Court remands herdsman in Ekiti State

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A judge's gavel rests on top of a desk inside a courtroom. (AFP/Joe Raedle)<br />

• Delta police boss warns against jungle justice

An Ado Ekiti Chief Magistrate’s Court has remanded a herdsman, Abubakar Usman, for illegal grazing and destruction of a cassava farmland.Police prosecutor, Bankole Olasunkanmi, told the court that Abubakar (30) and others at large, committed the offence sometimes in December at Iyemero Farm Settlement camp ‎in Iyemero-Ekiti in Ikole Local Council of the state.

Olasunkanmi said the accused unlawfully allowed his cattle to graze on the 70 hectares cassava farmland property of Bunmi Akingba, valued at N25 million. He said the offence contravened Section 2 (i) and punishable under Section 7 of Prohibition of Cattle ‎and other Ruminants Grazing, Ekiti State Law 2016.

The prosecutor also said that the accused and others at large, had in their possession offensive weapons contrary to Section 4(1) of the Prohibition of Cattle and other Ruminants Grazing of Ekiti and Punishable under Section 11 of Ekiti State Kidnap and Terrorism (Prohibition) Law 2015.

Olasunkanmi told the court that he had forwarded the case file to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice. No plea was taken.

Chief Magistrate Idowu Ayenimo remanded the accused in prison till the outcome from DPP office. He adjourned the case till March 3 for mention.Meanwhile, Delta State Commissioner of Police, Zanna Ibrahim, has warned the people against embarking on jungle justice, especially taking laws into their hands or getting involved in criminal activities.
 
He gave the warning yesterday against the backdrop of recent attacks and alleged killing of herdsmen by youths in some parts of the state, noting that the resort to jungle justice was uncivilized, criminal and impedes the course of peace and security. He stressed that the people should learn to seek legal redress whenever they feel wronged.
 
Ibrahim also frowned at the attitude of the herdsmen who provocatively graze their cattle on people’s farmlands and warned them to refrain from such criminal acts, stressing that any herdsman caught destroying people’s crops, molesting, or preventing farmers from accessing their farmlands or bearing firearms or any other dangerous weapons, will be arrested and brought to book.
   
Meanwhile, the police commissioner reassured Deltans of the readiness and willingness of the police and other security agencies in the state to continually discharge their duties responsibly and called on citizens to cooperate with the security agencies towards ensuring that peace and security prevails in every part of the state.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2l1Ekn5

Showdown as citizens take to the streets to stand with Buhari, Tuface

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<img src="http://ift.tt/2kvZzjm&quot; alt="" width="1280" height="720" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-238586" srcset="http://ift.tt/2kvZzjm 1280w,http://ift.tt/2jJE8a0 640w,http://ift.tt/2kw4xg9 1062w,http://ift.tt/2jJFFwW 320w,http://ift.tt/2kw4v81 281w,http://ift.tt/2jJynZS 562w,http://ift.tt/2kw3H2F 531w,http://ift.tt/2jJIGNL 487w,http://ift.tt/2kvZsEc 974w,http://ift.tt/2jJzNDN 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px"http://cdn.gdn.ng/, Nigerians will be sharply divided into three distinct groups – #IStandWithBuhari, #IStandWithTuface and #IStandWithNigeria. All three will be stomping the streets in a popularity contest from Sunday.

Of the three, #IStandWithTuface, a sort of 2012 remake of #OccupyNigeria and #EnoughisEnough fuel subsidy protest, is leading the pack in popularity and resilience, as the other two appear to be a belated afterthought in response to the growing acceptance of a movement that may well define public consciousness and shape the next general elections in 2019.

The missions of the three groups are well stated. Popular music icon, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as Tuface, is leading a nationwide protest against the government and for good governance; a group, which sponsors are yet to be unveiled, #IStandWithBuhari immediately launched a counter protest in support of the government; while a fairly unknown group, led by those who refuse to be bystanders in the emerging power show, is floating #IStandWithNigeria.

The third group will on Monday, February 6, assembly by 8:00a.m. at the National Stadium, Surulere in Lagos and march to the National Theatre, Iganmu. According to Bemigbo Awala, one of the organisers, “we are marching on the two national icons that epitomize our decline as a nation.

“We want to state very clearly and peacefully that #IStandWithNigeria and the country must work for all of us and all of us must work for Nigeria,” he wrote on his Facebook page yesterday.

Ahead of the clash of the mega rallies, it has been a feverish war on the social media space with each canvassing for supporters and maligning the others.

The group in support of the government had on Wednesday in a Facebook post stirred some controversy when it announced its nationwide solidarity rally for February 5 to take place on the same day Tuface had earlier fixed his protest march.

Not taking the bait, the #IStandWithTuface group immediately shifted their rally to Monday, February 6, to avoid some clash with the president’s supporters, while announcing they intend to hold the march on the day President Muhammadu Buhari would be returning to the country from his 10-day vacation in London.

Despite the controversies generated by the much-publicized protest, including the warning by the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, stopping the protest, the ‘African Queen’ crooner yesterday vowed to go ahead with the protest.

Meanwhile, the police have been advised to desist from becoming tyrannical by attempting to stop the Tuface Idibia-led rally. A pro-democracy and Non-Governmental Organization, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) said the Nigeria police should not attempt to stop an idea whose time has come just as it affirmed that the peaceful nation-wide rallies called by the reputable social crusader and musician, Idibia is in compliance with a plethora of human rights provisions enshrined in the Chapter 4 of the Nigerian Constitution.

In the same vein, activist-lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, yesterday said the police cannot stop the planned mass rally organised by the popular musician, saying it is an attempt to intimidate those who wish to partake in the rally.

“For the information of the police commissioner, Nigeria is a democratic country governed strictly in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution. Section 39 of the Constitution grants freedom of expression, including the right to be heard and disseminate information.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kvPqD4