Home Blog Page 1232

Regent abducted, molested as crisis hits Ondo community over throne succession

There is an ongoing crisis in Alade Idanre kingdom in Ondo state over the succession of Olusegun Akinbola, the traditional ruler of the community who died on October 16.

Two days after the demise of the monarch, Temilowa Akinbola, his first daughter, was crowned the regent.

But five days after her emergence, hoodlums invaded the palace and attacked her alongside her aged mother.

In a petition to the state commissioner of police, she narrated how she was assaulted and abducted from her father’s palace allegedly on the orders of Frederick Aroloye, paramount ruler of Idanre.

“Our client reliably informed us that sometime on Friday 23rd October 2020, some thugs numbering about 20 forcibly entered the palace of Aladeokun of Alade and caused havoc therein. The thugs who came in motorcycles (popularly known as okada) were armed with guns, cutlasses, logs of wood and other dangerous weapons. We were reliably informed that the thugs shot sporadically into the air, singing war songs and demanding for the whereabouts of our client, the Regent of Alade,” she said in the petition her lawyer signed on her behalf.

“It is part of our brief that the hoodlums maliciously damaged all vehicles packed within the premises of the palace. Windshield and glass windows of vehicles belonging to Olori Abiola Akinbola and her visitor and chiefs were smashed by the thugs.”

The regent after the attack

She said after gaining entry into the living areas and bedrooms in the palace, the attackers looted and carted away telephone handsets, assorted wines, food items, clothing materials, jewellery, laptops, ATM cards and money.

The regent said she was forcefully taken to the palace of Aroloye where she was assaulted in his presence.

“We were further informed that our client was severely beaten, assaulted and her dignity was abused. The suspects dragged Her Majesty out of the toilet where she hid and forced her on a motorcycle. Also assaulted and abused were all persons, inhabitants, family members and visitors who were at the palace of Aladeokun on that day. The suspects roughly abducted our client and took her and Olori Abiola to Owa of Idanre’s palace. At the palace, it became apparent that the thugs were carrying out the instructions given to them by Owa of Idanre,” the petition read.

“Owa of Idanre sat on the throne and watched as the suspects again beat up the regent and the Olori. It was at the palace that the Owa ordered that the Regent vacate the throne so that one High Chief Lisa of Alade be installed. Owa of Idanre also ordered that Alade regional market be opened contrary to custom and tradition of closing same upon the demise of Aladeokun of  Alade.”

But in a statement from the media office of the Owa of Idanre, the monarch denied being responsible for the attack.

He said he invited the regent to a meeting to discuss the controversy surrounding her father’s burial.

However, Aroloye faulted Akinbola’s emergence, saying it is against the tradition of Idanre people to have a female regent after the transition of a king.

One of the vehicles destroyed during the attack

“The gathering at Owa’s palace on 23rd October 2020 was meant to resolve the issue of the purported intention of some people to come and perform parts of the burial rites of the departed traditional ruler of Alade Idanre inside the Alade Regional Market which was founded by Owa on 1861 and such thing was seen as an aberration, hence the need for the parley. And the gathering ended peacefully after exhaustive deliberations from both sides,” the statement read.

“The people were also educated that only at the transition of an Owa could the Alade Regional Market be closed or temporarily relocated and no other traditional ruler in Idanreland was given such entitlement.

“The issue of ‘regency’ at Alade Idanre was equally raised and Princess Temiloluwa Akinbola confessed that she didn’t know that it is against tradition to have a female regent… it is the “Lisa” who is next in rank to the Oba that takes the position of regent when an Oba transits.”

TheCable could not get the comments of Tee-Leo Ikoro, police public relations officer in Ondo, as he neither answered calls nor responded to a text message sent.

Win or Lose,Trump Is A Danger To Africa, By Azu Ishiekwene

If Donald J. Trump were president of Wakanda on the eve of an election, that country would have received several warnings from the US State Department on the need for free and fair polls, and the necessity for all parties to play by the rules.

But what is playing by the rules if parties will not accept an orderly transfer of power?

During two recent off-cycle state elections in the south of Nigeria, for example, the US Embassy threatened to invoke visa restrictions on candidates, agents or security officials who impede the electoral process. It was not an empty threat and the junket-obsessed political elite knew it.

Yet, as this welcome US fore-finger was wagging at Nigerian politicians, four other fingers of the same hand were pointing back at the US, where its own President, Trump, has threatened that he would not accept the result of the November 3 election, if he loses.

