Speaking on Friday night at the ongoing Plateau Unity Christmas Carols and Praise Festival in Jos, Obasanjo said the Federal government must urgently deploy modern technology to curb killings, noting that with technology, no criminal should be beyond the reach of security agencies, as the country has the capacity to take them out.

“In these days of technology, there should be nobody who can hide after committing a crime,” he said. “Before I left government, we had the capacity to pick up anybody in Nigeria once identified… Every Nigerian life matters, whether Christian, Muslim or pagan. Nigerians are being killed; this must stop.”

He insisted Nigerians have the right to seek international partnership if domestic efforts fall short, arguing that saving lives must remain the nation’s priority.

Plateau State governor, Caleb Mutfwang, who also addressed the gathering, reassured citizens that Nigeria would overcome its current trials. “By the grace of God, those who want Nigeria destroyed will not succeed,” he declared, praying that national and state leaders continue to receive strength and wisdom to act rightly.

The governor said the annual carol event was inspired by the vision of uniting the people of Plateau through worship and thanksgiving. “God is delighted when we come together in unity to exalt His name,” he said. “Despite all odds, we are gathered again this year to celebrate the goodness of God in the land of the living.”

Mutfwang welcomed dignitaries in attendance, including former President Obasanjo; General Lawrence Onoja (rtd.); former Governors of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye and Jonah Jang, who attended with his wife, Ngo Talatu; former Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen; former Governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna; former Chief of Defence Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai (rtd.); and the GOC 3 Division, Major General Folorunsho Oyinlola, among others.

Expressing delight in the diversity of worshippers, the governor said Plateau citizens put aside denominational differences to worship under one banner. “With unity, we will shut the door against the enemy that troubles us,” he said.

The event featured ministrations from renowned gospel artistes including Buchi, Uche Etiaba, Pastor Chingtok, and choirs drawn from various denominations.

By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

The ability to speak the ‘language’ people understand is a very important skill, and whoever masters it, has gained a profitable advantage. The ability therefore, to strategically use language can be a game changer in life and business. In all honesty, anyone, who can relate to the act of speaking languages people understand, stands a better chance of attracting more opportunities. Language is a skill; the more the skill a person has, the more resourceful they will be.

Every business, politics, game, religion, relationship/marriage, and art have a language. Even a little child has a language. One must be able to speak the language of that child to work with the child. The ability of one to use it very well can be a game changer.

There’s no field or subject in life that is not governed by its own language. The language is the code or key, which when rightly used or applied, any door opens.

Let’s take a case study of marriage; the truth is there’s no perfect marriage anywhere, the love the couples claim to share notwithstanding. There will come a day when either one of them will lose it, and the hormones will flare up. The ability of one of the couples to speak the language the other person understands can calm the nerves of the other. The inability of one to speak the right language can make things go out of hand.

Certain things work for certain people. Everyone is different and unique; what works for someone might not work for another person. So, the ability to know what works for someone and judiciously use it has the potential of opening doors and opportunity because, according to my late mother, human beings are the most difficult people to work with.

In business, if one is seeking a grant or opportunity from an investor, one must be able to speak or convey his thought in an appealing way in such a way the investor will find it attractive. And that entails putting down certain information that is needed for a proposal to receive a positive recommendation. This is not about trying to fake life, rather, it’s a strategic and wise way of showing how informed and proactive one can be.

Let’s take a case study of human attraction. For any man to successfully woo a lady, he must speak or act in a certain way that the lady finds appealing, and that entails having a good dress sense, having the fear of God, being financially and professionally stable, showing care and empathy, amongst other  qualities. The same is applicable to a woman who wants to attract a man, she must be able to ‘speak’ the man’s language.

In politics, the language is loyalty. It’s only an ungrateful master who wouldn’t want to appreciate a loyal servant who has served him faithfully when an opportunity arises.

The importance of language in life cannot be overemphasized. When it comes to spirituality, certain offerings work for certain gods, or God. To benefit from your altar, one must speak the language of their god/God. For instance, those who offer sacrifice to fake deities must continually offer sacrifice in order for their “powers” to be renewed. The same is applicable to those who believe in the one true God, one must continually abstain from immorality and vices in order to receive blessings from Him.

In summary, if you want to succeed in life, endeavour to find out what language works for anyone or any industry. And when it is found, and worked on, the doors must surely open.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator.  He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design  and Unleash Your Destiny .  He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

A State Security Service investigator, on Tuesday, told the Federal High Court in Abuja that Tukur Mamu was offered a N50 million share by Shugaba, leader of the terrorist group, who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna bound train in 2022.

