APC leaders want Buhari to remove Jonathan’s appointees

A fresh crisis is currently brewing in the All Progressives Congress over the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the political appointees of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan. Some leaders of the ruling party, who faulted Buhari’s retention of the PDP members, called for their sacking and the appointment of APC members in their stead. Besides, some members of the APC also lamented that Buhari was not helping the party with funds. A chieftain of the APC in Lagos, who did not want his name in print, told our correspondent that they had not benefitted anything from Buhari since he took over power eight months ago. He said it was as if the President was rewarding members of the Peoples Democratic Party and punishing APC members. He said, “President Buhari took over on May 29, 2015 and has not rewarded APC members. Most of the heads of departments and agencies are members of the PDP who worked for Jonathan. For example, Onyeka Onwenu is still the Director- General of the National Women Centre while Mike Omeri is still the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency. “A former Special Adviser to Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ima Niboro, is still the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria while Mr. Sola Omole is still the Director-General of the Nigeria Television Authority. “There are almost 100 ambassadorial positions that are supposed to have been filled but these people are still occupying the offices. We are not asking for security or sensitive positions but all these appointments I mentioned are not statutory but merely political. “Our people who worked so hard and spent money on Buhari’s campaign are languishing. There are many competent people in the APC.” Another APC chieftain, who also craved anonymity, said if Buhari continued this way, the APC might not be able to retain power beyond 2019. He said most of the people that were being appointed by the President were either northerners or members of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change. The party leader added that about 15 of the 36 people appointed as ministers did not work for the party in the last elections and were not popular in their states. He recalled that many of the ministers were rejected by their state governors and state party chapters because they had no roots or allegiance to them. He said, “In Bayelsa State, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Heineken Lokpobiri, was a member of the PDP during the elections and he campaigned for Jonathan. He defected to the APC in August and was appointed a minister the following month. And yet, the core APC members were abandoned. “The Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, from Gombe State, is not an APC member. The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, is not an APC member. The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, was a PDP member during the election and there are many more examples.”

Jonathan wins award, vows to work for Nigeria

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that he will not relent in working for the democracy, peace and progress of Nigeria. Jonathan stated this on his Facebook page after being honoured with the President’s Award by an African-American civil rights organisation based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The 59-year-old organisation’s founder and first president was the renowned late American civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. SCLC’s National President/CEO, Charles Steel Jr., said on the organisation’s website that the award given to Jonathan was in recognition of his leadership in human rights, social justice and the universal fight for freedom. Thereafter, Jonathan wrote on his Facebook page that the award would inspire him to work for the advancement of democracy in Nigeria. He said, “I thank Dr. Charles Steele Jr, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, and the executive of the SCLC for honouring me today (Thursday). “It was also a pleasure to meet Naomi King, the sister of the late American Civil Rights leader and founder of the SCLC, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who was kind enough to attend the event and identify with the goals and aspirations of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation. “By this award, I am further inspired to continue to work for the advancement of democracy, peace and progress in Nigeria and Africa.” Jonathan had last week won the African Sun Times’ 2015 International Person of the Year Award. “In 2015, despite challenges, we held violence-free elections that transferred power from one political party to another and from an incumbent to the opposition, without rancour, bitterness or strife. “In the process, we proved that nobody’s political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian or any national of any country for that matter. That, to me, is a most worthy testimonial of the character of the Nigerian nation and the resilience of our people, which is why I dedicate this honour to them,” the former president had said after receiving the award.

Our budget not sufficient to fight corruption –ICPC

The Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, Mr. Nta Ekpo, said on Friday that the anti-graft agency had been unable to successfully carry out its statutory responsibility of fighting corruption due to insufficient funds. Nta stated this when he hosted members of the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes headed by Senator Chukwuka Utazi in his office. The ICPC boss told his visitors that the yearly budget of his agency was insufficient to carry out its responsibilities and fight corruption. He said, “In 2015, the commission proposed N9.5bn, but N4.9bn was appropriated, while N4.2bn was released. “The difference between what was appropriated and released is N697, 470,164m. The budget performance for 2015 on recurrent and capital is 100 per cent based on releases. “In 2016 budget, so far, information from Budget Office (ceiling) for recurrent is N680, 984,456 as against N764, 182,724, while it was N300m in 2015 and N132m in 2014 appropriations.” Utazi said the Senate would work out modalities on how to strengthen anti-corruption institutions. He said during the consideration of the 2016 budget at the committee levels, issues raised by the ICPC would be addressed. He said, “This administration has to fight corruption and we are here as a committee to strengthen this commission. “We are also asking you to look at the ICPC Act and then bring suggestions as amendments that will help us do our job. “We are going to help the President succeed in his fight against corruption. We must also focus on prevention, rather than prosecution. “It bothers us that the only thing we hear about ICPC and other anti-graft agencies is prosecution.”

NDLEA arrests 140 drug traffickers, seizes 404.411kgs of drugs

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Bayelsa State Command, said it had arrested 140 drug traffickers and seized 404.411 kilogrammes of different types of narcotics in the state. The agency’s Principal Staff Officer, Public Affairs, Mr. Ikenna Osakwe, said in a statement that the agency achieved the feat in its operations in 2015. Osakwe said of the 140 suspected drug traffickers, 124 were males while 16 were females. The agency’s spokesman noted that majority of the suspects arrested were between the ages of 24 and 45 years, indicating that those who trafficked and abused illicit drugs are mostly the youth. Osakwe said, “Pertaining drug exhibits, a total of 404.411kg of various types of drugs were recovered and seized. Precisely, Cannabis Sativa accounted for 400.683kg, Cocaine 0.062kg, Heroin 0.033kg and psychotropic substances 3.633kg. “Furthermore, 16 litres of Combine, aka ‘goskorine’, ‘monkey tail’ or ‘mukite’, a mixture of Cannabis Sativa and alcohol was also seized. It is worthy of note that N189,370. 00 monetary exhibit was also seized in the year under review. The total value of the drugs seized was N2,839,959.95.” On the prosecution of suspects, he said a total of 27 convictions were secured while other cases were still at various stages of prosecution. He added that in 2015, a total of 96 drugs- dependent persons were counselled in the Drug Demand Reduction Unit of the command. Osakwe said 27 persons had successfully completed the three-month mandatory process of counselling while 12 of them were still undergoing the process. Of the 96 DDPs, 86 persons were males while 10 were females, stressing that during the period, 67 drug preventive education lectures/advocacy talks were carried out at various fora and venues in markets, schools, motor parks, communities, youth groups, churches and mosques. Osakwe also said public enlightenment materials were also distributed during the command’s public enlightenment programmes to sensitise and educate the populace on the dangers inherent in illicit drug trafficking and abuse as well as to teach intervention techniques for already drug-dependent persons. He solicited the cooperation of all segments of the society, saying illicit drug trafficking and abuse was a phenomenal scourge, which could only be addressed through the deliberate and active participation of all. He added, “It is the hope of the Command that in 2016, the level of cooperation and synergy between the Command and relevant stakeholders in the war against illicit drug trafficking and abuse will significantly increase. “In this wise, we wish to invite all of the relevant stakeholders, especially the state Ministries of Women Affairs, Education, Youth and Sports Development among others, to be more active in partnership with the command.” Osakwe acknowledged and appreciated Governor Seriake Dickson and his cabinet for the immense contributions and value added towards the progress and functioning of the command. He urged Bayelsa residents to remain vigilant and report any incident of illegal drug activities to the command to safeguard the health and well-being of all members of the society.

Buhari didn’t storm out of meeting with BBOG –Presidency

The Presidency on Friday said there was no truth in the news making the rounds that President Muhammadu Buhari stormed out of the meeting he had with parents of the abducted Chibok girls, representatives of the Chibok community and members of the Bring Back Our Girls movement at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, made the clarification on his Twitter handle and Facebook page. Shehu said the President could not have stormed out of the meeting. He said Buhari was only called to a meeting that he did not start with them; he played his part and left for the meeting to continue. The presidential spokesman also justified the decision to excuse journalists from the meeting for security reasons. Shehu said, “We thank the Bring Back Our Girls Movement for a good event. But that is not to say that all of the accounts of the meeting on Twitter are accurate. “President Buhari could not have stormed out of his meeting with the Chibok parents, stakeholders and the BBOG. He was called to speak at a meeting he did not start. He did his part and left so that the meeting would continue. “It is simple meeting procedure. He had to leave without being disruptive. That is what happened. The ministers did not even escort him. They stayed back to conclude the meeting. “I thought that the President should be praised for ending his meeting with a foreign leader to come, and for the courtesy and respect he showed to the parents and the BBOG, which is undoubtedly Africa’s best known social action movement. “We asked cameras out for two reasons. Sensitive security information may be disclosed. Two, privacy is not unusual with leaders around the world when they meet families in grief. We didn’t want anyone to get the sense that the President was exploiting their images in a photo op.”

Senate investigates differences in Buhari, Enang budget proposals

The Senate leadership has mandated its Committee on Appropriation led by Senator Danjuma Goje to identify the discrepancies in the 2016 budget presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari and the other version allegedly printed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang. The development, according to investigation, may not be unconnected with the series of public criticisms that greeted the claims by the senate on Thursday that another version of the budget different from the one laid by Buhari was in circulation in its chamber. Many critics have alleged that the failure of the senate to identify the differences in the two documents was blackmail against Buhari’s government because similar incident was not recorded in the House of Representatives. Obviously uncomfortable with the allegation, our correspondent learnt that the senate committee was mandated to go through the two documents and write out all the contradictory figures in the two versions of the budget. Attempts by our correspondent to speak with Goje and find out whether his committee had so far discovered strange figures not contained in Buhari’s budget proposal and Enang’s copy failed on Friday and the senator did not respond to calls and text messages sent to his mobile phone. But the Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, said his committee had wrapped up its assignment on the issue and had since submitted its report based on its terms of reference which did not include identifying areas of difference. He said the task had now been shifted to the appropriation committee which would list the discrepancies in both documents. The Senate Spokesperson, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, asked members of the public to wait for the outcome of Goje’s committee assignment. Investigations by our correspondent, however, revealed that Enang might be innocent of the whole saga as he was said to have merely forwarded to the senate copies of the document which were mass produced and taken to his office from the Budget Office. A source said, “Oga is just a sacrificial lamb in this case because he was being unfairly accused of an offence he never committed. These copies were brought to our office and Oga just asked us to start distribution. How will he know the content?” The controversy surrounding the disappearance of the 2016 budget estimates submitted by Buhari to the National Assembly on December 22, 2015 took worrisome dimension on Thursday when the senate accused the executive of smuggling copies of a doctored version of the document into its chambers. The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, after a two-hour executive session with his colleagues, explained that the upper legislative chamber deliberated extensively on the report of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding the issue behind closed doors. Saraki said the committee, in its report, revealed that the senate had in its possession two versions of the 2016 Appropriation Bill. According to him, the first version was the hard copy submitted by President Buhari while the second was a different version produced and brought into the senate by Enang. Saraki, however, said members of the upper chamber had resolved to start consideration of the 2016 Appropriation Bill on January 19, 2016 with only the original document submitted to the National Assembly by Buhari.

Lassa fever kills one in Abuja, surfaces in Lagos

A suspected Lassa fever patient died on Friday evening at the State House Clinic in Abuja after bleeding from various parts of his body. The young man, whose name could not be immediately ascertained was said to have been sick for about two weeks, before he was rushed down from Kaduna to the clinic where he gave up the ghost. It was learnt that the patient was bleeding from the mouth and ears before he died. His remains had been deposited at the SHC morgue. Our correspondent gathered that the tragic incident threw the medical personnel into panic as they watched helplessly as the patient died. Sources told our correspondent that the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, was about having a meeting with senior officials of the ministry when he was informed about the incident. The minister and his official were said to have rushed down to the clinic where they met the confused SHC medical personnel and saw the dead patient. “The minister directed that blood specimen should be obtained from the patient, which was taken to the Reference Laboratory at Asokoro. So, the ministry is expecting the result of the test which would be ready tomorrow (today). We are not sure it is Lassa fever, but the manner in which the young man died and other symptoms indicated that he might have contracted Lassa fever,” a source explained. It was gathered that Adewole later had a meeting with health officials on the Lassa fever outbreak in the country and the measures that could be taken to curb it. A senior ministry official said the disease may still claim many more victims especially in February and March (dry season) when the disease vector, multimammate rats procreate heavily, thus increasing the chances of infecting foodstuffs. Our correspondent learnt that the ministry had distributed Glabarine injections and tablets to states having outbreaks of the disease. The minister had announced the death of the first Lassa fever patient at the National Hospital, Abuja last Wednesday. Meanwhile, a case of Lassa fever has been confirmed at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, Lagos A report by an online newspaper, The Cable, cited the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, as saying that the case involves a 25-year-old student of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Adewole was said to have added that the patient was responding to treatment. It will be recalled that the disease was said to have been detected in Abuja and 11 other states. A patient died in Abuja on Thursday bringing to 43, the number of fatalities from the disease across the country.

Ambode appoints Fagbohun as LASU VC

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has approved the appointment of Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun as the 8th Vice-Chancellor of the Lagos State University. The appointment was contained in a statement by the State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde. Fagbohun, a Professor of Environmental Law, was until his appointment Director of Research at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of Lagos, the statement said. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof. Fidelis Njokanma, had assumed the position of acting VC on October 31, 2015, following the expiration of the tenure of Prof. John Oladapo Obafunwa as the 7th VC of the university. A professor of Environmental Law, Fagbohun, was born on October 16, 1966 and is from Akesan in the Alimosho Local Government area of Lagos State. He joined LASU’s Faculty of Law as an Assistant Lecturer in January 1991 and rose through the ranks, becoming an associate professor in 2004. He studied Law at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), obtained his Master’s of Law Degree at the University of Lagos and attended the Obafemi Awolowo University for his doctoral degree programme. At different times, he served as a member of Senate of the Lagos State University; Head of Department of Business Law and later Department of Private and Property Law; Coordinator, Law Centre; Coordinator of the Department of Environmental Law and Allied Disciplines of the Centre for Environment and Science Education of the Lagos State University, and was, for several years, the Editor-in-Chief of the LASU Law Journal. Fagbohun is a member of several academic and professional bodies, and a fellow of a number of national and international institutions.

US pledges more investments in Nigeria

The United States Embassy in Nigeria on Wednesday said that the US would increase its investments in Nigeria and improve on diplomatic relations between the two countries. The embassy’s Economic Officer, Kelly Moon, led a team of officials to the National Assembly in Abuja where they assured Nigerian lawmakers of the readiness of the US to continue to support Nigeria, especially in transportation and health services. On the team was also the Political Officer of the Embassy, Martin Hardinger, who said the US was prepared to key into the country’s new agenda of diversifying its economy. A lawmaker from Edo State, Mr. Johnson Agbonayinma, received the team at the House of Representatives. Agbonayinma currently heads the House ad hoc committee investigating Nigeria’s railway modernisation and rehabilitation projects. Agbonayinma, while addressing the team, recalled the US’ support for the growth of democracy in Nigeria and other services it had provided in the health and transportation sectors. He stated that one lesson to learn from the US, was the “belief in selfless service” to others. “The US played a role in supporting Nigeria’s democracy. “They have been useful to us in the areas of health services, transportation and security”, he added. However, Agbonayinma called on the United States Agency for International Developments and other US agencies to continue to work with Non-governmental organisations to take services to rural communities and constituencies in the country. He made a similar appeal to the US Department of Education, soliciting help for study grants to students and jobs. Agbonayinma and the team later went into a closed-door session after the opening phase of the meeting.

Boko Haram kills seven in suicide attack

Boko Haram gunmen have mounted their first attacks since Nigeria’s government declared them “technically” defeated, killing seven people in a raid and suicide bombing, residents told AFP Wednesday. The attacks happened on Tuesday in a village in Gwoza, Borno State, near Sambisa Forest, where the army is looking to flush out remnants of the sect. President Muhammadu Buhari, who has made crushing the rebellion a priority, in December said a sustained counter-offensive had reduced the group’s ability to strike effectively. The first attack happened in Izgeki village, said one resident, who gave his name as Isyaku, from the town of Mubi in neighbouring Adamawa state. “I received information from my relatives who fled the attack… that some Boko Haram gunmen on bicycles attacked Izgeki across the river from Izghe on Tuesday morning where they killed two people. “The attack forced villagers to cross the river into Izghe. The gunmen pursued them. One of them who had a suicide belt on him blew himself up near the market, killing five people.” Izghe was previously attacked in February 2014 where more than 100 people were killed as the rebels torched homes, opened fire and set off explosives. Thousands of residents fled the attack into Adamawa towards the town of Madagali and elsewhere but following the army’s recapture of territory, some managed to return and begin reconstruction. Izghe is in the district of Gwoza, which Boko Haram captured in August 2014 and which the group’s shadowy leader Abubakar Shekau declared the centre of its self-styled caliphate. Ayuba Chibok, an elder in the town of the same name, said there was also an attack in the nearby village of Nchiha at about 10pm on Tuesday. “Luckily no-one was hurt but they (Boko Haram gunmen) looted food and burnt a large part of the village,” he added. Residents managed to flee. Boko Haram kidnapped some 276 girls from their school in Chibok in April 2014 in a daring raid that captured world attention. Fifty seven escaped soon afterwards but 219 are still being held.

Our members were tortured, raped – Shi’ites

The Islamic Movement in Nigeria has said that many of its members were tortured and raped before they were killed by soldiers during the clash with the army in Zaria. The Public Relatioons Officer of the group, Jamila Awwal, said this while addressing journalists in Kaduna on Tuesday. Awwal, who said the soldiers also denied injured members access to medical attention, called for the unconditional release of the group’s leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. She said, “Some of the women were raped before they were killed by the soldiers as confirmed by some survivors who were also tortured after their arrest. “The soldiers molested our women and removed their hijabs which is a serious violation of Islamic rights. “All these were followed by propaganda by the government and the army to paint the movement and its leader in a bad light thereby instigating sectarian sentiment and creating tension in the country. “The authorities have remained insensitive to our plight as they unjustly continue to keep our revered leader, El- Zakzaky, and members in various military facilities and prisons.” She stressed the resolve of the Shi’ite women to ensure the release of their leader, husbands and children. “We call for the release of our husbands and children that are in illegal detention facilities across the northern states. Corpses of our members killed by the army should be released to us immediately for burial according to Islamic rites,” she said. As part of the briefing, the group played the video allegedly showing the attack by soldiers on the Huissaniya Islamic centre and the leader’s resident at Gyallesu in Zaria. Meanwhile, a report of the investigation by the House of Representatives into the clash between soldiers and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria in Zaria may be submitted next week, The PUNCH has learnt. The lawmakers, who have been away on Christmas and New Year break, will reconvene in Abuja on January 12. The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, told The PUNCH that the report would be one of the first issues the House would attend to on resumption. Many lives were lost in Zaria on December 12 and 13 when members of the Islamic sect, otherwise known as Shi’ites, clashed with soldiers. The Shi’ites were said to have blocked the motorcade of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, in Zaria, which led to the clash. After the clash, the Speaker of the House, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, asked the Committee on National Security and Intelligence to investigate the clash. “The committee conducting the investigation has held several meetings with the stakeholders. They have met with some security chiefs and the Shi’ite members themselves. “Considering the fact that the House gave the committee a very short time frame, the report will be presented when we resume next week,” Namdas said.

