A petition to remove actress Amber Heard from the Aquaman sequel has been signed by more than 3 million people, becoming one of the most signed petitions ever to feature on Change.org.

 

The online petition to DC Warner Bros (Studio) and DC Entertainment was started by Jeanne Larson. 

It calls on Warner Bros and DC Entertainment to eliminate Heard from Aquaman and the the Lost Kingdom, which is due for release on March 17, 2023. 

 

Johnny Depp's defamation trial against his former wife is ongoing, with allegations emerging that Heard was violent towards Depp during their marriage.

Director James Wan in January announced on Instagram that filming of Aquaman and the the Lost Kingdom had come to an end. “And finally, finally, finally picture wrap on the actual last day of #Aquaman2."

 

The petition says," Amber Heard has been exposed as a domestic abuser by Johnny Depp. In his $50 million lawsuit, Johnny Depp describes many incidents of domestic abuse that he suffered at the hands of his (then) wife Amber Heard, including one incident where she punched him twice in the face and another where she shattered his finger with a vodka bottle, and his finger had to be surgically reattached. He will bear the scar from that for the rest of his life. 

 

"Also, Amber Heard was arrested in 2009 for abusing a former domestic partner, Tasya Van Ree, demonstrating a repeated pattern of abuse by Amber Heard.

 

"Since Heard's divorce from Johnny Depp, she has systematically crusaded to ruin Depp in Hollywood, repeating multiple accounts of fake incidents in which she had actually abused Johnny Depp, but lied and created false accounts of him being the abuser. About the incident during which she shattered the bones in Johnny Depp's finger and nearly severed it, causing Depp to require surgery to reattach and repair it, Heard presented a false story claiming that he cut off his finger himself, dipped it in paint and scrawled obscenities all over the walls. 

 

"Likewise, Heard recounts fabricated incidents of Johnny Depp hitting her in the face when she had, in fact, punched him. Though staff and neighbors in the building where she lived reported seeing no marks on her face in the hours and days after she says Johnny Depp hit her, yet she appeared in court six (6) days later with bruises on her face, asking for a temporary restraining order, which was granted. Photos of Heard from the very next day show her full face, without makeup, and not a single bruise.

 

"As Amber Heard is a known and proven domestic abuser, Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment should and must remove Heard from their Aquaman 2 film project. They must not ignore the suffering of Heard's victims, and must not glamorize a domestic abuser. 

 

"Men are victims of domestic abuse, just like women. This must be recognized, and action must be taken to prevent a known abuser from being celebrated within the entertainment industry.

 

"Do the right thing. Remove Amber Heard from Aqua man 2." 

 

 

Depp had said that days after Heard published an op-ed piece in The Washington Post claiming to be a victim of domestic abuse, he was dropped from the sixth instalment of Pirates of the Caribbean, despite being a leading character in the franchise —Captain Jack Sparrow.

 

"Two years had gone by of constant worldwide talk about me being this wife-beater. So I'm sure that Disney was trying to cut ties to be safe. The #MeToo movement was in full swing at that point,” Depp said on the stand.

 

He also said he would not be returning to Pirates of The Caribbean again, even if offered a chance to do so. 

 

In November 2020, at the request of Warner Bros, the actor was also forced to step down from his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

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President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday tweeted for the first time after Twitter operations were formally restored in Nigeria.

 

The President in his first post greeted Muslims in Nigeria and across the world, on the successful end of Ramadan, and the commemoration of Eid-el-Fitr.

The Buhari-led government had on June 4, 2021, announced the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria.

 

Telecommunications companies started blocking access to Twitter on June 5, after they received a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission to block access to Twitter.

 

The suspension by the Nigerian government came days after a post by Buhari on the 1967 civil war was deleted by the microblogging platform.

 

The government cited the persistent use of the platform for activities capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence as the reason for the suspension.

 

According to the NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool, Nigeria’s economy lost N104.02m ($250,600) every hour to the ban on Twitter as of December 2021.

 

The government, however, lifted the suspension on January 13, 2022.

 

In his first post after his return to the microblogging site, Buhari claimed his administration has been able to stem insecurity in the war-ravaged North-East Nigeria.

 

“After a period of fasting and reflection, this year, we have cause to welcome the occasion in hope. The battle waged against terrorists who falsely masquerade under the name of Islam is approaching its conclusion,” he posted.

 

“The fight has been long and hard. Final victory is within sight. Boko Haram and its offshoots’ final embers are now fading. Last month, the leader of ISWAP was killed in an airstrike. Since the New Year, thousands of fighters have surrendered.

 

“The territories they used to occupy are now seeing the return of those who were forced to flee their barbarity. Normality is finally beginning to return to the Northeast. It is a long process. Yet it is one we are, together, now embarking upon.

I would like to send my greetings and very best wishes to Muslims in Nigeria and across the world, on the successful end of Ramadan, and the commemoration of Eid-el-Fitr. pic.twitter.com/S2TFaV2ISR

— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) May 2, 2022

“With the designation of bandit groups as terrorists, the challenges of banditry & kidnapping are being tackled differently in the North-West and North-Central where the latest military acquisitions and Armed Forces are being fanned out across the region to thwart acts of terror.

 

“The administration is equally getting impressive reports of the special operations to curb crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering in the South-South, with millions of illegally refined products being impounded and illegal refineries destroyed.

