The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has announced plans to hold a one-million man match alongside peoples of the Oodua and Ambazonia nations, at the European Union Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on June 14 and 15, 2022.

 

This announcement was included in a statement issued by Emma Powerful, the IPOB's spokesperson.

According to the statement, the authorities in Brüssels, Belgium have approved the rally during which the nationalities will disclose their predicaments to the world.

 

IPOB is a separatist group seeking the breakaway of the South-East region from Nigeria; Ambazonian activists seek the secession of south-eastern Cameroon while the Oodua people are striving for self-independence of the South-West part of Nigeria (Yoruba).

 

The statement explained, “Following the consistent moves to restore Biafra, Oduduwa and Ambazonia by the global movements pursuing these three nations, we the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra ably led by our great and indefatigable leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, wish to announce to the good people of Biafra, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom across the world that the emerging nations in Africa are expected to hold a one million man march at the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on the 14th and 15th June 2022.

 

“The one-million-man march for the emerging nations in West Africa will disclose our predicaments to the world on that day.

 

“The emerging nations of Biafra, Ambazonia and Oduduwa are expected to be in Belgium on the 14th and 15th of June 2022 at European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium to inform the European Union that they are prepared to be on their own.

 

“The authorities in Brüssels, Belgium have approved our ONE MILLION MAN MARCH in Brüssels, Belgium on that day for the three emerging nations in West Africa and other nations in Africa.

 

“The protest for these emerging nations will display our need to get these nations and every Biafran, Oduduwa and Ambazonian citizen living in Europe, America Asia and home to be present on that day to grace the epoch event. It will be a landmark event and we must let Europeans know the reasons we pursue these nations' existence.

 

“This is to show Europe and the entire world why we need these new nations in Africa to emerge.

 

“Therefore, our people must make sure they let the world understand our predicaments and what we are facing in the hands of Nigeria and Cameroon. The Nigerian Government and Cameroon government are terrorist nations and we will not allow them to trample on our people and kill them at random.

 

“The killings and burning of houses in these three emerging nations have gone beyond human comprehension, our people are dying every day in the hands of Nigerian and Cameroonian governments. 

 

“Our people should come out en masse to let them know that we are seriously in need of these three emerging nations.

 

“IPOB, Ambazonia and Oduduwa nations are expecting their sons and daughters scattered all over the world because of the humiliation, torture and killings going on in our land.”

 

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New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin has surrendered to authorities to face campaign finance fraud-related charges in connection with a past campaign, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

 

Benjamin is expected to appear in Manhattan federal court later Tuesday. Governor Kathy Hochul's office couldn't immediately be reached for comment on the arrest, nor could a representative for Benjamin, NBC New York reports.

His arrest comes after reports that Manhattan federal prosecutors and the FBI were investigating whether Benjamin knowingly engaged in a campaign finance fraud scheme. Subpoenas were issued in connection with the investigation, two sources familiar with the subpoenas said at the time.

 

The investigators also looked into whether Benjamin helped dole out state money to contributors and/or their projects as part of the alleged fraud.

 

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney and a spokesman for the FBI both previously declined WNBC requests for comment regarding the investigation into Benjamin.  

 

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins also did not return requests for comment. 

 

Benjamin was appointed lieutenant governor by Governor Kathy Hochul in 2021, shortly after losing a primary bid for New York City comptroller. He previously served as the New York State Senator for District 30, which is made up of Harlem, East Harlem (El Barrio), the Upper West Side, Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights and Morningside Heights.

The investigation into Benjamin came after the FBI arrested his fundraiser, Gerald Migdol, in November. He is charged with wire fraud in connection with an alleged campaign fraud scheme linked to past Benjamin fundraising.

 

A lawyer for Migdol did not return requests for comment. 

 

Following the confirmation that Benjamin was being investigated, the lieutenant governor's office referred questions to its November 19 press statement issued at the time of Migdol's arrest in which it said it was prepared to cooperate.

 

"Neither Lieutenant Governor Benjamin nor his campaign are being accused of any wrongdoing and they are prepared to fully cooperate with authorities," it said. "As soon as the campaign discovered that these contributions were improperly sourced, they donated them to the Campaign Finance Board, pursuant to guidance obtained from the CFB."

 

Details of the investigation were first reported by the Daily News, and subsequently the New York Times.

Benjamin's arrest is just the latest scandal in New York's political realm.

 

Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, one of the most powerful politicians in the state for decades before being ousted and sent to prison on corruption charges, fall from grace was also due to misconduct.

 

Silver, who passed away behind bars earlier this year, at one time was one of the three most powerful state officials in New York. He was the Assembly’s leader for more than two decades before his abrupt ouster in 2015 after the corruption allegations emerged.

 

He was ultimately convicted in a scheme that involved a type of illegal back-scratching that has long plagued Albany. He supported legislation that benefited real estate developers he knew. In return, they referred tax business to a law firm that employed Silver, which then paid him fees.

 

Additionally, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also faced a political scandal that led him to resign amid sexual harassment allegations.

 

While Cuomo stepped down last year, it appears he is contemplating a political comeback and dangling the possibility he may run for his former job just six months after he resigned amid sexual harassment allegations.

 

Cuomo gave a campaign-style speech in March to a friendly audience of about 100 people in the Bronx, where he framed his fall from power as “cancel culture” run amok.

 

Asked after his speech if he would run for office, Cuomo told reporters he is “open to all options.” 

