Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Saturday 22nd February 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 22/02/20
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BREAKING: President Buhari’s Daughter, Hanan, Denies Ordering DSS To Arrest, Detain Delta Businessman Over SIM Card
Left-Right: Director-General of DSS, Yusuf Bichi; Hanan Buhari and Anthony Okolie
Left-Right: Director-General of DSS, Yusuf Bichi; Hanan Buhari and Anthony Okolie
Hanan, daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari, has said that she did not instruct the Department of State Services to arrest Anthony Okolie, a businessman based in Delta State, who was unlawfully detained for 10 weeks for using an MTN SIM card previously used by her.
Okolie dragged Hanan, MTN and DSS before a Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State, over the enforcement of his fundamental human rights.
On February 12, 2020 when the matter was heard before Justice Dimgba, Hanan did not oppose Okolie’s claims contained in an affidavit.
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DSS Detains Man Unlawfully For 10 Weeks After Purchasing MTN SIM Card Previously Used By President Buhari’s Daughter
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1 Month Ago
Upon an enquiry by the judge, who was visibly surprised that Hanan did not react to the allegations, her lawyer retorted that there was no reason to make a reply.
However, in a move that appears to be an afterthought, the lawyer has now filed a counter-affidavit on behalf of his client.
Though Hanan admitted that the MTN SIM card, which caused the dispute, was once used by her, she said she did not order the DSS to unlawfully arrest and detain Okolie for 10 weeks.
Reacting to the latest development, Okolie said it was not true that Hanan did not order his arrest.
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Man Unlawfully Detained For Using SIM Card Previously Owned By President Buhari’s Daughter Sue’s DSS, MTN, Demand N500m Compensation
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1 Month Ago
He said, “I was told by the DSS that it was Hanan Buhari that told them to arrest me.
“My file was named “first family” and they called her three different times to come to substantiate the allegations against me but she did not show up.”
Human rights lawyer and National President of Revolutionary Lawyer’s Forum, Mr Tope Akinyode, who is representing Okolie, said that he was confident his client will get justice through the court.
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BREAKING: Aso Villa Officials Stop Court Bailiff From Serving Buhari’s Daughter Over SIM Card Case
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3 Weeks Ago
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E2%80%93falana Nigerian Government Refuses To Account For $4bn Abacha Loot –Falana
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has accused the Nigerian Government of failing to account for the $4bn recovered from late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.
Falana also said that since 1999, the government had recovered about $4bn of public funds stolen by Abacha but that Nigerians were not aware of how the fund was expended by the government.
Falana, who spoke at the Anti-Corruption Situation Room conference organised by Human and Environmental Development Agenda, which focused on reviewing efforts of state and non-state actors in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
Falana said it was lack of accountability by the Nigerian Government that prompted the cautionary insult of a United States Department of State official, who mocked Nigerian leaders, asking them to ensure accountability in the disbursement of the latest over $308m warehoused in the Island of Jersey but recently released to Nigeria.
“About $4bn recovered Abacha loot is yet to be accounted for.
“One young state house official told Buhari government officials that the money must not be stolen.
“It is the most successful recovery of stolen public funds in the world. We have not been able to account for the money,” Falana said, lamenting that a former President said he recovered $2bn in eight years but when he was asked to account for the funds after a court order, he said the “judge was
foolish”.
Falana said Nigerians had been battling public officials to make open the assets declared, noting that declaration was from the Latin word declare, which means to ‘declare open’.
He said the Code of Conduct Bureau should be told the secrets surrounding asset declaration in Nigeria is illegal.
An official of Transparency International, Mr Anwal Musa Rafsanjani, said the TI report is not about corruption by the Nigerian Government but rather focuses on perception and the corruption trends in the country.
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E2%80%99t-be-suspended-oluwo-fires-back-traditional-council I Can’t Be Suspended, Oluwo Fires Back At Traditional Council
Traditional ruler of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has said that nobody can suspend him from being the monarch of the town.
