As usual ! 2018 Budget ready next week- Reps

The 2018 Budget will be passed next week, the House of Representatives has assured.

While briefing reporters at the National Assembly on Thursday, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity, Abdulrasak Namdas said that barring all unforeseen circumstances, the 2018 Appropriation bill will be passed into law.

He said: “By the Grace of God, we will lay the budget on Tuesday and then try to pass it that same week.

“But we’re laying it on Tuesday and I can assure you that within that same week, we’re going to pass it.

“We tried to do that, but you know, the budget is a voluminous document.. Actually, we’ve been working hard so that we can beat the deadline, and hopefully this time around, I can assure you that by next week, everything about the budget will be concluded and passed..”

Namdas, while responding to a question on the proposed three- day suspension of legislative activities to protest the killings across the country, said it will take effect after the passage of the Appropriation bill and follow no definite pattern.

If you recall, there had been conflicting dates given by the House on when Nigerians should expect the passage of the Appropriation Bill.

While the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara had earlier announced that the budget would be ready by late April , the Chairman House Committee on Appropriation, Mustapha Dawaki said the budget would be ready in May.

After President Muhammadu Buhari presented the N8.612 trillion budget for 2018 to National Assembly early November last year, there had been hope for an early passage this time.

But from all indications the appropriation bill which the President called ” a budget of consolidation ” is going to follow the late passage pattern of previous money bills. - The Nation

Shocking !!! Lawyer stabs husband to death, removes his penis in Lagos

A female lawyer identified as Udeme on Thursday allegedly stabbed her husband, Otike Odibi to death, severed his genital and placed it on his right hand.

The incident happened at Diamond Estate, Sango-Tedo area of Lagos.

The tragedy was said to have occurred around 7:30am on Thursday, the police confirmed, describing the scene as an eyesore.

The deceased, Odibi, also a lawyer has been married to his wife, Udeme for three years without a child.

SP Chike Oti, Police Public Relations Officer, while confirming the incident, said the Divisional Police Officer, Ogombo, Ajah, Lagos, received a distress call at about 0730hrs, that one Mr. Otike Odibi, was allegedly killed in his home at Diamond Estate, Sango-Tedo Lagos, by his wife, one Mrs Udeme Odibi.

“Based on the information, the DPO mobilised a team of detectives to the scene where they found the man lying on the bed in the pool of his own blood, with his stomach ripped open exposing the intestine. As if that was not enough, the killer severed his genital and placed it on his right hand.

“However, before the arrival of the Police, Mrs Udeme who had unsuccessfully attempted to commit suicide after allegedly killing her husband, was rushed to the hospital for treatment by neighbours.

“Sequel to the above, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Edgal Imohimi, directed Crime Scene Detectives from the homicide section of the SCID Panti Yaba and Forensic experts to the scene to aid in the investigation.

“The deceased first marriage produced a daughter currently schooling in the UK. However, the current marriage is said to be without a child. Further information from a neighbour, revealed that the deceased called him on phone in the night before he was murdered, complaining that the wife was threatening to kill him with a knife.

“The said neighbour, however, warned him to be careful. The deceased also called his mother and his younger sister complaining of threat to his life that fateful night,” he said.

CP Oti further advised couples to learn to resolve their matrimonial disputes amicably without resorting to violence. -Daily Post

Reps reject call to suspend ban on importation of vehicles through land borders

The house of representatives has rejected a motion seeking to suspend the ban on importation of vehicles into the country through land borders.

The federal government, through the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS), placed the ban in December 2016.

At plenary on Thursday, Mojeed Alabi from Osun called for the suspension of the ban, saying it has “aided inter-border smuggling, promoted corrupt practices, and impoverished the generality of Nigerians”.

“The federal government should suspend the ban as it not only impoverishes Nigerians but also has an adverse effect on the economy,” he said.

But not a single lawmaker who contributed to the notion afterwards supported the suspension.

