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Post Date : November 25, 2020

America Is Back’: Biden Unveils National Security Team

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday introduced a seasoned national security team which he said was prepared to resume US leadership of the world once Donald Trump leaves the White House. The six women and men he has chosen to be his key diplomats and intelligence advisors said they would implement a return to multilateralism, global cooperation and fighting climate change after four years of Trump’s go-it-alone policies. “It’s a team that will keep our country and our people safe and secure,” Biden said, introducing his picks for secretary of state, national security advisor, intelligence chief, homeland security and other key cabinet jobs. “It’s a team that reflects the fact that America is back. Ready to lead the world, not retreat from it,” Biden said. Antony Blinken, Biden’s choice for secretary of state, vowed to pursue cooperation around the world, saying that the United States cannot solve global problems on its own. “We have to proceed with equal measures of humility and confidence,” Blinken said. “As the president-elect said, we can’t solve all of the world’s problems alone. We need to be working with other countries, we need their cooperation. We need their partnership,” Blinken said. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Biden’s choice to be the next ambassador to the United Nations, echoed those sentiments. “I want to say to you: America is back. Multilateralism is back. Diplomacy is back,” she said. “The challenges we face — a global pandemic, a global economy, the global climate change crisis, mass migration and extreme poverty, social justice — are unrelenting and interconnected, but they’re not unresolvable if America is leading the way.” Former secretary of state John Kerry, who Biden chose as his special envoy on climate change, confirmed the new administration would bring the US back into the Paris climate accord after Trump pulled out of the landmark 2015 deal. But Kerry also warned that the Paris pact he helped negotiate was not enough to fight global warming, and called Tuesday for a UN conference in Glasgow next year to push for more. “You’re right to rejoin Paris on day one. And you’re right to recognize that Paris alone is not enough,” he said to Biden. Biden also introduced Cuban-born Alejandro Mayorkas, tapped to become Homeland Security secretary; Avril Haines as director of national intelligence, and Jake Sullivan as his White House national security advisor. All three pledged to maintain an environment of professionalism among the government officials they will oversee, obliquely referring to the politicization of much of government work that left much of the bureaucracy dispirited under Trump. AFP

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Post Date : November 25, 2020

South South demands restructuring, federalism

Governors and people of the South South geopolitical zone have demanded for restructuring anchored on true federalism for peace, security and stability of Nigeria. The state chief executives maintained that the country was not at peace and working as it should, particularly, for the people of the oil-rich region. Chairman of the South South Governors Forum, Ifeanyi Okowa, advanced the position of the zone yesterday during a stakeholders’ meeting with a presidential delegation, led by Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, at Government House, Port Harcourt. The Delta State’s helmsman restated the people’s commitment to restructuring in a manner that guarantees true federalism and devolution of powers to the component units and management of their police and security architecture under a federal structure. He canvassed true federalism premised on derivation, revenue sharing and control of resources by each state of the federation as practised in the First Republic. Okowa said the kind of federation the South South wants was one where “federating units are constitutionally empowered to create their own structures like Local Government Areas, manage their elections and control their judiciary.” He went on: “We are all aware of the huge endowments in this country. As such, it is imperative to stress that with a little bit of efforts, imagination, hard work, sacrifice and leadership, every state of the federation as of today, has the ability and capability to contribute to the national purse. This should be encouraged rather than the whole country depending substantially on a region. “What is worse and even more painful in this ugly situation is the deliberate lack of understanding, empathy and the uncompromising attitude of some Nigerians, who have refused to understand the challenges of the South South region of the country, especially the degradation of the environment and our waters. “As a result, most of the demands of the region have remained unattended to, while its resources have been used continually to develop other parts of the country.” The governors reiterated their call for the relocation of headquarters of major oil companies and NNPC subsidiaries from Lagos and Abuja to the region. Okowa requested for immediate implementation of the consent judgment entered in the Supreme Court suit No: SC/964/2016 to enable South South region get its share of $55 billion shortfall in collection on deep offshore and inland basin production sharing contracts. The chief executives further called for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the seaports in Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Warri to enhance economic development of the area. In addition, they demanded that the refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri, which have been consuming huge scarce resources in the name of turn-around maintenance, be privatised. “Enough is enough. Let us now privatise them and in doing so however, allow the states and the region among others, considerable equity in the name of fairness and justice,” Okowa added. Concerned about the rot in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the governors observed that one of the major failures of the interventionist agency was its refusal to foster synergy, consultation and cooperation with the state governments, particularly on project location, development and execution. In his remarks, Prof. Gambari, who said the parley was in furtherance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to his aides to engage stakeholders in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests, noted that there were instances of breakdown of law and order across the states in the region. He lauded the governors for their swift response to the crisis. Gambari promised to convey demands of the zone to his principal, which he added, the Nigerian leader was familiar with. Also speaking, Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, urged leaders of the region to avail themselves of the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly since most of the issues raised were constitutional.