He made the same threat in 2016, saying he would not accept the outcome in the race against Hilary Clinton because the system was “rigged”. We may never know what would have happened since he won.

As of the time of writing, Facebook was planning to implement stringent standards to prevent the shambles of 2016 or the likelihood of a repeat of Cambodia 2018 where the prime minister was accused of buying fake fans to boost his electoral chances – a clear indication of how low the US that prides itself on sterling democratic values has fallen.

By this time next week, the US presidential election would be over. But there are a number of reasons why even days after the election, voters may still not be able to say for sure whether Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden won.

One reason why is because aspects of the labyrinthine voting and counting process in US elections which gives states and counties considerable latitude in the conduct of elections are being challenged in court. While some states may still be counting mail-in ballots (and they would be significantly more in this COVID-19 year), others, especially Republican states, want mail-in ballot counting to end before or on voting day.

The main reason why this election is fraught, however, is because Trump has hinted darkly that he would not accept the result, if he loses. He said he could not guarantee an orderly transfer of power, if the outcome does not favour him. Trump’s base is listening and the violent elements among them are waiting. The US faces a dark winter of post-election chaos.

Trump’s threat not to accept defeat is the main fuel stoking the flames. Yet, what he is doing and what is being done in his name are much worse. In a number of states across the US, especially in the battleground states, Republican governors are still desperately trying to use the courts to block counting of mail-in votes beyond election day, even where the law allows it.

The Supreme Court weighed in with a precarious 4-4 ruling but the matter is not settled yet. The inauguration on Monday of the conservative-leaning Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court could tip over the final decision on mail-in votes – a consequential matter in a COVID-19 year and beyond.

In other states, various voter suppression methods, including stringent voter ID requirements and last-minute gerrymandering have become a part of the kitchen sink.

It doesn’t end there. Concerns about Trump’s race baiting, suspicion that he may yet again deploy the National Guard as he did after George Floyd’s murder, and the rush to confirm Judge Barrett on the eve of election, all look like ingredients from a dictator’s cookbook.

But he does not care. Trump has said over and over again that “the system is rigged”, that he suspects serious fraud with mail-in ballots, that China is helping the Democratic Party compromise the system, that he is a victim of an Obama spy ring, all with barely a shred of proof. Yet, he seems determined to use self-help, if the results don’t go his way.

At first, it was like a joke. But since he makes no distinction between opinions and facts, Trump has taught the world to take him by his jokes. He indulges in fiction, which he invents with a single-minded talent that beggars belief.

Insisting – up till last week – that he would not accept an orderly transfer of power if he loses the election, is frightening. He makes Guinea where President Alpha Conde has just foisted a third term on the country look like a beacon of democracy.

Conde can, at least, argue that the Guinean parliament extended his mandate, even though he obtained the extension by fraud. But for a sitting US president to repudiate the prospects of an orderly transfer of power if he loses, is not just a dangerous precedent for that country, it increases the chances of more Condes rising in Africa and elsewhere. Has anyone noticed that the AU has been resoundingly silent about Conde’s travesty?

If Trump does not believe senior government officials across party lines and even independent thinktanks that have insisted that his claim of mail-in fraud or a “rigged system” is false, why should incumbents in Africa or elsewhere not undermine the electoral system in their own countries on the excuse that every ballot must match their testosterone specimen?

In the last two decades, a significant number of African countries have come under representative governments largely because of external pressure from the West, led by the European Union and the US. Even though more money has poured in from China – often with few questions or scruples – pressure from the west and improvements in technology have put more governments on the continent on the spot.

Politicians may not have been altogether pleased with the outcome of the elections, but because they have seen the consequences of chaos elsewhere, because they have seen the US live up to its pledge to punish persons responsible for deadly election violence whether in Kenya, Liberia or Cote d’Ivoire, they have yielded to orderly transfer of power.

Nigeria provided a spectacular example of orderly transition five years ago, when former President Goodluck Jonathan called Muhammadu Buhari and conceded defeat even before the final results were announced in an election that could have descended into chaos.

Despite deep misgivings in the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the time that Jonathan was being wangled out of office by a conspiracy of the Northern elite, the former president endured his misery and walked away.

Kenya and Zimbabwe followed suit.When Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia refused to accept the outcome of elections in that country the regional body, ECOWAS, shooed the yam-head out of office. Until recent events in Mali, Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea threatened to spoil the broth, Africa has been looking like the fireside where the world could at last light its candle.

