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APC won’t have any candidate in Rivers, INEC insists

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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APC won’t have any candidate in Rivers, INEC insists

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted that the All Progressives Congress will not be allowed to field any candidate in Rivers State during the forthcoming general elections.

INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of voter education and publicity, Festus Okoye, said this while addressing newsmen at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, stressing that INEC’s earlier decision on the APC in Rivers State has not been reviewed.

“We have taken a decision relating to the issue of Rivers and if anything changes before we take our final decision, the Commission will meet; but we have not taken any other decision and we have not repealed our position on the issue of Rivers,” Okoye said.

This is regardless of the stay of execution order issued by the Court of Appeal in a case filed by the Rivers State APC chapter following the decision by INEC to exclude the party from the polls.

An internal rancour had split the Rivers APC into two factions, one loyal to the Minister of Transportation and former Governor of the State, Rotimi Amaechi, and the other to Magnus Abe, a serving senator.

Both factions claim to have conducted primaries and have their respective governorship candidates, but a court judgement annulled both primaries because they were conducted in spite of a subsisting court order.

In annulling the primary elections, Justice Kolawole Omotosho pointed out that neither the Amaechi’s faction nor the Abe’s faction had the legal authority to nominate a candidate for the governorship candidacy.

Omotosho specifically ruled that the APC cannot participate in the governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly elections during the 2019 polls in Rivers State.

But the Abe faction took the matter to the Appeal Court, which granted a stay of execution of the judgement of the lower court.

Lai Mohammed denies comments on Osinbajo’s copter crash

Crosscheck Nigeria
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Lai Mohammed denies comments on Osinbajo’s copter crash

A quote attributed to the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed that says “We Saw A PDP Membership Card And Atiku Abubakar’s Bank Cheque In The Pocket Of The Pilot That Crashed Our Osinbajo’s Helicopter” is being circulated online. There are also other similar claims that the PDP used Osinbajo’s helicopter for 16 years without servicing it.

CrossCheck Nigeria, a collaboration of newsrooms in Nigeria which includes The ICIR, confirms that this claim is not only misleading but also dubious. Lai Mohammed has not issued an official statement that is related to the Vice President’s helicopter crash of last Saturday.

Shared by one Facebook page, Nigeria News and a Twitter handle @SweetShantel. The two posts on Nigeria News both garnered a total of 314 comments and 343 shares as at 01:39 pm, February 6. The post on @SweetShantel also has the traction of 1,251 retweets and 1,350 likes same time with the post above.

To check this, CCN spoke with the minister’s spokesman, Segun Adeyemi. He denied it and said it is the figment of somebody’s imagination.

“I can tell you categorically that the minister never said anything like that. It must be the figment of somebody’s imagination,” Segun said.

A search for similar publication of this statement on the platform of credible national dailies could not be found.

The helicopter that conveyed Osinbajo and member of his team, crash landed in Kabba, Kogi state on Saturday, February 2, a tweet by Laolu Akande, his special adviser on media and publicity revealed that.

A Vanguard publication reported that Lai Mohammed was in Ilorin, his state capital on Saturday, to commission the state APC secretariat. The highlight of what he said that day according to the report was that Lai Mohammed boasted that the APC candidate would defeat the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and wouldn’t be able to supervise the governorship election in the state.

The question about “We” in the claim; who could he be referring to? Laolu Akande on Sunday, after a thanksgiving service with Osinbajo, said a full investigation into the causes of the incident would be conducted by aviation authorities.

The investigation report has not been made public and as such, the “we” in the statement cannot be trusted.

Investigated CrossCheck Nigeria

The USA Centre for Security Studies DID NOT declare Nigeria an SOS state

Crosscheck Nigeria
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The USA Centre for Security Studies DID NOT declare Nigeria an SOS state

On January 29, Facebook user Olutoyoso Omotoso posted a video and captioned it as originating from the USA Centre for Security Studies. This is false.

