Auwal Sankara, commissioner for special duties in Jigawa, has denied allegations of having an illicit affair with a married woman.

On Friday, the Kano state Hisbah board said Sankara was arrested at an uncompleted building over an alleged illicit affair with a married woman in Kano.

Abba Sufi, the director general of Hisbah, alleged the commissioner’s arrest stemmed from the woman’s brother-in-law’s complaint, accusing him of improper conduct.

Sufi added that prosecution of the commissioner would begin on Monday in a competent court of law.

Reacting to the allegation in a statement, the commissioner dismissed it as “false, malicious and baseless.”

Sankara vowed to take legal action against those behind the allegations, adding that their aim was to damage his reputation.

“My attention has been drawn to a recent media report alleging that I, Auwal D. Sankara, Commissioner for Special Duties in the Jigawa State Government, have been arrested by the Kano Hisbah Command on charges of having an affair with a married woman,” the statement reads.

“I wish to categorically state that these allegations are entirely false, baseless, and malicious, aimed at tarnishing my reputation.

“I urge the general public to disregard this fabricated story, which has been concocted by certain political elements to damage my character and integrity.

“As a married man, I have the utmost respect for the institution of marriage and would never engage in actions that violate its sanctity. I remain committed to upholding the values and principles that I stand for.

“I am taking this matter seriously and will pursue legal action against those responsible for spreading this false information and attempting to cause harm to my person.”

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has awarded N70 million against the Nigerian police for firing a stray bullet that killed a nursing mother in a landmark judgement that caps over 20 years of litigation.

Justice G. Olotu, on Friday, ordered the police to pay N10 million as general damages, N50 million as punitive damages and N10 million litigation to a 24-year-old man whose mother was fatally shot in 2000.

In that year, Margaret Achalla was bathing her baby in the Utako area of Abuja when she was struck by a stray bullet fired by a uniformed police officer. She slumped and began to bleed.

Rather than take the victim to a hospital, the officers fled, leaving her to bleed to death.

Rights lawyer and activist Abubakar Marshal of Falana and Falana Chambers took on the case in 2001 and sued the police to pay for damages.

The suit was backed with hard evidence, including the extracted bullet, pictures of the leg that was shot, x-ray report, medical reports and hospital invoices, all of which were contained in the proof of claim.

Due to the overwhelming evidence presented before the Court, Mr Olotu ruled that Ms Achalla’s death was unlawful and unconstitutional.

Consequently, he awarded a total of N70 million against the police; N10 million as general damages, N50 million as punitive damages and N10 million as cost of litigation.

Furthermore, he ordered that the police pay five per cent interest until the damages were fully liquidated.

The Naira yesterday depreciated to N1,725 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,710 per dollar on Thursday.

However, the Naira appreciated to N1,600.78 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM fell to N1,600.78 per dollar from N1,660.49 per dollar on Thursday, indicating N59.71 appreciation for the naira.

The volume of dollars traded (turnover) in the official market grew by 6.2 per cent to $350.72 million from $330.18 million traded on Thursday.

Says, N14m not enough for monthly Senatorial responsibilities

Abia North senator, Orji Uzor Kalu has again expressed his support for a single term of six years for presidents and state governors, saying such an arrangement would reduce the cost of governance while also fostering rapid development.

Noting that the current system of two tenures of four years each is expensive and usually distracts elected officials from concentrating on governance, the former Abia governor also spoke on the emoluments of senators, which he said was not enough to fund their activities.

Kalu spoke on Thursday evening on a Channels Television programme, ‘Politics Today’, monitored in Abuja.

He said; “When I was governor, I called for a single term of six years. Remember, President Obasanjo said I was after him. That was part of the beginning of our quarrel. I advocated for that because of the cost of going for re-election, because of managing the economy. Because when you become a governor or a president, their eyes are on re-election.

