 Edo government set for showdown with promoters of planned sultanate in the States. We'll be finding out why the government considers it a direct assault on the traditions of Edo people. The Police Service Commission sets up a new panel to investigate the FBI's report on the policeman Abba Kiari. And the Taliban report only goes after persons who helped the United States in Afghanistan. And welcome to the Breakfast and Plos TV Africa. It's a very upbeat Friday today. Good morning, and I am Annette Felix. And I am Musaugi Ogbon. Thanks for joining us on a Friday. Of course, thanks for staying with us all through the week. We hope it's going to be a very interesting two hours for you. So our top trending story is really going straight to the point for the first one. We know that it's been a long-running investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI in the United States, into alleged money laundering by Nigerian self-confessed internet fraudster Hosh Poppy. We found US documents over 90 pages detailing the involvement of Abba Kiari, a police boss. And the whole conversation regarding his indictment really has set the Nigerian police force into an investigative series to determine Abba Kiari's role in this. So they went on to set up an investigative panel. That panel has been on for a while. And the news we're hearing now is that the Nigerian Police Service Commission has set up another in-house panel. They said this was constituted to study the documented evidence presented by the US FBI against the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kiari. Now, this new panel will be headed by the Director, Departments of Public of Police Discipline in the Commission, Barista Tijani Mohamed. And this was inaugurated on Thursday by Secretary to the Police Service Commission. So we really have questions to ask about this. The first panel was set up. We have evidence from the FBI. We've seen evidence as well from Hosh Poppies' transactions. We've seen evidence from Hosh Poppies' text messages, communication with Abba Kiari. And this is now a second investigative panel. First of all, it reminds me of the Nigerian situation and how we seem to think that committees is the solution for this. There could be an issue and then you would find government authorities setting up committees, upon committees, upon committees to look into one particular matter. And you look back years later to audit that situation and you really can find what really was the result. The most we see is that that committee now presents a report and you see it making headlines. Committee presents reports on that. Then the issue about implementation of those resolutions is where we seem to be hanging. Well, I'll start by saying, you know, I think you're on point when you called it an investigative series, you know, because, you know, it feels like we're in episode one, season one, episode three, you know, and then we're going to go on to next season's of Abba Kiari. This should be shown on Netflix, I guess. Because how many panels do you need to investigate evidence that is right in front of you? You know, as the Nigerian Police Service Commission then saying that they don't trust the FBI or that they might know more than the FBI or the FBI may, you know, not have done a thorough job. You know, I'm not sure, you know, what exactly needs to be investigated. It's really, you know, there's not so much English that needs to be, you know, spoken here. I've also seen a lot of people react to this and, you know, describe this as, you know, delay tactics, basically, you know, and they're trying to delay as much as possible instead of doing what is entirely right. And what is right mostly because of the, you know, to save the face of the current administration, which, you know, had come into power, you know, stating that they were going to be fighting corruption. It was one of the core things that they stated when contesting for the election a couple of years ago. And so we've had multiple opportunities for the current administration to actually fight corruption, and that includes different cases that we've seen here and there, people who have been charged. But, you know, we still haven't seen any answers. For my S.G.F. to the president, don't remember his name now, you know, who was also accused of grass-cutting scandal. You know, it still, you know, has not, you know, had any case against him. There was an investigative report that was sent to the president years ago to today, to tomorrow morning, to next week, to very likely 2022. I'm very sure that nothing will happen to that report. And so I'm not sure what, you know, what's the use of these series of investigations that they keep setting up. You know, and of course, you know, a lot of people who have shared those views seem to be right. I don't think I've seen anyone who says, oh, this is the right thing to do, let them investigate. Maybe FBI was wrong. Maybe it wasn't really abacari. It is, you know, just your delay tactics. And that's really what it is, nothing more than that. And people have also referred to other administrations and mostly the Obasanjo administration and how he, in his time, yes, there was also accusations of corruption in his government, but there were times when he needed to, you know, show working, you know, in an urgent balance. And he did. And if you remember Tafa Balugu, who was the IG of police, who was accused of corruption, there was no, you know, investigative panel left and right, you know, with regards to Tafa Balugu. He was hounded like a corrupt, you know, police officer. And there was so much drama at that time. There's also, of course, the Alamasega case. There's also Charles Taylor, the Liberian president at that time, who was in Nigeria. There's also James C. Borey. There were many, many examples of times when Obasanjo, at that time, had to, once again, in Nigeria and Poland, show working. And he did. So the