Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Friday 20th December 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 20/12/19
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Adoke’ll Have His Day In Court -EFCC
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has confirmed the arrest of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke.
Adoke was arrested by the anti-graft agency after he was repatriated into the country by the Interpol following his arrest and detention in Dubai, United Arab Emirate.
Adoke would be charged to court and made to answer the allegations against him, said the EFCC in a statement.
The statement added, “Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, has arrived Nigeria from Dubai.
“Officers of the EFCC were on ground at the airport when he arrived.
“The ex-AGF will surely have his days in court.”
Adoke had travelled from Ghana where he had been using as Hideout to Dubai to oversee businesses and contacts when he was arrested by the Interpol in November.
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E2%80%99s-imprisonment Appeal Court Upholds Lawyer’s Imprisonment
Joseph Nwobike
Joseph Nwobike
The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on Thursday dismissed an appeal by a former Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joseph Nwobike.
Nwobike had approached the appellate court in a suit challenging his conviction by the Lagos State High Court, according to a PUNCH report.
Nwobike was convicted in April 2018 of attempting to pervert the course of justice by inducing court registrars to ensure that his cases were assigned to his preferred judges so he could obtain favourable judgments.
Justice Raliat Adebiyi convicted the lawyer on 12 counts and sentenced him to one-month imprisonment.
Nwobike was later stripped of his SAN rank by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee following his conviction for corruption.
Displeased with the lower court’s verdict, the senior he proceeded to appeal the matter.
However, the Court of Appeal, in its judgment on Thursday (today), dismissed Nwobike’s appeal, holding that it lacked merit.
The appellate court affirmed his conviction on counts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16 and 17.
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E2%80%99s-plan-says-malami Adoke: I Can’t Comment On Government’s Plan, Says Malami
Abubakar Malami
Abubakar Malami
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said he cannot comment on the plans of the Nigerian Government on the case of Mohammed Adoke, a former AGF under President Goodluck Jonathan.
Malami said this while taking questions from journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
Adoke was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission upon arriving Nigeria on Thursday.
Malami said, “I think there are multiple judicial cases pending before the judiciary and against the background of subsisting principle of the law, I wouldn’t want to comment one way or the other in that respect or direction because I cannot be talking in preemptive sense or preempting the judicial position as it relates to the matter.”
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E2%80%93who Number Of Males Using Tobacco Globally On Decline –WHO
The World Health Organisation in its latest report on drugs, has said that the number of males using tobacco globally has reduced.
The findings, published today in a new WHO report, demonstrate how government-led action can protect communities from tobacco, save lives and prevent people from suffering tobacco-related harm.
During nearly the past two decades, overall global tobacco use has fallen from 1.397 billion in 2000 to 1.337 billion in 2018, or by approximately 60 million people, according to the WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025 third edition.
The new report shows that the number of male tobacco users had stopped growing and is projected to decline by more than 1 million fewer male users come 2020 (or 1.091 billion) compared to 2018 levels, and 5 million less by 2025 (1.087 billion).
“Declines in tobacco use amongst males mark a turning point in the fight against tobacco,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “For many years now we had witnessed a steady rise in the number of males using deadly tobacco products. But now, for the first time, we are seeing a decline in male use, driven by governments being tougher on the tobacco industry. WHO will continue working closely with countries to maintain this downward trend.”
By 2020, WHO projects there will be 10 million fewer tobacco users, male and female, compared to 2018, and another 27 million less by 2025, amounting to 1.299 billion. Some 60 per cent of countries have been experiencing a decline in tobacco use since 2010.
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Ondo Pastor Arrested Over Missing Child Sues DSS, Demands N100 Compensation
Alfa Babatunde
Alfa Babatunde
Barely 24 hours after his church, Sotitobire Miracle Centre in Akure, Ondo State, was set ablaze by an angry mob over claims that the corpse of a one-year-old boy, Eniola Kolawole, who went missing on November 10 during a service at the place had been dug out from a section of the auditorium, Pastor Alfa Babatunde has dragged the Department of State Services to a Federal High Court sitting in Akure, over his arrest and continued detention by the secret police.
Babatunde in the suit filed by his counsel, Akinyemi Omoware, said his continued detention by the DSS without being charged to court was an abuse and violation of his fundamental human rights.
He noted that he had been arrested for over eight days and had remained in leg chains in DSS custody without food.
Joined in the suit filed are the Director-General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi, Emmanuel Anaobi, Isaac Babalola and Remi Oluwalogbon.
The applicant prayed the court to restrain the five respondents and their agents, servants, subordinates or any person(s) taking instructions from them from engaging in any further act of arrest, detention and violation of his right to liberty and or dignity of human person.
Pastor Babatunde is also asking for N100m for the violation of his fundamental human rights.
No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.
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How Poorly Executed, Uncompleted NDDC Road Projects Affect Imo Residents
Many roads in Imo State are littered with potholes and prone to flood due to lack of proper drainage system. Unfortunately, these roads include those whose contracts had been awarded and payments made.
