By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The alleged kidnap Kingpin, Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike, alias Evans, said his confession was obtained under duress and threat to his family by the embattled suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari and his team.

Speaking during his hearing at Ikeja Special Offences Court on February 4, 2022, Evans made the allegations against the suspended police chief.

Evans said, “One day at the IG Guest House, the police brought some documents and asked me to sign. I asked what the documents were for, but they didn’t answer me. They said if I didn’t cooperate with them they would kill me.

They killed about six persons in my presence and I signed the document, I was not allowed to read it. I think it is the document that was used to bring me to court.”

He was also asked why he was looking undisturbed and he said, “The police told me to laugh and smile in the video. You do not know what I encountered in the hands of Abba Kyari and his boys. My eyes saw hell.”

Evans is presently standing trial on a four-count charge of kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms alongside a dismissed soldier, Victor Aduba.

The case has been adjourned until March 11 for the continuation of the trial.

By Aliyu Baraje

Dear Ma,

Your efforts in addressing unemployment in the country are commendable and well acknowledged. Your ministry has taken bold steps to achieve the primary purpose of its creation. Honourable minister, I write to thank you for fulfilling your promise of ensuring that the exited N-power beneficiaries will not be left to continue roaming the streets of Nigeria jobless, especially now that the country battles with various security threats.

Your assistant, @annekaikem1, on her Twitter handle on January 29, 2022, announced that the exited N-power beneficiaries should dial a certain code (*45665) to verify and confirm their availability for an N-exit loan training from February 1 to 4th 2022. The N-power Twitter handle also affirmed it by posting the same information on February 1.

My main worry now is that most beneficiaries have been experiencing difficulty verifying and confirming their availability for the training. As a result, tens of thousands of eligible beneficiaries are on the verge of giving up. This is due to the technical problems they’re experiencing during the application processes. Beneficiaries have been dialling the code since day one but to no avail. Others have started but were timeout before completing the task.

Given the above, I, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of N-power beneficiaries that are grateful for your commitments to ensure they have a better future, plead with you to consider the following:

1) Extend the deadline for the verification and availability.
2) Increase the seconds for a timeout while a beneficiary is connected to the server.
3) The honourable minister should also consider creating and sharing another code for the beneficiaries to quickly complete the tasks if the glitches were due to congestion on the server.
4) The honourable minister should also refer beneficiaries to their dashboards since it is already there. This would reduce the cost of the charges on them.
5) And if service providers cause these difficulties, the ministry should kindly reach out to them before the deadline.

With due respect and appreciation, I write this to call your attention. If the situation is left to continue as it is, hundreds of thousands of applicants are likely to be deprived of this great opportunity.

I have complete confidence the honourable minister would urgently look into the matter to proffer a solution. However, I was discouraged when I found out that in two local governments, which I had firsthand information on, not even ten beneficiaries had completed the task. Moreover, the responses I saw on social media handles of the N-power minister’s assistants, beneficiaries’ groups and blogs are very alarming.

Although this is supposed to be the first batch, we hope the honourable minister would do the needful to address the technical problems so that the subsequent ones would be more successful.

Thank you.

Aliyu Baraje can be reached via glitzinkreviews@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Sabiu

Smugglers are now conspiring with terrorists to attack operatives stationed in border settlements across Katsina, according to the Nigeria Customs Service’s Katsina Area Command.

Dalha Wada Chedi, the Katsina Area Commander, revealed this to reporters on Thursday during a Customs/Community Consultative Forum.

Chedi explained that desperate smugglers now partner with bandits to assault us, resulting in casualties among our men.

He further said that certain members of the community are hell-bent on blackmailing customs officials by making false accusations and spreading rumours.

Chedi, on the other hand, warned the smugglers to stop doing so and find a lawful and sustainable business to engage in, stating that no matter what tactics they use, the law will catch up with them sooner or later.

By Muhammad Abdurrahman

Muslim students of Baptist High School, Ijagbo in Oyun Local Government of Kwara State, who were protesting for the right to use hijab were reportedly attacked by hoodlums and security agents yesterday, Thursday, 3rd February 2022. Four people were allegedly injured while one has been hospitalised.