current administration and President Muhammad Abouari continues to let all these, you know, characters and these incidents happen. It really just, you know, says a lot about what the current administration really stands for. And, you know, if they will, you know, take action when there is a need to take action. And it's embarrassing. Now talking about the set-up of committees, we know that the president commissioned a committee to go ahead to, let me read exactly how they said it. They said, this committee was set up to determine the levels of encroachment and carry out its assignment with dispatch. And what this is talking about is that there was a committee that was set up, you know, to look into grazing reserves in Nigeria and for the possible revitalization of about 368 grazing reserves across 25 states in Nigeria. This issue really, so many sites to it, because first of all, we know that during a popular interview, the president granted assist the station. He had mentioned that one of his own ways that he would use to handle this famine had his clashes is that he was going to, he had actually ordered the AGF to look into grazing reserves of the 90s and see how that can be revived. That really generated a stare and people said, first of all, the grazing reserves was not a law. So it's not, it's not even the law right now. It's not something you can just enforce in states. Second of all, we know the position of southern governors on grazing reserves. They had all come together to speak in one voice to condemn open grazing and set that from September 1, which is in a few weeks time that they were going to openly ban that grazing, you know, and saying kids can also not be involved in that or you had to get some sort of license or permit from the state. But now that this committee has gone ahead to submit its report and the president has approved the recommendation of these grazing reserves. Now the issue is what really would be the stance of, you know, these southern governors, would they shift ground or would the federal government hold sway? See some of the recommendations that this committee made. They said that they had recommended a collection of field data across the 368 grazing reserves across 25 states. And that's to assess encouragement, encroaches, stakeholders, engagement and sensitization. So let's, let's break down the big grammar. The community also said that they were going to begin to map out this 25 state. They were going to start geo mapping. They were going to give out an analysis of their findings. They were also going to design communications regarding grazing reserves. So it's a lot that it has to do. What still the question is, is it going to be now the federal government versus the state government? Are these 25 states inclusive of the states in, you know, this southern region that have banned or, you know, declared open grazing to be illegal in the states? Still lots of information that we need to know. And can we to see the response of the southern governors about this? Yeah, so I, you know, this really, you know, brings back, you know, the thoughts that, you know, a lot of people have shared, you know, with regards why the government is taking, you know, headers so seriously and why we've not been able to do what is necessary. The action of the Nigerian government with regards, you know, headers alone, you know, has been, you know, from a lot of people's views has been a little, you know, questionable. State governors have, you know, made their, you know, their stance open. You know, they said that from the first of September, you know, it's going to be completely banned. Which, of course, that they have a right to. There was also some controversy with the, with Abu Bakr Malami and the Nigerian government a couple of weeks ago with regards to their own stance on open grazing also. You know, most of the questions that, you know, would also come up with this is, you know, why aren't, why isn't the Nigerian government putting the same energy or the same interest into other businesses across Nigeria? Why aren't they looking for land or searching for grazing reserves or searching for, you know, places where other people can also do business? You know, every other person who wants to do business and category is a business. There might be something that is cultural for a particular part of the country, but it still is a business. Every other person who's doing business in Nigeria has to find a place, you know, pay for land, rent a shop and do their business and, of course, pay their taxes. And so that's what has always been. Why exactly is grazing entirely different or why is the government taking it, you know, seriously? I've spoken, you know, a lot about the body language of the government. A lot of times people get feedback not from the things that you say, not from necessarily the laws that you put into play, but, you know, the way that you react to certain things as a government. And, you know, the way that the Nigerian government has continued and that includes its silence sometimes when lives are even lost, when there's killings in villages and communities in certain parts of the country, you get to see and it's just a great example is a time when, not long ago, there's a particular shake who had threatened, you know, that there was going to be retaliation in Plateau State, you know, for the lives that were lost. He said that old Fulani's don't forgive. That's according to what the news, you know, carried. And then a couple of days later, he's seen in, you know, as a rock meeting with President Mahmoud Bari along with the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Issa Pantami. And so those things, you know, you might say, oh, the President maybe, you know, wants to have a word with the shake, you know, wants to, you know, bring peace on some of all of that. But those actions, you know, really just tells a totally different story. Or