The Nation Newspaper

Tag: The Nation newspaper

  • Sugarcane seller stabs man to death in Onitsha

    A 25-year old man, Hamisu Ibrahim, was on Tuesday, allegedly stabbed to death by a sugarcane seller in Onitsha, Anambra state.

    The deceased, also a sugarcane hawker was reportedly killed during a fight with the suspect, Jubrin Mohammed along Onitsha-Enugu expressway of the commercial city.

    The Nation gathered that the brawl followed a sharp disagreement between the duo, said to hail from the same state.

    An eye witness who gave his name as Obiora, said efforts to separate them were unsuccessful as the suspect suddenly drew a knife which he stabbed the deceased with.

    “He was immediately rushed to the hospital but gave up on the way,” he added.

    When contacted, Police spokesperson, Haruna Mohammed, confirmed the incident, saying the suspect has been arrested.

    He said, “At about 10:am there was a report at Awada Police Station that one Jubrin Mohammed ‘m’ aged 20yrs of Jigawa State and a sugar cane seller allegedly stabbed and killed one Hamisu Ibrahim ‘m’ aged 25yrs, also a sugar cane seller from same state during a fight along Onitsha-Enugu Expressway, Onitsha.

    Read Also: Ondo Pastor dies while officiating member’s funeral service

    “Scene of crime was visited by Police detectives attached to Awada Division and suspect arrested.

    “Victim was taken to the hospital where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor while relatives of the deceased declined autopsy on religious ground.

    “Photograph was taken and corpse released to relatives as requested for burial according to Islamic rites.”

    Mohammed added that the Commissioner of Police, John Abang had ordered for the transfer of the case to the State CID for discreet investigation after which the suspect would be charged.

  • Kidnappers of Adamawa professor demand N10m ransom

    The gunmen who abducted Adamu Zata, a Professor of Soil Science in the Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), have demanded N10 million as a ransom for his release.

    The professor was abducted from his house in Girei, Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State, at 2 am on Monday by gunmen who killed his brother, Dr Sheda Zata, while taking the professor away.

    A member of the family who spoke Tuesday to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said, “They have demanded N10 million, but we are still trying to reduce it. We don’t have anything close to what they are asking.”

    Read Also: Seven held for ‘kidnapping’ in Adamawa

    The abduction of Professor Adamu Zata on Monday still puzzles many Adamawa residents who remember that he had first been kidnapped a year ago, October 2018.

    Unconfirmed reports had it then that the professor was released only after his family paid N2 million.

    For the abduction on Monday, the killing of his brother added to the sordid history, especially against the possibility that the brother could have avoided death.

    He was said to have been torn between leaving Yola for his rural base on Sunday and staying back till Monday, before he resolved for the latter, only to fail to see the dawn of Monday because the kidnappers cut him down.

  • Be patient over bad roads, Sanwo-Olu appeals 

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has appealed to Lagosians for patience over the bad state of roads in the state saying the continuous rainfall since he was sworn-in about four months ago is slowing down rehabilitation/palliative work on the roads.

    Sanwo-Olu made the appeal while answering questions on the traffic situation and bad roads in the state at ‘The Platform’ put together by The Covenant Place, which took place at Iganmu on Tuesday.

    The event which was a question and answer programme coordinated by Pastor Poju Oyemade has as its theme: ‘Re- designing the Nigerian Economy with new ideas’.

    Sanwo-Olu promised that there would be extensive and massive rehabilitation of roads after the raining seasons, but that all the roads can not be tackled at the same time.

    The governor said it has been raining since he was sworn-in and bitumen does not like rain and so work on the roads is being slowed down because of this.

    He however assured that the government was still working day and night to remedy the state of the bad roads in the state.

    Read Also: Independence: We shall achieve collective aspiration as a nation – Sanwo-Olu

    Apart from bad roads, the governor said water, small landmass and population explosion were responsible for traffic congestion but that his government’s remedy for the traffic problem being experienced on a daily basis was a multi-modal transportation system.

