The attention of the National Judicial Council, NJC, has been drawn to reactions of some members of public, particularly Legal Practitioners, Jurists, Academics and Public Office holders on the recall of the judicial officers that had been earlier directed to recuse themselves from performing judicial duties pending the conclusion of investigation or determination of the cases filed against them.

Council is particularly concerned about the press statement issued by Okoi Obono-Obla, Esq, Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution on 8th June, 2017; that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation filed a Notice of Appeal against the Ruling of Hon. Justice Jude Okeke of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for discharging and acquitting Hon. Justice A. F. A. Ademola and 2 ORS on 7th April, 2017.

Contrary to the above statement, the Registry of the High Court of the FCT, Abuja, informed the Department of Information of the National Judicial Council that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation filed two Notices of Appeal in the Court; the first one on 7th April, 2017, against Hon Justice A. F. A. Ademola, his wife, Olabowale Ademola and Joe Agi, SAN. The second one was filed on 6th of June, 2017, two days after the Press Release was issued by the National Judicial Council, with additional grounds of appeal against only Hon. Justice A.F.A. Ademola.

It is on record that when the Parties were invited by High Court of the FCT for settlement of records to be transmitted to the Court of Appeal on 18th April, 2017, the Appellant failed to turn up. The Registrar of the Court further adjourned the settlement of records to 21st April, 2017, and invited all the Parties, but the Appellant again did not come to Court.

The total number of 45 days allowed for compilation of record in all circumstances expired on 7th May, 2017, for the Registrar of the Lower Court and 22nd May, 2017, for the Appellant.

Council noted that the Office of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice only filed additional grounds of appeal in the Court on Tuesday 6th June, 2017, three days after the Press Release by the Council that the Judicial Officers have been directed to resume their Judicial duties.

It was on 6th June, 2017, that letters were again issued by the Registrar to the Parties for settlement of records against 14th June, 2017.

For avoidance of doubt, by the Rules of the Court of Appeal, there cannot be a proper appeal before the Court until Parties have agreed and settled records before the Lower Court and transmit copies of such records to the Court of Appeal before an appeal number is given. It is only after an appeal number is given that an appeal is said to be entered in the Court of Appeal.

The Council confirmed from Registry of the Court of Appeal that there is no such Appeal till date. The only matter that is pending is a Motion with Number CA/A/371M/CR/2019 filed by Joe Odey Agi, SAN, against the Federal Republic of Nigeria seeking the dismissal of Appellant/Respondent appeal between the Federal Government of Nigeria Vs Joe Odey Agi for failure to transmit the Records from the Lower Court within 45 days.

Council is aware that at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, the Federal Government filed Suits against Hon. Justices N. S. Ngwuta and Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court and A. F. A. Ademola of the Federal High Court on 8th February, 2017.

However, the Federal Ministry of Justice later withdrew the files pertaining the Suits against Hon. Justices Inyang Okoro and A. F. A. Ademola, with the intention of filing additional evidence against them.

In the case of Hon. Justice Ngwuta, he has since been arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal for non-declaration of his assets.

In effect, there is currently no Suit filed against Hon. Justices Inyang Okoro and A. F. A. Ademola J. at the Tribunal.

Contrary to the allegations by Professor Itse Sagay, SAN, Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, that Judiciary took a hasty decision to recall the Judges, and that it is not on board with anti-graft war of the Federal Government, the number of Judicial Officers that have been removed from office for misconduct particularly for corrupt practices since President Buhari administration came on board, that has been made public by National Judicial Council in October and November, 2016, speaks for itself in that vein.

Some of the Judicial Officers were removed from office by dismissal or compulsory retirement by the President or Governors on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council.  While a number of the Judicial Officers were reprimanded by Council in the exercise of its Constitutional powers to exercise disciplinary control over Judges of Superior Courts of record in the Federation.

Council is constrained to say that some of the Judicial Officers that have been recommended for dismissal or compulsory retirement from Office by the presidency or Governors, have not to date been removed from Office.

But for suspension of the affected Judicial Officers from Office by National Judicial Council, they would have to date been still performing their Judicial duties. And these are Officers that have been found culpable of gross misconduct by National Judicial Council after due process and diligent fact finding investigation by Council based on the Rule of Law enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, National Judicial Council Judicial Discipline Regulations and Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The National Judicial Council will soon issue an advertorial on the foregoing and list out the number of Judicial Officers that have since April, 2000 when it held its inaugural Meeting to date, been dismissed or compulsorily retired by the President or Governors for gross misconduct or corrupt practices, on its recommendation; and also reprimanded by council by suspension or warning/caution.

Council is not oblivious of the fact that some major stakeholders in the Judiciary and Justice Delivery Sector in conjunction with the Nigerian Bar Association, met with the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Anti-Graft and Security Agencies before the Judicial Officers were recalled, to discuss the subject matter and in particular the fate of the Judicial Officers that have not been charged and arraigned.

When no progress was made, the National Judicial Council, which is the only Constitutional Institution empowered to exercise disciplinary control over Judicial Officers for misconduct, decided to recall the Judicial Officers.

It is to be stressed that our criminal justice is also predicated on accusatorial system and NOT inquisitorial.  Thus, every accused person is presumed to be innocent until his guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution.

On the foregoing, Council is compelled to inform the public that the decision it took to direct the affected Justices/Judges to recuse themselves from performing their judicial duties, was borne out of respect for the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; and in order to maintain the integrity and sanctity of the Judiciary and sustain public confidence.

However, the recent decision of the Council to recall the Judicial Officers was based on the Principles of Rule of Law and fairness.

Council reiterates that it shall continue to support the President Buhari Administration posture in its fight against corruption in all its ramifications in the Federation; and in cleansing the Judiciary of corrupt Judicial Officers, under the purview of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the principles of the Rule of Law enshrined therein.

Soji Oye, Esq
Director, Information

Sosoliso plane crash survivor, Kechi Okwuchi this week gave an emotional audition on season 12 of America’s Got Talent.

Before singing her version of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking out Loud’ she narrated to the judges and audience how her love for singing began.

‘I want to share my voice with AGT. I was in a plane crash when I was 16 years old, which took the life of 107 out of 109, which left two survivors. I was one of the two survivors.”

Responding to Simeon Cowell’s question on how she has managed to deal with the trauma, she said, “Lying down in the hospital bed with bandages from head to foot, music was my escape and that’s why it means so much to me.”

At the end of her song, kechi got a standing ovation from the judges and audience, some teary-eyed. Fans of the America’s Got Talent page were thrilled by her performance.

Prabha Verma  said, “What a girl to have come out of such a tragedy and still standing so tall and strong. She has to be someone special”.

Another fan, Gu Hai , said, “So lovely voice I love her She gives me inspiration Life is not fair But we have to make the best way to live Keep it up. I want to see more of her.”

Kechi, who after several surgeries graduated with a First Class degree from University of Thomas Houston, Texas on May 16th, 2015 was also inducted into 6 academic honor societies.

She was the most outstanding student for her major in Economics and has already been accepted into graduate school for her MBA.

Ms. Okwuchi survived the ill-fated Port Harcourt bound flight which crashed on the runway and killed 107 people, including her close friend who was sitting next to her and late Pastor Bimbo Odukoya.

Kechi has had more than 100 surgeries, including skin grafts in the US as a result of the severe burns all over her body. Despite these challenges, she hasn’t stopped reaching for greatness.

Read more at Daily Trust.

With only 10 days into the #HallelujahChallenge, a multi-denominational praise and worship session convened by gospel artiste, Nathaniel Bassey, virtual worshippers have grown to over 32,000.

This represents an increase of 9,000 worshippers from the session organized the day before.

Bassey explained reasons for embarking on the Challenge saying it is a mandate from God.

“The Challenge is a mandate from God, and I am just a vessel,” said Nathaniel Bassey, convener of the Session during a Live Brief yesterday. “Beyond all the miracles and testimonies, God is doing something eternal – something that will outlive generations.”