 

"While we are making progress cleaning the environment, some evil people are busy causing more pollution and destruction.

In response to the disturbing rise in criminal attacks targeting law enforcement and public facilities in the South East, concerted military operations to rid the region of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) elements have, in recent weeks, led to the overrunning of IPOB/ESN bases, the seizure of weapons and the arrest of a large number of suspects.

 

"I have recently approved the establishment of a Naval Base in Oguta, Imo State, among other interventions to strengthen the security of lives, property and critical national infrastructure in the region.

"The reinvigoration of the war against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking is also showing positive results as shown by the arrest of over 12,300 offenders including seven drug barons; the conviction of 1,400, counseling and rehabilitation of about 8,000 drug users."

 

Following the ban, groups including the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, had dragged the government to the ECOWAS court.

 

The President's tweet comes a few days after one of the victims of the Kaduna-Abuja train attack gave birth at the kidnappers’ den.

 

The victim was said to be eight months pregnant in March 2022 when she was abducted alongside others when bandits attacked the train.

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This year's Eid-El-Fitri celebration did not go as planned for many workers in Kogi State as they have lamented the non-payment of their salaries by the state government.

Some of the workers, who spoke with Daily Post on Monday, said their hopes of getting their salaries were dashed with the Governor Yaya Bello-led government showing no commitment to paying them.

The aggrieved workers lambasted the Yahaya Bello's government for allowing the Muslim faithful to celebrate Sallah on empty stomachs

Despite the poor living condition of workers in his state, Bello last Wednesday picked N100 million Expression of Interest and nomination forms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in his bid to vie for the party's presidential ticket ahead of 2023 election

A civil servant simply identified as Abduallhi said: “After one month of Ramadan fast, look at us now, we are celebrating Sallah without a penny in our pocket. I can’t buy a single cup of garri for my family to feed this festive season.

“We all thought the Governor will do the needful, most especially now that he is eyeing the number one sit in Nigeria. But look at Kogi workers now, nothing to write home about. We are now beggars. What a shameful time for us all to experience this hardship under the present administration."

Also speaking, another civil servant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “This is the worst Sallah I will be experiencing in my life. No food, nothing. The cost of food stuff in the market is very high and if you go out there to buy some foodstuff, you will come back home with little.

“If the Governor had paid us our salary, the suffering would have reduced. I heard the Government will pay after Sallah. To me, it is medicine after death.”

Similarly, a widow with seven children, who has been working with the Kogi State Civil Service, also said, “Why is it that they enjoy inflicting pains on the poor masses? I am a widow with seven children. I don’t know what to do.

“My salary is in percentage. I am no longer complaining because that is where we have found ourselves. They should pay me my percentage salary. I heard our Governor bought the APC nomination form for N100m. That money will go a long way in feeding many Kogi workers during this Sallah. But look at us, we are suffering and smiling with an empty stomach”.

The state government has yet to react the workers' claims. 

Bello earlier in his Workers’ Day speech on May 1st, 2022, kept mum on when April salary will be paid to workers in the state.

“We are doing our best to overcome the percentage salary payments which currently persist at Local Government levels and which is traceable to the challenges associated with the collision between low government inflow and a heavy wage bill," he had said.

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A 50-year-old man, Haruna Daniel Babuwa has been accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in Gabar Da Kasuwa community, Potiskum Local Government Area of Yobe State. 
The victim was on Monday, April 25, 2022, sent on an errand to a nearby kiosk by her mother when Babuwa accosted and raped her, warning her not to disclose the incident to anyone.

Apart from forcibly having canal knowledge of the young girl, sources told SaharaReporters that Babuwa also threatened to kill her parent, after he was accused of rape.
He subsequently offered N150,000 to the family after he was arrested by the police.
A medical report of the victim seen by SaharaReporters showed that there was damage to her ovary and other reproductive organs.
According to her, last Monday was the fourth time Babuwa would be raping her. 
“He do (sic) give me N100, sometimes N200 before forcefully having sex with me,” the victim said.
Narrating how the incident happened, a resident of the community said, “The victim's family is in the very poor category in our community, the father is a wheelbarrow pusher. None of their family members is educated, so they did not know how to voice out the incident. They don’t know how they can be heard and get the justice they deserve. That’s why I and other community members decided to give a helping hand.
“The incident was committed on Monday (25/04/2022). According to the child's mother, the victim was sent by her mother to buy something at closeby shop in the afternoon and didn’t come back home until around 5 pm, the mother started to interrogate the child as to where she had been and at the end, the child narrated to the mother that it was the perpetrator called Haruna Daniel Babuwa (aka Haruna Akul) that called her to his house and did what he did to her. The mother immediately took the child to the police station in Potiskum and the police took them to the hospital.
“The medical report indicated that there was penetration and they confirmed that the penetration was fresh. Even though the family is poor, with the support from the community they have vowed to stand firm on this case until they get justice for their child, even if the case will be publicised, they will not regret it as long as they will get justice
“The police arrested the perpetrator and transferred the case to CID in the state capital, Damaturu. The victim’s family was offered N150,000 by the perpetrator to withdraw the case or they will lose the case and the money but the community members have mounted pressure on the victim’s family not to back down because this is not the first time the perpetrator would be accused of such immorality.
“The victim’s family is supposed to have been informed by the police about any progress in the case but they were only contacted on Friday (29/04/2022) that there would be a court sitting when the case had already been heard and bail had been granted upon their arrival in Damaturu and without their knowledge.”