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Post Date : November 25, 2020

Kuje Prison Restricts Access To Ndume As Senators Visit

Officials of the Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja, on Tuesday restricted access to Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South), who was remanded on Monday over his inability to produce the former chairman of the Presidential Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, whom he stood as surety for. Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja had ordered Ndume to be remanded after the accused severally failed to appear in his trial over alleged N2bn pension funds fraud. It was gathered that some serving and former lawmakers were at the prison to see Ndume on Tuesday. One of our correspondent, who was there sighted two serving senators. Senator Ishaku Elisha Abbo (PDP, Adamawa) was heard telling Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah (APC, Kebbi) at the vicinity of the prison that the officials of the correctional centre required approval of their controller to allow access to Ndume. Abbo, our correspondent gathered, left without seeing Ndume. It would be recalled that Abbo nominated Ndume for the Senate Presidency in June 2019 when the ninth assembly was being inaugurated. After the interaction with Abbo, Senator Na’Allah was allowed into the facility. He was seen entering the office of the officer in charge of the prison, G. U. Ochepa, after he was subjected to all COVID-19 safety protocols. Ochepa was heard telling the lawmaker: “There is a temporary suspension of visit to the facility because of COVID-19. It is not a punishment to the lawmaker. Only lawyers and his wives are supposed to be allowed to see him.” After about 20 minutes in Ochepa’s office, the lawmaker left the facility. Speaking to our correspondent, Na’Allah expressed shock over Ndume’s remand. “In all my years of practice, as a lawyer this is the first time I’m seeing this kind of situation. What I know is that if the surety is unable to produce the suspect, the person will forfeit the bail bond. “The bail bond is a very clear court document and there is nowhere it suggest even by implication that you can substitute a surety for accused person,” he said. Court summons reps member over Maina’s son Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday summoned a member of the House of Representatives, Sani Dan-Galadima, to appear over the trial of Maina’s son Faisal. Justice Okon Abang said Dan-Galadima ((APC, Kaura Namoda, Zamfara State) must appear today (wednesday) or a warrant of arrest be issued against him. The judge further granted an application by the EFCC to issue a bench warrant against Maina’s son and to try him in absentia under the provisions of sections 184 of the Administration Criminal Justice Administration and 354(2) of the same Act. The judge ruled that in order to comply with the principle of fair hearing contained in Section 36 of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999, the lawmaker was being summoned to show cause why he should not be ordered to forfeit the bail bond. The judge also issued a bench warrant against Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, and directed all security agencies to enforce the order. Earlier, the EFCC had asked the court to order Galadima, who stood as a surety for Faisal, to appear and show cause or forfeit the sum of N60m in bail bond to the Federal Government. Faisal was arraigned alongside his father on October 25, 2019 on separate three-count charges bordering on money laundering and concealment of proceeds of unlawful act. He was alleged to have between October 2013 and June 2019 opened an anonymous account with the UBA as Alhaji Faisal Abdullahi Farma II while concealing his true identity. The court had on Monday jailed Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South), who stood as surety for Maina following the ex-pension boss’s absence from court on a bail bond of N500m. But on Tuesday, Maina’s lawyer, Marcel Oru filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal in Abuja challenging the remand order of the court on the grounds of lack of fair hearing. The lawyer had also applied for the bail of the lawmaker which will be taken on Wednesday.

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Post Date : November 25, 2020

Northern Coalition Backs ACF, Says Buhari Has Failed

The oalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has backed the position of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) over the growing security challenges in northern Nigeria, saying President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to address his most primary responsibility of providing security. The spokesman for the coalition, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, while reacting on Tuesday, said communities in northern Nigeria must mobilise to protect themselves. “Northern communities are under the threats of bandits and kidnappers, our highways are no longer safe, villagers are fleeing their communities and our conclusion is that the president has failed and he is deliberately not agreeing to the advice of majority of Nigerians that he should at least sack the service chiefs,” he said. “All we hear now from our people in the rural areas is disappointment and in some cases regret. People do not even look at the potentials of farming now because the villages and farmlands have been vacated. “It has become necessary now for all communities to mobilise and protect themselves because the bandits have chased people out of their homes and even places like Ahmadu Bello University in the heart of Zaria and Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic are not safe and this is coming at a time that students will likely be returning to school. What this means is that parents should not hastily send their children to school, they must be certain that their lives are secured,” he said. North angry with Buhari over insecurity The ACF had on Monday expressed the anger and frustration of northerners to President Buhari on the growing security challenges in the region. The ACF National Publicity Secretary, Emmanuel Yawe, said northerners had expected much more from the present administration. “The government is not proactive and should rely on intelligence reports. Most of the time, they will tell us, we have liberated Kaduna-Abuja route and then we will hear that there is a serious attack there, they are not gathering enough intelligence, which is why the bandits and Boko Haram is always far ahead of them. Yawe said: “We know that the previous administration messed up the security situation and we knew it was because the then president did not have a security background, he was just a university teacher who dabbled into politics and somehow became the president of the country. But this one, President Buhari is the one who fought in the civil war and who when Chadians invaded Nigeria chased them out during Shagari’s regime, so he appeared to have the proper credentials for handling the security of this country,” he said. Presidency silent The presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, did not react to message sent to him by our correspondent. Similarly, the Northern Elders Forum has said there is no doubt that the administration of President Buhari does not care about the people of the north, their economy and security. A statement issued by the Director, Publicity and Advocacy, Northern Elders Forum, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed while reacting to the new deadline for the reconstruction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano highway scheduled for completion in five years’ time, revealed that the slow pace of the work and the consequent deterioration of the highway had made it the most dangerous highway in the nation and the most attractive to kidnappers who have resurfaced recently to compound routine losses of lives and billions in economic losses.

