Saturday 17 February 2024 AFCON: Clerics who made controversial prophecies, predictions I can’t marry man with disabilities – Physically challenged Ogun lady Banks sell $3.3bn as CBN battles fresh naira slump Creation of state police overdue – Ex-Lagos CP, Imohimi NDLEA nabs Abia woman, five others for drug trafficking Police arrest eight suspected kidnappers of Ekiti pupils How illegal miners wreak havoc on Nigeria — Investigation FG secures $30b investment commitments Soludo’s men continue destruction of newsstands in Anambra State Police: Nigerians’ll get the Police Service they deserve — Senate Court orders FG to reopen investigation into Dele Giwa’s murder Tinubu approves upgrade of 16 health facilities across six geopolitical zones Tinubu appointed as AU champion for health Ize-Iyamu withdraws from Edo APC governorship primary Top UN Court Rejects South Africa’s Request For More Gaza Measures ‘I Did Not Allow Them Break Me,’ Sowore Reacts To Court Verdict Governors Should Not Be Allowed To Abuse State Police – PSC Boss, Arase Troops Kill 254 Terrorists, Arrest 264 Others In One Week – DHQ Senegal’s Constitutional Body Overturns Presidential Vote Delay Gov Zulum Declares One-Day Fast Over Economic, Security Issues Cease Opposition To Student Loan Programme, NANS Tells ASUU Naira Continues To Struggle, Closes Week At N1,537 At Official Market Extortion galore at Lagos NIN centres, WAEC, JAMB candidates stranded Food scarcity: Pressure on states to rev up interventions Abuja kidnap kingpin nabbed after Wike’s N20m bounty Court confiscates ex-Rep Shaban’s property over $709,238 debt Varsity unions spoil for war over payment of withheld ASUU salaries Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  With talks about the establishment of state police gaining momentum in the country, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Solomon Arase, has warned state governors not to abuse state police. Arase, the 18th Inspector General of Police, made this known on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande aired on Channels Television on Friday. On Thursday, President Bola Tinubu and the 36 state governors met and considered the establishment of state police as a way to solve the escalating security challenges and the booming kidnap-for-ransom menace in the country. Speaking on the state police alternative, Arase said, “Policing is local. Crime is environmental. State police is what we should be thinking about but then, there must be some safeguards put in place like is the governor going to be the one to appoint a commissioner of police and deputy commissioner of police? “In order areas, the governor does not have control over the appointment of police commissioners. The truth about it is that of we are going to have state police, our political culture must be such that accommodate oppositions. Most of our governors, if they have control over police apparatus, their oppositions won’t be able to campaign anywhere.” The police commission boss said there should be laws to check the excesses or otherwise of governors who abuse state police. He suggested that members of the civil society organisations, lawyers of repute, traditional rulers, religious leaders should be empowered to appoint police commissioners under the state police system. He lamented that crimes will fester in a country where there are no consequences for crimes. “We want to see more of prosecution; prosecution is a deterrence to others who want to go that route. The number of arrests in the past eight years is quite huge but it is not commensurate to the prosecution. “You cannot attract investment in a place where there is no consequence for crimes committed,” he said. He said technology should be used to aid or supplement the deficiency in manpower within the various security agencies. He said Police-public partnership should be encourage and a bill should be passed that having closed-circuit television will be a mandatory requirement of public buildings like residential estates, shopping malls and the likes. Arase said the government should embark on mass recruitment into the security agencies, train them along professional lines and skill acquisition in semi-formal areas for them to be financially independent. He said thereafter the trained pool can be made reservists and be called upon when the country needs extra hands to combat security challenges. He reminded the President to actualise one of his campaign promises on mass recruitment into the Force, saying that may be the solution to the country’s internal disorder. On police welfare, he urged the Federal Government to build units of two-bedroom flats for officers of the Nigeria Police Force to take care of their housing issues, especially after retirement. He also said there should be scholarships for the children of serving police officers. “What will it cost the police management to start building two-bedroom apartments especially for the inspectors and rank and file; those are the ones I call the street managers because those guys are their come rain and come shine and even when it comes to shedding their blood?” he asked. He further said the calls for right to bear arms by citizens should be discouraged because of mental health issues and the proliferation of firearms in the country.

