Florida Shootings Aftermath: New Gun Restrictions Have Come at the Cost of Arming School Staff

More than three weeks after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed gun reform legislation (SB 7026)that includes $400 million to improve school safety, mental health access, as well as the controversial “school guardians” program. The bill, mixed though it is, includes the first gun restrictions the state has passed in decades.

The bill, passed by the overwhelmingly Republican Legislature on Wednesday, requires that anyone purchasing a gun from a licensed firearms dealer be at least 21-years-old, as well as mandating a three-day waiting period (handgun purchases were already restricted to persons 21 and older). It also grants police more authority to confiscate weapons under what gun control advocates call a “red flag” law.

SB 7026 also approves the controversial “school guardian” program, which is a delicate way of saying that librarians across Florida may soon be carrying deadly weapons. The guardian program will allow school staff, with the exception of those who are exclusively teachers, to carry guns on campus. It also allows teachers who are members of National Guard or United States Reserves to carry weapons, as well as former law enforcement officers. Some Florida Senators were unclear, however, on the language in the bill, particularly the language that excluded “individuals who exclusively perform classroom duties as classroom teachers.” Senator Gary Farmer (D-Broward County) said in a statement: “This means that if a teacher performs any additional service on behalf of the school, he/she will be allowed to carry a gun into a classroom. If a teacher is also a coach, or the moderator of a club, as is often the case, they would be allowed to carry a firearm at a school.”

Supporters of the bill, meanwhile, stressed that the school guardian program was optional and districts could choose not to participate. By Thursday, the Miami Herald reported that some of the state’s largest school districts announced that they would opt-out of the school guardian program, including Broward County, where Stoneman Douglas is located.

It was initially unclear whether or not Scott would sign the bill. “I’ve been clear. I don’t think we ought to be arming teachers,” he said in a press conference earlier this week. But even if the bill was controversial in the state legislature—much of it opposed by Marion Hammer, Florida’s powerful NRA lobbyist—it managed to squeak through both chambers, with some legislators crossing party lines, in large part because all seventeen of families who lost children at Stoneman Douglas supported the bill.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that two of those parents were in Tallahassee on Wednesday, urging legislators to pass SB 7036. Even then it was unclear whether or not Scott would sign the bill, but after the governor met Parkland families, reporters noted the meeting “raised expectations” that he would.

Even before Scott announced his support for the legislation on Friday afternoon, President Trump took credit for the Florida bill. “I want to congratulate the state of Florida and your representatives on some very good legislation that’s been passed,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. He continued, as he usually does, by praising his own persuasive leadership skills: “I guess they’ve been listening to me a lot more because, unexpectedly, they passed concealed-carry for some very special teachers that have a great ability with weapons and with guns.”

Florida is now the first state with a program for arming school staff. Scott called the legislation “historic,” noting that it was the first legislation he’s signed in 2018. What exactly that history will look like is something we’re about to find out.

Court dismisses charges against former Enugu State governor, Nnamani.

A Lagos Division of the Federal High Court has dismissed the charges against a former governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani, for lack of “proper charges” before the court.

Chuka Obiozor, the judge, said the affidavit filed by Mr. Nnamani showed that the court had entered judgement in the same suit on July 5, 2015, by another judge, Mohammed Yunusa.

Rickey Tarfa, counsel to Mr. Nnamani, had informed the court that the defendant filed a motion disclosing the facts that this case has been put to rest by Mr. Yunusa in his judgement suit no FHc/L/09c/07.

According to Mr. Tarfa, a senior advocate of Nigeria, parties in the suit had entered a plea bargain before Mr. Yunusa and there is no valid pending charges before Mr. Obiozor as the court cannot sit on appeal for the case of another judge of concurrent jurisdiction.

Kelvin Uzozie, the EFCC prosecutor, said he had looked at the affidavits filed by the defendant in the case and was applying that the entire proceedings be expunged to enable him file fresh charges against Mr. Nnamani.

In a short ruling, the judge said, “I agree that in view of the plea bargain judgement of this court delivered on the 7th of July, 2015, that there is no valid charge before me and I thereby expunge the entire proceedings before me.”

BREAKING: ETHIOPIA state of emergency!!

Ethiopian Defense Minister Siraj Fegessa on Saturday said a state of emergency imposed by Ethiopia after the prime minister resigned will last six months.

