Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris has said that there will be no celebration to mark President Bola Tinubu’s one year in office. The minister, who addressed newsmen today, May 22, emphasized that the anniversary would be observed in low-key. Mohammed Idris said that the one year anniversary is being observed without any form of celebration due to the mood of the nation. “There won’t be any form of celebrations; there will be sectoral briefings.”
The Nigerian Army authorities have dismissed three soldiers who were arrested by the police for armed robbery and kidnapping. The suspects were identified as LCPL Abdul Musa, CPL Innocent Okwoli and CPL West Isaac. Sources in the military said that the dismissed soldiers were arrested last month by policemen during an operation with some civilians. They were then handed over to the army authorities for own investigation. The soldiers were said to have been charged, tried, found guilty and subsequently dismissed from service in line with the provision of the Armed Forces Act Caps A20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. The affected army officers have been returned to the police for further action. “The soldiers were arrested by men of the Nigerian Police Force for the offence of armed robbery and kidnapping. After their arrest, the police handed them over to the army authorities for investigation. One of the sources said: “during the course of investigation, it was observed that the soldiers were perpetual criminals who always robbed trucks and diverted goods being carried to a wearhouse where they do sell them. They also kidnapped the drivers and others. They always carried out the operations alongside some civilians.
“Furthermore, they were summarily tried and dismissed and were also handed over to the police as the offences they committed were pure civil related offences for further investigation and prosecution.”
An academic egghead and member of the Northern Elders Forum, Professor Usman Yusuf has described the economic team put together by President Bola Tinubu as tax collectors. “The economic team, to me, looks more like tax collectors than economists. “Taxation does not grow the economy, only production does.” Answering questions on a Channels TV programme: “Sunday Politics,” Professor Usman said that instead of bringing hope to Nigerians, Tinubu’s administration has made Nigerians more hopeless in the last one year. Professor Usman, who is a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, insisted: “People have lost hope. “It pains me to see our people lining up to collect cups of palliatives. “Renewed Hope has turned into hopelessness. People have lost hope. “From next week, they will start telling us their propaganda. “What have they done to benefit the ordinary people? “In a span of one year, they have brought millions of people back into multidimensional poverty. They have pushed millions more children out of school because their parents cannot pay their school fees.”
Iranian President, Ebrahim Raeisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have died in a helicopter crash in East Azarbaijan Province.
The helicopter was carrying a delegation, including East Azarbaijan Governor, Malek Rahmati, Friday Prayers leader Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem and a member of the president’s bodyguard team Mahdi Mousavi, all of whom died in the crash.
The helicopter was returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev when it crashed in the Dizmar forest.
Following the crash yesterday, May 19, the cabinet held an emergency session, headed by Vice President Mohammad Mokhber.
The incident has sent shockwaves across Iran, and the country is in mourning.
An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway, with bad weather and fog believed to have contributed to the tragic event.
Professor Wole Soyinka’s Poem, titled: “The Man Died,” revolves around the theme of moral courage and the necessity for people to speak out against injustice, with metaphorical meaning that silence in the face of oppression and tyranny is a form of complicity. The titular phrase: “The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny,” encapsulates the idea that failing to resist or speak out against injustice causes a metaphorical death of one’s moral integrity and humanity. But here in this piece, the man actually died physically and practically, after going through some kind of silent battles with unseen. He is Alhaji Abdullahi Shuaibu Simpa, a retired police officer, a gentleman to the core and lover of the people around his vicinity and the world. He actually was a quiet and self secluded personality, but those who were close to him know that he was worth more than a passing glance. Alhaji, as his younger siblings and some friends used to call him, served the nation mainly in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Nigeria Police Force. He was one of the few police officers who came out of the service clean. He practically distanced himself from anything bribery and corruption. As a matter of fact, he retired as a senior police officer, and landed in poverty because he did not get any accumulated bribed millions of currencies to fall back on. He only managed to develop a small plot of land he acquired from a family member shortly after his retirement. He pulled some resources together, including his retirement benefits to erect a portable three bedrooms in which he lived for nearly twenty years before he died. His later days were made somewhat comfortable by his in-law, an Igbo man who married one of his younger sisters. The Igbo man was he who installed borehole in his small compound at Agassa in Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State. It was the Igbo man who bought a car for him, the car he was cleaning up a couple of days