Barring a last minute change, a Professor of Physiology and former acting vice-chancellor of the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, is set to be named as the institution’s 9th substantive vice-chancellor.
Mrs Olatunji-Bello is the wife of the Lagos State Commissioner for environment and water resources, Olatunji Bello.
Though the government is yet to make an official statement on the development, a highly placed source among the state’s cabinet members confirmed to reporters on Thursday.
The new development may have put an end to the many months of controversies that have trailed the processes of appointment of a substantive vice-chancellor for the university following the completion of a five-year single term of office by the 8th substantive vice-chancellor, Olanrewaju Fagbohun.
Backstory
The university had been embroiled in controversies surrounding the appointment of Fagbohun’s successor leading to the cancellation of two selection processes earlier conducted by the university’s former governing council.
As a result of allegations of manipulation and inconsistencies levelled against the then Adebayo Ninalowo-led governing council, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who doubles as the institution’s visitor, set up a visitation panel which recommended the dissolution of the governing council.
The panel also recommended reconstitution of another council and that the then registrar of the university, Olayinka Amuni, should embark on leave pending the conclusion of the selection process.
Amuni was accused of not properly guiding the governing council on the laid down procedures meant to be followed by the selection committee.
But critics accused the governor of scheming for the imposition of Olatunji-Bello. They cited her husband’s influence on the governor, especially “in connection with his second term bid.”
Bello is a close ally of Bola Tinubu, a political godfather and former governor in Lagos. Bello has been a regular cabinet member in the state since he served during the tenure of Tinubu.
A United Nations envoy has met Afghanistan’s new interior minister who was for years one of the world’s most wanted Islamist militants.
On Thursday, Deborah Lyons, head of the UN mission in Afghanistan met Sirajuddin Haqqani to fashion ways for the country to head off soaring humanitarian crisis.
Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, disclosed this in a statement on Twitter.
“(Haqqani) stressed that UN personnel can conduct their work without any hurdle and deliver vital aid to the Afghan people,” he said.
Afghanistan was already facing chronic poverty and drought but the situation has deteriorated since the Taliban took over last month.
The plight of the Afghan people has been aggravated with the disruption of aid, with departure of tens of thousands of people including government and aid workers chiefly instigating the collapse of much economic activity.
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, told an international aid conference this week that Afghans were facing “perhaps their most perilous hour”.
The UN mission in Afghanistan said that in the Wednesday meeting Lyons had stressed the “absolute necessity for all UN and humanitarian personnel in Afghanistan to be able to work without intimidation or obstruction to deliver vital aid and conduct work for Afghan people”.
The Taliban repeatedly targeted the United Nations during the two-decades-long U.S.-led military mission in Afghanistan that ended last month with the rout of the Western-backed government by the Taliban.
In one of the bloodiest incidents, Taliban militants killed five UN foreign staff in an attack on a guest-house in Kabul in 2009.
More recently, gunmen attacked a UN compound in the city of Herat in July with rocket-propelled grenades killing a guard, while protesters in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif in 2011 killed seven UN staff.
The Haqqani network, a faction within the Taliban and for years based on the border with Pakistan, was held responsible for some of the worst militant attacks in Afghanistan during the Taliban insurgency.
The United States designated the group a terrorist organisation in 2012.
Haqqani, head of the eponymous network founded by his father, is one of the FBI’s most wanted men with a reward of $10 million for information leading to his arrest.
U.S. officials and members of the old U.S.-backed Afghan government for years said the Haqqani network maintained ties with al Qaeda.
The Taliban have promised not to let Afghanistan be used for militant attacks on other countries.
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, slumped on Thursday morning and was rushed to the hospital in Abuja.
Bawa, 41, was speaking at an event at the Presidential Villa in Abuja when he suddenly collapsed on stage and was hastily assisted to his seat by other attendees.
He was then transferred to a hospital moments later. It was not immediately clear whether or not the EFCC chief, who appears young and energetic, had been nurturing any illnesses before today’s incident.
Bawa was complaining about widespread identity crimes across Nigeria in his speech before the incident.
President Muhammadu Buhari named Bawa as the Chairman of the anti-graft commission in February 2021.
The Federal Government has expressed its displeasure over the ongoing collaboration between separatist groups, Yoruba Nation and Indigenous People of Biafra.
The Presidency also expressed worries over attempts to disrupt the President’s visit to New York for this year’s United Nations General Assembly by the two groups.
Garba Shehu, the president’s spokesman, raised the alarm in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, saying it was regrettable that Yoruba Nation advocates are in cahoots with IPOB which the regime has outlawed.
Shehu opined that it was wrong for agitators of Yoruba Nation to associate themselves with an outlawed organisation like IPOB to destroy the image of Nigeria abroad.
