A legal practitioner, Maxwell Opara, has filed an alleged defamatory suit seeking N10 billion in damages against Twitter and the State Security Service.
In the writ of summons marked FCT/HC/CV/7186/23 and filed at the FCT High Court by Malachy Nwaekpe, Mr Opara listed Twitter Nigeria Limited and the SSS director-general as the first and second defendants, respectively.
The SSS, the attorney general of the federation, and the justice minister are listed as 3rd and 4th defendants in the suit dated August 11 and filed August 14.
The lawyer filed the suit against the allegation that Twitter, now known as X, “negligently allowed the defamatory, ethnic profiling, and racist comments against” him by the SSS under the leadership of its director-general on the security agency’s platform on July 18 for more than 96 hours.
Mr Opara, who alleged that the post was caused to be published and made viral to millions of readers, described the message as “false, defamatory, demeaning, disparaging and harmful.”
He, therefore, sought eight reliefs which include “an order of this honourable court directing the second and third defendants (the secret police’s director-general and SSS), jointly and severally, to issue a letter of apology on the first defendant’s platform Twitter and a daily newspaper widely read across the federation of Nigeria.
Mr Opara sought an order of the court directing the defendants to pay N10 billion as damages for the various defamatory, demeaning, disparaging, and harmful words of the third defendant under the leadership of the second defendant, which words were published and caused to go viral by the 1st defendant on its Twitter platform.
“An award of 10 per cent post-judgment interest per annum on the entire judgment sum from the date of judgment till the same is fully liquidated,” stated Mr Opara.
The matter was yet to be assigned to a judgment at the time of the report.
In the tweet, SSS said, “Charge and bail, overzealous uninformed IPOB/ESN lawyer Maxwell Okpara mobilises other like-minded lawyers against DGSS. Futile Efforts. Well, Nigerians, beware! This is in bad faith. Transferred aggression.”
It added, “A Biafran republic agitator and outlawed IPOB counsel defending the suspended CBN governor. Is IPOB defending one of theirs? What a contradiction. What’s the connection? May Maxwell be properly educated on points of law, please.”
(NAN)
Leaders of the Muslim Community in Lagos on Wednesday staged a protest to the State House of Assembly over the recent list of 39 commissioner-nominees released by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The Muslim community had earlier voiced out against the list which has eight Muslims and 31 Christians, saying the list is unfair to the Muslims in the state and demanded a review.
However, the state government had ignored the protest of the Muslims as the House of Assembly on Monday commenced the screening of the nominees.
On Wednesday, leaders of the Muslim Community led by the President and Elderstatesman, Prof. Tajudeen Gbadamosi, stormed the House of Assembly to protest against what they called official discrimination of the Muslims in the state.
Heads of various Islamic organisations and scholars were also in attendance at the protest where Prof. Gbadamosi presented a petition to the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa.
They were carrying banners and placards with inscriptions such as “Muslims say no to official discrimination,” “All we ask is fairness,” “Stop the Screening Now, we want Justice”, among others.
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In the petition read by the President, the Muslims expressed “grievance and dissatisfaction against the blatant disregard for justice, equity and fairness in the proposed Lagos State’ Executive cabinet as contained in the list of commissioner-nominees.
According to the group, the list “is a classic case of discrimination and religious bigotry, as it has 31 nominees who are of the Christian faith and only eight (8) nominees who are Muslims.”
“This is not a new development, especially since Governor Sanwo-Olu assumed leadership of this State, as a matter of fact, it is has been elevated to a level of official state policy to deny Muslims their deserved positions under the Sanwo-Olu administration.
“For instance, in 2019, when Mr. Sanwo-Olu became governor, he appointed 14 Special Advisers, and only one (1) among them was a Muslim. Again, his State Executive Council, which had 43 members, only 14 were Muslims, and the remaining 29 were Christians. Also, of the 23 commissioners, 10 were Muslims and 13 of them Christians. Only 15 Muslims, with 35 Christians, made up the body of 50 Permanent Secretaries in his first term. These are just a few among numerous ways in which the Sanwo-Olu administration deny Muslims in this state their rightful place and number in leadership.”
The Muslim Community observed that Sanwo-Olu’s violates the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria particularly Section 14(4) and section 192(2).
The sections say: “The composition of the Government of a State, a local government council, or any of the agencies of such Government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the Government or council or such agencies shall be carried out in such manner as to recognise the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the peoples of the Federation.”
