 Good morning once again, and thanks for joining us on the breakfast. It's now time for Off The Press, where we go through the major stories making headlines across Nigeria today. Starting with stories on the daily sun, it should be on your screen in just a few seconds. It says there, federal government begins payment of benefits to disease doctors and others. Security stalls Igboho's court appearance in Kotonu. Today, as agents grieve pro-urbanation agitator and wife. Also, Buhari's failure is a cause of his agitation, says Afinifere. NNPC spends $274 billion on petrol subsidy in five months. And also, death toll in terror attacks rises to $3,100 in three months. Binwi Zamfara, Bernu, Kadunatop chart. Time for political leaders to partner church on insecurity, says Pastor Kumui. One or two others, I mean Inugu, gunmen kill three policemen, and civilians in Inugu checkpoint attacks. I think that's all we will quickly share. Well, Anambra Gibbonetera or Haneza never endorsed any candidates, says the President. On the point, newspaper, COVID-19 tests and stops in 13 states. Delta variants hitting unvaccinated Nigerians. Also about COVID-19, that virus wiped off five billion dollars desperate remittances, says federal government. The federal government tells court will not stop Nigerians from using Twitter. Cooking gas price soars to 500 naira per kg, retailers, consumers lament. And don't ascent PIB, fresh hostilities loom in Niger Delta, says Dixon. Baptists contracts, contacts chapters over ransom for Kadunat Bethel students. Ten Ugun communities threaten LG Paul Boycott Overroad, destroyed by dredgers. 68-year-old lecturer, Mann, 60, arranged for alleged defilement of underage girls. After six hours hearing, Binning Court releases Ibuho's wife. Binning Court releases Ibuho's wife, remains activist. Those are the ones were taken on the punch newspaper. And now moving on to the nation, newspapers. Ibuho appears in court for immigration-related offenses. Also, agitator expected back in Kotunu Court. Wives German passport released. Autumn opposes bill to gag media. And also banditry worrisome, says Buhari. Gunmen in police uniform kill five cops at checkpoint. Also on the nation this morning. Council Paul, Liga's government restricts movement. Only 1.7% of 3.7 billion vaccines administered in Africa. And 40 refinery licenses not in use. That's also on the nation news sweepers this morning. I think I can squeeze in one in. Military wounds condone violence, secession, agitation. CDS warns. Those are the big ones on the nation. Let's quickly look at the daily trust. Colorado here is making the headlines. Colorado kills 325 afflicts 14,343 in six months. And the death toll rises as outbreaks spreads to more states. APC says we won't impose presidential candidates for 2023. Military says it's not our duty to stop agitations. And we'll also see this one. St. Federal government fails to file extradition charges. Has been in court. Let's say good morning to our guests. Chief lecturer and during the Institute of Journalism, Mr. Jede Johnson. Good morning. Thank you for joining us. Good morning. And it's a pleasure to be to be with you. Thank God. It's Friday once again. Yeah, we bless the name of the Lord for keeping us till this day. And then it's Friday. Like you said, thank God. It's Friday. Let's start with the issue of people and where we see where a nation sound was arrested on immigration charges based on what was presented before the court. And it has appeared before the court. The judicial process is taking place. Rule of law is in place. And we are seeing exchanges. And we have seen that the wife has been released from by the courts. And his passport has been released back to her. Let's play that scenario in Nigeria. Let's look at the Al-Zazaki, Ishim in Cardinal. His wife and himself still in custody to date. We don't know when the next court appearance will be. And they sit with that written on this canon. We don't even know the facts of the case. Like I said, last week until we get to the court, when we get to the court, the Ishim no longer in the hands of the government, is now left for the judicial processes. And the judicial process will take its due course. It's like the body of proof lies with the prosecution, which happens to be the government, against whoever is their accused. And that tells you that the state of rule of law in Nigeria and the state of rule of law in the public opinion, that it's about process is, someone is a judge, not guilty of it. It's proven by law of confidentiality. And that's our normal society. That's our democratic society. That's a sovereign nation. And a nation that operates within the ambit of the rule of law and fundamental human rights of the citizenry. That's written. When do we talk about the rule of law? There are three fundamental principles that govern the rule of law. And just for us to just explain, so that some of us will ask them, it's about the supremacy of the constitution, that the constitution is supreme, of that in any given state. It talks about the fundamental human rights of people and the equality before the law. Everybody being treated as equal. There's nobody that is above. So these are the tenets of a principle of democracy. A principle of rule of law as I've looked at it, but if I saw it, it'd be nice. So once those are not in place, you can call yourself to be a democratic society. You can call yourself to be a viral egalitarian society whereby people have respect for rule of law. Hopefully the courts will rule, if you treat what happened with the people and with what happened with them, because you see that they are contract, they oppose, they oppose, they oppose apart. Let's wait as this begins to unfold. And then we can draw which comparison and we can take some lessons that we can learn from it in about how to go about effecting arrest and enforcing our laws within our country and even outside the borders of our country and by following the process and common sensical approach to getting things done. If we relate that story to what the chief of defense have said, that it's not the responsibility of the military which is based on the story you read in the daily trial. Yes, to