Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Sunday 7th February 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 07/02/21
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E2%80%94-cross-river-magistrates-protesting-unpaid-two Feeding Our Families Have Been Difficult — Cross River Magistrates Protesting Unpaid Two-year Salaries
In Cross River State, magistrates, who protested for several days at the governor’s office over two years’ unpaid salaries, say it’s been difficult to feed their families.
According to a Punch report, their leader, Solomon Abuo, said the judges live on loans and family and friends’ money.
He said, “Throughout these two years of the non-payment of our salaries, we have been surviving through loans we obtained from banks, friends and family members. Some of our family members and friends have been very helpful by giving us alms despite their family burdens.
“These last two years have been hellish and dehumanising because we have been reduced to beggars to survive. We can’t pay our children’s school fees, hospital bills, and house rents. Many of us have suffered the humiliation of either being thrown out of our rented apartments by our landlords or the threat of the same for being unable to pay our rents.
“Our children suffer the humiliation and psychological trauma of being driven from school because we cannot pay their fees. Feeding our families has been very difficult.”He said since the withdrawal of the protesting judges from the courts; they stayed at home in compliance with the directive of the former acting Chief Judge, Justice Eyo Effiom-Ita. Abuo said the magistrates had addressed a letter to the acting chief judge to reverse the indefinite withdrawal or sit-at-home directive as it would affect their annual performance evaluation. He said they haven’t received any response to the letter.He clarified that the judges never agreed to forgo the 24-months salary arrears.Abuo said, “We never agreed at any time to forgo our two years salaries. When the state government made the request, we quickly held an emergency meeting to unanimously refuse to accede to the request. Our position was communicated to the state government through the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Tanko Ashang, in a letter dated January 19, 2021.”He said the judges endured the non-payment for two years while sending letters to the government alongside dialogue that never worked. The failure of the government to heed, he said, led to the protest. “It took us two years to protest the non-payment of our salaries because we felt that it was better for us to appeal to the government through writing letters and dialogue. We saw this as the best approach, instead of being confrontational. Our pleas and appeals fell on deaf ears; so, we had no other choice but to resort to a peaceful protest to press home our demands.”Reacting to allegations that some of the judges compromised in the discharge of their duties, Abuo said, “To the best of my knowledge, none of us has faced any disciplinary panel of the Judicial Service Commission for acts of corruption. Our position is that, if there’s any complaint against any of us for engaging in corrupt practices, such a complaint should be promptly treated by the JSC, and if found guilty, the culprit(s) should be dealt with accordingly.”He added that the Nigerian Bar Association had assured judges of intervening by engaging with the state government to resolve it. He revealed plans for another protest peradventure the agreement reached with the state government does not materialise. “It’s undeniable that our state government is not fair to us. Every labourer deserves his wages. That is the barest minimum the government owes us. We are not asking for too much, just our salaries so that we can live a dignified life.”
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Ganduje Orders Demolition Of Structures Around Residence Of Islamic Cleric
The Kano State Government has commenced demolition of structures around the residence and mosque of Sheik Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara, who is perceived as a critic and political enemy to the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported how the cleric was put under house arrest and banned from preaching or attending the mosque as members of the DSS and police lay siege to his residence.
PHOTONEWS: Power-drunk @GovUmarGanduje Embarks On Demolition Around Residence And Mosque Of Kano Islamic Cleric After Deploying DSS, Police To Place â??Perceived Critic And Political Enemyâ?? Under House Arrest pic.twitter.com/Aq9hrQc5Gf— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) February 6, 2021
Since Wednesday, the cleric has also reportedly been denied food and other necessary supplies to his home.
It was gathered that Kabara had been allegedly challenging Salafi teachings and asking for a debate with Wahabi clerics.
Wahabi clerics of Kano, who enjoy Kano State Government’s patronage, have rejected offers of debate with Kabara and instead used their closeness to power to push for a heavy-handed clampdown on him and his followers.
The state government had on Wednesday, through the Commissioner of Information, Muhammad Garba, ordered the closure of the cleric’s mosque and house, located at Gwale Local Government Area in the Kano metropolis.
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The order was given on the pretence that the cleric insulted the “companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammed.”
While reacting to the ban, Abduljabbar described the governor’s action as political, saying that Mr Ganduje was all out to settle a score against him.
