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A member of the Resource Forum of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Mohammed Ibrahim has said the members of the group are certain that justice will be served and that their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky will be freed from prison. 

The next court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, July 28 at the Kaduna State High Court. 

Ibrahim said members of the group are patiently waiting for the court to establish a ”no-case submission" regarding the charges levelled against their leader, who has allegedly been tortured and assaulted since 2015.

He noted that the Kaduna state government had made contradictory claims at various points in the case, which he said was proof that El-Zakzaky was innocent. 

He called on all Nigerians and every kind-hearted individual in the world to patiently and keenly watch as events unfold. 

A statement Ibrahim sent to SaharaReporters read, “The Islamic Movement in Nigeria is patiently waiting for the establishment of 'No case submission' on the flimsy charges filed against Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife by the Kaduna State government come July 28, 2021.

“You may recall the 12 December 2015 Zaria Massacre which was carried out by the Nigerian Army under the pretext of blocking the road to the then Chief of Army Staff (Tukur Buratai). That was the claim and propaganda used to deceive the majority gullible Nigerian public (sic). 

“However, immediately after the court verdict passed by Hon. Justice Kolawole in Abuja, the Kaduna State Government through its Attorney and Commissioner for Justice, filed charges against Sheikh El-Zakzaky and his wife which among others include abetment to culpable homicide. 

“This is contradictory and antithetical to their earlier claims and propaganda that Army Chief's road was blocked by IMN members. 

“Thus, while testifying before Justice Gwada of Kaduna State High Court, a police officer and witness brought by complainant confirmed to the court that the said Seargent Dankaduna was apparently killed by a friendly bullet fired by one solider during their attack at Gyallesu Zaria in December 2015.

“Therefore, it will interest you to note that all the charges levelled against Sheikh El-Zakzaky were the same charges filed against the over 200 IMN members prosecuted by the Kaduna State government before the state high courts, which eventually discharged and acquitted all the Defendants. 

“Hence our case today is a call and reminder to the general public and particularly the people of conscience in the world of humanity, equity, and natural justice that we have preserved and endured enough over the incarceration of our leader. 

“We have tolerated enough but we are grateful to Almighty Allah for giving us the strength, morale, and courage to withstand the prosecution and all sorts of oppressive and repressive powers exerted upon us by this government as He spares all our lives to witness the end of this case. 

“Nigerian citizens and the people of conscience all over the world are keenly and patiently watching the trend of events as they unfold regarding this case. We are very much confident that the court will be left with no option but to do justice, paving the way for yet another victory for us and humanity in general.”

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Whereas others are for or against the sacked pastors of Living Faith Church; for or against the church and its presiding bishop, Dr David Oyedepo, I'm for neither.

First, for the pastors I'm sure they weren't recruited from the streets and deployed to the churches, they must’ve been members of the church a while and ought to have been immersed in its culture. They ought to have known about meeting and exceeding expectations. For instance, if the church itself grew by 10,000 additional branches last year alone with its COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions notwithstanding, one would expect them to know that nothing less is to be expected of any one of them, and not only them but everyone else in the system.

Sesugh Akume

Second, I want to believe they went through different levels of pastoral training before being ordained and commissioned, and at the point of employment they knew what they were signing up for.

Every staff and/or member of the church must've heard of the critical ministry handbook The Mandate: Operational Manual Living Faith Church Worldwide Winners Chapel written by the founding/presiding bishop himself, the most critical resource material of the commission next to the Bible. I expect all staff to have read it to know what is expected of them.

Third is, thousands of pastors were employed last year alone, why then would anybody be among 40 of those found to be unfruitful? I'd do my best never to be among the least 40 of even 100, not even of 1,000. We're talking 10,000 here!

I've seen the Sahara Reporters' news report of one of the laid off staff blowing the whistle about how his (now former) colleagues doctor figures, report fund collections that are not true with the active connivance of others in the system, and make up for the falsified records from their salaries. He went ahead and said many of them don't have meeting halls, no congregations, etc but create the illusion with the false filings, a practice characterised as ‘wisdom’ or ‘applying wisdom’ which he couldn't do.

First, I personally don't appreciate people who care about a system so much after leaving or on their way out. This, he could've said when inside to save the system. Second, why would anybody draw a salary for doing nothing? What are they being paid for? Third, there are many who report accurate figures and are visibly growing or is everybody reporting growth falsifying figures? The gentleman should take several seats!

