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Post Date : February 18, 2022

Wike: Dokpesi is APC mole in PDP — he’s not sincere

  Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state, says Raymond Dokpesi, former chairman of Daar Communications, is an All Progressives Congress (APC) mole in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He said it is not true that he led PDP governors to Europe to pick the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Dokpesi is alleged to have said Wike is spearheading a move to impose his candidates on the party ahead of the 2023 elections. Dokpesi is a frontline supporter of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar who is said to be nursing a presidential ambition. In a statement on Thursday, Kelvin Ebiri, media aide to Wike, quoted the governor as saying PDP governors got text messages and calls that the former Daar chairman said they embarked on a weeklong trip to Europe. Wike said he is convinced that Dokpesi is working for the APC. “I have always said to people in PDP, nobody should cause a division among the governors. We are trying as much as we can to build the party back and see that in 2023 PDP takes over governance,” he said. “I have some suspicion that people like Raymond Dokpesi are not really sincere to the Peoples Democratic Party and I think , I’m convinced that Raymond Dokpesi appears to be working for APC. “I don’t understand where Raymond Dokpesi gets this information, this rumour that governors travelled to Europe to decide who will be the presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate of PDP. I wonder why governors will travel to Europe to make such a decision. “I have told Raymond Dokpesi that there is nothing wrong with you preaching for the candidature of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Waziri of Adamawa, a very experienced man, an intelligent man, a strategist. But don’t destroy other people because of this. Because when you destroy them it will be difficult for the PDP to win the election in 2023.” The governor said if Atiku wins the PDP presidential ticket, the governors will support him. He said: “We supported Atiku Abubakar when he won (PDP presidential ticket), and even if he wins now, the governors will rally round him, but when you destroy the governors and bring confusion, how will it work?”

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Post Date : February 18, 2022

Buhari to courts: Apply stringent punishment on ritual killers, others

  President Muhammadu Buhari has implored the nation’s courts to apply the strictest punishments against ritual killers, extremists and killers of law enforcement agents. The President was reacting to series of ritual murders, ethnic and religious hate crimes and persistent attacks on security and law enforcement officers in different parts of the country. He described the development as aberrations. In a statement yesterday in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, President Buhari tasked security agencies, state and local governments, traditional and religious leaders to be proactive and take lawful actions to prevent further escalation of the situation. “President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned a rise in ritual killings and deadly attacks against on-duty policemen and ethnic minorities, with the latest incidents reported in Enugu, Imo, Abia, Zamfara and Ogun states. “President Buhari said incidents of ritual killings, hate crimes, and killing of law enforcement officers are aberrations. “In expressing the sympathy of the nation to families of all the victims, President Buhari urged law enforcement agencies, state governments, local authorities, community and religious leaders to take all lawful actions to prevent further incidents of this nature and to put in place measures against the normalisation of these primitive acts, hate crimes and acts of terror,” the statement said. The President, according to the statement, also said: “I condemn these dastardly acts of violence and pray for the souls of the departed.” He directed that the courts of the land must apply “the strictest of punishment under our laws to the perpetrators of these horrific crimes”. Also, President Buhari has praised the Abia State government for the actions it took on an incident that happened a few days ago against traders at the New Cattle Market in Ukwa Local Government Area and appealed for calm. He sympathised with the families of those killed and suffered loss of property during the attacks.

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Post Date : February 18, 2022

Strike: FG moves to meet ASUU’s demand, constitutes White Paper panel

  The Federal Ministry of Education has commenced a move to meet one of the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities. The ministry disclosed this in a press statement issued by its Director of Press and Media Relations, Ben Goong, on Thursday. The PUNCH observed that the move by the government to inaugurate a white paper drafting panel came almost a year after the visiting panels to tertiary institutions constituted by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), submitted the reports of their findings to the education ministry. The visiting panel, which was inaugurated by the President, was to look into the lapses in the administration of universities. One of ASUU’s demands is the release of the White Paper panel report. A press statement from the education ministry titled, ‘Federal Government constitutes white paper drafting panels for tertiary institutions, explained that ten white paper drafting panels have been constituted. The statement read in part, “Following the receipt of reports of Visitation Panels to Tertiary Institutions last year, Education Minister, Adamu Adamu has constituted White Paper Drafting Panels for Tertiary Institutions across the country. “Ten White Paper Drafting Panels have been constituted for 36 Universities, while six Panels have been constituted for 25 Polytechnics with 21 Colleges of Education having 5 Panels. “One Panel is to draft a White Paper for four Inter-university centres. the Panels will be inaugurated in the coming days. “All the Panels have two weeks from the date of inauguration to submit their reports.” The ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, could not be reached for his comments as of the time of filing this report.

