A Port Harcourt-based pastor identified as Fabian Nna raised a man from death.
The photos which are currently making rounds online capture the moment the man was brought in a casket, lifeless and the moment the pastor commenced intense prayers which resulted in an extraordinary miracle.
Another photo showed the man rising up from his casket which left a lot of netizens in awe.
The update however generated a frenzy among social media users who were in disbelief.
Ilebaye Precious Odiniya popularly known as Ilebaye on Sunday, October 1, emerged as the winner of the Big Brother Naija All Stars.
The 22-year-old polled the highest number of votes to edge out Mercy Eke, CeeC, Adekunle, Pere and Cross to the grand prize of ₦120 million.
Here are, however, 8 things to know about the BBNaija All Stars winner:
Ilebaye is 22-year-old.
She is an actress and model.
Ilebaye hails from the Igala tribe of Olamaboro local government area of Kogi State.
She featured as a child in popular TV drama series “Papa Ajasco,”
She is a Criminology and Security Studies graduate from Salem University, Lokoja, Kogi State.
Ilebaye first participated in BBNaija Season 7 ‘Level Up’.
She is the third female to win the BBnaija reality show, after Mercy and Phyna.
She got her Ghanaian accent from her secondary school English teacher, who was Ghanaian.
The BBNaija All Stars winner grew up in a Christian home and continues to associate herself with this religion.
Her fan base is called the ‘BayeTribe.
Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, a veteran Nigerian entertainer, has chastised clergymen Enoch Adeboye and William Kumuyi for drumming up support for President Bola Tinubu.
Kumuyi and Adeboye are prominent Pentecostal pastors in Nigeria, but their fame extends far beyond the country’s borders.
On Saturday, Charly Boy announced this via X, formerly Twitter.
Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), said ahead of Tinubu’s inauguration as president in May that there “shall be a new Nigeria.”
Adeboye made this statement in a new song he wrote.
The cleric expressed hope for a new Nigeria while singing along with his congregation.
“There shall be a new Nigeria!” said one of the lyrics. This is a decision that we must all make.
“We’ll see the nation of our dream, as we commit to prayers.”
Similarly, Kumuyi, the General Overseer of Deeper Life Church, urged Nigerians to be optimistic about Tinubu’s administration.
While speaking to reporters ahead, the cleric urged Nigerians to forget the past and accept the new leaders.
In a video that circulated on the Nigerian internet via AIT, the cleric stated that Nigerians should not be too quick to criticize the current government.
“This is a new day, and I believe; we all believe that our country will see new things through our president and cabinet members.” “Good things will happen,” he predicted.
In his post, Charly Boy, a Labour Party (LP) supporter, claimed Tinubu had exposed the duo.
Think of Soyinka, Adeboye, Kumiyi, and others as men of honor who would have gone to their graves.” “However, Tinubu has exposed them, and we now know them as men devoid of integrity and honor, he wrote.
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar has hailed the US Court decision that has compelled Chicago State University to release all academic records of Bola Tinubu saying the truth about the president is coming to light finally.
A statement signed by Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, said the alleged certificate scam pertaining to Tinubu which he has been hiding for over two decades would finally be exposed.
Atiku was speaking hours after Justice Nancy Maldonado, a US Federal Judge, gave an order for the Chicago State University to release all Tinubu’s academic records to him.
Tinubu had fought to stop the release after a district court had granted Atiku the relief.
He had said releasing the documents would have far reaching consequences, to which the court held on Sunday that exposing who the president is was in the interest of Nigerians rather than an individual and granted Atiku’s request.
In view of the importance of the case and time, the court gave the order which CSU must obey within 48 hours.
Hailing the decision, Atiku said the order was achieved because of the independence of the Judiciary of the United States of America.
He pointed out that Tinubu has evaded justice since 1999 when legendary human rights lawyer, late Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), first blew the lid on his certificates scam.
He noted that Nigerian judges had continued to give Tinubu justice without considering the merit of the case but on technical ground.
“Justice Maldonado who has spent less than one year on the bench and who sat on this case for barely a month, has been able to do what the Nigerian judiciary could not do for 23 years.
Speaking of what Tinubu’s lawyer and former National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress, Babatunde Ogala, described as a court victory of no consequence, Atiku said, “Ordinarily, we would not have responded to the words of a legal Lilliputian who has never won any landmark case in court and whose growth in the legal field is tied to the apron strings of a Chicago Bagman.
“However, the truth needs to be said for the sake of posterity.
“Louis Brandeis, US Supreme Court Judge may have had Ogala in mind when he wrote “…about the wickedness of people shielding wrongdoers and passing them off (or at least allowing them to pass themselves off) and then proposed a remedy that “_If the broad light of day could be let in upon men’s actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects.”
“It is unfortunate that Ogala glorifies technicality instead of justice. Ogala claimed that the victory was meaningless.
“So, why did his principal try to block the release of his credentials if he had nothing to hide? Why did he also appeal the initial judgment?
“The Bible says only the wicked run when no one chases them. Why has Tinubu been blocking the release of his academic records for nearly 30 years?”
He added, “Ogala was lobbying to be the Attorney-General. He believed it was his birthright after defending Tinubu in court on several occasions.
“However, having only received the title of senior advocate two years ago without any remarkable or landmark cases under his belt, Tinubu opted for the more experienced Lateef Fagbemi.
“Since then, Ogala has been trying to ingratiate himself to Tinubu and is now standing logic on its head just to please his master. How pathetic!”
India has proposed a new regulation aimed at stopping pilots and flight attendants from wearing perfumes.
India’s Office of the Director General of Civil Aviation—DGCA, which oversees the country’s aviation industry, has proposed an update to its bylaws regarding alcohol consumption.
The proposed law reads, “No crew member shall consume any drug/formulation or use any substance such as mouthwash/tooth gel/perfume or any such product which has alcoholic content. This may result in positive breath analyzer test.”
“Any crew member who is undergoing such medication shall consult the company doctor before undertaking a flying assignment.”
While perfumes can contain trace amounts of alcohol, it is unclear if wearing perfume on one’s body can trigger a false positive breath test.
The official air safety requirements for the DGCA were ratified in August 2015. The proposed addition is up for public comment through October 5.
Nathan and Rebecca, the parents of Leah Sharibu, are demanding the rescue of their daughter and all the others who are being held captive.
They are upset about the conflicting reports they have received about Leah.
They are questioning why the local sources seem to have information about Leah, but the security agents have not used this information to rescue her.
Leah has been held captive for over five years, and her parents are frustrated by the lack of progress.
A statement by Dr. Gloria Puldu for Leah Sharibu’s parents issued in Jos said, “Recent reports on Leah Sharibu, the young girl taken captive by ISWAP terrorists over five years ago, is both confusing and disheartening.
“Confusing because there have been unsubstantiated rumors and scant information regarding the whereabouts of Leah. There were a few reports by those who were released or had escaped claiming that she might have been married off and given birth to two children. No pictures, audio or video has ever surfaced and, If anything, these were assumptions based on her age and condition of captivity.
“Why should we believe, “Local security sources made this revelation in a report”? If they have intelligence on Leah’s whereabouts and any information, then where are the Nigerian armed forces? Why isn’t the government involved in securing her release? Disheartening because only so often do we hear anything on Leah Sharibu. On the two-year anniversary of Leah’s capture President Buhari said that, “…we redouble our efforts for Leah’s return, we can never allow the terrorists to divide us…”.
“Nathan and Rebecca Sharibu are asking what happened to that promise? Buhari left office without fulfilling that promise of rescuing our daughter Leah. Our family remain grief-stricken by our daughter’s capture and ongoing imprisonment, even as the Nigerian government has been unsuccessful in securing her release. In March 2020, Leah’s father, Nathan Sharibu pleaded,
“I have not heard anything from Federal, state and local governments since my daughter was abducted. I am even confused now. I need your assistance to put pressure on the Federal Government to do something about the release of my daughter”.
Dr Puldu added, “We recall that on February 19, 2018, Leah Sharibu was kidnapped along with 109 of her classmates from the Government Girls Science and Technical School in Dapchi, Yobe State, Nigeria by ISWAP, a faction of Boko Haram. Most were released (five lost their lives); but Leah – because she refused to renounce her Christian faith – has remained in captivity over five years, during which time she has been forced to bear two children by her captors. It is so sad that abductions of students are still ongoing even in this new administration.
“About a week ago we woke up to the news of students abducted from Zamfara. This is very shameful and disheartening to Nigerian parents. Upon the terrible economic hardship parents still have to grapple with the safety of their children in school. We are calling again with a very strong and loud voice on the current government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to please wake up to its very primary responsibility of safety and protection of the lives and properties of Nigerian citizens. We demand the rescue of Leah Sharibu and all others who had been in captivity in the hands of terrorists.
“The global community seems to have forgotten Leah’s plight (and other girls like her) and allowed Nigeria to devolve into chaos that it is currently in. No one is demanding accountability or transparency from Nigeria, but continue to give billions of dollars in aid and relief. Leah remains a captive to a militant religious group within Nigeria without any apparent knowledge of her whereabouts. RESCUE LEAH.”
A self-acclaimed prophet, Mr. Oluwaseun Akinnubi, has been accused of allegedly hypnotizing his childhood friend, one Mr. Tubosun, after impregnating, marrying and taking away his wife in Ore, Odigbo local government area of Ondo State.
“Prophet” Akinnubi was also accused of turning Tubosun to house help under alleged hypnotic influence.
According to sources, the trouble started when Akinnubi was homeless at a time and Tubosun took him into his home.
Before long, he started fiddling with his wife, to the extent of fathering a son through her, besides the three girls she already had for Tubosun.
Soon thereafter, after impregnating the woman, the “prophet” rented another apartment and moved out, taking the woman along out of her matrimonial home.
When confronted, “Prophet” Akinnubi reportedly told his friend that God has ordained the woman to be his wife and that she is pregnant with a baby for him.
The highlight of the drama was Tubosun, after being told that the prophet had taken over his wife, remained unperturbed.
Instead, he kept going to the place to wash his wife’s and the baby’s clothes, and even cleaning the house.
That was when friends and relatives concluded that Tubosun must have been “hypnotized” and “no longer in his right frame of mind”.
The storyteller continues: “After impregnating the woman, the prophet rented another apartment and moved the woman out of her husband’s house.
“To the dismay of neighbours, after mama Precious gave birth, they noticed her husband was going to the prophet’s new place to wash clothes for his wife and the new baby.
“A neighbour called Tubosun and told him that the prophet had taken over his wife, but he was unperturbed. Rather, he kept going to the place to wash his wife’s and the baby’s clothes. He also use to clean the house.
“At that point, we knew the prophet had already hypnotised Tubosun, because his act was awkward. We believe he is no longer in his right frame of mind.”
Another neighbour said: “The prophet’s sudden action is diabolical. Tubosun has not been normal since he accommodated him.
“Some months after he moved in with the couple, people came en masse to worship in the church. We were amazed the man has been collecting a bag of rice each from his members who came for deliverance, while he didn’t proffer solutions to their problems.
“Later, I discovered the so-called G.O. was having an affair with Tubosun’s wife, a mother of three girls. I personally drew his attention to the illicit affairs. But to my surprise, he didn’t believe me.
“Tubosun later found out and confronted Akinnubi. But the pastor replied him that he has been joined together with his wife from heaven.
“After a while, Akinnubi rented another apartment for the woman, while he holds church service eevery dayat Tubosun’s residence in the morning and night,” he concluded.
It was gathered that the Pastor has been granted bail.”
A Chinese national has sparked outrage after allegedly abandoning his Nigerian lover and their mixed race child in Ogun State, Nigeria.
According to a video circulated online, the man identified only as Mr Wang reportedly met Tope Iyabo while working for a company in Nigeria.
The two entered into a relationship and had a son together.
However, Mr Wang recently informed Iyabo he no longer wanted to continue the relationship. Shockingly, he then made an offer to purchase their child from the distraught mother.
The viral video shows a tearful Iyabo cradling her young son and lamenting being left to raise the child alone. She accused Mr Wang of heartlessly abandoning his paternal responsibilities.
The story has generated anger among Nigerians, with many condemning the foreigner for his insensitive conduct towards his Nigerian partner and innocent child. Critics say it reflects poorly on commitments made by some expatriates towards local women and offspring produced in such relationships.
Authorities are being urged to compel Mr Wang to fulfill his duties by supporting Iyabo and their son financially and emotionally. The perceived exploitative attitude is reigniting debates on balancing rights in Nigeria’s growing mix of interracial unions.
Billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup company, Neuralink has announced that it has received approval from an independent review board to begin recruitment for the first human trial of its brain implant for paralysis patients.
Those with paralysis due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis may qualify for the study, it said but did not reveal how many participants would be enrolled in the trial, which will take about six years to complete.
The study will use a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant in a region of the brain that controls the intention to move, Neuralink said, adding that its initial goal is to enable people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.
Even if the BCI device proves to be safe for human use, it would still potentially take more than a decade for the startup to secure commercial use clearance for it, according to experts.
According to US reports, Neuralink had earlier hoped to receive approval to implant its device in 10 patients, but was now negotiating a lower number of patients with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after the agency raised safety concerns.
Musk’s ambitions for Neuralink, include speedy surgical insertions of its chip devices to treat conditions like obesity, autism, blindness, paralysis, depression, and schizophrenia.
In May, the company said it had received clearance from the FDA for its first-in-human clinical trial when it was already under federal scrutiny for its handling of animal testing.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday night addressed world leaders at the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States.
Naija News reports that the president spoke on issues bordering on tackling climate change, illicit financial flows, and asset return to the country to encourage stronger international cooperation.
Tinubu also highlighted Nigeria’s efforts towards attaining the Strategic Development Goals (SDGs) and ensuring international peace and security, among others.
Read full speech below:
STATEMENT DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 78TH SESSION OF UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 18TH SEPTEMBER 2023
Mr. President,
Heads of State and Government, Secretary-General,
Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Mr. President,
On behalf of the people of Nigeria, I congratulate you on your well-deserved election as President of this Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
We commend your predecessor, His Excellency, Mr. Csaba Korosi for his able stewardship of the Assembly.
We also commend His Excellency, Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, for his work seeking to forge solutions to humanity’s common challenges.
This is my first address before the General Assembly. Permit me to say a few words on behalf of Nigeria, on behalf of Africa, regarding this year’s theme.
Many proclamations have been made, yet our troubles remain close at hand. Failures in good governance have hindered Africa. But broken promises, unfair treatment and outright exploitation from abroad have also exacted a heavy toll on our ability to progress.
Given this long history, if this year’s theme is to mean anything at all, it must mean something special and particular to Africa.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, nations gathered in an attempt to rebuild their war- torn societies. A new global system was born and this great body, the United Nations, was established as a symbol and protector of the aspirations and finest ideals of humankind.
Nations saw that it was in their own interests to help others exit the rubble and wasteland of war. Reliable and significant assistance allowed countries emaciated by war to grow into strong and productive societies.
The period was a highwater mark for trust in global institutions and the belief that humanity had learned the necessary lessons to move forward in global solidarity and harmony.
Today and for several decades, Africa has been asking for the same level of political commitment and devotion of resource that described the Marshall Plan.
We realize that underlying conditions and causes of the economic challenges facing today’s Africa are significantly different from those of post war Europe.
We are not asking for identical programs and actions. What we seek is an equally firm commitment to partnership. We seek enhanced international cooperation with African nations to achieve the 2030 agenda and Sustainable Development Goals.
There are five important points I want to highlight.
First, if this year’s theme is to have any impact at all, global institutions, other nations and their private sector actors must see African development as a priority, not just for Africa but in their interests as well.