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Troops of 271 Nigeria Air Force Detachment in Birnin Gwari, and troops of the Nigerian Army FOB in Gwaska, during a coordinated operation, have intercepted a ‘huge’ amount of ransom meant to secure the freedom of some captives in the custody of bandits in Kaduna State.

 

The couriers of the ransom payment, according to a report by PR Nigeria, were suspected to be security personnel.

Meanwhile, about dozens of the kidnapped victims were rescued including some women and children. 

 

The operations, simultaneously undertaken by ground troops of the Nigerian Army, as well as special forces of the Nigerian Air Forces (NAF), resulted in the elimination of some bandit-terrorists.

 

An intelligence operative told the newspaper: “The sum of N60,000,000 in cash, petroleum products and sophisticated weapons, were recovered during the operations.

 

“Other items recovered by the troops from the suspects include vehicles, AK-47 rifles, magazines, various kinds of ammunition and mobile phones.

 

“Meanwhile, we will refer the case of the arrested couriers who mostly have identifications with security agencies to the Department of State Service (DSS) and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) for further investigation.”

 

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A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who was attacked shortly after his defection to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) on Monday, Alhaji Abulrasheed Adebisi, popularly called Olopoeyan, on Tuesday explained that political thugs suspected to be members of Park Manager System (PMS) in the state to attack his house with dangerous weapons.

He said, “It is only an imbecile that will not know that the attack was sponsored by my political rivals for reasons best known to them.” 

Olopoeniyan who spoke with SaharaReporters in a telephone interview said men of the Nigeria Police Force in Agodi police command, testing ground could give details of how the entrance of his street was blocked before the hoodlums attacked his house.
The political leader who queried why the attack on his house came shortly after he defected to the NNPP in the state said his petition to the Inspector-General of Police was vindicated with attack on his house. 
"Or why is it that the attack came shortly after my formal entry into a new political party? I actually don't know why they are after me, I've left their party; they should leave me alone and let me enjoy my new political abode. 
"To the best of my understanding, they felt I am no longer relevant and that was the reason they gave the kind of treatment they gave me. I've since moved on politically by pitching my tent with a political party I strongly believe suits my political calling. 
"For them to come after me at this point, shows they are jittery of my exit from their political party. They should do their thing; let me do mine. The 2023 general elections is around the corner and our political strength will be put to test."
Speaking on the attackers, Olopoeyan alleged that they were miscreants attached to the Park Management (PMS).
“On the attack on my house, imagine those boys shooting sporadically on the main road till they got to my house without any check. Amotekun has also become tools for thugs as some of them parade themselves as Amotekun operatives. 
"I am using this opportunity to call on the Inspector-General of Police and other heads of security agencies in the country to beam searchlight on Oyo State so that the state would not be turned into a totally lawless state because those who are saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and property are no longer alive to their constitutional duties.”

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President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of three new polytechnics in different parts of the country.
The approval was made known in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Director of Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong.

Goong said the new institutions would be located in Kano, Abia and Delta states.
The statement reads in part, “In line with his determination to make tertiary education more accessible, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) has approved the establishment of three New Federal Polytechnics in the country.
“The polytechnics are to be sited in Umunnoechi in Abia State, Orogun in Delta State and Kabo in Kano State.”
According to the Director, the new institutions are to commence academic activities in October 2022.
SaharaReporters had on March 31 reported that the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, said it would resume its strike action.
The union had suspended its industrial action which ran for 61 days in June 2021 after reaching an agreement with the government.
The union in March 2022 issued a one-month ultimatum to government for the strike action, in Yola at the end of its 102nd National Executive Council meeting.
ASUP’s national president, Anderson Uzeibe, while speaking with newsmen, noted that the decision became necessary after the government failed to implement important aspects of the memorandum of action signed with the union nine months ago.
Uzeibe had said, “The government is yet to release the sum of N15billion as the first tranche of the N800billion revitalisation fund nine months after the approval by President Muhammadu Buhari.
"Other issues include non-payment of outstanding arrears of minimum wage, non-release of reviewed normative instrument for institutions, management and accreditation, breach of the provisions of the Federal Polytechnic Act as amended in 2019 and delay in the appointment of rectors.
"So long as the government and other proprietors in the polytechnic system continue to violate laws and signed agreements, the union would not hesitate to down tool, saying industrial action had become the most potent way for workers to pressurise the government.
“Following exhaustive deliberation, the union’s National Executive Council has resolved to give the government a further one month as an ultimatum to address the outstanding issues as listed or face a review of the suspended industrial action by our union.”

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Tunde Bakare, a 67-year-old pastor would have been Nigeria’s Vice President had President Muhammadu Buhari won the 2011 election in which the former was his running mate. Even now, Bakare claims God had revealed to him that he would succeed Buhari as president. Perhaps because the assurance is so certain, he is not even bothered about about campaigning for the 2023 election.

For a man who aspires to such high public office, it is assumed that he would think things through before going public. The least expected of such a man is not to retell in public with a note of authority, childish, beer parlour gossips that over the past five decades have mutated like variants of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As with tales in taverns fuelled by idleness, alcohol and small chops; in the case of Nigeria, by pepper soup and ‘404’ endlessly washed down with palm wine, burukutu, ogogoro and beer, such tales mutate depending on who is telling them and for what purpose. The theme of Bakare’s watering hole gossip is the old discredited one that seeks to clothe former Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa in the garb of a deity who placed an effective curse on the Igbo nation.

