News

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A young man identified as Emmanuel has dragged the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanw-Olu, to court over claims that the governor is his father and has refused to acknowledge paternity.

Emmanuel’s lawyer, John Aikpokpo-Martins, revealed this in a Facebook post on Tuesday. 

According to Aikpokpo-Martins, his client had approached the Delta State High Court claiming that the governor is his biological father. He noted that his client requested the governor to waive his constitutional immunity to undergo a DNA test to confirm the claim. 

He further stated that the governor had filed court processes refusing to waive his immunity and undergo a DNA test. As a result, the court has adjourned the case to January 17, 2023, to hear the objection of the governor. 

In the court processes seen by the Daily Reality, Emmanuel sought the following orders : 

“A declaration that the Defendant is the biological father of the claimant begotten from Madam Grace Moses of Oleri, Delta State.

“An order directing and compelling the Defendant to acknowledge and accord the claimant all the rights of a son in accordance with all the laws applicable whether customarily, statutorily or constitutionally.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from further denying the parenthood of the claimant”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Lagos State Government has announced that the State is ready to comply with the Supreme Court judgement on the use of hijab by female pupils and students in Lagos schools.

In July 2022, the Supreme Court had dismissed an appeal by the Lagos State Government and upheld the use of hijab in Lagos schools.

Lagos State Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, announced the state’s readiness through a circular he issued and signed on behalf of the government on Monday, December 5, 2022.

“It’s hereby notified for general information that the supreme court judgment SC/910/2016 delivered on the 17th of June 2022 on the use of Hijab as it affects pupils/students in Lagos State schools has delivered that the students should be allowed to wear the hijab if desired,” the circular read in part.

Mr Muri-Okunola stated that a comprehensive guidelines on the use of hijab will be issued to all agencies of the government in due course.

He added that, “you are to note that the judgement is binding on all schools in the State.

“As a law-abiding administration, all accounting officers are to note the contents of this circular for immediate compliance and give it the deserved service-wide publicity,” He said.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Yakubu Dogara, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, has rejoined the main opposition party a few days after endorsing the Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar for president. The defection is the latest political move by the lawmaker in his consistent opposition to the same-faith ticket of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

On Monday, the former legislator was welcomed into the party at a rally in Lagos State for the presidential race.

Note that this is coming just 48 hours after Dogara and several irate northern APC officials expressed their support for the former vice president’s presidential candidacy.

This is not the first time the former speaker changed his party, as it’s less than a year since he dumped PDP for APC at the Presidential Villa Abuja.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Bauchi State Commissioner for Education, Aliyu Tilde, has resigned from the Bauchi State Executive Council.

Mr Aliyu Tilde announced his resignation as the State Commissioner for Education in a Facebook post on Monday.

According to Mr Tilde, the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Muhammad, has approved his letter of resignation and same have been communicated to him through the Secretary to the Bauchi State Government.

Stating his reason for resignation, he said he resigned in order to attend to a call of an associate who direly needs his services.

Part of the statement reads : “A few minutes ago, Today, 5 December 2022, I received a letter from the Secretary to the Government conveying my release by His Excellency.

“In it, the Secretary conveyed ‘the appreciation of the Executive Governor for your contribution to the Education Sector and wish you well in your future endeavor…’”

“With this, my tenure as Commissioner of Education has come to an end. I am happy to see the peaceful ending of what have been very exacting but fruitful years and will ever remain grateful to God who stood by me until the last minute.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president and presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claimed that Nigeria had veered off its path toward unity and prosperity under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a statement released by his campaign group on Sunday, Atiku said that for Nigeria to be great, it must be inclusive and united.

He continued by saying that a nation needs strong leadership that is willing to carry out the mission if it is to be united.

In the former vice president’s words, the approaching general elections are a rescue operation to save the country’s spirit.

The statement partly reads, “The ruling party, APC, has taken us adrift, and we are far off the course to the purpose of unity and prosperity.

“That is why you and I must work assiduously together to ensure that we recover Nigeria.

“Saving the soul of Nigeria must begin with denying the APC your vote in 2023. They have failed us woefully and must be punished for that.

“But it’s not enough to vote out the APC. We must coalesce into the PDP – the only viable party that has the capacity to dislodge the failed ruling party”.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Aminu Muhammad Adamu, the detained critic of the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has apologized to Aisha Buhari and thanked the people who stood for him on social media.

Following Aminu’s release from detention, he took to his Twitter handle on Saturday to apologize to the First Lady and thank his supporters for their supports.

Aminu, a student of the Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State, was arrested for trolling Aisha Buhari on Twitter. He was then secretly arraigned and remanded at a correctional facility in Suleja, Niger State.

