Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will drop his objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO once an enormous amount of pressure is put on him, said Henri J. Barkey, an adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“It is possible that the Europeans and the Americans would find some facesaving concessions that may not mean much but will satisfy him,” said Barkey, who is also the Cohen Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University.

Erdoğan, who has lost significant political support at home ahead of elections scheduled for next June, is in defensive mode and therefore will try to make the most of everything, Barkey said in an interview with journalist Nervana Mahmoud for Ahval’s Turkish Trends podcast series on Wednesday.

“The thing about the Turks is that they always ask for the maximalist conditions so they make it sound like they want heaven on earth, and hope that eventually they would get a little bit and they would turn around and call it a big victory,” he said.

Turkey blocked the start of NATO membership talks with Finland and Sweden on Wednesday citing their alleged failure to combat terrorism, saying the two Nordic countries provide shelter to members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group fighting for Kurdish autonomy on Turkish soil, and the religious Gülen Movement, which Turkey blames for a coup attempt in 2016.

Turkish officials say that Sweden and Finland have failed to agree to extradite dozens of the so-called terrorists over the past five years. The two countries should also drop an arms embargo on Turkey, Erdoğan says.

Sweden is a country of rule of law and there is absolutely no way that it would extradite a person to a country where anyone can be found guilty by a court on completely invented accusations, Barkey said.

Barkey pointed to an Istanbul court’s decision last month to jail philanthropist Osman Kavala for life for seeking to overthrow the government by financing the Gezi Park protests of 2013. The case was based completely on fictituous accusations, he said.

“So there’s no way on earth that Sweden will give up anybody,” Barkey said.

Erdoğan is in a very difficult situation at home and it is certainly not clear that his party is going to win the polls next year and he may even be defeated himself, Barkey said.

So “He’s using everything to show how tough he is against the West,” he said.

“I think at the end of the day the Turkish public will not vote for Erdoğan or against him on this issue. It’s mostly the economy. Economic conditions are what matters,” Barkey said.

 The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Thursday, urged Pastor Williams Kumuyi of Deeper Life Bible Church to cancel his scheduled crusade in Abia State.

IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, warned Kumuyi to stop the planned crusade due to the security in the Southeast.

Stressing that IPOB would not allow anyone to die, Powerful noted that any death incurred during the crusade would be blamed on the group.

Powerful said: “We the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by our great leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU wishes to advise Pastor Kumuyi of Deeper life Ministry to take note of the security situation in the South East as he comes to Aba for his gospel crusade.

”Let him and the organisers of the crusade make sure that nothing happens. The security of this region is not good because of political and criminal activities; therefore we advise him to stop this crusade for security reasons.

“IPOB will not allow anyone to die because of this crusade scheduled to hold in Aba. The operation of criminals operating as unknown gunmen infiltrating the events is high and they will blame it on IPOB.

“We ask him to pray for an end to the insecurity in Biafra land if he can. We charge Christians and men of God in Biafra land to engage God in fervent prayers to expose all those behind the insecurity in our land.

“Kumuyi should also pray against wicked Leaders and saboteurs in Biafra land and Nigeria. They are the real problems of the people. Let him use the opportunity to pray against the powers holding people captive in Nigeria in his church in Lagos.”

 Frontline Presidential aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, on Monday, officially resigned his position in the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari as the Minister of Transportation to focus on his aspiration to contest for the 2023 presidency.

In a press statement issued by the Amaechi Presidential Media Committee (APMC) signed by Kingsley Wali, in Abuja, Amaechi in his resignation letter expressed profound gratitude to the President for considering him fit to serve in his administration.

He equally thanked Buhari for the enormous support given him, which he said, was responsible for the tremendous record of achievements he made in the Ministry of Transportation over the last seven years.

The statement quoted Amaechi as saying in his resignation letter: “It is with mixed feelings that I tender my resignation as the Minister of Transportation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to contest for the Presidential ticket of our great party, the All Progressives Congress.

“Your Excellency, it has been a great honour and privilege serving as a member of your cabinet following your historic victory at the polls in 2015. Under your administration, the Ministry of Transportation has recorded significant achievements, made possible by your visionary support and commitment to ensuring that we deliver on our mandate.

“As I embark on the next phase of our mission to work towards a better Nigeria for ALL NIGERIANS, I humbly seek Your Excellency’s prayers, blessings and look towards your continuous support and guidance.

“Your Excellency, whilst humbly seeking your kind consideration of my request please accept the assurances of my highest esteem.”

Amaechi, the 56-year-old quintessential politician believed to be the most qualified among those aspiring to secure the ticket of the APC for the 2023 presidential election, is widely reckoned as the best performing minister in the Buhari’s cabinet. The kind of zeal and energy with which he carried on in his revolutionization of the transport sector was never seen in any previous Minister of Transportation in the country.

