Olubadan denies installing Eze Ndigbo in Ibadan

Oba Adetunji

The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, says he has not installed an Eze Ndigbo for the Igbo community in Ibadan as being speculated in some quarters.

The clarification was made in a statement issued in Ibadan on Tuesday by the monarch’s spokesman, Mr Adeola Oloko.

The statement described the monarch as a law abiding citizen and was bound by the court ruling on the issue.
It stressed that there was never a time that the Olubadan conferred the chieftaincy title of Eze Ndigbo on anyone or recognised anybody as the leader of the Igbo in Ibadan.

The statement urged all residents of the state to remain law-abiding all the time.
Meanwhile, the Popoyemoja Descendants Union led by Alhaji Abass Asanpa has called on the people of Ibadan to cooperate with the monarch.

Congratulating the Olubadan on his ascension to the throne, Asanpa prayed God to make Adetunji’s dream of an Ibadan State and Ibadan International Airport a reality during his reign. (N

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Kaduna govt seeks death penalty for 256 shiites

Shiites members

The Kaduna State Government on Tuesday arraigned another batch of 91 members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) before a Kaduna High Court, seeking death sentence for the accused.
The government had on April 21 arraigned 50 members of the sect on similar charges.
They were among the 266 sect members arrested during the Shiite/Army clash between Dec. 12 and Dec 14, 2015 in Zaria.

Two Hundred  and fifty six of the arrested persons are facing charges including death sentence, while 10 others are facing other charges in different courts in the state.
They were arraigned on a five-count charge for criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disturbance of public peace and wrongful restrain.

Mr Dari Bayero, who led the prosecution, told Justice Hajara Gwadah that the accused persons were being charged “pursuant to Sections 97, 102, 106, 221 and 256 of the Penal Code Law of Kaduna State.
“My Lord the charge before you is for mention. We humbly apply that the names of the accused persons be called out for identification. My Lord the 1st, 13th, 34th, 39th, 57th , 66th and 70th accused persons are not in court and are absent.

“They were released on bail and are aware of this date particularly the accused person No. 57 who we have proof of service on.

“My Lord the 1st accused person was released on bail to one Ibrahim Haruna who is Resident at Zaria. My Lord we hereby apply for a bench warrant against the 57th accused person.
“My Lord same is also applied against all the accused persons that are absent. I also apply for a short date for further arraignment.“

On his part, Mr Festus Okoye, who led the defence team, said the prosecution had not served any of the accused persons with the charge since the case was filed on March 22, 2016.
“My Lord our first application is that the prosecution should serve the charges on all the accused persons.
“My Lord, the application for bench warrant against the accused persons that are not before the court is not proper. My Lord the 1st accused and his surety were not served with a copy of this charge and hearing notice and thus, are not aware that the matter comes up today.

“The 13th accused person was released because he was critically ill. There is also no evidence that he was served with the charge or hearing notice. The 39th and 70th accused persons were released on bail because they are minors and were not served against today. I don’t have information on the 57th accused person.“
The defence counsel requested the court to order the prosecution to serve the accused persons that were not in court and their sureties.

After listening to the submissions, the Judge issued a bench warrant against the 57th accused person.
“Bench warrant against 57th accused person is hereby granted. Accused persons are to be served personally.
“Case adjourned to June 1, 2016 for arraignment,“ Gwadah declared.

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As Mimiko plays politics, hungry doctors go on strike

Governor Mimiko: plays politics with workers unpaid

Medical doctors and other health workers  in  Ondo State yesterday  began a strike to protest the non-payment of five months outstanding salaries.

Medical personnel, including pharmacists, nurses, laboratory scientists and other allied health workers, marched on major streets in Ondo, Governor Mimiko’s home town.
The doctors, who converged on the Mother and Child Hospital, at 7am closed the gate leading to the hospital.

They carried placards with various inscriptions such as “Pay our salaries “; “Shall we die before you pay us?”; “We are saving lives, pay our salaries and “Save us from hunger” among others.
But as the workers embarked on strike, Governor Mimiko is busy fighting for the control of his Peoples Democratic Party in the south west geo-political zone.

