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FG Probes Four Northern Political Bigwigs Over Russian Flags Flown During #EndBadGovernance Protests

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An investigation has been launched by Nigeria’s security agencies into the activities of at least four prominent politicians from the northern region, suspected of orchestrating the display of Russian flags by protesters affiliated with the #EndBadGovernance movement.

According to sources, these individuals, hailing from Katsina, Kaduna, and Kano states, allegedly played key roles in promoting the use of Russian flags among demonstrators in the north, with the intention of inciting unrest and potentially triggering an unconstitutional change of government.

“You see, four principal actors have been identified in this issue. They are top politicians from Katsina, Kano and Kaduna and the security agencies are closing in on them,” said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter.

“They played prominent roles in the election of last year (2023),” the source added.

Another source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, told one of our correspondents, “There is evidence of external influence mainly involving the politicians who are conniving with a West African and European country to cause mayhem and promote the use of the flags we are seeing. They want to do here what they did in some other countries.”

The nationwide protests against hardship and hunger took a dangerous dimension on Monday, with protesters in some Northern states waving the Russian flag as they chanted “Tinubu must go.”

Protesters in Kaduna were seen waving the Russian flag and chanting in Hausa, “Tinubu ze soka’ kaa’sa,” which translates to, “Tinubu must step down.”

They also hailed military personnel, who patrolled the metropolis, chanting, “Tinubu yaa’so’ka, mu’na so soja”, meaning, “Tinubu step down, we want soldiers.”

Russia, an Eastern power currently mired in a cold war with the West, has been blamed for several unconstitutional changes of government in West African countries such as Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, and among others.

The Nigerian military on Monday said persons flying the Russian flag were committing treason and will, therefore, be “prosecuted”. It also said it is investigating those who are instigating the move and will “take serious action” against them.

“That is totally unacceptable…that is a treasonable offence, and it will be viewed and treated as such,” said the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, after a meeting of the National Security Council chaired by President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Monday.

The Department of State Services stated on X.com that it had arrested some tailors sewing Russian flags in Kano State and that some of their sponsors had also been nabbed.

However, protesters with the flag reduced drastically on Tuesday after state security personnel clamped down on them in several states, arresting them and their perceived foreign sponsors.

The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Salman Garba, disclosed that some foreigners suspected of being behind the protesters were arrested.

Garba, who stated this after a security meeting with Governor Abba Yusuf on Tuesday, vowed that the police and other security agencies would clamp down on anyone who violated the security regulations of the state.

The Kano police boss also announced further relaxation of the curfew from 6am to 6pm.

The same day, the Gombe State Police Command paraded 10 suspects for waving the Russian flag during the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protest.

Briefing journalists at the Criminal Investigation Department of the command, Commissioner of Police, Hayatu Usman, said the outright display of another country’s flag was disrespectful to the nation.

The command’s Public Relations Officer ASP Buhari Abdullahi, who represented Usman, said the protesters were arrested in the violent protest utterly showed disrespect to the country.

“We have seen the unsettling displays of foreign flags by some protesters. This act not only disrespects our national symbols but also commits treasonable felony and related offences. Hence, 10 suspects were arrested flying Russian flags,” Abdullahi stated while parading the suspects.

“The command’s primary goal remains to restore peace and order and protect lives and property. We are committed to a measured response, ensuring that the rights of peaceful protesters are respected while addressing those who engage in violence or unlawful activities.”

He added, “The looting of both public and private property during these protests is a grave concern, for instance, the Gombe State Revenue Recovery Tribunal, Bima Lodge, Gombe State Bureau of Public Service Reform, NITEL Company and Blue -J motors among others. Such action not only undermine the rule of law but also disrupts communities and harm businesses.

“However, the command is coordinating with local communities and other agencies to address these illegal activities and hold those responsible accountable. Therefore, 92 suspects were arrested with some of the vandalised and stolen property and they are still under investigation.”