As usual, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has reacted to the incident by condemning the attack on the protesting students.

MURIC’s condemnation was contained in a statement issued by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on the afternoon of Thursday, 3^rd February 2022.

MURIC said:

“Muslim students of Baptist High School, Ijagbo in Oyun Local Government of Kwara State, who were protesting for the right to use hijab were reportedly attacked by hoodlums and security agents today, Thursday, 3^rd February 2022. Four people were allegedly injured while one has been hospitalised.

“Although it was rumoured that one person was killed, we prefer to be silent over that until we receive more details from our Kwara branch (https://tribuneonlineng.com/police-nscdc-quell-hijab-protest-in-kwara/; https://www.ekohotblog.com/2022/02/03/breaking-hijab-many-injured-as-peaceful-protest-turns-violent-in-kwara-photos/). We will update our statement immediately we have a full report.

“We strongly condemn this attack on innocent and underaged children. It is irresponsible, barbaric and inhuman. The protesting girls were not violent. It was a peaceful protest and a peaceful protest is a legitimate tool for the expression of grievances, particularly when it is peaceful.

“MURIC singles out the principal of the school for insubordination, willful disobedience and disrespect for constituted authority. This is in view of his high-handedness and his refusal to recognise the state government’s circular which approved the use of hijab.

“In the meantime, and in the interest of peace, we make the following demands:

1.     The school must be shut down immediately to forestall further breakdown of law and order.

2.     The school principal must be summoned to the Ministry of Education to personally collect his quarry letter for insubordination, willful disobedience and disregard for constituted authority.

3.     The school principal must be suspended with immediate effect.

4.     Government should decide other disciplinary action or actions to be taken against the school principal for disobeying the government’s circular which approved the use of hijab.

5.     A probe must be instituted into the circumstances surrounding the commotion.

6.     All those injured should be treated at the expense of the state government.

7.     In case of death from injuries sustained during the attack, full compensation should be paid to the parents of the victim or victims.

8.     Expenses incurred by the government in handling this case should be deducted from the principal’s gratuity on his retirement.

9.     The state government should add its identity to the names of all schools in the state, e.g. Oyun Baptist High School should become ‘Oyun Government Baptist High School’.

By Sa’adatu Aliyu

In August 2020, the Port of Beirut came under explosive attacks, which shook the country’s very foundation. After many reports came in after that, it was said that another attack to have shaken the country with such intensity was that which killed the then Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.

Before the explosion, however, Beirut had been struggling with its economy, thanks to its widespread corruption. That already had it standing at the doorstep of the World Bank begging for financial relief. It also saw many of its populace unemployed, uncertain of the future.

Therefore, for a country already grappling to pay its citizens their salaries, with families finding it increasingly hard to feed their children or send them to school, the explosion added fuel to the fire. After much investigation, it was gathered that the port officials had been indirectly responsible for the incident, which killed and injured many. This is because the large amount of chemicals initially bound for Uganda was instead stashed up in the Beirut port, left without any safety preservative precautions taken to prevent an imminent attack.

After that, Beirut was indeed to see itself knocking at the gates of the World Bank, yet again-if once silently and with patience – then now it was with desperation for help. It would, in fact, at this point turn its hands to accept any offer coming in from any country but most importantly, the Saudi government with which it maintains a close political tie.

What makes me liken the Nigerian state to the status quo in Beirut is its corruption and the most recent proposition by the government on the possible removal of fuel subsidy. For a country whose system is heavily built on corruption and even more so we can say still thrives because of it, I am afraid to say that I hope we, too, do not one day wake up to the smokes of our country in flames with everyone running helter-skelter in search for safety.

Beirut’s reality stares Nigeria in the face. The trudging of its imminent collapse is ever so closer. Abject poverty remains the order of the day with the larger part of the population living below one dollar; price for education forcing worry heaves and sighs out of its largely lower-middle-class population, price of food items costing twice more than before. To make matters worse, the state of our country’s security has never been so fragile and then to have life becoming more difficult by the removal of fuel subsidy by a government on which many have placed the hope of a better living condition is to assert to the population that the government lacks any sense of good direction.