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The National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) has lamented the killings and kidnappings going on in Nigeria, in its message to congratulate Muslims on the occasion of the 2022 Eid-el-Fitr. 

 

The council, therefore, called on the Muhammadu Buhari-led government to address the security challenges bedevilling the nation, NAN reports.

NCWS National President Lami Lau made the call on Monday in a statement issued in Abuja while congratulating the Muslim faithful for successful fasting.

 

“Our earnest prayer as Nigerian women is for the Federal Government to do all possible to address the security challenges in the country that has hindered development.

 

“As women, the state of the nation is of great concern to us. Our sons, daughters, husbands and fathers are either being killed, or kidnapped every day and we are very pained.

 

“We pray for the Federal Government and all security agencies that all their efforts will bear fruits,” she said.

 

Lau advised Muslims to imbibe the lessons of the fasting and wished that Allah would accept their prayers and make them among those who had gained from the event.

 

Lau advised Nigerians and women in particular to embrace the sacrifices made for the greater good of their families and the nation at large.

 

She advised women to be relentless in their prayers for Nigeria, especially as the 2023 general elections draw closer. 

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Ukraine's military chief has said that the Ukrainian Bayraktar drone destroyed two Russian Raptor-class patrol ships in the Black Sea on Monday, where Ukrainian soldiers rebuffed Moscow's demands to surrender at the start of its invasion, AFP reports. 

"Two Russian Raptor-class boats were destroyed at dawn today near Zmiinyi (Snake) Island," Chief of General Staff Valeriy Zaluzhniy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

There was no immediate reaction from Moscow to the claim.

The Ukrainian defence ministry also released video footage of the incident showing a missile attack causing an explosion on a military vessel said to be Russia.

"Two Russian Raptor boats destroyed at dawn today near Snake Island. Together to victory!" sharing the aerial footage the ministry wrote on Twitter.

"The Bayraktars are working," Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the commander in chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, was cited as saying in the statement.

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The Lagos State Police Command has commenced an investigation into the death of an Indian national, Devendra Singh, who allegedly committed suicide in the Ilupeju area of Lagos State.

 

According to Punch, the 42-year-old man was a field worker at the Agro Nigeria Limited, in the Ikeja area of the state.

Singh's driver, the report noted, had conveyed him to his office on Friday. However, things took another turn when Singh stayed in the office beyond the usual closing hour.

 

His driver was said to have called him on the phone number several times without any response after which he peeped through the window, only to see the lifeless body of his boss dangling from a rope.

 

A source told the newspaper, “The driver called his colleagues around 7.30 pm saying he brought his boss to the office in the morning and that his boss was not out and that he had tried calling him and he did not pick up his calls. His colleagues then informed their company’s chief security officer.

 

“A few minutes later, the driver peeped through the window of the office and saw that his boss had hanged himself on the iron hook used in holding a ceiling fan. Some of his colleagues, who rushed down to the place, also confirmed seeing the Indian man’s lifeless body dangling from the rope.

 

“So, they reported back to their CSO, who advised them to report to the police. It was the police that came to the private office to forcefully open the door and met his corpse in that same position.

 

“He locked himself inside the office and when the police managed to open the place, they saw the side table he climbed to hang himself and afterwards, he pushed it. Singh didn’t write any suicide note.”

 

After the police recovered Singh’s corpse on Friday, his remains were deposited in the mortuary at the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, for an autopsy.

 

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, had ordered an investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding Singh’s death.

 

He added, “Investigation has begun to ascertain if it is truly suicide or murder/manslaughter packaged as suicide.”

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United States-based Nigerian social critic, Prof Farooq Kperogi says former Senate President, Bukola Saraki won’t pay Nigerian workers if elected as President.
In a lengthy article via his social media page on Sunday, Kperogi, a professor of Journalism and Emerging Media at Kennesaw State University in Georgia accused the former Senate President of being “arrogant, corrupt, unfeeling wretch who as a governor and later a governor general hardly paid workers’ salaries.”

