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Twitter Ban: SERAP Demands Withdrawal Of Impermissible Conditions On Twitter By FG

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Twitter Logo

By Akinwale Kasali

Less than 48 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari announced that the Ban on Twitter, a Social Media Networking Platform, will be lifted if the demands and conditions put forward by the Federal Government are met, Human Rights Group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP regards those conditions as impermissible.

SERAP demanded that President Buhari should, as a matter of urgency, withdraw the conditions imposed on Twitter pending the final determination of the suit at the Economic Council of West African States, ECOWAS, Court of Justice in Abuja.

The Group had sued the FG, challenging the legality of the suspension of Twitter, however, calling on the FG to allow the court to render a decision on the central issues in the case, and protect the plaintiffs’ rights and interests.”

President Buhari had during his national address on October 1st, Nigeria’s 61st Independence anniversary, given conditions for the ban on Twitter to be lifted. They include that concerns around national security are met, and that even when the suspension is lifted, Nigerians will only be allowed to use Twitter “for business and positive engagements.”

In this vein, in a statement and an open letter dated 2nd October 2021 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “The conditions imposed on Twitter while the ECOWAS case is pending constitute an interference with the right of SERAP and other plaintiffs to fairly and effectively pursue a judicial challenge to the decision by your government to suspend Twitter in Nigeria.

“The conditions make a mockery of the case pending before the ECOWAS court, and create a risk that the course of justice will be seriously impeded or prejudiced in this case. Protecting the right to a judicial recourse and due administration of justice is of utmost importance, being the cornerstone of an ordered society.”

According to SERAP: “Imposing impermissible conditions on Twitter would undermine the rights and interests of the Plaintiffs in the ECOWAS Court case filed against your government, as the conditions directly touch on the central issues of freedom of expression and access to information, which the court is set to determine and rule upon.”

The letter, read in part: “Pushing conditions on Twitter while the ECOWAS case is pending would prejudice the interests of the Plaintiffs, undermine the ability of ECOWAS court to do justice in the case, damage public confidence in the court, and prejudice the outcome of the case.

“It is in the public interest to keep the streams of justice clear and pure, and to maintain the authority of the ECOWAS court in the case. If not immediately withdrawn, the conditions would seriously undermine Nigeria’s international human rights obligations including under ECOWAS treaties and protocols, and have serious consequences for the public interest.”

“Given that the only way in which SERAP and other plaintiffs can have a fair and effective access to justice is to allow the court to decide on the merits of the case before it, fairness and justice must, on the facts of the ECOWAS case, outweigh any stated national security conditions.”

“Your government should allow the ECOWAS Court to decide these issues, especially as the Federal Government has made the arguments on national security before the court.”

“The core of the principle of judicial independence is the complete liberty of the judge to hear and decide the cases before them on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, without any improper interference, direct or indirect.”

“The principle of the independence of the judiciary has also been enshrined in the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, endorsed by the General Assembly in 1985.”

“The principles provide, inter alia, that it is the duty of all governmental and other institutions to respect and observe the independence of the judiciary (principle 1); that judges shall decide matters before them impartially without any restrictions or interferences, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reason (principle 2); and that there shall not be any inappropriate or unwarranted interference with the judicial process (principle 4).”

“SERAP, therefore, urges you to urgently withdraw the conditions imposed on Twitter, and to allow the ECOWAS court to decide on the suit brought by SERAP and other plaintiffs challenging the legality of the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria. Judgment in the suit is fixed for 20 January, 2022.”

African Bar Association To Honour Nigeria’s Former President, Two Governors

By
Ayodele Oni
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Goodluck Jonathan

By Ayodele Oni

Three prominent Nigerians have been nominated for the award of the African Bar Association, (AFBA) during its annual conference coming up later this month in Niger Republic.

They are former President, Dr Goodluck Ebere Jonathan, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state and his Rivers state counterpart, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike.

Both Governors Tambuwal and Wike are Life Members of the AfBA.

The event is billed to hold in Niamey. Former Presidents of Niger Republic, Muhammadou Issoufou, Sierra Leone, Dr Ernest Bai Koroma and Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf are among nominees to be decorated.

Other nominees of the medal are: the Chairman of BUA Group of Companies, Abdussamad Isyaku Rabiu and first Tamil-Indian female appointed as a Judge of the High Court of South Africa in 1995, Justice Navanethem Pillay,.

A statement by the Special Adviser, Media to the Governor, Mohammed Bello, stated that the President of AfBA, Mr Hannibal Uwaifo, disclosed this when he visited Governor Tambuwal in Sokoto.