He spoke in response of a punishment slammed on him on Friday by Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers over his assault on another monarch.
In a post on Instagram, Oluwo attached a video, showing him partying and dancing to a song that states that he was not pained by “abuses”.
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JUST IN: Council Suspends Iwo Monarch For Six Months Over Attack On Traditional Ruler
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He said, “I was never suspended as Oluwo of Iwoland. The Osun State Traditional Council has only recommended my suspension from the council meetings and activities for six months on the guise that my conduct (being too flashy, stylish, human rights defender and swagging); and that (the suspension) is even subject to governor’s approval. This clarification is important for the public notice!”
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Lagos Drags 20 Persons To Court For Illegal Dredging, Environmental Degradation
The Lagos State Government has arraigned 20 persons before the Lagos Mobile Court, Oshodi.
They were dragged before the court by the Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Arc. Ahmed Kabiru Abdullahi.
The suspects were arrested in Bogije, Sangotedo and Ajah axis.
They were charged on four count charges of environmental degradation, destruction of infrastructural facilities including roads, shorelines, drainages, pedestrian walkways, illegal dredging activities without approval and regulations, loss of natural resources resulting in massive loss of revenues.
They were fined N7,000 per person or asked to face six months imprisonment.
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BREAKING: Boko Haram Currently On Rampage In Adamawa Town
Boko Haram terrorists are currently on a killing spree in Garkida town in Adamawa State.
Multiple sources from the town, who managed to escape to nearby bushes, told SaharaReporters that Garkida was on fire.
Andrawus Tarfa, one source, told our correspondent that the town was covered with tick black smoke.
He said, “Boko Haram terrorists have invaded our town, all we hear is rattling gunfire, just as thick bellowing smoke has covered the sky.”
It is not clear what damage the attack may have caused to human life and property, as the raid is still ongoing.
Spokesperson for the 23 Brigade of Nigeria Army in Yola, the state capital, could not confirm the attack, saying, “You have just given me the clue, I will get back to you soon.”
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Buba Galadima: An Encounter With A Stormy Petrel By Remi Oyeyemi
Remi Oyeyemi
Remi Oyeyemi
“Every man must decide whether he will walk in light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
“The qualities of a great man are vision, integrity, courage, understanding, the power of articulation and profundity of character.”
– Dwight David Eisenhower
The mansion was thrown into the end of a closed street, not perfectly tarred. Unless one was actually invited, one would never have imagined such a mansion being ensconced in the middle of such adoring bushes. The bushes surrounding the expansive mansion seemed militant in their posture, refusing to be intimidated by the cold winter.
Lush in greenness, their defiance of the remnants of the whitish snow, making strenuous efforts to emasculate their allure was self – evident. This mansion was choked by spacious grasslands on all sides with the closest bushes being about fifty – five to sixty meters away. The quietude was deafening in its bawling.
Yes, this is winter. But as I stepped down from the Acura SUV to walk towards the doors, I savoured the adulation of the fresh air that caressed my face. My leather jacket, shielding my upper body as an effective bodyguard against the adoring surging breeze ensured the briskness of my majestic pace towards the mansion.
The defiant attitude of the bushes and the expansive environment of this lavish mansion could not have been a better metaphor for the owner and the guest snuggled within its confines. A gentleman, whom I later learnt to be an auditor at the Pentagon, opened the door for me. My host, Ogbeni Lanre Banjo, a former Treasurer to former Mayor Marion Barry of the District of Columbia, came in his heels to warmly welcome me.
Though, we have always communicated on the phone anywhere in the world, we have not seen each other for a while. Ogbeni Banjo, known personally to all the power brokers in Nigeria, from Olusegun Obasanjo to Goodluck Jonathan and Mohammadu Buhari and many others, is a congenital believer in and follower of Chief Gani Fawehinmi. He had contested the governorship position of Ogun State and had escaped organised attack several times.