Let us examine one of the versions of the Balewa tale. It is planted in the 888-page book, A Right Honourable Gentleman: The life and times of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, and published in 1991 by Hudahuda Publishing Company, Zaria. It is authored by Trevor Clark, a former British soldier and colonial officer in Nigeria. For his childish claims, Clark relied on “most sources” to write his version. On Page 802, he wrote: “Another(version) colourfully claims that Okafor (Major Donatus) offered to spare him if he would drink some alcohol, and that Abubakar refused utterly as a true Muslim, but had something to say before they killed him: ‘Ibo! Ibo! Ibo! Sai kuna rasa wajen zama a Nijeriya (Igbo! You will lack any place to belong to in Nigeria).

In this version, Okafor, an Igbo, is presented as a godless person who tried to make a pious Muslim commit a sin; for this Balewa is said to have cursed the Igbo as a people who forever will be vagabonds roaming Nigeria.

It is instructive that the only persons present when this ‘curse’ was uttered were the coup plotters and none of them made such a report. So who witnessed this? Just a childish fabrication. On the same page, the British biographer claimed, again without any fact or attribution, that Major Okafor was “the man who shot Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa over the heart with a sub-machine gun…”

The ‘curse’ version Bakare is spreading is the one planted on Page 689 of the 799-page book, Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto: Values and Leadership in Nigeria, published by Hudahuda Publishing Company, Zaria in 1986. The book was written by another paid foreign biographer, John N. Paden.

In this version, the person Balewa was supposedly addressing and who allegedly shot him was not Major Okafor but Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna. Also, the alleged curse by Balewa is different. This version quoted Balewa as saying: “I know you are going to kill me; you will never get a Prime Minister like me. The Igbo will suffer for 25 years.”

If this were true then it was a failed curse because the person who replaced Balewa was an Igbo, General Thomas Aguyi-Ironsi, who not only combined the offices of the Prime Minister and the President, but also legislative powers. Secondly, if the ‘curse’, according to this version, was to last 25 years, what is the business of Bakare lifting it 31 years after it had expired?

Even for a poor Nollywood script, this story line is manifestly silly. First, who witnessed this exchange? What is the source? Why does such exchange not reflect in Ifeajuna’s manuscript or any book by those who were present at the scene?

  Pastor Bakare is not a vacuous youth and ought to know that his idle pepper soup joint talk about unbelievers pouring alcohol on a pious Prime Minister leading to a so-called curse can elicit negative religious and ethnic reactions, especially in a country where we have failed to educate a growing number of our population. If Bakare is not given to deep reflection on his thoughts and public pronouncement, how does he think his claims that The Almighty has anointed him as President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor will come to pass? Or are his prophesies and claims of God talking to him just like the Balewa story?

An issue arises from the these tales. What really happened to Balewa after his abduction? The main story was that he was shot on coup day, January 15, 1966. But there are other suggestions that he might have been alive beyond that day. In the book, Let Truth Be Told: The Coups d’ Etat of 1966 by D.J.M. Muffet, which was a counter narration of the coup, there is a suggestion on Page 42 that following the killing of Premiers Ahmadu Bello in Kaduna and Ladoke Akintola in Ibadan and the coup unravelling, the possibility of Ifeajuna and Okafor keeping the Prime Minister alive to use “as a bargaining chip is a very real one indeed”(Hudahuda Publishing Company, Zaria. 1982).

A cabinet member, Chief Matthew Mbu, perhaps relaying what the cabinet was told, asserted that Balewa “was not killed by soldiers but by asthma”.

Respected Segun Osoba, the journalist who discovered the Prime Minister’s corpse before the security services, reported in the Daily Times newspaper issue of January 22, 1966 that Balewa had no bullet holes and in fact no blood stains, suggesting he was not shot.

Back in January 1966, the Daily Times was the major and most authoritative newspaper in the country. If its report on the discovery of the Prime Minister’s corpse with details that he was neither shot nor had blood stains had been false, there would have been an official rebuttal and the Daily Times would have been made to carry an apology. But nothing like that happened.

Sir Ahmadu Bello was Balewa’s political leader; if the events leading to his death can be so clearly captured, why would there be any attempt to cover up Balewa’s death? Why are the reports of the Special Branch of the Police, the British secret services and the British pathologist who examined Balewa at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, not made public 54 years after his death?

Nothing in this write-up exonerates the 1966 coup plotters from the death of Balewa because whatever maybe the cause, it would have been triggered by his abduction. But Nigerians deserve to know, rather than continue to encourage tales by moonlight.

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Nigeria’s Vice President has formally declared his long-held intention to run for President in an underwhelming and self-sabotaging speech. His excellent poise and delivery would have been enough to sway gullible citizens but Nigerians have long learnt to look past a soothing voice and a calm demeanour. A severe case of once bitten, twice shy.

Yemi Osinbajo is not only a lawyer, but a professor, a pastor and Nigeria’s second citizen. Naturally, all the cards should be in his favour. However, his honourable titles have done nothing but prove that one bad egg indeed spoils the rest. By mere association with the current government, earning the people’s trust is something he would have to work hard for. 

If he planned to do that in his declaration speech, then Osinbajo has shot himself in the foot.

His opening line, ‘In the past seven years, I have served as Vice President under a true Nigerian patriot, a servant of the nation in war and peace, and a man of integrity, President Muhammadu Buhari,’ has left many wondering if the VP is still acting with his hands tied. What about Buhari makes him a servant of the nation, his constant shock at disasters in the country or his frequent trips out of the country? If Osinbajo is to prove his loyalty, then he must show us who he serves. His boss or his people?

