Soldiers ‘embarrass’ Speaker Tambuwal

The soldiers insisted that Mr. Tambuwal’s car must be frisked for bombs.

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Some soldiers on Monday ‘embarrassed’ the speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, in Kaduna after they insisted they must search his car before allowing him entry into the venue of an event he was billed to be the key speaker.

The incident occurred at the 17th Hotel Kaduna venue of an international conference on security and development challenges of pastoralists in west and central Africa.

The event was organised by the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, with the theme “The Role of Pastoralists in Preventing Insurgency and Conflicts for enhanced National Security”.

Mr. Tambuwal, who was one of the key note speakers of the conference, arrived the Hotel at about 9:16 a.m.; but soldiers at the gate insisted that his convoy will not be allowed entry. They said only the staff car should approach the gate.

A witness informed us that “even when the speaker’s car came, the soldiers insisted it must stop and be frisked for bombs, and one of them asked him to wind down”.

Our source added that all explanations by the speaker’s security details fell on deaf ears and the soldiers insisted that they must comb the car.

“When the embarrassment was getting too much, the speaker just alighted from the car and walked into the hotel,” our source said.

He also said he was surprised when “some governors came later and no one attempted to stop or search their vehicles”.

The spokesperson of Mr. Tambuwal, Imam Imam,confirmed the incident and advised the military to have respect for the office of the Speaker.

“As the number four citizen, the Honourable Speaker deserves the respect of all Nigerians. What happened was unfortunate,” he said. “We should have respect for the office and his official car is part of the symbol of that office.”

Mr. Imam also said incidents like what happened to the Speaker may undermine the legislature as an institution.

Nigerian internet users on GSM networks increase to 66 million

MTN still had the highest number of data users with 33.8 million.

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The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, on Monday said internet users on the nation’s Global System for Mobile Communications, GSM, networks increased to 65, 813, 890 in the month of April.

According to the Internet Subscriber Data released by the NCC, the users that browsed the Internet through the GSM networks increased by 1,839,863 within the period.

The number of internet users on the networks was 63, 974, 027 in March.

The data showed that Mobile Telecommunications Network, MTN, Nigeria, occupied the first position and had 33,835,981 users in April, as against 33,940,628 users in March, thus losing 104,647
users.

Globacom, occupying the second position with 13,221,754 users that browsed the World Wide Web, WWW, through its network in April, added 539,322 users to its record of 12,682,432 users in March.

Airtel Nigeria was placed third with 11,962,651 users in April, as against 10,847,187 users in March, hence, adding 1,115,464 Internet subscribers.

Etisalat, which was placed in the fourth position, offered Internet services to 6,793,504 customers in April, adding 289,724 more subscribers to the 6,503,780 users in March.

The increase in the number of Internet users shows that telecom subscribers were also embracing the evolution of data as the next revolution in the industry.

The increase in data usage showed that service providers were working to ensure the desire Internet/broadband penetration in the country.

(NAN)

UPDATE: Nigeria to deploy satellites to track cattle movement

Mr. Jonathan mentioned that terrorists take advantage of pastoralism to cause mayhem among communities in the country. 

Federal officials at the Ministry of Agriculture in Abuja are working on a comprehensive livestock information system that will require all cattle in the country to carry electronic chips, while satellite imagery and remote sensing technology are deployed to track their movements as a way to ease the perennial conflicts between herdsmen and farmers across the country.

The Minister of Agriculture, Akinwunmi Adesina, disclosed this, Monday, in Kaduna, at the international conference on security and development challenges of pastoralists in West Africa, where he also said governments must establish modern ranches and grazing buffer zones across border areas of countries, to support cross-border pastoralism.

Said Mr. Akinwumi: “Just like buffer dams help to prevent flooding downstream, grazing buffers zones will help alleviate the need for massive movement of live stock further south in to Nigeria,” emphasizing that because of their immense importance, the role of pastoralist in preventing insurgency and conflict to enhance national security, is a reality that cannot be taken for granted.

