The President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki is set to meet President Muhammadu Buhari to relay to him an alleged plot by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to implicate him (Saraki).

The President of the Senate is to lead the leadership of the upper legislative chamber to meet with President Buhari over the alleged plot which Saraki disclosed on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.

Saraki had raised the alarm on the floor of the Senate over a plot by the IGP to implicate him using ‘coerced’ cultists.

“My Distinguished colleagues, there is an issue which I need to bring to your attention very urgently. Last night, my State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatai Ahmed revealed to me an information at his disposal that a group of suspects who had been in police cells for several weeks for cultism and whose investigation had been concluded with prosecution about to commence under the State law based on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the Ministry of Justice were ordered to be transferred to Abuja this morning.

“ According to the information available to the Governor, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Idris Ibrahim directed the Commissioner of Police in Kwara State to immediately transfer the men to the Force Headquarters.

“The plan, as the Governor was made to understand is that, under duress, the suspects would be made to alter the statements they already made in Ilorin. They will then be made to implicate the Kwara State Government, and in particular, myself, in their new statement.

“This plot is part of the strategy by the IGP Idris to settle scores over the declaration by this honourable Chamber that he is not qualified and competent to hold any public office, within and outside the country and that he is an enemy of Nigerian democracy based on his usual disrespectful conduct towards lawful authorities.

“”In my own view, this plot is an act of desperation, blackmail, intimidation, abuse of office and crude tactics aimed at turning our country into a Police State where top officials cannot be made to obey the law, follow due process and subject themselves to constituted authorities.

“I want to bring this dangerous development to the attention of all of you my colleagues, the entire country and the international community so that you can be aware of the level of impunity in our country and the danger it constitute to our democracy,” the President of the Senate said.

Saraki explained that he was bringing the issue to the attention of his colleagues to let them know the gravity of the situation.

“I know the gravity of the issue that is why I am bringing it to your attention and to continue to let our colleagues and the world know presently the danger we are going with and the levels of the rascality that is going on with some of these actions.

“I have brought it to your attention and we must continue to play our own role in doing what we believe in the course of our duty.

“It is very unfortunate but that it the information I have as of now,” the President of the Senate said.

The Senate resolved that the Senate President should lead a delegation to relay the concerns raised on the floor by Saraki. The delegation would consist of the Senate President, the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan; the Chief Whip, Senator Olusola Adeyeye; and the Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

Other members of the delegation would included Senator Danjuma Goje, Senator Sam Anyanwu, Senator Aliyu Wammako, Senator Fatima Raji Rasaki, and Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

Source: NAN

A Kogi State High Court in Lokoja has granted bail to Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, who is standing trial on gun-running allegation.

Justice Nasir Ajana gave the ruling based on an application by the defence counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome.

Ajana admitted Melaye to bail to the sum of N10 million, with one surety in the like sum.

Ozekhome argued that the continued incarceration of Senator Melaye would jeopardise his health condition, which he said was deteriorating.

Melaye, however, was not in court as he is still receiving treatment in hospital.

Details coming.

Source: NAN

Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, says on Wednesday the state government has secured a 60 million dollar loan from the World Bank for the construction of 500 rural roads across the state.

Bagudu made the disclosure in Birnin Kebbi when he received the Emir of Yauri, Dr Muhammdu Zayyanu, who paid him a courtesy visit.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the roads construction and rehabilitation would cover all the 21 local government areas of the state.

Bagudu said that state government had already paid its counterpart fund for the project which was designed to transform rural areas and ease transportation difficulties.

He also added that government would support the construction of the dilapidated Jega-Koko-Yauri federal road.

The government has already released N374 million for the completion of Yauri Power Sub- Station as well as the repairs of Yauri-Birnin Yauri-Zuru power lines to actualise uninterrupted electricity supply.

He also ordered the immediate release release of fund approved for the evacuation of waterways in Yauri Emirate topave way for smooth marine transportation and reduce boat mishaps.

On the problem of signals for transmission the state television programmes, the governor assured the emir that the problem would soon be over.

My administration has released N700 million for the contract to digitise the television station including the sub stations in Yauri, Zuru and Koko.

Earlier, the emir had appealed to the governor to tackle the problems of potable water supply, good roads and electricity in his domain.

I am here to show solidarity and forward the incessant complaints I receive from my subjects on the problem of potable water supply, electricity and roads, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN

A Special Offences Court in Ikeja has fixed June 1 for the adoption of final written addresses in the trial of Clement Illoh, ex-Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity for alleged N14 million fraud.

Illoh is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly stealing N14 million from the defunct Federal Governments Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).

At the resumption of proceedings on Wednesday, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, granted the prayers of the EFCC Counsel, Mr Nnaemeka Omeha, seeking an adjournment to enable the prosecution regularise its application.

The judge, thereafter, acceded to his request for an extension of time and consequently adjourned the case.

