Bishop of the Living Faith Church worldwide otherwise known as Winners Chapel has said for Nigeria to recover from the lingering insecurity and economic collapse, Nigeria needs a deliverer. Speaking during the 3rd day of Shiloh 2022, themed: Convenant Highways, Oyedepo said: ” I warned this nation in 2015 that you are bargaining for trauma without knowing, but nobody listened, now the only thing that Nigeria is known for despite insecurity and economic collapse is the Church. “I am not a politician and would never be one. I have left that realm long time ago but this land must have rest. “If you love Nigeria, you better pray that God should send us a deliverer and give us rest again. “We are long over due for rest. He (God) sent them a deliverer in Israel and the land had rest for 80 years. “We have a big conference going on in Redemption Camp. It’s the Church that is giving Nigeria a face of honour. “We (the Churches) are at peace and they are at war but we want the wellbeing of every mortal man in the country. And as the Lord lives, as we pray, the deliverer will emerge. “There shall be no war in Nigeria, there shall be no bloodshed in Nigeria. Nigeria shall prosper again and the shame of this nation will be rolled away. And the perpetrators will pay for it. You cannot kill other people’s children and have your children alive. “It’s not size that makes a Prophet, it’s an election of grace. God will work wonders in Nigeria and this revival will bring about change in Nigeria. ” Say to the wicked, it’s shall not be well with thee, every sponsors of unrest in Nigeria, it shall not be well with them. “It’s takes spiritual madness to pray for robbers, after they come to your house, saying God have mercy on them.” The Bishop who was not particular about a presidential candidate to emerge said “We welcome all of them and God choice will give us rest.”

  A witness, Shamsudeen Bada, on Thursday narrated at the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin how men of the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector General of Police led by suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, tortured him to implicate former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, in the April 5, 2018 Offa robbery. Led in evidence by the defence counsel, Mathias Emeribe, Bada who is a former Vice Chairman of Irepodun Local Government area of Kwara State, recounted his experience to the court at the resumed trial of the suspects in the robbery at the Kwara State High Court. Five suspects – Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham and two others -were charged to court by the police for criminal conspiracy to rob the banks, murder of nine policemen and other citizens, and illegal possession of firearms. The five accused persons were standing trial for alleged conspiracy, armed robbery, murder, culpable homicide and illegal possession of firearms. Bada said when the families of the detained suspects threatened the police with court action, the IRT operatives said they were taking instructions directly from the IGP and there was no court from Kwara that can stop their operation. During cross examination by Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) who is prosecuting the case, the witness said that while they were in detention, the IRT operatives promised that they would free them “if we can name Saraki as our sponsor,” adding, “Ayo Akinnibosun was shot in the leg when he declined to indict Saraki. “After he was shot, my health started deteriorating. DCP Abba Kyari brought some nurses to treat me. Before I was eventually released, the police officers gave me conditions before I was released that I must not grant any press interview, I must not go to court and I should quit politics.” The prosecuting counsel was unable to conclude his cross-examination of the witness because a particular document was not properly placed to be tendered before the Court. Hence, they sought an adjournment to obtain the said document. The trial Judge, Justice Halimat Salman, subsequently adjourned the case to January 16,17 and 18, 2023 for the continuation of cross-examination.