All the agencies under his direct supervision – Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), etc – have been remarkably transformed and repositioned for better performance and greater efficiency in their operations.

 Russia has reacted angrily to the plans by Finland and Sweden to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The intergovernmental military alliance already has 30 member states – 28 in Europe, the United States, and Canada.

On Monday, Moscow warned that the admission of the two countries would be a grave mistake.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said there will be far-reaching consequences.

Ryabkov added that military tensions with the two Scandinavian nations would increase.

“They should have no illusions that we will simply resign ourselves to this”, Interfax news agency quoted him saying.

In a chat with Finnish Head of State Sauli Niinistö, President Vladimir Putin said his country would be making an error.

More European countries are seeking NATO membership due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

 Sweden has decided to follow neighboring Finland and apply for NATO membership, ending more than 200 years of military nonalignment because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, officials said Monday.

Sweden’s Prime Minister announced Monday that Sweden will join Finland in seeking NATO membership in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The historic shift, which comes after more than 200 years of military nonalignment in the Nordic country, is likely to upset Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We will inform NATO that we want to become a member of the alliance,” Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said.

The announcement came after a debate in Riksdagen, or Parliament, earlier Monday showed that there is a huge support for joining NATO. Out of Sweden’s eight parties, only two smaller left-leaning parties opposed it.

On Sunday, the Swedish Social Democrats broke with the party’s long-standing position that Sweden must remain nonaligned, paving the way for a clear majority for NATO membership in the parliament.

The move in Sweden came after neighboring Finland announced Sunday that it too would seek to join the 30-country alliance.

Public opinion in both countries was firmly against joining NATO before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, but support for NATO membership surged quickly after that.

What is NATO and what Countries are members?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military and political alliance into safeguarding the security and defense of its 30 members in Europe and North America.

NATO was formed in Washington DC in April 1949 to strengthen ties between States in the face of a perceived Soviet threat. It was originally a 12-member alliance (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States); then later, Greece and Turkey (1952), Germany (1955), Spain (1982), the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland (1999), Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia (2004), Albania and Croatia (2009), Montenegro (2017) and North Macedonia (2020).

The group's Civilian Headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium. Its general Staff is structured into the Allied Command Operation in Mons, Belgium and the Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.

NATO carried out ground, air and naval operations across the globe. Forces are operating in Kosovo and the Mediterranean. The group carries out Training in Iraq and it's also co-operating with the African Union.

NATO also fulfills activating machines for its members. The Principles of collective defense is at the heart of NATO's founding treaty. According to Article V, an attack against one member is considered an attack against all. The article was first invoked in 2001 as a sign of members solidarity as a response to the 9/11 attacks in the US.

 Russian forces have gone ‘from the offensive to the defensive’ as Ukraine launches counter-attack on enemy-held town of Izyum

Ukraine appears to have won the battle for Kharkiv, a US report has said, as Russian forces retreated from around the eastern city due to an apparent lack of troop reinforcements.

It came as Ukrainian forces launched a counter-offensive to seize back the nearby Russian-controlled strategic town of Izyum in the east, threatening Moscow’s attempts to control the Donbas region by encircling it.

If confirmed, the failure to capture Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, would be Russia’s second major defeat of the war after losing the battle for Kyiv.

It would be a stunning turnaround for Ukraine’s so-called “fortress city”. Kharkiv was almost surrounded and looked certain to fall in the first week of the war as Russian troops poured over the border, which lies just a few dozen kilometres to the north.

Russian forces were close to encircling Kharkiv in March, gaining ground around the city and pummelling it with artillery fire from the suburbs.

Constant shelling forced hundreds of thousand residents to flee or seek shelter in the city metro or underground shelter while airstrikes turned part of the centre, including the City Hall, to rubble.

But apart from once briefly entering a small part of the city, Russian troops have failed to make any inroads amid stiff resistance. That has left them with no choice other than to retreat, according to researchers at the US-based think-tank Institute for the Study of War.

“The Russian military has likely decided to withdraw fully from its positions around Kharkiv in the face of the Ukrainian counter-offensives and the limited availability of reinforcements,” it said. “Ukraine thus appears to have won the Battle of Kharkiv.”

The mayor has said Ukrainian troops have successfully repelled Russia’s attempts to take the city.

“They [the Russians] were very close to the city,” Igor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv, told the BBC on Saturday. “Thanks to the efforts of Kharkiv territorial defence and the Ukrainian army, the Russians have moved back far from the city towards the Russian border.”

“Kharkiv is quiet now, and people are slowly returning to the city.”

The apparent withdrawal has led some experts to suggest this might be the beginning of a “tipping point”.

Russian forces have “moved from the offensive to the defensive (conversely, the Ukrainians have moved from the defensive to the offensive),” said Dr Mike Martin, a former British Army officer and visiting fellow for war studies at King’s College London. “We’re reaching a bit of a tipping point in the Ukraine War.”

