The decision of the leadership of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria to dismiss one of its pastors has pitched some of its members against the General Overseer, Felix Meduoye.
News
The absence of a prosecution witness yesterday stalled the trial of former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja, for alleged N4.7 billion money laundering charge at a Federal High Court in Lagos.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Ladoja alongside a former Commissioner for Finance, Waheed Akanbi.
Both men were arraigned on December 14, 2016, before Justice Mohammed Idris on an eight-count charge bordering on N4.7 billion money laundering.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bails.
But at the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, the EFCC Prosecutor, Mr Oluwafemi Olabisi, apologised that he could not proceed because of the absence of his witness, a director in the employ of Oyo State government.
Olabisi said the witness was attending a meeting with the World Bank in Lagos but pleaded to be in court today.
He urged the court to adjourn the matter till today and tomorrow as the dates were set down for the continuation of the trial.
Mr Bolaji Onilenla and Mr Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, counsel to the first and second defendants, did not object to the request for an adjournment.
But the lawyer urged the prosecuting counsel to ensure that his witnesses were in court on the agreed dates.
Justice Mohammed Idris adjourned the matter till March 20 and March 21 for continuation of trial.
The defendants are said to have conspired, siphoned and laundered N4.7 billion from the coffers of Oyo State.
The EFCC is also accusing the defendants of converting N1.9 billion belonging to the state to personal use, through the account of a company — Heritage Apartments Limited — to commit the crime.
The Nation
The Police have charged Senator Dino Melaye and three others with criminal conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms before a Federal High Court in Lokoja.
Police spokesman Jimoh Moshood, an assistant commissioner of police, told reporters in Lokoja yesterday that the case was filed on March 16, following the confession of a “wanted criminal” that the senator gave him arms and cash.
Moshood said the senator failed to cooperate with the police investigators having failed to report for questioning even after the Police wrote to Senate President Bukola Saraki seeking the release of the senator to answer to the allegations.
Melaye who is battling to retain his senate seat, last week lost his bid to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from proceeding with his recall at the Court of Appeal.
The suspects, Kabiru Saidu, a.k.a Osama (31), Nuhu Salisu (25 ) aka small, and Alhaji Muhammed Audu, a politician, who is now at large, are charged along with Melaye, who is representing Kogi West.
The Police said Kabiru and Salisu were arrested on January 19 at Ogojueje in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, after a shootout and they confessed to being hired by Melaye to cause mayhem in the state.
The police said they seized from the thugs and their gang members, two AK47 rifles, five pump action guns, two locally made pistols and heaps of charms.
According to the police, the men not only confessed to have been involved in several kidnappings in the state and environs, they also claimed to be hired thugs for politicians.
“According to the gang leader, Osama, he had been working as a political thug for Alhaji Mohammed Audu .
“ He said Alhaji Mohammed Audu invited him to Abuja and introduced him to Senator Dino Melaye and they met on Airport road, Abuja inside Senator Melaye’s car in the month of December, 2017.
“The suspect further confessed that Sen. Dino Melaye told him that they should start working for him as his political thugs and they should recruit and train other thugs to work for him in preparation for the 2019 general elections to enable him ( Sen. Dino Melaye ) challenge his political opponents and disorganise Kogi State.”
The police said Osama also confessed that Melaye handed over a bag containing one AK47 rifle, two Pump Action guns and the N430,000.00 to share with his boys.
Senator Melaye however described the allegations against him as framed-up and an orchestrated attempt by the Kogi state government to discredit him.
He said he had never set eyes on the suspects in his life.
He described the move an attempt by the Kogi State government to shut him up.
He said: “This is an attempt to shut me up and stop me from speaking the truth, but they have failed. It is an orchestrated lie by the governor and the police. I have tweeted about six weeks ago that they want to set me up because I got information from the Government House when they met to set me up
“You can see the conflicting statements by the criminals. I heard one said I gave two AK47 and pump action, while the other said I gave only one rifle and that I gave N430,000 to train militia and that I met them on Airport Road, in December 2017, but they didn’t give a date and time.”
The Nation
The son of deposed Libyan despot Muammar Gaddafi has announced he will run for president later this year.
Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi made the annoucement through his lawyer in Tunis on Monday, according to al-Araby al-Jadeed.
Gaddafi Jr. will run as the candidate for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya, a political party formed in December 2016 pledging to unite Libyan activists to "liberate the country from control of terrorist organisations".
Saif is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) following Gadaffi's brutal crackdown in the wake of popular
anti-government protests in 2011. An armed revolt led to the overthrow of the regime, with Saif and his father fleeing south.
Muammar Gaddafi was captured by anti-government fighters and brutally killed. Saif was held by a Libyan militia but reportedly freed six years later.
Sources, who requested anonymnity, told al-Araby al-Jadeed that since then Saif has been living in Zintan, in northwest Libya.
He regularly meets supporters and party members in secret at one of his properties on the outskirts of the town.
Gaddafi also boasts an extensive network of contacts in influential countries, the source alleges.
The director of Saif al-Islam's political reform programme, Ayman Boras, claimed during a press conference in Tunis that despite Saif's bloody past, his planned reforms will appeal to many Libyans.
