COULD THIS BE TRUE? : Davido's baby abduction drama lingers

Award-winning artiste, David “Davido” Adeleke, has left those accusing him of abducting his daughter, Imade, and denying his baby mama, Sophia Momodu, access to her daughter to God. The music star and his sister, Ashely, had on Tuesday been stopped from travelling to Dubai with the child by immigration officials at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in response to a petition by Momodu that the child had been abducted. Sophia’s lawyers had in a petition to the Director- General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, alleged that the baby had been forcibly taken from her on July 11 at Ashley’s house in Lekki after she was tricked into going there. The petition also claimed that repeated efforts by Sophia to get her baby back since then were unsuccessful, leaving her to turn to friends and her cousin, Dele Momodu, for help. The Ovation Magazine publisher had accompanied Sophia to alert immigration officials, sparking a war of words between the two. Momodu took to Instagram and Twitter, posting photos form the airport and mocking Davido over his inability to use his influence to have his way. “All the phone calls to Abuja by Davido’s powerful family failed to impress the highly professional officers at MMIA as they tried to travel illegally with a seven month old baby they had seized from her mum months ago!” he wrote in a post. Davido, who had initially, expressed disappointment in Momodu, however, tweeted in the early hours of Thursday, “I leave them for God.” In another tweet, he explained that he did not deserve all that was happening as all he had ever done “is to love that baby”. Earlier, an angry David had told Momodu he should be ashamed of himself. “You should be ashamed of yourself!! God bless you still,” he tweeted. Momodu, who also put up a screen shot of a chat between David and Sophia in which the artiste insulted him, said in a post, “No one no matter how wealthy or powerful has the right to forcefully detach a baby from her mum… Nigeria is not that lawless!” Sophia, who says she has been denied access to her daughter for months, is however worried that the baby could be sneaked out of the country via land. She has also asked the Department of State Security, the police and the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to intervene in the matter. The parties could not be immediately reached for comments.

Appeal Court ruling on Taraba gov election underway

The Court of Appeal in Abuja sitting in Abuja is set to deliver judgement on the Appeal by the Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku against the ruling of the election petitions tribunal in the state. The Justice Danladi Abubakar-led tribunal had on November 7 sacked the Peoples Democratic Party’s Ishaku and declared All Progressives Congress’ Aisha Alhassan the winner. Dissatisfied with tribunal’s judgment, Ishaku filed an appeal, asking the appellate court to set it aside. In response, Alhassan also cross-appealed the judgment Ahead of today’s judgment, on December 21, the Justice Abdul Aboki-led five-man bench of the appeal court heard three appeals and a cross- appeal by the APC

Biafra: Kanu’s handwritten statement apologising to Buhari, Jonathan

Leader of the Independent People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, wrote the letter in which he apologised for unsavory remarks he made about President Muhammadu Buhari, ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and Igbo leaders, contrary to claims by IPOB and his lawyer. The PUNCH had reported on Wednesday that Kanu had expressed regret for referring to President Muhammadu Buhari as a terrorist, evil and a paedophile in his radio broadcasts. Kanu, who said he intended to write a private letter to Buhari to express his apology to the President, also apologised to former President Goodluck Jonathan and Igbo elders for “some uncomplimentary things” he said about them. IPOB, his family, and lawyer, Vincent Obetta, however, denied that he apologised to anyone. Obetta claimed that the Federal Government was only trying undermine the 48-year-old and his cause. “The government is using every instrument to puncture what we are doing,” he said. Documents obtained from the court, however, showed that the apology was contained in a handwritten statement by the Biafran leader. Despite apologising for casting aspersions “ on the person and the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Kanu was adamant that he would continue to fight for Biafra. He said IPOB’s secessionist agenda was informed by the “incessant hardship, lack of holistic development in the socio-economic landscape of Nigeria, lack of youth employment, corruption in high offices and economic regression.” He added that the agitation by IPOB, which, according to him, was founded in London in 2012 by a group of people from the South-South and South-East regions of the country, was in line with the United Nations Charter on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ratified by African countries, including Nigeria. SOURCE: Sahara, Punch

Judicial Commission of Inquiry: KDSG Explains Delay

The Kaduna State Government says it is concluding work on the establishment of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the massacre in Zaria between the Nigerian Army and Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky’s movement, and that it will now be flagged off early in the New Year. In a press statement on Wednesday, the government said while it has largely completed work on the composition and the terms of reference of the proposed judicial commission, it is still engaged in the extensive consultations that are required prior to a formal announcement, and that those efforts have been impacted by the holidays. “Efforts are also being made to contact all the nominees for membership of the commission, as well as the secretariat and resource persons that will support the work of this important inquiry,” the statement explained. “Best efforts have been applied to ensure that the announcement is made within the two-week window envisaged when the decision to establish the commission of inquiry was made. But it has now emerged that a little more time is required,” the statement continued. The government expressed its appreciation for the positive response the public has given to the establishment of the commission of inquiry and pledged to provide further updates as the process unfolds.