The Vice President does not halt his suicide mission of a speech there. He goes ahead to tell us his conversations with Nigerians from all walks of life have helped him understand their fears and hopes. This has made him ‘believe that the very reason why the Almighty God gave me these experiences, these insights, and these opportunities, is that they must be put to the use of our country and its great peoples.’ As a pastor, there is no doubt this mandate has come from God himself. Brilliant. However, the same Bible which guides him declares, ‘he who is not faithful in little cannot be faithful in much.’ So, I ask; in his 7 years as Vice President, how has he used these God-given experiences to shape the nation? Or at the very least, an attempt.

His sense of humour, which I did not know he had, comes to play in his promises. The first assurance is to complete what the current administration has started. Dear Osinbajo, I can assure you that as a Nigerian, you have not relieved our fears, you have only worsened them! His promises of radically transforming our security and intelligence architecture; completing the reform of our justice system; rapidly advancing our infrastructure development, especially power, roads, railways and broadband connectivity; is baffling, to say the least.

Just under this administration, the rates of banditry and kidnapping have astronomically risen. Justice has been denied to victims of the EndSARS protest. Twitter was banned for seven months! Yet, he says he plans to complete what the current administration has started. What a poor choice of words.

I’ll give the Vice President one thing - eloquence and charm. However, gone are the days when we were moved by outward appearances. Photos of sharing a cup of tea with a child in the village are not going to cut it either. Nigerians have learnt to clearly distinguish promises from the truth. If the Vice President plans to woo us into voting him as President then he ought to do two things - prove his loyalty and hire a better speechwriter.  

 

Claire Mom is a Nigerian journalist. Email her at clairemom26@gmail.com

 

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Rauf Aregbesola

The Nigerian government has declared Friday, April 15 and Monday, April 18 as public holidays in commemoration of the Easter celebrations.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, announced the holiday, in a statement signed by Shuaib Belgore, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry.

Rauf Aregbesola

Aregbesola urged Christians to emulate the attributes of sacrifice, togetherness, forgiveness, kindness, love, peace and patience, which were the attributes and practices of Jesus Christ, as exemplified by his ministry on earth.

“Aregbesola, therefore, called on Christians and all Nigerians alike to use the occasion of this year’s Easter Celebration to pray for an end to all security challenges bedevilling every part of the country,” the statement read.

The minister assured that the federal government will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the recent attacks by undesirable elements on the highways, airport and the railway are timely brought to an end.

“Security is everybody’s business. I, therefore, urge Nigerians and foreigners resident in our country to display a high sense of citizenship and public-spiritedness at this critical time in the history of our country, by supporting the efforts of all security agencies in bringing peace and security of lives and property of the citizenry,” he said.

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Trump's Son-in-law, Jared Kushner

Six months after leaving the White House, Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from a fund led by the Saudi crown prince, a close ally during the Trump administration, despite objections from the fund’s advisers about the merits of the deal, New York Times reports.

 

A panel that screens investments for the main Saudi sovereign wealth fund cited concerns about the proposed deal with Kushner’s newly formed private equity firm, Affinity Partners, previously undisclosed documents show.

Trump's Son-in-law, Jared Kushner

Those objections included: “the inexperience of the Affinity Fund management”; the possibility that the kingdom would be responsible for “the bulk of the investment and risk”; due diligence on the fledgling firm’s operations that found them “unsatisfactory in all aspects”; a proposed asset management fee that “seems excessive”; and “public relations risks” from Mr. Kushner’s prior role as a senior adviser to his father-in-law, former President Donald J. Trump, according to minutes of the panel’s meeting last June 30.

 

But days later the full board of the $620 billion Public Investment Fund — led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler and a beneficiary of Mr. Kushner’s support when he worked as a White House adviser — overruled the panel.

 

Ethics experts say that such a deal creates the appearance of potential payback for Mr. Kushner’s actions in the White House — or of a bid for future favour if Mr. Trump seeks and wins another presidential term in 2024.

 

Mr. Kushner played a leading role inside the Trump administration in defending Crown Prince Mohammed after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that he had approved the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for The Washington Post and resident of Virginia who had criticized the kingdom’s rulers.

 

The Saudi fund agreed to invest twice as much and on more generous terms with Mr. Kushner than it did at about the same time with former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — who was also starting a new fund — even though Mr. Mnuchin had a record as a successful investor before entering government, the documents show. The amount of the investment in his firm, Liberty Strategic Capital — $1 billion — has not been previously disclosed.

 

A spokesman for Mr. Kushner’s firm said of its relationship with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, “Affinity, like many other top investment firms, is proud to have PIF and other leading organizations that have careful screening criteria, as investors.”

 

A spokesman for the Saudi fund declined to comment on its investment process. If any additional discussions about the deal took place.

 

It was reported last fall that Mr. Kushner had been seeking a Saudi investment. Now, the internal fund records and correspondence obtained by The Times show the outcome, scale and timing of his firm’s deal as well as the debate it aroused. Those documents and other filings indicate that at this point Mr. Kushner’s venture depends primarily on the Saudi money.

 

Mr. Kushner planned to raise up to $7 billion in all, according to a document prepared last summer for the Saudi fund’s board. But so far he appears to have signed up a few other major investors.

 

In its most recent public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, dated March 31, Mr. Kushner’s firm reported that its main fund had $2.5 billion under management, almost entirely from investors based overseas. Most of that appears to be the $2 billion from Saudi Arabia.

 

The Saudi documents obtained by The Times say that in return for its investment, the Saudi fund would receive a stake of at least 28 percent in Mr. Kushner’s main investment vehicle.

