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COVID-19: Aisha Buhari laments exclusion of children
By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The first Lady, Dr Mrs Aisha Buhari has lamented the exclusion of children’s nutritional needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and called for an end to the scourge of malnutrition in Nigeria.
Buhari said that recently resources are being channel towards containment of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, while unconsciously excluding vulnerable children.
Buhari who was represented by wife of the Vice President Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo at a stakeholders conference impact on COVID-19 charged stakeholders in the nutrition sector to ensure that malnutrition ravaging Nigerian children is put to an end,
She said, “to ignore this is to morgage our future because tomorrow we would not have competent young adults to run our government, businesses or even the academia”
The First Lady noted that although malnutrition is an obvious situation in the country, the government in recent years have made progress especially in engaging stakeholders through advocacy for more nutrition budget lines at the Federal and state levels.
She however expressed hope that all stakeholders will strengthen commitment towards nutrition.
Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire in his speech emphasized that Nigeria has the highest rate of malnutrition in Africa and second highest in the world, adding that there is need for concerted effort to address the negative trend.
The conference which was attended by over 400 participants centered on the multi-sectoral plan of action, innovative financing, private sector engagement, and the impact of COVID-19.
August 23, 2020
The NBA petition that nailed El-Rufai
REQUEST TO WITHDRAW THE OFFER OF PLATFORM AT THE 2020 ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION TO MALLAM NASIR EL-RUFAI
We are a collective of lawyers enrolled to practise in Nigeria and have duly subscribed for our Practicing Fees in 2020.
We have learnt that the TCCP under your leadership has chosen to invite Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, as a headline speaker to address the 60th Anniversary Annual Conference of our beloved Association.
We regret that our Association, whose Motto is “Promoting the Rule of Law” extended this invitation to a man who represents the very anti-thesis of what we profess to defend.
We, therefore, write as members of the NBA and citizens of Nigeria to request that this invitation should be withdrawn.
We set out our reasons below.
As you may know, at the end of June 2020, Civic Media Lab, which monitors mortality in Nigeria’s many security crises, declared Kaduna State, which is governed by Mallam El-Rufai, as “the most dangerous state in Nigeria.” As recorded by the organization, Kaduna’s “record of 493 persons killed between January and June, is higher than the reported deaths in the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorised territories of Borno; 290, Adamawa; 37 and Yobe; 5.”
As at today, Southern Kaduna is the most active site of massacres and mass atrocities in Nigeria. Despite this, when the Governor met with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna on 17 August, Governor El-Rufai dismissed the atrocities going on in Southern Kaduna as “media hype”.
The previous day, on 16 August, he informed Seun Okinbaloye on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” programme, that he had been unable to visit the sites of atrocity in Southern Kaduna nor extend empathy to the victims because of COVID-19.
However, not having found time to show up for victims of mass killings in his own state, on 8 August, Governor el-Rufai found time to travel to Benin-City for the flag-off of the Campaign of his party in the Edo State Governorship elections. Apparently, COVID-19 did not preclude that.
In April 2020, Bello El-Rufai, Governor El-Rufai’s son, who is also himself a special adviser to the Senator representing Kaduna Central in the Senate, Uba Sani, threatened another citizen who had criticized his father, the governor, with the gang-rape of the person’s mother. When Samuel Ogundipe, a journalist with Premium Times, reported the episode, Bello El-Rufai, parlaying his filial propinquity to a powerful governor, threatened to arrest or disappear Mr. Ogundipe.
In the run-up to the 2019 General Election in Nigeria, Governor El-Rufai infamously threatened foreign observers that they would “go back in body bags” if they reported what he or his ruling party did not like. He suffered no consequences.
As you may know, on 9 December 2019, Quartz Africa named Governor El-Rufai at the head of a “powerful” group of Nigerian state governors who “now regularly use security agents to arrest & intimidate journalists & activists who dare to question their actions or attempt to hold them accountable.”
One of the most prominent victims of this is University lecturer, Abubakar Idris, better known as Dadiyata, who was abducted from the gate of his house in Barnawa, Kaduna, on 1 August 2019 and has not been seen since then.
At 10:16 Hours on 23 December 2019, one of Governor El-Rufai’s sons, Bashir, issued a tweet gloating over the disappearance of Dadiyata, in which he signed off with the line “Dangerous lines in the public space have consequences.” The Kaduna State government has not much acted as if the disappearance of Dadiyata is of much concern to it.