  A judge has ordered Donald Trump, former United States president, to pay nearly $354.9 million in a ruling in the New York civil fraud case. Trump is also barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in the state for three years. The other defendants include Trump’s eldest sons, their companies, and some of the former president’s organisation executives. In a 92-page ruling on Friday, Arthur Engoron, presiding judge, said “this Court finds that defendants are likely to continue their fraudulent ways unless the Court grants significant injunctive relief”. Engoron described Trump and his associates as unremorseful, saying “their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological”. “This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin,” the judge said tartly,” he added. “Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. “Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. Instead, they adopt a ‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ posture that the evidence belies.” Engoron also barred Trump from applying for loans from any financial institution registered with the New York Department of Financial Services for three years. Donald Jr. and Eric, the former president’s sons, were each ordered to pay $4 million for their personal profits from the fraud. Allen Weisselberg, former Trump organisation’s chief financial officer, was fined $1 million. The lawsuit brought by Letitia James, the city’s attorney general, alleged that Trump and his co-defendants committed repeated fraud in inflating assets on their financial statements to deceive bankers into giving them better loan terms. According to the lawsuit, Trump inflated his net worth by as much as $3.6 billion in three separate years between 2011 and 2021. Trump’s attorney said he plans to appeal the decision. The trial in this case has served as a precursor to the four criminal trials the former president faces this year as he tries to make a comeback for the White House.

  Ekiti State Police Command, on Friday, disclosed that its operatives have arrested eight suspected members of a kidnapping cartel involved in the abduction of five pupils, three teachers, and a driver of Apostolic Faith School in the state. Some gunmen had abducted the nine individuals while they were returning from Eporo-Ekiti a few weeks ago. They were, however, released last Sunday, after spending six days in the kidnappers’ den. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abutu Sunday, while parading the suspects said police received a credible intelligence that some armed men were planning to kidnap expatriates in a dairy farm in Ikun Ekiti. AFCON 2023: Super Eagles Lose To Elephants To Clinch Runner-up0.00 / 0.00 The spokesperson said the police mobilised to the farm and arrested one Abubakar Aliyu, who was on a mission to spy on the location of the expatriates. He noted that a member of the group identified as Ayuba was shot dead during a gun duel when policemen were attempting to make an arrest, adding that the phone used to demand ransom for the release of the abducted pupils and teachers had been retrieved. He said, “After the arrest of Abubakar Aliyu, the leader of the kidnapping gang, identified as one Sumo Karami, sent two vigilante members, one Saliu Ibrahim, and one Umaru Saliu, to secure the bail of the arrested gang member from police custody. “The two vigilante members were arrested, and they led the RRS operatives to Oro-Ago town, where one Mohammed Bashiru, the leader of Miyetti Allah vigilante in Oro-Ago, Kwara State, was arrested. “During interrogation, Bashiru revealed that he is a relative of Sumo Karami, who is the leader of a dreaded kidnapping gang, and that Abubakar Aliyu is one of his gang members who have been terrorising and kidnapping innocent citizens with AK47 rifles and other dangerous weapons. “Initial investigations revealed that Sumo Karami and his gang members were responsible for the kidnapping of the pupils and their teachers in Emure-Ekiti on 29th January 2024. “Effort also led to the arrest of two other gang members, namely: Yahaya Jubril and Usman Garba in Owo forest, Ondo State.”

  Moscow on Friday warned people against taking to the streets to protest, hours after the death of leading Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Images on social media showed people laying flowers at memorials to victims of political repression in honour of Navalny, who Russian authorities said had died on Friday in the Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. The prosecutor’s office in the Russian capital said that it was aware of calls online “to take part in a mass rally in the centre of Moscow” and said it was “necessary to warn against violating the law”.   Protests are illegal in Russia under strict anti-dissent laws, with authorities having clamped down particularly harshly on rallies in support of Navalny. In Moscow, dozens laid red and white roses at the Solovetsky Stone, a monument to victims of Soviet era repression opposite the headquarters of Russia’s FSB security services — the former home of the feared Soviet secret police. At least one person was detained for holding up a placard that appeared to say “murderers” on it, according to a video posted by the independent Sota Telegram channel. A handful of people were also pictured gathering to lay flowers at a bridge next to the Kremlin where Putin critic Boris Nemtsov was killed in 2015. And Police were filmed dispersing people who had gathered in the snow at a memorial in the central city of Kazan. Some larger demonstrations also took place in Tbilisi, Yerevan and Belgrade — home to significant populations of Russians who fled the country following Moscow’s military offensive on Ukraine.

