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Deputy Senate President, Mr. Ike Ekweremadu, has sold two of his three properties in Kissimmee, Florida, United States of America. The properties, which were recently exclusively reported by SaharaReporters as owned by him, are townhouses at 2747 Club Cortile Circle and 2763 Club Cortile Circle, Kissimmee, Florida. The properties which were bought in 2008 for $200,000 each were put on the market in January and sold for $150,000 to the same buyer on February 20 2018.

SaharaReporters’ investigations revealed that both properties were sold below prevailing market value in Mr. Ekweremadu’s apparent bid to avoid forfeiting them to the Federal Government. He has also put the third one, situated at 4507 Stella Street, Bellavida Estate Kissime, Florida, up for sale, but he is yet to find a buyer. The owner of the property said to be worth $500,000, is still listed as the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu with his Enugu address clearly stated on the property did.

The two houses already sold were bought in January by a company, Y-Kat Enterprises Inc., with an address at 10143 Foxhurst Ct Orlando, Florida.

When SaharaReporters contacted the person listed as the owner, Mr. Russel Daya, he declined to speak with our reporters, claiming it was too late in the night. When asked if he knew Nigeria's deputy Mr. Ekweremadu, he answered in the negative and hung up immediately.
The fire sale of the properties has, however, not concealed that they were previously owned by Mr. Ekweremadu.

Documents exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters from Osceola County Tax Collector show Mr. Ekweremadu as the taxpayer on the property at 4507 Stella Street, Bellavida Estate Kissime, Florida, till the end of 2017.
A notice of Ad Valorem and non-Ad Valorem taxes from the tax collector, bearing Mr. Ekweremadu’s address of 4 Iyienu Street, Independence Layout, Enugu, showed that the Deputy Senate President paid a total of $6, 728.37 as tax on the house as at December 2017.

On the property at 2747 Club Cortile Circle, Kissimmee, Florida, the tax collector’s documents showed that the Deputy Senate President paid a total of $1,665.91 as at December 2017. The document similarly bears Mr. Ekweremadu’s Enugu address. Likewise, the Deputy Senate President paid taxes on the one at 2763 Club Cortile Circle, Kissimmee, Florida.

Nigeria Customs Service promotes 775 Junior officers

Nigeria Customs Service?promotes 775 Junior officers

At least 775 junior staff of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have been promoted to various ranks in the service by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), retired Col. Hameed Ali.

Ali announced the approval of the staff in a statement issued by the Service Public Relations Officer, Joseph Attah on Thursday in Abuja. Attah said the promotion was strictly based on merit, as the cumulative marks of annual performance evaluation scores, written examination and availability of vacancy determined those who emerged as the most eligible for promotion.

He said that the promotion took effect from Jan. 1, 2017 as effective date. Attah said a breakdown of the promotion showed that seven Assistant Inspectors of Customs were promoted to the rank of Inspectors of Customs, 473 Customs Assistant 1 to Assistant Inspectors of Customs.

Three Customs Assistant 3 were promoted to Customs Assistant 2. On the Support Staff Cadre, he said the following were promoted: Fifteen Assistant Inspectors of Customs were promoted to the rank of Inspector of Customs, 40 Customs Assistant 1 to Assistant Inspector of Customs.

He added that 152 Customs Assistant 2 to Customs Assistant 1 while 85 Customs Assistant 3 were promoted to Customs Assistant 2. Attah said the CGC congratulated the personnel and expressed the hope that their elevations would serve as motivation to effectively deliver on the Service mandate.

NBC bans Olamide, Davido, 9ice’s songs

Less than 24 hours after the National Broadcasting Commission banned one of his recent songs, Wo, among others, from being played on the airwaves, popular rapper, Olamide Adedeji, has said that he never intended to cause harm to music fans with the song.

The rapper, popularly called Olamide, on Tuesday tweeted, “No intentions of promoting tobacco to get people killed. I love my people, I love my country. One love, one Nigeria.”

It named Olamide’s Wo and Wavi Level; a remix of Davido’s If and 9ice’s Living Thingsas the culprits in a current list of banned songs and music videos that it released to the public.The NBC, on Tuesday, placed a ban on works by three of Nigeria’s top level music artistes for an alleged violation of its rules and regulations.

