... ... 06/14/21 | IYANDA'SBLOG

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06/14/21

A 34-year-old widow, Chioma Asomugha from Ubahuekwem in the Ihiala area of Anambra, has raised the alarm that her in-laws were forcing her to drink water used in bathing her dead husband’s corpse.

Speaking with NAN in Awka on Sunday, Asomugha alleged that the brothers of Charles, her late husband, said she must drink the water to prove that she was not responsible for her husband’s death.

The widow, who stated that she lived with her late husband in Lagos before his death, however, added that she would not do it.

“I have four children with my husband and we lived at Ajangbadi in Ojo area of Lagos before his demise,” she said.

“The burial is fixed for Monday, June 14, but since we came home for the burial, the relatives of my husband forced me out of my matrimonial home.

“They insisted that before I will be allowed to come in, I will drink the water used in bathing my late husband’s corpse.”

Asomugha said she has reported the case to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Awka with a view to resolving the matter.

Laura Ugwuanyi, the coordinator of NHRC in the state, who confirmed the report, described it as obnoxious.

She said efforts made to handle the matter did not yield positive results as the family members were not cooperating.

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A 34-year-old widow, Chioma Asomugha from Ubahuekwem in the Ihiala area of Anambra, has raised the alarm that her in-laws were forcing her to drink water used in bathing her dead husband’s corpse.

Speaking with NAN in Awka on Sunday, Asomugha alleged that the brothers of Charles, her late husband, said she must drink the water to prove that she was not responsible for her husband’s death.

The widow, who stated that she lived with her late husband in Lagos before his death, however, added that she would not do it.

“I have four children with my husband and we lived at Ajangbadi in Ojo area of Lagos before his demise,” she said.

“The burial is fixed for Monday, June 14, but since we came home for the burial, the relatives of my husband forced me out of my matrimonial home.

“They insisted that before I will be allowed to come in, I will drink the water used in bathing my late husband’s corpse.”

Asomugha said she has reported the case to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Awka with a view to resolving the matter.

Laura Ugwuanyi, the coordinator of NHRC in the state, who confirmed the report, described it as obnoxious.

She said efforts made to handle the matter did not yield positive results as the family members were not cooperating.

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The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Cross River State, Comrade Ben Ukpepi, has been released by his abductors after 82 days in captivity.

Ukpepi was kidnapped in front of his residence at the CROSPIL estate in the Akpabuyo Local Government Area.

It was the second time Mr. Ukpepi would be kidnapped. 

The organised labour in the state was planning a strike action over pending labor issues. Mr. Ukpepi was kidnapped less than 96 hours to that action, labour sources told Cross River Watch. 

His kidnap came when residents of Calabar and its environs were almost heaving a sigh of relief following a reduction in the rate of kidnappings in the city after the state launched a joint security task force codenamed ‘Operation Akpakwu’.

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The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Cross River State, Comrade Ben Ukpepi, has been released by his abductors after 82 days in captivity.

Ukpepi was kidnapped in front of his residence at the CROSPIL estate in the Akpabuyo Local Government Area.

It was the second time Mr. Ukpepi would be kidnapped. 

The organised labour in the state was planning a strike action over pending labor issues. Mr. Ukpepi was kidnapped less than 96 hours to that action, labour sources told Cross River Watch. 

His kidnap came when residents of Calabar and its environs were almost heaving a sigh of relief following a reduction in the rate of kidnappings in the city after the state launched a joint security task force codenamed ‘Operation Akpakwu’.

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The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has called for the speedy and unconditional release of 150 Tsangaya pupils kidnapped at the Salisu Tanko Islamiya school in Tegina, Rafi local government area of Niger State.

UNICEF made the call for the first time since the abduction of the children had taken place two weeks ago.

UNICEF

The UN agency in a statement, Monday, said it is bothered about the fate of the children, some of who are as young as three years old.

“We are appalled that two weeks after 150 students were abducted from their school, they continue to be held by their abductors,” said Rushnan Murtaza, Officer in Charge, Representative UNICEF Nigeria.

“Parents are grieving their children’s disappearance, siblings are missing their brothers and sisters – these children must be immediately and unconditionally released and safely reunited with their families.

“It is horrifying that schools and schoolchildren continue to be targets of the attack – and in this particular incident, even children as young as 3 years old. We can only begin to imagine how frightened they are, and the impact this will have on their mental health and well-being,” it said. 

