The Miyetti Allah Association has appealed to the Federal and States to consider its member herders in the distribution of palliatives to cushion the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidies. The Chairman of the Kwara Chapter of the association, Alhaji Bello Abubakar, made the call on Monday while speaking with newsmen in Ilorin. Abubakar described the herders as the most affected people during this period. The chairman explained that the majority of herders have no bank account where they can easily access funds when in need.   According to him, whenever herdsmen take their livestock to the market for sale, transportation fare take the larger part of the money. The Fulani leader expressed worry over the high cost of food items q in the market. He appealed to the government to release food items from the nation’s reserve and sell at a subsidised rate to ordinary Nigerians. Abubakar also urged government to assist his members with vaccines to prevent the death of their livestock from strange diseases. He warned criminal elements among the Fulanis to discard crime and other social vices in their own interest. Besides, Abubakar advised herders and farmers to adopt dialogue in resolving their differences and ensure peaceful coexistence in their various communities.

  In line with the Firearms Act and other extant laws, in the interest of public safety and general security, the acting Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, has announced the establishment of an ad hoc committee tasked with the comprehensive review of firearms licensing and regulations by the Nigeria Police Force. Egbetokun, on Monday, revealed that the committee’s mandate will encompass a thorough assessment of current firearms licensing procedures and regulations, with the aim of enhancing their effectiveness, transparency, and accountability. The Force Headquarters also said the police will engage with relevant stakeholders, including legal experts, civil society organisations, and experts in the field, to ensure a holistic and well-informed review. The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi revealed in an official correspondence on Monday. Adejobi said, “Similarly, in furtherance of his zeal to tackle all forms of insecurity in the country, the IG has issued a stern warning to all individuals involved in the wrongful possession of arms and light weapons, reiterated that illegal proliferation of firearms and light weapons poses a significant threat to the peace and stability of our nation. “In light of this, the Nigeria Police Force is resolutely determined to combat the illegal fabrication, sales, possession and use of arms emphasising that possessing firearms without the appropriate licenses and permits is not only a violation of the law but also a grave danger to society. He assured that the Nigeria Police Force will spare no effort in pursuing and prosecuting those engaged in these illegal activities to the full extent of the law. “The Inspector General of Police has charged all State Commissioners of Police and supervising Assistant Inspectors-General of Police in charge of Zonal Commands, and tactical squads to commence a total clampdown on the illegal fabrication, sale, possession, and use of prohibited firearms in the country. He equally urged all Nigerians to report suspicious activities related to firearms to their local police divisions or via the various NPF social media platforms for prompt response.” Earlier, The PUNCH reported the IG, noting that gun licencing may aggravate insecurity in the country, reiterated the police’ ban on gun license issuance, while adding that the police might review or revert the ban in the future. The Force Headquarters announced that the NPF had stopped the issuance of licenses for small arms due to the high rate of illegal arms proliferation in the country. Egbetokun disclosed while responding to a question by our correspondent during his (IG’s) meeting with members of the Police Management Team including Deputy Inspectors General of Police, Assistant Inspectors General of Police, and Commissioners of Police at the Goodluck Jonathan Peacekeeping Hall, Force Headquarters, Abuja. “We are mopping up arms in circulation. There are too many arms in circulation and if we continue to issue licenses on arms, we may continue to aggravate the problems we are trying to solve,” Egbetokun said. However, he further noted that the police might review the ban in the future. “For now, there is a temporary ban on the issuance of firearms. We May review it later, but we are not issuing firearms licenses nationwide now.” The PUNCH reports that the Firearm Act has been responsible for the control of firearms in Nigeria for the past years. The Act provides that no person shall have in his possession or under his control, any firearm or ammunition except such person has a license from the President or the Inspector General of Police.

  The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation will start turning over approximately 2,500 documents relating to President Bola Tinubu in its database, Peoples Gazette reports The frontline American law enforcement institution said it would start releasing the documents effective October ending at 500 pages per month, according to a new court filing. “FBI has identified a total of approximately 2500 pages potentially responsive to FOIA requests 1553430-00 and 1587544-000,” the U.S. body said in a status report docketed on September 11 at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. “FBI plans a processing schedule of 500 pages per month, with an initial release anticipated by the end of October 2023.” The unexpected move followed FBI’s initial reluctance to turn over the documents in line with a freedom of information request first filed in 2022. Aaron Greenspan, who runs PlainSite, a website that pushes anti-corruption and transparency in public service, filed the request in collaboration with journalist David Hundeyin. The Gazette has monitored the application for months and offered suggestions to help ensure its success after initial excuses by the FBI. The disclosure is expected to clarify outstanding questions about when Mr Tinubu entered the U.S., under which name he entered and all activities he has been involved in ever since. Mr Tinubu spent decades in the United States, appearing to have first moved there in the 1970s. More details about his forfeiture of $460,000 over drug dealing in Chicago the 1990s are also expected to be among the records to be released. The Nigerian president’s background has remained a misery for most citizens as questions about his real parents and childhood education have not been answered. Source: Journalist101

