A Federal High Court in Warri has fixed July 21, 2022, as the date to hear the bail application of the Delta State Take-It-Back Coordinator, Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho from prison.

Justice Okon Abang on Friday fixed the date for the bail application.

Lawyers supported by Legal Aid, Citizens Gravel Foundation for Social Justice had filed the bail application for the release of the activist, Aghogho.

The bail application dated June 27, 2022 was filed on July 1, 2022 at the Registry of the Federal High Court, Warri.

 

In the suit numbered FHC/WR/CS/51/2022, the lawyers demanded the release of Aghogho from Ogwashi-Uku Correctional Centre (Prison).

 

The court document read, “Grounds for the Relief(s) sought are (1) On or about the 8th day of June 2022, the Applicant was remanded at Ogwashi-Uku Correctional Centre (Prison) by the Order of P. U. Nsolo (Mrs) of the Magistrate Court 1 sitting at Asaba on the guise of holding charge pursuant to sections 293 and 294 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Delta State. (2) By the said sections of the ACJL, the order made on or about 8/6/2022 has a lifespan of 14 days and was unprofessionally extended to 8/6/2022 by P.U Nsolo (Mrs) on 24/6/2022 without the court sitting.

 

“(3) The Order has expired since on 24/6/2022 and there is no valid order of court extending the remand order since the Court did not sit. (4) That to date, the Delta State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mrs Efe Odogwu Jesin Odogwu has failed to and /or file any charge against the Applicant (Aghogho) if she wishes to prosecute the Applicant.

 

“(5) This Court has the power to release the Applicant on the circumstance on bail pending the DPP advice or prosecution (if any). (6) The applicant is an asthmatic patient and needs to be released so he can properly treat himself. (7) The applicant is innocent of the offence with which he is being accused of and ought to be granted bail unconditionally. The applicant is ready to stand trial at any time if called upon to do so.”

On June 6, 2022, the activist was illegally arrested and detained by the police in the state over his calls for a probe into child-trafficking cases in the state.

He had also protested against the lack of police vehicles for an investigation involving child trafficking.

 

He specifically accused the Assistant Inspector General, Zone 5 Benin, Lawan Tanko Jimeta of compromising an ongoing child trafficking investigation involving Delta State Government officials, police officers, and a retired chief judge among others.

 

In a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Baba Usman, the activist alleged that Jimeta tried everything possible to frustrate investigations into the case, urging the IGP to caution the AIG “if he the IGP is not part of the deal as officers in the zone boast about".

 

 

 

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Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu

A Lagos-based lawyer, Olajide Ajana has dragged a Redeemed Christian Church of God pastor, Goke Aniyeloye, his client, Prince Stephen ibitoye and the Lagos State Government to court over a land transaction.

 

Ajana took Aniyeloye, Ibitoye and other defendants to court over an alleged intent to outsmart him in the sale of a parcel of land at Wasimi, Maryland, Lagos.

Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu

In the said Suit numbered ID/8990GCMW/2022, Ibitoye was sued as the 1st Defendant while Pastor Aniyeloye; the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Lagos State Attorney General and the Director of Land Bureau, Lagos State were sued as the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Defendants respectively.

 

In a 46-paragraph statement of claim, Ajana stated that his client engaged his services at a time but couldn't pay him and therefore opted to pay for the legal services rendered with the land.

 

It was learnt that the said Ibitoye had engaged the service of a lawyer in 2013 over his parcel of land which was being encroached on by land grabbers.

 

Ajana in his statement of claim added that his client duly assigned him 5 acres and 3 plots out of the same parcel of land at Wasimi as payment in lieu of legal services and expenses to be rendered due to his (Ibitoye's) inability to pay for his services at the time.

 

He also accused Ibitoye of conniving with the second defendant, a land speculator to sell off the whole land including the one assigned to him after his efforts on the land resulted in the chasing off of the land grabbers.

 

The statement of claim read, "Claimant avers that at the time his services were engaged, that the 1st Defendant had no means whatsoever of paying for his services.

 

"As a matter of fact, the first defendant could not pay for the courier service that was engaged to dispatch the letter written on his behalf to the persons encroaching and trespassing on the said parcel of land.

 

"Claimant avers that due to the broke state of the 1st Defendant and his inability to finance the expenses related to the legal services to be provided and to pay the professional fees of the Claimant, he opted to pay for the legal services by assigning 5 acres 3 plots out of his parcel of land at Wasimi, Maryland, Lagos as payment.

 

"This is in lieu of legal services and expenses to be rendered by the Claimant. Claimant plead the Deed of assignments executed between him and the 1st defendants and shall rely on same at the trial of this suit.

 

"Claimant avers that upon the agreement between him and the 1st Defendant, he commenced series of actions which include written letters and Petition to the police in respect of the encroachment on the said parcel of land at Wasimi, Maryland belonging to the 1st Defendant.”

 

Ajana in the statement of claim averred that he subsequently commenced litigation on behalf of the 1st Defendant when the initial efforts did not dislodge the encroachers on the 1st Defendant’s parcel of land.

 

He said a case was also filed in 2014 and 16 defendants were sued in respect of the said trespass and encroachment of the 1st Defendant’s property.

 

Ajana said he engaged the services of another law firm and colleagues to support him to deliver effective and competent legal services for Ibitoye.

 

He said an order of status quo ante bellum was also obtained which forced the trespassers and encroachers to vacate the said parcel of land and to also remove their various construction equipment from the site.

 

The lawyer noted in the statement of claim that he had also written a series of petitions to the police at different police commands of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

 

“Claimant avers that he personally represented the 1st Defendant and attended interviews on his behalf due to his non-availability and constant travelling.”

 

“Claimant avers that the 1st Defendant has also ignored him and refused to answer his calls or honour meetings set up with him.

 

“Claimant avers that the 1st and the 2nd Defendants are determined to rob him of his entitlement and labour expended for more than 9 years,” he added.

