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Femi Falana Urges Buhari To Pardon Convicted Soldiers

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, on Wednesday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to grant pardon to 70 soldiers convicted for mutiny during ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

In a letter dated August 25, 2021, and addressed to the President, Falana said the soldiers deserved to be pardoned just like the Boko Haram insurgents.

He recalled that the Federal Government deployed thousands of ill-equipped and ill-motivated soldiers to the North-East to tackle the Boko Haram insurgents from 2013 to 2014.

The letter read: “Instead of attending to such legitimate demand, the military authorities accused scores of the soldiers of sabotaging the counter-insurgency operations of the Federal Government and proceeded to set up courts-martial to try them for mutiny.

“We defended 58 soldiers while the remaining 12 were defended by other colleagues before the Courts-Martial which sat in Abuja. At the end of the trials in August and December 2014, the Courts-Martial jailed some of the soldiers and sentenced 70 others to death for mutiny.

“The courts martial failed to appreciate that the demand for weapons by the soldiers was justified under section 179 of the Armed Forces Act, (Cap A20) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“Notwithstanding the pendency of the appeal at the apex court we urge Your Excellency to exercise your prerogative of mercy in favour of the entire 70 convicted soldiers.

“It is public knowledge that the Federal Government and some state governments have recently granted pardon and rehabilitated hundreds of terrorists who had waged war against Nigeria and subjected unarmed citizens to egregious human rights abuse.

“The soldiers who were convicted of mutiny for demanding for weapons to fight such terrorists deserve to be granted pardon and rehabilitated by the Federal Government.”

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Gov Bago signs Executive Order on Niger Green Economy

Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State has signed an Executive Order on the Green Economy.

The Executive order which was titled ‘the Niger State Green Economy Initiative Order (No.3), 2023’ provides that the Green Economy Initiative shall be driven by the State Blueprint that details the strategic pillars and outlines the strategic key performance indicators, targets and timelines of the transition into a green economy.

Also enshrined in the Order, Niger State Government shall produce a State-Wide Land Use and Economic Development Plan to guide investment decisions and ensure investments that would stabilise the green transition are properly coordinated and planned.

The Order further directed all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the State to adhere strictly to the initiative, adding that appropriate sanction will be carried out on any violator of the Executive Order.

Singing the Executive Order shortly before the commencement of the weekly State Executive Council (SEC) Meeting at the Council Chambers, Government House, Minna, Governor Bago explained that the Executive Order was to ensure the effective implementation of the Green Economy Policy.

Governor Bago appreciated Media Practitioners for the wide coverage given to his administration and encouraged them not to relent.

Recall that the Present administration initiated the Green Economy Policy, and hosted the first summit on initiative with the view to turn around the economy of the State and engender socio-economic development.

According to the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Bologi Ibrahim, “With the signing of Executive Order Three, the initiative has come to stay and its implementation is sacrosanct.”

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COP28: President Tinubu Meets King Charles in Dubai

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday met with King Charles III of England in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Both of them are in the country to participate in the United Nations Climate Conference known as COP28 taking place in the Emirati city.

Tinubu posted a message on his X account, on the meeting, describing the king as passionate climate advocate.

He posted: “I had a productive meeting with His Majesty, King Charles III of England who is also the Head of the Commonwealth, and a passionate climate advocate.

“The meeting was a significant step in strengthening the partnership between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, and I am optimistic about the positive impact our joint efforts will have on our planet’s future as we look forward to setting an equitable global standard for environmental stewardship at COP28.”

News

Police Rescue Abducted Plateau Pastor, Three Others in Bauchi

Operatives of the Nigerian Police, Bauchi State Command have rescued four kidnapped victims including a pastor.

The victims were kidnapped by bandits who invaded Raddi village via Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State on Wednesday, November 29.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, a Superintendent of Police, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists.

Wakil said the bandits had stormed the house of one Yakubu Makeri, of Yagi village via Rahama ward, to attack him but a team of operatives attached to Rishi Police Divisional Headquarters in conjunction with local vigilantes swiftly moved to the scene and engaged the bandits in a gun battle.

The statement read, “On November 29, 2023, at about 1am, one sabitu ‘m’ of Kadade village via Toro LGA of Bauchi State reported that on the same date at about 12.30am, an unknown number of bandits invaded their village and stormed the house of one Yakubu Ya’u Makeri, male, of Yagi village via Rahama ward.

“A team of operatives attached to Rishi Police Divisional Headquarters in conjunction with local vigilantes swiftly moved to the scene and engaged the bandit.

“The operatives overpowered the bandits in a gun duel. As a result, one of the bandits was neutralised while the remaining scampered and abandoned their mission.

“However, during the encounter, the operatives succeeded in rescuing three kidnapped victims, namely: Pastor Bala, male (50), Keziya Ayuba (50) and Sunday Ayuba, (40) all of Raddi village via Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

“The aforementioned victims were confirmed to have been kidnapped from their village in Jos, Plateau State.”

Wakil stated that the Commissioner of Police has ordered the Divisional Police Officer to intensify wider patrol across the area in a bid to arrest the fleeing bandits so they can face the full wrath of the law.