USELESS TALK: Why I called Nigeria a zoo, threatened war – Kanu

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and founder of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, described Nigeria as a zoo and accused Governor Rochas Okorocha of Islamising Imo State in an interview he granted an online medium, Sahara Reporters. He, however, said in one of the statements he made to the Department of State Services after he was arrested at a Lagos hotel on October 14, 2015 that he made the said comments in order to facilitate societal change. Kanu and two others have been charged with treason and other related offences on account of his agitation for the secession of the South-East and other areas of the country to form a sovereign state of Biafra. He confirmed in the statement, dated October 24, 2015, that he made the comments, calling Nigeria a zoo to justify his belief that the only language its people understood was violence in the interview with Sahara Reporters. He said he also accused Okorocha of Islamising Imo State in the said interview. Kanu stated, “A Sahara Reporters’ interview was played by officers of the DSS on October 24, 2015, as part of my interrogation and I acknowledged that it was me that gave the interview and the answers I provided were done by me. “As I have earlier stated in past interrogation, the statements I make are purely designed to elicit reaction that will facilitate the desired change which is needed. “In the interview, I made reference and said, ‘the zoo has come to an end, they keep killing our people…’. “In the interview, I also said ‘the language the people hear in the zoo is violence. If they fail to give us Biafra, Somalia will be a child’s play’, yes, I stated that in the interview. “Again, I was asked (and I said), ‘If they do not give us Biafra, there would be no one living in the zoo,’ yes, I said so. “I was also asked did I say that Rochas had Islamised Imo State and I said yes. I was also asked to confirm that I said that I do not believe that a peaceful approach to the restoration of Biafra was viable because I am not aware of anywhere else in the world where that is the case considering the history of the countries and their approach to such issues.” He also denied belonging to Biafra Zionist Movement but admitted he believed in the group’s cause. “I do not belong to Biafra Zionist Movement. However, I stated my support for its action because it was a civil act designed to highlight societal injustice. “The said act involved a group of civilians massing at the Government House at Enugu to hoist the Biafran flag,” he added. The 48-year-old, who re-affirmed himself as the leader of IPOB, also gave an insight into the leadership structure of the group. He stated, “I wish to state for the records that I, Nnamdi Kanu, is the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and Director of Radio Biafra and is in charge of the running of the organisation. In terms of the organisational structure, I can confirm that the office of the Director sits at the apex.” Kanu said under him was Mazi Udanna Asiegbu. He added, “Under him (Asiegbu) is the office of the CoC, which translates into the Co-ordinator of Co- ordinators and under him comes the Continental Representatives and are as follows: “(1) North America is represented by Mr. Nnamaram Ugochukwu; South America, by Leornard Aniemene, who is resident in Trinidad and Tobago. Mazi Asiegbu is resident in Spain and Clifford Iroanya, the Coordinator of Coordinators, is resident in Houston Texas, USA. “Nnamaram Ugochukwu is resident in Dallas, Texas. The continent of Europe is represented by Mazi Edoziem in Switzerland; Asia continent is represented by Onyinyechi Nlebedim in Malaysia while Australia is represented by Austin Ofomah, who resides in Canberra, Australia.” Operatives of the DSS on October 14, 2015, arrested Kanu at the Golden Tulip Airport Hotel, where he allegedly checked into using a fictitious name. On December 23, the accused persons were scheduled for arraignment before a Federal High Court in Abuja, but Kanu refused to take his plea to the six counts of treason and other charges instituted against him and his two co-defendants due to what he called his lack of confidence in the presiding judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed. The judge promptly returned the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, for reassignment to another judge and the three accused persons were returned to the custody of the DSS. The Federal Government, through the Federal Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Mohammed Diri, alleged in its summary of its case in the newly filed six counts that the IPOB leader checked into the hotel using the name, Ezebuiro Nwannekaenyi, in order to conceal his identity. Diri stated this in a document listing the proposed prosecution witnesses lined up to testify against Kanu and the two others. Apart from Kanu, one of the two other defendants in the six counts filed by the Federal Government is a Field Maintenance Engineer, David Nwawuisi, of Ericson, who maintains MTN masts in Enugu State. The other defendant, Benjamin Madubugwu, was said to be living in Ubilisiuzo, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, where he allegedly received custody of a container housing radio transmitters meant for Radio Biafra from Kanu. The fresh charges were filed against the three men barely 24 hours after Justice Adeniyi Ademola, in a ruling on Kanu’s bail application on December 17, ordered his unconditional release from DSS custody having been detained for about two months without any valid charges filed against him. No new date has been fixed for the arraignment of the accused persons. SOURCE: Sahara and Punch

