsmen before him in Awo-Omamma, Oru East Council Area of Imo State.
 
Nnamdi, who works with a borehole drilling company, said he narrowly survived the killing.
 
On how he survived, he said he pleaded with the leader of the Ebubeagu team, whom he identified as Izuchukwu Akuegbulenwa, popularly known as Ogwu Mozambique, who is also not an operative of the DSS as claimed by the Governor. “I called out to him and begged him to spare my life,” he said.
 
Nnamdi, who is a father of two, narrated that on their way home, they travelled on four motorcycles; three were ahead while his own motorcycle was behind, pulling up the rear with three occupants.
 
He said as he saw his kinsmen being gunned down, he shouted and told his rider to go back and they beat a fast retreat, but that was not enough.
 
He said the Ebubeagu operatives gave a chase and, in their haste, their rider hit a bump and one of them fell down. "When the Ebubeagu operatives got to him, one of them shot him in the chest and head."
 
The bridegroom, Chijioke Nnanna, also narrating the incident, said that 14 people who came for his marriage ceremony were massacred.

"One of the victims was killed inside my in-law's house," he said, adding that "they even took away vehicles and drinks my friends who came Onitsha brought for me."
 
"They killed a total of 14 of my friends and kinsmen. My wife hasn't returned home because she is afraid," he narrated.

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