The defendant was arraigned on Oct. 16, 2017 by the anti-graft agency on a three-count charge bordering on stealing by conversion of property to the tune of N14 million.

It was allegedly sourced from the from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

He had pleaded not guilty to the charges with four prosecution witnesses testifying during the trial.

Illoh was responsible for supervising numerous programmes including SURE-P and allegedly awarded fictitious contracts to himself via his company and friends.

The offences contravened Sections 279 (1), (b) and 285 (6) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.

Source: NAN

Only four out of 35 Nigerian representatives to the ECOWAS Parliament were on Wednesday present at the presentation of the Nigerian Country Report at the First Session of the Parliament.

The absence of the 31 representatives is coming days after only 19 of 35 representatives were reported to have attended the opening session of the Parliament.

During the Ordinary Sessions of the Parliament, the 15 ECOWAS member nations present reports on their countries. The report bothers on the Political situation, Economic situation, Human rights situation and many more relating to their countries.

Our correspondent reports that only two representatives Hon. Ibrahim Sadiq who read the report and Hon. Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi were sighted on the floor of the ECOWAS Parliament.

However, a member of Parliament from Ghana, Hon Opare-Ansah Frederick who observed the embarrassing absence of Nigerian representatives expressed displeasure that only four Nigerians were present for the report.

Fredrick particularly expressed displeasure at the absence of the Nigerians especially on a day when the Nigerian Country Report was being presented.

Mr Speaker, on a day when Nigeria is presenting her country report, one would have expected that the representatives from Nigeria would be well represented.

We see them here, but on a day when we are taking their report only four of them are here. In fact I saw one of them leaving right after the report, he said.

On the issue of community levy, the Ghanaian MP joined many other members to call on Nigeria to play her big brother role and pay her community levy stressing that Nigeria was the biggest economy on whose shoulders the success or failure of ECOWAS laid the most.

Our correspondent reports that the issue of poor attendance by Nigerian representatives has been a recurring decimal.

At the last session of the Parliament in 2017, the Speaker of the Parliament Moustapha Cisse Lo particularly frowned at the low attendance by the Nigerian representatives.

Our correspondent reports that rather than step up their attendance, many Nigerian representatives still shunned the parliament. Some of them only come in, sign the attendance and leave story.

A particular Nigerian Representative from the South-South has gained popularity for coming late: and rather than sit and contribute to plenary, goes about exchanging pleasantries with other Members of Parliament who are going about their businesses.

Reacting to the interventions by other members of parliament, Nigeria representative, Hon. Lafiagi apologized for the very low turn-out of Nigerians.

He explained that the low turnout was almost unavoidable as the 2018 Budget of Nigeria was scheduled for passage in both chambers of the Nations National Assembly.

It is particularly very bad today because budget this year had been delayed, the budget is being passed today in both houses. That is one reason why a lot of us are absent today.

Another issue that causes this is because we are based here and the parliaments meet at the same time, that is why many of us go to attend, especially on a Wednesday when it is on live TV

Saturdays attendance was poor because congresses were going on, so members have to go to their constituencies to organize for the congresses.

I must also apologise for the absence of a lot of our colleagues. We will convey the message to let them know that their brothers are missing them, he said.

Speaking on the non-payment of the community levy, Lafiagi stressed that the delay in the passage of the nations budget had affected the payment.

He however assured that Nigeria was committed to meeting up with its obligation with regards to the payment of its levies.

Below is a list of Nigerian federal lawmakers (Senators and members of the House of Representatives) who are members of the ECOWAS Parliament.

Sulaiman Lasun Yussuff

Mohammed Ali Ndume

Foster Ogola

Ibrahim Danbaba Abdullahi

Gershom Otu Bassey

Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah

Mao A. Ohuabunwa

Yele Omogunwa

Tijjani Yahaya Kaura

Mustapha Bukar

Biodun Christine Olujimi

Ahmad Moallahyidi Abubakar

Isah Misau Hamma

Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi

Joshua Chibi Dariye

Rilwan Adesoji Akanbi

Nelson Asuquo Efiong

Adamu Dali Usman Kamale

Lynda Chuba Ikpeazu

Mani Aminu Ashiru

Dickson Dominic Tarkighir

Shehu Garba Sarkin-Noma

Salisu Garba Koko

Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi

Sani Mohammed Aliyu Rano

Sadiq Ibrahim

Olatunbosun George Oladele

Abdullahi Balarabe Salame

Magaji Dau Aliyu

Bassey Eko Ewa

Sulaiman Romo Aliyu

Abdullahi Idris Garba Kontagora

Solomon Ahwinahwi

Asabe Vilita Bashir

Emmanuel Isaac Ukoete

Source: NAN

An Ikeja Magistrates Court on Wednesday remanded a hotel cleaner, Abdulrahmon Shuaib, at the Kirikiri Prisons for allegedly stealing a customers cell phone, worth N25,000.

