Turkey Failed Coup-Civilians behead soldier, severely flog others who surrended (Graphic photos)

Following the failed coup in Turkey yesterday, photos have emerged which shows civilians beheading a soldier and beating others who surrendered on Istanbul’s Bosphorus Bridge.
The coup attempt crumbled as Prime minister Erdogan rushed back to Istanbul from a Mediterranean holiday and urged people to take to the streets to support his government against plotters he accused of trying to kill him.
“They will pay a heavy price for this,” “This uprising is a gift from God to us because this will be a reason to cleanse our army.” He said
More than 2,839 soldiers have been arrested following the failed coup ..

Reuters

Arms Probe Report Doctored By Buhari’s Friends To Shield Dambazau & Buratai – Junaid Mohammed

A frontline Second Republic politician and Northern leader, Dr. Junaid Mohammed told The Guardian yesterday that some cabal in the Presidency doctored the Arms Procurement Probe Report to shield the former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Interior, Major General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) and former Director of Procurements, Defence Headquarters, who is also current Chief Of Army Staff, Major General Tukur Buratai.
Mohammed said: “Nigerians should recall that the three Chiefs of Army Staff who served during the period under review included Major General Abdulrahman Dambazau, who is also the current Minister of Interior, Major General Azubuike Ihejirika, Major General Kenneth Minimah and Major General Tukur Buratai, who before his appointment as the current Chief of Army Staff, was Director of Procurement, Defence Headquarters for years.
“The Report of the Committee was doctored in the Presidency by some cabal after it was submitted, to shield Dambazau and Buratai who were allegedly indicted.
“Dambazau is a close ally of Alhaji Mamman Daura, who is President Buhari’s nephew, and also head of the ‘cabal’ in Buhari’s presidency today. Buratai is an ally of Dambazau and President Buhari. So there is no way the Presidency will not shield the duo.”
Mohammed said that there was no way Buratai and Dambazau would not have been indicted in the Report, having served as director of procurement in the Defence Headquarters and Chief of Army Staff under the period reviewed.
“Why is Ihejirika under any form of detention now? Why is he being harassed, when the Presidency is shielding some persons indicted in the report? Is it because he is not President’s ally or not from the North? President Buhari should publish the original copy of the Report, the way that of Nigerian Air Force mess was made public.

“Nigerians should know that as far as the cabal holds sway in Aso Rock, nothing will happen to Dambazua and Buratai,” Mohammed noted.A source in the Presidency who craved anonymity told The Guardian that Dambazua was not indicted in the Report, because during his era as Chief of Army Staff, awarding of contracts and procurement of arms was being carried out by the Ministry of Defence, not office of the Chief of Army Staff.
“It was after Dambazua left office that his successor took charge of awarding of contracts and procurement in the service. So there is no iota of truth in the allegation that the report was doctored to shield him.”
On why Mohammed is alleging that the report was doctored to shield Dambazua, the source said: “You know that Mohammed and Dambazua are from Kano State. It has something to do with politics of the State, and choice of minister from the State. Some persons from the state preferred somebody else, specifically President Buhari’s longtime ally who got himself involved corruption act, not Dambazau, to be minister. They are not comfortable with his choice, but that was the President’s decision.
However, the Federal Government yesterday said there is no truth in the insinuation that the report of the Presidential Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Armed Forces (2007-2015) was doctored for whatever reasons.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who stated this in a statement in Abuja, said what has been released so far is the report of the audit covering the period 2011 to 2015, adding that the Committee would commence the audit of procurement from 2007 to 2010 as soon as the necessary documents are available.
He said: ‘’When the documents regarding procurement from 2007 to 2010 are available and scrutinized, the committee will then issue its report on that. The audit is being done in phases, and the report that was released on Thursday is the third of such.’’ He assured that the Federal Government’s anti-corruption fight is non-discriminatory, and called on Nigerians to keep an open mind as events unfold.
No one should attempt to distract government from the seriousness of the issues involved in this audit of defence equipment procurement. It is important to note that even though the total amount spent for procurement and operations within the period were N185,843,052,564.30 and $685,349,692.49, the irregularities in the awards ensured that the military did not get value for money, with very serious consequences,’’ the Minister said.