 

No law or rules constrain the investment activities of former administration officials after leaving the White House; many from both parties have profited from connections and experiences gained in government.

 

But Robert Weissman, president of the nonprofit group Public Citizen, called Mr. Kushner’s relationship with the Saudis “extremely troubling,” arguing that his stance toward the kingdom’s leadership as a senior adviser “makes the business partnership appear even more to be both a reward to, and an investment in, Kushner.”

 

Saudi officials say that the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, which also holds stakes in the ride-sharing company Uber and the Newcastle United Football Club in Britain, operates autonomously, with an elaborate governance structure that includes the investment panel. But Prince Mohammed took control of the fund when he rose to power in 2015 and he is its paramount decision-maker.

 

Mr. Kushner, whose fund has not publicly disclosed a theme or focus, has little experience or track record in private equity. Before working in the White House, he ran his family’s commercial real estate empire, sometimes with disappointing results. His best-known deal was the $1.8 billion purchase of the office tower at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, in 2007; the building’s mortgage became a crippling liability when the recession hit the next year.

 

Diplomats, investors and ethics experts noted during the Trump administration that his anticipated return to the family business injected a potential conflict of interest into Mr. Kushner’s relationship with Prince Mohammed and other oil-wealthy Arab royals. Many are major long-term investors in American real estate, and the Kushner family had courted them before.

 

While advising Mr. Trump, Mr. Kushner developed a friendship and informal alliance with the Saudi crown prince. Prince Mohammed signalled that he favoured closer relations between Israel and the Arab monarchs of the Persian Gulf, which was also one of Mr. Kushner’s priorities while in the Trump administration. He helped negotiate a series of agreements, called the Abraham Accords, opening diplomatic relations between Israel and other Arab monarchies. After leaving the government, he set up a nonprofit to promote economic and other ties between the countries.

 

In Washington, Mr. Kushner had also helped broker $110 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over 10 years. He helped protect those and other weapons deals from congressional outrage over the murder of Mr. Khashoggi and the humanitarian catastrophe created by the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.

 

The debate within the Saudi fund over investing with Mr. Kushner was a stark contrast to the easy approval of the proposal by Mr. Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner who invested in numerous Hollywood films, including “The Lego Movie,” and helped resurrect a failing California bank before entering government.

 

Mr. Mnuchin’s fund is focused on cybersecurity, financial technology and entertainment — all sectors that fit Saudi priorities, according to an executive summary prepared by the fund’s staff. 

 

The summary noted that Mr. Mnuchin’s work at the Treasury gave him “significant access toward understanding the future of the U.S. financial system,” and the firm’s founders had “deep experience at some of the highest levels of the U.S. regulatory system” overseeing and monitoring its industries.

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Yemi Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will on Tuesday evening host Senators on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to Iftar (breaking of fast).

This was contained in a letter of invitation read by Senate President Ahmad Lawan at plenary.

Yemi Osinbajo

The letter was signed by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi.

The meeting is expected to take place at Aguda House by 6.30pm.

Osinbajo on Sunday evening hosted APC Governors for Iftar where he informed them of his ambition to contest for the office of President in 2023.

The VP is also expected to formally inform the APC Senators of his desire to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, during the Iftar.

On Wednesday, Osinbajo will do same for the House of Representatives in his bid to gather momentum for the 2023 contest. 

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Terrorists locally known as bandits have requested the release of 16 top commanders and sponsors in government custody in exchange for the release of the over 100 individuals abducted during an attack on the Kaduna-Abuja train.

The attack and abduction, which occurred on March 28, have continued to elicit concerns over the level of insecurity in the country.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) had confirmed eight deaths, while many persons were declared missing.

Security sources, according to Punch, said the bandits carried out the violent attack on the train so as to abduct passengers who could be used to bargain for the release of their commanders and sponsors in detention.

It was also gathered that the activities of bandits who are collaborating with the Boko Haram terrorist group to unleash malevolent attacks across the country had since been hampered since the arrest of their sponsors.

On Monday, sources said the bandits in their ongoing negotiations with the Federal Government were demanding prisoners’ exchange.

A senior official said the terrorists were being hampered by the arrest of their top commanders, noting that their sources of funding had been greatly impacted by the arrest of their sponsors.

He stated, “The bandits have made contact (with the government) but the issue now involves the Interpol because they have international collaborators. Security operatives are working to identify their connection to Boko Haram.

“The bandits are after their people who are in custody. They are demanding the release of 16 sponsors and commanders in exchange for the abducted train passengers. That’s why they said in a video that the government knows what they want.

“We arrested some of their commanders and those sponsoring them in Dubai and Nigeria. We have about 16 commanders and sponsors in custody, so they are demanding their release because their sources of funding are declining. I hope the authorities would not release the commanders and sponsors to them because we are getting information on the bandits from the suspects.”

He further said killing the hostages will not make the Nigerian government succumb to what the bandits were demanding from the government.

 “If they kill their hostages, they would not achieve what they are looking for. The fact is that they are being starved of funds and that is why they are making the threat and it is also the reason for the attack on the train. They attacked the train just to get government attention and negotiate the release of their commanders and sponsors,” he stated.

An intelligence official also corroborated the report that the bandits were demanding the release of commanders and ransom, noting that the marauders had been cooperating with Boko Haram fighters in their attacks in Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara, Katsina and others.

The official noted, “What they want is prisoners exchange and money. It is a lie that they don’t want money; they want both money and prisoners exchange. They would release the passengers in exchange for many of their members in custody. They are collaborating with Boko Haram to pool resources together and constitute a bigger security threat to the country.”