The Hallelujah Challenge is a 30-day praise/prayer/worship session organized to lift the name of God and bring glory and salvation upon His people as they exalt His holy name.

The Live worship sessions will end on June 28 with a grand gathering of worshippers and lovers of God lifting their voices in one accord to praise and exalt His name.

The Hallelujah Challenge, a 30-day prayer and praise time from 12am to 1am throughout the month of June 2017, is led by Nigerian gospel artiste, Nathaniel Bassey.

It is a live Instagram session where followers tune in to worship God in fellowship. #HallelujahChallenge is currently the most widely circulated praise and worship movement on social media.

Ayodele Fayose, the governor of Ekiti State, has condemned the ultimatum given by some Northern youths to the Igbos living in the North to leave the region, saying that “such reckless pronouncement could only come from a group of irresponsible and jobless youths”.

In an e-mailed statement to The Trent on Sunday, June 11, 2017, Lere Olayinka, a spokesperson for the governor said that he chided the Northern youths for making such pronouncement at a time Nigerians needed to join hands together for the development of the nation.

Governor Fayose, who also condemned the Northern elders who openly endorsed the action of the youths, appealed to the Igbo people of the Southeast to remain calm even in the face of provocation, noting that “Nigeria is greater than any set of people.”

The governor, who lamented that Nigeria was now more divided than ever before, said; “Rather than giving open support to the youths, the northern elders should have supported the Northern States governors in condemning the youths and calling for their arrest.”

He chided the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government on its inability to foster unity among Nigerians, citing the handling of the Fulani herdsmen menace as a pointer to the federal government’s nonchalant attitude to serious national issues bordering on the oneness of the country.

“I have said it times without number that Nigeria is now more divided than ever in the last two years.

“The APC led administration has allowed this country to fall apart. Have you ever seen a country where the president will openly categorize its citizens’ access to government patronage into 97 percent of those who voted for him and and five percent of those who didn’t?

“It is for unguarded utterances and actions like these that our unity as a country is no longer like before”, Fayose submitted.

He advised the President and his henchmen to live up to expectations and ensure a more united Nigeria in order to avoid an embattled future for the unborn children.

Fayose said, “we must go back and chart a way forward. We must talk on how we want to live together. Nigeria is drifting and it is not in our interest.”

Leave The North By October 1 – Arewa Groups Warn Igbos

A coalition of prominent groups in Northern Nigeria on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 issued an ultimatum to Igbos living in the north to return home by October 1, 2017 or else they will face a situation similar to the pre-civil war pogroms visited on their kin in the 1960s.

The order was contained in an error-ridden statement, obtained by The Trent, issued after a meeting in Kaduna State. The groups, Arewa Citizens Action for Change, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Arewa Youth Development Foundation, Arewa Students Forum, and the Northern Emancipation Network, asked the Igbo residing in the region to “start making plans to leave.”

The chilling statement condemned the renewed call for the independent republic of Biafra and also expressed disdain for the Igbos and their culture saying that “the Igbo people of the South-East, not repentant of the carnage it wrought on the nation in 1966,  is today boldly reliving those sinister intentions connoted by the Biafran agitation that led to the very first bloody insurrection in Nigeria’s history”.

In 1966, the Igbos were the victims of the largest genocide in Nigeria’s history with over 100,000 of them killed in Northern Nigeria by northern mobs. This pogrom led to the declaration of the Republic of Biafra which led to the Nigerian civil war in which over 3 million Igbos died.

The northern groups’ threat to Igbos is now widely referred to as the Kaduna Declaration and has been widely condemned by public officials and political groups. However, it has also received wide support from northern elements like Professor Abdullahi.

Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor of Delta state, on Sunday, June 11, 2017 appealed to Nigerians to guide against making provocative utterances that could lead to war.

Okowa, who made the call at a thanksgiving service to mark the second anniversary of the state’s sixth House of Assembly at the Living Faith Church in Asaba, urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the peace and unity of the country.

Okowa said prayer was necessary to overcome the present challenges facing the nation.

According to the governor, Nigeria today depends on God to continue to survive because in the last few days a lot of things have happened.

“There is threat by the words of men but I know that by God’s grace, Nigeria is one and God will continue to keep us together.

“In this very trying time, Christians must be on their knees to continue to pray for this nation; we do not want to see any more wars neither do we want to see things that will put us apart from one another.’’

Okowa, therefore, advised Nigerians to reflect on the past in order to forge ahead.

Leave The North By October 1 – Arewa Groups Warn Igbos

A coalition of prominent groups in Northern Nigeria on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 issued an ultimatum to Igbos living in the north to return home by October 1, 2017 or else they will face a situation similar to the pre-civil war pogroms visited on their kin in the 1960s.

The order was contained in an error-ridden statement, obtained by The Trent, issued after a meeting in Kaduna State. The groups, Arewa Citizens Action for Change, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Arewa Youth Development Foundation, Arewa Students Forum, and the Northern Emancipation Network, asked the Igbo residing in the region to “start making plans to leave.”

The chilling statement condemned the renewed call for the independent republic of Biafra and also expressed disdain for the Igbos and their culture saying that “the Igbo people of the South-East, not repentant of the carnage it wrought on the nation in 1966,  is today boldly reliving those sinister intentions connoted by the Biafran agitation that led to the very first bloody insurrection in Nigeria’s history”.

In 1966, the Igbos were the victims of the largest genocide in Nigeria’s history with over 100,000 of them killed in Northern Nigeria by northern mobs. This pogrom led to the declaration of the Republic of Biafra which led to the Nigerian civil war in which over 3 million Igbos died.

The northern groups’ threat to Igbos is now widely referred to as the Kaduna Declaration and has been widely condemned by public officials and political groups. However, it has also received wide support from northern elements like Professor Abdullahi.

Additional reports by News Agency of Nigeria.

Bukola Saraki, Nigeria’s senate president, has described as “alarming and a ticking time bomb’’ the no fewer than 10.5 million children in the country believed to be out of school.

He was reacting to the statistics on out-of-school children released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in a statement by his chief press secretary, Sanni Onogu, on Sunday, June 11, 2017 in Abuja.

Dr. Saraki, who spoke when he received a UNICEF delegation, led by its Country Representative, Mr Mohammed Fall, said that the situation called for urgent attention by relevant stakeholders.

He lamented that Nigeria had the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, adding that the statistics represented approximately 20 per cent of the world’s population of such children.

He said “an uneducated population will be locked in a cycle of poverty for their entire lives.

“Additionally, these children could constitute the next generation of suicide bombers and militants. In this regard, education is a national security priority.’’

The president of the senate expressed National Assembly’s commitment to partnering stakeholders like UNICEF, to drastically reduce the number.

He said that the 8th National Assembly was determined to make laws needed to drastically address the menace.

“The legislature is committed to doing all it can to address the issue of out-of-school children through funding and material resources.

“The senate is already working with a few state governments which are yet to domesticate the Child’s Rights Act.

“We are determined to also improve on this and to work together to see how best to reduce drastically the level of illiteracy among our people, especially from the preliminary stage.

“The quality of our education must be in line with global best practices. We will continue to work closely with you to support your programmes.

“We plan to have an inclusive roundtable where the impediments in our education system will be identified and a plan of action designed to eliminate them.

“I am confident that your contributions at that stage will be very useful,’’ he said.

Saraki endorsed the school enrollment campaign of UNICEF in the country and thanked its Country Representative for their years of exemplary work in education and other areas.

Earlier, Fall had urged Saraki to endorse Nigeria’s 2017 school enrollment programme by UNICEF.

He said that the fund’s school enrollment campaign sought to partner the education stakeholders at the state level to ensure that the impact reached the grassroots.

Fall said that the campaign also sought to underscore the country’s commitment to free and compulsory education and to encourage states to prioritise education.

He commended the president of the senate for the outstanding partnership offered to UNICEF over the years in the areas of child health and education.

He, however, decried the statistics of 10.5 million children out-of-school in Nigeria, saying “such number poses a lot of danger to the growth and development of the country’’.

“We need additional resources, and this support requires stronger partnership with legislation.’’

The Lagos State Government on Sunday, June 11, 2017 joined Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, and Osun states to  declare Monday public holiday to mark the June 12 anniversary in the state.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, in a statement issued by the secretary to the state government, Tunji Bello,  said the state remains committed to the ideals of the annulled 1993 Presidential election.

Ambode said  the holiday was in honour of the ideals which June 12, 1993 Presidential election represented, being a day that the country experienced an election that was adjudged as the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history.

He said that 24 years after, the ideals of June 12  are still worth celebrating, describing the day as one of the most defining moments of the country’s political history which had positively shaped its democracy.

The Governor  urged Nigerians  to go beyond the commemoration and strive to entrench a viable democracy.

He said that this was a way to immortalise the late  winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, Chief M.K.O Abiola through the practice of true federalism and conduct of credible and fair elections.

“June 12, 1993 is a day we must not forget in the annals of our democratic history. Our present democratic experience may still be far from the ideal, but we must all make concerted efforts to entrench fiscal federalism which is the only way to achieve true nationhood.”

Ambode said that part of the enduring lessons of June 12 election was that it imbued the patriotic and nationalistic zeal in all Nigerians,  to speak with one voice to make a political choice,  devoid of ethnic, racial or social sentiments.

“On June 12, 1993, majority of Nigerians across all divides demonstrated through the ballot box that irrespective of class or ethnic sympathies, the Nigerian people are united and would always join hands to promote our unifying values.

” Though the peoples’ hope was dashed with the annulment of the elections by the military junta, the lessons of the elections cannot be wished away despite subterranean efforts by many to do,” Ambode said.

He described June 12 as the real Democracy Day in Nigeria.

“We owe it a duty to genuinely immortalise the fallen heroes of the June 12 struggle nationally and deepen our democratic values to ensure that never again will such anti-people action be allowed to take place,” he said

He also assured that his administration would remain committed to the ideals of June 12 by carrying out people-oriented programmes across the State and making life more comfortable for the people.

He said that State Government, through the office of Civic Engagement, had perfected arrangement for the annual public symposium which would hold on Monday to celebrate June 12

A coalition of fourteen Igbo civil society groups have called for the Igbos living in Northern Nigeria to return home because “a single Igbo blood” is not worth the assets that they own in the region.

This call follows threats to Igbos issued by a group of Arewa youth giving the Igbos an ultimatum to leave the region before October 1, 2017.

The group held a brainstorming session on June 10, 2017 in light of the tension created in Nigeria following the Arewa pre-genocide threat.

Below is the full statement by the group.

COMMUNIQUE OF A MEETING OF THE IGBO CIVIL SOCIETY COALITION HELD IN ENUGU ON JUNE 10, 2017

The Igbo Civil society Coalition comprising civil society organizations and activists from the Igbo nation met in Enugu, today, June 10, 2017 to appraise the current political developments in the nation. After a five hour brainstorming session, the coalition resolved as follows:

To henceforth advance the fundamental human rights of Ndigbo and other like minded peoples.

That the coalition condemns in no uncertain terms, the ultimatum issued Ndi-Igbo by the Coalition of Arewa Youths and endorsed by Northern Elders Forum to leave the Northern Nigeria on or before October 1, 2017 and the threat of violence accompanying that ultimatum; but at the same time welcomes it wholeheartedly as one of the greatest things that ever happened to the Igbo nation.

The coalition, therefore, appeals to Ndi-Igbo in the North not to repeat the mistake of 1966, because the N50 trillion Igbo investment to develop the North, of which we appeal to all Igbos in the North to carefully document theirs, cannot be compared to the life of a single Igbo.

Ndigbo wholeheartedly accept the call by the Arewa groups for everyone to go their separate ways. We are therefore calling on all Igbos in various positions of power and responsibility to make immediate and effective arrangements for the protection of all Igbo persons in the context of the fullest implementation of that ultimatum.

Signed:

Prof. ObasiIgwe – Igbo Academia
Comrade Larry Oguego- Human Rights Volunteers Corps
Comrade Ibuchukwu Ezike- Civil Liberties Organization
Emmanuel Acha- Youth Forum for Social Change
Comrade AbiaOnyike-Media Centre for Democratic Dialogue
Barr. Chinenye Akubuilo-Inter Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law
Princewill Okorie-Association for Public Policy Analysis
Comrade Paulinus Okoro-AIFPU
Pastor Elvis Okolie- Civil Society Network
Comrade Okechukwu Orji-Centre for Youth Care & Human Rights Awareness.
Prof. Smart Otu-Igbo Academia
Mazi Ikechukwu Bismarck Oji, MNSE- Centre for the Advancement of Literacy & Leadership (CALL)
Eric Eyutchae- Igbo Intelligentsia Group
Nsude Godwsill –Gloxina Foundation

Leave The North By October 1 – Arewa Groups Warn Igbos

A coalition of prominent groups in Northern Nigeria on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 issued an ultimatum to Igbos living in the north to return home by October 1, 2017 or else they will face a situation similar to the pre-civil war pogroms visited on their kin in the 1960s.

The order was contained in an error-ridden statement, obtained by The Trent, issued after a meeting in Kaduna State. The groups, Arewa Citizens Action for Change, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Arewa Youth Development Foundation, Arewa Students Forum, and the Northern Emancipation Network, asked the Igbo residing in the region to “start making plans to leave.”

The chilling statement condemned the renewed call for the independent republic of Biafra and also expressed disdain for the Igbos and their culture saying that “the Igbo people of the South-East, not repentant of the carnage it wrought on the nation in 1966,  is today boldly reliving those sinister intentions connoted by the Biafran agitation that led to the very first bloody insurrection in Nigeria’s history”.

In 1966, the Igbos were the victims of the largest genocide in Nigeria’s history with over 100,000 of them killed in Northern Nigeria by northern mobs. This pogrom led to the declaration of the Republic of Biafra which led to the Nigerian civil war in which over 3 million Igbos died.

The northern groups’ threat to Igbos is now widely referred to as the Kaduna Declaration and has been widely condemned by public officials and political groups. However, it has also received wide support from northern elements like Professor Abdullahi.

Professorial Quota System And Moronism In Ango Abdullahi’s Conspiratorial Incitement To Genocide

The leaderships of Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety) and Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs) are again deeply shocked, appalled and alarmed concerning the conspiratorial incitement to genocide’s utterances of the Spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum, retired Prof Ango Abdullahi.

It is also shocking and alarming that such inflammatory and clearly genocidal incitement is coming from an academic professor, even though he is no longer an active university professor or has retired. Professor Ango Abdullahi and his Northern Elders Forum’s grounds for supporting their northern youth coalition’s recent incitement to genocide are utterly infantile, illogical, unverifiable, unscientific, false; and historically, socially, politically and economically twisted and doctored.

It is sad and unfortunate that while retired professors remain a great asset to their countries after their active professorial service or retirement by setting up think tank or research centers with the state-of-art or world class manual and electronic laboratories or libraries or engaging in renowned consultancies in their professorial academic fields; retired Nigerian professors such as the likes of retired Professor Ango Abdullahi have not only damnably chosen the opposite, but also descended and decayed to the level of professorial senility.

It is in this same country (Nigeria) that an active or serving university professor was sighted severally at official outings or events of a well known fraudulent billionaire and trickster somewhere in Imo State; carrying his bag and serving as one of his events’ ushers. He was later recommended to a political actor by his 419 boss leading to his appointment as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in-charge of Education.

Academic professorship has been brought so low in Nigeria that professors are severally seen becoming senior special assistants or special advisers to Caretaker Committee Local Government Chairmen or their wives and wives of some State Governors. A university professor whether serving or retired; that compromises or trades off his or her professorial integrity, quality, competence and authority for stomach infrastructure and long-throat; is a dreg of modern academic professorship and worst than a violent mad person with a sharp dagger or machete running amok in a crowded market or religious gathering.

