The policeman suspected to have killed a student, Tunde Nafiu, in Iwo, Osun state, has been arrested, but after destruction had been done to police facilities by irate youths.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris had ordered the arrest and an immediate investigation into the killing.

The Osun State Commissioner of Police, Fimihan Adeoye, confirmed the arrest on Saturday during an assessment of the facilities at the police station set ablaze by some youths who protested the killing of the student.

He said one of the major duties of the police is to protect the right of the people and the IGP is not in support of human rights violation.

“The IGP does not in any way tolerate violation of human right. The job of police officers is to protect the right of the people. The IGP has directed that the necessary internal control mechanism of the force be activated to deal with the situation.

“The officer that is suspected to have committed the act has been arrested and is currently undergoing interrogation,” Adeoye said.

He added that anyone found guilty at the end of the investigation will be duly prosecuted.

The Iwo area command headquarters was on Friday set ablaze by some youths and students who were protesting the alleged murder of a student.

Nafiu was allegedly shot dead by a police officer attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on Thursday while returning from Oluponan town in the state.

The police station was set ablaze after the youths and some students stormed the police station, forcing police officers to flee and scamper for safety.

They also burnt tyres at some location in the town leaving residents in fear.

The commissioner of Police, however, decried the action of the youths, especially the destruction of properties at the police station.

He said that the situation does not justify taking laws into one’s hands.

Operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have arrested two private security guards over alleged theft of N5 million from the coffers of the Maiduguri Specialist Hospital.

A competent source revealed that the suspects were nabbed in Maiduguri on Saturday in following a tip off by men of the command.

The source said that the suspects had been placed on SARS wanted list since May.

It was gathered that “the suspects gained access to the money through the ceiling in the office of the cashier in the hospital on May 1, where they allegedly broke the safe and stole the amount.

“They bought a Honda car at the rate of N2.6 million, relocated to Kano and squandered the whole money. They later sold the vehicle when they became broke, then cruised with the proceed and returned to Maiduguri when nothing was left.”

Dr. Laraba Bello, the Medical Director of the hospital who confirmed the incident, said that the suspects were security men working with a private guards security company in the hospital.

Bello said “On May 1st, our Central Cashier met his safe broken but the door in his office was locked. They gained access through the ceiling and stole the money in the safe.

She explained that the incident had exposed many of the staff of the hospital to untold hardships and trauma.

On alleged non payment of salaries by the private guards company, Bello said “even if they were not paid on time by their employees, that shouldn’t warrant them to steal from the hospital. And we heard they bought a Honda accord which simply shows that they are not hungry,” she said.

Reacting, Mr. Babatunde Satomey, the Managing Director of HIM Global Nigerian Security Limited, said the suspects were dismissed from the company in April before committing the crime.

“Both of them were dismissed from the company. One was found misbehaving in the last place of his posting and we dismissed him while the other was not living up to our expectations,” he said.

Satomey said that security guards in the hospital were owed few months salaries in the past, but that had been settled.

“It is not true that we did not pay our security men for eight months. Who ever is given you that information, that is not true,” he said.

On profiling of staff before recruiting them, he said that the company had put in place modalities to ensure that criminals were not employed.

“There are bad eggs everywhere, but we make sure we don’t employ until you bring two guarantors. No private guards security company will employ anybody without vetting the employee. The police also had to give clearance before we employ anybody.

“We had meetings with the police, military, NSCDC, DSS and other security outfits in the state. Our fear was not even employing thieves but employing Boko Haram. So we have our ways of checkmating every person in our company,” Satomey said.

Mr Edet Okon, the Borno Police Public Relations Officer, said the command would unravel additional information about the crime after a briefing by the SARS team on the incident.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Saturday said he is not losing sleep over rumour of plans to impeach him following his defection from the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Saraki spoke when he visited Asaba, Delta to consult with the State Governor, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa on his aspirations for the 2019 general elections.

Saraki, who came in company of other senators including Dino Melaye and Peter Nwaoboshi spent about 45 minutes in a closed door with Okowa at the Government House.

“I am not losing any sleep about impeachment, we have a country that a lot of Nigerians believe there must be rule of law, those who are talking about impeachment are engaging in cheap blackmail and I am not concerned about that,’’ Saraki said.

On why he left the All Progressives Congress (APC), Saraki said that he already had a four page statement on the issue.