Saraki was governor of Kwara State from 2007 till 2011.
According to Kperogi, the only thing the PDP presidential aspirant is good at is paying people to "propagandize for him".
He said, “Bukola Saraki is one of the strongest contenders for PDP’s presidential nomination. On paper, his identity agnosticism (i.e., his capacity to be simultaneously a northerner and a southerner) is a great selling point, but he is, in reality, the most treacherous reprobate the party would have the misfortune to present.
“As a Kwaran I feel a moral obligation to warn the nation about what kind of person Saraki is outside his cunningly packaged media image. Saraki is an arrogant, corrupt, unfeeling wretch who, as a governor (and later a “governor general”), hardly paid workers’ salaries but who expended enormous resources to unleash sponsored media fury on workers who dared to tell the world that they were owed salaries.
“People who have followed me on Facebook since 2015 will remember that in October 2015, I publicized the plight of the lecturers in Kwara State’s colleges of education who hadn’t been paid salaries for months and who, before the complete stoppage of their salaries, had endured making do with only 70 percent of their salaries for several months.
“I followed up the status update with a full-length column in the Daily Trust titled “Who Will Save Kwara COE Lecturers from Saraki’s Deadly Grip?”. In the column, I wrote: “Senate President Bukola Saraki is called Kwara State’s ‘Governor- General’ for a reason: He is, for all practical purposes, the state’s de facto governor, and Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed is merely his impotent, obsequious caretaker. Ahmed must dutifully take orders from Saraki or risk losing his cushy surrogate governorship. This isn’t a flippant, ill-natured putdown of Governor Ahmed, who seems like a nice person; it’s an uncomfortable truth that many Kwarans know only too well.
“While Saraki and Ahmed sponsored infantile media attacks against me because of this, I did a Facebook fundraiser for the lecturers. One Dr. Nura Alkali kickstarted the fundraiser with a N200,000 donation. Several others followed. The money I helped raise gave the lecturers some reprieve, and the publicity the gesture generated at the time shamed Saraki and his flunkey into paying the lecturers’ salaries.
“But that was after many lecturers had died from starvation, after some of them had lost their children during childbirth because they couldn’t pay hospital bills, and after many of them had suffered the humiliation of not being able to send their children to school. This was also the story of Saraki’s tenure as a two-term governor. Salaries and pensions were never guaranteed.
“Memories of Saraki’s 16-year reign of terror for workers are still so enduringly traumatizing that when I wrote a critical article against Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq sometime ago (I called him a “third-rate governor”), my paternal uncle, who's a retiree, called to tell me that my critical opinions of the governor won’t resonate with workers or retirees because the governor had never owed salaries or pensions since he has been in power, which he said was a comforting departure from Saraki’s and Ahmed’s tenures.
"Imagine the depth of despair and misery people must have experienced in the past for them to celebrate a governor just because he pays salaries, which is their just and legal entitlement.
“In Nigeria, federal civil servants have historically been insulated from the terror of unpaid salaries. A President Saraki would ensure that even that little luxury disappears. He is unfathomably greedy and callous. He is also insufferably egotistical and condescending to people and groups that his sterile mind tells him are beneath him. In my March 9, 2019, column titled “Why the Saraki Political Dynasty Collapsed,” I shared an anecdote that illustrates this attitude.
“The only thing he is good at is paying people to propagandize for him, to manage the minds of people through artful traditional and social media manipulation to see him as someone he is not. Of course, he’s also good at paying headless troll farms to attack his opponents and critics. After Buhari, is that the kind of person you want as president?”

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Sule Lamido, a former Governor of Jigawa State and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to remember how he was demonised by key members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as President and not defect to the APC. 

Lamido said it would be unfair on the PDP and members of the party who sacrificed for Jonathan during his persecution by APC members, should he decide to join the ruling APC. 

SaharaReporters had in several reports exposed how a cabal in the ruling APC had been wooing Jonathan to join the party, promising to give him the presidential ticket of the party. 

Some of his supporters had recently stormed his Abuja office, chanting his name and asking him to contest for President in 2023.

Jonathan while addressing the supporters said he could not tell if he would be contesting the 2023 presidential election, but added that they should “just watch out”.

Lamido in an interview with Vanguard, however, warned the former President that he risked the wrath of God if he succumbed to ongoing appeals that he should join the APC, to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.

Lamido asked Jonathan to consider the suffering of PDP members who stood by him during the 2015 campaign, before deciding to join the ruling party.

He also recalled how the former President and many PDP supporters were persecuted by members of APC ahead of the 2015 presidential election, which Jonathan lost to Buhari.

He said, “The people of the North stood for Jonathan because they were working for Nigeria because they believed in Nigeria. I was called a Christian and pastor because of Jonathan. I was called anti-Islam because of Jonathan. Everything evil was me and all PDP people who supported Jonathan.

“That means all they went through, the pain, the humiliation, for supporting Jonathan in 2014 was nothing. Even Jega (then-INEC Chairman) was not left out. We went through hell in 2014 all for Jonathan. He called me during the election in Jigawa. I said “sir”, and he said, “I hope you are safe”. I said, “don’t worry sir. We are home and dry”. He said, “thank God”.

“Even though Buhari won in my state (Jigawa), in the polling units in my ward, he scored zero. I am taking the pain of this narration that Nigerians suffered a lot for Jonathan. And God has been good to Jonathan.

“It is for him now to reflect and see those people who demonised him, who called him evil, who said Boko Haram was PDP company in 2014. Buhari with APC members went on demonstration because fuel price was increased to 60-something naira. He (Buhari) was on the streets demonstrating.

“Let him check what El-Rufai (Kaduna governor) said about him. Let him go check what Lai Mohammed said about him. Let him go and check what the APC propaganda machine said about him in 2014. He lost.

“I knew the kind of humiliation he went through. How he lost the election through blackmail, threat and division between tribes and Christians and Muslims. I met him in the Presidential Villa four days after Buhari won the (2014) election. What I told him in the Villa is for another day. I won’t say that now. He should remember what I told him. He should take all this into consideration. Is this the way he wants to reward PDP? Is this way he is going to reward PDP for inventing him? Minus PDP, who will ever know anybody called Jonathan? Today, he is an international person, being called upon by the world to perform functions for the world.

"How did he get that kind of status? It is from PDP. Now, he is said to be going to APC because of greed, to destroy all this history of his? God will not allow him. If he goes, God will defend PDP.

