TheNewsGuru

Tag: Lawmaker

  • 2 police personnel missing as gunmen attack Ebonyi Lawmaker

    2 police personnel missing as gunmen attack Ebonyi Lawmaker

    Suspected gunmen have attacked Mr Chinedu Awo, Lawmaker, representing Ohaukwu North constituency in Ebonyi State House of Assembly.

    Confirming the incident, the Spokesperson of the Police Command in the state, DSP Loveth Odah, told journalists in Abakaliki on Monday that two police personnel were also abducted during the attack.

    The policemen were in the company of the lawmaker, who was on his way on Sunday to his hometown, Effium Community in Ohaukwu local Government Area of the state.

    NAN recalls that Effium community had been on communal crisis since January 2021.

    The State Governor, David Umahi, on Nov. 26 placed on hold the construction work on the Effium axis of the Abakaliki ring road project.

    The Governor’s order followed the abduction of five construction workers by suspected kidnappers on Nov. 3 in the area. The workers have not been seen since then.

    According to the Police Spokesperson, on Nov. 28, 2021, at about 1340hrs, Awo accompanied Police Operatives were returning from investigation activities in connection with the three missing engineers, abducted in the area on Nov 3.

    “Awo accompanied the operatives to enable him to dialogue with the warriors at Igbuduoke village in Effium/Ezza clan ‘the warring community’ in Ohaukwu Local Government Area; they were ambushed by armed Ezza warriors numbering over 60.

    “The operatives gallantry fought back, resulting in heavy casualties on the side of the attackers.

    “However, DSP Bruno Chukwu and two others sustained bullet wounds and are currently in hospital responding to treatment.

    “The two Police officers by name: Sergeant Donatus Osugwu, and Sergeant Thaddeus Ugoeze, are suspected to have been abducted by the hoodlums,” Odah explained.

    She explained that the Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi, Mr Aliyu Garba, had led a team on reinforcement at the scene.

    “They have cordoned the forest and searched the village but could not see the missing officers nor the perpetrators.

    “Efforts are in top gear to ensure the perpetrators are tracked down and arrested,” she said.

  • Anambra Lawmaker Returns To PDP One Month After Defecting To APC

    Anambra Lawmaker Returns To PDP One Month After Defecting To APC

    Onyebuchi Offor the lawmaker representing Ekwusigo Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, has rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Offor, who is the House Minority Leader, announced his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on October 6.

    In a surprising twist, he yesterday announced that he returning back to the PDP during plenary in Awka. The lawmaker said the decision to return to PDP was taken after consultation with constituent stakeholders from the area.

    The letter he submitted to the floor of the house reads:

    “Two months ago i announced my defection from PDP to APC on the floor of this house. I have tested the waters and realised that my former party PDP is better.

    “So I want to humbly inform this house that I am going back to my party PDP.”

    Hon Chuka Ezewunne, member representing Idemili South constituency welcomed Hon Offor back to PDP.

    Welcoming him, Honourable Chuka said “as a founding member of PDP, I know Hon Offor well and he is a good friend too though temptation drew him to APC.

  • Lawmaker jailed for sexually harassing minor

    Lawmaker jailed for sexually harassing minor

    A Tunisian member of parliament was sentenced Friday to a year in prison for sexually harassing a schoolgirl, the victim’s lawyer said, in a case that sparked a nationwide #Metoo movement.

    Zouhair Makhlouf, an independent member of the suspended assembly, was photographed in October 2019 apparently masturbating in his car in the coastal city of Nabeul.

    The high school student who took the photos and published them on social media, who was a minor at the time, said he had followed her to school and pressed charges of sexual harassment and indecent assault.

    Makhlouf, who was wearing a T-shirt of the Qalb Tounes party of which he was a member at the time, had his trousers down and was looking at the camera.

    He argued throughout the trial that he is diabetic and had needed to urgently urinate in a bottle.

    The victim’s lawyer, Naima Chabbouh, said Makhlouf had been found guilty of indecent assault after a court session that went late into Thursday evening.

    The images of Makhlouf, which went viral on social media, sparked an unprecedented outpouring of testimonies of sexual harassment.

    Many women used the hashtag #EnaZeda — Tunisian Arabic for “me too” — an echo of the #MeToo movement sparked by the Harvey Weinstein affair in the United States in 2017.

    Makhlouf was originally charged with sexual harassment before the indictment was reduced to indecent exposure before it was bumped up again under public pressure.

    In 2020, a group of Tunisian NGOs wrote to the country’s High Council of Magistrates alleging a string of procedural violations they said aimed to protect Makhlouf.

    They said the inquiry had gone far beyond the normal nine months despite the presence of “solid proof”.

    When the trial opened on November 1, dozens of women demonstrated outside the court in Nabeul, 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Tunis, chanting “my body is not a public space!”

    Reacting to Friday’s ruling, women’s rights group Aswat Nissa said it was “pleased with this historic judgement”.

    “This sentencing represents a triumph for the feminist movement in Tunisia and for all survivors of gender-based violence, as it puts an end to the culture of impunity,” it said in a statement.

    Tunisia is seen as a pioneer in the Arab world in terms of women’s rights, and in July 2017 made sexual harassment in a public space punishable by a jail sentence of up to a year.

  • APC boasts of 305 rep members as another lawmaker defects to party

    APC boasts of 305 rep members as another lawmaker defects to party

    The rank of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House of Representatives swelled by one on Tuesday following the defection of Jacob Ajao Adejumo from the Action Democratic Party(ADP).

    Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, who read the letter of defection, said the number of members of the party in the House has increased to 305.

    Adejumo said he was defecting to the APC after due consultation with his constituents.

    He said he left the APC before because he was denied a ticket to contest the elections, adding that he was returning home.

    There have been several defections from opposition party members in the House to the APC in recent times.

  • How I escaped from being kidnapped by unknown gunmen – Akwa Ibom lawmaker

    How I escaped from being kidnapped by unknown gunmen – Akwa Ibom lawmaker

    Mr Usoro Akpanusoh, (PDP-Esit Eket/Ibeno) at the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly has narrated how he escaped from being kidnapped by unknown gunmen.

    Mr Akpanusoh confirmed the incident and narrated how he escaped from the unknown gunmen in Esit Eket on Tuesday.

    He stated that the incident happened at a traditional marriage ceremony he attended at Uquo community in Esit Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom last Thursday.

    He said that the gunmen surfaced at the ceremony with intent to abduct him, but he was lucky to escape after struggling with one of them. He revealed that the unknown gunmen killed two persons.

    He expressed appreciation to God that he escaped the kidnap attempt in his home town in Uquo in Esit Eket.

    “I went for a traditional marriage in Uquo in Esit Eket with the family of the Deputy Political Leader of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in my ward.

    “After staying for about 40 minutes, I bade the couple goodbye and approached my car.

    “While attempting to enter my car, I saw a Nissan Sony that blocked it car and a guy came out with AK47 rifle and started shooting sporadically into the air and people thought that he was a policeman.

    “I saw him pointing the gun at my car and started shooting at people directly and bullets hit two guys,’’ he said.

    Akpanusoh said that the abductors removed his driver and approached him and drew him out of his car and attempted to abduct him.

    “Fortunately the driver struggled with the guy and as God would have it, he was able to find his way back to the crowd.

    He said that scores of others were injured and were rushed to the hospital.

    Reacting to the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in Akwa Ibom, SP Odiko Macdon, said that the Commissioner of Police had asked the Divisional Police Officer in Esit Eket to investigate the incident.

    “We are aware of the attempt to abduct the House member and the police are trying to determine the extent of the crime,’’ he said.

  • One of Cross River Assembly lawmakers who refused defecting with Gov Ayade to APC is dead

    One of Cross River Assembly lawmakers who refused defecting with Gov Ayade to APC is dead

    Lawmaker representing Akpabuyo Constituency in the Cross River House of Assembly, Mrs. Elizabeth Ironbar, is dead.

    She died in the early hours of Wednesday after a protracted illness according to family sources.

