News

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Professor Kingsley Moghalu, a politician and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said that withdrawing from partisan politics has given him happiness and peace of mind.

Moghalu disclosed this in a tweet on his verified Twitter handle on Wednesday.

According to him, partisanship is divisive and it is time he contributed to nation-building from a nonpartisan perspective.

“I am happy and have found peace in withdrawing from partisan politics. No apologies. As a citizen I will always have my preferences and will vote for specific candidates, but there are times and circumstances when one can better contribute to nationbuilding from a nonpartisan perspective” He said.

Moghalu also disclosed that he would not publicly endorse any candidate despite calls from different people that he should do so. He noted that he could not publicly support such candidates because they were not in anyway like him.

“I understand the passions and goodwill of those who argue on this street that I should formally “declare/campaign for this candidate or the other. They argue so because they believe my views are listened to and may be “influential”. But I urge such people to also understand, and respect my own personal decisions. They have not, like I have been, presidential candidates (without having a war chest of stolen public funds) or stood in the arena. bloodied but unbowed. No regrets, but only I know what I have sacrificed, the personal price I have paid.” He stated

In June 2022, Kingsley Moghalu lost the presidential primary election of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and resigned his membership of the party after the defeat.

By Uzair Adam Imam

There has been tension in Labour Party (LP) as Dr. Doyin Okupe, the Director General of the party, resigned his position.

The Daily Reality gathered that Okupe resigned following his conviction over money laundering charges.

The disclosure was made Tuesday in a later Okupe wrote to Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the party.

He argued that he had rather invested so much in the party’s campaign.Details later….

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) states that it has seized 100 million pills of the prescription painkiller Tramadol in just 22 months.

The agency estimated the combined value of the cash and illegal narcotics to be about N450 billion. In addition, the agency detained 29 drug lords, while detaining 23,907 drug traffickers.

Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), Chairman of the NDLEA, said this in a statement released on Tuesday through the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

Marwa said the confiscated Tramadol may have had a negative influence on the youth population and the nation’s productivity.

He said this during the Commands’ Awards/Commendations and Decoration of newly promoted officers at the Agency’s National Headquarters, Abuja.

Marwa said, “Within the period under review, the Agency arrested 23, 907 drug traffickers including 29 barons.

“Our seizure was over 5,500 tons or 5.5 million kilograms of assorted illicit drugs, which together with cash seized are worth over N450 billion.

“In the same period, we have taken the fight to the doorsteps of cannabis growers by destroying 772. 5 hectares of cannabis farms. In these 22 months, we have record convictions of 3, 434 offenders. We have equally made good strides in our drug demand reduction efforts where the number of those counselled and rehabilitated is 16, 114.

“The figures are mere statistics until you view them through the lens of human impact and the good or harm that could have come to society, the impact on public health, security as well as law and order if those dangerous drugs had gone to the street. Take, for instance, the one hundred million pills of tramadol seized in the past 22 months.

“If those pills had gone into circulation and ended up in the hands of young people, it would take a heavy toll on lives, families, productivity and, ultimately, the GDP of the country because it will affect these young people who are the engine room of productivity.

“We usually calculate our performance as monthly, quarterly or yearly appraisals. But drug law enforcement is generally a continuum, hence, I am wont to always appraise our efforts from January 2021, when we began far-reaching reforms, reviewed our strategies and rejigged the existing systems to accommodate innovations.

“From then till now, we have been on an upward trajectory. And indeed, what we have done in the last 22 months, from January 2021 to October 2022, based on the available statistics, is cause for celebration.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

The newly appointed bursar of Federal University Birnin Kebbi (FUBK), Malam Ibrahim Lawal, has assumed duty officially on Monday, December 19, 2022.

This was disclosed in a statement signed Monday by Jamilu M Magaji, the school’s Public Relations Officer.

According to the statement, until his appointment, Lawal was the Deputy Bursar as well as the Ag. Director of Procurement at Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State.

The statement read, “Ibrahim Lawal attended Faki Road Primary School, Kaduna, from 1985 to 1990. He proceeded to Command Day Secondary School, Kaduna, where he got the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE), after which he moved to Isa Kaita College of Education, Dutsen-ma, for an Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) examination between 1998 and 1999.