However, a military source said the military does not negotiate with bandits.

The source said, “It is not our duty to negotiate with the bandits or any other criminal elements. Ours is to fulfil our constitutional duties which we have been doing.”

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Presidential aspirant and publisher of Ovation Magazine, Dele Momodu, has asked Nigerians to reject the All Progressives Congress (APC) come 2023.

Momodu stated this at the Peoples Democratic Party national secretariat, Abuja, shortly after submitting his N40million expression of interest and nomination forms to mark his entry into the presidential race.

According to him, previous lengthy political appointments are not a necessary qualification to become Nigerian president.

Momodu said, “Nigeria is at crossroads and things can no longer continue as business as usual. No God-fearing citizen can excuse and readily dismiss the gross incompetence and ineptitude of a ruling government that was exceptionally high on promises but abysmally low on deliverables and performances.

“Nigeria deserves massive apologies from the APC apparatchiks who should be ashamed of the magnitude of damage they have wreaked on our long-suffering nation. No amount of fanciful diction, deceptive sophistry, pedantic casuistry or mendacious demagoguery can rescue them from the judgment of God for plunging our country and its people into unprecedented misery and penury.

“I'm working hard and praying that our esteemed Party, PDP, and its members, most especially our super delegates, would resist all temptations from highest bidders and put country above pecuniary expectations, and deem it fit to give me the ticket to represent our party at the forthcoming 2023 General Elections. We must demonstrate to Nigerians, and the world at large, that we are ready to offer our people a fresh beginning in a new world order propelled by education and knowledge.

“In this regard, I urge our party's political gladiators and juggernauts to stop flexing their muscles against one another and think not just about redeeming the lost glory of our illustrious party, and country, but also give thought to providing succour and comfort to the teeming masses of Nigeria.

“Becoming President of Nigeria should not be about the promotion and elevation of self as a result of previous lengthy political appointments. Getting to be Nigeria's president should be a matter of offering oneself humbly and honorably in order to serve our Fatherland to the best of our abilities.

“What Nigeria needs is a fresh leader, someone shorn of all the baggage, misadventure, mishaps and failures of the past. A charismatic leader and bridge builder, with global experience and exposure, capable of assembling and commanding a combined and novel team of technocrats and politicians whose sole desire is change their country for better, rather than for self-aggrandisement and pillaging. This is the kind of President that is required to lead our country out of the drudgery and doldrums. I believe that I am that person and Leader.

“Our people truly have hope for a better future. They know that this will not come from a rehash or regurgitation of the same old wine in new bottles. They want real change. I have been a change agent most of my adult life. I believe that in the same vein, our reinvigorated Party should entrust in me the role of the change catalyst in Nigeria. I am new and untainted and primed for this task.”

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Mubarak Bala

A human rights lawyer, Mbasekei Obono, has asked the National Assembly to remove sections of the states’ criminal and penal codes that outlaw blasphemy.

Obono made the appeal following the sentencing of one Mubarak Bala, an atheist, by a court in Kano for making a post on Facebook considered to be blasphemous against Islam and Prophet Mohammed (SAW).

Mubarak Bala

Bala, a 37-year-old President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was jailed on Tuesday (April 6) by the court after pleading guilty to all 18 charges and asking for leniency.

He has been in detention since 2020 after a group of Muslims filed a petition to the authorities accusing Bala of posting uncomplimentary messages about Islam and the Prophet Mohammed on Social Media.

Obono in a petition to the lawmakers said the growing trend of sentencing young Nigerians under the pretext of blasphemy must be discontinued.

He said several others have been sentenced using the same pretext. He said those sentenced were merely exercising their rights to the freedom of thought and religion.

“Omar Farouq who was 13, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for blasphemy in Kano. The conviction was later upturned on appeal. Yahaya Sharif-Aminu was sentenced to death for blasphemy, and Abduljabbar Nasiru-Kabara is still facing trial.

“Mubarak Bala has been convicted and sentenced to 24 years imprisonment for blasphemy. The denial of freedom of thoughts is a denial of mental autonomy. Mental autonomy is greatly needed for a thriving democracy and nation-building, the right lawyer wrote in the petition,” he said.

“The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides in section 10 that Nigeria is a secular state. The implication of section 10 is that there is no official religion binding on Nigeria. Also, the constitution as a “common standard” for human rights, adopted Article 18 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), Articles 2 and 8 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights among other international instruments that guarantee the right to freedom of religion, thought and conscience.

“By contrast and in a manner that contradicts the supremacy of the constitution, Sections 204 Criminal Code Law and Sections 210 Penal Code Law both criminalise public insult on a class of people’s religion. It is these laws in both northern and southern Nigeria that state governments depend on to violate the rights of people to freely express themselves.

“This petition is therefore written to request an amendment of the Criminal and Penal Code laws of Nigeria by the National Assembly and the constitution to guarantee people the right to free expression of thoughts. The idea that only a class of people are permitted to express themselves while others cannot austerely impair their rights to human dignity. The amendment should encompass the right to reveal one’s thoughts, the right not to be penalized for one’s thoughts and the right not to have one’s thoughts manipulated.

“Denying an individual the freedom of thought is a denial of self-esteem, self-respect and grandeur. This is why freedom of thought is protected under international human rights law. It is one of the cardinal principles of a growing democracy. We need laws that will guarantee citizens the ability to think freely because depriving any person of such rights is to completely deprive them of their humanity and existence,” he said.

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Gunmen have reportedly hijacked two commercial buses with passengers in Rivers State.

