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Alleged Sexual Harassment: Court Arraigns Officials of Deeper Life High School

Some officials of the Deeper Life High School in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state capital have been arraigned for their alleged role in the sexual molestation and forced starvation of an 11-year-old student of the school.

The police are arraigning the suspects following their investigation of the petition by the mother of the student, Mrs Deborah Okezie, against the school principal, Ndidi Solomon, and three others.

In her petition, Mrs Okezie had alleged that her son, a JSS 1 student of the school, was sexually molested, inhumanly treated, and starved in the school.

She had raised an alarm in a viral social media video claiming that the abuse was perpetrated by some senior students of the school, sparking outrage and investigation by the police.

The school authorities also last week also vowed to ensure justice is done on the matter. The school’s Education Secretary, Mrs Thelma Malaka in a video stated that the school would not cover up the issue but ensure justice was served.

“We would like to restate that Deeper Life High School stands on the core values of integrity and uprightness and will not attempt to cover up any immoral act under any guise,” Malaka said in the video.

Meanwhile, journalists have been barred from covering the proceedings which is currently going on an High Court in Uyo. (thecrestng)

Trump is said to have discussed pardoning himself- New York Times

President Trump has suggested to aides he wants to pardon himself in the final days of his presidency, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions, a move that would mark one of the most extraordinary and untested uses of presidential power in American history.

In several conversations since Election Day, Mr Trump has told advisers that he is considering giving himself a pardon and, in other instances, asked whether he should and what the effect would be on him legally and politically, according to the two people. It was not clear whether he had broached the topic since he incited his supporters on Wednesday to march on the Capitol, where some stormed the building in a mob attack.

Mr Trump has shown signs that his level of interest in pardoning himself goes beyond idle musings. He has long maintained he has the power to pardon himself, and his polling of aides’ views is typically a sign that he is preparing to follow through on his aims. He has also become increasingly convinced that his perceived enemies will use the levers of law enforcement to target him after he leaves office.

No president has pardoned himself, so the legitimacy of prospective self-clemency has never been tested in the justice system, and legal scholars are divided about whether the courts would recognize it. But they agree a presidential self-pardon could create a dangerous new precedent for presidents to unilaterally declare they are above the law and to insulate themselves from being held accountable for any crimes they committed in office.

A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr Trump has considered a range of pre-emptive pardons for family, including his three oldest children — Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump — for Ms Trump’s husband, the senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, and for close associates like the president’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani. The president has expressed concerns to advisers that a Biden Justice Department might investigate all of them.

Mr Trump, who has told advisers how much he likes having the power to issue clemency, has for weeks solicited aides and allies for suggestions on whom to pardon. He has also offered pre-emptive pardons to advisers and administration officials. Many were taken aback because they did not believe they were in legal jeopardy and thought that accepting his offer would be seen as an admission of guilt, according to the two people.

Presidential pardons apply only to federal law and provide no protection against state crimes. They would not apply to charges that could be brought by prosecutors in Manhattan investigating the Trump Organization’s finances.

The discussions between Mr Trump and his aides about a self-pardon came before his pressure over the weekend on Georgia officials to help him try to overturn the election results or his incitement of the riots at the Capitol. Trump allies believe that both episodes increased Mr Trump’s criminal exposure, and more potential problems emerged for the president on Thursday when the Justice Department said it would not rule out pursuing charges against him over his role in inciting Wednesday’s violence.

“We are looking at all actors, not only the people who went into the building,” said Michael R. Sherwin, the top federal prosecutor in Washington.

As aides urged Mr Trump to issue a strong condemnation on Wednesday and he rejected that advice, the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, warned Mr Trump that he could face legal exposure for the riot given that he had urged his supporters to march to the Capitol and “fight” beforehand, according to people briefed on the discussion. The president had appeared to White House aides to be enjoying watching the scenes play out on television.

Beyond that, the extent of Mr Trump’s criminal exposure is unclear. The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, outlined 10 instances in which Mr Trump may have obstructed justice but declined to say whether he broke the law, citing legal and factual constraints of prosecuting a sitting president. Former Justice Department officials and legal experts said that several of the acts should be prosecuted.

