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Malami’s extradition Suit hypocrisy of highest order – HURIWA

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Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Monday, described as a grand hypocrisy, the extradition suit by the Attorney General of the Federation, and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), against the detained Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Abba Kyari.
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement released to Newssphere on Monday said, “the AGF should know better as a law officer of the country that the case of Kyari is a fait accompli which means the suspended head of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team cannot be extradited to the United State since he is facing drug-related crimes brought against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency with the blessing of the Honourable Federal Attorney General when he as the Chief law officer of the federation could have authorised the extradition application to run its full course first. This was prearranged and predetermined long before this decision of the Federal High Court which reflected the sinister plot of the AGF to frustrate the actual extradition of the Borno born police officer to the USA”.
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, dismissed an application the Federal Government filed for permission to extradite Kyari to face trial over his alleged involvement with a notorious internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi.
But the court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the extradition application FG filed through the office of the AGF as “incompetent and bereft of merit”.
Justice Ekwo held that the AGF being the Chief Law Officer of the country, ought to be aware that the Extradition Act, forbade the surrendering of a defendant that is already facing trial before a competent court in the country.
Onwubiko said, “The grand hypocrisy and shenanigan of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) in the DCP Abba Kyari’s case is now obvious.
“The action of the AGF is condemnable since he deliberately filed another matter against Kyari before seeking his extradition when as a lawyer he ought to know that it is a fait accompli since under the law you can’t extradite someone already facing a separate charge in Nigeria.
“It is important to ask the justice minister why he didn’t file the extradition suit about a year after Kyari was declared wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation until the NDLEA imbroglio. The whole drama, Nigerians know, are planned script. HURIWA insists that justice be served on the matter to deter corrupt policemen like Kyari still in the force. The suspended DCP must not be protected but duly prosecuted. It is shocking that this same Attorney General of President Buhari is often in a mad rush to extradite Southerners wanted in the USA but had to contrive a safe landing route for their man Abba Kyari”, he stated.

Court rejects FG’s request to extradite Abba Kyari to US

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…Says request lacks merit, competent

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, dismissed an application the Federal Government filed for permission to extradite the detained Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP, Abba Kyari, to the United States of America, USA, to face trial over his alleged involvement with a notorious internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi.

The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the extradition application FG filed through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, was “incompetent and bereft of merit”.

Justice Ekwo held that the AGF, Malami, SAN, being the Chief Law Officer of the country, ought to be aware that the Extradition Act, forbade the surrendering of a defendant that is already facing trial before a competent court in the country.

The court wondered why the AGF approached the court with the extradition application when he was equally the one that issued FIAT to the National Drug Law Enforcement, NDLEA, to prosecute DCP Kyari on drug related charges.

“The AGF could not say that he was not aware of the pending proceeding against the defendant which was entered against him by the NDLEA”, Justice Ekwo added.

He said the law was clear that Kyari, having been docked before a court of competent jurisdiction in the country, “shall not be surrendered until such case has been discharged either by his conviction or acquittal”.

While FG maintained that it had met all condition precedents for the suspended DCP to be sent to the US to answer to a criminal charge that is pending against him, on the other hand, Kyari, challenged the legal competence of the extradition request against him.

ASUU continues indefinite strike

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Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) has agreed to continue indefinite strike.

This decision was reached at the ASUU’s National Executive Council(NEC) meeting which started Sunday evening and ended on Monday morning at ASUU’s national headquarters, University of Abuja.

“Various chapters of ASUU have, sequel to the stalemate, held their congresses to take a position on the matter. And reports from across the country post an overwhelming resolution to press on with indefinite and total strike”, the statement reads.

Again, the hope of many Nigeria public universities students have been dashed.

ASUU had declared the commencement of a strike on Monday, February 14, 2022, at the University of Lagos. Today marked the 196th since the strike commenced.

Education ministry kicks

Earlier, the spokesperson of the Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, in an interview with The PUNCH, explained that the government had taken all possible steps to end the strike.

