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Big B1 (m)
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Arrest of ex-govs: Parties vow to get justice against EFCC LAGOS — THE arrests of former governors by the EFCC is eliciting reactions from their parties and lawyers, with the former vowing to seek redress in the law courts over their travails. Last Wednesday, former Abia State governor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu was arrested by EFCC operatives in Abuja on arrival from London to keep an appointment with President Yar’Adua for a parley on the unity government project. Other ex-governors who have to contend with the EFCC include Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State, Boni Haruna of Adamawa and Nyame of Taraba state. The recent visit of former governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State to the EFCC offices has also been eliciting reactions. Media adviser to former governor Orji Kalu, Mr. Iyke Ekeoma in a statement condemned the manner of arrest of ex-governor Kalu as an affront to judicial proceedings. Ekeoma said: “This is in view of the fact that there is a subsisting court order restraining the EFCC or any of its agents from harassing, intimidating or arresting the ex-governor. Since the EFCC cannot operate outside the law, this latest development should be considered as a flagrant disobedience to court order and ex-governor Kalu’s lawyers have filed a notice of consequence after which contempt proceedings will be taken against the EFCC if they fail to respect the rule of law.” Sources told Saturday Vanguard that Chief Kalu returned to the country Wednesday in a bid to keep an appointment with the President. The President and Chief Kalu, the source added, were to parley on the much touted unity government, but the talks were yet to hold as Chief Kalu was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his arrival. A source at a party in London attended by Chief Kalu earlier in the week said he spoke of returning to Nigeria for an appointment with the President on the unity government. The National Publicity Secretary of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Kalu’s party, Mr. Imo Igboko expressed confidence that justice would come from the courts. “Since the EFCC law says the commission cannot detain but only interrogate, we are hopeful that the matter will be charged to court. After 48 hours which is stipulated in the EFCC Act for interrogation, the party can now be in a position to do something.” Nze Ozichukwu, the national vice-chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in his reaction said the party has not been formally informed of the arrest of the former governors. “I saw Nnamani speaking at the Senate screening of ministerial nominees. How could he be with the EFCC at the same time? I didn’t even know Orji Kalu or Saminu Turaki were arrested because I haven’t read the papers. I’ve been very busy. “I think you should also know that the national chairman of the party, Senator Ahmadu Ali is out of the country and the national secretary Chief Ojo Madueke has been busy with ministerial screening. So, the party did not hold its scheduled meeting. All the same, let me say that I have confidence in the judiciary. Whatever it is could be sorted out. If it’s not a criminal offence, it’s bailable. The EFCC can interrogate them and charge them but I cannot say for now why the former governors were arrested because I don’t have the details.” http://www.ngex.com/cgi-bin/frame/frameit2.plx?link=%22http://www.vanguardngr.com%22 |
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Big B1 (m)
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Pure made in Nigeria Drama!
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Big B1 (m)
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KALU’S ARREST EFCC fail to arraign ex-Abia gov …Obtain court order to detain him till Monday •Dariye Turaki arraigned, get Monday date • Judge blasts EFCC •The Economic and Financial Commission [EFCC] yesterday, inadvertently confirmed widespread suspicion that there might indeed be more to the arrest, Wednesday, of former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, than just any claim of fighting corruption and his failure to freely report to the commission for questioning. The commission in Abuja yesterday failed to properly arraign Kalu to answer to the said charges of corruption, when it brought him to the court premises but declined to take him into the court for proper arraignment. Rather, the anti-graft commission’s lawyers were said to have quietly obtained an order of the court empowering them to keep the PPA leader in EFCC custody until Monday – in a seeming throw-back to the Obasanjo days when some perceived enemies of the government were picked up on the orders of the EFCC and clamped into detention without proper investigation or their being charged to court immediately. Even as the nation awaited the arraignment of Kalu on the alleged over 100-count charge case – which competent EFCC sources had confirmed severally that they were yet to conclude investigations on, the commission arraigned former Plateau State governor, Chief Joshua Dariye, preferring to keep Kalu for a while longer and hopefully, forestall any effort to give him bail before Monday when it promised to properly arraign the ex-Abia governor and his Jigawa State counterpart, Alhaji Saminu Turaki who was also shoddily arraigned Friday. Attempts by the Economic and Financial Commission [EFCC] to arraign four former governors on allegations of money laundering took a dramatic twist as three of the Federal High Court judges before whom the accused persons where brought declined to proceed with the proceedings. Specifically, Justice Binta Nyako before whom the former Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, was to be arraigned castigated the EFCC over poor preparations of the charges against him. Justice Nyako who said she would not tolerate such shoddy preparation ordered the Commission to go and come back with a compressed and precise copy of the charge sheet on Monday next week. Justice Babs Kwuemi on the other hand noted that, time was too short for him to adequately digest the voluminous copy of the charge sheet preferred against former Governor of Plateau State, Chief Joshua Dariye, who was brought before his court. On a general note, the judges noted that time was too short for them to read through the charge sheets, adding that it was in the best interest of justice and fair hearing that sufficient time be given to them and the accused persons to study and understand the charges against them. While two former governors, Chief Joshua Dariye and Saminu Turaki were brought and taken to the respective court rooms, the former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu who was driven into the court premises at 2.45 pm, was kept waiting in the vehicle for about 20 minutes before he was eventually driven away. Journalists, lawyers and supporters of the accused persons had a long wait at the Federal High Court before they were driven into the court premises in droves amidst tight security. But an indication that the arraignment would take place came at 11.07am, when two lawyers from the EFCC drove into the court premises in a black Peugeot 406 with two armed mobile policemen. The two lawyers alighted from the vehicle with two-red