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By Muhammad Sabiu

Paul Owne, the suspect who stood trial on charges relating to the abduction and sale of some nine children from Kano, has on Friday been sentenced to serve a 104-year jail term by the Kano State State High Court.

Pleading guilty to the 38-count charges against him, Mr Owne was convicted accordingly by Justice Zuwaira Yusuf, who ruled that there was no any option to pay a fine.

However, reports have indicated that other suspects who stood trial alongside Mr Owne pleaded not guilty.

Pronouncing the judgement, Justice Yusuf stated, “I find Owne guilty on counts two, eight, nine, 27 and 34. I hereby sentence him to seven years imprisonment on each of the counts without an option of fine, in addition to paying the sum of N100,000 fine.

“The court also found Owne guilty on counts three, five, 10, 11, 22, 28 and 38. I sentence him to seven years in a correctional centre on each of the counts,” she added.

According to the justice, the convict was also found guilty on counts four, 12, 13, 29 and 38. Therefore, he was sentenced to serve a 4-years jail term on each of the counts without giving him the option to be fined.

Therefore, the years for each charge put together equal 104 years.

Recall that in October 2019, a hashtag #JusticeForKano9 had trended on social media, especially Facebook, in the aftermath of the abduction and trafficking of the nine kids from Kano to Anambra. They were also alleged to have been forcefully converted to another religion.

This later led to the arraignment of Mr Owne alongside six others on November 13, 2020.

By Abdulrazak Iliyasu Sansani 

The Emir of Muri, HRH Alhaji Abbas Njidda Tafida OFR, as it is the tradition, delivered an Eid ul-Adha speech to his subjects to celebrate the event. As it is the norm, the Emir does so in both of the Eids in his palace, in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital. Accordingly, the people of Muri Emirate every year eagerly look forward to attending his court to listen to his Eid speech for the contextual significance of such addresses. 

The last one which was delivered, after the Eid prayers, was not overly different from any he had made before in terms of the tone except for those, who had not been following the Emir’s activities, especially Sallah speeches. Sarkin Muri Alhaji Abbas Njidda Tafida OFR has been known to have a reputation for blunt speaking, fearlessness, and daring to a fault. He has indeed followed in the footsteps of his famous forefathers, Hamman Ruwa dan Usman, Abu Bakar dan Hamman Ruwa, Muhammadu Nya dan Abi Bakar, and his grandfather, Muhammadu Mafindi dan Muhammadu Nya and indeed, all other emirs of Muri emirate whose place in history has long been cemented for bravery. 

The names mentioned above are not the chronological representation of the noble people who have ruled Muri, the Emirs of Muri or rightly Lamibe Muri in Fulfulde. Instead, this is just a sample of the historical antecedents of the current Emir, which is apparent to many. So, this digression towards memory lane is for the consumption of those who barely know him. 

Lamido Abbas Njidda Tafida OFR has never been known to mince words. He spoke and spoke truth to power without any element of fear, which for me is the hallmark of a good leader. When I saw the video clip of the said speech the next day after Sallah, I listened to what I thought my leader or leaders anywhere should speak to a large extent in this highly demanding moment in our history as an independent entity.  Nigeria is on the edge of the precipice. I have always believed that the avalanche of security challenges bedevilling this country makes every contribution towards getting us out of the woods worth considering before making decisions. 

I believe the Emir of Muri was disappointed, appalled, and outraged at the spate of insecurity confronting his emirate in particular and the nation as a whole, which led him to deliver the speech. He acted as anticipated of leaders, especially of his nature, the traditional rulers, whom so many have opined to understand better their domains than any other constituted authority of whatever magnitude. Whereas this may not be applicable in all places, it is to a large extent. 

Yes, His Royal Highness, Lamido Alh Abbas Tafida OFR made some rather harsh points, which I understood as someone speaking from the point of view of a leader enraged by hardened criminals who have held our people to ransom. So, he made comments which were largely misconstrued or deliberately taken out of context to suit a specific agenda, script, or scheming of those who don’t mean well for anyone. Some tabloids, blogs, newspapers, etc., reported that the Emir of Muri had given a 30-day ultimatum to Fulani to leave his emirate or be evicted, eliminated, and all sorts of strong, wordy, and sensational headlines that are in line with what they perhaps want, which are all false.  

