Reactions trails Oyakhilome's Sermon on Marriage...

The General Overseer of Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, has come under strong criticism from Nigerians on social media over his religious views on gender equality.

A Facebook post on the official page of the church’s online ministry, last Sunday, cited an excerpt of the clergyman’s message titled ‘Who is a husband and what is his role?’, in which husbands were defined as “masters” as opposed to “male partners.”

Oyakhilome’s ex-wife, Anita, had on February 8, finalised her divorce from the pastor and dropped his last name for “Obhodaghe.”

Her lawyers confirmed the divorce earlier this year, following months of speculation that there was trouble in their marriage.

Anita, who had cited irreconcilable differences while filing for divorce, also severed ties with the church.

But Oyakhilome, in his message on Facebook, said the reason for most problems in Christian marriages was a refusal of God’s definition of marriage by women.

He said, “They believe they are equal partners. (But) ‘husband’ does not mean the male partner in a marriage, husband means master.

“The Bible says the man is the head of the woman (1 Corinthians 11:3) so when you marry him, you come under his authority. You are not authority sharers, even though you are both heirs to the kingdom of God.”

According to the pastor, when one decides not to subject oneself to that authority, one becomes a rebel.

“God is not going to accept what you are doing because you are not functioning correctly. Why did God make the woman? If most women had fathers bold enough to talk to them, they would be very successful in their marriage and they would be very happy people.

“Most women have never been taught by their parents, their fathers particularly and that’s their biggest problem because they don’t know who a man is. They think he is another woman,” he said.

The message went viral on many platforms.

Oyakhilome’s stance received backlash from some Nigerians, who expressed their disagreement in the comments section of the post.

Blessing Meteke said, “Unfortunately, this is the type of preaching that millions of Nigerians listen to. ‘Making a woman was not God’s original plan. When a husband is angry, the wife is the victim.’

“This is what men adhere to and they make their wives and daughters-in-law slaves in their own homes. Misogyny has eaten deep into several Nigerians and they use the Bible as a cover-up. This is not only disheartening but exasperating.”

Babalola Olusegun added, “Can the pastor explain Genesis 1:27, because looking at the passage, God put women in His plan even before creating them. The man should remember that the woman is removed from his ribs, which means the man is not complete without the woman.”

Jane Onyejiaka also said, “Some points in this sermon are flawed, with all due respect. I will never teach my sons that a woman is an afterthought. God doesn’t do things for doing sake. Anyway, he is a pastor, not God. I always sieve what I read and I take the good and leave the rest.”

Similarly, Ekaette Essien said, “I didn’t see any advice for men here. Making a successful home should not be a one-sided thing. It should not rest on the shoulder of only the women. A man who loves his wife will surely earn respect from such a wife.

“If you are a boss-type husband, surely rebellion awaits you. Let’s be real, please. Even God who created us does not act like a boss to us. He loves us; that’s why His children have to obey and respect Him.”

DAME PATIENCE JONATHAN : Houseboy, driver’s names used to open $15m accounts

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested four domestic servants, including a driver and a houseboy, whose names were used to open bank accounts for Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Sources within the anti-graft agency said on Sunday that the companies’ accounts were opened at Skye Bank.

The companies are Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited, Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited, Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Globus Integrated Service Limited.

The four companies’ accounts, which have since been frozen by the EFCC, have a balance of about $15m while another account, which bears Patience Jonathan’s name, has $5m.

Mr. Sammie Somiari, who deposed to an affidavit on behalf of the ex-President’s wife, said the former First Lady was the owner of the money in the accounts.

She had revealed that she gave millions of dollars to the then Special Adviser to the President on Domestic Affairs, Waripamowei Dudafa, to open accounts for her.

Somiari, however, claimed that Dudafa opened five accounts for Patience and that only one of the accounts was in her name, while the other four were opened in the names of companies belonging to Dudafa.

