Olaide Oyelude,Katsina

A 50-year-old man has been arrested by the Katsina Police Command for alleged gun-running.

Safiyanu Amadu of Barbelu village in the Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State was alleged to be a notorious gunrunner who supplied arms and ammunition to cattle rustlers, kidnappers and armed robbers hiding in Rugu forest in the Safana Local Government Area of the state.

The spokesman for the Katsina State Police command, Gambo Isah, confirmed the arrest, revealing that Amadu was arrested on Monday in the forest.

Two locally-made revolver pistols and 7.62MM ammunition of AK 47 rifle were allegedly recovered from him.

Isah said, “Based on a tip-off, the command succeeded in arresting a notorious gun- runner supplying arms and ammunition to cattle rustlers, kidnappers and armed robbers hiding at Rugu forest, Safana LGA of Katsina State.

“Nemesis caught up with the suspect, one Safiyanu Amadu, aged 50years of Barbelu village, in the Bakori LGA of Katsina State when he was chased and arrested deep inside Rugu forest and two locally-made revolver pistols and 7.62mm life ammunition of Ak.47 rifle were recovered from him.

“Suspect has confessed that he intends selling same to cattle rustlers inside the forest.  He is assisting the police in investigation.”

Meanwhile, the command has also arrested a nine-member armed robbery-cum-kidnap syndicate.

The command spokesman said in a statement made available to Northern City News in Katsina that the suspects were nabbed at Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State on a tip-off.

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Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja

For the third time in one month, the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting, which was to consider as well as approve revenue sharing among the three tiers of government for the month of May ended in a deadlock on Thursday.

The meeting had been postponed thrice due to what was described as revenue underpayment by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

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After failing to agree on the amount to be shared on Tuesday, the meeting was rescheduled for Thursday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance.

But members of the committee, who attended the rescheduled meeting on Thursday, left without giving the necessary approval after it was discovered that the amount that the NNPC brought was not what was being expected.

The Chairman, Forum of Finance Commissioners of FAAC, Mahmood Yunusa, confirmed the development during a chat with journalists.

He said since the NNPC had refused to meet its revenue obligations to the Federation Account, the states had vowed to continue with the battle until the right thing was done.

Yunusa, who is the Commissioner for Finance representing Adamawa State at FAAC, said, “What we are looking for is for the process to be strengthened; once the process is strengthened, there is no need for this fight.

“It is about the system and the process, and we are working on it. It is no longer a joking matter, it has gone to the highest level. Mr President will sit down; he is highly interested in this; he is taking his time to ensure that the right thing is done.”

He said apart from ensuring that the right revenue was remitted, there was a need for the government to strengthen the operational processes of the corporation.

Yunusa stated, “We want to strengthen and deepen this process; once the process is strengthened, the correct amount is supposed to go to the federation’s revenue account. Even if it is small, we cannot challenge the NNPC. So, we are also helping the NNPC from undue pressure.

READ ALSO: R-APC members ask court to nullify Oshiomhole, others’ election

“We know that people are facing difficulties but this is a sacrifice that all of us must do to get out of this problems of the NNPC’s underpayment. If the process is operated the way it is supposed to, nobody will complain.

“The next meeting is a function of when we finish. That will be in a very few days.”

Yunusa had two weeks ago told journalists that while the NNPC claimed to have remitted N147bn into the Federation Account, what was actually received was N127bn.

He said based on analysis conducted by the committee, the corporation ought to have remitted a total amount of N146.6bn made up of N87.6bn revenue from Petroleum Profit Tax and N60bn from oil royalties.

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Dayo Ojerinde

Pop star, Yemi Alade,  has said that she is operating on the same level with David and Ayo Wizkid.

She made the statement while speaking in an interview with Hot FM, 98.3.

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She said, “I respect everybody. We all inspire each other in this industry. There is actually no number one because your top five artistes in Nigeria that are the biggest in Africa can shut down the exact same capacity.

“The same capacity Wizkid holds down in Africa, I hold it down. The same capacity Davido holds down in Africa, I hold it down. The same venues, we all shut it down.

“So there is no number one, and that is the truth,  but not everybody will agree to that. People will say, ‘Yemi, shut up.’ But that is the truth. Why don’t we go and ask the promoters, the people who know the numbers?”

The ‘Johnny’ singer made emphasis on her tour which had a large turnout saying, “I just concluded my 13-city European tour and the turnout was amazing.

“I have pretty much been touring for over three years. It’s a big privilege for me.

“For me now, I think it is beyond the music, I think people also come out for what I stand for, the fact that I stand for Africa unapologetically and originally as I can,” she said.

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Tare Youdeowei

The Head of the Nigeria National Office of the West African Examinations Council, Mr. Olu Adenipekun, recently announced that out of the 1,572,396 candidates who sat the 2018 West African Senior School Certificate in the country, 858,424 obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language but without Mathematics.

This placed the population that passed Mathematics at 713,972.

While stakeholders bemoan the disappointing results, a Mathematics teacher of over 16 years, Mr. Adebayo Owolabi, has warned that the poor performances in the subject would persist unless teachers adopt a more positive attitude to teaching as a profession and a better methodology.

Investigation, however, showed that many pupils fail mathematics because they dread the subject. Some of them would rather blame the subject, which they consider to be “too difficult”, for their poor performances than blame their teachers.

Only a few pupils, like nine-year-old Maryann Okwudiri, enjoy attending Mathematics lessons and listening to their teachers teach the subject in class.

 “I like maths, I don’t like English. I don’t know why, I just like it. It is easier, English is one kind”, young Okwudiri told our correspondent.

Also, explaining her daughter’s situation, Maryann’s mother, Esther, said, “Fortunately, Maryann is good in maths. She does all her homework herself and saves me the trouble of letting her know that she is smarter than me. Her weakness is English language and that is where I step in. The parts of speech and tenses are her major problem. I can’t afford to get her an extra lesson teacher. So I teach her myself. Her teachers don’t give her extra attention or anything in maths, she just understands it and shows a lot of interest.”

An SS2 pupil in a school in the Ijanikin area of Lagos, Chizoba, blamed himself for not excelling in Mathematics. He said, “I will not lie. My maths teachers have tried since I was in Jss1, but I don’t think my brain can carry it. My maths teacher is very funny. She cracks jokes while teaching, but I still feel very sleepy during her lessons. I felt the same way about balancing equations when we first started learning it in Jss3. Anything that makes me hungry, I will not understand it. And maths is like that. My daddy and lesson teacher have tried, but I just cannot understand the subject.”

Responding to this knotty problem of comprehension among the pupils, Owolabi said, “Generally, many pupils don’t like Mathematics, anywhere you go. This is because of the abstract nature of the subject. It is not that many of the pupils who are doing well in the subject really like it; it is because they can’t do without it. On the average, if you ask pupils to pick the subjects like, I believe 99 per cent will not pick maths.

“One of the reasons for failure is not because teachers are not using the right method, but that today’s pupils are restless. They are easily distracted. They don’t have time to sit down to study. Mathematics is a subject to be practised every day and every time. if you fail to practise it and refresh your memory, you will find that those things you learn will be forgotten the next day. This applies to teachers too.”

Owolabi also blamed parents for the persistent poor performances in Mathematics. He said, “Parents constitute another major problem to the learning of mathematics. I say this because they leave the children to be exposed to games and gadgets or television for as much as five hours when they are away from home. There should be a timetable for every child at home, for rest and play. And they should supervise the timetable themselves. Teachers cannot do it alone. The teacher’s role ends in the school. Even if the parent does not understand the subject, nothing stops them from supervising the children.”

