Oluwasegun Adesuyi, Author at SocietyGazette.com

Time Is Not Yet Ripe To Disclose names, shame sponsors of terrorism For Purpose Of Investigation — Malami Reveals

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, assured yesterday that no stone would be left unturned in the prosecution of Boko Haram financiers, saying it wasn’t yet time to name and shame their sponsors.

Malami, in a statement signed by his media aide Dr. Umar Gwandu, said investigation to unravel those behind activities of insurgents in the country hadreached advanced stage.

According to the statement, the AGF, who spoke during an interview with journalists in New York, in continuation of the ongoing 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, stressed that time was not ripe for holistic disclosures, so as not to pre-empt the investigation process.

He said FG would take all steps to ensure a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria, adding that the public “would be properly and adequately informed about the investigation and prosecution process at the appropriate milestones as they unfold”.

“The position, as it stands, is that investigation has reached advanced stage and the Government will make statement in that direction in due course.

“Time is not ripe for holistic disclosures so as not to pre-empt the investigation process. The prime object remains the attainment of peace and security of our dear nation.

“As far as terrorism funding and financing is concerned, we have succeeded in identifying those that are allegedly responsible for funding same and we are blocking the leakages associated with funding while embarking on aggressive investigation that is indeed impacting positively in terms of the fight against terrorism.

“The truth of the matter is that investigation is ongoing and advancing. For the purpose of investigation I would not like to be pre-emptive in terms of making disclosures that will have effect of undermining the successes we are recording.

“One thing I can tell you for sure is that whatever we do in terms of detention and arrest is indeed backed-up by judicial processes.

“We have acquired and obtained legitimate court orders taking into consideration the facts and material proof of evidence presented before the court on account of which the court eventually exercises its discretion in terms of granting orders that we can have the suspects in custody pending the conclusion of the investigation,” Malami stated.

He said the FG, through the Complex Case Group of the Department of Public Prosecution of the Federation in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, reviewed over 1000 Boko Haram Case files, out of which 285 have been filed before the Federal High Court based on prima facie cases of terrorism against them.

“The delay witnessed in prosecution process was occasioned by COVID-19 lockdown, Judiciary Staff Union (JUSUN) Strike and court vacation.

“Naming and shaming of suspects is not embarked upon as a policy by the federal Government out of sheer respect the constitutional rights of Nigerians relating to presumption of innocence.

“It is a product of constitutionalism and the law. It is rooted in the law and the names of the suspects will accordingly be made public at the point of judicial arraignment while the shaming remains a consequence of judicial conviction. Trials are judicial process and not about media sensations.

“Naming and shaming in the Nigerian context must be rooted in constitutionalism.

“We must strike a balance between constitutional presumption of innocence and evidential proof of reasonable ground for suspicion in making disclosures associated with terrorism funding and financing.

“Where reasonable grounds are established, suspects must be naturally taken to court at which point their identity must be disclosed and the naming become apparent. ’’

“Shaming, on the other hand, is the product of conviction at which point the public are equally judicially put on noticed.

“In essence naming and shaming within the context of Nigerian law are judicial functions which commence with arraignment and terminate with convictions.

“Naming and shaming is not unguided and unregulated process. It is not like a discarded ship left at the mercy of winds and tides”, the statement further read.

Kwara Ex-Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed Reacts After AMCON Seals His Mansion Over 5bn Debt

Former Kwara Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has described the take over of his Ilorin property by a lawyer purportedly representing AMCON as unnecessary and overzealous.

He said talks were ongoing to resolve previous transactions with two defunct banks.

Ahmed’s media aide Wahab Oba clarified that the dispute was based on a margin loan he secured from the defunct Intercontinental Bank and Finbank in 2009 for the purchase of shares which was then lumped with unrelated loans obtained by others.

Reacting to a viral video depicting the takeover of his residence by an individual who claimed to represent the company, Ahmed explained that the banks held the shares as collateral to sell and recover the loans in the event of a default.

Blackface: I’ve Not Received Any Music Award, Nigeria media ruined my career

Ahmedu Obiabo, Nigerian singer better known as Blackface, says he has not received any music award in his career despite his efforts.

The musician spoke in a recent interview with Chude Jideonwo wherein he reflected on his career struggles and determination to brace the odds.

Blackface said he has largely been unsuccessful in the music landscape because his efforts are not recognised as they should.

He also took a swipe at the media for “bringing his brand to zero” with several narratives.