The latest primordialist, incoherent, jaundiced, un-academic, violence and genocide prone conspiratorial incitement or utterances of retired Professor Ango Abdullahi are a fundamental test case of the foregoing and a clear evidence of the rot that has befallen some retired Professors in Nigeria. They further expose the devastating effects of the principle of quota system in the Northern Nigeria to the extent that a retired professor and former vice chancellor of a third pioneer federal university in Nigeria has chosen to become an instigator of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Yet the authorities of SSS; likewise the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army who go about running riot and unleashing all kinds of psycho-physical violence on nonviolently expressed voices; have till date, looked the other way by adamantly refusing to arrest and prosecute the likes of retired Prof Abdullahi, members of his Northern Elders Forum and their genocidal youths for treasonable felony or incitement to genocide. Till date, Nigeria is a State Party to the Anti Genocide Convention of 1948.

The conspiratorial incitement to genocide utterances of retired Prof Ango Abdullahi are also a clear confirmation of the readiness of the northern butchers to repeat the 1966 anti Igbo pogrom in which at least 45,000 -50,000 citizens of Old Eastern Nigeria dominated by Igbo citizens were butchered in a yearlong butcheries across the Northern Nigeria, which also generated over 1.62million Igbo IDPs and a good number of others who crossed international borders and became refugees.

It is so sad and shocking that the likes of retired Prof Ango Abdullahi and his Northern Elders Forum have dangerously chosen to give the northern youths a matching order to slaughter the Igbo citizens residing in Northern Nigeria starting from 1^st October 2017. Retired Prof Ango Abdullahi’s professorial illiteracy as it concerns social, economic, political, cultural and military history of Nigeria was further exposed when he falsely and mischievously cited the 1966 bloody military coup, which he erroneously and provocatively tagged “Igbo Coup” as a justification for commission of a series of genocide and massacre against the Igbo People in Nigeria which started way back in 1945.

If retired Prof Ango Abdullahi is not a victim of professorial moronism, he should have arithmetically known and understood that in military tradition, success in military putsch means victory and rise to power for those who planned and executed it, while failure attracts dire consequences from the operators of the existing military order against the coupists. In military tradition too, a group of military colleagues or peers or a group of officers of same ranks or academic military class can plan and execute a coup successfully or otherwise. A military coup is a cult or peer group exercise.

Above all, actions and inactions in military circles are prohibited from being brought to bear on innocent civilian population or a race, which is why in internal or inter State armed conflict war, killing of non combatants or civilian populations or attacks on non military targets or necessity are out-rightly prohibited and punishable by the international law such as the Geneva Conventions or Laws of War of 1949 under the UN System. Such punishments are meted out through local criminal courts, special regional and international criminal or war crimes courts or ICC.

Further, the patterns and trends of military coups in Nigeria clearly show that the infantile argument or defense or justification of retired Prof Ango Abdullahi is totally dead on arrival. Assuming but not conceding to retired Prof Abdullahi’s professorial illiterate argument or defense to the effect that 1966 Coup was Igbo Coup leading to killing of some northern political leaders and military officers; our questions are:

What about the counter bloody coup of 1966 in which over 240 military officers dominated by Igbo officers were killed? Have Igbo People ever called it a Hausa-Fulani Coup? How many innocent civilian citizens of Hausa-Fulani stock have been massacred in retaliation by Igbo People or their military officers since then?

What about the Col Dimka’s attempted bloody coup of 1976 and Major Gideon Orkar’s attempted Coup of 1990? If the two attempted coups are Middle-Belt Coups, how many innocent civilians of the Middle Belt stock have been massacred in Nigeria since then other than agro-Islamist violence so perpetrated? What about the Jos 1945 and Kano 1953 anti Igbo riots and massacres? Were they retroactively carried out in connection with the so called “Igbo Coup of 1966”?

What of other anti Igbo massacres that took place in the following Northern Nigerian cities of: Kano 1980, Maiduguri 1982, Jimeta 1984, Gombe 1985, Zaria 1987, Kaduna and Kafanchan 1991, Bauchi and Katsina 1991, Kano 1991, Zango-Kataf 1992, Funtua 1993, Kano 1994, Kaduna 2000, Kaduna 2001, Maiduguri 2001 and Jos September 2001, Kaduna 2002?

What about other anti Igbo massacres such as Kaduna’s Miss World Riot of November 2002 and Prophet Mohammed Cartoons Riot of February 2006 (Maiduguri), the Apo-Abuja Six killing by the Nigeria Police Force of (six young Igbo traders: Ekene Isaac Mgbe, Ifeanyi Ozor, Chinedu Meniru, Paulinus Ogbonna and Anthony and Augustina Arebu) of June 2005, the November 2008 Jos LGA Poll Riot/killings, the Jos 2010 Christmas Eve bombings, the Madalla Igbo Catholic Church bombings of 2011, the 2011 post general elections’ riots/killings that led to killing of 10 Igbo NYSC members and several other Igbo People in the North, the Mubi Igbo killings of 2012 and Nyanya Igbo Park Bombing of April 2014? This is just to mention but a few.

Retired Prof Ango Abdullahi’s description of pre oil Southern Nigeria as acutely poor and under-developed is an award winning falsehood and acute misrepresentation of facts. The Igbo People of Nigeria were solely responsible for the development of Northern Nigeria through trade, commerce and industry which dated back in Kano, etc in 1800s. Retired Prof Abdullahi is further challenged to publicly display the map and pictures of Sabon Gari(visitors’ area or Igbo area) area of Kano and other cities of Kano before 1900 and display their present pictures and map. Today, which area of Kano is more developed than Sabon Gari and who are responsible for same? The same thing applies to northern cities of Jos, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Gusau, Sokoto, Gombe, Jalingo, Mubi, Suleja, Kantangora, Akwanga, Keffi, Kebbi, Bauchi, to mention but a few.

If the Northern Nigeria was so rich, buoyant and economically self sustained and not backward, why did it opt out of self rule arrangements in the 50s that would have ushered in early independence for the country instead of forcing the rest of Nigeria’s region to wait until 1^st October 1960? What led to the booing and jeering of its parliamentary representatives by its Southern counterparts in Lagos in 1953? If the Northern Nigeria was so rich in the 50s what happens to it today and why do public servants and retirees in the Northern part of Nigeria receive electronic alerts of their remunerations sometimes weeks ahead of those of their Southern counterparts?

It must be put on a clear record that the Igbo People are the most pastoral ethnic nationality, guest and tolerant tribe in Nigeria who have contributed immeasurably to the self and collective development of all parts of Nigeria. Their investments in Southwest, North-central, Northeast and Northwest are second to none. Yet naturally speaking, threats to lives and ethnic identities are incomparable with material investments and they are societal values that money can never buy and cannot be easily traded off.

The Igbo People as decades’ long victim of the policies of structural, cultural and physical or direct violence of the successive and present central Governments in Nigeria or any part thereof are only seeking through peaceful means the cessation of the abdominal injustices and respect to their ethnic identities and inalienable right to live peacefully and progressively as a people either as part of restructured Nigeria or as a distinct political territory. Even if the Igbo People are rated poorest and landless in Nigeria by the likes of retired Prof Ango Abdullahi, at least they should be allowed to live in peace in such landlessness and poverty with dignity and self respect.

