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National assembly the only institution of our democracy, says deputy senate leader

Bala Na’Allah, Deputy Senate Majority Leader, says the National Assembly is “the only institution” of Nigeria’s democracy.

He also said the framers of Nigeria’s constitution decided for a bicameral system of legislature in order to ensure that the country’s democracy is not abused.

He said this in response to critics who feel the Senate should be scrapped on the argument that maintaining a two-chamber legislature only depletes the nation’s resources.

Na’Allah explained that if there was no Senate, then democracy in Nigeria would be one-sided as the House of Representatives has more northerners due to its population and land mass.

The Senate, on the other hand, is made up of three members from each state, thereby ensuring that there is equality.

“If the senate does not exist, technically, more than 67% of the members of the National Assembly are from the Northern part of Nigeria,” he said.

“Democratically, if everything is going to be put to vote, it means the north would always have its share of whatever it wants in this country. This is not the intention of the framers of our constitution.

On the need for a two-chamber legislature, Na’Allah said: “Bicameral means that no one house can override the other, but that the two houses must agree on one thing.

“The Senate is not bigger than the house of representatives in terms of power. But you see, people who have no idea about how we came about our constitution, what the desire of the framers of our constitution were, will keep on telling you all these things. But what do you do when somebody decides to be exposing his ignorance?”

Na’Allah said by the time the 8th senate completes it tenure, it would have “succeeded in strengthening the only institution of our democracy, which is the National Assembly.

He also spoke on the powers of the Senate to summon government agencies as well as make budgetary inputs.

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How gang member shot Evans in 2006 — but he didn’t die

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Chukwudi Dumeme Onuamadike, arrested kidnapper better known as Evans, would have died in 2006 when he was shot by a member of his gang after a disagreement, but he survived.

According to NAN, Evans was arrested after the incident, which resulted in the death of seven members of his gang.

Quoting “a very reliable police”, the agency said Evans and his robbery gang had attacked a commercial bank in Lagos and went somewhere around the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, to share the loot.

While sharing the loot, the robbers had a disagreement and shot one another. Seven members of the gang died instantly.

“The then Divisional Police Officer of Iponri Police Station, Yahaya Bello, now a Deputy Commissioner of Police, said there was a serious incident involving some persons who shot at one another. He said about three of them had been arrested,” the source was quoted as saying.

“One of the members of the gang arrested then was Chukwudi Onuamadike, popularly known as Evans. If you look at his chest, I cannot remember whether it is the right or left side, there is a scar. It was as a result of the gunshot from his gang members that day.

“He bled and there was no way he could run away before the police came. The case was transferred to the Lagos State Anti-Robbery Squad. We investigated and discovered that they were robbers.

“Evans led the team. We also went to Mbidi Police Station, Imo State, to carry out an investigation on them. We were able to arrest two other members of the gang. We then had five of them in police custody.

“There was a policewoman at the Band Section of the Police College, Lagos. She was known as Tina, a Superintendent of Police. She insisted that we should drop the case and that Onuamadike (Evans) was her brother.

“But when she was unable to achieve her aim, she travelled to Imo State. Not long after, we got a message from the Imo State Police Command that they had been searching for Evans and asked us to transfer the case to them so they could continue from where we stopped. Since that time, we did not hear anything. We heard he was later released there.”

The source noted that after he saw Evans’ pictures, he knew that he was the man they arrested alongside members of his gang in 2006.

“At that time, Chukwudi was not bearing the alias, Evans. We identified him only as Chukwudi. Some of the persons we worked together on the case also called me to draw my attention to the fact that he was the one arrested,” he continued.

“He couldn’t have been the only person released. The request was that we should transfer the case to them. We sent him and two members of his gang to the command. There is a hotel in Okota area where they used to meet to share their loot.

“The owner of the hotel was their friend. There was a time they robbed three banks in Alaba International Market in 2005. They also looted shops there. One of the owners of the shop complained to the police and we carried out an investigation.

“We discovered that some of the items stolen in the man’s shop were digital cameras. We traced the cameras to the hotel and into the office of the hotel owner. It was then that ‘big men’ started calling from everywhere that we should drop the charges against them.