Yet, claiming an all-out victory in Kharkiv remains premature.

Shelling from retreating Russian forces

Shelling could still be heard from central Kharkiv and in neighbouring villages on Saturday, including incoming rounds fired by retreating Russian troops.

Some shells fell close to Tsykurny, a village just north-east of the city that was recaptured by Ukrainian forces a week ago.

Rounds also landed near the village of Sorokivka, east of Kharkiv and south of the current Russian front-line, locals and soldiers stationed there said.

Russian forces are now believed to be focusing on seizing all of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east, as well as guarding supply routes to those regions, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Saturday.

Hoping to build on their gains, Ukraine said it had launched a counter-offensive on Saturday near the Russia-held town of Izyum. Russia seized control of the city on April 1 and has occupied it ever since.

“The direction of Izyum remains the hottest spot – this is where our armed forces have launched a counter-offensive. The enemy is retreating on some fronts,” Oleg Sinehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said in a statement.

The successes of Ukrainian forces in recent weeks has prompted Kyiv’s chief of military intelligence to say he was optimistic that the war may be largely over by December.

“The breaking point will be in the second part of August,” Maj Gen Kyrylo Budanov told Sky News. “Most of the active combat actions will have finished by the end of this year.”

But just as around Kyiv, the receding tide of battle around Kharkiv has left villages badly damaged, with many homes and power lines destroyed.

 Mr Peter Obi, Presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that if voted president of Nigeria, he will replace sharing formula of monthly allocation with production formula.

Obi, an industrialist, said this in Calabar when he visited delegates of the PDP toward the forthcoming party’s presidential primary of May 28 and May 29.

The former governor of Anambra, said it was important for everybody to be productive if the nation must survive adding that other nations in the world were busy producing while Nigeria was busy sharing and consuming.

He said it was not a time to dance and celebrate as a nation but a time to work and fix the nation badly battered because of our celebration of the wrong things.

“Nigeria is a nation of over 200 million people with about 100 million living in poverty, over 18 million out of school children out of which about 10 million are girls.

“We have 35 per cent unemployment rate and if we add underemployment it will rise to over 50 per cent, many of which are youths in their productive age, so we cannot be celebrating,” he said.

The astute economist said there was nothing wrong in borrowing as a nation as the largest economies in the world were also in debt but the problem of Nigeria was that it was borrowing for consumption.

“The consequence of borrowing for consumption today is that Nigeria is spending over 90 per cent of its revenue to service debts without much production to show for it.

“Exporting crude oil has not saved Venezuela or any country, we need to invest in our massive land mass and grow our economy like other nations such as Singapore, Vietnam and even Morocco has done with tourism,” he maintained.

He appealed to the party delegates to place less emphasis on sharing money as many politicians would come to share money but when it was time to vote they should consider the future of their children.

Responding, Mr Venatius Ikem, Chairman of PDP in Cross River, said although things had gone really bad for the nation, we could start repairing for the future by voting right.

According to him, Obi is the kind of president Nigeria needs because after listening to him every right thinking person should have a sober reflection on the way forward for Nigeria.

“I believe if you become president, Nigeria will have a turn around.

“I however do not expect Nigerians to just wish but express their wishes through their support for Peter Obi,” he noted.

Source... Vanguard News Nigeria

 President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja bade farewell to outgoing members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), pledging to fill the vacuum created by their depature without delay.

The President affirmed that a significant number of the ministers who resigned to pursue their political ambitions have been sufficiently equipped to aspire to higher elective offices, including the Office of the President.

Speaking at a valedictory session for appointees leaving the cabinet to pursue political ambitions, the President said: ‘’I have no doubt that if the next President emerges from among former members of this cabinet, like any other aspirant, ample competence and outstanding service delivery would be on display. This will be part of our legacies to Nigerians.’’

The President, who commended the departing public officers for serving the nation sacrificially, ‘’with dignity and honour’’, had at the FEC meeting of Wednesday, May 11, 2022, directed that all ministers and other political appointees who aspire to contest for elective offices in the 2023 general election should resign their current appointments.

‘’I note that some have complied while others are in the process of doing so. I would like to use this opportunity to commend your decision and courage to contest for elective offices and your compliance with my directive.

‘’I also wish to thank you for your invaluable services to this nation through your contributions as Cabinet members. I wish you success in the upcoming elections and in your future endeavours,’’ he said.

President Buhari told the ministers that looking back as the head of the team over the years, he had fond memories of incisive and robust discussions during cabinet meetings, rendering of performance reports during special sessions and presidential retreats.

“In 2015, citizens of this country overwhelmingly voted for me to become the President of this nation on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Selecting members of the Cabinet went through a careful process so that the best and most competent could emerge. The performance of that class of 2015 proved me right.