“I have made a four page statement on why I left the APC and I made it very clear that the ideas and visions of what we expected, was not realised in the areas of democracy, justice, and so on.

“Those that followed the political terrain of the last three years can see that the people are not happy, it is not about me but about Nigerians and about the kind of country we want to build.

“It is the kind of democracy we want to practice and the kind of leadership we need, but, we have not been able to achieve any of this under the APC as much as we have tried,’’ Saraki said.

The Senate President, who addressed newsmen after the meeting, said he was in the state to consult with the governor, particularly now that he had rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He described Okowa as a capable and competent colleague who worked closely with him in the senate for four years.

“I spent four years with a very capable and competent colleague (Okowa) in the Senate.

“We worked very closely together and I have come to spend some time with him and to hear his views now that I have rejoined the PDP.

“Governor Okowa is a very important party member, he is someone I truly respect and I have come to listen to him, hear his views and to consult with him,’’ Saraki said.

He commended the level of development going on in the state in the past three years, adding that the governor had impacted the people of the state through physical and manpower development programmes.

“There is a lot of development in the state and this is what we want to see in most of our states.’’

The Lagos State Government has announced that the Third Mainland Bridge which was temporarily closed for Investigative Maintenance Test would be reopened by 5pm on Sunday (today).

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Dr Taiwo Salaam said the decision to reopen the bridge earlier than announced followed the completion of the test by engineers.

The government also thanked motorists and residents for their cooperation and patience while the closure lasted.

Lagos in partnership with the Federal Government, temporarily shut the bridge midnight 23 August.

It was to be re-opened midnight of Aug.26.

In spite of the defections of members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to opposition parties in Osun, Gov. Rauf Aregbesola has insisted that the party will not be deterred as they work to win the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

Aregbesola made the remark at a rally organised by the Speaker, State House of Aseembly, Mr Najeem Salaam, in Ejigbo, Mr Sola Fasure, the media aide to the governor, said in a statement on Sunday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that some APC members in the state had defected to opposition parties in the past few weeks ahead of the Sept. 22 governorship election in the state.

However, the governor said the party remained strong on account of its wide acceptance by the people of the state, adding that the defections would not in any way affect the party’s victory in the forthcoming election.

He said that members of the party were committed and united, regardless of gale of defections from the party.

“This defection has made us to know those that are genuinely with us and those that are not with us.‎

“We have known friends, enemies and cunning individuals among us by this defection but we are not afraid of their antics as we remain united, strong and committed.

“We are confident of victory. We know God is on our side and we believe in Him; we believe He will lead us to victory”.

Aregbesola said his party was working hard to sustain the tempo of continuity, which according to him, can only set the state on the pedestal of all round development.

He said that APC is the only political party that can turn around the socioeconomic fortunes of the state and Nigeria for the better and urged the electorate to vote for the party in all elections.

He commended Salaam, who was one of the 17 aspirants that contested the APC governorship primary which Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola won, for always abiding by the party’s decision.

He described Salaam as a pillar of support to APC in the state and beyond, noting that his position had been diligently used to effect positivity in the party and for its loyalists.

Earlier, the APC state Chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun, enjoined party loyalists to remain committed, noting that the party had a better chance to win the governorship election.

The leader of an ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan, who was responsible for a spate of recent bombings that left hundreds of civilians dead, was killed in an American drone strike, U.S. officials told Fox News on Sunday.

The deputy spokesperson for Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani announced the death of ISIS-K leader, Abu Sayeed Orakzai, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Lt. Col. Martin O’Donnell said.

“I would also add that the United States unrelentingly continues its counterterrorism efforts against ISIS-K, Al-Qaeda, and other regional and international terrorist groups,” O’Donnell said in a statement.

The airstrikes were launched in the Nangarhar province, near the border with Pakistan, according to Agence France-Presse. Ten other ISIS fighters were also killed.

Orakzai is at least the 3rd ISIS-K leader in Afghanistan killed in the past 2 years. The Islamic State has lost around 90 percent of the lands bordering Iraq and Syria since declaring a caliphate in June 2014.

The killing of Orakzai comes just after an audio recording of the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi apparently resurfaced, in which he congratulated his followers on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, an Islamic holiday, and referenced Turkey’s recent quarrel with the U.S. over its detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

He purportedly said “America is going through the worse time in its entire existence,” and said Russia was competing with the U.S. over regional influence and clout.

