News
Activists To Protest Reporter’s Detention In Abuja Thursday
Protesters have vowed to storm the headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, on Thursday, over the prolonged detention of a reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, Daniel Ojukwu.
On Wednesday, flyers circulating on social media shared by activists, journalists and other Nigerians called people to “join us for a peaceful protest at the police headquarters Abuja on Thursday by 9am”.
Former presidential candidate and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, also shared the flyer on X which had the reporter’s image, captioning it “An end to #CybercrimeAct2015Now. Let’s all be there at 9 am tomorrow (Thursday).”
Human rights group, the Take It Back Movement, also posted on X, “We will be here tomorrow at 9 am, prompt! Join us. #FreeDanielOjukwu.”
The group’s coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, further confirmed to our correspondent in an interview, “We are rallying all our members to participate in the protest. This is democracy and the police are not bigger than the law.”
A lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, also wrote on X, “The protest at the Force Headquarters will also be an opportunity to protest against cybercrime levy.”
Ojukwu was picked up Wednesday, May 1, 2024, by the police on the streets of Lagos and was transferred to the Nigeria Police Force-National Cyber Crime Centre in Abuja on Sunday.
Widespread condemnations have trailed the journalist’s abduction even as the police maintain that a petition was filed against the journalist but have not given details.
The President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Eze Anaba, condemned the reporter’s abduction.
“The police cannot detain somebody for seven days under any law in Nigeria as we speak,” he had told The PUNCH on Tuesday.
FIJ on Monday reported that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria was behind the petition that led to the abduction of Ojukwu by the police.
According to the media house, the petition is in relation to FIJ’s coverage of alleged financial mismanagement in the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.
In one of its investigative pieces on the office, FIJ had reported how a sum of N147.1m reportedly meant for the building of classrooms and a skill acquisition centre was allegedly sent to the account of a restaurant.
But in a statement on its X handle on Monday, the OSSAP-SDGs denied the allegation, describing it as “false from the onset.”
The statement said the office “has been transparent in its operations and project implementation processes” and noted that “therefore, the assertion that our project was sponsored by a restaurant is false and baseless.”
The Director of the Cyber Crime Centre, Uche Ifeanyi, on Tuesday, told The PUNCH the bail conditions for the detained journalist who has spent seven days in custody had not been met.
“We’ve served them papers for bail conditions. I think the problem is they’ve not been able to meet up with the bail conditions. The person they brought on Monday could not even produce an ID card. They brought someone on Tuesday who is not a civil servant. You know how sensitive the case is. So, once they bring the civil servant of measure, we will know,” he said.
FIJ’s founder, Fisayo Soyombo said on Tuesday it was “insane” to keep the journalist for that long. “I can’t believe this is happening in a democracy. The law is clear. If you feel that something false has been published against you, the process is laid down, you go to court and institute a case. You can’t just pick someone in Gestapo style and claim the person has a case to answer.”
By Francesca Hangeior
The Kano State Law Reform Commission has earmarked not less than N100m for the reforms of various laws of the state in 2025.
The commission’s Chairman, Justice Lawal Muhammadu, disclosed this shortly after he defended the commission’s 2025 budget before the Committee on Judiciary at the state House of Assembly.
According to him, many laws in the state need reforms, a project that started earlier in the year but was unfortunately damaged and burnt during the August protest in the state.
He said the entire work is starting all over again, with a total budget of N100 million to reform all the laws in the coming year.
“There are many laws that are old; some were made since before Nigeria’s independence and are as old as since 1837 and based on England law. Some of them are not even used in the country, but we still have them here.
“Those are some of the reviews we want to do. The ones that are not useful will be withdrawn, and the ones that need reform will be reformed,” he noted.
Others who defended their budgets are the Kano State Radio Corporation, the state Ministry of Information, Kano Pillars Club, Abubakar Rimi Television, the Triumph newspaper, the Kano Printing Press, Kano Film and Censorship Board, among others.
They reinstated their commitment to utilising the resources committed in their budget to improve outputs.
By Francesca Hangeior
Like the Senate, the House of Representatives has invoked the provision of paragraph 17 (3), Part 1, fifth schedule to the constitution for the removal from the Office of the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, FCT, Umar Danladi.
Hon. Julius ihonvbere who moved the motion drew strength from paragraph 17 (3), PT 1, Fifth Schedule of the Constitution and section 22(3) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act Cap , that the President is mandated to act on an address supported by a two-thirds majority of the Senate and House of Representatives for the removal of the chairman for misconduct.
The house drew attention to the conduct of the CCT Chairman, who recently engaged in a public brawl with a security guard at the Banex Plaza Shopping Complex, Abuja, necessitating an invitation from the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions.
The lawmakers said after his first appearance, where he admitted to having been involved in the brawl, he refused to attend subsequent sittings, thereby frustrating the efforts of the committee to investigate the allegations against him.
The house noted that a statutory institution of such magnitude is expected to be an epitome of moral rectitude and virtues of integrity, probity, and accountability.
However, the official conduct of Umar has fallen short of the requisite standard of a public officer to conduct the affairs of such a tribunal.
By Francesca Hangeior
The Director of Information, Secretary, Research and Information (SR&I), National Assembly, Mr Bullah Bi-Allah, has denied the purported budget presentation by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday.
Bi-Allah said this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday following the news making the round that the president was billed to present the budget on Wednesday, Nov. 27.
He said such news credited to him was fake, baseless, and unfounded, urging the public to disregard it.
He said: “The attention of the Secretary, Research and Information (SR&I), National Assembly, Dr Ali Barde Umoru, has been drawn to the purported fake news credited to him.”
He added that the news alleged that “His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, will tomorrow Wednesday present the 2925 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly.”
According to him, the news circulating on both social and mainstream media and other outlets is false and should be disregarded.
“The secretary advised that any official inquiry and clarification should follow the official communication channels of the National Assembly.”
He said that NASS was yet to approve the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper, forwarded to both chambers of the National Assembly by Tinubu.
He clarified that the MTEF approval would come before the official presentation of the 2025 budget.
He said, “In view of the above, the SR&I warns peddlers of such information to desist forthwith from using his office to mislead members of the public.”
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