Home Blog Page 2197

Court documents reveal how Lauretta Onochie swore under oath that she was a member of the APC.

coic
-
0
Court documents reveal how Lauretta Onochie swore under oath that she was a member of the APC.

Documents obtained from the courts reveal that in 2016, an aide to President Goodluck Jonathan declared under oath in court that she is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nigeria.

Although President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Onochie to be a national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), many Nigerians, including civil society organizations, are calling for the National Assembly to reject her nomination. Onochie is a personal assistant to the president on social media.

According to documents she filed in a libel suit before a High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Onochie confirmed that she was actively involved in political activities in the country. Also, she stated that she is a “volunteer at the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO),” a political think-tank that assisted in the coordination of President Muhammadu Buhari’s election campaigns in the 2015 and 2019 elections, respectively.

Onochie sought N1 billion in damages from a man named Emeka Ugwuonye in a lawsuit filed under the number CV/852/16.

In a Facebook post published on January 21, 2016, she accused the defendant of defaming her by referring to her as a trafficker of young girls for international prostitution.

“I am also involved in active politics and a member of the Neighbourhood Watch, and I have also run for local government elections on behalf of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom,” she added, claiming that the words used in the aforementioned Facebook post, which she reproduced in the lawsuit, have brought her reputation into public ridicule and have harmed it.

Read also: #OurBoysAreBack: Nigerians hail Buhari, military over release of Kankara schoolboys

As a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a volunteer with the Buhari Support Group, Onochie also shared his political views.

Further, the presidential aide claimed that she is an educator who has worked as the headmistress of Aunt Margaret International School in Calabar and the principal of Holy Child Secondary School in Calabar. Moreover, she stated that she had previously worked at Epping Forest College in Essex, United Kingdom.
It has been reported that on March 8th, 2017, the lawsuit was amended and re-filed.

She agreed to all of her claims when she was called to the stand by the court in 2020.

In October 2020, Onochie was nominated to be one of five national commissioners for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, directed the Senate Committee on INEC to begin the process that would lead to Onochie’s confirmation earlier this month, despite strong opposition from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and civil society organizations (CSOs) over her involvement in partisan political activities.

What the United States Constitution says

As stipulated in Section 154 (3) of the 1999 Constitution, when it came to appointing the national commissioners of INEC, the president was required to consult with the National Council of State.

Read also: Insecurity: Buhari to address National Assembly Thursday

A further provision of the Third Schedule is found in Paragraph B of Part 1 of the Third Schedule which states that “the Council of State shall have the authority to advise the president in the exercise of his powers with respect to (iv)the Independent National Electoral Commission, including the appointment of members to the commission.”

The constitution also stated that, in accordance with the provisions of Section 154 (1), the appointment of members of the Independent National Electoral Commission must be approved by the Senate before it can take effect.

According to Section 30 of Act No. 1 of 2010, a member of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) “shall be non-partisan,” as stated in paragraph 14 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule.

Roads in Enugu are being reconstructed after 150 shops were demolished: Traders took advantage of the situation.

coic
-
0
Roads in Enugu are being reconstructed after 150 shops were demolished: Traders took advantage of the situation.

In the capital city of Enugu, the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA) has restored highways and streets that had been taken over by traders and craftsmen who had transformed them into illegal stores and mechanic workshops in order to make money.
A Development Control activity carried out by the agency at Reno layout, Emene Enugu, Enugu, yesterday resulted in the demolition of over 150 illegal shops, shanties and fences as well as mechanic workshops, warehouses and factories located in residential areas, in an effort to restore the city’s master plan.

Dr. Josef Onoh, Chairman of the ECTDA, stated that the affected individuals had been given more than a year notice to evacuate the converted streets, but they remained resistant, resulting in the execution of the development control action by the agency.

Onoh added that the government of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is so compassionate that it stimulates and supports the growth of small-scale companies, but that this does not come at the expense of the development plan for the capital city of Nigeria.