A US president threatening to impede an orderly transition of power, is a danger not just to his own country but also to politicians elsewhere who might copy his bad example. This year, out of five African countries holding major elections, the presidents of two of them – Alassane Quattara of Cote d’Ivoire and Conde of Guinea – have maneuvered themselves into positions for a controversial third term.

Which Trump would stand up to Quattara, Conde or any other political outlaw on the continent? The Trump begging China to help him win election at home or the one hiding his tax records in plain sight? The Trump crying wolf over a “rigged system” even before the first ballot was cast or the one that unleashed the National Guard on unarmed protesters? The Trump who bullies women and indulges in race-baiting or the one who pledged not to accept an orderly transfer of power, if he loses at the poll?

Which Trump is the world modelling on the eve of November 3?

After four years of “America First”, the world is learning to find its own path even in matters where the US used to provide leadership and direction. Yet, if this is the new face of American exceptionalism – a US presidential candidate who undermines the electoral system for the heck of it and refuses to accept an orderly transfer of power if he loses, then we must brace up for a bitter winter in global politics.

Not even in shit-hole countries is it fashionable anymore to insist on victory as precondition for elections. Who needs elections if they must win before the contest, anyway?

But that is what Trump insists on. It’s apparent that America’s problems are worse than shambolic race relations and COVID-19. Trump-mylitis or the new epidemic of electoral-victory-at-all-costs is also a new contagion the world must guard against.

Ishiekwene is MD/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview

WTO leadership race upended by Trump now hinges on American election

World Trade Organisation members are confronting the reality that the future of the Geneva-based institution is now in the hands of the American electorate.

Trade officials in capitals around the world are evaluating their options following the Trump administration’s decision Wednesday to block the appointment of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the WTO’s next director-general. The U.S. is backing South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee despite overwhelming support from other countries for Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian former finance minister who also holds U.S. citizenship.

Some officials are concluding that if President Donald Trump loses the presidential election Nov. 3, as many polls are indicating, they should postpone the selection process until after Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. A Trump win would give U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer fresh momentum to re-engineer oversight of global trading rules and the WTO has been his nemesis for years.

“The U.S. election is obviously pivotal now,” said Rufus Yerxa, president of the National Foreign Trade Council in Washington and former WTO deputy director-general. “Where the WTO General Council takes this depends on whether they’re in another brutal showdown with Lighthizer or can afford to wait him out and make a deal with a new Biden administration.”

Lighthizer issued a strong statement of support for Yoo, signaling no wiggle room in the American position.

According to people close to Lighthizer, he views Okonjo-Iweala, a longtime top official at the World Bank, as being too ideologically aligned with internationalists like Robert Zoellick, a former USTR from the Bush administration who worked with her when he was president of the Washington-based bank.

‘Hands-On Experience’
“Minister Yoo is a bona-fide trade expert who has distinguished herself during a 25-year career as a successful trade negotiator and trade-policy maker,” the USTR’s office said in a statement. “The WTO is badly in need of major reform. It must be led by someone with real, hands-on experience in the field.”

Molly Toomey, a spokeswoman for Okonjo-Iweala, responded by saying, “WTO members wouldn’t have selected a DG who is missing any skills or qualifications.”

For WTO members, there are few desirable options if Trump emerges victorious in next week’s vote. Most are unwilling to back Yoo, who decided not to withdraw from the race after the WTO’s selection panel named Okonjo-Iweala the candidate most likely to attract consensus support from the WTO’s members.

Okonjo-Iweala “clearly carried the largest support by members” and “clearly enjoyed broad support from members from all levels of development and from all geographic regions,” WTO General Council Chairman David Walker, who is from New Zealand, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Yoo didn’t respond to requests for comment.

It’s possible that members could force a resolution to the impasse by holding a vote to select the next WTO director-general by a qualified majority. Okonjo-Iweala would likely win such a vote but that path would be unprecedented and harmful for the consensus-oriented WTO.

WTO decisions are made by a consensus of its 164 members, which means a single country can stall to pressure others.

A core tenet of Lighthizer’s approach to international trade is his desire to defend America’s national sovereignty over trade policy. So any move by WTO members to go against U.S. interests could provoke a sharp response from Trump, who has threatened to withdraw from the WTO entirely.