  Anambra State Police Command has so far arraigned thirty three suspected cultists in court for sundry criminal charges in the wake of a new crackdown ordered by the Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye. The suspected cultists who were arraigned in two batches of Nine and Twenty Four were charged with membership of unlawful societies; unlawful possession of firearms; Unlawful possession and use of hard drugs and other psychotropic substances. Several suspects are still being held in custody and investigation into various murders committed by suspected cultists still ongoing. The Commissioner of Police has reiterated his stand that there will be no sacred cow in the new offensive against cultists. He said the Command will never compromise the ongoing investigation and any one indicted by evidence will be brought to book no matter how highly placed. DSP Tochukwu Ikenga Police Public Relations Officer, Anambra State Police Command, Awka.

  Niger Republic’s coupists have deployed military personnel along its border with Benin, one of its neighbouring countries. This was according to a video which was posted on Monday by a counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in Lake Chad, Zagazola Makama. The PUNCH reports that as part of its resolution to bring back democracy and restore constitutional order in the Niger Republic, the Economic Community of West African States directed the deployment of the sub-regional Standby Force on August 10. However, the ECOWAS is yet to invade Niger Republic despite all attempts to dialogue failed. But Makama disclosed the latest development on its X page (formerly Twitter), stating that the military junta in Niger has deployed personnel to the Benin border amidst a possible ECOWAS invasion. “Niger deploys Military to the Niger- Beninese Border amidst eminent military intervention plans of ECOWAS,” he wrote.

  The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, has issued another order to the police to either charge or immediately release Chike Ibezim, who has been in month-long detention over an alleged malicious publication posted online against the immediate-past Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola. The court issued the fresh order on Friday (9 September), restating the one it earlier issued on 30 August for the release of the detainee. “The order dated 30 August 2023 is explicit; it is unambiguous and very clear in its terms,” the judge, Olueymisi Adelaja, sitting in the Kubwa division of the court, declared on Friday. She frowned on what she described as the police’s “act of disobedience of the order of this court”. The judge noted that the police acted in disobedience “by varying the bail conditions”, adding that “the act of disobedience of the express orders of the court is unacceptable.” The said bail conditions are therefore unacceptable to this court, the orders of this court are for either the immediate release of the applicant from custody or for the respondent to charge the applicant to court for any offence disclosed against him,” the judge declared. Arrest and detention Mr Ibezim has been in the custody of the police in Abuja for over a month. The police arrested him at his office in Maitama, Abuja, on 10 August over an alleged malicious publication shared via the X, formerly known as Twitter, handle of a blogging platform, @ReporteraNews, on 5 August. The post in question alleged that Mr Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and top member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, was involved in the drafting of the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC). It added that soldiers had been deployed to restrict movements around Mr Fashola’s residence ahead of the judgement which the PEPC, would deliver about a month later on 4 September. While being paraded by the police at the Force Headquarters in Abuja recently, Mr Ibezim said the blogging site and its X handle were owned and run by his brother, Nnamdi Ibezim, whom he described as a journalist. But the police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the investigation confirmed that the phone line with which the post was made on X was registered by Mr Ibezim. Mr Ibezim, who described himself as the owner of a startup company and a software engineer, confirmed the phone number to be his company’s official line, but denied knowledge of it being used to make the controversial post. In response to a question by Mr Adejobi, Mr Ibezim said that having been in detention for 26 days, he could not tell his brother’s whereabouts. He also said his office in Abuja was only being used by his brother as a correspondence address. Mr Adejobi confirmed that the police had completed his investigation and would soon charge him in court. In a press statement, he said the police investigation had established a prima facie case of malicious publication, cyberbullying, and other related offences against the suspect. He also said the police launched their investigations following a petition from Priory Terrace Solicitors on behalf of Mr Fashola. Dangote adbanner 728x90_2 (1) The police spokesperson said the social media post linked to Mr Ibezim was meant to “cast aspersion on the person of the former Minister, contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention) Act, 2015, which has the potential to cause harm, distress, and damage to his reputation, as well as posing great threats to national security and stability of our dear country.” person of the former Minister, contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention) Act, 2015, which has the potential to cause harm, distress, and damage to his reputation, as well as posing great threats to national security and stability of our dear country.” Court orders Ruling on a suit filed by Mr Ibezim to secure his release from police detention, Ms Adelaja, a judge of the FCT High Court in Kubwa, Abuja, on 30 August, ordered the police to either release him or charge him in court immediately. The Inspector General of Police, the Force Investigation Bureau (FIB), and a police inspector, Ikemba Cyprian, were sued as respondents in the suit. On 3 September, four days after the court issued the order for the release of Mr Ibezim, Mr Adejobi insisted via his X handle that the suspect was being kept in lawful custody based on a court order, details of which he did not reveal. Following the refusal of the police to comply with the 30 August order of the court, the detainee’s lawyer, K. Okafor, appeared before the judge on 9 September to inform her of the development. Ruling, Ms Adelaja held that she had made the earlier order “in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria with particular reference to Section 35(4) and 35(5) of that Constitution”. She said the respondents being law enforcement agents, “it is absurd that the respondents are the ones disobeying the express provisions of the Constitution and even the order of a court of competent jurisdiction.” She therefore ordered: “The respondents are mandated to obey the order of this court granted on 30 August 2023.” She added that in the event they failed to comply with the order, Mr Ibezim’s lawyer “is free to take the necessary enforcement procedural steps.”

