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01/28/21

The Nigerian Academy of Science has inducted a professor of Parasitology/Epidemiology, Ekanem Ikpi Braide, as its 19th President on Thursday.

In a statement issued by Oladoyin Odubanjo, the Executive Secretary of the Academy, Braide is the Academy’s first female President in 44 years of existence.

It read, "Braide was a member of the national committee that achieved the laudable feat of guinea worm eradication in Nigeria.

"She has a rich professional experience as a researcher and an administrator. In July 2010, Professor Braide was honoured by the President of Nigeria with the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contribution to disease control in Nigeria.

"She was nominated by the Honourable Minister of Health to serve in the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Health Sector Response (MEACoC-HSR).

"Professor Braide served as Vice-Chancellor, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) Calabar, Nigeria (2004 to 2009) and as Pioneer Vice-Chancellor, Federal University, Lafia, Nigeria (2011 to 2016). She is currently the Pro-Chancellor of Arthur Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, Nigeria.

"She took over from Professor Mosto Onuoha FAS (Professor of pure and applied geophysics), and will lead the Academy, for the next four years, in achieving an improved quality of life for the Nigerian society through the promotion and application of science and technology; as well as strengthen the nation’s ability to deliver the fruits of science to society by the acquisition, growth, and dissemination of sound scientific knowledge and facilitation of its use in the solution of major national problems."

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Nigerian Arrested In India With Expired Visa

A Nigerian man, Aluko Ulva Tobi Jones, has been arrested for residing in India with an expired visa.

The accused person from Ekiti state, was arrested at Sarojini Nagar area of Lucknow based on a tip-off.

The Lucknow Police Commissionerate, in a statement, said that the expired visa, a passport, Aadhaar card, marriage certificate, bank passbook, and no-objection marriage certificate were recovered from Jones.

He was residing in Kanpur, the police said.

A case has been registered against him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Foreigners Act at Sarojini Nagar police station.

SaharaReporters reported last week that Thailand's Immigration Police arrested a 40-year-old Nigerian Onyebuchi Johnbosco Ezedinugwu, for overstaying his visa by 2,683 days.

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NANS President Wants Nigerian Students Tested For Marijuana, Other Drugs

Sunday Asefon

The President of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Sunday Asefon, has endorsed the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) proposed drug test policy for all tertiary institution students across the country.

Asefon, during a solidarity visit to the new Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (Rtd.) on Wednesday asked the agency to implement the policy.

Sunday Asefon

The NANS President said all Nigerians must join hands to end the scourge of drug abuse by young people, saying “drug has done more harm than good to Nigerian students”.

Asefon, who spoke about the dangers of drug abuse, described the initiative as not only preventive but one that would also encourage others to stop the habit knowing that the authorities would detect it.

He said, “We do not want Nigerian students to continue to die of drugs.

“We are here to congratulate you and declare our support for your nascent administration. From your antecedents, we can now go home to sleep with our two eyes closed with the assurance that Nigeria is in safe hands, on drug control issues.

“Most of the drug problems ravaging the students is when they leave their homes and start schooling.”

Speaking, Marwa commended the association for the visit and show of solidarity.

He said, “I am particularly delighted by your promise to cleanse our campuses of drugs. Your buying into our drug testing among students is equally encouraging,” Marwa noted.

He further called on them to strengthen “Drug-Free Clubs” on campuses.

“There have been some objections to the drug testing initiative. But we cannot watch our students taking drugs and jumping into the well thinking it is a swimming pool. The testing of students is to determine their status early enough and decide the form of intervention to deploy. It is by no means punitive.”

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I Was Nearly Retired By Obasanjo As Major —Buratai

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai.

The immediate-past Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), has said he was nearly retired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, 21 years ago when he was still a Major.

According to Punch, he did not disclose the circumstances of his encounter with the ex-president but described his attainment of the rank of Lieutenant General and Chief of Army Staff as historic.

Lt. General Tukur Buratai.

Buratai, who disclosed this during his official handover to his successor, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, at the Army Headquarters on Thursday, noted that “the Army will never remain the same due to my transformational leadership and landmark achievements”.

“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo almost retired me 21 years ago when I was a Major. My retirement after 40 years of service is historic, hence, calls for gratitude,” he noted.

While thanking troops serving at home and abroad for their sacrifice, Buratai added that the Nigerian Army has been “better positioned with intelligence gathering techniques and equipment”.

