News
Nigeria facing political banditry, Tinubu playing motor park politics – Bakare
What Nigeria is witnessing today is political banditry coupled to motor park politics adopted by President Bola Tinubu, Tunde Bakare, fiery pastor, politician and founder of and Serving Overseer of The Citadel Global Community Church, said on Sunday.
Bakare, once vice presidential candidate to Muhammadu Buhari, under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), before the latter became President in 2015 and stayed in office till 2023, warned about the dangers of Nigeria toeing a line in which Tinubu would have limitless powers.
“No man is wise enough nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power.’ Please, stop playing God,” Bakare said on Sunday while taking out time during his sermons at the church’s Easter service to address some burning issues in the country, including the rumbles in the National Assembly, particularly the Senate.
Bakare, who bemoaned the situation in which the National Assembly had become a ministry in Tinubu’s cabinet, had this to say: “To the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under whose brand of politics the institution of legislative oversight is collapsing and our democracy is faced with an existential threat, I say: Mr. President, Nigeria is too delicate for this kind of politics.
“If this state capture was what you meant by emi lo kan, it is an anti-climax that can only be counterproductive in the end. I urge you, Mr. President, to think deeply and reflect on these words: ‘No man is wise enough nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power.’ Please, stop playing God!”
Bakare who cited the endorsement of emergency rule in Rivers State and the case of Natasha Akpoti-Uduagha, spared no unkind words in berating the 10th Senate under the leadership of Godswill Akpabio, particularly, dubbing it as the worst so far in the history of the country, for its decision to be in the pocket of Tinubu.
Hear him: “Fellow citizens, at the centre of this political banditry, is the motor-park brand of politics nurtured by the old brigade politicians and in recent times, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Mr. President, it is through your influence that the Nigerian National Assembly has become a haven for legislative rascality.
“Mr. President, it is under your watch that the National Assembly has become an extension of the Executive, grossly violating the principles of separation of powers and rubber-stamping the whims and caprices of your office alwise singing the international anthem of sycophants – on your mandate we shall stand. Mr. President, thanks to your political machinations, Nigeria is now bedeviled by a captured National Assembly – the most ineffective in its checks and balances role since the start of the Fourth Republic.
“In 2006, the fourth National Assembly had the audacity to reject the tenure extension bid of a seating President. In 2010, the sixth National Assembly, summoned the courage to stand against the power-hijacking cabal and restore Nigeria to the part of constitutionality, by invoking the doctrine of Necessity. In 2011, the House of Representatives of the Seventh National Assembly, had the courage to elect its leaders as did the Senate of the eighth National Assembly in 2015, defying executive interference.
“This National Assembly, the 10th, has by its unconstitutional endorsement of the President’s abuse of powers, proven to be the most spineless in our recent history. Through its actions and inactions, the National Assembly has, in effect, become the 48th member of the president’s cabinet.
“While a cabinet minister has, more or less, become a third-term state governor in Rivers State, pampered by the indulgences of the President, recent events have made it clear that had this Assembly been in place in 2006, when the Third Term Agenda was proposed, our democracy would have since morphed into one of Africa’s lamentable tales of sit-tight dictatorship.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed the judgement of the federal high court in Abuja nullifying the timelines issued for the conduct of party primaries and the nomination of candidates.
Alex Izinyon SAN, leading a team of lawyers of the commission in a notice of appeal dated May 25, raised nine grounds it urged the appellate court to consider and vacate the judgment the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered on May 20.
Apart from raising the issue of jurisdiction, which it said the lower court did not determine, INEC also maintained that the legal action the Youth Party (YP) initiated against it was not only hypothetical but academic.
Arguing that failure of the trial court to make pronouncements on the issues, resulted in the denial of fair hearing to the Appellant, the commission also stressed the lower court misinterpreted the provisions of the electoral act.
It said: “The high court erred in law when it held that: ‘It is clear from the wordings of Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the following can be understood. Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 mandates Political Parties to submit the names of candidates in prescribed forms of the candidates who emerged from its valid primaries which such a political party intends to sponsor at the elections, not later than 120 days before the date of the General Election.
“What is required of Political Parties to do under the Electoral Act, 2026 is to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 21 days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, or any conference or meeting convened for the election of its executive committees, other governing bodies for nominating candidates.
“The Defendant is not mandated to impose a timeframe for political parties to conduct their primaries provided that it will be done and submitted not later than the 120 days provided by the Electoral Act, 2026. See Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.”
It was another day of misery in Kwara State, when daredevil terrorists reportedly stormed Yashikira Community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, and as has been the case in many of the attacks, abducting scores of residents including women and children.
But, apparently to register their authority, the gunmen, who were said to have operated for hours without challenge from the security operatives, were said to have torched the palace of the Emir.
The attackers, which reportedly occurred late Sunday night were said to have announced their presence through heavy firing and after storming the palace of the monarch during the period, set it on fire before whisking away their victims, but a similar attempt at the police station in the community, was repelled.
While some of the residents, narrated how the spent hours without resistance, leaving behind destruction and fear in the border community, another account said the villagers were caught unawares as the gunmen invaded the town under the cover of darkness.
However operatives made up of the police and military personnel, were said to have launched a manhunt immediately for the immediate rescue of the victims, including throwing a cordon in the area as part of the mission.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: Makinde, Turaki, lose! *S’Court affirms Wike’s PDP leadership
-
News2 weeks agoTinubu to African leaders: Copy Nigeria, produce your way out of poverty
-
Features4 weeks agoJim Nwobodo: The Sun shines, thrills, at ‘The Vanguard Awards’
-
News6 days agoBREAKING: US-Nigeria troops slaughter 175 ISWAP fighters
-
News2 weeks agoWhy we pegged presidential ticket forms at N60million – NDC
-
Columns3 days agoDear General Gowon: That apology you’re running from is your nemesis
-
News2 weeks agoGowon on civil war: My book is to put records straight, remove falsehood
-
News2 weeks agoBREAKING! Coast brightens for Obi, as NDC zones presidency to South