According to the cleric, the ban was not religious because he worked against the re-election of Mr Ganduje during the 2019 elections.
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Soldiers Who Escorted Herdsmen Storm Ogun Villages Again, Threaten Residents
For the second time, soldiers from 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, Ogun State, have visited some villages in Yewa North Local Government Area, Ogun State, where they had earlier brutalised residents at the instance of some herdsmen.
The soldiers had earlier escorted some herdsmen to some of the villages on December 19, 2020, and flogged many of the residents for refusing to allow the herdsmen to graze their cattle on their farmlands.
About 29 villages in the area had been attacked in recent times by terror herdsmen who were said to have camped at Eggua, a neighbouring town, from where they led their cattle to destroy farmlands within the Ketu-Yewa communities, which share borders with the Republic of Benin.
The affected villages include Ateru, Moro, Ologun, Agbon, Igbota, Ogunba-Aiyetoro, Oke-Odo, Ibore, Gbokoto, Iselu, Ijale, Ohunbe, Igbeme, Ijoun, Owode-Ketu, Igan-Alade, Lashilo, Oja Odan, Moro, Ologun, Iyana Meta, Igbooro, Egbeda and Kuse, TheNation reports.
The story has not been refuted by the Nigerian Army or the federal authorities many days after publication.
Worried by the development, some traditional rulers in the area had written a petition against the soldiers, the state government, and the police in the state.
In a bid to silence the brutality victims, about six soldiers, led by one Captain John Onyebuchi, visited some of the villages in the Yewa North Local Government Area of the state again at about 2 pm on Friday, January 29, 2021.At Ubeku, in the presence of the Baale (village head) Chief Olaleye Adigun, a youth leader, Peter Koposhu, and other villagers, the soldiers asked one of their victims, Seye Mulero to recant his statement published in the petition and some national dailies.According to a four-minute audio recording of the event that transpired during the visit and obtained by TheNation, Captain Onyebuchi revealed that the Army headquarters was worried by the petition it received and news report over the allegation that men of 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta escorted herdsmen to the affected communities where they brutalised some villagers for refusing herdsmen to graze their cattle on their farmlands.In the said audio recording, Onyebuchi was heard frantically asking Mulero to make a video recording of the retraction to save the Army from embarrassment. However, according to the Nation, the victim refused to retract his statement, insisting that he was flogged and badly wounded.Disturbed by Mulero’s stance, Onyebuchi said: “The story says ‘Soldiers escort herdsmen to Ogun villages… At that point, the soldiers seized him and beat him mercilessly…’“See, this is a weighty allegation, and we will not take it for granted.“The (Nigeria) Army got in touch with Alamala (35 Artillery Brigade), which in turn sent me here. I have to write a report on the investigation because I must report back to the person who sent me here.“…I want you (youth leader) to video him (Seye) because your name is what we have in the petition. Your name is what we have, so you (youth leader) will record him now, he will call his name and say that nobody touched him.”Onyebuchi then asked that Mulero be filmed while refuting the story that he was beaten by soldiers who escorted herders to the village.“He will call his name as you are recording him and say that all these are false. Nobody touched him and whatever he said, nobody forced him to say; he said it out of his free will in the presence of the Baale and the youth leader and, of course, members of the community.“Are you getting me? Go ahead…if that is done, I think I am okay with it.”However, the soldier warned that the failure of the victim to make the retraction might force the Army to return to arrest him and shun any distress call from the community.He said: “Let me tell you what this thing means. There’s a need to clear this air. If you don’t clear it, next time they call, the Army will not respond because you people have alleged and penned the Army’s name in a bad light (sic) and the Army will not respond when there is an emergency in this place.“If they don’t respond, you can’t blame them. So, the need to clear this is very important. If I were you, I would come out clear because your name is everywhere in the petition they wrote; that you were beaten mercilessly, and look at you here.“Say it that whoever is doing it is doing it on his own; that you didn’t send anybody.“If you like, pretend to feign lack of understanding by saying ‘mi o gbo, mio gbo (I don’t understand)’, that is your problem… If tomorrow they come here and pick you up that you were using the Army’s name anyhow, you will go in for it. So, the earlier you clear the air, the better for you.”However, Mulero refused to be intimidated, saying: “…I was flogged. You can see the wounds on my back and still feel pains. The soldiers beat me up, kicked me, and dealt blows on me. Even parts of my body swelled up.”Mulero’s younger brother, Gabriel, who the soldiers also flogged, said the soldiers’ second coming had heightened fears among the villagers.He said: “The soldiers wore red berets, which suggested they were military police. They left around 4 pm. They met with the Baale, the youth leader Peter Koposhu and other villagers.