Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Khartoum, Sudan’s capital on Saturday demanding the dissolution of the transitional government, saying it had failed them economically and politically.
The development comes amid divisions in the country’s Sudan’s political scene steering the country through a rocky transition following the April 2019 ouster of President Omar al-Bashir after mass protests against his rule.
Saturday’s demonstrations were organised by a splinter faction of the Forces for Freedom and Change, a civilian alliance that spearheaded protests against Bashir.
A 50-year-old protester, Abboud Ahmed, said, “We need a military government, the current government has failed to bring us justice and equality.”
AFP reports that the protesters carried banners calling for the “dissolution of the government”, while others chanted “one army, one people” and “the army will bring us bread.”
“We are marching in a peaceful protest and we want a military government,” a lady, Enaam Mohamed in central Khartoum said.
On Friday, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok warned that the transition is facing “the worst and most dangerous” crisis.
Support for the transitional government has waned in recent months mainly following a tough raft of IMF-backed economic reforms.
It slashed subsidies on petrol and diesel and brought in a managed currency float, measures deemed by ordinary Sudanese as excessively harsh.
The government has also been beset by protests in east Sudan where demonstrators have blocked trade through a crucial Red Sea port since mid-September.
On September 21, the government said it thwarted a coup attempt which it blamed on military officials and civilians linked to Bashir’s regime.
A PDP chieftain in Kaduna state, Barrister J.D Ephraim has this to say with regards to the recent creation of three metropolitan Authorities by the Nasiru El-rufai led Kaduna state government.
Barrister Ephraim who was a founding member of the APC in Kaduna state said the creation of metropolitan Authorities have no legal basis compared to local governments created by the constitution.
In a WhatsApp message he shared using his mobile number, the 2011 Deputy Governor candidate for the CPC in Kaduna state wrote;
“Do the three Metropolitan Authorities, created by El-Rufai, ( even, if they had the blessing of the Kaduna State House of Assembly ), have any legal basis, as to be compared, with the Federal Capital territory, and the Local Government Areas ( constitutional creations )? No, they are not.
“In the FCT, and the local government areas in the country, there are no unconstitutional usurpation of powers of any state, from which the territory was legally carved out. It is a separate territory, no conflicting jurisdictions with any state, or local government of a state, from which it was carved out and recognised by the constitution. He said
Ephraim said El-Rufai’s ‘carving out’ of territories is unconstitutional and therefore null and void.
“If El-Rufai purports to carve out, and grant a territory, powers, and functions, which derive therefrom, such act is illegal, ultra-vires the constitution, null and void, to the extent of the contravention.
“It does not need any court to declare it so.” He said
He also questioned whether Governor El-rufai seeks advice from good legal advisers before implementing his policies.
“Some times, I wonder if at all, El-Rufai, avails himself of any good legal advice. “ The Southern Kaduna born lawyer concluded by saying that
“While the concept of metropolitan Authority is good and desirable in its self, it can only, in the circumstances, be handled, when our grund nom, recognizes such administrative action.
“The defunct Kaduna Capital Territory functioned and was only legal to the extent, there were no constitutionally recognised local government areas, in the former northern region.
“For the so- called Kaduna Metropolitan Authorities, to enjoy the same status with either the former Kaduna Capital Territory, or Abuja, the FCT, it has to be recognised by the constitution.
“Without further arguments, the purported Authorities, can not enjoy the protection of our constitution, and at best, their functions, are a mere extention of the acts of the state Governor, just as we have KASUPDA, KADRA, KADIPA, etc, etc.
“They are not thesame, in so far, the Metropolitan Authorities would not function state-wide, but have clearly delineated territories, and boundaries, all within the state No, neither the Governor nor the state House of Assembly, has such powers. Their powers are as provided for in the constitution.
“The metropolitan Authorities can not even be clothed the same way, as the ministerial authorities of the state, which are supposed to cover the whole state.” He said
It would be recalled that Governor El-rufai within the week while swearing in Administrators for the metropolitan Authorities in Kaduna, justified the creation of the three metropolitan authorities.
“It’s obvious that some people do not understand the concept of metropolitan authorities . Our major cities are bigger than the Local Government Councils in which they have been balkanise.”
“The Kaduna Capital Territory did this job until the late 1970s for those old enough to remember, Kaduna was always administered by an administrator. Who was the administrator of the capital Territory.