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Post Date : November 25, 2020

Police Arrest Six Suspected Robbers, Rapist In Katsina

The Katsina Police Command on Tuesday arrested six suspected armed robbers, rapists in the state. The Police Public Relations Officer, Gambo Isah disclosed this in a press briefing held at the command headquarters in Katsina. He said the suspects were arrested on November 22 based on credible intelligence, adding that the two other members of the syndicate are still at large. According to the police, the suspects have been terrorising the Katsina Metropolis and its environs and responsible for several cases of shop breaking attempts and theft of domestic animals among others. One of the suspects said to have been parading himself as police officer, Sama’ila Muntari Alias ‘Officer’ of Shagari low-cost did not deny all the charges labelled against him. Other suspects also confessed to have successfully attacked four motorcyclists including shop breaking, theft of domestic animals in the state. Meanwhile, two suspected rapists have been arrested, with one being a 45-year-old headmaster in one of the primary schools in the state. “On 22nd November at about 1800 hours, one Abdulhadi Abubakar of Dan Tsauni village of Batagarawa Local Government Area of the state reported at the Katsina Central Police Station that his daughter aged 13 years left home to Katsina Metropolis for hawking,” he said. “While at Shakka quarters in the city, one Usman Lawal aged 45 years of the same address criminally deceived and lured her into his house in disguise to buy all the items she was hawking as a result of which he forced her to his sitting room where he had unlawful carnal knowledge of the little girl. “The victim stated exactly all what had transpired and we have taken her to the hospital for treatment which we are waiting for medical examination report. Investigation is ongoing into the case. Suspects will be charged to court after investigation is completed,” Isah said.

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Post Date : November 25, 2020

[BREAKING] Lekki shootings: New report shows CNN is desperate —Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture , Lai Mohammed, has accused CNN of desperation over its second report on the Lekki toll plaza shootings that happened on October 20. The Minister said this on NTA on Wednesday . But the minister faulted CNN’ s reports, saying it lacked credible sources. When asked about the second CNN’ s report , Mohammed said , “ It shows that they ( CNN) are desperate. The so -called recent development has been seen before. There is nothing new. If there is anything new , it is a contradiction of CNN’ s position . “ What we are asking CNN is that where is your evidence ? The military has been consistent. CNN contravenes the basic principles of journalism – fairness, and balance. ‘ They did the story without contacting the Federal Government for its own side . They relied on second and third parties narratives. “ They ( CNN) were caught spreading fake news and they are trying to escape . “ We are accusing them ( CNN) of basing their stories on videos sourced on social media. CNN has been inconsistent . It also doctored the video it got . “ We are confident in our position. ” On the letter addressed to Jonathan Hawkins, VP ( Communications ) , CNN Centre, Atlanta, Georgia, USA , the minister said , “ We have received an acknowledgment and we were told that the letter has been passed to the editorial team. ”

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Post Date : November 25, 2020

Court Jails Sisters 10 Years Over N1.7m Scam

The Kaduna State High Court has convicted and sentenced the duo of Maryam Jallo and Rukaiya Jallo to 10 years imprisonment for offences bordering on criminal breach of trust. Justice Muhammad Tukur sentenced Maryam and Rukaiya, who are siblings, on Tuesday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said. EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, noted in a statement that both sisters were prosecuted on an amended count by the Kaduna Zonal office of the commission. The charge read, “that you Maryam Jallo and Rukaiya Jallo on the 30th day of March, 2019 in Kaduna within the judicial division of this honourable court, while being entrusted with the sum of One Million Seven Hundred Thousand Naira (N1,700,000) only by one Alhaji Badamasi Shanono and Adio Bukar Hashia for medical treatment of one Usman Umar dishonestly misappropriated same and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 293 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017 and punishable under Section 294 of the Same Law”. The defendants pleaded ‘guilty’ to the amended charge preferred against them. Justice Tukur, thereafter, convicted and sentenced them to 10 years imprisonment with an option of N100,000 fine. In a petition to the anti-graft agency, Shanono alleged that in 2019, Jamal Health Foundation – owned by the convicts – used its social media platform in soliciting donations and contributions from donors for the medical expenses of one Usman Umar who had been bedridden for over two years as a result of partial paralyses. The petitioner claimed he donated N1 million to the foundation, while N700,000 was chipped in by a woman. He added that Jamal Foundation refused to hand over the funds to the patient but converted it to personal use.