“The owner of the hotel was later killed by the robbers, following a disagreement. His body was dumped by the roadside in one of the states in the East sometime ago.”

The source expressed fear that if Evans was not properly investigated and prosecuted, he could form a terrorist group since he collects huge ransoms from his victims before freeing them.

“The best way to handle his case is for the police to do their work,” he said.

“They should do a proper investigation. If it will take four months to investigate him, they should do so. He has links in South Africa, Ghana, etc.

“ I know him. Bank robbery and hijacking of bullion vans was easy for him and his gang members. He did not hesitate to shoot any member of his gang suspected of foul play.”

NAN said it gathered from the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team that Evans confirmed all the incidents alleged by the police source.

VERDICT: Was Buhari wrong to send Eid-el-Fitr message in Hausa?

 

There’s ruckus on social media: President Muhammadu Buhari should never have delivered his Eid-el-Fitr message in Hausa. No. Yes. No. Yes.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

It all started when the state-run News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) announced that an audio message from the President was “aired by some radio stations, including BBC”.

As translated by ICIR’s Asmau Adamz, Buhari wished his “fellow Muslim brothers/sisters a happy Sallah”. He prayed for the almighty Allah to “accept our prayers” and “give us the ability to work with the lessons we learnt during the month”.

He thanked those who “remembered me in their prayers to get better in this holy month” and urged “Nigerians to desist from spreading news that will cause chaos; peace in Nigeria is all we seek from God”. He prayed for “rain of blessings” and “peace” upon the country.

THE OUTRAGE

The President’s message was retrievable from BBC Hausa, but many could not understand it. There are more than 500 ethnic groups in the country; why did the President choose the language of one to address all?

THE ARGUMENT FOR

The President has done absolutely nothing wrong. He spoke exclusively to BBC Hausa. You don’t expect him to speak English to the Hausa service of a radio station.

THE FACTS: It’s true that the audio was aired by BBC Hausa, but was it an exclusive interview? No. NAN already confessed that “other radio stations” aired it. Therefore, it was not a BBC exclusive. Also, it was NOT an interview. It wasn’t a question-and-answer affair. Buhari wasn’t answering any questions. His speech was premeditated; it was his making.

RULING: Since this was not an interview, Buhari chose both the language and the medium through which he wanted to talk to his people. Was he wrong to have acted in this manner? YES!

THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST

Why would the President speak in Hausa when millions of Nigerians don’t understand the language? Was Buhari addressing northerners alone?

THE FACTS: Although the Hausa make up one of the country’s three largest groups, there are more than 500 others. For all these people who wanted to hear their President talk after two months away, they couldn’t understand him. Yes, they could listen to him on BBC Hausa, but they didn’t understand anything of what he said.

RULING: The President ostracised millions of his people from his message. Was he wrong, on this count? YES. Any justification for this? None.

FINALLY… THE PRESIDENT WAS UNFAIR TO HIMSELF

Buhari was trying to say something to some people. Who are they? “My fellow Muslim brothers/sisters”, “Nigerians — those were the people he listed. In addition, NAN’s translated version even mentioned “our Christian brothers”.

THE FACTS: In the end, millions of these same people couldn’t directly understand the President’s message, even if it was his intention to address them. To be sure, there are millions of Muslims in the southwest who don’t understand Hausa. Even in a south-south state like Edo, Islam is a widely-practised religion.

THE RULING: Communication is a two-way process; it’s an exchange of ideas between a protagonist and the receiver. If the active end talks and the receptive end cannot decode, communication hasn’t at all taken place. Therefore, Buhari did NOT communicate to millions of Nigerians in his Sallah message. How on earth could he be this unfair to himself? Baffling.

TOTALLY WEIRD SCENARIO

Want to truly process the weirdness of Buhari’s Eid-el-Fitr message? Just imagine former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in 1999 or say 2006, addressing the country in Yoruba at Easter: Eyin Omo Naijiriya, e je ka dupe l’owo Olorun fun bi o se lora emi wa lati ri odun omiran… As though there aren’t northern Christians. Let’s not just imagine it!

One security officer killed, two injured as bombs hit UNIMAID

A security officer was killed and two more were injured when suicide bombers attacked the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) on Sunday night.