The visitor was taken round to inspect some ongoing and completed projects in Sokoto by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Suleiman Usman (SAN).

According to Mr Uwaifo, AfBA, which wants its members in the government to excel, is really proud of Governor Tambuwal, who has executed many developmental projects in his state.

Along with members of his entourage, the AfBA President  inspected the ultra modern Diagnostic Center at Farfaru, the state High Court complex renovated by the incumbent administration, the 950-bed Sokoto State University Teaching Hospital (SOSUTH) under construction and the Girls Science Academy also under construction.

In his remarks, Mr Uwaifo said “I think the Federal Government and its agencies have to learn from Sokoto state government.

“We must not do substandard project and we must not play politics in executing projects and we must face the divident of democracy.”

MURIC Alleges Plot To Destroy Islamic Education In South West

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

Islamic Rights Group, Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has condemned the shortfall of Islamic Religion Knowledge, IRK, taught in both Public and Privates Primary and Secondary Schools in Nigeria.  It says the subject is gradually going into extinction.

The Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, raised the alarm over what he called:the neglect and unimaginable state of the subject,” stressing that it poses danger in the South West States.

Akintola said those behind the shortfall of Islamic Religion knowledge, IRK teachers in the Southwest are creating a trap for the future generations.

In a statement issued by the Group on Saturday October 2nd, 2021, it said: “The teaching of Arabic language and Islamic Studies (IRK) is gradually disappearing in both primary and secondary schools in the South West. Most of these schools have no subject teachers for the two subjects and no effort is being made to recruit teachers for them. Most of these states only employ teachers of other subjects when they recruit any teacher at all.

“The tab given to teachers in some of these states has notes on Bible Knowledge (BK) fully loaded whereas what is found under IRK is: ‘This period is designated for IRS specialist to teach pupils’.

“The IRK period is often wasted without the pupils learning anything about the subject due to lack of teachers, scheme, guide, or textbooks but BK or CRK content for teaching is readily available.

“We urge the Ministries of Education in the Yoruba States of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti to urgently address this gross imbalance. Religious education is important to inculcate the right values and the fear of Allah in the citizenry from childhood.

“However , the purpose may be defeated if attention is paid to only one religion at the expense of another. It should be noted that criminals do not discriminate between one faith or the other when they pick their victims. The current spate of insecurity which is affecting people of all faiths should be a lesson to all.

“Whoever thinks this is a problem for Muslims alone has missed the point. We are interwoven in all facets of life. Neither will teaching BK to Muslim children solve the problem because square pegs will never fit into round holes. A stitch in time saves nine.

“Those behind the artificial shortage of teachers of Arabic and IRK are simply setting a booby trap for future generations of people of all faiths in Yorubaland. The South West cannot afford to cut its nose to spite its face. We, therefore, advise the relevant authorities to investigate the imbalance in the availability of teachers of IRK, Arabic and BK as well as the lack of teaching aids for IRK while CRK is over-pampered.”

Buhari Jets Out To Ethiopia

By
Uche Mbah
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President Muhammadu Buhari

By Uche Mbah

President Muhammadu Buhari will, on Sunday,  jet out to Ethiopia to attend the inauguration of the country’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed Monday, in Addis Ababa.

Ahmed is going for a second five-year term in office.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said Buhari will deliver a goodwill message to the President of Ethiopia

“The President, who will depart Abuja for the Ethiopian capital on Sunday, is scheduled to deliver a goodwill message at the inauguration ceremony, after which he will attend a State Banquet in honor of visiting Heads of State and Government”, Adesina said.

According to him, President Buhari will be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.

He will be back in Abuja on Tuesday.

Ahmed secured another term in office in following his party’s, Prosperity Party, victory in the country’s parliamentary election last June.

Buhari had earlier congratulated him.

‘‘On behalf of the Nigerian people, I send you and the people of Ethiopia our good wishes for your courage and commitment to the democratic process and urge you to continue with the good policies of your government that endeared you to the people,’’ the President said in the congratulatory message to the Prime Minister.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Chieftain Narrates Encounter With Gun Wielding IPOB Members

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

Fabian Onwughalu, a lawyer and former chairman of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Lagos branch, has narrated his encounter with gunmen who are supporters of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Onwughalu, who narrated how he was trailed by the men in Nnewi, Anambra state, said they were heavily armed with sophisticated weapons.

