Kukah: No leader in the world as irresponsible as the Nigerian president

Matthew Kukah, bishop of the Catholic diocese of Sokoto, says no president in the world can be as irresponsible as a Nigerian president. 

The cleric said this while delivering the annual lecture at the Ulefunta/Oyemekun festival in Akure, capital of Ondo state, on Friday.

Kukah said Nigerian presidents are irresponsible with the use of power.

He said the structure of the Nigerian presidential office makes the holders of the office extremely powerful, so much that he can deploy power the way he want.

Kukah said unlike American presidents who do not emerge by circumstance, from inception till date, all presidents were virtually dragged into office.

“No president in the world has the kind of power the Nigerian president has and as such, no president in the world can be as irresponsible as the Nigerian president,” he said.

“His power is so much that he can give oil bloc to his girlfriend and many others. You thus can’t be a man of honour and live in a country like Nigeria and not be angry.

“What is the problem? It is the dilemma of leadership. In America, there are basic expectations of what  a president should be. For instance, he must have gone through Harvard as an institution, he must have language and track record, not even wealth. You can’t surprise the system.

“Here in Nigeria, a local government chairman wants to be governor; the governor wants to be president and the president doesn’t want to go! Many states have two governors representing them at the national assembly. Governors have control and monopoly of resources of state and they use same resources to oppress them.”

Kukah added that the Nigerian society is in ferment as the instability, the country is facing is inevitable in any system.

“In Nigeria, it is not a question of looking for trouble because trouble is already here. The Nigerian state has no capacity to protect itself and there is no loyalty to Nigeria from its citizens but to those who help individuals to get to positions in the system,”  he said.

Kukah, however, singled out two former Nigerian leaders out of the leadership rot, Obafemi Awolowo and Aminu Kano, whom he called “architects of a good society”.

“Awolowo, for his major quintessential evidence as somebody who already figured out what he would do with power if he got it,” he said.

“He understood the building blocks for an egalitarian society. Aminu Kano single handedly took on the feudal class in Northern society and had a deep understanding of society, even as he textually talked about a free society in a way and manner that didn’t offend religion.

“We have to understand the building blocks of society which is not too different from the rules of building a house. A good society is not different from the building blocks of society. When a building collapses, it didn’t collapse in a day. It began to collapse a long time ago. For us to build a good society, we have to have eyes that monitor the needs, growth and development and feelings of that society. Then you can be sure of the quality of that society. “ - TheCable

Again 5 ritualists arrested with 11 skulls in Kwara

The Kwara State Police Command has arrested 5 suspected ritualists caught with 11 human skull, various human bones, among others at Aromaradu Area, Adewole Ilorin.

The state Commissioner of Police, Aminu Saleh disclosed this on Friday, while parading the suspects at the police headquarters in Ilorin.

Saleh gave the suspects names as: Azeez Yakub, Salima Azeez, Isah Wasiu, Abubakar Isiaka and Soliu Yakub.

He said that the suspects were arrested by the police on Oct. 5, following the information received from residents of the area.

He also said that one Segun Akande was arrested on Sept. 22 at Sapati Area Ilorin over alleged theft of one Toyota Serena Bus with registration number KSF 626 XR belonging to KASMAG Transport LTD.

Saleh added that investigation into the matter was ongoing and that the suspects would be charged to court as soon as the investigation was concluded. - Daily Post

Eight South African policemen arrested over alleged killing of Nigerian

The Nigerian Union in South Africa and families of Nigerians killed in that country may soon get justice as the South African Police have arrested eight policemen in connection with the alleged 2017 brutal murder of a Nigerian.

Mr Adetola Olubajo, President of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, confirmed the arrest on telephone from Pretoria on Friday.

According to him, Mr Badmus Olalekan Ibrahim, 25, was allegedly tortured to death by his killers in Vanderbijlpark near Johannesburg in 2017.

“Badmus Ibrahim, a native of Ibadan in Oyo State was tortured and brutally murdered on Oct. 10, 2017 by police officers.

“The officers were arrested today (Oct. 5) in Vereeniging outside Johannesburg. They will be arraigned in Vanderbijlpark Magistrate Court on Monday (Oct. 8) for murder and torture,’’ he disclosed on telephone.

Olubajo said the police officers were indicted for murder and torture by the South Africa’s Independent Police Investigating Directorate (IPID) on Sept. 27, 2018.

He said the union had since the incident occurred followed up the matter with IPID to ensure justice was served to Ibrahim’s killers.

He commended IPID for its intervention and cooperation with the union in ensuring the culprits were arrested and charged.

