News
Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has ordered the immediate shutdown of a popular hotel in the State.
The hotel known as Imperial Hotel located at Ilaje Street in Ijapo area of Akure, the state capital, was said to have been closed due to security threat.
The closure of the hotel was coming few days after a popular night club was shutdown in the state.
The move of the state government was made known by the governor’s
Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties, Doyin Odebowale.
According to Odebowale, the decision became imperative because the hotel had become a security risk.
He added that state government would not allow any hotel to use its facilitates as den of criminals under any guise.
Daily Post
Tragedy struck at the head office of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) when one of its chieftains, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Soba suddenly collapsed in his office and died.
The National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Emmanuel Yawe said in a statement on Monday night that the chieftain who suddenly died weekend was a retired permanent secretary from the services of the Kaduna state government.
According to him, “Alhaji Soba was serving with ACF on contract basis. Born in 1949, the late Soba obtained his school-leaving certificate in 1964.”
“He proceeded to study and obtain additional qualifications both at home and outside Nigeria in various fields especially administration and legislative studies.”
“He later became the Clerk òf the Kaduna state House of Assembly. His sudden death was grieved by all at the secretariat of ACF where he held sway as an administrative head until his sudden death,” he said.
Vanguard
Suspected outbreak of a viral disease identified as Gastroenteritis has been discovered in some parts of Ogun State.
The disease which is also known as stomach flu according to the state government broke out in Magboro, Ofada area of Obafemi-Owode Local Government the State.
The State Ministry of Health informed that the disease is spreading among okada riders and scavengers in the environment.
Nigerian Newstrack was told that viral gastroenteritis is an intestinal infection marked by watery diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, nausea or vomiting, and sometimes fever.
Healthy people who have the disease may recover without complications. However, medical practitioners say it could be “deadly” for infants, older adults and people with compromised immune systems.
The disease is usually caused by contact with an infected person or by ingesting contaminated food or water.
Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Tomi Coker, while confirming the outbreak of gastroenteritis in a statement, said the reported cases “were predominant among commercial motorcyclists and scavengers in the area.”
She explained that the index case was said to have recently returned from a trip outside Ogun State and that she has been linked to the source of the outbreak.
The health commissioner said a public toilet was the channel of transmission, adding that the toilet has been sealed up for sanitation.
According to her “the causative agent cannot be confirmed yet because appropriate sample could not be collected as there was no active case yet to commence antibiotics,” she said.
She also disclosed that a number of people “are currently receiving treatment to control the number of casualties.”
The commissioner blamed an unregistered clinic being run by a quack as having contributed to the outbreak, regretting that cases were being managed unreported.
Meanwhile, Coker informed that the state government has set up a treatment centre at the Magboro-Akeran Health Centre, where curative items have been made available by the Department of Public Health.
Adjourning communities had been sensitised on what to do and where to seek care or report any suspicious cases, she said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed National Agricultural Land Development Authority to set up integrated farm estates in all 108 senatorial districts nationwide.
Consequently, Executive Secretary of NALDA, Paul Ikonne, has called on state governors to key into the President’s desire to avail lands for the establishment of farm estates.
The scheme is aimed at engaging youths to achieve food security in the shortest possible time.
Ikonne revealed this to State House correspondents on Sunday after meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said that Kogi State government has donated 700 hectares of land to NALDA for the integrated land estate, while the 100 hectares of land donated by the Ogun State government has already been cleared.
He said that the President was committed to ensuring that the country achieve food security.
He said, “What you see is that agriculture is one of Mr. President’s heartbeat projects and he wants to see that we achieve food security in the country and NALDA is purely under the supervision of Mr. President and that is why you can see the progress that we’re making.
“I believe that the commissioning of the Daura Integrated Farm Estate in Katsina state which has the capacity to take in 1500 young farmers, is a stepping stone or an eye opener to Nigerians towards Mr. President’s passion in achieving food security.