According to him, for Nigerian diaspora groups to use the world’s largest platform – the United Nations General Assembly – to garner attention to their causes is not unexpected.
”It was, however shocking, to see “Yoruba Nation” advocates yesterday unequivocally throw their lot in with Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
”IPOB is a designated terrorist organisation. It has now publicly revealed a 50,000 strong paramilitary organisation.
”It regularly murders security services and innocent civilians, with a significant uptick of violent attacks this year. And it is currently attempting to hold Nigerian states hostage with orders to stay at home under threat of terror.
“Without doubt, Nigerians and the entire world will judge Yoruba Nation by the company it keeps.
”No one can take this organisation seriously if it continues its IPOB association.
When their allies systematically trample human rights, it raises sober questions about their claims to uphold the values of the UN.
”The cooperation is a worrying development, once parsed with Yoruba Nation’s increasingly violent rallies in Nigeria.
”Actions and associations speak louder than words. Yoruba Nation’s talk of human rights promotion must therefore be ignored,” he said.
The Buhari administration summarily labelled IPOB a terrorist organisation in September 2017 via an ex parte ruling secured by Attorney General Abubarkar Malami at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.
State forces have since continued a brutal crackdown against IPOB operatives who have also continued to stage demonstrations which are sometimes deemed violent.
On the other hand, Yoruba Nation agitators, who have been holding largely peaceful rallies across the South-West saw their last rally in Lagos forcefully dispersed by state agents.
This was after the Ibadan residence of their leader, Sunday ‘Igboho’ Adeyemo, was invaded by officers of the State Security Service, killed two persons, arrested 12 and destroyed properties worth millions.
Igboho who fled the country afterwards was arrested in Benin Republic en route Germany.
He is still held in Beninese jail for visa related matters, amid diplomatic pressure for his repatriation to Nigeria.
IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is also in SSS detention since he was repatriated from Kenya under conditions shrouded in secrecy.
Shehu, however, maintained that the Nigerian government would continue its work at the UN- to fight against corruption and illicit financial flows, and international cooperation.
He said: ”If we want to see stolen funds returned to their rightful home in Nigeria, the government must continue to campaign for and coordinate global action on asset recovery,” he added.
The Presidential aide assured that the Nigerian government would remain the leading regional actor in the fight against global terror – particularly against threats emanating from the Sahel.
He further revealed that the administration was implementing a programme of environmental sustainability to combat developments which destroys Nigerian communities in vulnerable regions.
”Only through the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development can we secure a prosperous future for Nigeria.
”As the largest country in Africa, the government takes its leadership role seriously and will continue to strive for continental unity, cooperation, and shared prosperity.
”Our expectation is therefore for the media to work with the government to focus attention on the core issues the President, the leader of the country has on his programme,” he said.
A Nigerian Air Force fighter jet has killed eight people in Buhari community, Yunusari LGA of Yobe State. Several other villagers sustained injuries and currently receiving medical attention at a government health facility in Geidam.
According to a resident of Damaturu, Saleh Ibrahim, the jet shelled the village in the early hours of Wednesday when the villagers were preparing to go to the weekly market in Geidam, a neighboring local government area, 200km from Damaturu.
The resident added, “The villagers were already set to go to the market at Geidam early in the morning when suddenly the jet appeared from nowhere and started shelling the village.
“Instantly, three people died. The sound of gun shots scared the villagers and they ran for safety, but others sustained injuries as a result. Some were attempting to attend to the dead people when they also got hit by bullets from the jet.”
“As of 5pm, the number of dead people is nine, while over 30 people who sustained injuries are receiving treatment at Geidam General Hospital.
“Buhari village is in Yunusari LGA, but Buhari village is closer to Geidam, and the entire Yunusari LGA doesn’t have facilities to attend to the injured victims.”
Meanwhile, the State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, has commiserated with families of those who lost their lives in the unfortunate air strike on Buhari village in Yunusari LGA of the state.
Read Governor Mai Mala Buni’s full statement on the attack below:
Gov. Buni Mourns Victims of Air Strike, Assures Anvestigation of lncident
Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni has commiserated with families of those who lost their lives in the unfortunate airstrike on Buhari village in Yunusari Local Government Area of the state.
He said although it could have been an accident or mistaken target, but the government will join hands with the security agencies to unravel the root cause of the incident.
Governor Buni directed his special adviser on security affairs to liaise with the Nigerian Air Force and the Multi-National Joint Task Force to look into the unfortunate airstrike.
“Government will work closely with the security forces especially the Nigeria Airforce to establish what actually happened,” Governor Buni assured. “This is very important and necessary for us to guard against future occurance and to safeguard the lives of our people.”
Governor Buni also assured the preparedness of his administration to work with all security forces to ensure the safety of the state.
