NEWS
Buhari Bounces Back, Preaches Compassion
President Muhammadu Buhari returned to Nigeria after a 16-day medical trip to London, preaching compassion to Nigerians as he resumed his high profile job.
Buhari, who returned just in time to join his compatriots to observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, pleaded with privileged Nigerians to show generosity and to help the poor all the time.
The 78-year-old president, flew out of Nigeria on March 30 for routine medical checkup.
He returned on April 15.At an airport ceremony on his return, Buhari responded to questions from reporters, challenging the new service chiefs, including the acting Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Mr Usman Baba, to work diligently to meet the expectations of Nigerians.
“Oh yes, the service chiefs have been in the system all the way. They know what is wrong. They know what is right and I think they are doing their best.
“I hope their best will be good enough for Nigerians,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Buhari as saying.
The president, who earlier announced the acting I-G’s appointment while he was in London, revealed that due process was followed in the selection of the new police chief.
“Well, we went through the system. There was a committee by the minister of police affairs. They gave me some names and Baba happened to be the one chosen.
“He knows his job. He has been in it for a long time, he went through all the trainings. He has the necessary experience.
”So, we have high expectation from him,” added the president, who was received on his return by top government functionaries at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Earlier, Buhari in a message to mark the commencement of Ramadan, prayed Allah to “accept our sacrifices and increase the unity, solidarity, peace and prosperity of the nation”.
The message was signed by presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu.
Buhari was also quoted as urging Muslims in the country to exercise patience and tolerance and to reject voices that seek to divide Nigeria.
The president also urged citizens to remember those displaced by conflicts in their prayers during the fasting season.
Muslims around the world are expected to fast for 30 days in observance of Ramadan, an annual event in the Islamic faith.
On April 14, the presidency reassured beleaguered parents and Nigerians that the missing students of Government Girls’ Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, remained constantly in the mind of government as they remained in the minds of their parents.
The re-assurance was given in a statement by the presidential spokesman, to mark the
seventh anniversary of the abduction of the Chibok girls.
The statement assured that “the release of the remaining Chibok girls was still work in progress.
“No one is giving up hope. Efforts to secure their release through various channels and activities of the security and intelligence agencies remain on course”.
The school girls were abducted on April 14, 2014 by jihadists, fighting to enthrone strict Islamic code in parts of Northern Nigeria.
On his part, the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on April 14, presided over a virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the State House, Abuja where a one-minute silence was observed in honour of a former Minister, Mr Mahmud Tukur.
| Osinbajo also participated in a virtual forum, organised by a leading American Christian University, Liberty University with theme, “Equity for Africa: Transforming the World through Judeo-Christian Values.”The event was hosted by the university’s School of Business, where the vice-president criticized vaccine nationalism and advocated fairer global cooperation. |
| According to Osinbajo, in building a fairer world that takes into account the interest of the poor, the principle of fairness must be applied by leaders in addressing challenges in health, the economy and other issues. |
On April 15, the vice-president participated in the virtual launch of the Ogun State Digital Economy Empowerment Project as well as the Africa Regional Commonwealth Leaders Roundtable, led by the Prince of Wales at the Council Chambers of the State House.
He assured that internet access and broadband penetration would become commonplace in the nearest future and would determine Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global economy.
Also on April 15, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Conference of Speakers of State Assemblies met behind closed doors with the chief of staff to the president in Abuja.
The NGF appealed to striking judicial workers to call off their ongoing strike in the interest of the nation. The judicial workers commenced their strike on April 6, to seek autonomy for the Nigerian judiciary.
Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, who is also the Deputy Chairman of the NGF, made the appeal when he responded to questions from State House correspondents.
Tambuwal had earlier led officials of the Conference of Speakers of State Assemblies to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
On April 16, Buhari sent a condolence message to the president and people of Nigeria’s northern neighbour, Niger Republic on the death of 20 school children, following a fire that engulfed a primary school in Niamey, the country’s capital.
In the message to President Mohammed Bazoum, Buhari expressed sorrow over the tragic incident.
Victims of the fire incident were mostly kids of between three to five years. (NAN)
The FCT Customary Court, Dutse, Abuja has appealed to the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to facilitate the renovation of its court complex which fell victim to vandalism and arson during the 2020 EndSARS protests.The President of the Court, Aderinto Adesoji, made the appeal during a resumed hearing in a divorce case between a petitioner, Chiwendu Nwadi and her husband, Emeka Nwadi in Ushafa, Abuja.
