TakeitBack Movement Secures Release Of Three Entertainers, Insist On End To Police Brutality

TakeitBack Movement Secures Release Of Three Entertainers, Insist On End To Police Brutality

Three entertainers, Ibrahim Bakare, Idris Oseni and Oyeniyi Abeeb were arrested by policemen, attached to the Oke Odo Police station, in Lagos State on the night of Tuesday, February 1, 2022.

A report, obtained by the TakeitBack Movement revealed that the three young entertainers were thoroughly beaten and secretly detained in one of the police officers’ private office, and a ransom of N100,000 demanded by the policemen.

Following the illegal arrest, the Lagos chapter of the TakeitBack Movement campaigned vigorously for the immediate release of the young men, and demanded an end to police brutality – a carryover from the #EndSARS protest of October, 2020.

In the early hours of Wednesday, the young men regained their freedom.

Sowore Lambasts 2023 Presidential Aspirants, Calls Them Conmen

Sowore Lambasts 2023 Presidential Aspirants, Calls Them Conmen

The convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore has taken a swipe at some prominent Nigerian politicians whose eyes are on the nation’s presidential seat in 2023.

In a long Facebook post on Wednesday, the human rights activist described Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as “Jagaban of Corruption.” He equally wrote off the Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo as “MinimeBuhari.”

The former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, who recently made known his intention of joining the presidential race if the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) zones its presidential ticket to the south, was not left out. Sowore referred to him as “Chinese Pandora Paper man”, making reference to the 2016 Pandora Paper leaked reports which indicted the former governor of Anambra State.

He wrote: “Three weeks ago you would think the election had been decided when Jagaban of Corruption, Bola Tinubu “declared” his intention to run but soon as he discovered that his ambition was Dead on Arrival he took his ambulance and fled to London!

“Then #MinimeBuhari showed up, I am referring to the cowardly VP Professor Yemi Osinbajo and you would think he’d won the election but soon as he was challenged about his current abysmal assignment, hope began to fade for the law professor who constantly claimed his hands are tied.

“It is now the turn of the #Chinese Pandora Paper man, Peter Obi! Ah, he’s gonna open a Gofundme to finance his campaign after all the funds looted from Anambra during his tenure as Governor! This too is dead upon discovery just as transparent dodo!

“The truth is that we’ve changed course, no more hanging our patrimony to deceitful, decrepit conmen that ruined Nigeria. We are not apologetic about it. The organic structures have taken over from the criminal transactional structures of the terminators.”

TakeItBack Movement Meets, Plans Massive Voters’ Registration Campaign In Plateau State

TakeItBack Movement Meets, Plans Massive Voters’ Registration Campaign In Plateau State

On Sunday, January 30, 2022, the Plateau state chapter of the Take It Back (TIB) movement had a meeting with its lead organizers drawn from across all local governments.

The meeting, presided by the Deputy National Coordinator, North Central, Deborah Yusuf had exhaustive deliberations about rising insecurity, attacks on students’ and workers’ rights, as well as the overwhelming state of poverty and helplessness within the state.

According to the information made available to our correspondents, the meeting had far reaching resolutions, including the need for young and old people of working class and poor background to take very keen interest in deciding the direction of the coming elections in the interest of posterity.

In a statement credited to Deborah Yusuf, the movement will be undertaking massive voters’ registration and education drive. This is in addition to intensifying efforts to challenge all anti-people policies and developments that have continued to plague the good people of Plateau state.

Sowore: Court of Appeal Reserves Judgement

Sowore: Court of Appeal Reserves Judgement

The court of appeal sitting in Abuja, on Monday, January 31, 2022, has reserved judgement in the case filed by Omoyele Sowore, convener of the Take It Back Movement and #RevolutionNow campaign, challenging series of stringent bail conditions that have restricted him to Abuja since 2019.

Recall that the former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on August 3, 2019, following well-publicized plans of a nationwide #RevolutionNow protest.

The federal government, subsequently, charged Sowore with treasonable felony. He was however released from detention on the 24th day of December, 2019 after the regime violated two court orders granting him bail.

Since restricted to the city of Abuja, Sowore has been shot, brutalized and nearly assassinated at different instances by the Police and state sponsored armed hoodlums.

In the sitting on Monday, the case, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA V OMOYELE SOWORE was presented before a panel of three judges led by Justice Tsammani. Counsel to the appellant, Deji Morakinyo, who held brief for Femi Falana, urged the court to allow the appeal and set aside the ruling of the lower court – Federal High Court. On the other hand, counsel to the Nigerian government, Bagudu Sani, asked the court to dismiss the appeal.