Advisers in the Biden administration, meanwhile, have advocated for greater engagement with U.S. allies and to strengthen multilateral institutions like the WTO.

“Reaffirming, strengthening our core alliances and partnerships with democratic countries is probably (Biden’s) leading international priority,” said Tony Blinken, a foreign policy adviser for the Biden campaign during a recent webinar hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve got to repair trade and economic relations that have been in disarray.”

Wednesday’s setback came after Okonjo-Iweala secured the support of the European Union, Japan, and much of Africa and Latin America.

“The resolute global majority and that of the Council to propose Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to be the new DG of WTO speaks to the overwhelming global consensus in favour of her candidature,” Ebba Kalondo, spokesperson to African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki, said in a statement Thursday. “We trust that this global consensus will prevail.”

China said it supported the outcome of the WTO process, and the EU reiterated its commitment to remain engaged.

To avoid a prolonged stalemate, members will work until Nov. 9 to try to reach a consensus. Meanwhile, some WTO staff paused for a dose of levity on Thursday as a tongue-in-cheek reminder circulated saying that four deputies director-general were still running the Organisation. (Bloomberg)

21 dead as school bus, trailer collide in Enugu

The Federal Road Safety Corps, on Thursday, confirmed the death of 21 people, including school children, in an auto crash at Mgbowo in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The Enugu Sector Commander, Mr Ogbonna Kalu, who confirmed the incident to The PUNCH, on the telephone, said the accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon.

He said the accident involved a school bus and trailer.

The commander blamed the accident on speeding beyond the limit and dangerous driving.

Kalu said, “21 persons have been confirmed dead and more than 50 persons were in the school bus.

“Also of note is that not all the deaths were school children. Those working on the roadside were part of the casualties.

It was, however, gathered that the tragic incident occurred when a Lowbed truck belonging to a construction firm working at Oji-River – Awgu Federal Road lost control and rammed into a school bus conveying over 60 pupils of the Presentation Nursery and Primary School, Awgu owned by the Catholic Diocese of Awgu home. (The PUNCH)

Fleeing Police Sergeant Who Shot Girlfriend, Joy Eze In The Mouth, Nabbed, Now In Police Net

Sergeant Eze and Joy Eze

Sergeant Eze Aiwansone, the Policeman who allegedly shot his girlfriend, Joy Eze, in the mouth three weeks ago and disappeared into thin air immediately after committing the crime, has been apprehended by the Lagos State Police Command.

The incident occurred on 8th October, 2020, at Opebi area of Lagos

The fleeing Sgt. Eze was attached to the Special Protection Unit (SPU), Base 16, Ikeja, prior to the shooting incident.

That particular incident had left Joy Eze’s mouth torn open and apart, with heavy bleeding, aftermath of which she was rushed to a hospital for treatment.

Sgt.Eze and his girlfriend were reportedly embroiled in an argument at a bus stop in Opebi, when he allegedly pulled out his gun and shot her.

The suspect, who had been on the run, was said to have been arrested by his elder brother who is an Inspector of police in Lagos and handed over to the Command. 

Meanwhile, the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Panti, has taken over the case on the instruction of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, for further investigation. 

Lagos CP, Hakeem Odumosu

The CP has, however, warned police personnel in Lagos State to desist from any act that can tarnish the image of the Force.

Odumosu appealed to them to be committed to the principles of Community Policing for better service delivery and public safety in the state.

Lagos PPRO, SP Muyiwa Adejobi

Hearings begin into killings of Nigerian protesters

By Eleni Giokos, Stephanie Busari, Lamide Akintobi and Eoin McSweeney, CNN

CNN — A week after the killing of activists protesting police brutality in Nigeria’s largest city, a Lagos state government judicial panel began hearings into the violence on Tuesday.

President Muhammadu Buhari tweeted on Sunday that the panel had his “full support”, but protesters say his administration has for years ignored their calls for reform.

Demonstrators took part in daily protests across Nigeria for nearly two weeks over widespread claims of kidnapping, harassment and extortion by a police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

The eight-person Judicial Panel of Restitution at the Lagos Court of Arbitration will look at the claims against SARS, which was disbanded on October 11 in response to the protests, and also investigate last Tuesday’s deadly incident at Lekki Toll Gate.

Amnesty International told CNN that at least 12 demonstrators had been shot dead at Lekki Toll Gate and another site last Tuesday by Army soldiers, who then took the bodies away. The Nigerian army claimed on Twitter that these reports were “fake news.”

