ASUU strike: Politicians’ children must be banned from schooling abroad, in private universities-HURIWA

..URGES ASUU NOT TO VICTIMISE STUDENTS WITH PROVOCATIVE STRIKES

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) on Wednesday, said for the recurring industrial actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities to end once and for all, politicians and government officials must be banned from sending their children and wards for academic purpose of schooling in private institutions and in foreign jurisdictions. 

HURIWA has also described the quick resort to strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities as lazy and irrational since the members of the Union can as well adopt other proactive, constructive and elaborate alternatives to strikes such as publicising the schools and names of Children of Nigerian public office holders schooling in Western Europe,  Canada and the USA and to write protest letters to those schools informing them that Parents of their Students of Nigerian origin who are in charge of public affairs have sabotaged University education and have therefore decided to fund their Children’s Academic activities from stolen public funds of Nigerians. 

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade  Emmanuel Onwubiko, emphasised that until the children of public officers have no educational alternative both at home and abroad, the perennial strike by public university lecturers won’t be earnestly resolved by those in power. The group therefore Advocates what it calls constructive blackmail of Government officials by the Academic Staff Union of Universities as a possible strategy to compel the central government to honour the promises and agreements reached between government and ASUU.  

The group lamented that the intermittent industrial actions embarked upon by aggrieved university lecturers due to government’s failure to meet certain agreements and conditions is inimical and counterproductive to the bulging over 34 million youths.

HURIWA further said that for a country with over 40 million out-of-school children, prolonged stay out of tertiary institutions by youths will fill the crime pool of bandits, fraudsters, ritualists, armed robbers, prostitutes, amongst others.

ASUU, on March 14, at the expiration of its four-week warning strike which it declared on Monday, February 14, 2022, extended the industrial action by two months.

The union led by Professor Emmanuel Osodeke said it made the decision to extend the strike so as to give the Federal Government and its agencies enough time to meet the lingering demands of the union.

The union had embarked on a nine-month strike in 2020 before it was called off in December of that year.

But ASUU said this week that the government had failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action but the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, insisted that the Federal Government had met all of ASUU’s demands including funding for revitalisation of public universities (both Federal and States), renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ ASUU Agreement and the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution.

Other demands of the union as listed by ASUU include Earned Academic Allowances, State Universities, promotion arrears, withheld salaries, and non-remittance of third-party deductions.

Reacting on the impasse so far, HURIWA’s Onwubiko declared, “The Federal Government which is saddled with the provision of quality education has failed woefully. It is more pathetic that government officials including the two education ministers have maintained indifference in meeting ASUU’s demand once and for all and not in piecemeal.

“To think that the present government has eight years to address the matter and it has failed to do so in the last seven years is unthinkable. The reason, however, is not farfetched; every now and then, politicians and government officials flaunt photos of the matriculation and the graduation of the children in first-class universities abroad and a very few in private universities back home unaffected by the perennial industrial actions by ASUU and other unions in tertiary institutions. They do this at the chagrin of abandoned Nigerian students back home who are forced out of school and their stay of four or five years elongated to over seven years due to ASUU strikes.

“HURIWA posits that the National Assembly must be resolute and make laws banning politicians from sending their wards overseas for studies so that all hands can be on the deck to resolve ASUU lingering crisis.

“Nigeria is sitting on a time bomb if ASUU strike is allowed to linger as there are connections between rising criminality and out-of-school students. The government must make hay while the sun shines. HURIWA has also warned that the strike would push thousands of students into such crimes like yahooyahoo and to be available for active recruitment to carry out terrorism. The continuous closure of Public tertiary institutions is a grave threat to national security interests of Nigeria and must be brought to an end immediately. 

March 16, 2022

Emmanuel Onwubiko

National Coordinator – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA).

HURIWA tackles Lagos police over baby caught with dispatch rider, alleges cover-up

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria(HURIWA), on Monday, faulted the Lagos State Police Command over its stance on a 10-month-old baby caught with a dispatch rider, Williams Tadule, in the Sangotedo area of the state.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, alleged that the police is trying to cover-up the suspected abduction of the lad to give an untrue impression that Lagos is safe whereas it is not.

