British PM vows to strengthen prison sentences after London attack

LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday
he would strengthen prison sentences, vowing to boost security
after an attack in the British capital by a man convicted of
terrorism who was released early from prison.

With less than two weeks before Britain heads to the polls, law
and order has raced to the top of the election agenda after Usman
Khan, wearing a fake suicide vest and wielding knives, killed two
people on Friday before being shot dead by police.

Johnson’s Conservatives have long championed tough police and
prison measures, but opposition parties have criticized the
governing party for overseeing almost a decade of cuts to public
services.

Trying to distance himself from those cuts, Johnson said if he
won the Dec. 12 election he would invest more money in the prison
system and make sentences tougher.

“We are going to bring in tougher sentences for serious sexual
and violent offenders and for terrorists,” he told the BBC’s Andrew
Marr show.

“I absolutely deplore the fact that this man was out on the
street, I think it was absolutely repulsive and we are going to
take action.”

He was keen to portray his rival for prime minister, Labour
leader Jeremy Corbyn, as being weak on crime, blaming the
opposition party for bringing in a law that automatically released
some prisoners early when it was in government.

Corbyn, a veteran peace campaigner, said he believed convicted
terrorists should “not necessarily” serve their full prison terms,
suggesting it would depend on the nature of their sentence and also
how they had behaved in prison.

“It depends on the circumstances, it depends on the sentence,
but crucially it depends on what they’ve done in the prison,”
Corbyn told Sky News.

Despite criticizing cases where police and the army were accused
of operating a shoot-to-kill policy in Northern Ireland, the Labour
leader said the police had no choice but to shoot the attacker
dead.

INVESTIGATION
Khan’s attack on a Friday on London Bridge stirred memories of
Britain’s last election in 2017, when three militants drove a van
into pedestrians in the same part of the capital and attacked
people, killing eight and injuring at least 48.

Khan’s rampage was brought to an end, in part, because of
bystanders, who wrestled him to the ground before the police shot
him dead. So far the police have found no evidence to suggest Khan
was working with others.

Queen Elizabeth expressed her “enduring thanks to the police and
emergency services, as well as the brave individuals who put their
own lives at risk to selflessly help and protect others”.

Three people remain in hospital, two of them in a stable
condition, after Friday’s attack. The third person is suffering
from less serious injuries.

The attack brought a somber tone to what has often been an
ill-natured election campaign, which is presenting voters with a
stark choice – Labour’s promise to raise taxes on the rich and
businesses to fund a much expanded state or the Conservatives’
pledge to “get Brexit done” and move onto other issues.

While Corbyn’s team struck a moderate tone, with his top legal
policy adviser Shami Chakrabarti questioning whether it was the
time to make “knee-jerk” policy changes, Johnson again said only he
could deliver Brexit, allowing Britain to move on to reforms such
as to the criminal justice system.

“Obviously, I think we should be investing more in the criminal
justice system,” said Johnson.

“What we are doing now, under this new one nation Conservative
administration, (is) we are investing … It is new in our approach
and it is new in the way we will tackle the issue of public
services.”

NDA Commandant Vows to Expel Cadets Engaged in
Misconducts
….. Says Academy reeks of indiscipline, drug abuse, parental
nuisance

The new Commandant of Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Maj-Gen.
Jamil Sarham, has declared war against indiscipline and vowed to
expel any cadet found wanting for misconducts.

The 27th Commandant of NDA who was the immediate General
Commanding Officer (GOC) 6 Division Nigerian Army Port Harcourt
made the warning in his maiden meeting with the faculty,
instructors and cadets of the institution

He listed several instances of indiscipline including sexual
misconduct, absence without official leave, examination
malpractices, abuse and unnecessary parental interventions thereby
constituting nuisance to the Academy.

Against this backdrop, Sarham said he will be “unforgiving” in
clearing the Academy of the bad eggs and restore it to its former
glory.

He said: “Let me tell you my stand on discipline: I hate
indiscipline. As a product of this same illustrious Academy, I
would be tone deaf if I say I am not aware of some of the unsavoury
things currently going on in NDA today. Things like cadets going on
AWOL and re-jabbed, cadets engaging in examination malpractices,
sexual misconduct, substance abuse, cadets fighting and
disrespecting officers and parents interfering in disciplinary or
academic issues.

“Such happenings, hitherto unheard of in the Academy, simply
show that we must take a step back and ask ourselves, if really, we
are developing the next crop of Nigeria’s military leaders in a
manner that drives the importance of good character and discipline.
We will be unforgiving for any dangerous and destructive behaviour
from any cadet. An undisciplined cadet who presents a serious
danger to self or others, or who substantially disrupts the
learning environment, will be withdrawn. We may also engage in
random drug testing to deal with issue of substance abuse.

“My red line as Commandant, will be cadets who exhibit
indiscipline and who do not treat my military and academic staff
with respect and dignity. Such cadets will have a very short stay
in NDA. We have rules, and I will demand that each and every cadet
abides by those rules. My staff and I, will accept nothing less
than a wholehearted devotion to turning out officers who are worthy
of being called NDA graduates as well as officers and gentlemen.
The privilege to call yourself NDA officer- cadets and later NDA
graduates must be earned —because it is not a title simply
given.”

On the mission of the institution, General Sarham said: “NDA’s
mission is to educate, train and inspire the officer cadets so that
each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to
the values of Duty, Honour, Discipline and Country, and fully
prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the
nation as officers in the AFN.

“Under my watch, NDA founded 55 year ago, will remain true to
this mission to produce educated and honourable men and women, by
providing them with military training and the studies of a full
first degree, with emphasis placed on the qualities of discipline,
honour, integrity, and responsibility”.

According to him, it has become abundantly clear that recruiting
and training quality cadets who can balance the four aspects of NDA
training, is a vital prerequisite to the success of the Armed
Forces of Nigeria (AFN) while reminding that the four aspects of
NDA training are: military, academic, moral and discipline.

Speaking further, the new Commandant stressed that it is the
responsibility of the military and academic faculty of the Academy,
to detect mistakes, to attempt to correct them and to provide fair
punishment including dismissal and withdrawal for cadets who do not
respond to correction.

By PRNigeria^[1]