  The Accountant General of the Federation Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein has told the Public Account Committee of the House of Representatives that the government does not have an accurate records of its assets and liabilities. Madein who was responding to the 2020 audit report of the Auditor General for the Federation, said even though the MDAs were required to carry out a valuation of their assets and liabilities, there has never been budgetary allocation for the exercise which she said will be very expensive to carry out. The oAuGF in the report on the ‘Negative Net Assets’ expressed worries over negative net assets of Federal Government of Nigeria totaling N33.3 trillion. The total assets stood at N10.1 trillion while the total liability was N43.4 trillion thereby leading to a negative net asset of N33.3 trillion.” The report further showed:”Federal Government’s total current assets was N1.7 trillion while total current liability was N16.3 trillion thereby leading to a difference N14.6 trillion. “This means that FGN will not be able to meet up with its current obligation/commitment. This also suggests that Federal Government of Nigeria is faced with a high debt burden which could hamper the development of key infrastructures.” She admitted that without the asset valuation of the government, the financial statements of the government cannot be said to be complete and will not give a fair view of government finances. Asked to confirm whether the government has an asset register containing the list of all government assets, she said: “I have not seen any asset register. We can only build one when all MDAs have submitted their list.” She said MDAs were supposed to carry out such valuation since 2019, adding that she was not sure is that has been done. She assured the Committee that all issues in the audit report will be addressed by her office and that the various MDAs will be instructed to henceforth apply the required standard in preparing their financial statements. She said that the MDAs have not been able to prepare abs submit stand alone account because they were still studying the IPSAS which was introduced in 2016 and was supposed to be used by them in preparing their statements.

  A Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Federal Government to investigate all the attacks on journalists in the discharge of their duties, ensure that all victims of the attacks have access to effective remedies, and further prosecute the perpetrators to prevent further attacks. Justice Inyang Ekwo, gave the order while delivering the judgment in a suit filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) against the Federal Government. In his judgment, Justice Ekwo noted that given the special role that journalists play in society, they ought to be protected and not put at risk. He accordingly declared the killing of the journalists as a violation of their fundamental right to life under section 33 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 4 of the African Charter and held that their killing while carrying out their journalistic duties was a violation of their right to freedom of expression and the press under section 39 of the Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter. He also declared that the failure of the Federal Government to fulfil its statutory and treaty obligations to guarantee their safety in accordance with Principle 20 of the Declaration of Principles amounts to a violation of the Declaration and a breach of the statutory duty imposed on the Government by the African Charter. The Judge also held that the failure of the Government to take measures to prevent various forms of attacks on journalists and other media practitioners, including murder, extra-judicial killing, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearance, kidnapping, intimidation, threats of physical violence, beatings and assault, unlawful surveillance, among others, as required by Principle 20 amounts to a breach of the Government’s statutory duty. Justice Ekwo upheld the MRA claim that the federal government failure to guarantee the safety of journalists and other media practitioners in accordance with Principle 20 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, the Federal Government breached its statutory duty under the Declaration and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. The judge also ruled that the Federal Government bears responsibility and is accordingly liable for the actions and conduct of law enforcement, security, intelligence, military, and other officials and agents that threaten, undermine, or violate the rights and safety of journalists and other media practitioners. The judge however, ordered the federal government to take measures to raise awareness and build the capacities of various stakeholders, particularly journalists and other media practitioners; policymakers, law enforcement, security, intelligence, military as well as other officials and relevant stakeholders on the laws and standards for ensuring the safety of journalists and media practitioners. Recall in a suit filed on its behalf by Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Mrs Mojirayo Ogunlana-Nkanga, on October 26, 2021, MRA complained about the violation of the fundamental rights to life and freedom of expression of Nigerian journalists and media practitioners who were murdered at various times over the last few decades in the line of duty or under circumstances relating to the discharge of their duties as journalists and the failure of the Federal Government to protect them, carry out effective investigation, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of the murders. MRA named some of the murdered journalists, including the late Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, Mr Dele Giwa, who was killed on October 19, 1986, by a parcel bomb in his home in Lagos; Ms Bolade Fasasi, a member of the National Association of Women Journalists and former treasurer of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), who was shot dead by three unidentified gunmen in Ibadan on March 31, 1998; Mr. Edward Olalekan Ayo-Ojo, who was found dead beside his car on a road in Lagos in the early hours of June 1, 1999; and Mr. Omololu Falobi, a former features editor of The Punch and founder of the media advocacy group, Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS), who was gunned down on October 5, 2006, as he left his office in Lagos. The others are Mr Godwin Agbroko, the Chairman of the Editorial Board of This Day newspaper, who was murdered by unknown gunmen on December 22, 2006; Mr. Abayomi Ogundeji, a member of the Editorial Board of This Day newspaper, who was shot dead on August 17, 2008; and Mr. Edo Sule-Ugbagwu, Judicial Correspondent of The Nation newspaper, who was murdered in his home in a Lagos suburb by a gang of armed men on April 24 2010.

