It is rather embarrasing that it took british police to arrest a governor, Now why was he not arrested in nigeria, the fact remains that there are still very many people in top positions that are yet to be arrested. As for Governor of Bayelsa he was just not lucky, or will i say not smart or he was rather hanging out with the wrong friends.Can u imagine the things human beings do, He spent N400,000,000 on daughters graduation and there are Nigerians that can hardly afford 3 square meals. And his son Tonbra leaves in a $4,000,000 house.

Well i feel this is just the beginning many other looters will be brought to book in London and not in Nigeria.

CimOmjorr, yeah... whats ur point exactly I understood what Lioness was trying to point out but i just dont get you.

Where is DANFO? I know he loves to argue. Could he clarify what Mr cIMONjORR IS saying?

By the way, NIGERIA IS A GREAT COUNTRY. GOD BLESS NIGERIA

I agree with Obasanjo, Governor Alamieyeseigha has brought shame to this country

@ missworld and who-am-I..

I was just preparing a reply to clarrify things for u.. [if only you had specified on what exactly you would require clarrification..]

Guess what??

All the stuff I was preparing just dissapeared.. [a typical IE problem..]

I'll try to prepare one for u guys another time.. because I'm really bugged out by this development.. But suffice it to say that someone who's elected to govern the welfare of the people has no business engaging in activities which would bring scandal to his people and his country.. the actions of the individual in question have not been to the benefit of the people of his state.. and I can assure you the cash which was found on his person was not meant for the welfare of the people of his state.. if he has done any wrong, he should be investigated by those who can effectively prove his guilt (or innocence) and let them act accordingly..

ps.. let me know what exactly you'd like for me to clarrify, and I'll do my best to act accordingly..

Birds of the same feather; Whether Obasanjo, Atiku, Tinubu, Gbenga etc.
Only God can expose them like this. Before you knows it, the man would be back and you will see some kind of welcome/reception for the Commander-in-Thief of the (Ijaw) Republic of Lotters.

I rest my case, because I never secure my visa.

HOW CAN NIGERIA GET BETTER?? IS THERE ANY HOPE
2007 ELECTION IS COMING UP SOON.

Bayelsa State Governor's arrest was a dance of shame and the people in power should be watchful because of nemesis.

Who Am I?:

CimOmjorr, yeah... whats your point exactly I understood what Lioness was trying to point out but i just don't get you.

Where is DANFO? I know he loves to argue. Could he clarify what Mr cIMONjORR IS saying?

By the way, NIGERIA IS A GREAT COUNTRY. GOD BLESS NIGERIA

@ Who am I?

Thanks for calling me out. (I hope it’s not for a fight  ). But let me quickly say that its not that I love controversy but I do try to fly straight in life. If you get my drift.

Obviously, CimonJoor has clarified what he meant. But in response to your post, from reading his previous post, within the context of the current issue, my understanding or interpretation of him is these:

The law of Nigeria does not expressly or impliedly support stealing of national fund by those elected to govern the country. And I think the guy (Cimonjoor) was now wondering why the selfsame victims of the Governor’s apparent thievery i.e. the suffering citizens are now trying to offer lame excuses for their oppressor such as:

- He is a victim of power play- as if power play is an excuse for breaking the oath of office regarding honesty and good service
- He is keeping the money found on him for another man-as if he is an executive Baba Alajo
- He is covered by diplomatic immunity- as if the principle of Diplomatic Immunity was set up as means of breaking your country's laws and those of the international community as well.

This is my interpretation of the guy’s post, and I got his back for real on this occasion as I feel he is right on point.

It absoluetly Hilarious to hear people refering to OLD colonial days JUST BECAUSE a Governor was arrested!!
What is the meaning of this PETTINESS??

According to Jonjon, in the long and historical relationship between the British and Ijaw, it is established fact that the British have never treated the Ijaw with fairness.


He said the Ijaw struggle for freedom and control of resources and environment did not begin today as the Ijaw have always had very unpleasant experiences in the hands of the British while exploitation, domination and oppression have been the hallmark of the relationship.

On his part, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, NDPVF, Alhaji Majahid Dokubo Asari told our correspondent, "I have no comment."

What Shallar1 said is right, mind you, this is politics we are talking about. We are not sure if its a click that set the Governor up. We are used to hearing such stories and never hear the end, and if we do hear the end, it is a happy ending. Its just a pity that we are already in a mess.

