NaijTales

Friday 8 January 2016

JUST IN: DSS Discovers Guns At Detained Radio Biafra Broadcaster’s Home

News just reaching us indicate that several firearms were discovered in the home of Mr. Benjamin Madu, a member of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) this is according to documents obtained by Sahara Reporters.

Radio Biafra

The documents also revealed the arrest and detention of Madu, who admitted to Department of State Services (DSS) agents that he was a member of IPOB.

Madu was arrested by agents of DSS after a container was discovered in his home which contained a radio transmitter that was transmitting Radio Biafra programming.

Weapons found in his home include an Emerald Magnum pump-action shotgun, a Delia pump-action shotgun, a packet containing 17 12-calibre cartridges, and another packet containing 24 12-calibre cartridges.

The list also included a reference to a small satchel “containing substances suspected to be Indian Hemp”.

SaharaReporters earlier this week had obtained a statement used by DSS as evidence that “Biafran soldiers” were linked to IPOB.

In the statement, references were made to armed individuals present at IPOB meetings and training exercises. The statement was written by Tochukwu Meribe and described his experiences with IPOB as a member of the organization.

The Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, who was arrested on Sunday, October 18, 2015, remains in custody despite being granted bail.

In a related development, Chief Godwin Odukwe has blamed Kanu for being responsible for his own misfortune and incarceration.

Judges Handling Stella Oduah, Kashamu, Ex-NIMASA Boss Cases Transferred

The Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Auta, has approved the transfer of some judges handling high profile cases to other divisions.

File photo of Chief Judge of Nigeria,Justice Mahmud Mohammed

The affected judges are from the Federal High Court in Lagos. Those that are leaving the Lagos division are Justices Okon Abang, Chukwujekwu Aneke, Mohammed Yunusa and Musa Kurya.

Justice Abang has been transferred to Abuja. He had barred the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency from arresting Senator Buruji Kashamu for illicit drug dealing allegations. Other of his cases still pending are: former presidential adviser Kingsley Kuku Vs, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Honeywell Group Vs. Ecobank Pls.

Also, Justice Yunusa , who granted the order restraining EFCC from arresting former minister of aviation and Senator Stella Oduah, was sent to Enugu state, The Nation reports.

While Justice Aneke was transferred to Benue and Justice Kurya to Plateau and in the case of Justice Ibrahim Buba who was expected to be moved to the north, will remain in Lagos. He is currently handling the fraud trial of former director-general of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi.

The cases pending before the judges that have been transferred will begin afresh. The new development has unsettled litigants who were said to be unhappy about the change as it will mean fresh cost.

According a human rights group, Access to Justice (A2Justice) frowned at the transfer, stating that such ‘arbitary and routine’ transfer of judges will affect the speedy dispensation of justice.

The group added that the transfer of judges who had commenced not complete trial will escalate the cost of litigation.

“Such transfers of judges often times occur after the case has spent years on the docket of the court of the transferred judge.

“This would entail recalling witnesses and re-tendering evidence. Some of the cases affected may also be fundamental rights cases, where issues of constitutional rights – including liberty or movement – may also be in question.

“These administrative transfers force litigants to outspend themselves to resolve disputes or find remedies, in view of additional expenses involved in re-litigating a matter.

“Transfers take their toll on, and burden witnesses too, some of whom may be unable, on health or other grounds, to return to court to give evidence again.

“When witnesses are unable to reappear to give evidence and a case is thereby prejudiced, this perpetuates replicates and amplifies negative public impressions about our court system and its ability to uphold the rule of law and dispense justice freely and efficiently.

“No person affected by these transfers would have a positive impression of the court or how the courts take their responsibility to dispense justice,” It stated.

Did Government Lie To Borno IDPs About Boko Haram Defeat?

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Gwoza in Borno state have contradicted a recent claim by the federal government and the military that Boko Haram does not control a single town in Nigeria.

IDP spokesman Filimi Emmanuel said Gwoza and other towns in the state are controlled by the terrorists and claimed that they were being pressured by the federal government through the National Emergency Agency (NEMA) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to return home to prove the militants have been defeated.