Due to both longstanding internal and external factors, Nigeria’s and Africa’s economic structures have been skewed to impede development, industrial expansion, job creation, and the equitable distribution of wealth.
If Nigeria is to fulfil its duty to its people and the rest of Africa, we must create jobs and the belief in a better future for our people.
We must also lead by example.
To foster economic growth and investor confidence in Nigeria, I removed the costly and corrupt fuel subsidy while also discarding a noxious exchange rate system in my first days in office. Other growth and job oriented reforms are in the wings.
I am mindful of the transient hardship that reform can cause. However, it is necessary to go through this phase in order to establish a foundation for durable growth and investment to build the economy our people deserve.
We welcome partnerships with those who do not mind seeing Nigeria and Africa assume larger roles in the global community.
The question is not whether Nigeria is open for business. The question is how much of the world is truly open to doing business with Nigeria and Africa in an equal, mutually beneficial manner.
Direct investment in critical industries, opening their ports to a wider range and larger quantity of African exports and meaningful debt relief are important aspects of the cooperation we seek.
Second, we must affirm democratic governance as the best guarantor of the sovereign will and well-being of the people. Military coups are wrong, as is any tilted civilian political arrangement that perpetuates injustice.
The wave crossing parts of Africa does not demonstrate favour towards coups. It is a demand for solutions to perennial problems.
Regarding Niger, we are negotiating with the military leaders. As Chairman of ECOWAS, I seek to help re-establish democratic governance in a manner that addresses the political and economic challenges confronting that nation, including the violent extremists who seek to foment instability in our region. I extend a hand of friendship to all who genuinely support this mission.
This brings me to my third crucial point. Our entire region is locked in protracted battle against violent extremists. In the turmoil, a dark channel of inhumane commerce has formed. Along the route, everything is for sale. Men, women and children are seen as chattel.
Yet, thousands risk the Sahara’s hot sand and the Mediterranean’s cold depths in search of a better life. At the same time, mercenaries and extremists with their lethal weapons and vile ideologies invade our region from the north.
This harmful traffic undermines the peace and stability of an entire region. African nations will improve our economies so that our people do not risk their lives to sweep the floors and streets of other nations. We also shall devote ourselves to disbanding extremist groups on our turf.
Yet, to fully corral this threat, the international community must strengthen its commitment to arrest the flow of arms and violent people into West Africa.
The fourth important aspect of global trust and solidarity is to secure the continent’s mineral rich areas from pilfering and conflict. Many such areas have become catacombs of misery and exploitation. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has suffered this for decades, despite the strong UN presence there. The world economy owes the DRC much but gives her very little.
The mayhem visited on resource rich areas does not respect national boundaries. Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, CAR, the list grows.
The problems also knocks Nigeria’s door.
Foreign entities abetted by local criminals who aspire to be petty warlords have drafted thousands of people into servitude to illegally mine gold and other resources. Billions of dollars meant to improve the nation now fuel violent enterprises. If left unchecked, they will threaten peace and place national security at grave risk.
Given the extent of this injustice and the high stakes involved, many Africans are asking whether this phenomenon is by accident or by design.
Member nations must reply by working with us to deter their firms and nationals from this 21st century pillage of the continent’s riches.
Fifth, climate change severely impacts Nigeria and Africa. Northern Nigeria is hounded by desert encroachment on once arable land. Our south is pounded by the rising tide of coastal flooding and erosion. In the middle, the rainy season brings floods that kill and displace multitudes.
As I lament deaths at home, I also lament the grave loss of life in Morocco and Libya. The Nigerian people are with you.
African nations will fight climate change but must do so on our own terms. To achieve the needed popular consensus, this campaign must accord with overall economic efforts.
In Nigeria, we shall build political consensus by highlighting remedial actions which also promote economic good. Projects such as a Green Wall to stop desert encroachment, halting the destruction of our forests by mass production and distribution of gas burning stoves, and providing employment in local water management and irrigation projects are examples of efforts that equally advance both economic and climate change objectives.
Continental efforts regarding climate change will register important victories if established economies were more forthcoming with public and private sector investment for Africa’s preferred initiatives.
Again, this would go far in demonstrating that global solidarity is real and working.
CONCLUSION
As I close, let me emphasize that Nigeria’s objectives accord with the guiding principles of this world body: peace, security, human rights and development.
In fundamental ways, nature has been kind to Africa, giving abundant land, resources and creative and industrious people. Yet, man has too often been unkind to his fellow man and this sad tendency has brought sustained hardship to Africa’s doorstep.
To keep faith with the tenets of this world body and the theme of this year’s Assembly, the poverty of nations must end. The pillage of one nation’s resources by the overreach of firms and people of stronger nations must end. The will of the people must be respected. This beauty, generous and forgiving planet must be protected.
As for Africa, we seek to be neither appendage nor patron. We do not wish to replace old shackles with new ones.
Instead, we hope to walk the rich African soil and live under the magnificent African sky free of the wrongs of the past and clear of their associated encumbrances. We desire a prosperous, vibrant democratic living space for our people.
To the rest of the world, I say walk with us as true friends and partners. Africa is not a problem to be avoided nor is it to be pitied. Africa is nothing less than the key to the world’s future.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has urged the Supreme Court to declare that the Presidential Election Petition Court’s five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani erred in law when it dismissed his evidence allegedly showing he won the February 25 polls with about 8.7 million votes.
Recall that INEC declared on March 1 that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, polled 8,794,726 votes while Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Obi scored 6,984,520 and 6,101,533 votes, respectively.
Obi then petitioned the PEPC for redress while presenting, among over ten witnesses, a professor of Mathematics at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra, Eric Uwaduegwu Ofoedu who submitted his expert report on the election.
The professor had told the panel that 18,088 polling unit results uploaded by INEC staff to the INEC Results Viewing Portal were blurred and allegedly shortchanged Obi’s score by
additional 2,565,269 accredited votes, aside the issue of overvoting.
According to the prof, overvoting checks on the 2023 presidential election showed that 4,457 polling units with a total of 2,317,129 PVCs collected were affected, adding that the figure exceeds the margin of lead of 1,807, 206 votes over the first runner declared by INEC, that is, Atiku Abubakar.
“From IREV portal, 18,088 polling units results were blurred. This number of PUs negatively impacted the votes of 2,565,269 accredited voters and 9,165,191 voters that collected their PVCS,” the witness had claimed.
But the panel, agreeing with the legal team of INEC and Tinubu, in its unanimous decision, dismissed Obi’s entire petition, holding particularly that the expert witness(es) from the Labour Party failed to specify the polling units in dispute as well as provide the copies of polling unit results given to LP agents as required by law.
The panel said the IREV portal was merely for public view and not a collation system.
Dissatisfied, Obi’s legal team led by Livy Uzoukwu SAN filed 51 grounds of appeal before the Apex court of the land.
Among other contentions, they said the panel refused to rely on the evidence of 18, 088 blurred polling units results uploaded by INEC staff to its public viewing portal.
Moreso, they maintained that the blurred results formed part of the certified copies issued to them by the electoral umpire, adding that the PEPC judgment affirming Tinubu’s election should be nullified for non-compliance to the Electoral Act and corrupt practices.
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The appeal partly read, “Take notice that the Appellants being dissatisfied with the decisions in PETITION NO: CA/PEPC/03/2023 MR. PETER GREGORY OBI & ANOR. v. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION & ORS. (consolidated with Election Petition Nos: CA/PEPC/04/2023 and CA/PEPC/05/2023), contained in pages 3-327 of the Judgment of the Court of Appeal sitting as the Presidential Election Petition Court, Holden at Abuja, Coram: H. S. Tsammani, Stephen Jonah Adah, Misitura Omodere Bolaji-Yusuff, Boloukuroma Moses Ugo and Abba Bello Mohammed, JJ.C.A. (“the Court below”) delivered on the 6th day of September 2023, and more particularly stated in paragraph 2 of this Notice of Appeal, do hereby appeal to the Supreme Court on the Grounds set out in Paragraph 3 and will at the hearing of the appeal seek the Reliefs sought in paragraph 4 herein.”
A date will be fixed by the apex court for hearing of the appeal.
Tweeps have taken to X to share their thoughts on the death of a young doctor, identified as Dr. Umoh Michael, who died on Sunday after allegedly working 72 hours non-stop.
According to reports, Michael died during a church service at the United Evangelical Church on September 17. He was said to have worked a 72-hour non-stop shift at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, where he was a resident doctor.
Doctors under the aegis of the Association of Resident Doctors, LUTH chapter, in a letter addressed to the Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Prof. Wasiu Lanre Adeyemo, attested to the fact that the young doctor was overworked.
They claimed Michael returned home at about 3:00 a.m. Sunday after a 72-hour shift in the hospital, adding that he had barely slept in their apartment before that day.
The statement partly read, “We the house officers are in deep grief over the loss of our colleague, a co-house officer (Dr Umoh Michael) who died on 17th September, 2023, after having a 72hrs call in the Neurosurgery Unit.
“He is said to have been on call 72hrs before arriving home on Sunday morning to get set for church service, reaching his worship center (United Evangelical Church) where he slumped in the church at about 11 am.”
“His roommate attested to the fact that Umoh Michael had barely slept in their apartment over the past one week as he was always on call or the day he returned home was around 3 a.m. after surgeries and other activities in the Neurosurgery Unit.”
Reacting to the sad incident, LUTH’s Public Relations Officer, Omolola Fakeye, who spoke on an online platform (not PUNCH) Online said, “It is not true that anybody worked for 72 hours. I have not been briefed about his death.
“We were at a programme yesterday (Monday), but I will find out; I can’t say anything now. I will check the medical report of what could have happened because anybody can say anything, but the medical report will show us what happened.”
Tweeps have since taken to X to share their thoughts on the alleged inhumane treatment meted out to the doctors.
A tweep, drfynrekins, tweeted, “I salute my Hippocratic colleague & wish him farewell on his journey to the great beyond. I hope #nmanigeria would come out strongly and protect these young doctors. These deaths are devastating and unacceptable, and it would further deplete the numbers of those practicing in Nigeria and discourage those still in medical school. Unfortunately, the young doctors are the ones bearing the brunt of the decay in the healthcare system in Nigeria but this trend must be stopped.”
Another X user, Doingood, tweeted, “We all need to be resting. Employers should please help us. May his Soul RIP .”
OgechukwuChime tweeted, “He is taking care of others and forgot to take care of himself.”
Kuwait_magic also tweeted, “He lost his own life in the process of saving other people’s lives. God knows I can’t be this good. I no fit die to make you live.”
Camax3000 wrote, “Overworked, Rest in Peace.”
Mazi_Ibem tweeted, “Lagos State Government should get more doctors from the already saturated labour market to assist. The daily pressure these doctors go through affects their health as well.”
JoelUdanyi also wrote, “This is sad. Result of a health institution being understaffed…if not what else?”
“In a sane environment, it is a crime to work more than 11:30. You are entitled to 1-hour break as well,” Kasalimi2029 tweeted.
What happened in my home is the sort of stuff you see in famed television program – Super Story.
Exactly one month ago, my family hired this 23-year-old young lady, Happy Yahuda into our home. During the interview session, I asked her where she hails from. When she told me she hails from Zango-Kataf in Kaduna state I felt comfortable considering my history with Kaduna, having attended secondary school there.
Again, I asked where she had been before showing up at my home. She told the story of where she had worked previously and that her former employer travelled out of the country. I didn’t immediately see any red flag. So, I agreed for her to stay.
We already have in our employ a janitor who comes in three days a week and does an excellent job. We have two very young children and this was the long holiday. My wife and I work full time coupled with my frequent travels. We needed a minder for the children. Not that we left them alone with her at home. No. Her job was just to act as accompaniment and tend to their needs under madam’s supervision.
Happiness got along well with the kids. I guess it was more out of her childishness or childlikeness than anything else. There were a few times I had walked into her teaching our 5-year-old to read. Maybe this one will not be bad, I said to myself considering the terrible experiences with these people.
I held my hope high… well… until the scary occurrence of yesterday.
I have been travelling for the better part of the last month. So, this Saturday, with the weather fairly clement, I hit the tennis courts again. Then I got this call from home.
Happiness suddenly made up her mind she would want to leave her job immediately and would want her one-month salary immediately. Usually, we pay their first salaries to their agents who deduct their commissions and pay them the balance. Then the next month, they start to get their full salaries. As far as I am concerned, if she wants to go, she can leave.
As is with our practice and based on past experiences we have had, we would normally inspect their belongings before we show them to their quarters, and carry out same when they are leaving.
After I had permitted madam to allow her leave the compound, she was asked to bring her bag forward. She wasn’t expecting this. So, she made to go back into her quarters. She was stopped and was asked to bring out her things. She brought out a few things. Madam had noted that when she came in she came with only four dresses. How come her bag was suddenly so bulgy?
To cut the story short, madam found at the bottom of her bag half of her entire jewellery collection. This young lady packed everything! Apparently, she could not tell which were pure gold or not. So she cleared everything that was in that particular cupboard. They included her wedding and engagement rings and other pure gold apparels as well as very expensive gemstones and others.
When they finally reached me on the phone, I asked that they keep her as I made my way back home. When I got home, I would hear things that made it nearly impossible for me sleep last night. Innocent looking and easily likeable Happiness was not only a thief, as it now turns out, is also an agent hired by an evil gang, and unleashed on unsuspecting employers.
I sat transfixed listening to her tell her story. I was trying to make out if she was afraid. I didn’t see trepidation. I didn’t see confusion. I didn’t see remorse. I only saw a young lady possessed. At one point, my sister in-law said to her, “there is something these people gave you to drop in the house. Where is it?”
I turned and looked at my in-law wondering how she could have figured this out. I was still trying to understand what was going on when Happiness walked to her bag and brought out a piece of black cloth tied into a knot. I asked her to untie it. She did.
There was this red substance looking as malleable as clay. I asked her to drop it on the floor. I asked my in-law for anointing oil, and I poured it on the substance. It began to fume and the whole living room was filled with this eerie stench of decaying rot.
Then it turned yellow from red and later became black. Everyone began praying, then the young lady started confessing…
Two weeks ago, my wife asked Happiness to help her lose her hair so she could go to the salon to get it redone. Unknown to her, she had cut pieces of her natural hair and kept. We saw what was also tied in a nylon bag. She said this was meant for a human sacrifice. Things she said are really disturbing till now.
According to her, she met these people around April 2023. They told her they would make her rich. They took her into this room and performed some magic and monies appeared in different currencies. They asked her to take the monies. But each time she tried to touch the money it disappeared.
They now told her that they would give her charms and send her on this assignment and her job is to bring them valuables from her employers, and when she does, she would be able to take the monies.
They then gave her the juju and told her that any home she enters, she should pick sand from outside of the house and sprinkle on the juju and speak to the juju that the people in the house would suffer some degree of amnesia.
So, she can steal whatsoever she desires and the owners would not remember that they owned the things or looked for them. They also told her that she must make sure no other person sees the juju otherwise it would lose it powers and she could become mad.
My ears heard things that at my age my brain could not process. For the past one month we had harboured and cared for the devil. She had unfettered access to my children. At times, she even dished my food as well as the children. As a rule, we do not maltreat anyone who works with us. They eat and drink the same as us. The estimated value of what she had tried to steal is approximately four million Naira.
The next question became what to do with her. I got her phone, went through the call logs. A particular number called her thirty-one times from 5AM on Saturday. She confessed that to be the number of the kingpin. I asked her when she carried the items in her possession. She said on Thursday evening. So, when she called the kingpin, she had accomplished her mission, they started to put her under pressure to leave the house and return to them.