Al-Baghdadi’s whereabouts has eluded captors since the rise of the Islamic State.

His only public appearance was in 2014 in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. His last know audio recording was released on Sept. 28, 2017, and there have been several reports is his death or injury.

Next weekend, a new U.S. military commander will be taking over in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Scott Miller, the former head of Joint Special Operations Command which oversees the elite commando units Delta Force, SEAL Team 6 and the 75th Ranger Regiment.

The U.S. military has doubled its air strikes in Afghanistan over the past year and increased them five-fold over 2016 levels.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised concern over a trending fake website, apcregistration.com, which it says is meant to harvest its members ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The party raised the alarm in a statement issued by Mr Yekini Nabena, its National Publicity Secretary on Sunday in Abuja.

It said that the fake website was a scam sponsored by a “main opposition party,” stressing that it was not authorised by its leadership.

“We alert our supporters, members, and indeed the general public about a purported membership registration website of the All Progressives Congress (APC) – apcregistration.com.

“The website which is trending on social media is unauthorised and a scam.

“Our internal investigation has revealed that the fake website is sponsored by one of the main opposition political parties in its desperate and criminal plot to harvest APC members ahead of the 2019 general elections.

“We have deliberately not named the political party and hereby call on relevant security agencies to urgently investigate the website and its sponsors,” the party said.

It urged its teeming supporters and members to take advantage of the on-going nationwide APC membership registration in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT to register.

According to the party, the exercise will include both fresh registrations and revalidation of existing membership for the purposes of issuance of its permanent membership cards.

Mr Abdullahi Danbaba, the Special Assistant on Non-Governmental Affairs to Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara has resigned his appointment to stay in All Progressives Congress (APC).

Danbaba announced his resignation in a letter obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Sunday, which was addressed to Gov. Ahmed through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

According to him, the decision to resign the appointment is due to extensive and heart-to-heart consultation with the people of his constituency coupled with the issue created by the recent political re-alignment in the state and the country at large.

He however, expressed gratitude to the governor and President of the Senate Bukola Saraki for the opportunity offered him to serve the people of Kwara.

NAN reports that Danbaba’s resignation has brought the number of aides that had disengaged from the service of the state government to two.

He hailed from Kaiama Local Government area in the North Senatorial District of Kwara state.

Speaking with NAN, Danbaba said his decision was borne out of the recent political re-alignment that saw Bukola Saraki-led political leadership in the state defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the People Democratic Party (PDP)

“As a result of that political development, the people of my constituency in Kaiama local government felt they would not go with Saraki any longer because they have suffered protractedly lack of infrastructure development.

“And as a result, they would not toe the path of Saraki and I have consulted widely with my people and in view of the fact that the community suffered for a long period of time, I should also disengage from this government and come home and join the people’s party; that is the APC”, he said.

He lamented that the community had been cut off from the state as the three major roads that linked the community with other parts of the country are in pitiable condition.

He explained that the people of the area were staunch supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari throughout his political foray.

“Buhari since his political foray has been consistently winning Kaiama local government.

“He won in 2003 as the ANPP Presidential Candidate, in 2007 as ANPP candidate again, he won only in Kaiama; in 2011, he won as CPC and 2015 as APC candidate.

“This is because we believe in his leadership; we believe he could provide effective leadership to the nation,” he said.

Danbaba also applauded the Social Investment Programmes of the Federal Government, saying Kaiama had benefitted tremendously from the scheme.

As the presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) consolidate their fortunes ahead of the party primary, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, has boasted he will defeat other contestants.

The primaries are supposed to be held in September ahead of the 2019 genral elections fixed for February.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna State, also served as the Chairman, PDP National Caretaker Committee and now one of the more than 12 presidential aspirants of the party.

Makarfi made the declaration at an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos on Sunday that he would beat former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senate President Bukola Saraki and ex-Kano governor Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Other contestants are Sokoto governor Aminu Tambuwal, ex-Jigawa governor Sule Lamido, Ekiti governor Ayo Fayose, and Alhaji Attahiru Bafaraw, a former governor of Sokoto State.

The PDP aspirant, who just concluded meetings with PDP members in the Southwest, said his exceptional performance as chairman of the caretaker committee would give him an upper hand at the primaries.

“PDP has become a beautiful bride because of what I did. The party was considered dead until I came in as chairman of the caretaker committee and turned it round.