For some, it doesn’t matter the fact that the Emir of Muri himself is Fulani and could not have issued an ultimatum to all Fulanis, which will include himself. He won’t do that and not for any sentimental reason. But for equity and justice. He certainly won’t issue an ultimatum to any other tribe. However, this doesn’t matter to some, who are hell-bent on making the Fulanis scapegoats for every misfortune that befalls them. 

Of course, some so many kidnappers are Fulani by tribe, so many bandits are Fulanis, and indeed other criminal activities, which the Fulanis engage in. I can’t write any percentage here because I don’t know the percentage. However, it is also true that all tribes are involved in all of these acts of criminality. In light of this, I will concentrate on what directly connects to the speech made by our revered leader, the Lamido of Muri. It won’t be wide of the mark if the Fulanis are said to be the majority embroiled in all these. I think it is the crux of the matter being discussed, the Emir of Muri’s Sallah day speech. 

As a royal father, especially the overall leader of all Fulanis in Taraba State, it is only right that he spoke his mind and made it vivid that he is disappointed with those Fulanis who engage in these nefarious activities. This is the right step to take, and he boldly took it. But, unfortunately, it is left for others who prefer to play politics with everything to proceed when their houses are not just literally on fire but also their entire emirates, chiefdoms, kingdoms, local governments, states, or even the country as the case may be, is sitting firmly on a powder keg. 

If there is any moment to act, it is at this decisive moment. Any other moment we aren’t guaranteed. If the sight of a hapless woman running and leaving her children despite the well-known affection that exists between children and mothers, don’t throw you into inconsolable grief then, I am sure the sight of any of those condemned criminals harassing your loved ones while asking you to raise ‘astronomical figures’ in currency, at a time when feeding any meal at all three times a day is fast becoming the exclusive of a few: this is the height of callousness and should be collectively confronted by all citizens without adding any ethnic colouration to it. 

Criminals, as I have always maintained are nothing, but criminals. Any other thing is secondary. You may not understand this now. However, I pray you never have to face them, but asking anyone who has been a victim of kidnapping, banditry, or even terrorism knows for a fact that there is no special treatment for victims based on ethnicity, faith, or region, at least to the best of my knowledge based on my interactions with some victims and the literature I have consumed in that regards. Unique treatments are the only figment of the imagination of some of us law-abiding citizens, who those contemptible people haven’t caught, but sit behind their keyboards, write columns, or even go to national television to eulogise those criminals because of their ill-thought-out affinity with these beasts. When you are caught, God forbid, everything will be crystal clear. I hope it doesn’t get to that. 

It is not enough to merely hope. We are doomed if the only thing we could do is hope without holding our government accountable so they can do even more to win these wars. The worst mistake we could make is paying lip service to this predicament because our kinsmen are involved, some adherents of our faith are part of it, or to achieve a sinister motive. There is only one result coming our way with this mindset, a certain outcome of unimaginable proportion: by then, the deed would have been done, and we cannot turn the tide.

We must unite, cooperate with security personnel to arrest the array of security challenges we are battling with; when we fail to do so because we fear for our lives, we shouldn’t live under any illusion that we are secure with that miscalculation, for no one knows the next victim. But one thing is sure we will all die one day, for some of us, we believe at the appointed time. The bandits and terrorists that sack villages and go about maiming, eliminating, or leaving deep scars on us have one life too. However, with more beneficial civil-security relations and a better understanding among all Nigerians, we stand a tremendous chance of getting the right result. 

The Emir of Muri as a sage has come out to take practical steps. Where he erred in that speech by resulting in generalisation, the Emir has already made amends. He summoned a meeting of the Fulani leaders where he admonished them using verses from the Holy Qur’an and other sources of knowledge for the benefit of what we all seek, peace.  For his intentions from the get-go were clear. 

