Metuh: Handcuffing an inmate to court was a standard procedure - NPS

The Nigeria Prisons Service has said that putting handcuffs on the National Publicity Secretary, Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh while appearing for his trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday was at the discretion of the prison officer, who supervised his court appearance, according to Punch.

The NPS spokesman, Francis Enobore, said the officer in charge of the escort that took Metuh to court was at liberty to determine if the inmate should be handcuffed based on security situation, the environment and intelligence report made available to him, told Punch.

Enobore made the clarification following comments in the media and by PDP, that putting handcuffs on Metuh is a plot by the All Progressives congress -led to subdue the major opposition party.

Enobore, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, stated that Metuh was not maltreated in any way, stressing that handcuffing an inmate was a standard procedure, which the prison warden could employ based on the situation at hand.

“Handcuffing an inmate is at the discretion of the officer in-charge, depending on the security situation, the environment and intelligence report available to the officer. Sometimes they look at the atmosphere and take the necessary decision."

“If you suspect that the atmosphere, security-wise, may not be conducive to the inmates in your custody, you can use handcuffs; to avoid a situation where you have to start telling stories, you use your discretion to study the environment and take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the inmates in your custody."

“Remember that we not only try to secure the inmate from escaping, we equally provide protection for the inmate. The officer in-charge must ensure that the life of the inmate is not jeopardised. It is the officer in-charge of the escort that studies the security environment and takes the decision to use handcuffs.” told Punch.

Asked if there was intelligence that Metuh might escape or was in danger of being harmed, Enobore said he did not know because he was not at the scene.

He dismissed suggestions that the PDP spokesman was handcuffed to please the Presidency, "saying there was no political consideration in the treatment of inmates by the prisons service".

Justice Abang had, on January 15, ordered the accused person to be remanded in Kuje Prison shortly after his arraignment on seven counts of money laundering preferred against him by the EFCC.

Court Overrules FG, Sends Kanu To Kuje Prison

Founder of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, during his appearance on treasonable charges at the Federal High Court, Abuja... on Wednesday.

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered that the detained leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) be remanded in prison custody pending the hearing and determination of his bail application, according to Channel Television.

Justice James Tsoho gave the order shortly after Nnamdi Kanu and two others pleaded not guilty to a six-count charge of treasonable felony and illegal importation of a radio transmitter‎ preferred against them by the Federal Government.

Mr Kanu entered a not guilty plea to a three-count charge of broadcasting materials aimed at causing Nigeria’s disintegration, managing an unlawful society known as IPOB and importing into Nigeria a radio transmitter concealed in a container, said to contain household items, reported by Channel Television.

Kanu’s co-accused, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi, also pleaded not guilty to a three-count charge of assisting Kanu to manage an unlawful society, accepting and keeping a radio transmitter belonging to Kanu and being in possession of a pump action gun without lawful authority.

The Prosecutor, Mohammed Diri,‎ informed the court that the prosecution has completed its investigation and is ready for trial.

Following the prosecutor’s submission, the defence team, led by Mr Chuks Muoma, made an oral application for his clients to be transferred to prison custody.

After listening to arguments for and against the application, Justice Tsoho ordered the accused persons to be remanded in Kuje Prisons and adjourned hearing of the bail application till January 25.

‘Largest cocaine seizure’ in Denmark

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Danish police say a European drug ring is being broken up with 682 pounds of cocaine of “unusually high purity” seized in Denmark and six arrests in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Police spokesman Brian Voss Olsen says the cocaine could have been cut to up to 1.2 tons of powder and sold with estimated street value of up to $131 million.

Voss Olsen says “the largest cocaine seizure in Denmark’s history” took place in the western Denmark port city of Esbjerg in July, and “likely was intended for the European market.”

He said none of those arrested were Danes, and one had already been extradited to Denmark, adding more arrests could be made. Details were disclosed only on Tuesday because of the ongoing probe.



With daily news

Sarah Palin, failed US vice presidential candidate switch of allegiance to back Donald Trump

           Palin said Trump would take on ISIL and political   correctness in the US establishment [Mary Altaffer/AP]

Former US vice presidential candidate and reality TV star Sarah Palin has given her backing to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.

The former governor of Alaska on Tuesday told supporters gathered at a rally in the US state of Iowa that Trump would "kick ISIS ass", referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group.

"He is from the private sector, not a politician," Palin said in an animated speech after joining the business mogul and former host of TV's The Apprentice onstage, later asking the audience if she could "get a hallelujah?"

Palin was running mate to US senator John McCain during his unsuccessful bid for the presidency in the 2008 election, which was won by current President Barack Obama.

She said there was nothing wrong with Trump being a multi-billionaire and that it did not make him an elitist, citing all the time he had spent with construction workers as a real-estate developer.

As Trump stood alongside, Palin said: "The status quo has got to go," adding the political establishment had been "wearing political correctness kind of like a suicide vest", the Reuters news agency reported.

In a statement before the event, Trump said he was "greatly honoured" by the endorsement. "She is a friend, and a high-quality person whom I have great respect for."

Trump has led national opinion polls among Republicans for months but is in a tight contest with Ted Cruz, a Canadian-born senator for Texas, for the support of Iowa Republicans, who lean conservative and whose evangelical Christians comprise a major voting bloc.

Palin, who often discusses her Christian faith, is popular among that group and endorsed Cruz when he ran for the US Senate in 2012.

Cruz responded to her switch of allegiance with magnanimity.

"Regardless of what she does in 2016," he tweeted, "I will always be a big fan."


With Al Jazeera

Earth Alert: Researching for way to save the world from 'Armageddon asteroids'

Scientists in the United States and Europe are working on ways to save us from asteroids that may lie on collision course with planet Earth. 

Experts from NASA and the European Space Agency are looking at ways to change the paths of two asteroids - Didymos and Didymoon.

"An asteroid is very large - almost the size of a mountain - and if we hit it with a spacecraft, we only make a tiny change in the velocity. But over time that's the difference between hitting Earth and not hitting Earth," said Andy Cheng, lead investigator for the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) study at NASA.

The cosmic masses are not heading our way for another couple of centuries, but the scientists say it is a "very important" mission.

"We want to have the capability to do this as soon as possible because we know these things are out there. But to find all the things that are potential threats is a very big goal," Denton Ebel of the American Museum of Natural History said.

"This particular mission is to take the next step, which is something very important. What are you going to do about it if something actually has your name on it."

The project is still in its theoretical phase, awaiting approval for launch.