Author: oduduwanews

The barring of Hijab in the government owned institution has been frowned against by the Muslim Community of Oyo State. The organization in made the disclosure known today at a conference held at the University of Ibadan where it threatened public schools with legal action should incase the prohibition of Hijab is not stopped.

Chairman of the organisation, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, made this disclosure while speaking at a programme organised by the community “Unity of Muslims in Oyo state: An inevitable option” held at the University of Ibadan Central Mosque on Sunday.

Present at the event included Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Edo and Delta states, Alhaji Daud Akinola; Executive Secretary, Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), Professor Muslih Yahya; Chief Imam, University of Ibadan, Professor Abdulrahman Oloyede; and representatives of various Muslim organisations in the state.

Recall that some public primary, secondary and tertiary education institutions have been barring female Muslim students from wearing Hijab.

The latest incident of the Hijab crisis was the one that occurred at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, where a female Muslim student was reportedly humiliated in public.

The community has however said that it will no longer tolerate the incidents of ‘harassment’ of female Muslim students by public schools.

The Chairman of the organisation, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, who spoke on behalf of the organisation, said that the organisation will go back to court to seek legal action for the enforcement of the usage of Hijab for Muslim women.

He said, “With this persecution of our children in the so-called Christian schools where they even remove Hijab from their head we are no more comfortable with the situation.

“What section 32:2 of the constitution says “is that a Muslim is entitled not only to freedom of religion but freedom to manifest his religion” The use of the Hijab is a manifestation of Islam.

“No state Muslim communities have lost the case of the use of Hijab because the constitution is clear about it.

“When my friend Christopher Alao Akala was the Governor, some Muslim teachers started using Niqab in Kishi and they were dismissed, they went to court.

“The Christian judge not only adjudicated that the teachers have right to put on their Niqab as their religious right, but she also said their three years backlog of salaries should be paid.

“We would Insha Allah go back to court because we want Hijab for all women in Oyo State”.

Nollywood actor, James Olanrewaju, also known as Baba Ijesha, has denied his confessional statement in the child defilement case brought against him by the Lagos State government.

Olanrewaju told Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Lagos Special Sexual Offences Court, Ikeja, during his trial-within-trial that he signed the statement under duress.

He said he was beaten with a stick, forced to sit on the floor and to sign the statement.

He told the court that everything in the statement was dictated to the police by the complainant, Ms Damilola Adekola a.k.a Princess.

Led in evidence by his counsel, Mr. Dada Awosika (SAN) during a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of his statement, he said: “My cloth was torn; I was forced to sit on the ground. My body was shaking. They showed me the statement; I did not volunteer the statement. I was just asked to sign it. Princess dictated everything to them.”

He further told the court that when Inspector Oname Abigail arrived Princess’ house on April 19, the day he was arrested, the complainant hid some boys who were beating him inside a room before allowing him to come inside.

Baba Ijesha said that when he was led outside, some boys again came and beat him until he was rescued by some police officers who took him on a bike to Sabo Divisional Police Headquarters and locked him up in a cell after they had removed the handcuffs on his hand.

When he was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel, Yusuf Sule, Baba Ijesha insisted he did not volunteer the statement, insisting that the content was dictated to the police by the complainant.

He also denied knowledge of the current residence of the complainant, saying he knew only her former residence.

The defendant, however, owned up to the names of his father, mother, primary and secondary schools attended, his age, dropping out of the University of Lagos, Akoka, when he could no longer cope with a course he was studying.

He failed to respond when confronted by the prosecution that the IPO could not have known his details if he did not volunteer any information to her.

Earlier, Inspector Abigail, under examination by Awosika, said the defendant freely volunteered his statement and that it was made without duress.

Abigail told the court that she read cautionary words to Baba Ijesha and that he told her he understood English and everything she read to him.

“The defendant was shaking when I was about to take his statement. I offered him a chair to sit in to relax him but he said he preferred sitting on the floor to enable him to stretch out his legs.

“I calmed him down and told him he has to write his statement. I asked him questions in English and he responded to all of them in English. He requested that I should help him to write his statement as he could not write because he was shaking,” Abigail said.

She further testified that “when we finished, I read the statement to him and he told me he understood everything after which he signed the statement.”

She said after taking the statement of both the complainant and defendant, she took both of them back to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).

Earlier when the matter was called, Babatunde Ogala (SAN), also a counsel to the defendant, had objected to the admissibility of the confessional statement of Baba Ijesha.

Ogala told the court that he objected to the statement being admitted as evidence against the defendant on the grounds that it was not freely given.

The council told the court that the defendant was sitting on the floor, adding that the IPO failed to sign or disclose that she recorded it contrary to provisions of the Evidence Act.

He had therefore requested for a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the document.