    The second term lawmaker was elected under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP).

    She was one of the eight Assembly members that refused to move to the All Progressives Congress(APC) with Governor Ben Ayade.

    Late Ironbar will be remembered for insisting the Chief Judge of Cross River Justice Akon Ikpeme should be confirmed despite the popular notion that she is an indigene by marriage and not birth.

    She became the second Assembly member to die in the current dispensation.

    Meanwhile, Governor Ben Ayade, Cross River State has expressed sadness over the death of a member of the State House of Assembly, Hon. (Lady) Elizabeth Edem Ironbar.

    In a statement signed by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Mr Christian Ita, Ayade described the lawmaker’s death as a huge loss to the state.

    “As a government, we are saddened by the unfortunate departure of Hon Elizabeth Edem Ironbar. She was a proud daughter of our dear state and a consummate lawmaker.

    “Her demise is a huge loss to Cross River and the State House of Assembly. Hon. Ironbar’s robust contributions to legislation in our state will be sorely missed,” the governor said.

    While condoling with the Ironbar family and the state House of Assembly for the irreparable loss, he prayed for the peaceful repose of the deceased.

  • How Ghanaian officials refused me entry into their country over Buhari’s statement accusing NASS members of sponsoring terrorism – Lawmaker

    How Ghanaian officials refused me entry into their country over Buhari’s statement accusing NASS members of sponsoring terrorism – Lawmaker

    A member of the House of Representatives, Ben Igbakpa, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to name the lawmaker whom he alleged is responsible for sponsoring bandits in the country.

    TheNewsGuru.com,TNG reports that the lawmaker was reacting to the President’s Independence Day speech where he said that a member of the National Assembly is among the high-profile individuals sponsoring the leaders of secessionist groups in the country.

    The President, however, did not reveal the identity of the lawmaker, neither did he say if the individual is a member of the House of Representatives or Senate.

    “The recent arrests of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemo, and the ongoing investigations being conducted have revealed certain high-profile financiers behind these individuals.

    “We are vigorously pursuing these financiers, including one identified as a serving member of the National Assembly”, the President said in his broadcast to the nation to commemorate Nigeria’s 61st independence anniversary.

    In reaction, Hon Igbakpa expressed concern that his privilege as a lawmaker has been breached by the President’s statement and he is now being regarded as a suspect wherever he goes.

    He said, “As reported by media houses across the world, President Buhari in his Independence Day speech, told the world that one of us is sponsoring terrorism.

    “IPOB by what it’s to the face of the law today is a terrorist organization even when we have our reservations because the laws of the land and courts have spoken. Mr. Speaker that means that 469 members of this National Assembly are crime suspects”.

    He further stated that he was detained on charges of suspicion when he attended a wedding in Ghana over the weekend.

    “On that fateful day, I went to Akure, to be part of the burial ceremony of our fellow colleague, Hon. Expensive. On Saturday I had to honor an invitation to Ghana for a wedding, Mr. Speaker it will amaze you what I faced at the hands of Ghanaian officials.

    “They detained me for about four hours, that they are trying to confirm something, I stayed at the airport for four hours, missed the wedding I went for and at the end of the day one of them walked up to me saying sorry sir there’s an announcement in Nigeria that a member of parliament is sponsoring terrorism and we are put on red alert to ensure that no member of parliament comes here to hide or cause trouble.

    “I had to come back home dejected. They have been calling me all over the world, my friends have been telling me, who among you is that person is sponsoring terrorism”.

    The rep member emphasised the need for the President to name the lawmaker and appealed to invoke section 28 of the 1999 Constitution.

    “The right thing for a father to do is to name and shame any child that’s bringing about division. But Mr. President didn’t shame that person or name them instead he named 469 members.

    “We have always cooperated and Nigeria has a lot to deal with, so I’m appealing, if not the right thing to do is to invoke section 28 of the constitution they can tell us who among us is sponsoring terrorism.

    “All of us here are prime suspects. I appeal that the leadership of the House should liaise with their counterparts in the Senate to try and see the President so that he can us who’s sponsoring terrorism amongst us.