The speech was delivered to find lasting solutions and should be firmly situated in its context bearing in mind that we are on the verge of self-destruction as a nation. Therefore, it was done to seek the return of peaceful, serene, and lively emirate where people will go to sleep with their two eyes closed, where our widow’s mite would not be used to settle some kidnappers even when we are barely surviving, where criminals would not be given any breathing space because they are our relatives, purportedly share the same faith with us, or for whatever reason. I long for this day when criminals will be criminals and rightly dealt with as such. 

It should be noted that the vast majority of the Fulanis, like all other ethnic groups, are law-abiding citizens. Therefore, it is up to all Fulanis, the security personnel, and Nigerians, in general, to work amicably to return Nigeria to the path of sanity, meaningful life, and mutual respect for one another. May the reign of Emir of Muri, HRH Alh Abbas Njidda Tafida OFR belong, as he recently clocked 33 years on the throne of his forefathers.  May his Emirate continue to prosper, and may the good triumph over evil everywhere. 

Abdulrazak Iliyasu Sansani wrote from Tukari B, Jalingo, Taraba State. He can be reached via abdulrazaksansani93@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Tsaure

The Biafra saga is no longer South East or South-South issue; instead, it has culminated into something more devastating and absolute hatred to Buhari in particular and Northern Nigeria in general.  I garnered series of experiences primarily based on the discussion I held with a significant number of people from the southeastern region. I learned from them that they mainly think the North doesn’t want them to leave the union because the proportionate percentage of the country’s GDP comes from their region. Thus, if they secede, the North will be left bankrupt and nowhere to turn to.

Unknown to many of those people, this thought is nothing short of ignorance about the exact nature of Northern Nigeria. The North is endowed with whatever a country needs to survive, prosper and develop. We are not parasites, as they claim. But, if they want to go, please, let them go in peace. Nigeria doesn’t necessarily need Igbos to survive.

The North has come of age now; we can fend for ourselves and don’t need any region to live and survive as a country. Whoever wants to go, let them go. The North has treated Igbo people with dignity, love and leniency. The entire Biafra States are not up to Kaduna State in terms of population as well as geography.

In 2015 I was at the Niger-Delta University (NDU) at Wilberforce Island for a conference organised by the Literary Society of Nigeria. After presenting my research paper entitled “Diaspora Literature: A Protest Literature or Romanticism?” We went along with other colleagues to Yenagoa (the capital city of Bayelsa State) to explore or otherwise become a group of tourists. But, to my amazement, the entire Bayelsa State is not up to Bichi local government area in Kano or Funtua local government of Katsina State. Yet, they have three Senators; representing Bayelsa Central, Bayelsa West and Bayelsa East and five Members House of Representatives, and one minister of State on Petroleum.

The conference lasted for six days, and I visited the entire eight (8) local government areas of Bayelsa State. You hardly believe whether or not people are living in some of these local governments. Houses scattered, each community has its language or dialect.

The same week I came back home, I went to Bichi local government of Kano state to verify my assumption or guess. On reaching there, the conclusion I had to make was that Bichi local government is far larger in terms of population, buildings, and whatever one could think of than Bayelsa State. And nobody in the North ever complains about that.

Muhammad Tsaure is the Principal of Government Secondary School, Tsaure. He can be reached via 76muhammadtsaure@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Sabiu

Men of the Nigeria Police Force in Kaduna State have on Thursday succeeded in apprehending two suspected armed robbers and a gunrunner, the police spokesperson in the state, ASP Mohammed Jalige, said in a statement.

Mr Jalige said, “The operatives of the Kaduna police, attached to the Kafanchan divisional headquarters, acted on information from a good Samaritan and intercepted an Opel Vectra vehicle with registration number KAF 733 MK driven by one person on July 28 at about 4:00 p.m.

“When a careful search of the suspicious vehicle was conducted, an AK47 rifle and two packets of 12-gauge shotgun shells that were concealed in the engine compartment of the car were recovered.

“Investigations are ongoing and the suspect has provided useful information to the police that will facilitate further breakthroughs.”

He also said that among those apprehended are two suspected armed robbery and car-snatching syndicates.