 

Ajana claimed that Ibiyoye and Aniyeloye, both first and second defendants hijacked the process because of the recognition given to Ibiyoye by the Lagos State Government.

 

He added that the duo had started selling the said property including the portion assigned to him despite the pendency of Suit No ID/032 LM/2014 in respect of the property.

 

The statement of claim further read that "the 2nd Defendant has also fraudulently applied to the Lagos State Government for the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy in respect of the said land at Wasimi, Maryland, Lagos, including the portion belonging to me without his consent or authorization."

 

Ajana however said he is still representing Ibitoye in court in respect of the suit and had sponsored all expenses in respect of the said suit and other processes.

 

"The first defendant has not paid me a dime in respect of the professional services rendered to him, neither has he allowed me to take possession of my own portion of 5 acres 3 plots of land,” he said.

 

 

Ajana further sought an order stating that any sale/transfer of the said 5 acres 3 plots of land or any portion of the said land at Wasimi, Maryland Lagos, which Ibitoye had assigned in lieu of the professional fees to the claimant to Aniyeloye or any persons is wrongful, illegal, null and void.

 

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A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal has again described the Muslim-Muslim ticket adopted by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the forthcoming presidential election as liable to cause division in Nigeria.

Lawal said this on Thursday during an interview with ARISE TV.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate, on Sunday announced Kashim Shettima, a former governor of Borno, as his running mate for the 2023 election.

The choice of Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate has however generated controversy as they are both Muslims.

In the interview, Lawal said the APC cannot say there are no competent Christians in Northern Nigeria who could have been chosen as Tinubu’s running mate.

He said, “First of all, nobody should aspire to be president of this country if he knows there will be religious dichotomy in the system.

“You will antagonise the Christian majority in this country. It’s a direct attack on them and even in your own zone because when it comes to religion, Nigerians take religion first.

“Now, you jeopardise the whole of the Christians in the north, in the south-south, in the south-east.

"If it is based on competence, Tinubu, who has one degree in business administration, cannot beat Professor (Vice-President Yemi) Osinbajo. So, competence in what? Who examines this competence? Is it an exam?

“So, in any case, maybe given that Shettima is the most competent person from the north, which exam did he take?

“Islam preaches justice. Why can’t they see this? No Muslim would want to live in an acrimonious relationship with his neighbour.

“See, me, B.D. Lawal, a Christian, APC chieftain, a friend of Bola Tinubu, how will I go to Adamawa and stay on the podium and say vote for Bola and his Muslim-Muslim ticket?”

 

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The Plateau State High Court sitting in Jos has adjourned for judgement the N6.2 billion fraud trial against a former governor of Plateau State, Senator Jonah Jang and a former cashier in the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (OSSG), Yusuf Pam.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Jang and Pam for an alleged criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of Plateau State funds to the tune of N6.3 billion before Justice C.L. Dabup.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, counsel for the first defendant (Jonah Jang), Mike Ozekhome (SAN), adopted his final written address and urged the court to discharge and acquit his client.

 

Ozekhome, who also informed the court that the first defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him, said the case lacked merit and that the prosecution did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, a statement by the EFCC Head, Media & Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said.

 

Speaking in the same vein, counsel for the second defendant (Yusuf Pam), S.G. Odey, while adopting his final written address, urged the court to discharge and acquit his client on all charges levelled against him.

 

The prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), however, urged the court to consider the evidence of all the fourteen (14) witnesses before it, especially the evidence of Prosecution Witness 5, PW5, which supported the confessional statement of the second defendant.

Jacobs submitted that the required proof is not “proof beyond all shadow of doubt”.

 

According to the statement, he informed the court of two pending motions seeking leave to appeal the two rulings on trial within a trial, and urged the court to allow the adoption of the two pending motions.

 

Ozekhome did not object to the two applications but Odey indicated his intention to oppose them. The court thereafter directed that the final addresses be adopted.

 

The prosecution adopted the written address and urged the court to convict the first and second defendants. Ozekhome adopted his written address and prayed the court to discharge and acquit his client.

 

Odey also adopted his written address and urged the court to discharge and acquit Pam.

 

However, after the parties adopted their final written addresses, Justice Dabup informed all the counsel that the High Court of Plateau State will be going on vacation and all the counsel consented that the judge could deliver judgment on the matter during the vacation period.

 

The judge thereafter adjourned the case for judgment to a date which will be communicated to the parties.

 

 

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Ivana Trump, the first wife of former President Donald Trump and mother of his three children, has died in New York City, her family announced Thursday. She was 73.

The former president posted on his social media app that she died at her Manhattan home.

“She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life,” he wrote on Truth Social. The couple shared three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.

 

“She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her,” he wrote. “Rest In Peace, Ivana!”

According to Associated Press, two people familiar with the matter said police are investigating whether Ivana Trump fell down the stairs to determine if her death was accidental.

She was found unconscious near a staircase in the home, the people said. The people could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The medical examiner’s office will determine an official cause of death.

“It’s been a very sad day, a very sad day,” Eric Trump said as he left his mother’s home near Central Park.

In a statement, he and his siblings called her “an incredible woman — a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty and caring mother and friend.”

“She fled from communism and embraced this country,” the three said. “She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination.”

 

Ivanka Trump posted childhood photos of herself laughing and smiling with her mother, who she described as “brilliant, charming, passionate and wickedly funny.”

The couple married in 1977.

 

She became an icon in her own right, dripping with ’80s style and glamour, complete with her signature blonde updo. She influenced the look of the over-the-top Patsy Stone in the classic British sitcom “Absolutely Fabulous,” with the character extolling Ivana as “tremendous” in one episode.

 

Trump herself would eventually appear in the 1996 hit film “The First Wives Club” with the now-famous line, “Ladies, you have to be strong and independent, and remember, don’t get mad, get everything.”

