A Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Malcom Omoirhobo on Thursday caused a stir at the Supreme Court in Abuja as he was dressed like a Juju priest.
Malcom attended the proceedings dressed in an attire believed to be worn by adherents of ‘Olokun’, the ruler of all bodies of water and other water deities.

The lawyer, who hails from Delta State, said he dressed to court in that manner to exercise his fundamental human rights following the judgement of the Supreme Court that allows every Nigerian to express their way of worship and the use of hijab in schools and public places. 
Upon the lawyer’s arrival in the court at about 9:00 am, the lawyers already seated were taken by surprise to see one of their colleagues in a unique attire. 
The human rights lawyer walked to the court barefoot, with feathers attached to his wig. 
He also had a gourd laced with cowries dangling from his neck and a red wrapper tied around his waist. 
He dared the police officers and security guards who challenged him to go out of the court, saying that he has the right to come to the court in his regalia without any harassment in line with the judgement that also allows the use of hijab in schools and public places. 
Meanwhile, the court proceedings were abruptly stopped when the Presiding Justice suddenly announced that he would be going for a short break. 
The Judge did not give a reason for going on a "short break" or make reference to the appearance of the lawyer. 
The situation, however, attracted a large crowd who thronged the courtroom to catch a glimpse of the lawyer.
Malcom told journalists, "I am very grateful to the Supreme Court, just last week Friday, they made a very resounding decision that promotes Section 38 of the constitution. That is our right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. That we are free to express our way of worship in our schools and in our courts. That decision was reached on Friday and that has encouraged me. 
"Because I am a traditionalist and this is the way I worship. Based on the decision of the Supreme Court, this is how I will be dressing henceforth to court because I am a strong adherent of ‘Olokun’ the god of rivers.”
Malcom said the implication of the judgement is that every Nigerian including doctors, police and military officers, students and journalists can now dress in line with their mode of worship in public places. 
He said he was not against the judgement, rather he was happy with the decision because it strengthens and enriches the rights of all Nigerians as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. 
The Supreme Court last Friday gave approval to female Muslim students to wear hijab to school in Lagos State. 
Five out of the seven members of the court’s panel which sat on the case ruled in favour of hijab while the two remaining members dissented. 
The majority decision affirmed the earlier Court of Appeal’s decision which restored the use of hijab by female Muslim students in the state. 
The case involved the Lagos State Government as the appellant and Asiyat AbdulKareem (through her father), Moriam Oyeniyi, and the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria as the respondents.

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The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, has threatened severe sanctions against the winner of the Yobe North senatorial ticket, Bashir Sheriff Machina for refusing to relinquish his ticket to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.
Adamu warned Machina to desist from making further inflammatory comments against the party's decision to field Lawan as its senatorial candidate for Yobe North.

The National Chairman argued Wednesday, that the party is supreme and that it reserves the right to decide who gets its ticket in any election.
He said, "There's nothing in the law stopping the Senate President from contesting for another nomination just because he lost a presidential bid.
"Machina is crazy and needs to get back to his senses immediately.
"He (Machina) should also be warned to stop inflaming the polity else we'll not hesitate to take measures; Ahmad Lawan is our candidate for Yobe North," he said.
SaharaReporters has consistently reported the impasse with updates including how Machina claimed his life was under threat for refusing to step down for Lawan after the Senate President failed to clinch the APC presidential ticket.
Machina has refused to give up his nomination saying, "I'm certainly in the race for Yobe North Senatorial seat.
"I was never contacted directly by the Senate President on the matter, even if I was, I have the exclusive right to concede or not," he said.
Commenting on the situation, a Yola-based legal expert, Joshua Wugira mocked the APC for submitting Lawan’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing it as an exercise in futility.
According to him, if Lawan wins in the general elections, his victory will be upturned by the court.
He said, "The law is explicitly clear, no one can participate in an election without first being a product of a proper nomination process.
"Unfortunately for the country, the man at the centre of it all is the number one lawmaker in Nigeria, who should know better, having been in the National Assembly for 23 years now.
"Machina should stick to his gun in the interest of democracy and go to court. In the end, APC's dictatorial democracy would not stand the law."
 

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This was disclosed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Ismaila Abubakar at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.

He said the latest decision is based on a letter of appeal from the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), signed by Mr Musa Kida.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the immediate withdrawal of Nigeria from all international basketball competitions for a period of two years with immediate effect.

 

This was announced by Abubakar, who said a committee would be set up to oversee basketball leagues in the country.

 

“Following the unending crises which have plagued and nearly crippled the development of basketball in Nigeria, President Buhari has approved the withdrawal of Nigeria from all international basketball competitions for a period of two years.

“This is with immediate effect,” he had said.

 

The minister added that the withdrawal of Nigeria was in order to concentrate efforts by the government towards revamping the sport from the grassroots as well as domestic leagues which have become moribund.

 

“This will also allow for the setting up of an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to oversee the management and development of the domestic basketball leagues in Nigeria,” he had added.

 

Nigeria kicked out of basketball World Cup after FG ban

Following The Nigerian government’s decision, the female basketball team, D’Tigress was kicked out of the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

 

D’Tigress had qualified for the World Cup scheduled to start in September 2022 in Sydney, Australia, after defeating France and Mali in the Group B of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade.