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Post Date : February 18, 2022

Police rescue suspected rapist from being lynched in Aba

  Operatives from the Aba Central Police Station on Thursday rescued one Chukwuebuka JohnPaul from being lynched by a mob in Aba, Abia, after he was allegedly caught raping a 15-year-old girl. The Abia Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the rescue and arrest in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday. Ogbonna said the suspect is already in Police custody as of the time of filling this report and that investigations are going on to unravel more facts about the case. A Police source who refused to be named said JohnPaul is 25 years old and a second-year Political Science student of the Imo State University, Owerri. He said the suspect resides at Christ Church Road, World Bank Housing Estate, Abayi, Aba, from where he went to commit the crime at Alozie St., Aba, about 1 pm, on Thursday. The source said that he was almost lynched at Alozie St where policemen rescued him. He said that Johnpaul lured the victim with a receptionist job advertisement on a board placed by the roadside close to an unoccupied building. He said the job advert attracted the 15-year-old girl who just finished her Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and was on a job hunt to support herself, her Widowed Mother and siblings. The source further said that when the victim reached the venue, the suspect who was standing bye told her that he was the boss of the organization and told her to follow him upstairs for an interview. According to the source, the victim followed the suspect upstairs without any form of suspicion. He said that as soon as both of them reached one apartment upstairs, the suspect who is very huge naturally, grabbed the victim, wrestled her to the floor, tore her pant and raped her. He said that the victim’s attempts to raise alarm and alert some boys downstairs failed as the suspect covered her mouth, threatened to kill her with a wooden plank if she dared to shout. The source said that after allegedly raping the victim, JohnPaul tried escaping but the victim raised alarm and people downstairs rounded him up. He said that JohnPaul was then grabbed by angry residents who beat him mercilessly and were about lynching him when men of the Aba Central Police Station rescued him. He said that the victim who is seriously traumatized is currently hospitalized at Police Clinic, Aba Area Command. The Police source further said that JohnPaul had confessed to the crime while investigations are ongoing to unravel more facts about the matter.

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Post Date : February 18, 2022

Super TV CEO’s Murder: We Found Usifo Ataga In Pool Of Blood — Police

  A police Inspector, Ibrahim Isiaka on Thursday told a Lagos High Court sitting in the Tafawa Balewa Square area how the body of late Usifo Ataga was discovered. Inspector Isiaka, who is the investigating police officer in the case and attached to the Maroko division in the Lekki area of the state, told Justice Yetunde Adesanya that the body was found when the owner of the apartment, Mrs Nkechi, came to report the incident to the division on June 16, 2021, at 11:30 pm. He was testifying as to the 6th prosecution witness in the continued trial of a 300 level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, Chidinma Ojukwu, who is suspected to have killed the Chief Executive Officer, of Super TV, Usifo Ataga.   Chidinma Ojukwu and one Adedapo Quadri, both key suspects in the alleged murder said to have been committed in a service apartment in the Lekki area of Lagos State. The duo were arraigned by the Lagos State Government alongside a third defendant, Chidinma’s sister, Chioma Egbuchu on a 9 count charge bordering on conspiracy, murder, forgery, stealing and being possession of the stolen property. They all pleaded not guilty. At the resumed hearing of the case today, the police inspector while being led in Evidence-in-Chief, by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecution, Lagos State, Mrs. Adenike Oluwafemi, said that on June 16, 2021, he was on night duty when a case of murder was reported, at the Maroko Police Station at about 11:30pm. The report was made by one Mrs. Nkechi Mogbo, who is the owner of the service apartment where Ataga was killed. He testified that Mrs. Mogbo, told the police that her security guard one Abu, had informed her that some people lodged at her facility, that is the short service apartment, situated at 19, Adewale Oshin Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, and when the cleaner went to clean the apartment they discovered a dead body. The witness also told the court that in Mogbo’s report she stated that the security guard and the cleaner, after calling the occupants of the apartment and there was no response, forced the door open and discovered that a man was lying down in his pool of blood. Inspector Isiaka said a team of detectives “rushed to the scene of the crime” and called the emergency unit at Yaba hospital after which the corpse was evacuated. On June 17, in the morning, “due to the seriousness of the case, the (former) commissioner of police ordered that the case be transferred to the homicide section in Panti,” Mr Isiaka said. Describing the crime scene, he said “things were scattered in the apartment.” And the team lead (chief superintendent of police), picked some items like clothes and travelling bags. Mr Isiaka said he made a statement and handed the case file to officers at Panti after the deceased was identified at the morgue. “At the morgue, the corpse was brought out and he was on a stretcher. I discovered that there was blood at the back, he was lying on his back facing up, that was when he was identified as one Michael Ataga,” he told the court. The Prosecuting counsel, Mrs. Oluwafemi, then sought to tender the witness’ statement as evidence but the second defendant (Adedapo Quadri) counsel, Mr. Babatunde Busari, objected. Busari described the statement as “an extra-judicial (a statement made outside the court), which was not admissible He cited some decisions by the Supreme and Appeal courts to back his objection. However, the court ruled that the witness is an officer and the statement is not an extrajudicial statement. “The objection is faulty and I rule that the statement is marked exhibit E10,” the judge said. Following the ruling, counsel for Chidinma cross-examined the witness. “In your oral testimony before the court, you informed the court that one Nkechi came to your station on June 16, will you be surprised that the same Nkechi made her statement at 8:30 pm?” Onwuka Egwu, a lawyer for Ms Ojukwu asked. “I may not be surprised with reasons,” the witness responded. He went on to explain that the case was transferred to him around 11:30 pm as an IPO adding that he carried out his investigations subject to the instructions given to him by the DPO and DCO. Thereafter, Justice Adesanya adjourned the case until February 21, 24, 25 and March 1, 2, and 3, 2022 for the continuation of trial.