The buses heading to Kalabari riverine axis in Degema, Asaritoru and Akukutoru Local Government Councils from Port-Harcourt were allegedly hijacked by gunmen along Degema/Buguma/Abonnema Road on East/West road in Rivers State.

It was learnt that the buses that were hijacked on Monday evening were commercial buses with passengers.

The Rivers State Police Command has yet to confirm the incident but locals said the development has caused tension in the area.

As of the time of filing this report, the whereabouts of the passengers and the buses were unknown.

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Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) popularly known as Shi'ites on Monday in Abuja embarked on a peaceful protest to demand the release of international passport of their leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenah. 
The sect said the refusal by the Nigerian government to release their travel documents was aimed at further worsening their health condition. 

IMN disclosed this in a statement signed on Monday by Mukhtar Abdurrahman Auwal
on behalf of the academic Forum of the movement. 
IMN said the couple’s passports had been denied for almost nine months after the court discharged and acquitted them of eight counts charge bordering on alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disruption of the public peace, among others. 
The protesters who gathered in front of the National Human Rights Commission building called on the commission to prevail on the government and relevant security agencies to release the couple’s passports and allow them go for medical treatments abroad. 

The sect also called on Nigerians and international community to hold President Muhammadu 
Buhari responsible in case anything untoward befell their leader. 
The statement noted that the movement would not fold its hands while the rights of its leader were being violated, adding that it would return to the streets until their demands were met. 
The statement read in part, “It is pertinent the public notes that the freedom of Sheikh El-Zakzaky and his wife is still being denied. Isn’t it such a flagrant abuse of their fundamental rights to life? General Buhari would definitely be held responsible for anything that befalls the couple; and certainly, we cannot afford to sit at home while the rights of our leader are being abused. After patiently waiting for nine months, we have no option than to return to the streets of Abuja, to protest this unholy conspiracy. 

“In view of the foregoing, we demand for unconditional release of the couple’s international passports. The public are fully aware of the Zaria massacre executed from 12th to 14th December, 2015. It was an "all-out-war" to eliminate the Sheikh and dislodge the Islamic movement under his distinguished tutelage, "once and for all". 
“The Nigerian Army, under Buhari’s direct command, invaded the Husainiyyah along Sokoto road, the Dambo-film-village-farmyard-cum-martyrs' graveyard and Sheikh El-Zakzaky's Gyallesu residence, all in Zaria. They killed over 1000 followers of his, and set the house ablaze. 
“Against all odds, the prime target, his wife and several other family members survived the arson and all that attack. Yet, no sooner had four soldiers "discovered" the whereabouts of the survivors in a laundry room than they started to rain bullets on them, instantly killing three of his sons, leaving the Sheikh and his wife "waiting to die" from the lethal gunshot wounds. But the duo are still alive with multiple health complications, very much in need of urgent medical attention.”

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A 10-year-old girl, Victory Oghenovo, is currently bedridden in a hospital in Lagos State after her guardian, Evidence Eseoghene, dehumanised her for taking N100 to buy snacks.

SaharaReporters learnt that Oghenovo worked as a POS operator at Adeba, Lakowe axis of Lekki for Eseoghene, and she took the money from the POS transactions of the day last Thursday to feed herself.

On getting to the house, the woman initially put pepper in the girl’s eyes after which she placed a hot knife on fire and tortured the little girl with it.

A witness said she got to know about the incident when the girl fainted on Friday at the POS stand and narrated her ordeal the previous night.

The matter was also reported to a non-governmental organisation, Advocate for Children and Vulnerable People's Network (ACVPN).

A witness said, “The girl collapsed on Friday at her shop where she did POS for her aunty. People gathered there and asked her what the problem was; she said her back was paining her, we opened the back and saw burns, we asked her what happened to her, she said she used N100 to buy puff puff and Zobo when she was hungry on Thursday.

“When she got to the house, the aunt put pepper in her eye, placed a knife on fire and burnt her with it. I immediately took her to the Elemoro police station, I discovered she had other scars; I said what happened, she said some months ago, her aunt called one Alhaja who gave her those scars.

“That same day, the police arrested the Alhaja, but the aunty already fled.”

It was alleged that policemen at the Elemoro station were already compromising the case as the Alhaja was released because the police considered it an old case and because the woman claimed she was pregnant.

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Laolu Akande, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo Chief Media Aide has disclosed that his principal is no longer a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos state.

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Monday dismissed the declaration of his hitherto political godson, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, to contest for the 2023 presidential election, stressing that he did not have any son old enough to make such declaration.

Earlier on Monday, Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice-President since May 2015, said that he would want to succeed his principal, Muhammadu Buhari and complete all that the APC government started seven years ago.

Osinbajo and Tinubu have a history as political associates.

Tinubu, as Lagos governor, had in 1999 appointed Osinbajo as Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of the state, a position the law professor held till 2007.

Osinbajo was a chieftain of the Lagos APC with his polling unit at Code 33, Unit 2 Victoria Garden City, Lagos.

However, Laolu Akande on Tuesday told journalists that the Vice-President had moved his membership to Ogun State when he revalidated his APC Membership status in Ward One, Ikenne, Ogun State on February 9, 2021.

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File photo used to illustrate story.

The Osun State Police Command has said the Nigerian military police from Ibadan, Oyo State, arrested the soldiers involved in the killing of a car dealer, Adeyinka Adekunle, at the Army Barracks, Ibodi, Osun State.