The singer, however, said he remains unperturbed by the perceived hostility from some quarters, adding that such will not stop him from producing music.

“I came into music to make music for the fans. I did not come into music because I wanted to get rich. I am yet to get any award since I became a singer. Why? Because I am the one they don’t want to rate,” he said.

“I haven’t been successful in the music industry. The media has succeeded in bringing the brand Blackface Naija to ground zero. I am the one they don’t want to talk about. But as long as the people embrace my music, the who cares?”

Blackface also dismissed claim that he is jealous of 2Baba, his former colleague, saying he has no problem with him.

“Someone should tell the reason I should be jealous of 2Baba. He (2Baba) has always been the favourite, everyone likes him even when we were growing up. But I have heard people said I have problem with him. I don’t have a problem with him,” he added.

Senate Approves N13.98tr 2022 Budget Figure As It Passes 2022-2024 MTEF/FS

The federal government Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) has been approved on Wednesday by the Senate.
In approving the framework, the lawmakers assumed an international oil price of $57 per barrel and daily crude oil production of 1.88 million barrels.

Other parameters assumed by the legislators in passing the fiscal framework include an exchange rate of N410 to a dollar and an inflation rate of 13%.

According to Naija News, the assumptions will form the basis for the N13.98 trillion 2022 budget figures to be prepared and submitted for approval by the executive arm of the federal government.

The N13.98 trillion estimate is made up of total recurrent (non-debt) of N6.21 trillion; Personnel Costs (MDAs) of N3.47 trillion; Capital expenditure (exclusive of transfers) N3.26 trillion; Special Intervention (recurrent) amounting to N350 billion; and Special intervention (Capital) of N10billion.

The Senate approval follows the presentation of a report of the finance committee headed by Senator Solomon Olamilekan during Wednesday’s plenary.

He recommended that “the daily crude oil production of 1.88mbpd, 2.23mbpd, and 2.22mbpd for 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively, be approved, in view of average 1.93mbpd over the past three years and the fact that a very conservative oil output benchmark has been adopted for the medium term in order to ensure greater budget realism.

“That the benchmark oil price of $57 per barrel should be approved because of the clear evidence of wide consultations with key stakeholders. and the age long fiscal strategy of addressing the oil price shocks by the adoption of a higher than forecast oil price benchmark for fiscal projections over the medium term.

“That the exchange rate of N410.15 to a dollar proposed by the executive for 2022-2024 be approved.”

It is understood that the parameters approved which include a projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 4.20 percent were as suggested by the Federal Executive Council and the Senators didn’t make any adjustment.

Source: Naija News

Just In: Ganduje Reacts To death of Emir of Gaya

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state has said that he received with immense sadness and deep feeling of a great national loss, the news of the passing away of the Emir of Gaya, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulkadir.

In a statement signed by the commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, the governor observed that despite his ailing condition, the monarch’s uncommon leadership qualities earned him respect as traditional ruler since his days as Sarkin Gaya and until his death as first class Emir in Kano.

He said the death of the Emir of one of the oldest Emirates in northern Nigeria has created a vacuum difficult to be filled considering his contributions to peace, stability and progress in his domain and the country.

Alhaji Abdulkadir, who has been on the throne of Sarkin Gaya since 1990 has held several traditional positions to include district head of Kunchi and that of Minjibir, among others. He was one of the four Emirs elevated to first class Emirs by the Ganduje administration after the creation of Rano, Gaya, Bichi and Karaye Emirates in 2019.

Governor Ganduje, who is away in Abuja when the Emir’s death was announced, stated that the demise of the monarch is a big blow to his immediate family, Gaya Emirate, the government and the entire people of Kano state.

He prayed Allah in His infinite mercy to grant his soul Aljannah Firdausi and called on the entire people of the Emirate to bear the loss with the spirit of acquiescence to God’s will.

The governor also urged them to take solace in the fact that endurance was not the measure of a good life but the sense of fulfilment.

Source: Vanguard News Nigeria

Details Of How Five Davido’s Crew Members Died In Four Years

It’s apparently not a good time for popular musician Davido especially with the web of deaths around him in the past few years.

The singer has been in the eye of the storm due to the trail of deaths involving his crew members and close associates.

Many fans are worried over the psychological and mental state of the Jowo coroner.

Some others called on the public to pray for the singer as he could be going through a lot especially with the series of ugly trend around him.

The singer has lost a handful of friends in the space of four yearsband at different times mourned the demise of his associates on social media platforms.