Ghana-must-go bags containing the charge sheets against the former governors and headed straight to the office of the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court where the charges were filed. At 12.30 pm, the former Plateau State governor, Dariye was driven into the court premises in an ash-colour Peugeot Expert bus with registration No.CW 599 ABJ. A battery of photojournalists who were on ground had a field day as they fell on each other to capture the former governor on their camera. Dariye who looked calm with a clean hair cut waved to his supporters before he was ushered into the courtroom by the EFCC security personnel. After a while, precisely at about 2.30 pm when the Power Holding Company of Nigeria [PHCN] had thrown the court premises into darkness, Senator Uche Chukwumerije arrived in a black SUV with registration No. DJ 805ABJ. He was in court to show solidarity with his former governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu. At about 2.40pm, the former Jigawa State governor, Saminu Turaki was brought to court in Peugeot Expert with registration No. AU 328 YAB. He stepped out of the vehicle and was ushered into the courtroom clutching copies of the charge sheet and his prayer bead to his chest with his right hand while acknowledging cheers from his supporters. Five minutes after his arrival [2.45pm], Kalu was driven into the court premises in a green coloured Peugeot Export Bus with Kaduna State registration No. BD 523 DKA. As soon as the vehicle conveying him stopped, a horde of journalists and supporters who had waited patiently for him at the court besieged it. But their joy of capturing his face in their camera lenses was denied as he was kept in the vehicle. Senator Chukwumerije who had approached the vehicle to receive him with other supporters waited in vain as he was not allowed to come out of the vehicle. However, one of his lawyers, Chief Mike Ozekhome, was allowed into the vehicle to have a chat with him. While Dariye is facing a 72-count charge bordering on money laundering, his counterpart in Jigawa, Saminu Turaki is charged on a 32-count charge of money laundering to the tune of about N36 billion. Turaki is charged along with three companies; IMC Natural Resources, World Cat Construction Company, Akel Construction Nigeria Limited and Ahmed Ibrahim Mohammed who is said to be at large. The former Abia State governor, Dr. Kalu on the other hand is facing 107-count charges of money laundering along with Emeka Kalu and Eunice Agwu. Speaking to journalists on the chances of the accused persons getting bail, Kalu’s counsel and former Attorney General of Abia State, Chief Awa Kalu, together with Chief Mike Ozekhome noted that the offences of money laundering are bailable offences, adding that section 36 of the 1999 constitution presumes an accused person innocent until proved guilty by a court of law. He said as a former governor and presidential candidate whose party has produced two state governors, his client is entitled to bail as he will not run away from justice. His words, “He is an ex-governor and a presidential candidate. If he had wanted to run away from justice, he could have done so but he went to the EFCC on his own after returning from his medical check up. This is to show that his hands are clean. It is one thing to take somebody to court and a different thing to get him convicted. He is willing and ready to stand trial.” The matter is expected to resume by Monday next week. POLITICS OF ARREST, TRIAL Meanwhile, highly placed sources within both the Presidency and the former governor’s camp insisted during the week that the real reason for the arrest of Kalu, the presidential candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance in the last presidential election, may not be unconnected with the proposed government of national unity which president Umar Yar’Adua is trying to put together. According to the sources, the arrest is aother manifestation of the desperation of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to ensure that Kalu, unarguably his most vocal critic among public officers in the last eight years, does not suddenly become a irresistible bride, as the Yar’Adua government shops for prominent opposition figures to join the proposed unity government and give his administration the much needed credibility. Kalu is believed to be in communication with President Yar’Adua’s government over the unity government project and the president is said to have not only offered him a specific cabinet position, considered by many as ‘very very strategic’, but has also given him assurance that he would hold the portfolio for a minimum four years. Kalu, on his part, was said to have agreed to co-operate with Yar’Adua, but emphatically refused to take up cabinet position – preferring instead, to nominate someone for the job. However, when Kalu’s party, the PPA, agreed to work with Yar’Adua in the proposed GNU, many members favoured Kalu to be nominated for a cabinet job. It eventually agreed to put forward Kalu’s name. Although the president was said to be favourably disposed to Kalu, he still insisted that the PPA should give him options by sending two names. The party had insisted that if Yar’Adua just wanted to appoint a PPA member into his government, he was free to pick anybody, but that if it was to be an alliance as the president had tended to suggest with the proposed GNU, then the PPA would nominate whomever it thinks can best represent its in the GNU. These positions had stalled negotiations for a long while until the party eventually agreed to meet in Abuja this Wednesday to iron out the issues once and for all. The PPA governors, gubernatorial candidates and all the party bigwigs were already in Abuja for the Wednesday meeting. Kalu was supposed to fly in direct from his trip overseas to join them. But the former governor who has a subsisting court order stopping the EFCC from arresting him until a subsisting case has been disposed of was arrested on arrival by operatives of the commission in disregard of that court order. But OBJ is said not to be comfortable with the Yar’Adua/Kalu romance and is believed to be using his men in government who control key institutions of state to bypass the current president and get at Kalu. The idea, many believe, is to make a possible Kalu nomination a hard-sell at the Senate by hanging a corruption court case on his neck. http://www.ngex.com/cgi-bin/frame/frameit2.plx?link=%22http://www.sunnewsonline.com/%22 |
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Big B1 (m)