Although the commission did not give specific reasons for banning the songs, the decision may have been influenced by a recent reaction from the Federal Ministry of Health to the music video of Olamide’s new song.

Last Friday, in a message posted on Twitter, the ministry kicked against the video of Wo, released a few days ago and described the content as contravening the Tobacco Control Act of 2015.

The Ministry of Health also noted that the video contained scenes showing youths of different ages openly smoking substances believed to be either cigarettes or narcotics and concluded that such scenes could encourage second-hand smoking among underage children anywhere in the country.

However, this is the third time that the NBC has brought down its hammer on a popular song by Olamide.

The last time was 2016, when two other songs by the rapper were slammed for what the commission described as “obscene and indecent” lyrics.

Also, before the ban on 9ice’s Living Things, the song had been fingered as the subject of a statement by fellow rapper Falz, which urged Nigerian musicians in general to be mindful of the kind of messages that they passed to the public in their songs.

Falz had appeared to be genuinely concerned about the impact of such messages on the youth. He pointed out that artistes who saw nothing wrong about glorifying Internet fraud, drugs and other anti-social behaviour were not doing the society any good.

Court stops Lagos from enforcing hotel tax law

The Federal High Court in Lagos has restrained the Lagos State Government from enforcing the provisions of its new Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant (Fiscalisation) Regulations 2017.

The law introduced a five per cent consumption tax in addition to a five per cent Value Added Tax on every purchase or service rendered by hotels, restaurants, fast food outlets, event centres, bars and night clubs.

The judge said the law would remain suspended until the final determination of a suit filed against the government by the Registered Trustees of Hotel Owners and Managers Association of Lagos.But in a ruling on March 21, 2018, Justice Rilwan Aikawa restrained the state from further enforcing the law.

The judge also temporarily struck down the Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Law Cap H8, Laws of Lagos State 2015.

He particularly restrained the state from enforcing or implementing paragraphs 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11 of the Lagos State Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant (Fiscalisation) Regulations 2017.

Justice Aikawa stopped the state and its agents from visiting the plaintiffs hotels “for the purpose of installing fiscal electronic device and any other purposes whatsoever in furtherance of the law and the regulations.”

He made the interim order following an ex parte application taken before him by the association of hotel owners in Lagos through their lawyer, Mr. Olasupo Shasore (SAN).

Shasore, who is a former attorney general and justice commissioner in Lagos State, had prayed the court to stop the state and its agents from visiting his clients “between March 1 and March 10, 2018 or any other period before or thereafter,” pending the hearing and determination of his clients’ motion on notice dated March 7, 2018.

Justice Aikawa, after granting the interim restraining orders, adjourned till April 17, 2018 to hear the plaintiffs’ motion on notice.

Joined as defendants in the suit, marked FHC/L/CS/360/2018, are the Attorney General of Lagos State and the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

[BREAKING] Buhari offers repentant Boko Haram members amnesty

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday expressed his readiness to offer amnesty to members of the Boko Haram sect that are willing to drop their arms.

Buhari said this at a meeting he had with schoolgirls abducted from their school in Dapchi, Yobe State and were released on Wednesday.

Details later.

[BREAKING] Buhari meets freed Dapchi girls, parents at Presidential Villa

President Muhammadu Buhari is currently meeting the girls who were abducted from their school in Dapchi, Yobe State. They were released on Wednesday.

The girls’ parents are also attending the meeting holding inside the Press Gallery of the Presidential Villa’s Council Chambers.

Details later….Some top government officials and security chiefs joined Buhari at the meeting, which started at 12.10pm.

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FG confirms release of 76 Dapchi girls

Boko Haram Islamists who kidnapped 110 schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State, just over a month ago have returned 76 of the students to the town, the government said on Wednesday.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the release was “unconditional” and the result of “back-channel efforts” with the help of “some friends of the country”, without elaborating.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said last week the government had “chosen negotiation” to secure the return of the Dapchi girls rather than use military force.“The 76 are those who have been documented so far,” he said, adding that they were released at about 3:00 am (0200 GMT) and that a full head-count was under way.

Mohammed said: “For the release to work, the government had a clear understanding that violence and confrontation would not be the way out as it could endanger the lives of the girls, hence a non-violent approach was the preferred option.

“Within the period when the girls were being brought back, (an) operational pause was observed in certain areas to ensure free passage and also that lives were not lost.”