“If he goes, he will meet the wrath of God. I urge him not to do it. The people courting him now are liars. They lied to get to government. I urge him in the name of God, the very God that made him from nothing, to think about PDP which made him from nothing. He should please reconsider. People are looking at him. You do not destroy the foundation that made you. These people ‘evilized’ him. He is now going to them, to turn him into saint? He should never ever believe in APC. APC is a creation of lies, cultured by lies, maintained with lies."

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The National Emergency Management Agency has confirmed the death of eight persons following the collapse of a three-storey building in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos Sunday night.

 

SaharaReporters had reported that the incident occurred around 9.30pm on Sunday and many occupants of the building were said to be trapped under the rubble.

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service Sunday night said rescue efforts had begun. By Monday morning, at least 23 persons including children were said to have been rescued alive.

 

Speaking with SaharaReporters on Monday morning, the acting coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed the death of eight persons.

 

He said, “23 persons have been rescued alive, eight dead. The incident happened at 9:30 pm yesterday and since then, we've been working.

 

”This morning, another building, a three-storey building nearly collapsed and that place has been evacuated and sealed up, it is about 200 metres apart from the current one but thank God we have evacuated them. 

 

“23 people have been rescued alive including seven children and 16 adults.”

 

Meanwhile, in a statement last night, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), said some of the injured victims had been rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital for treatment.

 

“On arrival at the incident scene, an old three-storey building comprising rooms and parlour was discovered to have collapsed.

 

“Further information gathered revealed that the incident occurred around 10.56 pm with an undetermined number of people trapped.

 

“A search-and-rescue operation is ongoing. Twenty rescued alive and out of the victims rescued, two sustained severe injuries and have been taken to LASUTH for further treatment,” he said.

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The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Leo Irabor has condemned the increase in cases of military personnel aiding and abetting terrorists and bandits in the country.

 

Irabor, in a letter sent to all commanders of various operations, which was exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, asked them to sensitise their officers to the implication of collaborating with the enemy.

“Recent happenings in various TOOs reveal an increase in cases of aiding and abetting by personnel. This development was revealed in different reports of arrests of military personnel within a short period of time,” the letter signed on behalf of the CDS by one CE Oji read.

 

“It would be recalled that a soldier was arrested by a covert intelligence Team for conniving with a confirmed terrorist informant known as Babagana Kura in Bama LGA, Borno State. 

“The arrests of these personnel are indicative of inside action that has continued to aid the adversary, pertinently with immediate or potential impact on operations.”

 

Recently, Lance Corporal Abdullahi Jibrin, an instructor with the Nigerian Army battalion in Geidam, Yobe State committed suicide.

 

He took his life after he was arrested for allegedly conniving with Boko Haram insurgents who attacked Yobe communities recently.

 

Jibrin, who disappeared from his duty post was said to have been sighted among the Boko Haram terrorists who had earlier attacked Geidam town.

 

Military sources said the soldier was tracked by an army intelligence unit and was found in Gashua, some hundreds of kilometres from his duty post.

 

In March, two Nigerian soldiers, Sergeant Alhaji Oloche (05NA/56/1435) and CPL Namo Daniel (09NA/62/1097) attached to the Operation Yaki security outfit in Kaduna State, were arrested for alleged kidnapping.

 

Also arrested was another soldier attached to Headquarters 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, PTE Danladi Hadau (20NA/79/4219), along with two vigilantes identified as Mustapha Kasim and Ibrahim Mohammed.

 

They were accused of abducting a resident of Dorayi village in the Zaria Local Government Area of the state, Alhaji Lawal Ahmed on March 3, 2022.

 

The suspects were arrested while attempting to collect ransom around Dumbi Dutse Road in Zaria.

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Gunmen on Saturday shot dead and then beheaded a couple who were operatives of the Nigerian army.

 

Military sources told SaharaReporters that A.M Linus, a sergeant first class in the army and his lance corporal wife were on their way to Imo State when the incident happened.

After beheading the couple, the gunmen were said to have called their family members to mock them. 

 

A gory video of the incident seen by SaharaReporters showed the gunmen putting the heads on the victims' chests after the incident.

 

“It’s so sad that we soldiers are no safer, the man was a member of the 19 regular intakes while the wife was of the 79RI.

 

“They were on their way to Imo state on Saturday when the incident happened. You won’t believe these gunmen as we speak still used their phones to make calls to their family members, making jest of them and threatening to kill them as well. 

 

“This couple just married recently, even their photoshoot caused a lot of criticism and seems they were punished for it.

 

“Though the man is married to another woman with grown-up kids, he suddenly eloped with this young soldier, I was told the girl also had kids before joining the army as well. 

 

“The man still has a father, his brother is also a soldier working at a battalion in Kaduna. The lady was also raped before they were beheaded,” a soldier told SaharaReporters.

 

Attacks by armed men have increased in the South-East in recent times. The attacks often target security agencies and government facilities.

 

The latest development comes a few hours after gunmen invaded a military checkpoint in Agulu, Anaocha LGA of Anambra state on Saturday and opened fire on soldiers, killing one in the process.

 

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), an outlawed group, has been linked to the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.

 

The leader of the group, Nnamdi Kanu, is currently detained in Abuja where he is facing trial for treason.

