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Igbo Traders In Kano Demand Justice Over Killing Of Tribesman

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Igbo Traders In Kano Demand Justice Over Killing Of Tribesman
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File

The Igbo Traders Association, ITA, in Kano state has demanded for justice over killing of Tochukwu  Iro, a patent medicine dealer who was on Wednesday shot by trigger-happy police officers attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, of the Kano state Police Command.

According to eyewitness accounts, Tochukwu was allegedly killed at about 12 noon Wednesday along France Road, opposite First Baptist Church in Sabon Gari area of the state.

One of the eyewitnesses told reporters: “On Wednesday afternoon, at about 12 noon, we saw Tochukwu walking along the road, as he tried to negotiate Illaro Road, two armed police men walked up to him. They came with tinted glass car.

They stopped the car close to First Baptist Church, crossed the road and ordered Tochukwu to stop.

“When he stopped, there was a mild argument between him and the two armed men; and one of them who was wearing Kaftan brought out a branded police rifle and shot him. When traders
around started shouting, the same man shot into the air and bundled the victim into a waiting tricycle, while his partner crossed the road, dashed into the car and zoomed off.”

While speaking during an emergency Press Conference organized by the Igbo Traders Association at the Abubakar  Rimi Market, chairman of the traders, Chief Emmanuel  Amadi who was visibly disturbed over the gruesome murder of Tochukwu insisted that justice must be done.

He stated that  Tochukwu, aged 40, who hailed from Orumba  South Local Government Area of Anambra state, died at Murtala Muhammad Specialist hospital Thursday afternoon after a failed operation.

According to him, “on that Wednesday, I was attending a market Board meeting  with General Manager of Abubakar Rimi Market, security chiefs and other stakeholders when I received a call that one of our members was shot by the police along France Road.

“I immediately told the market management and they asked me to get more details over the incident. We made arrangements to ensure that he was taken to hospital for treatment.

Around 9 p.m. on that Wednesday, I put a call across to Murtala Muhammad Hospital and I was told that he was responding to treatment.

“On Thursday morning, I called the hospital and was told that he was taken to the theatre for operation; but it was so sad that this afternoon (Thursday), we got the news that he could not survive the gun shot. As I am speaking to you now, Tochukwu is dead.

“I have his file here and I can attest to the fact that he was a peace-loving man. We have never known him as a criminal and that is why we wondered why such an innocent man could be killed in such a gruesome manner. Since the news of his death, we have not rested.

“The youths were here in our office this afternoon in protest over the killing of their brother. They are demanding for justice. On our own, we have pleaded with them not to take laws into their hands; and all we are saying is that the killers of Tochukwu must be made face
justice,” he stated.

Reacting to the incident in a statement signed by Kano Police Command Public Relations Officer,  DSP Magaji Musa Majia,  “the Kano State Police Command wishes to inform the public that on  27th July, 2016 at about 1200hrs a team of operatives attached to Special Anti-Robbery
Squad (SARS) based on tip off along France Road,  stopped one Ogochukwu Augustine `m’ of Odutola Street S/gari but he refused to stop.

“He was subsequently pursued and while trying to escape, he was shot at the hipbone and immediately rushed to Murtala Specialist Hospital where he gave up the ghost while receiving treatment.

“The Commissioner of Police Kano State Alhaji Rabiu Yusuf  has directed for immediate arrest and detention of the team leader and his men for interrogation at the State CIID Kano.

“He also summoned the Elders of Igbo Community in Kano where he sympathizes with them and assured that Justice will be done.

“The Commissioner of Police also stated that his primary assignment is to protect life and property and will not condone any Police personnel who risk the life of innocent citizens.

“The outcome of the investigation will be made public as soon as investigation is completed before further action taken,” the statement stated.

Court Stops PDP Convention

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Court Stops PDP Convention
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File

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday stopped the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from holding a planned convention billed for August 17 this year.

The PDP has been occupied by series of intra-party power tussle between former governors of Borno and Kaduna States, Ali Modu Sheriff and Ahmed Makarfi, with the former insisting that he is the rightful leader of the party despite a court order to the contrary.

The Makarfi-led faction had relied on the court ruling last month, which nullified the party’s process that made Sheriff chairman, to plan a convention that will see someone emerge to lead it in preparation for the 2019 elections.

Sheriff had approached the court on July 4, asking it to stop the convention because going by the party’s constitution, he and other members of the National Working Committee should be in office till 2018.