The technology-based solutions advanced by the minister will also be complimented by the establishment of “pastoralist transhumance certificates,” which he said if implemented “will go a long way in addressing several of the national security and development challenges arising from pastoralism.”

Participants at the Conference

Earlier at the opening ceremony of the two days conference, President Goodluck Jonathan, represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, said the government was doing all it can to making sure that pastoralism is controlled and effectively supported by government.

Mr. Jonathan mentioned that terrorists take advantage of pastoralism to cause mayhem among communities in the country.

“This conference will mark a turning point for the better in Agricultural sector of the country. The federal government is considering the ranching of animals and making the sector a robust one for the growth of the Nigerian economy,” Mr. Jonathan said.

The convener of the conference and National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, welcoming guests, said, Nigeria’s current challenges, made the conference timely and cogent.

The ECOWAS representative, Vivian Iwar, speaking on the ECOWAS Strategic Action Plan for the Development of Livestock in West Africa, said ECOWAS is currently planning to create one uniform certificate that will allow all cattle herdsmen hold when using the regional borders.

“ECOWAS is working on one single certificate that will allow all herdsmen move along the ECOWAS borders freely. The certificate will indicate where you come from and the region you intend to reach,” she said.

Adamawa lawmakers plot to impeach Nyako, deputy suffers setback

The court refused the lawmakers request for a substituted service on the governor and his deputy.

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The bid by members of the Adamawa State House of Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against Governor Murtala Nyako and his Deputy, Bala Ngilari, suffered a setback on Monday after the request of the lawmakers to serve the two top officials the notice of impeachment via substituted service was refused by a court.

The House, which adjourned for two weeks after directing the Clerk of the Assembly, Francis Gbenseso, to serve the governor and his deputy with a notice of gross misconduct and impeachable offenses called for a “special sitting” in order to discuss the latest development.

The State Assembly had last Wednesday in their notice of impeachment said the two leaders led the executive arm of government to fraudulently divert N10 billon of workers’ salaries for September and October 2011; N120 million of Adamawa State workers’ emolument for May, 2014; N1.7 billion for Special Assistants; and N8 billion for fictitious contract.

The impeachment notice was signed by 19 of the 25 state lawmakers, and it listed 20 impeachable offences against Messrs. Nyako and Ngilari.

PREMIUM TMES gathered that only 10 out of the 25 lawmakers attended Monday’s sitting which began at about 1:50 p.m. and was presided over by the deputy Speaker, Laori Kwamati.

Immediately the members sat for the business of the day, the Deputy speaker invited the clerk to report the outcome of the efforts to serve the governor the notice through substituted service.

The clerk informed the lawmakers that the State’s Acting Chief Judge, Ambrose Mamadi, had earlier in the morning rejected the request to serve Messrs. Nyako and Ngilari via substituted service. He said the Chief Judge who relied on a Supreme Court precedent ruled that both the governor and his deputy must be served in person.

Some backed down
Also, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that apart from the court ruling, many of the 19 lawmakers who earlier signed the impeachment notice have backed down.

A source at the Assembly, who declined to be named because he is not permitted to talk to the media, said nine lawmakers had already withdrawn their support for the impeachment plot.

“The speaker, majority leader and other members who were the arrow heads of the move to remove the governor have all backed down, that is why they did not attend today’s sitting,” our source said.
He also said even those that attended Monday’s sitting amended the notice they are seeking to serve the governor.

“They said impeachment should be removed and that they are only accusing the governor and his deputy of gross misconduct,” he said.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the lawmakers met in groups and in private in Abuja with notable individuals from Adamawa State who variously urged them to reconsider their decision.

“People like Atiku (Abubakar), (Nuhu) Ribadu, and Gambo Jimeta all prevailed on them to forget about impeaching the governor; and it appears to be working,” our source said.

PREMIUM TIMES also understands that following a meeting between Governor Nyako, Atiku Abubakar and Nuhu Ribadu, Mr. Abubakar deployed his contacts and was able to sway his loyalist back to the side of the governor.

