One Of Our Worshipper Trying To Steal Church Money Ran Mad Immediately – Bishop Oyedepo Reveals
Bishop David Oyedepo has revealed how a worshipper who participated in one of the church’s programmes, Shiloh ran mad while trying to steal from the church.
Oyedepo, President and founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide while Speaking at the ongoing International Youth Alive Convention 2021 in Canaanland Ota in Ogun State, the African richest pastor said the incident was sequel to his warning against such attitudes, saying that the church is “a dreadful place”.
Oyedepo said “In one of the Shilohs, I warned people and somebody was found trying to pick something that was not his and he ran mad immediately,” he said.
it is a risk to steal in the “house of God”, Oyedepo said. He warned youths participating in the programme to deviate from such character.
He said, “I waited so as to sound this note of warning. ‘How dreadful is this place. This is none other but the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.
“Be warned against picking anything that is not yours. Be warned, be warned. It’s a risk. Should anyone have an ulterior mission for being in camp. Be warned, it’s a dreadful place.
“How dreadful is this place. This is none other but the house of God and the gate of heaven.
“I waited to give you this message before blessing you to go for the night. See it and look away. And don’t try it yourself”.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Prof. Lilian Salami has announced the immediate closure of the University, following the protest that rocked the institution on Tuesday.
It was earlier reported that students of the institution blocked the ever-busy Benin-Lagos Expressway and the Ekheuan Road over a N20,000 late registration fee imposed by the school authority.
They described the decision as unpleasant particularly amidst the “unfavourable economic situation’’ in the country. In a statement issued by the Registrar of the institution, Mr Ademola Bobola, Salami ordered all students to vacate their hostels and the University premises not later than noon on Wednesday.
“The Vice-Chancellor has reviewed the agitation by a section of the students’ body on Tuesday.
“After due consultation and in the overall interest of the general students’ body, the Vice Chancellor has, on behalf of Senate, approved the closure of the University with immediate effect.
“This is based on security reports to avoid the students’ action being hijacked by hoodlums; and thereby prevent any form of breakdown of law and order within and outside the campuses of the University,’’ She said.
Hushpuppi: Fresh Update on Abba Kyari’s Investigation, Extradition Emerges
Nigeria’s minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dinyadi has given a fresh update on the Police’s investigation and possible extradition of embattled detective, DCP Abba Kyari.
Speaking during an interview on Channels TV’s ‘Politics Today’, Dingyadi revealed that Kyari’s case has been submitted to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami for advice.
He also added that the police will also consult the ministry of foreign affairs.
“The issue of Abba Kyari has become in public domain, and I think by now, everybody has heard that the police, in their very wisdom and very usual way of becoming very transparent and being fair to all, have set up a committee to investigate all these allegations,” he said.
“And we have also reported that the committee has submitted the report to the IGP, and we have submitted this report and recommendations to the AGF for legal opinion. Thereafter, we will take it to Mr President for final consideration. So, you can see that this matter is a local matter here; it also has some international connotations. So, we have to do some due diligence to ensure that we do the right thing.”
“There has to be some consultation with the ministry of foreign affairs and ministry of justice, before final decision is taken. What is important is that Nigerians should know that the police management is up and doing, and they have done what they are supposed to do. I hope people will wait and see what action is going to be taken on this matter.”
He also clarified the role of the Police Service Commission (PSC) on the probe of Kyari.
“The investigation is supposed to be done by the police, because he is their staff. We have informed the Police Service Commission, and they have directed that the officer be suspended from duty, pending the outcome of the investigation,” he added.
“By the time we finish this thing, we’ll refer what is needed to be referred to the Police Service Commission for final action. So, I think it is the police who have the responsibility to investigate.”
Despite Suspension, Ex-EFCC Chair Magu Still On FG Payroll
The Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, has said that former acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, CP Ibrahim Magu, is still on the Federal Government’s payroll as a police officer despite his suspension by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).
The minister spoke on Tuesday when he featured as a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ current affairs programme monitored by The PUNCH.
