June 26, 2022

[GIST] Nigerian Police Arrest Man In Delta State For Beheading One-year-old Son For Ritual Purposes

[GIST] Nigerian Police Arrest Man In Delta State For Beheading One-year-old Son For Ritual Purposes

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A 33-year-old man identified as Gabriel Volts has been arrested by the Nigerian police in Delta State for allegedly beheading his son for ritual purposes.
In a statement by the police spokesperson, Bright Edafe, the suspect took his one-year-old son from the mother and proceeded to Etinabobo bush in Edo state where he used a handsaw to cut off the head of the little boy.


“The Delta State Police Command has arrested one Gabriel Volts aged 33years who allegedly beheaded his son for ritual. Suspect used a handsaw to cut off the head of his one-year and eight months old son at Etinabobo bush in Edo State for ritual purposes and buried him by the palm tree.
“The suspect was arrested after the child went missing, and the suspect lied to the wife that the son was with his sister in Warri, which turned out to be false. This prompted the wife to be suspicious; so she reported to the police. The suspect has confessed to the alleged crime,” the police spokesperson said.

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[GIST] Nigerian Youths Kick As BBC Yoruba Excludes YPP Candidate, Bayonle From Osun Governorship Debate

[GIST] Nigerian Youths Kick As BBC Yoruba Excludes YPP Candidate, Bayonle From Osun Governorship Debate

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Some youths in Osun State have expressed their displeasure with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Yoruba following the alleged exclusion of the gubernatorial candidate of the Young Progressive Party, Ademola Bayonle (DAB) from the debate scheduled for June 30.
The youths claimed that the 35-year-old medical doctor who is running on the platform of YPP has a visible campaign in the state with a formidable structure of majorly young people across the state.


They noted that in a recent poll conducted by Osun Situation Room, Bayonle came third with a close margin right after the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gboyega Oyetola, the incumbent.
Also, while speaking to SaharaReporters on Saturday, Bayonle lamented the position of the media towards credible candidates like him as he alleged that his counterparts did not get to share the same platform with “people who have a golden handcuffs to give.”
He listed the lack of media recognition as a major challenge to his campaign efforts despite his “innovative ideas to put the state on the map.”
Bayonle said when he was briefed about the development by his teeming supporters, he wrote to the BBC Bureau in Lagos, to understand the parameters of their selections, but he was ignored.
He said this proved that the “platform is either complicit or has been pocketed by desperate politicians who find the youth energy and superior ideas for the state challenging to their mediocrity.”
He alleged that there seemed to be a deliberate imposition of recycled old men on the people of Osun State by the media.

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June 25, 2022

[GIST] Biafran Group, MASSOB Accuses Traditional Rulers Of Being Responsible For Killings In South-East

[GIST] Biafran Group, MASSOB Accuses Traditional Rulers Of Being Responsible For Killings In South-East

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A pro-Biafran group known as the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has accused traditional rulers in the South-East region of Nigeria for the indiscriminate attacks, kidnapping and killings in the region.

The National Director of Information of the group, Sunday Okereafor, who made the accusation during an interview with The Punch on Friday alleged that the traditional rulers collected money from Fulani herdsmen and allowed them to operate in the region without restriction.

The MASSOB spokesperson said, “They (monarchs) brought Fulani herdsmen to our land. The Fulani herdsmen gave them money to come into our land and they are all over in our bushes.

“I schooled in the North. Before a Fulani man will come into your community, they must first see the monarch. After seeing the monarch, they will start operating in your bushes.

“Formerly, they paid the monarchs N100,000. Now it is N500,000. You can imagine yourself, how can a monarch leave his community, his town for the city? Tell me what he will do there. The monarchs left our community down to the city. Now the Fulani herdsmen are approaching, kidnapping our bishops and our pastors and taking people hostage.”

According to Okereafor, the killings in the region would no longer be tolerated as no one group has a monopoly on violence.

He therefore warned the perpetrators, especially the Fulani herdsmen to desist from such wicked acts forthwith or be ready to leave the Southeast completely.

He said that “It is becoming unbearable. We are now calling the Muslims in the South-East to stop kidnapping and stop killing our people.

“It is not only them who knows how to kidnap and kill in the church. If these killings and kidnappings continue, their mosques will be attacked. They should stop insulting our clerics.

“Can we insult the Imam in Owerri, in Port Harcourt, Aba or Umuahia? It is not possible. But they (herdsmen) are here insulting our clerics and pilgrims and taking them hostage.

