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Insecurity: Sultan spoke our minds, say northern elders
Northern elders have expressed support for Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, for summoning the courage to speak out on the worsening security situation in the North.
They noted that the monarch’s comments had vindicated their position that insecurity in the North was getting worse.
The Sultan, during the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), had narrated how bandits “go around in the villages, households, and markets with their AK 47 rifles, they stop at the market, buy things, pay and collect change, with their weapons openly displayed.”
The elders, in a statement by the National Coordinator of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development (CONEPD), Zana Goni, and National Women Leader, Hajia Mario Bichi, pointed out the utterances of the monarch did not only reflect the true situation of things but had vindicated them.
The elders appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to heed the advice of most Nigerians to rejig the security architecture and appointing young minds who will salvage the situation.
They further charged other leaders to speak up against insecurity and other precarious situation bedeviling the country.
The statement read, “We most respectfully commend the Sultan of Sokoto, our father, for stating the true position of things in the North, as it concerns insecurity.
“We had said it over and over again, that the state of insecurity had reached a point where our farmers can hardly access their farms, even as travellers on busy highways can no longer guarantee their safe arrival without being kidnapped.
“Our mothers, fathers, and children are now at the mercy of terrorists and bandits, who kill, harass and destroy property without being confronted, in many instances, by our security operatives.
“As patriotic elders, we think the position of the Sultan is a Clarion call to our dear President, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, to restructure the security architecture in the country without further delay.
“We applaud our President for ensuring huge budgetary allocation to the military and security sectors, thereby demonstrating his interest in securing lives and property.
“We, however, regret that our Security Chiefs have not shown commensurate commitment in tackling these security challenges, owing to what we see as lethargy and spent ideas.
“Accordingly, we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Service Chiefs without further delay, and appoint younger senior officers that will bring fresh perspectives and ideas to bear in addressing the deteriorating security situation in the North in particular, and the country in general.”
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Court stops customs from seizing imported rice in open market
Court stops customs from seizing imported rice in open market
A court of appeal in Kaduna has stopped the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) from impounding foreign rice in the open market or on the highways.
Operatives of NCS are in the habit of staying on the road arresting people suspected to have smuggled imported rice. They also storm rice shops and markets to impound foreign rice.
In a judgment delivered on December 6, a three-member panel of justices led by Ntong Ntong held that existing laws restrict the enforcement by the customs to land borders only.
The judgment was delivered in an appeal filed by the NCS against a decision of the federal high court that acquitted one Suleiman Mohammed, a businessman, of charges related to the importation of rice.
Customs had arrested Mohammed after seizing a truck carrying 613 bags of foreign rice and 80 bags of millet belonging to the businessman on June 14, 2019, along the Kaduna-Zaria expressway.
Mohammed was charged and arraigned on a two-count charge.
However, in a judgment delivered on November 10, 2021, Z. B. Abubakar, trial judge, acquitted the defendants of the charges.
Abubakar held that the plaintiffs (customs) failed to give enough evidence to prove that the defendant imported the goods.
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Afe Babalola: Court grants Dele Farotimi bail, barred from media interviews
Afe Babalola: Court grants Dele Farotimi bail, barred from media interviews
Embattled human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, has been granted bail in the sum of ₦30 million.
A magistrate court in Ekiti State granted him bail on Friday about two weeks after he was remanded in prison custody.
He was remanded on December 7, 2024, after he was arraigned in court on 16 counts of criminal defamation, following the publication of his book, ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’.
Farotimi arrived at the Magistrate Court with heavy security comprising policemen and other law enforcement agents.
Apart from the N30 million, the Magistrate, Abayomi Adeosun, ordered him to provide three sureties with a landed property within the court’s jurisdiction; submit his international passport to the court as well as refrain from granting media interviews.
The case was adjourned to February 13, 2025.
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CONHESS: Lagos health workers to embark on three-day warning strike
CONHESS: Lagos health workers to embark on three-day warning strike
Health workers in Lagos State, including nurses and midwives, will begin a three-day warning strike from December 11 to 13, 2024, over grievances regarding salary adjustments under the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS).
The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) announced the strike in a letter signed by its Secretary, Oloruntoba Odumosu, accusing the Lagos State Government of favouring doctors by implementing the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure while neglecting other health professionals.
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The Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), JOHESU, and the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) have joined the call, criticising the delayed implementation of a 25% CONHESS adjustment. In a statement, JOHESU said the government’s approach undermines the morale of health professionals, despite their critical roles in healthcare delivery.
The unions plan a joint congress at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital on December 9 to finalise strategies. They have urged members to remain united, emphasising that the strike is a fight for equitable treatment and salary adjustments for all health workers.
CONHESS: Lagos health workers to embark on three-day warning strike
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