Signed:

For: Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs)

Comrade Aloysius Attah (+2348035090548)
For: Civil Liberties Organization, Southeast Zone

Comrade Peter Onyegiri (+2347036892777)
For: Centre for Human Rights & Peace Advocacy

Comrade Samuel Njoku (+2348039444628)
For: Human Rights Organization of Nigeria

Engineer Rufus Duru (+2348037513519)
For: Global Rights & Development International

Comrade Chike Umeh ( +2348064869601)
For: Society Advocacy Watch Project

Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Esq. (+2348034186332)
For: Anambra Human Rights Forum

Comrade Alex Olisa(+2348034090410)
For: Southeast Good Governance Forum

Jerry Chukwuokoro, PhD (+2348035372962)
For: International Solidarity for Peace & Human Rights Initiative

Tochukwu Ezeoke (+447748612933)
For: Igbo Ekunie Initiative (Pan Igbo Rights Advocacy Group)

Comrade Vincent Ezekwume (+2348171793911)
For: Civil Liberties Organization, Anambra State Branch 

Emeka Umeagbalasi(+2348174090052)
For: Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law

Comrade Uzor Ugonna Kingsley (+2348138898669)
For: Rural Engagement & Development Foundation (RED Foundation)

Dr Junaid Mohammad, a frontline Northern politician, warns Igbo to read the effects of the Civil War from history, adding that the North is not afraid of war, in this interview with Tribune.

WHAT do you make of the ultimatum issued to Igbo living in the North?

Frankly speaking, I am not in a position to comment or pass value judgment on the claims on the pronouncement on the ultimatum issued by certain youths from the North because I have not read nor heard the full details and the reasons behind the ultimatum issued to Igbo to leave the North. Secondly, I also believed that what happened in Kaduna in the pronouncement by the Northern youths was a reflection of the frustrations facing most Nigerians, particularly the youths, as a result of policies, incompetence, corruption and the nepotism of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Some of these youths and I are equally not happy with the kind of attitude and behaviour of the Igbo through IPOB which, to us, is not a pure Nnamdi Kanu phenomenon. It is an Igbo elite phenomenon. They are behind this body and they are the ones financing and sponsoring them. The South-East leaders have the impression that through blackmailing and intimidation of all Nigerians, and other negative moves, they can achieve political domination over other Nigerians. As far back as 1940, late Chief Mbano Ugwe said then that Igbo domination of Nigeria was a matter of time.

Though they have done it in the past, they did not succeed. They capitalised on the military and civilian leadership positions and staged a coup in 1960 January. It was evidently clear then to Nigerians and international community that their action was purely a tribal coup and to most of the right-thinking people, it naturally invited a counter coup which later plunged the country into a Civil War.

It was pathetic and saddening that millions of people lost their lives to the war which apparently consumed innocent Igbo women and children in particular. Now, if the Igbo are very lousy students of history and therefore imagine that what failed in 1966 can be ventured into now through IPOB of Nnamdi Kanu or Ohanaeze group, they are welcome.

I am not certainly out to condemn what the youths in Kaduna said, but I want to assure those who are looking for trouble in whatever camps that the negative effects of it will not be confined to the camp of perceived enemies, but will affect all Nigerians, most especially innocent women and children.

However, I do not believe this country can go on like this because this government offers no hope, no succour at all. It is a government that is just marking time and wasting of our time. This government threw the country into a massive recession, deepest and most profound in the history of the country. The security situation is badly being tackled in the North East. I scored them 60 per cent, but when you look at the economy and also at the fight against corruption at best you can score the administration 50 per cent on corruption.

With the claim of marginalisation by the Igbo, don’t you think they have legitimate right to demand more from the country?

Every Nigerian has the right to demand more from the country and those in power. However, what is happening is that quite a number of people today are in such a bad economic situation that they are beginning to wonder whether the existence of Nigeria is worth it.

But let me say this. It is a shameless lie for the Igbo to say they are being marginalised. The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, is an Igbo man; the Minister of Petroleum is an Igbo man; the governor of CBN is an Igbo man; the Director General of  PenCom is an Igbo woman and many others that cannot be mentioned.

As of today, Buhari has not instituted a major project in the entire North, but we know what has happened in the East and other parts: the Second Niger Bridge is ongoing, where billions of naira are being spent. What of the Lagos -Ibadan express road costing billions of naira and a rail line from Lagos-Calabar. What is the major project embarked upon by Buhari in the North? I stand to be challenged.

All these are efforts by the current government are to woo the Igbo into mainstream of governance. But unknown to Buhari, the Igbo are not interested in the mainstream but to be the one to govern.

So, if the Igbo think they are being marginalised, I would be bold to tell them that the North has grater claims to demand that they are being marginalised and do have more political and economic reasons to demand their grievances be addressed.

Therefore, if every zone, region or tribe is now saying because it is being marginalised the country should not exist, who will advocate for the country as an entity? I have not seen this government doing so, because Buhari is so incompetent. He is not in power because his government is being controlled by a cabal.

If the Igbo, in spite of being well represented in the current government, want to trigger a civil war or break the country for whatever reasons, they can go ahead and do so. But they should be equally reminded that the countries do not break up peacefully. Yugoslavia and Soviet Union are some of examples of countries which knew what they passed through while breaking up. If the Igbo think they can challenge other people, they should equally rest assured that there will be a counter challenge from others.

What will be the next line of action should the Igbo issue same ultimatum to northerners in the East?

How many Northerners are in the entire South East? Do you know the number?

The number of northerners living in the East is insignificant. Three flights of a Boeing 747 can take all the northerners in the East back to the North. Most of the northerners are not in the core South-East; most of them are in economically robust cities like Port Harcourt, Warri and so on.

I am not saying that the threat issued by youths in Kaduna is correct. What I am saying is that there has been a gap which not being filled by the government and this was what the Igbo agitators are now capitalising upon to blackmail the rest of the country.

What is the  way out?

There had been discussion right from the beginning of British rule to the end of end of 1914. I participated in the last national conference organised by former President Goodluck Jonathan and the outcome was a flaw. What the then government did not get during the sitting of the delegates to the conference, they resorted to cooking them in the outcome of the conference bill and they are now calling it a restructured bill for the country to adopt and accept.

Protests against Islamic law rocked in cities across the US drew counter-protests by people who said they stoked unfounded fears and a distorted view of the religion.

According to News.com, hundreds marched through downtown Seattle, banging drums, cymbals and cowbells behind a large sign saying “Seattle stands with our Muslim neighbours.”

Participants chanted “No hate, no fear, Muslims are welcome here” on their way to City Hall, while a phalanx of bicycle police officers separated them from an anti-Shariah rally numbering in the dozens.

In front of the Trump building in downtown Chicago, about 30 people demonstrated against Islamic law and in favour of President Donald Trump, shouting slogans and holding signs that read “Ban sharia” and “sharia abuses women.”

About twice as many counter-protesters marshalled across the street.

A similar scene played out in a park near a New York courthouse, where counter- protesters sounded air-horns and banged pots and pans in an effort to silence an anti-Shariah rally.

“The theme of today is drowning out racism,” said counter-protester Tony Murphy, standing next to demonstrators with colourful earplugs. “The more racists get a platform, the more people get attacked.”

The rallies, held in more than two dozen US cities, were organised by ACT for America, which claims Islamic law is incompatible with Western democracy.

The organisation said it opposes discrimination and supports the rights of those subject to Sharia.

However, the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, calls it the largest American anti-Muslim group.

“I don’t believe Islam can peacefully coexist with the Constitution,” said Seattle anti-Shariah demonstrator Aaron Bassford, 29.

“I’m not going to tell them they can come here and take away my Second Amendment right. We need unity in this country under no ideology and no banner except the Constitution of the United States of America.”

But the overwhelming majority of Muslims don’t want to replace US law with Islamic law, known as Sharia, and only “radical extremist groups” would call for that, said Liyakat Takim, a professor of Islamic studies at McMaster University in the Canadian city of Hamilton, Ontario.

Sharia, Takim said, refers to guidelines or principles — how Muslims should live. “Fish” refers to jurisprudence, or specific laws.

The values embedded in Shariah do not change and are shared among Muslims, he said, while fish is open to interpretation and change, and in fact differs among Islamic sects and communities.

“The Koran allows slavery, so does the Old Testament. That doesn’t mean we allow it today, too,”
he said.

#MuslimsAreWelcomedHere being chanted pic.twitter.com/BXhPCHB8ux

— Dan Renzetti (@DanRenzetti) June 10, 2017

“Laws are amenable to change,” Takim said.