The human rights group said at least 56 people have died across the country since the protests began, with about 38 killed last Tuesday alone.

Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu told CNN’s Becky Anderson on Monday that only two people were killed by the military. CCTV footage from last Tuesday’s incident will be part of the tribunal’s investigation but is not yet known if it will be made public.

Despite condemnation of the killings from the United States, United Nations and others, Sanwo-Olu insisted there was no international pressure on the government or the president to make reforms.

In addition to Tuesday’s session, the tribunal will also hold hearings on Friday and Saturday this week and the public have been invited to submit claims to the court.

It’s the only action government have taken to address the Lekki Toll Gate violence and is seen as a litmus test for the independence of the judiciary. There are two young protesters on the panel who will represent the youth voice.

The anti-SARS marches have recently morphed into protests campaigning for police reform and an end to bad governance in the oil-rich country.

The physical protests have ended but a coalition of protest groups vows to continue online. Many of the protesters said they have received multiple threats and there has been an attempt to blame them for the chaos, looting, and burning that followed the shootings last Tuesday.

“The ones that died are the real heroes,” said DJ Switch, who streamed a live video on Instagram at Lekki Toll Gate when the shooting started. “The giant is asleep. The custodians of the country, the leaders of the country, they’re tiptoeing; they don’t want to wake the giant up, the giants are the people.

CNN

#EndSARS: A day by day timeline of the protest that has brought Nigeria to its knees.

Nigerian youths embarked on a peaceful protest tagged #EndSARS to demand the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit, as well as, other reforms in the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). What started out as a peaceful demonstration by thousands of youths, degenerated into chaos after the protests were hijacked by hoodlums.

The hijacked protest is now characterized by the heavy presence of security personnel on the streets of Lagos, mob attacks on security personnel, killings, and vandalization of public and private properties.

The Birth of #EndSARS

The #EndSARS movement dates back to 2017, where Nigerian youths used the hashtag to share their experiences on violence and assault perpetrated by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad. However, the movement only revived in early October, after a video emerged of police officers thought to be members of the SARS unit, allegedly killing an unarmed young man.

This prompted Nigerian youths to troop to Twitter, calling on the Federal Government for police reform with the hashtag, #EndSARS, #Endpolicebrutality, and many more. The hashtag trended continuously on Twitter as Nigerian youths aired their pain and experiences online.

Continue reading

Anani emerges 2020 Maltina Teacher of the Year

Abuja (Sundiata Post) – Anani Oluwabunmi, a teacher at Concordia College, Yola, Adamawa State, has emerged the 2020 Maltina Teacher of the Year.

Anani, an English teacher was declared the winner at the grand finale held on Friday, October 16, 2020, at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

For emerging the winner of the 6th edition of the Maltina Teacher of the Year, Anani will receive a total cash prize of N6.5 million (N1.5million immediately and N1million annually for the next five years) from the Nigerian Breweries – Felix Ohiwerei Trust Fund.

She would also have the privilege to be part of an all-expense paid capacity development training abroad while a fully equipped computer laboratory or six-classroom block worth N20 million will be built for her school in her honour by the Fund.

Idele Benedicta, a teacher from Asoro Grammar School Senior, Egor, Edo State emerged the first runner-up winning a total of N1.5 Million while Adeeko Folukemi, a teacher from Patterson Memorial Baptist Grammar School, Abeokuta, Ogun State emerged as second runner-up with a prize of N1, 250, 000.00. Other 27 teachers who emerged as state champions were also rewarded with a sum of N500, 000.00 each.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Education, Honourable Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba commended the company’s unflinching commitment in supporting the education sector by rewarding high performing teachers through the annual Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative.

Nwajiuba noted that it was heartwarming to note that the company is keeping faith with this initiative despite the disruptive impact of the coronavirus pandemic on businesses and economy.

In his welcome address, the Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Jordi Borrut Bel explained that the initiative was designed to recognize, celebrate and motivate teachers whose stories have become great reminders of their role in laying the foundation for a good society.

While congratulating the finalists alongside state champions for coming this far, he stated that the role of teachers cannot be underestimated given their contribution to shaping and moulding lives.

Sundiatapost

#EndSARS: Soldiers Have No Business Doing ‘Police’ Job,

EKPO PATRICK UYO

The Pan Niger Delta Forum has said that soldiers have no business trying to do “police” job, and need not have been involved in the “EndSARS protests.