Many other critics of Governor El-Rufai have been luckier, but only because they ended up in prison or detention. These include university lecturer Dr. John Danfulani. Digital activist, Stephen Kefason, was abducted from his home in Rivers State on the orders of Governor El-Rufai and detained for over five months. Luka Biniyat, journalist with Vanguard Newspaper, was also detained and, at the instance of Governor El-Rufai, fired from his job for writing a report the Governor didn’t like.
The same thing happened to Segun Onibiyo, another journalist with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN.
A major focus of the intolerance of Mallam El-Rufai has been lawyers and the legal profession. In 2016, when he was visited by the then President of the Nigerian Bar, A.B. Mahmoud, SAN, Governor El-Rufai threatened the NBA President to abduct Kaduna lawyer, Ms. Gloria Ballason, because she had criticized him in a news article, a perfectly lawful act of exercising constitutionally protected speech.
Ms. Ballason sued to protect her rights and in May 2017, secured a judgment of the High Court of Kaduna State, which found that the Governor had indeed violated her rights.
The High Court awarded also damages against the Governor. He refused to pay up. Instead, he instigated another round of violations of the rights of Ms. Ballason, instructing the Kaduna State Police Command to blockade her law office in Kaduna at the end of 2019.
In July 2020, the High Court of Kaduna State presided over by Honorable Justice Hannatu Balogun again found Governor El-Rufai and the Police in Kaduna State under his direction, in violation of the right of Ms. Ballason to practice her vocation as a lawyer.
The High Court specifically found that they had violated the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
As the proceedings were pending in February 2017 in Ms. Ballason’s case, Governor El-Rufai arranged to abduct one of her clients, Audu Maikori, from Lagos. Mr. Maikori, himself a lawyer of some distinction, was transported to Kaduna on the orders of Mallam El-Rufai, where he was detained and tortured, first at the police before being sent into detention.
Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal have found that the conduct of the Governor constituted egregious violations of the laws and the constitution. There is presently pending an award of N10.5 million against the Governor for the violations inflicted on Audu Maikori. Governor El-Rufai will not comply or pay up.
On the eve of the presidential elections in February 2019, Mallam El-Rufai took to the television to announce on 15 February 2019, that “66 Fulanis” had been massacred in an Adara settlement in Kajuru Local Government Area in Southern Kaduna.
The Police as well as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), denied that any such incident happened. When Dr. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, one of our leading members and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, challenged Mallam El-Rufai to provide proof of his claims, the governor sought to procure his abduction with an order in a case that did not have a suit number.
You may argue that it is a good thing to offer Mallam El-Rufai the platform of the #NBAAGC2020 so that he may be subjected to some examination by the participants. However, as you can see, those who have criticized him so far, many of them well placed members of our Association, have suffered untold persecution from Mallam El-Rufai or his family. When these members of our Association fought for their freedom and against their own persecution by Mallam El-Rufai, neither the NBA nor its leadership showed up.
If you ask our members to criticize him now, will you protect them when Mallam El-Rufai levies his inevitable retribution and persecution or will you offer us all balaclavas so that we will ask him question with our faces fully covered?!
We have set these out factually because we do not wish to be presumptuous.
This then is the person that you have decided to elevate and offer a platform at the biggest gathering in defence of the rule of law in Africa.
As Governor, Mallam El-Rufai has shown no regard for the rule of law, for human rights or for human beings. He has been reckless in his utterances, hubristic in his outlook and irresponsible with power. Offering him the platform of the NBA Annual General Conference 2020 is reward for misrule.
Recall that in 2018, this very platform was given to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and he used it to advance an agenda that is against the motto of the Nigerian Bar Association when he asserted that ”Rule of Law must bow before National Security”.
That is still a very bad stain on the image of the Nigerian Bar even now. Let us not repeat such a reckless mistake as this is even potentially worse.
This is why we have chosen to appeal to your professional conscience with a factually founded letter to withdraw this invitation that brings our cherished Association into irremediable disrepute.
We hope that you will find our correspondence worthy of your time and our prayers deserving of your attention.
If, however, it is the preference of the TCCP, to disregard our very reasonable request, we will take steps to make you and your conference popular and join you in ensuring that the Conference under your leadership enjoys maximum disrepute
August 23, 2020
Sha’riah Council blasts NBA over El-Rufai
By Lawrence Ekworonu
The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria has berated the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for allegedly taking side in the Southern Kaduna crisis.
Secretary-General of the Council, Nafi’u Baba-Ahmad, said in a statement issued on Sunday in Kaduna while reacting to the removal of Gov. Nasir El-Rufai as a speaker at the NBA forthcoming conference.