 

The Nigerian team was replaced by Mali. 

 

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Fatima Usman, a female member of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), popularly known as Shiites, who sustained a gunshot injury when the Islamic group clashed with security agents in Kaduna, is dead.

SaharaReporters on April 28 reported how policemen opened fire on Shiites during their annual Quds Day rally in Zaria, Kaduna State.

Quds Day, which uses the Arabic name for Jerusalem, is a Palestinian solidarity day held every year by IMN members on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

 

Eyewitnesses claimed the policemen used teargas and live ammunition to disperse members of the group.

 

Confirming Fatima’s death to SaharaReporters on Wednesday, a member of the group said she died after spending two months in the hospital.

 

“Sister Fatima Usman Samaru, one of us who the police injured this year in Zaria during Quds day protest is dead. She was certified dead after spending more than two months in recovery from the shooting she received from the security forces.

 

“She was admitted at Ahmadu Bello University teaching hospital in Shika Sabon Zaria. The burial will be held according to the Islamic religion on 28th of Ramadan this year, security officers injured 9 people with over 60 arrests during the Quds protest.”

 

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Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) breached the provisions of the newly enacted Electoral Act by submitting the names of Ahmad Lawan and Godswill Akpabio to the electoral body, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as senatorial candidates.

Falana, who is a principal partner at Falana & Falana Chambers, said it was “brazen impunity” for the APC to have contradicted the laws of the land.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday on the development.

The statement reads: “Apart from the brazen impunity of the APC, Dr. Ahmed Lawan superintended the passage of the Electoral Act by the national assembly while Senator Godwin Akpabio is a senior lawyer who ought to have familiarised with the provisions of the Act.”

According to Falana, “any primary of a political party not monitored by officials of INEC is illegal”.

He noted that “Section: 84 (13) unequivocally provides that ‘Where a political party fails to comply with the provisions of this Act in the conduct of its primaries, its candidate for election shall not be included in the election for the particular position in issue’.

Falana continued, “The legal implication of the provision is that INEC shall not include the candidate for the particular election. Furthermore, Section 29 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 which provides for the submission of lists of candidates and their affidavits by political parties states that ‘Every political party shall, not later than 180 days before the date appointed for a general election under this Act, submit to the Commission, in the prescribed Forms, the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the elections, who must have emerged from valid primaries conducted by the political party’.

"This means that section 29(1) thereof has imposed a duty on political parties to ensure that the candidates whose names are submitted to INEC have emerged from valid primaries.

“This position is quite different from the provision in Section 31 of the repealed Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) which provided that INEC could not reject the name of any candidate submitted by the parties for any reason whatsoever.

“Thus, in the present law, the parties can only submit for the Commission’s acceptance the names of candidates who emerged from valid primaries conducted by the parties and monitored by INEC. This position is clearly fortified by Section 84(13).

“Thus, INEC having sent a team of monitors across its 36 states offices and the Federal Capital Territory, to monitor the primaries, is legally obligated to check the names submitted to it and ensure they are confirmed by the various reports compiled by its officials.

“If the candidates whose names are submitted to INEC have not emerged from the primaries, the Commission will reject such names in the exercise of its power under Section 84(13) of the Electoral Act 2022.”

 

SaharaReporters had reported that the APC had submitted the names of Lawan, Senate President, and Akpabio, a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to INEC as APC senatorial candidates for Yobe North senatorial district and Akwa Ibom North-West respectively even though the duo did not secure the tickets of the party.

It was Bashir Machina who won the party’s ticket for Yobe North senatorial district while Udom Ekpoudom won the primaries for Akwa Ibom North-West, but the names of the winners were not submitted by the ruling party.

Abdullahi Adamu, the National Chairman of the APC recently said Lawan participated in the primary “within the stipulated time”, while Jackson Udom, spokesman for Akpabio, had maintained that the primary the former minister won was approved by the party at the national level.

However, there have been speculations that both candidates may have issues regarding the tickets.

Falana said the only way the APC can present Akpabio and Lawan as its senatorial candidates is if Machina and Ekpoudom “voluntarily withdraw”.

 

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The abductors of a retired Chief Pharmacist with the Ekiti Ministry of Health, Mr Israel Bamisaye, have demanded N40 million as ransom to free him.

It was learnt that the kidnappers contacted the victim’s family on the phone to demand a ransom of N40 million in cash to secure the release of Bamisaye.

Bamisaye was on Wednesday kidnapped by seven gunmen on his farm located between Ero Dam and the Ekiti State farm settlement at Orin Ekiti, Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

The retiree was reportedly kidnapped around 4 pm.

The development was said to have generated tension and panic among the residents, who are afraid it might soon be their turn to be kidnapped.

“The seven gunmen had earlier attacked one man identified as Ojo within the vicinity of the farm where Bamisaye was kidnapped.

“The man was asked about the whereabouts of the white men working at the farm settlement, but he replied that he didn’t know where they were.

“They ordered him to lie face down. They ransacked his car that was parked nearby and took away a sum of N4,500 they found inside the vehicle.

 

“They fired a shot and terrified the environment before they later found the victim and whisked him away,” a source told WazobiaReporters.

