My View Of Restructuring - Prof. Ben Nwabueze

The object of re-structuring for which there is a widespread clamour among Nigerians, is not to break up the country or to enable agitators to secede from its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Far from that, the object is, by reforming the governmental structures and attuning them to the needs and wishes of the people, to ensure that the immense diversity of ethnic nationalities comprised in the state will continue to co-exist together in peace, prosperity and progress as citizens of one country united by common interests, common aspirations and a common destiny.

The clamour for Re-structuring must therefore be seen as a clamour for the setting up of appropriate platforms or fora to renegotiate suitable governmental structures for the pursuit and realization of our common needs for development, good governance and national transformation.

Court Orders Dasuki’s Appearance In Olisa Metuh’s Trial

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday ordered Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Service to produce the detained former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, before a Federal High Court in Abuja to enable him testify in defence of a former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh.

In a unanimous judgement delivered by its three-man panel, the Appeals Court also ordered the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, of the Federal High Court, Abuja before whom Metuh is being prosecuted to immediately sign the subpoena filed by the ex-PDP spokesperson. Justice Peter Ige, who prepared and read the lead judgement of the appellate court, directed Justice Abang to indicate the date which the DSS must produce Dasuki in court and other subsequent dates.

Gunmen Abducts Asst Police Commissioner, Family Members

An Assistant Police Commissioner, Mr. Emmanuel Adeniyi, and members of his family have been reportedly abducted by armed gunmen along the Birnin Gwari-Funtua road in Kaduna State.

The incident was said to have occurred on Wednesday when the police officer, serving in Gusau, Zamfara State, was travelling with members of his family along the Birnin Gwari road noted for banditry.

Trials Of Suspected Boko Haram Members To Be Held In Closed Doors

Trials of Boko Haram suspects in Nigeria will take place behind closed doors with no media present, a justice ministry official with knowledge of the matter told AFP on Friday.

The move was made on security grounds following discussions between the government and the Department of State Services intelligence agency.

Falana Goads CAN To Christianise Nigeria With Interest-Free Banks

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, has called on the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to “Christianise” Nigeria by setting up interest-free banks.

Falana said this in reaction to the dust raised by the N100 billion Sukuk bond issued by the federal government.

CAN had said the issuance of the bond was an attempt to sell Nigeria to Islamic nations.

INEC Frustrated In An Attempt To Serve Notice To Melaye, As He Refuses To Abandon Plenary

Chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West), yesterday, frustrated efforts by legal officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to serve him with a notice of recall.

Officials of INEC, yesterday, stormed the National Assembly complex with four “Ghana must go” bags to serve Senator Melaye with recall processes, but his office was locked despite his presence at the plenary.

Nigeria To Quite From Membership Of 90 World Organisations

The Federal Government has resolved to withdraw Nigeria’s membership from 90 world organisations over the financial implications of it’s membership of such organisations.

The decisions was arrived at during the Wednesday weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Senate Reshuffles Leadership Of Committees, Upheld The Ban On IPOB

The Senate has supported the Federal Government’s ban on the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). It also advised that all groups seeking to pursue any agitation should do so through the constitutional means.

This resolution was announced by the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki. The Senate spokesman, Aliyu Abdullahi Sabi, told journalists after plenary yesterday that IPOB through the extant law has been proscribed.

UN Security Council Obsolete, Undemocratic As Declared By Nigerian Government

Nigeria on Wednesday criticized the obsolete and old-fashioned composition of the UN Security Council, and described it as undemocratic.

The Security Council is the UN’s most powerful principal organ with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security as well as accepting new members to the UN.

Youths Of The South-South Gives Another 365 Days H/Qts Relocation Order To Oil Firms

Conference of United South-South Youth  Council, USSYC, the apex youth body of all ethnic nationalities of the South-South region, weekend, gave the Chevron Nigeria Limited, Shell Petroleum Development Company, Agip, ExxonMobil and other oil companies operating in the zone a time frame of 365 days  to relocate their headquarters to their operational bases in the Niger Delta.

Addressing newsmen in Warri, Delta State, USSYC national president, Chief Egbe Pereotubo, called for “The zoning of the office of the Presidency of Nigeria among the six geopolitical regions in the federation to give each a sense of belonging.”

Pyongyang Hold Anti-US Rally As Trump Cranks Up North Korea's Threats

U.S. President Donald Trump dialled up the rhetoric against North Korea again at the weekend, warning the country’s foreign minister that he and leader Kim Jong Un “won’t be around much longer”, as Pyongyang staged a major anti-U.S. rally.

North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday that targeting the U.S. mainland with its rockets was inevitable after “Mr Evil President” Trump called Pyongyang’s leader a “rocket man” on a suicide mission.

