November 25, 2021

[GIST] Niger Delta Activist, Tony Uranta Is Dead

[GIST] Niger Delta Activist, Tony Uranta Is Dead

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Niger Delta activist, Tony Uranta has passed on. 
The former Executive Secretary of United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS), died on Wednesday afternoon. 


Actress, Regina Askia Williams also confirmed the news, announcing his death in a Facebook post. 
She wrote, “On your behalf, we announce the passage of Tony Uranta (TIU) at 1:32 pm this afternoon.
“Tony has gone home to rest, after a long medical battle.
“He fought a good fight while here, but we believe God needs him now, to continue from the other side, and to perhaps conquer on his strong believe on Justice, Equity, Peace and Unity for Nigeria.
“Burial will be announced by family.”


The activist was the Executive Secretary of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF). 
In an interview with Vanguard in 2013, Uranta spoke of battling with colon cancer. 
"I had cancer of the colon which is one of those cancers that is rarely detected. Since I was freed from the incurable disease, (HIV) (arun ti o gboogun), I have become very conscious about my health.
"So, I carried out what was called extensive health check at least twice a year within and outside the country. The check was done and it was detected that I had developed some polyps (smaller vessels called tumour) in my colon and they confirmed at the National Hospital that these tumours were malignant.
"I was then left with the option of undergoing surgery to remove the polyps in the hope that malignancy had not spread beyond them. I went to the American Hospital in Dubai. A surgery was carried out and it was successful," he had said.
He also spoke about being tested positive for HIV some time ago, saying, "At one time, I was the spokesperson for people living with HIV and AIDS. But today, I have been tested in those places all over again and reported negative."

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[GIST] "It Was His Third Trip To Ile-Ife"—Widow Of Slain OAU MBA Student, Bolatito, Opens Up In Emotional Interview

[GIST] "It Was His Third Trip To Ile-Ife"—Widow Of Slain OAU MBA Student, Bolatito, Opens Up In Emotional Interview

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The wife of the slain Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife postgraduate student, Bolatito Adegoke, has lamented that her husband, Timothy Oluwadare Adegoke, was killed like an animal.
"He was only struggling to earn a living and take care of his family," she said.


Adegoke was in Ife from October 22nd to October 24th and from October 29th to October 31st. He had also planned to stay from November 5th to November 7th, 2021.
He was said to have frequented the town to take MBA examinations scheduled at intervals.
He was reported missing since he checked in at the hotel on Friday, November 5. His examinations were scheduled for Saturday, November 6, and Sunday, November 7.
SaharaReporters learned that it was noticed that Oludare was missing when his wife could not reach him on the phone.
Meanwhile, he had earlier contacted his wife to inform her that he was staying in a hotel.
Following a police investigation, money paid by Oludare for lodging was traced to Adesola, who worked in the hotel. 
A source told SaharaReporters that the owner of the hotel, who also owns Oduduwa University, Rahman Adegoke Adedoyin, and other workers, initially denied that Oludare was at the hotel.
Meanwhile, the victim's body was discovered after some suspects, including workers at the hotel, were arrested by the police.
“Even animals don’t kill themselves like the way my husband was killed," Bolatito told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Yoruba in a video.
“This suffering is too much for us. My husband only struggled to be well educated and his life was just cut short like that.
“I cannot say or stop my husband from being educated. He went to Ife to sit for the examination regarding his MBA program at OAU. My husband was struggling to earn a living and feed himself and our family only for him to end up being killed.
“His trip to Ife was the third one. He had been there two times on weekends for his MBA program. He arrived Ile-Ife on November 5, 2021. He called me after he got to Ife, having boarded an airplane from Abuja to Akure.
“He called me when their plane landed in Akure airport before he traveled by road to Ile-Ife. Later, he called me when he got to the hotel at Ile-Ife and said he wanted to rest so that he could read his book ahead of the exam the following day.
“I didn’t call him again so that I do not disturb him during his study time. The following morning, I called his phone number, it wasn’t going through and I kept calling till the next day, I couldn’t get through to him. I was very worried.
“I had to call his brother undergoing his NYSC in Osun State, at Osogbo. Luckily, I got the receipt of his previous lodging in the hotel and took a picture with my phone and immediately sent it to my brother-in-law. He traced the hotel and located it in Ile-Ife.
“The same day, the parents of my husband called to raise an alarm that they too had been calling the phone number of my husband for days without result.
“When my brother-in-law got to the hotel to inquire about my husband, they denied that he lodged there, but through the transaction on his phone, we discovered that he transferred money to another person apart from myself. The person was later discovered to be one of the staff of the hotel, who is a lady.
“The lady was arrested by the police, including five other staffers and they admitted that my husband lodged in Hilton Hotels and Resorts. They later confessed that he was dead and took the police to where his remains were buried. They killed my husband and just buried him. They made him suffer.
“Nowhere is safe in this country again. I want the government to help me with my children so that my husband’s death would not be in vain. How can they just kill him like that? Even animals don’t kill themselves like that. I want justice.
“The owner of the hotel sent an emissary to our lawyer, saying he was ready to pay any amount of money so that the matter can be settled. But, the lawyer refused, insisting that no amount of money can replace the life of my husband, who was gruesomely murdered.
“The government should not allow this matter to be swept under the carpet by ensuring diligent investigation and bringing to justice all the people who conspired to kill my husband.”
The aged mother of the deceased said, “The government should come to our rescue and send those who killed my son, who is the only glory of my family, to where they sent my son. They should not escape. The government should not allow them to be released by the police. I am pleading. Help us!.”