 

The Commander of the Ekiti State Security Network Agency, known as Amotekun Corps, Joe Akomolafe, said the security agencies were already searching for the victim.

 

“We are already on top of the incident. The Amotekun Corps in collaboration with other security agencies are combing everywhere to rescue the man.

“And let me also confirm that he (Bamisaye) was the only person abducted by the gunmen on his farm. We will surely get the perpetrators,” he said.

 

 

 

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The Northern Elders Forum has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration over the negligence of public office holders amid the many challenges confronting the nation.

 

In a tweet on Wednesday, the group's spokesperson, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed lambasted the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige for seeking to contest the presidency without proffering solutions to the prolonged strike action embarked upon by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.

Baba-Ahmed also lambasted the former minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi for abandoning his duty in search of a presidential ticket.

Amaechi contested for the presidential ticket of the APC shortly after a terrorist attack on a Kaduna-bound train on March 29, 2022, in which at least eight persons were killed and several passengers were kidnapped.

He tweeted: “Ngige was going to leave the ASUU strike and students at home to run for the Presidency of Nigeria.

Ngige was going to leave the ASUU strike and students at home to run for the Presidency of Nigeria.Rotimi Amaechi left a stalled train service and passengers with kidnappers to ask us to make him President of Nigeria.President Buhari does not care who runs a country in a mess.

— Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed. (@baba_hakeem) June 22, 2022

“Rotimi Amaechi left a stalled train service and passengers with kidnappers to ask us to make him President of Nigeria. President Buhari does not care who runs a country in a mess.”

 

 

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The fiery Enugu Catholic priest, Rev Father Ejike Mbaka reportedly returned to the Adoration Ministry Enugu, Nigeria (AMEN) on Wednesday, to address his followers who continued to flock adoration ground despite restrictions imposed on all activities there.

 

SaharaReporters earlier reported that the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev Callistus Onaga last week issued a pastoral injunction banning the Catholic faithful from visiting the ministry in the wake of Fr Mbaka's comments against the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi.

Mbaka had during one of his midweek prayers called Obi a 'stingy man' who is never going to be a Nigerian President, adding that he is 'cursed'.

 

The Church, however, distanced itself from the outburst, saying Mbaka's attack on Obi breached canon 220 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law which prohibits anyone from illegitimately harming the good name of another person.

 

Subsequently, Bishop Onaga banned all activities in the ministry "until the due canonical process initiated by the is concluded".

 

SaharaReporters has also previously reported that less than 24 hours after the ban, Mbaka's followers thronged the Adoration Ground in deviance to the bishop’s injunction and protested, calling for his removal. They also called him unprintable names.

 

However, a video posted on Adoration Ministry’s official Facebook page on Wednesday seen by SaharaReporters, shows Mbaka arriving at the Adoration ground at Emene to address the crowd.

 

Thousands of the Adoration faithful have continued to converge on the ground on a daily basis since it was shut down.

 

His speech evoked emotions as he reminded them that the closure of the Adoration was still in force, bringing tears to the eyes of some of the faithful.

 

Mbaka said: “I’m a priest of the Catholic Church and the Bishop is my father; I swore an oath to obey him and his successors. I cannot do otherwise.”

 

He appealed to them to henceforth, stop castigating the Bishop or Enugu Catholic Church but to pray and bless them. He also urged them to continue praying for Peter Obi because he’s one of them, their brother and friend.

 

“I have come to bless you and to dismiss you, I don’t want you to go to the main road. I don’t want you to be pugnacious or to be cantankerous. I don’t want the adorers to be violent. I don’t want Adoration people to be classified as bandits for we’re not bandits. We’re obedient children of God, we love the mother church and the mother Church loves us so much.

 

“We appreciate our Bishop and henceforth, I want to order everybody here to stop insulting the Bishop. We can’t forget all his goodness to us.

 

“…this is a time we show our Bishop love, speak good of him, don’t write anything negative of him. To insult the Bishop is to insult me directly.”

 

The Adoration members couldn’t control their tears when Mbaka said, “I will never come out here for Mass until the Bishop approves it.”

When they asked him why, he replied, “Don’t ask me why because I’m a Catholic priest, I have to obey."

 

They asked their spiritual director to give them a date that they would resume their activities and Mbaka answered, “I’m not the Bishop to give date, we are pleading and that’s why you have to pray that he gives us date. I have come to disperse you to go in peace, at least you have seen me.”

 

The cries rent the air as some of them could be heard shouting, “Bishop, have mercy on us and give us a date (to reopen adoration ministry)!” “We can’t do without adoration oh!” “Tamper justice with mercy! Bishop, we’re pleading!”

 

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The appeal of 22-year-old musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who was sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 after being convicted of blasphemy, comes up today (Thursday) at the Court of Appeal in Kano.

Sharif-Aminu in 2021 got a judicial reprieve from the death penalty passed on him by a Sharia Court for blasphemy,

However, he is still trying to overturn an order for his retrial for blasphemy.

His appeal, however, comes up for arguments on Thursday at the Court of Appeal, Kano, SaharaReporters can report.

Sharif-Aminu belongs to the Tijaniyya order, a popular Sufi Islamic order across North and West Africa.