He said that the party is well aware of the difficulties Libya faces but is confident that the people will lend their support to Saif's campaign.
Boras told al-Araby al-Jadeed that Saif is "under the protection of Libyans", and will announce details about his election campaign shortly.
He assured that Gaddafi junior is not a "military man" and unlike his father, rejects the use of violence in politics with a "modern" and "open-minded" vision for the future of Libya.
Human rights activist Khaled Guel told al-Araby al-Jadeed that despite being wanted by the ICC, the eastern government in Tobruk - which has connections to some elements of the old regime - has granted Saif amnesty.
"The humanitarian situation is deteriorating and the path forward is unclear. Therefore many Libyans now believe that the only way to save the country is through Saif al-Islam," said Guel.
He added that the only way Libya can get past the current impasse is to overcome political divisions.
The whereabouts of Saif al-Islam have been uncertain since he was released by militiamen who held him hostage for six years until July 2016.
Saif al-Islam came to prominence in Libyan politics some 16 years ago.
He was viewed initially as a reformer and spoke of modernising the country and opening up the state-controlled economy.
To some extent, he also highlighted some of the rampant human rights violations perpetrated by his father's regime, and was soon tipped as the heir in waiting.
This changed when he took the side of his father following the outbreak of the 2011 revolution. He soon lost any popular support he once had when a brutal crackdown was launched on the people by the regime.
Alaraby
Former South African president Jacob Zuma may challenge a prosecutor’s decision to reinstate corruption charges over a $2.5 billion arms deal, news broadcaster eNCA said on Saturday.
Zuma, who was forced to resign by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) last month, was at the centre of a 1990s deal to buy European military kit that has cast a shadow over politics in South Africa for years.
Chief state prosecutor Shaun Abrahams told a media conference on Friday that Zuma’s attempts to head off the charges hanging over him for more than a decade had failed.
He said the 75-year-old Zuma denies all the allegations against him.
Zuma’s lawyer Michael Hulley said the reason behind Abrahams’ decision was not clear from the “one-page and somewhat terse response” received from him “advising that the representations made on behalf of Zuma were unsuccessful,” eNCA said on its news website.
“In the circumstances, the likely course of action would be to take the decision of the NDPP (National Director of Public Prosecutions) on review. The decision will however only be made after careful consideration and consultation with Mr Zuma,” Hulley was quoted as saying in a screengrabbed text.
Zuma will face 16 charges relating to 783 instances of alleged wrongdoing, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku said on Friday.
Twelve are of fraud, one of racketeering, two of corruption and one of money laundering.
Reuters
The Zimbabwean government on Monday published a list of state funds stashed in foreign accounts. The government called such funds “Externalized Foreign Currency and Assets.”
According to a release signed by the president Emmerson Mnangagwa, there was an estimated amount of $827 million yet to be recovered.
It said companies and individuals had returned $591 million in such funds after a 90-day amnesty to bring back the money was issued by the president late last year.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is ready to process transactions where the concerned parties can show proof of declaration and/or repatriation of funds without prejudice given that the burden of proof lies with the concerned parties, the statement read.
The three broad categories of defaulters were:
- Funds externalised through non repatriation of export proceeds
- Funds externalised through payment of goods not received in Zimbabwe
- Funds externalised to foreign banks in cash or under spurious transactions.
In total, the government had expected over 1.4 trillion dollars to be surrendered. Category one per the record had over $526 million to be retrieved but a little over $289 million was received. Category two with $177 million produced $52 million whiles Category three which had $714,204,171 produced $250 dollars.
The state-run Herald newspaper in December 2017 posted a video in which the president is heard saying, “Under the new administration, we have given three months for those who had taken money out of this country to bring it back. I did not say that without knowledge, I have a list of who took money out.
“So in March (2018) when the period expires, those who would have not heeded my moratorium, I’ll name them,” he added. He also called for party and national unity and the unconditional removal of political and economic sanctions imposed by the west on his government.
Mnangagwa, 75, became leader of the southern African nation last month after the military and ruling ZANU-PF turned against Robert Mugabe. “Going forward we call for the unconditional lifting of the political and economic sanctions which have crippled our national development.
“We realise that isolation is not splendid or viable, as there is more to gain through solidarity and mutually beneficial partnerships which will help us realize our unique national interests. Government will thus pursue a robust re-engagement process to fully affirm our belonging to the family of nations,” he added.
While the European Union removed sanctions on ZANU-PF officials, members of the military and some government-owned firms in 2014, the United States has kept a travel and economic embargo on several ruling party elites.
Africanews
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has said that corruption has not been completely dealt with in the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration as the cankerworm has become systematic in the country.
The Vice President who stated this at the 7th Presidential Quarterly Business Forum for private sector stakeholders at the Conference Centre, Old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, noted that with President Buhari on the saddle, there were fears in many quarters that anyone caught indulging in corrupt practices would be dealt with.
He said that the type of leadership would determine the type of followership, adding that, “If the president is corrupt, the entire financial system is compromised and that is what we have seen with the figures we have just seen. That is an absolutely important that we must take into account.”