Without much ado, he ushered me into the presence of Alhaji Buba Galadima, who was very glad to welcome me. There were some guests he was attending to, but he managed to still engage me for few minutes that our introduction had to take. How we missed each other in Abuja during the last Presidential Campaign of the former Vice President, His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was the kernel of our mutual curiosity, before we briefly excused each other to afford him the opportunity to finish with his guests.
Alhaji Galadima is a well known figure in the firmament of the Nigerian politics. In the Second Republic, he was a silent but very big player. In this Republic, he has been a previously powerful player but still innocuous and demurring until he was pissed off by his bosom and close friend, the incumbent President Mohammadu Buhari. He was instrumental to bringing Buhari into politics at the beginning of this Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.
He has been pissed off and he is still pissed off. He is of the view that Buhari has no scintilla of honour. He seemed to be in pain that Buhari was preparing the demise of the Fulani elites, if Nigeria should survive. “Other Nigerians would come for our heads, when Buhari leaves because they think we know about what he is doing when that is not the case,”he explained.
“No matter what, and no matter how long, Buhari would not be there for ever. It is not possible for him to be in Aso Rock for ever. And when he lives, other Nigerians would come after us. They don’t even have to wait for him to be out of Aso Rock before they do so. The rest of us who are Fulani are now seen as accomplices of his evil deeds. We are seen as collaborators. But we are not.”
“This is why we must all speak up. This is why we must act now. We must let the rest of Nigerians know, as well as let the rest of the world be aware, that we are not supportive of his actions. We are not in support of his taking the ancestral lands of other Nigerians. We are not supportive of the murders of fellow Nigerians. We are not supportive of the herdsmen’s actions and impunity. We are not supportive of farms destructions, because it could only lead to famine and hunger.”
“Thirty four of us started with Buhari and formed the kernel of his foray into politics. Everybody already left. I was the last person to leave because I was hoping for a miracle. But Buhari is irredeemable. It is hopeless to expect anything good from him. Nigeria is in serious trouble. I know what I am talking about. I must admit my culpability in this. I apologise to Nigerians. It has turned out not to be what we thought.”
“Many thought I hate Buhari. I can’t say I hate him, because he is my friend, but I am passionately against what he is doing to Nigeria. He is destroying the country. He is not planting landmines, he is planting bombs all over. Any man or woman of good will should stand up now so that we could check this slide. There is not much time left. We are about to fall off the precipice as a country. If you know what I know, you would be scared as I am right now.”
Earlier, Engr. Galadima had appealed to me to reconsider my position on Nigeria and Oòduà Republic. He tried to convince me that if everyone takes the bull by the horn with candour, Nigeria could be brought back on track. He referred me to the observations of the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku which I had earlier on alluded to that if the country was well governed inclusively, no one would be talking of secession. He insisted that this should be our objective.
I had told him that it seems to be too late right now. I expressed serious doubts if Nigeria could ever be brought back on track and that there have been too many irreversible damages. That Nigeria had become an evil behemoth. People are tired of endless promises that are never realised. They want something different. They believe that there has been culturally influenced philosophical irreconcilable differences. People feel like slaves in their own country. Their dreams and aspirations have consistently been frustrated. They want out.
At the Zion Kitchen in Washington DC, where Engr. Galadima met with a group of Nigerians, he encountered citizens who were very disillusioned, disenchanted, disentranced and disenthralled, at least the overwhelming majority. One after the other, they expressed hopelessness. Some, without saying so explicitly want an end to and of Nigeria. They want a different country. But there were others who still had hope. They also urged it. They tried to discourage despair.
At a point, a gentleman asked those urging hope and faith in Nigeria, “Where do you guys find hope in Nigeria?” It was a rhethorical question, that elicited several sighs. But the stormy petrel, Engr. Galadima had picked the gauntlet, asking us all to remember the coming generation and not to give up on Nigeria. He was ebullient in his faith, insisting that Nigeria could still work.
When we got home, Engr. Galadima was very concerned about the observed mood of those present at the engagement. He noted that Buhari was doing serious damages to the psyche of Nigerians and that it was time he be stopped and things be reversed. He agreed that people seemed afraid of being in Nigeria than to be out of it. He agreed that there is a lot of work to be done to get the country back on track.
