#Nigerian Government To Charge Senator

[truetellsnigeria1]

Nigerian Government To Charge Senator, Stella Oduah For Alleged N7.9billion Fraud

Nigerian Government To Charge Senator, Stella Oduah For Alleged N7.9billion Fraud

A directive for the arraignment of a former Aviation Minister, Senator Stella Oduah, has been finally issued in the N7.9 billion money laundering charges brought against her by the Federal Government. The planned arraignment of a former Nigerian Minister of Aviation, Senator Stella Oduah on the N7.9 billion money laundering charges on October 11 may be stalled for the seventh time before Justice…

[hardynwa]

Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Wednesday morning

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers: 1. The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has suspended the nationwide planned protest slated for Wednesday. The NLC and other related unions commenced nationwide protests on Tuesday over the high cost of living, inflation, insecurity, and hardship in the country. 2. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has increased the benchmark interest rate by 400 basis points to a record 22.75%. The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed this while reading the communiqué of the first MPC meeting of the year on Tuesday in Abuja. 3. The Senate has asked the Federal Government to introduce a food stamps programme as a measure to cushion the effect of hunger and food crisis in the country. It also urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to liaise with development partners and other relevant stakeholders, especially the Lagos Food Bank Initiative, which introduced Temporary Food Assistance Programme,a few years ago. 4. A pastor in charge of Celestial Church of Christ, Grace of Comfort Parish, Omitoto, in Osun State, Moris Fadehan, has been reported to have been murdered inside his church by one of his assistants, Lekan Ogundipe. According to sources, the suspect drew the attention of the people to the presence of the partly burnt remains of the pastor inside the church on Monday. 5. A 29-year-old man, Joseph Yakubu, has been arrested by the Plateau State Police Command for allegedly killing his father, Yakubu Dalyop, with a pestle. Yakubu was said to have picked a pestle and hit his father during a disagreement. This led to the victim’s unconsciousness and eventual death. 6. At least 20 students of some boarding public schools in Potiskum, Fika, and Fune local government areas of Yobe State have died from a suspected Meningitis outbreak. It was learnt that the deaths were recorded in Government Science Technical College, Government Girls Science Technical College, and Federal Government Girls College. 7. The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, has distanced himself from the economic hardship Nigerians are currently experiencing. Speaking on Tuesday at the first Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, meeting under his leadership, Cardoso said he and his team were not responsible for the prevailing economic challenges Nigerians were facing. 8. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has commenced sale of dollars to Bureau De Change operators. Announcing the development in a statement on Tuesday, the apex bank said $20,000 will be available to each eligible BDC operator across the country. 9. Barrister Chris Agidy, the Senior Legislative Aide, SLA, to the lawmaker representing Delta North, Senator Ned Nwoko, who was kidnapped by bandits in 2023, has been killed. The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, who confirmed this on Tuesday, said the body of the deceased has been recovered. 10. Kaduna State Government has confirmed five deaths following lassa fever outbreak in the state. This was confirmed by the state’s commissioner for health, Hajiya Umma Ahmed, on Tuesday. Read the full article

[crimechannels]

By • Olalekan Fagbade Buhari was never in charge of his government, President Tinubu is different The senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has claimed that former President Muhammadu Buhari was never in charge of his government. He said the ex-President played a lesser supervisory role, unlike the President Bola Tinubu. Buhari was elected President of Nigeria in 2015 and he led for eight years, handing over to his partyman, Tinubu in 2023. During the period of Buhari’s eight years, especially in his second tenure, most Nigerians shared the opinion that he was never there. Ndume, who appeared on Friday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, insisted that some kleptocrats were in the immediate past administration. “The President here is in charge. He takes charge, unlike our former President. That President will just give you an assignment, he will not look over you,” Ndume said. “That is where the problem is and he (Buhari) knows that. That was the mistake President Buhari made. “He ended up confessing these days that he had more kleptocrats in his government than people that has more interest at heart.”