ago and had a dangerous fall: the fall that marked the last time he spoke and recognized where he was. He virtually passed out, of no return. In fact, on his return from a morning devotion in a nearby Mosque at about 5.30am that day, he went into his room to change into boxer, came out to clean up the car. While doing the cleaning, he fell and hit his head on the cemented elevation. And that was all!!! From then, he could neither talk nor do any other thing, including eating. He practically became unconscious. He remained unconscious until Monday, May 13, 2024 when he finally gave up the ghost at the Reference Hospital in Okene. In fact, that was not the first time he experienced sudden attack. Over 15 years ago, strange tropical sore seized his left leg shortly after his return from Saudi Arabia where he performed pilgrimage. The stubborn sore refused to go despite all kinds of medications, both orthodox and traditional/herbal treatments. It was by the special grace of God that the strange tropical sore, which was already disfiguring his leg, healed up. Not long after the healing, about eight years ago, Alhaji Abdullahi also collapsed in the bathroom of his house, leading to partial stroke. The people around him; his wife, one of his younger sisters and her husband (yours humbly), as well as his brothers within reach, rose to the challenge. With prayers and constant monitoring as well as proper herbal treatments, he lived through the partial stroke, to the extent that he could move around effortlessly. Alhaji Abdullahi, indeed, did not present a man coming from Force service. He was a complete epitome of gentleman; so gentle and almost always in happy mood so much that you could not define his moment of trial in the face of natural and man-made challenges. He was equally submissive to the opinions of even his younger ones, including his wife as if he admitted that everyone was right except him. His gentle nature and “let-me-not-disturb-them” attitude probably contributed to the point at which no one could sense that he needed a helping hand in any situation. Help always came from those who kept close watch on him when his body system kind of showed, and the body protested, so to say. When the message of his death came to my wife, Nurse Hajara Ohunene Shuaibu Simpa, his younger sister, in the early part of the evening of May 13, the first word that came forth from me was, “Yes, he tried.” Of course, having followed his health challenges, having had the privilege of being one of those who stood by him, I meant every word when I said that Alhaji Abdullahi tried. He proved beyond any doubt that he was a MAN; a man who refused to bow to the machinations of the evil ones; a man who lived in the midst of lions, leopards and hyenas but refused to be bended. The death that knocked on his door on May 13 was definitely of God. At close to 80, with six children, almost all of them graduates, even with one of them in possession of Masters; with a life free of envy, rancour towards none and a life of happiness even in odd moments, Alhaji Abdullahi can be said to have been a fulfilled man. And above all, his strict attachment to his creator, Allah SWA, proved the point that obviously, he left this world on May 13 a very happy, fulfilled and satisfied man. May the Almighty Allah forgive all his shortcomings, the ones he did intentionally and the ones he didn’t know he did, and admit him in Aljannatu Firdausi.
Pastor Isaac Oyedepo, the son of the founder of Living Faith Church, popularly known as Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, has said that there are pastors and church members that are still hooked to pornography, as he did before. “I think people feel there are things we shouldn’t talk about, but today there are some pastors and church members still struggling with it. In a podcast titled: “Confession Box,” which was hosted by Pastor Luke Adeboye, a son of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Pastor Oyedepo said: “you may be anointed, seeing signs and wonders, but it does not mean you are standing right. “A lot of people still struggle with it and I think of somebody who had struggled with it and had walked up to me and told me how to come out, I would have come out quickly.” Pastor Oyedepo told Pastor Adeboye during the podcast: “my confessions are good ones that will help people. I struggled with pornography before. “I remembered how it started. We travelled to one country, and I was meant to be in the room alone. “I switched on the TV, and that’s it. But God brought me out of it very quickly.” The Pastor recalled an old saying that “if it’s working it means you are standing right, but I found out that it’s not always the case. “There are times I found out I wasn’t right, but grace and mercy found me. “For the sake of someone who is genuine in the congregation, God can bypass you to meet the person. “This is my confession.” Pastor Adeboye, the father, is the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Source: The Eagle online.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has attributed the frequent disruptions in electricity supply in Nigeria to the fact that Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) are technically insolvent. Chairman of the Commission, Engineer Sanusi Garba, who made this known at the 8th Africa Energy Market Place 2024 in Abuja yesterday, May 17, said that the electricity companies are unable to pay for invoices sent to them from the electricity market and invest in network expansion projects. The NERC boss added that the poor financial state of the DisCos makes it difficult for them to raise the needed capital to invest. “Today when you look at distribution companies, they are clearly and technically insolvent, and you also want them to raise capital in terms of debt or equity. It’s a herculean task.”