Natives In Abia State Gripped By Fear Over Threats From Herdsmen For Refusing Them To Graze Cattle On The Land

CRISIS is looming in Ndiolumbe Nvosi Autonomous Community in Isiala Ngwa South Council   of Abia between the people and Fulani herdsmen over the refusal of the natives to allow the Fulani herdsmen graze their cattle.

But the Fulani herdsmen have insisted that they would remain in the community  graze t in their land and they have gone ahead to camp in the community and graze their cattle.

Soldiers' Presence In South-East, Democracy Under Threat - NADECO Yells

Like Senate President Bukola Saraki, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) has stated that the deployment of soldiers with armored tanks to Abia State in the South East is unconstitutional.

It warned that democracy in Nigeria is threatened once again under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

Articulated Vehicle/Trailers & Petroleum Tankers Should Stay Away From Lagos - State Government Warns

The Lagos state government has directed owners and operators of articulated vehicles/trailers and petroleum tankers to stay away from the state “for now”.

Olanrewaju Elegushi, acting commissioner for transportation, said the move is to curtail the gridlock that has taken over Apapa and its environs.

Seven (7) Days After; Operation Python Dance II

IF the Nigerian Army had anticipated the knocks it received following the setting up of Operation Python Dance 11 in the five states of the South East, perhaps it would have shelved the idea. Its intention to mount obstacles and check points associated with the usual military activity two days before its take-off might have been responsible for the controversy generated by the exercise.

As a result of this controversy, the resultant effect was the whittling down of the scope of the operation in the five states after the initial brouhaha.

2016 US Election; Wisconsin, Ohio, California Among States Targeted By Russian Hackers

Wisconsin, Ohio, California and 10 other states said on Friday they were among 21 states that Russian government hackers targeted in an effort to sway the 2016 presidential election in favor of Donald Trump though no votes were changed.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed it had notified the states of the activity but declined to identify them. Russia has denied election meddling, and President Trump has denied any collusion with Russia.

Northern Elders - We’re Not Afraid Of Restructuring, But Won’t Be Stampeded

Northern Elders Forum, NEF, yesterday, again, weighed in on the state of the nation, saying while the region was not afraid of the persistent calls for restructuring, especially from other parts of the country, it would, however, not allow itself to be stampeded into adopting a premeditated design that could spell doom.

NEF’s declaration came on a day chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, committee on restructuring, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, disclosed that his committee will submit its report to the national chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, by end of October.

I Will Not Dethrone Nnamdi Kanu's Father Says Ikpeazu

GOVERNOR Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Tuesday said that he will not dethrone the traditional ruler of Afara Ukwu Ibeku Autonomous Community of the state, His Royal Highness, Eze Isreal Kanu, the father of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu because of the involvement of his son in the ongoing tension in the state.

There have been calls from some people from Umuahia that the governor should dethrone Kanu’s father following the horrible experience the people had from the military that had invaded all streets in the area to curb the activities of IPOB.

I will 'Totally Destroy' North Korea If America Is Threatened - Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his standoff with North Korea over its nuclear challenge on Tuesday, threatening to “totally destroy” the country of 26 million people and mocking its leader, Kim Jong Un, as a “rocket man.”

In a hard-edged speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump offered a grim portrait of a world in peril, adopted a more confrontational approach to solving global challenges from Iran to Venezuela, and gave an unabashed defense of U.S. sovereigntyysovereignty.

Buhari Urges Resolution Of Myammar, North Korea Crises In His Speech At 72nd UNGA

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the United Nations to ensure a peaceful resolution of the North Korea nuclear crisis.

In his speech to the ongoing 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York, Mr. Buhari also urged the government of Myammar to halt what he said “from all indications is a state-backed programme of brutal depopulation of the Rohingya inhabited areas in Myanmar on the bases of ethnicity and religion.”

Re - You Bathed In The Blood Of Biafrans By Fani-Kayode

THE HOMICIDAL RYTHM OF THE PYTHON DANCE

On the 15th September 2016, one year ago today, I wrote the following.

“You bathed in the blood of Biafrans, you crushed their bones and stripped away their dignity and self-respect just to keep Nigeria one.

Now you say their children have no right to ask for self-determination simply because you killed their fathers and mothers during the war and shattered their homes.

Human Rights Group Challenges Nigerian Military Over Classifying IPOB as Terrorist Organisation

The Nigerian Human Rights Community (NHRC) has insisted that it is not within the jurisdiction of the military to declare the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist group.

In a statement by Micheal Ajayi and Sanusi Suleiman, the group’s executive secretary, and middle belt coordinator, NHRC said the military should have made its findings and submitted to the National Assembly for consideration.