He said, “As regards the next steps, the government has already inaugurated a committee to harmonise the IPPIS, UTAS, and UP3. This will ensure that the government will pay with only one payment platform that will harmonise all the technical peculiarities.
“If you bring some demands and almost 80% have been attended to, there is no need to drag the strike anymore.
“It is unreasonable for the strike to be lingering seeing as the government has worked towards fulfilling most of the demands.”

95% digital literacy in Nigeria achievable by 2023 says Prof Pantami

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Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, at the weekend in Gombe, said Nigeria’s march towards attaining 95 per cent digital literacy in 2030, as contained in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2020 – 2030, now looks more promising than ever.

This was contained in a statement issued on Monday by Director Public Affiars Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC), Mr Reuben Muoka.

Pantami, who presided over the graduation of participants at a two-week Digital Job Creation Training for the North-East in Gombe, which was facilitated by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, said “the reason we train citizens is because digital skills are no longer considered a luxury, but necessities required in any business you do. If you want to be successful, you need to have digital skills.’’

According to the Minister, “ICT is not just an independent sector but the key enabler of all other sectors today. It enables opportunities in education, in health, in agriculture, in security, in defence, in manufacturing, in trade, in investment and in industry.”

He, therefore, urged the participants to adopt innovation-driven enterprises and to utilize the training they have received to improve their economic status and make Nigeria a better place.

“We have to utilise ICT in order to make our country a better place. We must use ICT even for our personal economic benefits amongst others. Therefore, we want to encourage you not to waste your times online but rather to use the knowledge you have acquired to make Nigeria a better place and at the same time, derive many economic benefits from it,” he said.

The Minister highlighted that recent reports of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, about the performance of each sector of the economy, which indicated an unprecedented ICT’s contribution of 18.44 per cent to the economy, as very heart-warming about the prospects of the industry meeting with the expectations of the relevant policies.

“So, by implications, we set a record last year and we surpassed that record this second quarter of 2022 without involving the digital services. Only the ICT sector contributed 18.44 per cent, which can be attributed to the policies which we have introduced in the sector,” he said.

He said the training which has taken place in nine other states, including the Federal Capital Territory, will be conducted throughout the remaining geopolitical zones.
The Digital Job Creation Training is a two-week programme targeted at youth desirous of developing and enhancing their ICT skills in order to promote and enhance growth in the yet untapped and commercially viable digital economy both locally and globally. Each participant at the training received starter packs comprising laptop with accessories, MiFi Modem with three months data subscription, and some money.

 

Gospel singer, Marie Johnson urges Christians on encounter with God

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Nigerian gospel artist and singer, Marie Johnson has called on Christians all over the world to identify with the biblical teachings highlighted in the book of Daniel Chapter Three.

Johnson gave the charge at the fourth edition of her interreligious worship works wonders music concert with the theme “Encounter the 4th man”, which held on Saturday in Abuja.

In the Bible, three Jews (Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego) were thrown into a fiery furnace after their refusal to bow to a giant golden statue erected by king Nebuchadnezzar due to their beliefs.

While they were in the furnace, the king noticed they were unhurt and no longer three but four men now walking freely in the midst of the fire.

Marie therefore charged Christians to experience God who appearing as an angel stood with Jews in the midst of the fire so they were unhurt.

According to Johnson,  “And there was no better time to seek him as a nation than now that we are faced with difficult situations.’’

“The Lord is with us as we walk through fiery trials so there is a need for divine intervention and realignment to Gods will for all Christians,’’ she said

She added that she was motivated to continue with more editions of the music concert because of the positive impact and ability to harness youths across the world.

Mr. Asu Ekiye, the international president of the Fellowship of Gospel Music Ministers of Nigeria (FOGMMON) who acknowledge life challenges as a furnace, urged Christians to turn to God for help

Ekiye also acknowledged music as a unifying factor among youths and called for more participation of youths in the international music concert.