“So, we are telling the youths in the South-East to rise up now and search all the bushes in the South-East and chase them out of our land. So, the monarchs should be held responsible because they know how the Fulani come into our land. Formally, the Fulani don't stay in the bush. They patrol in the land and after that they return to where they come from. But this time around, they are living in our bushes.

“Every day by 2am you will see them patrolling our villages. They know all the corners and link roads of our villages. So any further attack or kidnap in our communities, our churches and clerics, we will know how to deal with them.

“They should not push us to the wall. We allowed them on our land because we are not violent. But they should not push us to the wall.”

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June 24, 2022

[GIST] Naked Supreme Court Dance Not A Bad Thing After All, By Azu Ishiekwene

[GIST] Naked Supreme Court Dance Not A Bad Thing After All, By Azu Ishiekwene

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When I first read the news in People’s Gazette through a link forwarded to me by a friend, I prayed that it would not be true. My prayer was in spite of the evidence to the contrary provided in watermarked documents by the news platform.
 
The letter read like the demand of unionised shop floor factory workers to their mean, grasping bosses upstairs. Except that even such correspondences occasionally contain a hint of shared Marxian humour.
 
This one was different. It had no place at all for humour. It was from the most rarified recesses of Nigeria’s judiciary: a letter by 14 out of the 17 justices of the Supreme Court calling out the Chief Justice of the Federation Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, a jurist with decades of experience on the Bench. In parliamentary language, it was a vote of no confidence. A mutiny.
 
After dispensing with a line or two of courtesy, the long letter wasted no time in making its case, even though the authors said they were doing so with a heavy heart and hoped the matter would not go public. The jurists, each of whom would have spent at least 20 years before appointment to the Supreme Court, said they had just as much stake in the country as other citizens and wondered why they were being shortchanged, in spite of their sacrifices.
 
They have been forced to dance naked, they said, because nothing short of that radical step could redeem a potentially catastrophic situation. How could justices of the Supreme Court be using “refurbished” or “sub-standard” vehicles, derisively called Tokunbo?
 
Why must they scavenge for training and even when they finally get the chance, be consigned to places of dubious relevance, whereas when His Lordship travels, he goes with a retinue of personal staff and chooses any number of his 23 or more children to be in his company?
 
I was relieved that the petitioners did not update the petition by mentioning the names of two of His Lordship’s sons who could, in fact, consolidate His Lordship’s juridical hegemony if they win next year’s election as candidates of the two major political parties to represent Bauchi in the National Assembly.
 
But they were not done. Why, the 14 justices asked, do they have to scrounge for money to pay electricity and health bills, recharge their internet data and buy diesel and petrol for their generators at home and in the office? They even recalled that the Chief Registrar had recently informed them that electricity would only be supplied to the courts between 8 am and 4 pm, which means that outside these hours, they would, like the rest of us, be on their own.
 
Why, in spite of being overworked and underpaid, even in better times, is their misery being compounded under His Lordship who appears to want them to work with bare hands? Why hasn’t he lifted a finger three months after he “reluctantly” met with them over these matters on March 23? And fundamentally, what has happened to the Judiciary’s budget on the watch of His Lordship?
 
Faced with a rebellion not remotely comparable with what Chief Justice Muhammadu Uwais faced when his brother Justice Salihu Alfa Belgore was tussling for his chair, His Lordship Tanko, has flatly and publicly denied any wrongdoing. He has, instead, blamed it all on the economy, not to mention the impatience and inability of his brother justices to read the signs of the times.
 
In the extraordinary back-and-forth, the devil is in the details. We just might be able to get some clarity by following, if not the devil, at least his footprints - which is to say, the money.
 
For many years, the judiciary has been demanding financial autonomy, a system which allows that branch of government to control and manage its own budget. After a prolonged wrestling match, the (Federal) Executive branch conceded but, working hand-in-glove with the Legislature, did so in a cynical manner.
 
Instead of providing details, line-by-line, as is the case with other items in the annual budget, the Executive has been using undisclosed estimates from the Judiciary (read the office of the Chief Justice), to appropriate a bulk sum which the Legislature simply rubber stamps.
 
For three years, between 2018 and 2021, for example, a fixed lump sum of N110 billion was budgeted each year for the Federal judiciary. The sum was disbursed with zero details about what the money was meant for or how it was expected to be used.
 
So, when His Lordship in his response complained about the effect of inflation, he was right. That money in 2018 is not what it is today. But when his brother justices complained of not knowing what was happening to the money, they were also right. The inconvenient truth is that the money is somewhere in between, stashed under a system that mischievously hides the details for the benefit of a few.
 