Magu, who served as acting chairman of the EFCC from 2015 to 2020, was rejected twice by the Senate.
He was later suspended along with several others in July 2020 for allegedly mismanaging funds of the commission, an allegation which he vehemently denied.
The former EFCC boss was probed for over three months by a judicial panel of inquiry led by a former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami.
The panel made several recommendations but the report has not been made public to date.
The President later in February 2021 named Abdulrasheed Bawa as the new EFCC chairman to replace Magu.
In July 2021, the Police Service Commission approved the promotion of 24 Commissioners of Police to the next rank of Assistant Inspectors General of Police but a statement by the Commission’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, said that “the Commission declined the promotion of CP Magu pending clearance from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and the Office of the Inspector General of Police.”
Giving an update on Magu’s case on the programme on Tuesday, the minister said, “The matter is investigated and the man is still in the service, he is still in the Force Headquarters, I don’t want to expatiate at this material time as to what is happening to the report of the committee. What I know is that the report has been submitted to Mr President and as far as I know, no communication has yet to be submitted to the ministry or the police force on this matter.
“So, we are waiting for the final outcome and the public will be informed as and when the need arises.”
“Of course, he is still a police officer even though he is under suspension. He used to be the chairman of the EFCC but he is no longer one.
“But that does not mean he is not on the payroll of the Federal Government; he is still a civil servant, he is still a police officer until a final decision is taken on the matter, I don’t think I should say anything more than I have said on this matter now,” Dingyadi added.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has approved the appointment of Bolaji Oreagba as General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).
This was disclosed in a statement in Tuesday by the Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Oreagba would be taking over from the outgoing LASTMA General Manager, Olajide Oduyoye.
According to Muri-Okunola, the new general manager is expected to ensure efficient and effective traffic management on Lagos roads.
He charged Oreagba to justify his elevation by Governor Sanwo-Olu by using his experience to take the agency to greater heights.
Muri-Okunola thanked the outgoing General Manager for his dedication to duty and service to Lagos.
The new GM, a Deputy Controller (Traffic), joined the State Public Service on the 8th December 1993 and rose through the ranks to become LASTMA Director of Operations.
Oreagba holds a Master’s Degree in Transport Planning & Management and attended capacity-building programmes on inter-modal traffic management systems locally and internationally.
VAT collection: Governor Wike Takes Battle To Supreme Court
The battle on which authority has the right to collect Value Added Tax (VAT) is now in the Supreme Court.
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has taken the battle to claim the VAT collected in his state to the Supreme Court.
The government has asked the apex court to set aside the “maintain status quo” order given last week by the Court of Appeal to enable him implement the state law which empowers it to collect the VAT.
The Court of Appeal gave the order pending the determination of the prayer by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which sought to upturn the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Rivers endorsing the collection of the tax by the state government.
On Tuesday, the Ogun State government, one of the states with the highest VAT collections, joined the fray.
The bill to empower the state government to commence collection of VAT in its domain passed the second reading of the House of Assembly. It will go into public hearing before its passage.
The VAT has been collected by the FIRS on behalf of the Federal Government since 2004.
It is shared at 50 per cent among states and 38 per cent among the 774 local governments. The Federal Government takes 18 per cent.
The VAT is 7.5% tax on consumption and as well as goods and services.
About N8.8 trillion naira was generated in 2020.
The Federal Government got the support of Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi, who said he would prefer that it continued with the collection.
The Rivers State Government asked the Supreme Court to reverse the September 10 order by the Court of Appeal directing parties in the dispute over the administration of VAT to maintain status quo ante bellum.
Rivers, in a notice of appeal filed in the name of its attorney general, also wants the Supreme Court to order the Court of Appeal to assemble a separate panel to hear the appeal, marked: CA/PH/282/2021 filed against the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court, Port-Harcourt, by the FIRS.
In the notice of appeal filed for Rivers by a legal team, led by Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), the appellant raised 10 grounds in support of its prayers.
Rivers said it was dissatisfied with the decision of the Appeal Court, said “directing parties to maintain status quo, that is, to restore parties to the status quo that existed before the judgment of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt division in suit: FHC/PH/CS/149/2020.”