“For, clearly it has already taken side in the Southern Kaduna crises, contrary to its members training and what it loudly preaches, without listening to the narrative from the other side.
“This clearly, lowly narrow political and religious sentiments have beclouded the judgment of the leadership of the NBA, forgetting the most basic principle of their training and that its members cut across all sides of the divide.”
The Shari’ah Council added that “for the association to have taken side in a conflict in such a blatantly pedestrian manner is demeaning of its status.”
It stressed that farmers and herders’ conflict was a phenomenon ravaging the entire country, adding that it
expected the NBA to constructively engage the government and all parties towards resolving the crisis and not take sides.
August 23, 2020
Trump’s strategy on Huawei will result in a loss for his country
The latest United States’ actions to stifle the rise of Huawei, China’s leading technology company, have taken effect.
Announced in May by Donald Trump’s administration, they are aimed at plugging perceived loopholes to prevent the telecommunications giant from being able to acquire the US-made
semiconductors so vital to its core business. Beijing has vowed to take “all necessary measures” to protect the interests of Chinese firms, although an effective workaround will take time.
The White House may sense victory, but attempting to crush rivalry in such a way is counterproductive. Huawei, the world’s largest smartphone maker and leading provider of 5G mobile technology, has a huge appetite for chips, parts and software, and US companies are major suppliers.
Such prominence was bound to make the firm a target of the Trump administration’s efforts to diminish Beijing’s power and influence, and the company has been accused of being a threat to national security through alleged intellectual property theft and state-sponsored spying.
Although no evidence has been produced, ever-tougher sanctions and penalties have been rolled out and the latest involve a ban on US firms providing chips without a special licence and 38 Huawei affiliates in 21 countries being blacklisted.
The steps are likely to cause short-term financial damage and affect supply chains and perhaps cause the loss of some markets, but are unlikely to kill the company.
The firm has a stockpile of imported chips that will last into the coming year and is working with overseas companies in an effort to develop parts free of US elements. But even though China is pushing development of its semiconductor industry, it faces major hurdles.
The leading players in chip design software are American and control about 90 per cent of the market. Still, Huawei is determined to succeed and has considerable research and development resources, so instead of seeing off competition,
Trump is speeding up Chinese self-reliance. His actions are also directly harming American interests. The 1,200 US firms that are suppliers to Huawei have lost business, while 5G development will be set back. But targeting Huawei and other Chinese tech companies could also make China less open to the world.
They are among the nation’s most multinational, with large numbers of foreign staff and overseas offices. Chinese working for such firms are exposed to outside ideas and influences, vital elements of better understanding the world and improving China’s international stature.
The more the US pushes, the greater will be the rise of Chinese nationalism and a resistance among hardliners to economic reforms and change. Trump wants to score a win, but his strategy is instead leading to little more than loss for his country.
Culled from South China Morning Post
August 23, 2020
Minister calls for cooperation on removal of illegal structures in FCT
By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
Minister of the FCT Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has called for cooperation from political and community leaders in the FCT with the Administration for the removal of illegal structures and overall development of the Territory.
Bello made this call when Senator Philip Aduda led a delegation of political and community leaders on a visit to the FCT minister in the wake of the removal of illegal structures at Apo Akpajenya and Dagbalo in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
Senator Philip Aduda had led the delegation to the FCTA to register concern over the removal of illegal structures in the affected communities within the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
He requested that in future , before such exercises are carried out, enough notice and time should be given to the affected communities to forestall any hardship.
Meanwhile the minister noted the importance of cooperation between the political and community leaders and the FCT administration through constant communication.
He said, “dialogue and sensitization, community engagement of traditional, religious, indigenous communities as well as the Area Council political leadership and overall information dissemination are solutions to community issues.”
Bello disclosed that there were a number of pending projects that will require the cooperation of the communities to ensure success and the overall development of the FCT.
He said that as an advocate of community integration and urban renewal where urban development is implemented around indigenous communities, but this will require the cooperation of those communities.
He decried situations where community heads are refusing to cooperate with the Administration for the development of certain areas within the FCT. He reminded the leaders that the development of towns and cities take years and could not be accomplished within short periods of time.
He urged community leaders who had been relocated and resettled to move to the new locations as this will encourage the community members to follow suit, adding that, community heads should show leadership and lead by example.
