Oluwasegun Adesuyi, Author at SocietyGazette.com

Senate moves to end kidnapping, proposes 15 years jail term for ransom payers

The Senate, on Wednesday, moved to prohibit the payment and receiving of ransom for the release of any kidnapped, imprisoned or wrongfully confined victim in the country.

This followed the consideration and second reading of a Bill by the upper chamber, titled: “Terrorism prevention (amendment) Bill, 2021,” and sponsored by Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi.

Onyewuchi in his lead debate said the Bill seeks to amend the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2013 to outlaw the payment of ransom to abductors, kidnappers and terrorists for the release of any person who has been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped.

According to Onyewuchi, the bill essentially seeks to substitute for section 14 of the Principal Act a new section to read: “Anyone who transfers funds, makes payment or colludes with an abductor, kidnapper or terrorist to receive any ransom for the release of any person who has been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped is guilty of a felony and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years.”

He expressed worry that kidnapping has become a fast and lucrative business, saying “it has now remained the most virulent form of banditry in Nigeria and the most pervasive and intractable violent crime in the country.”

Attributing the spate of kidnappings in the country to factors such as corruption, unemployment, poverty and connivance of security agents, Onyewuchi lamented that the frequency at which persons are kidnapped daily puts most Nigerians at risk.

“Kidnapping is on the increase in Nigeria and it is prevalent across all the geopolitical zones.

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“Some blame the rise of this criminal activity on poverty, religion, politics, deficiency of existing laws, unemployment, connivance of security agents, corruption, and greed among others.

“Our unemployed youths are also turning out to kidnapping to get money (ransom) as a survival strategy.

“Whatever the reason, it is most obvious that kidnapping in Nigeria puts everyone at risk, the rich and the poor, old and young, male and female, foreigner or indigene, expatriate or non-expatriate, traditional rulers and religious leaders, among others,” he said.

Citing a report compiled by the Financial Times and the USA Global Risk Consultancy in November, 2019, the lawmaker noted that Nigeria has the highest rate of kidnaps for ransom of both locals and foreigners in all of Africa with kidnappers operating in each of its 36 states.

According to him, “the reason behind payments of ransom is rooted on the fact that people easily identify with individual suffering.

“However, History has shown that even where ransom is proven to have been paid, the life or safe return of a kidnap victim may not be guaranteed.”

He observed that countries like the USA and the United Kingdom do not support payment of ransoms to kidnappers.

“Payments of terrorist ransoms is illegal under the UK Terrorism Act 2000 while the USA adheres to a strict No-Concessions policy on the payment of ransom,” Onyewuchi said.

He advised that, “the continuous payment of ransom must not be encouraged, in addition government should provide adequate security and strengthen the economy as a matter of urgency, accelerate its poverty alleviation programs, provide employment opportunities targeting youths who are mostly involved in abductions and kidnappings, strengthen our law enforcement agencies, and provide the necessary support to end the menace of kidnapping.”

The Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Bill, 2021, after scaling second reading, was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for further legislative work.

The Committee, chaired by Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele was given four weeks to report back to plenary.

Meanwhile, two separate bills seeking to establish the Federal University of Science and Technology, Lau, Taraba State, and to amend the Federal Universities of Technology Act 2004 also passed second reading on Wednesday.

The bills were sponsored by Senators Shuaibu Isa (Taraba North), and Oyelola Yisa Ashiru.

Both Bills were referred by the Senate President to the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND for further legislative work and to report back in four weeks.

Labour leaders won’t return to Kaduna, El-Rufai threatens

Governor Nasir El-Rufai has again threatened to prosecute the labour leaders who have been protesting against ‘anti-workers’ policies in Kaduna state, noting that he will pursue them with the law to ensure they don’t return to Kaduna.

Speaking as a guest of honour at the 23rd annual tax conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in Kaduna on Wednesday, el-Rufai said as much as workers have the right to embark on strike or stage protest, they don’t have the right to shutdown institutions and businesses who are willing to open to transact their legitimate businesses.

According to the governor, the protesters have prevented businesses from opening, an issue which he described as “criminal” and “unacceptable”, vowing to prosecute and take action against them in due course.

He said, “those of you that are in Kaduna know that our government is functioning, our economy is running and we are making efforts to ensure legitimate businesses are open. They have prevented businesses from opening. This is criminal, unacceptable and we are going to take action. We are making efforts to provide security for all businesses that want to open.

“We are not against the right to strike. You are free to strike but walk away from your institution and allow it to function without you, you have no right to stop any business from remaining open.

“We are going to take a very strict measure against people that have tried to do that. I think what this strike is about is to answer fundamental questions the part of which is this: Should an employer keep person with poor education, inadequate skills, qualifications, bad attitude in employment whether he likes it or not? Our answer in Kaduna state is negative.

“The second question is this: Is the right to protest or to withdraw your services as an employee equivalent to the right to shutdown the institution in which you work and attack public infrastructure?