Shuaib, 22, of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty to the charges of stealing and attempt to escape from the police custody.

The Magistrate, Mrs Y. O. Aje-Afunwa, said that the accused should remain behind bars until the next adjourned date.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Peter Nwangwu, had told the court that the accused committed the offences on May 3 at Wix Hotel, situated at No. 7, Kujle Akinosi St., Oshodi, Lagos.

He said that the accused stole an XBO Android Phone, valued at N25,000, belonging to one Ganikale Hammed.

The prosecutor explained that the complainant, on getting to his room after it was cleaned, discovered that his cell phone was missing.

Shuaib stole an Android phone belonging to the complainant, (a guest at the said hotel), the prosecutor said.

He said that the cell phone was recovered from the accused.

Nwangwu also said that the accused made attempt to escape from the police custody.

The accused, on May 7, at 3.40a.m after he was apprehended and handed over to the police for questioning, he made an attempt to escape by breaking the ceiling, he said.

The offences contravened Sections 106 and 287 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

The case was adjourned until May 25, for a review of facts and sentencing.

Source: NAN

The Senate has passed the 2018 Budget of N9.21 Trillion following the consideration and adoption of the Budget report laid on the floor of the upper legislative chamber on Tuesday.

This is coming 6 months afterthe budget document was presented to a joint session of the National Assembly in November.

The Budget document passed on the floor of the senate is similar to what is being considered by the house of representatives and it shows and increase of N508 billion to take it to N9,120, 334,988,225 from the N8.6 trillion presented by Buhari.

The Senate and House of Representatives had promised to pass the budget on April 24, but failed to do so.

There were equally assurances that the budget would be passed in the first week of May but it was not passed.

The Senate had on several occasions accused Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of not keeping to appointments with the various standing committees to defend their budgets.

Subsequently, the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, on April 12, mandated the Appropriation Committee to tidy up reports on the budget latest by April 13.

With this development, theJanuary to Decemberbudget cycle would not be obtainable with the 2018 budget.

Buhari had on Nov. 7, 2017 presented a budget of N8.6 trillion before a joint session of the National Assembly.

The president who announced the 2018 budget as Budget of Consolidation, said the projected expenditure would drive rapid economic recovery.

He said at the session that with a benchmark of 45 dollars per barrel at an exchange rate of N305 to a dollar in 2018, the budget would consolidate on the achievements of previous budgets to aggressively steer the economy to the path of steady growth.

Source: NAN

Germany has proposed a new process that will facilitate the smooth repatriation of over 30,000 illegal Nigerian migrants back to the country.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama said this when he received the Security Adviser to the President of Germany, Dr Jan Hecker, and his team in Abuja.

The new proposal, according to Onyeama, is predicated on perceived failures and slow pace of the current system of repatriation.

This, he said, involved both the participation of Nigerian embassies and consulate and the German immigration office.

“They don’t have enough faith and confidence in the process that we have at the moment for the repatriation process.

”Some of the delays they believed are with the mission and consulate in Germany.

” They want to propose a completely new process of repatriation, known as Return and Re-admission,” he said.

Onyeama said that in the last two years only about 200 Nigerians had returned to the country out of about 30,000.

”Germans were not happy that the system we have in place at the moment is certainly not working to their satisfaction,” he said.

According to him, the new process essentially entails that once all legal processes have been exhausted, Nigeria should trust them (Germany), to make right decision on whom should be repatriated.

He added that once the decision was taken, Germany would bring the affected persons to Nigeria without the involvement of Nigeria’s mission in Germany.

“They will bring them here to Nigeria and say we have gone through a process in Germany; these people are your nationals, they have exhausted all the legal processes, please take them.

”And it will be here on Nigeria territory that any possibility will then exist to say maybe that one is not or this one is not.

Onyeama, while describing the proposed process as a complete transformation of the current process, noted that Germany aside from issuing travel documents to those to be repatriated, would also be responsible for their travels.

However, for the new process to come into being, Nigeria would have to agree and carry out some changes in her laws.

Earlier, Jan Hecker said he was in Nigeria to see how both countries could intensify their bilateral relations and achieve good result, particularly on migration.

He was accompanied on the visit by the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Bernhard Schlagheck and other officials.

Source: NAN

Ado Ekiti, capital of Ekiti state, will be connected to Lagos-Kano rail line, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi said today as he signed a $6.68 billion dollars contract agreement for the Ibadan-Kaduna segment with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

Amaechi said at the signing ceremony in Abuja that Ado-Ekiti will be connected with a single track branch line from Osogbo.

He signed the contract on behalf of the Federal Government.

“This agreement is for the Ibadan-Kaduna rail line, which is part of the Lagos-Kano rail line, the completion time of the contract should be between two to three years, depending on availability of funds,” Amaechi said.

