METUH, KANU AND DASUKI STILL DETAINED AS BUHARI’S ASSOCIATE IS RELEASED 24HRS AFTER ARREST

METUH, KANU AND DASUKI STILL DETAINED AS BUHARI’S ASSOCIATE IS RELEASED 24HRS AFTER ARREST


In less than 48 hours of his purported arrest, Jafaru Isa has been released from EFCC detention while Olisa Metuh has spent three nights in EFCC detention.

Do not be deceived by Jafaru’s arrest, it is an orchestrated plan to reduce the tension generated by the arrest of only PDP members.

Secondly, information has it that Jafaru’s arrest was occasioned by his volunteering to surety Dasuki after the courts granted him bail.

This insiders said infuriated ‪Buhari‬..

So, his arrest is just a flash in the pan and a smokescreen to deceive gullible Nigerians that the fight against corruption is all inclusive.

Impunity: Northern Youths Protest; Lampoon Buhari over Disregard to Rule of Law

Impunity: Northern Youths Protest; Lampoon Buhari over Disregard to Rule of Law

Northern youths yes­terday protested the continued incarcer­ation of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman, Olisa Metuh at the Econom­ic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) head­quarters.

The youths under the aegis of Northern Youth Network (NYN) threatened to sue the Federal Govern­ment if the EFCC does not charge Metuh to court or release him within 48 hours.

Displaying a banner with the inscription “a solidarity protest for our democracy. President Muhammadu Buhari should allow de­mocracy to stay. A call for immediate release of Chief Olisa Metuh, the mouth­piece of Nigeria construc­tive opposition party,” the group said President Bu­hari should be fair enough to invite All Progressives Congress (APC) members like Bola Tinubu and others alleged to have funded his campaigns.

Speaking on behalf of the group, NYN President, Comrade Mike Msuaan, said though they were in support of Buhari’s fight against insurgency, Buhari’s government should know that no nation thrives with­out constructive criticism from the opposition.

Msuaan explained that the group is not partisan neither does it belong to any political party, adding that the position of the group is to fight against violation of human rights.

He said that the contin­ued incarceration of Metuh and other people in EFCC custody is a violation of their right, calling on the anti-graft agency to take them to court as EFCC is not a court of law.

He said APC should know that it was in opposition be­fore and PDP allowed it to operate, adding that there is nowhere in the world a rul­ing party can deliver on its campaign promises unless prompted by opposition.

He said: “When you ar­rest, charge to court. We urge the Federal Govern­ment to charge Metuh to court within 48 hours. We will not accept if anything happens to him in deten­tion.”

Meanwhile, the office of the PDP National Publicity Secretary has noted certain apparently sponsored re­ports in some section of the media dropping figures and falsely claiming that Metuh got the sum of N1.4 billion in addition to receiving N4 million monthly stipend from the Office of the for­mer National Security Ad­viser.

Metuh, in a statement by his Special Assistant, Rich­ard Ihediwa said the reports were completely false, mis­chievous and fabricated to mislead the public and derail the course of proper investigation on issues relat­ing to Metuh.

The office said: “For the avoidance of doubt, neither Chief Metuh nor his office received the figures be­ing bandied. We therefore challenge the EFCC to sub­stantiate that Chief Metuh received the said N1.4 bil­lion figure as well as make public any evidence that he ever received N4 million monthly stipend from the Office of the National Secu­rity Adviser.

Plot to Clamp Down on Online Media Houses: Ikpeazu is a Joker Says AMPON

The Abia State chapter of the Association of Online Practitioners of Nigeria (AMPON) has reacted to the moves by the Abia State Government to Clamp Down on three major leading Online News platforms over their investigative Style of Journalism which has repeatedly exposed nefarious activities of the Ikpeazu administration. AMPON, a body with the responsibility of overseeing the activities of Online Practitioners in Nigeria described the the latest move by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu as that of a drowning Man. The Association in a Press statement made available to Journalists in Umuahia by its Secretary in Abia State Mr Iroegbu Emenike wondered why Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and his cronies should be chasing after shadows when its roof is seriously burning with heavy fire. The Association wondered why the Abia State government should direct its agents to specifically go after the publishers of ABIA FACTS NEWSPAPER, IGBERE TELEVISION and PUO REPORTS when the official chair used by Ikpeazu is about to be taken away from him unless something miraculous happens.

