Folarin Kehinde

Julius Abure, the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), has arrived at the Supreme Court of Nigeria for the hearing of the appeal filed by the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi, seeking to nullify the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, 2023 presidential election.

Leading reporters gathered that several other high-profile dignitaries have arrived at the Supreme Court in anticipation of the day’s proceedings.

The court is also set to hear the appeals of the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and that of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

The seven-member panel of the apex court is led by Justice John Okoro.

Other members of the panel are Justices Uwani Abba-Aji, Mohammed Lawal Garba, Adamu Jauro, Ibrahim Saulawa, Tijani Abubakar and Emmanuel Agim.

The White Witches and Wizards of Nigeria have predicted the outcome of the Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi States governorship elections slated for November 11.

Spokesman of the group, Okhue Iboi, said Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State’s All Progressives Congress (APC), Dino Melaye of Kogi State’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Bayelsa State’s Timipre Sylva of APC would lose their elections.

In a chat with newsmen in Lagos on Saturday, Iboi said the candidates will fail woefully at the polls if they fail to heed wise counsel.

Iboi said, in the Imo election, the fight would be between the candidates of the Labour Party (LP), Athan Achonu, and the PDP’s Samuel Anyanwu, contrary to speculations that the incumbency factor will favour Governor Uzodinma who according to him, is terribly hated by his people.

He further urged security operatives to tighten security in the politically charged and volatile state to avert a bloodbath during the poll.

He said, “When we met in the coven to review the three off-cycle governorship elections, we examined all the political parties and their candidates and their chances of winning the election.

“We noticed that Uzodinma is terribly hated by his people. Also remember that he’s governor not by popular will but by legal technicalities of the Supreme Court.

“To date, his people derisively refer to him as Supreme Court Governor. The senseless killing in the state is another albatross he is carrying.

“His people thought that he was the brain behind the spate of killings perpetrated by Unknown Gunmen (UGM) and the destruction of property of the people. So, the people believe he is their sponsor. This is very unfortunate anyway, but that is what we saw in the coven.”

On Kogi State, he said the election is between the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the PDP, stressing that Governor Yahaya Bello had already lost over failure to field his deputy to succeed him.

“The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is as strong as the APC and the PDP in the state. When we met in Idah, Okenne, Ankpa, and other parts of the state, Governor Yahaya Bello’s candidate would have won easily in the state, but he appeared to have shot himself in the foot by listening to wrong advice.

“The people that advised him not to field his deputy will cost him the election victory in the state. When we got to the coven, we were told that all his strategies of destabilizing the election by fomenting trouble would not fetch him victory. There will be a bloodbath in Kogi, but Bello will still lose the election. So, we saw the election is between PDP and SDP.

“For Dino Melaye, he’s very recalcitrant. We’ve invited him a couple of times for a strategic meeting, but you know, pride goes before a fall. His vain pomposity will be his undoing. And if he fails to heed our call, he will be shell-shocked about the outcome of the election.

“Governor Bello has already lost out of favour with his people by not fielding his deputy governor to succeed him, but preferring to field his brother,” he said

On Bayelsa State gubernatorial, Iboi said Sylva would not go anywhere in the election.

“Recall that I had in a statement predicted that he would suffer a setback in his candidacy for the ruling APC.

“Now, he is fighting the battle of his life to retain the candidacy of the party, which the court had taken away from him. If he gets it, we don’t see him going far with it,” he said.

FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, has opened up on his controversial meeting with Israeli ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman.

Leading reporters gathered that the meeting has generated mixed reactions, especially within the Muslim community, considering the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine.

Controversial Kaduna-based Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has also called for Wike’s sack following reports of the meeting.

But in a reaction, the minister said he had no constitutional powers to determine Nigeria’s diplomatic relations with other countries, as such powers lay absolutely with the President and Commander-in-Chief.

“I have heard from various social media platforms that we had a meeting, that we are doing this and that with Israel. I am here acting on delegation of powers on behalf of Mr. President,” Wike announced.

“I cannot determine a relationship between a country and another country. So, it is difficult for anybody to say I am doing this, I am doing that.

“Any foreign body that wants to have anything to do with Nigeria, it is the Minister of Foreign Affairs who will write to me and state that these people want to see me; it is simple. And when they come, it is in my position to say look, we want to partner with you. Take for instance you are going into agriculture and we want to partner, then we tell you where exactly,” he explained.

The minister further clarified that his meeting with the Israeli Ambassador was for agricultural partnership in the interest of farmers in the FCT.

“In Abuja here, most of them have cultural farms and we say look, it is our own desire to help anybody who wants to invest in Abuja particularly in agriculture in order to employ our people and in order to get more revenue. It has nothing to do with another country. It doesn’t work that way.

“When our people begin to now think different angles and people may not understand that it is not correct. So I will like to use this opportunity to say look we have to talk to our people. In fact we must live harmoniously. We must live together to make sure that development is promoted”, Wike stated.

The governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has refuted claims that he escaped an assassination attempt along Abuja-Lokoja expressway on Sunday, October 22.

Leading reporters gathered that the Kogi State commissioner for information, Kingsley Fanwo, had issued a statement alleging that Governor Bello was attacked thrice by “strange elements in military uniforms” on his way to an official assignment in Abuja.

But, reacting to his aide’s claim, Governor Bello described the claims as false and should be disregarded.

Governor Bello clarified that the incident was a minor disagreement between his personal security team and military personnel assigned to protect the road, emphasizing that there was no attempt whatsoever on his life.

He added that while there was a minor fracas between men of the Nigerian Police Force attached to his convoy and those of a military unit manning the highways, it was in the course of both units performing their lawful security duties.

The Governor who commended the security agencies for their joint contributions to the improved security of lives and property enjoyed by the citizens of Kogi State, however, called on the high command of the agencies involved to investigate overzealousness or unprofessional conduct by any of their men involved in the incident and apply the necessary sanctions.

The Governor called on citizens of Kogi State to ignore any attempt by political profiteers to use the incident to unsettle the polity as the state’s 2023 governorship elections slated for November 11 draw nearer.

He assured the state of both his safety and the adequacy of security arrangements to ensure that the elections are peaceful, free and fair.

Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State proposed that Nigerians should be allowed to buy sophisticated weapons like AK-47 and RPG for their protection from bandits.

The governor disclosed this at a media chat in Abuja on Friday, October 20.

Radda noted that governors should not be blamed for the security challenges bedevilling their states, adding that they lack authority to command the military forces.

He urged the Bola Tinubu-led federal government to play a more critical role in the security of lives and property of Nigerians.

The governor said his administration had legally established a ‘community watch corps’ to deal with banditry in conjunction with the military.

His words: “We are talking about the lives of over 10 million people not one single individual. No single individual is more important than 10 million people or the lives of an innocent person in the village.

“We cannot fold our arms and say we will not protect ourselves because we don’t have the sophisticated arms that these bandits have. We have the numbers, we have the zeal and the determination, and you should remember, if they are going for any outing, it is just like the way it was done in Borno through the Civilian JTF.

They will be covered by the police and the military who are heavily armed. So, I think it is a concerted and joint effort. And I think gradually, we are working within what the law allows us to possess.

“We are driving towards that and we are seeking reforms within the federal government in that regard. If a bandit can go to the market and buy AK-47, RPG, and all of those weapons, what of the people that want to protect themselves? They too should equally be allowed to do so.

“These people are holding it illegally, we are trying to hold it legally. Why can’t the government allow the people to hold this thing and equally confront the challenges?

“Negotiations with bandits is a no go area in my perspective but I said if I am at the point of advantage, if the bandits come out and say look, ‘we are dropping arms, let us sit down and talk’, we could reintegrate them back into the society.

“But I will not go begging bandits to come for negotiations. Let us deal with the situation. If they are weak, let them come out, let us negotiate and we will reintegrate them back into society. They are our people, our brothers, but we cannot protect a criminal,” he said.

FCT minster, Nyesom Wike, has approved the withdrawal and revocation of houses sold to Nigerians by the Federal Capital Territory Administration in 2005 but converted for commercial purposes.

The director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, October 20.

Galadima recalled that the federal government, under former president Olusegun Obasanjo, initiated the monetisation programme due to the cost of maintaining the houses.

The director explained that the houses were sold to the occupiers so that they could maintain them.

He, however, said that some of the beneficiaries converted the houses from residential to other uses.

Galadima maintained that this constitutes a lot of burden in terms of city administration and management adding that the FCTA can no longer condone.

“It is on this note that the minister has approved and directed that all owners of such properties should revert the use of the properties to its original and designated land use which is residential,” Galadima said.

“Failing to comply with this directive as from Nov. 1, the house is considered as revoked.

“We are given such persons and individuals to the end of October to revert to original uses, otherwise from Nov. 1, they should consider such properties as revoked and returned to FCTA.

“The minister has also directed that owners of properties, particularly along major streets that have converted their properties to other uses without approval should either revert to original use or pay contravention charges.

“Anyone that fails to comply with such a directive, the administration will take appropriate action, which may include revocation.

“It is on this note that we felt it wise to inform the public of the decision and directive of the FCT Administration with regards to the indiscriminate conversion of land uses in FCT.

“This is done to maintain the sanctity of the Abuja Master Plan.”

Unspecified number of residents of Otukpo, Benue State, have been reportedly killed by gunmen suspected to be armed robbers.

Leading reporters gathered that the gunmen invaded several banks in Otukpo at about 3 pm on Friday, shooting sporadically.

An eyewitness, Sunday Abah said the gunmen have been operating for several hours without security intervention.

“Armed robbers have taken over everywhere in Otukpo. They are just shooting whoever they see.

Currently, they are robbing Zenith bank and they been here for more than three hours”, he said.

The Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Catherine Anene Sewuese could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.