Members of an armed robbery gang which used to operate at Osu-Ife axis along the expressway have confessed that they got the two guns that they were using for operations from one Iya Bose who was trading in alcoholic drinks and cigarettes.

They made the confession after their arrest by Osun State Police Command. They also revealed that they had two okada riders who were taking them to and from the spots they perpetrated the criminal act.

The gang members apprehended were identified as Chibuzor Obinna (33), Igwe Chukwudi a.k.a Bishop (41), Ogbonna Destiny Monday (28) and Nwaze Eze (40), while Olamilekan Samson a.k.a Afuye (30) and Akinolu Kola (29) were the ones to take the armed robbery suspects to designated spots of operation and return to pick after they had had their way with victims.

Exhibits recovered from them included an English pistol, a locally-made double-barrel pistol, bags of new costume, jewellery, footwear, two laptop computers, and different brands of phones.

According to the police spokeswoman in Osun, SP Yemisi Opalola, who represented the Commissioner of Police, Kehinde Longe, at the briefing, the suspects usually robbed motorists along Osu-Ife highway. Their mode of operation was to congregate at their designated spot of attack after two motorcycle riders had dropped them. They were said to possess two guns for their operations and usually targeted commercial vehicles carrying goods.

Findings by the police revealed that some of the gang members based in Lagos used to come to Osun but later decided to rent rooms in Ilesa because of its proximity to the spot where they operated.

However, their cups became full recently as they gathered in the bush to launch another attack on motorists when a hunter noticed their activities within the bushy area. Acting in collaboration, the hunters, policemen from Osu Division and a vigilante group, went after the suspects, making them to flee in different directions, with one of them, Monday, having sustained injury.

Undeterred, the police and the vigilante combed the bush but couldn’t see any of them initially. Their efforts however yielded fruits in the morning when one of the suspects, Obinna, was apprehended while trying to come out of the bush where he hid. He was found to be in possession of the guns with which they operated.

With the arrest of Obinna, the Commissioner of Police directed the Anti-Kidnapping Squad (AKS) to take over the case for a follow up, and in less than 24 hours, three other suspects who went for the operation were arrested by the operatives. Two of them, Chukwudi a.k.a Bishop and Eze, were reportedly picked from their rooms while the third gang member was found in an uncompleted building with bullet wound on his thigh. Their accomplices, the okada riders, were also arrested.

A search of their rooms revealed some of the goods stolen from vehicles that were attacked, including bags of costume jewellery estimated at N5 million. They were said to have intercepted a bus going to Kano from which they packed the jewellery. Also, two laptops, shoes, clothes and over 20 phones were recovered from them. One of them, Loco, is said to be at large.

During interrogation, the suspects revealed that the woman they were buying alcoholic drinks and cigarettes from, popularly called Iya Bose, was the one borrowing them the two guns they used to operate.

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state, has revealed the state government will begin the distribution of a cash palliative of N10,000 to public servants in the state to cushion the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy, with effect from July.

Abiodun disclosed this in an interview, monitored by our correspondent, on Channels Television on Tuesday evening.

The governor noted that the palliative will last for three months and was done in consultation with relevant bodies.

He said, “Paying special allowances is nothing novel or new to the system. It’s just that in this instance, we have designed this alongside the members of our labor unions. We just didn’t wake up one morning and arbitrarily chose to pay them N10,000.

“We sat down with TUC, JNC, and NLC weeks ago. After several meetings, we agreed that N10,000 across board from levels 1–17 will create that immediate relief to civil servants and pensioners that have to move every day.

“This amount will be paid over the next three months in the first instance, because we’ve identified the fact that we need to have an immediate intervention, then an immediate to medium-term intervention, and a long-term intervention.”

“It’s our hope that at the expiration of the first three months, our medium-term intervention plans will have begun to unfold. So we can begin to take out the N10,000 cash palliative. The idea is that this will not be pensionable and, as such, will continue to be regarded as an allowance as against their basic salary and other emoluments.”

Abiodun also noted that there will be about 280,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries of the cash palliatives, and he expects the private sector to follow suit.

He said, “What we aim to do is to immediately begin this intervention, believing that the private sector will also begin to follow suit because, as you know, we cannot intervene by this means with the private sector because they don’t work for us.

“However, we have other provisions in that our list that we rolled out yesterday that will affect as many of those who are not in public service as possible,” he added.

Meanwhile, the governor confirmed that plans to convert buses from diesel to CNG have started.

“The conversion is not restricted to state-owned mass transit buses alone and will extend to privately owned minibuses across the state at the expense of the government,” he said.