Members of the delegation include Honourable Micah Jiba representing the AMAC Bwari Federal Constituency, the Executive Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, Adamu Abdullahi Candido, the Sapeyi of Garki, HRH Usman Ngakupi among others.
August 22, 2020
FCTA moves against illegal mining
By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Minister of FCT, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello has disclosed that his administration will soon put an end to all illegal mining activities, within the FCT, particularly the Kutasa Gold mining operations because of water contamination and danger to the health of residents in affected communities.
Bello made this known when he paid a courtesy visit to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in Abuja.
The minister condemned the way mining companies without proper permission from relevant authorities began gold mining operations in Kutasa community in AMAC, adding that such mining activities cause water pollution in affected community.
The minister lamented that without an inkling to such operations in that community, the mining company concerned had entered into agreement with local authorities who granted them a mining lease to prospect for gold in an area in the FCT.
All these are obviously wrong and totally against existing mining policy, he said.
The Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Sulaiman Adamu commended the FCTA for its action regarding the mining activities at Kutasa community.
He said that issues of water pollution emanating from mining activities was of great concern to his Ministry considering the issue of lead poisoning in Niger State as a result of mining activities in 2016.
End
August 22, 2020
Air Task Force Destroys Boko Haram Terrorists Structures in Warshale, Borno
Air strikes being conducted by the Air Task Force of Operation LAFIYA DOLE under the subsidiary Operation HAIL STORM have destroyed several Boko Haram Terrorists’ structures and fighters at Warshale in the Northern part of Borno.
The mission was executed after credible intelligence reports and series of aerial surveillance missions established that the settlement was one of those being used by the terrorists as staging area to launch attacks.
A statement by Brig Gen, Paul Eneche, coordination defense media operations said the Air Task Force dispatched Nigerian Air Force (NAF) dispatched a fighter jets and attack helicopters, which engaged the location recording devastating hits resulting in the obliteration of several structures as well as the neutralization of some of the terrorists.
August 21, 2020
Signs You’ve Already Had Coronavirus Without Realizing It
By Leah Groth
It will likely be a while until we learn the results of major antibody studies to determine just how many people have already been infected with COVID-19—which will help determine just how close we are to achieving herd immunity we actually are.
However, one thing is crystal clear: Many more people were infected with coronavirus than we previously thought. You might be wondering if you fall into that category. Here are 12 ways to help you figure out if you’ve already had coronavirus. Read on, and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You’ve Already Had Coronavirus.
1. A Positive Antibody Test
Positive test result by using rapid test device for COVID-19, novel coronavirus 2019
The only way to know if you have already been infected with COVID-19 is by taking an antibody test. “Unfortunately, outside of testing, there is no way you can determine if you’ve had COVID solely based on symptoms,” says Shannon Sovndal, MD, board-certified doctor in emergency medicine. “Many coronaviruses (as well as the flu) can make you feel similar. Additionally, COVID-19 may infect an individual and cause little or no symptoms.”
2. You Experienced Symptoms Earlier in the Year.
Sick man sleeps covered with a blanket lying in bed with high fever, resting at living room. He is exhausted and suffering from flu with cup of tea with lemon, medicaments. Influenza season.
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In January and February, most of us didn’t realize the coronavirus was slowly spreading across the country. If you experienced any symptoms earlier in the year, you probably brushed them off as something else. However, there’s a decent chance you actually had COVID-19.
3. You Lost Your Sense of Taste or Smell
Did you experience a weird stint where you couldn’t taste or smell anything? Sharon Chekijian, MD, MPH, a Yale Medicine emergency medicine doctor and assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine, says it could have been coronavirus. “One sign that you were likely infected is a loss of smell and sometimes taste,” she explains. “Although other viruses or medical conditions can do this too, right now, it may mean you’re infected — even in the absence of other symptoms.”
4. Thunderous Headache
Headaches are one of the CDC’s most common symptoms. Since you might normally get them—due to stress, loud noises or body chemistry—you may not associate them with the coronavirus. But you should.
5. You Experienced Bizarre Skin Issues
While neither the WHO or CDC mentions skin rashes as a possible symptom of COVID, doctors across the country have reported various types of skin rashes—from COVID toes to rashes and lesions on the body —thought to be as a result of virus-related inflammation. In fact, the American Academy of Dermatology has set up a registry where healthcare workers can report cases of skin conditions that develop in COVID-19 patients, in hopes of understanding exactly why the virus is causing these issues.
