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Donald Trump impeached for “incitement” of mob attack on US Capitol

The House reached the majority vote needed to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting an “insurrection” in last week’s attack on the Capitol, a stinging rebuke of the nation’s 45th president as he prepares to depart the White House after four tumultuous years.

Ten Republicans broke from their party – and their president – to join Democrats in approving the single article of impeachment.

Trump will leave power as the first president in the nation’s 245-year history to be impeached twice.

The vote to impeach Trump was 232 to 197.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will decide when to transmit the article to the Senate, which must either dismiss the charge or hold a trial.

At least 67 of the 100 senators are needed for conviction which would require Trump’s removal from office.

The House first impeached Trump in December 2019 for his efforts to pressure the president of Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden but the Senate declined to convict him.

This time could be different following an unprecedented and violent assault on Congress’ home that left five people dead – including a U.S. Capitol police officer – and a nation shaken by an attack that struck at what President-elect Biden, a former senator, calls the “citadel “of democracy.

The impeachment of a president, usually a drawn-out process involving weeks of hearings and witnesses, took only a matter of days. But Democrats said steps had be taken to punish the president that would also prevent him from holding federal office again.

“America was attacked, and we must respond even when the cause of this violence resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said on the House floor before voting for impeachment. “Every moment that Donald Trump is in the White House, our nation, our freedom, is in danger.”

Though a few Republicans – including GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney of Wyoming – voted for impeachment, most Republicans opposed the move.

They said it denied the president due process by fast-tracking the process and would only further divide a nation torn apart by political acrimony.

GOP Rep. Tom Cole called it an attempt by Democrats to “settle old scores.”

▪︎10 House Republicans vote to impeach

Ten House Republicans joined Democrats in the historic vote Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for the second time, charging him with inciting insurrection in the Capitol riot.

The Republican support was unprecedented for lawmakers voting to impeach a president of the same party, doubling the five Democratic votes against President Bill Clinton in 1998.

The Republican votes marked a contrast to Trump’s first impeachment in December 2019, when Republicans remained united in opposition. But Republican leaders didn’t lobby members on how to vote this time.

The renegade Republicans included the third-ranking party leader, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, and nine others:

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington

Rep. Anthony Gonzales of Ohio

Rep. John Katko of New York

Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois

Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan

Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington

Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina

Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan

Rep. David Valadao of California

Cheney said in a statement Tuesday that the insurrection caused injury, death and destruction.

“The president of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of the attack,” Cheney said. “There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

Only two Republicans supporting spoke on the floor during the two-hour debate.

Newhouse said Trump had no excuse for inciting the mob.

“Last week there was a domestic threat at the door of the Capitol and he did nothing to stop it,” Newhouse said. “That is why with a heavy heart and clear resolve, I will vote yes on these articles of impeachment,” he said to applause from the Democratic side of the House.

Beutler issued a statement saying Trump incited the riot and then spent hours without taking meaningful action to halt it. She said on the floor that she wasn’t afraid of losing her job, but she was afraid that her country will fail.

“My vote to impeach our sitting president is not a fear-based decision,” she said. “I am not choosing a side. I’m choosing truth. It’s the only way to defeat fear.”

Katko, Kinzinger and Upton each issued statements on Tuesday. Meijer issued a statement Wednesday saying he voted yes with a heavy heart.

“President Trump betrayed his oath of office by seeking to undermine our constitutional process, and he bears responsibility for inciting the insurrection we suffered last week,” Meijer said. (USATODAY)

FCMB in the news again as staff member bags four years imprisonment for stealing customers’ fund

A staff member of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Felix David Diete, has been convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment for stealing the sum of  N2,000,000,00 (two million naira only).

This is coming amid the paternity controversy buffeting the bank’s Managing Director, Adam Nuru, who has stepped aside to enable the board of the bank investigate the allegation that a former female staff member of the bank, legally married, Moyo Thomas, had her two children for him.

The discovery was said to have led to the sudden death of her husband, Tunde Thomas.

Justice Jane Inyang of the Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State convicted and sentenced Diete on Monday (January 11, 2021)

The judgment came after four years of prosecution by the Port Harcourt zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The convict was arraigned in January, 2017 on a three-count charge bordering on stealing, contrary to Section 383 and punishable under 390 (6)(b)(8) and (9) of Criminal code CAP C-38 of the revised edition (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) 2007 read along with Section 1(1)(d) of the Failed Bank (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Bank Act CAP B3 of the revised edition (Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) 2007.