Amaechi Frittered Away N3trn In Eight Years – Rivers Govt

The Rivers State Government yesterday accused the immediate past Governor and current Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, of frittering N3 trillion belonging to the State in eight years.
The Nyesom Wike-led Rivers Government said Amaechi left the “most abandoned projects in the history of the State”.

The Commissioner for Information, Dr. Austin Tam-George, who levelled the allegation against the former governor, noted that while Amaechi’s administration borrowed N4 billion agricultural loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria with no record of farmer-beneficiaries, Governor Wike’s N2 billion loan from the same source, had recorded 35,000 beneficiaries that were small and medium scale entrepreneurs.
In a reaction, however, the opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the allegation was unfounded, as Amaechi could not have wasted such sum under any guise.
The Rivers APC publicity secretary, Mr. Chris Finebone, who dismissed the claim, accused the State Government of reeling out imaginary figures.
Finebone said, “For once, you guys should ask the Commissioner what was used for those uncompleted projects he claimed was abandoned. It is important he cross-check his records so that he can overcome his little dream world of make-belief”.

Aisha Buhari and Her Attention Seeking Granddaughter Looked Glam at Aso Rock Event

Nigeria’s Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari and her cute granddaughter were both pictured side-by-side at the ‘Graduation Dinner’ held for Halimat, Zahra and Yusuf Buhari at the State House over the weekend.

In the photo above, the little angel insisted on being the focus of attention, and deployed every means necessary to get her Excellency’s attention again and again.
Talk about kids and their attention seeking methods.
See more photos below:

9 Takeaways From Buhari’s Speech At Judicial Workshop

President Muhammadu Buhari during his address at the international workshop of the role of the judiciary in the fight against anti corruption made the following points.

Its no longer news that Pres. Buhari  has made the fight against corruption one of the top priorities of his administration according to him, it is with the hope that the fight will help restore the economy and build a new Nigeria. 247NEWS IN NAIJA brings you 9 interesting points he wants the judiciary to take note of.

1.The importance  of the judiciary

The responsibility of the judiciary in a democratic society such as ours is a critical one. It is one of the three pillars of the modern democratic nation state and is essential to the process of checks and balances, which is so fundamental to the way societies such as ours are meant to operate and function. This apparent function that the Judiciary plays is undeniably one of the cornerstones of any effective strategy against corruption.

2.The judiciary’s work

While it is true that corruption is a global phenomenon occurring in almost all countries in the world, the problem is much more pronounced in some countries than others but more complicated in developing countries. It has now become clear that corruption is one of the main obstacles to peace, stability, sustainable development, democracy, and human rights around the globe.
The judiciary is a public institution whose job is to provide fundamental checks on other public institutions. Therefore, a fair and efficient judiciary is the key to all anti-corruption initiatives.

3. What the UN says about the judiciary

Article 11 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, provides that the independence of the judiciary and its crucial role in combating corruption, shall, in accordance with the fundamental principles of a State Party’s legal system and without prejudice to judicial independence, take measures to strengthen integrity and to prevent opportunities of corruption among members of the judiciary. What Article 11 simply means is that a corrupt judicial system not only violates the basic right to equality before the law but also deny procedural rights guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.

4.Why the judiciary must remain pure

In carrying out its role in the fight against corruption, the judiciary must remain impartial and most importantly, be seen to be impartial. It is incumbent on the judiciary to analyze facts based on the applicable law without prejudice and penchant regarding the case they are dealing with, and without acting in any way that would favor the interests of any of the parties.

5. When the judiciary is corrupt

Where judicial corruption occurs, the damage can be pervasive and extremely difficult to reverse. It undermines citizens’ morale, violates their human rights, harms national development and depletes the quality of governance.

