Their formal bail application will be heard tomorrow, January 5, 2020.
Sowore was arrested by the police for leading a protest against bad governance on New Year’s Eve in Abuja.
He is being arraigned alongside four others by the Federal Government on three charges of criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, and attempting to incite others.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
More to follow…
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has warned that a second lockdown may be inevitable to check the spread of the disease.
The National Coordinator of the PTF, Dr Sani Aliyu, disclosed this on Sunday.
He warned that strict adherence to the Covid-19 protocol would prevent another lockdown.
“If you don’t want a lockdown, the only way is to make sure we use our facemasks, avoid mass gatherings, avoid people who have respiratory tract infections, sanitise our hands and follow those non-pharmaceutical interventions.
“The very vaccines that we currently have are those non-pharmaceutical interventions.
“If numbers continue to go up, all options are on the table. There are countries in the world that have been able to control this pandemic simply by following these non-pharmaceutical interventions. They may be inconvenient, but they will not be as difficult as a lockdown”.
Lamenting the high increase of infections and casualties in recent weeks, Aliyu said it is getting more necessary to control the pandemic.
“We are talking holistically here. All I can say is that 33 people died of COVID-19 in the last one week. Are we saying those people died for nothing? We have just recorded 6,000 cases in one week, far more than we ever recorded.
“COVID-19 exists; anybody who says COVID-19 does not exist is probably living in a completely different world. In the last one week, we’ve had a tripling of cases. You can see what’s happening in the United States, you can see what’s happening in the UK.
” I’m sure most of those who have been following the numbers will realise that what we have now far exceeds what we had in June/July last year.
“In week 52, which is the week we’ve just finished, we’ve seen a tripling in weekly number of cases, compared to what we had three weeks ago. The 6,000 cases per week is really huge. Our hospitals are already starting to get overloaded and we are already starting to feel the pressure within the healthcare system.
“So, talking about the projection, the projection really depends on whether people will start taking this very seriously and start following those non-pharmaceutical interventions that we’ve been talking about for the last one year.
“We’ve been able to demonstrate that it’s possible to flatten the curve, but we need the cooperation of everybody, we need the cooperation of the general public, we need the cooperation of the state governments”, he said.
There are indications that the Nigerian Police Council may nominate a new Inspector-General of Police by February.
It is unclear if the current Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, will get a tenure extension but unconfirmed sources said his successor may be announced.
The council, which is chaired by the President, comprises the 36 state governors and the Chairman of the Police Service Commission.
Adamu, who is the 20th indigenous police boss, is expected to retire next month when he would clock 35 years in service.
Sources said he had launched a vigorous lobby for tenure extension to enable him to conclude certain reforms in the police but it is still unclear if his bid to secure an extension additional was successful.
President Muhammadu Buhari had recently extended the tenure of the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Muhammad Babandede, and the Commandant-General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Muhammadu Gana.
Buhari has been under fire for extending the tenure of the Chiefs of Defence Staff, Army Staff, Naval Staff and Air Force.
It was gathered that the race for the IGP’s successor has begun with some state governors, influential politicians and traditional rulers rooting for their candidates.
A senior official said intense lobby for the new IG has commenced with various interest groups pushing the candidacy of their protégés.
A handful out of about 20 Assistant Inspectors-General of Police are eligible for appointment as the next IG.
The source stated, “The Police Council always meets confidentially to decide the next IG but a lot of people are already pushing for their candidates; the pressure is high but it is the President’s prerogative to select the IGP.
“We have about 20 AIGs but most of them do not qualify under the new Police Act, which stipulates that a candidate for the office of the IG must have at least five years of service.
When asked about the race for the police top office, the Commissioner representing the media on the PSC board, Mr Austin Braimoh, said the commission was not involved in the appointment of the IGP, noting that this remained the prerogative of the Police Council.
The Leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has released a strong prophecy about the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, and some of the officials in his administration.
The popular prophet made the revelation at a service in his Lagos church.
Ayodele made it known that President Buhari is incapacitated and that the truth about him will be exposed soon.
The popular prophet explained that his incapacity has affected the judiciary greatly and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammed, can no longer perform his duties.