    He called on the President to go ahead and prosecute, convict the suspect.

    The Speaker of the House, Gbajabiamila responding to Hon. Ben said, “your privilege is noted and we will get back to you on that”.

  • Police confirm attack on Nasarawa lawmaker

    Police confirm attack on Nasarawa lawmaker

    The Police Command in Nasarawa State has confirmed an attack on a member of the state House of Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Samuel Tsebe.

    Tsebe is representing Akwanga South state constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO) of the command, Mr Ramhan Nansel, told NAN that the lawmaker reported the incident to the new Commissioner of Police, Mr Adesina Soyemi.

    According to the PPRO, Tsebe had reported that he was attacked along Akwanga-Lafia road at about 10 a.m on Wednesday.

    Nansel said that the commissioner of police deployed the anti-kidnapping unit to immediately comb the area and one suspect was arrested.

    Tsebe had earlier told newsmen in Akwanga shortly after the attack that three of them (all state legislators) narrowly escaped assassination during the attack.

    He explained that he was shot at while driving to Lafia from Akwanga in a row with his two other colleagues; Mr David Maiyaki (APC-Karu/Gitata) and Mr Peter Akwe (PDP- Obi 1).

    “When we are approaching Wowyen village along Akwanga-Lafia road; that is between the Police Mobile Training College at Ende Hills, and the village towards the bridge.

    “I heard gun shoot at the driver’s side of my car in which I was the one driving. The bullet broke down the glasses of my car.

    “The shoot was targeted at the driver in which I was the one driving, so this gave me suspicion that someone was monitoring my movement and knew that I was the one driving.

    “It is more of assassination attempt. I have informed the police on the assassination attempt,” he said.

    Tsebe expressed gratitude to God for saving their lives and appealed to security agencies to fish out the criminals.

    It was gathered that Akwe was leading ahead in his car followed by Maiyaki, while Tsebe was trailing behind in his own car too when the assasins fired the bullet.

  • How bandits fulfilled promise to attack Kebbi school – Lawmaker

    How bandits fulfilled promise to attack Kebbi school – Lawmaker

    A member of the House of Representatives representing Ngaski/ Shanga/ Yauri Federal Constituency of Kebbi State, Tanko Sununu has described the attack on the Federal Government College, Birnin-Yauri in Kebbi State as a promise fulfilled by bandits.

    The lawmaker explained while featuring on a monitored Channels Television that Thursday’s incident was the latest in the chains of attacks on communities in the area.

    “What really happened is that about two weeks ago, we had an episode when bandits residing within parts of the areas bordering Zamfara, Niger, and Kebbi came up through one of the villages in my constituency.

    “They killed a policeman and found their way until they reached Ibeto area where we have a quarry, killed some security men and kidnapped some of the foreign workers in the quarry and left.”

    He added, “10 days later, they came back to the same area and entered into my constituency bordering some villages, and they had more than a seven-hour field operation going from house to house, room to room, collecting money, phones, cows, and any machine they deemed useful for their operations, and they left a message behind that they would soon be back.

    “To fulfill their promise yesterday, we had intelligence that they were on their way coming. Around 10:30 in the morning, they reached their final destination – the Federal Government College, Birnin-Yauri.”

    Sununu noted that as soon as the bandits got to the school, they were faced with a tough task as they were initially resisted and engaged in a gunfight by operatives of the Mobile Police and Police Counter-Terrorism Unit stationed at the school.

    He disclosed that the fire exchange lasted for a long period before the bandits overpowered the security operatives due to their large number.

    The bandits, the lawmaker stated, succeeded in killing a policeman and gained access into the school and abducted an unspecified number of students and five teachers.

    He explained that it was difficult to ascertain the exact number of students abducted as parents from nearby villages and towns raced to the school to take their children away immediately after the incident.

    Sununu, however, gave an assurance that the military has swung into action, noting that progress has been made.

    He said, “As at last night, I had a discussion with the Field Commander of Operation Hadarin Daji who said that they have succeeded in entering into the den of the kidnappers and I think this is a major success because the security agencies are now taking the fight to the base of the kidnappers.