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[GIST] "Utter Display Of Executive Rascality"—Femi Falana Slams Lai Mohammed For Rejecting ENDSARS Panel Report

[GIST] "Utter Display Of Executive Rascality"—Femi Falana Slams Lai Mohammed For Rejecting ENDSARS Panel Report

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Human rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN), has slammed the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, for describing as fake news the report of the panel constituted by the Lagos State Government to investigate the Lekki massacre of protesters last year October. 
He slammed the minister for overruling President Muhammadu Buhari’s pledge to the United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, that his government would work on recommendations of the reports of the federating states. 


Falana said these in a statement titled, 'Federal Government Is Not Competent To Reject The Report Of Okuwobi Judicial Commission Of Inquiry.'
A copy of the statement was obtained by SaharaReporters on Wednesday. 
It partly reads, "On November 18, 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari held a meeting in Abuja with Mr. Anthony Blinken, the United States Secretary of State. During the meeting, President Buhari said that the state governments in the country would have to take steps on the reports of their panels before the federal government acts on the recommendations. 
"In particular, the President said, 'We at the federal have to wait for the steps taken by the states, and we have to allow the system to work. We can’t impose ideas on them. The federal government has to wait for the reaction of the states.'
"But in an utter display of executive rascality, Mr. Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, has overruled the President by rejecting the report of the Lagos panel on behalf of the Federal Government.
"By not waiting 'for the reaction of the states', the minister has overruled the president of the republic. As if that was not enough, the minister decided to insult the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu, by rejecting the report of the judicial commission instituted by him under the Tribunal of Enquiry Law of Lagos State. 
"Thus, the governor, who is currently studying the report, has been presented with a fait accompli by the minister. As far as Mr. Mohammed is concerned, the governor must toe his line."
The human rights lawyer described the minister as arrogant, despite being a lawyer himself to have called a report of judicial panel "fake news". 
Falana added, "Mr. Mohammed has described the 309-page report of a judicial tribunal as "fake news". As a lawyer of many years' standing, the minister ought to have known that it is the height of arrogant contempt to describe the report of a Judicial Commission of Enquiry constituted under the Tribunal of Enquiry Law as "fake". 
"It is regrettable to note that the minister has failed to realize that the Lagos State Government is not an extension of the Federal Government but a sovereign entity in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Since the name of the Federal Government is not clothed with any power under the Tribunal of Enquiry Law, the purported rejection of the report by the Minister ought to be treated with disdain by the Lagos State Government. 
"In a press conference held on October 20, 2021, Mr. Mohammed had recalled that the National Economic Council had directed state governors to immediately forward copies of final reports of the panels to their attorneys-general for prompt arraignment and prosecution of all indicted persons. Where incidents in the reports relate to matters of discipline, in addition to prosecution, NEC urged the Nigeria Police Force to take disciplinary action on the affected officers in line with the provisions of the Police Act 2020.' Has Mr. Mohammed overruled the collective decision of the National Economic Council?
"However, it is pertinent to point out that Mr. Mohammed's comment on the report lacks originality as it is a mere regurgitation of the jaundiced views of a couple of aggrieved individuals. 
"The two individuals, have tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to discredit the findings and recommendations of the body. In a desperate attempt to mislead the governor, both aggrieved persons have been campaigning for the total rejection of the report because of the so-called discrepancies and inconsistencies contained in the document. 
"No doubt, these individuals are entitled to express their opinions on the report of the commission. But the call for the rejection of the report is illegal in every material. 
"In December 2015, the Nigerian Army massacred hundreds of Shiites in Zaria and hurriedly buried their bodies in a mass grave at Mango in Kaduna State on the orders of the then Chief of Army Staff. 
"Even though Mr. Mohammed said that the report of the genocidal attack was a hoax, the Justice Garba Judicial Commission of Enquiry instituted by the Kaduna State Government confirmed a casualty figure of 348 Shiites. Six years thereafter, the authorities have ignored the recommendation of the Judicial Commission that the culprits be prosecuted.
"The Lagos Judicial Commission of Enquiry accepted the evidence of forensic experts to the effect that 99 dead bodies were dumped in the various mortuaries in Lagos State during the protests. Mr. Mohammed has described the massacre as "fake news". 
"Finally, Mr. Mohammed's callous comment on the cold murder of unarmed citizens at the Lekki Toll Gate is a sad reminder of his own experience under the same forces of brutalization.
"On August 8, 2014, Mr. Mohammed, the then Publicity Secretary of the APC had left Lagos for Osogbo, Osun State in support of Governor Rauf Aregbesola's re-election bid. Later that night it was reported that he had been kidnapped by a team of hooded operatives of the State Security Service.
"I was aroused from my sleep by Governor Aregbesola who requested me to assist in searching for Mr. Mohammed. However, a couple of hours later, I was relieved when it was reported that he had regained his freedom. 
"But the PDP dismissed the kidnap story as a hoax emanating from the fecund imagination of Mr. Mohammed. Having completely crossed to the other side of the political divide, Mr. Mohammed conveniently regards news of the tragic massacre of unarmed citizens as fake. 
"Mr. Mohamned’s steps undermine the rule of law and social justice in the land. President Buhari should caution him." 