A detective at the EFCC, however, revealed that Dudafa used his domestic servants’ names to open the four other accounts and then deposited the money into the accounts.

The operative added, “We were investigating Dudafa when we stumbled on those four companies’ domiciliary accounts opened at Skye Bank with a balance of about $15m. On further investigation, we were able to identify the directors of the companies.

“When we detained the directors, we found out that they were Dudafa’s domestic servants. One of them was a houseboy while another one was a driver. Their photographs were used in opening the accounts and their signatures were forged.

“We found out that these domestic servants were completely innocent because they had no access to the accounts. We have since released them. The sole signatory to the accounts was Patience Jonathan and she was issued with a special card, which is accepted worldwide. She has a separate account, which was opened in her name and has a balance of $5m.”

The detective said a lawyer, Amajuoyi Briggs, who allegedly helped Dudafa to perpetrate the fraud, would also be arraigned.

It was learnt that two Skye Bank executives, Demola Bolodeoku and Dipo Oshodi, who helped Dudafa to open the accounts on March 22, 2010, were also being investigated.

The detective added, “This is a clear case of fraud and there is no way the bank officials will say they did not know what was going on. They are under investigation and those found culpable will be arraigned.”

The EFCC operative said he could not immediately confirm if the transaction was reported to the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit.

He explained that the commission had discovered a trend which politicians used in laundering and concealing funds, saying it was becoming more rampant due to the operation of the Bank Verification Number which links all accounts owned by an individual.

He added, “What we have noticed is that in order to conceal funds, what politicians and top civil servants do is to open bank accounts in the name of family or friends and then make themselves the sole signatory to the account.

“Don’t forget that we traced about 17 bank accounts to the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.).

“Often times, they do this in connivance with bank officials and that is why the EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, has said henceforth, whenever we are investigating a bank official, we will probe the entire bank as well because these officials usually act under the instruction of their superiors.”

Jonathan’s wife has, however, sued Skye Bank for freezing her bank accounts and giving the EFCC vital information about her finances.

She also wants the court to order Skye Bank to pay her damages in the sum of N200m for what she termed a violation of her right to own personal properties under Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution.

ENUGU STATE HERSDMEN ATTACK: ANOTHER TRAGEDY LOOMS

A herdsman on Friday sustained bullet wounds in an attack on a Fulani cattle rearers’ settlement in Aku, a community in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Our correspondent learnt that three other herdsmen are missing in the wake of the attack, which was reportedly carried out by youths of Aku community.

It was gathered that the relationship between members of the community and the herdsmen had been tense for a long time due to misgivings on the part of the villagers over the destruction of their crops by cows.

It was also learnt that the herdsmen, who are usually armed, have been harassing the villagers.

A 17-year-old herdsman, identified as Wareri, sustained three gunshot wounds during the attack.

Three other herdsmen, said to be Wareri’s siblings, are said to be missing.

Wareri’s father, one Alhaji Sodu, also a herdsman, identified his missing children as Musa, Baba and Muhammed.

Sodu said about 100 cows in his herd were scattered in different directions during the attack, and are currently missing.

Meanwhile, chairman of a security committee set up by the Enugu State Government to address herdsmen menace in the state, Brigadier General Fred Eze (rtd.), also on Friday visited the injured herdsman at a hospital in the 9th Mile Corner, where he is receiving treatment.

The victim’s father, Alhaji Sodu, who was at the hospital during the visit, appealed to security agencies to rescue his sons.

“I am too old now to go into the forest in search of my three sons, I am appealing to security agencies to rescue my sons unharmed.

“The youths have slaughtered seven of my cows.

“Over 100 cows are missing now,” he said.

Speaking during the visit, Eze urged restive youths in various parts of the state, who are furious over the activities of the herdsmen, to avoid reprisal attacks.

He said security was beefed up in the affected area to forestall further violence.

“We want to allay fears generated by this incident, the army has moved to forestall any breakdown of law and order.