He further stated that when the government was committed in fighting corruption, because of the systematic problem, corruption always fight back.
According to him, “I am not saying that corruption under this administration has been completely dealt with, no certainly not. Where corruption has become systematic such as we have in our country today, you cannot deal with it in one full fell swoop, it is not possible. In any event you still have a lot of corruption fighting back. The system fights back and its both an internal and external fight back and you have to be steadfast and strategic to win the battle.
“There is no way that you have a system such as ours that has consistently thrived on corruption and proceeds of corruption and public financing in particular, that will give up and say guys, the problem has been solved. No.
“It is a system that feeds on corruption and it affects all aspects of governance, so trying to deal with it is certainly not a walk in the park.
“But I want to say that that task has already begun and that task is being done consistently and I believe that going forward in the next few years, no matter how we are criticized, if w stick to policy especially controlling excesses and corruption in public finance, this country will make the kind of progress that it deserves to make with all the resources at our disposal.
“If we stick to the policy of ensuring that as far as public finance is concern, there is no impunity and that we hold people to account, I am absolutely confident that this country has what it really takes to make the kind of progress we deserve to make as a nation.”
Asking rhetorically what was wrong with the Nigerian economy and what should be done to correct the flaws, he said, “There are several issues many of which have already been articulated but I want to talk about what I think is the biggest problem which for some reason we hardly talk about when discussing our national economy.
“This is grand corruption in the public finance space. Sometimes the way we talk about the Nigerian economy it does appear as if it is the economy of say Norway or somewhere where all things are equal. Even when we refer to what has taken place in our economy we almost sound as if this is in every sense a very normal business environment, a very normal public finance environment but that is not the case.
“I do not think that any consideration about our economy development can be properly and honestly done without fully analyzing corruption, especially grand corruption in the public finance space.
“You see that despite record high levels of oil prices, very little was invested in infrastructure and a record level of leakages were recorded in the past few years.
“This is the fundamental issue in our economy. Corruption affects everything. It affects even judgment as to what sort of infrastructure to put in place or whether infrastructure will ever be complete. It is so fundamental that can’t even think of our economy without thinking of what to do about it.
“Sometimes when we talk about our economy we talk about the fact that we have relied of single commodity and that is one of the reasons why we are where we are. Yes, that’s quite through but the fact is that, proceeds from that single commodity were regularly hijacked consistently by a few. That is really the problem. If we had spent the proceeds from that single commodity the way we ought to, we won’t be where we are today. Most of the proceeds went to rent seekers in the industry and production.
“For example, I am sure many of us are familiar with the so called Strategic Alliance Contract with the NNPC and NDDC. The promoters of the companies made away with close to $3 billion, almost a tenth of our reserves. There is no way if someone made away with a tenth of your reserves that you will not have a major economic shock. And if we don’t deal with it, if we don’t talk about it, how will we be able to discuss our economy in a real honest way with a view to ensuring that these things do not happen again.
“In one single transaction a few weeks to the elections 2015, sums of a $100,289 million were just fretted away by a few. When you consider that in 2014 as the minister of finance has said that oil price was an average of $110 a barrel and only N99 billion was spent on power, works and housing and when we talk about the economy we talk as if these are normal by every standard.
“Nobody should talk about the economy when you have this kind of huge leakages and huge corruption. Corruption that completely makes even what you are allocating to capital projects are made nonsense of.
“We saw from the presentation of minister of finance N14 billion was spent on agriculture in 2014, transportation N15 billion, so the total spent on infrastructure in those three years were N153 billion and in two weeks before the elections N150 billion was essentially shared.
“So if your total infrastructure spending is N150 billion and you can share N153 billion that is completely incredible. That sort of thing doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world. And when we are talking about the economy, we must simply understand that that is the problem.
“Today, with less revenue, we have increased capital funding by 400% as the minister has said, in power, works and housing, in defence, transportation, agriculture. If we want to do analysis in Nigeria, it is either fraudulent or ignorant if we do not bring money that belongs to corruption into the mass.
“This is what distinguishes in my own respectful view, this administration from the other. I can say that with what I have seen, if you have a president who is not corrupt, 50 percent of your financial problems are over. This is what I have seen; I can demonstrate it with facts and figures.”
Speaking at the meeting, the organized private sector called on the Federal Government to rehabilitate ports in the eastern flank of the country like the Warri, Port Harcourt, Onitsha and Calabar ports in order to boost the economy, adding that most of the importers were from the area where the ports had been abandoned and made to be dormant. They said that if the eastern seaports were opened, it would be easier for them to clear their goods.
Vanguard
Following what he referred to as the effects of the current security challenges in the country, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has ordered the immediate withdrawal of all police officers attached to political office holders, VIPs and prominent individuals in the country.
To this effect, a memo will be forwarded to the President for approval which will serve as a guidelines or template for deployment of police officers to VIP, Political office holders and public office holders in the country.
IGP Idris said the need for streamlining the deployment of police personnel attached to VIPs, Political and Public office holders, is aimed at enhancing effective and efficient policing of the country.