And he has a main contender: Neighbouring Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state, who sees himself as the most senior governor in the PDP, having been governor first in 2003.
Mimiko and Fayose will both lead two separate meetings of the party today, with Mimiko hosting some party leaders in Akure, while Fayose, along with Senator Buruji Kashamu hosts another in Ijebu-Igbo.
Both factions will  discuss the party’s proposed national convention in Port Harcourt.

The Akure meeting is opposed to the zoning of the national chairmanship to the North and moves by the chairman, Senator Modu Sheriff, to extend his tenure beyond the May 21 convention.
The Ijebu-Igbo meeting,  according to the PDP National Vice Chairman, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe,  will forge a common front on the zoning of party positions, ahead of the national convention billed for Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

Expected at the meeting are members of the NEC from Southwest, Board of Trustees (BoT) members, former and serving governors and deputy governors, former and serving senators, and former and serving National Assembly members.

Others are former governorship candidates and their running mates, former ministers and ambassadors, six state chairmen and members of the working committees, former and present members of Houses of Assembly and 50 selected leaders from each of the six states.

But, a source close to Miniko said: “The real meeting of Yoruba leaders in the PDP takes place tomorrow (today) in Akure. The governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, is convening the meeting on behalf of the leaders. We know that some people have slated a parallel meeting at Ijebu-Igbo.  But, that Ijebu-Igbo meeting is a non-event.”

According to the source, prominent PDP leaders expected at the Akure meeting include former Deputy Chairman Chief Olabode George, former Transport and Aviation Minister Chief Ebenezer Babatope, former Works Minister Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, former Majority Leader of the House of Representatives Hon. Mulikat Adeola-Akande, former Sports and Special Duties Minister Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, former Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chief Jumoke Akinjide, Senator Femi Kila, Senator Bode Olajumoke, Ambassador Dare Bejide, Chief Ladosu Ladipo, Dr, Doyin Okupe, Chief Yekini Adeojo, Chief Joju Fadairo, Prince Nekan Olateru-Olagbegi and Capt. Tunji Shelle.

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Boko Haram bomber killed with poisoned arrow

Cameroon’s  vigilante group used a poisoned arrow to kill a Boko Haram woman with explosives strapped to her body.

Midjiyawa Bakary, the governor of Cameroon’s Far North region, said Wednesday that the 40-year-old woman had crossed over from neighboring Nigeria along with a 14-year-old girl.

Local residents shot the poisoned arrow at the woman after she failed to stop as demanded.
The girl also died when she detonated her own explosives.

Residents near the northern town of Mora said at least five other suicide bombers have died in the last several days.

The attacks were reported shortly before Cameroon’s president Paul Biya left for Nigeria to discuss ways of ending Boko Haram violence with his Nigerian counterpart.

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News Analysis: Trump can beat Hillary Clinton

Trump: analysts contrast his chances with Hillary Clinton

(Xinhua) — U.S. Republican candidate Donald Trump has virtually secured the nomination with a win in Indiana Tuesday night, and experts say he could even beat likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the presidential race if he can tone down his explosive rhetoric.
The brash businessman cruised to an easy win in Indiana, which forced his chief rival Senator Ted Cruz to quit his campaign.

While many analysts only six months ago dismissed Trump as a flash in the pan, they simply underestimated the level of public anger over the weak U.S. job market and bitterness against Washington insiders.
While Trump has a high negative rate — the rate at which people dislike a candidate — those of Clinton are nearly as high, as a number of Americans find her stiff and unapproachable, and see her as someone who does not understand the needs of ordinary Americans.

Hillary Clinton: Has problems with Bernie Sanders people

But perhaps the most telling is that Clinton has failed to galvanize her party or excite her supporters in the same way as Trump has done.

This has been shown by strong Democratic support for rival Senator Bernie Sanders, who put up a tough fight against Clinton over the past several months, despite Clinton just six months ago being considered a shoo-in for the nomination.

Sanders is expected to stay in the nomination race longer after his win in Indiana Tuesday night.

Bernie Sanders: enjoys support of disaffected Democrats

For a virtual unknown — and a socialist at that, a philosophy seen by many as un-American — to gain so much enthusiasm from voters demonstrates that Clinton is a weak candidate, many analysts believe.
Despite being a celebrity outside the United States, Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state, simply neither excites nor galvanizes her base.

