SARS killed my husband, told me to marry another man – Woman recounts

 Wife of a victim of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) brutality, Mrs Chidinmma Precious Edozieuno has recounted to the Anambra Judicial panel on activities of the unit and how men of the unit took away her husband in 2017 and told her to kiss him goodbye.

Mrs Edozieuno who petitioned the panel and also appeared for testimony prayed the panel to give her reasonable compensation for the loss of her husband and properties.

She told journalists in an interview that her husband, a businessman who lived in Benin Republic, Mr Johnson Edozienu had returned to Nigeria to visit her and her newborn baby when he was taken away by SARS officials.

“We were in our house in Awka that fateful day in August 2017 when some gunmen broke into our house and took my husband. They also took away almost all our household properties and told me to go and marry another man that this one is as good as dead.

“They said my husband was a kidnapper. I did not even know where they came from, and at first, I didn’t even know they were policemen.

“With the help of a friend, who is a police officer, we started looking for my husband. He took me to many police stations to know if they had him, but none of them had him. We went to Awkuzu SARS office, and that was where I saw three of the men who came and arrested my husband.

“I took a lawyer and we went to court. It was in court that the counsel representing SARS told us that my husband was dead. They said he was a kidnapper. I dated my husband for a long time before we got married. He is not a kidnapper. I lived in Benin and that was where we knew each other. I later relocated to Nigeria. My husband is from Aguleri,” she said.

She listed items collected from her home to include; a refrigerator, television set, a generator set, laptop, iPhone and Wifi.

She prayed the judicial panel to give her considerable compensation for her husband who is already dead and whose life can not be restored. She also asked that the body of her husband be given to her for burial and compensation for the household items taken from her home.

Chairman of the panel, Rtd Justice V.N Umeh, however, assured Edozieuno that the petition was well-received and that it would go into investigation and make recommendations, after which, they would invite her.

- DAILY POST

WhatsApp takes on Google, Alibaba in phone payment battle

 

WhatsApp on Friday entered an increasingly tense battle between multinational giants such as Google and Alibaba for a chunk of India’s fast-growing digital payments market.

The Facebook-owned firm said it was launching Whatsapp Pay just hours after it was given permission by the country’s payments regulator. India is the messenger firm’s biggest market with some 400 million users.

Whatsapp Pay, which allows people to send and receive money through the messaging platform, was launched in Brazil in June but was quickly suspended because of competition objections raised by the central bank. Authorities have since indicated that it will be allowed there.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said in a video statement accompanying the India launch that the move would boost “innovation” in payments.

Zuckerberg also hailed India’s Unified Payments Interface which is used in the country of 1.3 billion people to manage payment apps, with more than 140 Indian banks part of the network.

UPI is also used by Alphabet Inc’s Google Pay, Walmart’s PhonePe and Alibaba-backed Paytm, which dominate India’s digital payments market.

“India is the first country to do anything like this,” said Zuckerberg of the network.

India’s UPI processed more than two billion transactions in October and 1.8 billion the previous month.

The stakes are high for all the competitors as the digital payments market was worth about $75 billion in 2019 and is expected to rise past $500 billion by 2025.

WhatsApp has linked up with five Indian lenders including State Bank of India, the largest public sector institution, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Jio Payments Bank to roll out the service.

The National Payments Corporation of India has put a cap of 20 million users of the Whatsapp service in the first phase. All must have a debit card and a bank account.

The American firm has been waiting for two years to launch its service, testing pilot payments for about a million customers.

- (AFP/NAN)

End SARS: Police attack protesters in Abuja, arrest four

 

The police on Friday teargassed some End SARS protesters in Abuja.

The protesters were attacked at the gate of the National Assembly, NASS, by some police officers.

The demonstrators gathered in front of NASS complex to paint End SARS graffiti on the floor to remind the Nigerian Government of their demands.

However, the peaceful protest was violently disrupted by the police officers who fired teargas.

The police also arrested four of the protesters.