Saint Reuben Okala, ex-chairman FOGMMON FCT chapter, said the challenges the nation is faced with at the moment called for deep worship to God for respite.

He urged Christians to always remember “God promises to be with us when we walk through fire’’ and called for prayers on behalf of the nation as the general elections approach.

Taraba state based gospel Emir, Victor Bulus also called on politicians, Royal Fathers, investors and philanthropists to endorse programmes such as this that promote oneness and talent promotion.

He urged Johnson to continue to be a role model to the youths and be consistent with keeping the youths busy through her music projects.

Other attendees Maryam Belgore from Abuja and Tetteh Lartey from Ghana also praised Johnson for her consistency in promoting unity across the world via her music platform.

Lartey urged Christians to put on the confidence promised by God in the book of Isaiah chapter 43 of the bible that says God will always be with everyone whatever the challenge.

Belgore stated that she believed in the talent of Johnson and was attending the concert to promote love and togetherness.

The highlight of the event was the performance of different songs by over ten local and international artists to the delight of viewers and the concert which was streamed online had over 1000 persons in attendance.

Pantami lauds unprecedented 18.44% ICT to Nigeria’s GDP

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Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami has lauded the remarkable contribution of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2022 (Q2 2022).

This was contained in a statement on Saturday by the Technical Assistant (Research and Development) to the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Femi Adeluyi.

“The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated this in the ‘Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product Report’ for Q2 2022, released on the 26th of August, 2022.

“The Digital Economy sector under Professor Pantami has continued its trend of playing a key part in the growth on Nigeria’s economy. The Report by the NBS indicated that the ICT sector contributed 18.44% to the total real GDP in Q2 2022. This is the highest contribution of ICT to the GDP and is truly unprecedented and marks the third time that the sector has achieved an unprecedented contribution to Nigeria’s GDP during the tenure of the Honourable Minister- in Q1 2020, Q2 2021 and now Q2 2022.

“The oil sector contributed 6.33% to the total real GDP in Q2 2022, which was lower that the contribution in Q2 ‘2021 and Q1 ‘2022, where it contributed 7.42% and 6.63% respectively. The non-oil sector’s contribution grew by 4.77% in real terms, resulting in a 93.67% contribution to the nation’s GDP in the Q2 ‘2022, higher than Q2 ‘2021 and Q2 ‘2022, where it contributed 92.58% and 93.37% respectively.

“The Honorable Minister notes that the growing contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP is as a result of the commitment of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR to the development of the digital economy. The diligent implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria, stakeholder engagement and creation of an enabling environment have all played an important role in this achievement.

“The support of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has contributed immensely to the impressive developments in the sector. The unprecedented contribution of ICT to Nigeria’s GDP can also be attributed to the dynamic and results-oriented leadership of the sector. The GDP Report has shown how critical the ICT sector is to the growth of our country’s digital economy and, by extension, the general economy.

“The Honourable Minister congratulates all stakeholders in the digital economy ecosystem for this cheering news. He also renews his call to all sectors to take advantage of the Federal Government’s new focus on the digital economy to enable and improve their processes through the use of ICTs. This would enhance the output of all the sectors of the economy and boost Nigeria’s GDP”, the statement reads.

 

$464m Trapped fund: British Airways suspends ticket sales despite CBN’s release of $265m

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International carrier, British Airways, has stopped travel agents in Nigeria from selling their tickets amid the difficulty of foreign airlines to repatriate over $464m ticket sales proceeds to their respective home countries.

This came as the Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday announced the release of $265m out of the N464m trapped funds to the foreign carriers

A breakdown of the figure released on Friday indicates that the sum of $230 million was given as special Forex intervention while another sum of $35 million was released through the Retail SMIS auction.

Confirming the release, the Director, Corporate Communications Department at the CBN, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, said the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and his team were concerned about the development and what it portends for the sector and travelers as well as the country in the comity of nations.

