Buhari bans AIT from covering activities - sad for our democracy - Lawyer

I'm sharing this because people in the media should be a little scared of what happened yesterday. If they can do this to AIT, they can come for the rest of us. And before you know it, we can no longer write what we want. I hope it doesn't come to that. A lawyer shares his opinion. Read below...

I laugh when I remember his words at Chatham house: "so I present to you, a former dictator and a 'born-again' democrat'. Like really? Do you realize that one Cardinal part of this democracy is the freedom of the press?  Perhaps he understands the role of the media in bringing down GEJ and maybe scared of same.

Let me take you back a little, do you know the APC legislators, last year sponsored a bill to control the press? to be specific, social media?  Do you realize that severally as a dictator, Mr. President-Elect called the media, 'a distraction'.

What then is the lesson?

While I do not subscribe to ANY form of unprofessionalism in the media, this is democracy, you can sue for defamation, except of cos you think they are saying the truth. Further you could prosecute for sedition (that's what I'll do to Sahara reporters if I were GEJ). You do not blacklist the media.  It only starts with AIT and then possibly it will spread to other channels. Then we would have a 'controlled media'.

But then again, let this cloud that is gathered yield us some fruits, 'cos the NextGeneration is patiently waiting to kick all of you out.  Just wait and see!

Gilbert Oladeinbo (Esq.)

PDP releases press statement on AIT ban, says it's dangerous for democracy

PDP releases press statement on AIT ban, says it's dangerous for democracy http://lindaikeji.blogspot.com/2015/04/pdp-releases-press-statement-on-ait-ban.html

Bomb Razes Opposition Building In Rivers

Port Harcourt - Unknown assailants threw
dynamite at an opposition coalition secretariat in
Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta on Friday,
destroying the building but not claiming any
casualties, police and party officials said.
"Around 3 a.m. today the youths attacked the
APC secretariat at Ngor. The entire building was
razed to the ground in the fire. I'm calling on the
commissioner of police to investigate the matter,"
local opposition All Progressives Congress (APC)
official Ikwut Emmanuel said of the incident in
Rivers state.
Ahmed Muhammad, a police spokesman for
Rivers, confirmed the incident but had no details
as it was still being investigated, he said.

Also read: Bomb found at Ebonyi APC
headquarter

Nigeria holds presidential and governorship
elections on Feb. 14 that are likely to be its
closest and hardest-contested since the end of
military rule in 1999, with President Goodluck
Jonathan facing off against former military ruler
Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.
Violence is rising ahead of the polls, and Rivers
state, where outgoing Governor Rotimi Ameachi
defected to the APC in 2013, is considered one of
the major flashpoints.
Nigeria has a history of political thuggery and
intimidation that have often marred its polls. The
insurgency by Islamist group Boko Haram, which
wants to establish an Islamic state in northeast
Nigeria, is also surging ahead of the election.

President Goodluck Jonathan Hopeful Of Female President

Abakaliki - President Goodluck Jonathan on
Friday expressed the hope of a woman
becoming Nigeria’s president in his life time.
Jonathan, who said this at the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) presidential rally in
Abakaliki, Ebonyi, noted that women in the
country were intelligent and hard working.
He insisted that women should be
encouraged to participate in governance,
especially politics.
"My hope is that a female will one day
occupy the position of the president of this
country.

       "I will also like to see Nigerian women who
have distinguished themselves in their
various field make more global impact,’’ he
said.
Jonathan, who commended women for
supporting PDP, solicited their support by
voting for him in the Feb. 14 presidential poll.
Similarly, the First Lady, Dame Patience
Jonathan, who addressed women at the
campaign, urged them to vote for the
president as "one of their own".
"Nigerian women, you cannot exchange your
own for another.
"You must belong to a place or group where
you are accorded full recognition.
"And PDP is that place; we have no other
party," she said.

Nwike Escapes Death As Gunmen Storms Rally

The governorship candidate
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in
Rivers State, Nyesom Wike on Thursday
escaped death as unknown gunmen shot
sporadically to disrupt his campaign rally at
Abua Central in Abua/Odual local government
area of the state, reports Daily Post.
The gunmen fired shots to dispel Wike and
his supporters, who had gathered at the
Palace of the Abua kingdom.
They were in the palace for royal blessings.

One of the attackers was shot dead by one
of the security operative attached to Wike.
aspirant.
Wike accused the ruling All Progressives
Congress (APC) in the state of
masterminding the attack.

Former Adamawa acting governor dumps PDP for APC

State, James Barka has dumped the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) for the All
Progressives Congress (APC), reports
Premium Times.
Barka, who was also a former Speaker of the
state assembly announced his defection
during the APC campaign rally in Ganye.
He said he left the PDP as a result of the
party’s failure to conduct it’s affairs in
accordance with the provision of its
constitution and democratic norms.
         Barka had aspired for the PDP governorship ticket but lost to Nuhu Ribadu.

Fuel Subsidy Fraud: Court Adjourns Trial Of Oil Marketer

Ikeja- An Ikeja High Court on Tuesday adjourned
the trial of an oil marketer, Rowaye Jubril,
charged with N963.7 million fuel subsidy fraud, till
Feb. 16, 2015.
Jubril was charged before Justice Lateefat
Okunnu by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC).
He is being prosecuted alongside his company,
Brila Energy Ltd., over the alleged N963.7 million
fuel subsidy fraud.
The EFCC alleged that the defendant obtained the
money from the Federal Government for the
purported importation of 13 500 metric tonnes of
petrol.
At the resumption of proceedings, the judge said
that the EFCC counsel, Seidu Atteh, had sent a
letter to the court, in which he apologised for his
absence.
Atteh had informed the court that he had travelled
to Malta for an official training and pleaded for an
adjournment.
The defence team, led by Raphael Oluyede, did
not oppose Atteh’s request for an adjournment.
Okunnu, therefore, adjourned the matter till
February 16, for continuation of trial.