President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has given assurance that Nigeria will completely stop importing fuel before the end of next month, June 2024. He said that his refinery can meet not only Nigeria but also West Africa’s petrol and diesel needs. “Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of a litre.” Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, Dangote expressed optimism about transforming Africa’s energy landscape. He said that his refinery has the capacity to meet West Africa’s petrol and diesel needs, as well as the continent’s aviation fuel demand. According to the billionaire entrepreneur, the feat will be made possible courtesy of the laid-down plans of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude oil producers, has over the years, relied heavily on imported petrol to serve its burgeoning population. However, the story may be about to change with Dangote refinery commencing operations. The multi-billion dollar facility has already flooded the market with diesel, crashing the price of the commodity ₦1,000 per litre. Source: THE PUNCH.
The National Judicial Council (NJC) has resolved to warn three Judges and suspend their promotions to higher positions for a period of time over alleged misconducts. A statement today, May 17, by the Director of Information of NJC, Soji Oye said that the decision was taken at the Council’s plenary of 105th meeting. The statement gave the names of the erring judges as Justices Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, G. B. Brikins-Okolosi of Delta State High Court and Amina Shehu of Yobe High Court. The statement said that Ekwo is being warned for abuse of discretionary power of a Judge by wrongly granting an ex parte order in Suit No FHC/ABJ/C/626/2023 Juliet Ebere Nwadi Gbaka & 2 Ors V Seplat Energy Plc & 12 Ors. He is stopped from being elevated to a higher Bench for a period of two years. National growth LS Brikins-Okolosi of Delta State High Court was warned for failure to deliver judgment within stipulated period in Joseph Anene Okafor Vs Skye Bank, Suit No A/94/2010 after parties had filed and adopted their final Written Addresses. Brikins-Okolosi will also not be elevated to a higher Bench for a period of three years. The Council cautioned Justice Amina Shehu of Yobe State High Court for issuing Writ of Possession, Conferring Title on the Defendant in Suit No YBS/HC/NNR/1cv/2020 when there was no subsisting judgement of any court to enable His Lordship issue the Writ. The NJC said that the council at the meeting considered two reports of its two Preliminary Complaints Assessment Committees that filtered 35 petitions written against judges of the Federal and State High Courts and decided to empanel eight Committees to further investigate the petitions that were found meritorious by the Committees. It said that some petitions against various Judges were dismissed for lack of merit, evidence of misconduct, subjudice or that they were matters that could be appealed. The dismissed petitions were against Justices A. M. Liman, A. A. Okeke, D. E. Osiagor of the Federal High Court, S. B. Belgore, Bello Kawu both of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Justices O. A. Chijioke, A. E. Akeredolu and Kadi M. U. El-Mainari who sat on Election Petition Tribunal in Edo State; Justices Paulinus Aneke of High Court Enugu State and C. Anya of Abia State. Others are Justices M. A. Ikpambese and W. I. Kpochi both of Benue High Court, T. E. Chukwuemeka Chikeka Chief Judge and B. C. Iheka of Imo High Court, Rose Godwin Soji of Nasarawa High Court, T. J. Yakubu, High Court Taraba , W. N. Danagogo and Chinwendu Nworgu, High Court Rivers State, C. C. Okaa, High Court Anambra State and Hon Justice Abdullahi Sulyman High Court, Kogi. It said that the council also deliberated on the notification of retirements of three Judicial Officers, including that of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Olukayode Ariwoola and notification of death of three Judges of the Federal and State Courts. Council also considered the