Davido’s Logistics Manager, Israel Afeare, popularly known as Israel DMW, has apologized to the Muslim community over the controversial video uploaded by his principal.

Recall that Davido had came under fire after uploading a music video of his signee, Logos Olori’s new song titled, ‘Jaye Lo’ which captured people praying in Islamic way and dancing in a mosque.

Davido, however, deleted the controversial video on his social media pages following public backlash.

After the public outcry, the Muslim community still demanded a public apology from Davido.

Reacting to the development, Israel DMW, in a post on his Instagram story on Wednesday, apologized on behalf of Davido.

Israel appealed to Muslims, saying that the video is purely an entertainment effort that was wrongly presented.

He stated, “Let me specially apologise to my Muslims brothers and sisters, on the video my oga posted, as a result of him wanting to lift up somebody, which is one of his hubbies.

“It was purely an entertainment effort wrongly presented. Make una no vex. Love you all.”

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has given the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum to reverse all perceived anti-poor policies, including the recent hike in the pump price of petrol, or face an indefinite nationwide strike from August 2.

Consequently, the NLC has directed all its affiliates and state councils to immediately begin mobilisation of workers and other Nigerians, including civil society allies, for a long-lasting strike and mass protests should the government fail to meet its demands.

Vanguard gathered that this was one of the decisions reached at NLC’s Central Working Committee, CWC, meeting held Tuesday, July 25, at Abuja Labour House.

Details later...

… Presents Cheques, Baby Materials To First Set Of Beneficiaries

The First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu through an NGO, Jumejilo Multi-Birth Assistance Programme (JMAP), has initiated a support package that will aid successful deliveries, provide assistance for multi-birth families and expand access to quality healthcare for low-income families.

Speaking on Tuesday at Lagos House Ikeja, while making cheque and gift presentations to the first set of beneficiaries of the JMAP Programme, the Governor’s wife described the initiative as a dream come true that was conceived in 2021.

The NGO, JMAP, a brainchild of the First Lady was conceived to complement the output of other existing initiatives and support systems in the Lagos State health sector for parents of High Order Multiple (HOM) pregnancies, adding that JMAP Programme will alleviate medical complications, mortalities and disorders associated with multiple births, including premature delivery, preeclampsia and irregular foetal growth, among others.

She said: “The JMAP intervention was initiated in 2021 by my Office against the background of the rising rate of multiple births in the State and the neonatal mortality associated with High Order Multiple (HOM) pregnancies among low-income families.

“Available data indicates that Lagos has an infant mortality rate of 39 per cent per 1,000 live births monthly, with preterm complications significantly accounting for the high mortality.”

While referencing a quote by Owen Arthur, a former Prime Minister of Barbadian “For he who has health has hope; and he who has hope, has everything”, the First Lady noted that the quote vividly captures the essence of her intervention through the NGO which seeks to extend hope to families that truly need help.

The First Lady revealed that the support for multiple-birth parents and infants will come in form of socio-economic support, constant enlightenment, empowerment, social inclusion and a welfare support system.

Speaking on the modalities for the Jumejilo Multi-Birth Assistance Programme, the wife of the Governor stated that the beneficiaries will also enjoy postnatal care that will run for a 12-month cycle during which the multi-birth households will undergo social empowerment, health education and economic sustainability programmes, in addition to follow-up social and welfare engagements as the babies develop.

In her words: “Potential JMAP beneficiaries must be below 60 years, while their socio-economic status (in respect of annual income) must not be more than N250,000 per household. Prospective beneficiaries must also have Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) Cards as proof of residential status with utility bills of at least 12 months; they must be an expectant or current multiple-birth mother with triplets or more that are between ages 0 and 5 years.”

She clarified that the JMAP Programme has not been set up as a conventional NGO giving monetary assistance to the public, explaining that the financial support to be made available to the beneficiaries will only be provided specifically as sustenance for multi-birth parents in line with the objective of the Programme.

The Governor’s wife also used the event to invite like-minds, public-spirited individuals and corporate organizations to support her vision of giving hope to families that need help, assuring that initiative will be sustained as a platform to make a positive difference in our society.

In her remark, the Wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat revealed that the life impacting initiative has brought to light the motherly instinct of the First Lady, Dr. Mrs. Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu in ensuring that numerous challenges associated with multiple births are mitigated through this applauding Jumejilo initiative.

"Given the extensive evidence that twins and other multiple births worldwide are associated with a substantial higher risk of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity, this initiative will further strengthen the window of opportunities and would be of immense assistance to multiple birth parents", she emphasized.