Ossai Ossai from Edo state said the motion did not give “a feature of a complete investigation”.

“This honourable house operates on practice and procedure. The house must find out why the ban was in place, if it is affecting our economy or not, and the motion is not even telling us that. So we should be able to come up with cogent reasons to tell the government why the ban should be suspended or lifted,” he said.

Peter Akpatason from Edo state said what the motion is seeing is “completely unheard of”.

He said: “I don’t think that as a country, we should open our borders to uncheck inflow of cars. I don’t see any country in the world that will open their borders for second hand cars to go in.

“We should rather be talking about engaging the government to tell us why we have the customs and the ban is not fully implemented. This house should not ridicule itself by asking that we should push for the suspension of the ban.”

Thereafter, the lawmakers dropped the prayer and mandated the committees on governmental affairs; customs and excise to liaise with the comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant stakeholders to “review the workability of the ban”. - Cable Nigeria

Transfer news : Borussia Dortmund keen on Tiemoue Bakayoko

Borussia Dortmund are reportedly keen on a move for Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko.

According to claims from the Daily Mail recently, the Bundesliga giants have taken an interest in the Frenchman’s situation at Stamford Bridge and have considered a swoop.

Bakayoko has endured a testing first season in English football and has struggled to establish himself in Antonio Conte’s starting line-up at Chelsea.

The promising midfielder was recruited for a fee in the region of £40 million in the summer following an impressive season with AS Monaco. He helped his side to a league title but has been unable to perform at the same level in a Chelsea shirt.

Claims have been made in recent weeks to suggest that Chelsea will persist with Bakayoko and refuse any potential offers in the summer.

However, it seems Borussia Dortmund are keeping a close eye on the Frenchman and his ongoing predicament at Chelsea, with Peter Stoger’s side also keen to land Michy Batshuayi on a permanent deal. - Read Sport

UK's longest-serving prisoner released after nearly 43 years

Britain’s longest-serving prisoner has been released after nearly 43 years.

John Massey, 69, was convicted in 1975 of the murder of Charlie Higgins, a pub doorman, and was handed a mandatory 20-year life sentence – but he spent more than twice as long in jail after escaping on two occasions to say goodbye to dying members of his family in Kentish Town, north London.

Massey’s extraordinary story includes a prison break from Pentonville in 2012, in an attempt to see his mother, May Massey, on her deathbed. He had been denied compassionate leave.

He had served a sentence almost two decades longer than other prisoner in the UK convicted of a similar crime when he walked out of HMP Warren Hill in Suffolk on Wednesday morning.

Since Massey’s escape in 2012, he has had three pleas for freedom rejected by the Parole Board and served time in Belmarsh, one of the UK’s highest security prisons.

Last week a panel decided that Massey, who has seen the inside of nearly every jail in the country, should be freed.

Massey first escaped in 1994 by climbing out of a pub window while on an escorted home visit to see his parents in north London. He travelled to Spain where he stayed for three years before being extradited and sent back to prison.

In 2007, he broke parole conditions to sit by his father Jack’s deathbed. On another occasion, he walked out of an open prison to visit his sister, Carol, who had a terminal illness after being denied compassionate leave.

Massey said on his release: “I have always deeply regretted the crime I committed and am aware of the consequences and the suffering it caused. It happened in a moment of madness.

“I have served my sentence with remorse and am thankful the Parole Board have come to the decision that I should now be released.”

His solicitor, John Turner, who has fought to secure Massey’s freedom for a decade, said: “John’s release is long overdue and I am absolutely thrilled for John and his relatives, whom I have worked closely with for a number of years. John comes from an extremely tight-knit family who have supported him throughout his many years in prison.”

He said Massey’s escape attempts had been tied to a sense of loyalty towards a family who had stood by him, adding: “John is a proud man – some may even say stubborn – and having acted for him for many years, he has been candid in explaining that he would have acted in the same way again if he was ever put in a similar position.”