    This he said involves developing the rail, water transportation and bus transit system which the government is already working on.

    “On water transportation, we are encouraging the building of a lot of jetties and we have just acquired 6-7 new passenger boats that can take 60-70 passengers at a time”.

    These, Sanwo-Olu said will be the long term solution to the transportation problem, adding that the government was working on a short, medium and long term solution to issues surrounding transportation.

    On commercial motor-cycle operators, the governor said because he wants to give everybody a chance to be part of the state development plan, the government is trying to harmonize and come up with a regulation system for them.

    “This is designed to know who they are, their activities and how to manage them to ensure that they don’t add to the problem of traffic flow in the state, we don’t want to disenfranchise anybody,” Sanwo-Olu said.

    The governor also disclosed that since his assumption of office it is only in the education sector that he has given a major approval for the recruitment of about 10, 000 teachers into the state public schools, a process that is already on-going.

    Adding that he would also ensure proper and adequate regular training for teachers to increase and enhance their efficiency and capacity.

    According to him, through the fibre initiative of his administration which is already on-going, everybody, especially schools and hospitals will have access to high speed internet services and as a technology enabler, it will manage traffic and other security issues in the state.

    “We are constricted in term of finances, but it is a marathon, we need to continue to run to ensure we meet up and I can assure you that we will meet up and Lagos will continue to be greater”, Sanwo-Olu assured.

  • Buhari’s independence broadcast insult to Nigerians, says PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s Independence Day broadcast as an insult on the psyche of Nigerians and a mockery of the nation’s integrity as an independent state.

    The party said the President’s speech was completely unpresidential, lacking in patriotic stance and replete with manifest inconsistencies, contradictions, paradoxes and false performance claims.

    In a statement Tuesday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the main opposition party said the President’s broadcast was a “mockery of democracy” and has further confirmed that the country is in wrong hands.

    It noted that President Buhari, in his recorded address, failed to forcefully address the key issues of freedom, social justice, constitutional order, separation of powers, rule of law, human rights, credible elections, national cohesion, accountability and transparency in government.

    According to the PDP, President Buhari ignored these very fundamentals of an independent state, because his administration had violated them all.

    It expressed regrets that the President had no forceful reassurances on the challenge of escalated insecurity under his watch.

    “He (President) had no clear-cut and operable blueprint to revamp our economy, which his administration wrecked in a period of four years, resulting in so much hardship and despondency that Nigerians now resort to suicide and slavery abroad as options.

    “Our party notes that this address further exposes that the Buhari Presidency is not interested in nation building; that it is completely disconnected from the people and remains insensitive to the plights of Nigerians”, the PDP said.

    Read Also; Text of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Independence Day speech

    The party further stated that if anything, the President only succeeded in further demonstrating that his administration is, indeed, in no position to deliver a credible, acceptable and satisfactory independence address.

    This PDP lamented that under the Buhari Presidency, the nation has experienced the worst form of division, deprivation, human right abuse, constitutional violations, disregard for rule of law, electoral malpractices, disobedience to court orders, disrespect for separation of powers and curtailing of press freedom.

    It added that due to the incompetence and legitimacy challenges confronting the Buhari Presidency, the nation has lost its voice and due regard in the international arena; “as the administration has remained lacking in the required capacity and boldness to forcefully engage other world leaders on critical issues”.

    “The dearth in foreign direct investments and the inhuman treatments being meted out on our citizens in countries where we were once held in very high esteem, are some of the injuries our nation is suffering under the Buhari administration”, the statement said.

    The party observed that while other leaders motivate their citizens on Independence Day, President Buhari presented uninspiring claims, propaganda and empty promises, describing the development as “depressing”.

