President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday decried how desperate politicians have increasingly cheapened human life in their quest to establish a reign of instability and chaos in the country for political gains.

President Buhari, who was reacting to recent clashes in Plateau, which left scores dead, said in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja, that those behind the killings hoped that it would give them an advantage in the coming elections.

He said: We know that a number of geographical and economic factors are contributing to the longstanding herdsmen/farmers clashes.

But we also know that politicians are taking advantage of the situation. This is incredibly unfortunate.

Nigerians affected by the herdsmen/ farmer clashes must always allow the due process of the law to take its course rather than taking matters into their own hands.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the presidency quoted security information which indicated that about one hundred cattle were rustled by a community in Plateau State, and some herdsmen were killed in the process.

The report also revealed that the state governor, Simon Lalong, had invited the aggrieved groups and pleaded against further action while the law enforcement agents looked into the matter.

Less than 24 hours later, violence broke out.

It further stated that some local thugs then took advantage of the situation, turning it into an opportunity to extort the public, and to attack people from rival political parties.

There were reports of vehicles being stopped along the roads in the state, with people being dragged out of their cars and attacked if they stated that they supported certain politicians or political party.

On his way back to Jos after attending the All Progressives Congress (APC) Convention in Abuja, the state governor had to dismantle a number of illegal road blocks set up by these thugs. There were also a number of people thugs had killed, with their bodies lying along the road, the report added.

The Police Command in Plateau had on Sunday confirmed the killing of 86 people in attacks on Razat, Ruku, Nyarr, Kura and Gana-Ropp villages of Gashish District in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state.

The command had earlier said that only 11 persons were killed.

ASP Terna Tyopev, the commands Public Relations Officer (PPRO) confirmed the new figure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Jos.

The Plateau Government had since announced a dusk to dawn curfew in Riyom, Barkin Ladi and Jos South local government areas to check further breakdown of law and order in the state.

Source: NAN

An Igbosere High Court in Lagos on Monday remanded a 48-year-old female lawyer, Udeme Otike-Odibi, at Kirikiri prison for killing her 52-year-old husband, Symphorosa Otike-Odibi, and also chopping off his penis.

Udeme, 47, was arraigned by the Lagos State Government on a two-count charge of murder and misconduct with regard to a corpse.

She however pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Lagos State Prosecutor, Mr Sunmonu Babatunde, had told the court that the accused committed the alleged offences on May 3, at Diamond Estate, Sangotedo, Lekki, Lagos.

He said that the accused stabbed her husband and mutilated his corpse by cutting his genitals.

The offences contravened Sections 165 (b) and 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Section 165 (b) provides five-year imprisonment while Section 223 is punishable by death.

Justice Adedayo Akintoye, however remanded the accused in prison and adjourned the case until Oct. 8 and 9 for hearing.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accused first appeared before a Yaba Magistrates Court and was remanded in prison pending the Directorate of Public Prosecutions legal advice.

Symphorosa Otike- Odibi, the murdered lawyer, from Delta State, was the second person killed by a female lawyer.

The first lawyer to commit the crime was Mrs. Yewande Oyediran, working with the Oyo State Ministry of Justice.

Yewande stabbed her husband, Lowo Oyediran Ajanaku, 38, to death in their Akobo Estate home in Ibadan, Oyo State home on February 2, 2016, after she found out that he fathered a child through another woman.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in Abuja said he has no regrets being a person of honesty and integrity.

I am satisfied with what I am. I am happy I have kept myself and people close to me from benefiting from government contracts, the President told a delegation of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria at the State House.

President Buhari said he did not award contracts and did not care about who got them so long as they did a good job at a cost that is justifiable to the nation.

According to him, I have been in many places including (Ministry of) Petroleum. I would have gone to jail if I had taken an oil well. For integrity and honesty, I have no regrets. By this, I have contributed to my social safety. I wont go to jail.

The President, who said he had been accused of many things, said his critics cannot accuse him of stealing.

You cannot accuse me of stealing, he said, adding, I have appointed ministers and they are in charge. I appeal to their integrity. When they come here (Federal Executive Council) Chambers, we ensure they follow the due process. If I owned an oil well, I would have gone to jail.

President Buhari also responded to a number of issues raised by the delegation, including complaints that Muslims had been marginalised in appointments to government institutions such as the military and the civil service.

The President said this illustrated how difficult his job is because he faced the same criticism from adherents of other faiths. I am in a difficult situation, he admitted.

On the burning issue of violent conflicts in some parts of country, President Buhari said he was putting in his best.

He said that following his dissatisfaction with the performance of the Police in Zamfara State, he ordered a massive transfer of officers and men who had stayed three years and above in the troubled State.

The President appealed to the religious leaders to instruct their followers on the importance of possessing their own voters cards which he described as a national entitlement, and to preach justice to all which is an instituted pillar of Islam.

