TheNewsGuru

Tag: Nigerians

  • Nigerians don’t have effective access to justice – Saraki, CJN, others

    Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN) and Solicitor General of the Federation (SGF), Taiwo Abidogun, on Thursday lamented the inability of the nation’s court system to ensure prompt justice delivery.

    They urged that efforts should be directed at ensuring that the judicial system functions for the benefit of all.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Saraki, Onnoghen, Malami and Abidogun spoke at the National Summit on Justice in Abuja.

    Saraki, who was represented by Senator David Umoru, said Nigerians were in agreement that the justice administration system urgently requires serious reforms to enable it cope with current day challenges.

    He said: “Criminals have become smarter with technology. There is an upsurge in terrorism and crimes, hitherto unimagined like the senseless and brutal kidnapping of Nigerians. This was a crime never envisaged in the past.

    “It is my clear belief that in order to restore confidence amongst Nigerians in our justice system, judicial reforms need to be institutionalised. It must be constantly reviewed to reflect the constant dynamics of the society.

    “It should not be treated like a one off project or a talk show, but a workable template must be adhered to.

    “The success of an effective judicial system is measured not only by the number of cases that it manages to dispose of, but also, and more importantly, by the amount of litigation which is avoided because the rights and obligations of parties are ascertainable in advance.

    “Ensuring effective access to justice is one of the most important issues facing our justice system today.”

    Onnoghen, who was also represented by Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court, said the perennial delay in the judicial process could be effectively eliminated where rules of procedure in courts are well streamlined.

    He noted that although it may be difficult to achieve uniformity of court procedure nationwide because of existing differences in religion, culture and legal procedures, efforts should be directed at ensuring a system that guarantees fair play and equity.

    He said: “The common man should see the justice system as impartial. There should be improved justice dispensation, elimination of delays and reduction in cost of litigation.

    “It is hoped that the policy will achieve this goal of building consensus among justice sector institutions and practitioners for the purpose of addressing collectively, the major challenges facing the justice delivery system in the country.”

     

  • 540 Nigerians to be deported from Libya Aug. 10 – NAPTIP DG

    Five hundred and forty Nigerians are set for deportation from Libya, beginning from Aug. 10, Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General, National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons(NAPTIP), has said.

    Mrs. Okah-Donli disclosed this on Wednesday in Osogbo, at the inauguration of the North-West Zonal Command Office of the agency.

    She said the deportees would be brought back to Nigeria in three batches of 180 each.

    The NAPTIP boss said more than 2,000 Nigerians were deported from various parts of the world from February till date, over various migration offences, including human trafficking.

    Mrs. Okah-Doni disclosed that the agency had rescued and supported more than 12,000 victims of human trafficking, and also secured 325 convictions since its inception in 2003.

    She decried the rising trend of deportation of Nigerians from different parts of the world, especially in Africa, and described the situation as “frightening”.

    “Such massive deportations are not good for us as a people. Government at all levels must take steps to halt it by initiating measures that will reduce the vulnerability of our people to being trafficked.

    “We must also strive to enlighten our people to resist the temptation to leave the country at all cost,” she said.

    Mrs. Okah-Donli, who described human trafficking as a modern day slavery, urged stern measures to end it.

    She reaffirmed NAPTIP’s commitment to implementing the Trafficking in Persons(Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015, and declared that there would be no sacred cows.

    Mrs. Okah-Donli identified Osun, Ekiti and Ondo among the endemic states in trafficking in persons in Nigeria, saying all hands must be on deck to change the trend.

    “Nigeria is a source, transit and destination country. Women and young girls are recruited for sexual and labour exploitation in parts of Europe, the Middle East and even within the African continent.

    “This calls for concerted action by all as Nigerians cannot make meaningful progress in its human capital development index, with a sustained depletion of her young and brightest stars.”

    Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Tope Adejumo, promised that the state government would collaborate with the agency to minimise human trafficking.

    In his remarks, a former governor of the state, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who is also the royal ambassador of the agency, said he was ready to support the agency in its war against human trafficking.

    Mr. Oyinlola urged the agency to take the campaign against human trafficking to the grassroots, using the native language as a means of communication.

     

     

     

    NAN

  • ‘Buhari vows to resign if…’

    President Muhammadu Buhari has given a timeline that he may resign by a specific time if he doesn’t recover from his undisclosed illness.

    Buhari left Nigeria for London on May 7 to attend to his failing health and since then, his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has been acting in his stead.

    According to an interview with a source in the presidency, a report in the INDEPENDENT stated that Buhari has told his close aides that if he doesn’t recover by a specific date, he will tender his resignation letter.

