Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Saturday 4th July 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 04/07/20
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BREAKING: PDP Appoints Wike To Lead Edo Governorship Campaign Committee
The Peoples Democratic Party has appointed Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State as Chairman of the National Campaign Council for the Edo State governorship election.
Also appointed was Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, as deputy chairman of the council.
“@OfficialPDPNig NWC appoints @GovWike as Edo State governorship election National Campaign Council Chairman.
“The deputy chairman is Adamawa State governor, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Fintiri,” Kola Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary of the party, disclosed via Twitter on Friday.
Incumbent governor of Edo, Godwin Obaseki, will be representing the PDP during the election scheduled for September 19.
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Bauchi Governor, Mohammed, Suspends Emir Over Herdsmen, Farmers Clash
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has suspended the Emir of Misau, Alhaji Ahmed Suleiman, following herdmen-farmers clash in Hardawa ward under Misau Local Government Area of the state which led to the killing of nine persons.
Also suspended alongside the emir are the district head of Chiromah and village head of Zadawa or his representative.
The governor had on Tuesday, suspended the Caretaker Chairman of Misau LGA, Yaro Gwaram, the deputy, Baidu Kafin-Misau, and his secretary, Usman Abdu, for their failure to stop the violence.
The clash was over ownership of land in the surrounding settlement where herders are located and had been grazing for several years even though the land belonged to government.
The land was to be converted to farming land by the local government, a development that did not go down well with the herders.
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Armed Robbers Kill Bank Customer, Cart Away Money In Bayelsa
There was pandemonium on Friday at a new generation bank located along Sani Abacha Expressway in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, following the killing of a customer and carting away of an unspecified amount of money from the victim.
The three-man armed robbery gang, who arrived the premises of the bank in masks and inside a tinted car, shot dead the bank customer while coming out of the place with a bag suspected to contain some amount of money.
The murdered bank customer, who was later identified as Emmanuel Omomo, hails from Delta State and was into the sale of new naira notes at social events.
An eyewitness said, “Immediately the man entered a waiting tricycle (Keke), a masked gunman highlighted from a Toyota Camry car.
“On sighting the gunman, the victim ran out of the keke and moved towards the bush path behind the bank entrance where he was shot on the stomach. The gunman then shot him repeatedly on his abdomen before collecting the bag suspected of containing some amount of money, and zoomed off towards the popular Julius Berger roundabout in the waiting.”
Contacted on the development, the spokesperson for the Bayelsa State Police Command confirmed the incident and said operatives of the command had launched a manhunt for the robbers.
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BREAKING: Lagos Schools To Resume August 3
The Lagos State Government on Friday announced that students in Senior Secondary School 3 and Tech III are to resume classes from Monday, August 3.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu made the announcement during a press briefing held at State House, Marina.
The governor directed that operators of public spaces and offices should deny entry to anyone without a mask.
The Federal Government had last week approved what it called “safe reopening” of schools nationwide in the next phase of the gradual easing of lockdown ordered to curtail further spread of COVID-19.
Schools all over Nigeria have been shut down since March in a bid to contain the spread of the Coronavirus.
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Suspended Ilaro Polytechnic SUG President Reinstated By School’s Management
Adegboye Olatunji, the suspended Students Union Government President of Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, has been reabsorbed into the school system by the management of the institution.
The polytechnic authority announced the suspension of Olatunji following his arrest for alleged involvement in cult activities, which he denied.
The school suspended him without investigation nor trial by the panel of the institution.
But following the intervention of Action Committee made up of various students groups, a thorough investigation was launched and Olatunji was exonerated at the end of the day.
In a statement on Friday, Action Committee said, “It is in line with this that we demanded for the unconditional reinstatement of our comrade for he has not been convicted by the court at which the trial is ongoing.
“On Tuesday, 30th of June, 2020, the Action Committee represented by the NANS OGUN Chairman, NAOSS (Ogun) National President and TASUED Students Union President attended a meeting chaired by the Secretary to the State Government with the Director of DSS, SA to the governor on Security, Students Matters, Akeem Ambali (Ogun NLC ex-chairman) and Rector present.
“The committee presented three core demands of the struggle which are the unconditional reinstatement of his studentship, reinstatement as SUG President and withdrawal of trumped-up charges against our comrades.