“A Task Force has been constituted at the Force headquarters under the Command of ACP Mohammed Adamu Dan Kwara to ensure compliance to this directive while the Command CPs are to replicate same at their various commands”, he said.
Continuing the IGP said, “However, business entreprenuers, multi-national organizations, corporate individuals and entities that require such services and are found to be worthy will be considered from the Special Protection Unit of the Nigerian Police Force on application for re-validation through states commissioners of police where they are resident or domiciled”.
“The Commissioners of Police are to profile and recommend, if such applicants merit the services for approval. By so doing, I am charging the Commissioners of Police with the responsibility of supervising such official deployment and thereby holding them accountable.
On the proliferation of Police Spy Plate Numbers and its abuse as well as illegal use of siren, the IGP said, “I have equally observed the excessive abuse of Spy Plate Numbers, covering of plate Numbers and illegal use of siren.
“The police spy plate numbers exclusively approved for use by banks, security companies and multi-national companies is greatly abused. A situation where criminals now take advantage of this to perpetrate heinous crimes”. “Some individuals have formed the habit of covering their vehicle plate numbers and also illegally use siren. This practice should stop forthwith”.
“I have therefore directed that holders of all police spy number plates are to return them to the Force Transport Officer (FTO) at Force headquarters, where they are expected to apply for re-validation”.
“The Task Force under ACP Dan Kwara will ensure compliance to this directive and arrest violators. “A similar Task Force is to be formed at all the command levels by states commissioners of police to ensure compliance with this directives and the list of the task force team be forwarded to the DIG operations latest 31st March 2018.”
Speaking on the recently approved bill by the Rivers State House of Assembly for the establishment of Neighbourhood watch or vigilante group which has been signed into law by Governor Nyesom Wike, the IGP directed the Rivers State Police Commissioner to get a copy of the new law, study it and ensure that it did not run contrary to Section 214 of the constitution.
“I am directing you to write to the Governor to seek for a copy of the bill so that it does not deviate from section 214”. Regarding the public outrage that has greeted his directive that prohibited arms and ammunition be return to the police within 21 days, occasioned by relentless herdsmen killings across the country, the IGP said the directive is only for prohibited arms.
“As you know, some cadre of arms are not authorized by law to be acquired by individuals or groups in the country other than security agencies. That is why we have directed such arms should be returned”.
The IGP also used the occsion to promote newly elevated AIGs including AIG Danjuma Mohammed Ibrahim, AIG Istifanus Shettima and AIG Jimoh Omezia Ozi-Obeh.
Vanguard
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has accused former Chief Judge in Enugu State, Innocent Umezulike of stealing and doctoring his Will.
Ekweremadu alleged that the former Chief Judge in 2016, connived with some politicians and broke into the Probate Registry of the state and took away his Will.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Uche Anichukwu, Ekweremadu said after doctoring it, his “perpetrators,” together with the assistance of Okoi Obono-Obla, a presidential aide, started running a smear campaign against him.
The statement reads, “There has been a sustained smear campaign against my person by Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla.
“I would have continued to ignore them, but for the concern of my well-wishers. Therefore, the public may wish to know as follows:
“About July 2016, former chief judge of Enugu state, Hon. Justice Innocent Umezulike, in his capacity as the chief judge of Enugu state at the time, together with his lawyer, and Barrister Tagbo Ike, in connivance with some politicians, broke into the Probate Registry, Enugu, took away my Will and left behind a photocopy.
“They copied the properties listed in the Will and added many imaginary properties and started churning out baseless petitions to government agencies and officials. In their petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, for instance, they claimed, in a demonstration of gross ignorance, that I was given money by the federal government to develop the south-east geopolitical zone but that I used it to purchase 32 properties.
“They sent similar petitions to Mr President, the vice-president, senate president, attorney-general of the federation, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau, director-general of the Department of State Security, inspector-general of Police, commissioner of police (Enugu), among others.
“For now, let me state that Justice Innocent Umezulike has since been dismissed from service by the National Judicial Council and is facing trial in different courts. God is also on top of the matter in several other ways in the life of Justice Umezulike.
“It suffices to add that with what is unfolding now, the current smear campaign championed by Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, is helping to expose those, who acted with Justice Umezulike, to steal my Will. They have been peddling this so-called ‘discovery’ since July 2016.
“Umezulike has also, in several other petitions, attacked me and my family. He also, at some point, accused me of killing several people, which the office of the inspector-general of police investigated; and probably, he will soon face appropriate charges bordering on false information.
“Let me, therefore, call on all those, who are concerned about this smear campaign, not to worry. This too shall pass. History will vindicate the just and the wicked will never go unpunished.”
DailyPost
A former governor of Adamawa State and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Murtala Nyako, has criticised the decision of the party to extend the tenure of its executive committees at the national and other levels as potentially suicidal for the party.
Speaking in Yola on Saturday while addressing a group of APC supporters at his residence shortly after he condoled with the family of a former governor of the state, Saleh Michika, who died last week, Mr. Nyako warned that the party may die unless its leaders take urgent actions to address alleged illegalities and impunity going on in the party
The former governor said APC has lost the moral ground to speak on due process, rule of law, enforcement of democratic norms and culture.