According to the State, the Appeal Court Justices, who gave the September 10 order, erred in law when they relied on Section 6(6) of the Constitution and the court’s inherent jurisdiction to order parties to maintain status quo, “which they identified as restoring the parties to the position they were before the judgment of the Federal High Court .”
The state said the Justices applied the principle governing the exercise of inherent jurisdiction laid down by the Supreme Court in Shugaba vs Union Bank (1999) 11 NWLR (pt. 627) 459 to the effect that no court had an inherent jurisdiction (except in extreme circumstance) to set aside the exercise of discretion of another court with regard to order made in respect of application for a stay of execution.
It contended, in ground two, that the Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law when they wrongly assumed jurisdiction to entertain the oral application for maintenance made by lawyer to the FIRS “in spite of the fact that a condition precedent to the invocation of the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal was not fulfilled by the first respondent (FIRS).
The appellant added that the Court of Appeal failed to appreciate that failure to comply with the condition precedent robbed the court of the requisite jurisdiction to entertain or grant the reliefs sought.
It contended in ground three that the Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law and breached its (the appellant’s) right of fair hearing when they entertained a vague oral application for maintenance of status quo and went ahead to make orders aimed at maintaining the status quo ante bellum.
Rivers is contending,in ground four that the “Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law when, in spite of a behemoth of binding precedents on what status quo ante bellum is, they went ahead and made orders for maintenance of status quo ante bellum, without due regard to the undeniable fact that judgment had already been entered in favour of the appellant and which had the practical effect of upturning a valid judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction and its order refusing to grant an injunction pending appeal, at a time when the Court of Appeal was yet to hear the appeal.”
It is contending, in ground five, that the justices erred in law in granting an order for the maintenance of status quo ante bellum, which amounted “effectively to an order for stay of execution and injunction against the declaratory orders of the Federal High Court, on an oral application by the appellant, pending the hearing of the various applications before it, and thus occasioned a miscarriage of justice, to the prejudice of the first respondent -now appellant – (Rivers State).
Ogun State House of Assembly unanimously agreed that when operational, the bill would accord the state its rightful position as a viable federating unit.
The bill “H.B No. 73/OG/2021- A bill for a law to impose and charge value added tax on certain Goods and services, provides for the administration of the tax and for related purposes.”
The motion for the second reading was moved by Majority leader Yusuf Sheriff.
In their contributions, Olakunle Sobukanla, Ganiyu Oyedeji, Adegoke Adeyanju and Abdul Bashir Oladunjoye – underscored the need for the enactment of the proposed law as a federating unit to further improve revenue accruable to the State.
The lawmakers reckoned that a VAT law would ensure a seamless funding of more projects,. They lamented that the state often got less of what it contributed in VAT.
In their submissions, Kemi Oduwole, Oludaisi Elemide, Solomon Osho and Olusola Adams explained that the bill would improve the state’s financial status through tax revenue generation.
Speaker Oluomo lauded his colleagues for their contributions to the debate and committed it to the Committee on Finance and Appropriation for further legislative actions. He fixed the public hearing on the bill for September 23.(The Nation)
The Emir of Bungudu in Zamfara State, Alhaji Hassan Attahiru, was on Tuesday kidnapped along the Kaduna-Abuja highway.
It was learnt that the gunmen opened fire on the convoy of the emir and successfully demobilised some of the vehicles, including that of the traditional ruler, before he was whisked away.
Reliable sources revealed that the incident occurred around Olam Factory, a few kilometres to the city of Kaduna, on his way back from Abuja.
Some of his aides who sustained injuries were rushed to the hospital. As of the time of filing the report, there was no official confirmation from the police or the state government.
A Source in the emir’s palace who pleaded for anonymity confirmed that the emir’s convoy was attacked on Tuesday evening.
No Plans To Unseat Sanwo-Olu As Lagos Governor, He Deserves Second Term – Gbajabiamila
Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has endorsed Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for a second term in office, come 2023, pointing that the governor’s performance in the last two years had surpassed expectations.