“As I concluded my case at high court 3 Nnewi, Anambra state today, I drove to the New Spare Parts Market to buy engine oil for my generator. Thereafter, I quickly proceeded to my country home to meet one of my errand boys, Mr. Anayo, who had been waiting at the gate since 4 pm to see me for some allowance,” he stated.

“After the traffic light junction, I decided to increase my speed to 80 kph, but lo and behold, a black Toyota Rav 4 suddenly appeared behind, trailing me.

“When I noticed that the car though old despite the model, 2010, had no number plate, I became very curious and suspicious. My first line of thought was that they could be either armed robbers who trailed me from the Access Bank ATM where I withdrew N20,000, out of which I had used 6k and 2k to buy PMS and engine oil, respectively or some exuberant youths on an alcoholic and drug spree. Whichever was the case, I decided to speed off far away from them since I trusted my turbocharged ride called “Terrorist Kid” a new model 2018 model.

“In a twinkle of an eye I had cruised to 100kph, but the vehicle kept following up with a gap of less than 5 yards. I thought of driving into the Otolo police station but quickly remembered that they had relocated to the CPS due to the fear of the unknown gunmen.

“As I was contemplating what to do, the worst happened. As I slowed down to avoid the potholes at Orizu petrol station, their car overtook me in a Gestapo style as in a James Bond movie and blocked both my car and an oncoming Range Rover sports 2020 model.

“I then said my last prayers and asked God to have mercy on me and accept my soul in paradise. One came to me and barked, “Oga Judge, what are you doing to bring Nnamdi Kanu out?”

“I told him that I just came back from Abuja last week where I joined his defence team free of charge. He told me to continue and that God will bless me. While two of them were interrogating the driver of the Range the other two were chanting “no Biafra, no election”.

The lawyer said the boys also threatened to blow up political meeting venues henceforth if the government does not stop “wasting the lives of innocent youths who throng their meetings.”

“After about ten minutes, he retreated to the Range and ordered the driver who introduced himself as a son of Igwe Orizu, Igwe Nnewi and the owner of the petrol station, out of the car and returned his two phones to him,” he continued.

“As this was going on another team arrived with a Honda Pilot. The second group shouted that they were the backup squad. “Meanwhile as their eyes concentrated on the vehicles, I quietly reversed into the Obindu petrol station, left my keys in the ignition and scaled the dwarf fence into the cassava farmland nearby.

“They later left with the four cars and the owner of the last car which they commandeered. Thank God they did not see any political party insignia on me and my car. Moreover, they thought I was a security agent trying to escape from them, but when they saw me in my lawyer’s apparel, they became friendly.

“I am still in shock after so many hours as my BP which shot up to 180 is yet to subside. Only the almighty God can intervene on this imbroglio.

‘Today, I confirm that these boys are armed to the teeth as I saw them ‘korokoro’ wielding AK 49, machine guns, antiaircraft missiles Russian made SMG, LA rifle and pistols. One particular boy of about 30 years who seems to be the leader had the ammunition belt rolled round his body like wrapper with two pistols by his trousers side pockets.”

Curled From The Cable

Boko Haram has Taken Over Niger State, Says LGA Chairman

By
Uche Mbah
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0

By Uche Mbah

Eight Wards in Niger state, comprising of 500 communities, have been taken over by Boko Haram terrorist Organisation, says Suleiman Chukuba, Chairman of Shiroro LGA in Niger state.

It has been gathered that in these communities, Boko Haram now impose tax on indigens, to the helpless chagrin of the State Government, thereby indicating a parallel Government.

Last April, they hoisted their flag in the State, making it officially a conquered territory.

During his speech at the United Nations, President Buhari had claimed that Boko Haram has been reduced to a small band attacking soft targets.

But speaking with journalists Friday, Chukuba said the occupied areas are Manta, Gurmana, Bassa-Kokki, Allawi, Kurebe, Kushaka, Kwasi, Chukuba, and Galadima Kogo.

“They incorporate the people of those communities by telling them they have arms and money to give them so they can assist them in fighting the Government,” he said.

“Shiroro Local Government has an uncountable number of Boko Haram fighters.

“I have the proof being that I am the Executive Chairman, the Chief Security Officer of the Local Government.

When they go to the various communities, what they tell them is that ‘We don’t want primary, secondary schools. We only want Islamiyya schools.’”

He appealed to the Federal Government to deploy more security operatives to the affected area to fight the terrorists.

Controversies have trailed Boko Haram activities in the country in the last twenty years.

