The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Cultism, drug abuse: Police to sensitise communities

    The Police team on Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices, said it would soon commence massive sensitisation of communities on the ills of cultism, drug abuse and other vices breeding criminals in the society.

    SP Ebere Amaraizu, National Coordinator of the campaign, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Tuesday, that the sensitisation campaign would involve other relevant stakeholders.

    He said that the plan was part of the initiative of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu towards fighting cultism to a standstill in the country.

    Amairazu said there were plans to also set up the anti cultism campaign teams in all the 36 states in the federation including Federal Capital Territory.

    Read Also: Poor funding, cultism, bane of education in Nigeria – Don

    He noted that the target was to raise awareness and offer olive branch to repentant cultists and de-radicalise them to be re-integrated into the society to contribute their positive quota in nation building.

    According to him, the programme is strategically designed to counter violent extremist narratives of cultism and other vices as it is also community policing oriented with the involvements of all relevant stakeholders.

    He said: “The programme intervention is designed to sensitise different stakeholders on the dangers of cultism, substance abuse and other vices.

    “We will spotlight the dangers of cultism, substance abuse and their relationship with crime and galvanise stakeholders’ support to help reduce incidences of cultism and other vices across Nigeria.

    “The police will also use this programme to increase consciousness among parents, students, youths, religious leaders, caregivers, teachers and other relevant stakeholders on the dangers of cultism and substance abuse.

    “The programme’s intervention will be aimed at deepening the relation with the police and members of the public for the purpose of gaining more support and assistance  in the fight against crime and criminality in Nigeria.’’

    The national coordinator noted that cultism had brought untold hardship, academic and business disruptions, and social disorganisation to those involved in the criminal act.

    NAN recalls that the anti cultism team was initiated  by the I-G in 2013 when he was the Commissioner of Police in-charge of Enugu State.

    The programme was borne out of observations of emerging dangerous trend of cultism and other vices among youths which had left many people killed or maimed, apart from being a menace to the society. (NAN)

  • Welder remanded for allegedly hacking motorcyclist to death

    An Ilorin Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday ordered that a welder, Wasiu Moshood, who allegedly hacked a motorcyclist, Hussain Hassan to death, be remanded in prison, pending legal advice.

    Magistrate Mohammed Ndakene who did not take the plea of the defendant, ordered that he remanded  in Oke-kura Prison, Ilorin.

    Ndakene ordered the police to return the case file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of Kwara for advice.

    Read Also: Housekeeper arraigned for alleged theft of passports

    He therefore adjourned the case until July 25 for further mention.

    Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Insp. Isaac Yakub, told the court that the defendant was arrested on June 6 at Gwanara following intelligence report that the information conspired with four others, killed Hassan and stole his motorcycle.

    The offence, he said, contravened the provisions of sections 97, 221of penal code law and section 6(B) of robbery and firearms (special provision) Act Cap R11 Law of Nigeria 2004.

    (NAN)

  • Chelsea: we don’t need new players to be successful – Lampard

    Chelsea are facing a transfer ban but new manager Frank Lampard is confident the Premier League club do not need to bring in new players to taste success.

    Lampard, who is the club’s record goalscorer from his time as a player, was appointed Chelsea’s new manager this month with Chelsea unable to add new players to their squad following a FIFA ban.

    Lampard has been tasked with improving the players he inherited from predecessor Mauricio Sarri and promoting young players from the club’s academy.

    Speaking shortly after arriving in Yokohama on Tuesday for the Japan leg of the club’s pre-season tour, Lampard said he was impressed with the attitude of his new charges.

    “I think I have inherited very good players. We cannot bring in any new players, we know that this year. But I don’t need new players. I am very happy with the squad and determined for us to be successful.

    “I have my own way that I want to work with the players.

    Read Also: Seven interesting facts about new Chelsea coach Frank Lampard

    ”I have to say, in the one week we have been training, I have been very happy with the attitude and the qualities of the players,” Lampard said, ahead of Chelsea’s pre-season friendly against Japanese champions Kawasaki Frontale on Friday.

    Friday’s clash with Kawasaki will be the third game of Lampard’s tenure, with Chelsea having secured a win and a draw during two pre-season matches in Ireland last week.

    Lampard will be assisted at Stamford Bridge by former academy coach Jody Morris and the pair are expected to utilise many of the players who have flourished in Chelsea’s youth teams and are on loan to other clubs.

    Lampard worked with midfielder Mason Mount while he was on loan at Derby County last season and the 20-year-old signed a new five-year contract on Monday.

    Mount, along with striker Tammy Abraham and midfielders Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, have Chelsea fans salivating at the prospect of a young, English core prospering under Lampard.

    However, Lampard, who made 648 appearances for Chelsea and scored a club record 211 goals between 2001 to 2014, warned his young players that hard work has just started.