“The Garrison Commander, O.T Akinjobi, has dispatched a search party for the missing kids.

“Another combined team of police and the army have equally moved into the area to avert any breakdown of public peace,” he said.

Eze added that the incident is being investigated.

He said, “This incident is already under investigation and authorities will unravel the remote causes of the incident and ensure that appropriate actions are taken.”

Civil disturbances involving herdsmen have been on the rise in Enugu State, where cattle rearers have makeshift settlements in several communities.

Over 20 persons died when herdsmen invaded Ukpabi Nimbo, an Enugu community, on April 25.

A Catholic seminarian and a housewife died in a herdsmen attack on Attakwu, another community in the state, on August 25.

Man who named dog Buhari sent to prison

...as the case was adjourned till September 19, 2016.

Iroko

The man who named his dog Buhari, Joachim Iroko, aka Joe, was remanded on Monday at the Ibara Prison following his arraignment at the Ota Magistrate Court 2, Ogun State.

He was charged to court by the police with conduct likely to cause breach of the peace, in a case with suit number MOT/617c/2016.

The prosecutor, Inspector Itaita Ebibomini, said the accused committed the offence on Saturday, August 13, 2016, at the Hausa section of Ketere Market in Sango-Ota in the Ota Magisterial District.

The prosecutor told the court that the offence was punishable under Section 249 (d) of Criminal Law of Ogun State, Nigeria, 2016.

The accused, who was represented by a counsel, U. Michael, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The charge read, “That you, Joachim Iroko, aka Joe, and others still at large, on Saturday, August 13, 2016, at about 5.30pm at the Ketere area, Sango, in the Ota Magisterial District did conduct yourselves in a manner likely to cause breach of the peace, by writing a name, Buhari, on a dog and parading same in the Hausa section of Ketere Market, Sango, thereby, committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 249 (d) of the Criminal Law of Ogun State, Nigeria, 2016.”

His counsel, however, pleaded that the accused should be granted bail. The prosecutor did not oppose the application for bail. The two witnesses in the case were present in court.

The Chief Magistrate, B. J. Ojikutu, admitted Iroko to bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in like sum, adding that the sureties must be regular taxpayers in the state.

“They must attach four passport photographs each to the bail bond, depose to affidavits of being gainfully employed, and reside in the court’s jurisdiction,” he added.

Iroko, who had been formerly identified as Joe Fortemose Chinakwe, was arrested on Saturday, August 13, after one of his neighbours, who is of Northern extraction, complained that he named the dog after his father, Alhaji Buhari.
The suspect was first taken to the Sango Police Station, from where he was transferred to the state police command headquarters at Eleweran, Abeokuta.
However, as of press time, his family members had yet to perfect the bail for his release. He was subsequently taken to the Ibara Prison.

FAYOSE AND WIKE ARE BLINDED BY GREED....PDP CHIEFTAIN

The Political Adviser to Chief Bode George, Uthman Shodipe-Dosunmu, has described Governors Ayo Fayose and Nyesom Wike of Ekiti and Rivers states respectively as enemies of the Peoples Democratic Party blinded by greed.
A statement by Shodipe-Dosunmu, on Tuesday, also described the Lagos State governorship candidate of the PDP in the last general election, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, as an unsuccessful pharmacist.

George, a former National Deputy Chairman of the PDP, is eyeing the national chairmanship of the opposition party alongside Agbaje but a bitter feud has ensued between the two.

The statement said, “This is, indeed, a very sad period for the Peoples Democratic Party. The sky is dark and bleak. The party is now at the edge of a cliff, dangling before an imminent plunge into ruin and forfeiture.
“To be specific, Governor Nyesom Wike and Governor Ayo Fayose have both succeeded in forming an unholy alliance against the growth and the development of our party.

“Wike and Fayose have become so powerful and heedless, blinded by narrow provincialism, swept aimlessly on the creed of greed, hurried along the straight path to inevitable perdition.

