Connect with us

News

How Angry Voters Brutalise Corps Member Over BVAS Machine Failure

Published

on

A National Youth Corps member, Jamiu Aremu, who was part of the ad-hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Lagos State, has lamented over the brutality he suffered at the hands of voters protesting against the failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System to upload results during the governorship and state House of Assembly elections in the state.

Aremu, while narrating his ordeal to The PUNCH, said the encounter left him with swollen and bruised lips and bloodied eyes, among others.

It was learnt that Aremu, alongside other INEC ad hoc staff, were attending to votes at Polling Unit 082 in the Okota area of the state when they experienced difficulties in using the BVAS machine to upload the results.

READ ALSO: Man Bags Life Jail For Defiling Colleague’s Nine-year-old Daughter

In a bid to ensure transparency in the electoral process, the corps member said he asked party agents at the polling unit to follow him to the INEC office where he could get an alternative means to upload the results.

Noting that the party agents did not oppose the suggestion, Aremu said the voters protested against the suggestion and accused him of attempting to use the claim on the faulty BVAS to manipulate the outcome of the results.

He, however, noted that the angry voters descended on him as he and his colleagues attempted to leave the polling unit for the INEC office.

Aremu said, “At the end of the voting, I calculated the votes and I gave the party agents their copies of the result. The situation then became tense when we wanted to start uploading the results. I don’t know what happened to the BVAS machine, but it was complaining about the camera quality.

“This happened around 9pm and I assumed that it was because it was dark. So, I told them I could not upload the results and suggested that the agents should follow me to our centre so that we can get it done over there.

READ ALSO: Judgement Day: Tension In Osun As Adeleke, Oyetola Know Fate Today

“Immediately I made the announcement, I left with my two other colleagues to join the bus. My colleagues thought I had joined the other bus but some of the voters cornered me and insisted that I must upload the result. I tried to call the military officers that accompanied us but they could not hear me as they also left with the buses.

“At that point, some people started slapping me; they collected my two phones and prevented me from calling for help. They also accused me of collecting N13m to claim that the machine was faulty.”

Aremu said the angry voter took him to a dark spot away from the polling unit to brutalise him, adding that it took the intervention of some policemen who stormed the premises to rescue him from the mob.

He added, “When the policemen arrived, they fired two shots and the people dispersed. That was how they were able to rescue me. It was not too long before the military men also came and that was how the police handed me over to them. They were the ones that took me to the INEC office in Oshodi Local Government secretariat.

“When I got there, I was told to go and treat myself and bring the medical bill. My face was swollen with a bloodied eye. I could not sleep that night as my body was aching. The following day, I went to a private hospital to treat myself but the INEC officials told me to get myself treated in a government hospital. When I eventually got there, I was told to get a police report which I did yesterday.”

The spokesperson for INEC in the state, Nike Oriowo, said the case was reported to the commission.

READ ALSO: Ayu Should Appear Before Disciplinary Committee, Not Me – Ortom

She said, “The Electoral Officer in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government said the corps member was attended to and given rendered support. She also informed him to come to the office on Friday.

“We told our officers during a meeting on Wednesday to look into the wellbeing of the corps members that were involved in the exercise. We will not allow any one of them who were maltreated to be left unattended. According to the electoral officer, the police have started investigating the incident.”

However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, could not be reached for comment as calls made to his number were not answered.

He had yet to reply to a text message sent to his mobile number as of the time of filing this report.

 

News

EFCC Withdraws Appeal Against Former Kogi Gov, Bello

Published

on

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has filed a notice of withdrawal to discontinue an appeal against an order of a Kogi high court…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has filed a notice of withdrawal to discontinue an appeal against an order of a Kogi high court restraining the agency from arresting Yahaya Bello, former governor of the state.

In the notice filed on April 22, and signed by its counsel, J.S Okutepa, SAN, the EFCC said the withdrawal is predicated on the fact that events have overtaken the appeal.

The commission also admitted that the appeal was filed out of the time allowed by law.

“The appellant herein intends to and do hereby wholly withdraw her appeal against the respondent in the above mentioned appeal.

READ ALSO: Why Yahaya Bello Was Absent In Court — Lawyer

“This notice of withdrawal is predicated on the fact that; on the April 17, 2024, the application filed by the appellant herein was overtaken by the decision of the same high court of Kogi state,”

“The orders made ex parte by Jamil on the Feb 9, 2024 in the said suit which is the subject of this appeal, was made to last pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion on notice which was finally determined by Jamil J. on the April 17, 2024.

“Furthermore, the notice of appeal was filed out of time and we, therefore, pray that the appeal be struck out for being filed out of time and incompetent,” he stated.

On Feb 8, Bello instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit, asking the court to declare that “the incessant harassment, threats of arrest and detention, negative press releases, malicious prosecution” of the EFCC — “without any formal invitation — is politically motivated and interference with his right to liberty, freedom of movement, and fair hearing”.

The former governor also sought an order “restraining the respondent by themselves, their agents, servants or privies from continuing to harass, threaten to arrest or detain him”.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: EFCC Chair Vows To Follow Yahaya Bello’s Prosecution To Conclusion

On Feb 9, the Kogi high court granted an interim injunction restraining the EFCC from “continuing to harass, threaten to arrest, detain, prosecute Bello, his former appointees, and his staff or family members, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive originating motion for the enforcement of his fundamental rights”.

On March 12, the EFCC filed an appeal against the interim injunction because the court could not stop the commission from carrying out its statutory responsibility.

The Kogi high court delivered judgment on the substantive motion on notice on April 17 wherein Isa Jamil Abdullahi, presiding judge, granted an order restraining the EFCC “from continuing to harass, threaten to arrest or detain Bello”.