- DAILY POST

Buhari, good governance will silence social media

 

No government is short of opposition. In a democracy, the residence of an animated opposition signals the buoyancy of the system. Where there is democracy, there is opposition. In fact, opposition is the mitochondria of a republican system – it keeps the government on the mill working according to purpose.

Why is the Buhari administration after the only opposition platform of all citizens?

Really, the principal task of the administration from its conception was dismantling instruments and institutions of check. The Buhari executive thwacked the judiciary and effectively broke its back when agents of the state attacked judges in their homes and when the administration contrived the removal of Walter Onnoghen as chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), asphalting the path for a CJN to emerge from the region where the president comes from.

The national assembly was not spared from the bludgeoning of the Buhari government. So, effectively the two institutions which naturally provide the functional wheels in a democracy were amputated and executivised. The dominant opposition party, which should have been a rallying point of all genuine voices of dissent, is sterile – owing to its own internal contradictions and loss of moral authority. The kettle cannot call the pot black.

Therefore, citizens have taken their destiny into their own hands. Social media offers all aggregates of the citizenry a platform to vent, to criticise, and to offer suggestions on government’s policies and actions. It is the only effective opposition platform. It has become an apparatus for calling out government’s incompetence and holding it to account.

As a matter of fact, the campaign by the government to regulate social media comes from a place of personal insecurity. To most Nigerians who have expressed their views on the government’s convulsion over this utility, including me, the reason for the rabid pursuit of censorship is: ‘’So, the favourites of the government can steal without questions. So, they can harass Nigerians without the consequence of an outrage. To escape citizens’ judgment on their failures. Just so they can get away with anything.’’

Nigerians, who are patrons of this important utility, say they do not want it regulated by the government; so, the administration will be acting against the wish of the people it purports to represent if it does otherwise. This will further indict the government of dictatorship.

Citizens do not trust the government to act in their interest. The government has not given them a reason to. They are not categorically railing against the censorship of the ‘’underworld contrivances’’ of social media but against the government wielding power as the expurgator of this device. Every citizen apparatus appropriated by the government has always been abused, corrupted and deployed in violation of rights and liberties.

Really, the government should not hold the console to social media. Regulating the social networks should be the business of the fabricators. And already, they are doing that. On Facebook, you cannot post violent photos or videos, and hate speech is censored. There are variegated means of reporting fake news and hate speech on this platform and others as well. We have seen Twitter censoring the tweets of US President Donald Trump. The machinery of censorship on social media is already in operation by the creators.

So, the campaign to regulate social media is simply to silence the voices of Nigerians given oomph by this platform. It is compelling to believe those in government do not understand the social media. They are befuddled by the utility like Homo erectus and fire. They are afraid to see the unity of voices making demands on the government. They do not understand how citizens in distant locations can come to purpose on a single platform, standing up for themselves.

The government secretes its agenda in the excuse that social media can cause the collapse of the country. This is patently false. Nigeria’s bloodiest epoch was decades before the accouchement of social media. We experienced a civil war, pogroms, religious riots and political riots – all before social media. The triggers of the collapse of Nigeria are the internal contradictions – not social media.

The seeds of the mass violence of the past are still potent and the fault lines have been made more palpable by the misconstrusion of governance by the Buhari administration. If Nigerians were divided by an invisible line in the past, President Buhari came and built a towering wall separating them according to religion and ethnicity.

The occasional bouts of ethnic exchanges on social media are implicitly because of the provincial bent of the Buhari administration – which accented our differences. When a government does not treat all citizens equally, it is only setting up a furnace of disharmony.

To silence social media is simple. It only takes Leadership. Deliver good governance to the people and watch the dissenters become praise singers, and hate speech becomes love letters. It only takes leadership.

Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist

Transfer: Man Utd reduce Pogba’s fee with player set for Real Madrid move

 Manchester United have dropped their asking price for Paul Pogba to around £53million (€60m) and the player could be set for a summer move to Real Madrid, AS reports.

Pogba has recently lost his place in the United starting XI despite the team’s struggles on the pitch.

