The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has said that some of the pains that were associated with some of the CBN’s policies have now become major gains in the nation’s economy.
“While we still have much work to do, I am delighted that some of the pains that were associated with some of the CBN’s policies have become major gains in our economy. We have seen many manufacturers bounce back from near comatose to running shifts. We have seen many farmers smiling to the bank and going back to their farmlands in due seasons. We have seen some young Nigerians entering the rice-farming sphere rather than wait for “white-collar” jobs. And we have seen palm-oil corporations declare unprecedented profits because of the CBN’s policies.
“On these and other bases, I believe we can build the Nigeria of our dreams. I call on all of us, this evening, to set aside our complaints and differences and distractions, and let us work together to create this Nigeria, where balanced growth and shared prosperity is guaranteed for all.”
Emefiele, in his key note remarks at the 2017 Annual Bankers’ Dinner in Lagos, on Friday night. reminded the gathering that though there is nothing wrong in the current developments in macroeconomy, but that they and the policymakers should neither become complacent nor over-confident, stressing that they should strive to improve and sustain the pace of recovery.
The CBN Boss said that the nation’s import bill may have fallen but that the manufacturing and agriculture sectors still have a long way to go, adding: “if we must attain self-sufficiency in those sectors we must not be quick to discard the restrictive measures which aided our recovery simply because the metrics have improved. At the CBN we will continue to fine-tune our policies and strategies based on our understanding of evolving developments and supported by in-house technical analysis and simulations. We will remain proactive in ensuring that the welfare of Nigerians is optimised at any point in time.”
The CBN boss said that in his personal understanding of the current developments and his assessments of the traverse of future outcomes, he expected that barring any unforeseen shocks inflationary pressure will continue to ease and that this could return to very low double digit
or high single digit levels during the next year.
“Though the base effect had diminished, I expect that as the socio-economic factors that are driving food inflation are resolved the inertia therein would dissipate and the pace of headline disinflation will grow;
▪FX Reserves will continue to grow. Over the last 12 months Nigeria’s FX reserves grew by over US$10 billion from just over US$23 billion in October 2016 to over US$33 billion in October 2017. It is my belief that if we remain resolute with our efforts, policies and actions we can attain an FX reserve position of about US$40 billion by end 2018;
▪Economic Recovery will consolidate. As the sentiments improve in the macroeconomy and
supported by proactive monetary, trade, industrial and fiscal policies, I expect a continued uptick in GDP growth with a positive spillover to improved unemployment rate. As policies to strengthen the agricultural and industrial sectors become more emergent, growth in these sectors will rise, further bolstering overall economy;
▪Exchange Rate stability will continue. As we entrench and sustain the transparency in the FX
market, as FX reserves accretion continues, and market confidence and improved sentiments
remain, I expect that the exchange rate will not only be stable but would begin to appreciate
against major cur rencies. The adverse competitiveness outcome which such appreciation
may entail would be adequately mitigated by proactive policies to ensure that our balance of
payments position is not undermined.
▪Monetary policy stance could change when the underlying fundamentals become supportive. If the pace of disinflation becomes adequate and we see inflation at predicted levels, I am very optimistic that MPC may begin to see strong justification for an easing of monetary policy, which may further accelerate the recovery process.
▪Strong policy coordination: Finally, I expect a re-doubling of strong policy coordination,
collaboration and cooperation which flourished during the very difficult times. To sustain our
recovery the need is greater now than ever for a robust policy coordination between the key
aspects of economic policymaking space. In Nigeria, this would include fiscal, monetary,
exchange, and trade policies, which must be targeted at protecting farmers to boost agricultural
outputs, support local companies and enhance manufacturing and industrial capacities, with a
view to diversifying the economy away from oil and fossil fuels.” [myad]
The delegation of Christians in Nigeria, led by the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, has appreciated the totality with which President Muhammadu Buhari has been fighting corruption, the way no government in the past had done.