stop agitations. Is to stop agitation. Agitation is a key component part of democratic society. That it's look, the right of freedom of association and freedom of expression. Freedom of expression and freedom of association has given me the right to protest. If I don't feel, if I feel aggrieved about anything, I can go to the floor of the National Assembly, I can go to the front of, people protest in front of White House, people protest in front of the Congress in the United States of America. We even saw someone that was aggrieved, that slapped, he took it to the extreme, that slapped the French president. It was not shot. In actual sense, the president sent for him and asked him, why did you slap me in the first instant? And the guy told him, it was not premeditated. As you are just approaching me, I felt aggrieved about your policies and program. And the court process took its due course. The guy was prosecuted through the court. The president of France did not intervene. The state security did not intervene. He was prosecuted and he was sent to deal, to face the consequences of his action, his act of aggression and criminality. So agitation does not support criminality, it does not support aggression. But everyone, for a democratic society to be virile, everyone must have a right to have his say. And that's the beauty of democracy. Now, let's relate that story with another story, with NMPC, NMPC saying that the subsidized petroleum product with over $245 billion in six months, who are they deceiving? Are they deceiving themselves or they are deceiving us? We've been told over and over time, all we just need to do is to do counter-analysis of newspaper report in the last 20 years and look at the issue of petroleum subsidy and then we'll know who is deceiving who. That is subsidized petroleum product for $245 billion in six months. And then there's another story in daily trust that 40 refineries and not licenses have been granted for people to start refinery and 40 licenses have been granted, license have been granted. Out of those licenses granted, 40 are not used. One, two, three, two, 40 are not used. And what are they doing with it? So we will know that there's a systematic attempt to prevent refineries from running in Nigeria so that people that claim to be Spanish for subsidizing of petroleum product in Nigeria will continue to cash out and cash in on Nigerians because all of us are going to sleep and they are doing that a week, like a typical popular song in Nigeria, M2 Sulogo, M2 Gilugopay. So they are taking advantage of Nigerians out of our share ignorance. Who is subsidizing who? We'll let the story to the price of cooking gas. You said the price of cooking gas has gone up to $500 per kg. So where is the subsidy? I'm actually, where is the subsidy? Okay, Mr. Jedeh Johnson, let's go to the punch newspaper. There's a story here on the punch that says that Reeds will not stop Nigerians from using Twitter. Federal government tells court. Now, this was because a lawyer in Ebe Efeong took this matter to court, saying it was a breach of human rights for the federal government to stop Nigerians from expressing their freedom on social media. But the Attorney General of the Federation, went on to sign an affidavit to say that they had not stopped Nigerians from using social media and that, in fact, many Nigerians are still using it. How did you tie this to earlier state member of the federal government on June 4th, 2021, that social media, especially Twitter, actually had been suspended and, you know, threats by the Attorney General of the Federation that people who are still using social media will be persecuted and that they will know their offense when they're charged to court. You see, you test the decisions and actions of government under the constitutionality of the law of your Federation and until we test it by that, we will not strengthen this democracy. I want to appreciate that lawyer that I put. Some of us have recruited that government does not have the right. They did not within the ambit of any section 22 of 1999 constitution as amended in section 36 of 1999 constitution as amended provided for you to use any platform to give expression to your thoughts and even under the fundamental human rights, the freedom of expression of your thoughts is there. So until the actions of government are challenged by court and as we are missing the likes of Ghanifa, I mean, in this present democratic experience, you think that you are gutting and I hope that space is being filled by this young lawyer that is taking government to court concerning. Even on the issue of electronic voting, you remember I said it that, if you take it to court, the federal government will lose because they don't know you can make, that is not court. Any law that you make, any bill that you pass, that is inconsistent with the constitution will be let down on a boy. So we need to approach the court. You could see that government means, they are generally mean that it is an illegal pronouncement and the fact that the pronouncement is made by a minister or that the fact that the pronouncement is made by a minister or their attorney, that's not law. We are not a monarchy government whether you rule by proclamation of the king or the queen. So because the king said so, it becomes that. Or we are not an authoritarian society. Because you occupy certain positions of authority, the pronouncement becomes law. No, it doesn't. It doesn't make any sense. Until we begin to challenge the actions in court, just like this young man is doing, we're not strengthening our democracy. And I think that we are seeing that if the foreign general could be produced and at that very court and say that federal government, because where is the instrument? Let's put it in perspective. Where is the instrument that the federal government used to ban Twitter? Where is the instrument? I personally gave myself pristulence of the question and I asked them to write their Twitter handle and all their social media handle and I went into the hall and they said, you know what? Federal government has banned Twitter. I said, we are telling you to be journalists. Tell me the instrument. Yeah, I deliberately put