recommendation of its Interview Committee on Appointment of Judicial Officers of all Superior Courts of Record in Nigeria and resolved to recommend 86 Judicial Officers for appointment to the Court of Appeal, High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Sharia Courts of Appeal and Customary Courts of Appeal of States in Nigeria. They are 22 Justices of the Court of Appeal, including Justices Kwahar Polycarp Terna, Ruqayat Oremeyi Ayoola, Eleojo Eneche, Asma’u Akanbi-Yusuf, Abdullahi Muhammad Liman, Abdu Dogo, Fadawu Umaru, Ishaq Mohammed Sani, Zainab Bage Abubakar, Abdulazeez M. Anka and Nnamdi Okwy Dimgba. Others are Justices Nwoye Tochukwu, Nwabunkeonye Onwosi, Okorowe Uwaezuok, Ngozika Okaisabor, Ntong Festus Ntong, Nehizena Afolabi, Nyesom-Wike Suzzette, Babajide Lawal-Akapo, Akinyemi Abiodun Azeem, Oyewumi Oyebiola, Olukayode Adeniyi. The 12 judges for High Court, FCT are Ademuyiwa Olakunle Oyeyipo, Bamodu Odunayo Olutomi, Anumaenwe Godwin Iheabunike, Odo Celestine Obinna, Hauwa Lawal Gummi. Others are Abdurahman Usman, Buetnaan Mandy Bassi, Sarah Benjamin Inesu Avoh, Maryan Iye Yusuf, Ariwoola Oluwakemi Victoria, Lesley Nkesi Belema Wike and Munirat Ibrahim Tanko. Seven judges for Imo State High Court are Akowundu Cletus Ndubuisi, Uchenna Mary Njoku, Chibuogwu Ojiugo Chukwumaeze, Ononogbo Chidi Linus, Adaego Peace Nosiri, Emeka Ozoma Orafu, Mathew Chinedu Ijezie. Six Judges for Bauchi State High Court are Amin Umar Ilelah, Aliyu Bin Idris, Ahmed Shuaibu Ningi, Shafa’u Ladan Yusuf, Abdussalam Idris Waziri and Kawu A. Yerima. Three Justices for Taraba State High Court are Hamidu Audu, Bibonga Jeniffer Nauma, Joel Daniel Ubandoma. The thirteen Judges for Lagos State High Court are Sunmonu Tunde Bashiru, Azeez Fimisola Augusta, Alebiosu Olawale Lawal, Adewale Russel Musiliu, Popoola Oluwatosin Ajose, Anjorin-Ajose Tanimola Abdulwaheed and Muyideen Abdul-Raheem Tejumade. Others are George Alfred Akingbola, Balogun Adegboyega Ganiu, Shonubi Adenike Kudirat, Badejo-Okusanya Yewande Jokotola, Layinka Oyeladun Amope and Ojuromi Nalirat Olayinka Oluwatosin. Four Judges for Kogi State High Court are Ajesola Joseph Sunday, Ojoma Rachael Haruna, Kadiri Badama and Ezema Beatrice Ada. Two judges for Jigawa State High Court are Mohammad El-Usman and Nilfa Abdullahi Gambo. Five Kadis for Sharia Court of Appeal Bauchi State are Ishaku Magaji, Abdurrahman Hassan Sabo, Bello Mohammed Sambowal, Muhyiddeen Mohammed and Mahmoud Idris Shehu Tiyin. Five Kadis for Sharia Court of Appeal, Kogi State are Muhammad Muhammad Bello, Okino Isah Saidu, Yakubu Adavenge Abbas, Shaibu Ridwan Aliyu and Idris Alhaji Abdullahi. One Kadi for Sharia Court of Appeal Jigawa is Mukhtar Adam. Three Judges for Imo State Customary Court of Appeal are Everyman Ezenna Eleanya, Ofoha Sylvesta Uchenna and Ibeh Rosemond Oluchi. Two Judges for Customary Court of Appeal, Taraba are Esther Tata and Benjamin Samuila Bawage. One judge for the Customary Court of Kogi State is Maryann Oziohu Otaru. The NJC said that the recommended candidates are expected to be sworn-in after the approval of the NJC recommendations to the President and their respective State Governors. Source: NAN.
About 4,220 Nigerian Muslims have already been airlifted to Saudi Arabia for this year’s pilgrimage in Makkah and Medina. The Hajj rites are scheduled to begin from around June 15, 2024. Information reaching us at Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper said that the airlift of the intending pilgrims, which was inaugurated in Kebbi State by Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday, May 15, is being carried out by Flynas airlines, MaxAir and other airlines.
The latest airlift, which was made this evening, May 17, involved 525 intending pilgrims from Bauchi State in the 10th flight so far.
All the intending pilgrims from Kebbi State have been airlifted to the Holy land already.
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The latest airlift, which was made this evening, May 17, involved 525 intending pilgrims from Bauchi State in the 10th flight so far.