UNICEF said the right of children to education is a right that any society can ill-afford to violate.

The organisation urged the Nigerian Government to take all measures to protect schools in the country and implement the promises made in financing safe schools in Nigeria so that children will not be scared and worried about going to school and parents afraid of sending their children to school.

“Schools must be safe places to study and develop, and learning should not be a risky endeavour,” said Rushnan Murtaza. “There are very few – if any – things more important for any society than ensuring the safe education of its children,” it added. 

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Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has lambasted Nigerian footballer, Mikel Obi, who pledged his support for the political aspirations of Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello.

On Sunday, Obi paid a courtesy visit to the governor in Abuja during which he commended him for his achievements in the areas of security, healthcare, infrastructure, education and agriculture.

He was quoted as saying, “It is an honour for me to finally meet his Excellency personally after all the good things I have heard and read about him from not just the people of Kogi State but from Nigerians.

“My main aim is to come here to show my appreciation and to thank him for all the things he has been doing for the people and also to support him in whatever future political positions he wants to go into.

“I will like to be there to support him, to be there by his side through this journey for him to achieve whatever he wants which is for the betterment of Nigeria."

Obi said he was hopeful that Bello and himself could work together as a team to achieve success.

But in a post via his Twitter handle on Monday, Sowore called out the former Super Eagles midfielder, describing him as a sycophant.

He wrote, "@mikel_john_obi As ur career in football flames out, another one starts in sycophancy + ass licking! At least for sycophancy, you don’t need any rigorous practice! Enjoy it while it lasts with

@OfficialGYBKogi the most irresponsible and incompetent Nigerian governor below 50."

Bello is notorious for hampering freedom of speech and expression within his state.

For instance, two anti-President Muhammadu Buhari protesters, Larry Emmanuel and Victor Udoka, were arrested in Kogi state for exercising their fundamental human rights, under Bello's administration.

Irate mob flogged the two youths, filmed them and brutalised them before they were later handed over to the police.

It was gathered that the police thereafter quizzed the two protesters and detained them when they insisted on seeing their lawyer before making a statement. They were also secretly arraigned in court, without having access to their lawyers.

The police, in their desperation to harass the peaceful protesters, also ensured that they were remanded at the Kabba Prison – without the knowledge of their lawyers or family members.

SaharaReporters learnt that neither the charges on which they were arraigned were made to the public or the identity of the Magistrate handling the trial.

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the police in Kogi State refused to produce the two Buhari-Must-Go protesters who were mobbed by hoodlums sponsored by the state government and thereafter taken to the police command.

It had been reported that the lawyers of the protesters had not been able to set eyes on them, as the police who claimed to be in custody of the two men, refused to bring them to their lawyers.

“The lawyers have been there for two days now and the police haven’t produced them. The police commissioner in Kogi could not produce anti-Buhari protesters he claimed were in his custody after two days.

“We are hearing they were never returned to police custody after the police handed them over to thugs,” a source in Lokoja had told this newspaper.

“They arranged for a Magistrate to secretly try the two guys without legal representation.

“They are reportedly in Kabba prison. The police have refused to release the charges to the public and all efforts by lawyers to get the charges have not been fruitful,” a human rights activist following the case revealed to SaharaReporters.

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Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has lambasted Nigerian footballer, Mikel Obi, who pledged his support for the political aspirations of Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello.

On Sunday, Obi paid a courtesy visit to the governor in Abuja during which he commended him for his achievements in the areas of security, healthcare, infrastructure, education and agriculture.

He was quoted as saying, “It is an honour for me to finally meet his Excellency personally after all the good things I have heard and read about him from not just the people of Kogi State but from Nigerians.

“My main aim is to come here to show my appreciation and to thank him for all the things he has been doing for the people and also to support him in whatever future political positions he wants to go into.

“I will like to be there to support him, to be there by his side through this journey for him to achieve whatever he wants which is for the betterment of Nigeria."

Obi said he was hopeful that Bello and himself could work together as a team to achieve success.

But in a post via his Twitter handle on Monday, Sowore called out the former Super Eagles midfielder, describing him as a sycophant.

He wrote, "@mikel_john_obi As ur career in football flames out, another one starts in sycophancy + ass licking! At least for sycophancy, you don’t need any rigorous practice! Enjoy it while it lasts with

@OfficialGYBKogi the most irresponsible and incompetent Nigerian governor below 50."

Bello is notorious for hampering freedom of speech and expression within his state.