6. You Suffered a Period of Extreme Exhaustion
Was there a time over the last few months, when you simply felt too tired to move? Maybe you thought it was due to a rigorous workout, or maybe a lack of sleep. But an overwhelming number of people who have coronavirus experience only mild symptoms, and a common one of those is extreme fatigue. As with any type of infection, your body uses energy to fight against it, and the result is feeling more tired than usual.
7. You Had an Unrelenting Dry Cough
According to Chinese researchers, 68 percent of coronavirus patients complain of a dry, continuous cough.
8. You Had Pink Eye
Pink eye is one of those pesky eye infections that most of us experience at some point in life. However, the American Academy of Ophthalmology points out that the condition, also called conjunctivitis, can be COVID-related. “Several reports suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can cause a mild follicular conjunctivitis otherwise indistinguishable from other viral causes, and possibly be transmitted by aerosol contact with conjunctiva,” they explained in a statement.
9. You Were Plagued with Digestive Issues
Did you experience diarrhea, nausea, or gas, and brush it off as something you ate or the stomach flu? “Some people have classic signs of COVID infection like body aches, fevers, headaches, cough and sometimes shortness of breath, but a lot of people are coming to the emergency department with nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain,” Dr. Chekijian explains. “While we would usually think this is just a stomach bug, right now there’s a good chance that it’s COVID.”
10. You Were Around Others Who Had It
If you attended a conference, service, social event, protest or classes with others who were infected, you may not have dodged the infection bullet after all. Research has found that many people had COVID and never realized it because they were asymptomatic. One study found that many asymptomatic carriers were living in the same area as other people who tested positive.
11. You Experienced Breathlessness
If you were having trouble breathing, it could have been COVID-19. Because the virus is an infection of the upper respiratory tract, breathlessness—especially at rest—may have been a sign you were battling the virus.
12. You Thought You Had the Flu
Due to the fact that COVID’s spread occurred during cold and flu season—and the symptoms are quite similar—it’s very possible you were misdiagnosed even by your own doctor. For example, if you were really sick and took a flu test in January or February, before COVID tests were available, there’s a very good chance you had it.
13. What to Do Next
If you experienced any of the symptoms mentioned here, contact a medical professional. And to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these 37 Places You’re Most Likely to Catch Coronavirus.
August 21, 2020
Coy petitions NBA over N100m extortion by one of its own
By Samuel Itsede
DAMIJAY Integrated Services limited, has petitioned the National President, Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, over the conduct of one of its own, Bar. Victor Giwa.
The company is accusing Giwa of alledged unlawfully extortion, to the tune of 100,000,000 naira, which it says was to help in effecting a Court order against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
According Mr Donald Wokoma, a Director in Damijay Integrated Services Limited, sometimes in 2018, he engaged the legal services of Victor Giwa, Esq. upon discovering that a restriction was placed on his company’s account domiciled with Access Bank PLC (then Diamond Bank). And that after making his inquiry, Barrister Victor Giwa (whose phone number is: 08033072332) discovered and so informed him that it was at the instance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, that the said restriction of ‘Post No Debit’ was slammed on the said account without a court order.
Wokoma, in his petition stated that arising from the foregoing development, his client promptly instituted an action before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja sitting at Jabi and presided over by the Honourable Justice O.C. AGBAZA in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/2908/2018 wherein judgment was entered on the 21st day of November, 2018, in his favour against the EFCC declaring the restrictions on its account unlawful and effectively ordering that all restrictions thereon be lifted peremptorily.
The Petitioner, in his petition made available to Daybreak, maintained that instead of his client enforcing the judgment of the Court he got in his favour against the EFCC, “Barrister Victor Giwa started telling me that the EFCC operatives requested for Seventy-Five Million Naira as a condition for them to obey the Order of the Court.
At his instruction, I wrote out a three sets of Diamond Bank Cheques valued at 25 Million Naira each, which he later brought back to me to request instead that I execute an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order which I did.
“Barrister Victor Giwa later reverted to me and informed me that the initial seventy-five Million Naira has been rejected by the EFCC officials he was interfacing with but that they were now demanding the 40 percent of the total sum in the account (which aggregates to 100,000,000, naira, One Hundred Million naira). At that point, I out-rightly rejected the new request.
“I now approached another Lawyer, Barrister Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi and directed him to write a petition to the Office of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and copy the Hon. Justice Ayo-Salami led Panel sitting in the Old Banquet Hall, Aso Villa. Eventually, the Panel invited both myself and my Lawyer and Victor Giwa. Before the Honourable Judicial Commission of Inquiry, I filed an affidavit in support of the said petition. The said affidavit carries some exhibits which I attached and adopt in support of the petition,” Wokoma said.
