A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to a Facebook content creator , Chioma Okoli, in the sum of N5 million with two sureties.

Okoli was arraigned on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 before Justice Peter Lifu but was later remanded at Suleja Correctional Center in Abuja.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the two counts of conspiracy and cyberstalking levelled against her.

In his ruling on the bail application filed by her lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, on Friday, the judge granted her bail with two sureties in like sum.

Justice Lifu held that one of the sureties must be her spouse or blood relations and must be resident in Abuja with verified means of livelihood.

She must also deposit her passport with the court, if she has one.

The court held that the ruling was predicated on Section 365 (5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended on the presumption of innocence. The court held that denying her bail would be a wrong application of discretion and tantamount to pre-trial judgment and judicial rascality.

Naija News reports that the case has been adjourned to June 13, 2024 for trial.

Recall that the CEO of Erisco Foods Limited, Eric Omeofia, alleged in 2023 that a negative product review made by Chioma Okoli adversely impacted his business after she said that the Nagiko Tomato Mix she bought had too much sugar.

Okoli was arrested by the police in September 2023 with her lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, raising the alarm that the fundamental rights of his client were being breached by the police and Omeofia.

A 40-year-old Nigerian s3x worker, Rose Ikem, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment with hard labour by a Circuit Court at Asokwa, Kumasi, Ghana, for trafficking young girls from Nigeria to Konongo in the Ashanti region for pr*stitution.

Ikem, who was convicted of human trafficking and assault this week, will also compensate four of her victims, whom she lured from Nigeria, for GHȼ24,000 with each of them receiving GHȼ6,000.00. 

Her latest victims were aged between 17 and 24 years.

According to police prosecution, the convict has been trafficking young girls from Nigeria to Konongo, deploying them into pr*stitution, with some of them being subjected to abuse.

On April 23, 2024, police received a complaint from a resident of Konongo about the treatment being meted out to the victims by the convict.

Police proceeded to the Konongo SSNIT area residence of Ikem but met her absence.

According to ASP Stephen Ofori who led the police prosecution, the police detected that the victims were locked up in a room, and the whereabout of Ikem was unknown.

Police then laid an ambush until she resurfaced and was subsequently arrested.

When she was forced to open the room, police rescued two victims (name withheld) with the two others who ran away being rescued the following day, with the help of the complainant

The court, presided over by His Honour Fred Obikyere, was told how Ikem tasked her victims, who had worked between three months and two weeks, to make a daily remittance of GHȼ500 to her. This amounted to a total of GHȼ89,000.

According to ASP Ofori, any time the victims failed to meet their target, Ikem assaulted them physically, causing one of the victims to fracture her left hand.

The court sentenced her to 5 years with hard labour for trafficking and 12 months for causing harm. Both sentences will run concurrently.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano, Alhassan Yaryasa has called for the reconciliation of two former governors and the political leaders in the state, Abdullahi Ganduje and Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Yaryasa opined that the duo must sheath their sword if they want the people of Kano to live in peace.

The APC chieftain stated this during an interview with Punch in Kano.

According to him, Kano indigenes are after the progress and development of the state.

He stressed that it is the prayers of the Islamic scholars and other well-meaning Nigerians that are sustaining the current peace in Kano since the coming of the administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.

“Kano people want to live in peace, and they are after the progress and development of the state. There is the need for them – Kwankwaso and Ganduje – to forgive each other in order for Kano people to live in peace,” Yaryasa said.

He also advised people of the state not to engage in any act capable of plunging the state into trouble or violence.

“My advice to Kano residents and the entire people of the state is that they should live in peace with one another because it’s the bedrock of any development in the society.

“With the dissolution of the five emirates If not because of prayers, Kano would have been on fire or in chaos by now.

“The matter is currently in court. So, it will be a contempt of court or a disrespect to the court if Governor Abba went ahead and reinstated Sanusi,” he added.

Yaryasa, who is also a former coordinator of the Tinubu Campaign Organisation for Kano South, noted that the dissolution of the new emirates was nothing but vendetta against the person of the former Governor Ganduje.

“We know before now people who don’t wish the state well have been calling on the governor to dissolve the emirates, and now that he has dissolved the emirates, let’s see what will happen.

“Those calling for the scrapping of the emirates are nothing but enemies of the state. I said it before, and I’m still maintaining my stand that scrapping the emirates will not augur well for the state,” he insisted.

The Sokoto State Police Command has arrested ten members of a human trafficking and child abduction syndicate in the state.