He said the judiciary system of Nigeria is on the verge of collapse due to the inefficiency of the CJN.
He said: “President Buhari is incapacitated.
“He is not in charge of his government.
“Cabals are the ones ruling the country now.
“I foresee that the truth about him will be exposed soon.
“The CJN, Tanko Muhammed, cannot lead judiciary again.
“The incapacity of the President has affected him.
“The judiciary system is on the verge of collapse.”
Primate Ayodele had before now revealed in his 2021 prophecy that a secret document will be exposed that will indict Buhari’s government.
He said: “I foresee that some important documents will leak out of the Villa.
“There will be Classified Official leakages from the Villa.
“Let’s pray not to lose anybody in the Villa.”
Ogun State government has suspended the Honourable Commissioner for Environment, Hon Abiodun Abudu-Balogun, from office pending the conclusion of an independent investigation into an allegation of sexual harassment of a 16-year old, Barakat Mayowa Melojuekun.
In a statement issued in Abeokuta on Sunday, January 3, the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, said the suspension of the Commissioner is to enable him to cooperate fully with the independent investigation being carried out by the Police.
Dangote Fertiliser Limited (DFL) has handed over to the Lagos State Basic Education Board (SUBEB) a multi-million naira modern block of the classroom and other infrastructure it built-in Ibeju-Lekki community.
This was done to meet the yearning of its host communities for quality education with the provision of teaching materials and an environment conducive for effective learning.
The donation came on the heels of the empowerment of farmers in the area, especially those with land in the area taken over by the state government and designated for free trade zone.
The management of Dangote Fertiliser said the classrooms were built as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to replace Abejoye Primary School, which, incidentally, was part of the free trade zone area allocated to Dangote Fertiliser Limited but relocated to Abejoye community, has staff rooms, head teacher’s office, toilet facilities, generator and borehole.
Speaking at the handover ceremony in Lagos, the Group Executive Director, Strategy Capital Projects and Portfolio Development, Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, pledged the company’s continuous commitment to the provision of quality education, not only within the host community but across the country.
According to him, Dangote’s support for educational development involves assisting host communities to provide sustainable and qualitative education which ultimately reaches all the people.
This, he said, involves active consultation with the host communities’ stakeholders at stages of development, planning, implementation and evaluation.
Edwin added: “We, as a company, believe that education is the passport to the future and that an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. We are keen to develop, educate and empower local youth and we are achieving these objectives through various interventions, such as the award of scholarship to 50 students selected across our host communities as well as the training of 200 young persons in several vocational skill areas, such as plumbing, electrification, carpentry, welding and others.
“The second phase of this training programme started last September and we are training another batch of 200 local youths drawn from different communities covering Ibeju-Lekki and Epe local government areas.”
Edwin said the company embarked on diverse initiatives meant for developing the local institutions within its host communities to enable the people to drive their own development initiatives.
“We have installed 14 boreholes in our host communities between 2017 and 2018 and we conducted regular lab tests to ensure the water from the boreholes is potable. In 2019, we held a teachers training workshop for teachers within the host communities and Epe, in conjunction with Lagos State Ministry of Education, to develop the capacities of public school teachers to teach more effectively, using 21st-century modalities,” he added.
Professor Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, a former Vice chancellor, University of Lagos died on Sunday.
He was aged 71 years.
1. Professor O. Ibidapo-Obe OFR, FAS, FAEng, FNCS, FNIM, F.ASCE, F.AAS, FTWAS is a distinguished Professor of Systems Engineering.
2. He was a former Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos (2000-2007)
3. He was born on July 5, 1949.
4. He attended both Ilesa Grammar School and Igbobi College from 1962 – 1968 and the University of Lagos from 1968 – 1971 where he obtained the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (First Class Division).
5. Prof. Ibidapo-Obe is married to Olusola and had 4 children.
6. Professor Ibidapo-Obe was a Western Nigeria Government Scholar at the University of Lagos from 1969-1971 and was the overall best graduating student of the University in 1971.
7. He was the Chairman of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities. He is a 2-time award recipient of the Best Vice Chancellor’s Prize (2004, 2005) for the Nigerian University System (NUS).