One of the three counts read: “That you Felix Diete  sometime in September 2016 at Port Harcourt within the judicial division of this Honorable Court being an employee of First City Monument Bank did fraudulently steal the sum of Two Million Naira (N2,000,000.00) only property of  Ukenna Ngozi Godswill, a customer of First City Monument Bank and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 383 and punishable under 390 (6)(b)(8) and 9 of Criminal Code CAP C-38 of the revised edition (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) 2007 read along with Section 1(1)(d) of the Failed Bank (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Bank Act CAP B3 of the revised edition (Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) 2007.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges. His plea prompted the prosecuting counsel, Adebayo Soares to prepare a ground for trial, which lasted four years, resulting in his conviction.

In his judgment on Monday, Justice Inyang said the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt on count one and convicted and sentenced Diete to four years imprisonment on the count.

The judge, however, discharged him on counts 2 and 3 on the grounds that he  denied ever seeing the other two customers who came and testified as pw2 and pw3.

Diete’s journey to the Correctional Centre started sometimes on September, 2, 2016, when three customers of FCMB complained that they gave the convict the sum of N6 million to deposit into their accounts but only deposited N4 million and made away with N2 million. (theconclaveng)

PDP calls for disbandment of PTF on COVID-19 for alleged incompetence

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Wednesday, (January 13) demanded the immediate dissolution of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 for alleged incompetence.

The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary,  Kola Ologbondiyan, said the PTF had not demonstrated any capacity in handling the pandemic beyond the announcement of infections and associated fatalities.

The party called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately dissolve the PTF umder the leadership of Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and put in place a team of experts under the control of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to professionally tackle the pandemic.

The PDP statement read: “More distressing is that the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has not demonstrated any capacity beyond the mere announcement of figures of infected persons, deaths, recoveries, discharges, and issues of local protocols rather than engaging in epidemiology, researches, and production of equipment, drugs, therapeutics and other medical palliatives that can help stave off the impact of the global pandemic.

“On account of this, the PDP restates our demands for the dissolution of the PTF and in its place allow a convergence of experts in a special department under the purview of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) to professionally tackle the pandemic.”

PDP said the Federal Government had failed to demonstrate efficiency in handling the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

On the budgetary provisions for the pandemic, the statement declared: “The PDP is shocked that the Buhari administration did not make any budgetary provision in the 2021 Appropriation Bill for the acquisition of essential therapeutics, including vaccines, even in the face of the heightened anxieties over the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in our nation.

“It is indeed the height of leadership failure that the Federal Government has not been able to take a decision on the type and quantity of vaccines expected as well as ancillary facilities and associated logistics.

“The PDP is however not surprised at such governance indolence and confusion as the current system under President Muhammadu Buhari’s watch is plagued by endemic corruption, mediocrity, incompetence, and laissez-faire attitude to issues that have to do with the well-being of Nigerians.

“Our party rejects the use of the COVID-19 pandemic as a corruption drainpipe for All Progressives Congress leaders and their cronies in government circles.” (theconclaveng)

Biden appoints Nigerian-born Funmi Badejo cabinet member

The people of Kogi State, Nigeria, are reportedly in a celebratory mood, according to The Source online newspaper.

The publication said that one of their daughters, Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo, had been appointed by US President-elect, Joe Biden, as “Associate Counsel to President-elect.”

She is the daughter of Prof. Zachaeus Olorunnipa from Igbo- Bunu, Kabba-Buni LGA, Kogi State, the report stated.

The report further said that “her elder brother, Tolu,  is, currently (sic), the White House Correspondent  for Washington Post.

“She is the third Nigerian to be appointed into office by the incoming President Biden.”

Top US generals condemn Capitol assault in rare message to troops (plus message)

The US military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the uniformed leaders of the military branches, have put out a rare message to service members, saying the violent riots last week were an assault on America’s constitutional process and against the law.

The joint message on Tuesday broke nearly a week of silence by the military leaders after the assault on the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump sent legislators into hiding and left five people dead.

While a number of Trump’s cabinet members including acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller condemned the storming, the top US general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, was silent until now.

Trump’s speech that “incited” Capitol violence:

Full transcript Trump privately blamed “Antifa people” for storming US Capitol, US officials say 70 charged in Capitol riot “just the beginning”

“The violent riot … was as direct assault on the US Congress, the Capitol building, and our Constitutional process,” said a memorandum signed by General Milley.

“The rights of freedom of speech and assembly do not give anyone the right to resort to violence, sedition and insurrection,” they said.

The military leaders said that President-elect Joe Biden would be inaugurated on January 20 and become their commander in chief, adding that members of the armed forces were bound to defend the constitution.

