OLUDARE Kadiri, deputy speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly and member representing Ijebu-North II constituency, has been impeached.
Olakunle Oluomo, speaker of the House of Assembly, pronounced Kadiri’s impeachment during a plenary on Thursday at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Oluomo said the impeachment followed the report of an ad hoc committee constituted to investigate allegations against him, which found him guilty.
Bello Atinuke, Assembly chief whip, confirmed the impeachment to The ICIR during a telephone interview.
According to a report, 19 out of 26 members of the Assembly voted in support of the motion for Kadiri’s impeachment after the committee’s report presentation.
Kadiri was found guilty by the ad hoc committee of leading suspected hoodlums to invade the residence of Tokunbo Talabi, secretary to the state government.
He was also accused of leading the same thugs to invade the residence of a former legislator, Adebiyi Odugbesan.
Following complaints by the victims of the incidents, the former deputy speaker was detained for about two days at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Eleweran, Abeokuta, the state capital.
Kadiri was said to have invaded the residences of the SSG and Adegbesan because they were allegedly hoarding the materials for the ongoing membership registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
A few days ago, Abimbola Oyeyemi, Ogun State police public relations officer, had saidKadiri could be arraigned before the court over charges bordering on violent conducts, except the parties involved decided otherwise.
When contacted to find out if Kadiri would be arraigned following his impeachment, Oyeyemi told The ICIR on Thursday that the parties involved had not contacted the police on the next process.
“I equally told you that if those that reported him resolve to settle the matter out of court, we might not arraign him… but they are yet to get back to us on that,” Oyeyemi said.
Apart from Ogun State, other states across the country have reported violence and disruption concerning the validation of the APC membership registration.
Earlier in February, there had been a report of violence during an APC meeting towards the revalidation exercise at the Banquet Hall of Government House in Ilorin, Kwara State. The violence erupted following a clash between two factions of the party.
Also in Anambra State, some members of the party were attacked during the visit of members of the registration and revalidation committee in Ajali, Orumba North Local Government Area of the state.
An eyewitness said the violence erupted in Ajali when some thugs were led into the distribution centre in the presence of the state caretaker chairman, Basil Ejidike, and national registration committee members who came to know why the materials were yet to get to polling units.
THE federal government says states that are yet to meet safety requirements will not get the newly arrived AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Faisal Shuaib, executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said this during a State House briefing on Thursday in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
According to Shuaib, strategic leaders in the country would take the vaccine first before distribution to states would take place.
“After we are able to get our strategic leaders to publicly demonstrate that these vaccines are safe, the plan is to now go to the state level to start the launch at the treatment centres of the states and also get strategic leaders such as governors to publicly take the vaccines.
“By the time all of these happen, we will have finished all of the necessary preparations, we will have created a dashboard that will track very carefully the status of the preparedness of the states,” Shuaib said.
“For example, we have communicated to the states that they have to wrap up their security around their cold stores because these are very valuable vaccines and we do not want a situation where vaccines are taken to the states and criminal elements take advantage to vandalise these cold stores,” the NPHCDA boss stated.
However, he noted that the government was aware that cold stores were vandalised during the #ENDSARS protest and some states were already working to fix it.
Muhammed Ohitoto, spokesperson for the NPHCDA, was contacted to provide the list of states that had met the requirements, but there was no response as of the time of filing this report.
Frontline health workers, Buhari, Osinbajo, others to receive vaccines
The NPHCDA boss also disclosed that frontline health workers of the National Hospital, Abuja, would launch the vaccination programme on Friday.
He added that the launch would be conducted by Boss Mustapha, chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and secretary to the government of the federation (SGF).
“The plan is to vaccinate the frontline health workers that work in the treatment centre of the National Hospital. Those will be the first people just like we have communicated that frontline health workers will be the first people to take the vaccines,” Shuaib noted.