8. With over 150 research articles and paper publications to his name, Professor Oye Ibidapo-Obe was elected as a Fellow of the African Academy of Science (AAS) as well as that of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2010 and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2015.
9. Prof. Ibidapo-Obe was conferred the national honour as Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2004.
10. Professor Ibidapo-Obe is an excellent, award-winning academic and has served in several capacities including international teaching/research exposures.
The 87-year-old former television host is hospitalized at L.A.’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Details of his condition were not immediately disclosed.
Hospital protocols have kept King’s family members from visiting him.
The Peabody Award-winning broadcaster was among America’s most prominent interviewers of celebrities, presidents and other newsmakers during a half-century career that included 25 years with a nightly show on CNN.
He has had medical issues in recent decades, including heart attacks and diagnoses of diabetes and lung cancer.
The Air Task Force of Operation LAFIYA DOLE has taken out more Boko Haram Terrorists’ (BHTs’) hideouts and eliminated several of their fighters at 2 locations – Kote Kura and Bulama Isamari – both in Borno State.
The operation according to the Coordinator Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche is in continuation of the series of Air Interdiction missions being conducted to rid the North East of the Country of terrorist elements.
”The air strikes were executed yesterday, 2 January 2021, employing appropriate force packages of Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets and helicopter gunships based on credible intelligence reports indicating that the BHTs had recently established camps at the 2 settlements, where they store their logistics items as well as plan and launch attacks.
”Overhead Kote Kura, a settlement in Bama area, the NAF attack aircraft engaged scores of terrorists observed in the target area, leading to the neutralization of several of them as well as the destruction of structures and logistics stores, some of which were seen engulfed in flames.
”In the same vein, at Bulama Isamari, within the Timbuktu Traingle, the NAF aircraft took turns in engaging the target, scoring accurate hits which equally resulted in the neutralisation of several terrorists.” He added.
Pardon me for my ruthless title of a Tribute to the most brilliant and hardest worker I ever came across in my entire 34-year career in government service, particularly at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies.
Let me, first of all, put the late Prof Habu Shuaibu Galadima on a scale of brilliance and hard work with my example.
I am generally rated as a workaholic who never gets tired or age in years – I spent my first 19 years at work before I took my first annual leave – I fell sick halfway and had to resume back on duty so I could be normal again – on average I report to office 8 am and closed around 9-10 pm – People like us are termed ‘work crazy’
Galadima was the only Boss that ever got me tired of work – sometimes I fell asleep while in meetings under his Chairmanship – He would exclaim: ‘Yaya dai Mallam Tanko, Yau kuma har da barchi?’
We agreed that I was becoming older getting to 65 towards my retirement in 2018 – and we joked over it as a waning ‘Gyel Commercial College’ work discipline – we attended the same secondary school where I senior him with 8 years – I finished 1972 while he finished 1980.
I could write a complete lecture, or publishable article, at seating in just a few hours – But, one day, I witnessed Galadima built a full 3-hour presentation with only posters in just 2-hours – a Marvelous feat.
I played golf first thing every money practicing ‘pin shots’, the equivalent of ‘marksmanship’ in gun range shooting – Golf was mostly considered as an elitist military habit I brought back from the War College – But, other Golfers joined in, including Galadima – Within some few months Galadima could take shots across the hardest terrains of the NIPSS Golf Course – One day, he delivered an almost impossible ‘N100,000-set’ Birdie which the ‘Hole Convener’ declined the prize because it was not in a Tournament.
Galadima never got angry with anyone and when it seemed he will be angry, even his aggressiveness was hilarious, more like a comedy stance – many times he shielded punishable offenders from my wrathful Ninja official justice as I was in charge of discipline.
If General Joseph Naven Garba, the Best DG NIPSS ever had, would give a Tribute on Galadima it will be of the highest rating on record.
Adieus Prof Galadima, My Younger Brother, My Boss, My Friend and Best Golfer too.
Allah Ya Jikan ka da Rahaman Jannat Firdaus – Ameen Ya Rabbi.
TANKO AHMED, fwc
Retired NIPSS Senior Fellow
Bukuru – 02 JAN 2021