  A naval officer, Kayode Petinrin, has been accused of assaulting a Lagos motorist, identified simply as Sola, in the CMS area of Lagos State. PUNCH Metro gathered that the officer also damaged Sola’s car while trying to manoeuvre on the Bus Rapid Transit lane along the axis on Tuesday. Our correspondents learnt that when Sola complained about his damaged car, the officer allegedly beat him up. Kayode is said to be the son of a former Chief of Defence Staff, Oluseyi Petinrin, a retired Air Chief Marshal. The victim told our correspondent that Kayode assaulted him because he challenged him (Kayode) for damaging his new vehicle. Sola lamented that he was planning to take the car to the palace of the Elegushi for royal blessing when the incident happened. He said, “I was driving along CMS and there was traffic; everybody was driving orderly, but he (Kayode) just wanted to come in front of me and I had already passed where he could enter from. “So, he tried to squeeze his way in and hit my car. I got out of my car to see the damage and I challenged him that what he did was wrong. But he just came out and told me to get back into my car. “I reported him to a policeman around the area, and when the man challenged him, he showed the man his ID card. I told him that if he’s a naval officer, that did not give him the right to hit my car. “Then he started punching me. I have a deep cut on my lips. My hand was bruised, and I was seriously injured in the attack.” Sola said he reported the case at the Maroko Police Station, adding that the DPO called the military police to follow him to Kayode’s house. He, however, said some Air Force officers guarding the house threatened to shoot if they got closer to the gate. “I followed him all the way from CMS to know where he lives. I then called the palace to tell them what happened. That was when kabiyesi sent two men to meet me. “On getting there, they said I should take the legal route by reporting at the nearest police station. “We went to Maroko Police Station; the DPO, Ganiu Raji, called the military police to inform them what the military man did. “When we got his house, two military men came out and stopped us before we could get closer. They said they were going to shoot us. The military guys said the house belonged to a former general, and we had no right to come there. “The most annoying thing is that I was driving the car to the palace so that they could pray for me. It’s a new car; a BMW series,” he added. The spokesperson for the Navy, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, described Kayode as one of the bad eggs in the service. Ayo-Vaughan revealed that the officer was recently suspended, while his rank was reduced. He said, “This Petinrin (Kayode) was just disciplined. In fact, his rank was reduced because of a similar issue. He is one of the bad eggs that we are managing and that is because he is our son and brother. “I will take it up; I will call the chief staff officer so that our naval police can invite him. I will send what you have sent to me to them so as to follow up from there.” The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident. He said the police did not go to the house to avert a face-off. Hundeyin said, “The DPO informed the military police; but it turned out that the Air Force personnel there threatened to shoot the military police if they did not leave that place immediately. The military police had to withdraw.” The police spokesperson said the property belonged to the Air Force, adding that efforts were being made to officially inform the Air Force authorities about the case for further action.

  The Director, Media and Publicity, All Progressives Congress, Bayo Onanuga, has said the campaign mantra of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, which promises to move Nigeria from an economy of consumption to that of production is self-contradictory and meaningless. According to him, a vibrant economy will ride on the twin horses of consumption and production, adding that both cannot do without each other. He said this in an article titled, ‘No Peter Obi, You Cannot Shift Emphasis From Consumption To Production,’ on Friday. He said, “One of the mantras often mouthed by Mr. Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, is the promise to “shift emphasis from consumption to production”. In his manifesto, he says he will do this by running a production-centered economy that is driven by an agrarian revolution and export-oriented industrialisation. “I doubt if Peter Obi and his moronic followers have ever for one second reflected on this mantra as it is self-contradictory and meaningless. “A vibrant economy will ride on the twin horses of consumption and production. It cannot do without one, for it is basic economics 101 to know that production happens in expectation of consumption. “Both concepts are natural corollaries, consumption following production. What I guess Obi means is that he will shift emphasis from ‘import dependency’ to local production of goods. “One of the drawbacks of our economy for decades has been the unbridled appetite of Nigerians for foreign goods, leading to the clogging of our ports with containers. “This has been the business of Peter Obi himself for decades, importing and warehousing cheap items, including toothpick for the local market and for his NEXT malls. “He made fortunes and billions out of this business, which only portrays him as a saboteur of the efforts to diversify the national economy and create more local jobs. “Are Obi and his fellow merchants not aware that when they import items for sale, they are not helping Nigeria, but only helping to create more jobs in the country where they import from? “Nigerians should not be fooled by this demagogue called Peter Obi. His promise sounds flowery, but it is fatal and hollow.”