    “I was also told that over 800 cattle that were rustled some days back have been recovered and as of now, the military has combed the area where we are expecting that the students are with the bandits. They have also succeeded in creating many casualties on the part of the bandits.”

  • Lawmakers’ Emoluments: Declare our account public for all Nigerians to see – PDP Rep tells NASS leadership

    Lawmakers’ Emoluments: Declare our account public for all Nigerians to see – PDP Rep tells NASS leadership

    By Emman Ovuakporie

    A member of the House of Representatives, Hon Rimamande Kwewum Shawhulu (PDP, Taraba) on Friday advised the National Assembly leadership to declare the account of the legislature public.

    Shawhulu made this declaration in a chat with TheNewsGuru.com, TNG when asked about the true emoluments of Federal lawmakers in Nigeria.

    The Taraba born lawmaker said “even professors and enlightened Nigerians believe that members of the House of Representatives earn N24m a month and unfortunately this is wrong.

    Asked what is the Federal legislature doing to correct this impression, Shawhulu said:

    “Well, it is an ongoing process and we can learn from what is happening in other climes but I also want to tell you that generally around the world the legislature has very poor image but if you make the mistake to say you don’t want the legislature to exist, you will have riots on the streets as it happened last year when the prime minister of the United Kingdom wanted to put aside the parliament, there was riot, millions of people came out on the street because that is the symbol that people are participating in government.

    “One or two things that I think are important, it is very important that we open up the national assembly, the way we go to look at the budget of other ministries and we publish them, we have to open up our budget and our expenditure to the public, that is one and if we do that it will not resolve our problem but it will reduce.

    “Other budgets they are line by line, we should do line by line in the budget of the national assembly.

    Number two is that we need to increase our interaction with our constituency and the general public, how that will be done remains to be seen. But I want to tell you that the pressure that the parliamentarians in Africa, in Nigeria face is not the same type of pressure that the parliamentarian in Europe faces, they are completely different.

    In 2016 I went for a programme at the UK parliament where a member of the House of Commons came to speak to us and she said last week she went to her constituency and I said wow, what happened there, how many people?

    Nobody goes to a member of congress or House of Commons to pay his children’s school fees, for burial, to do any of those things; they highest favour they will go is they want a letter of introduction to a ministry or for something to happen or they want him the parliamentarian to appear at a public function somewhere. So one of the reasons you see members sometimes appear that they want to see people is that the pressure is really much.

    In 2003 I was a parliamentary staff here, I worked with the then speaker and a member of the house of reps from Bauchi was complaining on the corridor and I asked him what was the matter, he said since I came here 1999 and we are about to leave, nobody has ever come from my constituency to ask me what I am doing about this or that problem, everybody that has come, the child is sick, the child is going to school, he is getting married, there is burial ceremony, there is this, there is that; so that is the pressure we are under.

    That we have to write letters to look for jobs and majority of the people that are not happy with the parliamentarians actually are not happy because they think that he is making so much money and he is giving them so little or nothing at all.

    I have met well educated people, professors who tell me that members of the house of reps collect N24million per month, fortunately that day I was holding my pay slip and I showed my pay slip.

    A former chairman of my local government was in the car with me one day when we immediately resumed in the 8th assembly, the alert of my salary came and I showed him and he said no, that if I had not shown him he would never had believed that is what we were collecting.

    But then how many people can you explain to, how can an educated person for instance say that members of the house of reps collect N24million per month. N24million times by 360 times 12 months will give you much and what is the budget of the national assembly that they can give one member N24million times 360 times 12 it is about N103billion in a year, just for the house alone, how possible is it but out there that is what people believe.

    And that is why I advocate that we should open up the national assembly, let the public know what we are getting here and if people know that maybe the pressure will reduce or if people think that what members are getting is not justified then they can work for a new system to pay.

    Let me ask you, how many former members have you seen that has money after one year on leaving office. “As I sit in the office here I can tell you the number of former members that are looking for what you cannot believe. So if we open up national assembly maybe we will have more credibility, this is my argument.