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Pro-Bello Protesters Allegedly Attacked By EFCC Operatives At Headquarters, Pro-EFCC Group Allowed—Kogi youths who were at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday to protest the alleged political persecution of the immediate past Governor of the state, Yahaya Bello, were allegedly attacked by operatives of the Commission

There were two protests at the EFCC headquarters on Monday. While the other protest, organised by members of the opposition party in the state, in support of the EFCC was allowed to go peacefully, the other, which demanded that rule of law be respected, was attacked, according to the Pro-Yahaya Bello group.

Videos of the protesters struggling to make their statements while being harassed and reporters running after them flooded the social media on Monday, with a picture of a badly damaged vehicle.

This occurence, the protesters said, had fueled suspicion in many quarters that the purported rally in support of EFCC, staged by the Kogi East group called Kogi Conscience Movement, was sponsored by the Commission.

The pro-Bello protest was staged by the Kogi Youth Coalition.

As of the time of filing this report, 10 people were said to have been arrested among the pro-Yahaya Bello protesters, and many injured.

Reporters had to scramble for safety as some of them were allegedly rough-handled, one of the protesters said.
The Head of the Kogi Youth Coalition, Otitoleke Richard, while speaking with the press during the attack said, “We’re here this morning at the headquarters of EFCC in Abuja, addressing a topical national issue that has to do with the rule of law, the defence of democratic governance in Nigeria.

“We have been intimidated, we have been harassed. The EFCC is saying we do not have the right to express our opinion on national issues. We have been shot at; they have used their stick to beat ordinary Nigerians that are harmless.

“We shall continue to air our opinion for democracy to thrive in Nigeria. Nigeria is not a Banana Republic. We’re saying the rule of law must be applied in all corruption files. You cannot fight corruption with lawlessness.”

A protester, who simply identified himself as Malik, said it was unfortunate that peaceful protests that were a right of every Nigerian had now been made selective by the Commission.

“Why didn’t they attempt to disperse those Igala boys that protested against the former Governor. Can you imagine? EFCC sponsoring Muri Ajaka’s boys to come and support them and call Yahaya Bello out?

“Nigerians should not be fooled to think anybody is fighting any corruption. They just want him out. Period. But we are saying they can’t disgrace him. He has done more than any Governor for us in Kogi State and all these people know. This will not make us afraid of asking for our rights. We will continue,” he said.

Recounting what transpired, another protester, Abdulmajid Wahab, said security operatives also destroyed one bus and impounded two others.

“They said the leader of the protest should come and bail the two vehicles.
And that they want to charge the 10 people to court,” he said.

Hundreds of Youths, mainly from Kogi State, stormed the EFCC headquarters, on Monday, to protest alleged unending persecution and media trial of ex-Gov Bello.

The indigenes, who accused the anti-graft agency of conniving with enemies of the state from a particular ethnic group to fight political war, said the former Governor was backed by the law in all his actions and that he was not the first person to obtain a restraining order in Nigeria against undue harassment and persecution.

They said they staged the protest to counter what they said was an EFCC-sponsored protest in their support, vowed to resist the glaring intimidation, and called on President Bola Tinubu to call EFCC to order.

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2027 Realignment: New Move Spells Out Role For Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai, Kwankwaso

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New Move Spells Out Role For Atiku

The 2027 general elections are about two years away and the realignment of forces to dislodge the All Progressives Congress (APC) from power, especially at the federal level appears to be on the upswing.

‘We aren’t just a band of blind musicians; we have journalists, teachers and computer…
In an interview published by Sunday Vanguard, last week, a former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Adewole Adebayo, spoke about the inroads his party was making into the North in search of new political allies, hinting that the SDP leadership had met top politicians from that part of the country, including former Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, for talks.

In another development, a former top member of the APC, Alhaji Salihu Lukman, speaks of similar efforts gathering steam. Lukman, a former Deputy National Chairman of the APC (North), in an interview monitored on Arise News, elaborates on his scheme, saying key opposition figures in the country have a role to play as they have to jettison their presidential aspirations ahead of the 2027 and provide leadership for a new political party to confront the APC.

He urges former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who flew the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential flag in the 2023 elections, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the elections, Mr Peter Obi, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, standard bearer, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, to prioritize party building over personal ambitions.

Lukman, who has since quit the APC, also extends the advice to former party members and opposition figures, including Mr Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers State but later served as Transportation Minister under the Buhari administration; El-Rufai; Dr. Kayode Fayemi, a former governor of Ekiti State, and Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, a former governor of Sokoto State.

According to Lukman, who was also one-time Director General of the Progressive Governors Forum, if these leaders set aside personal ambitions, it will prevent the imposition of candidates in 2027 and foster a stronger political alternative. Excerpts:

You have been a key member of the APC, now you are saying Nigeria needs better leaders. What are your grievances? What do you think is wrong with the APC that you are asking all the critics and opponents of the administration to come together and push the same party out of power?

What is wrong with the APC is what is wrong with Nigeria in my view, and I think the view of most Nigerians is that our democracy should give something much better than what we have today. I am not making any new proposals.

If you have been following the debate during the merger negotiations that produced the APC, all these arguments have been raised about the kind of leadership a political party should have and what is required for a party to really position itself to direct elected representatives to meet the expectations of citizens. If we argue that APC has failed, the failure of APC is largely due to its inability to meet a number of some of those criteria.

Yes, I was a member of the NWC of the APC, I was part and parcel of the APC from formation to possibly the present day but that does not disqualify some of us from highlighting some of the limitations of the APC and I think in terms of the problem of democracy, what was first the problem of Nigeria with PDP that led to the defeat of PDP in 2015? The major issue is that there was no competition within the party.

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Trump Revokes Security Clearances of Top Political Figures

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Trump Revokes Security Clearances
Trump Revokes Security Clearances of Top Political Figures—-President Donald Trump has revoked security clearances for Antony Blinken, the former secretary of state, and Jake Sullivan, the former national security adviser, White House officials said on Saturday.
The move came a day after Trump said he had revoked the security clearance for his predecessor Joe Biden, stopping his access to daily intelligence briefings.
Trump also revoked security clearances for Biden’s Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who helped coordinate the Department of Justice’s response to the January 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol, the officials said.
He also removed the clearances of the New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who led cases against Trump, the officials said.

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