In sharp contrast, after Trump steamrolled through the states of Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island last week, he has momentum on his side.
Some analysts now say that the only one who can beat Trump is Trump himself — while he has galvanized the Republican rank and file like no other Republican candidates in recent years, he is also vehemently disliked by many outside his base.

Republican strategist Ford O’Connell told Xinhua that if Trump just adjusts his rhetoric a bit to be less offensive, “he could actually win this thing.”

“The tone and rhetoric is a major problem,” he said.
“He only needs to do a combined 600,000 votes more than Romney did in four to five states. And if he does that he’s the next president of the United States,” O’Connell said, referring to former Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s 2012 White House run.

Trump has in fact quickly changed his tone after the Indiana win. In his victory speech in New York, he already praised his rival Cruz, who he used to call “Lying Ted,” as “a tough, smart guy” who “has got an amazing future.”

Still, there is the burning question of Hispanic voters. The Hispanic vote is particularly worrisome for Trump, as he is strongly disliked by many in this crucial voting bloc after calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” and vowing to build a wall to keep out illegal immigrants from Latin America.

However, if Trump chooses former Republican candidate Marco Rubio — the son of Cuban immigrants — as a running mate, the Florida senator could help Trump gain enough Hispanic votes to clinch the presidency, experts say.

O’Connell said Trump would just need around 30 percent of the Hispanic vote to win the White House, adding that Rubio’s Spanish language skills would also help smooth over Trump’s image with Latino voters.
“Rubio speaks fluent Spanish, which means he could take on Spanish-language media (in the United States) and try to smooth over some perception issues,” he said.
If Trump teams up with Rubio, he will have a shot at winning Florida, the crucial state that plays a major role in U.S. general elections, O’Connell added.

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Brazil sues mining giants for $43.4b

Wreckage left by Brazilian dam collapse

Brazilian prosecutors filed a US$43.4 billion lawsuit against mining giants BHP Billiton and Vale over last year’s Samarco mine dam burst that killed 19 and wreaked environmental havoc.

The authorities “estimate the preliminary value for repairs to be 155 billion reais,” the public prosecutor’s office in the state of Minas Gerais said in a statement. BHP’s share price plummeted 7.38 percent to Aus$19.20 in Sydney on news of the huge suit.

Brazilian-owned Vale and Anglo-Australian BHP, which co-own the Samarco iron ore facility, had already agreed to a separate settlement of US$6.2 billion with the Brazilian government in March.

Those funds were ordered to go toward compensating for social and environmental damages and to be paid over 15 years.

But the deal was criticized by prosecutors, who said that the amount of money was not calculated realistically.

The November 5 accident near Mariana in Minas Gerais began when a tailings dam at Samarco’s mine failed, unleashing the flood of polluted water and mud into the River Doce, one of the most important in Brazil.

A village was destroyed, drinking water supplies for hundreds of thousands of people were interrupted and damage reached as far as the river’s mouth on the Atlantic coast, with wildlife, tourism businesses and fishing communities all suffering. Nineteen people died.

In February, police announced homicide charges against seven people, including six Samarco executives — one of them the CEO at the time of the accident.

– Comparison to Deepwater Horizon –

Paulo Hartung, governor of Espirito Santo state, which also straddles the River Doce, has said the toxic flood marked “the biggest environmental disaster in the history of Brazil.”

The civil suit filed Tuesday called on Samarco’s co-owners to “completely” compensate for the disaster.

Prosecutors said they calculated the US$43 billion figure based on charges faced by BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

BHP said in a statement to the market the lawsuit for 155 billion Brazilian reals was for “social, environmental and economic compensation.”

“BHP Billiton remains committed to helping Samarco to rebuild the community and restore the environment affected by the failure of the dam,” BHP said, adding that it was still awaiting formal notice of the claim.

Referring to the previous settlement reached with the Brazilian authorities, BHP said that this ensured “the long-term remedial and compensation framework for responding to the impact of the Samarco tragedy and the appropriate platform for the parties to work together.”

At the time, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff had said the deal would help heal “a tragedy without precedent.”

However, she’d warned of more costs for BHP and Vale. “There will be complete restoration of socio-economic conditions and of the affected environment. And I want to emphasize: There will be no financial limits until there is full reparation,” she said.

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