Political bearing on this, true or not, it still remains a fact that this man (whether the Governor of a state) money-laundered, which is a crime anywhere but Nigeria.

It's embarrasing that Obasanjo attends conferences round the world, seeking Nigeria's debt-relief for a country that has the most natural resources in Africa and doubles as the continent's greatest oil exporter to have a 'Governor' of one of his states be arrested over such a crime. It's pathetic, what the international community is currently saying about Nigeria.

There are times when a person is guilty until proven doubly-guilty, and this is one of such occassions. The Ijaw people are a funny bunch (no pun intended) to be having such obscured views about an apparently clear fact, that a man they call the leader of their tribe is a criminal. I'm dismayed.

I merely hope his ass is fried, so at least other thieving Governors take cues and keep away from the western world each time they have an uncontrollable itch to fly somewhere with money. That way, they'd discontinue shooting the country's leg in the foot with their persistent compulsion to steal.

What a shame indeed? I want to run and hide. Have u read that he may noe leave London till November.

Ooopse!  If I were in Bayelsa; what an easy overthrow that will be. And then I will resume my own oil milking (abi na oiling).

But I will endeavour not to be attracted to London like the topic of discussion.

Not only him will be caught, many other Governor are going to jail becuse of corruption. They are crooks.

we are all missing the point the british police does not have the right to arrest any nigerian carrying a diplomatic pasport regardless of what ever crime he commits.

nigerian govt are so dump for stealing and bringing shame o nigeria . they steal and did not do anything better with the money and just wasting it away with their life.

well it's just a big disgrace for nigerians and also for the government.i can really say it was a slap on my face for my governor to be arrested ......ummm the best is just that they shouldn'tspare him because if they do he'll like consume more than he had done.
i think this is just a lesson for all other government who enjoys looting

thats nijja 4 u..im not suprised.. all nijja rullers are money laundrers n professional thieves..all of them..mayb b4 they join they are ok,but once they enter that circle,it hits them like an infectious disease.
I know GOD is still livin n nothin is hidden from him, there is still more to come, this is only the begining!!!

@ Otokx...

This is exactly the thing which boggles my mind...

Here we are having people which supposedly are against the arrest of someone who has partaken in questionable practices.. Just because he carries a "Diplomatic Passport"...

Ok.. What should we now do?..

Should we continue to indulge such individuals in their practises.. under the umbrella of Diplomatic Immunity..  Or should we let due process handle the issue for us..

In Nigeria, we are ham-strung by laws abused by these so-called holders of "Diplomatic Immunity".. And overseas, where they can be investigated and prosecuted for their crimes [if proven guilty], they should be allowed to roam free.. since some peoples' feathers are ruffled by the fact that prosecuting them would be in vagrant disregard of their "Diplomatic" status..

So we should allow them to continue in their nefarious activities, till it gets to the point where they can now escape into the sunset.. beyond the reach of all asundry..

ps..
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Diplomatic status a privledge confered on some individuals and not a right.. and this privlidge can be waived by the conferring nation if they so desire We have all seen the reports that the investigation by the British police is being assisted by the EFCC.. In addition, the individual in question was not on any official trip to the UK, neither did he inform the Nigerian High Commision [or is it Consulate] of his trip to or through the UK.. [as has been mentioned in the National Dailies..]..

So.. where does that leave us??

otokx:

we are all missing the point the british police does not have the right to arrest any nigerian carrying a diplomatic pasport regardless of what ever crime he commits.

The guy is just a lying, thiefring beast who deserves to rot behind bars...

For those following the story, here's a new spin on things:

Culled from The Guardian newspaper, Sunday Sept. 25, 2005
[ http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article02/250905 ]

" ..... However, Lagos lawyer Festus Keyamo insists that a lot of people are missing the issues at stake -constitutional immunity with diplomatic immunity.

He said: "While constitutional immunity strictly applies to people in Nigeria and Nigerians, diplomatic immunity is subject to two countries and laws of the country where the person is being held.

"The issue of governor of Bayelsa State has nothing to do with the domestic constitutional immunity, but diplomatic immunity." ... "

That serves him right and i pray others like him will soon be disgrace not only in london but everywhere they may be. No hiding place for a sinner.

.....Then again, another twist to the whole imbroglio.......

