The All Progressives Congres (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stir reactions after being spotted requiring support to stand.
The health concerns of the former Lagos Stategovernor continues to worry many Nigerians as it marks one of the major reason for losing support from youths.
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A video making rounds on the internet captured the moment Tinubu was aided by the support of one of his team to stand during a campaign rally.
This, however, stirred mixed reactions from netizens who made a mockery of Tinubu’s health status as the 2023 elections is barely a month away.
“If u like post wen he his crawling to campaign, those em pikin wey want make God punish their existence will still find something to defend abt the crawling 🤣😂😂😂,” an IG user, officialluchijoy wrote.
Another user, jenny_oki added, “Wetin funny me pass he say..dem Dey hold am..e still get mind to dance 🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤣🤣🤣🤪.”
king_oladway insisted on Tinubu being worthy of his vote, “Na Tinubu I go still vote for sha. If he like make he dey crawl.”
In Rajasthan, India, angry villagers beat a camel to death after severing its owner’s head.
The owner of the camel, identified as Sohanram Nayak, went to rein in the violent animal, and it attacked him throwing him to the ground according to The Times of India on Wednesday.
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The camel lifted picked its owner by the neck and threw him on the ground, chewing his head.
This resulted in the villagers and the victim’s family beating the camel with sticks to calm it down with the fear of hurting another person, which lead to the death of the camel.
In the video of the incident which went viral, people armed with sticks tied the camel to a tree before beating it to death.
No complaint has been received so far with regard to killing. The man’s body was handed over to the family after post-mort.
Adedamola Adewale, also known as Adeherself, is scheduled to be re-arrested this February by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged internet fraud of N7.9 million.
Adeherself
Adewale was charged with three counts of conspiracy to deceive, attempt to deceive, and retention of criminal proceeds, along with two others who are still at large.
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Adeherself pleaded not guilty to the charges in front of Justice Mojisola Dada at the Ikeja Special Offences Court. The EFCC’s counsel, Samuel Daji, requested that the court detain the defendant until trial proceedings begin.
“My lord, this case was heard before Justice Sherifat Solebo before she retired, and when it was transferred to this honourable court, I informed my learned friend that the case would be coming up on Jan. 25.
“He said he thought it was the day before. This is a matter that is starting afresh before your lordship, and we do not know if the sureties, who stood for her earlier, are dead or not.
It is proper for the defence to apply afresh for bail before your lordship,” he said.
However, the defence attorney, Mr Kassim Molade, requested that the court maintain the bail previously granted by Solebo to the defendant until a new bail application can be filed. Molade stated that the defendant has attended all court appearances and is willing to participate in the trial.
“We passionately urge your lordship to allow the defendant to continue to enjoy the bail given to her by the sister court. The reason we were not here on Jan. 25 is that prosecution did not get back to me.
I assure your lordship that before the close of today, I will rush to the sister court to get a copy of the ruling on the bail application,” he said
As a result, the judge retained the bail previously granted to the defendant by Solebo in place until the defence counsel submits a new bail application.
Struggling Nigerians hold their morning devotion while waiting in line at the ATM.
Following the introduction of the new note and the previous deadline imposed on the old, banks have reported a severe shortage of the new currency, with a staggering number of customers waiting to make withdrawals.
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Nigerians have reacted to scarcity in a variety of ways, some ingenious, others violent.
Some Nigerians who had queued up at the ATM at the wee hours of the morning decided to hold their devotion while waiting.
In the video making the rounds, a man could be seen holding a Bible and leading the praise and worship.
Some bank officials in Nigeria were caught on camera scaling a barbed wire fence to avoid angry customers.
Nigerians’ reactions to the scarcity of the new Naira notes introduced last year have been mixed.
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Several videos have surfaced showing Nigerians waiting for hours in long lines to use ATMs, while others have resorted to sleeping over to get a spot the next day.
More extreme and intense reactions have also been recorded as some residents have stormed banks to destroy properties both of the bank and its workers.
To avoid falling victim of being manhandled by some aggrieved customers, some bank officials had resorted to scaling fence with ladder.
Although it is not known where the incident occured, a viral video online captures the staff taking turns to climb a fence.
The EFCC has arrested a bank manager for allegedly refusing to load the bank’s ATMs despite having new Naira notes.