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EXPOSED How US, P DP rigged April polls From News desk Saturday, July 14, 2007 The furore over the fraud that hallmarked the last general elections in Nigeria may have since been overtaken, on the local scene, by schemings for appointment in the proposed Government of National Unity, but the audacity of that unmitigated rape of democracy has continued to engage US intellectuals who have openly accused Washington of backing former president Olusegun Obasanjo over the flawed elections. Writing in the current edition of the highly influential FOREIGN AFFAIRS, an authoritative US publication on America’s roles in the politics of other lands, Jean Herskovits, a Research Professor of History at the State University of New York, Purchase, made an expose into the ominous silence of Washington as Obasanjo rode roughshod over Nigeria and summed up that it was an indirect encouragement informed by an over-riding selfish interest. That interest, he argued, was informed by the thirst for Nigeria’s oil. Giving a detailed account of how President George W. Bush condoned the unimaginable excesses of the then Nigerian leader as the latter orchestrated the monumental rigging, Herskovits posited: “Nigeria's elections last April were among the most seriously flawed in the country's history, thanks largely to the manipulations of the US.-backed ruling party. With Nigerians increasingly clamoring for accountability, Washington's continuing support could generate more unrest -- and could pose a risk both to oil supplies coming out of Nigeria and to the stability of West Africa”. The professor of History noted that an electoral fraud of an even smaller magnitude perpetrated by the second republic National Party of Nigeria in 1983 had ultimately led to the collapse of democracy in the same Nigeria, adding that the only reason the reactions to the April polls have not gone to that extreme is that Nigerians of all persuasions are in agreement that military coups and any such unconstitutional removal of governments are no longer acceptable and must be resisted at all costs. In the article, written shortly before President Obasanjo stepped down, the professor said that the oil supply from Nigeria (totalling about 11% of US’s total import) which the Bush government hoped to secure by bedding with Obasanjo is now more threatened than ever before as a result of the outcome of that very election. He said neither the NDDC, the deployment of troops to the Niger Delta region nor the appointment of Goodluck Jonathan, a son of the troubled region, as vice president has guaranteed a cessation of the agitation and the tension in the area, noting that this is against the backdrop of the credibility problem that the Obasanjo-midwifed Yar’Adua administration has continued to be faced with. The report which x-rayed the excesses of the Obasanjo rule from the failed third term bid and the corruption that went with it, to the PDP re-registration exercise, the curious amendment of the ruling party’s constitution to give Obasanjo more far-reaching powers, queer voter registration exercise and the control of both the electoral commission and the security agencies, also noted that the registration of more political parties – to bring the number to about 50 – was intentionally done to cause confusion for both the electorate and the opposition. It noted: “Obasanjo has never favoured multiparty system for African countries. Twenty years ago, he pointed out that in his native tongue, Yoruba, the word ‘opposition’ also means ‘enemy’ and advocated single-party systems for African countries. During his tenure as president, distinctions between party and government disappeared; looking forward to one-party rule, he, and many other politicians, flouted the constitution.” It said that the US kept quiet, even as it was aware of all these excesses, including the fact that Obasanjo had literally hand-picked the party’s candidates for all the major offices at the primaries “The elections themselves proved to be… a charade. They were not just flawed; they followed the downward trajectory of Nigeria’s sad electoral history, in which millions of people who want democracy are betrayed by their leaders. It is a tribute to the commitment of Nigerians that they keep trying and sometimes succeed in imposing their will, as they did in Kano in 2003, in the senate in 2006 and in a few states, such as Bauchi (where voters overcame rigging by the PDP and elected a governor from the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), in 2007. On why Washington refused to do anything to stop Obasanjo, even when it was obvious that the Nigerian leader was going over the edge, the report said it was in deference to the big brother role Nigeria has played and continued to play on the African continent – from Guinea Bissau to Sao Tome and Principe, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Sudan to Zimbabwe and many others as well as Obasanjo’s pivotal role in transforming the ineffectual Organisation of African Unity to a more promising African Union (AU). “Because of Washington’s ongoing praise of these efforts and for Obasanjo’s macroeconomic reforms, Nigerians believed that Washington could influence Obasanjo in ways they could not. But when they looked for signs that Washington would try to affect Obasanjo’s political agenda, they only say unquestioning approval”, the report stated. It continued: “In 2003, the Bush administration ignored reports from the European Union, Human Rights Watch, the International Republican Institute, and the Nigerian civil-society groups that the elections fell below international standards. President George W. Bush’s visit to Abuja just weeks after Obasanjo’s inauguration reinforced Nigerians’ view that their president had unwavering US support – and when it comes to African elections, Washington applies a double standard. “In the lead-up to the elections this year, the US embassy in Abuja issued a few warnings against election fraud, but the White House and the State Department were mostly silent. It was only after the voting that they issued critical statements”. According to the report, although the US government had in the past promoted democracy in Nigeria, it was only as far as doing so served its immediate purpose. That immediate purpose, it said, is apart from helping to ensure stability in the African region, “mostly because multiplying political uncertainties in the Middle East make Nigeria’s oil increasingly important to Washington”. However, the report noted that the said oil (US gets about 1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day from Nigeria) is now more threatened than before largely as a result of disaffections arising from the manipulated elections which the US refused to check. Even as the deed of the election rigging may have been done, the report insist: “If only to protect its own interest, the US government needs to state more clearly that what transpired during the April elections violated democratic standards, and it should publicly place blame where it belongs. Washington must make it clear that it does not approve of strong-arm practices such as crackdowns on protesters by security agencies. If Washington wants to see real democracy in Nigeria, it must urge the creation of strong, alternative parties. Yar’Adua’s initial statements about bringing opponents into a government of national unity sounded like an offer to draw them into PDP’s one-party rule”. Although the report had lavishly commended President Obasanjo’s achievements on the macroeconomic level, it however lamented that the corruption level in the government (in spite of the anti-graft crusade) had seen the record $223 billion oil revenue earned in the eight years of the administration still unable to lift the large majority of the citizenry out of their current below-poverty existence, even as public utilities and social infrastructure had literally collapsed. http://www.ngex.com/cgi-bin/frame/frameit2.plx?link=%22http://www.sunnewsonline.com/%22 |
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Big B1 (m)
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At the end of the day most of these governors will be sent back to their mansions.