While the video is genuine, the author had angled the caption in a way that presented the video as a US government scorecard of Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking re-election and finished it off with a CTA. She wrote:

“The USA Centre For Security Studies declares that Nigeria under Buhari is in an SOS ???? situation, and recommends immediate intervention before it explodes. Watch and share video pls. Kick out Buhari/Osinbajo.”

As at Wednesday, February 6, 2:13 pm WAT, the video had been viewed 1,300 times and shared by 166 Facebook accounts.

These are our findings:

  1. That there is no USA Centre for Security Studies

  2. That the video first appeared on ‘SecureFreedom’ Youtube page on December 20, 2018, and captioned “Frank Gaffney urges Trump administration to appoint a U.S. Special Envoy to Nigeria/Lake Chad”

  3. That the video was recorded a day earlier at a press conference held in Washington by ‘Save The Persecuted Christians’, coalition to pressure the US Government to intervene in the plight of Christians in Northern Nigeria/Lake Chad by appointing an envoy.

  4. That Frank Gaffney, the man who appears in the video, is the Founder and President of Centre for Security Policy, a US-based not-for-profit. He is also Founder of Save The Persecuted Christians and does not speak for the US government.

CCN then reached out to the Facebook account seeking to clarify the author’s intention in using that caption, her response was: “It was sent to me like that. Pls what’s the right caption so I can edit? Thanks.” We have now provided the author with a link to the original video in hope that the misinformation is corrected.

Investigated CrossCheck Nigeria

Court orders arrest of former NIA DG Ayo Oke, wife

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Court orders arrest of former NIA DG Ayo Oke, wife

JUSTICE Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Ayodele Oke and his wife Folashade

This follows an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who informed the court that the Commission has had difficulty bringing Oke and his wife to court to answer to allegations of money laundering and fraud against them.

The EFCC had filed a four-count charge against the duo of the former NIA DG and his wife in relation to the huge sums of money discovered by the Commission in a residential apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos, allegedly belonging to him.

Oke claimed that the money, totaling $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000, belongs to the NIA and was approved for the agency for some “major but covert security projects” by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

However, the EFCC alleged that Oke had converted the money to personal use, and had used $160.8 million to purchase the apartment where the monies were kept.

He was supposed to have been arraigned in court on February 1, 2018, but the matter was adjourned to February 6. When the case came up on Wednesday, the EFCC could not produce the accused persons in court.

Counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, told the court that the defendants were nowhere to be found and have refused to pick calls from the operatives of the anti-graft agency.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Oke and his wife have travelled out of the country to Europe, purportedly for medical reasons.

Recall the in November 2017, when the EFCC tried to take Oke into custody, personnel of the NIA and the DSS took over his residence and prevented the EFCC operatives from gaining access into the premises.

Ten days to elections, PSC redeploys 36 police commissioners across the country

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Ten days to elections, PSC redeploys 36 police commissioners across the country

WITH less than ten days to the 2019 general elections in Nigeria, the Police Service Commissions (PSC) has on Wednesday approved the deployment of new commissioners of police across all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Chairman of the Commission, Musiliu Smith, charged the CPs to settle down quickly at their new commands and to ensure a peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections.

The list of the police commissioners and their new commands include:

Buba Sanusi, Katsina State; Mohammed Wakili, Kano State; Rabiu Ladodo, Jigawa; Ahmed Iliyasu, Ogun; Mu’azu Zubairu, Lagos State; Ibrahim Sabo, Niger; Alkassam Sanusi, Taraba; Garba Mukaddas, Adamawa and Omololu Bishi, Benue. Olushola David, Bayelsa; Adeleke Yinka, Delta; Austin Agbonlahor, Cross River; Bashir Makama, Akwa Ibom; Awosola Awotunde, Ebonyi; Belel Usman, Rivers; Bello Makwashi, Gombe State and Abdulrahman Ahmed, Kaduna State.

