5 Catholic nuns abducted in Delta

 
Five Catholic nuns have been abducted by gunmen in Delta state.

The nuns belong to the Order of the Missionary of Martha and Mary in Agbor.

PUNCH reports that they were returning from a burial ceremony in the south-east when the gunmen kidnapped them at Railway Line near Agbor, Ika South local government area of Delta.

The vehicle conveying the nuns was reportedly shot at, with two of them getting hit on the legs by the bullets.

The incident was said to have taken place on Thursday.

A priest in the diocese was quoted as saying: “Please, pray for the release of five MMM Sisters kidnapped at Agbor, and two other MMM Sisters in the same vehicle shot at the leg region.

“The sisters were on their way from the east where they went for a funeral.”

Muhammad Mustafa, the state commissioner of police, confirmed the incident, saying the victims were in a private vehicle when they were abducted. -THECABLE

Again, butchers clash with Oyo task force team over relocation order

 

 Butchers in Gbagi market, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Friday, clashed with officials of the State Joint task force team over enforcement of relocation order to Central Abattoir in Amosun, Akinyele Local Government Area of the state.

DAILY POST recalls that the state government under the leadership of Senator Abiola Ajimobi, few months ago had ordered all butchers in the 11 local government areas in Ibadan to relocate to a private abattoir situated at Amosun, a village in the outskirt of Ibadan.

The decision to move the butchers from some markets such as Bodija, Gbagi, Babarere, Gege and Oranyan among others was, however, resisted by the butchers who argued that the state government does not have the power to relocate them forcefully. 

The relocation order later led to a clash between the butchers and men of the state police command, the mayhem which later claimed no fewer than three lives at Bodija market in June this year.

A human rights group, Veteran Organization for Human Rights (VOHRI) led by Comrade Sakirullah Busari (Lead Activist) and Comrade Adekunle Abimbola (General Secretary), after the incident insisted that the state government and the police should compensate the families of the victims for violating the victims’ fundamental human rights but DAILY POST gathered that nothing had been done by either the state government or the police to compensate the victims or their families since the unfortunate incident.

DAILY POST reports that though, no live was lost during the Friday’s clash, but no fewer than two buses of the Pacesetter Transport Services owned by the state government were vandalised.

It was gathered that the task force comprising officers of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), State Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, among others, had arrested some butchers for flouting the relocation order.

The butchers, it was learnt clashed with the task force team when they discovered that their members were being taken away in government’s busses.

The task force, it was gathered was compelled to release the arrested butchers so as to leave the volatile scene alive.

Executive Secretary, Oyo Bureau of Investment Promotion and Public Private Partnership, Mr Yinka Fatoki while reacting said the culprits had been identified and will be prosecuted.

Fatoki decried the butchers’ attack on the state government’s task force as impunity, pointing out that the government may be forced to increase the number of personnel in the task force to go all out against erring butchers. - DAILY POST

Why Buhari doesn’t need WAEC certificate to contest in 2019 – Adegboruwa

Ebun-olu Adegboruwa, a lawyer and human rights activist, has declared that President Muhammadu Buhari is qualified to contest the presidential election in 2019.

He said the hues and cries over his eligibility having failed to publicly present his WAEC certificate was needless.

A statement by Adegboruwa on Monday noted that section 131, of the 1999 Constitution provided that a person is qualified for election to the office of President if “he is a citizen of Nigeria; He has attained the age of forty years; He is a member of a political party and he is sponsored by that political party; He has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.”

He said: “In my humble view, Gen Buhari has met all the above requirements.

“Under and by virtue of section 318 (1) of the Constitution: “School Certificate or its equivalent” means-

a. a Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or

b. education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or

c. Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and-

i. service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for a minimum of ten years, and

ii. attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods totalling up to a minimum of one year, and

iii. the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission, and

d. any other qualification acceptable by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

The lawyer said the authors of the Constitution imposed those conditions upon Nigerians and the people have to accept them and live with them until they were changed.

He added: “Anybody who can read, write and communicate in English, who has attended military courses, who has served in the public service of the Federation or even in the Army, is eminently qualified to aspire to be elected as President of Nigeria.

“That is why I have kept referring to the President as Maj-Gen in this statement, to show that he’s qualified, even by virtue of his military rank alone.

“So, it is only a moral burden, for the President, if he claimed to have attended any secondary school, to produce the certificate of that school, to the satisfaction of Nigerians, but that has nothing to do with his legal right to contest election as President.

“The debate is thus unnecessary. Let’s move on to other issues.” - DAILY POST

Nigeria loses $25b to foreign ship owners

 The Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello, has said Nigeria lost $25 billion to foreign ship owners between 2015 and 2017.

Bello disclosed this when the Nigerian Fleet Implementation Committee paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Budget and Planning in Abuja Sen. Udoma Udoma.

Bello said that over $9.08 was paid as freight for dry and wet cargoes to foreign ship owners in 2015 due to the absence of Nigerian-owned fleet plying the international route.

The NSC boss said that the trend had been recurring over the years till date adding that in 2016, over $7.55 billion dollars was estimated as opportunity loss.

According to him, $8.60 billion was freight opportunity loss from import and export of dry and wet cargos in 2017.