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9ja4eva (m)
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Oh well i always knew.I no suprise say US get hand
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Big B1 (m)
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EFCC trails Adamu, as Nnamani escapes detention Former governor of Enugu State, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, may have beaten eagle-eyed operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] in a game of hide and seek, as he allegedly disappeared late Thursday from the commission’s operational base in Abuja. Dependable sources said Nnamani had indeed, voluntarily honoured an invitation to the EFCC office on Thursday, but left the premises un-noticed and without trace when he suspected that two former governors who were appearing before the commission for the second time may not regain their freedom on the same day. Although it could not be confirmed if he had been quizzed before allegedly sneaking out of the premises, authoritative sources told Saturday Sun at the weekend, that EFCC operatives have begun a manhunt for the ex- governor, amidst conflicting reports that he may have gone outside the shores of the country. “It is amazing that the man just disappeared when he noticed that two other colleagues of hissx who also reported to the office on their own may be detained. As at now, we don’t know his whereabouts. So, we are seriously looking for him,” said a source close to the commission. Besides Nnamani, the EFCC is also said to be on the trail of former governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Abdulahi Adamu, over an Independent Power Station project for which almost half of the cost amounting to N250million was allegedly paid to the contractor without evidence of performance, and sundry other allegations of financial misappropriation. Adamu is, however, believed to have jetted out to London, a few days after the EFCC started inviting some of his former key officials and contractors for questioning. It was further gathered that concerted efforts by a crack team of EFCC operatives to track him down in the past one week had not yielded positive result. EFCC spokesman, Osita Nwaja, could not be reached for comments on the issue, but a top official who pleaded anonymity confirmed the development. http://www.ngex.com/cgi-bin/frame/frameit2.plx?link=%22http://www.sunnewsonline.com/%22 |
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Big B1 (m)
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Too many man made obstacles.
Pretty soon you guys will realize the root of the failure (OBJ and Ribadu). This could have been done differently and correctly very very long time ago.
Let's chill and watch what happens!
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McKren (m)
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Some of us are shameless
Even when it is obvious that their media campaign of calumny is not working they keep talking trash.
These Governors should stop sponsoring such people and start compiling money they will return to the EFCC.
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The One (m)
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All of you that are quoting Sun Newspapers, do you want to tell me that you don't know the paper is owned by Orji Uzor Kalu. What do you expect them to write if not pro-Kalu, anti-govt stories?
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McKren (m)
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It is interesting that those who are quoting Sunnews and what US thinks about April elections are the same people who on this same Nairaland campaigned vigorously after the election that we should bury the hatchet and accept Yaradua. They did that because they thought they had secured a deal with Yaradua not to probe or fight the corrupt.
It looks like Yaradua has reneged on the deal and they have renewed their campaign of Illegitimate elections.
You know what Election everywhere in the world always have flaws and establishing flaws during the election will not prove anything. They can only achieve anything by proving that their candidate was more popular at the polls and would have won the election.
This idea of using illegitimacy to coerce the President into not doing his job is outdated and has failed.
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azorjiu (m)
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i wish all the corrupt governors are jailed.
it is not enough to return their booty and walk free.
i want to see more governor arrested.
it seems that the fight against corrupt has just resumed,
after election recess.
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Big B1 (m)
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I've posted many stories from the newspaper only to share and communicate with the rest. I have absolutely nothing to gain or to lose if the corrupt governors are arrested or left free.
My only goal is to share, communicate and see Nigeria as a country to rise up again.
And all I ask for is for our government to be fair, professional, respect our constitution and embrace perfection during their operations.
Mr McKren, is that too much to ask?
McKren: everytime I read your ball-less comments, you make me laugh till I fall on the ground. It is amusing and laughable that you keep on throwing stone at the wrong guy.
Dude, if you only know!
My support for Yar'Adua is incompressible. Absolutely no reason for me to flipflop.
A man's belief is as strong as his identity, I stay very firm to my belief.
Instead of kissing ass, you should do the same.
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Big B1 (m)
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The obstacles that may turn this new development into a smoke screen:
1. OBJ is as corrupt as these folks and he's still hanging around this new administration like a saint sent from heaven.
2. It is clearly obvious and confirmed that unlawfulness and corruption got Yar'Adua the presidential position; sadly, he also admitted to it.
3. Many Corrupt folks are still hiding underneath OBJ's umbrella.
4. Many of the corrupt governors are directly linked to OBJ.
Please be ready, it will be a very long bumpy ride; while I hope for the best, I also predict "Pure Made in Nigeria Drama". Lawyers, judges, senators and more politicians will get richer during this period. At the end of the day, many of these governors will be sent back to their mansions.
I may be wrong, but let's chill and watch what happens.
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Big B1 (m)
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@McKren: My post doesn't mean that I've stopped supporting this new administration. It only means that "what you see is what you get"
Just because I fully support Yar'Adua doesn't mean I should stop sharing and communicating the fact with my people.