While the Military claim they have been technically defeated, they continue to wax stronger in the Northeast. Over the years, they have spread their activities to other parts of the North, with the ambition to drift to the South.

Over 3,000 indigenes are now quartered at the camp for Internally displaced persons.

NANS Flays Hurried Closure Of OAU Over Student’s Death; Asks For VC’s Sack

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

Following what it described as a hurried closure of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, the National Association of Nigerian Students, (NANS) has berated the Vice Chancellor and called for his removal.

OAU was shut down on Friday following protests by the students as a result of the death of one of them, Adesina Omowumi Aishat.

Aishat, a Part 4 student of the Department of Foreign Languages reportedly died as a result of negligence by health workers at the University Health Centre.

A statement by the Public Relations Officer of the University, Abiodun Olarewaju, subsequently announced the immediate closure of the university and asked the students to vacate their hall of residence before 12 pm on Saturday.

The Management, also, put on hold the swearing-in of the newly elected Students’ Union officials, pending review of the situation.

“However, Management condemns in strong terms the continuous and uncontrolled protests by the students culminating in unbridled brigandage, blocking the Ife/Ibadan and Ife/Ede highways and other adjoining roads that could be used as alternative routes, and engaging in other acts that are detrimental to their health and the safety of the generality of the people.

“Therefore, having exhausted all necessary avenues to call the students to order and allow normalcy to return to the campus and its environs, the authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, have accordingly closed down the school until further notice. This is to forestall further breakdown of law and order.

“In view of this, all students are hereby directed to vacate their halls of residence and the campus latest by 12:00 noon on Saturday, October 2, 2021.

“Consequently, the swearing-in of the newly elected Students’ Union officials has been put on hold, pending a review of the situation. In the meantime, the University management has put in place the machinery to unravel the circumstances surrounding the immediate and remote cause(s) of the crisis.”

However, NANS Zone D, condemned the ‘reckless’ closure of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State by the Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede-led Management and demanded, as a matter of urgency and necessity, the re-opening of the institution for students to continue their examinations.

The NANS Zone D also threatened to call for the removal of the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede even as it disclosed that its Zonal leadership will relocate its secretariat to the University campus gate until the VC reverses the decision.

They also called on the students of the University and all Student Union bodies across the South West to mobilise in numbers for a showdown until the Management rescinds its decision, adding that it shall be calling for the removal of the University Vice-Chancellor at that spot and they shall be mobilised in their numbers.

NANS coordinator in the zone, Kowe Amos, and secretary, Giwa Temitope, in a statement, described the directive by the institution management to close down the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State as extremely infantile and primitive.

This is even as it demanded an immediate reversal of the decision by the management which it claimed was draconian, hasty and unnecessary.

“As an association, we find it appalling that the University management could go to the extent of twisting the narrative by saying that she was adequately treated. Meanwhile, reverse was the case.

“It is on good record that the helpless student was abandoned and was certified brought-in-dead at Seventh Day Hospital, Mayfair for treatment where she gave up the ghost.

“But the management in their characteristic manner had to lie that she was promptly treated of severe infection (which they could not even name). The fact that the management could not name the ‘severe infection’ is a testament to the fact that they lied.

“As against the content of the 4th paragraph of the circular that was issued by the University management, there was no attempt by the University Management “to call the students to order and allow normalcy to return to the campus and its environs.”

Abducted AVM Smith Released

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Retired Air Vice Marshal Sikiru Smith

By Adesina Soyooye

After five days in  kidnappers den, abducted Air Vice Marshal Sikiru Smith has regained his freedom. He was released early Saturday, October 2, 2021.

The circumstances behind his release are not yet public. For instance, it is not known if any ransome was paid before his release or not. But the Spokesman of the Lagos State Police Command, Adekunle Ajisebutu, has confirmed his release.

The AVM, who is the Chairman of Double Wealth Ventures, was kidnapped from the site of a project he was overseeing in the Ajah area of Lagos on Monday by masked men. He was taken away in a flying boat after they subdued him in a struggle. His eye glasses was picked on the site.

In a desperate voice recording, his driver, Corporal Odiji, raised an alarm which alerted the general public and security agencies.

Both the Military and the Police mounted a frantic search fir him.

The retired AVM is a cousin to retired IGP M. Smith, currently, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission.

COVID 19: FG Receives $400m Vaccine Grant; Virus Pushes100m People Into Poverty

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By James Orji

World Bank President, David Malpass has disclosed that 100 million people were pushed into extreme poverty as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic.

Malpass made the assertion on the crest of the approval of $400 million, for the federal government for the purchase and production of COVID 19 vaccine in the country.

“Government of Nigeria today received approval from The World Bank Board of Directors for a $400 million credit in additional financing from the International Development Association (IDA)* to provide upfront financing for safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine acquisition and deployment within the country. This will be implemented as part of the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project,”

“Building on the Government’s plan to break the chain of local transmission of COVID-19 and limit the spread of the virus, the original COVID-19 Response program will be expanded to enable equitable access to purchase affordable COVID-19 vaccines for 18 percent (40 million) of Nigeria’s population and support effective vaccine deployment to 50 percent (110 million) of its citizens,” Mansir Nasir, Senior External Affairs Officer said in a statement on Friday.

The viral disease first broke in December 2020 and has killed close to 5 million people globally, amidst concerted efforts to contain its spread.

Major steps adopted by the international community to contain the spread of the disease include economic shutdown which had led to job loses across the continents with attendant poverty in mostly poor countries.

The situation has not ameliorated the global bank president said, adding that the world has experienced a serious set-back as a result of the pandemic after making progress in tackling poverty in the past decade.

According to him, “The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in increased poverty rates again after decades of steady decline. It has pushed nearly 100 million people into extreme poverty, with several hundred million more becoming poor, many of them in middle-income countries.

“As of mid-2021, over half of IDA countries, the world’s poorest countries, are in external debt distress or at high risk of it.”

He cited increase in the cost of essential commodities, high interest rates and rising debt of developing countries as major causes of global poverty.

Malpass said “This situation could worsen if commodity prices are volatile, interest rates increase, or investors lose confidence in emerging markets.

“This is also a time for proactive debt management to reprofile payments while international interest rates remain low.

“In many places around the world, poverty is rising, living standards and literacy rates are falling, and past gains on gender equality, nutrition and health are sliding backwards.

“For some countries, the debt burden was unsustainable before the crisis and is getting worse. Rather than gaining ground, the poor are being left behind in a global tragedy of inequality.”

Malpass said giving cash transfer to the extremely poor and investment in critical infrastructure will help to bridge the poverty gap.

“Supporting this transformation requires many actions at scale: investing in digital infrastructure, eliminating monopolies in the telecom sector, providing national IDs, and creating an enabling regulatory environment.”

“The digital revolution can also transform the public sector. For example, it allows a radical rethink of safety nets systems.

“Across the world, we are seeing programmes move from in-kind and cash delivery to digital delivery, direct to people’s bank accounts or visible on their phones,” the World Bank boss said.

Minority Caucus Laments State Of The Nation’s Economy, Asks Nigerians Not To Lose Hope

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
Hon. Ndudi Elumelu

By Akinwale Kasali

The Minority Caucus in the Federal House of Representatives has lamented the misrule by the All Progressives Congress, APC Government under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Its leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, in a statement, said that despite the fact that Nigeria remains a nation blessed with abundant natural and human resources with patriotic zeal, but in the last six years, the citizens have been subjected to the worst form of inhuman treatment, in violation of the reasons for independence and democratic tenets.

The Caucus, however, applauded Nigerians for their commitment towards the task of nation-building, despite daunting challenges, urging them not to lose hope.

It added that the past six years have been lamentable as Nigerians have been subjected to the worst forms of state-backed injustice, deprivation, suppression, abuse of rights, economic strangulation, electoral manipulations, violence and traumatizing bondage mentality; in violation of the essentials of independence, particularly in a democratic setting.

The statement reads further that, “With total disregard for the tenets of our constitutional democracy comes dereliction of duty, recklessness, entrenched corruption in high places, counterproductive economic policies, infrastructural stagnation and national retrogression.

“The 61st Independence Anniversary, therefore, presents to leaders at all levels, the opportunity to redirect the tide by giving greater commitment to issues of good governance, justice, equity, fairness as well as the overall development security and wellbeing of Nigerians in such a manner that reflects their aspirations as free citizens.

“Our caucus commends Nigerians as true agents of nation-building and urges them to use the occasion of this year’s independence anniversary to revamp the bond of unity, love and oneness of purpose for which we are known.

“The caucus also salutes the gallantry of our troops, who are putting their lives on the line to safeguard our nation, and for which many of them have paid the supreme price.

“On our part, the Minority Caucus remains resolute and unwavering in using all legislative instruments at our disposal in protecting and projecting the interest of Nigerians at all times.

“The Minority Caucus congratulates Nigerians and wishes them happy independence anniversary celebrations”.

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