Nwanisobi reiterated that the Bank was not against any company repatriating its funds from the country, adding that what the Bank stood for was an orderly exit for those that might be interested in doing so.

With Friday’s release, it is expected that operators and travellers as well will heave huge sighs of relief, as some airlines had threatened to withdraw their services in the face of unremitted funds for the outstanding sale of tickets.

However, the BA in a notice to travel agents in Nigeria on Friday said the ticket distribution firms would no longer be able to make new bookings or service existing bookings made in Nigeria.

The UK airline did not specify the reason for the decision nor did it state how long the suspension of ticket sales by Nigerian travel agents would last.

BA however said it was committed to the Nigerian market and would not stop flights to the country.

The development means Nigerian passengers seeking to fly the UK carrier may have to go to the airline’s website to book flights and possibly pay with local or foreign debit cards.

The notice to the travel agents, seen by Nigeria Newssphere, read in part, “We’ve had to make some temporary changes to the way we sell our inventory in Nigeria. As a result, trade partners are currently unable to make new or service any bookings made in Nigeria at this time.

“Existing bookings may still be serviced on both a voluntary or involuntary basis through our Global Engagement Centres and lines. Once a ticket has been revalidated or reissued, British Airways will take ownership of the booking. We remain fully committed to serving the Nigerian market and apologise for this temporary adjustment in operations.”

The development came barely a week after Middle East carrier, Emirates Airlines, announced the suspension of flights to Nigeria effective September 1, 2022. The Dubai-based carrier linked the development to the inability to repatriate $85m ticket sales proceeds.

The International Air Transport Association, the Switzerland-based global body representing international airlines, had last week warned Nigeria that more carriers might suspend flights to Nigeria if the government failed to address the repatriation of the $464m trapped in Nigeria.

 

2023: Atiku, Peter Obi, Obasanjo, others turn UK to playground over Wike’s backing

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Former Vice President, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, other governors on Thursday turned London to playground seeking for the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike’s backing in the forthcoming elections.

While details of the meeting have not been made public, there are indications that it is about next year’s general elections.

Others who attended the meeting were Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State; Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo; Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and a former Cross River governor, Donald Duke.

Nigerian Newssphere has learned the rush to UK by Nigerian Politicians is not unconnected to the bid to woo Wike and 2023 presidential election political calculation.

Recall that earlier in the week, Wike and two other PDP governors of Oyo and Benue States held a meeting with the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Elders of the PDP had expressed concerns that the activities of Wike and the two governors Makinde and Ortom, may have drastic effects on the forthcoming presidential elections.

Meanwhile, owing to the rift between Governor Wike and PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, there is a growing apprehension in the PDP that the crisis may also negatively impact the chances of the party in 2023.

The crisis escalated following Atiku’s choice of Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate. This, Nigerian NewsDirect learnt, was in contrast with the preference of most of the PDP’s national working committee (NWC) members as the candidate for the position.

However, the PDP flag bearer had set plans in motion to head for the United Kingdom and discuss with Wike yesterday in a bid to resolve the issues between the two.

PDP dismisses rumours, Wike working for Atiku- Paul Ibe

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has asked party stakeholders and his supporters to desist from statements that may compromise the PDP’s unity.

In a statement signed by his spokesperson Paul Ibe on Thursday, Atiku said all leaders of the party, including Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, are united in working for the victory of the PDP in the upcoming elections.
Atiku’s comment comes amid a rift between himself and Wike who he defeated in the PDP presidential primaries earlier this year.

“It has become imperative to appeal to all party members, leaders and everyone related to, connected with or associated with the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar to desist from making comments that potentially reduce the optics of PDP’s image as a united political party,” the statement said.

“This appeal becomes necessary in order to call the attention of party leaders and members to the diversionary antics of the ruling All Progressives Congress which, in manufacturing a false impression of division within the PDP, aims to hoodwink the Nigerian public to overlook the monumental failures of the ruling party.

