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Defence Agency Declares Ex-navy Commodore Wanted Over Anti-Buhari Interview

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Defence Agency Quizzes Ex-navy Commodore Over TV Interview On Terrorists

The Defence Intelligence Agency has declared a former Nigerian Navy Commodore, Kunle Olawunmi, wanted over an interview he had with Channels Television on terrorism in the country.

In the interview, Olawunmi alleged that there were links between the presidency , governors, senators and terrorists.

He decried how the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration refused to probe high- profile politicians whom Boko Haram terrorists named as their sponsors.

The DIA reportedly asked Olawunmi to come to its headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday with his international passport, which may be seized.

The Defence Intelligence Agency is the primary military intelligence agency of Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Buhari Has Treated Bandits Worse Than IPOB – Presidency

“The agency has declared retired Navy Commodore Kunle Olawunmi wanted for spilling the beans over Boko Haram sponsors in the Buhari regime. They asked him to come with his international passport on Tuesday to the DIA office in Abuja,” a top source said.

Olawunmi spoke on Wednesday when he featured on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ breakfast programme.

He had condemned Tuesday’s attack by bloodthirsty bandits on the Kaduna campus of Nigeria’s foremost military university, the Nigerian Defence Academy, where two military officers were killed and another kidnapped.

The Professor of Global Security Studies had said, “It is an aberration; you don’t attack the Nigerian Defence Academy and get away with it. In 2017, I carried out an investigation by the Minister of Defence that wanted me to check what was going on with the training and the security there (NDA). I remember I spent about a week in the NDA with the commandant and the staff but something struck me: every Friday, the gate of NDA is thrown open and everybody has access to pray in the mosque.

“On Fridays, you are going to see the same thing happening across all military formations in the country. If you go to Defence Headquarters, I served at the Defence Headquarters as the Deputy Director, Defence Administration, between 2015 and 2017, throughout my two years at Defence Headquarters, I received visitors twice because of the strict security architecture there but every Friday, the gate of the Defence Headquarters is thrown wide open for everybody to come in and observe Juma’at.

“That is the time the terrorists have the time to profile our security environment. It has always been the case. I have served the military intelligence for the past 35 years. Our problem is religion and socio-cultural.”

Olawunmi had added that he was a member of the Intelligence Brief at the Defence Headquarters during the leadership of the then Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin (retd.).

The intelligence expert said he told the then CDS that the centre of gravity of the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the North-East and spreading to other parts of Nigeria was the sponsor.

“I told General Olonisakin then that the centre of this problem cannot be solved the same way we solved the problem of the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta problem was solved during (Ex-President Umaru) Yar’adua basically by me and I told them that we can’t use that same template for Boko Haram.

READ ALSO: Sponsors Of Boko Haram Terrorists In Buhari’s Govt – Ex-navy Commodore

“I told General Olonisakin to look at the centre of gravity of the problem. I was made a member of the committee in 2016-2017 including former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru that died.

“I told them that the centre of gravity of Boko Haram in Nigeria is the sponsors of the programme. It was beyond us because the job we needed to do was kinetic but we cannot resolve the issues of sponsors of Boko Haram that were in Buhari’s government that we know them. That was why we couldn’t pursue that aspect that could have resolved the issue because we need to arrest people.

“Recently, 400 people were gathered as sponsors of Boko Haram, why is it that the Buhari government has refused to try them? Why can’t this government bring them to trial if not that they are partisan and part of the charade that is going on?

“You remember this Boko Haram issue started in 2012 and I was in the military intelligence at that time. We arrested those people. My organisation conducted interrogation and they (suspects) mentioned names. I can’t come on air and start mentioning names of people that are presently in government that I know that the boys that we arrested mentioned. Some of them are governors now, some of them are in the Senate, some of them are in Aso Rock.

READ ALSO: How Repentant Bandits Helped In Release Of Kidnapped Students

“Why should a government decide to cause this kind of embarrassment and insecurity to the sense of what happened yesterday (Tuesday at the NDA)?”
Olawunmi had also said that the Department of State Services had tremendous information on terrorists but they could not do anything except by the body language of the Commander-In-Chief.