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“The meeting agreed that it has the power to call for his reinstatement as a student but shall leave the court to take its decision on the case before the magistrate.
“We believe it is in line with this the reinstatement by the institution was done.
“We appreciate the intervention of the state government, the DSS, Ambali and office of the SA on Students Matters to the governor for conveying this fruitful meeting.
“Our special gratitude goes to the ever radical Nigerian students who despite all odds have chosen to remain on the side of the truth unlike the impostors who came to sellout some days before.
“We continue to appreciate the intervention of NANS National which has made the struggle much easier.
“As the SA on Students Matters to the governor presents the letter of his studentship reinstatement to the Action Committee, we want to urge ever progressive Nigerian students and well-meaning Nigerians to remain resolute until a total victory is recorded.
“In this regard, we call on the progressive Nigerian students to come in solidarity to the Magistrate Court, Ifo Local Government Area, where our comrade shall appear for his defence on Friday, 10th of July, 2020.”
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Former Kaduna Governor, Umar Dangiwa, Falana Disown New Political Movement
A former governor of Kaduna State, Umar Dangiwa, and human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, have distanced themselves from a new political party named National Consultative Front.
The party was announced on Wednesday by a group of politicians, labour leaders and human rights activists with the aim of driving reforms in the country.
Umar was listed alongside a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olisa Agbakoba; a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’abba; a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Obadiah Mailafia; Falana (SAN), Obi Ezekwesili, amongst others.
In seperate statements on Friday, the two men said they were not members of the group.
Umar said, “My attention has been drawn to a widely circulated story that I am part of the promoters of a new political movement known as the National Consultative Front.
“This is not true. I was never consulted and I am not part of the National Consultative Front.”
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In his own reaction, Falana said, “My attention has been drawn to the launching of the National Consultative Forum led by some notable Nigerians.
“I wish to commend all efforts aimed at creating an alternative platform with the potential of lifting the long suffering people of Nigeria from economic and political stupor. I also recognise the fact that some of the promoters of the NCF are people who are motivated by the common good. Many of them have made profound sacrifices to make Nigeria a better place to live.
“However, I observe that my name has been mentioned as one of the pillars behind this initiative. While I appreciate the concern of the leadership of the new group to enlist my support, I wish to say that at no time have I been consulted and neither did I attend the meeting where the forum was launched.
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“I appreciate the almost desperate situation progressive Nigerians find themselves in the bid to save Nigeria from what looks like an imminent shipwreck. This might have informed the haste with which many honest and dedicated hands find themselves.
“This clarification should not be conceived as opposition to all honest efforts designed to rescue Nigeria from the claws of abject poverty and increasing loss of hope.
“At the approriate time, we shall come before Nigerians to present the new platform which would be predicated upon pro-masses oriented anti-poverty programme, and hopefully the founders of the new intiative will be proud not to be left out.”
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Nigerian Pastor Oyakhilome, A 5G Tower Of Babel On Racism? By Chido Nwangwu
The man’s contradictory and controversial statements, especially with due regard to his revered position as a witness for Christ, are increasingly sounding like the Tower of Babel: discordant, cacophonous, confusing and confused!
Secondly, I believe that any realistic and responsible assessments of the latest dives into public policy and civil rights issues by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy Church are troubling. That is, putting it politely.
Third, it is as clear as the Texas sky that, unwittingly but sadly, I think the man is bent on establishing residence in the makeshift city of hypocrisy and lies; the city where discredited right-wing fiction and fabulistic nonsense are spread; and flourish….
Here’s the latest, toxic example — from only 3 days ago, last weekend of June 2020.
To the stinging amazement of the long-suffering and discriminated against Blacks, Pastor Oyakhilome claimed the current worldwide protests against the killing of George Floyd by police officers in the U.S. “It’s not about the guy that died; it’s not about ‘Black Lives Matter’, It’s part of the game. They want to come in with the alternative method for security – total control with microchips. That’s what it’s about…. Look at the people rampaging on the streets – they are not black people… It is not about racism…. Wearing face masks is dangerous for your health. How can we know this and prescribe it? I have told you of the dangers of social distancing. It’s inhuman… There is no science behind it.”
Fourth, to be sure, permit me to repeat the obvious: it’s all about 400 years of Racism! And Police killing Black boys as if they are children of a lesser God!!
