Author: Chief Editor

The Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, has revealed that the training of a new police unit that will take over from the disbanded Special Anti -Robbery Squad (SARS) will commence next week. Adamu spoke yesterday when popular musician, David Adeleke aka Davido, visited him in office over the ongoing #ENDSARS protests. He said with SARS being disbanded, there was need to get a new structure to carry out the duties the defunct police unit was carrying out, which is fighting violent crimes. He said the new outfit would be intelligence -driven, properly trained and only act on…

• Decries widespread vote-buying • Seeks creation of Election Offices Commission Pro-Democracy think tank, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), has rated INEC’s conduct of the October 10, 2020 Ondo State Governorship Election as an improvement on what was achieved in Edo State. CDD handed down its verdict in Abuja at the presentation of its final observation report on the key processes and outcome of the election. Presenting the centre’s report, Head, CDD Election Analysis Centre, Professor Adele Jinadu and Director, Idayat Hassan, called for tougher action to deal with vote-buying, violence and fake news, which they noted combined…

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, at the weekend bowed to the pressure by a robust Movement of Nigerian Youth calling for the ban of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (a.k.a. SARS) and announced the disbandment of the now notorious unit of the police force in spite of measures earlier announced to curtail the excesses of members of the unit saddled with the responsibility addressing cases of arm robberies and kidnappings. The young campaigners were apparently unmoved by the police authorities’ claim and pledge to reform the system and so had sustained the call for a total disbandment of…

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq and private sector actors have canvassed viable options to ensure adequate food supply for vulnerable persons in the country. Farouq said the move would boost Federal Government’s efforts to cushion the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians, especially the increasing number of people at risk from hunger, inadequate access to health and educational facilities. Speaking at a roundtable organised by State Craft Incorporated in Lagos, she restated the importance of reinventing approaches to solving new and older challenges in the wake of the pandemic. She assured that the…

•Lawmakers ask union, FG to shift ground Despite the intervention of the leadership of the Senate, the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) yesterday insisted that its members will not enrol in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). The union also said it has come up with a home-grown alternative payment platform for university lecturers called University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS). This is just as the Senate has called on both the federal government and the union to shift ground on the issue of payment of lecturers salaries via IPPIS as well as other outstanding issues.…

•Many feared killed as march turns bloody in Lagos •Sanwo-Olu sues for calm As the protest of high-handedness of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) deepened yesterday despite the disbandment of the police tactical outfit, President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that all those responsible for misconduct or wrongful acts would be brought to justice. The president said the disbandment of the organisation was only a first step to a wholesome reformation of the Police Force. As the president spoke in Abuja, many protesters were feared killed in Lagos with the authorities confirming the death of a policeman and a civilian…

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, Ghana’s goalkeeper Fatau Dauda, Chelsea duo of Tammy Abraham, and Antonio Rudiger, as well as former African Footballer of the Year, Frederic Kanoute, have lent their voices to the protest against police brutality in Nigeria, reports goal.com. There have been ongoing protests in Nigeria over the week with citizens agitating for the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit of the Nigeria Police Force. The Federal Government heeded to the people’s demand at the weekend. SARS officers have been accused of harassing, robbing, and killing youths for no just reasons over the…

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has suspended his Special Adviser on Media, Salihu Yakasai, over his comment on President Muhammadu Buhari in the social media. A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Muhammad Garba, yesterday directed the immediate suspension of the aide. According to Ganduje, though the aide described the comment as his personal opinion, “as a public figure, it will be difficult to differentiate between personal opinion and official stand on matters of public concern.” While restating his loyalty to the policies and programmes of Buhari’s administration, Ganduje warned all political appointees and public servants in Kano to guard against…

Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has defended the Federal Government’s proposed N13.08 trillion budget for 2021. The N5.21 trillion deficit in the 2021 budget, representing 3.64 per cent, is to be financed with new borrowings amounting to N4.28 trillion. President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday presented the budget proposal to a joint session of the National Assembly. Okorocha spoke in Bauchi State where he was hosted by renowned international Islamic preacher Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi on Saturday. He was later honoured as the leader of the poor. The ex-governor faulted critics of the Federal Government for its rate of borrowing,…

• IGP bows to pressure, North, South disagree • Wizkid leads London ‘jubilation’ • Disbandment cosmetic says HURIWA Yesterday’s dissolution of the controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad by Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu triggered mixed reactions. While youths and socio-cultural organisations in the South welcomed the announcement, which followed weeklong protests in major cities of the country, some northern interests insisted that SARS was useful for their region. IGP Adamu who succumbed to pressure after an emergency meeting with a worried President Muhammadu Buhari disbanded SARS across all formations, the 36 State Police Commands, and the Federal Capital Territory. The IGP, while…