He stated, “The security situation across the country is largely stabilised under my watch, and my administration will be remembered for improved professionalism, improved responsiveness to personnel welfare and responsiveness to Nigeria’s democratic system.”

Also speaking, Attahiru solicited the support of soldiers and officers to reposition the Nigerian Army.

The new COAS thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for finding him worthy, adding that he counted himself lucky to have been chosen for the army top job.

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Nigerian Government Blocks Peoples' Gazette Website Over Critical Media Reports

The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has shut down the platform of an online news platform, Peoples Gazette, denying its readers access to the website.

The platform said in a release that a vast majority of its web readers were denied access to its contents owing to a disruption influenced by the government.

The platform, launched in 2020, has been critical of the government’s actions and policies, including its coverage of the #EndSARS protest staged in October and the aftermath of the protest.

In a statement issued by its Managing Editor, Samuel Ogundipe, the media organisation alleged that the disruption, which started on Tuesday evening, was based on a directive from the Nigerian government to MTN, Glo Mobile and other telecom firms.

Ogundipe suspected the restriction may have been caused by a couple of reports the newspaper published recently.

MTN and Glo have the two biggest mobile data subscriber bases with 78,754,855 and 52,573,907 connected lines respectively as at the end of the second quarter of 2020, figures released by the Nigerian Communication Commission showed.

Airtel has 52,462,347 subscribers and 9mobile, in the fourth position, has 12,111,674 subscribers.

“We have strong grounds to believe that it [the restriction] was deliberate based on the preliminary conclusion of webmasters,” Ogundipe said.

The clampdown on Peoples Gazette’s operations may not be unconnected to certain critical reports done by the platform recently exposing the corruption and power play in Aso Rock, Nigeria's seat of power.

“Nigerian telecom firms have a history of acquiescing to repressive orders from state actors without recourse to the Nigerian Constitution, which is why we would not yield any resources to fight back against this through available civil authorities,” Ogundipe said.

Expectedly, Ogundipe said the restriction will stifle the newspaper of its readership and will “leave our newspaper hemorrhaging crucial revenues from web traffic” if it lingers.

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Activities Paralysed As Oyo Workers Begin Indefinite Strike Over Allowances, Others

Activities were paralysed at the Oyo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion and some government agencies, including Water Corporation due to an indefinite strike embarked on by workers of the corporation.

Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency (OYSAA) was also affected by the strike as along with the others mentioned, they share the same building with the state Water Corporation, whose workers began the indefinite strike on Thursday.

The Water Building was locked by the striking workers and no one was allowed to go in or out.

Workers of the Water Corporation, under the aegis of Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), embarked on the strike following the failure of the government to pay the six months deductions owed to them by the Governor Seyi Makinde led-administration.

The union had on January 20, 2021, given the Makinde administration a 72-hour ultimatum to pay the outstanding deductions and address the issue of shortage of workers, among others.

The union demanded a prompt payment of outstanding deductions, increment in monthly subvention, supply of chemicals to the corporation, recruitment of workers and appointment of a substantive general manager for the organisation, among other demands.

The letter reads in part: “I bring to Your Excellency fraternal greetings from the state leadership of the above-named union and to inform Your Excellency that after a series of meetings with the management of Water Corporation and government representatives without finding lasting solutions to our demands, the union is left with no other option but to issue this letter on the above subject matter.

“Aside from the outstanding deductions, the union also demanded the payment of check-up bonus, leave bonus, car loan deductions, and housing loan deductions. Others are increment in monthly subvention, availability of chemicals, recruitment of more workers for the corporation and the appointment of a substantive general manager.

Following the expiration of the 72-hour ultimatum, the union commenced the strike, locking the Water Building, which houses several other state agencies, while also blocking the feeder roads leading to the building.

Leading the protest, the AUPCTRE Secretary, who doubles as the state’s Nigeria Labour Congress Secretary, Ibrahim Mohammed, said the strike would be indefinite, adding that the union had exploited all options to resolve the matter amicably to no avail.

He said: “It is an indefinite strike. We have exploited all available options but the government is not forthcoming. The government failed to respond to our calls. They owe us arrears of up to seven months.”

Speaking of the Water Building that was locked, preventing workers of some other departments and agencies from also working, Mohammed said: “It is the Water Building, and it belongs to us. The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Local Government Service Commission, Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency (OYSAA) are all tenants.”

As at the time of filing this report, no government official had addressed them.

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Buhari, Sleeping At The Wheels Is Not An Option By Azu Ishiekwene

Azu Ishiekwene

If you were on a holiday to Nigeria from Mars last week, you would almost certainly cut short your stay to avoid what looked like a coming Armageddon.

Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo, one of the six South-western states, had issued an ultimatum to herders, mostly of the Fulani tribe, to vacate the state’s forest reserves within one week. The folks are not rangers and have no business in forest reserves, much less turning them into grazing fields.

But that’s Greek. In Nigeria, where the law can often be a respecter of connections or identity, you’ll be a fool not to press your advantage. The unspoken feeling is that President Muhammadu Buhari, himself from the Hausa-Fulani stock and a big cattle ranch owner, is not just a club member but also patron saint of Miyetti Allah, the herders’ association which claims every blade of grass on fertile Nigerian land.

Governor Akeredolu said he received intelligence that some herders were about to unleash violence in the state and that recent reports of banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities implicated Fulani herdsmen. They must expel their under-age members, he said, leave the reserves in seven days and be registered or else…

The governor did not say what he would do, because quite frankly, he knew he couldn’t do jack. Not just him. No Nigerian governor can call a shot or dodge a bullet to save their own lives.

Azu Ishiekwene

Yet, Akeredolu had barely finished speaking when Miyetti Allah, enabled by a statement from the Presidency, vowed that herdsmen in Ondo forest reserves would not move an inch, and threatened fire for fire.

The spark flew southward, inflaming the already tense situation between herdsmen and communities in the Oke Ogun area of Oyo State. A certain Sunday Igboho led mobs to unleash violence in the area; killing, looting and burning - a revenge mission that transformed Igboho, a popular thug, into the overnight leader of the Salvation Army.

Who can blame Igboho, a thug who it would now appear from a number of insider accounts, has exploited loopholes in a failing system to create for himself a political kingdom and the image of a messiah? Who can blame Miyetti Allah for claiming that the only road to our collective redemption is paved by cattle dung?

Yet, Akeredolu’s ultimatum was an expression of impotent rage. There was nothing he could do. Both he and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, who asked the police to arrest Igboho, and Miyetti Allah which is behaving like the military wing of ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and everyone involved in this shambolic cow-and-grass game, know that the only man who can do something about this situation is Buhari.

That may sound unfair or too much to ask of one man, but it’s a burden with a long history that Buhari knows more than anyone else.

Twenty-one years ago, this Oke Ogun where Igboho mobilised thugs on a revenge mission was the same place where Citizen Buhari, upon hearing of clashes there, led an Arewa group to Government House, Bodija, to demand from Governor Lam Adesina justice for Fulani cattle herders affected by the violence.

If justice was good enough for the Fulani cattle herders in Oke Ogun in Buhari’s former life, it should be good enough today for victims of Fulani-herder banditry in Ondo forest reserves or wherever such travesty may be found.

I don’t share the somewhat prevalent view that Buhari is an irredeemable tribalist, a predatory Fulani to the core.

Sure, influential persons and opportunists around him are using tribe for advantage, encouraged and enabled by Buhari’s puzzling silence.

It’s, however, in the nature of politics, especially our kind of politics, that tribes or social groups that may think they enjoy a temporary advantage, would beat the rest of society over the head with their shared identity, once their man is in power. They naturally think it’s their turn to eat even when, in fact, the crumbs may never fall their way.

At times like that, the leader has a choice: indulge the tribe’s worst instincts and alienate the larger society; or inspire confidence and trust by reining them in not just by platitudes and claims of fairness to all, but also by being seen to be fair by all.

What is sauce for the Fulani cattle herder in Oke Ogun, should be sauce for the farmer in the Ondo forest reserve or the palm wine tapper in Ikeduru.

And Buhari knows this only too well, not just from standing up for the Oke Ogun Fulani cattle herder, but also from his role in the events that led to Nigeria’s civil war.

The soldiers who killed Nigeria’s first military head of state, General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-

Ironsi, didn’t kill him because he committed any crime or was part of the plot that led to the violent and bloody overthrow of the First Republic.

They just thought that perhaps because the ringleaders of the mutiny were from his tribe, he wasn’t tough enough on them or keen to bring them to justice. They judged him guilty by identity.

In his second coming as civil head of state, President Olusegun Obasanjo, often derided as Nigeria’s Uber-nationalist, faced a similar problem. The Oduduwa People’s Congress which began as a Yoruba sociocultural interest group soon spun into a violent terror gang and the common assumption then was that the group had taken advantage of the fact that a Yoruba man was in power to terrorise the general public, especially the non-Yoruba in the South-west.

