The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) on Friday condemned the zoning of the 2023 presidency, noting that it contradicts the standard norms of democracy.
This was made known by the NEF Convener, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, during a meeting with the Coalition of Northern Groups in Zaria, Kaduna State.

Ango affirmed that political parties should allow their members freely vote for candidates of their choice. He noted that the power-sharing deal between the northern and southern regions of Nigeria was dead and buried.
“Candidates should be allowed to contest elections on the basis of merit and their competence. Merit should be the yardstick to get the country’s next president, the position should be open to standard norms of the democratic process,” he said.
Ango explained that he presided over the selection of the northern presidential consensus aspirants – which involved former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State – in his personal capacity and “not on behalf of Northern Elders Forum.”

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The Human & Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has condemned the arrest of the former chairman of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, Muhuyi Rimingado, by policemen in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Rimingado was on Thursday arrested at the Sokoto State Governor’s lodge in Abuja, where he went for screening as a Kano governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party.

HEDA in a statement signed by its Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, and obtained by SaharaReporters on Friday, condemned the action of the Nigeria Police Force.
According to Suraju, it would be ideal if the police act in a civil and professional manner while discharging their professional obligations.
He said Magaji was being framed and persecuted for his selfless works as anti-corruption czar in Kano, which undoubtedly never went down well with some persons in government of the state and beyond.
“We demand the release of Mr. Muhuyi Rimingado Magaji. We believe that he is being persecuted because of his audacious, fearless and transparent service in the state. Nigeria needs a man of this caliber who was out to work on mandate no matter whose ox is gored.
“Every sane person was supposed to encourage the Public office holder who wants to deliver desired results, and not to fight against him/her. The country is in a mess today principally because of rapacity of some state actors who were/are bent at milking the country dry.
“But the likes of Magaji wanted to bring every nefarious, rapacious and voracious persons in Kano to book as an anti-corruption czar; however he was removed. We condemn every act of persecution against him without a cause. We also objurgate Police Actions and the pliability of the force in the harassment and persecution of corruption fighters across the country. The force is by law the primary law enforcement agency in the fight against corruption which has not only abdicated that responsibility but colludes with corrupt elements to inflict injuries on those fighting to save the country. We therefore call for civility and Professionalism in the work of Nigerian Police Force,” he maintained. 
Recall that in July 2021, the state’s House of Assembly asked Magaji to step aside as the state anti-graft agency boss for a month after he kicked against the posting of an accountant to the agency from the Office of the Accountant-General of the state.
Though he applied for the reversal of his suspension at the National Industrial Court in Abuja, he has not been recalled since.
Meanwhile, before he was suspended, Magaji had complained of interference and intimidation from officials of the state, especially the governor.
It was revealed that he was suspended in July 2021 after opening a probe on financial scandals and inflated contracts allegedly awarded to some companies linked to the governor’s family.

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File photo used to illustrate story.

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Rivers State, Farah Dagogo, has been remanded in police custody, following an order made by a Magistrate Court sitting in Port Harcourt, presided over by Chief Magistrate Amadi Nna.
The order was given sequel to the two-count charge of conspiracy to felony and cultism against the defendant.

File photo used to illustrate story.
The court referenced a new rule which does not empower Magistrate Court to hear a case of cultism.
Consequently, the matter was adjourned till 9th of May, for possible arraignment and consideration of bail.
The police had arrested Dagogo on the order of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers.
Wike had asked the police to arrest the lawmaker representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives over activities related to cultism.
He was arrested by a team of police officers at about 6:30pm on Thursday when he went for his screening at the south-south zonal office of the PDP in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Journalists were, however, barred by the fully armed security operatives from covering the arrest of the governorship aspirant who is a beneficiary of the Federal Government’s amnesty granted to militants in the Niger Delta.
In calling for his arrest, Wike had accused Dagogo of hiring cultists to attack the PDP secretariat in Port Harcourt.
According to him, the cultists allegedly hired by the lawmaker stormed the PDP secretariat and disrupted the screening of aspirants for various elective positions.

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The family of Daberechi Oktopo has accused a yet-to-be-identified travel agent of subjecting a young Nigerian woman to prostitution instead of getting her a decent job as agreed before she travelled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The agreement was that the lady would work as a sales representative in Dubai or Ajman emirate, where she is said to be currently staying.

According to the family, Daberechi who travelled to the middle-eastern country on April 5, 2022, is being forced to have sex every day with different people.
They said despite reporting the matter to the police in the emirate of Ajman, nothing was done to rescue the young lady.
The source said Daberechi is a Christian lady “who was only seeking greener pastures”.
“It is human nature to migrate from one place to another place for countless purposes which are geographical, occupational, political, to mention but a few. It is very disheartening that some bad people are using this as an avenue to perpetrate their evil deeds by converting people into sex slaves and some other illegal occupations.
 
“Daberechi Oktopo travelled to Dubai on the 5th of April 2022 based on an agreement that she would work as a sales representative but the sound of the music changed when she got there. She is being subjected to work as a sex worker, which she refused. She was being forced to get involved in the sex trade.
 
“She has reached out to the Dubai police but nothing has been done about it, which made her suspect that the person involved might be highly connected because the police don’t compromise with cases like such. We also helped her to contact the Ajman police headquarters via their Facebook page but the response was programmed.
 
“We hereby call on Mr Youssef Sultan al-Ajmani and Hamad Saeed al-Matrushi to look into the matter because it seems there are some bad eggs that need to be flushed out of your forces.
 