Turner said despite breaking rules, his client posed no danger to the public. Massey, an accomplished self-taught blues guitarist, has to fulfil strict parole conditions.

The Parole Board hearing a fortnight ago, where his case for release was supported by a key worker, prison staff and his probation officer, had gone as well as could be hoped, Massey said.

: “I really wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t want to feel hope. I know the system and I did not want to think about going through the parole process yet again, and having to wait another year,” he added.

Massey was later told a bed at a halfway house in London would need to be found before he could leave his cell. Some prisoners, he said, had waited months.

“I’d be happy to get a sleeping bag and kip under the railway arches if it meant I could leave this place,” he said. _ The Guardian 

Fears of Rigging Hang Over Zimbabwe's First Post-Mugabe Vote

Zimbabwe’s main opposition Movement for Democratic Change is convinced it has enough support to secure an outright win in upcoming elections. It’s less confident it will actually be able to claim power.

The southern African nation that has the world’s biggest platinum reserves after South Africa hasn’t had a peaceful political transition since white-minority rule ended in 1980, and all the votes held since 2000 that handed victory to Robert Mugabe were marred by allegations of rigging and violence. While Mugabe was forced to quit in November and his successor Emmerson Mnangagwa has promised a free and fair election, the MDC says sweeping reforms are essential to ensure its credibility. 

“We’re preparing and planning for the best, but budgeting for the worst,” MDC leader Nelson Chamisa said in an interview in his office in Harare, the capital. “The worst is obviously a rigged election, a blocked transition, where we have victory but the military or some other force refuses to accept the will of the electorate.”

A 40-year-old lawyer, Chamisa took control of the MDC after its long-time leader Morgan Tsvangirai succumbed to cancer in February and will contest the presidency against Mnangagwa, 75, a former intelligence chief. The MDC has allied with six smaller opposition parties for the vote, which must be held by Aug. 22.

Ballot Concerns

While the opposition isn’t anticipating a repetition of the numerous murders and rape and arson attacks that marred previous campaigns, it has concerns about controls over the ballot papers, the integrity of the voters’ role and the composition of the National Logistical Commission, which will run the election, according to Chamisa.

No opinion polls on the likely election outcome have been published to far. Surveys conducted ahead of previous votes proved unreliable.

Mnangagwa came to power in November after Mugabe was forced to resign following a brief takeover by the military, led by former general Constantino Chiwenga, who’s now his vice president.

Rashweat Mukundu, an analyst at the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, said the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front may resort to intimidation and violence if it sees its grip on power under threat.

“The electoral playing field is still very much tilted in favor of Zanu-PF, starting with control of the electoral process and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, which is staffed by known Zanu-PF loyalists,” he said.

Zanu-PF has dismissed concerns about rigging and says it will easily win what will be a fair contest.

“We’ve invited observers from around the world, including the European Union, because we want this election to be acceptable both at home and abroad,” Simon Khaya Moyo, a ruling party spokesman, said by phone.

The election date is likely to be announced within the next few weeks. About 5.3 million people have registered to cast ballots.

Eldred Masunungure, a political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, considers an opposition win unlikely.

“Yes, there’s evidence that the MDC alliance has gained considerable grassroots support, going by attendance at their rallies, but I don’t think it’s enough to upset Zanu-PF,” he said by phone. - Bloomberg

End herdsmen killings now, if you are not their sponsor – PFN tells Nigerian govt

Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), South-South region, has accused the Federal Government of supporting the wanton killings by herdsmen in some states of the Middle-Belt.

The Christian body said the Nigerian government should prove its allegation wrong by ending the spate of killings across the country in two weeks.

The Vice President (South-South) of the PFN, Bishop Simeon Okah, made the allegation on Thursday, at a press briefing held at the headquarters of Flock of Christ Mission, Enerhen town in Delta State.

The cleric, who insisted that people in government knew the identity of the killers, called on the nation’s security chiefs to resign, having failed in their duties to protect lives of Nigerians.