“They came in a military van and left disappointed after my brother refused to do what they wanted of him.”The second visit of soldiers to the communities has created tension and panic in the area as residents are beginning to relocate for fear of being apprehended by the minions.The villagers see continued harassment by military men to indicate more trouble on the horizon. They fear that soldiers could arrest and further intimidate those perceived to be opposed to them and the herdsmen they are backing.A villager, Daramola Adekola, said he was one of the people contemplating relocating from his village. He condemned what he termed as orchestrated oppression by soldiers following the community’s rejection of herders.Adekola said: “I am an indigene of this community, but life has become miserable for us, especially those of us who are farmers, following the destruction of our crops and farmlands by herdsmen.“Since we have been crying out to security forces for protection from the herders who have been killing our people, including children, and raping our women, the military did not for once respond to our cries.“But look at the way they escorted herdsmen to forcibly graze in our villages and beat some of our people mercilessly for rejecting the herders.“Now, they returned after our plight, which was published by The Nation went viral and resorted to forcing the victims to recant following what they termed the embarrassment the report caused the Army.“I am one of those considering leaving the community, because many of us fear that they may come back again to further deal with us, going by the countenance of the officer who led the soldiers after the victims refused to recant what was published in the petition and the newspaper.”Reacting, the spokesperson for 35 Artillery Brigade, Major Osoba, confirmed that Captain Onyebuchi went to the villages on the said date and therefore was in the best position to explain what transpired.He said: “Captain John Onyebuchi is one of our officers here, and he is the officer in charge of legal services.“But since Captain Onyebuchi is the one who went to the villages, I want to advise you to demand his phone contact from the villagers, so you can call him because he is in the best position to explain to you what happened there.”
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The Political Economy Of Insecurity (1) By Kunle Wizeman Ajayi
Kunle Wizeman Ajayi
The crises of insecurity has opened a damning page in the life of Nigeria. From Borno to Badagry, citizens are sleeping with one eye open. The military and police are operating exclusively to protect the bosses and their anti-people policies. The only concern of the remaining carcasses of the armed forces is to prevent organized mass revolts. Bandits; Boko Haram; state looters; and such other armed actors are having free days in their businesses. Herders and farmers clashes have turned a national phenomenon as most herders desert war-torn North moving Southwards.
From Ibarapa in Oyo state to the farms in Abraka, Delta state; farmers are clashing with herders. Most of the herders are Fulani and this has spinned the issues into ethnic dimensions. As these go on, unemployment is skyrocketing, while Nigeria retained it’s inglorious award as the world headquarters of corruption and poverty.
Of course, the vacuum of resistance is never there. Various responses continue to bash the spate of insecurity wholly and sectorally. Except for the #RevolutionNow and #EndSARS agitations employing holistic approaches to tackling the issues headlong by calling for a total system on rainbow shapes, organized resistance has been ethnic, religious and intra-class based. The loudest of these resistance today are a mishmash of odd activism reactions from within the top. Olusegun Obasanjo, under whose regime many of these insecurity issues were rooted and germinating, takes the lead amongst reactions from the top.
Kunle Wizeman Ajayi
This piece will thrust itself into understanding and explaining these issues of insecurity by focusing on the root causes which is consequent upon the politics and economic undergrowth and maldevelopment which has torn the fabrics of society into shreds.
HERDERS/FARMERS AND THE DEPLETED AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
Farmers in the south are now calling for the “evictions” of criminal herders who are operating in Fulani settlements. These settlements have been existing for donkey years without violence until recently. This is caused by the deadly activities of Boko Haram and bandits in the Northeast and Northwest. The farms have been mostly abandoned to these insurgents as peasants are tired of paying ransoms to till their own lands.