Hence, the Pastor, like many others in Nigeria, speak in Trumpian convoluted and misguided distortion of the historical mission and civil rights trans-generational achievements of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Fifth, contrary to Pastor Chris’ claims, The Black Lives Matter movement cannot be said to be fighting for the implanting of chips RFDs into human bodies so that the security agencies can monitor the movement of every person or group of people.
It would have been funny were it not so revealing and serious. The fact is the Black Lives Matter movement is fighting and protesting against such Police State monitoring!!
No amount of spin can alter the fact that the Black Lives Matter movement created a juggernaut across multi-racial groups in the United States and around the world; more than any other person has done and more than any organization has shown the capacity!.
Sixth, the Nigerian-born religionist and businessman, born December 7, 1963, became globally notorious for arguing and preaching that coronavirus and related viruses (biological) were generated from the telephony towers of ultra-fast devices (wireless) radiation. I think it’s the maddening equivalence of yelling at the village square that your radio caused you diabetes!
With neither science nor the Bible offering him any validation of his first, major conspiracy theories, released via his April 5, 2020 video, Oyakhilome piously but misleadingly claimed 5G was the effort of unnamed “powerful forces” to build a “new world order”. and to “create the antichrist and go after the church of Jesus Christ.”
Seventh, without mincing words, increasingly and before our own eyes, we have witnessed and continue to see the sad spectacle of what I will call a pastoral self immolation! But I ask: who from his circle of close friends or within the congregation can muster the courage to tell the telegenic and gifted speaker the honest truth?
Eigth, as a student of power, social communications and political economy, it is my position that you should not fund the preachers and politicos who sing songs of anti-science and ideological backwardness . Those; singers of swine gospels of deceit and minimization of our people and our heritage. Mindlessly, they parrot the toxic agenda of white supremacists moonshine!
Finally, I am sure you’re asking the same question that I’m wondering: Why would any Nigerian or African Pentecostal, Anglican, Catholic priest, rabbi or imam champion messages of lies against the 21st century’s progressive anti-racism network and vanguard for the freedom and dignity and respect for persons of African heritage?
*Dr. Chido Nwangwu, the author of the November 2020 book, MLK, Mandela & Achebe: Power, Leadership and Identity, serves as Founder & Publisher of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com, and established USAfrica in 1992 in Houston. He is recipient of several public policy and journalism excellence honors, civic engagement and community empowerment awards and has appeared as an analyst on CNN and SKYnews. @Chido247
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Northeast: The Risks Of Losing A Generation Of Boys and Girls By Netsanet Belay
M had just returned from school and was busy cooking the day that four Boko Haram fighters came to her home in a village in Borno State. When her dad heard the sound of bikes, he dashed into the house and hid under the bed. It was an effort in futility. One of the fighters dragged him out and took him to a tree in the compound. As he pleaded for his life, one of the militants cut his throat. He died as his family watched in horror. The fighters abducted M’s mother and five siblings, but not M, and drove off.
This was back in 2014. Six years later, M does not know the whereabouts of family. Or if they are still alive. She is one of the thousands of children left traumatised by the decade-long armed conflict in northeast Nigeria. Both sides – Boko Haram and the Nigerian military – continue to commit war crimes, including against children, regularly.
Nigerian authorities should acknowledge these crimes and start paving a new path rooted in human rights.
Assault on childhood
Boko Haram’s tactics and ideology have been an assault on childhood in northeast Nigeria. Like M, many have witnessed the group kill their parents or siblings. Others have been abducted and spent years in captivity, often forced to fight or serve as a “wife”. These abductions, forced recruitment and forced marriage constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. Their scale appears to have often been underestimated. Both domestically and internationally, the focus has often been on specific, high-profile incidents, ignoring the persistent and ongoing nature of such atrocities.
Children and adults alike risk death to escape Boko Haram. Yet, for many, their trauma is compounded by the Nigerian authorities. The military, itself responsible for abuses, has unlawfully detained thousands of boys and girls coming out of Boko Haram territory, often with no evidence the child was affiliated with the group, much less that they committed crimes. In most cases, no charges are brought, even as children are held for months or years. Due process is routinely flouted. The full scale of child detention is unknown as the military has repeatedly denied access to detention facilities to the UN and other independent observers.Conditions in military detention facilities are universally deplorable. There is severe overcrowding, poor sanitation, insufficient food and water, and sexual violence. Many children have been subjected to beatings and other forms of torture to extract “confessions” of involvement with Boko Haram. The inhumane conditions of military detention have often led to serious illness, disease and, in many cases, death.