A video had gone viral last week with a mob descending on Tadule for hiding the baby in question in his delivery box but the police on Monday said the dispatch rider got the consent of the baby’s mother, Lovina Biturs, to take her 10-month-old baby away.

According to the police, Tadule and Bitrus were neighbours and the baby was fond of the rider.

“To pacify the baby, his mother allowed him go with the rider,” said police spokesman in Lagos, Adekunle Ajisebutu, noting that the baby caught with the rider was not stolen.

But HURIWA faulted the police, stating that the narration defied logic.

HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The Lagos State Police Command must go back to their scriptwriters because the script released justifying the dispatch rider’s custody of the baby looks like a Nollywood movie.

“The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, must answer the following questions:

“Who on earth will keep a 10-month-old baby in a courier box without access to air except a criminal and kidnapper?

“With the delicate and the exposed manner of motorbikes, who on earth will allow a 10-month-old baby go on a bike with a neighbour just to pacify him save an accomplice?

“There is more than meets the eye in this case. The police must quit attempt at repackaging and explaining away crimes. The police must stop its attempt at image laundering to protect its failures to secure lives and property in Lagos and all over the country.

“Recall that a Bus Rapid Transit passenger, Oluwabamise Ayanwole, was recently brutally murdered by her abductors who later dumped dismembered her body on the Carter Bridge by Ogogoro Communityin Lagos.

“Also, masked gunmen kidnapped Air Vice Marshal Sikiru Smith (retd.), in the Ajah area of Lagos in September 2021 but later released him after ransom was paid.

“The Lagos police must realise its failures as the security situation in Lagos further worsens and rise up to launch a renewed war against the criminals rather than explaining away crimes.”

HURIWA further called on the Federal Government to enforce stringent legal frameworks and sanctions against crimes targeting kids such as baby’s factory, kidnappings, sexual molestation of children, murders, etc.

Recall that five-year-old pupil, Hanifa Abubakar, was recently mutilated and killed by her Kano State-based school proprietor, Abdulmalik Tanko, who was supposed to protect her.

From Kankara in Katsina State to Kagara in Niger State, Chibok in Borno State, Dapchi in Yobe State, amongst others, school children have been abducted in hundreds by marauders, married off by the bandits, and some killed. The pathetic case of Leah Sharibu is still fresh in mind.

HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The crimes against children and the vulnerable in the country is becoming alarming and unacceptable. The Federal Government must act fast, change the name of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to MINISTRY OF BABIES AND FAMILY AFFAIRS.

“FG must also charge the National Assembly and the 36 states assemblies to make stringent punishments for those who commit crimes against children. Recall that due to these rising crimes against children, the United Nations Children’s Fund classified Nigeria along with Somalia, Congo, Cameroon, and Niger based on countries with the highest cases of verified abductions in 2021.

“Practical measures must be taken to tackle headlong these crimes. The need for police to have a national data bank of persons caught in these types of crimes against children is non-negotiable. Repeated offenders should get life imprisonment.”

March 14, 2022

Emmanuel Onwubiko

National Coordinator – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA)

Abba Kyari: Malami Has Always Played Hide-And-Seek Game: HURIWA Says

…Calls for Abubakar Malami’s sack

…Calls for forensic investigations of circumstances surrounding death of DIG JOSEPH EGBUNIKE

Leading Civil Rights Advocacy Group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has called for the dismissal of the federal attorney general and minister of Justice Abubakar Malami for disgracefully playing politics with the demand by the United States of America to extradite the disgraced Deputy Commissioner of Police Alhaji Abba Kyari to the United States of America to face prosecution over fraud allegations. 

HURIWA has also asked the Anambra State government and the Governors of the Soith East to demand that investigations about the sudden death of the most senior Igbo police officer in Nigeria hitherto charged with the investigation of the disgraced police officer Abba Kyari be opened because there have been many accounts of how he died alongside insinuations that his death was connected to his principled stand to indict the disgraced police officer who however has been in jail before the death of the Senior police officer. 

HURIWA said: “We are not pointing accusing fingers on any one in particular but the interest generated by a section of federal government officials on the case of Abba Kyari and the crude determination by these officials to frustrate any talk of extraditing their beloved ‘super cop’ shows that some desperate agents even working independent of the accused persons,  may have masterminded the death of DIG JOSEPH EGBUNIKE.  So his death should be investigated independent of the police or government since both the police and federal government are in collusion to undermine the entire legal process of extradition application”. 

