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We’ll defend democracy in Nigeria at all cost – COAS

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The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Nigerian Army (NA) Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja has declared that ‘the only thing better than democracy for Nigeria in this modern era, is more democracy’.

The Army Chief made the declaration today Saturday 5 August 2023, while addressing Officer Cadets at the Passing-out Parade and Commissioning cum Oath Taking Ceremony for Executive Commission Course 1/2023, held at the Major Bulama Biu Parade Ground, Military Cantonment, Jaji, Kaduna.

Speaking further, Gen Lagbaja averred that all officers and men of the Nigerian Army must be reminded that subordination of the military to constituted authority remains the most fashionable means of promoting military professionalism.

A statement by army spokesman Brigadier General Oyema Nwachukwu, quoted the COAS emphasising that the desire of every Nigerian was a flourishing, uninterrupted constitutional democratic governance that would promote national values and the interest of every well-meaning Nigerian, irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliation.

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“I therefore charge all Nigerian Army personnel to be proud champions of our flourishing democracy and remain apolitical in discharging their constitutional duties,” he said adding that the institution remained committed to ensuring the security of lives and property across the country, and working assiduously to protect the territorial integrity of the nation and support relevant security agencies in ensuring the security of lives and property within the country.

The COAS, afterwards, conferred Presidential Commission on the Passing out Cadets, to the rank of Lieutenant, after which the Oath of Allegiance was administered to them at the Lieutenant General Ihejirika Auditorium.

The 239 Passing out Cadets comprising 12 female and 228 male Cadets were already in service as soldiers and were drawn from various Corps of the NA, before they were selected for Executive Commissioning, after three months of intensive military training, spanning1 May to 5 August 2023.

In the passing out ceremony, three Cadets emerged in flying colours amongst their contemporaries. Cadet A Saminu came first in order of merit, while Cadet SC Nwokanta came second and Cadet OY Yahaya bagged the third position.

The Commandant Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Major General Oluyemi Olatoye, who superintended the training of the Cadets, noted that they have been imbued with requisite skills to function as officers.

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He pointed out, that the newly commissioned officers have been trained to be loyal, courageous and dedicated in their service to the nation.

Highpoint of the event was the presentation of Parchment of Commission to the newly commissioned Officers.

All after the Commissioning ceremony, the COAS paid an empathy visit to officers and soldiers who were wounded in action during operational engagements at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna.

 

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BREAKING: Death penalty for fake drugs! *NAFDAC to push new law at NASS

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Those peddling fake and substandard drugs in Nigeria should be ready for the hangman’s noose, if the thinking of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), becomes the new law.

Mojisola Adeyeye, Director General of the body, who said on Friday that no other form of punishment is fitting enough, gave instances of where the application of such dangerous substances in form of health drugs, had led to fatalities.

Advocating that only stiff penalties would deter peddlers especially when deaths of children became involved, the NAFDAC boss, who appeared as a guest on The Morning Brief, a breakfast programme on Channels Television, said: “Somebody bought children’s medicine for N13,000 or something like that, another person was selling about N3,000 in the same mall. 

“That raised an alarm. Guess what? There was nothing inside that medicine when we tested it in our Kaduna lab. So, I want the death penalty. Because you don’t need to put a gun on the head of a child before you kill that child. Just give that child bad medicine.”

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Advocating that the National Assembly and the judiciary to make the proposal a reality, adding that the agency was open to partnering with lawmakers and other stakeholders on the matter, she added: “You cannot fight substandard, falsified medicine in isolation. The agency can do as much as it can but if there is no deterrent, there’s going to be a problem.

“Somebody brought in 225mg of Tramadol that can kill anybody, fry the brain and you give a judgment of five years in prison or N250,000. Who doesn’t know that that person will go to the ATM and get N250,000? That is part of our problem.

“There are no strict measures to deter [people] from repeating the same thing. We can do as much as we can but if our law is not strong enough, or the judiciary is not strong enough to stand up, we’re going to have a problem.

“So, our judiciary system must be strong enough. But we are working with the National Assembly to make our penalties very stiff.  But if you kill a child by bad medicine, you deserve to die. We have a lot on our plate in stemming drug peddling.

“Withe about 2,000 staff members nationwide and limited funding, NAFDAC is constrained in carrying out its activities. So, when it comes to staffing, you’re right on the point. We are short-staffed and I am hoping things will be better.”

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Give us electoral offences tribunal to take care of heist – INEC  

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Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday, made a fresh push for the creation of an electoral offences tribunal, to curb the cases of attacks on the Nigerian democratic system.

Mahmood Yakubu, INEC Chairman, told reporters at the commission’s first regular quarterly consultative meeting with the media that the tribunal had become important owing to the backlog of electoral offence cases.

He said: “A major obstacle to the speedy dispensation of justice in this regard is that electoral offences are not time-bound as is the case with post-election offences through the tribunals. Furthermore, they are solely prosecuted by the Magistrate and State High Courts in the jurisdiction where the alleged offences are committed,” the INEC chief told the gathering.

“No priority attention is given to such cases as the courts deal with a variety of other cases. Consequently, electoral offences are carried over from one General Election to another which may sometimes affect the diligent prosecution of the cases. It is therefore imperative to renew our call for the creation of the Electoral Offences Tribunal that have a specific jurisdiction and limited timeframe for the speedy dispensation of cases.”

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Bemoaning the delay in the justice delivery system, citing the conviction of a returning officer in Akwa Ibom after six years in court, the INEC boss, said: “The recent successful prosecution of a Returning Officer in Akwa Ibom State is a case in point.

“The Commission has been diligently pursuing the case which arose from the 2019 General Election. In this particular case, it took nearly six years to achieve the successful prosecution at the trial court.

“Through our collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) cases involving 774 alleged offenders from the 2023 General Election are being prosecuted. So far, successful prosecutions have been recorded in Kebbi and Kogi States while our collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on vote-buying has yielded similar results in Lagos, Kwara, and Gombe States. Yet, many cases are still pending.”

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Again, terrorists attack Sokoto, kidnap 10 worshippers at a mosque

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A mosque in Bushe community, Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State, fell into the hands of bandits on Friday, after which 10 worshippers including the Imam were spirited away, adding to growing cases of terrorist attacks.

Channels Television reports that the gunmen invaded the mosque on Thursday while worshippers were performing their early morning Subhi prayer, quoting residents as saying that the gunmen had been molesting the people of the community for some time now, even with the presence of security agents.

Ahmed Rufai, spokesman of the Sokoto State Police Command, who confirmed the attack on Friday, said the police authorities were working with other security agencies to rescue the abducted victims.

A member of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, representing the Sabon Birni B state Constituency who also confirmed the attack, commended the security agencies for their timely intervention.

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