It is obvious that we don't share the same ideas and we see most things differently; I don't kiss ass and I don't settle for less. Do you?
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ph4life (m)
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arrest whoever they want to arrest - naija will not be well until people like odili and our so-called leaders who became millonaires overnight are all arrested and tried in our courts, and locked up forever. we are also not disciplined and need to check that as well.
This is an excerpt from Nigeria Village Square re US as a people:
Imagine a leader of a nation, leader of a State, or a leader of people’s representatives waking up one blessed morning to steal the money necessary to govern, lead, or if you permit, rule his people but decides to simply steal the money and make himself richer than the state and he does not feel guilty. Furthermore, this leader, aside from stealing, decides to transfer the funds to a developed world to buy a mansion he does not leave in for more than a week in a year, pays for lawn service, home owner’s association, pays taxes, etc., and you try to convince any sane person that this is not sign of insanity. On the contrary, do we know of any leader of a world that looted his nation’s treasury and brought his loot to Nigeria to develop Nigeria or even Africa? Never, if I may say. As if this is not enough, these so called leaders bring expatriates to rape and pillage our nation’s resources. I assure you that even the guy in “one flew over coocoo’s nest” would agree with my assertion here.
Big B1 you have a point that some others might not agree with. I personally will not be surprised if this whole thing is just for show. Those who will have a say in the fate of these criminals are all corrupt anyway; Ribadu might not be corrupt but i bet you 3/4 of The EFCC is. Good luck to US. I hope 1 day another Buhari/Idiagbon minded politicians will man the throne of OUR country and do a thorough cleansing of our society.
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McKren (m)
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@McKren: My post doesn't mean that I've stopped supporting this new administration. It only means that "what you see is what you get"
Just because I fully support Yar'Adua doesn't mean I should stop sharing and communicating the fact with my people.
It is obvious that we don't share the same ideas and we see most things differently; I don't kiss ass and I don't settle for less. Do you?
Engaging you in senseless debates and letting you repeat yourself everytime repeating things that don't comform to common sense is hardly what I have time for these days. I know what you beleive in and I understand how useless it is to try to change it especially if you make fortunes from them. But the point is, if you honestly care about what our country is and what our country should be or might be, you will understand that the call for perfection should be chanelled against state executives (who recieve billions of allocations monthly yet our roads, schools, hospitals, energy are in sorry state) not the corruption watchdog. Your talk about selectivity and perfection is diversionary and you must be ashamed of yourself. BigB1 I don't know who you are and I don't care to but am very convinced that you benefit a lot from the pariah state that Nigeria was and will continue to be if drastic steps are not taken. Look am not one of those naive fellows who have no clue how politics and the bussiness of Governance works. I am not one of those who freelance talking about politics without getting to the nitty gritty of the position of the law on issues. People come here out of frustration/naivity and start abusing Ribadu. The first group are frustrated because Ribadu has thrown a spanner on their money making wheel, the second group are outrightly being naive and they are the ones I care about. Because this group of people do not benefit from the system but have been brainwashed into hating OBJ and thus any person doing his constitutional job may easily be blackmailed as being OBJ's loyalist expecially if his line of duty threatens the interest of the hawks. For the records, the hawks never wanted the war against corruption fought. But they obviously can not come openly to attack the policy itself hence they choose to attack the process thus the word selectivity and perfection as BigB1 will have it. The only unselective thing Ribadu would have done in the last administration is to probe OBJ, when he does that he becomes an immediate prey on the hands of NASS most of whose members had scores to settle with the President. When the President OBJ is removed, Atiku would have taken over and trust me one of his first policies would have been to silence the EFCC. THAT WILL SIMPLY BRING CORRUPTION WAR TO AN ABRUPT END. How difficult is this to understand?  BigB1 if there is any integrity in you, you will agree that in a country like Nigeria where poverty reins what we should be calling for is perfection on the part of those who manage our resources not those who are trying to keep the executives on their toes. BigB1 I don't know what you are benefiting from the sorry state of our country but the fact remains that if the corruption in our system continues and people get disillusioned Nigeria is at risk of becoming another congo. It does not matter what part of the world you and I live, our Immigration Status will not even matter because it will not take away the psycological fact that we will be refugees who can not show our children their ancestral herittage. |
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McKren (m)
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ON THE ISSUE OF SELECTIVITY
For the records, the act setting up the EFCC requires the organisation to investigate cases of Economic and Financial Fraud and then charge the accused to court (where facts have been established) for prosecution in accordance with the law. Their modus operandi shows that investigations are triggered by petition.
It is not in any part of their job description to take inventory of who the friends/enemies of the President are or who is in PDP or Opposition. So expecting the EFCC to find a balance between those who we consider as friends or enemies of the President simply does not make sense.
Good a thing we have a Judicial system that have seen the Goverment loose cases and thus we can say they are fair.
Hence anybody who thinks there is someone who should be probed that has not been probed must have facts which the EFCC does not have, it is their duty to take the person in question to court or remain silent and allow EFCC to do their job.
It is that simple.
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degoat
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@mckren
Reading your post mmakes one feel like big b1 is the governor of oyo state.
You need to shut the pipe. Instead of picking a fight with the man, you should fly back home and pick a fight with the governors. Does big b1 look like KALU or Odili?. Please save your story and focus on the real issue. This is why we can't move forward together and why politicians continue to loot the entire country. Instead of all this shakara, make you come back home and fight a real fight.
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McKren (m)
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Degoat
May be this is the right time to tell you this, over time I have seen you come out of the blues to defend BigB1 using his choice of words and a part of me feels degoat is just a proxy name used by BigB1 to unnecesarily prove that someone shares his views.