 

The Trumps became partners in love and business. She managed one of his Atlantic City casinos and helped make Trump Tower an image of ’80s success (or excess, to some).

She overruled the architects to get a 60-foot waterfall installed in Trump Tower’s atrium, and she went to an Italian quarry to pick out the rosy-beige Breccia Pernice marble that famously lines its floors and walls, according to a biography of Donald Trump by Wayne Barrett.

 

Barbara Res, a former Trump Organization executive who was in charge of the skyscraper’s construction, recalled Ivana helping the decorator and taking a strong interest in such details as the doormen’s uniforms.

“She did all that to impress Donald, to win his approval,” Res said. “She was traveling back and forth all the time, and leaving her kids. She had a tremendous work ethic.”

The two were fixtures of New York’s see-and-be-seen scene before their equally public, and messy, 1992 divorce. Donald Trump had met his next wife, Marla Maples.

“I couldn’t turn on the television without hearing my name,” Ivana Trump wrote in her book.

During the split, Ivana Trump accused him of rape in a sworn statement in the early 1990s. She later said she didn’t mean it literally, but rather that she felt violated.

 

Donald Trump would say at times that he regretted having Ivana join him in business and blamed it for the unraveling of their marriage.

“I think that putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing,” he told ABC News in the early ’90s. “If you’re in business for yourself, I really think it’s a bad idea to put your wife working for you,” he said, complaining that when she turned into a businessperson, “a softness disappeared.”

 

Nevertheless, Ivana ultimately remained friendly with her ex-husband, whom she famously called “The Donald.” She enthusiastically backed his 2016 White House run, saying he would “make big changes” in the United States, and told the New York Post that she was giving him suggestions on his campaign.

 

“We speak before and after the appearances and he asks me what I thought,” she said. She said she advised him to “be more calm.”

 

“But Donald cannot be calm,” she added. “He’s very outspoken. He just says it as it is.”

 

However supportive, she occasionally ruffled feathers.

 

In 2017, while promoting her book, she told “Good Morning America” that she spoke with the then-president about every two weeks and had his direct White House number, but didn’t want to call too frequently because of the then-first lady Melania Trump’s presence.

“I don’t want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that because I’m basically first Trump wife, OK?” Ivana said with a laugh. “I’m first lady, OK?”

 

Melania Trump’s spokesperson at the time responded, saying there was “clearly no substance to this statement from an ex, this is unfortunately only attention-seeking and self-serving noise.”

 

Ivana Trump had continued her business ventures in recent years, promoting an Italian weight-loss diet plan in 2018.

 

“Health is the most important thing we have. Let’s keep it that way,” she said at the time.

Her death came during a fraught week for the Trump family. Two of her children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, and the former president are due to appear in the coming days for questioning in the New York attorney general’s civil investigation into the family’s business practices.

 

Ivana Trump was born Ivana Zelnickova in 1949 in the Czechoslovak city of Gottwaldov, formerly Zlin, which had just been renamed by the Communists who took over the country in 1948.

 

She was married four times, most recently to Italian actor Rossano Rubicondi. The two divorced in 2009 after a year of marriage but continued to see each other off and on until 2019 when she told the New York Post the relationship had run its course.

He died last year of cancer at 49.

 

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POLICE

Operatives of the Abia State Police Command intercepted an armed robbery gang that specialised in robbing bank customers after they have made withdrawals in Umuahia, the state capital.

 

The state police public relations officer, Geoffrey Ogbonna confirmed the incident.

POLICE

The incident happened on Thursday and a fruit seller was shot by the hoodlums during an exchange of gunfire with police operatives on Bank Road.

 

It was gathered that the hoodlums had trailed a bank customer who had made a withdrawal at the branch of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) on Bank Road, Umuahia in Abia State.

Subsequently, the robbers were intercepted by a police patrol team, leading to a gun duel between the robbers and the police. Unfortunately, a fruit seller was hit by a stray bullet.

According to eyewitnesses, the victim was a fruit seller and was immediately taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia.

 

It was unclear if there were other casualties at the time of filing this report.

 

The attack forced many shops around Bank Road to close abruptly, a resident of the area who simply identified himself as Kingsley Oka, said.

 

Oka told SaharaReporters that the roads adjoining Bank Road were flooded with security agents.

 

Confirming the incident to SaharaReporters, the state police public relations officer, Geoffrey Ogbonna, said it was not a case of bank robbery.

 

Ogbonna said, "It wasn't a case of a bank robbery attack. What happened is that some of these armed robbers who trail people coming from the banks - people who go to banks to make withdrawals. They will trail them because it happened recently. They will trail their target to where it will be conducive for them to strike and they will strike.

 

"So that was what happened today. Our people who were on patrol in that area were able to intercept the gang and on sighting the police, they engaged them in a shootout and they were able to escape, abandoning their operational vehicle. The police recovered one AK-47 rifle from them as well as a vehicle and one machete."

 

He also confirmed that one person was shot but said the identity of the victim wasn't known yet.

"A stray bullet hit somebody who sells something nearby and even one of our colleagues (police) had a slight touch of their bullet," he added. 

 

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Omoyele Sowore

Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has criticised the flag bearer of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, for visiting Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), a former dictator and military Head of State.
Sowore on Thursday night shared a photograph of Obi with the former dictator who is notorious for annulling the June 12, 1993 election – which was popularly won by the Late Chief MKO Abiola.