He was accused of one count of insulting the religious creed, contrary to Section 382 (6) of the Kano State Sharia Penal Code Law of 2000, for a series of audio messages circulated via WhatsApp which became public knowledge in March 2020.

He was subsequently detained on December 1, 2020.

His messages allegedly praised an imam from the Tijaniya Muslim brotherhood (Ibrahim Niasse) and elevated him above the Prophet Muhammed.

Sharif-Aminu went into hiding following the backlash that followed his recording after protesters burnt down his family home. He was subsequently arrested that same month.

 

On August 10, 2020, a Sharia court found Sharif-Aminu guilty of blasphemy and sentenced him to death by hanging.

 

However, in January 2021, a higher court in Kano state overturned Sharif-Aminu’s conviction and ordered his case to be retried due to irregularities in the original trial.

 

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Argentine judicial authorities are set to put eight people on trial over alleged failures in the care of football legend, Diego Maradona, a court ruled on Wednesday.

 

The medical staff are to be tried for "simple homicide with probable intention" in relation to the death of the Argentine football legend in November 2020, DW reports.

According to prosecutors, his death was due to "omissions" by caregivers who abandoned him "to his fate" during home hospitalisation.

 

The eight people under investigation include neurosurgeon Leopold Luque, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, and other doctors and nurses who coordinated Maradona's care.

 

Prosecutors say mismanagement by the medical team had placed the football legend in a "situation of helplessness."

 

The accused face sentences ranging from eight to 25 years in prison. The prosecution claims they were "the protagonists of an unprecedented, totally deficient and reckless hospitalization at home"

 

No date has been set for the trial.

Maradona was widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, particularly for his skill with the ball at his feet.

 

He was the joint winner of the FIFA player of the century title, alongside Pele.

 

He died aged 60 in a private residence north of Buenos Aires, a few weeks after undergoing brain surgery. His death sparked a national period of mourning.

He was initially hospitalised because of a blood clot in his brain. He suffered from serious health problems for many years, including multiple heart attacks, hepatitis and a gastric bypass due to his issues with his weight.

Maradona played professional football for Napoli, Boca Juniors and Barcelona.

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Governor Aminu Masari

Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari has urged the newly-elected local government executives in the state to stop running to cities for fear of bandits.

Masari on Wednesday, at a security sensitisation workshop organised for newly-elected local council officials in Katsina, challenged the council leaders to stay in their localities and end the menace of banditry.

Governor Aminu Masari

The governor told the new executives that the appointment was an opportunity for them to help their people, noting that they were aware of the challenges in their areas before showing interest in taking up the leadership position, Daily Post reports.

“You presented yourselves as chairmen and councillors bearing in mind the huge responsibilities attached to your offices.

“We know that we are in a very challenging time but what is leadership without challenges? From the little resources that we have locally, if you are determined to work, you can use it to the benefit of your people.

“You must stay in your local government. The least you can do for your people is to let them see that you share in their sorrow and grief.

 

“When something happens in your local government and you are called upon, stop saying you are in Abuja, Kano or nowhere to be found.

 

“Let us face our challenges head-on because nobody will do it for us.”

Katsina and other North-West states have been ravaged by banditry. Bandits terrorise villages by killing and abducting residents for ransom. They also collect levies from villagers in many ungoverned areas. 

 

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A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has adjourned to July 13, the hearing of a suit instituted by some members of the All Progressives Congress challenging the victory of Senator Adeola Solomon, popularly called Yayi, in the party's primary in Ogun West Senatorial district.

 

Adeola had been declared the winner of the APC Ogun West Senatorial ticket after he defeated the current senator representing the district, Senator Tolu Odebiyi at the party's primary held in Ilaro last month.

However, some members of the party, Adebiyi Tajudeen, Olajumoke Ibrahim, and Muideen Akintade approached an Abeokuta division of the Federal High Court, obtaining an interlocutory injunction, restraining Adeola from parading himself as the candidate.

 

In a recent development, some constituents of Lagos West Senatorial District approached the court and sought to be joined as defendants in the suit filed against the Senator.

 

They are Barrister Sanni Said; Engineer Giwa Tijani Sheu; Chief Adesoji Adepoju Martin; Mike Okefuna; Olatunbosun Komolafe; Mrs. Sanni Oluwatoyin; Ibrahim Fatai; Bolaji Durojaiye and AbdulKareem Idowu.

 

They noted that Yayi's interest in representing the district without staying in Ogun State for the period required by law, without hailing from the state and without resigning as a member representing Lagos West Senatorial District is a deliberate marginalisation and an infringement on the democratic rights of the people of the senatorial district and the state in general.

 

They further submitted that contesting without being a member of the party in Ogun West nor a registered voter in Ogun West Senatorial District is contrary to the constitution of Nigeria, and repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience.

 

Those listed as respondents alongside Yayi are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); the All Progressives Congress (APC) and National Assembly.

 

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, while granting an ex parte motion numbered FHC/L/CS/822/2022, filed by the Plaintiffs, had summoned Senator Yayi and other defendants to show cause, why he should not be restrained from contesting for the seat of the senatorial district in the 2023 general elections.

