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Nigeria wants to imprison Kanu without trial, US lawyer raises alarm

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Bruce Fein, the United States-based lawyer of the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has written to the Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

He warned the group not to sit on the legal fence, noting that Nigeria plans to imprison Kanu indefinitely without trial.

The letter dated May 31, 2022 was addressed to the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, George Obiozor, and made available to newsmen by Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, on Tuesday.

In the letter, Bruce Fein of Bruce Fein Law Firms, Washington DC exposed alleged plans by the Federal Government to imprison Nnamdi Kanu indefinitely without a trial praying for either for his death.

“It has become obvious beyond a reasonable doubt that the Fulani zealots have no incriminating evidence against him. They aim to imprison Nnamdi Kanu indefinitely without a trial praying for either for his death or handing his fraudulent prosecution to the next administration and wash their hand like Pontius Pilate,” part of the read.

Part of the letter read, “For nearly a year, Nnamdi Kanu has been punished by indefinite detention in solitary confinement and denied access to needed nutrition, medical care, and counsel of choice in violation of international human rights law and the Nigerian Constitution. (The Fulani government notoriously honors the Constitution in the breach rather than in the observance). Nnamdi Kanu has also been denied his rights to a public, prompt, and fair trial before an impartial judge.

“The Fulani have amended the charges against Nnamdi Kanu three times. They remain infinitely vague. They trespass on the universally recognized international law right of every people to self-determination exalted in Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 3 of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 61/295, Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007). Notwithstanding armies of lawyers and investigators, the Fulani remain unprepared for trial after the elapse of more than 11 months since Nnamdi Kanu’s detention in Abuja. There still is no trial date.”

Fein, who is Nnamdi Kanu’s international lawyer and spokesperson further warned Ohanaeze, “Face up to your legal and moral responsibilities as professed Biafran leaders. Do not show your heels when danger appears.

“To whom much is given, much will be required. Luke 12:48. All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men and women to do nothing.

“Nnamdi Kanu is one of you – born on the same soil, raised on the same food, buoyed by the same music and dances, and nurtured by the same culture, inspired by the same flag. He has risked that last full measure of devotion (including dodging bullets of would-be assassins) to deliver the Biafran people from the cruel oppressions and genocide of the Fulani-controlled Government of Nigeria like Moses and Pharaoh in the Old Testament.”

Fein said the prosecution climbed to a new level of farce on May 25, 2022, adding, “A bail hearing had been set by Justice Binta Nyako for May 26. Bail has been denied on the preposterous theory that Nnamdi Kanu previously jumped bail in September 2017 when he barely escaped an assassination attempt by exercising his unalienable right to self-preservation when Nigerian security forces riddled his residence with bullets murdering many others. An Abia High Court has awarded Nnamdi Kanu 5 billion naira for that flagrant and notorious violation of fundamental rights.

“The day before the bail hearing, Justice Nyako announced through the court Registrar that she had become “indisposed” and had adjourned the case another month to June 28, 2022. Couldn’t the Justice concoct a better excuse, like affliction with Covid? “Indisposed” means a mild illness that passes in days. A more likely explanation is that Attorney General Abubakar Malami, acting on the instructions of President Muhammadu Buhari, ordered Nyako to again postpone the proceedings because the prosecution has no case.

“Depend upon it. Without public denunciation of Nnamdi Kanu’s continued political persecution thundering like a hammer on an anvil demanding his release and a dismissal of the manufactured charges with prejudice, the June 28 bail hearing will also be postponed ad infinitum. Nnamdi Kanu’s cruel punishment without trial will persist in notorious violation of the Nigerian Constitution and international law.

“You collectively, have a legal and moral duty to speak out publicly against this travesty of justice that daily inflicts great misery on the Biafran people. Do not become traitors to the noble cause. Risk a tiny fraction of what Nnamdi Kanu has risked to regain Biafran sovereignty. It was stolen by the British over a century ago and the Fulani have refused to restore it by resorting to genocide.

“Silence is not acceptable. Neutrality between the firefighter and the fire is not an option. You cannot escape the judgment of history. Show you are made of sterner stuff than quislings.”

Recall that last June, Nnamdi Kanu was kidnapped, tortured for several days, and extraordinarily renditioned from Nairobi to Abuja in a criminal conspiracy between Nigeria and Kenya.