So, many herders move down south to operate, just as they did moving to the North Central especially Benue and Plateau few years back. And in these movements, the herders clash with farmers whose farms become preys. Already, most of these farms have been left solely in private hands to work on causing agelong neglects and poor outputs as the sector has been abandoned by government in fulfilment of the dictates of the Structural Adjustment Program policies that abhor government intervention in business. No agricultural loans or regulations to farmers. Landgrabbers and kidnappers turn the farms and forests to their offices. And food prices turns to luxury daily!
The dried Lake Chad was a major cause of the movement to Benue and Plateau by the herders but the government refused to nip it in the bud. Instead, the Miyetti Allah got empowered to conduct open grazing without any forms of regulations. Many rulers are involved in the cattle business and this emboldens the herders to arm poor and illiterate herders whose inhuman working conditions are alarming to double as security for the cattles. The herders are also condemned to live in forests and intrude into people’s farms for the survival of the cattles.
In response to these ruinous activities of the herders, farmers put up resistance and violence ensues. The herders, having being more armed and with the habitual battles in the forests become the more violent and criminal.
Government’s conscious irresponsibility allows open grazing instead of ranching with real control and regulations. Countries like Argentina and Switzerland takes responsibility for herding through ranching and such other safe and productive methods.
The attempt to force on RUGA by the Buhari government carried two k-legs. One is the fact that it is infamous to make states provide open lands for privately-owned herds. And the cattle business is wrongly seen as an ethnic business.
The cattles in open grazing are owned by rich people who are scattered in many ethnic groups. But the herders who are mere workers are mostly Fulani. These cattle owners only care about their gains. They neither care about the social crises the business is inflicting on the populace, neither do they care about the burden of penury and protections the herders are facing.
RUGA too is a half-hearted idea that lacks genuity and clarity. The cattle business was once regulated and glowed. The Obudu Cattle Ranch (as it then was) shows the example of regulated cattle business that is acceptable, safe, and productive. But the Buhari government, just like the Jonathan’s; Yar’adua’s; Obasanjo’s and others before it till those rulers from the 80s are in bed with neo-liberal capitalism dictated by World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). They all impose an open, ridiculous, and barbaric lie that “government has no business in business.” So, the welfare of farmers and herders are not the government’s concerns. Yet, in the agricultural sector, loans are granted to very few rulers to grab lands and control large subsistence farms. These few farms, of course, cannot feed hundreds of millions. The result is food price hikes as importation becomes the order of the days.
To resolve the herders/farmers clashes and reduce the kidnappings and violence, government must return to proper ranching as a form of renationationalisation of the cattle business. Other forms of farming must follow such government planning, funding, and regulations.
To reduce drastically the kidnappings and violence in the immediate, farming communities must raise their own communal security and avoid the interventions of Robin Hoods who would turn the case to inter-ethnic jingoism as can be seen in the South today. The lessons from the Gana case in the Tiv farmers versus the Fulani farmers is very copius!
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E2%80%94-apostle-suleman Viral Audio: I’m Sorry For Being Angry But I Wasn’t Speaking With Davids — Apostle Suleman
Apostle Suleman
General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleman, has apologised for his outburst in a viral audio clip in which he was heard threatening to make someone ‘disappear’.
Earlier on Saturday, a former Pastor in his church, Mike Davids, released the audio claiming it was his conversation with Suleman.
Apostle Suleman
Davids had accused Suleman of sleeping with his wife, Faith Edeko, who currently heads an Abuja branch of the church.
But reacting to the development in a new video, Suleman admitted that his voice was in the audio clip and that he truly responded angrily.
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However, he claimed that the audio clip was from a conversation he had with a lady who he told to stop calling him three years ago, and not from a phone conversation with Davids.
The cleric further accused Mike Davids of conspiring with other former pastors in his church “who he disciplined”, to blackmail him.
He also revealed that he relieved Davids of his duties as a pastor in Omega Fire Ministries because he has a ‘black heart’, while also accusing him of always planning evil against other pastors.
Apostle Suleman urged Davids to repent before it is too late, saying there’s still a spot for him in the Kingdom.
Suleman said, “There is viral audio going on now of me threatening someone over the phone to stay off my phone, or the person will die prematurely.
“That voice was mine, It was three years ago. I reacted out of anger and I am sorry about it. After 2017, my mentality on life changed; I became very unreceptive.