To solve the age-long problem, he suggested that teachers should adopt a student-centred method for teaching mathematics in secondary schools.

He said, “This involves teaching pupils what they don’t like or understand with something they like. It could involve using pictures, videos or ICT to teach them in an attractive way, from jss1 to SS3.  It will help them to see that Mathematics is real, not just abstract. This is necessary because some of our pupils ask us what the relevance of maths is to those who want to become fashion designers or house wives. It is the duty of the teacher to let them see how it applies to everything and every field in life. If they like to browse the Internet, use the same Internet to teach them and they will learn. That is the only way teachers of maths will succeed in their work.”

Among other tips  expert advise learners to eliminate distraction and study in group to improve in the subject.

According to an online platform, Skooli, it is also wise to relate problems to real  life situations, try new times of the day to study and speak with one’s maths teacher in a one-0n- one setting.

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Simon Utebor, Yenagoa

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Bayelsa State chapter, Chief Lionel Jonathan-Omo, is dead.

Jonathan-Omo,  the Deputy Campaign Director General of Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organisation during the 2016 governorship election in the state reportedly had a fatal fall from the balcony of his two-storey building in his country home in Beleu-Pogo in Ogbolomabiri, Nembe Local Government Area of the state.

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He was said to be relaxing on the balcony when he started feeling dizzy. He was trying to get up with the aid of a pillar close to him when he fell off the two-storey building.

Close associates revealed that the fatal fall from the balcony was discovered by his wife after hearing the sound from the kitchen.

He was immediately rushed to a hospital in the state where doctors were said to have advised that he be taken to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital in Rivers State.

It was learnt that the deceased was operated upon when he was rushed to the UPTH but did not survive the operation.

A member of the Nembe Council of Chiefs and the State Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation, Chief Nengi James, said the death of Jonathan-Omo, a former Law Lecturer at Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, had thrown the Nembe Kingdom into mourning.

He said the news of his death came as a shock, describing the late Jonathan-Omo as a colossus that had contributed greatly to the Nembe Kingdom and the state as a whole.

Reacting to the development,  the APC described the death of Jonathan-Omo as an “indescribable loss” of a wonderful ally at a time his experience and energy were most needed.

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In a statement in Yenagoa on Thursday by the State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr Doifie Buokoribo, the party said Jonathan-Omo, who died on Thursday was a forthright politician, and an illustrious son of Bayelsa State and the Ijaw nation who partook in popular activities to better the lives of his people.

Buokoribo said, “Jonathan-Omo broke his limbs in a fall and fought bravely for his life at a private hospital in Port Harcourt to recover from the injuries he sustained. He never survived them.

“The chief died on Thursday after an unsuccessful operation. All of us had hoped that Jonathan-Omo would recover from his injuries and get on with his life, particularly, at this time of intense political activities in our state and country when his experience and wisdom are seriously needed.

“Lionel Jonathan-Omo, who is from Nembe, trained as a lawyer and taught Law at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology for several years. He was a former commissioner in Bayelsa State.

“He was also a delegate representing the state at the 2005 National Political Reform Conference. Until his death, he was a member of the APC. During the 2015-2016 governorship elections, he was the Deputy Director  General of the Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organisation.

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He earned his living as founder of Achievers Farm in Igbogene-Yenagoa.”

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Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja

The Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Joseph Nnanna, on Thursday blamed the inability of Deposit Money Banks to lend at single digit interest rate on the attractiveness of treasury bills, an instrument used by the government to borrow from the money market.

He said this at a roundtable event on factoring financing held in Abuja on the sidelines of the African Export-Import Bank’s annual conference.

READ ALSO: Bayelsa APC leader falls from two-storey building, dies

Nnana noted that with the government borrowing from banks at an average rate of 18 per cent, it would be difficult to achieve a single digit lending rate.

He called on the Federal Government to reduce its level of domestic borrowing so as to drive down the lending rate in the money market.

He said, “Banks have some challenges at lending at a single digit interest rate not because they don’t want to do so, but because there are compelling needs, and I am saying this without any fear of contradiction.

“If the government in its self is willing to borrow at 18 per cent from the banks through treasury bills, why should any banker lend from anybody at a single digit? So, that is the problem. If government can stop borrowing and start living within its means, liquidity will be there and banks will be constrained to lend at a single digit.

“Now, see what is happening; the government has decided to finance part of its budget externally, they are offloading treasury bills and treasury bills rate have now dropped from 18 per cent; and as I speak to you now, it is 10 per cent.

“So, banks will be awash with liquidity and they will look out for MSMEs and lend the money to them. So, let us put our fiscal house in order; once we do that, all will be well.”

Nnanna said the CBN, in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, had taken measures to intervene in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector through a special fund.

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He explained that the N30bn fund was set up to improve access to affordable financing for the MSMEs, particularly those operating in the agricultural sector of the economy.

As a commitment to the successful implementation of the scheme, he said all Deposit Money Banks voluntarily agreed to set aside and contribute five per cent of their profit after tax annually to finance eligible projects under the scheme.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, Jones Onyereri, said that the factoring bill, which is currently before the National Assembly, would receive accelerated passage.

He said this at the forum on factoring.

Factoring is a financing method in which a business owner sells accounts receivable at a discount to a third-party funding source to raise capital.

Onyereri said since it was becoming difficult for small businesses to raise money from banks to finance their operations, there was a need to come up with legislation that would support the use of alternative financing instruments.

This, he noted, would help to boost the level of trade in the economy.

He said the bill, which has already gone through the second reading at the National Assembly, would provide an alternative means for the MSMEs to finance their operations.

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According to him, the bill provides for regulation of factoring activities by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

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Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said his administration needed more money to fix the appalling infrastructure he inherited on assumption of office.

He, therefore, called for a stronger partnership with lending banks to reduce the nation’s infrastructure deficit.

According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President spoke while receiving members of the Board of African Export and Import Bank led by Dr Benedict Okey at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Buhari assured the bank of his administration’s full commitment to implementing all agreements.

He said the Federal Government would keep “knocking on the doors’’ of the banks to participate more in building infrastructure and developing the real sector.

The President said, “We are grateful for the much you are doing for us, but we will continue to knock on your doors for more and more as we strive to overcome our infrastructure deficit.

“We realise that we do need money to fix the appalling state of infrastructure we met; to do roads, railways, power and communications – a sector now mostly in private hands which is doing very well.

“Don’t be tired of us. We will be coming to you again and again.  Please accommodate us.”

Buhari said the nation already faced a challenge of fixing and putting in place long-delayed infrastructure and would need strong partnerships for quick and better results.

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Umar Muhammed, Lafia

The Peoples Democratic Party in Nasarawa State has advised Governor Tanko Al-Makura to site some of the proposed ranches in the state in his Kwandera village in the Lafia East Local Government Area.

The Nasarawa State PDP Chairman, Francis Orugu, faulted the alleged plan to site four out of seven proposed ranches in the state in Alogo communities in the Southern Senatorial Zone.

Orugu said this in an interview with our correspondent in Lafia on Thursday.

He accused Al-Makura of siting important developmental projects in his own village, Kwandera, but proposing to set up four cattle ranches in the Alogo communities of Doma, Keana, Assakio and Awe.

“The governor sited an airport, a comprehensive primary health care centre, EFCC office, Federal Girls College, and housing estate,  among others,  in his village,” Orugu fumed.