“Mal. Ibrahim obtained B.Sc. in Accounting, a Master’s in Business Administration and M.Sc. in Accounting and Finance from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 2005, 2011 and 2018, respectively. He’s currently pursuing a PhD in Accounting at the Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna.

“Mal. Lawal started his career at Bulet International Nigeria Limited as Executive Officer (Accounts) in 2006. Thereafter, he worked in various organizations where he rose through the ranks to become Chief Accountant at Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State; Deputy Bursar and Ag. Director of Procurement at the Federal University Gusau.

“The new Bursar is a Fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), a Member of the Society for Forensic Accounting and Fraud Prevention, as well as a Fellow of Certified National Accountants.

“The new Bursar shares a vision to improve and maintain a highly distinguished Bursary Department with financial integrity in the management of the University funds through the provision of exceptional services to the University community, the nation and beyond,” the statement added.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Kano State Hisbah Board Monday said it apprehended 19 youths for same-sex marriage in the state.

The Commander General, Sheikh Harun Muhammad Sani Ibn Sina, confirmed the development to journalists.

Ibn Sina said the youths gathered to witness the wedding of two suspected homosexuals, Abba and Mujahid, at one event centre in the city.

However, he said their personnel arrived at the scene before the commencement of the wedding rites and 15 females, and four males were arrested during the operation.

He added that some of the ladies arrested said they were invited to the wedding from the neighbouring states.

He noted that the duo, tagged as bride and groom, Abba and Mujahid, escaped immediately after the arrival of the Hisbah personnel at the wedding venue.

A 21-year-old lady, Salma Usman, who is now in Hisbah custody, was said to be the event organiser.

Meanwhile, while reiterating that the Hisbah will intensify efforts to ensure the arrest of Abba and Mujahid, Ibn Sina said they would hand over those in their custody to the police for further action.

Some of those arrested who spoke to Radio Nigeria, Salma Usman, Sadiya, Aisha Adam, Maryam Ibrahim and Bilkisu Lukman, claimed to have been invited to a birthday party.

The ladies pleaded for leniency and promised not to engage in such acts.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigeria Meaningful Adolescent and Youth Engagement Working Group (Naija MAYE) has called for the involvement of youths in politics and urged political parties to ensure health and development agenda in political parties manifestos in the country.

The call is an aftermath of a one-day summit organized by MAYE and held at Belmont Hotel in Abuja on Wednesday.

In a press statement signed by the Chairman of MAYE, Olympus Ade Banjo and other leaders of the group, the group charged the Nigeria political class to ensure the involvement of youths in politics and prioritize health and development in their party manifestos

The group also lamented the slow implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They noted that many Nigerians are yet to experience the economic and political dividend of the SDGs.

At the end of the summit, Naija MAYE was quoted to have made the following suggestions:

1:- “Ensure inclusivity of youth health and development agenda in all 2023 party manifestoes blueprints, and campaign messages.

2:- Review the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) to recognize adolescent and youths as part of vulnerable population by improving access to quality youth friendly health care services.

3:- Adopt innovative and diverse approaches in financing social health insurance for young people taking into consideration that they are about 70 percent of Nigeria’s population and the high rate of unemployment which is about 40 percent.

4:- Ensure National Council on Health should approve reduction of age of independent access to sexual and reproductive health services including HIV testing from 18 to 14years.

5:- Ensure a comprehensive range of sexual and reproductive health services required by diverse groups of young people is integrated into training curriculums of healthcare providers at all levels of training
Ensure that policies supporting youth and female engagement in governance is actively implemented. Ordinary people should be given opportunity to serve from the local government to the Federal level.
Strengthen Micro Finance to give reduced interest rates to young people’s mini and small scale businesses.

6:- Create meaningful occupational counselling structures for young people in secondary schools and institutions.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu 

Four prominent members of Jam’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihd, popularly known as Boko Haram, have turned themselves into Nigerian forces in Borno State.