“That was me on the phone threatening a young lady to go off my phone and stop talking to me on the phone. It was a mistake I made out of anger. It happened three years ago. I have apologised to my wife for allowing anger to get a hold of me, but I’m so disappointed at Mike Davids that he has released audio that he doctored and put his voice, presented it to the world like I was threatening him after he did a video about his wife.
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“Audio Proof” Released Against Me Was Doctored—Apostle Suleman
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“Why will I call you to threaten you when the video made no sense, Mike Davids? I want to advise you; you can still repent now. I sent you out of Omega Fire Ministries, not because of your human weakness, because everybody has a problem.
“I’m not a perfect man, I’m human, I make mistakes. I’m not perfect. I sent you out of Omega Fire Ministries because of how evil your heart is; you spend all your time plotting against people, planning against pastors, thinking of how to bring pastors down. That was why I sent you out of the ministry.
“You dissolved your marriage with your wife, and she was suffering. We decided to help her, you said no, that she must eat from the gutters and suffer. As a father who raised her, should I let her suffer? My wife spoke to me about the need for us to support her and the children. You said you want your wife back, you live in Abuja with your wife, you never called her.
“You were once my son. My worry is how black your heart is, please change; there is still a place for you in the kingdom. I’m not a perfect man, I reacted out of anger, and I apologise. I never spoke to him for two years and I haven’t talked to him. All the people I disciplined and rebuked, he’s plotting with them to set up blackmail.
“He has said he has blackmail of chats, text messages… and I told him, release whatever you have, it means nothing to me. I made a mistake by reacting out of anger three years ago when I was talking to that lady to stay off my phone. I apologise to everybody; to my family, to Omega Fire Ministries for making anger take hold of me.”
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E2%80%94apostle-suleman “Audio Proof” Released Against Me Was Doctored—Apostle Suleman
Apostle Johnson Suleman
The General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleman, has dismissed a purported audio proof released by a former Pastor of the church, Mike Davids.
Davids had accused him of sleeping with Faith Edeko, his wife, who currently heads the church’s Abuja branch.
Apostle Johnson Suleman
He had released an audio clip in the early hours of Saturday, in which a voice he claimed was that of Apostle Suleman was heard threatening to “make him disappear”.
But shortly after the video went viral, on-air personality, Ifedayo Olarinde, popularly known as Daddy Freeze, said he had obtained an audio clip supposedly the original recording after calling the OFM General Overseer to hear his side of the story.
Daddy Freeze, who took to his Instagram handle, said Suleman admitted he was the one in the recording but claimed it was doctored.
Daddy Freeze wrote, “So I called @johnson_suleman_official to hear his side of the story. He said that he was the one in the recording, but it was doctored.
“I see where he is coming from; to me, this particular recording sounds more original. What’s your take?”
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We Have Video Evidence Of Herdsmen Destroying Farmers’ Crops Across Nigeria, MURIC Says
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) says it has proof that cattle owned by herdsmen destroyed crops in farms across the country.
The MURIC Director, Ishaq Akintola, who disclosed this in a statement, called on the Nigerian government to compensate farmers whose crops have been destroyed.
According to him, MURIC has evidence of herdsmen’s culpability, including video clips, in which cows destroyed farms belonging to members of the organisation.
“MURIC is now in possession of indisputable evidence of the destruction of crops on farmlands by cows brought by herdsmen.
“We sent out feelers to all states where we have branches of MURIC and the reports are overwhelmingly convincing.
“We asked our members to supply information on the activities of herdsmen in their states, including Abuja. We were stupefied by the outcome.
“The most recent report from a young member of MURIC in Ogun State, who ventured into agriculture, reads: ‘Herders invaded my five hectares of rice farm Sunday, 31st January 2021 and it was destroyed.
‘The incident happened at the Sanpro Foods farm, a rice production company whose premises is located at the Oyan farm settlement, Ibaro Rice Village, Ibaro in Abeokuta North Local Government, Abeokuta, Ogun State. The farm is along Igboora Road after the roundabout’,” Akintola said.
Akintola said a local Arabic school principal in Lagos also reported another sad incident in which herders brought cows to invade his father’s cashew farm in Ijomu-Oro, Kwara State.
The principal claimed everything was destroyed, lamenting that his father would have realised millions of naira had he been able to harvest his cashew nuts.
Akintola said: “He principal added that the fear of herders had forced farmers in Ido-Oro also in Kwara State to abandon their farms.
