RELEASE (5)

Pressure increases from IBB groups to release Accused

The presidency has directed the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to liaise with the Lagos State government to look at the legal implications of the long standing trial of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former chief security officer (CSO) to former Head of State, late General Sani Abacha, to ensure that justice is done to both victims and the accused.

A source in the presidency said that the directive was based on a report recently submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan by a team of senior lawyers advising the president to ensure that justice is done to the former CSO, who has been standing trial since 1999 over the alleged killing of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola and attempted murder of the publisher of The Guardian, Olorogun Alex Ibru.

The report claims that the foot-dragging over the trial of Mustapha amounted to justice denied. It said the only way the government could ensure fairness and justice in the murder case was to ensure that one party did not suffer injustice.

The report further advised that there is urgent need to advise the Lagos State government, the prosecutor to discontinue the case if it does not have sufficient evidence to prosecute the matter.

"Since the presidency cannot directly ask the Lagos State government to discontinue the case, it can only advise. And the minister of justice has been advised to liaise with the Lagos State government," the source added.

A coalition of ethnic nationalities in the country recently called for an unconditional release of Major Al-Mustapha.

Speaking at a joint news conference addressed by the founder of the Oodua People's Congress (OPC), Dr. Fredrick Fasehun; the leaders of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Shettima Yerima; the Niger-Delta Volunteers Force (NDVF), Alhaji Dokubo Asari; and the Igbo Youth Congress (IYC), Comrade Bright Ezeocha , the leaders said the prolonged detention of Al-Mustapha was an injustice.

Two weeks ago, ex-military despot Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, also called for Al-Mustapha immediate release during a campaign trip, in South-West, of Nigeria. According sources, IBB remarked, if the government cannot make-up their mind on whether going for their trial or their unconditional aquittal, is pretty much like, ”justice delayed which, is justice denied”, reports added.

They called on Jonathan to invoke the prerogative of mercy clause in the constitution to grant amnesty and liberty to him and those detained with him.

According to the coalition, the 12 years Mustapha has spent in detention, represent 18 years in the normal prison calendar, making him the longest serving solitary detainee in the nation's history. His useful years, they said, were being frittered away.

The leaders spoke at Fasehun's Century Hotel, Okota, Lagos, recently. Over 500 members of the ethnic militia groups were at the occasion.

Addressing reporters on behalf of the group, Fasehun condemned everything the successive governments had done in Al-Mustapha's case. He said the government's position contradicts the nation's position as a signatory to the United Nation, Commonwealth, African and West African Charters, Conventions and Resolutions on Human Rights, Torture, Detention and Imprisonment.

The injustice of Major Al-Mustapha's detention, Fasehun said, had become a source of disgrace to millions of Nigerians at home and abroad. He said the issue had become an international embarrassment and disgrace to Nigerians and the nation's judicial systems.

He added: "More embarrassing is the fact that all the witnesses that the state has pushed forward in the court of law had by and large debunked the allegations leveled against these gentlemen.

"Time has come to terminate this national disgrace and lunacy. We hereby appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to wade into this matter in the name of all that is good.
Read more…

Lagbaja to release four videos

Veiled musician, Lagbaja has been quiet for sometime now, with many even insinuating that he may have left everything behind to settle down in the US. But, as e-Punch discovered early this week, the masked man has been busy working on new materials: songs, videos, and other music-related stuff. And, with plans to unleash them soon, we shouldn‘t be too surprised to see him shouting out loud by mid-year.

A source close to the band tells us Lagbaja will release four new videos in the coming weeks; all at the same time. ”The videos are ready. We‘re just waiting for the right time to release them,‘‘ said our source.

Apart from Bling Bling panda which we gather is one of the videos to expect, it‘s uncertain what the other tracks are..
Read more…
My son must not die -Yar'Adua's mother *Tells Turai to release her son *To meet with OBJ, Gowon

FOLLOWING the refusal of the First Lady, Hajia Turai Yar'Adua, to allow top politicians, including the relatives of the ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua to see her husband, who was secretly brought into the country after spending three months in a Saudi Arabian hospital, the mother of the president, Hajia Dada


Unusual disrespect to lead her husband in the religion they both practice, not to mention President of a nation

advertisement

Yar'Adua, has called on eminent Nigerians to prevail on Hajia Turai to release her son to her.

Similarly, the president's mother has vowed to hold her daughter in-law responsible if anything unwholesome happens to her son.

A source close to the family in Katsina disclosed that the president's mother has started making frantic efforts to meet with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former military head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, as well as other eminent Nigerians, who were close to President Yar'Adua's late brother, General Sheu Musa Yar'Adua, to help appeal to the first lady to drop her recalcitrant attitude, and bring home the ailing Nigerian leader.

According to the source, Turai had locked the door of Aso Rock against the president's mother, thus preventing her from seeing her son. He added that the woman, who had become troubled since her son took ill, had sent emissaries to Ota Farm to meet Chief Obasanjo in order to make him see her plight and prevail on the first lady to change her mind.