Rev. Samson Olasupo salutes Buhari’s courage in confronting corruption headlong “as never done by any government in this nation before, to the best of our knowledge and judgement.”
The leadership of the umbrella body of all Christians in Nigeria, who visited the President at the Presidential Villa today, Friday, agreed with the President that if corruption is not squarely dealt with, it would end up killing the country.
Corruption, CAN President emphasized, is a virus which has the potential of killing the nation if not stopped even as it advised President Buhari not to relent in the continue war against corruption.
“The setbacks notwithstanding, accomplishing the goal is the ultimate. However, we want you to fight corruption without fear or favour including those around you who may be like the ‘mixed multitude’ who went out of Egypt with the Israelites but were not Israelis.
“They caused harm along the way. Therefore, let there be no untouchable, hand those close to you that may be corrupt over to law enforcement agents as you have done to others for proper prosecution.”
The full text of CAN’s positions on various issues of national importance, is reproduced here:
Your Excellency Sir, it was about two and a half years ago, precisely, July 2015 that we had the intention of paying this courtesy visit to you to congratulate you for becoming the President of our great country Nigeria. We however thank God that as Christian body in Nigeria, we are able to meet with you at last. So, what we intended to do then when we wrote to pay you courtesy visit, we are doing now by congratulating you for winning the election and for you to count on the Association to continue to pray for you for the Spirit of wisdom and understanding to be able to lead this country in the right direction until we get to our Promised land.
We wish to seize this opportunity as well to very much congratulate you for the miraculous recovery from sickness which took you away from the shores of Nigeria for many days. We as an Association took time to pray for you like other religious groups in this nation and we thank God that you are back alive. It was the love of Nigerians for you that kept all things intact while you were away and the able lieutenants that God gave to you who held the fort in your absence. May the affliction never arise again in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
We want to advise you to manage your recovery well and take one step at a time. Delegation would be of help for you to totally recover and deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.
Please allow us in this visit to pray for you because that is the major reason we are here today.
Recognition of Achievements
We want to appreciate you in the areas in which your administration is making giant strides since you came on board. The first of these is the recognition of corruption as a virus which has the potential of killing the nation if not stopped. Much more we salute your courage to confront it headlong as never done by any government in this nation before to the best of our knowledge and judgement.
We do not want you to relent in doing this. The setbacks not withstanding, accomplishing the goal is the ultimate. However, we want you to fight corruption without fear or favour including those around you who may be like the ‘mixed multitude’ who went out of Egypt with the Israelites but were not Israelis. They caused harm along the way. Therefore, let there be no untouchable, hand those close to you that may be corrupt over to law enforcement agents as you have done to others for proper prosecution.
Secondly we want to commend you for your commitment to the flushing out of Boko Haram Islamic Fundamentalists from Nigeria. They had caused deep sorrow and damage to the nation especially many Christians, churches and facilities in the north—east in particular and the North in general.
We praise you for the empowerment of the military to do their work and the courage of the military and dedication to duty.
We on the other hand observe that the murderous Fulani Herdsmen who were previously allowed to ply their trade in many communities in Nigeria have become a menace to many communities. The Christian communities of Benue State, Southern Kaduna, Enugu and a host of others have been on the receiving side on this. Recently I went to a village called Ancha in Bassa Local Government of Plateau State where 21 Christians in a village were killed overnight by Fulani Herdsmen. My church in that village lost 20 members out of the 21 and we gave them mass burial. It was a gory sight to behold. The most painful and baffling thing about it was that after that attack, they came to the same area again and killed another 24 people with none of them arrested by the enforcement agents. What a complicity! Why are the Fulani herdsmen devastating communities without being arrested? Why are they not prosecuted? Why was the source of their ammunition not investigated? Why do they roam about with guns without being arrested? All these are begging for the quick attention of the President so that the people they are attacking also might not seek self defence which may lead to the breakdown of law and order in the nation.