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Unknown Gunmen, on Saturday, launched an attack on the Agulu community in the Anaocha local government area of Anambra state.
 
The gunmen reportedly stormed the community in Hilux trucks and Toyota SUVs, attacked a military checkpoint along Agulu-Nanka Road by Agulu town hall, and shot at the soldiers.

According to reports, the sudden attack by the criminals forced soldiers at a checkpoint to flee.
 
Agulu community is the hometown of a presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi.
 
Some eyewitnesses claimed some of the soldiers were killed on the spot; however, in a video shared online, no casualty was shown though gunshots were heard.
 
The attack in Agulu comes barely 24 hours after hoodlums struck Osumenyi, another community in Anambra state and killed five people at a drinking joint on Friday night.

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The National Emergency Management Agency has confirmed the death of five persons following the collapse of a three-storey building in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos Sunday night.

SaharaReporters had reported that the incident occurred around Sunday night and that many occupants of the building were said to be trapped under the rubble.

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service Sunday night said rescue efforts had begun. By Monday morning, at least 23 persons including children were said to have been rescued alive.
 
The acting coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed the death of five persons to The PUNCH, saying, “Another three-storey building, on Lagos Street, about 200 metres away from the current scene has shown signs of distress with part throwing pebbles and falling off.
 
“The building had also been marked as distressed but the occupants were deviant. However, the building has been re-sealed and occupants evacuated by officers of Lagos State Buildings Control Agency.
 
“Four deaths including two male and two female. 23 people have been rescued alive including seven children and 16 adults. Another young man, Tahin, has just been recovered, making five deaths.”
 
Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), in a statement late Sunday, said some of the injured victims had been rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital for treatment.
“On arrival at the incident scene, an old three-storey building comprising rooms and parlour was discovered to have collapsed.
 
“Further information gathered revealed that the incident occurred around 10.56 pm with an undetermined number of people trapped.
 
“A search-and-rescue operation is ongoing. Twenty rescued alive and out of the victims rescued, two sustained severe injuries and have been taken to LASUTH for further treatment,” he said.

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Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has approved N40,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the state.

This was done in commemoration of the 2022 Workers’ Day.

Obaseki, while delivering his 2022 Workers’ Day speech on Sunday, said the N30,000 minimum wage can barely sustain a family.
 
He said, “As we all know, the minimum wage of N30,000 can barely sustain a family. It will be immoral and mindless of us to continue to pretend that we do not know that our workers are suffering.
 
“The government of Edo has now decided to review the minimum for Edo workers from N30,000 to N40,000 a month. Undoubtedly, Edo is the first state since the current outbreak of coronavirus to take this initiative.
 
“Even though we would have loved to pay more, we hope that this little adjustment would enable us to cushion the impact of the inflation that we are faced with. There is no doubt that the financial implications will be heavy and put another burden on the government.
 
“But as a government, we are prepared to make the sacrifices so that the workers can live a better life. Your welfare is our number one priority.”

Lamenting the hardship experienced by pensioners and other senior citizens because of the current economic challenges and rising inflation, the governor said, “I am particularly interested in our senior citizens because they are one of the most vulnerable in our society. We took interest in payments of outstanding pensions to our pensioners although these pensions were held by the previous administration.
 
“In view of the prevailing economic circumstances, I have now approved, effective this May, the agreement we reached with the Union of Pensioners that the harmonised amount would be paid from May 2022.

“Government is aware of the difficulties faced by the pensioners due to the non-payment of pension and gratuities to pensioners by previous governments. This responsibility is huge, and it will require a substantial part of our resources to settle them.
 
“However, we are not a government that is known for running away from challenges; we will look for a way to tackle these challenges.”

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One person was reportedly killed on Sunday, the eve of Sallah, in a renewed cult clash in the Okesuna/Ojagboro area of Ilorin, Kwara State capital.
 
According to Daily Post, the deceased was identified as one Tantala.

He was allegedly killed during a brawl among members of suspected rival cult groups.
 
The bloody clash, according to eyewitness accounts, started around 11:00 pm. A rival cult group hacked down and killed the victim, who was a suspected cult member.
 
The Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Okasanmi Ajayi, confirmed the violence, saying, “The information is true and the Commissioner of Police, Tuesday Assayomo, has ordered an investigation into the incident.”

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Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, on Sunday visited the Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho, in Cotonou, Benin Republic.

Soyinka also held a closed-door meeting with the Yoruba Nation Leader and the coordinator of the Ilana Omo Oodua group, Prof Banji Akintoye, as well as his deputy, Prof Wale Adeniran, in the city.

Igboho, who was arrested in the West African country in mid-2021 had spent more than five months in custody before he was freed to leave the cell but not the country.

Soyinka said he had always wanted to see Igboho, to "sympathise with his predicament".

The Nobel laureate, who was seen at the Seme border around 12pm on Sunday, was observed crossing to Cotonou, the commercial capital of Benin Republic. 

PHOTONEWS: Wole Soyinka, Wale Adeniran and Banji Akintoye after a closed-door meeting with Sunday Ighoho On Sunday In Cotonou, Benin Republic.

📸: Maxwell Adeleye pic.twitter.com/YHpmTZo3rf

— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) May 1, 2022

He was reportedly mobbed by a crowd while waiting to complete immigration formalities and repeatedly asked where he was headed. 