“Things worked much better then, the replacement structures that came after the 1976 local government reforms have not worked as well as the capital territory administrative structure did. This is why we are going back to it,” he explained.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime has announced that Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account (ECA) balance as of October stands at $60, 857,773.43, a drastic depletion from the $2.1 billion left by Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
Clem Agba, the minister of state for budget and national planning gave the update during the national economic council meeting at the State House in Abuja on Friday, according to a statement by Laolu Akande, spokesperson to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
“Excess Crude Account (ECA) balance as at 13th October 2021 stands at $60, 857,773.43; Stabilisation Account, balance as at 13th October stands at N25,009,892,511.55; Development of Natural Resources Account balance as at 13th October 2021 stands at N56,144,024,000.71,” the statement said.
As of July 13, NEC announced that the excess account balance stood at $60.8 million while stabilisation account was N26.3 billion with the natural resources account balance standing at N23.5 billion.
The ECA, created in 2004 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the sole aim of saving oil revenue in excess of the budgeted benchmark, stood at $3.6 billion in February 2014, one of the highest balances on record.
In 2015, the former minister of finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala disclosed that the country earned $61.7 billion (about N12.3 trillion) as excess crude oil money between 2011 and 2015.
The minister said Nigeria earned about $18.14 billion in 2011; $18.16 billion in 2012; $15.19 billion in 2013; $8.01 billion in 2014, and $2.17 billion in 2015.
As of August 2015, after Mr Buhari assumed office, it stood at $2.2 billion but it gradually depleted.
The Central Bank of Nigeria in its 2018 report said that the country’s excess crude account fell from $2.45 billion in 2017 to $480 million as of December 2018.
Statistics from the ministry of finance had also revealed that the Buhari regime withdrew N1.5 trillion (about $4.92bn) between 2015 and 2019 from the account. $1 billion was withdrawn in 2017 on basis that it will be used to procure arms and train personnel in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East.
A 2020 analysis by BudgIT, a civic organisation had indicated that Nigeria’s excess crude oil under Mr Buhari stood at $631 million in December 2018, $324 million in October 2019, and fell to $70 million in February 2020.
The Kaduna State Government on Friday, inaugurated the preaching regulatory council with the aim of stemming any act of religion that will trigger conflict in the state.
Governor Nasir El-rufai, who inaugurated the council at the Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna on Friday, said, religion must not be used for economic and political exploitation.
According to El-rufai, a religious preaching edict has been in place in the state since 1984, but his administration failed to implement it after reviewing the laws in 2016.
The governor said it is now the responsibility of the council to ensure that religion in the state is practiced in a manner that will not inconvenience others.
He said his administration is ready to tackle any negative religious practice in the state.
The regulatory preaching council is comprised of senior religious leaders from the Christian and Islamic faiths as well as traditional leader and public office holders.
Mourners during the mass burial of the 38 victims of the attack. Photo credit: Middle Belt Times
Survivors who are now internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of the September 26 deadly terrorist herdsmen attack which rocked Madamai and Abun communities are still living in extreme fear due to absence of security personnel in the communities.
Middle Belt Times had reported how 38 villagers were massacred in a barbaric manner by terrorists suspected to be Fulani herdsmen militia during a Sunday, September 26 attack on the agrarian communities.
Investigation carried out by this newspaper revealed that two weeks after the terror group killed 38 persons and burnt down at least 40 houses, the over 3,000 survivors who are now IDPs are living in extreme fear and uncertainties as the government has refused to deploy security to the area.
Anthony Timothy, A Kaura youth Coalition official told this reporter that the two Communities of Madamai and Abun have been completely deserted.
“The people no longer live there, only the brave men stay there to watch over what was left by the terrorists while the women, children and others who are vulnerable return to Mallagum every evening to sleep.” He said.
Timothy further said that some of the displaced persons have had to relocate to Kagoro and Kwoi towns to seek refuge in relative’s homes.
“Some who have relatives in Kagoro have gone to live with them, some even went as far as Kwoi town to stay.”
This reporter also spoke with the Catholic Priest of St. Thomas Parish, Mallagum, Rev. Fr Cosmos Magaji who lost many parishioners to the attack. Fr Magaji who had to flee the community after threats to his life were made by yet to be identified persons said the current situation ‘is disturbing’.
“As I speak to you now, the people are still displaced, they cannot go back to their ancestral communities for fear of the unknown.
“Plans were on ground to have them all under one IDP camp. The caretaker chairperson of the local government approved a primary school to be used as a makeshift IDP camp but the challenge is that the police has refused to deploy security to enable the proposed camp kickstart.
“I was informed that the Police Area Commander in charge of Kafanchan area said he cannot deploy policemen to any camp that is not fenced.
“In the whole of this area there is no school that is fenced, so what do they want the displaced persons to do?.” Fr Magaji said.