“The two suspects were arrested on July 26 and July 28.

“While on surveillance patrol within Sabon Gari area of Zaria, operatives of the command intercepted a Honda Civic vehicle with registration number NSR 92 HH driven by one person.

“A search of the said vehicle resulted in the recovery of an English Makarov pistol with one round of live 9mm ammunition and two fabricated revolver pistols.

“Investigation is being diligently carried out to retrieve some of their stolen vehicles, apprehending other gang members and equally recovering more of their operational weapons.

“The suspects will be charged to court upon completion of the investigation,” added Mr Jalige.

He also urged members of the public to report any suspicious activity in their communities.

By Salisu Uba Kofar-Wambai

It is very mind-blowing to view a national football team that ideally suppose to possess the quality of national outlook looking so sectional and tribal. Unfortunately, for quite a long time, the Nigerian football national team has been dominated by only what we called “southern players” at almost every level.

One will wonder why the utmost and utterly lopsidedness? After all, with its advantages, thanks to its vast population over the South, northern Nigeria has the upper hand to have more visibility in such national assignments. However, the reverse is always the case. Is that signifying that the northern folks lack interest in sports, especially football? Or does it mean that the North is consciously hiding its light under a bushel? NO! 

If one wakes up at dawn in northern cities and towns, the young, agile athletes are often the first people to meet exercising to their respective football pitches.

Moreover, the geographical advantage in terms of the landmass, with all the potentialities of its flatness, accurate for football arena and pitches against terrain nature and scarcity of southern land is another pointer that ought to have shot north ahead.

It is an indisputable fact that if you take around northern states, you will invariably discover that numerous football clubs are established in several places in the region. You will find players who can match the skills and talents of Messi, Ronaldo, Zidane, Figos, but all – or most – go nowhere. They mostly played in their small villages and ended up uncelebrated.

In Kano alone, the heart of the North, there are more than thousands of clubs playing in different levels and capacities. The Sports Ministry is, year-in-year-out, organising leagues for these clubs from league A to Z. These clubs produce young talents that can play at every level of football worldwide.

With globalisation and communication technologies taking centre stage of our lives, if one goes to viewing centres, where foreign leagues matches are shown, the story and impression one will get is that football has become part and parcel of our youths’ routine. It’s now popular culture. Football is always the topic of discussion on the lips of northern youth. Therefore, the football obsession comes in both ways – theoretical and practical, respectively. But why northern players are almost absent or underdogs in the national team?

And again, with football now going lucrative venture that quickly shoots up people to billionaire charts, with the abject poverty bedevilling the north and youth joblessness, sports can do a lot towards alleviating these monsters if taken significantly.

The central question is why many a time Kano clubs are the favourites and always win all Nigerian secondary schools? I think the appropriate answers to these questions are:

The North should embrace sports as a way of livelihood like its southern counterparts and encourage its youth to put in their best. The North should also give them support in terms of mentorship, send people of interest, read coaching courses, and, of course, financial assistance. Our well-to-do and government should facilitate our talents to get contracts in Europe through agents that secure clubs for players.

Our soccer administrators should make it compulsory for every coach vested with the responsibility of forming teams, especially in the under-17 and under-20, to always go round Nigeria for the players’ selection process. In most cases, those coaches sit back in their regions, select players from the South because they have already stereotyped northerners as worthless in that respective. And it is mostly the players of these levels that graduate into senior national teams levels and secure lucrative contracts to play in the prestigious leagues of Europe.

Northern youth should also try to go off weeds smoking; it is unfortunate to see a talented footballer and later find out that he’s a weed smoker. Most of them end up without achieving anything for obvious reasons. They should equally try to finish their secondary schools and be ready to go anywhere to play and show their resilience.

And above all, parents should pray for the guidance of their kids.

By doing this, I think the North will avoid the situation we are currently experiencing where northerners are a dot in the circle in the team of players representing Nigeria in the ongoing Olympics games in Japan.