“In 2019, Nigerians similarly re-elected me as President. Again the selection went through another meticulous process. That re-election was significant because it served as a referendum on our performance during the first term and it inspired me to bring back some of the members of the first cabinet either to their old Ministries or re-assigned to other sectors.

“New members were also brought on board to inject fresh energies, skills and ideas to enhance the execution of government’s programmes and policies.

“With these and much more, I am happy to note that a significant number of cabinet members have become sufficiently equipped to aspire to higher elective offices, including the Office of the President. This shows the impact of the experience gathered while serving as members of the Federal Executive Council,” he said.

The President acknowledged that prior to some of them joining his cabinet, they had made their marks in other areas as governors, legislators, entrepreneurs and core professionals.

He added that the experience and expertise they brought on board have significantly resulted in enormous development in various sectors and the accomplishment of government programmes.

‘’These include infrastructure, agriculture, health systems, financial management, administration of justice, building social safety net systems,’’ he added.

Noting that the departure of some cabinet members has undoubtedly created a vacuum that should be filled, the President said appointments would be made without delay so that the business of governance would not suffer.

President Buhari urged the remaining members of the cabinet to show more diligence, resilience and commitment to serve Nigerians better, saying, “the journey to the finish line is still very far.” 

“Like always, there will be challenges to address, programmes to deliver and policies to implement. You must therefore brace up for more work and target increased accomplishments.

“The determination to leave important legacies for Nigerians should never be compromised,’’ he stressed. The outgoing Ministers present during the valedictory session were that of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio; Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva and Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.

Others were the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development, Uche Ogah, the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen and the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Tayo Alasoadura.

The Minister of State (Education), Emeka Nwajiuba, who had earlier tendered his resignation, was not present at the valedictory session.

Speaking on behalf of the outgoing ministers, Akpabio thanked the President for giving them the opportunity to serve and contribute their quota to nation building.

He described working with the President as a “fantastic and knowledgeable experience,” adding that as they step aside, they would continue to be great disciples of Buhari.

‘’As we step aside from FEC, I want you to know that you have disciples in us. I want you to know that it is time for us to propagate Buharism.

‘’I want you to know that we are going to be working closely with the Minister of Information and Culture to take your message of transformation, love, patience, administrative sagacity to Nigerians,’’ he said.

The Niger Delta Minister told the President that from his interactions with his colleagues, leaving the cabinet was like the story of the Spanish play of “sadness and joy.”

“Sadness in the sense that we are going to miss the continuous daily and weekly interaction with a father and learning from him; joy because we now have an opportunity to go to the wider audience in Nigeria to speak more of your achievements for this country,” he explained.

Lauding the President’s deep patriotism, Akpabio said he was the “best president Nigeria could ever have had at a time of difficult circumstances.”

He prayed God Almighty to grant the President a successful tenure and protect his family, adding: ‘’May one of us succeed you in order to continue the good legacies you have laid on ground. We have seen and know your vision. We know where you want the country to be.”

Source... Guardian.ng 

 Russia suspends electricity supplies to Finland, a supplier said on Friday as tensions rise over Helsinki's NATO bid amid Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine.

'We are forced to suspend the electricity import starting from May 14,' said RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of Russian state energy holding Inter RAO.

'RAO Nordic is not able to make payments for the imported electricity from Russia.'

The firm is not directly faced with Western sanctions over the invasion into Ukraine, Montel News reports. However the outlet adds Inter Rao Lietuva - its 51% owned Lithuanian subsidiary - is.

MailOnline has reached out to RAO Nordic for more information.

It comes as Russia yesterday accused Finland of 'pushing above its weight' as the country signalled its intention to join NATO.

Putin's EU ambassador vowed to bolster defences on the Russia and Finland's shared 800-mile-long border if it decided to join the alliance.

Vladimir Chizhov said if Finland joined it would lead to 'certain military-technical measures, like improving or raising the degree of defence preparations along the Finnish border'.

A move would 'certainly necessitate rethinking of Russian defence posture' but not 'necessarily [involve] troops and tanks, but certain preparations like radars, perhaps', he told Sky News.

Yesterday a former British ambassador to Russia has said there may be 'much more Russian nuclear deployment in the Baltic' areas in response to Finland potentially becoming a NATO member in light of the war in Ukraine.

Sir Tony Brenton told BBC's Newsnight programme the Kremlin may think 'it expands their view of NATO as a threat to them'.

He said: 'They will be very conscious especially as this war winds its way to a conclusion that their conventional forces have not produced the results they hoped for.

'They will be increasingly inclined therefore to use their nuclear strength as a demonstration they need to be taken seriously.

'I think we need to resign ourselves to the likelihood of much more Russian nuclear deployment in the Baltic area as a response to Finland's accession to NATO, when it comes, and Sweden's very likely one as well.'