In 2018, federal prosecutors in New York named Mr Trump as a conspirator in an illegal campaign finance scheme.

A mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, after the president helped incite them.

Pardons can be broad or narrowly tailored. White-collar defense lawyers said that Mr Trump would be best served by citing specific crimes if he pardoned himself, but such details could be politically damaging by suggesting that he was acknowledging he had committed those crimes.

A self-pardon would complicate the already fraught question for the Biden Justice Department about whether to investigate and ultimately prosecute Mr Trump. Democrats and former Justice Department officials contend that if the president pardons himself and the Justice Department declines to prosecute Mr Trump, it will send a troubling message to Americans about the rule of law and to future presidents about their ability to flout the law.

“The Biden Justice Department will not want to acquiesce in a Trump self-pardon, which implies that the president is literally above federal law,” said Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard law professor and former top Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration.

A self-pardon would align with Mr Trump’s unprecedented use of the pardon power. The framers of the Constitution gave the president almost total authority to grant clemency for federal crimes, positioning the head of the executive branch as a check on the judicial branch and as someone who could dip into the justice system to show grace and mercy on the downtrodden.

But Mr Trump has eschewed the formal Justice Department process set up to ensure pardons are handed out fairly. Instead, he has used his pardon power unlike any other president to help allies, undermine rivals and push his own political agenda. Of the 94 pardons and commutations Mr Trump has granted, 89 percent were issued to people who had a personal tie to Mr Trump, helped him politically or whose case resonated with him, according to a tabulation by Mr Goldsmith.

The only president to receive a pardon was Richard M. Nixon. A month after Nixon left office, his former vice president, President Gerald R. Ford, pardoned him for all crimes he committed in office. The move was widely criticized at the time as allowing the presidency to hover above the law. Ford supporters later blamed the pardon for his election loss two years later, though ultimately the pardon came to be seen as a move that helped the country move on from Watergate.

Mr Trump has maintained throughout his presidency that he has the authority to pardon himself and first discussed the possibility with aides as early as his first year in office. Those discussions began when his campaign’s ties to Russia were being scrutinized and investigators were examining whether he had obstructed justice.

Legal scholars are less certain about Mr Trump’s declaration that he has an “absolute right” to pardon himself.

The Justice Department said in a short August 1974 opinion, just four days before Mr Nixon resigned, that “it would seem” that presidents cannot pardon themselves “under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case.”

But the president is not bound by those opinions, and there is nothing stopping Mr Trump from signing a pardon for himself. The questions would be whether the Justice Department under another president would honor the pardon and set aside any potential prosecution of Mr Trump and, if he were prosecuted, whether the judicial system would ultimately decide whether the pardon insulates Mr Trump from facing charges.

“Only a court can invalidate a self-pardon, and it can only do so if the Biden administration brings a case against Trump,” Mr. Goldsmith said. “A Trump self-pardon would thus make it more likely the Biden team prosecutes Trump for crimes committed in office.”

Throughout Mr Trump’s presidency, he and allies have looked to pardons as a way of helping the president protect himself in criminal investigations. During the Russia investigation, Mr. Trump and his personal lawyer John M. Dowd dangled pardons to former aides. One, his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, flouted a plea deal to work with prosecutors. (NY Times)

Gov. Sani Bello commends progress of work at Bobi Grazing Reserve

Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, has expressed satisfaction with the progress of work at the multi- million dollar Bobi Grazing Reserve located in Mariga/Mashegu Local Government Areas of the state.

This is just as the state government said it would bring together investors and stakeholders interested in the development of the Reserve to present position papers on how to move the facility forward.

Gov. Sani Bello, who spoke to journalists shortly after an inclusive visit to the Reserve, said the state government is further expanding the multi- purpose Dam to, not only supply water for the cattle and pasture, but for intensive irrigation and fishery activities.

“We are also constructing a modern spillage as well as an enhance embankment to protect the Dam and give it more strength because we have since realized that water is so central to the successful development of the grazing reserve,” he stated.