Shuaib further stated that President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice president Yemi Osinbajo and other ‘strategic leaders’ would receive the vaccine on Saturday to increase public confidence in getting vaccinated.
“As you are well aware that even before the vaccines arrived in Nigeria, there is a lot of hesitancy. It is a global phenomenon. Vaccine hesitancy is similar no matter where you are, you have to provide the right information and to those people who have questions, we cannot dismiss their cynicism,” Shuaib said.
THE federal government has extended the work-from-home directive to civil servants from Grade Level 12 and below until the end of March.
Folasade Yemi-Esan, head of civil service of the federation (HOCSF), made the announcement in a statement issued by Abdulganiyu Aminu, director of press and public relations, office of the HOCSF, on Thursday.
“All public servants on GL12 and below have been directed to continue working from home till the end of March 2021.”
She stressed that the COVID-19 downward trend needed to be maintained, hence the need to extend the work-from-home directive.
She also emphasised the need for all public servants to continue to ensure strict compliance with the existing guidelines on the prevention and spread of the virus.
She enjoined all permanent secretaries and chief executive officers of parastatals to bring the content of the circular to all concerned and ensure strict compliance.
RILWAN Akiolu, Oba of Lagos, has claimed that hoodlums stole two million dollars and 17 million naira during an invasion of his palace on October 21, 2020.
Disclosing this during the commissioning of Glover Memorial Hall in Lagos on Wednesday, Akiolu said the state experienced the highest degree of damage compared with others during the #EndSARS protest.
The monarch said he had appealed to the federal government to support Lagos in its rebuilding efforts.
He decried the attack on his palace, saying that those who perpetrated the act were ignorant of their actions.
“I will support anything that will move Lagos forward. I have appealed to the federal government to assist Lagos with what we have suffered. We host many people here, not Lagosians alone. The incident that happened here from October 20th to 23rd is so saddening,” he said.
“The destruction we suffered in Lagos is so enormous than in any other part of the country. Many buildings were burnt, including vehicles used to generate income. I can now say publicly that they stole away from my palace 2 million dollars and 17 million naira.
“Those who committed the offence would not have done that if they know the implication. But as a father, I won’t place any curse on them.”
Akiolu had returned to his palace two months after the mob invasion.
Background
Following the violence that broke out in Lagos after armed military operatives opened fire on unarmed #EndSARS protesters at Lekki Toll Gate on October 2020, a mob had broken into the king’s palace and attempted to set it on fire.
It took the intervention of security operatives to rescue the monarch from the angry mob, but the palace was vandalised.
The monarch’s staff of office was declared missing after the invasion, but it was later found.
Reactions
The monarch’s claim has sparked a lot of reactions among Nigerian Twitter users, with several of them calling for his investigation and prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Many wondered how the traditional ruler, who was a police officer with a modest salary, made such money.
BREAKING: #EndSARS protesters stole $2m, N17m from my palace – Oba of Lagos, Akiolu.
Where did a king get $2m and N17m? How about the money-filled casket? EFCC your attention is needed.
Oba of Lagos ni tori olorun N760000000 + N170000000. How can a king that have his people at heart keep this kind of money in his possession in a time where hunger was order of the day (Corona hunger strike) pic.twitter.com/jxBTquLHCP
This oba of lagos needs to tell us, what 2million dollars and 17 million was doing in his house when the hoodlums attacked. Is his house a bank? Efcc will not see this one oooo. Police will not arrest him. What else does he do outside being an oba please?