He, however, maintained that with the current alliance between the PDP and other political parties, Al-Makura’s APC would be sent packing from Nasarawa State in 2019.

He admonished PDP supporters in the state to continue to be law-abiding as the party prepared for the 2019 election.

But a former clerk of the Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Mr Joseph Moses-Onukwu, maintained that building of cattle ranches would not cause a war.

Rather, Moses-Onukwu said, the cattle ranches would bring a permanent solution to the persistent clashes between Fulani herders and Tiv farmers in the state.

He said, “The establishment of cattle ranches will bring a lasting solution across the 13 local government areas and 18 development areas of the state.”

According to him, before now the Fulani herders and farmers have been living together in peace as one family, adding that the persistent crisis between Fulani herders and Tiv farmers has a political undertone.

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Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee on Thursday announced the names of 31 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria who will be sworn in in September.

Secretary of the LPPC and Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Hadizatu Mustapha, announced the names of the successful candidates after the 133rd plenary of the committee on Thursday.

Among the 31 successful candidates selected from 106 applicants are the Attorneys-General of Lagos and Ondo states, Adeniji Kazeem and Adekola Olawoye respectively.

They also include the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Prof. Isa Chiroma, the Vice-Chancellor of the Lagos State University, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun; the National Coordinator of the Legal Defence and Assistance Project, Mr Chinonye Obiagwu, and a Punch Nigeria Limited’s external lawyer,  Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, and a prominent lawyer, Mr. Olalekan Ojo.

Also on the list is Olabode Olanipekun, a son of a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN).

The only female who made the list is Prof. Oluyemisi Bamgbose.

The rest of the successful candidates include Oba Abuchi, Essien Udom, Metong Urombo, Prof. Wahab Egbewole, George Igbokwe, Olubowale Taiwo, Oluwole Iyamu, Adekola Olawoye, Stephen Adehi, Oluseun Akinbiyi, Emmanuel Achukwu, Kenneth Ahia, Louis Alozie, and Wole Agunbiade.

The rest are Olayode Delano, Taminu Inuwa, Sonny Wogu, Prof. Offorinze Amucheazi, Adewale Atake, Kehinde Ehighelua, Prof. Muhammed Akanbi, Cosmas Enweluzo, and Ishaka Mudi.

Announcing the names on the list on Thursday, Mustapha said the successful candidates would be sworn in at the ceremony marking the commencement of the 2018/2019 legal year of the Supreme Court which is to hold on September 24.

She said 106 lawyers applied for the rank.

She said among the applicants were 83 who applied in the “advocate category” and 28 under the “academic category.”

Of all the applicants, only two were females, and only one of whom was successful, Mustapha said.

“The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee at its 133rd plenary session held today (Thursday), July 12, 2018, has elevated 31 legal practitioners to the inner bar.

“The rank of SAN is awarded as a mark of excellence to members of the legal profession who have distinguished themselves as advocates and academics.”

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First, the numbers. In the past three seasons, N’Golo Kante has played 129 club matches for Chelsea and Leicester City, scoring four goals and providing seven assists. In roughly the same time frame, he has played 29 matches for France, with a goal and an assist. So he’s not a goal-scorer or goal provider.

He has got a total of 21 yellow cards in that same period, and not a single sending-off – so he’s not really a defender either, with those last-ditch tackles, taking one for the team.

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At 168 cm – shorter than Xherdan Shaqiri, shorter than Tuesday’s opponent Dries Mertens – you could miss him on the pitch amid the muscled-up giants of the modern game.

And yet, in those three seasons, Kante has seen his market valuation go from €9m, when Leicester signed him from French club Caen, to €36m, when they sold him to Chelsea, to the €100m Chelsea are now reportedly demanding of any club that wishes to sign him now.

N’Golo Kante has been one of the breakout stars of the 2018 World Cup and if France win it all, he’ll have played a major part.

In those three seasons, Kante has won the Premier League title twice – with different clubs – and been voted player of the year by his Premier League peers and by the English football writers’ association, each a difficult constituency to please.

On Tuesday, Kante was the wall standing between Belgium’s star-studded attack and the French goal they couldn’t penetrate.

So, for those who’ve come in late, who is N’Golo Kante and why is he important to club and country?

The second part first. Kante’s role, in one line, is to stop the opposition’s attacks before they become dangerous, anywhere on the pitch, and to then start his own team’s movement forward before the opposition has time to organise itself. It sounds simple and complex at the same time – how could one man do both jobs, and all over the pitch?

And that’s the key to Kante: His ability to be wherever the danger is – or, actually, a second before the danger arises. That explains those facts above: He is not interested in scoring goals, he is not necessarily the player who will pass to the scorer either. His job is to anticipate, intercept, pass, anticipate. As France’s coach Didier Deschamps said on Monday: “He is an essential part of our plan. You don’t want to just steal the ball from your opponents. Kante uses the ball, he has a lot of trajectories for his passing.”

Deschamps would have an affinity with Kante; he was dismissed as the water carrier in his playing days by Eric Cantona – his sole role being to pass the ball to his team-mates. Kante is the water-collector and carrier. The ultimate firefighter.

So how does his play help his team? Basically, by enabling swift counter attacks. Leicester City’s game plan was built around the speed of their striker Jamie Vardy, who would run at opposing defences in a quick counter; the key was to get the ball to him as fast as possible once his team had the ball. France use a similar style with the tear away Kylian Mbappe. Chelsea have Eden Hazard. They all need someone who can turn a threatening move against their team into a threatening move by their team in the shortest possible time, before the opposition can recoup.

That’s what Kante does.

He is an unlikely star on YouTube, with clips focusing on his reading of the game and his ability to cover distance at speed. One short clip – 20-odd seconds – features a sequence where he gives away the ball, then wins it back three times in succession each time a team-mate gives it away.

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The most common description of Kante is that he’s everywhere at one time. It’s what Steve Walsh, the Leicester scout who spotted him while he was playing in France, says about him. “When I first saw him (playing for French club Caen) I thought ‘is there two of him?”

When Leicester improbably won the Premier League title in 2016, the joke was that they won it with three players in midfield – Danny Drinkwater in the middle and Kante on either side of him.

Those jokes – born out of sheer incredulity – followed him to Chelsea. His club team-mate Hazard, Belgium’s captain and creative force who Kante stopped in Russia, said: “Sometimes, when I’m on the pitch, I think I see him twice. One on the left, one on the right. I think we play with twins.”

Marcel Desailly, a former France captain, tweeted this probably unoriginal joke when Kante was helping Chelsea to the league title in 2017, “71% of the earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by N’Golo Kante.”

That same season, Thierry Henry – who is now on the Belgium coaching staff – wrote of his visit to a Chelsea training session: “I went over to him and stood in front of him. And I poked him in the chest. I had to, just to check if he was real!”

And yet all of this might not have happened. Kante’s football career began late – so late that, at 21, when his current peers were making their first millions, winning their first championship medals, making their first headlines, Kante was still studying for a diploma in vocational accounting.

The problem was his size; no academy in France signed him because of his height. Perhaps it was understandable; there is a picture of Kante, pre-teen, with his local club team-mates after winning a trophy. There is only a couple of years’ age difference but he is about half the height of the others, a baby among boys. Watching him in training today presents a similar image: a boy among men.

But he had quality and he had determination. He finally made his professional debut at 21, for Bolougne against Monaco, and his progress since then has been swift. Yet, like an expert tackler, he has kept both feet on the ground. In an age of football stars driving Ferraris and Lamborghinis, Kante drives a Mini – it was the first car he bought when he moved to England in 2015 and it was easy for him to learn how to drive in it. The story goes that he bought the car only after being persuaded to abandon his plan of running to training every day. There’s a lovely video out there of a doorman at the plush Chelsea Harbour Hotel, where the club team assembles before matches, kitted out in top hat and formal coat and opening the door of the Mini Cooper for Kante.

Kante is also notoriously reserved. Those who’ve spent long spells of time with him – whether team-mates who drove him to training, or a flatmate back in France – remember him saying absolutely nothing. But occasionally he would break into that innocent, gap-toothed smile. He hasn’t given too many interviews but one journalist who has interviewed him, Jonathan Northcroft of the Sunday Times, writes of “the genuineness of the look in his eyes”.

In a game that has at one level become increasingly complex, with multiple systems and formations, Kante keeps things simple. Where the game celebrates its goalscorers, dribblers and creative geniuses, Kante minds the baseline. He never did become the accountant but out on the field, Kante is the one who will ensure his team remains on the credit side.

–Courtesy: www.kwese.espn.com

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Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

Members of the Reformed All Progressives Congress, a splinter group in the ruling APC, on Thursday, filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja praying for an order nullifying the election of the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole,  and 52 other officers of the party.

Oshiomhole and others had emerged as the national officers of the APC at the national convention of the party held in Abuja on June 23, 2018.

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But four members of the R-APC led by Buba Galadima filed the suit challenging the election and its outcome held during the convention.

They claimed to have sued “for themselves and on behalf of all the other national officers, states chairmen and states executives” of their group.

Apart from Galadima, the three other plaintiffs specifically named in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1734/18 are Kazeem Afegbua, Nicholas Asuzu and Alhaji Ametuo.

They, through their lawyer, Mr Tolu Babaleye, sued Oshiomhole, 51 others, alongside the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission, as the defendants.

The plaintiffs, in their statement of claim, said the APC was harbouring intractable divisions and the party was awaiting a massive implosion and might collapse finally unless steps were taken.

They claimed that the situation and rancour within the party went out of hand with the congresses recently conducted by the APC at the ward, local government and state levels, culminating in the purported national NWC of the party held on June 23, 2018.

They added that the party had been factionalised.

They said the factionalisation was so evident as the crisis that had allegedly torn the party to pieces at the national and sub-national levels were in public domain.

READ ALSO: Rustlers’ gun supplier nabbed in Katsina

Among other prayers,  the plaintiffs asked the court to nullify Oshiomhole and others’ election.

They prayed the court to make them the interim leaders of the party pending when fresh elections would be held.

They also asked the court to restrain the party from harassing, intimidating, suspending or expelling them.

They sought among others, ‘a declaration that having regard to the Constitution of the All Progressives Congress, particularly, Article 20 thereof, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act, the election conducted by the party at Eagles Square, Abuja, on June 23, 2018, is invalid, null and void, particularly the purported election of the following persons in the the following respective offices, namely: National Chairman, Mr Adams Oshiomhole; National Welfare Secretary, Alhaji Ibrahim Masari; National Financial Secretary, Alhaji Tunde Bello; National (representative of the) People Living with Disabilities, Misbahu L. Didi;  Zonal Secretary, North-Central, Dr. Zakari Muhammad; Zonal Organising Secretary North Central, Ibrahim M. Abdul; Zonal Women Leader, North-Central, Hajia Hassana Abdullahi; Ex-Officio, North Central, Nelson Abba; Zonal Secretary, North East, Abubakar Sadiq Ajia; Ex-Officio, North-East, Mallam Isah Azare; Zonal Secretary, North-West, Tukur A. Gusau; Zonal Organising Secretary, North-West,  Abdulmunab Muhammad; Ex-Officio, North West, Nasiru Haladu Danu; Zonal Woman Leader, South-South, Mrs Rachael Akpabio; Ex-Officio, South-South, Kotenten Ibadan; Zonal Secretary, South-West, Ayo Afolabi; Zonal Women Leader, South-West, Mrs Kemi Nelson; Ex-Officio, South-West,  Omoloye O. Akintola.

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“A declaration that there being no valid election at the National Convention of the All Progressives Congress on June 23, 2018, at the Eagle Square, Abuja, thereby leaving a vacuum, the reform-minded faction of APC known as the Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC) validly constituted the plaintiffs and the other National Officers and State Executives of APC to fill the vacuum and act in interim capacities as officers of the APC.”

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Kamarudeen Ogundele, Ado Ekiti

The governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, has accused the Federal Government of moving part of the $321m recovered from the late Abacha family to Ekiti for Saturday’s governorship election.

Olusola, who is the incumbent deputy governor, said about $50m of the recovered loot was moved from Abuja in a chartered flight through Akure Airport to Ekiti in two bullion vans to support the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi.

[READ ALSO] Ekiti election: Fayemi, Olusola shun debate as candidates reel out promises

The Director, Media and Publicity of Kolapo Olusola Campaign Organisation, Lere Olayinka, raised this alarm at a press briefing in Ado Ekiti on Thursday.

He said, “Last week Saturday, two bullion vehicles were moved to the Akure Airport to evacuate cash brought from Abuja by a chartered flight.

“The flight landed when it was raining and all staff members of the airport were barred from going near the aircraft while the cash was evacuated into the two bullion vehicles.

“After offloading the huge cash, the bullion van first moved to the Ondo State Government House in Akure from where they left for Isan Ekiti, the hometown of the APC governorship candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi.”

Olusola claimed that preliminary findings indicated that N2.5bn cash was transferred by the Kebbi State Government to an account in UBA, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.

“It was withdrawn immediately and moved with a private jet to Akure. Also, apart from the N2.5bn, another $50m (about N18bn) was taken from the $321m recovered from the late Abacha family.

“Our question is, how can a government that claimed to be fighting corruption released billions of naira from the public coffers for the governorship election of a single state? Where is their fight against corruption?”

READ ALSO: How we paid June salaries without FAAC – Wike

Olusola called on Nigerians to note this wanton looting of public fund by the APC government to fund the election of its members.

“We must tell Fayemi and his APC that the conscience of the people of Ekiti cannot be purchased and we call on the people of Ekiti to resist the planned use of the stolen fund to buy their votes of Saturday,” he added.

Olusola also called the attention of the public to alleged intimidation and harassment of PDP members by men of the Department of State Services and policemen.

But reacting, the Director, Media and Publicity, Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Wole Olujobi, described the allegation as coming from the pit of hell.

He said, “Discerning minds will note the lies contained in the story by a single logic that it took Eleka (Olusola) and Olayinka a whole week after the leak of funds movement before they alerted Nigerians about a purported money cargo being offloaded in Akure for Fayemi’s election in Ekiti.

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“By this lie from the pit of hell, we know that the PDP is trying to paint a picture that it is a comrade-in-crime with APC after Fayose’s 2014 poll fraud funded with the loot from the office of the National Security Adviser.”

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John Ameh, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday communicated his decision to withhold assent to four bills to the National Assembly.

At the House of Representatives, the presidential decision was contained in a letter read to members by the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara, at the start of the day’s proceedings.

READ ALSO: Senate raises the alarm over Enugu airport’s runway

The bills are the “Corporate Manslaughter Bill, 2018”; “Agricultural Credit Scheme Bill, 2018”; “National Child Protection Bill, 2018”; and “Court and Tribunal Standard Scale Fines Bill, 2018.”

Buhari gave reasons for rejecting the bills.