[njenjemedia]

[ad_1] The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it will not accept any questionable harvest of votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election, Njenje Media News reports. PDP also charged President Muhammadu Buhari to keep to his word of ensuring that the 2023 elections are free, fair, transparent and credible. National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu who gave the warning in Abuja, on Friday while commissioning the party’s Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI) also cautioned the Presidency and the APC not to intimidate INEC or its functionaries in any way. On the importance of the institute, Ayu said no society develops by fiat, adding: “It comes about by the rigorous work of carefully studying situations and analyzing them before evolving and implementing sustainable solutions. That was the idea that birthed the PDI on 31st August 2000.” PDP National Chairman said the PDI will be a think tank for the party for rigorous intellectual work of research, socio-economic analysis, policy development, training and capacity building of political actors, and the strengthening of our democratic institutions and culture. Ayu said unlike the APC, PDP was not hurriedly conceived as a propaganda machine just to access power, saying “it came to power with a mission”. He continued: “We understood that democracy is not a one-man show, something to be run on adhoc arrangements; democracy is about mass participation, shared ideas and shared prosperity. PDI is, therefore, the party’s tool for generating ideas, thoroughly researching them and rigorously analyzing development options/policies for good governance and National development.” He said further: “It’s regretful that after more than a decade of eventful activities, the institute lost its accommodation in Wuse II, and had to be located in a portacabin at the party’s national headquarters. Today, however, marks another turning point in our party’s fortunes. The deliberate actions of the current NWC have revived hope for the survival of the institute. It is now comfortably accommodated in this structure which has been rented, renovated, furnished and equipped for PDI to effectively re-engage the purpose for which it was established.” According to him: “The party is again preparing itself adequately and shall hit the ground running, when, by the grace of God and the votes of Nigerians, PDP returns to power next year. While the others are utterly confused about how, where or when to even begin their campaigns, PDP is already preparing for governance. Our Presidential candidate, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, has already exhibited his intellectual preparedness in his publications that are already in the public space for everyone to access and scrutinize. He further avowed that it is not “an accident of history” that he commissioned the institute at its inauguration in 2000 and is today, recommissioning it in preparation for the task ahead starting from May 29, 2023. “PDP will not waste six months in the Presidential Villa thinking of what to do with power. Although the party has a robust package for making Nigeria workable again, the Institute has been revamped and repositioned to provide research data that will help President Atiku to unlock our national potential, secure the country, energize our productive sectors, stimulate wealth creation, empower youths and women, create jobs, revitalize agriculture, stabilize the educational sector and, altogether, be an alert and effective commander-in-chief,” he stated. While stating emphatically that PDP’s focus remains on retaking power from the ruling APC next February, he stressed: “The party maintains that we will not accept the questionable harvests of votes from inaccessible areas as happened in previous elections under the APC.” He stated: “We renew our call on the international community, especially the US, European Union, the Commonwealth and

the African Union to sustain their interest in the democratic project in Nigeria through diplomatic pressures, political contacts and large, high-calibre observer missions.” [ad_2]

[toriexpress]

Why Nigerian Govt. cannot intervene in Ekweremadu case on alleged organ harvesting - Malami

Why Nigerian Govt. cannot intervene in Ekweremadu case on alleged organ harvesting – Malami

Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), says the federal government cannot intervene in the case of alleged organ harvesting involving Ike Ekweremadu, former deputy president of the senate. The former deputy senate president and Beatrice, his wife, are facing charges bordering on conspiracy to arrange/facilitate the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely…

[thewtcho]

Commonwealth Games: Bayelsa govt sets Gold target for Nigerian athletes

Commonwealth Games: Bayelsa govt sets Gold target for Nigerian athletes

The Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo gave the charge when the President, principal officers and athletes of the NWF paid him a courtesy call at the government house, Yenagoa. Senator Ewhrudjakpo noted that the wrestling federation had done the country proud in its previous outings in the colours of Nigeria. The Deputy Governor, however, stressed the need for the Federation to improve…

[endyedesonnews]