    He added that, “Now we have a batch of them that are fighting to get into the first team.

    “But, to be clear, they now have to make the difference. It is a road, a pathway, that is given to them and now they have to be the ones that play well enough to get into the team.

    “I don’t care about age, I just care about performance and how people train and play. Now it is up to those young players to show what they can do.”Lampard said of his young players.

    Lampard will also rely on World Cup winning French midfielder N’Golo Kante to bring energy and experience to his Chelsea side.

    Kante picked up an injury towards the end of last season but Lampard was confident the 28-year-old will be fit for Chelsea’s league opener against Manchester United on Aug. 11.

    (Reuters/NAN)

  • Just in: Senate to screen CJN Tanko Muhammad Wednesday

    The Senate has resolved to screen the nomination of Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Mohammad on Wednesday.

    Justice Mohammad will be screened by a committee of the whole Senate. The decision to screen the nominee was taken after a voice vote called by the President of the Senate, Dr Ahmed Lawan.

    Read Also: Court strikes out suit challenging appointment of Tanko as CJN

    President Muhammadu Buhari had last week, forwarded Justice Tanko’s name to the Senate for confirmation, in accordance with Section 23(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

    President Buhari forwarded Justice Mohammad’s name for confirmation based on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC).

  • Matawalle applauds Gbajabiamila for appointing Zamfara indegene as chief of staff

    The Zamfara State Executive Governor, Dr. Bello Muhammad has commended the Speaker House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abdulhakeem Olufemi Gbjabiamila for his nationalistic approach over the honour done to the state in the appointment of former Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Alh. Sanusi Garba Rikiji as his Chief of Staff.

    Governor Matawalle expressed his profound gratitude for the gesture adding that, the appointment is not for Rikiji family but for the Government and people of Zamfara State.

    He described Sanusi Rikiji as humble, trust worthy and committed person who is equal to the task. The Government and people of Zamfara State stand firmly with the Speaker, fully confident that the Chief of Staff would do the state proud, much as the Rt. Hon. Speaker is bound to be the happiest in the choice of Sanusi Rikiji. We are behind him and he will not fail you insha Allah, he added.

    Also in a similar vein, while receiving the Speaker on condolence visit over the death of the father of Chief of Staff, Alhaji Garba Rikiji, recently, Alhaji Sani Dahiru and representative of H.R.H. the Emir of Gusau, who spoke on behalf of Rikiji family, thank Hon. Olufemi Gbjabiamila for the visit and the unique appointment of their son as his Chief of Staff. According to them, Rikiji Family will continue to pray for the leadership and entire members of the National Assembly for Allah’s guidance so as to excel and deliver their mandates to take Nigeria to the next level of development.

    Read Also: Edo Speaker appoints ex-lawmaker Chief of Staff

    What happened to Rikiji Family is inevitable, but whenever it happens the feeling of the great loss must be there[HU1] . One of the ways for having a solace is to have the loved ones who share the worries with you. Mr. Speaker sir, as you leave all your mandates coming all the way from Abuja to condole our family, words cannot  express our feelings nor our thanks for your concern, they added.

    In his address, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbjabiamila condoled the government, people of the state and immediate family of Late Alhaji Garba Rikiji and prayed for his soul to rest in peace. He revealed his confidence and happiness for having Sanusi Rikiji by his side.

    I had wanted to be in Gusau to visit a father who has Sanusi as his biological son. Such a father has indeed all the blessings of God for that gem of personality in the Sanusi I know. May his soul rest in peace, Mr. Speaker concluded.

  • Ondo partners Facebook for business prospect

    Ondo state government has reaffirmed its commitment to providing support for its residents as it partnered Facebook through its partners, 360 media to organize a capacity building training on digital marketing for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) owners in the state.

    At the training on “Social Media Marketing” held on Tuesday in Akure, the Ondo state capital,participants, mostly youths were trained on the advantages of internet marketing through the social media to grow their businesses and achieve their dreams.

    A Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on innovation and partnership, Joel Ogunsola said the government decided to partner Facebook in order to provide small and medium entrepreneurs in the state the opportunity to expand their customer reach by projecting their message on global platforms like Facebook, thereby promoting exposure.

    According  to him,” We decided to organize the programme to develop micro, small and medium entrepreneurs in Ondo state. We have a mandate, within this mandate of developing and growing small and micro entrepreneurs.

    Read Also: GIZ partners with Ondo State, emerging communities Africa, to host largest Hackathon in Nigeria

    “We have the incubation and acceleration programme, the enterprise development services, the business support service programme and Ondo State employment trust programme.

    “So, partnering with Facebook was very strategic for us, for us, this is a long term partnership that just begun today.

    “The idea is to see small and medium enterprise owners in the state to actually grow their businesses using social media as a tool for the sale of the businesses.”