Omoyele Sowore BBC
“Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, Aliyu Gusau, Abubakar Abdusalam and Ango Abdullahi are Mr. Peter Obi’s “God fathers” the people that ruined Nigeria are the ones fronting for him. May it never happen that we will work with these criminals! #WeCantContinueLikeThis,” Sowore captioned the picture.
Babangida, known as the "evil genius" was the head of the Nigerian military government from 1985 to1993.
History will remember him as the prime architect of the June 12, 1993 debacle.
He came up with the two parties, Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republic Convection (NRC).
One, a little to the left and the other a little to the right were these platforms on which MKO Abiola and Bashir Tofa respectively contested.
The former dictator annulled the June 12 election on June 21, 1993, when it was clear that the winner was the late MKO Abiola and he ordered a fresh election.
Abiola refused to go to the polls again.
Often called Maradona – after the rotund diminutive football genius from Argentina – for his political deftness, Babangida would later dribble the nation into a political cul de sac.
On August 26, 1993, Babangida announced his exit by saying he would "step aside" thus adding a new word to our ever increasing repertoire of political lexicons.
By that singular action, he ushered in the Interim National Government(ING) headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan.
However, things used to be rosy between the self-avowed evil genius and Abiola before June 12 drove a wedge into their relationship.
In fact, MKO said, in his lifetime, that it was Babangida who first mooted the idea of running for the presidency to him.
He raised the idea with him during the burial of his first wife, Simbiat, in Lagos in 1992.
IBB had told MKO that he must contest election as the country could not wait to welcome him as their next president.
Abiola would later regret trusting Babangida while in Abacha's gulag by saying, “I believed in a friend. I trusted a friend and he betrayed me. IBB betrayed me."
IBB had described June 12 debacle as "unfortunate.”

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Barely two days to the Osun State’s governorship election, the People's Redemption Party (PRP) has withdrawn from the race.
The National Executive Committee of the party explained that the decision was made following the impact of the lack of political activities from its standard bearer.

The party’s NEC accused its Osun governorship candidate, Ayowole Adedeji, of staying outside of the country since he emerged as the party’s governorship candidate and only travelled back to the country two weeks before the election.
This was contained in a statement released on Thursday by the National Secretary of the party, Babatunde Alli.
He said a committee had been instituted to probe the governorship candidate also for soliciting funds for his campaign without holding any.
It read, “The National Executive Committee of our great party, the PRP has noted with great concern and disappointment, the negative effects of obvious inactivity of the Governorship Candidate of the party in Osun State, MR. Ayowole Adedeji, both on the party structures in Osun State and at the National level.
"The National Executive Committee has therefore considered all options and hereby directs the withdrawal of the PRP from the Osun State Governorship Election of 16th July 2022.
“In addition, the State Chapter is hereby directed to set up a 5-man Disciplinary Committee to investigate the Governorship Candidate of the Party for the following: Staying abroad since emerging governorship candidate of the party till only two (2) weeks before the election, thereby preventing the party from all campaigns and awareness creation efforts;
“Alleged fund-raising overseas activities without corresponding campaigns in the name of the party at State level.
“The party particularly considers this allegation very grievous and debasing to the PRP; and alleged attempt to fraudulently trade the party for personal monetary gains thereby embarrassing the party and dragging its good name and principles in the mud.”
 

Elections Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  saharareporters, new york Disable advertisements : 

A coalition of human rights organisations under the aegis of International College of Democracy and Human Rights has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of attempting to rig the 2023 general elections in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The group in a letter to the INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu, through INEC Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, listed what they described as “20 citizens’ disenfranchisement and 10 election rigging plots ahead of the 2023 General Elections particularly the Presidential segment.”

The letter, which SaharaReporters obtained on Thursday, is titled: “40 Professors, 10 Int’l Scholars, Two Respected American/Swiss Rights Campaigners, 20 PhDs, 20 Lawyers, 19 Northern Clerics, 11 Eastern CSO Leaders And Other Respected Democracy And Human Rights Experts Write To INEC, Exposing 30 Citizens’ Disenfranchisement And Election-Rigging Plots And Strongly Request Them To Be Critically Addressed And Tackled Headlong In Addition To 16-Point Demands Ahead Of The 2023 General Elections.”
Among other demands, the group gave INEC seven days from the date of receipt of their letter to tackle the concerns raised,
“Addressing the issue of registration of aliens across borders including Southern Niger Republic and closing of the same and immediate deletion from the National Register of Voters of those already captured, if true.
“Some of the alleged disenfranchisement and rigging plots are; “Non-issuance or discriminatory issuance of PVCs to registered voters on the grounds of their ethnicity or religion
“Registration of minors and aliens as voters with intent to roguishly out-populate other legitimate members of the general population and maintain false demographic numerical superiority over others
“Official padding on continuous basis of the voting figures of particular ethno-religious members of the general voting population with intent to continuously out-populate others and rig elections such as the Presidential Poll in favor of the appointing authorities or institutions or favored another.
“Organising or sponsoring group violence against another group/citizens seeking to be registered as voters so as to massively disenfranchise them on the grounds of their tribe and religion.
“Instigation of group violence and other coordinated attacks against members of a particular voting population on the grounds of their faith and tribe for purpose of massively disenfranchising them, as was widely the case in non-native areas of Lagos, Kano, Plateau, FCT, Kaduna and others in the 2019 Presidential and Governorship Elections.
“Padding up by malicious electoral officials using crooked computer software, of voting figures and inflation of results to favor the favored candidates. Programming of voting capturing machines for widespread failures, to be targeted at the opposition strong-holds for the purpose of mass disenfranchisement of members of the affected voting population,” among other allegations.
The 13-page letter was signed by Prof Jerry Chukwuokolo, Dr. Patrick Mbum, Rev Dr Ahaz Taye, and Emeka Umeagbalasi among others.

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A Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja, on Thursday sentenced a businessman, Emeka Ekwunife, to 10 years’ imprisonment.
This was after he was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a eight-count charge of stealing by fraudulent conversion.