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu held closed-door talks with intelligence chiefs at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.

Although the outcome of the meeting is not known, it may not be unconnected with the ongoing nationwide protests.

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Director-General, DSS, Yusuf Bichi; Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, Abubakar Ahmed and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Emmanual attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, the DSS said it had identified some masterminds of the prevalent Russian flags during the protests.

DSS boss Bichi, represented by Service spokesman Peter Afunanya, stated this at a joint media briefing on Tuesday in Abuja with heads of security agencies and Service Chiefs.

However, he argued that revealing the identities of those behind the act could jeopardise investigations.

“It’s not just that children are throwing flags or flying flags. If there is more to that, there are some aspects of our operation that we may not sit before the camera and begin to reel out, either because of their sensitivity, either because we are not supposed to say them now, or because there are ongoing investigations. And we may not say things that jeopardise those investigations,” Bichi said.

The DSS chief added that some sponsors funded the protests through monies raised outside the conventional banking system.

“People are using things other than the currency that you know, channels of transaction to do bitcoins, to do virtual currency, to do all manner of things to raise financing.

“We are attacking all of that. The NIFIU is doing so much. Our directorate for the process of recovery management is doing so much.”

On its part, the Nigeria Immigration Service said it had placed sponsors of #EndBadGovernance protests residing outside the country on its watch list.

Comptroller-General of the NIS, Mrs Kemi Nandap, who disclosed this, added that the persons on the list would be handed over to the appropriate agencies whenever they arrived in Nigeria.

She said, “Some of these sponsors, some of these people who are actually in the diaspora, we have a number of them who are actually instigating this mayhem that we’re seeing right now. What we have done is we have added them to our watch list.

“We have them on our radars, and we’re making sure that any attempt they make to come into the country we will notify the necessary authorities. And we’re working closely, of course, with the NIA and the DSS and the NSA so that all those we have in the diaspora that are actually trying to subvert the authority of this nation are on our radars.”

Nandap added that the Service had stepped up surveillance to prevent foreign intervention in the country.

The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, said the Police had equally uncovered some sponsors of the protests living in the diaspora.

The police chief said, “Although we are aware that some of the sponsors of this protest have a clear motive to subvert the government of the day, we are not going to allow that. We will defend our democracy.

“Then, the question is how we are countering funding of the protest. We are doing a lot that I won’t be able to immediately expose to you how we are countering funding.

“We have blocked some accounts and are still monitoring them. Some are outside the country, and we will still get them.”

The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, said the security operatives were after those he identified as “enemies of the country.”

“It’s our duty to protect Nigerians. The only people we’re after are those who don’t know us well, the enemies of the state. And anyone who makes himself an enemy of the state will then be ready to face the law.

“We’re going to remain focused and committed, we’re going to respect human rights, the rights of everyone who is lawfully performing his duty.

“But we will not relent in pursuing those that have continued to encourage unconstitutional takeover of government. We will remain very professional,” Musa said.

He added that troops deployed across the country had been directed to respect human rights while going about their duties.

“We have told our men outside in the field that they must respect the rights of everyone.

“We encourage the youth to dialogue to understand that destruction and mob action do nobody any good.

“We know there are challenges in the country and these challenges are not only here,” said Musa.

  • Suspects On Trial

Egbetokun said the Police had commenced trials for suspects arrested during the nationwide protest.

The Police had on Monday said over 800 suspects, who committed various offences during the protest, had been arrested.

In Kano, suspects were being tried at the police headquarters because of their large numbers.

He said, “I want to tell you that the trial of the suspects arrested during protests has begun. If you go to police headquarters in Kano now, you will find out that arrested persons are already being tried. So, we are not keeping them indefinitely.”

Egbetokun explained that the police, military and other agencies involved in the protest did not use excessive force on protesters.