 A police officer, Olusegun Bamidele, serving with the homicide department of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Yaba, has told the court how investigations revealed where the late Usifo Ataga and Chidinma Ojukwu might have met before arriving at the crime scene.

The police officer testified on Tuesday in the murder case of the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Mr Ataga, at a High Court at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos.

“While I was investigating into the background, I and a friend of the deceased went to Angel Villa Hotel in Lekki,” said Mr Bamidele.

“The owner of the hotel was approached and the story was related to him. Luckily the hotel had CCTV which revealed the presence of the deceased and Chidinma at the hotel.

“After we tracked her to her home in Alagomeji (Yaba) and brought her to the DCP’s office, she was asked about her relationship with the deceased. She denied it initially and this prompted us to deploy the CCTV. She then agreed that she is the Chidinma Adaora Ojukwu we were looking for”.

“We then took her in the company of her foster father, one Onoh Ojukwu, back to the house in Alagomeji where we initially arrested her. We conducted a search of the house in their presence”.

According to the officer, the search yielded a maroon-coloured cloth that Ms Ojukwu wore on the day Mr Ataga was murdered.

“The cloth was stained with blood. Then Onoh Ojukwu shouted: ‘Chidinma, you have killed me, you have done something wrong outside.’

“Chidinma was also crying. We also recovered the black/blue long sleeves gown she wore when she left the apartment in Lekki. This further established that she has something to do with the deceased,” he said.

“We recovered Access bank statements of the deceased, we recovered UBA bank statements with the name Mary Johnson, an ID card with Chidinma’s picture but which carried the name, Mary Johnson. An international passport with her picture, a Uniport certificate with Chidinma’s name boldly written on it, her phone, and some other documents I can’t recollect. We then went back to the office.”

He said at the office, he provided Ms Ojukwu with some food, malt drink, and water. She ate it, after which he started to question her and record her statement.

Mr Bamidele said that Ms Ojukwu said that the deceased was introduced to her by a friend at a hangout on Victoria Island and they developed a sexual relationship afterwards.

“I remember she mentioned a date, 12th June 2021. She received a call from the deceased that they needed to see and go out. Based on the request, she sourced for the apartment,” the officer said.

“She confessed that shortly after she arrived at the apartment, on the 13th, the deceased drove in, in his Range Rover. On his arrival, she said they were both hungry and drove out to eat and returned to the apartment, watched a film, and conversed leading up to sex. They also engaged in smoking Loud. On the 14th, they did the same thing.

“She said she initially came in with the Loud smoke. That’s the name she called it. After they finished it, they needed more. She recollected that she made a call to the second defendant, Quadri (Adedapo) who helped her source for the Loud and another drug called Rohypnol. She also mentioned that the items were brought in through a dispatch rider to the apartment.”

According to the police officer, the suspect described Mr Adedapo as her drug supplier.

“The IPO asked her the potency of the drugs. She responded that a tablet is enough to knock out whoever uses it while Loud is a cigarette light smoke,” he added.

Murder

Mr Bamidele said the event leading to the murder occurred when the deceased asked for more sex.

“She said she pushed him away, which resulted in him knocking her head against a stool that had a glass,” he said.

“Having sustained injury on the head and knees, there was a struggle between them and she said she managed to lay hands on a kitchen knife with which she stabbed the deceased on the neck twice. She confessed that she stabbed him severally without counting and the deceased eventually fell to the floor in the room.”

The police officer also narrated to the court how Ms Ojukwu met the second defendant, Mr Quadri.

“When we interacted with the first defendant, she mentioned the second defendant, Quadri, and how they met,” he said.

“On the premise of this, we searched the call logs of the 1st defendant since she said she doesn’t know his house or address. The call log showed regular calls between both of them.

He said they traced and arrested the second defendant in Surulere.

“During their interactions, he agreed to the request of Chidinma to assist her with preparing certain documents. The documents he assisted her to procure are a driver’s licence, an identity card, a UBA statement of accounts, an Access bank statement of accounts, and a passport.

“The UBA statement of account carried the name Mary Johnson while the Access bank statement had Michael Usifo Ataga’s name on it.

“The driver’s license has the picture of the first defendant on it with the name, Mary Johnson.” said the witness.

The prosecution lawyer told the court that it wants to make sure the officer gives evidence on all he knows about the case after which they will watch all the CD’s gathered as evidence.

The judge adjourned further proceedings till Thursday.

 After months of hide and seek, former President Goodluck Jonathan may have finally joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential race.

A group of supporters of Fulani extraction and Almajiris led by Ibrahim Abdullahi picked the expression of interest and nomination forms for the former President around 6:30 pm.

Jonathan, who spoke on his entrance into the race when some women and youths stormed his office to persuade him to contest the 2023 presidential election some weeks ago, had said the process of joining was in progress.

With his entrance, APC presidential aspirants have risen to 26.