The governor disclosed that the reserve has cultivated about 300 hectares of pasture which is quite sufficient to feed 9,000 cattle adding that, when the programme is completed, excess pasture would be available for sale to any part of the country.

He also stated that the crossbreeding programme has commenced successfully to produce better breeds for milk and beef stressing that the artificial insemination will also begin in the next few weeks.

“As you can see, we are making progress. As part of attraction to the programme, we are trying to encourage and enhance the capacity of women in terms of improving their economic strength by improving the capacity of their cows from producing 1-2 litres to 10-15 litres of milk per day,” the governor said.

He noted that the state government is looking at the whole idea of the Ruga Settlement Programme more from the security rather than the economic point of view, adding that the incessant farmers/herders conflicts is partly responsible for the increasing rise in Armed Banditry, especially in the north.

The state chief executive said the grazing reserve will increase the state government’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) overtime but, most importantly it would empower the people and create jobs, particularly for women and youths.

The consultant handling the development of the reserve and Emir of Muri in Taraba State, Alhaji Abbas Tafida, disclosed that the programme, when completed, is expected to empower about 9,000 people while their income and that of the state should increase by approximately N9 billion per annum.

He called on all Fulani herders to embrace the huge opportunity provided by the state government through the establishment of the grazing reserve, emphasizing that the entire project, when completed,  would provide individuals the opportunity to do better for themselves.

Alhaji Abbas Tafida advised the state government to fence the whole Grazing Reserve and install CCTV cameras as part of security measures to protect individual, government and private investments on the massive expanse of land.

In another development, the State Government says it is set to organize a ‘Road Show’ that will bring together all investors and stakeholders interested in the development of the Bobi Grazing Reserve to present a position paper on the progress level and take-off of the project among others.

Gov.  Sani Bello, who disclosed this during his recent visit to the Reserve alongside the State Executive Council members, explained that the state government would invite its partners on the Ruga Settlement Programme to sit and discuss statistics and other economic parameters that would ensure or guarantee a win-win situation for all.

He stated that substantial amount of resources have been invested by the state government in the development of the reserve and that it can even begin to generate money from the over 300 hectares of Pastures already available for sale.

Gov. Sani Bello said, when the project becomes fully operational, a tax system will be introduced, not only to raise revenue profile of the state but for security purposes as well.

According to the governor, the state government will make the Bobi Grazing Reserve a model in the country, hence the need to place it on international trajectory by strictly following global best practices in its development and actualization. (summitnews)

NOSDRA, slams Conoil over callous attitude towards oil spill in Bayelsa – By Uche Dibia

The National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), and environmentalists have expressed concern over the impact of the operations of Conoil Producing Limited on the Bayelsa environment.

The stakeholders expressed worry over insensitivity of the indigenous oil firm towards the sustenance of the environment where it operates, saying it is yet to respond to an undersea leak from its oilfield in Bayelsa since September 3 , 2020. 

  Director-General of NOSDRA,Idris Musa,  had confirmed the incident on December 2, 2020, and subsequently berated the company for operating in breach of regulatory guidelines. 

The agency noted that the oil firm was in the habit of causing avoidable spills and had been sanctioned for degrading the environment.

“This oil company has been spilling oil for a period of time now. And we just got this report, from what we found it is from an underwater pipeline under pressure creating bubbles on the water surface.

“All the directives given to it to contain the oil spill, shut down and replace the leaking pipeline near shore in Sangana, Bayelsa State fell into deaf ears. 

“The agency sanctioned the company for this untoward act, but nothing has changed. The leakage continues and the oil company behaves irresponsibly even though it is a Nigerian Oil Company,” Musa said.  

It was learned that the leak emanated from Conoils’s facility known as ‘Aunty Julie platform’ within Oil Mining Lease 59, at Otuo  Oilfield.

According to information on Conoil Producing Limited’s website, the facility, a mobile offshore production unit commissioned in 1999 has capacity to produce 80,000 barrels of crude daily. 