“The Police and the military and indeed other security agencies involved in the management of this protest have not deployed excessive use of force; instead, what we had were attacks on security agents during the protest. From our record, there were no shooting incidents by the Police,” the IGP added.

“The Police or military didn’t use any live ammunition in the management of these protests. Instead, we had cases where our officers were injured in critical conditions, as we speak. I will dismiss that (use of excessive force) as fake news and very wrong allegations. We didn’t use excessive force at all.

“We didn’t even deploy the whole of our strength in this protest even when it turned violent. We have water cannons we did not deploy, we have rubber bullets, we didn’t use. All that we have used is teargas and nothing more.”

The Police chief also argued that the protests did not overstretch his men who, he said, successfully nabbed several other criminals.

Egbetokun said, “We were not overstretched; we had standby units that we didn’t deploy in managing this protest. Even while the protests were going on, a number of them were arrested.

“Hoodlums who committed armed robbery were arrested. The only thing we didn’t have was kidnapping. But any other offence that was committed we paid due attention to those criminal activities.”

On his part, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja said the Army’s major operational commitment was to deploy resources to quell the protests that had morphed into riots, while the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, stated that the Navy was working with other security agencies to ensure safety and security in the maritime domain.

 

Credit: The Punch

BIG STORY

JUST IN: Nigerian Lawmakers Propose Creation Of 31 Additional States [SEE FULL LIST]

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Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review on Thursday proposed the creation of 31 new states in the country.

If the proposal is approved, Nigeria will have 67 sub-national governments, as the current number of states stands at 36, including the Federal Capital Territory.

The proposal for new states was presented in a letter read during Thursday’s plenary session by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the session in the absence of the Speaker, Mr. Tajudeen Abbas.

The letter read in part, “The committee proposes the creation of 31 new states. As amended, this section outlines specific requirements that must be fulfilled to initiate the process of state creation, which include the following:

“1. New state and boundaries

“An act of the National Assembly for the purpose of creating a new state shall only be passed if it requires support by at least the third majority of members.

“The House of Representatives, the House of Assembly in respect of the area, and the Local Government Council in respect of the area are received by the National Assembly.

“Local government advocates for the creation of additional local government areas are only reminded that Section 8 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, applies to this process.

“Specifically, in accordance with Section 8 (3) of the Constitution, the outcome of the votes of the State Houses of Assembly in the referendum must be forwarded to the National Assembly for fulfillment of state,” the proposal partly reads.

According to the proposal, the new states include Okun, Okura, and Confluence States from Kogi; Benue Ala and Apa States from Benue; FCT State; Amana State from Adamawa; Katagum from Bauchi and Savannah States from Borno and Muri State from Taraba.

Others include New Kaduna and Gujarat from Kaduna State; Tiga and Ari from Kano; Kainji from Kebbi State; Etiti and Orashi as the 6th state in the South East; Adada from Enugu; and Orlu and Aba from the South East.

Also included are Ogoja from Cross River State, Warri from Delta, Ori and Obolo from Rivers, Torumbe from Ondo, Ibadan from Oyo, Lagoon from Lagos, Ogun, Ijebu from Ogun State, and Oke Ogun/Ijesha from Oyo/Ogun/Osun States.

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BIG STORY

El-Rufai Lacks Capacity To Unsettle Tinubu, He Can’t Even Win Senatorial Seat — Daniel Bwala

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Daniel Bwala, special adviser to the president on policy communication, asserts that Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna, lacks the capacity to “unsettle” President Bola Tinubu.

Bwala made this statement on Thursday during an interview with TVC News. He emphasized that Tinubu is not losing sleep over el-Rufai’s continuous criticisms of his administration.

Background

El-Rufai has been targeting some members of the Tinubu administration.

The former minister of the federal capital territory (FCT) recently criticized the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for “straying away from its core values,” mentioning that he no longer recognizes his political party.

Bwala had questioned el-Rufai if his stance on the APC would have been different had he been a member of Tinubu’s cabinet.