 At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Kemi Pinheiro and Seni Adio, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria, leading Yakubu Eleto, Tokunbo Davis among others represented the plaintiff while Chief Wole Olanipekun, Babatunde Ogala, and Professor Taiwo Osipitan, all SANs, represented Adeola, APC and National Assembly.

 

Meanwhile, Olayinka Kujembola led Babatunde Rajh-Label to represent 21 members of Lagos West Senatorial District, as persons seeking to be joined in the suit as Senator Adeola's co-defendants.

 

Addressing the court on the suit, Kujembola informed the court of his clients to be joined as co-defendants in the suit, adding that all parties in the suit had been served with his clients' application.

 

Responding, Pinheiro, the lead counsel for the plaintiffs admitted being served with the application of the persons seeking to be joined in the suit.

 

Pinheiro however told the court that he intended to respond to the application, and asked the court for a short date.

 

Also, Olanipekun informed the court of the senator's application seeking dismissal of the suit brought against him.

 

Olanipekun also told the court that he was surprised that despite the pendency of the suit, the plaintiffs went ahead and filed another ex parte application for an order of mandatory injunctions.

 

The lawyer confirmed to the court that he had been served with the application of persons seeking to be joined as Adeola's co-defendants.

 

He however asked the court to give him a little more time to enable him to respond to the application of the persons seeking to be joined in the suit.

 

Counsel for the APC, Ogala informed the court that he had been served with Yayi's application seeking to dismiss the suit, but he had yet to be served with the plaintiffs' processes.

 

When asked how he got to know about Wednesday’s date, the senior lawyer told the court that he got to know about it from newspapers and online reports.

 

Also, Professor Osipitan, counsel for the National Assembly, informed the court that the Plaintiffs had yet to serve him with any processes in the suit.

 

Responding to Ogala and Professor Osipitan's submissions, counsel for the Plaintiffs, Pinheiro, told the court that his clients had served all the processes on APC but would make sure that the National Assembly were served with the processes.

 

By the agreement of all parties that the application of persons seeking to be joined as Senator Adeola's co-defendants be first heard before any other applications could be entertained, the judge adjourned the matter till July 13, 2022.

 

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Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, has said the rising cases of terrorist attacks on churches across the country have a political undertone.

Buhari said the attacks are planned to cause distraction and division in the country.

President Buhari who made the assertion in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu on Wednesday, also said that the attacks are meant to cause religious stress in the country.

According to the statement, the President said the deadly attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo on Sunday, June 5 and the killing and kidnapping of congregants in a Catholic Church in Kaduna State on Sunday, two weeks later, amongst other attacks, are a clear indication that the enemies of the country want to cause a religious crisis.

 

He said, “Our religious freedom, our diversity is what makes Nigeria great. It is this diversity that gives Nigeria its strength. That is why Nigeria’s enemies seek to destroy it by pitting us against one another.

 

“We will not let them. The nation will not be distracted or divided by these obviously planned and politically motivated criminal outrages.

 

“The perpetrators are cowards, weak and wicked men with guns murdering, in cold blood, unarmed women and children at their places of worship.”

 

Buhari maintained that “Seeing the crowd of Nigerians voluntarily rushing to donate blood after the attack, thronging the local hospitals, even in the midst of mourning,” made him proud of his country.

“I was filled with hope,” he said.

 

“As for the cowards, they will be punished for their crimes. We will bring them to justice. Rest assured that the full might of Nigeria’s formidable security and intelligence forces are involved in that endeavour.

 

“For now, I urge all Nigerians to come together in prayer-whether Christian, Muslim or any of our great faiths- let us hold the victims and their families in our hearts and minds.

 

“Let us show the cowards who seek to divide us along religious lines that we will not be divided. Let us show them that Nigerians will continue to cherish what we share while respecting each other’s differences. Let us show them that Nigerians will never be bullied by cowards, extremists or terrorists.”

 

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udi udom udom

On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed new ministers to his cabinet.

 

The nominees are expected to replace former cabinet members who resigned to pursue their 2023 ambitions.

udi udom udom

However, their appointment is subject to the confirmation of the Senate.

 

One of them is Udi Udom Odum, a former chairman of Abua Odua Local Government Area of Rivers State, who has been accused by residents of being a member of a cult group.

In 2014, gunmen believed to be Greenlanders attacked Udi’s ancestral home, shooting sporadically with property worth millions of naira destroyed.

He was said to be a member of a rival group called Icelanders, hence the attack on his community.

 

Items destroyed by the attackers were a provision store allegedly owned by Kitoya Odum, a younger brother of the former council boss, vehicles and several houses.

“The chairman is one of the Greenlanders. He is a known cultist. From time to time, the chairman appears, wearing bulletproof vests and carrying AK-47 Rifle. In response to his unfortunate conduct, on Wednesday, 11th June, 2014, some armed youths, believed to be the rival group-the Greenlanders moved through a neighbouring community-Emilaghan to his village and destroyed property worth millions of naira,” a resident had told a local newspaper in the area, Agenda Crew.

The newspaper further accused him of threatening its reporter when he was contacted to react to the allegations.

“I do not have time to talk to you. Contact the JTF and Police; they are in charge of security. If you publish anything about me, I will deal with you,” he was quoted as saying.