Thirdly, we want to commend your administration for the recovery of some of the kidnapped Chibok girls after some years of incarceration by the insurgents in the north—east. We are pleading with you to intensify more efforts to recover the rest who may still be alive before their lives are completely messed up. Equally, we sent a special appeal to the government and the Inspector General of Police in particular to help us recover twenty Borno women that were kidnapped by Boko Haram while going to bury their relative who died outside Maiduguri. Up till now, we did not hear anything over the matter from the government neither was our letter acknowledged. We are renewing our appeal again for the recovery of those women who were all Christians.
In a nutshell, the following are the issues the Christian Association of Nigeria wants Mr. President to address without delay.
We call on the Executive and Legislative arms of government to withdraw Nigeria from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and from other international religious bodies and treaties Nigeria signed with such religious organizations because it violates the secular state of the nation as enshrined in the constitution of Nigeria and further violates government’s non-partisanship in religious matters as enshrined in the same constitution. The sanctity of the constitution must be kept for Nigeria to survive as one nation.
Issuance of Certificate of Occupancy to Churches in the North.
We call on the Executive and the National Assembly to prevail on States in the North to issue Certificate of Occupancy to churches in the region. Many excuses are presently being given by State Governments in the North to deny Christians the right of building their own places of worship. Recently, Jigawa State Government pulled down some church structures under the guise that they did not have building permit. The truth of the matter as obtained from the chairman of CAN in the State was that the churches had applied for permission to build for not less than a year or more without any response. Do the Christians in the North not have the right to build their houses of worship and serve God without fear or favour? If Nigeria is one country, this type of religious discrimination must come to an end.
CAN equally calls on this administration to address the lopsidedness in appointments done by this administration for both ethnic and religious balance for all of us to be able to do pilgrimage together as a nation. For example, the defence apparatus in this nation is skewed in favour of one religion. In the recently released statistics of appointments made by this administration so far by the Media Adviser to the President, there was apparent lopsidedness because while some States have over thirty people appointed, others do not have more than three. How can people from such States with three have the sense of belonging to this nation and this administration?
Unpaid Salaries and Allowances
and We declare the inability of the State Governments to pay workers’ salaries and allowances as at when due as unacceptable and call on the Federal and State Governments to work together to address this as quick as possible. This would step the tide of crimes and suicide that are increasing all over the nation.
We further urge your administration to address the breakdown of infrastructure in the nation such as road construction, provision of uninterrupted power supply and adequate funding of health facilities so as to stop the untimely death of our people and medical tourism abroad.
Unemployment Problem
We call on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on unemployment in the nation and to set up a machinery towards the provision of employment for graduates. It is a time bomb that could be devastating if not quickly attended to.
We observe that the criminal activities that are on the increase in the land should be addressed more squarely. The police should be more adequately equipped in policing the nation. More policemen at the same time should be recruited as the present number is too low to cope with the large population of the country.
Revival of NIREC
Finally, we request for the revival of the Nigerian Inter-religious Council, (NIREC) which in the past had fostered interaction and promoted religious harmony between Christian and Muslim leaders in the country whose meeting logistics were to be provided by the government. Government’s position that there is no money to facilitate the convening of the meeting is not good enough. If there is no money to build peace, we believe that it would be more costly to prosecute war.
We thank Mr. President for creating time to listen to us and we hope that this type of parley would be taking place more regularly for the general good of our nation. We believe in one united Nigeria where there is justice, fairplay and mutual respect.
Thank you.
Responding, President Buhari assured religious leaders and other Nigerians that his administration is addressing corruption, insecurity and injustices in various parts of the country.
President Buhari, who also played host to a Muslim delegation, led by the Secretary General of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, said that he had already given instructions for the submission of all the names of heads of parastatals in order to address the allegations of lop-sidedness in appointments.
“On the question of one-sided appointments, we will look at it. I have given instructions that a list of all heads of parastatals be submitted to me and I know they will not delay in doing that.”