“This girl is being forced to have sex every day and it is disheartening we can't rescue her. She left her family here in Nigeria with the hope of coming back to take care of them. She might contract bad diseases from unprotected sex.
 
“Let's unanimously say ‘no to human slavery’ in any form and help the victim, along with many others who are facing this type of ordeal but have nobody to fight for them,” a member of the family told SaharaReporters.

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The management of RemX Capital, a B2B service provider, has reacted to allegations of money laundering and corruption levelled against the company.
 
The Nation newspaper in Kenya had reported that two Nigerian Fintech tycoons affiliated with the company, Eghosasere Nehikhare and Bukunmi Olufemi Demuren, and another Nigerian, are being investigated by the Kenyan government and Interpol for a string of suspicious transfers of $221 million (N128 billion) from Nigeria.
 
A source privy to the matter claimed that the three Nigerians enjoyed the backing of a powerful Kenyan politician and two Kenyans wired the cash in US dollars and Euros to Kenyan banks through multiple companies registered locally with shared ownership and suspect addresses.
 
Reacting in a statement, the executive management of the company debunked the claims stating that the media reports showed its duties were misinterpreted.
 
According to the statement, RemX is a Business to Business (B2B) multi-currency treasury management start-up company aimed at solving cross-border currency challenges, experienced by companies operating in different African markets.
 
The company further claimed it does not provide services to Politically-Exposed-Persons (PEPs) nor does it have any affiliation with any politician, describing the media reports as fictitious.
 
It added, “The founders of Multigate, RemX and every company mentioned in these articles do not know and have no relationships or affiliations to any politician in Nigeria, Kenya or in any of the markets we operate in.
 
“These articles also make an issue of the fact that the commissioning of one of our offices by the government, suggests an improper relationship.
 
“Please note that the government promotes Nigerian entrepreneurs, and it is a well-known fact that over 100 commissioning’s have been conducted over the last 7 years. To suggest an untoward relationship of political affiliations because of this, without any sort of proof is unfortunate
and unprofessional.
 
"The articles have also attempted to tie a series of stakeholder engagements with government representatives which is common anywhere in the world, to improper activity without any proof of such and how they connect to our companies.
 
“Our companies mentioned above, routinely move funds legally and internationally in large amounts to perform its services and these articles have sought to isolate a number of transfers without providing supporting evidence of money laundering.
 
“The mere fact that large amounts of money are moved by our businesses does not make it money laundering and demonstrates a lack of understanding of our business model. We would have been happy to explain this to the journalists however, in a surprising breach of journalistic responsibility, neither of these publications reached out to us for comments or clarification.
 
“There was no money laundering involved. Rather, these companies engaged solely in treasury management and currency hedging services to corporate clients that work in different African markets.
 
“Contrary to the article’s claim, all money received by RemX are from electronic payment processing and settlement of corporate client funds which are legitimate businesses in Kenya, Nigeria and worldwide.
 
“The fact that we have multiple companies operating in different countries does not make this a money-laundering operation and while the articles have gone to great lengths to show common ownership, which is public knowledge, they did not apply this same diligence to providing any evidence of money laundering.
 
“Please note that prior to these articles and at this time, we have no knowledge of an Interpol investigation, neither have we been contacted or interrogated.”
 

Interpol Probe: It’s True Our Company, RemX, Moves Large Funds Internationally, We Don’t Launder Money–Firm... by Sahara Reporters on Scribd

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An American citizen, Willy Joseph Cancel, was killed fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in Ukraine, members of Cancel's family confirmed to CNN.
The 22-year-old was working with a private military contracting company when he was killed on Monday. The company had sent him to Ukraine, and he was being paid while he was fighting there, Cancel's mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN.

Cancel, a former US Marine, according to his mother, signed up to work for the private military contracting company on top of his full-time job as a corrections officer in Tennessee shortly before the war in Ukraine broke out at the end of February, Cabrera said. When the war began, the company, according to Cabrera, was searching for contractors to fight in Ukraine and Cancel agreed to go, Cabrera said.
"He wanted to go over because he believed in what Ukraine was fighting for, and he wanted to be a part of it to contain it there so it didn't come here, and that maybe our American soldiers wouldn't have to be involved in it," Cabrera told CNN in a phone interview.
Cancel flew to Poland on March 12 and crossed into Ukraine sometime over March 12 and 13, Cabrera said.
The group of men Cancel was fighting alongside were from "all different countries," Cabrera said.
Cabrera was told by those who notified her of her son's death that his body had not been found.
"They haven't found his body," she said. "They are trying, the men that were with him, but it was either grab his body or get killed, but we would love for him to come back to us."
A State Department official said they are "aware of these reports and are closely monitoring the situation."
"Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment," the official added. "We once again reiterate US citizens should not travel to Ukraine due to the active armed conflict and the singling out of US citizens in Ukraine by Russian government security officials, and that US citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so, using any commercial or other privately available ground transportation options."
Cancel leaves behind a 7-month-old baby and a wife, Cabrera said. Cancel was living in Tennessee before he left for Ukraine, and is originally from Orange County, New York, said Devin Tietze Jr., Cancel's brother-in-law.
Cabrera said Cancel "always put everybody ahead of himself."
"He was just a really thoughtful person. He always put everybody ahead of himself even when situations were so stressful," Cabrera said of her son. "He always kept everybody laughing and calm. He was the man that stood up when everybody else stood back."
Tietze said Cancel was the "type to fight for what's right regardless of the outcome," when asked why Cancel had decided to join the fight in Ukraine.
"He believed wholeheartedly this shouldn't have happened and he wanted to go help the people in Ukraine," Tietze said in a phone interview.
Earlier on Thursday the British government confirmed a UK citizen had been killed in Ukraine and said officials are "urgently seeking further information" on another who is missing, a UK Foreign Office spokesperson told CNN.
"We can confirm that a British national has been killed in Ukraine and are supporting their family," they said.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry created a special unit, the International Legion, for foreign fighters who wanted to join the fight against Russia.
More than 20,000 volunteers and veterans from 52 countries had expressed their desire to join the fight as of March 7, according to Brig. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, commander of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry, which will run this legion.
CNN previously reported on foreign nationals, including citizens from the US and the UK, who had left home to join the fight in Ukraine.