I don’t want to sound pessimistic. However, with the country’s challenges rising every day and a government that focuses more on enriching themselves and their families, I cannot see a brighter future for us either.

With the drama in display and the Nigerian state calmly maintaining its dance on the tracks of lagging-behind countries, and as we face yet another upcoming election next year, I pray we do not wake up to the scorching burns of increased crime rate, escalating terrorism, among other ills.

One thing that doesn’t require divine telling is that Nigerians have never felt more apathetic towards the system. We are all bracing for what lies ahead.

Sa’adatu Aliyu comes from Kogi state. She is a graduate of English Language from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a Masters student in Literature at the same institution. Her email is saadatualiyu36@gmail.com.

By Abba Muhammad Tawfiq

Most religious and social felonies are committed solely to nurturing the sown seeds of an insatiable desire for money, materialism and mundane accomplishments, reinforcing the Biblical notion that “the love of money is the root of all evil”.

On the ground of moral virtue, no religion in the worthiness of its sanctity nor a firm believer and practitioner of any faith can complement or plead devotion to whatever form of major and minor despicable moral misconduct.

There is nothing wrong with striving to make a beautiful living through the means sanctioned by religions and society. However, the aftermath of the strong inclination to live a high life at all costs, even through ways that defy basic rules and breach fundamental human civilization, is what we terribly testify to today.

The conviction of the culprit teacher and his accomplices that abducted, mutilated and buried the stiff of his naive and innocent student despite having the three million naira ransom at his disposal sparked bitter feelings of every soft conscienced individual in the country. But for the sake of money and worldly gains, this dirty act is not the ever-existing cruelty that hurts the dignity of our religions and community.

Talking to an extreme length, the deficit of love, compassion, and trust in the quest for affluence and fame have seismically cleaved even familial alliances and bonds.

On January 8, 2022, the crime bulletin aired by Neptune Prime was that of a 25-year-old Niger boy who paid an assassin the sum of N110000 to help send his father on an excursion to the land of his ancestors so as to inherit his possessions.

Similarly, on January 13, 2022, a 52-year-old Enugu father and 32-year-old Lagos elder brother allied with mum were reportedly arrested on the charge of taking malicious delight in murdering three offsprings and a  sibling. All in the common interest of ritual money.

Our lack of contentment and the unwillingness to live within the ambits of our earnings give a proper insight into the pervading tragic circumstances of easy money-making. Everyone is desperate for shortcut success, power and fame–riches, expensive attire and mobile phones, and owning mansions with exotic vehicles. Thus,  choose to pay that price even via ways that incur the Godly wrath on us.

May the merciful and forgiving Lord save our souls from indulging in mischievous acts, ameen

Abba Muhammad Tawfiq is a 500L Medical Rehabilitation student at the University of Maiduguri.

By Ahmad Murtala

Ever since Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared his ambition to succeed President Buhari earlier this month, the political sphere off and online stirred up debates in favour of Tinubu and the potholes along his way. People cite some irrelevant motifs that may hinder Tinubu’s success. However, these are not paramount of any buyable candidate at the moment, and of course, for the electorate.

The intrinsic status quo of our polity entertains those factors that undermine the democracy and the governance—rating region, tribe, religion, age, school attended, above competency and capacity going even further to dig up the ancestral root of a candidate. The result we are cultivating under this administration says a lot about the mistakes we’ve committed in the past – from  2015 to date—by using only those yardsticks to scrutinize a candidate. Can we still pelt with our intelligence to subscribe to the same mistake of the past come 2023, which appears new dawn to our country?

We imported the American presidential system of government, which is quite expensive and implemented its only cover page. It’s a multi-party system that compels too much spending which a saleable candidate capable of taking the lead is hindered from contesting by the processions. These include the ticket, the campaign, and the mobilization. In this context, two major parties are on the run, which the rest endorses the party that has the chance of winning in subterranean manoeuvre.

The Southeast has configured and domesticated PDP as its political party since 1999, while APC appears nascent in the region—the weakness of the ruling party and the deterioration of the security across the country under the watch of APC makes the nascent party lose its credibility far to the NE. If the president is to emerge from the region, two possibilities may arise.

First, northern people stereotype and characterize PDP as evil, callous and looters, which most of the states in the region are under. Second, APC has lost its shining plate before the people based on what appears on the ground since coming to power in 2015. Therefore, no matter the candidate’s credit from the SE, if APC deems it fit to give the flag bearer to the region to entertain zoning as postulated by some northern state governors, the chances are its success would be a bottleneck.

The polarization within the spheres of politics that SouthEast translates to secession if not given a chance to rule, it appears that PDP would have to play the same card of the last election, by choosing the running mate from the SouthEast, here the North would draw a line looking at the indices of the carnage their businesses faced in the region. Meanwhile, APC would play the South-West and the running mate from the North, perhaps a Muslim-Muslim ticket. The result would be determined by the primaries from the parties in a couple of weeks ahead.  

In those countries that have built the social establishments and have smooth working systems with literally little or no corruption, the age of presidential aspirants is not a matter of concern. We see Biden of US—unlike Nigeria when chunks of domestic battle are entangled yet to be addressed. The age of the candidate matters a lot in this context. Tinubu, who appears to be more robust so far from those who declared their aspiration, is brazenly feeble. If not a good diet and wealth make politicians appear strong, most of the politicians at the frontline ought to assume coach duties guiding the upcoming ones. We forbid the like we’ve seen in this administration by encasing the president in the Villa and plunging the country into anarchy.

From the view and the colour of the game, Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, would swiftly take the PDP flag and Tinubu APC. Both have been dented by the people’s court to have maliciously accumulated wealth—having no other alternative polling box for the electorate. If history is to repeat itself, Buhari contested four times before he won. Now, Atiku is running on his fifth time is likely to have a smooth ride based on APC losing its credibility because of insecurity across the country. 

The extreme thirst for power to fulfil the ‘need hierarchy’ is not dangerous to the beholder alone. The motive is only to possess the authority without a sketched-architectural blueprint and clear manifestos which will coalesce with the national need. Buhari came on this platter, and the result is unbecoming.

So far, the two giants have not made it to the public the what-and-how to attend to the tangled problems agonizing every sector. The currently delicate security and imbalanced economy are at the top, strangling the country by the neck—finding it arduous to breathe. We, for now, don’t need the so-called ‘kingmakers’ who cannot heed or take advice from the public opinion but become foreign puppets—since, intrinsically, the presumption of superiority as the number-one citizen is established. 

Road to Villa 2023 must come from the parties and play the game card to sew the polarization across the region. The Villa in 2023 and beyond begs for a head that has both stick and carrot in his hands, the one who has a clear understanding of foreign policies and has immediate treatment to our problems, both short and long-term solutions. If to suggest best candidates, there are a multitude of them from SS, SW and NW, both fit in into position of President and Vice President, but for now, let’s see the outcome of the parties convention, which is the utmost decider.

Ahmad Murtala sent this article via ahmadmurtala@outlook.com.

By Usama Abdullahi

Nothing could be scarier than seeing some people sympathising with the ruthless murderer of little Haneefa Abubakar. Anyone who does that does it out of unflinching apathy toward human’s life. Liu Jan, a Chinese billionaire businessman, was convicted of murder and executed in February 2015 simply because he ran a mafia-style gang. Likewise, one of his siblings and some other three associates were executed. 

If this could happen in a well-evolved, progressive and most populous country on earth, I wonder why it wouldn’t happen here in Nigeria. Does it mean Nigerians are the most softhearted people in the whole wide world? Of course, no. If issues of sympathy arise, I bet many Nigerians would bury themselves in shame because they are wont of barbarism.