If there was a line-item budget showing what was appropriated, budgeted and released outside the direct control of the Chief Justice, His Lordship would not need the guile of Eneke, the bird, to explain what happened to the money. His brother justices would also know why they have been constrained to work in conditions similar to those in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. A national newspaper, PUNCH, has written twice to the office of the Chief Justice, under the Freedom of Information Act to demand details of the Judiciary’s budget, without a reply.
 
If there was a transparent budgeting process, His Lordship’s brother justices would have known why instead of 21 justices statutorily required for a full court, the Supreme Court currently down to 15 justices, would have only five justices to sit on a mountain of cases spilling into 2024 on the excuse of poor funding, while exposing the court to allegations of bribes-for-early-dates.
 
And those on the Bench or outside who are as concerned about financial transparency as they are about equity and fairness would have been able to know, also, why all five of the heads of the other judicial branches - Courts of Appeal, Industrial Court, Federal High Court, FCT High Court, and the Code of Conduct - are from a section of the country.
 
The displeasure is deeper. The Chief Justice is first among equals. Unfortunately - and this has nothing to do with His Lordship - the system has created an obscene gap in official entitlements between a sitting Chief Justice and his brother justices. For example, when a Chief Justice retires, he or she receives a house in Abuja valued at N1 billion, among other parting gifts, which also include a significant lump sum cash payment.
 
The other justices are on their own. There are, in fact, the cases of at least two retired judges in a state judiciary fighting in court for their pensions. As a desperate, despicable act of self-survival, some courts are following the money by prioritising political cases.
 
It is obviously out of panic that the angry justices whose salaries, like those of other Federal judges, which I am told have not been reviewed in the last 15 years and who are at various stages near the end of their career, have resorted to this extraordinary means to air their grievances. But it’s even deeper.
 
Why did the justices use a method they knew would be public? They know the system. They have, through their acts of omissions and commissions, been responsible for creating and nurturing the monster. The angry justices wrote a letter they knew would go public because His Lordship appoints 14 out of the 24 members of the National Judicial Commission (NJC), the only body statutorily charged with the responsibility for investigating complaints against sitting judges. The Chief Justice is the Chairman of the commission. Reporting His Lordship to the NJC would have been like taking him to his own court.
 
His powers are almost transcendent. Apart from being Chairman of the NJC, and also head of the Supreme Court, His Lordship is also the Chairman of the Federal Judicial Service Commission; and the Chairman of the National Judicial Institute, to complete his misery. It’s no surprise that the Rules of Court, meant to speed up court proceedings, are still stranded in the office of His Lordship three years after it was submitted for review.
 
It would seem, in hindsight, that this is not the financial autonomy that supporters of the idea wished for. They did not want financial autonomy that would conceal the details of the budget or one that would make the overall head of the judicial branch the contract-awarder-in-chief, accountable only to themselves.
 
But the row, like most dark clouds, has its silver lining. It should be a moment not only to address grievances about pay and entitlements with greater transparency but one to also review the process of the appointment of judges and the condition of the courts, which are infinitely worse in the states. It should be a moment of reflection.
 
There are still judges in the system committed to hard, diligent and honest work. They deserve praise. But a vetting process which prioritises politics over quality of work, depth and sagacity of jurisprudence, would only produce judges who, during screenings, will confuse legal technicalities with aeronautics.
 
The current system is broken. It is a disincentive to hard work and honesty. But the current mess, if it’s not wasted, could also be a good start at redemption.
 
Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP
 

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[GIST] UK Arrest: Factional Ohanaeze Threatens To Sack Ex-Deputy Senate President, Ekweremadu From Decision-making Organ 'Ime-Obi'

[GIST] UK Arrest: Factional Ohanaeze Threatens To Sack Ex-Deputy Senate President, Ekweremadu From Decision-making Organ 'Ime-Obi'

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A splinter Ohanaeze Ndigbo group has threatened to sack former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, as a member of its decision-making organ “Ime-Obi” over his arrest on suspicions of organ harvesting and child trafficking in the United Kingdom.

The news of Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice’s arrest broke Thursday afternoon in Nigeria after various foreign media reported that they were remanded in police custody after a UK Court in Uxbridge denied them bail over an alleged child trafficking and organ harvesting plan.