Adekunle, 37, died after he was tortured by soldiers from the Ibodi Barracks on the orders of one Lt. Tobi Akindapo.

File photo used to illustrate story.

The deceased, with his friends, was said to have engaged in a squabble with some soldiers in mufti on March 24 after the latter challenged them for not using belts to hold their trousers.

This enraged Adekunle, also known as Ojeere, who queried the authority under which the soldiers were challenging them.

Meanwhile, the soldiers never identified themselves as officers and being in the same age group, the issue resulted in a fight.

Narrating the incident to SaharaReporters, a sister of one of the affected men, Elizabeth Itunu had said, “The soldiers asked for N500,000 but I negotiated to N150,000 but they insisted on N300,000. I informed Ojeere but he told me he didn't have up to but that he had N40,000 with him. He said when we get there and beg them, they might listen to us so I said let's go with an aged person, possibly they would respect such person and listen to us. Ojeere said it might be too late for them to attend to us. That was around 8pm. See Also Sahara Reporters Nigerian Army Threatens Woman Who Exposed How Soldiers Tortured Man To Death, Forced Him To Eat Own Vomit In Osun Barracks 0 Comments 2 Weeks Ago

“When we got there that day, as they sighted Ojeere, they pounced on him and beat him with ‘koboko’ (horsewhip), hit his head with wood, they threw him into the mud. I wanted to capture the incident on my phone but the soldiers seized my phone, they wanted to destroy my phone.

“On Saturday, I returned there and saw my brother and Ojeere cutting grass, I got them food to eat. My brother told me that Ojeere puked at night and the soldiers asked him to eat his vomit. He was telling them he was sick, but they kept beating him. That morning, he was very weak, he was already fainting. They kept beating him, he was falling; they didn't stop.

“We told them to allow us to take him to the hospital and that he was sick, but they didn't believe us until he fell. They intensified the beating thinking he was pretending but when they saw that he wasn't breathing, they said they were taking him to the hospital. We remained in the barracks, not long after that, Ojeere's father came with his uncle.

“Before his death, I had asked Ojeere for the contact of any of his family members but he said their numbers were in the phone, whereas the soldiers already seized his phone.”

Speaking with PUNCH on Monday, the spokesperson for the police in Osun State, Yemisi Opalola, absolved the command of any blame.

She said, “The DPO of Osu mentioned by the family did not know anything about the incident because he was not notified of it. The military officer called the DPO of Ayeso because they knew each other and he told the DPO on phone that he wanted to deposit a corpse in the morgue (Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa), and the attendants refused to take it in.

“The DPO thought it was the corpse of a colleague of the military officer, since he wasn’t aware of the unlawful killing and moreover the case was not reported. He just told the mortuary attendants to accept the corpse since he knew him. That was how the police got involved in the case.

“By the time the police got to know about what really transpired, some military police from Ibadan had come and arrested the army personnel involved.”

On the petition written by the deceased’s family to the police, she said, “The CP and the Osun Police Command are working on that petition.”

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The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, has resigned from the senate.

Adamu was elected as APC national chairman at the convention of the party that was held on March 26.

Abubakar Kyari, the current APC deputy chairman (north), also resigned his membership of the upper legislative chamber.

Until his resignation he represented Borno north.

Their resignations were stated in letters read on the floor of the red chamber by Senate President Ahmad Lawan on Tuesday.

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The first son of the late gospel singer, Osinachi Nwachukwu, said their father taught them that it was good to beat and maltreat women.

The deceased's friend, Ene Ogbe Nevic, during a visit to the children at their house, said the alleged killer of Osinachi who also doubled as her husband, Peter Nwachukwu, had badly polluted the minds of the children.

She said while conversing with the children, they explained that their father always treated their mother badly and even took possession of the cars that people gave to her.

The boys further said his father pushed his mother out of one of the cars and forced her to walk back home after a Wednesday church service even though the cars belonged to her.

Ogbe said she immediately corrected the children so as to disabuse their minds from what their father taught them.

She wrote on Facebook: “By God’s grace, I was in our beloved late sister’s house this evening again and am glad that the police actually arrested him. But what baffles me is the way and manner he has polluted the children’s minds. I had a chat with the firstborn, and I almost started crying again.

“This boy told me the ordeal his mom had been going through with his dad, how he beat her up in any little argument, he said aunty; my dad pushed my mom out of the car at night after Wednesday service, and bad boys snatched my mom’s bag that night, how mom got home that night I can’t tell because dad left her, people gave my mom these two cars (pointed at them for me to see) but dad at times would say my mom should take bike while we went in the car.

“Even when we were coming back from church, my mom would stand under the sun and we would drive and pass her and we would wave at her, my dad told us that beating women was good.”

Ogbe said she had to cut in the conversation, and “I told him it is very wrong to beat a woman and that God is against it, and I talked sense into the boy. He said they are happy that their dad was arrested because he shouted and beat them up.

“The second-born sang for us too; he has a golden voice like the mom. The first said my mom always keeps quiet for my daddy and she always forgives, and now she has died and I told him not to worry as his mom is in heaven. May the soul of our beloved sister rest in peace and may God take care of the four kids she left behind Amen.”

SaharaReporters had reported that Osinachi’s death was announced on Friday night.

Some reports had said the singer died in the hospital after suffering from domestic violence from her husband.

Osinachi’s sister, who is the first daughter of the family and was identified as Ms Favor Made, confirmed the reports on Sunday, saying that Osinachi died as a result of a cluster of blood in the chest.

She said the late suffered from a blood clot after the kicking she received from her husband, Peter Nwachukwu.

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