“Now, we didn’t stop at the Daura project, as we speak, the Integrated Farm Estate in Borno is 75 percent completed and we are also doing, in 40 locations, fish villages to engage women to take in those people who are coming, the Internally Displaced Persons, in order to get them reintegrated and get them engaged, thereby providing job opportunity for them.
“As Mr. President is pursuing achieving food security, at the same time also creating job opportunities for Nigerians is on the front burner and that is what we are achieving, or we are doing using the NALDA platform.”
He added, “Again, in Kogi State we have gotten land donation from the governor of Kogi State for 700 hectares of land, which the first phase of that project will be commissioned this year.
“Clearing is about to commence and we believe that the first phase of that project, which will engage over 4,000 youths into the entire agricultural process, thereby creating employment and reducing herders-farmers clash.
“That farm in Kogi will go a long way in addressing the issues between herders/farmers because we are going to cluster the herdsmen, provide them with pastures and the facilities they need like water and, and other facilities that will help to support their business in cattle rearing.
“Again, in Ogun State, we have finished land clearing, 100 hectares has been completely cleared and the access road has been provided in that place and that farm will take in 2,500 youths.
“The President gave directives that we must make agriculture attractive to young Nigerians so that they will be engaged and I’m glad to inform us that that directive is not being taken with levity, that’s why we’re not sleeping because when the President speaks, it’s a command and you can’t wait when you have a command from Mr. President, knowing fully well that agriculture is his heartbeat and he wants to achieve food security.”
Punch
Northern Elders Forum (NEF) says shutting down communication and imposing curfews will compound living conditions in the northern region.
As part of efforts to curb insecurity, some state governments had shut down markets and schools.
On Saturday, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) shut down telecommunication services in Zamfara over lingering insecurity in the state.
Reacting in a statement on Sunday, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, NEF spokesperson, said the measures could embolden the bandits.
“Northern Elders Forum is closely following the condition of many Northern communities that have become particularly vulnerable to attacks and abuse by bandits, kidnappers and related organized criminals,” the statement reads.
“Measures being taken by some State governments such as suspension of weekly markets, restrictions on sale of petrol, closure of schools and some roads, curfews, movement of cattle and plans to restrict communication will compound the desperate conditions of living of many communities in the North.
“While it will be unhelpful to criticize these measures without adequate knowledge of their potentials to relieve the desperation under which people live, it is important nevertheless to demand that those who have powers to impose them also have clear ideas over what they could achieve and when.
“These measures represent virtual economic and social lockdowns on people who had been at the mercy of criminals for a long time.
“Unless they are accompanied by an aggressive and effective assault on the banditry and kidnapping industry, they will merely add to the misery and hopelessness of our communities.
“Worse, they could further embolden the bandit and the kidnappers when it becomes clear that governments and security agencies cannot go beyond lockdowns on communities.
“Communities themselves will lose even more faith in the capacity of the Nigerian State to respond to their desperate circumstances.”
He called on the federal government to assist states to relieve communities that are now living under additional pressure.
The Cable
A 45 year-old woman, Bukola Oladapo, and two of her daughters have been abducted at Pegi community in Kuje area council of Abuja.
They were abducted two days after a father, Abdullahi Benda, and his 23 year-old son, Jibrin Abdullahi Benda, were kidnapped at Yangoji village, in Kwali Area council, of the FCT.
Daughters of the woman involved in the fresh kidnap incident were identified as Moyo Oladapo, 17 years old, and Glory Oladapo, 14 years old.
A resident simply identified as Abednego said the incident happened around 1:04 am on Sunday.
He said the kidnappers, wielding AK-47 rifles, attacked the victims’ house at a resettlement area in Zone A.
He said the kidnappers scaled the fence of the victims’ house and forced the doors open.
Chairman of Pegi Community Development Association, (PECDA), Taiwo Aderibigbe, confirmed the abduction of the woman and her daughters while speaking with our reporter over the phone.
The PECDA chairman decried incessant kidnaps in the area, urging security agencies to come to the rescue of the residents.
“It is quite worrisome, that Pegi, Kuje, is being targeted by kidnappers and security agencies are not doing much,” he alleged.