AU kills 80 al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia

The Somali government has been battling al-Shabaab for years.

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The African Union peacekeepers in Somalia said on Monday that the airstrikes they launched against radical Islamist fighters Al-Shabaab’s hideout in the south of the country left 80 militants dead.

The AU Mission, AMISOM, said in Cape Town that, the two separate airstrikes hit the Anole and Kuday localities in the Lower Jubba region, as part of a sustained effort to destroy Al-Shabaab’s military capabilities.

AMISOM said that in Anole, the army contingent killed more than 30 al-Shabaab fighters and destroyed three of the group’s technical vehicles and one SUV loaded with ammunition.

According to the report from Kuday, the Kenyan-led airstrikes killed more than 50 insurgents.

The Somali government has been battling al-Shabaab for years with the backing of AU troops.

CPJ condemns harsh prison sentences for journalists in Egypt

Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste were given seven-year terms, while Baher Mohamed was given 10 years in prison.

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A Cairo court today sentenced three Al-Jazeera journalists to lengthy prison terms on terrorism-related charges, according to news reports.

Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste were given seven-year terms, while Baher Mohamed was given 10 years in prison.

Three other international journalists-Sue Turton and Dominic Kane of Al-Jazeera and Rena Netjes, a correspondent for Dutch newspaper Parool-were sentenced in absentia to 10 years, reports said. The journalists are expected to appeal, reports said.

“These convictions are shocking, and an extremely disturbing sign for the future of the Egyptian press,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’S Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator. “Authorities must release the journalists immediately and overturn the verdict on appeal.”

CPJ has repeatedly called on the Egyptian government and newly elected President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi to do all they can to see that all journalists being held in Egypt, including the three Al-Jazeera staff members jailed since December, are set free. 

At least 14 journalists are behind bars in Egypt, according to CPJ research. More than 65 journalists have been detained since former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted in July, according to CPJ research.

Most have been freed.

Nigeria civil society coalition commends Ekiti governorship election

The group said the Ekiti elections were an improvement on the Anambra elections.

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The Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, a coalition of more than 60 civic organisations, has given a pass mark to Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Ekiti.

The group described the elections as “a significant shift away from the irregularities and logistical failings that have consistently characterised previous elections” in Nigeria.

According to a statement by the group, its observers, spread across the 16 local governments of the state, reported a marked improvement by INEC in the management of the electoral processes and the outcomes of the poll.

The coalition stated that there was a timely arrival of voting materials and early accreditation of voters in over 90 per cent of the polling units. They also stated that in most places the voting process was transparent and fair.

“The improved logistics ensured that the trained ad-hoc personnel were stationed in place to guarantee that most polling units were open at the proper commencement time of 8.00am. This had the positive consequential effect of ensuring that actual voting also started promptly at noon for most of the polling stations visited,” the statement read.

It also praised security agents, especially police officers, for conducting themselves responsibly and professionally. According to the Situation Room, this helped in enhancing the integrity of the electoral environment.

“It was widely observed that the elections were conducted in an atmosphere of relative calm and peace, with very few incidences of the breach of the peace,” the group said.

The coalition, however, said the large deployment of security operative during the election could have been better done.

“The Situation Room however expresses some concern with the considerable large contingent of multi-agency security agencies, led by the 12,000 policemen deployed; and coordination between the security agencies involved with the election. Even so there were reports of some polling stations not having the required security presence, raising some questions about the deployment plans of such a large contingent,” it said.

It also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to address the report about the inability of some willing voters to cast their votes because their names were missing from the electronic register.

“These minor incidents fall within a marginal percentage of error and in no way affected the overall quality of the elections, which can be regarded as a credible process; markedly, an improvement on the conduct of the recent Anambra State governorship elections.

 The Situation Room also wishes to acknowledge the patience and restraint of the people of Ekiti State whose collective commitment to democratic principles ensured that this election was conducted in an orderly and peaceful manner,” it said.