It was also learnt that Udi’s reign as council boss was characterised by cult-related violence and incessant killing of innocent people.

Udi, who was born on July 24, 1972, got his first school leaving certificate from the State School, Ogbema, in 1986, according to TheCable.

However, it took over 10 years before he got his National Examination Council (NECO) result in 2002 after he attended the Government Secondary School, Egbolom.

 

In 2009, he bagged a BSc degree in management from the University of Port Harcourt and was excluded from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in 2011.

 

He, however, went on to obtain a postgraduate diploma in management, also from the University of Port Harcourt, in 2012.

Odum was in 2015 accused of involvement in pre-election violence aimed at disrupting Nyesom Wike’s governorship campaign in Abua/Odua LGA.

 

According to TheCable, Wike, the then governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), narrowly escaped death as he was caught in a cross-fire between armed hoodlums and security operatives in the LGA.

“I enjoin the police to fish out those behind this dastardly attack. I tell you, we know those who are involved in this. We shall go after them. They will not get away. The commissioner of police must have to find out those that carried out this attack this afternoon,” Wike was quoted as saying at the time.

 

“You cannot do that here when I have come to Abua to campaign and come to Port Harcourt to rest. They must face justice.

 

“Wherever they are, they must face justice. The former chairman of Abua/Odua Local Government Area, Hon Udi Odum, is involved. The current chairman of the caretaker committee of Abua/Odua local government area, Gift Igoma, is involved. Tell them I am coming after them. They will never run away.”

Other nominees are Henry Ikechukwu (Abia), Umana Okon Umana (Akwa Ibom), Ekuma Joseph (Ebonyi), Goodluck Nana Obia (Imo), Umar Ibrahim Yakub (Kano) and Ademola Adewole Adegorioye (Ondo).

 

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Eight persons have been feared dead in a boat accident in Bayelsa State which occurred at Oyoma, near Oporoma, the headquarters of the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday.

 

The tragedy was said to have involved two boats with one ramming into the other most likely due to bad weather and poor visibility.

The accident took place four days after a similar accident claimed six lives between Otuan and Ayama areas of the Southern Ijaw.

The previous tragic accident occurred on Saturday.

 

Among the deceased persons in Wednesday’s incident were a female member of the National Youth Service Corps; a mother and her two toddlers; a pregnant woman and a 70-year-old man.

 

The corpses of the NYSC member and the septuagenarian as well as two others had been recovered while two bodies were yet to be found.

 

The state chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Ipigansi Ogoniba, who confirmed Wednesday's accident, said that it involved a local boat and a speedboat.

 

He said, "Yes, we have been there (at the scene of the accident). It occurred at Oyoma near Oporoma and eight people died. One of the boats, the local boat, stopped and the other one hit it."

 

The Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State Command, Asinim Butswat, also confirmed the incident, saying that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area confirmed the tragedy.

 

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The attempt to settle out of court, the allegation of fraud between Chief Cletus Ibeto of Ibeto Energy Development Company Limited; the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Dozzy Oil & Gas Limited has hit the rocks.
 
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday of the case at the Port Harcourt High Court, presided over by Justice Boma Diepiri, the counsel for Chief Cletus Ibeto and Dozzy Oil & Gas Limited, Henry Bello and Okey Obikeze informed the court that settlement could not be reached between the parties.

The matter was subsequently adjourned to July 11, 2022, for a further report on the settlement.
 
Recall that Dozzy Oil & Gas Limited had through its solicitors, Messrs Anthony Stephens & Associates, written a petition on a case of obtaining by false pretence, fraudulent conversion of property, criminal breach of trust, forgery and deception against Chief Cletus Ibeto and his group of companies, Ibeto Energy Development Company Limited and Odoh Holdings Limited.
 
Dozzy, had in the petition to the EFCC alleged that Chief Cletus Ibeto, a close friend of the executive chairman on the basis of which it dealt on trust with him, offered to sell his company’s property situated at NITECO Shipyard Area, Reclamation II Layout, Port Harcourt, Rivers State to Dozzy and had collected an advance deposit of N4,800,000,000 from the company.

He said this was done before the company carried out due diligence searches at the Lands Registry office in Port Harcourt, wherein it discovered that the portion of land which Chief Ibeto sought to sell to it did not belong to him or his companies, but to Nigeria Technical Company Limited (NITECO).
 
The company, in its petition, stated that while Ibeto had by a Deed of Sub-lease registered as No. 48/48/280 in the Lands Registry office in Port Harcourt been granted a sub-lease of 7.8 acres of land by Odoh Holdings Limited, which had an earlier grant from Nigeria Shipbuilders Limited, a subsidiary of NITECO, he offered 20 hectares of land to Dozzy when it can only lay legitimate claim to 7.8 acres even at that; the said 7.8 acres of land was not part of the portion Chief Ibeto sought to sell to it.
 
The company further alleged that the copy of Ibeto’s title deeds that it gave to it was different from the counterpart copy in the Port Harcourt Lands Registry when it carried out its searches.
 
