Lawyers desert courts in protest, reject new fee regime in Osun

A cross section of lawyers in Osun on Tuesday protested against sudden hike in filing fees at the Osun State High Court, Osogbo, as they deserted court premises to press home their demands.

The Lawyers, under the aegis of Nigerian Bar Association(NBA) decried the hike, and called for an immediate reversal.

The development invariably paralysed all activities at the court, and many of those who had earlier arrived at the court for array of processes were left disappointed.

The association frowned at what they called ” the commercialisation of justice in disguise,” saying it is unbecoming of a temple of justice.

The Chairman of NBA, Osogbo branch, Mr Asafa Sanusi, while addressing journalists on the issue condemned the increment, saying it was done in bad faith.

According to him, the jacking up of writ of summon from N4,000 to N40,000 and a divorce petition from N3,000 to N25,0000 is not only unacceptable but arbitrary.

Sanusi added that his members would not attend courts until the state government reverts to the old fees.

We learnt that the new filing regime was communicated to the members of the bar through a circular signed by the Principal Registrar of the Court, Mr Taiwo Jacob.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Biola Odewemimo when contacted for reaction said government would appropriately issue a statement on the issue later.

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I’m still Assemblies of God General Superintendent – Paul Emeka

A new chapter has opened on the three-year-old crisis rocking the Assemblies of God Nigeria as Rev. Prof. Paul Emeka has declared that he remains the
‘authentic General Superintendent’ of the church.

The media was awash with reports last week that the Supreme Court had ratified his suspension by the General Executive Committee of the Church.

However, he declared on Monday that no judgment of the Supreme Court removed him from

office.

He said: “There is no judgement of the Supreme court that removed me as the General Superintendent of the church. The reports being paraded is part of the effort by the traducers to take the church by all means and that is why, as the judgment of the court was being delivered, they were already planting stories and dragging the church property.

“The judgment of the Supreme Court has never said I am not the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Nigeria and it has not said my opponent Chidi, is the General Superintendent. That t was not the issue.

“What we are fighting for is not for me to regain my position. What we are fighting for is part of the church they took by force, the property of the church they took by force. But you see they now went further to start encroaching on my position”.
Given further clarification on the judgment which was struck out by the court, Emeka said he had gone to the apex court to challenge to decision of the Court of Appeal which had earlier nullified the ruling of the Enugu High Court, which in 2014 restored him to office as the General Superintendent of the church.

“However, instead of going into the merit of the matter, the Supreme Court had last Friday, struck it out on the ground that the service of the court process on Chidi was not properly done in accordance with the order of the High Court; that the procedure adopted in filing the case was not the appropriate procedure.

“When a case is struck out, they are telling you to go back and re-file, put it properly and normal procedure. We are going back to the High Court. The case was not dismissed. The issue of removal of Emeka has not been decided. The court has not heard it. When they heard at the High court, the court gave judgment and the other party appealed not against the decision of the high court, they appealed on ground of procedure that they were not served. There is no order of court anywhere announcing a new General Superintendent for the church”, he stated.

He stated that it was wrong for the faction opposed to his leadership of the church to start taking laws into their hands by “attempting to seize property and claims of legitimacy”.
Emeka stated that the ruling of the apex Court had amounted to the
partial culmination of the three years old crisis, stressing that at least it agreed that he had the right to appeal his “kangaroo suspension as well as the unjust gathering where the action was taken without giving him fair hearing.”

On the sealing of the national secretariat of the church, he said it was part of the effort by the police to ensure there was no break in law and order, alleging that some members loyal to his opponent had attempted to possess forceful the place.

He appealed to his members to remain calm, assuring that the matter would soon be sorted out as he was heading to the High Court to refile the matter.