Others include: Bala Ciroma, Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Egbetokun Kayode, Kwara; Hakeem Busari, Kogi; Asuquo Amba, Ekiti; Galadanchi Dasuki, Imo; Suleiman Balarabe, Enugu State;, Dandaura Mustapha, Anambra; Etim Ene Okon, Abia and Ibrahim Kaoje, Sokoto state.

Also, Celestine Okoye was posted to Zamfara; Garba Danjuma, Kebbi;, Abiodun Ige, Osun;, Undie Adie, Ondo State; Olukolu Shina, Oyo State; Ali Janga, Bauchi State; Damian Chukwu, Borno; Sumonu Abdulmalik, Yobe; Bola Longe, Nassarawa State; Isaac Akinmoyede, Plateau and Odumosu Hakeem, Edo.

Egbetokun, who is the new Commissioner of Police in Kwara State had served as former Chief Security Officer of the former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu. He was on January 14 posted to Lagos State to take over from Edgal Imohimi as the CP, but the deployment was cancelled by the new Inspector-General of Police, Abubakar Adamu.

In fact, the press conference was ongoing at the headquarters of the Lagos State Police Command where Imohimi was supposed to hand over to Egbetokun, but a directive came from the Police National Headquarters in Abuja, directing that the handover and takeover ceremony be called off.

Spokesman of the PSC said the redeployment has been conveyed to the acting IGP for implementation.

El-Rufai insists he’s defending Nigeria’s sovereignty by opposing foreign interference

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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El-Rufai insists he’s defending Nigeria’s sovereignty by opposing foreign interference

KADUNA State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has explained that his comments during a television programme on Tuesday, with regards to foreign intervention in Nigeria’s internal affairs, was not a call for violence, but rather a defence of Nigeria’s sovereignty.

During the programme on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), El-Rufai had said that anyone who comes to interfere in Nigeria’s elections “would go back in body bags”, a statement which attracted criticisms from many Nigerians.

However, his media aide,  Samuel Aruwan, said that opposition political parties were reading all sorts of meanings into the governor’s straightforward remarks which  “any fair-minded person with modest familiarity with the English language and unimpaired comprehension can understand”.

“When Malam Nasir El-Rufai appeared on NTA’s Tuesday Night Live, he made comments every patriot can understand. He stood up for Nigeria’s dignity in the wake of those who would traduce their country and reduce it to the status of a colony in their vain quest for power,” Aruwan stated.

He said the governor’s comment “does not contain any call for violence”, but was rather “a powerful defence of sovereignty”.

“Are some sections of our political class implying that they will acquiesce in or collaborate with foreign intervention in our country?” Aruwan asked.

“Affirming that a country will defend itself against needless intervention is the kind of statement you expect to hear from a patriot. It is not a call for violence. Warning about the consequences of meddling in another country’s affairs is legitimate.

“Non-interference in the affairs of other countries is a basic principle of international law. Threatening to intervene in another country implies the use of force. Those who are basing their electoral calculations on foreign intervention need to be discouraged. Only the lawful votes of the Nigerian people should make or unmake governments.

“Malam Nasir El-Rufai has stood firmly against those who have been trying to divide Nigerians on ethnic and religious lines. He is resolutely opposed to violence, and firmly committed to peace and harmony. Let the false outrage stop.”

UN calls Nigeria, other nations to end female circumcision by 2030

Rebecca Akinremi
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UN calls Nigeria, other nations to end female circumcision by 2030

AS today marks the International Day of Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, the United Nations (UN) has called for more actions from member countries to end female circumcision by 2030.

Every year, February 6 is a day to support the eradication of female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, around the world.

The call was contained in a statement published on the UN website to mark the 2019 event on Wednesday.

“On this Day of Zero Tolerance, I call for increased, concerted and global action to end female genital mutilation and fully uphold the human rights of all women and girls,”  said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterrres.