After listening to the submissions from both parties, Justice Tsammani reserved the judgement to a later date.

Speaking at the end of the court session, Deji Morakinyo said, “The appeal was argued. The parties adopted their respective case of argument. The matter was, thereafter, reserved for judgement. So we await the judgement of the court.”

In his own reaction, Sowore remarked, “We finally, today, got the appeal held after two years. When the first one was filed, it stood down with the technicality that one of the appellants didn’t sign the documentation involved. He couldn’t have known that because he was restricted to Osun state, and needed the permission of the court to travel. So we refiled again, and then while we refiled, then came Covid. Each time we came to this court, somebody had Covid or the courts were closed. We probably came to this court some three times and there was no hearing. It’s either the judges had conference or something happened. Finally, today we held it and the judgement date has been reserved.”

Dunamis Pastor Paul Enenche Hands Over Blind Saxophonist To DSS For Wearing ‘Buhari Must Go’ T-Shirt

Dunamis Pastor Paul Enenche Hands Over Blind Saxophonist To DSS For Wearing ‘Buhari Must Go’ T-Shirt

Of the five first-time worshippers who were arrested by the DSS on the orders of Pastor Dr. Paul Enenche’s Church, founder and General Overseer of Dunamis International Gospel Centre last Sunday, one of them, Samuel Iwatonaiye is a blind young man.

Most horrendous is the recent denial of Dunamis Church concerning the illegal arrest and denial of the activists.

The Department of State Security have also refused to reveal the current location of the arrested activists, including the visually impaired young man.

Earlier on Wednesday, the DSS had denied a human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong access to the detained human rights activists.

#BuhariMustGo: Sowore Calls Out Dunamis Church Over Bizarre Press Statement

#BuhariMustGo: Sowore Calls Out Dunamis Church Over Bizarre Press Statement

“I woke up this morning to see this bizarrely written press release from Dunamis International Gospel Centre, the release is materially false on so many levels and Dr. Paul Enenche and his wife, Dr. Becky Enenche who Deji Adeyanju, lawyer Marshal DF Abubakar and I met with on Monday, are aware of the facts of this case. HERE ARE THE FACTS:

1. 10 activists attended the first service of Dunamis International Gospel Centre church on Sunday.

2. They wore #BuhariMustGo Tshirts ( which is not a crime and Dr. Paul Enenche attests to this during our two-hour long meeting).

3. They answered “altar call” wearing the Tshirts, were given holy communion and welcome packages ( Dr. Enenche attests to seeing them and even said he was excited).

4. They did not Livestream or protest inside the church (Dr. Enenche attests to their orderly conduct)

5. Upon exiting the church auditorium, they started livestreaming on Facebook and I was the one who shared the livestream and added that “#BuhariMustGo hits Dunamis” Not the activists.

6. They were approached by Church Security and TOLD to end the Livestream, they insisted it was their right and Emmanuel Larry told them he was a journo and maintained respectful distance from the church security.

7. They let them leave and the 10 activists got to the main road and five of the activists boarded a vehicle and left.

8. While five others were waiting FOR a taxi, a new set of church security men wearing reflective jackets CAME and intercepted them and physically manhandled them and took them back into the church premises to their security post.

9. They were forced to delete the two live videos, church officials took some screenshots and even shared with the media on Sunday (I believe they have the full videos retrieved from Emmanuel Larry’s phone).

10. It was the church security team that called the DSS and they (Lawless DSS) sent a white Hilux van accompanied by two power bikes to whisk them away.

They’ve not been seen or heard from ever since.

When Deji Adeyanju invited me to go to a meeting with Dr. Enenche I told him my primary and only interest was the freedom of the protesters because I suspected that the church wanted to use the meeting with us to “clear” the name of the church and Dr. Enenche’s and absolve them of the needless but unfortunate incident, that’s exactly what they tried to do and what this release set to achieve.

I am using this opportunity to urge Dr. Paul Enenche to go to the DSS headquarters in Abuja and get the innocent young activists freed without delay. I am glad this release STATES clearly that the Church is a place to fight against EVIL (and I guess evildoers), that said, most Nigerians today have come to an irrefutable conclusion that the Muhammadu Buhari regime is EVIL and that President Muhammadu Buhari is an EVILDOER, it makes sense ThEREFORE that the #BuhariMustGo activists were right to fight the EVIL regime on Dunamis church grounds, a place spiritually designated for such holy assignment, according to this release. #FreeDunamis5 Let My People Go! They’re only doing God’s work!”.