A number of options were discussed, what had to be done and what were being done. He also revealed who and who are talking and those who are seriously complaining in the background. He noted that some eminent Nigerians are just waiting for a number of things to happen. He expressed the hope that it would not be too late for whatever they were trying to do. He agreed that it does no good to put all these on the public plate right now.
Engr. Buba Galadima, noted that he was not “electable or appointable.” “I won’t steal for anybody or myself,” he had insisted. “I must tell you, those of us who have strong opinions and operate on principle are not looked upon with any favourability,” adding, “but that is the least of my concerns. In a well governed polity, you won’t need any favour to survive as long as you have some skills.”
Ebullient and exuberant. Effusive and effervescent. Bouncy and buoyant. Zippy and zestful. He is very clear about his mission and vision. He is very determined. He is very consistent on his expectations. His focus is laser guided. He wants the best for the country. Hypocrisy nauseates him and that is one of his grudges with President Buhari. He is disgusted by nepotism. He is irritated by incompetence. He is scared of the possible consequences of Buhari’s acts of commission and omission for the Fulani as a people and the rest of Nigeria.
He was fun to be engaged.
“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility – I welcome it.”
– John F. Kennedy, in his Inaugural Address January 20, 1961
©Remi Oyeyemi
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Eni/Shell: Italian Judge Orders Nigerian Businessman To Stand Trial In OPL 245 Case
An Italian judge has ordered a Nigerian businessman, Alhai Aliyu Abubakar, to stand trial for alleged international corruption relating to an oil graft case involving Eni and Shell, a judicial source and his lawyer said on Wednesday.
Milan prosecutors alleged that Abubakar played a central role in one of the oil industry’s biggest scandals in years, handing out more than $500m in cash to powerful Nigerian Government officials.
The Italian prosecutors alleged that Eni and Shell bought the oilfield in 2011 knowing that most of the purchase price would be siphoned off to middlemen and local politicians.
The money is alleged to come out of the $1.3bn licence fee paid by Eni and Shell for access to the OPL-245 offshore oilfield located in Niger Delta.
Abubakar’s Italian lawyer, Davide Pozzi, said his client, who lives in Nigeria, denies any wrongdoing in the case.
“Mr Abubakar will clarify his position in the appropriate place,” he said.
Both firms and managers accused in the Milan court case including Eni’s current chief executive, Claudio Descalzi, have denied any wrongdoing.
Abubakar, an influential Nigerian businessman, was already under investigation but prosecutors were unable to locate him to serve the necessary deeds to put him on trial until he appeared in the case as a witness via a video linkup in February 2019.
The start of his trial had been scheduled for May 14 before a Milan court, Pozzi said.
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Contractor Accuses Oyo Governor Of Intellectual Property Theft
A contractor, Mr Olufemi Oniyide, have accused governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, and the Oyo State Government of copyright infringement and stealing of intellectual property.
The contractor, who submitted a proposal on the construction of garages in the state and was told that he’d be contacted to carry out the construction of the gardens, was neglected while the government went ahead to use his proposal for the Oyo State Parks and Garages.
He said, “I wrote a proposal on parks and garages and submitted it through the office of the Chief of Staff to the governor.
“I later learnt that the proposal had been submitted to the Committee for Works and Transportation led by Prof Raphael Afonja.
“I was contacted on phone by someone who knew I submitted the proposal and he told me he was with Prof Afonja and that I should speak with him. I spoke on the phone with Afonja and he asked me for a further summary of the project which he told me not to put on a letterhead paper. I was wary of doing that. But our mutual acquaintance encouraged me to do so and I sent a two page summary which Prof Afonja promised to present at the state executive meeting and specifically instructed me to indicate in the summary that there were other consultants so that Governor Seyi Makinde can instruct him to pick one of the consultants which will be us. All this was over phone.