“They are the strutting gods of the hour who are disdainful of any guidance, who deride any counsel, who mock every piece of advice with a sneer.”
The statement said Fayose and Wike wanted to impose Agbaje on the party, maintaining that the alleged plot would fail.

According to Shodipe-Dosunmi, Agbaje had never served in any position demanding intricate decisions and prompt administrative alertness.
Reacting, Wike described the allegation as wrong, unfortunate and without foundation.

Wike, who spoke through his Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Austin Tam-George, said, “Governor Wike is a democrat and has never been associated with the subversion of democratic will of the members of the PDP or of the general electoral process in the country.
“As a loyal party man, Governor Wike has demonstrated his commitment to the unity of the PDP. He will not join issues with Chief Bode George whom he holds in high regard as an elder statesman.”

KILLING OF A PASTOR, OTHERS IN THE NORTH: CAN REACTS, HOLDS EMERGENCY MEETING

General Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria, 

Rev. Musa Asake

The Christian Association of Nigeria in the north has summoned an emergency meeting over Monday’s killings of eight persons in Talata-Mafara community in Zamfara State and the death of a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Luka Ubangari, by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Unguwan Anjo, Kaduna State.

The meeting is being called as an islamic organisation, Nasrul-Lahi-il Fathi, also condemned the killings.

 The Northern CAN, in an interview with The PUNCH, said it summoned the emergency meeting to discuss the incidents and the failure of government to bring the perpetrators to book. The meeting is expected to hold in Maiduguri on August 26.

Eight people were killed on Monday, when a mob set the house of a man ablaze for rescuing an undergraduate, who was accused of blasphemy.                                                                                                          
Also on Monday, gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen killed three persons, including Ubangari, at Unguwan Anjo in the Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

CAN said the failure of the government to punish the perpetrators would mean collaboration between government agencies and Islamic extremists.

The Borno State Chairman of CAN and spokesperson for the 19 northern states’ CAN chairmen, Bishop Abubakar Naga, stated this on Tuesday while answering an enquiry by The PUNCH.

He said Christians would resist any plan to Islamise the country under any guise.
He said, “Islamisation of Nigeria is not possible. Christians will never allow that, Nigeria is a secular country and no religion will dominate others.

“Christians have become targets of attacks. So, we are having an emergency meeting in Maiduguri on August 26.
“The government must take action and if it does not take any action, it means there is collaboration between the government and the perpetrators of the killings.”

 No place for violence –Buhari
However, on his Twitter handle on Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the violence.
He stated, “I received news of the mob killings in Zamfara with great dismay. It is barbaric and unacceptable. I assure Nigerians that the law will take its course. Under my watch, we will work to ensure that there is no place for violence in the name of religion, ethnicity, or in any guise whatsoever.”

 Blasphemy not unlawful, says NASFAT
Also, the Chief Missioner, Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi Society, Alhaji Abdullahi Akinbode, described the Zamfara killing as a crime against God and humanity, and called for a proper investigation into the incident.
Aknibode told one of our correspondents on the telephone on Tuesday that blasphemy was not a crime in Nigeria, being a secular state. He added that the perpetrators of the act should be brought to justice.

 He said, “I have not been fully briefed about the incident. But whatever the case may be, life is sacred. God has not given anybody the right to take life, except the authority and the authority is the government of a nation if one has committed a crime that carries the death penalty.
 “No religion preaches that life should be taken except there is war. But there is no war and there can never be war. The stand of NASFAT is that life is sacred. The culprits should be apprehended and be made to face justice.

“Nigeria is a multi-religious country. You can only talk of blasphemy where there is one religion. A blasphemy case will only be established in jurisprudence if the state makes a rule that the state shall be a state of one religion. Blasphemy is not unlawful in Nigeria because it is a multi-religious state.”

The President, Campaign for Democracy, Abdul Usman, also condemned the Zamfara killings.

