₦airaland Forum

The Presidency has clarified that the recent raid of official quarters of some judges and their arrest by the operatives of the Department of State Security were specifically targeted at corruption, not at the judiciary as an institution.


The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said this in a statement Sunday night.

The presidential aide described the incident as a surgical operation.

He said the Presidency assured that Buhari reserves his highest respect for the institution of the judiciary as the third arm of government.

According to Shehu, to this end, President Buhari will not do anything to undermine the independence of the judiciary.

He said President Buhari remained a committed democrat in words and in his actions and would not take any action in violation of the constitution.

"The recent surgical operation against some judicial officers is specifically targeted at corruption and not at the judiciary as an institution," Shehu stated.

"In a robust democracy such as ours, there is bound to be a plurality of opinions on any given issue, but there is a convergence of views that the country has a corruption problem that needs to be corrected."

He noted that reports by a section of the media were giving the Presidency cause for concern.

He warned that in undertaking the task of reporting, the media should be careful about the fault lines they open, saying "It is wrong to present this incident as a confrontation between the executive and judicial arms of government."

He said the Presidency had received assurances from the DSS that all due processes of the law, including the possession of search and arrest warrants, were obtained before the searches.

Shehu said to suggest that the government was acting outside the law in a dictatorial manner "is to breach the interest of the state."

Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/judges-arrest-corruption-not-judiciary-under-attack-presidency/165906.html#E7zxjCICxK4bDz28.99

Good one

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was working hard to recover the billions of funds stolen by past government officials, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said. The vice president said the federal government would not relent in its efforts towards holding to account, all those who stole public funds.
Osinbajo was speaking in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State yesterday after commissioning some projects executed by the administration of Governor Abdulaziz Yari to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the state.

The projects were the Government Girls’ Arabic Secondary School for Continuing Education, Gusau, the Ahmadu Bello-Muhammadu Buhari Road as well as the Bungudu and Maru township roads.
Osinbajo vowed that all those who looted the nation’s treasury must be held to account because the money they stole was for all Nigerians.
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/osinbajo-we-re-working-hard-to-recover-loot/165768.html#Eja5PkcxgEXy2PxL.99

ABUJA-President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja said that his greatest wish from God was the courage to be fair to all Nigerians irrespective of religious, tribal and cultural backgrounds. He said his administration would continue to promote unity and peaceful co-existence of all Nigerians by ensuring fairness and social justice to all. The president spoke while receiving Sheikh Abdul-Muhsin Muhammad Al-Qassimi, Imam of the Mosque of the Holy Prophet in Medina, Saudi Arabia at the State House, Abuja. President Muhammadu Buhari said God had a purpose of bringing people from different ethnic backgrounds into one country- Nigeria. “God knows best- a population of 180 million people comprising more than 300 ethnic groups many of them with cultural ties stronger than religion can only co-exist peacefully in an atmosphere of social justice,’’ he said. President Buhari urged Muslims and all other citizens to imbibe and practice social justice as a norm and prayed to Allah to guide his government in doing the same. “I pray that God gives us the courage to be fair to people he put in our charge so that we can enjoy his mercy,’’ he said. Citing several personal life lessons from the country’s political crisis in 1966, the civil war, his incarceration for three and half years in solitary detention, and his attempts to win presidential election, President Buhari told the visiting Imam that he had learnt ‘‘an important lesson about social justice.’’ The President commended the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their efforts to create a better understanding and practice of Islam. He welcomed the visit of the Imam to Nigeria, noting that it would strengthen the bond of ties between the two countries. A statement by senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu said that Sheikh (Dr) Al-Qassimi in his remarks commended the peaceful co-existence of Nigerians of different faiths. He expressed satisfaction with the cordial relations between government and religious leaders and called for a better teaching and practice of Islam devoid of extremism. Speaking to State House Correspondents after the meeting, Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari said that peace was central to the development of country. He urged Nigerians across all religious strata to embrace peace for the progress of the country.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/pray-god-give-courage-fair-nigerians-buhari/

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has lauded the Federal Government, particularly President Muhammadu Buhari for the withdrawal of criminal charges against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

The chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said the “wise and timely move” would pave the way for the resolution of the impasse between both arms of government.

The former Vice President, in a statement released by his Media Office in Abuja on Saturday, also said that the move by the FG was an indication that the government values the much-needed cordial relationship between the executive and legislature.