BigB1 or Degoat or whatever hundreds of names you choose to adopt, no matter the number of times you choose to duplicate your posts it will not take out what generality of Nigerians think.
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degoat
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I'm not here to fight with you mckren and if it makes you feel better that I'm big1 may god bless you. all i know is you come out everyday to attack the man as if he's the only one on this forum. big b1 will tell you that i don't agree with all his views but mckren you seem to be very addicted to the man. are you sure you don't like men. biggy you need to come and let thia man know that i,m not you and i don't like men.
dr mckren take it easy na only forum be this
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Big B1 (m)
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Ex-gov Turaki’s N30b used to finance third term project Close aides of the former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Saminu Turaki, have alleged that the N33 billion for which he is being detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was spent on the failed third term agenda of the Obasanjo administration. Turaki, now a senator, was arrested along with two of his former colleagues, Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State, and Joshua Dariye of Plateau State, by operatives of the EFCC last Wednesday and has been in detention ever since. He was accused of misappropriating and laundering public funds to the tune of N33 billion. However, aides of the former governor told Daily Sun at the weekend that Turaki was a mere victim of some vested political interests as the amount in question was invested in the failed tenure extension bid at the instance of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He said the money was taken from the Central Bank and parceled through the Inland Bank, according to the directive of those directly responsible for prosecuting the tenure extension plot. According to him, some of the actors in the present administration, including senators and particularly the former president, were aware of how the money was spent. “Turaki could not have stolen N33 billion. What for?” the sources queried, adding: “If he is pushed to the wall, he will be forced to open up, and everybody will know what transpired.” The source, however, absolved President Umar Yar’Adua from having a hand in the ex-governor’s ordeal, pointing out that Turaki and Yar’Adua have had a cordial personal relationship spanning more than 30 years. According to the aides, Turaki had met with the president shortly after the latter assumed office and both discussed for more than one hour. “He is like a younger brother to the president,” the aide said. Hinting that Nigerians would be shocked if the detained ex-governor was compelled to open up, the aide alleged that some of the companies being bandied by the EFCC in its case against Turaki are linked to some well-known political top shots, some of whom are major players in the current dispensation. However, a source at the EFCC declined to comment on the matter, saying that since Turaki’s case is in the court, the ex-governor would have the opportunity to defend himself. Meanwhile, lawyers to Turaki have condemned, in strong terms, the deliberate refusal of the EFCC to recognise and respect the existence of a subsisting order of a Federal High Court in Kano restraining it from arresting their client. This is coming just as there were evidences of the presence of officers of the EFCC, who were said to have invaded the state, at the weekend, with a view to making further arrests of some of the aides who may be relevant to the case preferred against the erstwhile governor. Speaking to the press in Kano, Barrister Jimoh Nureni, a senior lawyer with the firm, Ayodele ‘Gafar and Company, declared that a Federal High Court, presided by Justice Adeniyi F. A Ademola, had on July 4, 2007, in suit number FHC/K/CS/47/2007, made an interim order of injunction, directing the EFCC, its officers and agents to stay all actions relating to the case in question and to desist from harassing, interrogating and arresting the former governor, pending the hearing of the substantive motion on notice scheduled for July 25, 2007. He regretted that despite this order and having been duly notified in a letter dated July 9, 2007, the officials of the EFCC, in the early hours of Wednesday, July 11, 2007, besieged the residence of their client, with several gun totting officers and arrested him. He further pointed out that even at that point their client had showed the EFCC team the subsisting order of the court, but they ignored it. He noted that already, the Chairman of the EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, may be committed for contempt of court over his violation of an order of a Federal High Court restraining him from arresting Turaki, adding that the EFCC chairman had been served in Abuja on Thursday, with the form 48, which is the notice of the consequences of a disobedience of court order. http://www.ngex.com/cgi-bin/frame/frameit2.plx?link=" http://www.sunnewsonline.com/" |
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Big B1 (m)
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It will be nice if OBJ could just please step aside and allow this administration to do their job. If he stays around the corrupt governors will continue to use the third term as an excuse and this will only make things more complicated for the new administration.
Please, send this man back to OTA, it is clear that his assistance is not needed anymore.
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debosky (m)
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let them use third term, 4th term or even Obasanjo's kid's wedding as their excuse for misappropriating funds, I don't care
did the people who elected them tell them to dash their state resources to Obj's third term campaign?
They should be tried and made to face the full penalty under the law. If and when their claims are substantiated, that may now serve as grounds
for the prosecution of the acclaimed 'big fish' aka Obj himself.
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Big B1 (m)
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I think by sending OBJ back to OTA will clear things up a little bit. If OBJ is not involved or part of this new admin, it wouldn't matter if they want to use third term as an excuse.
As we all know, majority of these corrupt governors are directly linked to OBJ; it will be less drama if baba could just go sit down somewhere.