Also, the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria  (ERA/FoEN) says it is disturbed by the unsafe environmental practices at an offshore oilfield operated by Conoil, an indegenous oil firm. 

According to the Non Government Organisation (NGO), the posture of the oil firm despite regulatory sanctions leaves more to be desired as the adverse impact of the operation is borne by host communities. 

ERA/FoEN, an Environmental rights group, in a field report,  noted that Conoil Plc has yet to respond to an oil spill from its facility. 

The report said that several communities near the oil facility in Akassa Kingdom environment in the Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa are affected by the leak four months after the incident. 

The report was signed by Alagoa Morris Head, ERA/FoEN Niger Delta Resource Centre , Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. 

According to the report, the incident occurred at the indigenous oil firm’s Otuo Field Well 13 on September 3, 2020. 

The ERA/FoEN report indicated that the leak was yet to be plugged and spilled crude was still spreading and polluting Akassa and coastal communities along the Atlantic shoreline.

The report quoted the Chairman, United Fishing Union of Sangana, Ikonikumo Noel, as lamenting that the spill had wiped out generations of fishes as well as adversely affected  aquatic lives that constitute the food chain. 

“The oil spill happened on Sept. 3, 2020. We have been looking for a way for Conoil to, at least, shut down the facility so that the effect would not come to us.  

“Fishes are dying in Sangana coastline seriously. But the company doesn’t pay any attention.” Noel said. 

The group also quoted the Akassa Clan Youth Presidents’ Forum to have in a letter dated September 18, 2020 reported the incident to the office of the state Commissioner for Environment, but no action had been taken.

According to our Correspondent, all efforts to get the reaction of the oil firm by e-mail, short message services and unanswered telephone calls to officials of the oil firm proved abortive at press time. 

Also, Mr Abiodun Azeez, Media Relations Manager at Conoil Production declined comments on the allegations of flouting regulatory guidelines on oil spills by NOSDRA(summitnews)

COVID-19 Delay: Top Nigerians ‘Rush’ Abroad For Vaccine Jabs

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire. Photo credit: Nigeria Health Watch

 Chika Otuchikere, Abuja

As Nigerians await on the federal government to procure the much needed COVID-19 vaccine from China or Europe, top Nigerian politicians and businessmen who can afford it are already rushing abroad for their jab of the vaccine doses.

Images of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar receiving a jab of the vaccine in faraway Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, flooded the social media on yesterday.

The photographs elicited comments from Nigerians, some of who averred that the action of getting the vaccine jab in a foreign country was an unpatriotic act coming from a former Presidential candidate of the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). More so, as he still has his eyes on the presidency.  

 Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, who confirmed the news and defended his principal’s action said: “The importance of the COVID-19 vaccine in mitigating the effect of the coronavirus cannot be overstated, particularly in Africa and Nigeria.

“Yesterday, as part of the mass vaccination programme, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine”.

Last week also, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu was also alleged to had flown to London in the United Kingdom for a jab of the vaccine. The story initially went that the former Lagos State governor had contacted the virus and so, had flown to London for treatment.

His son, Seyi was later quoted as saying that his father did not contract the virus but had only travelled to the UK to get the vaccine.

At the moment, it is unclear how many top Nigerians have flown out of the country to receive a jab of the vaccine rather than waiting for the federal government finally make the vaccine available to Nigerians.

There are, however, speculations that Nigerian elite and top politicians who have a penchant for medical trip abroad at the cost of neglecting the country’s health sector, would introduce vaccine tourism in the country’s lexicon.

Earlier this week, the government announced that it was in talks with the People’s Republic of China over the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine even as the Presidential Taskforce on the COVID-19 had announced that the country will purchase doses for 42 million people.

Given the attitude of government to the funding of the health sector, especially, with particular reference to infrastructural development of the sector, many Nigerians are already faulting the government’s plan for the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine when it eventually gets into the country.

For many, this may explain why those who can afford it would not hesitate to leave the shores of the country to seek the vaccine where the medical facilities are well equipped.