    The PDP however urged Nigerians not to despair but keep hope alive, as the nation collectively awaits the Supreme Court to deliver justice and retrieve “our stolen” presidential mandate, so that the nation will have a leadership that it truly deserves at this point in the nation’s history.

  • UCL: Nigerian Emmanuel Dennis makes history with Club Brugge

    With his brace in Club Brugge’s 2-2 draw against Real Madrid, Emmanuel Dennis has become the third Nigerian to score against the Spaniards in the UEFA Champions League.

    Only Yusuf Ayila and James Obiorah had found the next against Los Blancos in the tournament’s history.

    Furthermore, his first strike was the earliest goal scored by the Belgians in Champions League history.

    The Blue-Black got off to the best possible start at Santiago Bernabeu, as Dennis gave the visitors a shock lead after nine minutes despite making a mess of Percy Tau’s cross.

    He doubled his side’s lead six minutes before the half-time break after Luka Modric’s careless pass sent the youngster through on goal, before beating Thibaut Courtois in goal.

    Sergio Ramos and Casemiro clawed a point back for Zinedine Zidane’s men, but it was the Nigerian who shone the brightest in Madrid.

     

    Goal.Com

  • ‘Minimum wage non-payment is forced labour’

    The Incorporated Trustees of Laws and Rights Awareness Initiative has asked a National Industrial Court in Abuja to declare the Federal Government’s non-payment of the national minimum wage as forced labour.

    The non-governmental organisation (NGO) argued that the government’s conduct violated the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act which was assented to by the President since April 2019.

    It filed the suit marked NICN/ABJ/292/2019 through its lawyer, Mr Olumide Babalola, on Friday, September 27.
    It is seeking four reliefs:

    “A declaration that the Respondent’s payment of salaries lower than the minimum wage provided under Section 3 of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2019 constitutes a degrading treatment in violation of eligible workers’ right to dignity of human persons guaranteed by Section 34(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As amended).

    “A declaration that the Respondent’s payment of salaries less than the minimum wage constitutes forced labour in violation of the provision of Section 34(1)(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As amended).

    Read Also; ‘States attaching conditions to minimum wage implementation’

    “A declaration that by virtue of section 9(2)(c) of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2019, the Respondent ought to pay every eligible worker an additional penalty of not less than prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria’s lending rate for every month of default of payment of minimum wage since May 2019.

    “Consequential order(s) that this honourable court may deem fit to grant in the circumstance.”
    In their written address, the Applicant relying on a decision by the Supreme Court of India in Sanit Roy v State of Rajasthan (1983) PLR 328, 1983 SCR (2) 271, argued that payment of salaries less than the minimum wage falls within the meaning of forced labour.

    The matter is yet to be assigned to a judge.

  • Gunmen attack army general’s house, kill guard

    Malual Ayom Dor, the former deputy military chief for administration, said that his residence at Hai Nyakuron West in Juba was attacked by unknown gunmen on Sunday evening.
    Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Monday, Lieutenant General Malual Ayom said his security guard, Garang Deng, who was posted outside the residence was killed when unknown assailants opened fire outside the house, adding the attackers also took phones from his nephew.

    “The incident occurred when the security guard and my nephew Ayom Lueth were returning home from my late brother’s house where they normally have dinner,” he said.

    “When the two people were coming home, two armed men in plain clothes emerged from the gate and asked my nephew who was ahead to kneel down, so after they asked my nephew to surrender his wallet and phones, they shot Garang when he appeared,” he added.

    Read Also: Unknown gunmen attack Ebonyi community kill 10 persons

    The security guard was rushed to Juba Military Hospital after being shot but died on Monday while being treated, he said.

    The South Sudanese army general pointed out that he was not present when the incident took place. “I left Juba for Nairobi on Sunday, but I will go back to Juba to attend the funeral,” he said.

    Malual pointed out that the motive of the attack that left his security guard dead remains unclear.