The Ohanaeze splinter group in a reaction statement signed by its Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, described Ekweremadu’s alleged offence as atrocious.
The statement partly read, "Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide has described the arrest of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice Ekweremadu, by the UK police on allegations of child organ harvesting as the height of “monstrosities and atrocities” against humanity.
“They should be allowed to face the consequences of their actions in UK. The Igbo leadership will strip him of all titles and privileges accorded to him as an Ime-Obi member (the apex decision making organ of Ohanaeze) if he is found guilty of this allegations.”

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo also calls on the good people of Enugu West Senatorial zone to initiate the process of his recall from the Senate if he is finally convicted. This anathema is condemned in strong words and must come with strict sanctions against Ekweremadu.

“Ndigbo will not condone such actions in Igboland, he dishonored the people he represents in the Senate. The stigma of these allegations will torment Ike Ekweremadu and his wife," it concluded.

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[GIST] Witness Tells Nigerian Court How Three Ex-bank Workers Planned With Hackers To Steal N20bn From Finance House

[GIST] Witness Tells Nigerian Court How Three Ex-bank Workers Planned With Hackers To Steal N20bn From Finance House

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A prosecution witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Adamu Dahiru, has told the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja at a resumed trial how three former employees of First Bank of Nigeria conspired with hackers to steal N20 billion from the bank.

 

The trio are facing charges bordering on attempted fraud before the court.

The defendants, Ozioma Ugorji, 35; Ugwu Emeka, 32; and Obike Chukwuka, 38, were arraigned by the EFCC on a charge of attempting to steal N20 billion from the bank.

 

Information the anti-graft agency filed before the court indicates that the defendants conspired to hack into the bank’s server to grant access to a syndicate.

 

Following credible intelligence, the operatives of the Commission arrested the suspects on March 6, 2021.

 

At the resumed trial on Wednesday, one of the defence lawyers, Uchenna Ozoagbo, cross-examined Dahiru in his deposed affidavit.

 

He told the court that the defendants were apprehended after one of them connected a laptop he collected from the syndicate to the bank’s server.

 

He said, “They conspired to give access to a fraudster to defraud the bank of over N20 billion. The report we gathered was that the money was in the cloud and they needed to bring it out.

 

“The second defendant (Emeka) had a meeting with the syndicate at a hotel.

 

“When the first defendant (Ugorji) was arrested, he made a statement that he was introduced to the syndicate by the third defendant (Chukwuka) and that they had communicated with someone from the headquarters.

 

“The second defendant made a statement that a laptop was given after several promises that he should connect the laptop to the bank’s system.

 

“When he was on duty, he connected the laptop to the banking system, but during the connection, the I.P. (Internet Protocol address) of the laptop was picked up and the system was destroyed.”

 

The judge, S. O. Solebo, adjourned the case till October 5, 2022, for the continuation of the trial.

 

 

 

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[GIST] Witness Tells Nigerian Court How Three Ex-bank Workers Planned With Hackers To Steal N20bn From Finance House

[GIST] Witness Tells Nigerian Court How Three Ex-bank Workers Planned With Hackers To Steal N20bn From Finance House

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A prosecution witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Adamu Dahiru, has told the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja at a resumed trial how three former employees of First Bank of Nigeria conspired with hackers to steal N20 billion from the bank.

 

The trio are facing charges bordering on attempted fraud before the court.

The defendants, Ozioma Ugorji, 35; Ugwu Emeka, 32; and Obike Chukwuka, 38, were arraigned by the EFCC on a charge of attempting to steal N20 billion from the bank.

 

Information the anti-graft agency filed before the court indicates that the defendants conspired to hack into the bank’s server to grant access to a syndicate.

 

Following credible intelligence, the operatives of the Commission arrested the suspects on March 6, 2021.

 

At the resumed trial on Wednesday, one of the defence lawyers, Uchenna Ozoagbo, cross-examined Dahiru in his deposed affidavit.

 

He told the court that the defendants were apprehended after one of them connected a laptop he collected from the syndicate to the bank’s server.

 

He said, “They conspired to give access to a fraudster to defraud the bank of over N20 billion. The report we gathered was that the money was in the cloud and they needed to bring it out.

 

“The second defendant (Emeka) had a meeting with the syndicate at a hotel.

 

“When the first defendant (Ugorji) was arrested, he made a statement that he was introduced to the syndicate by the third defendant (Chukwuka) and that they had communicated with someone from the headquarters.

 

“The second defendant made a statement that a laptop was given after several promises that he should connect the laptop to the bank’s system.

 

“When he was on duty, he connected the laptop to the banking system, but during the connection, the I.P. (Internet Protocol address) of the laptop was picked up and the system was destroyed.”

