Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday morning ordered that the six-count amended treasonable felony charge against Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) be struck out, POLITICS NIGERIA reports.
The implication of this is that Kanu has no case to answer.
In April 2022, the court struck out eight out of the 15-count charge filed against Kanu, by the federal government.
Also on Wednesday, Justice Nyako said the absence of the defendant (Nnamdi Kanu) in court after his bail was granted in 2017 must be discussed before another bail is granted. Thus, the defence is expected to apply for a fresh bail.
During the resumed trial on Wednesday, Justice Nyako questioned the Department of State Services (DSS) on why the agency repeatedly flouted her court orders.
Earlier, security operatives barricaded the entrance to the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Kanu was rearrested in Kenya last June and transferred to Nigeria.
A self-proclaimed Muslim cleric in Oyo State, Alfa Tiamiyu Abass, has been nabbed with human body parts.
The suspect Naija News understands is currently being interrogated by the Police Command in the state.
The dismembered body found with the suspect was identified as a hairdresser with the name Barakat, a resident of the Oyetoro community, in the Oyo West Local Government Area of the state.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the state police command, Adewale Osifeso, said “On May 15, 2022, around 6.30 pm, one Oyerinde Gbadegein reported at the Atiba Divisional Police Headquarters that around 1 pm of the same day, a corpse was seen dumped by the side of a stream on Jibola Afonja Street, Oyo town.
“On receipt of the complaint, a team of detectives from the Atiba division swung into action and proceeded to the scene. It was discovered that the corpse was that of a lady of about 25 years packed in a sack bag, which was already decomposing with the head, hands, toes and flesh from the thigh cut off from the body. One Alfa Tiamiyu Abass was arrested in connection with the case.”
The police mouthpiece said the suspect has since confessed to killing Barakat who happened to be his customer.
Abbas told the force that he committed the heinous act with the help of one Qudus who is now at large.
Osifeso told newsmen that a search was conducted in the suspect’s house and that all the parts removed from the deceased’s body were recovered.
However, the investigation is ongoing to arrest the said Qudus for possible prosecution, the police spokesman noted.
The Federal Government has accused the social media platform, Facebook of being responsible for the violence being perpetrated by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South East.
The government said IPOB has been using Facebook to instigate violence and ethnic hatred in the country and the social media platform could not do anything to curtail the activities of the group.
Naija News reports that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, made this known at a meeting with a team from Facebook in Abuja on Tuesday
Mohammed said Facebook has no reason to allow its platform to be used by the outlawed group whose aim is to destabilise the country.
He said: “I have called this meeting to enable us to discuss the increasing use of Facebook by separatists and anarchists, especially those of them based outside the country, to instigate violence and ethnic hatred in Nigeria,” he said.
“For whatever reason, they seem to have now chosen Facebook as their platform of choice. And their tools include disinformation, incendiary statements and hate speech.
“They use Facebook broadcasts to reach their followers, who are in thousands. They tag those opposed to their violent ways as ‘saboteurs’ who must be attacked, maimed and killed. They use both English and their local language as it suits them.
“Our social media people have been monitoring these separatists, anarchists and purveyors of hate, and have been reporting their atrocious actions to Facebook, but all they get are default responses that their complaints have been received and are being looked into.
“Most often than not, nothing is done about such complaints. The truth is that whatever Facebook is doing to check these people is mere tokenism and is totally ineffective.”
The minister said the plan by the government to regulate social media is not an attempt to stifle the press or encroach on press freedom.
Mohammed said the Buhari administration is just advocating for the responsible use of social media.
He added: “Some have tagged our efforts as an attempt to stifle social media.
“They are wrong because we have no intention of preventing Nigerians from using social media responsibly. All we have been advocating is a responsible use of social media.”
The Lekki Adult Literacy Centre And Vocational Centre is set to launch its kick illiteracy out of Lagos state campaign in a way to empower and restore hope to Lagosians who are interested in learning in order to be valuable to their societies.
The movement, which is one of the Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) of the Redeemed Christian Church Of God (RCCG) LP 20 started in 2020 out of the need to bridge the gap between the elites and ordinary populace who are disadvantaged for lack of education.
According to the provincial pastor of Lagos Province 20, Pastor Tunde Natufo who is also a member of the board of trustees, the organization is to transform the lives of those around the catchment area of RCCG LP 20. He mentioned that Lekki Adult Literacy Centre is existing to allow the disadvantaged populace get knowledge which will in turn boost their confidence in relating with people.
‘’As we all know, education is a key to life and we know it provides confidence, knowledge which is power. Looking at all these, the mandate given to us by our father, Pastor EA Adeboye who has told us to give back to our immediate community. The need to give back cannot be overemphasized, what we render is the gospel and it is for the total transformation of man. You can’t be transformed and be on the same spot and when the idea came, we jumped at it and ever since then, it’s been a successful story.’’
‘’We had our first major event sometime last year and it brought the ministry of education in Lagos, education at this level is a collaboration, it’s a thing that one person can’t do. God has really helped us. There used to be very huge gap between the elites and their drivers, nannies, domestic staffers but today, we have been able to bridge that gap.’’
