NANS apologises to Aisha Buhari, demands explanation from police over student’s arrest – Newstrends
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NANS apologises to Aisha Buhari, demands explanation from police over student’s arrest

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1 year ago

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Aisha Buhari

National Association of Nigerian Students has apologised to Aisha Buhari, wife of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), over the arrest of a student of the Federal University, Dutse Jigawa, Aminu Mohammed, by the police.

Condemnations had trailed the reported arrest of Mohammed over a tweet on the First Lady. Notable Nigerians including social activist, Aisha Yesufu, knocked Aisha for allegedly using her power against the student.

While initial reports were that Mohammed was arrested by the Department of State Services, NANS revealed that he was rather arrested by the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, who traced Mohammed to Jigawa where he was picked up.

NANS in a statement on Tuesday by its President, Usman Barambu, apologised on behalf of the Nigerian students to the First Lady, while also calling for Mohammed’s release.

“The leadership of NANS received with concern the news of the unlawful arrest of Mohammed by the Nigeria Police on the instruction of Aisha Buhari. Upon receiving the news, I, Mohammed’s family and friends swung into action to trace the whereabouts of Mohammed. After some days of searching, we got the information that he was at the police unit in Wuse Zone 2. I met with Mohammed at the police custody.

“It was alleged that Mohammed some weeks back posted Aisha Buhari’s picture on Twitter with the caption “Su mama anchi kudin talakawa an koshi” (translated from Hausa to ‘the mother has gotten fatter by eating masses’ money’).

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“Just like the normal way angry citizens have different ways of expression on the social media. On November 18, 2022, the police from Abuja tracked Mohammed to the Federal University Dutse and picked him without any written/verbal invitation or informing the school management or his family,” Barambu narrated.

The NANS President said Mohammed was taken straight to the Presidential Villa where he was allegedly brutalised, beaten, maltreated and humiliated by the police “on the orders of Aisha Buhari, after which he was unlawfully detained at a police facility at Wuse Zone II till date. I, alongside our team of lawyers, met with Mohammed at the police facility where he confirmed the incident to me. Until now, Mohammed has not been arraigned by any competent court of law or granted bail by the police.”

“We want to, on behalf of all the Nigerian students, tender our unreserved apology to the First Lady Aisha Buhari, for the action of Mohammed which might have caused her and her family pains. However, as leaders and public office holders, we must overlook some criticisms if we want to really forge ahead and do the right thing,” Barambu said.

“We demand a detailed explanation by the Nigeria Police on why they will go to the school premises and ‘kidnap’ a student without due process and took him straight to the Presidential Villa where he was brutalised which violates his fundamental human rights,” the statement said.

NANS said Mohammed had sustained various injuries and had not accessed any proper medical attention. “We call on the police as a matter of national interest and urgency to release Mohammed unconditionally or be prepared to face the Nigerian students.

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“However, we are calling on our teeming students to be careful and apply decorum in dealing with people especially our leaders. They should be mindful of what they post on social media.

“We want to inform the general public to be patient as we await response and actions from the Inspector General of Police on a letter earlier sent to his office,” the president added.

Disagreeing with the national body, the South-West zone of NANS, in another statement by its Public Relations Officer, Giwa Temitope, condemned the alleged action of the First Lady, saying Mohammed’s rights were grossly violated.

“The conduct of Aisha and the security officers involved in the brutality meted out to Mohammed is highly condemnable and shows that Aisha does not tolerate dissent. In a democratic dispensation, one would have expected the wife of the President to have instituted a case against the student (if at all there is any) rather than resort to violence.

“In so far it has been established that the student was ‘abducted’ by the police and then ferried to the Presidential Villa where he was tortured on the order of Aisha and then locked up at a police facility at Wuse II, the wife of the President and everyone involved have erred and violated his (Mohammed’s) right to dignity of human persons as guaranteed under Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

“Our position as an association is that the wife of the President has exhibited conduct against the provisions of the Nigerian law which has therefore invalidated whatever case they might have against him,”  Temitope said.

Punch

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How ex-Head of Service Oyo-Ita diverted N3bn public funds to private firms

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9 hours ago

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April 26, 2024

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Winifred Oyo-Ita

How ex-Head of Service Oyo-Ita diverted N3bn public funds to private firms

Hamma Bello, the eighth prosecution witness in the trial of Winifred Oyo-Ita, a former Head of Service of the Federation, has narrated how N3 billion was diverted to private companies.

The witness stated this while testifying before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday about how the defendant and her subordinates diverted public funds into their private companies.

Oyo-Ita, the first defendant, is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, along with her special assistants; Ugbong Effiok (seventh defendant) and Garba Umar (fourth defendant).

Others are six companies: Frontline Ace Global Services Limited, Asanaya Projects Limited, Slopes International Limited, U and U Global Services Ltd, Prince Mega Logistics Ltd, and Good Deal Investments, on 18 counts bordering on misappropriation, official corruption, money laundering, and criminal diversion of funds to the tune of over N3 billion.

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The witness, while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Faruk Abdullahi, and H.M. Mohammed, told the court that Oyo-Ita used Slopes International Limited and Good Deal Investments Limited – fifth and sixth defendants respectively, to fraudulently award government contracts to herself through the fourth defendant, Umar.