“192(2) Any appointment to the office of Commissioner of the Government of a State shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the House of Assembly of the State, be made by the Governor of that State and in making any such appointment the Governor shall conform with the provisions of section 14(4) of this Constitution.”
Gbadamosi said, “With due respect Governor Sanwo-Olu’s list clearly violates these provisions of the Constitution and we accordingly call upon this honorable House not to endorse any action that violates our national grundnorm, especially one which equally violates good conscience and natural justice.
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“The argument that Muslims have more elected officials in Lagos State in preposterous. This is even more so at a time when all the Six (6) Governors of the southwest are Christians and we the Muslims do not complain about this, because we recognise that they contested for offices and won.
“Why must Muslims in Lagos State always beg and fight for their constitutional rights especially since Mr Sanwo-olu became Governor? We recall with utmost sadness really, that until the Supreme Court ruled in favour of hijab for our school girls, successive Lagos Governments, never felt it should endeavor to align with the global best practice of accepting hijab in addition to abiding with the rule of law.
“The historic pro-hijab judgement was delivered in March 2022 and globally acknowledged. However, Governor Sanwo-Olu’s government in its peculiar idiosyncrasy chose to ignore this until a year later, after ceaseless pressure was mounted by well-meaning individuals.
“We the Muslims of, and in Lagos State wish to categorically state that the entire leadership of the Muslim Community of Lagos State representing various Muslim organizations, unequivocally and unanimously reject the list of commissioner-designates of Governor Sanwo-Olu and we demand a reversal and review to reflect 60% in favour of Muslims in a fresh list.
“We call on the Lagos State House of Assembly to reject the list as similarly done in the Niger State House of Assembly, where a noticeably minority Christian population demanded a reversal of the list of commissioners to reflect fairness and equity to them. We also call on you and the House of Assembly to impress on the government the need to respect the diversity of the state’s population and to appoint a more representative cabinet. We believe that this is essential for the future stability and prosperity of Lagos State.”
The Kano State Government has mandated the suspension of school fees increase for all private schools operating in the state.
The schools are also expected to renew their operating licenses in line with Governor Abba Yusuf’s policy on quality education in the state.
This is coming after the Special Adviser to the Kano State Government on Private Schools, Baba Umar, had a meeting with private schools stakeholders.
Umar noted that the suspension of increment of school fees for private schools is to ensure that there are no exploitations.
Kano schools are currently on holidays as school owners are looking forward to wards resumption for the first time in a new session after the price hike on commodities due to subsidy removal. However, some school owners and parents have mixed feelings on the government’s decision.
The federal capital territory (FCT) command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it intercepted about 3,091.032 kg of “illicit drugs” between January and August.
Kabir Tsakuwa, NDLEA FCT commandant, disclosed this during an interview with NAN on Wednesday in Abuja.
Tsakuwa said the drugs were worth over N56.9 million.
The commandant said the seized drugs included cannabis sativa, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, tramadol, rohypnol, diazepam, ecstasy, and megadon, adding that cannabis sativa accounted for the largest seizure.
He also said 343 drug suspects —328 males and 15 females — were arrested within the period under review.
Tsakuwa also said 188 drug offenders were prosecuted, while 126 had been convicted and sentenced to various jail terms in the period under review.
“Drugs seized were cannabis sativa 3,022.529 kilograms, cocaine 0.114 kilograms, Methamphetamine 1.25 kilograms, Heroin 0.0021 kilograms,” he said.
“We also seized suspected Tramadol 18.578 kilograms, Rohypnol 1.195 kilograms, Diazepam 4.471 kilograms, Ecstasy 0.113 kilograms and Megadon 0.263 kilograms.
“The monetary value of these drugs stands at approximately N56, 903, 600) only.”
He added that 33 persons with drug use disorder were rehabilitated, while 102 drug users had been counselled and released within the period.
Tsakuwa added that the agency would collaborate with other security agencies within the FCT to dislodge shanties and hot spots.
[TheCable]
The Kebbi State Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has seized 4,200 litres of petrol, 46 bags of foreign rice, 88 bales of second clothes, and other smuggled items.
The Command also handed over 81 tablets of Cannabis sativa, 138 packs of tramadol to National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in the state.
Addressing newsmen at the Command’s headquarters, the state Comptroller of Customs, Ben Oramalugo, said the items were seized during routine operations at various borders along the state.
He noted that though the closure of Kamba border and other borders close to Niger Republic has affected the revenue drive of the Customs.
The official added that the duty paid value of the seized items was estimated at N51.4m.
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has said the ‘Emilokan’ slogan will not win elections in the state.