According to the EFCC, the bank manager had N29 million of the new Naira notes in the bank’s vault but refused to do the needful. The manager’s arrest was made on Monday, February 6, 2023, in Abuja.
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EFCC noted:
“Before he was whisked away for further questioning, the operatives ordered the loading of all the ATMs and the payment of the stipulated amount across the counter to the delight of the distraught customers who had spent hours on queues without getting the new notes.
This discovery, which indicates a sabotage of the government’s monetary policy by some banks, was made by the EFCC in continuation of the ongoing surveillance and visit to banks across the country to access their vaults and verify whether they were deliberately refusing to dispense the redesigned Naira notes.
More than five bank branches were covered today by the operatives in Abuja. Similar exercises were ongoing in Zonal Commands across the country.“
Abdulrasheed Bawa, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has been ordered to be arrested and held without bail by the Kogi State High Court.
Abdulrasheed Bawa
The court ordered that Bawa be remanded in Kuje prison for disobeying a court order.
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Justice Rukayat Ayoola in his judgment on Monday, February 6, also directed the Inspector General of Police to ensure compliance because the EFCC boss committed contempt of court.
The judge ruled that Bawa should be remanded for the next 14 days for disobeying a court ruling delivered on November 30, 2022, wherein he was directed to produce the applicant in a case, Ali Bello.
Counsel to the applicant, Sumaila Abbas, had dragged Bawa to court for arresting and detaining Ali Bello illegally, with the court ruling in his favor, only for the EFCC to arraign him for alleged money laundering three days after the ruling.
But, EFCC’s applications for setting aside and staying off the execution of the ruling were refused for want of merit.
Recall that an Abuja High Court sitting in Maitama inNovember 2022 convicted Bawa for contempt of court.
Hameem Nuhu Sanusi was unanimously elected as the new Emir of Dutse by the emirate’s seven kingmakers.
The 43-year-old Sanusi is the son of the late Emir of Dutse, Dr. Nuhu Muhammad Sanusi who died five days ago.
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The appointment, which was backed by the Jigawa State Council of Chiefs and approved by the state governor, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, is effective from February 5, 2023.
It was gathered that the State Government presented the appointment letter to the new Emir at the Garu Palace in Dutse on Sunday, February 5, 2023.
The late Emir of Dutse, who ruled the emirate for 28 years, passed away at Cedercrest Hospital in Abuja on January 31 after a brief illness.
The appointment of his son as the new Emir follows a long-standing tradition and underscores the commitment of the state to preserving its cultural heritage.
Three APC-ruled state governments have taken the Federal Government of President Muhammadu Buhari to court over the Naira Redesign Policy, which has resulted in a severe cash shortage in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari
The three states – Zamfara, Kaduna, and Kogi in a motion ex-parte filed before the supreme court, seek for an an interim injunction stopping the CBN from ending the timeframe within which the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes will cease to be legal tender.
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The Plaintiffs in the suit are the three Attorneys-General and Commissioners of Justice of the three states, while the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), is the sole Respondent.
The Plaintiffs said that since the announcement of the new naira note policy, there has been an acute shortage in the supply of the new naira notes in Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States and that citizens who have dutifully deposited their old naira notes have increasingly found it difficult and sometimes next to impossible to access new naira notes to go about their daily activities.
They also cited the inadequacy of the notice coupled with the haphazard manner in which the exercise is being carried out and the attendant hardship same is wrecking on Nigerians, which has been well acknowledged even by the Federal Government of Nigeria itself.
The Plaintiffs further maintained that the ten-day extension by the Federal Government is still insufficient to address the challenges bedeviling the policy.
Recall that over the weekend, the CBN Governor at a press conference held in Lagos insisted that the apex bank will not extend the deadline for swapping old naira notes with the newly redesigned ones.
In the suit filed at the apex court, the Plaintiffs have also filed a motion on notice to abridge the time within which the Respondent may file and serve his Counter-Affidavit to this Suit and an order for an accelerated hearing of this matter.
The states are seeking a declaration that the Demonetization Policy of the Federation being currently carried out by the Central Bank of Nigeria under the directive of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not in compliance with the extant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and actual laws on the subject.
They are also asking the court to make a declaration that the three-month notice given by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Central Bank of Nigeria under the directive of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the expiration of which will render the old Banknotes inadmissible as legal tender, is in gross violation of the provisions of Section 20(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 which specifies that Reasonable Notice must be given before such a policy.
The Plaintiffs are also urging the court for a declaration that given the express provisions of Section 20(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007, the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, has no powers to issue a timeline for the acceptance and redeeming of banknotes issued by the Bank, except as limited by Section 22(1) of the CBN Act 2007. The Central Bank shall at all times redeem its bank notes.
The Plaintiffs further want the court to direct the immediate suspension of the demonetisation of the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Central Bank of Nigeria under the directive of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria until it complies with the relevant provisions of the law.
In an affidavit filed in support of the suit and sworn to by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Kaduna State, Aisha Dikko, she averred that although the naira redesign policy was introduced to encourage the cashless policy of the Federal government, it is not all transactions that can be conveniently carried out through electronic means.
She maintained that several transactions still require cash in exchange for goods and services hence the need for the Federal Government to have sufficient money available in circulation for the smooth running of the economy.
Dikko also pointed out that the Federal Government has embarked on the policy within a narrow and unworkable time frame, and this has adversely affected Nigerian citizens within Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States as well as their Governments, especially as the newly redesigned naira notes are not available for use by the people as well as the State Governments.
“That the majority of the indigenes of the Plaintiffs’ states who reside in the rural areas have been unable to exchange or deposit their old naira notes as there are no banks in the rural areas where the majority of the population of the states reside.
“Most people in rural areas of the Plaintiffs’ states do not have bank accounts and have so far been unable to deposit their life savings which are still in the old naira notes.
“There is restiveness amongst the people in the various states because of the hardship being suffered by the people, and the situation will sooner than later degenerate into the breakdown of law and order.
“The Plaintiff State Governments cannot stand by as they are duty-bound to protect citizens in their states and prevent the breakdown of law and order.
“I know that if the Federal Government of Nigeria had given sufficient and reasonable time for the naira redesign policy, all the current hardship and loss being experienced by the Plaintiffs’ State Governments as well as people in the various states would have been avoided.
“I know that the 10-day extension by the Federal Government is still insufficient to address the challenges bedevilling the policy. I also understand that the Federal Government cannot bar Nigerians from redeeming their old naira notes at any time, even though the senior notes are no longer legal tender.
“Unless this Honourable Court intervenes, the Government and people of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara State will continue to go through a lot of hardship and would ultimately suffer great loss as a result of the insufficient and unreasonable time within which the Federal Government is embarking on the ongoing currency redesign policy,” she stated.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
Point of Sales (POS) operators have resorted to exploiting Nigerians as Naira scarcity bites harder across the country.
Recall that prior to the introduction of the policy, POS operators charged N100 for every N5000 (and below) cash withdrawal, but the situation has changed.
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But currently, POS operators now charge between N300 to N400 on every N1000 withdrawn via the terminal.
This new measure was observed by a correspondent of the Daily Post during an attempt to make a withdrawal in Apo Resettlement area of Abuja.
While several POS operators were noticed to have shut down their businesses, the very few operating were at exorbitant rates.
In an attempt to make a withdrawal in Apo Resettlement, a POS operator told our correspondent: “We now charge N300 for every N1000 you withdraw from here, and the reason is that there is no money. Some of us have to stay long on queues in banks to use their ATM.”
Another POS operator lamented that they were buying the money.
“There is no money anywhere, some of us have to resort to buying this money, and this is one of the reasons our charges are high,” she said.
Asked if the charges are for the new naira notes alone, she said no, adding that “both old and new naira notes are the same thing; naira is very scarce now. It’s difficult to come by, so we charge N400 for every N1000 on both old and new.”
A customer identified as Dorcas, described the new policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, as “a devilish policy.”
Stressing that the policy was of no benefit to Nigerians, Dorcas said: “This policy by the CBN is devilish because it’s of no benefit to Nigerians. I walked from Amazing Grace Plaza inside Apo Resettlement to this entrance and most of the POS outlets have closed down because there is no money.
“You have the money in the bank but can’t withdraw because of this policy, not to talk about the N300 to N400 naira charges on every N1000 withdrawal.”
Commenting on the situation, a staff of FCMB alleged sabotage.
“The only way is for the CBN to increase their supply of the new naira notes,” he said.