The suit, "Federal Republic of Nigeria Vs. Chukwuemeka Ekwunife & Structured Energy Limited" has been in court since 2016.
The presiding judge, Justice S. Solebo, found the businessman guilty on six charges and sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment with an option of N50million fine.
Ekwunife was earlier remanded in prison custody over an alleged theft of N434.1million.
According to the EFCC, the businessman alongside his company, Structured Energy Ltd on November 19 2013 allegedly converted the sum of N99.6million belonging to Napal Oil and Gas Services Limited to his personal use.
Between June 4, 2015 and October 28 2013, Ekwunife also converted the sum of N85‎million and N3million to his personal use property of Nepal Oil and Gas ltd.
The defendant between November 4 and 7, 2014, converted the sum of N3.5million‎, to his personal use property of Nepal Oil and Gas.
The commission further stated that the Ekwunife alongside his company on November 28, 2013, converted the ‎sum of N130million to his personal use.
The commission also disclosed that ‎the defendant and his company stole the sum of N25million and in June 24, 2015, the sum of N88 million was also stolen by the defendant. According to the EFCC, the offence was punishable under sections 285 (1), 278 (b), of the criminal laws of Nigeria.

CRIME News AddThis :  Original Author :  saharareporters, new york Disable advertisements : 

Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to stop lamenting and use the remaining months in his tenure to tackle the worsening insecurity in the country.
The group in a statement by its General Secretary, Chief Olusola Ebiseni, asked Buhari to clear the backlog of crisis on his hands rather than resorting to lamentation.

According to the statement made available to newsmen in Akure, the Ondo State capital, Ebiseni said that Buhari’s “assertion of the toughness of the assignment is rather amusing for a man that has seen it all both as a military ruler and democratically-elected leader of his people.”
Afenifere said, “Like he has done in the last seven years on vital national issues, the President merely lamented the six months strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASSU) without proffering any solution or giving any assurance on how soon the youths of this country would return to school.
“It is his stock-in-trade to merely lament mass killings of the people by terrorists, who have become most emboldened and unruly in his seven years so far.
“The call, only two months back, for a Government of National Unity, or for the resignation of the President would have no doubt found justification in this admission.
“Yet the situation today is quite different from the factors that made such suggestions then plausible.
“For what it is worth, the nation is frenzied by the electoral activities, which in itself suggest that Nigerians are more eager than Muhammadu Buhari himself to see the end of his most uninspiring if not disastrous tenure.
“Besides, this government is virtually now a ghost of itself with the players so deflated of the air of legitimacy that even the most vibrant Deputy has lost steam, having been tricked into a disastrous popularity contest within the ruling party constituted only by a few Nigerians.
“In other words, there is no one better hand than the President left in this government to be invested with the destiny of Nigerians.
“Yet, in spite of the obvious darkness which heralds the twilight, the sun in the horizon is still hot enough to get the clothes dry.
“Rather than chicken out, Buhari could still, within the remaining months, rally his government, including the distraught National Assembly members, many of whom have been rejected even by their parties and of whom will certainly not eventually return, to leave last minute legacies that will temper the harsh verdict of history.
“The greatest problem confronting the nation, the dimension under Buhari of which is unprecedented, is insecurity. Well-meaning Nigerians and drawing from experiences particularly in other federations have recommended federalisation of its solution through multi-level security architecture typified in the instrumentality of state police.” 

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Kogi State High Court sitting in Idah, the Idah Local Government Area headquarters on Wednesday passed a judgment restricting the Ibaji Local Government Area Chairman, Williams Iko-Ojo Obiora, from operating from Idah Council Area where he relocated to.

 

SaharaReporters had reported in 2021 how the Ibaji Progressive Youth Foundation, a group in the Ibaji Local Government Area filed a suit against Obiora for violating their rights and moving the Ibaji Liason Office to Idah Council.

In a judgment delivered by Justice M. M. Gwatana Idaho, the court declared the said relocation as unconstitutional and therefore ordered the chairman, Obiora to forthwith cease from carrying out the administrative functions of the Ibaji Council from the office at Idah Council.

 

The court ordered the chairman to move his office back to Onyedega, the constitutional headquarters of Ibaji Council forthwith.

 

The court also awarded N50,000 cost in favour of the Ibaji Progressive Youth Foundation led by its National President, Comrade Apeh Kelvin Abuchi.

 

Reacting to the judgment in a statement made available to SaharaReporters, Abuchi said, “In August 2021 the Ibaji Progressive Youth Foundation sued the Ibaji Local Government Chairman for relocating the local government day-to-day activities/statutory functions to another local government (Idah).

 

“Tope Temokun chamber took up the case to offer pro-bono, on behalf of the youths and people of Ibaji, in Kogi State, with Suit No: IDHC/11/2021, to ask the Court to declare as unconstitutional the reckless act of the chairman of Ibaji LG, relocating and running the business of the Ibaji Local Government Area from a liaison office located in Idah, another local government area entirely, 50km away from the people. And the people from Ibaji who are workers in the secretariat had to travel daily to Idah to resume their official duty, with the attendant costs of transportation, overwhelming their monthly earnings.

 

“Today, the 13th of July 2022, the High court in Idah, Kogi state declared the said relocation as unconstitutional and ordered the chairman to forthwith cease from carrying out the administrative functions of the LG in the office at Idah and to move back to Onyedega, which is the constitutional headquarters of Ibaji LGA forthwith.

 

Congratulations to the Ibaji people for insisting on their constitutional right and refusing to be intimidated by the threat of sack and other forms of victimization.”

 

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Nigeria's electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it is investigating allegations about uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) buried underground in some locations, including the compound of a high-profile Nigerian.
The INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, made this known in a statement on Thursday.