Pastor Paul Enenche Invited Us To Arrest Activists Who Wore ‘Buhari Must Go’ T-Shirts To His Church – DSS

Pastor Paul Enenche Invited Us To Arrest Activists Who Wore ‘Buhari Must Go’ T-Shirts To His Church – DSS

Abiodun Sanusi

Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS) has admitted that it was the Dunamis International Gospel Centre (Glory Dome), Abuja, which called for the arrest of five human rights activists who wore the #BuhariMustGo T-Shirts to its church service last Sunday.

This is just as the whereabouts of the activists remain unknown with the DSS and the Dunamis Church refusing to take responsibility for the arrest and detention of the activists.

Earlier on, the FCT command of the DSS as well as the headquarters had both denied being in custody of five activists arrested by Dunamis church security.

“At a meeting with Pastor Paul Enenche yesterday, the pastor told Omoyele Sowore and Deji Adeyanju that the five activists were with DSS. However, the DSS vehemently denied holding the five activists.

“Meanwhile no one has heard from the activists since Sunday when church security attacked them and detained them in the church premises. Their phones have since been switched off,” a source revealed.

SaharaReporters learnt that the DSS and the church had first both denied arresting and detaining the human rights activists.

The worshippers were harassed and manhandled by the DSS officials and also denied food or sleep since Sunday in the DSS custody, SaharaReporters further learnt.

SaharaReporters learnt on Tuesday that the DSS had admitted that the Dunamis church called them to take away the “suspects.”

“About 48 hours after illegal arrest and detention by Dunamis church, we don’t know the whereabouts of these #BuhariMustGo activists,” one of the sources said.

The DSS has admitted that it was Pastor Enenche who called them.

At a meeting with Pastor Paul Enenche yesterday, the pastor told Omoyele Sowore and Deji Adeyanju that the five activists were with DSS. However, the DSS vehemently denied holding the five activists.

Meanwhile no one has heard from the activists since Sunday when church security attacked them and detained them in the church premises. Their phones have since been switched off.

“Two of them are said to be detained at the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad section of the state police command,” a source stated.

SaharaReporters had on Sunday reported that about ten activists went to the church on Sunday morning to worship at the church but some of them were surprisingly rounded up and arrested by the church security guards who later handed them over to the DSS operatives.

Five of the activists were whisked away in a Hilux van and two powerbikes.

SaharaReporters learnt on Tuesday that the state director of the DSS in the FCT was behind the detention of the activists.

“The five activists arrested at Dunamis are being detained by DSS director of FCT. They have been deprived of food and sleep since arrest,” a top source revealed.

The activists had been manhandled and beaten by the DSS operatives on the church premises, who also seized their mobile phones.

Human rights activists, Omoyele Sowore and Deji Adeyanju, had met with Enenche over the arrest of the activists.

While clarifying the matter, Sowore said the pastor denied claims by some persons that the activists were trying to disrupt the church service.

“We are adults and if we are tired of the system and we say the system must collapse, it is our right to express ourselves freely. I told the pastor when he said he was not happy when the activists were trying to protest within the premises that with the way things are going on, more and more people will be wearing #BuhariMustGo T-shirts to the church because people are tired of Buhari regime.

“We have a respectable agreement and some disagreements over this issue but what is important to me and why I don’t want to drag this for too long is the release of these individuals from detention.

“We are going to wait till evening because we requested that they should be released today (Monday). Nobody knows their whereabouts. We don’t know whether they have been fed or they have been tortured,” Sowore had said.

 

Paramilitary Recruitment: MURIC accuses Buhari regime of ‘official corruption’

Paramilitary Recruitment: MURIC accuses Buhari regime of ‘official corruption’

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime of official corruption in Nigeria’s paramilitary organizations’ recruitment.

The Islamic body faulted the recent recruitment by the country’s paramilitary agencies, saying it lacked federal character.

Ishaq Akintola, MURIC Director, said this in a statement on Friday in Lagos.

Mr Akintola stated, “The list of successful candidates in the 2019/2021 ‘Replacement and Recruitment Supplementary’ exercise of the Civil Defence corps, correctional service, fire and immigration services board is being circulated in the media.