He lauded President Donald Trump of the United States of America (USA), for tasking President Buhari to end the killing of Christians and other Nigerians across the country.

His words, “The federal government, from the least to the top, knows where the forces killing these people come from and if their hands are not in it, they should stop it.

“In another two weeks, if these killings don’t stop, Nigerians should know that the Federal Government has refused to address the issue.

“Buhari is a retired general and what some of us thought he is, if we didn’t over-value him, he has what it takes to stop this whole thing in one week.

“The storehouses where these arms are piled are all over the country, not only in the Middle belt, even in Delta here; the country is not safe. There are arms piled up everywhere.

“Where do herdsmen get money to buy AK47? How many cows will you sell to buy one?” he queried.

The cleric joined other notable Nigerians to call on all the service chiefs to resign their appointments having failed in their duty to stop the pogrom in the country.

“Those who have been calling for the sack of the military chiefs have their reasons; our security chiefs can’t deny that they don’t know the source arming these people.

“They can’t deny that some of them are the ones who gave these people those arms.

“If that in Nigeria nobody resigns, even when they are failing, by now our top security chiefs ought to have all resigned and I’m not talking just about the army; all of them, including the DSS and the police, are there.

“It’s only the junior ones who don’t know, the top class knows where arms are piled, they know where they came from,” he noted.

The fiery man of God further alleged that the grand plan of the killers in the Middle-Belt is to wipe out those who mention the name of Jesus, urging Trump to take Buhari to task in preventing this.

“What I will like Trump to still understand, for now, the concentration is on the Middle-Belt, they want to see how everybody who mentions Jesus, in the whole Middle-Belt, is to be cleared, quote me, if anybody doubts me, by the grace of God I can stand and give prove.

“Why some of us are feeling concerned is because the people in the Middle-Belt are not animals, they are not birds or chickens.

“The issue is not just because they are Christians, but because they are human beings.

“That’s why I said Trump tried, but he will still have to call him because apart from the Middle-Belt you all know that there’s killing all around this country,” he averred.

However, Bishop Okah acknowledged that before President Buhari came on board, there were kidnappings, Boko Haram insurgency as well as armed robberies, “but you will agree with me that these last three years all these things have increased.” - Daily Post

Melaye: Falana asks NASS to domesticate UN’s standard for treating criminals

Lawyer and activist, Femi Falana (SAN) has urged members of the National Assembly (NASS) to domesticate the United Nations (UN) Minimum Standard for the Treatment of Criminal Suspects in the country.

He described the manner the Police arraigned the Senator in Abuja and Lokoja as “particularly degrading and humiliating” and “a breach of his fundamental rights”.

In a statement issued in Lagos Thursday, Falana advised the law makers to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the travails of Senator Dina Melaye in adopting the law without further delay as part of the nation’s criminal justice reform.

The statement is titled “Melaye’s case provides an opportunity to reform our criminal justice”.
It stated: “the arraignment of Senator Dino Melaye in a stretcher in Abuja Thursday and Lokoja this morning is unacceptable in a civilised society.

“It is particularly degrading and humiliating as it violates the fundamental right to the dignity of his person guaranteed by Section 34 of the Constitution and Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

“Even though the Senator has my sympathy, it is indistinguishable that he has only been given a little dose of the humiliating treatment that is daily meted out to the flotsam and jetsam of our unjust society by the Nigeria Police Force and other law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.

“Therefore, the senator’s case should not be treated in isolation by the Senate and the bourgeois media.

“While the solidarity of the federal legislators with Senator Melaye is understandable the tragic turn of events calls for sober reflection.

“Apart from joining the call for the immediate release of Sheik Ibraheem Elzakzaky and Col.  Sambo Dasuki (retd) in line with the valid and subsisting orders of competent courts,
the National Assembly is called upon to take advantage of Senator Melaye’s case to adopt and domesticate the United Nations Minimum Standard for the Treatment of Criminal Suspects in Nigeria without any delay,” he stated. - The Nation