The organisation statement came after the shooting and killing of protesters at the Lekki TollGate in Lagos.

It said that soldiers are probably more needed in the North East and North West, where Boko Haram and bandits are making life unbearable for citizens.

The national President of the Forum, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga (retd), in a statement in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, warned that if the situation is not properly handled it might degenerate to a national crisis whose outcome might be unpredictable.

The former military administrator of Akwa Ibom State said the present situation in the country reinforced the agitation for restructuring which the forum has been clamouring for, adding that, a situation whereby some parts of the country are saying #EndSARS, and others are saying “We Want SARS”, clearly indicated that the  “house” is already divided and that the centre can no longer hold.”

The group, therefore, called on the President, Major General Mohammadu Buhari (rtd), to immediately address the nation again rather than unleashing the police and military against the protesters.

The group wondered why the president has not deemed it necessary to speak to Nigerians in the face provocative and senseless killings of innocence protesters in parts of the country particularly in Abuja, Lekki and, Benin.

“PANDEF condemns the brutalisation of peaceful protesters by hired hoodlums, and the police in various cities across parts of the country,  particularly, in Abuja and Benin City, Edo State.

“We demand an immediate halt to these attacks, harassments and intimidation of young Nigerians who are peacefully demonstrating their frustration over how the affairs of their country are being conducted.

“We further demand for the commencement of an unbiased investigation of these incidents in order to bring to book all those behind the undemocratic actions across the country.

“This country belongs to all of us, including the youths who are protesting. And we will not sit and continue to see our children being brutalized or killed. Enough is Enough!

“PANDEF would like to warn those who think Nigeria belongs to them alone, and therefore, others have no right to protest against abnormalities in the country, that it is no longer acceptable.

“If SARS, which virtually became a terror gang in some parts of the country, is strange, being esteemed in another part, to the extent that they are calling for the retention of SARS, then there is a fundamental problem in the country.

” It was expected that President Muhammadu Buhari should have addressed these young people, openly, and assuage their anger, instead of the deployment of the military and police against them, and allowing hired, armed thugs to unleash terror on the peaceful protesters.

“PANDEF also considers the nationwide “Operation Crocodile Smile” exercise announced by the Army, as most provocative, and an unnecessary distraction for the military, at this time.

Fani-Kayode to Sanwo-Olu: You stand accused of mass murder •Raises 10 posers for Lagos gov

ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – A former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has accused Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, of mass murder following the shooting of EndSARS protesters at Lekki Toll Gate on 20 October 2020.

In a statement made available to Sundiata Post on Wednesday, the former minister raised 10 posers that the Lagos State governor should respond to.

The full statement reads:

Governor Jide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state, has told the world that,

1. He does not know who deployed soldiers to the streets of Lagos.

2. He does not know who gave them orders to go to the Lekki Toll Gate.

3. He does not know why they shot anyone.

4. He does not know who gave them orders to shoot anyone.

He may well be telling the truth but if he is why did he not step out immediately and go to the scene of the shooting to protect his people?

Why did he not act like a man?

Why did he not call out Buhari and the military immediately.

Why did he not get on the airwaves and tell the world that “they are killing my people!”

Why did he not express more outrage about the carnage and display more empathy for the victims?

Why did he not go to the front line in Lekki himself to face the bullets and protect the children.

Why did he not organise protest marches all over the state against the military immediately after the event and solidarity marches for those that were killed and wounded at Lekki?

This is my grouse with him. No strength, no rage, no power, no fire, no passion and no courage.

Leaders and Kings are meant to enter the fray of battle and fight like men and not tremble and bow before genocidal maniacs and murderers and those that kill their people.

Courage is the greatest of all the virtues but both he and his mentor clearly lack it. The latter actually disappeared for a few days and said nothing which proved that far from being a lion he is as timid as a mouse.

He only resurfaced and boasted that “I am still the Asiwaju of Lagos and the Jagaban” after things calmed down. Yet where was this Asiwaju and his cub Sanwoolu when their people were being slaughtered?

They were hiding under their beds and trying, to no avail, to reach their friend Buhari on the phone. Of course he ignored them and treated them with the contempt that they deserve.

I bet he was saying to himself, “how dare these common slaves call me to disturb my sleep in the middle of the night just because their houses are burning and their children are being killed by my soldiers! Are they the the only ones!”