President Buhari said his administration would ensure reform of the police and judiciary, describing both institutions as critical for the security and stability of the nation.
“There is no way we can be comfortable in our country unless we are lucky to have a good police force and judiciary.
“We need a good police force and judiciary to really maintain the legitimacy and the confidence of the populace in governance.”
On the fight against corruption, the President assured both CAN and the JNI leaders that his administration would always be guided by the rule of law and constitutionality in prosecuting all those that had been accused of corruption.
President Buhari explained to the JNI delegation that corruption in the country had taken a cultural dimension, urging all religious leaders and Nigerians to join in the fight in order to reverse the trend.
“When something becomes a culture, it is more difficult to stop, but collectively we will prevail,’’ he assured the leaders. [myad]
A new children and youth-focused re-orientation programme, tagged Positive Values Initiative, will be formally launched in Lagos on November 30 at LTV Compound in Agidingbi, Ikeja.
The event will be chaired by Dr. Cosmas Maduka, Chairman, Coscharis Group. The outreach programme, a joint venture of Oraks Konsult and Superkids Publications advocates and inculcates positive values in children in order to make them better leaders and followers tomorrow.
According to the coordinator of the programme, Mrs. Franca Orakwue, the goal is to inspire youths and children to attain their best by pursuing, living and sharing positive values which include courtesy, integrity, diligence and godliness wherever they go.
“We believe that values influence one’s thinking which in turn shapes relationships, behaviours, choices and sense of self-worth. We are therefore determined to impart these value set in our youths and kids to prepare them for the challenges of society.”
Mrs. Orakwue, author and certified Etiquette specialist from Etiquettemoms, United States, is also a product of the International Association of Professions (IAP) Career College, USA. With over 14 years of experience in etiquette and speech training especially among children, she is deploying her knowhow to transform youths and kids especially those of school age into role models of excellence and integrity.
The mass mobilization outreach which is already running in some schools and worship centres has attracted the attention of UNICEF and Lagos State government.
The pilot programme in some select schools has achieved very good result and has been well received by the pupils and students. [myad]
Pope Francis has expressed dissatisfaction with Bishops, priests and pilgrims who are in the habit of using their smart phones during time for prayer.
“At a certain point, the priest leading the ceremony says ‘lift up our hearts.’ He doesn’t say ‘lift up our mobile phones to take photographs,’” he chastised those gathered in Saint Peter’s square for his weekly audience.
The Pope continued in anger: “it’s so sad when I’m celebrating mass here or inside the basilica and I see lots of phones held up — not just by the faithful, but also by priests and bishops! Please!”
The 80-year old Argentine pontiff is no stranger to the world of social media, boasting over 14 million followers on his English-language Twitter account alone, and often posing for selfies with enthusiastic young pilgrims.
But he has a conflicted relationship with mobiles. In February, he told youngsters to get off their cell phones during family meals, warning that the death of face-to-face conversations can have dire consequences for society, even resulting in wars.
He has called the internet, social media and text messages “a gift of God” if used wisely, but has also tried to persuade today’s youth to swap their smartphones for pocket-sized Bibles.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said that the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the presidential election of 2015 represented the exit of Nigeria from hell.
He said that no Nigerian would therefore pray for the return to power of the former ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), even as he made it clear that the APC is not worried about PDP campaign to regain power in the next general elections.
Lai Mohammed, who spoke to news men in Abuja, the nation’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) today, Thursday, said: ‘now, as to whether we are afraid that the PDP would win, I can tell you absolutely, we couldn’t even contemplate it because it would be a tragedy for Nigeria to fall back into the hands of PDP.
“Look, we have very painstakingly taken this country through hell, I mean, they dropped us in hell, and we are taking the people out of hell. We can’t come back to Egypt. No, I am serious, it is not about APC, it is about President Muhammadu Buhari. It is like the kind of revelations that are coming out, the kind of rot, you want those people to come back and preside over the affairs of Nigeria again.