The Rights group said categorically that the plots allegedly by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, to save a former Commander of the Police Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari, from facing criminal prosecution for alleged money laundering by writing a second and contradictory advice, has rubbished what is left of the international image of Nigeria and the World will view Nigeria as a criminal empire. “If President Muhammadu Buhari has any honour left in his administration,  then he must sack Abubakar Malami with immediate effect or leave him in office and surely his government has gone down in history as that which sabotaged the constitution and the principle of rule of law to massage their ethnic and tribal egos and interests.”

HURIWA further stated that the second contradictory opinion by Abubakar Malami which attempts to free the police officer, shows that all the while that the Federal Attorney general and minister of Justice and by extension the federal government of President Muhammadu Buhari has never planned to hand over the disgraced police officer to the Federal Bureau of Investigation but were simply deceiving gullible Nigerians.

The Rights group said the volte -face by the incredibly ridiculous Attorney-General is a confirmation of the alarm we raised last week stating that all the while the government does not want to extradite the indicted police office Abba Kyari to the USA even with the abundance of evidence allegedly linking him to several crimes of advanced fees fraud allegedly masterminded by Hushpuppi. 

HURIWA said although the current administration may get away with this clear case of covering up for someone they see as their errand boy,  but in the long term the image of Nigeria will suffer near irreparable damage of distrust due to this mess the Attorney-General has created. How the Attorney-General could change opinions like he is changing bathroom slippers,  is a monumental body of shame and is so despicable,  disgusting,  atrocious and vexatious.”

Recall that HURIWA had on March 5th alleged that, “the AGF and some northern political forces must be on a conspiratorial mission because as long as Kyari is facing charges in Nigeria, he cannot be extradited to the U.S. based on the Extradition Treaty between Nigeria and the United States.”

The group quoted the law thus: “Attorney General of the Federation however has the power to refuse extradition. According to section 3 of the Extradition Act, which places restrictions on extradition, ‘A fugitive criminal – (a) who has been charged with an offence under the law of Nigeria or any part thereof, not being the offence for which his surrender is sought; or (b) who is serving a sentence imposed in respect of any such offence by a court in Nigeria, shall not be surrendered until such a time as he has been discharged whether by acquittal or on the expiration of his sentence or otherwise.’

HURIWA added: “Apparently, it would seem that either that the AGF is not even aware that NDLEA, which is an agency under his Ministry had filed charges or he knew and he still authorised filing of extradition application even when aspects of the Extradition Treaty between Nigeria and U.S. says no extradition will happen if the accused person is facing same or another charge or charges at the time of filing the extradition application.

HURIWA had also accused the minister of justice of connivance to undermine the extraditionnof Abba Kyari  thus: “So, it is either that the government is taking Nigerians for a ride by muddying up the extradition application so their sacred cow does not go to the U.S. to face charges of 419 alongside Hushpuppi or the justice minister need to explain why his office did not ask the NDLEA not to file charges so the extradition application goes first and is successfully obtained because as it is, the accused person can’t be extradited since he now has an advantage of the provision of the extradition treaty not to be extradited.”

HURIWA in a statement  by the National  Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko said the clearest evidence of collusion to undermine the extradition of the disgraced police officer has emerged because weeks after directing the police to probe Abba Kyari for allegedly receiving 33 proceeds of crime, stating that a case of money laundering had been established against Kyari, the justice minister in a new legal advice said there was no evidence to show that money was laundered by the senior police officer. HURIWA said this clear crass incompetence that even a year one law student wouldn’t commit is a bug slap on the face of Nigerians and is absolutely repugnant to good reasoning.  

HURIWA said this contradiction by the Federal Attorney general and minister of Justice has painted Nigeria graphically as a lawless contraption whereby anything goes and a kingdom of filth whereby if you have a big man in government, then you can literally commit murder in Broad daylight and you walk freely on the corridors of power in Abuja same way armed Fulani terrorists have killed over 6, 000 farmers all over Nigeria and the Federal Attorney general shamelessly told HURIWA in writing that he can’t prosecute the alleged mass killers because there is no case file. 

HURIWA recalled  that the embattled police man Alhaji Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, who is wanted in the United States for alleged involvement in a $1.1m scam carried out by the then Dubai based advanced fees fraud kingpin Abbas Ramon also known as Hushpuppi. 