Our hypocrisy knows no boundary and is second to none. It’s deep-rooted, and we seem not ready to change for the better. Innocent poor people are cruelly barbecued as chickens and kidnapped daily, yet the (un)repentant criminals are warmly received and mollycoddled. Their barbaric actions are overlooked. Unfortunately, those wounded and displaced to new unfavourable suburbs are left unaided.

It’s a grave sin to glorify or pardon criminals whenever they fake repentance. This is why our country breeds a generation of stubborn criminals and why insecurity thrives. Actually, we do no justice by neglecting the fact that those criminals are worthless and deserve to be tortured to death just as they did to our brothers and sisters.

We escalate the precarious situations of our dear nation by being soft on criminals. No doubt that laws in this country are imposed upon the labouring classes or less privileged ones. If the needy steal to feed their bereaved or starved families, they are burned to ashes when caught by mobs who are thieves themselves. Those disadvantaged are primarily refugees and victims of bad governance. I’m not trying to justify their crimes either. No, I am not. 

But who do you think should be burned to ashes unhesitatingly? Yes, the real unsparing and often politically sponsored criminals, I suppose. It’s true that the so-called sympathisers neither mourn the slain nor denounce the slayers. On the contrary, they are quick to condone and gloat over innocent people’s death. One who sympathises with a criminal is either crueller or no different than the criminal himself.

By excusing barbarism, we are trying to eliminate these two words, “deterrence” and “justice”, from our constitution. If criminals are not punished accordingly, there’s no “deterrence”; many people will probably carry out their unlawful activities without fear. And if justice can’t be done too, then this society is lawless. Until Haneefa’s murderer, Abdulmalik, faces the death penalty, I will never forgive our judicial system.

Usama Abdullahi wrote from Abuja, Nigeria. He can be reached at usamagayyi@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Lawrence Aklogado, a final year student of the Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has launched a campaign to donate cardigans for Almajiri roaming the streets of Zaria in the harmattan cold.

Mr Aklogado launched the kind and caring campaign on Monday, January, 31 and tagged it as “One Almajiri, One Cardigan.”

In an interview with The Daily Reality, Mr Aklogado stated his reasons for the campaign.

“Zaria was 4° degrees sometime last week. I walk to lectures every morning by 7 o’clock and see two categories of people. The student, staff and workers all rolled up in thick clothing yet complaining of the cold and the Almajiris who are putting on thorn clothing and yet not complaining of the cold.

These guys are white from head to toe, some of them not even having footwear. I only imagined how this period is hard for them. So I sat down and thought of how I could help. I don’t have money to buy cardigans and share because, truly, I was broke, and I don’t want to start telling anyone to please donate money for the almajiri. So the idea came to tell people to donate a cardigan for the almajiri.”

I designed the flier and started sharing it. The response was huge on the first day. And I am glad.” Mr Aklogado said.

When asked further on his target, he said, “My target is 100 plus cardigans for the Almajiris, and I have gotten 25 thus far. I go from hostel to hostel, and the main challenge is most students have just a cardigan too, but I am not giving up though”

The campaigner has been applauded by many people for the thoughtful and kind gesture.

By Muhammad Sabiu

A bill in the House of Representatives has been raised to abolish the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Shina Peller (APC, Oyo) sponsored the measure, which was read for the first time on Tuesday. It proposes repealing the NSCDC Act of 2007 and transferring the agency’s staff and assets to the Nigeria Police Force.

Mr Peller proposes, according to the bill’s description, to establish a transition management committee to oversee the NSCDC, write regulations, and implement processes for the transfer of the Corps’ assets and employees to the Nigeria Police Force.

Mr Peller claims that the NSCDC’s expanded functions are a duplication of police mandates, noting that “Fragmentation of security resources across multiple competing agencies is counterproductive.

“The mandate of the NSCDC has expanded that it has now become a duplication of the Nigeria Police Force. This has led to avoidable conflicts.

“Every single function of the NSCDC can be done or is being done by the Nigeria Police Force”. He added that” it is a “waste of scarce resources which has an annual budget of almost 100 billion.”

Mr Peller noted that “the assets and personnel of the NSCDC will be absorbed by the Nigeria Police, hence, no loss of job.”