Ooni of Ife denies visiting Emefiele in prison

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi has denied visiting embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele in Kuje prison.

Reacting to the rumour on Wednesday, December 6, the monarch’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare stated that Oba Ogunwusi was at the correctional facility at the instance of a Non-Governmental Organisation, owned by one of his wives, Queen Temitope, which is on advocacy for the correction centre.

The statement added that the event was organised in partnership with Kuje correctional authority, centred around giving hope to inmates on reintegration into society after completing their terms, and the Ooni was part of it, in commemoration of his eighth anniversary.

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The statement read;

“The intent of those spreading the news was to blackmail the monarch; there is nothing hidden about the event. In any case, the king never met Emefiale because it was an official event organised by the NGO in conjunction with the Kuje Correction Centre.

“The programme centres around giving hope to the inmate that, after serving out their terms, they still have hope to reintegrate back to the society. The Arole Ooni was invited to chair the event in commemoration of his eighth anniversary on the throne.

“What is exclusive about a public programme where different public figures spoke and representatives of the inmate also spoke? How then did the Ooni manage to meet Emefiele?

“We must be careful with how people spread falsehoods about people. The video of the event is available to the public. I am not even sure Emefiele attended the programme because he is only in detention and not an inmate yet, so why link the programme to Emefiele? It is simply to achieve  blackmail.”

Ooni of Ife denies visiting Emefiele in prison

BREAKING: Bombing many people in Kaduna was not a mistake – Shehu Sani

A former Senator who once represented Kaduna Central has strongly criticized the recent bombing incident in Tudun Biri village of Igabi Local Government Area, Kaduna State, where a crowd was celebrating Maulud.

The Nigerian Army, which conducted the airstrikes, claimed the shelling was accidental and targeted at bandits, resulting in over 90 deaths and numerous injuries.

During an interview on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, the human rights activist expressed his view on the incident, stating, “It’s important that the public understands the context and concept of what is happening in Kaduna as far as security issues are concerned.” He described the tragedy as a grave act of negligence that the government must take seriously.

The former legislator emphasized the history of banditry and terrorist attacks in the region, particularly in Southern Kaduna, Birnin Gwari, Igabi (where the incident occurred), and Giwa local governments. He quoted, “In all of these attacks, there has never been an incident where these terrorists were arrested and killed, or, in any way, neutralized.”

Regarding the bombing in Tudun Biri, he asserted, “This bombing at Tudun Biri could be said to be a serious negligence.” He criticized the contradictory statements from the army, saying, “First, they said it was a mistake. And secondly, they were justifying it with the fact that there were bandits or terrorists they were pursuing and so they carried the attacks there.”

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The former Senator argued that there is no law permitting the pursuit of bandits into civilian areas. He added, “So, as far as I’m concerned, going by the history of this kind of things, if they were cautious, this wouldn’t have happened. If they worked with intelligence, this wouldn’t have happened.”

He further stated, “Now it’s left for the government at both federal and state levels to take action to prevent further occurrence.” He emphasized the need for an apology, stating, “But we have a history of this thing happening. And the reasons they have been giving are more like justifications. So there’s no way this was a mistake.”

Commenting on the recurrent bandit and terrorist attacks across the country, the former legislator argued, “Repetitive killing of civilians was not different from banditry.” He questioned the effectiveness of the security forces, quoting, “With all the trillions of naira we have spent on defence and security in the last eight years, these top-ranking terrorists are still roaming freely.”

He pointed out the inconsistency in tackling terrorists on motorcycles, quoting, “So if you don’t launch attacks on terrorists on motorcycles, who are you going to kill?” He expressed frustration with the military’s actions, noting, “But the military is killing innocent civilians. So how are they different from the bandits?”

BREAKING: Bombing many people in Kaduna was not a mistake – Shehu Sani