The marches come amid a rise in reports of anti-Muslim incidents in the U.S., including arson attacks and vandalism at mosques, harassment of women wearing Muslim head coverings and bullying of Muslim schoolchildren.

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Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has won his last 100 meters race on home soil in Jamaica in an emotional farewell at a stadium which sold-out and was full to capacity.

He is set to retire in August after the World Championships in London and began his goodbye in front of 30,000 adoring fans in Kingston.

Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medallist, easily won the ‘Salute a Legend’ race in his first 100m of 2017 but admitted being nervous through the race.

“The run, it was just OK. I must say it was OK. I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous running a 100m,” he said.

Bolt clocked 10.03 seconds to win before a lap of honour in front of a raucous crowd who danced, waved flags and blew their vuvuzela horns while fireworks lit the sky.

The 100m and 200m world record holder returned to kiss the finishing line before flashing his signature ‘lightning bolt’ pose.

He however didn’t appear too happy with his finishing time, “10.03”, his worst possible race ever.

However Bolt says he was more concerned about staying injury free while showing the crowd how thankful he was.

“Just the atmosphere and the people, the support they came out and gave me, it was really nerve-racking.

“I never expected this, I knew it was going to be big, the stadium was ram-packed so thank you guys for coming out and supporting me,” he said.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and International Association of Athletics Federations President Sebastian Coe were also in attendance.

“It’s big to see everybody that turned out. It shows that what I’ve done for the sport is a big deal to them and they really appreciate it,” added Bolt.

“So thank you and it was my honour to put the sport of track and field at the top and to continue to dominate.

“I’ll try my best even when I’ve hung up my spikes, to really continue to push track and field in any way possible,” he added.

Bolt has won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold at past three Olympic Games – Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016.

His unprecedented ‘triple triple’ of nine gold medals was downgraded to eight after Jamaican team-mate Nesta Carter, who was part of the quartet that won the 4x100m in Beijing, tested positive for a banned substance.

Carter has appealed against the decision.

Bolt’s exploits remain unprecedented and he also holds the world record in the 100m (9.58) and 200m (19.19).

Read more at BBC.

The Nigerian Army has announced a successful operation in Borno State in which it killed Boko Haram terrorists and rescued 9 children held by the Islamist fighters in their hideout in Kala Balge Local Government Area of the northeastern state.

In an e-mailed statement to The Trent, Sani Usman, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army said that Nigerian troops ‘neutralized notorious Boko Haram terrorists’ and the operation was backed up with credible intelligence.

“Following credible and confirmed information about the convergence of some elements of suspected Boko Haram terrorists at Jarawa village, Kala Balge Local Government Area, Borno State, troops of 3 Battalion, 22 Brigade Nigerian Army of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, in conjunction with some Civilian JTF today, Sunday 11th June 2017, carried out a successful clearance operation along that axis,” Brigadier General Usman said.

“At about a Kilometre to Jarawa village, the troops entered heavy Boko Haram terrorists’ ambush, which they successfully cleared after about some minutes of firefight. They followed it up in hot pursuit of the fleeing insurgents into the nearby forest.

“The troops were able to neutralize a large number of Boko Haram terrorists including the notorious Abu Nazir, the terrorists’ Amir in Jarawa during the operation,” the statement revealed further.

The troops also captured several weapons including an AK-47 rifle, 1 Double barrel gun, 1 primed heavy Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and 3 Motorcycles.

“Additionally, they rescued 9 abducted children undergoing training at the terrorists’ training camp in the village,” Usman revealed.

“The minors have been evacuated and are being given preliminary humanitarian assistance in preparation to handing them over to Kala Balge Internally Displaced Persons Camp Management Committee.”

iPhones are the new best tool today (literally), not the screwdrivers and hammer anymore. iPhones are used for almost everything and God forbid if they get infected with bugs and viruses, our day-to-day life comes to a standstill. And as they say, iPhones are no longer just phones but an experience in it. iPhones have become a symbol of the best technology that is available for any smartphone.

iPhones are equipped to perform so many unique functions that most of us are unaware of. In literal terms, iPhones are purely addictive and one can hardly do without them. So here we tell you how you can maximize your iPhone usage and make its usage faster and better.

Calling your husband or the electrician made easy.

To make a call, now you don’t have to unlock your phone and search for a number from the long list of contacts. All you have to do is to tell Siri your relationship with the particular person. For instance, tell Siri “John Walker is my husband” and next time you want to call your husband, just tell Siri “call my husband” and that’s all, you are on the call with your husband.

Stretching the battery life.

A dying battery is the most annoying thing when it comes to a smartphone. Thus, iPhone has enhanced its batteries performance to a great deal. And even you can make sure to maximize the battery usage by switching on the ‘Low Power Mode’ early. Don’t wait for the battery power to reach 20% or so to turn this feature on. “Low Power Mode’ turns off all the battery consuming applications and also ensures maximum optimization of the battery power. Manually turning the screen brightness to the minimum also helps in stretching the power on your iPhone.

Touch ID optimization.

Passcodes and IDs make your IPhone safer and better secured. To make your Touch ID more effective and faster, use only one finger as the key instead of multiple fingers as the IOS suggests. Scan only one finger or thumb, as you like it, and repeat the same finger as your passcode. This will help in unlocking your phone in one go.

Follow the link to know ‘how to reset restrictions passcode on iPhone‘.

Photos brought to life.

For many of us, the photos on our smartphones are the fondest memories and IPhone takes it a step ahead by adding the ‘Live’ feature to its camera. The camera comes with an inbuilt feature which captures a few seconds of videos before and after the shot. On reviewing the photo in the gallery, they come to life with just a hard press on the photo. Live photos capture the voices too, so beware of what you say during the shot.

Backup of your data.

As said earlier, iPhones do almost everything and store all your important data and information. And if your phone breaks down or locks up and you don’t remember the password, then you are in a fix. IPhone comes to rescue here too. You can retrieve your important backup locked iPhone data by following the link here.

Write your message.

The new iPhones come with a feature which allows you to write your messages instead of typing them. To do this, go to the iMessage area where you type your message. Change the screen orientation to landscape and the writing area appears. Look for a squiggly line at the bottom of the IOS keyboard and you can write all you want with your fingers.

Faster switching to another app.

Multitasking is the need for the day and iPhone makes it easier to multitask on your smartphone. If you wish to multitask between apps, you can do so by pressing the Home button twice. All the recently opened apps appear and you can select the one you want. Another option is to press down on the left side of the screen and swipe to the right; you’ll see the last app appear and you can switch to it quickly. Pressing harder will launch the full multitasking menu with all your recently used apps.

Pope Francis has said he is deeply saddened by the events at the Diocese of Ahiara in Imo State, and ordered the tribal masterminds to pledge allegiance to the Vatican or be fired.

The Pope, speaking at a private audience with the delegation of the Diocese of Ahiara, said the action was taken since the crisis had gone pass tribalism as some people were attempting to take over the church.

The ‘painful situation’ in the diocese has gone on since 2012 when Bishop Ebere Peter Okpaleke was appointed by Pope Benedict.

Bishop Okpaleke was rejected because he was not a native of Mbaise.

Pope Francis directed that every priest or ecclesiastic of the diocese, whether residing there or working elsewhere, even abroad, must write an individual and personal letter addressed to him asking for forgiveness.

Total obedience to the Pope, willing to accept the Bishop whom the Pope sends and has appointed, are the mandatory conditions which everyone directed to write the letter should fulfil.

The Pope said the letter must be sent within 30 days, from July 9th, 2017.

“Whoever does not do this will be ipso facto suspended a divinis and will lose his current office. We all must share this common sorrow.

“I feel great sorrow for those priests who are being manipulated even from abroad and from outside the Diocese.

“I think that, in this case, we are not dealing with tribalism, but with an attempted taking of the vineyard of the Lord.’’

He said the Church was a mother and whoever offended her committed a very serious sin.

“However, I decided not to suppress the Diocese. Instead, I wish to give some indications that are to be communicated to all: first of all it must be said that the Pope is deeply saddened.