Amaechi promised that the ministry would be able to provide its counterpart funding between 2018 and 2019 budget provision, stating that the contract was a fulfilment of Federal Government’s plan to complete the Lagos-Kano rail modernisation project.

“The Ibadan-Kaduna standard gauge line will pass through Oshogbo-Ilorin-Minna to Kaduna, with a single track branch line from Oshogbo to Ado-Ekiti.

“This contract is in fulfilment of Federal Government’s plan to complete the Lagos-Kano rail modernisation project started in 2006 and broken into segments for implementation.

“The segmentation phase commenced from Abuja-Kaduna rail line in 2011, which was completed and commissioned into commercial operation by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016.

“The Federal Government in March 2017 commenced the second leg of the Lagos-Kano line that is currently ongoing and planned to be completed by the end of 2018.

“The signing of the Ibadan–Kaduna segment contract agreement today concludes all outstanding segments of the Lagos-Kano rail line.”

Source: NAN

Embattled Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, who vowed to attend Tuesdays plenary of the senate in compliance with a court decision failed to turn up.

The Senate on April 2, suspended Omo-Agege (Delta-APC) over a dissenting comment on decision of the Upper Chamber on adoption of conference report on INEC Commission Act (2010) Amendment Bill.

Omo-Agege, however went to court to challenge his suspension and the court in its ruling, declared the action unconstitutional, saying that the Senate could not suspend a member beyond 14 days.

The Senate appealed the ruling but said in statement that while it was waiting for a stay of execution, it would not stop the lawmaker from resuming plenary.

Omo-Ageges suspension, which was expected to last for 90 legislative days, followed a report of the Senate Committee on Ethics Privileges and Public Petitions.

Chairman of the committee, Sen. Sam Anyanwu, had said the committees probe followed a Point-of-Order raised by Sen. Dino Melaye (Kogi-APC) on the matter.

According to Anyanwu, Melaye drew Senates attention to a media briefing by Omo Agege, faulting senates adoption of the conferences report on Feb.14.

He said that Melaye further intimated the senate that the media briefing by Omo Agege indicated that the resolution of the senate was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari.

His suspension was based on his comment that amendment to section 25 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), bordering on reordering of elections sequence was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of Federal High Court on May 10, held that while the National Assembly had the power to discipline its erring members, the premise on which Omo-Ageges suspension was anchored was illegal.

Although the court refused to grant any of the seven prayers sought by the senator, it held that the suspension could not hold on grounds of the violence it did to the Constitution.

The judge noted that from the wording of the report of the Senates Ethics and Privileges Committee which recommended Omo-Ageges suspension, he was punished for filing a suit against the Senate after apologising to the legislative house over the allegation leveled against him.

Access to court is a fundamental right in the Constitution, which cannot be taken away by force or intimidation from any organ, the judge ruled.

The judge also added that the Senates decision to punish Omo-Agege for filing a suit against the Senate and for punishing him while his suit was pending constituted an affront on the judiciary.

He added that even if the Senate had rightly suspended the senator, it could only have suspended him for only a period of 14 days as prescribed in the Senate rules.

He also ruled that the principle of natural justice was breached by the Senates Ethics and Privileges Committee by allowing Senator Dino Melaye, who was the complainant, to participate in the committees sitting that considered the issue and also allowed him to sign the committees report.

The judge therefore nullified Omo-Ageges suspension with immediate effect.

He also ordered that the senator be paid all his allowances and salaries for the period he was illegally suspended. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has dismissed the fears that Buharis electoral value would diminish if the aggrieved members of the nPDP pull out of the ruling All Progressives Congress government.

In an interview with State House correspondents in Abuja on Tuesday, El-Rufai said President Buhari would be re-elected, with or without the threatening former PDP members.

I dont agree and I want to go back to 2003. What are we talking about? Who are these new PDP people that are threatening? This is Kwara, Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa, Rivers but I dont think Amaechi is part of them.

So lets take these four states, go back to 2003 and check. Buhari then under ANPP won in all these four states. Go back to 2007, Buhari won in these four states. Even when Shakarau was running as a presidential candidate in 2011, Buhari defeated him in Kano.

And, I have no doubt in my mind that even if the people threatening to leave, leave, it will have absolutely no impact on the presidential elections, the president will win Sokoto, Kwara and Adamawa easily.

Kano is already in the bag, I mean if you saw the crowd that welcome the president without the former governor Kwankwaso, Kano has always been the presidents base.

To me that is not the issue, the issue is that they have written, they have expressed grievances, some of the grievances are legitimate and should be looked into.

But to threaten to leave the party is neither here nor there. If they are honest with themselves they know that President Buhari will win those states with or without them.

El-Rufai visited the State House on Tuesday to update President Buhari on the outcome of last Saturdays Local Government elections in his state and the use of electronic voting system during the exercise.