He said, “Those who fight the cause of religion should understand that Almighty God says in many chapters and verses in His holy book that He will protect His religion.
“In the days of the holy prophet, he was cursed right to his face without any reaction from him. Rather, he continued to preach peace.
“Today, ignorance has bedevilled the religion. The government should investigate the act and the perpetrators be brought to book. No religion preaches violence.”

On his part, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said it was a shame that people were getting lynched for blasphemy that is unknown to the laws of Nigeria.

He said, “Are these barbarians saying their God is not powerful enough to handle those who disrespect him.? The full weight of the law should be brought to bear on these murderers to end this nonsense.”

 ‘Security agencies not doing enough’
 A retired Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, blamed security agencies for the rising incidence of hate crime and religious bigotry, saying they were not doing enough to check it.
He added that the police lacked the requisite manpower to deal with the issue.
Tsav stated that the police no longer had personnel on street beats to deal with cases of mob attacks and other crimes.
He said, “It is my view that our security agencies are not doing enough to deal with cases of religious bigotry and herdsmen’s continued attack on farmers. The police may not be blamed for this, due to the acute shortage of manpower plaguing the force.
“The few policemen left are sent as orderlies and security to politicians. Accordingly, the police are left with insufficient manpower to provide security for the rest of the people.”
Tsav stressed that unless there was a substantial increase in manpower and improvement in training, “our policemen may be reduced to the status of boy scouts.”
A security consultant, Max Gbanite, attributed the killings to “primitive thinking and lack of enlightenment.”
He called on the Christian Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Catholic bishops and other religious bodies to enlighten the people on religious bigotry and hate crime.
Gbanite advised the families of the deceased to file a lawsuit at a Federal High Court or the International Criminal Court against the Federal Government, the Zamfara State Government and the Abdul Gusau Polytechnic for not protecting the victims.
The security expert also urged the National Assembly to promulgate a law against hate crime and religious bigotry.
He said, “I think the National Assembly should have a hate crime bill. This is an opportunity for CAN, NSCIA, JNI and Catholic bishops to enlighten the people that when two people are quarrelling, it should be seen as an issue between the two individuals.”
Gbanite carpeted Buhari for not showing enough concern over the spate of religious killings in the country, adding that the government should consider setting up police stations on campuses.
 “The President is behaving as if it is okay for Muslims to kill Christians. Security agencies cannot do much in this situation because they were called after the act, that is why we should begin to think of having police stations on campuses so that problems can be nipped in the bud,” he said.
 A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Fred Agbaje, said there was no justification under the law for extrajudicial killing under any guise.
He said, “By now, the perpetrators should be in court fighting for their bail. It is a clear case of murder, extrajudicial killing. Religion is a personal thing. What they have done is the suppression of the right to life and right to property. It is outlawed by the constitution and it is also outlawed by the penal code.
 “Unfortunately, the government is not taking a decisive action because it believed that what happened is justified under a certain religion. No.
No religion tells anyone to go and kill.”

Kano State University of Science and Technology, Wudil, building collasped, 20 feared dead

No life was lost...VC

Tragedy struck at Kano State University of Science and Technology, Wudil,as part of the building belonging to Department of Architecture which is under construction collapsed.

Earlier report had it that 20 people lost their lives while scores sustsined several degrees of serious injuries.
Reacting, the School management led by the Vice Chancellor of Kano State University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Professor Shehu Alhaji Musa, has dismissed as false, reports that 20 people lost their lives when part of a building under construction collapsed at the Department of Architecture.

Musa at a press conference, held at the NUJ Press Centre Kano, said that only five persons sustained injuries, while no life was lost during the incident.

The VC explained that of the five injured, two had already been discharged, while only one suffered a fracture.

The Don said, ”No student sustained injury during the building collapse.

”We want to assure parents that our students are safe. Immediately after the incident, we mobilised security agencies and Health workers from within and outside the University Community to the scene of the incident.”