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=29165


"Not even the British Prime Minister Tony Blair nor any British, foreign government can use the British Metrolpolitan Police for any untoward agenda. This clarification was made at the weekend  in Enugu by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Richard Gozney during the visit by 13 ambassadors of the European Union (EU) countries to Enugu State last week".[/color][color=#990000][/color][color=#990000]

[color=#990000]"The British envoyfurther expounded on what made them change their law to give new teeth in dealing with increasing cases of graft and money laundering."And so we said alright we'll change the law and tidy up. We changed the law and tidied it up. So if a public servant hasaccessed money, stocks and shares, whatever it is , which are very large or substantial and can't explain it - then tht is a crime in Britain"[/color]


"All that the Metropolitan Police is doing are simply doing their duty to uphold the British law. But the law, I repeat, is there, in part, because you folks in the media - how many television programmes did yourun about the Abacha money? How many editorials were in the newspapers here about the Abacha money in London? Partly because we were trying to respond to that when we brought in a new law which came into effect two years ago, saying if you are a public servant, it does not matter where you are from and you got obvious new wealth, we'll like you to exlpain it. "That's the British Law.It has nohing to do with politics"


So that we may all know and learn...............  I still dey hail

Meantime, hot off the wires: the British High Commission in Abuja has been receiving petitions from a lot of Nigerians to keep the man in Britain...

The seed he is reaping now was sown long time ago..(evil seeds) The Bible says one will reap what he/she sows..thou it may tarry..but must come in one way or the other..We should always be good to everyone as much as we give not out of neccessity but free will..the Governor has been caught..he was suppose to be many (ijaw) youth models..Many of our Heads claim to be fighting against corruption to me i feel they are using it to deceive us..so that they will not be suspected in anyway but..within the truth is that they are decivers and thieves. The bible says we should first remove the speck in our eyes before noticing other..Our Head of State or rather those in authority has a lot of speck to take off their eyes..and put their houses in order..every Nigerian could have been a million but one person would always say NO.. cos he wants to have the money alone..the money found in the governors haus if each nigerian including the poor, rich, jobless etc are given 1million naira..there would still be excess remaining. My prayer is that everyone that says the poor..widow..helpless.jobless wont survive..they too will not survive or prosper in every crooked or evil way or business they involve in.for they are definately reeping what they ve sown long time ago..many are yet to be exposed for i believe God hears the prayers of his children..

Thus far everybody has stated very good points for and against the whole issue, but as i am wont to do let me provoke your grey matter.

Assuming that the Bayelsa Governor indeed stole the money found with him, there is a concept in international law called diplomatic immunity which absolutely forbids the arrest and detention not to talk of the arraignment of the grantee of diplomatic immunity by any other sovereign power, the man's luggage cannot even be searched at the airport. Diplomatic immunity can be evidenced by a diplomatic passport which all the governors and the president travel with. The question we should ask ourselves is why is our president further helping to dent our countries image by abdicating Nigeria's sovereignty? i am sure the British are scratcing their heads and wondering why would breach both nigerian and international laws by getting the man arrested. Diplomatic immmunity is equally entrenched in our constitution, obj cannot simply waive it when it suits his agenda. He has been making noise about amending the immunity clause for about two years, why has he not done anything till date? Compare this with the indecent haste with which the nigerian labour law was passed in his bid to destroy the NLC.

Very soon our politicians will all be subjected to humiliating searches overseas then what happens to the rest of us ordinary folks? i shudder at the thought. This more than anything is a clear signal that Nigerians can be treated with utter disdain without repercussions, just because obj has an axe to grind with some people

Let me add that it is the practice for governors and presidents to travel outside their countries with large volumes of cash it doesnt necessarily point to thievery, it is called contingency funds, and yes the practice has probably been abused by the nigerian office holder.

I am not fighting for the Governor, i believe if he stole the money there is a proper time and place to prosecute him which is post 2007 either in Nigeria or where ever. It is not for obj to once more rubbish the same constitution he swore on two occassions to uphold. Is there no limit to his contempt for the right way of doing things? the man simply does not give a hoot about what is legally possible or not.

Dont blame the IYC, when the insurgency started what were our abuja people doing? what do we expect from the IYC they are avowed anarchists? of course they must protect their own person and of course they will seem impervious to our kind of logic, but that doesnt mean we should abuse them, that will be a dangerous move, cos if those boys strike, God help naija.

Please be very careful about joining this shouting mob condemning the governor before his alleged "trial", let us all adopt siddon look and watch, because they will settle and when they do, neither you nor i will be there.

My only consolation is that "rofo rofo" fight has started amongst the "nest of killers" (apologies to prof soyinka),  it is no longer a "family affair" so expect more startling revelations in the days to come and believe me baba may not come out of this latest episode smelling like roses.