He added that it was an indication that government would take steps to ensure that it remained harmonious in the interest of the nation and the advancement of democracy.

The Turakin Adamawa said real progress and development could only take place in the polity when there is corporative relationship between the three arms of government.

Atiku argued that all hands needed to be mobilized to tackle the current economic difficulties in the country and get the nation out of economic recession.

He stressed that both the executive and legislature needed to come together to find solutions to the current economic recession by eliminating all issues that promote strife and mistrust.

The former Vice President advised all individuals and political forces in the country that still have issues to come together and resolve their differences for the good of the nation and the APC.

He described President Buhari as a statesman and a man of peace, saying the decision by the executive to end the disturbing allegations against the Senate leadership opens a new page in the relationship between the executive and legislature.



Atiku added that President Buhari has never been comfortable with actions or issues that unnecessarily heats up the polity.

He, therefore, implored the National Assembly to reciprocate the spirit behind the resolution of the impasse by stepping up its collaborative efforts with the executive arm of government in the task of fixing the nation’s “broken economy and infrastructure”.

Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/atiku-hails-withdrawal-of-forgery-case-against-saraki/165702.html#tS66iJ5cK82dVsAp.99

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ok

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Old soldier...atten-tion!

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Buhari govt is not ready to fight corruption...

RIP

A former Head of State, retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar, yesterday said but for the cooperation of President Muhammadu Buhari and ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, the efforts of the National Peace Committee on the 2015 general elections would have been in vain.
Abdulsalami also acknowledged that the committee would not have succeeded if the then chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, had not performed his statutory role well. He spoke in Abuja at the Leadership Annual Awards and Conference which he chaired.

In his speech titled, “Half full, not half empty,” Abdulsalami said: “Our efforts would have been in vain if President Buhari and former President Jonathan were not willing to cooperate with us and think about Nigeria first or if Prof. Jega had failed to perform his statutory role well. We must all embrace this standard set by them and ensure that the labours of our heroes’ past are not in vain. We must ensure peace because if there is no peace, there is no country.”
Akwa Ibom State Governor Emmanuel Udom said the nation was currently at a crossroads as it was challenged by daunting economic and political problems. The governor said Jonathan’s decision to concede victory in the 2015 presidential election was the moment of glory in Nigeria’s democracy.
In his welcome address, the chairman of Leadership newspapers, Sam Nda-Isaiah, said Buhari, Jonathan and Jega deserved the Leadership Person of the Year Award conferred on them due to their critical roles in the 2015 general elections. Nda-Isaiah said Jonathan’s decision to concede victory helped avert a crisis that would have claimed about 10,000 lives.
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/buhari-jonathan-jega-saved-nigeria-abdulsalami/165664.html#UMqL63pUO5x4T81G.99

hmmm

The House of Representatives on Tuesday called on the security agencies in the country to intensify rescue efforts for high school students and teachers kidnapped in Lagos State on Thursday morning.

The call came just as police confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that two of the students have regained freedom while search continues for the others, including the school principal.

The House’s resolution followed a motion by Wale Raji, a lawmaker from the state, under matters of urgent national importance.

The House heard from Mr. Raji how some suspected kidnappers attacked Government Model College, Igbonla, Epe, on Thursday morning just as students were observing early morning prayers in the assembly.

Mr. Raji said he was told about the development shortly after the House resumed plenary today and he was compelled to bring it to the attention of the House and, by extension, the country.

“I am just learning that a group of kidnappers struck today in my constituency where they kidnapped students and principals,” Mr. Raji said.

The police spokesperson in Lagos State, Bisi Kolawole, told PREMIUM TIMES two of the students have been rescued, leaving two more students, a teacher and the school principal.

“We’re still on their trail to rescue the others who include the principal, a teacher and two students,” Ms. Kolawole, an assistant commissioner of police, said.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/212161-breaking-kidnappers-storm-lagos-school-abduct-students-officials.html

The Federal Executive Council yesterday approved a memo for the procurement of 320 operational vehicles for the Nigeria Prisons Service at the cost of N3.5bn.
Interior Minister, Abdulrahama Dambazau, while addressing State House reporters after yesterday’s FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, said this was aimed at strengthening the criminal justice system and de-congesting the prisons.