It could be recalled that Baba Ijesha is facing a six-count charge bordering on allegations of indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault by penetration brought against him by the state government.

He pleaded not guilty to the six-count charge.

The visit of the delegation from The Ooni of Ifé, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II to the city of São Paulo in Brazil on Thursday brought together leaders and influencers willing to promote the proposal of the Oduduwa Heritage Home within the project “Treasure of Our Ancestors”, an initiative of the African foremost king; Ooni Ogunwusi with the purpose of strengthening ties and building bridges that facilitate cultural, tourist and economic exchange between Brazil and Nigeria and, in particular Ile-Ifé, Cradle & Natural Headquarters of a the Yoruba people and Oduduwa Race at large.

Representing His Majesty, the delegation formed by the kings Joseph Adebayo Adewole the Ajero of the kingdom of Ijero-Ekiti and Oba Kayodee Adeenekan Afolabi the Alapomu of Apomu) Chief Adekunle Sumbo the Saagba of Ogbagi Akoko, Prince Adekunle Olokooba, a specialist in traditional medicine and Comrade Moses Olafare, head of communication at the palace of the Ooni of Ifé in addition to visiting the Unidos de Vila Maria shed at Fábrica do Samba also visited the association’s rehearsal court to Learn about the school’s social project and talk a little about “Back To Home”, program that will be officially launched the Ooni of Ifé in 2022, precisely in the month of March, when he will visit the country for the second time.

In his introductory speech, the Ooni’s Director of Media and Public Affairs, Comrade Moses Olafare urge the Afro Brazilians to proudly comport themselves as ambassadors of African nobility and royalty. He admonished them to take their huge population as an advantage to own the the country where they were once treated like slaves.
“It is paramount on the agenda of your father back home in Ile-Ife which is your ancestral home; Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II to stand by you and ensure you are connected to your continent of Africa.

“First of all, we need to understand that we are descendants of African royalty, we are heirs to kings, you are all princes and princesses, our ori(head) is blessed and your descent is noble. We can not think otherwise. You the Oduduwa descendants hold almost 60% population in this country Brazil, it means you own this country and you can not be treated like second class citizens. You are heirs and sounds of Oduduwa”, Olafare said.

Received by the president of Unidos de Vila Maria, the royal representatives watched a small Samba Dance Show presented by the school’s cast that proposed a collaborative partnership between the social projects of Nigeria and Brazil. Former Brazilian Ambassador Mrs Maria Auxiliadora Figueiredo, and Oba Ogboni Adekunle Aderounmu, highlighted the importance of the connection between the sister countries in addition to the fatherly messages from the Ooni by the duo of Ajero of Ijero-Ekiti and Alapomu of Apomu Kingdom.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that Osun is one of the eight leading States in Nigeria in terms of Covid-19 vaccination.

WHO lauded the Administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola for taking the health of the people of the State as topmost priority, saying the Organisation would support the State to ensure adequate vaccination campaign exercise in its efforts to ensure that the citizens and residents get vaccinated.

This is even as Governor Oyetola flagged off mass vaccination campaign against the deadly Covid-19 pandemic in the State, disclosing that another batch of 2 million doses of the vaccine had been made available for the citizens.

Addressing the people at the flag-off ceremony, held at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, the Osun State Coordinator, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Bello Ahmed, said the support was in view of the state’s commitment toward provision of quality and functional healthcare delivery across the nooks and crannies of the State.

“We are very happy that Osun is holding this flag- off. We are proud of the government for its commitment to ensuring adequate healthcare delivery.

“Osun is among the 8 leading States in Covid-19 vaccination, and for the mass vaccination campaign, the World Health Organisation is supporting all the 8 leading States,” he added.

Flagging off the mass vaccination campaign, Oyetola said the initiative was necessary as part of efforts to curb the scourge and rid Osun of the menace.

He also disclosed that the State had vaccinated about 300,000 citizens.

Represented by his Deputy, Mr. Benedict Alabi, Governor Oyetola described the move as a noble way to further improve the health and wellbeing of the people saying, “this is another strategy being put in place to curb the COVID-19 scourge in our dear State.”

He urged the citizens and residents to take maximum advantage of the opportunity to get vaccinated just as he implored community leaders, stakeholders, women and religious leaders to assist in mobilising all eligible persons to avail themselves of this golden opportunity of receiving the Covid-19 vaccination which has been tested and found to be trusted, safe and efficacious in protecting the people.

“We took delivery of the
first set of Covid 19 Vaccines, 64,240 doses of Astra Zeneca, on the night of Tuesday, 9th March, 2021.

“The Health Workers at the Isolation Centre, followed by Mr. Governor were the first to take the vaccines on Wednesday, 10th March. This set the pace for the vaccination of health workers and other frontliners in the State, at no cost to the recipients.