“Ethiopia bans protests, publications that incite violence during emergency rule.

“There are still pockets of areas where violence is prevalent. The (ruling EPRDF coalition‘s) council were unanimous in their decision,” Fegessa told journalists.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced his surprise resignation in a televised speech on Thursday, saying he wanted to smoothen the way for further reforms.

Since January, Ethiopia has released over 6,000 prisoners charged with taking part in mass protests and, in some cases, offences against the state.

It has also closed down a jail where activists alleged torture took place.

Many of the prisoners took part in anti-government protests in 2015 and 2016 in Amhara and Oromiya, the country’s two most populous provinces.

The demonstrations began against a government plan to expand the capital Addis Ababa but morphed into greater demands for civil rights.

The government previously imposed a state of emergency in October 2016, which was lifted in August 2017.

During that time, curfews were in place, there were restrictions on movement and around 29,000 people were detained.

Ethiopia is East Africa’s biggest and fastest-growing economy and a Western ally in the fight against Islamist militancy.

BREAKING!! Security operatives arrest UNILAG Union leaders....

The police on Thursday stormed the homes of two leaders of the University of Lagos chapter of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and arrested them.

Joseph Adefolalu and Adekola Adetomiwa were arrested between 1.30 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Thursday allegedly at the instance of the university’s vice-chancellor, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe.

The institution’s non-academic staff had been at loggerheads with the university management over the sharing of funds disbursed by the federal government for the payment of entitlements last year.

This week, the university was forced to postpone, indefinitely, its convocation earlier scheduled to hold between February 19 and 22.

Over 12 security operatives, arrived in three vehicles with special plate numbers, invaded Mr. Adefolalu’s Ikorodu residence at 1.30 a.m. and held the members of his family hostage until he was forced to open the door.

“They came around midnight and surrounded the entire house,” a family member, who did not want to be named, said. 

“Initially, he did not want to open the door to them. We were all inside and some of the landlords in the environment came out. The security men who came with guns and clutching their walkie-talkies identified themselves to the landlords that they were from the State Criminal Investigation Department, Ikeja Division and acting on ‘orders from above.” 

“Eventually when the threat became unbearable, and for the security of the members of his family, he surrendered to them. The invaders then dropped address with the family, whisked him away and took him to their Ikeja Office where he also met another Union leader, Mr Adekola Adetomiwa, who has also been arrested and detained.”

Mr. Adetomiwa was arrested at his home in Onike, Yaba, at 2 a.m.

Kehinde Ajibade, the Chairman of the university’s Non-Academic Staff Union, confirmed the arrests to PREMIUM TIMES.

“We don’t know the reason for the arrests, we are on our way now to the State CID to find out but any arrests at this time can never be exempted from the struggle,” Mr. Ajibade said.

Last month, Mr. Adefolalu had alleged in a Facebook post that there were threats to his life and the leaders of the other unions in the school over issues bordering on their welfare.

According to him, instead of the university authorities to honour the agreement reached with the UNILAG union’s congress during a recent meeting, the Vice-Chancellor had resorted to blackmail and threats, while handing the union leader’s telephone numbers to security operatives.

“On 9th January, 2018, at about 14:29, I received a call from ‘0803xxxxxxx’ inviting me for security meeting at Alpha Base, Sabo, Yaba, Lagos. I politely asked him that on what ground? The question the caller was unable to answer. The voice replied to call me back. Later in the day, another call was made that I should report to the Commissioner of Police Office at Ikeja, for another security meeting,” Mr. Adefolalu had written.

“This morning, when my phone was on, I saw another text message dated 9th January, 2018 at 21:01 stated therein that “You are invited to a security meeting with the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State. Time: 10am Venue: Conference Hall, Police Headquarters, Oba Akinjobi Way, Ikeja, Lagos”. No further details.

“I couldn’t bother to return the text, because I believe if the Commissioner of Police would invite me for security meeting, he shouldn’t be through a text message. I begin to sense a foul play.”

The university did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Phone calls to Taiwo Oloyede, the university’s Principal Assistant Registrar, Information, did not go through.
A message to their official Facebook page was not answered.

Chike Oti, the Lagos police spokesperson, said he was at a function and cannot immediately respond to questions.