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President Tinubu Should Have Political Will To Get Nigeria New Constitution —- Mike Ozekhome [VIDEO]

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A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, has urged President Bola Tinubu to muster the political will to get Africa’s most populous nation what he described as a people-centered constitution.

The human rights lawyer was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics show. He is a member of The Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerians led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku who met with the President on Friday at the State House in Abuja.

Asked whether the President has the political will to make a new constitution happen, the senior lawyer said, “Well, he should have the political will because these problems will not go away until we tackle it headlong”.

Further asked whether a new constitution is an antidote to poverty, insecurity, and other challenges confronting the Nigerian state, Ozekhome said, “It is. The killings you are seeing, the poverty, the corruption, they are all symptoms of a larger problem which is the basis of what we are talking about. When you solve it, other things will be in place.”

Ozekhome argued that the 1999 Constitution was military-imposed, and not subject to any referendum. He said Nigeria needs an indigenous and people-centric constitution to redirect the country’s “journey of no destination”.

According to him, Nigeria lacks nationhood. “Nigeria is a country still yearning for nationhood. We are not united,” he said. The brand new constitution must be subjected to the referendum of the people, he added.

Asked whether Nigeria must constitute a constituents’ assembly before a new constitution, the senior advocate said, “We have to have a constituents’ assembly and only the National Assembly can pass a law in that regard. Then, the draft constitution will now be signed by Mr President and we will have a constitution.”

He said if the people agree that they want a unicameral legislature, “that is how it is going to be” because democracy is decided by the people.

Ozekhome further stated that the engine (constitution) of the Nigerian state has knocked and should be replaced.

“The political elite has to agree. If you are driving a car and the car has a knocked engine. Is it not the engine you should look at? Do you begin to panel-beat the car, spray it with beautiful paint, and buy new tyres? Will that move the car?

“I am saying that the engine of the Nigerian state, for now, is knocked and it is giving rise to all these mutual suspicion, religious intolerance.”

He said economic reforms are good but must not be put before a people-centered constitution. He said the National Assembly must agree to a new constitution for the problems of Nigeria to vanish.

Ozekhome’s comments followed the 2014 National Conference Report which recommended constitutional, amendment, community policing, fiscal federalism, and restructuring, among others.

A decade ago, then-President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders organized the conference to proffer workable suggestions on how to move the country forward.

The national dialogue began on March 17, 2014, with the late respected Jurist, Justice Idris Kutigi (retd.), as its chairman.

494 Nigerians from all walks of life attended the conference for about five months. About N10bn was spent on the confab which produced over 600 recommendations including suggestions for the restructuring of Nigeria’s political, economic, social, and security systems to quell agitations from different geopolitical sections and achieve long-lasting peace.

However, the recommendations of the confab have not been implemented by successive administrations.

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Family Raises Alarm As 27-Yr-Old UK Varsity Student Goes Missing In Nigeria

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The family of Daniel Ogoh, a 27-year-old postgraduate student in a foreign university, has raised concerns about his whereabouts after his recent visit to Nigeria.

Daniel’s uncle, Mr. Imade Osamede, revealed that Daniel arrived at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on May 5th, standing at 6.1 feet tall. His name was listed on the arrival manifest and cleared by relevant agencies, with no criminal records against him.

However, Daniel failed to reunite with family and friends upon arrival and has remained unaccounted for. Despite efforts to contact him through his phone numbers, all attempts have been unsuccessful.

Confronted with the alarming possibilities, the family initiated a desperate search and notified law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately, ongoing investigations have yet to provide clarity on Daniel’s disappearance.

“This is really strange and unfortunate. I don’t understand how somebody will arrive all the way from Europe and disappear into the thin air in his country. This has thrown the parents and other family members into emotional trauma. This is a very dark and agonising moment for us.” Imade Osamede his uncle said in a tearful tone.

The source pleaded with anyone with useful information on the issue to report at the nearest police station or contact the family through the following telephone lines +2349035440301, and +2348167082786.

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Dangote Refinery Will Sell Petrol To Only NNPC, Distribution Starts Sunday — Federal Government

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The Federal Government has confirmed that Dangote Petroleum Refinery will start distributing premium motor spirit (PMS), or petrol, on Sunday.

Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, made the announcement Friday at a press conference in Abuja.

Represented by Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Executive Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, Edun stated that all necessary agreements are in place for the loading of the initial petrol batch.

“I am glad to announce that all agreements have been completed and loading of the first batch of PMS from the Dangote Refinery will commence on Sunday, September 15,” Edun said.

The minister said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited will supply about 385,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) to the Dangote refinery starting next month.

“From October 1, NNPC Ltd. will commence the supply of about 385,000 bpd of crude oil to the Dangote refinery, to be paid for in naira,” he said.

“In return, the Dangote refinery will supply PMS and diesel of equivalent value to the domestic market, to be paid in naira.”

 

  • ‘Dangote Refinery Will Sell Pms To Only NNPC’

Edun also said the Dangote refinery will sell petrol to only the NNPC, noting that interested marketers would have to buy the product from the national oil firm.

However, the minister said the Dangote refinery can sell diesel to any off-taker.

