A military intervention in Niger by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to restore the ousted president could be a “catastrophe”, Mali’s head of diplomacy warned on Monday. President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown in a military coup on July 26, and ECOWAS had threatened possible military intervention if he was not restored by Sunday. Neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, both run by juntas, have expressed their opposition to any use of force against the coup leaders. “The military force that has been used in other… countries, we see the results — it’s a disaster,” said Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop. He was speaking alongside his Burkinabe counterpart Olivia Rouamba during an event aimed at deepening bilateral relations between the two juntas. Diop invoked Iraq and Libya as examples of countries that had been invaded in the name of democracy with unsuccessful outcomes. He said he “could not understand” why ECOWAS would send a military force to restore “fallen authorities”, but would not provide arms to help the Sahel countries in their fight against jihadism. The coup in Niger was condemned by Western nations and most African countries, but the Malian and Burkinabe juntas said they would view any intervention in Niger as a “declaration of war” against their own countries. The prospect of armed intervention aroused concern in some quarters. On Saturday, senators from Nigeria, a regional heavyweight, called on President Bola Tinubu — who is also the current chairman of the West African bloc — to “strengthen the political and diplomatic option”. ECOWAS and Western countries are calling for a return to constitutional order in Niger and the release of Bazoum, who is being detained. AFP

  The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says the country’s internet subscribers increased to 159.49 million in June 2023, down from 159.59 million in the previous month. The commission said this in a recent update on industry statistics published on its website. Out of the total figure, mobile (GSM) accounted for 158.94 million subscribers, while fixed wire and VoIP shared the remaining number of users. By implication, this means that the country’s internet subscribers reduced by 99,625 or 0.06 percent within a one-month period. In the period under review, analysis by TheCable Index showed that all telecommunication companies recorded an decrease in internet subscriptions — except Globacom. MTN Nigeria’s internet subscribers decreased by 33,610 from 67.97 million in May 2023 to 67.93 million in June 2023. Subscribers under 9mobile and Airtel reduced by 135,748 and 142,914, respectively. Globacom, on the other hand, gained 218,904 internet subscribers, increasing to 43.92 million in June 2023. The NCC industry data also showed that broadband penetration declined from 48.28 percent in May 2023 to 47.01 percent in June 2023. Broadband penetration is the number of subscriptions to fixed and mobile broadband services divided by the number of residents in a country .

  Following reports that the Department of the State Service, DSS, has continued to violate court orders, the secret service has on Monday faulted the allegations. The service has argued that it has obeyed to the later court orders on the former Central Bank Governor, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, former Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, and the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Peter N. Afunanya, Public Relations Officer of the secret service in a long article titled ‘DSS and accusation of disobedience to court orders – Setting the records right’, explained how DSS has maintained and obeyed all the court orders issued to it. Afunanya, noted that the service has obeyed to the core, judicial orders on Emefiele, Bawa and Kanu. He said: “the Service has obeyed judicial orders and handled the cases procedurally and in accordance with the rule of law. Critics are encouraged to be a bit more discerning and up their research capabilities. Doing so will reveal that the Service obeys orders.” On how it has obeyed all the court orders on the former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Afunanya said: “Recently, the media is awash with various commentaries about DSS disobedience to Court Orders. These accusations, as wrong as they are, have peaked in the Emefiele saga. It may interest the public and indeed the avowed critics of the Service to note the following incidents and timelines to show that it has religiously obeyed Court orders in respect of the case and even others. “In 2022, the Service commenced the investigation of Mr Godwin Emefiele on suspicion of Terrorism Financing, Money Laundering among others and subsequently applied to the Federal High Court, Abuja for his arrest and detention. But the Chief Judge objected to the order and clearly stated that the Service did not need an order to investigate or arrest him. Emefiele was to later obtain a restraining order issued by Justice MA Hassan of the FCT High Court against the Service. Instructively, the DSS obeyed this Order and did not arrest or detain Emefiele. “However, on 9th June, 2023, Emefiele was suspended as CBN Governor by the President. Based on new information and suspected criminal infractions, the Service, as expected by law, arrested and detained him using a Magisterial Order. On 10th July, 2023, Justice Hamza Mu’azu of the FCT High Court, while recognising that the DSS had every legal right to arrest, detain and investigate Emefiele, ordered for his release or prosecution within seven days. The Service expeditiously and expressly complied with the order and charged him for illegal possession of firearms and ammunitions being one of the criminal suspicions. The Muazu Order had, by implication, extended Emefiele’s detention by seven days with effect from 10th July, 2023 when the initial detention order had expired. “Within the same period, Justice Bello Kawu of the same FCT High Court, while dismissing reliefs sought by Peter Abang, Counsel to Emefiele on 14th July, 2023 ordered for the release or prosecution of Emefiele within 48 hours. However, the Service had complied with the seven days ultimatum issued by Justice Muazu. In obedience to rule of law, Emefiele was arraigned before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on 25th July, 2023 for illegal possession of arms and ammunition. The Service had long issued a press statement over the incident that happened at the Court between its staff and those of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) and pledged to investigate it. Though the investigation is ongoing, the preliminary findings are quite shocking considering the ignoble roles played by some public officials. “As normal with criminal investigations, security agencies re-arrest suspects when there is adequate suspicion of commission of a crime or as may be revealed by an ongoing investigation. Emefiele was re-arrested on the basis of this. Even though the re-arrest was tainted by the overzealousness of personnel of the Service and NCoS, it was nonetheless legally procedural. “Later, the Service applied for an Exparte Order at the FCT High Court presided by Justice Edward Okpe (and not Justice Mu’azu as erroneously and massively reported in the media) to detain Emefiele for 14 days. Against the established rules regarding exparte applications, a lawyer suddenly appeared in the Court for Emefiele. While the Judge did not outrightly reject the DSS request, he struck out the motion upon its withdrawal by the Service counsel. But this is not without his guidance. “Earlier, the Judge had drawn the attention of the Counsels to Section 293 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) which also recognises the Magistrate Court as a competent Court that can first be approached for an order for custody of a suspect under investigation. In other words, the Service, having taken the hint of the Court, took the right steps. “What transpired at the Court was, thereafter, variously misrepresented by some mischief makers. Part of the disinformation is to the effect that the Court “struck out the application and stated that it was an abuse of judicial process”. That was not what the Court said. What Justice Okpe said was “the Applicant having withdrawn the application, same is hereby struck out”. That was all. The Court records are there. But purveyors of fake news distorted the message to suit their intent; just to make the Service look bad – a sort of giving the dog a bad name in order to hang it. “Many had gone to town with stories of DSS fragrant disobedience to Court Orders especially in view of the last episodes at the High Courts in Lagos and Abuja. With what played out at the Court on 27th July 2023 under Justice Okpe, the Service immediately applied and obtained a detention Order from a Magistrate Court. So, Emefiele is legally detained. For reasons that the Emefiele case is subjudice, the Service will restrain from making further comments on the subject matter. “For either lack of knowledge or deliberate act to ignore the