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Customs seizes 9000 bags of rice in Ibadan

•Agency generates N14.8b in 2016

In another dramatic raid, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Oyo/Osun Command, has seized 9,000 bags of imported rice in a warehouse in a market in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The Controller, Temitope Ogunkua, who vowed to stop illegal importation of goods, spoke yesterday at a briefing on the achievements recorded by the command in the last one year.
He said the command generated N14.8billion in 2016.
During the night raid of the warehouse in an undisclosed Ibadan market, he said one suspect was arrested.
The seizure of the 9,000 (50kg) bags of smuggled imported rice had a duty paid value of N88,776,000.00.
According to him, the night operation was carried out by the combined anti-smuggling team and the Federal Operations Union (FOU), Zone A.
Ogunkua said the command would not rest on its oars in playing strategic roles of revenue collection, trade facilitation and border security.
He said the seizure of the rice and any other products proved to be smuggled into the country illegally was in line with Section 147 of Customs and Excise Management Act, 1990 as amended.
The Controller said 1207 vehicles paid duty of N320, 329,797.00 between January and December last year, adding that 266 packages of Canabis Sativa were seized and handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) within the period under review.
His words: “A total of 8,378 50kg bags of rice were seized within the period under review. The duty paid value of the intercepted rice is N87,153,591.00.
“The Command seized 111 vehicles with a duty paid value of N136,770,011.65; 1971 cartons of frozen poultry products with a duty paid value of N16,373,097.00 were intercepted. A total of 173 (25) litres gallon of petroleum products were seized and handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).”
Ogunkua said the command has a N20.6billion target for the year.
“A total of 9000 (50kg) bags of smuggled imported rice with a duty paid value of N88,776,000.00 was seized and evacuated from a warehouse by the Command’s anti-smuggling team in conjunction with the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A few weeks ago”.

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I will soon expose those behind the collapse of Synagogue Church – Fani-Kayode

Former Minister of Aviation and Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Femi Fani-Kayode, has said he will soon reveal shocking details surrounding the collapsed of the Synagogue Church Of Nation, SCOAN, building which occurred in 2014.

Recall that the former Minister visited the founder and General Overseer of the church, Prophet Temitope Joshua, and had described him as a true and great man of God.

Fani-Kayode, who claimed he was conducting a research to unravel what brought the church guests house down, said the target of the perpetrators was Pastor Joshua and his successes.

He said, “The truth about the mysterious plane that hovered over Prophet TB Joshua’s Church before it collapsed and killed 126 people will soon be out.

“I’m still doing the research before writing and it is blowing my mind. One thing is clear- the plane brought down the building and the target was TB Joshua and his great success.

“This was an evil and cruel act and I intend to expose those that were behind it,” he said on his twitter handle, @realFFK, on Tuesday.

On 12 September 2014, a guesthouse located within the Church premises around Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos State collapsed completely to the ground, killing 126 people in the process.

Prophet TB Joshua had cried out that a strange aircraft “hovered” above the building shortly before it fell.

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Reps investigate foreign Missions over corruption

The House of Representatives Tuesday mandated it’s the Committees on Foreign Relations and Public Procurement to investigate allegations of corruption in the Nigerian Missions abroad.

The investigation also spans “the measures to be devised to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians in the diaspora.”

The Green Chamber also urged “the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that Nigerian Missions abroad provide counseling and support to Nigerians in time of need and to operate a twenty-four (24) hours helpline and desk for Nigerians in the diaspora.”

The joint committee is to report back to the House within six (6) weeks for further legislative action.

The resolution of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion by two lawmakers, Rita Orji and Sergius Ose Ogun on the “Need to Investigate the Activities and the Procurement Process of Nigerian Embassies/High Commissions to cut Costs and Fight Corruption.”

The lawmakers while moving the motion said: ” Nigeria’s High Commissions and Embassies are administratively under the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as such have their individual budgets computed under the Ministry;

“All sums spent by the foreign missions are meant to be subjected by parliamentary oversight in the light of the fact that the spendings are provided for under the Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly;

“Informed of the widely reported news by a number of online news media that sums running into thousands of Pounds have been spent by the Nigerian High Commission in London on activities as mundane as hiring a scaffold, clearing drainages and manholes.

