Just as hundreds of youths under the canopy of #OccupyNASS stormed the National Assembly earlier today, Tuesday, demanding the resignation of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki among others, supporters of Saraki staged a counter protest in the same National Assembly premises.

The saraki’s supporters, under the banner of #SaveOurNASS, stormed the protesting area with banners of Saraki and of the Speaker of the House of National Assembly Yakubu Dogara. Some other demonstrators carried placards with inscriptions: ‘Presidency, Stop the Harassment,’ ‘Say No! To Executive Impunity,’ ‘Presidency Stop Harassing Saraki,’ and ‘Saraki Must Stay.’

The two opposing groups met one another outside the National Assembly main gate, where the #OccupyNASS protesters had already staged a sit-in.

Their arrival, which upset some protesters part of the #OccupyNASS, resulted in a scuffle and led to #OccupyNASS members tearing the Saraki and Dogara banners into shreds.

It took the intervention of the police to separate the two groups from inflicting injuries on themselves even as  #OccupyNASS maintained that they would not allow the sponsored group to tarnish their public image.
#OccupyNigeria continued their sit-in after subduing pro-Saraki protesters and vowed to continue the protests until Saraki resigns from the Senate. [myad]

The Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Leo Irabor has said that the abducted Chibok girls are being held in Sambisa forest and that his men and officers are heading there to free them. He said also that some of the girls are being held in a location close to the Chad-Niger border.

“We think, from the intelligence available to us, that the remaining areas that we are working to move into, that are where we are hoping to be able to rescue the Chibok girls.”

The Commander maintained that while his forces advance in the Sambisa Forest, they are also running down other leads on the whereabouts of the Chibok girls.

“It’s a belief, but beyond that, we’re also getting some intelligence that they may be somewhere on the Niger-Lake Chad border areas,” he said.

Irabor who spoke in a CNN report on the ongoing counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations by the Nigerian military said that the intelligence surrounding the current location of the Chibok girls points to the Sambisa corridor, adding that there is need for more international support.

“The question of the Chibok girls remains a sore point in our history. The biometrics as it were of the Chibok girls are not known to us. Those are the issues which I believe are among the challenges.

The Commander assured that the military is working assiduously to ensure the rescue and safe return of the girls back to their families, saying: “we are working assiduously so that all of them are rescued and brought back to live in their communities.

“I think that the light is beginning to shine and in a short while we’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Irabor said. [myad]

Hundreds of protesting youths under the aegis of Occupy National Assembly, today, Tuesday, virtually shut down the National Assembly, demanding amongst others, the immediate resignation of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

The youths made up of various Civil Society Organizations and students, were also demanding that the federal lawmakers should immediately revisit the grey areas identified in the 2016 budget by President Muhammadu Buhari.

They also asked 36 senators who have so far collected their own exotic jeeps to return them immediately or face the wrath of Nigerians.

The protesters marched from the Unity Fountain within the Central Area of the city to the National Assembly, a journey of about two kilometers and forced their way to the main gate. They defied all security network mounted by regular and riot police officers.

The youths closed down the main gate thereby preventing staff, lawmakers and visitors from either entering or leaving the premises.

The protesters, armed with placards containing various inscriptions, including: “Saraki must go,” “Enough is Enough” and “Legislooting” among others, vowed to seal off the federal parliament for the initial three days to see whether their demands would be met.

They said they would resume a permanent protest that would paralyze all activities of the National Assembly until all their demands are fully met. [myad]

The presiding Judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Lokoja, found Daudu guilty on 77 out of the 208 count charged preferred against him bynthe Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The convict will however, spend two years in jail as the sentence on each of the 77 count will run concurrently.

During the trial that lasted five years, the prosecution, Wahab Shittu called 13 witnesses and tendered 47 evidences to prove his case against the convict.

The convict on other hand called seven defence witnesses through his counsel, Mr. O.J. Onaja (SAN) to prove his innocence.

But Justice Ekwo, in his judgment held that the prosecution has proved his case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted the defendant.

Daudu once served as the Caretaker Chairman of the Ogori/Mangogo Local Government Area of Kogi State between January and July 2008.

He has been standing trial alongside a former Commissioner for Agriculture in Kogi State, Albert Adesina since April, 2010.

The EFCC had charged the defendants for offences bordering on conspiracy, advanced fee fraud and money laundering to the tune of N1.4billion.

While co-defendant, Adesina was discharged and acquitted, Justice Ekwo sentenced Daudu to two years imprisonment on 77 counts.

Daudu was first arraigned in 2010 before Justice Adamu Bello of a Federal High Court in Abuja who was later transferred to the Lokoja Division of the Federal High Court.

Daudu and Adesina were re-arraigned twice before Justice Ekwo, on amended charges where the matter started de-novo. [myad]