“This seems very hard, but why must the Pope do this? Because the people of God are scandalized.

“Jesus reminds us that whoever causes scandal must suffer the consequences. Maybe someone has been manipulated without having full awareness of the wound inflicted upon the ecclesial communion.

“To you brothers and sisters, I would like to express my sincere thanks for your presence; and also to Cardinal Onaiyekan for his patience and to Bishop Okpaleke, whose patience and humility I admire.’’

The meeting was characterized by dialogue and listening, ending with a prayer to Mary and the Pope’s blessing.

“I cordially greet the Delegation and thank you for coming from Nigeria in a spirit of pilgrimage.

“For me, this meeting is a consolation because I am deeply saddened by the events of the Church in Ahiara.

“In fact, the Church (and excuse the wording) is like a widow for having prevented the Bishop from coming to the Diocese. Many times I have thought about the parable of the murderous tenants, of which the Gospel speaks (cf. Mt 21:33-44), that want to grasp the inheritance.

“In this current situation the Diocese of Ahiara is without the bridegroom, has lost her fertility and cannot bear fruit. Whoever was opposed to Bishop Okpaleke taking possession of the Diocese wants to destroy the Church.

“This is forbidden; perhaps he does not realise it, but the Church is suffering as well as the People of God within her.

“The Pope cannot be indifferent. I know very well the events that have been dragging on for years and I am thankful for the attitude of great patience of the Bishop, indeed the holy patience demonstrated by him.’’

He explained that he listened and reflected much, even about the possibility of suppressing the Diocese, but then “I thought that the Church is a mother and cannot abandon her many children’’.

The members of the delegation were accompanied by His Eminence Cardinal J. O. Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja and Apostolic Administrator of Ahiara, His Excellency A. J. Obinna.

Others are Metropolitan Archbishop of Owerri, I. A. Kaigama, Archbishop of Jos and President of the Episcopal Conference of Nigeria, and P. E. Okpaleke, Bishop of Ahiara.

Also Cardinal Secretary of State, the Prefect and Superiors of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples were also present as well as Reverend Fathers C. O. Ebii, J. N. Uwalaka and U. I. Olekamma, Sister B. O. Ezeyi and S.A.R.P Iwu, Traditional Head, on behalf of the religious and lay faithful.

Read more at The Scoop.

The former Director of Defence Information (DDI), Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade (Rtd), has identified inadequacy in the level of cooperation among security agencies in the country as having serious negative impact not just on their operations but on the nation’s collective interest, most especially on national security and economy.

He said recent events in the country serves as a pointer to the fact that there are still traces of disharmony, lack of cooperation and synergy in operation and information management among security agencies.

Illustrating the reason why synergy in government activities remains a major component of vital processes for achieving the purpose of government, Olukolade said,” For instance, allegations leading to court ruling on alleged media trial as reported by Colonel Nicholas Ashinze and consequent embarrassing ruling against another government outfit could certainly have been avoided.”

In a paper titled ‘Achieving Synergy Between National Security And The Economy: The Place Of Effective Public Relations’ delivered recently at the Second Quarterly Lecture of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Oyo State Chapter, in Ibadan, the former Army spokesperson examined the place of effective PR practice in the effort to achieve synergy between national security and the economy in Nigeria.

He said it was the concern for the need to have an harmonized information dissemination system within the security agencies that led to the establishment of the Forum of Spokespersons in Security and Response Agencies (FOSRA) in 2013 as part of the counter terrorism drives of the country.

The public relations expert stressed that the existence of government hinges on two factors; national security and the economy, hence the need for every country to pursue both economic and security goals in a coordinated manner.

Advancing the role of public relations , he said “the application and practice of PR being an indispensable tool in building relationship, achieving synergy and creating mutual understanding between individual and between organizations, stands a very good chance in helping to attain the necessary synergy between national security and the economy.

“Along with advocacy and legislation, PR has often come in handy as a component of the lobby processes towards achieving the required smooth synergy among state institution interests or entities. Lobbying is not easy, neither is it for everyone.

According to him, the security situation in Nigeria for the past ten years has remained a challenge for the security agencies and he identified the major sources of threats to the nation being bordered mostly on the activities of militants, socio-political/ethno-religious violence and proliferation of small arms.

“The spread of activities of militants, terrorists and bandits poses a serious challenge to the nation more so as such activities often go beyond Nigeria’s borders, with serious diplomatic implications and consequences. The capacity of the military and security agencies to perform in handling the challenges will continue to be of interest locally and abroad.

“Militants and terrorist are noted for aiming their activities towards achieving psychological point or advantage. By this they hope to attract the attention of the Federal Government and the international community through the huge economic loses that often result from the success of any of their activities, strikes or attacks. Meanwhile the activities and the attacks by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and other militant groups continue to negatively affect oil production as well as the security of lives and property in the Nigeria Delta region.

“It just obvious that insecurity has impacted negatively on our quest for national development, impoverished the citizens, created tensions, frightened off foreign investors and created a state of instability that only aids underdevelopment and insecurity. The fact that National security and economic security are intricately linked as one cannot exist without the other has been proved in the nation’s situation as elsewhere.”, he said.

This, he said, implies that no country can thrive economically in an environment of insecurity as was demonstrated by the Boko Haram insurgency and militancy in the Niger Delta region adding that Boko Haram insurgency has decimated the economy of the North East, impoverished the region, and escalated the levels of insecurity, poverty and disease in the region.

Olukolade explained that it is just obvious that Insecurity has impacted negatively on our quest for national development, impoverished the citizens, created tensions, frightened off foreign investors and created a state of instability that only aids underdevelopment and insecurity.

He stressed that no matter how complex and divergent the concepts of national security and the economy may seem, PR continues to have a vital role to play in smoothening the complex relationships between the two pursuits towards ensuring a harmonious interaction between the nation’s security and the economy at any time.

The manifestation of these threats across the nation, he suggested should be of interest to the (PR) practitioners, stressing that “it is the duty of PR practitioners to prevent the escalation of misunderstanding or clashes among or between the various components.

“Since there is bound to be national security and economic security issues to be resolved, it is our duty as PR practitioners to establish processes for coordinating the messages coming into the public domain from the operators of the nation’s security and economic systems, the PR element should be the authoritative voice of the government as far as his sector is concerned. The information machinery of government should build trust within government and between the people and the government.

“The job of the communication machinery of government is to ensure that messages are synergised among the divergent component parts in a complementary manner because effective communication is the heart and soul of any PR plan.

“PR elements of security agencies need to install processes for effective liaison to promote inter agency cooperation across the whole spectrum of all their areas of operation. The practitioners of PR in security circles and the economy sector generally, must know how to mobilize the public to have correct attitude towards the social and political perception on issues of security and economy concerns.

For any meaningful progress to be made in achieving synergy between national security and the economy, Olukolade further suggested that government should professionalize its communication delivery systems stressing that only communication trained PR specialists or professionals should be employed to manage communication in these two important sectors.

He as well suggested training and retraining of PR practitioners as paramount in achieving synergy between national security and the economy, saying ,training is a necessary tool that would ensure that all agencies of government concerned with national security and the economy work at a common purpose.

The Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 has discharged and acquitted Nigeria’s Senate President Bukola Saraki in the 18-count charges of false declaration of assets brought against him since September 2015 by the federal government.

The tribunal held that the evidence proffered against Saraki by the federal government was bereft of probate value and manifestly unreliable to hold the charges against the defendant.

Delivering ruling in a no case submission made by Mr. Kanu Agabi SAN on behalf of Saraki, chairman of the tribunal Mr. Danladi Yakubu Umar said the prosecution at the close of the case failed to establish a prima facie case against the defendant.

Umar said the four witnesses called by the prosecution to testify in the matter gave contradictory evidence that were manifestly unreliable to convict the defendant or order him to enter his defense.

