The Federal High Court, Abuja, has lashed out on the Department of State Services, DSS, for the continued detention of Umar Mohammed, a retired Air Commodore and member of the presidential team investigating the arms deal in the country.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba said this on Wednesday while delivering judgment in a suit filed by Emeka Ohazurike and 19 others.
He said that the continued detention of the suspect the DSS, even after he had met his bail conditions was illegal and an assault on the judiciary.
Dimgba asked the counsel to the DSS, Shimana Adzer, to convey the message to the security outfit.
The DSS had arraigned Mohammed over allegations of money laundering, possession of fire arms and violation of Official Secret Act.
Mohammed had pleaded not guilty to the charges and was admitted to bail in the sum of N100 million.
However, several months after he had met his bail requirements, the DSS has refused to release the former Air officer.
Ohazurike and his group of human rights activists then sued the DSS for alleged violation of the fundamental human rights of Mohammed.
They asked the court to declare that the arrest and detention of Mohammed was unlawful, unconstitutional, malicious and an abuse of his rights to human dignity.
The group who said they were acting on behalf of Mohammed also sought an order directing the DSS to release the defendant.
They also wanted the court to order the DSS to pay N500 million damages to Mohammed as well as publish an apology to him in at least two national newspapers.
Justice Dimgba, however, held that since he was certain that Mohammed did not authorize the suit, he could not grant the reliefs of money and an apology being sought for by the plaintiffs.
The National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Bayelsa State chapter has called on the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, to extend the October 1 deadline for the implementation of the speed limiting device.
State Chairman of the transport union, ThankGod Eribo, made the appeal in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, on Wednesday.
He, however, agreed the initiative was a laudable one which the union must comply with.
The NURTW boss said, “The initiative is as important as the engine of a vehicle, especially to our members, who are the major road users; and this is what we have been expecting from the FRSC.
“We will comply with the initiative, since it is a safety precaution to reduce crashes.”
Eribo noted that the enforcement date was too near and pleaded with the FRSC to extend the date and also make the price of the device affordable.
Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has said that what Nigeria needs to undergo was fiscal and not geographical restructuring, positing that the state’s should have a better deal that they currently enjoy.
Tambuwal made his position known when he received members of some professional groups who paid him Sallah homage on Wednesday in Sokoto.
The governor was of the opinion that state and local governments should receive more from the federation account than the federal government.
“The state and the local governments are the closest tiers of government to the people, unfortunately, they are getting less than the Federal Government from the Federation Account.
“The ugly trend should be reversed in favour of states and local governments to enable them meet the overwhelming demands of the grassroots,” he said.
Governor Tambuwal also said that dialogue remained the best tool to resolving all challenges facing the nation, adding, however, that “the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable.”
He said: “Dialogue is also the most potent tool to resolve all problems, anywhere and at any time.
“There are really challenges in Nigeria, and it is not peculiar to the nation, and these challenges are surmountable.”
Tambuwal promised to revive ailing industries in the state in partnership with the chamber, and adopt policies to bolster trade and commerce.
The governor also assured non-indigenes living in the state that they are equal partners in running the affairs of the state.
He promised that his administration would not discriminate against anyone, irrespective of tribe or religion.
Among the groups that visited the governor were the Sokoto Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture; Association of Resident Communities and the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations.
The Association of Resident Doctors has insisted that the federal government must as a matter of urgency address the many challenges facing healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
This was the fall-out of 36th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria, NARDN, held in Enugu State, South east Nigeria.
President of the association, Ugochukwu Onyebueze, listed the resurgence of Polio and Lassa fever among other challenges facing the nation’s health sector.
“We will increase the campaign on infectious disease control. This is important because people need to live,” he stated.
“We are going to pay attention to campaign for improved accessibility to healthcare delivery in Nigeria through ensuring and insisting that the National Health Act is fully implemented.
“We feel that there is ineptitude of the government mechanism that is supposed to be responsible for the eradication, awareness and control of these infectious diseases,” he told reporters.
Onyebueze also complained about the welfare of doctors who are on the residency programme across the country.
He said many members were being owed remuneration, while others suffer victimisation by some Chief Medical Directors of Teaching Hospitals.
“We also observe the deplorable remuneration of our members in states’ health institutions, with most having to endure many months without salary and others having been confined to irregular emoluments of varied percentages even in the present arduous economic conditions in the country,” he said.
The Boko Haram terrorist group has released a new video purportedly shot on Eid-el-Kabir day.
In the video which was posted on YouTube, the group said it wanted to send out a message that it remained a strong force.
A narrator, speaking in Hausa, said the video was shot somewhere in Borno State, North east Nigeria, where the sect has its base.
The clip shows suspected terrorists praying on what the narrator said is an Eid ground on Sallah day.
Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram sect did not appear in the video, but the narrator said his deputy, whose name was not mentioned, represented him at the gathering.
The narrator threatened to capture President Muhammadu Buhari, calling him a non – believer and restating terrorist group’s determination to continue its jihad against Nigeria.
“This is our eid prayer from us and by the support of our leader Imam Abubakar Al-Shekau. We are extending our greetings to our people and fighters,” the Narrator said.
“Message to the infidels and the leader of the entire infidels (kafir) who is the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, that he should know we are very strong and doing very good.
“By the will of Allah under the leadership of our leader (Shekau) will capture Buhari with our hands,” the group said.
Exactly one month ago, the Boko Haram terrorist group released a video clip, purportedly showing some of the kidnapped Chibok School girls and saying that the rest had been killed during an aerial bombardment by the Nigerian military.
The narrator also said the group would be willing to release the Chibok girls on the condition that its fighters in government detention were released.
Only a few days ago, rumours broke out on social media that the federal government had already commenced a prisoner swap with the sect with the release of one of the sect’s leaders, Kabiru Sokoto, who was handed a life sentence for masterminding the Christmas Day bombing in 2013.
Nigerian Prison Authorities, however, said the reports were not true as Sokoto was still in custody.
The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has said that the federal government has no plans to concession the Ajaokuta Steel Company to any foreign firm.
The ministry said there was no official engagement with anybody on the steel company, describing the insinuations in some quarters to the contrary as misleading.
He, however, said the original concession agreement that was signed between Nigeria, Global Steel Holding Limited and Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited “has been re-modified.”
Minister of Solid Minerals and Development, Kayode Fayemi, stated this when he hosted the Executive Director of a Non-Governmental Organisation, CSR-in-Action, Bekeme Masade, who led a team of civil society organisations on a courtesy visit to him on Wednesday.
The minister, represented by his technical adviser, Egghead Odewale, also expressed concerns over the activities of illegal miners in the country.
He said, “The original concession agreement that was signed between the Federal Government of Nigeria, Global Steel Holding Limited and Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited has been re-modified.
“It has been modified to decouple Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited from Nigeria Iron Ore Mining Company in Itakpe.
“What that also portends is that Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited now has seven years of their original concession to complete the mining operation to operate neo-coal in Itakpe, whereas Ajaokuta has reverted to the government of Nigeria,” Fayemi explained.
Several hours after heavy rains triggered a flood disaster in Oshogbo, the Osun State capital, residents say they are still awaiting help from state authorities.
Residents were basking in the euphoria of the Eid-el-kabir festival when suddenly the heavens opened and the celebration turned sour.
The effects of the disaster were quite devastating as properties worth millions of naira have been destroyed, even as one person is feared dead.
In one community, a woman and her daughter were reportedly trapped in a store and many of the residents were stranded after a bridge collapsed.
Residents in areas like Rasco, Oke-Onitea, Fiwasaye, Gbomi and Iludun in Osogbo have been counting their losses as the rain came down heavily for three hours, causing flood in many parts of the city.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, had identified Osun state as one of the flood-prone areas and the residents believe that the government should have been proactive to avert this occurrence.
As at the time of this report, no official statement had been made by the Osun State government.
Students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria have cried out against the repression of their freedom of expression by university and polytechnic administrations, saying the trend does not augur well for peace on campuses.
The students said that the rising spate of intolerance to critical comments, opinions and reports by students, particularly student journalists, exhibited by administrators of tertiary institutions was unacceptable and would be resisted.
The students spoke on Tuesday through the National Association of Nigerian Campus Editors NANCE, which said that university authorities across the country are trying to supress campus journalism in their institutions.
President of NANCE, Lukmon Fasasi, at a press briefing at the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile – Ife on Tuesday, said that management of tertiary institutions were clamping down on campus journalists and resisting comments and reports they deem critical.
“No Universities in Nigeria appreciates the existence of campus journalists. We have witnessed victimisation of students for writing stories that seems not to favour school management. Some universities even banned the existence of pen pushers on their campuses. Schools that support campus journalism often do it to suit their interest, especially when campus journalists report only the favourable event in the institution,” Fasasi said.
He lamented that campus journalism is not allowed to thrive freely, adding that in some institutions, students have to publish or circulate their reports at night for fear of victimisation.
The situation, he observed, stifles freedom of expression in the academic environment and encourages lack of transparency and accountability in the administration of tertiary institutions.
Giving an example, Fasasi recalled that a student of the University of Lagos, Adeyeye Olorunfemi, “recently got suspended for four semesters, based on the tackling story he published on his Facebook page against the University of Lagos management.”
“Olorunfemi, who pointed out reason behind Unilag students’ protest and frowned at the decaying state of infrastructure on the university campus, got suspended, just for putting up a Facebook post,” the student journalist lamented.
He said further that five others, all student union leaders, were suspended alongside Olorunfemi, for partaking in the April 6th, 2016 protest on Unilag campus, adding that “it is crystal clear that Olorunfemi’s suspension was based on the published story, as he is the only non-student union leader that got suspended.”
Also speaking at the press briefing, President of the Association of Campus Journalists at the OAU, Olanrewaju Oyedeji, also decried the situation whereby student journalists cannot freely write on happenings in their institutions.
He said that many students are discouraged from practicing journalism on campus because of the intolerance of their institution’s administrators, adding that those who go ahead and engage in any kind of reporting put their education on the line.
“Journalism on many Nigerian campuses is not just tasking, but a risky job on its own. Journalists are expected to step on many toes, while carrying out their duties, but when a campus journalist step on someone’s toe in the line of duty, then such a journalist should be ready to face panel of judges of the University,” he observed
Giving further instances of the victimisation of their colleagues, the students recalled the case of a journalist who got an exclusive story about a lecturer who was seeking sex in exchange for good grades from female students. His report did not see the light of day, it was disclosed, because he was threatened with victimisation.
The student editors, who held the press briefing as part of events leading to NANCE’s regional journalism workshop which kicks off on September 24 at the Ibadan, said that the training sessions were being organised to equip campus journalist with skills necessary to do their work in hostile environments.
According to Fasasi, many students who are interested in writing on campuses have asked the students’ editors’ association for help in dealing with the repression of freedom of expression and victimisation by authorities of tertiary institution.
President Muhammadu Buhari has asked those agitating for the state of Biafra to “forget it”.
Buhari said this when he hosted over 100 National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members who are serving in his local government, Daura, in Katsina State.
The President, who expressed gratitude to former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, for creating the NYSC in 1973, called on the youth corps members to remain focused in life, pursue their dreams and reject those fanning embers of discord and disintegration of Nigeria.
“I asked for those from the other extreme of Nigeria because I very much appreciate the NYSC scheme and whenever I see General Gowon, I always thank him for that,” he said.
To the corps members from the south-eastern states, the president said: “Tell your colleagues who want Biafra to forget about it.
“As a military commander, I walked from Degem, a border town between the north and the east, to the border between Cameroons and Nigeria.
“I walked on my foot for most of the 30 months that we fought the Nigeria-Biafra civil war, in which at least two million Nigerians were killed.
“We were made by our leaders to go and fight Biafra not because of money or oil, because oil was not critical factor then, but because of one Nigeria.
“So if leaderships at various levels failed, it was not the fault of the rest of Nigerians who have no quarrel with one another.
“So, please tell your colleagues that we must be together to build this country. It is big enough for us and potentially big enough in terms of resources.
”Those who work hard will earn a respectable living. I have seen this country, I fought for this country and I will continue to work for the unity of this country.”
Buhari said the NYSC has promoted national unity and cohesion by exposing young people to the uniqueness and cultural diversity of Nigeria.
Egbewumi Adebolu, corps liaison officer in Daura, thanked the president for the honour of receiving them and making their stay in Daura memorable.
He said the youths strongly believed in the programme of the current administration to reduce unemployment and create jobs for more Nigerians.
Adebolu also thanked the President for his personal gifts of cows, bags of rice and cash to corps members in the community for Salah celebration.
The federal government has donated non-food relief materials to internally displaced persons, IDPs, in Yobe State.
The donation was made at the Pompomari IDPs camp by the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Amina Alhassan, who said she was in the state to get firsthand information about their conditions.
The items donated included 500 mosquito nets, 500 mattresses, 500 pillows, 500 cartons of soap, 500 slippers, 500 diapers, 250 towels, and 250 wrappers.
Governor Ibrahim Geidam thanked the federal government for the intervention and said the minister’s visit would avail her the opportunity to see the efforts the state has made in solving problems related with women, including widows and orphans.