“Today, Nigerians look up to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to lead the charge in ousting the ruling party. This expectation from the people is the reason why the APC is jittery of their impending fall in next year’s general election. It is also the very reason why the ruling party is manipulating the political process to create a sense of division in the PDP.

“Because they know that there is nothing to campaign with from their records of performance in office, the APC has elected to play the role of the devil’s advocate, regaling in celebration of their imaginary invincibility upon a fraudulent claim that the PDP is divided.

“It is for this reason that appeal to every true member of the PDP and anyone who truly wishes the success of the PDP presidential candidate to not fall for the antics of the APC in making statements that could give credence to the false claim of divisions in the PDP.

“All the leaders of the party, including especially the governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Nyesom Wike and all governors of the PDP are united in working for the victory of the PDP in next year’s general election across board.

“What is at stake in the next year’s election is the future of Nigeria and all leaders and members of the PDP are on the same page in the mission to rescue Nigeria from the stranglehold of the APC.”

Think twice before traveling to Northern Cyprus, FG warns Nigerians

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Federal Government of Nigeria, on Thursday, has warned Nigerians to remove Northern Cryprus from their traveling destination.

The Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Dr. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, gave the warning while featuring at the 48th session of the State House Ministerial Media Briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Dabiri-Erewa induced frequent killing of Nigerians in Cyprus, particularly in the Northern region of the country, as reasons the nationals must avoid travelling to the country.

She said there was little that could be done diplomatically to resolve the situation of Nigerians in Cyprus because the country’s Northern region was not recognized by the international community as a country, except by Turkey.

Dabiri-Erewa said, “Think twice before going to Northern Cyprus. We can’t do much for Nigerians there. Our students are being killed daily.”

The NiDCOM chairman also said that every Nigerian stranded in Ukraine at the start of the conflict returned home safely.

She, however, expressed sadness that some of them were still going back.

MTN 5G mobile network goes live in 190 city centres in Nigeria

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Nigeria telecommunications giant, MTN has launched the much anticipated Fifth-Generation(5G) mobile network across 190 locations in Nigeria in line with Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC’s) approval.

Fifth-Generation (5G) mobile network has gone live at 190 locations across Nigeria, with MTN becoming the first telecommunications provider in the country to launch the much anticipated mobile network in the country.

Newssphere learnt that the 190 locations that have gone live with 5G service in city centres in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri and Maiduguri.

Recall that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had set the target of August for the roll out of 5G mobile network in the country after MTN and Mafab Communications won the bid for the deployment.

While Mafab had been granted a grace period of 5 months to deploy, MTN has said it’s 5G service would be live at over 500 sites across the country by October.

This is as MTN commenced selling a 5G broadband router for its customers to be able to access the network as there are currently limited devices that can connect with the 5G network.

With the launch by MTN, Nigeria has joined South Africa and Kenya in the race to 5G on the African continent.

South Africa began its 5G network journey in March through MTN and Vodacom while Kenya started the deployment of 5G through Safaricom in April.

According to the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), around 70 countries had 5G networks as of June 2022, up from just 38 in mid-2020. It stated that approximately 15 more have had 5G mobile technology deployed in part.

Newssphere gathered that a vital advantage of 5G is the number of use cases it will enable and the emerging technologies it will facilitate.

This rides on its ability to provide wireless broadband services at Gigabit speeds and data connections well above 10 Gigabits per second, latency below five milliseconds and the capability to exploit any available wireless resource, from Wi-Fi to 4G and to handle millions of connected devices simultaneously
5G technology will support the development of new applications which will connect devices and allow innovative applications and business models due to its software virtualization abilities.

The NCC in the National Policy document on 5G Networks for Nigeria’s Digital Economy had identified a number of use cases of 5G technology.

These  include enhancements in application areas such as Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Drones, Advanced Communication Systems, Cloud, 3D Printing, Mixed Reality, Simulation/Imaging and Gamification.

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