The Premier League side are ready to move the French midfielder on and will accept a hugely reduced fee for the star.

United will sell Pogba this summer despite the player being contracted until 2022.

Madrid have been linked with Pogba for some time, with the player heavily tipped to make a move to the Bernabeu before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pogba has struggled this season so far, but Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane remains a big admirer of his compatriot.

- DAILY POST

Northern filmmakers suspend actress, Rahma Sadau

 Northern filmmakers under the aegis of Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN) have suspended Kannywood actress, Rahama Sadau.

This is in lieu of raunchy pictures the popular actress posted on social media recently which has stirred a lot of controversies.

Rahma’s pictures lead to widespread criticism by Twitter users from Northern Nigeria (Arewa). Her outfit was considered provocative and uncharacteristic of a female Muslim. Others, however, thought otherwise

MOPPAN in a statement signed by the PRO, Al-Amin Chiroma stated that they condemned the recent act which resulted in blasphemous comments on Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

They also said that Rahma has been suspended since 2016 for indecent acts in a music video with a hip-hop artist Classique, adding that it had not rescinded its stand.

However, the state sponsorship board under the leadership of Isma’ila Naabba Afakalla, gave the actress an unconditional pardon in 2018.

- PM NEWS

Strange disease ‘kills 40’ in Enugu

 

A strange disease has reportedly killed not less than 40 people in Igbo-Eze north local government area of Enugu state.

Three residents told TheCable on Thursday that the deaths were recorded from across three communities — Umuokpu, Ete and Ogwurugwu — in the last one month.

It is not immediately clear the cause of the deaths but the residents said victims were mostly youth and reported weakness, fever and headache before passing on.

Emmanuel Obi, the state commissioner of health, did not respond to calls made by TheCable, while Louis Amoke, spokesperson of the governor, said he could not confirm the incident.

An official at the local government, who pleaded anonymity, as he is not authorised to talk to the media, told TheCable they had just received reports of strange deaths from the communities but added that the cause is not known yet.

‘THEY BECOME WEAK AND SUDDENLY DIE’

Onoja Boniface, a resident of Umuokpu, told TheCable via phone that at least five people have died from the community while Ete, where the development started, has recorded “more than 40 deaths.”

He said: “It started more than a month ago from Uni Ete, a village in Ete which has common boundary with Umuokpu. There were deaths of youths who might just have headache and before you rush them to hospital, they have died. Sometimes they vomit and die.

“Three days ago, in Ogwurugwu, a young man in the night complained of fever and before he was taken to the hospital, he stopped talking and the next thing, he died. Most of them are reporting fever, headache and weakness.

“My friend in Igogoro also told me about a lady who left Umuokpu and on reaching Igogoro, she started developing symptoms the same day and died.”

He added that there are rare cases of two people dying from the same community as “those dying are from different areas.”

Solomon Onu, a resident and convener of Concerned Igbo-Eze North Youths (CINY), also told TheCable that the communities had suspected a deity when the deaths began but now fear the existence of an unknown disease.

“Why people are raising now and not since is because we were initially attributing it to a deity but now, it has transferred to Umuokpu which has a border with Ete,” he said.

“We are suspecting some kind of diseases because with the way they are dying, it has come from Ete and Umuokpu and both have the same border while another.”

In a statement earlier issued on Wednesday, CINY lamented that health authorities “have not taken control of the situation as at the moment.”

“We, therefore seize this opportunity to urgently call on Igbo-Eze North Supervisory Councillor for Health, the Executive Chairman and Enugu State Ministry of Health to come to the rescue of our people whose lives are being threatened, to stem the spread before further deaths ensue,” the statement read.

When TheCable contacted Obioma Ogiri, the LGA public relations officer, she said she was busy and could not comment on the situation.

A message was later sent to her but no response yet.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is yet to respond to questions about the strange disease.

- THECABLE

44-year-old man sentenced to death by hanging in Osun

 

An Osun State High Court, on Thursday, sentenced one Rafiu Saheed, 44, to death by hanging for armed robbery.