See The List Of The Newly Appointed Nigerian Ministers And Their Portfolios. They Were Sworn In Today ........... President Muhammadu Buhari has assigned portfolios to seven newly appointed ministers, charging them to serve the nation diligently, maintain unalloyed loyalty to the country and office of the President. The newly appointed ministers and their portfolios are: 1 Ikechukwu Ikoh, Minister of State, Science and Technology; 2 Umana Umana, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs; 3 Udi Odum , Minister of State, Environment; 4 Ademola Adegoroye, Minister of State, Transport; 5 Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub, Minister of State, Works and Housing; 6 Goodluck Opiah, Minister of State, Education; 7 Nkama Ekumankama, Minister of State, Health. The President also announced the reassignment of portfolios in his cabinet, saying the new redeployment is aimed at reinvigorating certain sectors where the government desires to accomplish improved results. The following ministers were re-assigned: - Senator Adeleke Mamora, Minister of Science and Technology (formerly Minister of State, Health); - Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, Minister of Transportation (formerly Minister of State, Works and Housing); - Sharon Ikeazor, Minister of State, Niger Delta (formerly Minister of State, Environment) and - Sen. Gbemisola Saraki, Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development (formerly Minister of State, Transportation). GUYS, WHAT DO YOU THINK? #NigeriaNews #nigeriannews #ministers #PoliticalNews ............. LINKS YOU MIGHT LIKE ( OPTIONAL TO CLICK) 1. Visit My Blog For More News : www.edesononlinenews.com 2. I Register Business Names, Limited Liability Company, NGO, Social Clubs, etc At Corporate Affairs Commission. I Do Nationwide Newspaper Publication. 08136125128. 3. I Design Websites, Blogs & Graphics. I Publish Apps On Google PlayStore. 4. My Company Website Is www.edesoninfotech.com.ng (at Lagos, Nigeria) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfrVnq_Mdvi/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 1.12

475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire. 1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned since his election in June 1523. 1554 – Bayinnaung, who would go on to assemble the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, is crowned King of Burma. 1616 – The city of Belém, Brazil is founded on the Amazon River delta, by Portuguese captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco. 1808 – John Rennie's scheme to defend St Mary's Church, Reculver, founded in 669, from coastal erosion is abandoned in favour of demolition, despite the church being an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon architecture and sculpture. 1808 – The organizational meeting leading to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh. 1848 – The Palermo rising takes place in Sicily against the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. 1866 – The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London. 1872 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years. 1895 – The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom. 1911 – The University of the Philippines College of Law is formally established; three future Philippine presidents are among the first enrollees. 1915 – The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to require states to give women the right to vote. 1916 – Both Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann, for achieving eight aerial victories each over Allied aircraft, receive the German Empire's highest military award, the Pour le Mérite as the first German aviators to earn it. 1918 – The Minnie Pit Disaster coal mining accident occurs in Halmer End, Staffordshire, in which 155 men and boys die. 1932 – Hattie Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate. 1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board. 1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins the Vistula–Oder Offensive. 1962 – Vietnam War: Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the war, takes place. 1964 – Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution and proclaim a republic. 1966 – Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended. 1967 – Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation. 1969 – The New York Jets of the American Football League defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history. 1970 – Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian Civil War. 1971 – The Harrisburg Seven: Rev. Philip Berrigan and five other activists are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C. 1976 – The United Nations Security Council votes 11–1 to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights). 1986 – Space Shuttle program: Congressman Bill Nelson lifts off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Columbia on mission STS-61-C as a payload specialist. 1990 – A seven-day pogrom breaks out against the Armenian civilian population of Baku, Azerbaijan, during which Armenians were beaten, tortured, murdered, and expelled from the city. 1991 – Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. 1997 – Space Shuttle program: Atlantis launches from the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-81 to the Russian space station Mir, carrying astronaut Jerry M. Linenger for a four month stay on board the station, replacing astronaut John E. Blaha. 1998 – Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning. 2001 – Downtown Disney opens to the public as part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. 2004 – The world's largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage. 2005 – Deep Impact launches from Cape Canaveral on a Delta II rocket. 2006 – A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims. 2010 – An earthquake in Haiti occurs, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people and destroying much of the capital Port-au-Prince. 2012 – Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu's economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers. 2015 – Government raids kill 143 Boko Haram fighters in Kolofata, Cameroon. 2016 – Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. 2020 – Taal Volcano in the Philippines erupts, and kills 39 people.