Salisu Uba Kofar-Wambai is a PhD student at the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via salisunews@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Sabiu

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his deep sadness over the death of five prospective corps members who passed on in a ghastly auto accident along the Abuja/Kwali expressway on Wednesday.

Femi Adesina, a presidential spokesperson, stated this today in a statement posted via his verified Facebook account.

According to Mr Adesina, “the President assures that Nigerians share their grief and would continue to uphold them in prayers through this difficult time.”

The president also assured that his administration would do everything possible to ensure the welfare of corps members.

Press Release

Kano state government has described as fallacious a trending story on social media platforms on a purported plan to officially disallow women regardless of any faith from getting behind the wheel.

The state commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba who made the clarification in a statement issued on Thursday, said government had at no time contemplate on the matter.

He said the story, which could not be traced to any credible source, was nothing but the imaginary thinking of the authors.

“The trending story lacks any credibility and that is why it is wholly attributed to a source that cannot be substantiated,’’ it added.

Malam Garba pointed out that if at all there was such plan, the state government does not have to be involved in any secretive meeting to decide on a critical issue that has to do its teeming populace.

The commissioner stated further that even Saudi Arabia which for decades had laws that sanctioned women from driving has, after all, lifted the ban in 2018.

He said it was interesting that some of the scholars quoted to have supported the alleged ban have already dissociated themselves from the story.

MALAM MUHAMMAD GARBA

Hon. Commissioner for Information, Kano state

By Muhammad Sabiu

Nigerian Super Cop, DCP Abba Kyari, has ‘strongly’ refuted the allegations against him that he was involved in a scandal of bribe-taking from Hushpuppi, an infamous Nigerian fraudster currently standing trial in the United States for fraud.

Recall that in a report published on Thursday by Peoples Gazette, an online Nigerian newspaper, Mr Kyari was alleged to have received a bribe from the fraudster to have the latter’s rival arrested.

In the report, the US Justice Department was quoted to have revealed the alleged link between Hushpuppi and the famous police officer.

“Court documents outline a dispute among members of the conspiracy, which allegedly prompted Vincent to contact the victim and claim that Abbas and Juma were engaged in fraud. After this contact, Abbas [Hushpuppi] allegedly arranged to have Vincent jailed in Nigeria by Abba Alhaji Kyari, 46, of Nigeria.

“According to the affidavit, Kyari is a highly decorated deputy commissioner of the Nigeria Police Force who is alleged to have arranged for Vincent to be arrested and jailed at Abbas’ behest and then sent Abbas photographs of Vincent after his arrest. Kyari also allegedly sent Abbas bank account details for an account into which Abbas could deposit payment for Vincent’s arrest and imprisonment,” the department said in a statement.

However, hours after Peoples Gazette published the story, Mr Kyari took to his Facebook account to vehemently refute the allegations labelled against him.

READ MR. KYARI’S FULL STATEMENT

Friends: Abbas who we later came to know as Hushpuppi called our office about 2years ago that somebody in Nigeria Seriously threatened to kill his Family here in Nigeria and he sent the person’s Phone number and pleaded we take action before the Person attacks his family.

We traced and arrested the Suspect and after investigations we discovered there wasn’t an actual threat to anyone’s life And they are long time friends who have money issues between them hence we released the Suspect on bail to go and he was not taken to any jail.

Nobody demanded for a kobo from Abbas Hushpuppi. Our focus was to Save people’s lives that were purported to have been threatened.

Later, he saw some of my Native Clothes and Caps on my social media page and he said he likes them and he was connected to the person selling the clothes and he sent about N300k directly to the person’s account. The Native Clothes and Caps (5 sets) were brought to our office and He sent somebody to Collect them in our office.

Nobody demanded any money from Abbas Hushpuppi and nobody collected any money from him. We responded to a distress call he made on threat to his family and released the Suspect when we discovered there was no life threat from the Suspect. This is the true story. Vincent is alive, he can be contacted.

For those who are celebrating that this is an indictment on us and mentioning some fictitious Big Money, They will be disappointed once ALL distress Calls from ALL Nigerians provided they are life-threatening.