While congratulating all awardees, beneficiaries and stakeholders of the noble programme, the Deputy Governor’s wife, Mrs.Oluremi Hamzat enjoined members of the press to give this launch the widest publicity expected.

One of the excited recipients, Mr. Tunde Ilufoye, a father of triplets said he was overwhelmed with the huge support received from the NGO powered by the First Lady and promised to spread the good news and the government’s intervention in supporting parents with multiple births.

As part of the launch and award presentation segment of the programme, two multiple birth mothers – one with quadruplets and another with triplets – went home with JMAP Babies Awards which among other gift items, including cash and assorted baby items.

The event had in attendance the Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Abimbola Salu-Hudeyin, Body of Permanent Secretaries, Top Government Functionaries, Non-Governmental Organisations, Civil Service Organisations, Corporate Bodies, beneficiaries of the initiative among others.

Olubunkola Nwonah

Director, Public Affairs

Office of the First Lady, Lagos State.

25^th July,2023.

I have not seen the DAVIDO clip and would greatly appreciate if someone would make it available so we all can debate, objectively, the merits and demerits of positions taken over this recent product of the musician. There are however certain principles, histories, rights and responsibilities of artistic creativity that should not be smothered under emotional manipulation.

One unavoidably recalls, for instance, scenes from Whoopi Goldberg’s SISTER ACT, followed by a sequel SISTER ACT II: BACK IN THE HABIT. I understand that yet another version, SISTER ACT: The MUSICAL, is under preparation - such appears to be the popularity of the genre. To the best of my recollection, there has been hardly a murmur of offence being taken, not even at the scenes of nuns in their full regalia dancing through the aisles of the chapel and other sacred precincts of the monastery. Centuries of artistic production of this nature, in all disciplines the world over, can be viewed daily at the drop of a coin, even without digging into musty archives.

Let us learn to distinguish practitioners from their objects of devotion. The former are deserving of respect and understanding, BUT this must be mutual among all believers and non-believers. What we witness these days however is a galloping fever of over-sensitivity over frankly trivial aspects of social co-existence.  I use the word “contrived” deliberately, because I have become convinced that such splurges of “offence taken” are meant to distract us from where the real offence has been, or is being committed often as a routine pattern of overweening entitlement against others. Such encroachments include freedom of belief, association, worship and even the sanctity of life in pursuit of, or repudiation of, existing structures of belief.

I refer, for the avoidance of doubt, to distractions from the abuse of power as exercised in the virtual proscription of traditional worship – the notorious case of ISESE in Ilorin for instance. There are others, hundreds of others, far too weighty to evoke in relation to this mere piffle of religious sentimentality.

The following should not be needed, but we appear to inhabit a nation space where memory deficiency has become an accreditation badge of competence in national affairs. I recall my intervention, several years ago, in an attempt to pillory former Governor of Kaduna State, El Rufai over some comment he had made that was considered derogatory to followers of Christianity. I forget the reference now but I do distinctly recall another of a bank manager who, at Easter tide, referred to the risen Christ as a metaphor for the risen dough in the bakeries of Oshodi. Something along those lines. Under obvious pressure, he apologized, and I rebuked him for the gesture. There was nothing to apologize about, and that applied equally to El Rufai’s comments at the time. It should come as no surprise that I equally absolutely disagree with Shehu Sani if indeed, as reported, he has demanded an apology from Davido on behalf of the Moslem community.

No apology is required, None should be offered. Let us stop battening down our heads in the mush of contrived contrition – we know where contrition, apology and restitution remain clamorous in the cause of closure and above all – justice. Such apologies have not been forthcoming. In their place, we have the ascendancy of petulant censorship in the dance and music department. Just where will it end?

Most forms of worship – from the Hare Krishna to Hinduism and lesser-known religions - seek transcendental experience through the medium of dance. It goes beyond mere elation or euphoria and involves surrender of the ego to the mystical and sublime – through dance. The secularization of that medium stretches across religions, and offers the artistes’ a means of invoking a sense of spiritual community, through a common act of self-surrender.

As already admitted, I have not seen the clip, but I insist on the right of the artiste to deploy dance in a religious setting as a fundamental given.  Such deployment is universal heritage, most especially applicable in the case of Islam where a plot of land, even without the physical structure, can be turned, in the twinkling of an eye, into a sacral space for believers to gather and worship in between mundane pursuits.