Davido has also been watchful. On June 6, 2021, a video showing a pastor prophesying that Davido would be poisoned by a friend went viral on the Internet.

The cleric had said: “I am telling you about one singer called Davido. They will poison him. I don’t know him. I’ve never seen him in my life.

“But they will put something inside his drink. He’ll be rushed to the hospital (and) he’ll be admitted. He’ll be unconscious.

“I’ve been dealing with it in prayers but the Lord says it will happen. And the person that will poison him is sleeping in his house.

“Somebody give the Lord a clap offering. Did he die? I didn’t see him die, but he will lose something in his body that will handicap him.”

In an apparent reaction to the prophecy, Davido tweeted, “God will expose and deal with any wickedness around me near and far. Amen. I’m blessed.”

Here is a list of crew members who have died in four years:

1. Fortunate Ateumunname Peter, popularly known as Fortune, was the Davido Music World (DMW) chief official photographer. He died in September 2021.

The photographer is the fifth member of Davido’s crew to pass away in four years in a controversial circumstance.

2. Uthman, also known as Obama DMW, died in June 2021. He was said to have complained of breathing difficulty.

3. Tagbo Umeike, died in his car parked in front of Lagos Island General Hospital.

He died on his birthday in 2017 after it was reported that he downed shots of tequila.

4. Olu Abiodun, also known as DJ Olu also died in 2017.

He was found dead with one Chime Amaechi on Saturday in a BMW car in a garage on Block B, Banana Island, Lagos

5. Tijani Olamilekan, aka Teejay, who has been the singer’s personal bodyguard for 11 years, also died after a brief illness in December 2020.

Source The Nation

Just In: Health minister tests positive for Covid-19 at UN gathering

Brazil’s Health Minister Queiroga talks with Brazilian Deputy Barros before a ceremony. (Reuters)

BRASILIA: Brazil’s Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga tested positive for Covid-19 Tuesday after attending the UN General Assembly in New York that was inaugurated by his president, Jair Bolsonaro, according to an official statement.

“The other members of the delegation have been tested and are negative,” said the official Brazilian government press release.

Queiroga, who had received a Covid-19 vaccine, was the second member of Bolsonaro’s entourage to test positive for the virus since arriving in New York for the UN gathering.

The 55-year-old health minister will remain in the United States for a period of isolation, even though the rest of the delegation has returned to Brazil.

Bolsonaro, who appeared without a mask on several occasions during the trip, has not been not vaccinated and repeated that he would be “the last” Brazilian to receive the vaccine.

Queiroga was with Bolsonaro, who last year survived a bout of the virus, at several events, including a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday.
He was “doing well,” the statement said. He wrote on Twitter that while following “all health security protocols,” the ministry “will continue to take firm action to deal with the pandemic in Brazil.”

Bolsonaro caused a stir on social media after a photograph showed him taking few precautions against contagion while around others in his delegation, as he ate a slice of pizza from a New York street vendor.
The health minister was the only one in the photo wearing a mask, but he had pulled it down under his chin.

Under fire for his controversial handling of the pandemic, which has claimed more than 591,000 lives in Brazil, Bolsonaro opened the General Assembly with a speech in which he made several misleading or inaccurate statements, some of which related to the pandemic, according to AFP’s Factcheck team.

Buhari Appointed A ‘Supermaket Manager’ To Head NNPC Board – Adeyanju

Popular activist, Deji Adeyanju, has slammed President Muhammadu Buhari over the appointment of Senator Ifeanyi Ararume as the chairman of the Board, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
It will be recalled that President Buhari on Sunday, September 19, approved the incorporation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).

In a statement made available to newsmen by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, the President approved also the appointment of the Board and Management of the NNPC Limited.

Senator Ifeanyi Ararume was appointed as Chairman and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), while Mele Kyari was appointed as Chief Executive Officer.

According to Naija News, each of the six geo-political zones in the country also has a representative on the board and all the appointments take effect from the date of the company’s incorporation.

Reacting to the development in a post on Wednesday, Adeyanju described Ararume’s appointment as a travesty.

The Convener of Concerned Nigerians said he believes the All Progressive Congress has more qualified and experienced people in the oil and gas industry who could have been given the appointment.

Adeyanju pointed out that Ararume is inexperienced in the industry dealings and hence not fit for the appointment.

He noted his only major achievements are being a Senator and managing a supermarket.