The company equally alleged that the Rivers State Government ground rent receipts given to it by Chief Ibeto as further evidence of its title to the land, purportedly issued by the Rivers State Inland Revenue Service, was forged, a claim corroborated by the EFCC in its counter-affidavit deposed to by Mohammed Bala, one of the investigating officers in EFCC’s opposition to the fundamental rights enforcement suit.
 
EFCC had in the counter affidavit stated that its investigation which extended to the Rivers State Inland Revenue Service raised a strong case of forgery against Chief Cletus Ibeto as the River State Inland Revenue Service denied authorship of the revenue collectors receipt given to Dozzy by Chief Cletus Ibeto.
 
After several failed appointments, Ibeto honoured EFCC’s invitations on January 27, 2022, and after making his written statement to the EFCC had his appointment rescheduled to enable him to produce his title documents to the subject property, which he claimed to own.
 
However, the accused person approached the Port Harcourt High Court to file the present suit for the enforcement of his fundamental rights and injunction to restrain the EFCC from investigating the allegations of fraud made against him.
 
The defence counsel, Henry Bello, had at the last hearing requested for adjournment of the suit to enable the parties to explore the settlement which has failed.

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Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has said people in the South-East will not vote for Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, despite calls for Igbo presidency.

Obi had dumped the Peoples Democratic Party three days before its presidential primaries, for the Labour Party, claiming that there was a 'variance' with his personality and principles.

Reacting in a video trending on social media, Ekweremadu said though Obi is from the South-East region, the people from the geopolitical zone will not vote for him (Obi).

He noted that voting Obi in the coming presidential election is more like throwing away votes considering the political party the latter is now affiliated with.

Ekweremadu said the South-East will rather vote for Atiku and support the PDP because its vice-presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa is from the region.

Okowa is the governor of Delta State, which is in the South-South geopolitical. However, defending his Igbo lineage recently, Okowa described himself as an Igbo man from Delta. He said Igbo people from Delta State in the South-South have an “affinity with other Igbos in the South-East”.

But Ekweremadu noted that people in the region need not cast votes based on sentiments, adding that Obi may be qualified, but the future of the people lies with the PDP.

He said, “I assure you that South-East will vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I can guarantee that. No doubt Peter Obi is our son, but you need to be dynamic.

“You need to ask yourself, can Peter win the presidential election? Can the East afford to throw away their votes? “Can we afford to be sentimental in matters that concern our people, our children, and our future? No.

“We do not intend to do a thing which we will regret in future. So, while we believe that Peter is ably qualified, we believe that the future of our people lies with PDP.

“So we need to make that decision as the leaders. I am going to sit with our people and explain to them.

“Okowa, of course, is one of us, so there is no difference between Okowa and Peter in terms of protecting the interest of the South. So, we will go and give the people of the South-East that opportunity.”

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Armed Fulani men in police uniforms have reportedly invaded the Catholic pilgrims centre at Ibite Awhum community, in the Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State and kidnapped six worshippers

However, the kidnap victims later regained their freedom.

The abduction took place on Sunday, near Awhum monastery in the town, according to Daily Post report.

It reported that the kidnappers swooped on the pilgrims in broad daylight while they were praying at a popular hill near the Monastery and took them deep into the forest.

Meanwhile, information on Wednesday from the community suggested that the victims had been all rescued following the efforts made by forest guards from both the Udi and Enugu East local government councils to rescue them.

An eyewitness who managed to evade the abductors said the assailants were Fulani men in police uniforms.

The eyewitness identified as Clementina Ofor said she was at the pilgrims centre to pray when the incident occurred. "Immediately, they left with six prayer partners, I ran to the village and raised an alarm which drew the attention of villagers to the incident.

"Immediately, security agents were mobilised and they went after them in the forest," she said.

A source said the forest guards in the area pursued the kidnappers and contacted their counterparts at Ogbeke Nike, Enugu East Local Government, who also mobilised to provide reinforcement.

 It was learnt that the kidnappers were said to have fled, leaving the captives alone in their camp where they were found by the guards, along with a victim from another incident.

Narrating their ordeal, the victims, who were evacuated to the Monastery, said they were praying on a hill when suddenly, they were surrounded by about seven individuals in police uniforms but believed to be of Fulani extraction.

They said the bandits took all their phones and ordered them into the forest.

They said that after trekking a long distance, they got to the bandits’ camp deep in the forest, where other bandits numbering about ten were waiting for them.

They also met another kidnap victim there.

According to the victim, for reasons they did not know then, the kidnappers suddenly became panicky and subsequently ran into the forest, leaving them alone and confused before the forest guards appeared.

Meanwhile, the state police command has yet to issue a statement on the incident.

Efforts made by SaharaReporters to speak with the command's spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe, on the incident were unsuccessful as he did not answer calls to his mobile line. 

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A Nigerian scholar in Cuba, Kabir Sagir, has cried out bitterly that he is presently stranded after completing his scholarship programme in 2020 as the Nigerian Federal Scholarship Board has failed to pay his stipend.

Cuba is a country in the West Indies and one of the more influential states in the Caribbean region.

Narrating his ordeal to SaharaReporters, Sagir said he received a scholarship to study Medicine at the Latin American School of Medicine, Havana, Cuba and graduated in 2020 but he has not been able to translate his documents and buy his return ticket due to his unpaid stipend.