It is on one of such roads that Fervent Chibuike, a commercial motorcycle rider earns his living.
“The roads cause accidents and damage our machines (motorcycles),” Chibuike told our correspondent as the duo prepares to journey from Bank Junction in Mbaise Local Government Area to Amachara in Ahiazu-Mbaise LGA.
As if to prove him right, the trip was aborted midway after the tyre of the young man’s motorcycle punctured.
The Umedo-Udoha and Ikeduru-Amimo Road that also connects Amachara, is a stretch of red earth, with high steeps and deep ditches that make vehicular movement almost impossible. In the middle of the road, there is a gaping crevice that disconnects the two communities.
Nkedulu Eucharia, a resident of the area, said the road had been like that for about three years.
“It has been long we have been suffering from this. The main road is demarcated into two. There is no way to pass through there,” she said.
The alternative pathway where Chibuike’s tyre got punctured, was created by a selfless citizen, Nkedulu explained.
On the same road, signposts of projects contracted out by the Niger Delta Development Commission are erected about 200 metres apart. The commission was created to fill such developmental gaps in Imo and eight crude oil-producing states in the region. Across Imo State, similar NDDC projects have been contracted but many of them are either abandoned, poorly done, or not existing at all, as discovered by our correspondent.
According to one NDDC contracting document made available to the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, over the last four years, at least N5.1bn was budgeted for projects in Imo State by the commission. Out of this sum, N3.8bn was allocated for roads and bridges.
PHOTONEWS: How Poorly Executed, Uncompleted NDDC Road Projects Affect Imo Residents
“This road, as at December last year, was rehabilitated,” he said, pointing to the dilapidated Umuezeala Road.
“It cannot survive one year after. What kind of quality of job is that? There are records of roads that have lasted over 20 years,” he added.
The bad state of the road has diverted vehicular movement away from it, a development that has affected Emeka Nkolo’s business negatively. He sells vehicles spare parts on Umuezeala Road in Ehime Mbano LGA.
“Vehicles no longer moving out here because of that, we have been cut off,” the businessman continued.
“The only route now they are taking is the other way round. This is a link from Aba to Enugu to Okigwe. Even vehicles going to Lagos pass through here to link Orlu but because of the bad road, nobody is passing through here and business is not flourishing. I come out here from morning till night, nothing is moving the way we want,” he added.
It is doubtful that the Umuezeala Road had ever been tarred. The wide potholes on the road are covered with red mud. Motorcycle riders no longer pass the main road; rather they jostle for the walkways with pedestrians hopping by the sidewalk to find dry spots to put their legs.
Mr Ifeanyi, a commercial cab driver, said apart from trailers, smaller vehicles plying the road are easily damaged. He parked his cab with a mechanic along the road. He said the bad road damaged his vehicle’s exhaust.
“Each time we pass, most cars sink here. The road is not good. Only last week, cars and motorcycles sank here. It is very bad,” lamented another motorcycle rider.
‘Urgent remedy’
The line item for the repair of the Isinweke-Ikperejere Road reads ‘Instruction To Urgently Remedy Failed & Unmotorable Sections Of Ihitte/Uboma, Isinweke – Ikperejere – Umudibia – Abueke – Uhuhu Umuahia Road In Ihitte/Uboma Lga Of Imo State.’
But three years after the contract for the road was awarded, the road is still a nightmare to users. Although the Ihitte/Uboma Local Government Area secretariat is situated along the road, no attention has been given to it. Motorists say it is usually flooded during rainy seasons.
“The dry season is an opportunity for them to fix the road but nothing is being done,” one motorist said.
A roadside mechanic, who declined to give his name, said the bad road is the cause of many faulty vehicles he repairs every day.
“Drivers are really suffering on this road. There is usually heavy traffic on the road during the week. You can see the road and record because today is Sunday. If you had come here during the week, there will be traffic,” he said.
Overtaken by flood
The road that leads to Mgbele from Oguta Motel is tarred. NDDC awarded the projects to Atlas Cedar in 2016. However, an overflowing river has overtaken half of the road.
A boat is required to cross the road – now covered with water – to the other side. The young man, who operates the boat, charges N100 per head. Motorcycle riders ferry themselves and their motorbikes to connect the other side of the road.
Residents say it happens every year, usually between September and December.
A civil engineer and Head of Operations at BOLCON Associates Limited, Victor Ajibola, said the condition of the road is a fault from the contractor.
“The problem is with the design of the road,” Mr Ajibola said. “Before construction, surveys need to be conducted on the road, then it needs to be properly designed. The survey and design would indicate that that location is a depression and as such the road would need to be raised and a culvert would be designed to accommodate the river flow.
“The reason why this problem is recurrent is because there was no design and they are just constructing it. This would always lead to continuous failure of the road,” he added.
The engineer said the contractor would have to go back to the drawing board and come up with an appropriate design to salvage the road.