 Ben Wallace, the United Kingdom Defence Secretary, has said that Ukraine will likely defeat Russian, saying Russian forces are running out of precision weapons fairly quickly.

Russia invaded Ukraine sometimes in February this year.

Speaking in London, Ben Wallace said, “We all have highly complex weapons that, funny enough, don’t take a couple of days to replace, it can take months. Once you fire them all in the way Russia has done, they have a real challenge.”

According to BBC, he said Putin would find trying to replace those weapons “incredibly hard”, adding that a lot of the components come from the West and he won’t be able to get hold of them.

“It is not inconceivable that large superpowers, as such, as he thinks he is, lose on the battlefield,” Wallace says. “It is very possible that Ukraine will break the Russian army.”

He says it is “absurd” that today’s parade in Moscow lacks any sense of culpability or “facing-up to the reality of what’s happened to Russia’s reputation, but also the Russian soldiers… and what they’ve been doing to their Ukrainian brothers and sisters”.

Commenting on the possible defeat of Russian forces, Wallace said: “Putin must fail in Ukraine is obviously our key policy mission, but you know we mustn’t avoid the fundamentals here, which is it is for Ukraine to choose how it ends this conflict – or how it makes Russia end this conflict – and in what manner.”

 Ghana for a long time has remained a stable country in the midst of increasing extremist violence and political instability in West Africa, a report released by the West Africa Centre for Counter-Extremism (WACCE) has said.

According to the report, the narrative may no longer remain valid soon if adequate measures are not put in place to tackle the increasing threats from the Sahel.

The threat of terrorism is increasingly descending from the Sahel toward the Coastal States.

Today more than 53% of all ECOWAS states are experiencing insurgencies and the pervasive spillover phenomenon makes Ghana's border regions a key area of concern.

It said "Recent attacks in Benin, Togo, and Ivory Coast highlight the determination of the terrorists to expand beyond landlocked Sahelian countries, where the insurgency has devastated thousands of lives and property in the last decade.

"Ghana has a big number of prolonged unresolved chieftaincy and ethnic conflicts and tensions, particularly in the Northern regions."

"The inherently high exploitative capacity of extremists implies that these vulnerabilities put Ghana in danger of terrorist exploitation," it added.

"Ghana’s first recorded case was Nazir Alema Nortey3, a young university graduate, who shockingly left the country in august 2015 to join ISIS before sending a message back to his parents to announce his newfound cause.

"He was killed in Syria in April 2016. Professor Kofi Awoonor, a renowned Ghanaian poet and academic, was killed in the West Gate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya when Al Shabab fighters besieged the mall in 2013," the report noted.

 The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) says its officers caught on tape assaulting a civilian on a highway are currently under investigation.

The NCS stated this on Monday in a statement by its spokesperson, Timi Bomodi.

A video, which has since gone viral, showed Customs and Army officers on duty along the Benin-Agbor Expressway assaulting a man identified as Samson Nwachuckwu, a special assistant to Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa.

A twitter user, Harrison Gwamnishu, posted on Sunday that the two uniformed officers jointly assaulted Mr Nwachukwu by slapping him for an undisclosed reason.

In the video, Mr Nwachukwu never retaliated “but endured the pain” as he was reported to have lodged complaints of the incident to higher authorities.

Reacting to the incident, the customs officials at the entire zone have since been withdrawn and have reported to Port Harcourt for investigation.

“This officer and other members of that team from FOU Zone ‘C’ have since been withdrawn from patrol duties and are currently under administrative investigation at the NCS Zonal Headquarters Zone ‘C’ Port Harcourt,” the statement said.

PRESS STATEMENT

VIRAL VIDEO ON ASSAULT: CUSTOMS VOWS TO SANCTION UNRULY OFFICER

The attention of the Nigeria Customs Service has been drawn to a video making the rounds on social media. In it, one of our officers was recorded assaulting an unarmed civilian. This action took place on the Benin – Agbor expressway on Saturday the 7th of May 2022 at about 5.00 pm.

This officer and other members of that team from FOU Zone ‘C’ have since been withdrawn from patrol duties and are currently under administrative investigation at the NCS Zonal Headquarters Zone ‘C’ Port Harcourt.

Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service have been trained to carry out their duties with dignity and respect, and are expected to display decorum in all their conduct at all times. Where they fail to carry out their brief as assigned, appropriate sanctions are applied to enforce discipline. The NCS would like to reassure the general public of its commitment to the welfare and safety of all citizens and frowns seriously at any act by its personnel capable of misrepresenting its corporate image.

We ask that all law-abiding persons go about their activities without fear of intimidation or harassment as we work assiduously to bring closure to this unwholesome incident.