“Also notes the allegations by Nigerians in the diaspora of acts of insensitivity, laxity, negligence and near outright maltreatment by consular staff of Nigerian Embassies/High Commissions across the world which inflict mental torture on them;

“The manifestations of these acts in the bureaucratic bottlenecks in the renewal of expired passports, extortion of money from those seeking assistance or redress and outright insensitivity to the plight of those in dire need which had resulted in the abandonment in a mental home in Turin Italy of one Julie Osamese whose kidney was stolen and the death of Nwadike Stephen Chukwuemeka in a deportation camp in Malaysia, etc.”

The lawmakers expressed concern about the need to investigate the activities of the High Commission and Embassies “including those payments were approved and disbursed and the procurement processes being employed by the Embassies and High Commissions, the Nation will continually be bled the sincerity of the government’s war against corruption will be called to question.”

However, the Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Hon. Nnena Elendu-Ukeje through an amendment sought the removal of committees of Diaspora and Interior from the investigations.

According to her, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in charge of embassies/ missions and the ministry is in turn under the supervision of the House committee on Foreign Relations, hence it would only be appropriate if the Foreign Relations Committee and Public Procurement conduct the investigation.

Members supported the amendment and the committees of Diaspora and Interior were removed from the mandate.

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Governor Tambuwal storms Abuja court with 35 lawyers over trial seeking his sack Governor Tambuwal storms Abuja court with 35 lawyers over trial seeking his sack

The Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday stormed a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja with 35 lawyers over a suit seeking to sack him from office.

The suit seeking Tambuwal’s removal as governor was filed by a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the State, Senator Umaru Dahiru.

Citing “electoral fraud,” Dahiru alleged that the governor was illegally nominated by the party to participate in the 2015 governorship election in the state.

Dahiru informed the court that APC conducted “a fraudulent” primary election in 2014 in its bid to ensure that Tambuwal emerged as it gubernatorial candidate in the state governorship election.

The APC Chieftain claimed that list of accredited delegates was swapped at the election venue and that votes were arbitrarily, unlawfully and fraudulently allocated to Tambuwal

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No Nigerian was killed in south Africa - Minister says

•ANGER: Members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) protesting in Abuja against xenophobic attacks in South Africa...yesterday

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Khadijah Abba Ibrahim, has told the Senate that no Nigerian lost his life in the renewed xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

 

The minister who appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to explain what the government is doing to protect Nigerians in South Africa, noted that based on official information from Nigeria High Commission in South Africa, no Nigerian lost his or her life.

 

 She also said that nobody was convicted for the previous attacks and no compensation was paid by the South African government.

 

The minister said that they were informed that the South African President, Jacob Zuma, had condemned the attacks.

 

Chairman of the committee, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, told the minister that Nigerians were interested to hear what the government is doing to protect them in South Africa.

 

Sunmonu said, “I will say that while we appreciate your coming and as we have to speak on behalf of Nigerians, what we discussed today is not what Nigerians are expecting from Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nigerians will want to hear from the ministry that we have been to South Africa not to have invited the High Commission here to come and tell stories.

 

“We want to hear from the ministry that the Acting High Commissioner has actually invited Nigerians to talk to them to give them solace because tomorrow, nobody knows what is going to happen again.

 

“We are only telling them (Nigerians), to please hide to give a low profile. That means we have told them not to engage in their businesses again that they should be in hiding which is not good for Nigerians.

 

“We know the efforts of Nigerians in South Africa. We have been talking to you based on report of the Senate Committee with the Foreign Affairs Ministry in April, 2015. Two years ago we have this booklet and we have gone through all the findings and all the recommendations but unfortunately you have not met even one single thing out of it.

 

“How would we now believe what you have come here to tell us when you have actually stated in 2015 in April that you will be having a meeting with the commission in May, 2015 where you wrote that 84 million compensation would be paid and this is two years after. 