Now, the final resort should ordinarily be to hand her over to the police. But I shall not be taking up this option. I have my reasons. In 2015, while serving as an appointee of the government in Cross River State, and my wife temporarily resident in America, I discovered my driver – Jack, had duplicated keys to my main entrance door, and because I was away for months at a stretch, had striped my home of all my valuables. He of course ran away.
I tracked him, got him arrested. Insisted on his being tried in court. Attended two court sittings until he was remanded at Kirikiri prison for about five months. Later, on following up with the police I realized he was released without recourse to me. In their words, he had suffered already for the crime. To get to this stage, I know how much I was extorted by the police. I let it go.
On another occasion, this time at the office, my admin manager connived with our company driver to cart away camera equipment worth over seven million Naira from the office strong room. The driver disappeared. But I got the admin manager arrested. I know how much extortion I underwent to the point that the most sensible thing to do was to cut my losses. Our criminal system met more punishment to the victim than the criminals, sadly.
I feel sad for this young lady. Even though she’s done enough to suffer behind bars, I feel nothing but pity for. I see her as a victim of the kind of society we now find ourselves, where a twenty-three-year-old from a very poor background is so desperate to make it without working. They could have asked her to poison all of us in my family. She would have carried out their instructions to the letter.
I am grateful to God for sparing us of disaster or our friends and loved ones of bad news. If she is wise, she would realize she also has been delivered if ever she was under a spell. I took her phone, took out her SIM card, wiped out everything on it and put back to factory reset so that whoever those people are, they can’t reach her except she goes back to them herself. Of course, she could get her number back, but she would no longer have our details. This morning, I asked her to go.
To ensure that no other innocent family falls victim to this evil and demonic nexus that plants their agents in the homes of unsuspecting families, I am publishing her photo and details so that there is no hiding place for her and her likes. Hopefully, if everyone shares this story and other similar stories, these evil people shall quit their current trade.
Happiness, like many others like her who at the moment are in the various homes of unsuspecting families, was never seeking a job. She didn’t want the job. She was simply on a mission to steal,
kill and destroy.
Finally, be careful and watchful of the people you allow into your homes. Unlike me, learn to be perpetually suspicious. May God save and preserve us from evil!”
This story was shared online by Chijiоke, Ph.D., @Ekwulu.
Mohbad’s father, Mr. Joseph Aloba, has come forward to shed light on the reasons behind the quick burial of his son.
Mohbad, a rising star in the Nigerian music industry, passed away on 12th September 2023, leaving fans and the public shocked and in mourning.
Nigerians had expressed their concerns about the unusual burial site chosen for the late artist, situated adjacent to a cassava farm, which many considered unfitting for a celebrity of Mohbad’s stature.
Mohbad’s father reveals reason for his son swift burial amidst controversy
Late Nigerian singer, Mohbad.
However, Mr. Aloba has now provided an explanation, attempting to put these concerns to rest.
Youths visit Mohbad’s grave site hours after burial, video causes buzz
In a video uploaded to Instagram by @temilolasobola, Mohbad’s father disclosed that the decision to bury his son swiftly was rooted in cultural norms in Yoruba land.
He explained that because the deceased was relatively young at the time of his demise, local customs dictated that the body could not be kept for an extended period.
Mr. Aloba further emphasized that if Mohbad had lived to an older age, they might have considered preserving his body in a morgue for a longer duration.
In Mohbad’s father words;
“In Yoruba land, his corpse is not the kind to be kept when both of his parents are still alive. Assuming he died at an older age, we might have considered putting his body in the mortuary and taking it at a later date. That same night we took him away from there and buried him where we did.”
Addressing the choice of burial site, Mr. Aloba clarified that the location was selected because it was the only piece of land he knew to be owned by the late artist.
He disclosed that Mohbad had given him the land with the intention of building a church on it.
Therefore, considering the absence of any alternative land ownership, they opted to lay Mohbad to rest there.
“That land where Mohbad was buried is his only land, that’s the only land I know him to have owned. Truly he gave me the land to build my church because we had both agreed to build the church there, and since that’s the only land I knew him to have…,” Mohbad’s father added.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation—FBI, has declared six Nigerian internet crooks wanted, following their amorous involvement in different fraudulent schemes in the US.
Already, the suspects have been described as international flight risks by the agency.
Among the suspects are Felix Osilama Okpoh, Alex Afolabi Ogunsakin, Micheal Olorunyomi, Richard Izuchukwu Uzhi, Nnamdi Orson Benson, and Abiola Ayorinde Kayode.
The secret agency, in a passionate appeal to the general public, said the wanted suspects are “currently hiding in Nigeria” and urged the people to contact the nearest FBI office with information in respect to their whereabouts.
“If you have any information concerning this person. Please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate,” said the agency.
The individuals, now subjects of international manhunt, have been fingered as co-conspirators in various criminal activities. Their alleged crimes encompass a wide range, including romance scams, fraudulent wire transfers, and advanced fee fraud schemes.
While detailing there various involvement in the alleged crime, Olorunyomi was accused of defrauding over 70 U.S. businesses, resulting in losses exceeding $6 million. He is also wanted of conducting romance fraud, targeting vulnerable individuals, and defrauding them of over $1 million. Legal action was taken against him in November 2019, leading to a warrant for his arrest.
Kayode is sought for his purported role in a BEC scheme that defrauded numerous U.S. businesses, totalling over $6 million in losses. He allegedly facilitated fraudulent wire transfers and engaged in BEC and romance frauds. Legal action was initiated against him in August 2019, resulting in a federal arrest warrant.
Benson is wanted for providing bank accounts for receiving fraudulent wire transfers and participating in romance and advanced fee fraud schemes. The FBI said a federal warrant was issued for his arrest in August 2019.
Uzuh faces allegations of participating in a BEC scheme, along with co-conspirators, which defrauded numerous U.S. businesses of over $6 million. He is also accused of money laundering and collaborating with others involved in BEC schemes. On October 19, 2016, a federal warrant was issued for his arrest, according to the FBI.
Okpoh is wanted for his alleged role in a BEC scheme that defrauded numerous U.S. businesses of over $6 million. He is accused of providing bank accounts for fraudulent wire transfers, resulting in losses exceeding $1 million. The FBI issued an arrest warrant against him on August 22, 2019.
Ogunshakin is sought for involvement in a BEC scheme that caused substantial financial losses to multiple U.S. businesses. He is accused of providing bank accounts for fraudulent wire transfers and participating in these schemes by sending spoofed emails. On August 22, 2019, a federal warrant was issued for his arrest.
The six suspected criminals add to the growing roster of Nigerians implicated in criminal activities and scams. Some are already incarcerated, while others are currently facing legal action.
The Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul-Samad Rabiu, says the company is set to reduce the price of cement in Nigeria.
He disclosed this on Friday while speaking the State House correspondents after meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
Rabiu said to support the efforts of the government to crash the price of the product, the company would add two new plants at the end of the year or early next year.
According to him, the plants to be commissioned by Tinubu, would bring BUA Cement’s total capacity to 17 million metric tons.
This, he said will enable the company to reduce the price of cement to about 3500 naira per bag.
He said: “Let me thank His Excellency Mr. President for graciously receiving me today. I came to intimate His Excellency on the affairs of our cement business. We have two new lines of 3 million tonnes each that we will be commissioned by the end of the year.
“So I came to intimate His Excellency and also to explain to him the efforts we’re making in trying to support again the efforts of the government in bringing down the price of cement.
“With this 6 million tonnes that are commissioning by the end of the year. And by the way, His Excellency has agreed to come and commission the plants, sometimes in December or early January next year.
“So I explained to him and we want to support the efforts of the government in bringing down the price of cement. By the time these lines are commissioned, BUA Cement will to be producing about 17 million tonnes per annum. And with that, we intend to bring down the price of cement from its current level of N5000 or N5500 per bag to maybe N3000 to N3500 per bag.
“And we can only do that because we’re producing cement locally. 80% of the raw materials that we’re using to produce cement are in Nigeria. We want to support the government efforts in ensuring that the price of thess commodities are brought down.
“Incidentally, I also saw the Honorable Minister David Umahi, when I was with the with His Excellency, Mr. President, and we agreed to meet so what we’re going to do is by the time we commission these two lines is to announce to Nigerians that the price of cement is going to come down.”
A Swedish court has sentenced a Norwegian man to three and a half years in prison after police found his dead partner’s body in a freezer, where he preserved it and continued to collect her pension.
The 57-year-old man told friends and family that his 60-year-old partner was alive and well even after she passed away from cancer in 2018, an English-language Norwegian news site reported.
“They didn’t want to be buried at a public cemetery but at the farm, actually,” the man’s lawyer told local paper Nya Wermlands-Tidningen. “So he put her in the freezer to later bury her outside and then it fell by the wayside.”
It was gathered that the woman’s family reported her missing after losing contact with her following several excuses from her husband, including telling them she no longer wanted to speak with them.
In March, Police found her body following a tip, and the man admitted he hid her death and body.
He initially claimed that he had done so in order to wait for spring so he could bury her near their farm in Varmland.
One report claimed the man had also chopped his partner up to put her in the freezer, where he also stored food that he ate.
“The man also used the freezer for other purposes which I argue means that the deceased person’s sanctity of the grave was violated every time the man opened and closed the freezer, which is an aggravating circumstance,” a prosecutor argued
He initially claimed that he had done so in order to wait for spring so he could bury her near their farm in Varmland.
One report claimed the man had also chopped his partner up to put her in the freezer, where he also stored food that he ate.
“The man also used the freezer for other purposes which I argue means that the deceased person’s sanctity of the grave was violated every time the man opened and closed the freezer, which is an aggravating circumstance,” a prosecutor argued.
Prosecutors revealed the suspect made just under $117,000 through his “systemic” fraud scheme.
The man had changed ownership and registrations of vehicles with the deceased’s name as well.
The man had claimed during his trial that he was able to still communicate with his partner through telepathy, but court-appointed psychiatrists had previously determined the man did not suffer from any mental illness and renewed testing determined that has not changed.
The court ultimately convicted the man on charges of gross breach of civil liberties, gross fraud, mutilating a corpse, and falsification of documents, among others.
Prosecutors initially had pursued a four-year jail sentence, but the court reduced it and ordered the man to repay the money he had taken through his scheme.
A French regulator has demanded that Apple remove its three-year-old iPhone 12 from the French market because tests showed electromagnetic radiation above permissible levels.
The French agency in charge of telecommunications regulation—ANFR ordered that the iPhone model “no longer (be) offered for sale in all distribution channels in France” again.
The ANFR recently tested 141 phones in a laboratory to determine how much electromagnetic radiation the body absorbs during the operation of the phone.
It was found that the iPhone 12 exceeded the limit for direct body contact, for example, in the hand or the pocket.
Instead of the maximum permitted four watts per kilogramme, it was 5.74 watts per kilogramme.
The authorities want to check a possible update from Apple.
The limit value of two watts per kilogram for radiation values at a distance of five millimetres from the body, however, was complied with by the iPhone 12, wrote the ANFR.
It applies to situations in which a phone is carried in a jacket or pocket, for example.
Over seven more ex-patients who underwent surgical operations at Murna hospital have come forward to claim that their kidneys were harvested by the operator of the clinic, Mr Noah Kekere.
One Alhaji Jamilu Baba, chairman of Yanshanu Community Development Association during an interview with Tribune disclosed that all those who had one form of surgical operation or the other at the clinic in the past had been directed to go for tests to confirm the state of their kidneys.
Alhaji Baba said that so far, no fewer than seven people, males and females, have been discovered to have one kidney each with the other missing. He added that other people were still in the process of going for scans based on the report before the community.
“It may interest you that those who went for scans are complaining of the same thing. At the moment, about seven have claimed that only one kidney was found in their bodies after scans. All of them had, at different times, had surgical operations performed on them by the so-called doctor at Murna Clinic
“The hospital is called Murna Clinic owned by one man called Dr Noah Kekere, popularly known as Dr Yellow. He has been in this community for over 18 years. The people of this community trusted him and patronised him whenever they were not feeling well.
“But to our great surprise, we learned of his involvement in this unfortunate incident that he operated on a woman about seven years ago when she had an appendicitis. Unfortunately, after the operation, the woman was still complaining of stomach pain. Kekere has been managing her and collecting money from the family.
“After much complaining without any improvement, the husband told her wife to try Jos University Teaching Hospital, where it was discovered after a scan that she had one kidney; that the other one was missing.
“The report came to us and to the entire community as a shock. This man has betrayed the trust the community has in him. I cannot count the number of people in this community that this man has operated on. This incident has caused confusion in the community. Those he had operated on at one time or another are now jittery. We have been advising people that have been coming to us to go for tests at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and other certified hospitals.
“We are having a community meeting on Saturday (today) to discuss this issue thoroughly and tell other people who have undergone one form of operation or the other there to go for scans.
“The matter has been reported to the DPO in charge of this area and he has transferred the case to the state police headquarters. According to police investigation, the man has confessed that he removed the kidney of that woman (Mrs Kehinde Kamaru), saying that it was the work of the devil. Because of the damage he has done to our community, we petitioned the state Commissioner of Police, asking him to conduct a thorough investigation.
“The community has been so nice to him, but unfortunately, this is how he rewarded us. He had been presenting himself as a qualified medical doctor to the people, but he is not. Police investigation revealed that he has a BSc and a Master’s degree in Economics. We were told that he went to a nursing school but abandoned his programme along the way. He has done a lot of damage to our people.”
Alhaji Baba therefore called on the police to extend their investigation beyond the woman whose case exposed the fake doctor. He emphasised the need to get to the root of the matter to deter others engaging in such a dubious act,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Plateau State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association—NMA, has distanced itself from Mr Noah Kekere, who has been in police custody.
NewsBand reports that the suspect was arrested by the police in Jos after a businessman, Alhaji Kamal, accused him of removing his wife’s kidney during surgery in 2018.
Kamal said his wife (Kehinde) was suffering from chronic stomach pains five years ago and was rushed to Kekere’s clinic located in the Nasarawa Gwom area of Jos North Local Government Area of the State, where he diagnosed and concluded that she had ruptured appendicitis and needed urgent surgery.
According to him, “The day the doctor conducted the operation, he started the operation from 12 noon until 8 pm, and for the past five years, my wife kept complaining of severe stomach pains. I continued to take her to the same hospital because I did not want to change the doctor that started her treatment.”
But reacting to the incident, the chairman of NMA in the state, Dr Bapigaan William Audu, and the spokesman of the medical association, Dr. Istifanus Bintum Bako, said in a press statement that, upon its investigation into the matter, Kekere is not a medical doctor.
Part of the statement reads, “This is to inform the public and all concerned that Mr Noah Kekere, who is currently being investigated over the allegations of organ harvesting, is not a medical doctor.
“Diligent investigations by the association have revealed that he is a quack pretending to be a doctor. Further information will be made available following the conclusion of the investigative processes initiated by the NMA as well as the Nigerian Police, respectively
A Nigerian woman named Ngozi, has touched the hearts of many with her heartfelt surprise for her boyfriend, Segun, who works as a mechanic.
After spending three years in the United Kingdom, Ngozi orchestrated a heartwarming reunion that left Segun utterly overwhelmed with joy and emotion.
This touching moment was captured in a video shared on TikTok by content creator Theo Ayoms, who played a pivotal role in facilitating their reunion.
During an interview with Theo, it was revealed that Segun had been the generous sponsor of Ngozi’s master’s studies in the United Kingdom.
Originally, the program was anticipated to be completed in approximately a year and a few months. However, the couple unexpectedly lost contact, causing one year to stretch into a lengthy three-year separation.
Remarkably, despite the prolonged separation, Segun held onto hope and never gave up on their relationship.