— FINE WINE 🍷🍷 ✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️ (@switcandyyy) March 4, 2021
Oba of Lagos has a lot to answer! What about naked men/women released from his underground rooms… People meant for rituals in 21st century… Oba of Lagos is a ritualist… Missing persons everyday! Search Oba of Lagos palace…
Monarchical system has been bastardized and abused by slavery, we have to move on from this archaic crap. Monarchs are tools for the politicians to oppress the masses, same way they were tools for the colonialists. Oba of Lagos is a big disgrace. #EndSARS
On Thursday, April 9, 2020, ten days after Nigeria entered partial lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officers of the Nigeria police, army, correctional service and others had extra-judicially killed 13 while enforcing the curfew – the virus had only claimed six lives then. By May 4, when the government eased the lockdown, about 20 persons had been killed in similar circumstances. For three months, investigative journalist, Kemi Busari, followed the trails of these arbitrary killings which have left many families devastated, with no hope of justice.
WISDOM Felix has been dead – or said to be dead – for about 11 months now but his siblings would dare not break the news to his aged mother.
For one reason, Felicia, Cyprian and Doris believe such an announcement would worsen her health situation. Before Wisdom was arrested and taken to the Kaduna Correctional Centre in 2018, Mrs Ruth Felix was already suffering from high blood pressure and excess sugar among other ailments.
Her health status was aggravated by the news of her beloved son, Wisdom, being imprisoned and even made worse by the many futile attempts to get him out. She is now bedridden.
“The news will just kill her,” Wisdom’s elder brother, Cyprian, says, having agreed to an interview at a location other than their house also to prevent their mother from knowing.
On the other hand, circumstances surrounding his killings are so hideous its announcement would break heart of even a healthy person. At first, it was said that Wisdom was caught in the brawl between the correctional officers and rioting inmates. Then, the most corroborated account was that he was beaten by the warders for no just reason other than ‘’they had the power to do so’’.
Worst still, his corpse has not been released to the family for proper burial 11 months after. How then do you tell such an awful story of a child’s death to a mother struggling within the gravity of life and death?
The story of his journey to the correctional centre was enough headache for the 64-year-old. It all started in June 2018, then 25-year-old Wisdom was dating Godiya Elisha. Some acquaintances of these lovers said the relationship had lasted for just a few months before they started having misunderstanding, which climaxed on June 9.
On this very day, he was in the middle of an altercation with the girlfriend then he seized her phone. Irked by this move, Godiya screamed, calling the attention of officers of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) who immediately took him into custody and detained him.
Wisdom
Wisdom was not immediately charged to court, instead, the officers kept him for about a week then transferred him to the correctional centre awaiting arraignment.
Against Nigerian law which stipulates that persons accused must be charged to court within 24 hours where a court of competent jurisdiction is located within a radius of 40 kilometres from the police station, Wisdom was neither charged nor released until February 2019, eight months after. He was charged with armed robbery at the Kaduna High Court.
Contrary to accounts of witnesses, which attest to a domestic fight between Wisdom and the girlfriend, the charge sheet reads that Godiya was “violently attacked while (Wisdom was) armed with a knife, which led to the dislocation of her arm when he robbed her of her Gionee M6 Mobile Phone valued at Fifty Thousand Naira (50, 000).”
Several attempts made by this newspaper to speak with Godiya were rebuffed on the excuse that she is now married.
Futile efforts at bail
Having escalated this much, Wisdom’s family decided to hire a lawyer to secure his bail.
“At a point in time, he told me he was having issues,” Wisdom’s elder brother, Cyprian says of the lawyer’s effort. “I told him you were the one recommended to us by them who we can bank on in getting bail, he said yes he can do it but there are many other people involved.
“He said I have to make the girl available to go and see the Director of Prosecution at the Ministry of Justice. When I made the girl available, she came down, we went to the lawyer, the lawyer took us to the director. When we got there, he (director) asked for the file, he asked the girl some questions that how and what does she think, what does she want and the girl categorically told him that she let go, she has forgiven him (Wisdom). He assured us that he was going to be bailed but after seven months, he was not released.”
Cyprian said the lawyer told the family his brother was only eligible for bail after three months but by March 2019, nine months after, he was disengaged due to his inability to deliver.