His response was that he was on a visit to the Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Igboho to "break the Muslim fast with him." 

Reminded that neither he nor Ighoho was a Muslim, he asserted that it made no difference. He said he had wished to see Igboho, so as to sympathise with his predicament. 

Ramadan is as good as any other season to express non-denominational solidarity, added Soyinka.

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File photo

There is presently anger among Nigerian Army personnel as they lament that the Federal Government has yet to pay their April salaries amidst the ongoing Eid-el-Fitri celebrations nationwide.
Some of the soldiers currently fighting insurgency, banditry, terrorism and other crimes across Nigeria spoke with SaharaReporters, saying they are unhappy that the Nigerian Government refused to pay them their April 2022 salaries.

File photo
According to some of the soldiers who spoke on condition of anonymity, the non-payment of their April 2022 salaries has deprived them and their families of having a small respite during the Sallah holiday.
This development they say goes to show how insensitive the government and their superiors are to their huge sacrifices to the nation.
“We don’t know how the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the military hierarchy could sleep freely at night in their cozy beds while we are out in the streets hungry with our families even during festivities,” one of them lamented.  
However, some senior officers of the Finance Corps of the military said the non-payment of the April 2022 salaries of troops was not the fault of the military. According to them, the military authorities did not receive funds from the government until 28 April, 2022.
According to the pay officers, they had sent salary schedules with mandates to the Central Bank of Nigeria on the same 28 April, 2022 in anticipation of receipt of the funds. Unfortunately, the CBN was unable to effect the payment of salaries to Nigerian soldiers on 28 April, 2022 because the bank claimed its e-payment platform was down.
The senior paymaster that spoke said that representatives of the military remained in CBN till almost 11 pm on 28 and 29th April, 2022, hoping that the bank's platform will come up to effect payment of troops' salaries before Sallah.
Regrettably, CBN's IT department informed the military paymasters around 9pm on 29 April, 2022 that the platform was not responding to all the troubleshooting that they did and as such there was nothing they could do.
“Against all entreaties by our representatives to the CBN staff to tarry a bit or continue on Saturday, April 30, 2022 noting that it was better late than never at least, the CBN staff would not listen and promised to continue on Wednesday 4th April, 2022 after the holiday.
“There was nothing we could do under the circumstance since it was Federal Government's directive under TSA to all Government Ministries, Agencies and Departments; including the military to domicile their accounts with the CBN and effect all payments inclusive of salaries through the CBN,” one of the military account officers said.
They concluded that they had notified their respective Service Headquarters of the development accordingly.
Despite the explanation, most of the soldiers are unconvinced about the seriousness of the government and their superiors to their welfare. They wondered why and how a responsible Government bank like CBN that is aware of current security challenges in the country will joke with soldiers’ welfare.
Speaking further, the soldiers demanded that the government investigates the CBN’s blunder and sanction whoever was responsible appropriately.
“Whatever is the case, Nigerian soldiers that are currently bearing the brunt of pervasive insecurity in the country deserve better treatment. Government should have anticipated that some of the soldiers are Muslims and have been observing the Ramadan fasting even while deployed in the frontlines.
“They should have anticipated that their April 2022 salaries would be paid on time to enable them to celebrate the Sallah holiday with their families. At least that would have provided temporary succour to the soldiers and boosted their morale,” a source said.
SaharaReporters’ investigation revealed that the personnel cost of the military is released by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation along with other MDAs after the monthly ritual by FAAC.
Meanwhile, that of the Military Pensions Board comes from the Service Wide vote thereby enabling the Board to receive funds and effect payment of military pensions most of the time even before serving soldiers.
Another official familiar with the matter said, “For example, President Muhammad Buhari as a military pensioner received his April 2022 pensions alongside other military pensioners on 28 April, 2022. There is, therefore, need for the Federal Government to consider prioritizing personnel cost of the Nigerian military because of the importance of salary to an average soldier.
“It is because of the avowed discipline of the Nigerian military that the soldiers remained calm over a sensitive issue like thee monthly salaries that have generated furore elsewhere with dire consequences. Therefore, let us not take our soldiers for granted despite their enormous sacrifices to the nation. Let the CBN Governor ensure that this does not repeat itself and warn his staff to accord payment of salaries of Nigerian soldiers and other security agencies too most priority going forward.
“The CBN ought to have more than one e-payment platform to cater for this type of emergency. Soldiers' salaries may look trivial to the CBN Governor and his staff but without the soldiers' sacrifices, there may not be a CBN in the first place let alone a Governor and his nonchalant and unpatriotic staff. Our soldiers deserve better treatment and our respect all the time please.”

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The building before the collapse

A three-storey building has collapsed on Ibadan Street, Ebute Metta, Lagos.
The incident occurred around 9.30pm on Sunday.

Many occupants of the building were said to be trapped under the rubble as of the time of filing this report. 

The building before the collapse Google

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service on Sunday said rescue efforts had begun.

The announcement read, “An alert of a collapse of a three-storey building by 32 Ibadan Street, Ebute Meta was received at 21:48 hours, Sunday with Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service already at the scene.
“Search and Rescue ongoing with updates to follow, please.”