“Any act to disrupt the constitutional process is not only against our traditions, values and oath; it is against the law.”

The message came amid concerns that the Trump-supporting far-right groups, who raided the Congress to halt the certification of Biden as the next president, have supporters in the armed forces and law enforcement.

▪︎ ‘We don’t tolerate extremists’

Trump and his supporters have refused to accept that Biden fairly and soundly won the November 3 presidential election.

The Pentagon is deploying as many as 15,000 National Guard troops to protect Biden’s inauguration on January 20, amid fears of new violence.

Pentagon officials were asked on Monday about the possibility of pro-Trump activists in the Guard and among regular troops.

“We don’t tolerate extremists in our ranks,” said spokesman Jonathan Hoffman.

US officials said Milley had not commented on last week’s events because he wanted to stay out of politics.

The silence was in sharp contrast to June, when Milley made a controversial walk to a church with Trump after law enforcement officers backed by National Guard troops used tear-inducing chemicals and rubber-coated bullets to clear the area of peaceful protesters.

Some service members have privately expressed concern that senior leaders did not provide direction in the aftermath of the attack on American democracy on Wednesday.

On Twitter, the head of US forces in South Korea said that what happened occurred in Washington, DC on Wednesday was an “attempted insurrection”.

“If you are serving in uniform and think it was something else, I would encourage (you) to sit down and read the constitution that you swore an oath to support and defend,” General Robert Abrams said.

There has also been a renewed focus on hardline groups within the US military after the Capitol storming.

The Army told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday that it was working with the FBI to see if any attackers were current service members and with the Secret Service to see if any of the nearly 10,000 National Guard troops securing Biden’s inauguration would need additional screening. (Al Jazeera quoting news agencies)

Zulum donates N10 million for undergraduate’s kidney transplant

Standing from left: Mbahi Sarki Suleiman, a 300 level student of UNIMAID (2nd) his mother, Saratu Sarki Bitrus (third), Mbahi’s uncle, Ishaya Bitrus (5th), founder and host of Brekete family, Ahmed Isah alias ordinary President (squatting) with some officials of Human Rights Radio and Borno government after Mbahi’s received N10m for his kidney transplant released by Zulum... at the headquarters of human rights radio in Abuja on Wednesday.

By Bode Olushegun

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, has approved the release of N10 million for the kidney transplant of a 300 level student of geography at the University of Maiduguri,

The life of the student, Mbahi Suleiman, 29-year old may be lost if a surgery is not effected as he is in critical need of kidney transplant.

Suleiman hails from Yara in Hawul local government area, in Borno South.

The governor got to know of the student’s condition after one of his aides drew his attention to Suleiman’s condition.

He and his mother had appeared on a radio programme, seeking for support.

Suleiman and his mother were featured on multiple times on Brekete family, a morning programme on Human Rights Radio in Abuja, hosted by Ahmed Isa, popularly called ‘Ordinary President’, with direct appeal to Governor Zulum to save Bitrus.

The family, who said there was a donor in waiting for Suleiman, had sought for N9 million for the transplant, a million naira short of the approval by the governor.

According to a statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Isa Gusau, on Tuesday, January 12, the family’s appeal was brought to Zulum’s attention by his media team, following which the Governor directed the immediate release of N10 million to fund the transplant. Whereas the family needed N9 million,

He said the additional N1 million was approved for any case of unforeseen circumstance.

After the money was delivered to the family, the mother of the student, Saratu Bitrus showed up on Wednesday on Brekete family programme with her son, and confirmed on air, that she had received bank alert of N10m as directed by the governor.

She equally said payments had been made to a hospital in Abuja, which is to undertake the transplant scheduled to hold this week.

Speaking with tears of joy, the patient, Sulaiman told audience that he was the one that saw the deposit alert of N10 million on his mother’s phone.

He narrated that: “Yesterday (Tuesday) my mother gave me her phone to show me a deposit of five thousand naira that someone had made to her account and while I was going through that, I suddenly saw an incoming deposit and it was N10 million. I became shocked and showed my mum, we all knelt down in disbelief and started crying.

“Later on, an aide to the governor called to ask if we had received the alert and we confirmed it. I do not know what to say to my Governor. Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, I can only wish that God blesses him and make him greater than he is, nothing I say can show the extent of what I feel about that intervention to save my life. I am currently survive on dialysis until I undergo a transplant.”

