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Arik Air Gets Sanction Over Delayed Passengers’ Luggage

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Arik Air Gets Sanction Over Delayed Passengers’ Luggage

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The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has ordered Arik Air to return all delayed luggage of its passengers from London to Lagos within the next 24 hours, as well as pay the affected passengers $150 each as compensation.

The directive was given by the Director of Consumer Complaints Department, NCAA. Adamu Abdullahi,

About 40 passengers who had flown with Arik Air from London to Nigeria have been at loggerheads with the airline owing to the non-arrival of their luggage, five days after they landed in Nigeria.

The passengers held a protest at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, disrupting the airline’s operations and allegedly damaging its check-in counter at the airport.

Abdullahi appealed to the angry passengers to be patient and remain calm as both Arik Air and the aviation authorities were working towards resolving the issue.

He said: “NCAA has directed Arik Air to pay each and every passenger a compensation of $150 each in line with civil aviation rules and regulations in Nigeria.

“We have sent the letter to the airline and it also contains a directive that every bag must be here within the next 24 hours.

“A directive is a directive and we will hold Arik Air management responsible, and I can assure you that they will abide by the directive.”

Also addressing the passengers, Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Saleh Dunoma, urged those of them who have essential items, such as medicines in their baggage, to visit the FAAN clinic within the airport.

Dunoma said the doctors had been directed to issue prescription drugs to passengers whose medications had yet to arrive the country due to the delay.

Associate Vice President of Arik Air, Ground Operations Department, Femi Kukoyi, apologised to the passengers for the inconvenience caused by the incident.

He assured them that an aircraft carrying all their baggage was already en-route Lagos from London.

On the issue of compensation, he said Arik Air would attend to them on an individual basis and expressed optimism that everything would be resolved amicably.

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Army In Sambisa, Says Boko Haram In Disarray

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Army In Sambisa, Says Boko Haram In Disarray

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The Nigerian military has said that the ongoing counter-terrorism operations going on in the North East is nearing its end as the Boko Haram terrorists are in total disarray while troops are currently in the heart of the Sambisa Forest which is the operational base of the terrorists.

Lucky Irabor, the Theatre Commander of the counter-insurgency operation codenamed “Operation Lafiya Dole”  made this known while briefing newsmen on Wednesday in Maiduguri, the headquarters of the operations.

Irabor said there is frustration and confusion among the various ranks and factions of Boko Haram at present.

“The Boko Haram terrorists are more confused, as the Shekau and Maman Nur factions recently clashed,” Irabor said.

“Several Boko Haram terrorists were killed, while arms and ammunitions were recovered, as military finally entered the heart of Sambisa forest in the military final onslaught against Boko Haram insurgents.”

The army commander reiterated that the military has enough manpower, capacity and equipment to crush the remnant of the insurgents in no distant time.

“The troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have continued to clear several Boko Haram terrorists from their hideouts and recorded huge successes, as our own troops have moved deeper into Sambisa forest on many fronts”, he added.

Irabor also disclosed that the military has launched another operation codenamed “Operation RESCUE FINALE” which is “the continuation of Operation CRACKDOWN and is aimed at rescuing all the CHIBOK School Girls and other hostages held in SAMBISA Forest.”

“Since the commencement of the operation, own troops have continued to make progress into the heart of Sambisa forest,” he said, adding that the days of the remnant of the Boko Haram terrorists were numbered.

He however appealed to them to take advantage of the “Safe haven corridor” which has been provided by the federal government in order to surrender to the authorities or be flushed out.

Irabo insisted that the troops have what it takes to clear boko haram from the Sambisa forest or wherever they may be hiding.

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Time Magazine Names Donald Trump Person Of The Year 

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Time Magazine Names Donald Trump Person Of The Year 

 

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US President-elect Donald Trump has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2016 . The Magazine described him as the President of the “Divided States of America.”

The Republican president-elect, who will be sworn in on January 20, ran an unconventional and controversial campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Time noted that views of him were deeply divided.

“For those who believe this is all for the better, Trump’s victory represents a long-overdue rebuke to an entrenched and arrogant governing class,” the magazine said.

“For those who see it as for the worse, the destruction extends to cherished norms of civility and discourse, a politics poisoned by vile streams of racism, sexism, nativism.”

The magazine said its short list for person of the year included Clinton, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage, US gymnast Simone Biles and singer Beyonce Knowles.

Trump told NBC’s Today show shortly after the announcement it was a “great honour” which “meant a lot” to him.

Nancy Gibbs, Time Magazine’s managing editor, said that Clinton came second in the selection, adding that the choice of Trump was “straightforward”.

Time said the president-elect had redrawn America’s political rules.

The magazine invites readers to vote on who they think has earned the title, but the final decision is made by editors.

In being named Time’s Person of the Year for 2016, Trump joins an illustrious list of the great as well as the not-always-so-good who have emerged persons of the year over the years.

It is perhaps not a surprise he was chosen – Time traditionally picks the president-elect, and it has been more than two decades since the last exception was made.

In 2013, the world’s first pontiff from the Americas was chosen as Person of the Year.

Argentinean Jorge Mario Bergoglio had become Pope Francis in March of that year, and had already made his mark, rejecting the glittering trappings of the role to focus on the poorest in the society.

Dasuki’s Trial Put Off To Next Year

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Dasuki’s Trial Put Off To Next Year

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The trial of former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has been adjourned till January 25, 2017, following the inability of a co-accused person in the case, Salisu Shuaibu, to appear in court due to illness.

Shuaibu was a former Director of Finance and Account, DFA, in the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA.

Dasuki, a retired Colonel in the Nigerian Army, is facing trial alongside Shuaibu over an alleged misappropriation of $2.1 billion which was meant for the purchase of arms for the country’s armed forces.

The trial which was supposed to continue on Wednesday, was adjourned after the prosecution counsel, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, informed Justice Baba Yusuf of the FCT High Court that he had been served with a medical report confirming that the defendant had been hospitalised.

Atolagbe told the court that trial could not proceed in the absence of the defendant; he therefore applied for a short adjournment pending the recovery of the defendant.

Also, counsel to Shuaibu, Adetayo Adeyemo, apologised to the court over his client’s absence.

Lawyers to other defendants did not object to the application for an adjournment since Salisu had always been present in court since the charge was filed against them.

Justice Yusuf in his brief ruling concurred that the second defendant has always been present in court since the trial commenced.

After consultations by the lawyers in the matter, it was agreed that the matter be adjourned to January 25, 2017, and this was granted by the Judge.

Similarly, the second charge which was referred from Justice Peter Affen to Justice Baba Yusuf was also adjourned to January 24, 2017 for mention, due to Shuaibu’s illness.

Also joined in the $2.1 billion arm fraud suit are Aminu Kusa, Acacia Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital.

The five defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail by the court.

The other defendants have since been enjoying their bail but Dasuki had remained in detention despite several judgements from various courts, including the ECOWAS Court.

Reasons for the former NSA’s Continued detention is best known to the Department of State Services, DSS.

Judge Pleads For More Time To Answer Corruption Case

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Judge Pleads For More Time To Answer Corruption Case
judge-pleads-for-more-time-to-answer-corruption-case
Sylvester Ngwuta

Sylvester Ngwuta, a justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, who is currently facing corruption charges, has pleaded with Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to grant him more time in order to adequately prepare his defence.

Ngwuta is one of the Judges whose residences were raided by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, in October, following allegations of corruption and accepting gratifications in order to deliver Judgement.

He was subsequently slammed with a 16-count charge of money laundering, age falsification and illegal possession of multiple international passports, and was docked on November 21, but pleaded not guilty.

Justice Tsoho subsequently granted him bail to the sum of N100 million, but on the resumption of trial on Wednesday, counsel to Ngwuta, Kanu Agabi, a former Attorney General of the Federation, pleaded with the court for more time.

The prosecution counsel, Charles Adeogun-Philips, a former attorney at the International Criminal Court of Justice, ICC, told the court that he was ready for the trial to commence and has three witnesses in court to enter evidence against the accused person.

“My lord we are ready to open our case today. Our witnesses are in court and we have all our arsenals ready”, Adeogun-Philips said.

However, Agabi told the court that the defence team was anxious for the trial to commence, “however, we will be pleading with your lordship to grant us an adjournment so that we can be fully prepared.”

“We have so many documents yet to access. Under the constitution, the defendant requires adequate time to prepare for his defence,” Agabi said.

He also prayed the court to direct the prosecution to furnish him with all the documents he intends to adduce in the course of the trial.

The prosecution counsel vehemently opposed the adjournment application, urging the court to refuse the request and order the matter for immediate trial.

“My lord I am terribly astonished by my friend’s application this morning. This matter was fixed by consent of parties on November 21,” Adeogun-Philips said.

He also referred to Section 396(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015, which makes provision for day-to-day trial of the defendant.

“My lord this is indeed a high profile trial and there is need for expediency”, the prosecution counsel submitted.

He further pointed out that the prosecution had expended a good amount of resources in order to bring the witnesses to court, and asked the court to allow the prosecution to open its case and then adjourn to enable the defence to cross-examine the witnesses later.