This was just as the Speaker representing Surulere 1 Federal Constituency in the green chamber of the National Assembly dismissed his rumoured ambition to contest for the Lagos’ governorship seat in 2023, saying he had “no immediate plan” to contest the seat as the task before him as Number 4 citizen in the country was enormous and tough enough for him to be distracted by the rumour.
Gbajabiamila threw this support on Tuesday in an interview aired on Channels TV, saying Sanwo-Olu had been doing a good job in governing Lagos, notwithstanding the difficult time he had faced in the last two years, stressing that he must not be distracted on the assignment.
Besides, the lawmaker clarified that the fact that the state once had a one-term governor at one time, in person of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, doesn’t mean it is going to be the same forever.
Ambode was the immediate past governor, who handed over to the incumbent, Mr Sanwo-Olu, on May 29, 2019.
“The present governor of Lagos State (Sanwo-Olu) is doing a good job. The fact that we had a one-term Governor at one time doesn’t mean it is going to be the same forever.
“This governor is doing a good job under the current circumstances. It’s been a difficult time in his last two years and he has come out well. So, why should anyone upset the apple cart? I think he (Sanwo-Olu) is doing a good job,” Gbajabiamila stated.
On his rumoured ambition, the Speaker said he nursed no ambition to contest for the Lagos’ governorship seat in 2023, declaring that he had no immediate plan for such.
According to him, the task before him as Speaker, House of Representatives was enormous and tough enough for him to be distracted by the rumour.
“That (question) provokes a smile. No, I don’t have any such plan and I don’t have an immediate plan. I have a job I am doing right now; it’s a very tough job. Sometimes, it’s the most difficult job and I say it to people in the world. People don’t understand that, but this is not a forum I’m going to break it down,” he said.
“I don’t want distractions. I am working as a Speaker of the House of Representatives with a lot of responsibilities on my shoulder right now. Any other thing would be a distraction. As for Lagos State Governorship? I have not even thought about it. Why? Because, the present Governor is doing a good job,” he added.
Alleged Fraud: Why Govenor Ganduje’s son Dragged his mother to EFCC
Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Ganduje’s wife, Hafsat Ganduje, shunned an invitation extended to her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) to report for questioning, last week, over a bribery and land fraud case reported by her son, Abdualzeez.
According to Premium Times, Mrs Ganduje was asked by the anti-graft agency to report last Thursday to its Abuja headquarters.
Abdulazeez had dragged his mum, Hafsat Ganduje, to the EFCC, sources familiar with the matter said.
Governor Ganduje, had previously been involved in a corruption-related scandal.
Abdulazeez reported to the EFCC that he was approached by a property developer to help facilitate the acquisition of some plots of land in Kano with some hundreds of thousands of US dollars and at least N35million as “facilitation commission.”
It was further learnt that Abdulazeez said he paid the sum in dollars to his mother, Mrs Ganduje.
“But three months later, (the property developer) discovered that the plots of land he wanted and had paid the first family for had been allocated to other buyers and he then requested to be refunded,” a source was quoted as saying.
A spokesperson for Kano State Government, Mohammed Garba when asked to comment on the matter said, “I am not aware”.
EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, did not comment on the matter as at presstime on Monday.
Gunshots As Heavily armed IPOB militants chase WAEC students away from school in Imo
Gunmen suspected to be members of the outlawed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) on Monday stormed the Comprehensive Secondary School, Nkume in Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State and stopped students from taking their examination.
According to Daily Trust, the students were preparing to sit for English in the ongoing Junior Secondary School Examination (Junior WAEC) before the hoodlums forcefully dispersed them.
Both teachers and students fled in different directions as the gunmen shot sporadically into the air.
The gunmen set ablaze some motorcycles belonging to some of the staff and students.
Although there were no report of casualties, a video of the incident showed the students and staff shouting and running for their lives.
Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Mike Abattam, could not be reached for comments.
IPOB had declared Monday as sit-at-home to drum support for the release of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing some charges before an Abuja High Court.
