Shettima, PDP warn as Sokoto denies allegation
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Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Peoples Democratic Party, on Monday, cautioned against an alleged plot to remove the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, by the Sokoto State government.
The state government, however, denied any plan to dethrone the monarch, describing the allegation as false.
The state Commissioner for Information, Sambo Danchadi, explained that the law guiding the appointment of traditional rulers in the state had not been changed.
Against the backdrop of the removal of the Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, by the Kano State governor in May, the Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Council, Prof. Isiaq Akintola, on Monday, raised the alarm that the Sokoto government was planning to depose the Sultan.
He cited the removal of 15 traditional rulers for various offences by the state Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, in April.
Akintola, in a statement, said Nigerian Muslims would reject any hostile actions against Sultan, who is the Nigerian Muslim spiritual leader.
The Islamic group also expressed concern over “the sour relationship between the governor and the Sultan.”
It asked the governor to exercise restraint and not tamper with the traditional institution.
Former sports minister Lawal buried
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Former Minister of Youth and Sports and one-time Military Administrator of Benue State, Air Vice Marshal Adebayo Lawal (retd.), has been buried on Monday after he died on Sunday at the age of 83.
The retired military officer passed away in his sleep at his home. The news was confirmed by his daughter, Yinka Enahoro, and corroborated by the Sergeant At Arms at the National Assembly, Air Commodore Sani Zakari (retd.), who noted that the funeral was held on Monday.
Zakari stated, “AVM Frank Ajobena (retd.) further informed us that AVM Bayo Lawal passed on in his sleep in the early hours of Sunday, June 23, 2024.”
Born on September 14, 1941, in Offa, Kwara State, Lawal was a pioneer officer of the Nigerian Air Force, which he joined in 1963. He received his training as a military pilot in West Germany, graduating in 1964.
Why we killed retired army general in Abuja – Suspect
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One of the suspects arrested by the Police Command of the Federal Capital Territory in connection with the murder of Brigadier General Uwen Harold (retd.) in the Kabusa area of the FCT has narrated why they allegedly killed him by stabbing him multiple times.
The suspect, Rabiu Ibrahim, in a confession video obtained by PUNCH Metro, said they attacked the victim with knives when he attempted to kill them with his gun.
Ibrahim disclosed that the gang also stole a phone and a laptop belonging to the victim after killing him.
Narrating the incident in Pidgin English (now translated) while fielding questions from journalists, on Monday, Ibrahim said, “My name is Rabiu Ibrahim from Kano. I was arrested for robbery. We stole his (the Gen’s) phone and laptop. We had two knives with us. It was Kazeem who stabbed him in the belly and I stabbed him in the arm. The reason why we stabbed him was that he brought out a gun. We killed him because he had a gun.”
When asked by journalists if he was aware of the victim’s status as a retired military officer, Semiu replied in the negative.
No plan to leave Nigeria, says ExxonMobil
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The Managing Director, of ExxonMobil Nigeria, Shane Harris, has declared that the oil major is not leaving Nigeria as claimed in some quarters, particularly after the oil firm’s proposed divestment of a 100 per cent interest in Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.
Harris, who disclosed this at a meeting with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, in Abuja, stated that ExxonMobil is currently carrying out new investments in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.
The Special Assistant on Media and Communications to the Petroleum Minister, Nneamaka Okafor, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday.
“During the meeting, Mr Harris hinted at significant new investments that ExxonMobil is injecting into Nigeria’s energy sector.