“Now, let me ask you for instance what would happen to the investigations that have been held if the PDP should win in 2019? They would be swept under the carpet.” [myad]
He was a principal who never spared the rod to spoil the child. I was woken up early in the morning few days ago by a call from one of his children, Tokunbo, who most dejectedly broke the news that Patriarch of the Ariyo family had joined the Saints on August 8, 2017. It was a piece of news that brought vividly to my memory how God used Pa Ariyo to shape my destiny to what I am today.
Through providence I was fortunate to be mentored by the late Venerable at Olofin Anglican Grammar School in Idanre, Ondo State, from 1963 to 1967, for my West African School Certificate, and at Ilesa Grammar School, Ilesa, Osun State, from 1968 to 1969 for my Higher School Certificate. I was not only his student; I was also one of his many non-biological children.
I could remember vividly how on getting admitted into Olofin Anglican Grammar School at the age of 13 he took special interest in me. He had known my father a poorly remunerated Catechist in one of the village churches close to the school . Pa Ariyo graciously listed my mother to be one of the food vendors . I could remember also that the proceeds from my mum’s supplying of beans to the school helped in augmenting my father’s meager salary. In addition to this, Papa Ariyo would not see me go hungry–he told me not to be too far from his residence. He said pointedly that if I needed anything I should let him know. On many occasions, I did and his wife, whom I fondly called mummy, always invited me with smiles into the house.
The Venerable Ariyo was equally a disciplinarian who never spared the rod when we erred. I remember like it was just yesterday, an incident in the school in 1963–a day the students went on a rampage, in protest Against being served a dinner without meat .In their fit of anger, the students trooped out in the dead of night chanting unprintable war songs demanding that Pa Ariyo should be transferred. I became excited as I took the scenery as fun and joined the unruly crowd to raise dust against him. Incredibly, it never crossed my mind that I was doing something bad against someone that took me as his son.
When the uproar subsided the following day, late Pa Ariyo vented his anger on those of us he regarded as his children. He could not understand why we should be part of the needless protest to unseat him. He invited six of us to his residence, and in our innocence we thought we were going to have breakfast with him as usual to compensate for what triggered the wild protest the previous night. We were wrong! The Venerable had reserved ‘koboko’ canes ; in his anger gave each of us six strokes of the cane. It was the first time my buttock experienced the wrath of a rod as a growing child.
Papa Ariyo, like a father, blamed us for joining the protesters, more so when they were singing abusive songs against him. That was a lesson I would never forget; this taught me never to join a crowd to do evil. We learnt later that our seniors used us as pawns to protest against the principal noted for his Spartan discipline, and that they only latched onto the issue of no meat as a cover.
After that incident, I became wiser and late Pa Ariyo encouraged me to take active interest in sports both in athletics and football. I was among the first eleven of the soccer team at Olofin Grammar School, Idanre. And following my brilliant performance at the WASCE, he encouraged me to follow him to Ilesa Grammar School, Ilesa for my Higher School Certificate. Undoubtedly, this sharpened my interest in sports till today–of course, I ended up being the captain of the school football team for two years.
Pa Ariyo was inspiring, dedicated and helpful. Overall, the great teacher and character-builder was a person I wish everyone had had the opportunity to meet during his eventful and impactful lifetime.
