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Justice Crack remanded in DSS facility, protesters take over besiege court
It was a rowdy situation at the premises of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, on the day the Department of State Services (DSS), finally brought Justice Mark Chidiebere, a social media influencer, for arraignment over an alleged attempt to incite soldiers and breach of military social media policy.
The arraignment came close to a week after Chidiebere, popularly known as Justice Crack, who earlier went missing, was tracked in the custody of the Nigerian military authorities, said to be holding him over alleged attempt to incite their personnel.
Joyce Abdulmalik, who presided over the matter, ordered the remand after the popular influencer not guilty to a three-count charge bordering on cybercrime, including circulating false information to the public through his X handle, @JusticeCrack, regarding inadequate feeding of soldiers, with intent to cause annoyance, ill-will and hatred among citizens.
Apart from the first charge, said to be contrary to section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended), he was also slapped with charge of publishing a viral video and statements about the Nigerian Army which generated widespread negative reactions, said to be likely to cause fear and breach of peace, contrary to section 59 of the Criminal Code Act.
On the other hand, Chidiebere was also accused of attempting to commit a felony by publishing what the prosecution described as a derogatory video and statements about the Nigerian Army, an offence punishable under section 509 of the Criminal Code Act.
Orubo, prosecution lawyer, who prayed the court to order his remand in DSS custody, also asked for a fixed date for trial to commence, while Marshall Abubakar, lawyer to the influencer, made an oral bail application.
Abdulmalik, who rejected, the oral application and ordered the defence lawyer to file a formal bail one, also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the DSS, while adjourning the matter till May 25 for the commencement of trial and hearing of bail application.
Chidiebere was arrested by the Nigerian army last week after he shared complaints by some soldiers about their feeding and welfare on social media, which the army found offensive and a threat to national security.
Appolonia Anele, spokesman, had said in a statement that a preliminary report revealed that the soldiers discussed a wide range of issues with Justice Chidiebere, who seemed to be inciting soldiers to create discontent within the system.
Acting Director, Army Public Relations, she said: “An example was a chat bothering on subversion which Chidiebere had with the soldiers. It is important to state that a situation where civilians cultivate vulnerable personnel towards acts of subversion has far-reaching implications on discipline and national security.”
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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