‘’This is just the beginning, we will try as much as possible to deepen knowledge and we are also trying to expand our reach. There is no way we will do what we are doing today that the value, economic capability of the beneficiaries will not improve. Education is a basic tool for social communication but when there is no education, it tells on the self-esteem.’’
‘’In the world today, the highest paid is the one that uses less energy, the lowest paid is the one that exerts more energy when it comes to the physical, the difference is knowledge and that’s what we have come to manage. Some of these people have knowledge too but education will fast track both the understanding and the passage to transfer that knowledge. That’s what we have been doing and by God’s grace, we will continue to do.’’
Also, Deacon Joe Mbulu, who is also a coordinator and a trustee stated that the movement discovered the influx of people into the Lekki area but it was difficult coping with the requirements for survival and end up becoming maids to the elites. As a body of Christ, RCCG picked up the responsibility of impacting knowledge into them.
He also explained that many of the illiteracy problems are foundational therefore, Lekki Adult Literacy And Vocational Centre took it upon itself to address the psychological issues too.
‘’As a body of Christ, our responsibility is not just to feed the soul, we are to also be light in the society and education is part of it. We have seen a lot of influx of people into the Lekki area but as people come, we see they can’t cope with the requirements of today’s world. Knowledge is power, it is important that we teach them how to write so they can relate with people because most can’t read simple things, they can’t even read job advertisements so they will end up being house girls, house boys, maids, etc. considering this, we started this movement in October 2020 with about 20 learners but as people came in, we quickly realize our vision had to go beyond teaching them how to read and write, we discovered that the problem is not just reading and writing, it’s foundation’’
‘’Some didn’t go to school because their parents didn’t have money to send them to school, some was gender discrimination, some lost their parents and with this circumstances, they were psychological challenges. Our vision was to repair faulty foundation because when we make people believe they can learn, when they believe there is a future for them, we can teach them anything.’’
‘’We have taught people not only how to read and write but to believe in themselves. One key element is what we call the morning charge. We bring people to encourage our learners, we have about 17 facilitators and people within, outside the church join us.We have spent time encouraging them, letting them know their past cannot determine their future and the joy of learning comes back. We see people happy learning ABC as simply as that. People come here with lost hope but within few weeks with us, they get joy in the learning process and that gives us so much joy.’’
‘’In the last one year, we have been able to build our structure like that of a corporate organization, we are not just selling reading and writing, we are restoring hope.’’
Furthermore, while speaking on the Kicking Illiteracy Out Of Lagos Campaign, Mrs Chika Idalah-Allison, the lead facilitator stated that it is to celebrate the second matriculation of learners and to call on the government to take the education of Nigerians very seriously especially at a time like this when most institutions are on strike.
She narrated briefly how the structure of the organization is and how the programme is run for the learners.
‘’Looking at our educational sector, most of our tertiary institutions have gone on strike. If we don’t look into things that will make our government be passionate about education, very soon only God knows what will be the hope of education for our young ones.’’
‘’ In our own structure here, we run every Saturday because our learners are drivers, market women, cooks, households, nannies, and all working at different households within Lekki phase one. They are always at work during the week and on Saturday at 11am, they all come to school to learn how to read and write.’’
‘’Beyond reading and writing, we are building an exceptional structure for them whereby they get the things they would get in formal settings. Sometime last year, we had to take our learners on excursion to UNILAG because we want them to be more visionary towards going further after learning how to read and write and be value oriented to their community, Lagos state and Nigeria.’’
‘’In addition to our structure, every month we celebrate our learners by celebrating their birthdays for them. We make them look forward to learning and these are adults who are so excited coming to school. Going forward, we also partnered with the Lagos state government.’’
‘’Our structure is like a win-win situation whereby when the bosses allow their domestic staffers learn to read and write, they get morally equipped in relating with their bosses and that’s why for our brand campaign this year, we are looking at Kick illiteracy out of Lagos state.’’
An explosion has been reported in the Sabon Gari area of Kano State on Tuesday.
The incident although still sketchy has reportedly caused the death of an unspecified number of people in the area.
The death has been reported by an All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman in Bauchi State.
The deceased who was the chairman of Bauchi Local Government Area, Husseini Musa Gwabba, was found lifeless in a hotel room in the state capital, Naija News learnt.
The cause of his death is yet to be determined but the state police command has ordered an autopsy.
Gwabba according to SaharaReporters, was found lifeless in a hotel room Saturday morning in Bauchi, the state capital.
The politician was said to have received a series of death threats from some persons suspected to be high-ranking members of the party who saw his emergence to the position as a threat to their survival in the party
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the police in the state, SP Ahmed Mohammed Wakil, said a thorough autopsy will be conducted on the remains of the politician to ascertain the cause of his death.
“The result of the autopsy as being awaited will be made public, please.
“Three suspects have been arrested in connection to the death of Gwabba and are being interrogated by the police,” Wakil said.
Meanwhile, Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has lost his Senior Special Assistant on Political Matters, Hon Tony Otokhine, in a fatal motor accident.