Ngozi chose a significant occasion, Segun’s birthday, to make her grand return. She arrived with a celebratory cake and a heartfelt desire to mend their relationship and transform their lives. Ngozi also disclosed that, while in Nigeria, Segun had been a staunch supporter of her education. Now, she had achieved success abroad, securing a well-paying job.
This heartwarming story of love, determination, and reunion serves as a testament to the enduring power of love and the willingness of two people to overcome obstacles to be together once more. Ngozi’s gesture of returning to Segun after three years apart demonstrates her commitment and love for him, as well as her desire to build a future together.
Cars worth over a million South African rands were razed when a Ugandan man on a mission of revenge against his father allegedly set on fire the workshop of Nigerian nationals involved in automobile dealings in Pretoria, South Africa.
Habib Miller, the spokesman of Nigeria Union South Africa—NUSA, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Saturday, September 9, 2023, said nine cars and vehicle parts worth a million, five hundred and fifty thousand rands (R1,550,000.00) were destroyed in the fire.
“The incident occurred on the 5th day of September 2023, on Vom Hagen Street in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. Mr. Owolabi Gbadamosi, an affected associate of the business, narrated that he was called around 7 p.m. on the fateful day,” Miller stated.
“Gbadamosi and his colleagues had knocked off from work earlier that day around 6 p.m. and left for their various homes in the Province. When they got a call informing them about a fire at their business unit, they assumed it was the occasional transformer explosion that occurred within the vicinity, which often happens when thieves try to steal cables from the substation. Such blasts did not cause any significant damage to their shop.
“However, when they got close to the location, they saw flames that gave them a heads-up of something serious. When the partners individually arrived at the business property, the fire service was already at the scene trying to douse the inferno,” the statement said.
Mr. Tunji Balogun, a business partner affected by the incident, recounted how he tried to save some of the vehicles during the extinguishing. But was advised against taking such hazardous action by the fire brigade.
Before the arson was perpetrated on the property, a Ugandan national, who was subletting part of the location in question was having a conflict with his son.
The East African man had been operating an automobile spare part business on the property for 7 years. Sometime last year, he established the same type of business in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, and handed over the motor vehicle components business in Vom Hagen Street to his son.
According to eyewitnesses, this was because the Atteridgeville location was generating satisfactory net income.
His son then secured a loan from his girlfriend and began the operation which became somewhat successful. In a new twist, a month ago, the son of the Ugandan man carried out a twelve thousand rand (R12,000.00) transaction via his father’s bank account. This was a result of his inability to set one up for himself due to documentation challenges.
His father, however, only remitted half of the money to him, and this infuriated him. The son questioned his father’s handling of the situation, asking how he is expected to make progress if he is not allowed to reinvest money made back into the enterprise.
Unable to resolve their dispute, the father decided to reclaim the business from his son, taking advantage of possessing all the legal documents related to the business.
When his son would not vacate the building after being verbally informed, the father decided to obtain a court order restricting his offspring from his and the surrounding businesses.
Weeks before the son was alleged to have burned the workplace, things got so heated that he attempted to stab his father but was restricted by mediators. The son then threatened that it was not the last time the father would hear from him about the matter.
When the business location was set ablaze, the father could be heard continuously lamenting that the fire-raising was perpetrated by his son. It appears the major target of the arsonist was the portion of his father’s business on the property, nevertheless, it escalated to Mr. Owolabi and Co.’s businesses.
The Swedish government has released a report outlining its strategy to introduce International Recruitment Units aimed at enhancing the work permit application process.
The report outlines processes to avoid substantial processing delays and backlogs of work permits for foreign workers globally including Nigeria who obtain a Swedish work permit.
The report has significant areas, including the introduction of a tiered application category system.
This will be based on the applicant’s profession and educational background and marks a departure from the existing Fast Track scheme.
Furthermore, the report proposes the discontinuation of the Fast Track scheme due to its lack of effectiveness and these policies are anticipated to come into effect by late 2023 or early 2024.
Under the revamped application category system implemented by these Units, the assessment of work permit applications will be based on the applicant’s profession and educational qualifications, diverging from the Fast Track scheme that has been operational since 2011.
Here are the specifics of the four categories, as contained in the report:
A deadly earthquake that occured last Friday night in Morocco, has killed hundreds of people, damaging buildings and villages in the North African country.
Over 1000 civilians according to the Morocco’s Ministry of Interior died in the unfortunate incident.
The victims are mostly residents in Marrakech and five provinces near the quake’s epicentre. Another 153 people were sent to hospitals with injuries.
Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit at 11:11 pm GMT, with shaking that lasted several seconds.
The US agency reported a magnitude of 4.9 aftershock hit 19 minutes later.
The epicentre of Friday’s tremor was near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province, roughly 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) south of Marrakech.
The USGS said the epicentre was 18 kilometres (11 miles) below the Earth’s surface, while Morocco’s seismic agency put it at 11 kilometres (7 miles) down saying such shallow quakes are more dangerous.
The scary scenes of the earthquake’s aftermath were shown on Moroccan television with many people staying outside fearing aftershocks.
Videos showed a gaping hole in a home, a car nearly buried by the chunks of a collapsed building while baskets, buckets, and clothing could be seen amid scattered stones in the remains of one building.
Other images shared online showed people running and screaming near the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, one of the city’s major landmarks. Moroccan media reported that the mosque suffered damage, but the extent was not immediately clear.
Moroccans also posted videos showing parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city of Marrakech, a UNESCO World Heritage site, damaged.
A U.N. spokesperson said that “the United Nations is ready to assist the government of Morocco in its efforts to assist the impacted population.”
Maksim Kuzminov, a Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine, will receive the Ukranian currency, hryvnia equivalent of $500,000 (approximately Hr 18.48 million), Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) spokesperson Andrii Yusov said on Tuesday, September 5.
The 28-year-old pilot (who already ensured his family left Russia) landed his Mi-8 helicopter fully intact at an airfield in Ukraine when he defected, Ukrainian media reported on Aug. 23.
In April 2022, Ukraine’s parliament passed a law offering up to $1 million to Russian military personnel who manage to transfer equipment to Ukraine. The size of the reward depends on the type of equipment they hand over.
He spoke at a press conference on the operation on Sept. 5 and explained that he defected because he “did not want to contribute” to the crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, which he believes is a “wonderful country.”
He said that he contacted the Ukrainian military intelligence himself, and was told he would receive security for himself and his family, payments, and new documents from Ukraine if he defected.
Kuzminov said that his parents supported his plans to defect and have joined him in Ukraine.
He added that he no longer has contact with other Russian soldiers he served with, but would like to convey to them that there are no fascists or Nazis in Ukraine, as Russian propaganda claims.
The defection was the result of a long-term operation by the Ukrainian military intelligence to bring the Mi-8 helicopter and its pilot to Ukraine.
The story was featured in the documentary “Downed Russian Pilots”, which aired on Ukrainian television on the evening of Sept. 3. The film revealed how the landing was planned and carried out and Kuzminov called on other Russian pilots to follow his lead.
“If you do what I did, this kind of thing, you will not regret it at all. You will be provided for the rest of your life with absolutely everything,” Kuzminov said.
Kuzminov provided “valuable evidence about Russia’s army aviation, communication systems, and airfield network,” according to the documentary.
“When Ukraine officially calls on the Russians to go over to our side together with the equipment, it is not propaganda. It is not a lie. It is the truth,” Yusov added during the press conference on Sept. 5.
Something I wrote sometime ago for young would-be Nigerian greener pasture seekers abroad
If your ambition is to leave Nigeria at any time, you need to know the following;
Money does not grow on trees in obodo oyinbo. Work must be exchanged for financial returns. Remember, “Work” in this instance can be ‘anything” you do to earn an income legally and illegally. Remember, LEGALITY or lack thereof is underpinned by prescribed consequences which can be positive or negative.
Category A: This is for those who want to “HAMMER’ and those who want to “Bute Ike” as fast as possible and within a short period of time. Those who want to follow this part must embrace some kind of illegality by way of dealing on drugs, embarking on fraudulent activities and many similar fraudulent vices. These can be very lucrative and can launch you from zero to hero overnight. Within a short period of time, you could achieve so many things money can buy that you would normally only “DREAM’ about hitherto. The MONEY LOVING SOCIETY will open doors for you. Forget about the hypocritical and cliched MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING quip, doors open with money regardless of how you have made it.
The natural caveat to the above is that you will always stand a few yards away from doing time in jail, getting killed in the line of “duty”, or living life with a very bad reputation. Your default mode would be to watch your back at all times. Yes, you will always have money in your pocket, lots of it but less peace of mind. Remember, it is also likely that you would work hard in the fast-lane industry and still not make it. Nothing is automatic or guaranteed here.
Category A can be risky as most that follow this path tend to blow their earnings while the going was good. Well, some of them actually wash their dirty money, make it clean and scratch a solid life out of it but these are in the minority. The majority blow all the money and sink into poverty eventually.
Category B: This one is boring, frustrating, labor and time intensive. It takes several years for it to begin to bear fruits. You gotta follow the educational part. You have to add-on to what you have studied before leaving Nija or start afresh and work your way up the ladder through personal educational upgrades. You may eventually end-up in academia or the corporate world and your remuneration would continue to increase, rather slowly as you acquire more skills on the way. In the end, you will probably not become a Billionaire but you will be able to live way above the acquisition of MASLOW’s basics. You will have rest of mind; you will become fully integrated in your new abode and probably become well respected too. The police cannot scare you with anything.
Fact is, you must be willing to invest 10-15 years of your life in achieving Category B. One of the few exceptions would be those who were already in the medical and health science field before they left Nigeria. Their skills are always on high demand in the WEST. For them, they just need a few years, by way of upgrading educationally to become fully integrated economically.
If you are good and you are in the medical field, you could go straight from Nigeria to the work place in the WEST after a series of exams. This happens especially with our Medical Doctors. If you are not medically inclined, then be prepared to invest time in a much focused way. Stick to your plan and do not allow the flashy lifestyle of some of our LOUD and “rich” brothers you would meet to fool you.
Forget the effizzy and initial garagara, 10-15 years from now, most of our LOUD and “rich” brothers you meet in Obodo Oyinbo would be broke and begging you for financial assistance. Category B consumes time but it is much more sustainable at the long-run. You will live a fulfilled and guaranteed lifestyle with category B. So, know what you are getting into and chose wisely.
In November 2022, months before the 2023 polls, Nigeria’s Chief Justice, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, swore in 307 justices to handle the election petitions.
On May 25, 2023, 39 more justices were inaugurated, totalling 346 justices expected to deliver judgments before September 16. Section 285 (6) of the 1999 constitution provides that “an election tribunal shall deliver judgment in writing within 180 days from the date of filing of the petition.”
In the same month, the Presidential Election Petition Court commenced hearing the election petitions filed by the five candidates in February’s presidential poll.
The candidates have called on the five-person panel to dispense justice accordingly today.
For LP’s Peter Obi, the demands are five-fold. On eligibility, petitioners argue that APC’s Tinubu is ineligible to run for the top office. Obi’s lead counsel, Livy Uzoukwu, also argued that the president-elect “was not duly elected by a majority of the lawful votes cast at the time of the election.”
Second, because Tinubu was declared winner of the election without securing 25 percent in the FCT, Obi, and the LP want the tribunal to determine “that the 2nd Respondent (Tinubu) having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast at the Presidential Election in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on February5y 2023.”
Obi also prayed the court to cancel the February 2the Februarytial election and compel INEC to conduct a fresh election. He then prayed the tribunal to issue an order preventing Tinubu and his running mate, Shettima, from participating in the fresh election.
For the PDP’s Abubakar, the demands are similar. At the court sitting in late July, the former Vice President said the fact that a presidential election had never been nullified before by a court in Nigerians is no grounds for the court to avoid “doing the right thing”
Lead counsel to Atiku and PDP, Chris Uche, SAN, said in his final address that day, “A subtle threat of apocalyptic catastrophe of national chaos and anarchy if a judgment is not given in a particular manner, cannot deter a court of law from doing justice.
“The court must do justice, rather ‘let the heavens fall’ but as courageously stated by the Supreme Court per Oguntade JSC, in the epic case of AMAECHI vs. INEC & ORS (2008) LPELR-446(SC) (Pp. 67-68 paras. D): ‘I must do justice even if the heavens fall.’ The truth, of course, is that when justice has been done, the heavens stay in place.”
However, in their final defence statement to the court, Mr Tinubu’s legal team, led by Wole Olanipekun, said any other interpretation different from what they had presented to the tribunal would lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy and “alteration of the very intention of the legislature.”
Having heard all sides, here are the persons deciding Tinubu’s fate today.
Haruna Tsammani, 64, was appointed a Justice of the appeal court in 2010. Called to the Bar in 1983, he was appointed a high court judge in Bauchi State on September 17, 1998.
Tsammani is not a rookie when it comes to electoral tribunal sittings. In December 2015, he was part of the five-person panel of the Appeal Court that dismissed an appeal instituted by a former governor of Oyo State, Rashidi Ladoja, against the election of the then-governor Abiola Ajimobi (now late).
Justice Stephen Adah, 66, hails from Kogi State. He graduated from the Nigerian Law School in 1982 and now heads the Asaba Division of the Court of Appeal.
Adah was appointed as a judge of the Federal High Court on November 122, 1998, and was one of the justices promoted to the Appeal Court in November 2012.
He is best known for his landmark judgment delivered in an appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2020 against a trial court’s decision, which partially upheld the no-case submission filed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s cousin, Robert Azibaola.
Justice Misitura Bolaji-Yusuf was born on August 77, 1959. She hails from Oyo State and attended the Obafemi Awolowo University between 1979 and 1983 and later, the Nigerian Law School from 1983 to 1984.
Bolaji-Yusuf was appointed as a justice in the Oyo State High Court on January 300, 1997, where she delivered major judgments. She was later appointed to the Court of Appeal on March 244, 2014.
One of her lead judgments was delivered at the hearing of an N5.6bn pension scam in Oyo State. The case involved the EFCC and 12 other persons in the Oyo State civil service.
She was on the panel that affirmed the authenticity of the candidates of the Godwin Obaseki-led faction to participate in the Edo State 2023 elections. She ranks 31st on the senior hierarchy list of the Court of Appeal.
The Bayelsa-born justice hails from Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state. Born in 1965, Ugo began his education at the State school, Igbedi in Bayelsa State from 1972 to 1978.
Justice Ugo was appointed as a Justice of the High Court of Bayelsa State in March 2006. He became an appellate court justice in March 2014 and ranks 44th on the seniority list of the Court of Appeal.
Justice Bello, 62, hails from Kano State. He attended the Nigerian Law School in 1985. In 2010, he was appointed to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
Bello presided over the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Tribunal in 2019 where the PDP governorship candidate in the 2019 polls, David Ombugadu, had filed a suit against INEC and Governor Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressive Congress.
However, Bello rejected the petition on the grounds that it lacked merit, noting that the petitioner’s claims of excessive voting and electoral violence could not be substantiated. He is ranked 71st on the seniority list of the Court of Appeal.
A woman, identity withheld, has happily told her husband she is pregnant only to hear the shocking story of her life: her husband had vasectomy, a form of birth control plan for males, but he did not tell her.
The man, identity also withheld, secretly got the procedure done to know if his wife was faithful to him, and it turned out she was not, the video trending on Twitter showed when the man confronted his wife and revealed that he got a vasectomy and now, the woman is pregnant with a baby.
The man immediately rejected the pregnancy, saying it is not his own, insisting that the wife got pregnant outside her marriage without knowing that he would find out.