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Big B1 (m)
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EFCC fresh offensive against ex-governors: Nnamani, Turaki on their own!—Kuta, Mamora, other senators SENATORS have told former governors in the Senate currently being hounded by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, that they are on their own. Of the six former governors turned senators, four have questions to answer on alleged corrupt practices while in office, according to the EFCC. One of the indicted erstwhile governors, Senator Saminu Turaki (Jigawa), was arraigned in court on Friday. Another of the former governors, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, who would have been arraigned with him, failed to report to the EFCC, fuelling speculations that he was on the run. Nnamani's spokesperson, however, told Sunday Vanguard yesterday, that his boss was prepared to report to the commission tomorrow. Turaki, alongside the former governor of Abia state, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, was arrested by the EFCC last Thursday, preparatory to his arraignment. The erstwhile Jigawa governor, with fourteen other former governors, including Nnamani, Senators George Akume and Ahmed Yarima Sani, had been summoned by the EFCC last month to respond to the allegations against them but Turaki, Kalu and a few others ignored the summon, prompting the Thursday arrest. Prior to the arrest and arraignment, there had been speculation that President Umar Musa Yar’Adua had intervened on the former governors cases and that they had entered into plea bargain to let them off the hook. Senators, weekend, distanced themselves from the ordeal of the former governors turned lawmakers, saying the Senate would not intervene in the EFCC fresh offensive against them. The senators – Dahiru Awaisu Kuta (PDP, Niger), Chris Anyanwu (PDP, Imo), Manzo Anthony (PDP, Taraba North), Olorunnimbe Mamora (AC, Lagos East), Nimi Barigha-Amange, and Heineken Lokpobiri (PDP, Bayelsa) – who spoke against the backdrop of the arraignment of Turaki in court, argued that since the alleged offences predated their assumption of office as senators, it would be improper for the Senate to intervene in the cases against them. The senators were nevertheless unanimous in calling for the application of the rule of law in the treatment of the former governors. While Kuta saw the development as a reason for further improving the screening process before elections, Anyanwu pleaded that the dignity of the former governors must not be devalued on account of the allegations raised against them. The arraignment of Turaki further clouded the political uncertainty surrounding the former governors in the Senate who at the commencement of the Senate session bestrode the chamber with awesome political influence. The tightening of the EFCC noose on them last week led to some attitudinal changes among some of them in the Senate. One of the former governors in the Senate known for his periodic strolling in the Senate chamber was forced to sit through last Thursday’s nine-hour ministerial screening exercise without moving an inch or raising his hand to speak. The one time chief executive of a northern state was reportedly caged in the Senate as a result of reports of EFCC operatives waiting outside to pick him. The whereabouts of another former governor in the Senate were at the weekend unknown as he was said to be in hiding following the incarceration and arraignment in court of Turaki. There were also unconfirmed reports that the EFCC had sought the written request of the Senate President, Senator David Mark, to pick a former governor in the parliament for questioning. The distress of the former governors was provoking little empathy among their colleagues in the Senate with many senators affirming that the rule of law must be obeyed. In his response, Anthony said: “I believe that we are guided by the rule of law which means that people that break laws should face the consequences provided that due process is followed. Under our Constitution, every man and woman is innocent until proved guilty. Provided these guarantees are secured by the people whose jobs it is, I will have no problem with that." Lokpobori, echoing Anthony’s sentiment, said: “So long as the EFCC has an arrest warrant, anybody linked with any allegations based on the suspicion that some crime has been committed must answer to them. The Senate rules have nothing to do with a criminal issue, no member of the Senate or House of Representatives has immunity from prosecution. But what the Constitution says is that anybody arrested should be presumed innocent until a court of competent jurisdiction rules otherwise. “The arrest is legal, but they shouldn’t be detained beyond reasonable period, if you say that they have a case to answer, they shouldn’t be detained beyond reasonable time. It is the court that has the right to pronounce whether anybody is guilty or not." While he confessed to a spirit of camaraderie with his troubled colleagues he, however, pointed out that everyman would have to bear his own burden. Lokpobori went on: “As a senator, I will ordinarily under the ambit of the law support my colleagues, but I am not going to support or be part of any crime. So what I am saying is that we have a moral duty to support our brother in the Senate. Yes, the arrest is legal, but you can’t detain them beyond what the Constitution says. Any arrest and detention beyond twenty-four hours is unconstitutional, but that is not to say that the EFCC does not have the right to arrest, they have the right to arrest.” The senator, a former speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, could not remember any of his former members in the state legislature facing a similar indictment. Anyanwu, in her seemingly pained response, said: “I can’t tell you that I am happy that senators are being arrested, I can’t tell you that. They are senators, I am not happy about senators being arrested, but people will say that they, EFCC, are doing their jobs and I hope that they, former governors, will be given proper opportunity to explain themselves and answer the questions that they have and that everything follows due process. I also hope that the senators are handled with respect and dignity because once any Nigerian is debased, all of us are debased." Anyanwu, a former broadcast journalist who covered the activities of the Second Republic National Assembly, could not remember a similar situation in the ill fated republic when a senator was picked up for alleged criminal offences. The nearest was the case of Alhaji Sidi Ali, a member of the House of Representatives, who caused a stir in the sitting of that House in the early eighties. “Sidi Ali’s incidence was different in that he pulled a dagger while having an altercation with some of his colleagues. But this is a totally different thing, this is something that people allegedly did in their last assignments not as a result of their activities within the Senate itself," she said. Mamora, in his reaction, spoke thus: “Under the rule of law, we allow the law to take its course, I don’t think that there is any problem about that, what is just important is that they are given a fair trial and then uphold the Constitutional provision that any accused is innocent until otherwise determined by the court." Kuta, while reviewing the development, called for a review of the screening process for elections in order to stop possible embarrassment from rupturing the dignity of the Senate. “It is unfortunate, these are my colleagues, but the law is not a respecter of anybody. “I want to advise seriously that anybody contesting election has to be