“This is a welcome development as the community and the family of Ibrahim Badmus will hopefully get justice on the murder of their son.

“We call on South African authorities to investigate all murder cases involving our nationals irrespective of who is suspected to be the killer,” he appealed.

Olubajo said the eight police officers were currently held in Biopatong Holding Cell, Gauteng Province in the former apartheid enclave.

According to unofficial sources, up to 800,000 Nigerians mostly young people reside in South Africa. - PM News

STOLEN MANDATE !! Oyetola pays `Thank You’ visit to Buhari

The Osun Governor-elect, Adegboyega Oyetola, on Friday paid a ‘Thank You’ visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Oyetola won the Osun State governorship election with 255,505 votes to beat Sen. Ademola Adeleke, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 255,023 votes.

The governor was accompanied on the visit by outgoing governor of the state, Rauf Aregbesola and Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state, who served as chairman, APC campaign committee for Osun governorship election.

Oyetola, who spoke with State House correspondents after the closed-door meeting with President Buhari, pledged to consolidate on the achievements of the outgoing governor of the state.

He also pledged to run a transparent government and to improve on the infrastructural facilities in the state.

“I came to say a big thank you to Mr President for the support he gave to us during the election and to thank the leadership of our party all over the country for being with us throughout the period.

“I also assure him that by the grace of God, I must run a very transparent government.

“The governor and the party have done so well in Osun and I will want to continue to consolidate on those achievements and improve on them in the area of infrastructure, particularly the economy.

“It is a continuation of the legacies that he built. I believe that the people have confidence in our party, they believe in us and we will not abuse the opportunity given to us to continue to be in government,’’ he said.

Oyetola also promised to review the state’s revenue sources with a view to boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and ensure that we are able to look inward for sustainability.

According to him, payment of workers’ salaries and pensions will continue to receive the deserved attention by his administration.

“We have actually been addressing that (salary). Recently, we have paid about four months of salary backlog and I believe we will settle all the outstanding and we have started even paying full salary.

“I believe we will be able to sustain it by the grace of God.

“We will review our (Internally Generated Revenue) IGR to ensure that we are able to look inward for sustainability,’’ he added.

The outgoing governor of Osun, who also spoke to the correspondents, described those who embarked on the street protest against the results of the Osun governorship election even after the constitution of Electoral Tribunal as people with mental challenges.

He said: “I will not even respond to this because what you are referring to is a charade, an act of gross irresponsibility from people who ought to know that after an election, the only option left for every responsible citizen is to go to the tribunal.

“And again interestingly, the other party that was defeated in the election is already in the tribunal.

“I don’t now know what the protest you are talking about is meant to do.

“If you are already in court and you are still doing a street protest either you are not mentally stable or you need psychiatric attention.’’

On his part, Gov. Ganduje said they were at the presidential villa to present the Osun Gov.-Elect to the president.

Ganduje thanked the president for providing the enabling environment for a truly fair election in Osun State.

He said: “We are here in order to present our Governor-elect to Mr President and to thank him in what he has done to allow for free and fair election.’’ - PM News

Civil Defence rescues 12 human trafficking victims

The Edo Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says it has rescued about 12 victims of human trafficking and child labour in the past five months.

Mr Makinde Ayinla, State Commandant of the Corps, disclosed this on Friday in Benin during a one day workshop on the menace of human trafficking and illegal migration.

The workshop with the theme: “Sensitisation of Students on the Menace of Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration was organised by the Edo Command of the NSCDC.

Ayinla said that it had become imperative for the corps to sensitise students on the ills of human trafficking in view of the prevalent danger victims were exposed and subjected to.

He noted that human trafficking had claimed the lives of many Nigerian citizens, making early sensitisation of students imperative.

The commandant said that the first sentence of the Act establishing the Corps which is “Security of Lives and Properties”, highlighted the need for the corps to join in the fight against the menace.

Ayinla noted that the power of a nation lay with factors such as security, education, manpower, technological know-how and the youths.

According to him, the youths suffer the most in African nations even though they are the backbone of the development of any nation in the world.

He listed the challenges confronting the youths to child labour, street hawking, rape, prostitution, trafficking and illegal migration.

He said the effects of these challenges on the victims were sometimes devastating.

Ayinla said that the workshop would be an eye-opener to students, parents and stakeholders on the need to intensify efforts at curbing the menace. - PM News

Adeboye threatens Freeze, reveals what he will do to OAP

Leke Adeboye, the last son and Senior Personal Assistant of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye has threatened to deal with Popular Cool FM’s On-Air Personality, OAP, Daddy Freeze, for criticizing his mother, Foluke Adeboye.

