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Protesters Chase Away Lawmakers, Demand To See Senate President

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Angry Nigerians protesting the high-handedness of the Nigeria Police Force on Thursday in Abuja chased away some lawmakers, who had come to address them and insisted on seeing the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, instead.

All efforts to pacify and calm the crowd proved abortive.

Armed policemen at the gate of the complex had a hectic time controlling the protesters, who vowed not to leave the premises.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Muhammed Bello, has announced a ban on all protesters in Abuja.

He said the activities of the protesters had endangered lives of citizens going about their legitimate businesses.

BREAKING: Northern Governors Meet President Buhari, Reject Disbandment Of SARS

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Governors of states in the Northern part of Nigeria have rejected the total disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

Lalong said the defunct police unit had been useful in the fight against insecurity in the region. 

According to him, SARS was not made up of bad elements alone as it also included personnel doing their work diligently.

He said what was needed was the reformation of the unit to enable it to discharge its functions optimally. 

Lalong, however, acknowledged that there were divisions in the country concerning the continued existence of the unit.

FCT Bans EndSARS Protests For Violating COVID-19 Rules

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The FCTA says ongoing protests endanger the lives of everyone in the capital city.

The security committee of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja has placed a ban on protests in the capital city over safety fears.

Nigerians have been protesting nationwide for over a week for the scrapping of the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force, a unit with a long history of abuse of power.

Even though the government dissolved the unit earlier this week, protesters have refused to back down, expressing discontent with the government’s measures.

In a statement released by the FCT administration on Thursday, October 15, 2020, the security committee decided at its October 13 meeting that the protests are in violation of safety rules.

The committee alleged that the peaceful protesters have been behaving in an unruly manner, and caused inconveniences to others in the capital city.

The meeting was presided by FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello [Guardian]
The meeting was presided by FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello [Guardian]

The committee also alleged that the protesters have failed to comply with COVID-19 guidelines regulating public gatherings.

The committee’s meeting, presided over by FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello, resolved that the ongoing protests endanger the lives of everyone in the capital city.

“All street demonstrations, protests, and processions will not be allowed anywhere within the FCT,” the statement read.

The statement failed to state the consequences for violating the ban, but at least 10 protesters have been killed, and many assaulted by police officers since the protests started over a week ago.

Hoodlums have also attacked the protesters in Lagos and Abuja and injured some while also damaging property.

“I Was Paid N1,500 To Attack #EndSARs Protesters”-Thug Confesses (VIDEO)

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A thug who was among those who disrupted peaceful #EndSARS protest in Abuja has confessed.

The thug confessed to being paid money to disrupt #EndSARS protest.

Recall that the attack took place around Berger Abuja, yesterday. A Twitter user, @TosinTosade revealed this on her page. 

According to Tosade, the thug while confessing, disclosed that they were given the sum of 1500 naira each to disrupt the peaceful protest whose goal is to challenge police brutality and harassment in the country. 

The hoodlums that attacked protesters destroyed a number of car windshields and caused chaos amidst the protesters.  

Omoyele Sowore, however, revealed the mastermind behind the attack as one chairman of Jabi Motor Park, acting with operatives of President Muhammadu Buhari regime contracted them to attack peaceful protesters

Watch The Confession Video Below

https://youtube.com/watch?v=BDMy7NkpPEg%3Fautoplay%3D1%26controls%3D1

BREAKING!!! Thugs Attack #EndSARS Lagos Protesters With Matchets, Guns (VIDEO)

Some persons suspected to be government-sponsored thugs have attacked #EndSARS protesters again.

They launched an attack on peaceful protesters demonstrating at the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Shockingly, police and security operatives guarding the state’s Assembly were missing as the thugs arrived, according to SaharaReporters.

The thugs, who came in large numbers, brought cutlasses and knives to attack the protesters.

A 23-year-old man has recounted his horrifying encounter with operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Awkuzu, in Anambra State.

The young man chose to be anonymous because of his safety so for the purpose of recognition, he would be called “Chijindu”.

Chijindu was arrested on February 13, 2017, in Anambra State, after he was accused of stealing a laptop.

He was moved to Awkuzu SARS around 6:30 pm that fateful day. He recalled that immediately he was dragged to SARS office, he was frisked and his money, N15,400, which was in his pocket, was confiscated. The policemen also allegedly collected his wristwatch, necklace and phone.

He further recounted: “When the Admin officer saw me, he directed his men to go and hang me. They took me to the back of a hall and tied me with ropes. They tied my hands behind; tied my two legs and then joined the ropes in the hands and that of the legs by the back causing my chest to protrude.