 

The judge, S. O. Solebo, adjourned the case till October 5, 2022, for the continuation of the trial.

 

 

 

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[GIST] Obasanjo That Attempted Third Term Didn’t End Well – Buhari Tells UK Prime Minister, Confirms He’ll Hand Over In 2023

[GIST] Obasanjo That Attempted Third Term Didn’t End Well – Buhari Tells UK Prime Minister, Confirms He’ll Hand Over In 2023

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President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated that he will hand over in 2023 saying that the Nigerian leader, making reference to Olusegun Obasanjo, who attempted a third term agenda did not end well.
According to Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, Buhari spoke on Thursday during a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, at the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda.


During the meeting, the British prime minister had asked if Buhari would run for office again.
In his respose, he said, “Another term for me? No! The first person who tried it didn’t end very well."
Also speaking on Boko Haram insurgency, Buhari said there was serious effort to educate the people on the fact that only an unserious person could kill innocent people, “and say Allah Akbar (God is Great).”
He said, "God is justice. You can’t take innocent souls, and ascribe it to God. And the education process is working, the people now understand that Boko Haram as anti-God, and not about religion.”
He also reiterated his stance of not seeking third term in office.
Buhari also denied claims that leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, was not allowed to see his lawyers privately.
The president said the detained separatist was being given every opportunity under the law “to justify all the uncomplimentary things he had been saying against Nigeria in Britain.”
He added, “He felt very safe in Britain, and said awful things against Nigeria. We eventually got him when he stepped out of the United Kingdom, and we sent him to court. Let him defend all that he has said there. His lawyers have access to him. Remember he jumped bail before, how are we sure he won’t do it again, if he’s admitted to bail?”

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[GIST] How Anambra State Education Ministry Violated Rules, Freed 68-year-old, 140 Others Caught In Recruitment Examination Fraud

[GIST] How Anambra State Education Ministry Violated Rules, Freed 68-year-old, 140 Others Caught In Recruitment Examination Fraud

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A 68-year-old retired permanent secretary and over 140 others who were caught impersonating during the Anambra State teachers recruitment Computer Based Test (CBT) examination conducted on Saturday, June 18, have been freed by the state Ministry of Education in violation of the Examination Malpractice Act.
The CBT exam was first conducted on Saturday, June 4, but was later cancelled following reported malfunctioning of the website barely 30 minutes into the examination, due to suspected cyber-attack.


The state Commissioner of Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, had accused about 1000 teachers employed by the former Governor Willie Obiano under the Parents, Teachers Association (PTA) who protested their sack by Governor Chukwuma Soludo government, for being responsible for the cyber-attack.
Speaking with SaharaReporters on the phone, the education commissioner said that the 68-year-old retired Permanent Secretary in the state whom she did not mention his name presented an affidavit that he was 38 years old.
According to her, the man insisted on writing the exam until she asked the invigilating supervisors to allow him write the exam.
“The man came in but he did not know we were monitoring him. He wrote the first one and logged in for the second one and the invigilating supervisor called me and told me that the man was up to something but I told him to wait, that I would catch him,” she said.
The Commissioner said they caught the man while trying to write the second exam; and he then claimed that he was a senior citizen. But when asked why he was impersonating, he claimed his wife was late and he was living alone as his three children who would take the job.
“When I asked him if what he did was right as a senior citizen he claimed, he insisted that we must allow him to write the exam. We caught more than 146 impersonators.”
However, when asked what happened to the 68-year-old man and the rest of the impersonators caught during the exam, she said they stopped them from writing the exam but let them go.
“We let them go but we stopped them from writing. Then for the old man, we went to history, removed the first one he had written for his daughter and asked him to go.”
Meanwhile, Section 3 (2a-c) of the Examination Malpractice Act 1999 No. 33, on impersonation provided that “A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) of this section is liable on conviction:
“In the case of a person under the age of 18 years, to a fine of N100,000 or imprisonment for a  term not exceeding three years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
“In the case of a principal, teacher, an invigilator, a supervisor, an examiner, or an agent or employee of the examination body concerned with the conduct of an examination, to imprisonment for a term of 4 years without the option of a fine; and in any other case, to imprisonment for a term of three years without the option of a fine.”