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The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has begun the screening of its presidential aspirants in Abuja.

SaharaReporters learnt that the screening was still ongoing as of the time of filing this report. 

It was learnt that the screening committee had already screened former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Senate President, Bukola Saraki and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim. 

Other aspirants to be screened include the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed; Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal; and Media businessman, Dele Momodu.

Others are Oliver Tariela Diana; Mohammed Hayatu-Deen; Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike; Sam Ohuabunwa; Emmanuel Udom; former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi; former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose; Charles Okwudili; Chikwendu Kalu; and Ndukwe Cosmos.

SaharaReporters on Thursday reported that the party had released the list of presidential aspirants to be screened today (Friday).

The last day for the submission of already completed forms was April 25 and the date for the screening of presidential aspirants had been fixed for April 29.

The list obtained by SaharaReporters on Thursday included the following names: former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Senate President Bukola Saraki; former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim; Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed; Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal; and Media businessman, Dele Momodu.

Others are Oliver Tariela Diana; Nwachukwu Amakwenze; Mohammed Hayatu-Deen; Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike; Sam Ohuabunwa; Emmanuel Udom; former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi; former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose; Charles Okwudili; Chikwendu Kalu; and Ndukwe Cosmos.

A statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in Abuja last Thursday had given new dates for the screening of aspirants for various offices.

The PDP had fixed its presidential nomination form and expression of interest forms N40 million, governorship N21 million, Senate N3.5 million, House of Representatives N2.5 million and State House of Assembly N600,000.

Mr Ologunagba said after thorough consideration of various issues and concerns in the party, the PDP extended the closing dates for the purchase of expression of interest and nomination forms to Friday.

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The Center for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR) has condemned the role played by the Lagos State Government in the ongoing leadership tussle in the state chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
 
The group, in a statement by its President, Alex Omotehinse, said the leadership tussle in the state chapter of the NURTW has caused security concerns for residents and road users who are “now being harassed, assaulted occasionally harmed, intimidated and killed on (a) daily basis through the modus- operandi of the park management alleged to be teleguided by men and some officers of the Nigeria police under Lagos state command".

According to the group, between April 19 and 23, at least 1,000 transport vehicles were vandalised. It added that a filling station was attacked due to alleged links with the chairman of the Tricycle Owners & Operators Association Of Nigeria (TOOAN).
 
CHSR condemned what it described as a selective encroachment, asking, “Why are TOOAN parks the only ones being subjected to attack while okada (commercial motorcycle) riders union, RTEAN and tricycle operators’ union that is affiliated to RTEAN are still operating? This is a pure show of injustice on the part of the state government (government making thuggery a lucrative business).”
 
The group further condemned the Nigeria Labour Congress over its silence on the issue, saying it ought to have resolved the dispute.
 
According to the statement, the NURTW and TOOAN were independent unions until they were merged under Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration in the state. However, they retained their structure.
 
The trouble started when the former chairman, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, emerged as the NURTW Lagos state council chairman and dissolved the organogram, limiting them to a zonal level, the statement by the group said.

It said the action taken by MC Oluomo contravened and negated the bilateral relationship existing between them as an affiliate.
 
The NURTW national body subsequently suspended Oluomo, according to the provisions of their constitution but the latter invited the Lagos State Government to proscribe the activities of the union in the state.
 
The CHSR said it came as a shock when, less than 24 hours, the state House of Assembly “stooped so low by summoning an emergency preliminary section to yield to MC Oluomo's call, asking the Lagos State government to take over union activities in Lagos state and the Assembly quickly dusted the state archive and came out with Lagos State Park And Garden Authority law established and abandoned since 2011 (which has not been operating)”.
 
“The Lagos State government through the office of the Commissioner for Information announced the taking over of parks and garages in the state (what a shameful reaction),” the group said.
 
The CHSR said it was shameful that the Lagos State House of Assembly could be proactive regarding MC Oluomo’s call when it had yet to summon an emergency preliminary session to address security challenges facing the state.

The group referred to the case of deceased Bamishe Ayanwole, a young lady who was allegedly kidnapped, raped and murdered by a driver of the public Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

The CHSR added, “The ingenuity and insincerity of Lagos State government in banning the operation of NURTW is seen to the blind and heard to the deaf as Road Transport Employee Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), a twin sister of NURTW were left operating without check.

“Even after they banned NURTW, MC Oluomo’s men are still on road harassing transporters and road users on a daily basis while the government looks away; this clearly shows that the Lagos State government's target was not to ban union activities but to fight back the national body of NURTW for suspending their so-called man and representative in the union.
 