The family contacted other lawyers but none could secure the needed bail. Two other lawyers, contracted by the family, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES, gave excuses of bureaucracy, judiciary’s holiday and inability to get a brief as the reason why getting Wisdom out of the prison was difficult.
The family kept visiting Wisdom and making efforts to get him out when the unexpected happened from late March to early April 2020.
‘How Wisdom, others were killed in Kaduna correctional centre’
A regular day for inmates at the correctional centre starts as early as 6 a.m. with denominational prayers. This is then followed a few hours after with domestic chores, most times fetching water. But March 31, 2020, deviated from the norm. Multiple sources recounted the events of the day to PREMIUM TIMES.
A fresh inmate, who was brought to the facility some few days back then started showing some COVID-19 symptoms around 10.30 a.m. on March 31. Coughing profusely, the condition of the inmate soon caught the attention of other inmates who suspected she had contracted the virus.
Soon, the inmates mobilised in numbers demanding the authority do something about the virus. Five days earlier, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola had called for a speedy decongestion of prisons nationwide to avert the spread of COVID-19.
Worried by this development, the Deputy Comptroller of the prison, Ahmed Usman, accompanied by some other officers came to address the agitated crowd but his pacification won’t quell their demand.
“When he came, he saw people shouting ba maso (we don’t want this). He asked them to calm down but they said ‘no’. That was when he called the officers at the gate to come in,” one of the sources narrated.
Normally, officers within the facility only move around with batons but the ones guarding the entrance, who were called upon to quell the agitation used rifles. They didn’t hesitate using the rifles on the protesters. Soon five bodies fell. First three, then another, then another.
A scene at the correctional centre on March 30 Source, folder
An earlier investigation by PREMIUM TIMES identified the five as Hammed Abdullahi, 25, awaiting trial for a murder case at the Kaduna State High Court 5; Lucky Ujokama, 24, awaiting trial for a rape case at Barnawa Magistrate Court 17; Ibrahim Abubakar, 37 awaiting trial for armed robbery. Yahu Salisu, appearing before Magistrate Court 21, died from gunshot wounds while Oluchukwu Oche, a condemned inmate died from injuries sustained from beating.
Prison authorities had then told PREMIUM TIMES 16 officers of the correctional service sustained injuries.
Irked by this confrontation, the officers became more brutal with their treatment of inmates and tightened security. In one of the brutalities confirmed by three of our sources, officers went on a show of force immediately after the incident. In doing this, the correctional officers, led by one officer, whose name this newspaper decided not to publish as his role could not be independently verified, used batons on the inmates several times.
“Wisdom didn’t do anything, he was inside the cell before they come and call all of them to come outside. He was a quiet inmate. When they opened their place, Wisdom was coming down, he was first attacked by (the officer with name withheld). Anyone who comes down the step must be given that heavy beating. They hit Wisdom in the chest, he fell, then started crying, they continue to hit him on the ground. That was how the guy died. He didn’t die instantly, he died at the hospital,” a source narrates.
It is not clear which date Wisdom died but the centre recorded it as April 5, 2020. It is also not clear how he died as the centre offered no convincing explanation.
In a notice sent to the Court 2 of the Kaduna High Court, the centre wrote that Wisdom died at the custodial centre hospital of ‘protracted illness’ but offered no explanation on the kind of illness.
However, on the death certificate sighted by this reporter, he was recorded to have died of ‘head injury’ due to ‘blunt trauma’. This was also recorded on the warrant for burial. Again, the centre did not explain how Wisdom sustained the head injury, the kind of care he received or how he eventually died.
When the news of the incident first broke out, authorities at the prison first claimed no inmate died in what it branded ‘attempted jailbreak.’
Wisdom’s barber’s shop
A few days later, however, the service released a statement admitting that four inmates died.
“Four inmates later died in the hospital from the injuries sustained in the melee that ensued while being restrained by the custodial officers from breaking jail. For the avoidance of doubt, all the deceased inmates were from the condemned section of the Custodial Centre where the jail-break occurred,” a statement by the controller of corrections, Kaduna State command, Sanusi Danmusa reads.
By condemned, the service meant only those that have been sentenced to death.
This again turned out to be a lie as at least three of the deceased were awaiting trial inmates. Hammed Abdullahi, Lucky Ujokama and Yahu Salisu and Ibrahim Abubakar were not condemned inmates as claimed by the service.
The statement noted further that an investigation had been opened on the issue. However, when contacted in February, the Public Relations Officer of the Kaduna NCS, Ahmadu Wadai, requested more time when asked about the investigation.
“We are still working on some documents. If you can give me some time, I can relate with you,” he said.
Illegality
Meanwhile, the conduct of the officers was against the dictates of the Nigeria Correctional Service Act which spelt out instances where officers may use firearms which include cases of the attempted jailbreak, attempted escape when inmates use weapons against correctional officers among others.
Despite this provision, the Act only provides for the use of firearms with a caution. “The use of weapons under this section shall as far as possible be to disable and not to kill,” it states in section 20 (6).
Since the incident, the NCS has provided no justifiable reason for the killings and neither has any officer been charged to court for the extra-judicial killings.
No plea, no corpse
When the killings happened, families of the victims were not informed of the demise of their relatives, instead, the correctional service put out a series of press statement mostly false and full of denials.
Cyprian said he only got to know about the death of his brother through the news some days after.
“Around 11.47 p.m. that was when the publication came out. A friend screenshot it and forwarded it to me on WhatsApp. They did not contact us.”
Cyprian
If the explanation of the service was anything to go by, Wisdom was still alive when Cyprian read the news on March 31.
Still, in disbelief, Cyprian did not inform Felicia and Doris, his siblings. The following day, two people called Cyprian, the first to announce Wisdom’s death, the second to inform him that he was seriously beaten and needed urgent medical attention.
Despite the lockdown in force in Kaduna then, Cyprian made his way to the correctional service. He was denied entry on the excuse of COVID-19 but told that his brother ‘’was being well taken care of’’ by officers at the gate.
“I kept going there until someone now advised that I should get a lawyer that the lawyer would gain access to the inside to know his condition,” he said of his many futile efforts to ascertain the condition of his brother.
The family was not contacted until April 27 when an official asked them to come for Wisdom’s corpse. The family met, without the matriarch’s knowledge, and decided to retrieve the corpse.
“When we went, they now gave us a format, they gave us a copy of the format to follow in pleading for the release of the corpse.”
Sample application for dead body
To retrieve Wisdom’s corpse, the family was asked to process and sign three documents: a formal letter to apply for the release of the body, a letter of indemnity in which the family must ‘beg’ for the release of the corpse ‘’and affirm that they held nothing against the service’’ and an affidavit in support of these documents.
Copies of the three samples were sighted by PREMIUM TIMES. The sample letter of indemnity, which the family considered most ridiculous reads, “On behalf of the family of the above-named inmate, we are pleading with the Nigerian Correctional Service to release his body to me for burial and that we don’t hold anything against the Nigerian Correctional Service about his death.
“We believe that he died a natural death.”
Sample letter of Indemnity NCS gave the family to write
This letter must be signed by a family member of the deceased, Cyprian said adding that the service was eager to have the letters delivered and processed.
“That period, they arranged the court for me to go to the court to swear indemnity oath attesting that I owe nothing against the correctional centre before the body would be released to us,” Cyprian recounts. “The moment they gave us that copy, they started calling, they were frequent with their calls. They kept calling that other people have started coming for their corpse that it remains only us.”
However, the family decided not to claim the corpse under the circumstances to which they were held by the correctional centre.
“It is disheartening that someone is asking you to attest to something contrary to your belief. That boy is my junior brother, how will I go, because I want to take his corpse, you’re asking me to write to the authority pleading for the release of his body and also stating in the letter that he died a natural death.”