The plaintiffs also asked the court to prevent the Makarfi-led faction of the PDP from embarking on any moves to remove them from office.

Also named in the suit as plaintiffs are Wale Oladapo, National Secretary; Dennis Alonge-Niyi, Deputy National Youth Leader; Alhaji Bashir Maidugu, Deputy National Legal Adviser; Hanatu Ulam, Deputy National Women Leader; Lawal Dutsima Anchi, Deputy National Auditor; Okey Nnadozie, Deputy National Organising Secretary, and; Olisa Metuh, National Publicity Secretary.

However, Metuh, who is facing trial over N400 million he allegedly received from former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, a retired Colonel, denied being a part of the suit and said he never attended any meeting where he agreed to be part of the suit.

In a statement by his spokesperson, Richard Ihediwa, Metuh said those who included his name assured him that it was erroneously done and would be removed.

“Our appeal therefore is that Chief Metuh at this time should be left out of intra-party controversies. His only preoccupation now remains matters concerning his health and the extant court trial,” the statement read.

Residents Protest Planned Demolition By Kaduna Govt.

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Residents Protest Planned Demolition By Kaduna Govt.
Gbagyi residents protest the proposed demolition exercise
Gbagyi residents protest the proposed demolition exercise

Residents of Gbagyi community in Kaduna State have staged a peaceful protest asking the state government not to go ahead with the planned demolition of their houses that have been marked as illegal structures.

The residents of the community in Chikun Local Government Area, took to the streets on Thursday, carrying placards and chanting anti-government songs while demanding that the demolition be suspended as the matter was already before the courts.

They claimed to have all the relevant documents that gave them the right to occupy the land, insisting that the planned demolition was illegal and inhuman.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai had during a working visit to Gbagyi Villa said some of the buildings in the area had illegally encroached on the land belonging to the Kaduna State Polytechnic and would be demolished.

The Governor had also added that government was ready to recognise and protect every proven title to the land.

Chris Obodumu, leader of Gbagyi community, noted that late Governor Patrick Yakowa in 2011, resolved the dispute and amicably demarcated the boundary between the two parties, but another former Kaduna State Governor, Balarabe Musa, said that those claiming ownership of the land were not the genuine owners.

He advised the aggrieved residents to tread with caution, stating that the land in question was allocated to the Kaduna Polytechnic by the state government as a virgin land over 40 years, until some people started encroaching into it.

Musa, however, urged the government to set up a verification committee before the demolition.

The students of the Kaduna Polytechnic on their part held a peaceful protest where they commended Governor El-Rufai for assisting the institution to recover its land from encroachers.

President of the Student Union Government, Usman Kareem, expressed optimism that the land would solve the school’s myriad of accommodation problems if recovered.

Buhari Eulogises Catholic Priest, Mbaka

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Buhari Eulogises Catholic Priest, Mbaka
President Buhari and Fr. Mbaka
President Buhari and Fr. Mbaka

President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with Catholic Priest, Ejike Mbaka, on the 21st anniversary of his ordination to priesthood in the Catholic Church which comes up on Friday.

Premium Times reported presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, as stating that “The President extends his best wishes to Fr. Mbaka’s family, congregation and well-wishers as they celebrate this special occasion with him in his continued devotion to the well-being of others as a father, wise counselor, teacher and guardian,”

“The President commends Fr. Mbaka’s steadfast devotion to his vocation and ministry amply demonstrated in his love and service for his people, nation and God.

“President Buhari prays that God Almighty, who has given the cleric the strength to devote his entire life to service in the Vineyard, will continually bless and prosper his ministry.”

Mbaka became a controversial figure in the months leading to the 2015 general elections when he famously prophesied that incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan would lose his seat to his opponent Muhammadu Buhari, after having reportedly endorsed Jonathan.

The prophecy drew a lot of controversy, with some Nigerians accusing the Catholic priest of deliberately heating up the polity.

Merkel Rules Out Migrant Policy Reversal After Attacks

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Merkel Rules Out Migrant Policy Reversal After Attacks
German Chancellor, Angela Merkel
German Chancellor, Angela Merkel

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has reiterated that recent attacks in the country involving asylum-seekers would not change its willingness to take in refugees.

She said the attackers “wanted to undermine our sense of community, our openness and our willingness to help people in need. We firmly reject this”.

But she did propose new measures to improve security, including information sharing, deciphering web chatter and tackling arms sales on the internet.