“This is typically a show of might by the Lagos State government as the extortion of transporters and road users are still very much rooted in the state (Lagosians are being milked by government proxy).
 
“While going through the composition of high powered 25 members of the Lagos State Park Management Committee, the Lagos State Government has trampled on the act that established the law.
 
“According to section 12 of the act, there shall be a general manager who will be the chief executive officer and be responsible for the general administrative and day-to-day activities of the park management with five other members but the committee as composed is alien to the law of the state, wherein the act as constituted and signed by law is the provision for executive chairman and governor liaison officer?”
 
The group called on the state government to review its actions and take a U-turn.
It added, “The State government should retrace its step by calling both the NURTW National body, the suspended Lagos State council chairman MC Oluomo and all the stakeholders in the transportation sector for genuine dialogue in order to make an amicable resolution in the interest of peaceful co-existence.
“Lagos State House of Assembly must as a matter of urgency reconvene another emergency plenary section that will comprise all stakeholders, including the civil society to debate a way out and fashion a reasonable solution before the issue degenerate beyond expectations as the transport sector is one of the most critical sectors that involved all citizens
 
“The Lagos State government should play the role of an unbiased umpire and be a true peacemaker by reconstituting the committee to incorporate critical, stakeholders in the transportation sector and to include them in the committee. members of other factions as mentioned above.
 
“We demand that the Lagos State commissioner of police should direct his officers and men to always maintain their neutrality in approaching this issue anywhere in the state where it is seen that there is an attack on the other faction rather than protecting one against another.

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Wema Bank Plc has accused a Lagos businessman, Timi Popoola of being behind the recent reports in the media regarding money laundering and bribery allegations on a customer’s transaction.
 
The bank in a letter to the businessman by its lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, also faulted a police report signed by the Commander of Area G, Lagos, ACP Ibrahim Zungura, alleging its management staff members fraudulently moved N1.7 billion to an account number 0122367964, domiciled in the financial institution.

According to the letter, the police boss is a lodger in a guest house operated by the businessman at Block 92, Plot 4B, Naomi Thomas Street, Peace Valley Zone, Magodo, GRA Phase 11, Lagos.
 
The bank also threatened to sue Popoola if he desists from allegedly blackmailing the financial institution.
 
The letter read, “Sometime in the year 2021, you had approached my clients for the release of your property on the ground of an alleged side arrangement (unknown to my clients) between you and the borrower to the effect that the use of your property as mortgage security for the amount borrowed would be for (a) duration of six months only.
 
“The contention was, of course, baseless having regards to the terms upon which you mortgaged the property to my client. You were instead advised by my client to arrange for the liquidation of the debt in order to obtain the discharge of the mortgage security.
 
“Obviously, unhappy with this advice, you returned sometime later to my clients, claiming to have come into possession of some undisclosed but allegedly embarrassing information against their institution, but which you were offering in exchange for the discharge of the mortgage on your property and the release of your title documents.
  See Also Exclusive EXCLUSIVE: Document Exposes How Wema Bank Officials Offered Policeman Bribe To Stop Investigation On N1.7billion Money Laundering, Fraud 0 Comments 1 Week Ago
“My clients, of course, refused to succumb to your blackmail and repeated its advice to you to the effect that nothing but the liquidation of the debt against the repayment of which you pledged the property as security would make them release the encumbrance on your property. Shortly thereafter, my clients started receiving letters to attend the office of one ACP ID Zungura, Area Commander of the Area G Command, Ogba, of the Nigeria Police Force who claimed to be ‘investigating a case of fraudulent activities and money laundering reported’ to him by you.
 
“This officer (ACP ID Zungura) just conveniently happened to be a lodger in a Guest House you operate at Block 92, Plot 4B, Naomi Thomas Street, Peace Valley Zone, Magodo, GRA Phase 11, Lagos. So, it did not come as surprise when he claimed to have investigated your complaint and found it to be true.”
 
The bank added that the case which had Isaac Adewole, the Managing Director of Shibahwells Energy, and Kingsley Ananwude, a staff member was struck out over “lack of merit”.
 
“Upon a subsequent legal advice of the Honorable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the charge (as contrived between you and your tenant, ACP ID Zungura, against my clients’ Kingsley Ananwude and Shibahwells Energy’s Adewole Isaac) was determined unworthy and therefore struck out by the magistrate on the 15th day of March.”

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A court in Rwanda has sentenced a Muslim cleric to five years in prison for killing a pig in a mosque.
Three witnesses told the court that they saw the Imam, Sadate Musengimana, beating the pig with a piece of wood, killing it on the spot, BBC reports.

His lawyer says he killed the animal accidentally with a stick when he tried to chase it away from the mosque in the Kayonzo district in the east of the country in February.
"When children shouted out about seeing a pig at the mosque, he stepped out to chase it away with a stick. He beat it and it died, but he had no intention to kill," his lawyer Yusuf Nsengiyumva told the BBC.
The lawyer said he had appealed against such a “harsh sentence”.
Musengimana has been in detention since February when he killed the pig.
Pigs are considered unclean by Muslims.

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Justice Elias Abua of the Cross River State High Court in Calabar has sentenced two former bankers to three months in prison with an option of paying a fine.
 
The convicts, Titus Chima Nwankwo and Utibe-Abasi Ifiok George, were arraigned by the Uyo Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The court found the duo guilty of stealing N2,900,000 from the account of a deceased customer, Godfried Francis Osso.
 