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[GIST] Nigeria Police Arrest Officer Who Shot Driver Dead Over N50 Bribe In Taraba

[GIST] Nigeria Police Arrest Officer Who Shot Driver Dead Over N50 Bribe In Taraba

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The Nigeria Police Force has arrested a trigger-happy officer, Sergeant Haruna Idi, who allegedly shot dead a driver over N50 bribe in Taraba State.  

On Tuesday, SaharaReporters reported that some youths took to the streets to protest the killing of the young man identified as Oliver Ezra who was allegedly killed by the policeman.

SaharaReporters gathered that Ezra was shot and killed by the yet-to-be-identified police officer for allegedly refusing to pay N50 bribe.

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The police however denied the bribery allegation, saying Ezra was hit by accidental discharge, during a struggle with Sergeant Idi at a roadblock along Jalingo/Yola road.

The Spokesperson for the Taraba police command, DSP Usman Abdullahi, said that the deceased, had physically engaged the officer in a fisticuff.

He said, "What actually happened was that the police mounted a roadblock near a major pothole (at Lankavirri) along Jalingo/Yola road, leaving one lane for motorists to maneuver and past.

"Ezra, now late, arrived the checkpoint driving the Chairman of Lau local government Council, (Dr. Daniel Zading). He (Ezra) instructed the police to order a vehicle from the opposite direction to give way for him to pass because he was driving a local government chairman.

"The officer said no. Instead he asked Ezra to give way on first come basis but he refused, instead, he rushed and grabbed the officer, challenging to give him right of the way because he was carrying a VIP (Very Important Personality).

"All this happened while the Chairman and his police orderly were in the car, calling on him to stop struggling with a police officer. This can be corroborated by the orderly.

"While he was struggling with the officer, the officer's finger pulled the trigger, causing accidental discharge, which hit him (Ezra). He was immediately rushed to the hospital on the fateful day being Friday. Unfortunately he died yesterday, being Tuesday.

"It is instructive to note that he (Ezra) was a political thug, which was why he behaved the way he did. Therefore, contrary to speculations, it was an accidental discharge, because if he was shot on purpose as claimed, he would have died on the spot.

"However, Sergeant Haruna Sani has been arrested and detained on the orders of the Commissioner of Police (CP Abimbola), who ordered a discreet investigation into the matter.”

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[GIST] Yoruba Determination Group, Ilana Omo Oodua Reacts To Sunday Igboho’s Extradition Claims By Nigerian Government

[GIST] Yoruba Determination Group, Ilana Omo Oodua Reacts To Sunday Igboho’s Extradition Claims By Nigerian Government

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The Yoruba Nation determination group, Ilana Omo Oodua, on Wednesday said the claims by the Department of State Services (DSS) that it filed extradition charges against Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho, was a lie.

Igboho is currently in detention in Benin Republic.

Sunday Igboho

The group stated that the claims by the DSS were an attempt to set aside the damages imposed on it by the court for the unlawful invasion of Igboho's residence in Ibadan.

Speaking with journalists in Ibadan during the inauguration of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide Elders Advisory Council, the spokesman of the group, Maxwell Adeleye stated that the Nigerian government had not filed any extradition charges to bring Sunday Igboho back to the country.

"They don't have the money to pay and that is why they wanted to quash the judgement, also, the appeal for stay of execution that was filed by DSS has not been granted by the court,” he said.  

Prof. Banji Akintoye noted that the Advisory Council became important to liaise with traditional rulers and other stakeholders towards making the dream of the self-determination come to reality.

He pointed out that the youth could not drive the course alone, urging everybody that loved the development of the Yoruba land to join hand towards its success.

"We are ready to fight for the self determination of Yoruba Nation until we succeed; there are some things the elders can do that the youths cannot do. Of course, the youths are also key towards the realisation of Yoruba Nation through rallies, social media, and other but they also need the elders to champion the course."

The Chairman, Elders Advisory Council, Alhaji Ali Oyedeji, in his remark said that his members would collectively engage critical stakeholders in Yorubaland to key into the Yoruba redemption agenda for a peaceful approach toward its realisation.

He however said that the recent attempt by some people occupying strategic position in the group at blackmailing the leadership of the organization was dead on arrival.

He lamented that one of the problem of Yorubaland is betrayal, saying that all hands must be on deck towards realisation of the fight.

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