For instance, two anti-President Muhammadu Buhari protesters, Larry Emmanuel and Victor Udoka, were arrested in Kogi state for exercising their fundamental human rights, under Bello's administration.

Irate mob flogged the two youths, filmed them and brutalised them before they were later handed over to the police.

It was gathered that the police thereafter quizzed the two protesters and detained them when they insisted on seeing their lawyer before making a statement. They were also secretly arraigned in court, without having access to their lawyers.

The police, in their desperation to harass the peaceful protesters, also ensured that they were remanded at the Kabba Prison – without the knowledge of their lawyers or family members.

SaharaReporters learnt that neither the charges on which they were arraigned were made to the public or the identity of the Magistrate handling the trial.

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the police in Kogi State refused to produce the two Buhari-Must-Go protesters who were mobbed by hoodlums sponsored by the state government and thereafter taken to the police command.

It had been reported that the lawyers of the protesters had not been able to set eyes on them, as the police who claimed to be in custody of the two men, refused to bring them to their lawyers.

“The lawyers have been there for two days now and the police haven’t produced them. The police commissioner in Kogi could not produce anti-Buhari protesters he claimed were in his custody after two days.

“We are hearing they were never returned to police custody after the police handed them over to thugs,” a source in Lokoja had told this newspaper.

“They arranged for a Magistrate to secretly try the two guys without legal representation.

“They are reportedly in Kabba prison. The police have refused to release the charges to the public and all efforts by lawyers to get the charges have not been fruitful,” a human rights activist following the case revealed to SaharaReporters.

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The Presidency has said some people were disappointed to have seen President Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), ‘real life’ in interviews and broadcast last weekend.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this on NTA’s ‘Good Morning Nigeria’ programme. 

Buhari had last week featured in interviews aired on Arise TV and NTA. The President also visited Lagos State last Thursday and inaugurated some projects. 

He also delivered a Democracy Day Speech on June 12.

When asked whether the president’s interviews and speeches last week allayed the doubt of Nigerians on whether the president is in control or not, Shehu said, “Yes, he has always been (in control) but there has been misperception and propaganda.

“By his own personal style, President Buhari is not too forward and he has not been frontal on many aspects. It is certainly not a sign of lack of effectiveness or that one is not in charge.

“People had yearned for him to speak to Nigerians and they have advocated for this including the national parliament, passing resolutions and there he was speaking as President Buhari, nothing artificial about him.

“The largest section of Nigerians are satisfied and happy to having seen the president animated, real life, capable and exuding that confidence and capability to govern well but that obviously would have disappointed some people, who in their view, nothing good can come out of an administration in which they are not a part of.”
 

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The Presidency has said some people were disappointed to have seen President Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), ‘real life’ in interviews and broadcast last weekend.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this on NTA’s ‘Good Morning Nigeria’ programme. 

Buhari had last week featured in interviews aired on Arise TV and NTA. The President also visited Lagos State last Thursday and inaugurated some projects. 

He also delivered a Democracy Day Speech on June 12.

When asked whether the president’s interviews and speeches last week allayed the doubt of Nigerians on whether the president is in control or not, Shehu said, “Yes, he has always been (in control) but there has been misperception and propaganda.

“By his own personal style, President Buhari is not too forward and he has not been frontal on many aspects. It is certainly not a sign of lack of effectiveness or that one is not in charge.

“People had yearned for him to speak to Nigerians and they have advocated for this including the national parliament, passing resolutions and there he was speaking as President Buhari, nothing artificial about him.

“The largest section of Nigerians are satisfied and happy to having seen the president animated, real life, capable and exuding that confidence and capability to govern well but that obviously would have disappointed some people, who in their view, nothing good can come out of an administration in which they are not a part of.”
 

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A don, Prof Okey Onuchukwu has described Nigeria's economy under military regimes as better than has been under democratic governments. 

Onuchukwu is a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics, University of Port Harcourt, and former Director of the Port Harcourt Business School in Rivers State. 

In an interview with journalists, the don said, "For this particular democracy that we are running actually started in 1999 and if you look at some economic indices that time you will find out that you cannot say that the economy is better now.

"If you look at the rate of inflation in 1999, it is about 6.62 percent which is a single digit. Democracy came and it was still fluctuating.

"You know that recently inflation rate rose to over 18 percent. If you also look at the unemployment situation in the country, you will also agree with me that the unemployment rate is rising. It is over 23 percent.

"You could also agree with me that then (during military regimes), our refineries were working. We were able to refine our products in Port Harcourt, Warri, Kaduna. So we can't say actually that Nigeria economy is better off in this democracy than when we didn't have democracy."

Urging the government to embrace privatisation in the running and management of its moribund refineries, Onuchukwu said, "Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), you have private - about 51 percent shares, then government not, 40-something percent shares.

"And that particular model is running very well there. That is why I said even in the refineries, we can also do that. You open up so that private investors can come in and take part in it.

"You know government, you reduce your participation so that private investigators will come in and make it more efficient because you see the businesses run by the government in this country, most of them have failed. That is why some governments and some governors if they put up something 'they try to see how they can bring in private individuals to participate. You know the private person would want to protect that investment."

Lamenting the implications of insecurity on the economy and food production, the don said, "Even the farm is not safe. When they go there, they are killed by bandits. So, you see that the source of supply now is closed." 
 

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Bandits have killed no fewer than 12 persons including a police inspector in a fresh attack on Wazoji village in Zamfara state.

A source told SaharaReporters that the incident happened on Sunday.

File Photo

The source said the attackers came in a Hilux vehicle and motorcycles given to repentant bandits by Governor Bello Matawalle.

He added that shops in the village were looted while several cows were also rustled during the attack.

The incident comes a few days after gunmen killed 67 persons in Magarya ward, Kadawa community of the Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara state.

SaharaReporters recently exposed how about 15 brand new Hilux vehicles were given to leaders of different 'repentant' groups of bandits by the governor.

See Also Exclusive EXCLUSIVE: Zamfara Gives 'Repentant' Bandits Hilux Vehicles, Millions Of Naira

The governor also approved millions of naira to be given to the 'repentant' bandits as compensation.

Zamfara, like many other states across the North, has witnessed sporadic attacks by bandits and kidnappers that have claimed the lives of many.

The state government in 2019 entered into a peace agreement with the gunmen. See Also Exclusive EXCLUSIVE: Identities Of "Repentant" Bandits Given Hilux Vehicles By Zamfara Governor, Matawalle Revealed

But despite the accord, communities in the state are still being attacked and residents kidnapped and/or killed.

A committee set up to investigate the menace of armed banditry in the region, headed by Mohammed Abubakar, a former Inspector General of Police, reported that in Zamfara State between June 2011 and May 2019, 4,983 women were widowed; 25,050 children were orphaned; and more than 190,000 people were displaced as a result of armed banditry.

Last year, Governor Aminu Masari, Matawalle's counterpart in Katsina State, said his administration had to pull out of the peace deal it had with bandits that had been terrorising residents of the state.

Masari said despite the peace deal, the gunmen continued to carry out attacks with their accomplices from Zamfara, Kaduna and Niger Republic, leading to “indiscriminate killings” and kidnappings in the state.

He said, “The armed bandits have betrayed our trust in them, following a peace agreement earlier negotiated with them, in our quest to find a lasting peace in the state,” he was quoted as saying.

"We chose dialogue for peaceful coexistence in the state and we have done our best; yet, the attacks continue.

“As a result of the peace agreement, the government banned vigilance groups and identified cattle routes and facilitated free movements of bandits to convey their livestock to the markets.”

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Zainab Duke-Abiola, one of the wives of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, has narrated how the iconic late politician, was ambushed by armed robbers on his way to Ibadan, Oyo state.

According to Zainab, the armed robbers started shouting ‘MKO, is our man, Man of the people’ on sighting the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Zainab Duke-Abiola

Speaking to SaharaReporters, the Akasoba of Kalabari land in the Niger Delta added that one of the gunmen later became a governor while two others were elected into the House of Representatives.

She said, “Abiola was unique and different, that’s why people miss him. There was a day we were going to visit the Olubadan of Ibadan. We were with some Americans, the Americans are still alive, I was newly married to him. Very newly married, just few months into our marriage. And we were going to the palace, on the way, do you know right in front of us, we saw robbers robbing people. I just started praying and the Americans were shivering.

“But when Chief saw them, he said he was not turning back nor running away. He told the driver to keep driving towards them. On getting near them, they saw the Rolls Royce and they started shouting ‘MKO is our man o, Man of the people.’