Trump’s Nominee Barrett Says Supreme Court ‘Can’t Control’ A President

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Wednesday said it is an “open question” as to whether Trump could pardon himself while adding that the nation’s top judicial body “can’t control” whether a president obeys its decisions.

On the third day of her four-day Judiciary Committee hearing, Barrett also sought to allay Democratic fears that she would be an automatic vote to strike down the Obamacare healthcare law in a case due to be argued Nov. 10, promising an “open mind.”

Barrett sidestepped questions from senators on the ability of presidents to evade efforts to hold them accountable.

Trump has said he has the “absolute power” to pardon himself, part of his executive clemency authority. Asked by Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy whether a president has such power, Barrett said the “question has never been litigated.”

“That question may or may not arise but it’s one that calls for legal analysis of what the scope of the pardon power is. So because it would be opining on an open question when I haven’t gone through the judicial process to decide it, it’s not one on which I can offer a view,” Barrett added.

Trump faces a criminal investigation about the conduct of himself and his businesses by a New York City prosecutor who is seeking his financial records and tax returns. Trump also has issued executive clemency to political allies and friends.

Barrett, a conservative federal appellate judge, is the Republican president’s third selection for a lifetime job on the Supreme Court. Trump has asked the Senate, controlled by his fellow Republicans, to confirm her before the Nov. 3 U.S. election.

Barrett said “no one is above the law” but twice declined to answer directly when Leahy asked her whether a president who refuses to comply with a court order is a threat to the U.S. constitutional system of checks and balances within the three branches of government.

“The Supreme Court can’t control whether or not the president obeys,” Barrett said.

Supreme Court rulings, Barrett said, have the “force of law” but the court lacks enforcement power and relies on the other branches of government.

“A court can pronounce the law and issue a judgment but it lacks control over how the political branches respond to it,” Barrett added.

Barrett declined to discuss whether Trump is violating the U.S. Constitution’s “emoluments” clause with his business dealings, objecting to Leahy’s characterization of the provision as an anti-corruption measure. The provision bar presidents from taking gifts or payments from foreign and state governments without congressional approval.

“I don’t know if I would characterize it as an anti-corruption clause,” Barrett said, adding that it was designed to “prevent foreign countries from having influence.”

OBAMACARE CASE
Barrett could be on the high court for arguments in a challenge by Trump and Republican-led states to the 2010 law formally called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that has helped millions of Americans obtain medical coverage and includes protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

In response to Democratic suggestions that she would vote to strike down Obamacare in its entirety if one part is deemed unlawful, Barrett said that if a statute can be saved, it is a judge’s duty to do so.

Barrett indicated she favors of a broad reading of the “severability doctrine” in which courts assume that when one provision of a law is unlawful, Congress would want the rest of the statute to remain in place. The Supreme Court has taken such an approach in recent years.

“I think insofar as it tries to effectuate what Congress would have wanted, it’s the court and Congress working hand in hand,” Barrett said of the doctrine.

When judges address the legal question raised in the Obamacare case, the “presumption” is that Congress did not intend the whole statute to fall, Barrett added.

“If I were on the court, and if a case involving the ACA came before me, I would approach it with an open mind,” Barrett told Republican Senator John Cornyn.

Barrett has criticized previous Supreme Court rulings upholding Obamacare.

ABORTION RIGHTS
Barrett has faced questions on contentious social issues including abortion, which as a devout Catholic she personally opposes.

“This is history being made folks,” Senator Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the panel, said. “This is the first time in American history that we’ve nominated a woman who is unashamedly pro-life and embraces her faith without apology, and she’s going to the court.”

Barrett, 48, would be the fifth woman ever to serve on the court.

Barrett reiterated her Tuesday comments that the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide was not a “super-precedent” that could never potentially be overturned. Barrett also said she has an “open mind” on whether to allow television coverage of Supreme Court proceedings.

Barrett’s confirmation would give the court a 6-3 conservative majority. Republicans have a 53-47 Senate majority, making Barrett’s confirmation a virtual certainty.

Democrats have said the winner of the presidential election should get to fill the court’s vacancy left by the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The four-day hearing is scheduled to end on Thursday with testimony from outside witnesses. Republicans are preparing for a committee vote next week and a final Senate confirmation vote before the end of October. Trump nominated Barrett to a lifetime post on the court on Sept. 26.

The Casualties by J P Clark

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The Casualties
Are not only those
Who have journeyed to
The great beyond
They are well out of it.

The casualties
Are also those
Whose journey of life continues
Waiting for the call of
The great beyond
When they too shall step
Into the good night.