He said the procurement was from local manufacturers, assemblies and vendors and the effort was to follow through government’s policy to ensure that most procurement is done locally to provide opportunity for job creation and similar things.
The minister put the current prisoner population at 65,000, about 70 percent of who he said were awaiting trail due to lack of logistics because there are 5,022 courts that on daily basis have to transport prisoners to attend to their cases.
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/fg-to-buy-320-prison-vehicles-for-n3-5bn/165525.html#xbofwqik8VETgjTD.99

The immediate past minister of environment, Mrs. Laurentia Laraba Malam and her husband, Mr. Pius Malam, who were kidnapped on Monday along the Kaduna-Abuja express way have regained their freedom, the Kaduna state Police Command has confirmed.
Confirming the release of the former minister and her husband to Daily Trust, the Police Public Relation Officer, ASP Aliyu Usman, said the couple were in good health and freedom.

He said, "They were released along the axis where they were kidnapped and we have not taken their statement yet because they are still in shock."

Asked if the ransom demanded was he paid, he said, "I do not have that information. Thank you."

It could be recalled that Mrs. Laurentia and Mr. Pius where kidnapped in Bwari/Jere axis and a N10million ransom was demanded by the kidnappers for their release.

The police had launched a man hunt and deployed the Technical Response Unit and the Anti Kidnapping Unit of the command to the affected area to track down the kidnappers.

Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/breaking-kidnapped-former-minister-husband-regain-freedom/165462.html#B4ZRTsimKjZxzkdJ.99

SaharaReporters has learned that Temitope Adebamiro, a US-based Nigerian who was living in Red Lion, Delaware accused of murdering her husband last year, has plead guilty to manslaughter and a weapons offense. The news was broke by The News Journal of Delaware earlier today.

It will be recalled that SaharaReporters reported on the developments of Temitope’s crime and her subsequent charging. Temitope initially gave conflicting accounts of the events leading to murder of her husband, Adeyinka Adebamiro. Temitope’s tale included: a power outage whereby she then discovered that her husband mysteriously in the bedroom and later, a separate assertion, that her husband slashed his own throat. The power company, Delmarva Power, reported to police that there was no power outage at their residence at the time.

SaharaTV interviewed Temitope’s sister who disclosed that she had began experimenting with juju and dark magic. These revelations were supported by evidence described in police reports detailing a photograph of Adeyinka with an ‘X’ across his face and a cut across his neck.

Initially Temitope was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a deadly weapon. However, according to The News Journal of Delaware, Temitope and her attorney plead to the lesser charge of manslaughter and weapon possession on September 16th in the Superior Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

These charges bring a minimum sentence of four years in prison and a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison. Temitope has been incarcerated in Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution since her arrest last year.

http://saharareporters.com/2016/10/04/temitope-adebamiro-who-slayed-husband-pleads-guilty-us

change

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U.S. industrial firm General Electric plans to invest around $150 million in Nigeria by 2017, a senior executive said on Monday.

"There are development projects where we are investing," Jay Ireland, chief executive of General Electric in Africa told the FT Africa Summit in London. GE would also invest in oil and gas industry projects.

Growth in Nigeria - an OPEC member whose economy, the largest in Africa, is in recession for the first time in more than 20 years due to low oil prices - has been stunted for decades by a lack of investment in its road and rail network.

Ireland said the Nigeria investment was part of a plan to spend $2 billion in Africa in coming years.

But the $150 million Nigerian investment falls short of the sum Nigeria's government has said GE would invest.

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday in a speech marking Nigeria's independence day, said GE was "investing $2.2 billion in a concession to revamp, provide rolling stock, and manage" some of the country's railway lines. (REUTERS)

Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/business/general-electric-to-invest-150-million-in-nigeria/165039.html#FRtJEGoq8cqR0lDe.99