Upon their arraignment, they pleaded guilty to separate charges bordering on forgery, conspiracy, breach of trust and stealing.

Justice Abua subsequently convicted and sentenced George to three months imprisonment with an option of a fine of N100,000 while Nwankwo was also sentenced to three months imprisonment, with an option of paying a fine of N50,000.
 
A petitioner had alerted the anti-graft agency to the crime, saying the duo had forged the signature of the late Osso and used it to steal the funds.

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Senator Aliyu Wamakko who represents Sokoto North senatorial district on Thursday donated wrappers and cash to indigent women in Sokoto.

Wamakko is also a former governor of the state.
According to NAN, the donation is part of his perennial gestures to the beneficiaries to cushion the effects of poverty as they celebrate the Eid-el-Fitr.

Bashar Abubakar, the New Media Aide to Wamakko, said in a statement on Friday in Sokoto, that the former governor of the state personally distributed the Sallah packages to the beneficiaries.

Abubakar said the beneficiaries included young girls, ladies and old women, among others.

“As usual, every year, during the month of Ramadan, the Senator gives out such gifts to mainly the underprivileged in the society.

“This is in order to cushion the effect of poverty among the people in the state,” he added.

According to Abubakar, the beneficiaries were each given a set of wrappers and cash to sew them.

SaharaReporters in February also reported how a councillor in Sokoto donated two plastic mats to Sadada community in the Kebbe Local Government Area of the state.

The shameless councillor, whose name could not be verified as of the time of filing the report, also took pictures with the beneficiaries while making the donations.

Such ridiculous donations by Nigerian politicians are not new but politicians in the country seem to take the practice to new embarrassing heights.

The usual items had included tricycles, motorcycles, and grinding machines, but water sachets and shoe-shining starter kits have also been donated by politicians.
 
SaharaReporters had reported how donkeys were given out in Kano and cassava stems in Anambra as economic empowerment by government representatives who enjoy all the pecks of office, and in many cases, funds corruptly acquired, all at the expense of taxpayers.
 
SaharaReporters had reported how an aide to the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, once distributed wheelbarrows with the inscription, "Gov Ortom for You," arguing that the beneficiaries would use the wheelbarrows to run errands and hawk.
 
Later the wheelbarrow empowerment resurfaced in Taraba State as a member of the House of Representatives, Maigari Bello-Kasimu, representing Jalingo/Yorro/Zing federal constituency, distributed wheelbarrows to empower some members of his constituency.
"All of them used to hire wheelbarrows and push to earn their living, but now they have the opportunity of owning their wheelbarrows," the spokesperson for the lawmaker, Saidu Na-Anabi, had said during the presentation.
 
Na-Anabi's speech probably inspired the late caretaker chairperson of Nsukka Local Government Area in Enugu State, Chinwe Ugwu, to give wheelbarrows to youths in the area as economic empowerment.
 
"These are poor people who cannot afford to buy wheelbarrows but had to hire for between N200 and N300 per day," Ugwu had said in response to critics. 
 
Similarly, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, said he spent N208 million to empower Mai Shayi or tea sellers in the state by giving them items like cartons of noodles, crates of eggs, spaghetti, bread, cocoa beverage, liquid and powdered milk, brown and white sugar, nylon and cups.
 
While Kano governor was beating his chest for such an "extraordinary" achievement, the late Commissioner for Education in Katsina State, Halimatu Idris, outdid him by handing goats to female students at Government Girls Arabic Secondary School, Dutsinma.
 
The goats were reportedly given to female students in 20 secondary schools who were expected to return the nanny goats to the state government after a year.
 
Then came the Commissioner for Education in Borno State, Usman Jaha, who gave shoe-shining kits, baskets, yams and bags of oranges to his constituents in Gwoza as economic empowerment. The shoe-polishing instruments were given to men, while the baskets and fruits were used to empower the women.
 
As more Nigerians face economic hardship and wallow in poverty, largely occasioned by corruption, politicians further insult the populace with the donation of such ridiculous and bizarre items as so-called economic empowerment or welfare packages.

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Hope Uzodinma

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has urged the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma to immediately facilitate the return of 500 youths allegedly arrested in the state and taken to Abuja.
 
This was contained in a statement issued on Friday by the group's spokesperson, Emma Powerful.

Hope Uzodinma

According to the statement, Uzodinma invited security agents about a year ago to arrest about 500 Biafra youths who were taken to Abuja. The group called for the immediate return of their ‘brothers’, saying failure to do so will not bring peace.
 
IPOB further alleged that some of the arrested youths were already being returned to Imo State for prosecution but had been killed along the way by the security agents.
 
The group also said Friday makes it exactly a year that Ikonso, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) Commander was killed in his sleep by men of the Nigerian Army.
 
IPOB said Ikonso was killed for doing nothing wrong but defending Igbo land from attacks by killer herdsmen. The group further warned Governor Uzodinma to ensure that the deceased's family house, which was burnt down, is rebuilt.
 
A statement from the group reads, “With deep concerns, we the global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by our great and indefatigable liberator Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu Kanu wish to remind Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom across the world that this is a year our gallant comrade Ikonso was murdered by the wicked Nigerian Government and its compromised security agents.

"They murdered the innocent citizen who they saw as a threat to the evil agenda of the Fulani jihadists masquerading as herdsmen in Biafra land.
 
“IPOB movement has been looking for the body of this man for one year and we have not seen his lifeless body and all his family houses were burnt down because he was defending Biafra land against occupation by jihadists. Other gallant Biafrans arrested by security agents around this time last year are not yet released.
 