The first entry transaction of Good Deal Investment Limited. in February 2019 showed that N42,748,201.47 was paid into its Zenith Bank account.

Umar, the witness said, incorporated the company with Oyo-Ita’s full knowledge.

“We called for the account statements of these two companies, and upon analysing them, we realised he (Umar) was paid several sums of money from the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, where he is an employee.

“And upon interviewing the fourth defendant, he admitted that he was also a contractor. He also admitted to have paid the first defendant on several occasions from the proceeds of the transaction,” the witness said.

On April 27, 2019, the witness disclosed that a transfer of N20, 2027, 142 was made in the name of Ibrahim Madu to the Zenith Bank account of Asanaya Projects Limited.

The mandate card of the account bears the signature and photo of the seventh defendant, Effiok.

Investigation, according to the witness, also revealed that the seventh defendant incorporated Asanaya Projects Limited in his name with the knowledge of the first defendant and that approvals were granted and payments made to the seventh defendant either through his personal account or to the account of the company.

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The witness said, “The seventh defendant, upon interview, confirmed he had never travelled for most of the funds he received and that the first defendant was aware of and benefitted on several occasions from the funds. The account of U and U Global Services Limited was also opened by the seventh defendant.

“In summary, from 2015 to 2018, U and U Global Limited received several payments in the form of Duty Tour Allowances and estacodes. Sometimes, payments from the federal government were made directly to the account, for instance, on March 24, 2016, he received N40, 313, 453. 58. This particular payment was from the federal government.”

Further in his testimony, the witness stated that, “Exhibit O is the Fidelity Bank account of Prince Mega Logistics Ltd. On March 27, 2018, and April 6, 2018, there were four entries, N4, 950 000; N3,946,000, N4,676,000 and N1,478,000, from Thomson Titus Okure, who used to be a colleague of the seventh defendant in the Account Department.

“There were also outward payments to Ignom, Minaro Blessing, Winifred Oyo-Ita, Olarenwaju Godman Olushola and the seventh defendant is the sole signatory of this account.”

Speaking further, he said, “I also want to add that we invited the first, second and seventh defendant at different times to our office and interviewed them. In the case of the first defendant, we printed chats from her phone and saw conversations she had with contractors, subordinates, and permanent secretaries. She also voluntarily made a statement to the EFCC.”

The matter was adjourned till April 30, 2024.

(SAHARAREPORTERS)

How ex-Head of Service Oyo-Ita diverted N3bn public funds to private firms

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Why we made emergency landing at Lagos airport – Air Peace

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9 hours ago

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April 26, 2024

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Why we made emergency landing at Lagos airport – Air Peace

A statement by Stanley Olisa, the airline’s Corporate Communications Lead, explained that some minutes before landing, the Captain noticed a fire warning indicator in the cockpit.

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PDP, LP kick as US report says 2023 polls reflect people’s will despite irregularities

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9 hours ago

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April 26, 2024

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PDP, LP kick as US report says 2023 polls reflect people’s will despite irregularities

The US Department of State in a report has affirmed that Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, despite irregularities, reflected the will of its people.

Published in the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, the document scrutinizes human rights practices and violations worldwide, including in Nigeria.

“National elections, though plagued by technical and logistical challenges alongside irregularities, were broadly deemed to represent voters’ intentions,” the report asserts.

Even as the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) hailed the report, the two major opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) criticised it.

Independent observers concluded that outcomes of presidential, legislative, and state-level elections mirrored voter sentiments, notwithstanding instances of voter suppression, vote buying, campaign activities at polling stations, compromised ballot secrecy, violence, and intimidation.

In the March 18 state election in Lagos, supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) allegedly intimidated and suppressed voters in Igbo-dominated regions, won by Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi in the national election on February 25.

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Social media footage depicted APC supporters in Ojo menacing ethnic Igbo voters perceived to favour Obi. In Eti-Osa, APC supporters assaulted journalists and impeded non-Yoruba voters’ access to polls, with reported property damage and physical obstruction of voters in Amuwo-Odofin. Despite police presence, no intervention occurred, and no arrests or prosecutions of alleged perpetrators were documented.

The report highlights the low participation of women and marginalized groups in the electoral process. Women’s political engagement averages 6.7 percent in elected and appointed roles nationwide. Civil society organizations have noted that religious, cultural, and economic hurdles hinder women’s leadership prospects within major parties and government.

A gender-based violence survey by ElectHER NGO underscored the use of religious and cultural barriers, including double standards, blackmail, and media defamation, against female politicians.

Media outlets perpetuated stereotypes, labeling women politicians as “promiscuous” or “cunning” and, in some instances, refrained from covering their campaigns purportedly under directives from opposition figures.

Moreover, the report criticized Nigeria’s inconsistent implementation of anti-corruption laws, citing pervasive corruption across the country, including within the judiciary.

Reacting the PDP, through its national spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, said despite the outcome of the elections, the party remained committed to ensuring that Nigeria would not become a one-party state or slide into dictatorship.

The Labour Party, through Obiora Ifoh, said, “To say the outcome of such an election reflects the majority view of Nigerians is left for the people to judge. Our commitment to the development of democracy in Nigeria remains unshakable.”

PDP, LP kick as US report says 2023 polls reflect people’s will despite irregularities

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