 

“So, does that mean that if we have not invited you this would have been another story. Have you been able to invite Nigerians that lost their properties in 2015 to tell them that we are negotiating something for you. No, you haven’t.

 

“To the committee we are not happy, we are highly disappointed and what we would expect is that your delegations, we have the mandate of the two Houses for us to go to South Africa. We  will all go together see them and look at the memoranda of understanding or bilateral of what you are signing.

 

“It has to be give and take. If it is necessary Nigeria will not hesitate to put sanctions on South Africa in this country.

 

“We would be able to force them to do the right thing with Nigerians outside otherwise we have to do back to them here in this country, its tit for tat and we would not hesitate to put our feet down to be able to tell them and say enough is enough,” Sumonu stated.

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How a Power holding company worker escaped death for disconnecting light

Hell was let loose in Ushafa, a community in Bwari area council of Abuja, as residents went after the Area Manager of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, Emma Ijou, threatening to kill him and his workers after he shut down source of power to the entire area.

Ushafa, one of the recognized communities in the FCT is currently facing acute power problem as transformers supplied by AEDC in the area are not sufficient to power the entire community.

A source told DAILY POST that most transformers in the community were purchased by community members and allegedly taken over by the power company who most times, deprive them of the use of the same transformers they paid money to install.

But Drama, however, started on Monday morning when residents discovered that the entire area had been cut off from the power source on the order of the Area Manager, Emma Ijou, who alleged that residents refused to pay their bills.

Our correspondent gathered that the area was left in total darkness for nearly three days as the source of supply was cut off Saturday morning; and when contacted by a few community members, Emma told them power could only be restored when residents were ready to pay their bills.

A few people who took their bills to the branch office, had asked why their light should be disconnected instead of those who the manager claimed indebted, but he remained adamant.

When he made to escape from the scene, they tracked him and dragged him to the chief palace, located in the heart of Ushafa, near Bill Clinton Pottery House. But for the timely interventions of the community chief, residents were ready to beat the area manager who was visibly afraid and begging them to give him another chance. Mr Emma was set free after he promised to restore power to the community immediately.Consequently, angry residents wielding dangerous weapons stormed the Area office located at Peyi, near Ushafa, requesting to see the Area Manager and a few other officers who work with him. On citing them, some of the officers took to their heels, leaving only the Manager and a few other persons at the mercy of the residents.

When DAILY POST reached out to a few of the officers who escaped, they blamed their Manager for their ordeal, saying they had told him to give the order for reconnection. One of them who claimed anonymity said ‘’ We have been telling this manager to stop what he is doing. How could he have ordered that the entire community be disconnected? It’s not true that the community is not paying their bills. If you check our record, you will realize that majority have paid for the month of January and February, so what is he talking about.’’

Another staff who spoke to DAILY POST said, ‘’ The Area Manager has failed by this singular act. He has put his integrity on the line by simply saying residents did not pay their bills. He needs to remit the money in his possession and stop lying against residents. How can you even disconnect community light because a few people did not pay? Is that professional? We have been telling him,’’ he said.

When contacted on the phone, Ijuo, who declined comment, hung off. When our correspondent tried to call back, he rejected and switched off his phone, apparently because our correspondent identified himself as a journalist seeking reaction on the incident

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Osinbajo wades into bloody border clashes between three states

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday intervened in the bloody clashes among border communities of Ebonyi, Cross River and Akwa Ibom States.

The meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, dealt with the issues at the root of the crises.

At the meeting were Governors Dave Umahi (Ebonyi); Ben Ayade (Cross River) and Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom) and officials of the National Boundary Commission.

The not-so-cheerful men of the governors as they emerged from the meeting suggested that no amicable resolution of the disputes had been reached.

Also, presidency officials prevented journalists from speaking to the governors, who also appeared unprepared to speak on the outcome of the peace meeting.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Laolu Akande, said that Prof. Osinbajo met with the Governors of Cross Rivers, Senator Ben Ayade; Akwa Ibom, Mr Emmanuel Udom and Ebonyi States, Mr Dave Umahi, alongside top officials of the National Boundary Commission, led by the Director-General, Dr Muhammad Ahmad, to review updates on boundary  and boundary demarcation issues.