  Protesting truck drivers on Friday blocked the River Niger Bridgehead in Onitsha, Anambra State. The drivers said they were protesting against the state government tax imposition on trailers, lorries, truck,s and other vehicles bringing goods into Anambra. The protest which started in the early hours of Friday led to a total lockdown of the bridge as well as the Enugu-Onitsha, Onitsha- Owerri expressway and all the roads that lead into and exit Anambra through Onitsha. The situation rendered commuters stranded and forced some people to come down from their vehicles and started trekking. While stating the reason for their action, the drivers lamented that the state government had imposed a levy of N30,000 for trailers loading and offloading goods in the state, while other vehicles have their own amount ranging from N20,000 to N25,000. A driver, identified as Odion Omoroge, who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved members, expressed surprise about the levy, describing the action by the government “as the worst the people of the state will see.” He said, “Violence about the collection of money by the government revenue collectors is being witnessed daily in Anambra state, particularly in Onitsha. Violence is more pronounced now than ever before, yet the same government said it does not want touts, yet touts are having a field day on the roads on a daily basis.” Although, the police were on the ground preventing a breakdown of law and order, but the aggrieved drivers were undaunted even as commuters battled to pass through the roads. The Anambra Police Command’s spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga, could not be reached as calls and messages to his telephone line were not responded to

  The member representing Gwer East/Gwer West Federal Constituency of Benue State, Mark Gbillah, has said that the governor Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, is going beyond his mandate by introducing the cash withdrawal limit policy. Gbillah stated this in an interview with Channels TV’s Politics Today. The lawmaker said that nobody expected the CBN to do the work of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissiom (EFCC). Recall that the CBN had pegged over the counter (OTC) cash withdrawal per week for individuals at N100,000 and N500,000 for corporate organizations. The apex bank also limited individual Point of Service (POS) to N20,000 per day. “There are allegations in that regard that this policy intends to curb vote-buying and the amount of money in circulation; but like prof (Frank Ozoh, an economist) was saying earlier, we don’t expect the CBN to do the work of the EFCC; we don’t expect such kind of policy trying to control and curb issues that we have institutions to deal with. We think that he (CBN governor) is going beyond his mandate. That is what I personally think. “So we have not heard from the CBN governor; but it’s a draconian way which has been implemented and we are complaining about. He didn’t brief anybody.” Commenting on the matter also, Professor Frank Ozoh of Economics at the Federal University, Ndufu, said that the CBN had goofed on re-printing of naira. Ozoh said, “This policy is highly inordinate giving the environment which we are in. The CBN failed to do imperial studies of what should be the quantum of cash required to sustain some critical level of economic in the rural and urban communities. It is just like they goofed on re-printing of naira. He goofed.”

  An Ogba magistrates’ court, Lagos, has ordered the remand of two men for threatening to post the nude pictures of a woman on social media. The accused, Hillary Ogbodo (23) and Joseph Chukwudi (23), were alleged to have taken the nude pictures of their female neighbour. The prosecutor, Akeem Raji, told the court that after they took the pictures they sent one to the woman demanding N200,000 failure of which they threatened to upload the pictures on social media. They both pleaded not guilty. The Magistrate, Mrs B O Osunsanmi, granted them bail in the sum of N300,000 with two sureties in like sum and adjourned to February 6, 2023.

  An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Thursday discharged and acquitted two friends, Michael Isaac and Oluwaseyi Samuel, charged with defiling and trafficking an 11-year-old girl. Justice Abiola Soladoye held that the prosecution failed to establish the ingredients of each of the three-count charge bordering on defilement, human trafficking and contemporary slavery against the defendants. Soladoye said that the prosecution only called one witness who was the nominal complainant in the case and his testimony was not corroborated as the survivor failed to show up in court. She said, “PWI testified before this court that the survivor, who was living with him, left home and never returned until she was seen by her family a few months later under Idumota Bridge and alleged that the defendants took her in and had sexual intercourse with her. Court frees 2 friends accused of raping 11-year-old girl Court remands 2 for threat to upload nude pictures on social media “The court did not see this girl as she never came to court. The court is not a magician in determining if the defendants really committed the offences or not, as the girl in question never showed up in court to narrate her ordeal in the hands of her alleged assailants. “There is no evidence that could be corroborated with that of the PW1, as the witness told the court that the survivor now resides in the village, and all attempts made by the prosecution to get the survivor to court proved abortive. “According to the prosecution witness, the survivor had returned to the village since the alleged incident happened and effort to have her testimony through virtual hearing was to no avail, as she now resides in a remote part of Nigeria. “The prosecution failed to prove the charges of defilement, human trafficking and contemporary slavery against the defendants. “I find them not guilty of the charges and are hereby discharged and acquitted.” (NAN)