it's read, you know, in a way for the Nigerian people. And it's pretty much the same thing with these grazing reserves. If the governors have said that they do not want people grazing on their land, and if you want to, you know, rear cattle, you buy land, you, you know, apply for it, you get land and you can rear your cattle. That's really not so difficult to understand or not so difficult to deal with. But the Nigerian government continues to push for grazing reserves and continues to, you know, put this foot forward, which really a lot of times doesn't sit well with the Nigerian people. And it also looks very much like it's still not a government that is listening to what the people are saying. Because if the people, you know, if generally a lot of people have said that this is not what we want, you look at, you know, way the consensus and then you say, okay, well, you know, there's more people who do not want this to continue. There's more people who have seen that this has caused loss of lives and loss of property and families have been wiped out on some of all of that. And so I would, you know, be very, very careful with the stands that I take. But when you instead, you know, take actions that don't seem to be, you know, actions are coming from listening to the people. It just doesn't look good in any way. The next uptrending doesn't look good. And it is with a heavy heart that I say this, that, okay, first of all, we all know that the first son of the late revolutionary chief of human rights lawyer, chief Kani Fami, passed on on August 11th earlier this year. And he was age 52. And the family, you know, didn't say much during that time because they said that they wanted to, first of all, get all the facts or the medical facts regarding the cause of his death. That's even why they delete his burial and have fixed it for August 27th to hold both in, the ceremony is held both in Lagos and in those states. So at a press briefing yesterday, Thursday, Saeed Fami, the second son of late chief Kani Fami, spoke on behalf of the family and revealing the cause of Muhammad's death. And he said that, let me quote him verbatim, he said that a family could not immediately comment on the cause of the brother's death because they wanted the information to be based on factual medical details, especially as maybe contained in the death certificate. He went in to say today, however, we are in a position to inform you that our dear brother died from COVID-19 related complications and arising from this, we want to urge all Nigerians to take necessary precautions to avoid being infected by the deadly disease. And he went on to encourage us to continue to wear a face mask and adhere to social distancing and all of that. So this really is just a reminder of the fact that we're still very much in a pandemic, you know, and that we should take this as seriously as we did when we heard of our index case on February 24th, 2020. COVID-19 is still very much raging and ravaging the world. People are still getting infected. People are still dying from the disease and that it's up to us really to stay protected. Absolutely. And sad, I met Muhammad a few weeks ago. You know, there's a particular interview that I had to be at their residence. You know, and I interviewed him, very, very interesting personality. And it's also, so that hurts me on a totally different level. You know, and also it feels like the Fahwami family would be mourning. You know, first of all, of course, losing Ghani, who was one of the loudest voices in Nigeria. And activist, you know, lawyer, you know, senior advocate of Nigeria and all of that. And then his son, you know, who also tried to walk in his footsteps, you know. So it's a sad thing to, you know, the family. But once again, but I like, you know, the fact that they've used this opportunity to also remind people of the risk that we still are facing with regards COVID-19. You know, and it's going to be really, really, I don't think it's anybody. Well, funnily enough, I think there's still people who believe that it's fake or it doesn't exist. So these are, you know, just great opportunities. Sadly, of course, with the loss of life. But these are, you know, incidents that people need to look at to remind themselves of how deadly COVID-19 is. And if you have gotten vaccinated, it doesn't mean that you, you know, should continue to live recklessly. If you have not gotten vaccinated, it's a reminder that you should try to get vaccinated as quickly as possible. The government is still sourcing as much as it can more vaccines. You know, I remember more than I think arrived. We're still, of course, I mean, to continue with the second vaccination doses for AstraZeneca. And so it's important that everybody does get vaccinated or at least have a fighting chance against COVID-19. The Delta variant that I was speaking to someone yesterday trying to, you know, understand at best, you know, how it is more transmissible. You know, is it now airborne? Is it, you know, suddenly, you know, does the Delta variant not, the vaccination not, you know, help with Delta variant? Just many, many questions that need to be answered that I hope that we will be able to answer on this platform. Hopefully sometime next week, just to get more clarity on the Delta variant. But it's a reminder to wear a face mask, to wash your hands, to stay at home if possible, if you don't have any business. Lagos nightclubs are still filled up every weekend. People are still, of course, passing the, you know, the virus from one to another. If you look at the figures yesterday, we're shocked, you know, more than a thousand positive cases across the country. Lagos is still having staggering figures. And so these are things that everybody needs to be reminded of to ensure they stay safe and we're able to win this fight. Indeed, yes. That's it on top trending today. We'll take a break here and return with Arthur Press.