Naija News reports that the state Commissioner of Police, Ali Kaigama, stated this while addressing journalists at the command headquarters in the state capital on Thursday.

Kaigama disclosed that the suspects include one Bala Abubakar of the Tudun Wada area of Sokoto, who sold out a total of 28 children, including six of his biological children.

The commissioner noted that the rescued children had been handed to the state orphanage home for proper care.

According to Kaigama, the suspects gave their victims to Kulu Dongoyaro and Elizabeth Ojah in exchange for between N150,000 and N250,000, claiming they were being taken to an Abuja-based NGO willing to shoulder the responsibility of their welfare.

In another development, Kaigama disclosed the arrest of one Saifullah Hassan of Gunmi Local Government area of Zamfara State, who was alleged to have killed one Balikisu Garba of Gidan Dare behind Jummat Mosque at the Ifeoma Hotel.

He said, “On May 24, 2024, at about 0620 hrs, Mr John, the manager of the Ifeoma Hotel in the Phase 1 Old Airport area of Sokoto, reported that a woman identified as Balikisu Garba of Gidan Dare was found dead.

“On receipt of the report, police operatives from the Old Airport Division led by the DPO swung into action, and as a result, the suspect bag, which was abandoned after the act, containing some receipts of payment and some SIM cards, was recovered.

“These recoveries led to the identification of the suspect as one Saifullah Hassan of Gunmi LGA of Zamfara State, which intensified the investigation, and the suspect was later traced and arrested in Funtua, Katsina State.”

The CP assured the state’s residents that the command remains committed to upholding law and order and commends the governor, Ahmed Aliyu, for his support throughout the investigation process.

He called on the good people of the state to continue cooperating with the command to create a safer environment.

A former Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmus, has called for the arrest of the proprietor and head teacher of a private school (name withheld) for singing the old national anthem.

Naija News recalls that President Bola Tinuby had on Wednesday signed the old National Anthem Bill 2024, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’ as a replacement for the national anthem “Arise, O Compatriots.”

In a post via her Instagram page on Friday, Dolapo described the refusal to revert to the new national anthem as an unpatriotic attitude and it would not be tolerated.

The police officer noted that it was against the law to use the old anthem after President Tinubu signed and assented to the new national anthem, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’.

Dolapo Badmus added that the proprietor and head teacher will be charged to court for the offence.

She wrote, “If, as of today, three days after the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria signed and assented the new national Anthem into law, you are not able to recite it in its entirety, then you are a suspect.

“I just passed through a private school, and I could hear them singing the old National Anthem! Arise oh compatriots”! (We are no longer arising as compatriots; it is Nigeria we are hailing now.)

“I have called police to come and arrest not only the proprietor but the head teacher inclusive ( I will make sure they are charged to court) Don’t ask me for what offence? Consult any lawyer to learn more. Anyone not singing the new national anthem is sabotaging Nigeria. I won’t tolerate any unpatriotic attitude.”

...As Negotiations Continue On Friday

The federal government has invited the leadership of organised labour for fresh talks on Friday as it battles to meet the May 31 deadline set by the union for the government to end negotiations on the proposed new minimum wage.

Recall that the President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, had said on May Day that “If by May end, we don’t have a new minimum wage that will take a worker home, we will not be able to guarantee industrial peace. We are sticking to that ultimatum.”

However, the negotiations for a new minimum wage had been stalled on Tuesday, after the federal government delegation increased their earlier proposal by N3,000 to N60,000 with organised labour reducing theirs by the same margin to a final proposal of N494,000.

THE WHISTLER reported that organised labour was disappointed with the pattern of negotiation, which prompted the meeting to end in deadlock and adjourned indefinitely.

But THE WHISTLER learned on Thursday that the continuation of the tripartite meeting will continue on Friday, May 31 2024, by 10 am, with both unions reiterating that the May 31 ultimatum is still in motion.

A top source who spoke anonymously said, “We will meet with the federal government in Abuja on Friday by 10:00 am to continue the minimum wage discussion.

“Our bone of contention is for the federal and state governments, Organised Private Sector (OPS) and other tripartite members to explain how they arrived at the N60,000 proposal.

“Although negotiations continue tomorrow, it will not stop the earlier announcement of the May 31 ultimatum”.

Also speaking on the issue, the National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) Etim Okon, said, “A joint National Executive Council (NEC) gave us a mandate to uphold the ultimatum, so everyone should wait till May 31”.