It was the first time a state adopted the use of electronic machines to conduct elections in Nigeria.

El-Rufai told journalists that he also used the opportunity to welcome the president from his recent trips to America and London.

The governor recommended the adoption of e-voting in future elections at both federal and state levels as a panacea to election frauds in the country.

He expressed the readiness of the Kaduna state government to give out the machines on mutually acceptable terms to those state governments that were yet to conduct local government elections in their states.

Absolutely, I recommend it highly to everyone, I have already offered to my colleagues state governors that are yet to conduct local government elections that they can come to Kaduna and we can give them the machines on mutually acceptable terms.

All you will need is to change the software, it will have the logo of the state and the number of parties active in the state, they can use it. It is easy.

At federal level, I will recommend it as well because with the card reader and the electronic voting machine, the era of rigging elections is almost over and I think that is when people will have confidence in the process and will come out enmass to vote for their leaders.

Having said that, I know we have been working on this for about one year before we got to where we are. Although it is possible for INEC to do it, it will be logistically difficult.

But nothing stops them from trying if the resources are available. Because, the machines have already been manufactured, the designs are there, you only need to place the orders to the Chinese and Im sure they will deliver them in no time.

El-Rufai also dismissed the assertion that the use of e-voting was against the Electoral Act, saying that, I dont agree with that.

There is an amendment to the Electoral Act that President Jonathan signed a few days before he left office which legitimizes the use of the card reader and other electronic systems for voting.

So, in my view the current Electoral Act has provision for the electoral voting.

But, that is not even what we used in Kaduna. In Kaduna, we enacted our own electoral law that made provision for the electronic voting machine and card reader, everything was totally legitimized and passed by our State House of Assembly and I think every state can do the same, he said.

He added that the current legal framework allowed the use of electronic voting machines.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved N10 billion for the rebuilding communities and victims of crisis, just as government has denied claims of agenda to eliminate people in Benue.

President Yemi Osinbajo, who is on a two-day visit to Benue unveiled the plan rehabilitation and rebuilding of communities on Tuesday.

Osinbajo said during a stakeholders meeting at the Benue Peoples Government House, Makurdi, that the Federal Government was determined to prove insinuations wrong by rebuilding all damaged communities in the country.

He said the anger and disappointment expressed by the people at the meeting was right and justified but assured that government was committed to providing security for their protection.

He said there were several interventions that had been initiated to make life bearable to them.

The Vice President assured that the government would dig deep into the root cause of the crises to find lasting solutions to it.

He also dismissed the religious colorations attached to the killings, saying persecutions have always been with Christians and it is the duty of Christians to stop it.

The gospel of Jesus cannot be killed by anybody; it is not fragile or written on a piece of paper, he explained.

He said the recent recruitments into the various arms of the security agencies was aimed at providing effective security protection to the people, especially communities under frequent attacks.

The vice president also condoled with the Catholic Church for the attack on its priests and worshippers at Saint Ignatius Parish Mbalom where 18 people including two catholic priests were killed by suspected armed herdsmen.

Earlier in his address, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue, called on the federal government to fish out the killers of the two priests and their parishioners.

He also called for more humanitarian aid to the state to handle the displaced people who were living in inappropriate sanitary conditions.

Also speaking at the meeting, Maj-Gen Lawrence Onoja (Retd) called for the establishment of Middle Belt Reconstruction Commission to tackle the most of the challenges the state faced especially in agriculture.

He also called on the federal government to arrest the killer- herdsmen and provide protection to farmers to enable them return to their farms.

The Catholic Bishop of Gboko Diocese, Most Rev. Williams Avenya, regretted the attacks on innocent citizens and called on the government to encourage the ranching of livestock as a panacea to the blood bath in the Benue valley.

The Speaker, Benue House of Assembly, Mr Terkimbi Ikyange, called on the government to encourage the adoption of the Anti- Open Grazing Law by all states to end the acrimonious relationship with herders in the country.

A former Vice Chancellor, ABU Zaria, Prof Daniel Saror, appealed to the federal government to chase out the herders who had taken over their farmlands and were occupying their houses.

For Dr Magdalyne Dura, a lecturer, the N10 billion earmarked to rebuild damaged communities was inadequate, considering the volume of damage done by the herders.

Other speakers who also supported the adoption of the anti open grazing law included; former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Mike Aondoakaa, Brig-Atom Kpera, Prof Tony Ijohor and Prof Jerry Agada.(NAN)

Source: NAN

The leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Sheik Ibrahim El-zakzaky, has been arraigned before the Kaduna High Court.

The Kaduna State Government on Tuesday arraigned the leader of Shiites who has been in detention since 2015.

The IMN leader and his wife are being arraigned on eight counts of alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disturbance of public peace, among other allegations.

They were brought to the court from Abuja, the nations capital in two black SUVs amidst tight security.