DC Timi Bomodi

National Public Relations Officer

For: Comptroller-General of Customs

A presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Obi, has stated that Nigeria is going through difficult times and collapsing under the current regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Obi who stated this while trying to woo delegates to the PDP’s national convention from Bauchi State at a brief meeting held at the Command Guest House promised that if given the opportunity of being Nigeria’s next president, he will change the trajectory and set the country on the path of development.

“The country is going through a very difficult time now, and it is collapsing and we must, for the future of our children, change the trajectory of the country by ensuring that we move this country from consumption to production, from sharing to creating.

“We must build a better place, we must change our country because we cannot continue with this level of underdevelopment, this level of insecurity, with this level of problems all over the place. So, we must do the needful to ensure that in 2023, our party must have a candidate that has the capacity, competence, commitment to build a better Nigeria,” he said.

The two-term former Anambra state governor lamented the rising debt profile of the country since the Buhari regime came on board.

According to him, all countries of the world borrow but others use the borrowed funds to develop and improve their countries and people, Nigeria borrows to share and all that we require to take our country out of poverty is to invest a lot, invest in our GDP.

He informed the delegates that he had the capacity to tackle the security challenges bedeviling the country just as he admonished them to think about the future of their children while voting during the convention.

“Our country today is insecure and people ask me, ‘how are you going to tackle this issue of insecurity?’ You can fight insecurity in two ways: firstly, you can fight insecurity the natural way and that is making the youths have a means of livelihood. If you don’t know where the next meal will come from, there are tendencies that you go into criminality. So, you must pull people out of poverty because the more you pull people out of poverty, the more you reduce criminality.

“The second way to tackle insecurity is solving it through men – ensure that you fund security agencies and have capable men, train, empower and provide them with all the necessary equipment they need and this can be done.

“When you go to vote at the convention, please, look at the future of your children and ask yourself, ‘which kind of society do I want these children to live in?’ Even if they give you money or buy you lunch, collect it but when you go to vote, look at the future of your children. We need to do things properly,” he stated.

 @Godwin Emefiele

I am humbled by the growing interest of those asking that I run for the Office of President in the 2023 general elections: I have not come to that decision. I note and salute the sacrifices of those farmers and patriots going as far as raising personal funds and offering me Presidential Nomination Forms: I thank them most profusely.

However, Should I answer their calls and decide to seek presidential nomination, I will use my own hard earned savings from over 35 years of banking leadership to buy my own Nomination Forms, without proxies in an open and transparent manner in full compliance with the laws and Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria.

And should I not run for elected office, I will continue to serve and sacrifice for the good people of Nigeria under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari. This is a serious decision that requires God’s Divine intervention: in the next few days The Almighty will so direct.

 Sokoto State Governor and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential aspirant, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has called on the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to as a matter of urgency resign his position in the interest of the nation’s economy.

Tambuwal, who made the call while addressing PDP delegates in Jalingo on Saturday, viewed the economy of the country as being in shambles.

The decision of Emefiele to run for the presidency, he believed, would have an immediate effect on the economy, considering its volatility.

He said, “It is high time that President Muhammadu Buhari called Emefiele to order. If he wants to contest, he must resign.”

Wondering why Emefiele would remain in office as CBN governor while seeking for the number one position of the country, he said, “If you want to run, please run, but leave our Central Bank alone.”

Tambuwal, who noticed that the economy is very volatile and such a decision can affect the economy, decried the present state of the nation’s economy.

Tambuwal, while noting that successful leadership demands fairness and equity, felt sad that the country is now more divided than ever before.

Emefiele

President Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said intense efforts are being made by the government to rehabilitate the Tema Oil Refinery to enable it to contribute to stabilising petroleum prices.

President Akufo-Addo said the government was also encouraging private companies to establish refineries in the country, one of which was 80% complete, and expected to be commissioned before the end of this year.

Speaking on the vexed matter of petroleum price increases at the May Day celebrations last Sunday, President Akufo-Addo said the suggestion that the government reduce taxes on petroleum products at this moment was not a sustainable one.

Removing taxes on petroleum products, the President indicated would reduce the government's revenues by some GH¢4 billion at a time the government was determined to expand revenues to increase its capacity to finance development.

He said the government was currently confronted with tight financing conditions, adding that revenues from petroleum products were used to pay the salaries of about 700,000 public sector workers on the government's payroll.

President Akufo-Addo said the government was addressing the issue of fuel price increases by implementing measures to stabilise the exchange rate, a key determinant of fuel prices, as well as ensure reliable supply and availability of petroleum products to prevent shortages.

He said even though Ghana was a modest producer of crude oil, with a current output of 148,000 barrels per day, the country was still a net importer of petroleum products. "We, therefore, continue to be vulnerable to the price volatilities of the world market for petroleum products."

President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that the country was in difficult times, but said the government had not thrown its hands in despair. On the contrary, "we are working hard to address the current challenges facing the economy, and those that relate to improving the quality of life for all Ghanaians."