it in the question to test your intelligence or your knowledge. Now, tell me the instrument that the federal government has used to ban Twitter other than the pronouncement. And as a journalist, you take a pronouncement of someone in authority and you take it, then you are not supposed to be journalists. You are not fit to be a custodian to be the watchdog. You are not fit under the 99 conditions to be government accountable because that's the second part of section 22 of 9. Is that your own government accountable? You are doing the right to be the watchdog as the foreign state of the land. So beyond the lawyers are going to the court. We as journalists are also at home in society to give them a truthful account of what happens in this. That's a good responsibility that is placed on us. And as I let you the kind of book community let me just tell you something. The kind of book community that said they are not voting and they can't support because their votes are bad. I think we should take it forward. You know, elections are coming. People should book up the election and take a moment to do something in an area. We are not. Just imagine if it's a government election and more than to talk about the communities that don't have votes that don't have anything. Since they are not voting that means that there can't be an election. There won't be but no winner will declare until we take the bull by the hand. The responsibility thinking and addressing the hand will have democracy. All right, quickly also share your thoughts on the story on the Daily Sun. It says death toll in terror attacks rises to 3,103 months. And of course, I want you to put that side by side with the announcement. It's not in the news this morning but the announcement of Nigeria receiving its six super Tucano jets. This is similarly our report card with regards to our fights against terror and the ability to protect Nigerian lives. 3,103 months doesn't look good. One life. Even one life lost. Just one life lost. Do you know what if an American is sticking us and no stage in Nigeria do you know what America will deploy? That's the major reason we ask. What's the value of Nigerian life? What's the value? Of what value does government place on my life, on your life? Look at the state of our infrastructure. If you drive across the length and breadth of Nigeria it's a dead trap waiting to happen. We are just looking at those ones on terror attack. Just because of the state of the road you look at people that died by accident. Enough in Nigeria you'll be shown at the numbers. So essentially government don't really care about us. Because the economy is not about putting, it's not about buying and dozing. Those arms and ammunition is also about putting a structure and a system in place. A system to fight terrorism. But when you have a system that rewards criminality when you have a system that placed in service calling terrorist bandits calling terrorist insurgents it's about changing the narrative it's about still giving those people the ability to move globally. Because when they declare a group as terrorist group they have entered a naturalized zone. They are citizens of no nation. They are nationless. And as the mission is made and government is paying how would you lose 3,000 people to terrorist attack in your country? Then government has failed in its responsibility with major responsibility to protect the lives and property of the citizens here to protect the territorial integrity the territorial integrity of its country do you even have territorial integrity? We have the situation where the flag of ISA ISAWAP was placed in DJ we have the situation in the North East, in Bono and UB we have situations in the North West in Zamfara in Zamfara states where people have have sent people away from their from their ancient home because they are exploring our solid minerals. Look the bottom line is very simple until we value what is a Nigerian life then there's no basis for a nation because what defines a nation is its people and what define the constitution of a nation is the people that's why the constitution the opening statement of Nigerian-Nigerian we the people of Nigeria we the people so anything that affects the people affects the nation but the question I ask is that what value do we play on the people of Nigeria our health sector our educational sector our infrastructure our lives even people that we let in office if we are going out now the weeds are going to push us out of the road if it rains now everywhere is flooded there are problems left out and center if we want to construct roads you know I traveled outside of Lagos I returned here on Monday and then I spent one hour between the long no two hours between the long bridge in Beghar to before Beghar to Beghar two hours just because they are constructing routes further government of Nigeria and the state government we stay two hours of my life that's mean our life is measured in terms of time two hours I've been taking away from my life because when the time comes I'll die because our life is measured in time in terms of seconds minutes our days that's our life is measured and anyone that takes your time and that waste your time is wasting your life and that's our federal government and state government through the foolish infrastructure programs they see they do waste Nigerian lives do you know what I mean if someone if you are taking someone to their street too do you know maybe people have died because they are constructing roads and they didn't provide the alternative that have died inside traffic and we just take it as normal so those three thousand lives is just is just a sample of the entire population of Nigerians that have died out of carelessness and failure of government to do its responsibility based on its consular provision that it will protect our lives and property All right Mr. Ajida Johnson and all thank you very much where we have to wrap it here Chief Lecturer Nigerian Institute of Journalism NIJ thank you very much and have a great weekend Thank you very much it's a pleasure to be with you All right we will now go back in time I'm going back to the end 1968 to tell you about a hijacking do stay with us