The woman, according to the source, revealed that the health status of president Yar'Adua had always been a source of worry to her, noting that the president had been battling with health challenges, as he was afflicted with a certain skin disease at birth, adding that the president's illness, which has been given much media attention in recent times, could be cured locally.

She said Turai's hard stance on access to her husband had made things worse, as President Yar'Adua's health condition had suffered in the process.

The source said that President Yar'Adua's mother did not want her son disgraced from office, noting that it was better for him to die and be given full presidential honours, than being disgraced out of office.

It will be recalled that the president's mother, in the wake of the president's latest sickness, after he was flown to Saudi Arabia, had urged the first lady to leave her son alone and allow him to resign from office on the grounds of his ill health.
Read more…
Sade returns at 51 with first album release for a decadeWith a £40million fortune maintained by daily airplay of some of her earliest hits, singer Sade Adu has been more than happy to maintain a low profile over the years.But the singer has let go of some of her desire for anonymity as she is set to make a return to the spotlight with her first album in ten years, Soldier Of Love.Sade, was seen leaving BBC Radio 2 on the weekend, and despite her advancing years, now aged 51, the singer still maintains the striking looks that gained her a legion of fans.The singer born Helen Folasade Adu in Nigeria, is promoting her new release, Soldier Of Love, which will be her first album in ten years.Buzz is building around the recently released video for the title track and single which shares the same name as that of the highly anticipated album.Sade is in seen in the video as a commander of a group of male military styled dancers, looking remarkably youthful, and still in fine voice.A source told the Mirror: 'She is unique compared to other artists. She just wants to make music, and she's not interested in publicity.'A fierce desire to protect her private life means she rarely gives interviews. And friends even nicknamed her 'Howie' after the reclusive American billionaire Howard Hughes.But she will always break cover to tour for her fans.She has said: 'If you just do TV or video, then you become a tool of the record industry.'It’s when I get on stage with the band and we play that I know that people love the music.'Sade's huge fortune - she has sold 50million records - has allowed her to disappear from sight, and she runs around in a 10-year-old Mercedes, preferring the company of old friends.It is eight years since Sade last made a public appearance - at Buckingham Palace to collect an OBE in 2002.She now lives mainly in a mansion in the Gloucestershire countryside with her new partner, said to be a scientist.The singer has spent most of the last decade as a full-time mother to daughter Ila, 14, from her relationship with a Jamaican record producer.Sade's friend Sophie Muller, whom she met at St Martin's Art College, in London, directed the striking video for the single Soldier of Love.The album is released in the UK on February 9th.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1245959/Reclusive-singer-Sade-returns-album-release-decade.html#ixzz0diJzbKD8
Read more…
Are You Feeding Your Soul? Are you happy with what you see when you look in the mirror? And I’m not talking about your physical body when I ask this question — I’m talking about your spiritual body. Has your soul been getting the nourishment it needs to grow in health and strength, or have you deprived it from the Word it so desperately needs? If what you see in the mirror doesn’t even begin to reflect what you know you can be, it’s time to make a change, time to dive into God’s Word and receive all the love and forgiveness He has been waiting to give you . . . a time to release your life into God’s hands. The Word tells us, But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT). You may not like what you see now, but just wait. Rely on God’s faithfulness and perfect timing and begin to make changes when God shows you it is necessary. And soon, you’ll be able to look back and say, “Look where God moved me from. Look what He saved me from. I stand blessed where I am all because of the transforming grace of God.” An Evangelistic Tool The following is an evangelistic tool. Feel free to use this tool to lead someone to the Savior. It can also be used in your church. Tony lead the members of our church through this process, and then commissioned them to offer the good news to those they come in contact with in the course of their day. This is one of our outreach programs for this year. OPENING QUESTION: Has anyone ever shown you from the Bible how you can be sure you are on your way to heaven? Would you allow me to show you? I. First the Bad News a. The Problem: Every person is a sinner before a Holy God and unable to save themselves (Romans 3:10, 23). b. The Penalty: Every person is under the sentence of death and will be forever separated from God because of their sin (Romans 5:12; 6:23). I. Now the Good News a. The Provision: Through the substitutionary sacrificial death of Christ, God has addressed the sin problem for us (Romans 5:8, 17-21). b. The Pardon: God offers a free pardon and eternal life to all who place faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation (Romans 10:9-10; 4:4-5). CLOSING QUESTION: Would you like to trust the Lord Jesus Christ right now as your personal Savior? PRAYER: Lord Jesus thank You for dying on the cross for my sins and rising from the dead to save me. By transferring my total trust to You alone as my Savior, I now receive the forgiveness for my sins and the free gift of eternal life that You offered me.
Read more…

Blog Topics by Tags

  • in (506)
  • to (479)
  • of (339)
  • ! (213)
  • as (166)
  • is (157)
  • a (156)

Monthly Archives