Nigerian govt has not achieved total victory – Shehu Sani

 
But Sani insisted that until all hostages, including Chibok girls, are freed and attacks stopped, the federal government should not boast of complete victory over Boko Haram.
He further hailed the efforts of the military in battles against the insurgents saying progress has been made.
Shehu Sani on his Twitter page wrote “The military made sacrifices and achieved a lot in the battle against the insurgents and that is commendable.
“But until the last hostage is freed and back home and until the suicide attacks stops, we can only say tremendous progress has been made but not complete victory.”Shehu Sani, the Senator representing Kaduna Central, says the fight against insurgent group Boko Haram is not over.

BIAFRA:Why we must restructure Nigeria – Jang

A former Governor of Plateau State and Senator representing Plateau North, Jonah Jang, said Nigeria is running a unitary system of government, hence the need for the country to be restructured.
Jang disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Jos.

“I am a disciple of restructuring. Because we cannot be calling ourselves a federation and yet we are running a unitary system, the two don’t walk together.
“If we want to run a federal system, then we should restructure the country.
“It is unfortunate that we in the military because I was also a military governor, we believe in unitary and that anytime we are in power, we run a unitary form of government. So, when we tried to give the nation a constitution, we didn’t really look deep into it and we ended up giving the nation a unitary constitution to be operated in a federal system, and that is why nothing is working”, he lamented.
“So I believe that in this country it is not just a matter of whether we like it or not, it must be restructured for the country to move forward”, the Jang stressed.

On calls by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Head of State General Ibrahim Babangida advising, President Buhari, not to seek re-election, the former Governor said, “Every Nigerian has the right to air his view after all, the President did not bring himself to Aso Villa.
“He was elected so those people asking him not to re-contest, maybe voted for him and I believe they might have voted for him and they are just telling him that we cannot vote for you again. That is my way of understanding it, that is their opinion but the Nigerian voters would decide whether they want him or they don’t want him”, he explained.
When asked whether he thinks President Buhari has done well to deserve re-election; Jang said, “When we were doing well did they tell us we have done well?
“We that even performed, they are pursuing us all over the place, but they are not performing, everybody knows that”.

“This is democracy, are those individuals advising him not part of the electorates? They are expressing their views.
“Some would not talk but express it through voting, they have decided to express theirs through verbal or written communication and may also express it when it comes to the time to vote if he decides to re-contest”, he stressed.

NIGERIA PEOPLE:Pray For Nigeria’s Unity, Buhari Urges Christians

Buhari made the appeal in a message today to felicitate with Christians on the solemn occasion of the commencement of this year’s Lenten season. President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerian Christians to pray ‘fervently for the country’s unity and progress”.The President urges Christian brothers and sisters to pray fervently for the country’s unity and progress”, said the statement by Femi Adesina, the special adviser on the media.

Adesina said President Buhari believes that Nigeria’s existence as one united country is a divine arrangement and nothing should be done to put it asunder.

“President Buhari enjoins all Nigerians to intensify love, brotherliness and concern for the less privileged members of their communities in order to strengthen the bond of togetherness.

“As Christians begin the period of increased prayers, piety, sacrifice and selfless services, the President wishes them and all Nigerians well,” Adesina said.

BIAFRA LAND:insists court must deliver its judgment despite Kanu’s missing file

 
The group said the announcement of the disappearance of the file was a huge joke that further portrayed the rot in the Nigerian Justice sector, while calling on the chief Judge of the federation to step in and salvage what was left of its integrity.
IPOB head of Directorate of Service, Mazi Chika Edoziem, in a statement recalled that the Court of Appeal panel heard Kanu’s matter in March 2017, insisting that any attempt to delay the judgment on the ground of a missing file amounted to perversion of justice and criminal conspiracy.
According to IPOB, never in the history of Nigeria had it been reported that a case file of such magnitude went missing on the day judgment was meant to be delivered.
The statement read: “This very matter, Appeal Case No CA/A/78A/C/2018, which is a legal action against the decision of Justice John Tsoho to reverse himself on an earlier ruling he made rejecting masked witnesses when he was the presiding judge before the matter was transferred to Justice Binta Nyako, is over a year old contrary to the law.  The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, yesterday asked the Court of Appeal to deliver judgment on its embattled leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, whether his case file was missing or not.
“February 13, 2018 was the day Appeal Court of Nigeria agreed, after much protestation from IPOB lawyers and in direct contravention of a key constitutional provision, to deliver its long overdue judgment in the matter of Nnamdi Kanu vs Justice John Tsoho.
“On getting to court, instead of the usual adjournment that characterizes IPOB cases in Nigeria and ECOWAS courts, the panel of judges announced, to the dismay of the court and others assembled, that the file was not before them.
“Not minding that this was a high profile matter already outside the constitutionally guaranteed three months maximum for delivery of judgment, the lead judge announced that the matter could not proceed, without the case file.
“The questions we are asking are; what happened to the decision of the initial panel that heard the case on the 8th March 2017 considering that Appeal Court of Nigeria is a supposedly competent court of records? Where is the copy of their judgment, because judges must have a copy of their judgment in their own personal files?   Assuming and for the purposes of benefit of doubt that Kanu’s file is missing, how about the judgment written by the panel of judges that heard the matter on the 8th of March 2017, which they were meant to deliver on the 8th of June 2017 at the very latest as guaranteed by law?
“Does it mean Nigerian courts do not keep records of their judgments or are we to assume that Appeal Court judges are ignorant of the Nigerian Constitution to the extent that they are unaware that the statutory limit on delivery of all Appeal Court judgments is 90 days?
“Why wasn’t judgment in this matter delivered within the constitutionally guaranteed 90 days, which is 8 June 2017? What this case is telling the world is that Nigerian Appeal Court judges do not obey the constitution of Nigeria they are supposed to interpret and uphold.
“We view this ugly development as a desperate conspiratorial move to deny long overdue justice for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB by Nigerian judicial officers on the orders of the Nigerian presidency.
“Our humble request to the President of the Nigerian Judicial Council, NJC, President of the Appeal Court of Nigeria and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF is to recall the original panel of judges that heard the matter on the 8th of March 2017 to deliver their judgment as required by the Nigerian Constitution.”