  The Zone 2 Command of Nigeria police, Onikan, Lagos, has arrested a Muslim cleric, Alhaji Afeez Imoleayo, his wife and herbalist in connection with the alleged abduction of wife of a United States-based Nigerian and the children. The herbalist allegedly abducted and kept the woman and her children for 13 years in his apartment in the Ikorodu area of Lagos. The cleric popularly called Alfa Imoleayo, was alleged to have hypnotised the US-based Nigerian, identified simply as Mr. Animasaun and compelled him to change his name to Imoleayo. Not done, he was said to have compelled the abducted woman to also change her name and her children’s names from Animashaun to his, Imoleayo. The 43-year-old Imoleayo was further alleged to have incurred an accumulated debt of N15 million in Mr. Animasaun’s name and compelled him to pay from the United States. Imoleayo was paraded alongside four other accomplices identified as Ramon Uthman, Saidi Ajayi, Alhaja Monsurat Salami and Kikelomo, by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Ali, at the zonal headquarters. The AIG explained that the arrest was made following a petition received from the US-based Nigerian last month. He said the petitioner explained that he met the cleric, after listening to his sermon during one of his visits to Nigeria. According to the AIG, the petitioner said: “He exchanged numbers with the cleric and at the end of the day, he was brainwashed.” He said the Alfa told him to change his name, his wife’s and children’s names to his (Alhaji Afeez Imoleayo). His international passport and those of his family members were changed to bear that of Alhaji Imoleayo instead of their original surname, Animasuan. “After that was done, Alfa (Imoleayo) would collect a loan here in Nigeria on the US-based Nigerian’s name, while he (US-based Nigerian) will be working over there to service the loan here in Nigeria. This went on for over 13 years before God Almighty opened his eyes and he came back to Nigeria to report. “As I speak, the victim’s travelling documents no longer bear his name as well as his wife and children’s birth certificates. They all bear the Alfa’s name. “I am using this medium to advise members of the public to be very careful of the kind of people they meet in religious gatherings, be it Islam or Christian crusades as some of them are evil in disguise.” Allegation false—Imoleayo However, speaking with journalists, the 43-year-old main suspect, Imoleayo, described the allegation as false. He said: “I lived with the boy (Animasaun) in the same building in Ikorodu. He used to assist me whenever we were having any Islamic crusade. He at various times donated to the success of the crusade. “But at the end of the day, the Police came to my house to conduct a search but found nothing. They said he alleged I defrauded him but I did not.” Asked why the complainant, his wife and children changed their names to his, he replied: “He did it on his own. He did not only change his surname from Animasaun to Uthman Imoleayo, he also changed his wife’s and children’s names to mine and when I asked why he did it, he said he wanted it that way.” He also denied abducting the complainant’s wife and children. According to him, “I did not abduct her. He brought his wife to me when she was sick. We treated her and when she was well, he told me to allow his wife and children to live with me because she was always having issues in Ibadan where she lived. His family has been staying with me for 10 to 13 years now. “As for the car they said I took from him, I never did. Another person gave me the car. I also never threatened to kill him like he claimed. “The herbalist they said I worked with does not have anything to do with this. The last time I saw the herbalist was seven or eight years ago. He was the one that taught me how to treat people with herbs.” The suspects, according to the AIG, would be charged in court at the end of the investigation.

  Haruna Kolo, a former staff of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) has alleged that job seekers paid millions of naira into his personal accounts for him to take to Muheeba Dankaka, chairman of the agency. Kolo spoke on Monday while appearing before the investigative hearing of the house of representatives ad hoc committee probing job racketeering in federal ministries, departments and agencies of government. Kolo, who now works with the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), said Dankaka appointed him as her chief protocol officer, while he was serving at FCC. He told the panel that he was never involved in selling job offers, adding that he only acted on the instructions of Dankaka. “The money is always sent to my account which I subsequently cashed to remit in cash,” Kolo said. “My going to AMCON was her personal favour to me and others that left FCC at the time. However, Dankaka denied the allegation, noting that it was a conspiracy between Kolo and the other commissioners of the commission to tarnish her image. Subsequently, Dankaka brought out a copy of the Holy Qur’an to swear that she never collected money from Kolo as proceeds of job racketeering. Meanwhile, Yusuf Gagdi, chairman of the panel, said the committee is in possession of evidence that Kolo had N38.5 million in his account, which he withdrew from point of sale (POS) terminals. He said the sum of N75 million was in Kolo’s accounts in Access Bank, UBA and Eco Bank as proceeds of job racketeering “Kolo was serving as a front for collecting money for job recruitments in the commission as against the service, financial regulation and the extant law,” Gagdi said. “This committee will have to be judicial in nature. We knew why we asked Kolo to give us evidence. We must come out straight; we aren’t even talking about racketeering in other MDAs. “Kolo you are not supposed to leave here without being arrested. As a civil servant, you are not supposed to have such a huge amount in your account.”