“The All Progressives Congress, APC we believe has more qualified technocrats and well-experienced players in the oil and gas industry as members that could have been appointed as the chairman of Board of the country’s mainstay source of revenue,” Adeyanju noted.

He added: “Nigeria’s oil and gas sector represents about 65% of government revenues and such sensitive sector ought to be superintended by a competent person who has the requisite knowledge and experience of the industry instead of appointing Ararume whose only major achievement is being a Senator and managing a supermarket.

“Ordinarily, after the incorporation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited as a business entity, one would have thought that the president would appoint a business-oriented technocrat with vast knowledge in oil and gas to pilot the affairs of the company but alas, the rudderless government of President Muhammadu Buhari’s led Federal government opted for a politician with zero experience in oil and gas industry.

“The appointment of Ararume whom former president Olusegun Obasanjo in 2011 described as the “Big Thief” has brought to the fore, President Muhammadu Buhari’s penchant for outlandish and unconventional methods of appointing cronies and men of questionable characters.

“We call on the President to as a matter of urgency, reverse the appointment of Senator Ararume as chairman of Board, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited as it goes against reason and logic,” he added.

Source: Naija News

Man In Police Net For cutting off 8yr-old daughter’s breast for Early Signs Of Puberty

A Nigerian man has been arrested by the Police in Lagos state for allegedly brutalising his eight-year-old daughter following early signs of puberty.

According to Ebenezer Omejalile, Chief Operating Officer of Advocates for Children and Vulnerable People’s Network, the victim’s left breast was completely cut off by her father identified as Adegboyega after he used a hot stone to massage his daughter’s breast to stop it from growing.

The father, who tried to blame his action on his wife, was however picked up by the police last Friday following the intervention of the Advocates alongside the Inclusive Social Welfare, the Ministry of Youth & Social Development office, Ajegunle.

“He will be charged to court on (Monday), Omejalile stated.

He said: “This little girl was brutalised by her biological father who felt ‘how come she developed breasts so rapidly’.

“He turned himself into a medical doctor and heartlessly placed a stone in a fire and used it to massage her breast so that the breast would stop increasing in size.

“She was burnt on her left breast following the hot water massage from the father because he thinks the child is too young to develop breasts.

“The girl’s mother also complained of excessive beating for the same reason. Surprisingly the father is an engineer by profession, we engaged him in a conversation and he admitted to the crime.

“He tried to blame his wife for his negative actions; the most annoying aspect was when he claimed he bathes the 8-year-old (girl) every day.

“This is a red flag, the young girl is in serious pain. In addition, we discovered the left breast of Aishat was completely cut off as a result of the brutalisation by the father

He was, however, arrested around 9.30 pm on Friday. He is currently in custody and had been charged to court on Monday.

“This is a positive outcome for us, it is a result of good partnership work from Inclusive Social Welfare, Ministry of Youth & Social Development, social welfare office, Ajegunle and the Ajegunle police station.”

Chinese banks to Open branches in Nigeria

Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchin, has said he is in talks with Chinese banks to establish operations in Nigeria to boost Nigeria’s economy and expand trade relations between the two nations.

Mr Jianchin disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while addressing journalists during the commemoration of the 2021 Chinese Moon Festival and China-Nigeria Cultural week, NAN reported.

He explained that establishing Chinese banks in the country would also be a point of discussion during the China-Nigeria Binational Committee meeting.

“Before my departure from Beijing to Abuja, I talked to several banks in China. When you list the world’s 10 big banks, six are in China. The banking sector is very important because, without money, we cannot build our industries,” Jianchin said

“What I am thinking here is best to talk to the governor of the central bank, and how we can allow the Chinese banks to run office here and now, they are doing the feasibility studies on that.

“I am working hard that in the binational meeting, I hope we can make a big decision and give a big push to let the banking industry and insurance industry because financial integration and institutions are key,” Mr Jianchin added. “If you go to China, you will find our banking industry is very powerful, not only for business but a change in the way of life.

Extolling the extant China-Nigeria trade relations, the Chinese ambassador noted that the trade volume between China and Nigeria was nearly $20 billion, increasing from 2020’s $19.2 billion.

According to Mr Jianchin, the 2021 celebration is special as it coincides with the 50th anniversary of China-Nigeria’s bilateral relations and that the countries share October 1 national day.

He disclosed that the Chinese embassy would honour 50 Nigerian employees of Chinese companies in Nigeria for their outstanding performance and contribution to strengthening diplomatic ties