    Quoting their source: “The president is not desperate to cling on to power if his health cannot carry him. I can tell you authoritatively that he has given a timeline that if he doesn’t recover fully on a specific date, he will file in his resignation letter and if you know President Buhari very well, he meant what he said.

    “That is why Nigerians who love the president and his efforts in restoring Nigeria’s lost glory should continue to pray for his quick recovery. It will be to our disservice if he dies as some people are wishing him”, said the presidency source.

    Meanwhile, recall TheNewsGuru.com published that a pro-democracy group, ‘Concerned Nigerians’, on Monday commenced an everyday protest, where they demanded the immediate resumption or resignation of the president, lamenting that Buhari’s 92-day absence was unacceptable.

    The group, which was led by Deji Adeyanju, said it was unfortunate that but for few cabals, the president’s true state of health is unknown to Nigerians who voted him into office, urging that he resigns honourably.

    It also accused the parliament of complicity in the whole drama for not deeming it necessary to demand a medical inquiry into the true state of health of the president.

    READ: Just in: Police injured Journalist, protesters seeking Buhari’s resignation

  • Five Nigerians arrested in Bangladesh for alleged cyber-crime

    Five Nigerians arrested in Bangladesh for alleged cyber-crime

    Five Nigerians were arrested on Tuesday in Savar, Bangladesh, for alleged fraud and cyber-crime.

    According to a report published by Bangla News 24, a news portal in Bangladesh, a team of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) apprehended and detained the suspects after raiding their house at Alamnagar Sugandhya Housing at Hemayutpur area.

    Following a tip-off, the PBI team led by additional superintendent of police, ARM Alif, conducted the raid in the house in the afternoon.

    The police also seized four laptops, 11 mobile phones, 20 SIM cards, some pen-drives and cash.

    “The detained Nigerian citizens have been residing in the rented flat for a year. They are members of a syndicate who snaffled a huge amount of money alluring people with fraud,” the police said.

     

  • Nigerians doesn’t deserve Wizkid- M.I

    Nigerian rapper and record label executive, M.I has said Nigerian doesn’t deserve Wizkid. The revered rapper made the statement on Twitter after picture of Wizkid and Nicki Minaj surfaced online.

    Wizkid who has been getting a lot of international exposure and attention is currently one of Nigeria’s biggest music export.

    In recent times, M.I’s controversial statements has been generating mixed reactions on social media. The talented rapper on on a podcast show, Middle Ground, criticized the gay rights law in Nigeria. In his words:”It’s not my business what anybody does. And what I mean by that is it’s my privacy. Everybody has a right to their privacy.

    “If you bring a tape of two men having sex then you can prove [they are gay]. But for the most part, how are you going to prove without fringing on someone’s right or privacy- going through their phone. It almost seems to me to be an unenforceable law.”

    In reaction to his outburst, a certain Plumpy J said the rapper is insane :”M. I is clearly high on something”he said.

     

     

  • Judge us by facts, not sentiments, Senate tells Nigerians

    Judge us by facts, not sentiments, Senate tells Nigerians

    … Says eight Senate is highest performing Senate in the history of Nigeria

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has urged Nigerians to judge the Senate by its achievements and facts and not by sentiments or propaganda.

    Speaking in Abuja on Sunday, Senator Abdullahi stated that “given the unprecedented performance of the 8th Senate despite distractions since it was inaugurated on the June 9, 2015, the 8th Senate “remains the highest performing Senate in the history of the country.”

    The plead was contained in a statement released by the Office of the Senate President.

    Abdullahi said, “The facts speak for themselves,” Abdullahi said.

    “This 8th Senate has already passed 128 Bills in 26 months. This is weighed against the 5th Senate that passed 129 bills in four years; the 6th Senate that passed 72 bills in four years and the 7th Senate that passed 128 bills in four years.

    “When it comes to public petitions, in just 26 months, again, we have cleared 82 petitions. This is juxtaposed against the 6th and 7th Senate that cleared only six petitions in four years.”

    Abdullahi was quoted to have also listed “some of the noteworthy achievements of the 8th Senate, highlighting the fact that it had passed several historic Bills that had tripped up previous parliaments like the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB).”

    He said, “This is the same Senate that broke the Petroleum Industry Bill’s jinx in two years. This is also the same chamber that passed a comprehensive Electoral Reform Bill within 18-months of its inauguration.

    “I can keep on listing out our achievements,” the spokesman said, “We also finished the Constitution Review process a full two years before the next election cycle; we have also passed seven economic priority Bills that will create more opportunities for private sector participation in our economy, and put millions of Nigerians back to work.