[dispatchesfrom2020]

2020

Week 13: March 23-29

23: Boko Haram kills 92 Chadian soldiers and 70 Nigerian troops in brutal attacks. The United States senate votes down another coronavirus relief bill - it won’t be the last time I write that sentence. But the day has positive news: Colorado abolishes the death penalty and Cuba sends doctors to Italy to help the country combat coronavirus. Cuba operates a large international medical corps that are frequently deployed to other countries to fill shortages and respond to medical emergencies - it’s an important source of income for the country, which boasts the highest ratio of citizens to doctors in the world. Cuba has 28,000 medical professionals stationed in 60 different countries.

24: The Donald insists the US will be reopened by Easter. They won’t. The Olympic Committee officially postpones the Tokyo games. In Spain, an ice rink in Madrid is converted in a temporary morgue as they report 514 deaths in one day. The Detroit police department is experiencing an outbreak and Vice President Mike Pence states that FEMA will be sending 4,000 ventilators to New York, where cases are exploding. In Edmonton, gas prices bottom out - a mere 66¢ per litre. I’ve literally never paid so little for gas in my entire driving life - I fill my car even though it is nearly full already. It’s the last time I’ll fill it in weeks.

25: Egypt disinfects the pyramids of Giza - India, meanwhile, enters a nation-wide lockdown. Spain, recording 738 new deaths, overtakes China’s death toll and becomes the second hardest-hit country after Italy. Kosovo’s government crumbles after a vote of non-confidence. Liz and I hold a West Wing and facials night to pamper ourselves.

26: Mali’s leader of the opposition, Soumaïla Cissé, is taken hostage in a violent ambush that leaves a member of his security detail dead. Cissé, a computer engineer by trade, is released in October and dies of complications from COVID in the closing days of 2020. The United States imposes new sanctions on Iran - and the Justice Department announces charges against Venezuelean President Maduro for drug trafficking, offering a $15m award for his arrest. Brenton Tarrant, the right-wing terrorist behind the Islamaphobic Christchurch Mosque attacks, pleads guilty of 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one terrorism charge.

Crematoriums and funeral homes in the Bergamo region struggle to keep pace with the deaths in Italy - the country’s army and military police are brought in to help redistribute the deceased to other less heavily impacted cities.

27: North Macedonia joins NATO (... is it even on the Atlantic? Do we even care about that anymore?). A New York subway catches fire, killing one person and injuring over a dozen others. A volcano in Indonesia erupts. Coronavirus continues to rage. A two trillion dollar stimulus package was passed in the United States. Italy, with 86,498 cases of coronavirus and 9,134 deaths, remains the country with the largest losses of life. Boris Johnson tests positive for coronavirus - as does his Secretary of Health and Social Care. He will, over the course of the next few days, be hospitalized. And then put on oxygen. And then transferred to the critical care unit where he nearly dies. 

28: New York joins a long list of states to postpone their primary elections - this is obviously a bigger issue for the Democrats, who have not decisively selected a nominee for the November election. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Former Vice President Joe Biden remain - though the latter enjoys a slight lead among delegates.

29: Cuban doctors arrive in Andorra to help with COVID relief - the European country, with its small but elderly population, is experiencing one of the highest death rates per capita in the world. By the end of the year one in eleven residents will have contracted the illness. North Korea, never missing a chance to be a raging asshole, launches a pair of missiles into the ocean in either a show of strength or an attack on salmon.

photos: (1) Atul Loke/New York Times | (2) Fabio Bucciarelli/New York Times | (3) Juan Medina/Reuters

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Political journalist Omoyele Sowore arrested and tortured under Nigeria's overbroad "cyberstalking" law

[Omoyele Sowore is a Nigerian journalist and owner of the independent media outlet Saraha Reporters; shortly after the election of President Buhari, Sowore was arrested under the country's anti-cyberstalking laws for "causing insult, enmity, hatred and ill-will on the person of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria." He's still in jail, where he has been tortured. His case has attracted condemnation from US senators and solidarity from PEN. My EFF colleague Cindy Cohn, who met Sowore through her work on the Bowoto case, prosecuting Chevron for a mass murder in service to oil exploration, wrote a post, crossposted below, about how overbroad, sloppy harassment and stalking bills can be weaponized. -Cory]

EFF has long been concerned that—unless carefully drafted and limited—cyberstalking laws can be misused to criminalize political speech. In fact, earlier this year we celebrated a federal court decision in Washington State in the United States that tossed out an overbroad cyberstalking law. In the case, the law had been used to silence a protester who used strong language and persistence in criticizing a public official. EFF filed anamicus brief in that case where we cautioned that such laws could be easily misused and the court agreed with us.