President Buhari, who revealed that he had received a stiff bill from the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, for the restoration of the dilapidated infrastructure and facilities of federal government-owned radio stations in all states of the federation, promised that something would be done.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, the Vice-President, Sheikh Hadiyyatullahi Abdulrashid commended President Buhari for accomplishing much of what he promised before his election.

He likened him to the captain of a capsizing ship and the messiah needed by the country.

Sheikh Abdulrashid also spoke about the alleged marginalisation of Muslims, violent conflicts between farmers and herders, the problems of drug abuse among youths and the fate of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna, among other issues.

Source: NAN

Trends in global security denote that cyber crimes is the latest form of terrorism and corruption and this is a growing concern affecting all nations in the 21st century.

Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, made this assertion on Monday at the Commissions Head Office, Wuse II, Abuja, during a meeting with a delegation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI led by Mr. George Piro.

Magu, while speaking through the Director of Operations, Mohammed Umar Abbah, said the anti-graft agency in partnership with international agencies will leave no stone unturned in tackling menace as it posed a big threat to the world.

Petitions evolving from cyber crimes have been on the increase on the EFCC website. These scams are being duly investigated by the Cyber Crimes Unit with a view to bringing culprits to justice, he said.

The anti-graft czar stressed the need for more international partners to tackle cyber crimes.

He thanked the FBI for its invaluable support for the Commission and called for sustained partnership.

Piro who was excited to visit Africa for the first time said, the visit to Nigeria was borne out of the outstanding performance of the EFCC.

The main purpose of my visit is to acknowledge the exemplary role EFCC has played and to thank you for the continuous partnership that has resulted in mutually beneficial rewards in the fight against corruption.

The professionalism your team at EFCC has displayed is commendable; the impact of this is seen in the fortnightly briefs by the International Operations Division of the FBI which closely monitors the operations of the EFCC, Piro said.

He acknowledged the trend of cybercrime as truly a global trend adding that steps are being taken to address it.

We hope to eradicate cybercrime despite the challenges by getting the right (qualified and talented) work force and station them in United States of America as well as Nigeria.

Piro, an Assistant Director, International Operations Division was accompanied on the visit by Jay Bernardo, his Special Assistant and Paula Parkinson, Legal Attach, Abuja.

Source: NAN

An inmate of the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos has enrolled for a doctorate degree (PhD) at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Abdalla Adamu NOUNs Vice-Chancellor says.

Adamu disclosed this in his remarks at opening ceremony of the 1 International Conference of Social Sciences ICOSS 2018 held on at NOUNs headquarters on Monday in Abuja.

The theme of 3-day conference is Imaged or Imagined: Africa and the Contemporary WorldIssues in Security, Governance and Sustainable Development.

Adamu said that NOUN had transformed into a more credible institution than it was previously perceived.

We emphasise quality assurance, due diligence, due process and most importantly, we emphasise academic excellence and leadership.

We have over 420,000 students and about 135,000 about to take their examinations; last Saturday, we matriculated over 16,000 students.

We are the only institution that provides opportunities for those who cannot afford education; we provide opportunities for education to prisoners free of charge.

I am proud to announce that one of the inmates at Kirikiri prison has registered for PhD in Criminology, he said.

He said that NOUNs aspiration to become the foremost university in Africa, I believe, could only be actualised through intellectually stimulating activities like ICOSS.

The vice-chancellor said that during academic conferences, scholars network to find solutions to issues that pose challenges to the world and express their understanding of the universe in which they belong.

Adamu noted that the theme of the conference was apt as it interrogated the claim that Africa was incapable of sustaining human flourishing.

In her massage, Dr Ganiyat Adesina-Uthman, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, NOUN, said that the ICOSS 2018 theme was timely as it came when the happening s in the continent were in front burner.

She said that the conference attracted delegates from Cameroun, France, Brunei, Darrussalam, USA, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

On behalf of our collaborators-Federal University, Dutse(FUD), Nile University, Abuja, Taraba State University, Jalingo, United States of America Embassy, we thank all the participants from over 50 institutions in Nigeria and abroad who have contributed over 200 abstracts to the discourse on African image.

Your contributions to academic knowledge on Africa is crucial to shaping the future of our continenta continent loaded with opportunities, she said.

Prof. Rufai Alkali, Chairman, Conference Organising Committee, in a remark, said that the theme of the conference was premised on the need to bring scholars of international repute to brainstorm on how to solve Africas problems.

He said that the deliberations would open a new debate on Africas development.

On his part, Prof. Tahir Mamman, Vice-Chancellor, Baze University, Abuja, who was also the Chairman on the occasion, commended NOUN for hosting the international conference.

What NOUN is doing is at the heart of what universities should do; to generate ideas that impact on society not just to graduate students.