The Man, Abdullahi Simpa, Dies, By Yusuf Ozi-Usman
Professor Wole Soyinka’s Poem, titled: “The Man Died,” revolves around the theme of moral courage and the necessity for people to speak out against injustice, with metaphorical meaning that silence in the face of oppression and tyranny is a form of complicity. The titular phrase: “The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny,” encapsulates the idea that failing to resist or speak out against injustice causes a metaphorical death of one’s moral integrity and humanity.
But here in this piece, the man actually died physically and practically, after going through some kind of silent battles with unseen.
He is Alhaji Abdullahi Shuaibu Simpa, a retired police officer, a gentleman to the core and lover of the people around his vicinity and the world. He actually was a quiet and self secluded personality, but those who were close to him know that he was worth more than a passing glance.
Alhaji, as his younger siblings and some friends used to call him, served the nation mainly in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Nigeria Police Force. He was one of the few police officers who came out of the service clean. He practically distanced himself from anything bribery and corruption. As a matter of fact, he retired as a senior police officer, and landed in poverty because he did not get any accumulated bribed millions of currencies to fall back on.
He only managed to develop a small plot of land he acquired from a family member shortly after his retirement. He pulled some resources together, including his retirement benefits to erect a portable three bedrooms in which he lived for nearly twenty years before he died.
His later days were made somewhat comfortable by his in-law, an Igbo man who married one of his younger sisters. The Igbo man was he who installed borehole in his small compound at Agassa in Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State. It was the Igbo man who bought a car for him, the car he was cleaning up a couple of days ago and had a dangerous fall: the fall that marked the last time he spoke and recognized where he was. He virtually passed out, of no return.
In fact, on his return from a morning devotion in a nearby Mosque at about 5.30am that day, he went into his room to change into boxer, came out to clean up the car. While doing the cleaning, he fell and hit his head on the cemented elevation. And that was all!!!
From then, he could neither talk nor do any other thing, including eating. He practically became unconscious.
He remained unconscious until Monday, May 13, 2024 when he finally gave up the ghost at the Reference Hospital in Okene.
In fact, that was not the first time he experienced sudden attack. Over 15 years ago, strange tropical sore seized his left leg shortly after his return from Saudi Arabia where he performed pilgrimage. The stubborn sore refused to go despite all kinds of medications, both orthodox and traditional/herbal treatments. It was by the special grace of God that the strange tropical sore, which was already disfiguring his leg, healed up.
Not long after the healing, about eight years ago, Alhaji Abdullahi also collapsed in the bathroom of his house, leading to partial stroke. The people around him; his wife, one of his younger sisters and her husband (yours humbly), as well as his brothers within reach, rose to the challenge. With prayers and constant monitoring as well as proper herbal treatments, he lived through the partial stroke, to the extent that he could move around effortlessly.
Alhaji Abdullahi, indeed, did not present a man coming from Force service. He was a complete epitome of gentleman; so gentle and almost always in happy mood so much that you could not define his moment of trial in the face of natural and man-made challenges. He was equally submissive to the opinions of even his younger ones, including his wife as if he admitted that everyone was right except him.
His gentle nature and “let-me-not-disturb-them” attitude probably contributed to the point at which no one could sense that he needed a helping hand in any situation. Help always came from those who kept close watch on him when his body system kind of showed, and the body protested, so to say.
When the message of his death came to my wife, Nurse Hajara Ohunene Shuaibu Simpa, his younger sister, in the early part of the evening of May 13, the first word that came forth from me was, “Yes, he tried.”
Of course, having followed his health challenges, having had the privilege of being one of those who stood by him, I meant every word when I said that Alhaji Abdullahi tried.
He proved beyond any doubt that he was a MAN; a man who refused to bow to the machinations of the evil ones; a man who lived in the midst of lions, leopards and hyenas but refused to be bended.
The death that knocked on his door on May 13 was definitely of God. At close to 80, with six children, almost all of them graduates, even with one of them in possession of Masters; with a life free of envy, rancour towards none and a life of happiness even in odd moments, Alhaji Abdullahi can be said to have been a fulfilled man. And above all, his strict attachment to his creator, Allah SWA, proved the point that obviously, he left this world on May 13 a very happy, fulfilled and satisfied man.
May the Almighty Allah forgive all his shortcomings, the ones he did intentionally and the ones he didn’t know he did, and admit him in Aljannatu Firdausi.