Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, says he will soon start to sign death warrants. Mohammed spoke on Friday in Bauchi while signing the Violence against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) bill and a bill for the establishment of the Bauchi state penal code, into law. In Nigeria, state governors are legally backed to sign the death warrants. Since 2012, no governor has been reported to have signed death warrants. In July, Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, called on governors to sign death warrants in order to decongest prisons. However, many civil society organisations (CSOs) had disagreed with minister, saying death penalty should be replaced with long-term imprisonment. Speaking on the death warrants, the Bauchi governor said some governors are refusing to sign on the basis of the possibility of erroneously condemning a person to death. “We will soon be signing some death sentences because there are many and because of justice which has to be taken to a logical conclusion,” NAN quoted the governor as saying. “I know some governors are running away from signing the death sentences because they exercise restraints on the basis that there may be some element of error. “But to me, I will leave it to my lord (the chief judge) who will prosecute. It’s not my fault. If it is brought to my attention, I will do it.” “As for the Violence against Persons Prohibition Act, we know that we are the first in the northern part of the country to enact the law, which is a member’s bill incidentally from the honourable speaker, and it has earned us a lot of respect in the country.   “But because of some noticed gaps, it was taken back and it was corrected. We thank the house for making the corrections.” Meanwhile, Mohammed’s comment comes amid the recent position by Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano, who had promised to sign the death warrant of a suspect if the latter was convicted for killing a five-year-old in the state. A high court in Kano state had, in July, sentenced Abdulmalik Tanko, the self-confessed killer of Hanifa Abubakar, the five-year-old girl, to death. It is, however, not clear if the convict appealed the court’s decision.

  The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, (NNPC) Limited says it has 1.9 billion litres of petrol in stock as it assured Nigerians of steady supply to quell the lingering scarcity across the country. NNPC said this at a meeting with the Department of State Services (DSS) and other stakeholders in the midstream and downstream oil sector on Thursday, according to a statement by Peter Afunanya, spokesperson for the secret service. The DSS, during the meeting, issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the national oil company and marketers to resolve the ongoing petrol distribution crisis. Responding to the ultimatum, Mele Kyari, NNPC’s group chief executive officer (GCEO), reaffirmed that the company “has in-country stock of PMS of over 1.9 billion litres, which is over 30 days sufficiency”. Kyari, who was represented by Umar Ajiya, chief financial officer, NNPC, assured Nigerians of the availability of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol. NNPC also pledged that it “will continue to sell the PMS product, ex-coastal price agreed with the regulator to all marketers, especially the IPMAN members with a view to also providing depots specifically meant for their off-take in order to curtail the profiteering that they have been experiencing in some depots”. “NNPC has also made procurement for the supply of similar volume from now till end of March 2023,” he said. “We have also directed operation team to engage in 24 hours loading of PMS in the next couple of days and make sure some outlets operate 24hours without compromising security in order to bring quick relief to the people.” Meanwhile, the participants at the meeting include: the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DPPMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (IPMAN), National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO). The associations, after the meeting, agreed to work together to clear the persistent petrol queues at filling stations nationwide, within the next 48 hours. Speaking earlier, Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer (CEO), NMDPRA, pledged to collaborate with the NNPC and all stakeholders in order to ensure that issues regarding supply of petroleum products are well addressed. On his part, Femi Adewole, executive secretary, DAPPMAN, said the foreign exchange challenge confronted by depot owners was also discussed and efforts were on to address it. “The challenges to marketers, especially depot owners, were explained and the meeting agreed and actually noted the forex component challenge and its input into our cost should in all ideal cases be recovered reasonably. That was agreed upon,” Adewole. “We also agreed that based on the assurances of products given to marketers, provided by NNPC, we will ensure that, going forward, all depots work 24 hours based on the security risks appraised. “We will work 24 hours to ensure that the queues in town are reduced. Our retail outlets, spread nationwide, will also ensure that they sell 24 hours based on our security situation appraised. I want to assure Nigerians that, going forward, they will be able to get fuel in filling stations without too much hitch or harassment.” In the last few weeks, the country has been battling petrol scarcity, spreading to several parts of the country. While the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said the scarcity was caused by the shortage of petrol at NNPC depots, the state-owned oil firm had said ongoing road projects in Lagos affected distribution.

  Singer D’Banj says he has no business with fraud following his release by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Friday. The ICPC had detained the singer over allegations of fraud associated with the N-Power Programme. In a statement on Friday, D’banj’s lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said the self-acclaimed Koko Master was released on self-recognition. Olajengbesi noted that the singer cooperated with the Commission during its investigation. He however didn’t clarify if the anti-graft agency granted his client administrative bail. Hours after his release, D’Banj wrote on his Instagram handle: “Global thank you to the world. I was invited on an ongoing investigation in ICPC. I have assisted the commission with all I know and I am confident in their capacity to unravel the truth. “I have no business with fraud, all I do is chop life. I was released on self-recognition because nothing was seen or found on me. God bless you all my people.” The N-Power is a scheme established by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 8, 2016, to address youth unemployment and empowerment, and help increase social development. In line with its mandate, the Commission said it had received numerous petitions on the diversion of N-Power funds running into billions of naira following the approval and release of such funds to the beneficiaries by the Federal Government. Many N-Power beneficiaries had complained over the non-receipt of the monthly funds in spite of payment by the Government.