A few days ago, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Charles Soludo passionately called on President Muhammadu Buhari to release Nnamdi Kanu, the incarcerated leader of the so called Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB). Soludo was speaking during the presentation of a book titled “The Politics of Biafra and the future of Nigeria.” According to Soludo, the continued imprisonment of Nnamdi Kanu would make him a hero in the mould of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was jailed for treason by the government of Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Soludo added that prior to his prosecution; Nnamdi Kanu was unknown to many people but that his continued detention has turned him into a kind of hero. Soludo feared that unless Kanu was released, his continued incarceration would harm President Buhari’s chances of retaining the Presidency in 2019.
With due respect, the Professor got the analogy wrong. Chief Awolowo is not Nnamdi Kanu; Awolowo might have plotted against the government of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa but not against Nigeria in which he had painfully believed. I said painfully because Awolowo wanted Nigeria to be much more than “a mere geographical expression.” However, unlike Nnamdi Kanu, Chief Awolowo never set out to cause the disintegration or destruction of Nigeria, or the zoo as Kanu’s misguided followers call this country. Chief Awolowo was certainly more cultured than Nnamdi Kanu; he had a more sublime view of Nigeria than this foolish British-Nigerian Igbo chap.

Kanu said he formed IPOB to fight “incessant hardship, lack of holistic development in the socio-economic landscape of Nigeria, lack of youth employment, corruption in high places and economic regression”, which is alright. However, there is no corner of Nigeria that doesn’t experience these problems and if Kanu had applied himself to fighting this holistically, to borrow his term, he would have had a greater, nationwide following but this Biafra and “this zoo must fall” sentiments constitute his undoing.
Kanu has been held in Kuje prison for almost one year now. He was arrested in a Lagos hotel allegedly in company of a female consort. Nnamdi Kanu has given himself the dangerous task of creating for the Igbos a country called Biafra. As Director of Radio Biafra, he took liberty to abuse everyone he fancied while he was loose. Following his arrest, he was charged for treason alongside two others.
It is true that sometimes in December, 2015, a Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Adeniyi Ademola, had ordered the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu while his case continued. However, another High Court in Abuja, under the authority of Justice Dan Tsoho, reversed the earlier order and instructed that Kanu be remanded in prison. Since then, the issue of Kanu’s freedom has been argued back and forth inside the court with a couple of Justices excusing themselves from his on-going trial.
Professor Soludo has to understand that, under the present circumstances, President Buhari cannot release Nnamdi Kanu. If Kanu had limited himself to abusing President Goodluck Jonathan or the Igbo elders who he said had sold out to Nigeria, he probably would have been home now; but like an ill-born and ill-bred lad or someone under the influence of some hard substance, he went about insulting President Muhammadu Buhari. He needed to prove to his trading kinsfolk that he is the long awaited successor to Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu that will sacrifice himself for Biafra?
If only Kanu had restricted himself to punching at the zoo, to make the zoo fall, he might have been able to stay free and safe but he went about calling Buhari all sorts of names. By his own admission, Nnamdi Kanu exceeded his bounds. In December, 2015, he was reported to have issued a statement to the operatives of the Department of State (DSS) wherein he apologised to President Buhari, Goodluck Jonathan, Ohaneze elders and others for denigrating them. “Reference to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a terrorist, evil and paedophile is regrettable and uncalled for and for that, I unreservedly apologise and will be doing so in a private letter to the President.”
Kanu continued: “Before PMB, there was the administration of Goodluck Jonathan, I also said uncomplimentary things about him and Igbo elders as well, which I recognise now should not have happened because it is un-African to be rude or insolent to elders.”
Recently, Nnamdi Kanu appeared to have spurned another soft landing which the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) claimed to have negotiated for him. MEND said separatist groups in the Niger Delta and South East had agreed to negotiate a comprehensive peace settlement with the Nigerian government and part of this required that Kanu renounced Biafra. The militant group had said in a statement that “MEND hereby uses this opportunity to inform the entire world that following the group’s on-going negotiations with the Federal Government, Nnamdi Kanu has made it clear that he is willing to renounce Biafra in secret in exchange for his freedom.”
No sooner had MEND issued this statement than Kanu balked. The IPOB leader said MEND was dishonest and he preferred to stay in prison than to renounce Biafra. Let Soludo know that Kanu is in prison in accordance with his own wish; if he wants to be released, he will have to renounce Biafra or at least seek the pardon of those he defamed. Otherwise, he can continue to (mis)lead his people from Kuje prison and come out after he conquers Nigeria. As it is now, the President of Biafra is a prisoner of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (the zoo, I mean the big zoo).
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/opinion/as-soludo-weighs-in-for-nnamdi-kanu/165102.html#P78ReXVWHUZZIDEX.99

Change!

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hmmmm...you again?

chai!