It was pointed out that the ECTDA has no business dealing with land acquisition or annexation in the process of demolishing the shanties, and that the action was in accordance with a public notice published in the media on December 31, 2020, in which the agency warned that it would carry out general development control activities in every nook and cranny of the capital territory.

Read also: 340 female students of Providence High School, Enugu, locked up by AMCON

“Development Human people need to be able to live in a peaceful environment and enjoy the rights guaranteed to them by the law, which means that control must be maintained on a continual basis in any civilized society. It is believed that these exercises are required in order to ensure that such rights are not violated, and as a result, the capital territory will continue destruction of unlawful constructions indefinitely until sanity is restored.

We are using this exercise to notify all residents of the capital territory who have converted their fences into illegal shops, mini stores, and containers that the development control exercise will still reach them, and we are giving them the final warning to remove these illegal structures because the agency is now back in full force to sanitize the city, Onoh explained. ”

He explained that the governor was enraged by the rate at which visitors were having difficulty accessing the city from main entry points, which resulted in his intervention in the New Market area and the vow to expand such measures to other parts of the city.

“We will continue our enforcement to guarantee that the remaining traders at the electrical sector in Kenyatta are transferred to the new Kenyetta by force if they do not agree to move peacefully,” said the Deputy Director of Enforcement. They’ve exhausted all of their available defenses. The same will be true for the traders in Orie-Emene since the ECDTA will be arriving there, as well as the dealers in Abakpa and, in particular, the traders on Mayor Street who are on the roadways. These things are incompatible with Ugwuanyi’s vision for the city’s future.

The offenders have taken advantage of our tolerance and goodwill, and we will take steps to guarantee that they all comply, despite the fact that humans are not animals. We would not apologize for any demolition that is carried out for the better good of the whole Enugu community,” Onoh continued.

Buhari signs the second AUDA/NEPAD Peer review report in preparation for validation

coic
-
0
Buhari signs the second AUDA/NEPAD Peer review report in preparation for validation

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the second Peer Review report of the African Union Development Agency and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA/NEPAD) in preparation for validation.
Ms Gloria Akobundu, AUDA/NEPAD National Coordinator, announced the approval in Abuja on Friday through her Media Assistant, Mr Abolade Ogundimu.

Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, also presented a paper to the Federal Executive Council on June 23 titled “Self-Assessment Report” of the country’s second peer review process, according to Akobundu.
“
President Buhari has approved the report, which will now be validated by the African Union’s Country Review Mission, a voluntary self-assessment instrument aimed at improving governance and development.

Read Also:  Gunmen assassinate the wife of Peter Odetomi, ex-commissioner in Oyo

“Given the President’s commitment to the review, the report’s recommendations will now be brought to the attention of the Federal Government, allowing Nigeria to make the necessary progress at the continental level.

“The head of AUDA/NEPAD reassured Nigerians that the necessary structures had been put in place, including the inauguration of members of the National Governing Council (NGC), who were the driving force behind the review process.

“The NGC and the national secretariat, by capitalizing on the President’s enthusiasm for the process, will ensure that the recommendations are implemented quickly and carefully, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Akobundu says.

The national coordinator thanked God for all of the stakeholders’ cooperation and support in every aspect of the economy and national life.

Court sentences 43-year-old trader to 25 years in prison for raping a tailor

coic
-
0
Court sentences 43-year-old trader to 25 years in prison for raping a tailor

Adelaja Oloyede, a 43-year-old trader, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for raping a tailor by an Ikeja Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence Court on Friday.
Justice Abiola Soladoye found Oloyede guilty of a single count of rape in violation of Section 260 of the Lagos 2015 Criminal Law.

The prosecution team had proven their case against the convict beyond a reasonable doubt, according to Justice Soladoye.

Even if the survivor was his girlfriend, the court ruled that the convict had no right to have forcible sexual intercourse with her.

“All of the defendant’s stories to the court in his testimony were muddled and full of lies.