6.What the judiciary must do

The Judiciary must take steps to ensure that it is not seen as being partisan. As such, it must be aware of the sensitivities of the public and take steps towards avoiding even the shred of a doubt as regards its independence. In justice, integrity is a necessity. Hence, Judicial Officers and all other members of this sector must always demonstrate manifest integrity.

7.What a slow judiciary means

Critically important also, is the sacred duty of the judiciary to ensure that criminal justice administration is not delayed. I am worried that the expectation of the public is yet to be met by the judiciary with regard to the removal of delay and the toleration of delay tactics by lawyers.

8.How Nigerians should see the judiciary

To this end, the Judiciary is under a duty to keep its house in order and to ensure that the public, which it serves, sees this. Thus, we cannot expect to make any gains in the war against corruption in our society when the judiciary is seen as being distant from the crusade. This will not augur well and its negative effect will impact all sectors of society.

9.The success of the corruption lies only with the judiciary

To this end, the Judiciary is under a duty to keep its house in order and to ensure that the public, which it serves, sees this. Thus, we cannot expect to make any gains in the war against corruption in our society when the judiciary is seen as being distant from the crusade. This will not augur well and its negative effect will impact all sectors of society.

Nigerian Army Released 249 Suspected Boko Haram Insurgents Borno

The Nigerian Army has freed 249 captured suspected Boko Haram terrorists and accomplices after being cleared by the Chief of Army Staff in Maiduguri on Sunday.

Those cleared and released include 169 males, 46 women and 34 children. Further breakdown shows that 203 of them were from 18 Local Government Areas of Borno State, while 44 were from other States as follows; Adamawa 2, Jigawa 2, Lagos 1, Oyo 1 and Yobe 38. However, 2 of them were from the Republic of Cameroon.
The released suspects were handed N3,000 each
The Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division, Brigadier General Victor Ezugwu made the handing over to the State government through the Commissioner for Local Government while the two Cameroonians were handed over to the Borno State Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service.
The Commissioner in his remarks praised the military effort’s in the fight against insurgency and respect for human rights as manifested in the painstaking efforts that led to their clearance and subsequent release. He therefore urged the released detainees to remain law abiding and go about their lawful businesses. He also commended the

UEFA Releases Shortlist For The Best Player In Europe

UEFA has released its ten man shortlist for the ‘Best Player In Europe’. UEFA originally released a 37 man long list but the battle for the claim of Europe’s best will now come down to 10 footballers.

Gareth Bale (Real Madrid & Wales)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus & Italy)
Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid & France)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid & Germany)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)
Thomas Müller (Bayern München & Germany)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern München & Germany)
Pepe (Real Madrid & Portugal)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)
Luis Suárez (Barcelona & Uruguay)
The winner of the award will be announced on August 25 during the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Monaco.
Who are you rooting for?

Buhari Wants To Kill PDP – Uche Secondus

Uche Secondus, former acting chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said in an interview with Punch, that his experiences over the last one year of the Buhari led administration have revealed that Buhari’s plan is to “kill” PDP.

See Also; Amaechi Frittered Away N3trn In Eight Years – Rivers Govt
INFORMATION NIGERIA brings you 5 very interesting takeaways from the interview.

How the EFFC has neglected the rule of law

The EFCC has turned itself to the judge, jury and a court, becoming a law unto itself.
There is absolute absence of the rule of law in the pursuit of this anti-corruption crusade

He wonders why Buhari hasn’t probed people like Amaechi and Fashola

“We know there are ex-governors who are ministers now, why are they not probing them? Why are they not inviting them? It is absolutely wrong.

Secondus says the whole world is aware of Buhari’s plan to kill PDP

“The partiality is obvious now, and Nigerians know, the world now knows that the agenda of this government is to kill the PDP
See also; 6 Things PDP’s Secondus Has To Say About Nigeria Under Buhari

That the PDP totally support anti-corruption war

“We in the PDP are in total support of the anti-corruption fight but we believe that due process and the rule of law are not being followed.
“We are not in a garrison command structure, a person can be invited or arrested if he resists but the rule of law must be followed.

