The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, John Onaiyekan, the Chief Imam of Apo legislatives quarter’s Juma’at Mosque, Mouhammed Khalid and other prominent Nigerians, today, Tuesday, joined the BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group in a march for the yet-to-be-recovered female students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno, abducted by members of Boko Haram on April 14, 2014.

Archbishop Onaiyekan told news men at the Federal Secretariat junction of the Presidential Villa, in the course of about three kilometres trek which began from the Unity Fountain in the Central Business District of Abuja: “life is important. We have still almost 200 girls out there missing for about three years. So I feel concerned not only them about the remaining Chibok schoolgirls but also maybe running into hundreds of other Nigerians who are missing, carried away by kidnappers”, the Catholic Cardinal stated.

“Their families are languishing. We came to draw the attention of the whole nation. We are glad that we are able to carry out this simple exercise of walking down the streets from the Unity Fountain to here. And we thank government for making police available to protect us.

“This is not the first time I am joining in this kind of walking. I was here a year ago. At that time, most of the Sambisa forest was still under the control of Boko Haram and when we were marching, we were hoping that our girls were somewhere in the hands of the Boko Haram within those premises.

“Today, the situation is different. We have been told that the whole of the Sambisa forest has been completely cleared. The question we are asking now is: Where are our girls? They cannot disappear.

“Those who are responsible for taking away these girls, whether they are Boko Haram or not, they have the first major responsibility to tell us what has happened to our girls and then whether they are alive or they are dead, whether they are around or they have been sold off. They have the responsibility to tell not only the parents and the family of the girls but the rest of Nigerians.

“And we believe too that the government ought to step up action in this direction. That is what is bringing us here and I believe the rest of the world has been waiting to hear and they can’t understand that we lose people like that and nothing seems to be happening”, he said.

“One of the major reasons why I came too is because this matter concerns me personally, and that is why I brought my brother here. The Holy father was taken away by kidnappers over a year ago and up to now, we have had no information about him.

“Now that touches me and I am sure there are many Nigerians who are suffering the same thing from the loss of members of their families. And so, this march is not just about Chibok girls, it is about the whole idea that Nigerians can just disappear, missing and we are not able to trace them, either dead or alive.”

The Islamic cleric, Sheikh Khalid, told journalists also that he agreed with the position of Archbishop Onaiyekan, adding: “I joined this action because I want to equally send the message that His Eminence is sending to Nigerians and to the government that we can never allow the terrorists to win the war.

“If they get away free with those girls, then they have relatively won the war. That is what we can’t afford. And also, we are tired of having Nigerians kidnapped, abducted and just like that. We want more actions from our government.

“It is true that some clerics like myself have been killed in the course of the insurgence of Boko Haram. We are not saying that the government is doing nothing, we are telling them to do more.”

Among those who marched for the Chibok girls were the conveners of the BBOG group, Aisha Yesufu and Oby Ezekwezeli.

The group began the seven-day global week of action activities on Friday last week.

Source: PREMIUM TIMES [myad]

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has warned that if the government of Muhammadu Buhari is not able to sustain the current fight against corruption, Nigeria will be in grave danger.

“If we are not able to sustain the trouble against corruption, we will end up in a very, very bad way as a nation.”

Osinbajo, who spoke today, Tuesday, when he received in audience, members of the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers at the Presidential villa. Abuja, expressed worry over the Defence contract of $15 billion which was frittered away in people’s pockets, saying that it is half of  Nigeria’s foreign reserves.

The Vice President said that the fight against corruption is a difficult fight and that “we have seen it in so many different ways that at almost every state, corruption fights back and fights very fiercely.”

Professor Osinbajo however cautioned: “we should be able to examine our priorities because for us, corruption is not a moral issue; it is an existential issue. To a large extent, it will determine whether we will survive as a corporate whole because of the way people feel that when I get into an office I will go after the resources of the state, and I will go after it in the most vicious and the most reckless manner that is possible.”

He advised that in response to the malaise of corruption, the intellectual elites, whether religious, political in particular or academic elites must stand up for what is right.

Earlier, the leader of the Association, Professor Godwin Nwabueze Okeke, appealed to the Vice President to declare open the forthcoming 50^th Conference of the Association which is taking place in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka in June, 2017.

He said that the Association is solidly in support of the Federal Government and is ready to assist in whichever way needed.

Also, today at a separate meeting, Vice President Osinbajo restated that the Federal Government is keen in its desire to support the establishment of a Chamber of Commerce for young people across the Niger Delta region to drive creativity and entrepreneurship.

He said, when he met with a delegation of Niger Delta Expatriate Mentorship Committee an initiative led by the Minister of Niger Delta, Mr. Uguru Usani Uguru in his office, that the expatriate mentorship scheme which is in partnership with UNESCO is in alignment with the commitment of the Buhari Presidency for the region and is capable of catalyzing development in the region.

He observed that the international mentorship/internship will expose beneficiaries to international standard, best business practice and technology.

the leader of the organization and Chief Mentorship Officer, Mr. Chika Olejeme said that under the National Expatriate Mentorship Strategy, selected youths will be sent abroad for international mentorship and internship and that 30 countries in Europe and the United States of America have already signed up to the programme. [myad]

Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, has made it clear that there is no judicial gang-up against the Federal Government’s battle with corruption in the country.

Justice Onnoghen, who spoke to news men shortly after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that the judiciary is behind the fight against corruption with all sense of responsibility.

“If there was steam then it wouldn’t happen without the participation of the judiciary. So, if there is losing of steam you should not only equate it to the judiciary.

“The fight against corruption has lost no steam. It is not correct. Now, you should know one thing: two people will always have a quarrel. They may be three or four or one hundred. All the parties to that quarrel will always have different stories to tell.

“By the way, our system is fashioned and designed and operated, when you go to a court of law, you cannot have a drawn game.

“There must be a winner and there must be a loser. In our system, a loser has the chance of appealing to the highest court eventually.

“So, you cannot say because the government or any agency has lost a case in the high court, you have lost a case and the fight is losing steam.” [myad]

The Senate has warned National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to drop plans to extradite Senator Buruji Kashamu to the United States.

The lawmakers asked the EFCC and other agencies involved in the extradition plan to drop the idea and allow the Nigerian judiciary to handle his case.

The position of the senate stemmed from the report of the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions which was presented today, Tuesday, by Chairman of the committee, Sen. Sam Anyanwu, at plenary.

Presenting the report, Anyanwu recalled that Buruji had petitioned the Senate, alleging plans to extradite him to the U.S. over alleged drug-related offences.

“A law firm called TRLP represented by one Prince Ajibola Oluyele said he wrote the petition in his capacity as the Solicitor to Sen. Buruji for the intervention of the Senate.

“This he said was in view of continued breach of the 1999 Constitution by the NDLEA in collaboration with some politicians to extradite him to the U.S. for prosecution for alleged drug offences when he was in the U.S.

“The solicitor said the senator has no case to answer in the US or UK, and that the whole thing was a case of mistaken identity.”

Anyanwu said that after thorough consideration of the petition, the committee recommended that courts in Nigeria be allowed to handle various aspects of the case before them without interference.

The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, thereafter, put the recommendation to a voice vote and it was unanimously adopted by the lawmakers. [myad]