Now the problem has occurred in a high-profile political case in Nigeria. Just this week the Nigerian government formally filed “cyberstalking” charges against Omoyele Sowore, a longtime political activist and publisher of the respected Sahara Reporters online news agency. Sowore had organized political protests in Nigeria under the hashtag #RevolutionNow and conducted media interviews in support of his protest. He was detained along with another organizer between early August and late September before being granted bail. He reports that he has been beaten and denied access to his family and, for a while, denied access to an attorney.

The charges make clear that this prosecution is a misuse of the overbroad cyberstalking statute, passed in 2015. They state that Sowore committed cyberstalking by: “knowingly sent messages by means of press interview granted on 'arise Television' network which you knew to be false for the purpose of causing insult, enmity, hatred and ill-will on the person of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

That’s it. The prosecution claims that you can “cyberstalk” the President by going on TV and saying allegedly false things about him with a goal of causing “insult” or “ill-will.” This is obviously a misuse of the law and flatly inconsistent with freedom of expression under both Nigerian and international law. The President of Nigeria is a public figure and criticisms of his policies should be strongly protected. Instead, this prosecution appears to be a textbook case of a poorly drafted law being misused for political purposes.

Similar problems exist with the claim of “treason,” which is also based solely on Sowore’s protest activities and the use of the “#RevolutionNow” slogan. There appear to be a similar political agenda behind the final charges for “financial crimes,” based on Sowore allegedly moving funds between his organization's own bank accounts.

Freedom of expression is a cherished, internationally recognized human right. Nigeria is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and additionally recognizes the right to free expression in its 1999 Constitution under section 39(1). Yet on its face, Nigeria’s constitution (section 45.1) also allows many exceptions to freedom of expression that can essentially eviscerate the right, unless carefully interpreted. It’s up to the courts and the prosecutors to protect freedom of expression and interpret any exceptions narrowly and carefully, and up to the legislature not to pass laws that can be so easily misused.

We hope that the judges and prosecutors of Nigeria recognize the problem in applying this cyberstalking law to prosecute a political activist. Nigeria has a long and proud tradition of peaceful but powerful political protest. Such protests are key to a functioning democracy. Protecting core and longstanding human rights such as freedom of expression, especially when that expression is aimed at convincing the public on a political matter, is the obligation of a modern government. If Nigeria is to uphold its international human rights obligations as well as its own traditions, these charges against Sowore and his co-defendant should be dropped immediately.

(Image: Personal Democracy, CC BY-SA)

https://boingboing.net/2019/12/12/thin-skinned-dictator.html

[daprojex]

Nigeria Cracks Down on a Critic, and a New Jersey Town Pushes Back

When the Nigerian government went after a prominent detractor in the midst of a broad crackdown on free speech, it didn’t expect to stir resistance 5,000 miles away.

By Ruth Maclean

Dec. 22, 2019, 11:20 a.m. ET

HAWORTH, N.J. — Opeyemi Sowore watched the videos on her phone in bed in her New Jersey home, the children still asleep, the Christmas tree twinkling downstairs.

The videos showed her husband — a former presidential candidate and the publisher of a website known as Africa’s WikiLeaks — being wrestled to the floor in a Nigerian courtroom by a man in a black suit, as lawyers in wigs and gowns crowded around shouting.

The court had ruled that her husband, Omoyele Sowore, should be free on bail while awaiting trial on charges of treason, money laundering and, for criticizing President Muhammadu Buhari on television, cyberstalking. But on Dec. 6, while his wife slept more than 5,000 miles away, Mr. Sowore was taken from the courtroom back into detention, where he has been held for nearly all of the past five months.