On the other hand, I'm not pleased either with the manner in which the pastors were sacked. I know church is business but if it's done in the name of Christianity, my opinion is that the motivation for all in Christianity is love. Meaning whatever is done ought to be in love, sacking unproductive workers inclusive.

Many claim Jesus said any tree that bears no fruit will be yanked off. But these aren't trees are they? They are human beings. Those who say these things forget the part where an unfruitful tree was to be uprooted but the master asked it to be manured again for another season to see whether it would be fruitful or not before deciding.

I've seen no record of the underperforming pastors being interacted with to find out what the issues might be, and seeking to help them fulfill their commission, failure of which they were relieved of their duties. In my opinion, it's the humane way to go about it.

From the letter seen in the public domain, the sack was ‘with immediate effect’ as they were required to vacate their living quarters same day! I think people should be given notice to quit and not hounded out of their residences same day, even if they are bachelors and live alone. They didn't kill anybody or commit any crime, they simply didn't meet the ‘church growth index’. 

I think relieving people of their duties can be made painless, after all they are leaving. I think business should be done some humanity and consideration.


Sesugh Akume, a public policy analyst, wrote from Abuja. He is reached via sesugh.akume@gmail.com, and tweets @sesugh_akume.

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The United States of America says it sold A-29 Super Tucanos to the Nigerian government to support the most populous black nation’s fight against terrorism.

The US’ Chargé d’Affaires, Kathleen FitzGibbon said this during the assessment of the newly arrived first six American Sierra Nevada Corporation/Embraer Defense and Security A-29 “Super Tucano” Light Attack aircraft on Tuesday.

A statement by United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria quoted FitzGibbon as saying that the aircraft represented a historic level of partnership achieved between the US and the Nigerian military.

“Beyond the new hardware that you see on this runway, this programme has brought our two militaries closer in formal training, professional development, air base construction, logistics planning, and negotiations. We are proud to partner with Nigeria in its ‘whole of government’ approach to end violent extremism and ensure a more stable, prosperous country for all Nigerians,” FitzGibbon added.

Also, Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard welcomed the pilots and aircraft to Massachusetts on the first leg of their trans-Atlantic flight.

The statement added, “The Super Tucano is a dual-pilot turboprop aircraft built as a workhorse combat air platform, equipped for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and for precision air-to-ground strike missions. The next six aircraft are scheduled for delivery later this year.

“The Super Tucano platform for Nigeria is the United States’ largest Foreign Military Sales program in Sub-Saharan Africa, valued at almost $500 million. This programme follows the Department of Defense’s 'Total Package Approach' model and includes spare parts for several years of operation, contract logistics support, munitions, and a multi-year construction project to improve Kainji’s infrastructure.

“Through this programme, the US Air Force’s 81st Fighter Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, trained Nigerian pilots and maintenance crews to US standards. Training also emphasises the Law of Armed Conflict and Civilian Casualty Mitigation, which are fundamental principles of the Nigerian military’s professional education and training.

“With the A-29 Super Tucano purchase, the Nigerian Air Force also has become a founding member of the US Air Force’s 'Combined Light Attack Experiment,' which is developing Light Attack global best-practice tactics and doctrine for the 21st century.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had placed an order for 12 Super Tucano fighter jets after elaborate deliberations with the US government.

The Nigerian Air Force last Thursday took delivery of the first batch of six jets from the US.

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The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba on Tuesday ordered the posting and deployment of 24 Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) to Zonal Commands and formations.

This was contained in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO, Frank Mba.

Inspector-General of Police (IGP)

According to the statement, former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commissioner of Police (CP), Bala Ciroma, who was promoted to AIG last Monday, has been moved to Zone-7 Abuja.

AIG Usman Belel, AIG John Amadi and AIG Adeleke Adeyinka were posted to FCID Annex Lagos, Maritime and Zone 9 Umuahia respectively.