The casualties
Are all of us
Caught in the clash of
Life’s heavy blows
None can escape
We are all casualties
Big or small
Living or dead.

Fare well J. P. Clark
Your pen tired and weak
Has stopped flowing today
But the marks of it
Remain stamped on our minds
Sleep on great writer
Sleep well J. P. Clark
Adieu…

John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo 

John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo  was born 6 April 1935. He is a Nigerian poet and playwright, who often publishes as J. P. Clark and John Pepper Clark. His poem, “The Casualties” is essentially about the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970). When the Eastern part of Nigeria named itself Biafra and seceded from Nigeria, in the resulting conflict there were there were about 100,000 overall military casualties, while between 500,000 and 2 million Biafran civilians died of starvation. Most of them children. “The Casualties” emphasises the very widespread fallout of war. Nigeria has not come to terms with this tragedy and atrocity.

EndSARS: Port Harcourt man shares nasty experience with SARS, says they killed his twin brother (video)

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– A Nigerian man has gained the attention of people on social media after he joined the End SARS protest in Port Harcourt – The man identified as DJ Kaka was already stereotyped by many people who saw his photos due to his strange appearance till he narrated his story – Kaka said that his twin brother was killed by SARS men with his car taken away and that he was imprisoned for over four years.

On October 13, 2020, youths in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, trooped out in their numbers to join the End SARS protest that has been happening all across the nation. At the protest, a young man’s countenance was quite noticeable seeing as his appearance made him stand out from the rest. Photos and videos of him from the protest made the rounds on social media and people already arrived at their conclusions about it.

It was later discovered that the young man, identified as DJ Kaka, had been a victim of the SARS men and also lost his twin brother to them. DJ Kaka stood out at the End SARS protest in Port Harcourt because of his appearance and antics. Photos: @EROMENEUC / Twitter. Source: Twitter In a tweet shared by Tammy Halliday, it was explained that DJ Kaka schooled in Ghana and that SARS men killed his twin brother and made him spend 54 months in prison. It was said that he was almost killed too.

See the post below:

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>We have all stereotyped him.<br><br>DJ Kaka, schooled in Ghana. SARS killed his twin, made him spend 54months in prison. Took his car, almost killed him too after they killed his twin.<br><br>He was allowed to do his thing in the protest, had such a free spirit that he could share anything. <a href=”https://t.co/GWlUrnGBFd”>pic.twitter.com/GWlUrnGBFd</a></p>&mdash; Tammy Halliday (@tammyhalliday_) <a href=”https://twitter.com/tammyhalliday_/status/1316145482784296962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Another video also made the rounds of DJ Kaka corroborating Tammy’s claim. He added that he did not like SARS men and added that he came all the way from Ghana to join the protest in Port Harcourt.

He said:

“My name is End SARS boy, I don’t love them. I schooled in Ghana, but when I came back on January 25th, SARS had the guts to kill my brother and took his car. I don’t love SARS, I don’t love them. We need the MOPOL, we need the police, and we don’t need criminals like them. IPhone is not a crime. I’m from Ikwerre, all my body there is tattoo and I’m a DJ but no job. So I’m just here to end SARS. That’s why I came all the way from Ghana to end Port Harcourt SARS. I’m crazy but I’m gentle.”

legit.ng

Oshiomhole’s Lawyer Pleads For Out-Of-Court Settlement In Ortom’s N10bn Suit

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The lawyer to the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomole, yesterday sought for an out-of-court settlement in the N10billion libel suit instituted against Oshiomhole by the Benue State Governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom.

Ortom had filed the suit against the former APC chairman over his comments against him at a press conference on July 27, 2018, where Oshiomhole accused the governor of having a hand in the death of two Catholic priests and other parishioners at Mbalom Community, Gwer East Local Government Area of the state on the grounds that one of the priests had preached a “very critical sermon” against him (the governor).

Earlier on the suit, Oshiomhole had filed six preliminary objections which the Benue State High Court sitting in Makurdi, resolved all in Ortom’s favour.

However, at the resumption of the case yesterday, counsel for Ortom, Mr. Samuel Irabor, submitted that he was ready to call his witnesses, but said that Oshiomhole’s counsel, Festus Jumbo had informed him that they have considered putting up a retraction of the publication and it would be ready within a week.

He said he was applying for another date to take a look at the terms of settlement canvassed by Oshiomhole.

Titus Akhuwa who held the brief of Oshiomhole’s counsel, Festus Jumbo confirmed the submission of Governor Ortom’s lawyer.

The Presiding judge, Justice Augustine Ityonyiman, after listening to both parties, adjourned the case to October 29, for a report on the out-of-court settlement.