“Our position is very clear and the law is very clear. You can walk out, you can strike but you cannot shutdown anything because public infrastructure is a public asset that belongs to the federation, belong to all the people of Nigeria. If you do, you are liable to be convicted under the Miscellaneous Offences Act which attracts a minimum of 21 years imprisonment.

“We are going to pursue the people that engage in this sabotage to the full extent of the law. We will deal with the criminals. We will prosecute all those that have broken the law. I assure you, they will never come back to Kaduna again by the time we are done them.”

Baby mama calls out singer, Lyta, for being unable to afford balloons for son’s birthday

Nigerian recording artiste, Lyta has been called out on the social media platform, Instagram by his baby mama, Kemi Ayorinde for being unable to afford the sum of N13,000 to buy balloons at his son’s first birthday party.

Kemi Ayorinde fired from all cylinders in her Instagram post as she nefariously dragged the ‘Monalisa’ singer.

Here is what she wrote;

“Dear future husband, Aari’s dad can’t afford 13k (Naira) for balloons for his child’s upcoming 1st birthday so imma need you to be able to afford my monthly cost, if not you are not for me. Xxx,” she wrote.

She went on to debunk the notion that she was making noise over the balloons.

According to her, they are already wealthy people and she only wanted him to be part of their son’s birthday.

Read Kemi’s statement below.

Baby mama calls out singer, Lyta, for being unable to afford balloons for son’s birthdayBaby mama calls out singer, Lyta, for being unable to afford balloons for son’s birthdayBaby mama calls out singer, Lyta, for being unable to afford balloons for son’s birthdayBaby mama calls out singer, Lyta, for being unable to afford balloons for son’s birthdayBaby mama calls out singer, Lyta, for being unable to afford balloons for son’s birthday

Muric kicks against Reps move to legalize cannabis in Nigeria

Islamic human rights group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has warned against the move by the Nigerian legislature to legalise cannabis in Nigeria.

According to the group, the legalization of cannabis will be the last nail in the coffin of morality in Nigeria.

Recall that Benjamin Kalu, a spokesman of the House of Representatives, had on Monday in Akure, Ondo State, said that cannabis would aid Nigeria’s industrial drive and boost her internally generated revenue (IGR).

But MURIC, reacting to this in a statement signed by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said it strongly condemned the attempt to compartmentalise Nigerians into vicious drug cartels.

The group accused Kalu of trying to turn Nigeria into another Mexico on the African continent, adding that the country already has serious security challenges which could be compounded by the legalisation of cannabis.

“The security challenges we are currently facing are punishments for our recklessness. Instead of thinking of making criminal elements in the country ‘turn back from their evil’, Kalu wants to cap the edifice with drug war,” the group said.

“There is no gainsaying the fact that the legalisation of cannabis will be the last straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of its impact on insecurity and the last nail in the coffin of morality in Nigeria in terms of the country’s descent into the abyss of moral debauchery which began a long time ago,” it said.

MURIC further made a connection between Kalu’s statement and an earlier position of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on the matter.

“This lawmaker spoke in Akure, the capital of Ondo State. Nigerians will recall that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has been advocating for the legalisation of cannabis since 2019,” MURIC said, adding that “There is no doubt that he has not given up. Kalu is his latest recruit into his cannabis promotion camp.

“The Akeredolu school of thought is only thinking of the material aspect and economic gains obtainable from the legalisation of cannabis sativa (also known as Indian hemp).

“Have they put in place the necessary precautions? Do Nigerians obey laws? Do they listen to simple instructions?”, MURIC added.

The group further attributed major road accidents to the use of cannabis by commercial drivers.

MURIC also believes that those who burned hundreds of luxurious buses of the Lagos State Government during the #EndSARS protests were under the influence of drugs.

“Nigeria is passing through unimaginable social trauma at this period. The crime rate is very high and it is mostly induced by drug.

The major point raised by Kalu and Akeredolu keredolu has been economic benefit but what have the politicians done with all the billions of dollars from oil all these years?

“Cannabis may have its benefits but the disadvantages outway the advantages,” MURIC said while call on the federal lawmakers to reject any attempt to smuggle the cannabis bill into the hallowed House.

Insecurity: Hunters Storm N’Assembly, Seeks Opportunity to Fight Bandits, Insurgents

Hunters Group of Nigeria (HGN) yesterday stormed the National Assembly complex in Abuja to seek the opportunity and recognition under the law to assist the federal government in tackling the ravaging insecurity in the land.

The Commandant of the Akwa Ibom State Command of the organisation, John Essien, who spoke with journalists, said they specifically needed the backing of the law to compliment the efforts of the relevant security agencies in apprehending bandits and the insurgents terrorising the country.

He also disclosed that they were at the National Assembly for a public hearing on a bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Hunters Council of Nigeria.