"I will be the first to admit that conditions of service in the wider public service need improvement. However, these should be done within budgetary constraints to ensure that we do not put excessive pressure on our public finances," he stated.

The President said the government in 2021, spent GH¢31.7 billion, out of tax revenue of GH¢56.5 billion, to pay for compensation of public sectors worker.

Thus, payment for compensation of 700,000 public sector employees, absorbed 56% of tax revenue in 2021, a ratio which is well above the ECOWAS threshold of 35%, and above the sub-Saharan Africa average of 43%, creating an overall fiscal impact of some GH¢27.3 billion, representing 6.8% of GDP.

In addition, he said, adverse global developments had impacted severely the exchange rate and inflation, with the overall effect being the weakening of the real incomes of people in Ghana, just as in other countries.

He said despite the stark realities, the government could not take ad-hoc measures to address the issues of a pay rise that would only give a reprieve but aggravate the situation even more in the medium to long-term.

In an attempt to hasten economic recovery from COVID-19, the President said the government had introduced measures to improve fiscal consolidation and ensure debt sustainability, which was critical to achieving macroeconomic stability in the short to medium-term.

Measures such as the passage of the E-Levy Bill, President Akufo-Addo indicated were introduced at the back of a revenue loss of GH¢13.1 billion and an increase of unbudgeted expenditure of GH¢14.2 billion.

Protecting jobs and incomes in the era of COVID-19 and beyond, according to the President, was undeniably the collective responsibility and duty of all social partners.

President Akufo-Addo urged Organised Labour as much as possible, to use existing institutions and sustainable measures to address their concerns.

The President urged Organised Labour and all Ghanaians to work hard to increase productivity "so we can increase salary levels and provide the basis for paying Living Wages."

He commended Organised Labour and its leadership for their invaluable contribution in helping to keep the country going during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Your co-operation has been a mark of patriotism, and I applaud you for that. Indeed, you continue to uphold the tradition of national engagement initiated by the legendary pioneers of Ghanaian trade unionism, Pobee Biney, Vidal Quist, Anthony Woode, through whose work and sacrifice we have inherited the free, independent Ghana in which we now live."

U.S. intelligence on the location of Russian generals in Ukraine has been provided to Ukrainian forces, allowing them to kill many of the high-ranking military officers that have died on the battlefield, according to a report on Wednesday.

The intelligence sharing has helped kill as many as 12 Russian generals in Ukraine and is part of a secret effort by the Biden administration to provide the Ukrainians with information on Russian troop movements and the location of mobile Russian military command posts, according to the New York Times report.

RUSSIA TURNS TO 'MISSILE TERRORISM' AS EASTERN UKRAINE OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES

Senior U.S. officials interviewed in the report did not say how many Russian generals had been killed as a direct result of U.S. intelligence sharing.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he would not "speak to the details" of the intelligence being provided to Ukraine, according to the report, but said that the U.S. provides “Ukraine with information and intelligence that they can use to defend themselves.”

National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson told the New York Times that intelligence shared with Ukraine is not given “with the intent to kill Russian generals.”

The United States does not provide Ukraine with intelligence about the most senior Russian leaders, according to the report, which said that a Ukrainian strike over the weekend that just missed Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, was not the result of U.S. intelligence assistance.

U.S. intelligence provided to Ukraine has played a pivotal role in allowing the country to withstand Russia's Feb. 24 invasion.

"This war has arguably been the most successful intelligence operation in military history,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said in congressional testimony last month.

It has been previously reported that Ukraine utilizes U.S. intelligence to move planes and air defense systems nearly every day to avoid Russian airstrikes, which is one of the reasons why Russia has not been able to achieve air superiority since the start of the war.

Last month, it was revealed that Ukraine shot down a Russian transport plane early in the war carrying hundreds of troops to Hostomel Airport, outside of Kyiv, with help from U.S. intelligence.

Former President, Goodluck Jonathan has described late Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua as a good man whose type is hard to find.

Jonathan stated this on Thursday in a statement to mark the 12-year remembrance of the former president who died in 2010.

According to Jonathan, the legacy of Yar’ Adua would always be remembered in the country, saying he was a man of peace and a soldier of truth.

He said, “Twelve years ago, our nation lost a patriot, a selfless leader and a peacemaker who governed with sincerity and passion for the people. President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua is no longer with us today, but his strides in public life continue to testify for him and keep his memory alive.

“Like a good athlete, he ran with passion, kept the faith and finished the race. Today we can look back and say, as President he won laurels for us in terms of peace and other worthy causes he successfully pursued.

“He was a soldier of truth, committed to justice, equity and other democratic virtues. He was a servant leader and a good man; the type that is hard to find.

“President Yar’Adua, we remember you today and will continue to remember the good works that you did in our nation. Yours is a story of patriotism, a life well-lived in service to the people and humanity”.