Fulani herdsmen crisis: It will become very serious, nobody will be spared – Gov Akeredolu

 

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has replied his counterpart from Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed who recently backed herdsmen carrying AK-47 and other weapons.

The Governor spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, questioning Mohammed’s comment at this point in time in the country.

Akeredolu condemned the statement by Mohammed who had last week defended the herdsmen who bear arms.

Bala Mohammed had while addressing newsmen in Bauchi, said that Fulani herdsmen have no option but to carry arms, adding that the herders were being attacked and killed and their cattle stolen.

And the Ondo Governor condemned the comment while commending President Muhammadu Buhari for directing the Nigeria Police to arrest any herdsmen seen with arms across the country.

Akeredolu further expressed worries over the deteriorating level of insecurity in the country, and lamented the recent killing of three prominent Ondo indigenes by herdsmen.

“How will a governor in this country today come out and say people should be allowed to carry arms when it is illegal? And not just arms he says they should carry double barrels and co. So people that are not licenced to carry guns, Bala Mohammed is suggesting to us that they should be able to carry it?” The Governor questioned.

“For what purpose? Bala Mohammed has even poured more petrol into the fire because his speech is unexpected of him. It will become very serious and nobody will be spared. So statements like that must be condemned and I condemn it.

“Bala Mohammed has not spoken like a statesman. He probably lost everything out, he lost out as to what his reaction should be,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Presidency on Monday directed the Nigeria Police to publish the list of Fulani herdsmen being tried for various crimes across the country.

- DAILY POST

INEC opposes NIN as requirement for voter registration

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has kicked against the proposed use of the national identification number (NIN) as a requirement for voter registration in Nigeria.

The commission informed TheCable that the move is not backed by law and it does not share its powers to register voters with any other government agency.

The federal government had announced last week that NIN is compulsory for most government transactions, including opening of bank accounts, payment of taxes and voter registration.

Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, who announced this when he hosted the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, had claimed the policy is backed by law.

According to him, section 27 of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act criminalises benefitting from government services as a citizen without NIN.

“This is most important in the area of NIN, which is a mandatory number, based on the NIMC order of 2007 that has actively been neglected for years, ” he had said.

“There’s no identity that will define you as a citizen more than that number. It is mandatory. And it is mandatory for transactions such as opening bank accounts, paying tax, voter registration and many more.”

This minister’s comments unsettled many Nigerians who feared the move might disenfranchise millions of Nigerians who are yet to obtain their NIN.

INEC KICKS, SAYS MOVE ILLEGAL AND WOULD AMOUNT TO TAKING OVER ITS DUTIES

In an interview with TheCable on Monday, Festus Okoye, INEC national commissioner and chairman of its information and voters education, said such a policy is not recognised by the country’s electoral laws including the 1999 constitution and the Electoral Act.

He said the commission “does not share its voters registration constitutional powers with any other organ or agency of government… and no organ of government is permitted to expand or constrict the powers of the commission relating to the registration of voters”.

“No organ of government or agency can impose additional registration criteria other than the ones set out in the law. No section of the constitution or the Electoral Act makes the possession of national identity number compulsory for voters’ registration,” Okoye told TheCable.

“The commission will not accede to any request or directive that will amount to the violation of the constitution and the law. The commission is a creation of the constitution and the law and must at all times maintain fidelity to the laws of the land.

“The constitution and the Electoral Act did not make the possession of a particular form of identification compulsory. The commission is not empowered to impose additional registration conditions other than those imposed by the constitution and the Electoral Act.”

NIN ACT VS ELECTORAL LAWS

True to Pantami’s argument, section 27 of the NIMC Act of 2007 makes it compulsory for any Nigerian to have their NIN before they are registered to vote.

According to the section, “as from the date specified in that regard in regulations made by the Commission, the National Identification Number issued to a registered individual must be presented for the following transactions, that is- (a) application for, and issuance of a passport; (b) opening of individual or personal bank accounts … (j) payment of taxes; (k) such relevant Government services; and (l) any other transaction which the Commission (NIMC) may so prescribe and list in the Federal Government Gazette.”

However, neither the Electoral Act of 2010 and the 1999 constitution makes any document compulsory for voter registration. The Electoral Act instead gives prospective voters options any of which they can choose to adopt.

