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Prison Officials Leave Court Without Emefiele

The officials of Nigeria Correctional Service has left the Federal High Court in Lagos without suspended Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele in their custody.
This happened after a tussle between prison officials and the DSS on Tuesday.
The NCS officials left after the intervention of a senior female operative of the Department of State Services.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos had earlier granted Emefiele bail after he was arraigned for illegal firearms possession but the DSS refused to allow the Prison officials to take custody of the former CBN governor as ordered by the court.
Meanwhile, a free-for-all ensued between officials of the two agencies with a senior-ranking prisons official seriously beaten.
Moments after the fight, a senior female DSS official arrived at the court and had a brief discussion with prison officials who later vacated the court.
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DSS Ignores Court Order, Returns Emefiele to Custody

The Department of State Services, has ignored an order of a court and returned the suspended governor of the Central Bank, CBN, Godwin Emefiele to custody, according to Punch.
The order by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos had granted Emefiele bail.
The court had earlier granted bail to Emefiele after he pleaded not guilty to the two counts charge bordering on the alleged illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo who granted the bail, ordered that Emefiele be remanded in prison until he fulfils his bail conditions.
However, officials of the secret police and their counterparts in the Nigerian Correctional Services were engaged in a physical fight over who would move Emefiele from the court.
A few minutes ago, officials of the DSS succeeded in taking the suspended governor of the apex bank away from the court.
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Emefiele: DSS Arrests Ikoyi Prison Boss On Court Premises

There was drama on Tuesday as operatives of Department of State Services arrested a top official of Ikoyi Prisons.
The incident happened at the premises of Federal High Court in Lagos State.
The arrest may not be unconnected with the tussle for who keeps custody of the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The Ikoyi prison official who was rough-handled and shuffled into the DSS vehicle was later released by the secret service operatives.
The PUNCH earlier reported that a mild drama played out at the Federal High Court, Lagos State, between DSS operatives and officials of Nigeria Correctional Service as they tussled over who keeps custody of Emefiele.
Emefiele was arraigned by the Federal Ministry of Justice for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition but was granted bail in the sum of N20m with one surety, following his “not guilty” plea.
As the defendant’s lawyers were trying to perfect his bail conditions, a mild drama played out within the court premises between DSS operatives who are fully hooded and NCS over who will take custody of the embattled CBN boss.
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Nigeria Has Disappointed Africa, World — Obasanjo

Ex-President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that Nigeria has not lived up to expectations and has disappointed not only Africa but the rest of the world.

According to him, Nigeria has been carried away with ethnic and religious crises, and can’t achieve an equitable society.

Obasanjo disclosed this while delivering the keynote address at the public presentation of the book titled ‘Reclaiming the Jewel of Africa,’ written by former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, who also served as Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga.

The book was unveiled by President Bola Tinubu through his Special Adviser on Monetary Policy, Olawale Edun. The event, which was held in Abuja, witnessed a large turnout of past and current senior government officials, as former President Goodluck Jonathan and Obasanjo spoke virtually.

In his address at the programme, Obasanjo said, “Over the last 63 years, we have not lived up to expectations. We have disappointed ourselves; we have disappointed Africa; we have disappointed the black race; and we have disappointed the world.”

He, however, stated that “what Segun (Aganga) has tried to identify, itemise and recommend in his book is the way forward.

“But the beginning of charting a new course for ourselves is to admit our failure because we have not always put the round peg in the round hole.


“We are carried along by ego and emotion of self, selfishness and self-centeredness, ethnic and religious jingoism, with total lack of understanding of the world we live in and gross misunderstanding of what development entails and how to move fast and continuously on the trajectory of development.”

The former President further identified two of the major issues that were interrelated in terms of factors for all-round development.

“These are peace and security, which we cannot achieve without justice, equity and inclusive society. And telling ourselves the truth, we have not done well on these scores in the recent past—in the last decade and a half.

“I will also point at the issue of education, where over 20 million children that should be in school are not in school. We do not need an oracle to tell us the consequences of that for tomorrow,”Obasanjo stated.

He said the skill acquisition, empowerment and employment of youth would seem to be ignored or not appreciated.

“We do not need to look far for the remote causes of banditry, Boko Haram, kidnapping and other organised crimes.

“We are living dangerously on a keg of gunpowder, driving more people into poverty through good policies poorly and thoughtlessly implemented or bad policy and no policy at all,” he stated.

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Dollar Now N876 As Forex Shortage Worsens

The naira has continued to depreciate against the dollar at the exchange rate market.
According to Punch, the naira traded 876/$ at the parallel market on Sunday.
Some Bureau de Change operators, who spoke to The PUNCH, said the local currency had earlier exchanged to the dollar at 820 a week earlier.
Since the unification of the exchange rates in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria in recent weeks, the naira had continued to slide to the dollar, due to liquidity crunch, speculations, and other challenges.
Speaking with Punch correspondent, a BDC operator in Lagos, Alhaji Sanni Abdul, stated, “Naira is currently bought and sold at 850/$ and 876/$. The exchange rate has not been stable for some time now.”
Another BDC operator, Alli Ibrahim, said, “Things are getting more expensive. As of Friday, we were buying and selling the naira at 850/$ and 865/$.”
Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said the foreign exchange market was evidently under pressure as a result of a number of factors.
He said there was a curious surge in monetary expansion in the last month.
Yusuf said, “Money supply grew by an unprecedented 15 per cent in one month between May and June 2023.  Broad money grew by over N9tn, from N55.7tn to N64.9tn. This surge in monetary growth is unprecedented. Obviously, this must have had an effect on the exchange rate.”
 
He said the monetary authorities should investigate this drastic growth in money supply and take steps to curb subsequent expansion.
“Such dramatic growth in money supply poses a significant risk to macroeconomic stability, especially price stability,” he said.
Over the last few years, he said, there had been a cumulative backlog of unmet foreign exchange demand, running into billions of dollars as a result of acute illiquidity in the foreign exchange market.
With a more liberalised forex market, he said, the pressure of the backlog of unmet demands and other maturing forex-related obligations had been unleashed on the investors’ and exporters’ window.
However, at the Investor & Exporter forex window, naira appreciated by 3.24 per cent against the dollar in the previous week.
According to the data from the official trading platform of FMDQ Securities, there was a slight appreciation of the naira by 3.24 basis per cent, bringing its value to 777.82/$. It ended the previous week at 803.90/$.
As of Friday, the naira traded at an intra-day high of 855/$ and a low of 665/$ with a total turnover of $77.99m.
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Deputy Senate President, Barau Makes New Appointments

Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau has confirmed the appointment of Professor Muhammad Ibn Abdullahi as his Chief of Staff.

In a statement by his media office, Barau named Professor Bashir Muhammad Fagge, Special Adviser (Policy & Monitoring); and the Deputy General Editor of Daily Trust Newspapers, Ismail Mudashir, Special Adviser, Media & Publicity.

He named Idris Abiola Ajimobi, the son of the late Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, as Special Adviser (Special Duties); Yusuf Aliyu Tumfafi, Special Adviser (Political); Mrs. Ngozi Ndawi Nkemdirim, a pioneer staff of the National Assembly, Special Adviser (Administration); and Shittu Madaki Kunchi, Special Assistant (Media & Publicity).

Naija News reports that Prof Muhammad Ibn Abdullahi, born in Faruruwa, Shanono LGA, Kano State, was until this appointment, the Head of Department, Education, School of Continuing Education of Bayero University Kano (BUK).

The professor of Guidance and Counselling obtained B.A. (Ed)/ Islamic Studies, BUK, M.Ed/Guidance and Counselling (Unijos) and Ph.D. in Guidance and Counselling, BUK.

Bashir Muhammad Fagge, a Professor of Animal Science, hails from Fagge in Fagge LGA of Kano State. He attended Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto for his B.Sc in Agriculture; and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University for his M.Sc and Ph.D.

He served as the Provost of the Federal College of Education Technical, Bichi, Kano State between 2015 and 2023. He was a member of the Senior Executive Course 40 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State.

Ismail Mudashir, who hails from Kwara State, was born in Zamfara State. Until this appointment, he was the Deputy General Editor of the Daily Trust Newspapers.

While in Daily Trust, he held various positions including, Regional Editor (Kano), Group Politics Editor, State House correspondent and head of the National Assembly. He started his journalism career in 2003 at the New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN), Kaduna.

He studied Mass Communication at the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State; Kaduna Polytechnic; Bayero University Kano; and Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India, for his undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Idris Abiola Ajimobi, the son of the late Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, had his primary and secondary education in Nigeria before moving to England, where he furthered his studies and graduated with a degree in Business Management in 2004. He also obtained a Master’s degree in International Relations in London.

Mrs. Ngozi Ndawi Nkemdirim, who was born in Jos, Plateau State, hails from Imo State. The graduate of the University of Calabar, Cross River State, has three decades of experience at the National Assembly.

Until her appointment, she was the Director, Journals and Procedure of the Senate. In 2008, she obtained a Master’s in International Administration from the London Metropolitan University, UK. She has attended various training on legislative drafting and parliamentary procedure.

Barau, who represents Kano North Senatorial District, said the appointees were selected based on their track records in their respective professions. He said the appointments take immediate effect.

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Yoruba Nation Agitator, Sunday Igboho’s Mother Is Dead

The mother of Sunday Adeyemo, the embattled Yoruba nation agitator, also known as Sunday Igboho has died.

Mrs Adeyemo died Saturday evening.

Igboho confirmed her demise in an Instagram post.

He said: “My heart is heavy. I do not want you to leave just yet. I’m left alone in this complicated world. Mama mi, who would I turn to? It’s hard for me to say goodbye.

“The cold hands of death took you. It wriggles out from its dark depths and snatched you away. Mama mi, this is too much for me to bear. Too much.”

Also, Igboho’s spokesman, Olayomi Koiki, confirmed the death in a tweet saying; “I can confirm today Saturday 22nd of July 2023 that Dr. Chief Sunday Adeyemo’s (aka Sunday Igboho) mother died.”

Igboho has been unable to leave Benin Republic since his arrest and arraignment in 2021.

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Your Claim On Presidential Election Arrant Nonsense – APC To Atiku

The All Progressives Congress (APC), has slammed Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections.

The APC says the allegation made by the Atiku Abubakar against it lacks substance.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, in a statement issued on Saturday, described Atiku’s allegations as arrant nonsense.

He said there was nothing in Atiku’s statement that was worth a reaction from the ruling party.

The spokesperson said Atiku’s statement alleged that the APC and its government are engaged in a plot to intimidate members of the judiciary towards unduly influencing the outcome of pending cases before the court.

Morka stressed Atiku and his minions offered no evidence to support their wild, hollow, and mischievous allegations.

The spokesperson stressed that President Bola Tinubu and the APC won the election convincingly, adding that the ruling party has faith and confidence in the courts to dispense electoral justice in accordance with the Constitution and all applicable laws.

He added: “Quite frankly, there is nothing in Atiku Abubakar’s statement that is worth a reaction from the APC. It is just arrant nonsense, totally lacking in substance and cogency.

“It’s only imaginable purpose is a childish attempt to float an alibi to deflect the shame of a highly probable defeat in court, having miserably failed to make out a credible case to justify his bogus claim that he won the last Presidential Election.”

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Tinubu, APC Plotting To Threaten Election Tribunal Judges With Arrest – Atiku Makes Huge Claim

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has slammed the All Progressives Congress (APC) with a huge accusation.

 

He accused the APC of trying to compromise the judiciary.

Atiku and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) are challenging the declaration of Bola Tinubu, candidate of the APC, as the winner of the 2023 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Part of the grounds for the challenge was Tinubu’s failure to secure at least 25% of votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

However, Tinubu, through his counsel, Wole Olanipekun, argued that the FCT is the 37th state for electoral purposes and any other interpretation would “lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy and alteration of the very intention of the legislature.”

Atiku, in a statement signed by his media adviser, Paul Ibe on Saturday, said the APC and agents of Tinubu have “ceaselessly chosen to stand in the way of justice by making “catastrophic threats to anarchy if justice is not served according to their whims.”

“The plot of the APC is simple: intimidate the judiciary, threaten judges with arrest so that they will bow to their will. This is a playbook from 2019, when they removed the CJN and then replaced him with Tanko Muhammad, who himself was later accused of corruption by his colleagues at the Supreme Court and resigned shamefully,” the statement reads in part.

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Suspended CBN Governor, Emefiele Set To Apear In Court

Godwin Emefiele, the embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will appear before the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on Tuesday, July 25.

Emefiele was detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) following allegations levelled against him. He is due to enter his plea before Justice Nicholas Oweibo.

Recall that on June 10, DSS operatives visited Emefiele’s residence in Ikoyi, Lagos, a day after his suspension as CBN governor by President Bola Tinubu.

Emefiele has been in custody since his arrest, a move that DSS insists was authorized by an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court.

However, a group of human rights lawyers, led by Maxwell Okpara and Ahmed Tijani, have criticized Emefiele’s continued detention and accuse the DSS of ignoring existing court judgments.

In response to the alleged contempt, the lawyers filed a notice of consequences of disobedience to a court order (Form 48) and a request to commit the alleged contemnor to prison (Form 49) at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.

They also called for the dismissal of DSS Director General, Mr Yusuf Bichi, after the agency referred to them as “charge and bail lawyers” and sympathizers of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Twitter.

In a two-count charge (FHC/L/437/2023), the DSS has accused Emefiele of unlawfully possessing a single-barrel shotgun (Jojeff Magnum 8371) without a license and 123 rounds of live ammunition (cartridges), both violations of the Firearms Laws of the Federation 2004.