Some videos had emerged online showing some of the PVCs in inappropriate locations, with Nigerians wondering what INEC was doing about the discovery of the PVCs in hidden places.
Reacting, Okoye said, "The Commission is not taking these allegations lightly. We have commenced an immediate investigation and anyone found culpable in this diabolical scheme clearly intended to disenfranchise Nigerians will be sanctioned under the law.
“Every eligible Nigerian who registered as a voter is entitled to his/her PVC. The constitutional right to vote in any election must never be suppressed or abridged in any way.”
Okoye, who appealed to those who found the allegedly buried PVCs to deliver them to the commission’s nearest state or local government office noted that “This will be their patriotic contribution to the consolidation of our electoral process.”
Meanwhile, the INEC Commissioner vowed that the electoral body would counter attempts to sabotage the process of getting PVCs to the registered voters.
He insisted that “As far as the record of the commission is concerned, PVCs have been printed for all valid registrants in Nigeria up to January 14, 2022 and delivered to all the states of the federation for collection by voters. We will not allow retrogressive elements to sabotage our efforts.”
Okoye, while assuring Nigerians that the allegation would be pursued to its logical conclusion, maintained that “the issues of voter registration, a compilation of the voters’ roll and issuance of PVCs are at the heart of any democratic elections and the Commission is working hard to ensure that every eligible citizen who appears in person at the registration venue is registered.”
He said that INEC had already started reviewing the procedure for collecting PVCs to make it less cumbersome and more transparent, saying that “This will be a major topic at the next regular quarterly meeting with stakeholders so that working together we can find a lasting solution to the issue.”

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Igoche Daniel Adah, a teacher dismissed and charged with alleged sexual molestation of a 14-year-old before an Abuja High Court was among inmates that escaped from prison custody when terrorists attacked the Kuje Correctional Centre last week, SaharaReporters has gathered.
SaharaReporters had on May 24, 2022 reported that a Federal High Court sitting in Jabi, Abuja has issued a warrant of arrest against lgoche Adah, a schoolteacher for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old pupil.

SaharaReporters had reported how Adah was dismissed on allegations of molestation in the school.
Adah was remanded in Kuje prison on June 23, 2022 after he was arraigned before Justice Akeem Fashola of the Federal Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Jabi.
The FCT Commissioner of Police had arraigned the dismissed teacher on charges of sexual abuse related offences.
He was put on trial one count charge to the effect that on April 15, 2021, he repeatedly touched the breast and other sensitive parts of a 14-year-old student of Destiny Academy, Lugbe in Abuja where he was a teacher.
He however, pleaded not guilty to the charge punishable under section 32 of Child Rights Act.
At a resumed hearing on Thursday, his counsel, Terka Aondo, confirmed that Adah was among the escaped inmates.
He, however, claimed that he had returned to custody, but failed to produce him in court due to logistics challenges. 
Justice Fashola subsequently fixed October 27, 2022 for trial of the defendant in the one count criminal charge of sexual molestation of a minor.

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Eighty-eight birthday is a special occasion and an ideal opportunity to tell Wole Soyinka the first African to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, how much he means to us. When people think of Wole Soyinka, it’s probably as the author of the powerful autobiographical work, The Man Died (1971), a collection of notes from prison. 
But more than that, W.S. as fondly known in literary circles, is identified around the world as the recusant specialist who refused to submit to madmen that have run and ruined Nigeria since independence in 1960. The rest of the story need not delay us. W.S. is unlike most Nigerians of his generation who see self-promotion and self-preservation as their goals in life but failed to discover the liberating power of expendability. W.S. sees his time, talents, and treasures as weapons for the liberation of oppressed Nigerians.
Always fighting on the side of the poor, his crusade for social justice, economic and income equality, freedom, and democracy, bears witness to his alliance, allegiance, and fraternity with the poor. The struggle is his life. And like Brother Paul of Tarsus, W.S. seems to be saying: “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me…” He’s one of the few Nigerians who didn’t quit on a whim in the battle for the soul of our dear country. His engagement and commitment to the struggle of the poor are not contingent upon his economic benefit. 

He’s always on the edge of enemy territory. Like waiting for orders from the masses on whose behalf he’s fighting, he heard them saying: “W.S. you’re to stay right where you are, fight as hard as you can, as long as you can, and until we triumph over our oppressors.” It’s no wonder that W.S. remains the target rage of the privileged class. An army of one fighting a legion of problems that plague our country – moral and ethical, doctrinal and practical, corporate and private.
The ruling elites have turned Nigeria into a wilderness. A wilderness is never pleasant. It tends to be dry, barren, lifeless, and uncomfortable. You tend to get thirsty there and find yourself yearning to be in a place of rest and refreshment. It is this paradise turned wilderness nation rundown by thieves that W.S. fiercely opposed and dedicated his life to. The tragedy of our nation is not that we’re going through the wilderness, but that Nigeria has camped there for so long by electing robber barons to manage our country. Most of W.S. works deal with these anomalies and disorders. 
There is a great intensity in his writing and activism. To listen to his withering denunciations and read his acid criticisms of the ruling class, is like opening the door of a blast furnace! His works appeal to the conscience. It’s penetrating writing, clinical writing, and writing that moves people to cry, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 
Snapshots from some of his works:
In his 1967 poem Abiku, meaning a child in an unending cycle of births, deaths, and rebirths, W.S. presents Nigeria as an Abiku nation on one hand with its intractable problems. And on the other hand, W.S. is the Abiku himself who will always come around to torment and criticize the Nigerian government. Like Abiku, he’s ever ready to voice out his opinions on national issues and to engage those who are bent on ruining our nation in a war of words.
W.S. is a dramatist in every fiber of his being. He has drama passion, he has genius, and he has great flashes of imagination and inspiration which make all scholars seem dull in comparison. When goodness is joined with knowledge, it counts for much. W.S. has all the two. Kongi’s Harvest (1964) portrays the clash between traditional rule and the modern system of democratic rule. W.S. as the dramatist extraordinaire, as usual, mocks the political system – the elitist establishment draped in representative democracy that is expected or projected to improve the lives of the people but has become an oppressive and corrupt system to amass wealth and power.
Madmen and Specialists (1970) is about political inefficiencies, selfishness of the politicians, their greed, their lies, and their hypocrisy. The play was written when W.S. was incarcerated during the Nigerian Civil War. A Dance of The Forest (1960) is a biting criticism of Nigeria’s political elites. The play satirizes that the present is no more a golden age than was the past.
“During the presidency of Shehu Shagari and his party, the NPN,” says W.S. in You Must Set Forth at Dawn, (2006) “I made the LP record Unlimited Liability Company, dedicated to the ineptness and corruption of that government and the general decay of society.” (Page 240). “Obasanjo is a man of restless energies – and a waste of human potential … A bullish personality, calculating and devious … intolerant of criticism …” (page 186).
In 1965, he seized the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service (WNBS) studio and broadcast a demand for the cancellation of the Western Nigeria regional elections. In 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War, he was arrested by the federal government of General Yakubu Gowon and put in solitary confinement for two years. During the regime of General Sani Abacha (1993-98), W.S. escaped from Nigeria via the “NADECO Route” on a motorbike. Abacha proclaimed a death sentence against him in absentia.
His life contains ingredients so rich and so diverse. A scholar by nature, his activism forced him into prominence where he fought battles against Nigeria as a reeking and irreclaimable center of graft, filth, poverty, and misery. W.S. lacks the political know-how to play one group against another. He demonstrates the attitudes of humility and aptitude.
Entrusted with high visibility role, W.S. refrains from flaunting his position or exploiting his countrymen for personal gain. Rather, he’s on the side of the oppressed at greater risk to his life. He has shown that despite most trying circumstances, a critic better still, a rebel with a cause, can enjoy daily strength and victory – not for the purpose of being comfortable, but in order to be a comforter.
Wole Soyinka is our Lion and Jewel for living a turbulent life for others to live a peaceful and prosperous life, and for being a steady and courageous voice for human rights, democracy, and freedom in our ravaged country. 
Happy Birthday, Kongi!
 *** Moribund society creates its own morbid gravediggers. Revolt against injustice is not honorable but it is imperative. – Karl Max

