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Yahaya Bello: Anti-Corruption CSOs alert FG, public to imminent threats to ex-Gov’s life

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Yahaya Bello: Anti-Corruption CSOs alert FG, public to imminent threats to ex-Gov’s life

 

Hundreds of human rights activists, on Saturday, hit the streets of Lagos to condemn what they described as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s antidemocratic approaches to issues of law enforcement as well as unjust application of state power by the Federal Government.

The Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organisations, numbering over 120, along with a huge crowd of members and supporters, stressed that the actions of the Federal Government in the ongoing face-off between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, which took an ugly dimension during the week, suggested that the bone of contention was beyond the EFCC exercising its constitutional responsibility.

According to them, from the facts and documents obtained on the matter, the EFCC never sent a letter of invitation to ex-Gov Bello.

The issue of evading arrest, they said, did not therefore exist.

“Someone who was never invited, who has a valid court order restraining his arrest and harassment, among other reliefs, until the determination of the court case, could not be said to be evading arrest. It is deliberate misinformation to turn the public against the Governor,” they said.

The anti-corruption activists and human rights crusaders, specifically condemned the military action threat by an EFCC lawyer, saying that, issuing “such a threat before a judge and inside a court was a violation of the sanctity of the courtroom.”

The Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, who led other activists during the protest on Saturday, noted that the ongoing disregard for the rule of law was not only about Yahaya Bello.

“We don’t know who the next victim will be,” he said.

“If the FG continues in its iniquitous way of trampling on the rule of law by undermining our judicial system, we will mobilise a much larger number of Nigerians to join this pro-democracy struggle. It concerns all Nigerians because we don’t know who the next victim may be,” Adeniran said.

He called on the Federal Government to first obey all the court orders preceding their own actions in court and then go ahead to vacate them through due processes of law.

“There is no point in endangering anyone’s life unnecessarily because that’s the situation we believe that Yahaya Bello is in now. If the government doesn’t handle this matter carefully, it may shoot itself on the foot and put all Nigerians in collective injury,” the activists said.

The activists warned that Government should not instigate anarchy, insisting that democracy is governed by the rule of law and not the rule of force.

They pointed out that some of them had been in the trenches for over four decades without comprising their stand on justice.

“Thirty-one years ago when we organized to confront the military for the annulment of the June 12 election by General Ibrahim Babangida’s junta, it was for the cause of justice.

“Nobody paid us a dime to organize the anti-SAP protests of 1989 that nearly shut down the entire country.

“We have organised or participated in many altruistic struggles. In the course of these selfless struggles, many of us were jailed, many were maimed, a lot lost their lives on the battlefield of the fight for justice. But we have remained undettered till date. Ours is thankless sacrifice for humanity. But we are not complaining.

“We have been on the side of the EFCC in many cases without gratification or prompting. But on this case, we insist that the EFCC is disregarding the rule of law and creating room for anarchy. And this must not be allowed to stand,” they stated.

The anti-graft CSOs stated, “Our intervention today is to ensure that each side in the ongoing but avoidable tension between the Federal Government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the immediate former Governor of Kogi State gets the justice that is deserved – both the agency and the suspect.

“We feel that it was totally unnecessary to threaten military action in a civil case because it may escalate beyond proportions and cause devastating even if unintended consequences as being suggested by the EFCC through their lawyer.

“We are hearing now that some citizens of Kogi State are already saying that the FG would be held responsible if anything untoward happens to their former Governor.”

“If the FG insists on inviting the military to intervene in a civil case involving a citizen, it is better they return power to the military so that we know that we are back to ground zero. It is now very clear to all Nigerians that this Yahaya Bello’s saga is far from being about corruption. Come to think of it, how do you accuse a man of stealing an amount that the combined total of its IGR and Federal allocation for two years is not even up to? Why is the FG fishing for chicken inside a river? It doesn’t live there,” one of Nigeria’s lead activists, Gbenga Soloki, said.

“If anyone doubts our determination to continue fighting for justice on this matter, they should wake up and smell the coffee. We will not relent and neither will we retreat until justice is not only done but seen in this Yahaya Bello’s case. We won’t stop,” a spokesperson for the Coalition of Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organisations Olufemi Lawson, added.

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ASR AFRICA FLAGS OFF CONSTRUCTION OF A N280 MILLION INTEGRATED PUBLISHING HOUSE FOR BABCOCK UNIVERSITY, ILISHAN-REMO, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

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ASR AFRICA FLAGS OFF CONSTRUCTION OF A N280 MILLION INTEGRATED PUBLISHING HOUSE FOR BABCOCK UNIVERSITY, ILISHAN-REMO, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

ASR AFRICA FLAGS OFF CONSTRUCTION OF A N280 MILLION INTEGRATED PUBLISHING HOUSE FOR BABCOCK UNIVERSITY, ILISHAN-REMO, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

 

 

 

 

Sahara Weekly Reports That The Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa), the philanthropic initiative of the Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu (CFR, CON), has flagged off the construction of a N280 million Abdul Samad Rabiu Integrated Publishing House for Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State. This project will enhance the capacity of the University from basic press status to a modern, integrated publishing house to encompass publishing, print production, and other related diversified services. The one-storey building facility will serve as a laboratory and studio for training students of communications, media studies, and allied disciplines as well as other disciplines.