Well, said Klex. May he find peace in jail!

This country is just confusing

Absolutely. The things that happen in it are entirely confusing.

@ Klex...

Let me exercise your grey matter...

I will presume that you've been following all the posts made so far on this issue...  I will also presume that you are old enough to have been aware of the issues and circumstances which lead to Milirary intervention [Coup d'etat] back in 1983 during the last civilian era..

There are a few things which I would want to be made clear..

1. When any incident occurs and reference is made to the Presidency, everyone immediately assumes it comes directly from the President...

Now while this is often the case, I'm sure that there are a lot of times when Mr. President delegates responsibility to carefully chosen assistants [whether in the form of Ministers, or Special Advisers, or whatever] in whom he has implicit trust to carry out the assigned tasks to the best of their abilities, without trying to micro-manage them..
Now, while this does not abdicate responsibility from the President for all statements and policies coming out Aso rock, I'm sure it will go a long way to explaining some apparent discrepancies which do appear to occur from time to time...

2. In the case of the Bayelsa state governor, we have discussed the issues of Immunity from all perspectives.. we have also thrown in some views from legal personalities into the mix, with one even going as far as trying to constitutionally explain the difference between Constitutional Immunity and Diplomatic Immunity.. The Nigerian Consitution guarantees serving officers [State Governors inclusive] Consitutional Immunity, however it is a right of the Federal Republic to grant or deny Diplomatic Immunity on any of it's citizens.. Diplomatic Immunity is not an automatic right, as most people believe but a privlidge granted by a soverign nation.. I am still of the belief that this privlidge can be withdrawn at any time.. depending on the bestower of this privlidge.. [I am yet to be corrected on this point, even though we have had many a post on this matter.. could any legal/learned fellow please shed more light... ]

Due to this guarantee of Constitutional Immunity, many a personality have been abusing this wantonly... We can all attest to the fact that Nigerian is currently regarded as a very corrupt nation.. who do you think is responsible for this image.. Funnily enough, it is not the average 'lagbaja' on the street, or the hard-working national who lives overseas.. it is the corrupt leaders who go to these nations to buy houses that are many times worth what they appear to earn on paper, and these are properties which have not been declared prior to assumption of office to the CCB, so where did they come from?? ...

We have had many a call for patience and perseverance from many a Nairalander, and in fact from many Nigerians, all clamouring against the purported abuse of the Immunity status of a Governor who still hasn't come out to publicly explain the source of the funds found on his person/premises... What it appears that they have forgotten is that there is nothing new under the sun.. All this has happened before.. though most likely not with this level of finesse.. If we look back to the pre-1983 era,  how many of the corrupt public officers were held accountable for the frauds/thefts which occurred in that era.. In fact most of them ran overseas the second that the military came into power.. running for their dear lives.. How many of them did the then power in govt try to prosecute successfully??..(most of them had hidden their tracks by the time the then govt got around to attempting some semblance of an investigation.. ) Some may say that the military were not welcome at that time, but trust me, who were the ones not welcoming them??.. It was only when they acquired the same tendencies as the people they tried to flush out, did Nigerians become aware and fed-up with the scene of the times, but many a Nigerian did welcome the discipline which they attempted to enforce on the public..

I can assure you that if these crimes are not investigated immediately, the guilty will go about covering their tracks with an even higher level of finesse, and what we observed in the pre-1983 era will look like childs-play compared to what they would do in this case..

The thing you have to understand is this.. Once a crime is not investigated immediately, the scent goes cold, and it becomes impossible to investigate the crime thoroughly.. That's why law enforcement agencies all over the world investigate crimes immediately.. so as to get a full and thorough investigation report and account of the commision of the crime.. it's not when in 2007 that they would then be able to proceed to do this, after a lot of water has gone under the bridge.. who is to say that at that point in time, these people would not have created newer laws to guarantee their "immunity" from procesution after leaving office..

Your question was:  "why is our president further helping to dent our countries image by abdicating Nigeria's sovereignty?"

I guess the answer is there infront of our noses... It is a case of precedent.. When the Plateau state governor was caught with the same offense some months back, and was even arraigned before the UK courts and granted bail based on his "Personality" what did he immediately do then.. He ran away.. Back to Nigeria.. wherer his constitutionally guaranteed immunity came into immediate effect. I have not heard of any complaints of this individual "denting" the image of Nigeria...