For instance, on the corporate manslaughter bill, Buhari said several of its provisions were inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution.

He also rejected the agricultural credit scheme bill on the grounds that the National Assembly jacked up the fund created in the scheme to N50bn.

The President explained that he was more convenient with the extant provision of N100m.

On the child protection bill, Buhari noted that the proposed agency would merely duplicate the functions of already established agencies and the Ministry of Women Affairs.

READ ALSO: Senate panel okays publication of AMCON’s N4.8tn debtors list

He turned back the court and tribunal bill for being “ambiguous” and conflicting with extant laws.

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We need to ensure the security of lives and property of everyone in Ekiti State. But the deployment of 30,000 policemen to Ekiti is not a step in the right direction. The election is just being over-regulated. We may not have a free, fair and transparent election in the state with that arrangement.

We have security challenges everywhere and 30,000 policemen are not needed for Ekiti election. With such intimidating deployments, it means that the government is only concerned about power and not about the welfare and security of the people.

The ruling party is concerned with taking power for their governors by all means.

Elections and governance in Nigeria are based on money and power, particularly stolen money. So, how can we expect a free, fair and credible election?

What the INEC is supposed to do to avert violence, it cannot do. This has been proven by the previous elections; they can’t stop rigging or violence. Things may not be different from what we have had.  The system does not also give the INEC the ability to conduct a credible election. Look at the issue of the collection of the Permanent Voters Card and the stress that people go through to get those cards.

We may not have a legitimate government. We need to change our orientation about elections and getting to power by all means. •Alhaji Balarabe Musa (A former Governor of old Kaduna State)

When you deploy 30,000 armed police officers in an election, what do you think will happen? Given the nature of elections, I think deployments are needed, but do you need 30,000 officers which is about 10 per cent of the national police force? Ekiti State is less than one per cent of Nigeria’s land mass and under one per cent of the voting population. To deploy 10 per cent of the police force and 14 per cent of the active policing assets that we have to police this election is madness.

And when you do that, you will surely guarantee violence. It guarantees high-handed policing, you make things it difficult. If they had deployed assets for the purpose of addressing logistics, I can understand that. There are places in Nigeria where you cannot do elections without such deployment like Rivers State, Bayelsa State; the Niger Delta in general and some parts of the North-East and the North-West and obviously the Middle Belt.

But do you need 30,000 policemen, two helicopters, 10 Armoured Personnel Vehicles, 250 patrol vehicles, 2,000 DSS personnel, 4,000 other assets just for the Ekiti election? That almost certainly guarantees that there will be violence.

And they have deployed all of these assets without announcing any rules of engagement. If there had been any rules of engagement announced and there had been training for the assets on these rules of engagement, you can at least match up the people to the rules of engagement, but there was nothing like that. Are we saying security personnel do not perpetrate violence in Nigeria?

So, who deters the security personnel if they are the ones fomenting the violence? I know Supreme Court cases in which they found that police personnel were stuffing ballot boxes. The Uwais electoral reform committee report in 2008 specifically stated that the police in Nigeria had a history of ballot stuffing, of violence intimidation and killing people around elections. This is in black and white in Presidential commissioned report. I know that in a lot of states, police personnel were involved in chasing away election administrators, police personnel acting as party agents.

All these are documented in cases decided by courts in Nigeria. So, why will all that change all of a sudden? In 2014, 15,000 policemen were deployed in Ekiti and we complained that this was too much. This was four years ago.

Today, it is 30,000. So, I haven’t changed my views. The problem is that when you are in power you set bad precedents and when another person takes power, they rely on your bad precedent and do worse. That is the problem. It is unfortunate that those who promised change are even doing worse than the people they wanted to change. Things will change the moment people understand that they will not always be in power. •Prof. Chidi Odinkalu (A former Chairman, National Human Rights Commission)

The Ekiti State election is the barometer that will further X-ray the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s position to non-interference in the functions of the Independent National Electoral Commission. The administration demonstrated this commitment during the Anambra governorship election. We expect the same commitment to be sustained in the Ekiti election.

I expect the candidates, especially those of the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress,  Prof. Kolapo Olusola and Dr Kayode Fayemi respectively, to act responsibly.  I expect Ayodele Fayose, the incumbent governor, and Fayemi, a former state governor not to do anything that will lead to loss of lives and property. They have the higher responsibility to the people of Ekiti State to ensure that peace reigns before, during and after the election.

Security agencies should be independent; their allowances must be paid to insulate them from corruption. We have heard what happened in Maiduguri where some police officers were deployed to maintain peace, law and order, but their allowances were not paid. Such non-payment of allowances may make security agents susceptible to corruption and to do the bidding of politicians; so adequate allowances must be paid to security agents.

Experience of electoral violence in this country has shown that politicians who sponsor electoral violence have never been successfully prosecuted and punished.

Politicians must exhibit maturity and talk to their supporters to avoid any form of electoral violence.

For public officers, such as INEC monitoring and returning officers, I expect them not to compromise their positions. Peaceful, free and fair election will boost the credentials of Buhari’s administration. I am appealing to INEC especially, to ensure transparent, free and fair election. •Mr Issah Manzuma (A former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Ilorin branch)

The issue here is not about threat of violence, I am in Ekiti as we speak, and there is no violence. The narrative people are trying to push is to say violence to scare away people from coming out to vote. The real issue we should all be concerned about here is the attempt by politicians to buy votes.

After the 2011 post-election violence, the issue in our elections have not been violence but that of vote buying. We have always sent policemen to states for elections and in all of those elections there was no crisis. In Edo, there was no violence, it was vote buying, in Ondo there was no violence it was vote buying; in Anambra, there was no violence, it was vote buying.

So, if you follow elections in this part of the world, it is like a wrestling match, people will brag, people will talk and show themselves; go and look at the statistics. After 2011, the currency of engagement has been money.

The system is locked up, you can’t use money to manipulate the system any longer, politicians are going to polling booths with money to buy votes; this is what we must fight to stop. •Ezenwa Nwagwu (Executive Director, Partners for Electoral Reforms)

The violence brewing in Ekiti State is state-sponsored; therefore it is only the state that can put a stop to it.

The time has come for us to stop playing politics with the shenanigans of politicians.

My take is that troublemakers should be arrested irrespective of their positions in society. The law should be made to take its course to act as a deterrent to troublemakers. •Mr Ere Ebikekeme (A former member, House of Representatives)

Compiled by:   Success Nwogu, Simon Utebor, Eniola Akinkuotu

and Olaleye Aluko.

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Olaleye Aluko, Abuja

A northern elder statesman and Chairman of the Northern Elders Council, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has attacked President Muhammadu Buhari for saying his security chiefs are still racking their brains to tackle the ongoing killings in some parts of the country.

This is just as a former Minister of Education and co-Convener of the BringBack OurGirls movement, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, also chided the President over the comment, saying Buhari was “detached from reality.”

READ ALSO: 32 get mass burial, as NASS, Tambuwal, govs condemn Sokoto killings

The President had on Wednesday urged Nigerians to be patient with him as his administration made efforts to tackle ongoing killings in parts of the country.

Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had said his security team were racking their brains to come up with a lasting solution.

The President had stated this while condemning the killings of scores of people, including a district head, in Gandi village in the Rabah Local Government Area of Sokoto State by bandits.

Yakasai, in an interview on Thursday, said if the security agencies did not yet have a firm programme to tackle the killings, it was a bad omen for the 2019 elections which Nigerians were looking forward to.