“Do you know they kept their guns down? Do you know they laid down flat? I am telling you what you won’t hear from anyone else except the Americans and the driver. They started shouting ‘baba ooo, baba oooo, baba ooooo’, so Chief came out and gave them money. He told them they were nice young persons and shouldn’t be involved in crime. They told him if they were two or three of him in the country, they wouldn’t be involved in crime. They told their victims to go, some of the victims told Chief they didn’t have transport means, so Chief gave the robbers and victims money.

“The Americans were surprised as well, I too was happy. Chief told them to go back to school and come to his house anytime they needed money. One of those people became the governor of a Yoruba state, he is alive, about two or so became House of Representatives' members. Why are they not repeating this story, were they not fans at that point?”

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T-shirts and caps bearing dot-in-circle images have surfaced in the South-East states after President Muhammadu Buhari described the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a dot in a circle which could not secede from the country.

SaharaReporters saw the images of the clothes and caps with “Onye dot” written on them in a satirical reference to Buhari’s reference to IPOB agitators in his interview last Thursday with Arise Television. It is not yet clear who the producers of the branded shirts are. 

President Buhari had threatened that his government had mobilised and would continue to mobilise the military and the police to go after the IPOB accused of disturbing the peace in the South-East region. 

See Also Politics IPOB Just Like A Dot, Army, Police Will Handle Them—Buhari

He had said that IPOB is “just like a dot in a circle and they have nowhere to turn to. They are spread everywhere and they have investments and properties everywhere and in other areas.

“They don't know what they are doing. How we will handle them is to mobilise the police and the military to go after them.”  

Also, Buhari had slammed those calling for the sovereignty of the Biafra and Oduduwa Republics, saying they were ignorant.

The president stated that he expected them to be thinking of how to be suggesting initiatives to attract investors to the country.  

The IPOB, led by Nnamdi Kanu, has been clamouring for the sovereign nation of Biafra as a result of alleged marginalisation, killings and hatred being shown to Igbo people.

In the same manner, Oyo-based rights activist and businessman, Sunday Igboho has gained massive support in the South-West in his demand for Oduduwa Republic for Yoruba people.

Buhari during the interview said those agitators are delusional in their thinking as they neglect the issue of resources for Nigerians to survive.

“Yes, I think of Nigeria. Nigerians can say what they want to say. They want their republics. They don’t think about resources. How to share what we have.

“They don’t think (of) how to win the confidence of investors. I think they allow their ignorance to disorganise the country,” Buhari had said.

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Ajibola Basiru, spokesman for the Senate, says there is no grazing-route law in Nigeria. 

Basiru said this following the statement of the President on the farmer-herder crisis.

The President while fielding questions in an interview with Arise Television on Thursday, said: “What I did was ask him (AGF) to go and dig the gazette of the first republic when people were obeying laws.
“There were cattle routes and grazing areas. Cattle routes were for when they (herders) are moving up country, north to south or east to west, they had to go through there.”

But speaking with The PUNCH, Basiru said the gazette that Buhari was referring to was a product of a decree promulgated in northern Nigeria in the 1960s, adding that the Land Use Act recognised by the constitution has rendered it ineffective.

“Nigerians should be concerned over whether the Nigerian president is actually getting the correct legal advice from his attorney-general and the legal team,” the senator said.

“As far as I am concerned, as a legal practitioner, there is nothing like grazing routes or grazing reserve law, in the laws of the federation of Nigeria. There is nothing like that.

“There is no federal legislation that the president can implement over such matter. The executive powers of the president merely rely on the powers of the National Assembly to make laws, when you look at Section 5 of the constitution.

“Any area where the National Assembly cannot make laws, and there is no express grants of powers to the president under the constitution, a purported exercise of power by the president in that regard, will be null and void because it is inconsistent with the constitution by section 1(3) of the 1999 constitution.

“I am aware that there is a northern Nigerian law on reserve and grazing routes which was promulgated by a 1964 decree by the premier of the defunct northern Nigeria region.”

The legislator said there is no way a decree for Northern Nigeria will be implemented as a federal law.

“It is not a federal law unless the legal adviser to Mr President is equating a northern Nigeria law, which is not applicable in the west, mid-west, and eastern region or in anywhere in the southern part of Nigeria, to be a federal or a Nigerian law,” he said.

“The president does not have the power to implement that law because it is not a federal law. He can only implement federal legislation made by the National Assembly or deemed to have been made by the National Assembly.

“The grazing routes law is not a National Assembly law, so there is nothing for the president to implement. It is regrettable that the president has not been properly advised by his attorney-general and the legal team.”

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