Due to the vasectomy, the man became unable to get any woman pregnant but kept his decision secret because he did not trust his wife and wanted to know if she was faithful.
In a trending video, the man revealed to his wife that he could not get her pregnant and wanted to know the father of the baby she was carrying.
The woman was enraged after finding out that her husband got the procedure done secretly.
She emphasised that they had been trying to have a baby for four years, and all her husband considered was getting a vasectomy.
When she asked if her husband would accept and love the baby she was carrying, the man refused and said the pregnancy was not his and, therefore, the baby could not be his.
The video was posted on Twitter by @peladexn. Watch the video clip below:
— Adex (@peladexn) July 27, 2023
Some observers, however, blamed the man for getting a vasectomy without his wife’s consent.
Tori Media has stumbled on a document wherein the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) categorically stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was never a student of Chicago State University (CSU).
This was contained in a letter written by Jennifer S. Dent, the Acting Legal Attache’, Office of Legal Attache’ of the United States Consulate General located in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
The letter dated July 28, 2011, was addressed to the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Farida Waziri; Attention: Mr. Bala Sanga, Principal Staff Officer.
The letter reads:
“I wanted to respond to your request for information made to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on January 4, 2011, regarding former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubo and his enrollment at/graduation from Chicago State University.
“Per our verification with the Chicago State University’s Registrar Office and its official response to our inquiry, Bola Tinubo “was not enrolled as a student this or any term” at the referenced educational institution.
See a copy of the letter below:
Presently, there is a great controversy over the enrolment of Tinubu at the university following a suit filed at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, against the University.
Alhaji Abubakar had, in the suit, demanded details of Tinubu’s purported enrolment as a student in the school as proof.
In the meantime, following a barrage of attacks by angry Nigerians over the manner it has been handling Tinubu’s certificate saga, the University has, Tuesday morning, locked its official “X” handle from the general public.
Also, Nigerians have lamented over what the Chicago State University could possibly be hiding in Tinubu’s matter after several efforts to get a positive response respecting the University’s 1979 yearbook which has evidently been removed from their website.
Nigerians were shocked to notice that the institution has removed its 1979 yearbook, the particular year that Tinubu purportedly graduated from the school.
On his part, Tinubu told the US court to hide his Chicago State University records because his reputation as president is at risk of further being damaged by Nigerian bloggers.
Tinubu kicked against an application for order to direct discovery of his CSU credentials, claiming that releasing them will amount to arming Nigerian bloggers with information to discredit and weaken his reputation.
According to him, previous records the school released in 2022 to Nigerian lawyer Mike Enahoro-Ebah have been turned into weapons by “bloggers to attack” his character.
Angry Nigerien youths reportedly set ablaze the Embassy of France in Niamey, the country’s capital.
Watch a video clip of the incident below:
French Embassy in Niamey reportedly set ablaze by irate Nigerien youths. pic.twitter.com/f8kLYZhzNC
— Tim Elombah (@TimElombah) August 11, 2023
A new religious establishment, known as the Ogbanje Church of All Nations, has recently been inaugurated in Nnewi, located in the Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The church’s opening was marked with its first worship service, during which congregants sang and danced to songs that eulogized the names of popular river goddesses in the region.
A video of the worship service has been circulating on social media, capturing the joyful and lively atmosphere as church members celebrated and danced to tunes composed in praise of the goddesses associated with the well-known rivers in Nnewi.
Presiding over the service, a clergyman, whose name was not mentioned, addressed the congregation in the local Igbo language. He encouraged the members to worship deities and entities they are familiar with rather than those they are not acquainted with. The cleric drew attention to the fact that people often use names of biblical locations, such as Bethsaida, Jericho, and Samaria, in songs without fully understanding the significance of these places.
Amidst echoes of joy and commendations from the congregation, the unnamed clergyman led the worshipers in singing a praise song dedicated to the revered Ogbanje, and the attendees joyfully danced in celebration.
The establishment of the Ogbanje Church of All Nations has sparked interest and curiosity among the residents of Nnewi, as the church’s focus on venerating local river goddesses sets it apart from more conventional religious institutions in the area.
Phrank Shaibu, an aide to Atiku Abubakar, says the former vice-president withdrew a suit against President Bola Tinubu because he did not want to abuse court processes.
Tinubu claimed that he holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Chicago State University.
In January, Beverly Poindexter, the staff in charge of transcript requests, enrolment and degree verification, confirmed that the president attended the university between 1977 and 1979.
But Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February presidential election, alleged that Tinubu’s academic records were forged, and then file a suit against him.
However, the former vice-president withdrew the suit from a US court, which led to the case being struck out.
In a statement on Sunday, Shaibu said Abubakar is pursuing the matter at a higher court.
“Waziri Atiku Abubakar only withdrew the case before a Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County, United States of America because he is pursuing the same matter in a higher court and he wanted to avoid an abuse of court processes,” he said.
“So, this is just the beginning. In the last one week, Nigerians have been watching the ongoing ministerial screening at the senate where nominees have been made to reveal their primary, secondary and university history.
“Some of the ministerial nominees were even classmates with the senators screening them.
“However, the man who nominated them has no educational history. He has no primary school, secondary school or university classmates. This is because he has no classmates. He actually fell from the sky.
“In recent years past presidents have invited their former classmates to Aso Rock Villa. Even President Muhammadu Buhari hosted his classmates from Katsina Middle School.
“But who did Bola Tinubu invite to the presidential villa? Governors from 1999 set. This is a man whose entire life, background and credentials remain unknown and Atiku will ensure that the man is exposed.
“It is expected that the person to hold the office of the president must be above board, especially on his life history.
“Unfortunately, here we have a president whose history is shrouded in secrecy and for whom it is as though life started in 1993
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a fake couple, Mr. Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi and Mrs. Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum purportedly going for medical treatment in India for ingesting 184 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.322 kilograms with 100grams of the drug also concealed in the woman’s private part.
The two suspects were intercepted at the Screening Point 1, Terminal 1 of the international wing of the Lagos airport on 1st August 2023 while attempting to board an Ethiopian airline flight to India. Though their travel documents show consistency in their names and depict them as a couple, an NDLEA officer however decided to subject them to body scan, which
confirmed they both ingested drugs as a result of which they were later placed on excretion observation at the Agency’s facility.
While their travel documents identify the man as Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi and the lady to be Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum, the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi said in a statement on Sunday that, preliminary investigation revealed that the intending passengers were not a couple but obtained the travel documents in the same surname to beat security checks at the airport.
The lady later gave her real name as Ngogbike Nkechi. During her interview, she confessed that she was recruited in her church in Aba, Abia state where she lives. The suspect, Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum (aka Ngogbike Nkechi) stated further that she is a divorcee, and that Kingsley with whom she was travelling is not her husband but connected only for the purpose of the illicit drug business trip.
She revealed that her arranged husband, Kingsley brought the pellets of cocaine to her in her room to ingest in the hotel where they were both lodged in separate rooms the previous day, 31st July.
After their arrest, a thorough search conducted on her led to the discovery of a big size wrap of cocaine that weighed 100 grams she inserted into her private part. She confessed that she was promised $5,000 upon successful delivery of the drug in India.
In his own statement, Kingsley who was into clothing business in Onitsha, Anambra state, claimed he was promised $2,000 after a successful delivery of the drug in India. A further search of the Agency’s crime data base revealed that Kingsley also obtained his travel documents with fake identity for the trip.
It was established that he was arrested by NDLEA operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on 19th March 2022 for ingesting 100 wraps of cocaine weighing 2.243kgs upon his arrival from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on board an Ethiopian airline flight. His travel documents then contained his real name: Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian.
After his arrest at the Abuja airport on 19th March 2022 along with another suspect, Iro Elvis Uche who also ingested 65 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.376kgs, Uwaezuoke was subsequently arraigned before Justice Zainab Abubakar of the Federal High Court Abuja with charge number: FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022. He was eventually granted bail by the court pending the conclusion of his trial.
He is still on the court bail when he was arrested at the Lagos airport for a similar offence on 1st August.
While Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi (aka Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian) excreted a total of 82 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.822kgs in five excretions, Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum (aka Ngogbike Nkechi) egested 101 wraps in four excretions with a big size wrap of the substance recovered from her private part, all weighing 1.50kgs.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) attached to courier companies in Lagos have intercepted various quantities of Dextromethorphan mixed with heroin; Methamphetamine; Dimethyl Sulfone and Cannabis concealed in different objects going to Europe.
While 272 grams of dextromethorphan mixed with heroin going to Greece were recovered from white neck beads; 665 grams of cannabis being shipped to Hong Kong were hidden in bars of Dudu Osun black bathing soap; with 261 grams of Dimethyl Sulfone going to New Zealand hidden in reels of weaving threads and 1.5kgs of Methamphetamine also going to New Zealand neatly packed in an MP3 player after all the parts were removed and the substance stuffed as replacement.
The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra IPoB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has abolished all forms of sit-at-home in the South-East declaring that every Monday in the region be observed as Economic Empowerment Day, EED.
This was disclosed in a statement by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, on Saturday, August 5.
It reads; ”
Economic Empowerment Day, EED, connotes a day set aside for mass mobilisation of Biafrans to devote their resources and means towards reversing the sharp and unprecedented decline in the economic, educational, and social needs of our people occasioned by the prolonged sit-at-home.
“During the EED exercise, the people of Biafran were encouraged to embark on massive deployment of their resources for the empowerment of the educationally disadvantaged and poverty- ridden population of our people.
“Sit-at-home exercise was initially adopted by IPoB as part of its agitation for a sovereign state of Biafra, but variously it became abused by other variants of Biafra agitation, including the most condemned version of Simon Ekpa.
”Following the total cancellation of all forms of sit-at-home in the entire South-East, as clearly and unequivocally encapsulated in Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s handwritten letter which was recently published by special counsel Barrister Alloy Ejimakor, widely trended and deservedly celebrated, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has as a follow up to the recorded acceptability and massive compliance with the directive, further directed Umu Chineke , to henceforth, set aside every Monday as an “Economic Empowerment Day, EED, in the entire South-East.
“During this exercise, Biafrans are encouraged to embark on massive deployment of their resources for the empowerment of the educationally disadvantaged and poverty ridden population of our people.
“Through education, employment, health services, sense of identity and community, our people and indeed, the Eastern region can begin to thrive and grow.
“There is an urgent need to reclaim our lost glory by embarking on empowering Biafrans with the resources they need to live beyond mere subsistence as our people are known globally for hard work, resilience, and great achievements.
“Also, the implication of this Economic Empowerment Day, EED, is that Biafrans are expected to devote significant time to adhere to their routine calendar schedule template strictly and uninterruptedly with a view to making up for the humongous time lost to the activities of misguided enforcers of unsanctioned Monday sit-at-home order.”
Modern life is hard to imagine without gadgets, mobile, and computer screens. They accompany us everywhere and make life much easier. We stare at the screen all day when working and often watch movies, series, use social media and bet at https://22bet.com.sn/mobile in our free time. Unfortunately, working in front of a computer can take a toll on our eye health.
To concentrate on the picture on the screen, the eyes need to strain. As a rule, we do not notice it, but for the eyes, this state is not natural. That’s why several hours spent at the gadget make themselves known by redness, fatigue, and sometimes painful sensations. In addition, there is a strain of the same muscles. Another negative moment in this process is squinting. It leads to a reduction in the frequency of blinks, and therefore to a decrease in moisturization and the appearance of rubber and dryness. But to give up a smartphone or laptop nowadays is almost an unacceptable luxury. So we have to look for ways to solve the problem, which would help to save our eyesight. Here’s how to take care of your eyes and keep them healthy.
The darker the room where you spend time with your gadget, the more your eyes will be strained. Watch out for proper lighting and the difference in brightness between the general light and the screen light. This difference should be minimal. It is also worth paying attention to the color adjustment of the screen. It should be moved from the blue spectrum to a warmer spectrum. Your monitor or laptop screen should never be brighter than the ambient light. That is, either add light to the room or turn down the brightness of the display.
By the way, pretty much the same rule works here as in the case of reading a book. Your electronic device, computer, phone, or tablet should be placed at a distance of at least 40 cm. In this way, the ciliary muscle will not be subjected to excessive strain. If you find it difficult to read from this distance, simply enlarge the font.
This is a must if you don’t want to get myopia. A minute of rest after 20 minutes of work at the monitor – just what you need. No fancy actions do not need to do, just enough to alternately shift your gaze to objects located far and near for a few tens of seconds. During breaks, it is not superfluous to make a light massage. To do this, close your eyes, put your index fingers on your eyelids, press a few times, and massage in a circular motion.
It is very important because the lack of water in the body automatically affects the condition of hair and skin, and also the eyes. Lack of fluid leads to dryness, which means that tension increases, while also causing discomfort. The optimal amount of water consumption is 1-2 liters per day.
Daily exercises for just 5-7 minutes each day are a great workout and prevention of vision problems. During the process, your head should remain motionless, your task is to “work” exclusively with your eyes. It is especially effective to do this by closing them. In this way, the eyelids are massaged and blood flow is improved. The simplest exercises – to drive your eyes to the right-left and up-down, trying to take your eyes as far as possible, and repeating them 10 times. More complex – draw different shapes with your eyes. Between exercises, you can take a break by blinking rapidly for a few seconds.
When working at the computer for a long time, your eyes dry out, so you should use special moisturizing drops. Usually you should use one drop before starting work and, if necessary (about four or five times) during the day.
At the slightest discomfort (usually starts with dryness), consult your eye doctor. If there are no pathological abnormalities, then you need to change something at your workplace: move closer to the window, add bulbs in the room, manually adjust or, perhaps, even completely replace the monitor. Be productive and keep your eyesight young!
One of the causes of dry eyes is infrequent blinking. When working at the computer, a person often moves his gaze from the screen to the keyboard. The brain perceives this eye movement as a blink. But since the eyes are not completely closed at this point, they do not receive sufficient cleansing and moisturizing. Therefore, when working at the computer you should try to blink more often, to ensure the protection of the eyes. Blink your eyes frequently and regularly to moisturize your eyes. You can do this several times in a row every 20 minutes of work at the computer.
Don’t forget to visit your eye doctor regularly. It is recommended to be examined by an ophthalmologist annually. And people who regularly and for a long time work at the computer should have their eyesight checked by a doctor once every six months, so that, in case of pathologies, they can be detected early and treatment can be started in time.
Even if you haven’t had any problems with your eyesight yet, it is very important to protect your eyes from mobile and computer screens: screens make our eyesight worse in the long run. The tips in this article are simple preventative measures to take care of your eyes and prevent different eye problems.
As part of its effort to find lasting solution to the perennial sit-at-home in the Southeast, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah and two other traditional rulers in Anambra State, His Majesty, Eze Chukwuemeka Eri and Eze Akajiovo Igbo Nile today visited the embattled leader of the proscribed Indigenous People Of Biafra—IPOB.
The visit was confirmed in a statement made by Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, legal counsel to the separatist leader.
Ejiofor disclosed that during the visit, Kanu reiterated his firm and unequivocal condemnation, and total cancellation of all senseless sit-at-home in the Southeast region.
He said, “Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was today visited by the duo of His Majesty, Eze Chukwuemeka Eri, Eze Akajiovo Igbo Nile, Ezeora XXXIV of Aguleri, and Distinguished Senator Ifeanyi Uba, at the facility of the State Security Service (SSS) Headquarters Abuja where Onyendu is still currently being held in solitary confinement.
“The visit was unprecedented, as fruitful and productive discussions were exclusively held with Onyendu. During this visit, Onyendu reiterated his firm and unequivocal condemnation, and total cancellation of the senseless sit-at-home in the South-East, hitherto enforced in the entire South-East states by the enemies of our people.