He contended that the only way out of the controversies surrounding the tenure elongation of the executive committee is for the party to hold a national convention, saying anything outside this would not work.
According to him, the actions of some party leaders will not make APC move forward.
“Even if a mechanic takes APC to court today over the unconstitutional and undemocratic tenure extension of party officials, it is very clear that the court can lock the national secretariat of the party. If there is no convention in APC before the general elections, the party may become a spectator instead of a participant,” he warned.
Stressing that only fairness, legality, justice and rule of law can sustain the APC ahead of the 2019 general elections, Mr. Nyako urged the party to learn from what led to the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the 2015 general elections and retrace its steps before it is too late.
The former governor, a former Chief of Naval Staff, also took a swipe at some political leaders in Nigeria for their utterances.
He said “the quality of remarks made on some important national issues does not reflect reasonable sense.
“Some of our political leaders seem to take ‘Ogogoro’ before taking action or making public statements on important issues, because some of their statements do not reflect or contain any reasonable sense,” he said.
PT
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris, on Monday ordered an immediate withdrawal of police officers attached to some political office holders and very important personalities, VIPs, in the country, citing the security challenges facing Nigeria as reason.
The IGP had stated that the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, has perfected plans to withdraw its mobile personnel attached to important personalities in the country back to the barracks. During an interactive session with a group of civil society organisations under the auspices of, “The Situation Room’’ in Abuja last June, Idris had stated that the measure was intended to bring the police closer to Nigerians.
The police boss, who announced the latest development during a conference with senior officers in Abuja, stated that the directive also affected private businessmen, multi-national companies and other corporate organizations who are enjoying special police protection.
He explained that a task force has consequently been constituted at the Force headquarters under the command of ACP Mohammed Dankwara to ensure compliance to the directive while state commissioners of police are to replicate same at their commands.
Announcing his plans to withdraw the policemen on private guard duty, the IGP said, “In view of the current security challenges in the country, it has become expedient for the Nigeria Police Force to streamline the deployment of its personnel attached to political and public office holders, aimed at enhancing effective and efficient policing of the country.
“To this effect, a memo will be forwarded to the President for approval which will serve as a guideline or template for deployment to VIPs, political and public office holders in the country. Accordingly, a directive for withdrawal of all police officers deployed to VIPs, political and public office holders with immediate effect, is hereby given.”
The police boss however explained that businessmen, corporate organisations and individuals who required special police protection and “are found worthy,” would be considered by the Special Protection Unit of the force on application for re-validation through the state Commissioners of Police where they are resident.
“By so doing, I am charging the Commissioners of Police with the responsibility of supervising such official deployment and thereby holding them accountable,” the police chief informed his audience consisting of senior police officers.
Idris bemoaned the abuse of police Supernumerary number plates and the illegal use of siren and covering of vehicle number plates by motorists and warned the culprits to desist.
He directed the holders of the police SPY number plates to return them to the Force Transport Officer and apply for re-validation.
The IGP also asked the Commissioners of Police in the states to enforce the directive and arrest violators, adding that the list of task force teams that would ensure compliance to the order should be sent to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Operations, by March 31, 2018
DailyPost
More...
The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, has stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) could easily rig the 2019 election if it wanted.
APGA said this while condemning ruling political parties in various states for interfering local government elections.
APGA stated that rigging were carried out by various electoral commissions constituted by the state governments.
Leader of the party in Delta State, Dr Uvie Uwanogho in a statement yesterday, described the act as “civilian coup”
He said political parties should be encouraged to be actively involved in the supervision of elections to strengthen the nation’s democracy.
APGA Uwanogho said: “There cannot be free and fair elections in Nigeria without the active participation of the political parties in the management and supervision of elections.
“The various state electoral commissions and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC will always do the bidding of their paymasters.
“That is why in local elections, usually, the ruling party in the state “wins” all the seats. Checkout Lagos, Kano, Akwa Ibom, Kwara, Delta and Edo LGA elections.
“If APC at the national level wants to rig the coming elections, it is my belief that nothing can stop them because we have left the planning and supervision of the electoral process to appointees of government.”
DailyPost
The presidency at the weekend in Abuja disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to keep Nigerians in suspense on his re-election bid was a deliberate ploy to avoid sabotage.
Making this disclosure in an interview with select State House correspondents, the Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the president would continue to keep his intentions close to his chest because those opposed to his re-election could exploit his declaration to sabotage the country.
According to him, the president declaring his ambition about a year to the next election would only give such saboteurs a lot of time to sabotage the country economically and politically, among others.
“You know the peculiarity of Nigeria, particularly now. If the president speaks too early, it’s a problem. There is a lot of sabotage in the country.
“You have also heard so many have said, ‘don’t run,’ because they know that if the president runs, other people would just run away because they don’t have the foggiest chance in hell of beating him. So, they want to discourage him from running.
“Now, if he tells you, ‘I’m going to run,’ and elections are still one year away, it gives them one year to sabotage the entire country from all fronts – politically, socially, economically – they would throw everything at him just to dissuade him from running.
“So, when you know that, why then speak early? I think it makes a lot of sense for you to keep things close to your chest till it is time for you to then say, ‘ok, I’m running’ by which time they can do less damage,” he explained.