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The official history of Nigeria claims that the Independence of Nigeria was won by nationalist politicians on the platter of gold. But contrary to such dubious claim the Nigerian workers, women and the youths who fought for the nation's independence suffered casualties in the hands of the British colonial police. Apart from killing women who demanded for cancellation of double taxation and workers who demanded better conditions of service the colonial regime jailed young activists who demanded for a socialist reconstruction of Nigeria. In fact, it was for this reason that the British government entered into a class alliance with the nationalist politicians with a view to retaining the status quo in order to protect the interests of imperialism. Hence, flag independence was packaged and bequeathed to the nationalist politicians in October 1960.
When the civilian regime was sacked in 1966 by military officers who later led the nation to fight a civil war and installed a regime of repression and corruption it was the working class and other progressive forces that fought against unending military dictatorship. However, successive military and civilian regimes ensured, through draconian laws and backward civil service rules that Nigerian workers are completely ostracised from the political terrain. It is on record that majority of the politicians who formed the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) in May 1994 had served military regimes in various capacities. They were therefore involved in the struggle against military dictatorship after the annulment of the results of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Bashorun MKO Abiola, only for restoration back to power and preservation of class interests.
At the end of military rule the political class who took over the reins of power have made a complete mockery of constitutional rule and endangered the democratic process. Happily, the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress have resolved to reposition the Labour Party to contest political power with members of the ruling class. In order to achieve the historic objective the labour movement should proceed to mobilise Nigerian workers and allies to embark on mass registration of the members of the Labour Party. This has become a daunting task in view of the undeniable fact that the members of the political class have virtually collapsed the neocolonial State through the implementation of anti people's political and economic programmes for the past 23 years.

The dividend of democracy promised by the ruling class parties has turned out to be worsening insecurity, gross economic mismanagement and grand corruption. Since the resolution of the labour movement to mobilise the oppressed people of Nigeria to get organised and participate in the electoral politics of the country is going to be questioned by the ruling class it is pertinent to point out that the fundamental right of workers to belong to the Labour Party is recognized by section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution which provides that "every person shall be entitled to assembly freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any association for the protection of his interests."
Like other citizens, workers are equally entitled, by virtue of section 39 of the Constitution, to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference. In Inspector-General of Police v All Nigeria Peoples Party (2008) 12(WRN 65 the Court of Appeal annulled the issuance of police permit for rallies and other public meetings on the grounds that it was a breach of the fundamental rights of citizens to freedom of expression and association guaranteed by sections 39 and 40 of the Constitution. In line with the judgment, section 83 of the Police Establishment Act 2020 has imposed a duty on the police to provide adequate security for participants in peaceful rallies and public meetings.
In addition to constitutional provisions the Government of Nigeria has ratified the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)5 both of 1966 as well the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) 1981 which guarantee freedom of association and freedom of expression. Indeed, the right of workers to associate and organise is enshrined in the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention 1948 (No. 87)6 and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention 1949 (No. 98) of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Section 254C(2) of the Constitution has conferred exclusive jurisdiction on the National Industrial Court to enforce provisions of all ILO Conventions that have been ratified by Nigeria.
In the case of Independent National Electoral Commission v Balarabe Musa & Ors (2003) 10 WRN 1 the Supreme Court faulted the civil service rules which restrict the participation of civil servants and other public servants in the politics of the county. In the leading judgment of the apex court, the Honourable Justice Ayoola JSC held that "There is nothing reasonably justifiable in a democratic society in the interest of defense, public safety, public order, public morality or public health in prohibiting a member of the public service or civil service … from eligibility to be registered as a member of a political party. The submission that the restriction is a valid derogation from section 40 by virtue of section 45 (1)(a) of the Constitution was erroneous."
In his concurring judgment, Mr. Justice Uwais, the then Chief Justice of Nigeria said that "The provisions of section 40 of the 1999 Constitution are clear. Their import is to allow 'every person,' including public office holders and civil servants, the freedom to assemble freely and associate with other persons to form or belong to any political party, or trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests. The section has made no exception and there is no proviso therein limiting its application to civil servants or public officers."
Even though the civil service rules were not set aside as its legal validity was not challenged in the case, it has been held by the Court in several cases that sections 7, 66 (1); 107 (1) (f); 137 (1) (g); 142(2); 182 and 187(2) of the 1999 Constitution permit civil servants and other public officers who wish to contest elections to resign their positions 30 days to the date of elections for all the various positions of the President and Vice President, Governors and Deputy Governors, Federal and State Legislators as well as Chairmen and Councillors. See FAYEMI v. ONI & ORS (2019) LPELR-46623(CA); PPA v. PDP & ORS (2009) LPELR-4865;(CA); ADAMU V. TAKORI (2010) ALL FWLR (P. 540) 1387 (C.A)
Notwithstanding that the Constitution is silent on the right of workers in the private sector to participate in politics it is submitted that they are equally entitled to contest elections without any legal entanglement. However, like civil servants, private sector workers who wish to contest elections are advised, subject to agreements reached with their employers, and/or the applicable conditions of service, to resign their positions or ask for leave of absence. It is therefore incumbent on workers in the private and public sectors to stop agonising about the problems confronting the country. This is the time to get organised with other pro-labour, radical and human rights forces and insist that a new Nigeria is possible.
Femi Falana SAN,
Interim Chair,
Alliance on Surviving Covid 19 and Beyond (ASCAB)
May Day, 2022.

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