Nigeria’s presidency said separately that the girls were in the custody of the country’s intelligence agency, the Department of State Services.

The Dapchi kidnapping on February 19 brought back painful memories of a similar abduction in Chibok in April 2014, when more than 200 girls were taken.

Aisha Alhaji Deri, a 16-year-old student who was among those kidnapped in Dapchi, told reporters they were not mistreated during their time in captivity

“They brought us back this morning, dropped us outside the motor park and said we should all go home and not go to the military because they will claim to have rescued us.”

Parents earlier told AFP the girls were brought back to Dapchi in nine vehicles at about 8:00 am. Some of the students headed to their homes in surrounding villages.

Bashir Manzo, who heads a parents’ support group in Dapchi, said: “These girls were not accompanied by any security personnel.

“Their abductors brought them, dropped them outside the school and left, without talking to anyone.”

Parents in the remote town said the girls had been taken for medical check-ups after their ordeal and that security was tight in the town

– Ransom payment? –

Boko Haram has used kidnapping as a weapon of war during its nearly nine-year insurgency which has claimed at least 20,000 lives and made more than two million others homeless.

The Islamic State (IS) group affiliate has not claimed responsibility for the abduction but it is understood that a faction headed by Abu Mus’ab al-Barnawi was behind it.

In August 2015, IS publicly backed Barnawi as leader of Boko Haram, or Islamic State West Africa Province, over Abubakar Shekau, whose supporters carried out the Chibok abduction.

Analysts have attributed a financial motive to the Dapchi kidnapping given government ransom payments made to Boko Haram to secure the release of some of the captives from Chibok.

On Tuesday, Amnesty International claimed that the military ignored repeated warnings about the movements of Boko Haram fighters before the kidnapping.

The military rejected the allegation, calling it an “outright falsehood”.

Similar claims were made about the hours leading up to the Chibok abduction, which brought sustained worldwide attention on the conflict for the first time.

The Chibok abduction also triggered a global campaign for their release, spearheaded by the US former first lady Michelle Obama. There was no similar campaign for the Dapchi girls.

Since May 2016, 107 Chibok girls have escaped, been found or been released as part of a government-brokered deal with the jihadists.

WHO warns Nigeria, 15 other African countries of listeriosis outbreak

World Health Organisation on Wednesday warned Nigeria and 15 other African countries of a listeriosis outbreak that started in South Africa in 2017, confirming its support for their preparedness and response to the disease.

The other African countries are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Listeriosis is a bacterial infection most commonly caused by Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria is ubiquitous and is primarily transmitted via the oral route after ingestion of contaminated food productsIt can cause severe illness, including severe sepsis, meningitis, or encephalitis, sometimes resulting in lifelong harm and even death.

According to WHO numbers, nearly 200 South Africans have died since January 2017 as a result of contaminated ready-to-eat meat products that are widely consumed in the country and may also have been exported to two West African countries and 14 members of the South African Development Community.

South African health authorities recently declared the source of the outbreak as a factory in Polokwane, in the country’s northeast.

This prompted a national and international recall of the food products.

However, in light of the potentially long incubation period of listeriosis and the challenges relating to large-scale nationwide recall processes, further cases are likely to occur.

Whole genome sequencing of isolated strains of the Listeria bacteria was used to make the link between the contaminated products, the producing company and strains of Listeria isolated from the patients.

The WHO is currently supporting further genome sequencing to determine which cases are linked to this ongoing outbreak.

The ministers committed to regional collaboration, exchanging information and strengthening national food safety systems in line with international standards.In March, South Africa hosted a meeting of SADC health ministers to address regional preparedness and response to listeriosis.

The WHO, however, does not currently recommend any trade-related measures in relation to the current outbreak of listeriosis in South Africa, other than the recall of products identified as sources of infection.

The United Nation health agency is working with the 16 priority countries to improve their ability to prepare for, detect and respond to potential outbreaks.

Immediate steps include increasing awareness on listeriosis, enhancing active surveillance and laboratory diagnosis, ensuring the readiness of Rapid Response Teams, and strengthening coordination and contingency planning.

Experts have been deployed to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland to support these efforts.

“This outbreak is a wake-up call for countries in the region to strengthen their national food safety and disease surveillance systems,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.

18-year-old nursing mother drags lover to court for declining marriage

An 18-year-old nursing mother, Maryam Magaji, on Wednesday dragged one Badamasi Salihu, 20, whom she claimed was her lover, to a Sharia Court at Magajin Gari, Kaduna, for refusing to marry her.

She told the court that Salihu dated her for a year and promised to marry her, only to turn his back on her after getting her pregnant.

According to her, she had earlier reported the matter to the district head of their community where the defendant accepted the pregnancy and agreed to marry her after delivery.

Maryam begged the court to compel the defendant to accept the three weeks old baby she was nursing.“I reported the matter to our district head, and he agreed to marry me after I deliver but he denied me after giving birth to his child saying he cannot marry me,” the complainant lamented.

In his response, the defendant denied the claim, saying his relationship with her was that of a friend.

“She normally comes to my shop where we gist, crack jokes and laugh which made me attached to her, I see her as a friend that’s all,” Salihu told the court.

He also denied being responsible for Maryam’s pregnancy, saying the child she was nursing wasn’t his.

The judge, Malam Musa Sa’ad, requested the two parties to present their guardians and witnesses in court.

The case was adjourned till March 26, to enable the two parties present their witnesses.

BREAKING: FG confirms release of 91 girls, one boy

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has confirmed that 91 girls and a boy have so far been released by their abductors.

Mohammed disclosed this to State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday.

“Many of the girls that were released were not dropped in one place.He said, “As of now, I can confirm that 91 girls and one boy have been released. The event is developing.

“Some were dropped on the road and they went back naturally to their parents Houses.

“They are now being asked to come and be documented at a centre and as at five minutes ago, I was told 91 girls and boy had been documented.”

Messi joins Argentina training ahead of Italy clash

Messi’s side are based at the Football Academy of Premier League leaders City while they prepare for the friendly at Eastlands on Friday.

Also present but not participating was City striker Sergio Aguero, who has been sidelined with a knee injury recently.The Barcelona forward arrived to start working with the rest of the squad on Tuesday and was present at a training session open to media in the afternoon.

Another City player, defender Nicolas Otamendi, was involved along with the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria, Javier Mascherano and Marcos Rojo.

Armed Forces determined to end terrorism – DHQ

The Military has said it is determined to end the activities of the Boko Haram terrorists in spite of accusation by the Amnesty International to distract it.

The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig.-Gen John Agim, said this in a statement on Tuesday in reaction to the AI’s allegation against security forces on kidnap of 110 school girls in Yobe.

The organisation had accused the military and other security agencies of failing to act to avert the kidnap of the students after being informed of the plot.

“The Defence of our national territorial integrity is our utmost goal and as such the Armed Forces in conjunction with sister security agencies will continue to strive toward entrenching peace in the North-East and indeed every part of this great nation,’’ Agim said.“For avoidance of doubt, the Armed Forces of Nigeria are more than ever, poised to bring the activities of Boko Haram terrorists to a complete end and no amount of discouraging fabrications by the AI will deter the military from achieving its constitutionally assigned responsibilities.

He said that apart from questioning the motive of AI, it was pertinent to state that most of their narratives were outright falsehood and a calculated attempt to whip up sentiments and mislead unsuspecting Nigerians.

Agim also said such narratives were meant to demoralise friendly nations and people collaborating with security forces to end terrorism in the North-East.

“For the avoidance of doubts, no security force was informed of Dapchi school girls abduction as alleged by AI.

“The Nigerian public and the International Community should know that the Armed Forces of Nigeria are a professional military and have attained the highest form of professionalism in line with International best practices.

“And so, could not have ignored warning of Boko Haram attack only to work tirelessly to get the girls back.’’

He said it was unfair for AI that did not care if the country survived as a united indivisible entity to come up every time to put doubts in the minds of the people about the military that had remained dedicated to keeping the country one.

“They did that accurately in the previous administration and the US invoked the leahy law against Nigeria at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency.“Amnesty International always brings out damming reports about the Nigerian Military at strategic points.

“Within this year, 2018, Amnesty International issued reports against the Military in January 2018, February 2018 and now March 2018.

“The question is; what is the motive of the AI?

“The answer is simple; President Trump of the United States of America has agreed to collaborate with the current government of Nigeria to end insurgency in the North-East and AI wants to do everything within its powers to make sure that the US-Nigeria Anti-Terrorism cooperation does not succeed in accordance with their paymasters design.’’

The acting DDI described the AI as an organ established to embark on orchestrated campaign of calumny against the Nigerian military and undermine its laudable achievements against Boko Haram.

“Unfounded and inaccurate reports such as this by AI is completely unacceptable, and only exist in the figment of AI imaginations and should be discountenanced by well-meaning Nigerians and foreign friendly nations,’’ he said. (NAN)

Pogba misses France training

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba missed France’s training session for treatment on Tuesday as Didier Deschamps’ side prepared for Friday’s friendly with Colombia.

Pogba, his United teammate Anthony Martial and Marseille winger Florian Thauvin were victims of “little knocks”, according to French officials.

On Monday, Pogba trained as normal while Martial and Thauvin received treatment.

Koscielny was taken off in a Europa League game against AC Milan last Thursday with a back problem that manager Arsene Wenger said was “nothing serious”.Meanwhile, Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny and Bayern Munich midfielder Corentin Tolisso trained with physios, separately from the main squad.

Tolisso suffered bruising to his right tibia earlier this month and missed Bayern’s match against RB Leipzig on Sunday.

After playing Colombia, France head to Saint Petersburg to take on Russia on Tuesday for what will be their last match before coach Deschamps announces his 23-man World Cup squad on May 15.

JAMB releases results of over 1.5m 2018 UTME candidates, holds 111,981 for further screening

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board says it has released the results of 1,502,978 candidates who sat for the 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The board disclosed this in a statement signed by its Head of Media, Dr. Fabian Benjamin in Abuja on Tuesday.

The board stated that a total of 1,652,825 candidates registered for the 2018 examination, adding that the results of 112,331 candidates were yet to be released.According to the statement, the board released the results after viewing all CCTV footage during the conduct of the examination and also after considering reports from its supervisors who monitored the exercise.

It noted that “out of the number yet to be released, 350 are results of blind candidates which would be released soon, while 111,981 results were being withheld for further screening.”

The board stated that the figure excluded foreign candidates whose examination was scheduled for April.

The 2018 UTME commenced on March 9 and ended on March 19.

The board said that unlike the 2017 exercise, release of results would not be immediate,
adding that JAMB would scrutinise candidates’ results before releasing them to avoid multiple cancellations later.

Jamb released all result today

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has released the final batch of the 2018 UTME results.

The board confirmed this in a chat with DAILY POST Monday morning.

JAMB Head of Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, told our correspondent on phone that the results can be assessed from Tuesday afternoon.

“We are not holding any press conference to make the announcement; no need for that.

“All those who sat for the examination are advised to check the JAMB website this afternoon.

“All results will be uploaded at 2pm,” he said.

Overloaded heavy duty vehicle owners to pay N10m fine – FG

Owners of overloaded heavy duty vehicles that ply federal highways will start paying fines ranging from N1m to N10m, the Federal Government has announced.

It stated this in an official gazette dated February 6, 2018, entitled: ‘Federal Highways (Control of Dimensions, Weights and Axle Load of Heavy Duty Goods Transport Vehicles) Regulations, 2018’.

The FMPWH stated that the objective of the regulations was to set standards and establish procedures for the control of dimensions, weight and axle load of heavy duty goods transport vehicles plying federal highways and to impose sanctions for non-compliance with those standards.The gazette, which was put together by the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, and obtained in Abuja on Monday, outlined several regulations to be enforced in the roads transport sector across the country.

For instance, one of the regulations states that a vehicle operator who violates the dimension standards resulting wholly from the vehicle load is liable to a fine of N10m payable at the temporary area or fixed control post.

Another states that a vehicle operator who overloads a vehicle beyond the regulated total laden weight of the vehicle or assembly of vehicles on a federal highways (after five per cent allowance on total laden weight for margin of error has been taken account of) commits an offence and is liable to a fine of N10m payable at the temporary area or fixed control post.

“A vehicle operator who fails to comply with the standards relating to the weight or size for the transportation of hydrocarbons, explosives and other dangerous goods, commits an offence and is liable to a fine of N10m,” another regulation in the gazette, which was officially made public in Abuja on Monday, stated.

Speaking on why it was important to have rules against overloading of heavy duty vehicles, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, stated that compliance with the regulations would not only increase the lifespan of the roads, but would open a massive door of opportunities in the sector.