The President knows that Nigeria is percieved as a corrupt nation... and is doing everything in his power to reverse this trend.. We all can bear witness to the effort he has made in going all over the world to plead our case.. And we can all bear witness to the results.. the mere fact that we are no longer ex-communicated from the international society is a clear testament to the work he has done.. Part of the outcome of this I expect is a pact of mutual co-operation into the investigation of crimes within Nigeria.. If this involves waiving or totally withdrawing the Diplomatic immunity of some elected officers in fulfillment of Nigeria's own side of the bargain, what is the problem there.. these are individuals which have been found in travention of not only local laws but international laws.. The laws which are alleged to have been broken in this case are British Laws, not Nigerian..  I'm very sure if it was to be a case of any Nigerian commiting a crime overseas, there wouldnt be this clamour for the nigerian to be brought home before he is tried.. Nor would there be a clamour for him not to be tried using the local laws of the place in question.. the only legal stance I'm aware of is that after any conviction, there are usually moves made for the offender to be sent back to Nigeria to serve his time over here, instead of at the expense of the govt. the person is found to contravened [deportation]..

Please, if anyone knows or feels differently, he should make his views known on this subject as I am no expert..

3. You raised the issue of contingency funds..

Now this is a concept which boggles my mind... That you are aware of the existence of such funds simply shows your level of awareness of the inner-workings of the government..

So, let me take this one step at a time..

A Governor makes a budget to the Federal government for some capital projects his state is expected to execute during a fiscal year..
During this same fiscal year, this same individual then goes about 'transporting' these funds [I believe this was the term a learned gentleman said that the British laws do not hold the Governor guilty of (I appologise, I can't recall the exact term used...)] from Nigeria to another country.. Despite the fact that these projects are yet to be executed.. Not withstanding the fact that Nigerians are presently suffering as a result of the non-execution of these projects.. All in the name of creating "Contingency" funds??..

Funds for which 'contingency' ??    In whose account is the funds stored overseas??   Why not budget these so-called funds distinct from/ or as a part of the main budget?? Why deprive others and but a lot of people into suffering in the quest of trying to create a pool of funds for a 'contingency' that doesn't exist.. I guess we can imagine where all these monies which appear to come from no-where arise from during election times.. I can also let others speculate as to the timing of this movement of funds movement by the Governor, coming at a time just before the PDP party card registration exercise.. these questions I'll leave our fellow Nairalanders to answer at their convenience..

We have very clearly defined processes and procedures for the movement of funds within and outside the country... We have banking institutions for goodness sake [and if I must say so, Nigeria has some of the best banks in the world..].. You can't convince me that a person as knowledgeable as a State Governor doesnt know enough about international banking to know that there are facilities which he could have availed himself of.. unless he had something to hide..

4.You also mentioned the issue of local terrorism.. [via some utterances and actions by some groups in the nation]..
That we should not blame them.. that we should not abuse them.. that we should not hold them accountable for their actions.. because they are avowed anarchists.. and we would not want to feel the brunt of their anger.. [I hope I'm not taking your words out of context..]..

Please tell me.. Since when has anarchy become a thing to be condoned Since when has the right to protect one's own person now become the right to wreck havock and distruction on the lives and property of others??

In the US [Sept 11.], in Spain, and in the UK [July 7], we can all bear witness to the acts that terrorism carried out on those respective days, against those respective governments.. And we can all bear witness to the collateral damage and attendant loss of live that happened then.. Many Nigerians lost their lives on those occasions..

Does the fact that we fear reprisals from certain groups of people now mean that we should condone their actions and activities??..

I would like to state clearly, for the record, that any attempt to support terrorism, whether or not it is from within the nation (or external), whether directly or implicitly, is something I personally abhor.. I do not see the logic in bringing misery to the lives of many because of the need to express one's disatisfaction with some people.. And I do not believe adopting a siddon look approach to their activities is required.. if armed robbers were laying siege to a community, would you say "let them be, after all if the police were to go after them, they might end up coming back in full force??"

We can not as a people allow ourselves to be held to ransom by a certain group of individuals, not when there are clear and established means of resolving these conflicts.. And in this particular instance, which issue are they really fighting over?.. After all, if the truth be said, the person they are allegedly fighting on behalf of may have actually stolen wealth meant for their own people..

The Collective is more important than the Individual...

My two kobo..

ps.. this is not targeted at any person.. just me expressing my opinions..

Superba responsio!

CimonJorr I owe you a drink!

Well done CimonJorr!

Any time buddy...