Although the president has alluded to re-contesting the presidential election in 2019, he has not declared it definitively, keeping Nigerians on the tenterhooks on his real intentions.
One instance when he dropped a hint on his interest in seeking re-election in 2019 was when he paid a state visit to Kano last year. He had said: “Kano is in my pocket.”
The state voted overwhelmingly for Buhari in the 2015 elections, giving him 1.903 million of the 2.13 million valid votes cast.
Also, while on a visit to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire last year, the president said he arrived late to a meeting with the Nigerian community because he had insisted on coming with two governors, as doing so could be a vote for him in the future.
Adesina also explained the reason the president had proposed a visit to Rivers State, despite its criticism by the state governor, Nyesom Wike, who had said the state was crisis-free.
Adesina said the president’s intention was to condole with the families of victims of various killings in the state, saying a state where people were beheaded could not be devoid of crisis.
“If he (Wike) doesn’t understand, the rest of the country understands. We understand. Other Nigerians understand. Even people in Rivers State understand because on new year’s day, a minimum of 24 people were killed in Omoku.
“So, is that not a crisis? And can you count the number of people that have been beheaded in Rivers State in recent times?
“People were killed and heads cut off and the assailants went away with the heads. So, can anybody say that there is no security issue in that kind of place?
“It’s left to the governor, he’s the chief security officer. If he says there’s no security crisis in his state, good luck to him.
“But the president is visiting so that he can condole with people who lost their loved ones, 24 people minimum, were killed in Omoku.
“So, those people are the reason. Those people and the many beheaded; relations of those beheaded and their heads taken away are the reason the president is visiting the state,” he explained.
ThisDay
Isaac Adeyemi, a former Senior Pastor in charge of Foursquare District Headquarters, Ikorodu (Living Spring Tabernacle), was dismissed for alleged insubordination and disrespect for constituted authority.
Following his dismissal, Mr. Adeyemi moved his flock – most of whom were unhappy with the church leadership’s decision – to establish a new church, Embrace International Assembly.
Trouble, however, began one Friday in February when Foursquare Gospel Church ministers got armed police officers to evict members of the Embrace International Assembly from their premises in Ikorodu.
“It was a great shock that day (February 9) when the police came in, armed to the teeth, and ordered our people to leave the premises,” Adebayo Adio, a pastor in the church, said during a recent press conference organised by the church’s Board of Trustees.
“We requested from them what was wrong, but mum was the answer. We asked them if they had any order or injunction to force us out of our own church and prevent us from worship, they couldn’t show us anything.”
In the beginning
A church member close to Mr. Adeyemi said the land upon which the Living Spring Tabernacle church was built was bought in 2003 through the efforts and financial resources of Mr. Adeyemi and members of his congregation.
“The land was bought without any financial support or contribution from the National Office or any District or Zone,” the member said.
“Neither was the new church mothered by any church. Despite the earlier uncomplimentary treatment of the church, the document of the land is in the name of Foursquare Gospel Church.”
In 2007, Mr. Adeyemi, then the Resident Pastor at the Living Spring Tabernacle, established a musical crusade called ‘Embrace,’ an evangelistic outreach which targets both the old and the young and whose popular flagship programme holds every Good Friday at the expansive grounds of Ikorodu Town Hall.
Rev. Isaac Adeyemi
The Embrace programme, wholly packaged by the Living Spring Tabernacle, comprises a free medical outreach, the Word of God, and gospel music aimed at winning more converts.
In 2010, the programme for the first time since inception clashed with the parent church’s quarterly vigil, the Refreshing Night Vigil, which holds on the first Friday of every quarter usually at the church’s International Conference Centre at Idimu, Lagos.
The then acting General Overseer, Goddy Ebojie, however, gave consent for both programmes to hold as scheduled, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.
Two years later, both programmes again coincided but this time, the General Overseer, Mr. Meduoye, who assumed leadership in 2011, directed that the Embrace programme should give way for the Refreshing Night Vigil.
After considering the amount of preparation as well as financial resources that had been put into planning their event, members of the Living Spring Tabernacle decided to ignore the church’s General Overseer and go ahead with their programme.
However, while the Embrace outreach was happening at Ikorodu on the night of Good Friday in 2012, Mr. Adeyemi was at the Refreshing Night Vigil where he was given an official assignment by the church leadership.
Days later, Mr. Adeyemi received a query from the national headquarters and his explanation was that the church had already made a significant financial commitment to the programme, adding that it was not the intention to disobey the church.
He also faced a disciplinary panel set up by the church, before whom he tendered an apology.
Afterward, the Embrace committee at the Ikorodu church met and decided that the outreach should be run independently of the Foursquare church to avoid the dilemma experienced whenever Good Friday coincides with the Refreshing Vigil.
The decision did not go down well with the parent church, with Mr. Meduoye urging the Embrace organisers to leave the outreach to continue as one of Foursquare Gospel Church’s flagship programmes.
At the next edition of the Embrace outreach, in 2013, Mr. Meduoye was invited to preach to the attendees.