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Post Date : February 18, 2022

Sadiya Farouq: N5k means a lot to poor Nigerians — some people shed tears when given

  Sadiya Umar Farouq, minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, says it is “elitist” to assume that the N5,000 monthly national cash transfer to vulnerable households is insignificant. The minister spoke on Thursday during a briefing with state house correspondents. She made the comment when asked about the relevance of the initiative to the federal government’s plan to save 100 million Nigerians from extreme poverty. The minister said the intervention may not be fitting for some classes of Nigerians, but it makes a difference in the lives of poor Nigerians. She said: “If you look at the people that you are taking this intervention to, N5,000 means a lot to them because these are poor and vulnerable households and it changes their status, but for you and me, N5,000 is not even enough for us to buy recharge card, that’s the difference. “But for these poor people in the communities, you have seen, they were able to save out of that N5,000. “When people say N5000 does not save people, that is an elitist statement, honestly because we’ve had causes to go to the field, and we have seen these people that when you give them this N5,000, they cried and shed tears because they’ve never seen N5,000 it in their lives. “So, it goes a long way, it changes their status and by that, it lifts them from one stage to another.”

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Post Date : February 18, 2022

Police vow to track gunmen who invaded Abia cattle market

  The Abia State Police Command has said that efforts were on top gear to track those behind the Tuesday mid-night raid of Omumauzor Cattle Market Ukwa West where about eight persons reportedly lost their lives. Police Public Relations Officer PPRO, Geoffrey Ogbonna, Wednesday, told newsmen in Umuahia that the Commissioner of Police, CP Jenet Agbede had visited the scene of the incident with top officers and other security agencies. He said that those who sustained injuries during the raid had been taken to hospitals where they are now receiving medical treatment. The PPRO who condoled with the family members of the casualties said the remaining traders in the market had been relocated to a place of safety. He said that calm had been restored to the environment and pleaded with members of the public with useful information about those behind the cowardly attack to volunteer same to security agencies. He reassured the preparedness of the police in synergy with other security agencies to ensure the safety of all residents in the state while warning criminal elements to relocate from the state or brace up for hard times. Nigerian Pilot had reported how gunmen on Tuesday night invaded the cattle market in Ukwa Local Government Area of Abia State thereby killing eight traders and many cows.

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Post Date : February 18, 2022

Sit-at-home: Suspected iPOB members burn tricycle in Abia

  Gunmen who were said to be enforcers of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) sit-at-home order, Wednesday morning set ablaze a Keke Napep in Aba, Abia State. IPOB had with the rendition of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria last year to face charges, declared every Monday sit-at-home in solidarity. However, the every Monday sit-at-home was cancelled and replaced with days Kanu would appear in court. As Kanu was to appear in court yesterday in continuation of his treason charges, and the sit-at-home order was being observed, a young man decided to have early morning ride with his tricycle. Our correspondent learnt that as he move towards East Street by Ngwa Road, some gun wielding enforcers of the order, forced him out of the tricycle and instantly setit ablaze. The young man was said to be operating the tricycle on hire purchase basis and with the incident, his fate of repaying for the keke now hangs in the balance. It was gathered that on Monday, despite the cancellation of the sit-at-home order on Mondays, some youths went round the Ogbor Hill axis of the state, forcing schools that opened, to close it face dare consequences. As at the time filling this report, Geoffrey Ogbonna, Abia police spokesperson didn’t answer calls put across to him by our correspondent.