“Soon, I was no more receiving information on the proposal from the person who introduced me to the commissioner.
“On January 5, I visited Prof Afonja in his office (I had not met him before then). He instructed me and our company’s Managing Director to go to Bureau of Internal Revenue to check whether the proposal had been passed to them. We went and were told the proposal had been passed since October 19, 2019.
“On January 6, 2020 we came back to Prof Afonja’s office and he reluctantly attended to us after waiting for hours. He told us what a beautiful proposal we had submitted. He said it was novel but unfortunately the man at BIR was appointed with the Chief of Staff some months before them and that they may have “given” the proposal to another consultant to implement.
“I asked him: “another consultant to implement what’s not their idea ?”. He went on to insinuate that our mutual acquaintance was not someone we should have liased with to follow up our proposal. He called the BIR man in our presence and told us he’s not picking. So, he gave us his United States phone number for us to chat on Whatsapp. He said he’ll look into whether the proposal had not been given out. We exchanged pleasantries and left.
“Around 3am on January 7, he informed us via Whatsapp that the proposal had been given out to another consultant. At a time when I chatted with him that we may approach the court, he chatted that they’re considering breaking the implementation of the proposal into zones and I agreed with him for our proposal indicated it’s going to be split into local governments.
“Thereafter we heard nothing from him again until we read in the newspapers that the Oyo State Government was implementing the Park Management System and doing away with the National Union of Road Transport Workers.”
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E2%80%99s-facilities I-Cube Accuses FAAN Of Violating Court Order, Unions Vandalise Concessionaire’s Facilities
The management of Integrated Intelligence Imaging West Africa, the concessionaire of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria collecting revenue at the access gate of the airport, on Friday accused the management of the agency of contempt of court.
The concessionaire alleged that FAAN’s workers on Thursday morning vandalised its property at the airport despite the fact that the case was at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The concessionaire, through its solicitor, Charles Ebhoman, told journalists that despite the fact that the case was in court, workers of the agency with active connivance of unions, came into its premises to vandalise electricity cables, gadgets and water system.
He also said that the court in a suit, FHC/L/CS/2364/2019, on February 18, 2019, ordered that all parties maintain status-quo, adding that February 28 had been fixed for hearing of pending application.
Speaking further on the vandalisation of I-Cube properties, Ebhoman described the attitude of the workers as unfortunate, adding that the agency should not be a party to vandalism.
He said, “Despite the existence of a court order, they came into the premises to vandalise my client’s properties, it is very unfortunate that an agency of government whose mantra is that of the rule of law is going against the law.”
He claimed that I-Cube was remitting N68m to FAAN on a monthly basis even when the authority refused to respond to the letter written to it three months before the expiration of the contract in February 2019.
Tunji Olaosun, Head of Strategy, I-Cube, who took journalists round the vandalised facilities, explained that on February 20, 2020, some staff of FAAN came into the premises of company with saw, destroyed the water system and cut off electrical cables at the company.
But Danjuma Ahmed, Chairman of Air Transport Staff Senior Services Association of Nigeria (FAAN branch), said, “After the incident of February 3, they were mandated to leave the premises but pleaded with FAAN management to give them time, but after sometime, there was no sign to move but when we went on inspection with a director, we realised that they had movable things.
“They agreed that they will move by end of this month but we said no because they are using the facilities to sell our stickers, we saw people who came to buy stickers on that day.
“So, we told them to leave. We told them that if they refused to move, we will cut of their electricity and water supply and we are going to lock up the premises. They should pack their property and leave because their contract has expired.”
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JUST IN: Council Suspends Iwo Monarch For Six Months Over Attack On Traditional Ruler
Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has been suspended for six months by Traditional Rulers’ Council in Osun State.
His suspension followed an emergency meeting of top monarchs across the state including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, in Osogbo, the capital.
A committee headed by Orangun of Ila, Oba Wahab Adedotun, was also set up to further investigate the assault case involving Oluwo and another monarch in Iwo land.
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