Folu Olamiti, a Media Consultant wrotes from Abuja. [myad]
The Vice President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was sacked by President Robert Mugabe and fled the country to an unknown destination has vowed to return to power in Zimbabwe but did not mention when. Emmerson Mnangagwa Zimbabwe said that the ruling ZANU-PF party “is not personal property for you and your wife to do as you please.” Mnangagwa emphasised, in an angry five-page statement that he would return to Zimbabwe to lead the party members. Mnangagwa, who is nicknamed “the Crocodile” due to his ruthless personality, was the foremost contender to succeed the 93 year old President Mugabe, but his abrupt removal appeared to clear the way for Grace to move in to take over from her husband as president. The vow by the sacked and runaway Vice President to fight back marked a new level of political instability in Zimbabwe, where Mugabe, who is the world’s oldest head of state and is in increasingly frail health, has ruled unopposed for decades. The sacked number two said: “(ZANU-PF) is now a party controlled by undisciplined, egotistical and self-serving minnows who derive their power not from the people and party but from only two individuals in the form of the First Family.” Mnangagwa said that Mugabes acted as if they were “demi-gods,” serving only their own interests. The 75 year old sacked Vice President had been one of the president’s closest allies since Mugabe took power in 1980 after leading the fight against British rule. He was sacked following weeks of public clashes with Mugabe and Grace. After his outburst on Wednesday, the ruling party kicked Mnagagawa out of its ranks. “The politburo has unanimously expelled former vice president and second secretary of ZANU PF Comrade ED Mnagagawa”, said party spokesman Simon Khaya Moyo. “We dealt with him and hope we can deal with others who were conspirators alongside him,” President Mugabe told thousands of cheering supporters in Harare on Wednesday. He said Mnangagwa “was lacking supreme discipline which we should show at the top.” Mnangagwa said he had viewed his relationship with Mugabe as like between a father and son, and that he had even acted as Mugabe’s personal bodyguard. But in his statement, he described Mugabe as “one stubborn individual who believes he is entitled to rule this country until death.” Mnangagwa did not reveal which country he was in, but said he had been forced to leave due to “incessant threats.” On Saturday, Grace Mugabe was jeered at a rally in second city Bulawayo in front of the president. She shouted back at the hecklers: “If you have been paid to boo me, boo, go ahead… I don’t care, I am powerful.” State media said the jeering was by Mnangagwa’s supporters. “I don’t think there’ll be reconciliation — both Mnangagwa and Mugabe have crossed the Rubicon,” Derek Matyszak, an analyst at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies, told AFP. “Does it mean he’s going to encourage people to take to the streets? We’ll have to see.” Grace Mugabe, who is 41 years younger than her husband, has three children with the president and is often accused of extravagant spending on clothes and travel, as well as involvement in corrupt land deals. In her political ambitions, she is thought to be backed by “G-40,” a group of young activists of the under-40 generation that has earned a reputation for aggression. Grace was granted diplomatic immunity in South Africa in August after she allegedly assaulted a model at an expensive Johannesburg hotel where the couple’s two sons were staying. On Wednesday, Chris Mutsvangwa, chairman of the independence war veterans’ association, which is seen as in Mnangagwa’s camp, shrugged off suggestions that the group could topple the president. “We do not subscribe to coups,” he said at a briefing in Johannesburg, describing Grace Mugabe’s position as a “coup by marriage certificate… we have to resist it.” Mugabe is due to stand in elections again next year and has given no indication that he will step down soon. No one has yet been named to replace Mnangagwa as the government’s number two, though ZANU-PF is due to hold its annual congress next month. Source; AFP. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari, today, Thursday, convened Armed Forces Council Meeting to consider matters of great concern to the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Council Meeting was last held on July 17, 2014 during the Goodluck Jonathan administration The Armed Forces Council was established by CAP A20 of Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and Section 4 of the Armed Forces Act to among other things, be responsible under the general authourity of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces for command, discipline and administration of, and for all other matters related to the Armed Forces. At the meeting of the Council today, Thursday, in the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari, said that it is aimed at considering matters of great concern to the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Some of the matters considered at the meeting include the ratifications of the National Defence Policy 2017 (Revised), Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service Officers 2017 (Revised) and Harmonized Terms and Condition of Service Soldiers/Ratings/Armen 2017 (Revised) amongst others. The Council also considered several transformations in terms of development as well as security challenges that have taken place in Nigeria. It is believed that the ratification of these documents will enable the Armed Forces cope with the ever changing contemporary security challenges. It will also help to enhance welfare, command, discipline and administration of the Armed Forces as well as policy framework governing the conduct of security and defence in Nigeria. [myad]