The Customary Court, Dutse has been sharing the court complex of a sister court in Ushafa for its sittings following the destruction. of its facilities, four years back.NAN reports that while Customary Court, Ushafa, the real owner of the facility, has its sittings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in a week, the Dutse court has its sittings on Tuesday and Thursday. Report says that Dutse and Ushafa are communities in Bwari Area Council of the FCT and they are about 17 kilometres apart.Addressing lawyers to the parties in the divorce case, when they were finding it difficult to agree on a date for next hearing in the matter, the President of the court said it is a recurrent challenge in matters before the courtAccording to him, the constraint of the panel, sitting only twice in a week has grossly affected quick dispensation of justice.He said most cases before the cout involve families, in particular, custody of children which require urgent adjudication, and should not be encumbered.Adesoji said, considering the fact that lawyers and their clients are affected by the constraints, the NBA should take steps to ensure that the appropriate authorities renovate the Dutse court complex.He said promises have been made by the association to that effect in the past, but they were yet to be actualised.Responding to the President’s appeal, Mr Moses Ibe, the lawyer to the petitioner promised the court that he would convey the message to the NBA, Bwari branch for necessary action.Ibe said this in an interview after the court session, that the distance of the court to its jurisdiction and the restrictive days of sittings have affected quick dispensation of justice.He said the essence of building the Dutse court was to bring justice closer to the people, but it has been defeated by the failure of appropriate authorities to renovate it for useThe Counsel promised to officially write to the NBA, Bwari branch to convey the Judge’s message and request for interventionAccording to Ibe, the Dutse court complex, used to serve as the Secretariat of the NBA Bwari branch, before it was vandalised and set ablaze by the EndSARS protesters.Meanwhile, the court has adjourned further hearing in the divorce petition until Oct. 21 to enable the respondent file his reply.Adesoji and other members of the panel, Nana Atipkoru, Aisha Hamza adjourned the case following the position of the respondent’s lawyer, Cornelius Simon, that his client was not served with the “particular of claims” in the petition.The panel directed that all necessary processes should be filed and served before the adjourned date so that the case would be fixed for definite hearing.The panel also ordered that the parties should maintain the status quo, particularly, as regards the custody of the children – the last child is with the petitioner, while the other two are in the custody of the respondent.In the case, the petitioner is seeking, among others, the dissolution of her 13 years marriage with her husband on the ground that “the union has broken down irretrievably”.She alleged that the husband, “is a man of unimaginable violence and cruelty, fetish, a serial wife beater and adulterer’The petitioner alleged that her husband deliberately poisoned her drink which led to losing her pregnancy.According to the petitioner, the union, consummated in 2011, under the native law and custom, as well as exchange of marital vows in a Church, has produced three children, ages, 12 years, 11 years and 2 years.She urged the court to dissolve the marriage, grant custody of the three children to her and restrain the husband from using thugs or any security agents to harass her. (NAN)
The Northern Youths Assembly has cautioned the National Assembly against passing the Tax Reforms Bill from the executive before the legislature.This is contained in an open letter to the lawmakers signed by the group’s President, Dr Ali Mohammed, and Secretary-General, Dr Garba Abduljafiz and made available to newsmen in Kano on Thursday.
The group said the bill, if passed into law, would not be in the interest of the people, particularly youths, urging for broader consultation on matters of that nature. The youths urged the National Assembly to concentrate on youth-friendly laws to safeguard the country’s future instead.“The youth are Nigeria’s future, “and our prosperity hinges on investments in education, skills development, and job creation.“As the largest political demography in the nation, youth must have a say in laws and policies that directly impact the country’s future.“We call for the creation of a special place at the centre, to allow the youths to contribute to solutions that may promote sustainable development, job creation, and economic empowerment,” the group said.The group urged the lawmakers to focus more on making laws that would improve investment climate and job creation.“We urge the National Assembly members to direct their resources and energy towards creating laws that would prioritise and encourage foreign investment.“The laws should encourage skills development and jobs creation for the teeming population of the youths, to improve measures that risk stifling the Nigerian economic opportunity.“We also urge them to stop complying with the dictates and advisory of the agents of destruction, IMF and World.“We must stay away from the trap of the IMF and World Bank, as they are all out to destroy our country through their ill-formulated policies and misleading advisory’’, the group said. (NAN)
The Defence Headquarters has confirmed the emergence of a new terrorists’ group known as ‘Lukarawas’ exacerbating insecurity in the North Western part of Nigeria.The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known while briefing newsmen on the operations of the military on Thursday in Abuja.
Buba said that the new terror group emerged from the Republic of Niger after the coup that led to the breakdown of military cooperation between Nigeria and Niger. He said that the terrorists began incursion into northern parts of Sokoto and Kebbi States from the Niger Republic and Mali axis, particularly after the coup in Niger Republic.According to him, prior to the coup, there were joint border operations with Nigerien security forces which kept the terrorist at bay.“The terrorists took advantage of the gaps in cooperation between both countries and exploited difficult terrains to make incursions in remote areas in some North Western states to spread their ideology,” he said.Buba said that the group was accommodated by the locals who initially thought that the group meant well for them, adding that they failed to report the movement to the military and security agencies.He gave assurance that toops had sustained Imtelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) to degrade the terrorists.He added that the terror group had continued to take advantage of the vast under-governed areas to hide and evade troops as well as harass the locals.According to him, troops are locating them and eliminating the threat. (NAN)
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