“Other crucial messages conveyed to them by Onyendu will be made public as given by Onyendu in due course.
“Be assured UmuChineke that we are speedily approaching the end of the tunnel. ChukwuOkike Abiama is always on the throne, and this trying period will soon become history.”
Billionaire founder and Senior Prophet of Warri based Christ Mercy Land Church, Jeremiah Fufeyin has finally revealed his source of income.
According to the man of God, he owns the biggest fish farmin Africa.
Vanguard reported that Fufeyin said that apart from being a prophet of God, he makes billions of naira just from this businesses especially fish farming.
According to him, despite massive fish farm business is not his only successful venture. He has also launched different profitable businesses which provide employment for thousands of Nigerians.
His revelation of wealth sources challenges the stereotype that religious leaders only depend on tithes and offerings from their congregation for income.
Many Nigerians are celebrating Fufeyin as a role model for young entrepreneurs in the country.
His success story as a prophet and entrepreneur sets the bar high for the country’s business community.
During the interview, Prophet Fufeyin shared his journey to success and encouraged Nigerian youths to pursue their dreams. He emphasized the importance of hard work, focus, and consistency in achieving one’s goals.
The development has got the social media talking as Nigerians have expressed their admiration for Fufeyin, stating he is a living example of a true success story.
They equally called on other religious leaders to emulate his entrepreneurial spirit.
Veteran Nollywood actor, Pete Edochie, has confirmed the marriage crash of his junior colleague, Chioma Chukwuka Akpota.
Naija News recalls that in 2022, rumours made rounds online that the thespian, who has been married for over fifteen years and very private with her union, is no longer with her husband.
Chioma also gave hints about the crash of her marriage at the time as all her social media posts always come with an emphasis on her maiden name, ‘Chioma Chukwuka’.
Despite the speculations online, the movie star failed to debunk or confirm the reports about her marriage.
Speaking during an interview with media personality, Chude Jideonwo, Pete frowned at the increase in divorce in the Nollywood industry.
The veteran actor said he was shocked by the news of Chioma’s broken marriage, stressing that people must understand that the marriage union is for better or worst.
In his word, “If you come to our Industry today, most of our ladies who got married 2- 3 years ago have all left their husbands, I was shocked that Chioma Chukwa had left her husband, Ireti Doyle, Tonto Dikeh. You take a vow when you are going to get married for better or worst, not for better or out. You will always think it’s greener on the other side, that is the mistake we all make”
Speaking about some of the ladies that have played his daughters in movies, Pete said he loves Genevieve Nnaji the most because she is exceptionally brilliant.
He said, “Of all the girls who had played my daughter in films, somehow it is Genevieve Nnaji I love most, I look at her as my daughter and she also sees me as a father, she is an exceptionally brilliant lady. I have not heard of her lately ever since I heard she is a little disturbed mentally, I don’t know whether it is true or false, I hope that one day she calls me and say I am ok.”
Scientists have developed a groundbreaking cancer drug that kills all solid cancer tumors while leaving other cells unharmed.
The new molecule, codenamed AOH1996 – targets a protein present in most cancers that helps tumors grow and multiply in the body. It is significant because this protein, the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), was previously thought to be ‘undruggable’.
According to Mail Online, the drug was tested on 70 different cancer cells in the lab – including those derived from breast, prostate, brain, ovarian, cervical, skin, and lung cancer – and was effective against them all.
The drug is the culmination of 20 years of research and development by the City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles, one of America’s largest cancer centers.
The good news comes months after scientists who invented the Pfizer Covid vaccine said that cancer will be curable within the coming decade.
The latest study, published in the journal Cell Chemical Biology, revealed that the new drug had been tested on more than 70 cancer cell lines and several normal human cells that did not have cancer but were used as a control.
The molecule selectively killed cancer cells by disrupting their normal reproductive cycle, preventing cells with damaged DNA from dividing, and stopping the replication of faulty DNA.
This combination of factors caused the cancer cells to die without harming healthy cells in the process.
The results will now need to be replicated in people. The drug is currently being tested on humans in a Phase 1 clinical trial at City of Hope.
Dr. Linda Malkas, professor in City of Hope’s Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Experimental Therapeutics and the M.T. & B.A. Ahmadinia Professor in Molecular Oncology leads the team.
She explained how the molecule selectively disrupts DNA replication and repair in cancer cells, leaving healthy cells unaffected.
She said: ‘Most targeted therapies focus on a single pathway, which enables wily cancer to mutate and eventually become resistant.
‘PCNA is like a major airline terminal hub containing multiple plane gates.
‘Data suggests PCNA is uniquely altered in cancer cells, and this fact allowed us to design a drug that targeted only the form of PCNA in cancer cells.
‘Our cancer-killing pill is like a snowstorm that closes a key airline hub, shutting down all flights in and out only in planes carrying cancer cells.’
Dr Malkas said results so far have been ‘promising’ as the molecule can suppress tumor growth on its own or in combination with other cancer treatments ‘without resulting in toxicity.’
The new therapy comes from 20 years of research and development and targets a cancerous variant of PCNA, a protein that in its mutated form is critical in DNA replication and repair of all expanding tumors, which helps cancers to repair and grow.
Study co-author associate research professor Dr Long Gu, said: ‘No one has ever targeted PCNA as a therapeutic because it was viewed as “undruggable,” but clearly City of Hope was able to develop an investigational medicine for a challenging protein target.
‘We discovered that PCNA is one of the potential causes of increased nucleic acid replication errors in cancer cells.
‘Now that we know the problem area and can inhibit it, we will dig deeper to understand the process to develop more personalized, targeted cancer medicines.’
Experiments showed that the investigational pill made cancer cells more susceptible to chemical agents that cause DNA or chromosome damage, hinting that AOH1996 could be helpful in combination therapies and new chemotherapeutics.
As a next step, the researchers will look to understand the mechanism of action better to further improve the ongoing clinical trial in humans.
A press release that accompanied today’s paper read: ‘City of Hope’s groundbreaking translational research history includes developing the technology underlying synthetic human insulin and monoclonal antibodies, which are integral to widely used, lifesaving cancer drugs, such as trastuzumab, rituximab and cetuximab.’
A newly appointed Magistrate, Ammaari Musa Semwogerere has been arrested and sacked for disguising as a woman to sit for exams for his girlfriend at the Law Development Centre (LDC) Lira, Uganda.
According to local media, Semwogerere was promoted by the Judicial Service Commission to the position of Magistrate Grade One on probation two weeks ago.
On Wednesday, July 26, 2023, Semwogerere, alias Mukisa Anthony, was caught red-handed while writing an examination for a his girlfriend, a Bar Course student identified as Irene Mutonyi, at the Law Development Centre (LDC) Lira Campus.
Authorities at the campus reported the matter to the police and the suspect was arrested and charged with two counts of forgery, and a count of impersonation.
On Friday, July 28, he appeared before the Lira Chief Magistrate who remanded him to prison till August 3, 2023.
LDC director, Frank Nigel Othembi in a statement, said Semwogerere’s offense was in contravention of Section 351 of the Penal Code Act and Impersonation contrary to Section 381 of the Penal Code Act.
Following the incident, the Judiciary issued a statement terminating Semwogerere’s new appointment.
“The Judiciary would like to inform the general public that Mr. Semwogerere Ammaari Musa, one of the newly recruited Magistrates I will not be employed into the Judiciary Service,” the letter reads in part.
An Igbo man identified as Mazi Uchenna Odu has caused a stir on social media after he advised his fellow Igbo men to avoid court weddings at all cost.
Odu gave the advise while reacting to reports that May, the first wife of actor Yul Edochie, has filed a N100 million lawsuit against him over his marriage to actress Judy Austin.
Reacting to the news, Odu mocked May for filing the lawsuit. He said anyone who advised May to seek legal redress will only succeed in making her a ‘single mother.’
‘’May Files for divorce from Yul Edochie. Seeks order to restrain him from accessing their matrimonial home. Demands 100 Million Naira in damages from Him and his second wife Judy over Adultery” laughing out loud laughing out loud! I can’t stop laughing out loud oooh eeeeh but una talk say women dey love Abi anyone who is advising her to file a divorce has succeeded in making her a single mother that young boys will take over and treat her like a little girl not as a woman.
Polygamy is powerful.
End.”
Reacting to reports that it is illegal for a man to marry a second wife if he had a court wedding with his first wife, Odu wrote;
‘’Dear Igbo men,
Avoid Court marriage at all cost.
Stop involving government into your marriage.”
He went on to state that Igbo women will remain single forever if they reject a man that is against court marriage.
My fellow citizens,
I want to talk to you about our economy. It is important that you understand the reasons for the policy measures I have taken to combat the serious economic challenges this nation has long faced.
I am not going to talk in difficult terms by dwelling on economic jargon and concepts. I will speak in plain, clear language so that you know where I stand. More importantly, so that you see and hopefully will share my vision regarding the journey to a better, more productive economy for our beloved country.
For several years, I have consistently maintained the position that the fuel subsidy had to go. This once beneficial measure had outlived its usefulness. The subsidy cost us trillions of Naira yearly. Such a vast sum of money would have been better spent on public transportation, healthcare, schools, housing and even national security. Instead, it was being funnelled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a select group of individuals.
This group had amassed so much wealth and power that they became a serious threat to the fairness of our economy and the integrity of our democratic governance. To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it was intended to be as long as such small, powerful yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and the institutions that govern it.
The whims of the few should never hold dominant sway over the hopes and aspirations of the many. If we are to be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign.
The preceding administration saw this looming danger as well. Indeed, it made no provision in the 2023 Appropriations for subsidy after June this year. Removal of this once helpful device that had transformed into a millstone around the country’s neck had become inevitable.
Also, the multiple exchange rate system that had been established became nothing but a highway of currency speculation. It diverted money that should have been used to create jobs, build factories and businesses for millions of people. Our national wealth was doled on favourable terms to a handful of people who have been made filthy rich simply by moving money from one hand to another. This too was extremely unfair.
It also compounded the threat that the illicit and mass accumulation of money posed to the future of our democratic system and its economy.
I had promised to reform the economy for the long-term good by fighting the major imbalances that had plagued our economy. Ending the subsidy and the preferential exchange rate system were key to this fight. This fight is to define the fate and future of our nation. Much is in the balance.
Thus, the defects in our economy immensely profited a tiny elite, the elite of the elite you might call them. As we moved to fight the flaws in the economy, the people who grow rich from them, predictably, will fight back through every means necessary.
Our economy is going through a tough patch and you are being hurt by it. The cost of fuel has gone up. Food and other prices have followed it. Households and businesses struggle. Things seem anxious and uncertain. I understand the hardship you face. I wish there were other ways. But there is not. If there were, I would have taken that route as I came here to help not hurt the people and nation that I love.
What I can offer in the immediate is to reduce the burden our current economic situation has imposed on all of us, most especially on businesses, the working class and the most vulnerable among us.
Already, the Federal Government is working closely with states and local governments to implement interventions that will cushion the pains of our people across socio-economic brackets.
Earlier this month, I signed four (4) Executive Orders in keeping with my electoral promise to address unfriendly fiscal policies and multiple taxes that are stifling the business environment. These Executive Orders on suspension and deferred commencement of some taxes will provide the necessary buffers and headroom to businesses in manufacturing sector to continue to thrive and expand.
To strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand and create good paying jobs, we are going to spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024. Our objective is to fund 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start a sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation and improve productivity. Each of the 75 manufacturing enterprises will be able to access N1billion credit at 9% per annum with maximum of 60 months repayment for long term loans and 12 months for working capital.
Our administration recognises the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector as drivers of growth. We are going to energise this very important sector with N125 billion.
Out of the sum, we will spend N50 billion on Conditional Grant to 1 million nano businesses between now and March 2024. Our target is to give N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 774 local governments across the country.
Ultimately, this programme will further drive financial inclusion by onboarding beneficiaries into the formal banking system. In like manner, we will fund 100,000 MSMEs and start-ups with N75 billion. Under this scheme, each enterprise promoter will be able to get between N500,000 to N1million at 9% interest per annum and a repayment period of 36 months.
To further ensure that prices of food items remain affordable, we have had a multi-stakeholder engagement with various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain.
In the short and immediate terms, we will ensure staple foods are available and affordable. To this end, I have ordered release of 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT to moderate prices. We are also providing 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs to farmers who are committed to our food security agenda.
Our plan to support cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course. To be specific, N200 billion out of the N500 billion approved by the National Assembly will be disbursed as follows:
-Our administration will invest N50 billion each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize.
-N50 billion each will also be earmarked to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.
This expansive agricultural programme will be implemented targeting small-holder farmers and leveraging large-scale private sector players in the agric business with strong performance record.
In this regard, the expertise of Development Finance Institutions, commercial banks and microfinance banks will be tapped into to develop a viable and an appropriate transaction structure for all stakeholders.
Fellow Nigerians, I made a solemn pledge to work for you. How to improve your welfare and living condition is of paramount importance to me and it’s the only thing that keeps me up day and night.
It is in the light of this that I approved Infrastructure Support Fund for the States. This new Infrastructure Fund will enable States to intervene and invest in critical areas and bring relief to many of the pain points as well as revamp our decaying healthcare and educational Infrastructure.
The fund will also bring improvements to rural access roads to ease evacuation of farm produce to markets. With the fund, our states will become more competitive and on a stronger financial footing to deliver economic prosperity to Nigerians.
Part of our programme is to roll out buses across the states and local governments for mass transit at a much more affordable rate. We have made provision to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses.
These buses will be shared to major transportation companies in the states, using the intensity of travel per capital. Participating transport companies will be able to access credit under this facility at 9% per annum with 60 months repayment period.
In the same vein, we are also working in collaboration with the Labour unions to introduce a new national minimum wage for workers. I want to tell our workers this: your salary review is coming.
Once we agree on the new minimum wage and general upward review, we will make budget provision for it for immediate implementation.
I want to use this opportunity to salute many private employers in the Organised Private Sector who have already implemented general salary review for employees.
Fellow Nigerians, this period may be hard on us and there is no doubt about it that it is tough on us. But I urge you all to look beyond the present temporary pains and aim at the larger picture. All of our good and helpful plans are in the works. More importantly, I know that they will work.
Sadly, there was an unavoidable lag between subsidy removal and these plans coming fully on line. However, we are swiftly closing the time gap. I plead with you to please have faith in our ability to deliver and in our concern for your well-being.
We will get out of this turbulence. And, due to the measures we have taken, Nigeria will be better equipped and able to take advantage of the future that awaits her.
In a little over two months, we have saved over a trillion Naira that would have been squandered on the unproductive fuel subsidy which only benefitted smugglers and fraudsters. That money will now be used more directly and more beneficially for you and your families.
For example, we shall fulfill our promise to make education more affordable to all and provide loans to higher education students who may need them. No Nigerian student will have to abandon his or her education because of lack of money.
Our commitment is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of our people. On this principle, we shall never falter.
We are also monitoring the effects of the exchange rate and inflation on gasoline prices. If and when necessary, we will intervene.
I assure you my fellow country men and women that we are exiting the darkness to enter a new and glorious dawn.
Now, I must get back to work in order to make this vision come true.
Thank you all for listening and may God bless Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Executive Director of Nana Women and Girls Initiative, Dr Fatima Adamu, has lamented that an unidentified man in Katsina State divorced his 14-year-old wife because she allow a male doctor to attend to her while giving birth to his baby.
Dr. Adamu, who made the disclosure on Thursday, said that the young girl, name withheld, was divorced by her husband despite a complicated childbirth.
According to her, the young mother was rushed to hospital where the only male medical practitioner available attended to her during labour.
Although the birth was successful, the husband went berserk when, upon arriving at the hospital, he discovered that the medical practitioner that attended to his wife during labour was a male.
Unable to stomach the disappointment, he divorced his young wife.
Narrating the ordeal, Dr. Adamu said: “A 14-year-old Fulani girl in Katsina State delivered and had difficulty with delivery, so we had to take her to the hospital.
“Aafter the delivery, the husband divorced her because she was attended by a man. This young girl was divorced all because she was attended by a man during delivery,” she stressed.
She further noted that Nigeria was producing medical doctors far below what is required by the World Health Organisation.
She stated: “There is shortage of health workers despite the production. We are producing health workers far below our needs.
“Our average population growth is 3.2, but our annual production of nurses and midwives is 2.6, so definitely, there is gap.
“That is the latest data available that could be accessed.”
Adamu spoke at an event, the Human Resources for Health Production Dialogue, where she was the keynote speaker.
She appealed to governments at all levels to ensure there was equity in the recruitment and deployment of medical personnel to rural communities.
The event was organised with a view to revolutionising the country’s healthcare system.
The organisers called for accountability and prudence in healthcare training institutions and to minimize the brain drain that is bedeviling the health sector
Four Nigerians have survived 14 days in a ship’s rudder to Brazil, which has been described by welfare volunteers as a dangerous way to travel.
Reuters report that on their tenth day at sea, the four Nigerian stowaways crossing the Atlantic in a tiny space above the rudder of a cargo ship ran out of food and drink.
They survived another four days, according to their account, by drinking the sea water crashing just meters below them, before being rescued by Brazilian federal police in the southeastern port of Vitoria.
Their remarkable, death-defying journey across some 5,600 kilometers (3,500 miles) of ocean underlines the risks some migrants are prepared to take for a shot at a better life.
“It was a terrible experience for me,” said 38-year-old Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, one of the four Nigerians, in an interview at a Sao Paulo church shelter. “On board it is not easy. I was shaking, so scared. But I’m here.”
The four men said they had hoped to reach Europe and were shocked to learn they had in fact landed on the other side of the Atlantic, in Brazil. Two of the men have since been returned to Nigeria upon their request, while Yeye and Roman Ebimene Friday, a 35-year-old from Bayelsa state, have applied for asylum in Brazil.
“I pray the government of Brazil will have pity on me,” said Friday, who had already attempted to flee Nigeria by ship once before but was arrested by authorities there.
Yeye, a pentecostal minister from Lagos state, said his peanut and palm oil farm was destroyed by floods this year, leaving him and his family homeless. He hopes they can now join him in Brazil.
Friday said his journey to Brazil began on June 27, when a fisherman friend rowed him up to the stern of the Liberian-flagged Ken Wave, docked in Lagos, and left him by the rudder. To his surprise, he found three men already there, waiting for the ship to depart. Friday said he was terrified. He had never met his new shipmates and feared they could toss him into the sea at any moment.
Once the ship was moving, Friday said the four men made every effort not to be discovered by the ship’s crew, who they also worried might offer them a watery grave.
“Maybe if they catch you they will throw you in the water,” he said. “So we taught ourselves never to make a noise.”
To prevent themselves from falling into the water, Friday said the men rigged up a net around the rudder and tied themselves to it with a rope. When he looked down, he said he could see “big fish like whales and sharks.” Due to the cramped conditions and the noise of the engine, sleep was rare and risky. “I was very happy when we got rescued,” he said.
Father Paolo Parise, a priest at the Sao Paulo shelter, said he had come across other cases of stowaways, but never one so dangerous. Their journey paid testament to lengths people will go in search of a new start, he said. “People do unimaginable and deeply dangerous things.”
Popular Nigerian activist, Aisha Yesufu has mocked those who were laughing at supporters of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi while they were campaigning for him.
Yesufu said those who were laughing at Obidients for doing the one million march are now also doing the same because of the fuel scarcity, a resultant effect of the hike in the price of the commodity.
Naija News recalls that earlier on Tuesday, the pump price of fuel increased from N539 to N617 per litre.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) attributed the hike in price to ‘market forces’.
The NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, disclosed this while speaking to journalists after a closed-door meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the State House in Abuja.
Kyari said with the deregulation of the oil sector, market realities will force the price of petrol up sometimes and at other times force it down.
“We have the marketing wing of our company. They adjust prices depending on the market realities.
“This is really what is happening; this is the meaning of making sure that the market regulates itself so that prices will go up and sometimes they will come down also. This is what we have seen, and in reality, this is what (how) the market works,” he said.
Due to the price increment, Nigerians who are unable to afford transportation now trek to save costs.
Weighing in on the situation via her verified Twitter handle, Yesufu wrote, “Those who were laughing at those doing one million march for Peter Obi, are now doing their own one million march because of fuel scarcity.
“If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for nothing!”
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has disclosed its readiness to commence the automation of the passport application process to eliminate the difficulties Nigerians experience while applying for passports.
This was made known by the Acting Comptroller General of NIS, Caroline Adepoju, who appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme today.
According to her, the Service is eager to get rid of physical interactions during the passport application process.
She said, “One thing Nigerians know about the Nigeria Immigration Service is the issuance of the Nigerian passport, and we know the number of Nigerians that have applied for passports in the past two years has been very high and unprecedented.
“But be that as it may, the service is working hard to ensure that we meet the expectations of Nigerians. Number one, we are automating our passport application process; we are trying to ensure that we cut out the human interface.
“Our applications are available online, and we are trying to sensitize our applicants that they should go online for these applications to avoid patronizing lots.”
The Acting Comptroller General emphasized that due to the passport’s nature as a security document, issuance of passports will require some time as a result of various procedures, including security checks, address verification, and other necessary steps that need to be completed.
Speaking on the duration of time it takes to get a passport ready, she said, “It takes six weeks to get the passport ready, while it takes three weeks for renewal.”
She also enjoined the citizens of the country not to wait until their passports expire before commencing the renewal process, adding that those applying for the first time don’t necessarily have to wait until they need the passport before starting the application process.
“So, I try as much as possible to let people know that if you are renewing your passport, don’t wait until it is completely expired. You can start your application process when you have six months validity on it. Then for fresh applicants, they don’t have to wait until the very last moment when they need the passport.”
She, however, disclosed that all hands are on deck to ensure that those seeking passport renewal don’t need to visit the NIS offices since their data has already been captured.
Authorities in the United States have said that they won’t release president Bola Tinubu’s criminal and immigration records in their possession until 2026.
The Peoples Gazette citing court documents reports that the U.S. State Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation said that ‘unusual circumstances’ made them not to release the records to the public.
Though, following a freedom of information request, the U.S. authorities said even if they were to release the records, it would be at least until January 2026 before they could do so.
Meanwhile, a civil lawsuit has now been filed over the matter before Judge Beryl Howell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C.
Aaron Greenspan, an American public disclosure activist, had filed a request to the FBI, State Department, Department of Treasury, and Drug Enforcement Administration, among federal and local agencies, seeking an urgent release of Mr Tinubu’s immigration and criminal records.
The filings came as Mr Tinubu maintained in court that he did not commit any crimes during his decades-long residency in the U.S. Mr Tinubu also asserted ownership of his identity, despite strong indications, he might have changed names and education records in the past.
Mr Tinubu’s real identity and education records contain omissions and contradictions that he has not explained to the public.
The pursuit of profit is the driving force behind all investments, as every investor wants to turn their money into something profitable and get a high investment return, but safety and liquidity are also very critical in today’s investment climate
FGN bonds are widely considered one of the safest forms of investment in the country. Unlike individuals’ assets that are highly unlikely to default.
FGN bonds are relatively safe and liquid, but the safer the bond investment, the lower the yield.
The DMO has proposed a 2-year FGN Savings Bond due 14 June 2025 at an annual interest rate of 10.301%. The second issuance will be a three-year savings bond due June 14, 2026, with an annual interest rate of 11.301%, according to the DMO.
Such returns are rarely achieved in the real estate market.
FGN Bonds offer the benefit of regular income with semi-annual interest payments. For investors looking for a regular income stream while retaining capital, this is a viable investment option.
Additionally, bonds can be easily sold to other investors before their maturity date, providing an easy way for investors to resell their bonds.
FGN bonds are tax-exempt, including infrastructure bonds, which generally have maturities of more than 5 years.
The Nigerian real estate market is still new and not as transparent as the Fixed income market space, where buyers and sellers can easily get in via their investment banks or brokers.
Additionally, the Nigerian real estate market is largely unregulated, so fraud can occur.
For example, many unlicensed brokers in the country can mislead investors about property valuation.
Additionally, significant communication barriers can make it difficult to find the right property or work with the right agent.
Building collapses across the country show that the building materials used by some contractors are substandard.
This means that some of these contractors in Nigeria lack the necessary educational qualifications and work experience.
Government real estate laws are generally poorly enforced in Nigeria, often resulting in investors being stripped of the legally acquired land.
This is common in developed parts of the country like Lagos and is mostly carried out by a group of land thieves called the Omo Onile.
These notorious real estate scammers tend to harass investors using the label “transaction fees.” They are also frequently seen at construction sites where construction projects are taking place and use force or deception to intimidate them.
All FGN bonds generally have a term (effectively the term of a loan). At the end of the term, the federal government returns the original amount (principal) to the lender.
FGN bonds offer a risk-free investment opportunity with tax-exempt income and can be used as collateral for loans.
It also encourages long-term investment in the economy and alternative sources of government funding, promotes self-reliance, and reduces over-reliance on external funding.
Real estate is extremely illiquid compared to other assets. The reason for this is that it takes time to sell real estate, so it cannot be converted into cash immediately.
Even if interest in a property grows quickly, it can take some time before the sale closes. Also, real estate can depreciate over time.
Therefore, if you have owned the property for many years, you may need to sell it for much less than you paid.
[Nairametrics]
The candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the presidential election held on the 25th day of February, 2023, Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, has filed his Final Written Address at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) holden at the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, insisting that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Shettima Kashim, must be disqualified from participating in the election.
The Written Address has Peter Obi and Labour Party as the Petitioners and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Shettima and APC as the Respondents .
Giving his reasons for the demand, Peter Obi/Labour Party stated as follows:
“A sentence in the 2nd-3rd Respondents’ address alarmed the Petitioners and millions of Nigerians. The 2nd-3rd Respondents went too low and abandoned discretion when they claimed as follows: “Our submission is that the Petitioners are inviting anarchy by their ventilation of this issue of non-transmission of results electronically, by MEC.”
This is a cheap, misguided, and destructive blackmail clearly intended to target the country’s judicialism and constitutionalism. It also aims at cannibalizing our democracy. It will also raise the issue of insecurity if the Petitioners emulate the bad example of the 2nd-3rd Respondents. However, that will never happen. When has it become offensive for Petitioners to canvass a ground prescribed for the challenge of an election in section 134(1)(6) of the Electoral Act 2022? Desperation taken too far can be extremely dangerous. Let the 2nd-3rd Respondents know that where the rule of law is trampled upon or truncated, anarchy reigns supreme!
RELEVANT FACTS
i. Prior to the conduct of the 25th February 2023 Presidential election, the 3rd Respondent had previously been nominated as a Senatorial Candidate of the 4th Respondent for Borno Central Senatorial District, and remained so till 15th July 2022, when he withdrew his said nomination as a Senatorial Candidate of the 4th Respondent for Borno Central Senatorial District on the platform of the 4th Respondent. Whilst the 3rd Respondent was standing nominated as the Senatorial Candidate as aforestated, he was unlawfully nominated as the Vice Presidential candidate of the 4° Respondent on 14th July 2022, thereby, knowingly allowed himself to be nominated as a Candidate in more than one constituency within the meaning and intendment of Section 35 of the Electoral Act.
ii. The Petitioners will argue that the invalid nomination of the 3rd Respondent as the Vice Presidential Candidate, nullified the nomination/election of the 2nd Respondent as the Presidential Candidate of the 4th Respondent, within the meaning of the provision of Section 142 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
iii. It is common knowledge that the 2nd Respondent was a subject of an Order of Forfeiture made by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483. The Order of Forfeiture against the Respondent was in terms forfeiting die sum of USD $460,000 against him Bola Tinubu, which represents “proceeds of narcotics trafficking” and “money laundry. The Order for Forfeiture against the 2nd Respondent was a fine within the meaning of Section 137 (I) (d) of the 1999 Constitution for which a person shall not be qualified for election to the office of the President if he is under a sentence of fine for any offence involving dishonest or fraud by whatever name called imposed on him by a Court or Tribunal.
iv. The virus of the statutory and constitutional disqualification of the 2nd and 3rd Respondents as Candidates in Presidential election renders their purported return/declaration as the winners of the election invalid, null and void and liable to be set aside.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive to recapture occupied territories is failing even with Western military support, President Vladimir Putin said Friday, July 21.
Ukraine’s forces have recaptured 300 square kilometers of occupied land as part of their summer counteroffensive, Britain’s defense minister said last month.
The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces this week admitted that the battlefield situation in eastern Ukraine was “complicated.”
“Today it’s clear that the Kyiv regime’s Western curators are disappointed with the results of the so-called counteroffensive,” Putin said at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council.
“There are no results, at least not yet,” he told senior government and security officials.
Putin said the diminishing number of Western tanks, artillery, armored vehicles, and missiles supplied to Ukraine, as well as “thousands of foreign mercenaries and advisers,” have not helped Kyiv achieve military objectives.
Without providing evidence, the Russian president claimed that “tens of thousands” of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and wounded in the offensive.
Moscow continues to withhold its own military casualties, with its most recent disclosure of nearly 6,000 soldiers killed made in September 2022.
Putin’s remarks diminishing the Ukrainian forces while praising his army’s “professionalism” comes amid the fallout from the Russian Wagner mercenary outfit’s mutiny attempt.
During his Security Council address, Putin claimed certain Soviet weapons are far superior to those supplied to Ukraine by Western allies.
“The entire West sees that their praised equipment burns perfectly well and is even inferior to Soviet machines in some respects,” he said.
Putin further claimed, without providing evidence, that public opinion in Ukraine and Europe was “gradually and slowly” changing in favor of Russia’s preferred outcome of holding peace talks and letting Moscow retain control of occupied territories.
Italy has started removing lesbian mothers’ names from the birth certificate of children.
The Italian government started removing the names of “non-biological gay mothers” from their children’s birth certificates under new legislation passed by the “traditional family-first” government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Surrogacy is illegal in Italy, and gay marriage has not been legalized. Because same-sex relationships aren’t recognized in law, the non-biological parent has to make a special case for legally adopting their child.
The measure also stops men in a same-sex relationship from registering the birth of their child with both fathers’ names. Instead, they have to choose one to be the legal father.
The changed birth certificates belong to 33 children of Italian women who underwent artificial insemination abroad and then registered their children under the city’s center-left government, led by Sergio Giordani, in 2017.
The prosecutor’s office in Padua confirmed on Thursday, July 20, 27 mothers had been removed from 27 birth certificates.
Giordani came to power promising to remove the traditional “mother” and “father” designations on birth certificates, but this was overturned when Meloni’s government ordered local authorities to stop registering the children of same-sex parents with both of their names.
The new ruling means that only the biological parent of a child can be named on a birth certificate.
“There is no discrimination against children,” Family Minister Eugenia Roccella told parliament when she introduced the bill in June,
The effect of the move is to limit certain rights for the non-registered parent, and requires them to have permission to carry out everyday family tasks, such as picking the child up from school, or using public services on their behalf.
In March, Meloni’s government also introduced legislation to extend the national ban on surrogacy to couples who use such services abroad. If it passes, anyone breaking the law could face a two-year jail term and a fine of more than $1 million.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as mischievous and intentionally misleading a social media post which claimed that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, allegedly informed President Bola Tinubu to prepare for a rerun election.
The report shared by Strategic Communication expert Jackson Ude also alleged that the CJN’s private phone conversations with Tinubu, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, and two other Justices of the Supreme Court had been leaked to United States authorities.
The post added that the leakage of the conversations has resulted in two additional apex court justices being banned from entering the United States.
Reacting in a statement on Tuesday night, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said Ude fabricated a falsehood on a matter of serious national importance that is actively under review by the Presidential Election Petitions Court
Morka said President Tinubu and the APC won the February 25, 2023, Presidential election without a doubt, and do not have any need to engage in side conversations with the CJN regarding pending petitions before the PEPC.
He, therefore, expressed confidence that Nigerians are smarter and more discerning than to be affected by this opposition brand of tasteless and crass mercenary expedition.
A 20-year old armed robbery suspect is currently cooling his heels in Kirikiri Corectional facility, Lagos after he was left behind by his gang as he was having a nice time with a female victim.
The suspect, Gafar Odusoya, made a grave mistake of mixing business with pleasure when his gang stormed Berebere Street, Isale-Oja area of Agege, Lagos an operation on June 17, 2023.
According to P.M. Express, the armed men broke into the lady’s apartment and robbed her of her valuables including jewels, phones and ATM cards, which they used to withdraw her money by force.
While his gang members were retreating, Odusoya stayed back to rape the victim.
The lady, who was helpless, allowed him to have his way and pretended to be enjoying the act, moaning and wrapping her arms tightly around him.
It appeared the suspect got carried away and continued with the liaison till the lady’s neighbours entered her apartment after the other gang members had left and grabbed him.
He was beaten and handed over to the police in the area, where he was detained for interrogation over his alleged criminal conduct.
He confessed to the police he was at the victim’s apartment with his gang, but was left behind when he sneaked back in to rape the lady.
He was found culpable and subsequently charged before the Ogba Magistrate Court for conspiracy, armed robbery and rape.
His plea was not taken by the court following a motion moved by the prosecutor, DSP Clara Olagbayi, asking the Court to refer the matter to the DPP for legal advice.
The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. H.B. Mogaji, ordered his remand in custody pending the outcome of the DPP’s advice and directed the prosecutor to duplicate the file and send it to the DPP.
The matter was adjourned for mention while the defendant was remanded in custody at the Correctional Centre at Kirikiri town, Lagos, pending the outcome of the DPP’s advice.
An Assistant Director in the Information Technology (IT) Department of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr. Lawrence Bayode, who was also its Witness, has said categorically that only 31% of results collated when INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, declared Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu the winner of the 2023 presidential election, was mathematically correct.
The INEC Director cum Witness made the declaration answering questions during cross-examination at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PREPEC) on Monday.
The director made the admission under oath in Court Monday afternoon during the hearing of the case filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
He said emphatically that only 31% of results collated as at the time Mahmood Yakubu declared Tinubu president had been collated before INEC Chairman declared Tinubu the winner.
News Band correspondent, who witnessed the proceeding at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, Nigeria, noted that this would mean that the 2023 presidential election was not free and fair, and that the results of the election should be nullified.
At the PREPEC, opening its defense in the petition by Atiku Abubakar and the PDP, INEC had introduced its first witness, the Assistant Director in the ICT Department.
The witness, who adopted his witness statement on oath, was led in evidence by the lead Counsel of INEC and was cross-examined by Counsel to the Respondents and the Petitioner.
Meanwhile, counsel to Atiku/PDP, Chris Uche (SAN), said that they successfully tendered before the court as evidence the Final Report of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) in Nigeria.
Watch the analysis in the video clip below:
The erudite senior lawyer leading Atiku’s legal team used the sole INEC witness that eventually showed up at the PEPC to tender the bombshell document which faulted the emergence of Bola Tinubu as winner of the 2023 presidential election.
The INEC’s Director of Information Technology was brought in to testify for INEC and collapsed under overwhelming evidence, admitting that only 31% of the election results had been uploaded before Yakubu announced Tinubu winner.
Uche (SAN), while cross-examining the INEC witness, had demanded that APC and Tinubu should go first as they were co-respondents in the matter.
APC and Tinubu lawyers objected, and the five-member panel had to go into their Chambers before coming out to rule that APC and Tinubu should cross-examine the INEC witness before Atiku.
Uche then asked for 20 minutes to cross-examine the witness, and again APC and Tinubu opposed, forcing the Court to rule in Atiku’s favour.
He again asked that the INEC witness should be made to read some critical portions of the European Union’s final report on the presidential election.
Tinubu, APC and INEC again opposed it, but the judges again ruled in favour of Atiku and the relevant portions were read.
The INEC witness told the court that there was a technical glitch that affected the uploading of the presidential election results.
Under Chris Uche’s cross-examination, however, he admitted that the imaginary glitch was not reported to Amazon Web Services (AWS) by INEC.
EU EOM, on their part, faulted both the conduct and outcome of the 2023 presidential election held on February 25, 2023.
The group stated that lack of transparency in the implementation of election technology used during the 2023 general election and failure to promptly upload the presidential elections results on IREV was part of the bane of the presidential election.
While INEC concluded its defense, the hearing was adjourned to 4th July, 2023, by the Chairman of the panel, Hon. Justice Haruna Tsammani for continuation.
Reactions trail the confession by INEC Director:
IPC Justice wrote:
“An INEC director made this claim under oath that only 31% of the results had been collated before INEC Chairman Yakubu declared Bola Tinubu the winner. This would mean that the 2023 presidential election was not free and fair, and that the results of the election should be nullified.
“The fact that they rested their case with only this witness is also shocking and reinforces our call that Mr. Yakubu and his associates at INEC committed a treasonable offense by organizing a coup by server manipulation.
“They lied to the Nigerian people and benefited from this act. They all should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. According to the Nigerian constitution, treason in Nigeria is punishable by death.”
‘Demola Olarewaju:
“The erudite senior lawyer, Chris Uche (SAN), leading Atiku’s legal team, is yet another reason why ethnicity must never blind us to competence.
“With their only witness’ testimony destroyed in minutes and four documents tendered, INEC closed its defense in the petition filed by Atiku Abubakar and the PDP against the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
“Tinubu meanwhile has been ordered to open the defense of his rigged victory in the presidential election tomorrow (Tuesday, July 4, 2023) by the PEPC.
“If the PEPC does what is right with the evidence as of today, Bola Tinubu will be the first President to be removed in Nigeria.
“Mahmud Yakubu will be the first INEC Chairman to go to jail for rigging and the worst outcome from all of it is a rerun of that spurious and fraudulent election INEC conducted.
“Well done, Chief Chris Uche (SAN) Atiku supporters salute you.”
Dr El Mo:
“Only 31% of the results on IReV are mathematically correct – INEC witness tells tribunal. The remaining 69% of the results on IReV represent rubbish.
“Results on IReV are a representation and / or snapshot of the manual result. If 69% are mathematically incorrect, where did INEC get the computed results to declare Tinubu as the winner?
“The onus is on the tribunal justices to stand on the side of the truth and end this nonsense.”
A Cameroonian lady simply identified as Danny Zara has announced her intention to set a Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest sex marathon.
In a recent Facebook post, Zara said she intends to have continuous sexual intercourse for 200 hours.
To accomplish the feat, the lady also said she is seeking the participation of capable individuals who are willing to join her in this endeavor.
She said the Guinness World Record is “aware of my proposed attempt”, adding that it will begin on July 17 and end on July 25.
She wrote,” Ladies and Gentlemen after due confirmation from the Guinness Books of Records I have decided to break a record of the Longest Sex Hour (Sex_Thon), we have been dox great planification for a while now n today we decided to send out the official flyer.
“Planet Cameroon it is time for you to support your own so we can bring this book to our country make Nigeria no help us tearam Thanks to my defense team Bella Powers of Bella Powers Voice.”
The government of Seychelles has banned Nigerian passport holders from entering the country for holiday purposes.
This decision was confirmed by the country’s border security, as reported by TheCable.
A Twitter user and travel content creator, @munafromtravelletters, shared a screenshot of a visa application rejection email which stated, “We regret to inform you that your application has been denied, as per immigration regulation, for now, we are not accepting any Nigerian passport holders for holiday purposes.”
When contacted by TheCable’s customer support service, the Seychelles government acknowledged the screenshot without providing any specific reasons for the ban. “Yes, but no further information is available at this time,” said the border security.
Nigeria and Seychelles had previously signed a pact in December 2022 to enable direct flights between the two countries. The agreement aimed to promote the African Union agenda 2063, enhance business relations, and boost tourism.
Before the implementation of this ban, Nigerian citizens had enjoyed a long-standing visa-free agreement with Seychelles, allowing them to enter the country without a visa for up to 30 days.
The ban has sparked mixed reactions on social media, with many expressing their dismay over the increasing number of foreign bans imposed on Nigerian passport holders.
On July 3, 2023, Senegal’s president, Macky Sall, in power since 2012, publicly renounced his aspiration for a constitutionally prohibited third term, sparking a synchronised outbreak of ostentatious back-slapping. Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan, convener of the impressively-named West African Elders Forum (WAEF), fired off a letter describing Macky Sall as a paragon of “sacrificial leadership”. Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, was full of “admiration for statesmanship which privileged Senegal’s interests”.
Describing President Sall’s announcement as an act of “courage, humility, and deep faith in Senegalese democracy”, executive director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, claimed that he had told her in confidence two years ago that “he was not going to run for a third term but that he would announce this towards the end of his term”.
Byanyima did not say whether President Sall had also told her that he would wait for enough Senegalese to die on the altar of his presidential vanities before renouncing them. Her testimony had a tiresome Pentecostal whiff to it.
In announcing the renunciation of his ambitions, Macky Sall claimed that Senegal’s constitution, whose text is explicit to the contrary, would have permitted his violation of it. He sounded deflated and he was. President Sall’s hitherto undisguised ambitions had already killed “dozens” in popular resistance and protests. The latest, at the beginning of June 2023, led to the killing of between 16 to 30 protesters.
In the end, the people forced him to blink. In his campaign to succeed himself, Macky Sall’s party had procured paid demonstrations in support of his ill-fated ambition. But, ahead of his announcement, opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, whom Sall seeks to preclude from next year’s ballot, had called out the country to mass action.
Senegal’s citizens were determined to make the price of Sall’s self-succession ambition impermissibly prohibitive. The Council on Foreign Relations rightly described Sall’s disavowal of his ambition as rather “belated”.
Macky Sall’s self-succession put Senegal’s proud record of democratic exceptionalism in West Africa to the test and is a rare instance of failure in Africa’s new brand of constitutional coups. In retrospect, events in Dakar this past week show that while the optics of the region’s democratic landscape may appear different, the narcissism of political power remains durable.
On May 28, 1975, the rulers of 15 countries in West Africa concluded a summit in Lagos, then the capital of Nigeria, with the adoption of the Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS). It established a regional economic community among the 15 countries, with an undertaking to shrink the zone of sovereign prerogative that they could claim at a time when relations among Africa’s rulers were defined by mutual suspicion and mutual trade in accusations of interference or subversion.
For proof of this then-existing trend, you only had to look at the composition of the rulers who established ECOWAS. Their host was Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s then head of state, a dashing four-star general since the age of 34, who was barely 40. Basking in the after-glow of the accomplishment that the establishment of ECOWAS clearly was, General Gowon travelled to Kampala, Uganda, two months later in July 1975 for the 12th summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). It was his last. Gowon’s host in Kampala was Idi Amin Dada, another soldier and Uganda’s then ruler, who had chosen to go one better than Gowon by gratifying his vanities with the epaulettes of a Field Marshall.
While he was in Kampala, soldiers back home in Nigeria, led by Murtala Mohammed, then a Brigadier-General in the Nigerian Army, decided to relieve Gowon of his command and overthrow him. Nanven Joseph Garba, the army colonel who announced the coup, was Gowon’s kinsman who also commanded the Brigade of Guards responsible for the protection of the head of state.
Yakubu Gowon was not the only soldier at the creation of ECOWAS in 1975 nor was he the only one overthrown by them. Six others among the 15 original signatories to the treaty were soldiers including Lt-Col Mathieu Kérékou (Benin); Gen. Ignatius Acheampong (Ghana, represented by Lt-Col RJA Falli, Minister for Economic Planning); Col. Moussa Traoré (Mali, represented by Major Baba Diarra, Vice-Chairman of the Military Committee of National Liberation); Lt-Col. Seyni Kountché (Niger); Gen. Gnassingbe Eyadema (Togo), and Gen. Aboubakar Sangoulé Lamizana (Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso)
Of the remaining eight, Presidents Dawda Jawara (Gambia); Sekou Toure (Guinea); Luiz Cabral (Guinea Bissau); William Tolbert (Liberia); Moktar Ould Daddah (Mauritania); and Siaka Stevens (Sierra Leone) were all succeeded by soldiers. President Felix Houphöuet-Boigny of Côte d’Ivoire was the only president as such among the original signatories who was neither a soldier nor directly succeeded by one. Abdou Diouf who represented Senegal at the adoption of the treaty was then prime minister to President Leopold Senghor, whom he later succeeded as president on April 1, 1981.
Looking back at that era from the vantage of nearly five decades later, the appearance of progress in the optics of government in West Africa looks assured. Mauritania is no longer part of ECOWAS but Cape Verde, which joined in 1976, ensures that the regional bloc remains comprised of 15 members. In the half-century to 2004, West African countries witnessed “169 military interventions of some sort”. The only countries spared this scourge were Cape Verde and Senegal.
Today, in 12 countries out of 15 among the member states of ECOWAS the head of state, by whatever name called, enjoys democratic legitimacy. The only countries that are presently exempt from this trend are Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali, where the military installed itself in power using coups organised within the past three years.
Impressive as this picture may look, it flatters the region in many ways. First, soldiers in military fatigues may no longer be fashionable in seats of power, but soldiers in many countries in the region are not far from power. Umaro Sissoco Embaló, the current president of Guinea Bissau and Julius Maada Bio, his peer in Sierra Leone, are both former army generals. Muhammadu Buhari, another general who led the military to overthrow Nigeria’s elected government on December 31, 1983, only recently completed another tour of duty on May 29, 2023, as head of state of his country. They may have shed their fatigues, but soldiers continue in many African countries to enjoy historical advantages in the contest for political and economic power.
Second, coups are no longer the monopoly of soldiers. Civilians or incumbents with the appearance of electoral legitimacy now also implement what has been called constitutional coups by manipulating constitutions, courts, and election management bodies to destroy constitutional guardrails and keep themselves in power for as long as they please. In West Africa, the rulers of Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, for instance, have changed their constitutions in this way. In Guinea, soldiers found their excuse to launch a bid for power in fatigues after Alpha Conde, a civilian president, overthrew the constitution in a bloody exercise in 2021 to extend his tenure as president.
Third, these efforts to subvert constitutional rule in the region, whether by the military or civilians, are often accompanied by foreign support. Around Africa, Russia is a rising new force for autocracy and coups. In West Africa, Russia’s footprint has been active in the overthrow of constitutional governments in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali. Beyond the region, its friendly presence has also been reported in Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, among others.
In Senegal, Macky Sall’s ambitions stalled in the face of many factors. He could not rely on the army, he had no overwhelming foreign backers and Senegal’s fragility was becoming evident in the face of stout popular resistance. In the end, the people forced him to back down. The plaudits here clearly belong to the people of Senegal. For Macky Sall, he will spend the remainder of his presidency seeking post-presidential immunity. He will need it.
A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at [email protected]