According to him, “The bill has gone through the first and second reading, and the reason we are here is for the public hearing. As you can see, we have members across the entire villages. When you talk about the security challenges, if the opportunity is given to us, we can perform very well because as community-based officers, we know all the strangers in our environment and can easily identify those that are not from there. Maybe from there, you can find out what the person’s mission is in the area.

“That is the reason we are here to tell the government that we can do the job. I want to tell us that if the opportunity is given to hunters, the security challenges in the country would be minimised. If you look at our Facebook and social media pages, you would see that we have been doing a lot of work in arresting kidnappers and other criminals. With our presence and other security agencies, when we come together, it would make the job easier, and that is why we here today. We believe the government would not hesitate to give us a try.”

Real reasons why Kwara ex-Gov, Abdulfatah Ahmed was invited by EfCC revealed

Former Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed has said he was not invited by the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged diversion of N9billion.

Recall that Ahmed was alleged to have been grilled at the headquarters of the EFCC in Jabi over fraud.

It was alleged that his invitation by the agency was connected to how funds to the tune of about N9billion were diverted from the coffers of Kwara State Government during his tenure as Governor of Kwara State, between 2011 and 2019.

But writing on his Twitter page, Ahmed said he was invited over a contract awarded by the State government when he was commissioner for Finance.

He further stated that he had been released on bail.

He wrote, “In response to an invitation by the commission via a letter dated 26th April 2021, I voluntarily visited the EFCC in Abuja yesterday with regard to a complaint about a contract awarded by Kwara State Government while I was State the Commissioner for Finance.

“I was not accused of any wrongdoing. Neither was I questioned about any N9b transaction. I have since been granted bail.”

Macron Promises to Help Buhari End insecurity in Nigeria

President Emmanuel Macron of France has pledged to support Nigeria combat insecurity bedeviling the Lake Chad basin area and the entire stretch of the Sahel region.

Macron spoke at a bilateral meeting between him and President Muhammadu Buhari.

The meeting was hosted by the Nigerian leader on the sidelines of the Financing Africa Summit in Paris.

The French President pledged his steadfast support for the West African that is currently facing a number of security challenges.

In a statement signed by Garba Shehu, Buhari Spokesman, and made available to media houses, the French leader said that his country will “absolutely be there on the side of Nigeria and it is willing to support with everything to assist the country to overcome the security threats.”

Macron promised to help the most populous black nation in the world in confronting the challenges of COVID-19 vaccines.

He added in the statement that “President Buhari outlined the challenges all round facing the country as well as its neighbours and spoke about the steps he has taken to reignite response to the situation, which he said included the appointment of the new Service Chiefs.”

The Nigerian leader said his country was willing to work with France and all international partners to overcome the West African country’s security challenges.

Gunmen Abduct Shari’a Court Judge In Katsina

Gunmen have abducted a judge at a Shari’a Court located between Baure Zaka villages in Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The judge, simply identified as Alhaji Husaini Sama’ila was, according to a resident (name withheld), kidnapped at about 3:00 pm today while on a personal visit to the court which was relocated to Safana for security purposes.

He said the judge was recently moved to Safana town to continue to deliver justice because of the worsening insecurity challenges bedeviling the two villages where the court was established earlier.

Meanwhile, the police authorities in the state are yet to confirm the incident as phone calls put through the spokesman, SP Gambo Isah were not responded to.

IGP Launches Operation Restore Peace In South-East

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has flagged off a new Operation codenamed Operation Restore Peace in the Enugu State to contain the rising insecurity in the South-East region.

The event was held on Tuesday at Micheal Okpara Square in Enugu capital city and was attended by Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

This is coming barely two days after the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Enugu State was attacked and properties set ablaze by yet-to-be-identified gunmen on Sunday night.

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and other top officials at the event.

Six vehicles were razed with two others damaged following the attack INEC office in Enugu.

Also in April, two officers were killed in an attack on a police station in Adani, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, raising concerns over incessant assaults on security formations in the South-East region of Nigeria.

IGBOHO Pays Guru Maharaji courtesy visit, seeks spiritual help on Yoruba nation

Chief Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Igboho has paid a courtesy visit to a popular spiritual leader in Nigeria and the founder of the One Love Family, Sat Guru Maharaj on Sunday at the spiritual leader’s residence in Maharaj ji village, along Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.

Igboho’s visit to Maharaj ji is part of his efforts to seek the support of Yoruba political and religious leaders towards the actualization of the Yoruba Nation agenda.
During the visit, Maharaj ji noted that he fully supports Igboho and prayed for him.
Igboho came to national prominence after he asked Fulani herders to vacate Igangan town in the Ibarapa area of Oyo state.
Recall that Maharaj ji, originally known as Mohammed Ajirobatan Ibrahim, had in February admonished Southwest Governors to honour Igboho for confronting the crisis of insecurity in the region.

Maharaj ji also told the governors to appoint Igboho as the leader of Amotekun in the region.