Okon, who is also the Vice-President of the TUC when asked if the TUC will honour Friday’s meeting, said, “I cannot reply to this, we are not working as TUC but as organised labour as far as the issue of minimum wage is concerned”.

He described the N3,000 increase as “embarrassing”, alleging that the federal government is not serious about the minimum wage discussion.

Okon said, “We have been able to explicitly defend our demands, but after we walked out, they increased it by N3,000 which is very embarrassing, and we also responded by a N3,000 decrease.

“They are coming to the negotiation table without seriousness, It is a clear indication that the government is lackadaisical in their statement and approach to ensuring that the national minimum wage comes to stand.

“The government needs to know that the informal economy receives from workers take-home pay, we want the government to show seriousness.

“Because we walked away, you issued notice for another meeting, who is fooling who”.

Earlier the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, in a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Olajide Oshundun appealed to organised Labour to be considerate and patriotic in their demands for the ongoing minimum wage negotiation.

She had said, “We appeal to organised labour and, indeed, other relevant stakeholders to be considerate and patriotic in their demands, recognising that our economy is still recovering from the devastating effects of the pandemic and other global economic shocks.

“We are committed to putting the people first and ensuring that our economic policies benefit all Nigerians, not just a select few”.

…Becomes First U.S Ex-President Convicted Of Crime

Former President Donald Trump has been convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to a “hush money” payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 United States election.

A 12-person jury reached the unanimous decision after two days of deliberations in the closely-watched trial.

The charges stemmed from a $130,000 payment made by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen to Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign to buy her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.

Prosecutors argued that Trump falsified records about reimbursing Cohen to cover up the payment, which could have been a violation of campaign finance laws.

In delivering the verdict, the jury agreed with prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office that Trump engaged in a widespread effort to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election by covering up potential scandals.

Trump had pleaded not guilty and his defence maintained the payment was meant to prevent personal embarrassment rather than an illegal campaign contribution.

“Our whole country is being rigged right now,” CNN quoted Trump as telling reporters after leaving the courtroom.

“This was done by the Biden administration in order to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent.”

More details to follow…

ASKED last December to comment on Bola Tinubu’s performance as President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces since May 29, 2023, Professor Wole Soyinka, first black man to win the Nobel Prize in Literature and one of the most fervent cheerleaders of the Tinubu presidency, said he will only do so on the administration’s first anniversary.

“Well, you know, something you may have noticed about me is that most heads of state, when they take office, I always leave them alone for about the first year… because they need time. I know when they come in, they don’t start from ground zero. They often start even lower than ground zero and they have to make up. So, I’m adopting the same principle this time. When you see me next year, ask the same question again and listen to my answer,” Soyinka, who has taken up the untypical role of Tinubu’s attack dog, told journalists on December 25 when he paid the president who was holidaying in Lagos what he called an “embarrassing visit.”

The literary giant, whose primary assignment from the Tinubu government seems to be a vicious and unrelenting put-down of Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections with the sole purpose of demarketing him ahead of the 2027 polls, is yet to comment even as fellow citizens struggle to make sense of where the government is headed. Nigerians are patiently waiting for him.

But Tinubu, just like the proverbial lizard that jumped from the high Iroko tree to the ground and crowed that he would praise himself if no one else did, didn’t wait for Soyinka’s validation of his “exceptional exploits” in office.

While flagging-off the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway on Monday, a visibly excited President Tinubu said it was his day to boast.

Maybe it is. But the boasting would have been more appropriate if it was reserved for the commissioning of the project after completion. The deal cannot simply be done as he ululated because a project has been flagged-off. The deal can only be done when the project is completed and delivered to the Nigerian people.

But he was not only euphoric about the coastal highway, he also commissioned the rehabilitated Third Mainland Bridge and the concrete-paved road to the nation’s major ports in Apapa and Tin Can Island.

It is instructive that Tinubu is making a song and dance about a rehabilitated bridge. But why not? Considering the fact that the disastrous Muhammadu Buhari administration worked on the same bridge intermittently without any appreciable result, the Tinubu administration, indeed, has earned a bragging right for doing a refurbishing job on the 12.5 kilometre bridge that even their worst critics acknowledge is outstanding.

What’s more, in an era where a state governor is listing a visit to the National Security Adviser, NSA, and a courtesy call by his constituents as achievements in his first 100 days as Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State did recently, why won’t Tinubu brag about refurbishing a bridge in his first 365 days in office?

But to say that the president has made good progress in the last one year as his spin doctors are doing is to incredulously stretch logic and common sense.