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Post Date : November 25, 2020

Gowon never took half of Central Bank with him to London – Fani-Kayode

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has defended former Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, saying he never took half of Central Bank with him to London. A British parliamentarian, Tom Tugendhat, had on Monday alleged that Gowon took half of the money in Central Bank with him to London when he was overthrown in 1975. But Fani-Kayode on Tuesday said whatever people might say or feel about Gowon, it is not true that he took half of Central Bank with him when he went on exile to the UK and studied at Warwick University after being removed in a coup by General Murtala Mohammed. “I have my views about Gowon and what I consider to be his role in the mass murder and genocide of 3 million Igbos during the civil war and I have often expressed it but he was not a thief and neither did he amass wealth for himself when he was Head of State. “As a matter of fact, he was the darling of the British Government and no Nigerian leader, living or dead, has been as close to successive British Governments as he. This very young British MP is trying to revise history and demonise a man who served and protected British interests in Nigeria when he was in power more than any other and this is most dishonourable and unfair,” he said. Fani-Kayode said the truth was that the greatest looters in the history of humanity were the British themselves and if he wants to criticise Nigerian leaders let him do so with facts and not fabricate lies in a scurrilous and essentially racist attempt to confirm the stereotyping of every Nigerian and African leader as being corrupt. “The truth is that even though they pretend and sweep it under the carpet, there are as many corrupt British leaders, government officials and public servants today as there are Nigerian and this has always been the case.” According to him, the “difference is that they are not so obvious and brazen and they cover theirs up very well in a very sophisticated banking system which thrives on taking in dirty money and keeping it. ”Whoever this MP is should get his facts right and stick to talking about the #EndSARS protests rather than talk about our history which he evidently knows nothing about.”

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Post Date : November 25, 2020

55-Year-Old Man Arrested With Four Human Skulls In Ogun

The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 55-year-old man, Yesiru Salisu, for allegedly being in possession of four human skulls, two dry human hands, and three jaws. According to a press release by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the arrest of the suspect followed a report lodged at the Ago Iwoye division. The police spokesman explained that the report indicated that the suspect was seen with a bag suspected to contain stolen property and when he was challenged, he dropped the bag and ran into the bush. “Upon the report, the Divisional Police Officer, Ago Iwoye, CSP Paul Omiwole led his detectives to the scene where they opened the bag and discovered that it contains dry human parts,” he said. Oyeyemi said the bush the suspect ran into was properly combed and the suspect was subsequently apprehended. “On interrogation, the suspect confessed harvesting the human parts from one of the Christian cemetery in Oke Eri Ijebu ode together with one Lekan Bakare who is now at large,” he added. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Edward Ajogun has ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and prosecution. He also directed that the fleeing accomplice should be arrested and brought to justice.

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Post Date : November 25, 2020

FCT Minister Dragged To Court Over Double Taxation

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello, has been dragged to court by two civil society organisations, Pro Tax Pro Nigeria Initiative and Centre for Prevention of Corruption and Human Rights Abuse Initiative over alleged double taxation of outdoor advertising. Also joined in the suit, as co-defendants, are Department of Outdoor Advertisement and Signage (DOAS) and Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Lead council to Protax, Mr Opara Orji, who addressed newsmen in Abuja, claimed that the collection of tax from businesses and individuals by DOAS was an illegal act, which amounted to duplication of functions, which AMAC also performs. Orji argued that the function of collection of taxes was supposed to be handled by AMAC, the original body, which was saddled with such responsibility by the law. He cited Section 2(1) of the Taxes and Levies Act to justify their arguments, which says ‘no person other than the appropriate tax authority shall assess or collect on behalf of the government any tax or levy listed in the act. The appropriate tax authorities are the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Local Government Revenue Committee.’ He said: “But the court just intimated us that the judgement of the court is not ready, that the date of the judgement shall be communicated to us. That is what happened in court this morning.” Haruna Sadiq, who represented the minister, faulted the allegations, saying: “The course of the matter is that some group of people decided to wake up and try to sabotage the efforts of government. “You know, when you want to mix up the FCT administration or over seeing the affairs the FCT and put it on equal line with that of the state, it is a grievous mistake that you are making.”

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