“This is also one year that Hope Uzodinma and his APC party invited the military to kill innocent citizens in Imo state and they arrested and abducted many people who they ferried to Abuja. We are also yet to see them. They abducted over 500 Biafra youths in Imo State last year, and we want those youths back for prosecution if they think they committed any crime.
 
“We gathered through intelligence that those youths were actually being brought back from Abuja to Imo State but unfortunately Nigerian security agents who were escorting them executed them along the way of Abaji and Lokoja in Kogi State. We are about to exhaust our patience. Hope Uzodinma should please return those youths before we lose our patience.
 
“Hope Uzodinma should be held responsible if anything untoward happens to our comrades. He should not expect to conduct his daughter's traditional wedding in Abuja while the Igbo youths he aided in their abduction were executed by security agents. The spirit of those youths won't allow him to go on a celebration spree after making many innocent families childless.

“Hope Uzodinma should also not forget that he must rebuild the houses of Ikonso's family and his uncles which were burnt down by security agents.

“Couple of weeks back Hope Uzodinma told the general public that IPOB is not responsible for the insecurity in Imo state, but lest we forget, he has arrested many IPOB members in Imo State, killed hundreds of them while thousands are missing under his administration.
 
“The question is: why is Hope Uzodinma not releasing all our members and non-members he abducted and put in detention since last year? Since he declared openly that IPOB is not responsible for the insecurity in Imo state, why is he keeping our members in detention?
 
“What of those he handed over to Abba Kyari and his IRT team in Abuja? What of those put in Tiger detention facility in Imo state and many other innocent Biafrans suspected to be IPOB Members he transferred to Abuja and Kaduna to detention centres in the Northern part of Nigeria.
 
“IPOB Intelligence unit has it on record that there are many of IPOB members Hope Uzodinma asked his masters to bring back from Abuja where they were detained with heavy torture to Imo state but Abba Kyari’s team reluctantly agreed to return them, but on the way to Imo state Hope Uzodinma forced them to be executed, saying that he doesn't want them alive to Imo state. They were all killed along the expressway from Abuja to Lokoja. More than 70 of them were executed between Abuja and Lokoja expressway in Kogi state.”

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Femi Falana (SAN)

Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana has described the presidential nomination form fee set by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and some other political parties, as not only immoral but also insensitive and illegal.
 
Falana stated this when he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday. According to him, such outrageous fees by political parties when the country’s minimum wage is N30,000 is simply an insensitive move.

Femi Falana (SAN)

The ruling APC had fixed N100 million as the cost for its 2023 presidential aspirants to obtain forms. The APC explained that the nomination form would go for N70 million while the expression of interest form costs N30 million.
 
Also, the opposition Peoples Democratic party pegged its presidential form at N40 million.

So far, only the African Action Congress (AAC) has announced that its nomination forms are free for all aspirants.

The National Working Committee of the AAC on Thursday announced that its expression of interest and nomination forms are free for all aspirants ranging from the office of the President to that of the Local Government Area office contenders.

A statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Femi Adeyeye, said, “We hereby declare that the expression of interest and nomination forms of our great party is free for all aspirants.”

Reacting to the declaration made by the other parties, especially the APC and PDP, Falana said, “Those outrageous nomination fees are immoral, insensitive, and illegal.”
 
He described the move by the political parties as illegal as it violates the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Nigerian constitution.
 
“Again, section 42 of the Nigerian constitution provides that nobody shall be subjected to any restriction or discrimination on the basis of class, fortune, sex, or whatever,” the constitutional lawyer added.
 
“If these parties are saying they want to exclude unserious people, that if you cannot mobilise N100 million or N40 million, you cannot attain some positions in your country, that is discriminatory and illegal.
 
“No restriction can be erected to prevent you from participating in the politics of the country. You are now saying that the politics of the country is for moneybags or fat cats. That is against the spirit and the letters of the constitution.
 
“The immorality of it is that we have over 90 million Nigerians that have been classified poor. In a country where the minimum wage is about N30,000 and it is not paid by some states, you can’t say you are collecting N100 million or N40 million to purchase a form," he was quoted as saying.

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Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural Group, Afenifere in the United Kingdom and Europe has urged Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency end the current strike by university lecturers, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
It also noted the ongoing strike by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU).