Section 10 (2) of the Electoral Act states: “Each applicant for registration under the continuous registration system
shall appear in person at the registration venue with ANY of the following documents, namely—
(a) birth or baptismal certificate; (b) national passport, identity card or driver’s licence; or (c) any other document that will prove the identity, age and nationality of the applicant.”

On the other hand, the constitution which is above any other law in the country, lists the attainment of 18 years of age and residence in Nigeria as the only requirement for citizens to register to cast their vote in elections.

Section 77(2) states: “Every citizen of Nigeria, who has attained the age of eighteen years residing in Nigeria at the time of the registration of voters for purposes of election to a legislative house, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter for that election.”

Therefore, unless the 1999 constitution is amended to accommodate the provision of the NIMC Act of 2007, the legality of the government’s plan to make NIN compulsory for voter registration will remain subject to debate.

- THECABLE

Kidnappers in Ondo forest speak Fulfulde – Gov Akeredolu

 

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has declared that most kidnappers in the State’s forest reserves speak Fulfulde.

Akeredolu, who spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, said the kidnappers were using Ondo forest reserves to perpetrate crimes.

According to the governor, “What we had to address in Ondo State is essentially our discovery that some criminal elements were using our forest reserves to perpetrate crimes and we said, look, we’re not going to stay by and just watch this happen.

“People are kidnapped, they are not kidnapped and taken into a house; most of those who were kidnapped have come back, and we have debriefed them, we’ve been briefed by all of them, and we know essentially the group of people involved and that they were taken into our forest reserves.

“How am I to know where they have come from? How did you allow them in, in the first instance. My duty is not to profile those who come into the country, but all I know very clearly is that those who are perpetrating this crime speak the same language, they have a common language like some people here in this country. That is where our problem lies.”

He added, “Most of them [kidnappers] were speaking Fulfulde, and there is no need for us to run away from it. This’s a common language that is spoken across the length and breadth, particularly in West Africa and North Africa. So, if they come in, how did they come in?

“Miyetti Allah doesn’t have to defend these people if they aren’t their members. There is no need to defend them; let us treat them as what they are –criminals and they (Miyetti Allah) themselves should support us in getting them out.”

- DAILY POST

New EFCC chairman Bawa from Kebbi like Attorney-General Malami

 Abdulrasheed Bawa, the 40 year-old nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari as substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is the head of Lagos office of the agency.

Bawa, is from Kebbi state, like the Attorney-general Abubakar Malami, who supervises the agency and has always wanted firm control.

Until his appointment, Bawa was deputy chief detective superintendent, a level 13 officer in the agency.

His position in terms of salary grading is equivalent to that of assistant commissioner of police, the minimum requirement for the office.

According to the EFCC act, a chairman ”must be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent; possess not less than 15 years experience.

It was not clear why President Buhari failed to recommend the acting chairman Mohammed Umar Abba, who has been acting since the other acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu was removed in July last year.

Abba is from Kano.

P.M. News learnt that Abba has done nothing wrong to be denied confirmation.

In a surprise move, President Muhammadu Buhari today asked the Senate to confirm Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa as substantive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

In a letter to President of the Senate, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, the President said he was acting in accordance with Paragraph 2(3) of Part1, CAP E1 of EFCC Act 2004.

Bawa, 40, is a trained EFCC investigator with vast experience in the investigation and prosecution of Advance Fee Fraud cases, official corruption, bank fraud, money laundering, and other economic crimes.

He has undergone several specialized trainings in different parts of the world, and was one of the pioneer EFCC Cadet Officers in 2005.

Bawa holds a B.Sc degree in Economics, and Masters in International Affairs and Diplomacy.

- PM NEWS

MAD MAN !!! Gumi: Herdsmen learnt kidnapping from Niger Delta militants

 

Ahmad Gumi, a prominent Islamic cleric, says herdsmen learnt kidnapping from Niger Delta militants.

He said if the government hold talks with herdsmen, they will assist in flushing out the criminals among them.

Gumi has been advocating amnesty for bandits.

He said the bandits are themselves victims of cattle rustling who took to crime to defend themselves.

Speaking when he featured on Africa Independent Television (AIT) on Tuesday, Gumi said just about 10 percent of Fulani herdsmen are criminals.

The cleric said the bandits learnt kidnapping from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), saying if militants could be granted amnesty, then the same should be applicable to the bandits.

He said if the federal government grants them amnesty, the other 90 percent of the herdsmen will reveal the identity of the criminals among them.