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The police in the United Kingdom have opened an investigation into Olympics Champion, Mo Farah's revelation that he was trafficked as a child and forced to do house labour.
The UK police said it had noted Mo Farah’s claim that he was illegally trafficked into Britain as a child and forced into domestic labour.

Mo Farah had revealed in a BBC documentary earlier this week that he was from Somalia and his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin.
He said he was forced to work in domestic servitude after entering the country aged eight or nine.
"We are aware of reports in the media concerning Sir Mo Farah,” said the Metropolitan Police in a statement on Thursday, July 14.
“No reports have been made to the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) at this time. Specialist officers have opened an investigation and are currently assessing the available information.”
Farah says he was helped to obtain UK citizenship by his physical education teacher at school, Alan Watkinson, while still using the assumed name Mohamed Farah given to him by a woman who trafficked him to Britain.
Rather than moving to the UK as a refugee from Somalia with his mother and two of his brothers to join his IT consultant father as previously claimed, Farah said he came from Djibouti with a woman he had never met, and then made to look after another family’s children.
Mo Farah also claimed that his father was killed in civil unrest in Somalia when he was aged four and his mother, Aisha, and two brothers live in the breakaway state of Somaliland.
The British Government on Wednesday assured Farah that he would not be stripped of his citizenship since it was obtained with a false name with a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson describing him as “a sporting hero.”

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Two suspects, Ibikunle Opeyemi, a lady, and Kadiri Jamiu have been arrested over the alleged abduction of Pastor Mapai Samuel, who is in charge of ZOE Family International church, Odo-Eran in Abeokuta Ogun State.
The suspects were said to have been arrested on Thursday following a distress call received by policemen at Aregbe divisional headquarters.

It was learnt that two men in military camouflage accompanied by a woman had invaded the church while the pastor was preaching at 8pm, dragged him out of the church and taken him away to an unknown destination.
The invaders reportedly called to demand a ransom shortly after the cleric was taken away.
The Ogun State Police Command spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, during a press briefing in Abeokuta said the Divisional Police Officer at Aregbe Division, CSP Ikechukwu Gabriel, alongside his detectives immediately embarked on a “technical and intelligence-based investigation.”
Abimbola asserted that the Gabriel-led team later discovered that the suspects were hiding somewhere around the Adigbe area of Abeokuta.
According to Abimbola, the DPO and his men stormed the alleged kidnappers’ hideout, rescued the victim and apprehended two suspects, noting that the two men in military camouflage escaped.
“On interrogation, the woman amongst them claimed to have been in a business relationship with the pastor, and that the pastor cheated her in the course of the business which made her contact the three men to kidnap the Pastor to teach him a lesson.
"The Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the anti-kidnapping unit of the state criminal investigation department for discreet investigation.
“The CP also directed that other members of the gang must be arrested, while he praised his men for their quick response to the distress call," Oyeyemi said.

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A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Robinson Uwak, has accused the House of Representatives spokesperson, Benjamin Kalu of having illicit affair with his estranged wife, Kezia and being responsible for his broken marriage.

 

Uwak, who made the accusation on his Twitter page, @_lager, screenshots of which have gone viral, alleged that his wife dated Kalu since he married her.

According to Uwak, Kalu has refused to allow his (Robinson) family to run smoothly.

Kalu was also accused on Twitter of allowing his alleged mistress to address journalists at the National Assembly, which some of his critics described as unethical and wrong.

He also alleged that “despite being a married woman, Kalu continued his illicit affair with her, booking and inviting her to hotels to sleep with her”.

He added, “When I confronted my wife about it, she cried and pleaded profusely at a family meeting and I forgave her.

 

“Despite her pleas, she continued with her cheating, which led to the last altercation with me.”