  The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has launched an application that will enable citizens report power outage complaints and disruptions across the country. Speaking during the app’s launch in Abuja on Monday, Sanusi Garba, NERC chairperson, said the development is in line with the commission’s pledge to improve service delivery to customers. “I think a lot of you can recall that we recently launched a new consumer protection regulation that provides timelines within which public utilities, and especially distribution companies (DisCos), are required to resolve complaints by customers,” Garba said. “So, this particular app that we have launched today is supposed to assist the commission in monitoring that DisCos are actually complying with the standards set out in that regulation.” Garba said the app was originally designed to sample the quality of power supply. He added that the NERC decided that it was better to have live data and effectively monitor DisCos. The NERC chairperson encouraged citizens to channel their complaints through the app, assuring that prompt responses will increase their confidence in the commission and the DisCos. We decided to start this launch with Abuja. There’ll be a national rollout for all distribution companies,” he said. “Such a massive application would require some test run and so on. “So, AEDC is like a guinea pig for the app but we’ll quickly extradite the rollout to other distribution companies but obviously the DisCos where we are having the highest level of complaints will be ranked higher in terms of the rollout.” Christopher Ezeafulukwe, chairperson of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), applauded the commission for the app launch, saying it was a product of collaboration that would ensure a win-win scenario for all citizens. I dare say feedback from our customers is actually for the distribution company, what I would call our feedstock,” the AEDC chair said. “It is the raw material that we need to be able to deliver the services that we actually contract to provide. “One big takeaway is that the app we’re about to launch is a product of collaboration between the commission, the distribution company, and eventually the customers. “It then implies that it’s going to be a win-win for all of us. “On the part of the regulator, it’s already been said that it will be greater oversight and not just oversight for oversight sake but to ensure that value is not just being created but being sustained and protected. “On the part of the distribution company, this will actually help catalyse more data-based decisions on our part. HOW THE APP WORKS Speaking on the app’s functionality, Aisha Mahmud, NERC commissioner of consumer affairs, said the commission partnered with the DisCos on the app.   Mahmud said data of hours of supply to customers on each service band, in a bid to protect users, was obtained. “It utilises multi-channel approach. We liaised with the different distribution companies and obtained a lot of data on their customers,” she said. “So if you’re a customer of a DisCo and you are being supplied by the DisCo, your information is already stored in that app. “If you have a complaint on any outage, there are multiple channels. There is a web app and a mobile app, so you can download it on your phone through Apple or Google store. You just need your meter number. “You download the app, you put your meter number and then after that, you log in your complaint and the app will automatically send a confirmation to the customers on that particular feeder of yours to find out if there is really an outage. “If there is, then we need about two to three customers to confirm that there is an outage on that feeder. “As soon as they confirm that, the app will send that confirmation to the DisCo with a resolution timeline and as soon as the DisCo resolves this complaint, then the DisCo will update the app saying ‘we’ve resolved this complaint’ and the app will automatically send another confirmation request to those customers on that particular feeder.” Mahmud said the project commenced two years ago but could not be completed earlier due to bureaucracy.

  A couple, Olubayo and Suliya Temitope, have been docked before an Ore Chief Magistrate Court, in Ondo state, for alleged N6.4 m fraud. Olubayo is 45 years old while their wife Suliya is 25 years old   They were charged to court on two counts charge of fraud and obtaining money under false pretence. The police prosecutor, Inspector Muyideen Yekini, said that the defendants committed the offences between January and August 2023, at Kajola in Araromi-Obu, Ondo State. Yekini, told the court that the defendants conspired to commit a felony to obtain money under false pretence. He alleged that the couple fraudulently obtained the sum of N6,470,000 from one Kazeem Mojirade Sarufat and Kazeem Morufat, with the pretense of supplying them kegs of palm oil which they failed to do, but converted the money to their use. The offences, according to him, contravene Sections 516, 419 of the Criminal Code Cap. 37 Volume 1 Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006. When the charges were read the couple pleaded not guilty to the offences leveled against them. The police prosecutor, sought an adjournment to enable him study the case file and prepare his witnesses for trial. Yekini prayed the court to transfer the case file to Araromi-Obu Magistrate Court.   The defence counsel, Mr. O. J Ikudaisi, who however, did not oppose the application made by the prosecutor, prayed the court to grant his clients bail in most liberal terms. But the police prosecutor, opposed to the granting of the bail application by the defense counsel. Yekini, said the couple would abused the privilege, if granted. But in his ruling, the trial Chief Magistrate, B. A Ikusika, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N1 million each with two sureties in like sum.