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Post Date : February 18, 2022

EFCC Objects As Defence Seeks To Examine Naira Marley’s IPhone

  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday objected to an application for examination of the iPhone SIM slot of a musician, Azeez Fashola a.k.a Naira Marley, charged with cybercrime. EFCC counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, raised the objection during cross-examination of the second prosecution witness, Mr Augustine Anosike, before a Federal High Court in Lagos. He said the witness should not be made to open the SIM slot of the phone to determine SIM card presence, since he never opened it during his analysis. EFCC preferred cybercrime charges against the musician on May 14, 2019. Fashola, who sang the popular song: “Am I a Yahoo Boy”, was arraigned on May 20, 2019, before Justice Nicholas Oweibo, but he pleaded not guilty. The court granted him bail in the sum of two million naira with two sureties in like sum. Trial had since begun in the case and the second prosecution witness who concluded his examination-in-chief on Oct. 27, 2021, is under cross-examination. On Thursday, defence counsel, Mr Olalekan Ojo (SAN), asked the witness if he recalled testifying that his gadgets could capture and retrieve deleted information. When the witness replied in the affirmative, Ojo asked if he had indicated in Exhibit F or F1 that any information was deleted and retrieved. In response, the witness told the court that the content of his report indicated that items recovered also included deleted information. When the defence counsel redirected the witness to specifically answer the question, he told the court that for instance, in the column tagged messages, it was stated that two pieces of information were deleted but recovered. He said that in the web/history column, it was indicated that about 688 information were deleted but recovered, while another web column indicated that 120 items were deleted but recovered. Referring to Pages 1958, of Exhibit F1, the witness told the court that it indicated that an incoming text was deleted, adding that the message ID read Nairamarley@icloud.com. He told the court that the deleted and recovered items showed that the gadgets was able to recover even deleted information. Defence counsel then asked the witness if the defendant’s iPhone had a SIM card when he worked on it. In response, the witness told the court that he did not open the phone of the defendant, but only ran the extraction and emerged with the result. When asked if he was able to detect that the iPhone was a used phone before it was sent to him for analysis, the witness replied that he was not in a position to do so. When asked when the first information extracted was done, the witness said that for instance under contact, the first index was created on Sept. 2, 2018, and modified on Dec. 21, 2018, as recorded in the device. Defence counsel then called for the iPhone of the defendant and applied to the court for the witness to be allowed to open the SIM slot in order to determine whether a SIM card was present. However, prosecutor objected to the application on grounds that the witness had already testified on record that he did not open the phone during analysis. He argued that having not done so during analysis, the witness should not be made to do so during trial. However, Ojo said that what he sought to demonstrate before the court was whether the SIM card was inside the iPhone of defendant, and not to remove or tamper with it. He told the court that he also sought to demonstrate that the said phone number of the defendant, which ended in 32, was in use at the moment, whereas the same phone was in the custody of the court After arguments and counter-arguments, the court upheld the argument of prosecution that opening the SIM slot was not the proper thing to do. The judge adjourned the case until April 6, for continuation of trial.

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Post Date : February 18, 2022

Our Engagement With Twitter Has Been Fruitful – Lai Mohammed

  The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Thursday, said the Federal Government’s engagement with microblogging site, Twitter has been fruitful. He stated this while receiving the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Akunna Cook in his office in Abuja, the nation’s capital. Mohammed again explained the motive behind the banning of Twitter in the country by the Federal Government, saying certain persons were using the microblogging site to cause disunity in the country. “Twitter was suspended because it became a platform of choice for those who are working for the disunity of this country,” he said. “This is a country of 200 ethnic groups, very multi-religious and there is a lot of forth lines that Twitter was exploiting. “Before the suspension, there were a lot of notices and warnings. I am glad to say that our engagement with Twitter has been very productive and useful for both parties. The outcome of that engagement is going to help us not just in our engagement with Twitter, but in engagement with all social media platforms.” The minister also solicited collaboration between Nigeria and the United States in repositioning the nation’s creative and culture industry, especially in improving the quality of Nollywood movies. According to him, the Nigerian government is working hard to reposition the creative and culture industry, which has been badly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, because of the immense contribution of the sector to the nation’s GDP. He listed some strategic interventions from the Nigerian Government in the Creative Industry including the N22.9 billion Central Bank of Nigeria Creative Industry Financing Initiatives; the N1 billion Bank of Industry Nollyfund; another N1 billion Bank of Industry Fashion and Beauty Fund; N-Power Creative and Project Act Nollywood Federal Grant. In her remarks, Cook asked the Nigerian government to invest in the digital sector, saying it is the nation’s future. She commended the Federal Government for refurbishing the National Theatre, Lagos which, she said, will create an eco-system and provide phenomenal opportunities for the stakeholders in the Creative Industry. The US official also pledged her country’s readiness to collaborate with Nigeria towards boosting the nation’s creative industry.

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