A suicide bomb attack in Ansbach that injured 15 people was carried out by a Syrian who had been denied asylum but given temporary leave to stay.

An earlier attack on a train in Wuerzburg on 18 July that wounded five people was also carried out by an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, with both attackers claiming allegiance to the so-called Islamic State.

The deadliest recent attack – in Munich on 22 July which left nine dead – was carried out by a German teenager of Iranian extraction but was not jihadist-related.

Chancellor Merkel, who interrupted her summer holiday to hold the news conference in Berlin, said the asylum seekers who had carried out the attacks had “shamed the country that welcomed them”.

But she insisted that those fleeing persecution and war had a right to be protected, and Germany would not deny shelter to the deserving.

Referring to the attacks that have taken place in France, Belgium, Turkey, the US and elsewhere, she said they were intended to “spread fear and hatred between cultures and between religions”.

But in reference to her famous phrase “We can do this” – uttered last year when she agreed to take in a million migrants – Merkel said: “I am still convinced today that “we can do it”.

“It is our historic duty and this is a historic challenge in times of globalisation. We have already achieved very, very much in the last 11 months,” she said.

Sokoto Government Uncovers 12,915 Ghost workers

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Sokoto Government Uncovers 12,915 Ghost workers
Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal
Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal

The Sokoto State Government said it has uncovered no fewer than 12,915 `ghost workers,’ padded into the payrolls of the 23 local government areas of the state.

This was disclosed by the State’s Commissioner for Local Government and Community Development, Mannir Dan-Iya, during a media briefing in Sokoto on Thursday.

He said the discovery was made after the ministry had concluded a local government junior staff verification of about 58,143 workers, comprising of scheduled and unscheduled staff.

“The verification exercise yielded fruitful result, whereby about 12, 915 workers, comprising of seat-at-home and ghost workers were fished out of the local governments’ staff payrolls.”

Dan-Iya stated that the exercise was a huge success as it saved the state government over N319 million.

He added that plans are underway for a similar verification exercise of the ministry’s senior staff, whose salaries are paid through their respective banks.

He also said that issues that arose from the exercise, mostly associated with human errors, were being effectively addressed.

Gowon Seeks Better Plan For Nigeria’s Economy

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Gowon Seeks Better Plan For Nigeria’s Economy
Former Military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon
Former Military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon

Former Military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to do all it could to bring to an end the economic recession which Nigeria is currently grappling with.

Gowon made the call on Wednesday at the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, in Osun State, expressing optimism that the team put up by the federal government can come up with a solution to the crisis.

“I have left government for a long time, so I may not really know what the problem is. The current administration should do whatever they can to solve our economic challenges,

“They should find a way to restore confidence in the citizens and the nation at large by fixing the economy,” he said.

Reacting to the current budget padding scandal rocking the House of representatives, Gowon sad, “ If that is true. If anybody is doing that, the person should be checked and stopped to ensure that such does not occur in the future.

“We didn’t do it during my time. We had Chief Obafemi Awolowo in-charge of our finance and he taught us to survive without borrowing. Such (budget padding) should stop, there is no point doing that”, he added.

The former military president admitted that the masses and businesses were going through a tough time.

He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to find a way to restore the confidence of the people in the economy and the country at large.

Obama Extols Clinton At Democratic Convention

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Obama Extols Clinton At Democratic Convention
Obama, Hillary waves at cheering supporters
Obama, Hillary waves at cheering supporters

US President, Barack Obama has implored voters to help continue his legacy by carrying Hillary Clinton to victory at the polls in November.

Obama praised Clinton at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, saying that she is the most qualified person ever to run for the White House.

He said voters must choose between hope and fear, attacking “home-grown demagogue” Republican Donald Trump.

Obama recounted his key victories over his past eight years in office and painted an optimistic future.

He extolled Clinton’s character, calling her a “leader with real plans to break down barriers, blast through glass ceilings and widen the circle of opportunity to every single American”.

Obama described Americans as “full of courage, “decent and generous”, but also expressed concerns about racial divisions and “political gridlock”.

He said Trump’s grim portrait of America was “not the America I know”.

IGP Woos Royal Fathers

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IGP Woos Royal Fathers
The IGP and some Nasarawa State traditional rulers
The IGP and some Nasarawa State traditional rulers

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has called on traditional rulers across the country to cooperate with the police in ensuring the security of lives and property of all Nigerians.

This was made known in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Don Awunah.