It is important to graduate people who will provide solutions to the problems of society, he said.

The keynote titled Saving Lake Chad and the Rejuvenation of Africa: Beyond the Imaginary, was delivered by Horace Campbell, Professor of African American Studies and Political Science.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed regret over the reported killings of innocent people in Plateau and vowed that his administration would not rest until the murderers and sponsors are brought to justice.

The President stated this on his Twitter handle; @MBuhari, on Sunday night in Abuja.

He described the incident as “very painful and regrettable.’’

He, therefore, condoled with communities and families of those affected by the dastardly act.

The President’s twitter message read: “The grievous loss of lives and property arising from the killing in Plateau today is painful and regrettable.

“My deepest condolences to the affected communities. We will not rest until all murderers and criminal elements and their sponsors are incapacitated and brought to justice.’’

The Police Command in Plateau had on Sunday confirmed the killing of 86 people in attacks on Razat, Ruku, Nyarr, Kura and Gana-Ropp villages of Gashish District in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state.

The command had earlier said that only 11 persons were killed.

ASP Terna Tyopev, the command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO) confirmed the new figure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Jos.

Tyopey said: “Sequel to the attack in Gashish District of Barkin Ladi local government area, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Undie Adie after deploying more personnel to the District sent a search and rescue team from the command Headquarters for an on-the-spot assessment .

“The team headed by ACP Edeh John of the Department of Operations also had the DPO of Barkin Ladi Division and a Unit Commander from Mopol 38.

“After a careful search of the villages attacked in the district, it was discovered that 86 persons all together were killed and six severely injured

“Fifty houses, two cars and 15 motorcycles were completely burnt down.”

The Plateau Government had since announced a dusk to dawn curfew in Riyom, Barkin Ladi and Jos South local government areas to check possible breakdown of law and order in the state.

Governor Rochas Okorocha got his revenge on Sunday in the political war with his deputy, Eze Madumere, when Chief Emma Ibediro, Okorochas candidate for the All Progressives Congress National Organising Secretary position defeated incumbent Sen. Osita Izunaso.

Izunaso was the candidate of Madumere.

Ibediro got a total vote of 1,770 to defeat Izunaso who got 1,459 votes.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that APC South-East stakeholders had earlier endorsed Izunaso and two other national officers of the party for re-election.

The stakeholders had also been in a running battle with Gov. Okorocha whom they accused of high handedness and mismanagement of the states resources.

The supremacy contest between factional delegates from Imo state was part of the reasons for delay in concluding theAPC national convention on Saturday, with 20 candidates, including the Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole returned unopposed.

Ibediro refused to step down too despite pleas by party leaders, especially those from Southeast, for both factions to reach an amicable settlement.

Both factions had since Saturday, when the convention kicked-off, embarked on a free-for-all-fight on who is the recognised faction in Imo state.

The delegates from Imo were barred from participating in the voting process by the chairman of the National Convention Committee, Governor Muhammadu Badaru because of the parallel executives that followed the states recent parallel congresses.

Supporters of Okorocha on Saturday, had chased away state executive loyal to Izunaso at the state pavilion, after which the state executive produced by the congress organised by Okorochas faction took overthe pavilion.

Unlike Izunaso who failed to be re-elected, other South East candidates sailed through.

Chief George Moghalu, the partys current National Auditor got over 2,000 votes to retain his position while Emma Enukwu also from the South-East, got re-elected.

Source: NAN

The national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo has no moral justification to ask President Muhammadu Buhari not to re-contest the presidency in 2019.

Tinubu spoke Sunday night at the National Convention of the party in Abuja.

He described Obasanjo as a busy body, saying that he was not a member of the APC nor any other political party having torn his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) membership card publicly.

Obasanjo had in January, asked President Buhari not to seek re-election in the forthcoming 2019 presidential election.

This man has the temerity of writing a letter.

What is your business, busy body? Unfortunately, he has torn the card of his party, so he does not have one anymore, Tinubu noted.

He added that he was happy to be in the APC and not listening to those who advised him against associating with President Buhari.

He thanked Buhari for his tenacity and commitment to fight corruption in the country and for working hard to develop the country.

According to him, the President Buhari-led APC has adhered more to the tenets of internal democracy more than any government in the past.

This, he said, was showed at the partys just concluded National Convention.

We thank you that you have offered yourself to re-contest the presidency in 2019, you must run, and you will win, he said.

We have changed leaders of our party: not at gun point, ask Audu Ogbeh. Thank God we have been able to stop looting and abuse of power, Tinubu said.

The former Lagos State Governor thanked Gov. Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa, who is also the Chairman APC National Convention Planning Committee for the success recorded.

Badaru, you have delivered, in spite of negative prediction that we will never see this day and that our party will fall apart, he said.