In response to Bwala’s comments, el-Rufai stated that he would not hesitate to criticize the party, even if he were given a position in the Tinubu administration.

‘On His Own, El-Rufai Is Unelectable’

When asked if the presidency was anxious about el-Rufai’s remarks and the regrouping of opposition politicians, the spokesperson confirmed that Tinubu is not concerned with the opposition’s movements.

Bwala emphasized that the president’s approach has always been one of reconciliation.

“Who is jittery? The political opponents have no direction. There is no organized political party in Nigeria other than APC. Almost all opposition parties are trying to find their way,” Bwala stated.

“I don’t attack because I see that the position of Mr. President is that of reconciliation. In his 18 months in office, he has never reacted to anybody. He has never been seen being combative or aggressive against anybody.”

The presidential spokesperson acknowledged el-Rufai’s dilemma, adding that the former governor cannot accomplish his goals by joining the opposition.

According to Bwala, el-Rufai only becomes a significant political figure when he aligns with a “solid revolutionary” leader.

“El-Rufai, as he said, is still in APC. You treat him like a brother. I know his grandstanding. I know he is facing challenges finding a path,” he stated.

“If you leave a governing party, which you have influence over, and think that you can undertake a mission, you need to have a working platform to do that.”

“He does not have the capacity to make the president unsettled. No opposition party, even if combined, can make the president unsettled.”

“Let me tell you something about my elder brother, el-Rufai, and whether we should be worried.”

“There is a dynamic around el-Rufai. El-Rufai needed a solid revolutionary person to thrive. On his own, el-Rufai may not win the senate.”

“He won governorship because of the Buhari factor and got re-elected because of the Buhari factor. If you leave him now to go and run for senate in Kaduna, he would not win.”

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BIG STORY

Importers To Pay More As Customs Introduces 4% FOB Levy

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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced that it will enforce a 4 percent charge on the “free-on-board” (FOB) value of imports.

“FOB” refers to the arrangement where the seller is responsible for delivering the goods to the port of departure, clearing them for export, and loading the goods onto the vessel. Once the goods are on the vessel, the risk transfers from the seller to the buyer, who then assumes responsibility for all subsequent costs.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Abdullahi Maiwada, NCS national public relations officer, confirmed that the directive is in line with the provisions of the “Nigeria Customs Service Act” (NCSA) 2023.

“In line with the provisions of Section 18 (1) of NCSA 2023, the NCS is implementing a 4 percent charge on the “Free On-Board” (FOB) value of imports,” Maiwada stated.

“The FOB charge, which is calculated based on the value of imported goods, including the cost of goods and transportation expenses incurred up to the port of loading, is essential for driving the effective operation of the service.”

“Furthermore, the NCS acknowledges concerns raised by stakeholders over the continued collection of the 1 percent “Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme” (CISS) fee.”

“It is a regulatory charge imposed for funding Nigeria’s Destination Inspection Scheme alongside the 4 percent FOB charge.”

“As a responsive government agency, the service wishes to assure the general public that extensive consultation is ongoing with the federal ministry of finance to address all agitations raised by our esteemed stakeholders.”

Maiwada urged all stakeholders to comply with the directive, which was conceived after thorough consultation with relevant stakeholders and organizations.

“All stakeholders are urged to support this legally binding initiative,” he emphasized.

“As the measures introduced in alignment with the NCSA 2023 reflect a balanced approach born out of extensive consultations with industry players, importers, and regulatory bodies.”

He also acknowledged the valuable contribution of stakeholders in shaping and actualizing the NCSA 2023.

“Their insights, expertise, and unwavering commitment have been instrumental in ensuring a robust legal framework that enhances efficiency, promotes innovation, and strengthens transparency in customs operations,” he added.

The customs official reiterated that under the leadership of Adewale Adeniyi, the comptroller-general, the service remains dedicated to transparency, fair trade practices, and efficient revenue management.

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