Recent reports showed that about 20 people were killed in a clash between people of Oku Iboku in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom and those of Ikot Offiong in Odukpani LGA in Cross River State over boundary demarcation.

The people of Ikot-Offiong community had in the aftermath written a letter to the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant-Gen. Tukur Buratai and the Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris to investigate the activities of the soldiers and policemen posted to the area to foster peace.

Also, Governor Umahi had appealed to the Federal Government to quickly intervene and provide a lasting solution in settling a similar boundary dispute between the people of Azuofia Idda in Ebonyi and Ohene in Cross River states, which had claimed many lives.

He made the appeal when the General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Enugu, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Abubakar, briefed him on the outcome of the surveillance of the two communities at Government House, Abakaliki. 

Umahi advocated a security meeting where the military commanders of both states and heads of other security agents would be in attendance.

He had said that “the problem between Cross River and Ebonyi states is quite known and unfortunately, the problem of the boundary in our country is quite funny. Nobody is really taking any definite action”.

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Why it’s impossible for Igbo man to become Nigeria’s President in 2019 – MASSOB

The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, on Tuesday explained why it is impossible for someone from the South-East to become Nigeria’s President.

In a statement by its leader, Uchenna Madu, the group said the structure of Nigerian system which had reduced Igbos to “minorities” had made it impossible for the race to emerge as Nigerian President.

Claiming that “Igbo leaders are political slaves in Nigeria,” Madu said, “The way Nigeria is structured politically, it will be very hard for Igbo man to be president of Nigeria. The structure almost reduced Ndigbo to a minority tribe in Nigeria but history has always proved that Ndigbo is the largest ethnic nationality in Nigeria.

“Even though five states were accorded to Ndigbo in Nigeria but we aare the largest ethnic group in every state after the indigenes of that state, in all the Nations of the world.

“Ndigbo are also the largest Nigerian ethnic nationality; even during the yuletide, all the states in Nigeria become temporal deserts and inhabitable because Ndigbo that make every state thick returned to their native hometowns.

“Even with our population and handshake with some geopolitical zones, it will be hard for the Igbo to be Nigerian president because there is a grand plot against Ndigbo in Nigeria. It will still be difficult for Igbo man to be president in Nigeria.”

He, however, noted that the only reason that will force Igbos to agree to Presidency was for Nigerians to support the actualisation struggle “because that’s the only working panacea that attract regional interest to the presidency.”

Recall that former President, Olusegun Obasanjo had recently advocated for an Igbo Presidency in 2019.

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Xenophobic attacks: Senate to send delegation to S/African parliament Share 0 Tweet 0

• Saraki

…Rejects calls to severe relations

The continuing xenophobic attacks on Nigerians living in South Africa took centre stage Tuesday in the Senate.

The upper chamber after over one hour deliberation of the contentious issue, resolved to dispatched a “powerful” parliamentary delegation to South African parliament to express the displeasure of the Nigerian parliament over the attacks.

The lawmaker however turned down the prayer for the Nigerian Government to reconsider its diplomatic ties with South African.

Senator Rose Oko (Cross River North) and three others presented a motion on “Resurgence of xenophobic attacks and extra-judicial killings of Nigerians in South Africa.”

The Oko specifically asked the Senate to ask the Federal Government to reconsider Nigeria’s diplomatic ties with South Africa if the ugly incidents of the attacks of Nigerians do not stop.

The prayer was rejected as some of the Senators contended that the ripple effect of such action would be overwhelming.

Senate President, Abubakaer Bukola Saraki, noted that the government could no longer fold its hands and allow its citizens to be attacked and killed.

Saraki said that henceforth, Nigerian ambassadors in other country’s would be given specific assignments to defend the dignity and rights of Nigerians living abroad.