 

Uwak, who represented Oron, Mbo, Okobo,Ure-Offong/Oruko and Udung-Uko federal constituency of Akwa Ibom State at the 7th Assembly further accused Kalu of asking the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest him and secretly sponsoring petitions against him over ‘trumped-up domestic violence allegations by his wife’.

 

According to Uwak, Kalu has vowed to send him to jail “so that he will feel free to have my wife as he pleases”.  

 

Meanwhile, SaharaReporters called Kalu several times and sent a text message seeking his response to the allegations but he had neither answered the calls nor replied to the text message at the time of filing this report.

 

However, Daily News quoted the House of Representatives spokesperson, Kalu as describing the allegations as frivolous.

Kalu said he would not be distracted by them.

 

Kalu, who is representing Bende Federal Constituency of Abia state in the House of Representatives said, “There are many people who are waiting to cast aspersions on the integrity of the man called Benjamin Okezie Kalu and if I am not aware of that, I am living in the fool’s paradise.

“This is the time I should use to speak to my good people of Bende and not to glorify irrelevant issues without facts to it.

 

“All these things happening is all about Bende, we have brought the dividends of democracy and it is driving some people crazy, getting them worried and they are having sleepless nights but the truth be told, our eyes are on the ball, we are not blinking and anybody who has any dirt should bring it on. We are here to bring more dividends of democracy.

 

“I will keep working till the election and I am returning to make sure we continue from where we stopped because we have lived in the dark for too long. No amount of threats, smear campaign or defamation, or gang ups, casting aspersion on my integrity that has been upright for the last 5 decades can stop me. I was prepared for this and all that will come with it.”

 

 

DOCUMENT : Former Nigerian House of Reps Member, Uwak Accuses Reps Spokesperson, Kalu of Having Illicit Aff... by Sahara Reporters on Scribd

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The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has called for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, for the peace process in the country to be taken seriously.
According to a release by Peters Ichull, the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs, Ortom made the call in US when a group under the aegis of American Veterans of Igbo origin paid him a courtesy visit in Washington DC.

Ortom stated that Nnamdi Kanu's issue was a social-political challenge that must be dealt with politically.
He argued even members of Boko Haram who pose a greater threat to the country’s unity had often been freed, resettled and some integrated into the armed forces.
He tasked Igbo veterans in the United States of America to believe in one Nigeria, pointing out that no country on earth is without its challenges.
The Benue State Governor told the group that power shift to the South-East is possible, if the people of the region put their differences aside to pursue the objective in unity.
Ortom said his call for freedom of worship was not only to protect the rights of Christians, but so that all Nigerians will be free to practice their faith without intimidation or molestation in any part of the country.
He thanked the group for appreciating his modest contributions to national discourses but challenged South-Eastern Nigerians living abroad that charity begins at home, saying “there is nowhere better than home but only peace and security can guarantee the success of your investments back home.”
The governor therefore called on the veterans to support peace efforts in the Sout East region so that both their communities and investments will experience sustainable growth and prosperity.
The group was led by its President, Dr Sylvester Onyia, his vice, Dr Prince Joe Nduka. Other members of the delegation included Dr Ofo, the group’s PRO and Nigeria’s former ambassador to South Africa, Dr Mrs Ajulu. Dr Onyia was full of praise for Ortom’s fearless confrontation of Nigeria’s ills, insisting that only such a stand from leaders could build bridges of understanding and give hope to despairing Nigerians abroad that one Nigeria is possible.
The group however expressed fears for the upcoming general election owing to the spate of insecurity in the country and called on Governor Ortom not to relent on pursuing the best security options.

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Retired primary school teachers in Delta State have taken to the streets of Asaba, the state capital to protest against the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, over the nonpayment of their gratuities running into N54billion.
The angry retirees, dressed in black and black attires, on Thursday stormed the entrance gate of the state government house, Asaba and barricaded the gate to prevent any entry and exit while chanting solidarity and anti-Okowa songs to drive home their demands.

The protest featured teachers who retired after 35 years of meritorious service to the state and were yet to be paid their gratuities seven years on the line.
The governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, who is currently in Osun State attending a PDP governorship, was lambasted by the retirees as nonchalant about the welfare of the people, civil servants, and specially retired workers.
The protest which lasted for several hours led to a gridlock along Anwai road, Asaba as the retirees sat on the road demanding to see the governor face-to-face to explain why he refused to pay their gratuities.
The protesting retired teachers numbering over 3000, looked pale, while carrying placards with different inscriptions such as "Okowa pay our money, Okowa, pay our money, Okowa", "Okowa, which is important, your VP ambition or our gratuities.", "Okowa, wickedness does not pay.", "Okowa you has less than eight months to go, please pay us our gratuities.", "Your wickedness has reached God and you will never get that VP come 2023." among others.
All efforts by security operatives, the police and a detachment of soldiers to disperse the protesters failed as the retirees remained adamant on the road.
Speaking on behalf of the retirees, Mrs. C.E. Ejieh pleaded with the state government to declare a state of emergency in the public primary schools retirees gratuities’ payment and also to ensure that the over N5.9billion owed by some local councils in the state are duly remitted to the bureau of local government that is in charge of the payment.
The leader of the protesting retirees, however lamented that "In spite of repeated promises made during meetings with a delegation of the state government, Governor Okowa bluntly refused to honour his words and has left the retirees in the cold, choosing to pursue a vice presidential ambition.
“In the face of public outcry to the governor to demonstrate a humane sense of leadership on the matter, nothing tangible has been done even when it was clear that the resources to reduce the burden of debt owed the retirees were available to the state government."
SaharaReporters gathered that as soon as the news of the protest by the retirees got to the governor in Osun State, he called his Chief of Staff, Festus Ovie Agas, on the phone and directed him to address the protesting retirees.
Agas pleaded with the retirees for time with a promise to attend to their demands by way of payment.
The retired teachers had few months ago staged a similar protest to demand for their gratuities but with all promises made during that protest, nothing was done.

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