He said, “I feel disappointed because all this while; is there no clear-cut strategy on how to deal with these problems? You know that it started with Zamfara, and moved on to Kaduna. Then it got to Plateau, and then to Nasarawa, Benue and the rest of the country. Is it now that they are thinking of strategies on how to deal with the issues? This is a very serious issue, particularly as we are approaching the elections in 2019.

“If we do not have a firm programme to deal with the situation in these states, what do we do when the election comes? I am honestly not impressed.

“I read what the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said when he met with the President recently. He said the President was thinking of reorganising the security architecture. But what we heard from the Speaker is quite different from what the President is now saying. If the President wants to reorganise his security architecture, that means there must have been a blueprint on how to deal with the security situation. It is not a good commentary honestly.”

READ ALSO: Elephants kill Bauchi villagers while taking pictures

Meanwhile, on Twitter on Thursday, Ezekwesili criticised the President for asking for more patience.

She said, “Did he (Buhari) just say be patient? This is all we need as citizens to know that our President is very detached from the reality of what his people have been telling him to stop the killings. His security teams are racking their brains? This is too much.”

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‘Femi Asu

The nation’s foreign exchange reserves have pared some of the gains recorded last month, falling by $102m in the six days to Wednesday.

Available data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday showed that the reserves stood at $47.697bn on July 11, down from $47.799bn on July 5.

The reserves rose to $47.789bn on June 29 from $47.605bn on May 31, according to the CBN data.

On Tuesday, the CBN said it injected the sum of $210m into the interbank foreign exchange market to meet customers’ requests in various segments of the market.

The apex bank said it offered $100m to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, while the Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises segment got the sum of $55m.

It said customers needing forex for invisibles such as tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance, among others, were also allocated the sum of $55m.

The naira is expected to be stable next week, which is driven by exporters selling dollars on the interbank currency market, Reuters quoted traders as saying.

The naira has been trading between 362 and 363 per dollar for a while as customers shy away from trading the currency weaker. Traders say dollar liquidity improved this week with lenders selling export proceeds to customers.

On the official interbank market, the naira is quoted at around 305 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, analysts at FSDH Merchant Bank have noted that the external sector of the Nigerian economy improved further in the first quarter of 2018 as it recorded the best trade performance in the last nine quarters.

They stated in their latest monthly financial and economic report that the figures for Q1 2018, as published by the National Bureau of Statistics, revealed a noticeable improvement in the major indicators of the Nigerian foreign trade data.

The analysts said, “These Q1 2018 figures are broadly consistent with the 2018 forecast that FSDH Research published earlier this year in our Economic and Financial Market Reports for the period of 2018 to 2022. The strong foreign trade should help to sustain stability in the foreign exchange market.

“Our analysis shows that the total value of merchandise trade increased by 19.74 per cent to N7.21tn in Q1 2018 from N6.02tn in Q4 2017 and an increase of 34.83 per cent from N5.34tn in Q1 2017.

Exports, at N4.7tn, accounted for 65 per cent of the total trade while imports, at N2.5tn, accounted for 35 per cent. Trade balance (the difference between exports and imports) increased by 22 per cent to N2.2tn in Q1 2018 from N1.8tn in Q4 2017.”

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John Ameh, Leke Baiyewu and Adeniyi Olugbemi

The Senate and the House of Representatives on Thursday condemned the killing of 39 persons in Sokoto State by suspected bandits on Tuesday.

The Sokoto State Government was reported on Thursday to have held a mass burial on Wednesday for 32 people, who were killed when bandits on motorcycles invaded villages in Rabah Local Government Area of the state. Compared to the neighbouring Zamfara, Sokoto has been peaceful.

READ ALSO: R-APC members ask court to nullify Oshiomhole, others’ election

While Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi-Central) and his counterpart,  Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto-North), who both sponsored a motion that condemned the killings,  put the number of people that died at 40, in the House, a member from the state, Mr Aminu Shagari, said about 32 persons were killed.

But the state Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, while receiving seven governors on Thursday said besides the 32 people, who were buried, seven more corpses were brought to the villages on Wednesday.

At the plenary, the Senate condemned the killings and urged the Federal Government to deploy more security personnel and equipment in Sokoto State.

While calling for more security presence in Sokoto and the neighbouring states, the upper chamber of the National Assembly urged the military, Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services to combat the killers collectively.

The call followed the adoption of a motion moved by Aliero and Wamakko entitled “Gruesome Killing of 40 People in Sokoto State by Bandits.”

Granting prayers of the motion, the lawmakers unanimously resolved to “urge the Federal Government to mandate the Nigerian Air Force and the Nigeria Police’s helicopter divisions to carry out an aerial surveillance of Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states, with the view to identifying locations and hideouts of these bandits and dealing with them decisively.”

The lawmakers also urged the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, through the commissioners of police in the three states to set up a “special squad” to mop up the whole zone and get rid of the bandits.

They also called for “synergy between the DSS, the police and the armed forces with the view to sharing intelligence and strategies in getting rid of the bandits.”

READ ALSO: Buhari withholds assent, returns four bills to National Assembly

While the lawmakers resolved to observe a one-minute silence in honour of those killed, which was done, they requested the National Emergency Management Agency to send emergency relief materials to the affected communities.

The Senate further resolved to send a delegation to condole with the government and people of Sokoto State over the attacks.

Attackers invaded villages in broad daylight -Senator

Moving the motion, Aliero said, “The Senate notes with sadness the gruesome and unprecedented killing of innocent and defenceless people – 40 in number – in Sokoto by bandits on Monday morning at Dogonyero in Gandi District of Raba Local Government Area of Sokoto.

“The Senate is further concerned that the bandits are operating in the Zamfara forest where they carry out nefarious and barbaric killings of innocent people over a period of two years. The Senate further notes that they moved with motorcycles that carry up to three people, numbering about 30 motorcycles in all, meaning that the bandits were up to 90.

Security agencies withdrew their men -Senator

“The Senate is worried that the bandits sent two people to the village to buy food for them, and the villagers observed that the emissaries were armed and they were interrogated by the villagers and found to be bandits similar to the ones operating in Zamfara. The villagers apprehended and executed the two emissaries.”

According to Aliero, the group sent advance notice to the villagers that it was coming to retaliate the killing of its members. He lamented that security agencies, who were alerted about the impending reprisal, allegedly withdrew their men after some days.

He said, “The Senate notes with sympathy that the chairman of the local government and the village head alerted the law enforcement agencies to this notice of the bandits. Security was provided for a period of five days, after which they were withdrawn. Immediately the security agencies were withdrawn, the bandits moved in and started killing indiscriminately using AK-47 rifles.

“The situation now is that most of the villagers have left their homes out of fear and so many are still stranded in the bush, not to mention the injured ones still at the hospital and others rendered homeless.”

House again urges Buhari to halt killings

In the House, members again called on President Muhammadu Buhari to halt the killings in the country by bandits and herdsmen.

Members were jolted by the news of the latest killings in Sokoto State by suspected bandits, directing an investigation into recent killings in the North-West geopolitical zone.

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The House resolved that the Federal Government should audit the manpower of all security agencies in the country.

It also ordered a review of the county’s “security architecture to identify the problems and proffer lasting solutions.”

A member from Sokoto State, Mr Aminu Shagari, had drawn the attention of the House to the killings, saying that insecurity was worsening in the country.

Shagari told the House that the attackers had earlier written their victims to inform them they were going to invade their communities.