“The defendant’s actions are reprehensible, and the court is convinced that the prosecution has proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

“As a result of being found guilty of the one-count charge of rape, the defendant is hereby sentenced to 25 years in prison. “This is the court’s decision,” Soladoye stated.

The judge also ordered the State Government to register Oloyede as a sex offender in the Sex Offenders Register.

The convict committed the offence sometime in 2018 at his home at No 2, Adelaja St., Ikorodu, Lagos, according to the Lagos State prosecution team led by Olusola Soleye.

The prosecution called four witnesses to the stand during the trial: the complainant (name withheld), her sister, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), and a medical doctor. The defendant only testified in his own defence.

The prosecution presented the complainant’s bloodstained underwear and a black tie to the court, which were accepted as exhibits.

Read Also: Court sentences repentant Algerian jihadist to life imprisonment

In her testimony, the 25-year-old survivor stated that the convict lives in her neighbourhood and that they met on their way home from church.

Oloyede shook her hand, according to her, and she began obeying his commands after that.

She claimed the convict took her to his home and led her into a room filled with fetish items.

The convict asked the witness to kneel down and recite several incantations, according to the witness.

She claimed that when she attempted to leave, a struggle ensued, during which Oloyede engaged in forceful sexual intercourse with her and inserted a fetish substance into her private area.

After the deed, the convict told her not to tell anyone about what happened between them, according to the complainant.

She claimed she immediately reported the crime to the authorities after leaving the house.

During his defence testimony, Oloyede denied the allegations of rape.

He claimed the complainant was his fiancée and that they had consensual sexual relations on a regular basis.

He denied putting fetish objects in her private area.

Gunmen assassinate the wife of Peter Odetomi, ex-commissioner in Oyo

coic
-
0
Gunmen assassinate the wife of Peter Odetomi, ex-commissioner in Oyo

Unknown gunmen assassinated the wife of Peter Odetomi, a former commissioner in Oyo State, on Friday morning.

It was stated that the woman was murdered at her family’s home in Ashi, Bodija, Ibadan.
Odetomi served in Abiola Ajimobi’s administration as the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and later as the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development.

He was also the Chairman of the Ogbomoso South Local Government Area in the past.

The gunmen stormed the area on a motorcycle, according to a resident of the area who confirmed the incident to our correspondent in Ibadan.

“That is correct. People are now rushing to our area, which I noticed. Someone called my attention to it a few minutes ago. On Friday around 10 a.m., it happened. They arrived on a motorcycle, according to what I’ve heard “According to the source.

Our correspondent has yet to receive the full details of the incident as of the time of filing this report.

In less than two weeks, our correspondent reports that seven people have been killed in the state.

Attempts to contact the state’s police public relations officer, Adewale Osifeso, were unsuccessful because he did not answer his phone or respond to text messages sent to his cellphone.

NCPC will embark on pilgrimage to Jordan In July

coic
-
0
NCPC will embark on pilgrimage to Jordan In July

Rev. Yakubu Pam, the executive secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), has announced that the Commission will begin its pilgrimage to Jordan in July of this year.

Rev. Pam made the disclosure while playing host to the executive members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna state council, at the NCPC corporate headquarters in Abuja, according to a press release issued by the Commission’s media and public relations unit Thursday evening.

He said plans were being made to “ensure a successful pilgrimage outing to Jordan in July 2021,” and that the Commission had received all of the necessary approvals to begin the pilgrimage exercise in Jordan.

He stated that in order to deal with the country’s crises, the government, religious leaders, traditional leaders, and media practitioners must work together, adding that “the media is the medium that will sell the story in the right perspective that will bring about peace.”

Pam urged the NUJ to be objective in their reporting while also emphasizing the country’s strengths.

Read Also:  Military Veterans Harp on Peace Advocacy as DHQ Engages Retired Personnel at Maiden Security Parley

“Let us concentrate and magnify our people’s good deeds and sell them to the rest of the world. Others will emulate their good deeds if we celebrate those who are doing a good job in this country,” he said.