  • Two killed as angry ‘Okada’ riders set police vehicle ablaze in A’Ibom

    The attrition war between the police and commercial motorcyclists otherwise called ‘Okada’ over government’s regulation of motorcycle operations in Akwa Ibom state is yet to abate.

    This is as the police and the ‘Okada’ riders clashed on Tuesday in the oil city of Eket resulting in the death of two commercial motorcyclists and the burning of a Volvo station wagon car used by the police for surveillance.

    Police spokesman, Odiko MacDon SP confirmed the incident and said that 19 suspects have been arrested in connection with the fracas in Eket.

    MacDon said the suspects arrested had defied government’s restriction order which allows Okada riders to operate between 6 am and 6 pm.

    He insisted that the police cannot be intimidated to stop the enforcement of government’s directive.

    Saturday’s incident happened just a week after the police allegedly killed an ‘Okada’ rider in Uyo which sparked off wild protest resulting in the torching of the NTA station and massive destruction of properties in the capital city.

    The Nation gathered that tension in Eket reached a breaking point following an order placed by Eket local authorities restricting the operation of Okada riders to 6pm and 6am. The government had said the decision was to check the upsurge in crime in the area.

    It was gathered that some okada riders did accept the restriction order and went ahead to operate beyond the government time limit.

    An eyewitness Emman Okposin said the police surveillance team chased them away from the road from 5:30pm as against the 6pm deadline and that they beat his colleagues and impound their motorcycles.

    Okposin said , last Sunday night one their members was shot dead by the police while chasing the operators from road.

    ” Last Sunday our member was shot dead in the night and the corpse has been deposited in mortuary at Immanuel General hospital , Eket.

    Continuing, Okposin said the incident that caused them to revolt occurred yesterday when a policeman beat a motorcyclists and he collapsed on the spot before the victim was rushed to hospital.

    He said the victim identified as Udo from Idung Udoe in the area died previous night while receiving treatment at Immanuel General Hospital , Eket.

    Read Also: Police confirm killing of wanted kidnapper, ‘Lucifer’ in Rivers

    ” Our member udo from Idung Udoe in Eket died last night from injuries he sustained in the hands of police so we revolted.”

    He said the youths and all motorcyclists operators took the corpse to Eket local government council and later to the area police station as the council chairman Frank Archibong was not available to address them .

    Okposin said the police prevented them from entering their station and they returned the corpse to the mortuary.

    He said all the cyclists and the youths regrouped and moved to police checkpoint along James Town road and burn down their patrol vehicle as policemen at the checkpoint escaped.

  • Alleged rape: Submit yourself to court, Dakolo tells Fatoyinbo

    Busola Dakolo, wife of Nigeria’s inspirational singer Timi Dakolo has urged the FCT High Court in Abuja to discountenance Preliminary Objection filed against her case by Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo, Founder and Senior Pastor, Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA).

    Busola Dakolo, made the plea while responding to the preliminary objection by Fatoyinbo insisting that she sued the pastor because of the continuous emotional injuries she had suffered as a result of the rape he committed.

    She, therefore, asked that he (Fatoyinbo) should submit himself to court to ensure justice.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mrs Dakolo dragged Fatoyinbo to an FCT High Court for allegedly raping her on different occasions when she was a teenager about 20 years ago.

    Dakolo in her suite claimed that the incident had continued to hunt and traumatize her and as such required justice to be discharged through the law court.

    The court in a writ of summons dated Sept. 6 had ordered the Pastor to appear before it within 14 days of the service or judgment may be given in his absence.

    However, the Pastor through his lawyer Mr Alex Izinyon, SAN, tried to discharge the suite by filing a preliminary objection dated Sept. 20, saying that the case was filed out of time and the court cannot long hear the matter again.

    Read Also: COZA: Fatoyinbo not ready to be helped, says ex-spiritual father

    Responding to Fatoyinbo’s preliminary objection, Busola Dakolo through her Lawyer Mr Pelumi Olajengbesi argued that the action was not statute-barred (filed out of time) and that it is predicated on continuous injury which is an exception to the Statute of Limitation.

    She noted that the argument that her suit was filed out of time was misconceived and an attempt to hoodwink the court from the main issue and evade justice.

    “My cause of action is predicated on a continuing injury which I have continued to suffer over a long period of time,” she said.

    Busola Dakolo urged the court to discountenance Pastor Fatoyinbo’s Preliminary Objection to the case and asked that he submit himself to court to ensure justice.

    She prayed the Court not to allow the defendant run away from justice by hiding under the cloak of statute of limitation, noting that emotional distress is a tort that cannot be quantified by time

  • Beware of those who wants us divided, Alaafin warns Yorubas

    The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi has called for unity and oneness among the Yoruba speaking people of the country, saying only through that can the desired development of the region be accomplished.

    The monarch made the call on Tuesday while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected executive council and committee members of the umbrella body of all Ibadan sociocultural groups, the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) at Ibadan House, Oke Are, Ibadan.

    Some of the prominent dignitaries at the event include the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, the Eleruwa of Eruwa, Oba Samuel Adegbola, Ex-Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Chief Bode Amoo, the state commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu, CCII President-General, Mr Yemi Soladoye among other prominent indigenes and friends of Ibadan.

    The event also saw the Ibadan House headquarters of the Council, a police station among others commissioned by the dignitaries.

    Alaafin who chaired the event, in a brief remark noted that there are some indications that some elements are bent on dividing the Yoruba’s for different reasons, but warned that the people must be careful and ensure unity of purpose.

    He also emphasis the place of living in love and peace for unity to be achieved in the region.

    He said, “Some people want to divide the Yorubas but we should be very careful.

    “We should continue to live in peace, in one love and in unity so that we can have the desired development for our region.

    “There is no love within us in Yorubaland, and we have to learn how to live in love and peace within ourselves and I can assure you that this will foster the development we are yearning for in our region.”

    In his speech, former Governor Ajimobi said the quality of the leadership of the CCII often makes him a proud Ibadan man any day and every time, noting that the exemplary leadership styles of the Soladoye led Council is worth commending.

    Read Also: Alaafin: talking straight to Buhari

    He recounted that during his tenure as Oyo state governor, some amount of monies were raised to build an ultra-modern central palace for the Olubadan, but was quite surprised that the project has remained uncompleted till date.

    He however assured that he will not be discouraged from doing more in his capacities to contribute more to the completion of the project.

    He said, “During my tenure as governor of this state, we raised the sum of N240 million to build an ultra modern palace for Olubadan but it is quite unfortunate that the palace is still yet to be completed.

    “I suspected that some people that are in charge of that money and the project were not judicious in its usage. But I will continue to contribute my efforts to make sure that the project is completed.”

    Earlier in his address, CCII President-General, Mr Yemi Soladoye called on all indigenes of the ancient city to always be ready to contribute to the development of the city, especially on terms of ongoing projects to uplift the state.

    He recounted the various achievements of the immediate past executive which he led, noting that the city is still a long way to go.

    He said, “Despite the fact that we have made some modest progress in the life of Ibadanland, there is still a long way for us to go as a people.

    “The fate of Ibadanland has been left for too long in the hands of basically nobody. Most of us see just the privileges of being Ibadan indigenes and not the responsibilities.

    “The aspects of Ibadanland that is known to the rest of the world are a people that lack political unity, people with crisis in their traditional system, people with fragmented leadership and the most populated single ethnic group in Nigeria that does not have its own state, palace or united ethnic agenda.

    “We are a people that do not appreciate our self-worth and the leadership role that we must play in Yorubaland in Nigeria. We are loved and respected by others, but we hate ourselves with passion.

    “We are a people that prefer to cede our love outsiders than to ourselves and our fighting strength exhibited more at home than outside”, Soladoye lamented.