“No other presidential aspirant in the party has my pedigree. I have been assured of becoming the groom by members who are aware of those efforts and have sworn they will not sell their votes at the primaries.

“Since I joined the PDP, I have never left the party.

“My experience as a member of the Senate committee on finance for eight years is also an advantage. I will bring the experience to bear when I pick the ticket and emerge as president,” he said.

Makarfi said contrary to certain opinions, money would not determine who picks the PDP ticket, and that money has never been a determinant factor in who becomes the president of Nigeria.

“When did Nigeria start to produce presidents because of resources? Former presidents Alh. Shehu Shagari, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Alh. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Dr Goodluck Jonathan and now President Muhammadu Buhari, did not become presidents based on money.

“In one of the southwest states I visited, a member said other aspirants have been giving them money and gifts, but I don’t have to give them money or gifts to vote for me in the primaries because they know I am the best man for the job,” he said.

On a female vice president, Makarfi said he had wanted a female running mate if he won the primaries, but the person he had in mind declined and opted for a lower responsibility.

He lamented that Nigerian women were yet to take up the challenge of becoming presidents or vice, noting that those positions were not exclusive to men.

“I look forward to seeing a female president not even vice in Nigeria someday. It is time the women stop taking back seats,” he said.

The PDP aspirant, reacting to INEC’s registration of more political parties that brought the number registered to 91, said while it allowed freedom of association, there was need for sanity.

“I know that the major parties will reduce the number via coalitions and MOU’s. However, it is not the duty of political parties to do so,” he added.

John McCain, a giant of the Senate who survived years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam to become a leading actor on the political stage for decades, died Saturday at the age of 81.

In a statement, McCain's office wrote that the Arizona senator died at 4:28 p.m., where he was accompanied by his wife, Cindy, and their family.

"At his death, he had served the United States of America faithfully for sixty years,” McCain's office wrote.

McCain’s death from brain cancer came more than a year after he announced he had the condition in July of 2017.

His family announced Friday that he had chosen to discontinue medical treatment for an aggressive gioblastoma because the “progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age” had rendered “their verdict.”

The news prompted an outpouring of tribute and sympathy from Republicans and Democrats alike, a testament to the respect McCain built among colleagues in both parties despite his habit of calling them out during clashes over politics and policy.

McCain has been absent from the Senate this year, and cast his last vote on Dec. 7. Before he left, treatment has forced him to use a wheelchair in his final days in Washington. But that did nothing to move the political spotlight from the Arizona Republican, whose maverick reputation was underlined in his final months in office.

Even while battling for his health at home in Arizona, McCain influenced the debate in Washington.

In July, he criticized President Trump for not taking a tougher stance with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Helsinki summit, blasting the president’s performance as “disgraceful” and the summit itself as a “tragic mistake”

The month before, McCain slammed Trump’s trade policies, telling allies after the G7 summit that “Americans stand with you, even if our president doesn’t.”

He also urged the Trump this year to stop attacking the media, warning in a Washington Post op-ed that some foreign leaders were using his words as cover to silence critics in their own countries.

The criticisms did not sit well with the president, who declined to mention McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, when he signed the defense authorization bill into law, even though it was named after him.

Whether in Washington or Arizona, McCain put his stamp on Trump’s first two years in Washington.

Just more than a week after his diagnosis, McCain walked to the Senate well to give a thumbs-down on an ObamaCare repeal bill, killing the measure and essentially saving the signature law of Barack Obama, the man who defeated him for the presidency in 2008.

It was the kind of vote that only a senator with McCain’s stature could have made, and it underlined his place as one of the chamber’s all-time members.

Afterward, he simply told reporters, “I thought it was the right thing to do.”

For six terms in the Senate, McCain was full of surprises.

The senator challenged George W. Bush for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, burnishing his reputation as a friend of reporters on a campaign bus nicknamed the “Straight Talk Express.”

McCain lost the nomination, but discovered his political brand: party maverick.

He voted against the Bush tax cuts and backed campaign finance legislation opposed by many in his party.

He backed Bush on the Iraq War, and supported the “surge” of 20,000 U.S. troops in 2007 that brought some stability to the country.

As 2007 opened, McCain was the frontrunner for the GOP nomination to succeed Bush, but his campaign faltered and was all but finished by the summer.

Source: The Hill