Today's Headlines: My Guinean Citizenship Invalid– Tinubu, Nigerians world’s smartest people – Akon
My Guinean Citizenship Invalid Since My Passport Expired In 2020 – President Tinubu Tells Tribunal
President Bola Tinubu has told the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that his Guinean citizenship expired in 2020, the same year when his Guinean passport, being brandished by the opposition, expired.
Tinubu made the claim through his lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) while asking the tribunal to throw out a petition by the Labour Party (LP) seeking his (Tinubu) removal from office.
According to Tinubu’s counsel, the President’s Guinean passport tendered before the court by the Labour Party’s PW27 expired in 2020, adding that the opposition party’s claim on Tinubu’s dual citizenship is aimed at embarrassing the President.
Part of Tinubu’s claim through his lawyer read, “Lastly, the PW27, tendered Exhibit PBF4 (Guinean passport), which as usual, he claimed to have downloaded from the internet, purportedly representing the data pages of the respondent’s Guinean passport, which ex facie, shows that the passport expired in 2020. It is all a guess work, aimed at embarrassing the respondent.”
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Nigerians world’s smartest people – Akon
Senegalese-American singer, Akon, has said Nigerians are arguably the “smartest people” in the world.
The ‘Oh Africa’ crooner made the assertion while featuring on the Drink Champs podcast co-hosted by N.O.R.E and DJ EFN.
He claimed that more billionaires are being made in Nigeria than anywhere in the world.
Akon, however, admitted that there are a few “bad apples” tarnishing the image of the country.
He said, “This could be debatable, but the Nigerians are the smartest people on the planet. I promise you, there is nobody more smarter than a Nigerian. Of course, there is a few bad apples that came out. They [the bad apples] are extremely smart. But they put their intelligence all in wrong place.
“If they were to gear that towards something more positive or productive… Because the ones that did, there’s more billionaires being made in Nigeria than anywhere in the world.”
Nigerian Police Arrest 18 Black Axe Suspected Members In Enugu University, Recover Pump-Action Rifle
The Enugu State Police Command says it has busted and arrested 18 members of Black Axe Confraternity, allegedly hatching their plans to execute sinister activities to mark the group’s 7/7 day celebration.
SaharaReporters had reported recently that operatives of the Enugu police command invaded the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) and arrested over 52 students.
Although the police kept silent over the arrest, in a statement issued on Tuesday morning, it revealed that its operatives serving in the Anti-Cultism Tactical Squad carried arrest between July 6 and 7, 2023.
In the statement issued by the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, the police said the suspects were arrested at different locations of the State when they were hatching their plans to execute what he described as “sinister activities to mark their 7/7 day celebration.”
The statement partly read, “Their arrest, which was due to the tives acting on an intelligence report, led to the recovery of one (1) Pump Action gun with six (6) live cartridges, one (1) Sharp battle axe, three (3) Black berets (3) inscribed “Black Axe”, three (3) black-yellow colour Face-caps inscribed “Ezeagu Sub Zone 7 7”, a yellow in colour Muffler and three (3) Drums.
Suspended EFCC Chairman, Bawa Spends Five Weeks In Custody Of Nigerian Secret Police, DSS
Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has spent about five weeks (34 days) in the custody of the Department of State Services after he was arrested on June 14, hours after his suspension by President Bola Tinubu.
SaharaReporters had reported how Abdulrasheed Bawa, refused to write statements at the secret police’s facility.
SaharaReporters further gathered that Bawa told investigators that the DSS had no right to detain him without charges, hence his refusal to write any statements in custody.
Bawa has been in detention along with Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, since they were suspended from their respective offices by the President Bola Tinubu’s administration over corruption allegations and abuse of office.
According to the report, Bawa had refused to cooperate with DSS investigators, protesting against his detention without charges.
“The detained EFCC chairman has refused to write statements; he told DSS they have no right to detain him without charges.
“He was also accused of shielding former Governor of Zamfara, Abdulaziz Yari, while helping him to hunt down his opponents,” one of the sources had revealed.
“So far since his detention, he has vehemently refused to cooperate with DSS investigators,” another top source noted.
However, SaharaReporters later learnt that Bawa had been moved from the DSS headquarters to one of its private facilities.
“They’ve taken Bawa from DSS headquarters to one of their private facilities to have total control over him after he refused to write statements requested from him,” a top security source had said.
A civil rights lawyer and Managing Partner at Abuja-based law firm, Law Corridor, Pelumi Olajengbesi, had tackled DSS over the continued detention of AbdulRasheed Bawa.
In a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, Olajengbesi had said the prolonged detention of Bawa by the secret police was illegal and an embarrassment to the nation’s justice system.
Olajengbesi said the DSS should charge Bawa to court for alleged offences levelled against his office as EFCC boss or immediately release him to rejoin his family members.
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