The DSS operative, who testified as 6th prosecution witness (PW-6) in the ongoing terrorism trial of Mamu, the alleged terrorists’ negotiator, told Justice Mohammed Umar while being led in evidence by the DSS lawyer, David Kaswe.

The witness, who gave his testimony behind a witness screen for security reason, said that the group also asked Mamu to teach them how to open website for their terrorist activities.

He stated this while interpreting four voice notes played in the courtroom containing the defendant’s telephone interactions with the terrorists who held the abducted train passengers hostage.

The audio recordings were extracted from Mamu’s mobile telephones during interrogation after he was arrested in Egypt and brought back to Nigeria.

“The first voice note that played was for defendant (Mamu) fixing a date for delivery of ransom.

“The second voice note that played for five minutes was the voice of Shugaba, the leader of the terrorist group.

“In the voice note, he was appreciating the defendant’s effort and ask him to remove N50 million for his personal use from a particular tranche of ransom sent to them.

“The last voice note that played, Baba Adamu, who is their spokesperson, was heard requesting the defendant to help them procure speakers and public address system for their preaching activities and the defendant responded that he was going to look into their request.

“They also requested that the defendant teach them how to open website for their activities,” the witness said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mamu was alleged to have convinced the terrorists to discuss ransom payments with individual families of the hostages of the train attack instead of the Chief of Defense Staff Committee set up by the Federal Government for his personal financial gain.

The defendant was said to have been nominated by the terrorists that attacked the train sometime in March 2022 where scores of passengers were held hostage.

Mamu was alleged to have collected ransoms on behalf of terror group from families of hostages, confirmed the amount and facilitated the delivery of same to them.

The PW-6, while being led in evidence on Tuesday by the prosecuting lawyer, Kaswe, told the court that after Mamu was brought back from Egypt, he submitted his Samsung tablet and two phones to DSS’ officials.

The witness said he was one of those who investigated the case.

He told the court that when the defendant was intercepted in Egypt, he put a call to his in-law, identified as Mubarak Tinja and directed him to move out all his valuables, comprising cash, cars and other items of values, from his house to a safe location, to avoid detection by security agents.

“The defendant was subsequently arrested in Egypt and returned back to Nigeria, where a team of investigators were on ground to receive him.

“A duly endorsed search warrant was duly executed in his property and office in Kaduna, during which cash, in both local and foreign currencies; vehicles and other valuables were recovered.

“In compliance with his directive to his in law, Mubarak Tinja, and the other dependants in the house, some cars and cash were moved out of the house to various locations,” he said.

He said investigators later traced and located some of the items, including about 300,000 US dollars, about seven cars, including Toyota Camry (Muscle); Peugeot 5008, Lexus, Mercedes E350 and a Hyundai car.

Vehicle documents relating to the cars were later tendered by the prosecution through the witness, which the court admitted in evidence.

The witness added that when the defendant was brought back to the country, he “handed his Samsung tablet and two of his phones to our exhibit keeper, who sent them to our forensic department for forensic analysis.

“The outcome of the forensic analysis, included the voice notes of the conversation between the defendant and the terrorists, were part of the content that were presented to the interrogation team and the items recovered from his home.

“He (the defendant) was subsequently interviewed, during which the content of his phones and other items were presented to him.

“During the interview, the defendant admitted giving instruction to Mubarak to move his variables from his house.

“He also admitted communicating with the terrorists, using his voice notes, which were extracted from his two phones and Samsung tablet.”

He added that the defendant also admitted owning a pump action gun, which was recovered from his house, which he claimed was duly licensed.

The witness, however, told the court that investigators later discovered that the licence expired in December 2021, nine months before he was arrested.

The DSS operative said about 98 per cent of the conversation on the voice notes are in Housa Language, some of which were translated to English Language by him, because they were too many.

Kaswe then applied to tender the recorded voice notes stored in compact disk plates and flash drive, which the court admitted, after Mamu’s counsel, Johnson Usman, reserved his objection until the final address.

The recorded conversations were played in the courtroom.

The witness added that in the course of investigation, two victims volunteered written statements in which they recounted their experiences.

He said one of the statements was written in English and the other in Hausa Language.

He, however, said that the victims; a male and female, were no longer available, because they expressed their unwillingness to attend court to testify because of fear and trauma.

The court admitted the statements of the victims in evidence and marked them as exhibits after it was not opposed by Usman.

The court also admitted in evidence eight statements made to investigators by Mamu and video recordings of the statements writing sessions.

Kaswe then informed the court that he would be bringing a formal application for the court to visit where the items recovered from Mamu’s house and office are kept.

Justice Umar adjourned the matter until Nov. 26 at 11am for continuation of trial.

NAN