“We took delivery of 47,900 doses of the Moderna vaccine and had the Flag Off Ceremony on the 24th of August this year.

“In my speech on that occasion, I did promise that the Federal Government and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) were making efforts to get the vaccines for the rest of the populace.

“I am happy to announce that about 2 million doses of Covid Vaccines have been allocated to the State and all eligible persons that are yet to be vaccinated now have access to the vaccines.

“With our total population standing at over 5Million, and about 50% of this being in the 18 years and above age bracket, the greater part of the target population is yet to be vaccinated.

“Our health workers as well as adhoc staff have been specially trained for this purpose.

“Fixed Posts at our primary, secondary and tertiary health facilities, including outreach Posts in places outside the health facilities and special locations like Churches,Mosques, Markets and Malls will be used.

“I, therefore, enjoin all the good people of Osun of ages 18 and above who are either partially vaccinated or yet to be vaccinated to take advantage of this opportunity,” he added.

In his remarks, the Executive Chairman, Osun State Primary Healthcare Board, Hon. Adeleke Oyeleke Ogunsola, said the performance of the Administration of Governor Oyetola in all sectors has been nothing short of astronomical, especially in the area of health with much focus on healthcare delivery at the grassroots.

He said, “Mr. Governor never gets tired of our incessant needs, always granting prompt approval to requests for counterpart funds for all our health programmes among other things.

“Our State has been involved in vaccination against the deadly Covid-19 since the 10th of March this year. The immense support being given to healthcare delivery in general and the Covid-19 vaccination specifically, coupled with the energetic and enthusiastic approach of the health workers, had placed our State among the top three best performing States in the Covid-19 vaccination exercise.”

In their separate remarks, the representatives of National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Modupeola Oyesiji, and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Mr. Chima Orji, urged the residents to get vaccinated and begin to spread the gospel of the vaccines across the nooks and crannies of the State.

The occasion was attended by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Wole Oyebamiji; Commissioner for Health, Dr. Rafiu Isamotu; Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr. ‘Siji Olamiju; market women leaders, artisans among others.

ODUDUWA NEWS has gathered that one self-acclaimed prophet, Festus James, has been alleged to have raped a woman with eight months’ pregnancy in Ondo State.

The suspect arrested by Ondo State Police Command said to have committed the offence at Agbabu community in the Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.

Parading the suspect at the command headquarters in Akure, the state capital, on Thursday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, said James had carnal knowledge of the woman under the pretext of performing spiritual deliverance for her.

She said, “James from Ibadan in Oyo State went to Agbabu village via Ore, claimed to be a prophet and that the holy spirit directed him to have a three days holy ghost revival in a church in the village.

“The next day, the prophet claimed to have se oken a vision concerning a 22-year-old lady who was eight months’ pregnant and told her to wait behind after the programme.

“He took the pregnant lady into one of the rooms in the mission house under the guise of delivering her from an evil spirit and had carnal knowledge of her. The suspect confessed to the crime.”

The PPRO said the suspect would soon be charged to court.

James, who admitted to having sex with the victim, however, denied raping her.

He said, “I had sex with her truly, but it was not rape; I did not rape her. I always went there for revival. But honestly, I didn’t know what came over me that caused me to do that. It was the work of the devil.”

Legal practitioner, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), has raised an alarm over what he described as “vicious attacks” on members of the Lagos Judicial Panel of Enquiry on Police Brutality following the group’s submission of its report. 

“Since the submission of the EndSARS Panel Report to the Governor of Lagos State on November 15, 2021, members of the Panel have become the subject of vicious attacks by those suspected to be agents of the government, ” Adegboruwa, a member of the panel, said in a statement he issued on Thursday.

“All manner of allegations has been heaped upon Panel Members, some of who have been called unprintable names.”

He restated that members of the panel were appointed on merit, debunking reports that they lobbied to get into the position.

“As a matter of fact, in my own case, His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State, appealed to me to accept my appointment, which I saw as a call to national service,” he added.

“The primary reason the Governor gave to me then was that he wanted men and women of integrity, independent and not subject to manipulation, to be on the Panel.”

Adegboruwa described a report credited to an unnamed counsel to the Lagos State Government that members of the panel took bribes as “unfair, ungodly, and least expected of the government and its lawyers”.

According to him, the panel is waiting for the Lagos State Government’s white paper on the report submitted by the panel but decried the “mindless propaganda upon Panel Members”.

While calling on the Lagos State Government to “call its agents and lawyers to order so as not to provoke aggravated responses,” he said members of the panel deserve better treatment from the government.

“I should not become a victim of unwarranted attacks just because I accepted to serve the government and the outcome of that assignment did not favour the expectations of the government,” Adegboruwa, further noted.

“Suffice it to mention that I worked with men and women of unblemished integrity and I’m proud to be associated with them all.”