Part of the statement read that FGM violates women’s rights to sexual and reproductive health, physical integrity and leads to long term physical, psychological and social consequences.

The UN said world leaders, which include Nigeria’s, have backed the elimination of female genital mutilations as one of the targets in 2030  Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“At the national level, we need new policies and legislation protecting the rights of girls and women to live free from violence and discrimination,” UN statement reads. It urged the religious leaders to strike down myths that female circumcision has a basis in religion.

FGM is the cutting or removal of part or all the female genitalia for non-medical reasons. Globally, it is estimated that at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM.

Girls who undergo female genital mutilation face short-term complications like severe pain, shock, excessive bleeding, infections, and difficulty in passing urine, as well as long-term consequences for their sexual and reproductive health and mental health.

In Nigeria, the 2016/2017 Multiple Indicator Survey showed some decline in the incidence of female circumcision, according to UNICEF representative in the country, Mohamed Fall, on Wednesday.

He said that 18.4 percent of women aged 15 to 49 years undergo FGM as against 27 percent in 2011 while over 309 communities have publicly declared their abandonment of female genital mutilation in 2018.

Despite the decline, Fall said millions of girls and women still face the scourge of genital mutilation every year in the country.

Nigeria’s law  banning FGM was signed in 2015 states that “any person who performs female circumcision or engages another to carry out such circumcision or mutilation commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 4 years or to a fine not exceeding N200,000 or both.”

Anyone who intervenes in Nigeria’s election will leave in a body bag… El-Rufai

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Anyone who intervenes in Nigeria’s election will leave in a body bag… El-Rufai

THE Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has threatened any external body that interferes with the forthcoming general election in Nigeria with death, saying such a person will leave the country in a body bag.

El-Rufai made the remarks during a live television programme aired by the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) in reaction to the allegations by the federal government that the international community was trying to interfere in Nigeria’s internal affairs.

Recall that the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, had criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for his suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen.

They pointed out that Buhari’s action, coming so close to the election, and which has been established to have gone contrary to the Nigerian constitution, could reduce the integrity of the election, as well as spark discord and violence in the country.

But the Buhari administration warned that foreign bodies should stay clear of its internal affairs, warning that “it will fiercely and assiduously promote the will and the right of Nigerians to choose and elect their leaders without pressure or assistance from persons or entities that are not constitutionally empowered to participate in the process”.

Speaking on the issue on Tuesday, El-Rufai remarked: “Those that are calling for anyone to come and intervene in Nigeria, we are waiting for the person that would come and intervene, they would go back in body bags.”

El-Rufai insisted that the present administration is trying “to run our country as decently as possible”, noting that these developed countries also had periods of difficulty in their history.

The Buhari administration has on several occasions launched campaigns aimed at curbing hate speech and utterances that are capable of throwing the country into violence, but government officials and members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) themselves have continued to make such inflaming comments.

During the period of state primary elections, towards the end of 2018, Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State threatened to unleash violence on the party delegation that was to be sent to monitor the primary election in the state.

Yari warned Adams Oshiomhole, the APC National Chairman, not to send anybody to Zamfara State, else, he (Oshiomhole) should be held responsible for whatever happens to them.

“I am warning members of that committee that they should never come to Zamfara, they should never put their legs in this state, and anything that happens to them, Adams Oshiomhole should be held responsible,” Yari said.

“We are ready, including myself, to be taken to the graveyard tomorrow. If he knows he is the true son of his father and mother, he should send those people and see; and it is fight to finish.”

Yari is the current Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.

True to his threats, the APC could not hold any primary election in Zamfara State, an action which resulted in the party’s disqualification from the forthcoming elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

‘Ethiopia has set an example for what all African nations should to do curb tobacco use,’ says expert

Chikezie OMEJE
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‘Ethiopia has set an example for what all African nations should to do curb tobacco use,’ says expert

BINTOU Camara, Director of Africa Programs, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, has praised Ethiopia for passing a new regulation for tobacco, describing it as “historic public health legislation that will become one of Africa’s strongest laws on reducing tobacco use”.