“NEMA and the NHRC have continually told us we will go back to our villages that Boko Haram has been pushed out of our villages, which is not true,” Emmanuel said.

IDPs from Gwoza

“No military went to our villages. There is no military in Gwoza as our villages are controlled by Boko Haram.

“Take our complaints to the National Assembly. You can help us to talk to the Chief of Army Staff so that he can send soldiers to our villages to flush out the insurgents,”Emmanuel pleaded.

“If we are able to confirm that Boko Haram has been flushed out from our villages, even, tomorrow, we are ready to go back.”

Interior minister Abdulrahman Dambazau said the federal government has expressed its commitment to restoring order to the troubled northeast, noting that sustaining peace in the devastated region is as good as winning the war against terrorism.

He made the comment while playing host to a delegation from the West Africa Conflict and Security Team in Abuja yesterday, adding that the activities of Boko Haram have become a national headache.

Interior Minister Abdulraman Dambazau

“We know that the ministry has been up and doing in dealing with insurgency in the north-east but it does not stop at winning the war but also winning the peace,” he said.

“This is where the Ministry of Interior comes in. We want to assure you that we will do everything possible to support you to bring back peace in that region after the military would have won the war.

“So, for us here, whatever we can do to add value to the effort you are making we are ready to do that. Like I said, terrorism is a global problem and terrorism is beyond the north-east.”

Read What Saraki Did With N2.6m

Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Friday, January 8 2016 contributed 2.6million naira to the 53 victims of the recent violence in Agbarere and lta-Ajia areas of Ilorin.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) each of the 53 beneficiaries received 50,000 naira at the constituency office of the Senate President in Ilorin.

The money was presented to the beneficiaries by Alhaji Abdulwahab Issa, the Director General of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Constituency Office.

Issa said Saraki’s gesture was in response to the pledge he made when he visited the victims in May 2015.

Alhaji Salman Mahmud, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in llorin East Local Government Area also expressed gratitude and joy for the action of Saraki and urged parents to monitor the movements of their children.

Hajia Risikat Raji, one of the beneficiaries also commended Saraki for his actions stating that the money will be of great help to the families of the victims.Naij.comrecalls that violence broke out at Agbarere and lta-Ajia areas of llorin, Kwara state on April 25, 2015, resulting in damage to houses and vehicles.

Saturday 26 December 2015

Petrol Price To Be Reduced To N85 Per Litre From January 1 Next Year

The pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, will be reduced to N85 per liter on January 1 next year.

This information was announced by Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum CorporationCorporation (NNPC), during the meeting with journalists at the Port Hacourt Refinery Company (PHRC).

Boko Haram: President Buhari Discloses Action Plan To End Insurgency

President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that his administration intends to persuade Boko Haram members to allow peace reign in order to end the insurgency which has ravaged Northeastern Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Nigerians to pray for troops fighting Boko Haram in the northeast of the country

The president according to The Punch, made this disclosure on Friday, December 25, at the presidential villa in Abuja during the visit of a delegation led by the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Muhammadu Bello who paid him Christmas homage.

Meet the man who married Putin’s daughter and then made a fortune

Katerina Putin, younger daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin got married to Kirill Shamalov, son of an old friend of Putin. Their wedding celebrations took place in February 2013, at Igora, a small ski resort that combines beauty and discretion, five people who were there told Reuters.

Stella Oduah Disagrees With PDP Over President Buhari’s Budget, Read What She Said

As against the comments made by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) about President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2016 budget, Senator Stella Oduah has hailed Buhari.

In a statement made available to journalists, the senator representing Anambra-North Senatorial District described the budget as “very robust and seemingly thorough and well-thought out” while also expressing hope that it would address many of the economic and security situations that Nigerians currently face.

President Muhammadu Buhari presents the 2016 Budget at the National Assembly today.

According to Sahara Reporters, Oduah expressed excitement with the fact that the budget is also targeted at issues of concern to rural communities as she also stated her desire to see the new year set a new path for the country because the president seemed to touch on areas that included the boosting of oil and non-oil revenues.