HURIWA stated that it is a shocking and disappointing that the AGF affirmed in January that investigations carried out by the police indicted the former IRT commander for money laundering.

Malami, in a legal advice, therefore, directed the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to carry out further investigations, noting that a prima facie case of money laundering had been established against the DCP.

He also said the force should intensify investigation into 33 crime proceeds received by the ex-IRT commander.

HURIWA recalled that police investigations revealed how the international scammers led by Hushpuppi paid N235,120,000 to Kyari’s younger brother.

The police report also said Kyari equally funnelled N44 million into his sibling’s bank account in multiple transactions.

Then in January the AGF’s legal advice read in part, “That there exists prima facie case of conspiracy, collaboration, receipt, conversion, transfer and/or retention of proceeds of unlawful activities contrary to the provision of sections 15, 17 & 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 and Section 17 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, Cap E, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, against DCP Abba Kyari and other suspects in view of the overwhelming evidence showing the nature of his disguised financial transactions and activities with Abbas Hushpuppi, Efe Martins, Usman Ibrahim Waziri, Sikiru Adekoya, Hussaini Ala and Sharon Festus, who are all confirmed members of an international Internet fraud network.

“Although the facts and circumstances of this case as contained in the case file are suggestive to money laundering offences against DCP Abba Kyari and his accomplices namely: Abbas Hushpuppi, Efe Martins, Usman Ibrahim Waziri, Sikiru Adekoya, Hussaini Ala and Sharon Festus; to successfully prosecute them, there is a need for a more thorough dissecting and tracing of the suspected 33 proceeds of crime received by DCP Abba Kyari directly or indirectly through the said accomplices.”

HURIWA lamented that in a sinister attempt to free the sacred cow and the good boy of the Northern political class, who used him in the past for all kinds of allegedly abominable assignment, However, Malami, in his latest advice contradicted his January directive that Kyari should be probed for money laundering and for receiving 33 proceeds of crime.

HURIWA stated that in a letter dated February 4, 2022, with reference number, DPPA/LA/814/21, the AGF sought to exonerate the embattled senior officer, saying there was no link between Kyari and the Hushpuppi gang.

According to the letter written on behalf of the AGF by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Abubakar, the evidence contained in the case diary “was not sufficient to indicate or show that the said monies (N279mn) were laundered directly or indirectly by Kyari to disguise their origin.”

The new position of the attorney-general was contained in a letter titled, ‘Re: Forwarding of the investigation report of the Nigeria Police Force Special Investigation Team and request for legal advice with regards to allegations of criminal conspiracy, aiding and abetting Internet fraud, wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering against DCP Abba Kyari’.

The letter addressed to the IG, read in part, “I am directed to inform you that after a careful study of the said response wherein you stated that ‘the monies have been traced to Zenith Bank account no. 2255416115 belonging to Usman Ibrahim Waziri; Guaranty Trust Bank account no. 0130665392 belonging to Adekoya Sikiru; Zenith Bank account no. 2080537566 belonging to Hussein Ala and other funds went to Sharon Festus. The monies were withdrawn and utilised by the aforementioned account holders and the lady.

“It is our view that the above response has not linked the suspect, DCP Abba Kyari, to the offence of money laundering as the evidence contained in the case diary is not sufficient to indicate or show that the said monies were laundered directly or indirectly by Kyari to disguise their origin, more so that the aforementioned recipients or receivers exonerated him in their statements as having nothing to do with the monies.”

HURIWA in its reaction to the latest volte face of the Federal attorney general and minister of Justice Abubakar Malami said it is one more evidence of crass incompetence and/or alleged collusion to undermine any attempt to extradite Abba Kyari to the USA. 

HURIWA said the impression being created by this turn around and a show of shame by the AGF is that the Federal government recognises impunity as its official mantra and the officials don’t give a damn  to do all kinds of things because they think that they are above the law. 

HURIWA stated that the current Attorney General and minister of Justice Abubakar Malami has entered the national book of infamy and will for generations to come be looked upon as one of the worst lawyers to have held the post of Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. Such a shame really!”

Like APC, Like Nigeria, Buhari’s maladministration infectious: HURIWA

The administration crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress is evidence of the inept misgovernment of President Muhammadu Buhari in all aspect of the governance in Nigeria in the last seven years, civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria(HURIWA), has said.

HURIWA, in a statement on Friday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the power tussle shaking the boat of APC whose leader is said to be the President has shown that the APC government cannot competently run the affairs of the country going forward.

The group pointed out that the President and APC governors run the affairs of the party like headmasters, with no regard for constitutional and legal provisions by the Independent National Electoral Commission, thus the many woes confronting the party.

According to reports, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, said the President ordered the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, to remove Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State as Chairman and replace him with his Niger State counterpart, Abubakar Bello.

But INEC rejected a letter inviting it to an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee of the governing party where Bello’s chairmanship, among other things, is to be ratified.

The commission drew  the attention of CECPC to the fact that the letter of invitation was not signed by the National Chairman and National Secretary of the CECPC, Buni and Dr John Akpanudoedehe, respectively.

It said this was contrary to the provision of Article 1.1.3 of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Party Operations (2018).

Also, the APC, due to maladministration is currently battling no fewer than 208 court cases with some of them challenging the leadership of the party in various states and the legitimacy of the caretaker committee appointed by the President at a meeting on June 25, 2020 after the dissolution of the national leadership led by Adams Oshiomhole. 

But the party has battled many crises since the Buni committee took over, threatening its March 26 planned convention of the party hurriedly put together in 2017 to oust then President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Commenting on the commotion rocking the APC, HURIWA faulted the appointment of Buni as caretaker chairman in the first instance and the subsequent appointment of Bello, noting that it is illegal for an elected governor to hold a very top position in any political party.

HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “How on earth will a governor who is elected for four years on full time job for a specific state government and governance territory be clothed with the extra judicial executive office of the national chairman of a national political party for years and the Independent National Electoral Commission looks on as if the commission is not to be concerned about the ethical and constitutional wellbeing of political parties given  all the constitutional guidelines made on how parties should be administered transparently?

“How on earth are President Muhammadu Buhari and governors behaving like head masters of their political party as against their oaths of office which obliges them to be loyal to the constitution and be 100 per cent dedicated to the mandates that the voters and those who never voted delegated and clothed them with as the legitimate permission to exercise their authorities as governors or President and not to mix these up with party administration?

“The persistent crises rocking the APC and the blatant violation of guidelines governing the affairs of political parties by the APC is condemnable. The party should learn from best practices in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.

“These abuses if not rectified within seven working days will be challenged in court by HURIWA so we get the Court to make pronouncements on how political party administration should be for the sake of national security and national health.”

March 11, 2022

Emmanuel Onwubiko

National Coordinator – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA). 

Sparing Bello Turji, persecuting Nnamdi Kanu hypocritical, unjust, unconstitutional: HURIWA slams FG

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Sunday, lambasted security agents and the Federal Government for being dishonest in its fight against banditry and insurgency in the country. HURIWA also accused heads of security agencies who are mostly Moslem Northerners of looking the other way as Fulani terrorists import sophisticated weapons into Nigeria through the North West with which they use to terrorise Nigerians. 

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said it was hypocritical of the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari to continue persecuting the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu; while leaving notorious bandit kingpin, Bello Turji, to continue terrorising residents of North-West zone.

The group said Turji, emboldened by the fact that security agents have continuously failed to arrest him, granted a full-fledged interview to Daily Trust recently, detailing his criminality and his many deadly assaults on innocent Nigerians. HURIWA carpeted the National Broadcasting Commission for doing nothing even after the terrorist was granted live interview but the same NBC almost took away the licence if Chajnels television just for interviewing the Spokesoerson the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Comrade Emma Powerful. HURIWA said the current administration is full of double standards.  

HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “It is unthinkable that Fulani bandits and terrorists continue to wreak havoc on Nigerians yet they are spared by security agents who flex muscle to victimize a self-determination agitator in the person of Kanu. 

“Whereas terrorism is a world crime, self-determination is legally recognized by the constitution and Article 20 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which states thus: “All peoples shall have the right to existence. They shall have the unquestionable and inalienable right to self-determination. They shall freely determine their political status and shall pursue their economic and social development according to the policy they have freely chosen.

“The persistent threats posed by armed Fulani herdsmen across the country is alarming and they are having a field day because security agents look away. The fact that till date, not a single of the armed Fulani herdsmen responsible for hundreds of deaths has been arrested, prosecuted and punished press home this point.

“Where are the 400 Bureau De Change operators indicted for terror financing? Has the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), published their names or prosecuted them for over a year now?

“It is, however, ironical that the same minister has been illegally prosecuting Kanu for over eight months now since the IPOB leader was abducted from Kenya has continuous demonised the leader of IPOB in the media.

“President Buhari, Malami, security agents must be patriotic enough to fish out Bello Turji and his gang. If a reporter without arms from Daily trust can locate Turji, what excuse does our security agents have not to bring down the notorious terrorist? A criminal who should be sent to where he belongs now grants television interviews like a celebrity because of his tribe. It is sad.

“It is again unfortunate that for about a month since brazen Fulani herdsmen invaded some communities in the Logo Local Government Area of Benue State, forcibly displacing autochthonous dwellers to plan permanent settlement, security agents have not arrested any of the invaders. FULANI herdsmen are busy killing citizens all across Nigeria but the Federal Government pampers them. 

“The President and the entire heads of internal security agencies who are all Fulani and Moslem northerners should blame themselves for allowing Fulani herdsmen to amass weapons of mass destruction at the disadvantage of the nation’s armed forces. 

“There should be an honest, patriotic, transparent and open investigation by the National Assembly to resolve this huge threat which may undermine the conduct of the 2023 polls.”

March 13, 2022

Emmanuel Onwubiko

National Coordinator – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA)

Agwam Bajju was dedicated not only to Kajju land but all Southern Kaduna and Kaduna State as a whole: SOKAPDA-Europe

The Southern Kaduna People in the Diaspora (Europe) has pledged solidarity with the Bajju chiefdom over the demise of the paramount ruler of the Chiefdom, His Royal Highness, Nuhu Bature OON who passed on on December 18 in Kafanchan.

In a condolence statement signed by it’s president, Rita Allahmagani and it’s Board of trustees, Casimir Biriyok and obtained by this newspaper, the group described the late Monarch as a man of peace who was always peaceful despite provocations emanating from constant violence perpetrated by terrorists in Southern Kaduna.

SOKAPDA described the death of the First class chief as a monumental loss not only to the Bajju Chiefdom in Zango-Kataf Local Government Area of the state but to the state and the entire country.

The statement reads;

“Earth hath no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.” – Thomas Moore

Southern Kaduna People in Diaspora Europe (SOKAPDA) wish to express our deep condolences upon the death of HRH Nuhu Bature, Agwam Bajju 1.

Agwam Bajju was a man of peace irrespective of the constant violence in Southern Kaduna in particular and Northern Nigeria in general . It is sad that we lost him when his experience and wise counsel is needed most.

He was a father to all and a gentleman to the core.

Agwam Bajju was dedicated not only to Kajju land but all Southern Kaduna and Kaduna State as a whole.

He was a fighter for the independence of the Kajju land and our brothers in Southern Kaduna.
Together with many others, he fought a long campaign for independence from Zazzau Emirate. Fast forward 1995. The Bajju chiefdom was created with that of Atyap and eventually other chiefdoms in Southern Kaduna.

Agwam Nuhu Bature then became the first Agwam Bajju of the Bajju Chiefdom in 1995.

We in SOKAPDA Europe are heart broken for the loss of His Royal Highness Agwam Bajju 1. However we are proud of his achievements and these are testimonies to his years of campaign and dedication to emancipation of Kajju Land.
We pray that the Almighty God will accept him into his kingdom and we hope to meet again in spirit.

HRH Agwam Bajju1 will be remembered as a man who spent 26 years on the throne fighting for the peace in Kajju land, Southern Kaduna and Kaduna State in general.
He was highly respected leader that stood for the truth. He was also a man of faith.

He will also be remembered for his leadership qualities that united, strengthened and enhanced the progress of the Bajju people. His efforts in seeing the progress of Kajju land, Southern Kaduna and Kaduna State is well known and will never be forgotten.

He was also sincere in all his dealings and relationships. He was committed to progress in whatever shape or form.