The statement read, “In line with the new Manpower Development Policy of the Force, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, psc (+), NPM, fdc, has ordered the posting and redeployment of twenty-four (24) Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) to Zonal Commands and Formations as indicated below: AIG SPU FHQ ABUJA – AIG ZAKI M. AHMED, AIG ZONE 4 MAKURDI – AIG MUSTAPHA DANDAURA, AIG CTU FHQ ABUJA – AIG DANSUKI D. GALADANCHI, mni, AIG ZONE 17 AKURE – AIG OKON ETIM ENE, mni, AIG BORDER PATROL FHQ ABUJA – AIG USMAN D. NAGOGO, AIG ZONE 7 ABUJA – AIG BALA CIROMA, AIG ZONE 9 UMUAHIA – AIG ADELEKE ADEYINKA BODE, AIG ZONE 13 UKPO-DUNUKOFIA AWKA – AIG MURI UMAR MUSA, COMMANDANT POLAC WUDIL-KANO – AIG LAWAL JIMETA TANKO, AIG FCID ANNEX LAGOS – AIG USMAN ALHASSAN BELEL, AIG DOPS FHQ ABUJA – AIG ADEBOLA EMMANUEL LONGE, AIG INVESTMENT FHQ ABUJA – AIG MUSA ADZE, fdc.

“AIG DICT FHQ ABUJA – AIG PHILIP SULE MAKU, fdc, AIG ZONE 6 CALABAR – AIG USMAN SULE GOMNA, AIG COOPERATIVE – AIG ADAMU USMAN, AIG ZONE 3 YOLA – AIG DANIEL SOKARI-PEDRO, mni, AIG DTD FHQ ABUJA – AIG AHMED MOHAMMED AZARE, AIG FCID ANNEX KADUNA – AIG MAIGANA ALHAJI SANI, AIG ZONE 12 BAUCHI – AIG AUDU ADAMU MADAKI, AIG MARITIME LAGOS – AIG JOHN OGBONNAYA AMADI, mni, AIG ZONE 8 LOKOJA – AIG EDE AYUBA EKPEJI, AIG ARMAMENT FHQ ABUJA – AIG MOHAMMED L. BAGEGA, AIG ZONE 15 MAIDUGURI – AIG BELLO MAKWASHI and AIG WORKS FHQ ABUJA – AIG BALARABE ABUBAKAR.”

The IGP assured that the posting and redeployment of the Senior Police Officers will further help in driving the new policing vision, which amongst other things, is targeted at improving policing services and effectively responding to security threats in the country.

Baba said the posting and the redeployment of the Senior Police Officers is with immediate effect.

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October 4, 2021 has been fixed to hear a suit by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), challenging the legality of Nigeria Government’s suspension of the operations of micro-blogging and social media website, Twitter, by a Federal High Court in Lagos. 

The suit numbered FHC/L/CS/613/202 was filed by Incorporated Trustees of the NBA  on June 18, following the government’s June 4 threat to prosecute Nigerians who defy the directive by continuing to use Twitter.

The first to fourth defendants are President Muhammadu Buhari; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) respectively.

The NBA's 7-member legal team, led by Dr Charles Mekwunye, is seeking 11 reliefs, which include a declaration that the ban or suspension of the micro-blogging site is unlawful and a declaration that any prosecution of users of the site will be unconstitutional.

The body is also seeking a declaration that the ban affects the businesses, employments and economic activities of lawyers and Nigerians generally and an order mandating all mobile network and internet service providers to unblock the use of the micro-blogging and social media site.

A similar suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos was initiated by the Chairman of the NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA/SPIDEL), Monday Ubani. 

Similarly, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has dragged the Buhari government before the Federal High Court in Abuja and the ECOWAS Court of Justice.

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Though a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to release five #BuhariMustGo activists, including a blind saxophonist, arrested at the Dunamis International Gospel Centre in Abuja, the secret police have refused to heed the court order. 

The activists were arrested, detained, and assaulted for wearing #BuhariMustGo T-shirts to the church.

But Justice A. I. Chikere of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the DSS to immediately release the five activists namely: Ben Mannaseh, Emmanuel Larry, Victor Udoka Anene, a blind Saxophonist, Samuel Gabriel Iwatonaiye, and Henry Nwodo from custody. 

However, since the court ruling, the DSS has not released the activists from illegal detention. 

A source on Tuesday told SaharaReporters that, to frustrate the activists' suit at the Federal High Court, the DSS took them to a Magistrate's Court. 

SaharaReporters, however, learnt that the magistrate refused to arraign them on any charge without legal representation for the activists.  See Also Human Rights BREAKING: Court Orders Nigeria's Secret Police To Immediately Release 5 Activists Illegally Arrested, Detained For Wearing #BuhariMustGo T-Shirts To Dunamis Church 0 Comments 1 Day Ago

"They took the activists secretly to a Magistrate's Court last Monday as soon they heard their (activists') lawyers had filed a fundamental enforcement lawsuit before a Federal High Court. 