The sad development was confirmed in a Facebook post on Sunday evening by Governor Okowa’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Ossai Ovie Success, Naija News understands.
The government official disclosed with regret that Otokhine died in a ghastly crash while returning to Asaba after attending the traditional wedding of Nigeria Bar Association President, Olumide Akpata, on Saturday, May 14, in Benin City.
Success recalled their last conversation at the wedding event. He described the deceased as a humble and nice person to be with.
ISSAN Forum: Experts Raises Alarm Over Brain Drain Of Digital Skills In Africa
Experts have raised concerns over the growing shortage of general digital skills occasioned by the brain drain in Africa, stating that such development would further lead to rise in cyber-attacks and crimes with catastrophic consequences for businesses, governments, and citizens. This was the consensus of panelists that facilitated at the April edition of The Information Security Society of Africa – Nigeria (ISSAN) monthly meeting themed: ‘Addressing the Cybersecurity Skills Quagmire’. They opined that African countries must as a matter of urgency start Intentional development of digital skills at all levels, smart technology support, collaboration with the Diaspora and strategic supply of digital skills to Africa. Key speakers included President, ISSAN, Dr. David Isiavwe; Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Digital Jewels, Mrs. Doyin Odunfa; Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Stanbic IBTC, Abumere Igboa; CISO, Heritage Bank, Eduje Ighoakpo; CISO, First Bank, Harrison Nnaji; CISO, Standard Chartered Bank, Oghenefovie Oyawari and Tokunbo Taiwo, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Digital Jewels amongst several other speakers.
According to Mrs. Odunfa, the shortage of general digital skills at all levels is expected to become more critical as economies grows, noting that supply of digitally skilled labour must also increase to meet anticipated labour market needs. She observed that highly skilled African professionals have been emigrating African countries to pursue lucrative cultural and socio-economic opportunities on other continents leading to brain drain and skills gap on the continent. Whilst proffering solutions, she went further to recommend intentional development of digital skills at all levels, smart technology support, collaboration with the Diaspora and strategic supply to Africa and Western economies. “These young Africans are looking for higher-paying jobs outside Africa to escape socio-economic limitations such as poverty, limited infrastructure, and rudimentary jobs. They look for enabling environments in developed countries that provide rewarding businesses and obtain lucrative jobs, matching skilled individuals’ aspirations and expected socio-economic recompense. Many highly talented African students that obtain opportunities and scholarships of training abroad do not return home after completing studies.”
In his welcome address, President, ISSAN, Dr. David Isiavwe, said the brain drain in Africa as well as the digital skills shortage currently being experienced around the world calls for concern. According to him, “The cyberthreat landscape is still evolving. Cybersecurity space keeps getting very busy by the day. We have seen how daring cybercriminals can be, targeting both national assets and that of highly reputable firms. Even individuals are not left out. Consequently, it becomes imperative that organizations never relent in upholding and reinforcing information security best practices.”
The Information Security Society of Africa – Nigeria (ISSAN) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace. They are significantly involved in ensuring the security of Banking Systems and applications, ATMs, e-government systems, and the entire cyberspace in Nigeria. ISSAN also seek to achieve its objectives through awareness heightening measures including the promotion of appropriate legislation and best practices. Membership cuts across both public and private sectors of the economy including Banks, Telecommunications Operators, Government parastatals, switching companies, IT and IT Security Consultancies, Legal Practitioners with a keen interest in cyber-related matters, Regulators.
ISSAN, which has existed for over 10 years in Nigeria, has proven to be a veritable platform for collaboration and exchange of ideas by members of the Banking and e-commerce public especially regarding safekeeping of PINS, controls over passwords, access to the internet as well as steps organizations should take to always keep their systems healthy and safe. ISSAN, therefore, performs a critical role in ensuring that Information Security professionals find their voice on matters of Information Security and that all stakeholders are duly informed of the steps to take to contribute their little quota towards ensuring a safe society for us all.
Zahra Buhari, daughter of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has advised Muslims on the way to act when faced with a blasphemous individual.
The mother of two took to her Instagram story to share a video of an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Assim Al-Hakeem teaching Muslims on how to respond when people insult the prophet.
He said: “This depends if you are in a Muslim country. This is a major offence that requires the intervention of the Muslim ruler. You simply report these individuals to the court or to the Muslim ruler.
“It’s the duty of the Muslim ruler to execute after going through the legistrative processes and going in front of panel of judges.
“You must not take matters into your own hands because this will turn the community into a jungle.”
This is coming two days after the gruesome murder of a female student, Deborah Samuel in Sokoto for alleged blasphemy.
Meanwhile, Deborah Samuel’s parents have described her death as tragic and heartbreaking, stating they have left her killers to God.
Deborah’s corpse was laid to rest in her birthplace of Tungan Magajiya in Niger State’s Rijau Local Government Area on Saturday evening.
Naija News recall her classmates stoned her to death and set her ablaze on Thursday for reportedly making a derogatory statement about Prophet Mohammed on a WhatsApp group.
In response to their daughter’s death, the heartbroken parents stated that they had nothing to say or do about it and that they have opted to put everything in God’s hands. Read more