Dancing in front of a mosque cannot therefore, on its own, be read as an act of provocation or offence but as affirmation of the unified sensibility of the spiritual in human. Let us learn to read it that way. Those who persist in taking offence to bed and serving it up as breakfast should exercise their right of boycotting Davido’s products – no one quarrels with that right. However, it is not a cause for negative and incitive excitation. The greater responsibility is to face squarely the root issues of religion in the nation. That root issue is starkly stated thus: the sectarian appropriation of the power of life and death across a community of believers, other believers, and even non-believers alike, be it for real, imagined, or deliberately contrived offence. It was not Davido’s music that lynched Deborah Yakubu, and continues to frustrate the cause of justice. Nor has it contributed to the arbitrary detention of religious dissenters – call them atheists or whatever – such as Mubarak Bala, now languishing in prison for his 38^th month. These are the provocations where every citizen should exercise the capacity for revulsion.

They are the issues deserving of, indeed exercise primary claim on a nation’s capacity for righteous indignation. All else is secondary. Distractive piffle!

Wole SOYINKA

Anyone familiar with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu knows he is profoundly dogged and has consistently shown the courage to endure throughout his ageless quest for power. While critics, including this writer, are wont to equate the doggedness to selfish interest, the dire economic condition in the country finally offers him the opportunity to prove otherwise. Said differently, as it was once Tinubu’s turn to become president, now is ultimately his turn to lead by example and suffer like the ordinary Nigerians.

The perplexing conundrum, however, is that the former Lagos State governor has remained in his typical campaign mode—dogged, desperate, and deceptive. He keeps saying and doing things with reckless abandon.

Such agony informs why he threw the concept of Evidence-Based Policy out of the window and hastily adopted and implemented a far-reaching scheme like the Removal of Fuel Subsidy without any practical plan.

The irony is that real solution is not in sight. Even the very armchair economists who dominated every media space professing the subsidy removal have suddenly disappeared. Sadly, the Asiwaju—a dogged opponent of the subsidy removal during the “clueless” Jonathan era—is suddenly grandstanding as the messiah.

The result, of course, has been a monumental mess. Today, barely two months into the Tinubu regime, the condition in the country has become worse than ever imagined. It is said that President Muhammadu Buhari drove the Nigerian economy to the rock bottom, but his successor has already shattered the very rock of the bottom to crash the country to the deepest low.

The most hypocritical is Tinubu’s response to the crisis. Please hear him: “I understand that our people are suffering yet there can be no childbirth without pain. The joy of childbirth is the relief that comes after the pain.”

The relief so far is N500 billion as palliative for the fuel subsidy removal. Of this amount, Mr. Tinubu has the audacity to dole out a whopping N35 billion for judges; and N110 billion to 465 federal lawmakers, of which N40 billion is to purchase exotic foreign vehicles while “12 million” low-income Nigerians are to receive meagre N8,000 monthly per household for six months.

It has become vitally important to reveal here that the former Lagos Governor himself enjoys a total of over N148 billion allocated to the presidency from the 2023 national budget. 

Now, let us circle back to his adage on mother and childbearing with regards to suffering. Yes, “there can be no childbirth without pain”, as Tinubu rightly reminded us. But he must not forget the genius of a relative adage which asserts that only a foolish mother feeds fat while her child goes hungry.

Like a caring mother, it has become Tinubu’s turn to suffer like the ordinary Nigerians. Like the caring mother, he needs to lead by example by enduring as he did to grab power.

A staring point is true change, beginning from himself. A stupendously wealthy man, who once revealed that he is richer than entire Osun State, Mr. Tinubu can dig deep into history and trace the style of a 400 BCE Napal Prince, Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as Buddha, who endeared himself to his followers by forsaking his wealth and luxury for the common good.

The gist, if it not already manifest, is that Tinubu should rise to the occasion and do away with his ostentatious lifestyle as well as the lavish culture at the presidency. He must not dare continue the habit of holidaying abroad while at the same time appealing to Nigerians at home to suffer. He also needs to understand that these suffering Nigerians remain outraged at his endless hobnobbing with the very corrupt politicians who looted their commonwealth dry.

Of course, the other arms of the government do not need to be told that the era of jumbo salaries must be over. Their remuneration should reflect the realities on the ground. On no account should the total compensation package of a legislator or judge exceed 100 times the minimum wage in the country.

Further, any thought of exotic foreign cars for Nigerian public officials is offensive. Now is the time to emulate the past military regimes which demonstrated austerity, as well as patriotism, by using Peugeot cars, which were then assembled in Nigeria. Today, the country is blessed with the Innoson brands, which are not only made in Nigeria, but also perform far better.

All told, the level of hardship under the Tinubu regime is grossly untold. People are suffering. People are dying. Things cannot continue this way. In short, any failure by the leaders to demonstrate austere lifestyle themselves is to risk a mass response of an uncommon proportion.