“This is frightening. Farmers in Kwara State are afraid of going to their farms due to herders’ activities.
“Farmers in Zamfara and Katsina have fled their farms for fear of being killed or kidnapped by bandits.
“Farmers in Ilesa, Osun State, those in Igangan, Oyo State and those in Ebonyi live in palpable fear of herders.
“From where shall food come to our tables? Famine is coming! Cows and bandits have taken over Nigerian farms.”
Therefore, he demanded swift action over the matter, adding that it was clear that the Federal Government has yet to appreciate what farmers are going through in the hands of herdsmen.
He said: “How would you feel if someone walks in and smashes all that you have been putting together for months or years?
“We, therefore, declare that farmers have been patient enough. The government should do something urgently.
“We recall our advice to the government two days ago in which we advocated payment of bailout for herders to enable them to buy land from private owners for use as ranches.
“The compensation we are now asking for farmers, who lost their crops, will be spread to all parts of the country: farmers in Benue, Ondo, Sokoto, Ekiti, Enugu, Ogun, Katsina, among others will be eligible.
“This is the way the government can take responsibility.
“Such compensation will douse tension across the country and inject a new dose of confidence in Project Nigeria.”
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Gunmen Attack Imo Police headquarters, Kill Two Officers, Injure Others
Gunmen on Friday night attacked Obowo Divisional Police Headquarters, located at Umulowe autonomous community area of Imo State and killed two police officers who were on duty.
The hoodlums also injured three other cops who resisted them from gaining access into the headquarters.
The incident caused panic in the area. This is even as security operatives drafted from the command’s headquarters in Owerri, had taken over the area.
A source told The PUNCH that the hoodlums, who operated in a vehicle, met stiff opposition from police officers who were on duty when they tried to access the police premises.
Displeased by the cops’ action who resisted them, the hoodlums opened fire at the officers, killing two police officers while their gun bullets shattered three.
One of the hoodlums was killed in the gun duel but the hoodlums drove off with their member’s corpse.
The source said, “Two policemen died in the incident. Three were wounded. One of the hoodlums was also killed but they drove off with him. The policemen who were killed were the ones who repelled them.”
A spokesperson for the state police command, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed that the hoodlums killed two police officers.
He also said that the three other policemen who were wounded during the incident had been discharged from a local hospital where they were rushed to and transferred to a better hospital in the state capital.
Ikeokwu added that the command had drafted cracked teams of detectives in the area and commenced an investigation.
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Court To Hear Suit Against Nigerian Government Over NIN Registration, SIM Deactivation February 8
he Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, has fixed February 8 for the hearing of the case against the Nigerian government over the compulsory linking of SIMs with valid National Identification Number.
This followed a petition by Monday Ubani, a former vice-president of Nigeria Bar Association, against the Federal Government, the Attorney General of the Federation, Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
Ubani had in the petition sought to enforce his fundamental rights in the origination summons brought according to Section 44(1), 39(1)(2) and 33(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended and under the inherent jurisdiction of the court as preserved by section 6 of 1999 constitution as amended.
He also prayed the court to grant an order directing the respondents to extend the deadline for SIM-NIN linkage for at least one year as the court may consider reasonable.
But at the last hearing, one of the respondents argued that the applicant had no locus standi and has not complied with pre-action notice as required by the NCC Act.
However, the court accommodated the processes and warned that all parties must be served timeously, while Ubani, the applicant, was mandated to respond to the preliminary objection within 48 hours.
Therefore, the court adjourned the case’s hearing and judgment to Monday.
Ubani said: “The truth of the matter is this: if between 2012 and now, the country is only able to register about 56 million Nigerians, one is clearly at a loss on how the same country will perform the magic of registering about 70 million subscribers within four months, which is between January and April 2021.”
Ubani also cited the crowded and chaotic scenes at most NIMC registration centres in the country when the nation is battling a spike in COVID-19 cases.
He said the development demonstrates “the lack of wisdom in insisting on the earlier or later deadline as the situation on the ground depicts flagrant non-adherence to the simple social distancing protocols established by the National Taskforce on COVID-19 pandemic, thereby endangering lives”.
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VIDEO: Sowore Confronts Officer Who Tortured, Broke His Nose As Police Sends Same Squad To Intimidate Activist In Court
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