At the commencement of the hearing, the defence counsel, Mr. Maxwell Kyon, made an oral application for the couple on grounds that they had been in detention for over two years without trial.

Justice Kurada, however, refused the oral application made by Mr Kyon and told him to rather file a written application which will be heard before or on the next adjourned date.

Consequently, he adjourned the case till June 21, 2018.

El-zakzaky and his wife have been held in prison without trial since his arrest by the Nigerian government in December 2015.

While his followers regularly take to the streets to protest his prolonged detention, Tuesdays arraignment sparked a fresh protest as the members blocked the popular Ahmadu Bello way and other major roads in the state capital to demand his release.

Source: NAN

Jailed Malaysian reformist Anwar Ibrahim was granted a full pardon on Wednesday and walked out of a hospital in Kuala Lumpur just a week after his alliance scored a shock victory in a general election.

Smiling and waving to supporters, Anwar, dressed in a black suit and tie and his hair neatly swept back, was surrounded by his family, lawyers and prison guards before driving to the palace for an audience with King Sultan Muhammad V.

He was greeted at the palace by new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, his ally-turned-foe-turned-ally, with whom he joined forces to oust scandal-tainted Najib Razaks administration in last weeks election.

The king, with the advice of the pardons board of the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, has allowed a full pardon and given an immediate release for Anwar bin Ibrahim, said a statement issued by the palace.

Anwar, 70, serving a five year-sentence for sodomy, has been recovering from a shoulder injury in hospital under police guard.

The pardon allows Anwar to re-enter active politics immediately, but it was not clear what his role in government would be.

Mahathir, 92, had vowed to enable Anwars release and eventually step aside for him to become the prime minister.

On Tuesday, Mahathir said he expected to be prime minister for one or two more years, setting off talk of differences between the two.

Seeing him walk free makes me emotional, but the fight is not over, said Ridzuan Ismail, an Anwar supporter at the hospital. Now we need to see him become prime minister.

Jack Seng, another supporter wearing a shirt with a logo of Anwar behind bars, said he thought Mahathir and Anwar would resolve any tensions between them.

I think we need to let Mahathir do his work to save Malaysia and to get back its system of government.

Nurul Izzah, Anwars daughter, said her fathers release was a gift ahead of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan which begins on Thursday in Malaysia.

A pardon based on a miscarriage of justice, a separation met with an eventual embrace, she said in an Instagram post. We have got much to do, many more injustices to fight.

Anwars freedom is expected to ease fears of a growing rift within the newly formed coalition government, after differences erupted between supporters of Mahathir and Anwar over cabinet positions and Anwars role in the party.

Mahathir is the leader of the ruling alliance and Anwars Peoples Justice Party (PKR) won the majority of parliamentary seats in the group.

The volatile relationship between Mahathir and Anwar has dominated Malaysias political landscape for over three decades and is central to the future of the alliance.

Source: NAN

Kenyas former Chief Government Pathologist, Dr. Moses Njue on, accused of stealing the heart of a corpse at Lee Funeral Home three years ago, has denied the allegation.

Dr Njue was charged at a Nairobi court alongside his son, Lemuel Anasha Mureithi who was his assistant pathologist.

They are accused of stealing the heart of Timothy Mwandi Muumbo while performing an autopsy on June 25, 2015.

Mureithi was not in court and Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi issued summons for him to appear in court and answer to the charges before the hearing date on July 3.

Dr Njue denied a further count of destroying the heart, to conceal evidence, knowing that the autopsy report would be used as evidence in a case pending in court.

He denied a third count of illegally removing the heart.

The court had earlier rejected an application by Dr Njue to defer the plea arguing Mr Muumbos relatives, had filed a petition before the High Court, seeking to compel him to release the body part. According to Dr Njue, the trial will prejudice the High Court case.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Catherine Mwaniki objected the application saying Dr Njue was not the applicant in the petition and the trial court had not been served with orders, stopping the proceedings.

Mr Andayi agreed with Ms Mwaniki saying that there was nothing stopping the court from proceeding with the case.

After denying the charges, the court ordered Dr Njue to deposit cash bail of Sh300,000 to secure his release.

Another family in Meru County complained that they buried their relative minus the heart after Dr Njue performed an autopsy to establish the cause of his death.

The DPP had recommended that Dr Njue, who resigned from the government a few years ago to work at his own medical school, be charged with theft of body parts belonging to Benedict Karau.

Mr Karau died mysteriously on March 2, 2015 and Dr Njue was set to be charged with three counts including theft contrary to section 275 of the penal code, wilful destruction of evidence and illegal removal of body parts contrary to the Anatomy Act.

But Dr Njue rushed to court and obtained orders obtained an anticipatory bail and filed a petition seeking to block the charges.

Source:

Source: NAN

Uganda has imposed taxes on religious groups for sale of Bibles, Koran, prayer and hymn books.

The countrys Revenue Authority (URA) imposed the taxes prompting clerics across faith groups expressing consternation and disbelief.

The clerics are insisting that religious materials should be tax-exempt since they use them for spiritual nourishment of Ugandans.

However, the URA commissioner general, Ms Doris Akol, disagreed, saying the practice of not taxing the entities and materials was in the first place an anomaly.

We understand that Value-Added Tax (VAT) has in the past not been paid on the said Bibles, prayer books and hymn books. This was an anomaly, she wrote in an April 19 letter.

Ms Akol was responding to a petition a month earlier by the Church of Uganda Archbishop Stanley Ntagali.

The prelate had asked the tax man to release a consignment of 9,120 prayer and hymn books imported from Nairobi, Kenya, without the church having to pay VAT.

In his March 18 letter, Archbishop Ntagali noted that items had been shipped in by Centenary Publishing House Limited, Church of Ugandas (CoU) publishing arm, which in his view should be tax-exempt.

It is from this point of view that we write to you, appealing that the VAT be waived since they (books) are used to educate the masses and Christians by spreading the word of God as our nations motto affirms, For God and my country, he stated.

Ms Akol said she had no power to waive a tax not excluded under the law and, as such, URA released the consignment only after CoU paid Ush8.9 million ($2,395).

In a country where nine out of every 10 citizens are either Christians or Muslims, the proposed tax that a church official said would result in increase of, for instance, a hymn books cost by Ush3,000 ($0.80).

If enforced, it also means the government could raise substantial revenues from taxes on religious materials.

The religious institutions were unable to immediately provide the number of Bibles, Korans and other worship materials sold in a year.

Mr Joshua Kitakule, the secretary general of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, an umbrella body of different faiths, on Monday said whereas religions should not entirely be tax-exempt, imposing 18 per cent VAT on Bibles, Korans and prayer books would be erroneous.

These items are not meant for profit; so, it is erroneous to tax them. Prayer books are supposed to strengthen the spiritual nourishment of individuals, he said.

The tax bodys break from tradition followed months of engagement with religious leaders who remained opposed to the proposal.

For instance, Mr Ramathan Mugalu, the secretary general of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, said President Museveni had said all imported prayer materials that are not for sale should not be taxed.

This government has gone too far in its collection of taxes. How can you tax the word of God? It should instead come in to assist in publishing these materials, Mr Mugalu said.

Canon Joram Kahenano, a CoU commissioner, said URA should have referred its proposal for consideration by Parliament before proceeding to implement it.

Source: NAN

A school in Kenya has closed down on Monday over fears of demons in the school compound that has left a number of students hysterical.

Luani Mixed Day and Boarding Secondary School is an ABC sponsored institution at the top of Luani hills, Kaiti sub-county, Makueni.

According to the students, in the last few days, strange forces have been pelting them with stones at night. Even more bizarre, female students claim they have been sexually assaulted by demons. Sources that sought anonymity claim students have been screaming incomprehensibly paralysing night preps.

When The Standard contacted the County Education Director, Ms. Jane Njogu, she confirmed that the school had been shut down. “The school was closed but today we are going there to have a meeting for the way forward”, she said.

Area assistant chief Francis Kimaiyo said the school has been performing well and that it was the first time the school is experiencing such strange events. “We have not had such a scenario in the past, though authorities have visited the school”, he said.

Cases of demons invading schools in the sub-county have been rampant but the institutions have been preferring to deal with the cases through the use of religious leaders avoiding cultural cleansing. A recent case was in Kwa Makuli primary school.

The Kaiti Assistant County Commissioner Benard Nicholas says they will be investigating the claims. He also says they will be looking at other reasons that have prompted the students’ allegations; especially those that have escaped from the school.

“We are investigating the matter and majorly a possibility that the students might not be willing to study”, The ACC said. The school has close to 300 students who will continue staying at home as the matter is looked at by Education authorities.

Source: StandardMedia

The Yobe Government says it has established a dedicated account to ensure the completion of the N11billion Damaturu International Cargo Airport before the tenure expiration of the present administration.

Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam made the disclosure on Tuesday while inspecting work on the project in Kalallawa village, 17 kilometres from Damaturu.

We have opened a dedicated account called the Airport Project Account, money is there waiting for payment at any time, Gaidam said.

The governor expressed satisfaction with the speed and quality of work at the airport.

Gaidam said the contractors should complete the project on time because government has the money to execute the project.

He said the state government had paid N5.6 billion out of the N11.3 billion contractual fee.

According to the governor, the project is cost effective compared to airports constructed at over N63 billion in other states.

Gaidam said work has reached 51.5 per cent completion with impressive speed and quality.

The contract was awarded in September 2017 with 15 months completion period.

Source: NAN

Zimbabwe has followed Lesotho by legalisingthe production of marijuana for medicinal and scientific purposes, making it the second African country to turn the drug into a source of revenue.

However, recreational use of the drug known in the country as mbanje or dagga remains illegal.

A government notice by the health and child care minister, Dr David Parirenyatwa says individuals and corporations can apply for licenses to grow marijuana, whose production and possession had brought up to 12 years in prison.

Producers of mbanje must be licensed by the minister, reported Zimbabwe Herald.

The notice was contained in a Government Gazette Statutory Instrument 62 of 2018 (Dangerous Drugs Production of Cannabis for Medicinal and Scientific Use Regulations).

An application for the issue of a licence in terms of section 27 of the Act shall be made to the Minister, in duplicate and shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee and three copies of a plan of the site proposed to be licensed which shall comply with the requirement specified in these regulations.

In case of an individual, proof of citizenship or proof of being ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe or proof of an exemption by the Minister (will be required), reads the regulations.

In the case of a company, proof of citizenship or proof of being ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe of the majority of directors or proof of an exemption by the Minister and proof of incorporation in Zimbabwe of the company; and a declaration, signed and dated by the proposed authorised person in charge, stating that the authorised person in charge, the proposed responsible person in charge and, if applicable, the proposed alternate responsible person in charge, are familiar with the provisions of the Act (will be required), reads the regulations.

The application for the licence must also provide a detailed description of the method that the applicant proposes to use for keeping records.

The Minister has powers to audit the activities of the licensed producer with respect to cannabis.

The application shall also contain the following (a) if applicable, the maximum quantity expressed as net weight in grammes of fresh cannabis, dried cannabis, cannabis oil to be produced by the applicant under the licence and the production period . . . and the maximum number of cannabis plants to be sold or provided by the applicant under the licence and the period in which that quantity is to be sold or provided, read the regulations.

In case of an application for a licence to sell or provide fresh cannabis or cannabis oil under, the applicant must provide the Minister before commencing to sell or provide the substance, with the dried cannabis equivalence factor determined under section 73 and the method that they used to determine it.

If an applicant intends to possess, produce, sell, provide, ship, deliver, transport or destroy cannabis at more than one site, a separate application must be submitted for each proposed site.

A licensed producer designate one authorised person in charge to have overall responsibility for management of the activities conducted by the licensed producer under their licence at their site who may, if appropriate, be licensed producer.

The latest move on marijuana by Zimbabwe is a marked shift from the traditionally tough stance in the largely conservative country.

The tiny nation of Lesotho last year became the first African country to issue a license for medical marijuana.

Countries including Malawi and Ghana are reportedly exploring ways to legalise the drug. Nigerias National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency continues to arrest people in possession of marijuana.

A South African court last year ruled that private use of marijuana was legal but the government appealed.

Source: NAN

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday the worlds largest social network will soon include a new dating feature while vowing to make privacy protection its top priority in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Zuckerberg unveiled the plans as he addressed Facebooks annual developers conference in San Jose, California emphasizing that the focus would be on helping people find long-term partners.

This is going to be for building real, long-term relationships, not just hook-ups, Zuckerberg said in presenting the new feature, noting that one in three marriages in the United States start online and that some 200 million Facebook users identify as being single.

Under the new feature, users will be able to create a separate dating profile not visible to their network of friends, with potential matches recommended based on dating preferences, points in common, and mutual acquaintances.

Zuckerberg did not specify whether the feature would be free of charge, in line with Facebooks core offer but the announcement was enough to send shares in the online dating giant Match.com tumbling by 17 percent.

The 33-year-old CEO also said the dating offer was built from the ground-up with privacy and safety in mind, as he underscored the firms commitment to boosting privacy protections.

Facebooks closely-watched developer conference comes as the giant faces intense global scrutiny over the mass harvesting of personal data by Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy that worked for Donald Trumps 2016 election campaign.

Facebook has admitted up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked in the scandal, which saw Zuckerberg grilled at length by the US Congress last month.

We need to make sure that never happens again, Zuckerberg told the audience.

Clear history

In a related move, Facebook Tuesday announced an upcoming feature called Clear History that will allow users to see which apps and websites send the network information, delete the data from their account, and prevent Facebook from storing it.

The social network has already moved to limit the amount of data it shares with third-party applications and plans further steps to prevent a repeat of the Cambridge Analytica debacle, Zuckerberg said.

Facebook is also reviewing applications overall as well as auditing those that accessed large amounts of data to make sure access isnt abused, he said.

Security isnt a problem than you ever fully solve, Zuckerberg said, outlining the slew of efforts by Facebook to battle election interference, misinformation, spam among other challenges.

This is an arms race; we are going to be working to stay ahead of our adversaries forever.

Message translation

Facebook separately announced Tuesday that its popular Messenger app would soon be able to translate missives in real time, deploying artificial intelligence to enable text conversations between people using different languages.

Source: NAN