A safe corridor that isn’t safe
In 2016, the Nigerian federal government launched Operation Safe Corridor. This demobilisation, disassociation, reintegration, and reconciliation (DDRR) programme brings men and boys to a detention facility 30km outside Gombe. There, they undergo vocational training, religious instruction, and other activities meant to start the reintegration process. Although told the programme will last six months, most have been held for more than one year.Operation Safe Corridor has made some achievements, including in psychosocial support. The military is also more transparent about this DDRR programme than other aspects of its operations. But despite this, Safe Corridor remains beset by human rights violations. Above all, it marks a continuation of the widespread unlawful detention of men and boys. Almost everyone held in Safe Corridor is there absent a judicial decision or any other legal basis.
Swiftly reverse course
The federal government, including the military, needs to swiftly end its unlawful detention of children. It should recognise that detaining children is appropriate only as a last resort. It should ensure the prosecution of those who have overseen widespread torture and other ill-treatment, often leading to deaths in custody. And it should fulfil its responsibility to “promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration” of children who have suffered during the conflict, whether at the hands of Boko Haram, Nigerian military, or both.
That means children coming out of Boko Haram territory must be able to access education and psychosocial support, not be locked away for years in grossly inhumane detention cells. UNICEF has reported that only around 25% of children in Borno State are in school, a devastating failure.
Finally, in its rehabilitation programmes and other support to people affected by the conflict, the Nigerian authorities must ensure gender equity. Though the patterns of violations differ, women and girls have been hit as hard. Yet most programmes, including Safe Corridor, seem targeted at men and boys, while the initiatives that do target women and girls are far narrower – exacerbating existing power structures and inequalities in the northeast.
Absent an approach rooted in human rights, Nigeria risks losing a generation of boys and girls.
Netsanet Belay is the Research and Advocacy Director at Amnesty International.
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E2%80%99s-chief-staff-tests-positive-covid-19 Plateau Governor’s Chief Of Staff Tests Positive For COVID-19
Noel Donjur
The Plateau State Government has confirmed that the Chief of Staff to the state governor, Noel Donjur, has tested positive for COVID-19.
The state’s Commissioner for Information confirmed the development in a statement on Friday.
Noel Donjur
Donjur’s status came days after the state’s Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Abe Aku, tested positive for the virus.
The statement reads, “The Chief of Staff to the Plateau State governor, Noel Donjur, has tested positive to COVID-19 after the test that was conducted for members of the state EXCO on 1st July, 2020 following the directive of Governor Lalong.
“The outcome of the tests indicate that all other members of the state EXCO tested negative except the Chief of Staff who is asymptomatic and in good condition.
“Accordingly, health officials have commenced treatment for him at one of the isolation centres in the state capital Jos, while members of his family and other contacts are being traced and tested.
“The Chief of Staff who is in high spirits urges prayers from members of the public and also encourages people to submit to COVID-19 testing which is very important in unveiling cases and leading to treatment.
“Meanwhile, other personal aides of the governor, permanent secretaries, heads of parastatals as well as other senior civil servants conducted the test on Thursday 2nd July, 2020 and are awaiting the results.”
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PDP Grants Ondo Deputy Governor Waiver To Contest Governorship Primary Election
Agboola Ajayi
The Peoples Democratic Party has granted a waiver to deputy governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, to participate in its governorship primary election.
The primary has been fixed for July 22, 2020.
Agboola Ajayi
Nine governorship aspirants including the deputy governor have shown interest and collected nomination forms to contest the party’s ticket.
The party’s National Working Committee at a meeting held on Thursday took the decision to grant Ajayi a waiver to contest in the primary.
This was contained in a letter jointly signed by PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, and National Secretary, Senator Umaru Ibrahim Tsauri.
They explained that the NWC decided to grant a waiver after it found that the deputy governor had satisfied the relevant provisions of the party’s constitution.
According to them, the action was pursuant to the party’s constitution and in exercise of the powers of the National Executive Committee particularly under section 50(5)(b) (as amended in 2017) for granting of waiver.
Ajayi had last month defected from the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party with plans to contest in the October 10 governorship election.
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