  US President Joe Biden directly blamed Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday for the reported death of Alexei Navalny in prison, describing the Kremlin critic as a “powerful voice for the truth.” Saying he was “outraged” by the news, Biden said he did not yet know exactly what had happened to Navalny, but that it was the fault of Putin and his “thugs.” “Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death. Putin is responsible,” Biden said in televised remarks from the White House.   “What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled.” Biden said he was “looking at options” on how to respond but did not go further. Asked in 2021 after meeting Putin in Switzerland, what would happen were Navalny to die, Biden said: “I made it clear to him that I believe the consequences of that would be devastating for Russia.” On Friday, Biden hailed Navalny’s achievements. “Even in prison he was a powerful voice for the truth,” Biden said. “God bless Alexei Navalny, his courage will not be forgotten.” Russian officials said Navalny died on Friday in an Arctic prison, a month before an election poised to extend Putin’s hold on power. Navalny’s death after three years in detention and a poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin deprives Russia’s opposition of its figurehead at a time of intense repression and Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

  The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, Enugu Depot has warned it would be forced to shut down selling of fuel in Anambra State within the next two weeks over attacks on members. The Association accused Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration of over-taxing its members, clamping on their businesses, and arresting them. This is coming as the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, on Thursday, vowed to stop lifting petroleum products beginning next week Monday due to the high cost of operations. IPMAN Chairman, Mr Chinedu Anyaso, gave the warning on Friday, shortly after he was re-elected to pilot the Affairs of the association for a second term of three years. He promised to continue working hard to ameliorate the difficulties facing its members in their businesses. He alleged that despite the Association having an agreement with the state government, the Anambra State Waste Management Authority, signage officials, and Ocha Brigade officials were always coming to demand money, arrest and detain IPMAN members and their workers. According to him, all efforts to call the attention of the Anambra State Government to the issue have proved abortive. He regretted that some of the IPMAN members having businesses in Anambra State were taken to court and jailed or given the option of fines due to their refusal to comply with over-taxation. He said, “Since the removal of the fuel subsidy, members of IPMAN have continued to find it difficult to survive the harsh business environment confronting all business concerns in the country. “Even as they are struggling to keep business afloat and retain their workers, Anambra state government in its quest to surge-up its internal revenue has come so hard on individual members and their business outfits in the area. “The latest development also undermines agreement with various state governments that IPMAN will be paying a collective tax to ensure all members pay and check issues of multiple taxation.” The IPMAN boss, however, applauded Ebonyi and Enugu State governments for cooperating and supporting its members and their activities as well as state governments of some parts of Imo, Abia, Kogi and Cross River States where its members operate as well. He noted that IPMAN members had been a great pillar of support in the past three years he has been at the helm of the group, making it possible for the association to achieve some milestones noting that his re-election is a call to do more.