The statement further advised Governor Ikpeazu to focus on delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of Abia State rather than starting a battle no government has ever won in history.

AMPON further made it abundantly clear that the association shall continue to collectively and individually hold the government accountable on her actions, which is one of the primary objectives of the Association.
JAMES ANYALEKWA EMEH
President

Anti Kalu Comment: Bende Elders Lampoon Ohuabunwa; Caution Politicians Over Utterances

Anti Kalu Comment: Bende Elders Lampoon Ohuabunwa; Caution Politicians Over Utterances 

Some leaders of thoughts from Old Bende area of Abia State on Thursday called on politicians in the zone to mind their utterances before, during and after the forthcoming rerun election in Abia North Senatorial District. According to a statement signed by Chief Daniel Akwari and made available to journalists shortly after the meeting held at his Item residence, the statement said the peace and unity of the region would not be jeopardised because of political sentiments as the common good of the zone is paramount and above individual interests. The statement added that politicians and political parties should adhere to the rules of the game.

The statement read: “Just recently the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh poll in Abia North due to widespread irregularities that characterised the 2015 poll in the region. “We gathered from reliable sources that some politicians and their agents are planning to disrupt the peace we have been enjoying over the years in order to perpetuate electoral fraud.

“We are using this medium to advise stakeholders including political parties, security agencies and voters to maintain law and order as we will not tolerate what transpired at the last election where there was social unrest due to manipulation of results in favour of an unpopular candidate. “This is a new opportunity for the people’s will to prevail.

We must uphold the doctrine of one man, one vote.” The leaders while cautioning the embattled Senator of Abia North, Mr. Mao Ohunabunwa, over his negative comments on Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu , noted that there should be decorum in politics. The meeting had in attendance prominent indigenes of the region including Dr. Mbaoma Okereke, Chief Emeka Onwuka, Chief Kalu Uduma, Mr. Onuoha Ukpabi, Chibuike Jonas, Mr. Benjamin Kalu and Chief Mascot Kalu, among others.

MORE DEATHS IN NIGERIA FROM LASSA FEVER KILLING 40 PERSONS- Ministry of Health

MORE DEATHS IN NIGERIA FROM LASSA FEVER KILLING 40 PERSONS- Ministry of Health

The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, has confirmed that death toll from the recent Lassa fever outbreak is now 40.



According to him, the disease has also spread to ten states since the last six weeks when the first case was reported in November.

The death toll represents over 43% of the 86 cases reported so far.
“In the last six weeks Nigeria has been experiencing Lassa fever outbreak which so far has affected 10 states in the country.

“The states affected include Bauchi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Rivers, Edo, Plateau, Gombe and Oyo state.

“The total number so far reported is 86 and 40 deaths with the mortality rate of 45%.
“Our laboratories have confirmed 22 cases so far, indicative of a new round trip of Lassa fever outbreak,” he said.

In response to this reported outbreak, the Minister enumerated a number of measures taken by the Federal Ministry of Health under his leadership to curtail further spread and reduce mortality among those affected.

Nigeria: Igbos claim Owonifari Market demolition ethnically motivated-IBTimes UK

Nigeria: Igbos claim Owonifari Market demolition ethnically motivated-IBTimes UK


The government of Lagos state, Nigeria’s commercial hub, has defended its decision to demolish a local market by saying it is part of a plan to bring safety and development to the area. Authorities dismantled the Owonifari Market in the local government area of Oshodi between 6 and 7 January arguing that the site was “a den of criminals”.