The Ethiopian parliament on Tuesday passed unanimously the Food and Medicine Administration Proclamation which is expected to save lives and protect over 105 million people in Africa’s second most populous nation.

According to Camera, the new law requires 100 percent smoke-free public and work places, bans tobacco advertising and promotions, restricts the sale of flavored tobacco products and mandates pictorial warning labels covering 70 percent of the front and back of all tobacco products.

“The law also bans the sale of heated tobacco products, e-cigarettes and shisha, and prohibits tobacco sales to anyone under the age of 21,” Camera said in a statement.

“The impact of Ethiopia’s new law cannot be overstated. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids congratulates the Ethiopian government for this important public health victory.

“As tobacco companies continue to set their sights on Africa, Ethiopia has set an example for what all African nations can and should to do curb tobacco use, the world’s leading cause of preventable death.”

Camera said in Africa and around the world, tobacco companies fight hardest against the measures they know work to reduce tobacco use.

She urged the Ethiopian government to implement the law as swiftly as possible and remain vigilant against attempts by tobacco companies to undermine this tremendous progress.

Tobacco use is a global problem and it causes more than seven million deaths every year, according to the World Health Organisation.  And close to 900 000 are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke.  Over the years, accumulated scientific evidence shows that tobacco smoking is a leading cause of heart disease.

In December 2016, WHO estimated that about 5.6 per cent of adults and 15.4 per cent of youths currently use tobacco in Nigeria.  Also the same year, Tobacco Atlas estimated that about 16,100 Nigerians die each year from tobacco-related diseases.

Nigeria signed its tobacco control act into law in 2015 but after more than three years, experts say the law has not been implemented to a level that will curb tobacco use.

Civil society organisations had accused tobacco companies of frustrating the implementation of the law by bribing government officials to advocate on their behalf, interfering in policy making through trade committees and third parties, and aggressively lobbying and bribing policymakers.

In 2017, at the celebration of last year’s World No Tobacco Day, Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health, announced nine new regulations for tobacco use in the country, including banning smoking in public space. But experts say there is no evidence of implementation of the policy.

 

Beware of fake EFCC social media handles, Commission warns

Kingsley OBIEJESI
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Beware of fake EFCC social media handles, Commission warns

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has warned the general public to be wary of fake social media handles and addresses that are currently spreading fake messages and misrepresentations about the activities of the Commission.

Tony Orilade, the acting spokesman of the EFCC made this known via a statement on Wednesday describing the handlers of such fake social media accounts as “unscrupulous” and “anti-social elements” whose sole aim is to pollute and defeat the efforts of the Commission.

Orilade noted that the EFCC uses its social media handles “as a strong tool in the exposure of financial crimes and corruption”.

“It is imperative for the public to know and be able to identify the Commission’s authentic social media platforms and strictly interface with the Commission via those platforms,” Orilade stated.

“The general public is hereby notified that the following are the authentic social media handles and addresses of the Commission: Facebook: @officialefcc; Instagram: @officialefcc and Twitter: @officialefcc.

EFCC’s authentic Instagram handle.

“We further advise that those who wish to interface with us through the social media platforms should note that the Commission’s authentic social media handles and addresses now bear the blue tick as shown in the pictures attached.

“The blue tick indicating verification by Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, make the handles safe, secure and affirms that it belongs to the rightful owner of the page. The Commission also wishes to state that all its social media handles and addresses have exactly the same Eagle logo.

EFCC’s authentic Twitter handle.

“We state that our authentic social media platforms are interactive, easy-to-use and can be trusted. Members of the public should feel free to make enquiries through our verified social media handles and addresses as well as report cases that fall within our purview through them.

“Furthermore, the Commission can be reached via our hotline: 2348093322644 and our email address: info@efccnigeria.org.

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