The Priest also complained about the inadequacy of relief materials supplied by the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
“SEMA actually brought some relief materials but it is very inadequate considering the number of persons affected. Magaji said.
The items brought by SEMA as confirmed by MBT from the Priest includes;
60 bags 10kg Rice
20 cartoons of indomie
20 pieces of 6inches mattresses
10 jerricans of10 litres Palm oil
10 jerricans of 10litres ground nut oil.
When contacted, the SEMA Director of Relief and Disaster Management, Mr Ya’u told this reporter via telephone that the Agency is not comfortable with setting up IDP camps in the area for obvious reasons such as security. Ya’u also said the Agency has learnt from experience that IDP camps are often abused and exploited negatively by those he called criminals who used IDP camps for selfish interests.
“As an Agency, we are not encouraging people to gather in IDP camps, this is because we do not know who the attackers are and having them in camps could further endanger their lives.
“What we advise for now is that people should move in and live in neighbouring communities while we continue to assist them with relief materials to alleviate their sufferings.
“We are also in touch with his Excellency the governor of the state to provide the communities with building materials so they can rebuild and return to their communities as soon as possible.” Ya’u said.
The Director also said that the Agency is at the moment working on being proactive instead of always reacting to emergency situations.
“As an Agency, we do not just want to be providing relief materials, we want to prevent situations that could lead to emergencies in the state.
“We are working hand in hand with the Kaduna Peace Commission and communities in the state to identify the problems and possibly tackle them before they become emergency situations.” He said.
When contacted the Area Commander of Kafanchan, ACP Danladi Ibrahim denied the allegations of refusing to deploy Security to the camp saying no such camp has been set up.
“Our duty is to deploy security, we cannot say we will not send security to the area.
“The question is, have setup any IDP camp? The arrangement is between them and the caretaker chairperson of the local government.
“When they set up a camp and inform us, of course we will deploy security to the camp.” He said.
As at the time of filing this report, all efforts to get the Caretaker chairperson of Kaura local government area, Mrs Naomi Anguwa to comment on the matter proved abortive as her calls were neither taken nor returned. An SMS sent to her line was also not immediately replied.
No fewer than 12 villagers have been reported killed as group of bandits attacked people of Sakajiki village in Kaura Namoda Emirate in Zamfara State.
According to Channels Tv, the Zamfara State Police Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Shehu confirmed the incident on Friday. Saying, casualties recorded in the incident would have been more if not for the response if the police operatives deployed to the area.
Report reveals that the bandits arrived at the village at about 9pm on Thursday and left the following morning around 4am on Friday, in the process, a dozen persons were killed.
Several shops and houses were razed, the police outpost in the area was also set ablaze as well as several other vehicles, one of which belonged to the police.
Meanwhile, search for more dead bodies are still going.
The team of police mobile force operatives tried their best to repel the attack, but they were purportedly overpowered by the bandits.
Terror group suspected to be Fulani terrorists yesterday, 15 October killed three persons in Nkeidonwro community, Miango District, Bassa local government area of Kaduna state, North Central Nigeria, Middle Belt Times can confirm.
The terrorists invaded the agrarian community in the early hours of Friday and began shooting sporadically “in their usual manner” a resident of Miango told this newspaper on condition of anonymity.
“They came in like they always do and by the time they finished their mission, three of our people have been confirmed dead while one, a minor sustained gunshot injury. He said
“A man and his son were among those killed while another of his son, a minor sustained injury.
The names of the persons killed were given as;
Reuben Sunday 28 years old
Anis David 42 years old
Abednego Amos 8 years old
A certain 12 years old Emmanuel Amos sustained injury and is currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in the area.
It would be recalled that the same community was attacked by herdsmen in September 2021 and two people were killed while another two sustained injuries.
Bassa local government area of Plateau state has witnessed several of such attacks this year with at least 70 people killed in July and over 300 houses and farms destroyed by the rampaging terrorists.
Residents and motorists plying the Lafia-Shendam Road connecting Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and Bauchi states have called on the Federal Government to rehabilitate the road to reduce associated hardship and deaths.
Our correspondent who visited the road observed that some parts had become death traps as robbers take advantage of its dilapidated condition to attack motorists almost on a daily basis.
The road which links three states from the southern axis of Nasarawa State was constructed by the Federal Government in 1976. Since then, no rehabilitation and maintenance have been carried out on it.
The journey between Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, and Shendam, Plateau State, which would have taken about an hour, now takes four hours due to the road’s deplorable condition. The about 60km road is now characterised by deep potholes and some areas completely washed away.
Residents and motorists along the road who are predominantly farmers lamented that they had been subjected to untold hardship over the years due to a lack of maintenance and total neglect of the road by the Federal Government.