You supported Buhari, helped to put him in power and turned a blind eye to his consistent crimes against humanity all over the country over the last 5 years.

Now you have experienced just a little of what he, his associates, his allies and his military have been doing to others all over the country for the last 5 years and you appear shocked and dazed.

Did you really believe that you and your people were exempt from the madness of the Buhari regime?

Did you and your mentor think that you were special and safe because you helped put him in power?

If you did, now you know better. The military have now told the world that YOU asked them to come into the streets of Lagos and you know the implications of that . To say the least, for you, they are grave.

It means they are trying to put the blame on you for the shedding of innocent blood.

It means they have betrayed you and thrown you under the bus. It means they have clothed your name with infamy and labelled you as a mass murderer.

It means they have portrayed you as a man that is prepared to call out the military and kill his own people at the drop of a hat.

It means they have made you the fall guy for the atrocities that they committed. It means they have made you a candidate for the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague.

It means they have turned you into a man that stands accused of the most heinous, heartless and horrific war crimes.

Poor you. I really do feel sorry for you but frankly this is where cowardice and the accommodation of or acquiescence to evil always leads to.

When you refuse to fight or speak out against the wickedness and barbarity that is visited on others from outside your state and zone it will ultimately consumme you too.

That is the lesson of life. Every leader has a choice to make: to either turn a blind eye to the activities of sadistic and bloodthirsty tyrants and wholesale tyranny or stand up and fight them and we must live with the consequences of that choice.

Your intentions may we have been good but as they say, “the road to hell is always paved with good intentions”.

History proves that those that collude with evil rulers always perish.

It also proves that those who ride on the back of a tiger always end up in its stomach.

It is clear to me that you and your mentor may well have ended up in Buhari’s stomach.

I hate to say it again but we WARNED you!

Permit me to end this contribution with the following.

To all those insulting the grief of the bereaved and traumatized by claiming nobody died at the Lekki tollgate massacre, I urge them to watch the video that has been in circulation and that provides, in my view, incontrovertible evidence.

I should add that reports suggest that the bodies were collected by the soldiers and disposed of after the massacre.

The individual known as DJ Switch who filmed these events with her phone and who gave the public direct evidence about what she witnessed with her own eyes should be commended for her extraordinary courage and not condemned.

Had it not been for her efforts this great evil that was unleashed on our children by Government forces and rogue soldiers would have been covered up and brushed under the carpet like so many other barbaric acts of state-sponsored genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass murder have been covered up before in Nigeria.

Sanwo-Olu initially told the local media that no-one was killed but just a few days later he admitted to CNN that at least two people were killed. I have little doubt that sometime in the next few days and weeks he and others will be forced to admit that far many more were killed than that.

This is especially so given the fact that the main players now appear to be turning against one another and exposing each others dirty secrets and filthy role in this utterly reprehensible event and shameless chapter.

This is what always happens when thieves, rogues, murderers and genocidal maniacs fall apart.

Meanwhile we ask again:

1. WHO DEPLOYED THE SOLDIERS?

2. WHO ORDERED THE SHOOTING?

3. WHO ORDERED THE REMOVAL OF CCTV CAMERAS?

4. WHO GAVE INSTRUCTIONS TO SWITCH OFF THE
TOLL GATE LIGHTS?

5. WHO GAVE THE ORDER TO SWITCH OFF THE STREET LIGHTS?

6. WHO GAVE THE ORDER TO SWITCH OFF THE BILLBOARD LIGHTS?

7. WHO GAVE THE ORDER THAT AMBULANCES & HELICOPTERS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO CARRY AWAY THE BODIES OF THE DEAD & WOUNDED?

8. WHO ORDERED THE SOLIDERS TO SEIZE & CARRY AWAY THOSE BODIES & WHERE WERE THEY TAKEN TO?

9. WHO LED THE SOLDIERS AND WHAT IS THE NAME OF THEIR COMMANDING OFFICER?

10. WHAT ROLE DID BUHARI, SANWOOLU, TINUBU AND HIS SON AND OTHER KEY STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND THEIR ASSOCIATES AND ALLIES PLAY IN THIS MATTER?

Until these questions are answered truthfully none of those that stand accused will have any peace of mind or rest and the matter will not die. The blood of the innocent cries to God in heaven for vengeance: justice will be done and they will be avenged.

1...1,2311,2321,233...1,457Page 1,232 of 1,457

TIPS

Load more