It was learnt that the woman’s husband, Gabriel Oladapo, a pastor, was out of Abuja when the kidnappers struck.
When contacted, spokesman of the FCT police command Daniel Ndiparya, confirmed the incident, saying efforts were ongoing to rescue the victims
“Efforts are being made by the command to ensure the victims are rescued,” he said.
Daily Trust
Adedamola Alayaki the son of Dr Adewunmi Alayaki has regained freedom from his abductors.
He was said to have been taken into captivity on Wednesday 18 August 2021 from his father’s farm and by 10 pm on Thursday 19th August 2021, he was back home.
Adedamola was in the farm of his father in Isaga Orile community located in Abeokuta North Local Government area of Ogun State where he was believed to have been abducted.
He was said to have been driven to a forest by six suspected -armed kidnappers, who called the family to demand N20million ransom, and they also gave a deadline to produce the ransom.
Nigerian Newstrack could not confirm whether the ransom was paid as at the time of filing this report, but the kidnappers late Thursday evening, put a call across to the family, to pick the boy at a given location.
The boy in a brief chat said, his captors took him for a long walk throughout the night till day break in the forest but thank God to have come out alive from people armed with sophisticated weapons.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the review of 368 grazing reserves across 25 states in the country.
Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday that Buhari gave the order, based on the recommendations of a committee chaired by Ibrahim Gambari, chief of staff to the president.
Shehu said the committee also recommended the collection of field data on the grazing routes to assess levels of encroachment, stakeholder engagements, and sensitisation.
The committee was also said to have recommended production of maps and geo-mapping/tagging of sites, analysis of findings and report preparations, as well as design of appropriate communication on grazing reserves and operations.
“The number of the grazing reserves and states were deduced from considerations of existing security concerns and other pre-existing socio-economic conditions,” Shehu wrote.
According to him, Buhari directed that the assignment be undertaken to facilitate more understanding on grazing reserves.
He said among its terms of reference, the committee is to collate data from states and confirm the status of the grazing reserves.
The committee is also expected to assess the percentage of available land and those with existing encroachment complications for case-by-case resolution, in partnership with state governments and the FCT.
“The Committee would also make recommendations for gazetting of ungazetted grazing reserves and create a database of National Cattle Herders and ensure that Grazing Reserves are well communicated to all stakeholders,” Shehu wrote.
Members of the committee include Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi state, David Umahi of Ebonyi, and Suleiman Adamu, minister of water resources.
Others are Sabo Nanono, minister of agriculture and rural development; Mohammad Mahmood, minister of environment, and Ade Ipaye, deputy chief of staff.
The technical sub-committee consists of representatives from the main committee, in addition to representatives from the ministry of justice, surveyor-general of the federation, National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), and the National Space Research Development Agency (NASRDA).
The Cable
A new bill from Nigeria’s tech regulator is alarming startup founders Nigeria’s sudden bans on cryptocurrency trading and Twitter have already put some startups on alert this year, but a bill to reform the country’s technology regulator is sparking fears of a community concussion.
The 26-page draft document (pdf) seeks to amend a 2007 law, in order to address opportunities and threats posed by recent digital technologies. “The kind of information we store on our phones and other technological gadgets make the human brain susceptible to the possibility of being hacked,” Kashifu Abdullahi, the regulator’s chief, told legislators in March.
Seemingly innocuous at the time, Abdullahi’s statement now feels ominous after details of the bill became public this week. Startup founders, venture capitalists, and policy analysts fear the bill will stifle innovation, if it is enacted.
Nigeria’s regulator demands complete control
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was created in 2001, the year mobile telephone communications arrived in Nigeria.
It got legal backing six years later for two broad roles: nudging government departments to transition to digital technology systems, and guiding the private sector on standards for digitizing the economy. Today’s smartphone-first world has clearly moved on from the GSM protocols of NITDA’s founding, and the evolution of tech calls for old laws to be updated everywhere.
In high-poverty societies, vulnerable consumers may confuse legitimate fintechs offering savings and investment products with Ponzi schemes run by 21-year olds and styled as investment platforms. Some Nigerian digital lending platforms, which typically claim to use artificial intelligence in their products, employ questionable tactics to recover loans, like their counterparts in Kenya and India.
One of NITDA’s 24 updated functions in the new bill is to support standards for robotics, blockchain, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. The agency wants to be an advisor to businesses, and “promote incentives to encourage private sector investments in the digital economy.”
Good talk, but the bill will also empower NITDA to “completely control technology activities in the country beyond the scope of its original mandate of tech promotion,” says Adewunmi Emoruwa, a public affairs analyst in Abuja. “It’s a power grab.”
New licenses and 1% tax
Outrage over the bill converges around four sections:
Section 6: NITDA will “test, and approve” any technology before it is used in Nigeria, and demand whatever license fees and penalties it deems important for achieving its mandate. It is effectively a gatekeeping role, which seems contrary to the experimental spirit that spurs innovation in developed, democratic ecosystems. Cryptocurrency, which hit record trade volumes in Nigeria last year, could be the unnamed enemy here.
Section 13: Businesses that make over 100 million naira ($243,000) a year will pay 1% of their profit before tax to a fund for Nigeria’s digital economy. The fund replaces an existing one with the same terms; the update is that tech companies and “foreign digital platforms targeting the Nigerian market” join telcos, banks, pension funds, and insurance companies in paying. Nigeria’s tax body explains that the fund, as it exists, invests in promoting technology in the country but Eghosa Omoigui, CEO of EchoVC, a venture capital firm, wonders how the fund has fared in the last 14 years.
Sections 20 and 21: Businesses can identify as being in Nigeria’s information technology and digital economy sector only if the agency’s new register says so. Even while the Corporate Affairs Commission registers businesses, and the Central Bank of Nigeria supervises most fintechs, NITDA will now issue its own product, service, and platform licenses. Emoruwa sees “a back door channel to legitimize future sinister acts such as the Twitter ban” in the agency’s power to revoke tech companies’ licenses.
Taken together, the bill raises questions of regulatory overreach, whether taxpayer resources are wasted by duplicating government functions, and whether foreign investors could continue to leave Nigeria (paywall). Modupe Odele, founding partner at Vazi Legal, which advises startups and investors, thinks NITDA’s intentions are unclear and unfit for an innovation economy, “but if there’s going to be regulation, then it should be ecosystem-led.”It clashes with a dedicated Startup Bill
The controversial draft seems to contradict the spirit of startup-specific legislation in Nigeria that’s being modeled on innovative laws in Senegal and Tunisia.
Plans for a Nigeria Startup Bill started in March and are being led by some founders and investors in collaboration with government representatives. Town halls are scheduled to be held this month, after which a draft will be sent to Nigeria’s president in October. Emoruwa believes NITDA should be putting its weight behind the industry-led startup bill, instead of being a gatekeeper.
To be sure, even the multi-stakeholder startup bill has skeptics who are not convinced of the government’s motives. But it has at least included affected players, while NITDA—like the typical Nigerian regulator who bans motorcycle-hailing taxis or Twitter—has banged the gavel unilaterally.
Quartz Africa
The son of a popular Medical Doctor in Ogun State, Dr Adewunmi Alayaki has been kidnapped on Wednesday by gunmen in his father’s farm located in Isaga-Orile community of Abeokuta North Local Government Area of the State.
Report has it, that the 25 year old boy, Adedamola Alayaki was whisked away by the abductors who later got in touch with the family requesting for N20million ransom as at the time of filing this report before he could regain freedom.
The father of the victim, who was a former National Secretary of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), could not be reached as at the time of filing this report, but family source said the case has been reported to the police,at Lafenwa Divisional Headquarters in Abeokuta adding that the abductors have contacted the family demanding for a ransom.
“It is true Adedamola Alayaki, the son of Dr Alayaki was kidnapped between 1 and 3pm on Wednesday while in his father’s farm located in Isaga-Orile of Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State. As I am talking to you now, the kidnappers have gotten in touch with the family demanding N20 million ransom to set the boy free” a family source said
According to Penpushing who first broke the news, investigations showed that family members of the victim are disturbed by the ugly development, as well as staffers of Hope Hospital, Abeokuta, founded by the victim’s father, known to be a quiet and easy going person.
Meanwhile, efforts to get reactions from the police was yet to be successful, as at the time of this report, while frantic efforts were still on going to get the police authorities in the state to know update on the development.
More...
..as parents withdraw their children from school to beg for alms
At least 2.3 million children and youth are going hungry in northeast Nigeria where an Islamist insurgency has forced farmers to flee their fields and put the region on the brink of critical food shortages, humanitarian groups have warned.
Attacks by Islamist militants have been intensifying in northeast Nigeria in recent months, with dozens of soldiers and civilians killed and farmers targeted in some attacks.
The more than decade-long conflict has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, but it is now joined by food inflation across Nigeria that has meant millions nationwide can no longer reliably feed themselves or their families.
Save the Children estimated that 700,000 children under five are among the 2.3 million children affected, and called on the government to protect farmers and dedicate more resources to the region.
“We are extremely worried that this will lead to an even bigger food crisis in the northeast of the country,” Shannon Ward, Save the Children’s acting country director for Nigeria, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the combination of climate change, insecurity and Covid-19 had put the region on the brink of “catastrophic” food insecurity.
Edward Kallon, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria, said about 4.4 million people were at risk of critical food shortages and that the “growing threat of catastrophic food insecurity” was at its worst in five years.
Kallon said that without humanitarian assistance in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, millions would struggle to feed themselves.
“Parents are taking their children out of school to beg in order to survive,” Kallon said, adding: “Women have shared that they resort to eating grass.”
Reuters
PRESS RELEASE
Today, there is an unfortunate fashion in public discourse that makes leaders in politics, religion, and civil society liable in the present for every statement they have ever made in the past – no matter how long ago, and even after they have later rejected them.
This insidious phenomenon seeks to cancel the careers of others on the basis of a thing they have said, regardless of when they said it.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, is currently, subject to a “cancel campaign” instigated by those who seek his removal. They do not really care what he may or may not have said some 20 years ago: that is merely the instrument they are using to attempt to “cancel” him. But they will profit should he be stopped from making decisions that improve the lives of everyday Nigerians.
The Minister has, rightly, apologized for what he said in the early 2000s. The views were absolutely unacceptable then, and would be equally unacceptable today, were he to repeat them. But he will not repeat them – for he has publicly and permanently condemned his earlier utterances as wrong.
In the 2000s, the Minister was a man in his twenties; next year he will be 50. Time has passed, and people and their opinions – often rightly – change.
But all discerning Nigerians know this manufactured dispute is nothing to do with the Minister’s prior words, but solely concern his actions in the present.
This Administration is committed to improving the lives of all Nigerians – and that includes ensuring they are not over-charged or under-protected for those services on which modern life depends.
The Minister has been leading the charge against illegal data deductions and pricing; he has revolutionized the government’s virtual public engagement to respond to Covid-19 and save taxpayers’ money; he has established ICT start-up centres to boost youth entrepreneurship and create jobs; he has changed policy to ensure locally produced ICT content is used by ministries, starting with his own; and he has deregistered some 9.2 million SIMs - ending the ability for criminals and terrorists to flagrantly use mobile networks undetected. In two short years, Pantami has driven the contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP to more than 18 percent, making it one of the top two playing a critical role in the emergence of the economy from the Covid-19 induced recession.
In putting people first, the Minister and this administration have made enemies. There are those in the opposition who see success and want it halted by any means. And there is now well-reported information that alleges newspaper editors rebuffed an attempt to financially induce them to run a smear campaign against the minister by some ICT companies, many of which do indeed stand to lose financially through lower prices and greater consumer protections. The government is now investigating the veracity of these claims of attempted inducement, and – should they be found to hold credence – police and judicial action must be expected.
The Administration stands behind Minister Pantami and all Nigerian citizens to ensure they receive fair treatment, fair prices, and fair protection in ICT services.
Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
April 22, 2021
A traditional ruler and five others have been reportedly killed in three separate attacks on Benue communities by suspected herdsmen at Tse-Zoola Village Agan Makurdi Local Government Area, LGA, Odugbeho in Agatu LGA and Mbayer-Yandev in Guma LGA.
Confirming the attack on Mbayer-Yandev, Guma LGA Chairman Caleb Aba said the incident occurred at about 8pm on Wednesday.
“It happened at about 8pm. Fulani herdsmen invaded Mbayer-Yandev, Council Ward, killing two persons and injuring three others who have been moved to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, BSUTH, for treatment,” the Chairman said.
Also, Councilor representing Odugbeho Ward and Deputy Leader, Agatu Legislative Council, Julius Abu who confirmed the attack and murder of two persons in his constituency by armed herders, condemned the killing saying it was unprovoked.
The Deputy Leader said those killed by the marauding herdsmen were Joseph Babayo and Simon Idewu who were from Odugbeho and Ayila communities respectively but killed along Odugbeho road.
He appealed for the deployment of military personnel to the area to check the killings and mounting tension, stressing that the people were deserting their homes for fear of more invasion and attacks by armed herdsmen.
“We have appealed to our people to remain calm and avoid the temptation of taking the law into their hands. We have confidence in the capability of the state government to tackle the challenge,” the lawmaker said.
Meanwhile, residents of Tse-Zoola village, Agan in Makurdi Local Government Area, LGA, of the state also lost their paramount ruler, Zaki Hyacinth Ajon and a middle aged man, Benjamin Anakula to the marauders who invaded the area yesterday.
Vanguard
Following Friday's night unrest in Igangan, Ibarapa North Local Government of Oyo State, the Seriki Fulani of Oyo State, Alhaji Saliu Abdulkadir, on Saturday morning, said he trekked through the forest to Ogun State from Oyo State.
He said many of his family members were shot by the angry youths, but none of them was killed in the fracas.
Abdulkadir told an online newsmedium (not Nigerian Newstrack) in Ibadan that he, his wives and children were sent out of the settlement by the youths, adding that 11 vehicles and houses were burnt in the process.
He said despite assurance by the police and the people of the state, his house was burnt in the presence of security agents.
He explained that , "As we speak, we are in the bush. Our cars, numbering about 11, have been burnt. Some of my children sustained injuries, and we are looking for a way to get them to the hospital. My children have left their houses for the bush. We need the government to help us. Police, Operation Burst and other security agencies were there when they set my house ablaze."
When contacted on Saturday morning, he said, "I am now with my people in Ogun State. I am yet to see my other children but I heard those who were shot are still alive.
"Those boys shot my wife, my son and his wife. They shot one of my neighbours, but we thank God none of them is dead. I walked all through the night in the bush but I am safe here."
A popular Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, reportedly stormed the Fulani settlement in the town to eject Abdukadir, and some other herdsmen accused of fuelling security problems in the area.
Addressing the youths, Igboho said, "They started deploying soldiers here yesterday (Thursday). When our people were being kidnapped and killed, there were no soldiers to secure them.
Reacting, the Oyo State PPRO, Mr. Olugbenga Fadeyi, said, "Tactical police teams with Operation Burst are on ground to give maximum security protection while efforts are on to ascertain the situation there."
Meanwhile, on Friday, Governor Makinde said that his government would not allow anyone hiding under the guise of ethnic interest to perpetrate a crisis in the state, Punch reports.
Makinde added that his administration would not allow anyone to threaten the state's peace by acting unlawfully as such was against the nation's constitution.
The governor, who spoke while receiving the new Commissioner of Police in the state, Mrs Ngozi Onadeko, said the state government would not relent in prioritising the welfare of security agencies in the state.
The governor said, "For people stoking ethnic tension, they are criminals, and once you get them, they should be arrested and treated like common criminals. For this administration, the major pillar for us is security, because we know that all the good economic plans we have won't be possible in an atmosphere of chaos and insecurity."
Sahara Reporters