He stated, “Some villages in Rabah Local Government Area of Sokoto State were attacked by bandits, who invaded the villages on Monday, July 9, 2018 in broad daylight, maimed and killed about 32 people and embarked on wanton destruction of property…”

He expressed shock that despite passing a message that they would come, security agencies reportedly did nothing to thwart the attacks.

The Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Relations, Ms Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, reviewed the killings all over the country and came to the conclusion that Nigeria was at war.

“Nigeria is at war; let us accept the truth. There have been killings from the North-East to the North-Central.

“Now, we talk of Sokoto and Zamfara states. We must rise to the occasion to stop these killings,” she added.

Making her contribution, Mrs  Ayo Omidiran, suggested that up to “50 per cent” of government spending in a year could be devoted to security to address the problem sufficiently through mass recruitment of additional hands into the security agencies.

“There are so many agile, unemployed youths in the country who will easily fill in the manpower gaps in our security agencies,” Omidiran stated.

Six Northern govs sympathise with Tambuwal

In a related development, six governors on Thursday visited their Sokoto State counterpart, Alhaji Aminu  Tambuwal, to sympathise  with him over the killings

The governors included those of Zamfara, Borno, Niger, Jigawa, Katsina and Adamawa states.

Chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Abubakar Yari, who spoke on behalf of others, described the killings as regrettable.

He expressed concern that the bandits were shifting their activities to Sokoto State,  which he described as a peaceful state.

Yari said, “We came to Sokoto to condole with our colleague governor and the good people of the state for the loss. We are concerned about this ugly incident. About 11 of us planned to come over for this condolence but some couldn’t make it.

“This incident is regrettable and we know how painful it can be losing loved ones and relatives, but we pray that God will console them and protect our country.”

The governor called on the citizens to willingly offer information to security agencies about strange people around saying, “if we come together we can achieve a lot.”

Attack, first of its kind in Sokoto, Tambuwal laments

Responding, Tambuwal thanked the governors for visiting the state and described the attack as first of its kind in the state.

He disclosed that the incident, which happened at Tabanni village in Rabah Local Government Area of the state, claimed no fewer than 39.

“We buried 32 people yesterday but when we were leaving the area, they brought additional seven bodies with one severely damaged which brought the total number to 39.”

Tambuwal said, “This is the first time Sokoto will be having this kind of challenge. We have been facing pressure from neighbouring Zamfara State, and we have been working very closely with the governor of Zamfara State to make sure that the security threat did not degenerate to this level.

“But unfortunately, these marauders invaded Tabanni village, killing and maiming people. These marauders never took away even a chicken; they only came to kill, and left.”

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Olaide Oyelude, Katsina

The Katsina Police Command has said it will investigate an allegation of sodomy involving a police inspector whose name was given as Lawal Mohammed.

The Inspector was alleged to have had sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old boy.

The boy was reported to have cut off Mohammed’s manhood with a knife during the act.

The cop was initially admitted to Faskari General Hospital from where police authorities reportedly removed him to an undisclosed hospital in Katsina for protection.

READ ALSO: Herdsman resists arrest, kills policeman in Kebbi

Spokesman for Katsina police command, SP Gambo Isah, confirmed the incident on Wednesday night.

He said, “We received a complaint from members of the community that a police inspector was involved in an immoral act and was injured in the process. We had to move him to a hospital for further treatment after he was found in a pool of his blood.

“All we are after now is saving his life. After that, the command will investigate him on the allegation that he was having sex with a 13-year-old boy when part of his penis was cut off by the boy. The outcome of the investigation will determine the next line of action by the command.”

The police spokesman said no arrest had been made in connection with the incident.

Sources revealed that the incident happened on Tuesday night at Tudun Markabu community in the Faskari Local Government Area of the state.

The sources added that the police inspector was initially transferred from Sabuwar Local Government Area to Kankara before his recent posting to Faskari.

It was further learnt that the errant inspector might have been set up following allegations in the community that he was fond of having sex with young boys.

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John Alechenu, John Ameh, Kamarudeen Ogundele, Chukwudi Akasike, Etim Ekpimah, Leke Baiyewu,Godwin Isenyo, Chidiebube Okeoma, Tony Okafor and Umar Muhammed

The Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday in Abuja, Imo, Anambra, Nasarawa and other states across the country protested against the alleged assault on the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, by the police on Wednesday.

In Abuja, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, led the National Working Committee of the party to the National Assembly to protest against the alleged assault on Fayose.

READ ALSO: FG spending Abacha’s loot on Ekiti election, says Olusola

Also at the protest, which was held at the main gate to the National Assembly Complex, were a former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara;  a former Minister of Health, Prof. ABC Nwosu; former National Woman Leaders, Josephine Anenih and Kema Chikwe; and a former Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Mulikat Akande-Adeola.

The protesters, who were received by Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, in company with the Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, decried the invasion of the state by security forces. Secondus presented a petition by the party to Ekweremadu.

The PDP boss stated that the way the All Progressives Congress administration and the Independent National Electoral Commission would handle the governorship election in Ekiti would determine what Nigerians should expect from the general election in 2019.

Secondus said, “Just yesterday (Wednesday), there was a civilian coup. The Ekiti State Government House was sealed and the governor was brutalised, detained and harmed. We believe that, that was an assault on democracy. The first point of call for this peaceful demonstration is the National Assembly. We believe that we should register our protest, for the National Assembly to quickly intervene through their oversight function on the executive.

“We are aware and we have been reliably informed that INEC and a section of the security agencies are preparing to rig the election in Ekiti, that is why Ekiti today has been militarised and policed. Over 30,000 policemen are in Ekiti. The citizens of Ekiti are afraid, they are traumatised, they are harassed and they are being guarded not to come out of their homes.

“We also call on international community to see and watch what is happening in Ekiti. If this is the type of democracy and election that they tend to conduct – by the APC and INEC – it means the 2019 general election is seriously under threat; and we believe that if they continue in this manner, and if they rig the election in Ekiti, there will be nothing like 2019 elections.

“The security agencies cannot be above the law. The executive cannot be above the law. We are aware that INEC has printed result sheets, to do replacement (sic) by some security agencies.”

Responding, Ekweremadu thanked the PDP leaders for their peaceful approach to the issues in Ekiti.

He said, “We have heard you. We will make contacts with all institutions of democracy as it concerns Ekiti State. We will make contacts with INEC, police and security agencies to ensure that they are neutral.”

PDP members protest in Imo

In Imo State, the PDP members protested on the streets of Owerri ,the state capital on Thursday, to condemn the alleged manhandling of Fayose.

READ ALSO: I’m not happy with happenings in Ekiti –Ooni

The PDP members who demonstrated round the metropolis, headed to the state police command headquarters where they submitted a petition addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, through the state Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galandanchi.

 Addressing the police commissioner, the PDP Chairman in the state, Charles Ezekwem ,said that the members of the party nationwide were not happy with the alleged brutality meted out to the governor.

Nasarawa PDP submits petition to police

Also, the opposition party protested in Lafia, the  Nasarawa State capital. Addressing the party supporters from the 13 local government areas,  the state Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Francis Orogwu, expressed concern over the alleged ill-treatment of Fayose.

In a five-paragraph protest submitted to the state Commissioner of Police, Nasarawa State Command, Mr. Yahaya Bello, Orogwu said the IGP should remain neutral in the Ekiti State election and the 2019 polls.

Anambra PDP protests attack on Fayose

In Anambra State, the PDP members on Thursday took their protest to the Anambra Police Command over the alleged attack and molestation of Fayose on Wednesday by the police.