SOKAPDA Europe stand in solidarity with the Bajju chiefdom and the bond and love that unite the people of Southern Kaduna. May these be strengthened especially at these times now and forevermore.
The king is dead.
Goodbye Agwam Bajju 1
Long live Kajju Land.
Long live Southern Kaduna
Long live Kaduna State
Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria

To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi

“There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in our heart.”

With deepest sympathy,

Mrs Rita Allahmagani, President SOKAPDA
Mr Casimir Biriyok, Board of Trustees SOKAPDA

Agwam Bajju: Southern Kaduna People In The Diaspora (U.S.A) Mourn Monarch

…..Say His Experience and patriotic enthusiasm will be greatly missed

The Southern Kaduna People in the Diaspora, U.S.A have expressed grief over the demise of the Agwam Bajju, His Royal Highness, Nuhu Bature, OON who passed on after a brief illness on Saturday December 18.

In a condolence statement signed by SOKAD Coordinator, Professor Martin Shinkut and President, Ms Alice Chat Osunde, the group described the death of the Agwam Bajju I as a monumental loss not only to the Bajju Chiefdom in Zango-Kataf Local Government Area of the state but to the state and the entire country.

The statement reads;

It is with profound sorrow that we learned of the unfortunate and tragic passing of His Highness Nuhu Bature, the Agwam Bajju who passed on Saturday December 18, 2021. His death is coming at a time that the Kajju Community, Southern Kaduna, Kaduna state and indeed the north needed his service, experience and patriotic enthusiasm the most in addressing the pressing violence that has become endemic to Southern Kaduna and the North as a whole. We have lost a man of wisdom, who was a unifying factor and a worthy ambassador who excelled in his role as a royal father.

Our grief is indeed heartfelt, for we note with great commendation the outstanding contributions of his Royal Highness to the development and peace of Kajju Community in particular, Zangon Kataf Local Government, Southern Kaduna, and Kaduna State as a whole.

From the inception of his rule as the first Chief of Kajju, HH Nuhu Bature showed love for his people and respect for justice. He was a good leader known for his commitment to peace and unity in the community. He made great efforts to ensure that development to areas within his jurisdiction and beyond was evenly spread.

HH Nuhu Bature will certainly be remembered for his leadership qualities that united, strengthened and enhanced the progress of the Kajju people. His untiring efforts at community development and furthering the struggle for peace, his faith in his subjects, his sincerity and commitment to democratic ideals are legacies he would be remembered for. HH was a true Nigerian, a leader of high character and moral values, a good leader with immense prowess and dexterity, with a clean and impeccable record to his credit.

We mourn the loss of this illustrious son of Kajju and pledge our unswerving solidarity, love and support for the ideals he stood for, and resolve to strengthen the bonds uniting the people of Southern Kaduna. Once more, we express our sincere condolence to the family of HH Nuhu Bature, the entire Kajju community, Zangon Kataf Local Government, and the entire Southern Kaduna community. We pray that the Almighty God grant perpetual rest to His Highness, and comfort to the immediate family, Kajju community, and all of us on this mournful moment.

THE TRUTH IS: THIS GOVERNMENT IS NOT FIGHTING TERRORISTS: SAYS HURIWA

FAULTS NSA ON NAMES OF TERRORISTS FINANCIERS
 
Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy Group:- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has blamed the Federal Government and the North West States for the unrelenting terror attacks being unleashed against soft targets in the North West of Nigeria including the recent bloodshed in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Relatedly, the Civil Rights group:- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) carpeted the National Security Adviser (NSA) for issuing very deliberately ambiguous list of the so- called financiers of terrorism in Nigeria in which case he was lavishly reported in the media even when he never listed the over 200 alleged Bureau De change operators reportedly charged before the Federal High Court for terrorism financing.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), identified Jama’at Nasr al-Islam Wal Muslimin (JNIM), Islamic and Muslim Support Group (GSIM) and ISGS as groups fuelling terrorism in Nigeria and other Sahel nations.
The NSA spoke at the 14th Workshop of the League of Ulamas, Preachers and Imams of Sahel countries in Abuja. He said: “Terrorism and the rapid escalation of violent activities by militant Islamist groups in the Sahel since 2016 have been primarily driven by the Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS), which mainly operates in Mali and extends to Niger Republic and Burkina Faso.
 
Monguna said: “It is bolstered by activities of groups such as Jama’at Nasr al-Islam Wal Muslimin (JNIM), the Islamic and Muslim Support Group (GSIM) and ISGS, which have continued to pose an imminent threat to the stability of the region. In Nigeria, Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) dominate terrorist activities, especially in the North-eastern part of the country. The situation in the Sahel has never been grimmer, extremist violence continues to spread, the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) is growing; and food insecurity is affecting more people than ever before. There are several not entirely congruent working hypothesis underpinning foreign and regional government strategies.”
 
Reacting to this disclosure by the NSA, HURIWA said the disclosure is opaque and irrelevant just as the Rights group said it was laughable that the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami who has been singing daily in the media and making all kinds of allegations against the detained leader of the pro- secessionist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has so far failed to release the identities of the over 200 Nigerians said to have been dragged to the Abuja division of the Federal High Court for financing Boko Haram terror attacks.
“The attitudes of the top officials of the current administration demonstrates deliberate cover up and the deficit of the will-power to eliminate terrorists in the North which is the reason for the proliferation of attacks including the killing of a Kaduna based Pastor and a member of the Kaduna State House of Assembly. Let the truth be told, the Federal Government is unwilling to combat terrorists of Northern extraction for whatever reason that totally offends the constitution of Nigeria. This is a government that is in unholy communion with terrorists so can not fight terrorists.”

Tambuwal Meets PMB, Seeks Declaration of State of Emergency In Terrorists’ Enclaves

Pursuant to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and to further give effect to the process of proclaiming bandits as terrorists by the President, Gov. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state a while ago called on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a full scale state of emergency in all areas where criminals, so determined, are domiciled.

This, according to Gov. Tambuwal who met with President Buhari at the Presidential villa Monday evening for about thirty minutes, would be to enable the Armed Forces to carry out their operations without let or hindrance in all enclaves affected by the declaration.

These operations, once conceived and ready for execution, “should be carried out simultaneously in the states where the terrorists have strongholds, such as , Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger and Kebbi; as well as elsewhere, where the criminals have hideouts,” he said.

Gov. Tambuwal also called on the President to give premium to the deployment of more manpower to all beleaguered areas just as he advocated for the procurement of sophisticated equipment, particularly, modern technology- which use is now centered around the deployment of drones globally.

He also appealed to the President, to consider popular opinions suggesting the recall of retired personnel for engagement in the war against terrorists and the recruitment of more personnel in all the security services.

In view of the security situation in the Sahel, which has escalated tension in the sub-region, the need to ask the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to seek extensive cooperation with the United Kingdom, France and the United States of America on security issues was also suggested by the Governor.

Muhammad Bello
Special Adviser Media and Publicity to the Governor
Dec. 13, 2021
Sokoto

Engr. Funom Kato Was Never Nominated For Award: SOKAPU Youth Says

The youth wing of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU Youth) has debunked claims from some quarters that it nominated Kaduna based controversial social media enthusiast, Engineer Funom Kato for award in the social media influencer of the year category.

The group in a statement signed by it’s National Youth Public Relations Officer, Ernest Maidawa said the nomination certificate allegedly brandished by Kato is fake and photoshopped. It also accused Kato of discrediting her in numerous occasions.

The statement reads in full;

The attention of the leadership of the Youth Wing of the Southern Kaduna People’s Union has been drawn to a statement credited to Engr Funom Kato alleging to have been nominated by the Youth Wing for award in the social media influencers category.

The Youth Wing is not surprised by this action as previous antecedents aimed at discrediting SOKAPU by Mr Kato over the years are glaring.

It is important to state here in clear terms that Mr Funom Kato was never at any time nominated for award in any of the categories.

It is also important to state that the nomination certificate in circulation is completely fake and a Photoshop of the Original nomination certificates issued by SOKAPU Youth Wing.

We want to use this medium to appreciate all those who have called for clarifications and to draw our attention to this ugly development.

To this end we like to inform you all that preparations for the awards are in top gear and voting on going across categories let’s all endeavor to vote for our choice nominees.

Above all accept our assurance of Non-partisan, Non- partial and above Non-discriminatory commitments to a united and progressive Southern kaduna People’s Union.

Thank you and God bless.

Signed:
Ernest Thyek Maidawa
National Youth PRO
(Chairman Awards Committee)
02/12/2021