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Maina in court Indeed, Christmas is a very special period, not just in Nigeria but in the entire world. Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25, and the day has also become synonymous with merrymaking. Some influential figures in Nigeria however did not spend Christmas with their families but behind the cold bars of prison cells.   JOSHUA DARIYE A top shot currently in prison is Joshua Dariye, a former Governor of Plateau State. A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court had in June 2018 sentenced Dariye to 16 years in prison for N1.126 billion fraud. He was to serve two-year and 14-year jail terms concurrently, with no option of fine, but a Court of Appeal reduced his term by four years. He was convicted for two main categories of offences, namely criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation. In 2007, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged him with money laundering, accusing him of diverting the amount from th

The Kano State Government has impounded a truck laden with alcoholic drinks worth over N25m. Nabilusi Abubakar, Public Relations Officer of the State Road and Traffic Agency (KAROTA), disclosed this in a statement. The agency is a member of the state’s task force on unwholesome products, drug abuse and expired products. Abubakar said the truck, which was intercepted around 2:30 am on Thursday along Hadeja Road in Kano metropolis, was on its way to Bello Road to offload its contents when the personnel of the agency, following an intelligence report, intercepted the vehicle. He said the agency had warned that its men would continue to be vigilant to check the activities of persons transporting such prohibited items into the state. The statement read, “The Managing Director of the agency, Baffa Dan’agundi, reiterated that KAROTA’s doors were always open to members of the public who had information that could aid his men in the discharge of their duties. “The truck and its con

File Photo Some residents of Gbagyi community in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State paid over N3 million to Fulani militia to allow them harvest their crops and spend Christmas in their ancestral home without fear of being attacked, Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) disclosed on Friday. The group, in a statement, said it discovered the situation on Thursday when it took palliatives to at least 1,600 Gbagyi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who had fled surrounding villages taken over by armed Fulani militia. File Photo Google It described the development as unfortunate, adding that such was indicative of the worsening security situation in the country. The statement read: “We took drugs, sleeping mats and clothes to these traumatised citizens who Barde visited once and gave N50,000 for their feeding. They told us of the shocking impunity exhibited by the invaders, how they collect huge sums of money to allow the villagers to harvest their crops. “We a

A motorcyclist, Kabiru, popularly called Oluyole, and a female passenger were reportedly electrocuted in the Iwo Road area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Thursday evening. SaharaReporters learnt that the motorcyclist was negotiating with a woman when the cable fell on them, killing both of them. Our correspondent gathered that the woman, a food vendor, was in Iwo Road to get N1,000 balance of food a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers had bought from her. An eyewitness told SaharaReporters that officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps evacuated the remains of the two victims of the accident. “Nigeria is doomed. An incident happened yesterday and nobody reported it. Two people were electrocuted by a cable that fell on them around Iwo Road.  In fact, there are still two wires there giving signs that they will also fall but nobody cares. I wish government officials would take note and do something about it now. “That woman was a food vendor. I heard she w

Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, on Friday celebrated his birthday where COVID-19 protocols like use of face masks and maintaining social distancing were ignored. The governor on Friday celebrated his 53rd birthday. According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Oyo State recorded 28 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 56 on Thursday. The rising cases of COVID-19 in the country over the last few days have forced the government at various levels in the country to start taking precautions to curtail the spread of the virus. This informed the decision of the Nigerian government to issue a new COVID-19 advisory to all states. This advisory, among other things, called for the closure of schools for the next five weeks and ban on any gathering with over 50 people. However, rather than prepare a guide on how the state can prevent the likely spread of the virus, the governor attended a birthday party organised for him at Saki. Earlier on Thursday, Makinde, in his Chr