Agreed, Tinubu is entitled to his fantasies which explain his gloating while speaking to a group of investors in November 2023 at the 10th German-Nigerian Business Forum in Berlin, Germany, that his name be included in the revered Guinness World Records, GWR, for reforms that have made life unbearable not only for the poor but also the rich.

But beyond the grandstanding and propaganda, Nigerians, with the exception of those feeding off the crumbs from his table, agree that Tinubu’s first year in office has been a curse rather than a blessing.

The primary purpose of government is the security and welfare of the people as clearly spelt out in Section 14(2) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

So, beyond refurbishing the Third Mainland Bridge, which, to those who may have forgotten, was commissioned by President Shehu Shagari in 1980 and completed by President Ibrahim Babangida in 1990, and the reconstructed concrete-paved road leading to the Lagos seaports, a project which was financed by the Dangote Group, using its tax credits, the economy is in dire straits and Nigerians are bleeding, literally.

Besides, assessments cannot be made in a vacuum. Those who say Tinubu inherited a hellhole from Buhari and use that as an excuse for his abysmal performance are being smart by half.

To be sure, Tinubu knew that Buhari was a colossal failure. He was well aware that the All Progressives Congress, APC, government took Nigeria to the brink of socio-economic and political collapse, which explains why Nigerians refused to reward such dreadful performance and rejected the APC at the February 25, 2023 poll. But the magician he is, he managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Having wangled his way to Aso Rock, and knowing how badly Buhari damaged the country, he unfurled an eight-point agenda to recovery that included food security, poverty eradication, growth, job creation, access to capital, inclusion, rule of law and fighting corruption. Any assessment not anchored on this agenda is duplicitous.

Unveiling the agenda in September 2023 at the first Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting after three months of haphazardness, Tinubu said it was targeted at addressing the country’s socio-economic challenges and mandated the ministers to deliver the first phase within three years. Reminding them of the prevailing adversity, unemployment, insecurity, and poverty in the land, he said the idea was to move away from the frenzied borrowing of the Buhari regime, check the “unacceptably high” jobless rate, achieve economic growth, “prosperity for all,” and end poverty with a promise to create 50 million jobs to boot.

One of those three years has been spent and no item in the eight-point agenda was realised. With food inflation at over 40 per cent, Nigerians are starving, literally, and food security has become a mirage. Rather than creating 50 million jobs, millions of Nigerians have been pushed into the unemployment loop.

It couldn’t have been otherwise. The ill-digested twin policies of petrol subsidy stoppage and consequent higher pump prices, and the unification of official and parallel foreign exchange rates not only pummelled the Naira but also pushed the headline inflation to 33.69 per cent in April 2024, according to the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, on May 15. It was 22.22 per cent in April 23, a month before Tinubu came on board. Food inflation which was 24.45 per cent in March 2023 is today 40.01 per cent, a 15.56 percentage point year-on-year climb.

Rather than ebb, insecurity has spiked in the 12 months of Tinubu’s presidency. This week, some 84 civil society organisations led by Global Rights disclosed that more than 4,416 people were killed and 4,334 abducted in the last one year.

Tinubu enthused in October 2023 at the 29th Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja that the economy under his watch can grow to $1 trillion by 2026, stressing that a $3 trillion economy is possible in a decade with government ensuring “double-digit, inclusive, sustainable and competitive growth.” That remains a mirage with the GDP declining to 2.98 per cent in the first quarter of 2024. With interest rate at 26.25 per cent, access to capital for businesses is near zero.

The average Nigerian is poorer today than he was a year ago. Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda has not yielded the touted benefits. Instead, it has dragged Nigeria back to the Hobbesian state of nature in which life, to many, has become solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

If the sole purpose of government is the welfare and security of citizens, a fact which Tinubu captured in his eight-point agenda, then, he cannot claim to have achieved much, if anything at all, when there is hardly any Nigerian that can sincerely say he is better off today than a year ago.

But most worrisome is the fact that the president, like the fifth Roman emperor, Nero, who was busy playing the fiddle while Rome was consumed by fire, has perfected the inelegant art of majoring in the minor, focusing on insignificant things rather than the larger, more important issues at hand. It is quite instructive that on a day that should have been spent introspecting and seeking ideas for navigating out of the self-inflicted headwinds, the government busied itself replacing the National Anthem with the colonially bequeathed version, discarded since 1978 . 

Talk of Tinubu’s best-forgotten first 365 days in office.