Meanwhile, the governor has directed government hospitals in Geidam and Damaturu to offer free medical services to those who sustained injuries from the airstrike.
Similarly, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has been directed to provide relief materials to cater for the immediate needs of the families of the deceased persons and other members of the community.
Signed
Mamman Mohammed,
DG, Press and Media Affairs.
The Nigerian government says it will lift the ban on Twitter in a ‘few days.’
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said this while answering questions from State House journalists at the end of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mohammed said progress is being made in talks with the social media giant.
“I think even Twitter itself two days ago gave what I will call a progress report on our talks with them, and I think if I want to quote them rightly it has been productive and quite respectful.
“And as to the qualifying word for when or how soon, I want to assure you that the time that Twitter operation has been suspended, between the time it has been suspended, and when it will be restored is by far, much, much shorter.
“That I can assure you that it is by far in other words, if the operation has been suspended for about 100 days now, I can tell that we’re just actually talking about a few, just a few more days now,” he said.
Nigeria suspended the operations of Twitter on June 4, two days after the microblogging site took down a controversial tweet by Buhari.
The Government cited “persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence,” as reason for the ban that took effect almost immediately.
The government also directed broadcasters to suspend “patronage” of the platform. It described its further use by the broadcast stations as “unpatriotic.”
Media and human rights advocates condemned the directive of the broadcast regulator, calling it “illegal” and an attack on press freedom, but major broadcast stations stayed off Twitter to comply with the order.
In August, the Nigerian government said the temporary ban on Twitter may be lifted soon with Mr Mohammed saying talks were still ongoing and many agreements had been reached with Twitter.
The ban on Twitter has been condemned by many Nigerians, civic groups and the international community.
The international community said the government’s ban of Twitter portrays Nigeria in a bad light before its citizens, potential investors and business owners.
More than 100 days after the ban, activists insisted the ban was undemocratic, but authorities said it was to protect the corporate existence of the country.
Opposition leaders and civil society organisations have also criticised the government for the ban and some rights groups have sued the Nigerian government at the ECOWAS Court.
It had been reported that the ECOWAS court, in an interim order, “restrained the government and its agents from unlawfully imposing sanctions or doing anything whatsoever to harass, intimidate, arrest or prosecute Twitter and/or any other social media service provider(s), media houses, radio and television broadcast stations, the plaintiffs and other Nigerians who are Twitter users, pending the hearing and determination of this suit.”
The Yola zone of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) has called on the public to prevail on the federal and state governments to accede to the union’s legitimate demands to avoid the resumption of the suspended strike.
The zonal coordinator, Reuben Jonathan, said the zone had met and reviewed the MoA of December 23, 2020, signed with the federal government; the issues related to the draft renegotiation agreement of May 2021 and other matters affecting the university system generally.
According to him, the zone appreciated the federal government’s action in sending visitation panels to public universities.
“The zone expects the speedy release of the whitepaper of visitation panels to the universities for the benefit of the university system,” he said.
He called on the state governors, as visitors to state universities, to also emulate the federal government and immediately constitute visitation panels to state-owned universities.
“The Federal Government team and ASUU concluded the renegotiation meeting in May 2021, but up till now, our Union is in dark as to the position of the renegotiation with the federal government.
“This lukewarm attitude and deliberate delay have triggered agitations from our members,” he said.
While funding in Nigerian public universities is grossly inadequate, he said that the situation is most worrisome in state-owned universities.
“The inefficiency and over-reliance on the Federal Government’s interventions by state-owned universities, emanating from ASUU struggles, have led the state governors to develop a lukewarm attitude towards funding state universities,” he said.
The zonal coordinator further expressed concern over the non-disbursement of the N30 billion naira revitalisation fund as agreed in the 2020 MoA with the union.
The leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, has been killed in Borno State.
According to Daily Trust, the terror leader was killed in the last week of August, this year.
Al-Barnawi was the son of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, who was also killed by security forces in 2009 when he launched a war against the Nigerian state.
Al-Barnawi was said to have been trained by ISIS for years ahead of his ascension to power.
Al-Barnawi sustained vicious attacks especially on military facilities and troops in the Lake Chad region while at the same time strategising on how to subdue Shekau.
He controlled large swathes of territory in Northern Borno, imposed taxes on the local population and earned serious income from fishing asides from the financial and material support he got from ISIS.
Al-Barnawi’s fighters had also destroyed many military super camps in Dikwa, Monguno, Abadam and Marte in Borno; and other military facilities around Geidam in Yobe State.
He equally established many cells on the Lake Chad islands and surrounding villages from where his fighters launched attacks on Nigeria, Niger and Chad.