He spoke while receiving the leaders of Edo South Senatorial District at the Government House.
President Bola Tinubu used ‘Emilokan’ during his presidential election campaign.
However, Obaseki said: “Edo people will not accept ‘Emilokan’ as a strategy in government as they are not known for that. For us, it is the people that will decide.
“What has happened in the last few months is strange, and even if you have ambition, this is not the time to express it. The timetable for the election is not out. You can’t be part of a government and also be the one to destabilise the same government.
“I thought we came together and will leave together and let the people say you have done a great job, and they will now make the decision themselves. They are the ones to say that come rain or sunshine, we must continue.
“You are telling the world one thing and yet doing another. You are loyal to your principal and yet you are in Court with your principal. Everybody has the right to be ambitious but do it the right way.”
Obaseki was apparently speaking about Philip Shaibu, his deputy. Shaibu recently dragged his principal to court to stop him from removing him from office.
The Governor had accused his deputy of manipulating youth council elections to favour his ambition of succeeding him.
The Zamfara State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has officially launched the Safe School Response Squad in the State under the Safe School Initiative program of the Commandant-General, Dr Abubakar Ahmed Audi, to revamp, restructure, rejig, rejuvenate and reposition the Corps in line with international best practices.
The State NSCDC, Commandant Sani Mustapha, averred that the maiden launch of the squad was a sequel to the directives and marching order issued by Audi in the last quarterly meeting held at the National Headquarters, Abuja, recently.
He reiterated his resolve to comply in totality with the order given by the Commandant-General of the Corps. To this end, Mustapha has branded an official vehicle for the Safe Schools Response Squad and provided all needed support.
He also said the state government had been engaged in fruitful discussions on the modalities to provide a centre for the Corps as an operational base in Zamfara State.
A former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has suggested that the Nigerian Constitution and electoral laws should be amended to make any presidential candidate who does not have over 50 per cent of total votes cast in a general election unfit for office.
Chidoka, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He claimed that the votes secured by President Bola Tinubu in the last presidential election put him in a serious minority that made it difficult for him to push a big agenda like petrol subsidy removal and the unification of the foreign exchange windows.
The former minister suggested runoffs for presidential polls where no candidate scores over 50 per cent of the total vote cast.
He said, I think we need to amend our laws to make it that any presidential candidate who doesn’t make 50 plus 1 of the votes cast in an election should go for a runoff because election of a President as 33% of the votes keeps the President in serious minority that makes him difficult to push big agenda.
Boko Haram fighters have reportedly captured 60 terrorists of the Islamic State in West Africa Province, ISWAP, including three key commanders of the sect.
The recent supremacy battle between the warring terrorist groups reportedly.
This was disclosed by Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in Lake Chad, in a post on his social media platform on Wednesday.
Zagozola said that the ISWAP terrorists were captured on their way to Damasak in Borno State, identifying the commanders as Abubakar Saddiq, Abou Maimuna and Malam Idris.
He stated that the Boko Haram Buduma factions, which had the upper hand against ISWAP in the recent turn of events, captured most of the enclaves of ISWAP, which forced them to take refuge in more fortified hideouts in the axis of Kukawa and Madayi and Kwatan Mota.
Massive Celebration hits Boko Haram camp after capturing 60 ISWAP fighters including 3 Commanders.
On Aug 13, 2023, Boko Haram faction intercepted about 60 ISWAP terrorists, including three key Commanders, Abubakar Saddiq, Abou Maimuna and Malam Idris, on their way to Damasak.
He wrote, These captives were later taken to an underground prison cell at KWATAN MOTA close to Dogon Chukwu where they were held as Prisoners of War.
Two leading opposition figures in the country, former Vice president Atiku Abubakar and a former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, recently held a meeting in Abuja.
The meeting took place at the residence of the former Governor and leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) late Tuesday.
Kwankwaso confirmed the meeting on his Facebook page, saying that “I was pleased to receive my brother, the former Vice President, His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, at my residence this evening. I thank Waziri for this fraternal visit. – RMK.”
Though details of the meeting are yet to be known as those close to the two leaders have kept sealed lips, Daily Trust gathered that the meeting might not be unconnected with the political situation in the country and recent developments.
Before taking oath of office, President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) met with Kwankwaso, his NNPP rival in the election.
According to sources, the president considering a Government of National Unity and had planned to include Kwankwaso and some of his allies in his administration.
However, neither Kwankwaso nor any of his known associates made the ministerial list, while the immediate past governor of Kano, Abdullahi Ganduje, a known political foe of Kwankwaso, had some impute in the cabinet.
