Top Nigerian Newspapers Headlines For Today, Monday, 18th October, 2021

Good morning Nigeria, welcome to Naija News roundup of top newspapers headlines in Nigeria for today, Monday, 18th October 2021

The Nigerian Airforce has denied allegations that it paid ₦20million to bandits operating in Jibia, Katsina State in order to recover an anti-aircraft gun from the bandit terrorists.

Naija News had earlier reported that the Wall Street Journal had claimed NAF paid bandits the huge sum to reclaim the gun in other to prevent the terrorists from using it to attack President Muhammadu Buhari’s Plane.

But in a statement on Sunday by Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, Director of NAF Public Relations and Information titled ‘NAF Did Not Make Any Payment To Bandits In Exchange For Weapons’, NAF debunked the report.

The Air Force stated that it had carried out attacks on the said forest, stressing that there was no need to negotiate with bandits when it is on the offensive.

Former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has again advocated for the creation of state police in Nigeria.

He argued that the central police system which Nigeria is running within its federal system has collapsed and is unable to handle the current security challenges in the country.

According to him, this is why in recent times, the military has been brought in to handle security situations that ordinarily, should have been the responsibility of the police.

Ekweremadu who spoke to newsmen on Sunday in Yola, the Adamawa State capital on the sidelines of a church thanksgiving service he attended in Bekaji area, said Nigeria needs to drop the unitary system of policing which is no longer working and embrace workable systems as other countries of the world are doing.

He argued that it is wrong for Nigeria to be running a federal system of government and insist on a unitary system of policing.

The Kogi State Police Command has commenced investigations into a trending video of four officers allegedly extorting the sum of N25,000 from a traveller.

According to reports, security operatives attached to Adogo Division, while on patrol duty along Adogo-Okene road, allegedly carried out the act which attracted outrage.

A press released issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP William Ovye Aya on Sunday, said “the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, CP Idrisu Dauda Dabban while condemning the incident, noted that the Police officers have been identified and detained at the State Criminal Investigations Department.

“The officers according to Aya are: ASP Isah Barnabas, Inspector Ifediegwu Godwin, Sgt Emmanuel Ochima and CPL Umameh Mathias.

“He said The Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) has been issued an official query while the three (3) other junior officers are currently undergoing orderly room trial (Police internal disciplinary actions).

The Nigerian Senate has distanced itself from insinuations that the recent directive for political parties to employ the use of direct primary was targeted at state governors.

This position was made known by the spokesperson of the Senate, Ajibola Basiru who submitted that the decision of the lawmakers to approve the direct primary clause in the 2010 Electoral Act (amendment) Bill 2021 was to strengthen democratic participation and not to pitch the governors against the lawmakers.

According to Basiru, the direct primaries for political parties will encourage members to participate directly in choosing their representatives at different levels.

Naija News recalls that as part of adjustments made to the electoral act bill, the Senate last Tuesday approved that all political parties must use the direct primary mode in picking candidates.

However, the move has continued to generate mixed reactions from stakeholders.

Reacting to the saga, Senator Basiru while defending the position of the lawmakers said the directive was not against the Governors, neither is it targeted at reducing their influence.

He also rejected insinuations that the lawmakers intentionally used the direct primary clause to limit the ability of the state governors to influence delegates in their favour when direct primary is employed by the political parties.

Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State has slammed the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, for claiming that he funded his campaign and was instrumental to his victory in the 2019 elections.

Naija News reports that the minister at a political event in the state, in July, said he raised a major part of the funds for the governor’s election in the 2019 elections in the state.

Mohammed added that the governor has failed to keep to the promises he made to him and other party leaders in the state, saying the APC entered “one chance” by supporting his candidacy.

But in an interview with THISDAY, Abdulrazaq described the minister as a “liar and noisemaker”, who cannot win an election in his ward in the state.

The governor stated that Mohammed is only good at making “noise” on social media and not working for the development of Kwara and its citizens.

The suspended National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus says he’s not backing out of the court case against the party until justice is served.

He however added that he is not against the PDP itself but against those who want to destroy the party by their actions.

Additionally, Secondus in the statement on Sunday through his media adviser, Ike Abonyi said he is not under any pressure to withdraw the case from the court as been speculated in certain quarters.

According to him, the PDP leaders are also aware of what is going on but choose to play mind games with the situation.

Sixteen Army Generals, comprising of nine Major Generals and seven Brigadier Generals, ‘arbitrarily’ sacked by the Nigerian Army in 2016 for not justifiable reasons have been technically eased out of the service.

This is despite the interventions of Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, court orders and the National Assembly.

It was gathered that the affected generals have reached their run-out date this year and cannot be reinstated into the military.

The affected military generals were among the 38 Army Officers that were compulsorily retired on 9 June 2016 without any good reason.

Several attempts by AGF Malami to resolve the impasse between the Army Generals and their military authorities were also futile.

According to PRNigeria, the Army Council, then presided by the trio of Mr. Mohammed Mansur Dan-Alli (then Minister for Defence), General AG Olonsakin (then Chief of Defence Staff) and Lt Gen TY Buratai (then Chief of Army Staff) sat and announced the compulsory retirement of the 38 Army officers.

Spiritual Director, Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria, AMEN, Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka has advised the federal government to release Nnamdi Kanu.

Naija News reports that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is currently cooling his feet in the detention of the Department of State Service, DSS, which has resulted in the continuous sit-at-home in the southeast.

The sit-at-home which was initially initiated to protest the arrest and detention of Nnamdi Kanu but was later cancelled by IPOB has continued to cripple economic activities in the southeast.

Father Mbaka in a now-viral video during a sermon stated that the release of the pro-Biafra activist will end the sit-at-home order in some parts of the south-east.

The clergyman stated that Kanu cannot continue to remain in DSS custody forever.

President Muhammadu Buhari has been dragged to court over his administration’s plans to monitor Whatsapp messages of Nigerians with N4.8 billion.

In the breakdown of the 2021 budget, the Nigerian Government had budgeted the above funds for the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to spy on Whatsapp messages and Thuraya calls of Nigerians.

Not happy with the move, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) filed a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari for planning to infringe on the rights of Nigerians.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1240/2021 and filed on Friday before a Federal High Court in Abuja, SERAP is seeking the court to declare the plan to monitor WhatsApp “unconstitutional”.

In a statement on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said the plan to “monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages fails to meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.”

Nigeria’s envoy to Chad and the Lake Chad basin region, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, has stated that Nigeria’s unity is negotiable.

Naija News reports that the former Vice Presidential Candidate stated this while speaking at The Sun Newspapers 2020 Awards in Lagos, on Saturday.

According to the former Ambassador to Cyprus, Greece and Pakistan, even the union between a husband and wife is negotiable.

He however warned that even if the country is divided no land will be taken from one place to another as everyone would be required to remain in the same place.

Those are the top Nigerian newspapers headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.

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