“Diesel will be sold in naira by the Dangote refinery to any interested off-taker. PMS will only be sold to NNPC, NNPC will then sell to various marketers for now,” he said.

Edun’s statement contradicts NNPC’s claim on September 7 that it does not intend to be the sole distributor of petrol produced by the Dangote refinery.

In addition, the minister said all associated regulatory costs pertaining to the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and others would also be paid for in naira.

“We are also setting up a one-stop shop that will coordinate service provision from all regulatory, and security agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation of this initiative. This will be located in Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Lagos,” Edun said.

“The technical committee that worked to flesh out this initiative will transition to an implementation execution and monitoring committee that will be working out of Lagos for the next three to six months.”

 

  • ‘Crude Oil Sale In Naira Will Reduce Cost, Pressure On Local Currency’

Speaking on the approval to sell crude oil to local refineries in naira and purchase petrol from the refiners in the local currency, Edun said the decision would reduce pressure on the local currency.

On July 29, the federal executive council (FEC) approved a proposal by President Bola Tinubu directing the NNPC to sell crude oil to the Dangote refinery and other refineries in naira.

The minister said the move would also eliminate unnecessary transaction costs, and improve the availability of petroleum products in the country.

According to Edun, the implementation committee chaired by him, and the other technical committee had worked intensely with the NNPC and Dangote refinery to fashion out the details of the modalities for the implementation of the approval by the FEC.

Edun thanked Tinubu for championing the initiative and assured the president that he could count on the committee to implement his vision.

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I Met Native Doctor On TikTok; He Asked Me To Remove My Girlfriend’s Tongue, Eyes, Lungs — 21-Yr-Old Suspect Narrates Murder Of 100-Level Kogi Student

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The Kogi State Police Command has apprehended and paraded four suspects linked to the gruesome murder of 19-year-old Damilola Olowoyo, a first-year student at Federal University Lokoja.

The main suspect, Jeremiah Paul (20), was arrested alongside accomplices Emmanuel Otitoju, Banabas Olugbenga, and Ajayi Basit Ayomide.

Jeremiah Paul, from Chikun Local Government in Kaduna State, confessed to masterminding the killing as part of a money ritual scheme initiated through a native doctor he contacted on TikTok.

Paul shockingly revealed that he befriended Damilola with the intention of using her for ritual purposes.

“I met Damilola last Sunday and we started chatting. I already had it in mind that I wanted to use her for rituals,” Paul stated.

He lured her to his home after drugging her with a mixture of codeine and Sprite. Once she became weak, he led her to an uncompleted building where he strangled her to death.

Paul explained how he was instructed by the native doctor, based in Ibadan, to remove specific body parts.

“I removed her eyes, tongue, lungs, and other parts, placed them in a calabash, and sent them back to the native doctor via a driver,” he said.

Paul said the arrangement was facilitated entirely online, with the ritualist sending back a soap purported to grant wealth after receiving the body parts.

Parading the suspects at the Police headquarters, in Lokoja, on Friday, the Police spokesperson, William Aya, stated that Paul lured the deceased into the bush and killed her for a money ritual.

The image maker disclosed how the suspects were arrested, and said there was a complaint made to the Commissioner of Police (CP), over the disappearance of Olowoyo, a student in the Department of Biological Science, Federal University Lokoja.

He said, “The Commissioner of Police swung into action and assigned the matter to the State Intelligence Department. The operatives swung into action immediately and started working on the phone of the deceased since it could not be reached. With the help of the technical unit at the force headquarters, we were able to apprehend Jeremiah Paul in connection with the case.

“The suspect actually confessed to us that on 4th of September, 2024, that he met the deceased Olowoyo and lured her to the bush. At first, he pretended that he liked her. When she accepted, he took her to an apartment. Before then, he gave the deceased a drink. Unknown to her, inside the drink, he had put some codeine.

According to him, “This worked in her system which made her weak for the suspect to carry out his heinous crime. He took the deceased to an uncompleted building before strangling her to death and dismembered her body. He removed her eyes, lungs, liver, tongue and fleshy part of her buttocks with the purpose of performing some rituals.

“Initially, he called the parents of the deceased that he had kidnapped the lady and demanded for ransom, in which he was paid, before killing the girl. He collected a ransom of N400,000 from the parents.

It said, “Further investigation also revealed that one of the suspects here was the first person that approached the girl, but because he couldn’t provide what was being demanded from him, he withdrew. The main suspect, Jeremiah Paul decided to step in. He came with his friend from Kaduna State to commit this crime.”

“You may be seeing somebody as a human being but he is not. This act that Jeremiah Paul and his gang have carried out is an inhuman act. Imagine a 20-year old boy going this far; killing an innocent lady and removing her sensitive body parts, in the name of carrying out rituals.

“It shows that in the society we are living in, people need to be very careful. I am calling on students across the various institutions to be very careful with their friends, course mates and neighbours they are mingling with. Some people will be within the school environment but they are not students.

“Some may have admission and they are in school, but they have their own aim of being there. Students should be contented with what they have. Because of little things, this girl lost her life.”

He appealed to parents and students to be conscious of people they are moving with.

He added that the command will arraign the four suspects as soon as the investigation is concluded.

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