A resident of Akurba community in the area, Shehu Musa, who spoke with our correspondent on the deplorable condition of the road, narrated how a woman and her son lost their lives in a motor accident on the road while they were heading for their village.
She said, “This road has caused the death of many innocent Nigerians. The portholes on the road are many and that is why accidents occur on it. Two months ago, a woman who lives in the Bakin Rijiya community with her 15-year-old son were involved in a motor crash on their way to their village. It was a head-on collision with another vehicle. The boy died on the spot but his mother died after a few days in a hospital.’’
Residents of the area have also called for the presence of security agencies to always be on patrol on the Lafia-Shendam road to check activities of bandits on the route. They noted that if the government could ensure that there was a checkpoint after every three kilometres of the road, activities of the criminals terrorising motorists, passengers and residents would be curbed.
A peasant farmer in Mai-Akuya community in the area, Ibrahim Abubakar, decried lack of security agents’ presence on the Road which he attributed to the reason bandits were harassing residents and motorists on the axis.
She said, “I am a peasant farmer and after harvest, I transport my farm produce to the Asakio market to sell and make profit. But with the activities of criminals who block the road almost on a daily basis, I am now scared to ply the road because I don’t want to be kidnapped or killed. There are no police or military checkpoints from Lafia to Sabon-gida Bakin Kogi, which is the boundary between Nasarawa and Plateau states. The bandits attack and kidnap our people and nothing is being done about it.’’
A resident of Adogi community in the area, Haliru Ibrahim, was seen fetching sand from a nearby river in the community with his wheelbarrow to fill the bad spots on the road. He told our correspondent that he was moved to sand-fill the road because of the rate of accidents that had claimed the lives of some people who plied the road.
Ibrahim stated, “The reason I am filling some of the bad spots with sand is because it has claimed lives of some people who travel from Lafia to Shendam in Plateau State. The road is bad. Nobody asked me to do this. I have been doing this for about five years. I bought the wheelbarrow I use for the work.’’
A commercial driver, Mallam Danladi Ibrahim, who has been plying the road for over 20 years, narrated his experience on the road to Saturday PUNCH.
Ibrahim said, “As a commercial driver, I have been plying the Lafia-Shendam Road for over 20 years. I must say that it has been difficult for me these years because of the state of the road and the insecurity that we are experiencing as drivers. But I don’t have a choice because I have to work to take care of my family members. The activities of robbers and kidnappers are worrisome. Almost every Monday, they block the road to rob businessmen and women going to Asakio market to buy goods. We are going through a difficult situation on this road.’’
Another commercial driver, Biliya Muhammed, stated how he was stopped alongside his passengers on the road by robbers who he said dispossessed them of their valuables.
“I once plied the road with some passengers from Lafia to Shendam when some robbers robbed us of money and phones. We have been going through several challenges on the road. The government should help us repair the road and direct security agents to always patrol it.’’
In his comment, a traditional ruler in the area, Emir of Adogi, Alhaji Ladan Omaku, said the about 60 kilometer Lafia-Shendam Road had caused the death of many.
He also lamented the absence of the police and other security agencies on the road which he said was responsible for the increased insecurity on the axis.
Omaku stated, “This road has been like this for many years and we have been appealing to the government to come to our aid because of the challenges we face. Some parts of the road are bad and criminals use the opportunity to rob people.
“Recently, heavily armed men blocked the road and robbed passengers going to the popular Asakio market. I call on the federal and state governments to consider that this road is important to us and help us repair it as it links many communities in the state and also serves as a link road to Plateau, Taraba and Bauchi states. Bandits are taking advantage of the bad road to attack our people and rob them of their belongings. The government needs to help us out of this situation.’’
A top government official at the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press on the matter said the ministry had been doing its best to reduce accidents on the road.
When our correspondent spoke with the engineer in charge of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency in the state, Hafsat Muhammed, she said that the agency carried out a project between March and May this year and was able to patch some dangerous spots on the road.
Muhammed said, “We have done a lot on that road because the condition you met it is not how it was before. As of January this year, the road was in a state of total disrepair but we had a project there from March to May and we were able to patch and overlay some parts of the road.’’
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who was in the state to inspect some of the ongoing Federal Government projects, said the government was aware of the challenges being faced by users of the road.
He said, “The Nasarawa State Governor applied that he should be allowed to reconstruct and dualise some parts of the road and we have accepted that he can work on the road. The Lafia-Shendam Road has been in need of attention since the 1990s before we came to government. We didn’t promise Nigerians to do everything, we only promised to do our best and that is what we have been doing.’’