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June 23, 2022

[GIST] Nigerian Medical Student Stranded In Cuba Since 2020, Says Federal Scholarship Board Tossing Him Up And Down After Failing To Pay His Stipends

[GIST] Nigerian Medical Student Stranded In Cuba Since 2020, Says Federal Scholarship Board Tossing Him Up And Down After Failing To Pay His Stipends

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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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[GIST] Terrorists Abduct Nigerian Soldier’s Wife, Six Others In Kaduna

[GIST] Terrorists Abduct Nigerian Soldier’s Wife, Six Others In Kaduna

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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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[GIST] Why Nigerians Are Experiencing Second Fuel Scarcity In 4 Months – Petroleum And Natural Gas Union President

[GIST] Why Nigerians Are Experiencing Second Fuel Scarcity In 4 Months – Petroleum And Natural Gas Union President

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The President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo has explained the reasons behind the recent fuel scarcity experienced across Nigeria.

Osifo, during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, identified the issue of ‘bridging funds’ between the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and truck drivers who deliver the Premium Motor Spirits (PMS) as central to the problem.

He said: “The NMDPRA are the ones administering a bridging fund. At a particular time, they agreed with truck drivers that the bridging fund is going to be about N10 per litre depending on the destination you’re going to all over the country.

“As at when they agreed, the cost of diesel was about N250 so it was fashionable and the N10 was a bit okay but today, the cost of diesel is over N700. It has tripled. So, the expectation from the tanker drivers is that since the cost has gone up, instead of paying me N10.40 as the case may be, you have to multiply it by three.

“At the end of the day, that is the first problem.”

According to Osifo, there are at least two billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, available contrary to the belief that the product is scarce.

“As at today, we have close to 2 billion litres of PMS, so the problem is not the stock,” he said.

He explained that while the stock is available, most of the truck drivers are not willing to move these products “because of the previous problem I just enumerated”.

“One of the issues again is that today, NNPC is the sole importer of PMS, so they import PMS into the country, and this PMS is brought to the high sea. So they rent some smaller vessels to bunker the PMS and take it to the various tank farms or depots.

“So, if it’s the NNPC depots and you are loading from the NNPC depots, you are going to pay about N148 as the ex-depot price. But some of the PMS are also stored in private depots and those private depots don’t sell to the retailers for N148; they add some premium to it. At the end of the day, they sell between N152, N155, N160 and N162.

“So, if they sell at that amount, it will now be difficult for the retailer to go and sell at the same amount.”

For over one month, between February and March 2022, Nigerians experienced fuel scarcity as a result of the importation of contaminated fuel which was later taken off the market.

So, the current fuel scarcity is the second time Nigerians would experience it this year. 

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[GIST] Nigerian Activist, Akume Accuses Justice Ityonyiman Of Bias In Case Involving Benue Governor, Ortom, Seeks Neutral Judge

[GIST] Nigerian Activist, Akume Accuses Justice Ityonyiman Of Bias In Case Involving Benue Governor, Ortom, Seeks Neutral Judge

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A Nigerian human rights activist, Sesugh Akume has accused Justice Augustine Ityonyiman of Makurdi High Court in Benue of being biased in his treatment of a suit filed against him by the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom.

Ortom had instituted a N150million libel suit (MHC/284/2021) against Akume and the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Mr. Omoyele Sowore.

Sesugh Akume

The activist in a letter dated March 18 had asked the Chief Judge of Benue, Justice Aondover Kaka’an to reassign the case to a neutral judge.

He accused Justice Ityonyiman of impunity, bias and violation of the code of conduct.

However, three months after, the judge refused to recuse himself from the case and it was not reassigned, Akume said in a statement released on Wednesday.

He said, “The Chief Judge of Benue, the Honourable Mr Justice Aondover Kaka’an, has given the Honourable Mr Justice A. I. Ityonyiman, the bias judge, the authority to continue in the libel suit instituted against me by Benue governor, Samuel Ortom.

“In a letter dated and delivered on 18 March 2022, I applied to the honourable chief judge to kindly reassign the matter (with suit number MHC/284/2021) to a neutral judge.

“My reason was due to a rather unsavory experience with this judge in another case and the outcome, I not only took it up to the appellate court but referred the judicial bias I suffered and other misconduct of the judge in the case to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for interrogation and disciplinary measures on the judge, in a petition dated and submitted on 22 October 2021, a petition still pending before the NJC. A copy of the petition to the NJC was attached.

“In the light of the above circumstances, it was expected that the trial judge, would going by standard practice, quietly recuse himself from this matter involving me.

“I referred his lordship to the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Rule 12(1)(a) which states: 12.1 A Judicial Officer should disqualify himself in a proceeding in which his impartiality may genuinely and reasonably be questioned, …where: (a) he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party.