DAILY POST had reported that Foluke, Adeboye, Wife of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, had advised the youths to seek the counsel of their pastors first before their parents when they find their life partner.

But, Daddy Freeze, who is a staunch critic of Nigerian pastors and had been in a war of words with Pastor Enoch Adeboye over tithe related issues, berated the pastor’s wife for her counsel to the youths.

However, in a swift reaction, Leke said, “bros, I have left you alone before, but if you come after my mother, I will come after you and yours with everything I have.

“She was not talking to you or your followers, maybe if you had done the same thing, you will still be happy and married right now.

“Stop taking things out of context, listen to the whole message first.”

- Daily Post

62-year-old man caught having sex with 2 boys

Tanko, 62, Samiu, 18, and Mustapha, 16, were brought before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos on a two-count charge of conspiracy and having unlawful sexual intercourse.

NAN reports that the accused pleaded not guilty to the alleged offences.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Chinalu Uwadione, told the court that the accused committed the offences on Sept. 29, at 8.00 p.m., at Agege, a suburb of Lagos.

Uwadione said that the sexagenarian and the teenage boys were caught having oral and penetrative sex.

He said the offences contravened Sections 261 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr O.O. Olatunji, admitted them to bail in the sum of N200,000 each with two sureties each who must be responsible and gainfully employed.

Olatunji said that pending perfection of their bail applications, Tanko should be remanded in custody while the boys should be kept at the Borstal Correctional Institute, Adigbe, Abeokuta, Ogun.

He ordered that the case file be duplicated and forwarded to the office of the state Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and adjourned the case until Nov. 5 for advice. - Daily Post

50-year-old man rapes 3-year-old girl to death in Katsina State

A Katsina State Senior Magistrates’ Court on Thursday remanded a 50-year-old man identified as Abdullahi Sani for allegedly raping his neighbour’s 3-year-old daughter to death in Funtua, Katsina State.

The police prosecutor, Inspector Sani Ado, told the court that the victim’s father, Ibrahim Abdullahi who resides at Jabiri Quarters, reported the incident at the Funtua Central Police Station.

He said, ‘’The accused allegedly lured the victim into an uncompleted building where he raped her.

‘’He covered the victim’s mouth with his hand during the act to keep her from alerting neighbours, thereby suffocating her to death.”

However, the accused has been slammed with charges of rape and culpable homicide contrary to sections 283 and 221 of the Penal Code.

The presiding magistrate, Hajiya Fadile Dikko, adjourned the case till November 20, 2018, for mention and ordered that Sani be remanded in the prison custody. - Daily Post

Festus Keyamo, spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari reelection campaign, has described those who protested at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as “known  masters of rigging”.

On Friday, Senate President Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives, led a protest to INEC headquarters over the Osun governorship election.

Among those who joined the protest were Uche Secondus, PDP national chairman , Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto state, Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa and Ben Bruce, senator representing Bayelsa east.

They had demanded that the electoral body declare Ademola Adeleke, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the winner of the poll.

The protesters also described INEC as an arm of the federal government.

The opposition had claimed that the rerun was rigged in favour of the APC.

Adeleke had defeated Gbenga Oyetola, his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, with 353 votes but INEC declared the election inconclusive and fixed a rerun won by Oyetola.

Reacting to the protest via his Twitter handle, Keyamo, a senor advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said “the protest was more about the refusal of INEC to allow them practice their trade”.

“Some Nigerians I saw were laughing out so loud today when they saw pictures of some know masters of rigging ‘protesting’ at INEC office against ‘rigging’ in Osun State,” Keyamo wrote.

“I therefore concluded that the protest was more about the refusal of INEC to allow them practice their trade.”

Meanwhile, Bruce alleged that he was teargassed by the police. The lawmaker said he went with words but “they answered with bullets!”

“I have just been teargassed by the @PoliceNG at @inecnigeria office. Gunshots have been fired. This was a d still is a peaceful protest,” Bruce tweeted.

“How can I be treated like this in a country I have fought for and invested in? This is madness, I came with words they answered with bullets!” - TheCable

34-year-old man remanded for battering man to death

An Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Lagos, on Friday, remanded a 34-year-old man, Idris Habib, accused of bludgeoning a man to death.

Habib, whose address was not provided, is facing a charge of murder.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr O.O. Olatunji , who did not take the plea of the accused because his court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, ordered Habib’s remand at the Ikoyi Prison.

Olatunji directed that the case file be duplicated and forwarded to the office of the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice and thereafter adjourned the case until Nov. 8 for mention.

Earlier, Cyril Ejiofor, a Police counsel, told the court that the accused committed the offence on Aug. 22, at 3.20 p.m., at Abijo, Ibeju Lekki in Lagos State.

He said that the accused during an altercation used a plank to hit the deceased, Kehinde Bakare, 43, on his head, making him slip into unconsciousness, and the latter eventually died in the hospital.

The offence contravened Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos  State, 2015 which prescribes a death sentence for offenders. - PM News

You may be arrested, jailed for spraying naira notes at parties

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks have resolved to introduce mobile courts to arrest currency hawkers and people who spray at parties.

Hamda Ambah, managing director, FSDH Merchant Bank, made this known on Thursday while briefing journalists on the resolutions of the Bankers’ Committee.

“We are going to be disseminating information on the right way to handle the naira so that people do not handle the money incorrectly,” she said.

“And specifically, one of the things we are frowning on and action is to be taken on people who sell the currency.

“In the near future, there is going to be an introduction of mobile court to handle such situation and those caught would be dealt with on the spot.”

Providing more information on the resolution, Isaac Okorafor, CBN’s director of corporate communications, said the apex bank is empowered by its 2007 Act to punish cases of naira abuse with a fine of N50,000, a six-month jail term or both.

“We are collaborating with every agency of government, the Ministry of Justice, judiciary and the Nigeria Police and we would insist that those who abuse the naira would be punished,” the bank’s spokesman said.

“So it is not only hawking, if at a party, someone dances upon the naira or sprays it, that person may instantly go to jail from that party reception. Nigerians should bear that in mind. We are serious about it.”

Herbert Wigwe, the chief executive officer of Access Bank, said the committee also resolved to provide more support for agriculture and manufacturing so that the CBN can reduce forex allocation to some items.

“It was resolved at the Bankers’ Committee that discretionary Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) that has been built over time should be channeled towards agriculture in a very impactful manner,” he said.

“The deliberations were that most of the monies should also be channeled towards the manufacturing sector so basically looking at the entire value chain of the manufacturing sector.

“The idea was that if it was done properly in the way it is being pursued, very soon or sometime in the future the central bank may start looking at ways to reduce allocations to specific items because we would have been producing sufficient locally to enable us restrict imports. That way, the pressure on our reserves would be reduced.”

At present, the apex bank does not provide forex for the importation of 41 items including cosmetics and toothpicks. -TheCable

42-year-old man caught with 380g of cocaine

A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Friday, sentenced a 42-year-old man, Chris Ani, to a term of four years imprisonment for trafficking 380g of Cocaine.

Ani was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) before Justice Ayokunle Faji on a charge of drug trafficking.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges when he was first arraigned on May 24, but later opted to change his plea.

Consequently, he was re-arraigned on July 2 and pleaded guilty to the charge, after which the court adjourned the case for review of facts and sentencing.

Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Faji held that section 11 (a) of the NDLEA Act stipulates a maximum punishment for the offence, but owing to the fact that the convict was a first offender, same ought not to be imposed on him.

Faji, therefore, found the accused guilty of the offences as charged, and sentenced him to a term of four years imprisonment, beginning from the date of arraignment.

Meanwhile, the court ordered that the international passport of the convict be forfeited to the Federal Government, while the Nigeria Immigration Service should be notified of the judgment.

Faji also ordered that the drug exhibit be destroyed by the NDLEA after the expiration of the period of appeal.

In the charge, the convict is said to have committed the offence on March 5.

According to the prosecution, he was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport during the inward clearance of an airline flight from Brazil.

The prosecutor, Mrs Juliana Iroabuchi, said about 380g of Cocaine was recovered from the convict, which he concealed in a music disk pack.

The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 11 (a) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30 Laws of the Federation 2004. - Daily Post

Police fire teargas, shoot at Saraki, Dogara, Ben Bruce, others at INEC office

Police have reportedly attacked leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who are currently protesting against the outcome of the Osun State Governorship election at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja. 

“I have just been teargassed by the @PoliceNG at @inecnigeria office. Gunshots have been fired.

“This was a peaceful protest. How can I be treated like this in a country I have fought for and invested in?

“This is madness, I came with words they answered with bullets!” Senator Ben Murray Bruce tweeted.

Leaders of the opposition party among whom are the Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; and the National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, led the protesters to INEC office after they had earlier converged at the national headquarters of the PDP in Abuja.

Also among the protesters are Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State; former Niger State Governor and presidential aspirant, Sule Lamido; and Senator Dino Melaye, among others.

The PDP wants the electoral umpire to declare PDP candidate, Ademola Adeleke the winner of the Osun election. - Daily Post