Tinubu thanked the committee members for the show of dedication and commitment and for ensuring a successful national convention.

He also thanked Adams Oshiomhole, the new national chairman of the APC, saying that: you are a true reflection of the saying that no matter how short a man is, he will see the sky.

He, however, asked members of the new National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC not to abuse the trust reposed in them.

He assured that he would join other party leaders to support the NWC to enable it succeed on its mandate to move the party forward.

Source: NAN

Chief Olu Falae, secretary to the military government of Ibrahim Babangida, has blamed the states in the north for the crisis caused by herdsmen in Nigeria.

The 79-year-old National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), explained that state governments in the region abandoned the policy introduced by former leaders to take care of herders.

He spoke in an interview on a political programme that would be aired on Monday.

The problem of the herdsmen has been exacerbated by the failure of many of the state governments in the North to take care of the needs of the herdsmen.

According to him, the needs of the herdsmen were thoroughly met during the days of late Sir Ahmadu Bello the then premier of the Northern region and Sardauna of Sokoto.

The former minister of finance recalled that during the period, there were grazing reserves while all kinds of facilities were provided for the herdsmen and their cattle.

He highlighted some of the factors responsible for the crisis to include the reduction in size of the Lake Chad.

Falae, a victim of the crisis, was kidnapped for days by by herdsmen in September 2015 in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The police had confirmed that the abductors demanded a N100 million as ransom before they would release the elder statesman.

The former SGF suffered another loss in January 2018 when his farm was razed in the South-western state.

While the police have yet to identify the perpetrators of the attack, Falae blamed the incident on malice and hatred by some individuals.

In further reaction to the herdsmen crisis, he repeatedly called on the Federal Government to take proactive steps in addressing the matter.

The elder statesman asked the government to tackle the depletion of the Lake Chad, erosion, as well as the Boko Haram insurgency among other challenges.

Over one million people are herdsmen who earn their livelihood from the lake can no longer do so.

Added to that, are those uprooted by Boko Haram and then, desertification has been continuously eroding the arable land in Nigeria.

When you put all these factors together, you find a tremendous pressure on herdsmen and their cattle and the response should have come from the state governments and the Federal Government to take care of their needs because they are Nigerians who are entitled to their livelihood, Falae added.

Falae was Secretary to Government of the Federation from January 1986 to December 1990.

He was briefly the Finance Minister in 1990 and he ran for president in Nigerias Third and Fourth republics.

Source:

Source: NAN

Less than 24 hours after Recep Tayyip Erdogan won landmark presidential and parliamentary elections, the Turkeys most powerful man is set to extend his rule with sweeping new powers from Monday.

Turkeys High Electoral Board declared Erdogan, 64, the winner of Sundays polls, which usher in a new executive presidential system that was approved in a referendum last year. Under the system, the office of the prime minister is eliminated and executive powers are transferred to the president, who can rule with only limited checks and balances.

The Turkish leader, who is accused by critics of adopting increasingly authoritarian tactics but is loved by supporters for bringing prosperity and stability, may be facing rough times ahead, however. Analysts predict an economic downturn amid rising inflation and a struggling currency.

His win could deepen Turkeys rift with Western allies, who are already concerned by setbacks in democracy and human rights as well as Turkeys closer ties with Russia.

Still, Turkeys currency, the lira, rallied on Monday over Erdogans victory, which allows the country to avoid instability in the short-term.

In his victory speech, Erdogan said he would work toward achieving his goal of making Turkey one of the worlds top 10 economies by 2023, when the Turkish Republic marks its centenary.

He also pledged a more determined fight against outlawed Kurdish rebels and alleged members of a movement led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom he accuses of orchestrating a 2016 failed coup against his government. Gulen denies involvement.

Turkey made its choice in favour of a more determined fight against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) and (Gulenists), Erdogan said. We will go after terror organizations with stronger determination.

Under the new system, Erdogan will appoint ministers, vice presidents and high-level bureaucrats, issue decrees, prepare the budget and decide on security policies.

According to unofficial results that have yet to be confirmed by the electoral board, Erdogan garnered 52.5 percent of the votes, while his ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, won 42.5 percent in the parliamentary vote.

Erdogans closest contender, Muharrem Ince of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party, won 30.7 percent.

Erdogans AKP fell short of a parliamentary majority but a better-than-expected performance by its nationalist ally should allow the party to control the 600-seat legislature.

Ince, who complained of unfair elections, has yet to formally concede defeat. A prominent journalist said, however, that he received a message from the politician acknowledging Erdogans victory. Ince was scheduled to hold a news conference later on Monday.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party, whose presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas was forced to campaign from jail, received the more than 10 percent of votes required to win seats in parliament, spilling thousands of its supporters into the streets in celebration.

Source: NAN