The governor had in his attempt at addressing kidney disease in the state, sometimes in December 2019 directed the Borno State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri to commence offering free dialysis to all patients in the state who were hitherto paying so much for weekly dialysis on which people with kidney failures survived.

Governor Zulum had also directed the state ministry of higher education, science and technology to, in collaboration with the state ministry of health, fund a research to find the causes of rampant cases of kidney failures in some parts of Borno State.

The ministry had subsequently placed adverts inviting scientists for the research, with investigations still ongoing.(theconclaveng)

No political party should cede 2023 presidency to South-East, By Fredrick Nwabufo

If the 2023 presidency is relieved of competition and minimised to an ethnic contest, then we are consciously backtracking to the mistakes of 2015. Ethnic considerations brought President Muhammadu Buhari to power. And I am sure most Nigerians have witnessed the calamity that this current administration is. When leadership is robbed of progressive competition, competence is impaired. We will keep chasing the will-o-the-wisp of progress as a country for as long as the tribe of a citizen matters more than his antecedents, competence level and abilities.

‘’Turn-by-turn’’ presidency will only yield ‘’turn-by-turn’’ misery. Nepotism here thrives largely because a leader selected on the basis of where he represents generally seeks to protect the interest of that base he feels solidified his claim to power. It is the reason Buhari shows exceptional consideration for his ‘’political base’’. In fact, one of the murmurs among members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) – the president’s party – is that Buhari and his camp commonised the contributions of the south-west to his electoral victory in 2015 and 2019. The president feels strongly that his victory came by the hands of his fanatical followers in the north.

So, we are only reinventing a broken wheel by putting more premium on where the next president should come from rather than on ‘’what he had done, what he is doing; his leadership qualities, academic background, mental state and health condition’’. And with the entitled perception that ‘’it is our turn; the president is our brother’’, nepotism is systematised.

Really, why should a leadership position that defines and determines the future of the country be ethnicised? Why is there no campaign for the basics of leadership? Why is there no clamour for the qualities, the credentials and competence level the next president of Nigeria should possess? Why is it always about ethnicity? Really, we are doomed to have a reprise of the indomitably failed Buhari administration, if we persist in the pursuit of ethnic-based leadership.

It is revolting that presidency in Nigeria is designed in such a way that every ethnic group, particularly the predatory political class, sees it as an entitled offering that must be acquired for the sake of promoting individual and sectional interest. The base mindset of — ‘’it is our turn to take a crunch at the cake, so pass it!’’ If ethnic-based presidency is so important to us, why can we not fragment the centre and return power to the federating units? So, every group can decide how to bake and eat their own cake.

On January 6, 2021, some Igbo political leaders emerged from a meeting and asked all political parties to zone the 2023 presidency to the south-east. Among these Igbo political leaders were a former governor who took a hiatus from prison and a former senate president facing corruption charges. I was startled. Who among these ones is fit to be president?

Here is their statement in brief: “Hence as power is expected to rotate to the south in 2023, the meeting noted that the south-east is the only zone in the south that is yet to produce a president of Nigeria in the current democratic dispensation.

“Consequently implore all the political parties to cede their presidential tickets in the 2023 general election to the south-east in the interest of justice, equity and national unity. To make good our demand and reciprocate such good faith, we have decided, as a geopolitical zone with a substantial presence in every part of the country to give a block vote and throw our full weight behind any major political party, particularly the APC (All Progressives Congress) and PDP (Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that zones its presidential ticket to the south-east in 2023 general election.”

To make it clear, the ‘’struggle’’ for 2023 presidency by some south-east leaders is not in the pursuit of the Igbo interest. Rather it is in the pursuit of the interest of the ruling elite of the region. The overarching interest of the Igbo is a restructured Nigeria where every region can grow at its own pace. I argued in a previous article titled, ‘Ndi Igbo forget 2023 presidency; it’s a trap’, that restructuring is not achievable with a president of Igbo extraction and I gave my reasons.

Please permit me to iterate my point here: ‘’conversely, we could forge alliances with progressive groups with the primary aim of achieving restructuring or devolution of power to states ahead of 2023. That is, we support any candidate from any section of the country who has indemnifiable commitment to restructuring. We extract that commitment. The reason for my argument is a president of Igbo extraction pushing for restructuring will be resisted by the north. In fact, it is a campaign fail if any candidate from the south-east preaches restructuring. The nagging fear and suspicion that the Igbo will secede from the country if they get to power is intense. So, what do we hope to benefit from Igbo presidency if we cannot have restructuring?’’

No political party should cede 2023 presidential tickets to the south-east on the basis of nothing but ‘’ethnicity’’. The process should be competitive to allow the best minds to take charge of the country – even if candidates from the south-east are specially considered. There should be less emphasis on ethnicity and more stress on competence, credentials, antecedents, and ability for leadership.

And even if the south-east gets a go at the presidency, the next president should not be from the pool of the perpetuators of the region’s underdevelopment.

Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and a journalist

Presidency kicks against quit notice given to Kukah

The Presidency on Wednesday kicked against the quit notice given to the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev Matthew Hassan Kukah by a group based in Sokoto, “Muslim Solidarity Forum.”

In a statement, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said under the laws of the country, groups or factions must not give quit notices, neither should they unilaterally sanction any perceived breaches.

Shehu further said that where perceived breaches occurred, it was the courts of law that should adjudicate and unilateral action was not the way to go.

“The reported ultimatum by a group based in Sokoto, ‘Muslim Solidarity Forum,” calling on the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev Matthew Hassan Kukah to tender an unreserved apology to the entire Muslim Ummah over his recent ‘malicious comments” against Islam, or quietly and quickly leave the state, is wrong because it is not in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Under our Constitution, every citizen has the right to, among others, freedom of speech and expression, the right to own property and reside in any part of the country, and the right to move freely without any inhibitions.

“Nigeria’s strength lies in its diversity. The right for all religions to co-exist is enshrined in this country’s Constitution. The duty of the government, more so, this democratic government, is to ensure that the Constitution is respected. But all must respect the rights and sensitivities of their fellow Nigerians,” Shehu said.

He also added that Father Kukah had greatly offended many with his controversial remarks against the government and the person of the President, with some even accusing him of voicing anti-Islamic rhetoric.

According to Shehu, on matters such as these, responsible leadership in any society must exercise restraint.

He said knee-jerk reactions would not only cause the fraying of enduring relationships, but also the evisceration of peaceful communities such as Sokoto, the headquarters of the Muslim community as beacon of pluralism and tolerance.

Shehu said the Sultanate had historically had good relations with followers of all faiths and that was why Father Kukah was received on his arrival in Sokoto with friendship and tolerance.

“Under our laws, groups or factions must not give quit notices, neither should they unilaterally sanction any perceived breaches. Where they occur, it is the courts of law that should adjudicate. Unilateral action is not the way to go,” he said.

Shehu said groups such as the Muslim Solidarity Forum must be seen to share and uphold the country’s multi-religious principles and individuals like Father Kukah must respect the feelings of his fellow Nigerians in his private and public utterances. (theconclaveng)

COVID-19: Nigeria records 1,398 new cases, nine deaths

The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), on Wednesday night, announced 1,398 new cases of COVID-19 infections in the country.

The health agency disclosed that Lagos had the highest record of the fresh cases with-542, FCT-131, Oyo-120, Rivers-113, Plateau-111, Kaduna-71, Kwara-71, Akwa Ibom-34, Sokoto-31, Benue-28, Ogun-27, Kano-26, Kebbi-17, Osun-12, Nasarawa-11, Delta-10, Gombe-10, Bayelsa-9, Borno-9, Edo-8, Ekiti-3, Jigawa-2 and Katsina-2.

The agency said nine deaths occurred in the country in the last 24 hours, as the fatality figure increased from 1,373 on Tuesday to 1,382 on Wednesday.

The data from the agency disclosed that 981 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours as the figure of discharged cases stood at 82,555 while 20,062 cases were still active in the country.

NCDC further explained that the discharges on Wednesday included 317 community recoveries in Lagos State, 241 in Kwara State and 134 in Plateau State managed in line with guidelines.

Total confirmed cases in Nigeria – 103,999
Total discharged cases – 82,555
Total deaths – 1,382

Breakdown of total cases by state is as follows:

Man imprisoned for impregnating daughter in Ondo state

A randy father identified as Peter Moses has been imprisoned for allegedly  impregnating his daughter.

The 36-year-old man who was arraigned before a Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ore, Ondo State was accused of committing the offence between November 2020 and January 2021 in Asewele Korede town in the Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.

The suspect, arraigned before the court on two counts bothering on unlawful sexual intercourse, pleaded guilty to the charges and also urged the court to temper justice with mercy.

However after the police prosecutor, Jimoh Amuda pleaded with the court for adjournment as the police had just commenced investigations into the matter and will also seek legal advice from the state Ministry of Justice, the magistrate Mr F.O. Omofolarin ordered that the defendant be remanded in a correctional service centre.

Omofolarin then adjourned the case till February 21.

Linda Ikeji

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