Cross River State Judiciary Has Been Rendered Moribund, Unnavigable And Demented BY DANIEL KIP

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The Judiciary in Cross River State has been rendered moribund, unnavigable and demented by the brazen rascality of executive and legislative principalities.

The Judiciary is the hope of the common man, and an arm of Government well engraved and enshrined in our grundnorm.

The executive cum legislative influenced & orchestrated vacancy or vacuum in the office of Chief Judge of Cross River State, is regrettable, deplorable, tactĺess, unfortunate and shameful.

Citizens are imbued with the constitutional right to approach the Law Courts to ventilate their grievance and seek legal redress or remedy, and where as in the present happenstance, citizens cannot approach the courts and have their matters assigned to a Court so it can be heard, then the Constitution is being denigrated and trampled upon.

I Charge the Executive Governor of Cross River State, and his legislative cohorts to do the needful and save Cross River and Cross Riverians this colossal embarrassment.

Cross River State has been without a Chief Judge for almost 6 weeks. That vacuum must be filled and must be filled now.

#NoCJinCRS

#Endthevacancy

#CRSneedsaCJ

#Judiciaryalive

Daniel Kip, Esq. is a Rights Activist, Arbitrator and Legal Practitioner.

NB: Opinions expressed in this article are solely attributable to the author, Daniel Kip and do not in anyway represent the opinion of CrossRiverWatch or any other organization the author works for/with.

(crossriverwatch)

0.5% Federal Allocation Deduction For Police Fund Unconstitutional — PDP Governors

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The Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum (PDPGF) has observed that the deduction of 0.5% out of the total revenue accruing to the Federation Account for the benefit of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund is unconstitutional.

It has, therefore, urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to take steps to repeal Section 4(1) of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (Establishment) Act, 2019 which purportedly authorizes the Federal government to make the deduction.

The governors made the declaration in a communique issued at the end of a Zoom Meeting of the forum and signed by their Chairman and Governors of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal.

The communique was made available to the media in Abuja on Wednesday.

The governors also showed concern over the Water Resources Bill, 2020, calling for its stepping down its consideration in the House of Representatives to allows for more consultations and public engagement.

The Forum disclosed that on its part, it has referred the Water Resource Bill to the bodies of Attorney Generals of PDP State governments for advice.

It observed the discrepancies in S.12(2) and S.12(4) of the Act on the appropriate authority with responsibility to deploy Police Commissioners to the respective States

The communiqué read in part: “The meeting noted the signing of the New Nigeria Police Act, 2020 by Mr President, Commander in Chief.

“While acknowledging the many important innovations in the new law, the Forum emphasised the need to make the Nigeria Police Council, which has Mr President as Chairman and 36 state Governors as members, fully operational and the clearinghouse on all issues bordering on the organisation and administration of the Nigeria Police Force as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

“The Forum further observed the discrepancies in S.12(2) and S.12(4) of the Act on the appropriate authority with responsibility to deploy Police Commissioners to the respective States. “Whereas S.12(2) gives the responsibility to the Police Service Commission, S. 12(4) gives either the Police Service Commission or Inspector-General of Police the same responsibility.

“This is even more regrettable as the Constitution gives this responsibility to the Police Service Commission (S. 215)(1)(b). We advise that the constitutional provision be upheld.

“Furthermore, the Forum canvassed for appropriate consultations with the Governors of various States on the deployment of Police Commissioners to the States since the Police is a common institution that executes the laws of both the Federal and State governments.

“The Forum implored Mr President and the National Assembly to repeal Section 4(1) of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (Establishment) Act, 2019 which purports to authorise the President to deduct 0.5% of the total revenue accruing to the Federation Account for the benefit of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, as it is patently unconstitutional. “The beneficiaries of the Federation Account are the Federal, States and Local Governments ONLY. More creative funding options should be explored.

“The Forum noted the controversy surrounding the Water Resources Bill, 2020 and noted the stepping down of the Bill in the House of Representatives. It urged for further consultations and public engagement in the processing of the Bill.

“The Forum referred the Bill to the bodies of Attorney Generals of PDP State governments for advice.

“Finally, the Forum congratulated Nigeria @ 60 and enjoined the government and the people of Nigeria to redouble efforts on national unity, national cohesion, economic, social and political integration and progress in the years ahead.”

In attendance at the meeting were Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia State), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom State),

Senator Bala Muhammad (Bauchi State); Douye Diri (Bayelsa State); Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta State); Dave Umahi (Ebonyi State); Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State); Nyesom Wike (Rivers State); Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde (Oyo State) and Bello Muhammad Matawalle (Zamfara State).