They are not even thinking about what people will do or what people will get. Every politician is looking for re-election. So, the only way to solve this problem is by giving no incentive to anybody, doing one term of six years. It will go a long way in boosting performance because most of people think they need to make money for re-election.

In my minority opinion – I don’t know the majority opinion – I think most politicians are looking forward to the next election”.

Kalu advised the government to scale down on unnecessary expenditures, including aid given to other countries and regional institutions ‘N14m monthly for everything’

The senator who took exceptions to accusations that the Godswill Akpabio-led Senate was simply a rubber-stamp for the Executive, also dismissed allegations of bogus remuneration and vehicles for senators.
“I am in the Senate and a lot of things are said about the Senators and I sit there quietly and watch and most of these things are not true. Some senators were given aid to buy vehicles and those who could afford it upgraded them. I didn’t get a vehicle. There is nothing like official vehicles. They buy vehicles for the committees. We are elected, yet we don’t have vehicles but you have someone who is appointed and he moves in a convoy of six vehicles.

“We are doing a lot because in our constituencies if somebody is sick, they will come to us, if somebody’s child cannot go to school, they will come to us for school fees. So, the way we look down on legislators is something I cannot believe. As a senator, I earn N14 million monthly and it covers everything. That is, my salary, my overhead, the workers’ salaries, everything. From this money, I have to buy fuel to move to my constituency, I have to maintain my constituency offices, I have to sit in the constituency etc. It is not enough”.

On whether he was proud of what his party, the All Progressives Congress APC was delivering to Nigerians today, he said! “yes and no because my party is very unlucky. My party has done very well in the things they can do in the indices of the economy. The government is not continuing from where Buhari stopped. That is where the difficulty comes in.

They are trying to reform the economy. They are trying to bring back the economy to where it is supposed to be but it is bringing hardship to our people. The president himself knows that Nigerians are suffering. The president knows that Nigerians are hungry. The president knows. He is a street person. He knows the streets very well. The president, some nights, uses his car to go around in Abuja to know what is happening. He is not a president that is locked up in a room”.

He also denied reports of a rift between him and President Tinubu as well as alleged moves to impeach the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, saying there were no such plans.

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), says the future of Nigerian youths does not lie abroad.

Speaking during a public lecture organised to commemorate the 90th birthday of Yabuku Gowon, ex-military head of state, on Friday, Adesina said Nigeria mustfix reasons for the massive exodus of Nigeria’s young and innovative talents by creating a stable microeconomic environment.

He said with consistent and sustainable government policies, Nigeria can become globally competitive.

“The Japa syndrome risks unravelling Nigeria’s capacities unless urgent actions are taken to stem the tide. In 2022, a survey by TechCabal says 47 percent of the tech professionals in Nigeria indicated a desire to leave the country by 2024,” he said.

“There is no doubt that this will seriously hamper Nigeria’s technological capacity or its readiness in the fourth industrial revolution and its ability to move into higher ends industries such as electronics, semi-conductors, development of appliances and machinery and of course space exploration.

“We must fix the reasons for the massive exodus of Nigeria’s young and innovative talents. This requires a stable microeconomic environment, strong infrastructure, more attractive salaries, state-of-the-art facilities and technology hubs, support for innovation and entrepreneurship, enhanced talents and fiscal incentives.

“We must do this with our eyes fixated on what we can potentially be. Not just in West Africa, not just in Africa but the world. We must decisevely annex and turn Nigeria’s demographic asset into a talent dividends.

“We must become a global Nigeria, brimming with talents, skills and entrepreneurship capacities that is powered by clear and consistent and sustainable government policies to become a globally competetive and to retain our young talents.

“If we are to drive growth and competitiveness globally. I’m not against immigration but I don’t believe that the future of Nigeria’s youth or that of Africa, lies in Europe, America, China or anywhere else.”

Adesina said the future of the youth lies in “Nigeria growing very well with equitable growth”.

A yet-to-be-identified man has succumbed to the injuries he sustained after falling into a canal in an attempt to escape arrest by policemen who reportedly labelled him a fraudster in the Ayobo area of Ipaja, Lagos State.

City Round gathered that a friend to the wife of the deceased man claimed in a series of tweets on X.com that two policemen had been detained in connection with the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, however, said he was not aware of such claim when our correspondent contacted him for confirmation on Friday.

It was learnt that the man was accused of being an Internet fraudster by plain-clothed policemen due to his tattoos.

The victim, who was unconscious at the time he was rescued from the canal, was rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja GRA, where he reportedly died.

This was disclosed in a series of tweets posted on X.com on Thursday by a user, Omorhemi, who said she was a friend of the deceased’s wife.

“Yesterday morning, the police chased my friend’s husband till he fell into the canal. They took his slippers and money that fell and left when people started shouting. This happened at the Federal Bus Stop, Ipaja, Ayobo axis. He is currently unconscious at LASUTH.

“The officers were on mufti. They stopped him on a bike, and the bike man left. They searched him insisting he is a Yahoo boy because of his tattoos and started cocking their guns that they will shoot him, he started moving away saying he was not and they started following him till he ran.

“According to eyewitnesses, he stopped and they searched him, they didn’t see anything but insisted he is a Yahoo boy and started cocking their guns; he didn’t even run till they started trying to hit him. He was moving away gently till they started running and he slipped,” Omorhemi wrote.

Reacting to the video on Thursday evening, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the incident had not yet been reported at the police station but noted that an investigation was still ongoing.

He wrote, “Since we saw this video, we have been making concerted efforts to verify this claim but nothing has turned up yet. We have checked our records and no report has been made till now of this incident that the narrator explained happened yesterday. Nonetheless, our investigation is ongoing.

“The Area Commander covering that entire axis is personally on it. Anyone with additional and useful information should please reach out to us. We will keep the public updated on our findings.”

However, sharing an update in a series of tweets on Friday, Omorhemi announced that the man died late on Wednesday night while at the hospital.

She wrote, “He has given up! I’m yet to tell the wife as of now. Nigerian Police! Nigerian Police!! I am not pleased to inform you that this young man died in the middle of the night on Wednesday few hours after the incident.

“The wife went to the police station, Area P to report and the officers asked her if they were the ones that pushed him. She couldn’t wait as she wasn’t stable while still trying to get her husband to receive the best treatment.

“All hands have been on deck to make sure the man survived which was why follow-up at the station was not done. There are eyewitnesses on this platform that saw the incident unfold.”

In another tweet posted by Omorhemi on Friday afternoon, she disclosed that two of the officers who allegedly chased the man had been detained.

“Thanks to some eyewitnesses who have been able to point out two from the officers and the cooperation of their DPO, they have been taken and detained at Area M where the Area commander is @ Benjamin Hundeyin and Olumuyiwa Adejobi,” she wrote.

When our correspondent called Hundeyin to confirm the detention of the policemen as claimed by Omorhemi, he said, “I am aware of such.”

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $100 million for the establishment of the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank in Nigeria.

Akinwunmi Adesina, AfDB president, spoke on Friday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at the 90th birthday lecture of former head of state Yakubu Gowon.

“I am delighted to announce here today that just three days ago, the African Development Bank’s board of directors approved $100m for the establishment of the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank for Nigeria,” he said.

Adesina said the initiative highlights AfDB’s commitment to supporting youths who he believes are critical to the development of the country.

The AfDB boss said the new bank will support the youths’ businesses in Nigeria using technical assistance, business incubation, quasi-equity, and debt.

Additionally, the bank will deploy guarantee instruments to de-risk the lending to the businesses by financial institutions in Nigeria.

“It will be a new day and a new dawn for Nigeria,” he added.

On June 25, 2023, Adesina said his institution was ready to establish an entrepreneurship investment bank in Nigeria.

Adesina said the establishment of such a bank is in alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s plans and vision for young people in Nigeria.

Days after the cancellation of the second leg of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and Libya’s national team, members of the Nigerian community in Libya have lamented maltreatment in the country.

The Nigerian contingent was held at the Al-Abraq Airport in eastern Libya for over 20 hours upon arrival on Sunday, following their earlier 1-0 victory in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

The team was scheduled to land at the Benghazi Airport and travel for nearly four hours by road to Benina, where the match was to be played.

However, less than an hour before landing, the Tunisian pilot flying the plane reportedly received a directive from “Libya’s highest authorities” to divert the flight to Al-Abraq Airport, located 150 miles away from the destination. 

The development sparked widespread outrage, forcing the Nigerian Football Federation to withdraw the Super Eagles from the qualifying match.

The National Assembly condemned the Libyan government for subjecting the Nigerian team to dehumanising treatment and called for stiff penalties for the Libyan authorities.

The Libyan government had claimed that its national team faced similar maltreatment on Nigerian soil before the first leg of the game. 

In separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH, members of the Nigerian community in Libya said there had been increased maltreatment of Nigerians after the incident.

Adenaike Emmanuel, a Nigerian living in Tripoli, the country’s capital, said, “For those of us who have been in the country, we know them. Libyans always one you to feel pain. They said what happened to their players in Nigeria was intentional, and they vowed to revenge. They called it ‘an eye for an eye.’ So, what the Libyan government did to the Super Eagles was intentional. Moreover, 95 per cent of their citizens supported it. We saw the reports on their blogs,Facebook posts, and news platforms. It was very clear that the people supported it. And that is how they behave.

“Since the game was cancelled, their maltreatment of Nigerians has not changed. They don’t like us; the inhuman treatment has worsened. That’s why many Nigerians here are battling depression.

“Libyans don’t value us. They just enter our houses, round people up, and take them to prison. Many Nigerians are currently  languishing in prisons across Libya without having committed any offence. Most times, we complain to the Nigerian embassy, but nothing tangible happens.”

The International Organisation for Migration has facilitated the return of thousands of Nigerians from Libya in recent years.

In 2024 alone, no fewer than 2,467 Nigerians were evacuated from the North African country after being stranded. Many of the victims, particularly ladies, usually return with tales of abuse and maltreatment.

The president of the Nigerian community, Peter Omoregbie, said since the failed game with the Super Eagles, Libyans had continued with their harsh treatment of Nigerians in the country.

He said, “As foreigners in this country, there is a way they maltreat us. The Libyans act as if Nigerians don’t exist at all. Since the match was cancelled, the situation has not changed.”

Omoregbie said before the Super Eagles left Nigeria, the Libyans had already threatened to treat the team poorly upon arrival.

“The news had spread all over Libya before the Super Eagles left Nigeria. All the local Libyan news outlets reported it. Their blogs also widely shared the news. They claimed the NFF purposely made the Libyan national team players endure physical discomfort so they could be weak before the match and unable to either draw or win against the Nigerian team.

“The Libyans’ game plan for the two-leg matches was to draw with the Super Eagles in Nigeria then win at home. They saw the Nigerian game as their last hope for qualification. But their loss fuelled their resolve to seek revenge.

“So, before the Nigerian team arrived, it was common knowledge that the Libyan national team was maltreated in Nigeria, and they planned to make the Super Eagles experience the same treatment on Libyan soil,” Omoregbie added.

When asked if the incident would impact diplomatic relations between the two countries, he said, “Libya doesn’t always fulfill its diplomatic obligations to other countries. I’m telling you the truth. For instance, if you leave this country, there is no way they will allow you to return. That has been the ordeal we face here.”

Similarly, a former Secretary of the Nigerian community in Libya, Mr Ukpong Christian, noted that it had been difficult for Nigerians to integrate into Libyan society because the country was not friendly.