He said the PDP also had the mind to fight corruption
“It is absolutely wrong to say PDP feels comfortable with corruption. Let me ask this question, if the PDP had no interest in fighting corruption, would we have set up the EFCC, ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices Commission) and all other institutions?
“All these institutions were set up by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo who headed a PDP-led government”

I Spent Fake Currency In Lagos, Ogun For Five Years – Ex-convict

A robbery suspect and ex-convict identified as Felix Ademola, has been arrested by the police in Oyo State.

Ademola specialized in dealing in fake currency shortly after he was set free from prison.

The suspect and his gang members were also said to have been involved in robbing and terrorizing residents of the state.
While being paraded along with other robbery suspects at the state command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, the state capital, at the weekend, Ademola claimed he had conducted successful robbery operations in Lagos and Ogun states.
He said, “After I left prison, I began dealing in fake money. I bought the fakes from a man who printed them in the Abattoir area of Agege, Lagos State. For the N200, 000 that I collected from him, I paid him N30, 000. The fakes were in N1, 000 denominations.
“I usually go out and buy items of about N200, pay with a fake N1, 000. I will then be given a change of N800. I will do this to different traders until I spend all the fake money and gain about N170, 000. I did this for 5 years.
“Apart from dealing in fake currency, I led a gang of robbers to attack some residents in the Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos State and we shared N450, 000 after the operation.
“We used a local gun and a pistol. After breaking in, we threatened the occupants with our guns and took their money and mobile phones. Because they cooperated, we did not kill anyone.
“In another operation three months after, we made about N60, 000.
“After that, I had an accident and my hand was injured. For a long time, I did not rob. But when my health improved, I organised another robbery in Oyo. We were still operating when the police came, but I was the only one caught,” he added.
The state Commissioner of Police, CP. Leye Oyebade, who paraded the suspects, said the command had been successful in freeing the state of hoodlums.
“Those arrested would be prosecuted soon,” the CP added.
Source: Dailypost

Arase Knocks Idris For Making Media Show Of 24 ‘Stolen’ Police Vehicles

The immediate past Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, has condemned his successor, Ibrahim Idris’ decision to address the media, rather than personally reach out to him over alleged ‘missing’ police vehicles.
Acting IG of Police, Idris, had while addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja, accused his predecessor of taking with him, following his retirement last month, 24 police vehicles, including two BMW 7 series; one armoured and leaving him with an old and rickety vehicle.

The police chief, who claimed Arase refused to return the vehicles despite writing him to that effect, disclosed that he had set up a Special Investigation Panel to “investigate all the vehicle purchases, contributions to the police and the distribution of those vehicles in the last three years”.
But Arase, who is in London for his son’s graduation, said in a statement on Monday that every information needed by his successor on vehicles bought by the police were in his handover notes.

RELATED POST: Arase Took Away 24 Police Vehicles, Including IG’s Official Car – Idris

The retired IG maintained that all vehicles bought by the police under him were distributed to the state commands and other appropriate units of the force.
He also denied getting any letter from Idris since he has been in the UK.
“I suspect there must be a disconnect somewhere because every information needed by my successor are provided in my handover notes”, Mr. Arase said.
“I’m also not aware that any letter was written to me because if there was any dropped in my house, someone would have alerted me.
“It’s unfortunate that this matter is being made a media issue because my successor has my telephone number and could have called me for any clarification or even sent me a text message rather than addressing the media on an issue well documented in my handover notes”, he lamented.

Ooni of Ife Attends Wedding Ceremony in full Regalia

Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi & his adorable wife, Olori Wuraola were among the dignitaries at the wedding of Chief Wole Olanipekun, and Mr. Dele Adesina’s children at the prestigious Landmark event center in Lagos over the weekend.

Other guests at the wedding include Former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, Oba Akinrutan, Governor Segun Mimiko of Ondo state, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state, Minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed and his Communications counterpart, Barrister Adebayo Shittu.

See more photos below: