Headlines
Siasia Pleads for Help over Kidnapped Mum 10 Weeks On
Former Nigeria coach and player, Samson Siasia says he is still in the dark as to the whereabouts of his abducted mother, reports BBC. Mrs. Ogere Siasia, 76, and two others have been held captive since they were seized in Bayelsa, southern Nigeria ten weeks ago. But Siasia says the police are no closer to finding her.
“The police said it’s been difficult to track these kidnappers, but my great concern is that my mother is very sick,” Siasia told BBC Sport.“For someone who is unwell to be held against her will is not only callous, but heartbreaking and sad.
“So I can only keep appealing to these guys to please let my mother go. I would like for the government or whoever is capable to help me bring my mother back.”Siasia also recently filed an appeal against a life ban for match-fixing, imposed by world football’s governing body Fifa.
It’s the second time in four years that Mrs Siasia has been kidnapped after she was held by gunmen for 12 days, before her release back in November 2015. Siasia, who played over 50 times for his country while scoring 16 goals, has had little contact with his mother, but believe she is unwell.
Although the Bayelsa State police said they are currently trying to rescue her unharmed, the former Nantes and Lokeren striker says he is a broken man who needs the support of a nation he served.“What more can I do but plead for assistance from the government, police and my country that I served as a player and coach,” he said.
“My mother is seriously sick and this bothers me a lot. I don’t know where or who to turn to at this point.“I’ve not had a job for three years, battling with a Fifa ban appeal and to have my sick mother in the hands of kidnappers, I just feel extremely tired.”
A former international, Siasia won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria and played in their maiden World Cup appearance later that same year.
As a coach he led his country’s under-20 and under-23 sides to continental success in 2005 and 2015 respectively.He also guided the U20s to a runners-up finish at the 2005 World Youth Championships (as it was known at the time) in the Netherlands.Siasia is the most decorated African football coach at the Olympics, winning silver at the Beijing Games in 2008 and bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio.
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.