“I further called his lordship’s attention/memory to the matter of Sesugh Akume v Government of Benue State and 4 Others (MHC/294/2020) dated and filed on 27 August 2020, which being first assigned to the Honourable Justice J. M. Ijohor, and going by Rule and normal convention, recused herself and returned the case file to the chief judge for reassignment.

“I informed him that the judge, in this case, having not done that which ought to have been done, an application was brought before him for recusal, but was vehemently denied and dismissed.

“I respectfully called the honourable Chief Judge’s attention in this letter to the impression created in the mind of the reasonable person of a judge insisting on himself hearing a case where there is a clear conflict of interests; the negative impression it creates of a teleguided judiciary, of a judicial officer taking partial decisions to please certain quarters and/or descending into the seeking to exact personal vendetta; all having the negative potential of bringing the judiciary to disrepute.

“I, therefore, appealed to the honourable Chief Judge, in the interests of justice, to use his good offices to avoid these and reassign this matter to a neutral judge. I assured him that assigning this matter to a neutral and disinterested judge will in no way be prejudicial to the plaintiff nor imperil his case.

“I have received no response from the Chambers of the Chief Judge of Benue. The Honourable Mr Justice Augustine Ityonyiman continues to sit on the case whose next adjourned date is 28 June for the continuation of hearing.”

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[GIST] Nigerian Universities’ Senior Staff Union, SSANU, Non-Academic Staff Union, NASU, Extend Strike By Two Months

[GIST] Nigerian Universities’ Senior Staff Union, SSANU, Non-Academic Staff Union, NASU, Extend Strike By Two Months

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The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Educational Institutions (NASU) have extended their ongoing strike by another two months.

The Joint Action Committee of the two unions, in a statement dated April 21st, 2022, by the National President, SSANU, Comrade Mohammed H. Ibrahim and General Secretary, NASU, Prince Peter A. Adeyemi respectively, informed members that the strike has been extended by one month.

The statement said it was unfortunate that the government had remained indifferent to the demands of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of NASU and SSANU.

SSANU and NASU started their agitation with a 14-day warning strike in Nigerian universities on Sunday, March 27, 2022, but that was later extended.

For instance, it was extended by one month in April.

“Deriving from the feedback received from our branches in respect of the resolutions conducted which supported fully the ongoing strike and other actions taken by the leadership of JAC, this is to inform members that the strike has been extended by one month to commence on midnight of Sunday, 24th April 2022, pending when the Federal government would have change of heart and be favourably disposed to our demands as highlighted in our letters dated March 1st, 2022, to the representative of the government, the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment,” a statement had read.

However, in a statement signed by the National President, SSANU, Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, and General Secretary, Mr. Peter Adeyemi on Wednesday, the unions informed their members that the strike has been again extended by two months.

The statement partly read, “In view of the fact that government is still a long way from effectively resolving the issues in contention, it is only expedient that we allow the process to be fully concluded before directing the end of the strike. Consequently, you are hereby informed that the strike has been extended by two months, within which we are hoping that all the contentious issues would have been effectively laid to rest. The two-month extension is with effect from Friday, June 24, 2022.’’

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[GIST] Peter Obi’s ‘Obidient Movement’ Will Turn To ‘Disobidient Movement’ After 2023 Elections, They Only Exist On Social Media – APC Chieftain

[GIST] Peter Obi’s ‘Obidient Movement’ Will Turn To ‘Disobidient Movement’ After 2023 Elections, They Only Exist On Social Media – APC Chieftain

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The former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, has said that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) does not hope to secure the votes of Nigerians but to hack the server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the 2023 general elections.

According to him, PDP will not be a stumbling block to the APC in 2023.

“PDP is nothing to talk about as far as the 2023 general election is concerned, although we are watching them keenly based on their past records because we already know their plans and what they are banking on are their Dubai connections and Hushpuppy strategies,” he said.

Nabena called on the INEC to protect its server as “The only hope for the PDP is to hack the INEC server, not the votes of Nigerians to win the election”.

“You can see practically that even in the recent governorship election in Ekiti State, PDP lost its usual second place and I doubt if it can regain that second position anymore in the coming 2023 general elections,” Nabena said.

Nabena also mocked supporters of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, saying that the “so-called Obedient movement” only exists on social media.

The APC former Deputy National Publicity Secretary who spoke with journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, said that the Obedient Movement would cease to exist when Obi loses in the 2023 presidential election.

“I can tell you that the so-called ‘Obidient movement’ only exists on social media and after the coming elections, they will naturally turn to ‘disobidient movement’, and later obituary because the movement will naturally vamoose,” he said.