But defence councel, Agabi, also pointed out that under the ACJA, his client was entitled to five adjournment requests, adding however that “after today we won’t ask for another.”

Ruling on the application, Justice Tsoho acknowledged that section 396(4) of the ACJA indeed made provision for a maximum adjournment of five times.

He also agreed with the defence that section 36(6) of the 1999 constitution which allows a defence to have adequate time and facilities to prepare his defence, has a wider scope, saying it also encompasses the mental preparedness of an accused to stand trial.

“Viewed towards this perspective, this court is inclined to grant the request of the defence counsel”, Justice Tsoho ruled, especially given that it was the first indulgence sought by the defendant.

The matter was eventually adjourned till January 18 and 23, 2017, for trial.

Recall that the prosecution had earlier opposed Ngwuta’s bail application release, arguing that he could interfere with evidence.

It told the court that immediately Ngwuta was granted administrative bail by the DSS, he quickly called one of the proposed witnesses to help him conceal some of the evidence against him, including N27million he hid in his bathroom at Abakaliki in Ebonyi State.

Rivers Re-run: INEC Deploys 10,294 Workers

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Rivers Re-run: INEC Deploys 10,294 Workers

Elections

As part of efforts to ensure the success of Saturday’s legislative elections in Rivers State, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will deploy a total of 10, 294 officers for the conduct of the election.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Deputy Director, Voter Education and Publicity of INEC, Nick Dazang.

According to the statement, INEC would deploy three returning officers for the three senatorial districts, 10 returning officers for the federal constituencies, 23 local government collating officers, and 221 registration area collation officers.

“57 Collation Officers (for collation only at registration areas); 231 supervisory presiding officers; 1,840 presiding officers; 6,609 assistant presiding officers (I, II and III); 661 assistant presiding officers (VP); 363 reserve APOs (5%) of APOs; 21 constituency supervisors ( three SDs; eight FCs;  and 10 SCs); 24 LGA supervisors; and 223 RA supervisors.”

The constituencies where the election is scheduled to hold are Rivers East, Rivers West and Rivers South-East senatorial districts.

Others are Akuku-Toru/Asari Toru, Degema/Bonny, Okrika/Ogu-Bolo, Etche/Omuma, Ikwere/Emohua, Khana Gokana, Eleme/Tai/Oyigbo, and Opobo/Nkoro/Andoni federal constituencies.

The rerun election will also take place in 10 state constituencies which are Eleme, Gokana, Asari-Toru I, Asari-Toru II, Andoni, Khana II, Etche II, Ikwere, Bonny and Degema.

The INEC spokesman recalled that the rerun election was originally scheduled for March 19, 2016 but was suspended due to violence.

He explained further that the suspended exercise was also characterised by “returns made under duress by those not authorized to do so; collation made without validation; voting concluded without collation; disruption of voting, and no voting at all in some areas.”

Dazang added, however, that the elections had been concluded in some of the constituencies, results declared and winners returned by the respective returning officers before the process was suspended.

INEC Commissioners Complete  As Buhari Inaugurates Six More

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INEC Commissioners Complete  As Buhari Inaugurates Six More

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President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated six newly-appointed national commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The inauguration ceremony took place at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja shortly before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting today.

The commissioners are as follows, Ogunmola Ladipo – South West; May Agbamuche-Mbu – South South; Abubakar Nahuche, North West; Okechukwu Ibeano, South East; Muhammadu Haruna, North Central and Ahmad Muazu, North East.

President Buhari charged them to be up and doing in the discharge of their responsibilities, noting that their appointments came at a critical time in the nation’s political development.

He said his administration was concerned about the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process, adding that it was his desire to ensure that Nigerians are allowed to elect their leaders according to their conscience.

The inauguration of the six INEC commissioners brings the number of commissioners to 12 as stipulated by relevant laws; however, 21 out of 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners are yet to be appointed.

Recall that six INEC commissioners had retired shortly after the 2015 general election and their positions had remained vacant prompting criticism from various political analysts.

Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, at a town hall meeting and presentation of the findings of a post- 2015 elections research conducted by ActionAid Nigeria, said that the 2019 general election may be jeopardized if the situation continued.

“There is absolutely no reason why the executive should allow the number of vacancies we have in INEC to be,” Odinkalu said at the forum.

“By next month, INEC will have 28 vacancies among RECs (Resident Electoral Commissioners) and seven commissioners.

“The Executive is carrying on as if this is normal. It isn’t.

“I’m sorry to sound alarmist. But, continuing the way we are going, we will not be able to have elections in 2019. If it happens, there would be too many broken heads and dead people,” he said.