The chairman specifically referred to the evidence of the third prosecution witness Mr. Samuel Madojemu to the effect that oral investigation was conducted on Saraki and that there was no written report on Saraki by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), adding that such an evidence has no probate value upon which the tribunal can hold the charges against the defendant.

According to him, Madojemu as Head of Investigation and Intelligent Department of the Code of Conduct Bureau did not in any way help the prosecution in his evidence when he (Madojemu) claimed that all his averments in the affidavit in support of the charges against Saraki were based on information supplied to him by an undisclosed team of investigators who are not from CCB.

Umar further said that the report of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) put at the disposal of the tribunal was more of intelligence gathering rather than conventional investigation.

He said that to worsen the case, the defendant was never invited or be made to make statement so that truth can be unearthed if there are allegations against him.

The chairman of the tribunal said “From the simple analysis of the evidence of the prosecution, we find it difficult to accept the seriousness of the witnesses. All the evidences were so discredited, unreliable that no reasonable court will attach probate value to them.

“Since the essential ingredients of all the charges were not proved as required by law, this tribunal has no option to discharge and acquit the defendant in view of the manifestly unreliable evidence of the prosecution witnesses.

In his supporting ruling, the second member of the panel Mr. Williams Atedze Agwadza said that he was persuaded by the ultimate conclusion of the chairman of the tribunal on the no case submission.

He said a careful perusal of the four witnesses and 48 exhibits tendered by the prosecution showed grave defectiveness as no prima facie case was established to sustain the charge.

“The formulation of the 18 count charge was based on the affidavit evidence of Mr. Samuel Madojemu of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). His testimony and affidavit evidence later became affliction and epidemic that befell the prosecution because they were based on mere hearsays.

He said sections 37, 38 and 126 of the Evidence Act were violated with manifestly inadmissible exhibits and testimony.

He further said that the team referred to by Madojemu and which comprised of the operatives of the EFCC, DSS, and CCB is unknown to law as the team has no constitutional or statutory backing to do what they did thereby making the charge against Saraki incurably defective and capable of causing miscarriage of justice against the defendant.

“Evidence to establish offence must be such that has probate value. Another fatal error on the part of the complainant was the failure to obtain statement of the defendant.

Besides, Agwadza said that prosecution also failed by its inability to call vital witnesses including the Accountant General of Kwara state to establish the alleged collection of salary by Saraki long after he left office as governor of Kwara State.

“My humble conclusion is that the defendant in this case has no case to answer and is accordingly discharged and acquitted”.

It would be recalled that the Federal government had in September 2015 slammed charges of false declaration of assets, operating foreign accounts and collecting salaries from Kwara State government on Saraki years after he left office as Chief executive of the State.

Back in the day, people could only enjoy an arcade game in the privacy of their own home, if they owned an Atari system. Today, there are a wide variety of gaming systems available on the market that has played a major role in enhancing the gaming experience. However, without state-of-the-art technology this would not be possible. With these technologies, users can experience gaming like never before with a more realistic feel that allows them to be pulled into the game and become a virtual character.

Virtual Reality  

When virtual reality devices first hit the market, everyone was amazed with their technological capabilities. Since then, device manufacturers are taking advantage of the technology every way possible. VR headsets are now being incorporated into the gaming world, giving players more realistic sounds and images. In fact, many gamers describe the experience as an “out of body experience”, which cannot be said about any other type of electronic equipment.

By donning a virtual reality headset, you will be able to play video games without sitting directly in front of a TV or computer screen. The artificial world will appear right before your eyes, plus you will be provided with realistic-like vibrations and other sensations to enhance the experience.

Smartphone

Smartphones is embedded with a mobile operating system and are typically the size of your pocket. These devices connect to the Internet via a cellular transmission. While many people only utilize their smartphone to communicate with their family and friends, others utilize it to connect to their favorite games. You can also access https://www.casinolavida.com/ and play your favorite online casino games, like blackjack, slots and bingo. With the smartphone at your disposal, you will be able to connect to all of your gaming accounts from anywhere.

Connecting Online Around The World

One of the biggest ways that technology has impacted the gaming world is by connecting millions of people worldwide with online interactivity and online game sharing. It really wasn’t that many years ago that in order to test your skills against another player you both had to be sitting in the same room. While those days are long gone, there are still a lot of dedicated players that can recall the hardships of the first interactive games. When online game play was first introduced on the market the connections were shaky, the games lagged, and people get extremely frustrated.

Technology has completely reshaped those days, and now people in different countries can come together to compete and share their online experiences with ease.

Taking Advantage Of Cloud Based Gaming

The cloud has made a huge impact on the world ever since it came into existence, and it has even extended its influence over to the gaming world. Before cloud came along, players had to clog their devices with gigabytes on top of gigabytes in order to take advantage of super high-definition games. However, now with new cloud based technologies, players can enjoy high definition and super graphics right in their browser without sacrificing the storage capabilities of their computer or console.

Touchscreen Technology

It wasn’t that long ago that controlling a device with a swipe of your fingers seemed like something out of the movies. Now, it is completely a possibility and has made a huge impact on the gaming world. In fact, today most of the handheld devices you will find have some sort of touchscreen technology imprinted on them. Gaming manufacturers are doing everything they can to take advantage of this technology and implement it into their games.

UPDATE: President Donald Trump has informed the American public that the suspected gunman who opened fire at baseball game practice  has died.

PREVIOUSLY: A lone gunman opened fire on Republican members of the congressional baseball team at a practice field in a Washington suburb Wednesday, using a rifle to shower the field with bullets that struck five people, including Steve Scalise, the majority whip of the House of Representatives.

Two members of Mr. Scalise’s protective police detail were wounded as they exchanged gunfire with the gunman in what lawmakers described as a chaotic, terror-filled ten minutes that turned the baseball practice into an early-morning nightmare. The police said two of the five people shot were critically wounded.

Standing at second base, Mr. Scalise was struck, in the hip, according to witnesses, and collapsed as the shots rang out, one after another, from behind a chain-link fence near the third-base dugout. Witnesses said Mr. Scalise, of Louisiana, “army crawled” his way toward taller grass as the shooting continued.

Two law enforcement officials identified the gunman as James T. Hodgkinson, 66, from Belleville, Ill., a suburb of St. Louis. The Washington Post first identified Mr. Hodgkinson as the suspect in the shooting.

The police said the gunman was wounded and taken into custody after the gunfight with the Capitol Police security detail and local police officers, who arrived minutes after they received desperate calls for help from those at the field. The F.B.I. said the bureau would take the lead in the investigation, treating it as an assault on a federal officer.

Witnesses described a man with white hair and a beard wielding a long gun standing behind the dugout.

“He was hunting us at that point,” said Representative Mike Bishop, Republican of Michigan, who was standing at home plate when the shooting began at 7:09 a.m. Mr. Bishop said the gunman seemed to be “double-tapping” the trigger of his weapon. “There was so much gunfire, you couldn’t get up and run,” he said. “Pop, pop, pop, pop — it’s a sound I’ll never forget.”

The authorities said they could not comment on the motive for the shooting. Tim Slater, a special agent in charge in the F.B.I’s Washington field office, said investigators are “exploring all angles.” Asked whether the shooting was an assassination attempt, he said it was “too early in the investigation to say one way or another.”

Aides to Mr. Scalise said Wednesday morning that he underwent surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and was in stable condition. The police said a total of five people were transported to hospitals.

A friend of Zachary Barth, a staff member for Representative Roger Williams, Republican of Texas, posted a message from Mr. Barth on Facebook saying: “I got shot this morning at the baseball fields. But I am in the hospital and ok. Thank you for the thoughts and prayers.”

Representative Mo Brooks, Republican of Alabama, told CNN that the gunman, who had a rifle, had said nothing as he opened fire. At least 50 shots were fired, congressional sources said.

Mr. Brooks said he went to the aid of one of the victims and used his belt as a tourniquet to help stop the bleeding from a gunshot to his leg. He said it was about two to five minutes before other officers arrived.

Read more at The New York Times.