He said he had called and written to the director of the federal scholarship, Mrs. Ndajiwo H. Asta several times but he was told that the board had forwarded his stipend to the Central Bank of Bank (CBN) for remittance.

Asta also reportedly said she did not know what happened and could not do anything about it.

However, when he contacted the CBN, he was told the bank had not received the money from the board and that if it had received the money but experienced difficulties in remitting it to him, the bank would have returned it to the Federal Ministry of Education.

Sagir, who lamented that he is dying in Cuba, said, “I am Kabir Sagir presently in Cuba. I was awarded a scholarship to study medicine at the Latin American School of Medicine, Havana, Cuba, having succeeded in the tests and exams under the Federal Scholarship Board, Abuja.

“I graduated from the medical school in 2020 but I’m still stranded here. The Federal Scholarship Board refused to send my stipend to enable me to translate my documents and buy a return ticket.

“I have called the Director of the Federal Scholarship Board, Abuja several times, she said that they have forwarded my stipend to CBN for remittances; that they don't know what happened; they can't do anything about it.

“I also called the person in charge of remittances of stipends in the Federal Ministry of Education and according to him, they have sent everything to the CBN. I recently contacted CBN and the person I spoke with in the CBN said that it is not true, that if there is any difficulty in sending the stipend, it should be returned to the Federal Ministry of Education immediately.

“I am dying here in Cuba. I just want to come back home and work for my people. I am a good doctor, who graduated with honours. My GP is 4.”

When SaharaReporters contacted the Director of the Federal Scholarship Board, Mrs Ndajiwo Asta, for clarifications on Sagir’s complaint, she said the Federal Ministry of Education was in a better position to speak on the matter.

“Kindly note that the FSB is a Department in the Federal Ministry of Education. Kindly send your enquiry addressed to the honourable minister who will direct the relevant department to respond according to the civil service rules. Thank you,” she said.

However, responding to an email SaharaReporters also sent to the Federal Scholarship Board on the same issue, the Board provided a letter dated March 14, 2022, sent to Sagir through the Embassy of Nigeria in Cuba, clarifying that the Board paid his stipends up to September 2020.

The letter with the caption, ‘RE: Complaint of non-receiving monthly stipend a Nigerian scholar’ and signed by the Director of the Board, Mrs. Ndajiwo Asta H, reads, “I wish to acknowledge the receipt of your mail dated 31st December, 2021 with Ref.NEMCU/P/V on the above subject and to inform you that Federal Scholarship Board has paid his stipends up to September 2020 and he has graduated.

“Sequel to the above, the Embassy is advised to contact the Finance Attachee for mandate of the payments for more clarification.

“While thanking you for your usual cooperation, please accept my highest regards.”  

SaharaReporters then contacted the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja, Ben Bem Goong, for clarifications on the issue but for three days, the mobile phone line did not connect.

A text message was sent to the same phone number but at the time of filing this report, the Director of Press had not replied to the message.

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Gunmen suspected to be bandits on Tuesday night struck at the Millennium City, Kaduna where they kidnapped the wife of a military officer and six others at the Keke ‘A’ and Keke B communities.

According to Vanguard, people in the affected area said that the hoodlums attacked the communities at about 11 pm.

“The bandits operated for about an hour before security operatives came. They went away with three persons at Keke ‘A’. They targeted a big house in the area,” a resident was quoted as saying.

“The bandits came around 11 pm. I think their main target was a house at Keke A. The house belongs to a military officer. But at the time of the attack, the officer was not at home. So, the kidnappers broke into the house and picked (up) his wife.

“They also kidnapped another man who is the immediate neighbour of the military officer. In fact, the neighbour was picked (up) alongside his 8-year-old daughter, but they eventually dropped the daughter when her mother was shouting at the top of her voice.

“I think it was at the point they started shooting sporadically to scare away people who might think of coming to their aid. While all that was happening, another man who was just returning home in his car ran into the kidnappers. He was the third person that was taken away.

“Other people who were still outside including neighborhood shop operators escaped the bandits, as they had to run to safety. As at this morning, we saw many shoes on the ground and we became scared that those must be the shoes of the people kidnapped. But, one of the people who escaped the attack told us the shoes belonged to those who ran away.”

At Keke ‘B’, another resident said, “A man, his wife and their two house girls (home helps) were kidnapped by the bandits. I was so terrified. I just got out of the bathroom abruptly and switched off all the lights inside my house. The gunshots were so close, it was like the bandits were inside my compound. I later discovered that one man, his wife and their two house girls (home helps) were kidnapped.”

In a related development, five people were reportedly kidnapped on Monday from Gwando village in the Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.

“Gwando village is not far from Roboh village where worshippers were abducted on Sunday around 7 am after killing three people,” a source said.

“Gwando is also before Dogon noma and Maikori villages where 32 people were killed on June 5, allegedly with the aid of a helicopter, though the state government denied it on 9th June – four days after the villages were attacked.

According to the state government, the helicopter was there to repel the bandits.

“What is happening around these rural communities is that armed kidnappers are ‘harvesting’ human beings. They followed them into their communities or farms and kidnapped those they can and kill those who resist. Then they asked for ransoms in figures their victims had never seen,” the source said. 

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