Davido’s baby saga: Dele Momodu responds to Davido’s ‘igbo’ result

Dele Momodu on his Instagram page has responded again to Davido’s David Adeleke, aka Davido, has released medical papers indicating that his lover, Sophia Momodu, allegedly tested positive for cannabis. delemomoduovation The newspapers were awash this morning and the social media has been on fire since yesterday. My cousin SOPHIE MOMODU was comprehensively scandalised. Even a Laboratory result alleging she’s a cannabis smoker was splashed everywhere. She was said to have infected her own baby with cannabis. The vicious authors expected some gullible people to believe them. Nothing could have been cruellest. Our initial reaction was to maintain the ceasefire but this latest attack against a defenceless lady who merely asked that she be allowed to enjoy the fruit of motherhood was the limit of recklessness and rascality. All sensible human beings should abhor and condemn this unwarranted fabrication of endless lies just to justify the act of forcefully detaching a baby from her biological mother. Check this picture well. That’s baby Imade with her aunt Ashley Adeleke who took her to Dubai a few months ago against her mother’s consent. The world has been told that the baby was so sick that she needed urgent medical attention in Dubai. Imade’s mother was deprived of attending personally to her own baby. Now wait for this; just imagine you’re the hapless mum of Imade; instead of receiving regular medical briefs from Ashley the Good Samaritan, you receive pictures of your own baby swimming with Ashley Coco inside the heavenly pool of Atlantis, The Palm Dubai, one of the most luxurious resorts in the world while anxiety is killing you back home. Baby Imade has been forcefully separated from her mum since July 11!, 2015, when she was barely two months old. We’ve pleaded for months with the Adelekes to return the baby to her real mum. Sophie was allowed to visit her daughter once a week every Sunday inside Dr Adeleke’s guest quarters. We did not fight. We did not engage in social media wars. They said our family was too poor and beneath their status. We did not mind. They said Sophie was a gold- digger, we did not respond. We only kicked when Baby Imade was to be taken out again without the mum’s necessary consent. No one asked them to take Sophie along. We only tried to stop the impunity and dehumanisation of a poor mother. We acted within the ambit of the law. No more.

Robbers terrorise community, kill 19-year-old admission seeker

Armed robbers have attacked Ondo and Odaliki streets in the Ebute-Meta area of Lagos State, killing a 19-year-old admission seeker, identified only as Olaniyi. PUNCH Metro learnt that the robbers attacked the area at about 1am on Sunday, dispossessing residents of money and phones. Olaniyi, who hailed from Ilorin, Kwara State, and stayed with a friend on Ondo Street, was said to have been shot on the chest. Our correspondent learnt that the robbers attacked two other places ─ Ibadan and Thomas streets ─ before they left the area around 2am. Policemen from the Iponri division who later arrived at the scene were said to have recovered Olaniyi’s corpse, while no member of the gang was arrested. When our correspondent visited the area on Tuesday, Olaniyi’s mother, who sold foodstuffs at a shop around Odaliki Junction, was said to have been taken to Ilorin after the incident. A septuagenarian in Olaniyi’s apartment, who did not want his name in print for security reason, said the occupants of the house had fled the area, remaining only him and a few kids. The man added that Olaniyi was the only child of his mother, who had also lost her husband. He said, “It was at about 1.30am on Sunday. My son was at home because of the Yuletide. He uses a wheelchair and he was awake till that time. “The robbers scaled the fence and jumped into our compound. They got hold of a boy on the ground floor and asked him to lead them up. They saw my son and collected his phones. The three men who came to the first floor were armed with guns. “They headed for the room Olaniyi stayed. His friend, whom he stayed with, was not at home. When the robbers entered the room, they told him to lie down. Seconds later, I heard a gunshot. “After a few minutes, they left our place for other houses. My son used another phone to call the police. But we did not see the policemen until 6am. “After the robbery, some occupants fled the house. They were shocked to realise that Olaniyi was dead. He is the only child of his mother. He was seeking admission to a university.” Another resident, who identified herself as Mama Oyin, said Olaniyi’s mother had alerted the tenants to her son’s killing at about 6am, adding that the robbers also struck in the area on Monday. She said, “Olaniyi’s mother sells rice around Odaliki Junction. She had come to the house to call her son for the day’s cooking when she realised he had been killed by the robbers. She raised the alarm and the community was thrown into mourning. “If the policemen had come on time, they would have arrested the robbers. The police patrolled our area on Sunday evening, but on Monday the robbers struck again.” A security official told PUNCH Metro that there were many faulty vehicles parked by the roadside in the area which the hoodlums used as hideouts. He said, “We have a lot of parked vehicles in this area and these boys sleep inside them at night. The vehicles are used as hideouts.” The Lagos State Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Aliyu Giwa, confirmed the robbery. He added that the teenager died because the victims did not alert the police on time to the incident. He said, “The occupants did not call the police till around 7am. It was the deceased’s mother who discovered he was dead. “When the police got the report, operatives from Iponri went to the place. The people wanted to lynch the boy who took the robbers round the house, but the police prevented that from happening. The case is still under investigation.” SOURCE: PUNCH

BREAKING: NFF’s Head of Protocol, Abubakar shot dead

Head of Protocol, Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Abubakar, was shot dead by armed robbers in his Abuja house in the early hours of Wednesday, reports reaching the PUNCH say. In a tweet on the twitter handle of the NFF, @thenff, it was stated that the body had been taken to Kaduna, his home town for burial according to Islamic rites. NFF’s Head of Protocol Ibrahim Abubakar was shot dead by armed robbers in his house in Abuja in the early hours of today. — The NFF (@thenff) January 6, 2016 Abubakar’s remains is being taken to Kaduna for burial. — The NFF (@thenff) January 6, 2016. SOURCE : PUNCH

REVIEW: Biafra: Kanu came into Nigeria without any passport, says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has said the leader of the Independent People of Biafra and Director, Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, came into Nigeria from the United Kingdom without any passport and with sophisticated equipment for his radio station. The President said this while fielding questions from journalists during his maiden Presidential Media Chat on Wednesday. Asked why the Department of State Security had continued to detain some people, including form National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and Kanu despite the fact that courts had granted them bail more than once, Buhari suggested that they could jump bail. He said, “You can see the type of atrocities that those people committed against soldiers of the Republic, against the country. They could jump bail. “The former President just wrote to the governor Central Bank and said give N40bn naira to so, so, so… and then you ask him to go and see his doctor in London, while you have two million people in IDP (internally displaced person) camps, half of them do not even know their parents. Which type of country do you want to run. “And the one you are calling Kanu, do you know he has two passports – one Nigerian, one British – and he came into this country without any passport? Do you know he came into this country with sophisticated equipment and was broadcasting for Radio Biafra?” Kanu’s arrest and detention has sparked increased agitation for Biafra with supporters of his cause staging protests across states in the South-East as well as in Abuja and Lagos. A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had on December 17 ordered his unconditional release, resulting in wild jubilation by his supporters. However, the Federal Government filed six fresh charges – of treason and other ancillary offences against him. The government also said it had discovered that the transmitters for Radio Biafra, which Kanu was accused of using to spread secessionist agenda and campaigning for the carving out of a Biafra Republic from Nigeria, were found to be installed on MTN masts in Enugu and Anambra states. According to the Federal Government, the installation of the transmitters on the telecommunications company’s masts was to ensure wider coverage for the radio. During the media chat, Buhari also faulted the agitation for Biafra, insisting that all regions were represented in his administration. He said, “Help me define the extent of marginalisation. Who is marginalising them? Why? How? Do you know? … The constitution said there must be a minister from each state. Who is the Minister of Petroleum? Is he not Igbo? Who is the Governor of Central Bank? Is he not Igbo? Who is the Minister of Labour? Who is the Minister of Science and Technology? Who is the junior minister of education?”

Davido discharged from hospital

Adeleke David, aka ‘Davido’, who was reportedly hospitalised yesterday following the drama between himself and his lover, and baby’s mother has been discharged from the hospital. The music star revealed on Twitter he was just leaving the hospital, after treatments on Tuesday afternoon. He however, did not disclose in clear terms the reason for his being hospitalised. He also mentioned that he was heading to the studios immediately he was discharged. Recall that Davido and his lover and baby’s mother, Sophie, who are both unmarried, had been in a quiet struggle for the possession of the child, the PUNCH had earlier reported Matters assumed a different dimension when the artiste and his half-sister, Ashely Adeleke, were reportedly prevented from travelling to Dubai with the child by immigration officials at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The officials, it was said, acted in response to a petition from Sophia, which claimed that the singer and his folks had abducted her daughter. The immediate result was an altercation on social media between Davido and his folks on one hand and Sophie, as well as her cousin and publisher of OVATION magazine, Dele Momodu, on the other. However, Davido is not the first popular Nigerian artiste to find himself entangled in what is now known as the ‘baby mama’ syndrome. At different times in their career, the likes of Tuface Idibia, Ice Prince, Timaya and Wizkid have had to accept responsibility for unwanted pregnancies. They had also faced the challenges of early fatherhood.