Obasanjo could have indulged them. But he didn’t. He unleashed what was generally considered a disproportionate show of force, issuing a shoot-on-sight order at a stage. He still believes, to this day, that it was the right thing because it was incumbent on him to rein the group in or risk a general breakdown of law and order.

That lesson was lost on President Goodluck Jonathan and he paid dearly for it. Niger Delta militants were the Fulani herdsmen of his day. Nigeria paid them billions of naira to look after oil pipelines, part of which they used in blowing up pipelines for more money and the rest in carousing on the 9th floor of Transcorp Hilton!

Buhari is behaving as if some Fulani herdsmen have him between the legs, making the cow a metaphor of all that is wrong with Nigeria, when in fact, pastoralism is just another business, like farming, banking or manufacturing.

I understand the pride of a remnant of herders for whom the herd is not just a means of transaction but a legacy, a way of life. But those who have politicised and weaponised the business know that these remnant herders are clinging to a dying past. Current pastoral practices in Nigeria are the journalistic equivalent of using movable metal type in printing, the sort of thing that Gutenberg did.

Neither data about world beef consumption nor figures about world cattle production puts Nigeria among the top 50. With a population of about 200 million, Nigeria’s meat consumption per capita is lower than those of smaller countries like Chad, Burkina Faso or Cameroon. Its average cattle milk yield of 500 kg per year is barely enough to feed a bunch of five-year-old-kids and ranks among the lowest in the world.

Why is cattle still such a great source of misery and divisiveness in Nigeria today?

The system, with proper planning and regulation, has to be opened to modern business practices, without government grabbing other people’s land in contravention of a half-a-century-old law against open grazing. Proposals to import preferential grass at the public’s expense don’t make sense either. Pastoralism needs a new, business-driven life.

The evidence of love for herdsmen is not to use them as cannon fodder in endless political warfare. Miyetti Allah’s opportunism must stop and Buhari should call the shambles for what it is. That is the only way he can have the moral backbone to tackle any other group that steps brazenly out of line.

Ishiekwene is the MD/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview

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Buratai Reduced Army To Hausa-Fulani Caucus, 142 Northerners Out Of 210 Promoted – Intersociety

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai.

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law has said the outgone Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, reduced the Nigerian Army to a Hausa-Fulani group as he allegedly promoted 32 northerners among the recently promoted 47 Major-Generals.

Intersociety added that the former Chief of Army Staff must be made to answer for his nepotism and mismanagement of the army and face prosecution.

Lt. General Tukur Buratai.

The group stated this in a release on Wednesday by Emeka Umeagbalasi, as the Board Chair; Chinwe Umeche, as the Head, Democracy and Good Governance; Obianuju Igboeli, as the Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law; and Comrade Samuel Kaanyaoku, as the Head, Field Data Collection and Documentation.

The group said, “The Nigerian Army under Buratai was reduced to ‘an Army for Fulani-Hausa Muslims alone’ with others as makeshifts. For instance, the army under him witnessed a high level or maddening domination and control by Fulani-Hausa Muslim officers, to the extent that in its recent promotions and postings; out of 47 Major Generals, North took 32, including 27 Muslims and South took only 15, including only three from the South-East.

“In the case of 163 Brigadier-Generals posted, the North took 110 including 84 Muslims and the South took 53, including only 10 for the South-East.”

On November 28, 2020, the army had released its latest list of its promoted senior officers.

Checks by SaharaReporters revealed that about 20 names were from the North out of about 39 Generals.

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Two Killed In Ibadan As Hoodlums Attack Police Station To Free Suspects

A 29-year-old, Badmus Rasheed, was killed on Thursday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, when some hoodlums attacked Mapo Police Station.

Earlier, a 60-year-old Modupe Daramola in Akobi area was hit by pellets from a locally made gun fired by one of the hoodlums during a clash involving the thugs.

She died while some others sustained varying degrees of injury.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Olugbenga Fadeyi, who confirmed this in a statement in Ibadan on Thursday urged parents to warn their wards and children against public disturbance.

Explaining the incidents, Fadeyi said, "The Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command wishes to inform the general public about the incident that occurred earlier today, 28th January, 2021 at about 1145hrs at Odo-Osun Area of Mapo where police personnel from Mapo Divisional Police Headquarters were deployed to effect the arrest of two notorious miscreants who had been deeply involved in the crisis rocking Shogoye/Akobi areas of Mapo lately.

