Headlines
IGP Bars FSARS, Others from Routine Operations on Nigerian Roads, Osinbajo Applauds
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, has barred, with immediate effect, the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and other special teams, including the Special Tactical Squad (STS), Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and Anti-Cultism Squad, from patrols and other conventional low-risk duties such as checkpoints.
He also warned personnel against embarking on operations in mufti.
However, Vice President Yemi Yemi Osinbajo has backed the move.
Prodded by reporters yesterday in Abuja, he stated: “I am very concerned, in fact, very angry about what I see happening to young men and women who are arrested, in some cases maimed or killed by men of the police force.”
The nation’s number two citizen had held a meeting with the IGP where he said President Muhammadu Buhari and himself had discussed the matter on a number of occasions, expressing his principal’s displeasure at the unsavoury development and disposition for reform.
This is even as the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and an activist, Comrade Egwu Alakpodia, called on the relevant authorities to urgently halt the killing of innocent citizens by men and officers of SARS.
The group communicated its feeling via a statement issued by the National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and National Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, in Abuja.
Alakpodia, on his part, spoke while addressing reporters in Delta State.
Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said the IGP’s orders followed findings that some officers with the tactical squads were perpetrating acts that contravene their extant Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement.
“His words: “Specifically, the IGP has warned the tactical squads against invasion of citizens’ privacy, particularly through indiscriminate and unauthorised search of mobile phones, laptops and other smart devices.
“They are to concentrate and respond only to cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes when the need arises.”
He explained that the IGP has equally warned that “henceforth, the Commissioner of Police in charge of FSARS, Commissioners of Police in charge of State Commands and the FCT as well as their supervisory Zonal Assistant Inspectors General of Police will be held liable for any misconduct within their Area of Responsibility (AOR).”
Meanwhile, two FSARS operatives, Inspectors Sale James and Monday Uchiola, as well as their civilian accomplice, Okechukwu Ogbonna, have been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for extortion and intimidation of innocent citizens.
“The operational vehicle of the men has also been impounded and disciplinary procedure has already commenced against the defaulters,” Mba said.
The Guardian
Headlines
Abiola Cannot Be Recognised As Former President; He Was Never Sworn-in – Gen Ishola Williams
By Eric Elezuo
One of the prime actors of the June 12, 1993 incidents, General Ishola Williams, has said that much as Chief MKO Abiola wrong was created having won the election, and denied victory, he cannot be recognized as a former President of Nigeria.
Gen Williams made his revelation while speaking as a guest on Channels television socio-political programme, Inside Source.
He maintained that only those who were sworn in that recognised as former presidents, and Abiola was never sworn in.
“Abiola cannot be recognised as former president because he was never sworn in.
The General, who said that he resigned from the army as a result of the wholesome reception given to General Sani Abacha, when he overthrew Chief Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government, contrary to expectation, also picked flaws in the narratives given by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, in his recently launched book, A Journey In Service.
Williams rose in the army to become the Commandant of Army Signals, Commander of Training and Doctrine (TRADOC) and Chief of Defence Training and Planning, from where he resigned.
Headlines
Breaking: Supreme Court Recognises Martin Amaewhule As Rivers Assembly Speaker, Orders CBN to Stop Releasing Funds to State
By Eric Elezuo
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has in its ruling on Friday recognised Hon Martins Amaewhule as the authentic speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, mandating him to urgently resume sitting with elected members of the assembly.
The apex court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to stop releasing to the Rivers State government until a proper assembly is constituted.
Details soon…
Tension escalated at the Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday as impeached Speaker Mudashiru Obasa made a dramatic return to reclaim his position.
Accompanied by heavily armed men, Obasa stormed the Assembly complex in a bold move that has thrown the State’s legislature into turmoil.
In a stunning turn of events, security details assigned to the substantive Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mojisola Meranda, were abruptly withdrawn on Thursday morning, clearing the path for Obasa’s controversial comeback.
Sources revealed that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) ordered the withdrawal of all security operatives attached to Meranda, leaving her exposed in the midst of an intensifying power struggle.
The Speaker’s Special Adviser on Information, Mr. Victor Ganzallo, expressed concern over the security vacuum created by the withdrawal of personnel.
“In the early hours of Thursday, we woke up to the startling news that all security details assigned to Madam Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, had been withdrawn.
This includes the police and DSS officers, leaving her exposed to threats amid the ongoing speakership crisis,” Ganzallo stated.
He further called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as the State’s Chief Security Officer, to intervene urgently to prevent a complete breakdown of law and order within the Assembly.
“The withdrawal of security personnel has left the Assembly naked and vulnerable at a critical time. Urgent action is needed to restore order,” he pleaded.
With the speakership battle taking a dramatic new turn, political watchers are keenly observing how the crisis will unfold in the coming days.