Problem began again in 2014, when Mr. Meduoye announced, during a NEC meeting of the church leaders and ministers in February, that the annual International Conference for Ministers and Leaders will hold from April 14 – 18.
The Good Friday in 2014 fell on April 18.
For four days, Mr. Adeyemi was at the International Conference event which held at the Foursquare Camp in Ajebo, Ogun State, but excused himself on the last day to superintend over his Embrace crusade in Ikorodu.
Two weeks later, another query arrived and, again, accused him of disobedience and insubordination.
Weeks after Mr. Adeyemi received the query, PREMIUM TIMES learnt, a church delegation from the national headquarters led by Ikechukwu Ugbaja, a pastor, and the church’s National Secretary, arrived at the Living Spring Tabernacle to deliver a suspension letter to the host pastor and install an acting senior pastor.
“The church members (in Ikorodu) resisted the move and faulted the purported suspension because due process was not followed,” a church member, who preferred not to be named because he was not allowed to discuss the matter publicly, told PREMIUM TIMES.
“During the meeting held with the church, the church pleaded with the Board not to suspend the pastor because of the Embrace programme, but this was ignored by the leadership.”
That inability to find a common ground between the delegation from the national headquarters and the church members in Ikorodu was the first crack in a rift that would deepen over the years.
Days later, a team from the Living Spring Tabernacle headed to their Yaba headquarters for an audience with the General Overseer. The meeting, however, was deadlocked as Mr. Meduoye insisted the only solution was for Mr. Adeyemi to proceed on suspension.
A ‘rude’ pastor
Officials of the Living Spring Tabernacle said Mr. Adeyemi was tagged as being “rude” while addressing the General Overseer at a meeting held on May 18, 2014, “because his hands were in his pockets” while speaking to him.
After reviewing a video recording of what transpired at the meeting on May 18, the church at Ikorodu accused the national headquarters of neither being truthful nor sincere.
Consequently, it was decided that the national leaders would no longer be welcomed in the church.
That decision, however, spurred the church’s national headquarters into involving the police.
In June 2014, Mr. Adeyemi received a phone call from the Divisional Police Officer of Igbogbo Police Station, Ikorodu, informing him of a letter from the Foursquare national headquarters to Area H, Ijede, that he had been suspended from the church and should not be allowed to set foot on the church premises.
The national headquarters also wrote to Haggai Bank, a bank owned by The Redeemed Christian Church of God, and Guaranty Trust Bank requesting that the accounts of Living Spring Tabernacle be blocked.
Two months later, police officers from Zone 2, Onikan, stormed the home of Mr. Adeyemi one Saturday morning to arrest him but did not meet him. They searched his home, arrested his 25-year-old son, Peter, and took him away.
The next day, on August 3, the church’s national leadership led by Mr. Ugbaja and a detachment of police officers from Zone 2 were at the Living Spring Tabernacle to forcefully take over the church and arrest Mr. Adeyemi, whose son was still in detention. They were met with a stiff resistance from the church members who insisted their pastor was being unfairly treated; the members also prevented the church leadership from addressing the congregation.
On August 4, when Mr. Adeyemi reported to the police station in Zone 2 for the release of his son, he was shown a petition written against him by the national headquarters. The petition accused him of forging the signature of the former General Overseer on a document to secure a loan of ₦65 million from Haggai Bank and using the funds to purchase a house at Magodo.
Mr. Adeyemi denies owning a house in Magodo and maintained that the purported document was a deed of assignment signed in 2003 when Wilson Badejo was the General Overseer for the purchase of the land on which Living Spring Tabernacle was built. He added that the land was bought in the name of Foursquare Gospel Church.
On August 5, a letter arrived from the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, ordering the sealing up of the Living Spring Tabernacle premises.
One month later, the church’s national headquarters invited Mr. Adeyemi to an “interactive session” with the preliminary investigation panel set up by the church’s Board of Directors, according to a letter seen by PREMIUM TIMES.
“The purpose of the meeting is for brotherly interaction with your goodself before the panel commenced its official assignment and we shall appreciate that you honour this invitation,” stated the letter dated September 4, 2014, and signed by Ayomide Abraham, the chairman of the Preliminary Investigation Panel.
Mr. Adeyemi’s response came from his lawyers, in a letter dated September 9,2014, and they stated that he would not be honouring their invitation due to an ongoing police investigation on the matter.
“The Board of Directors under the leadership of Rev. Felix Meduoye had previously investigated several allegations that I presume have been referred to your panel and had decided to initiate criminal proceedings against me without any opportunity to defend myself, in flagrant violation of the constitution that he swore to uphold,” Mr. Adeyemi said through his lawyers.
“At the instance of the Board, a police investigation is currently ongoing and several witnesses have been interrogated regarding the allegations brought before the law enforcement agency.
“You would agree with me as a respected legal practitioner that it is unlawful to take any precipitative action that could be prejudicial to the ongoing investigation, more so as the church is subject to the state.”
Unable to invite Mr. Adeyemi to its meeting, the national leadership of the church published a disclaimer in two national dailies announcing that it had dismissed the pastor from the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria.