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[GIST] Presidential Candidates, Atiku, Tinubu, With History Of Fraud Allegations Not Likely To Promise Anti-Corruption Fight During Campaign —Bloomberg Report

[GIST] Presidential Candidates, Atiku, Tinubu, With History Of Fraud Allegations Not Likely To Promise Anti-Corruption Fight During Campaign —Bloomberg Report

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The presidential candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, have been described as unfit to end corruption in the country.

According to a Bloomberg report, the duo's past records show that neither of them is free of corruption allegations, adding that seven years after President Muhammadu Buhari promised to swiftly defeat corruption, corruption in Nigeria has become worse than it was in 2015. 

According to the report, the history of graft allegations surrounding the two candidates means neither is likely to curb corruption in the run-up to February’s vote.

"Front-runner Bola Tinubu, who secured the ruling party’s nomination earlier this month, was being investigated by the country’s anti-corruption agency as recently as last June. Three decades ago he fought a lawsuit in which the US government accused him of laundering the proceeds of heroin trafficking and eventually reached a settlement.

"Atiku Abubakar, his chief rival, brought tens of millions of dollars of ‘suspect funds’ into the US when he was Nigeria’s vice president in the 2000s, according to a US Senate report, and was implicated in a bribery case that resulted in the imprisonment of an American congressman. Neither episode resulted in charges against Abubakar.

The Spokesmen for Tinubu and Abubakar didn’t respond to requests made by Bloomberg for comments.

The report noted that Nigeria’s next president will face a daunting challenge to turn around Africa’s largest economy. 

It further noted that falling oil production threatens Nigeria’s place as the continent’s biggest crude producer.

It lamented how inflation is soaring in the country with more than half of the working-age population either unemployed or underemployed. 

"The local currency has depreciated steeply under outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, falling from around N220 to the US dollar on the widely-used parallel market when he was first elected in early 2015 to about N600 this week.

"Nigeria vies with India as the country with the highest number of people living in extreme poverty despite having a seventh of the population. Meanwhile, secessionists, Islamist militants and armed criminal gangs terrorize large swathes of territory.

Efforts to restore security and fix the economy alone will likely fall short because there’s an unavoidable connection between financial graft and government dysfunction in Nigeria, said Leena Koni Hoffmann, an associate fellow at Chatham House in London. 

Corruption “hollows systems out and cripples them from the inside,” she said.

"The race will see the two wealthy septuagenarians mobilize impressive political machines built over more than 30 years pursuing power in Africa’s most-populous country. Voters in Nigeria are often offered cash, food or clothing to persuade them to cast their ballots for particular candidates.

The report recalled how on the eve of the last election in 2019, two armoured bank vans were photographed driving into Tinubu’s home. 

“If I have money to spend, if I like, I give it to the people for free of charge as long as it’s not to buy votes,” Tinubu told reporters when asked what the vehicles were transporting.

"Tinubu and Abubakar have cultivated deep systems of political patronage, according to Hoffmann. Both men excel at “engineering and expanding political networks through co-optation, through channeling and redistributing money and positions and favors,” she said.

"Tinubu, 70, who lives in Lagos’s wealthiest neighborhood, says he made his fortune before going into politics by investing well and working as an accountant for companies including Deloitte LLP. 

“Abubakar, 75, who splits his time between Nigeria and Dubai, spent two decades working for the government’s customs department and co-founded a large logistics and oil services firm that has operated concessions at Nigerian ports,” the report added. 

It recalled a report published in 2010 by the US Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which said one of Abubakar’s wives helped her husband bring more than $40 million in “suspect funds” into the US while he was Nigeria’s vice president.

This included at least $1.7 million in bribes paid by Siemens AG. Abubakar and his then-spouse previously have denied any wrongdoing.

Former US Representative William Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2009 for taking bribes from American companies interested in doing business in Nigeria and Ghana. 

In July 2005, Jefferson told a cooperating witness that Atiku Abubakar had also agreed to accept a bribe in exchange for his assistance, according to the Louisiana congressman’s indictment. 

Atiku, however, denied the allegations, saying he had no personal or business relationship with Jefferson.  

Abubakar’s hopes of succeeding President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007 were torpedoed when the EFCC declared him unfit to hold public office and a Nigerian Senate panel recommended his prosecution for allegedly diverting government funds. 

But Atiku has described it as political persecution.

Both Tinubu and Atiku will focus on issues other than corruption while campaigning, said Hoffmann. “They know it’s not part of their political image,” she said.

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