“The lopsided nature of the recruitment list speaks volumes of official corruption in the system capable of denying Nigeria the services of best hands in the country.”

He further noted that “out of 411 names of successful candidates that appeared on the list,” only five were in the Sokoto column.

“As if that is not enough, a closer look at the names springs another surprise. None of the names in the Sokoto column appears to have come from the state by origin. The names are Abdurrazaq Adinoyi, Y, Mercy Chukwukeru, Nwauzor Peace, Ezema Emeka, and Umar Tijani.

“It is just natural that this incident will raise public curiosity, particularly when some are making an issue out of the federal character principle and leveraging on it as evidence in support of their agitations,” MURIC director.

According to him, the list appears to be “relegation by substitution” of the state.

He added, “There is no iota of doubt that indigenes of Sokoto may have been short-changed in this arrangement.
“Why was there no single Sokoto indigene among the five by virtue of origin of the names.”

He frowned upon the infraction and demanded the board to explain “the glaring anomaly without delay, to avoid breeding bad blood.”

(NAN)

Dunamis’ Head Pastor Enenche Illegally Arrests, Hands Over Six Worshippers Wearing ‘#BuhariMustGo’ Shirts To DSS

Dunamis’ Head Pastor Enenche Illegally Arrests, Hands Over Six Worshippers Wearing ‘#BuhariMustGo’ Shirts To DSS

Security guards attached to the Dunamis International Gospel Centre (Glory Dome) located along Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Road, Abuja have arrested six human rights activists for wearing #BuhariMustGo (Anti-President Muhammadu Buhari) T-Shirts to the church.

About ten activists went to the church on Sunday morning to worship at the church but some of them were surprisingly rounded up and arrested by the church security guards who later handed them over to the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

 

Six of the activists were whisked away in a Hilux van and two power bikes.

The activists were manhandled and beaten by the DSS operatives on the church premises, who also seized their mobile phones.

Paul Enenche is the Senior Pastor of the church.

A source said, “Security men at Dunamis Gospel Church have arrested activists who wore #BuhariMustGo T-shirts to their church service: the church security later handed them over to DSS officials who are currently torturing them.

“I thought Pastor Dr Paul Enenche was also preaching about justice! The six activists were driven away in a DSS Hilux van and two power bikes. Shame on the house of God!

“About 10 activists decided to attend Dunamis church in their #BuhariMustGo T-shirts. The church asked all first-timers to come out for prayers. The patriotic citizens obeyed the clarion call from the altar with their fully displayed BuhariMustGo shirts.

“They were immediately apprehended by the church security on their way out of the church and subsequently handed to the DSS. Kudos to the courageous activists for this creativity. I’m certain if the activists had worn a shirt with the inscription ‘Sai Buhari’, they would have ranked as Pastor Enenche’s new best friend.”

Similarly, in April, violent youths descended on two middle-aged protesters– Larry Emmanuel and Anene Victor Udoka–who were pasting Buhari-Must-Go posters in Lokoja, the Kogi to State capital.

SaharaReporters learnt that the irate mob flogged the two youths, filmed them, and brutalised them before they were later handed over to the police.

It was gathered that the police thereafter quizzed the two protesters and detained them when they insisted on seeing their lawyer before making a statement.

In some viral videos, the protesters were seen being molested and questioned by the mob before they were flogged as the youths forced them to clean their painting of “Buhari Must Go”.

The court, last Thursday, resumed trial of the two activists after being granted bail after spending 78 days in detention.

#BuhariMustGo: Court Adjourns Case Of #Kogi2 As Police Prosecutor Fails To File Case

#BuhariMustGo: Court Adjourns Case Of #Kogi2 As Police Prosecutor Fails To File Case

Appearing before Chief Magistrate Tanko of the Lugard Court Lokoja, Larry Emmanuel and Anene Victor Udoka today resumed trial after being granted bail from a 78 days detention.
The trial which could not continue as a result of the failure on the part of the police prosecutor to file necessary court processes, despite claiming to have concluded the investigation and afforded over two months timeline to initiate prosecution, was adjourned until 3rd of August for the continuation of trial.
However, the prosecution’s action was met with cautionary reactions by the magistrate who threatened to strike out the case for lack of diligence prosecution if upon the next date all processes are not put in place.
Moreover, while activists who were in the company of the defendants were trying to take pictures at the court premises, officers of the DSS violently resisted them with whips and gunshot threats.