“As a result of this the Federal Ministry of Transportation through the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, set up a committee for the Nigerian fleet implementation,“ he said

He said that the committee was to examine the possibility of using existing shipping companies to run a Nigerian fleet and provide guidelines on procedures of establishing a shipping company.

Bello said that for government to realise its programme, a conducive environment backed by strong political will with incentives to operators, had to be in place.

He said that the ministry of budget and planning played an important role in fiscal policy direction of government..

Speaking, Udoma Udoma said that the ministry of budget and planning would work with relevant agencies to resolve the issues and support the committee fully.

“We will work with the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Trade as well as the Ministry of Finance to try and ensure that we address those issues; it is important that your work succeed.

“It is very important because firstly there is need for this country to generate more revenue; there is the need to see if we can expand the Nigeria fleet, the work and the cargoes that they carry.

“We will be saving ourselves foreign exchange and we would be able to generate funds in foreign exchange as well. So it is very important to create an expansion for Nigerian fleet.

“We would also be creating jobs for Nigerians. When we expand the fleet we would also be expanding our transport infrastructure; you can be sure of our strong active support from this ministry,” he said. -PM NEWS

Gunmen kidnap 5 Corps Members on way to camp

 Gunmen have kidnapped five members of the National Youth Service Corps,NYSC who were travelling to their orientation camps in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states.

Two other passengers on the bus conveying the corps members were also kidnapped.

The fresh graduates and the other victims were travelling from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to Rivers and Akwa Ibom states where they were billed to undertake their three-week NYSC orientation.

Punch reports that they were kidnapped on the Owerri-Port Harcourt Expressway and taken to the Umuapu forest in the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State.

Briefing journalists after the victims were rescued by the police, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Imo State Police Command, Dasuki Galadanchi, said the kidnappers established contact with the families of the corps members and demanded N5m ransom.

The CP gave the names of the corps members as Abiola Temitope, Olubisi Adekanmi, Jose Temitayo, Folarin Opeyemi and Shonibare Ademola.

Other victims were identified as Leonard Uzondu and Raymond Ojodahe.

The CP said, “The victims were travelling from Ibadan to Port Harcourt. Five out of the seven of them are prospective corps members. They were on their way to the NYSC orientation camps in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states for the three weeks camping.

“They were kidnapped around 5am on Wednesday at Umuapu, on the Owerri-Port-Harcourt Expressway. The kidnappers took them to a forest and dispossessed them of all their belongings, including money, phones, ATM cards and voter cards.

“They compelled them to call their relatives at home to speak to them. Immediately contact was established, they instilled fear in the parents and demanded N5m for their freedom.”

The CP explained that through intelligence gathering, the operatives of the Counter Terrorism Unit of the command were alerted.

He said, “The operatives went into the bush and on sighting the officers, the kidnappers abandoned their victims and fled. We rescued them unhurt, but the hoodlums made away with their valuables.

“This is part of the dividends of community policing. I urge Imo State residents to keep sharing information with the police. We cannot do it alone.”

Galadanchi said he had ordered investigation into the incident with a view to arresting the fleeing suspects.

One of the victims, Abiola, said, “They stopped our bus and ordered us at gunpoint to follow them into the forest. They were five with guns and machetes.

“In the bush, they took our belongings except our credentials and ordered us to call our parents. They made a demand of N5m, but they later brought it down to N3m.

“They ordered us to close our eyes. They were even quarrelling on how to share our personal belongings which they took from us. It was in the process that the police intervened and they abandoned us and ran away.”

 - PM NEWS  

Al-Mustapha blames military for failure to submit credentials for 2019 presidential poll

Hamza Al-Mustapha, presidential candidate  of Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), did not submit his his academic credentials to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

All the aspirants seeking elective positions in the country ought to submit certain documents, including their  academic credentials, to the commission.

But Al-Mustapha, a retired major in the Nigerian army, told the commission his documents are in possession of the military.

In his particulars submitted to the commission, copies of which were seen by TheCable, Al-Mustapha said the military has “refused” to release his academic certificates, despite court orders asking them to do so.

He said: “I was a victim of persecution for 15 years over deliberate trump of charges. I was, however, exonerated and freed of the wanton charges vide court of appeal ruling on 12 July, 2013.

“My entire personal documents including my certificates and awards were taken by the then government in 1998.

“Formal complaints were registered before high court of Lagos (2000 – 2001) and federal high court, Lagos division, (2004 – 2007) but government refused to obey court orders till today.

“However, Nigeria army (my employer – 1983 – 2013) is in custody of the certificates this application is asking of.”

He, however, indicated that he attended Hausari Primary School, from 1967 to 1974; Government Secondary School, Nguru, YBS, from 1974 to 1979; and Nigeria Defence Academy, from 1980 to 1983.

Al-Mustapha was the chief security officer to Sani Abacha, late military dictator. He was accused of ordering the death of Kudirat, wife of MKO Abiola, self acclaimed winner of the June 12 1993 election.

President Muhammadu Buhari also failed to submit his academic credentials, saying they are with the military.

While the military is yet to issue an official statement regarding the president’s claim, effort made by TheCable to get a reaction was unsuccessful. - THECABLE