At the moment, although the prevalence of the coronavirus in the country cannot be compared with what obtains in Europe and America, the infection rate is rising fast and there are fears that the country may face a severe medical emergency if the vaccine fails to come in immediately.

The second wave COVID-19 is coming with a variant that infects easily and more deadly. This leaves the managers of the COVID-19 with a major challenge of planning the administration of the vaccine ahead of its arrival into the country to avoid controversies which have become the order of the day.   (dailyasset)

Same-sex marriage, Abortion, Death penalty: Standing up for your beliefs about what’s right is true freedom!

By Frank Tietie

Many of us, by our natural and religious orientation, don’t share the agenda that promotes same sex marriage, abortion and abolition of the death penalty. Why then do some of us tacitly promote these anti-social and countercultural values by acquiescing to personalities like US President-Elect, Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris?

Is it because it is a way of putting food on our tables through advocacies that offend sensibilities of others? Or do we prefer to be tools in the hands of forces beyond our control?

As a human rights advocate in my own right, I have been in high level circles where much pressure has been put on the Nigerian government to change the provisions of the Same Sex Prohibition Act, 2014 to fully accept gay rights in Nigeria.

The supposed reason why Nigeria is still a death penalty rententionist state and yet to accept abortion on demand is to show how much value we place on needless waste of human lives. There are those who will insist that this is debatable, but we cannot use the inertia of those in power, and deviants who operate from the forests to judge the values of a vast majority of Nigerians.

But I prefer and want world powers that recognise beyond political theory, the right of states and their nationals to disagree with a globally popular sexual and social orientation.

A globalist movement that dictates the way of life for the rest of the world must be resisted. We play into the hands of these elements by our poor governance structures and our unwillingness to define what we stand for as individuals and a country. We have even failed to create our long term agenda to determine our future pursuits.

A US presidency that cared less about shadow wars and regime changes in Africa served our interests better than the one that will seek to redefine humanity by extending a new global imperialism.

There is greater essence to both personal and national identity than to have a worldview that is defined by materialism.

I therefore invite you to brace up for a brave new world, in the coming months and years where sweeping social changes, driven by a globalist agenda will leave the erstwhile thoughtless, helpless.

▪︎ Tietie is an Abuja-based lawyer

China blocks WHO team from entering country to find COVID-19 origins

An expert mission to China to find the origins of the coronavirus pandemic stumbled before it even began, with the head of the World Health Organization complaining that Beijing was blocking the team from entering the country.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “very disappointed” with the last-minute bar on entry, in a rare castigation of Beijing from the UN body.

A 10-strong team was due to arrive in China this week after months of painstaking negotiations.

Beijing is determined to control the origin story of the virus, which has killed more than 1.8 million people so far and laid waste to global economies.

The first cases of the coronavirus were recorded in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, prompting accusations of chaotic, secretive handling by Chinese authorities which led to its spread beyond China.

US President Donald Trump called the pandemic the “China virus”.

But Beijing has so far resisted pressure for a full independent probe into the early days of the outbreak. Instead, it has seeded doubt as to whether the pandemic even started inside its borders.

The WHO mission was billed as a way to cut through the rancour and seek clear answers on how the virus jumped from animals to humans.

But with some of the team already in transit, Beijing had yet to grant them entry, the WHO chief said.

“Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team’s arrivals in China,” Tedros told reporters on Tuesday.

“I am very disappointed with this news, given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute.”

He stressed that he had been in contact with senior Chinese officials to make clear “that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team”.

“I have been assured that China is speeding up the internal procedure for the earliest possible deployment,” Tedros added.

The mission was hugely sensitive and neither the WHO nor China had until now confirmed when specifically it was due to start.

WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told Tuesday’s briefing that the problem was a lack of visa clearances.

“We trust and we hope that this is just a (logistical) and bureaucratic issue that can be resolved very quickly.”

There was no immediate comment from China.

▪︎”Critical” mission

“We were all operating on the on the understanding that the team would begin deployment today,” he said, adding that two members of the team coming from far away had set off early Tuesday, before it became clear that the necessary approvals had not been received.