SKC Ogbonnia writes from Houston, Texas, USA.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) condemns the despicable altercation which took place today at the premises of the Federal High Court, Lagos, between operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) While it is difficult not to hold the leadership of the two federal government agencies directly responsible for the shameful and disgraceful conduct of its personnel, one cannot discount the possible overzealousness or excesses of the officers involved, as being responsible for what we witnessed today. This incident regrettably is further evidence of the lack of discipline and absence of professionalism that continues to plague key security institutions in Nigeria, which, without doubt, is largely responsible for the limited progress in achieving acoordinated response to security concerns across the country.

A situation where officers of Federal Government agencies engage in a fight as witnessed by the public, for whatever reason, is antithetical to our security as a nation and creates a recipe for anarchy and chaos. Both the DSS and the NCoS are important institutions dealing with national security and administration of justice respectively, and the need for them to work in concert towards attaining justice in a secured Nigeria cannot be overemphasised.

The NBA further condemns the brazen disrespect for the sanctity of the court premises. The courts and judicial processes remain the barometer by which the conduct of persons or agencies of government are gauged in assessing the rule of law.

The NBA calls on the two agencies to take immediate disciplinary measures against the officers involved in this disgraceful conduct. In addition, there is an urgent need for a complete overhaul of the institutions and a total reorientation of the personnel, to achieve professionalism and ensure synergy in the discharge of their respective constitutional responsibilities,

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) remains committed to the promotion and protection of the principles of the rule of law and due process, within a safe and secured Nigeria.

Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, OON, SAN

PRESIDENT

The former governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose has reacted to the clash between the operatives of the Department of State Service and officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS).

Naija News recalls that a fight broke out between the secret police and prison officials on Tuesday after Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos admitted the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele bail in the sum of N20m.

DSS operatives and prison officials fought over the custody of the suspended CBN governor.

Fayose in his reaction to the development in a post on his Twitter account assured that President Bola Tinubu would take decisive actions over the actions of the operatives of the DSS.

The former governor revealed that it was necessary so that the secret police wouldn’t begin to give his government a bad name.

Fayose wrote, “The DSS act of lawlessness at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos today, should be condemned by all lovers of democracy and rule of law in the country. It is painful that the DSS is yet to come to terms with the fact that the President of Nigeria today, is a product of struggles for democracy and won’t superintend over any act of lawlessness.

“The actions of the DSS today are no doubt bringing a negative image to the Govt and I’m sure that President Tinubu will act swiftly to curb their excesses so that they don’t give his govt bad name just as they did to the immediate past government. This is a function of failed or power-drunk leadership in the DSS. It’s time for the President to act.

“No doubt, I am not a fan of Emefiele’s actions as CBN Governor which threw Nigerians into untold hardships with the politically motivated change of Naira notes. However, it behooves on leaders of this country to speak out against acts capable of undermining democracy and the rule of law.

“Nigeria is under civil authority and security agencies, especially the DSS should be properly guided to purge themselves of this display of overzealousness.

“The DSS men that participated in today’s show of shame should be promptly brought to book. More so that it happened within the sacred premises of the court.

“Most importantly, restructuring of the Organization is imperative for today Nigeria that is desirous of deepening democratic governance.”

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ministerial list will be delivered to the Senate on Thursday, it has been learnt.

The Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele disclosed this while giving a response at his 60th Anniversary Lecture and Book Presentation titled: “Leadership through communication” in Abuja.

Bamidele, who appreciated his guests for supporting and honouring him, however, said Tinubu who was billed to be the father of the day called to say he could not make it to the event because of ongoing work to ensure that the ministerial list is delivered to the Senate in the next 48 hours.

Bamidele said: “At 10.03 am this morning, Mr President, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was on the phone. He said to me Opeyemi, … I need to make myself unavailable in the next 48 hours because a correspondence must come to the Senate, a very crucial correspondence.

“Mr President prayed for me. He asked me to give the phone to my wife and he prayed for my wife.

“And said the two of us should join the rest of Nigerians and pray for him to be able to make the right decision on the list in 24 hours so that when Nigerians hear the list of his ministers they will say yes, this is uncommon.

“So join us in praying for Mr. President. He needed to be away from any kind of influence. I tell you that prayer means a lot to my family and pray God will grant him all the wisdom in taking his decision…”

Senate President Goodwill Akpabio lauded Bamidele for his loyalty to Tinubu for over 30 years when he served as an aide to him in the National Assembly in 1992.