"But the Abuja Magistrate refused to have them arraigned, insisting that they must be afforded legal representation," the source said. 

SaharaReporters had reported that the victims of the illegal arrest and detention were abused by church officials before being handed over to DSS operatives on July 4.

Iwatonaiye and four others had sued the Director-General of the DSS, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and pastor of the church, Paul Enenche over their illegal arrest, detention and violation of their rights. 

The youths have been in detention of the secret police since July 4 for wearing #BuhariMustGo T-shirts to the church.

They took the matter to court, seeking an order restraining the DSS and other respondents in the suits from violating their fundamental rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression and the press as guaranteed under Sections 35, 38, 39, and 42 of the 1999 Constitution.

They also asked the court to protect their rights to freedom from discrimination and personal liberty guaranteed under Articles 1, 2, 6, 8 and 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (CAP. A9), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The applicants urged the court to order their immediate and unconditional release from the DSS custody, which wae granted but disobeyed by the lawless secret police. 

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Ifeanyi Ejiofor, personal lawyer of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu says he will visit his client on Thursday, SaharaReporters has gathered.

The legal practitioner said procedures had been taken to guarantee his visit to his client who is being detained by the Department of State Services (DSS).

File photo used to illustrate story.

He also said from available information, Kanu was not at any risk.

Ejiofor disclosed this to SaharaReporters on Tuesday, adding that the IPOB leader's supporters around the world will be informed about his state of health after the visit.

On Monday, the DSS failed to produce the IPOB leader for his trial before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

His absence forced the case to be adjourned to October 21, and had created apprehension for many his supporters around the world.

Ejiofor said, “Given the fact that our client, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was not produced in court yesterday, and serious safety concerns being entertained by all and sundry, and more especially in keeping in line with subsisting court order that directed for specific visiting hours and days, may I respectfully put the world on notice, and millions of our supporters that I will personally be visiting our client, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on Thursday (next tomorrow) being 29th July, 2021.

“I will keep the world updated on the outcome of the visit; steps have been taken to notify the DSS of this impending visit.

“I will advise you all to stay glued to your clock, on the above mentioned date and time given below, as the visit will commence from 2 pm to 4 pm.

“The information available at our disposal for now has not suggested any danger to his life, but I shall say it to you all in the same language I saw things upon the conclusion of the visit.”

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Damilola Adekanya, also known as Comedian Princess has identified other two suspects who allegedly sexually harassed her 14-year-old foster child, aside from Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju Omiyinka, also known as Baba Ijesha. 

While giving evidence in court, Princess narrated before the Lagos Special Offences Court how the embattled actor, Baba Ijesha allegedly raped her 14-year-old foster daughter in her home.

There was, however, a new twist on Tuesday when the defence team, led by Babatunde Ogala, SAN, during cross-examination confronted Princess with a report she had made at the police station accusing one of her neighbours, Damola Adekola of sexually harassing the 14-year-old girl.

The defence team also confronted Princess with an allegation she had made against her gate man, accusing him of exposing himself indecently to her daughter.

Princess, in a response to why the first suspect, Adekola was arrested by the police, said it was in connection with an allegation by her daughter that he (Adekola) had attempted to sexually harass her in December 2020.

She also affirmed that she did not formally report the matter to the police until April 20, 2021, a week after Baba Ijesha's arrest. 

When she was asked why she had taken that long before making a report, Princess said she could not remember. 

Part of the cross-examination of Princess by Babatunde goes thus:

Babatunde: Who is Damilola Adekola?

Princess: He is my neighbour.

Babatunde: What did you have together?

Princess: We have some business together.

Babatunde: Why was he arrested by the police?

Princess: Because I was told by the victim that he attempted to sexually harass her.

Babatunde: When did the alleged molestation occur?

Princess: In December 2020.

Babatunde: When did you report to the police?

Princess:  A week after Baba Ijesha was arrested.

Babatunde: Why did it take you this long to report?

Princess:  I can’t remember.

Immediately after the cross-examination, journalists and members of the public inside the court were ordered out of the courtroom to allow the victim, who is a minor, to give her testimony.

The matter was subsequently adjourned till August 11, 2021.

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