He stressed the “absolute critical nature” of the mission, acknowledging that the situation was “frustrating and… disappointing”.

The origins of Covid-19 remain bitterly contested, lost in a fog of recriminations and conjecture from the international community — as well as obfuscation from Chinese authorities determined to keep control of the virus narrative.

Scientists initially believed the virus jumped to humans at a market selling exotic animals for meat in the city of Wuhan.

But experts now think the market may not have been the origin of the outbreak, but rather a place where it was amplified.

It is widely assumed that the virus originally came from bats, but the intermediate animal host that transmitted it between bats and humans remains unknown. (AFP)

Ex-Chief of Air Staff Nsikak Eduok is dead, aged 73

•Late Air Marshal Nsikak Eduok (retired)

Death has occurred of the former chief of air staff, Air Marshall Nsikak Eduok.

Eduok died Wednesday night at age 73.

A family source disclosed that the retired Air Force boss from Akwa Ibom State did not die from COVID-19 as widely speculated in the social media.

According to the source, Eduok died from kidney related illness which had kept him on the hospital bed for many months before he finally breathed his last Wednesday night (yesterday).

“I can tell you categorically that his death has nothing to do with Coronavirus. The man has been on the hospital bed for some time now. He was suffering from kidney related illness,” disclosed the source.

Our source further hinted that the death of the former Air Force chief was yet to be made known to the public.

“We (family) are waiting for the state government to officially inform the Nigerian Airforce first, it is after that his death will be officially announced by the state government,” said the source.

Recall that Eduok’s death comes on the heels of that of Wing Commander Idongesit Nkanga, another retired Air Force officer and former Military Administrator of Akwa Ibom State who reportedly died from COVID-19 related ailments.

Born on July 11, 1947, Nsikak-Abasi Essien Eduok was born at Ibesikpo Asutan local government in Akwa Ibom State.

After his education, he began working for VON for a short while as a studio manager. In 1968 Nsikak enrolled in the NAF as a probable pilot.

Air Marshal Nsikak Eduok obtained his first military exercise from the Nigerian Defence Academy before going for his principal flying training in 1970. In 1971 after completing his principal training he went through the Basic Flying training course and emerged the best overall student.

In that same year he was assigned Second Lieutenant. Between 1971 and 1986 he attended several flying courses which included Advanced and Tactical Flying training course, Aircraft Accident Investigation course, MiG-21 Conversion Course in the Soviet Union, Advanced Staff Course in United Kingdom.

In 1991, he attended USAF Air War College in Alabama where he graduated in 1992. Between 1975 and 1976, Nsikak Eduok was the first Operations Officer of the Makurdi Strike Group. He was Commanding Officer of NAF Station, Enugu and the first Commander of the 75th Fighter Squadron.

Nsikak Eduok also has a street “Nsikak Eduok Avenue” in Akwa Ibom named after him. (News Express)

DANGOTE’S ‘BUMBUM’ IN THE AIR: SOME WOMEN FEAR NEITHER GOD NOR MAN!

Learning of the alleged “relationships” of Africa’s richest Billionaire, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is not supposed to be a marveling news. Since the beginning of the world, wealthy men (and women alike, to some extent), particularly, struggle with how to control the inordinate desires and pleasures of the flesh. The enormity of this challenge is such that no number of wives can naturally quench the urge. Only highly disciplined and men of unprecedented level of moral codes may manage to put it in check. Again, the effort is mostly appreciated when the man in question has hit good fortune, otherwise, his fidelity would be attributed to his impecuniosity.

One of the most remarkable things about King Solomon was that, not only did he love foreign women, he married 700 wives (of royal birth) and had 300 side-chicks/concubines. (1 Kings 11) Regarded as one of the richest men in history, King Solomon has been an authority both on wisdom and extra-marital affairs. Perhaps, many great men – men of means, influence and affluence – have drawn inspiration from the wisest man that ever lived.

Thus, the big deal is not in the reported exchange by the women of easy virtue on their alleged escapade with Nigeria’s most valued Businessman. Rather, the audacity with which one of them flung what appears to be Dangote’s ‘bumbum’ in the air for the Internet to feed on till the end of time.