Commanders Mala’ana (Khalid), a Governor, Abu Dauda (Munzir), Modu Yalee (Commander), and Bin Diska (Nakif) submitted to Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) soldiers on December 12, 2022, when they were patrolling the state’s Gwoza local government area.

This fresh intelligence reveals that the insurgents have emerged from the Sambisa forest where they had been hiding and are now waging terror attacks against the state, according to Zagazola Makama, a Counter-Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region.

They once served as leaders at the Njimiya camp under Abubakar Shekau. 

Nevertheless, during the invasion of the Sambisa Forest in May 2021, they disarmed and joined ISWAP at Lake Chad, which finally led to Shekau’s demise.

The four Commanders later abandoned ISWAP and fled to Sambisa, where they established a camp and started acting independently.

They were forced to surrender out of fear of being wiped out on the battlefield by a combination of a protracted, increased bombardment on terrorist hideouts and rivalry strikes.

Meanwhile, 83,000 Boko Haram fighters had been captured and were being treated for rehabilitation in Borno State, according to Major General Christopher Musa, the OPHK Theatre Commander.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 

In light of the intense debate over gender in politics and public life in the US and elsewhere, Dictionary.com has named “woman” as its Word of the Year for 2022.

According to Dictionary.com, there has been a significant spike in users looking for the meaning of “woman,” which at its peak increased by 1,400%.

It stated on its website that this year, searches for the word woman on Dictionary.com increased considerably in relation to various high-profile events.

“Our selection of woman as our 2022 Word of the Year reflects how the intersection of gender, identity, and language dominates the current cultural conversation and shapes much of our work as a dictionary,” it said.

The site lists the definition of ‘woman’ as an ‘an adult female person’.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, has pledged to dredge the River Niger, assure that the Onitsha Port is functioning, and revive the economy of the South East.

Atiku made the pledge to party supporters yesterday in Awka, the capital of the Anambra State.

When he met with Chukwuma Soludo, the governor of Anambra State, hours before the start of the campaign, he stated that Soludo had made some of these requests.

Atiku was quoted as saying, “On our arrival today we visited their governor Prof. Soludo, and he said to me. I know you are going to work but make sure that all the federal roads that pass through Anambra State are reconstructed.

“And I promised him, I’m going to do that, he said ‘make sure that you control our erosion, because Anambra is the erosion headquarters of the world. Erosion is destroying our farmlands, is destroying our houses and everything have.

“This is a very gigantic project. And I promised him I’m going to do that, and you know I have worked with Soludo before, he is a first-class patriotic Nigerian.

“You have an excellent governor. He also appealed to me that Onisha port this time around we are going to dredge River Niger and Onisha port will function.

“We are also going to help Anambra industrialize the state so that the state will create as many jobs for our young men and women.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

An Upper Shariah Court sitting at Kano has sentenced the controversial Kano Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasiru-Kabara, to death for blasphemy.

Delivering the much-anticipated judgement on Thursday, the presiding judge, Ibrahim Yola, declared the defendant guilty and hereby sentenced him to death by hanging.

The embattled cleric was charged to court by the Kano State Government after making comments deemed blasphemous to the personality of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Before delivering the judgement, the presiding judge said he was convinced that the prosecution did their part and had proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

He said: “I am convinced that the prosecution counsel has done their part and proven their points beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Before the conviction of the defendant, the embattled cleric had disowned his lawyer, Aminu Abubakar, in court and interjected his plea for mercy. Mr Abubakar had opined the cleric acted in ignorance.

Abduljabbar Nasiru-Kabara stated that he did not know the lawyer nor needed the court’s mercy. He added that he would die a hero.

The Daily Reality learnt that Abduljabbar was quoted as saying: “I don’t know him. This is the first time I am seeing him. He should not be allowed to speak on my behalf. I can and should be allowed to speak for myself,” he said.

Speaking further, Abduljabbar said: “My lord, after I heard how you twisted all my evidence, you turned around all my submissions upside down, you have assigned words to me that I have never uttered.

“Deliver your judgement, and I am not asking for leniency at all. I want all my followers to know that I will die a hero, and I don’t want you (the Judge) Ibrahim Sarki Yola to do me any favour or grant me leniency. This is my last word. Assalamu Alaikum.”