Aminu in his tweet said, “I would like to use this medium to express my sincere apologies to those I’ve hurt especially our mother, Aisha Buhari it was never my intention to hurt your feelings and insha Allah I will change for the better. However, I’m also grateful for your forgiveness, thank u mama😊🤝.”

Aminu also thanked those who supported him in another tweet. He noted that his ordeals amount to a lessons for everyone

“I would also like to use this medium to express my heartfelt gratitude toward those that helped me go through the darkest hours of my life, man cannot escape his destiny but my incidence should serve as a lesson to all of us. Thank you all and one love❤️🌹.” He said

Aminu’s arbitrary abduction and consequent detention was condemned by international human rights organizations, media influencers and many people nationwide.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has demanded that the Wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha Buhari, apologize and give compensation for the arrest and detention of Aminu Adamu, a final-year student of the Federal University, Dutse, whose tweet berated the First Lady.

This was said in a statement released Saturday and signed by Comrade Kehinde Damilola Simeon, Chairman of the Joint Campus Committee (JCC) for Ogun State.

According to the students’ body, it was an abuse of power for Aisha Buhari to order Adamu’s arrest and incarceration for nearly two weeks.

The Daily Reality recalls how security personnel detained Adamu for reportedly tweeting an offensive remark about the first lady.

The statement reads, “We consider that the meeting of the President with Aminu after his release from detention is not enough.

“Madam Aisha Buhari should apologize publicly in at least four daily newspapers. Aminu and his family should be compensated for the inhumane condition the first family had thrown them into in the last few days.

“These principles are what we consider as the fundamental basis for demanding the release of the unjustly victimized Nigerian student, Aminu Adamu, who had only said nothing but the truth, which is visible to all”.

By Uzair Adam Imam

There have been sharp retorts since the presidency’s claim on Thursday that pronounced the state governors as corrupt.

The governors continue to distance themselves from the laid down accusation, challenging the presidency to identify the governors involved in the process.

Barely 24 hours after governor Nayesom Wike of Rivers and his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom criticised President Buhari over the allegation of corruption against governors, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State also distanced himself from the allegation.

The President, while speaking about the height of corruption in the country at an event hosted for members of the Senior Executive Course 44 (2022) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, blamed the governors for looting the local governments’ allocation.

Buhari said the ugly behaviour by the governors also encourages corruption at the local government level, thereby inhibiting development at the grassroots.

But reacting to what Buhari said, Okowa, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika, said it was unfortunate for the president to have made such a “blanket statement.”

He said: “I want to say that Mr President, as one who has all the information about issues in the country, knows the governors who fall into that category of the so-called ‘thieves’ he was referring to.

“We all know that our own Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, does not belong there. He was one of the first governors, if not the first, to embrace local government autonomy when it was agreed on just like he did with the judiciary and the legislature.

“He went as far as getting legislation to grant autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary. He allowed them to run autonomously. And, for a man, who allowed these organs of government to have autonomy, he cannot have anything to do with funds belonging to the local governments.

“I repeat that the government of Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, every month, augments the finances of local governments in the state with more than N300 million to make sure they are able to pay their salaries and stay afloat.

“He does that religiously monthly; so, for a man who does that, how can he be among those who steal local government money?

“Our governor is not part of it. You are also aware that the government of Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa recently released N5 billion for pension arrears; N2.5 billion of that was a grant to the local government for payment of pensions.

“It is a grant to the local government; they are not going to pay. The governor did that because the local governments have to fund their activities, pay their teachers and healthcare workers.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Fire destroyed six shops in Jigawa State’s Hadejia Local Government Area.

In a statement, Adamu Shehu, the state spokesperson for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, confirmed the incident.

“On Friday, December 2, 2022, at about 01:15hrs, the NSCDC Divisional Office received an emergency call on a fire outbreak at Gadar Kogi in Hadejia,” he said.

According to him, emergency response personnel were immediately dispatched to the location to put out the fire and save any unburned property.

He added that when the team arrived, the fire had destroyed around six shops owned by Usman Mai Shago and five other people, although there were no human casualties.

The Daily Reality understands that electricity sparks from one of the shop’s wires were the cause of the fire.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom, have denied the allegation of corruption and diversion of public funds laid against governors by President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday.

The duo challenged the president to name the governors he accused of stealing and diverting the funds meant for local governments.

The president, at an event hosted for members of the Senior Executive Course 44 (2022), accused the state governors of corruption and diversion of the local government alocations to own personal treasury.

He said the state governors used to collect money on behalf of the council areas in their states and remit just half of such allocation to the council chairman.

He also described the development as one of the major challenges that hinders the country’s development.

However, Wike and Ortom challenged Buhari to name those he claimed were stealing local government funds on Friday at the inauguration of the Mgbuosimini internal road project in Port Harcourt, Rivers capital.

The governors said the president claims could be termed as defamation against the state governors.