However, the demolition enraged many, who accused the government of not giving enough time to vendors to collect their goods. The South East Amalgamated Marketers Traders Association (Semata) alleged that the demolition mostly affected Igbo people, one of Nigeria’s largest ethnic groups.
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Semata’s President Chief Okwudili Ezenwankwo said in a statement: “The traders there are mostly Igbos who travelled for the [Christmas] celebration. Why did the demolition take place at their absence? We condemn [it] and demand for compensation to those that lost their goods to the demolition.”
Maduabuchukwu Anyagulu, an Igbo businessman from Anambra state, told IBTimes UK it was not the first time that a market where Igbos had stalls and shops had been targeted. He alleged that the Yoruba and Hausa ethnic groups prevent Igbos from doing business and developing.

He said: “My people are very slow to come to terms with the fact that in Nigeria today our very means of survival and relevance are in danger and under attack.”

Some Igbos identify themselves as Biafrans, a term used to define people living in the Biafran territories that were forcibly annexed to present-day Nigeria during the British colonisation. “I do not want to appear to be spreading hate, but it is factual that if the Yorubas and Hausas had allowed the Biafran man the space to excel, Nigeria would have been a great country,” Anyagulu added.

Government’s response
Lagos’s commissioner for information and strategy, Steve Ayorinde, said during a press conference that traders had been informed about the government’s plan on 21 December. He also denied that the traders’ goods were confiscated or destroyed and insisted business owners were offered to relocate to a newly built market area in the nearby Bolanle that is able to accommodate around 600 shops, news agency NAN reported.

The commissioner explained that local authorities tried to repeatedly engage with the leadership of the market and that the issue of safety had been going on for about 10 years. He added the government agreed to pay N5,000 (£171) for each shop that relocated to Bolanle area.

He said: “There is nowhere in Lagos where you will agree to be paying N5,000 per shop not to talk of central Oshodi, but the governor agreed with them and we said we were ready to concede after which we now formally served them with a quit notice through the office of the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development.”

Some traders are believed to have refused to relocate to the new market area, however.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Mr Muslim Folami said during the conference that he was present during the demolition, during which weapons and a bunker were discovered in the market.

Oshodi Market was Demolished Due to Biafra Agitation, Says Lagos Govt; Traders Demand N20b Compensation

Oshodi Market was Demolished Due to Biafra Agitation, Says Lagos Govt; Traders Demand N20b Compensation
Igbo Traders in the demolished Owonifari market, Oshodi yesterday demanded for 20 billion naira from the Lagos State government for properties and goods lost to the demolition.

The traders under the Igbo Traders Congress while protesting the demolition at the market denied allegations by the Lagos State government that Biafra agitators were holding meetings inside the market.

Speaking on behalf of the traders, Chibuzor Onugha said the demolition was targeted at Igbo traders in the state.

“We are being punished because PDP won in this area, they alleged that the we are holding Biafra meeting its all false, they just want to punish the Igbo’s for political reasons,” Onugha said.

The traders said the state government breached the court Injunction against demolition, saying its heading to court to seek compensation against the 20 billion goods lost to the demolition.

He said the markets accommodated about 5000 traders while the government only provided slots for 600 traders at the new Isopakodowo market.


Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde said the traders were adequately notified before the exercise took place as required by law, and that government engaged with the leadership of the market severally before carrying out the demolition exercise on Owonifari Market.

While clarifying issues on the demolition which took place on January 5, 2016, Ayorinde said it was important for people to note that the issue of the market had been on for nothing less than ten years, adding that government had been engaging the leadership of the market to make them realize that it could no longer continue in the manner in which the market was being used.

He said unfortunately, the leadership of the market, in the last three years, refused to move despite the fact that the new market has over 600 shops apart from the kee clamps which takes the number of people that the market could conveniently accommodate to over a thousand all together.