It also instituted a suit before the National Industrial Court in Lagos seeking a declaration that Mr. Adeyemi has no right to superintend or oversee ministerial functions at the church in Ikorodu or any of its churches nationwide having been dismissed from the organisation.
The court, however, struck out the suit in 2015 for lack of jurisdiction.
In an interview with Vanguard newspaper in December 2014, Mr. Adeyemi said his ordeal in the church arose because he had contested the General Overseer position with Mr. Meduoye, the current head.
“In 2010, I was one of those who contested for the position of General Overseer that brought the current G.O to office,” Mr. Adeyemi was quoted as saying in the interview.
“When he came into office in November 2010, the next month, we had what we call National Key Leaders’ Retreat. At that retreat, he requested to meet with District Overseers.
“We met with him and after the meeting, he singled out three of us and said ‘Eyes are on you, you must be very careful. I will take no nonsense from any of you.'”
When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Ugbaja, the National Secretary of the Foursquare Gospel Church, declined to go into details on the matter because the matter is in court.
He, however, maintained that Mr. Adeyemi had been dismissed from the church about three years ago for “some misdemeanour.”
“Instead of leaving his place of service, where he was dismissed from, he went to remove the signboard and put his own signboard, on the same place where he was employed to serve as a pastor.
“So it became a court case and the court said ‘look you’ve been dismissed, don’t enter there again.’ He now refused to listen to the court, so the court had to enforce the order that was given to him. There was a restrictive order that he should not enter the premises, him, his wife and everybody that has anything to do with him. The court sent a bailiff with the court order, and they were protected by the police and they were driven out of the place and the police locked up the place.”
Mr. Ugbaja said since he had been dismissed by the leadership, Mr. Adeyemi has no business around the church’s premises.
“And you cannot remove the signboard of your former employer and put your own, that is ridiculous and ungodly,” he said.
“We are for peace, we preach peace. This our staff, we have bent backward for him to toe the path of peace but he has his own agenda in mind, probably he’s eyeing the property that does not belong to him. For us we are ready for peace any moment, anytime.”
PT
North Korea is in talks with the US and Sweden to release three Americans held in the North, reports said, as diplomatic activities gathered pace ahead of Pyongyang's planned summits with Washington and Seoul.
The release of the three Korean-Americans — all held in the North after being separately charged with unspecified "hostile acts" against the regime — is under discussion through multiple channels almost two weeks after President Donald Trump agreed to meet the North's Kim Jong Un, reports said.
While Pyongyang has yet to confirm it even made the summit offer — relayed by Seoul envoys who had met Kim in Pyongyang — the stunning announcement has triggered a race to set a credible agenda for what would be historic talks between the two leaders.
Seoul-based MBC TV station reported Sunday that Pyongyang and Washington had "practically reached" a final agreement on the release of Kim Hak-song, Kim Sang-duk and Kim Dong-chul.
"They are hammering out details over the timing of the release," it quoted an unnamed South Korean diplomatic source as saying.
The negotiation was held through the North's mission to the United Nations and the US State Department — an unofficial avenue of communication dubbed the "New York channel," the source said.
CNN said the prisoners' release was also discussed at three-day talks in Stockholm between the North's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho and Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom that ended Saturday.
Sweden represents Washington's interests in talks with the North. It raised the issue of American detainees to "move things in the right direction," CNN quoted one source as saying.
"Any movement on the issue of these detainees would be a huge deal for the US," said the source.
Kim Dong-chul, a South Korea-born American pastor, has been detained by the North since 2015 when he was arrested for spying. He was sentenced to 10 years of hard labour in 2016.
Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang-duk — or Tony Kim — were both working at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, founded by evangelical Christians from overseas, when they were detained last year on suspicion of "hostile acts."
Reports on the detainees' possible release come amid a flurry of diplomatic activities involving Pyongyang, Seoul, Washington and its allies.
During a visit to Pyongyang by Seoul's envoys earlier this month, Kim reportedly offered to meet Trump, with the US president subsequently agreeing to talks by May although no specific time or venue has been set.
Kim also agreed to hold a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in next month — the third ever between the two Koreas — according to the envoys.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said in an interview aired Sunday that Kim was "taking stock" after Trump's surprise decision to accept the invitation, but that a channel of communication had been established.
The Stockholm talks overlapped with another meeting among the top national security advisors of the US, South Korea and Japan.
US National Security Advisor HR McMaster, the South's Chung Eui-yong and Japan's Shotaro Yachi met in San Francisco over the weekend and vowed "close policy coordination" for the weeks ahead, Seoul's presidential office said.
They agreed that peace on the flashpoint Korean peninsula hinges on the success of the two planned summits, vowing "not to repeat the failure of the past," it said in an apparent reference to previous botched nuclear disarmament negotiations with the North.
Also on Sunday, a senior North Korean diplomat arrived in Finland for talks on peninsula issues with former officials and academics from the US and South Korea.
The sudden rapprochement comes months after the North staged its most powerful nuclear test and test-fired missiles capable of reaching the US mainland.
Kim and Trump traded colourful threats of war and personal insults, which heightened global concerns of another conflict on the peninsula once brought to ruins by the 1950-53 Korean War.
Times of India