The convict was arraigned on November 30, 2017, before Justice Kudirat Akano on two counts bordering on attempted murder and armed robbery.

Saheed was sentenced to death by hanging for attempting to murder one commercial motorcyclist, Olaniyi Olayinka by slitting his throat with a knife.

Prosecution Counsel from the Ministry of Justice, Bankole Awoyemi told the court that the convict, on July 30, 2012, at Ile-Ife, contracted Olayinka for his service and asked him to take him to Ipetumodu to see his brother.

Awoyemi said that on getting to Ipetumodu, Saheed’s brother was not around, hence, he instructed the commercial motorcyclist to take him back to Ife.

The prosecutor further alleged that Saheed ripped the throat of Olayinka with a knife while returning to Ile-Ife.

The offences were contrary to sections 6(b) and 1 (2)(a) of the Robbery and Firearms, 320 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 34, Laws of Osun State, 2002 and Section 1(2) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap R11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, respectively.

Earlier, Saheed had pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him.

While proving the case in the court, the prosecutor called two witnesses, including Sergeant Okeniyi Segun from Ipetumodu police division who revealed how the accused was arrested at Moore Police station before he was transferred back to Ipetumodu and also tendered Saheed’s confessional statement before the court.

The accused’s counsel, Barr. Julie Olorunfemi of the Legal Aid Council pleaded to the court to temper justice with mercy.

In her judgment, Justice Kudirat Akano affirmed that the prosecution has proved his case beyond doubt and hereby found the accused guilty of two counts preferred against him.

She then sentenced Saheed to 14 years jail term on the count of attempted murder and death by hanging for armed robbery.

- DAILY POST

‘Barcelona did not have the balls to re-sign me’- Dani Alves

 

Former Barcelona full-back Dani Alves has slammed the club after claims that the Spanish giants “didn’t have the balls” to re-sign him.

Alves is widely regarded as the best right-back in the game, after a more than stellar showing for Barca between 2008 and 2016, where he contributed 21 goals and 101 assists in 391 games.

The Brazilian was a serial winner at the Catalan club, helping the Blaugrana win 23 trophies in total, including six La Liga titles and three Champions League crowns.

Alves left the club as a free agent in 2016 and joined Juventus on a two-year deal. The 37-year-old has now revealed that he offered himself to Barca upon leaving Juve in 2017.

“I offered myself to Barca to come back. I went to Juve to prove I was still at a good level,” the veteran defender told RAC 1.

“I wanted to return to Barca and they needed me, but they didn’t have the balls to admit that they were wrong with me. If they had treated me as I thought I deserved, today I would still continue playing for Barca. I love this club ”

Alves becomes the latest player to hit out at the club in their manner of handling players after Luis Suarez made a similar statement in his move to Atletico Madrid.

Alves joined French giants Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Juventus, and is now plying his trade with Sao Paulo in Brazil.

- PM NEWS

Abia varsity asks students to pay N15k ‘COVID-19 prevention fee’

 

The Abia State University has asked its students to pay N15,000 as “COVID-19 prevention fee” ahead of the school resumption. 

Schools were shut months ago, following the outbreak of the pandemic. 

In a notice issued by Acho Elendu, the school registrar, said students are to pay this fee so they are allowed to write exams. 

“Having fumigated the hostels and lecture halls, students are expected to return from Monday 9th November, 2020,” the notice read. 

“The first semester, 2019/2020 examinations will commence on Monday, 16 November, 2020. 

“All returning students are to pay a pandemic prevention fee of fifteen thousand (N15,000) naira only, ensure registration of their courses, to be eligible to participate in the examinations. 

“All payments should be made through the online payment system of the university, before commencement of the examinations. 

“Please note that it is for the students health and that of others, that it will be necessary to show evidence of payment of the pandemic prevention fee before entry into any of the campuses.” 

The school also added that all COVID-19 protocols will be strictly observed. 