The party members who staged the peaceful protest in front of the police headquarters in Amawbia, described the attack as a threat to democracy.

The chairman of the party in the state, Ndubisi Nwobu, said the leadership of the party was at the police headquarters to express their grievances, as well as submit their letter of disapproval of the act to Idris.

Describing the police as a peacekeeping body which ought to maintain neutrality, Nwobu urged the force to caution its men and play the role of an unbiased umpire at the Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

Responding, the state Commissioner of Police, Garba Umar, assured them that their letter would get to the appropriate authorities for prompt attention.

Garba, who was represented by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Chris Afolabi, commended them for their peaceful conduct.

Ekiti attack will be replicated in Rivers – Wike

Also,  the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike,  said that the action of security operatives in Ekiti State would be replicated in Rivers State and the entire country in 2019.

Wike, who spoke in Port Harcourt on Tuesday night, described the incident as a foretaste of what the Federal Government had planned for  Nigeria in a bid to retain power after losing the support of Nigerians.

Wike said, “I wish to also draw the attention of the people of Rivers State to the fact that what is happening at Ekiti State is clearly a foretaste of what the APC-led Federal Government has planned to unleash on our state and indeed, the entire country, in their desperate attempt to rig 2019 general elections and retain or return to power having performed woefully and lost the support of the generality of Nigerians.”

On his part, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel,  condemned the alleged attack on Fayose.

Speaking with journalists at the Government House in Uyo on Thursday,  Emmanuel described the incident as a fragrant abuse of democratic process in Nigeria.

Also, a PDP presidential aspirant, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, said the alleged police attack on  Fayose  portended danger for the nation’s fledgling democracy.

In a statement  by his spokesman, Mallam Mukhtar Sirajo in Kaduna, Makarfi said that the attack was an ominous sign ahead of the 2019 general elections.

We reject PDP’s claims on police deployment – APC

But the APC rejected claims by the PDP that policemen drafted to Ekiti State were deployed to work for the APC candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

This was contained in a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, in Abuja, on Thursday.

The statement read, “We reject the claim by the Peoples Democratic Party that policemen were drafted to Ekiti State to harass the PDP supporters in Saturday’s governorship election in favour of the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

“As usual with elections, extra-security deployment is routine to keep the peace for credible and transparent elections.”

Senate caucus demands probe, to meet Fayose

Meanwhile, the Senate closed plenary on Thursday before the normal time over an emergency meeting held by the PDP Caucus on the matter.

The Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, who coordinated activities during the session, called for standing down of the remaining items on the Order Paper, more than one hour ahead of the normal 2pm closing time, as the presiding officer had an urgent matter to attend to.

Ekweremadu, shortly before adjournment, announced that there would be an emergency meeting by the PDP lawmakers.

After the closed-door meeting which lasted over one hour, the caucus resolved to urge the Federal Government to investigate the alleged attack on Fayose and prosecute the suspects.

The Chairman of the Senate PDP Caucus, Godswill Akpabio, said it was also resolved that a five-man panel should be sent to Ekiti on a fact-finding mission. The delegation would also meet with Fayose to get details of the alleged attack.

Reps ask INEC, police, others to ensure free, fair poll

In the House of Representatives, members asked INEC, the police and other security agencies to uphold democratic tenets by conducting a free and fair governorship poll on Saturday (tomorrow).

The House warned against intimidation and harassment of voters or attempts to use security operatives to impose a particular candidate on Ekiti voters.

In a resolution it passed in Abuja, the House called for an investigation into the alleged attack on Fayose.

It followed a motion moved by a member from Kogi State, Mr. Tajudeen Yusuf, who recalled how the police reportedly interrupted a campaign rally led by Fayose and allegedly shot at people in Ado-Ekiti.

In the motion, Yusuf accused the police of being partisan by siding with the APC ahead of the Saturday’s poll.

Yusuf urged the House to condemn the incident and to ask President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the police to “render an apology to Nigerians.”

He added, “INEC and all security agencies must ensure that the Ekiti poll is free, fair and credible.”

Several members, including Mr Kingsley Chinda and Mr Karimi Sunday, also condemned the development in Ekiti, saying that it portrayed Nigeria in a bad light before the international community.

However, some members called for caution, advising the House against being judgmental, since it had yet to confirm that Fayose was truly attacked.

A member from Borno State, Mr Mohammed Monguno, said, “While the governor said he was attacked, another version is that commercial transporters were protesting because the governor promised them money that he could not pay.

“The full story will come out of the investigation and we should not be judgmental.”

Another member from Kano State, Mr. Aminu Suleiman, made a similar intervention. But, his attempts to cast aspersions on Fayose led to protests by the PDP members.

Suleiman had said he did not believe that Fayose was attacked, claiming that he was acting before cameras.

“Fayose behaved like a Nollywood actor; as far as I am concerned, nothing happened to him.

“How come no other person except him was injured? He just fell down and started acting,” Suleiman stated.

The lawmaker also reminded the House that in 2014 when the PDP controlled the Federal Government, the latter too used security agencies to intimidate voters the way it liked.

But, he earned the anger of the PDP, whose members insisted he must apologise for his comments.

Suleiman refused to apologise in spite of being directed to do so by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara. The speaker immediately shut down his microphone. The motion was eventually passed in a majority voice vote.

Police withdraw cops from Ekiti Govt House

Meanwhile, police have withdrawn their operatives from the entrances to Ekiti Government House and the Kolapo Olusola Campaign Office in Ado Ekiti.

Riot-policemen had on Tuesday manned the entrances when President Muhammadu Buhari came for the APC rally and returned on Wednesday.

They dispersed supporters and members of the PDP from the campaign office on Wednesday, saying no permit was obtained.

One of our correspondents observed that the entrances to the government house were free for vehicles to go in and out on Thursday.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Operations, Mr. Habilal Joshak, also appeared on the state-owned television station where he denied ordering his men and officers to use tear gas on the crowd.

“What I said was that those massing for the rally should be asked to leave because it is not good going by the mood of the state now to hold rally or street procession. I didn’t say they should use force.

“This is an election and electioneering is a civil matter anywhere across the globe, so police as security agents can’t use force on the people.

“But I want to assure the good people of Ekiti State that  such a mistake will never repeat itself,” Joshak stated.

The Special Assistant to Governor Fayose on Public Communications, Lere Olayinka, said the governor had been discharged from the hospital and now stabilising.

“The governor is now better and stabilising fast. He is out of hospital and I believe he will get well soon,” he said.

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The Lagos State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria has called on Christians in Nigeria to do away with denominational differences and work together towards tackling common challenges.

Citing lackadaisical attitude rooted in denominational biases and resentment as part of the factors fuelling the killings in the nation, the Chairman of the state chapter of CAN, Apostle Alexander Bamgbola, said the unity of Christians would bring about a formidable force to tackle its challenges, especially the killing of Christians.

Bamgbola spoke on Wednesday through the Secretary of the chapter, Israel Akinadewo, at Hoare’s Methodist Church, Yaba, at the end of a three-day prayer and fasting programme. The prayer started on Monday, July 9 as directed by the national body of CAN.

Akinadewo, who disclosed that Bamgbola was with other CAN state chairmen in Abuja for the national prayer, urged Christians in Lagos not to be complacent because their areas had not witnessed the killings.

In his address titled, ‘The ever-dependable power of God”, Akinadewo noted that the killings were not targeted against a particular denomination but against the Church in general, the reason, according to him, why Christians should shun discrimination based on denomination and embrace brotherliness.

Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: theeditor@punchng.com