He added that it was at the hearing on the 18th of August, 2020 before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry that Barrister Victor Giwa was confronted with an audio recording (of twenty-seven minutes) which I made the day he came to collect the cheques of Seventy-Five Million Naira from me. I had earlier submitted the audio to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry as an exhibit and it was played to the hearing of the Commission, Victor Giwa, Esq., the suspended Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, Mr. Ibrahim Magu’s Lawyer, Tosin Ojaomo, myself and my Lawyer, Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi. In the said recorded audio, Victor Giwa, in trying to convince me to issue the cheques, informed me that he has met with Mr. Ibrahim Magu on the matter and because of that he was okay.
“When asked by the Commission whether he could identify the voice in the said audio, Barrister Victor Giwa admitted that he is the one in the audio discussing with me in the 27 minutes recorded conversation. To my utmost chagrin, Barrister Victor Giwa confessed that he never met Mr. Ibrahim Magu over my case and said that he was lying to me all the while he was flaunting his name to me. This led the Counsel to Mr. Ibrahim Magu, Tosin Ojaomo, to call for the arrest and investigation of Barrister Victor Giwa for fraudulently using the name of his client to dupe our company to the tune of One Hundred Million Naira,” he said.

August 21, 2020
New CAMA Act ungodly, reprehensible says CAN
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Thursday said it completely rejects the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA, 2020 Completely.
This is contained in a statement Thurday by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, Special Assistant, (Media &Communications) to His Eminence, Rev Dr Samson Ayokunle, the CAN President.
The Act was assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari recently. By implications, he has repealed the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990 (1).
Can in the statement said “the law, is unacceptable, ungodly, reprehensible and an ill-wind that blows no one any good” noting that it was a time bomb waiting to explode.
“We recall that during the First Term of the President, there was a Public Hearing conducted by the National Assembly on the Non- Governmental Organisations Bill tagged ‘Bill for an Act To Provide For The Establishment Of The Non-Governmental Organizations Regulatory Commission For The Supervision, Co-ordination And Monitoring Of Non Governmental Organizations’ which was attended by CAN and many NGOs.
At the Public Hearing, the Bill that sought to bring the religious organizations and NGOs under the control and influence of the government was totally rejected because it would snuff life out of the church and rank the church as a secular institution under secular control.
We thought it was all over until we heard of the CAMA that was assented to by the President, making the rejected bill a law.
The satanic section of the controversial and ungodly law is Section 839 (1) &(2) which empowers the Commission to suspend trustees of an association (in this case, the church) and appoint the interim managers to manage the affairs of the association for some given reasons.
While we are not against the government fighting corruption wherever it may be found, yet we completely reject the idea of bringing the Church, which is technically grouped among the NGOs, under control of the government.
The Church cannot be controlled by the government because of its spiritual responsibilities and obligations. This is why we are calling on the Federal government to stop the implementation of the obnoxious and ungodly law until the religious institutions are exempted from it.
We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently return the law to the National Assembly for immediate amendment. Nigeria should not be compared with any other nation when it comes to the relationship between the religious institutions and the government. In Nigeria, people’s religions are tied to their humanity and of course, their life.
How can the government sack the trustee of a church which it contributed no dime to establish? How can a secular and political minister be the final authority on the affairs and management of another institution which is not political? For example, how can a non-Christian head of Government Ministry be the one to determine the running of the church? It is an invitation to trouble that the government does not have power to manage. Let the government face the business of providing infrastructure for the people. Let them focus on better health provision, food, education, adequate security employment, etc. The government should not be a busy body in a matter that does not belong to it. The government does not have the technical expertise to run the church of God because of its spiritual nature.
If the government is bent on imposing a law on us which the entire Church in Nigeria is against, then, they have declared war on Christianity and the agenda to destroy the Church which we have spoken against before now is coming to the open more clearly. If you cannot give us good amenities of life, we would not allow you to take away our liberty to worship our Maker.
What good thing again will you not take away from the people in the name of being in power? Are we not running a democracy which is a government of the people by the people and for the people? Is this not gradually becoming a dictatorship or what was the essence of the Public Hearing you called us to when you had made up your mind not to consider the position of Christians at all which we presented during the Public Hearing?
We call on all well meaning Nigerians to ask the Federal Government to suspend the law because we do not need it in this nation.
The statement concluded
August 21, 2020