The IGP made this plea while playing host to some traditional rulers from Nasarawa State, led by the Chairman of the Nasarawa State council of Traditional Rulers, Isa Mustapha Agwai who was represented by the Emir of Keffi, Chindo Yahusa.

He sought the cooperation of the royal fathers in crime prevention and control in their jurisdictions, asking them to ensure adequate security in their domains by prevailing on their subjects to be law abiding.

The IGP further informed the royal fathers of the establishment of the ‘Eminent Persons Forum’ in every State of the federation, urging them to participate actively in the forum by making inputs from their wealth of experience to intervene and resolve conflicts and crisis where they occur.

The Emir of Keffi, while responding on behalf of the Chairman of the Nasarawa State Traditional Rulers, assured the IGP of their support and cooperation, while also pledging their readiness to be of assistance whenever the need arises.

Army/Shiite Clash: Commission Indicts Zakzaky, Army

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Army/Shiite Clash: Commission Indicts Zakzaky, Army
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File:

The Commission of Inquiry set-up by the Kaduna State government to investigate the cause of the clash between members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, and soldiers last December, has blamed the leader of the group, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky for all the transgressions of the Shiites.

A copy of the commission’s report made available to the New Telegraph said that El-Zakzaky had refused to order his followers to allow passage to the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai and his convoy, when members of the IMN blocked the road at the PZ junction in Zaria, Kaduna State.

The 295-page report, which has 15 chapters, quoted the Secretary to Kaduna State Government as saying that Governor Nasir El Rufai had personally called El-Zakzaky on phone “to persuade him to prevail on his members to remove the road blockade to no avail.”

“Similarly, the testimony of the State Director of Department of State Services, DSS, indicated that he did contact a DSS officer at Hussainiyya Baqiyatillah (the headquarters of the Shiites where the roadblock was mounted) to persuade the IMN to allow passage for the COAS convoy to no effect,” the commission noted.

The commission said it heard 102 memoranda, received 39 exhibits and 87 witnesses testified before it.

“The refusal of the IMN leader to cooperate with appropriate authorities to direct his followers to grant access to the COAS, was unnecessary, inappropriate and confrontational in the circumstances.

“Considering the nature and organisational structure of IMN, where the leader has total control over the members, Sheikh Ibraheem El Zakzaky should be personally held responsible for all acts of commission or omission of the entire membership of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria in its clash with the Nigerian Army, for refusing to call his members to order when required to do so,” the report noted.

The commission, which was inaugurated on January 26, reported that “IMN has been steadfast and deliberate in widespread and habitual acts of lawlessness and defiance to constituted authorities, including the refusal to recognise the legitimacy, authority and the constitution of the Nigerian state.”

According to the report, the clash, which occurred between soldiers and Shiites in December is one out of several of such clashes with constituted authorities, adding that the clashes have continued “mainly due to weak and poor decisive/ proactive action and measures by appropriate constitutional authorities.”

The report recognised a “lack of political will at all levels of government to take proactive, appropriate and quick steps/ measures, including provision of proper and adequate equipment and training of law enforcement agencies, especially the Nigerian Police Force.”

The commission also noted that IMN has the habit of erecting roadblocks at will and “claims are rife that El Zakzaky orders IMN’s ‘Hurras’ or guards to arrest local residents for alleged offences such as not giving way to his entourage, prosecuting the arrested persons in his court, pass and execute judgements against them, including death penalty.”

The commission, however, faulted the Nigerian Army for “disproportionate use of force to deal with the situation.”

“The commission observed that the Nigerian Army had not followed its own rules of engagement and its actions would seem to be contrary to international standards, which must be strictly observed in carrying out such internal security operations,” the report stated.

In addition, the commission noted that the Nigerian Army was not forthcoming in the number of IMN casualties, although its memorandum revealed that it lost one soldier, Corporal Dan Kaduna Yakubu.

“The commission’s findings are that a total of 349 persons lost their lives during the clashes. The commission could not ascertain whether out of the said 349 who lost their lives, the seven people who died at the road blockade were included in the 347 buried in a mass grave by Kaduna state government,” the report stated.

The commission also indicted the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 1st Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade for giving a verbal order to soldiers to undertake a cordon and search operation around El Zakzaky’s residence.

According to the report, the standard practice is for such an order to be given either by the president or COAS in writing, which was not done.

It was not clear whether the GOC obtained a written order from President Muhammadu Buhari or Buratai before giving the verbal order for the operation to commence.

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