Before Mr. Sowore was led away by Nigeria’s equivalent of the Secret Service, he was videotaped saying that these “might be my only words on record before they kill me.” His wife has had no contact with him since.

When Mr. Buhari was elected in 2015 as president of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, it was hailed as a triumph for democracy. Since then, however, his government has turned toward harsh authoritarianism, putting the country’s thriving civic organizations and news media to the test.

Protests have been met with deadly force. The country’s chief justice was summarily sacked. Humanitarian organizations that criticize the state were threatened with closure, and newspaper offices were raided. One journalist, Jones Abiri, has been in detention so long that for a time, he was thought to be dead.

One bill now making its way through Nigeria’s Senate proposes the death penalty for some instances of “hate speech.” A second, the Anti-Social Media Bill, modeled on a new Singaporean law, calls for government critics to spend as much as three years in prison.

Nigeria is not alone in clamping down on freedom of expression. ​A punitive new security law ​in traditionally media-friendly Burkina Faso, a proposed hate speech measure in Ethiopia, a harsh crackdown in Tanzania and routine internet and social media shutdowns across Africa point to a wider trend toward censorship.

“The people in power just don’t want to have to tolerate the voices of the people,” said Ayisha Osori, head of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa.

African leaders feel emboldened to strangle the news media because of a perceived global rollback in democracy, she said.

Mr. Sowore founded a website in 2006, Sahara Reporters, that specializes in exposing corruption and government malfeasance. With funding from American foundations and about 50 staff members working in Nigeria and the United States, the site’s publication of leaked, often unfiltered information disrupted Nigeria’s traditional media scene.

By basing his operation in New York, Mr. Sowore for years had a degree of protection from the consequences of publishing often scandalous information about Nigeria’s most powerful people. He shuttled between his family home in New Jersey and Nigeria, where he is a citizen, without much interference.

Then, on Aug. 3, in the middle of the night, he was arrested by Nigeria’s Department of State Services, or D.S.S., in his Lagos hotel room.

At first, Opeyemi Sowore told no one in Haworth, a well-off suburb about 20 miles from midtown Manhattan, about her husband’s arrest. None of them knew much about Nigeria, or what Mr. Sowore, known as Yele, did for a living. As far as they were concerned, he was just a dad and a keen runner.

One day, though, texting with another mother with children at the local school, Ms. Sowore explained why her husband had been away so long.

Word traveled fast in Haworth, a town of 3,500 people.

“One mom told another mom, told another mom, told another mom, and next thing we knew we had assembled what really is functioning as a crisis management team,” said Alanna Zahn Davis, one of the mothers in that chain.

If Mr. Buhari’s government had gotten tough, so would Haworth.

A core group of 10 women raised the alarm at the State Department. Then they reached Amal Clooney, the human rights lawyer, who demanded Mr. Sowore’s release. They worked with Amnesty International, which declared him a prisoner of conscience.

Sometimes they prepared meals for Ms. Sowore, a marketing executive, or looked after the couple’s two children. Inspired by an American tradition of using yellow ribbons to remember hostages, they held “Yele ribbon” ceremonies in Haworth’s tree-lined town center, attended by hundreds of people.

After the courtroom melee, they called members of Congress, engaging New Jersey Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker. Six members of Congress sent a letter on Friday to Nigeria’s attorney general condemning the treatment of Mr. Sowore.

His detention “will only serve to tarnish Nigeria’s international reputation and its standing as a leading African democracy,” they wrote.

Before his arrest, Mr. Sowore was often accused of favoring Mr. Buhari, even helping him get elected. Sahara Reporters’ relentless exposés of graft under the previous government meant Mr. Buhari’s vow to sweep the country clean of corruption resonated with voters. One of Mr. Buhari’s earliest interviews as president was with Sahara TV.

However, Mr. Buhari’s administration turned out to have a corrupt bent, too, along with authoritarian tendencies, said Chidi Odinkalu, the former chairman of Nigeria’s Human Rights Commission.

“The Buhari administration has proved to be at least as bad, if not much worse” than the prior administration that Mr. Buhari had promised not to emulate, said Mr. Odinkalu, who is facing prosecution himself after he criticized one of the president’s close allies.

