“Hunger pushed me to steal yam on two occasions,” man tells court. Tinubu and his fellows luxuriate, removed from theatre of hardship
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Cletus Gandu, an unemployed man aged 40, has testified in court he stole two tubers of yam because he was hungry, in a charge of criminal trespass and theft filed by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
“Hunger pushed me to steal yam on two occasions. I beg for leniency,” Gandu pleaded at the Magistrate’s Court in Kafanchan, Kaduna State.
Magistrate Michael Bawa reserved sentencing until August 6, following the defendant’s guilty plea, and remanded him in custody.
NSCDC Prosecutor Marcus Audu had told the court the complainant, Alice Daniel, reported at the corp’s office in Kafanchan on July 15 that Gandu stole the yams from her farm in Zonkwa on two occasions.
The offence contravenes Sections 327 and 270 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law.
Akpabio’s insensitive recklessness caught on tape
Hunger in the land has galvanised youths for an #EndBadGovernance protest they say will last from August 1 to 10 to press Bola Tinubu to cut the cost of governance and misallocation of funds as well as treasury looting that combine to inflict hardship on citizens, among other demands.
But Senate President Godswill Akpabio derided the protest earlier on Tuesday in a video that went viral a week after trolls forced him to apologise to Senator Natasha Akpoti for insulting her at plenary where he told her, “we are not in a night club.”
Akpabio disclosed Nigerians made over 2,000 calls to his wife Ekaette pressing her to tell him to apologise. He said his own handset too crashed under the weight of calls lambasting him.
Yet he goofed again in the latest scandal of his insensitivity while addressing delegates of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Rivers State.
His words: “All of us feel the impact of what is happening now. But we are aware it will be for a short while. MD, I want to thank you for what you said. You said we are not interested in regime change; let us own this government.
“Those who want to protest can protest, but let us be here eating ….”
The comment put him in another round of fire from Nigerians who have little respect for lawmakers, all of whom they regard as corrupt and part of the problem in society.
Akpabio can afford to look robust, dress flamboyantly, and make jests while other citizens barely feed.
Senators earn salary and allowances worth N30 million per month, according to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). It is likely that, Akpabio, as a principal officer, earns more than the rank and file.
Akpabio has since drafted a communication consultant to help work back his comment without impressing many people, as he could not deny making the insensitive statement and the video did not lie nor could he claim it was doctored.
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Tinubu’s aide describes him as “corrupt … a man covered with deceit” in old tweet dug up by netizens
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