  President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the alleged abduction of babies from a hospital in Anambra state. However, the Anambra police command and the state government said such an incident did not happen in the state. BACKGROUND On Thursday, there were claims that babies — some reports had four while others had five — were kidnapped from a hospital in Aguata LGA of Anambra. Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra, hails from Aguata LGA. The reports stated that the abduction happened on Tuesday night. But when TheCable spoke with Ikenga Tochukwu, Anambra police spokesperson, on Thursday evening, he said he did not have such information before him. BUHARI ASKS SECURITY AGENCIES TO ‘SOLVE CASE’ On Friday, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesperson, in a statement via Twitter, said Buhari expressed shock about the alleged abduction of the babies. “President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed shock over the reported kidnapping of five newborn babies in Anambra State, directing that the rising crime rate in the areas be reduced without any delay,” the statement reads. “The reported kidnapping occurred at Stanley Hospital, Nkpologwu in the state. The attackers picked the babies and zoomed off. “In expressing his concern about the strange incident, President Buhari said this case must be solved immediately. “He directed that security at hospitals must be foolproof so that attacks of this nature do not happen again.” ‘NO SUCH REPORT’ Speaking with TheCable on Friday, Tochukwu said the command has no such information. “There is no such report. All the quarters and people concerned have reacted to this — Anambra police, the community, Anambra state government, the hospital have reacted,” he said. ‘REPORT FICTITIOUS’ The Anambra state government, in a statement on Thursday, said the report is “fictitious” and designed to create fear in the minds of people of Anambra. Paul Nwosu, the state commissioner for information, said babies were not abducted in Anambra “There are reports currently flying around the social media by supposedly respectable national media that gunmen attacked a maternity hospital in Anambra state and abducted four (4) new born babies,” the statement reads. “The report neither stated the name of the hospital nor the identities of the mothers whose babies were abducted. “The Government of Anambra State wishes to state in very clear terms that the report is NOT TRUE. No such attack took place in Anambra State and no babies were abducted. “These are mere fictitious, sponsored through dishonest and unethical reporters to create fear among Ndi Anambra, but they will not succeed as the government has ensured there are enough boots on ground to protect our people this yuletide.”

  The Defence Headquarters on Friday said the military and other security agencies are not under pressure from desperate politicians to compromise the 2023 general elections. In a statement, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Jimmy Akpor, also debunked reports attributed to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, that the military is pressurised to scuttle next year’s polls. He described the reports as “false and a deliberate or inadvertent attempt to twist what was said, to convey a sinister meaning.” “The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to several headlines and news purporting to suggest that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor CFR, had alluded to the military (and other security agencies) being under pressure to compromise the 2023 elections,” the statement read. “This impression was reportedly made during the 61st Session of the State House Briefing, which featured the Chief of Defence State on 8 December 2022.” #pressrelease #DHQUpdate PRESS RELEASE Nigerian Military, Security Agencies Not Under Pressure To Compromise 2023 Elections Read full Release via the the link below:https://t.co/eXfORdb5jy pic.twitter.com/x15CLMWKbJ — DEFENCE HQ NIGERIA (@DefenceInfoNG) December 9, 2022   See the full statement issued below: PRESS RELEASE NIGERIAN MILITARY, AND SECURITY AGENCIES NOT UNDER PRESSURE TO COMPROMISE 2023 ELECTIONS The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to several headlines and news purporting to suggest that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor CFR, had alluded to the military (and other security agencies) being under pressure to compromise the 2023 elections. This impression was reportedly made during the 61st Session of the State House Briefing, which featured the Chief of Defence State on 8 December 2022. The Defence Headquarters however, wishes to say categorically that, this impression is not only erroneous, but false and a deliberate or inadvertent attempt to twist what was said, to convey a sinister meaning. It is pertinent to mention that the referenced briefing was broadcast live on Nigeria Television Authority – NTA Channel 419 on DSTV and Channel 46 on GOTV. After the briefing by the Chief of Defence Staff, one of the correspondents asked, “You have spoken on military neutrality in times of elections. Specifically, based on what the Commander-in-Chief directed. Just this week, the President gave a directive to the Armed Forces to remain neutral during the 2023 elections. But my worry is that politicians have a way of piling pressure on security forces and we are witnesses to some of the things that occurred in the past exercises. Now, given this kind of scenario, where politicians or political actors try to pile pressure on your men, how far have you prepared to go to ensure that neutrality, as directed by the President, is protected?” In response, the Chief of Defence Staff said, “I am glad you reiterated what the Commander-in-Chief said or his directive to the Armed Forces. I am afraid you said you had to worry. Rather than worry, I would think that trust in our cause (is paramount), why? Of course, in our training, there will always be pressure from all quarters, wanting to induce security forces, not just the military, security forces. That is what criminal enterprise is all about, that is what someone that is wrong is all about. But, what makes the difference is, the professional approach to dealing with the issues, and that is what the military intends to do. That is the reason why we have ramped up our training in that regard. Sensitization, a lot of engagements across formations and units are going on daily. And then, more so, to articulate a Code of Conduct for all our personnel, which has been done and distributed. So, what, why we should act before, during and after the elections? These have been codified in SOPs (Standing Operating Procedures) issued to them. And so, it remains the duty of commanders to ensure the directive as indicated, that the content of SOPs is adhered to by every personnel of the Armed Forces. So, my good friend, please seize from worrying, rather trust and also engage others to trust that we will keep faith with these desires that we have.” The Defence Headquarters chose to err on the side of verbosity by transcribing the entire response by the Chief of Defence Staff so that everyone can see the quantum misrepresentation of the Chief of Defence Staff’s comments during the briefing. The Armed Forces of Nigeria however, stands ready to aid civil authority in assuring free and fair 2023 elections. Already, ongoing military operations all over the country (in collaboration with the Nigeria Police and other security agencies), are creating enabling environment for electioneering campaigns to hold. These military operations would be escalated or re-calibrated, when called upon to do so, to support the successful conduct of the 2023 elections. The Defence Headquarters, therefore, seriously frowns on misrepresentation of the military leadership at any forum at this critical time of our nationhood. JIMMY AKPOR Major General Director Defence Information 9 December 2022