Ghana Presidential Election Underway

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Ghana Presidential Election Underway

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Voting is under way in Ghana’s presidential election in what analysts say is a tight race between President John Mahama and veteran opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo.

All seven candidates have pledged to keep the process peaceful but an opposition supporter died when a rally tuned violent on Monday.

The campaign has been dominated by the faltering state of Ghana’s economy and the issue of corruption.

Results are expected within three days.

A run-off will be held later in the month if neither of the two main candidates secures more than 50% of the votes.

The candidates signed a pact last week vowing to follow electoral rules and keep the peace.

But clashes broke out on Monday in Chereponi, a small northern town on the border with Togo. In addition to the reported death, six people are said to be in a critical condition as a result.

Defeat for Mahama of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, would make him the only single-term president since Ghana returned to multi-party democracy.

He won in 2012, but he had already been sitting president for several months following the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills.

However he has been nicknamed “Mr Dumsor”, a local word that refers to the power cuts that have blighted the country during his term.

Akufo-Addo meanwhile is hoping it will be third time lucky for him and the centre-right New Patriotic Party, NPP, after two failed attempts in running for the country’s top job.

He has promised free high-school education and more factories, but his critics have questioned the viability of his ambitions.

Early voting had already taken place for people who would be on duty on Election Day proper.

Journalists, law enforcement personnel as well as officials of the electoral commission were allowed to cast their votes a day earlier, unlike what obtains in Nigeria where all the people involved in election duties are automatically disenfranchised.

NUJ Sues DSS For Detaining Journalist Over ‘Offensive’ Story

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NUJ Sues DSS For Detaining Journalist Over ‘Offensive’ Story

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The Kogi council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, has instituted a court case against the Department of State Services, DSS, at the Federal High Court, Lokoja, over ‘unlawful’ arrest and continued detention of one of its members, Friday Ogungbemi.

Ogungbemi, a Lokoja-based journalist, was reportedly arrested and detained by the DSS on November 30 for allegedly publishing offensive stories in the November 23 –December 15, 2016 edition of the ‘Policy and Lawmakers magazine’.

The suit was filed by NUJ counsel, J.U. Usman on behalf of the affected journalist on Tuesday, and it sought the enforcement of applicant’s fundamental human rights as well as a N5 million damages for unlawful incarceration and infringement on his fundamental rights.

The reliefs, according to the counsel, are based on three grounds including that the applicant had no criminal records and that his arrest and continued detention over the publication was unreasonable, illegal and unconstitutional.

He also held that there was a competent court of jurisdiction within 16-kilometer radius from the detention facility of the respondent wherein the applicant was detained but the respondent refused or neglected to charge him to court within the constitutional period.

On Monday the Kogi State NUJ council directed journalists in the state to boycott government activities to protest the unlawful arrest.

The directive was contained in a communiqué issued in Lokoja after an emergency congress meeting following failure of all entreaties to the state government and the DSS to secure the release of Ogungbemi.

“In view of the gross abuse of office by the DSS, probably acting on the directive of some highly placed groups or individuals, journalists should indefinitely boycott the coverage of all government activities in the state,” the communiqué read.

APC Accuses Gov Wike Of Stockpiling Arms Ahead Of Election

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APC Accuses Gov Wike Of Stockpiling Arms Ahead Of Election
Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike
Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has accused Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, and the State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of massive stockpiling of arms ahead of the December 10 legislative re-run elections in the State.

This was contained in a statement released by APC’s National Secretary, Mai Mala-Buni, on Tuesday, calling on security agencies to take urgent action to protect the lives of residents in the state.

Mala-Buni stated that the report that Wike’s security details had been withdrawn is a hoax which is intended to “deflect attention from the reports of an arms build-up and other sinister plots the Wike-led PDP administration plans to execute on Election Day.”

“Nobody is after Wike. The governor and the PDP’s diversionary and false alarm is hinged on the reality that they will lose the legislative re-run elections once security is tightened in Rivers State,” the APC scribe stated.

He also claimed that “the PDP and the Rivers State Governor are haunted by their horrible past misdeeds.”

Mala-Buni alleged that under Wike’s administration, “political thugs and criminal gangs have continued to kill and maim APC members and innocent citizens in Rivers State.”

He maintained that Saturday’s legislative re-run elections in Rivers State will further prove the resolve of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to enshrine a free, fair and credible electoral process in the country.

“The APC hereby calls on security agencies to investigate the report of an arms build-up and be on high alert over the security situation in Rivers State under Wike’s watch and by extension the PDP in the lead-up to the Rivers legislative re-run election.

“Wike’s criminal gangs and PDP thugs must not be allowed to steal the votes of the Rivers electorate on Saturday,” the APC National Secretary stated.

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