He stated that the Commission would continue to advocate for peace and national development, emphasizing that “we will join hands to engage the principal actors who have been negatively influenced and prevent them from displaying their act of destruction.”

Earlier, the Council’s chairman, Comrade Adamu Yusuf, praised the NCPC boss for his “visionary leadership style anchored on Nigeria’s unity and oneness.”

He urged political appointees and heads of government agencies to follow the NCPC boss’s leadership style in order to get things done.

Banditry: DSS invites Sheikh Gumi over comments implicating security operatives

admin
-
0
Banditry: DSS invites Sheikh Gumi over comments implicating security operatives

The Department of State Security Service (DSS) on Thursday invited Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi for questioning, VOA reports.

According to the VOA report, Gumi was invited by the DSS after he alleged that security officials work with bandits to carry out criminal activities.

Gumi made the allegation when he appeared in ARISE TV on Wednesday.

The Nigerian Army however rejected the claims of the Kaduna-based cleric, saying that security agents have sacrificed their lives in the battle against insurgency.

“It is essential to remind ourselves that this same military, being accused of connivance, are the ones who recently put their lives on the line to rescue abductees of the Government Secondary School, Birnin Yauri from kidnappers,” the army explained in a statement.

The statement added, “While the NA will not attempt to excuse the possibility of black sheep amongst its fold, it must be stated unambiguously that it will not condone any form of sabotage or aiding and assisting the enemy by any personnel.

In the wake of kidnappings, murder and other terrorism acts of bandits operating predominantly in the northern region of the country, Mr Gumi has become popular for advocating peace deals with terrorist herders

He has at different times chaired negotiations between the herders and their victims. And recently, he likened the herders to the Niger Delta militants, saying that the herders should be granted amnesty as the militants enjoyed.

Police are investigating fake vaccine scams In two cities in India.

coic
-
0
Police are investigating fake vaccine scams In two cities in India.

Around 2,000 people were injected with fake Covid-19 vaccines in Mumbai, police said Friday, and another 500 people — some of whom were disabled — may have been harmed in a second major city.

Following a devastating pandemic surge in April and May, the Indian government made vaccinations free. This week, vaccination rates skyrocketed.

Around 2,000 people who thought they were being vaccinated were instead injected with a saline solution, according to Mumbai police.

Police said at a news conference that ten people had been arrested, including two doctors from a private hospital in the financial district, with the scammers targeting residents of an upscale housing complex in one case.

Vishwas Patil, the joint commissioner for the law and order division, said, “We (then) discovered that this syndicate had organized eight more camps.”

The accused “fraudulently obtained” 1.24 million rupees ($16,700) in cash, according to police.

Meanwhile, police in Kolkata have detained a man posing as a civil servant with a master’s degree in genetics who allegedly ran up to eight bogus vaccination clinics.

At least 250 disabled and transgender people were injected at one location, according to police, and nearly 500 people may have received fake injections across the city.

The seized vials were falsely labelled as containing the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, marketed in India as Covishield, according to Kolkata official Atin Ghosh.

“The Covishield label was discovered to be stuck over another label, that of Amikacin Sulphate 500 mg, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections of the urinary tract, bones, brain, lungs, and blood,” Ghosh told AFP.

Read Also:  Criminal gangs selling fake Covid-19 vaccines, Interpol alerts Nigeria, others

The scam was discovered after Mimi Chakraborty, an actress and politician, became suspicious after receiving a shot at one of the camps to raise awareness.

The suspect was found with two fake ID cards, one for an information ministry official and the other for a municipal commissioner. His car was adorned with stickers from the Kolkata government.

Many of those who had been injected, according to Debashis Barui, a Kolkata health official, is now “panicking” about the possible side effects.

“In the event of an emergency, civic authorities will set up medical camps in the area to care for those who have received fake shots,” Barui told AFP.

Ruma Sikdar, 35, one of them, said she had been feeling drowsy and had pain in her arm.

“What concerns me is how to get the real dose before the third wave,” the housewife explained.