    Also speaking, Bamidele Oloyelogun, speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly advised the participants to make good use of what the learnt during the training.

    Oloyelogun who was represented by Festus Adefioye, deputy chief whip of the House thanked the government and Facebook for organizing such event in the state.

    He said”People believe you are a criminal when you carry a laptop not knowing that you can now transact billions of naira online.

    “I thank the organizers, and to the participants, please don’t misuse this opportunities, at the end, there are more advantages than disadvantages, so kindly take it serious.”

  • Super Eagles need a better goalkeeper now- Disu

    A former Technical Adviser to the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Tunde Disu OFR, has said that the senior national team, Super Eagles deserves a better goalkeeper to keep up with football’s current standard.

    Disu made his stance known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday while commenting on the lapses of the first choice goalkeeper, for the Super Eagles, Daniel Akpeyi.

    Disu, a former Assistant Coach to Otto Gloria, the 1980 African Cup of Nation winning coach, said that the Eagles needed a more tactically experienced safe hand.

    “We seriously need another goalkeeper for now, and if I may ask, what is the duty of the goalkeeper trainers and technical crew that we have in camp?

    “The technical crew should now go round to look for goalkeepers and we should not be lazy about it, we should not be comfortable with what we have now, we should look towards the local players.

    “There were times when we had good goalkeepers in the country; we have produced the likes of Emmanuel Okala, Peter Rufai, Alloy Agu and recently Vincent Enyeama.

    Read Also: Three reasons why Super Eagles lost to Algeria

    “My own take is that we still have good goalkeepers around that can do better than what we have right now, we should look for them either in the local league or foreign clubs,” he said.

    Disu said the performance of the Eagles first choice goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi, was not up to standard but added that the goalkeeper could be improved upon.

    “The performance of Akpeyi was not up to standard and I wonder what other goalkeepers are doing on the bench if they are not good enough which means that they are not as good as him.

    “Another point is that, how will a coach take three goalkeepers that he cannot use to a big competition of this magnitude? The fact is that Akpeyi cannot cope with pressure.

    “When the pressure is too much on the goalkeeper; he losses concentration, an example of how he conceded the last goal against Algeria, Akpeyi organised a wall and stood behind the wall.

    “I watched the clip over and over and I can see his deficiency. He cannot have a clear vision of the ball the way he stood behind the wall he created,” he said.

    Disu said that he expected Akpeyi to have stood out of the wall so he could have a clear vision of the ball.

    “I think that even if he wants to gamble or predict Mahrez, being a left footer he should have known that he would shoot to his left preferably.

    “If the goalkeeper wants to gamble, he should have targeted exactly where the player would love to play since he is a left footer.

    “Akpeyi should have stood away from the wall apart, but his position during the free kick was unprofessional,” he said. (NAN)

  • Kaduna people ’re suffering from too much anger, says Cleric

    There is too much hatred, anger and fear among residents of Kaduna State due to ignorance fuelled by their segregation along religious and ethnic lines, Bishop Josiah Idowu Fearon has said.

    Bishop Fearon, who is the Secretary-General, Anglican Communion Worldwide and Chairman, Kaduna State Peace Commission, called for more opportunities for citizens of different ethnicity and religion to meet and discuss.

    He said though education is a powerful tool to change the world and a premise to progress, “we also know that education is a lengthy and ongoing process”.

    “Education does not happen overnight. It requires commitment, investment, sustainability and cooperation,” he said.

    Addressing the joint graduation ceremony for certificate and diploma graduands of Kaduna Centre for the Study of Christian – Muslim Relations on Saturday, Fearon said: “There is too much hatred in Kaduna State; we so hate each other. That is why we are not making too much progress.

    “Ignorance and all that comes with it – anger, fear, hatred, and conflict – happens because we separate ourselves from those that we disagree with and from the ‘other’.

    “We might do this out of concern for ourselves – that if we are seen to be speaking with someone, who is the ‘other’, that it will damage our reputation with our own communities. But this also happens because of fear and sometimes hatred.

    Read Also: BREAKING: Appeal Court cancels vacation over election petitions

    “These are things that we must also work against. And we must resist this temptation to separate ourselves from those who are different and with whom we disagree. We must engage in activities together. It is not enough to simply have knowledge and understanding in your head. You must also practice what you learn. Religious leaders can set a good example in engaging in activities with leaders from the ‘other’ religion.”

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, said that though the state has witnessed many crises due to differences, there is a policy guideline in place on the interpretation of religion.

    He added that teaching and propagating the message through the right channel will reduce the challenges.

    Former Governor of Kaduna State and former caretaker chairman of Peoples Democratic Party Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi said peace is vital and a key denominator to everybody. He urged the graduands to practice what they learn to contribute to peaceful coexistence in the country and show that they value what they learnt.

     

  • Appeal Court cancels vacation for election petitions cases

    Justices of the Court of Appeal have been directed to shelve their plans for this year’s annual vacation of the court in view of the volume of pending election-related cases.

    The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, directed the cancellation of the court’s annual vacation in a two-page circular issued last week.

    Justice Bulkachuwa was said to have issued the directive “upon considering the enormous petitions the court is faced with, 2019 being an election year, it became obvious that we have to forfeit our annual vacation to enable us entertain and determine all appeals arising from the various Election Petition Tribunals transmitted to the Court.”

    In a statement yesterday, the Court of Appeal’s spokesman, Sq’adatu Musa Kachalla, said: “The court’s President issued a two-page circular signed and transmitted to all the Hon. Justices on July 2, 2019.

    “Justice Bulkacha noted that since these appeals were time bound, and would arise within the period of the court’s vacation on July-October, the need therefore arises for them to be heard and determined within the said period.

    “To enable the court meet these targets, the President of the Court of Appeal gave explicit directives to the Presiding Justices of the various divisions to draw up a roaster in consultation with His Lordship to allow the Justices with medical appointments or other pressing family issues travel for not more than 15 days within the period, adding that the roaster that would be drawn should be arranged in such a manner that at any given time there is a three (3) member panel on ground in every division to hear and determine appeals.

    “In Divisions with three (3) Justices, only one (1) Justice can travel at a time and the office of the President of the Court of Appeal, is to be immediately notified to form a panel in that Justice’s absence should the need arise the circular further directed.

    “According to Justice Bulkachuwa, appeals arising from the National and state assemblies would be heard by a local panel of three (3) members except where it is controversial, then the President will constitute and send another panel to hear it.

    “On the governorship appeals, the President of the Court of Appeal disclosed that it would be heard by a five (5) Member panel to be empanelled by his lordship. Hon. Justice Bulkachuwa therefore, instructed the Presiding Justices to notify him as soon as appeals from Governorship elections were filed to ensure their speedy determination.

    “Meanwhile, a total of 1,769 appeals were determined and 3,517 motions disposed of by the Court of Appeal between January and April, 2019.

    Read also: Appeal Court rejects suit challenging Buhari’s academic qualification

    “This is contained in the summary of cases in the Court of Appeal Divisions prepared by the Head, Legal Services Unit, Barrister Mrs. Adaeze Oby Aziwe and made available to the Media Officer of the Court.

    “In the document, a total of 2,397 appeals and 5,120 motions were filed during the period under review.

    “Similarly, reports filtering in from the office of the DCR, Court of Appeal, Election Petition Tribunal, Mrs. Rabi Abdulazeez Yakubu, Esq say that a total of 800 petitions were filed as at June 17, 2019.

    “A breakdown of this figure shows that, State House of Assembly recorded the highest figure of 415, Senate 105, House of Representative 214, governorship 62 and presidential four petitions.

    “According to the facts sheets emanating from the 77 Election Petition Tribunals setup by the President of the Court of Appeal as at April 23, 2019, 65 petitions were either dismissed or struck out while 735 petitions are pending.”

  • Army disowns video clip of unmanned vehicles

    The Nigerian Army has disowned a video clip in circulation alleging that an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in it belongs to the military.

    Army Public Relation’s Director, Col Sagir Musa, stated this in reaction to the video clip in circulation.

    A statement by the Army spokesman said the military’s brand of unmanned aerial vehicle is more sophisticated than the one being shown.

    Musa said: “The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a video clip containing the photograph of an alleged Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) bought by the Nigerian military.

    “The clip was produced, uploaded by Njenje Media TV on its YouTube channel and circulated through WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

    “In it, they showed a photograph of group of persons with the equipment, which they compared to those ostensibly owned by other nations, including some of our African neighbours.”

    Read also: Army disowns video clip on unmanned Vehicles

    “This is far from the truth. Therefore, it should be disregarded in its entirety.

    “Apart from questioning the motive of this mischievous falsehood, it is imperative to state that the Nigerian military has far more sophisticated UAV and equipment than what the medium is broadcasting.

    “This accounts for the tremendous success in the fight against terrorism, insurgency and banditry in the country. It will be recalled that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has designed and produced far more superior and sophisticated UAVs and other platforms, such as “Gulma” and “Tsaigumi” than what the medium was showing. Additionally, the Nigerian Army has just commissioned an aviation hangar in Jaji, Kaduna State, for its Aviation Corps.

    “Another hangar and runway in Bama, Borno State, are on the way where bigger and far more sophisticated UAVs will be deployed and used.

    “It is important to also state that the African countries mentioned in the clip are not in any way compared to Nigeria in military technology, equipment and platforms as they do not have UAVs, as alleged, but an American military base on their soil.”