The Senate President said that the Senate would work to ensure that funding for foreign missions are increased.

Saraki said: “I want to thank the mover of the motion and those that have contributed. This attack has become one too many. We must put a stop to these attacks. We must take the bull by the horn. That is why we have resolved to meet with the South African parliament.

“We must be seen to be defending the dignity of Nigerians abroad. We need to screen the ambassadorial nominees to ensure that they protect Nigerians abroad. Some foreign missions are poorly funded. On our own part, we must show commitments. I want to commend Nigerians who have shown restraints.”

Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, in his contribution noted that it seemed the Federal Government is not doing enough to protect Nigerians living in South Africa.

He said: “It appears that our brothers and sisters in South Africa have forgotten where they are coming from. South Africa suffered Apartheid for many years. It took the intervention of Nigeria for them to get out of that.

“There was a time Nigerians did not need a visa to travel to the United Kingdom. They started issuing visas to Nigerians when we imposed sanctions on UK, following the Apartheid regime in South Africa. Till this day, we still need visas to go to the UK. This happened because of what we did for South Africa.

“I think Nigeria needs to take a position. Enough is enough. There was a time Nigerians accommodated South Africans in Nigeria and they only returned to their country when the Apartheid regime ended. As a country, we gave them money and rendered other forms of assistance.

“I suggest that we send a strong delegation to the South African parliament to table our position. We cannot allow them to continue to attack our people and their businesses.”

Senate committee chairman on Foreign Affairs, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, on her part told the Senate that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama had already been summoned by her committee, in conjunction with her colleague in the House of Representatives.

Senator Sunmonu said that the outcome of their interaction with the Minister will be communicated to the Senate in plenary next week.

Senate Chief Whip, Senator Olusola Adeyeye, in his contribution recalled the pivotal role played by the Nigerian Government during the apartheid regime.

Adeyeye noted that it was unbecoming of South Africa to ill-treat Nigerians despite the Nigerian’s sacrifice to the liberation of South Africa..

He said, “South Africans must be reminded that it was Nigeria that came to their rescue in their hour of need. We played a role in liberating South Africans. It breaks my heart to see that having done so much for South Africa, they have turned around to be the one fighting Nigerians.”

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Banky W loses award plaques to house fire

R &B singer, Banky W, has survived a fire outbreak which razed a part of his Lekki residence early this morning. The fire which started at about 6am was said to have been caused by a faulty air conditioner.

The actor/singer recounted his experience on his Instagram page.

“So there’s good news and bad news. The good news is… I’m thanking God that I’m alive to give the bad news as a testimony,” he stated.

Narrating the incident, Banky said that he was lying awake in bed at about 6am, when he started smelling smoke and realized it was coming from outside his door.

“Opened it to see the whole stairway was filled with huge gusts of black smoke/soot, and a fire was burning stuff downstairs. The smoke was so much I couldn’t get down past it to see the source of the flames. Rushed back into my room and climbed down from the 2nd floor balcony with my dog… and then got help from the amazing workers and neighbours who helped me put out the flames,” he wrote.

According to the artiste, the fire was caught early enough and the damage wasn’t so bad, although, he said, it basically burnt some of the stuff that was around it.

“So awards, portraits, and some small electronics. But thank God, Duke and I are alive and well. We only had to form James Bond and climb down from the top floor balcony LOL Thank God for my neighbors and the amazing workers in and around the compound for helping us escape via the balcony, helping put out the fire, and helping with the aftermath/cleaning,” he added.

The officials of the Lagos State Fire Service were said to have arrived the scene of the fire by 7.30 am and helped to stop the fire.

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Biafra: Release Nnamdi Kanu now – Utomi, Soludo

Nnamdi Kanu

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, and President of the Lagos Business School, Professor Pat Utomi, on Tuesday, demanded the immediate release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

The Professors made this known at a media briefing in Abuja under the aegis of the Nzuko Umunna, a group of Igbo professionals.