BIAFRA PEOPLE; ECOWAS court fails to hear Nnamdi Kanu’s case

 
The case had been adjourned in November 2017, after a previous postponement a month before, following applications by parties in the matter.
On Tuesday, the court presided over by Justice Hemeye Mahdmadane announced its decision to make further adjournment after entertaining a fresh application by the prosecution.
The judge said the court’s decision to adjourn sitting was based on the fact that motions brought before the court in November were yet to be translated into English language.
At the opening of session on Monday, the prosecution counsel, Maimuna Shiru, informed the court, that her client had a motion seeking to keep the court abreast of the recent developments in the matter. 
The Economic Community of West Africa ECOWAS Court, has again adjourned hearing into the fundamental rights suit filed by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu’s suit filed in March 2016 is yet to reach its hearing stage at the court since it was first brought before it. 

According to Ms. Shiru, her motion seeks to inform the ECOWAS court that IPOB had already been proscribed and that the Federal High Court in Abuja had affirmed the proscription of the group.
Reacting to the recent application, however, Mr. Ejiofor accused the prosecution of making unnecessary motions aimed at preventing the case from succeeding.
The court, however, warned Mr. Ejiofor to desist from making such utterances in court.
The matter was adjourned to May 30.

Tribunal receives 4 petitions

 
The chairman who spoke alongside Justice A.O Ayoola, member of the tribunal said all petition filed had been responded to and were awaiting the appropriate steps by the litigants for further actions.
He said it was not true that the tribunal may not be able to dispense of the matters before the time life of 180 days allotted to tribunal matters by the electoral act.
“The tribunal is on ground, having been constituted two weeks before the Nov. 13 governorship election here in Anambra as required by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The tribunal has four petitions before it; three for governorship and one for senatorial; petitions are time defined, there is time during which a process must be completed and you can’t go to the next without concluding the other.
The Anambra Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Awka has assured fair hearing for all parties in the petitions before it.
Chairman of the tribunal, Hon Justice H.A Olusiyi, who spoke to journalists in Awka on Tuesday said the tribunal had so far received four petitions, including three for governorship election and one in respect of Anambra Central Senatorial rerun election.
“We are presently on interlocutory allocations after which the hearings will commence, so we are still within the timeframe and we shall conclude all the petitions before the tribunal ends,” he said.
Olusiyi expressed disappointment over the petition written against the tribunal by Dr Paul Obianaso, a candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADP in the November governorship election, describing it as hasty and misleading.
He said the fears of Obianaso that the N400, 000 deposited with the Secretary of the tribunal was not receipted for and therefore was not safe.
The Judge described the money as security which when no longer needed as security for costs, charges or expenses shall be returned to the pers
Olusiyi said Schedule 39 of the Electoral Act provided it could also be returned to the person entitled to receive it by order of the tribunal or court which may be made on motion after notice and proof that all just claims have been satisfied.
The judge said such petition should have been appropriate if after the tribunal ended and he did not get the money as required by the Electoral act.
“There is no iota of truth in his allegations, it is hasty and misleading.
“Obianaso is the party that filed petition and he wrote a petition against the tribunal with the name of his political party, African Democratic Congress (ADC), which is not before us.
“He is just misinforming the public with those allegations, he should have complained if after the tribunal ends, he did not get his money.
“The appointing authorities have confidence in us and that is why they sent us here, what we are assuring is that there will be fair hearing for all parties,” he said.
on in whose name it was deposited.

The policeman whose name is still unknown was reportedly killed by some hoodlums.

 
According to him, the police officer is part of the police team mobilised to restore calm in the Southern area of the state. Residents of some communities in the area are currently on flee, leaving their homes due to killings and attacks by armed men suspected to be herdsmen.
Kennedy said the police officer was shot while he alongside his colleagues were trying to repel attacks by hoodlums who were attempting to burn deserted houses in the area.
He further revealed that investigations are on to nab perpetrators.
Security challenges confronting the nation has not spared anyone including civilians and security officers who victims of various attacks across the country. One of the remaining two policemen declared missing in Benue State was found dead on Monday, February 12.
Two personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) were also killed by suspected herdsmen in a village in Benue State. The officials were killed in Awange village of Kasseyo Ward in Guma Local Government Area of the state.  
One police officer was on Tuesday morning found dead in Adudu community of Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa state.
The policeman whose name is still unknown was reportedly killed by some hoodlums.
Nasarawa Police Public Relations Officer, Idrissu Kennedy confirmed the news of the death to Channels Television.