For Good Nigerians who appreciate our Service please don’t worry as our hands are clean and they should please not respond to those celebrating and creating many false Narratives without any Evidence. We are used to such types of people and false newsmakers and distributors.

Thank you all and GOD bless Nigeria.

By Lawi Auwal Yusuf

For any right-thinking, upright government with the political will, the EndSARS protests was not an incidence to be taken for granted or forgotten. On the contrary, the turmoil was the greatest challenge of Nigeria in 2020 after the Covid-19 epidemic. There are lessons to learn. It deserves special attention, critical thinking and drastic measure, not an indifferent and lackadaisical attitude.

It was a phenomenon that has shown that things are not well in this country. And it sent a strong and clear message that poverty, inequality, mass joblessness and underemployment are at their highest pinnacle. It manifested the annoyance, frustration and anger in the citizens of this dystopian country.

The hopeless, idle and ratty youths have fed up with their misery, plight, wretchedness, redundancy and unhappy dire future. This means that Nigerians are irritated and have despaired with the long-anticipated miracle change promised by the Buhari administration and his mega-merger party. This rebellion had evidently signalled the administration’s failure and its vague, obsolete and unrealistic policies that should be thrown overboard and swiftly replaced or radically reviewed.

A similar event like SARS brutally led to more than a decade of wars and fracases in many countries of the Middle East. What sparked off the disturbances was just even more trivial than what caused the EndSARS protests in Nigeria, where the SARS operatives slew a suspect extrajudicially.

The Arab Spring, which started in 2011, was ignited when a cop molested a fruit-seller on the street of Tunis. Muhammad Al-Bouazizi, a breadwinner, set himself ablaze in protest of confiscating his wares by the police from which he made his ends meet and put food on the table for his family and his aged parents.

After intense pressure from millions of demonstrators that took to the streets of the country’s metropolitan cities, it resulted in the ouster of the then authoritarian President of Tunisia, Zainul Abidin Ben Ali. And subsequently, these protests proliferated in neighbouring countries. Similarly, it led to the fall of other long-ruling regimes and sit-tight dictators like Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and later Muhammad Mursi, Abdallah Saleh of Yemen, Sa’ad Hariri and Hassan Diab of  Lebanon, Umar Al-Bashir of Sudan, Abdulaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, Blaise Compaore of  Burkina Faso and the currently embattled Bashar Assad of Syria. And most recently, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali, a West  African country and a member of the CEDEAO (ECOWAS) and a neighbour to Nigeria with the closest proximity to Nigeria among the mentioned states.

And I am sure it is unarguable that police in Nigeria are more hostile, ruthless, brutal and more corrupt than these countries. Nevertheless, their leaders were more committed to developing their economies and serving their masses than the Nigerian unpatriotic, unmindful, extravagant and wanton politicians. Their leaders were more just, accountable, transparent, modest, nationalist, less corrupt and materialistic and love their people more than our leaders do. Moreover, their masses are far better off than Nigerians. Despite these, their people revolted against them, and it is the wish and age-long dream of  Nigerians to have leaders like that of those countries so that our country can reach their level of development. And one may think that if genuine and urgent efforts are not made to resolve the problems of this country, it may be next.       

Furthermore, the EndSARS resistance has shown that Nigerian politicians are no longer running the country’s affairs with the mandate and consent of the people because they believed that they are deceived and betrayed by politicians. Thus, democracy is an illusion as it has metamorphosed into a democratic dictatorship.

Lastly, as every Nigerian is responsible and must be blamed for the nation’s state and as we have all paid the price for this destructive behaviour of these youths, change must begin with each and every one of us. Therefore, on the part of the government, I suggest it should convene a conference and bring together technocrats from different professions like sociologists, economists, political scientists, security experts and so on to assess the situation and its causes come up with solutions to avert any future reoccurrences.

Lawi Auwal Yusuf Maikanawa writes from Kano. He can be reached via laymaikanawa@gmail.com.

The leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibrahim Elzakzaky and his wife, Malama Zeenat, who were discharged yesterday by a Kaduna High Court, have been flown out of Nigeria for medical attention.

More details later.