 

 

 

ASR AFRICA FLAGS OFF CONSTRUCTION OF A N280 MILLION INTEGRATED PUBLISHING HOUSE FOR BABCOCK UNIVERSITY, ILISHAN-REMO, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

 

 

 

 

At the groundbreaking event, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Ademola S. Tayo, expressed satisfaction at the nomination by ASR Africa, under its Tertiary Education Grant Scheme. He added that the choice of the project was a response to the vision to take the Mass Communications Department of the University to a whole new level. According to him, the university’s vision is to produce young men and women capable of critical thinking, and problem-solvers capable of proffering innovative solutions to problems of everyday life, be it social, political, and cultural.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In his response, Dr. Ubon Udoh, the Managing Director of ASR Africa, expressed his delight at the University’s choice of establishing an Integrated Publishing House. He added that when information is appropriately applied, human society is empowered to liberate itself from limitations and attain its full potential. Dr Udoh reiterated the commitment of the Chairman of ASR Africa, Abdul Samad Rabiu to supporting quality education within the tertiary education system in Nigeria and urged the institution to focus on the sustainability of this noble project. He also reiterated the importance of cooperation and collaboration between the university and the contractor for the timely delivery of the publishing house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About ASR Africa

ASR Africa is the brainchild of African Industrialist, Philanthropist, and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa) was established in 2021 to provide sustainable, impact-based, homegrown solutions to developmental issues affecting Health, Education and Social Development within Africa.

 

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, PLEASE, ACT FAST!

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, PLEASE, ACT FAST! by Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, PLEASE, ACT FAST!

by Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi.

 

 

It’s no longer story that the preparation for the EndSars carnage went on for a while before its actual implementation.

 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, PLEASE, ACT FAST!
by Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi.

 

But lack of proactive approach on the part of some people in the government of the day became a recipe for the actualisation of the dastardly act. History is about to be repeated, but I do not expect this to happen under the watch of President Bola Tinubu.

I do not say that people should not be allowed to protest if they have any reason to do so. But given the fact that the country does not have the capacity to separate genuine protesters from hoodlums, unnecessary protest should be curtailed.

Some people may be surprised that I call it unnecessary protest.

Yes, it’s unnecessary because this government has never displayed any act of rigidity since it took the mantle of leadership. It responds even to mere comments on social media expressly within. It is clear to every discerning and positive citizen that this government has become one of the most engaging one since 1999.

It has engaged with the organised labour on the minimum wage and it’s being passed to law. It has won autonomy for local government councils. It is on course for disbursements of students’ loans. It has given tax waiver for certain commodities and goods. You only protest against a government that is either passive, incorrigible or rigid. How can a government that is barely a year in office be protested against even when it has surpassed many of the past ones within one year? That cannot be called a protest but a mischief.

President Bola Tinubu should not be deceived by those who harp on funny fundamental human rights to cause mayhem. America is the country they use as a reference point. But American government does not take untoward attitude from anyone. If you want some you will be given some. There is no way for avoidable discomfort.

Kenyans are licking their wounds at the moment. We must not allow our own case to get to that point. I believe that many of those who are planning for the protest are children who do not know the implications of such a protest. Those who are old among them are those who would gladly set their universities’ libraries on fire in the name of students’ demonstration just because water tap didn’t run at the expected time.

Please, begin to show us that we have someone in charge of our affairs. Be more presidential Your Excellency. We know that it’s those who lost elections in 2023 and those they have recruited among those who think you have not compensated them among your conditional supporters that are behind the protest.

Please, refuse to be blackmailed. No matter what you do, there is but one mind in those people and it is turned against you. Please do everything humanly possible for PH REFINERY to work. Support Dangote Refinery to get crude oil locally.

We must not be importing fuel forever. Therefore, you should beware of the sinister motive of the August 1 planned protest, Your Excellency. May you continue to succeed and may all patriotic Nigerians continue to progress in all spheres of life in the mighty name of God.

Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi is an entrepreneur, opinion leader and a security analyst.

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Law Enforcement Training Institute ( LETI ) Commences Annual Mandatory Training

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Law Enforcement Training Institute ( LETI ) Commences Annual Mandatory Training.

 

 

The Lagos State Law Enforcement Training Institute ( LETI ) begins her Annual Mandatory Training Exercise for the year 2024 for Law Officers across the state.

The exercise, which will run for a duration of six weeks brings together officers from the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority ( Lastma ), the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps ( Kai ), the Vehicle Inspection Service ( Vis ), the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps ( Lnsc ) and the Central Business District ( Cbd ) law Officers.

In her opening remarks, the CEO / Head of Leti Mrs Abiola Adeyinka emphasised on the importance of continual training for Law Officers to ” be at their best” and to ” embrace the opportunity to enhance their skills and knowledge.” she stressed the need for professionalism, integrity, and respect for the Rule of Law in the discharge of their duties as respectable officers of the state of excellence. The training program will cover a wide range of topics to include:
* Traffic management and Enforcement.
* Public safety and security.
* Human right and law enforcement.
* Conflict resolution etc.
* Interpersonal relations to mention but few.

Mrs Adeyinka reteirated the State government commitment to ensuring that Leti delivers on its mandate of providing high quality training to Law enforcement Officers in the state.

According to the Ceo, “The Governor of Lagos State has pledged the full support of his administration to Leti in its efforts to enhance the professionalism and effectiveness of Law enforcement in Lagos State. The annual mandatory training exercise is a testament to the Lagos State government commitment to ensuring a safe, secure and well- managed environment for all residents.

Law Enforcement Training Institute ( LETI ) Commences Annual Mandatory Training.

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