Fein advised, “The conspiracy was part of an ongoing Nigerian genocide of Biafrans prohibited by the Genocide Convention. The aim is to exterminate them through killings, rape, plunder, starvation, theft of real and personal property, and a collective denial of livelihood.”

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Abike Dabiri returns to Twitter after nearly a year offline – with numerous awards

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The Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa is back on Twitter almost a year after her account was hacked.

The broadcast journalist-turned-politician announced her return to the social media platform on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

It would be recalled that on June 15, 2023, the NiDCOM chairman informed Nigerians that her X account formerly known as Twitter, had been “hacked by some unscrupulous elements.”

She said the “obvious aim of the hackers is to spread falsehood and fake news in her name.”

In a statement by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the commission’s Head of Media, Public Relations, and Protocols Unit, Dabiri-Erewa advised Nigerians to disregard any message from the account.

“Members of the public are hereby advised to ignore any message from the Twitter handle @Abike Dabiri-Erewa until normalcy is hopefully restored,” the statement read in part.

Announcing her return in a short video showing numerous award plaques, the three-term member of the House of Representatives said she looks forward to meaningful engagement on the social media platform.

She said, “Hi everyone, Abike-Dabiri-Erewa here. I’m back on Twitter. After my account was hacked, I did my very best to get my account back. I mean, it’s not easy to lose over a million followers, but hey, that’s life but I’m back on X. I am looking forward to meaningful engagements on the X platform. It’s nice to be back.”

Meanwhile, Dabiri-Erewa’s hacked account is still active on X. The account which is being used to propagate Islamic content has over 800,000 followers.

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Some youth trading crypto are unaware they’re being used to fund terrorism, says Olukoyede

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Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says some youths who trade in cryptocurrencies do not know that they are being used to fund terrorism in Nigeria.

Olukoyede spoke on Wednesday during a multi-stakeholders’ national dialogue on preventing terrorism financing and violent extremism.

The EFCC chair said some of the people who receive money to trade in cryptocurrencies do not know that their financiers are sponsors of terrorism.

He added that some of the 1,146 bank accounts recently frozen by the anti-graft agency were conduits for terrorism funding.

“Some of you are aware of our activities in the area of investigating virtual currency trading and the likes of cryptocurrencies,” he said.

“They are potential platforms to fund terrorism. A lot of us don’t understand that. Some of our discoveries during investigation of some of these platforms were mind boggling.

“We thought Binance was a major one. Yes, it was. We are prosecuting them. But there are other platforms we have discovered.

“They used some of these young men. Some of them don’t know that the people who gave them money to trade are people who fund terrorism.”

The EFCC boss said there is a need to adopt technology in tracking money used to fund terrorism in the country.

Olukoyede narrated how he was informed by a friend in the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that dollar bills across the world can be tracked with technology.

“It is important for us to adopt the use of technology,” he said.

“I was comparing notes with an assistant director in the FBI — a friend of mine. He said: ‘My brother, from our systems in the US, we can track every printed dollar anywhere in the world’.”

The EFCC boss added that Nigeria must get to that stage where technology can be deployed to track naira notes used for terrorism financing.

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FCCPC seals warehouse with mislabelled, expired products in Ekiti

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The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says a warehouse selling harmful products in Ekiti state was raided and sealed on Wednesday.

In a post on X, FCCPC said the raid was carried out after receiving intelligence reports that there were unsafe and expired products in the warehouse located in Ado-Ekiti.

After confirming the reports, FCCPC said the place was sealed.

“Following intelligence reports, our operatives raided a warehouse suspected of selling harmful products, including vegetable oils, cereals and other fast-moving consumer goods,” the commission said.

“During the raid, the FCCPC found evidence of expired goods still on the shelves, deceptive labels on products, fake barcodes, and repackaged, potentially unsafe products.

“The warehouse is now sealed, and the owners along with a supplier are being investigated. Appropriate enforcement actions will follow.”

The commission said it would remain vigilant in protecting consumers and ensuring a fair marketplace in Nigeria.

On April 18, FCCPC raided two 4U Signature supermarkets in the Wuse area of Abuja.

The supermarkets were accused of overcharging customers by implementing prices different from those listed on the shelf tags.

Four days after the supermarket was sealed, FCCPC summoned the owners of Royal Choice, a Chinese supermarket in Abuja, for allegedly refusing to sell to Nigerians.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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