After Tinubu met with Kwankwaso, Ganduje had expressed worries, saying he felt abandoned.
In a leaked conversation, Ganduje was heard telling Alhaji Ibrahim Masari, one of Tinubu’s aides that there was noise all over Kano over the meeting between Tinubu and Kwankwaso.
The governor was then heard saying, “What could I have told him? Now he (Tinubu) is seeing Kwankwaso as an alternative to us? No problem. Because we don’t have a government? And it is even because of him (Tinubu) that we lost the government. Even if he would see him (Kwankwaso), he ought to have called us too. Or don’t you understand, even if symbolically.”
But Ganduje’s body language changed in the following weeks as he warmed his way into Tinubu’s camp, emerging National Chairman of the ruling party and also nominating a replacement for Maryam Shetty, the nominee who was dropped for the inclusion of Gnduje’s former commissioner in Tinubu’s cabinet.
Before the election Atiku and his allies tried to form a political alliance with Kwankwaso against the APC and its presidential candidate, but that was not to materialize.
Even though a source close to the former Vice President told Daily Trust that the meeting was just for fraternal greetings, the days ahead will show weather a new political alliance is already in the offing.
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Aviation workers under the umbrella of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) have suspended their plans to embark on strike by August 16.
Mr Ocheme Oba, General Secretary, NUATE, confirmed the development in a statement issued on Wednesday in Lagos.
NUATE had, in a circular issued on August 15, said aviation security workers would embark on an indefinite nationwide strike over poor wages.
The circular revealed that the workers are usually paid a meagre N30,000 monthly, noting that the wage was insufficient, thereby bringing untold hardship to the workers.
Oba disclosed that the union had sent a letter to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, informing it of the union’s decision to embark on industrial action.
He said that after receipt of the letter, the authority intervened in the matter and requested a week to deliberate on the workers’ demands.
The Union’s scribe said the NCAA had promised to organise a meeting between the union, private security firms and the airlines.
Former Emir of Kano, Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi II has said Nigerians should not allow themselves to be intimated by a president or state governors.
Sanusi, who is the Head of the Tijaniyya sect, said Nigerians are not subordinate human beings because they opt to ignore politics.
In a statement he issued, the former Central Bank Governor said Nigerians would have no country to call their own if they fail to break away from the shackles of the political leaders.
According to Sanusi, We cannot be intimidated by somebody because you are a president or you are a governor and we cannot tell you that you are wrong.
We have chosen different parts. If I had gone into politics, at least given the people that have access to be president in Nigeria, I could have become president or I could be governor.
That I choose not to go into politics does not mean I’m a subordinate human being. This is what we all have to learn as Nigerians. We take too much rubbish, and we are all too afraid in our comfort zones.
By the time these guys might have finished with us, our children will not have anywhere to call a nation. The only way to retrieve our nation and give our children the future they deserve is, if you are not in politics, you must hold those in politics to account.
It is not a comfortable situation to be in. When people are incompetent and they don’t like you, you wear their dislike as a badge of honour. You can’t be comfortable and feel normal in a distortional environment.
A notorious terrorist, Dogo Gide, and his members have claimed responsibility for shooting down a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helicopter near Chukuba Ward in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
Naija News earlier reported that a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft, on Monday, took off from Kaduna en route to Minna, the Niger state capital when the incident occurred at about 1:00 pm.
In a statement on Monday, the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Edward Gabkwet, said the aircraft was on a casualty evacuation mission when the crash happened.
He said that the aircraft had departed Zungeru Primary School en route Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed near Chukuba Village in Niger state.
But in a viral video allegedly recorded at the site of Monday’s Air Force jet crash, Gide, and his group claimed responsibility for the accident.
In the less-than-three minutes clip, the terrorists claimed they killed dozens of soldiers on the plane.
The video showed terrorists wielding AK-47s. The aircraft had the inscription NAF 582.
The narrator said: “These are bodies belonging to soldiers of the Nigerian Army who attacked us with the intention of causing us harm.
“They did this to see the downfall of Dogo Gide and by God’s grace, he is still alive and won’t die.
“These are dozens of soldiers as you can see them. This is their airplane. Repent, we have no business with anyone except those who try to come for us. This is God’s work. We used an AK-47 to bring down this plane.
“Take a look at them. Let this be a lesson. You all should repent. It is not our intention to kill but for everyone to be enlightened and have the fear of God. Leaders who sent these soldiers our way to be killed by us should repent.
“We won’t surrender from pressure or even an aeroplane. Dogo Gide, who is their target, won’t die now. He is still alive. These are the AK-47s we used to bring down this plane.
“We opened fire when we sighted them and they did the same. Repent and fear God. We pray for God’s mercy at all times. This is God’s work and not ours as you can see.”
A resident, Simon Bulus, told The Nation: “The Dogo Gide terrorist group operates in the forest.”
“When we heard continuous gunshots, we took to our heels. But we saw shots being fired at the helicopter,” a resident, Haruna Ibrahim, said.
In a notable turn of events that sent shockwaves across the cryptocurrency community, Binance, a prominent player in the crypto space, has announced its decision to shut down its fiat-to-crypto payments platform, Binance Connect.
This unexpected move comes amidst a broader slowdown in the crypto market, attributed to underlying structural issues within the digital landscape.
Recent market fluctuations have been a rollercoaster ride, with prices experiencing swings in response to various factors. The past 24 hours witnessed a market slump, following a brief upward trend observed over the preceding 7 days, according to the latest market reports.
Within this timeframe, a staggering total of 60,786 traders found themselves in liquidation, resulting in a cumulative liquidation volume of approximately $134.86 million USD.
The most significant liquidation event occurred on the Binance platform involving the ETHUSDT trading pair, with a hefty sum of $2.34 million USD involved.
Today, a chapter comes to an end for Binance Connect, the regulated avenue for purchasing and selling cryptocurrencies affiliated with the Binance exchange.
The decision to terminate operations for @Binance_Connect, effective August 15th, stemmed from the platform’s service provider discontinuing support for card payment services. Speaking on this development, a Binance spokesperson stated:
- “Our continuous evaluation of products and services ensures the alignment of our resources with our long-term strategic objectives at Binance. Over the past six years, Binance has evolved from a mere exchange into a global blockchain ecosystem, encompassing diverse business segments. We remain agile in adapting our business strategy to cater to evolving market dynamics and user preferences.”
Launched under the name “Bifinity” on March 7, 2022, Binance Connect served as an intermediary, facilitating fiat-to-crypto transactions by bridging the gap between the cryptocurrency sphere and conventional financial systems.
Resultantly, Bitcoin’s value encountered a dip over the past 24 hours, resting at approximately $29,000. However, it’s noteworthy that Bitcoin’s dominance over alternative coins (altcoins) has substantially increased.
This rise in dominance is attributed to the ongoing downturn in most altcoins, including notables like XRP, meme-inspired coins, EOS, and Solana, which have experienced losses of up to 5%.
Not long ago, Bitcoin surged by more than $1,500, touching a multi-week high above $30,000. Despite this rally, Bitcoin’s momentum faltered, leading to a significant drop the following day.
Interestingly, the cryptocurrency demonstrated stability over the week despite limited trading activity.
Furthermore, analytical chart patterns illustrate Bitcoin’s struggle to break free from the tight trading range hovering between $29,200 and $29,500, resulting in a lack of heightened price volatility, as anticipated.
This period of price calm for Bitcoin coincides with a decline in trading volume and year-on-year volatility for Bitcoin derivatives.
The 30-day average trading volume for both Bitcoin options and futures has hit its lowest point since January 2023, totalling approximately $487.37 million and $16.7 billion, respectively.
Amidst these fluctuations, industry experts remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s prospects.
Analysts at Delphi Digital assert that a consolidation phase akin to the period between 2015 and 2017 is underway around the $30,000 mark, with indicators pointing towards a potential all-time high (ATH) for Bitcoin in Q4 2024.
In parallel news, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seems to be inching closer to greenlighting the launch of a Bitcoin Spot ETF investment vehicle after a protracted period of regulatory compliance.
In a strategic move, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, has furnished additional details to its Bitcoin ETF applications currently under SEC review.
This development has rekindled investor interest in the cryptocurrency realm both nationally and globally.
Taking a proactive stance, the company has forged a “supervisory sharing agreement” with Coinbase, a significant player in the crypto exchange arena.
This decision comes on the back of reports suggesting the SEC’s openness to considering ETF applications structured under such arrangements.
BlackRock joins the ranks of several entities awaiting regulatory approval for their crypto ETF submissions within the SEC’s domain.
Among them, ARK Invest, helmed by CEO Cathie Wood, submitted an application for an ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF listing in May 2023.
The company has recently faced a regulatory setback, encountering an additional 21-day delay from the SEC, providing the regulator with a three-week window to open the proposal for public input.