The Controller General of the Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), Ja’afaru Ahmed, has lamented the lack of adequate care for over 65,000 prison inmates across the country. Ja’afar Ahmed, who spoke today, Thursday, at a flag-off ceremony of free distribution of drugs and other medical supplies to inmates, said that the Service is facing a lot of challenges. One of such challenges, according to the NPS boss, is lack of motivation for personnel. Another challenge, he said, is the fact that the prisoners are not being properly catered for. “We have not been able to provide for them in terms of their basic needs like medicare, blankets, beddings and even feeding.” He said that for several years, most prisons had suffered scarcity of drugs, with prison warders and wardresses contributing their personal money to procure drugs for some of the inmates. Ja’afar Ahmed said that the coming of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, has enhanced the service, adding that the drugs would be appropriately distributed across the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). “We have been able to intervene in the various challenges that have confronted us and if you travel across the prisons in the country, you will find one project or the other being put in place. We have been able to change the environment of some prisons entirely and provide logistics. We have been able also to do promotions and provide other welfare services for officers and men of the service. “Today is important for many reasons for the fact that for the first time in many years we have been able to purchase drugs for the inmates of the prison service. “The distribution of these drugs will be done in all the 36 states of the federation and the FCT but it will be distributed based on the number of inmates in each formation. “While others have a very high number of inmates, some states have lesser numbers. For instance, Kaduna State as at Monday had 2,675 inmates and that is why they will be one of the states with the highest number of drugs.” [myad]
The Kaduna State High court, presided by Justice Esther Lolo, has set free, 10 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shiite, who have been standing trial for protest in Kaduna following the Zaria massacre of December 2015. Delivering judgement in the “no case” submission put forward by the defense lawyers, Justice Lolo absolved them of all the five-count charges brought against them. In upholding the no case submission, Justice Esther Lolo ruled in favor of the 10 members of the Islamic Movement who were arraigned before her in 2016 for the alleged offences of Criminal Conspiracy, Unlawful Assembly, Rioting, Disturbance of Public Peace and Causing Grievous Hurt. When the matter came up in July 2017 after all the prosecution witnesses had testified and the prosecution had closed its case, Maxwell Kyon. who led Ummishetu Shehu and Martins Joseph, raised a no case submission. He urged the Court rule that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against the defendants, requiring them to enter a defence in the matter.
File Photo: Shia Muslims march through the streets of the northern Nigerian city of Kano
According to him, the prosecution had failed to prove the essential ingredients of the offences alleged to have been committed. He urged the court to discharge the accused persons and acquit them of the offences for which they were standing trial. Isiaka Abdullahi, Deputy Director of Public Prosecution, in his response, urged the Court to rule that at this stage of the trial, all the court was called upon to do was to decide whether or not a prima facie case had been made out against the defendants for which they would be required to enter their defence. He argued that the Prosecution through the witnesses it called had established a prima facie case against the defendants. He hence prayed the court to discountenance the no case submission made on defendants’ behalf and call upon the defendants to enter their defence. In the ruling, Justice Esther Lolo today, Thursday, upheld the no case submission and discharged, acquitted the defendants. The Judge held that the entire evidence of the Prosecution was not direct as it failed to point to any of the defendants as being one of the perpetrators of any of the offences for which the defendants stood trial. By this judgement, the defendants are not only freed, but have been absolved of any culpability in the commission of any of the offences for which they stood trial. [myad]
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The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has said that some of the pains that were associated with some of the CBN’s policies have now become major gains in the nation’s economy.
President Muhammadu Buhari, today, 
The Controller General of the Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), Ja’afaru Ahmed, has lamented the lack of adequate care for over 65,000 prison inmates across the country.