“The solution is to engage a consultant that would conduct a proper survey and undertake all necessary studies; this would, therefore, lead to a good road design.
“Now, the design that would be done would ensure that all water bodies along or across the road is taken into consideration and would be taken care of through provision of culverts or bridges
“But you cannot come up with a one-off solution for this without doing all necessary survey and designs. Most basic thing is to have a culvert to pass the stream flow underneath the road,” he said.
Drainages that lead nowhere
The Oguta Motel to Mgbele Road is not the only poorly constructed road, many of the completed roads tracked by our correspondent suffer one deficiency or the other. For some it was lack of drainage system, for others it was that the drainage was poorly done.
In Nwangele Local Government Area, many of the roads were constructed with uncompleted drainages. The tube-like holes were dug on both sides of the road but the paths lead water to nowhere.
Ajibola said the lack of water path on the road would lead to erosion.
“Based on the fact that there is no passage for the water to pass underneath the road, this would lead to the formation of gullies across the road,” he stated.
Indeed, some part of the tarred roads awarded to various contractors three years ago, have been washed away. There are also multiple potholes on the roads. A resident, Elizabeth Nwachukwu, whose home is by the Abba-Owerri-Nkworji Road (Lot 1), said workers were still on the road three months ago.
Ajibola said the solution is to construct a culvert that would collect water from the drain on one side of the road and pass it to an adjoining drain on the other side.
Other roads like Nkwo Umuowa Road in Orlu LGA that were slated for construction are yet to start years after.
According to a document seen by PTCIJ, the Nkwo Umuowa Road was slated as an ongoing project as at 2011 but there was no sign of an ongoing work when our correspondent visited in November of 2019.
Emmanuel Onyema, a resident, said contractors came on the site about three years ago but merely took the survey, did preliminary works and went back.
“Two to four years ago, they came up and said they were going to construct it under NDDC but after using the dredger to dredge it, they went and never came back again.
“The road is not passable at all. A pregnant woman cannot pass this road without feeling pains,” he said.
When asked about the several uncompleted roads in Imo State, NDDC spokesperson, Charlie Odili, said he had no comment.
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United States Legislator, Karen Bass, Expresses Concern Over Sowore’s Rearrest
Karen Bass, a member of the United States House of Representative, has expressed shock over the rearrest of journalist, Omoyele Sowore, in court by the Department of State Services.
In a statement on Wednesday, Bass, while calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to respect rule of law and due process, said, “Nigerian citizens have the right to exercise civil liberties without harassment and arbitrary arrest.
“I am alarmed by the rearrest of Mr Sowore and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, just hours after their release, especially the violent manner in which this all was conducted.
“There are currently numerous journalists and activists in detention in the country.
“I am increasingly concerned about Nigeria’s attacks on freedom of expression. Nigeria’s own rule of law and due process must be respected.”
Sowore was rearrested on December 6 by the DSS at the Federal High Court, Abuja, barely 24-hours after he was released on bail.
This was after he had spent 125 days in detention for calling on Nigerians to take to the streets in peaceful demonstrations to demand a better country from the administration of President Buhari.
The Nigerian Government is accusing him of insulting Buhari and planning to bring down his regime.
Despite being rearrested and thrown in unlawful detention for two weeks now, the 48-year-old journalist is yet to be told the reason for his rearrest and continued incarceration after two court orders directing his freedom on bail.
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BREAKING: Adoke Arrested By EFCC In Abuja
Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Bello Adoke, has been arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Adoke was arrested upon landing at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday afternoon.
The Interpol had repatriated Adoke and handed him over to the EFCC after five weeks of detention in Dubai.
He is currently being transported to the office of the anti-graft agency in Abuja.
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Gunmen Abduct Sons Of Kaduna Businessman
A businessman based in Kaduna, Christian Obi, said his three sons were on Thursday abducted by gunmen dressed in military fatigues.
“I saw them taking away my three sons. I couldn’t raise alarm, but within me, I was in silent tears,” Obi, who has lived in Kaduna for 38 years said.
An eyewitness, who requested to stay unnamed, said she saw three men, two of whom were in the security garb.
She said, “Immediately I saw them through the glass, I knew they were fake military men. I went to hide somewhere within my house but kept watching their steps.”
No ransom has been named by the kidnappers as at the time of this report.
Spokesperson for the police in Kaduna State, Yakubu Sabo, said they had been made aware of the incident.
He said, “Yes we are aware of the abduction. I am working on a statement which will soon be issued.”
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NIPOST Staff Protest Ceding Of Stamp Duty Collection To Federal Inland Revenue
Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, was on Thursday held up for about 30 minutes at the Ministry of Finance by staff of the Nigeria Postal Service protesting the ceding of stamp duty collection from NIPOST to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Uduk, and Minister of State, Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mr Clement Agba, were among those also temporarily prevented from attending the public presentation of the 2020 budget by the protesters.
The NIPOST staff were protesting plans by Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to move stamp duty collection to FIRS in a bid to raise government revenue.
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