“We didn’t think this could happen at a time when the world is fighting a pandemic,” said Debjit Majumdar, another student who received the fake jab.

Buhari’s trip to London has been postponed.

coic
-
0
Buhari’s trip to London has been postponed.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s medical follow-up visit to the United Kingdom, which had been scheduled for June 25, has been postponed, according to the Presidency.

The President’s spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, confirmed the news in an Abuja statement on Friday.

A new date will be announced in due course, according to the presidential aide.

Read Also:  JAMB announces the results of candidates who took the 2021 UTME

Candidates for the Lagos Chairmanship of the APC Party are deeply involved in a certificate forgery scandals

coic
-
0
Candidates for the Lagos Chairmanship of the APC Party are deeply involved in a certificate forgery scandals

Some APC chairmanship candidates in the Lagos state local government council election in July are currently embroiled in various certificate forgery scandals.

Princess Surah Olayemi Animashaun of Epe LGA, Kevin Oluwaseun Gabriel, formerly known as Kelvin Luchiano of Apapa LGA, and Kafayat Layeni of Ojodu Local Council Development Authority are among the candidates (LCDA).

There are questions about Funmilayo Mohammed of Apapa Iganmu LCDA, Hamed Salawu of Shomolu, and Olarunde Folorunsho of Olorunda LCDA’s credentials, which are currently being investigated.

Surah, who is being sponsored by Oba Kamorudeen Animashaun, the Oloja of Epe Kingdom, presented a fake West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate despite claiming to have graduated from a Nigerian university.

On the 24th of May, 2021, the Epe APC candidate submitted two separate statements of results to the party’s Tola Kasali-led screening committee, and on the 27th of May, 2021, to the Department of State Services.

Surah’s name and the same year, 1991, were on both statements of results, but the inputs were different.

The APC candidate also refused to present the original WAEC certificate 30 years after taking the exam, according to SaharaReporters.

Surah also failed to submit a certificate or exemption letter from the National Youth Service Corps, indicating that she served or was exempted.

Kafayat, the APC candidate in Ojodu LCDA, was also presented with a forged certificate by James Faleke, a member of the House of Representatives representing the Ikeja Federal Constituency.

WAEC has rejected her claim that she received a C6 in the English Language, a C5 in Government, a C4 in Economics, a C4 in Mathematics, a D7 in Biology, a C5 in Commerce, and a C3 in Accounts.

Kevin, who is backed by Mr Tunde Balogun, the APC party chairman in Lagos State, also presented a fake National Examination Council (NECO) certificate in Apapa LGA, claiming he took the exam in November 2008 at the Command High School, Araromi-Obu, Ondo state, at the age of over 40.

The school did not conduct any NECO external examinations in November 2008, according to a letter obtained.

Read Also:  Two APC members suspended for fraternising with the South West Agenda for 2023 (SWAGA)

“I stated unequivocally that the above-mentioned school does not have a center for NECO External candidates, and that the school does not hold NECO external examinations in November 2008.” As a result, the school disassociates itself from any fraudulent practices,” read a letter signed on behalf of the Principal by the Vice Principal, Academic.

An APC official stated that immediate action must be taken to ensure that the party does not lose seats as a result of fielding these questionable candidates.

“Right now, investigations are ongoing in areas like Apapa Iganmu with Funmilayo Mohammed, Shomolu with Hamed Salawu, and Olarunde Folorunsho of Olorunda LCDA because these areas are also likely to be affected,” he said.

“The problems with these forged documents are not limited to chairmen and their deputies; councillors in some local governments are also involved. Toheeb Shokunbi, a councillor in Ikorordu Central, is one of many such cases across the state.

“One has to wonder why the APC did not conduct a thorough and proper verification process prior to putting these candidates on the ballot box. The APC must now act quickly because the opposition parties have all of the evidence of these wrongdoings and are ready to use it to their advantage if the need arises.”

1...2,1962,1972,198...2,825Page 2,197 of 2,825
© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv