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Coup: Tinubu Meets With Northern Govs Sharing Boundary With Niger

Published

9 months ago

August 7, 2023

Editor

President Bola Tinubu on Sunday evening met with the Northern Governors, whose states are sharing boundary with Niger Republic at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Although the agenda of the meeting was not made public, a presidency source said it was part of consultations by the President on the situation in Niger.

The governors in attendance were Ahmed Aliyu (Sokoto), Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Mai Malam Buni (Yobe), Idris Nasir (Kebbi) and Dr Dikko Radda (Katsina).

It was gathered that the Northern Elites have kicked against any military might against the military juncta following what would be the consequence of such action on Nigeria.

The meeting according to a presidency source was convened to get input from the northern Governors as the seven day ultimatum for the military to reinstate the overthrown President has expired.

Recall that the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government had about a week ago given ultimatum to the military junca that sacked the democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum.

The military juncta led by Abdourahamane Tchiani, President of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), took over after a coup that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, on 26 July 2023.

The ECOWAS Heads State and Government headed by President Tinubu in a meeting in Abuja issued a seven-day ultimatum to the military juncta in Niger Republic to reinstate Bazoum as democratically elected President or face a range of stiff sanctions.

The Extraordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the ECOWAS, in its resolution, recognised Bazoum as the legitimate President of the nation.

The regional body also threatened to impose land border closures and no-fly zone conditions on Niger Republic should the military coup masterminds fail to heed its ultimatum.

It also tasked all Chiefs of Defense Staff of the member-states to proceed for an emergency meeting to strategize on effective ways to implement a possible military operation to restore constitutional order to office.

According to the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, who read the communiqué, the body “call for the immediate release and reinstatement of President Mohamed Bazoum as President and Head of State of the Republic of Niger and for the full restoration of constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.

“Reject any form of resignation that may purportedly come from His Excellency, President Mohamed Bazoum; considered the illegal detention of President Bazoum as a hostage situation and hold the authors of the attempted coup that are solely and fully responsible for the safety and security of His Excellency President Mohammed Bazoum, as well as members of his family and government.

“In the event the Authority’s demands are not met within one week, take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Nigeria.

“Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS Member States and Asia. Freeze all service transactions including energy transactions.

“Freeze assets of the Republic of Niger in Aqua Central Bank. Freeze of assets of the Niger State and the state enterprises and parastatals in commercial banks.

“Suspension of measure from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions, particularly EBID”, he said.

President Tinubu had via a memo to the senate asked for approval for military action as agreed by ECOWAS.

But the Senate rejected the request but rather asked Tinubu, who is the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, and other leaders of the region to tread with caution in addressing the political quagmire in Niger Republic.

Rising from a closed door session that lasted close to two hours to discuss the letter written to the Senate on Friday by President Tinubu on the decisions taken by the regional body, the Senate asked ECOWAS and its leaders to strengthen political and diplomatic options and other means with a view to resolving the political crisis in Niger Republic.

VANGUARD

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‘You’re Guilty’ – Judge Roars, Jailed UK-based Nigerian Pastor, Wife 34 Years For Raping, Assaulting Members

Published

6 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Editor

A Nigerian pastor, Michael Oluronbi and his wife Juliana, have been sentenced to jail for 34 years in the UK after Oluronbi was found guilty of sexual offences against six women and a man.

He abused children and adults for over 20 years after convincing the victims to take part in “spiritual bathing to cleanse them of evil spirits.”

Olurnobi was jailed for 34 years for offences of multiple rapes of members of his congregation.

He was convicted of “fifteen counts of rape, seven counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault and at least 88 separate occasions on which he raped his victims.”

Birmingham Crown Court heard that some of the victims became pregnant multiple times, but Olurnobi would take them to abortion clinics, as a cover-up for the abuse.

His wife was jailed for 11 years for three counts of aiding and abetting rape, as she assisted Olurnobi in arranging abortions for the victims.

Both defendants will be required to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

Oluronbi was linked to a Christian church in Edgbaston, Birmingham, the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, whose roots were in Nigeria. He had set up his own splinter group at another address and from where he began the “spiritual bathing.” The jury heard how the offences took place in Birmingham and London.

Sentencing “arrogant” Oluronbi on Friday, Judge Buckingham said: “You claimed that God was instructing you to conduct holy baths. Its real purpose was to fulfil your insatiable sexual appetite. The children feared you and this enabled you to continue your grip. Your offending has had an extreme and severe impact on all of your complainants. Any attempt to suggest otherwise would be without foundation. You abused your position of trust – they trusted you like God.”

The judge continued: “You did this because you are an arrogant, selfish and vain man. In my judgment, your offending must be one of the worst cases of sexual abuse of multiple children to come before the courts.”

When confronted about his offences, Oluronbi said “The devil made me do it”.

Phil Bradley QC, prosecuting, told the jury:

“The Crown’s case is that Mr Oluronbi used what he called ‘spiritual work’ as a subterfuge for that sexual abuse. The main tactic he employed was to claim that God had instructed him to administer ‘holy baths’ to some of his congregation in order to ‘cleanse’ them and protect them from evil influences. That activity began when his victims were children. There can be no doubt that its real purpose was to serve his sexual gratification.”

He added that for some of the female victims the offending “progressed to repeated rapes, on many occasions leading to unwanted pregnancies and terminations”.

“You will learn that this man, who was revered and feared by his victims, kept a vice-like grip on many of them and continued to abuse them well into adulthood.”

The victims described him as “controlling” and “almost like a king”.

Oluronbi was arrested in May 2023, at Birmingham Airport while trying to leave the UK for Nigeria.

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Lady Arrested For Allegedly Harassing, Cyberstalking Crown Prince Of Benin Kingdom [VIDEO]

Published

7 hours ago

May 13, 2024

Editor

Cynthia Morgan has been arrested for allegedly persistently harassing and cyberstalking His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of the Benin Kingdom. Prince Ezelekhae Ewuare.

According to a lawsuit filed by his team of lawyers, the singer, also known as Madrina, has been desperately trying to reach the Prince and trailing him on his work days.

Frustrated at not meeting him, she allegedly began publishing lies and defamatory statements against him on Instagram from 2020 to date.

According to the court documents, the Crown Prince filed a suit against her, warning her to desist from defaming him, but she ignored all his warnings.

She is also alleged to have attempted to contact him through various phone lines, which he immediately blocked.

She allegedly succeeded in reaching him via phone call on May 3rd, 2024, and began making statements that seemed to come from a place of delusion.

Screenshots of chats allegedly sent by the singer to the Prince have also been released.

A video shared online shows Cynthia being led by men suspected to be police officers out of her home.

Recall that in November 2023, Cynthia publicly accused the Crown Prince of bewitching her and physically assaulting her to prevent her from marrying someone else.

The Crown Prince responded to these allegations on his Instagram story, announcing his intention to file a lawsuit against Cynthia.

At the time, the singer doubled down and shared images of her and the Prince from 2018.

She then promised to share her side of the story.

Watch the video below.

Headline

$2.5bn Fraud: EFCC To Collaborate With UK Prosecutors In Diezani’s Case

Published

17 hours ago

May 13, 2024

Editor

There were signs over the weekend that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission plans to join forces with the United Kingdom prosecutors as an interested party in the trial of former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, in a UK court.

A team from the anti-graft commission is expected in London to initiate this process by filing relevant documents, the Nation reports.

According to a source privy to the information, the EFCC intends to share its findings and the Abuja high court’s forfeiture order concerning Diezani’s $2.5 million properties and vehicles with the UK court.

“This country may not be able to retrieve questionable assets from Diezani if the EFCC does not file an application as an interested party. We have received an advisory on this important bend to Diezani’s trial and we will be part of the case in the UK. A team will leave for London any moment from now to explore legal opportunities and file necessary papers as an interested party.

“The overall aim is for Nigeria to benefit from Diezani’s trial, especially the recovery of all assets linked to funds looted in this country. The EFCC has sufficient evidence against Diezani, including a court order on the former minister’s $2.5 million homes and cars.

“In another case, a former chairman of EFCC confirmed that the commission recovered $153 million and secured the final forfeiture of over 80 properties in Nigeria valued at about $ 80 million. The allegations against Diezani by the EFCC border on the alleged stealing of about $2.5 billion from Nigeria’s coffers as a minister.” the source said.

The source continued, “It is necessary for this nation to rise to the occasion because, in March 2023, the NCA also provided evidence to the US Department of Justice that enabled them to recover assets totalling $53.1 million linked to Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s alleged corruption.

“Like the P&ID case, the EFCC has sufficient evidence to pull through a case against Diezani. We want all stolen, diverted and questionable assets back in the custody of Nigeria for the good use of our citizens.I think the EFCC is collaborating with the NCA in the UK on this.

“It is also unclear if the UK court will ask Diezani to return to Nigeria to serve prison terms if convicted. This is why we also need to be an interested party in the case in the UK.”

Last year, the Head of the NCA’s international corruption unit, Andy Kelly, said the “charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation”.

“Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries.

“We will continue to work with partners here and overseas to tackle the threat.”

Diezani is currently facing trial at the Southwark Crown Court in the UK over an alleged £100,000 bribe.

The National Crime Agency alleged that Diezani could have received benefits worth at least £100,000, including cash, chauffeured cars, private jet flights, luxury family vacations, and multiple London properties.

On October 2, 2023, a Magistrate Court granted bail to the former Minister for £70,000, considering her a potential flight risk.

The trial proceedings for Diezani’s case are scheduled to commence in November 2025.

In October 2023, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, submitted a warrant of arrest and request to the Crown Prosecution Services of the United Kingdom for the urgent extradition of a former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Allison-Madueke.