Victor Isuku, spokesman of the Borno State Police Command, confirmed the incident via a Whatsapp group managed by his office. But he said details of the attacks were still sketchy.

“Let’s not speculate yet,” Isuku wrote. “At Unimaid only one male suicide bomber died; three university security personnel (were) injured, among which [sic] one later died.”

Also Danjuma Gambo, spokesperson of the institution, confirmed to the BBC Hausa radio on Monday that three suicide attacks took place in the university on Sunday night.

The first blast occurred at about 10:15 pm, and as it was being confirmed when  second and louder explosion was heard at exactly 11 pm.

According to residents of the area, the second blast was followed by hours of shootings and sounds of military vehicular movements.

Eid-el-fitri prayers had been conducted without any ugly incidents earlier on Sunday and residents praised security agencies for their efforts at keeping them safe.

The police in Bornohad announced total restriction on vehicular movements during the Sallah prayers.

UNIMAID was first attacked in January this year, and there have been four other suicide attacks in the institution since then.

A professor of veterinary medicine was among the casualties in the first attack, which took place in a mosque located within the school premises.

Evans needs TB Joshua’s deliverance, says father


Stephen Onwuamadike, father of Chukwudumeje Onwuamadike, the notorious kidnapper better known Evans, says his son is possessed and needs the help of T. B. Joshua, popular televangelist.

He also pleaded with the Police and Nigerians to forgive his son for his numerous atrocities.

“He (Evans) is my son, he’s my first son,” said Onwuamadike, who was speaking to Channels television in his home in Nnewi, Anambra State.

“He was born in (19)81 but he came here last in 2008. That was the (last) time I saw him.

“Another day I saw him was in Lagos. I went to T.B Joshua. So after that 2012, I didn’t see him anymore. No contact, no telephone number, nothing.

“If he wants to call me sometime, he will use… he will hide (his) number and call me. I said ah ah! I told him, ‘If you want to call me and (you) hide your number, don’t ever call me on phone again.'”

When Onwuamadike was told of rumours that Evans built him a mansion and bought an SUV for him, he said rather sarcastically: “You can see the mansion. The mansion I built is what I built for myself. That was…, I started this building in 1982 October.

“I finished it in February 1984. He was born in 81, so he was about three years before I finished the building. So how can he say that he build a mansion for me?

“I’m still pleading with Nigerians, everybody he offended, that they should forgive him. Life is very, very important. Once they have life, there is hope.

“I have said, I said it earlier, let them take him to T.B Joshua, because I was in T.B Joshua(‘s church) in 2012.

“He said that If you see any criminal, that you should bring that person, so that when he gets his deliverance, he will know himself; that it’s something inside him that is messing up, not that person.

“I was telling God to forgive this Dumeme, and the people he has committed (offences against) by kidnapping, by …Look, it’s a very big shame to me hearing this name.”

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TRANSLATED: Everything Buhari said in Hausa in Eid-el-Fitr message

President Muuhamadu Buhari on Sunday sent an an audio Eid-el-Fitr message to Nigerians, apparently to dispel reports that he had suffered speech impairment in the UK.

In the audio, obtained from BBC Hausa and translated by ICIR, Buhari urged Nigerians to desist from spreading false news capable of causing chaos in the country.

THE FULL MESSAGE

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful, I, Muhammadu Buhari, want to use this medium to wish my fellow Muslim brothers/sisters a happy Sallah and I pray the almighty Allah accepts our prayers said in the month of Ramadan, and may he give us the ability to work with the lessons we learnt during the month.

I am grateful to those who have remembered me in their prayers to get better in this holy month. May Allah give us the grace to deliver our promises and may he provide us with solutions to the problems in our country.

I am calling on Nigerians to desist from spreading news that will cause chaos; peace in Nigeria is all we seek from God.

May Allah give us rain of blessings to get food with ease. May Allah give us good, and ensure that we celebrate this Sallah in peace, and ensure we round up in peace.

Thank you!

Police: The man who betrayed his boss to Evans was never in our custody

 

Dansuki Galadanchi, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Administration, in the Lagos State Command, has denied reports of the release of Emeka, the man alleged to have sold out his employer, Donatus Duru, to Evans and his kidnap gang.