    “Additionally, let’s not forget the ‘Made in Nigeria’ amendment that we passed with our review of the Public Procurement Act. This amendment will create a myriad of opportunities for Nigerian-owned businesses, by ensuring that they get first-option priority in the government’s procurement process.

    “Moving forward, although we have already passed four anti-corruption Bills to strengthen our nation’s capacity to fight graft, we are still committed to passing as many laws as we need to cut and curb corruption in Nigeria.

    “In this regard, when we hear people judge us by the propaganda of adverse elements in our polity, we would like to ask them to do their research and follow our work themselves, so that they can judge us by facts, not sentiments,” he said.

  • Give us one year to eliminate kidnapping, militancy, other crimes – IGP tells Nigerians

    The Inspector General of Police Mr. Ibrahim Idris on Friday said the police under his leadership will work tirelessly to eliminate kidnapping, militancy and other perpetrators of heinous crimes in the country under one year.

    Idris spoke during a courtesy call on the The Nation Newspapers in Lagos.

    The police IG noted that police officers have been strengthened and their morale boosted to combat crimes.

    He spoke of plan to send 100 marine policemen to the Navy for special training on counter kidnapping and militancy.

    ‘‘We have strengthened our officers and boosted their morale in combating crimes,” he said.

    The IGP hailed Nigerians for assisting the police in combatting crimes,citing the recent arrest of suspected kidnap kingpin,Evans Onwanmadike.

    His words: “Evans terrorized people in this country for many years but now we have the notorious kidnapper in our custody.

    “The police deserve some credit from the public. Give me up to a year, I assure you that Nigerians would see a different police working to ensure their safety in every nook and cranny of this country.

    ‘‘When this kidnapping crime was unbearable on Kaduna-Abuja highway, I went to the National Assembly and I told the lawmakers to give me a week. Within five days, our men arrested 58 suspects, who confessed to the crimes.

    “More of the suspects were arrested and paraded on Thursday, bringing the total to 77. All we want from the public is support. The police require support and encouragement, because we are human beings too.’’

    The police chief stressed the need for the country to begin to focus on the causes of crime.

    He said: “We cannot blame the police for the causes of crime. As I speak to you now, I can confirm that we have over a thousand suspects in detention for kidnapping and ritual killings. Then, we should ask why we still have these crimes when we have dozens of suspects? I think we should focus on the causes of crimes and its symptoms, not the agents of reaction.

    “We have plans to develop the marine police. We are going to dominate the riverine areas.

    “When I became the IGP, the first state I visited was Delta State, precisely Tompolo’s hometown. I discovered that our presence on the creeks was minimal. I believe we can succeed in dominating the creeks if we have certain things put in place.

    “We need to train more marine police officers with modern techniques and gadgets. We need to buy more patrol gunboats and we are making progress in this respect. Already, we got offer to train about 100 policemen in marine security and a promise of 10 gunboats.

    “By the time we get this done, we are going to start deployment from Lagos because of the rate of crime in riverine communities.

    “We have been making efforts to secure these riverine communities from militants. This progress is achieved due to the activities of the marine police. We are training the marine police to perform better. We are liaising with the Navy in the training of our marine officers. We are going to train more officers in continuous succession.”

    Asked why neither Biafra agitator, Nnamdi Kanu nor the President, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) Shettima Yerima was arrested for inflammatory comments, Idris said the National Security Council (NSC) weighed the aggregation of interests after weighing the benefits and disadvantages of certain action.

    He said: “We have the National Security Council in place chaired by the Acting President. We have been meeting and analyzing each of these threat messages from separatist groups. We have to analyse the pros and cons. As you are aware, the police are on top of the situation.

    “As an organisation, what we take as paramount is the maintenance of law and order. There was a time we ordered the arrest of the leaders of groups making threat messages. Then, leaders of various ethnic nationalities came to the villa for a meeting with the Acting President.

    “The agreements reached at the meeting made the police to relax on the arrest order. We believe there are certain situations needed to be managed very carefully, so that you don’t bring up tension. We believe the security and safety of Nigerians is paramount. We are assuring Nigerians that there is no person or group of persons that can deny them their rights to free movement in any part of the country.”

     

     

     

  • As long as Buhari is sick, Nigerians are also sick – Ortom

    …Urges Nigerians not to stop praying for president’s full recovery

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has said the fragile health of President Muhammadu Buhari is an indication that Nigeria and indeed her citizens are sick and need serious prayers.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Governor Ortom was among the seven state governors that visited the ailing President recently at the Abuja House in London.