This was not a great surprise to those who remember how Mr. Buhari, now 77, first came to power in 1983 as a major general in the wake of a military coup. Before being overthrown in another coup, he jailed hundreds of people, made tardy civil servants do frog jumps and had three men executed.

By the time he was democratically elected three decades later, in 2015, it was on promises to tackle corruption and insecurity. Nigeria was battling Boko Haram, oil theft and violent clashes across the country. He often appeared frail, said little in public and spent many months of his first term being treated for a mysterious illness in London.

Sahara Reporters wrote about the absences and allegations of his allies’ corruption, and Mr. Sowore openly condemned the government for failing to meet its promises. He ran unsuccessfully for president against Mr. Buhari in February, and was preparing to lead a protest calling for revolution when he was arrested on August 3.

At the time, La Keisha Landrum Pierre, Sahara Reporters’ chief operating officer back in New York, was heavily pregnant. When she gave birth five days later, she was managing the company’s biggest crisis ever. It keeps getting bigger.

She said that the Nigerian government had frozen the site’s financial account.

“There have been armed D.S.S. men standing outside our offices” in Nigeria, said Ms. Landrum Pierre, in between calls and meetings in Manhattan. She had to cut the staff by 70 percent, and said that most of the remaining employees, feeling intimidated, were staying at home.

On Dec. 6, the court scheduled Mr. Sowore’s trial for February, but he did not remain free on bail as previously ordered. Instead, Mr. Sowore’s lawyers and family maintain, D.S.S. agents attacked Mr. Sowore while still in the courtroom and ultimately took him back into custody.

The D.S.S. said in a statement that it had rearrested Mr. Sowore because of public comments it claims he made the prior night promising to pursue his cause. A D.S.S. spokesman also claimed that Mr. Sowore’s supporters had staged the courtroom attack and were trying to frame its agents.

Ms. Sowore said that watching the videos made her afraid for his life.

“The hardest part about it for me was — how do I tell my kids?” she said.

They have tried to help. For the Haworth school fair in early December, their 12-year-old daughter Ayo made and sold slime and stress balls, planning to put her profits toward her father’s bail. Her mother had to explain that he had already posted bail, but still wasn’t allowed out. Ayo gave her $80 to Amnesty International instead.

Ten-year-old Komi’s desires are clear from his Christmas list. He wants:

1. A remote-controlled racing car that can climb walls.

2. An Apple watch.

3. His father safely home.

4. A turtle.

[newsieevents]

Soludo To Buhari-led Government: Speed Up Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial Or Release Him From Detention Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the Governor of Anambra State, has asked the Nigerian government to handle the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) with speed or release him from detention. Recall that the IPOB leader was granted bail in April 2017 by Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja, after Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe and two others agreed to be his sureties with each of them staking N100 million worth of Abuja properties as security for the bail. However, in September of that same year, soldiers invaded Kanu’s home in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, the Abia state capital, forcing him to flee the country, first to Israel, and later to the United Kingdom. In June 2021, the IPOB leader was re-arrested in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria to face charges of treason. Soludo, while speaking during a one-day Peacebuilding and Security Dialogue held in Awka, the state capital on Saturday, said that an expeditious release of Kanu would cushion the insecurity impasse in the South-East region. The governor pointed out that justice delayed is justice denied. He said the state government would open rehabilitation centres for those who dropped their arms and set up a truth and reconciliation panel to investigate and placate those who lost their lives and property in the course of the violence. Soludo said he was ready for total engagement with all parties, including the aggrieved, in the quest for peace. He called on all genuine agitators to drop their arms and leave the forest while warning criminal elements taking advantage of the situation to torment the people to withdraw or face the ....... Read More On www.newsieevents.com https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb77oMWJq2D/?utm_medium=tumblr

[hardynwa]

Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Wednesday morning

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers: 1. The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has suspended the nationwide planned protest slated for Wednesday. The NLC and other related unions commenced nationwide protests on Tuesday over the high cost of living, inflation, insecurity, and hardship in the country. 2. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has increased the benchmark interest rate by 400 basis points to a record 22.75%. The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed this while reading the communiqué of the first MPC meeting of the year on Tuesday in Abuja. 3. The Senate has asked the Federal Government to introduce a food stamps programme as a measure to cushion the effect of hunger and food crisis in the country. It also urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to liaise with development partners and other relevant stakeholders, especially the Lagos Food Bank Initiative, which introduced Temporary Food Assistance Programme,a few years ago. 4. A pastor in charge of Celestial Church of Christ, Grace of Comfort Parish, Omitoto, in Osun State, Moris Fadehan, has been reported to have been murdered inside his church by one of his assistants, Lekan Ogundipe. According to sources, the suspect drew the attention of the people to the presence of the partly burnt remains of the pastor inside the church on Monday. 5. A 29-year-old man, Joseph Yakubu, has been arrested by the Plateau State Police Command for allegedly killing his father, Yakubu Dalyop, with a pestle. Yakubu was said to have picked a pestle and hit his father during a disagreement. This led to the victim’s unconsciousness and eventual death. 6. At least 20 students of some boarding public schools in Potiskum, Fika, and Fune local government areas of Yobe State have died from a suspected Meningitis outbreak. It was learnt that the deaths were recorded in Government Science Technical College, Government Girls Science Technical College, and Federal Government Girls College. 7. The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, has distanced himself from the economic hardship Nigerians are currently experiencing. Speaking on Tuesday at the first Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, meeting under his leadership, Cardoso said he and his team were not responsible for the prevailing economic challenges Nigerians were facing. 8. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has commenced sale of dollars to Bureau De Change operators. Announcing the development in a statement on Tuesday, the apex bank said $20,000 will be available to each eligible BDC operator across the country. 9. Barrister Chris Agidy, the Senior Legislative Aide, SLA, to the lawmaker representing Delta North, Senator Ned Nwoko, who was kidnapped by bandits in 2023, has been killed. The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, who confirmed this on Tuesday, said the body of the deceased has been recovered. 10. Kaduna State Government has confirmed five deaths following lassa fever outbreak in the state. This was confirmed by the state’s commissioner for health, Hajiya Umma Ahmed, on Tuesday. Read the full article

[crimechannels]

By • Olalekan Fagbade BREAKING; President Tinubu appoibts aditional Minister President Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, September 17, approved the nomination of Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim as Minister of Youth and Mr. Ayodele Olawande as Minister of State of the ministry. The new nominations are subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate, a statement issued by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, said. He said: “President Bola Tinubu has approved the nomination of Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim to serve as the Minister of Youth, pending her confirmation by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “The President has further approved the nomination of Mr. Ayodele Olawande to serve as the Minister of State for Youth, pending his confirmation by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim is a young medical doctor and most recently served as the President of the Progressive Young Women Forum (PYWF). She has also served as the Senior Special Assistant to the Kwara State Governor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “Mr. Ayodele Olawande is a community development expert and youth leader in the governing All Progressives’ Congress (APC). He most recently served in the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Innovation from 2019 to 2023. “President Tinubu charges the above-mentioned nominees to ensure that they consistently reflect the dynamism, innovative zeal, and unyielding productivity that are synonymous with the young people of Nigeria as they discharge their duties.” #TinubuappoibtsadditionalMinister

[referencedailynews]

Hold Your Governors, Senators, House Of Reps, Police, Others To Account — 2face Tells Nigerians

Hold Your Governors, Senators, House Of Reps, Police, Others To Account — 2face Tells Nigerians

Popular Singer Innocent Idibia aka 2face or 2Baba has charged Nigerians to hold their governors, senators, house of representatives, the police and other government agencies accountable as insecurity, lack of electricity, skyrocketing prices of foods and services, etc continue to rise.He stated this on his Instastories.2Face Idibia has come out to advocate for a way out with this bad…

[youthsloadedmedia]

Buhari Demands Transparency, Accountability From New NNPC Board

Buhari Demands Transparency, Accountability From New NNPC Board

President Muhammadu Buhari Friday in Abuja urged the Board of the newly incorporated Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to ensure strict compliance with Corporate Governance principles that place premium on doing business with the highest ethical standards, integrity, and transparency. Inaugurating the Board chaired by Senator Margery Chuba Okadigbo, the President charged them to…