However, Abdullahi directed the commission to file a charge against Bello before an appropriate court if it had reasons to do so.

The judgment coincided with the recent “siege” laid to the Abuja residence of Bello by EFCC operatives seeking to arrest him.

READ ALSO: Drama! Supporters Of Yahaya Bello Perform Rituals to Prevent His Arrest By EFCC [Video]

The commission had also obtained a warrant of arrest against the former governor from the Abuja federal high court.

The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.

At the scheduled arraignment on April 18, Bello was absent.

At the court session, Abdulwahab Mohammed, counsel to Bello, told Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, that the court lacked jurisdiction to grant the warrant of arrest in the first instance.

He referenced the February 9 interim injunction issued by the Kogi high court, adding that the appeal filed by the EFCC was still pending. (NAN)

Continue Reading

News

Kanye West To Launch Yeezy P0rn Studio With Stormy Daniels

Published

on

Ye, the musical artist formerly known as Kanye West, 46, is considering the idea of launching a pornography studio as his latest non-musical project.

According to a new report by TMZ, Ye and his associates are reportedly now in advanced talks with Stormy Daniels’ ex-husband Mike Moz start building a supposed “Yeezy Porn” division, which would fall under the Yeezy parent company.

Moz is a veteran in the adult entertainment industry with over a decade’s worth of experience as a producer. He would reportedly be brought in to lead the new effort, which could launch as early as this summer.

Ye seems to have a complicated relationship with pornography. He wasn’t shy when it came to rapping about his fantasies with women at the start of his career but something shifted about five years ago when he confirmed he converted to Christianity.

During a 2019 interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, West—who served as creative director for the Pornhub Awards in 2018, complete with merchandize, said Playboy magazine was his gateway to a “full-on pornography addiction.”

“My dad had a full-on magazine laid out when I was five,” he told Lowe. “Playboy was a gateway to a full-on pornography addiction. … It has impacted every choice I have made in my life from age five to now.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, which was recorded ahead of the release of his Jesus Is King album featuring the Sunday Service Choir, Ye opened up about how his Christianity changed him.

“Now that I’m in service to Christ, my job is to spread the gospel, to let people know what Jesus has done for me,” said Ye, who was still with Kim Kardashian. “I’ve spread a lot of things. There was a time I was letting you know what high fashion had done for me, I was letting you know what the Hennessey had done for me, but now I’m letting you know what Jesus has done for me, and in that I’m no longer a slave, I’m a son now, a son of God. I’m free.”

In 2022, West wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post that pornography “destroyed” his family.

“Hollywood is a giant brothel Pornography destroyed my family I deal with the addiction instagram promotes it Not gonna let it happen to Northy and Chicago,” he wrote at the time, per Page Six.

A lot has changed between then and now, including Ye’s marriage to Bianca Censori, 29, which happened secretly in December 2022. She’s been photographed a number of times—by Ye and paparazzi alike—in clothing that tests the boundaries of the word “revealing.”.

On his latest album, Vultures, Ye sampled an infamous line from the 1999 film Dogma for his song “Back to Me” where he raps, “Beautiful, big titty, butt-naked women just don’t fall out the sky, you know?”

Continue Reading

News

Many Ladies Can’t Cook, Christian Movie Producer, Bamiloye Laments Scarcity Of ‘Wife Materials’

Published

on

The Founder of Mount Zion Faith Ministries, Mike Bamiloye, has expressed concern about young people who prioritise wedding ceremonies over preparation for marriage.

In a post on his Facebook page on Wednesday, Bamiloye criticised a trend of young couples rushing into marriage without adequate knowledge or skills.

He wrote, “I am so afraid of youths of this generation. Many are not preparing enough to enter into marriage. Many are very shallow in their knowledge of marriage. They prepare more for the wedding day, than for marriage. No deep studies on what marriage entails. They are too hasty and not ready to sit down and learn the principles of marital life.

“Many ladies are not qualified to be wives, even at 28. They can’t cook properly. They are used to fast food at the eateries, ice cream, indomie, and spagetti, plus boiled eggs and titus, and they spend six months studying the wedding gowns and the accessories for the bridal trails.”

READ ALSO: UK Varsity Offers Nigerians N44m Scholarships

He further emphasised the importance of spiritual grounding, communication, and perseverance in navigating the challenges of marriage.

My dear sister is 26; she is still not yet wife material. She is beautiful, but she cannot cook. She is not spiritually strong in prayer. And she has a shallow knowledge of the word of God.

“How would she withstand the spiritual challenges that come against every home now? Too materialistic and with very little knowledge of home management. She spent several months preparing for her wedding day, but few moment to study what marriage life is. If love is blind at courtship, it is marriage that will open the blind eyes,” he added.

While condemning domestic abuse, Bamiloye encouraged couples to “sharpen the rough edges” and highlighted the need to address “red flags” during courtship.

READ ALSO: B-I-Z-A-R-R-E! Mother Sets Self, Two Daughters Ablaze

He added, “I am against abuse of women and wives. A man who beats or tortures his wife is an animal unfit to live among humans. However, we are now having too many breakings, separations, and divorces among children of God.

“No endurance, no respect, no patience. When things do not go as expected, it becomes incompatibility, and our youths, especially ladies, are being taught to walk out of marriage.

“So today, many young marriages are not fulfilled. Every marriage has its rough edges, but you have to sharpen the rough-edges.

“When you were in courtship, you ought to have noticed some little devilish behaviour in the young man, which the Holy Spirit was pointing to you as a red flag, but you were too much in love, too impatient to get into marriage. What then was the meaning of courtship?”

The PUNCH reported in November 2023, that the Christian movie producer similarly expressed concern about women who, despite appearing pleasant in church, display stubbornness, rudeness, and a lack of submission at home.

 

Continue Reading

Trending