His death in August, after that of Shekau in May 2021, was seen as a turning point in the war against terror even as security experts had called for sustained offensive towards decimating the two rival groups to have a lasting peace after twelve years of uncertainty and carnage.
There are two versions of the story of Al-Barnawi’s death with one saying he was killed by Nigerian troops and the other version saying he died during a rival war within the ISWAP camp.
The first version revolved around the information shared among some security operatives in the theatre of operation, which indicated that he was ambushed by troops during which four or five top ISWAP leaders and many foot terrorists loyal to him were also killed.
A source said he was killed around Bula Yobe, a community near the Borno/Yobe states border along Mobbar and Abadam axis that leads to the Lake Chad area.
However, a different source said he was ambushed and killed at a place that could be accessed from Yale, Bama, Banki junction through the Kashimbri-Gulumba.
The Vice-Chancellor, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Prof. Hamisu Muhammad, has said that the institution is working on helping to address the security challenges facing the country, especially with the farmer, herders clashes.
The Professor made this statement during a five-day Grant Winning Workshop for Tertiary Institutions in the North-East, organized by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund in Bauchi on Wednesday.
According to him, a Diary Center set up by the university will help train herders on the best way to keep their cattle and raise them without them moving from one point to the other, thereby, solving the crises that always come up between herders and the farmers.
The Professor said, “Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi is trying to solve the issue of insecurity in this country. People don’t even look at it but as universities, we are supposed to find solutions to this issue.
“One of the things that we are doing is that we have got a Center of Excellence on Diary at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and our target is to show herders that the best way to keep your cattle is just to keep it around your house, feed it well and you’ll find out that you don’t have to move around. This is the little science to it, the more the cows move, the more they lose energy but the more they stay in one place the more they grow fatter.
“And we want our cows to grow fatter and give higher production and more milk. These are issues we have to leverage on and work on. We are working on educating the herders on this. The university is in the forefront of what we call Nigerian Diary.”
The Vice-Chancellor said that another problem the university is working towards addressing is social standards noting that a Center of Excellence had been established in the institution to achieve that.
“Secondly, the university through Research and Development is trying to develop what we call Science Park. As we look at our society, there are a lot of problems, so we wrote a proposal and we got a Center of Excellence in addressing social standards and procurement in this country. These are issues that are fundamental in the survival of this country and when we have social standards and procurement issues solved, I think we will go a long way,” he said.
He said that research and development cannot be overemphasized given its importance.
“Research and Development will bring a lot of development to the university, it brings stability to the university as well as a sense of belonging to academics and these are issues we must address.
“Teaching to produce first-class students is over. What we are trying to do is to improve our living conditions and what can we do to give back to the society. These are issues that we feel that the best thing to do is to look back.
“The big equations, the big theories don’t apply to us here, but what is important to us in this part of the country is we’ll look at our dynamics and see what we need.
“We need to look at agriculture which we call agribusiness not only the culture, we’ll look at communications that is ICT. These are two virgin fields that are untapped that we can explore and move forward,” he said.
The Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, expressed concern on the level of performance of the North-East in research, grant writing application and accessing grants adding that it has been discouraging.
He said that the workshop was aimed at exposing the North-East on how best to write and win the grants from TETFund and other agencies.
Bogoro said, “For too long, we academics have been operating in our silos, clapping with one hand. That is unacceptable. No wonder we are not getting the outcome of research that solves the problems of the society.
“Precisely why our universities have failed to rise to the level of respectability that has been associated with the most competitive economics and the greatest of civilizations. This has to change. I’m not happy about the performance of the North-East in respect of research, grant writing application and success.”
Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, the Minister of Police Affairs, says President Muhammadu Buhari will make the final decision on DCP Abba Kyari’s involvement in an international money laundering scheme.
Kyari is the former head of the Special Police Crimes Unit.
“What Nigerians need to know is that the police agencies have done their job properly and have done everything clearly. All that remains now is for President Muhammadu Buhari to decide the course of action to be taken on the matter,” Dingyadi said in an interview with Channels TV on Tuesday.
Dingyadi explained that the Police had investigated the allegations levelled against Kyari and submitted the report to the Inspector General of Police.
Dingyadi added that the committee’s report and recommendations had been sent to the Minister of justice. It would be presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before a final action would be taken.
In August, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, said that due process would be followed in Kyari’s extradition process to be decided by the courts.
Peoples Gazette had earlier reported how the FBI indicted Kyari in a multimillion-dollar fraud involving notorious Internet fraudster Ramon ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas and how a U.S. court ordered the arrest of Kyari.
Mr Kyari denied his involvement in the scheme, saying that he collected money to help Hushpuppi sew some clothes and later said he acted as a debt collector for Hushpuppi in a Facebook post which has since been deleted.
Kyari has been suspended and replaced by the Nigerian police.