Galandachi told journalists that Emeka was never in police custody, as he was charged to court immediately after his arrest and was remanded in prison afterwards.

Duru, a pharmacist, had escaped from Evans’ detention camp at New Igando in Lagos, and after his statement to the police, Emeka was arrested.

But he appeared on AIT’s focus Nigeria on Friday where, among other things, he confirmed that Emeka has been released.

The police DCP said: “It came as a surprise to the police, when a television station reported that the suspect escaped from our custody.

“Emeka was never in our custody. We charged him to court immediately we arrested him.”

Meanwhile another gang member of Evans’, a serving lance corporal in the Nigerian army, was arrested on Friday.

The soldier, Victor Chukwunonso, belongs to the Nigeria Army Band Corps, Abatti Barracks, Surulere, Lagos State. He hails from Onitsha, Anambra State.

According to the police, the newly arrested suspect confessed to having participated in kidnap operations with Evans and had collected a total of N6.5 million from the three operations he took part in.

The police added that the manhunt for the other fleeing members of the gang is still ongoing.

Sanusi suspends Ado Bayero’s son — the second time in two years

For the second time in less than two years, Muhammadu Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano, has suspended a son of the late Emir Ado Bayero as District Head.

According to Daily Trust, Sanusi suspended Bashir Ado Bayero as District Head of Takai Local Government, because of his “disloyalty”.

In October 2015, Sanusi Ado Bayero, the Ciroman Kano, was removed for a similar offence. The suspended Sanusi contested to succeed his father in June 2014 but lost to his cousin and current Emir, who is the immediate past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Bashir, newly-suspended District Head, was directed to appear before the palace disciplinary committee to decide the next line of action against him.

Consequently, Sanusi has appointed Mahmud Shattima as interim administrator for the district, pending the recommendations of the disciplinary committee.

Confirming the suspension to, Munir Sanusi, the Emirate Council’s Chief of Staff, said Bayero’s suspension followed his disrespect to the Emir during one of the palace sittings.

“The suspended district head came to the palace one day to seek permission to travel to Saudi Arabia for medical check-up and after the emir granted his request, he then submitted the name of the person he wanted to supervise the district in his absence,” Daily Trust quoted him as saying.

“But the emir rejected the name and directed him to notify the office of Wakilin Gabas of the trip so that he would appoint someone to supervise the district. It was at that point that Bayero showed disrespect to the emir in the presence of everybody, including the Dogarai.”

Ado Abdullahi Bayero, father of the suspended duo, was Emir of Kano from 1963 until his death in June 2014, aged 84..

Buhari ‘sends’ Eid-el-Fitr message to ‘Nigerian Muslims and their Christian brothers’

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Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, has released a message from President Muhammadu Buhari to Nigerian Muslims and Christians on the occasion of the Eid-el-Fitr.

According to Shehu, Buhari urged all citizens to resolve to live in peace and avoid making reckless statements.

“I am immensely grateful to God for his mercy in guiding us successfully to conclude another Ramadan fast. My greetings to all Nigerian Muslims and our brother Christians on the occasion of Eid-el-Fitr,” reads the message

“May the lessons of Ramadan namely; piety, self-denial, prayers and generosity to the poor and needy be with us for all time.

“I, again, appeal to all Nigerians to avoid reckless statements or actions against our fellow countrymen. We should all resolve to live in peace and unity in our great country, which is the envy of many less endowed nations.

“Happy Eid-el-Fitr.”

Buhari has been in the United Kingdom since May 7, when he left the country “indefinitely” for health reasons.

Holidays likely as Sultan announces Eid-l-fitri for Sunday

Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), has announced the end of this year’s Ramadan fasting.

By this announcement, Nigerian Muslims will join the rest of the world on Sunday to observe the Eid-l-fitri prayer.

According to Lakin Akintola, Director of the Muslim Rights Campaign (MURIC), Sultan, who is the spiritual head of Nigerian Muslims, said the moon was sighted this evening in Borno, Adamawa and other places.

The sighting of the moon, which has already been announced in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, marks the beginning of Shawal in the Islamic calendar.

It also means Monday at least, possibly Tuesday in addition, will be declared as public holidays by the federal government.


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