  The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Monday, announced new chairmen of some standing committees in the red chamber. The Senate President named the chairmen of the committees after confirming 45 of the 48 ministerial nominees during the day’s plenary session. President of the Ninth Senate Ahmad Lawan (Defence), former governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal (Housing), and former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole (Interior) were some of the senators appointed to chair committees. Also appointed were Sen Godiya Akwashiki (Airforce), Buhari Abdul-Fata (Aviation), Osita Izunaso (Capital Market), Cyril Fasuyi (Establishment), Seriake Dickson (Ecology/Climate Change), Petroleum Downstream (Jide Ipisagba), Aliyu Wadada (Public Account), Shehu Kaka (Special Duties), Patrick Ndubueze (Works), Solomon Adeola (Appropriations), Musa Sani (Finance), and Abiru Tokunbo (Banking). The new chairmen also included Isa Jubril (Customs), Elisha Abbo (Culture and Tourism), Victor Umeh (Diaspora), Lawal Usman (Education), Akintunde Yunus (Environment), Ibrahim Bomai (FCT), Sani Abubakar (Foreign Affairs), Banigo Harry (Health), Abubakar Yari, (Water Resources), Enyinaya Abaribe (Power), and Aliyu Wamakko (Local and Foreign Debts). Others are Adamu Aliero (Land transport), Daniel Olugbenga (Navy), Barinada Mpigi (Niger Delta), Mohammed Monguno (Judiciary), Yemi Adaramodu (Youths and Sports), Ireti Kingigbe (Women Affairs), Orji Kalu (Privatization), Mustapha Sabiu (Agriculture), Aliyu Bilbis (Communications) and Asuquo Ekpenyong (NDDC). The latest announcement follows the chairmen of standing committees earlier announced by the Senate President. Below is the earlier list of committees and the chairmen and deputies announced: Rules and Business — Titus Zam (chairman), Opeyemi Bamidele (deputy) Senate Services — Sunday Karimi (chairman), Williams Eteng Jonah (deputy) Ethics and Public Petitions — Okechukwu Ezea (chairman), Khalid Ibrahim Mustapha (deputy) Public Accounts — Aliu Wadada Ahmed (chairman), Onyeka Peter (deputy) National Security and Intelligence — Shehu Buba Umar (chairman), Asuquo Ekpenyong (deputy) Legislative Compliance — Garba Musa Maidoki (chairman), Ede Dafinone (deputy) Media — Adeyemi Adaramodu (chairman), Salisu Shuaibu Afolabi (deputy) Appropriations — Olamilekan Adeola (chairman), Ali Ndume (deputy)

  A Kano State Sharia court sitting in Kiru LGA has remanded a man, Jaafar Lukman, in a correctional centre for allegedly injuring the son of Jamila Mai-Kosai, who refused to sell pap for him on credit. He was also alleged to have poured away the woman’s bean cake, bean paste and pap she was selling at a junction in Kano. The police alleged that the defendant went to the woman with the intention to buy bean cake and pap on credit, but that the woman refused to give him because he owed her some money. The police said that after refusing to give him the food, Lukman used his leg to kick the pap, bean cake, bean paste and the oil she was using for frying. When the charges were read to him, the defendant pleaded guilty, but told the court that he was angry and hungry when he committed the offence. The Khadi, Malam Usman Haruna Usman, ordered that he should be remanded in prison and adjourned the case to September 4.

  Tuesday 08 August 2023 FG withdraws contempt suit against labour, NLC may suspend strike Former character commission officer admits taking bribes, indicts chairman Former character commission officer admits taking bribes, indicts chairman Ministerial screening: Senate withholds El-Rufai’s confirmation over security checks Nigeria-Niger mega rail project threatened, over 1,000 trucks trapped Obaseki dismisses impeachment plot, says Shaibu planning APC defection Senate Confirms 45 Ministerial Nominees As El-Rufai, Two Others Await Clearance Akpabio Names Lawan, Tambuwal, Oshiomhole, Others Chairmen Of Committees Akpabio Names Lawan, Tambuwal, Oshiomhole, Others Chairmen Of Committees NAF Air Strikes Destroy Boats With Stolen Crude Oil In Rivers WAEC Releases 2023 SSCE Results, Records 79.81% Pass WAEC Releases 2023 SSCE Results, Records 79.81% Pass No One Organ Of Government Has Exclusive Preserve Of Contracting Marriages – Court ‘Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right,’ Cross River Gov. Appeals To Striking Doctors Wrong NIN, Other Biodata Cause Of Passport Delays – Immigration Niger Airspace Closure: Europe-Bound Flights Diverted Amidst Fear Of Fare Hike Kano Man Injures Pap Seller’s Son For Refusing To Sell On Credit Naira slides to N774.8/$ at I&E window, N897/$ at parallel market Abaribe: Sit-at-home has become money-making scheme for Simon Ekpa, his cohorts DSS: Emefiele legally detained | Findings on face-off at court premises shocking Biafra: Sit-at-home is dead, buried —Nnamdi Kanu Cleric, wife, herbalist arrested for allegedly abducting woman, children for 13 yrs NAFDAC fears 20% Nigerians may die from NCDs, moves against solid fats in foods How my father died due to hospital negligence — Umahi Billion naira debt: WAEC withholds results of candidates from 8 states Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…