“We didn’t take a different route of trying to solve this problem and that is why we are still here today. And when we say amnesty, we don’t mean that anyone proved to be involved in murder should go free as such,” Gumi said.

“They learnt kidnapping from MEND. I do not see any difference. They were the first victims of rustling. Their cattle is their oil. What we are seeing now is more of an insurgency than banditry. I can say 10 percent of the herders are criminals not 90 percent, in the end, they took up weapons to protect themselves from extinction.

“They themselves can take care of the little remnants of criminals among themselves because they don’t want anybody to bring mayhem to them.”

- THECABLE

Woman abducted by Fulani herdsmen found dead in Ogun

 

One Mrs Ajoke Ishola, who was abducted on Monday by some suspected Fulani herdsmen has been killed by her abductors.

DAILY POST learnt that the lifeless body of Ishola was found inside the bush around 7pm yesterday.

A son-in-law to the deceased, Engr Aremu Rafiu, confirmed the incident to our correspondent in a telephone conversation.

Rafiu had earlier disclosed that his mother-in-law was kidnapped along Igbo-Ori around 11am on Monday.

He recalled how the abductors accosted the commercial motorcyclist conveying Ishola to farm, shooting him and injuring another woman on the bike.

On Monday night, Aremu revealed to our correspondent that, “We have found my mother-in-law’s dead body. The Fulani herdsmen killed her and dumped her body behind Obasanjo’s farm in our area.

“But, what we observed was that the killer Fulani herdsmen did not go away with their cows initially. The OPC members saw the cows while searching for Mrs Ishola. After the OPC operatives had combed the entire bush and left, the herdsmen came out of their hiding to drop her body and took away their cows.

“We made findings and discovered that the cows belong to one Fulani man called Orebe. So, those who committed that crime were Orebe boys.

“We have informed the police, but they said they won’t be able to visit the place at night, promising to be there on Tuesday.

“The police said they would take the corpse to the mortuary. I told them I don’t have any money to waste at the mortuary. We only informed the police to be witnesses.

“The corpse was dropped by these wicked people near Obasanjo’s farm along Oke-Irori village,” the distraught son-in-law told DAILY POST.

Aremu expressed sadness that the killing of innocent souls continue unabated in Yewa axis of the state.

No fewer than 12 persons have been reportedly killed in Owode Ketu, Ebute Igbooro, Agbon Ojodu and Imeko in the last one week.

Governor Dapo Abiodun was in the area on Monday to sympathise with the people.

Today, Abiodun said he would hold an all-important meeting with about five northern governors and other major stakeholders so as to find a lasting solution to the killings.

- DAILY POST

Man demands N500m compensation for detained wife, children

 

Mr Ohore Ogaga, the husband of a woman allegedly detained by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), has approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) panel, seeking financial compensation of N50o million.

The NHRC independent panel is investigating alleged Human Rights Violations by the defunct SARS and other units of the police to enforce his fundamental rights.

Ogaga, a trader, alleged that his wife, Bolanle and his two children were detained by the police for three days for no just cause.

The petitioner, through his counsel, Wisdom Elum filed a petition against one Edwin Patrick of the Intelligence Response Team, Abuja, and the Inspector-General of Police.

Ogaga also prayed that an additional N50,000 should be legally refunded to his wife, being money collected from her before she was and her two children were released on bail.

The counsel for the petitioner, earlier told the panel that on Jan. 12, 2020, three men from the Intelligence Response(IRT) Unit, Garki arrested his client.

”My client was watching a football match in the company of two of his friends and others.

” Every effort by the members of his family to have him released failed, His wife, Bolanle, went to the IRT to ask for his release.

” She was detained alongside her two children for three days. They were only released after she paid N50, 000.

“The Patrick told her that her husband has been killed. He also called the victim‘s father’s phone and told him the same thing,” he said.

Also testifying, the victim’s two friends, Maxwell Ekpo and Endurance Anyarimo confirmed that they were with Ogaga watching a football match when he was arrested.

”Three policemen came to the Arena Garden in Mararaba, Nasarawa, where we were watching a football match and arrested Ogaga.

”The three men came in a painted taxi and whisked him away,” Ekpo said.

After listening to the testimony, the chairman of the panel, rtd Justice Suleiman Galadima adjourned the matter until Feb. 25 for a continuation hearing.

- PM NEWS