 

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BREAKING:DSS Confirms Arresting, Detainting Suspended CBN Governor Emefiele

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Suspended CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele

Hours after denying that the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, was in its custody, the Department of State Services (DSS) on Saturday said that it had arrested and detained him.

“The Department of State Services (DSS) hereby confirms that Mr Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is now in its custody for some investigative reasons,” Peter Afunanya, the spokesperson for the agency, said in a press statement .

There were speculations Friday night that the SSS arrested Emefiele shortly after he was suspended. But the law enforcement agency tweeted Saturday morning, saying the top banker was not in its custody.

It is unclear why the SSS is holding the embattled official. But the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation said Friday that his office, the CBN, was under investigation.

The SSS and Emefiele have had a turbulent relationship recently. Last year, the agency accused the governor of a barrage of offences.

The SSS secretly requested a court order in December to arrest him on allegations of “financing terrorism, fraudulent activities, and economic crimes of national security dimension.”

This request was, however, rejected by the Federal High Court in Abuja because the secret security unit failed to present sufficient evidence to justify issuing an arrest warrant against Emefiele.

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I Removed Subsidy To Stop Nigeria From Playing Father Christmas – Tinubu

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Senator Withdraws Support For Tinubu Over Choice Of Muslim Running Mate
President Bola Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has offered insight into why he declared the removal of petroleum subsidy during his inauguration on May 29,2023.

According to Tinubu, a crucial reason for the removal was to stop Nigeria from continuing to play the role of a Father Christmas to neighbouring African countries by providing them subsidised petrol.

The president, who was speaking on Friday at an interactive session with select Nigerian traditional rulers, under the auspices of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN), at the State House, Abuja, described the subsidy as an elephant that could have collapsed the country “because it is struggling to pay salaries.”

Tinubu told the traditional leaders: “I am grateful that you are paying attention to what I have been doing. You have paid attention to the subsidy removal. Why should we in good heart and sense, feed smugglers and be Father Christmas to neighbouring countries, even though they say not every day is Christmas? The elephant that was going to bring Nigeria to its knees is the subsidy; a country that cannot pay salaries. I think we did the right thing.”

Tinubu appealed to the traditional leaders to persuade Nigerians to have faith in the removal of subsidy, promising that the pump prices of fuel would eventually come down.

The president reiterated his pledge to Nigerians to prioritise security until every Nigerian “goes to sleep with their two eyes closed.”

According to him, the unity and togetherness of the country cannot be compromised, saying every region of the country would get what it is due.

Condemning crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region “by a tiny percentage of the population,” President Tinubu said it was counterproductive to the growth of the economy.

He said: “We need to tame those involved in this sabotage and we will work as hard as possible to ensure that the diversity of this country is used for its prosperity, growth and stability.”

Tinubu stressed that with the campaigns and elections over, he is primed for governance, and his government has already signed a law that extends the retirement age of judicial officers from 65 to 70 years, while also addressing pension reforms. Also speaking on electricity, President Tinubu said a constitutional amendment signed into law now allows the nation’s 36 States to generate electricity.

He said: “That’s devolution of power and that should be our contribution to the developmental projects you are looking for and we will continue in ways that will help our people.”

He assured the traditional rulers in the country that his administration would run an open-door policy that is ready to listen to the yearnings of Nigerians toward transforming the country’s rich potential to reality.

Tinubu said: “We are all ears. We are ready to listen at any given time. I promise you an open-door policy and that is the way I will go.That open-door policy is for you to call me and send to me at any given time any concern that you might have.

“We may not have it right 100 percent of the time but we must get it right 90 percent of the time for this country”.

Responding to issues raised by the monarchs on challenges facing the country, President Tinubu assured them, saying “worry not because the country is in good hands,” adding that his administration is very conscious of the expectations of Nigerians.While acknowledging concerns on the need for critical infrastructure in different parts of the country, the President assured that any road block in the way of the progress of the Nigerian people would be removed by his government.

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BREAKING:Tinubu Suspends Emefiele As CBN Governo

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CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele

President Bola Tinubu on Friday suspended Godwin Emefiele as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor.

The Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Willie Bassey on Friday declared in a statement: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, CFR, from office with immediate effect.

“This is sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy.

“Mr Emefiele has been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), who will act as the Central Bank Governor pending the conclusion of the investigation and the reforms.”

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