Sample affidavit NCS gave the family
Meanwhile, other families had claimed their corpses, sources within the centre confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES.
A family member of one of the killed inmates told PREMIUM TIME’s corpse of their relative was released after signing all these documents and payment of N20, 000. The corpse, the relative said, was released three months after.
“Before the corpse was released, they had to swear affidavits that he was not murdered,” the relative added.
Eleven months after, the correctional centre still holds on to Wisdom’s corpse deposited at the General Hospital, Sabon Tasha. Although the family had made some efforts through some lawyers, none has been successful.
In one of these efforts, Falana and Falana in June 2020 wrote the correctional service to demand N200 million as damages for the extra-judicial killing of Felix. In response, the centre lied that Wisdom is ‘unknown’.
Now, all Wisdom’s sibling want is justice, a release of his corpse under fair circumstances and some compensation.
“They should pay for damages and release the corpse of our brother to us for burial. They should bring all officers involved to book and let them face the law as the case may be,” a distraught Cyprian says.
FUNDS earned legally can become illicit financial flows (IFFs) if they are illegally applied, according to Bolaji Owosonaye, chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences (ICPC).
Owosonaye said this during the review of ‘Report on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in Relation to Tax’ launched on Wednesday at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja.
“Money legally earned could become an illicit financial flow if it is illegally applied. For example, if you work legally, but decide to travel out of Nigeria, the rule is that you cannot take cash above a certain amount without declaring it to the Customs. So, if you choose to take above that limit, even though the money is legally earned and is your money, because you are trying to move it illegally, it becomes tainted.
“If you succeed in crossing Customs and you arrive at your destination on the other side, they would treat the money as illicit because you have moved it illegally,” said Owosonaye.
Muhammed Nami. chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), during his presentation, pledged that the agency would continue to partner with anti-corruption agencies and all stakeholders in curbing illicit financial flows in Nigeria.
Nami said IFFs, through tax fraud to offshore accounts, had caused significant damage to the Nigerian economy.
He said the FIRS had identified that tax fraud and IFFs took the shapes of payment of expatriates’ staff emolument and remuneration as well as failure to declare for personal income tax purposes. He noted that laundering of funds sourced illegally through real estate transactions was one of them.
Another form of IFF done through tax would be the transfer of money out of Nigeria through unapproved channels such as virtual currencies as well as mispricing of goods and services transfer between interrelated Nigerian companies, he added.
Matthew Gbonjubola, head of International Tax Department at FIRS, while delivering the report, said weak democratic structures, opacity of financial system, cash economy, weak regulatory framework, unstructured tax incentives, skewed tax treaties, crypto assets and professional enablers were factors fueling IFFs in commercial transactions.
Abiola Sanni, a professor of taxation & fiscal matters at University of Lagos, recommended partnerships with reputable tertiary institutions on capacity building with regard to public sector contracts- from the award to enforcement stage- by exposing gatekeepers to issues on IFFs while developing appropriate incentives.
He noted that the reports could be enriched with statistical data to drive home some of the salient issues raised.
Sanni also suggested prosecution of erring officers involved in failed contracts, where there was proven evidence of complicity, to serve as deterrent to others, adding that the full weight of the law should be brought against violators of extant laws and regulation as the federal government was doing in the case of P&ID’s case.
Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, executive director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), said there should be an emphasis on the need for international collaboration because IFFs often happened with the consent of some foreign parties.
He added that there should be increased synergy among government institutions, stakeholders, civil society organisations and the media in order to properly tackle IFFs in Nigeria.
SEYI Makinde, Oyo State governor, says his administration will not provide free land for ranching in the state.
Makinde stated this in a tweet on Wednesday to clarify an earlier tweet made on Tuesday shortly after meeting with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, his Kwara State counterpart. He maintained that ranching was a private business and it should be seen as such.
The governor, after meeting with AbdulRazaq on Tuesday, had said that Oyo State would adopt the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) which was already being implemented in Kwara State.
“We also agreed that the National Livestock Transformation Plan which is already being implemented in Kwara State would be implemented in Oyo State leading to further collaborations between both states on economy and security,” he had said.
The tweet generated a lot of reactions, with many users questioning whether the plan was not an implementation of Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) settlements which many Nigerians had, in the past, kicked against.
Did Makinde consult with the relevant stakeholders before he agreed to implement the National Livestock Transformation Plan?
I will advise him to rescind the decision immediately in the interest of peace in Oyo state.
— FOLARIN OPEYEMI JOSEPH (@DistinctFOJ) March 3, 2021
Reacting, the governor stressed that the state would not implement the whole of the National Livestock Transformation Plan, but only the aspects it found beneficial.
“My attention has been drawn to this tweet regarding the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan during the joint security meeting, yesterday. For the avoidance of doubt, when I said we would implement the plan, I didn’t mean a wholesale implementation.
“We will be taking aspects which are beneficial for our state. As I have stated on several occasions, our position in Oyo State is that ranching is a private business and should be carried out as such. Our admin won’t be providing land for free to private investors for ranching.”
The National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) is an initiative of the National Economic Council headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo with all the state governors as members. It is a comprehensive policy plan designed to accelerate the pace and scope of change in Nigeria’s agricultural system.
The NLTP aims to build an ecosystem for livestock production, peaceful coexistence, economic development and food security.
Each state is responsible for a suitable delivery mechanism for the NLTP. Basically, each state decides on what works for it.
The plan has six pillars through which it aims to transform the livestock production system in Nigeria along a market-oriented value chain, while ensuring an atmosphere of peace and justice.
It contains six key pillars which include economic investment, conflict resolution, justice and peace, humanitarian relief and early recovery, human capital development and cross-cutting issues such as gender, youth, research and information and strategic communication.
A report by the Committee on Army of the House of Representatives has confirmed that 386 soldiers resigned from the Nigerian Army in the second quarter of 2020.
During the adoption of the report on Tuesday, Abdulrazak Namdas, who chaired the committee, said that the resignations were not related to the ongoing war against insurgency in the North-East but the lack of interest and medical reasons.
It noted that another reason some officers resigned was to take up traditional titles.
“The total number of soldiers who voluntarily discharged from the service in the second quarter of 2020 is 386, which is well over the 365 figure previously assumed. Out of this number, 356 soldiers voluntarily resigned from the Nigerian Army for loss of interest; 24 resigned in order to take up traditional titles, while six were discharged on medical grounds.
“Some soldiers may not be committed to the service, hence they sometimes evade duties and/or responsibilities they consider too tough, which ultimately leads to voluntary discharge,” the report said.
“Some soldiers, who voluntarily resigned, served in the front lines or were actively engaged in any combat operations; some of them performed other duties at various Army formations across the country.
“Based on the facts available to the committee, there was no mass resignation from the Army; individual soldiers resigned on their own from their units.”
A total of 356 soldiers of the Nigerian Army were reported to have resigned from the service in July 2020, a development that sparked controversy from various quarters.
The soldiers were said to have tendered their resignations at the time because they had lost interest in the job due to poor welfare and claims that the army were not well equipped to battle insurgents.
This caught the attention of the lawmakers who deliberated on the matter and mandated the House Committee on Army to carry out a thorough investigation into that on July 14, 2020.
According to the House of Representatives Committee report on Tuesday, the welfare of soldiers across Army formations “has been a recurrent challenge over the years,” stating that though there was an improvement in their welfare packages, “soldiers still stressed on an urgent need for the Army to do more.”
It noted that the Nigerian Army should improve on the welfare of their personnel, especially those on battlefields or other combat operations to further make the soldiers more committed to their jobs and to the nation at large.
“That there should be effective monitoring or follow-up in the delivery of the welfare packages in all the army formations to ensure that they reach out to all the beneficiaries (the soldiers) in a fair and equitable manner.
“That the army should continuously embark on an orientation of soldiers – both old and new – about the reality of their jobs and the need to be committed to their country. This will reduce the number of soldiers leaving the army due to loss of interest.”
According to the report, the number of disengagements was far lower than the enlistment in the army in the last five years.
It stated that about 6,752 personnel were disengaged and 25,655 were enlisted, adding that not all the soldiers who voluntarily resigned were actively involved in combat operations.
THE federal government has approved the establishment of centres for the replacement of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards across all local governments in the country.
The approval was contained in a statement jointly signed by Ikechukwu Adinde, director of public affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and Kayode Adegoke head of corporate communications, Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC), concerning the resolution of the Ministerial Taskforce on NIN-SIM registration on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the resolution was made during the task force’s meeting held on Friday, February 26, 2021, chaired by Isa Pantami, minster of communication and digital economy.
The task force also gave approval for the extension of the tenure of NIN Enrolment Agent Licenses for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) from one to five years in consideration of their satisfactory performance.
It was resolved that the technical committee complete the development of a new SIM issuance strategy that could not be compromised.
The statement further read that a multi-sectoral ad hoc committee be tasked to complete the review of the processes for new SIM activations for legal residents staying in Nigeria for fewer than 24 months.
Pantami charged the NCC, working with the NIMC and MNOs, to come up with a framework for the establishment of SIM Swap/Replacement Centres in each of the 774 LGAs in the country, beginning with critical and feasible locations.
The committee members were to be drawn from NCC, NIMC, Nigeria Immigration Service and the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).
It was further resolved that service centres in important and critical locations in LGAs upgrade the centres to a level where they could qualify as SIM Swap Centres in order to reduce the challenges associated with the SIM Swap/Replacement process for the citizens.
The ICIR had reported the travails of some Nigerians caught between the ban on SIM swap and activation of a new SIM card in Nigeria. A ban was placed on SIM replacement and activation in Nigeria as part of a measure to curb insurgency in the country.
THE Ekiti State police command has appealed to residents of the state following the kidnapped of an expatriate by some suspected gunmen along Igbemo Ekiti in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Sunday Abutu, told The ICIR in a statement that the police in collaboration with other security agencies are trailing the kidnappers to rescue the victim.
“Ekiti State Police Command regrets to inform the good people of Ekiti State that a kidnapping incident occurred today being 02/03/2021 at about 9:30 am along Igbimo-Ekiti Road where an expatriate was kidnapped. Our Operatives are already trailing the kidnappers and shall ensure they are arrested,” the statement said.
“The Ekiti State Commissioner of Police enjoins everyone to be calm and avoid any form of apprehension as the Command will do everything possible to rescue the victim and arrest the culprits.
“A team of detectives, RRS and Safer highway team in collaboration with the Amotekun Corp, the vigilantes and the local hunters have since been deployed to ensure the rescue of the victim.”
The statement also implores any person with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects and other criminals in the society to inform the nearest police station or call or text 0806 233 5577 / 09064050086.
The latest abduction comes three months after a similar incident in Ekiti State.
In November last year, an expatriate working a road construction was abducted and released after two weeks.
Police ban unauthorised use of covered number plates
Meanwhile, the state police command has announced the ban of unauthorised use of covered number plates because of its threat to security in the state.
It has also banned the blaring of a siren and the use of revolving lights by unapproved persons.
“Undoubtedly, this in recent time, has pulled a great threat to the security of the State as some criminal elements hide under these guises to carry out their criminal intentions.
“To this end, the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, CP Tunde Mobayo in compliance with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Adamu Mohammed, has warned against the unauthorized/illegal use of siren, revolving light, covered plate numbers and the use of unregistered spy plate numbers,” he said.