- THECABLE

US Election 2020: Democracy is messy, I would be declared winner – Joe Biden boasts

 

Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden has told his followers to remain calm, reiterating his confidence in winning the election.

Biden, in an address to the nation, said although ‘Democracy is messy”, he has no doubt he would be declared winner once all the votes were counted.

“Democracy is sometimes messy. It sometimes requires a little patience.

“We have no doubt that when the count is finished, Senator (Kamala) Harris and I will be declared the winners.

“So, I demand that everyone stays calm. The process is working. The count is being completed and we’ll know very soon,” Biden added.

Votes are still being counted in key swing states, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Alaska.

- DAILY POST

Manchester United to sign Pochettino

Manchester United have approached former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino over becoming the club’s next manager.

United’s current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under intense pressure following disappointing defeats to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday and Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League three days later and generally, the team’s inconsistent start to the 2020-21 season.

Manchester Evening News believes that United have contacted Pochettino’s representatives. The former Southampton manager is said to be keen to manage at the Theatre of Dreams.

The move comes despite United insiders privately backing Solskjaer prior to Wednesday night’s defeat and a reluctance within the club to sack him so early in the season.

Ahead of Saturday’s crucial visit to Everton, Solskjaer’s future becomes increasingly unclear, and positive performance at Goodison Park is now all the more necessary.

The Red Devils are currently 15th in the Premier League table having lost three of their opening six matches, and could well drop to within three places off the relegation zone if they lose to Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

- PM NEWS

FRSC to carry guns – Reps

 

Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) operatives will begin to bear firearms to curtail the excesses of road users in Nigeria.

The House of Representatives Committee on FRSC made the disclosure during the corps’ 2020 budget performance and 2021 budget defence, on Thursday in Abuja.

The Chairman, Akinfolarin Mayowa, explained that the 1992 Act of FRSC allowed the corps to carry guns, NAN reports.

Mayowa said the implementation had become necessary to ensure laws were obeyed and to allow the FRSC function effectively.

He disclosed that the committee would meet with Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and also write to President Muhammadu Buhari to implement the Act.

A member, Solomon Maren, added that the committee would discuss the matter with the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.

The lawmaker said there were more risks on the roads, adding that the FRSC should now bear arms.

FRSC Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, decried incidents where motorists threatened personnel on duty.

Oyeyemi stressed that weapon bearing for protection would curtail violent road users and protect officers.

He confirmed that the corps has 280 formations, with presence in nearly all the 774 local government areas in Nigeria.

- DAILY POST

Nigerians barred from China over COVID-19

 

The Chinese authorities have temporarily suspended entry of Nigerians and non-Chinese nationals into its country over the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In a notice issued on Thursday, the Chinese authorities said its embassy will no longer issue certified health declaration form for non-Chinese nationals in the country.

It, however, said holders of diplomatic passports, service, courtesy or C visas will not be affected by the regulation, adding that the measures will be reviewed in accordance with “evolving situation”.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, China has decided to temporarily suspend entry into China by non-Chinese nationals in Nigeria holding visa or residence permits still valid at the time of this announcement,” the notice read.

“The Chinese embassy and consulate in Nigeria will no longer issue Certified Health Declaration Form for the above-mentioned personnel.

“Entry by holders of diplomatic, service, courtesy or C visas will not be affected. Foreign nationals visitingChina for emergency needs may apply for visas at Chinese embassy or consulate. Entry by non-Chinese nationals in Nigeria with visas issued after 3 November 2020 will not be affected.

“The suspension is a temporary response necessitated by the current situation of COVID-19. The above-mentioned measures will be assessed in accordance with the evolving situation and any adjustment will be announced accordingly.”

The COVID-19 broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December.

The city was put on a strict lockdown to curb the spread of the disease but since the outbreak, it has spread across 218 countries with 48,868,008 cases confirmed globally.

Not less than 1,236,650 deaths have also been recorded.

As of Thursday night, China had 86,115 cases and 4,634 deaths, with 81,081 recoveries.

- THECABLE