    Other members of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) delegation led by the governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, were Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Kashim Shettima (Borno) and Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom).

    Speaking to State House correspondents in Abuja on Thursday, he said rather than castigate Buhari for his ailment, Nigerians should, therefore, pray for him.

    He said: “I will say halleluyah because God has answered my prayers. I was the first person that initiated prayers, both Christians and Muslims to pray for Mr. President because that is our duty.

    “Romans 13:1 and 2 talks about that there is no power that be without God’s ordination and those of us who are subjects should continue to pray for such.

    “So, it is our responsibility not to be castigating Mr. President or be wishing him or whatever. We should be praying for him.

    “If Mr. President is sick, it means all of us are sick, the whole country is sick. So, its is our responsibility to pray that Mr. President gets well so that our country too will be well.”

    Ortom reiterated that governors who met Buhari recently advised him to stay back in the United Kingdom for more rest until his doctors certify him well enough to return home.

    It is nearly 90 days since the President left the shores on Nigeria for the United Kingdom to attend to an undisclosed ailment.

    Ortom added: “Mr. President is doing well, we appreciate God, we saw him, he was not in a wheel chair, he was not bedridden, he greeted us, we cracked jokes and he was mentally alert.

    “We discussed the security situations in the country and asked us questions about what we are doing.

    “Our prayer is that God will consummate his healing. We asked him not to hurry because there is no vacuum, the Acting President is holding forth for him and he is doing very well and he has his confidence. By the grace of God I believe that very soon he will be with us.”

    The governor said that the NGF delegation was happy to meet the president in high spirit as he was jovial, not on a wheelchair or bedridden as had been speculated on some quarters.

    He recalled that an excited Buhari inquired about affairs in their various states, adding that it was indeed a sign that God has answered the prayers of Nigerians.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that President Buhari traveled for medical check-up in London on Sunday, May 7, more than a month he came back into the country from a previous medical vacation.

  • Army refute recruitment rumour, warn Nigerians of fraudsters

    The Depot Nigerian Army on Friday alerted Nigerians of the activities of fraudsters claiming to be recruiting candidates on its behalf.

    The Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Depot NA/Nigerian Military School, Capt. Hussaini Sani, in a statement on Friday, warned aspiring recruits against falling prey to the fraudsters.

    It said, “It has been brought to the notice of Headquarters of Depot Nigerian Army that criminally minded individuals are parading themselves as relatives to the Depot Commandant, Brig-Gen. Victor Ezugwu.

    “The fraudsters do that to defraud innocent citizens who were not successful during the just concluded 76 Regular Recruits Intake exercise.

    “Others also claimed to be principal staff officers of Depot NA thereby convincing their victims to pay huge amount of money to be recruited into the Nigerian Army.”

    The statement explained that the Depot has no hand in conducting recruitment exercise, but only train those already selected.

    It further stated that recruitment for 76 Regular Recruits Intake had since been officially closed.

    “Consequently, potential recruits are advised to try the next recruitment intake and not to allow these criminal minded and unpatriotic individuals to defraud them under any guise.

    “Such arrangement does not exist and recruitment into the Nigerian Army is free and no candidate is expected to pay money to any individual whatsoever,” it added.

    Investigation shows that activities of the fraudsters in Zaria had been on for years where they collect between N150,000 and N300,000 per candidate.

     

    (NAN)

  • 262 stranded Nigerians voluntarily return home from Libya

    Two hundred and sixty-two more Nigerians voluntarily returned home from Libya on Wednesday with the help of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Nigerian Embassy in Libya.

    TheNewsGuru reports that the returnees arrived aboard a chartered Libyan Airlines aircraft with registration number 5A-LAR, which landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at 10p.m.

    The returnees, who had been stranded in Libya, were made up of of 108 males, 135 females, eight children and 11 infants.

    They were received by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) , the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Police.

    Also on ground to receive them were officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

    Addressing newsmen, Alhaji Mustapha Maihaja, the Director General, NEMA, said the agency in collaboration with the IOM was working to ensure that Nigerians stranded in Libya are brought back home.

    The director general who was represented by Mr Suleiman Yakubu, Zonal Coordinator, South West, NEMA, said both the federal government and state governments had initiated various programmes to rehabilitate and reintegrate the returnees into the society.

    He further advised Nigerians, especially the youth, to take advantage of the enormous opportunities available in the country.

    TNG reports that thousands of Nigerians have been flown back home from the North African country with the help of the IOM