The Buhari-led government has in the last 75 days failed to reach a deal with the public university lecturers.
ASUU had on February 14 embarked on strike over poor pay, years of unmet agreements and deplorable service conditions.
UK Afenifere in a statement signed and issued by its Secretary, Engr. Anthony Ajayi on Thursday said the Nigerian government's attitude towards the strike action is an indication that education is not its priority, noting that education is the greatest legacy a parent can leave for their children.
Ajayi added that the incessant strike action by the lecturers is targeted at the Yoruba people because they are unarguably the most educated tribe in Nigeria.
The statement said, "We at Afenifere strongly believe that the Federal Government's lopsidedness and fallible tactics to incessant ASUU strike are targeted at the Yoruba people because we are unarguably the most educated tribe in Nigeria.
"The prolonged ASUU strike is capable of destroying the education of the people of South West in particular and Nigeria in general. Our young people, the Federal Government and ASUU kept idle at home, are already taking to social vices. The government and ASUU should not wait up until the strike gives birth to another monster like Boko Haram and bandits.
"The government and ASUU should remember that an idle mind, they say, is the Devil's workshop. These young boys and girls may increase ritualism, cultism, armed robbery, and prostitution because they have become vulnerable to societal ills already. The girls may become pregnant if universities are not reopened now.
"If the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Federal Government do not care about the education of poor Nigerian children, we the people of South West care about our children's education. We want our children to be educated or give us the autonomy to self-rule so we can educate our children. We do not have the money to send our children to private universities at home or abroad. Or, is this a plot not to educate the children of the poor?
"In 1955, our hero, the late Premier of the Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, introduced a free education programme. That scheme, which featured prominently up till 1966, has left an indelible imprint in the annals of education in Western Nigeria and the whole country. It ushered in a revolutionary phase in the history of education in Nigeria.
"The free education scheme in the Western Region marked a radical departure from the hitherto existing educational patterns not only in Western Nigeria but the entire country. It was featured as a cardinal programme of the Action Group in Western Nigeria and continued to be the official policy of the Western Region government. It has been a perennial theme in some academic symposia, lectures, debates, reputable journals and standard textbooks.
"This policy made primary education widely available to all who were resident in the then Western Region. The policy was a welcome balm for many indigent residents who greatly encouraged their children and wards to take advantage of the visionary and laudable scheme of the man whom Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu later described as the best President Nigeria never had.
 
"In the good old days of Nigeria, education was a leveller as it brought the kids of the rich and the poor together under one roof. It also guaranteed upward social mobility as the son of a pauper could aspire to the zenith of leadership in whatever sphere of life simply because of it.
“It was that powerful a poverty alleviation tool. Now, sadly, this isn’t the case as the children of the politicians and top bureaucrats are ensconced in highly expensive private schools at home and abroad while their counterparts from plebian backgrounds are left to wallow in the public schools which have little or nothing to offer.
 
"While we appeal to the Federal Government and ASUU to reach an agreement and reopen public universities immediately, we want to suggest that the nation should return to the Second Republic model where the children of politicians and public officials attended public schools. This will ensure that the quality will astronomically go up as the parents would want the best for their children and so will fight for an improvement in the public schools.”
 

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The Attorney General of Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Babadoko Mohammed, has taken over the suspicious prosecution of the petitioner in the alleged N170.3 million Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) contract fraud six years after.

At the resumed hearing of the case at the Federal High Court in Abuja, a senior state counsel in the Federal Ministry of Justice who represented DPP, Bagudu Sani said they would need more time to study the content of the case file before instructing the DPP on what legal advice to give.

The case, which was presided over by Justice Peter Kekemeke has lingered for six years following alleged shoddy prosecution by the police.
 
Sani told the court that the case was adjourned for continuation of the hearing but he would not be able to proceed until the Attorney General of the Federation sends the case file to the DPP for action.
 
He, therefore, asked the court for an adjournment.
 
The defence counsel, Philemon Achuara, did not raise any objection to the oral application.
The trial judge, therefore, adjourned the case to May 26, 2022, for the continuation of the hearing.
The petitioner, Benjamin Joseph, who is the Managing Director of an Ibadan-based IT retail firm, Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, has been standing trial by the police since July 2, 2016.
 
Joseph was arraigned by the police on one count bordering on ‘false petitioning’ of the then Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, over the N170.3 million FIRS contract fraud.
 
On July 3, 2013, Joseph petitioned Arase, who was then the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Bureau (FCIB) to protest against the continued refusal of the police to commence the prosecution of the suspects despite their indictment by the findings of the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the police.
 
In the petition, he reiterated his allegations that some senior officials of Zinox Group, and its affiliate, Technology Distributions Limited (TD), had conspired to impersonate, fraudulently hijack and illegally execute a contract for the supply of laptops awarded to his company by the FIRS in 2012.
 
The businessman named the suspects of the fraud to include the Chairman of Zinox Group, Leonard Stanley Ekeh, and wife, Chioma. However, both have always denied involvement.
 
Joseph accused the suspects of conniving with the chief executive of Ad’mas Digital Technologies Limited and Pirovics Engineering Services Limited, Onny Igbokwe, along with one Princess Okechukwu Kama, and two officials of Access Bank PLC – Obilo Onuoha and Deborah Ijeabu, of using his company’s profile to commit the fraud.
 
Oyebode and Ozims, Joseph further alleged, appointed themselves signatories of a fake account opened in his company’s name at Access Bank, Ikoyi, Lagos, using forged company documents, including a fictitious board resolution dated December 18, 2012, bearing a caricature of his signature.
On March 9, 2015, the DPP, Muhammad Diri, in his legal advice, said after reviewing the case, “we have found enough convincing evidence to prosecute the suspects for the offences stated.”
 
Earlier on August 15, 2014, the SFU, through the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Subairu Muazu, returned the verdict, just as the Lagos DPP, which recommended in its report of September 26, 2014, that all the suspects be “charged for forgery, conspiracy, impersonation and fraud.”
 
The report was even more specific in its assertion that: “Technology distribution who supplied the computers also acted fraudulently. The Access Bank officials that opened the fraudulent account are also guilty”.

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Femi Adesina

Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina says Nigerians should be thankful to God for not crossing the borders to look for food under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
 
“For those who look at only the downsides of things, under President Buhari, we can be thankful to God that we can feed ourselves, and not crossing the borders to look for food. All other things shall soon be added to us,” he said in an article titled, ‘Akinwunmi Adesina strikes again’ and shared on his official Facebook page on Thursday.