Similarly, they condemned the alleged killing of IPOB members in the south-east and urged states where the alleged killings took place to set up a panel of inquiry in their various states.

Recall that the pro-Biafra leader was arrested on October 14, 2015, in Lagos and has been held in prison since then, despite various court orders that ruled for his release.

The call for his release followed a series of protests, including that of members of the IPOB in Southeast Nigeria during the inauguration of the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump.

However, in January 2016 ruling, Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Abuja had declined to release the detainee on bail.

The court also denied bail to two other pro-Biafra agitators, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi, who are facing trial with Kanu.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had also called for his release, based on the court rulings which granted him bail on three occasions.

The National Chairman of APGA, Mr Victor Oye, asked the government to obey the rule of law in the prosecution of the case.

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We never planned on banning danfo driver in lagos - Commissioner

Lagos State Ministry of Transport has announced that it has no plan to ban yellow buses known as “Danfo” from plying the state’s roads.

It said it was only planing to upgrade them to international standard.

The acting Commissioner for Transport, Mr Lanrewaju Elegushi, made this disclosure on Tuesday during a stakeholder’s forum to deliberate on how to improve the transport system in the state.

He said that the plan of the government was to upgrade the transportation system in the state to international standard.

“What we are planning is to restructure the transportation system in the state to meet international standard.

“That is why we organised this forum to seek the contributions of the people involved at the new Bus Terminal at Tafawa Balewa Square.

“We are changing the face of the transport system in Lagos state with fully air condition buses, charging port, CCTV and other infrastructure for the benefit of commuters,” he said.

He added that the government had also embarked on building of standard bus terminus in various locations across the state, to standardise the transport system.

In his remarks, Mr Kunle Azeez, the Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Idumota branch, commended the government for building befitting bus terminal for members of the union.

“We appreciate the government for carrying us along in its development plan.

“I am sure that our members will not let the government down in its plan to make the state a Mega City,” he added.

DAILY POST reports that governor Akinwunmi Ambode had few weeks ago announced that the government plans to restructure the operations of ‘danfo’ buses for a an efficient, well-structured and world-class mass transport system

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NCPC takes prayers for Buhari to Mount Zion, Jerusalem

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission, Rev Tor Uja, says the commission will pray for the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari on Mount Zion, Jerusalem.

The Commission’s Head of Media, Mr Celestine Ogugua, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said that a Prayer Convocation for Nigeria would hold on March 5, 2017, during the 2016 Pilgrimage Completion Exercise.

Uja said that the focus of the Prayer Convocation was to pray for the President, the Acting President and Nigeria as a whole.

He said, “We will lead and mobilise the Church to pray for the recovery of Mr President and for the Acting President to hold forth in dignity and strength.

“We will also pray for Nigeria and Nigerians for the holistic recovery of our nation.”

The NCPC boss also announced that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir Lawal, would be the Special Guest of Honour at the prayer session.

He said that the commission would push forward its idea of constructing a Heritage Conference Centre for the orientation of all intending pilgrims before airlift.

Uja explained that the second objective of the Heritage Conference centre is to work with Israeli Agricultural experts to build a farm centre to train farmers in addition to constructing a secondary school that would bring up young people with good Christian values.

According to him, the current economic recession is an opportunity to build and reconstruct the nation.

He blamed the recession on the failure of people to institute a proper structure to sustain the nation’s resources.

He said that NCPC would contribute spiritually and socially toward the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country.

He said, “We owe this nation our service; remove sectional barriers and stand for what is right in our nation and in our service to God.’’

Ujah, while inaugurating a Committee on Land and Training, urged the committee members to work hard and make the necessary sacrifices to produce the desired results.

In his response, the NCPC Head of Administration, Mr Danjuma Elabi, who spoke on behalf of the members, thanked the Executive Secretary for the opportunity given to them to serve.

He pledged that the committee would work hard to ensure that its objectives were achieved.

(NAN

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