thoroughly investigated and cleared. I think it is humiliating for somebody who has gone to Senate to be humiliated the way it is being done. I think we should resort to what we used to do before where there was thorough screening of candidates before they are cleared," he stated. Barigha-Amange, in his response, said as the offences were traceable to the last assignments of the former governors, the Senate would not be bothered. “The offences were committed while they were not senators. I think it is what happened while they were governing the states and, for now, I have only heard of Turaki, he was arrested as a result of his alleged activities as governor of Jigawa State," he said. **‘We won’t confront EFCC over Kalu’ Meanwhile, the Peoples Progressive Alliance, PPA, says it will not confront the EFCC on account of the arrest and arraignment in court of Kalu, its presidential candidate in the April polls, over alleged corrupt practices while in office as governor. Hon. Stanley Ohajuruka, a stalwart of the party and member of the House of Representatives from Abia State, told Sunday Vanguard in Abuja on Friday that PPA was involved in consultation with key players on how best to resolve the problem. He said that they were encouraged by the positive disposition of Yar’Adua towards matters like this unlike the previous dispensation in which, according to him, things were done with impunity. “We are confident that due process will be followed and very soon this matter will be resolved. The president is an understanding president unlike what we saw in the previous administration,” Ohajuruka said. He expressed the confidence that the former governor would soon be left off the hook, as, according to him, Kalu had not committed any offence to warrant his being clamped in detention. The Abia lawmaker also asserted that the failure of the former governor to appear before the EFCC at the time other ex-governors appeared was not meant to spite the commission. “You are aware that Gov. Orji Kalu was abroad for medical treatment. That was why he was unable to honour the invitation (of the EFCC),” he added. Last Friday, Kalu, Turaki and Joshua Dariye, former governor of Plateau State, were arraigned at a Federal High Court in Abuja for allegedly diverting N40billion belonging to their states while in office http://www.ngex.com/cgi-bin/frame/frameit2.plx?link=" http://www.vanguardngr.com" |
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degoat
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@biggy
i think you should first tell you boy friend, mckren to leave me alone i don't like men. the guy is paranoid and very sick in the head.
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degoat
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why are we still talking about obj, I thought the man already relocatyed to ota. i don't think he is part of this administration, if he is, nigeria is not going anywhere any time soon. it will be the same suffering and smiling.
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McKren (m)
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BigB1 / Degoat You can not fool me, the harder you try the more convinced I am that you are one and the same person. At th appropriate time I will post my proof here. Cheers! Whatever diversionary tactics you choose will not erace the contents of my earlier post. Engaging you in senseless debates and letting you repeat yourself everytime repeating things that don't comform to common sense is hardly what I have time for these days. I know what you beleive in and I understand how useless it is to try to change it especially if you make fortunes from them.
But the point is, if you honestly care about what our country is and what our country should be or might be, you will understand that the call for perfection should be chanelled against state executives (who recieve billions of allocations monthly yet our roads, schools, hospitals, energy are in sorry state) not the corruption watchdog.
Your talk about selectivity and perfection is diversionary and you must be ashamed of yourself. BigB1 I don't know who you are and I don't care to but am very convinced that you benefit a lot from the pariah state that Nigeria was and will continue to be if drastic steps are not taken.
Look am not one of those naive fellows who have no clue how politics and the bussiness of Governance works. I am not one of those who freelance talking about politics without getting to the nitty gritty of the position of the law on issues.
People come here out of frustration/naivity and start abusing Ribadu. The first group are frustrated because Ribadu has thrown a spanner on their money making wheel, the second group are outrightly being naive and they are the ones I care about. Because this group of people do not benefit from the system but have been brainwashed into hating OBJ and thus any person doing his constitutional job may easily be blackmailed as being OBJ's loyalist expecially if his line of duty threatens the interest of the hawks.
For the records, the hawks never wanted the war against corruption fought. But they obviously can not come openly to attack the policy itself hence they choose to attack the process thus the word selectivity and perfection as BigB1 will have it. The only unselective thing Ribadu would have done in the last administration is to probe OBJ, when he does that he becomes an immediate prey on the hands of NASS most of whose members had scores to settle with the President. When the President OBJ is removed, Atiku would have taken over and trust me one of his first policies would have been to silence the EFCC. THAT WILL SIMPLY BRING CORRUPTION WAR TO AN ABRUPT END.
How difficult is this to understand?
BigB1 if there is any integrity in you, you will agree that in a country like Nigeria where poverty reins what we should be calling for is perfection on the part of those who manage our resources not those who are trying to keep the executives on their toes.
BigB1 I don't know what you are benefiting from the sorry state of our country but the fact remains that if the corruption in our system continues and people get disillusioned Nigeria is at risk of becoming another congo. It does not matter what part of the world you and I live, our Immigration Status will not even matter because it will not take away the psycological fact that we will be refugees who can not show our children their ancestral herittage ON THE ISSUE OF SELECTIVITY
For the records, the act setting up the EFCC requires the organisation to investigate cases of Economic and Financial Fraud and then charge the accused to court (where facts have been established) for prosecution in accordance with the law. Their modus operandi shows that investigations are triggered by petition.
It is not in any part of their job description to take inventory of who the friends/enemies of the President are or who is in PDP or Opposition. So expecting the EFCC to find a balance between those who we consider as friends or enemies of the President simply does not make sense.
Good a thing we have a Judicial system that have seen the Goverment loose cases and thus we can say they are fair.
Hence anybody who thinks there is someone who should be probed that has not been probed must have facts which the EFCC does not have, it is their duty to take the person in question to court or remain silent and allow EFCC to do their job.
It is that simple. |
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FBS
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I don't understand why the media is making drama out of this, everyone in politics is corrupt. That is a known fact!
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