While the veracity of their claims remains highly in doubt, what is not in doubt is the fact that Dangote now trends on social media, not based on his wealth or business, but based on the reckless exchange by some women who fear neither God nor man, like the judge in the Gospel of Luke 18:2.

Alhaji Dangote is entitled to all his fundamental rights, including his right to privacy. The lady who allegedly took the picture of our National Treasure and published it to our displeasure, has not shown that Alhaji Dangote indeed consented to his picture being publicly displayed, that is assuming the picture or video is real. The right to privacy is a constitutional right under Nigerian Law. (Section 37) It is equally a universal right. Article 12 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that:

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

We call on Nigeria’s National Intelligence Agency to collaborate with its foreign counterparts to arrest and deal with those women who sought to denigrate one of the Nation’s prides.

Credits: The post was first published on Stephenlegal.ng by Stephen Azubike, legal practitioner, consultant and social entrepreneur.

This is not about Trump

By Frank Tietie

The US Presidential Election is important to the whole world for many reasons. From my standpoint here in Nigeria, West Africa, I caution that we should neither allow the contrived media hate for Truump nor the bandwagon effect to drive us.

The reason we cry out for credible elections in Africa and particularly in my country, Nigeria is to guarantee legitimacy of a government and those who operate it.

Donald Trump and Republicans have alleged manifest electoral malpractices which by casual evidence appear to be true yet the Democrats and mainstream media simply refute the claims by waving them off as having insufficient proofs.

The Courts, including Supreme Court of The United States (SCOTUS), see modicum of truth in the claims by Republicans that electoral rules were manipulated in key states shortly before the elections by persons who do not have such authority, yet they have refused to adjudicate on the issues on merit. I agree with Trump that the courts failed. Even in Nigeria, my country, however dysfunctional they call it, courts won’t fail in their responsibility like that.

For the last five years as a public commentator, I have warned several times that public disorder and anarchy will ultimately reign when electoral processes are not perceived to be fair by all the political players. Therefore, I have always striven by every strength I had to make the point on national media that our own electoral umpire, INEC must do everything to ensure a credible election at all times to the extent that even those who lose elections would be satisfied that they lost indeed.

The recent US elections and the following attendant allegations of voter fraud- no use of IDs, illegal aliens and dead people voting, no signature verifications and the mighty claim of the use of Dominion software, all show that the recent US elections failed the test of electoral credibility.

What I have warned against in Nigeria and we have always managed, the US ignored and it must face the consequences – confusion and disorder!

On a personal note, I prefer a Trump presidency for the USA with a Republican leadership in Congress. Such justification will be for another writing.

I am convinced that the elections in the key swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, and a few others were not fair. The subsequent hearings by the Pennsylvania legislature prove so. The SCOTUS ought to have had the courage to examine the pieces of evidence that Rudy Gulliani, Sydney Powell and the Trump Campaign came up with.

The US Presidential election has shown who the real purveyors of fake news are. Don’t tell me about news as a news network, when you blank out all negative news about your preferred candidate and only tell me what you prefer for me to know about another candidate. That’s an insult and a mind control agenda taken too far. That’s what I have seen in agreement with other many commentators.

Watching yesterday’s vote count in Georgia as it happened in the presidential elections and listening to the voices at the DC rally today, I knew some people took the hate of Trump and the determination to get him out, too far. A man who could garner over 70 million votes in an election is not someone who should be so hated. Such hate as it is for Trump is as equally divisive and polarising as they accuse him of doing.

I am not surprised at the turned state of violence at the certification hearings at the US Capitol. That’s what injustice breeds naturally and it is just the beginning. When the US allows its system, structures and institutions to be so manipulated, it will pay a huge price, a possible civil war as it once had.

Whether or not the Republicans and the Trump Campaign succeed and Joe Biden is eventually sworn in on January 20, the US will witness an unprecedented internal civil unrest in the ensuing years.

▪︎ Tietie, a legal practitioner, is based in Abuja.

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