Femi Adesina

According to the Presidential spokesperson, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina never comes empty-handed each time he visits Buhari.
 
“Anytime he traverses the land, air or sea like a troubadour, he must bring good tidings. Each time the Nigerian President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) comes to see President Muhammadu Buhari, he never comes empty-handed. He must bring goodies and goodies for his home country,” he said.
 
“Tuesday this week was not different. Dr Akinwumi Adesina, former Minister of Agriculture, came on a proactive rescue mission. Something was severely threatening food security in Africa, and Nigeria particularly. It calls for urgent action.
 
“Each time the two gentlemen meet, they start with banters. So comfortable are they in each other’s company. The jokes and bonhomie over, the AfDB President burst the speaker: ‘Urgent actions are needed to prevent a food crisis in Africa.’
“Why? How? When? What can be done? The questions came tumbling out, like water cascading from a burst dam.
 
“As the man spoke, suddenly Russia and Ukraine were not so far away again. They were right there in the Diplomatic Room of the Presidential Villa. More statistics: ‘Price of wheat has soared in Africa by over 45% since the war. Prices of fertilizers have gone up by 300%, and the continent faces a fertilizer shortage of 2 million metric tons. If unmet rapidly, food production in Africa will decline by 20%, and the continent would lose over $11 billion in value of food production.’ Holy Moses!
 
“The AfDB boss quoted the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who had said: ‘We are now facing a perfect storm that threatens the economies of developing countries.’ If there’s anything President Buhari is concerned about, it is that Nigerians should be able to feed themselves, without recourse to massive food importation.
 
“That was why he encouraged us to return to the land, put his money where his mouth is by funding agriculture massively, and today, we have a lot to be thankful for. Food security is almost a reality in the country. But because the world is now a global village, and no nation is an island, the Russian-Ukraine war could still affect some fundamentals of our food security. So, what to do? Fortunately, we have our own ‘export’ to the world at the AfDB. He unfolded what he has in store for Africa, and for Nigeria, our own dear native land.”

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Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong.

The Chairman of Langtang North Local Government Area of Plateau State, Ubandoma Joshua Laven, has said that the state government ignored his warning over the recent attack in the Kanam council area of the state.
Laven said he told Governor Simon Lalong’s administration that terrorists were camping in the forests, mountains, hinterland and some other places.

Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong.

According to him, the recent killings in Kanam Local Government Area of the state would have been averted if the state government had heeded his warning and acted swiftly on intelligence reports, Daily Trust reports.
No fewer than 150 people were recently killed and about 5,000 others displaced by terrorists who invaded eight communities in Kanam.
Laven, who spoke to journalists at the Yakubu Gowon Airport, Heipang, Jos, also denied saying in a viral video that he would stop a particular ethnic group from coming to campaign in Tarok land ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dan Manjang, however, described Laven’s allegations as a figment of his imagination.
"The government had done a lot on security, even if not divulged to the public,” Manjang said, noting that the attacks were not peculiar to Plateau State or the country. 

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ex-President Goodluck Jonathan

Aloy Ejimakor, a special counsel for the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu says if Goodluck Jonathan chooses to contest for Presidency come 2023, he will be disqualified by the court and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
 
Some supporters of the former President had urged him to contest for President in 2023. Jonathan’s posters had last week flooded the national secretariat of the APC.

ex-President Goodluck Jonathan

Some youth groups also stormed his office in the Maitama area of Abuja last week, calling on him to join the presidential race.
 
The protesters lamented that since he left office, hunger, insecurity, and unemployment, among others had become the order of the day.
 
The supporters said that both men and women have turned to beggars because of the unfavourable policies of the present administration.
 
In his response, the former President said he could not say if he would declare or not but advised his supporters to “watch out”.
 
But in a tweet on Friday said the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria already disqualifies Jonathan from contesting in the election if INEC fails to do that.
 
The lawyer quoted Section 137(3) of the Constitution which says that “A person who was sworn-in to complete the term for which another person was elected as President, shall not be elected to such office for more than a single term”.

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ASUP

The umbrella body of polytechnic lecturers in Nigeria, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), has said that the one-month ultimatum it gave to the government would lapse next Wednesday.
The union threatened to shut down all polytechnics in Nigeria if the Nigerian government fails to meet its demands.

ASUP The Sun

The National Executive Council of ASUP had at the end of its 102 meeting in Yola, Adamawa State, in March issued a one-month ultimatum to the government.
At its emergency congress on Thursday in Ogun State, the ASUP Zone C, which comprises South West region and Kwara State, insisted that the Nigerian government must its demands before the expiration of the ultimatum.
ASUP had suspended its 61-day long industrial action on June 10, 2021, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the government, the Zonal Coordinator, Yekini Asafe said.
Asafe noted that due to the failure of the government to meet the union’s demands, it might be forced to resume the suspended industrial action.
According to him, the decision on whether to resume the strike action will be taken at the union’s NEC meeting scheduled to hold on May 4 in Abuja.
Some of the union’s grievances with the government include the non-release of the revitalisation funds for the sector, non-release of arrears of the new minimum wage, and non-release of the reviewed nomination instruments for institutions and management.
The polytechnic lecturers’ counterparts in universities, under the umbrella of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), had embarked on a one-month warning strike on February 14, 2022. It extended the industrial action after its expiration by another two months, over the government’s failure to fulfil their agreements.
Activities have been grounded in Nigerian public universities since then as students wait for the strike to be called off.

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