Fashola noted that treaty obligations now existed within the West African sub-region that regulated the amount of load any goods’ vehicle could put on an axle and by extension on the road in order to do business within ECOWAS and beyond.

He said, “I must thank you Mr. President for finally signing the instruments of ratification as soon as it was brought to his attention after many years of delay prior to his tenure. Our compliance with these regulations will open a massive door of opportunity and prosperity of cross-border trade to Nigerians engaged in the transport business.

He added, “Therefore, while the temptation to overload and carry more with one truck, against regulation and good practice may be appealing, it is ultimately a barrier to prosperity. Such practices may provide cheap and perhaps corrupt riches and income, but they do more damage to the roads from which the cheap income is made.“All over the world, one common thread of prosperous societies is their level of compliance with laws and regulations. In those societies, you will see trucks carrying specified tonnage of cargo, because it protects the road and allows for it to be used again and again.”

“Our ministry is convinced that voluntary compliance by stakeholders takes us further and nearer to the prosperity that is beckoning; and this is why we convened our meeting before the process of enforcement commences.”

Senator Wakili’s wife found him slumped on the floor –Bauchi Rep

Says tea was the last beverage Wakili requested but never drank it
I washed the late senator and prepared his body for burial –Rep

John Ameh, Abuja

A member of House of Representatives, Mr. Mohammed Sani-Abdu, on Tuesday gave the first vivid account of how the late Senator Ali Wakili died.

Wakili, who died on Saturday morning at the age of 58 in his Abuja residence, represented Bauchi-South Senatorial District of Bauchi State.

The session was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, who hails from the same district as Sani-Abdu and Wakili.Sani-Abdu, who is also from Bauchi State, recounted Wakili’s very last moments when the House paid tributes to the late retired Comptroller of Customs.

Sani-Abdu said that as the very first person to arrive in Wakili’s residence after receiving a distress call, he could authoritatively reveal that Wakili slumped in the presence of his wife.

According to him, Wakili had got dressed and ready to travel to Yola, Adamawa State, to attend the wedding of the daughter of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha.

But, before leaving the house, Sani-Abdu said, the late senator asked his wife to prepare a meal for him to eat.

He spoke further, “This is why we have to continue to appreciate our wives. His wife received the first shock.

“She prepared porridge and brought it for him to eat. But Wakili told her he wanted something light instead, like tea.

“She went back to get the tea, only for her to return and find her husband slumped on the floor.”

He added, “The wife is a very courageous woman. I asked her whether she would be strong enough so that I could remove the cloth from his face for her to see the husband for the last time.Sani-Abdu recalled how he personally washed the late senator and prepared his body for burial, having been told what happened.

“She agreed. You know, people are somehow afraid of dead bodies. But, this woman did not only hold her husband, she prayed for him and tightly embraced the body.

“She did not want to let go of the body. It took some women, who had strength, to pull her away from Wakili.

“Immediately she was separated from him, she fainted and people had to bring water to pour on her. She took the first shock.”

Dogara had opened the session by recalling the good deeds of Wakili, including his courage as a politician, to challenge the political class in the state for taking decisions that did not serve the interests of the majority.

The Speaker said, “He fought for good governance, especially in our dear state of Bauchi, and Nigeria at large.

“Merchants and profiteers of bad governance had the knives all out for him, but never to be intimidated, he stood his ground and held the lines with rare courage until his death. He represented an idea that death cannot kill.”

A former customs officer, Mr. Jerry Alagbaso, who was Wakili’s contemporary in service, described the late senator as “a jolly good and resourceful officer while he was in the service.”

A member from Jigawa State, Mr. Mohammed Gudaji-Kazaure, said he learnt from Wakili the lesson that those fighting for political positions ahead of 2019 might not live to see the year.

“We were very close. He told me that people were fighting because of 2019 elections, but who would say with confidence that they would see 2019?

“He was not desperate about positions and this is a lesson for all of us.”

On his part, another retired customs officer, Mr. Albert Adeogun, said, “It is not possible in a moment to describe the person of late senator Wakili.

“I pray God to grant his family the fortitude to bear the loss.”

The House observed a minute’s silence in his honour and later shut the plenary till Wednesday after praying for Wakili’ soul.

Suspected Fulani herdsmen allegedly kill four farmers in Delta