“Before the Nigerian team landed, the Libyans had already made plans, spreading it across blogs, news platforms, and Facebook pages, saying that because their national team was treated badly in Nigeria, the Nigerian team would experience worse when they came. So, it was a concerted and intentional effort. And since the game was cancelled, Nigerians have continued to receive the usual inhuman treatment from their Libyan masters,” he lamented.

Efforts by our correspondent to speak to the Libyan embassy in Abuja proved abortive.

A representative of the embassy, identified by TrueCaller as Rose, declined comment, saying she was not authorised to speak on the matter.

She promised to get back to Saturday PUNCH, but was yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.

Ex-envoys weigh in

Reacting to the issue, a former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Yemi Farounbi, said diplomacy is based on bilateral relationships and mutual respect between countries.

“I bow to you because you bow to me. Diplomatic relationships between two countries are based on reciprocal action,” he stated. 

Farounbi noted that what happened between Libya and Nigeria was not only an affront to bilateral relations but also a violation of multilateral relations between the African Union and the Confederation of African Football.

He explained that going to such extremes to win a psychological battle as a prelude to winning on the football field, was pathetic.

The ambassador added, “It shows the uncivilised and undiplomatic level to which Libya has sunk. On a bilateral level, it would be perfectly in order for Nigeria to reciprocate accordingly. It would not be unusual if the Libyan government’s behaviour impacts negatively the relationship between the two countries.

“At the multilateral level of CAF, it would be appropriate and indeed expected that Libya be sanctioned with a heavy fine or possibly, a suspension from CAF-organised competitions. The diplomatic misbehaviour could have been ameliorated if Libya had shown remorse and apologised.”

He stressed that Libya compounded the issue by distorting facts and manipulating the situation.

Also speaking, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Mexico, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, advised that the matter should not be allowed to escalate.

He said, “It can only become a diplomatic issue if it goes beyond the control of the Confederation of African Football.

“It was a CAF qualifier game. They should be able to weigh in and settle the issue. If either Nigeria or Libya is found guilty, they should be sanctioned. There’s no reason to let this matter escalate into a diplomatic dispute. We’re not a banana republic; CAF should provide a solution.”

CAF’s involvement

Meanwhile, CAF has set a deadline for Libya and Nigeria to submit reports on the dispute.

The Secretary-General of the Libyan Football Federation, Nasser Al-Suwaie, confirmed the October 20 deadline in a statement.

He mentioned that the LFF had appointed a lawyer to gather evidence and raised concerns about possible collusion between some parties within CAF.

Al-Suwaie also clarified that the LFF had no role in diverting the plane to Al-Abraq Airport, explaining that the decision was made by the Libyan state, which he said must be respected.

A sports analyst, Godwin Enakhena, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, emphasised the need for patience as CAF works through the case.

He said, “They have set a department to work on this case. So, I think we should just wait for CAF’s verdict before jumping to conclusions.

“However, as a Nigerian, I think the rules are very clear when you are hosting a team. The hosts are supposed to ensure that everything is sorted, but the Libyans did not do all of this. I think there will be a fine for Libya, and after that, they will play the game on a neutral ground.”

A veteran sports presenter, Charles Anazodo, viewed the situation as a deliberate act by the Libyan side, orchestrated from the beginning of their visit to Nigeria.

“I think it was a deliberate act orchestrated right from when they came to Nigeria with the lies they spread about things that happened in Uyo or Port Harcourt. They orchestrated all that so they would have reason to do what they have done,” Anazodo told Saturday PUNCH.

Meanwhile, a former Super Eagles defender, Mobi Oparaku, believes that CAF will ultimately refrain from imposing sanctions on Nigeria regarding the cancellation of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya.

While the decision from the disciplinary body is still pending, he is optimistic about the outcome and believes that Nigeria’s historical reputation as a gracious host to visiting teams will play a significant role in the deliberations.