"It can be recalled that armed thugs from Shogoye/Akobi areas have been unleashing mayhem, causing grievous hurts and death of innocent citizens in the two areas. On the 25th of January, 2021 at about 0600hrs, an elderly woman wearing a white Celestial church cap known as Modupe Daramola (female), aged 60, of a Celestial church in Akobi area, was hit by pellets from a locally made gun fired by one of the hoodlums during the clashes and she gave up the ghost, while some others sustained varying degrees of injury.

"Sequel to the arrest of the two notorious miscreants who were handcuffed, one aka Packaging led some thugs numbering about thirty (30) to attack and mob the police team and forcefully took the two miscreants from them. In a bid to escape being lynched, the police personnel shot in the air and managed to escape.

"At about 1220hrs, one Akeem (male) in company with some angry miscreants invaded the police station to report that his younger brother was shot and the miscreants attempted to attack Mapo Police Station, while some cars at the junction leading to the street of the station were damaged. The mob was thereafter repelled by police personnel who were strategically positioned to prevent the station from being attacked. Not too long, at about 1350hrs, the corpse of one Badmus Rasheed (male), aged 20, was brought to the police station amidst the angry mob that was earlier repealed from attacking the station (sic).

"The Commissioner of Police wishes to appeal to parents/guardians in the two areas to warn their wards to desist from acts capable of causing a breakdown of law and order as massive deployments of police personnel and of sisters security agencies have been put in place to forestall further crises.

In a related development, many motorists, commuters, traders and traffic wardens around Bere, Oja Oba market, Idi Arere areas took to their heels on Thursday when they heard about the commotion caused by the hoodlums in the city.

Over the last two weeks ago, there have been pockets of violence in the city which have allegedly claimed the lives of a young okada rider (commercial motorcyclist) and another man at Mokola area.

The Commandant of the Western Nigeria Security Network in Oyo State, popularly known as Amotekun, Col. Olayinka Olayanju (retd.), and a Mogaji of Ibadanland, Wale Oladoja, had held a meeting with the hoodlums where it was agreed that there should be a ceasefire between the opposing cult factions.

But according to eyewitnesses, many hoodlums were sighted on Thursday moving from Labiran area towards Bere area, armed with guns, cutlasses, sticks, sharp metals and threatening anyone who dared them.

At Oja Oba in particular, traders were sighted running with their goods to escape from the market to a safer place while encouraging others to also run as they did so.

Speaking on the matter, an eyewitness who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is well known in the areas mentioned, said that he had to turn back when he saw a multitude of hoodlums moving towards Bere with dangerous weapons.

Another resident, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he is a policeman, said he had to abandon his duty post to join a vehicle going towards Challenge area because he was afraid the hooligans might lynch him if they saw him in uniform.

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42-year-old Man In Court For Allegedly Killing Mother Over Share Of Land Money In Adamawa

File photo used to illustrate story.

A 42-year-old man, Clement Tumba, from Dilchim village in the Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State has been arraigned for allegedly killing his mother by strangling her.

Tumba, a father of five, allegedly killed his aged mother, Regina Daniel, by strangling her with a rope tied round her neck.

File photo used to illustrate story.

He claimed he was provoked to take his mother's life because she deprived him of his share of the money realised from a piece of land the family had sold.

The accused was arraigned before Justice Helen N. Hammanjoda in a High Court for alleged culpable homicide, which is punishable by death as it is contrary to section 221 (b) of the state penal code.

The man told the court in his confessional statement that he met his mother seated in their house around 12 midnight when he came back from a joint.

He said he told her to go into her room and sleep.

He said, "When I told her to enter her room and sleep, she started advising me not to continue to fight with my sister, and I instantly became angry about what she was telling me, so I picked up a rope and strangled her with it.

"I was actually provoked because I was denied my share of the money made from the family land which was sold sometime ago.

"My mother sided with my other siblings to deprive me of my share of the money," he said.

He disclosed that while strangling his mother, his neighbour, Barnabas Tumba, heard her screaming.

According to him, when his neighbour came in to rescue the old woman, he pulled a knife on him and threatened to stab him. The neighbour was forced to leave.

He further disclosed that his neighbour later invited some vigilantes who came and apprehended him when they saw his mother's lifeless body on the ground.

Justice Helen, therefore, adjourned the case to February 24, 2021 for continuation of trial.

M. B. Rufai appeared for the prosecution while Mohammed Abubakar from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria appeared for the defendant.

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