Buhari To Enroute London After UN General Assembly Meeting

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will pass through London, where he spent five months on medical leave this year, on his way home from the United Nations General Assembly, his spokesman said on Friday.

Buhari will depart for New York on Sunday, his spokesman said in an emailed statement. It will be the first time he has left Nigeria since returning on Aug. 19 from Britain, where he received treatment for an unspecified ailment.

"Heavy Boot" Response Of Nigerian Army To Pro-Biafra Sentiment Is "Not The Solution" – OBJ

Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has said that President Muhammadu Buhari must meet with the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu before violence between the army and separatists escalates into a full-blown conflict.

Obasanjo speaking in London, with Newsweek said that “I don’t see anything wrong in that (Buhari meeting with Kanu). I would not object to that; if anything, I would encourage it,”

Zidane's Striker Shortage Eases As Ronaldo Returns

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has underlined the importance of welcoming back World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo for the holders Champions League opener against APOEL Nicosia on Wednesday.

Ronaldo has been suspended for Real’s last four games after pushing a referee in the Spanish Super Cup and has been badly missed as the European champions have been held at home by Valencia and Levante in their last two outings.

“He doesn’t just bring goals,” said Zidane on Tuesday.

Soldiers Attack Journalists, Invade Kanu's Home

Soldiers of the Nigerian army have reportedly surrounded the country home of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in Umuahia, Abia state.

The presence of troops in Kanu’s hometown is the second of such in three days as they had earlier clashed with his supporters on Sunday.

The soldiers were said to have arrived on Tuesday in armoured carrier vehicles and Hilux vans.

Panel Set Up To Investigate Crimes By Nigerian Army Should Be Impartial and Independent - Amnesty International

Amnesty International has urged that the Nigerian government must ensure the presidential investigative panel earlier set up to investigate human rights violations by Nigeria’s military is independent, impartial and effective.

Director, Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, noted that “the establishment of this investigative panel is an opportunity for Nigeria to ensure justice for victims of the countless allegations of war crimes by the military in the country – and it must not be wasted.”

Burutai Orders Redeployment Of Troops To South-east To Curb Biafra Agitation

Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, has ordered the deployment of troops in the south-east to stop “violent” secessionist agitations.

DD Ahmadu, army chief of training and operations, who spoke on behalf of Buratai at a news conference on Friday, announced that a military exercise tagged ‘Operation Python Dance’ would commence in the five south-eastern states from September 15.

Nigerian Navy Attache Honoured With United State's Presidential Medal Of Honour

The Government of the United States of America, USA, yesterday, bestowed a rare honour to a Nigerian Navy attache, Navy Captain Kolawole Oguntuda, with its Presidential Medal of Honour.

Oguntuda, who is the Nigerian Deputy Military Attachee to the United States, bagged the honour for his outstanding achievement in playing a wonderful part in advancing a strategic role by enabling cooperation between the US and the Nigerian Navy.

Commander, United States Naval Forces in charge of Europe and Africa, Admiral Michelle Howard, presented the award to the Nigerian born Oguntuda, on behalf of President Donald Trump, at the Nigerian Naval Headquarters, Abuja.

Battery Against Husbands On The Rise In Lagos As 55 Husbands Report Wives — Attorney General

A total of 55 husbands have reported to the Lagos State Government how their wives battered them in the last eight years in renewed cases of domestic violence in the state.

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, Adeniji Kazeem at a media briefing in Ikeja, yesterday, revealed that more men were now coming forward to report cases of violence against them by their women.

Expect "Massive Military Response" After Nuke Test; US Warns North Korea

The United States warned it could launch a "massive military response" to any threats from North Korea following Pyongyang's provocative detonation of what it claimed was a miniaturized hydrogen bomb.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis spoke out on Sunday after North Korea carried out an unexpectedly strong nuclear test, more powerful than the bomb that levelled Hiroshima in 1945.

There's No Need Spending Resources Debating On Division Of The Country – Buhari

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari Sunday said that the country should not spend her resources and energy debating disintegration.

The President also said that the noises in some quarters about the division of the country was part of the rebirth going on, adding that God had designed that the country will be together.

Buhari Engages Opposition As A New Lease Of Soft Politics

It was a mixed grill. To some, it was a case of too little, too late. But within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the recent meeting President Muhammadu Buhari, had with the leadership of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was a refreshing development worthy of commendation.

Deputy National Chairman of APC (North), Senator Shuaibu Lawal, was the first to exult the meeting, which he saw as the threshold of a “new vista in Nigeria’s democracy.” The senator seemed overjoyed at the possibility that the President has found, albeit belatedly, that “such meetings demonstrate that political parties, irrespective of their ideologies and status, could give necessary support to the government” or party in power.

Boko Haram Terrorists Killed In Sambisa By Nigeria Air Force Using Jets

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said its fighter jets on Friday killed hundreds of Boko Haram terrorists in Garin Maloma area of Sambisa Forest. According to a statement signed by NAF’s spokesman, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, in Abuja, yesterday NAF conducted an Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), where it sighted the Boko Haram terrorists who were gathered under some trees.

Adesanya noted that a combination of NAF fighter aircraft namely the F7-Ni, Alpha Jet and L-39 ZA aircraft was detailed to carry out air interdiction on the terrorists gathering.

Northern Youths Should Target Attacks On Me, Not Igbos - Sultan

Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar has said that if anyone plans to attack the Igbo who are resident in the northern part of the country, such attack should be directed at him, first.

The Sultan said this when the world Igbo union leader, Dr. Mishack Nnanta, accompanied by resident Igbo chiefs, paid sallah homage to him at his palace.

Northern Elites Accused Of Sponsoring Reports On Biafra, Crises In Igbo Land Says ECA

The Eastern Consultative Assembly, ECA, has allayed the fears of possible crises in Igbo land following the agitation for the realization of the Biafran Republic, saying that there was no disagreement between the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and MASSOB on one hand and the rest of the Igbo on the other.

The ECA said that reports of impending crises over the issue in the press were being sponsored by northerners who believe that they were born to rule Nigeria and lord it over the people forever.

Hydrogen Bomb Missile Warhead Developed By N. Korea - State Media

North Korea has developed a hydrogen bomb which can be loaded into the country's new intercontinental ballistic missile, the official Korean Central News Agency claimed Sunday.

Questions remain over whether nuclear-armed Pyongyang has successfully miniaturised its weapons, and whether it has a working H-bomb, but KCNA said that leader Kim Jong-Un had inspected such a device at the Nuclear Weapons Institute.

Gov Samuel Otom's Home, Houses, Roads, All Submerged By Flood

The flood ravaging parts of Benue State, yesterday swept through the home of Governor Samuel Ortom, washing away about eight bridges and culverts, submerging close to 50 huts and houses and rendering about 200 persons homeless in Guma Local Government Area of the state.

The flood which came as a result of over seven hours downpour in the area submerged two major bridges on River Guma at Tor Kpande and Mande Ortom, where the governor personally killed a Puff Adder snake in the flood water.  Farmlands and food barns were also not spared in the affected communities.

US Plans To Search Russia's Closed Consulate In San Francisco

Russia said on Friday the FBI planned to carry out a search of its San Francisco consulate, which Washington has ordered closed along with two other facilities as part of a diplomatic slugging match between the two powers.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the search was set for Saturday and accused the US authorities of threatening the "security" of Russian citizens and violating diplomats' immunity.

Eighteen (18) People Have Been Reportedly Killed By Suspected Boko Haram Memebers In Northeast Nigeria

Suspected Boko Haram militants killed 18 people in northeast Nigeria on Friday, according to local witnesses and officials, the latest in an escalating number of lethal attacks in the region.

The knife-wielding attackers, moving under cover of night, targeted people in the town of Banki, 80 miles (130 km) southeast of the city of Maiduguri in Borno state, the epicenter of the eight-year conflict with Boko Haram, said a community leader and a local member of a vigilante group.

The attack on the town, which sits on the border with Cameroon, is the latest in a string of deadly Boko Haram raids and bombings that have undermined the Nigerian military’s statements that the insurgency is all but defeated.

The frequency of attacks in northeastern Nigeria has increased in the last few months, killing at least 172 people since June 1 before Friday’s attack, according to a Reuters tally.

The attack on Banki left 18 dead, according to Modu Perobe, a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a regional vigilante group. Abor Ali, a local ruler, confirmed the death toll.

Boko Haram’s eight-year insurgency has left at least 20,000 dead and sparked one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, with tens of thousands already in famine-like conditions, according to the United Nations.

Some 8.5 million people in the worst affected parts of northeast Nigeria are now in need of some form of humanitarian assistance, with 5.2 million people lacking secure access to food, the U.N. has said.

News Source: - Reuters | September 2, 2017.  

Photo Source: - Leadership | May 19, 2017.

Buhari Tasks Corps Members On National Unity During Sallah

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday performed this year’s Eid- el-Kabir prayer in his hometown, Daura, Katsina State.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the President, who arrived the praying ground at 9:30 a.m., was cheered by Muslim faithful who thronged the venue for the prayer.

Dalung Commend Buhari On The Disbursement of N20m To Super Eagles For Their Victory

Youth and Sports Minister, Barrister Solomon Dalung, has applauded Nigeria’s Super Eagles for their massive 4-0 triumph over visiting Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Friday.

The Senior men’s national team will receive N20million Naira for the 4 goals scored, after the federal government promised to reward every strike with N5million during a pep talk before the game.